I figured out how to respond to reviews :) So I will be doing that from now on. Here is chapter three, hope you enjoy!
That was the first night he had the visions. They came to him in his sleep. They were just random images really, Gaius knocking over a kettle, Leon receiving a deep slice to his shoulder during training, Morgana marching on the castle with an army of sorcerers.
Merlin woke up with a start. The sky was just beginning to grey with pre-dawn light and the ground was wet with dew. It was time to head back to Camelot.
…
When Merlin vanished into thin air Gwaine turned on Gaius. "Gaius? What is going on here? Where is Merlin?"
"I don't know." Gaius answered. It was true, he just hoped that his ward had the sense to teleport himself to somewhere outside of the castle.
"We must find him, but first I must inform Arthur that we need to catch this sorcerer that has been impersonating him."
Gaius' spirits dropped like a rock. This wasn't going to go well. Gwaine was already heading for the door so Gaius grabbed his wrist and pulled him back with a strength the old man shouldn't have been able to manage. "Gwaine, that was Merlin.
"No. No, that was a sorcerer. A sorcerer who attacked me." Gwaine said, shaking his head in confusion, his eyes shining with denial.
"Gwaine, Merlin has magic. He was born with it. You surprised him. He didn't mean to throw you like that."
Gwaine was silent. He just kept shaking his head. Without another word he left the room, slamming the door behind him. Gaius heard him stomping all the way down the hall. He would just have to hope for the best.
…
Well after dawn Gaius heard a crash and some swearing in the Old Tongue from behind the door to Merlin's room. He's back. Gaius sighed in relief.
Merlin walked out of his room after a few minutes wearing fresh clothes, his hair sticking up at odd angles, and covered in significantly less muck than when he had teleported in.
"Breakfast is on the table." Gaius said, trying to hide his relief and his concern.
Merlin nodded and walked over to stand next to him for a reason even he wasn't totally sure of. It was then that Gaius knocked over the kettle. Merlin, subconsciously expecting this, shot out his hand and deftly caught it. Gaius gaped at this but Merlin's reaction was a bit more violent. He began shaking and after setting the kettle on the already cluttered table sat down hard on the floor.
Gaius knelt down beside him and placed his hand on his ward's shoulder. "Merlin, what just happened?"
"I knew Gaius. I knew it was going to happen." He was still shaking violently. He now turned to look directly at Gaius and the fear in his eyes was greater than Gaius had ever seen it. "I saw that it was going to happen last night…in my dreams."
Gaius' eyes widened a bit at this revelation but before he could say anything Percival and Leon crashed through the door.
"Merlin, Arthur wants you at the training grounds immediately. He said something about needing a moving target since no one brought him his breakfast this morning."
Merlin groaned and followed them out the door. It was when they were in the hallway that Merlin spotted a rusted spot on the shoulder of Sir Leon's mail shirt and remembered the next part of the vision he had had the night before.
Leon noticed Merlin's look and asked, "What, is it Merlin?"
"Your armour…" Was all Merlin could say.
Seeing the rusted area Leon shrugged it off, "Yeah, it hasn't been as well taken care of as it should be. It will take time to get it fixed though, so for now I will just have to live with it. It's no big deal really."
He and Percival began walking again, not thinking about it further, but then Merlin called out, "You can't go out to training today."
This caused both of the knights to turn around and face him. "What did you just say?" Leon asked incredulously.
"If you go out to practice today you are going to get hurt." Merlin said seriously, not realizing how his words could be misinterpreted.
Now Percival's eyes widened in surprise and Leon took a single step towards him. "Merlin…are you threatening me?"
"What? No." Merlin said, confused. "All I'm saying is that if you attend the training session today you are going to regret it."
At this even Percival glared angrily at Merlin. They both turned on their heel and walked away from him, their boots clonking against the stone floor as they walked away.
…
Sweat was pouring down Merlin's face as he carried the heavy target on his back. "Prat!" he called out.
He almost lost his balance when he felt the heavy thud of the knife hitting the target. Arthur laughed behind him. "Idiot! I can hear you, you know?" Arthur walked up and pulled the knife out with a hard jerk. "Tomorrow you will bring me breakfast and on time."
"If you weren't so hopeless you could get ready in the morning yourself without forgetting anything."
At this Arthur's face turned red. He had forgotten to put on his belt that morning only to have his pants fall down when he walked into the hallway. Without anything else to say in response he said, "Idiot."
"Dollop head!"
Arthur pushed against the target that was still on Merlin's back and, arms flailing hopelessly in circles, he face planted into the muddy ground. Merlin propped himself up on one elbow and tried to wipe off the mud on his face only to find that his hand was jump as coated in mud. They both burst out laughing and Arthur stuck his hand out for Merlin to take. He grabbed on and Arthur pulled him up then helped him extricate himself from the straps that allowed the target to be carried. Arthur threw his arm around Merlin's shoulders and together they walked over to where Gwaine and Leon were fighting with swords.
Merlin was happy to see that Gwaine was up and about already but as soon as Gwaine caught sight of him fear filled his eyes and he became distracted. Leon followed his gaze but Gwaine's sword was still on the path it had been traveling prior to Merlin's arrival. The blade struck the mail on Leon's shoulder that should have protected him from just such a blow, but as if cruel fate wished to toy with Merlin even more than normal it directly struck the rusted spot that so desperately needed repair. The mail broke and the tiny circular links were forced deep into the wound the sword was now able to slice.
Deep crimson liquid began gushing out and without another thought Arthur and Gwaine seized the man and ran him all the way to Gaius while Merlin struggled to stall the bleeding despite the violent bouncing caused by their pounding feet.
…
When Merlin walked into Gaius' chambers after making the rounds for him he did not find Gaius but Leon, Gwaine, and Gwen huddled together and Percival standing a few yards away and off to one side, clearly separate from the conversation. When the door closed they all looked up and Merlin received three hard stares and one curious one.
It was Gwen who finally spoke. "I didn't say anything to Arthur because I thought I knew you. I hoped that somehow you weren't like Morgana. Clearly I was wrong."
Merlin's eyes went wide at this but he said nothing. What could he say to a declaration like that?
"You have now attacked two of my friends, heck two of your friends, two knights of Camelot!"
She got more angry and more bitter as she spoke but Merlin was having trouble focusing on that. Two? Who is the second? Then with a shock he remembered Leon's reaction that morning to his warning. Leon thinks I caused his injury!
"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Merlin just stood there, not sure what to do in response. Then Gwen surprised him even further by pulling off her shoe and throwing it at him as hard as she could. Just as when he had been with Uther he stopped the shoe in midair without thinking about it. Once he realized what he had done he let the shoe clatter to the ground.
Gwen glanced at Leon and Percival meaningfully. Stupid! She was giving them proof of what I am. They weren't certain, only suspicious.
It was Leon who spoke now, his eyes hard and cold. "We are going to tell Arthur what you are, and you are going to be executed."
If he had been thinking clearly Merlin probably would have been happy to see that everyone but Leon flinched at the last word but there was only one thought on his mind. I need to find Lancelot and I need to get out of here. He rushed back out through the door to go find him. He didn't see that mere seconds later Percival followed.