Only one more chapter to go after this. I must admit, this story didn't do what I thought it would and I really struggled through quite a lot of it, so I'm looking forward to a new challenge.

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope it is one full of dreams coming true.

"Merlin, stop it."

"It's not me," Merlin protested, ducking as another piece of clothing seemed to fly across the room on its own accord. Luckily, Arthur had thought to lock the door behind them when they had returned to his chambers earlier that day. For the magic was acting up, spiralling out of control.

And if he honest, Merlin had no idea which one of them was doing it.

It couldn't have been him because it wasn't hurting Arthur in the slightest. But he knew he would feel it if the man tugged on their bond and took control, and yet that wasn't happening either. It was as if the magic was doing it of its own accord, and right now, nothing would surprise Merlin.

They – as in, Arthur had dragged him – had fled back to the rooms after Uther had made it clear he wanted to go over details of the feast for the hundredth time after Arthur had already sat through a council meeting. Merlin knew the prince was bored and was more than relieved when Arthur made up some sort of excuse. Arthur might have had to sit through it, but Merlin had had no choice but to stand, hovering in the background in case his master needed anything. His feet were killing him and he didn't want to hear about something he had already heard. Luckily, Arthur had felt the same, muttered something about training and fled, grabbing his servant by the arm as he did so.

"Well, it's not me either," Arthur retorted, sticking out an arm in order to catch the flying shirt before it hit the window. He practically had to wrestle it onto the bed and Merlin couldn't stop himself from laughing. It came as no surprise when Arthur shot him a scathing look over his shoulder.

"And stop finding this so funny."

"Oh come on, Arthur, nothing bad is happening. And for once you're still conscious and not about to be killed. Just relax."

Merlin had unceremoniously thrown himself onto one of the chairs as soon as they had arrived back. If Arthur had tipped him out of it, he would have just sat where he landed, desperate to get the weight off his feet and to slump a little to stop the aches from working their way up and down his back. Thankfully, even with the clothes taking on a life of their own, there hadn't yet been a reason for Merlin to move and he hoped he could just stay here for a few hours rather than Arthur finding him any jobs.

"When do you actually come of age?" He asked suddenly, an unpleasant thought making itself known. As soon as he had realised that neither of them were controlling the magic, Merlin had just assumed it was something to do with the bond between them and the fact it was only days away from being changed. It would have been nice if they knew what would happen, but Merlin didn't trust the dragon in order to go and ask for him.

"The whole feast, knights, even crowning ceremony not give that one away, Merlin?" Arthur drawled, flopping down onto the bed and panting softly after his battle with his own shirt. Merlin's lips twitched at the thought, but he forced himself to stay focused.

"Fine, I know it's tomorrow. But you don't happen to know what time of day you were born were you?"

"Why does that even matter?"

"If this is happening now, what do you think is going to happen when you actually grow up?"

Arthur threw the pillow at him in response for his jibe, but it was only a half-hearted attempt – Merlin knew how hard Arthur could throw and that wasn't it. It was clear the prince hadn't thought about what would happen with the magic.

"I think it was in the morning, just before lunch," he murmured softly, his brow crumpled in thought. Merlin didn't say anything; he might not have been with Arthur for long, but he did understand that the man still found it hard to think about his birth due to the lack of mother in his life. Merlin sympathised; he had a distance memory of feeling utterly shocked when a young Arthur had reported he didn't have a mother to make everything better again. His own running away from home years after that had shown him just how much he treasured his own mother and he knew to let Arthur have his moment.

"Nothing is planned for then, is it?"

"No. I'm supposed to be breaking my fast with my father and Morgana, then retiring for most of the day in order to prepare for the evening. I swear it's like he thinks I'm a child that can't stay up past his bedtime unless he has a nap…"

"So we'll be on our own when it happens?" Merlin cut through Arthur's protests, knowing that letting the man start thinking about his father nearly always ended in a rant. While Merlin didn't mind – he did seem to spend half his time getting Arthur to open up these days – he knew now wasn't the time. He had to make Arthur understand that he had no idea what was going to happen. Arthur glanced at him.

"Yes. Why are you so worried?"

"Can we go to the forest? The usual spot?"

"Merlin, what is it?"

"That's just it," Merlin muttered, glancing around the room and sighing in relief when he saw the clothes had stopped animating themselves. "I literally have no idea how this is going to go. I didn't even know we had the bond until Leon dragged me here. This is something that has been with us for years even if neither of us thought about it. I don't know what will happen and I don't want us to have got this far before something gives us away."

He hadn't realised just how worried he had felt about it all until uttering those words. But if this link had really existed between them since Arthur had saved his life, he didn't think it was just going to vanish quietly. For all he knew, it could kill one or both of them. Something told him that Arthur would be safe; the dragon wouldn't have linked them together for the purpose of making Arthur accept magic if it was all going to be for nothing. But was the same true of Merlin?

Would he survive this if he had completed his destiny in making Arthur see the good in magic again?

"Merlin?"

Merlin didn't realise his thoughts had been playing across his face until Arthur said his name. He blinked, forcing himself back into the here and now while trying to think of some sort of jibe to hide what he had been thinking. But when he saw the concerned look on Arthur's face, he knew it would be unfair of him to pretend that he wasn't worried.

"This is all my fault," he groaned, running his hand over his eyes and letting his palms obscure his vision for a moment. "If I hadn't been so stupid, you would have never even been caught all that time ago, let alone now be magically bonded to me."

"You were just looking for where you belonged, there is nothing stupid about that." To Merlin's surprise, there was nothing mocking in Arthur's tone. He truly meant what he had just said and Merlin found memories of their first meeting filtering into his mind. Arthur hadn't been happy as a child. He had been terrified of his own father and would have done anything to stay away from him until he knew it was safe.

Arthur hadn't just said the words just now, he truly meant them, possibly more than anything he had ever said before. He didn't think Merlin had been an idiot and he didn't blame him.

That knowledge made Merlin almost sag in relief.

"Besides, it's going to be fine."

"How can you say that? You don't know what is going to happen any more than I do?"

"It's us," Arthur said with a shrug. "When have we ever let the odds defeat us? We'll be fine."

Somehow, Merlin found himself believing Arthur. He wouldn't have if the prince had constructed some elaborate plan. But Arthur's faith that everything was going to be alright just because that was what he believed was reassuring.

Merlin pushed his chair back, rolling his neck as he stood up. Arthur simply nodded, clearly knowing that he would get no more work out of his servant tonight and it was just easier if he let Merlin have the evening off.

"Make sure you get some sleep," Arthur murmured. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Merlin smiled when he reached the door, a fond look on his face as he turned back to look at his master.

"Arthur?"

"What?"

"Happy birthday," Merlin said softly, letting himself out before Arthur could respond.

MMM

Merlin woke at dawn.

For a second, he couldn't work out what had awoken him.

But then he felt it again; a spark of magic shooting through him so strong that his back arched slightly and he could feel his fingers and toes tingling. Realising that he was panting – this must have been going on while he was asleep – the warlock carefully sat up. He felt warm, hot even as if he was feverish yet his skin was cool to the touch. Unless it was a trick of the sun just grazing the horizon, he was convince that odd sparks were dancing along his arms.

Forcing himself to stay calm, Merlin climbed out of bed and opened his shutters. The stars were still out, yet a blood-red sky was advancing, driving away the remnants of night. Now he could see a little better, Merlin glanced at his body again and realised it was no trick; he had sparks of magic flaring into life, running down a limb and disappearing again.

Dressing was an effort, but Merlin knew it was worth it. He didn't intend to come back to his chambers until things were back under control. If he had his way, he would be dragging Arthur to the forest before he even got the chance to break his fast with the king. After all, if this was happening to him, what if something was happening to Arthur?

Unable to believe it had taken until now before he had thought about the prince, Merlin stumbled as he tried to force his foot into the wrong shoe. Forcing himself to calm down, he made sure he had everything on where it belonged before hurrying from his room. Creeping past the sleeping Gaius, Merlin broke into a run. Although it might make the guards look twice, it was also the prince's coming of age and they would all recognise him as Arthur's servant.

With any luck, they wouldn't stop him and then no questions would need to be asked about why he seemed to be sparking.

Merlin didn't bother knocking, knowing that Arthur would still be asleep. He was sure the prince hadn't anticipated a wake-up call this early on his birthday, but Merlin knew they had no time to waste.

"You too?"

The voice made him jump and Merlin whirled around, staring at the bed. For a split-second, he panicked over seeing it empty, but then realised it had been Arthur's voice that had spoken. The man was in his rooms still and it only took Merlin a glance around to realise he was standing by the window.

Arthur had his arms hugged across his chest and even from halfway across the room, Merlin could see that he was trembling.

"What's wrong?" Merlin knew he might have been showing his magic, but he felt steady. Apart from his temperature, he felt fine physically. Arthur seemed to be shivering, despite having already pulled on a padded shirt.

"Can't you feel it?" Arthur murmured as he turned to face Merlin properly. The warlock was shocked to see just how pale the prince was and found that he was hurrying across the room before he truly noticed.

"Arthur?"

"You haven't been using it, have you?" Arthur had to put out a hand to the wall as Merlin got closer. Realising he was going to fall, Merlin grabbed the back of a chair and spun it around, shoving it at Arthur. He knew something was wrong when Arthur didn't protest that he was fine but instead sank gratefully into it.

"If by it you're meaning the magic, of course I haven't. I'm feeling something too, Arthur. Look at me."

It took Arthur a moment to focus his eyes but Merlin could see by the widening of them that he could indeed see the sparks running up and down Merlin's arms, even through his jacket. Merlin knew they were getting stronger compared to when he had first woken up.

"I can feel it," Arthur said, his eyes locked on Merlin. "I can feel it the way I can when you are using it."

"So maybe this is coming from me then?" Merlin murmured, staring down at himself. As Arthur seemed to slump in the chair a little more, the warlock knew something had to be done.

"We need to get out of here," he muttered. Arthur nodded, beginning to push himself out of his chair as he did so.

"We need to get to the forest," Arthur continuing, finishing Merlin's thought. "Before it's too late."

In that moment, Merlin wasn't sure what Arthur meant. Was he referring to the fact that one only needed to look at Merlin to see his magical powers and they had to get out before he was caught? Or did he mean before the magic continued what it had been doing since this began and draining Arthur's strength on its own accord.

"But-,"

Merlin had already taken a step to the door when the prince called him back. He turned.

"-you're going to need to help me," Arthur finished lamely, clinging onto the back of his chair with a white-knuckle grip. Merlin didn't say a word, but crossed the room and slung one of Arthur's arms around his shoulder. They moved awkwardly, but both felt better for actually doing something. What going to the forest was actually going to achieve, Merlin had no idea. But it felt good to be moving rather than sitting there in fear.

They were lucky it was so early. No guard would have not noticed their prince being helped along as if he was sick. Merlin was already letting his mind race through plausible explanations in case they were caught. He mainly settled on using Arthur's birthday as an excuse and claiming the prince had started celebrating the night before. But he wasn't sure he would be able to carry off the lie, not when worry was coursing through him stronger with every step they took.

Merlin left Arthur leaning against the wall while he saddled up the horses. He didn't make any sort of comment when he was forced to help Arthur mount but found that he was riding closer to the prince than he usually would have done. Arthur's stubbornness seemed to have kicked in, however, for the man just held on tighter and managed to stay on the horse for their journey.

They didn't need to confirm where they were going, they both knew. It was the same spot they had been practicing in all of this time, the one place they could talk and show this freely without fear of being seen. Merlin dismounted, tying his reigns to a low branch and making sure the horse was secured. He knew animals were more sensitive to magic and didn't want them bolting if something happened. He then had no choice but to aid Arthur down, letting the man rest while he secured Arthur's horse.

"Arthur?" Crouching down next to him, Merlin had to put a hand to the prince's shoulder to get him to focus. "We're here."

Merlin straightened up again, glancing around him. He took off his jacket, wanting to see the magic for himself as he rolled up his sleeves. Now that he knew it was coming from him, he could feel the power thrumming through his veins in a way he hadn't for years. Not even when he had been showing off to Will had he felt this powerful and he could practically feel the way he was standing up straighter, his head lifting.

This was who he was, regardless of how much he had been denying it up until now.

But as he straightened, Arthur cried out. When Merlin looked around, the prince was barely holding himself up. Fear filled eyes turned to look at Merlin but before he could say anything, pain lanced up Merlin's arm. Clapping his hand over it, he stared at an old scar, watching as blood once again beaded along the mark.

"What the-?" Arthur's mutter made Merlin look up, only to see that Arthur was staring at his own arm, watching as blood began to trickle from it.

Merlin shivered, the magic calming down on his body as he watched his blood begin to flow. But then he suddenly remembered where he had got that scar from and he stared at Arthur.

"It was how we were linked," he murmured, his voice hoarse. Arthur glanced at him, and then at his own arm.

"Merlin, what's happening?" Arthur's voice was controlled, but Merlin could hear the fear in it. He shrugged, clamping a hand over his arms.

"I don't know…" He made to move towards Arthur but his knees buckled before he had taken more than a step. Crashing down to the ground, Merlin felt the same fear that Arthur was feeling for the first time. He had absolutely no idea what was going on, feeling his strength ebbing away the more his arm bled.

He looked up at Arthur, wondering if the prince was seeing the same light filling the clearing that he was. But it was too late; he couldn't even see Arthur. The magic was acting out of its own accord, isolating him.

Merlin had no idea what to do.