In the early morning Merlin was already awake and he was making breakfast for himself and Gaius. On two plates he prepared some bread with cheese and put all this on the table where two cups of tea waited for them to be drunk. In the meantime, while Gaius was taking his time getting up, the warlock started to pack his bag, remembering to take everything he needed and all the things that may come in handy. He didn't want to wake the physician up, because he knew that the old man spent almost all day searching for herbs in the forest. Probably Gaius returned late, because Merlin could hear someone bustling around the room in the middle of the night.

Merlin walked over to the storage shelf and took some supplies before throwing them into his bag. Not paying much attention to his surroundings, he turned around and hit one of the shelves where several vials stood in order. Some of them fell to the floor shattering to pieces. The warlock grabbed his head into his hands not only at the noise that it caused, but also at the mess that he made. Luckily, the vials were empty. Merlin hurried for a brush to clean all this up and in a slight rush he began to sweep the floor.

"What time is it…?" Gaius muttered, starting to wake up. Merlin looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," the warlock said and returned to sweeping.

Gaius rolled over on his bed and looked at his apprentice with a puzzling look.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I broke your vials," Merlin glanced at him innocently.

"I can see that, but what are you doing now?"

"Cleaning the mess I've made," he replied, focusing on his job.

"Why on earth don't you use magic?" Gaius asked, looking at him.

Merlin sighed, stood up and dropped the brush. He looked at the physician and shook his head.

"You're right," he said and with a blink of an eye he cleaned the broken glass without even using his hand. "You don't know how hard it is to switch to using magic in daily chores when for all these years I was taught not to do it and to be careful with it," he sat by the table.

Gaius was watching Merlin with concern and then joined him at breakfast.

"I understand, Merlin. Why did you get so frustrated about it?" the physician asked with a calm tone.

"I'm sorry, it's just…," Merlin took a sip of his tea. "I found the true purpose of my gift years ago when for the first time I saved Arthur's life. And it feels strange when I use magic in front of other people. Everyone… watch."

"Well, people will always watch, that's the way it is. After all, for them it is something new, too."

"Yes, but… that's not what I mean."

"What is it then, Merlin?" Gaius looked at Merlin's face. He could tell that something is troubling him. "Is it the visit to Essetir that worries you?"

"Yeah, this is quite concerning too, but that's not it. I just want it to be like it used to be. It's okay that Arthur knows, but even if it seems that everything is exactly like it was before, he sometimes treats me differently. And it is the same when it comes to other people."

"I think it's only a matter of time and they will get used to it," said Gaius while taking a bite of his sandwich. "It's a novelty."

"I'm telling it to myself, too," he followed Gaius and began to eat.

When Merlin finished his breakfast he took his bag and was ready to leave, but Gaius stopped him halfway to the door.

"Did you take any medications?"

"No, why?"

"Aside from your magic, some basic medications would be needed though," said Gaius and started looking for something among all the bottles filled with coloured liquids. Merlin went to him, seeing that the physician had some trouble with finding.

"What is it exactly that you're looking for?"

"Wait, Merlin, wait…," he mumbled, still searching. "Found it! And this will be useful, too. Here you go," Gaius took another vial and handed it to the warlock.

"Thank you, Gaius," Merlin smiled and put all the medicine into his bag.

"Sometimes it is better not to reveal who we really are," he said after a beat. "This can give us an advantage and time to think," he smiled and patted Merlin on the shoulder.

"Yes… I think so," Merlin frowned.

"Well," Gaius smiled and hugged him; "be careful and take care of our king."

"That's my job," said Merlin smiling back at him and then left the room.

He headed to the royal stables walking through a city bustling with life in the morning. He smiled at the thought as he recalled himself when he first came to Camelot. Then it was something new, a challenging change in his life and now, it is similar because he remained the same, but Camelot has changed. Camelot has changed for the better. And there's a new challenge for Merlin to face this change, everything all he ever wanted, freely using magic and people knowing who he really is.

He walked into the stables and started preparing horses. He was doing his job automatically without focusing on it because of another thought that stuck in his head. After Arthur received a message from the king of Essetir, Merlin, in the back of his mind, knew that nothing good would come out of it. He had this strange feeling that something bad it's gonna happen and that terrified him more because usually it was true.

He was finishing fastening the harness of the king's horse when he heard a loud clap next to his left ear. He turned abruptly to see Arthur's face in front of him. Merlin immediately pushed away bad thoughts and put a slight smile on his face.

"You're up," Merlin said.

"What's wrong with you? I called your name," Arthur gave him an enquiring look.

"I… I haven't had enough sleep," he replied, looking Arthur up and down. "And you're dressed."

"Obviously I can do that," the king said.

"Well, I was about to wake you up and get you breakfast just right after I'm finished."

"Don't worry about it, you have way too much on your mind," Arthur said walking over to Merlin's horse to check the harness. "Come on, out with it," he glanced at him.

"It's nothing, really," said Merlin after a beat.

"You can't lie, Merlin," Arthur turned to him and looked him in the eyes. Merlin looked down.

"Right, I'll tell you," he looked back at the king. "It's the strange feeling I used to get, remember?"

"Yeah…," Arthur narrowed his eyes. "And what does it tell you now?"

"I don't think we should go," he shook his head.

"Merlin, you know we can't ignore it."

"But I'm pretty sure that something's wrong."

"And I'm pretty sure that of all your magical abilities you cannot foresee the future," said Arthur.

"Well, I'm glad," Merlin sighed. "I've seen many futures in the past. It's no fun, believe me," he winced at the feeling.

"What –"

"Don't be scared Merlin, you'll have me," they turned their heads to see Gwaine that just walked to the stables; "and magic of course," he smiled.

"Gwaine!" Merlin brightened at the sight of his friend. They hugged each other in greeting.

"I heard about a trip and I couldn't miss it," Gwaine put his bags on his horse.

"You're not going, are you?" Arthur turned to him.

"Of course I am."

"Gwaine, you haven't recovered yet. I don't want you to risk your life," the king tried to convince him to stay.

"Don't worry, princess, I'll be fine," he glanced at him and Arthur gave him an irritated look. "Besides, Gaius said that there were no reasons why I shouldn't go. I still have these listless states that's why I need to be with other people, especially with you guys. It will help me get better. I'm sure if I were locked up I would go mad."

"Right, but if something would be wrong, just tell us," said Arthur.

"Yeah."

"So, are we ready?" Percival walked in.

"We're waiting for Leon yet," Arthur replied.

They packed and checked everything before leaving. After a few minutes Leon showed up accompanied by Galahad. Both of them talked vividly about something.

"I hope you don't mind me going with you, sire," Galahad turned to Arthur. "I know I'm not one of your knights, but…"

"Of course he doesn't mind," Leon interjected, putting a hand on the king's arm. "What would he do without all of us?" he chuckled.

"That's true," Arthur laughed. "You're not officially the knight of Camelot yet, but you proved yourself to be one," he looked at him. "All right, let's go. Don't waste more time."

Each one of them mounted their horses and set off on a journey. They were riding for about an hour through the forest of Ascetir and to that point no one disturbed them on their way. Despite this, Merlin was still aware of their surroundings and from time to time he used his abilities to check the path before them. It was the most common road to Lot's kingdom and if any knight of Camelot was to go to Essetir, he would go that way, but there was no trace that someone passed there. Merlin glanced quickly at all his friends and then returned to following the path with his eyes.

"When we pass the woods we will take a break before we enter Essetir border. We must water the horses," said Arthur. "Gwaine, you're okay?" he turned to the knight who rode just after him next to Merlin.

"If I pass out, he catches," Gwaine laughed and nodded at the warlock who chuckled.

"At your service," he said.

"We must remember that we will be King Lot's guests," said Arthur after a few moments. "And I don't think that he has any bad intentions, so don't act until we're threatened," he looked at Merlin. "I'm mainly talking to you."

"Me?" Merlin looked up at Arthur.

"Yes, because you're most likely to act too hastily in order to save us."

"I always think things through…," he caught up with the king. "Well, until we're threatened."

"Merlin, I'm just telling it because Lot has a negative attitude towards sorcerers," Arthur sighed.

"I'm more warlock than a sorcerer, but that's fine," Merlin murmured.

"I know, I just… want you to be careful when we get there," said Arthur, not looking at him.

Merlin glanced at him and he couldn't help but smile. He knew that Arthur deep in his heart cared about him even if it was hard for the king to admit it, but when he did, Merlin was rejoiced.

"Are you actually worried about me or did I misunderstand your words?" Merlin asked, still smiling at him.

"Really, Merlin?" Arthur stared at him. "After everything we've been through you keep questioning it?"

"I knew that. Once I heard that it can be seen in the eyes, but mostly it is actions that show how much someone cares. It's just very rare to hear you saying those things."

"Hey, lovebirds!" Gwaine said to them, interrupting their conversation. They were just passing a forest clearing. "It seems there's an Essetir border."

Arthur looked ahead and nodded, he stopped his horse and turned towards the knights.

"All right, we're making a stop here," said Arthur and then glanced at Merlin and lowered his voice so that only he could hear it. "I always cared."

Merlin followed the king with his eyes when he rode away and watched as he dismounted his horse with other knights. But it was oddly quiet. The warlock looked around and saw Gwaine who stood a little further from them and was giving water to his horse. To Merlin he seemed withdrawn, so he jumped off his stallion and walked over to the knight.

"Hey, everything all right?" Merlin asked when he was next to him. Gwaine's head snapped to him.

"Yeah, why are you asking?"

"I think you need to take your medicine," said Merlin as he pulled out a vial of bright yellow liquid. "It will relieve stress," he handed it to him.

"I hoped I wouldn't need that anymore, but if you say so, even if I'm not stressed," said Gwaine and drank the liquid.

"Well, I would need valerian too," said the warlock and Gwaine gave him a questioning look.

"To calm my mind because the closer we get, the more anxious I am," Merlin explained after a beat.

"Is it your magic?"

"No, just a hunch, but it always came true."

"So it seems we'll get into trouble," Gwaine laughed. "But don't worry, Merlin, we always got out of the troubles," he patted him on the shoulder and walked away to join the rest of his friends.

"Yeah, thanks to me," Merlin said under his breath and started watering his horse.

"How far from here?" Percival asked.

"About one and a half hours," Leon replied.

"Okay, so better we're going," Arthur said.

They travelled through the mountains and then through a few copses to find themselves on a vast meadow from which there was a view of the castle made of dark grey bricks; it had several short towers, but the building couldn't compare with Camelot's architecture.

Without a word they headed a path which followed them straight to the main gate. The wind tugged at their hair, but when the guards let them into the main square, it died down, held back by the thick walls, which were high enough to keep the courtyard in eternal shadow. Arthur, Leon and Merlin rode first and behind them were Gwaine, Percival and Galahad. As they stopped their horses, the entrance door of the castle swung open and a man emerged with dark, long hair braided at the back. He wore black robes with navy blue inserts.

"I welcome you, king Arthur, to my kingdom," the man said, coming towards them.

"It's our pleasure, thank you for your invitation," said Arthur and all of them dismounted their horses with the help of the guards.

"Of course," the king Lot shook Arthur's hand in greeting; "but there's a certain matter we need to discuss and I hope that there was a mistake because I don't fancy declaring a war."

"I believe it to be some misunderstanding. I would never send my men on a patrol beyond Camelot's borders."

"Maybe we talk about it inside, shall we?" with a gesture of his hand Lot encouraged them to enter the castle.

King Lot led them straight to the throne room, where he himself took his seat and the guests stood in front of him. He was surrounded by his guards who were prepared for any situation. And so did Merlin, he was ready to react quickly, if the need would arise. King waved his hand at one of the guards, and as the latter approached, he said something in his ear. Then Lot turned to his guests again and spoke.

"Well, nice things later. Now we must clarify the matter for which we are meeting today. In a moment two men will be introduced who, by all indications, are your knights, Arthur."

"I must admit that it is also surprising for me. I don't want any misunderstandings and I hope that despite this situation, our kingdoms will remain at peace and we will remain good allies," Arthur said.

"Of course, peace between us is not in danger, but I cannot let such actions pass."

"I understand, so it's better if we explain it as soon as possible."

At the same moment the side door to the chamber opened and two young men were led into the room. Everyone's eyes turned to them. They were dressed in the knightly tunics of Camelot and their heads were lowered, making it impossible to see their faces. One of them clearly caught the attention of Arthur, Merlin, and the rest. There was something familiar in that man's slightly curly black hair. Eventually, the guard pulled men's heads back so that everyone could see them and Arthur and Merlin locked eyes with the man. To their horror, this was Mordred's face they were looking at.