A small crowd of courtiers and servants were gathering in the courtyard. Merlin shifted nervously from one foot to another. Technically, yes, he was an official advisor to the king now. He knew Uther was trying to be conciliatory with the gesture, but at the end of the day Merlin had never felt in a more precarious position. He knew plenty of people were suspicious of him. And more than a few were deeply unhappy with the prospect of the return of magic to Camelot.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one such person. Mathias, a long standing advisor to the king, who now was in low conversation with two other courtiers and kept shooting Merlin suspicious glances. Mathias had been the most vocal during the past month, against the proposed meeting with the druids. He'd pushed as hard as he could to dissuade Uther.

Merlin shifted again, and thought how true the saying was: be careful what you wish for. He'd certainly wished on more than one occasion that he didn't have to hide his powers. That he could reveal himself for who and what he was. Of course he'd never thought it would happen in the time of Uther, but if anyone had told him it was possible he would have leapt at the chance.

But now he was seeing there was another side to it. The problem with not having to hide anymore was that once the truth came out you couldn't go back into hiding. Not if you needed to. If this all went wrong, if men like Mathias had their way and were able to drive Uther back away from his reconciliation attempts…well then. Merlin wouldn't just be able to just go back to no one knowing the truth.

In some ways, it was so much more dangerous for him now than it had been when he was simply hiding from Uther's general ban on magic. Hiding might be stressful and it might hurt, but it could also be safe.

He heard footsteps coming down the castle steps and turned to see Arthur coming out into the courtyard. Merlin waved and came over. "We just got word the druids have reached the city gates. They should be here soon."

"Good."

"Is Gwen coming?"

"She'll join us later."

Merlin frowned. "She is feeling better isn't she?"

But as he spoke, there was movement at the castle doors, and Uther appeared. His expression was set and determined.

"You'd think from his expression," said Arthur a little caustically, under his breath to Merlin "Father was about to lead a hopeless charge rather than meeting potential allies for peace talks."

On the castle gates, heralds suddenly blew their trumpets, there were horse hooves on cobblestones, and six horses trotted neatly into the courtyard.

There were four men and two women in the group. Arthur made a small noise of surprise as he recognized the leader. Merlin's gaze however was on someone in the back: one of the men riding closely beside a auburn haired lady. Merlin just in time stopped himself for yelling out a greeting, but he did wave enthusiastically which earned him a glare from Mathias.

Lancelot waved back and grinned.

The horses came to a stop, and the group dismounted. The man in front, the oldest of them all, approached Uther and gave a respectful bow.

"Your majesty. Thank you for inviting us to your castle and your city."

Uther stood for a moment in silence and then held out his hand. "Welcome to Camelot."

"Thank you." The man took the offered hand and the two shook. He then turned to Arthur. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, sire. And to see that you were able to sort out the uh, memory problem."

Uther looked sharply towards Arthur, who hastily explained: "It was Iseldir who explained to me about the memory spell. He helped me a great deal in understanding what was happening."

"I see," said Uther. His jaw worked a moment. "Well it seems I am in your debt for looking after my son while I could not."

Iseldir raised a hand in protest. "I simply answered questions as I could. I wish I might have helped the prince more. But allow me to introduce you to the rest of the delegation."

In the back, Merlin had been watching Lancelot. He had alighted from his horse, and then assisted the auburn head woman to dismount. As he set her down on the ground, she had stayed a moment, standing in his arms and smiling up at him. She then whispered something that made him grin again. It was one brief flicker, a hint of a private moment between the two, and then he had let her go. But Merlin had seen it, and he grinned himself. He was so definitely going to badger Lancelot with questions later.

Lancelot fell behind the druids as they approached Iseldir and Uther, and introductions were made.

"Allow me to present Druidess Sybil and Elaine the Lady of Shalott." Sybil was a little, dark haired woman with thick streaks of grey in among the black. Her arms with thick with bangles, which clinked whenever she moved. Elaine, it turned out, was Lancelot's companion. She gave a graceful courtesy. There was something about her that caught Merlin's attention outside of her interaction with Lancelot. There was a dignity and grace about her, a sense of leadership and nobility. The others of the party, with the exception of Lancelot in his armor, were dressed in simple robes and tunics. Elaine wore an elegant traveling habit of rich velvet that matched anything Morgana had in her wardrobe.

The final introductions were made: Druids Relveer and Ernald. Ernald beamed when he was introduced, and gave a rather flowery speech about his delight at being here. But Relveer barely tilted his head more than a centimeter in acknowledgement of the king. He looked to be about Uther's age, his hair grey, his face lined and heavily tanned. And his expression was certainly as forbidding as Uther's often was.

Merlin took a deep sigh. This was going to be an interesting week of negotiations.

"Lancelot!" Arthur had caught sight of the man.

Lancelot grinned.

"Ah, of course," said Iseldir, with a chuckle. "You already know Lancelot. Since he has friends in Camelot," and here he smiled at Merlin, "I thought it would be wise to bring him."

Uther cleared his throat. "Welcome." It did not sound entirely sincere, but Merlin could at least tell he was trying. "Welcome all of you. Several of you seem acquainted with my son already." He definitely didn't sound best pleased about that. "But allow me to present my ward, the Lady Morgana."

"Welcome, all of you," said Morgana. "I can't tell you enough how happy I am that you're here." There was no mistaking the genuine warmth in her voice.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," said Elaine stepping forward, and holding out a hand that Morgana instantly took. "In coming to Camelot, meeting you has been the one thing I have looked forward to the most."

Uther frowned, but meeting Iseldir's gaze unwaveringly he continued in a clear and steady voice: "I know there is much work to be done. There is a long road before peace can be achieved and before you will accept that I am sincere in seeking reconciliation with magic and your people. But I hope this day will mark the beginning of that peace. I thank you for coming. I know what bravery it took. And I swear on my life and honor you are safe here."