I'm so sorry with how late this is - 10 days till big deadline, I've been all over the place!

The first thing that Merlin noticed was that he was warm. It had been a long time since he had woken up with the heavy weight of a thick blanket over him and cocooning him in the warmth. Unable to stop himself, he simply sighed for a moment and buried deeper into it, letting it soothe away the hurts and aches that he could feel pounding through his body.

"Merlin? He stirred, I'm sure he stirred…" Merlin tried not to whimper at the unknown voice, his breath hitching in his throat slightly. Did that mean another bandit had managed to get hold of him? Or had Jarta's plan worked and the only reason they were keeping him warm was because of the blood loss? Merlin buried further down into the blanket, keeping his eyes firmly closed and trying to pretend that he was still asleep. It didn't help that a stray tear leaked from the corner of his eye, signalling his return to consciousness despite his pretence.

"Leon, move aside, he's not recognising your voice."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just please, go to the prince."

"Petra?" Merlin's voice was a trembling whisper and he kept his head turned away even as his hand groped the air for her. Feeling hers take his, he relaxed. At least no matter what happened, someone would still be on his side. But then the rest of the words began to sink in and Merlin frowned, even with his eyes shut. Go to the prince? Arthur was still here? He was okay? There was something about the name that Merlin recognised, and it brought with it a feeling of safety. Why did he know the name Leon?

"Merlin, open your eyes." Merlin stubbornly shook his head, keeping himself hidden even as the grip on Petra's hand increased. The warm feeling was beginning to work its way into his soul, providing a feeling of being safe, despite not knowing why. Maybe it was just because he knew that he wasn't alone.

"Merlin." There was almost a hint of warning in Petra's voice this time and Merlin knew that he had to obey. If he didn't, something far worse could happen than Petra's disapproval. He had learnt that the hard way within his first few weeks with Jarta from where he simply refused to do as he was told in the hope that he would be allowed to leave. Of course, it had just backfired - with control of his magic, Jarta could make Merlin do anything that he wanted.

Very slowly, the boy cracked open one eye, then another. More tears slipped from them as he felt just how drained he felt. He knew that he didn't have control of his magic, he could feel it. Yet at the same time, there was something different. It didn't feel like the same control compared to when Jarta had taken it. His eyes finally open, Merlin stared at the ceiling above him. It had been a long time since he had seen a proper ceiling compared to the canopy of a tent.

"Where are we?" He whispered, not prepared to come any further out of the blanket than that. Petra's face appeared above him, smiling gently as she brushed the hair from his forehead and tugged down the blanket with her free hand. Merlin almost yelped, making to dive for it, but his surroundings had captured his attention. Even as she moved the blanket away, Merlin was beginning to look around.

The feeling of safety was intensifying the more he took in. He didn't need to be told that nothing was going to happen to him here, he somehow just knew that it was over. His lack of magic implied that there were still some lasting issues that needed to be dealt with, but Merlin knew that he was no longer a slave. He was free.

"Petra?"

"Why don't you tell me, Merlin? You know better than I do, after all." Merlin's heart was pounding hard as he slowly sat up, wincing as he tried to put his weight on his arm and it almost gave way. Looking down, he saw a thick bandage tied around it and swallowed hard, fingering the fabric for a moment. What if he looked around and then realised that he was just dreaming this? He was beginning to realise where he was, but saying it out loud would make the illusion shatter and he would be back in the tent again with no chance of escape. If he pretended not to know, however, the dream might continue.

But then Petra moved and someone was revealed standing behind her. Merlin felt his breath catch at the warm smile on the woman's face as her son's eyes slowly began to focus on her. Hunith made no move to approach Merlin, she knew that he had to come to her in his own time or he might scare too easily. But without saying a word, Merlin climbed to his feet, eyes fixed unblinkingly on her even as Petra made short work of untangling the blanket from around his feet.

"Hello, Merlin."

"M-mother…"

"Welcome home, my boy." Hunith held out her arms and Merlin needed no further invitation than that. With a cry, he almost fell forward, Hunith moving to meet him halfway as he simply collapsed into her arms. The tears that had been trickling down his face swiftly turned into full blown sobs as his mother held him tightly, mumbling apologies over and over again under his breath as he cried.

For a long moment, Hunith simply held onto him, tears in her own eyes at having her boy back in her arms. A look of distress flickered across her face at feeling just how much weight Merlin had lost, not to mention the growth spurt he seemed to have gone through. She just hoped that they had the provisions to properly help him to recover from all of this. But for now, none of that mattered. All she could think about was that her only son was back where he belonged.

Once she knew that he wasn't about to disappear again, Hunith drew back slightly, crouching down so she could look Merlin in the eye. At least, attempt to for Merlin swiftly dropped his gaze. Placing one finger under his chin, Hunith tilted his head up again.

"Stop apologising, my love. None of this is your fault."

"I ran away," Merlin was almost gasping for breath as he tried to control his tears. He wanted his mother to yell at him for being naughty, to tell him that his behaviour had brought everything that had happened onto himself. Seeing this deep understanding and sympathy in her eyes was just making him cry harder.

"I know. But you felt trapped, you wanted to get away."

Merlin let out something that was halfway through a sob and a laugh as he buried himself in his mother's arms again. How ironic was that, he had run away to use his magic in freedom and had found himself more trapped than ever. He knew now why his mother was always warning him to be careful, that it wasn't just men like Uther that he had to fear if they found out his gifts. Hunith somehow navigated them both to the floor so that she could hold her son more comfortably, rocking him gently as Merlin cried.

How long they stayed like that, Merlin had no idea. The sun was high in the sky and bathing the small house in a golden light by the time he pulled back, feeling more exhausted than ever before. At the same time, he also felt lighter. It was as if a whole in his chest had suddenly just been filled in and Merlin began to realise quite how much he had missed his mother.

As his breathing quietened, Hunith stroked his hair softly, not being sure if Merlin was awake or not. The boy smiled against her chest, his eyes flickering as he allowed himself to be held before he suddenly drew back. His head twisted as he searched for Petra, only relaxing when he saw the woman sitting casually across from him. She was in different clothes from before. Merlin knew they weren't his mother's, but he was sure that one of the girls in the village had worn something like that before. He was glad that she was safe. Petra caught him looking and smiled gently.

"Better?" She asked softly, causing Merlin to blush but nod. How many times had she been the one to hold him when he had cried, yet his eyes had never regained the sparkle they had now. Only his mother could ever make him feel like that.

"Are we free?" Merlin felt Hunith stiffen slightly and that was enough of a giveaway for him to know she had been told that her only son had ended up as a slave.

"He's dead."

"Good."

"Merlin…"

"I know." Merlin sighed, sagging back into Hunith at the reprimand in Petra's voice. She had tried so hard to stop him from being twisted by the bandits, to keep him as the innocent little boy he had been all those months ago. While no one could go through that and come out unchanged, she just hoped that Merlin had held onto his positive thinking. Judging by the apologetic look on his face, he hadn't really meant what he had said about Jarta being dead. In a way, Merlin wasn't sure how he felt. The man had made a slave out of him and took his magic, yet Merlin had seen how the other bandits were. He could have been treated a lot worse compared to how he had been, Jarta had always tried to protect him from the more violent men.

"What will you do now?"

"Come, Merlin, you must be hungry." Hunith climbed to her feet, taking Merlin's hand and drawing the boy up after her. They had spoken about this whilst Merlin had been asleep, and it was clear that although Petra didn't know where she was going to go, she wasn't going to stay here. Considering the way Merlin had reacted to her upon awakening, Hunith knew that the boy was not going to like that idea, and the longer they put off telling him, the better.

Merlin nodded enthusiastically, suddenly realising how true that was. He took his mother's hand with a shy smile, still trying to get over the fact that he was actually home and safe. The last six months were almost falling away from him as Hunith led him through to the kitchen and the smell of his favourite soup wafted out to greet him. Merlin found that there were tears stinging his eyes again at the homely smell as he breathed in deeply, trying to tell himself that he was home and he wasn't going to be leaving again anytime soon. As Hunith busied herself with fetching bowls, Merlin suddenly realised how many she was pulling down.

"Where's Arthur?"

He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought about his friend before. The last he had seen of the prince, he had been tied to a post and waiting to be sold to whoever would pay the most for him with no chance of a rescue. Hunith didn't respond for a moment and Merlin felt his heart catch in his throat.

"No, where is he? Please, Mother! Where is he?!"

"What the hell are you yelling about?" The drawling voice caused a wide grin to split over Merlin's face and he spun sharply. Looking pale and exhausted, a bruised and bloodied Arthur Pendragon stood leaning in the doorway, arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face.

"You're alive." Merlin breathed, and Arthur's scowl disappeared.

"Guess so. What took you so long to wake up?" Merlin gaped at him, only to then see the teasing grin on Arthur's face. Just as he had been the last time he was in this house, Arthur didn't know how to react. He took a step into the kitchen as Merlin took a step forward, and the warlock almost gasped.

He could feel his magic.

Not in the sense that he had it, but he knew that it was close, it was safe and it was content. His eyes flared gold as he welcomed the feeling, and for a moment, he didn't know whether to be worried that nothing seemed to have happened. But then he locked eyes with Arthur and gasped.

The prince's eyes were also flaring gold.

"What did you do?" Merlin practically demanded, stepping back again. As distance was created between them, the gold dropped first from Arthur's eyes, then from Merlin's. Arthur flinched at the harsh note in Merlin's voice and dropped his gaze, clearly not being sure how to say what had happened. It didn't help that he didn't really know.

"He stopped you from being enslaved to a bandit for the rest of your life." Merlin jumped at the stern voice coming from behind Arthur, and suddenly realised where he knew the name Leon from. How could he forget the knight that Arthur had looked up to so much all those years ago. It was clear by the way the man's hand came to settle on Arthur's shoulder that their relationship hadn't truly changed.

"But…my magic…" Merlin's voice came out as a trembling whisper this time as he tried to think of what was going to happen to him now. Arthur might have promised that he wasn't going to turn him in, but what happened now that Arthur had control over the prince's magic?

"We'll figure something out." Hunith moved behind Merlin, wrapping her arms around him again. "Gaius is on his way, he'll know what to do."

"I just want to be me!" Merlin practically shouted, his distress clear in his voice even as he hid in his mother's arm, sobs shaking his shoulders again. Both Hunith and Leon knew that the reaction was only because he was exhausted, hurt and trying to come to terms with the fact that the hell he had lived in for the last six months was now over.

"I know, love, I know." As Hunith soothed him, Arthur found that he was taking a step back, his eyes wide. Leon shot him a look that was supposed to be one of reassurance, but it did nothing to calm Arthur's racing heart. He had just been trying to help, trying to make sure that Jarta hadn't hurt Merlin. He didn't know about the spell, he had passed out before the magic had announced to the whole camp that it had a new leader.

"Arthur?"

"I…" Arthur didn't see Merlin turn in his mother's grip, a flash of guilt shooting across his face when he saw the expression on Arthur's own. Instead, the prince just turned on his heel and ran out of the door, wondering what on earth was going to happen now.

MMM

"I thought I would find you here."

Arthur jumped. Staying sitting on the log, he turned his upper body in order to face Leon's voice and offered his knight a rueful grin.

"I should have known you would know where to find me."

"You've always turned to natural things to take shelter in, Arthur. Don't ever let that change."

"What do you mean?" Arthur frowned as Leon came to sit down next to him. He was at the top of the hill over-looking Ealdor, sitting on fallen tree almost in the same spot that Merlin had first found him all those years ago. It was peaceful up here, he could get away from the stares that followed him around whenever he set foot out of Hunith's door. He had woken almost three hours before Merlin, not having had the same drain as the younger boy had had. He couldn't describe how he had felt, but knowing that his eyes had changed colour hadn't come as the shock it should have.

He had felt the magic ever since he had woken up. It wasn't unpleasant, more of a weight resting on him that he knew hadn't been there before. He didn't feel powerful or strong, he just felt the responsibility pressing down on him. Somehow he knew what was happening to him even without anyone explaining it. He didn't have magic, he had Merlin's life resting in his hands. He could almost feel the bond between the two of them now, tugging at him to protect the younger boy. Arthur could only assume that Jarta hadn't felt any of this, or he wouldn't have been able to use the young warlock in the way that he did.

"Things that are natural deserve our respect, Arthur." The young prince frowned, watching Leon's face for a clue as to what he was talking about. It took a few moments, but finally Arthur thought he knew where this was going.

"You're talking about magic."

"I know what your father has told you about it."

"And I know what he has made you swear on your oath. Do you think I don't know what this could potentially mean if anyone finds out? Leon, I… I accepted Merlin. I knew before last night that he had magic, it was what they used to catch me in the first place. But it's Merlin, the same boy that helped save my life all those years ago. I had already made my decision."

"You know the consequences of what you are doing?"

"Do you mean do I know that I am committing treason? I'm not a child, Leon."

"Far from it, Sire." There was a hint of respect in Leon's voice that Arthur had never heard before, and he suddenly realised for the first time that Leon wasn't seeing him as a child. Arthur had come to this decision by himself in the worst possible circumstances, and the knight was proud of that.

"So what do I do?" Despite Arthur's claim that he was a man, he sounded young and vulnerable, and found that he was leaning on Leon before he truly realised what he was doing. He had felt out of his depth for this whole ordeal, but now he somehow knew that he had control of Merlin's magic whether he wanted it or not. It was one thing hiding the secret of a friend when they didn't even live in the kingdom. It was something else altogether to be back in Camelot knowing that he had some form of magic himself.

"I'm not sure," Leon admitted, but found that his arm was resting over Arthur's shoulders even as he spoke. "You need to talk to him."

"I don't think he wants to talk to me right now."

"Think, Arthur, you know that isn't true. He has been missing for six months according to his mother. You saw how he has been treated for these six months. This is a lot for him to take in – he's free from slavery but still doesn't have the magic back under his control. You need to talk to him."

"What am I supposed to say?" Arthur whispered, his head resting on Leon's shoulders as he plucked at the bandage on his own arm. He couldn't feel the cut any more, but he knew that it would take a few days to heal. Mainly he just felt exhausted, a deep tiredness settling into his body in a way that he had never felt before. He knew it was just from spending so long chained to a post and being dragged around, not to mention the fear he had felt at knowing he had no way of freeing himself. But even so, Arthur would do anything to be back in Camelot and just to be able to crawl into his bed and sleep for a week.

"You'll know when the time comes."

"I swore to him that we were going to get out, together."

"You kept that promise."

"No, I just bound us together in a way that no one seems to properly understand." Arthur jumped off the log, wincing as his bruised back protested the movement, but still proceeded to pace. Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Arthur sighed. His hands rested on his hips as he craned his head back to stare at the sky.

"You didn't mean for this to happen, Sire, you were trying to keep him safe."

"I won't be his jailer, Leon."

"Enough!" Leon rose to his feet as well, and Arthur was unable to stop himself from swallowing as the knight towered above him. "You had his best interests at heart, and you were trying to help. If you had done as you were told, you should have run from that camp without ever going back for Merlin. Do you think that would be a better course of action, to now be with your father and not worrying about this?"

"No! No, I would never have just left him there."

"If you don't regret your actions, you cannot regret the consequences. It's happened, Arthur. If you don't want to be his jailer, then you don't have to be. This has happened, but it is how you now deal with it that will define what happens next. If Merlin doesn't accept that, then I will be having a word with him too."

Arthur stumbled back a pace, biting his lip as he swallowed hard. For a long moment, he could only stare at his knight. Leon looked back steadily, his eyebrows raised slightly. It was that look which made Arthur suddenly realise that the man was seeing straight through him. He knew that Arthur's behaviour was nothing to do with the transfer of the magic or the fact that he didn't know what to do now.

It was because he had been absolutely terrified. As a prince, Arthur had always been told not to show his fear. Leon had a feeling that the young man had managed that, he had never given away to his captors what was going through his head. But just because he hadn't shown it didn't mean that he hadn't been feeling it. This was possibly the only chance he had of expressing it for once the King had arrived, the prince would have to take the position of the boy. Leon sighed, looking at Arthur without blinking.

"You know that I would always come for you, that is never going to change."

Arthur nodded, biting his lip as he swallowed hard.

"I'll be helping Hunith when you're ready. Don't stray too far." Leon turned on his heel and walked off, ignoring the slight sob coming from behind him. Arthur sunk to his knees, hands covering his face as he tried to compose himself. He was a prince, he was supposed to be stronger than this. But at the same time, escaping from the camp was supposed to be the end of it all, not just the beginning of their problems.

When a hand touched his shoulder, Arthur jumped violently.

"It's not that bad, having magic." Arthur hastily stood up, wiping his eyes and sniffing to try and hide the fact that he had been crying. Merlin simply stood there watching him, no trace of judgement in his eyes whatsoever.

"I don't have it, you do."

"Denial won't get you anywhere, Arthur." Merlin moved past him, sitting on the same log that Arthur had been on and staring off into the forest. Arthur was sure that he didn't imagine the shudder that seemed to run through Merlin as he looked into the darkness of the trees, but the prince didn't say anything about it, instead just moving to sit next to him.

"I'm not denying anything."

"You are. You have the magic now."

"No, I don't!"

"Arthur!"

"Merlin, listen to me." With a great deal of effort, Arthur forced his voice to drop to a more reasonable tone. To his delight, it worked. Merlin swallowed hard, giving an odd hiccupping sound as he clearly tried to hold back tears, but he stayed silent.

"You still have the magic. Jarta never used the magic himself, he used you to use the magic. I might have really mucked this up and ended up with that control myself, for which I'm sorry. Please believe that I only wanted to help you, I didn't know this would happen. So maybe it is me that now has that control, but it is still you who has the magic."

"Doesn't make a difference, I can't use it."

"What if I told you to?"

"What do you mean?"

"Jarta just forced you to do the things that he wanted, right? So what if I just give you one order, and that is to ignore me and use your magic however you want. Would it work?"

"Why would you want to do that? Don't you understand how powerful I am?"

"So?"

"That's why they were using me, Arthur. To be more powerful than their enemies. Don't you want that?"

"Not in that way. Merlin, I've trained my whole life to be a knight and a king. I have all the power that I want and ways to defeat my enemies. Why would I need you too?" Arthur flinched at how that came out, but Merlin was staring at him, eyes wide in something that could resemble wonder.

"You mean that? You'll let me be free?"

"I never asked for this, Merlin. I swore that I was going to get you out of trouble. I'm not helping you escape from bandits just to take their place, that's not who I am." Arthur ran his hand through his hair, biting his lip. Was he doing the right thing? Was it even possible to do what he was saying?

"You've changed." Merlin's voice was soft and quiet and Arthur blinked.

"Sorry?"

"I seem to have the memory of us arguing over everything and not wanting to share the last time you were here. And now you are going to give up something that would make you stronger than anyone around. You've changed."

"So have you." Arthur mumbled, although he knew that the reasons for Merlin's change were not as positive as his own. But he knew that Merlin now had a strength to him that Arthur would never understand, despite the fact that he was a few years older. Nothing would ever be able to bring Merlin down in this way again, not when he had gone through it and survived at such a young age.

"I'm worried my mother thinks so." Arthur blinked at Merlin's confession, knowing by the way that he was studying his hands that it was something he was truly worried about.

"What do you mean?"

"She keeps looking at me funny, like I'm about to vanish or just break down."

"It's been hard on her as well, Merlin. I imagine she thought you were dead."

"I hated it here." Merlin was definitely avoiding eye contact now. "I wanted a place where I would be free, where people would respect me for what I could do rather than having to hide. Guess no such place exists for someone like me."

"It will. When I'm king." Arthur had no idea where the words came from or when his hand had suddenly landed reassuringly on Merlin's shoulder. All he knew was that it was the right thing to say. He wasn't even Crown Prince yet, he had a few years to go before he was named in front of the whole kingdom as being the sole heir to the throne. But right now, he knew without a doubt that when he was king, he was going to make sure that he gave Merlin the freedom that he wanted.

"Why would you do that? My mother always told me how your father views magic. Why did you accept me?"

"You're the only friend I've got." Arthur's voice was a quiet mumble and he knew that his face was flushing red even as he purposefully avoided Merlin's gaze. His father had told him having friends was having a weakness, whereas Leon had encouraged it. It was just another case of not knowing who to believe, but right now, Arthur believed in his own words more than he had ever done before.

"You too." Merlin whispered, a big smile on his face. Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Arthur knew that Merlin was avoiding eye contact as well. Hearing voices coming from the bottom of the hill, the prince cleared his throat self-consciously and took a few steps away.

"I think Gaius has arrived. He'll know whether I can order you to be free or not."

"Don't think I'm going to listen to your orders otherwise." Merlin scoffed, standing up as he did so. Arthur rolled his eyes and nudged Merlin's shoulder with his own.

"I am your future King."

"No, you're not, I don't live in Camelot."

"We'll just have to change that." Arthur had no idea what was funny as Merlin started to giggle as they walked down the hill.

"Why?"

"If you're going to be my friend, you have to live in the same kingdom, it's not fair otherwise."

"You could live here." Arthur stared around, his eyes wide as he took in the houses and the fields. Apparently the look of disgust on his face was so obvious that Merlin only had to glance at him before he burst out laughing again. Arthur could barely even pretend to be indignant as he felt the corners of his mouth twitching. Why did he get the feeling that it had been a long time since anyone had truly heard that laugh?

By the time they got into the village, both boys were laughing as if the last few days hadn't just happened.