"It's going to take about a day and a half to make it to the castle, we traveled further out than I thought we did." We were walking towards Camelot to face Morgana once more, but in the rush of running away, very few of us grabbed horses but not enough for everyone.

"That's the thing about running for your life, princess. You run until you feel like your life is safe, and that's where we ended up."

"Would you stop calling me a princess, Gwaine?"

"Oh right, you have magic now..." I heard the sarcasm in his voice and already knew where he was going with it. "That makes you a fairy princess then doesn't it?"

"If you were on a horse, I'd push you off!" I laughed and he nudged me slightly.

"So...are you serious about learning magic?"

"I don't have much choice...I have no idea about Merlin's power and now I have a piece of it...I have to make sure nothing bad happens with it."

"Yoy know, it's still all a bit strange to me. I keep thinkin' that maybe this a weird dream caused by bad ale."

"I'm afraid not." I replied flatly.

"So, do you think we'll able to find them all?"

"I honestly have no idea, and I'm getting tired of not knowing."

"Then ask Merlin."

I laughed a little, "Why?"

"Because...you're magic now...with his magic. Perhaps he would have a way of finding everyone."

"I'm afraid you may be right...I just hope he can find Quenivere. She must've gotten lost in the panic."

"Ah, lovely sweet Guenivere...So, tell me, King Arthur...how do you think your queen will react to you having magic?" I could see the mischief on his face, but it was a valid question.

"I'm not sure. I wonder if she'll be scared of me..."

"Sire, the people are hungry. We need to stop for a minute and hunt for some food." Leon came running towards us, and I looked at our people and knights that we have found in the short two hours we've been walking, and they also seemed tired.

"Very well. You, Sir Gwaine, Merlin, and myself will go hunting after camp is set up once more...wait where is Merlin?"

"A little help here please? These are heavy!" I quickly turned my head to my left and I see Merlin dragging a boar and a deer on a large thing of leaves and grass that must've been held together by magic, but what was more surprising was that Merlin was by himself, and he got us dinner.

Gwaine and Leon immediately went to helping Merlin with the animals, and I watched as Merlin started smiling like a fool just before coming over to me. "Who would've guessed. You can hunt."

"Yes, but I couldn't do it my way since my way is with magic. I can see the path ahead and I can use magic to kill the animal as quickly as possible...I don't like killing them, but sometimes...like when you're hungry...it's necessary. I had to do it for my mom and I since no one wanted to give her anything or help her with anything."

"Why?"

"Because, it was known that not only had she had a child out of wedlock, but that the father of the child later left without even knowing she was pregnant. The only other person other than my mother to show me any kindness without forcing it was Will."

"I had no idea..."

"Well, how would you have known? I never really talked about it much. I love my mother and I do everything I can for her even when I'm in Camelot. I send her some of my wages so that she can buy food and supplies, I sometimes pay a seamstress to make her some new clothes. Actually it's usually the same seamstress that hauled me out of the throne room to go have me look like a prince."

"Sire!" I heard Elyan shout.

"What is it Sir Elyan?"

"He's been following us."

I looked to my right and he was dragging a man in violet and light blue robes. "Let him go."

Elyan did just that and the man did not flee nor attack, but he did come closer towards us, but only keeping his eyes on Merlin. Then, once he was close enough to Merlin we all watched in confusion and astonishment as he knelt down in front of him, bowing his head as he held his staff. "Lord Emrys, I apologize for not coming forward sooner, but when I noticed the knights of Camelot and druids traveling together, I...I thought I must've gone mad."

"A-Alator, you can get up." Merlin said with what seemed to be slight embarrassment, but none of us could say anything, mainly because this man just referred to Merlin as a Lord.

"Thank you, Lord Emrys."

"It's just Merlin, Alator. You know that."

"Aye, that I do, but to me and my people you are Lord Emrys, or at the very least, just Emrys."

Merlin gasped slightly as he was taken back by his comment, but not more than the rest of us as we simply continued to watch this spectacle in silence, but then Merlin's eyebrows narrowed with slight concern. "Why had you been following us?"

"My people and I quickly heard about what happened at the Castle in Camelot, and so we searched for you in case you should need us. It mattered not if you were with the king. However, my clan had always planned to keep their distance..."

"Why would you search for me knowing King Arthur would be near?"

"Like I've said before. I and others like me have dreamed of the kingdom you hope to build with your king, and we will gladly lay down our lives for it should you have us. My people are not far, but they are far enough...I came here alone. Even though the rest do respect you, Lord Emrys, they still fear King Arthur and his knights, so I moved on my own with the permission of the clan leader and that's when I thought I had gone mad. Knights of Camelot and druids together, surrounding Emrys...I couldn't believe it, and then the great dragon came down and from there I felt as if I my heart would've stopped."

"You do know we are heading back to Camelot right?"

"Indeed I do. I am not sure about my brethren, but if you'll have me, I'll gladly fight by your side to vanquish Morgana once and for all." He bowed his head quickly before it snapped back up again to seemingly focus on a slightly worried Gaius. "Gaius, I know what I had done is unforgivable, and I can only express my deepest regrets. If both you and Emrys should not want me here I will take my leave."

Gaius looked over at us for a moment and sighed heavily. "What I had done to those of my own kind are equally if not more unforgivable than what you did to me. If Merlin allows it, I would consider ourselves lucky to have another ally, especially one from the Catha."

"What say you Emrys?" Alator asked with slightly pleading eyes and I couldn't help but still feel completely in shock at what was happening.

"We are glad to have you Alator." Merlin beamed him a smile and held out his arm to him, and I watched with wide eyes as Alator accepted it gladly. Once they let their arms fall I could see Merlin fidgeting a bit. "So, Alator, do you know what happened to Arthur and myself after the dragon placed the soul sharing spell on us?"

"Can't say that I do, I went back towards my clan just for a moment and told them of what I had witnessed and that's when I got permission to follow you, and now I'm here."

"Well, it seems that during the soul sharing spell...that our souks got permanently linked. He now will always have a piece of my soul and I, a piece of his...and as the result...he has magic now."

"Surely, Lord Emrys, you jest!" Alator gave a short laugh that quickly died as he noticed the seriousness on both of our faces. "King Arthur Pendragon has Magic?"

"Yes, and I still have yet to control it, and I'm considering myself lucky that nothing has exploded yet. Merlin, what is the point of telling him?"

"Because he may be able to help train you until we get to Camelot and maybe after the battle. You really have done exceedingly well by not blowing things up or things getting tossed around, but you still need training. I will train you as often as I can, but I may need help."

"I see." I couldn't find any words to argue with that, because when I think about it, even when training the knights, no one man can take on all the training by himself. "I would appreciate the help then..." The words with their meaning on my lips still felt strange, but the past couple of days have been quite strange.

"Erm...you three...dinner is ready." I heard Gwaine call out, and when I looked at him I noticed his eyes were still wide as saucers, but he soon relaxed when he saw all three of us smile at him and make our way to join them.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

After dinner Merlin had pulled me to the side. "What is it?"

"We're going to train. " Merlin answered simply to which I can now feel the confused expression appear on my face.

"Do we have to walk so far from the group, they are my people Merlin, I can't leave them..."

"Before you finish that, keep in mind they are very protected with specialized sorcerers in the art of protection magic. Now, I guess we should teach you how to move an object."

"I understand the importance of this, I'm just wondering why all the way over here?"

"So that you don't hurt or kill anyone you're not meaning to." His answer was so matter of factly that it was hard to actually picture Merlin saying it, but he was.

"Well then...what will I be moving?"

Merlin turned around and smiled at me as he placed a hand on a large tree, and handed me a fairly large stick. "Throw the stick at the tree."

"With my arm?"

"No, you dollop-head, with your foot, of course I meant with your arm!" He laughed and he walked a few paces to the side. I did as he said and I felt like an idiot doing so. "Good, now when you do it again, you are not going to touch the stick, but you are going to remember the sound and the feel of you throwing the stick as you lift your hand to move the stick to the tree." He pushed me back a little ways and he placed the stick on the ground just before moving back to his spot. I looked at the stick and back at the tree with the memory in mind and to my surprise the stick not only lifted up and got thrown against the tree, it was not embedded into the tree. "I said to use your hand, not your eyes." He grinned at me and I glowered at him.

"Question, why use my hand when I could just do whatever I just did?"

"Because, your magic needs to be controlled. You can control it without having to say or move anything apart form your eyes, but there may either be too little power or..."

"Too much..." I finished reluctantly as I stared at the now stuck stick. "How about you show me..." I asked, and silently hit myself in the head for sounding so pathetic.

"Alright." He walked to where I was and he found another stick beside me. He placed it where the first stick was, and he stepped back once more. I watched carefully as his eyes glowed gold and he lifted up his hand, making the stick rise as well, and hit the tree perfectly and swiftly before it met the ground again. "There, you see?"

"I saw, I just don't understand. How is it so easy for you?"

"I was born with it remember? It's like being born with the ability to move something with my hand just like everyone else...just with magic."

"It feels strange..."

"Yeah you doing magic is..."

"No, I mean...I can feel it. When I...use magic. It's like...well when I was in your head it felt like something both cold and warm rushing through me. Now, it feels like a river constantly going through me...when I actually use the magic the river feeling flows faster and it's as if I can feel everything at once. The wind, the earth, the calmness in the air or the tension...but it's as if I can feel it all over my body...I can hear better, and it's like my senses get stronger for just that moment, and then it goes back to be a calm river again."

Merlin's stunned expression didn't really help matters but at least that meant he listened. "Wow, I never thought of it like that before...alright well..."

"If I may, Emrys?" We both turned to see Alator coming towards us with a warm smile. "I have had magic my whole life...I was born with it as well, but unlike you, Emrys, I was not born doing magic. I grew into mine, just as our King here is growing into his. I believe I can help in this matter, if you'll let me."

"If you think it'll help."

He silently bowed his head for a brief moment and he stood on the other side of the tree. "When I first discovered my magic, it's not unlike what you're experiencing, but it was also different. When I would get angry, or sad, or if I was experiencing joy my magic would react. This is not the case with you, as you have already learned not to let your emotions get the better of you. That is why your magic stays calm despite everything at the moment."

"So, how did you gain control of it?"

"Here, I want you to reach within yourself, and hold this stick up with your magic, don't do anything, just let it float in the air above your hand." Alator handed me what barely counted as a stick...it was more of a twig, but I did as he said and it levitated off of my palm but it was shaking and twisting. "What do you feel?"

"I feel...It's like a rushing river during a windy thunderstorm...I can't explain how I know that, but it does. It feels like it's all over my body, but more so through my arm and to my hand."

"Alright, you see how the stick is shaking and it's not straight?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to focus on that thunderstorm and turn it into the feeling of spring rain with warm wind, and soon the river through your body should calm as well."

I did as he said and I took in a deep breath, then I closed my eyes. I imagined the thunder and lightning were no longer there, and I focused on how both would've felt if the situations was outside my body. I calmed my breathing and focused on the feeling rushing through me and I thought about a time when I was a child and I always wanted to run through the forest during the rainy spring days, just because everything seemed more beautiful and full of life back then. As I smiled at myself at the memory I felt my magic slow, and it truly did feel like a rainy day, a calm river, and warm wind all at once. I opened my eyes and the stick was perfectly still above my hand.

"Congratulations, young Pendragon. You've just mastered the art of levitation, now...this is when you're making your magic calm...Next I want you to purposefully aggrivate it a little bit, but don't worry it won't want bite. I want you to picture the stick not being a mere stick, but your sword and I want you to strike the tree with it by just moving your hand like so..." He gave me an example and I nodded my head. "As you do so, I want you to focus on that feeling and imagine the storm getting slightly stronger."

I did exactly as he said and I moved the stick towards the tree and the magic rushing through me felt wonderful, and surprisingly normal. Before i knew it the stick had indeed flown towards the tree and took away a good chunk of bark off of it. "I...I did that?" I asked, knowing my voice sounded a bit childish.

"Yes you did!" Alator said with pure delight in his voice.

"Arthur you did great!" I looked at Merlin and his eyes had shone with such pride, despite not being the one to teach this part of the lesson to me.

I took it upon myself to find a stick, not a twig, and I repeated exactly what I had done before and the stick flew straight into the tree almost without any effort. "Wow! What about when i do other magic?"

"Like what?" Merlin asked.

"Like if I were to start a fir"

"You could then imagine the fire going through your body and just like the storm...focus it to be what you want it to be, and you would typically say, 'Forbaernan' And then you would have either started a fire on an object or you would be holding it in your hand, and because it would be your magic it wouldn't burn you." Alator explained. "Everything else, Emrys will have to teach you. I taught you how to direct the magic... but I cannot teach you how to use it. I will leave that honor to Emrys. I will be going to sleep soon, if you need me do not hesitate to wake me."

As he walked away I looked at Merlin, feeling odd. I shouldn't be this joyful about using magic. I've learned all my life that it was bad, and then Merlin swoops in and tosses that rule out the window just by being himself. "Arthur, are you alright?"

"Yeah...I'm still not quite used to this, and for some reason the magic...my magic...it's almost as if it's happy."

He chuckled lightly and nodded his head with a small smile. "Yeah, that part I do understand. When I'm joyful so is my magic, when I'm angry my magic burns with rage, and when I'm sad it becomes gentle and almost sorrowful."

"And you've dealt with this since you were a child?"

"Since I was born. My mother told me that I frightened the midwife at first, but it turned out she was a druid in hiding so she didn't have any cause to report it, but..."

"What happened?"

"With my first cry I lit all the candles in the room, when my eyes opened they were shining gold, and I healed my mother's injuries from giving birth to me. She also says there there was an energy of peacefulness in the house once I first fell asleep." He crossed his arms and looked down as he laughed at the memory, and I watched as he looked up to the stars. "It wasn't easy raising me though. I know that for a fact, because I remember one time I got so mad at her about not letting me go play with the other kids, that I used my magic and threw something at her, making her bleed on her forehead. I instantly regretted it, but she never punished me for it."

"Why not?" I asked too quickly.

"She said regret is it's own punishment, and that as long as I learned from it that she wasn't going to be mad, and she asked me to not do it again. I never used my magic against my mother ever again after that. I've only used it to help her. I can't imagine what my tantrums might've been like. I've asked and she says I was difficult, but that because she loved me it made it all worth it."

"Have you...have you killed anyone?"

"Yes." He turned away from me, and I quickly gathered that he killed not because he wanted to, but because he had to.

I placed a hand on his shoulder and waited for him to look at me. "I'm sure you did what you had to."

"Yeah, that doesn't make it easier."

I shook my head and released my hand from his shoulder. "I never said it did. Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"Why did you never tell me?"

"I wanted to...but..."

"What?" I waited for an answer and then suddenly became clear. All those times I had openly said Magic was evil and those who practice it are evil and must be destroyed. He was afraid I would uphold my father's law, and part of me still believes I would've back then, not knowing any better about Merlin or him being an all powerful warlock. "Oh..." I simply said and he nodded.

"I also never wanted you to have to make a decision where it put me in between what you believed to be right, or protecting a friend."

"That's what worried you?" I quickly asked, not expecting that answer.

"Mostly, yeah. So um...how are you going to handle Guenivere when she sees you using magic?" I raised an eyebrow at him, surpriesed that he had apparently heard mine and Gwaine's conversation.

"I don't know." I answered as my heart slightly broke. "Magic had been so unkind to her in her life, I don't even know if..."

"She'll still love you, Sire."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, she loved you back when you were a great prat, and I think she'll still love you even though you're now a great magical prat." I shoved him and he shoved me back, causing the both of us to laugh.

"Do you think we'll find her on our way back to Camelot?"

"I think so. I hope so."

"Alright then...we better get some sleep. We should be at Camelot by late evening tomorrow."

"Good night then, Sire. I will keep watch.

"Good night, Emrys." I smiled and his face went red all the way to his ears, but his face was the most priceless thing. He looked so irritated. 'Completely worth it!'

'Watch yourself, Sire. I can still hear you.'

'Dollop-head.'

'Clotpole.' At that I just simply made my way back to where the others are, knowing with full confidence that we would all be safe for at least the night.