SMNJ:

Look forward to seeing it :-)

Vaughntronic:

I agree there is not nearly enough Leon out there, he's one of my favourites too… More kittyness and cuteness coming up ;-)

Guest:

I really hope not, where?

Eloeehez:

I don't think Percival could ever say no to a child… Seems to be a big softie underneath all those msucles ;-)

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.

The coming of Mittens

Travelling back to Camelot to start implementing some changes.

They stayed with the druids for some days and Arthur was relieved to notice that the work that he'd put in was starting to pay off. He still had a long way to go but he now felt confident that he'd get there eventually. Merlin was giddy with excitement, both from being surrounded by other people with magic and from the fact that Camelot would soon be a country where magic was no longer illegal, but he still found the time to help with the drafting of the new laws and Arthur's training. The knights provided a valuable perspective to the new laws as well but since it was only Leon that had some actual experience at drafting laws he was the most involved with the work. The rest of the knights found themselves surrounded by kids and middle aged men and everything in between who wanted to learn hand-to-hand combat, sword fighting and archery.

When the time came to leave, they all felt genuinely sad to go. But there was still one question that Arthur wanted answered before leaving.

"Why is my shift a cat?"

"There are many different explanations as to why a person has a certain animal shift." The village elder left it at that and refused to answer in more detail.

"That is another story for another time, young Pendragon" was all he said when Arthur insisted. "Focus on practicing what you've learnt for now."

"But why a cat?" Arthur asked again, as soon as they were out of earshot form the druids. "Come on, Merlin, they must've told you something."

"No they didn't, sire, all they said was that a person's animal shift is supposed to complete their human one. You should ask Gaius."

"Well, what does that mean then? The complement thing?" Arthur pressed for more information.

"Maybe that you need to be petted more, sire?" Merlin suggested lightly. "It's more likely to happen when you're all cute and fluffy." He ducked out if the way as Arthur attempted to smack him over the head. "I know, I know. Shut up."

"You guessed it, Merlin."

The days were colder now and they had to share their bed rolls to keep warm during the nights. Leon complained loudly that Elyan hogged all the blankets and Gwaine smugly took the opportunity to announce to everyone that he actually didn't need any blankets at all because Percival was so incredibly hot. Arthur, in feline form, got his revenge by sneaking a dead mouse into one of Gwaine's boots and laughed to the point of crying when the knight jumped three feet in the air when putting his boots on in the morning and fell over, cursing loudly.

Arthur managed to spend most of their trip in human form and they travelled swiftly. When his concentration momentarily slipped he suddenly found himself four-legged again but he didn't mind that much, seeing that one of the others would take care of his horse and Merlin would take care of him. So he settled down for a nice little nap in Merlin's arms and let Leon worry about bandits for a while. The last evening before arriving in Camelot they spent discussing strategies and plans until Merlin started yawning loudly and everyone realized how tired they were, prompting them to turn in for the night.

Percival awoke and sat up abruptly when someone brushed against his shoulder. He tried to warn the others but before he had the time to say anything a hand snuck around from behind and covered his mouth. He struggled briefly until he felt soft strands of hair tickle his face and he realized that the attacker was in fact Gwaine.

"Quiet" he whispered and slowly removed his hand, nodding towards the other side of the fire. "Look." Percival straightened up and his shoulders started shaking at the sight before him. Gwaine hastily put his hand back over his mouth.

"Don't" he breathed warningly. "This is too god to miss."

This was Arthur and Merlin, both deeply asleep. Arthur had apparently shifted during the night and was now curled up like a fluffy, furry ball on Merlin's chest, purring loudly.

"Oh, the blackmail material that I've gathered during this trip…" Gwaine whispered. "This is gold, Percival, pure gold." Unfortunately Percival couldn't keep from barking out a laugh at this and Arthur's eyes flew open. When he realized that his pillow was in fact his manservant he yelped and jumped to the ground, causing Merlin to wake up and sleepily start moving around.

"Whatsgoingon?" he mumbled.

"Princess here decided to use you as a pillow. It was cute" Gwaine smirked. "Ow!"

"Watch it Gwaine" Arthur said smugly. "You don't want to be clawing for attention like that."

When they arrived back to Camelot Arthur was still a cat and, since he couldn't really guarantee that he wouldn't suddenly be standing in stark naked human form in the middle of the courtyard, Merlin and Arthur snuck in through a side door and left the knights to deal with the horses. Arthur had Leon call for a council meeting the first thing in the morning and then went to bed, falling asleep as soon as his head, as well as the rest of his body, hit the pillow since it was perfectly cat sized and very soft and fluffy.

The next morning his nerves were in a messy knot in his stomach and it was hard to eat the breakfast that Merlin had brought him. Merlin looked torn between anxiousness and happiness and didn't seem to know which foot to stand on. He bumbled around the room, babbling nervously and before long Arthur threw him out to try to collect his thoughts. They had already talked through everything, planned everything and Merlin was just making him more insecure with his constant chatter. He was better off talking Gwaine's ears off instead. Arthur still hadn't forgiven him for the catnip that had somehow wound its way into his saddlebag, but on the other hand, the dead frog that Gwaine had found on his pillow just might make up for it. Just might though…

When they met outside the council chambers a little later they both looked calmer but Arthur suspected that they'd not fool anyone who knew them too well. He turned to the knights, who had just joined them, and Merlin.

"It's time." Together they walked into the council chambers, Merlin behind Arthur and the knights flanking both of them. Arthur had ordered that the knights were not only to protect him but also Merlin in case anyone tried to attack them and he'd told them to stay close, even if he hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. He took a deep breath, tried to convince himself that he could do this without turning into a cat and held up his hand to stop the quiet discussions that floated around the table.

"My lords, the reason for calling this meeting, and also to my sudden departure from Camelot, is that I have recently discovered something about myself that my father had not told me, something that has made me question some of his choices." His words provoked a small surprised murmur from the assembled nobles. "I also have a friend that has made me question some of the prejudices that I have inherited from my father and I have realized that some profound changes are in order." He looked around the room once, saw Merlin nod at him almost unnoticeably and squared his jaw.

"I have decided, as of today, to lift the ban on magic."

Chaos erupted in the room.