DISCLAIMER: MERLIN BELONGS TO THE BBC

"Merlin! Morgana!" they heard a voice call from their position on the floor. Both of them had drifted off after a while, exhausted from the tension and uncertainty.

"Esyllt!" Morgana cried, jumping up from the floor and running outside. Merlin winced at the pain from her sudden movement.

"Morgana!" Esyllt said happily, "Look who I brought with me!"

Merlin wished he could see what was going on, but the people – whoever they were – were just out of sight. He struggled to sit upright without Morgana's support.

The voices lowered, and now he couldn't even hear what they were saying. He pushed upwards with all his strength, gritting his teeth. Just as a group of people came into the cave, his strength left him, and he collapsed backwards, a cry erupting unbidden from his lips.

"Merlin, you fool," he could hear Morgana chastise him. He lay still, waiting for the black spots to clear from his vision.

"Merlin?" Esyllt said cautiously.

"Yeah?" he rasped.

"Are you ok?"

"I'll- I'll be fine." He took a deep breath, and pushed himself up halfway. Morgana sat behind him, supporting his back.

"It's good to see you're ok," he told Esyllt, "we were worried."

"Sorry," she said, "it took longer than I thought to find them."

That's when Merlin caught sight of the mystery people – three druidic men standing at the back of the cave.

"Sorry," he said to the men, "I don't think we've been introduced."

"We're relatives of Esyllt," said one. "I'm Accalon, this here is Balen," he gestured to that tall, dark haired man on his right, "and this is Lucan."

Merlin smiled, "it's nice to meet you."

"And you, Emrys," Lucan said, stepping forward. Esyllt and Morgana watched in silence.

Merlin sighed. Again? "Why is it that every druid seems to have an issue with calling me Merlin?"

"Because you're well known in our community, Emrys, and we know you by that name, and no other," Lucan replied, an amused glint in his eyes.

Merlin hmmphed.

"But the reason we followed Esyllt," said Accalon, "is that we heard you are in need of help."

"Well, yes," said Merlin sarcastically. "What gave you your first clue?"

Esyllt snorted with laughter, and tugged on Accalon's hand.

"Please help him, Uncle," she said, "he's hurt, as much as he tries to hide it behind laughter."

"Wait," Morgana said suddenly, "who are you exactly? What are you planning on doing?"

"Esyllt tells me you have seen how she can heal," Accalon began.

"Yes,"

"No,"

"Well, one of you has, anyway," he smiled, "It is a gift that runs in the family. But I am much older than she is, and I have had many chances to practice with my gifts. I believe I can help heal Emrys."

"Merlin," the warlock mumbled resentfully.

"Is that all right with you?" the druid asked respectfully.

"Yes," Morgana sighed eventually. "There's nothing more I can do anyway."

"Wait a second," Merlin interrupted. "What exactly is going on?"

"Just watch, Merlin," Esyllt said softly, squeezing his hand.

Merlin looked distrustfully at the druid as he bent over his sitting form on the floor. He held his hands lightly over Merlin's chest, and Merlin watched in amazement as white, flickering, light flooded from the druid to him. It covered his whole body, concentrating especially on his lower body where the burns were more extensive. It felt like a warm hand was caressing him, and he shut his eyes. The ever-present pain that normally throbbed at the back of his head like an irritating fly faded away.

"He will sleep now," the druid murmured.

Merlin drifted off into blackness. For the hundredth time that day.

Merlin woke to a surprising absence of pain, and a loud racket coming from the other end of their makeshift home.

"But I want bread!" he heard Esyllt say.

"We have no bread!"

"But I want it!"

"Can't a man sleep in this place?" Merlin called out, a smile on his face.

"Merlin!" Esyllt cried, and she ran over to him.

"What's the noise about?" he asked her.

"She wants bread," Morgana said, appearing behind Esyllt, "and I'm trying to explain to her that we ran out. Which she knows full well." She glared at Esyllt.

The druid girl looked innocently at her, her bottom lip trembling. Morgana's glare softened. Merlin smirked.

"This is strangely domestic," he commented absently.

"Shut up, Merlin," Morgana said, directing her fierce gaze at him. He held his hands up in surrender, grinning. Then he stopped, shocked that he had felt no pain in doing so.

"What happened?" he asked in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"There's no . . . pain."

"Accalon speeded up your healing," Esyllt explained cheerfully. "Your back is pretty much healed now, although your legs will be painful still if you try and stand."

"Wow . . ." Merlin uttered quietly. The pain had been a permanent present for days now, it was weird not to feel it.

"And . . . there'll be scars," Morgana told him softly. "Probably for the rest of your life."

"How bad?"

"They'll be quite bad, especially on your legs and lower back." She explained gently.

Merlin breathed heavily, looking down. He tried to evaluate how he felt about this new information. He had known intellectually that he would be scarred, but he hadn't really allowed himself to think about it.

"It's- I guess it's a small price to pay for my life," he said finally. "I never thanked you for that, by the way."

"I don't deserve thanks," Morgana told him.

"Yes you do. You saved my life," He took her hand. "Thank you."

"Happy families!" Esyllt squealed, and ran to the opposite side of the cave. "Morgana! Where's the bread?"

Morgana scowled at the druid girl. "If you don't shut up about that bloody bread, I'll-"

"Do what?"

"You'll see," she muttered darkly to the girl. Esyllt laughed.

"So domestic," Merlin smirked.

"Merlin," Morgana warned.

"What?" he said innocently.

She threw her hands up in the air. "I swear, one day . . ."

"Is everything alright?" Lucan's cultured voice asked from the doorway.

"You're still here?" Merlin replied, as the two other druids appeared behind him.

"This kind lady allowed us to stay until we had had a chance to speak with you."

"Which we will leave you to do now," said Morgana, standing gracefully and moving over to the other side of the cave to grab Esyllt's arm. "Come, Esyllt, we'll go forage for food."

"But I want bread-"

"Esyllt . . ."

"I'm coming," the girl moaned, and followed Morgana out of the cave.

Merlin, laughing, said, "What is it you wanted to speak about?"

Balen, for once, was the one who spoke, "We wanted to make sure you were aware of your destiny."

"Yes," Merlin sighed in annoyance, "I am well aware of what I have to do."

"The Prince will make a good king," the druid said softly, "but he is not there yet."

"You will have to help," Lucan finished.

"I understand," said Merlin.

Accalon looked at him sadly. "Remember, young warlock, that whatever comes to pass is what is meant to be. It is not your fault."

"Ok . . ." Merlin answered. "Um, thanks?"

"We must take our leave," said Accalon, lifting a hand in farewell to Merlin.

"Is Esyllt not going with you?"

"She has expressed a wish to stay here, and the Lady Morgana has agreed. Until, that it, the time comes that she must part ways, just as we are doing now," Balen replied in low tones.

"Alright," Merlin said. "It was great to meet you. And thanks, for healing me, I mean,"

"It was no problem, Emrys. We will always be here to help."

The three druids turned, and walked quietly out of the cave. Theyseemincapableofdoinganythingthatisn'tcarefullythoughtoutandexecuted, Merlin thought sarcastically.

"Merlin?" Morgana asked, re-entering the cave a few minutes later. "Did the druids leave?"

"Yeah," he said, his mind still dwelling on the druids' confusing words.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Can I try and sit up again?"

"Since they healed you mostly, then sure," Morgana said. Esyllt appeared behind her and cuddled into her side. Morgana's arm seemed to curl around the young girl almost unconsciously, and Merlin smiled at the sight.

"Right," he said firmly. He pushed his arms against the floor, lifting his back upwards and trying to use the wasted muscles that would normally allow someone to sit up without even concentrating. He felt only minimal pain, and although he was horribly weak, he succeeded it sitting up first time. He grinned.

"Well done," Morgana said, smiling softly at him.

"I did it," he said in reply, proud.

"You did," she said, sitting down next to him. Esyllt nestled in the middle, Morgana's arm still wrapped around her.

Merlin walked happily along the path with Esyllt running ahead of him, happy to be out in the fresh air. It had been three weeks since Morgana had rescued the two of them, and although he was still weak, he was up and moving.

"Merlin!" Esyllt called back.

"Yeah?"

"There are people up ahead!"

"Then come back here," he told her quickly. They were both still wanted people and even if Merlin knew he could use his magic to defend himself now that everyone knew he had magic, he didn't want to draw attention to where they were staying. They'd already had to move once when a local had caught sight of Morgana and reported it to the King. Knights had been there within the day.

"It's Prince Arthur and his men," she informed him quietly when she reached him. Merlin cast a longing glance in that direction, but turned his head away.

"Not yet," he told the girl. "We'll speak to him when we plan it. On our own grounds, ok?"

She nodded, taking his hand.

"Let's get back," Merlin said, and they hurried off into the undergrowth.

Arthur, oblivious to the conversation, carried on hunting.

The plans were made that night. Morgana wasn't happy about meeting Arthur, and had gone off to collect water from a nearby stream. Merlin was racking his brains for details on Arthur's patrols.

"Who does he normally patrol with?" Esyllt asked.

"Leon," Merlin replied at once, "though recently, Lancelot maybe? Or perhaps Elyan?"

"You have no idea really, do you?"

"No," Merlin sighed in exasperation. "There's no point in making these plans. We can't predict when or where he'll be. We'll just have to watch and wait."

"You can plan what you're going to say," Esyllt suggested.

"Good idea," he said in agreement.

By the time Morgana came back, Merlin had sketched out a rough speech to give to Arthur and Esyllt was disappointed to hear that she was notcoming with him.

"Everything prepared?" Morgana asked causally, but Merlin could see the lines of tension on her face. He knew she didn't know what to feel regarding her brother. The perceived rejection by her family because of her magic, even if she never gave Arthur a chance to talk to her about it, hurt her more than she cared to admit. Her hatred of Uther was absolute, but it was more complicated when it came to Arthur – her brother, the boy she had grown up with, the boy sworn to bring magic back to the land.

"As much as it can be," Merlin replied.

"Though he won't let me go," Esyllt pouted.

"Damn, you're leaving her with me?"

Merlin laughed, and Esyllt's lip stuck out even more. Morgana ruffled her hair in amusement.

"Come on, Merlin," he muttered to himself, "you've faced worse than this." He was walking through the overgrown plants of the forest, jumping at every small noise and squinting in the bright light that flooded the forest floor. Morgana had scryed earlier and caught sight of Arthur and his patrol – consisting of the Knights of the Round Table, luckily – heading towards them. Merlin had set out to intercept them. He had known for a long time that he would have to meet with Arthur, and explain to the future king that he was alive and well. He just wasn't sure he was ready for it, now the moment was near.

"Come on, Elyan," he heard a voice call, "you can't be that hung-over!"

"I didn't have nearly as much as you last night, Gwaine!"

"Shut up, idiots. We're supposed to be on patrol, not messing around like teenagers." Merlin's heart jumped when he recognized Arthur's voice. It had been too long . . .

"Just a little bit further, Arthur," he murmured from his spot next to a tree in a clearing where he had stopped. Sure enough, the heavy boots could be heard drawing nearer and nearer, and Merlin's heart rate increased.

"Lighten up, Arthur," Gwaine laughed, then stopped dead.

Arthur stepped forward. "M-Merlin?"

The warlock walked forward slowly, unsurely. "It's me," he confirmed, his pre-prepared script flying out of his head at the sight of his old friend. Arthur hadn't changed a bit, if you ignored the bags under his eyes and his shocked expression.

"I- I thought you were dead," Arthur said harshly.

"I survived. Just," Merlin said quietly, gesturing to his lower body. Twisting scars could be seen through the tears in the trousers Morgana had managed to conjure when she got him back to the cave the first time. Neither had bothered to mend the trousers when they became torn, the material not strong enough to survive the branches in the woods.

"Jesus Christ," Gwaine was muttering, his normal laughing expression frozen in shock. The others were similarly still

"What- What happened?" asked Arthur.

"Morgana rescued me, as I'm sure you saw. She was enchanted by Morgause, and when she died, she slowly came back to herself. She had a vision of me burning, and decided she couldn't let that happen. Just in time," he explained.

"So, Morgana's . . . not evil?" Gwaine asked.

"No," Merlin shook his head. "She hates Uther still, but she doesn't want to kill anyone anymore. She didn't come today because she wasn't sure she wanted to face you all."

"How-" Arthur took a deep breath. "How are you still alive?"

"My magic," Merlin relied simply. "It kept me alive for a while, until some druids came to help heal me."

"I- I thought you were dead," Arthur repeated again.

"So did I," Merlin muttered.

"I- I can't believe this," he said in shock. Merlin stepped forward even more and placed a hand on his arm.

"I'm real, Arthur," he assured him. "I survived."

"Screw this," said Gwaine, and he embraced Merlin in a bear hug. "Thank God you're alive, mate, is all I can say."

The others murmured agreements, and Merlin took a deep breath. The full weight of what had happened hadn't really hit him until he saw the knights.

"I missed you," Arthur said quietly.

"I missed you too," Merlin smiled. "I was stuck with two girls!"

"Two?"

"The little druid girl that was going to be burnt after me. Her name's Esyllt," he replied. "Morgana rescued her as well."

"This is very, very weird," said Lancelot.

"Believe me, I know," Merlin laughed. "How long have you got before you're expected back?"

"We need to be back tonight," Arthur answered, his face slowly regaining colour. "So we have an hour or two."

"Then let's eat!" Gwaine crowed.

"Do you ever think of anything besides food and drink?" Elyan asked sarcastically.

"Sure," he replied, "I think of women too!"

"I didn't want to know that," Merlin muttered, smiling at his friends.

They sat by the river, Arthur and Merlin next to each other, silent, with the others chatting quietly a little distance away.

"Are you ok with this?" Merlin asked. "I mean, with my magic, and everything?"

Arthur was quiet for a few seconds. "Yeah," he said at last. "I think I'm ok with it all."

"I wanted to tell you, you know," Merlin said, looking up at the sky. "I devised so many conversations in my head, but I could never muster up the courage. I've been hiding my whole life, it's difficult not to now."

"I get it," Arthur said. "I think that was the bit that hurt the most, really; knowing that you lied to me when I thought you were the one person I could rely on."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, listening to the gentle chatter behind him and the trickling of the stream, slowly flowing downwards.

"I'm sorry too," Arthur said.

Merlin said nothing, choosing instead to keep his gaze upwards to the clouds.

"Why do you do that?" Arthur remarked after a bit.

Merlin looked round. "Do what?"

"Look upwards," Arthur gestured. "I noticed you doing it when- you know-"

"I don't know," he answered after a while. "I guess it's comforting. I like to think that everyone that dies is up there, watching over us."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully.

"It was better than looking at everyone anyway," he continued. "I didn't want to see the tears."

"It- It was horrible," Arthur said finally. "I didn't want to look, but then you called, and I just . . ."

"Sorry about that," Merlin said. "I didn't want to die alone, in silence. I wanted you to know that I would always be there."

"I already knew that," he whispered.

"Always," Merlin said softly.

"And forever," Arthur agreed.

"How'd it go?" Morgana asked when Merlin returned quietly that night. Esyllt was sitting on the ground, playing with some thread she'd found somewhere.

"Good," he murmured, exhausted but happy.

"You explain everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Merlin replied. "We agreed that it was stupid for me to come back to Camelot now, even in disguise."

"When will you go back then?" Morgana asked.

"Who knows?" Merlin shrugged, "Probably not for a long time. But Arthur's going to try and fix the patrols and hunts so that he and the rest come to this area fairly often."

"We'll set up some spells to tell us when they arrive," Morgana said. Merlin smiled, touched that she was making such an effort. He reached out to take her wrist.

"Thanks," he said softly.

She smiled. "Maybe one time I'll come with you."

"I hope so," he said in reply.

"Me too!" piped up Esyllt.

"Of course," Merlin laughed. "We can't leave you behind." He let go of Morgana's wrist and turned to grab some berries from on top of a log where they'd been placed. Morgana's arm shot out, however, and her hand wrapped in his. He smiled gently at her.

Esyllt ran up to them. "Can I have a berry?"

ForeverChasingDreams