Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters....but I'd like to own Arthur.

Sorry about the very short, slightly lame ending, managed to get Merlin completely stuck and struggled for an idea to get him out.

Arthur spent every day out with the guards, searching an ever widening circle for the sorcerer; laughing inside as he thought of Merlin hidden in his chambers. Merlin grew stronger quickly. For the first few days he was kept asleep by potions but as he recovered he was allowed to stay awake for part of each day. As he became impatient to escape his confinement, Gaius brought him the book of magic to study.

Two weeks after Merlin "escaped", he was finally strong enough. Uther had nearly given up the search, assuming the warlock had fled outside the kingdom. He had rooted out several magical practitioners while searching for Merlin, and he planned to execute them all at once, as an example. He stood on the balcony, staring at the massive bonfire in the centre of the courtyard and the figures tied to posts within it. Arthur and Morgana stood behind him, watching with narrowed eyes. The fires were lit. Many of the crowd looked away as the men and women screamed, the flames lapping at them. Uther watched until the flames died away. As he turned away, he saw a cloaked figure step forward, calling his name. The hood came down and Uther was astonished to see Merlin standing before him. Arthur, Morgana, Gwen and Gaius clapped their hands to their ears but Uther was too busy watching the warlock to notice.

"Slath fret hoth rabba! Lilth kleck def toray! Poras getra relif vun! Wella ytria jellif MEM!"

Merlin's eyes flashed yellow and a purple mist poured from his mouth as he finished the incantation. The mist drifted around the crowd, entering the ears of everybody present, except the people who had covered them. The mist changed their memories, Uther's in particular. Merlin's name and appearance was changed for another's, a person long dead. The warlock was long gone; they could give up the search. Merlin was just Arthur's idiotic manservant and Gaius's cheeky nephew. The purple mist faded away and Merlin retreated into the background. Uther turned and walked away as if nothing had happened, and the crowd quietly dispersed.

Merlin was safe again, and where Arthur needed him.

The End

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