Disclaimer: I do not own BBC Merlin.

Chapter Fourteen: A Warlock's Warning

It was freezing.

Princess Merlin fearfully looked around, her heavy breathing forming huge puffs of air. Hugging herself tightly, she noted that she was once again in the same familiar, icy room. Her eyes magnetized on that same spot where the boy in her dreams always resided, frozen inside, but to her utmost surprise, he was missing.

She frantically searched everywhere, panicked. For some strange reason, not seeing him brought alarm bells in her head. The princess immediately approached the huge block of ice, hands already outstretched, but before she could completely touch it, the scene changed before her eyes. The ice quickly melted, replaced by a blazing inferno.

Merlin stumbled back, landing on her backside. The fire had now engulfed the whole room, prompting her to draw her knees against her. The fire licked the hem of her dress, but instead of burning, Merlin felt nothing. "W-what?" was her confused, breathless inquisition.

As she lifted her head, the fire was finally gone. Instead, in front of her stood Arthur. Merlin quickly stood up, immensely relieved to see a familiar face. Merlin quickened her pace, arms desperately outstretched to reach her bodyguard. Yet she never reached Arthur; in fact, he seemed to always draw farther and farther away.

"ARTHUR!" she hollered.

His eyes snapped on her. There was a strange expression on his face and Merlin was drawn to a halt. It wasn't Arthur… it wasn't bodyguard Arthur. Her confusion intensified, recognizing the original King Arthur, who now has drawn his sword out, slashing hither thither toward an unseen opponent.

The familiar man, the one imprisoned inside the ice, suddenly came into the picture. His hands were outstretched, eyes a dangerous shade of gold, as he helped the king attack their opponent. All air seemed to left Merlin, because she finally recognized the boy.

"Merlin."

The manservant's eyes now connected with hers, his golden eyes turning into their normal, blue ones. "Hello, Merlin," he said, his mouth stretching into a smile. The expression was so out-of-place, especially because he looked worn and battered, his face bruised and dirtied and tired.

The princess ran once more, but he, together with the battling King Arthur, suddenly dissolved into thin air.

"WAIT!" she sobbed, falling on her knees in despair. She felt so confused, so lost and alone, and the princess once again brought her knees to her chest.

Suddenly, her chin was forcefully tilted upward. In front of her was a beautiful woman, clad in a black dress that seemed to highlight her fair complexion. Her ebony hair was wild and dishevelled; her molten grey eyes were ablaze with unsuppressed fury and malice. And her lips… they were stretched in such an evil smirk the princess couldn't help but cower.

It was the Lady Morgana. She remembered her – kind, sweet Morgana, whose sole wish was to be accepted for being who she truly was – a person of magic. Before her now was a dark Morgana, and Merlin's heart twisted in pain, remembering how the sweet lady turned into such a frightening, hateful witch.

"Sleep tight, Merlin," she hissed, her face contorting into pure hate. Morgana touched her forehead and a searing pain crawled all throughout her body.

The princess released blood-curling screams, her body doing involuntary spasms due to the pain. She could distinctly hear Morgana's laugh, laced with her own screams, and Merlin desperately pleaded for the pain to stop.

"MERLIN! MERLIN!"

Princess Merlin jerked awake. The worried face of the Court Physician swam into her vision, prompting her to cry. She was shivering and crying and Merlin couldn't help but to throw her arms around Gaius. He was startled with her action, but he thankfully did not pull away.

The remnants of her vivid nightmare still shook her and she didn't dare to pull away from Gaius until she had calmed down.

"Whatever happened, my dear girl?" the old man inquired, worriedly looking at the princess.

Merlin haphazardly wiped away her tears and sniffled. "B-bad dream," was all she managed to say.

Her heart plummeted to the ground when Gaius did not look relieved at all. "Hmm," he murmured. "Was it that vivid?" he asked, eyes sweeping over her tear-stained face.

She nodded her head, trying her best not to recall the pain she felt. "I-it was the most frightening dream I ever had," she whispered. Merlin remembered the same icy dream she had, but the most recent one was definitely different.

"I'm sure there is nothing to worry about," he said, offering her a smile that did not reach his eyes. In fact, Gaius seemed to betray his words, eyes more worried, but Merlin did not point it out. "Come outside, I have some Sleeping Draught to help you sleep."

Merlin wrapped her blanket around her shivering body before standing up from her bed. As she followed Gaius outside Original Merlin's bedroom, Merlin couldn't shake off the feeling that her nightmare might mean something.

"Are you all right, Meredith?" Guinevere's kind, worried eyes met her gaze, and Merlin blinked.

"Pardon?" the pretend maidservant asked, shaking her mind from any residual musings she had.

Gwen stared at her for a full minute, her bottom lip slightly protruded in worry. "I asked if you were all right," she echoed, her eyebrows now furrowed. "You have been dazing off, if you must know."

The princess colored, embarrassed to be caught. "Oh yes, yes, I'm quite all right, Gwen," she said, lips stretching into a forced smile. "I've just been thinking about some things, that is all," she reassured.

It seemed that the maidservant did not buy her excuse, but Gwen finally sighed and went back to sweeping the corridors.

Today, Merlin was tasked to clean the Hall of Ceremonies and its surrounding corridors. The inquisitive side of her asked as to why they were supposed to clean a place where special occasions are conducted, but the Head Maidservant merely gave her the glare.

She was thankfully that among the other maidservants who were assigned, Gwen was one of them. Merlin had grown considerably close to the blacksmith's daughter, mostly because, despite transporting back in time, she still had certain attributes that reminded her of her dear roommate back in the University of Avalon. Gwen also seemed to have taken a liking to the strange, talkative, and sometimes authoritative maidservant, and had stuck around ever since she came here.

They were done cleaning the Hall of Ceremonies, and most of the maidservants already scrambled about to do their other chores. Merlin had nothing left to do; Madame Brenda still deemed her 'too clumsy and incompetent' in terms of chores. The princess had received an earful from the Head Maidservant when she confessed she did not know how to wash clothes. Back home, her mother would not allow her to do anything that could damage the softness of her hands.

Gwen was supposed to have kitchen duties after cleaning the Hall of Ceremonies, but the kitchen lacked the necessary ingredients for tonight's dinner. Hence, some servants went to the public market to buy first, before Gwen could do her errands. The Future Queen of Camelot kindly helped Merlin when she decided to sweep some more floors outside the hall.

"Are you thinking about home, again?" Gwen feebly asked, snapping her off from her thoughts.

Merlin looked at her new friend, a small smile on her face. Gwen looked worried, and maybe a tad sad for her situation. A small lump formed in her throat, but the princess forcefully swallowed it down.

She terribly missed home.

"Hmm, I guess," she murmured, once again sweeping the floors, eyes downcast. Gwen took this as a cue to leave her alone to her thoughts and continued with her own task.

Truthfully, Merlin wasn't thinking about home. Her nightmare last night had plagued her thoughts for the whole day, increasing her clumsiness and reprimands. She tried her best to put it at the back of her mind, but the face of evil Morgana constantly swam into her consciousness.

From what Gaius said, Morgana had gone rogue during this time, constantly into hiding and waiting to strike when Camelot was at its weakest. The Court Physician feared that it was the High Priestess' fault why the original Arthur and Merlin were gone, and the princess couldn't help but to silently concur.

All Merlin had were memories of Morgana. In their time, there were no signs of the reincarnated witch. Gaius explained that perhaps it wasn't Morgana's time to be reincarnated – Merlin took that as a good omen that nothing sinister would happen in the future.

Therefore, the image of Morgana in her nightmare had shaken her. Her dream was baffling; the recurrent icy room, battle-worn Arthur and Merlin, and Morgana… it was enough to distract her for the whole day.

"You're doing it again," Gwen said, a soft smile on her face.

Merlin gave her a distracted smile. "I miss home," was all she offered as a reply.

The maidservant gave her a comforting hug, much to her surprise. It was quickly replaced by gratitude and as Merlin returned the hug, she couldn't help but imagine it was her roommate Gwen that was hugging her instead.

"Oh, blast!" Guinevere exclaimed, tearing away from the hug. "I forgot I was supposed to wash Elyan's clothes." An apologetic smile appeared on her face as she gave her a farewell hug. "I'm sorry, Meredith. I will try to cheer you up in another day."

"You are very kind, Gwen," Merlin sighed, holding both of her hands in gratitude. "One day I will repay you."

The future Queen of Camelot gave her one last smile before bounding away. Now, Merlin was left to her solitude, prompting her to grimace, knowing that this was not a good idea.

Sighing, she haphazardly swept the stone floors, the image of ice and fire, of blue and grey, danced in her mind's eye.

"Boo."

"Eep!" Merlin exclaimed, swirling around in terror, only to see her bodyguard, chuckling in mirth. Her eyes narrowed, arms instantly crossing. "Arthur," she said through gritted teeth. "If I have the power, I would have sent you off to the stocks."

"But you don't have the power," he said, his grin widening. He pointed to himself and continued, "I have the power."

She lifted her chin, challenging. "But you gave me immunity," she reminded him. "Aren't you a man of your word?"

The pretend king rolled his eyes. "Geez, princess, what has got your knickers in a twist?" he said, falling into step beside her.

In spite of herself, Merlin smiled. It was refreshing to hear Arthur talk so informally. Every time she saw him, meeting with his council or interacting with his people, he was always so regal and formal it sometimes made her question who the royal was between the two of them. Merlin, on the other hand, was starting to adopt the words used by the other servants in the castle – words that could make Madame Margeaux' blood boil.

"Nothing," she quickly said, realizing that he was waiting for her reply.

Her response made him frown, absentmindedly carrying the broom for her as they walked away from the Hall of Ceremonies. "Is something the matter?" he asked, all mirth now gone from his face. Bodyguard Arthur became serious and regal and formal again; Merlin couldn't help herself but to smile, even only a little.

"Don't worry yourself about it," she said, dismissive. "Only focus on being careful from any magical creatures lurking around, what with your affinity with dangerous beasts." She remembered their little encounter with the amphisbaena and couldn't help but to shiver.

"I do not need protection," he claimed. "I have been trained since I was young to protect the princess. Hence, I am capable of taking care of myself."

The princess released a soft snort. "Yes, keep telling that to the magical creatures that can't seem to keep themselves off you," she reminded him. Arthur's cheeks colored a little, and he scowled. "Aww, don't worry, my dear head bodyguard. Your princess is here to save the day."

Her teasing made him scowl all the more.

They were finally in front of the the Court Physician's bedchambers. Gaius was out in the village, treating an outbreak of cholera, and Merlin reckoned he would be gone for a while.

Arthur returned her broomstick and excused himself.

"You're not staying?" Merlin asked, frowning. With nothing to do for the day, Merlin knew she was bound to get bored. At least with Arthur here, she would have some good company.

"I apologize, your highness," the king said, inclining his head. "My uncle summons me in my bedchambers to talk about something of urgency."

Merlin's frown deepened. "Agravaine, huh?" she said, hand already on the door handle.

"What about him?"

There was no point in lying. "He just… unsettles me," she blurted out, thinking about the shady lord. "I just couldn't place my finger on something about him." She racked her brain for any memory of him, but was disappointed that everything fogged up like how she felt prior to remembering her past. "I just… there's something about him and I know I should remember something about him, but there is always nothing."

Merlin recalled the first time she saw Lord Agravaine. It was the day after it was announced that the king was back and he was to meet his council. Merlin was tasked to clean the meeting room, and it baffled her when horror and disbelief crossed Agravaine's upon Arthur's entrance. Merlin didn't like his expression one bit and had been keeping an eye on him ever since.

To her surprise, Arthur laughed at her comment. "Oh, you're being a paranoid little princess," he teased. "Agravaine is actually just looking out for the king. He'd been of great help, honestly speaking."

His comment made her frown more. "He just unsettles me, you prat," she claimed, exasperated. "So please, for the love of all the good things in this kingdom, be careful." The image of battling Arthur crossed her mind and she blanched, imagining if it was her Arthur who was battered and bloodied

The desperation in her voice surprised him. With knitted eyebrows, he asked, "Seriously, is something bothering you, Merlin?"

Princess Merlin did not meet his gaze. "Nothing," she repeated once more. Upon hearing voices from the corridor, Merlin quickly strode inside the door, leaving a small opening to spy outside. It turned out it was Agravaine and Geoffrey of Monmouth.

"My king, what are you doing here?" she heard Agravaine ask.

"I thought of speaking to Gaius, but it turned out he was still in the village," Arthur replied. "I was just about to look for you, uncle."

Their voices were now growing fainter, their footsteps more distant. Merlin opened the door wider and looked at their retreating backs, her stomach growing uncomfortable at the sight of Agravaine's broad shoulders.

King Arthur gave a quick glance behind. Upon seeing Merlin's gaze, his eyes softened in worry, before they finally disappeared around the corner.

Once they were completely gone, Merlin strode towards one of the benches and plopped down, hoping that her gut feeling was false and she was, in fact, just a paranoid little princess.

'Your gut is rarely wrong,' a small voice whispered, prompting her to sigh.

With her nightmare and Agravaine in mind, coupled with her destiny with the Once and Future King, Merlin reckoned she had too much in her plate and merely hoped for the best.

Lost in a scene of endless greenery, Princess Merlin silently berated herself.

Being tasked to gather herbs for the Court Physician, Merlin had no choice but to embark on this tiring adventure. Gaius warned her that most of the herbs he needed were too rare to be found in the Darkling Woods. The forest near the Valley of the Fallen Kings would most probably be the best source for the much needed ingredients.

Merlin wondered if the Court Physician was punishing her for tinkering with some of his potions. There were a few explosions here and there, but nothing was harmed! She didn't have any choice, really. Bored out of her wits, already finishing her chores early, she was left with nothing to do. Gaius' potions were too pretty to be ignored, and she was curious as to why one bottle looked blue at one angle, and then gold at another. Her clumsy self knocked off one of the nearby potions, which started a domino effect, until two rows of plentiful potions spilt, strange fumes and small explosions following suit.

Hence, here was she, commanded by a merciless Gaius, to search for the ingredients that her clumsiness wasted.

'Are you really a bloody princess?' Merlin cursed herself. She hated how clumsy she could be. One of her maids and closest friend even humoured her in saying that on her coronation day as the new Queen of England, disaster would ensue due to her clumsiness.

"Merlin."

Her head whipped around, eyebrows knitted, as she frantically searched around. The princess was positive she heard someone call out her name, but to her dismay, she was alone in the forest.

'I should be getting back, never mind the ingredients,' she told herself, bracing herself for a reprimand from the Court Physician.

"Merlin."

There it was again, and Merlin was terrified. She quickened her pace, blindly trudging away from the Valley of the Fallen Kings. The only thought that ran through her mind was to flee this place. Her senses heightened in case she needed magic to defend herself.

"Merlin."

The voice grew louder, much to her surprise. Princess Merlin wildly looked around, her heart plummeting as she realized she was off the path and quite possibly be lost. Up ahead was a strange cave, which was giving off ethereal rays of light. A shiver ran down her spine, the voice growing louder and more beckoning, and she found herself unable to stop her legs from approaching the cave.

Merlin felt a certain sense of familiarity as she set afoot into the cave. A soft gasp escaped her lips, her blues eyes feasting on the twinkling crystals that seemed to entirely cover the inside of the cave.

She cautiously walked inside. The place hummed with unsuppressed magic and the princess, awed, strongly believed that the magic here was… alive.

Her eyes never left the crystals as they projected her reflection. As her eyes landed from one crystal to another, one particular caught her attention for it projected a man. Gasping, she turned around, now face-to-face with the strange man she had seen in the crystals.

"Merlin," he said, a small smile on his face. Her eyes widened, realizing it was him that had been calling her name.

"W-who are you?" she said, taking a few cautious steps back. "Why do you know my name?"

The man surveyed her for a while, making her uncomfortable under his gaze. "Emrys," he said, "we have meet again."

Her eyebrows knitted as his claim. Merlin racked her brain, trying to remember the man that stood before.

"Tell me, why are you sad?"

"It's my friend. He is dying and I can't help him."

"Then do not waste your tears. For I can tell you that the time for him to die is not yet upon us."

Eyes widening, her eyes snapped back at the stranger once more. "You are Taliesin," she claimed.

"Indeed," he said, strolling closer to the princess. "And I must confess, I did not expect to see you once more. But dark times are upon Albion, and there is a reason why fate has shifted and brought you to me."

Merlin did not like how his eyes clouded ominously. The last time she saw him, she remembered seeing things that brought fear into her heart. "You know why we are here?" she asked, hoping that their time-travelling will finally be answered.

"Your presence here, and the reincarnated Once and Future King, was summoned here by the magic of old," he explained. "I believe you know the answer to that question."

The princess already had an inkling, all right. Gaius would always told her that perhaps there presence here in Ancient Camelot was because they had to find their original counterparts. Without them, she and her bodyguard would cease to exist and Albion would be in grave danger. Perhaps, she was still a little in denial of this huge task bestowed upon them by this so-called 'magic of old'. Merlin had too many things in mind, being the Crown Princess of her country as one, and this quest was too much for her.

Watery-eyed, she looked back at the seer. "I beg you," she whispered, fear now gripping her heart for her safety and Arthur's. "W-what must we do?"

Taliesin gestured at the crystals. "You have done this before," he reminded her. "The crystals hold the future only you can see. Perhaps, they can give you the answer that you desperately need."

Fearfully, Merlin looked, and waited for an image to appear. Once again, she saw ice… cold, biting unending ice in a place she couldn't recognize. She saw a glimpse of Merlin, the original her, standing beside her, their eyes simultaneously turning gold. An image of an injured Arthur was on the ground, and Merlin didn't know whether it was the King or her Arthur. Nonetheless, she felt fearful. And then she saw Morgana, wicked, her eyes reflecting a fiery pandemonium while Arthur's crown sat atop her head. By the time she was done, tears steadily flowed down from her eyes.

"I… I'm scared." Her voice was small, just like a child, as she looked back at Taliesin. His eyes had softened in sympathy.

"You must be brave, child," he warned. "Dark times are upon us, and you are needed to protect the Once and Future King and save Albion. Be brave."

He was gone with a blink of her eye and Merlin, too lost and terrified, slumped down on the floor and wept.

Arthur was immensely annoyed that the princess had ditched him. And to think it was her that suggested they meet in the abandoned garden for the night! But the bell tower signalled midnight, and he knew he had to retire to bed to rest.

Disgruntled, he couldn't sleep. Million scenarios played in his mind, wondering as to why the princess did not appear.

"Trysten!"

A young knight came into his room. "Yes, sire?" he inquired.

The king ignored the remnants of sleep on the knight's face. Usually, he would have a fit, fondly remembering of his friends back home who seemed to have this knack of falling asleep when guarding the princess' door. "Bring me, Meredith," he commanded. "Tell her she is summoned."

"Now, my lord?"

Arthur held back himself from rolling his eyes. "Yes, now, you idiot," he spat. "Now go!" As the knight scrambled away, the bodyguard slumped back on his bed and sighed.

His temper was becoming uncontrolled, that much he knew, but he shouldn't be blamed at all. His workload was starting to tire him, with his council constantly jabbering in his ears about what to do and what not to do. He might have had some angry bursts hither thither, but thankfully, they did not voice their opinions out loud. Agravaine was especially a pain; it didn't help that Merlin warned him to be careful around him.

And Princess Merlin.

It annoyed him to bits and pieces that as the pretend King of Camelot, he must neglect his foremost duty to protect the princess. He knew that Merlin was managing herself well and had steered away from danger's path for the past few days, but that did not bring him comfort. It was tempting to breakaway from his duties just to accompany Merlin to her errands and make sure she would come back safe. It was most especially tempting to fire his manservant and give her George's position just to keep an eye on her at all times. But no, god no, he couldn't do all of these things just because he was a fricking King of this country.

He didn't sign up for this. He was trained to be a bloody bodyguard for the future queen of England, for heaven's sake!

Arthur bolted up from his bed as a knock came from outside his door. "Come in," he said. Sir Trysten strode inside, Princess Merlin trailing behind him. "Thank you, sir. You may go."

The knight bowed and walked outside, closing the door behind him.

"You know rumors may start," she deadpanned, her face hidden away from his sight.

"Blast propriety," he said replied. Arthur gave Merlin a piercing glare. He was waiting for her to spout her apologies for making him wait, but when none came, his glare faltered. With her head bowed, he couldn't make out the expression on her face.

"Princess?" he cautiously asked.

When she slowly lifted her head, he first noticed how red her eyes were. Arthur's eyes widened in surprise, now scrambling up from his bed. "What is it?" he asked, panicked. He wondered if a monstrous beast had bothered the princess. "Have you been crying?"

His question triggered more tears to fall, and Merlin sounded she was inconsolable. To his utmost surprise, she ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck, holding him tight. She buried her wet face on his shoulder and continued to sob.

The bodyguard was at loss of what to do. It took him a full minute to return the hug, to wrap his arms around her comfortingly. "What happened?" he murmured once more, softly stroking her back for comfort.

"This destiny business is rubbish," she said, hiccupping against his chest. "I-I don't think I'm good in protecting you, Arthur."

He was baffled by her words, wondering as to what had transpired awhile ago. Arthur heard from Gaius that Merlin was sent to the forest to gather the ingredients for the potions she wasted. That little adventure was not exactly tear-jerking. And this destiny that she spoke…

"I still managed to be reincarnated at the same time that you did," he said, slight humor in his voice. "So perhaps this destiny business is rubbish, but you aren't exactly the worst protector I ever had."

He wanted to ask her more about her distress, but when she released a wet chuckle, he was relieved.

She lifted her swollen face to look at him, and slightly smiled. "T-thank you, Arthur," she whispered. He swore he felt an odd somersault in his stomach as he returned her smile.

A/N: Drop a review! Next update might be on Friday or Saturday :)

With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe