I don't own Merlin, as evident in the finite number of seasons.
Arthur was asleep when Merlin rolled over and stood up. Glancing at the sleeping king, Merlin yawne loudly and made his way to the kitchen. Reaching up for a pot, he fumbled and knocked most of his cookware onto the floor and counter. Arthur sat up.
"Mph. Honestly Merlin, how are you still this clumsy?"
"Oh, you know," he waved his hand and fallen pots and carefully set one on the burner.
Arthur sat up slowly and stared, "Merlin..." he said slowly.
"Huh?" Merlin glanced quickly over his shoulder, then turned around fully when he saw Arthur's expression, "What?"
"I thought you said you couldn't turn yourself young again."
"I can't," Merlin looked at Arthur blankly.
The king raised his eye brows and looked expectant. Merlin spun around and crouched down to peer at his reflection in the oven door. His own young face was staring back at him. He grinned and let out a small laugh, bobbing left and right to make sure it was really him. He turned over his shoulder towards Arthur, now standing above him. Looking at him, Merlin spoke through the smile still spread over his face, barely containing his glee.
"I'm young again. I don't have arthritis or a hunch," he stood up quickly, "You're not so tall anymore."
"Yes, you big liar," Arthur smacked him on the back of the head.
Merlin recoiled defensively, "I didn't do this!"
"Of course you didn't. I know you have magic Merlin, I don't know what you're trying to hide."
"I didn't! I don't know what did, actually," his brow creased in perplexity, speaking to himself he muttered, "I didn't, I couldn't, so how..?"
"Stop pretending, you just don't want to admit you were wrong earlier," Arthur crossed his arms, "Anyway, now that you're your normal doltish self I don't feel as bad about telling you to get to work on breakfast."
"But I'm telling you, I never did anything."
"I know, and now's a very good time to start. Come on, I'm hungry," Arthur turned and crossed again to the bed.
"This is my house!"
Arthur ignored him. Wearing an exasperated look, Merlin turned back to the stove. Before he returned to cooking however, he looked down at his clothes. they no longer fit him as well, and there seem to be more layers than he needed. Swallowing another smile, he focussed and spoke a spell under his breath. The fabric of his clothes began to blur and change, settling at last into new ones. He now wore boots, black jeans, and a blue long-sleeve shirt. Arthur glanced over.
"You're still standing around?" he did a double take, "what happened to your clothes?"
Merlin shrugged, "I changed them."
Arthur opened his mouth then closed it, looking sceptical, "Well... get to work."
Merlin grinned as he turned to the stove and began work on what breakfast he could scrape together. When he was done, he carried the two bowls to the table and sat down. Arthur grimaced at the bowl, but stared eating anyway. Merlin returned to his notes, reviewing the information he managed to scrape together the previous day.
"So what are we supposed to be doing now? I don't think I can bear sitting around in this shack for too long."
"It's a house," Merlin swallowed, "But I think I've got a guess on what we should be doing."
"Well, what is it?"
"I'm not entirely sure anything I find will be perfect, but based on information on points of magic, not to mention strategy, as well as what I discussed withe the-"
"Merlin! Just skip to the important part."
He looked up at Arthur, "Camelot. It makes the most sense. I think we should probably leave as soon as possible."
Arthur crossed his arms and nodded, looking down, "Before we do, what's Camelot like now?"
"Different," Merlin avoided Arthur's gaze, "It's sort of... not there?"
"What do mean?"
"Well, when it stopped being used, it began to fall apart. Now it's a less than a ruin... It's just a hill."
"Everything else is gone, I suppose it makes sense that that is too," His jaw tightened.
"We don't have to go there if you don't want to," he pulled a new stack of books closer, and opened the topmost one, "I'm sure I could find another place that would have the necessary background and geography..."
"No, no, Merlin, if I'm going to," Arthur gestured with one hand, "help with whatever's happening right now, I'm going to have to accept what's happened. We can go to Camelot if you think we should. I... That is to say, You..."
"Go on, say it," Merlin smiled broadly.
"You... are the worst servant ever, I mean just totally worthless."
"Of course I am, 1500 hundred years..."
"Just tell me what we need to get to Camelot, I haven't seen any horses."
"We're going by foot, there aren't any horses. We'll need to avoid five armies anyway, so horses would be too conspicuous. We're going to pack food and, I suppose, weapons and get going."
Thanks for reading. Did you like it? Is there something I could improve on? Reviews are welcome and much appreciated.
