Guinevere was sitting at the table in her and Arthur's chambers. Since she was told that her husband had managed to reach Avalon safely, she felt a little bit calmer, but still, she was worried that something could go wrong. It's been a week, but for her it felt like forever. Gwen looked at the royal seal she was holding and started fidgeting with it. There was a murmur from behind the door of the chamber and after a while Leon burst in. The queen instinctively jumped up from the chair as he stopped in front of her panting.

"Leon," she said.

"My lady," he gasped; "I'm sorry to disturb you, but we've been informed by the guards about three horsemen approaching the main gate. It is believed that one of them is Arthur."

Guinevere's eyes widened and her heart started beating faster. She tossed a royal seal on the table and brushed past sir Leon to the door. Without a thought he rushed after her.

In the courtyard, on the staircase to the main entrance to the castle were gathered a couple of knights and some members of the royal family's service. Gwen pushed her way through the crowd with Leon following her and stood at the bottom of the stairs. From the distance they heard the clatter of horses' hooves and with every second as it was getting louder, the sound of it echoed across the main square. After a moment, from behind the wall, appeared to their eyes the king Arthur himself with Merlin by his side. They stopped the horses right in front of the crowded people. Arthur got off his horse and suddenly he was grasped into a hug by Guinevere.

"I can't believe it's really you," she whispered. Her eyes were closed and her head rested against his chest.

"It's all right," Arthur pulled her closer and kissed her head, smelling the delicate scent of her hair.

In the meantime Gaius pushed his way through the crowd saying short words to make people move. He stopped looking for a jet-black bunch of hair and when he finally found it, he crossed his eyes with Merlin's. The young man gave him a happy smile. He walked over to Gaius and hugged him.

"Glad you're finally home, Merlin," he said, pulling back. "I knew you could make it."

A smile didn't leave Merlin's face. He looked around and saw everyone's happy faces, cheerful knights and other people clapping as Arthur and Guinevere kissed. Merlin's eyes glistened and he turned back to Gaius.

"Gaius," he said with relief; "supper's ready?"

They both laughed at this and glanced towards Gwen when she spoke up.

"And who is this young man?" she asked, looking over her husband's shoulder.

Behind them stood Galahad, who was also influenced by the joyful mood of the others.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Arthur pulled back from Gwen's embrace, confused, and looked at Galahad. "This is Galahad, a man who…," he paused, glancing at him remembering what he promised to his mother. Galahad smiled slightly, lowering his stare; "who saved our lives from the bandits who attacked us near the Valley of the Fallen Kings," said Arthur.

"A hero," Gwen smiled at the man.

"He is," he agreed with her, smiling. "And the honourable one," he paused. Galahad exchanged glances with him and Gwen not knowing what to do.

"Oh, sorry again… and this is Guinevere, my wife."

"My lady," said Galahad, bowing and gently taking her hand. "My pleasure to meet you."

The queen bowed, too. "And I thank you for saving my husband's life and…," her gaze drifted towards the young warlock standing next to them; "Merlin's," she looked back at Galahad with a smile and then walked to Merlin hugging him.

"I know everything, Gaius told me," she said and looked at her friend. "What you have done… thank you, Merlin."

"That's really nothing," he shook his head and looked over her to see if anyone was listening.

She caught him glancing around and her smile faded a little. "But you're not leaving, aren't you?"

Merlin laid his eyes back on Gwen and opened his mouth to answer when Arthur suddenly stood next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Even if he wanted to, I won't let him," Arthur smirked and glanced at Merlin and then at Guinevere. "I think we're all starving," he said a little louder for everyone to hear. "Let's welcome our guest, Galahad, who saved our lives and agreed to accompany us on the way back to Camelot."

Everybody started clapping and Galahad bowed slightly in thanks, intimidated a little. When the applause died down, Arthur showed the way to the main entrance of the castle.

"So, tell me again," sir Leon said to Galahad as everyone was sitting at the table in the banquet hall; "how it happened that you found yourself the greatest hero in Camelot?" saying this Leon winked at Merlin, who was sitting two chairs away, across from them. The young warlock chuckled and shook his head.

"How many more times will I tell the same story?" Galahad laughed, slightly wasted.

"Yep, he's right. It's getting boring," said Merlin, pouring himself water to a mug.

"It's inspiring, Merlin," it looked like Leon drank too much either. "He saved our king. Can you imagine?" said the knight with an amused smile.

"I was just passing by and I saw people needing help so I helped. Like I said before, I've been wandering hither and thither…," Galahad replied.

"A traveller," said Leon.

"Well, not quite, but kind of," Galahad chuckled. "But actually, it wasn't me who saved Arthur's life…," he muttered and gestured at Merlin.

"Oh, don't worry," Merlin slightly flipped his hand. "I got used to being in a shadow because someone else takes the credit," he said with an ironic tone.

Arthur heard this as he was passing by and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Well, not anymore. It's time for you to go out in the sun," he said, leaning over his ear and then he walked towards his seat.

Merlin frowned and followed him with his eyes as Arthur stood at the table and cleared his throat to make everyone in the room pay attention to him. When the noise of conversation had ceased, he spoke:

"I am grateful to be here with you all, thanks to Galahad and… the others," Arthur nodded at him; "but here's someone else without whom we wouldn't be in this place, without whom there would be no Camelot. Thanks to the help of this person, we have been able to protect the people of this land many times, we have been able to fight and take Camelot back from the enemy's hands and finally, we were able to win the battle of Camlann. He saved my life so many times that I can say he probably has lost count in that," Arthur chuckled and looked towards his friend.

Merlin shifted uneasily. He was sure that everyone, who didn't know about his gift yet, would find out about his secret in a moment. He was nervous, but there was something in Arthur's eyes that made him feel safe.

"We owe him a great debt, even though he's not looking for any reward for everything he has done," the king continued. "He lived in a shadow for so many years, because of who he is. But from now on it will be different. As some may not know, Merlin is not only my servant, he's a friend. Extremely loyal, brave and… wise," he smiled to himself. "He made me see magic in a different way, the way it really is. Someone once told me, 'there's no evil in sorcery, only in the hearts of men', and by saying this, I don't want people with magic to be hunted anymore. I know that I cannot repay them for all these years, but all I can do now is to restore magic in Camelot."

The silence continued for a few more seconds while most eyes were on Merlin, which made him feel a little bit uncomfortable. Some people were shocked, some of them were looking at him curiously, but what was most important was that no one looked scared. Guinevere got up from her seat and raised the glass. Everyone stood up and did the same.

"To Merlin," she said, smiling at him.

"To Merlin," all the gathered repeated simultaneously.

There was a sound of quick footsteps as the tall and slim silhouette was sneaking through the pitch-black corridors. The dark cloak trailed across the floor and swayed to the side as the figure turned into moon lighted hall. Silvery glow was falling on the man's blank face every time he passed narrow, tall windows. He climbed the stairs confidently and entered the council chamber with a scrap of paper in one hand.

"Good news, my lord," the man spoke with a loud and clear voice. "Or not," he stopped in front of the king.

"What is it, Athelred?" asked Vortigern getting up from the seat.

"Arthur finally returned to Camelot," he smirked.

"I knew it was just a matter of time," the king murmured looking out of the window.

"Yes, but according to Mordred, Arthur was mortally wounded and how he recovered is still a mystery."

"Indeed," Vortigern nodded and glanced at Athelred. "And what about that sorcerer? Any information?"

"He hasn't been seen since the battle. Everything we know at the moment is here," the man handed him a piece of paper. "It seems that Arthur had just returned to the world of the living, and he already showed off his nobility again. He was attacked by a group of bandits in the Valley of the Fallen Kings and he spared the life of one of them."

Vortigern looked at the note. "He travelled with two men."

"His manservant I suppose, from the description of the appearance. And the knight of Camelot was with them," said Athelred.

"Camelot's army?" the king asked.

"Half has been lost," he replied.

Vortigern seemed to not pay attention to Athelred, but he was nodding, carefully analysing something in his head.

"Send for my son," he said after a beat. "We have to start to restore our army. Small steps for a beginning. The others are not as strong as Camelot. It will make us more powerful, and give us time to prepare for the final battle."