Life at the castle continued as normal despite the guests. Arthur had cleared his schedule for a day and planned it to be with Lady Mithian. Merlin had given the plans to George and decided to be with Morgana that day. In the morning, he changed into Emma and got dressed in the servant's gown Morgana had insisted she buy for her. It was a light lilac colour and mostly simple. It did have some lacy design around the bodice, but nothing fancy. It was made out of a nice cotton, though.

She started her routine off the same as Arthur's. Grabbed the Lady's breakfast before making her way up to Morgana's bedroom. Uther seemed to appear in the corridor and stopped her.

"Emma was your name, yes?"

Emma turned to the man and gave as much of a courtesy as she could with a breakfast tray in her hands. "Yes, your highness."

"Why don't I see you around the castle more often?"

"Well, I'm not here all the time. Lady Morgana hired me herself for when she needed extra help. Gwen was given the day off as her brother is in town," she shrugged carefully.

"You remind me an awful lot like Merlin," Uther narrowed his eyes. Emma tilted her head with a frown. Inside, she was very nervous about where the King was trying to go with this.

"I've never met the man. I've heard of him through Gwen and Lady Morgana. I've heard Prince Arthur complain about him sometimes," she managed to not sound shaky, thankfully.

"Where did you grow up, Emma?" Uther still seemed suspicious.

"A small town near the Forests of Merenora in Escetir," she replied. It wasn't technically a lie, but Ealdor wasn't as near the forests as…

"Engrad?"

"Yes, your highness," Emma nodded. She had definitely been there a few times with Will before, so she could pretend. She did remember what it was like. Similar to Ealdor in a way, partly a farming town.

"I see," Uther nodded. Without another word, the man turned around and left. Emma let out a silent sigh of relief but turned herself to continue on to Morgana's room. She set the tray down carefully and pulled the curtains open.

"Wakey wakey, my lady!"

She heard a small groan from the bed as Morgana woke up. "Now I know what Arthur's talking about."

"Hey, my morning greetings aren't that bad!" Emma pouted. Morgana merely smirked before lifting herself out of bed and silently padding over to the table where she sat down.

"I see you're wearing the dress I bought for you," she nodded in satisfaction before taking a small sip of the water goblet.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Emma smoothed the dress down with a hand. "It's very soft."

"Hmm, almost like I know what I'm doing," Morgana winked at her before starting to eat. Emma laughed before puttering around the room. She made the bed, cleaned the fireplace, and dusted the furniture.

"Do you pick out your own clothes? Arthur usually has me do it for him," Emma asked, tilting her head. Morgana scoffed.

"That man wouldn't know fashion if it hit him in the head. I did notice that his outfits actually coordinate and match since you started working here. Thank you for that. I was getting tired of watching him prance around like an oaf," she rolled her eyes. "I do usually pick out my own dresses, but I will need help with the backing."

Emma nodded. Not too long later saw the two women walking the grounds.

"Would you like to watch the knights for a bit?"

Emma turned to Morgana at the question in confusion before a smirk crossed her face. "Of course, my lady. Which knight has caught your eye?"

Morgana's eyes widened for a moment before she simply smiled. "Sir Leon, of course."

"Oh, he is handsome," Emma nodded. "He's also really nice."

"A sweetheart, really," Morgana agreed. "Do you have eyes on anyone, Emma?"

Emma tilted her head. "Not really, I don't think. For a small bit, I did have a crush on Arthur, but it was more admiration when he stopped being such a prat."

"Who are you kidding?" Morgana scoffed. "He's still a prat."

"Yes, well," Emma grinned. "Better than he was when I first came here, for sure!"

"Yes, I'll give you that." Morgana gave a small laugh. They made it to the training grounds where Leon was overlooking the knights. It wasn't rigorous, but more cardio today.

"Good morning, ladies," Leon gave them a gentle smile when he noticed them. Emma giggled.

"Good morning, Sir Leon!"

"How is Sir Hedas?" Morgana asked with a small, concerned frown. "I heard he was badly injured."

"Seems to be doing good when I visited this morning. He decided to stay in Camelot instead of visiting his family. No infections so far," Leon answered, relief obvious in his voice.

"I hope the other two that were with him don't feel guilty," Morgana commented. Leon laughed.

"No, they're fine. I heard the king himself praised them for their quick action. Anyone would expect them to be overwhelmed when ten bandits attack them at once. I, myself, am also impressed that they managed to get away unhurt and still bring Hedas back in time to be able to get treatment."

Morgana nodded, satisfied with the answer before they all turned to watch the knights. Not long after, Uther made an appearance. Morgana blinked in surprise when he came over to their little group.

"Good morning, Morgana," Uther gave him a small smile. Morgana echoed the sentiment before the king turned to Leon. "I was trying to find Arthur or Merlin this morning, but couldn't find either of them. Is Arthur not here?"

"No, sire," Leon shook his head with a small smile. "Arthur took Lady Mithian out today. I believe he wanted to show her around Camelot and then have lunch by the lake nearby. I imagine Merlin is probably with them."

Uther nodded at the answer, a smile taking form on his face. He turned to the knight once more a few moments later. "What do you think about Lady Mithian, Leon?"

"I think she would make a fine addition to Camelot in the future, sire," Leon gave a small grin. "She seems to be wonderful to everyone in the castle, servants included. They all try to dote on her and spoil her in thanks. She usually laughs it off, but she seems to be fitting in quite well already."

"Glad to know I wasn't the only one who thought so," Uther nodded. "What about you, Morgana? Do you get along with her as well?"

Morgana smirked. "Of course. We've had lunch a few times already. She's lovely to talk to."

Uther looked concerned for a moment at this answer but seemed to take it in stride. "As long as your mischief isn't hurting anyone, I suppose."

"Of course, not."

Emma remained silent through this, as servants should be. She didn't know why every time she seemed to be a girl, Uther always found her. She hoped he didn't catch on to the fact that she was using magic and was, in fact, Merlin. They all stayed there, silently, for a while. Just watching the knights. Leon turned to Uther with a slight smirk on his face.

"Would you like to spar, your highness?" he asked, voice teasing. "It has been a while since you've come to watch after all."

Uther laughed, seeming to de-age a few years as he did. He was already in his armour, as he usually was outside the castle. "Of course. Don't expect to win, though."

Morgana rolled her eyes but had a small smile on her face as she watched. Emma realized that she had never seen the king in a duel, mock or otherwise. Every knight stopped when they saw Uther walking towards them with Leon. They all gathered to watch once they saw Leon hand a training sword to the king before picking one up himself. Emma was glad they were using the training swords. The only difference was that they weren't sharpened, but kept dull. So no one lost any limbs or heads while practising. Though they were a bit lighter than normal swords.

Emma watched as they fought. She had to admit, Leon was amazing. He moved with such fluidity and grace for a knight. She could definitely see what Morgana saw in him. But then her focus went to the King.

Uther moved with sure steps, not wasting any more energy than he had to. It was easy to forget that the man had been a knight once, the same as Arthur was now. The muscles she could see were chorded and solid. The king was still very strong. She wondered if he still trained his body where no one could see him. It would make sense, given that the man always insisted he was always ready for battle.

He concentrated on Leon's every move. Almost like he was playing chess instead of having a mock duel with the head knight under Arthur. Come to think of it, she had never seen Uther's personal guard training in the field, either. She was mesmerized by the way the King moved, though. So confident and calculating. The duel lasted a few minutes, but Uther had been correct. Soon enough, he had Leon pinned under his sword with the knight's own training sword a few feet out of range. Cheers rang out and Uther's face changed from calculating to carefree. He laughed as he moved his sword and helped Leon to his feet. Leon was grinning.

"Though I almost had you in the end, sire," he teased. Uther scoffed playfully.

"Of course, not," he said, handing his training sword off to a knight to be put aside. "I only made you think you had. A good tactic to have against an actual enemy. It's won me many fights against arrogant men."

Leon only laughed. "It's the reason most arrogant men fail in battle, sire."

"That it is," Uther clapped Leon on the shoulder, nodded to the group of knights, and headed back inside without another word. Emma blinked in surprise.

"Does the king often pop up for surprise visits throughout the castle?" she asked. Leon gave a small chuckle.

"Not usually," he shook his head. "He must have felt restless today. It does happen from time to time."

The day was easygoing, as Morgana didn't have much to do. Arthur and Mithian came back not long after lunch, George trailing along silently. Emma didn't think anything of it until another servant had come up to her in the hall as she was going to visit Gauis for a bit.

"The king would like to see you in his chambers."

Emma frowned but nodded. "Of course, I'll head there now."

Nerves fluttered through her like butterflies as she walked to the man's chambers. She hoped she wasn't in trouble for anything. She didn't think she had done anything wrong. It took sooner than she would have liked to reach the kings chamber doors. Emma took a deep breath and knocked on the doors.

"Enter."

Emma took one more deep breath before slowly opening the doors and entering the man's chambers. Uther was at his desk, writing a report she assumed. She stayed near the closed door, waiting for the man to acknowledge her. Finally after a few minutes, he put his quill aside and looked up.

"What do you know about dreams?" Uther asked. Emma blinked in surprise.

"In what regard, sire?"

"Seeing a passed loved one in your dream."

Emma observed Uther for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on. "Well, I suppose the spirits of loved ones could come back through dreams. It'd be the easiest way for them," she replied.

"You sound like Gauis," Uther gave a small smile. He stood up and looked out the window as he spoke his next words. "My wife has been in my dreams lately. A year at least. Talking to me and explaining some things."

Emma remained quiet, wondering where the king was going with this. Uther turned to look at her, leaning against the window sill and crossing his arms over his chest.

"So, Emrys, why are you in Camelot?"

Emma felt as she couldn't breathe as the question came out of the king's mouth. Her eyes went wide and her heart seemed to be trying to beat right out of her chest. "W-what?"

"You heard me," Uther said. He didn't move. He stayed where he was. His voice was steady, not angry. Emma latched onto that to try to calm herself. As long as the king wasn't trying to kill her, she might survive this panic spreading through her.

"M-my mother sent me here to be with my uncle," Emma took a deep breath, trying to force her body to calm down. Her heart wasn't beating as heavily now, but still heavier than normal. "She wanted me to have a better life. An anonymous life."

"Which didn't work, as you now serve my son and daughter in the royal household."

"It was an accident, sire, I promise you. I wasn't trying to. But when I realized who the woman was in the banquet hall and that she was using magic to try and kill Arthur. He might've been a royal prat, but he didn't deserve to die. So I saved him without thinking, and then made the chandelier fall on top of the woman so she couldn't hurt anyone else," Emma shrugged, trying to keep her panic down. Uther still didn't seem angry or upset. Yet. "Then you gave me the position, sire. I didn't want it at first, but I accepted it. Especially when I realized how many times people were trying to kill Arthur with magic. You can't always fight magic with a sword."

"So my wife says," Uther nodded. He was still observing her like she was a wild animal. She certainly felt that way. "Why are you a woman, now, Merlin?"

"Uhm," Emma stuttered before forcing herself to take a deep breath. "I like being a woman, sometimes, is all."

"Arthur knows, doesn't he?"

"He figured it out right away when he met me, yes," Emma nodded.

"Who else knows?"

"Well, Sir Leon figured it out, too. He's always been close to Arthur, though. Morgana figured it out at the dinner the night before Lady Mithian came to Camelot. Gwen, too, as Morgana tells her everything. Gauis, obviously, as I live with him," Emma took a steady breath in. "And now you."

"I assume Morgana got you the dress? Gods know Arthur has no fashion sense, sometimes," Uther commented. Emma laughed before she could hold it in. Uther raised an eyebrow at this, but a small smirk was playing at his lips.

"Morgana said the same thing earlier today, sire."

"Well, she'll be happy to know that she gets to spoil you rotten with dresses and things now," Uther smiled suddenly, looking as young as he did on the training grounds that morning. Emma tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"As of today, you are no longer a servant, Merlin. I am giving you the position of Court Sorcerer."

Emma froze, not seeming to be able to process what she was being told. Uther laughed at her expression.

"I have had a year to realize my mistakes and argue with my wife over it. She made some valid points. I needed to be sure I could trust you for the position before bringing it up, though. I am reinstating magic to Camelot, and I need your help to help regulate it. Who better than the great Emrys?" Uther raised an eyebrow. Emma counted to ten to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When she was sure she wasn't, she ran to Uther and wrapped her hands around him and buried her face in his chest before she knew what she doing.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She didn't see Uther's gentle smile as he brought a hand up to rub against her back gently. "You're welcome, sweetheart."

~O~