I'm not sure how well this chapter turned out. It's mostly all dialogue -- I need to work on more and improved descriptions for later chapters I think -- as well as being short. It might be a bit rushed because there's a lot I need to get through and this is still an introduction of sorts. I was going to write more, but it was going to become repetitive without a break. Also, I've come across some logic and plausibility issues which I will need to address. One of these isn't that major and I already knew about. I think can get away with it by the characters drawing attention to it. The other is blatantly obvious, but didn't occur to me until today, which is a shame because it affects the big, epic stuff which will happen in chapter 9(ish) -- and that's complicated enough already. If I'm careful I should get away with it alright, but it will require a bit more thought.

Thanks as usual to everyone who reviewed. Please continue, it really makes my day. Hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter 4

Merlin knew he was going to be in trouble now. He should have been at work over an hour ago. He still couldn't quite believe that he'd managed to fall asleep in the stables. A minute's rest, that was all he sat down for, then the next thing he knew it was morning. Thankfully the horses were still there this time. With any luck, no-one – namely Arthur – would ever find out. He had received some peculiar looks as he returned to the castle and no-one had spoken to him, but that was hardly surprising given his current filthy state. Surely, any passers by would just think he'd woken up early to clean the stables, they wouldn't guess he'd been there all night. He would get himself cleaned up then he would go and see Arthur, be lectured about incompetence, in other words business as usual. No-one need be any the wiser.

Curiously, there was an odd atmosphere this morning that had nothing to do with the fragrant aroma of excrement about his vicinity. Everyone seemed ill-at-ease. He would have to ask Gaius about it.

Merlin staggered into the door to the physician's chambers.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed awkwardly, then fled the room again. That was the last thing he'd expected to see. Well maybe not the last thing. If he'd walked in to find Gaius turned into a 10-foot squirrel, or King Uther in a dress with Geoffrey of Monmouth he would have been even more surprised, not to mention disturbed. Still, he hadn't anticipated Arthur and Gwen choosing this place to stage a romantic encounter. Knowing his dramatic arrival hadn't gone unnoticed, he re-entered guiltily. His eyes widened with shock when the door slammed shut behind him and he found himself with his back against the wall with a sword pointed at his head.

"Merlin! You're alive?!" Gwen was the first to speak.

"Yes, I think so." He wriggled his fingers for good measure. "Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm alive," he laughed. Gwen and Arthur were staring back at him gravely. Merlin frowned. "Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"

Neither said anything. The prince replied by raising his sword closer to Merlin, his expression radiating cold fire.

"Arthur will you put that thing down. I don't want to sound finicky, but the threat of imminent death is beginning to wear a little thin."

"Well apparantly you're dead already, so I fail to see the problem," Arthur finally spat.

"I'm not dead, honestly. See?" Merlin threw his arms wide and smiled stupidly.

"Arthur, I don't know what's going on, but maybe you should calm down," said Gwen.

"This isn't Merlin."

"I am!"

"Why are you doing this?" shouted Arthur.

"Arthur, please," implored Gwen.

"Stay back. He's dangerous."

"No, I'm not."

"What if this is Merlin?" she said, confronting the prince.

"Who else would I be?" Merlin was starting to worry now.

"He's a sorcerer."

Not again, Merlin thought. This was turning into a habit he really needed to break. Still, being a sorcerer didn't explain why the two of them both seemed to be under the impression that he was dead, or that he might not even be Merlin at all. Although he did face weird and wonderful scenarios on a regular basis, he was still pretty confident he fulfilled the criteria of being alive and very much himself. For the second time in as many days, Merlin found himself in a state of complete bemusement, although he was fairly sure this time that the predicament he was in had nothing to do with his own magical abilities being discovered. He was not reassured by this.

"You killed Merlin, then you used magic to steal his face. I want to know why."

"Arthur," Merlin begged. It was obvious now that this wasn't a joke. For some reason Arthur believed that he, Merlin, was dead – that he wasn't in fact Merlin and that he was responsible for his death. Now Arthur was within inches of killing him because of this. It was terrifying, not because he might die, but what Arthur had become because he had.

"ANSWER ME! Did you want to get to me, to my father. Is that it?"

"I swear to you. I. Am. Merlin. Please, just explain what's happening – why you both think I've died – so I can prove that I'm me."

"I think he's telling the truth."

"NO! I will not hear a sorcerer's lies. Merlin is dead because of him."

"Gaius said he wasn't killed by magic," Gwen pointed out.

"And a sorcerer can still kill by other means, especially if he wanted to hide himself."

"But why would a sorcerer want to kill Merlin? Why would he leave him to be found if he wanted to fake his identity? It makes no sense."

Arthur had been thinking the same thing. The trouble was, none of the alternatives seemed to make any sense either. His mind was resolute; there was but one truth. This impostor had murdered his friend and he would pay the price.

"Arthur, just look at him for a moment."

Arthur saw the man in front of him. He saw that familiar face and it was wrong. He'd been fooled too often. He wasn't going to succumb to his weaknesses this time.

"Arthur Pendragon, I cannot let you do this." Gwen stepped in front of him. "Not until we know for sure that this isn't Merlin. You're upset, we both are, but if you killed him without knowing for certain you'd never forgive yourself, and... I'm not sure I could forgive you."

Arthur let his sword drop as he looked at Gwen. Why did she have to be so smart, so caring, so infuriatingly forthright when it really mattered. She was right. He had to know for sure.

"And if I was a dangerous sorcerer wanting to kill you I would've probably done it already and saved you a lot of fuss," Merlin piped up.

"Oh shut up, Merlin!" Arthur snapped automatically. His mind suddenly wavered when he realised what he'd said. How could he have slipped up like that? A dark veil began to slowly lift and his eyes softened. For the first time he looked, really looked, at the young lad who had burst in minutes ago.

"Merlin?"

"Hello!" Merlin waved.

"You're you?"

"Yes," he nodded, smiling.

If this was an enchantment, it was a damn good one. Every sorcerer he had previously met had an air of nobility about them. They held themselves with dignity and poise. They had pride and an over-inflated ego which no degree of false modesty could ever fully conceal. Here before him was this tall, stick of a man, puppy-eyed, a pathetic grin now plastered across his face. A stray tuft of hair was sticking up on the back of his head at a jaunty angle and he was covered from head to toe in... well, Arthur didn't really want to think about it.

"You smell revolting," he said impassively.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Arthur's mouth twitched upwards slightly, but this wasn't the time for banter. He couldn't allow himself to be wholly convinced of the fact that this man was indeed his servant, but now it at least seemed possible and that gave him a positive thought to cling onto; it was far better than the alternative. There would be time to reassure himself later.

"You need to see this," he told Merlin.

The three of them moved over to the bed and Arthur pulled back the sheet that was covering the corpse beneath.

Even though Merlin, had half expected what he saw, he still took at step back. The resemblance was uncanny. While he knew that the person lying there wasn't him, being hit in the face by your own mortality felt very disconcerting. He studied 'himself' more closely. Every feature was perfect, yet something about his appearance wasn't right. Perhaps it was because he had only ever seen himself as a reflection, but it felt like more. There was no specific detail that was imperfect, rather the whole image seemed thin and slightly transparent. There was something, or rather someone, hiding beneath the mask, but he couldn't make them out. Looking back up at Arthur and Gwen, who were eying him intently, he correctly surmised that he was the only one to notice this effect and so kept quiet.

"So, what's going on?" asked Arthur.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well for a start, there's two of you," said Arthur

"Well, I honestly don't know and he's not saying much," replied Merlin, indicating the body. "It must be the work of magic."

"You don't say."

Gwen shook her head. Sarcasm was going to get them nowhere. There was a brief moment when no-one spoke and the faint shuffling of footsteps could be heard.

"Arthur," She hissed.

Arthur had already noticed it too. Someone was coming up the corridor outside and was about to enter.

"Get down," whispered Arthur.

"What?!" Merlin exclaimed loudly.

"Shhhhh!"

"Do they all...? Ow!" He already had Arthur's hand on his head, forcing him under the bed.

When the door opened and Gaius entered, Arthur relaxed and heard Gwen breath a sigh of relief. Gaius looked at them, a single eyebrow raised suspiciously. His eyebrow almost shot to the ceiling when Merlin head emerged from under the bed.

"Right," said Arthur. "Perhaps now we can have some answers."

I'm sorry to say there will be no more quick updates from now on. I will definitely continue at a slower rate, but my project director might kill me if I don't complete my report. If I don't update at all, assume that he has. I can't help it, for some bizarre reason I find Merlin so much more fun to write about than the chemistry and therapeutic effects of carbon monoxide releasing molecules. I really ought to go and do some more work in the lab too now :(

If you are liking this so far please let me know!