Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who read the prologue! I really hope that you enjoyed it. So now I present to you the first chapter of The Stone That Revealed Emrys. I love constructive criticism, so please review, even if you're just going to say a few words. :)

Also, a special thank you to the following people for submitting a review on the Prologue, you guys gave me some encouragement to write this here chapter that you're about to read! So thank you: Kaminari Rin, OceanHime, CosmicEssence, Janssye, lozzabluebell and FireChildSlytherin5.

Enjoy the chapter

Merlin shuffled down the corridor monotonously. Gaius had sent him off on another medicine run; he had to deliver a salve for Lady Maridor's rash, give Sir Belcour his daily pain medication for his leg that was injured in a long ago battle between Camelot and who knows what other kingdom, and make sure Sir Edvin was given a sleeping draft and a mixture of various herbal remedies that would help him get over his recent cold that had caused him much trouble.

Merlin snorted, "Gaius is just trying to overwork me. He knows how many things I have to do for Arthur everyday yet he's still persistent on giving me these mundane tasks." He ran a hand through his choppy raven hair in frustration. If anyone needed more work to add to their schedule it wasn't him, after all, he needed to muck out the stables that the knights horses were in, change the sheets on Arthur's bed, help Gwen with the towers of dirty laundry that belonged to half the inhabitants of the castle, make sure Arthur had a meal sent up to his chambers for dinner once he and the other knights returned from their leisurely hunting trip, go pick herbs for Gaius to make sure they had enough in stock, clean Arthur's armor… Great merciful God, he thought as he stopped walking and his face paled. I have to finish all that and more after I get done with Gaius' work.

"Why me!" Shouting at no one in particular he began shuffling about the castle again, earning a few amused and confused glances from other servants. "Why is there always so much to be done. I'm certain that if I keep this up I may collapse from stress! This is just to much!" Knocking on Lady Maridor's chamber door he delivered her salve with a smile, then abruptly spun on his heels and let a frown settle on his face once she closed her door then he marched onwards towards the East side of the castle.

Sighing he ran a slender hand along the wall of the corridor he was in, feeling the coolness of the stone that made up the rest of the castle. That was a unique thing about the castle that he had learned, the stone that made up a major portion of the castle was always cool to the touch. Even on the hottest summer days the walls and floors on the inside of the castle would have a pleasing chill to them. He chuckled, You'd really believe that Arthur would have more personal servants. Being the King of Camelot you would expect it wouldn't you. But nope. Just me. Good old Merlin is the only one in the entire kingdom that gets to be the personal servant of the greatest prat that's ever lived.

Walking through the archway that led to the kitchens Merlin was greeted with the overwhelming aroma of spices, fresh fruit, baking bread, and vegetable soup. It was a pleasant smell, but it never failed to make you hungry. He tried not to smile to much as he snatched up a bundle of grapes off one of the noble's lunch plates. He was pretty sure everyone in the castle had snuck something out of the kitchens at one time, you just had to have a little snack when you got in there.

After turning corners a dozen times and climbing up an innumerable amount of steps he finally made it to Sir Belcour's room and handed him what he needed and started off again through the castle. Halfway back to his own chambers Merlin was whistling a peppy and charming tune but was abruptly cut off.

"Get down, and get down now!" The wind was almost knocked out of his body as someone hissed out their words fervently. Shoving him harshly against the stone floor and sliding to collide with a wall, his head smashing off the hard stone audibly.

Seeing stars he fought to get back up, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing! You could have-" A small, rough hand was forced over his mouth and only then did he realize that it was Guinevere that had barreled into him in the hallway, her face flushed and her breath coming out in gasps as if she had been sprinting for her life.

Seeing the immediate confusion on his face Gwen spoke to him rapidly, "Merlin there's a problem. A big problem. We're to be killed I'm sure. Dear Lord, we've got to do something Merlin! Come quickly, we have to run to the West wing of the castle. Quickly, Merlin. Quickly!" They were rushing through rooms and jumping down stairs as soon as Gwen helped him to his feet. Gwen was trying not to fall over her skirts as she ran, pulling Merlin down hallway after hallway, with each passing second her soft face became more worried.

"Gwen! What has happened?" He demanded in a tone of panic. His cerulean eyes widening as he feared for the worst. It really would have been comical had the situation been different. A fairly tall and bewildered young man being hauled down foyer after foyer by a truly panicking woman who was shouting garbled nonsense about being 'found out' and that 'they had to hurry before it was to late'.

"I'll tell you when we get there Merlin, you'll see just what I mean!" They skirted a corner sharply, almost knocking over two older noble women who gasped and hurried away quickly so that they weren't ran into by the two servants.

"I need an explanation now, Gwen!"

"It's not important right now!"

"Guinevere!"

"Just come with me!"

"It's pretty important if we're running from it!" Gwen skidded to a surprise halt in a half darkened room that they had stormed into, causing Merlin to slam violently into her smaller body, sending them both onto the stone floor in a disarray of limbs and violent cursing.

Jumping to his feet, Merlin helped Gwen up from the floor as she struggled to not trip and fall again over her beige and fuchsia colored dress. Then, as soon as she was steady on her feet she whizzed over to the other side of the room and slammed the small metal latch that was on the door into place, locking them in and ensuring that no one could get into the room.

"Gwen, what happened? You said 'They found out'. What do you mean by that?" Merlin began to panic, the distraught look on Gwen's face not helping him stay calm. His mouth stretched into a firm line as he fought to keep his composure. She can't possibly mean that someone here in the castle found out who I am or what I can do. That would be ridiculous, because for God's sake she doesn't even know about my magic! But if someone did find out, and they told her… Merlin groaned and covered his face with his hands in exasperation, his slender fingers moving up to massage his temples. I'm jumping to conclusions. This has happened so many times before, I think they all know but they don't. Just relax. He took a three deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling until his breathing became steadier. But paranoia still nagged at him. What if someone does know and Gwen's just trying to help me in some way…

His thoughts were dismissed when Gwen smacked him over the head with one of her hands, probably a little harder than she had meant to because his head was sent reeling for the second time that day, his vision blurring for a few quick seconds before a sharp pain started to set in around his left temple on his head. He was sure there would be a bruise there in a couple hours due to smashing that side of his head against one of the walls earlier and now Gwen slapping him.

He groaned at the injury before looking ahead of himself to see Gwen standing in front of him, her hands fidgeting at her sides and her face a mask of worry.

"S-sorry about that, it's just, you were dazing off and, well, this is not a time to be getting lost in your thoughts!" Gwen stuttered out, switching her worry ridden face for one that was full of guilt and uncertainty.

"Gwen… tell me what has happened."

She sighed and marched over to the opposite side of the room, and only when she turned back around to face him did he realize that they were in one of the laundry chambers with piles of garments stacked around the dark room and many wash buckets that were used to clean them. The smell of stale water made the room an uncomfortable place to be in, the fact that the room was also unlit gave it an even more unpleasant feeling. The only light coming through some of the tall but plain arched stained glass windows that lined one side of the room, the bright afternoon sunlight streaming through the colorful glass and creating bizarre and frightful shadows that fell over parts of the room.

"Merlin." Gwen's tone was steady and her face calm, but you could see the fear in her eyes. "Merlin, they found out! The noble's have found out that we haven't washed any of their clothing for the last week!"

What.

Gwen was pacing back and forth across the carpeted stone floor, talking franticly about how they should have washed everything last week. That they were sure to be dead when the noble's had nothing but shoes to wear.

"They'll hang us by the noose they will! I'll tell you what we've got to do, you go round up half of the council members servants, they were supposed to do most of the washing in the first place it's as much their fault as ours, and I can go get some of the cooking girls to help. It won't be so bad if we get at least half of their clothing washed." Her face brightened up at her plan.

Merlin's mind was blank. Completely blank. He had truly thought that his magic was somehow involved. Nope. No magic here. Definitely not anything magical about washing. He soundlessly walked over to the door, unlocked it, closed it behind him, and then purposefully smacked his head against the thick wooden door. Promptly cursing himself on why he did such as a searing zing of pain shot through the left side of his head again.

Trudging back to his and Gaius' chambers in an irritated state Merlin wondered just how many more times he have to suffer through events like this that gave him the theory that his secret was out. It was to stressful for him. Knowing that he had magic. Knowing that he was a warlock, that he was one day destined to be the most powerful man of magic the world had ever seen, that he was Emrys. Knowing that he had saved so many people, so many times and was never acknowledged for doing so. That he had saved the kingdom of Camelot from evils to many times to count, and no one gave him a second glance.

It would be so easy. Just to let all of them know. Once back in his room he took out his book of spells that Gaius had given him from beneath one of the floorboards in his room, the wood making sporadic creaks and groans as he set it back in place. He began flipping through the old and worn pages of the book, the paper it was made up of was yellowed from age and torn up at the sides. The pages were filled with a vast variety of spells, from simply creating a flame in one's palm, to difficult recipes for colorful looking potions that would let you induce someone into a state that resembled a coma, but allowed them to wake up from it in a few hours.

If I could just let them all know that I had magic… But that's not possible is it. Arthur is not his father, but is no immediate friend of magic. He sighed and rolled onto his small bed, dropping the book on the floor and making a mental note to pick it up and hide it again later.

The sound of many horses and angry shouts coming from the courtyard echoed of the walls and into Merlin's room, rousing him from his thoughts. He swung off his bed and headed over to his window, peering down into the courtyard to see who it was that was causing such a ruckus.

A grin forming on his face, Merlin looked down at the small band of men who were now dismounting their horses and speaking heatedly with each other in the stone courtyard. Arthur and the others were finally back from that idiotic hunting trip of their's that they left on a week ago. They thought it was such a great idea to go hunting, and of course as soon as they had left and were far into some of the thick forests that surrounded Camelot nature decided she would blast the area with a fierce rainstorm. There was thunder and lightning that made the ground shake, and rain coming down so fast that it whipped your face like tiny needles. He was glad that he was not a part of that little trip, he couldn't wait to see Arthur's face when he asked him how the weather was on their trip. Merlin chuckled and headed away from his window, beginning his short trek down to the courtyard to greet the knights and Arthur. Or just tease them, it was fun to watch Arthur get irritated. Though they never really got mad with each other, Arthur and himself found it delightfully amusing to watch the other get flustered and annoyed.

Jumping down the last cream colored steps that led up to the castle entrance, Merlin stopped at the last step and called over to Arthur and the others.

"Hey! How was the trip?"

They small group of men all turned around quickly, all of their eyes on Merlin and looking like they had just seen a ghost rise up and out of it's grave. Arthur opened his mouth to speak but failed to, instead choosing to keep looking at Merlin like the world was going to end and he was the reason why. It was not until Gwaine and Leon started shouting, and Percival took out his sword and pointed it at Merlin did he realize that they weren't staring at him, they were all staring at what was behind him.

Before he could turn around to get a look at whatever it was that was there a massive ball of dark blue fire was hurled past him, missing his body by about a meter as it came past him, the heat of it seeming to scorch the right side of his body though it was not enough to burn him. Shouts were everywhere now, women screaming, nobles shrieking and men yelling. The warning bell was sounded as dozens of the blue fire blasts whizzed past him, moving by so fast that they knocked him over with the gusts of wind they created, flipping him over and over until he smashed into one of the stone statues that littered the sides of the courtyard, the sharply cut metal digging into his right forearm until it created a gash, blood slowly starting to flow from it.

There was a terrible screech of laughter from somewhere behind him. Whipping his head around, Merlin caught site of Arthur and the other knights diving to the ground as a giant gush of wind slaughtered the air, knocking down everything and everyone that was in it's path.

The gust hit him, shoving him against the statue a second time, his head getting banged into the metal with audible thuds at the strength of the wind.

When the wind stopped, Merlin looked around franticly for Arthur and attempted to stand up. With so much damage done to his head he knew it was not going to be possible to stay conscious long, but as soon as he stood up he saw a miniature army of red cloaks rushing forward to where the disgusting laughter had come from. The knights of Camelot, including Arthur, ran towards what he could only assume was a sorcerer with great power, he could only assume though, because his vision became blurred and try as he did to keep walking forwards his consciousness slipped away from him quickly. His body falling harshly against the stone ground. As blood started to stream lightly from another cut on Merlin's head, Arthur watched from across the courtyard as his servant collapsed.

Arthur made a move to run to him, but instead launched himself at the sorcerer who was creating such chaos. Buildings were burning to the ground and at least three knights had been killed in the attack already. The sorcerer in question was a sight to behold. Wild red hair that stuck out every which way and dressed in loose fitting black trousers, knee high brown boots, a grey tunic, and a flowing black coat. The way he laughed was almost driving the young king mad.

Getting ready to attack again, Arthur called half of his knights around him in a protective blockade.

He raised his sword with ease above his head, getting ready to signal an attack. "Stay close! Don't let him out of your sight!" With that, Arthur moved his arm forward, and he and his knights charged.

The sorcerer laughed and hissed out a string of foreign words that sent flying chunks of stone towards the knights. Arthur gasped as one of the large shards collided with his head. He heard Leon shout his name in panic before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed to the ground, the same as Merlin had minutes before. He heard shouts everywhere, could smell the burning flesh of his knights that had been struck with fire and the smoldering houses that were filling the area with a thick smoke. Then everything went black.