Chapter 1

A King's Worry

Arthur considered himself to be a strong warrior, brave in the face of danger and a powerful King. He had proven this many times to his kingdom and to himself, in various occasions . There was no man who didn't know of his victories, and no man who didn't admire him. So one would think that after many battles and life-or-death situations, this great King would be courageous enough to talk to a young woman about her troubles.

Well, they would be wrong.

For this isn't just any woman, this is his Court Sorceress, his most important friend, his sister in all but blood, Merlin. And only God knows that type of problems that have been bothering her as of late. For all his virtues, King Arthur is not the most observant, some people (a.k.a. Merlin) would say he is downright dense when it comes to feelings; and while he had always denied it, he is now thinking that she might have been right all along.

In his defense he had been too busy running a kingdom to notice anything different in his ex-servant. Camelot was finally at peace, his friendships with the neighboring kingdoms were as strong as ever, and after such a long time the ban on magic had been lifted. All of which wouldn't have happened without the raven-haired girl; after she had revealed her magic to him and saved his life (for the hundredth time) at the lake of Avalon, he had put everything he knew into perspective. Merlin never once left his side, not saying a word unless asked, she gave him the space and time he needed so he could decide if her fate was to live or burn at the stake.

Of course, he forgave her every lie, how could he not? Everything she had secretly done for him, all the sacrifices she had to endure to guide him to this point, was all so very humbling. He had asked her forgiveness for all the times he had unknowingly hurt her with his words or his actions. Lifting the ban on magic had been easy, but only when he appointed Merlin as his Court Sorceress did the magic users lose their fear and came forth. So with all of this going on, who could blame him for not paying attention to the deterioration of Merlin's health?

It's not like she was fatally ill, but there were dark circles under her eyes, a clear sign that she wasn't getting enough sleep. And surely the stress of her new title probably wasn't helping; he had casually voiced his concerns with Gwen, hoping that she would talk to Merlin and figure out what was going on. But his dear wife had insisted he do it and show Merlin that he was there for her.

So there he was in the royal gardens, trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation. His thoughts brought to a halting stop when he spotted the thin figure of Merlin sitting by the shade of a large tree, and by the looks of it she was in deep sleep.

Thinking that he would let her rest (he was totally not stalling), Arthur turned to leave when suddenly time stopped. The air had stopped moving, the water from the fountain was frozen in place and all Arthur could do was stare as the flowers surrounding him withered and a frozen wind started picking up, chilling his body to a trembling point. Quickly he turned to a restless Merlin, her hands clenching and unclenching while short gasps were coming from her mouth.

Not knowing what else to do, Arthur grabbed on to her shoulders and started screaming, "Merlin! Wake up!"

After what seemed like hours, Merlin woke up, her eyes blazing gold and frantic. Slowly her magic seemed to calm down with her and their cold surroundings became once again a bright sunny day.

"Merlin, what happened?"

Taking deep breaths, Merlin muttered, "just a dream, that's all it was."

Knowing that was not all there was, Arthur's initial concern grew to monumental levels. "Just a dream? Merlin, you lost control of your magic! In your sleep!"

"Arthur it's fine, it's not a big deal" she said, looking everywhere but him.

"This has happened before hasn't it?" Silence confirmed his suspicions, "how long has this been happening Merlin? What are these dreams?"

Running a hand through her hair, Merlin sighed "it started a few weeks ago; it wasn't anything at first just random flashes, then they became more vivid. I tried everything to get rid of them, but nothing works. I'm lucky if I get a good rest once in a while, but I haven't had a proper sleep in weeks. As for the dreams, I can barely remember them once I wake up."

Taking a good look, Arthur finally noticed how exhausted his friend was. She looked like she would collapse at any moment, and there was nothing he could do to help her, it was a feeling he did not enjoy.

"I'll take you to your rooms, maybe you can have a good sleep this time." Merlin looked doubtfully at Arthur, but gave up far too tired to put up a fight. Once they were inside her room, Arthur tucked her in bed and closed off all the curtains so that nothing can bother her. "I'll let your servants know not to disturb you, you sleep as long as you need to."

She didn't hear a single word, as sleep had already claimed her.

AN: Sorry for the wait, I just couldn't think of a way to start the story, and I hope this chapter came out alright. I promise I will update sooner next time.

The story starts about a year after the end of Season 5, Morgana is dead, and Gwaine is alive because I just love him and couldn't imagine my story without him in it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin!