Merlin never imagined this conversation would ever happen, where all his friends would be theorising about his identity, questioning whether to trust him - all while he sat there pretending that dread wasn't settled deep in his gut. Merlin felt like a castle crumbling to the ground, felt like the stone walls were caving in and he had nowhere to go.

Arthur was never meant to find out about Emrys. Merlin had always envisioned Arthur finding out he had magic by sitting him down and having a serious conversation, preferably when the laws surrounding magic have eased or have even been abolished. Not when Arthur was already looking for him…not when Camelot's fate was hanging in the balance and Arthur would be forced to accept his magic for the sake of the kingdom.

Moren had graciously offered them a few tents for the night, and luckily Arthur agreed, though reluctantly. So here Merlin was, squashed against Percival's giant form and unable to sleep. His thoughts ran rampant, thinking up scenarios in which he would not have to reveal himself to his companions. Allowing Arthur to conduct a futile search for Emrys would only be wasting precious time, time which would be better spent preparing for an attack and hiding Camelot's citizens. If the Sekia really did feed on souls, if it really was made of shadows and smoke, then no one was safe.

Merlin will eventually have to reveal his magic when fighting the Sekia, it was inevitable. And Merlin highly doubts that he could talk his way out of that. So…wouldn't it be better if Merlin could tell Arthur - could explain everything. And yet…the thought of telling Arthur anytime soon filled his stomach with trepidation.

Through the haziness of a sleep-addled brain, Merlin heard the muffled sounds of quiet chatter and stifled laughter. His mouth stretched in an instinctive smile when he realised where he awoke. In a druid camp, with people just like him.

Merlin often woke early, his body accustomed to waking in the early hours of the morning to begin his duties as a servant. And so, he glanced at his friends sleeping soundly and crept out of the tent. Under the cloudless blue sky, he surveyed the camp, it was relatively large, with several men, women and children milling about. Merlin instantly noticed Moren speaking to the older woman from yesterday and another unfamiliar girl. He tried his hardest to ignore the gasps of awe and loud whispering of druids as he strode towards Moren and the two women.

"Good morning" he greeted simply.

The older woman's eyes widened at his arrival and she hastily bowed low, like a servant would a king, well a servant that wasn't Merlin. He shifted uncomfortably at his treatment, it was such a sharp contrast with how Arthur normally treats him as his manservant that it almost made him laugh aloud.

"Uh good - good morning Emrys" the woman stuttered, her pale eyes were unusually kind and soft, reminding him of how his mother's were. "My name is Eleanor, I am Moren's wife." Eleanor held out a hand and Merlin shook it gently. He offered her a grin. "It's nice to meet you, but please call me Merlin. And there's no need to bow" Merlin added bashfully. Eleanor nodded earnestly at his request.

"This is our daughter Annora." Moren said, gesturing toward the girl at his side, she seemed to be about his own age, perhaps younger, and she, like her mother, had kind pale-coloured eyes. "It's truly a pleasure to have you here, Emr- uh Merlin." Annora corrected herself, smiling timidly. Merlin noticed Annora's reddish brown hair glinting in the sunlight as she fiddled with it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both, I haven't been to many druid camps before." he said as he scanned the area, watching as little boys and girls chased each other around trees, stopping every so often to give him openly awed looks and giggling nervously behind their hands. Some druids were using their magic to make crops grow and some were casting protective charms on their weapons. "It's amazing.."

"You live in Camelot, yes?" Annora asked cautiously, as though he would curse her if she so much as said a wrong word. She glanced at her father, who only nodded in encouragement. The combination of awe and fear that emanated from every inhabitant of the druid camp was making Merlin increasingly uncomfortable, the sort that made one want to hide. The unwanted attention was quite unnerving, after being in the position of a lowly servant for some years. A servant which never received anything other than a cursory glance of indifference often tinged with mild disgust.

"Yes I do" he hummed.

"Well…that must be quite difficult…not being able to use magic freely, i mean." Annora said.

Merlin inhaled deeply, and replied after a contemplative moment, "Yes it's quite difficult, it feels… like I'm constantly suppressing a part of myself." He replied truthfully. Merlin noticed early on in life that magic was - at least for him - as easy as breathing, and therefore just as needed.

Merlin, in an afterthought realised that It was quite strange, speaking of his magic and his life in Camelot, the two facts intertwined as they were, were never spoken as such. It was unsettling, like relinquishing a closely guarded secret to a mere stranger. And even though he knew that it was too early in the day for the king to rise, he still glanced at the tents to reassure himself.

"I'm sorry, then, that you have to hide. You, more than any of us, deserve to practise magic… Magic is beautiful and pure, and it should be considered as such. It's a shame that it is not." Annora said, her tonelessly timid voice barely above a whisper and heavy with sorrow. Sorrow that seemed to be shared by all sorcerers.

"I very much agree," he nodded at her words. "One day, it won't be. I hope with everything I have, that there will come a time when magic is celebrated." Merlin's voice as strong as his belief. It was his destiny after all, and even though he never put much belief in prophecies, he knew that Arthur will be a great king. And that with Merlin by his side, they will create a fair and just land.

Moren, Eleanor and Annora beamed at his words, as did others that surrounded them, obviously having been listening to their conversation. At their openly joyful expressions, Merlin grinned widely. Mostly, his destiny was a pain in the arse, but rare moments like these made it all worth it. Merlin, being a sort of personalised symbol of hope for druids and sorcerers alike, often felt as though he held the weight of the world on his too slim shoulders. It was both a burden and a blessing.

Merlin suddenly heard someone clear their throat purposely, to capture his attention. A child. No more than six, stared for a far longer time than was comfortable."Hello, my name's H-hamlin. Um would you uh do some magic for - for us" the little boy stuttered earnestly. A fair distance behind him stool a small group of children, varying in age and gender. Excitement splayed on their youthful faces.

Merlin, though wary to perform magic with Arthur sleeping in a tent only a few metres away, agreed. "Of course!" He took stock of his surroundings and decided to perform a simple spell, nothing too spectacular. He promptly sat on the grass, cross legged. The children immediately followed his lead and sat in a semicircle around him. The children's parents stood, and watched in something akin to astonishment at his agreement and anticipation for his actions.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the grass between them was suddenly filled with hundreds of flowers and plants displaying vibrant unnatural colours. Some floated up in the air while the others stayed rooted to the ground. All the flowers wriggled and moved about, as though they were dancing, spinning and twirling around the heads of the children and singing merrily in quiet voices.The children gasped in delight and giggled with mirth. They hopped up and started chasing the dancing flowers, all of which would teasingly twirl around to evade capture. Hamlin laughed hysterically as some of the flowers tickled him.

"You did not even speak an incantation" Eleanor spoke breathlessly in wonderment. Heat rushed to Merlin's cheeks at the compliment.

Hamlin ran up to Merlin just as he was about to respond. "S-sir Emrys, will you play with us?" he grinned toothy, though a few teeth were missing, and tugged at Merlin's pant leg. Hamlin's mother rushed to pull her child off him but Merlin only agreed and began playing with all the children in the long grass. He chased them around in circles and they squealed in laughter whenever he caught them. He conjured pretty illusions that awed the children and adults alike.

A rustling sound caused Merlin to quickly vanish the floating flowers and illusions. The children pouted in disappointment and Merlin's heart twinged.

With his heart beating twice as fast and his palms sweaty, he turned to face Percival and Elyan, who were emerging from the flaps of the tents. They rubbed at their eyes and strode towards Merlin, Moren, Eleanor, Annora and the groups of children who were still pouting. "Mornin'" they muttered in sync. And soon after, Gwaine, Leon and Arthur stumbled out, too.

The morning passed by sluggishly, Moren invited the group for breakfast before they took their leave. They ate in relative silence, until Arthur asked Moren a rather important question that seemed to be utterly forgotten in the astonishment and revelation of Emrys and the Sekia.

"How long do we have until the Sekia reaches Camelot?"

Moren replied, rather abysmally, "a week at most."

"Not much time to find Emrys" Arthur mused.

The knights shared looks.

After they finished their breakfast, Arthur sent Merlin to gather all their belongings and pack them on the horses, while he spoke to Moren once more. Merlin desperately wanted to listen, but he had duties to attend, and Arthur would most likely tell him anyway.

As he was preparing the horses, a Druid man approached him. "Hello" he said shakily. Merlin smiled kindly and repeated the greeting. He really did like the druids, they were everything that sorcerers are meant to be. They value the beauty of magic and understand the repercussions of using such a beautiful power for evil and wrongdoing. Merlin wondered, in a moment of fantasy, if he would have joined them had he not been locked in such a destiny. His life would have been so incredibly different. He would have grown up knowing that his magic was not supposed to be feared or hidden, he would have been taught at an early age and would have been surrounded by people who knew exactly what it feels like to create incredible things using only his mind and a few simple words. But he would not have met Arthur, Gaius, Gwen or any of the knights, all of whom he loved dearly.

"I only wanted to tell you that it was a genuine pleasure having you at our camp, however brief your stay. The children certainly enjoyed it. And…that I - we all - believe in your destiny." Merlin's heart warmed at the older man's words, at their sincerity and hopefulness. The grey-haired man shook his hand profusely when Merlin thanked him. "You know…you arent as we imagined, you're much kinder, much more humble than we thought possible, very few men of power are as such. And a man of your power…we just expected different is all." The druid man spoke in a wary sort of honesty, like his thoughts and his words were one and the same, though he did not like it. Merlin wasn't often spoken to with such reverence, or even mild respect, and now suddenly here in the druid camp, it was the only way he was spoken to. He didn't feel he deserved it. After all, what has he really done? Save Arthur and Camelot's hide every now and then. He has the power to protect his friends, why would he not use it?

"Didn't think I would be a servant, did you?" Merlin grinned mirthfully. "I quite like it. Honestly, it's a rewarding job, after polishing armour and doing the laundry, I get to muck out the horse's stables." As Merlin grinned, the druid man's face took on a stony quality. A sort of righteous fury, if you will, and wholly undirected at him.

"I…I don't understand." The druid man whispered, almost to himself. "You could be anything, be anyone. And yet…you chose to be a servant?"

Merlin sighed. It was a valid question, he supposed. One that crept into the recesses of his mind in the late hours of night. But he had his answer at the ready. "There is no one but Arthur that I am willing to serve. I believe in his destiny just as I believe in mine. I am told we are two sides of the same coin and our fates are intertwined. And as his servant, I am by his side, just as I was always meant to be."