Summary: A book discovered and maybe a spell to turn Merlin back.


Merlin must have caught on to Arthur's worries. Following him around, grumbling as he twined around Arthur's legs, watching Arthur's every move, it was getting dangerous. More than once, Arthur had tripped over Merlin underfoot and nearly tumbled into the table, the sofa arm, and Merlin's food dish.

The cat was growing moody, too, his eyes clouding over at times, or hiding under the bed and even his favourite cat toy wasn't enough to lure him out.

Morgana was trying her best, but they hadn't found any spells capable to changing him back. Arthur tried to talk with her when Merlin wasn't around, for fear of his mischief-maker's disappointment, but Merlin could squeeze into the smallest of spaces, and Arthur was concerned how he would take any bad news.

"Despite searching through our libraries—Iselda had spell books as far back as the early 800s—it seems to grow more hopeless every day. I'm not sure," she hesitated, looking around to see if Merlin were listening, then lowered her voice to a whisper. "I'm not sure we'll ever find the cure. It's not just the spell. We have to know the exact one used to transform him in the first place. If we use the wrong ingredients, he could be permanently crippled or… die."

"I would never agree to that. Better he live as a cat than that." Arthur was horrified.

"I don't know what else to do, Arthur. We've chased down every clue." Morgana reached over and patted Arthur's hand. "We won't give up but it's not looking good."

Arthur looked up to see Merlin staring at them, his golden eyes dim, his little body bowed in grief. His mewing, soft and hopeless, tore at Arthur's heart.

Getting up, he reached over and cuddled Merlin in his arms. Merlin buried his face against Arthur's elbow and didn't even growl when Arthur said, "Hey, Lord Muckitymuck, don't give up just yet." Arthur leaned down and rubbed his face against Merlin's soft fur. "I've seen impossible things happen every day. Well, mostly you making my life complicated, but I'm sure Morgana is doing her best."

"Oh, Arthur, I… of course, I'm doing my best, Merlin. We all are," she said, but she was looking at Arthur with pity. "If we could just find the spell he used to transform himself, we might have a better chance of reversing it."

Merlin looked up at that, giving a little hopeful sniff, then scrambled out of Arthur's grasp, and ran into the bedroom.

Thinking that maybe Merlin was going to hide under Arthur's bed again, and honestly Arthur's back was beginning to ache from all the bending over and arguing with his little troublemaker while Merlin hissed at him from the far corner, Arthur was surprised to see Merlin rummaging in the back of his closet, then pushing out an ornate book past his shoes and a pile of empty boxes Arthur had been saving for Christmas gifts. Both Merlin and the book were covered in dust.

Arthur had never seen its like before. Old beyond words, its cover rough with intricate details and markings, arcane words or drawings that looked like runes or old English or maybe even something earlier embedded in the leather, when Arthur dusted it off and opened it, Morgana breathed out, sharp and wondrous, and reached over to touch the fine drawings inside.

One finger following the first diagram, she said, "Merlin, is this yours? I've only seen one other like this and it was centuries old. It… it may be the key."

"I've never seen it before," Arthur said. As she took the book out of his hands and began to turn the pages, treating it like the obvious treasure that it was, Arthur frowned down at Merlin, who was trying to clean himself of the cobwebs and dust. "How were you able to hide it for so long? It looks like it's been here for years. I may be busy, but I do clean the place once in a while."

Finished with the dust, Merlin hopped up onto the bed, ignoring Arthur, instead sitting down next to Morgana and grumbling at her, almost as if he were trying to get her to turn the pages faster.

But Arthur wasn't having it. He had too many questions and nothing made sense anymore. "Merlin, what the hell? I know every inch of this place and I could swear there was no book back there."

"He has magic, Arthur. Have you never heard of an invisibility spell?" Morgana didn't even look up, just kept reading the old book, her hand following some of the words there. Merlin nudged her to turn the page.

"You mean like Harry Potter's cloak?" When Morgana frowned up at him, rolling her eyes, Arthur said, "Look, it's hard enough with everything going on so forgive me if I seem a bit behind with all this magic shit."

"You were always behind, little brother. Try and keep up." He should never have given her an opening. "It's more likely that he just buried it under the pile of old clothes and junk at the back of your closet. Don't you ever clean that place out?"

"Morgana…," Arthur refused to play that game. "Of course, I do, but lately, with Merlin around, I've just been ignoring it. He's always in there, scrambling about, hiding things, chewing on my shoes, clawing up some of my old clothes and making a mess of it all. It's easier to just let him play in the back. Plus, I know he's been hiding his toys, but I thought it was just a cat thing, so that I'd buy him new ones. I figured at some point, I'd find a huge hoard of them buried somewhere or under the bed or someplace embarrassing." Merlin let out a little 'meep', sounding a bit proud of himself as if winning a game Arthur didn't know they had been playing, then went back to reading.

"He is mischievous," Morgana said. "Sometimes I even forget that he isn't a cat."

"Yeah, well, if he's transformed himself, why can't he just transform back? He's doing all these magic tricks. Floating things, hiding books, turning my ship bottles inside out. It should be easy. Like riding a bicycle."

"A cat can't ride a bicycle." Morgana shook her head, as if despairing at Arthur's cluelessness. "I've told you. He needs someone else to help, to push the pedals as it were. He hasn't the vocal cords to say the words properly, and I think somehow, while he can use magic for some things, this is beyond him in his current form."

Grumbling, his tail lashing about, Merlin nodded, then pushed his nose into her hand to keep her turning the pages. She brushed at his head, scratching just behind his ears a moment, then abandoned reading every page as carefully as she might have wanted. Instead, she flipped through them, slowing down only to see if Merlin would indicate the right page. When he shook his head, she kept going until, at last, he put his paw down, pointing to what looked like a poem with swirling letters and beautiful gold-leafed drawings.

Letting out a little cry of triumph, he leaped up, jumping into her arms, and purring like mad.

She rubbed his head, then leaned back, looking into his eyes. "Is this the spell? Are you sure?"

Merlin nodded, then jumped down and sat beside the book, caterwauling furiously a moment, then stopped, looking as if he were waiting for her reply.

That she didn't immediately tell Merlin that it would all be well was a good sign. She was taking it seriously, not that Arthur didn't think she wouldn't, but he would hate for Merlin to get his hopes up and have them dashed again.

Sitting there a long while, reading through the page, asking Merlin if a letter was this or that when the words weren't clear, finally she sat back and smiled. "You foolish cat, you and my brother are perfectly matched because you both are idiots. But I think it will work. But I do have to consult with the rest of the group. Can I take the book with me?"

Merlin's fur raised a little and his tail was lashing back and forth as if unhappy, but finally, Merlin nodded.

Satisfied, Morgana began to gather her things, and tucking the book into her purse, she said, "I will let you know just as soon as I can. I'm sure you are eager to turn back and get on with your life." When Merlin's golden eyes flicked to Arthur's a moment, Morgana must have seen Arthur's reaction—unhappy possibilities and loneliness—, and she reached over and gave Merlin's chin a scratch. "Don't mind Arthur. He's just being a sourpuss about everything."

"I am not a sourpuss. I am merely concerned that Merlin not be forced to do something he doesn't want to do. I will help in any way I can," Arthur said, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at her.

She didn't seem to believe him, but she nodded toward Merlin. "I will keep you informed of our progress. If that is alright?"

Merlin gave her a little 'meep', and Morgana chuckled at that. Turning to Arthur, she said, "Don't worry, Arthur. We'll find you another cat. The shelters are full of them." With that, she swept out the door, closing it behind her.

Leaping up onto the sofa and then into Arthur's arms, Merlin nuzzled into Arthur's cheek, and purred, almost as if he were comforting Arthur.

Arthur looked down at his wayward troublemaker, his chest aching as he murmured, "But I don't want another cat."