Yay! an update! I have class in 10 minutes but I am updating, Sorry it took longer than normal to update, may be awhile again but I will aim for Saturday or Sunday.

So just incase y'all forgot what last happened in the flashbacks here's a quick recap-

Richard saved Merlin and helped him, Hunith, and Sir Mathew escape. Merlin tried to run back to Aria but finally realized the truth of the situation. (and if you missed the change I made I'll tell you again, I changed it so Merlin was 13 at the time of the fall of Aria). Now enjoy the story and the return of the flashbacks!

*Merlin POV*

When Merlin stepped out of his room he noticed that two castle guards had replaced the knights. As he began walking down the hall, the two fell in step behind him and Andrew. Merlin's stomach grumbled and he realized that he had forgotten to eat breakfast.

"The men you arrived with yesterday are waiting in the private dining room if you wish to join them for breakfast, Sire." Andrew said, hearing the grumble. Merlin blushed slightly but nodded, quickly rerouting himself. Two right turns and one left turn later he arrived at the doors of the private dining room that he and his family used to dine in.

The doors were hanging open and Merlin grinned widely at the view that greeted him. His friends were all surrounding Percival and Owen who were arm wrestling. The Knights of Camelot were cheering on Percival while the Arian Knights cheered on a straining Owen. Percival was obviously winning the match, his bare arms allowing everyone to see the bulging muscles as he slowly defeated the other Knight. Owen pushed back as hard as he could but everyone could see how much he was straining while Percival was smirking. Richard was simply watching in disapproval though Merlin could see a glint of amusement in his eyes. A cheer broke out among the Camelotians as Percival slammed Sir Owen's arm into the table.

"I could have warned you about that Sir Owen." Merlin called, entering the room and making his way to his chair, the one at the head of the table. The Knight grumbled and rubbed his sore arm, saying nothing.

"Good morning Sire." Richard greeted, nodding at him "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thank you Richard. Did you?"

"Yes Sire, I went to sleep with the aim of waking up in a few hours, I accidentally slept most of the night."

"Well then, I'm glad you got rest." Merlin took his seat and servants quickly entered, laying out platters of food and filling goblets. The servants disappeared and the group began dishing the food onto plates, eggs, bacon, and fruit piled high on each plate. Percival, Gwaine, and Owen seemed to be having a competition to see who could get the most food on their plate. Merlin chuckled as he served himself a small helping of eggs and a piece of bacon. Richard looked over and frowned.

"You need to need to eat more than that sire." He said, calling the attention of the others to Merlin's meager plate.

"Is it even possible to eat that little and survive?!" James asked, incredulous.

"I'm not sure." Answered his twin doubtfully. Merlin rolled his eyes and huffed.

"This is a perfectly normal amount of food, you all are just beasts that eat everything in sight." He said, and Leon shook his head.

"We may eat a lot Merlin but even Gwen doesn't eat that little," he said, looking doubtfully at the ex-servant.

"Is that why you're so skinny? Did they not feed you in Camelot?!" asked Owen angrily. Elyan glared at him.

"He could have eaten if he chose, Arthur certainly didn't stop him." He shot back and Owen turned to him, glaring.

"It wasn't anyone's fault," Merlin said, stopping Owen from starting a fight "I just never had time to eat a lot I guess" Merlin shrugged. "between being Arthur's servant, helping Gaius, and protecting Camelot I never had much time for eating and sleeping." Owen scowled and Richard's expression softened in understanding and Merlin knew that the large knight understood being too busy to care for one's self.

"Well you have plenty of time for that now sire, it wouldn't do for you to collapse in the middle of the council meeting today." He said, giving his king a pointed look and Merlin sighed in resignation as he piled more eggs onto his plate and put a second piece of bacon on. Richard nodded in satisfaction and the group began eating. It was relaxing, Merlin realized, to sit at breakfast with his friends and just eat and laugh, telling stories to one another. Merlin could be himself, at one point using his magic to pull Gwaine's chair out from under him after a particularly embarrassing joke at Merlin's expense. All too soon, however, a servant knocked on the doors to the small dining hall.

"Enter," Merlin called and a servant entered, bowing towards Merlin. "Yes?" Merlin asked kindly, trying not to scare the servant.

"Forgive the interruption sire but the Council requests yours and Sir Richard's presence in the Council Chambers."

"Of course," Merlin said, rising from his seat and everyone at the table did the same. "Tell them I will be right there."

"Yes, my lord." The servant said, bowing once again, before leaving the room to deliver the message.

"I will meet you in the Council Chambers sire," Richard said, giving a short bow, and leaving once Merlin had nodded his consent.

"You all are free to wander the castle if you wish or rest, tomorrow I expect my knights to begin training again and of course you all are welcome to join them." He said, looking at the Knights of Camelot. They all nodded and began filing out of the room.

As the knights began to walk out of the room Merlin spotted Nathan.

"Nathan, can I talk to you?" he asked and the knight nodded, making his way to the young King.

"How can I help you sire?" he asked, smiling at him.

Merlin rolled his eyes "First of all, stop calling me sire." The knight simply grinned at him in response "I need a favor, and of course you can turn me down if you want to." Nathan's face turned serious.

"Whatever you need Merlin, I am happy to help with."

"I need you to take the Knights of Camelot to the tavern tonight." He blurted out and Nathan looked at him in bewilderment.

"Why?"

"The others don't trust them, many of them hate them, perhaps if they got to know them better they would be more open to them." He reasoned and Nathan nodded in agreement.

"Ok, I'd be happy to. I've wanted to see Gwaine at a tavern for a while now." He replied, grinning widely again. Merlin groaned in response.

"He and Owen will make an interesting pair." The young warlock said, groaning again at the thought of the aftermath of the two at a tavern for a night. Nathan simply laughed loudly.

"Don't worry sire, I'll make sure Sir Richard and I keep them at least mildly in check, I suspect Sir Leon will help as well." Merlin sighed but nodded.

"Just- Just make sure they don't destroy the tavern completely I have enough to deal with right now." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"I'll try but I am making no promises." Nathan answered.

"I guess I'll take that, now, if you'll excuse me I need to meet with the council." He said, sobering up.

"Good luck Merlin." Nathan said, putting a hand on Merlin's shoulder in a show of support. Merlin smiled weakly at his friend in gratitude before leaving the dining chambers. He could feel his anxiety rising in him the closer he got to the council chambers.

The noblemen around the table rose as he entered, bowing. He nodded at them in return as he made his way to the head of the table, and stepped in front of his seat but did not sit. He motioned for the council to sit and they did, Richard nodding to him as a means of support.

"I am sure all of you have many questions and hopefully I will answer them all today with the tale I will tell you, though I warn you it is a long and complicated one, we may be in here all day if I am to tell you everything." The nobles nodded, signaling their agreement and Merlin began his story once again.

*Flashback*
"My Prince." Sir Mathew's voice cut softly into Merlin's sobs "we have to keep moving." Merlin wiped his tears away and nodded shakily. With the help of Sir Mathew, he rose to his feet.

"Where are we going?" he asked, trying to portray an air of strength but his shaky voice gave away his fear.

"Ealdor." His mother replied, her voice soft "Where my brothers and I grew up."

"We are going to pose as a family." Mathew added and Merlin hesitated but nodded, he would allow Mathew to pose as his father, if it meant keeping his mother safe, besides it would surely only be for a short while.

"We have to go before your uncle's men find us." Mathew said, but then a voice rang out from the woods.

"Too late," it said and they turned to see a soldier clad in black, the crest on his cuirass that of Merlin's Uncle. A large blood red tree, the branches looked like the roots of the tree while the roots sprouted swords that dripped with more red, giving the appearance that the entire crest was soaked in blood. The man's face was lit up by a malicious grin.

"The king will be pleased when I bring him his nephew and dearest Sister-in-Law" he sneered, drawing his sword.

"That scum is not a King!" Sir Mathew growled, drawing his own weapon. "He is nothing but a coward." The knight spit at the ground to show exactly what he thought of Merlin's uncle. Before the two could fight however there was the sound of another blade being drawn. A split second later the tip of a sword protruded from the enemy soldier's chest. The man looked down in shock as he began coughing and blood sputtered out of his mouth. He dropped to his knees and fell face forward, revealing an Arian Knight, he quickly stepped forward and yanked the sword out of the fallen soldier's back before sheathing the weapon.

Sir Mathew breathed a sigh of relief as he lowered his sword. He recognized the man as Sir Dylan, a knight who had only been sworn in a few days ago. The two met in the middle of the clearing and clasped arms, but to Mathew's confusion, the young man's face suddenly turned into a sneer. He gasped in pain as suddenly a dagger plunged into his stomach, the other knight twisted the blade, causing more damage. Mathew grasped at the wound as Dylan yanked out the dagger and shoved him out of the way. He stepped past the dying knight to get to the prince, pulling his sword out of its sheath once again. A hand wrapped around his ankle and the knight looked down in confusion to see the wounded Mathew struggling to keep him back from the prince.

"Just die!" he growled, shaking the man's hand off and crushing it with his boot, grinning at the sickening crack that filled the air as the fallen knight screamed in agony. Sir Mathew watched helplessly as the traitorous knight walked toward the prince, sword at the ready. Sir Mathew managed to drag himself to his feet, his broken hand cradled his wound while the other held his sword. He sent up a quick prayer to the triple goddess and silently thanked Sir Richard for making him practice with his non-dominant hand as well. Mathew stumbled forward just as the traitor plunged his blade into the prince's side, who was trying to flee the man. The boy fell to the ground, crying out in pain.

"NO!" Mathew roared, swinging his sword wildly at the other man, bringing it down on his neck, Dylan fell to the ground choking as blood spurted from his throat. The queen ran over to her son, cradling him in her lap, his blood staining her dress. Mathew collapsed to his knees, his broken hand still holding his wound and let his blood-soaked sword fall to the ground. He hung his head in shame, he had failed. He was going to die a failure. He had failed in his duties. The prince was going to die and Aria would remain fallen, and it was his fault. He was glad at the pain he was in, he deserved it. Tears fell from his eyes, his vision started to fade to black, it was over.

*End Flashback*

Merlin finished the tale of how he reached Ealdor and continued as he told the Noblemen about his journey to Camelot and all the things that happened to him while he was there. When he revealed that he was Emrys the noblemen gasped in shock and one of them rose to his feet.

"Surely you cannot be serious! Emrys is just a fairytale, something parents tell their children to help them sleep at night!"

"You do not have to believe me, Lord Fredrick, you do not have to believe any of what I say, though if you want to prove it ask a druid to identify me, they will confirm what I say." After a moment of silence, Merlin continued. His story lasted long into the day, servant brought them a midday meal and cleared it out and Merlin continued. The sun was setting when Merlin finally finished his story, leaving the stunned and awed men staring at him in silence.

"King Balinor is dead." Stated Lord Malcolm, rising from his seat. "Long Live King Merlin." The other lords quickly rose from their seats, Richard joining them. And one by one they each spoke, repeating Lord Malcolm.

"Long Live King Merlin."

-Line break-Yay I get attention!-Line Break-Am I a break for the line or is the line breaking?-

Later that night, having agreed to meet with the council again tomorrow Merlin walked to his chambers, his two guards behind him. Merlin entered the room and was pleased to see Andrew already there, waiting for him.

"Andrew!" he said, grinning at the servant. The servant looked at him in confusion.

"Evening Sire," he greeted, bowing. Merlin sighed.

"I told you, Andrew, call me Merlin and please, no bowing."

"Sorry."

"It's fine, I expect it to take a few days, maybe weeks, but you'll get used to it." He said waving him off, his face quickly turned serious, however.

"I need a favor Andrew, I need you to get some things for me and you can't tell anyone, will you help me?" he asked, and the puzzled servant nodded.

"Good, I need a black cloak and a rope, a long one, I'll explain why once you get back with those items." Andrew reluctantly nodded and left, while Andrew was gone Merlin quickly changed into more plain clothes, a few more sets of clothes had arrived during the day, one set being a plain black tunic and brown pants. Andrew returned a few minutes later with the requested items.

"Great," he said, taking the rope from him and tying one end of it to the bed post.

''Si-Merlin what are you doing?" the servant asked in bewilderment.

"I'm going out and I don't need anyone knowing or coming with me." He answered, lowering the rope out the window after ensuring that no one was in the court yard below.

"You're leaving the castle?!" Andrew yelled, horrified at the thought. "But you are our Prince you can't simply sneak out of the castle!" Merlin sighed, he knew the servant would panic.

"I need to, I have something I need to do, you do not need to be worried about me, I can take care of myself." The servant still looked nervous and Merlin ran a hand through his hair, sighing again. "I'll be back in a few hours, I will be perfectly safe." Andrew nodded doubtfully and Merlin pulled the cloak tightly around his shoulders, pulling the hood over his head so he was unrecognizable. "Once I'm gone leave my chamber and don't mention anything to the guards." He said and the servant nodded again.

"Just, be safe." He said, his voice filled with anxiety.

"I will be" Merlin replied, beginning to climb out the window, Andrew watched anxiously as he climbed down, slight relief flickering across his face when Merlin reached the bottom unharmed. Merlin snuck through the courtyard and found himself stuck at the gates that lead to the city, two guards at the gates, making it so he would be unable to leave unnoticed. Merlin hid in a corner that was out of view from the guards, though he could still see and hear them.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and a barrel that was nearby tipped over and rolled away. The guards looked at each other, puzzled.

"Is-is someone trying to distract us?" asked one uncertainly Both guards quickly scanned the courtyard behind them.

"I-I'm not sure" answered the other "Surely they didn't think us that stupid?"

Merlin frowned, it never occurred to him what he would do if they didn't fall for it, the guards in Camelot always fell for it. Perhaps Merlin should have a talk with Arthur about the training of the guards in Camelot. Merlin thought quickly, the men were now on high alert, a simple distraction obviously wasn't going to work. He remembered a spell from his spell book that may help but he still hadn't mastered it. It was an invisibility spell, he had tried it many times but still had never noticed any effect.

"Dunnian æt mec"

The familiar warmth of his magic overtook him and he felt it settle over him. Looking down at himself he sighed in disappointment when he could still see himself. Confusion soon overwhelmed the disappointment, he had felt his magic take effect, perhaps he was invisible to others but not to himself. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the shadows, the guards didn't react. Walking closer Merlin watched the guards warily, they still didn't react, even as he got next to them. He slipped past them and continued walking only letting himself breathe when he was out of sight.

"Ætíewan æt mec" Merlin chanted, his eyes flashing gold and once again the warmth of his magic washed over him again and he knew that he was once again visible.

Merlin slipped into the tavern unnoticed, and sat at a table in the corner, covered in shadows. In the center of the tavern, several of Merlin's knights were sitting at a group of large tables, there were about 10 knights, laughing and drinking. It seemed that Merlin had arrived before Nathan and the others, meaning he would get to see everything. A few minutes after the barmaid had come to his table and asked what he wanted Merlin placed his order and the maid left. A few minutes after he was given his drink the door opened and Nathan walked in, Owen right beside him. The Arian knights cheered in greeting at the sight of them and Nathan turned to the still open door and said something, a second later Gwaine entered and the tavern went silent, the other Camelot knights entered after them, the twins and Richard filing in at the end. One of the drunker Arian knights rose to his feet.

"We don't want them here." He said angrily, gripping his sword "Aria does not welcome murderers." He said, spitting at the ground when he finished. The entire room was dead silent, everyone, including Merlin ready for a fight.

"The Prince accepts them, would you really question the word of your future king?" Nathan asked calmly, taking a step forward. "Furthermore, if we judge them without getting to know them, without hearing their voice, their opinion, how are we any better than the ones you hate so much?" He questioned. "I and my friends, your friends, have been traveling with them for two weeks now, we have accepted them, but I am not asking you to accept them, I am asking you to give them a chance."

The angry knight seemed to calm down but was still drunk and said nothing, instead another knight stood, it was Sir Alaric.

"He's right, we need to give them a chance." He said and, still somewhat reluctant, the Arian knights made room for the newcomers. It was tense and no one really spoke, though some of the Arian knights whispered to their companions, the Knights of Camelot acted as if they didn't notice and merely chatted amongst themselves. The barmaid cautiously approached the group.

"What-what can I get you?" she stammered. Gwaine grinned at her.

"Well if you don't mind beautiful, I'd love the best mead you have." He said in his most flirtatious voice. The maid blushed and giggled. The others ordered the same but the entire time she continued to shoot Gwaine looks of curiosity, Gwaine easily met them with a flirtatious smile each time, making her giggle even more. Finally, the girl left, shooting one more glance at Gwaine. The Arian knights were staring at the brunet in shock.

"How did you do that?" questioned one, who Merlin recognized as Sir Bryce from the night before. "We've been trying to flirt with her for ages but she always brushes us off." Gwaine grinned at him and waggled his eyebrows.

"It's the way you say it, my friend." He said and the other knight frowned slightly at the term 'friend' "I could give a tip of two if you'd like?" he said. Merlin was grateful that Gwaine had so much experience making people like him, he had hoped the man would be able to break the ice and it appeared Merlin was correct in his hopes when the man nodded, scooting closer to the roughish knight. Soon the drinks had arrived and conversation was flowing. Gwaine began telling his many tavern stories while some of Merlin's knights cleared a table for arm wrestling, all of them wanting to test Percival, Owen watched them fail one by one with growing satisfaction. When Merlin finally decided it was time to leave Gwaine was flirting with the barmaid, who was now in his lap and giggling as she twirled her hair around her finger, Percival was arm wrestling the 8th knight who had challenged him and the others were either laughing and telling stories or gambling. Satisfied that his men had accepted his friends and nothing would go wrong, Merlin slipped into the night, missing the hate filled glares that followed the Knights of Camelot every move.

*Nathan POV*

Nathan said nothing as his King slipped out the door of the tavern and into the night. He had been perfectly aware of the young royal throughout the night, could feel his eyes on him. He had said nothing because it was obvious that the young royal wished to hide his identity, part of him wanted to follow his king, wanting to ensure that man's safety but he held himself back. Eyes shifting to Gwaine the man shot him a knowing look and Nathan knew that the Knight of Camelot had been highly aware of his friend and was feeling the same protectiveness as Nathan was. Nathan let his eyes wander through the tavern, skipping over the three drunken knights in the corner, talking to one another.

*Unknown POV*

"Look at him." Growled one of them "how dare he have her in his lap! She is a good Arian woman and should not be soiled by Camelot filth, how can she let him do that?" One of the other knights with him nodded in agreement.

"The blond one is so pretentious too, acting superior to everyone." He grumbled, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"We should do something about them" hiccupped the third, gripping the ale in his hand angrily. A voice wafted over to the group.

"Next time we should bring Merlin!" called the brown-haired knight, the maid still in his lap. The knights around him stared at him in shock while the three at the table gaped in anger.

"How dare you?!" roared one of them, rising from his seat and swaying as he walked over to the larger group. "How -hic- dare you call our-hic- prince by his first name! You drunken cur!" he said, coming closer, hand on the hilt of his sword. Everyone in the tavern was tense at this point and Gwaine silently eased the girl off his lap, standing up. "and how -hic- dare you suggest he come to a tavern. You don't even deserve to breath Arian air, let alone sit with our prince!" he yelled, finally drawing his sword. The Camelot knight drew his sword as well, most of the tavern following suit. The other patrons cowered behind tables and chairs as everyone else drew their weapons, readying for a fight.

"Now listen mate," Gwaine said, holding his sword in front of him, though his voice was placating. "I don't want to fight." He said, trying to get the man to calm down.

"There's no reason to attack them, they have come to aid us in this war." Richard said, walking towards the man, no weapon drawn. The man, in his drunken state, didn't recognize Richard and lunged at him. Nathan watched in horror but was too far away to stop it as the man's blade plunged into Richard's side. The head knight grunted and pushed the man back, the force of his shove making the man fly into the tables behind him. Richard collapse to the ground and Percival caught him on the way down, preventing further injury. Two of the Arian knights quickly grabbed the attacker and yanked him to his feet, pinning his arms behind him.

"Let me go you bastards!" he hollered tugging against the men's grip but as drunk as he was the knights didn't even need to struggle to hold him. He continued to fight and holler until someone got tired of it and knocked him across the back of his skull with the pommel of their sword, knocking him out.

Nathan ran to Richard and dropped to one knee beside the fallen knight. The older man groaned in pain as he pulled the sword from the wound, immediately placing a rag over the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Come on Richard." Said Nathan. "No way are you getting killed by some drunk after all we've been through," he said, pressing down on the rag.

"I'm not going to die from something like this little one, you've seen the wounds I've suffered, do you really think this will kill me?" panted Richard, struggling to stay awake.

"I knew you were too stubborn old man." Said Owen, coming up on the other side.

"I'm not old Sir Owen and you're just as stubborn as me." He shot back and the blond chuckled.

"Right you are Richard, right you are." He said, and once the bleeding stopped he and Nathan helped the older knight to his feet.

"Take him to the dungeon," Nathan ordered the two knights who were holding the unconscious attacker, glaring at the man Nathan continued. "Make sure you put him in chains." The knights nodded before dragging him off.

"Here let me help," Percival said, coming up beside Nathan and, recognizing that the larger knight would be helpful, Nathan stepped aside, allowing Percival to take his place. Nathan cleared the way of tables and chairs as they walked to the door. Half carrying Richard they finally made it back to the castle and took him to the infirmary. After leaving the head knight, Nathan made his way to his chambers, exhausted. As he collapsed into bed and began to drift off it occurred to him that he would have to tell his young king about the head knight's wounds, he just hoped the man didn't blame himself for leaving too early.

Ok, so with that flashback I forgot the majority of that scene so I surprised myself with that and broke my own heart...

Sorry for hurting Richard again. Please review! also what do y'all think of Nathan?