Memory Trials

by MegRising

Destiny has gone wrong and it's time for someone to interfere. Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, Hunith, and the knights must discover secrets they never knew and change destiny before it's too late. A watching the show fanfic.

3. Dragon's Call

Dragon's Call

I do not own Merlin

I know it's been a while but I've been wanting to come back to this for a while. I'll try and update when I can but I hope you enjoy in the meantime!

With everyone comfy on their respective couches with their plates of food, Pahoren started up the first memory.

The canvas lights up.

Everyone was so focused on the canvas that only Gaius, Hunith, and Lancelot, noticed Merlin's increasing tenseness. He was preparing himself for what would come.

Gwaine was excitedly eating his meal. He was anticipating the delicious-looking apple he set aside for later. He'd always wondered what Camelot was like before he'd arrived, and he couldn't wait to see a young Arthur and Merlin.

Merlin was too nervous to eat.

Merlin, wearing a red shirt and brown jacket and brown pants with his customary neckerchief walks though the country side and enters Camelot. He looks amazed and incredulous at the sights in Camelot. There are street vendors and the castle is magnificent sight.

"Hey Merlin," said Gwaine, "it's you!" Merlin didn't reply. Everyone turns to look at Merlin, so he tries to calm himself to no avail. He knew his secret would be blown soon but he needed some time. Any amount of time would do honestly. He would need to be calm and composed when talking to everyone about his magic and right now he wasn't.

"Merlin, you look worried are we finally going to see some of your no doubt embarrassing escapades?" teased Arthur.

Arthur was excited that he might finally see what exactly happened to get Merlin in some of his more embarrassing situations. Merlin also disappeared frequently and though Gauis always had some excuse, Arthur had his doubts and wanted to know where he went and what he was up to.

"You will see a lot of things. I just hope you won't think any differently of me," Merlin said seriously. Everyone was taken aback. What could they see that would make them think differently of Merlin? Arthur frowned at Merlin's uncharacteristic seriousness. Why was Merlin so sure what they would see would change their mind? He'd come to consider Merlin his friend these last few years and thought he knew Merlin better than anyone else.

Not to mention that Merlin being serious meant this was an even bigger deal than he thought. Merlin could often crack jokes in the most dire of times and because he wasn't Arthur wasn't sure what to make of that. What could Merlin of all people be worried about?

Uther is dressed in all his royal refinery. "Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass."

Uther raises his arm, then lowers it as a signal to the executioner. The man named Thomas Collins is beheaded; People in the crowd gasp at the horrific sight. Merlin looks horrified. Morgana watches from a tower window but turns her head away at the last minute, too horrified to watch.

Everyone looks a little sick at the sight.

Hunith gasped. "I can't believe he did that to that man, and for what? Practicing a little magic? What did he even use magic for?" she asks Arthur.

"He-," Arthur looked a little taken aback at Hunith's statement, "I believe he was caught trying to heal someone. One of his clients died and the sister went to the king."

"And he was killed for that?" Hunith said shocked. "If I had known…" she muttered.

She turned to look at Merlin, "I'm so sorry my darling. I didn't know it was going to be like that." Her stare turned harsh, "Yet you never said anything about this in your letters."

Merlin looks sheepish, "I didn't want you to worry. Besides I told you I was meant to be here in Camelot."

"I will always worry," replies Hunith. She knew Merlin was destined for more than her village life, but she'd never imagined his destiny involved such danger.

Everyone could see the mother and son were conversing quietly but no one except Gaius and Lancelot could hear their murmured conversation from where they sat. Merlin appeared to be trying to calm his mother and finally, she relented and realized they were being watched.

Gwen then said, "I'm sorry that was the first thing you saw when you came to Camelot." Gwen had been far to young when she had accidentally witnessed her first execution and it still haunted her today.

"Yes" Arthur agreed, "There is so much more to Camelot than this." Arthur gestured to the paused memory.

"I can't believe you saw an execution your first hour in Camelot and stayed," Arthur said baffled.

"Arthur makes a good point," said Percival thoughtfully, "Why would you stay after that? I mean stepping foot in what is supposed to be your new home and seeing an execution, why did that not send you running in the opposite direction?"

Merlin replied, "My previous home just did not feel like home anymore, and even seeing that I just felt like I needed to be in Camelot. Also, like Arthur said there is more to Camelot than that. I think even though it was a horrible thing to see I could just tell that wasn't all there was, I could see the potential, I guess. I'm not going to lie a few times I thought about leaving, but I just could never do it. Besides what would you do without me?" he says trying to lighten the mood.

Then Merlin gives it some thought, "Actually most of you probably would be dead without me. At the very least Arthur would still be a prat."

"You thought about leaving a few times? What made you consider leaving?" Gwen asked. Pahoren kept saying this whole thing will let them get to know each other better and she knew there was a lot of things Merlin didn't say. She wasn't oblivious. Ever since she'd married Arthur, she had felt Merlin growing distant. It had worried her, but she was sad to say she had been so busy with the duties of being Queen, that she hadn't had the time yet to figure out what was wrong.

Merlin looked to be in deep thought and answered, "You will see soon enough."

"Well, what is true is that Camelot wouldn't be the same without you. None of the rest of what you said was true though, I can take care of myself," said Arthur. "I honestly have no idea what life would be like right now if you hadn't come to Camelot, what I would be like."

Merlin just gave Arthur his typical, "I know more than you know look," but says nothing else on the matter.

Uther continues to speak looking down at the masses of people, "When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm. So, I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin." A woman wails, as if in excruciating pain. Everyone looks at her; she is dressed in rags and has long untamed gray hair.

She yells angrily, "There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son! And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son."

"Wait what? Why did no one tell me about this? This is why she tried to kill me? Father told me she was a crazed sorcerer!" said Arthur. He didn't remember a lot from these early days but did remember Merlin saving his life from the sorceress.

"Your father didn't want to worry you," said Leon sheepishly. "We spent the week trying to keep you in the castle grounds with mixed success, while others looked for this sorceress. He didn't want you to go looking for the sorceress."

"I wouldn't have –" started Arthur.

"Yes, you would have, and you know it, Arthur. Especially with your cocky attitude. You had yet to be humbled by magic," said Merlin scoffing. He fiddled with the plate in his hands, trying to pretend he was calm. The banter with Arthur was helping but he knew what was coming and there was nothing he could do. He didn't know what sort of spell Pahoren was using and knew there was no way out of this.

Arthur had no comment.

Uther looks furious and yells, "Seize her!" However, the woman casts a spell and disappears in a whirl of wind and smoke. Merlin looks blank faced at the women as she disappears and leaves the market place.

"I can't believe Uther turned that poor man's death into a celebration," said Hunith looking astonished and a little sad.

"That's my father for you," replied Arthur, "not really good at understanding or expressing feelings. Especially the feelings of others."

"Just like someone else we all know," Merlin said pointedly.

"I am not like my father." Arthur pointed out.

"No, you are not," Gwen said looking at Arthur sweetly, "You are a much better man. You do not condone without proof, and you do not let your status define you."

"We shall see exactly who you are Arthur Pendragon by the way you react," said Pahoren ominously. He was anxious for the young warlock, but he knew this had to happen.

"React to what?" asked Arthur curiously.

Merlin took a deep breath. He knew the moment was coming and he wasn't sure he was ready. He wasn't sure if he would ever be ready. He moved the food on his plate distractedly.

Gwaine brought an apple to his mouth watching the screen with extreme interest and excitement. He always wondered how Merlin and Arthur met and was fascinated by the idea of a young Merlin.

Merlin enters the palace and glances around then addresses a nearby guard.

"Where would I find Gaius, the- the court physician?"

The guard points. Merlin walks up the steps and knocks on the open door to the physician's quarters and peeks inside.

Merlin glances around the untidy room. There were books and vials filled with substances all over the tables and benches.

"Hello?" he called. He wanders further inside.

"Hello?" He spots a man on a tiny second level of the room. He clears his throat. "Gaius?"

Gaius trips over backwards from the bookshelf stairs and the railing breaks.

"Gaius!" Gwen exclaimed. She seemed to have forgotten momentarily that this was in the past.

Merlin's eyes glow and he slows time while also using magic to move a bed under Gaius before he hits the floor. Gaius lays back in shock for a minute then shoots out of bed with a suspicious glare directed at Merlin.

The apple fell from Gwaine's mouth and tumbled to the floor. He didn't pick it up.

Merlin took another deep breath and gestured for Pahoren to pause the memory. He set his food down on the table near him. He knew this would take a while. He wasn't hungry anyway.

"Um," Merlin said, "surprise." He glanced down at the floor and wouldn't look anyone in the eyes. He wasn't ready to see their faces or reactions.

"You have magic," Arthur stated sounding oddly detached. Merlin still couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Yeah," Merlin sighed. He figured Arthur would want to hear it confirmed from his present-day self. He took another deep breath and looked up at everyone.

Gwen's face held the expression of realization and the calm that comes when everything suddenly makes sense.

Gwaine's eyebrows were raised, and his typical grin was absent, he was staring at Merlin like he had never seen him before. He still hadn't picked up the apple he dropped and to Merlin this was the true indicator of just how surprised Gwaine was.

Leon was staring at Merlin with respect and a shred of fear. He knew Merlin could have attacked Camelot at any time over the past years and hadn't, but he couldn't help his fear of powers he didn't understand.

Elyan was looking at Merlin with confusion and looking around at the others as if wondering if this was some horrible joke. He saw Gwen's expression and gave up the vain hope that it was just a mistake.

Percival was the only one of the knights who looked calm as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Lancelot was watching the others warily and gave Merlin an encouraging smile.

Pahoren was watching and waiting for Arthur's response and reaction. This is a crucial moment in the future of Albion. If things go wrong, they would all be paying the price.

Hunith looked worried and was only hoping her son was going to be okay after all of this. She was hoping her son had finally found a place that would accept all of him.

Gauis was only hoping that after all of this that the relationship between Arthur and Merlin would grow stronger and Merlin would no longer have to hide a part of himself.

Finally, Merlin's eyes landed on Arthur's face. He was almost unreadable, even to Merlin who knew Arthur better than anyone, save Gwen.

"I suppose you have questions?" Merlin asked. He wasn't sure how else to handle this and figured giving Arthur a chance to get answers was best.

"I have quite a few actually yes," Arthur stated in a business-like manner. He cleared his throat to try and appear calm.

Merlin braced himself for Arthur's wrath. He knew Arthur was bound to be a bit angry.

"How could you practice magic? How could you lie to me all these years? You of all people! You know exactly what magic has put me through!" You know exactly how betrayal feels to me. After Morgana and Agravaine, this, this feels the same." Arthur said angrily.

"It's not the same you know me and – " said Merlin pleadingly.

"No, I obviously don't know a thing about you Merlin! How am I ever supposed to trust you now?" Arthur yelled as he stood up and glared at Merlin. Gwen put her arm on Arthur's to try and calm him, at her touch he let out a breath and rolled back his shoulders. With great restraint he sat back down next to Gwen. When Merlin took another look Arthur's face was no longer unreadable. Arthur gave Gwen a grateful look, but he was now stiff, and his face was full of anger and hurt.

Gwen stood up and grabbed her and Arthur's food and set it down on the table nearest them with Merlin's. She knew this discussion was going to take a while. She took a deep breath before returning to her seat next to Arthur. They would get through this.

"I could move objects with my mind before I could talk." Merlin said. "I was born with it. You saw how instinctual it was for me to save Gaius. I have used my magic to help you and Camelot. I'm still me, I'm still loyal to Camelot and to you. I'm not Morgana or Agravaine, I would never betray you, Arthur," said Merlin forcefully.

Arthur gave him a dark look.

"Is that even possible? Gaius I'm sure you know more about this than any of us," Gwen stated trying to give Arthur time to come to terms with everything. She had faith that things would be okay with time. They were her boys, they had to get through this.

"Yes, my dear when Merlin came to me and revealed himself, I didn't believe what he was telling me, well you will see, so I did some research," said Gauis.

"And what did this research tell you?" said Elyan who was trying to follow Gwen's lead and keep calm. He took a bite of his food to try and look calm and unbothered.

"I found that in fact Merlin is very rare and that there are people born with such powers. They have no choice in the matter. As I recall Arthur," he glanced at Arthur trying to get Arthur to look at him, "you met a boy like that once. His name was Mordred and he had powers even at such a young age. You rescued him even though your father wanted him dead."

Arthur refunsed to look at anyone. "He was kid back then! Of course, I didn't want him dead!" said Arthur defensively. "And you've already betrayed me Merlin, you've lied to me for years."

"You are not angry at Merlin over the magic Arthur, you know that, and we know that. You pardoned the Druids because you know not all magic is evil. You are mad and upset that one of your best friends didn't trust you and lied to you. You do know him, you know of his loyalty to you, we just didn't see this part of him," Gauis explained.

"How can he be my so-called best friend if he's been lying to me from the moment we met!" said Arthur.

"He's right Arthur. You have built up this great and prosperous kingdom. People are happy and everything is peaceful, except magic users still fear Camelot's name. The druids don't step foot in this kingdom even though you don't persecute them anymore and have invited them back to these lands. We both know that your father did some terrible things against those even suspected of magic. I know you remember what he did to Gwen when she was accused and the other time just because you love her?" added Leon.

"I know who my father was. I know what he did. What I don't know is why you didn't tell me Merlin. I thought we were friends at the very least. How many times did you lie to me? You know what I've been through with Morgana, then Agravaine, even Gwen though that wasn't her fault, I mean I get not telling me when we first me but after years? Why not then? Hell, why not when I became king? YOU HAD YEARS TO TELL ME EVERYTHING!" Arthur shouted pointedly at Merlin.

"I couldn't," said Merlin. "I was afraid-"

"Afraid of what?! It's not like a would have killed you!" questioned Arthur heatedly.

Silence settled momentarily. Merlin gave a watery smile at Arthur who suddenly looked shocked at his own words.

Arthur's eyes widened as the realization hit him. He slumped and put his head in his hands and stared at the floor.

"Arthur, I know this is difficult and I understand exactly how you feel. Me and you have known Merlin the longest from Camelot save Gaius. To find out there was more to him then we knew is shocking, but surely you must realize now things make sense? Why everything always worked out in the end? How we beat Morgana every time? And you know why Merlin didn't tell you," Gwen said trying to be the voice of reason.

"You must remember Arthur that because of the nature of your mother's death and how it affected your father, you were practically raised to hate magic and its capabilities. Then just once you were beginning to see magic as more than an evil your father was killed by magic," said Gaius.

"Oh, don't worry I know why he didn't tell me." Arthur looked at Merlin and had lost all his anger from earlier. His eyes were red when he finally looked at Merlin. "He thought I would kill him. One of my best friends thought I was capable of murdering him."

"That's not," Merlin protested. He had been trying to figure out how to say what he needed to say and was happy the others seemed okay with it and were trying to understand him. He didn't peg Leon as a voice of reason on magic, but he supposed his mind was changed when the druids saved him. He just really needed Arthur to understand.

"Are you really going to sit there and lie to me again Merlin?" Arthur demanded.

"Okay so maybe that's what I thought when I first met you because you were a prat," Merlin looked at Arthur hoping for a smile. He frowned at Arthur's non-response and continued, "but once I got to know you, I knew better. I knew you wouldn't kill me just for my magic alone. I also knew that if you found out it would tear you up inside because you wouldn't kill me, and you would be directly going against your father. I knew even shortly after we met how badly you wanted his approval, and I couldn't do that to you. Then once he died, I knew I couldn't tell you. You denounced magic and were so angry at yourself and the magic that caused your father's death that again I was a little afraid if you found out you would kill me. How could I tell you then, that I had been lying to you since we met and was using magic to save you and everyone in Camlet? How was I supposed to convince you then that magic was not evil and that I was only trying to help you and Camelot against enemies you wouldn't stand a chance against without magic. How could I interrupt you in your grief and anger? But then time passed, and you calmed down and yet I still didn't tell you. This time not because of what you could possibly do, because I didn't care about that anymore, but because of what I had done. You have no idea the things I've done to protect you all and Camelot, things I almost did. I didn't think you would kill me for my magic Arthur, I was afraid you would hate me for it, for the choices I've made. I was afraid of what you would think of me once I had told you of the things I have done in your name."

Merlin stopped speaking to take a deep breath. He was glad he was able to get everything off his chest at least somewhat coherently. Everyone was listening and hearing him, finally.

Gwen was sad that Merlin had been carrying so much alone. She wondered how much Merlin had been through all these years. She knew a few of the adventures that others might not, but now she was realizing how much she must have missed these last few years.

Gwaine was surprised and uncharacteristically somber. He'd always felt Merlin was like a little brother to him. He thought they were honest with each other. Merlin even knew about his father and Merlin had told him about his! He was trying not to take it personally, but it was hard.

Elyan was again trying to follow Gwen's lead. When he first met everyone, he had quickly seen how important Merlin was to the group of knights and his sister. Gwen told him later of just some of the things Merlin had done back then, and Elyan had been impressed. He now wondered what everyone had missed.

Leon was the most surprised he'd ever been. He didn't expect to have known a sorcerer for the last few years. He didn't expect to finally understand how they were all still alive after dragon attacks and undead armies. He still wasn't sure what to make of everything, but he was willing to learn more.

Percival, unlike the others, wasn't that surprised. He grew up close enough to magic to know that someone had to be helping Camelot through all the trials and magical creatures these past few years. He was surprised it was Merlin, but he trusted Lancelot and he knew Lancelot trusted Merlin. He briefly wondered if Lancelot knew about Merlin.

Hunith was worried about her son. Having all your secrets come to light was frightening for anyone, but especially when it involved Magic in Camelot. She took Merlin in her arms and gave him a warm hug. Her eyes were watery. She wished she could have been there for him more during his time in Camelot regardless of what would have happened. She let him go on his own and now she had missed so much.

Gaius tried to talk to Merlin, but Merlin wasn't really listening. He didn't have time for reassurances, he had to convince the others he was on their side. Merlin let go of his mom gently before turning back to the rest of the group.

Merlin then addressed them all, "I told you at the beginning of this that I didn't want you to think any differently of me, but you will, and I understand. However, I do ask that you at least see all there is to see here then you can know everything. After this, no more secrets."

Merlin glanced at Arthur again after a few seconds of silence. "Through this, you will know more of who I really am." He wanted Arthur to know that not everything had been a lie and that he was still the same Merlin.

"Alright, Merlin I will watch all that Pahoren has for us. Gwen made a very good point that it all makes sense now. How things just always worked out, all those times your explanations of events just didn't make sense. I'm still angry at the lies but I can't fault you for them. I still don't understand magic, but I would like to see how you used your magic and understand you better. You say you've done a lot in my name, and I need to know the whole truth. You best answer every question asked of you." Arthur added. He was still a little wary of this new Merlin but he'd get to see how Merlin used his magic and he guessed that was what was important.

"Of course, I will stay and watch Merlin, but there is nothing that could change my mind about you," Gwen said certainly.

"I would be an honor seeing the world through the eyes of a magic-user. I fought along with Uther in his crusade against magic because when I was but a boy, I saw magic used for terrible things against the kingdom. Yet I never fully understood magic or gave it a chance. Once I became a knight after the novelty wore off It just never felt right. Some of the things Uther had me do I never agreed with," Leon said. He glanced at Arthur apologetically.

"I grew up in Camelot and believed as many did that magic would only be used for ill deeds. I do not believe you capable of such things Merlin. You could say I am like Leon over there; I want to see what you've done with your magic," Elyan said.

"I unlike many here, didn't grow up in Camelot. I lived in a place where magic wasn't feared, it wasn't exactly welcome either, but it wasn't condemned like it was in Camelot. I even met some very nice druids, they stayed in my village while one of their own was healing from a grievous injury, it was the only reason they stayed out in the open. They were there for quite a while when I was little and told fantastic stories around the campfire." Percival said he seemed to be in deep thought about his past. Everyone was surprised he was mentioning it now since he hardly ever mentioned his life before he came to Camelot. He noticed everyone's expression and said, "Pahoren said that this gathering was to help us know each other better, this isn't just about Merlin. I think we all have things we don't really talk about and it's time to."

"Percival's right. I didn't just do this for Merlin. I know there are secrets all of you are keeping and it is time to let that go and grow stronger together," Pahoren said. He was pleased with Arthur's reaction and only hoped that everything else went this smoothly. If you could call a little shouting smoothly which, having seen Arthur's past confrontations, he would have to say you could. He wanted the best for the future, and he needed to make sure everyone was ready for what needed to happen next.

"Go ahead," Gwaine said without his usual enthusiasm and charm. Gwaine wasn't one to really care about magic, he'd seen a little bit in his travels. What bothered him most was Pahoren's and Percival's comments alluding to other secrets. Gwaine wasn't ready to talk about his father. He knew that no one here would really care one way or the other about his father, but honestly, he just didn't want to dig up old memories. He had left that life behind him long ago. He spent years asking questions about everything that had happened back then and he got nowhere, he didn't want to relive his wasted time.

"I know most of what Merlin has done but I suspect there are things he hasn't told me about." Gaius looks at Merlin with one of his brows raised. "I look forward to finding these things out." Merlin gave him a look back.

"Merlin wrote a lot about what happened in his letters to me, yet like Gaius, I know he left out things, particularly the dangers he was in. I only hope that my boy will be okay in reliving all of this." Hunith said while looking at Merlin. She knew some of the worst things that Merlin had been through, though he never gave many details. She was worried about all he left out.

"Thank you all, I know this isn't all about me, but I believe a big portion of this," Merlin glanced at Pahoren as he said this, "is about my adventures and experiences in Camelot. You are going to see a lot that you weren't previously aware of. I just want to say thank you for giving me this chance to show you the truth about magic."

Pahoren nodded and said, "Now that this secret is out of the way. There is one more thing I wish to ask of you Arthur. You now know Merlin has magic. However, you don't necessarily know all that he has done with it or his feelings on the matter. I have an idea with both of your permission," He glances at Merlin and Arthur, "that could help you both understand each other better. Arthur, you will feel the emotions and a fraction of Merlin's pain while reliving the memories. This will help you understand the mindset and thoughts behind what you see. This will be instrumental in understanding Merlin better. However, if one or both of you say no, I shall say no more on the matter."

Merlin took a deep breath. He knew exactly which memories Pahoren was talking about. While he wasn't keen on the idea of Arthur feeling his pain or his emotions, he felt this could be a good idea to help Arthur understand the truth about him and Magic. Merlin gave a quick nod of approval before he could change his mind.

He glanced at Arthur warily," It won't hurt him too bad, will it?" Merlin remembered quite a few times he had been seriously injured saving Camelot and wasn't fond of the idea of Arthur feeling that pain.

Arthur glanced at Merlin, "What do you mean hurt?" He knew Merlin had his fair share of scrapes and bruises, but he couldn't imagine it being that bad since Merlin always stayed out of the physical fights. But he had missed the whole Merlin having magic thing he might have missed some injuries too.

Merlin shrugged and said, "Well I may or may not have gotten injured a few times in my attempts at saving Camelot, and you, and even a few times your father. So, you will feel that if you decide to do this."

"I'll do it," said Arthur quickly. He had his own fair share of injuries; he could handle Merlin's emotions and pain. He was pretty sure anyway. He wanted to know exactly who Merlin was through this. He had to. He had to know if Merlin was the man he thought he was.

Pahoren handed both Arthur and Merlin a necklace. Merlin looked at it thoroughly and examined it with his magic. The necklace was a glowing golden crystal with a leather chain. It felt comfortable in his hand.

"No Merlin, it won't hurt him too badly, as I said it's only a fraction of the pain. These are bonded necklaces and will allow Arthur to feel your emotions at the time of the memory as long as you keep it on," said Pahoren. Pahoren backed away and faced the group.

Arthur put on his necklace warily and nodded at Merlin to do the same. Merlin hesitated for a second before putting his on. He could always take it off quickly if needed. He intended to for certain things.

"Well, now that that's decided I must tell you that from here on out, I'll be popping in and out as needed. I have other people to assist right now. From now on you all should be able to stop and start the memory as needed, I must be off." Pahoren said before he quickly departed through the huge double doors. The quick departure of Pahoren was unexpected, as was the sudden clanging as all their weapons appeared next to them at the same time. There was quick shuffling as the weapons were repositioned.

"Okay…you know I don't think he means us harm but that was suspicious right?" said Gwaine looking at others for support. Arthur twirled his sword in his hand before shrugging and setting it down nearby.

"He gave us our weapons back as promised," said Elyan uncertainly.

"He's definitely hiding things," said Leon, "but it's not like we can do anything about it for now."

"What did you just do?" Gaius yells

"Erm..." Merlin stuttered.

"Gaius how could you be so rude!" Hunith said shocked at how her mentor reacted. She had never seen him act this way before. She thought she probably should have warned Gaius about Merlin's magic, but she hadn't really been sure how to mention it and of course, she'd been worried someone else would read the letter in transit.

"I was merely surprised that someone with so much power just waltzed into my room. I was also very surprised at such a bold and open use of magic. But more than anything it was the power I felt. Most of you know I used to practice magic, well I can still feel its effects and the wave I felt then was something special," Gaius said sheepishly.

"What do you mean 'so much power'?" Arthur asked looking at Merlin skeptically.

"Erm, you all will find out soon," Merlin answered. He was trying to put off the inevitable. He didn't want his best friends to be afraid of him. He knew they would find out how powerful he was at some point, but he didn't want to get into that so soon after they discovered his powers.

"Merlin…" Arthur said warningly.

"I promise the screen will tell you soon. I'm not being vague or evasive, but it will come up soon and it will explain everything just be patient if you can." Merlin said coaxingly.

Arthur acquiesced.

Gwen stood up again to grab the food from the table and handed Arthur his plate. He looked up gratefully and began shoveling his food in his mouth. Gwen looked on fondly. She was proud that Arthur was handling this as well as he was, even though nearly his entire view of the world has been shifted. He was trusting his instincts and his friendship; Gwen was certain things would work out.

"Tell me!" Gaius demanded.

"I- I- I have no idea what happened," Merlin stated nervously.

"If anyone had seen that..." said Gaius suspiciously.

"Er, no! That- that was, that was nothing to do with me. That- that was..." Merlin stuttered unconvincingly.

"Great lying mate!" Gwaine said almost smiling at past Merlin.

"Yeah honestly, how did none of us guess if that was how you lied?" asked Leon dumbfounded.

"I would say he did pretty well. He fooled all of us for years." Arthur said matter of factly. He moved his food around on his plate and then he considered what he said, "Merlin…I just never thought I would be in this position again, especially not by you. After Morgana and Agravaine, I don't take lies well." Arthur couldn't deny how afraid Merlin felt in that moment. It was odd, feeling a past Merlin's emotions. He could feel the emotions as if they were his own, yet there was a strange disconnect and he could feel his own as well. It felt weird but not too uncomfortable.

"I know, and I'm so sorry that I deceived all of you. Believe me, I felt horrible doing it. I was just scared of your reactions. And I may not lie very well, but I am great at manipulating the truth," said Merlin "I'm not proud of it, but it was kind of a necessary evil living in Camelot for me."

Arthur considered the truth of this. Looking back Merlin had been good at redirecting questions without providing decent answers. He shook his head at this new realization that Merlin could be sneaky when needed. Arthur also knew that there were probably going to be a lot more realizations in the next few days.

"I know what it was! I just want to know where you learned how to do it!" Gaius requested.

"Nowhere." Merlin stated.

"So how is it you know magic?" Gaius questioned.

"I don't." Merlin denied.

"Where did you study?... Answer me!" Gaius insisted.

"I- I've never studied magic or, or been taught." Merlin stated nervously.

"Are you lying to me, boy?" Gaius said sternly.

"What do you want me to say?" Merlin pleaded

"The truth!" Gaius demanded.

"I was born like this!" Merlin

"That's impossible!" Gaius stated, "Who are you?"

"Really I am surprised, Gaius. I don't believe I've ever seen you yell. Yet you are screaming at a person who just saved your life," said Gwen.

"You don't live with him," said Merlin. "He actually yells quite a lot."

Gaius gave Merlin a look. "In my defense, I only yell when you do something foolhardy."

"And I needed to be sure he wasn't trained by people who wanted the King or Crown Prince dead. Just because he saved my life doesn't mean he wasn't after them," Gaius explained. "I realized almost immediately he wasn't going to harm anyone, well not intentionally. His clumsiness still causes mayhem I'm afraid. Just being near him I could tell he had a good heart."

Arthur was again glad to hear that Merlin's clumsiness was real. Finding all these truths within the lies was helping him realize he still knew Merlin pretty well after all.

"You said that you did research after this? What did you find?" asked Leon.

"Well, actually I started it after I dropped a bowl of water on purpose, to test his powers," Gaius said.

"What?" Elyan asked.

"You will see that soon I believe. But as for the research I wanted to know how someone with absolutely no training could do what he did. I had never seen the like before. People would train for ages to be able to slow down time like he did when he saved my life. The research I found told me that in very rare instances people can be born with power. Yet even then it said they would need training to be able to do the things Merlin did. Nowhere did the books say anything about such natural instinctive magic. Merlin had no idea why he was so different either but luckily, he found his answer soon after this. I know you have questions but this one will be explained soon I promise," Gaius explained.

"So, he's powerful?" asked Gwaine.

A long silence followed this question. Merlin didn't want to answer. Arthur looked startled and Merlin grew even more uncomfortable. Arthur hadn't given it much thought on how much power Merlin had until now. He filed this away to think about later, he couldn't deal with it yet.

Merlin didn't want to discuss this right now either.

"Yes, he is powerful," said Gaius simply.

Everyone grappled with this realization.

"Yet you decided to stay and be my servant this whole time?" asked Arthur confused. He desperately wanted to understand Merlin, but each new revelation threw him off balance.

"Someone had to make sure you have clean socks," said Merlin. Arthur gave him a look. He couldn't understand how Merlin was okay with his role up to this point. He was a powerful sorcerer stuck as a servant to the Prince, now King. Arthur had treated him well enough, especially considering how some other masters treated their servants. But Merlin had never been afforded much respect with anyone outside the Round Table. Even then, the Round Table was growing and many of the new knights didn't exactly treat Merlin the best. Merlin never complained but Arthur was hopeful that eventually, the knights would accept Merlin., it would just take some time.

Merlin smiled at Arthur's confusion. "Being your servant has also afforded me the opportunity to spy on enemies and get me into places discreetly. People tend to overlook a simple servant and because of that I can discover and terminate any evil plots quite efficiently," explained Merlin.

"Oh, erm..." Merlin mumbled while ruffling through his backpack. He pulled out a piece of parchment.

"I have this letter." Merlin handed the yellowed paper to Gaius.

Gaius looked around searching for something, "I- I don't have my glasses."

Merlin looked at Gaius and said, "I'm Merlin."

Dawning recognition comes over Gaius, "Hunith's son?"

"Yes!" Merlin said excited that they found common ground and changed the topic.

"But you're not meant to be here till Wednesday!" said Gaius looking confused.

"It is Wednesday." Merlin stated nervously, not wanting to offend him since he knew his mother.

Everyone laughed.

"In my defense, I'd been up late nearly every day that week checking on a newborn with some health issues. It was a long week for me," said Gauis shrugging.

Arthur looked towards the physician and realized for the first time that Gaius was getting older. Arthur couldn't remember a time when Gaius wasn't there, helping anyone he could. Arthur needed to hire someone to help him. Generally, Court Physicians have assistants, especially in a kingdom as big as Camelot. He knew Merlin helped with Gaius' duties, but Merlin was also his manservant and had his own important responsibilities. Gaius needed a trained assistant. Plus, he had a feeling Merlin was going to be dealing with a lot more in the future after this little memory-sharing session.

"Ah, right then. You better put your bag in there." Gaius points to the adjacent room.

"You- you won't say anything about, erm..." Merlin gestures to the mess that is now the bed and floor around the bed.

"No. Although, Merlin, I should say thank you," Gaius said consolingly.

"I do have manners after all," said Gaius in an almost cheeky manner.

Gaius gets his glasses and reads the letter Hunith wrote. It said, "My dear Gaius, I turn to you for I feel lost and alone and don't know who to trust. It is every mother's fate to think her child is special, and yet I would give my life that Merlin were not so. Ours is a small village and he is so clearly at odds with people here that, if he were to remain, I fear what would become of him. He needs a hand to hold, a voice to guide, someone that might help him find a purpose for his gifts. I beg you, if you understand a mother's love for her son, keep him safe, and may God save you both."

"Mum I'm so sorry to have caused you so much grief. I have always wanted to thank you for sending me here. I know it was really hard for both of us, but I think we both know it was for the best," Merlin told his mum.

"I know sweetheart. I felt it in my heart that you were needed elsewhere. And I knew since the day you were born that you were meant to do something special. I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it, no matter how much I may have wished it," said Hunith.

"Hunith, you said he was at odds with the people there. And Merlin, I remember you telling me that you didn't feel like you fit in anymore in the village. Why was that?" asked a curious Arthur. Even though he was a little wary of Merlin right now he still didn't understand how anyone could be at odds with him in the village.

"Mostly it was the fact that my father left before I was born. In a small village that makes you an outcast," said Merlin. Arthur came to the sudden realization that Merlin was technically a bastard. He'd never really given a thought to Merlin's status when they were visiting Ealdor, nor to why his father wasn't there. He knew in royal courts there was a stigma against people with that label, but Arthur never paid it much mind. In a small village, it must have been a lot worse.

Merlin continued, "However, that wasn't the only reason. While no one ever outright accused me of magic when I was little, I didn't have much control over my magic and people grew suspicious. Uther's crusade against magic didn't end at his borders, so everyone was wary of me. Odd instances followed me everywhere, I couldn't help it. I was little and couldn't control it. By the time I was old enough and learned to control it, there were already so many rumors that no one really wanted to be around me that much. Will was the only friend I had but it wasn't until he learned my secret that we really got close, and that wasn't until I was older. People liked mum well enough though so they kind of just left me alone for the most part."

"I never knew how hard it had been for you there. When we were there fighting those raiders, I was so wrapped up in the fight that I didn't notice. The only person you talked to besides us and your mother was Will wasn't it?" Arthur asked.

"Er yeah I didn't have many friends, but life was a lot simpler there," Merlin answered.

"Yeah, I bet there were a lot less battles," Arthur mused.

"Definitely fewer evil sorcerers trying to kill people I care about," Merlin said. "Also, fewer assassins trying to kill a particular prince and then king."

"Would you have been happier there though?" asked Elyan. "Here your life is constantly in danger in a lot of ways. Wouldn't it have been nice to not have to worry like you do now?"

Merlin thought about it for a minute, "Nah I would get bored." He then added more seriously, "But honestly having all of you in my life is what makes it a happy one, no matter what we have to go through to have that." He looked around at all of them and smiled. Even if they didn't think of him the same way, he hoped they would all still be his friend after this.

Morgana looks out the window from the Griffin Landing.

"Oh Morgana," Gwen sighed. She remembered this version of Morgana. She wished things had been different and maybe she could have been a part of this.

Uther walks up to her, "Morgana."

"Yes?" she replies.

"What is this? Why are you not joining us at the feast?" Uther asked confused.

"I just don't think chopping someone's head off is cause for a celebration," she stated harshly.

"How times have changed I guess," Arthur said.

Morgana looked out the window
"That poor mother," she said softly.

"It was simple justice for what he'd done," said Uther coldly.

"To whom? He practiced some magic, he didn't hurt anyone," said Morgana firing up at once.

"I know you said she was good once sire, but I didn't believe it until now," said Percival.

"She and Uther fought all the time. She was always doing what she thought was best, she was very strong-willed. And in a lot of ways, during this time she was better than I was. I never stood up to my father, yet she took no pause to do so," Arthur said. His eyes were filled with pain and loss for who Morgana once was.

"I still don't understand how she could change so drastically," said Leon. He would never forget the horror he felt when Morgana turned the crossbows towards the people in the town. He had been there to see her and her love of the people. Now all that love had turned to hate.

Merlin felt like he got punched in the gut. He knew what happened was mostly his fault. If he had been there for her, maybe things could be different. If he hadn't betrayed her, maybe she would be here. These thoughts had haunted him since the moment he poisoned her all the years ago. He wasn't looking forward to having everyone see that particular memory.

"You were not around twenty years ago, you have no idea what it was like," Uther said simply.

"How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?" she questioned.

"Until they realise there is no room for magic in my kingdom! You will be with me when I greet Lady Helen." Uther demanded.

"I told you! I want no part in these celebrations!" Morgana said defiantly.

"I'm your guardian! I expect you to do as I ask. If you show me no respect at least respect our finest singer." Uther demanded.

Morgana warned, "You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you will create!"

"In a way what she said was true Arthur," Merlin glanced at Arthur to try and help him understand.

"Uther's persecution of magic left a lot of people angry. On top of the people he killed, people with magic lost the lives they could have had. People wanted retribution for everything and everyone they lost. You don't know what it's like to live in fear. To fear yourself and who you are down to your very core. Morgana lived in a kingdom that hated magic and killed anyone who even came close to it. In many ways she had it worse than I did, because I didn't live in Camelot until I was older. I didn't come into my powers as an adult, I had grown up with them and they became normal for me. In many ways Uther's persecution of magic led to the creation of many enemies, including Morgana. That doesn't excuse her, but I know you always wanted to know why she does what she does. This is part of the reason why. Uther's hatred of magic left her lacking the support she needed, and after she went dark, she couldn't separate the two of you. She considered you the same. It's not true and we all know it, I think she knows too, but she won't accept it. I didn't help matters and if I could go back and give her that support I would. It is something I will regret for the rest of my existence."

Arthur had thought about why Morgana hated him for the longest time. It sounds as if she had never given him a chance. She hated their father and so she hated him. He wished he could help her, even now.

"Thank you, Merlin," Arthur said quietly. "Hold on. Why didn't you help her? You were the only one who knew what she was going through, and you did nothing?" Arthur was confused. He knew Merlin had liked Morgana when they first met. He remembered Merlin bringing her flowers once. The Merlin he thought he knew would have helped someone in need.

"You will see later but I was advised against it by someone I trusted," Merlin explained. "I wish I had helped her anyway and then I would know I did all I could. But I didn't and I will have to live with that. They told me it would be best if she never came into her powers, but I knew what she was going through. I did try to help her from a distance, but it didn't go the way I planned. After that I was afraid of what the consequences would be if I tried to help again since the first time went horribly. I'm not going to go into details now because you will be seeing everything soon."

"But regardless she still made her own choices that led her to kill innocent townsfolk, all to get us knights to be loyal to her," said Leon. He would never forget the devastation Morgana caused with her armies. He remembered looking into her eyes and realizing that she felt nothing for any of them.

"But sometimes I'm not so sure she had a choice. It seemed like the universe and destiny were stacked against her," Merlin said gravely.

"So, you think that if you had helped her, she wouldn't have tried to kill us all?" Elyan asked. "I'm with Leon I don't know how much you could have done."

"For one, if I had given her more support, she may not have leaned towards Morgause when she discovered her powers. But she did try to kill the king before she even knew about her power," Merlin mused.

"What?" Arthur said in shock. He had no memory of this incident and couldn't believe that even before she had powers Morgana was trying to kill their father.

"Er another story for another time," said Merlin. He didn't feel like going into detail, especially the detail that he had been planning to let Uther die.

"Just how many stories are there mate?" Gwaine asked. He was glad that, if they were going chronologically, none of the memories would involve him for now. This allowed him to relax a bit more and enjoy the memory.

"A lot," Merlin replied.

The scene changes. The forest is dark and there are tents with small beams of light coming from them. A woman is in a tent, humming, but gasps when she hears a sound.

"Hello? Gregory?" she looked around.

A man pokes his head in to the tent and said, "Lady Helen."

"Is all well?" she asked of him.

"Yes, ma'am. With luck, we should reach Camelot late tomorrow," he said calmly.

"That's good," she smiled.

"I'll be outside if you need me," he said.

There is a noise outside and Gregory goes towards it and draws his sword.

"Who's there? Who's there?" he shouts.

The mother of the man who was killed walks up into the clearing in the woods. She stares Gregory down and Lady Helen hears his cry as he is taken down. Lady Helen gets up from her chair and walks towards the entrance of her tent. The old lady walks in chanting.

"Akwele seo magdp. Akwele seo magdp. Akwele seo magdp."

"I just know this isn't going to go well," Gwaine stated.

"You would be correct," said Gaius.

"Merlin, what is she saying?" Percival asked.

"It's pretty straightforward. She is telling the magic to kill the maiden," said Merlin. His face was scrunched at the abuse of magic. "It's dark magic and horrible. She is basically forcing the magic to make the maiden die. The magic is against her which is why she had to chant it multiple times in this case. But on the plus side, it doesn't cause much pain."

"Magic is against her? What do you mean? And why are you wincing like that?" asked Arthur

"Well in simple terms, magic is against strong changes in the balance of the world. Taking a life requires a lot of magic because it's strictly against that balance which magic tries to maintain," said Merlin. "And I'm wincing like this because even though this happened a long time ago, I can see the residue from that spell in the canvas there and it's horrible."

"Huh," was all Arthur said. Magic being inherently against murder was a hard idea to come to terms with, considering Arthur had pretty much only exclusively seen it used for just that. He also wondered when Merlin of all people had learned this.

The lady pulls out a straw doll and Lady Helen watches her in alarm. The lady then stabs the effigy, repeatedly and Lady Helen falls to the floor clutching her chest in pain. She struggles for a few seconds then lays still.

"Oh," said Gwen. "Poor woman, she never saw it coming."

"Ghefrolinz grimpoxin kouata," the old woman chants. The old worn skin of the lady turns to the smooth clear complexion of Lady Helen.

"That wasn't creepy at all," said Gwaine. He knew magic wasn't evil in itself but magic made a lot of crazy things possible that Gwaine thought shouldn't be possible at all.

"Merlin what was she saying?" asked Gwen. She wanted to learn all she could about magic so she could come to her own opinion unclouded by Camelot's teachings.

"She was taking the form of the late Lady Helen. Basically, on top of killing her, she is stealing the woman's form for her own purposes. It's not as dark as the magic used when killing but it's still dark magic. Now, taking the form of someone else doesn't have to be dark magic, but in this case, it is because of why she's doing it," Merlin answered.

"So… there is a difference? There is this light and dark magic?" Arthur asked awkwardly.

When Merlin looked at Arthur, he knows he said something right. Merlin smiled and said, "it's all about the intent behind the magic. The darker the intent in the heart the darker the magic that is produced."

Merlin looked around at them all and continued, "I know it's hard for you all to believe because you lot haven't seen a lot of good magic but it's true. Magic really is just a tool. It can be used to heal, or it can be used to hurt, it's how it's used that matters."

Merlin is sleeping in his small room in Gaius's chambers. There is a sound calling Merlin's name while he is sleeping.

"Merlin... Merlin..." it echoes.

"What was that?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah mate, you hear voices or something?" asked Elyan

"It was someone communicating with him through magic," answered Percival.

Everyone turned to glance at him, he shrugged and said, "I know things."

"Anyway," said Merlin. "You will figure out who it is shortly, so I'll save that story till later. But yes, Druids and certain magical beings can communicate thoughts through magic."

"Huh" is the only reply that Arthur can muster.

Merlin wakes in his new bedchamber and enters the Physician's Chambers.

"I got you water. You didn't wash last night." Gaius said chidingly.

"Sorry." Merlin replies abashed.

Gaius gestures to a bowl of grey watery porridge, "Help yourself to breakfast."

Merlin sits down to eat watery porridge. Gaius intentionally knocks a bucket of water off the table. Merlin stands up and stops it with magic. Gaius gasps and they look at each other. Merlin lets it drop.

"Gaius!" Hunith exclaimed, "How could you test him like that in such a common area!"

"Really Gaius, you could have gotten him killed! If anyone had walked in.." chided Gwen.

"I made sure to lock the door," said Gauis defensively, "and I'll remind you that I didn't know his intent at the time yet. So, I was trying to make sure that he was telling the truth. Obviously, he was."

"How did you do that? Did you incant a spell in your mind?" Gaius asked at once.

"I don't know any spells." Merlin quickly yells out.

"So what did you do? There must be something." Gaius insists.

Merlin shrugged. "It just happens." He grabs a mop and starts clearing up the mess.

"You really didn't know any spells before you came to Camelot?" asked Leon

"Nope. None. We didn't have any spellbooks or anything in Ealdor so…" answered Merlin.

"Well," Gaius said raising an eyebrow, "we better keep you out of trouble. You can help me until I find some paid work for you. Here." Gaius hands Merlin a small sac and bottle on the table.

"Hollyhock and Feverfew for Lady Percival, and this is for Sir Olwin. He's as blind as a weevil, so warn him not to take it all at once."

"Okay." Merlin replies.

"And here." Gaius said smiling. Gaius hands him a plate with a sandwich on it. Merlin smiles and takes the sandwich.

"It was a very delicious sandwich. Thank you, Gaius," said Merlin.

"Off you go. And Merlin, I need hardly tell you that the practice of any form of enchantments will get you killed." Merlin just smiles and walks out. Merlin eats his sandwich as he walks down the Physician's Corridor and through the Square to deliver the medicine. He knocks on a door and squinting old man answers.

"Erm, I brought you your medicine." Merlin said . Sir Olwin pops the cork and starts drinking it. Merlin starts to turn then remembers Gaius's instructions.

"Oh, and Gaius said don't drink it all at..." Merlin starts then sees Sir Olwin chugging the entire remedy out of the tiny bottle.

"I'm sure it's fine." Merlin said in an attempt at a reassuring voice. He then quickly leaves the poor blind Sir Olwin.

Everyone busted out laughing.

"Merlin!" Gaius yelled.

"Er sorry. But don't worry I made sure to look up the side effects later and remade more by going to get the supplies myself. I checked on him later to make sure he was fine," said Merlin.

Arthur was relieved to see that this side of Merlin was real. Not everything had been a lie.

Merlin crosses the drawbridge gate into the training grounds. Merlin is wandering the grounds and sees that Arthur is bulling a serving boy.

"Where's the target?" Arthur asked snidely.

Arthur's gang laughs the background.

"There, Sir?" asked Morris unsurely.

"It's into the sun?" Arthur comments sarcastically.

"But, it's not that bright." Said Morris.

"A bit like you, then?" Arthur mocks.

"Wow. You really were a prat weren't you Arthur," Gwaine said with his eyebrow raised.

Arthur didn't look at him. He was extremely uncomfortable with his on-screen self.

Arthur and his friends laugh.

"l put the target on the other end, shall I, Sir?" He asked.

The serving boy begins carrying the target toward the wall.

"Teach him a lesson. Go on, boy." Said one of the knights.

"This'll teach him." Said Arthur picking up a dagger then aiming it at Morris.

"Yeah." Said another of the knights.

"Haha. Teach him a lesson." Said the first knight.

Arthur throws a dagger at the target.

Arthur winced, "I never realized I was this bad." He knew he was never very pleasant when he was younger, but he couldn't believe he had thrown a dagger at someone like this.

"Poor Morris. He did find a great job after the feast though," Gwen said. "Arthur, everyone here knows you grew up so much in the last few years. You even apologized to Morris a few years ago. Everyone makes mistakes and you learn and grow from them."

"Doesn't make him any less a prat here though," said Merlin smiling.

Arthur smiled.

"Hey! Hang on!" Morris cries.

"Don't stop!" Arthur mockingly insists.

"Here?" Morris asked

Guinevere shakes a curtain out an upper window. She notices Arthur picking on Morris and shakes her head.

"You saw that?!" Arthur said startled. He never realized Gwen had seen some of his awful behaviors. Yet she had and she loved him still. It awed him and warmed his heart at the same time. He decided he wanted to do something special for her. To start he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks.

Gwen gave him a knowing look and smiled, "Yes and thank goodness I did. This is a part of you Arthur, and it's because of this I met Merlin."

"You met Merlin because of this? You've known him that long?" asked Elyan surprised.

"Yes, we met one of his first few days in Camelot. You'll see in a minute. Then once he became Arthur's manservant, we became fast friends. Morgana and Arthur were often required to be at the same events, so we saw each other often."

"Yes, and Gwen here," Merlin said pointing at Gwen for the benefit of others, "helped me learn my duties as well. I never would have survived the first week without her help. She's the only reason I understand anything to do with armor."

Gwen smiled.

"I told you to keep moving!" Arthur demanded.

He throws another dagger at the target Morris is holding.

"Come on! Run!" Arthur laughs mockingly.

Morris shuffles his feet along trying to carry the large target as Arthur throws more daggers.

"Do you want some moving target practice?" inquires Arthur smirking.

Morris finally drops the target and it rolls to Merlin's feet. Merlin puts his foot on it so Morris doesn't have to keep playing Arthur's little game.

"Hey, come on, that's enough." Merlin said to Arthur.

"This is how you two met?" asked Lancelot surprised. He imagined them getting along right from the start, not arguing over Arthur's behavior.

"So, this is how the banter started huh?" asked Gwaine.

"Yup," Merlin smirked. "I knew someone had to say something."

"What?" Arthur asked uncharacteristically shocked.

"No one had told me off before." Arthur said, "I always had people surrounding me and telling me everything I did was golden and that I was a good person. It was like I could do no wrong. Until this. It was honestly refreshing."

"You've had your fun, my friend." Merlin insists.

"Do I know you?" Arthur inquires.

"Er, I'm Merlin." He holds out his hand for proper handshake that Arthur doesn't take.

"You best have better manners now right Arthur?" said Hunith slightly offended on her son's behalf.

"Yes, I do Hunith, and it seems as if it is thanks to your son," said Arthur.

"Oh, it is definitely thanks to me," said Merlin.

"So I don't know you." Arthur stated.

"No." Merlin agrees.

"Yet you called me "friend."" Arthur questioned.

"That was my mistake." Merlin admits.

"Yes, I think so." Arthur agrees smirking.

"Yeah. I'd never have a friend who could be such an ass." Merlin quips. He begins walking away.

"Good boy Merlin. You don't need to start fights," said Hunith.

"Come on he definitely started something…right Merlin?" Gwaine said expectantly. He still felt weird about this whole memory sharing kumbaya, but it was interesting to see how these two came to be the inseparable pair they are today.

Arthur snorted. "Or I one who could be so stupid."

Merlin stops in his tracks.

"Merlin…" said Hunith warningly.

"Sorry mum," said Merlin.

"Tell me, Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees?" Arthur asked.

"No." Merlin answers.

"Would you like me to help you?" Arthur questions.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Merlin warns.

Arthur laughs. "Why? What are you going to do to me?"

"You have no idea." Merlin said seriously.

"You were warning me about your magic, weren't you?" said Arthur quietly.

"Yes," Merlin said surprised, "I wasn't the best at control yet and I was worried something would happen. Not that I would have really hurt you, of course, it's just for obvious reasons I didn't want my magic to let loose and accidentally hurt anyone in the process."

"Be my guest! Come on! Come on! Come oooooon." Arthur stated.

Merlin takes an awkward and sloppy swing at him and Arthur quickly twists Merlin's arm behind his back.

"Whoa." Say the knights

"You really tried to fight Arthur? What were you thinking?" said Hunith lightly hitting Merlin on the head.

"Someone had to knock him down a peg," shrugged Merlin. "Destiny made it my problem."

"Destiny?" asked Arthur. Merlin winced.

"Let me guess," said Arthur drily, "It will be explained later."

Merlin smiled at him. Arthur was taking this way better than he ever dreamed. It was a relief to finally have his biggest secret out in the open. Arthur is going to know everything and there didn't need to be any more secrets.

"Wait, Leon, where were you doing this?" asked Elyan.

Leon was the only knight who was in Camelot this early. "I was finishing up training some newer recruits in an outlying city. I had only met Arthur once or twice at the time," said Leon. He had steered well clear of Arthur and those other unruly knights. He had grown annoyed with their behavior and there wasn't anything he could do at the time to stop them. He wasn't as high up in the ranks then as he is now, and he had no authority over those he wasn't training.

Guinevere, who had paused in her chores to watch the scene, cringes in surprise.

"I'll have you thrown in jail for that." Arthur said.

"What, who do you think you are? The King?" Merlin inquires.

"No. I'm his son, Arthur." He stated with authority.

"You really had no idea who he was? And you confronted him anyway?" said Percival.

"Yeah, I wasn't used to titles and status being important, having grown up in Ealdor," explained Merlin. "No one there had any title worth knowing so none of that mattered to me. It still doesn't matter to me but now I'm aware of it. I learned quickly that I couldn't ignore titles here and that if I did bad things would happen."

Arthur takes Merlin out at the knees.

Guards escort Merlin down the Wrought Iron Stairway to the dungeons and throw him roughly in a cell.

"Oof. Bad luck mate," said Gwaine.

"It wasn't that bad honest," said Merlin.

Arthur could feel that Merlin was lying. Merlin was riddled with anxiety from being thrown in jail and the knights hadn't handled him gently. It didn't hurt much at all to Arthur, but he had to remember he was feeling only a portion of the pain. Arthurs's fingers played with the bond necklace, and he frowned. Merlin shouldn't have been thrown in jail in the first place, and now he had been hurt because of it.

Mary Collins, disguised as Lady Helen, rides across the drawbridge and into the Square with her escort. Her reflection in a puddle reveals Mary in her true appearance. Mary (Lady Helen) enters the Throne Room to meet Uther and a few court members.

"Did no one see that?" said Merlin. "Honestly it's a wonder Camelot lasted as long as it did without me."

Arthur wanted to disagree but found he really couldn't. He honestly did not remember serious incidents happening before Merlin came to Camelot.

"Lady Helen. Thank you so much for coming to sing at our celebrations." Said Uther warmly

"The pleasure's all mine." Mary Collins replies darkly

"How was your journey?" Inquired Uther warmly.

Mary Collins sighed and replies "Oh, the time it took, Sire."

Uther kisses her hands.

"Well, it's always worth the wait." Uther said.

"It will be." Mary Collins said coldly.

"That doesn't sound good," said Percival.

"Definitely evil vibes," confirmed Gwaine.

Merlin hears a deep and solemn voice.

"Merlin... Merlin..." the voice Merlin can't see said.

Merlin hears it coming from the floor beneath him, so he gets up and backs away.

"Merlin..." it repeats

Merlin moves towards the floor and inspects it.

"Merlin!" Gauis yells.

"So that's what you were doing," said Gaius laughing. "I did wonder."

"I thought I was going crazy," Merlin laughed. "I had no idea where that was coming from."

The cell door opens and Gaius steps in.

Gaius sighed. "You never cease to amaze me! The one thing that someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do? You behave like an idiot."

"Gaius! What if someone had heard that?" asked Hunith.

"I admit I was a bit frazzled. You asked me to look after him and he gets thrown in the cells after a day or two in Camelot," said Gaius. "I tried my best."

"Sometimes I think we ask too much of you, Gaius," said Gwen shaking her head. Arthur thought again about the physician's assistant position, it was becoming more and more a necessity.

"I'm sorry." Merlin said.

"You're lucky. I managed to pull a few strings to get you released." Gaius said wearily.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Merlin said enthusiastically.

"Yes, thank you, Gaius," said Hunith, who was glad Merlin only had to spend one night in the cells.

Gaius raises his eyebrows in a disapproving look for being so excited.

"I won't forget this." Merlin said absolutely

"Well, there is a small price to pay." Gaius said.

Merlin is in the stocks, being pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables by children.

"Oof again rotten luck mate," said Gwaine.

"Gaius! When I said to look after him this wasn't what I meant!" said Hunith.

"I had to talk Uther and Arthur down. He tried to punch the Prince! He's lucky he wasn't in the cells for a week!" said Gaius.

"Oh, well then I owe you another thanks," said Hunith. She wasn't familiar with titles or court procedures. She was a simple woman who only wanted to protect her son, even if it was from himself.

"It's true mum, and it wasn't that bad," said Merlin.

"Oh, no." Merlin groans playfully.

"Were you enjoying that?" demanded Arthur. He'd forgotten his guilt from earlier at the sight of Merlin enjoying his punishment.

"I mean even in Ealdor I'd never had fruit thrown at me, it didn't hurt, and it wasn't too hot that day. I was happy that the kids were enjoying themselves. They were so happy to have someone to throw rotten food at," Merlin said fondly.

Gaius walks past and laughs.

"Thanks!" Merlin said enthusiastically.

The children leave the stocks. Guinevere approaches Merlin who's stuck in the stocks.

"I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid." She said.

"Right. I'm Merlin." He said.

Merlin reaches his hand further out of the stocks to shake hers.

"Although, most people just call me Idiot." He said smiling.

"Great introduction Merlin," said Gwaine laughing.

"It's accurate. Glad you knew the truth even then Merlin," said Arthur. Merlin smiled at the familiar banter.

"Hey! Give me a break I was young and surprised someone was talking to me," retorted Merlin before fully realizing what he said. He coughed to cover the silence that followed.

Gwen gave Merlin a pitying frown. She knew Merlin would hate her pity though, so she turned her focus back to the canvas. She was glad she made the bold, for her, decision to approach him that day. She'd been such a shy girl back then. The only friend she had was Morgana and it was due to necessity before it became real and natural. She remembered a time when she was young when she and Sir Leon played together before they both grew up but that had been years before Merlin came to Camelot. She had always felt in the beginning that their friendship had been one-sided, it comforted her to know that she'd been what Merlin needed too.

"No, no, no. I saw what you did. It was so brave." She stated.

"It was stupid." Merlin replies.

"Well, I'm glad you walked away. You weren't going to beat him." Guinevere stated.

Merlin snorted "Oh, I- I can beat him."

"See that's funny because it's true," said Gwaine.

Arthur laughed before realizing that it was in fact true. He hadn't given a thought to Merlin fighting him but magic versus sword never really turned out well. Especially with the recent revelations, he was realizing just how much outmatched they were against evil magic. Evil magic. He shook his head at the realization of just how wrong he'd been, how wrong Camelot had been, about the nature of magic itself. Looking at the memory of Merlin in the stocks with dried fruit all over him, the picture couldn't be clearer. Merlin was not evil and therefore his magic was not evil either.

"You think?" Guinevere asked, "Because you don't look like one of these big, muscle-y kind of fellows."

"Thanks." Merlin stated unsurely.

"No! No, I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just, erm... Arthur's one of these real rough, tough, save the world kind of men, and... well..." She pauses in her rambling.

"What?" Merlin asked.

"You don't look like that." Guinevere stated.

Gwen sighed, "I was never very eloquent when I was younger."

Merlin smiled, "it's one of the things I loved most about you. You always told the truth. You still do now of course but with a bit more refinement."

Gwen smiled at that. It was true she'd grown up over the last few years and a part of her always wondered how much of her younger self she had lost along the way. Of course, it would be Merlin who reminded her that she was still her, just with a bit more self-confidence.

He motions for her to move closer.

"I'm in disguise." He stated in a whisper.

Everyone looked at Merlin. "What?"

"Did you always leave little hints like that?" asked Gwen looking at her past self.

"Kinda, not intentionally of course but sometimes," said Merlin.

Guinevere laughs, "Well, it's great you stood up to him."

"What? You think so?" Merlin asked.

"Arthur's a bully, and everyone thought you were a real hero." She said matter of fact.

Gwen winced and looked at Arthur who also winced.

He looked at Gwen and sighed, "It's okay. It was true. I was a bully. I felt alone and the only way I thought I could have friends or people around me was by acting like this. I hated every second of it, but it was how it was. It took me a long time to realize none of them were ever actually my friend. I was never able to trust them not to gossip about me or poke fun at me for talking about certain things. I became who they wanted me to be as an armor in the beginning. But around this time, it just became who I was, I couldn't escape it anymore. It wasn't until you all, beginning with Merlin, that I began to see what I was missing and who I could be."

"And that's the reason we follow you today, because of the person you've become," said Gwaine seriously. When he first met Arthur, he hadn't wanted to see any of the goodness in him. In time, and thanks to Merlin, he did see that Arthur was a good man. It's what made Camelot worth fighting for every time.

Arthur looked at Gwaine and gave him an uncertain look before nodding in thanks.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked.

Guinevere nods, "Mm-hmm."

The children come rushing back with more rotten fruit.

Merlin sees this children approaching and said, "Oh, excuse me, Guinevere. My fans are waiting."

Guinevere leaves as they start pelting him.

In Gauis' Chambers Merlin sits down to eat.

"Do you want some vegetables with that?" Gaius remarks with his eyebrow arched.

"Way to rub it in his face, Gaius," said Gwaine smirking.

Merlin snorted, "I know you're still angry with me."

"Your mother asked me to look after you." Gauis said more kindly.

"I don't believe I thanked you before this Gaius. I don't know all he's been through, but you've been with him through it all and he is still alive thanks to you. So, thank you," said Hunith. She gave Gauis a long hug.

"It's been my pleasure to help him, though it wasn't always pleasant," said Gaius. Hunith noticed he had watery eyes before fixing them pointedly at the canvas.

"Yes." Merlin replies.

"What did your mother say to you about your gifts?" Gaius questions.

"That I was special." Merlin replies modestly.

"You are special. The likes of which I have never seen before." Gaius said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked curiously. He had always wanted to know why he had these powers.

"Well, magic requires incantations, spells. It takes years to study. What I saw you do was... elemental, instinctive." Gauis explains.

"Wait, you said before that there are people born with magic? That there were others like him?" Arthur asked nervously. He may be getting used to the idea of his friend having magic, but it was still weird to talk about.

"Er, yes that is true. However, while they are born with magic, they still must learn spells to use most of it. They are taught spells at a really young age in these cases so they can control their magic and it doesn't get them into trouble. Merlin didn't need any spells to do these instinctive movements. It wasn't easy magic that he was doing either, especially when he stopped time to save me. I'd never seen anything like it," explained Gaius.

"So just how powerful are you?" said Arthur directly looking at Merlin. Even with Gaius' earlier comments, he'd imagined Merlin being a mediocre sorcerer. He didn't want to think of his best friend as a powerful sorcerer.

"I mean I'm decent," Merlin said modestly.

"No, I want a real answer this time and one I can understand. Compared to Morgana, how powerful are you?" asked Arthur sharply. He had to admit he was getting annoyed with Merlin's evasiveness. He understood that they would probably see the answer in the memory soon but after being lied to for so long, he just wanted some straight answers.

Merlin sighed, "In simple terms, I'm more powerful than Morgana. I'm sorry Arthur. I wasn't trying to be evasive on purpose. It's just like I said earlier, I don't want you guys to think any differently of me. I should also mention that while I may be stronger than Morgana magic-wise, she has years of training from Morgause and other sorcerers. I haven't been as lucky. So, in many ways, we are evenly matched."

Arthur felt silly for not realizing that to foil Morgana all these years, Merlin must be at least equal to her. This both comforted him and unnerved him.

"Well, that's good then," said Arthur uncomfortably.

"We don't think that differently of you. We are just finally getting to see the whole you," said Gwen.

"Exactly," said Gwaine.

"It's certainly illuminating," said Leon.

Merlin smiled at the others gratefully. He looked at Arthur again, waiting on his response.

"It's good that we have an answer for her magic then," Arthur said finally. Merlin decided to let it drop for now but felt Arthur was taking it rather well.

"What's the point if it can't be used?" Merlin said frustrated.

"That I do not know. You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin." Gauis replies seriously.

"I'd always wanted to do something or find a purpose for my magic. I always wanted to believe I had it for a reason," said Merlin. "It was one of the reasons I moved to Camelot. I thought or more like hoped I'd find an answer here."

"In a city that punishes magic with death?" said Elyan.

"To be honest I came here because Gaius was supposed to help me learn control, not that he knew that when I arrived. Plus while the prejudice against magic persists throughout the lands, magic having a death penalty isn't a wide practice. We didn't know that it was that severe before it was decided I should come here. Mum and I knew of the purge of course but we thought that time was over. We hadn't heard of any raids or executions in decades. At least not in Ealdor," said Merlin.

"Which is why you should have told me in your letters,' Hunith scolded.

"Sorry Mum," said Merlin.

"Did you ever study magic?" Merlin asked curious.

"Uther banned all such work twenty years ago." Gauis said evasively.

"Hey, you avoided my question!" said Merlin indignantly.

"Might I remind you I barely knew you," said Gaius.

Merlin grumpily had to admit that was true.

"Why?" Merlin asked.

"People used magic for the wrong end at that time. It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons." Gaius explains

"That wasn't true though, was it," said Arthur. Merlin and Gauis gave each other a significant look.

"Let me guess, it will be explained later," said Arthur drily.

"Yup," said Merlin. He definitely wasn't ready to open that can of worms.

"What? All of them?" Merlin exclaims.

"There was one dragon he chose not to kill, kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle where no one can free it. Now, eat up. When you've finished, I need you to take a preparation to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice." Gaius said.

"You all have a dragon chained?" said Gwaine surprised. He knew from legends that it was nearly impossible to do. He wondered how the anti-magic Camelot was able to accomplish such a thing.

"Had," said Arthur shortly. He wondered if he was going to see what happened to the dragon, they never did find out who had let it loose in the first place.

Merlin shot Gaius a nervous look. That was one of the things he was most nervous about Arthur finding out. He never meant to cause all that destruction and death. But in the end, it was no one's fault but his. Merlin could only hope that Arthur wouldn't be too angry with him when he heard what led up to the dragon's release. He didn't have a lot of hope though.

LADY HELEN'S GUEST CHAMBERS. Merlin walks up Spiral Stairway across the Balcony Corridor and enters Lady Helen's guest chamber. He puts the potion bottle on the vanity table and notices an effigy and a special book. Lady Helen walks across the Balcony Corridor. Merlin hears her coming and puts the book down, trying to cover up the evidence that he was snooping.

"Do you do that all the time?" asked Arthur indignantly. "Spy on our guests?"

"Only when they are suspicious," said Merlin in response.

Arthur let out a breath, "Fair point."

"What are you doing in here?" Said the fake Lady Helen

"An... I- I was asked to deliver this." Merlin stuttered out.

Merlin picks up the potion bottle from the table, Mary's reflection is revealed in the half-covered mirror behind him. Merlin hands her the bottle. Merlin exits.

"Merlin, you missed it!" said Arthur.

"Hey, I didn't say I was good at snooping yet. And I wasn't expecting anything to be off. But I did feel something, but I was so inexperienced and been around so little other magic that I had no idea what that feeling was," said Merlin.

LOWER TOWN THE SUN IS SHINING

Merlin walks across the Square and passes Arthur and his gang as he walks through the Lower Town.

"How's your knee-walking coming along?" smirks Arthur.

Merlin keeps walking.

"I'm proud of you Merlin for not rising to the bait," said Hunith.

"Aw, don't run away!" Taunts Arthur.

Merlin stops.

"I should have known I spoke too soon," sighed Hunith.

"From you?" Merlin replies.

Arthur sighed, "Thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."

"Look, I've told you you're an ass." Merlin turns to face Arthur, "I just didn't realise you were a royal one. Oh, what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?"

Hunith smacked Merlin on the head. The knights began to laugh before Hunith gave them a look.

"Hey!" said Merlin.

"Why on earth would you challenge Camelot knights? Did you want to be beheaded?" asked Hunith.

"No but somebody needed to teach him a lesson," said Merlin.

"He's right," said Arthur. "And nothing bad really happened."

"He still should have been more careful," said Hunith.

Arthur laughs, "I could take you apart with one blow."

"I could take you apart with less than that." Merlin replies.

"There you go giving little truths again," sighed Arthur. He wasn't happy with himself on screen, but he couldn't deny the truth of how he used to act. He was glad Merlin was able to forgive his younger self.

"Are you sure?" Arthur said condescendingly.

"Come on, then." One of the knights egged on.

"Fight." Another knight agreed.

Merlin takes off his jacket and Arthur laughs.

"...toying with him, then!" said a Knight.

"Here you go." Arthur said.

One of Arthur's knights hands him a mace, which he tosses at Merlin. Merlin doesn't catch it. He picks it up and Arthur starts swinging his mace with ease.

"You can do instinctive magic but can't catch a simple throw?" said Arthur.

"That about sums me up yes," said Merlin.

Arthur smiled, again glad that this part of Merlin was real.

"That a way," Encourages a knight.

"Come on, then. I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth." Taunts Arthur.

"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" Merlin taunts right back.

Arthur snorted, "You can't address me like that."

"I'm sorry. H-How long have you been training to be a prat, My Lord?" Merlin replies without missing a beat.

Everyone burst out laughing, even Arthur.

"Is that where prat comes from? From your second meeting?" asked Lancelot with a small smirk.

"Funny isn't it. I'm just such a good judge of character. I just knew it was a perfect fit," said Merlin.

"I'd always wondered exactly how you guys met," said Hunith not really impressed with either Merlin or Arthur in the memory.

"It was meant to be the prat and the idiot," said Gwaine in a sing-song
voice.

Merlin gives a little bow. Arthur smiles confidently and starts swinging at Merlin.

"Come on then, Merlin! Come on!" Arthur goads.

Arthur backs Merlin into the market stalls and crowd continues to gather. Gaius hears the commotion and looks out the Physician's Chambers' window to see Merlin in trouble again. Merlin falls down.

"Haha. You're in trouble now." Arthur smirks.

"Oh God." Merlin mutters.

Merlin looks for something to help him. He sees a couple of large hooks and magically entangles them with Arthur's mace. Arthur untangles it and attacks again. Merlin moves a box and Arthur steps into it, banging his shin.

"Hey!" said Arthur. He can't believe his eyes. Merlin used magic right in front of him and he didn't notice.

Hunith smacked Merlin again.

"I know. I know. I was careless. No one noticed anything," said Merlin defensively as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Still," said Hunith.

"OW! Argh!" Arthur yells in pain.

Arthur pursues him again, Merlin tightens a rope on the ground, tripping Arthur. Merlin picks up the mace and starts swinging it at Arthur.

"Do you want to give up?" Merlin gloats.

"To you?" Arthur said shocked.

"Do you? Do you want to give up?" Merlin goads.

"No one had beaten me in combat in years," said Arthur. "Now I know why you were able to, I guess. I was surprised you were so bad when we trained together since you held your own here."

"Is that why you trained me so hard in the beginning?" asked Merlin a little surprised.

"Well yeah, I mean right here you nearly bested me in the fight, I thought you could handle it," said Arthur. Merlin had never given that much thought but now he guessed he had no one else to blame but himself for the never-ending clanging sounds from those first few weeks in Camelot.

Arthur backs up, catching his foot in a bucket and falling over backwards. Merlin, thrilled by his victory, spots Gaius in the crowd and pauses. Arthur attacks him from behind with a broom, knocking him to the ground. Guards begin picking Merlin up.

'Ouch' Arthur thought, feeling the pain of the encounter. He didn't think he had hurt Merlin that badly that day, but he had hit harder than necessary to prove his point.

"Sorry Merlin," said Arthur

"Don't worry about it," said Merlin shrugging. "I get you back in my own ways."

"You do what?" asked Arthur.

"Nothing," said Merlin.

"Wait. Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one. There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it." Arthurs said looking at Merlin intensely.

"Destiny," said Merlin simply.

"What?" said Arthur.

Merlin opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Arthur gave him a look, rolled his eyes, and said, "Let me guess it'll show me soon?"

"Yes," smiled Merlin.

GAIUS' CHAMBERS

"How could you be so foolish?!" Gauis shouts.

"He needed to be taught a lesson." Merlin shouts back defensively.

"I did," said Arthur in Merlin's defense.

"Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good! Not for idiotic pranks!" Gauis declared.

"What is there to master? I could move objects like that before I could talk!" Merlin exclaimed angrily.

"Then, by now, you should know how to control yourself!" Gauis reprimanded.

"I don't want to! If I can't use magic, what have I got?! I'm just a nobody, and I always will be. If I can't use magic, I might as well die." Merlin declared.

"Merlin mate, that's not all you have. You have many other amazing qualities," said Gwaine softly. He was still getting used to his new idea of Merlin, but he was still like a brother to him.

"He's right Merlin, I've never known anyone more loyal or kind," said Gwen.

"You saved my life the first time we met, and that was without magic," said Lancelot. He'd always worried about Merlin's perception of himself. After all, he'd been through, Merlin deserved to feel valued beyond what his magic could do.

"Nobody is nobody, Merlin. And not just anybody could be at the right hand of the king of Camelot. And as you are aware I knew nothing about your magic. You changed me because of who you are not what you can do. That's not why you became my…friend," Arthur said.

Merlin felt comforted at their words. Magic felt like such a big part of him that he often wondered if that was the only thing, he was good for.

"Why does using your magic matter so much to you that you felt like this? I don't quite understand, and I'd like to," said Arthur. He needed to understand why Merlin felt so hopeless in the memory. Merlin was annoyed and frustrated beyond belief and while Arthur could feel the emotions it didn't necessarily help him understand everything.

Merlin felt comforted at their words for now. It didn't stop that nagging worry that when more secrets came to light things could go wrong. However, he really appreciated Arthur trying to understand him and his magic more. He didn't appreciate everyone seeing his most desperate moments but if it would help Albion, it would be worth it.

"Yes. It's so ingrained in me it's like breathing," said Merlin. "It's difficult to explain but it's always been there with me. It's a natural part of me. Not being able to use my magic for anything made me feel like I was wasting away. To make a comparison you would understand, it would be like Gaius not healing or Gwaine not getting drunk from ale."

"Horrible then," said Gwaine seriously.

Arthur couldn't understand just how important his magic was to Merlin until now. He still couldn't fully understand but he could try.

"So, say it was taken from you, would you survive without it?" asked Leon.

Merlin thought for a second. "It depends on how it was taken from me. If it was drawn out of my body somehow, I believe it would cause my physical body a lot of issues. You see magic is in my blood and that's what my body is used to. I may even go into a coma-like state until either my body gets used to it or I die, whichever came first." Everyone but Gaius and Hunith was shocked to hear this. They knew he had magic but had no idea of how much it was a part of Merlin.

"And it would take a long time for my body to get used to it, probably at least a year or two. If I was for some reason cut off from using my magic but it was still in my body, it would again cause me extreme pain, though this would be worse. As a child, I tried to not use it at all after a particularly bad display of accidental magic. At the end of the month, I couldn't stop scratching myself to the point of bleeding and had constant headaches. I couldn't eat or drink much at all. Mum finally knocked some sense into me. We barely made it to a secluded place in the woods before it exploded out of me with some extreme force. Mum had just gotten to safety a few yards away before there was a pretty sizable crater in the woods. I never tried it again," said Merlin.

"I would never have considered that magic could be essential to life," Arthur said quietly.

"It's a big part of the reason why there have been so many magical creatures and issues the past few years Arthur. The great purge desecrated the magic throughout big portions of the land. Magic was hurt and the creatures could feel it and reacted to it," said Gaius.

"So once again it's my father's fault, good to know," said Arthur frowning. "Thank you for sharing, Merlin. I'm glad I'm finally getting the chance to understand Magic."

Merlin smiled in thanks. He was ecstatic that Arthur seemed to be taking this in stride. Merlin knew it must be hard to reexamine your entire beliefs, but Arthur was handling it extremely well. Merlin knew that Arthur had questioned his father's beliefs in the past but Arthur always had trouble sticking one way or the other due to circumstances outside of his control. It seemed any time Arthur was ready to believe there was good in magic, some magical event would cause him to reconsider. Merlin was hopeful this time things would be different.

Merlin goes to his bed chamber. Gaius enters Merlin's chamber with a medical basket.

Gaius sighed, "Merlin? Sit up. Take your shirt off."

Merlin removes his shirt, revealing bruises.

"Sorry Merlin," said Arthur felt the need to say it again out loud this time. "I honestly didn't think I hit that hard."

"I already said it's okay Arthur. It looks worse than it felt," said Merlin. Arthur knew he was lying and gave Merlin a look that told him so. Arthur pointed at the necklace and Merlin raised his eyebrows as if he'd forgotten about it. Merlin decided to ignore Arthur's look.

"I'd better not see you injure my boy again Arthur," said Hunith warningly.

"You don't need to worry about him mum," said Merlin quietly. At least Merlin hoped so. "Everyone else on the other hand…" Hunith shook her head.

"I promise Hunith," said Arthur.

"You don't know why I was born like this, do you?" Merlin asked.

"No," Gauis answers.

Gaius tends to Merlin's wounds.

"I'm not a monster, am I?" Merlin asked quietly.

Merlin sighed. He no longer thinks he is a monster for his magic alone, but that didn't make the feeling go away completely. He had done so many things he wasn't proud of, decisions he wished he'd never made. It's hard to justify his past actions when he still wished things could be different.

"Merlin, you don't still believe that do you?" asked Arthur quietly. Arthur could feel the worry and anxiety that was going through Merlin's mind at the time. He could the dark intensity of the worry and it made him anxious to think Merlin may still feel this way.

"Not because of magic no. But at the time I felt so different from everyone else. The kids my age in Ealdor didn't treat me very well because of the early incidents from childhood and the parents wouldn't let them around me anyway. It made me feel as if there was something wrong with me. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. Not to mention that the prejudices against magic are prevalent in most lands and it was hard not to take that to heart," said Merlin. "It wasn't until I found my purpose that I no longer believed them." He looked at Arthur smiling.

"Me?" said Arthur. Merlin gave him a withering look.

"But wait, you didn't say no," said Gwen pointedly. "You said not because of magic. You still feel that way?"

Merlin shifted in his seat. "It's complicated. It's the decisions I've made to protect myself and others. I know you guys don't believe me, but I've done some awful things in my attempts to help. And that doesn't include the things I nearly did. You'll see later so can we please just continue with this memory," said Merlin. He didn't want to get into this now, but he appreciated their attempts to talk about it.

"Okay," said Gwen. "But know that we've all done things we aren't proud of. I trust that your heart was in the right place even if as you say you made the wrong decision. Trying to help others doesn't make you a monster Merlin."

'No,' thought Merlin. 'But not helping them might.'

Lancelot saw Merlin's expression and worried. He knew a lot happened in the past that Merlin didn't talk about. Lancelot knew that Merlin was a kind soul and always tried his best. He only wished Merlin could see that.

Hunith hoped that by having more people believe in her son that he would finally believe the goodness in him. She could only do so much as Merlin's mother and was grateful he now had more people to confide in.

Gaius looks Merlin in the eye.

"Don't ever think that." Gauis said seriously.

"Then why am I like this? Please, I need to know why." Merlin said desperately.

"Maybe there's someone with more knowledge than me." Gauis offers.

"If you can't tell me, no one can." Merlin said defeated.

"There are many people who have knowledge I do not Merlin. Best you remember that," said Gaius.

"I know Gaius, thank you for helping me have faith," said Merlin.

Gaius pours potion into a tiny cup.

"Take this. It will help with the pain." Gaius said.

COUNCIL CHAMBER - NIGHT

Uther dines with Lady Helen in the Council Chamber.

'Will you sing for me tonight?" Uther asked.

"You will have to wait, Sire." Helen said in a sickly sweet tone.

"You will not deny me." Uther insists.

"It sounds like he doesn't know how to take no for an answer," said Hunith. She had never had a soft spot for the late king and these memories didn't help in that regard at all.

"Er, yeah he was pretty stubborn," said Arthur. He had a hard time knowing what to say to Hunith. As Merlin's mother, he wanted to be polite. However, he wasn't used to talking with a mother figure and if he was honest, it made him uncomfortable.

"I am saving myself for my performance tomorrow. Will everyone be there?" Helen asked.

"Who would dare to miss it?" Uther stated.

"How about your son?" asked Helen.

"Well..." Uther said.

"It seems a shame not to have met him." Said Mary Collins with fake sadness.

"That's Arthur." The King explains.

"Poor child." Stated Mary Collins.

"Hmm?" said Uther confused.

"Poor child. It can't have been easy to- to grow up without a mother." Mary Collins offers.

Arthur frowned. It wasn't. He only ever had his father to go to and he was king so, of course, he had important responsibilities that didn't include raising his son. Not to mention all the issues Uther himself had. The issues with magic, the relentless need to be right, and his strict and stupid social protocols. But he was still his father at the end of the day.

"No." Stated Uther.

"Hmm. That bond between mother and son, it's so hard to replace." She stated staring at Uther.

"Hasn't been easy." Uther stated.

"I'm sure." She smiles.

He smiles back.

"Perhaps if you found someone...If you remarried." She laughs, "I'm sure you'd have the pick of any maiden in the kingdom."

"Well, perhaps I'll find love again. But I'm afraid it's too late to replace Arthur's mother." Uther stated.

"Yes. It's certainly too late for Arthur." Said Mary Collins coldly.

"Well, that's ominous," said Gwaine.

GAIUS' CHAMBERS

Merlin lies awake in his bed.

"Merlin... Merlin..." said a voice.

Merlin gets out of bed and sneaks out of the Gaius' Chambers. Merlin crosses the Square.

"Merlin..." it said

"Are we finally going to find out what that voice is coming from?" asked Gwaine excitedly.

"Yes, and please don't be too angry with me," Merlin answered looking at Arthur, Leon, and Gwen.

"I'm not going to like this am I?" said Arthur with a huff.

"No. No, you are not," replied Merlin.

Merlin descends the Wrought Iron Stairway and distracts a pair of guards by rolling their dice away from them.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Arthur. No wonder Camelot had so many issues with prisoners escaping and the like. He would have a serious discussion with the knights after this. Leon too was shocked. He'd known some knights were a bit more lackadaisical in their guarding but to allow themselves to get so distracted that they left the post was grounds for replacement in Leon's eyes.

He grabs a torch, lights it, and heads down the Tunnel Stairway.

"Merlin... Merlin..." it repeats.

Merlin enters the Dragon's Cave

The voice laughs, "Merlin."

Merlin looks around for the owner of the voice.

"Where are you?" Merlin asked.

The Great Dragon flies to land in front of Merlin.

"You knew the dragon?" said Arthur surprised. He was learning so much about Merlin so he guessed he shouldn't be surprised. Then something occurred to him. This was obviously before the great dragon was free. Surely not Arthur reasoned, though they never did find out who did it.

"Please tell me you didn't, please tell me it was someone else," said Arthur sternly. But in the back of Arthur's mind, he remembered that day with crystal clarity. Merlin apologizing so sincerely, Arthur telling him that it wasn't his fault…

Leon started in surprise. He was the only one of the knights who had been there during the dragon attack. It had been a horrible day. Luckily somehow things worked out in the end, though he was guessing Merlin must have had something to do with it now.

"Didn't do what?" asked Gwaine curiously.

Merlin wouldn't look them in the eye.

"Tell me you didn't release the dragon," said Arthur again.

Gwen was looking between Arthur and Merlin anxiously, but she had a look of shock on her face. She remembered how close she and Arthur came to getting seriously injured or worse that day.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to. He made me do it in order to save Camelot," said Merlin apologetically.

"That dragon nearly destroyed Camelot!" yelled Arthur.

"You released a Dragon?" asked Gwaine surprised. He'd heard that dragons existed but didn't think any were alive or that Merlin of all people would have met one.

"You don't understand," said Merlin turning to Arthur. "Do you remember Cornelius Sigan? You know? When the statues came to life and everything? Well, me and the dragon had a falling out just before that happened and because of that when I asked him for help to get rid of Sigan he refused to help me unless I promised to free him. So, I promised. I tried to delay it as long as possible but then came the sleeping curse and the Knights of Medhir. The dragon lost trust in me. I had to swear on my mother's life that I would free him once Camelot was safe. I'm sorry. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't do anything then. Not until later. I'm sorry. I never meant for any of what followed to happen, but it is my fault and I carry that every day."

Hunith felt a little guilty that Merlin released the dragon because he was forced to swear on her life. Though she trusted her son's judgment she wished he didn't have to make such tough decisions.

She knew exactly how Merlin was able to help later. It was a pain she would always carry in her heart. She suddenly realized she was going to see exactly what happened and she was not looking forward to it. She wondered briefly if Merlin ever told Arthur the truth about Balinor but she was guessing not.

Arthur should have known he would say something like this. Merlin wasn't careless or stupid.

Taking a calming breath Arthur asked, "What do you mean you couldn't do anything until later?"

Merlin looked sheepish, "I don't want to talk about that right now. You'll see it later. But I couldn't stop the dragon because my magic had little effect on him. Again, I can't stress how sorry I am for what happened."

Arthur huffed. "It doesn't erase the damage, but I can at least understand it sounds like a really difficult position. I guess we will see the entire situation as well, so I'll reserve judgment till then. But Merlin?"

"Yes?" said Merlin.

"You'd better not do anything like that again without at least discussing it with me. Got it?" said Arthur.

"Yes sire," said Merlin. He was happy that Arthur wasn't too mad but knew this discussion wasn't over either.

"At least that beast is dead," Arthur said before abruptly cutting himself off. "He is dead isn't he Merlin? You were the one who told me I dealt it a mortal blow, and then it never came back. It has to be dead right?"

"About that," said Merlin bracing for Arthur's wrath.

"You know what no I don't want to hear this right now," said Arthur sighing.

"He's been really helpful recently," said Merlin defensively.

"Merlin?" said Arthur.

"Yes sire?" asked Merlin.

"Shut up."

"I'm here! How small you are for such a great destiny." Said the Great Dragon.

"Why? What do you mean? What destiny?" Merlin asked confused.

"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason." The dragon stated knowledgably.

"So there is a reason." Merlin breaths happily.

"You mentioned you really wanted a reason. How did it feel to finally get an answer?" said Elyan

"It felt good for a few seconds before he told me what it was," Merlin said with a smile.

"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion." The dragon stated.

"What does that mean?" asked Lancelot. He knew Merlin felt it was his responsibility to protect Arthur and Camelot, but he never gave specifics. Honestly, Merlin didn't typically have time to give details.

Arthur was a little in shock that the dragon was speaking about him by name. He didn't think the dragon could speak before this and now it was talking about him.

"How does he know me? We were never allowed down there, and the one-time Morgana dared me to go see it I got caught and my father threatened to throw me in the dungeons for a week!" said Arthur.

"Kilgarrah is an ancient being of magic. He is very wise and has a lot of knowledge.," said Merlin.

"Kilgarrah?" asked Arthur.

"Oh yeah that's his name," said Merlin.

"Right of course the dragon has a name," said Arthur.

"Right." Merlin said unsurely.

"But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike." The dragon continues.

"That's certainly true," said Gwaine smirking. "Let me see there's Morgana, Morgause, Odin, Cenrid, and Argavaine, not to mention the number of times people have been bewitched."

"Yes, thank you Gwaine. As we are all aware a lot of people want me dead," said Arthur dryly.

"I don't see what this has to do with me." Merlin said.

"Everything. Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion." The Dragon said knowledgably.

"I'm starting to think that this must be true," said Arthur.

"It's definitely true," said Merlin.

"What's Albion?" asked Elyan. He was getting used to this new idea of magic, but he still wanted more information. He was a fighter, and in a fight, you take all the information you can get to quickly make the right decision. He was lacking the information to make the right decision here. Gwen seemed completely fine with magic, and he was trying to get to the same place of acceptance. While he trusted Gwen's judgement more then his own and she'd also known Merlin far longer than anyone else in Camelot, he wanted to come to his own conclusions.

Surprisingly, it was Percival that answered, "It's a time of peace and unification throughout the lands. This would also happen to include the reintroduction of magic throughout the lands as well."

At the incredulous looks he received, he coughed and said, "I didn't grow up in Camelot and heard tales of Albion along my journeys. They tell of the Once and Future King who brings Albion. I'm guessing since we are here that it must be you, Arthur." Percival could not believe that after all this time he'd been serving the Once and Future King.

He knew that he felt at home in Camelot and was happy serving the King, but he never realized the significance of it until now. He didn't realize the time of Albion was now.

"What does the Once and Future King mean?" asked Arthur.

"Not sure about that actually," said Merlin. "But it's your title." He had tried to research the prophecy as much as he could, but there wasn't a lot of information in Camelot and he didn't have time to go ask the druids.

"Do you have a title too?" asked Gwaine.

"Er yes. You'll hear it later we should keep going," said Merlin hurriedly.

Percival knew exactly what Merlin's title was and couldn't believe he'd found himself a part of this.

"No. No, you've got this wrong.' Merlin said.

"There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't." The dragon stated simply.

"But I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand." Merlin said harshly.

"Merlin!" said Arthur.

Gwaine burst out laughing. Gwen shook her head while silently laughing and Elyan looked at Arthur's shocked face in silent amusement. Percival and Lancelot tried and failed to hide smiles. Hunith and Gaius shook their heads at the behavior, both well used to it by now. Leon looked slightly scandalized at the statement. Leon was well used to their typical banter, but this wasn't quite the same.

"Don't hey me you remember what you were like back then! Besides, I wasn't serious," said Merlin.

"You were quite the different person dear, but Merlin and I both saw the real you in there," she said pointing at his chest, "you just needed some help getting out." Arthur gave Gwen a kiss on the forehead in a silent thank you.

"It's hard because while I know I wasn't a great person back then seeing my mistakes and unacceptable behavior right in front of my face is hard to come to terms with," said Arthur shaking his head. He knew he grew up in the last few years, but he'd never really come to terms with all that he did back then. He'd been through numerous manservants, none typically lasting longer than a few days. It wasn't until Merlin came that things changed, and he began to believe in the person he wanted to be.

"I didn't know you back then Arthur, but I remember when I came to Camelot. You went against your father on my behalf because you believed I deserved a place among the knights though I held no title," said Lancelot. "Now all these years later, you made me a knight and stand true to what you believe in every day."

"I did know you back then sire," began Leon, "but I can tell you that while you had you bad moments, you weren't always like that. I'm not sure you know this but before I was first knight, you father specifically asked me to watch you in your transition to knighthood. He knew I was close to your age, but I wasn't under your command and because of that I was in a perfect position to watch you. You were lonely. You didn't like how the other knights acted and you didn't want to join them. But your father found out the knights weren't happy with your attitude toward them. Your father pressured you to get to know them. He wanted you to become their leader. And so, you did. You were desperate for your father's approval and because of that you were desperate for the knight's approval. You were put in an awful position, and it turned you into something you weren't. I could see it happening but couldn't do anything about it. We didn't know each other well then and I knew Uther was happy you were getting along with the knights. When Merlin came in and challenged you, I thought it would do you some good. Though I wasn't around much, as I was sent away to deal with some issues on the border, every time I returned, I only heard about the good changes in you. People heard you risked your life for your manservant, and you questioned your father more, essentially you let yourself become who you wanted to be once you had the support you needed."

"Father had you spy on me," said Arthur shocked. It made sense now that he thinks about it. During this time, he'd not been as close to his father because he had been trying to establish himself as a prince without his father's influence on the knights. It hadn't lasted long before he'd been called to speak with his father who demanded he befriend the knights.

"You must accept this part of your life Arthur and let it guide you to who you want to be. I knew you as a boy and tried to help you along the way to being who you are today. But the pressure your father put on you forever changed you, and even though you have become the great and fair ruler you are today, it doesn't change what happened in the past. All you can do is continue to do better," said Gaius.

"And I will. Thank you all," said Arthur solemnly. He had a lot to think on.

The dragon laughed, "None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it."

"Destiny," said Arthur finally understanding what Merlin was talking about earlier.

"Destiny," answered Merlin.

"So, you're telling me that princess here is supposed to be the savior of magic and the uniter of lands," said Gwaine with a surprise.

"Yes," said Merlin.

"Then we are doomed," said Gwaine with a playful smile.

Arthur knew Gwaine well enough to know he was kidding but if he was honest, Arthur wasn't sure he was wrong. How was he supposed to usher in a golden age of peace and magic? How was he supposed to convince everyone in Camelot that magic wasn't evil after all? This was a lot to ask of Uther Pendragon's son. But Arthur guessed, that was why he was picked in the first place. The sins of the father and all that. He felt the heavy weight of it all. It felt like when he was young and finally realized that he would be Price and then someday King. It was a heavy burden, and he was never sure he'd be ready.

He looked at Merlin who was watching him carefully. He suddenly realized that Merlin had felt the same way since the day he heard the prophecy. Merlin gave Arthur a smile assuring smile. At least Arthur wouldn't be doing this alone.

"No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot." Merlin stated reasonably.

"Perhaps it's your destiny to change that." The dragon offered.

"And you did," smiled Arthur.

Kilgharrah flies off.

"Wait! Wait! Wait, stop! No, I- I need to know more!" Merlin yelled desperately.

"Damned annoying supercilious dragon," muttered Merlin. He knew that Kilgarrah was wise and everything but that didn't ease Merlin's annoyance at never getting a straight answer when he needed one.

GAIUS' CHAMBERS

Gaius enters Merlin's messy chamber and picks up his clothes.

"Oi!" Gaius shouts.

Merlin wakes.

"Have you seen the state of this room?!" Gaius said.

"It just happens." Merlin explains.

"By magic?" Gauis said with the raise of his brow.

"Yeah." Merlin agreed.

Everyone burst out laughing. Hunith shakes her head.

"Your hopeless Merlin," Hunith said. "The only reason our house wasn't like this was because we shared the space. I was still always finding loose socks and shirts everywhere."

"Yes. Well, you can clear it up without magic. And then I want you to get me some herbs: henbane, wormwood, and sorrel. And deliver this to Morgana. Poor girl's suffering from nightmares." Gaius said.

Gaius tosses some more clothes at Merlin.

"Mmm, I know the feeling." Merlin mumbled.

INT. KING'S PALACE, MORGANA'S CHAMBERS – DAY

Merlin walks through the Griffin Landing and up some curved steps to Morgana's Chambers. Merlin enters the open door and stares at Morgana as she walks behind her changing screen.

"You know, I've been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn't touch him with a lance pole. Pass me that dress, will you Gwen?" said Morgana

"It's hard to see her like this, knowing what she is now," said Arthur.

"She used to be such a sweetheart," said Gwen "I still miss this Morgana. Whatever she is now I know she loved us and Camelot once. Maybe this will show us exactly what happened."

"Oh, it will definitely show something," said Merlin. He had a long list of things he had done that he wasn't proud of and at the top of list was how he handled his relationship with Morgana. He is still mad at himself for not helping her in the beginning as much as he could of. Then he poisoned her against the kingdom forever, literally, and figuratively. It was one of the worst decisions he's ever had to make, and it still haunts him. He only can hope they won't be too angry with him and the decision he had to make.

Merlin pauses uncertainly before fetching the dress. Morgana begins undressing.

"Merlin!" said Hunith. "Why did you not just leave?"

"I don't know I just thought she needed some help, and I was there..." said Merlin shrugging. "I thought it would be quick."

"I mean, the man's a total jouster. And just because I'm the King's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it."

Arthur rolled his eyes.

Merlin places the gown on the screen.

"Well, does it?" asked Morgana

Merlin shook his head no and said in a high-pitched voice, "Mm-Mmm."

"Always knew you were a girl Merlin," said Arthur.

"Better than being a total jouster," said Merlin pointedly.

"If he wants me to go, then he should invite me, and he hasn't." Morgana said.

"Ugh," said Arthur shaking his head. He remembers briefly thinking Morgana was attractive when they were younger, but he hadn't thought about her like that in years and it was never very deep. It was still weird to think about now considering they were siblings.

Merlin looks around for a way out of his situation.

"See I tried to get out!" said Merlin.

"So do you know what that means?" Morgana asked

Merlin shook his head and again said in a high pitched, "Mm-Mmm."

"Where are you?" Morgana asked.

Morgana looks over the screen and Merlin holds up one of her cloaks to hide his face.

Merlin gave a high pitched, "Here."

Merlin poked his head through the neck of the cloak.

"It means I'm going by myself." Morgana answered her own question.

Merlin puts the cloak down and starts to leave.

"I need some help with this fastening." Requested Morgana.

Merlin turns around and stops, at a loss for what to do. Gwen enters behind him.

"I did wonder how you got in that situation," said Gwen smiling. She remembered this event in two different lights.

She was fond of this memory because this instance let her get to know Merlin more. At the same time seeing Morgana before she turned against them all was a continued reminder of how things used to be between them. Morgana had been her best friend.

"Gwen?" Morgana requests.

"I'm here." Gwen responds

Merlin spins around.

Gwen mouths, "What are you doing here?"

Merlin sighed in relief and motions that Morgana needs help dressing.

Gwen mouths, "Oh."

Gwen nods. Merlin mouths something to Gwen before he leaves and she helps Morgana. Morgana comes out behind the screen in a new dress, carrying another gown.

"So, it's whether I wear this little tease..." said Morgana

Morgana looks at her dress in the mirror and then holds up a maroon gown.

"…or give them a night they'll really remember." She continues.

"For an evil witch she does look quite captivating," said Gwaine.

Arthur started to get up to smack Gwaine, but Gwen put a hand on his arm. Percival punches Gwaine in the arm a little harder than usual.

The wooden double doors open. Pahoren comes in looking a little weary before settling in on one of the chairs nearby. Everyone notices him enter but no one knows what to say to the weary-looking stranger.

LADY HELEN'S GUEST CHAMBERS - NIGHT

The serving girl, Bronwen, brings a bowl of fruit to Lady Helen's guest chambers and knocks. Mary (Lady Helen) opens the door.

"Um, Pahoren? I meant to ask this earlier but I'm curious, how are we seeing this? None of us here were present for this event. I thought you were using our memories, but they aren't from our point of view and none of us were there when then real Lady Helen died either," asked Lancelot.

"We have ways of seeing the events here from different points of view. Especially important events" said Pahoren.

"Do you have any specific spells or anything?" asked Merlin curious.

"Not at this time I apologize," said Pahoren.

"Okay then," said Gwaine looking over at Pahoren with interest.

"Lady Helen." The serving girl curtsies. "Compliments of the King."

"Come in." Says Mary Collins

Helen sits at her vanity table and picks up an apple.

"So sweet. How will I ever repay him?" Wonders Mary Collins.

"When he hears you sing. Well, that will be more than enough won't it? I'm really looking forward to the performance," said Bronwen.

"So am I." said Mary Collins.

"I love singing, you know. I sing all the time. My betrothed said I have the voice of a fallen angel," said Bronwen.

Bronwen removes the cloth over the mirror and sees Mary Collins's reflection. The girl tries to leave, but Mary grabs her arm and drains the life from her.

"Poor woman," said Hunith.

"She had her whole life ahead of her," said Gwen sadly.

"It again seems I have my father to thank for this, we wouldn't have this woman attacking us if he hadn't killed her son. This woman would still be alive," said Arthur looking thoughtful. He remembered Merlin and Morgana's earlier words about how his father created his own enemies. It seems as if there was truth in those words. He didn't want to make the same mistakes his father made, especially when Arthur was still paying for them.

BANQUET HALL - DAY

Court members gather in the Banquet Hall. Gaius and Merlin enter. Merlin sees Arthur joking with his mates.

"Merlin..." Arthur said and the knights laugh.

"... so I stood up and..." Arthur feints a punch into one of his mate's stomach. They laugh. Arthur turns and does a double take as Morgana walks into his line of sight. All the men stare.

"God have mercy." Arthur states.

Gwaine opened his mouth but before he could speak Arthur gave him a look.

"You say one word," said Arthur threateningly.

Gwaine wisely shut his mouth.

Merlin stares at Morgana as she passes him.

"I knew it!" said Arthur "You did like Morgana once."

Merlin blushed but didn't respond.

"Merlin. Remember, you're here to work." Gaius reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." Merlin said distractedly.

Merlin continues to stare at Morgana as Arthur approaches to talk to her. Gwen sidles up next to Merlin.

Arthur said, "Morgana, you look well..."

"She looks great, doesn't she?" Gwen said

"Yeah." Merlin agrees.

"Some people are just born to be queen." Gwen said simply.

"No!" Merlin almost yelled.

"I wondered why you had such a big reaction to that. Did you have an idea of what could happen, even then?" asked Gwen.

"Not exactly. It just felt wrong, I'm not sure exactly how else to explain it," said Merlin.

"I hope so. One day. Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd want to marry Arthur?" Gwen said rambling a little.

Everyone burst out laughing. Gwen blushed and kissed a shocked Arthur on the cheek.

"Oh, really Gwen, you can't think of anyone who would want to marry Arthur?" said Gwaine teasingly.

"I'd honestly forgotten about that, so much has happened since then, I even forgot..." she looked at Merlin and bit her lip. She remembered briefly liking Merlin at the beginning of their friendship. Looking back now she'd mistaken her sisterly love for the romantic kind. It was going to be embarrassing later if it showed that particular memory.

"Oh, come on, Gwen." Merlin laughed. "I thought you liked those real rough, tough, save the world kind of men."

"No, I like much more ordinary men like you." Gwen stated simply.

"Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary." Merlin stated a little distractedly.

"You mean to tell me; you said these little truths this entire time and nobody ever figured it out before now?" asked Elyan.

"I guess," said Arthur distractedly. Arthur couldn't believe how often Merlin alluded to the truth right in front of him. He wondered how many times Merlin used magic in front of him and how many signs he missed. He also wondered what he would have done if had learned of Merlin's magic any earlier and shuddered at the thought.

"No, I didn't mean you, obviously. Not you. But just, you know, I like much more ordinary men like you." Gwen rambled.

"Thanks." Merlin said unsurely.

They turned away from each other awkwardly.

"Well, that was awkward," said Gwaine.

Merlin and Gwen blushed but didn't comment.

They had become fast friends in Camelot but were still so young and awkward with each other. Merlin didn't want to think about a particular memory and what Arthur would do to him when he found out.

LADY HELEN'S GUEST CHAMBERS - NIGHT

Mary (Helen) hums at her vanity table before leaving the room, walking past Bronwen's corpse. Celebratory horns signal King Uther's entrance and everyone finds their place at the tables.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honour of introducing Lady Helen of Mora." Uther said to the people.

"More like twenty years of devastation and destruction of magic throughout the lands," said Merlin harshly. He was staring at Uther in a way Arthur had never seen before. He knew Merlin must not be that fond of his father, but it wasn't until then that Arthur realized Merlin must hate his father. Arthur was finding it hard not to agree with him at this point. This whole situation wouldn't have happened if his father hadn't killed a man for no reason. Though Merlin does become his manservant so at least something good came out of it.

"What do you mean by that?" said Arthur again trying to understand more of how Merlin felt.

"I can help explain," said Pahoren. "Arthur your father persecuted anyone who practiced magic and all magic users alike, regardless of their intent. I know you haven't encountered many good magical creatures but there are plenty. Many of them have been angered by the loss of magic and their fellow creatures, causing them to attack Camelot. However, the loss and pain of magic didn't just affect those magical people and creatures. It affected magic itself. Magic isn't just in magical creatures and people, it's in the earth, air, water, every living thing. It's part of life. When your father persecuted any ounce of magic in his lands it devasted the world. This caused more famines, wars, weather events, and other issues as a result. With magic in such devastation, it cried out for help and that's where this prophecy comes in. Merlin is the result of magic crying out for help. He was given his powers to bring magic back, and I'm afraid that because of who you are Arthur it's up to you to fix your father's mistakes."

"I never knew how important magic was to life itself. My father always taught me that magic was responsible for all those issues. I guess it was just another thing he lied about. You have my word that once we are out of here, I'll begin the process to fix things. It won't be quick, and it won't be easy. A lot of people in Camelot have been hurt by magic and that's the only side of it they have seen. It will take time and compassion to change their hearts. But I know this is the right path," said Arthur. He turns and looks at Merlin, "And I know you will be there with me."

Merlin is teary-eyed but can't speak. He nodded and cleared his throat before saying, "Of course I'll always be by your side, protecting you."

"Boys," said Gwen smiling. She kisses Arthur on the cheek again before grabbing his hand.

"Thank you, Arthur. I appreciate your dedication to the cause. It says a lot about you that were willing to sit here and see all this and make your own decision. I can only hope this continues. Perhaps there is a chance for the future," said Pahoren.

People applaud. Music begins and the Uther and the court take their seats. Helen sings. The court members begin nodding off to sleep. Merlin notices and presses his hands over his ears. cobwebs begin forming over the enchanted sleepers.

"Did it not affect you because of your magic?" asked Gwaine.

"Yes. My magic reacted instinctively, and it gave me time to cover my ears so it didn't put me to sleep. It wouldn't have held forever though without the right counterspell," said Merlin.

Merlin notices her staring at Arthur as she walks forward. She pulls a dagger from her sleeve. Merlin magically drops the chandelier on her as she raises her arm to throw the dagger. Court members wake and pull the cobwebs off, muttering. Uther and Arthur stand up to see Mary Collins lying on the floor. Mary raises herself up enough to throw the dagger at Arthur. Merlin slows down time to reach Arthur and pull him out of harm's way. The dagger slices into Arthur's chair as they fall to the floor. Mary dies. Uther and Arthur stare at Merlin

"You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid." Uther stated.

"Oh, well..." Merlin stuttered unsurely.

"You were so nervous," said Arthur. The anxious spike in Merlin's emotions wasn't surprising since Merlin was talking to his father the King, but the strength of it still surprised Arthur.

"Well yeah, first of all, he is a King, and then of course, if he discovered how I saved you I would have been killed," said Merlin. "I wasn't completely sure I'd been discreet enough either."

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded." Uther stated.

"No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness." Merlin said.

"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special." Uther stated ignoring Merlin's protests.

"Well..." Merlin stated coming around to the idea.

"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant." Uther decreed.

Court applauds.

"That's how you became his manservant? By saving his life?" asked Lancelot in surprise. He thought Merlin had gotten the position because of Gaius or by working his way up in the castle.

"Yes, that is how I got the privilege of serving his royal pratness," said Merlin smiling.

"What a lovely reward," said Gwaine.

"What a beginning," said Percival.

"It was for the best," said Merlin.

"Father!" Arthur protests.

Gwen claps with a pitying smile on her face. Arthur and Merlin look away from each other unhappily.

"You guys certainly both looked unhappy with the deal," said Gwen. She remembered a little from those very early days. She remembers thinking at the time that Merlin would get fired within the week. They hadn't been getting along at all in the beginning, but they quickly grew to understand each other and be the great friends they are today.

GAIUS' CHAMBERS - DAY

Gaius knocks on Merlin's chamber door and enters.

"Seems you're a hero." Gaius said.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Merlin said.

"No. I knew it from the moment I met you. When you saved my life, remember?" Gaius said.

"But...that was magic." Merlin said unsurely.

Gaius noded, "And now, it seems, we finally found a use for it."

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

"I saw how you saved Arthur's life." Gaius said.

"Oh, no." Merlin mumbled.

"Perhaps that's its purpose" Gauis said.

Merlin sighed, "My destiny."

"To be honest, I didn't fully believe the dragon until this moment. I was glad I was there to stop her from killing you, but the words of the great dragon didn't sink in until this. I still wasn't sure about you yet Arthur. Then these sorts of things kept happening and I got to know you better, and I believed," said Merlin

"Destiny," said Arthur. Now completely understating the idea.

"But it wasn't strictly destiny," Merlin hurried to explain. "I began to care about you, and it wasn't just about what you could do for the world or for magic. I care about all of you and Camelot. I didn't want any of you to get hurt when I could help. I want you to know that it wasn't just some random prophecy that made me do it. It was because I cared," said Merlin.

Arthur smiled and nodded at Merlin in understanding. He didn't know what to say but hoped Merlin was satisfied with that response.

Merlin was relieved. He wanted Arthur to understand that the prophecy hadn't forced him to do anything, that he saved them all because he cared. It's because he cares that the prophecy is the way it does. It was funny how destiny works.

"Indeed. This book was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me. " Gauis said.

Gaius hands Merlin a book wrapped in a cloth. Merlin unlatches it and looks inside.

"How did we never find that?" asked Leon in amazement. "We searched those rooms dozens of times throughout the years, and very thoroughly."

"He must have hidden it with magic," said Arthur frowning. He shouldn't be surprised at a book of magic spells, but it was another thing hidden from him.

"Yes, magic that's right," said Merlin smiling.

"But this is a book of magic." Said Merlin confused.

"Which is why you must keep it hidden." Gaius said.

"I will study every word." Merlin declares gratefully.

Knocking on door of the Physician's Chambers.

"Merlin, Prince Arthur wants you right away." A guard said.

"Your destiny's calling. You'd better find out what he wants." Gauis stated.

"And that's how it all began," said Merlin.

"I'm not sure I ever thanked you, Merlin," said Arthur. "After everything happened and because you got appointed as my manservant. But thank you for saving my life. I have a feeling I'll be saying that a lot in the future."

"Thank you, Arthur. But you never need to thank me for that. It's my purpose," said Merlin simply.

"So, Merlin has magic, magic isn't evil, and Arthur's father is a horrible person, anything else?" asked Gwaine.

Arthur was startled at Gwaine's statement. He was still adjusting to the fact that magic wasn't evil and all that was associated with that. His father not being who he had always imagined him to be was honestly one of the hardest to deal with.

He'd obviously challenged his father about certain things in the past. But he'd never exactly seen his father as evil, just misguided. Now, if things were going to get better, he knew he was going to have to let go of his perception of his father. He couldn't idealize a man who had done so much harm. It was a hard realization to come to.

"I'm sure you guys have more questions?" said Merlin tentatively.

"Yes, did anyone else besides obviously Gaius and your mother know about your magic?" asked Arthur.

"Er," said Merlin. Lancelot gave him a questioning look and Merlin nodded. He promised Arthur no more secrets, so it was time to let go of another one.

"Yes, said Lancelot. "I found out when I first came to Camelot. I believe you remember the griffin? It was actually Merlin who killed it and because it's kind of a hard thing to hide, I discovered his magic. He saved the kingdom, so I decided to leave and keep his secret. I'm not sorry I kept his secret but I'm sorry I had to lie to you sire. Please forgive me."

"Lancelot you knew?" asked Arthur. "You've known all this time? I can't believe you knew and didn't tell me!" He had always seen Lancelot as one of the most loyal knights. He guessed that wasn't entirely inaccurate but still.

"I was only trying to help. Plus, he didn't tell me himself or want me to know. I didn't feel it was my secret to tell," said Lancelot.

"Don't blame him, Arthur. He was only trying to protect me. He's also been able to help in saving Camelot because he knew. And a few others did know but most of those who did know are dead or druids so," said Merlin in his defense.

"Okay," Arthur. "I'll say this again though Merlin, no more secrets. I mean it."

"Of course," said Merlin. "I'm an open book now. It's honestly such a relief that I don't have to keep anything from you anymore. It was stressful and lonely. I'm glad I can be honest with you now, even if it's scary. You'll get to see all I've done with my magic, even if I'm not proud of all of them. You'll see all of me and you can judge me for who I really am."

At that Hunith gave him another hug. She was proud of her son but was worried this destiny was too much. She was glad she could be here for him through this review of these memories so she could remind him he was still Merlin.

"Merlin this isn't a trial," said Lancelot softly.

"It kind of feels like one," said Merlin smiling sadly. "I mean everything I've done is on display."

"Speaking of a display, Merlin could you show us some Magic?" asked Gwaine excitedly. He wanted to see some up-close magic that he'd never seen before. Through his travels, he'd seen some, but he had stayed away from most of it.

Merlin looked to Arthur for permission. He didn't want to push him too far too fast. Things had been going well so far and he didn't want to mess it up.

"Actually," said Arthur, "That isn't a terrible idea. Could you show us some good magic? I'm ready to see it now. You say this is a trial so let's see some evidence."

Merlin thought for a second before smiling. He stood up and walked to the center of the room. He stuck his hand out. He cupped it lightly. He whispered a few quiet words, and a bright blue orb slowly came to life in his hand.

Arthur's eyes went wide. "That was you?!" asked Arthur. Merlin nodded in response.

Pahoren smiled as Arthur bombarded Merlin with questions. He was wondering how this would all turn out and if things would really be better in the future. He was doing all he could, but Arthur's mind wasn't the only one that needed changing.

I hope this lived up to expectations! I really tried to make them in character as much as I could. Thank you reading!