Past and Present Danger

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate them.

Chapter 3

'Have you worked out how to send them back yet?' Arthur asked in a hushed voice. Merlin looked at him and frowned.

'You mean in the five minutes since we left the clearing, have I managed to come up with a spell to reverse what Morgana has probably been planning for the better part of a year?'

'That's exactly what I mean,' Arthur told him firmly.

'No. Trust me Arthur; this is going to take a lot of time.'

'Then I'm taking you off all other Court duties until you've figured it out.'

Merlin nodded, not bothering to mention that he hadn't been planning on attending any of his other duties until Arthur and Merlin junior were back where they should be.

He glanced back at the two children riding on the horses. Merlin had suggested that they all ride and get back to Camelot as soon as possible, but Arthur had decided against it and Merlin could see that he was trying to work out exactly how much of the situation should be explained to the Court and what he was going to do with the two children in the meantime.

'It'll be alright, Arthur.'

'I hope you're right Merlin, but this can't be good, can it? At the moment, we don't exist when we were five and six. That must have repercussions for us now, surely.' He looked over at Merlin, worry in his eyes.

'I don't know. But as long as they stay safe then we do still exist, we're just slightly out of time order.'

'Slightly, Merlin? This isn't slightly. They're nearly twenty years into their own future. And what's more, I don't remember this happening when I was little.'

'It didn't happen for us.'

'Evidently it did,' he replied, his voice getting louder. On the horses behind, the two boys sat up straighter, looking fearfully at the men.

'You're scaring them,' Merlin whispered.

'Well they're scaring me, Merlin.'

They fell into an uncomfortable silence for several minutes and only the noises of dawn in the forest disturbed them. The birds were beginning to sing in anticipation of the morning, and from what Merlin could see through the foliage of the trees, it would be a clear day. The sky was a gentle tinge of grey and blue, there were no clouds that he could see and the breeze that filtered through the trees was light and refreshing.

'I don't think the King should be leading the horse,' said a voice from behind.

Merlin turned to see young Arthur looking at him with what could only be described as disdain.

'If you want to swap with him, just say the word, he won't mind.' Merlin told him. He glanced over at Arthur who was looking at him with a very similar expression to his young self.

'A Prince can't lead the horse,' he said incredulously. 'I think he should get down and lead with you,' the Prince said matter-of-factly, inclining his head towards young Merlin. The dark haired boy looked unsure of himself and glanced over at Merlin for help.

'Just wait a second,' Merlin said, stopping Halesha.

'Merlin,' Arthur sighed at him, putting a hand to his face as he too stopped his horse. Merlin frowned at him and then turned back to the blonde child who currently sat watching him as if daring him to disagree.

'Why should he lead the horse and not you? You're both in exactly the same situation.'

'We're not the same at all,' the prince argued. 'Look at him, his clothes are dirty and he doesn't have proper shoes.'

'We don't have much money,' young Merlin replied quietly, but firmly. 'And if I was as rich as you I wouldn't be so mean about it.' The boy looked over at Merlin as if searching for his approval. He gave it willingly and grinned at the boy, who returned the gesture, if a little more shyly.

'You two won't ever be as rich as me,' he glared at adult and young Merlin in turn, 'you're just pathetic peasants, both of you.' The Prince's tone was venomous; he was clearly shocked at being spoken back to. Merlin remembered seeing similar shock on Arthur's face when Merlin had insulted him in their first meeting. He had clearly got his own way for many years until the warlock had been flung so unceremoniously into his life.

'Enough,' Arthur said firmly, and all three travellers turned their attention towards the King, his tone enough to stop them from saying anything else. 'Merlin,' he said through gritted teeth, 'you are meant to be the adult here, will you please start acting like it.' Merlin gave an apologetic smile and nodded his assent, not failing to see the smug expression on Prince Arthur's face at the reprimand. 'And you,' Arthur continued, turning to the grinning boy. His smile faltered instantly and Merlin tried to take on board what Arthur had said and act like the adult, rather than returning the smug look he had just received. 'Do not talk about anybody like that. Everybody, whether they're part of Camelot or not, whether they're the richest person in the land or the poorest… everybody deserves respect, especially from their King, or future King. I will not have you talking to Merlin like that, either of them. Is that clear?'

Merlin was surprised at the firmness of Arthur's tone, as was the young prince. He looked as if he'd been hit in the face. He shrank down into the saddle, his eyes creasing slightly. Merlin couldn't help but feel sorry for him and he saw his young self look sadly at the blonde boy. They started walking once again, an uncomfortable silence settling on the group. Merlin glanced over at Arthur several times, trying to gauge what he was thinking. He would never have expected Arthur to react like that, especially not when he was essentially talking to himself.

'What is it, Merlin?' Arthur muttered under his breath. Merlin moved closer so that he wouldn't be overheard.

'What you just said…'

'What about it?'

'It's just strange that's all.' He left it there, knowing it would only infuriate Arthur further. The King sighed emphatically.

'What's strange?'

'Well, telling young you off for speaking disrespectfully to Merlins in general.'

'Why is that odd?' Arthur asked, turning to him in irritated confusion. Merlin grinned at him.

'Because you talk to me like that all the time.'

'It's one of those cases of do as I say, not as I do. Does that clear it up for you?' Arthur asked turning to look ahead once more, with a half smile on his face.

'It does,' Merlin nodded. 'But for what it's worth, thank you.'

Arthur just shook his head and picked up their pace slightly. No-one said anything else as they headed towards Camelot.

When they finally approached the city gate, the morning business was already well under way, much to Arthur's dismay. He had been hoping to enter the city without attracting too much attention, but with this many people about, news of the two children would spread through the city within a few hours. All around there were woman sweeping out the fronts of their houses, while children ran back and forth playing and shouting and sometimes dragging buckets of water that they had fetched to start the day. Traders were beginning to roll their wares into Camelot on rickety wagons, while guards patrolled the streets, creating a sense of security for all the citizens.

On the horses, the two boys had fallen into a fitful sleep, and Arthur couldn't blame them. He too felt exhausted after their experience and wanted nothing more than to sleep. He doubted, however, that would happen. There was too much to do, too much to try and work out, the first being what he was going to do with the young versions of himself and Merlin. It could all get out of hand very quickly and the less people that knew the better. He sighed heavily.

'Are you alright?' Merlin asked, ever watchful.

'I had hoped we'd beaten the morning activities. There are too many people who will see them and gossip.'

'I can sort that out, don't worry,' Merlin assured him. Turning towards the horses, Merlin held out his hand and Arthur saw the flash of gold in his eyes. Even now, after nearly two years, Arthur frequently found himself stunned by the sheer absurdity of Merlin being the most powerful sorcerer of the age. Merlin! He remembered all those years before when Merlin had just been his bumbling manservant, although Arthur knew he had never been just his manservant. Merlin had been so much more than a servant, and more than a friend. He had been a brother, with unmatched loyalty towards his Prince and now King. It was part of the reason that Arthur had been so sharp with his young self earlier. Merlin had been instrumental in shaping Arthur into the King he was; his seven year old self was just a reminder of the type of king he could have turned into without Merlin's guiding presence.

In fact, the six months where he had not had Merlin around had been the hardest of his kingship. Looking back now, he only felt shame at how he had acted. Only Gwen knew the depth of how his decision still haunted him. Only she had heard him shouting in his sleep, sobbing in the throes of a nightmare as he revisited that time.

He still remembered, with perfect clarity, when he had found out about Merlin's powers. Morgana had made another attempt to destroy Arthur, but this time she had struck out at Guinevere, at his beautiful wife. Even as he remembered it now, he could feel the rush of air that had encompassed him as Morgana materialised in the throne room. She had scattered the knights of Camelot and the Council members that had been gathered there with a few words, determined to force Arthur to watch the death of his wife on his own. Except of course for Merlin, because she had never dreamed, like Arthur, that he could be so incredibly powerful.

She had bound Arthur and Merlin -so she thought- with magic, forcing them to their knees in front of the throne, while she stood in front of it, Guinevere held in place by another invisible force, her fear evident. Arthur had tried, he had fought so hard to reach her, to stop Morgana, but in the end it had been useless. He had watched as Morgana raised the sword. He had screamed at her, pleading with her, but she barely heard him, except to smile at his distress.

The sound of the knife cutting through the air had sent terror jolting through him and then he had heard another voice, a deep yet strangely familiar voice by his side. He had looked to see Merlin on his feet, having never really been bound by Morgana's spell. The knife that had been aiming for Gwen had been flung uselessly on the floor.

'You will leave her now, Morgana, or I will kill you where you stand,' Merlin had told her, his voice confident and assured in a way that Arthur had never heard before.

'You?' she asked in shock, before recovering slightly. 'As if a servant with a few tricks could stop me.' She had not begun to guess the extent of Merlin's abilities. None of them had. She turned her attention to him and her eyes glowed gold as she directed a curse towards him, but Merlin's hands shot up and the air seemed to shimmer around him. He remained untouched, yet Morgana's entire body began to tremble from some outside force. Merlin's hands moved to point at Gwen and then Arthur. The King had found himself suddenly free of his invisible restraints. He had lurched forward, rushing towards Gwen and pulling her away from Morgana, but Morgana didn't even notice.

What followed after that, Arthur, couldn't be sure. He only knew that the very air of the throne room seemed alive. He could sense that bone-shattering forces were being pushed towards Merlin, could hear the howling of winds and the crackling of thunder. He saw flames and lightning fly towards his manservant, but each time Merlin simply held out his hands and whispered a few words. Then, with a glowing of the servant's eyes, whatever Morgana flung at him evaporated into nothingness. Arthur could sense the power coming from him and he could see Morgana's fear.

'You're Emrys,' she had gasped, backing against the wall. Arthur hadn't understood what she meant at the time, but the words had frightened him as he suddenly realised that Merlin had power beyond anything that Arthur could have imagined, that he had had it for a long time, and that he had lied to Arthur for years.

'I am, and I will not let you touch this kingdom.'

The authority in Merlin's voice only served to enrage Arthur further. How could he have done this? How could he have used magic, have played a double agent? How could he have been such a traitor to Arthur, to Camelot; dressing himself up as a loyal servant when in fact he was a powerful and formidable sorcerer capable of destroying Camelot from the inside out?

Morgana had disappeared at that point and the room had fallen into an absolute silence. He stood up from where he had been crouched, Gwen behind him, holding his arm. Cautiously they had approached Merlin. Arthur remembered waiting for him to turn around; it had taken what seemed like hours, but eventually he had faced Arthur. He was pale, tired, fearful and so incredibly unsure. He watched Arthur with as much intensity as the King watched him. He was waiting for judgement, waiting for reprimand. He knew exactly what his actions meant to Arthur, knew that he had betrayed him; Arthur could see it on his face. It only infuriated Arthur further: Merlin had known exactly what he had been doing.

'You traitor!' he hissed.

'Arthur, please-' Merlin had tried, but Arthur had only rushed towards him and flung him against the wall, his sword at his servant's throat in seconds.

'Arthur,' Gwen called fiercely, but he ignored her. She couldn't possibly understand. He pushed Merlin harder against the wall, making the man wince, but that only angered him again. Merlin, pretending to be weak and helpless, when all along he had the power to turn the tides of war. It hadn't occurred to him at the time that with a few words, Merlin could have easily freed himself from the King's brutal grip. When he looked back, it was perhaps Merlin's non-action that made him feel most ashamed.

'You lied to me!' he shouted, emphasising each word by pressing the sword harder into Merlin's neck. A tiny bead of blood appeared on the pale skin.

'Arthur, I didn't-'

'You lied!' he repeated even louder. 'All this time you've been biding your time, lying, working your way into court. Guards!'

'I haven't, I've only ever tried to-'

'You're a sorcerer.' At the other end of the room the doors burst open and the guards, who had been swept out of the room by Morgana's magic, appeared. They hesitated momentarily at the scene they saw. That was not how they expected to find Merlin and Arthur. 'Arrest him!' Arthur shouted to them, all but throwing Merlin towards them as they approached with uncertainty. They grabbed Merlin, who once again showed no resistance.

'Arthur, please. Let me explain,' Merlin pleaded, looking at him with hurting and desperate eyes, but Arthur couldn't see Merlin in them anymore.

'No,' Arthur hissed, putting his head close to Merlin's. 'Let me explain, let me make it perfectly clear to you. You are a traitor to Camelot and to me and I will see you burn for it.'

The expression on Merlin's face was still etched in Arthur's memory: the hurt on it; the betrayal; the disbelief. He remembered seeing Merlin's face smooth out completely, until only his eyes told of the coursing emotions that were shuddering through him, and then he saw them begin to glisten and watched as a single tear traced its way down the young man's cheek. When Merlin spoke, his voice was calm, controlled, but there was a tremor to it that was unmistakable, and a resignation in it that Arthur had never associated with his servant before.

'I can't protect you if I'm dead,' he said gently. 'So I'm sorry Arthur. I really am.'

There had been a blinding flash of light, which had sent Arthur stumbling backwards, and when he had opened his eyes, Merlin was gone, only the echo of his apology in the air.

The next six months were a blur of anger and hurt that Arthur shuddered to remember. He had put all his efforts into searching for Merlin, into condemning and hating the man who he had considered to be his closest friend. Only now when he looked back to that time, could he see how much he had missed Merlin, how much he had wanted to take back his words, but his pride had not let him, had not let him even consider the possibility that Merlin was still his closest friend and most loyal servant. It had taken several months to realise that.

'It should be fine now, Arthur.' Merlin's voice cut into the memories and he breathed a sigh of relief to be pulled from them.

'What are you talking about?'

'Keeping prying eyes a way. You just said you wanted to keep their presence a secret.'

Arthur turned and looked at where the boys had been all but asleep on the horses and then looked around in confusion at seeing the empty saddles.

'What did you do? Where are they?' he asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

'You know, you could just decide to trust me one of these days,' Merlin replied, huffing slightly.

'Where are they?'

'They're on the horses. You just can't see them.'

'What do you mean they're on the horses?' He moved round and patted his horse's back, or tried to at least. His hand never made contact with the creature's body, instead stopping just above it, blocked by some invisible force.

'Ow,' came a disgruntled and sleepy voice. 'I didn't do anything.'

Arthur looked over at Merlin, utterly disbelieving. He muttered an apology to the air and then pulled Merlin aside slightly.

'You made them invisible?' he asked.

'Yes, but they don't know that, so keep your voice down,' Merlin whispered, looking back again.

'You made them invisible?'

'Well you said you didn't want them to be seen.'

'Yes, but now I can't see them.'

'Well, sorry. I can't make them visible to you and invisible to everyone else. There's no special treatment in magic.'

'So you can't see them either?'

'Alright, there is some special treatment for the person who casts the spell.'

'So you can see them?'

'And for those that the enchantment's on,' he added quickly.

'And they can see each other?' Arthur replied in annoyance.

'Yes. But, I'll make them visible again once we're in the castle, don't worry.'

'I'm not worried about that. I'm worried that one of them will fall off and they've only got you to stop them from hitting the floor,' Arthur muttered. He enjoyed seeing Merlin frown at him with feigned annoyance as they began to move through the crowd. Many people bowed to Arthur as he walked past them, never guessing that two very familiar looking children were riding on the back of the royal steeds that followed.

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