At first, Merlin was shocked that the strange man knew so much about him. But he accepted it, just as he'd accepted every other strange thing in his life.
"Can I...can I ask why you're here?" he asked quietly. The Doctor hesitated for a second.
"We're here to save lives. Yours, and Gaius', and the lady Morgana."
Merlin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The witch finder."
That was all the Doctor had to say. Merlin nodded. "I'm not sure how you knew that, but Gaius and I have taken the proper precautions. And as for Morgana, I don't think she has anything to worry about."
"You don't know the witch finder. He's ruthless, and does not care about human life. From what I've read, no one has ever survived his accusations. History says that the day after tomorrow, he accuses Gaius of sorcery. After several days of physical and psychological torture, he confesses. Then he turns his finger to you and the king's ward. There is so much evidence against them that the king cannot question it. Morgana and Gaius are burnt at the stake, but you-you are beheaded. Why is that?"
"I think I know why," Rory volunteered. The Doctor spun around and walked backwards as he talked to his companion. "When I, um, skimmed over Ar-Kay's journal, I read a page. Or two. He was talking about the evidence laid against Merlin, and he mentioned a witness who saw him heal after being burned in a fireplace. They apparently didn't want to chance him coming back."
Arthur's mood worsened. These people knew things about his life that he had yet to discover. And they were discussing the death of his friend like it was a trivial matter. They weren't there; they hadn't seen the blade cut through Merlin's neck. Hadn't watched the blood drip from the block as people watched in silence.
He was never going to be able to erase those images from his mind.
Merlin glanced back at the strange boy. Kay, his name was. He looked so familiar...
He brought his attention back to the Doctor. He was strange, but Merlin liked him. "Where did you say you were from?"
"I didn't," the Doctor smiled. "We're from the future. Mostly."
"Mostly? What does that mean?"
"Never mind that. We need to figure out a way to save you."

The five of them made their way to the fields just outside town and found a grassy knoll to sit on. Arthur was annoyed that Merlin sat right next to the Doctor, barely sparing him a glance. He wanted Merlin to smile at him like that.
"Kay, I need to see the journal."
Arthur frowned and put his hand to the small of his back where his journal was tucked into his pants. "Why?"
The Doctor sighed with frustration, "Why can't anyone just do what I say without question?" he complained to the sky. "I need to know what evidence is used against them. That journal has the records."
Arthur reluctantly handed it over and watched as the Doctor leafed through the ancient pages. "Here we are."
Merlin leaned forward to look at the book. "What is this?"

"The journal of King Arthur. It's from the future, so no peeking! Spoilers!" Leaning backwards, he picked a spot and started to read out loud.

The words he read-they had been cycling through his head for the past few days, but he hadn't written them down yet. "'The witch finder accused Merlin first. He was a witness to the bewitched smoke, but swore he saw nothing. I could not believe that Merlin was a practitioner. I was so confident that they would find nothing but Merlin's filthy room. He never could clean properly. But then the jar toppled off the shelf, revealing the enchanted cuff. Gaius claimed that it was his, and they took him in for questioning. I do not know what he went through down in the dungeon, but he said something to implicate both Merlin and Morgana. He said Gaius had corrupted them, and they both died.' Hang on, skimming over personal comments...Ah. 'Gaius had three witnesses, his confession, and the cuff against him. I know Merlin tried to clear his name, but he got caught, and that made him look guilty. Then they found a small spellbook under his bed. Two witnesses came to testify against him, and his fate was sealed. I could do nothing but watch as the...' Oh. No, you don't want to hear that."

Arthur closed his eyes, picturing the scene the Doctor was skipping. It seemed to run across his mind every few minutes... Shaking himself, Arthur pitched his voice lower. If the Doctor hadn't told Merlin yet, then Arthur would try to keep his identity a secret too. "Are you a sorcerer?" he asked his servant. He had had suspicions for a while, but he had no proof of his own.

Merlin glanced at the Doctor before he nodded. He could trust these people; he could feel it.
As he was nodding, he caught sight of Kay's eyes. They were such a beautiful blue...just like... "Arthur," he said suddenly. The others looked shocked.
"W-what?" Arthur asked, startled. Merlin stood and stalked forward, crouching in front of him. Arthur held his breath. They were so close...
"I know those eyes," Merlin said, glaring. "What are you doing here?"

Arthur couldn't really control himself. He flung his arms around Merlin, pulling him in for a desperate hug. "Merlin!"
"Uhh, Arthur, I think you-" the Doctor tried to interject.
"Arthur, what are you doing here with...umm..." Merlin started, but wasn't exactly sure how to finish.
The Doctor stepped in. "This is Arthur, but he's not the Arthur you know right now. This is Arthur from the future."
Merlin seemed a little taken back. "Why's he hugging me like this?"
Arthur pulled back, but kept his head tilted slightly downward. Merlin could tell this wasn't his proud prat of a prince. "What's wrong?"

"He can't tell you much, sorry, universal yada-yada, wibbly wobbly, timey wimey... stuff."
Amy took hold of Rory's hand, seemingly saddened by the little scene.
"Alright," the Doctor clapped his hands together in attempt to push away the awkward moment, "We need to get to work."

Thanks to Merlin and Arthur, sneaking into the castle was easy. Slipping past guards, avoiding the present-day prince, the gang spent the next half hour running through corridors and making sure that things didn't happen like the journal said. They pulled the amulet from the jar, and stole the eye-drop bottles from the man in the cosmetic store. Women didn't have hallucinations, Gaius was never found with the amulet, and the witch finder had nothing to pin on anyone.

Arthur was on his way down a hall when he saw himself strutting in his direction. Ducking behind a post, he held his breath as he passed. He had just turned to go when the other him turned as well. "You there! What are you doing?"
Cursing under his breath, Arthur ran. His past self gave chase.

Arthur sped down the corridor, the prince in hot pursuit. If he weren't preoccupied, he would have laughed at the image in his head.
Tearing around a corner, he managed to slip into an alcove and hide until the other sped by.
When he finally joined the others at the TARDIS he was out of breath.
"What happened to you?" the pond girl asked.

"I was just chased... by myself... through my own... castle," he huffed.
Amy and Rory started laughing, imagining the scene like a hallway chase episode of Scooby-doo.
Merlin stared. He couldn't help but like this Arthur- he seemed a little more gentle and softer then his Arthur, definitely a bit more of a comedian. Was that wrong? He knew he had feelings for Arthur, but this guy... he was Arthur too, right? It wasn't wrong to like him or anything.

Right?