"Merlin," Arthur was watching the man move around his room. The servant looked up, noting how it was going to be getting dark outside soon. "You should probably change soon."

"Yes, sire," Merlin finished the task he was doing and made his way to the mostly unused door in the far corner of the room. What was supposed to be his bedroom. He walked into the room, surprised to see that the servants had at least dusted in here for him while they were on patrol. Shaking his head, he made his way to the dresser and opened it. He pulled out some underclothes and then began to take his male clothes off. He folded them and put them on top of the dresser.

Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to change into a woman. She stood there for a moment before getting dressed in her underclothes. She moved to the armoire and saw two dresses for for a servant. She pulled out the nicer one, light green in color. It was a finer wool, though still for servants. At least it wasn't itchy. Lastly, she pulled out a pair of delicate shoes for walking around the castle.

"Mer- Emma, are you done yet?" Arthur called from his room near the door. Emma smiled gently at the thought of him not wanting to intrude. She silently made her way to Arthur's room and bowed her head, a cheeky grin taking over her face as she did.

"Yes, my lord."

Arthur only rolled his eyes as he turned his own wardrobe. "What am I wearing tonight?"

"Well, it is spring," Emma pondered as she moved over to the prince's wardrobe. "You can go for a lighter color if you want. What about a light blue?"

"Works for me, I don't mind. You're the one who coordinates these colors for things," Arthur reminded her with a raised eyebrow. Emma turned to him with a mock glare as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well, Arthur Pendragon, you are a Prince whose going to be King. I should expect you to dress the part as well, instead of dressing like any other common nobleman," she huffed before turning to grab one of Arthur's nice light blue shirts. It wasn't banquet worthy, but very close.

Arthur bristled at the words but knew he couldn't fight back. So he gave a petulant sigh and rolled his eyes instead, pulling his current shirt and breaches off. He'd change his underpants when he got back, after Emma left for the night.

Emma dressed him as efficiently as she always did. Just as she finished tying his breaches with expert and clinical hands, she took a step back as a knock sounded on the door.

"Enter."

George peaked his head in. He gave Emma a strange look but ignored her in favor of the Prince. "My lord, dinner is ready for you and the Lady Morgana. Your father is already waiting."

Arthur nodded. "I'll be right down."

George bowed his head and disappeared once more. Arthur slipped his own castle shoes on before the duo headed to the throne room which had been prepared for dinner. Emma took a small hallway so she'd appear from the servant's door instead. Wouldn't do to have a female servant follow Arthur into the room without reason. The only other servant that would be staying in the throne room attending the royal family was Gwen. The woman gave her an odd look for a brief moment before smiling at her.

"Hello, you must be new here," she picked up a wine jug and handed it to her. "What's your name?"

"My name is Emma," Merlin gave her a cheeky smile, which admittedly probably wasn't a good idea with Gwen. Gwen knew Merlin very well. Gwen paused as it was before continuing the conversation.

"Nice to meet you, Emma," she picked up another wine jug for herself. "My name is Gwen."

Emma didn't get a chance to respond before Gwen ushered them into the room. Emma winked at Arthur before taking her spot behind him. Uther paused in his conversation with his children to look at Emma with a weird look. Emma blinked at him but didn't say anything. After a moment, she simply stepped forward to fill Arthur and Uther's cups.

"Who are you?" Uther finally asked. Arthur tensed in his seat next to where she was standing. Merlin gave a small but gentle smile.

"My name is Emma, I'm a servant here in the castle, my lord," she replied with a small shrug. Uther narrowed his eyes for a moment before shaking his head and going back to his children.

"How were the lands, Arthur?" Morgana asked with a small smirk on her face. Arthur raised an eyebrow at her expression but answered nonetheless.

"Very quiet, actually. It was a nice change of pace."

"Where is your manservant, Arthur?" Uther asked, taking a sip of his wine. "He's usually not that far behind you."

Arthur froze for a moment. Emma was tempted to do the same, but managed to not react at all. For once. "He's taking the night off, I suppose. Mentioned something about helping Gauis again."

"Ah, of course," Uther accepted this, not mentioning Arthur's reaction to the question. Morgana, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes and then glanced at Emma. Emma had to look away from her spot behind Arthur's chair. She knew she'd be getting questioned later for that. Dinner continued without a hitch after that. Emma was about to leave back through the servant's door to make her way to Arthur's quarters when Morgana stopped her.

"Emma, darling, would you mind coming to my quarters to help me for a moment?" her voice was innocent enough and Emma couldn't exactly refuse her without a good reason.

"Of course, my lady," Emma bowed her head a bit before following the woman. Gwen was also not far behind them. She felt Arthur's worried eyes on her, but there wasn't much he could do besides go to his quarters and wait for her to get back. Emma knew he'd probably be pacing in front of the fireplace.

"So," Morgana turned to Emma once they were in the safety of her room. "When did you start working here?"

"Oh, uh," Emma stuttered a moment, not having expected the question. "N-not that long ago?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Morgana was smirking at this point. Emma scowled at the floor. "Come on, I'm not that thick. Did you think you could fool me? I just want to know how you did it."

"D-did what?" Emma was cursing in her head. Though she would rather it be the two girls that found out instead of anyone else. Morgana raised a brow at her, simply waiting for her answer. When Emma didn't say anything, Morgana rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Merlin, I know it's you," she had a gentle look on her face. "I won't tell anyone, but I do know it's you. You look incredibly similar to yourself as a male and you're just as clumsy and unservant-like."

Emma sighed. "In this form, we decided my name is Emma, a play on my druid name."

"We?" Gwen spoke up. Emma cursed under her breath.

"Yes, Arthur knows. He found me and figured it out right away," she sighed. "Such a fun conversation. On the plus side, he doesn't hate all magic anymore."

Morgana froze and her voice shook a bit as she spoke. "Magic?"

Emma looked up at her with gentle eyes. "Yes, Morgana. Magic."

"What's your druid name?" Gwen asked. Her voice was also a bit shaky, but she seemed to accept it easier. It would make sense, after all. Merlin wasn't just pretending to be a woman, he seemed to actually be a woman.

"Emrys," Emma shrugged. Morgana gasped at the name. "I'm not sure why they call me that."

"Emyrs is the name of the sorcerer that would bring magic back to the lands. Uther used to rant about it in the throne room once he found out," she explained. Emma blinked at that.

"Well, Kilgarah mentioned something similar, I suppose," she shrugged. "I'm to protect Arthur so he doesn't die before becoming King. It's not easy sometimes."

"How do you change yourself, though?" Morgana asked with a curious frown. "Is it an amulet or charm?"

"Not at all," Emma grinned. "I was born with magic, it's in my very being. I just… can."

"Explains a lot, actually," Gwen gave a small smile. "Why tonight, though? I haven't seen you around the castle before?"

"Well, I don't usually go around the castle while being a woman," Merlin shrugged. "And Lady Mithian is coming, so I don't want to be hanging around Arthur as a woman while she's here. It wouldn't be proper."

"True, but now that I know, you can help me. Arthur can make do with George on those days," Morgana laughed. Emma gave a big grin.

"Oh, the only other person who knows besides Gauis of course, is Leon," Emma shrugged. "He found Arthur and I one of the times we were in Arthur's quarters. Arthur was doing paperwork and I was doing chores around the room."

"Well, let me have a servant get Arthur. I'm sure he's pacing a hole in his floor right now," Morgana rolled her eyes with an exacerbated sigh. She stood gracefully and made her way to her door. Sticking her head out for a moment, she came back into the room satisfied. "By the way, you do know I will be getting you more dresses, yes? I'm sure Arthur got you some so you didn't wear your male clothes, but you need more than three."

"How did you know I only have three?!" Emma cried out.

"I know you well enough by now," Morgana smirked. "Now, come here. I want to braid your hair."

Emma sighed but allowed herself to settle in front of Morgana on the bed as the woman brushed through her hair before she started to braid it. Gwen smiled as she did small things around the room that she hadn't gotten to earlier. It was quiet for a few moments before a knock on the door sounded.

"Come in," Morgana called out. Arthur walked hesitantly into the room before scoffing at the scene in front of him. He closed the door before speaking.

"I see you've already started on my servant," he sighed. Morgana simply smirked at him.

"Of course. I'll be borrowing her at times, especially when Lady Mithian is here. It will also allow Emma to be herself in this form without suspicion for being around you that much," Morgana shrugged as she tied a green ribbon at the end of the braid she had just finished. "I'll also be getting her more dresses and things."

"Just remember, she is still a servant. Not a pet," Arthur grinned despite his words. Morgana huffed out in irritation.

"Yes, but given she's a higher-ranking servant, I have more room to play. Given that Emma will be helping Gwen while she's around. You should also get her better clothes when she's Merlin," Morgana raised an eyebrow at her brother. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I've tried," he said simply.

"My clothes are just fine when I'm a male," Emma huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. All three other occupants rolled their eyes at her.

"Emma, you only have three or four outfits," Gwen's voice was gentle as she spoke, but her posture was a bit more stern. Emma grumbled her breath and pouted.

"Either way, we won't tell anyone," Morgana stood from her bed. "Emma, will you be with Arthur tomorrow or with Gwen and myself?"

"Well, I'll have to be with Arthur most of the time. I usually only become female once or twice a month," Emma shrugged. Morgana nodded.

"Makes sense. Now that Uther knows about you, you will have to make more appearances around the castle," she raised an eyebrow at the servant. Emma nodded.

"I was hoping he would ignore me," she sighed. "Clearly, that didn't work."

"Clearly," Arthur grinned. "Now, let's get back to my chambers and then you can go to your own for the night."

Emma nodded. "Good night, Morgana. Gwen."

"Good night!" both women called at the same time after the duo.

"Are you ready for Lady Mithian, sire?" Emma grinned at Arthur. The prince snorted with a small smile.

"I admit I'm a bit nervous as I haven't seen her in a while. We always used to get along when she did though," Arthur shrugged. With his next words, Arthur bumped Emma'a shoulder lightly. "For example, she actually liked to go hunting with me."

"Hunting is necessary, I'll admit," Emma sniffed in mock contempt. "But at least someone will want to go with you."

"Hey!" Arthur feigned looking hurt. "Hunting isn't that bad!"

"I won't argue with you," Emma looked at him in amusement. She shook her head with a grin before they both entered his chambers.

"Will you be changing before you leave?" Arthur asked, walking to the wardrobe and waiting for Emma. The servant shrugged as she started taking Arthur's outfit off for the night, handing him his sleep pants. "Morgana did my hair so I'll probably be back to being Merlin in the morning."

Arthur nodded as he pulled up his sleeping pants and let Emma tie them quickly. "Could you light the fire tonight? It did get a bit chilly in the castle today."

"Certainly, sire."

Arthur got settled in bed as Emma set up the fire. It should burn for most of the night, but it would be out by morning. Should be fine at that point. Emma turned to Arthur when she reached the door.

"Good night, Arthur."

"Good night, Emma."

Emma closed the door softly behind her before making her way to Gauis' chambers. She hummed to herself as she skipped through the mostly deserted hallways. She entered the chambers as Gauis was finishing up a few last minute things.

"There you are, my dear," he gave her a gentle smile. "Dinner is on the table for you."

Emma grinned. "Thanks, Gauis."

The silence was comfortable while Emma ate. Once she was done and had cleaned the table, she turned to Gauis.

"Morgana and Gwen know now, as well."

"My dear, you have to be careful," Gauis sighed, giving her a stern look. Emma gave him a sheepish grin.

"Well now, they've decided to take me under their wing when I'm not with Arthur. Especially seeing as Uther noticed me. Now I have to go between my forms more often. Works with me, I'll be careful," Emma stood and kissed Gauis' cheek as she made her way to her room.

"Yes, well. We'll just have to see," Gauis sighed but didn't comment on it further. "What is your name when you're in this form, my dear? I'm assuming you have one now."

"Emma," she grinned. "It's a play off the name the druids gave me, but not obvious."

"Well, good night, Emma," Gauis gave her a small but soft smile. Emma gave him a bright smile in return.

"Good night!"

~O~