Author's note

Sad as it is, all good things come to and end at some point, and also this story...
I pretty much have the last chapters planned out and written already but if there is something that you would like to happen in the story, just leave a comment about it and I'll see if I can fit it in :-)

Vaughntronic

Hm, we might have a bit of problem here, because I'm not really ready to let you have him… He's mine! My own, my preciousssss… But if you're prepared to discuss shared custody then maybe we'll talk about it… just maybe ;-)

Nance

It's a really good idea, but he would probably just flat out refuse to wear it… And be SO embarrassed if he shifts when Gwen or another lady is in the room ;-)

Eloeehez

Yep, he'll have to work with that… Or Gwaine will have to learn to keep his hands and his flirty comments to himself… Don't know which one is the easiest though ;-)

Amethyst49

Nope, he probably feels pretty mortified about the whole thing but I think that it's probably good for him, a bit of a humbling experience you know? Learning that he doesn't always know best and that he has to trust others to help him and stuff like that…

Or maybe it's just me being an extremely horrible person for thinking that…? ;-)

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

Of shifts and changes

Trying to master the feline shift that prompts a change of laws

Slowly Arthur opened his eyes and dimly registered that he seemed to be lying on his back on the ground.

"What happened?" he stammered disorientated. He could make out Merlin's and Leon's faces hovering over him and slowly felt his mind clearing as a cool cloth was gently swiped across his forehead. When he was coherent enough to take in his surroundings he quickly realized three things.

He was in fact lying on the very hard and uncomfortable ground, not that anyone present seemed to be overly worried about the welfare of the king's back, he was back in human form and he was completely and utterly naked.

Flushing bright red he reached out blindly and grabbed hold of the nearest piece of fabric that he could get his hands on, which happened to be the table cloth. Arthur thanked the gods that the table had already been cleared so that he didn't annoy his hos by breaking all his plates and hastily pulled the table cloth over him in an attempt to protect his modesty, or what little that was left of it anyway. He felt his head spinning form the hasty movement and laid back for a few seconds to regain his bearings, only to see his manservant laugh at him.

"Merlin!" he growled warningly, not particularly humored by the situation and Merlin at least made an attempt to look contrite.

"Sorry, sire" he mumbled, biting his lips to not start smirking again and leaned in to help Arthur sit up.

"What did you do?" Arthur then demanded to know, in the most commanding voice that he could produce while sitting on the floor and wearing a table cloth draped around him like a makeshift toga. Arthur grimaced when he realized that there were actually only a few couple of times in his life when he'd felt less royal than he did now. Luckily even Gwaine seemed to have grasped that this was not the time for jokes and sat quietly. Arthur was a bit surprised at first, he wouldn't have put it past the brunette knight to make fun of him, even in a situation like this, but then he realized the iron grip that Percival had placed on Gwaine's shoulder and smirked. Finally it seemed that Gwaine had found someone that put him in his place and Arthur made a mental note of thanking Percival later.

"Well?" he said returning to the present situation, prompting the old man to answer him.

"I didn't do anything, nor did anyone else here" the old man answered. "But you wished that you could have had your meal sitting at the table like a human, sire, and your body reacted when you made that wish, turning you back to your human body." Arthur tried to wrap his head around this.

"So I shifted consciously?" he asked hopefully.

"Not completely consciously it would seem" Merlin quipped, unable to hold his tongue any longer, and indicated the table cloth that Arthur was wearing. Arthur glared at him in return.

"Find me my clothes, Merlin" he hissed and Merlin surprisingly smiled at the order. He muttered a few words, his eyes flashed briefly in gold and Arthur gave a yelp of surprise when he realized that he was no wearing the very same clothes that he'd put on that morning.

"You see, sire, there are some advantages to being able to use magic openly" Merlin said jokingly but Arthur knew that there were also a great deal of seriousness behind that statement.

Ever since he'd found out about Merlin' magic by accident, they'd worked to be able to lift the ban on magic one day. The knights looked a bit stunned at the blatant use of magic that had taken place before them and Arthur wasn't surprised of their reaction. This was why he wanted to work towards legalizing magic slowly and take it step by step. He knew that Merlin trusted him to stand by his promise to lift the ban, but he also knew that he grew impatient at the slow pace that Arthur had adopted, even if he tried to hide it. He would never force Arthur too move faster, he was much too loyal for that, but it made Arthur ill at ease to see how frustrated the warlock was. But at the same time he felt that he needed to thread with caution since Uther's laws on magic had been firmly in place for many years and many shared his opinions of magic.

But he also needed to take into consideration his own situation, now that it was revealed that he was a shapeshifter he would need to change the laws quicker than he would have wanted to, unless he wanted to go down in history, not as the once and future king but as the once and future hypocrite. He was going to need help to do this properly and he would not only need Merlin's help but also the help of the druids.

So how to lift the ban on magic and how to draft the new laws on magic was discussed, but first and foremost Arthur needed to learn how to not turn into a cat every five minutes at the most inconvenient of times. Therefore, he left Merlin, along with Leon and Elyan, to discuss how best to legalize magic with some of the druids while he received tutoring in how to master his shapeshifting ability. Percival and Gwaine had disappeared somewhere and Arthur decided that he didn't want to know what they were up to.

He spent the afternoon growing more and more frustrated. He was grateful for everything they told him and realized that once he'd had the time to process everything it would be very valuable information for him to have. The practice however was not successful at all and by the end of the day Arthur doubted that he'd ever be able to regain control over his body. His hosts seemed to understand the need for him to be alone and arranged for him to have a private meal with only the knights and Merlin. Arthur felt miserable and mostly pushed the food around his plate.

"At least now you get to eat is sitting at the table" Merlin said encouraging.

"Shut up, Merlin" Arthur barked at him and Merlin looked down, surprised and hurt.

"That was uncalled for, sire" Leon chastised him and Arthur did feel ashamed the way he'd spoken but instead of apologizing he lashed out at Leon.

"I treat my servants as I see fit, sir knight" he hissed and Leon stiffened instantly.

"Of course you do, your highness" he said and stood up. "Excuse me." He bowed his head briefly and left the tent. Arthur glared angrily after him and then turned to look at the remaining knights.

"What about you, do you have anything to say about how I handle things?" he spat out and Elyan and Percival quickly backed down, glancing apologetically at Merlin. Both of them had, just like Leon, too much respect for Arthur to contradict him, even if they thought what he did was wrong. Gwaine however, did not.

"Watch it" he growled. "Princess or not, have a go at Merlin and you'll have me to answer to."

"I wouldn't do that Gwaine" Arthur retorted, voice dangerously low.

"Or what, princess? Going to throw me in the stocks? Or meow at me maybe?" Gwaine taunted and Arthur snapped at this and, in a fit of rage, threw a punch at Gwaine.

Gwaine flinched and moved to deflect but before the blow landed some sort of shield seemed to appear between the two of them, forcing Arthur to step back.

"Stop it!" Merlin screamed and then looked down as all eyes turned to him. "I just… I won't let you hurt him Arthur."