Notes: So, sorry it took so long to update. I wanted to write this chapter he weekend after I posted the first one, but then we went camping and I couldn't write, then I just kinda lost my motivation to write it and I didn't want to force myself to write and end up with a crappy chapter. I wish I could promise that the other chapters will come faster, but I honestly don't know. I will try to update faster, but no promises.

Also, there will now be nine chapters because I thought of another character I will add.

Knock Knock.

Merlin looked towards the door from his spot on the couch. "It's open," he rasped.

The door was opened hesitantly and Gwen peeked her head around. Her face lit up when she saw Merlin and he returned the smile. She stepped fully into the apartment, pulling someone in behind her. With a grunt, Merlin put down his book and stood to greet his guests.

And there was Lancelot.

Merlin's memories of Camelot grew fuzzier by the day. He would never forget, he was certain, but the little details had begun to slip his mind. Like how kind Gwen's eyes were or how warm Lancelot's smile was.

But now Lancelot was standing right in front of him again, bringing back memories as if they had happened yesterday. Their first meeting, Merlin forging the papers to help him be a knight, him actually becoming a knight years later, him stepping into the veil…

Merlin shook off that train of thought.

There was a slightly awkward moment where he and Gwen stared at Lancelot in expectation, but nothing happened. Lancelot cleared his throat and Gwen snapped out of it. "Right," she said, "Lance, this is Merlin, my godfather, like I told you about." She turned to face Merlin with a look that said, just go with it. "Merlin, my boyfriend Lance."

"Pleasure to meet you, young man." Merlin stuck out his hand which Lancelot took in a firm shake. "Gwen has told me all about you."

Lance let out a huff of embarrassment. "The pleasure is all mine, and I'm afraid I have not heard nearly as much about you. But I understand that you a very important to Gwen so I look forward to getting to know you," he said politely.

Merlin and Gwen stared at him again, waiting for him to remember. Lancelot smiled awkwardly. "Is there something on my face?"

Gwen blushed at getting caught and Merlin coughed and looked down before meeting his gaze again. "Sorry, you just remind me of someone I used to know."

"Really? Who?" he asked.

"Just an old friend I knew long ago," Merlin replied with a sad tone. Lance could tell there was more to the story, but didn't push it. Merlin cleared his throat. "Well, why don't you two take a seat and I will fix us some tea."

One hour later, Merlin had learned that Lance worked as a nurse at the local hospital and he loved it, his favorite food was spaghetti from the Italian joint a few blocks away, and he had been completely besotted with Gwen from the moment he met her.

Unfortunately, he only remembers meeting her a year ago, when Gwen's brother was in the hospital after a car crash and not 1500 years ago when he was trying to become a knight.

Merlin knew that Lancelot was probably a little uncomfortable because he and Gwen weren't exactly being unsubtle with all their staring, but, like the gentleman he was, he chose to ignore it.

Lancelot looked down at his watch and let out a sigh. "Well, Merlin, it has been a pleasure meeting Gwen's godfather, but I'm afraid my shift starts soon, so we should probably be leaving."

"Yes, of course. It's been good to meet the man Gwen is so crazy about," Merlin said as they all stood up. Gwen shot Merlin a panicked look as they started walking towards the door. "But, um, Gwen," he blurted, causing them to stop. "I have that thing your father asked for and I was hoping you would deliver it since you're closer, if you would just…" he trailed off, gesturing with his head towards the bedroom.

Gwen looked confusing for a second before quickly catching on. "Oh of course, the thing, yeah," she said, nodding enthusiastically. Internally Merlin sighed at how suspicious it probably sounded, but Lance either didn't notice or was polite enough to pretend not to. Gwen turned to Lance. "Right, so, I have to get this thing, so why don't you go and wait in the car, it'll only be a minute."

Lance raised an eyebrow, but acquiesced. "Right, well, Merlin, good meeting you. I guess I'll be in the car," he said, pointing towards the door.

"I hope to see you again soon," Merlin said. Lancelot smiled and left.

Gwen turned to Merlin as soon as the door shut. "He didn't remember," she panicked.

"I know."

"But why didn't he remember? I remembered almost immediately."

"Calm down, Gwen," he said, reaching down and squeezing her hands. "Maybe not everyone's meant to remember," he suggested.

"But that can't be, he has to remember," she insisted. "I mean… It's hard. Having back my memories, having two lives in my head. I mean, it's only been a day, so I suppose I'll get used to it, but still… I wouldn't trade anything to have them taken away. They are as much a part of me as my memories of this life and I hate to think what might've happened had I never remembered. And now? Now I get to be reunited with the people I love most, and they deserve the same."

Merlin smiled at Gwen's heartfelt speech. "Well, maybe Lancelot just needs a little nudge to help him remember."

Gwen's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

There was a gleam in Merlin's eye as he answered. "Magic."

"Of course," she exclaimed with a matching gleam.

Nobody had been more eager to learn about magic than Gwen. After Arthur's unfortunate demise, Gwen had returned magic to Camelot and made Merlin the official Royal Sorcerer. Of course, it hadn't happened immediately, it had taken a long time to earn acceptance. Years before she could truly put it into law and Merlin could stop hiding who he was, but that time was spent subtly reintroducing the idea of magic.

But even after, prejudice remained, it was never fully accepted. Magic never reached where it once before the Great Purge before it slowly died out and faded into myth.

"I don't remember a spell for this exact situation, but I'm sure there's a memory spell out there that will work. So why don't you and Lance go home and I will look through my archives for some spells that might work. I'll text you when I find something," he promised.

Gwen looked relieved. "Well, I hope you find something soon."

"Me too." He pulled Gwen into a tight hug. "I'm glad you remembered. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't." He pulled back. "Now go, don't keep Lancelot waiting."

It was nearly a week later when Merlin felt confident he could restore Lancelot's memories. After searching through his hidden underground vaults, he had amassed a sizeable list of memory spells and potions. He was sure at least one of them would work.

Merlin texted Gwen with his latest progress and they made plans for the following afternoon.

When Gwen and Lance arrived the next day, Merlin ushered them to the couch and said he would make tea. Making sure his back was towards them so they couldn't see what he was doing, he dropped some ground-up ginger into one of the cups and whispered the incantation, "Gebreadian gemynda."

He brought the tea over and handed one cup to Gwen and one to Lance, then settled beside Gwen on the couch with his own cup. Lance was sitting on the fold out chair Merlin had brought out the last time they were there.

He tried to watch discreetly as Lance took his first sip. A few seconds went by and nothing happened.

He took another sip.

Nothing happened.

"This tea is very good," Lancelot exclaimed. "What's in it?"

"Ginger," Merlin muttered grumpily.

"Oh," Lancelot said, slightly put off by Merlin's mood. "So, last time I was here we talked a lot about me, but I would love to know more about you."

"Not much to tell, really," he brushed off the question. "Is your tea getting cold? My tea is getting cold, it was sitting on the counter for a few minutes before you arrived."

"Actually—"

"Let me heat that up for you," Merlin interrupted, grabbing the cup from Lancelot's hands and moving to the kitchen before he could protest. "Ácennan ingemnyd," he whispered into the cup, then a brief spell to raise the temperature a few degrees. He turned around. "There we go, all better."

He handed the cup back to Lancelot. "Thank you." Merlin sat down and watched again as he took a sip.

Nothing happened.

"Bloody hell," he mumbled.

"What was that?" Lancelot asked.

"Nothing." Merlin smiled innocently.

It was quiet for another moment.

"So, Merlin, how has your day been?" Gwen asked, breaking the silence that had stretched just a bit too long.

"Same old," he answered, still staring at Lancelot. "Would you like some sugar in your tea, Lance? I know how you young people like sweet things. I'm going to put sugar in your tea," Merlin declared, snatching Lancelot's cup before he could get any words out.

As he entered the kitchen he heard Lancelot whispering to Gwen. "Is your godfather okay?"

Great. Now I'm a crazy old man.

He put a pinch of cloves and a few drops of lemon juice into the tea and whispered another spell. "Blétsunga gemyndful."

He brought the tea back and handed it to Lancelot. "Thanks."

He took a sip.

Nothing happened.

Well, he made a face, but that was probably more due to flavor than memories of being a medieval knight.

But then he set his tea down and gripped his head with both hands as if he had a headache. Gwen and Merlin exchanged excited looks and watched him with rapture.

It was silent for a few seconds, then, "Dog."

There was another few seconds of silence. "Excuse me?" Gwen asked.

"Dog," Lancelot answered, looking up. His face was a mixture of confusion and worry, like he was on the verge of a freak out. "My first word was dog," he said, as if that explained everything. Gwen was starting to look concerned. "I—I remember, I mean my mother always told me it was dog, but now I remember. Like, I remember being 11 months old and saying the word dog, even though I didn't really know what a dog was."

Gwen shot Merlin a look. She placed her hand on Lancelot's shoulder in a comforting gesture. Lancelot looked up at her and continued in the same haunted voice. "When I was one and a half, my favorite stuffed animal got lost and I was so upset. How do I remember this? What's wrong with me? I shouldn't remember this."

He was clutching Gwen's hand now and looked on the verge of hyperventilating. Gwen looked at Merlin. "What did you do to him?" she snapped.

Whoops.

"Well, it was a memory spell. I guess, it just didn't bring back the right memories," Merlin said.

"Well fix him!" Gwen shouted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Lancelot asked, looking like a lost puppy.

Gwen tried to comfort him and while his attention was on her, Merlin grabbed his tea and whispered a quick incantation. "Manian." He stood and held the tea in front of Lancelot, urging him to take it. "Here, have some tea, it will calm you down."

"I really don't think that will help—"

"No, it will. I promise."

"No, I—"

"Just drink the damn tea!" Merlin exclaimed. Had Lancelot not been going through the trauma of vividly remembering his early childhood, he probably wouldn't have obeyed. As it was, he flinched at the loud tone and meekly accepted the tea. He took a shaky sip and set the tea back on the table.

Then, his head rolled back and he slumped in his seat.

"Lance? Lance?" Gwen called out worriedly, standing up. She turned to Merlin. "What did you do?"

"Gwen, calm down. He's just unconscious," Merlin assured.

"He's not supposed to be unconscious, he's supposed to be remembering his past life!" she yelled.

"Well it's not my fault that ancient sorcerers have a tendency to be annoyingly vague when writing spell books!"

"What if he doesn't wake up? What if—"

"Guys?" asked a groggy voice.

"Lance," Gwen sighed in relief.

"Guinevere? Merlin?" he asked, sounding dazed.

"Yes?" Gwen asked, sounding hopeful.

"I—I don't, uh, I— What—"

"Are you remembering, Lancelot?" Merlin asked gently.

"Lancelot… My name is Lancelot." He looked up. "I—I remember, Camelot and…and," he said with a grin and a slightly hysterical laugh. He stood up. "Gwen," he said and wrapped her in a hug. But then he quickly pulled back and his smile was gone. "But what about...Arthur?"

Gwen's smile vanished as well. "I...I don't know. Look," she explained at his questioning face, "It's been a confusing week. I'm sure you noticed how odd I've been acting, but it's just, I have some very conflicting memories right now and I'm trying to sort it all out, but-"

"Gwen, it's alright," Lancelot interrupted. "It's fine…I understand. You love Arthur very much," he said with a strained smile.

"No, that's not it, Lance. I mean, I did–do love Arthur, but I love you too. I just need some time to figure everything out."

Lancelot grabbed Gwen's hands and held them gently. "I see. Take all the time you need Gwen," he said, raising her hands to his lips and giving them a gentle kiss.

Gwen smiled sweetly back. "Thank you."

Merlin let out a not so subtle cough, reminding the couple that he was still there.

Lancelot turned to Merlin with a big smile. "Merlin!" He pulled him into a hug. "It's good to see you, old friend." He looked him up and down as he pulled back. "That's...you-you're so… old. Why are you so old?" he asked with a laugh.

Merlin couldn't help but chuckle, Lancelot's excitement was contagious. "It's a long story. One that we can tell you now that you remember."

A few days had passed and Gwen and lance had been awkwardly avoiding each other, at least, as much as was possible when you lived together.

Lance felt like he was waiting for the inevitable to happen. Gwen would eventually sit down and tell him that she loved him, but she just couldn't forget Arthur and now that he was coming back she would wait for him because now they could be together again. There was no other possible outcome.

And that's clearly why she's avoiding him, because she can't think of how to put it nicely. How to let him down gently.

And it wouldn't work. No matter what she said he would be heartbroken, there was no avoiding that.

But he was tired. Tired of them dancing around each other and the elephant in the room. He was ready to get it over. He didn't want Gwen to worry about it more than she had to because he had no expectations and he didn't want her to think he had any expectations.

"Gwen," he called from the couch.

She looked up from where she was attending the plants in their apartment. "Yes?"

"We need to talk."

She swallowed and averted her eyes. "Yes, we do."

She got up and sat down next to him on the couch. "Look, Lance…I love you—"

"But you love Arthur more," he finished. He reached forward and grasped her hands in his. "Gwen, I understand, I think—"

"That's not what I was going to say," she interrupted. He looked at her. "I do love Arthur. But…things are different now. I'm not Guinevere, Queen of Camelot, anymore. For the past 27 years I have lead a completely different life and I mean, I'm still me, but I'm a different person. And I'm sure the same applies to Arthur, hell, applies to all of us. I just think, the me I am now doesn't love Arthur the way I used to. And…to be honest, the flame of romance between me and Arthur…settled a bit as we grew older and turned into a more…wholesome love, and less romantic."

Gwen moved her hands atop his and held them firmly. "But what I feel for you now, and even back then, is very real. And I'm not willing to give that up.

"I choose you, Lance."

Lance was quiet for a moment, letting everything she said sink in. Then, he smiled. It was small, and loving, and when he looked at Gwen she had the same smile on her face. "I'm happy to hear that."

Notes: Thank you for reading, comments and kudos are much appreciated. :)

Poor Lance.

So the spells I used are not from the show, I made them up. I found out that the spells are in old English so I used these translators ( . /, ~modean52/oeme_ ) to make my own. here are the translations (also, I don't speak old English and the translators were a bit confusing, so these might not actually make sense):

Restore memories – gebreadian gemynda

Bring forth memory – ácennan ingemnyd

Blessings of good memory – blétsunga gemyndful

Remember what should not be forgotten – manian

Also, I made Gwen and Lance a couple because I ship them because as far as I'm concerned, Gwen would've chosen Lancelot had he not made the choice for her by leaving.

Also, more on the underground secret vaults later.

Next chapter is Gaius.