I am so sorry for how long this took. I finished the novel last night and wrote this straightaway. Thank you for bearing with me and your encouragements. I apologize for all of the excuses that I keep giving you guys and made this longer than normal.

I'm hoping to jump more into Merlin's past in following chapters.

...

"Arthur," Merlin said with the chastising tone of a mother hen, "you know I'm not going to touch any metal. I would prefer not to train with you."

"In that case, I would prefer not to train with the princess as well," Gwaine called out, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead, as he passed them on the way to the fountain of water. "If Merlin's getting out of it."

"Merlin," Arthur corrected, "is not getting out of anything."

Puffing, Merlin tried to unbuckle Arthur's bracer without touching its metal components. "YOu know, whoever's cleaning this isn't doing a very good job of it. You should find someone else."

"Hurry up," Arthur complained. "You're as slow as a tortoise. And do you have someone in mind? Because I highly doubt that you do."

"Yes, actually," Merlin huffed. "Gwen."

"Gwen? Gwen, as in Morgana's maidservant? Guinevere?" He wasn't sure he had heard that correctly.

"Yes. Why?"

"I didn't know you were friends with Gwen?"

Exasperated, Merlin sighed. "That's what you got out of this?"

Arthur scowled at him. "I can get out of this whatever I want."

"Do you know how ridiculous that sounds, Arthur?" With a final grunt, Merlin tugged at the uncooperative strap with all of his might.

It broke.

Arthur glared at Merlin. "You broke it." It wouldn't take that long for someone to repair it, of course, but it was still annoying to have to go through the process when he was in the middle of using it.

"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't made me tighten it so much in the first place." Merlin bent down to grab the scrap of leather from where it had slipped from his fingers.

Sometimes, Arthur just could not believe the reasoning that Merlin used sometimes. It was like listening to a child. "Pardon me for not wanting my arm sliced off by one of my knights."

Merlin shrugged as though the matter were entirely up to Arthur's own personal preference. "We're entitled to our own opinions."

Because of the knight's clanking armor, Arthur heard Elyan before he saw him.

"Here are the quarterstaffs, sire." Elyan handed one over to him.

Merlin looked from Elyan to Arthur and back again. "Oh, no, no, no. I'm not doing that."

Arthur took great pleasure in making Merlin do things (that wouldn't bring about much bodily harm - he wasn't that cruel).

"Come on," Elyan encouraged him. "He'll go light on you since you're a beginner."

Merlin looked less than thrilled as he accepted the quarterstaff from Elyan.

"What?" Arthur taunted. "The great Emrys who can face Anhora, the guardian of the unicorns, is afraid of a piece of wood?"

"Don't call me that," Merlin snapped. "That's not my name."

Arthur blinked. "Anhora used it."

"Well, so do the trees, but they don't always know what they're talking about, either, okay?" Now, Merlin was downright uncomfortable, shifting back and forth and his feet and twisting his hands over the wood of the quarterstaff.

Merlin was hiding something. Arthur leaned forward, placing his body weight on his own staff. "You wouldn't care to clue me in on anything, would you, Merlin?" He tried to make his tone light and playful but couldn't help the hard edge that slipped into it.

Merlin winced. "It's a last name, like Pendragon. Or a title! I don't really know, and I don't remember where it came from. I don't like being called it, but the trees insist on doing so."

"You don't remember?" Arthur repeated, narrowing his eyes at his manservant. Merlin really did appear to be confused, but that was also how he normally came across.

"Listen, can we just drop this?" Merlin clutched his quarterstaff. "We can bash - sorry, you can bash me around for a bit now."

"Are you telling me that you don't find it slightly concerning that you don't remember half your life?" Arthur became seriously annoyed if he forgot where he left a certain paper or where his sausages were going when he wasn't looking.

Merlin spotted something behind Arthur. "Lancelot!" he called, relief filling his voice. He abandoned the quarterstaff in favor of trotting over to the knight.

"Hello, Merlin."

"Would you mind telling Gwen that Arthur's armor needs fixing the next time you see her?"

Arthur sighed through his teeth and bent to pick up Merlin's discarded quarterstaff. One of these days, he would figure out what had happened with Merlin, and the fae wouldn't be able to hide it from him.

His only hope was that it wouldn't be disastrous.

…

Stretching to work out all of the kinks in his back, Arthur abandoned his desk in favor of moving to his window to look out at the courtyard and countryside.

Merlin had begged a day off in order to search for herbs for Gaius in the woods, and although Arthur was somewhat reluctant to let his manservant go trapezing out there after the incident with the unicorn, Gaius assured him that the trip was absolutely necessary.

Now, he was quite enjoying the time away from the pesky fae. No one was singing bawdy tavern tunes (the idea of where Merlin could have picked those up was nothing short of frightening), and he didn't have to keep glancing over his shoulder to try to catch Merlin in the act of using magic.

Sighing, he dropped his hands to his side and took another long look at the view.

From here, he could see the forest where Merlin supposedly was.

Was that smoke he saw? Arthur frowned. A forest fire? If so, the knights would need to take care of that straight away before it reached the barley fields. The smoke already formed a high pillar.

As Arthur watched, the smoke began to swirl and change shape.

Before his very eyes, it formed into a horse that reared on its hind legs before galloping into a circle. With one hurdle, the smoke burst apart.

The fire was out.

And Merlin was in so much trouble.

…

"Merlin. I want you to give me a straight answer. Did you or did you not mess with the smoke?"

Merlin paused oiling Arthur's knife sheath. "How would I give you a crooked answer? I didn't know you could do that. Do all of your answers have shapes?"

"Don't be such an idiot, Merlin. This is a serious matter. Did you or did you not mess with the smoke?" he demanded.

"It is impossible to touch fire without being burned," Merlin informed him.

"With magic," he clarified. Talking to Merlin was like trying to convince a five-year-old boy to admit that he had stolen a pie from an old lady's window sill.

Merlin huffed. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the ruddy question."

"Fine. Yes, that was me. Did you like it? I thought the mane was a nice touch."

"Did I like it?" What sort of a foolish question was that? "Merlin, that's not the point."

Merlin stuck his tongue into the cheek.

Weren't fae supposed to be clever creatures? Obviously, Arthur was going to have to clarify if he wanted this dumbwitted fae to understand him. "The point is that you used magic. In front of everybody."

Merlin spared him a glance. "So? I was in a forest."

"The smoke wasn't." Arthur ground the heel of his palm into his forehead. "Every Tom, Dick, and Jerry could have seen that! If they report back to my father, he is going to instigate a search. I can't have you waltzing around turning buckets into toads and making daisies dance-"

"I have never turned a bucket into a toad," Merlin interrupted.

Arthur glared at him.

"Sorry."

"You need to stop all...that," Arthur finished elegantly, splaying his hands out in front of him. "Just...don't. All right?"

Amiably, Merlin nodded. "All right, Arthur. No magic in front of other people. I've got it. Won't do it again. Promise."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him.

Merlin looked innocently back at him.

…

"Toads, sire. Coming out of the water."

From his position behind his father, Arthur cursed Merlin in his head for every stupid trick his manservant had ever pulled.

No buckets into toads, his foot. He was hearing the evidence in front of him. The next time his lazy manservant of a fae lied to him-

"Daisies on the side of the road, dancing, sire!" Another village girl testified. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she continuously bobbed up and down as though she wanted to curtsy to King Uther but wasn't sure if it was the appropriate time or not.

In the background, Merlin innocently stood with Gaius. He was staring up at the ceiling as though the wooden beams were the most interesting thing in the world.

Arthur was going to have to speak with Merlin later about his subtleness because he had seen more graceful newborn calves.

"As you can see," the Faefinder purred. "We have a situation on our hands."

King Uther leaned forward, resting his fist on his chin. "I say we have. How many other reports have you heard?"

"Hundreds, m'lord," the Faefinder assured him. "And it all began with the column of smoke in the forest."

"I see."

Frankly, Arthur was surprised that his father was exercising enough restraint to not leap out of his chair and demand a search of the entire palace at that moment.

He could not keep Merlin away from the metal.

"If you will give me permission, m'lord-"

And, no doubt, a small fee.

"-I would be willing to ferret out any fae blood guilty for causing this disruption."

Uther was nodding before the fae finder could finish his sentence. "You have my permission. Get rid of it as soon as possible."

The Faefinder smiled wickedly. "As you wish, m'lord, it will be done." He bowed.

The village girls that he had dragged around to testify curtsied to Uther.

Arthur forced himself to remain relaxed and outwardly calm as those in attendance including Merlin and Gaius filed out of the room after paying their respects.

"If I may take my leave, Father-" Arthur began.

With a wave of his hand, Uther dismissed him.

There was a glint in his eye. It was not unfamiliar to Arthur.

It was the look of a hunter on the trail of a kill.

…

"Is something worrying you, sire?" Lancelot asked him.

"Nothing," he growled. "Absolutely nothing."

Lancelot checked both ways before leaning in closer and dropping his voice. "Is it Merlin?"

Why, when he was upset, did the knights assume it had something to do with Merlin? "Merlin is an idiot."

"Ah." Lancelot straightened. "Is this about this afternoon and King Uther? If so, I could have a talk with Merlin."

"You do it." Arthur sighed. "I don't think Merlin listens to a word I say. He never does as he's told!"

Lancelot smiled and clapped Arthur on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll talk with him."

"Thank you. And while you're at it, remind him that he needs to muck out my stable again. I nearly stepped in a clod of...well...you know."

Sagely, Lancelot nodded.

Five minutes after his conversation with Lancelot, Merlin burst into his rooms. "I had nothing to do with it."

Leaning back in his chair, where he was stuck signing papers again, Arthur quirked an eyebrow at the fae. "Nothing to do with what, Merlin?"

In his mind, it was Merlin's fault until proven otherwise.

"I had nothing to do with the frogs or toads or the daisies." Merlin jutted his chin out as though he expected Arthur to contradict him.

His assumption was right. "If not you, then who else?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I don't know, another fae?"

Unfortunately, Merlin had a point. "I can't stop the proceedings, you know." Arthur leaned forward in his chair. "This is because of the smoke horse you made. It's your fault, and you're going to have to sit it out and suffer the consequences."

Merlin made a petulant face.

"I would recommend avoiding the Faefinder, but I assume Gaius has already told you that. I don't want to go through all of the trouble of finding another manservant."

"Does that mean I get the day off?"

"No. It means stay out of sight. And while you're a sitting duck, why don't you go muck out the stables? I'm sure Lancelot told you about them."

Merlin glowered.

It was as effective as an angry bunny.

…

The Faefinder laid traps about the castle.

Although Arthur was oblivious to their presence, Merlin complained about them at every opportunity.

"I know they're there, Arthur. I can feel them. Can you just ask Gwaine to cut them down or something and claim he was drunk?"

"If you want them gone so badly, why don't you ask Gwaine himself?" Arthur snapped, running a hand over his face to wake himself up properly. It wasn't his fault Merlin had disobeyed and used his magic when he wasn't supposed to. He didn't have to drag Arthur out at the crack of dawn to do it.

"The Faefinder has demanded an audience with your father this afternoon," Merlin informed him as he opened the curtains further and worked at securing them. "He says he has results."

"What?" Arthur demanded, suddenly completely awake. "Why was I not informed about this?

"You were. I just informed you."

"Did he…" Arthur didn't want to ask. He didn't think Merlin would rummaging through his wardrobe so cheerfully if the results were negative.

"Nope!"

Merlin emerged from the wardrobe with a green shirt. "I don't believe it!" he exclaimed. "The crown prince of Camelot with another color besides red in his wardrobe? Wait until your father hears about this!"

Arthur scowled. "Just find me a blasted red shirt, Merlin."

Merlin snickered and dove back into the wardrobe, whistling, "In Scarlet Town, where I was boooooorn, there was a faaaair-"

"Stop that."

"-maaaiden. Made ev'ry youth-"

Merlin was about as tone death as the frogs that kept popping up in conversation.

As he waited for Merlin to find a new shirt, he plugged his ears.

After he was dressed, he went to find Gaius to see if the court physician knew something about what was going on. He was just turning a corner when he bumped into a figure.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as a basket in her hands went crashing to the floor.

It was Gwen.

Arthur hadn't spoken to her since Merlin had been poisoned.

"Allow me to just pick this up, and I'll get out of your way." In one load, she scooped up all of the clothing that had fallen out and dumped it in the basket. Straightening it up with it in hand, she curtsied to Arthur before bustling around him.

For a minute, Arthur stood there, blinking. Then, he shook himself and went on his way.

Gaius was in his chambers.

"Ah, how may I help you, Prince Arthur?" Gaius asked, setting down a mortar and pestle on the worn table in the center of the room.

"Did you hear of the meeting with the Faefinder this afternoon?"

Gaius nodded. "I did. Your father asked me to attend."

Arthur threw his hands into the air. "Why am I the last blasted person to hear about this?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow but didn't answer.

While he was in the physician's chambers, he might as well kill two birds with one stone. "By the way, has the Faefinder been poking around Merlin?"

Gaius pointed to something above the door. "He hung that above the door the other day and told me to report to him if any of my patients exhibited negative symptoms."

A worm of doubt began to gnaw its way through Arthur's head.

"But I am sure it's all right, Prince Arthur," Gaius assured him. "Merlin is the last person he would expect to be fae. You do not have to worry about the matter."

"Worried? Why would you think I'm worried?" The idea was ridiculous. Merlin could lie in whatever hole he dug for all Arthur cared.

Gaius simply raised his eyebrow again.

…

"I have determined the name of the figure in this castle who is fae!" the Faefinder declared, throwing his arms wide as though he expected applause.

No one gave it to him - yet.

Arthur shifted all of his weight onto his right foot and crossed his arms in expectation.

"Who is it?" Uther demanded when the silence exceeded his expectation.

"The name of the fae is…Merlin!"

A gasp flew about the castle staff assembled for the spectacle. "Merlin?"

"Surely not him."

"He's just a boy!"

"Quiet!" Uther bellowed. Silence fell on the court.

Arthur forced himself to release his grip on the hilt of his sword. There was nothing he could do. Interfering would be treason. If Merlin had done something else to give himself away...that was it.

"What proof do you have of this?" Uther asked in a neutral tone.

"A simple test is all it takes, m'lord."

"M'lord," Gaius broke in urgently. "The Faefinder has gone mad. I've lived with this boy. There's no way he's fae."

"The idea is ridiculous," Arthur agreed. "My manservant is nothing more than a simpleton. Quite the opposite of fae."

Merlin looked both insulted and relieved at Arthur's words.

"Metal, m'lord," the Faefinder begged. "Metal is all it takes."

"I've got nothing to fear," Merlin proclaimed, stepping forward boldly. "There's nothing wrong with me."

Arthur could not believe his ears.

What in fae was Merlin thinking?

Behind Arthur, Morgan, who had insisted on following him, groaned. Arthur turned.

"Arthur-" She reached forward, clutching at his arm. "I don't feel too well."

As though she'd caught the plague, Arthur stared at her. Was she ill in the head? Morgana usually refused to acknowledge that she was feeling ill or rely upon Arthur for assistance.

Drawing the attention of everyone in the room, Morgana let out a loud gasp and pitched forward - straight into Arthur's arms.

It couldn't have been orchestrated more perfectly by traveling performers.

Uther was on his feet. As Arthur lowered Morgana to the ground, propping her up on the side of Uther's throne, Gaius rushed forward.

"What's wrong?"

While Gaius pushed him out of the way, Arthur took a step back.

After a few seconds of murmuring questions to her, checking her pulse, and feeling her forehead with the back of his hand, Gaius straightened up.

"What's wrong with her?" Uther asked.

"I believe Lady Morgana simply needs to rest," Gaius said. "She has been straining herself too much during activities."

Accepting the verdict, Uther nodded. "Help Lady Morgana to her room."

"Yes, Father." Before helping Gaius ease Morgana to her feet, Arthur turned and looked for Merlin.

His manservant was nowhere to be found.

…

"Where are you going?"

Arthur nearly jumped out of his armor. "Merlin, blast it, don't sneak up on me like that."

Merlin stepped out from the hallway he had been hiding in. "Sorry," he offered apologetically.

"I'm going to check on Morgana."

In actuality, Arthur didn't really believe that Morgana had been feeling ill, and he wanted to fish around to determine exactly how much she knew.

"Oh, good, I'll come along with you. I was wondering how she was feeling after this afternoon. Do you think she's going to be all right? I wasn't around for that part."

Arthur shot a sideways glance at Merlin. Either he was extremely naive or completely unfamiliar with Morgana's nature.

As they arrived at Morgana's door, they met Gwen exiting it. Closing the door behind her, Gwen smiled. "Hello, Merlin." Then, she curtsied. "My lord."

Why did Merlin get recognized first?

"How is she?" Arthur asked.

"She is well," Gwen answered. "Right now, she's reading a book. I think it's all right if you want to talk to her, my lord." She ducked her head.

A strand of her hair was loose from its bun. Arthur resisted the ridiculous urge to fix it even if they couldn't have their palace servants looking harried.

After smiling at Merlin, Gwen scurried down the corridor.

"She's nice," Merlin observed. "My first week here, she helped me find all of the places I was unfamiliar with."

"Obviously, she failed to show you the laundry." Arthur stepped forward and rapped the back of his knuckles on Morgana's door.

"Excuse me."

The oily voice stopped Arthur's second knock.

He turned around to discover the Faefinder standing in the corridor behind them.

"Hello," Merlin greeted him. "Do you need help? I'm pretty good at polishing boots."

Arthur could beg to differ, but it wasn't the appropriate time to be pointing that out.

"M'lord." The Faefinder bowed to Arthur. "I have come to collect your manservant. He has been...mysteriously absent the past day."

Merlin grinned. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had a stable to muck out. Can't let His Highness step in what comes out the rear end of a horse, you know?"

At Merlin's vulgar reference, the Faefinder wrinkled his nose.

Merlin continued smiling.

"Merlin-" Arthur began.

At that moment, Uther rounded the corner of the hallway. "There you are," he said coldly.

The hallway was getting crowded. "You can't be possibly after Merlin still," Arthur huffed. "Shouldn't you be chasing after the real fae instead of terrorizing witless castle servants?"

"One test is all it takes," the Faefinder assured him smoothly.

From the folds of his cloak, he removed a metal bracelet.

It was always a bracelet. Arthur couldn't understand why they never used a plain square of metal, but then he supposed that it was better for restraint should it actually burn someone.

"Of course," Merlin agreed brightly.

Arthur wanted to bash him on the side of the head with a quarterstaff to keep him from utter other nonsense.

Morgana's door opened. "What's going on out here?" she demanded, poking her head out. "Why are all of you standing outside my door?"

"Nothing, my lady," the Faefinder assured her, bowing. "Just a simple test."

Morgana stepped out fully. "You cannot be serious."

That's what Arthur had said, and yet no one was listening to him.

"I am, my lady. If the boy is innocent of fae blood as he claims, there shouldn't be a problem, and I will continue my search." The Faefinder reached forward for Merlin's wrist.

And the idiot willingly offered it.

Arthur had never felt so angry at Merlin before.

"One quick question," Merlin interrupted him, drawing back slightly. "Have you been around a swamp?"

"Excuse me?" the Faefinder inquired haughtily.

"What's this codswallop?" Uther demanded.

"I'm serious," Merlin assured them. "I was just wondering. I have a very good nose, and you sort of smell like a swamp. You know, those nice places where frogs and toads live?"

Morgana covered her nose and mouth with her hand. Arthur wondered if she was disguising a laugh or about to reenact her ill spell from the previous day. In case it was the latter, he shifted towards her slightly, but she sent him an annoyed look through her fingers.

"And," Merlin continued. "I noticed that you keep handling all of your metal instruments with gloves. Is there a reason you're avoiding touching the metal?"

Arthur had never noticed it before, but the Faefinder was pinching the metal cuff between his thumb and first finger.

It was a very peculiar way to grab a bracelet.

"Take your glove off," Uther ordered.

It was almost as though Merlin knew the observation would instantly arouse his suspicions.

"This is ridiculous!" the Faefinder exploded. "I am the Faefinder. Are you going to accuse me on the remark of a mere servant?"

"Take the gloves off," Arthur said. "If it's just the remark of a mere servant, you have nothing to worry about."

The Faefinder's eye twitched.

"Honestly-" Morgana began, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by a choking noise.

It came from the Faefinder.

Confused, he held a hand up to his throat, but he was unable to stop the next cough that slipped out. "Excuse me, m'lord." Again, he choked, doubling over and clutching his stomach. The metal bracelet fell from his fingers.

Arthur bent down and scooped it up. He straightened in time to witness the Faefinder gagging.

The greenest, fattest, bumpiest, and ugliest toad Arthur had ever seen dropped from his mouth and landed on the floor in front of Morgana and Arthur with a soft plop.

It croaked.

"I have no idea-" the Faefinder began, his eyes widening, but he was forced to break off and gag again.

Another toad.

"Fae," Uther hissed. "Guards!"

"I can explain-"

The thudded in the castle corridor, signalling the arrival of soldiers.

Panic filled the Faefinder's face as his eyes darted left and right. Both exits were blocked by royals or Merlin. Arthur eyed him, looking for an opportunity to get the metal cuff around his wrist.

Even though he was prepared, he completely did not expect the Faefinder to withdraw a knife and dive towards Morgana.

She screamed.

"Hey!" Arthur yelled.

But he didn't stab her. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her and held the knife to her throat. "Don't come any closer!" he warned. "I'll slit her throat."

"That's rude," Merlin remarked.

"Release her," Uther ordered, "immediately."

Right eye twitching, the Faefinder began to back down the corridor, dragging Morgana in front of him.

As guards came running into the corridor, Arthur tossed the cuff to the side and withdrew his sword.

Merlin was standing slightly off to the left.

"Get out of my way," the Faefinder warned, "or the king's ward will die."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Merlin apologized, stepping to the side. "I didn't mean to get in the way."

King Uther growled. Arthur was trying to determine how to get Morgana away from the Faefinder without either one of them being killed, but no solutions came to his hurried mind.

Blast it, he swore in his head.

"Let me just get out of your way, then," Merlin said as the Faefinder backpedaled. "Apologies." As the Faefinder passed, however, he subtly stuck out his foot.

Because his gaze was focused on Arthur, Uther, and the guards, Morgana's captor was completely unaware of the boot in his path.

He went crashing to the floor.

In a flash, Arthur had his sword at his throat. Morgan rolled away from him. Whenever the Faefinder attempted to prop himself up on his elbows, Arthur pressed the tip of his blade into his Adam's apple. "Remain where you are. Morgana, are you all right?"

She smoothed down the front of her dress and twisted her hair back out of her face. "Of course," she answered, clearing her throat.

Within a minute, guards relieved Arthur and clapped the Faefinder in irons. They dragged him away cursing.

Arthur turned around to discover Uther and Merlin face to face.

"You imbecile," Uther seethed. "You could have caused the death of my ward."

"But I didn't," Merlin pointed out, pressing his hands lightly together in front of his body as though he were raying. "And since I saved her life, we'll let it go this time?"

A look of disgust rolling on his face, Uther turned to Arthur. "Throw him in the stocks."

"What?" Merlin squawked.

"Yes, Father."

Uther stormed down the hallway.

"Come on, Merlin." Arthur grabbed his manservant's arm. "It's to the stocks with you."

"Come on," Merlin protested. "You can't be serious. I just saved Morgana's life!"

Arthur looked over his shoulder to make sure Morgana was out of earshot. "Yes," he replied in a low tone, "but you're also the one who used your magic in the first place to get us into this mess."

"No gratitude," Merlin grumbled. "No gratitude at all. Pure discrimination. This is about the big ears, isn't it?"