In Which Merlin Loses His Job, Arthur Gets a Reality Check and Hermione Hunt Yet Another Horcrux.

Author's note: The last few chapters took place in the in between seasons 1 and 2. Now, this takes place during the Curse of Cornelius Sigan (season 2, episode1).

A few months passed uneventfully, for which Merlin was grateful. No one had tried to maul, murder, poison, kidnap or enchant the prince and Merlin had been toiling away at his chores while studying magic during his spare moments. He kept himself as busy as he could, so as not to think about Hermione, whom he hadn't heard of in a few months either. Was she well? Was she in trouble? If so, how would he know? Would she reach out to him? He, also, kept replaying the last conversation they had together, which despite Arthur's insistence, was not courting. He couldn't forget the look in her eyes when Hermione told him he would become a thing of legend. It was a look of wonder and awe, and there was a knowing certainty there, like when Merlin himself told Arthur he would be a great king.

On this particular night, the night crew miners were keeping him, and probably most of the castle, awake. Soon enough, he heard Arthur calling from the other room.

"Merlin!"

Merlin rolled his eyes. As much growth as Arthur had shown in the quest to get rid of the were-wolf, he still sometimes behaved like a child.

"Merlin!"

Merlin rushed into the room, and Arthur asked him, "Can't you do something about this?"

"And have your chamber be the only soundproof chamber in the castle? A chamber that only you and I, as your manservant, can enter? And you, clearly, don't have magic because you are the prince therefore..."

"Okay, okay, stop! It's too late for your prattling. I got the point."

"So, is there anything I can actually do for you, sire?"

Arthur smiled that ironic smile that meant he would do Merlin do something just for the sake of annoying him, and said, "Why, yes, of course! Go down there and tell them to stop!"

"They're working on orders of the king!"

"And you're working on mine. Now, go."

Merlin huffed but left, not before pushing the pillow just enough out of reach that it would annoy Arthur. And based on Arthur's muffled curse, Merlin was successful.

When he got down to the place where the workers were excavating, much to his surprise and slight worry, he saw that the workers were running away in fear from the bowels of the earth. When it emptied out, Merlin walked into what can only be described as a tomb. It was full of treasure, but what caught his eye was the blue jewel in the center of the sarcophagus. In the dark of the cave, it looked like it was pulsating.

His foot brushed against something, and he looked to realize one of the workers hadn't left. Merlin got a chill down his spine when he noticed how still the worker was. Merlin nudged him and realized why: the man was dead.

On the other end of the castle, the Lady Morgana dreamed. She saw a dark sky covered in clouds, a bad omen in and of itself, and then the gargoyles that surrounded every corner of the castle's roofs for the protection of the kingdom in the superstitious minds of the original architects. She saw a glowing blue gem, that pulsed, and from there a raven flew at her with a loud crow that startled her awake and she screamed.

"Gwen! Gwen!"

Gwen rushed to her side and hugged her, murmuring comforting nonsense into her ear. At least this time nothing caught fire or anything of the sort. Just a bad dream. A bad dream that left a feeling of dread sitting in Morgana's bones. It made her want to throw up.

The next morning, as Merlin and Gaius were examining the chamber, Gaius accidentally triggered the booby trapped of the sarcophagus. Merlin stopped the arrow from hitting Gaius with a plate, before letting it fall to the ground again.

"At least now we know how this man died," Merlin said.

Gaius looked like he wanted to retort with one of his usual scathing comments, but just then the king himself entered the chamber with Prince Arthur not far behind. The king seemed to be in awe of his good fortune, and Merlin had to hold himself back from calling him a grave robber. One look at the dead man didn't even garner a word of concern. It was appalling how much this king didn't care about his subjects when it really mattered. Arthur was put in charge of keeping the key to the tomb safe, Gaius was told to figure out who was the man buried there, and that was it.

Or, so Merlin thought.

Later that morning as they were preparing to go on a hunt, the stirrup leather of the saddle snapped after Merlin was sure it was secure and Arthur fell of his horse. He didn't consider foul play until this slimy git of the name Cedric miraculously appeared out of nowhere to return Arthur's horse.

After introductions were done, and Arthur politely invited Cedric to go on the hunt with them, Merlin pulled Arthur aside.

"I don't like him," Merlin told him, "he gives me a bad feeling."

Arthur, upset mostly because of his bruised ego than his bruised bum, retorted, "He just retrieved the horse after you failed to secure the saddle."

"I never fail to secure the saddle," Merlin said, hotly.

"So, what are you saying? That this man unfastened it just so that he could retrieve the run away horse when I fell?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying!"

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"He's going to join us on the hunt and then we'll never have to see him again," Arthur said.

Merlin, put upon but out of arguments, could do nothing but let it go.

Then, the ginormous boar appeared. Merlin saw Cedric hide behind a tree like a coward, which kind of made sense because even the knights looked nervous of the enormous beast charging towards them, but it was fine. Until Arthur threw his lance, failed at killing the beast, and suddenly it wasn't fine because the boar was very, very angry.

Merlin did what Merlin did best and enchanted Cedric's discarded spear which embedded itself in the eye of the monster. Arthur immediately turned to Merlin with a put upon look that he'd taken to wearing any time Merlin did magic in front of people he shouldn't be doing magic in front of.

"Merlin, I didn't know you had it in you!" Arthur said with fake cheer and a smile that promised torture on the training ground, "I should train you on using a spear when we get back to Camelot."

"Of course, sire," Merlin replied, at a loss.

Ever since he revealed his magic to Arthur, the man had stopped treating Merlin like an idiot. For once, Arthur seemed to realize just how much work Merlin did behind the scenes, and when he could squeeze in credit for his manservant, he gave it. Even if it meant that Merlin would have to pretend to be good with a spear for appearance's sake.

Between Arthur and the knights, and Cedric who was trying to curry favor with the prince, they managed to haul the massive boar to the castle. Merlin dragged it to the kitchens, cheating with a spell to make it lighter, and got a kiss from the cook for his troubles. They'd be having pork for a month.

When he returned with Arthur's meal to the prince's chambers, he found Cedric serving Arthur a more complete meal than what he'd brought.

"What's this?" Merlin asked, and it spoke volumes of Arthur change that he looked apologetic when he shrugged.

"Cedric here is attending to me today," Arthur said.

"Oh, well, is there anything else I can help you with?" Merlin asked.

Arthur was about to answer, when Cedric said, "I still haven't taken care of your horse, sire."

Merlin gave Arthur a very pointed look which Arthur knew to mean: I told you he was after something, and you will get rid of him so we can talk.

So, Arthur cleared his throat, swallowed the bite he had in his mouth, and said, "Go along, Cedric. Also, speak with the steward on your way out to discuss your employment."

Clearly Cedric didn't expect Arthur to dismiss him, yet he bowed and went to do as he asked. As soon as the door closed behind him, Merlin walked up to Arthur and spoke with a low voice in case Cedric was listening outside the door.

"I told you I had a bad feeling about him. He's clearly after my job," Merlin said.

"Yeah, that became obvious when he barged in with my lunch and said you had asked him to bring it up. I know you wouldn't ask, but I also didn't know how to call him out on his lie because you and I aren't supposed to know each other as well as we do," Arthur replied.

"Good to know you're on my side, at least," Merlin said with a snort, "I thought I would need to try and convince you."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It's only because now I know you to be at least halfway competent in your chores," Arthur said, which really meant: It's only because now that I know of your magic I understand why you were so clumsy to begin with, and why you seem to work with your head in the clouds sometimes.

"It's good of you to finally notice."

Arthur snorted and pushed away the plate.

"Now take this back to the kitchens and then you can retire for the night."

"Thank you, sire."

When Merlin walked into Gaius's room, he found the physician sitting with a piece of parchment in his hand. In there, a writing like none other Merlin had ever seen stared back at Gaius and Merlin.

"What is that?" Merlin asked.

"That is an inscription I found around the gem in the sarcophagus."

"What does it say?"

"I don't know," Gaius answered, "it's a language I've never seen before. Sigan would have been fluent in many languages, I imagine."

"Sigan?"

"It's his tomb," Gaius answered.

"Who's he?"

Gaius looked at him as if Merlin had asked if water is wet, and said, "Merlin, he was the most powerful sorcerer to have lived."

"Really?"

"You didn't grow up in Camelot, but for those of us that did, Cornelius Sigan was a figure of nightmare."

"Why?"

"Sigan's powers. He could change day into night, turn the tides, and legend has it, his spells helped build Camelot itself," Merlin noticed that Gaius shuddered.

"What happened?"

"In the end, he grew too powerful and the king at that time ordered his execution."

"If he's dead, why are you so worried?"

"Sigan couldn't bear the thought that his wealth and power would die with him, so he became obsessed with finding a way to defeat death itself." Now, it was Merlin who shuddered.

"You think he might have succeeded?"

"Let's hope not, for all our sakes."

Hermione was having a great day. In fact, she was having a great week. In the months since Greyback's death, she'd found herself breathing easier than before, and a tension that had been on her shoulders since she arrived in the past had disappeared. At the same time, Mordred had already mastered his meditations and most basic spells, so he could move on to learn something more complex. These past few months of peace had also allowed Mordred to settle nicely into a routine, and the security that provided was noticeable in his easy smile and chatty demeanor.

Hermione had also kept up her magic studies with the Priestesses Grimmoire. She found there was a spell for practically everything; some had been passed down through generations of high priestesses so that their origin was a myth, while others had been created by some high priestesses and added to the list. Some called for blood, guts and dark rituals which Hermione immediately vetoes, while others almost seemed like prayers.

Along with the spells, the Priestesses Grimmoire contained an extensive history of the Isle of the Blessed and how it came to be, why priestesses could only be female, and all the myths of the Triple Goddess herself. There were calendars marking the most important times of the year and the sacred festivals, the phases of the moon and a fairly complex astronomical map that Hermione would have had a hard time reading had she not learned Astronomy and Arithmacy in Hogwarts.

That night, however, as she was eating dinner around the campfire with the rest of the camp, she was surprised by a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time: a low, dark hum rose up her legs and made goosebumps appear in her skin and a sweat to break. A dark, oppressive magic settled on her magical core, draining it, sucking the life, light and joy out of her heart. Intrusive thoughts like killing Harry to be done with the quest or cursing Ronald to become sterile flashed through her mind as she was transported back to the Forest of Dean and instead of the simple tents of her druid camp, she saw one solitary magical tent, with a meager fire, and a younger version of herself hunched in on herself as she vacantly stared into the fire and listened to that pervasive, invasive thoughts and magic shrouded her like a dark blanket.

She came out of the vision when the clay bowl in her hand slipped and fell on her feet.

"Hermione?" Mordred asked, but she heard it from far away. She was remembering.

The sensation she felt then, she now knew, belong to the horcrux of Tom Riddle she had around her neck. Frantically, she patted her neck to find it empty. She didn't have a Horcrux this time around, so why did she feel...? She stood up abruptly and went to the scrying bowl she'd made with Agrona's help. She took the pendant that she did have around her neck and swung it around the basin.

"Show me the Horcrux," she asked of the basin, which remained infuriatingly clear and made her upset.

"Show me the Horcrux!" she repeated, stronger, pouring more magic into the water.

The water rippled and changed. She saw Camelot, and a cavern full of treasure. On top of a stone sarcophagus, she saw it: the glowing blue gem that was, without a doubt, someone's soul. She started when the gem seemed to react to her scrying, as if it was aware of her presence, and that slimy, dirty, dark feeling came over her once more. She dropped the pendant with the curse and backed away.

"Hermione?" Mordred asked again, this time behind her, and the weariness in his eyes told her what she already knew: it was time to return to Camelot.

The next morning, Merlin took his breakfast to Arthur only to find Cedric already there... again.

"Didn't you speak to the steward, Cedric?" Merlin asked, not trying to hide his distrust, "Do you want to ask the prince about your wages?"

Cedric smiled, but it was a tight thing, "No, Merlin, the steward saw how overworked you were and decided we could both be the prince's servant."

"Isn't that what you wanted, Merlin? To have more time for your chores? Well, apparently, the steward heard your complaints one too many times and finally decided to do something about it," Arthur added with a look that spoke of murder.

"Oh, right... so, is there anything else that needs doing?"

"Well, I haven't had time to muck the stables yet," Cedric says.

"You may go deal with that, Merlin," Arthur said, and Merlin left to do that particularly nasty chore.

After Merlin left, Arthur turned to Cedric.

"Okay, so I know the steward didn't tell you to be my servant, and I also know you've been after my manservant's job since yesterday for some reason," Arthur said, "explain yourself."

"Well, sire, I simply thought it prudent to report an unusual event from yesterday's hunt."

Arthur prompted Cedric with a move of his hand.

"I know for a fact that Merlin didn't throw that lance because I didn't see him move. The lance he used was mine, and he was quite a distance from me. Therefore, he must have used some extraordinary abilities to reach it and throw it with as much strength and accuracy as he did to kill the boar," Cedric explained, and as the explanation continued, Arthur felt himself tremble with rage.

"Are you accusing my manservant of illegal acts of magic?"

"I'm not accusing anyone, my lord," Cedric said, rounding the desk to stand, in the pose of a perfect servant, in front of Arthur, "in fact, from how quick you were to shower praise upon your manservant, I'd even dare suggest you are aware of his extraordinary talents as a servant. I wonder..."

"Spit it out," Arthur ground out through gritted teeth.

"What would the king think of a sorcerer living so close to his son? A sorcerer who serves, clothes, bathes, and feeds the prince all sorts of lies and corruption at all hours of every day?"

Arthur sprang up the chair and reached for his sword.

"Perhaps the king might even think you enchanted, my lord, seeing how strongly you feel about your manservant."

"What do you want?" Arthur demanded.

"I'm a man of many secrets, and I'm not above keeping this one to myself... for the right price."

"Name your price," Arthur demanded more forcefully this time, feeling quite tired of Cedric's meandering ways.

"Easy. Give me the position of your manservant and get rid of Merlin."

"You must be mad to think I'll agree to this. Merlin has always been loyal to the crown and your word has no weight against mine."

"Do you think your father will see it that way?" Cedric asked, and started to back away towards the door, "Why don't we find out? I just thought that you'd prefer an unemployed Merlin to a dead Merlin, that's all."

"Fine!" Arthur yelled, and Cedric stop, "Fine. The position is yours."

"Excellent. Should we go tell Merlin?" Cedric asked.

"If you don't mind tidying up my chambers, I would rather deliver the news of his unemployment in private," the prince said haughtily, "just like I would do you the courtesy if the same were to happen to you."

"Careful, sire; one would think you're thinking a bit too far ahead," Cedric said.

"Just tidy up my chambers before I send you to the stocks for insubordination!" Arthur yelled before leaving his chambers in a huff.

He reached the stables quickly, where Merlin was, indeed, mucking his horse's stall.

"Merlin, we have a problem," Arthur said, in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, Cedric can't help you so you came to me?" Merlin asked, bitterly.

Arthur decided to ignore the petulance and said, "Cedric knows, Merlin."

"He knows what?"

"How you killed the boar," Arthur replied in an angry whisper. Merlin paled.

"What's he going to do?"

Arthur looked at Merlin mournfully, and answered, "The... he blackmailed me. If I don't sack you, he'll go to my father."

"Arthur you can't do that," Merlin argued.

"As you seem to forget, Merlin, I'm the prince and I can do whatever I want," Arthur said in a poor imitation of their usual banter, which felt flat, and then continued, "I would also rather like you to remain alive."

"But then who's going to protect you?"

"You will still be Gaius's apprentice, don't be an idiot."

"But he will get access to your chambers and your weapons. Arthur is too dangerous. My life is worth a hundred of yours; the risk is just not worth it," Merlin said, feeling helpless.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, but I can't risk your life like that," Arthur said and turned away from Merlin, mostly to avoid seeing the completely devastated look on his face, "as of this moment, you are relieved of your service to the crown. You will be, naturally, compensated for your years of work. I... I guess I'll see you around."

Then Arthur walked out.

He saw Cedric eyeing him from the steps of the castle with the smug satisfaction of someone who got away with it, and Arthur resisted the urge to go and pummel his face. Merlin was, in a lot of ways, more than a servant. Whatever game Cedric was playing, he wouldn't simply replace Merlin because Cedric already lost Arthur's trust. Arthur beckoned Cedric forward and told him to get his armor ready because he was going to train. Arthur didn't mention that Cedric would be holding the target.

Later that night, Merlin sat despondently on his bed as he tried to process everything that happened that afternoon. First, there was the fact that Cedric had discovered his magic, which was bad in and of itself. Second, that Cedric was using it to blackmail Arthur added insult to injury, And third, Merlin couldn't figure out why Arthur would cave in to Cedric's demands. He was the prince, and he didn't bow down to anyone. So why did he bow down to Cedric?

So, without anything better to do, Merlin wallowed, and that's where Gaius found him when he returned from his rounds.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head, and said, "Nothing."

"Merlin."

"I finally told Arthur about my magic and he accepted it... he accepted me. It was fine, and then today, this slimy git appears out of nowhere, going after my job, and Arthur... he didn't believe me when I warned him about him and now, Cedric saw me use my magic to save Arthur and is using it to blackmail him," Merlin said.

"That's a serious crime, Merlin," Gaius said, "you can report him."

"But then he would report me for using magic in Camelot."

"So, what happened really?"

"Arthur sacked me."

"He what?" Gaius asked, and shook his head as if he hadn't heard.

"Cedric demanded my position or else he would tell the king about me. So Arthur hired him and sacked me."

Gaius was silent for a long time.

"I know this isn't going to sound very comforting, but... this comes to show how much Arthur really cares about you."

Merlin frowned, confused, and asked, "What makes you say that?"

"Becuse Arthur didn't have to agree to his demands; he's the prince. But he knew it would put your life in danger, so he agreed to Cedric's terms. I don't believe Cedric will last long here, in any case."

"I hope Arthur pummeled him today during training," Merlin said, and smiled slightly.

"And he doesn't return to the court physician who gives him lotion for sore muscles," Gaius added, and that got a chuckle out of Merlin; "onto more serious topics, Merlin, I have deciphered the inscription and it isn't good."

"What does it say?" Merlin asked, immediately on high alert.

"He who breaks my heart completes my work."

"And what does it mean?"

"Do you remember the stone in the tomb, how it glowed?"

"Yeah. I've never seen a jewel like it."

"That's because it's not a jewel, it's the soul of Cornelius Sigan."

"It's called a Horcrux," a very femenine, familiar voice that definitely wasn't there before called from the doorway and startled the men so badly that Gaius's nearly jumped out of his skin and Merlin almost fell off the bed.

"Hermione! What... how did you... when did you get here?"

"Just now," Hermione answered, biting back a laugh, "I didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry."

"Why are you here?"

"Because I got a vision, and I know how to fix your problem," she said.

Gaius raised a skeptical eyebrow, "You do?"

"I do. I have... experience with these nasty things. We should destroy it immediately."

Gaius eyed her up and down, clearly judging her, "And how would you have experienced anything like this? You are but a child."

Hermione smiled a cold smile, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Merlin, aware that Hermione had passed from being one of Gaius's favorite people to one of Gaius's least favorite people, decided to diffuse the tension.

"So, what do we do?" he asked.

"First, we need to get the Horcrux into an isolated place to prevent hurting bystanders," she said.

"We can't," Merlin said.

"And why not?"

"Because only Arthur has the keys to the vault, and I'm no longer his manservant," Merlin replied. Hermione looked shocked, and for a moment could only open and close her mouth as if debating what to say.

Finally, she said, "I'm sorry. When did that happen?"

"Today, actually. You just missed the show."

Hermione winced, "I'm sorry. Still, we need to get into that vault before..."

Suddenly, Hermione spasmed where she stood and Merlin had to cover his ears when the loud cry of a crow reverberated through his skull. Hermione lowered herself into the stool next to Merlin's bed, looking pale and shaken.

"This isn't good," she said, with a shudder, "go find the prince and bring him here."

"But it's the middle of the night," Merlin protested.

"Now! Before the thief gets away!" Hermione demanded and Merlin practically ran out of the room and all the way to Arthur's chambers.

He barged in the way Arthur hated, which woke the prince up, which Arthur also hated and always put him in a bad mood.

"Arthur, you need to come with me, now," Merlin told him.

"Merlin? But it's the middle of the night... what?"

"Something's happened. Get dressed," Merlin said, already taking Arthur's clothes out for the prince. Arthur, seemingly catching on to the urgency of the request, did as Merlin asked without much fuss.

"Are you going to tell me what's this about?"

"We think someone broke into the tomb and unleashed the soul of Cornelius Sigan," Merlin explained succinctly, "and if you don't believe me, you can ask Gaius."

"That's impossible, Merlin," Arthur said, walking to the drawer where he kept all the keys, "the key is right..."

"It isn't there, is it?" Merlin asked.

"No, but who... Cedric!" Arthur broke out at a run and Merlin followed.

"I told you he was after something!"

"I know, but I thought he was only after your job!"

"Why have my job when he can steal the treasure of Cornleius Sigan and get possessed by his soul?"

"Merlin, shut up!"

"Good evening, Sire," Hermione said as he caught up to them in the hall out of nowhere and caused Arthur to nearly trip.

"How... when did you get here?"

"Just now."

"She's the one who told me to wake you, sire," Merlin said, "otherwise, I would've waited until morning."

"By morning it might be too late. Lead the way, sire," Hermione replied.

Arthur decided to ignore them and made his way to the tomb, which had the gate, indeed, open. There, Cedric stood with his arms wide open. When he turned, his eyes were black.

"Well, well, well," Cedric spoke, but the way in which he spoke made it clear it wasn't Cedric anymore. Neither the way he walked nor held himself. They were in front of Cornelius Sigan in the flesh, "if it isn't the prince. And his sorcerer. Oh, and who might you be?" he asked, addressing Hermione.

Merlin stepped in front of her to shield her from Sigan's gaze, and said, "Leave her alone."

"It's too late, boy," Sigan taunted, "now nobody will be able to stop me."

With that, he disappeared in a puff of black feathers, and left the three of them alone.

"Sound the warning bell," Arthur said, turning to the guard, who scrambled away. The three of them looked at each other in dismay. What would Cornelius Sigan do now that he'd come back to life?

Author's Note: Crossposted on AO3.