A/N: A really loooooooong chapter, I couldn't split it anywhere ...

Merlin called Arthur and Thea back into the tent. Arthur glanced from him to Morgana, then asked, "Why exactly is it you need me, Merlin?"

Oh. Merlin said, "Err ... your physical strength, that's what. I'll need you at the end." That was the truth.

Arthur had clearly thought about it. "Because Morgana's my sister?"

Merlin wanted to smile, but he didn't. "Something like that." Arthur seemed slightly suspicious of this answer, and Merlin said to Thea hurriedly. "Thea, we're ready now."

He turned back to Morgana, waiting as she unfastened her cloak, and draped it across a wicker basket. Merlin grabbed a few pillows and arranged them on at the head of the bed, and she sat back against them.

He sat down beside her on the edge of the bed, the bed dipped and their hips pressed together. He turned to Arthur and Thea. "This won't take more than ten minutes. I need to concentrate, so please don't let anyone else in the tent, and don't try to talk to me. You both need to stay well back until it's done, stay over near the entrance, over there."

He waited until they both moved away, then he turned back to Morgana. She was watching him patiently, and something in him clenched at the vulnerability she was allowing him to see. He fought back the feeling, this was no time for sentiment, he had to concentrate.

He placed his hands either side of her head and said to her, "Morgana, just relax. It won't hurt you. I want you to keep your eyes open for as long as you can, and look into my eyes. Don't look away, keep watching me. You'll pass out eventually, but fight it as long as you can, alright?"

She nodded and he shut his eyes, concentrating, seeking the deep well of power in him, drawing it slowly to the surface. It simmered restlessly, waiting for his command, and his eyes opened, glowing gold, and he battled to harness the magic. She gasped at the raw power emitting from him, and he pressed a finger over her mouth to quieten her, then it was his again.

He shifted on the bed, gathering in his links to Kilgharrah and the old religion, they flowed through his blood, the magic throbbed in time with his heartbeat, and with that beat, he reached out to her. Their magic collided when she instinctively tried to block him, but he smoothed her bottom lip with his thumb and she opened to him. He felt the answering beat of her heart; they were joined.

He probed her mind carefully, and his magic rushed to welcome him, he patted it down, murmuring words of the old religion to hone his command. He concentrated on her heartbeat and breathing, finding her rhythm, increasing the speed of his pulse to marry with her own.

One of his hands still cupped her jaw, and his free hand curved around her waist, drawing her closer. She was doing what he'd asked, she hadn't looked away from him, her hands were resting on his hips beneath his jacket, he hadn't noticed when she'd moved to hold onto him.

He probed further and found what he was after, delicate threads of her magic tentatively reaching for him. He caressed the fragile tendrils of silver, coaxing them to mix with the deep gold strands of the other magic that was part dragonlord, part Emrys, and something so ancient it was lost in the beginnings of time.

Another burst of his magic and it was almost done, the gold consumed the soft silver, and Morgana's gasp at the transformation was in unison with his own. Her mouth sought his, he kissed her back, then her eyes fluttered shut, her hands fell away from him, he sighed, resting his forehead against hers, closing his own eyes and slowly withdrawing from her mind. Her heartbeat slowed as his quickened, his chest rose and fell rapidly as he gathered his strength to make the final seal that would ensure his binding endured forever.

He opened his eyes, she was half slumped against him, and gently, he lowered back onto the pillows, the magic had drained him and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. Her hair spilled in a wave framing her face, she was pale and her lips were slightly parted. A pulse throbbed in her neck and he touched it.

He drew on his power for the final time, his head jerking involuntarily three times as the magic swirled through him uncontrolled before he could bend it to his will. He used the words to focus, they were almost snarled, "Ic gebann! Se ic gefræge hléowmæg béo ne læten. Se galdorcwide sy gadertang."

He cast the enchantment and his eyes flashed gold, the power screamed out of him, his task was complete. But his strength was fading, and he'd lost focus too soon, and cast too much power, and he wasn't ready when it tried to return home to him and it hit him like a giant magical slap in the face. The rebound threw him backwards, his shoulder crashed into the edge of the table, and he heard in mind speech a familiar and furious roar from his kin, "Merlin!"

He was vaguely aware that a bright golden light was exploding from him, then his eyes slipped shut as he fell into unconsciousness.

It was later, much later, and Merlin's head hurt, a lot. He opened his eyes and groaned, there were two blurry Arthurs sitting in front of him, and even one was far too many to cope with right now.

Both Arthurs spoke, thankfully in just one voice, but in a tone edged with disapproval. "I thought you said that wasn't going to be dangerous for you. You've been unconscious for a day."

"Oh. Only a day? That's good."

"Wrong answer, Merlin!"

He winced and clutched his head, rolling over on the bed, hoping Arthur would leave him in peace. "Not now. Yell at me later. Headache." He shut his eyes again and tried not to whimper, his stomach was queasy from the pain in his head.

"Why am I not surprised this happened?" Arthur did at least lower his voice. He nudged him. "Here, drink this. Iseldir and Thea said it'd help." He put an arm behind Merlin's back to help him sit upright, and held out a small container of green liquid.

Remembering Gaius's potions, Merlin made a face but reached out with an unsteady hand, bringing it to his mouth with Arthur's assistance, and tipping it down his throat obediently. As he swallowed the mixture his pain decreased almost instantly, he stared at the vial in dawning surprise. "That was actually nice." Thea had to talk to Gaius. Merlin tasted the residue in his mouth thoughtfully, "And it had magic in it."

He suddenly remembered. "Morgana? Is she alright?"

"She's fine. She was only out for about an hour. She's been to see you but Thea wouldn't let her stay long."

Merlin collapsed back down on the pillow. The headache had receded to a manageable level but he still felt very weak. And his magic was still unsettled, he felt it sloshing and flickering around inside him.

Arthur asked, "So, what exactly, was my role meant to be in that transformation with Morgana's magic? I haven't quite worked it out."

Merlin managed a goofy grin. "I thought you would've realised by now, it should have been obvious. Thea was there for Morgana, and you were there to pick me up off the ground at the end, of course."

Arthur frowned. "So it was dangerous, and you knew something like that would happen to you?"

Merlin sighed. "Arthur, honestly, it wasn't dangerous, I didn't lie when I told you that. But I knew it would use up a lot of my power and leave me physically weakened. But there was never any risk to me, it was draining but I'll recover. Give me another day or so and I'll be alright, especially if Thea has something else she can give me, that headache potion is something else."

Merlin looked at his surroundings and suddenly realised he was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar tent. "Where am I?"

"Nathaniel's tent."

"This is his tent? And I've been on the bed for a day? Where's Nathaniel then?"

Arthur leaned back on the chair and stretched out his legs, propping them up on the end of the bed. "Funny you should ask that."

Merlin hadn't thought so. "Err ... why?"

Arthur was pleased to be able to enlighten him. "Well, right before you passed out this bloody bright gold light flashed around the entire encampment, so I'm told. I personally didn't see much because I was so close to the source of the flash – you - I was blinded for a few minutes. But now, every single person here knows that Emrys is in residence, because, you see, Iseldir told me that you may as well hired a town crier to pass on the news of your presence, the light and the magical power you released amounted to the same thing. I've got to say, Iseldir has a stranger sense of humour than you do, he's amused by the whole situation."

Merlin's eyes widened and he sat up abruptly, Arthur was still talking. "So, Gwaine's been busy all day keeping people out of here. Women have been bringing me warm blankets and food for Emrys, and girls are really really really keen, to meet you, and we won't let them in ...", he smiled nicely and clarified, "...while you're too ill and defenceless, anyway."

"Oh."

"Exactly. But that's not all. You asked where Nathaniel was."

"Um, yes. I did."

"He's out with Iseldir, and a dozen other druids repairing the magical shields that are meant to hide this encampment. You knocked them out, all of them, apparently that's meant to be next to impossible. Iseldir also happened to mention it'll take them about a week to repair."

"Err. Okay. Um, are they ... mad at me?"

"Of course they're bloody not mad at you. Iseldir's amused - the more idiotic your behaviour is the more he seems to like you - and Nathaniel's just honoured that it was his camp's shields you choose to destroy in the first place."

"Well, I didn't exactly choose to destroy them!"

"Hmm. But you know, Merlin. I'm saving the best for last."

"Oh no. Not more?"

"Yes." Arthur straightened, he placed his feet back on the ground and stuck his head closer to Merlin. "Oh yes, there's more. You see, there's a bloody great big cranky dragon in the woods outside the camp, and I've been the one who's had to go and talk to him and calm him down! Me! Yet you're the dragonlord! Do you know how embarrassing it is to get told off by a dragon? And it was in front of Lancelot and Iseldir, and half the camp! I'm a prince, Merlin, no one talks to me like that!"

"What? You mean Kilgharrah? It's not my fault, I didn't call him!"

"Of course I mean him! What other ones are there? And please don't tell me this is where you say there's a herd of great big cranky dragons you talk to regularly."

"No. No, no. Uh, it's just Kilgharrah I see. You mean to say he's waiting outside the camp? For me?"

"I knew you'd knocked your head when you passed out."

"Oh no. I'm in trouble, I know it. Did he say what the problem was?" Merlin was pretty sure it was about Morgana and what he'd done, but a hint would be useful so he could plan ahead his defence.

Arthur looked at him like he was stupid. "Yes. He did. Let me see, firstly I had to stop him trying to get into the camp to find you, since he thought you might've been dead or at least close to it."

"That's ridiculous! Why would he think that? And the forest is too dense, he couldn't get through here anyway!"

"He was going to try. As for why would he think that? As he very crossly explained, it was to do with the prophecies, he said they vanished and so did you, and so did everything attached to you and me, for about an hour. You're lucky he took a while to get here, by the time he arrived I'd at least reappeared in them, but not you or much else and he was very agitated. Did you know he breathes fire when he's like that?"

"Oh no, he didn't ... did he?"

Arthur gave him a pointed look.

"Arthur, he knows better than to put you or anyone else in danger. If he was in any way at all hostile you'd better tell me, I'll have to talk to him about it."

"No, he didn't try to harm anyone, just several trees. I asked him to please put out the fire, he did ... eventually, once he'd calmed down a bit. Which leads me to the second problem. Since when it is my fault what you choose to do with your magic? I got in trouble for letting you put forth too much magical effort and letting you pass out in the first place! I'm not your keeper!"

Oh. It was very difficult to keep a straight face, but Merlin managed ... but only just. "Uh ... you got in trouble? From Kilgharrah? For that?"

"Yes!" Arthur was still annoyed about the injustice of it all. "How could that be my fault? And not to mention you never said what it'd do to you!"

"Well. Yes. So ..." Merlin tried to seem nonchalant. "So, what did he have to say about what I'd done with Morgana? Much?"

"Nothing at all, not to me." Arthur's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Merlin shrugged, then admitted, "I thought that'd be what he was furious about."

"He would?"

"Yeah. We've argued about Morgana before, a number of times, actually." Merlin scratched his head. "It's a reoccurring theme. I'm surprised he didn't have anything else to say about her to you, maybe he's saving it up for me. Or ..." he tried to be hopeful. "But now he knows I'm not dead, please tell me he's flown off, right?"

"Of course not. Lancelot's keeping an eye on him, we've agreed that once you're awake we'll bring you out to your dragon. But you'll have to get through the crowds, the entire encampment have been to gawk at him, from a safe distance of course. No one here knew any dragons still existed."

Merlin sighed. "And I wanted him kept a secret. Great. Wonderful." He glanced at Arthur. "But ... you know, I'd better not go anywhere yet. My headache might come back, and my magic is still a bit erratic."

"Oh no, Merlin. I'll get more potion from Thea if I have to. And just don't do any magic. You can explain this mess to your dragon. Your dragon, your problem."

"Fine."

"Very. Now do you really need something from Thea, or was that an excuse?"

Merlin was resigned. "No, I don't need anything, my head's alright now." He crossed his arms. "But I'm not going anywhere until I've seen Morgana."

"So you're putting off trying to settle down a still slightly agitated dragon, to talk to Morgana?"

"I know who needs me the most, Arthur, and it's not Kilgharrah. Could you please ask someone if they could find her?"

Arthur sighed. "Honestly Merlin, sometimes dealing with you is like discussing battle strategies with a three year old."

Merlin grinned, unable to resist the opening. "Yeah? Then go get me what I want before I have a tantrum."

Arthur gave him an exasperated look and stomped to the entrance to the tent and out of the flap. Alone again, Merlin sighed and lay back down on the bed, closing his eyes. He still felt exhausted, it wouldn't take any effort at all to fall asleep again for another day.

A hand touched his arm and he jumped. "Morgana!" He sat up.

She took Arthur's seat. "Merlin. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I don't feel much different. And Thea won't let me try any healing magic yet anyway."

"Listen to her, then."

"I am." She stared at the ground. "So you're a dragonlord too?"

Merlin bit his lip and swung his legs over the side of the bed, their knees were almost touching. "I didn't call him, Morgana. He wasn't meant to come here."

"You're always keeping secrets. Would you have ever told me?"

"I don't know, but I guess so, eventually! Look Morgana, I don't want to argue with you again already. I want your friendship, and I want your trust, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be completely open about everything that springs to mind about my life, not yet anyway, we're not up to that."

"And that includes not mentioning you're a dragonlord?"

"Damn it, Morgana! It's nothing to do with you, it's a bond between me and Kilgharrah." He tried to distract her. "We're always fighting, did we get married?"

She was cold. "Not funny, Merlin."

He shrugged his shoulders, slightly frustrated, the pattern of communication between them for too long had involved constant arguments, and he wanted it to change, but he wondered if it was possible. "Morgana, trust has to be earned over the passage of time. And for us, it'll take a lot of time because things have been very damaged between us for too long. But what can do is to just keep on trying, together, huh?"

"So you still want to ... keep in contact with me, even now that you've separated your magic from me?"

"Yes. Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

She studied the rough weave of the blanket on the bed, not looking at him. "I know why you did this to me, Merlin. You want me on your side, I understand. But you also wanted the attraction between us to disappear, you said once the magic link was broken then so would the attraction."

He reached out and took her hand, the odd compulsion to touch her hadn't changed. Her hand was small in his, he'd never thought of her as being smaller than him in any way, before. "Do you think it has?"

She wouldn't answer, wouldn't meet his eyes, and her avoidance was answer enough. Suddenly wide awake, he tugged her closer. "Come here." She glanced at him from under lowered lashes then away again. "Come here, Morgana. Sit beside me on the bed, will you, please?" He thought he understood her lack of confidence, she was damaged, she'd been driven by fear for so long, rejected by Uther, rejected by him, rejected by the norms of the society she'd once belonged to.

Another tug, and she sat down beside him. He hadn't let go of her hand. He tried again, "Well?"

She shrugged, she didn't want to give anything away. "I don't know. What do you think?"

He cupped her face, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw, and said huskily, "I think you're beautiful," and he bent his head and covered her mouth with his own, kissing her slowly, giving her a chance to stop him. But she didn't stop him, she sank into his embrace, her lips opening and moving under his, she tasted of sunshine and mint and something familiar and right.

She slid her arms around his neck, he drew her closer and her body pressed up against his. It felt just as incredible as before, his head spun, and he lost himself in her, urging her down against the pillows, until he was lying half on top of her, supporting his weight on his elbows. His tongue claimed the intimacy of her mouth, he wanted more of her, he ached to explore everywhere he hadn't been, she was soft and firm in all the right places, it was all he could do to keep his hands on something neutral.

Eventually he pulled back, and leant his forehead against hers. "We've got to stop, Morgana." He propped himself up on one elbow and lay on his side, tracing the outline of her lips with his finger. He didn't know if he could think rationally, but he had to try. "My magic is still unstable, which means I am too, you've got to help me control myself."

The soft look in her eyes stripped him of his defences, and he allowed himself just one more kiss, one more wouldn't hurt. Her eyes slid shut, and her fingers stretched up to play with his hair, running over the tip of his ears. He smiled against her mouth. "You're not helping much." Her face was flushed, he knew why, and it excited him out of all proportion to know he was the reason for it.

"I know." She smiled back, her voice husky. "Maybe I don't want to."

Oh god. He teased her mouth with his own again, nibbling at her lips until a soft moan of need escaped her, and it was like someone had flicked a switch in him, he found himself driving her back down into the bed, covering her body with his as he frantically deepened their kisses, groaning into her mouth. He was fierce and burning, she matched his desperation, their passion building, raw and elemental.

He rucked her shirt up and found the warm skin of her hips and stomach, the naked contact of his hand on her skin made his magic zing wildly. He caressed her, they kissed and kissed and kissed again. She cried his name, arching up against him, then she hooked her foot around his ankle, he lost his balance and his hips fell against her, it put him right where he wanted to be, and he shook uncontrollably.

It was a moment out of time and it had to stop, he knew it, but he wouldn't, he couldn't. He gasped, desperate and almost over the edge, "Morgana, stop me. Please, stop me." He felt his magic thrumming but he couldn't concentrate, could barely control it or himself, not when he'd been so weakened and not with her in his arms like this. "Please." His voice was hoarse with effort, but he didn't know whether he was devastated or relieved when she wrenched her mouth away from him and pushed at his shoulders.

He released her instantly, she slid out from beneath him and he flipped over and buried his face in the bed, his fingers clenching, twisting the sheets into a wrinkled lump. It seemed forever before he could look at her again, when he finally had enough control he turned over, sitting up uncomfortably. She'd sat back down on the stool beside the bed and was eyeing him guardedly, her hands clasped primly in front of her.

He rubbed his hand over his face and cleared his throat. "Well."

"Well?"

"Uh huh." He wished she wasn't so calm and composed, he certainly wasn't feeling that way. He sat up on the edge of the bed but he didn't get too close to her this time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to go the way it did. I guess I might have been a little bit wrong, about the magic link ending, do you think?"

"Perhaps." She avoided his eyes.

"What is it, between us, Morgana? It's more than magic, isn't it?"

She wasn't looking at him. "What do you think?"

No, he was wrong, she wasn't nearly as calm as she seemed. "I think you're afraid to trust me, and you don't want to tell me what you think, in case I hurt you again," he said softly. "You're more guarded than the Morgana I once knew. But I understand it. But if you want to know what I think – I believe it's more than simple magic that's bringing us together."

He hesitated, but he couldn't play it safe. "And I'm afraid too, because you can hurt me too. But it's a risk I'll take, Morgana."

She nodded slowly and tucked a strand of hair over her shoulder, but she wouldn't open up to him, not yet.

He shook his head and said softly, "But yet this is wrong." He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes, it was his turn to avoid her. "We can't get involved like this. But every time I touch you ..."

She spoke. "It doesn't matter, Merlin. Just forget it."

"No." His head shot up. "I can't forget it, I don't want to. But you know, we both know, we shouldn't take it any further, not yet, it'll complicate things too much, Morgana, and thing between us are so complicated already. We need to learn how to be friends again first, before we try anything else. We probably shouldn't even be kissing each other, but ..."

She was silent and unmoving, he physically ached to comfort her, he clenched his hands.

He begged her to understand. "Morgana, I'm not rejecting you. Don't think that. But we're having a difficult enough time dealing with what's gone on between the two of us, all the deception and mistrust and more, without adding to it ten times over. Learning to trust each other and building a friendship has to come first, it's a solid foundation, and I need to feel that with you. We can't have anything else without it, especially after everything we've done to each other. Please?"

He saw the tension in her, and the distress she couldn't quite mask, she was ready to make her exit but he couldn't let her leave him, not like this. He felt something inside him splinter, he wished their relationship, or whatever it was, could be simpler.

"Please don't. I want to hold you, but I can't. I can't trust myself right now. My magic is still all over the place after yesterday, I need to keep a lid on my emotions to keep it in check. Neither of us are in the right time for a full blown relationship between us. But I care about you more than I'd ever thought possible. I want you to be happy, and safe. There are just too many barriers, you know it as well as I do."

She tried to pretend she was unaffected, but he knew. He gave up. "Damn it, come here."

She stiffened as he hauled her into his arms, but he held her close and tucked her head against his chest. "Shsssh." He soothed her, tracing circles around her back with the palm of his hand, holding her centred him and he wasn't going to question why. "God, Morgana, I just want to forget about everything else and climb into bed with you, it's driving me mad, but please understand me. Morgause is a massive barrier between us, and I'm going to fight her for your loyalty. And we both have things we must do. You've got a long road ahead of you learning healing magic. And my first priority is always Arthur. I don't want to hurt you, but that's how it is."

He held onto her, he wasn't giving her a chance to speak even if she wanted to, he couldn't endure it if she rejected him outright now, he just wanted her to think. "And I don't know how to do this with you. We need to take this friendship slowly, without too many expectations. My place is with Arthur at Camelot. You belong with the druids now, and you need to be with Thea. I need your friendship, but it wouldn't be right for us to be more than that, we both have to do other things that are more important than what we might share."

Finally, she gave him some ground, reaching up to clutch hold of his shoulder. "Merlin, I know. You're right. We can't do this, no more kissing, no more hugging, none of that, we can't."

She leant away from him and flattened her hands against his chest, prepared to slide off his lap, but his arms crushed around her, and he choked out, "No! I mean, hugging is okay, it's friendly. Let me hug you, huh?"

She raised an eyebrow, he wasn't begging but he was getting close to it. Reassured, she snuggled back against him and said dryly, "I have my doubts about the wisdom of hugging."

His chest rumbled, "So do I, but I want to do it anyway. Maybe hugs in public would be a better idea?"

"Probably." He couldn't see her smiling, her hair was hiding her face but he could hear it in her voice.

He sighed, and rocked her back and forth in his arms, the physical and emotional pull was still almost overpowering. Maybe his magic just needed to settle down again. "We'll get there. It'll be alright, in the end." He wanted to convince himself of it too, he had to try. What was happening to him, to them? He was sure of his words but why did they feel so wrong? The thought of not being with her felt like stepping off into a bottomless void of despair, like ripping out part of himself.

Silence reigned, and he allowed himself to squeeze his eyes shut and bury his face in her hair. He didn't even mind when it tickled his nose, because she was still curled up in his arms, and the warm pressure of her hand was flat against his chest. He wanted to stay like that and not think about anything else for a while, and he did, they were silent, and he was content to just enjoy the feeling of closeness between them that came with her proximity.

"Merlin?"

It took him a moment to realise Arthur had spoken, he twisted around at the sound behind them, the prince had stuck his head back inside the tent. He tightened his hold on Morgana. "Yeah?"

"You've got to come with me, now. You can't put off seeing the dragon any longer. He's getting impatient."

Merlin sighed and Morgana wriggled away, she met Arthur's eyes. The prince said to her, "Morgana, Thea's waiting for you too." He hesitated, and said cautiously to his sister, "You alright?"

Morgana was startled by the question, Merlin saw it too. He knew Arthur had a long way to go before he could forget her betrayal, but Merlin suspected the prince understood her more than he let on, he was close to forgiveness already. Merlin knew Arthur had decided to give her another chance long ago even if he hadn't said so, but it was all there in his behaviour, in his general teasing of Merlin's relationship with her, and Arthur's own lack of hostility to her.

Merlin watched her nod to her brother, she left the tent with a quick backwards glance at both of them. Merlin turned to Arthur, remembering what the prince had told him earlier. "I need a druid cloak."

"What? Why?"

"I want something with a hood on, I'm not going out there until I have it. Actually maybe you should too. Disguise, you know, from all those people you said are going to be looking at us. I can't let my secret get back to Camelot." He knew he was babbling, but he was still trying to regain his equilibrium.

"Bit late for me, Merlin. In between going to and from this tent and the mass of people checking out your bloody dragon, my face will be forever ingrained in their memories. They'll be talking about these last two days around their campfires for generations to come."

Merlin peered up at him somewhat gloomily. "You're probably right. And I guess it's not like they're going to tell anyone in Camelot." He stood up, he felt much better than he had when he first woke up, but he was very aware of his magic churning inside him. It hadn't stabilised yet, and he knew he couldn't risk using it. He felt a bit lightheaded, he'd felt better lying down, especially when he'd been with ... no, he cut that thought off quickly.

He found his boots at the end of the bed and pulled them on. His jacket was hanging over the back of a chair, it smelt fresh, someone had washed it. He put it on too and noticed he was wearing his blue shirt, the clean one he'd left in his pack. He must have been properly unconscious earlier because he certainly didn't remember changing it.

There was nothing else to delay him.

"Arthur?" Merlin was hesitant, and the prince gave him an enquiring look. "Are there really a lot of people out there, wanting to see ... me?"

Arthur walked across and clapped him on the back. "In one word? Yes. But you're going to have to get used to it sometime, and it may as well be now. Come on."

He ran a hand through his hair and followed Arthur out. He didn't know what he'd expected, but it hadn't been this, although there was no one close to Nathaniel's tent, there were crowds of people not far away, some of them standing around in groups talking, others seemingly busy occupying children, or doing chores. He saw Gwaine in the distance, surrounded by young women. But it was the strangest sensation when all these people turned to look at them, and many were quite open about it, dropping what they were doing and pointing him out to their neighbours.

Morgana was with Thea not far away, he gave her a tight smile and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then stuck his hands in his jacket pocket. He said to Arthur in a low voice, not wanting to be heard, "Have they been doing that to you, too?"

Arthur held back a grin, amused at Merlin's discomfort. "Only at first, and that was probably because they were expecting you to come out with me, I'm nowhere near as interesting as you. Hope they're not too disappointed, they probably expected you to be seven foot tall, ten years older, and much, much better looking."

Merlin made a face, he wasn't capable of any comeback, witty or not. Arthur prodded him. "Take some lessons from me, I know what to do with a crowd. All they want from you now is for you to acknowledge them, so give them a wave or something."

Merlin glanced at him doubtfully, this was all very good and well for Arthur to say, he was a prince. Waving to a bunch of druids in a campsite seemed a silly idea to him.

Arthur led him through the crowd in a south-easterly direction, this apparently was the way to Kilgharrah. Despite himself, Merlin found he was eyeing the people curiously, and they weren't backward in their own interest in him. He was relieved to see no one seemed at all hostile, many seemed friendly, like they'd like to approach him and once one old man patted him on the arm and mumbled, "I never thought I'd live long enough to meet you, My Lord," that seemed to be the signal for everyone to cluster around him, some of them touched him and exchanged greetings, others were content to just smile a welcome to him.

Arthur had his hand on Merlin's shoulder by now, and Merlin thought without the prince guiding him through the crowd he'd never get out. It felt odd to be the focus of attention in such a large crowd, but he found he didn't really mind it after all, there was such a general feeling of goodwill and happiness it was nice to be part of it all, even if it felt odd to be the reason for it.

As they passed through the groups of people, Merlin noticed a cluster of small children eyeing him with open curiosity and fascination. One of the little girls tugged at his sleeve as they walked past, and Merlin stopped, looking down at her. Her big blue eyes peered out at him from under a tussle of messy blond hair, she couldn't have been more than six or seven.

A goofy grin spread across Merlin's face at her expression, and that must have been enough to loosen her tongue as she said to him in a stage whisper that carried clearly across to the adults nearby, "My dad says you're Emrys, and you're going to make it safe again for magic kids." Her face took on a serious expression and she added, "And then no one will want to kill me anymore, because I'm magic like you."

Merlin reached out to ruffle her hair, both touched and humbled. "Yes. That's what I hope will happen too."

Arthur had stopped too and she turned to him. "You're Prince Arthur, aren't you?"

Arthur nodded and said solemnly, "Yes, I am."

The little girl asked Arthur, "Can you do magic like Emrys?" Arthur shook his head and her face fell, she seemed sorry for him. "Do you want to see a trick?"

Arthur exchanged a grin with Merlin and nodded, the little girl's face grew solemn and she held out her hand to the prince and whispered "Forbearnan," and a tiny flame appeared on her palm. She beamed at Arthur and Merlin. "You see it? I can't do anything else but mum says that I'm very clever. Can you do that too, Emrys?" She barely waited for Merlin's nod before adding, "When you let go of your magic yesterday it felt like a nice warm hug, didn't it? Mum said it's because he's pure, what does that mean?"

She addressed the question to Arthur, who found himself hard-pressed not to release a snort of laughter. Merlin elbowed him in the ribs and took control of the situation. "She means nice. Good. That sort of thing." His look at Arthur dared the prince to say anything, and Arthur stifled a grin and tightened his arm around Merlin's shoulders.

Arthur said to her, 'It was nice to meet you, what's your name?"

"Emeline."

"Well, Emeline, we have to go now. I have to take my friend down here to see his dragon."

The little girl's eyes grew wide and Arthur took the opportunity to tug Merlin away. They continued through the encampment, to the other side, to Kilgharrah.

Translation:

"Ic geban!. Se ic gefræge hléowmæg béo ne læten. Se galdorcwide sy gadertang.": I COMMAND! LET THAT WHICH I HAVE BOUND BE NOT UNDONE. THE MAGIC IS ONE.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they keep me going when I'm unsure about the fic, the Mergana element was a bit of a risk. Next chapter - Kilgharrah weighs in on the situation.