is this a new chapter i see before me? why yes it is. i know i keep repeating my self but there will be action and war and happy stabby cursywersy dramaness soon. so this chapter we get to properly meet Galahad son of lancelot. and merlin gets fixated on apples hah. i don't own merlin. if i did then it would mean the awesome people who do own it would no longer be around to entertain us. enjoy...

Galahad the fair

Galahad walked over to the group and bowed slightly in front of the prince before turning to lancelot and hugging the knight "father it is good to see you" Lancelot smiled at his adopted son. "as it is to see you my boy. Your hair?" he looked at the lads head. the lad ran a hand over his shaven scalp. "yeah I cut it all off. I thought I was a bit too pretty beforehand. I didn't" he couldn't finish the sentence he didn't need to. Merlin looked at the young man stood in front of him. he was a similar build to Merlin but where Merlin was skinny, the boy stood in front of him was toned. He had at one time had white blonde hair and his eyes were ice blue and he had several scars he looked older than 15, he looked tough but there was a gentle modesty to him.

"I got you an apple" were the words to break the silence, spoken by merlin, realiseing he'd said it louder than intended he tried again. "I enchanted two apples for you. One will afford you good luck, if anyone notices you have left they will think nothing of it. The other you must give to another, it will hinder his efforts, I know it is not a knightly way to fight but I am not a knight and this is my way of helping." The rest of the men looked at him. "galahad, this odd excuse of a man is merlin, my ser" Arthur paused to correct himself. "my advisor and friend" he said the last word quietly and quickly, but the warlock heard it. "Sir Percival, Sir Gawain, Sir Elyan and well Sir Lancelot you know, Merlin you said something about apples" Merlin laughed as the prince started to get uncomfortable. "yes I did. didn't I, are you done with introducing Galahad to his own father and cousin? Percival, he's Galahads cousin." all those gatherd turned to stare at Merlin looks of shock on their face before any of them could ask how he had worked it out, his eyes went gold and an apple appeared in either of his hands, he gave the red and green apple to the younger man. "yup apples. An apple a day, does something I'm sure. The jaw line and eyes, Arthur I advise you talk battle tactics I have to go and prepare for tomorrow. M'lord, Galahad" he bowed and walked away.

"the brotherhood grows" was what Tristain said as merlin walked up to him at the edge of the court yard. At Merlin's quizzical look Tristain just said one word "Freya" that was all the explination merlin needed to piece things to gether, in time Arthur would gather a brotherhood of knights each unparalleled in feats of chivalry and honour. In time the round table would rise again under Arthur and its numbers would grow. Merlin smiled at the thought. "Tristain, I know now is not the time to speak of such things" Tristain raised an eyebrow. Merlin continued "Arthur and I are two sides of the same coin but even the slimmest coin has an edge that links the two sides. Am I correct in believing that at one time that edge would have been your sister?" Tristain stopped and nodded, "you are correct merlin. But now that she is forfilling another role in the tapestry of time. I have become that edge. That link, a soldier who has been wronged by magic but possesses it." Merlin sighed.

He knew the feelings he was starting to have for Tristain were frowned upon, nobles and kngiths could get away with it because they were nobles and the knights would sometimes spend months or years with out any female company, even then it was frowned upon but for a commoner? For a former servant to have such affections that would get him executed or worse. Tristain seamed to realise where merlins mind had drifted and placed a comforting hand on the young warlocks arm. "it is my duty, my destiny to bind yours and Arthurs friendship. But the feeling I am starting to feel for you. Those are my choise Emrys. You need not worry about the concequences, you are the last dragon lord and the prophesized saviour of magic and I am one of Arthurs chosen knights." Merlin relaxed slightly sensing his loves hesitation Tristain continued. "as long as we are sencible and descreet in public, we will be fine." Merlin was about to agree when the young knight leant forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. The warlock chuckled and geantly pushed the knight away, "im not entirely sure that was discreet Sir Tristain" Tristain leant forward and whispered. "we can start being discreet after" he raised his eyebrow in a mischievous manner but merlin kept his composure and responded "no. now is a good time to start" and then with a glow of golden eyes he had gone. Tristian laughed wondering when merlin had learnt that trick.

Merlin appeared next to gaius in the physicians quarters. His mentor gasped and turned round to hit merlin with a heavy book. "merlin! Don't do that. Honestly now is nto the time for your tricks." Merlin apologised. "wait how did you do it?" gaius asked the young man. "um its hard to explain really its something I've been practicing." Gaius just stared at merlin until the young warlock started to speak again. "well you see I was thinking about how everything is connected, magic lays dormant in every fiber of nature it is in the air the stone the trees the rivers, so I wondered what would happen if there was an incantation that would make you part of that. Make you part of the stone. If that was possible could you move through the stone to another connected bit of it." Gaus gave him a worried look, Merlin looked down at the floor shifting uncomfortably on the spot. Eventually Gaius spoke again "so you can what, become the wall? that. Merlin that is deep magic, it must hurt or drain you surely." Gaius was not sure he liked the look on Merlin's face. Merlin looked his mentor in the face and explained "I think, certain things don't affect me. You have always said magic isn't part of me I am part of it. I don't have magic, I am magic. What if, what if the focused little things don't require balance because I just," gauis had sat down while listening. His apprentice and surrogate son was right, "because you just tap into what is already inherently there?" gaius finished. Merlin nodded looking slightly concerned.

"power alone will not male you the greatest magical being ever to live my boy. Your humility and restraint will I have never seen you use flashy magic except when to prove a much needed point." He smiled sadly and merlin picked up on it. He didn't like seing his mentor and father figure like this. "you don't expect to servive this war do you" gaius turned away from merlin and busied himself with medical preperations. After a long silence he spoke. "I was a sorcerer merlin. Uthur mistrusted those of us with magic even before what happened. He tolerated my magic, tolerated me because he saw me as a friend. When he started the purge, I saw alices name on the list so I got her out I got ballinor out as well. But I couldn't save everyone. So, uthur offered me an untimatum I could stay on as physicion and unofficial council to him but I was to never use magic again on painof death," he paused and merlin waited for him to continue, he had eard bits of the story but never all of it never in sequence. "I wrongly believed that if he had me near him in time his hatred of magic would fade, that he would see that I had magic but never used it, he would see that it does not consume and corrupt." Merlin could hear the hitch in his mentors voice as he told the story of how he had ended up in a tower surrounded by herbs harbouring a warlock.

"but I was wrong, I now know he saw me as provinghis point. I didn't use magic and was harmless there for it was the magic that had threatened to corrupt me. By the time I'd realised my mistake, that his mind would not be swayed so easily I realised that Arthur was young. I always subtley dropped hints about magic and its creatures when ever he would seek refuge here. I never sought to manipulate his mind or anything mearly inform him of all the angles." It was all starting to make sence to merlin but he needed to hear it said. "I don't expect to survive this war no. because while uthur may be the enemy I am the sorcerer who stood back and watched as he drove magic to the brink of distruction, I was the sorcerer who knew what chains would imprison a dragon. I have done great, great wrongs. In helping you, in healing those I care about, in being the princes unofficial tutor in allowing him to see that you are not evil that you area good person I only hope I leave this world with less against me." Merlin knew there was more. So he prompted Gaius to continue "they want to hurt uther they want to kill him. They want to destroy me and obliterate me. Even if I do survive I will be in no shape to do my job" and that, merlin realised was what was really upsetting his mentor it was the simple fact that he wouldn't beable to heal and care for the people of Camelot anymore whern this was over.

Merlin pulled him into a hug and whispered "I promice I will continue your work, and I promice what ever state you are in after all of this is done I will find someone to make youbetter." Gaius looked up at the young man standing infront of him so different from the nieve bumbling fool who had first stepped through his door all those years ago. He smiled "I fear there is only one capeable of such a thing" he was unnerved to see merlin shimmer a little as the young man touched the wall before replying "then I'll find her, I must see Arthur" and then he was gone, disappeared through the wall, gaius was left in the empty room wondering how merlin had known who he had ment.

ooooooh what is merlin up to. who was he referring to! um if your fans of the show you probably already know lol. so next chapter things actually do pick up pace slightly and also next chapter is where the probable mild gore comes if it isn't as bad as i thought i may drop the rating down a little. reviews make me write faster! actually they don't, my computer deciding to work makes me write faster. But reviews make me try harder to get the computer working long enough for me to write more and now i have completely lost my train of thought well done clotpole, where was i oh yes review? please? also i'm sorry about any speling and grammer mistakes there are. im dyslexic and this is un betad so yeah sorry bout mistakes that slipped my notice.