By the middle of March, the Coronavirus situation was extreme and Uther announced that the college was closed. All personnel had to leave by the week-end and Camelot College would go entirely on line.

It wasn't long before the whole university closed down and ARU – Lance's university – announced the same. The schools were closed by the third week of March and the UK was on a strict lockdown.

Merlin had never been so glad that Arthur had bought this house and persuaded his mum to live here too. Lance was there and they were all safe and ridiculously happy. His courses and tutorials were all online, which meant that he could work at the same time and Kilgharrah told him not to bother him unless it was urgent as he already had full marks from him. Arthur thought that was hilarious and that they should all get Cambridge First class degrees in that case. Merlin found that he wasn't anything like so bothered about his degree now. It seemed a bit silly when he had lived through the whole thing and spoke the languages more fluently than any of his tutors.

The only downside was that Merlin now had eight bathrooms to clean – although Hunith and Lance both told him not to bother with theirs and Morgana was in Ireland. The kitchen was only manageable if he kept on top of it (with magic obviously) and his mum was such a great help all the time, picking up things he didn't have time to do and offering help he could trust with the cooking. They relied on take-away sometimes, but generally he was having fun coming up with meals.

Gwaine was furloughed so he had pretty much retreated to his flat with his huge TV and strong internet connection, and loud music could be heard from some kind of online party thing… at least, the music was heard until Arthur commanded Merlin to do something with his magic to make the noise go away.

Percival was entertaining himself setting up his security system and parcels kept arriving for him. He was generally up in his den at the top of the house and was following zoom courses on how to keep everyone safe.

Gwen was finding it hard to switch to a life of idleness. She had always had times when Morgana was away when she would take up duties elsewhere in the house. Pre-Merlin, she had often served Arthur to save George, but now she had nothing much to do. She would help Merlin with planning meals and even prepare lunches, she took on some of Arthur's secretarial duties if he was pushed and she even tried to do the cleaning in their room – which Merlin absolutely would not allow. In the end she started hanging around with Elyan and Gaius and got involved in a secret project there.

It was while Merlin was vacuuming upstairs that the doorbell rang unexpectedly. It was weird because in the lockdown no one was supposed to be calling on friends. Lance, Gwen, Gwaine and Arthur were out jogging, Percival was attending a zoom course in his room, Hunith was resting with a book in her annexe and Elyan and Gaius, whose project they were working on together was in a sticky place, had gone out looking for materials. Merlin liked to think that the stocks thing was just a joke.

Merlin used his magic to follow the immediate future and saw that it was Uther and Agravaine at their door. Technically, they were breaking the law, but he couldn't see anyone attacking or reprimanding the Earl of Avalon; or Lord DuBois of Tintagel for that matter… Reluctantly, he switched the vacuum cleaner off, threw up a 'notice-me-not' charm over the Table Room – something Morgana and he had experimented with based on Harry Potter ideas – and went to the front door.

"My lord!" Merlin used as surprised a voice as he could muster.

"Where is your master?" Uther snapped.

"He's out jogging, my lord," Merlin answered with his eyes lowered. "May I take a message?"

"Get out of my way, Boy!" Uther demanded, barging into the house and shoving Merlin out of the way. Agravaine gave him a slimy smile and Merlin sighed. He might be the most powerful warlock to walk the Earth with over a thousand years of experience, but he was still powerless against the force that was Uther on a course of action.

"May I offer you refreshment, my lords?" he tried.

"Show me the house!" Uther demanded.

"Wouldn't you rather wait for Lord Arthur, my lord?" Merlin suggested hopefully, but Uther was off into the kitchen, opening the enormous fridge and equally enormous freezer. Merlin couldn't imagine that Uther was any more skilled at cooking than Arthur, but he said nothing.

"Did Arthur put the kitchen in or was it like this already?" Agravaine asked, his tone milder and on the slimy side.

"It was already like this, sir."

Uther led the way back to look at the study.

"This is far too small. How can he work in here?"

"This is for myself and Mr Lancelot, my lord. It will eventually become Lord Arthur's library," Merlin explained apologetically. The two computers were available for anyone in the house, but it was a useful place for a zoom lesson.

"And this?" he opened another door.

"That's the sports utility room, my lord," Merlin replied pointing at the specialist washer and drier as well as the large pile of clean rugby boots that wouldn't see any more use for months now. There was a boot room as well and a set of stairs that led directly up to Arthur's own office as a dry way in from the garage.

Uther charged out again and went through the sitting room, kitchen and breakfast room. The first door at the other end that he tried took him to the snug, which Agravaine sniffed at in spite of the great view over the large water feature-cum-pond. The other door at the other end took him to the pool area where there were changing rooms, a shower room, a wet room and then the pool. They inspected the gym on the way back to the kitchen and Uther looked out over the garden.

"The garden isn't very big. I assume you are the gardener," he pronounced.

"No, Gaius has picked a gardener and is…"

"I will talk to Gaius about these things. You stick with your own work, Boy," Uther advised aggressively.

"Yes my lord," Merlin replied in a tone that Arthur would have correctly interpreted as 'you arse'.

They then went upstairs.

"What is behind this door?" Agravaine asked, pushing hard on a locked door.

"That is a private apartment, my lord," Merlin answered, hating all the 'my lord's he had to use. "I don't have a key," he lied.

"How do you clean in there then?" Agravaine pounced.

"I have to wait until Mr du Lac and Mr er…Knightson are home. They have a bedroom, sitting room and bathroom each and there is a kitchenette under the stairs here that they share." He almost forgot what Gwaine's surname was.

Merlin directed them into the cinema, which was well received. Uther even decided that he should have one (only bigger and better) at the castle. They left Merlin alone as they poked into the various cupboards where some of their films were stored and where the popcorn machine and drinks fridge were kept. He then took them to see Arthur's office, which was much larger than his suite at the Lodge. It was still fairly empty, but his computer and paraphernalia were all in there.

Then they barged into his room.

"And this?"

"This is my room, my lord."

"You don't have a room in the attic?" Agravaine asked with a sneer.

"No, sir. This door leads into Ar… my master's room."

This produced a smile on both the lords' faces as they saw that he had two entrances and an implied lack of privacy. Merlin hid his smile at their erroneous conclusions.

"My lord! Please!" he stopped Uther from opening that door. "Please, my lord, that's my master's room," he loved the way they cheered up when he used the 'M' word as Gwen had dubbed it. "It's his private room and even I only go in there when he allows it."

Uther considered this. "You mean you haven't cleaned it and you don't want us to see how slovenly you are."

Merlin didn't bother arguing. Who cared what Uther thought?

"Maybe your lordships would like to see Lady Morgana's room?"

"No, I would never invade her privacy in such a way. I saw another set of stairs."

Merlin kept his thoughts on double standards to himself and showed them the enormous training room in the attic, the extra flat up there and the kitchenette. Merlin attempted to stop them from entering Percival's room, but even though he told them about the zoom call, they still barged in and looked around at the small (compared to the others) room.

"Who is that?" Agravaine asked before closing the door, which was so rude.

"Percival is Lord Arthur's security guard. He can control the alarms and cameras from there," Merlin answered rather abruptly, because of their rudeness.

"And that's it?" Uther sniffed. "It's not very big. Why did he buy here instead of in London?"

Merlin felt the wards around the house and smiled. "You could ask him yourself, my lord. I must go and see to my master and his guests. Would your lordships like some refreshment?"

"Americano and latte for Lord Tintagel," Uther said, so Merlin bowed and headed downstairs to meet Arthur.

"Your father and uncle are here, Sire."

"Where is the Table Room?" Arthur asked, looking at the blank wall where there had been a door.

"I hid it magically," he answered a bit smugly. "They think that the snug is the main living room."

"That's so cool!" Gwaine laughed. "I'm going to raid the fridge, then I'm off to have a shower!" he disappeared up the back stairs through Arthur's office.

"Thank heavens for small mercies," Arthur grumbled. "Father! Uncle!"

Merlin enjoyed the fake delight on Arthur's face and set the coffee machine to make the required drinks. There was something a bit… weird about Agravaine. Merlin was expecting the slimy smiles and derogatory comments, but he seemed to be looking for something, and Merlin couldn't help but be suspicious.

"Where do you do your laundry, Boy?" Arthur's uncle asked suddenly in a tone that sounded rather menacing. Luckily he managed to not drop the tray of coffees he was carrying.

"In the utility room, my lord," Merlin answered rather nonplussed, guiding them towards the snug. "Would you like to see it?"

"Uther's manservant tells me that you are hopeless at ironing."

Thanks George! "I'm not very good, my lord, it is true. I am paying for a service to do it for me."

Merlin went over to Arthur and hovered, hopefully.

"What is it Merlin?"

"I was vacuuming, si… sir, may I go back to it? I would also like to do Mr Du Lac's bathroom now that he is home," he hinted with pleading eyes.

"Yes, go, I will talk to my family."

"Thank you, sir."

He carried the final coffee and the tea to Lance's room and hid there in the sitting room.

"Don't make me go out there again!" he begged dramatically.

"They are Arthur's family, let him deal with them!" Lance grinned, pulling Merlin down onto his sofa. "I shall enjoy my favourite person in my own sitting room!"

"I can live with that," Merlin smiled, snuggling. "but Agravaine was being more obnoxious than usual. I am not going to call Arthur 'my lord' until I've had a shower!"

"Poor Arthur, you are denying him one of his little pleasures," Lance chuckled.

"You know, I'm kind of surprised that he hasn't fitted me with a dog collar or something, just to claim ownership," Merlin smiled.

"As long as there is room for my name on the tag as well!" Lance growled and Merlin was surprised at how that made him feel. They shared a deep kiss and their drinks went cold, which isn't a problem when you are a warlock.

"Tell me something though," Lance asked. "Who is vacuuming?"

Merlin blushed. "Ah... uh...It's going by itself. I wanted to come and see you, but I used the vacuuming as an excuse… but you know I can't lie to Arthur, so… I set it to work on its own. Your bathroom is kind of cleaning itself too."

Lance broke down in peals of laughter.

The house seemed to relax as soon as the two lords had gone. Arthur didn't even need to shout that the coast was clear and Merlin crept down with Lance to bolster him. Arthur dragged him roughly by the arm, over to where the doors to the Table Room should have been and said, "Well?"

Merlin grinned and waved his hand and the doors reappeared. "I just thought… well, you remember how your father reacted when his ghost came back?"

Arthur winced. "I do," he agreed.

"He attacked the table first, so I thought it would be best if he didn't see it."

"OK… yes, I can see that. He told me that our living room is too small," Arthur complained. "He wants a cinema of his own, but he approves of the way I have made it so that you are at my beck and call."

"I made sure to call you my master as much as possible," Merlin chuckled. "Although I have gone off calling you 'my lord'. I have used up my quota for the year."

"I'm sure we can think up some new titles for me," Arthur suggested.

"Your Pratness? Your Tremendousness? Your Humungous Great-headedness?" Merlin started running, "Oh King of the Cabbage Heads?"

"Oy!" Arthur gave chase and they ran through the kitchen and up the corridor to the pool, around the pool (which was not filled), back to the kitchen where Lance and Gwaine created a wall for Merlin to hide behind, all the while howling with laughter.

Eventually, Lance picked Merlin up over his shoulder, caveman style, and declared, "Sorry, your majesty, he's mine!" while Merlin laughed and begged to be put down, Gwaine attacked Arthur with a baguette and Arthur managed a swat on Merlin's behind where it dangled over Lance's shoulder. All the while Gwen just hooted with laughter, only just remembering to film some of it on her phone to send to Morgana.

"I'm living with a bunch of morons!" she giggled.

Arthur tracked Merlin down as he was watching the pool being filled. The contractor had arranged for a lorry-load of water to be pumped in, which was fine, but the massive pipe had to be dragged through the house and Merlin had been fretting about all kinds of damage – none of which had come to pass.

"Apparently I need to test the water every few days with one of these strip things," he told Arthur when he realised he was there.

"How long before we can start swimming in it? Gwaine has bought cocktails, umbrellas and I swear there was a floating unicorn."

Merlin chuckled, "Couple of days I should think and then, as long as the water stays good, we should be able to get in as we wish. Matt will come and check it once a month for algae and water hardness."

"We'll have a pool opening ceremony then. Let me know?"

"Yes sire," Merlin grinned.

"Come and sit down," Arthur commanded and he led the way over to the conservatory-style chairs to the left of the pool. They were set next to huge French Windows that gave a lovely view of the water feature and decorative plants, which mostly hid the 'Lab' from view. The Lab and workshop was shared by Gaius and Elyan and they had discovered that they could work together very effectively, with Elyan working on machinery and Gaius working with a huge greenhouse and plants beyond his wildest dreams.

"Elyan says that the stocks are nearly ready," Arthur grinned when they had both settled on the sofas.

"I have a great destructive spell that I can use to get rid of them, Sire," Merlin warned, not quite hiding his smile. "It's a bit messy… but very satisfying."

"You wouldn't dare!" Arthur claimed with a laugh. "We need to hang onto our pasts you know," he added with mock sincerity.

"Meh, I prefer it nowadays!" Merlin smiled.

"Ah, you in the stocks… now there's a happy mental image," Arthur allowed a large contemplative grin on his face.

"Well, your private bondage dungeon aside, what did you want from me, my lord?"

"I want to ask Gwen to marry me," Arthur admitted.

"Excellent!" Merlin grinned.

"I did it well back then, but then Lancelot's shade appeared and… I want to do it differently, but romantically."

"And you want me to express your feelings for you?"

"No, Merlin. I am modern enough to be able to express feelings for myself this time," Arthur huffed.

"Yes, Sire," Merlin replied dubiously.

"So, a room full of candles is out. Decorating the room with her favourite flowers is nice, but again copying. So what should I do?"

"I could use magic?" Merlin suggested eagerly.

"Magic?" Arthur breathed in surprise. "I… I hadn't considered that. What could you do?"

"I can create illusions, or I can conjure short term items. I can make flowers or butterflies, or anything really, but it will all be temporary and unique. You could even design your own and I could create them for you. I could cook you a special meal… you could use the dining room and we would all be out of your way."

"We are nearly there…" Arthur agreed. "But this time I want you there."

"Me? Are you sure?"

"Yes. Whenever we did anything together, back then, you were always there. You came on picnics and rides, you set up the tent when we stayed out on summer nights,"

"And then had to sleep outside," Merlin grumbled.

Arthur ignored him. "You helped me with decorating the bedroom… you were always there. You even lit all those candles in her house!"

"I remember lugging them from the castle and then having to take them all back again afterwards!" Merlin reminisced.

"Yes, you were always so cheerful about it too!" Arthur growled sarcastically.

"So, what can I do, Sire?"

"I will design some butterflies. That would be lovely, and we will have a romantic meal in the dining room… I'm starting to see the scene!" Arthur smiled happily. "Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin ducked his head. "You're very welcome, my lord."

So, a week later, Merlin left his mum cooking for the rest of the house, and Merlin created a three course dinner with Gwen's favourites, and then he dressed in his formal outfit and went to search for the lady in question. He found her reading in the room she shared with Arthur.

"My lady?" He had never bowed or scraped back in Camelot, but he did it now as solemnly as he could.

"Merlin, you don't have to…"

"I want to!" He responded as he always did. "Lord Albion requests your attendance in the dining room, my lady," he announced in his best impression of George.

"Is it someone's birthday?" she asked, frowning.

"No, my lady. Just a request from my lord."

"Do I need to be dressed up?"

"No, my lady. You look beautiful already," Merlin grinned.

"Flatterer! Give me a chance to put my hair up at least!"

Merlin considered that and then thought back. He closed his eyes and Gwen yelped as her hair began to weave itself into a crown-style top-knot. He placed a few conjured flowers in her hair and then fished out the diamante hair clip that Arthur had given her for Christmas, attaching it under the knot.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "That's lovely, Merlin! Thank you! I didn't know you could do that!"

"Neither did I!" Merlin chuckled, then he forced his face into a formal expression and bowed her out of the room.

He followed her as she glided down the stairs and waited, with bated breath, for the big reveal.

She stood before the closed double doors and was about to reach for them when they opened themselves magically and she entered into a scene of such prettiness that she gasped. There were yellow and blue butterflies flitting around garlands of spring flowers in purples, blues and yellows. There were candles lit and… floating around the room, and in the middle there was Arthur, looking nervous, but very happy.

Merlin followed her in and closed the doors behind her, then he took up a position by the door. The table had been reduced in size somehow and there were now only two chairs facing each other.

"Arthur!" Gwen cried in delight, turning around to take in the whole scene.

"Do you like it?"

"How? It's beautiful!"

"Well, having a pet warlock helps!" Arthur chuckled, holding out his hand for her and she realised that somehow her clothes had been changed so that she was now wearing a blue taffeta dress very like the ones she had worn as Queen. She turned and looked at Merlin, who smirked back at her, eyes sparkling, but said nothing.

Arthur guided her to her seat and then he knelt on one knee.

"Guinevere, we were married in our past lives because I loved you. I loved you so much that, even though I erroneously thought you had betrayed me, I still couldn't envisage anyone else by my side. Now, in these modern times, I still see all those qualities that made you into the perfect Queen. You are beautiful, clever, hardworking, compassionate and completely adorable and there is still no one in this world, or that past world, or in any world, that I would rather have by my side. Guinevere… would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

"Of course, Arthur, with all my heart!" Gwen grinned though emotional tears.

Arthur gestured and Merlin brought over the velvet box. Arthur opened it and showed her a trio of diamonds. "They stand for yesterday, today and tomorrow, my once and future Queen."

He pulled the ring out of the box and slid it onto her left hand ring finger and neither were completely surprised when it shrank just a little to fit perfectly. He kissed her ring and then her hand and then he stood up and she stood with him, sharing as loving a kiss as they had ever shared.

Eventually, he guided her back to her seat and beckoned to Merlin. She was rather astonished when Merlin also knelt before her on one knee with his head bowed. "My lady, you will once again be married to my lord and master, so I pledge to you the same vow as I offered to him. As he commands me, so do you and I will never lie to you unless the truth might harm you or my master."

The same light that had bound Merlin and Arthur, reached out and drew a line between himself and his Queen, and Merlin took her right hand and kissed it, just as he had done when he had returned to Camelot after Camlann.

"Thank you, Merlin," Gwen sniffed. "You were always there and… when Arthur was no longer with us, you were my last link to him. Thank you, thank you so much!"

Merlin stood and brought in the first course.

The very next day, Merlin announced that the pool was ready and he set up a ribbon across the door for Arthur to cut. Everyone turned up in bathing costumes, eagerly clutching towels and beach balls and Arthur allowed them in after a short speech.

Through the door, Arthur stopped and gasped.

"Merlin?"

"Yes Sire?"

"I'm pretty sure that there wasn't a waterfall here before." He was looking at the slight recess behind the bridge where water was cascading over some rocks.

"That's true, sire, and there wasn't a channel behind the hot tub that forms rapids either."

Gwaine pushed past and jumped in.

"How?" Arthur asked as Leon and Morgana jumped in and discovered, as Gwaine had, that there was a very deep deep end.

"Magic, Sire," Merlin smirked.

"Merlin?"

It was only a few weeks later that Gwen issued her first instructions. Merlin turned the vacuum cleaner off and looked over at the Queen.

"My Lady?"

"Don't start that, Merlin!" She swatted his arm and he over-reacted, making her chuckle. "It's not true until June! And that's if they let us out again!

"That's only to make it official. So, how can I be of service?"

"Arthur's out, so I need your help."

"Anything, you know that."

"I… would you sit down?"

Merlin grinned and complied.

"Merlin…" Gwen fiddled nervously with her jumper, pulling on the sleeves and stretching them. "I… do I really love Arthur?"

Merlin's mouth fell open – he could feel it drop. "What?"

"I know I did… you know… back then… but… he was the prince and then the king and I know that I loved Lancelot as well and he is really gorgeous and I know he's just like a prince but I never really spent much time with him…"

"Gwen!" Merlin laughed, breaking into her stream of consciousness. "Gwen…" he caught her hands and held them, waiting for her to look into his eyes. "You risked so much back in those days, being a servant who fell for the prince, but it's true that when I first met you, you thought he was an arrogant tosser." Gwen snorted. "To be honest, so did I… if you remember, we fought and I ended up in the stocks because of it!"

"That was the first time I ever spoke to you. I remember that I was so impressed with how you had dared to confront him and then you took the punishment with such humour."

"Well… I had horrible back ache afterwards and we didn't have baths."

"That was the best thing about being Queen!" Gwen smiled. "Hot baths you could dunk your whole body into. Morgana used to let me use her bath, but the water was always tepid and my modern day senses just say 'ew'!"

"I hated bath night and I was able to reheat the water without hauling another twenty buckets upstairs!" Merlin reminisced.

"But… I remember marrying Leon," Gwen blurted out.

"I remember you marrying Leon. You were such good friends and it made sense. You loved him, but in a very different way to Arthur. Arthur was fire and gold and brilliance…"

Gwen's eyes were round and full of wonder. "You're right," she agreed. "He was splendid and wonderful… but… but he's not King Arthur now."

"No, he isn't, but did you marry the king, or did you marry the man you fell in love with?"

Gwen pondered that for a moment. "I… I think I loved him even more when he was at his lowest in Ealdor. To see him so vulnerable and without his power and trappings, to see him sad… I just wanted to comfort him and remind him that I loved him."

"And now?"

"He's kind of even more wonderful now. He has a title and he grew up in a castle, but he doesn't have the world at his feet as he did then. He… he seems more real now." She looked up at Merlin, searching his face for understanding.

"I waited for more than a millennium for him," Merlin reminded her. "To me he is the king and the great man who will change everything for the better. He has command and charisma and he just makes you want to prove yourself. You know…" he lowered his voice in confession, "I think I view him as my master more than I did back then. He was my everything and his loss was…"

"I remember," Gwen soothed. "I sent Leon and Percival to find you and they said that you were just sitting there, looking at the lake and…"

"Leon said I was like a faithful hound," Merlin huffed. "He was gone and there was a hole in my life. I had no purpose without him."

"I'm sorry," Gwen offered.

"You were great. But the difference is that he was… and is… my reason for existing. Without him I am just someone with magic who is condemned to living forever. For you… you said once that being married to Arthur was like a golden summer, and that while there were plenty of summers after that, none were quite as splendid as that one. I kept those words with me…" Merlin cuffed away a stupid tear. "But now he's back and… Gwen, he's as marvellous as he was then. He is everything I remembered and more and much less clotpole-ish."

"You're right…"

"If he were to just disappear, run off with someone else… how would you feel?"

"Oh!" Gwen drew beath sharply. "I can't lose him again… I lost him then and…"

"You do love him," Merlin smiled.

"I know," she took a drink of her coffee and carried on. "It's his birthday in twenty-three days' time. I want to get him a dog."

"A dog!" Merlin grinned. "Like a hunting dog?"

"Those things?" Gwen scoffed. "They were just soppy fluff balls!"

"It was before they bred dogs to insanity," Merlin sighed. "They were really good at hunting, but they were fun too."

"So, will you help me?"

"Of course! Are we allowed to do that?" Merlin questioned. "You know, with the lockdown and everything?"

"Yes, although I think that there is a young dog at a rescue centre called Four Paws who looks good. He's a spaniel, so he's a sort of hunting dog, but also really beautiful. Will you come with me to meet him?"

"Of course!"

"You can… almost talk to animals, can't you?"

Merlin blushed. "Some of them, sort of. I can feel their magic and… in a way, yes."

"Great! I'm going to meet him tomorrow and I can borrow the car. We'll go food shopping and then we'll go and meet him."

"Where do we have to go?"

"Trumpington. So we can go to Waitrose. There's a family that fosters the dogs and then finds a home for them."

"I do need to go shopping," Merlin admitted. "I'd love to go and meet him. Gwen… can you do something for me?"

Gwen looked thrilled. Merlin never asked for anything.

"Of course!"

"Can you ask him to stop paying me?"

"What?"

"I've asked him myself, but he keeps putting more money in my account and I can't do anything with it. It's wasted on me! Please, my lady, I'm going to just give it away!"

"Why don't you use it to buy something for you or Lance?"

"Lance won't take anything – I offered to buy him a new car, but he wouldn't let me. It's just accruing there and I get everything I need from him already. Mum is the same, she has no idea what to do with her money either."

"This is really distressing you, isn't it?" Gwen asked, amused.

"I'm sorry, it really is. I've bought more clothes than I've owned in my whole life if I add up everything since the year 1066 and I can't cope with it all."

"I'll see what I can do, but you know he just wants to repay you for everything."

"Maybe he could give me a day off then!" he grinned. It was the longest-running joke in the world ever, given that it was still going 1500 years later.

"I'll talk to him, but I can't promise anything. He's just as bad with me, so I told him to just put me on his account and just work it that way. Maybe he should do that for you too? You can just help yourself whenever you need anything."

"I don't need anything, other than a new toothbrush every now and again. I have everything I could ever possibly want."

"Right, well, we'll leave at 10am tomorrow, do our shopping and then go and see the dog."

"Perfect."

"And Merlin? Thank you," she smiled gratefully.

So, after queueing outside Waitrose for half-an-hour to be let in, doing the weekly shop and getting out of there as quickly as possible, they went to an ex-council house in Trumpington and met a young springer spaniel called Jack.

"He's barely trained and he usually growls at people, but he seems to really like you," Jess, the fosterer told them, mouth pretty much hanging open in shock.

Merlin had got down and was speaking to Jack, holding his hand out to let him sniff him and then asking him if he was happy. "Would you like a forever home? We have a huge garden and there are sometimes rabbits to chase." Jack was excited about rabbits and his tail wagged violently.

He heard Jess telling Gwen that Jack was a very subdued puppy who had been kicked and abused, left in a freezing car for hours and then beaten for making a mess, but she was astonished at how he was behaving with Merlin.

"He looks like any other young springer."

"How soon could we take him?" Gwen asked.

"We have to do two visits here and then two visits at your home, then if I think he'd be happy with you, I can fill in the forms and he'd be yours."

Two weeks and three visits later, Gwen and Merlin cornered Arthur and made him sit down in the Round Table room.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing as such, but…" Merlin began.

"It's your birthday soon and Merlin and I have a present for you, but it needs to be ready early. Do you mind?" Gwen took over.

"Ready early?"

"Yes," Merlin nodded. "Like tomorrow. It would be cruel to leave it any longer."

Arthur looked confused, but he nodded. "You didn't have to get me anything. I've got everything I could possibly want."

"Well," Gwen added, "the knights are going to contribute to this too and Gaius and Hunith, so it would mean that there would be less on your actual birthday, but the lockdown means that we can't do it any other way."

"Guinevere, I'm touched that you have got me something, and I couldn't ever be cruel, so yes, tomorrow is fine."

Merlin grinned happily. Jack was unhappy with Jess since he had met him and Gwen and he was desperate to meet Arthur. When he had come for his first visit, he had looked everywhere for Arthur and Merlin had had a hard time explaining to the young dog that Arthur wasn't there at the moment. Jess was confused, but she could see how happy Jack was here, so she had filled in the forms and Merlin and Gwen had given a huge donation to the charity.

So, a week before his birthday, Arthur was sent to wait in the Round Table room while the household got together with all the bits and pieces of dog stuff they could find, and Jess arrived at midday with the ecstatic dog who broke free and ran straight to Arthur, barking happily.

"You got me a dog!" he said delightedly and Merlin and Gwen joined him.

"His name is Jack and he had a bad start," Gwen explained, "but he has visited here before and he got very confused because he couldn't find you."

"Jack!" Arthur gave the dog his complete attention and Jack sat in front of him, waiting excitedly, his tail thumping the ground. "I'm Arthur, would you like to live here with me?"

Jack's tail thumped happily.

"Give me your paw."

Merlin was watching Jess whose face was showing utter astonishment.

"He's behaving like he's been trained!" She hissed.

"He knows that Lord Arthur is his master, I expect," Merlin grinned.

"Lord Arthur?"

"Viscount Albion. He's in very safe and loving hands."

"I can see that." Jess turned and smiled at Merlin. "We often have to make really hard decisions, sometimes, very occasionally, in spite of everything we do, the dogs go to worse homes than the ones they left and we have to rescue them all over again, but… every now and again, we get a really happy story. I will have to come and check on him in a month, but I think he's going to be very happy here."

Arthur had gone to the French windows and let Jack out and they were playing happily together while the knights were setting up baskets and food, toys and more toys.

Gaius was waiting to give the dog a full medical check-up and Elyan was working on something secret in The Lab, as the joint workshop was known now.

Jess left and Jack was introduced to the family, while Arthur grabbed his once and future wife and hugged her happily.

"You like him?"

"Of course I do. He's adorable. Thank you," Arthur kissed her.

"Merlin came with me so he's from both of us," Gwen explained. "You should have seen him explaining to Jack all about you and the house, and how much fun he was going to have belonging to you!"

"Well, I'm glad we were able to help that charity and…" Merlin and Jack came over to him, both looking happy and bright-eyed. "Oh, Gods, he's a canine Merlin! Come on Jack, let's see if you can do as you're told."

They all enjoyed playing with the new member of the family and the knights started fighting for their particular toy to become Jack's favourite, which made Gwen and Merlin howl with laughter.

"They just don't see it, do they?" Gwen asked as Gwaine tried to distract the dog with a squeaky hamburger.

"What, that if it hasn't been touched by Arthur, then it isn't worth Jack's notice?" Merlin sniggered as Leon offered up a plushie rabbit.

Arthur reappeared at that moment and Jack ran straight to him and sat at his feet, looking longingly at him. "Jack!" Jack's tail thumped happily. "Is it dinner time?"

Leon, Gwaine and Percival took Arthur and his dog to the kitchen where a smorgasbord of dogfood was waiting for him, but still Jack waited for Arthur to tell him which one to eat.

"OK, that's weird," Lance commented from behind Merlin.

"What? That Jack understands him so well?"

"Did you put a spell on him or something?" Lance asked, embracing him from behind.

"No! I just explained a few things," Merlin shrugged. "Jack's been waiting for this day for two weeks now, and Arthur's just a natural at ordering people and dogs around."

"That's true. So who won?"

"Won what?"

"The sweepstake. Which food did he want in the end?"

"Percy's I think." Jack came over to Merlin and waited for him to kneel down. "You're a very good boy Jack and Arthur is very proud of you." Jack came forward and licked Merlin's hand. "You're very welcome," he added. "If you need to go outside, just let me know, OK?" They hugged and then Jack went back to Arthur.

"I've never had a dog, but that's not normal is it?" Gwaine asked Elyan who laughed.

"No, but when has anything about Merlin ever been normal?"

Two weeks later, Merlin shook Arthur awake, trying not to disturb Gwen or Jack.

"You've got a conference call in half an hour, Sire," he reminded his master. This whole 'getting Arthur out of bed' was so much easier these days. Merlin had an alarm on his phone to get himself up and Arthur had Gwen to make him behave.

Arthur grumbled and slid out of bed, padding over to the bathroom while Merlin sorted out clothes for him in the dressing room. Arthur missed his breakfast in bed, but he had given the order to let Guinevere sleep, so he had to live with it.

Eventually he made it down to the kitchen where Merlin was setting out his meal. Lance was there already, but there was something odd about the picture. Arthur set his sleepy brain on the problem, but couldn't see it. Lance often had early lectures, so his presence wasn't a surprise. Percival had probably eaten already, Merlin had probably taken food to his mother, Elyan and Gaius…

He looked around again and decided that it was something to do with Merlin, who was looking… shifty. He was wearing his usual studenty rags… he was barefoot, but that wasn't unusual… his hair looked like a plate of black spaghetti…

"Merlin, why are you wearing Jack's collar?"

Merlin set the plate before his lord and sighed… "It's not actually Jack's."

"But it is still a collar… it has my name on the tag."

"Yes, my lord, and Lance's on the back, Elyan made another one." Merlin agreed and then went to fetch orange juice.

"Come here," Arthur commanded and Merlin went to stand close enough so Arthur could grab the tag and look for himself. "Why is the tag actually a padlock?"

Merlin was an almost puce colour by now with mortification and he had to put his hands on the table to balance. "It was a bet, my lord."

"Of course it was. With Gwaine?" Merlin nodded. Lance was sniggering behind the paper. "Well?"

"Would you like…?"

"No, I would like you to tell me why you are wearing a collar."

Merlin swallowed and then began to explain.

"Gwaine is… he remembers being called 'Strength' by Grettir and… uh… he was saying that he could beat Percival in arm wrestling… we all said that that was impossible, so they changed it to… uh, carrying me."

"Carrying you?"

"Yes and the bet was that Gwaine couldn't carry me up and down the stairs in the hall."

"You bet against him?" Arthur assumed.

"No, sire, he carried me up and down the stairs and Percival had to pay that price, but it started off a stream of bets and… uh…"

"Go on," Arthur insisted tightening his hold on the padlock and Merlin's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed nervously.

"Gwaine dared me to… uh… go and fetch your tankard from the fireplace and… uh… magically add some extra words on it."

Arthur was up and storming into the Table Room, intent on checking on a prized possession, manhandling Merlin behind him. "If you have spoiled it in any way…" he threatened Merlin.

"I didn't! Sire, I didn't touch it… I lost the bet!"

Arthur stopped and looked back at his servant. "You lost?"

"I couldn't touch it, let alone spoil it."

"And the collar?"

"That was the forfeit. I have to wear it for a week and I don't have the key."

Arthur grabbed the collar and dragged Merlin to the tankard, not letting go until he had checked the tankard with his own eyes. When he finally let go, Merlin breathed again and adjusted the collar to make it sit more comfortably.

"I like the collar, but I want the key. Lance can have one too. And for making me worry about the tankard, I will decide when it comes off. Understood?"

"Yes Sire," Merlin nodded, feeling mixed emotions. He discovered that he actually didn't mind if it was Arthur or Lance with the key.

"And you will not use magic to take it off. Remember, I can always ask you and you won't be able to lie."

"Oh… um… yes, Sire," Merlin swallowed hard and blushed again. Busted!

It wasn't so bad. The annoying part was having to ask either Lance or Arthur to remove the collar so he could shower, but other than that… actually, he quite liked it. It was easy to hide with a scarf, or a full throated mask, when he went out shopping, although he wasn't looking forward to the weather getting warmer, and there was no sign of either Arthur or Lance removing it any time soon. He kind of forgot it was there most of the time and no one said anything during his zoom classes. So life continued until he finally thought of something that he could buy with the ridiculous numbers in his bank account.

"You want to buy a piano?" Arthur repeated.

"Yes, please."

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because it's your house and… they take up quite a bit of space," Merlin answered.

"I didn't even know you played," Arthur commented in surprise.

"Oh… well, yes… I do…"

"Are you any good?"

"Not really. I had some lessons with Franz Liszt when I moved to Paris after the Duke died. I helped him with his English. He was a great teacher, but I wasn't in love with his music. He introduced me to Camille and I started playing the organ with him. And Gabriel Fauré… he was the real genius."

"You learned with Fauré? And who is Camille?"

"Saint-Saens. It was a very useful skill to have as I could usually find work almost anywhere," Merlin reminisced.

"I quite like the idea of a grand… maybe one of those little ones in the entrance hall," Arthur mused once he had got over the name dropping.

"A baby grand, Sire? It's a bit… exposed."

"It's decided then. I want to hear you play."

So Merlin hit the internet and researched pianos and chose a Yamaha baby grand and a Clavinova for his own bedroom and he spent several happy hours avoiding doing any work while rediscovering his love of piano playing, which led to being condemned to a longer time wearing the collar in punishment.

Every now and again Merlin needed something that they didn't have, so he would cycle up to the Sainsbury's in Eddington, the new sector, and buy the random spice or odd vegetable. The internet was a vast resource when it came to recipes, but sometimes his imagination would be caught by something different. This time it was Jerusalem artichokes. He knew that some of his diners would hate it, but sometimes they liked it and he always provided an alternative of something like sausages and chips if he veered too far off the straight path.

He was queueing at the self-service till when he felt it. It was like something was trying to pull his heart out of his body, black, looming clouds were suffocating him and he knew, without any doubt, that Arthur was in trouble. He abandoned his basket, not caring that he had uploaded his shopping onto the app, but hadn't paid yet, and ran to his bike, banishing the bike lock rather than wait to fit the key in the lock and he cycled impossibly… magically fast.

He threw the bike to the ground and magic flowed around him, maybe even getting him into the house without opening any doors and he flew up to the office, shouting 'ARTHUR!'. He descended to the Table Room, up to Arthur and Gwen's bedroom, to the pool…

"Merlin!" Gaius caught him as he ran into the garden.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted.

"He's gone out with Jack," Gaius told him.

"No… no he hasn't!" Merlin cried out, wild-eyed. "He's been taken! It's the cup! Gaius! He's been taken!"

"He went out for a run with Jack, Gwaine and…"

"No!" Merlin fought against Gaius and ran back into the house. He dashed up to the top to find that Percy was on the floor, dazed. "Percival! Percy! Where's Arthur! Where's the King?"

Percy looked at him as though he had never seen him before, so Merlin checked the various feeds, only to discover that they were all blank.

"There's nothing on them!" Percival said in a wibbly voice.

"Arthur's been taken!" Merlin wailed, unaware that he was speaking in Ancient Brittonic, which Percival didn't understand as he hadn't visited the Cave.

"Arthur? Where's Arthur?" Percival asked, slamming the button that would alert everyone's phones that there was an emergency – one of Elyan's secret projects.

Merlin started charging around the house again and soon had Lance, Elyan and Gaius gathered into the kitchen. When Gwen and Gwaine appeared, both with wet hair and clutching their phones, it became obvious that they had come home and showered, and that was when Arthur had disappeared. When Jack came limping downstairs, yelping and climbing onto Merlin, everyone started believing.

"He came home with Gwaine," Gwen asserted, shaking. "he was with us and he was going to shower after me…"

"I felt it!" Merlin whimpered.

"English, Merlin!" Gwen snapped and Merlin looked shocked and then bowed, strangely calmed by the reprimand.

"Yes, my lady. I felt it when he was taken. Magic was involved."

"Table Room!" Gwen announced, taking charge and she grabbed Leon, who had arrived through the front door and led the way.

Once there they all took their seats, Jack settling next to Merlin, and Gwen took charge.

"Where did you go for your run, my lady?" Leon asked.

"We did our usual circuit," Gwen replied. "But I came home early while Arthur and Gwaine went to Girton with Jack."

"Arthur wanted to go fast," Gwaine explained, "and he made me go too. I was with him and Jack till we got back. He went upstairs to wait for Gwen and I went to have my shower."

"I had a bath," Gwen admitted. "I was feeling stiff… it was a bit weird though – I wouldn't usually have a bath until the evening. Merlin, was I enchanted?"

Merlin closed his eyes and made his magic search the house. They all watched him and he could feel their eyes taking in his every move, until finally he drew his magic back in and faced Gwen.

"There is a small pebble or something in the bedroom which had a light compulsion on it… it must have suggested the bath to you. Gwaine, you and Jack came home alone. Arthur didn't come into the house…" Merlin felt his world tilt a little. "He d..didn't…"

"Merlin," Lance held him, pulling his head towards his shoulder. "Be strong," he whispered.

"I can't lose him… I can't…." Merlin felt the panic rise up, but Lance held him and calmed him while the others all pieced together what had happened.

"So, we know when and how, but we need to work out who and, most importantly, why," Leon told them, standing and leading with the Queen's permission.

"Morgause," Merlin announced.

"Morgause?" Gwaine asked. "Who is that?"

There was a short moment of silence while everyone came to terms with those who knew and those who didn't.

"Morgause is Morgana's half-sister. She is a High Priestess and she tricked Arthur into following her into a ruined castle to show him a shade of his mother," Merlin explained, his voice still shaking a little. "She is beautiful, but… she has the cup…" he thought about it for a moment and then closed his eyes and pictured what he wanted. In front of them they all saw what looked like a kind of hologram rendition of the scene that Morgause had set up. They watched through Merlin's eyes as Arthur picked up the gun and shot himself… Gwen screaming at the sight… then they saw him interact with his mother.

"A sh… shade?" Lance asked quietly. "Like…"

"Do you remember that?" Merlin asked, stricken.

"No… not really. I have a vague sense of it, but when you sent me to Avalon, you… I don't know, you made it all better."

Merlin kissed Lance and discovered that he was sitting sideways on his lap with no clear idea of when, or how that had happened.

"It was a memory… like a shade, but Morgause manipulated her to say what she wanted her to say. She did this Back Then too. She is a strong witch and she even beat the king with a sword, although I suspect she used magic."

"So you think that Morgause has Arthur?" Gwen asked. She stood so proudly and Merlin remembered how she had stood tall and firm, reigning as Queen, while he just fell apart and couldn't pull himself out of his grief.

"I believe so, my lady," Merlin nodded.

"But why? He isn't dead."

"No," Merlin agreed.

"Are you sure?" Leon asked sharply and Gwen and Merlin looked at each other and nodded.

"Arthur was born of magic. I would know if he were dead. The life of the world would be crumbling in grief and it is only fearful at the moment," Merlin explained, fingering the collar that he was still wearing. Gaius nodded and moved to sit in Merlin's seat and lend his own small magic to Merlin, who nodded gratefully.

"Can you feel him?" Leon asked.

"I can, sir," Merlin nodded.

"But you can't tell where he is?" Merlin shook his head. "Have you tried… I don't know… searching with your magic?"

"It's blocked, sir."

"Blocked?" Gwen asked.

"It… it feels like there is a big blank over the connection I can usually feel. I'm sorry, my lady," Merlin sniffed again, feeling totally useless.

"What about your crystal?" Gaius asked suddenly.

"Crystal?" Merlin frowned.

"The one that Taliesin gave you," Gaius insisted and Gwen's face lit up with hope.

"I'll go and fetch it, but… I don't know if it will help," Merlin replied warily.

"Get it and try!" Gwen commanded and Merlin shot off to obey. He had forgotten that she was just as good as Arthur at ordering him around… maybe even better.

They all watched intently as he breathed deeply and looked deep into the large, transparent rock. He was confused by the images though. It was blurry, but it looked like a van of some kind. Then some white material and then… "Agravaine!"

He sat back and tried to think while all around him speculation and expressions of dislike were heard.

"Stop!" the Queen commanded. "Merlin, what exactly did you see?"

Merlin grabbed Lance's hand and then looked up at the Queen. "I saw Agravaine smiling at a van of some kind. I don't know where it went but there were loads of white sheets… or… um… I don't know what they were… I…" he held his hand up to his forehead and tried to think, but his worry about Arthur was interfering with his rational thought.

"Did Agravaine take Arthur?" Gwen demanded.

"I don't think so," Merlin answered carefully. "It's a clue of some kind."

"Look again!" Gwen commanded.

"I will only see the…" Merlin started, but Gwen stood and angrily ordered him to look again. Lance surprised him by taking hold of his collar and Merlin steadied himself and did as he was told, but only saw the same scenes again. "I'm sorry, my lady, it's just the same again. There is a big blurry hole where I should be seeing the king, and then the van, the material and Agravaine. I'm sorry!"

Lance held him and Merlin buried his face in Lance's shirt while they all argued around him, half accusing him of being useless and half angry that it wasn't more useful. Merlin felt his boyfriend's shirt and then sat up.

"Shirt… Agravaine… he was asking me about the ironing – it was weird. The Ironing Van was supposed to come today… He was smuggled out with the van. They didn't deliver the shirts and sheets!"

Lance held him. "You're saying that they kidnapped Arthur?"

"Yes – it was the ironing service. They took him and then drove off…"

"Give me the address," Leon demanded. "Gwaine, Elyan and I will go and see them."

"No," Gwen countermanded. "We don't know if he is there or if the van was just the first stage. Leon, go and fetch Agravaine."

"What?" Gwaine asked.

"I want you to go and fetch Agravaine. Kidnap him if necessary. I want to know where he is and what he knows and Agravaine is a slimy coward. Merlin, can you tell where Agravaine is?"

Merlin stared back into the crystal and smiled in satisfaction. "He's at the Lodge. He is staying there in Lord Arthur's suite."

"No one is supposed to be there at the moment because of the virus," Leon mused.

"In that case, we shall all go and have a chat with him," the Queen decided. "Gaius, Hunith, Elyan you stay here and prepare a place to keep him if he proves to need it. The rest of us will go there now, together. Go and fetch anything you think you might need and meet by the garage."

As the individuals jumped up, glad to have something to do, Merlin pulled Lance back down and sat on his chair, pulling it to face his boyfriend's.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Lancelot asked.

"Why did Agravaine or Morgause abduct Arthur? If they wanted to kill him then they would have just killed him and left him on the doorstep."

"Nice image," Lance smirked and Merlin winced.

"They haven't asked us for anything, and apart from enchanting Gwen into having a bath, they haven't done anything."

"I can't think of a time Back Then when Arthur was abducted, so it's not history repeating itself," Lance mused.

"The only thing I can think of is that Morgause wants to avenge Ygraine's death in some way, but why?"

"Agravaine may have put her up to it?" Lance suggested.

"Agravaine is certainly keen on beautiful young witches, but I think he's the lackey, just as he was back then."

"I really only remember him as Arthur's overly helpful uncle. Was he really so bad?"

Merlin sighed, remembering that Lancelot had died before Agravaine's true nature had come out. "I wish you had been there. Just having someone to talk to about everything would have made all the difference. After you were gone… Gwaine is fun and a great knight, but I never told him about my magic and… there must have been a reason why I didn't."

"You didn't tell me either."

"I didn't hide it from you and I hid it from everyone. I even had awful things happen to me just because I couldn't tell, and yet I blatantly magicked that lance for you. You were so gorgeous and I really wished that you could be interested in me," Merlin blushed.

"And here I am," Lance stroked Merlin's cheek and tugged on the padlock bearing his name. "You said that Morgause is a priestess? Maybe she has come back to have the revenge she missed out on back then?"

"She didn't get Uther then, so she abducted Arthur now?" Merlin scoffed. "She's magic. If she wanted to kill Uther, she could just turn up and do it. Back Then she wanted Uther destroyed along with his kingdom because of his ban on magic and the Great Purge."

"You're right, it doesn't make sense. And yet she also revealed the truth about Ygraine to Arthur to make him fall out with his father."

"You don't suppose that she still wants that revenge from the 5th century? That she still wants Uther to suffer? The… the triple Goddess?"

"I know barely anything about the Triple Goddess," Lance admitted. "Is she real? Is she the only Goddess of the Old Religion?"

"She's one of the most important," Gaius said from his seat where he had remained, not having anything terribly urgent to do. "She is the Goddess in three forms, the hag, the mother and the daughter and she is said to be the embodiment of Magic."

"I thought Merlin was…"

"No, Lancelot, Merlin is Magic. He is made of magic, he doesn't just represent it."

"Are there any other Gods?" Lance asked.

"Some," Merlin nodded, "but not all of them are real. The Old Religion is actually just another term for Magic. The priests and priestesses are really just very good at magic and have trained for many years. The trouble is that people don't really believe any more and that means that their power has diminished and there aren't any priests left."

"But doesn't that mean that they are worshipping you?" Lance asked, frowning and Merlin sniggered.

"No. They don't do any worshipping. They just learn and do rituals with the turn of the seasons to fine tune their magic. The trouble is that the High Priestesses used to get it wrong. Instead of seeing and praising the beauty of magic all around, loving the Earth and the Sky and the Sea, they only saw power and they wanted normal people to worship them," Gaius explained.

"What about other forms of magic? Pharaohs and the Chinese and all that?"

"They are just that; other forms of Magic and they aren't like mine," Merlin answered. "The Chinese form is weird and very experimental, not very accurate actually, while the Maori and the tribes of Africa have very earthy magic that uses the energy all around like mine. It has a different source and flavour, but it is still magic."

"So maybe Morgause wants power still?" Lancelot suggested. "Does she want Arthur's power?"

"Or… mine?" Merlin asked shakily. "I have been captured many times and threatened to work for, or with, total crackpots, but… Morgana was the only one who ever really succeeded. Morgause must have worked out who I am- I mean everyone in the whole world knows the fictional account of who I am supposed to be. They've made films and books about an idealised and not totally idiotic version of me."

Lance pulled Merlin's hand towards him and kissed it. "If it is you, then we will deal with that. Come on, let's meet the others."

They could hear the knights and Gwen gathering and arguing about cars, but Gaius caught hold of Merlin and hugged him.

"Merlin, your mother and I will both worry about you and wait for you to return. Be careful."

"I will. And you still need to get Alice here so we can persuade her to move in," Merlin smiled wanly. "Gaius, my life doesn't matter. Arthur is the once and future king and he needs to be kept safe, but I can't die. I'll always come back."

Gaius nodded and Lance pulled Merlin away. However, before they exited the house Lance murmured, "Merlin, you can't die, but you can be hurt badly and I don't want that either."

"I'll be honest, I don't want that either," Merlin agreed. "But I will do what I need to do. Come on."

In the end they took Lance's car and the Volvo with everyone crammed inside. Gwen and Lance drove and they arrived at the college, parking in the streets and paying for as many hours as they could before walking over to the college gates. Leon had the keys, of course, and the lone porter just waved them through without seemingly caring.

Before approaching the lodge, however, Leon asked Merlin if he could tell where there were people.

"Just Agravaine," Merlin shrugged, "he seemed to be on his own and watching the TV."

"Right," Leon took charge. "Lance and Gwaine take the front door, and be on the lookout for people – any people. There shouldn't be anyone around at all other than the porter and the gardener. Gwen, Merlin and I will go inside. Merlin take the back stairs and Gwen and I will take the main stairs. We want to corner him. Merlin, if he comes near you, knock him out."

"Yes, Sir Leon," Merlin agreed.

"Everyone needs their phones on and in hand. Merlin – do you have me on quick dial?"

"I have, my lady," Merlin nodded

"Good, let's go!"

It was strange to be back in the Lodge after all that had happened and all that had changed. Merlin felt as though he had stepped back into some strange alternative reality, while the real past from all those centuries ago seemed more real. As he crept up the servants staircase, trying to remember which steps made more noise, he ran through scenarios, wondering if, in these modern times, he could still do things that had seemed normal Back Then.

It had been easy to justify killing if the victim were intent on harming the kingdom, or especially the King. Merlin had killed even for Uther, and he had killed Agravaine, but these days killing was not so easy. There was more accountability and even a justified kill wasn't appropriate. Agravaine hadn't threatened the nation, just Arthur – and that just made it harder. Merlin knew that he was far too dependent on Arthur's continued existence and that he would do almost anything for him, but what if…?

He met Leon and Gwen outside the chambers that Merlin still thought of as Arthur's and Leon asked silently if Agravaine were still in there – at least, that's what Merlin guessed he meant with all the hand gestures and waving. He searched through the air in the room and felt him there, sitting watching TV still, and nodded.

Leon nodded back and grasped the door knob, but it was flung open and the large, dark haired man they were stalking charged through, knocking Leon and Gwen aside. Merlin didn't even think about it, but caught the man in beam of magic that would trap him, keep him still and suspended. He had been so limited in his repertoire of spells Back Then, but he had had fifteen centuries to ready himself for the return of his king.

Leon and Gwen pulled themselves up – Leon had banged his head on the wall, but Gwen was fine – and Leon looked at their captive.

"Can you move him?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Merlin replied. "Shall I bring him back into Lord Arthur's room?"

"Yes please. And, Merlin, you don't have to call me 'sir'!"

Merlin just grinned. It just seemed normal to allow Leon to take charge and provide backup as he always had. He fingered his collar and then concentrated on lifting and floating the immobile Agravaine back into Arthur's room.

Once there, Leon murmured to Merlin "I'm going to pretend I was worse hit than I was. You take charge. I want him to underestimate you." Merlin nodded and released Agravaine.

Gwen started fussing over Leon, who moaned and Merlin pushed the surprised Agravaine onto the sofa and sat on the coffee table.

"So, you do have magic!" Agravaine said immediately, pointing at Merlin.

"I am Merlin," Merlin shrugged.

"Why did you attack me?"

"I didn't," Merlin pointed out. "You pushed Leon out of the way and into Lady Gwen, so I used a freezing spell I copied from Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Agravaine laughed. "I knew you were a simpleton, but I didn't realise how stupid you really are. You could be powerful and important, but you have made yourself into a servant!"

"I'm not really a leader," Merlin explained simply.

"But why are you working against the High Priestesses?"

"The who?" Merlin asked ingenuously.

"The High Priestesses. They serve Magic and they could teach you so much! They want Magic to come back into our world and to save lives, heal, teach. Technology is fine, but magic can do so much more!" Agravaine spoke passionately and Merlin could almost believe him… except he couldn't.

"I didn't know you had magic, my lord," Merlin responded brightly. Leon wanted him to be underestimated.

"There is so much you don't know. I know you are scared of Lord Uther, but you don't have to be scared of me." Merlin remembered that oily expression from Before.

"Will you tell me where my master is, my lord?"

"You don't need to serve Arthur, Merlin. You could serve my ladies. They are truly powerful and they have the backing of the Goddess. Do you know about the Triple Goddess, Merlin?"

"Yes, my lord, but I am really worried about Lord Arthur. Please, if you know where he is, won't you tell me?" Merlin carefully did not look at Gwen who was trying to hold in her giggling.

"I can take you to the ladies," Agravaine offered.

"Do they have my master?"

"Listen to me, Merlin. You don't need to serve Arthur. He even makes you wear a collar like a dog. He's not worthy of someone like you. Lady Morgause is beautiful and very powerful and she only wants to bring Magic back. Arthur is standing in the way of their progress and you could rule with them. Wouldn't you like it if people did all those chores for you? Or they could be done with magic!"

"Meh," Merlin smiled, "I already do most of them with some magic. No, I'm sorry, I will stay with my master."

Agravaine's mood changed instantaneously. "You are pathetic! You have bound yourself to some young nobody when you could be a ruler! You deny your magic and it is as the Lady Morgause says – you are a traitor!"

"Leon? How are you feeling now?" Merlin asked as though Agravaine hadn't just turned into a hissing viper. Agravaine got up and produced a dagger and Merlin had a moment of déjà vu – seeing what happened in that dark cave near Ealdor as Agravaine attacked. He reacted in a similar way, throwing Arthur's uncle back onto the sofa, but with much more control. "Don't be rude! I was talking to Sir Leon," Merlin explained.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you Merlin," Leon smiled.

"I don't think he needs to underestimate me anymore," Merlin carried on earnestly, not even looking at Agravaine, who stood again, but was forced back onto the sofa without even a gesture from Merlin.

"Hm… maybe not," Leon agreed.

"My lady? Would you like to ask your future uncle-in-law any questions?" Merlin offered. "By the way, my lord," he added, using the 'you're a moron' version, "you have been spelled to tell nothing but the truth. Telling a lie will really hurt."

"I don't believe you!" Agravaine growled. "You're nothing but a serving boy wearing a collar like a slave!"

"Hm… yes, I am, you're right!" Merlin agreed jovially. "Funny how you can be more than one thing at a time though. You see, you are the same Agravaine that I killed back in the 6th century, but you probably don't remember it. I am Merlin Emrys and I am the greatest sorcerer to walk the earth. I have been alive for more than one thousand five hundred years, waiting for Arthur to come back, so sorry if a little nobody like you can't interest me in any way whatsoever. Now, tell me where Arthur is."

"I don't kno…ow…Ah!"

"You see? Lying is very naughty and very silly," Merlin explained. "So where is he then? And, just to be clear, you can tell me, or I can just extract the information, but option B is more painful."

Agravaine was now scared and he looked around at Gwen and Leon as though they could help, but they just watched and waited.

Merlin sighed. "Option B it is then… I was hoping you would be more like your nephew, but clearly you aren't worthy to tie his shoelaces. I'll even use gestures and some words if you like," he offered.

"Morgause is going to make him step into the waters of Avalon unless you join her!" Agravaine hissed. "You will lose him! I didn't believe her, but now I see that you'll do anything for your master!"

"Yes, you're probably right. But I'm bored with talking to you now," Merlin smiled and then said " Swaefnu!" and Agravaine dropped back onto the sofa.

"Did you kill him?" Gwen demanded.

"No!" Merlin answered shocked, "No, I just sent him to sleep! He'll be asleep until I wake him, but I can do that remotely. Sorry, my lady, I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's OK. You were quite terrifying, but not to me. He's so slimy!"

"Avalon?" Leon asked.

"Yes, so now we know what they want."

"We do?" Leon looked baffled.

"Yes… me," Merlin replied sadly.

They called Lance and Gwaine to come to the living room and there Merlin explained, enjoying sitting almost illegally on one of the sofas.

"Morgause is hoping to convert me to her service. They didn't do this before because no one knew who I was, but when Morgana finally found out, thanks to Mordred, she took my magic away. I got it back because I am Magic – I am a magical creature like dragons and sidhe – and I can only assume that they know that I can retrieve my magic. They are threatening me with something far worse. If Arthur touches the water of Avalon then he will.. he will go back…" Merlin hiccupped and Lance took his hand.

"Can they coerce you to do something you don't want? They would have to keep Arthur there on hand every time you were needed," Lance questioned.

"I suspect they will ask me to renounce my service to Arthur and swear to Morgause and the Old Religion. Don't forget, they have the cup and that's a powerful artifact. With my power they could take over the world… although I have no idea why anyone would want to…"

"Power is very heady," Gwen commented. "I remember being Queen and getting used to making difficult decisions. I also remember when I was coerced by Morgana… before the dunking in the cauldron of Arianrhod."

"I expect they could do something like that to me," Merlin sighed, morosely.

"Couldn't you live without Arthur?" Gwaine asked. "You've got Lance…"

Surprisingly it was Lance who answered. "Merlin without Arthur? Are you mad? If you had spent fifteen centuries waiting for your lord, would you be able to lose him so soon? And Gwen, you love Arthur as his wife and Queen, but you didn't have to wait all that time to see him again. I swore to serve Arthur because he is our leader, the Once and Future King and I miss him, so think how it must be for him." Lance tugged on the little padlock again. "Merlin can't lose Arthur."

"So," Leon asked brusquely. "Where do we go, how and what do we do when we are there?"

Merlin's mouth curved up in an attempt at a smile. "Well, first we need to get to Avalon. I assume that they aren't expecting us yet as they didn't leave blatant clues. Maybe we can pre-empt the worst?"

"Good," Leon seemed happy to have the beginnings of a plan.

"I think that I can get us there with magic. Avalon is on a different plane of reality, so theoretically I should be able to reach it from anywhere."

"Theoretically?" Gwen asked.

"I took Arthur back to Tintern from Avalon… it worked then."

"So what do we do?" Gwen asked.

"You all need to touch me and… it's not pleasant…" Merlin apologised, standing.

He felt rather odd with his four friends holding onto a finger each, but he pushed down his discomfort and concentrated. It was strangely hard to pinpoint where he wanted to be, as though the horrible place were shielded from him, but he sifted through the mists and planes, searching for the one, until he found that awful tower.

Part of the problem was that he felt a long way away from the place. He had only ever travelled there from Tintern and he had always walked or hitchhiked to get near before battling through the forest, but this time he was attempting to reach it directly and trying to take mortals with him. Eventually, though, his magic started concentrating on the only place it wanted to be, and he felt Arthur.

"I've found him!" he breathed and he felt the four hands grip slightly harder on his fingers.

The world dissolved around them and they all felt the weird sensation of being dragged through the individual molecules, slipping through the spaces in between before being tossed around and swirled into the forest of Avalon.

They all fell over and Gwaine started retching. "Let's not do that again anytime soon!"

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled, but Gwen patted his shoulder.

"Thank you, now, where is Arthur?"

They all looked around the strange forest while Merlin searched, noticing the Autumn leaves and fruit, watching the leaves turning before them and Merlin gasped.

"Autumn!" he cried.

"I know," Lance agreed. "Weird."

"And terrifying… Arthur!" Merlin dashed off leaving the others follow.

"Why… is it terrifying?" Lance gasped as he chased after his boyfriend.

"The seasons are linked to what happens to the Once and Future King. Last time I came here it was late Spring… Arthur's in trouble!"

"Correct!" boomed a female voice and the group burst through the last tree barrier to see two ladies standing there: a pair that inspired awe and fear. "You're early!"

Morgause stood in mid-air, blonde and beautiful, flanked by an equally powerful, floating brunette on her left.

"Nimueh!" Merlin breathed in shock.

They both looked at the group who had just arrived with identical smirks on their faces, eyes hard and cruel, and Merlin staggered.

"What have you done with Arthur?" he demanded, his voice not as strong as he wanted.

"Always Arthur," Morgause laughed. "You are magic, Emrys, why would you care about Arthur? He's a mortal."

"So are you," Merlin spat and then it all fell into place. "You want immortality?"

"Of course," Nimueh agreed and Merlin realised that she was holding the Cup of Life. "You killed all of us, but we never truly left. We want access to the mortal plane where we will live forever with all those small creatures bowing before us."

"They will love us for our fairness and justice," Morgause added. "But they will also worship us."

"How do you intend to achieve that?" Lance asked.

"Ah, Lancelot," Morgause smiled at him in a parody of friendship. "You are already acquainted with Avalon, so your presence will be very useful to us, as will yours, Sir Leon, rescued by the Cup of Life."

"We will never help you!" Leon spat.

"But you will have no choice in the matter. It will be done with, or without your consent," Morgause told him, then she stepped aside and showed Arthur floating behind her, seemingly asleep.

"What have you done to him?" Gwen demanded.

"He's only asleep… at the moment," Nimueh informed them. "When he touches the lake's waters, the Sidhe will demand him back and this time he will not return."

"But what do you want?" Gwen demanded.

"We want to embody the Disir, the Triple Goddess," Morgause explained.

"You can't, there are only two of you," Merlin reminded them. "And I am not female, so I can't!"

"No, but I can," Morgana said, moving from behind Arthur and joining her sisters.

"Morgana!" Gwen cried out, heart-broken.

"You can't be so surprised," Morgana smirked. "Without me in your little group, Merlin is the only magic wielder, and he can't exist without my brother," she added cruelly.

"You alone can save your master," Nimueh spoke directly to Merlin with a cruel twist in her tone.

"And you want me to pledge myself to you?" Merlin questioned defeatedly.

"Indeed," Morgause smiled at him now, all teeth and lip gloss. "You will vow to serve us on your magic, you will give us your immortality and your obedience. Your blood will fill the cup and we will drink from it. You like being a servant, so you shall serve us."

"And what do I get in return?" Merlin asked quietly.

"Arthur will live. He will marry his Guinevere and will forget all about you. His role in the world will be over as we will relieve him of his burden. You will also keep your Lancelot. He shall serve us too." Nimueh gestured and Merlin's collar disintegrated, leaving him feeling strangely bereft.

"You want me to help you to take over the world?" Merlin asked, his hand feeling his neck.

"To place us where the Goddess wants us. We will bring magic back to the world with all its beauty and joy," Nimueh declared with righteous fire in her eyes. "We will rule without the need to serve weak Kings and pathetic politicians. There will be no more conflict or politics and we will even temper natural events."

"We will overturn the terrible wounds that the humans have inflicted on the world with their technology that mimics magic, but which is killing the planet," Morgana added.

"And Leon? Gwaine?" Merlin demanded, still fingering the place where the collar had been.

"All of your Round Table can carry on living, doing their good deeds and serving us, as will the whole world," Morgause finished.

"What do I have to do?" Merlin asked.

"No, Merlin!" Gwen protested.

"What is one man's servitude compared to all that they offer, my lady?" Merlin asked. "If it will save my master…"

"I won't let you do this," Lance told him, holding his hand.

"We don't have a choice," Merlin told him. "But you will stay with me, won't you Lance?"

"Always," Lance promised.

The three poised ladies glided to surround Arthur's floating body and Morgause spoke. "To save your master from the waters of Avalon you must come and kneel before him and us. You will renounce your vow and then swear your oath of fealty to us, to the Triple Goddess. You will then drop three drops of blood into the cup."

"Your master will be released and will live happily," Nimueh added gleefully.

"Kneel, swear that you will serve us!" Morgause commanded.

Merlin stepped forward and knelt, while his friends protested his action. He lowered his head and brought up his courage and his magic.

"I, Merlin Emrys, Dragon Lord, son of the Sea, Wind and Earth…" he faltered and then breathed deeply, "will NEVER serve you!" he finished angrily, then he stood and rose up in the air, his arms opening and light pouring from him, surrounding all of them in a comforting blanket. He gestured and the Cup flew from Nimueh's hand to his own, while simultaneously pushing the sisters to one side. "I serve only the Once and Future King, the representative of good on the mortal plane. He has my fealty now and forever!" He placed his shining hands on Arthur and surrounded Arthur with his light.

The three ladies then held hands together and their light appeared to be white and piercing and they spoke together. "We are the Triple Goddess and we will take your King back to his prison. Your puny power cannot match the might of the goddess."

"Hm…" Merlin chuckled, his light dimming to a rainbow of magic. "You forget that to be the Triple Goddess, you need three of you. The goddess is powerful, but Magic is mightier, especially when there are only two of you."

Morgana stepped away from her sisters and her light seemed to change to a gentle grass green colour. She moved to Arthur and kissed his forehead and Arthur stirred.

"Morgana?" Morgause yelled and for the first time her confidence faltered. Nimueh was just angry and her light became pink.

"You have betrayed us!" she declared, pointing at Morgana.

"No, for I am Balance!" Morgana announced proudly. "I serve the Goddess truly!"

"I have to know," Merlin grinned. "You rejected the hag, so which of those two got that part?"

"Merlin! Don't be discourteous!" Morgana chuckled.

"What is going on?" Arthur asked sitting up. "I appear to be… um… in mid-air. Did you do this?" he asked Merlin.

"No, my lord," Merlin replied, still floating.

"It makes no difference!" Nimueh shouted. "We have powers you cannot understand. We have conquered life and death!"

"And I have conquered you," Merlin reminded her gently. "I did the Life and Death thing back when I really was a teenager! My lord, will you come down?" he held out his hand and Arthur took it so that Merlin could guide him back to the ground, where Gwen ran to his embrace.

Now Morgana and Merlin were facing Nimueh and Morgause, their powers making them into separate spheres of light, waiting for the sign. Morgana was green, Nimueh pink, Morgause orange, but Merlin was bright white that split into rainbow colours around the edges.

Nimueh started it by surrounding Arthur and Gwen in her pink light and dragging them towards the edge of the lake. "You will be defeated as soon as you touch the water, Arthur Pendragon!"

Morgause meanwhile attacked the other 'mortals'. Gwaine got knocked out almost immediately, but Merlin and Morgana swapped glances and Morgana defended Leon and Lance while Merlin dashed to defend Arthur and Gwen who were struggling against the force.

Merlin pushed at the lake and made the waters recede unnaturally, pushing the water away from Arthur. Then he put himself between what was now a wall of water and Arthur and he sent a protective light around his master and lady that engulfed the pink. "Keep fighting it Arthur! Don't let her push you any nearer!"

"It won't work!" Nimueh gloated. "All he has to do is touch the water and he's gone forever!"

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, ignoring the witch and in his hands there was a flash of gold light and a sword appeared. He threw the sword towards Arthur, who caught it and immediately understood. "It kept you from the clutches of the Sidhe. Use it against Nimueh!"

"No! I brought you into this world!" Nimueh protested. "You are mine!"

"I am not yours!" Arthur snapped. "I am the Once and Future King and I belong to Albion! For the Love of Albion!" he yelled and he broke from the bubble and ran Nimueh through with the sword.

Nimueh screamed and imploded, her pink light flashing like a supernova and then disappearing.

Merlin ran to Morgana's aid and grabbed her hand and together they pushed at Morgause.

"The lake!" Merlin suggested and Morgana nodded. They were far too strong for Morgause who was pushed backwards, screaming in defiance, towards the wall of water. Her last shout was a scream which caused something blue to explode, then they pushed her through the wall of water and the water crashed back. Merlin hastily threw up a shield and the torrent of water shoved against it as though against thickened glass before receding back towards the lake.

It took more than ten minutes for the lake to calm itself enough for Merlin to be able to relax the shield and then he fell back, caught by Lancelot who lowered him to the ground and kept his arms around him protectively.

"So… what just happened?" Arthur demanded. They had all sunk to the ground watching the amazing sight of the water, waiting for Merlin to be ready to talk, but he looked at Morgana.

"I think… Arthur… Merlin!" Morgana suddenly cried out urgently and Merlin, who was sitting exhausted on the ground, pulled himself up to look and gasped.

Arthur had two spots of mixed blue and red on his left shoulder and right hip. They were spreading like blood from a wound, but the blue was like a string inside the red.

"I don't feel right," Arthur announced and Merlin ran to him.

"No! Oh no!" Merlin threw a pulse of magic at the wound on his shoulder and watched as it formed a bubble that sucked in some of the liquid. "It's a… a curse wound…I…"

"I've never seen anything like it before," Morgana cried. "Is it fatal?"

"I saw something like it in Africa, but it was purple and…Oh Gods… I can't remember…" Merlin clutched at his forehead and tried to think.

"Merlin!" Arthur suddenly commanded and Merlin knelt next to him, locking gazes. "Merlin, calm down and think. Stop!" he commanded again as Merlin's breath hitched. "Lancelot? I think you need to lend him your strength."

"I can't lose you… I can't…" Merlin sobbed. "Not here… where I lost you before… not here…"

"Merlin, you are not alone." Lance grabbed him by the shoulders and made Merlin look at him, "You belong to me as well as Arthur! Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Merlin nodded.

"Now, calm down and think. Arthur is not dying."

Arthur did seem strong enough to stand, so he did that and Merlin watched helplessly. Lance stood and dragged Merlin to his feet. The little bubble burst and the blue disappeared, leaving the red to drop to the ground. That made Merlin gasp.

"We need to go home," Morgana said. "We need to get him to Gaius."

"Can you find the way?" Merlin asked, breathing hard.

"Yes.." Morgana closed her eyes and started searching, while Merlin gathered up some energy around Arthur and Gwen, but Arthur suddenly cried out in pain and the blue thread pulsed and pulled, sending Arthur back onto the ground.

"Oh Gods.." Merlin cried in realisation. "It's a tether! It's keeping his life force here!"

Morgana dropped next to him and felt the magic for herself. "It is," she agreed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know they would do this. I thought they trusted me."

"You were brilliant!" Merlin smiled wanly. "Can you get them all back home? I'll stay here with Arthur. Then can you send Gaius?"

"I'm staying!" Lance declared. "I'm not leaving you," he added and Merlin nodded gratefully.

"I'm staying too," Gwen announced. "Morgana, take everyone else home."

"Yes my Queen!" Morgana sniggered and bowed, then she held out her hands and Leon and Gwaine held a hand each and disappeared in what looked like a whirlwind.

"Tell me everything," Gwen commanded as Merlin knelt next to an unconscious Arthur. The blood had stopped, but the blue thread was still there.

"She created a magic tether that forces his blood to stay here by the lake. As far as I can tell, the only way to break it is to let him go to the other end of the thread… which is… not acceptable."

"Your magic is stronger than hers," Gwen declared. "You are magic!"

"If I break the thread then he will lose all his blood and d…die!" Merlin explained.

Lance held him and Merlin held Arthur, while Gwen paced and complained that Gaius was taking too long. "Where is he?"

"His magic may not be strong enough to get him here," Merlin warned.

Lance looked around the clearing and decided that Merlin needed to be distracted from his grief. "Can the sword help?"

"What?"

"Excalibur – can it do anything?"

"No, if I cut the cord with it then it will just cause the blood to run freely," Merlin sniffed.

"Merlin, what happened to your collar?" Lance demanded, suddenly sounding angry.

"What?" Merlin's hands flew to where the collar had been.

"What happened to your collar? I didn't give you permission to take it off and neither did Arthur," Lance frowned.

"I… it wasn't my fault!" Merlin protested. "She took it from me! Nimueh made it disappear!"

"We will have to replace it. I'm sorry, Merlin, but you belong to me and to Arthur."

"I know… I…" Merlin looked around as though he could find the little strip of leather lying around. Lance grinned to himself and congratulated himself on fending off the panic in his boyfriend. He was especially pleased when Merlin cried out. "Oh Gods! The Cup!"

"Merlin?" Gwen asked kneeling down beside them and taking charge of Arthur, blinding hope in her eyes.

"The Cup of Life!" Merlin cried and picked the chalice up. "Freya!" He went to the lake and called again. "Freya! Help me!"

Both Gwen and Lancelot gasped when a head of dark brown hair appeared out of the surface of the lake, followed by shoulders and arms.

"Hello Merlin," the Lady spoke and her face wore a gentle smile. "Do you need my help?"

"Arthur has been tethered to your lake. If he touches the water then the Sidhe can claim him, but if he tries to leave then he will lose all his blood… the blood will stay here, but I have the Cup of Life! What would happen if he were to drink the water of Avalon from the Cup?"

"Merlin!" she smiled at him. "You will need to give him some of your blood as well, but, yes, I believe that my water can be cleansed by the Cup. Bring it to me," Freya spoke encouragingly and Merlin picked up the cup and walked into the shallows while Freya came to meet him, changing her size and appearing up above the water.

Merlin pierced his finger and dropped seven drops of blood into the cup, then he held the cup out to Freya who reached out her hand and dropped seven drops of water as though she were also putting blood into the cup.

"I think you need your dragon friend as well," Freya suggested.

Merlin nodded. "Please, don't be afraid…" he told the rest of the group and then he stood and breathed in deeply. When he spoke it was with a roar that made them all shiver.

"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'annakes!"

It was only a few moments later that they heard the loud flap of the dragon wings and they felt the wind around them in wild turbulence, before the huge, scaly dragon landed and bowed his head.

"I wasn't sure which form you would take," Merlin grinned, feeling strangely more confident with Kilgharrah in this form than in his human disguise.

"In Avalon I can only be myself. Why have you called me?"

"Same reason as usual, my friend. I need to save Arthur's life. How did you get here so fast?"

"Travel between the planes is easy when you are used to it. Sir Lancelot, we meet again."

"Sir Dragon," Lance bowed.

"And the Queen and…" Merlin had never seen the dragon frown before. "The witch!"

"Leave it, Kilgharrah," Merlin commanded. "She saved our lives today, and her name is Lady Morgana." The dragon bowed, but Merlin recognised it as the kind of bow he gave Arthur when he thought his master was being a prat.

"I need something from you. I don't know if it is blood… that feels wrong. I think… " Merlin listened to the wind and the earth. "I need a tear," he told the dragon.

Kilgharrah fixed him with the kind of glare that Arthur would have given him if he had asked his king for a tear. "Without the Once and Future King there can be no Albion," he said gravely and then he roared into the sky and tipped his head sideways, allowing one large tear to drop from his huge eye. It trickled down his cheek and Merlin caught it in the cup.

"Thank you," he said emotionally to the dragon and then he passed his hand over the cup and held it up to Freya, who did the same.

They both looked at each other and Merlin frowned. "It's not enough… there's still something missing…"

"You need some of Arthur's blood," Gaius suggested from behind them and Merlin and Freya both turned and beamed at him.

"Gaius! Of course!" Merlin's smile was blinding. "My Queen?"

"You want me to do it?" Gwen asked.

"You are the only one who able to authorise such a magical exchange," Gaius explained.

"Use Excalibur," Kilgharrah added.

Gaius helped Gwen to prick Arthur's forefinger on his left hand with the rather unwieldy weapon and they counted seven drops on the sword before Gaius magically closed the wound. Gwen took the blood to Merlin and he held the cup so that she could angle the sword downwards.

"This has to work…" Merlin murmured and then, standing in the waters still he held the Cup up and said a sentence in the language of the dragons. There was a fizzing sound and Merlin lowered his arms and steadily brought the Cup back to Arthur's side, taking the time to magically shake off all the water from himself. "My Lord?"

Gwen and Lance held Arthur up and Merlin came to kneel beside him. Gaius expertly manipulated Arthur into the best position and Merlin poured the mixture onto his two wounds.

Then they waited. Everyone, including the dragon, held their breath and watched.

"Did it not work?" Gwen asked shakily after a full minute had passed.

"I… I don't know…" Merlin admitted and Lance held him tightly as they all watched and waited.

"The blood has stopped flowing," Gaius commented.

They waited a bit more and Freya hovered from the lake, while Lance held Merlin and Gaius and Gwen held Arthur.

"Arthur!" Gwen cried and tears fell from her brown eyes. "Don't leave me again… you can't! You promised!"

"No…" Merlin suddenly said angrily. "No! It can't end this way! It won't… I say to all the Gods! It will not end like this!" He stood up and held up his hands to his sides and yelled to the world. "I am Merlin Emrys, Dragon Lord, son of the Earth, the Sea and the Air! I serve only the Once and Future King and together we will bring Albion to this land!"

There was a huge crack of thunder and lightning and the lightning hit Merlin who directed it towards Arthur. "I serve the Once and Future King!" he yelled again, "and together we will bring about Albion!"

And Arthur coughed and opened his eyes. His eyes flashed as though he were performing magic and the blue thread stretched out to Freya who pulled it and both strands ravelled around her hands and disappeared like smoke. Merlin then touched both of Arthur's wounds and they closed up leaving no mark at all. Arthur's eyes flashed again and everything receded, swirling around until all that was left was Arthur sitting up with Gaius and Gwen holding him, while Lance held Merlin.

"What happened?" he asked and Gwen threw herself at him, sobbing. He gathered her into his arms and looked at Gaius, who had tears dropping from his eyes and then at Merlin who was being held by Lance. Merlin then grasped Lance's hand and knelt before Arthur.

"You are safe from Avalon, Sire. Morgause tried to tether your blood to the lake, but with the help of the Lady and intervention of the Goddess… and some very timely knowledge from Gaius… you are safe. You're… you're here!" he faltered.

"I'm pretty sure you had a lot to do with it too," Arthur grinned and he reached out and ruffled Merlin's hair, which made Merlin laugh.

"Try to stand," Gwen suggested and Arthur did that.

"I feel… I feel great! I feel free!" he laughed. "I don't think I've ever felt this good!" He stood and Gwen held him reaching for a kiss, but Merlin remained kneeling, unstable, with Lance by his side.

"My lord," Merlin said.

"Stand up, my friend. Thank you… and thank you Lancelot. And you Gaius." He looked up, "is that the bloody dragon?"

"I am Kilgharrah, Your Majesty," the dragon announced and stared intently at the king.

"Thank you, Kilgharrah," Merlin said, standing before the huge creature. "You saved him."

"I did as commanded by the Last Dragon Lord," Kilgharrah reminded him. "But I feel that my work is now done. I shall see you at your home, Young Warlock and we shall discuss your last essay."

Merlin smiled through his tears, letting Lance help him stay on his feet although he didn't quite feel steady enough, and he grinned even though he could feel tears falling and he thought that he might never stop crying. Thank everything that was good that Lance was there, holding him in his strong embrace, because Merlin thought he might have fallen over without his support. Arthur was there and whole and definitely there.

He hid in Lance's arms, trembling, until Gaius' voice seeped through into his tired consciousness, saying something about not really having enough magic to get them all home.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled. "I'll take us all home now."

"Are you strong enough?" Lance checked.

"I can do it. Just hold me please?"

Lance held Merlin in a strong hug from behind and Gwen and Arthur took his hands. "Is this going to be like Tintern?" Arthur enquired.

"No, Sire… probably much worse."

Back at the house, the light was fading and Hunith had made risotto for everyone. Wine was opened and everyone sat in the kitchen, feeling a need to be together as they contemplated what they had been through. Morgana revealed that she had pre-arranged to work with the other two ladies if they approached her, but that she had kept it from everyone but Arthur and Merlin.

"I thought they probably would invite me to join them because of my link with Morgause in the past and because they had both spoken of the Triple Goddess. The weird thing is that they didn't really think that I was the same Morgana, just that there was a link of some kind. I do wonder if they really understood what they were up against."

Merlin just couldn't let go of Lance's hand, nor could he let Arthur out of his sight. When Arthur chose a chair at the huge kitchen table, Merlin allowed Gwen to sit next to him and then he dragged Lance over to sit on his other side. He used his magic to fetch them food, crockery or cutlery and he forced Lance to eat with one hand because he just couldn't let go.

Eventually Lance just gave up and took Merlin aside, still letting him see Arthur, but taking him away.

"Merlin, it's OK. We are both here, both fine and both happy. You can let go of me!"

"I don't know if I can…" Merlin blushed. "I miss my collar," he added in a tiny voice and Lance beamed at him, drew him into his arms and kissed him, deeply and several times until he could feel Merlin relaxing and getting very much into the act. It was Gwaine, of course, who alerted them to their audience.

"Get a room!"

"You're just jealous!" Lance replied. Merlin chuckled and Lance dipped him and claimed another kiss, causing much applause and laughter.

"I'm nauseated," Arthur groaned and Gwen mock slapped him. "What? He's supposed to be my servant. I heard him claiming me in front of that bloody dragon and the triple Goddess or whatever!"

"You're just a horrible master," Gwaine decided. "I think he should renounce you and take up with a couple of beautiful knights instead."

"In your dreams, Sir Gwaine!" Merlin cried out and kissed Lance again.

"But they are pretty spectacular dreams," Gwaine insisted dreamily.

The mood was light and the wine helped everyone to come down from the stress of the day, and soon enough Gaius and Hunith led the way in heading to bed. Merlin went with his mother and gave her a proper rundown of the events and she kissed him on the cheek and told him to not worry.

Soon it was just Lance and Merlin left in the kitchen and Lance pulled his boyfriend over to sit on a chair next to him, taking his hand, noting the way Merlin's gaze kept wandering towards the stairs.

"Merlin, I love you and I hope that we will soon be sharing quarters, but… tonight you need to be with Arthur."

Merlin's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I know you. I know that you are loyal to our King down to the marrow in your bones and you nearly lost him today. I can see the headache there from all that tension." Lance leant over and kissed the spot that Merlin had been rubbing. "You need a headache potion from Gaius. I'd offer you paracetamol, but Gaius said that you need natural remedies because of your magic."

"That's true," Merlin nodded. "I probably have a potion in my room."

"Right, well, tonight you are going to have the need to check on Arthur. Gwen knows and Arthur is expecting it, but I want to tell you that I know where you will be and why. Just remember that you are not alone. You have me and I will help you through this."

Merlin cuffed away a tear and then put his hand on his boyfriend's cheek and brought him close for a kiss.

"It's weird," Lance added. "I mean, you are one thousand five hundred years older than me and yet…"

"I'm still a teenager?" Merlin suggested. "That was partly the point of my submitting myself to rebirth. My life in Camelot is still clear and fresh with me and my modern life is immediate. I am pretty much nineteen years old, hormonally and mentally, but I also have these slightly vague memories of all those years of waiting. Lots happened to me and I travelled all around the globe. I was this weird pale person in many of those places, but they all feel like some kind of distant past. I told you about Arthur Wellesley? That was a period where I almost found myself again. Staying with Monsieur Liszt was another period where I found myself almost happy, but they are still distant, while you Back Then and Arthur and Gwen and Gwaine and all the knights and Morgana… they feel like my true life."

"I remember those years so clearly," Lance agreed. "Like a vivid dream. I'm not sure that I was happier then – my life this time has been much more stable and I have Maman this time, but I had you and a place in Camelot and it feels like a golden time, a glorious summer!"

"Thank you, Lancelot."

"Come on, it's late and we need to get you to your prince."

"You're my prince!" Merlin insisted. "He's just my lord and master!"

"Just so long as you are clear on to whom you belong!" Lance kissed him again.

"To you, Sir Lancelot," Merlin agreed. "And him too," he added, enjoying Lance's knowing smile.

They paused at Merlin's door feeling like teenagers returning to their parents' houses and they kissed some more, but parted eventually. Merlin got ready for bed and tried not to look at the adjoining door, determined to break free and just enjoy his relationship with his boyfriend. Arthur was his working life and Lance his private life, after all. He settled into his bed and tried to close his eyes. He took a potion and let it start working through his headache, then he reflected on his wonderful boyfriend and soon he started to drift away…

Arthur's face was deadly pale and the blue cord was pulling him towards the lake where Nimueh and Morgause pulled hard, laughing. Then Morgana stepped out and announced that she was the true Goddess and that Arthur had to go back to the Sidhe… Then Arthur turned his cold eyes on Merlin and said 'Leave me…'

When he opened his door to Arthur's room, he was astonished to find Gwen and Arthur and even Jack waiting for him. Arthur beckoned and Merlin almost ran to his side, checking where the wounds had been and seeing for himself that they were no longer there.

"I'm sorry…" he murmured. "I'm sorry, Gwen…"

"You saved my Arthur today," Gwen told him softly. "You did it. You kept him safe and he's back with us. We were waiting for you."

Arthur wriggled over into the middle of his huge super-king bed. "I remember one time… was it before the battle with Caerleon? You were rambling on about having to sleep rough and I teased you about sharing my bed!"

"I remember, Sire." Merlin smiled.

"Get in," Arthur gestured, kicking Jack over a bit.

"What?" Merlin gasped.

"You're not going to be any use to me tomorrow if you don't sleep," Arthur commented.

"I can sleep on the floor!" Merlin protested.

"Get in," Arthur repeated.

Merlin contemplated what he was offering, looked at Jack who was looking far too alert, and looked at a very amused Gwen, and made up his mind.

"On top of the covers, my lord?"

"Merlin, this is for you. We talked about it and we knew that you would not be able to get past this without help. Make yourself comfortable."

Merlin found yet more tears dripping and he settled on top of the bed covers, curled up with his head resting on his master's chest, feeling Arthur stroking his head and listening to his steady heartbeat, and he thought himself unbelievably lucky. Gwen snuggled in as well and she held out her hand, offering her own comfort, which he took, threading his fingers with hers. And all three… four including Jack… drifted off to sleep.

By dawn, Merlin was feeling safer and less needy, so he got up and slipped out of the room, but he didn't stop there. He carried on to Lance's apartment and slid into Lance's bed where Lance gathered him into his arms, bestowing kisses, and they were claimed by sleep again.

The end…