They were close, Merlin knew, because the pull of his magic was strong. Morgana wasn't far away. He'd stopped following her trail now, he could feel his own magic, nearby. Now that he was aware of its existence in her it was easy for him to sense it. He was sure she was within the druid encampment, he knew it was nearby because he'd felt a low buzz in the air that he associated with large groups of magic users for close to an hour now, the buzz was simmering behind protective shields used to screen the camp from casual visitors.

"Do you think they'll know we're coming?" Arthur asked him.

Merlin was sure they didn't. "No, they won't because of the wyvern. But I going to have to let him go now, we're getting too close." He walked across to the wyvern and scratched it on the head, talking to it in the old language, and pointing up into the air. The creature gave a mournful sounding screech, then took off through the trees. Merlin watched it go, a pensive expression on his face.

He turned back to them. "Are your shields still feeling okay?" They nodded. "I hope we won't strike trouble, but I'd rather be prepared. And I need to call Iseldir. I don't know if he's still here, but I hope he is. It'll be easier to visit the camp with a trusted guide. And I know Morgana is there, but I don't know about Morgause. He may be able to tell us."

Gwaine asked, "What's the plan, we find them?"

Merlin was troubled, he exchanged a look with Arthur. The prince answered, "I don't know." He reached for his pack, Merlin passed it across to him and Arthur swallowed a mouthful of water. "Merlin is going to talk to Morgana, if he can, and probably alone, without us." Remembering why, he gave Merlin a somewhat amused look and Merlin winced. "But if we find Morgause is here too ... I don't know what we'll do. She's our enemy, by rights we should kill her before she can attack again. She's certainly shown a lot of persistence in her efforts to destroy Camelot. But we know she's been injured, if she's still badly hurt she may not pose a threat to us any longer. So we'll see."

Merlin agreed. "But one more thing. Please Arthur, please don't let it be known you're the Prince of Camelot. I don't know how the people of this camp will treat you if they know who you are. If there are refugees here from other camps you attacked when we were searching for Morgana more than a year ago, they may be very hostile towards you. I need to be able to concentrate on one thing at a time, I want to deal with Morgana and Morgause first, without having to worry more than I usually do about your safety."

Arthur sighed. "We've been through this before, Merlin. It could be a good opportunity for me to start building relationships with these people, you said so yourself."

"But not if I have to go in there, and attack some of them! What if Morgana and Morgause are valued members of this camp? What if they try and attack you, or Lancelot, or Gwaine? I'm not going to stand there and let it happen, I'll fight back! Then how do you think they're going to feel towards us all?"

Gwaine and Lancelot had already been privy to this argument several times. Gwaine spoke up, "Look, I haven't said anything before, but I agree with Merlin."

"Well, you would, wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you might be a Knight of Camelot, but you're his friend first, right?"

Gwaine looked at Arthur like he was stupid. "Well, yes. Of course."

Lancelot stepped between them. "Arthur, we need to follow Merlin's advice on this. We're going into an encounter with people who have magic. If they're hostile, we'll have to rely on Merlin to handle the situation. I understand you're keen to right the wrongs of the past, but this may not be the time to do it. Merlin wants to focus on Morgana and Morgause for now, so let him."

Arthur stared at them all for a long moment and then looked away. "Very well." He walked away from them, and dropped down beside a nearby tree, sitting on the ground and leaning back against the trunk. "Merlin, you'd better call Iseldir, then."

Merlin gave him a significant look but held his silence. They were all silent, and watched as Merlin's eyes took on a far away expression.

After a while he turned back to them. "Good, Iseldir is here. He'll come out to meet us, he won't take long." Merlin dropped his pack onto the rough groundcover under the trees beside Arthur, and sat down beside him to wait for the druid. He nudged the prince a little to move over so he could sit against the tree trunk too, without having the leaves of a nearby bush in his face.

Merlin still had wyvern-drool on him, Arthur could see it on the back of his neck and in a sticky mass in his hair. "Pass me your water flask."

Merlin gave him a quizzical glance. ""Did you run out?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, you're still covered in drool from your new best friend. Do you want it washed off, or not?"

Merlin made a face and reached for his pack, pulling out his flask. He passed it to Arthur and the prince tugged off Merlin's neckerchief, soaking it then using it to wipe off the dribble.

"Thanks." It was done, and Merlin squashed the wet neckerchief into his pack and glanced in the direction of a small valley off to their left. He concentrated for a moment, shutting his eyes and rocking forwards slightly as he searched. "Iseldir and ... Nathaniel, the Chieftain at this camp, are coming out to meet us." He stood up and reached out a hand to Arthur, pulling the prince up. "Here they come, now."

Merlin walked forward to meet them. Iseldir was smiling. "Emrys, it's good to see you again so soon." Merlin was surprised at how pleased he was to see the druid too. He returned the greeting, Iseldir dipped his head to him and then to Arthur, "Prince Arthur." He exchanged greetings with the prince, then turned to the druid beside him.

"Emrys, this is Nathaniel, he's the Chieftain of this camp."

Merlin studied him openly. Nathaniel was probably in his forties, around Iseldir's age. Unfortunately his magic was locked up tight, and the magical shields around the edges of the camp were distracting as well, so Merlin could not get a sense of his character through his magic yet.

Nathaniel was returning his interest, staring at him with unconcealed curiosity, he seemed slightly overwhelmed. "You know Emrys, Iseldir!"

He said to Merlin, "My Lord, I am honoured to meet you at last. We've been waiting for you for eons."

Merlin tried not to wince and met Iseldir's eyes. The druid said, "Nathaniel, Emrys prefers you to use his name, not a title."

Nathaniel shook his head. "It wouldn't be proper, such familiarity doesn't show respect. My Lord?"

Nathaniel was regarding him with some awe, it made Merlin uncomfortable, he'd done nothing to deserve such esteem. He ran a hand through his hair. "The time for titles is not now, use my name please." He turned and beckoned to the others. "Nathaniel, these are my friends, Gwaine, Lancelot and Arthur." He deliberately left Arthur last, trying to play down his importance, but Nathaniel had heard Iseldir's earlier greeting.

"Prince Arthur of Camelot? What brings you all to visit my camp?"

Merlin sighed, he had to head this off. "Nathaniel, we'd like to visit your camp, but I must ask you not to reveal who Arthur is." His tone was firm, with an element of command, it made Arthur look at him with a touch of surprise. "And furthermore, I don't want you to reveal my identity. Can I trust you to do that? I can't give you my reasons, but they're important."

Nathaniel was willing to obey. "Of course, Emrys. Although there are one or two high ranked members of my camp who may recognise you on sight, as I did. But I can speak with them and request they keep your identity concealed from others."

Merlin nodded, "Thanks, please do that." He glanced at Iseldir. "Nathaniel, my friends and I need to speak with Iseldir. Will you excuse us for a moment?"

The chieftain nodded, "Of course. I'll go back to my camp and wait for your arrival."

Merlin watched the druid leave, he noticed a slight shimmer in the air as he passed through the magic barriers on the path into his camp.

Iseldir said, "You've shielded your friends, Emrys?"

"It's that obvious? Will others notice?"

"Nathaniel will, once he gets over your unexpected arrival and starts thinking again. Possibly some of the others, the ones that will recognise you for who you are on sight."

Gwaine had been trying to catch Merlin's eye for a while, and now he interrupted, clearly curious. "Merlin, why are they calling you Emrys?"

Iseldir told the knight, "Because that's who he is."

"I've heard of Emrys."

Merlin groaned, "Not you, too. Don't worry about it for now, huh?"

Lancelot glanced from the druid, to Arthur, Merlin and Gwaine, then back again. Clearly he was missing something but he'd ask later.

Arthur asked, "Iseldir, Merlin tells us Morgana is here. Is Morgause here too?"

"No, she's not. Morgause left less than a week ago, she's searching for ..." he hesitated and Merlin's eyes narrowed. "Emrys, she's searching for you."

"Me?" Merlin was puzzled. "Then why didn't she just go to Camelot, we were there until a couple of days ago."

"No, Morgause isn't searching for you, she's searching for Emrys." Iseldir explained further. "Morgana went to Camelot a little over week ago, didn't she? I couldn't warn you, I can't teleport there as there aren't any safe patterns to use, and I can't use mind speech over such a distance."

Arthur said, "Morgana did visit Camelot."

Iseldir continued. "Morgana was ... disturbed about something, when she came back." He said to Merlin, "I am guessing you saw her, and possibly frightened her somehow?"

Merlin was non-committal. "You might say so."

"I've met Morgana before, she spent some time in my camp once, although I didn't have anything to do with her then. But I sought her out here, after her visit to Camelot she was definitely frightened, and a little angry. Whatever happened, I know Morgause has decided to seek out Emrys, she's headed to Alined's kingdom, as she'd heard Emrys had been sighted there."

Merlin scratched his head. "I don't think so."

Iseldir nodded to himself. "Emrys, Morgause was injured after her attack on Camelot. Physically she's almost fully recovered thanks to Nathaniel's healer, although her face is scarred. But magically ... she has some way to go. She had some trauma to the head and her magic is unstable. She's weakened magically, I don't know if she'll fully recover, and I believe she seeks out Emrys as an ally."

Merlin said, "That's not going to work. And Morgana didn't go with her?"

"No." Iseldir said seriously, "After her visit to you she seemed far less keen to continue her current aggression to Camelot. But I don't know how long she'll take that stance. If she's not acting only because she fears you, then that will only hold her back so long."

Merlin thought about it. "We were troubled by wyverns on our journey here. Do you think Morgause could have sent them?"

"No." Iseldir was adamant. "She doesn't have the magic for that, she couldn't have done it even without being injured. I couldn't do that. And they've been a problem for some of the camps near the Perilous Lands for some months now, Catalin and Senias returned to deal with them, their camps have been troubled by the creatures. My own camp killed one not that long ago. The magic changed in the Fisher King's domain a while back, something spooked them, this is the first time we've seen them outside those lands in generations."

Merlin sighed, something else he'd need to take care of. Still, he might see the little guy on the bridge again, he had some interesting magic.

But there was another thing he couldn't work out. "Iseldir, you knew who I was when you first saw me, so did Nathaniel, so did Taliesin, and the Fisher King. Morgause has never even realised that I have magic – although she will by now - yet her magical strength feels similar to yours. How is it that you know of me, and she doesn't? Am I blocking her, without knowing it? Is she less powerful than she seems?"

Iseldir thought about it. "Taliesin ..." He shook his head, "Emrys, Taliesin was a valued seer to the kings of old, and he died more than three hundred years ago."

Merlin's eyes flicked to Arthur, he knew that, Gaius had already told him. "Yes, he took me to the Crystal Cave, near the Valley of the Fallen Kings, he said it was where magic began. I looked into the crystals ..." He paused, troubled, remembering the visions. "And everything came true, no matter what I did." A shadow passed over his face. "And I don't believe he was an illusion or a ghost, he healed Arthur's arrow wound, I couldn't do it."

The prince put a hand on Merlin's shoulder, moving to stand beside him, forgetting about the others for a moment. "You told me the arrow didn't pierce my armour."

Merlin said quietly, "I lied, Arthur. It did. I'd failed, I didn't protect you properly, and I couldn't heal you. You were dying. If Taliesin hadn't healed you, I was going to call Kilgharrah, even if it meant ... things would not go well for me, after that."

Between Arthur and the visions, that hadn't been one of the better days in his life, the memory pained him even now. Arthur left his hand where it was, it troubled him to see the sadness lingering on Merlin's face, he remembered how distracted he'd been that day.

Gwaine asked, "What do you mean about the Fisher King, Merlin? I saw no one. You were a bit odd, when we broke into the throne room, did something happen?"

Merlin glanced at Arthur, he appreciated the connection, Arthur's hand on his shoulder. It was ... comforting. "Yes. We spoke, but now he's dead. He was waiting ..." His voice trailed off and he looked down at the ground.

Iseldir finished his sentence, "For you, Emrys. As we all have been."

Merlin tried to smile. "No pressure, huh?" He was still troubled, Arthur could see it, and he moved his arm across to Merlin's other shoulder, standing beside him in a loose, one-armed embrace, willing Merlin to draw on his strength. He felt Merlin relax a little against him.

Iseldir watched their interaction keenly, and then spoke to Arthur. "You must look after Emrys, for us, Prince Arthur. He brings hope to us all."

Now Merlin was embarrassed, he shook his head and hurried back to their earlier conversation, leaning into Arthur's hold instinctively. "I was asking, how did you know who I was, but Morgause didn't? I want to know, if I can block my magic or identity from others I'd like to know how I'm doing it."

"Emrys, Morgause sees what she wants to see. She's seen you through Morgana's eyes for a long time and had no reason, perhaps until now, to expect you were more than what you seemed." Iseldir's glance took in Arthur. "I could say the same for your prince."

"Thanks, Iseldir." Arthur's voice was tinged with irony, he arched an eyebrow.

Iseldir smiled at the response to his gentle barb. "I know about you, Emrys, because I'm the chieftain of my clan, my magic is more powerful than most druids, on par with other chieftains. It allows me to sense you're more than you appear to be. You're a paradox, Emrys, a truly powerful magic being, yet I find it extremely difficult to sense that you actually have any magic at all. Your magic is very different to others. And Emrys, the druids have stories about you, passed down from one generation to the next, that spoke of your coming and the signs pertaining to it. That's how I know about you."

Merlin sighed. "So I can't block this knowledge from Morgana or Morgause, then?"

"I don't think so. Morgause is powerful, but she's not a druid. She was bought up in bitterness and hate, her interests lie in areas that promote her own agenda; until recently she had not even heard of Emrys, I know, because she had to ask around this camp to hear the old stories. If she delves into things deeply, and recovers magically, I believe she'll discover who you are soon enough."

Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly not happy with this response. He felt like he was being pushed too quickly, he wanted more time. Arthur's arm tightened around his shoulders. "I have faith in you, Merlin. We'll deal with her as we need to, it'll be alright." Merlin's eyes dropped, he studied the ground for a long moment then nodded.

Iseldir was pleased with what he saw. "Are you ready to go into the camp now Emrys? Nathaniel's keen to spend some time with you."

The followed Iseldir into the camp, Merlin walking beside the druid and stumbling slightly as they passed through the magical barriers. Nathaniel was waiting, Merlin looked around, curious, at the sight that met them as they entered the hidden valley.

The camp was large, one of the biggest he'd seen. More than two dozen tents in a whole spectrum of colours were spread around the open spaces beneath the trees. Wooden charms and colourful strips of cloth hung like flags from tree branches. Herbs were spread across wooden racks to dry in the dappled sun between the trees. Sacks of precious grain and wicker baskets of root vegetables were stored beside frames where dead pheasants and rabbits hung, waiting to be cooked. A woven pen of long, thin vines housed a clutch of squawking chickens. As they passed the pen, a small girl emerged, holding onto three fresh eggs.

A handful of campfires were dotted around, their edges marked by stones. Nathaniel led them to one near a bronze coloured tent. There was a pot simmering over the fire, Nathaniel lifted the lid; it was stew, and he ladled out a bowl for each of them.

They sat down around the campfire to eat, Merlin between Arthur and Iseldir. Nathaniel was on the other side of the campfire, with Lancelot and Gwaine. Merlin was quiet, unusually so, he sensed Nathaniel was bursting with curiosity at his presence, but Merlin himself was almost pensive. So this was another side to his destiny, he belonged to the people he saw here as much as he belonged to Arthur. They were connected, all of them together, but would the connection be freely embraced by all when the time came? Would he get the balance right? Would they welcome him when the time came? He suddenly felt very young, and very unsure.

He watched the people, the ordinary druids going about their daily business. They were interested in him, but not in him specifically, but in all four strangers to the camp. After his discussion with Iseldir Merlin knew that most would not sense he had magic at all, so at present it seemed like four apparently non-magical visitors warranted enough importance to visit with two chieftains. And Merlin was aware enough to realise that Nathaniel was constantly shooting surreptitious glances at him that were tinged with a sense of wonder and awe. And if he was picking up on the chieftain's interest in him, then so were some of the other druids; Merlin watched as one old woman who'd been frowning at Nathaniel for some time suddenly switched her gaze to Merlin. Merlin's heart sank as a look of comprehension dawned on her face.

Merlin finished the stew and placed the bowl on the ground, ducking his head and fiddling with his pack, fighting a sense of unease. He suddenly wondered if this visit had been a good idea. He should have insisted that he make this journey alone. He could have been more secretive without the presence of the others, he could have avoided Nathaniel and stayed only with Iseldir. He felt a little anxious and frustrated, he had to be able to deal with Morgana and eventually Morgause, without alienating these people, he had to get it right and he didn't know how to.

Arthur tapped his leg, interrupting his brooding, and Merlin realised Iseldir was speaking to him in a low voice, being careful not to be overheard. "Emrys? Nathaniel means well. He'll support you, whatever happens. But it may have been better if I'd been able to prepare him for your visit. He is chieftain of this clan, and a good man who is well-liked by his people, but despite his power he's a simple man who wears his emotions on sleeve, he's not able to easily disguise his feelings at meeting you."

Merlin bit his lip and Iseldir continued quietly. "You don't understand how it is for us, Emrys. Your very existence is nothing short of a miracle to my people. I feel many of the emotions Nathaniel feels, but I'm better at concealing my thoughts than he is. Please don't be critical of him for that."

Merlin nodded, but he didn't know himself if it was in agreement with Iseldir or only in acknowledgement of his words. He knew Arthur was listening into this conversation too, and it added to the pressure Merlin was feeling. Because he'd taken Arthur here, knowing that they'd find Morgana. And he shouldn't have done so. What if Arthur was forced to kill his own sister? It was wrong, Merlin knew he'd made a mistake leading the prince here.

Arthur had been ready to kill his father years ago when he'd discovered the truth of his birth, and now Merlin was allowing him to be placed in a similar situation with Morgana. What if when they met, Arthur was so angry at her betrayal he was ready to kill her too? But if the prince had killed his father it would have broken him, Merlin knew with a sinking sense of dread the situation with Morgana was very similar, why had he not realised this previously?

He made up his mind. Resolute, he stood up, unaware of the pain shadowing his eyes. There were more druids gathering around the campfire now, but he didn't look closely to see if any had come to the same conclusion about him that the old woman had. He glanced around, she'd disappeared. He had to deal with Morgana now, and then get them all out of here, but how he'd handle Morgana he really had no idea. His earlier optimism seemed totally unfounded now.

Merlin had detected no threat from anyone, and his shields protecting his friends were strong, so he turned to Iseldir. "I need to find someone. Look after my friends please." He didn't ask the druid to protect them, he knew it went unsaid.

Arthur looked up at him in surprise, the bowl of stew still in his hand, and Merlin said to him flatly, "Stay here." He didn't bother to make it sound anything less than an order, and he didn't care if it annoyed the prince.

Merlin slowed time, not much, for less than a minute, just enough so he could disappear behind a nearby tent before anyone could follow him. He knew to anyone who'd been watching him it'd seem like he'd simply disappeared. Perhaps that was a stupid thing to do given he was trying to remain anonymous and anyone who'd been glancing his way would now realise he had magic – strong magic - but that thought didn't stop him.

He'd be done and they'd be gone before long.

At least, that's what he hoped.

A/N: Thanks again to those who've reviewed, I really appreciate it as it's great to know you like what I'm writing ... so far at least! There were some reviewers I couldn't reply to individually as they hadn't been logged in, so:

* Ground: Yeah, I liked the wyvern too. :)

* Jacqs: I figured Merlin will always be able to sense Kilgharrah because he's a dragonlord, and according to Balinor their souls are "brothers" and they're "kin". Or maybe it was just poetic (err, fanfic) licence! Oh, when you say Merlin didn't know any spells before coming to Camelot so how could he have performed a wood-gathering spell with Will – well, I assume he would have played around with magic as a kid and made some stuff up, and occasionally the made-up stuff might actually work. I would have **grins**. Not sure if there'll be any more longish Merlin/Gaius scenes in this fic, depends what I do at the end and I haven't quite made my mind up. How about some Merlin/Morgana instead, will that cut the mustard or absolutely not? And thanks for the birthday wishes!