"Um, Merlin?"
Merlin looked at Gwaine, who was staring pointedly.
"That was, is that…?"
"Oh, yeah. Magic." Merlin still looked like he was listening to something else.
"Do I should draw my sword now or later?" Gwaine asked.
Merlin actually hesitated. "Later? If you don't mind, I want to check this out."
Merlin started to walk, then turned to the right.
"So, you really sensed something? Something, like, magical?" Gwaine jogged along with him.
"Yes. It's hard to explain, I'll do that later."
"So, how long you have been... like that?" Gwaine asked curiously.
"My whole life." Merlin stopped and turned to his friend. "If you don't mind, I want to focus. This is hard enough without someone talking whole the time. You can do whatever you want later. Okay?"
"Alright," Gwaine answered, but when Merlin turned to follow his invisible trail he couldn't but ask: "Do you really need me here?"
"Maybe, maybe not, but I promised my mother," Merlin murmured as he started walking faster.
"Where we are going?"
"Gwaine!"
"Oh, yes. Lead the way my friend."
Very soon they noticed that their path had led them to the royal households.
"I just want to know, how did you know where we were going?" Gwaine asked when they stopped and peeked around the corner. They saw the guards near the King's chambers.
"I usually can sense when someone uses magic near me. This time it isn't strong, so it was hard to locate." Merlin backed off. "Someone is in Arthur's study."
"I though that you could go in there at any time."
"I can, but it would be strange if I went in there now when I should be at the feast. And if the guards heard any sounds coming from the study when it should be empty…" Merlin left the words hanging in the air.
"I've got the point. So now what?"
Merlin stared him. "You expect me to just walk in there and expose some kind of sorcerer?"
"I'm sure you can come up some explanation, Merlin," Gwaine grinned.
Merlin continued to stare at him.
"At this rate, that intruder is going to escape," Gwaine reminded him.
"Right. So, walk in," Merlin sighed and steeled himself. "Good thing that I had you to come with me."
"What that supposed to mean? Merlin?" Gwaine followed Merlin when he walked around the corner. He nodded to the guards and pulled out the key to the study. Merlin took a deep breath, before turning the key and opening the door.
They walked into the study.
There wasn't any light, and it was completely silent. Gwaine shut the door behind him when Merlin walked towards the desk. Now Gwaine could sense it: someone's presence in the room, but he didn't know what to do. He just could hope that Merlin had something in mind.
"Leot," Merlin muttered, and suddenly the room was filled with light. In the fireplace a huge fire roared into lift; flames danced on candles all around the room. And the man standing near the fireplace was in shock. Gwaine could tell that just by seeing his stunned face.
Merlin raised his hand toward the stranger. "Gestillan."
At the same time the intruder raised his hand. "Windan!"
The wind burst through the room, causing Gwaine to cower when items around the room flew out of their places.
Merlin yelled something, and a flash of golden light filled the room.
Someone screamed, and the light went off again.
Then there was silence.
Gwaine waited, but he only heard Merlin's heavy breath.
"Leot," Merlin said again.
Gwaine looked around. "What a mess."
Everything was scattered across the floor. And there was no enemy sorcerer to seen.
"Where is he?"
"He's gone," Merlin answered drily.
"Gone? Or gone like…"
"Dead."
Now, Gwaine noticed how Merlin's hands were trembling.
"Merlin?"
"I'm okay, or I will be. It's hard… I didn't even know him. I don't know if he had a family. I-" Merlin started to stammer.
Gwaine walked front of Merlin and put his hands over the younger man's shoulders. "Calm down. You did what you had to do. And besides, now I know that you are still our beloved Merlin, whether or not you can kill someone with magic."
Merlin couldn't face his friend. He closed his eyes.
"I'll check on the guards," Gwaine sighed. He walked over to the door, opened it, and peeked out into the hallway. The guards apparently hadn't noticed anything. One of them was actually snoring.
"I really should tell Arthur; this place's guards are hopeless," Gwaine said when he backed into the room.
"As if I hadn't noticed," Merlin murmured and looked around the room. He seemed to have calmed down.
"Can you do something about this? What the hell was that sorcerer doing here anyway?" Gwaine asked.
Merlin's eyes flashed golden again and in the blink of an eye, everything was back were it belonged.
"Wow... Just, wow," Gwaine gasped.
Merlin walked around the table and started to go over the papers. Gwaine moved toward fireplace and watched the floor.
"There's pile of dust here, Merlin," Gwaine noted.
Merlin looked up. "Hmm? Right." He looked back to the papers.
Gwaine stared his friend.
"Merlin."
"What?" Merlin didn't look up.
"Can you do something about this. It's actually creepy to think that this was... human."
Merlin raised his hand and murmured something and the dust was gone.
"Scary," Gwaine shivered. "You could be master criminal. If you remembered to hide the evidence."
Merlin stopped and grinned to his friend, and Gwaine thought over what he'd said and started to laugh.
"You are a master criminal! I'd never have believed it if I haven't seen everything with my own eyes."
"Yep. Now, I can't see why that man was here. Everything seems to be… ah!" Merlin yelped and put his finger in his mouth.
"What was that?" Gwaine asked worriedly.
"Just a paper cut," Merlin muttered. "We should go."
They walked out and Merlin locked the room behind them.
"It's still bleeding," Gwaine noted when he noticed the red fingerprint.
"Yeah, I'll have to clean it. Do you want to come with me or…"
"Oh, no way are you getting away without giving me any answers. But…"
"What?" Merlin glanced at him uncertainly.
"I think we should go through the kitchen. I need something stronger than water."
Merlin started to laugh.