Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I am so glad that you all seem to be enjoying this. I know you're all anxious for Merlin to discover that Arthur knows. It will happen...eventually.

To Guest: Yeah, Merlin's kind of being dumb about his destiny. No one ever told him that he had to be Arthur's servant forever. But, Merlin can be an idiot sometimes, and he can be very stubborn.

To Oneli12 and udkudk: I've thrown around the idea of Morgana becoming good again. But I don't know if it will happen. I think she's a little too far gone for that. She did spend two years chained to the wall of a tiny pit with Aithusa. She's kind of crazy at this point. Besides, even if she does become good again, Arthur would probably have to execute her for all of the crimes she's committed. She has murdered so many people in her war against Uther and Arthur. I just don't want you to get your hopes up.


Six: Destiny and Secrets (320 days)

Merlin paced the clearing, irritated. He was getting absolutely nowhere with his search for a Court Sorcerer. Of course, the process was rather delicate. He couldn't simply advertise a need for a Court Sorcerer for Camelot.

One, Arthur had yet to officially lift the ban on magic - there were still several council members adamantly against this course of action, though not as many a Merlin would have expected. Nobody would want to answer the advertisement while sorcery was still illegal.

Two, even among the druids, not all those who practiced magic were peaceful or trustworthy. Court Sorcerer would have a lot of influence and power. They couldn't appoint just anyone. He had to find out about each person's trustworthiness before he brought up the topic of Court Sorcerer. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a quick process.

If he didn't have a job - or prat of a king to protect - he could travel freely and speak to more people. As it was, he'd been late to work several times - later than he normally was, at any rate. He'd even missed a few days, and George had filled in for him.

George.

Which, now that he thought about it, Arthur hadn't complained about his recent and constant tardiness. Much. Certainly not as much as Merlin had been expecting. He did repeat a couple of George's jokes about brass, in a mocking manner. But he had been rather nice to Merlin recently.

It was a little disconcerting, to be honest. Merlin could only assume it meant that the king had some nasty scheme up his sleeve. Perhaps he did plan on getting revenge for Merlin's tardiness.

Merlin shook his head as Kilgharrah landed in the moonlit clearing in front of him. The Great Dragon had agreed to help Merlin find a Court Sorcerer, though he had insisted that Merlin would be best suited for the position. Merlin gave him the same reasons he'd given Gaius, though there was a little more to it than that.

"Well?"

Kilgharrah looked rather amused. That was never a good sign. "The news is the same as the last time we spoke. Every sorcerer I have spoken to refuses to take the position. One old man told me that it is 'the destiny of Emrys,' and he insisted that he will not interfere with Emrys's destiny."

Merlin scowled. "My destiny is not to become the Court Sorcerer of Camelot." He didn't understand why everyone seemed to think that.

Kilgharrah looked calmly at him. "You don't know that, young warlock." Merlin hated it when the dragon tried to be cryptic. It was very annoying. "It could be. Your destiny is to protect Arthur and to bring magic back to this kingdom."

"I am doing that, as Arthur's servant. I don't need to become Court Sorcerer to bring magic back."

Kilgharrah watched him for several minutes. When he spoke, his voice held a slight rebuke. "Do not fear your powers, Merlin. You have proven time and time again that you are pure of heart."

Merlin crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't fear my powers." And he didn't, not anymore. Shortly after his talk with Arthur, as "Emrys," he'd begun to settle into his magic. He knew his own limits. He knew exactly what he was and wasn't capable of. He knew exactly how powerful he was.

He also knew that he had absolutely no intention of allowing that power corrupt him. He was the master of his magic, not the other way around. "If I become Court Sorcerer, I will have to reveal myself to Arthur. He's going to hate me." That was his biggest concern. His friendship with Arthur was dear to him. When Arthur found out that he had been lying to him for years, he was going to hate Merlin.

"He's working to bring magic back. He will not hate you for practicing it."

Merlin shook his head. "I don't think he'll hate me for having magic. He'll hate me for lying to him about it." He had seen how accepting Arthur was becoming of magic.

The Great Dragon sighed, obviously irritated with Merlin. Well, that was nothing new. He was usually irritated with Merlin. "I've told you this before, Merlin. One cannot hate that which makes it whole."

Merlin glared at the scaly creature. "You've also been wrong before. Mordred? He's not a threat."

Kilgharrah growled, a deep rumble in his throat. "He was. I do not control destiny. Nor am I a mouthpiece for the Triple Goddess, as the Disir are. If the Disir say Mordred's destiny has been changed, then it has been changed. But your destiny remains."

Merlin's eyes narrowed even further. "I'm not taking the job. You were also wrong about Aithusa. That dragon has been nothing but trouble for Camelot."

The Great Dragon shook his head, grunting. "I am not all-knowing, Merlin!" His tone said that it was not a statement he enjoyed making.

"Then stop acting like it all the time!" Merlin snapped. "You don't know the details of my destiny any more than I do. Yes, I know I'm supposed to bring magic back to Camelot. But that doesn't mean I have to do it as Court Sorcerer."

Kilgharrah pushed himself into the air. "You are wasting the time that has been allotted to you," he said, even as he flew away.

Damn dragon.

Merlin sighed and began slowly making his way to the castle. Between his magic and his knowledge of Camelot, he was easily able to return to Gaius's chambers without being noticed.

Until he opened the door to the physician's chambers and he ran directly into Gwen, nearly knocking her over. He automatically reached out to grip her arms in an effort to steady her.

"Gwen?" He was very surprised to see her there. It was, after all, nearly midnight. What was she doing visiting the Court Physician so late at night? He couldn't quite read the expression on her face. It was an odd mixture of happiness and terror. "Is everything all right?"

She smiled warmly at him. But he could tell that her smile wasn't entirely genuine. "Oh, yes. I just needed to speak to Gaius about something."

"Are you sure? Are you feeling all right?"

"Merlin, I am perfectly healthy."

His frown deepened. "Is Arthur sick?"

Gwen shook her head. "Arthur is also perfectly healthy." She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing awake and wandering about at this time of night?"

"Oh. Um…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse.

The queen gave him a knowing smile. She patted his arm. "Don't worry, Merlin. I know where you were."

His eyes widened. "You do?" How could she have known that he was meeting with the Great Dragon? And why was she so calm about it? The last time she had seen the dragon, he had been terrorizing Camelot. Nobody knew that Arthur hadn't actually given him a lethal blow and killed him. If Gwen knew that he'd been speaking with a dragon, then she would have to assume that he was a Dragonlord, which would mean that he had magic.

"Oh, yes. I promise I won't tell Arthur."

"You won't?" He didn't necessarily expect Gwen to reveal his magic, even to her husband - she was much too good of a friend for that. But Arthur was trying to bring magic back. He did expect her to at least try to convince him to tell Arthur.

"Of course I won't. It's your secret to tell, when you're ready. We both know how Arthur gets sometimes. If he finds out that you have a lady that you're courting, his teasing will be nearly unbearable."

"A lady that I'm courting." Merlin wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed that she hadn't been talking about his magic.

She smiled again. "She's a very lucky girl, Merlin, whoever she is." With that, she left.

It was only as he entered the chambers that he realized how effectively she had distracted him from his own questions. How sneaky of her. Gwen didn't normally act so evasive around him. Next to Arthur, she was his best friend. She didn't keep secrets from Merlin. This odd behavior of hers only increased his concern.

He looked at Gaius, who was preparing to return to bed. "Is everything all right with Gwen?"

"Yes, yes," Gaius said. "The queen is perfectly healthy."

Hmm…They both used the exact same phrase. "What is going on?"

The old man scratched his chin, not meeting Merlin's eyes. "Well…I promised the queen that I wouldn't say."

Merlin tried not to be hurt by that. He knew how important it was for Gaius to keep his promises, but from him? "What is it? You know I won't tell anyone."

"Merlin," his mentor told him sternly. "It is not my secret to tell."

The young warlock sighed. If he wanted answers, he would have to find them on his own. So instead, he quickly told Gaius what Kilgharrah had told him. Once he was finished, Gaius calmly said, "You may want to listen to him -"

"I'm not going to become Court Sorcerer."

Gaius sighed. "Just think about it, Merlin."

"I have thought about it. No."

Gaius shook his head.


Kilgharrah has never been my favorite character. I think he's pretty manipulative of Merlin throughout the show. And so many of the things that he tells Merlin are based off of decisions that are made. I think if he hadn't been so against Morgana and convinced Merlin not to trust her, Morgana might not have gone so evil. I think she just needed to know that she wasn't alone, and that Merlin was working to have magic brought back. She could have been a powerful ally in his goal to bring magic back.