"My drunk grandmother had better footwork than you!" Gunilda shouted at Merlin for the second time since they began sparring not even twenty minutes prior. There was an incessant ringing in his ears that he had no reservations in attributing to the fact that he had just been catapulted into a wall. Merlin's heart pounded fiercely as he scrambled to his feet before he even had a chance to blink away his double vision. He nearly shouted as a blast of fire shot at him. He ducked, allowing it to soar over his head. The suddenly movement caused his head to spin and he had to stumble forward several times in a graceless manner to regain his balance.

"Merlin!" Came Arthur's shout." You fix that form or we'll be taking you back to Camelot in a meal sack."

Merlin thought his king's tone sounded like he was enjoying those prospects about as much as he seemed to enjoy watching a magical duel. Surprisingly enough, every time Merlin caught a glimpse of Arthur he saw intense fascination or even flashes of boyish wonder. Even now, Arthur's sarcastic comment was coupled with a grin he seemed to be fighting to keep off his face. It was distracting as Merlin found himself glancing at him more than he really ought to. Merlin noted early on that they each seemed especially fond of fire. All concern Merlin had about having the king and knights of Camelot watch a magical duel had melted away along with a few of his eyebrow hairs.

Merlin growled frustrated as he gathered his power to launch at Gunilda. Disappointment hit him when his spell absorbed into the dark, rune covered wall where she had been standing in front of just moments before. She was not only excellent at magic, but also quick and light on her feet. Every spell he threw at her was easily thwarted. It was not by magic either. Gunilda managed to mix the art of combative spell work with the agility of a knight. Her attacks were only ever thrown when she found a gap in the defense of her opponent.

Needless to say, the opportunities were endless when it came to dueling him.

"I spent how long teaching you the proper stances to optimize your fighting for you to just completely disregard it?" Gunilda asked redundantly.

"Maybe five minutes." He answered sarcastically. There was a snort that no doubt came from Gwaine who was enraptured in the chaos before him. With the number of bar fights that man had started he had to be enjoying sitting back and observing the fight for a change. Arthur and the knights were sitting off to the side in a large room that had been constructed for Gunilda's work. Runes scatted nearly every inch of the walls and Merlin realized that it would take an immense amount of power to destroy the room as every spell that hit the wall instead of his target was simply absorbed. The room itself held the tall, sloping ceilings that the other areas of the complex held as well, only nearly every inch of the walls were covered in scorched marks from miscalculated attacks.

Merlin raised his hands as he heard Gunilda hiss a spell in a harsh, biting tone that was barely loud enough for him to hear. That mannerism allowed for her opponents to not know what was coming next which was no doubt useful for her. Merlin began his counterattack and felt his magic echo his command as he called for it to dance across his fingertips before he shouted, "Oferswing!"

Merlin's scowled as the she easily calculated her side step. He wiped at his brow, feeling the perspiration beading. He had yet to see her sweat.

"I didn't need to know how to stand when I fought a high priestess and won." Merlin called his magic again, but she dipped down and the powerful blast of his spell sailed over her head. Her years of experience she had over him were showing.

"Trumped up titles will only get you so far in a real fight. High priestesses were well educated and highly competent sorceresses however they typically lacked the same experience you do, formal combative training."

A particularly strong spell blasted Merlin to the side. He scrambled to his feet before a fiery blast landed directly where he had been not a moment before. When Gunilda said she would train him he didn't know he would have to worry about his safety. He remembered back to Catherine's words of warning that Gunilda not treat him like her usual trainees at dinner the previous night.

"That wouldn't have happened if you had listened."

Merlin almost retorted before a certain king got his word in.

"I've been trying to get him to listen to me for years."

A bead of sweat trailed down Merlin's face. "Shut it, Arthur!" He screwed up his face in concentration as he felt Gunilda's magic fizzle in the air again. His magic reacted with a mere thought as he watched the lightning blast towards him. He pulled up his hand in defense and a shield emerged diffusing the power and sending it in all directions. Gunilda stumbled backwards several steps at the force of his block and smiled.

"Very good," She said holding up her hand as his signal to stop any further attack. "But you're wasting precious magical energy with that. Shields take more effort than they are often worth. You can get in more short offensive strikes with the power it takes to procure one shield. It is important to only use a blocking spell when vital for survival."

Merlin nodded and lowered his hand.

"Again." She said moving her right foot back meticulously, placing her weight on the back leg to give her the momentum to spring away from a spell at a moment's notice and raising her hand while staring intimidatingly at her opponent. Merlin mimicked the stance and did his best to give an intimidating stare that he worried would divulge the apprehension he had. Gunilda gave one short nod and so they began their next bought of sparring. She wasted no time in launching a series of attacks which Merlin did his best to avoid. Gunilda's teaching may be brutal and relentless but it was extremely effective.

He pooled his magic and with a shouted, "Ástríce!"

The spell sailed to its intended target, but at the last moment she raised a shield. The force of his spell overpowered it and sent her stumbling backwards several paces and into the wall behind her. His small victory was short lived as she immediately regained her composure and continued on with her series of attacks.

She seemed to have an affinity for using spells to conjure fire. Perhaps it was a scare tactic or maybe she liked to watch her opponent sweat at the building heat around them. The ones he did avoid often left some part of him singed, whether it be his clothing or his hair. He was growing increasingly frustrated by his lack of effectiveness in dueling and the commentary from the sidelines was not helping to improve upon his mood whatsoever.

"I don't know why you complained about our training days, Merlin." Arthur shouted as he filled his cup with more sweet wine provided by Catherine. "Watching can be quite enjoyable."

Merlin threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly. "You never had to deal with fire during your training you pra—"

Merlin's insult was cut off as a force hit him and threw him soaring through the air until his right side met with the floor. He turned to lay on his back as he struggled for his lungs to properly work again after being robbed of their air. When he finally regained control of his breathing and the ringing in his ears lowered to a duller, more muted scream, his ears were met with loud laughter from his audience. Merlin looked to the side and saw Gwaine clutching his gut while Elyan wiped his eyes. Arthur looked smugly at Merlin his eyes screaming his amusement at his failure.

Above him stood Gunilda, still holding her fighting stance and waiting for any move against him. He sighed and double tapped the ground. She smirked and backed off him.

"In battle you will not have time to throw quips at the king."

Merlin scowled as Arthur wiped tears from his eyes. "I've found the time before."

Gunilda extended her hand and Merlin gratefully grabbed it. She pulled him into a standing position and hovered her hand above his side while she quietly whispered an incantation. Her eyes glowed gold as she looked at his torso. "There seems to be no lasting damage."

"I'll be the judge of that, Gunilda." Came a stern voice. The lead healer, Sarah, was leaning against the archway that led into the training facility. Merlin had no idea how long she had been watching him get pummeled. Despite her intimidating presence, she was currently a welcome reprieve."He was just in my infirmary yesterday and I think it is best if you do not send him back there."

"Yes, sister." Gunilda removing her hand and smirking. "I will try not to break him too much."

"You're sisters?" Merlin glanced between the two. There was very little resemblance. It was difficult to imagine that someone as carefree and bubbly as Gunilda was related to the stern healer.

Sarah nodded. "I just wish that she didn't send so many trainees to be cared for by me."

Gunilda's face turned red. "It's the best way for them to learn."

"It's not only your recruits that are benefiting." Sarah began counting on her fingers. "Mine get plenty of practice with healing broken bones, burns, lacerations-"

"Alright, Sarah." She stuck her hands up in surrender. It seemed to be enough to sooth the powerful healer as she nodded. She turned to leave the room without anything other than a stern glance to Merlin as if she was daring him to get hurt again.

On second thought, Merlin remembered the way she had nearly beaten him to a pulp just a moment ago. The fire she had in her eyes when she was on the training field matched that which Sarah had when she was shouting at him for getting himself hurt again. They were more alike than Merlin had initially given them credit for.

Merlin's attention was drawn back to Gunilda who had begun moving again. He threw up his hands to defend against a potential attack as Gunilda made her way over to him. She stopped and chuckled lightly. He felt his face warm slightly and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry."

She looked at him as though studying something that was deeper than his skin or bones. "I think it is sufficing to say that this training is not benefiting you."

"I never meant to cause you any offense-"

Gunilda laughed as though the thought alone was entirely ludicrous. "I want to try something else."

Merlin looked at her hesitantly. "Alright."

"Hum."

Merlin looked at her quizzically. "Are you making that noise because you're thinking?"

"No you id-" She stopped talking, as though she had just realized who she was talking to. Merlin fought off a smile that crept on his face. He had never been on this side of teasing. It had always been him overstepping bounds with his remarks to Arthur.

"I want you to hum, but when you do, I want you to focus entirely on how it feels."

"Any tune in particular-"

She cuffed him over the back of the head. He glared at her when it sent their audience off again. Merlin refused to look at Arthur, attempting to remain focused entirely on the task she had given him. He inhaled deeply and on the exhale began to hum one mid-ranged note. He inhaled again and repeated the process.

"Do you feel the vibrations?" She asked. He nodded. "If you focus and align your senses it's how magic feels in here." She put her hand on the middle of his chest. "Spells are just words that allow you to access to that power, but you don't need them. Focus on the power humming through your chest."

She stepped back from him. His mind was spinning with questions that he didn't know exactly how to formulate into words. Without allowing him to get answers, she went immediately into her fighting stance. "Again. This time without those words."

With that, Merlin was forced to scramble away from another vicious onslaught of attacks. He reached for his magic frantically while holding his mouth firmly shut. He wanted to respect her method of teaching for what it was. He was learning on the spot, getting experience without the usual potential for being killed or, he hoped, too seriously maimed.

Receiving new content for his nightmares.

She continued to throw attack after attack at him. He rose a shield and felt her power slam into it, sending him off balance and falling to one knee. He breathed heavily, sweat trailing down his brow forcing him to blink it away. He felt his stamina draining as the shield continued to take on each of her blasts, which threatened to push him over. He debated calling this round as a loss as she continued to pummel at his defenses, relentlessly. When he looked up, his gaze caught sight of Arthur, who was watching him closely. In his eyes was the one thing that Merlin needed to continue.

Conviction

Merlin called to mind what Catherine had told him just moments before their sparring. He was searching for a humming, one that held the very essence of his magic. He closed his eyes, attempting to search it out, but lost focus as she sent another attack with enough strength to knock him entirely over. He scrambled to his feet and barely had enough time to duck from a powerful blast of energy she had sent careening towards his head.

He needed to focus, not at her power but his own. There was a pause in her attacks.

"Do you yield?" She was breathing heavily, but the fire in her eyes told him that she could do this all day long if she had to.

Merlin glanced to Arthur momentarily. Arthur caught sight of his eyes and gave him a confident nod. "Give her hell, Merlin!"

"I don't."

Catherine smiled in a way that looked like a snarl. "Good."

He saw her begin to summon her power, swirling tongues of fire that licked at the air, but remained obediently away from their procurer. He stood awaiting her next attack, not making any motion to initiate the fight. His body shook in anticipation, knowing that he had no idea whether or not he would be able to leave here walking or on one of Sarah's gurneys. He calmed his breathing, trying to focus on what he knew was coming next. With a shout that could scare any knight, Gunilda sent the fire careening towards him.

Rather than allowing his head to frantically figure out what he needed to do, Merlin cleared it of all thought, except for one.

Give her hell.

He felt his power reach out for her attack, pushing it to the side away from him rather than stopping it altogether. He remained firmly footed, only sliding backwards a few inches. He heard Gwaine whoop at his accomplishment, but his ears felt clouded to the noise around him. Deep in his chest, he felt the small humming of magic. He recognized the feeling, but had never allowed it to expand.

Merlin drew upon humming, guiding it effortlessly towards his hand. He sliced out, throwing magic at her from an angle. Her eyes widened allowing him to see the beginnings of a crack in her cocky exterior. She rolled forwards, away from the attack and sent a beam of powerful magic at him. He didn't have to reach for his power as it was already at his fingertips before he could barely register it. He repeated the process of sending her power to the side. A burst of electric magic careened towards his chest. He stuck out his hand as if it were enough to stop it from hitting him. The power launched into his hand, causing him to shout in pain. He fought to keep it from expanding into the rest of his body. He focused on the electricity dancing around his hand and felt it bend to his will. He glanced towards Gunilda who's normally schooled expression was now that of surprise.

His magic hummed in his chest and he let some leak into his hands. He yelped out of fright as his palms lit up brightly, lightning flying outwards and absorbing into the walls. She leapt away from him, but stumbled slightly. It was an opening for Merlin. He drew his power forward to the palm of his hand and hesitated. It sparked beneath the surface, ready to be released onto his opponent, but Merlin couldn't find it in himself to allow it out.

His pause was all she needed. Merlin felt his feet leave the ground as he was thrown forcefully backwards, landing onto the ground rather roughly. The magic he had pooled escaped upwards in great bolts of sparking light that died as they hit the ceiling. He gasped for air, barely registering the shouts of alarm from the sidelines over his loud breathing and rolled over to his back. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on quelling his power.

"Are you alright?"

Merlin's eyes flashed open at her voice. "Yes." He gasped out.

Gunilda smiled and dropped to the ground next to Merlin who was struggling into a sitting position. She pulled him upright and he found her hands pressing onto his chest while her eyes flowed gold. "There is nothing broken or damaged beneath the surface."

Merlin snorted and forced a bit of sarcasm into his voice. "That's a surprise."

She laughed, but it died out after a few seconds.

"Thank you for training me, Gunilda." Merlin said as she stood.

She reached out for his hand and pulled him to his feet in one fluid motion. "I should be the one thanking you for this honor. Balin was nearly begging me to allow him to watch, well, him and nearly every one of my trainees."

"It's better for the sake of your trainees that they didn't." Merlin laughed. He pulled some of the longer pieces of his hair so he could see how badly singed it was. This would only make Gaius happy as the man had been hounding him about his long hair for quite some time. "The way you were able to fight-" Merlin trailed off as he dropped his hair and shook his head. He still couldn't shake the look she had in her eyes, the oceans of confidence that drown out the minuscule amount he had been able to muster up. "I'm sure they all would have dropped out."

Gunilda stopped walking towards the group for a moment to turn to him. "Your abilities are far more advanced than you realize, Merlin. You could have beaten me more easily than you think had you trusted in your ability to control your magic. The first rule I tell new trainees is there is no room for those who hold back." She paused for a moment. "Why did you?"

"It's uh- complicated." Merlin finally settled on.

"Your magic?"

He looked at her caring eyes, a different side to her than the fire she had when they had sparred. Merlin gave her a small smile and nodded. There was a kindness in her eyes. He immediately remembered Gwen when they met while rotten fruit was dripping down his face. "I've never had an opportunity like this. I'm afraid that I-" He ended with a sigh.

There was a pause after this. Merlin could just overhear the knights, specifically Gwaine, chattering about what they just saw. It warped in the high ceilings of the room, allowing each word to live a longer span before fading into the high ceilings.

"How about I share what I saw?" Gunilda offered. Merlin bobbed his head once and she continued.

"First of all, you were woefully underprepared to couple magic with evasive techniques."

Merlin laughed sharply in a way that began quickly and died just a fast. "I suppose I can't really argue with you about that one."

She continued but was fighting to keep a smile off of her features. "But I failed you- as a teacher." She sobered, something that he sensed rarely happened with her. "I only really considered what I know concerning magical combat. In the days before the purge, there were those who had several generations worth of knowledge in the art of combat. Now much of that knowledge has been destroyed except what little survived through the few of us who live on." A light smile accompanied by a short laugh followed her softened demeanor. "I never thought it would be in my destiny to train Emrys, even if it were just for one in my attempts to share that knowledge with you, I now realize that my own instruction was holding you back in certain ways."

She paused. Merlin allowed her to take her time. He glanced to the side, checking on the group. Everyone save for Arthur was still knee deep in discussion. Arthur was more invested in carefully looking anywhere but where he and Gunilda sat. Merlin shook his head, knowing that just seconds before he had been watching them carefully, perhaps even trying to hear what was being said. Merlin smiled slightly at the thought as Gunilda continued.

"Perhaps all the defensive training you need to know is a powerful shield. I have no idea of the power that flows through your veins. It would be impossible for anyone to know except you."

Merlin stared back at her silently. He had grown used to strangers telling him what his destiny was. Hell, Kilgarrah certainly enjoyed his cryptic explanations of what his future held. It was almost unnerving to hear someone who didn't assume they knew everything about his current situation. He felt as if there was more to him than Arthur or his destiny or his magic.

It made him feel normal.

"But don't think for a second that I won't be bragging about how I bested Emrys in combat."

With that she turned away and began walking leaving Merlin standing there gaping at her for a moment. He shook his head and scoffed before following her.

He definitely looked forward to the next time they sparred because he would be sure to be ready.

"Sire," Gunilda bowed her head. "Thank you for granting this time for training."

"It was a pleasure." Arthur responded. He stood and jumped over the barrier that separated them from the training field. He extended his hand which she grabbed and shook. "You are welcome in Camelot anytime, especially when I need to knock Merlin's ego back a few notches."

"Here we go." Gwaine's eyes were shining. The knight leapt the fence with a graceful finesse that only a person like Gwaine would commit to wholeheartedly. Merlin rolled his eyes at his friend's antics and scoffed loudly enough for Arthur to hear it.

"You're one to talk." Merlin rebutted, stepping up towards Arthur. He stood squarely in front of him and looked him up and down as he had when they first met. Merlin saw the beginnings of a smirk form on Arthur's lips. "If your head was proportionate to the size of your ego then I'm afraid Camelot's gold reserves would be exhausted to make a crown big enough."

There was a huge snort that came from the side of them. Arthur's smirk was quickly replaced with a scowl as he switched his focus from him to the knights. Merlin glanced to the side and saw that each of the knights looked equally guilty.

Gunilda cleared her throat gently, gaining their attention. "Until the conference later on, you have full access to the entire complex except the living quarters."

Arthur nodded. "Understood."

"Then I will leave you with that." Gunilda said. She gripped Merlin's shoulder and squeezed it. "You did well, except for your dreadful, but there just may be no fixing that, Emrys"

"Merlin is fine." He said nodding his thanks at her.

"Goodbye, Merlin," She glanced to Arthur and dipped her head fluidly. "Sire."

She made her exit out of the training facilities. Merlin walked over to where he had hastily draped his jacket and reached for it. He fought a grimace. While Gunilda left practically skipping out of the room, Merlin figured that the rest of the day would be spent moving slowly from the soreness that had already begun to seep in his muscles. He pulled his arms through the sleeves and turned, feeling Arthur's eyes on his back.

"Sore?"

It was said almost mockingly. Merlin scoffed. "And bruised."

"With all that I've learned these past few days, I've discovered that you have got to be the most high maintenance person in all of Camelot."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Really? This coming from the man who doesn't wash his own socks."

Arthur walked passed Merlin, shouldering him playfully. He stood in the center of the training facility and looked upwards.

"This place is incredible." His voiced echoed upwards into the great expanse. The awe in his voice was carried in the current of reverberating sound.

"It is a feat."

"I wonder how Camelot would have grown." Arthur turned away from the group and grew silent.

Merlin glanced at the knights for a moment. They were already looking at him as though nudging him silently to deal with Arthur's shift on his own, like they had drawn the short straw for him. Merlin narrowed his eyes. Gwaine's response was to throw his arms around Elyan and Leon and lead them towards the exit. Percival gave him a half smile as though to apologize and then set off on following them. Merlin waited for them to be entirely gone before continuing.

"You can't do that to yourself, Arthur." Merlin took several steps forward to be in line with him. Still, Arthur appeared to remain lost in thought.

"I could think of a hundred times when I should have told you about my magic. The outcome would have been infinitely better than how you found out. But what good is that? It won't change what happened."

Arthur sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment.

"We can find out." There was a hopeful light sparking in his eyes when he opened them. "We can forge a new Camelot."

Merlin felt the sting of tears pricking in his eyes and he blinked hard to keep them fully forming. Merlin cleared his throat. "I definitely think that's a start."

Arthur looked at Merlin and snorted. "It seems your overtly chipper attitude has rubbed off on me."

"It's about time. You were getting to completely unbearable. I didn't know how much longer I could stand your dull presence."

Arthur gaped at him. "Sometimes I think you forget who you're talking to."

Merlin brought his hand to his chin as though deep in thought. "No, cause I'm not the stupid one here."

Moments later, Merlin had nearly bowled over Leon as he bolted down the hallway with the king of Camelot pursuing closely behind him with a hostile look that was easily recognizable to four knights standing in the hallway.