Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, this is an alternate universe fan fiction, in which I have used the characters, places and story from the BBC TV show which I do not own.

A/N: I know it has been a bit longer than usual for this chapter. Let's just say that real life caught up with my ideal life...so with out further ado, I present to you Chapter 7, Of childhood past and butterflies!

No-One Knew

~MERLIN~

Today, since Arthur was not going to be in any danger, Merlin was sure, he decided to go visit one of the druid camps close by. He had protected them once against a large group of bandits - that was the first time he met them. After that, Merlin often travelled to the camp to check that they were doing fine, and in return, they told him of news from Camelot.

As he wandered into the camp busy with the daily life of the druids, a few still stopped and bowed down to him. It was better than the first few time though...practically every person had dipped their heads on his arrival...it made him feel very self conscious.

"Lord Emrys." he heard the elder druid who was approaching him say.

"Isuilder," he said in greeting looking around, "and what did I say about the bowing?" he smiled.

"Perhaps you should just accept who you are..." he said in the same tone, returning the smile.

"This is who I am-Emrys-not some God or king." he replied unfaltering.

"What is it Emrys? Is anything the matter?" he asked with a touch of concern. He was the leaded of the camp, after all.

"No, no, " he reassured. "I've just come to play with the children."

He was answered with a chorus of happy cries, and chucked while being dragged off by a group of young children. He loved playing with them: it was the sort of childhood he never had. In terms of friends, all he had had was his mother.

§§§§§§§

At first, his mother dare not let her son out, for he was too young to understand. When he did understand, he could not control it well, and stayed secluded in fear of something happening; invariably, something around Merlin would start to levitate, or something of the like. By the time he was confident enough to go out on his own in public, his childhood days were nearing an end. He was the kind of child who wandered, exploring the forest during the day, and stargazing in clearings by night. He spent time watching wild deer and other animals in the woods which he knew like the back of his hand. He learnt much about the forest, more than some of the most learned people ever knew. His ways were gentle and pure; animals did not fear him and he could always calm them down.

But at the same time, he was very hard working for someone of that age. He helped his mother as much as he could: they were peasants after all. They had little money and little food. Hunith never made Merlin do any chores, yet he would go, of his own accord, early every morning to fetch water. The rest of the day, he would go to collect firewood (winters were cold in Ealdor, especially when one slept on the floor each night), tend to the animals, fixed anything broken (their roof often leaked after a particularly storm night) and did anything else that needed doing until Hunith literally pushed him out of their house.

It was then, deep in the woods where no person was ever seen, that he would practise his magic, willing the elements to bend to his mind. It made him feel complete - in fact, that was who he was. One could not separated Merlin and Magic, for they were one.

§§§§§§§

So from time to time, he would go to visit his young friends. This day, they played tag, and then hide and seek. He was hiding when some of them ran to him with anxious faces. "Emrys - it's Ane - she fell!" He followed then, ever the calm one, to see the girl tripped over a tree root with the rest surrounding her. He looked down as he felt a tug on his shirt. A small boy, her brother, looked up at him with solemn eyes. "Is she going to die?" He blinked at him. He could not be more than three years old. They made way for him as he knelt down next to her. "Ane?" he asked gently. She gave a small whimper in return. Merlin picked her up and sat her on his knee. She has a rather nasty gash on her leg, nothing serious, to Merlin's relief. He whispered reassuring words and told her a story to distract her (and unintentionally all the others) as he healed her, then entertained them with his favourite form of magic.

"What is your favourite colour, Ane?" he asked, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Purple." she replied with curiosity, leaning forward to see what was in his cupped hands.

A purple butterfly flew to of his hands.

Soon, all the children had forgotten about the incident, which, of course, had been taken care of without their knowledge. They were all crowded around Merlin as he conjured butterflies from thin air. Suddenly, he noticed a change in the children's moods - they were muffling giggles and averting their eyes from his questioning gaze. He watched in surprise as one of the butterflies that he conjured flew straight onto his head. His eyes narrowed playfully at the cluster in front of him, his eyes expertly finding one mischievous Samwise bleed into the crowd, who had cautiously placed a flower in his hair behind Merlin's back. He grinned widely in return, looking at Samwise, challenging him.

His eyes turned a molten gold as he stood up, spreading his arms out slightly. Hundreds of butterflies of all different colours landed on him, covering all of him save his face. As they landed on him, each one glowed golden with his magic, waiting for a few moments, before flying off and returning to their original colour simultaneously. Leaving all of the children and the druids who had seen spectacle in awe.

A/N: I hope you like it, thanks for reading!