Chapter 4

Īsigfeðera Sunne

Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Merlin

Danny squeezed his eyes shut as bright sunlight crossed his face. He'd slept well for the first time in what felt like years, and his sleep hazy mind couldn't even recall having to wake up to fight ghosts during the night at all. He sighed contentedly, wrapping himself up further in his warm blanket. He was just so warm and comfortable, he felt like he was wrapped up in a tight little ball where nothing could touch him. A smile played across his lips as he sighed sleepily.

The sun though was persistent, and Danny eventually opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling, trying to piece together what was different. His mind waking up slowly he realised that that was in fact not his ceiling, the thick wooden support beams above his head were completely unfamiliar to him. Dazedly he sat up, watching as a heavy black cloak fell down off his shoulders.

Suddenly slamming into him with the merciless velocity of one of Skulker's rockets, came the recollection of the night before. The portal, the forest, the huge golden dragon, and the young man, blue eyes and dark hair, that had held a ball of fire in his hand as though it were nothing. Danny looked across the room at the bed where the man, Merlin, was still sleeping. He was in Camelot. The real Camelot, and had no way to get back home.

"Merlin!" The voice of the elderly man, Gaius, came through the door at the same time as a loud knock. Beside him Merlin jumped, nearly falling out of the bed. The man sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly before they landed on Danny. Merlin froze for a moment, an unfathomable emotion in his eye, but it was gone in an instant.

"You're already late!" Gaius's voice came muffled through the door. "Hurry now."

"Right." Merlin said blinking. He was still in his clothes from the night before, apparently having just collapsed in them. Danny himself was no better; his white t-shirt was rumpled from having been slept in. "You should probably get changed. I think I have a shift from when I first came to Camelot..." Merlin trailed off with a frown before he stepped over to the cupboard.

Merlin himself quickly changed his shirt to clean blue one before tossing a red shirt across the room at Danny. A moment later he was tossed a pair of brown pants and instructed to put them on. Maintaining as much modesty as he could he changed out of his jeans, instantly missing them as the coarse brown fabric touched his skin. It was well worn, and probably was one of Merlin's only spare pairs, so Danny chose not to complain.

"Thanks." Danny said gratefully.

"Couldn't take the risk of someone seeing you running around in... whatever your clothes are made of." Merlin commented with a half smile. "Now all we need to worry about is hiding them somewhere where no one will find them."

Danny frowned for a moment before folding his futuristic clothes into a neat bundle. "How thick are the walls here?" he asked.

"About a foot" Merlin answered slowly. "Why?"

Danny just smiled and turned the bundle intangible. Keeping note of which rock, he stuffed them inside the stone wall, leaving them to rest there permanently intangibly until he chose to remove them. "I figure that unless someone's gonna try destroying the wall you won't get in trouble if they're in there."

"What did you do?" Merlin asked, but his eyes looked more curious than anything.

Danny opened his mouth to answer, but a hassled cry of "Merlin!" from downstairs interrupted him.

"Intangibility." He answered as Merlin hastened down into the herb-scented room.

"Intangibility?" Merlin repeated confusedly, walking over to the table where the elderly man was seated. Danny paused momentarily, sending a hesitant look at Gaius. Gaius subtly nodded at him and Danny took a seat next to Merlin.

Merlin was still staring at him expectantly, apparently not really caring about talking about something so close to magic in front of Gaius. Danny shrugged mentally. At least now he knew someone he could marginally trust, even if they had gotten off on the wrong foot.

"The ability to pass through solid objects." Danny explained. "It's something all ghosts can do."

Gaius frowned, a hand frozen over his bowl of what looked like porridge. "Why are you two talking about ghosts?" He asked, eyeing the two of them warily.

Merlin looked down, and Danny caught an almost guilty look in his eye. Danny sighed, it would be better to bite the bullet now, rather than risk getting Merlin into trouble later. "I hid my old clothes in the wall so that nobody could find them."

"You're a sorcerer!" Gaius exclaimed, jerking back.

"He's not, Gaius." Merlin interjected. "He's something else entirely."

"I think the dragon described it as a 'creature of the Old Religion'... which is something I don't really understand." Danny admitted. "I'm a halfa; half human, half ghost."

"That's not possible." Gaius instantly rejected.

"Sometimes I wish it weren't." Danny admitted. "But it happened, I really am half-ghost."

"He's telling the truth." Merlin confirmed, and Danny sent him a grateful smile. "The Great Dragon explained it to me; what happened to him is partially due to the damage Morgana wrought on the veil last year. He said that Danny becoming a... half-ghost... was destined."

Gaius didn't seem all that reassured; in fact he pulled Merlin away from the table forcefully to try get some privacy. But even as a human most of Danny's senses were above the norm so he still heard the cautioning whispers. "Merlin, ghosts are known to be vicious creatures. You remember what happened with the dorocha last year." Danny frowned. It wasn't the first reference to the dorocha that he's heard since arriving, but he'd never heard the term himself. "The beings who come back from beyond the veil are notorious for having unstable dispositions at the very best."

"And the same is true of sorcerers." Merlin replied. "Gaius, last night when we were walking through the forest Danny and I were talking, and it was like..." Danny heard a sad sigh. "It was like I was talking to myself. The things he said, Gaius, I could have said them myself. I can't help but want to help him."

"Alright, Merlin." The elder man replied kindly. "We'll give him a chance. I suppose he can't be much worse than you were."

"Thank you Gaius." Merlin replied. Danny looked down at the table, staring at a knot of wood. He wasn't sure whether he should be embarrassed for what he had overheard or not. The two of them came back to the table, Merlin smiling as he took the seat next to Danny again and happily pulled a bowl of porridge towards himself.

"Merlin has vouched for you, boy." Gaius finally acknowledged. "I will let you stay here until we can find a way to send you back where you came from. Now we just need to figure out what to do with you in the interim."

"I was hoping..." Merlin trailed; a strange glint in his eyes. Gaius simply raised an eyebrow, and Danny couldn't help but wonder at how expressive that eyebrow was. "Could Danny help you in here?" The second eyebrow went up. "Just for the day, until I can figure something else out."

Gaius sighed wearily, and Danny bit back the urge to interrupt. He was still in the room after all, but the two were being very accommodating towards him, and he didn't want to be ungracious. "I don't suppose you know anything about the herbal sciences?" Gaius asked wearily.

"A little." Danny answered truthfully. "My parents are scientists, and one of my friends is into homeopathy." He was actually quite good at science when he was given a solid run at it. The only problem he'd really have was in understanding the properties of all these herbs.

Gaius sighed again, shaking his head at Merlin. "Go on." The silver-haired man said. "You'll be late for Arthur if you stay any longer."

Merlin nodded, hastily setting aside his emptied bowl as he rushed out the door. "See you later, Gaius, Danny" And then the door closed with a soft click. Gaius grunted, and Danny shifted awkwardly in his seat. He couldn't help but feel like he was being dissected under Gaius' heavy stare. But Danny had long since learned that it was easier to control his fear and try to put it towards something useful.

"What can I help with?" Danny asked, meeting the elder man in the eyes.

"I suppose you can help me with a couple of tinctures." He replied after a while. The man stood up, clearing the two bowls from the table and moving across to a cluttered workbench. Danny followed him over, keenly eyeing the equipment. Some things looked vaguely familiar; a distillation coil, mortar and pestle, even little cups that were reminiscent of beakers. But some of the things were completely unrecognisable, and Danny could only presume that they had become antiquated at some point in history.

"How much of medicine do you know?" Gaius asked, looking up at him.

Danny pressed his lips. "As I said before, a little. But most of what I do know is different to what you'd use. Medicine has changed a lot since now; we don't rely on herbs so much as the chemicals in them."

Gaius looked torn between fascination and disapproval. "I think I'd like to hear some of it. But for now let's get you started on a remedy for headaches." Danny nodded. While he did want to get back home he knew there was little he could do. And until he got a chance to do some research he was probably safest if he proved moderately useful to Merlin and Gaius. He didn't know much about the medieval period, but he knew that it was a very hard time to live, and everybody had to earn their keep.

Gaius moved around the table collecting a herb bundle and two little boxes. Danny watched for a moment before the elder man turned back to him. "I'll assume that you don't know the basic medicinal properties of some of these, so pay attention." Gaius reached for the herb bundle, carefully shredding the leaves and dropping them into a basin. "This is Lemon Balm, it has a mild sedative effect and can also be useful for treating insomnia or anxiety."

Danny nodded in acknowledgement. It was interesting, in a way. Sam had tried once to get him on the herbal kick, but her method was different to Gaius'. The white haired man reached for one of the boxes, opening it to reveal what looked like a fine pale bark. "The next ingredient is Angelica. It is useful for a variety of ailments, but in this case we are using it for its warming properties and ability to assist with digestion. It also said to..."

"Ward off evil spirits?" Danny guessed. After the debacle with the blood blossoms with Tuck and Sam, he'd gone looking for some of the herbs that supposedly warded off evil spirits. Most of them were harmless to him, but he wasn't sure if that was a general rule or a reflection of his own ethics.

"Yes." Gaius said. "So you are not completely ignorant. Out of curiosity..."

"Angelica doesn't hurt me." Danny guessed. "Nor does fennel, sage or mugwort. I've only come across one plant that affects me personally, but I don't know its origins; blood blossom."

Gaius nodded in acknowledgement. "I have not heard of blood blossom before. But you have seen it yourself?"

"Yeah." Danny nodded, clutching his arms at the remembered pain. "They looked sort of like roses, but had blackish purple stems. The man who put them out said that they were anti-supernatural, but I don't know if that meant just ghosts or real magic as well. I know that they can be eaten, that's the best way to neutralise them."

"Fascinating." Gaius said, setting his herbs aside and pulling out a book. "I haven't heard of such a plant, the physical properties sound something like the briar rose, but that blossom does not look like a conventional rose..." He put a pair of half glasses on, scanning the pages of the heavyset book. "And you say it had general warding properties?"

Danny nodded. "They made a cage if they were put in a closed circle. But it was painful to go near them." He shuddered at that memory. Sam had been literally tied to a stake, and the only way for any of them to get out of there alive was for Tuck, the carnivore, to eat the blossoms.

"I'll have to look further into that." Gaius mused aloud, shaking his head as he closed the book. "Where were we?" he asked, staring at the ingredients.

"Angelica for warming and digestion." Danny replied quickly and Gaius smiled.

"Yes. Next is nutmeg which can help reduce blood pressure." He took a nutmeg out of the second box and pulled out a mortar and pestle. He handed it to Danny who set about grinding it into a fine powder. When it was satisfactory Gaius nodded and added that to the basin. "Finally we infuse this with white wine," Gaius continued, pulling out a flask of pale yellow liquid and pouring it over the mixture. "And in a few hours we'll strain off the sediment and bottle it for later."

"And that works as a cure for headaches?" Danny asked.

"As a general cure, yes." Gaius answered, taking a seat at the bench and offering Danny the one next to him. "If it is something more serious I would try a poultice or something stronger. I use something more potent for hangovers, but it's virtually tasteless so I add in a couple of things to try and prevent people becoming reliant on it."

"That... sounds like a lot of work." Danny admitted. "In my time you pretty much use paracetamol as a cure all for pain, but I don't know what it's refined from."

Gaius smiled, and Danny was almost reminded of Clockwork in his elder form. "Well perhaps you can learn something from this experience after all." The elder man said with an encouraging smile. And Danny couldn't help but smile back. It was sort of like his own home, bubbling pots and experiments all around. Danny settled in, learning the various properties of herbs from Gaius, and helping put together a number of remedies. The hours flew by, and Danny found himself coming to enjoy the steady company of the elder man, despite his initial icy reception.

Merlin shook his head as he followed Arthur out of the council chambers. The meeting had gone on for two hours longer than it really needed to, mostly thanks to Lord Hemmingway droning on about the insufficient taxes being taken in from some of the outer villages. If Merlin were allowed to voice his opinion he probably would have suggested taking a different form of tax than a monetary one. Those lands were particularly fertile, but the people were poor. And the people of Camelot were often running short of food due to some siege or another.

But Merlin's opinion counted for very little in the council, he was only there to fill Arthur's cup. Merlin knew he was not a great political mind, but that would go a long way towards solving the problem in his opinion. Shaking himself out of his reverie he trailed after Arthur. The king was heading back to his chambers briefly to get changed before training with the knights. It was actually one of Arthur's slower days, there was only one more meeting he had to attend after his training session, and after that it was just dinner with Gwen. With any luck that would mean that Merlin was able to knock off a bit earlier.

"...And then I need you to..." Merlin suddenly became very aware of Arthur's voice. "You haven't been listening to a word I've said, have you Merlin?" The king asked, pausing halfway through the corridor to stare at him.

"Uh, no." Merlin answered. "But I figure with you it's the best way to test if you've said anything different."

Arthur just raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Go on."

"You want me to get you a light lunch for before training," Merlin hazarded "then clean up your chambers before attending to Gwen's. Then you want me to polish your daggers, even though you won't have used them, before finding something for you to wear to the Potter's Guild meeting. Then you'll probably be wanting another change of clothes for your dinner with Gwen before fetching dinner for the two of you. And I think you probably want me to read over your speech for the morning somewhere. Did I get everything, sire?"

"Idiot." Arthur said somewhat affectionately. "However, you'll be the one writing the speech." He turned around and continued his long stride to his chambers, Merlin closing the door behind the two of them.

"I don't see why I have to be the one to write all your speeches." He complained as he tugged Arthur's red tunic off and cast it aside. The two went through the long since familiar motions of getting Arthur into his mail, easily shifting around the blonde as he did.

"Because, Merlin. I am your king." Arthur answered, and Merlin bit back the urge to roll his eyes. "And as such I have the privilege of delegating certain tasks to those who serve me."

Merlin tusked. "It seems to me like you delegate all your speeches onto me. You know you really should think about writing your kingly speeches yourself, your highness. After all, you are the one who's supposed to know what's going on in your own castle."

"I don't need to." Arthur replied. "I have you around to do that for me."

Merlin grinned. "So you admit that you do need me."

"Hardly." Arthur replied. "But I will admit that you're not nearly so bad as you used to be."

Merlin beamed, knowing Arthur well enough to take that as a complement. "Prat." He said, earning him an amused scowl from the king before he was led through the castle and to the training grounds. The knights naturally were already there, the sharp sound of steel on steel clashing loudly in the early afternoon air. Elyan and Percival looked up, sending the two of them a happy wave as they took a quick breather. Gwaine and Leon, however, did not pause as Leon's sword met Gwaine's shield. Somehow it still looked like Gwaine was winning, despite his only being on defence.

Arthur called them all to attention, and soon enough the whole lot of them were bashing each other repeatedly with their swords. They did look elegant all together, their blades moving in perfect synchronisation and their red cloaks falling across their shoulders to make the simple act of training seem a sort of exotic dance. It was both fascinating and annoying to watch, but Merlin was only glad that he wasn't being used as a practice dummy today. After an hour of practice Arthur called them all back in, and five sweaty knights came over to where Merlin was waiting with a flask of water for each of them.

"So, Merlin." Gwaine commented lightly after half-draining his flask. "What'd you do with the boy from last night?"

"Boy from last night?" Arthur asked as Percival and Elyan snickered. Merlin didn't exactly understand the joke so he turned his attention back towards Arthur. Before he could get a word in, however, Gwaine was talking.

"Yeah. Last night, towards the end of my shift Merlin comes back in from the forest, but there's a dark haired boy with him." Gwaine explained, but now Arthur was staring at Merlin with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"His name is Danny and he was lost." Merlin added.

"Right." Gwaine nodded. "He did say that he wanted to get away from his home town for a bit, and now he can't find the way back."

"So show him a map and send him on his way." Arthur commented dismissively.

Merlin opened his mouth again, but was once more cut off by Gwaine who was shaking his head. "I suspect he's from a little further out than you see on the map of the five kingdoms. His accent was strange to me, and I've been all over. I've never heard anyone that speaks like he did last night. So what did you end up doing with him?" Gwaine finished, directing the last question at him.

"I left him with Gaius this morning." Merlin answered with a shrug. "For the time being he's probably better off in Camelot, and since someone decided to marry Gaius' most frequent assistant, I thought that he could use a hand."

"Let me get this straight." Arthur pressed, looking between Gwaine and Merlin. "You left an unknown stranger with our court physician, in a position where he can easily corrupt the chief medical supply of Camelot?"

"Well it sounds bad when you say it like that." Merlin replied, earning a snicker from Gwaine. The other knights seemed to have moved on, leaving the three of them alone in the training grounds.

"Really, Merlin." The blonde sighed, shaking his head. "Sometimes I do wonder if you ever think things through."

"Mate," Gwaine mock-whispered. "I think the princess is a bit annoyed at you."

Merlin couldn't help the smile that crept onto his lips as he remembered the conversation from last night. "I told you he'd find something to get annoyed at."

Arthur frowned in warning, and Gwaine burst out in laughter. "If you're really that worried," Merlin shrugged in reply. "Why don't you come meet him?"

The blonde nodded and set off, heading straight towards the castle gates. "Think he'll mind if I tag along?" Gwaine asked, quickly catching up to Merlin as he followed behind the king.

"Probably," Merlin answered "But it's not like there's anything he'd do about it."

"Great." Gwaine replied with an easy smile, matching Merlin's pace. "Did Danny end up saying anything more about how he got lost?"

Merlin frowned. "Nothing that would help figure out how to get him back home; you're right in saying that he comes from pretty far away. He didn't know that he was in Albion when I asked, and he didn't know Camelot even existed before I told him where he was."

Gwaine raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." The man commented as the two of them started up the spiralling staircase to the physician's chambers. "How could he have strayed so far without coming across some form of direction?"

"Gwaine," Merlin asked dryly, "how far did you roam between taverns without knowing which kingdom you were in?"

"Fair point" The rogue knight grinned as the two of them came to the right landing. Merlin was about to open to open the door when his brown eyed friend stopped him by laying a hand on his shoulder. "You know, he should probably be grateful that you're the one who found him."

"I think in his own way he is." Merlin replied with a soft smile. "Now, come on let's see how much damage the dollop-head has done."

Gwaine merely grinned before pushing the wooden door open. Naturally Arthur was already there, standing with expectant importance in the middle of the room. Merlin quickly noted that both Gaius and Danny were working side by side at the workbench. The two of them were extremely focussed on their task, adding ingredients to a bubbling pot. Gaius had a soft smile on his face, the one that he always wore when he got the opportunity to teach others about his craft. Danny had a look of curious concentration in his eyes, keenly watching as their concoction boiled.

Arthur coughed, startling the two of them. Gaius quickly looked up, nodding at Arthur. "Sire." The silver haired man said respectfully, taking a calculated step back from the bench.

"Gaius." Arthur replied. His stance was tight, and it was clear that he was surveying Danny with a warriors calculating eye. It was a trick that Merlin had never gotten the hang of, usually the extent of his observations consisted of if they had magic and/or some sort of pointy weapon. The set of Arthur's shoulder blades told Merlin that Arthur was seeing a lot more than he had, but what exactly that was, he didn't know.

The boy looked up at Arthur, and Merlin watched the curiosity that glimmered in his eyes. Danny's eyes flicked momentarily to Merlin and back again, and Merlin could see the question in his eyes. There was a glimmer of something akin to recognition, but it was gone an instant later.

"Your Highness, this is Danny." Gaius introduced, taking pity on the younger boy.

"Daniel, sire." The boy clarified before nodding submissively. Well at least he knew the bare bones of the rules of court. Merlin frowned; from here he didn't have the best view of Arthur, so it was hard to gauge his reactions to the younger boy. Beside him Gwaine smirked, clearly seeing something that Merlin didn't in the boy's response. Or perhaps it was just the way that accent strained against the word 'sire'.

"And I am Arthur Pendragon." Arthur responded with calculated coolness and an air of superciliousness that only Arthur could carry off. "King of Camelot."

AN; I had to do a bit of Gaius/Danny bonding there, since he's sort of gonna be living in Camelot for a while. So it was a bit of a filler, but at the same time not.

And now Danny and Arthur meet, although once again he's getting a frosty reception. Silly Morgana... making everyone in Camelot suspicious of outsiders.

The Headache cure is Carmelite Water which, while I acknowledge wasn't invented till the 1600's, Gaius seems the sort of person to know how to make anyway.

Translation;
Īsigfeðera Sunne – Ice-winged Sun