Chapter Twelve: An Uncontrollable Power

Camelot #2.

(Set shortly after Emrys returned to Camelot #1)

Merlin remembered little about the journey back from the Crystal Cave. He felt distracted and light headed all the way home, and especially emotional about Emrys having now left this world for his own. Added to that, he now had all the new magic flying around both inside and outside of his body which was adding to his feeling of disorientation and confusion.

"Merlin," Gwen called as he walked down the corridor towards Gaius' chambers and the young man turned around slowly, still feeling incredibly dizzy.

"Hmm?" he replied, blinking to try and put his friend into some sort of focus.

"Did Emrys get off alright?" Gwen asked.

"Uh yes, it was fine... he's fine." He fervently hoped his voice didn't sound as strange to her as it did to him.

"Are you sure you're alright? I mean, of course you're not really. You must be very upset. I don't know what it is to have a brother but with you two being twins it must make it extra difficult and..." Gwen looked at him even more closely. "Merlin, are you sure you're feeling quite well? You look a bit ..."

"I-I think I might be going down with a cold," he answered quickly, latching onto that idea as an excuse for how he was feeling. Not that it was anywhere near the same sensation but it would do as an explanation for the time being. Everything was brighter, warmer and full of energy, and Merlin couldn't believe that Emrys had lived with these sensations every day of his life. Then again, the older man wouldn't have known any different and Merlin now remembered him saying how strange it had felt to him here without having the magic around.

"Well you should go and see Gaius and..." Gwen started to say before both grinned at the comment. "Of course, that's where you would be going anyway," she continued. "But do make sure he checks you over – you really do look a funny colour."

"Right, Gwen, thanks," Merlin managed, weaving his way down the corridor and suddenly realising that his friend now probably thought he was drunk. He really hoped that she wouldn't share her concerns with Arthur.

"Gaius, are you here?" he asked as he entered the physician's chambers.

"Ah, you're back," the old man replied. "How did it go?"

"Can you not feel it?" Merlin asked.

"Feel what?"

"The magic … it's everywhere, it's making everything ... different. It's all light and sound and ..." He waved his arms around wildly in an attempt to explain.

"Well, from what Emrys was telling me, you and he are quite exceptional as far as magic is concerned," Gaius said moving hastily over to a work bench. "My skill was always much more basic so I expect that's why I can't sense anything." He paused, looking at a candle in front of him. "Right then, so let's see if I can remember how this works. Forbærne."

The candle stayed stubbornly unlit.

"It's everywhere, Gaius. Just grab at it," Merlin said, moving closer and then wobbling, putting his hands on the bench to steady himself.

"Have you been drinking?"

"No but, I do feel a bit like that. I'm drunk on magic, I think. Have another go."

"Forbærne!" the old man repeated and this time a flame sprung to life on the wick. "Yes!" Gaius jumped up and down excitedly before noticing Merlin's amused look and quickly composing himself.

"You see? It really is back. Emrys went into the Crystal Cave and reconnected the magic via that stone of Arthur's. The magic is back and the curse is broken."

"The fertility?"

"If what you say is correct that that should be back to normal too. Although it's probably going to take a while for everyone to notice."

"Well, if the Curse really is broken then I expect you youngsters will be the first ones to know."

"Oh," Merlin said, suddenly more alert. "I know you didn't feel the magic returning but what about Morgana? Or Freya?"

"Well, Emrys did hint that Morgana was especially powerful where he was from," Gaius agreed.

"That's right, although even he didn't know about Freya for certain. He just said he sensed it in her a bit in his world but never saw her use it." Merlin sighed. "I do need to keep an eye on Morgana though, but how do I do that without alerting everyone?"

"You're her Night Servant now, Merlin, so it should be easy enough."

"N-noooo," he said shaking his head. "No, I'm with Freya now and … Morgana just said I could wear the Band for show and..." He looked up at Gaius in surprise as he realised something even more pertinent. "... there's absolutely no need for Night Servants at all."

"That's probably true, but we can hardly tell Uther to stop that tradition when we have no evidence to back up the theory."

"But we've loads."

"Merlin, we cannot go up to the king and prove the situation by using magic in front of him."

"Well, no. I wasn't going to suggest that."

"So, you need to be especially careful now, do you understand?"

"Yes but, Gaius, that's what I'm worried about. I'm not sure how much control I have at the moment. When Emrys brought back the magic I was in a right state – it nearly drove me mad and, if he hadn't been there I don't know how I'd have survived. I don't dare use it deliberately - If I'd tried to light that candle right now I'd probably blow up half the castle – and I have no idea what would happen if I was suddenly surprised and tried to defend myself instinctively or something."

"Then, as nervous as I am about you using magic, I believe it's imperative that we set aside some time each day for your control training," Gaius continued. "You've got all those books that Emrys left you for a start but, you're right, that has to be our priority right now – over any concerns we might have about Morgana or Freya. We need to get your magic fully under control before we can even think about anything or anyone else."

~o~0~o~

"Come in." Morgana's voice rang out clearly and Merlin entered her chambers nervously.

"I thought I'd better come here tonight, you know, to keep up appearances," he began and she looked at him with a soft smile before sighing loudly. "And then, I thought, we should talk about … things," he continued.

"You're quite right, of course," she replied. "I promised Emrys I'd look after you and so we have to do what we can to convince everyone that you really are my Night Servant." Morgana saw his panicked looked and laughed. "Don't worry about what I said the other day, Merlin, I was only teasing you. I helped Arthur and Gwen in the early days of their relationship and so know all the tricks now. You can stay in the ante room here, just as long as you remember to get up early and clear the cot away so that none of the servants notice."

"Ah, that's very good of you, my lady but ..."

"Morgana, please. I know you're not really my Night Servant but it seems odd to have you calling me that."

"Thank you. Ah, I'm not sure how to say this but … I was hoping to spend some nights in the servant's quarters. There's this girl, you see ..." Morgana had seemed a little distant up until this point but, on hearing this, she brightened, her face lighting up.

"You have a sweetheart?"

"Y-yes … at least, I'm hoping so. I haven't had a chance to talk to her since I got back from seeing Emrys off but … I believe we were both hoping that the relationship might continue."

"Is she anyone's Night Servant?"

"No and I was really, really hoping that we could help her to keep a low profile too."

"Well, at least that would solve the curse as far as you're concerned and, as for me, I never really had any trouble dealing with that myself – unlike some." She sighed again whilst Merlin bit his tongue – desperately wanting to tell her that she'd have no problem at all from now on. He was feeling really conflicted; Emrys had asked him to trust Morgana and confide in her but this wasn't his world – it wasn't his life and this was just too big – too complicated to be dealing with at the moment.

"May I ask how you're feeling today?" he asked in order to make a start in keeping his promise.

"I'm alright although, now you come to mention it, I do feel a bit strange - a bit light-headed. I think perhaps I'm coming down with a cold."

Merlin nodded to himself, recognising the symptoms. "Well, let me know if you need anything; a potion or something. I promised Emrys I'd look after you too so … you only have to say."

"Thank you, Merlin. You're a good friend." He just nodded, feeling guilty at not being totally honest with her but, really, what could he say right now anyway? He'd just have to keep asking after her, checking how she felt and talking to her about it. If her magic did start to show – if she started having real problems, then he'd try to help her but, Gaius was right, how would he even begin to help her or Freya if he didn't know how to control his own magic?

~o~0~o~

Merlin stayed with Morgana for about an hour, the pair simply talking about their lives and finding out more about themselves. Emrys hadn't told her much about his past, for obvious reasons, but he had made a point of trying to keep his made up life story different to his own, knowing that Merlin would be the 'real' person here and the one that would need to tell the truth. So, Emrys had told everyone that he'd grown up with their unknown father, meaning that Merlin could easily talk about his mother and Ealdor without having to worry about contradicting anything. The older man's story even had them growing up apart for much of their lives which meant he could be fairly vague when quizzed about his brother too. And Morgana did ask a lot of questions about Emrys that evening—enough to confirm Merlin's earlier suspicion that the pair had fallen for each other during the last week.

After a while, Merlin asked to be excused and, checking the coast was clear, made his way outside, making sure that his Bands were clearly visible. If discovered out here he would almost certainly be questioned but, if asked, he would simply say that he had performed his duty already and had been dismissed back to the servants' hall; a common enough practice as some nobles preferred to have their bed to themselves for most of the night.

So, the young man made his way to the small chambers Freya had used before and quietly knocked, hoping she'd hadn't changed her mind in the time that he'd been away. There was a long pause before the door opened a crack and a sleepy looking Freya peered out.

"Merlin?" she asked.

"Sorry it's so late. I can find another room, if you want?"

"No, no. That's fine. Come in."

"I need to talk with you," he said seriously.

"Really?" she said with a shy smile. "I managed to get to sleep surprisingly easily but that doesn't mean to say I wasn't hoping for a little more than conversation from you tonight."

Merlin smiled back but was determined not to get distracted. "There are things I need to tell you if this relationship is going to continue," he explained.

"I would still like that," she agreed. "Let's get under the covers and you can tell me then." He raised his eyebrows at her and she giggled, letting him in and showing herself to be wearing a very thin nightdress, before quickly hopping back into bed. Merlin took off most of his clothes and followed, finding Freya instantly in his arms, looking for a kiss.

"It's about Emrys … about why he was here," Merlin said, pulling away a little before he could get too distracted and she nodded for him to continue. "Do you remember how he reacted when he saw you?"

"Hard to forget." She paused. "It didn't make much sense, actually. He seemed quite positive that he knew me."

"He did … or at least … he knew another version of you." She looked at him with a confused frown. "He isn't my brother … he's me … another version of me from another world and another time." He paused for a moment wondering if he'd told her too much too soon and half expecting her to kick him out of her bed and her chambers as a mad man.

"You're serious?"

Merlin nodded. "He came back to undo the Purge – to fix the curse and … he has."

"I was wondering why I felt no tension at all tonight. You're saying the Curse is broken?"

"Yes and the magic is back."

She sat upright in shock. "How do you know that?"

"Because I do have magic. Emrys told me that he has the skill in his world and that I would here and ... it's true."

Her eyes lit up, excitedly. "Show me."

"No, not now – not until I've had a few more lessons." Easier to say that then explain how and why he had quite so much power.

"And then, will you teach me?" she asked.

"Yes although, you need to be absolutely sure it's what you want. If Uther finds out that magic is back and reacts as he did before, anyone who's discovered practising it will be in grave danger."

"So, what about Emrys? Where is he now?"

"He's gone back to his own world, but that's not the only reason I told you. Whilst he was here he earned two jobs. He was Arthur's Day servant and Morgana's Night Servant. Very few people know that there were two of us and so ..."

Freya's eyes went wide as she realised where this was going. "You're to take over both his jobs?"

"Yes and no," he explained quickly. "Morgana doesn't want me as her Night Servant. In fact, she's not going to need a Night Servant at all now – no-one is. However, she had given me her Band so that I can pretend to be." He saw her sceptical, slightly hurt look and pulled her close. "Honestly, Freya, it's true. We've been discussing it and I told her all about you. She was really pleased that I had someone and promised she'd help us."

"Why wouldn't she want you?"

He smiled at the sudden change in her reaction. Now she almost seemed offended. "I'm not Emrys," he explained. "She's fallen for him, I think and she doesn't feel the same way about me."

"But, you said that you're the same person."

"Yes and no. We've lived very different lives, and it changed the way we were. I honestly didn't think he was that much like me at all – even if others couldn't see the difference."

"Well, I was quite certain he was you for a while there, as you probably gathered," she replied with a wince. "Why are you telling me all this, Merlin?"

"Because I want to be honest with you. I think I'm going to have to lie to a lot of people; about Emrys, about Morgana and about my magic. That's not going to be easy but I don't want to lie to you. With you I want to be totally honest."

"Thank you, Merlin. You'll stay? It's probably time to go back to sleep."

This time it was his turn to smile slyly at her. "Perhaps, if that's what you really want."

"Oh?" she replied with a grin, her hand quickly rummaging under the covers and caressing the front of his undergarments. "Well now, are you sure the Curse is broken because I'd say you definitely seem a little … tense."

"I don't think that we stop reacting altogether," Merlin said with a laugh. "Just that the reactions are not so strong or painful."

"I'm sure that would have to be the case," she agreed as she started to caress him more vigorously. "Let's find out exactly how much has changed, shall we?"

~o~0~o~

A/N: Very early on in my writing of 'An Unexpected Job' I declared Gwen a 'miracle' baby and quickly realised that there would be no place for a brother in this story. I figured that there would be other younger characters that would not have been born because of the Curse and that Fate would compensate for their loss in other ways (and one of those losses is going to be very important)

However, I am now feeling very guilty about Elyan! :(

I have a major timing problem, folks. Camelot #1's time-line is rapidly catching up with canon and I NEED to know how Series 5 is going to end if I'm going to get this story to work properly. However, if I keep up these updates I'm going to hit the pivotal Chapter 16 just before 5.11 airs which isn't good enough.

So, from next week I'm pushing my updates forward until after each episode airs (Sunday or Monday) and then, depending on exactly when 5.13 is due to air, may have to delay once more. (Some sources say 29th, others are quoting Christmas Eve or Christmas Day) I'm hoping that after regular updates throughout this fic, you'll forgive me such brief delays.

I've updated my profile page with these new predicted publishing dates and other info.

23/11/12