Chapter Four

They carried on walking what felt like forever. "It must be night-time now," said Percival as they walked. They had been in the caves what felt like hours. It had to be night.

"Maybe not," said Gwaine grumpily "Nothing here is normal, why on earth would time be? Whose bright idea was to go in these caves anyway?"

Merlin resisted the urge to roll his eyes – "It was all three of you who wanted to go in these caves." Reminded Merlin at once "I said we shouldn't – but does anyone ever listen to me? No! Just because I am a servant and not a knight. All that's happen is I get mocked and called a liar then things like this happen. And you all wonder why I question how bright knights really are….."

Gwaine patted Merlin back "I will never question what you say again,"

"Arthur going to love to hear all this," said Percival rolling his eyes.

"Oh, and if Arthur going to make me do extra chores – you three can do them instead," said Merlin still carrying on with his rant. "You can muck out the stables and polish all the sliver in the castle….. And if Gaius give me extra work as well you can do that as well….I am not taking the blame for any of this."

Gwaine move to Leon "I don't think Merlin is going to let drop,"

Leon didn't say anything. Was Merlin right? Did he not listen to Merlin because he was a servant? He liked to think he did listen to Merlin. He did consisted Merlin a friend. Leon was always treated servants with respect – his mother taught him that. But had he not listen to Merlin because of that? Or was it because he wanted a shot of a adventure – to explore something that wasn't on the maps. Something more interesting than going to a village with an unknown illness.

Merlin was still ranting – if he was any other servant he wouldn't dare rant in front of knights. But Merlin wasn't like any other of the servants. "You think Arthur would learn his lesson by now – but he still doesn't listen to me before he does something stupid. – I thought you lot had more common sense…. But no….really how you all still alive is beyond me…"

"We are alive because we are knights," said Gwaine "We train almost every day – the really question is how are you still alive. And I just thought – if knights and Arthur do stupid things – why do you always follow us?"

"Well if you are doing something stupid – you might need someone with medical training," said Merlin at once. "Lucky for all of you when I am not making sure Arthur not doing something stupid – Gaius is making me learn the healing arts…"

Gwaine nodded his head "Good point,"

Leon stopped walking and hold his hand up so the other stopped. "I think this is our next test." Said Leon they walked in and found themselves in another open space with words written on the wall. Writing in one of the ancient languages. "Does anyone by chance know how to read this?" he asked

"It's ancient Welsh," said Merlin

"How can you read that?" asked Leon

Merlin rolled his eyes "Gaius's books," he said "Most of them are very old. Gaius always said it would come in useful to know how to read the ancient languages, guess he was right."

"Well, I am glad you come in these caves with us, Merlin," said Gwaine at once "Without you – we'll still be in the room with all the voices."

Merlin didn't respond he was studying the words on the wall. It was clear that Merlin needed time to translate what it said. It took a few minutes before stated to talk. "It says the truth will set you free. We all have secrets that no one here knows – we have to share these secrets – and if we speck truth we can go on. If we lie we go back to the start."

"You mean the voice room?" asked Gwaine, Merlin nodded his head, "We better not lie then."

Merlin and the knight sat on the rocks in a circle thinking about a secret that they could share. "I will go first," said Percival. Everyone looked at him. "I only every told Lancelot this," said Percival "The day my home was attacked and my family was killed." Percival paused "My father was injured. He asked me to end his pain. So I ended it…."

"Sounds like you were doing his a mercy," said Leon

"It does not feel like a mercy," said Percival "I think about it every day since it happen. Maybe I could have helped him. Maybe he could have been saved. If he could have been – dose that make my actions like murder?"

"You cannot think like that," said Merlin at once "It will eat you up. You are a knight of Camelot now – you saved many life's…."

"But I couldn't save my father's or my sisters," said Percival. "Why is it you can never safe the people who are most important?"

They are a paused while everyone was deep in thought. "I have a story." Said Gwaine "A true story. Something I am not proved of." Gwaine looked at the floor, "When I first started to travel – I was young and naïve…." Gwaine paused again "I started to do odd jobs and then I did some smuggling, I thought I was the best thing ever – and it was good until I realised other things…"

"What kind of things were you smuggling?" asked Leon

"Ale, wine, fancy things, food, you names it we smuggled it," said Gwaine "Thought I was doing good – for those who face harshness in life – the outcasts…. The ones no one else would talk to or helped…..like I said I was naïve."

"When did you leave?" asked Merlin

"I stopped being naïve." Said Gwaine simply. He paused a for little bit longer. "I saw the people I was with do bad things. Hurt people. And…. I knew I couldn't be like that. So I left, took some money as well – took all of it. They didn't like that."

"Did you see them again?" asked Percival listening to Gwaine tell his secret.

"They come worst of a Traven fight," said Gwaine "I found it hard to find good people – then I meet Merlin and I thought I found a kindred spirit. And Arthur was alright….." Gwaine looked at Leon and Merlin. "Okay, now one of you talk now….."

"Did you ever smuggled in Camelot?" asked Leon

Gwaine looked at the rock wall that blocked there way. "Yes," said Gwaine nodding his head "But I hardly of age… are you going to arrest me Sir Leon?" asked Gwaine

"What do you take me for?" asked Leon. "I'm not planning to arrest any of you…."

Leon was the next to talk. "When I was a child – I would often steal things from the stalls in the lower town. mostly food. And if the seller saw that something was missing - the blame would of to the poorer children nearby. When I was a child I like the power that it felt - that I could get away with things like that."

Gwaine looked at Leon "Everyone steals something once in their life."

Leon carried on specking. "My father asked me once - if I ever stole anything at the market. Maybe he saw me, maybe someone else did - I do not know. But I lied and he looked disappointed." Leon paused again for a moment "One day I got braver - thought I could steal from Arthur. We were young - about eight. I took a small dragger - nothing fancy and it small... not enough to be any damage unless it was an apple."

"You stole from Arthur?" asked Merlin looking at Leon with amusement. Leon nodded his head "I would never of guessed."

"Arthur grown angry when he could find it." said Leon "Spend a day looking everywhere for it. His father told him he wouldn't have dinner until he found it. So I pretended to find it in the grass area. I never told Arthur the truth. I didn't want to face the king rage. Arthur treated me like a close friend since then. My friendship in based on a lie - on the fact I did something dishonest."

"Did anyone ever found out?" asked Gwaine. Leon shook his head "Wow..."

Merlin had trouble thinking of a secret to share. He was tried to be as open and honest he could – because the secrets he keep he kept to save his life. Most of his secrets would bring up more secrets. All he could hope for was part of a truth – one would shook his friends but something that they would understand why it was a secret.

"You know when I said growing up I didn't know who my father was. And that no one did," said Merlin. The others nodded his head "Well, I found out the truth…. And….." he paused for a moment

"Was you're father high born?" asked Gwaine

"No – nothing like that," said Merlin. Dragonlords might have the word lord in it – but Merlin was sure it was completely different than the lords that come to Camelot. They were a different that the lords that Gwaine was thinking about. they were more ancient than that. Merlin try to figure out how to say this. "My father come to Ealdor– he escaped Camelot near the end of the great purge…."

"He was a sorcerer?" asked Leon

"He escaped Camelot during the great purge," said Merlin – not lying about that "He was a friend of Gaius and he send him to my mother – they thought it was safer in Essetir, safer is an outlying isolated village. But knights' crossed the boundaries and he had to go." Merlin paused for a moment. "Guess it was not surprising – I guess many people escaped to Essetir - stopping into the villages for shelter…."

Gwaine frowned for a moment "You told me – your father did a job for a king."

"That's the story I heard and I believe it." Said Merlin choosing his words carefully.

"Why come to Camelot?" asked Leon listening to all this. "Why so loyal to Camelot – after all that."

Merlin paused for a moment. "My mother send me to Gaius to learn and get a job. – I wasn't going to make a good farmer…and she thought it was better to go somewhere without the rumours of being a son of a demon." Merlin paused for a moment "And I am not loyal to Uther – but I am loyal to Arthur."

"Dose Arthur know?" asked Percival.

Merlin shook his head. "No," he said "The only person in Camelot that knows is Gaius."

Gwaine looked up. "We can go on." He said. The others looked and saw where the rock wall once stood was now an open tunnel. "This must be almost over,"

Merlin didn't feel too sure about that.