Chapter Thirteen- Familiar Destiny

"No young man, no matter how great, can know his destiny."

"But I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand!" Merlin said, completely serious. It was the night of his second day in Camelot, and it had already been a trip. Within five minutes of entering the city, with its towering white castle and clean streets, he had accidentally revealed his magic, the only thing he was supposed to not do. Fortunately, the old physician, Gaius, had been the only one present, and he had accepted Merlin's magic. Gaius had, however, scolded him from using it in public, and Merlin had tried after that to make a good impression on the kindly physician. He had walked carefully in the cluttered room, aware that his innate clumsiness could be dangerous in a place filled to the ceiling with medicinal potions and herbs. So far, he had avoided touching any of them, and he hoped to keep it that way. Not that it would really matter, since he had gotten arrested on his very first errand. He winced, imagining the angry letter he would get from his mother once she would learn about it. It wasn't as bad as saying it out aloud made it seem, since Merlin hadn't stolen or killed. Instead, he had stumbled on a stuck-up brat who had been mistreating a servant half his size and scared witless. Merlin, feeling sorry for the poor boy, having been picked on in Ealdor due to his slight frame, stepped in. Unfortunately for him, he happened upon the Prince of Prats, Prince Arthur of Camelot, which had resulted in his first night being spent in the dungeons of Camelot. Of course, had Merlin wanted to, he could have easily escaped using his magic, but he did not want to break anymore rules than he already had. Actually, looking back, he probably could have escaped without the use of his magic, since the two guards on duty were passed out drunk before moonrise. The granary in Ealdor, guarded by a small, but fierce dog, was better guarded than the dungeons of the great city!

Fortunately for Merlin, Gaius had been able to pull some strings and get Merlin out of jail the next morning, but not without a price. Merlin had to spend the morning in the stocks, an experience that he'd rather not repeat. At least one good thing came out of his act of kindness. While he was being pelted by rotten tomatoes and other produce he did not wish to closely identify, a shy maidservant had come up to praise him. Guinevere- Gwen- was the second person in Camelot that Merlin truly liked, after Gaius. He hoped that they could become friends in the coming days and months. Yet, as she extended her hand and he took it, a weird feeling came over him. It was as if he and Gwen had already been friends in another life, as if they had already stood in these same spots. The voice in Merlin's head, which had been quiet ever since that odd moment at the lake, started talking at a thousand miles per hour. The only things that Merlin really made out was his own name and Gwen's, as if the voice was telling him all the adventures they would share. That was impossible, knowing the future, so Merlin returned to his conversation with Gwen. Since both of them were so shy, so easily embarrassed their first conversation ended up being awkward and stilted. Yet, by the end of it, Merlin knew he had a friend. Similarly, as Gaius tended his wounds, he knew that Gaius would become much more to him than a teacher. Whether the feeling was coming from the weird voice or just from instinct, Merlin trusted it. He could already sense Gaius's growing affection from the careful way he tended his wounds, despite his harsh scolding, and he knew not only that he looked up to the older man, but that he also wanted to make him proud.

One person in Camelot he definitely knew he would not be making friends with was Prince Arthur. After Merlin's release from the stocks, he had been returning from an errand and walking through the marketplace, when he met the Prince and his two lackeys swaggering around. Doing his best to ignore them, he walked past them, but the Prince taunted him back. Merlin couldn't help responding, which resulted in another fight. Yet, as the two men circled each other and taunted one another with words, Merlin heard the whisper of a thousand other similar conversation, half jesting, half serious, in his mind. As Arthur came at Merlin with a mace, he used his magic to diverted, saving his own life. Merlin held his breath, waiting to see if Arthur caught it, but the blond man gave no sign of anything unusual. A couple minutes later, it was over, and Merlin prepared for his timely return to the stocks. At least, he thought, the townspeople will have exhausted the majority of their produce this morning. But the prince surprised him.

As the two guards were picking Merlin up, no doubt to drag him away, Arthur held his hand up. "Wait. Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one." He said. Immediately, the two knights let go of Merlin, backing away. But Arthur wasn't done talking. Turning towards Merlin, he looked at him, scanning his eyes. His face showed none of the scorn and arrogance Merlin had come to expect of him, but looked pensive. "There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it." Arthur said, but unwilling to dwell on it, he walked away, leaving Merlin to make his way back with Gaius. As Gaius was berating him on the way up to his chambers, Merlin listened only with half a mind. The rest was trying to figure out what the voice had meant. The prat never did figure it out, it had cryptically said after Arthur was done talking. The voice had not sounded bitter or angry. No, if Merlin had to describe the way the voice was talking of Arthur, he would have said that it was speaking of him rather fondly, despite the insult. Was it possible the voice, one he was 90% percent sure belonged to some form of himself, was actually friends with Arthur?

While during the last two days Merlin had had more excitement than in the last eighteen years. So he had figured that the rest of his stay in Camelot would be dull, maybe even boring. Once again he was proven wrong as an insistent voice called his name, waking him from his sleep. It was a different voice than the one that had been plaguing him since that day at the lake, older, deeper, and almost more savage. If Merlin had been a normal person, he would have thought himself crazy with all these voices in his head. Instead, he knew that the world was a much different place than what it looked to the naked eye, so while they were a nuisance, he knew that they had a purpose. As he followed the voice into the dungeons, deeper still, until he was deep beneath the castle itself, he felt the other voice stirring in recognition. Ever since he had gotten to Camelot, that voice seemed to recognize places and people, and offer cryptic pieces of advice. Like, this morning, it had spared him an awkward encounter with the Lady Helen by having him take a servant corridor, sparing him another trip to the dungeons.

That was how Merlin had found himself facing a giant dragon, buried deep beneath Camelot, with a penchant for cryptic remarks about destiny and belittling Merlin. The other voice was laughing at each of the dragon's remarks, finding them hilarious. But this Merlin couldn't believe that this overgrown lizard was telling him that Arthur, the one who had tried to kill him in the marketplace, was his destiny. Moreover, he was destined to help the arrogant prat become the greatest king of Albion. Clearly, the lack of fresh air had gotten to the dragon.

"None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it." The dragon said, laughing at the young sorcerer. The voice in Merlin's head shook his head, amused as well. The young sorcerer, getting frustrated, was thinking of just leaving them to their amusement and marching out, but he wanted to see if there was a tiny chance that the dragon was wrong. After all, he possibly could not be serious.

"No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot."

If it was possible for dragons to smile, this one was smiling right now. "Perhaps it's your destiny to change that."

With that, the dragon opened his great wings, and with a rush of air, flew off. "Wait! Wait! Wait, stop! No, I- I need to know more!" He called after him, but only heard the echo of a chuckle in response. Good to know that you're still as cryptic as ever, old friend the voice said, talking about the dragon. Merlin wondered if he could ask the voice in his head for help, but he doubted he would gain an answer. That was not the way of magic. With a sigh, he turned and started walking out of the cave. He would figure out his destiny as it came, and meanwhile hope that the dragon had been wrong. Deep inside, Merlin already knew that the dragon had made no mistake. That too was not the way of magic. All Merlin knew is that he had indeed his work cut out for him.

You know, he is not that bad the voice said, surprising him. He had thought it was done speaking. He turned around, surveying the cave. Maybe the source of the voice was down here as well. He moved the torch back and forth, but saw nothing. That would have been too fortunate of a coincidence. Instead, Merlin wondered if he could try responding. He projected a thought towards the voice, in the recess of his mind where he had heard it.

Who isn't that bad? Merlin asked, hoping for an answer.

Arthur. Your destiny. The voice replied, surprising Merlin. He had not been expecting an answer, and this felt weird, having a conversation solely within his head. Thank God no one could see him down here.

How would you know? Why are you even speaking to me? Merlin asked.

Trust me, if anyone knows Arthur it's me the voice said, a touch of humor in its dry tone.

But that doesn't explain who you are, nor what you want from me

I cannot tell you who I am because you already know. The voice said, seriousness evident in its tone this time. But I am here to help you

Merlin knew it was probably a bad idea to trust a voice that had suddenly appeared in his mind, but in that moment he did not doubt its earnestness. He tried to ask more questions, but just like the dragon, the voice would answer no more tonight.

The next day, Merlin attended the feast in honor of the Lady Helen with Gaius. It was an incredible bore, old men giving long winded speech about 'a momentous occasion' and so on so forth. Merlin, not being of noble heritage, could not join the small group of knights that surrounded Arthur, nor did he want to. Unfortunately, that left him pretty much on his own.

"She looks great, doesn't she?" Gwen said, coming up behind him. Merlin turned, smiling at her. Maybe this evening wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

"Yeah." He said, glancing over at the Lady Morgana. She did look really pretty, but it was as if her beauty was being seen through a layer of ice. Her green eyes screamed that coldness, something that set Merlin's nerves on edge.

"Some people are just born to be queen." Gwen said with a small sigh, oblivious to Merlin's inner dilemma from his conversation with the Dragon last night.

"NO!" he said, maybe a little too harshly. Fortunately, Gwen didn't seem to notice.

"I hope so. One day. Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd want to marry Arthur?" She said light-heartedly, wrinkling up her nose at Arthur's name. Didn't stop you before, old friend the voice said, chuckling. I had forgotten what a sweetheart Gwen was in her early days, it went on. Merlin tuned it out, teasing Gwen lightly until it was time for everyone to sit down. He would figure out the meaning behind its cryptic message later.

To Merlin's surprise, he did not have to wait long for his so called destiny to manifest itself. During Lady Helen's song, he used his magic to save Arthur's life, slowing down a knife enough for Merlin to knock Arthur down. Uther, grateful that the scrawny boy had saved his son's life, announced that Merlin would get a reward. Merlin, a dark red staining his cheeks, turned to face the king, excited to hear about his reward. Maybe he would gain a boon, or money that he could use for his mother, or…

"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household." Uther said. A sudden idea came to him, and a flash of glee crossed his face as he killed two birds with one stone. "You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."

"Father!" Arthur exclaimed indignantly from somewhere behind him. Merlin, somewhat dazed, was in complete agreement for once. Not only would he actually have to see the prat every day, but he was actually going to be ordered about by him. And he still had his duties as Gaius' apprentice! He scanned the faces of the room, hoping to see smiles telling him that it was all a joke, but to no use. Everyone was clapping, apparently thinking that a great honor had been bestowed upon Merlin. He was tempted to snort, clearly they had not spent any time in Arthur's vicinity. Gwen was clapping as well from her position on the side of the hall, but her smile was full of pity for Merlin's task. At least she knew that what Uther had given Merlin was not a reward, it was a punishment. Gaius was clapping as well, a small bit of pride in his smile. As he made eye contact with Merlin, the old man gave a not-so subtle wink, indicating that he knew perfectly well how Merlin had saved Arthur's life. Then, with a barely repressed sigh, Merlin turned his head to glance at Arthur. The Prince was actually pouting- pouting! - and at that same moment, turned his eyes to glance at Merlin. The two had a moment of awkward eye contact, then both whipped their heads around, refusing to acknowledge the other.

As Merlin got off the royal dais in time to see Uther's and Arthur's retreating backs. This is going to be fun, he thought, silently preparing himself for the next day. He wondered how long he would last until Arthur would fire him. Maybe not even a week. They were already off to a great start, after all.

You don't know the half of it, the voice gleefully said, almost as if it had been waiting for this development.