Chapter 4

"What do you mean she won't accept my hospitality unless the boy stays somewhere near her?" Uther Pendragon was fuming at the thought of Lily asking for Merlin to be put in a room near her. He's a servant for God sakes!

"Apparently, the child has formed some kind of attachment to Merlin. He did save her life, sire." Gaius was trying to make the king understand that it was not all that bad of an idea for Merlin to sleep in a palace room near the Lady Lillian.

"He's a servant, Gaius. Saving her life does not grant him annuities above the other servants."

"Perhaps it's time you promoted him."

"To what, Gaius? He has not proven himself to be worthy of any kind of promotion. Sometimes I wonder if he even has a brain."

"I have been watching him most closely, sire. He and Arthur have a bond similar to that which you and I have. They keep each other in check. They question each other's motives. They advise one another, and they have saved each other's lives several times. I recommend you make him Arthur's advisor."

"Advisor? To Arthur? Gaius, have you completely lost your mind? He doesn't know a thing about being an advisor to the crowned prince of Camelot."

"Neither did I, when I became your advisor. Arthur already trusts Merlin enough to listen to his opinion. If you do not grant him this position now, Arthur will only do it in a matter of time. Need I remind you that Merlin warned Arthur that Valiant was using magic in the tournament? Arthur listened to him then, and he was right. And then there was the poisoned goblet. He was right about that too. He was also right about Guenivere not being a sorceress." Uther thought on these pieces of information for a moment. Things were starting to come together in his mind. The reason Arthur went against him to save Merlin's life when he drank the poison, why Arthur went to help Merlin's home village when it was under attack by ruffians, why Arthur trusted his servant so much as to believe him about Valiant. It was all because a friendship had grown between them, just as one had grown between Gaius and himself years ago. "Arthur has already asked me to promote him. Several times, as a matter of fact. Very well," Uther said, finally coming to a decision. "I shall promote the boy today, and he shall be moved from your chambers to a room near Arthur's and the Lady Lillian shall stay in a room next to his."

Merlin and Lily entered Gaius' chambers after having had a wonderful visit with Morgana and Gwen. The three ladies got along well with each other, and Gwen and Morgana were both looking forward to Lily staying in the palace. They would be able to dine together and get to know one another better. Merlin was glad that Lily had not mentioned anything to the others about her being from the future. That fact, he thought, definitely says she has encountered magic. But, it is a magic that I do not know or have ever seen.

Gaius was waiting for them when they returned. He was pacing around the room, impatient for them to come through the door. When they did come through the door, Gaius was still pacing. Merlin knew something was up, because Gaius never paced unless something was either wrong or he was having to wait.

"Gaius, what's going on?"

"Oh, thank God you're back. I've talked to Uther."

"What did he say?" Lily was anxious to hear what decision the king had come to.

"He says he wants to see Merlin immediately. He specifically told me the moment you come back here, to bring you both to the throne room. But he wants to talk specifically to Merlin." Gaius knew that he was putting them both in a panic by not letting onto what was really going on, but he wanted this promotion to be a surprise.

"Oh, no. He's not putting me in the stocks again is he?" Merlin didn't like being put in the stocks. It seemed funny to him that people could get so much enjoyment from throwing rotten fruit at the same person. You would think the novelty would wear off after a while.

"Don't be daft, Merlin. You haven't done anything worth being put into the stocks, unless you took the blame for Arthur again. You haven't, have you?"

"Erm…no. Not recently."

"Well then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. He just probably wants to commend you for saving Lady Lillian's life. Now let's go. Wouldn't want to keep Uther waiting any longer."

They left Gaius' chambers for the second time that day and headed toward the throne room. To Merlin, the walk seemed like it took about half the time than usual, and when they approached, the guards opened the doors and they walked in to see a room full of people. It reminded Merlin of the time Arthur had requested an audience to expose Valiant for what he was. The entire court was present. They walked up to where Uther was standing, Arthur next to him, and bowed to both.

"Merlin, I have summoned you here, because it has been brought to my attention that you and Arthur have become excellent friends, and on several occasions, saved each other's lives. And you both trust each other with your lives. This is why I have decided to promote you, Merlin. As of this moment, you are no longer Prince Arthur's manservant. You are now his confidant, his friend. I award you the position of Prince Arthur's advisor. You have shown that you are loyal to him, and that you will not steer him in the wrong direction. You have never lied to him, and he trusts you, which is the most important trait that an advisor needs. I hope we will see great things come to fruition from our prince and from you."

The people of the court began to clap, but Merlin looked to Arthur, who looked stunned, but smiled at his friend. Merlin smiled back and then looked to Gaius, who also smiled at him, but Merlin gave him a look that said he knew that Gaius knew what this was about. The old physician only shrugged, innocently. Arthur leaned toward his father and spoke to him. Then Uther raised his hand to silence the court and said, "At the request of our prince, I declare a feast in honor of Merlin's promotion." There was more clapping and when everyone else left, Arthur came to where Merlin was still standing, stunned.

"How on earth did you ever get my father to promote you? I've been trying to talk him into it for about a month now."

"I didn't do it. It must have finally sunk into his brain that you weren't going to leave him alone until he did." They laughed.

"Yeah, I can be pretty stubborn at times."

"And a prat, but a royal one all the same."

"Don't let my father hear you call me that. He might drop you back down to being my servant again."

"I don't think he will," Gaius said, coming up to the two men. "I spoke with Uther earlier today about it. I guess it was yours and my own efforts together that finally convinced him to do it, sire."

"Merlin, I'm not going to miss you as my servant. It's been terrible, really. You were without doubt the worst servant I ever had…but I think you'll make a fair advisor. You've never steered me wrong before. And now your word counts for more than what it did when you were a servant. So if anymore knights come to tournaments using magic and you find out about it, you tell me immediately and we can take it to my father. He should listen now."

"I think he would have listened after the first time, whether I was your advisor or not."

"No doubt. Well, I should be off to get ready for the feast. As should you."

"That's right. This will be the first feast I get to attend as a guest and not a servant. What am I going to wear?"

"Don't worry about that, Merlin," Gaius said, as Arthur walked off. They turned and left the throne room. Merlin watched as Lily left with Morgana and Gwen. "Uther has you all set up. The Lady Lillian is now in the room next to Arthur's and you are in the one next to hers. I set it up that way. I figured she would prefer being in between you two as you both can protect her better that way. You have a whole new wardrobe in your room now."

"I'm going to be staying in the palace? But Gaius, what are you going to do without me?"

"The same thing I did before you came. Honestly, Merlin. Don't think I can't handle things on my own. I did just fine without you before. It's time you moved on. This way, you can spend more time worrying about your destiny. Although, I do want you to take that book I gave you with you. You may never know when you might need it. Just make sure you keep it hidden."

"I know, Gaius," he said, as they approached the room that was to be Merlin's. Gaius left him at the door and continued to his own chambers. Merlin entered his new home and looked around. The rooms were just as nice as both Morgana's and Arthur's. He walked over to the wardrobe and opened the doors. "This must be a joke," he said to himself. Inside the wardrobe were shirts similar to the ones he already owned; only made by a more skilled craftsman than his mother, and jackets similar to Arthur's. He was not sure what to choose. Everything was of better quality than he had ever owned. He removed all of the clothing from the wardrobe and threw them all upon the bed. It wasn't so much a decision of what matched, but that of which he wanted to wear. He picked up a pair of brown pants and laid them aside as his selection. A moment later and he had chosen a red tunic, and turned to the jackets. He was holding up a brown and a blue trying to decide between the two, when there was a knock on his door.

Glad to take a break, Merlin went to the door, still clutching the jackets, and opened it to reveal Lily on the other side. "Hey, Merlin. Just wanted to see if you needed any help deciding what to wear. I've already chosen my dress. It's pure gorgeous, but I can't let you see it yet. It's a surprise." She stopped and stared at the jackets in his hands before bursting out in laughter. Merlin stared perplexed at the girl in front of him. "What is so funny," he asked. "Nothing," she said regaining her composure. "It's just that you seem to be having some problems deciding what to wear. I see you've chosen a red shirt and brown pants. That's a good combination. Which jacket were you planning on wearing?"

"Well, I was leaning more toward the blue…"

"OH NO!!!" she shouted, startling Merlin. "You absolutely cannot wear that blue jacket with this! You would be the laughing stock of the court. Here let me help." She snatched the jackets out of his hands and turned to his wardrobe. Lily rummaged through his clothing for only a moment before tossing a golden colored shirt, a pair of brown trousers, and a brown jacket at him. "There now try that on for me so I can see what it looks like. It's much easier to tell if it works with your complexion if you have it on."

Merlin retreated behind the screen and changed quickly, before the crazy girl could throw any other clothes at him. It didn't take him long to change before he was standing in front of Lily. She scrutinized him for a moment, then deciding everything was in perfect order, said, "Okay, now for shoes." She looked back to the wardrobe in hopes of finding more than just boots there, but was unsuccessful. "Drats! Of course all there would be in here is boots," she said under her breath. Merlin did not hear her, as he was a little entranced with looking at himself in the mirror. He never imagined that he would ever were clothes of that quality in his life. Everything was new, yet familiar, because he had handled Arthur's clothing, which was made of the same materials. "Hello! Earth to Merlin!!" Merlin turned to see Lily looking slightly angry at the fact that he had not been listening to her. "Oh, sorry, my lady." "I was saying, Merlin," she started as she began to come closer to him, "that you'll just have to wear these brown boots, even if they are slightly darker than the brown of your clothes. But no one will be looking at your feet anyway, so I don't guess it will really…" Her words were cut off when she tripped over a pair of pants lying in the floor that Merlin had left there during his perusal of his new clothing.

Merlin caught her before she could get anywhere near the ground and held her steady. They were standing so close that their faces were only inches apart. His breath smelled like mint leaves, and she drifted away briefly on clouds with the scent. Their eyes met and she saw his up close for the first time since she arrived in Camelot. They were a deep blue, like oceans, and she could see the magical power there behind them. Power that he did not even know he possessed. She looked away, and felt his hand slide under her chin and lifted it up so their eyes met again. She felt it as he leaned forward, or was she the one leaning toward him? She couldn't tell which but at the moment she didn't really care. All she could think about was him. She suddenly realized she wanted to kiss him, wanted to hold him, wanted to be with him always. Then she realized their lips were centimeters apart. This is what I've been missing all my life, this is what I've been longing for. I only want Merlin, to be with him for the rest of my life. Oh, Merlin, can you feel this feeling too? Can you see that.. "I love you?"