So close, yet so far.

Notes:

Finally, the moment you all have been waiting for.
The first meeting of our heroes.

Hope it's up to the expectations guys. :P
Also, enjoy!

Chapter Text

While delivering all of Gaius's potions, Merlin had conversed with well over 50 people in the market. All of them were as Merlin remembered them...
Dorothy from the bakery stall, Stella from the Laundry, young Jeremy from the stables…. Coming to Camelot felt like meeting an old friend after years and then renewing the blurry memories. Bringing them back to life.

He smiled and looked up, taking in the sun. Now all he had to do was meet... Arthur.
Merlin wasn't sure if he was ready for it as of yet…. Every time he passed by the corridor that held the Prince's chambers, Merlin's hands shook, his palms sweated and his mouth went dry.

Each time that happened, he hurried back to the Physician's chamber to drink some water. He couldn't very well talk to Arthur with a dry mouth now, could he?

Gaius told him that he was nervous. That was an absolute lie. It was preposterous to even think that Merlin was nervous. He was made for this moment…. Arthur should be nervous that he was going to meet Merlin. There was absolutely no reason for Merlin to-
Ok, fine… he was nervous.
He was absolutely shitting his pants. Was it even okay to be nervous, when you were a 1500-years-old, mega-powerful- all knowing Warlock?
Merlin didn't think so. Getting nervous was something that was completely out of character for him now...

He shook himself out of the anxious thoughts and made his way to deliver his last potion of the day, on his way thinking that there were a few ways Gaius could better his potions, Merlin would suggest them to Gaius and then the old man won't have to make so many batches, one would be enough.
He knocked on the door of Sir Olwen.

Sir Olwen was the 70-years-old blind ex-knight, who had served in Camelot way before the Pendragon's reign had started. He had been there since before the time of the great purge and had remained loyal to the land of Camelot, not the Pendragons. Uther had let him stay as a knight due to his experience and his loyalty to the people of this land.

The door opened and Merlin remembered this time to speak the instructions before he handed the potion.
"Sir Olwen, Gaius has said to take the potion in small-," Merlin was interrupted by the old knight.
"You?" said Sir Olwen, making Merlin frown. He looked around for anyone else there apart from him and when he came up with no one, he was confused.
Who and to what was sir Olwen talking to? This hadn't happened the last time.

"Pardon?" said Merlin, politely. Sir Olwen slowly and steadily started lowering himself to his knees, Merlin quickly used his hand to help the old knight, still not knowing where this was going.
"You have come, finally." Sir Olwen was now kneeling, his head lowered towards the ground and voice low… reverent. Merlin's spine straightened, finally realizing what this could mean and he quickly soundproofed the area- anyone passing them will only hear gibberish.

Merlin didn't sense any magic from the ex-knight, he shouldn't know that Merlin was magic- but he very clearly did. What confused Merlin more than that, was that the old man was blind too….
"Emrys, this land has waited for you for centuries….", Sir Olwen continued and Merlin bends down to pick the man up from his knees to his feet again. Seriously, there was no need for this. He had hoped that the lack of Druids would put a stop to this idol worship that the name 'Emrys' encouraged. But, apparently not.

And, how did a man with no magic recognize him, anyway? This was unheard of….

"I know what you must be thinking, Emrys. How do I know?" Sir Olwen smiled a toothless smile, "You forget that I have been in presence of the Dragons before, I know what magic feels like, Emrys." This sentence sent a chill down Merlin's spine, there were multiple people in Camelot who had seen the time of Dragons and of Magic- if they could all sense his power then it was only a matter of time before he was exposed. But, Sir Olwen doused all his fears by continuing,

"I, though mostly sense your power because I am blind. That is the irony of being blind... is that I see more now than I ever did before. I see things that other people miss or are blind to. And, be rest assured- I won't give you up even if my life depended on it."

Merlin nodded, relaxing in the knowledge that his secret was safe. For now, at least. In gratitude, he sent images to the blind Knight's head. Images so colourful and so vibrant that it would feel as if the knight was seeing them himself. He knew that was the biggest gift he could ever give to a blind man- the ability to see, if only for a few moments.

He showed the old man what he wanted to see the most- The land of Camelot. Images of Merlin's first impression of Camelot rushed though Sir Olwen's mind. He showed him the people, the castle. Next, he showed him the sharp scales of the golden Dragon and morphed those scales into the autumn leaves…. You never appreciate these things until you lack the power to actually see them.

The old man smiled, eyes glazed over more than usual and a tear tracked down his cheek. Merlin touched his shoulder, handed him the potion and left.

Mind still mulling with thoughts of the ex-knight and what he had said- Merlin, as a precaution, tried to make himself seem and feel less…. Magical. He camouflaged his power so that no man- blind or not won't be able to sense his magic. Remaining unnoticeable was important for him-

Suddenly, Merlin felt something headed straight towards him with impeccable speed- he turned to see what it was and his eyes widened.
His eyes widened not because there was a knife aimed straight at his solar plexus but because his gaze landed on his destiny. On Arthur. Seeing him now, Merlin couldn't fathom why he hadn't seen him earlier.

This was the first time (after a thousand years) that he was actually seeing Arthur. During the execution, he had been too far away to see clearly and before that, when Merlin had broken into his Prince's room… it had been too dark to see anything apart from the golden hair. But now...in the brightness of the sun- he could see everything in clear detail.

Arthur's eyes were wide as well, but he wasn't looking at Merlin but at the knife aimed straight for his midsection. Merlin's features relaxed, he hadn't even realized that he had stopped time just so he could take in the familiar features of Arthur. The sky-blue eyes, the noblest nose he had ever seen and the corn-coloured hair... all in all, Arthur looked young and golden. He forced himself to stop staring, to man-up already and re-start the time.

He casually looked at the closest thing to him that would protect him- which was the satchel filled with empty potion bottles and sighed...
He shrugged, thinking, that will have to do and mentally sent an apology to Gaius. He brought it in front of his solar plexus and hoped to god that his quick reaction won't seem too suspicious before letting time flow.

The knife pierced the satchel and just because Arthur had thrown it with extra pressure, the knife stabbed Merlin's palm too. It didn't hurt that much, he had suffered much worse before but some of the potion from the shattered bottles seeped into the- now- profusely bleeding wound- giving it a sharp sting and making it burn.

He winced and looked up to see Morris rushing towards him,
"Are you ok, my lord? I didn't mean to run behind you, I promise. It was a genuine mistake-,"
Merlin stopped the servant with a raised hand and a shake of the head while also correcting the 'My lord' bit of the sentence. He then made sense of what had happened and realized that Arthur had been throwing knives at Morris yet again and had ended up making him the moving target – much like the last time.
Ah, Destiny is a bitch, he thinks.

He tried to smile at the servant but it came out as a grimace when he turned to see Arthur being patted on the back by his fellow knights- Merlin remembered them too- dickheads. All of them.

Arthur was smirking. Gloating in the fact that it had been a perfect shot.
Now if Merlin had been an ordinary person, he would have probably been hit and bled to death- he couldn't fathom the reason for Arthur's gloating. Was playing with lives a game for the Young Prince?

Arthur turned to him with a smirk, clearly ignoring the now sobbing Morris- who had seen how profusely Merlin was bleeding. His wound was still hidden by the bag so the Prince couldn't see it.

Arthur looked at Merlin's serious face and laughed- Merlin knew his face was hard as a stone. Not a speck of either mirth or relief on it. The Prince stopped laughing after Merlin's face didn't even twitch- but the smirk remained.

"You should watch where you walk …..," Arthur looked at him expectantly, clearly waiting for his name, so he offered with 'Merlin.' Arthur gave a pause at the name, brows pulling in but continued,
"Well, Merlin, you should watch where you walk. It was only because of your good luck and this… satchel, that you didn't get hurt." Arthur turned to his friends, who kept shouting 'Yeeaahhhs' and agreeing with the Prince and he faced Merlin with yet another smug smirk.

Morris started to say something but Merlin stopped him with a look. He knew that there was no sign of pain on his face and even the wound was hidden. Hence, there was no reason for Arthur to think that he had actually gotten hurt.

Merlin thought that he should just leave now- leave Arthur to his friends and his knife throwing fun. But, he wouldn't be Merlin if he did that. So, he said,
"And you should watch where you… play." Merlin didn't even bother asking Arthur's name, his voice chiding. The Prince's face turned to stone, no smirk in view anymore. He knew that Arthur hated it when people treated him like a spoiled child.

"I wasn't playing- I was practicing. Something, you clearly don't seem to understand." Replied the golden-haired Prince, with all the snobbishness of a royal prat.

"Well, then you should practice in the field, where common people- who are just trying to get on with their day- can't get hurt. If I had been someone older or someone younger- like a child- I would be dead right now. But, it was only because of myself that I didn't get that hurt," Merlin lowered the bag now, bringing his hand to display.

His tunic, which had been white previously had turned red from the left wrist up to the elbow. His hand was still bleeding profusely and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Arthur came a bit forward, eyes widening at the sight of blood but stopped when he heard the catcalls of his so-called friends, 'yeah, teach him a lesson', 'peasant-blood! Let it flow!' and instead of voicing his concern, he sneered at Merlin. He knew that Arthur was trying to act tough but that didn't stop Merlin from feeling a bit disappointed.

"Well, it's just a small wound." Spat Arthur and continued, "Don't be such a girl, it will heal in a few days. And since you are a peasant- make sure to clean that knife and give it back to me. I don't want a dirty knife." Arthur's friends laughed at the back and the prince smirked in return.

"And, peasant- oh no, wait, Merlin- you have no right to tell me what I can do and what I can't. I will practice where I like, on whomever I like. Remember that for next time."

Merlin tried, he really did. He knew that Arthur wasn't yet the King who had not only knighted peasants but also married one but his heart won't stop comparing this young Arthur to his Arthur- to the King Arthur. He decided to leave before he felt even more disappointed.

But before he did, he took out the knife- stuck in the satchel- and threw it at Arthur's feet and all laughter fled from the prince's face. Again.
Merlin smiled sweetly, but his eyes remained hard,
"There you go, you can clean it yourself."

Merlin left after that.

Arthur

He once again saw the same stranger he had seen during the execution, in the market… he watched how the man fit into the framework of Camelot as if he had always been there or like a lost piece of jig-saw-that had been found and now the jig-saw was finally complete.
He saw how the man emerged from Sir Olwen's house with a smile on his face- looking up to the sky and taking in the sunlight.

Arthur's heart gave a lurch at the image this man made. It seemed as if light itselfemanated from him, he had never seen the man without a smile on his face and everyone just seemed to naturally turn towards him. As if they wanted to catch a glimpse of the stranger- he didn't blame them- he thinks the man could be called beautiful…. or handsome.

More like Beautifully Handsome, he decided. He knew some of his knights were staring too, especially those in particular who enjoyed male company more than the female one.

Arthur is dragged from his thoughts when he hears a snort, he turns to see one of his fellow knights- Sir Geraint.
He was one of his father's knights and usually trailed Arthur to get into the Kings favour.

"I heard that this man came into Camelot, yesterday. He is one of those people that is a peasant but pretends to be noble." Arthur turned to look the stranger again, this time he was throwing a young girl into the air and catching her, making her squeal- completely seeming at home among the peasants but still much more important than them.

He didn't know what Sir Geraint was talking about but this man wasn't trying to be anything that he wasn't already. Which was a noble, Arthur would even bet his coin chest on it!

No one could be so natural at something they were not. Arthur knew that Sir Geraint probably wished that he looked so noble and was just being a jealous little prick about it.
The man started coming towards them and Arthur quickly tried to pretend that he hadn't just been staring at the said man and resumed his knife-throwing game with Morris and the rest of the knights.

It was on his 5th throw when it happened. All too quickly. Four knives had found their mark on the shield- Arthur never missed- but then suddenly, Morris chose to run behind someone, putting the person between the knife and the shield. That person was the same stranger- the man- and though he had not been in the way before, he was now completely in harm's way. Thankfully, because of Arthur's control- he stopped just before he could make the throw.

Arthur didn't throw his knife. He didn't, but someone else did. Someone from behind him. These knights were his responsibility and if one of them killed this man- his father would never let Arthur hear the end of it. Hell, Arthur won't ever forgive himself if an innocent died because of his stupidity.
Especially this innocent.

The man turned with the speed of the wind and his eyes widened. Arthur regretted, now the knife was definitely going to kill the man. It was headed straight for the lungs.

But out of nowhere, the man- he must have very quick impulsive reactions- because he pulled his satchel in front of him, at the very last second- which took the full impact of the knife. Arthur had literally never felt so relieved in his life; his father would have killed him if he had come to know that Arthur's stupidity had led to a death in the market … that had been a very close call. He then gritted his teeth in anger and irritation.
He and sir Geraint were going to have a chat after this.

His knights laughed and he turned to them, not being able to stop the chuckle of relief from escaping him. He turned back to the man and couldn't stop the snort that came- the man's face was rigid as a stone, he didn't look angry but irritated, as if having a knife aimed at him was nothing more than- irritating, so much at ease he still looked.

Arthur told him that he should watch where he walks, and though it was mainly Morris's fault and Sir Geraint's- it was also his- as the man made him realize fully. The market really was no place was playing games with knives, he should never have brought the knights to the market.

He should never have been throwing knives in the first place, at a man who was not equipped to handle them.

If Morris had been trained, he would never have run behind the man, as cover.

But at that moment, Arthur didn't see sense. At that moment, he only wanted to defend himself and present himself as a responsible adult to the man in front of him who had introduced himself as… Merlin.

He didn't even why he had been trying to impress a stranger.

Arthur, thus, mocked Merlin and just for good measure... told him to clean the knife too.

He now knew that the man was a peasant- Merlin was not a name of any noble he knew. It all confused him to no end- the man's language was perfect, spoken only by very few who were literate enough to speak it so well. He had only heard people in court speak like this. The white tunic the man wore was softer than any tunic Arthur himself owned and that walk…. It was still as confident and lordly as it had been before.

But now that he knew that the man was a peasant- Arthur disrespected him, called him names and though guilt coursed through him when he saw the blood free-flowing from the wound on Merlin's hand- he pretended as if he didn't care.
All he could hear at this moment was the catcalling of his knights, all he could care about was the fact that he was the Prince and he had a reputation to uphold.

The man/Merlin looked disappointed for a second- at which Arthur felt the strong need to look down in shame- before making he features neutral again, he saw as he used his right hand to pull the knife from the satchel and then threw it at Arthur's feet- telling him to clean it himself. For a second, Arthur was shocked into silence... no one had ever spoken to him like that.

Ever.
It excited him but at the same time it made him angry too, especially because Merlin had already started leaving.

Arthur saw red- he was the Prince, he was to be respected. Who was this- this man who thinks that he can just call him a child, a prince that does not care about his people and.. and – WHERE WAS THIS PEASANT GOING ANYWAY?! He wasn't done talking yet!

He quickly gets himself together, picks the knife up and turns to see the peasant walking away. He raises his voice and says,

"Do you know how to walk on your knees, Merlin?" he smirks when he sees the man come to a halt, his back had gone rigid when Arthur had said his name.

"No." the answer is short… Arthur realizes that Merlin doesn't speak much but whenever he does…. People listen. Like they were listening now.
"Would you me like to help you?" he walks closer to Merlin, he doesn't want people to hear what he is saying. He stops when he is close enough that Merlin would hear him if he whispered.

Arthur had always been a physical person but he was never physical with people he didn't know. Nothing could explain why he was now standing in this person's personal space. Arthur thinks about going back a bit but at that exact moment, Merlin turns to face him.

Arthur comes to multiple other realizations after that. The first one was that Merlin was a few inches taller than him, it took Arthur tipping his head back a wee bit to be able to look at the man. The second thing that he realized was that he had never before seen such eyes.

They were azure blue, the colour of the seas- which was unique in itself but there was also a ring of gold around the pupil that Arthur was only able to see because he was so close. It wasn't a glowing gold- like a sorcerer's – but more like a sleeping gold, a lighter hue.

Being this close to Merlin was also reminding Arthur of something…. He just couldn't put his finger on it… on what it was that Merlin's presence was triggering in his mind. All he knew was that being this close to this man was dangerous…and exhilarating.
At least that's what his instincts were shouting.

This thought brought Arthur back to the present, he blinked and tried to focus on Merlin's expressions.

The man's face had been a picture of surprise when he had realized that Arthur was standing so close to him but in a split second it had morphed into a deviously amused one. Merlin bent his head, bringing his mouth closer to Arthur's ear and whispered,

"You want me to go down on my knees… for you, huh? I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff." It took a while before the Prince understood what the stranger meant but when he did, he felt the blood rushing to his face.
Arthur spluttered.

Oh! How dare this tall urchin-! Honest to god- Merlin straightened and this time it was his turn to laugh. Arthur's face was so stunned and offended. It was also tomato red.
Arthur gritted his teeth and thought about shouting at the man, 'He was not INTO anything, except women! He loved women, always had and always will!'.

It was this- Merlin that was twisting his sentences and making them into something that they clearly were not.

Arthur locked his jaw and whispered to Merlin, voice irritated, "You can't speak to me like that!"
And the peasant laughed in his face, laughed and said, "Why, you think you are the king?"

Arthur looked Merlin in the eyes, handed the knife to him with more pressure than required and replied with an obvious,

"No, I am his son, Arthur."

Arthur left in a huff after that not wanting to accept that he was still flustered from the thought of Merlin on his knees for him.

Merlin made it back to Gaius's chambers and soon the physician was hovering over his hand like a concerned duck.
Duck, because he was also verbally attacking Merlin (for anyone who doesn't know, ducks are vicious). In record time Merlin's hand was cleaned, stitched and wrapped in a bandage.

"I would have thought that the older and wiser Merlin would be a bit more reasonable with his actions and his words. Apparently, I was wrong." Gaius said and huffed for what seemed like the hundredth time to Merlin.

"It's destiny, Gaius. Me and Arthur… we will always find our way back to each other- but no one said that we will be friends from the get-go." He explains to his mentor, shrugging- he had gotten over the fact that Arthur had been a massive prat today.

"Yes, but no one said you had to get into an altercation with the Prince. You need to lay low until Arthur becomes King, Merlin." He looked up at this sentence and saw Gaius looking at him with concern, Merlin rolled his eyes but understood. Even though he was immortal it didn't stop the people he loved from worrying about him. And he did things that were quiet... worrying, most of the time. Gaius spoke up again,

"So, have you decided what you are going to do with your time in Camelot?" asked the old man, a single eyebrow raised at him. Merlin kept his sandwich down and finished chewing the bite he had in his mouth before replying with a smile.

"Well, I was hoping that you would take me on as an apprentice like... last time." This time Gaius rolled his eyes and said, "Merlin, your talents surpass those of mine by centuries. You could help me deliver the potions and collect the herbs but that is as far as I can keep you busy…."

Merlin breathed in deeply. He was just about to pick up his sandwich again when Gaius muttered, "Are you going to become Arthur's servant again?"

Merlin whipped his head to Gaius and his horrified eyes were answer enough for the physician but just to be sure Merlin said,
"Hell no! I need to be close to Arthur to protect him but if I have to clean his socks one more time- I will kill myself. Or at least try to." Also, cleaning Arthur's chamber pots was not what Merlin had in mind when he said that he needed to be 'close' to the Prince. That was just taking it to whole another level.

Merlin swallowed and pushed his food away, no longer in the mood to eat.
He turned his body towards a cheeky old man and said, "What do you have in mind? I know you wouldn't pester me unless you already had something in mind. Come on, out with it."

Gaius stopped stirring his potion and quickly took the seat opposite to Merlin, bringing his hands forward on the table. Merlin knew this was going to go somewhere he wouldn't like…

"My boy, hear me out before completely disregarding my suggestion." Merlin nodded and Gaius continued, "A few months ago, Uther got to know that the Great Dragon who had been imprisoned for at least 18 years had been set free… without his knowledge-," here Gaius looked exasperated as Merlin smiled but continued otherwise, "He also heard rumours that there was a magical Kingdom somewhere in Albion." Here Gaius looked at Merlin pointedly.

Merlin's back had become rigid. He knew that there was no real danger to Ambrosia but to know that Uther suspected its existence was alone putting his people in harm's way. He knew he had tried to be discreet, but a sudden loss of Druids must have tipped Uther off, if the missing warriors from Essetir hadn't.
He looked at Gaius when the old man spoke up after a minute.

"It was then that Uther commanded me to find a...Witch Hunter." Merlin's eyes went wide, he now knew why Gaius had prepared him before telling him. No. No. Absolutely not! He will not hunt his own kind.

Gaius must have seen the rejection on Merlin's face because he hurriedly started saying, "Merlin, before saying no…. think about it with an open mind. The witch hunter has freedom of movement, the power to do almost whatever he likes and…"
Gaius touched Merlin's fisted hand, "And, Merlin, most importantly… Uther will assign you to Arthur's protection- enabling you to be close to him at all times."

"I will not kill my kind, Gaius." Merlin put his foot down, at that he saw Gaius smile and say, "And I do not expect you to, Merlin. I know you are powerful enough to help them escape or even better- fake their death to shake things up. Especially the innocent ones, Merlin. I wouldn't have suggested it to you if it would have put you in danger…. But think about this, you are immortal, you have the perfect alibi-," Gaius pointed to himself, "and Merlin- you will be saving more lives this way- you can lead them to Ambrosia and the innocent sorcerers can start a new life there."

Merlin thought on it for a moment.
A chance to be close to Arthur, save innocent sorcerers and not be a servant to Arthur. He didn't see why not.
Now that he had thought about it the idea looked more and more appealing with every passing second.

Merlin smiled and looked deviously at Gaius.
And this is how the nephew and the uncle hatched another master plan.

*
Merlin had retired to his room after dinner.
It was time to unpack.

He opens his backpack and casts a silencing and locking charm on the door and then proceeds to take out his minimized library, guitar, some clothes, jewels and last- his iPod.

He sets the guitar near the cupboards and brings it to its normal size again. He will play it once his hand heals. He puts the jewels in one of the inner cupboards and magically locks them. That will be his emergency stash.

He folds his clothes and piles them neatly in the cupboards, places his iPod on the bedside table and then takes cares of his library.

For that he casts an illusion over his side of the castle.
He will have to make some infrastructural changes for this one and it was imperative that no one from the outside noticed him making these changes.
He then turned towards the wall opposite to his bedroom window and raised his hand in front of it, vanishing the solid wall- only leaving an illusion of it. Then, Merlin set his minimized library on the floor and brought it to its normal size. Now, there was another room connected to Merlin's- like a secret place where he and Gaius could work if need be.

The library doesn't just act as a place where he can read and research or the place that has hundreds of years' worth of knowledge gathered from all of his professions- in one place. It also has 21st-century hospital appliances and medicines stocked for emergencies.

Merlin also made some much-needed changes to the structure of the library- it now had a way out of the citadel and into the forest. If Merlin did save a sorcerer and could not help them escape through the obvious routes then as a last resort- he could bring them here.
He had a feeling that the library is going to be very useful in Camelot.

He exits the library and casts various protection and illusion charms on the entry point. To any other person, it's just another wall, even a magical being like Kilgharrah should not be able to see what lies beyond. No one will be able to enter unless the door detects his magic on them. So, pretty secure.
Last but not the least Merlin transforms his bed. It will look the same but feel like feathers- he even made it a bit wider... Just in case he ever brought someone back to his chambers for some…. Stress relief.

Merlin is shaken from his thoughts by a knock on his door and he makes his way out to see what Gaius needs.

As soon as Merlin exits his room, he comes in face to face with Gaius and then his eyes come to rest on someone behind the physician. The King stands near the door in all his regalia.
Merlin quickly bowed his head in deference and Gaius pointed to him,
"Sire, this is who I was telling you about. Merlin. He is my nephew and has my complete trust." Gaius says to the king and Uther looks at Merlin from top to bottom and "hmmms".

"How long have you been a Witchfinder, boy?" Merlin blinks, at a loss of what to say when he hears Gaius's voice in his head, 'Just go with it and try to channel your inner Aredian.'
Alright, then, thinks Merlin and breathes deeply.

He looks up at the King with an evil glint in his eye and says, "I don't think you care about 'how long' I have been a Witchfinder, sire, but 'how many' sorcerers I have actually caught?" Uther smiles at this, eyes glinting and sends an approving glance towards Gaius- coming closer to Merlin.

"Fine then. How many, Merlin." His name from the King's mouth sends a feeling of disgust down Merlin's spine. He had never wanted to hit someone so badly before- but for Destiny's sake he controlled his temper and on the outside, he smirked evilly and huffed.

"To be completely honest, sire, I have lost count but I will let you in on my most recent hunt. A few months ago, I scored my biggest prey yet... a dragon." Uther's eyes widened in surprise and he leaned forward to listen to Merlin and he continued, "I found him resting in the forest of Tir Mur- beyond Essetir." He stated, letting the proudness seep into his voice.

Uther looked like Yule had come early. Merlin had never seen him smile so wide. Even Gaius's eyebrows rose at the King's reaction.
Suddenly, the King controlled himself and cautiously asked Merlin a question.

"What colour, did you say, was the Dragon?"
Merlin let himself smile completely this time- Uther was trying to confirm Merlin's words. Not many knew that Camelot had had a dragon underneath it, even fewer had ever seen the Dragon. Thus, for Merlin to know the colour would confirm the truth in his words.
Merlin pauses for a second - as Aredian would have for effect- and then said,

"I didn't. But it was Golden, sire."

Uther turned on the mile-wide smile again and turned to Gaius with obvious glee.
"Your nephew makes you proud, Gaius." Gaius tried to smile at Uther's compliment but it came out as a grimace- Uther, thankfully had already turned back to Merlin, he came and put a hand on Merlin's shoulder and said,

"You have done Camelot a great service, Merlin. From now you will be known as Camelot's Witchfinder," Uther splayed his hands in the air as if broadcasting the 'witchfinder' title.
Merlin smiled and thanked the King.

The king sobered up again and said, "Your first most duty is to guard my son, Prince Arthur from any foreseeable harm. I won't put it past the magical community to harm my son now that he has come of age. Become his shadow, if you have to but- Keep. Him. Safe." Merlin bowed his head and then Uther started pacing the length of Gaius's chambers.

Stopping every other moment to tell Merlin what his duties included.

"And, I have my best men busy trying to capture the druids for information on this Kingdom." spat the King, continuing with, "and I already have news that they have caught some druids and are headed in Camelot's way, they will be here in a day's time…. We will know more after we have interrogated them."

Merlin swallowed and casted a brief glance in Gaius's direction. It was becoming difficult every second to hold in his temper. He had never hated anyone as much as he hated Uther at that moment.

The King turned to face Merlin again and spoke few last things,

"You will be paid heftily. If you require your own chambers- you will be given those and you will have full freedom to investigate anywhere and anyone. You can also employ an assistant that will help you with your search for those filthy magicians, but I want this Kingdom free of Magic as soon as possible." This was the last thing the King said before he left the chambers-still in good spirits, knowing that the Dragon was finally dead.

He and Gaius shared a loaded look but also a victorious smile and then Merlin retired to his chambers, tired. This day had proven to be more emotionally draining than he had expected.

Merlin sat on his bed, mulling over how he was going to handle his new position. He had already sent Kilgharrah a mental message to remain conspicuous whilst flying low and hunting. It won't do well for his cover if a Golden, hell any Dragon was seen flying and hunting.

He massaged his forehead and smiled, never a dull day in Camelot, eh. He laid his head on the pillow and slipped into a deep slumber, immediately.

Notes:

So, thoughts?