Chapter 2

Merlin, or rather Edmund in Merlin's body, finished telling Gaius all about this Narnia and he decided that they must tell Arthur, even if the man was likely not to be very happy about all this magic obviously at work. And so, the two found themselves hurrying down the halls towards the King's chambers. Arthur's chamber doors were open when they arrived and so they simply walked in. The sight that greeted them was quite surprising. Arthur was looking around the chambers warily and studiously avoiding the mirror, while Morgana, Alvina, and Gwen were furiously whispering near the table. They abruptly stopped as they noticed the two newcomers. Morgana looked very relieved and ran to Gaius and Edmund.

"Merlin! Thank God you're here. Something has happened to Arthur-"

"Actually My Lady, I do not think that's Merlin." Gaius said, interrupting her.

"Not Merlin? What do you mean?"

"When I woke him up he claimed to be some king named Edmund. He said he ruled a land called Narnia with his brother and two sisters but that they weren't married to each other." Throughout Gaius' explanation Arthur stopped looking around the room and looked at Edmund in Merlin's body. He walked a little closer and looked him in the eye.

"Ed?" He asked cautiously and Edmund looked at him.

"Do I know you? I am sorry, you do not look familiar." Arthur let out a sharp laugh.

"Nay, neither do you my brother."

"Peter?" Ed asked hopefully and Peter grinned.

"Aye." The two seemed to surge forward at the same time and pulled each other into a tight hug. As they pulled apart they started whispering conspiratorially.

"Pete, know you what happened? Last I remember Su coerced us into going on a picnic this day and then I had said goodnight to Ariela and fell to sleep. Next I am aware, I'm being awoken by that old man calling me Merlin."

"Near same thing has happened to me only the maidens called me Arthur."

"Arthur and Merlin...you don't think we're the Arthur and Merlin?!"

"You mean from the legends? Mayhap it's possible, if this is Camelot then I'd say so." A gentle cough pulled the two men from their private conversation and they noticed the other 4 people in the room looking at them curiously and only a little suspiciously. The two Kings immediately fell into the roles they had perfected since becoming royalty, Peter the strong negotiator and king, and Edmund his shadow who keeps his eyes and ears open to any secrets being shielded from his brother. Peter stepped forward and raised his hands in a placating manner.

"My apologies for our previous actions. We were simply surprised to awaken in an unknown land and in these strange bodies. None of you would happen to know how this came to pass?" When no suggestion came forward Peter plowed on.

"Well then my best guess would be that some sort of magic was used." As he said this the brown girl looked slightly frightened while the other three just looked slightly irritated.

"Why can the magical folk not just leave us alone? We haven't even hunted any down since Arthur took the throne." The queen said.

"I'm sure twas an accident; one of the dryads probably looked into magic a little out of their reach which resulted in this."

"Dryads?" The brunette lady asked.

"Surely you've seen dryads. They do not stray far outside their forests but you've got quite a large one right there." Peter said pointing out the window. Ed suddenly put a hand on Peter's shoulder and quietly whispered to him.

"Peter, I think not that magic is allowed hither, there would be no way for them to know what a dryad is."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because when you mentioned magic the queen looked frightened but she also said that they do not hunt the magical people down anymore, which goes to say that at one point they were hunted. They also seemed surprised when you said it is likely an accident."

"That explains how I feel."

"Indeed, like all that is magical energy has been bottled up and sucked away. And the life in the earth is slowly draining away." Peter nodded and turned back to the Camelotians.

"I believe we should clear up some things fore we continue talking. First let us re-introduce ourselves now that we've all calmed. My name is Peter Pevensie, and this is my brother Edmund." The queen stepped up first.

"My name is Guinevere Pendragon, Queen of Camelot." The two men bowed and turned to the next lady.

"Lady Morgana Pendragon, and this is my maidservant and friend Alvina." She said with a gesture to the black haired, pale girl next to her.

"I am Gaius, the Court Physician, My Lords." He said and bowed.

"Pleasure to meet you all. Now I believe we should start discussing a solution for this problem we find ourselves in, if we all have the time."

"Of course, first I must return to the council and tell them to reschedule. They won't be very happy but we can't continue until our king is back." Guinevere said.

"As you will, I suppose we will wait hither until your return."

"Alvina would you mind getting food for the six of us and we will talk when I return." After confirmation from Alvina, she swept from the room and the other four took up various positions around the room to wait for the queen to return.

Oreius and Arthur quickly traversed the halls of Cair Paravel until they found their way to King Edmund's chambers. They entered and Arthur saw a beaver talking to the man who was obviously the King only he looked slightly frightened and he was leaning away from the talking beaver. As the beaver noticed the two additions to the room he turned around and looked relieved when he saw the two.

"Bless Aslan. Your Majesty, Oreius, something is wrong with the King. He seems to believe he is someone called Merlin." At that Arthur looked towards the boy excitedly, and while he did not look much like his manservant besides the dark hair, Arthur felt like it was truly him.

"Merlin?"

"Who are you, some other magical creature?" Merlin asked suspiciously but no longer shying away.

"Merlin, even you're smarter than to suggest that I could possibly be magical." Merlin perked up at the special way that Arthur said his name.

"Arthur?"

"Of course, idiot."

"Prat." The two magical beings watched their kings with a growing sense of unease.

"Perchance they are just confused. They did hit each other in the head quite hard while sparring yesterday." Mr. Beaver offered hopefully.

"I think that is not the case. We should bring them to Queen Susan or Lady Ariela." Oreius suggested and Mr. Beaver nodded in agreement. Oreius stamped his front hooves which caught the attention of the two humans who looked warily at the magical creatures.

"My lords, if you would follow us. We believe that something is wrong and Lady Ariela or Queen Susan should be able to determine the truth." The blonde one looked even more suspicious.

"Why should we follow you? You could easily be leading us into a deadly trap." Oreius looked positively offended at that.

"My liege, I would never seek to harm you. You know you have our full loyalty." Arthur looked slightly better but kept his sword close to him, and whispered something to Merlin.

"Very well lead us to these women." The Narnians nodded and entered the halls once more in search of their royalty. They didn't have to go far before they saw Lady Ariela traveling in their direction accompanied by Mrs. Beaver and the dryad Willow. When she saw the quartet she smiled, specifically at who she thought was Edmund.

"Ed. It is good to see you art finally up, for awhile there I thought I would have to tell Susan that you were late, and you know how she hates it when anyone is late." She went to loop her arm around his but he pulled away. She looked at him slightly hurt and more than a bit confused.

"Edmund, are you of good health?" Mr. Beaver answered for him.

"Ariela, I'm afraid neither Edmund nor Peter are in their right frame of mind."

"What do you mean?" She asked staring cautiously at the two men she considered family.

"Well, they seem to believe that they are two men called Merlin and Arthur, from a place called Camelot."

"Impossible." She whispered to herself, while thinking of the legend her fiance told her about two such men.

"Willow, Mrs. Beaver, find the queens and tell them that we must cancel our picnic. Tell them to come to the council room right away and that I'll explain everything there. Oreius, summon the council members for an immediate meeting. And Mr. Beaver keep an eye on the men and follow me." The Narnians all immediately bowed and followed their orders as quickly as possible.