And finally the chapter you've all been waiting for :)

CHAPTER 8
The Return of the Royal Prat

The weather outside was crazy. Merlin could hear the wind and storm and the heavy rain in the distance, but it looked as if Glastonbury and the lake have been spared. He didn't understand what was happening, even the clouds looked unusual when he looked up to the sky.

They looked like storm clouds, but they were pure white. He couldn't see stars though, something he had hoped he would be able to stare at.

And the most weird and maybe a little bit scary thing of it all was that Merlin didn't feel afraid. He felt calm and excited and he had no idea why. He should feel afraid. He heard voices in his head, all around him was a huge storm except for the place he lived in, and he was walking away from his home in the middle of the night.

But something was urging him to go to that lake. There was something about that mysterious body of water that kept him wondering whether it had meant something to him in the past. There was something he could not quite put his finger on, but it was there. In the back of his mind.

He kept going forward. He crossed the road where the car hit him, he walked up and down a little hill until he found himself by the trees beside the lake. And though the tiny forest looked tempting, he avoided it and kept going straight to the water.

Merlin found himself on the shore and he didn't stop until the water was up to his knees. The water was cold, but he didn't want to leave. It felt as if he was supposed to wait for something, and so he did.

And then he saw a lighting. A single silver bolt, hitting the Glastonbury Tor on the little island, and then it was gone. The rain seemed to start going away and the clouds that had gathered up in the sky started moving away from the lake in all directions. Merlin was looking up at them, wondering if it was his magic or perhaps something stronger, something like destiny.

He almost winced when a wave hit his thighs. He looked back at the lake and his eyes widened. The waves were coming from a dark figure that was standing right in the middle of the lake. Merlin couldn't see his face, but his hair was illuminated by the moon that was now visible on the sky.

The person had blonde hair, Merlin was almost certain of that. And his clothes were glistening as if they were made of metal.

No, it couldn't be him.

Merlin's eyes got even bigger as he realized who he was looking at. As the man in the water was coming closer to him, he could see his gold hair and an armour.

It was the man from his dreams! The man Merlin was trying to reach for so long, someone he was running after and couldn't get to him until now. And for the first time, he could finally see his face, his eyes and nose and full pink lips, smiling at him.

Why was he smiling?

Merlin didn't know that man. He only saw him in his dreams, and he was never sure if he was someone from his life or just a made up character. But at this moment, the fact that he was going through the water towards Merlin, was proof of his existence.

A sob broke though Merlin's chest and he realized he was crying. The man in the water was almost beside him now and he was looking into Merlin's eyes with a ridiculously happy smile on his face. As Merlin was looking at that smile, he couldn't help but to form a smile of his own. But the tears kept streaming down his cheeks and the person frowned, confusion all over his face.

"Merlin?" The man asked, now standing right in front of him.

And in the next moment, Merlin's arms were wrapped tightly around the man's broad shoulders, almost trying to suffocate him with the embrace. And Merlin cried and he couldn't stop, and he didn't know why.

A hand appeared on his back as the man hugged him back and took a deep breath.

Merlin had no idea what he was doing, but for some reason his body and mind knew this was right. And then there was this tiny little voice that was telling Merlin the name of the man. Because he knew who he was, didn't he? He knew who he was holding on to. The name of the man of legends.

"Merlin?" The man cleared his throat and patted his shoulder awkwardly. "You can stop crying now. What's happened?" He asked as he let go of Merlin completely and waited for his friend to do the same.

Merlin slowly let go and took a step back, confusion and fear all over his face, which made Arthur frown again. "Are you Arthur Pendragon? The Once and Future king?"

Wow, what a great start. Well done, Merlin.

"What do you mean?" The man raised his eyebrows at him. "This is not a time for your stupid jokes, Merlin. Where am I and how did I get here? Can you answer that?"

"I can't." Merlin told him. He was so glad the sobbing had stopped and the loud rain had too.

"What do you mean you can-"

"I don't remember, sorry." Merlin quickly explained and returned to his former question. "Are you Arthur?" He just had to know who he was talking to here.

The man closed closed his eyes briefly and bowed his head, as if thinking about what to say or what to ask. Then he looked straight at Merlin and there was a slight frown on his forehead. "Merlin. Let me explain myself. The last thing I remember is that I was lying on the ground and you were... holding me, and then suddenly I'm soaking wet, I'm cold and you're crying on the shore. I need an explanation!" He looked behind Merlin and his eyes got bigger. "Oh and the forests are missing, care to explain that?"

"Wow, you really are a clotpole," Merlin mumbled as he remembered the strange insult-like word he recovered from his memory. "Let my explain myself too then." He began, mimicking Arthur's posture. "The last thing I remember is that I woke up in the hospital, with no memories at all and I still don't know who I am and then I wake up in the middle of the night and go out here for no good reason, only to meet a prat like you who apparently went for a late night swim or something. Care to explain that?"

As the man – Arthur most likely – was staring at him, Merlin slowly touched his cheek to confirm that yes, he was indeed still crying. He turned back to Arthur who was still speechless. "I really should get this under control somehow, I seem to start crying in certain situations and I don't have a clue why."

When Arthur still wasn't saying anything, Merlin looked up at him again. And as Arthur opened his mouth and was just about to reply, Merlin cut him off. "So you are Arthur, then."

"Yes, I am the king Arthur Pendragon." Arthur said. "And you're still a cheeky idiotic servant."

"Whoa, wait," Merlin snorted. "I would never be a servant to such an ass," he said. And then, as if by a switch somewhere in his mind, he grew serious again. "Look, it's apparent that we're both very confused. I already figured out that I'm Merlin and I'd love to talk about that with you a little bit more, but it's cold and about three in the morning so I'd rather do that inside my house."

"You own a house?" Arthur asked, probably agreeing on putting an end to the argument.

"A big one, yes." Merlin grinned. He gestured for Arthur to follow him and turned around, walking back to his house. "Also, sorry for the hug. I didn't know I was a.. hug person, I just sort of felt it was the right thing to do at the moment."

"You always think too much and you're usually wrong." Arthur mumbled. "So what's with the forest?" He asked again, and when he glanced back and noticed the Tor, he expanded his question, "and how come the Tower is shorter now? What on Earth did you do to make me come back to life?"

"This is probably going to be a little shock for you, but..." Merlin stopped and gritted his teeth as he turned to face the king again. "The year is 2016."

"What?!" The expression on Arthur's face was indescribable, but a great part of it was shock and disbelief. "Remember what I told you about trying to be funny?"

"Not really, but I'm not trying to be funny." Merlin rolled his eyes. He felt he was going to do that more often from now on. "This is not a joke."

Arthur was silent for a while and when he spoke again, his voice was full of panic. "Well then how come you're still here? How come you're not dead just like I was supposed to be?"

"I haven't really thought about that, I just assumed I'm immortal or something. You know, magic and all that."

And then suddenly Arthur's face went blank as he was staring into his eyes. He must have completely forgotten about the magic part, but that was obvious. He probably couldn't remember much, but he would soon remember more from his last day.

Wait, how did Merlin know he revealed his magic to Arthur on his last day?

"Come on, let's get you dry," he tried to make Arthur present again by gently nudging his arm. Arthur just nodded and let Merlin take him back to his house. Thank god he had a whole empty room, now he knew whom that room was supposed to be for! It must have been Arthur!

So Agatha was right, he was simply waiting for someone.

And as always (although Merlin didn't know that), he started talking.

"To be honest I had no idea you'd be coming back so soon." He started and got immediately cut off by Arthur.

"Soon? Merlin, it's the future! It's been literally over a thousand years!" Arthur went silent after that and added quietly. "I can't even... I can't believe all our friends are dead. Have been for so long." He bowed his wet head as he followed Merlin, the cold water dripping from his hair.

Merlin paused and turned around to face him again. They were almost by the road in front of his house already.

"I'm so sorry about that," he said calmly and honestly. "I don't remember any of them, to be honest I don't remember anything, but the doctor said I should remember if I talk to someone who knew me." Merlin smiled slightly at Arthur who looked up at him. He nodded in encouragement. "I know it must hurt a great deal and once I remember it will probably hurt even more, but for now, let's just get to bed."

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes, nodding. "You still talk too much." He added in a silent chuckle and Merlin couldn't help but smirk as he turned around and led Arthur across the road.

Only a few minutes with Arthur, and he already knew something new about himself. The doctor was right, remembering his past will be so much easier with Arthur by his side now.

"What on Earth, is that?" Merlin heard Arthur's confused and scared voice behind him, followed by the sound of his sword being unsheathed.

Merlin quickly turned around to see two lights in the distance, quickly getting closer to them – a car. Who could that be? As he looked over at Arthur, he noticed it wasn't actually his sword but his dagger, but he didn't have time to think about where that sword had gone, he had to calm Arthur down.

"Hey, it's alright!"

"What kind of sorcery is this?" Arthur yelled in panic and Merlin quickly made his way in front of him, blocking Arthur's view of the car. Thank god they weren't standing on the road anymore.

"Arthur, hey! Arthur, look at me!" He raised his voice and once their eyes met, he tried to reassure Arthur with a smile. "Remember... uh, remember horses? Well, we use those things to travel now, it's nothing unusual in this century." He explained, but Arthur's eyes were still filled with panic.

"But... b-but..."

Merlin gently took Arthur's forearm that was holding the dagger and put it away, letting his other hand rest on Arthur's shoulder. Now he had Arthur's complete attention. "It's a little more complicated to explain, but I promise I'll try later, okay? But there is really nothing to be scared of, it's just a new kind of... horse."

The look Arthur gave Merlin was one of annoyance. "You don't have to talk to me as if I were a child, Merlin." He frowned. "I'm not scared."

"Oh really," Merlin smirked and let go of Arthur. "Well, then what was that dagger doing in your hand? I guess it just jumped in there on its own, didn't it?"

Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin and wanted to reply with something just as witty and rude, but in the meantime, the car was already stopping right next to them and the window was opening.

"Merlin?" A blonde girl smiled up at them and Merlin immediately smiled back. Then the smile turned into a frown.

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" He asked?

"Well, hi to you too!" Ag smirked. "Yes, I'm alright and the storm didn't hurt me on my way here from Bristol, thanks for asking. Also, you forgot to introduce me to that handsome man standing next to you." She turned to Arthur and waved her hand. "Hello!"

Arthur's face stayed blank when Agatha was talking, then he tried to mimic the gesture with his hand and added a nervous half-smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady."

Agatha blushed and chuckled. Then she looked over at Merlin, who was already sighing and smiling as well. "Hi, Ag." Merlin greeted and then glanced at Arthur. "This is... well, that's Arthur."

Agatha's eyebrows got so high that she could easily beat Gaius in a raise-your-eyebrow competition, and her eyes widened as she was staring at Arthur. "Th-that's... that's him?" She stuttered and finally got out of her car. "So that was all the storm and rain and lightning about?"

Merlin shrugged. "I guess so. It woke me up in the middle of the night and kind of made me walk all the way to the lake, where Arthur appeared."

"So the storm should disappear soon." She nodded slightly. "My sister called me, she's in Australia on holiday and she said the storm was so big that they were talking about it on the news."

"Really?" Merlin asked. "So now everyone knows there's something going on about here?"

"I don't think so, they tried to brush it off, saying it was natural."

"Yeah, as if." Merlin shook his head and turned back to Arthur, who seemed to be completely lost in the conversation. That was the reason Merlin decided to spare his brain and hopefully prevent permanent damage by thinking too much, and save the conversation for the morning.

"I don't even know what time it is, but let's go back to sleep," Merlin suggested. Both Arthur and Agatha nodded, and after Agatha drove the car closer to the house and locked it, they all went inside.

Now the real problem arose. They only had two beds in the house, the one in Merlin's room and the one in Arthur's empty room. The one in Arthur's room took Ag because Arthur refused to let her sleep on the couch in the living room, and that meant only one thing – Arthur and Merlin had to share.

Before that though, Arthur had to dry his hair, get new clothes and the armour off his body. And that was what Merlin was there for.

As soon as Agatha closed the door to her room and said good night to them, they made their way over to the bathroom. Merlin closed the door behind them and, not really knowing what to do, opened them again and went out.

"I'll go find some new clothes for you," he mumbled as he quickly left and entered his room, looking over to the closets. He opened them every day of course, but he didn't remember if there were some shirts that would fit Arthur. His shoulders were broad whereas Merlin was a little more lanky.

He sighed and grabbed something that looked like sleeping trousers and a simple white t-shirt. Then he made his way back to the bathroom.

Merlin immediately had to bite down his lips so he wouldn't laugh because Arthur was holding a toothpaste that he had opened and it was on his fingers and he was looking at the sink hopelessly, not having a clue how to find water in that strange room.

When Arthur noticed Merlin, he frowned. "Don't stand there like a sack of potatoes, help me!"

Merlin laughed as he closed the door behind him again. "Were you always such a prat?" He couldn't help but to ask, and he didn't even pause to think that he just insulted Arthur. To his surprise, Arthur was smiling at him when he turned to look up at him. But then the smile disappeared and Arthur pointed at his dirty fingers.

"This strange... thing... is it something you can eat?" Arthur hesitantly asked, not wanting to sound like a baby. But judging by Merlin's expression, he was doing exactly that.

"No," Merlin smiled as he opened the tap and gestured for Arthur to wash his hands under the stream of warm water. Arthur was looking at it as if it was another magic trick or something and though Merlin found it funny, he felt a bit sorry for Arthur. It had to feel so strange, Merlin was actually the only person he knew in this new world and Merlin didn't even remember him.

"No, it's called a toothpaste." Merlin continued. "People use it to brush their teeth with. And for that they use toothbrushes too," Merlin pointed at the blue, red and yellow toothbrushes in a little cup beside the sink and Arthur nodded, washing the paste off his fingers.

"I'm cold." He complained as he looked over at the clothes Merlin had prepared for him. "Get me out of this, it's wet and horrible," he looked at his armour and frowned helplessly.

Merlin didn't even think about it as he started putting the metal plates off of Arthur's chest. It was probably instinctive, and as Arthur was watching him, he couldn't help but smile. Merlin did remember something.

"This new world," Arthur began silently as Merlin kept working on the armour, "is so strange."

"You'll get used to it." Merlin answered.

"Will anyone else from the past come back too?"

Merlin wasn't really prepared for that question and he didn't really have an answer either. All he remembered was that strange voice in his head, telling him Arthur's time has not yet come, but that he was coming back anyway.

"I don't know," he said after a while. "I was kind of hoping you could tell me more about me and about my life and life in Camelot so that I could remember something. Anything."

"How much do you remember now?"

Merlin was silent for a while, not really knowing what to answer. "Nothing specific," he said as he removed the final piece of Arthur's armour. Now only the chain mail remained. "Feelings, mostly."

Arthur nodded, as if he wanted to add something but then decided against it. He raised his arms to help Merlin get him out of the cold chain mail and didn't mind at all when he started taking off his trousers. Merlin's eyes widened as he noticed what Arthur was doing, but he guessed they used to be used to this... back in Camelot.

But he turned around anyway, waiting for Arthur to put the pyjama trousers on that he had prepared for him. When he turned back, Arthur was just pulling the t-shirt over his head, changing into the new, dry one.

"These clothes are unusually soft." Arthur commented, probably wanting to change the subject.

"Yeah, that's what that machine is for," Merlin grinned and pointed behind Arthur at the washing machine in the corner of the bathroom. "It's called a washing machine, it washes clothes and make them soft like this. But I guess it's the fabric too."

Merlin took Arthur's old wet clothes and threw them right into the washing machine. "Our clothes back in Camelot must have been harsher on the skin," he mused as he started putting the washing powder into the washing machine.

"It was normal back then." Arthur said as he was watching Merlin push some buttons on the strange white box. "But I guess a lot of things are different now."

"They are," Merlin sighed. "But I wouldn't know..."

When he turned back to Arthur, he was already holding a hair dryer in his hands. Arthur was frowning down at the black thing in Merlin's hands, not really knowing what to expect from it. Merlin grinned when he saw his expression.

"This is a hair dryer." He explained. "It will make a little noise and blow hot wind out of it so you can dry your hair more quickly."

Arthur didn't seem to believe him. "I think I prefer the old way - letting your hair dry on its own." He told Merlin after suspiciously looking at the device.

"Well, you don't really have a choice." Merlin smirked and looked up at Arthur's wet blonde hair. "I won't let you sleep like that in my bed. You're using the hair dryer, now come on."

"I am still your king, Merlin. You can't make me d-"

Merlin turned the hair dryer on and even though the noise was pretty loud, he could still hear Arthur's yelp. He laughed when he aimed the hair dryer at Arthur's head and Arthur was trying to avoid it.

"You're sure this isn't some of your magic?" He asked loudly, at which Merlin couldn't help but laugh again.

"It's not, it's just technology." He answered and successfully started drying Arthur's hair. Arthur was sulking at first, but then he just sighed and let Merlin work. It didn't even take too long, with hair that short, it was very quick.

"You okay?" Merlin chuckled as he turned the thing off and saw Arthur's annoyed expression.

"I'm fine, I just want to sleep already." Arthur groaned. This strange new world was too foreign for him and all he needed was silence, and some time to think about everything. Because oh my god he was alive again. How was that possible?

"Don't worry," Merlin smiled affectionately. "You can use this toothbrush to brush your teeth and then we're-" Merlin yawned, "-and then we're good to go."

Arthur nodded and without question followed Merlin's movements as he showed him how to brush his teeth. It was embarrassing and at first Arthur thought the toothpaste was poisoned because it was stinking his tongue a bit, but everything ended alright and once Merlin changed into new clothes, they went into Merlin's room again.

Ah, the sharing-bed thing.

When Merlin turned on the lights, Arthur frowned. A normal room looked so much different from a chamber in a castle. "These are your... rooms?" Arthur asked as he noticed the half open door inside the room leading to another room.

"Yeah, it probably looks different from what you're used to, right?" Merlin answered as he went over to his bed and pulled away the blanket.

Arthur closed the door behind him and followed Merlin into the room. "It's definitely smaller and... the windows are different... and everything else is too."

Merlin smirked and pointed at the bookshelves and the rest of the furniture. "These are bookshelves with books, that is a table that I can write on, a chair, this is a bed,-"

"I didn't live in a cave, I know what these things are, Merlin." Arthur rolled his eyes and looked more annoyed than before. But then he yawned and his expression turned from annoyed to very, very tired.

Merlin immediately started yawning too because damn yawns were contagious and then he laughed and rubbed his eyes, pointing to his bed with his free hand. "We should go to sleep, Ag must be sleeping by now."

"How long have you two been friends?" Arthur suddenly asked as he slowly sat on the bed. Merlin sat right next to him and covered himself with the blanket.

"Only about a week." He shrugged, waiting for Arthur to finally lie down. He didn't know if they'd ever shared a bed before, but he couldn't shake off the nervous feeling in his stomach. "She saved my life, actually." He smiled.

Arthur lay down on his side so he could face Merlin. "I never asked what happened to you."

Merlin sighed. "Do you remember what a car is?" He began with a question.

"A new kind of horse." Arthur answered, making Merlin laugh softly.

Merlin nodded. "Exactly. Well, if you're not paying attention to the car, it's as if you forgot how to ride a horse and the horse can misbehave. And apparently whoever was... riding the car, they didn't pay attention and hit me."

Arthur's eyes widened. "That thing was moving very fast when I saw it on the road before your house."

"Exactly." Merlin pursed his lips and lay on his back, folding his arms on his chest. "They can go even faster." He added before he continued. "And when it hit me, I lost consciousness. If Ag hadn't found me there, I would have died."

"You couldn't have been paying attention either because you didn't notice the... car." Arthur said matter-of-factly and Merlin had to roll his eyes again.

"I don't remember, but yeah. That's what must have happened." He said.

"Well, you've always been clumsy." Arthur shrugged and turned over so he was facing Merlin's table in the dark room. He waited for the usual cheeky reply like and you've always been a prat, or something like that, but nothing came. Only silence.

"Noted." Merlin whispered as he rolled over so their back were almost pressed to each other. He didn't know much about what he was like. But he would make sure to ask Arthur the next day. Or in the near future.

They both closed their eyes and let their minds take them to the world of dreams. That night, Merlin dreamt of the person with blonde hair and broad shoulders, but this time, he had a face.

And it was Arthur.

TBC

I'm writing chapter 12 now and I've made some changes to the plot so I'll have to figure out how to make the whole thing work so that I can still make it to the ending I want :D Anyway, did you like the chapter? What did you like about it? What didn't you like about it? Are you looking forward to the next chapter or not? Just please talk to me XD