Chapter Five: The End of the Beginning of the Start

EDIT: I changed the last two sentences and a couple of spacing issues.

Calli's POV

After sneaking past the guards (they weren't awake yet, but it couldn't be long before they were) we ran to try to catch up with Merlin. When we got to Gaius' chambers, he was about to open the door.

"Oi! Merlin!" I called quietly.

"Calli? Em? What are you doing here?" He tried to sound casual, but he was obviously scared that we knew where he'd just been.

"You know how Lady Helen's coming in two days?" I asked.

"Yeah," Merlin said, looking confused.

"Well... Em-" I began, but Em interrupted me.

"Calli had this dream, see, and in it Lady Helen was really a vengeful old witch who wanted to kill Arthur. So when this girl sees 'Lady Helen's" reflection, she doesn't see Lady Helen, she sees the old lady. And Lady Helen kills her so her secret doesn't get out." Em finished. I looked at her strangely. The plan had been for Em to say she had the dream...

"Yeah. And this didn't seem like just a dream. It felt... real. And I think it's going to happen." I told Merlin. Good thing I'd been in so many acting summer camps...

"Why are you telling me? If this is magic, you could be killed by Uther," he said as he tilted his head curiously.

"I had to tell someone. And everyone else around here would just run to Uther. They all grew up in Camelot, they all believe magic and everything connected to it -even when you can't help it, even when it's a part of you- is evil." I hoped he believed me. If he found out I was lying he might forgive me if I told him why, but still.

"Oh," Merlin paused, at a loss for words.

Merlin's POV

"Oh," I paused, not sure what to say. The fact that someone would trust me, someone who barely knew me, was strange. People in Ealdor had thought I was abnormal due to the odd events that happened when I was around, and to those of Camelot I was but a commoner, and thus unimportant. But here was someone who I hadn't really talked to before today, and she was trusting me with her life, with a secret that could bring death. I was surprised by this trust, to say the least. And there was a part of me that wanted to tell her my secret, to let Calli know that she was not alone. I knew what it was like to be alone.

Calli's POV

Merlin looked even more surprised, probably that I trusted him. Well, of course I did, he was Merlin, and Merlin was awesome. "Will you help us stop it from happening?"

Merlin hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Yeah, I will."

"Yay! Thank you!" I almost hugged him, but settled for a happy smile. Hugs were awkward, and I disliked physical contact.

"So, the plan goes something like this..." I began, and explained my completely brilliant (in my opinion) plan.

The day after the day after next day...

The trumpets blared as Lady Helen entered the throne room. I (now an official member of the court along with Em) thought I saw a glimmer of anger in her eyes when Lady Helen looked at the king, but I could have been wrong.

"Lady Helen. Thank you so much for coming to sing at our celebrations," Uther smiled as he stepped down from his throne. Lady Helen smiled.
"The pleasure's all mine."
"How was your journey?" Uther a few steps forward, and I couldn't help but be a little amazed -it was like I was watching Merlin live while on stage.

"Oh, the time it took, Sire." Lady Helen said as she sighed for affect.

Uther took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. "Well, it's always worth the wait," he said.
"It will be," Lady Helen smiled. Her eyes glimmered with amusement, and just a bit of crazy. I could tell that she couldn't wait until her performance. It was time for us to commence the plan. A few minutes later, Em and I knocked on the door of her room. "Hello," we chorused when she answered.

A little less than two hours later...

"No! Please, just leave me alone!" Lady Helen sobbed. It had taken far less time than we expected to drive her to the brink of insanity. After pelting her with questions non stop for the past hour and a half-ish, she was starting to break.

"Go away! Stop asking me questions!" She picked up the nearest thing she could find (literally a feather) and chucked it at our heads. It fell harmlessly to the floor.

"Aww, come on! That's no way to treat us! We're your friends!" Em grinned. This was definitely fun.

"Yeah! Besties!" I ran forward as if to hug her, but she tried to escape. Lady Helen sprinted the opposite direction, and ran face-first into a wall. As she fell to the floor, we could already see the beginnings of a bruise on her forehead. We dragged her across the floor and put her on her bed, then put the blanket over her as if she had been asleep. Then we quickly ran out of the room. Merlin was waiting in an alcove, and went to put the potion from Gaius on her table. When he returned, we all grinned. Tonight she would preform. But she wouldn't wake up until about five minutes before then (Gaius had thought that such detailed hypothetical questions were strange, but he had answered us anyway). I was having a hard time keeping up with what was going on (the time line was a bit mixed up) but I thought it was time for the mace fight.

"Now we have to leave, there's still a chance something could go wrong." I began to walk out of the door, but Em stopped me.

"Where are we going?"

"The lower town!" I grinned and ran out the door, quickly followed by Em and Merlin.

"We're going to have to wear disguises though," Em said.

"Let's go! Merlin, we'll see you at a place outside somewhere, okay?" I said, too hyper to think of anywhere specific.

"She means the courtyard," Em explained. We ran to our rooms and quickly changed into our normal-est dresses (mine was a black tunic with a green corset, cloak, and neck scarf, while Em wore a solid purple dress and black cloak) before racing out of the palace. Merlin was waiting for us in the courtyard, and he grinned when we ran up.

"Hi Merlin!" I chirped.

"Hello," He smiled as we began to walk towards the lower town. After we got there, I began to look around for Arthur. I located him surrounded by his "gang," and hung back slightly, lowering my hood so it covered my face. Em did the same. Merlin obliviously kept walking, and the only reason I didn't warn him was because I loved this scene.

"How's your knee-walking coming along?" Arthur asked as Merlin began to walk past him. Merlin ignored him and kept walking. "Aw, don't run away!" Arthur grinned condescendingly. Merlin suddenly stopped.
"From you?"
Arthur sighed. "Thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb."
"Look, I've told you you're an ass. " Merlin said, turning to face Arthur. "I just didn't realize you were a royal one. Oh, what are you going to do? Get your daddy's men to protect you?"
Arthur smirked. "I could take you apart with one blow."
"I could take you apart with less than that."
"Are you sure?" Arthur said, but I could sense a bit of hesitation in his voice.
"Come on, then," called one of the knights.
"Fight!" Said another. Merlin began to take off his jacket.
"Toying with him, then!" Exclaimed a third knight.
"Here you go," said Arthur as he took a mace from a knight and tossed it to Merlin, who picked it up off the ground after fumbling and dropping it. Arthur then began to swing his own mace.
"That a way," called another knight.
"Come on, then. I warn you, I've been trained to kill since birth," Arthur smirked (seriously, what was it with Pendragons and smirking?).
"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" Merlin said with a smirk of his own.
"You can't address me like that."
"I'm sorry. H-How long have you been training to be a prat, My Lord?" Merlin said with a flourish, causing Arthur to smile a perturbed as he began to attack Merlin.
"Come on then, Merlin! Come on!" Arthur goaded, as he backed Merlin into the market stalls. The crowd of spectators grew, and gathered around closer. I looked at the castle window where I knew Gaius would be, consequently missing Merlin falling down.
"Ha-ha. You're in trouble now," Arthur grinned.
"Oh God," Merlin began to look for something that could help him, and magically entangled a couple of large hooks with Arthur's mace. When Arthur disentangled them and attempted to attack, Merlin moved a box. Arthur stepped into it, barking his shin.
"OW! Argh!" Arthur went after Merlin again, and the warlock magically tripped him with a rope. Merlin then picked up his mace and began to swing it at Arthur.
"Do you want to give up?"

"To you?" Arthur asked incredulously.
"Do you? Do you want to give up?"

Arthur backed up, tripping on a bucket and falling backwards. Merlin paused upon seeing Gaius in the crowd, and was attacked from behind by Arthur. Merlin was lifted to his feet by a group of guards (coincidentally the ones whose belts Em had stolen).
"Wait. Let him go. He may be an idiot, but he's a brave one. There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it." With that Arthur left, and I ran up to Merlin as the crowd dispersed.

"Merlin! Are you alright?" I asked, helping him to a wall.

"I'm fine," He winced, leaning on the wall.

"No, your not. Maces hurt. They have spikes. We're taking you to Gaius, Merlin," I said firmly.

"But-"

"Yeah, I saw him too. Just hope he doesn't give you the eyebrow..." I grinned, throwing Merlin's arm over my shoulders and helping him walk slowly to the castle. Em went to his other side and helped, and we soon (by soon I mean sooner than some elderly snails) reached the physician's chambers. Gaius was waiting for us, and sure enough... the eyebrow. We quickly set Merlin on the cot and started to leave, but not before Em's cry of "Merlin did it!" I thought I heard a semi incoherent mumble (probably something like "Gee, thanks") and then we left. I felt bad for Merlin, but I didn't want to be there when Gaius lectured him. And besides, he had left his jacket in the market.

"Come on, mission: Jacket Retrieval," I grinned. When we got to the market, the jacket was no where in sight. As I did another turn standing where the jacket had fallen, I saw Gwen and Morgana. "Hello!" I waved.

"Hello Calli, Em," Said Gwen, almost curtseying but managing to stop herself.

"What brings you to the market?" Smiled Morgana.

"Basically, we were here with Merlin. Then he walks by Arthur, and they have a mace fight. Before the fight, Merlin threw off his jacket. Merlin's fine, we took him to Gaius. But his jacket..." I trailed off grimly. We had to find that jacket (I don't claim to know why I wanted to so bad, but I did. So yeah).

"We'll help, right Gwen?" Morgana asked.

"Yeah," Gwen smiled. I racked my brains to remember if Morgana had even met Merlin yet. She hadn't. That was how nice she was before she turned evil...

"So, the jacket. It's brown," I said helpfully (well... I say helpfully...).

"Is that it?" Morgana said, pointing to a figure in the crowd.

"N- wait..." I tried to focus, and the figure ran out of the crowd and down an alley. I sprinted after them, and Em, Morgana, and Gwen followed.

"Yep, that's the jacket," Said Em. We reached the alley, and followed the convenient footprints in the fresh mud. After a few turns, the footprints stopped. I looked around, and then walked towards a conveniently placed crate. I looked behind it, and saw a boy (about sixteen) wearing Merlin's jacket. He grinned roguishly.

"Hello, the name's Edward. But feel free to call me Ed. And who might you be?" He spoke with a thick Scottish accent, his eyes twinkling.

"You stole our friend's jacket," I said, glaring at him.

"Oh, that." His smile faltered, but something told me he was having fun with this.

"Yeah, that." I gave him my best death glare, the one I usually reserved for Umbridge and Octavian the Panda-Slayer. Ed stood up slowly, and raised his hands submissively. He had lime-green eyes, freckles, mischievous-looking eyebrows, and wavy shoulder-length red hair.

"I thought it was mine, see. It was just sitting there, and-" He began, but I interrupted him. I had expected Em to, but she was abnormally silent. I looked over at her, and noticed that her face was slightly red.

"You knew perfectly well it wasn't yours. Now give it back, you little-" I started, but Em finally spoke.

"The guy whose jacket it was- he lost it while fighting the prince."

"Oh, really? That was him?" Ed's eyebrows were raised, and he looked impressed.

"Yeah, that was him. So give us the bloody jacket," Em told him forcefully.

"Oh, I never really wanted the jacket. You can have it back. I was sent to- well, what would be the fun in telling you?" Ed flashed a grin, shrugged off the jacket, and before we could say "Quidditch" he was gone. We tried to follow him, but found nothing.

"At least we got back the jacket," Gwen said, trying to cheer us up. I wanted to find out why he was sent here, who we were up against. As a Ravenclaw, I hated not knowing something.

"Yeah." I tried to sound happy, but failed miserably.

"Let's get back to the castle, Lady Helen's concert is soon," Morgana said. The four of us walked slowly back to the castle, and I clutched Merlin's jacket tightly.

Approximately ten minutes later...

Em and I finally reached the door to Gaius' chambers, and knocked politely.

"Come in," called a voice that I recognized as Merlin's. I opened the door slowly, and stopped. Merlin was...

"Oh," I said, blushing and averting my eyes. He looked at me, then down at himself.

"Oh..."

"I was just-"

"I thought you were Gaius-"

"Your jacket-"

"I didn't know it was you-"

"This guy was behind a crate-"

"I'll be right back-" Merlin ran up to his room, his face red. I turned back to Em, who was trying to look past me into the room.

"What happened?" She whispered, not speaking in case Merlin heard.

"Merlin wasn't wearing a shirt," I mouthed in reply.

Em smirked, and I glared at her. Just then Merlin came out of his room, now wearing a shirt. "sorry about that," he said, and I thought I saw him blush.

"I should have said it was me or something..."

"What were you saying about a jacket and a man behind a crate?"

"So, you left your jacket at the market. Morgana, Gwen and I-" I began, trying to ignore Merlin's embarrassed blush at Morgana's name, but Em interrupted me.

"And me!" She said.

"Right. And Em. We went to try to find it. When it wasn't there, we saw someone wearing it, so we chased them down an alley. Then we found them behind a crate. He said his name was Edward or Ed, and then I glared at him a lot. He gave us back the jacket after Em talked to him, then he said he didn't really want the jacket, but wouldn't tell us why he was there. Then he took off the jacket and ran. We couldn't find him after that," I said, a crease appearing on my forehead as I tried to figure out what his purpose had been.

"You seem to get into a lot of trouble," Merlin grinned. "And thanks for getting my jacket, most people would have left it."

"Your welcome. But I don't go looking for trouble, it usually comes looking for me. I just wish I knew why 'Ed' was really here." I frowned. I handed Merlin the jacket, and started to leave. "Well, I have to go get ready. The feastey-thing... Lady Helen isn't going to be happy... see you there..." I started to leave, but Merlin spoke.

"How did you know I'd be there?"

"Lucky guess." I almost cursed. Merlin's presence wasn't something I could really guess at- Gaius probably got him the job at the feast.

"Ah, well, see you..." Merlin trailed off awkwardly, probably remembering when I had first come in. I blushed slightly, and smiled, somehow managing not to turn completely red or fall over or die (awkwardness and I are old acquaintances).

"'Kay, bye," I tried to leave walking backwards, but managed to trip over my own foot. I fell forwards, and Merlin caught me. "Sorry," I stood up slowly.

"It's fine," Merlin said, and I noticed how close we were. His hand was on my shoulder from catching me, and his eyes were clear blue. His face was inches from mine, and we both slowly leaned forward, caught in the moment. When we were only an inch apart, I heard the door creak. We jumped away from each other, and I noticed that Em had left. I blushed, and quickly left to get ready. Before I closed the door my eyes met Merlin's, and I smiled softly. Merlin was perfect. I couldn't let myself fall in love with a fictional character, it would only bring pain, it had only brought pain. As I walked through the halls of Camelot castle, I felt a sensation that had come many times before. I felt regret, I felt pain. I mourned what I would never have, what I could only dream of. Being me had its downsides, and one of them was caring too much about some things. I would fall for some guy, and I would think he felt the same. But I would always be wrong. I would write a letter, or a friend would ask him if he liked me. The answer was always "no," or "we're just friends." And whenever some guy liked me, I was hung up over someone else. Love was a vicious cycle, and I would probably never break free. I could not fall for Merlin. Ever. No matter how many times I thought we had something. But it was too late. I had fallen for Merlin the day I watched season one episode one. So I could only keep it a secret, and try to forget how sweet he was, how intelligent and amazing- I stopped myself. Slowly I finished the walk to my room, and began to prepare for the feast. I distracted myself with thoughts of my OTPs that had had happy endings (Percabeth (sort of) Romione, Garry, Elizabeth/Mr. Darcy (from Pride and Prejudice) and Arwen (focusing on pre-season 5 episode 13)). I tried not to think about Perico (ANGST, WHY) Gluxa, Snily, Rose/10, Yowzah- in short, all those that had never happened (or would never happen) and the ones that ended in tears. I brushed my hair slowly, and Em walked in from her room.

"So," she grinned mischievously, "What happened with you and Merlin?"

"Nothing," I snapped. Em didn't speak, for once knowing when to leave someone alone. She walked over to my closet and refiled through it for a few minutes, then turned to me.

"What do you plan on wearing?"

"This, probably..." I trailed off, not sure if she was insulting my taste. I didn't have bad taste, per say, but it could be considered eccentric. Most people don't wear dusters that often (excluding some British people and Doctor Who characters, of course) but I thought they were awesome. I thought the same about wearing one knee-high black lace-up boot and one sneaker with Doctor Who quotes written on it in silver marker... Em rolled her eyes, and pulled something out of the closet. It was a black dress with thin gold lines going up and entwining randomly, and the bottom and sleeves were frayed in a way that gave them a wispy quality. The sleeves tapered out and went past the elbow, but they didn't cover the shoulders.

"You sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. Merlin won't even look at Morgana."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned, even though I remembered. I had (as a Mergana shipper) seen that bit many times. Merlin would stare at Morgana, unable to look away. But now... I didn't want that to happen. I stepped behind my screen and put on the dress, but when I came out I stared helplessly at my hair. I had... a timehead...

"Hermione ain't got nothing on you," Em said, as she began to drag a brush through my hair. I could sometimes tame it, but running around wasn't the best thing for bushy hair. Kay walked in and wordlessly began to braid thin strands with pieces of gold thread, which both looked cool and took down the poof a bit. When they finished, it was still on the brink of afro, but it looked somewhat elegant.

"Thanks, you people are awesome," I gave them both a hug, despite my normal tendencies to stay away from human contact.

"Your welcome. Be right back, I gotta get ready." Em walked to her room, and returned less than ten seconds later (don't ask me how) in a purple dress with gold accents, and with her hair and makeup done. We walked out with Kay (after I grabbed a book that looked interesting, of course. Never go to social events without a book) and talked on the way. We mostly talked about Lady Helen, but after a few minutes the topic was somehow (read: 'twas Em's fault) changed to boys.

"So, anyone you have your eye on?" Em nudged Kay with her shoulder, grinning.

"No..." Kay said, but I (it had to have been obvious if I could tell) knew she wasn't saying something.

"What's his name?" Em asked.

"He... he's far too important. It would never..."

"It's not Arthur, is it?" I asked, hoping it wasn't. Arthur was a prat, even if he would get better.

"Definitely not. It's... promise you won't tell anyone?"

"Promise." Em and I said solemnly.

"I fancy Sir Leon." Kay said, turning red.

"You never know, he might feel the same way about you," I tried to cheer her up. Leon/Kay... Lay? Keon? Kayon? Leonay? Leay?

"Yep. You'll never believe who Calli-" Em started, but I quickly interrupted her.

"No! I don't! It's no one!"

"Calli fancies-"

"Absolutely nobody in the world!"

"His name is M-"

"His name is Mnobody because I don't fancy anyone!"

"We're here," Kay said, laughing. Apparently she had taken pity on me, as she pointed out the food. "Look, they have roasted-"

"I don't care what it is, it looks amazing!" Em ran off to the table, ignoring the pointed looks from a few of the more pretentious nobles. I walked in more slowly, noticing Arthur laughing with a group of knights. I managed to catch the name "Merlin" a couple of times, and he mimed punching one of his friends in the stomach. I looked around, not sure where to go. Kay walked off to talk to Gwen, and I stopped looking around when I saw Merlin. Earlier had been... so awkward... Morgana walked in, and I saw Merlin look at her. She was standing in front of me. Merlin didn't pay nearly as much attention to her as he had in the episode, instead he looked past her. I turned to see what he was staring at, before I realized it was me. I smiled softly at Merlin and walked over to him as Arthur and his friends ogled Morgana.

"Hello," I said.

"Hi..." Merlin trailed off, but seemed to regain his focus slightly. "You look... like a princess..."

"Thanks," I blushed. Compliments always made me nervous and more self-concious.

"I mean, you are a princess..." Merlin turned red, embarrassed.

"You look great too," I said, and he did. To me, Merlin always looked great.

"Thanks. And Thank you again for getting back my jacket. He grinned, plucking the collar of his jacket.

"Your welcome. I have to go, Uther wants to introduce me to some random snobbish rich people. Again." I walked away slowly, looking back to see Gwen talking to Merlin. Uther beckoned to me, standing next to a man with straw blond hair and a grimace as if no one here was good enough. I sighed, resigned to being forced to talk to a bunch of stuck op clotpoles.

Merlin's POV

"She looks great, doesn't she?" Gwen said, not failing to notice how my eyes lingered on Calli's retreating form.

"Yeah..." I said, not really paying attention.

"Some people are just born to be queen," Gwen sighed.

"No! What are you talking about?" I almost shouted, looking away from Calli.

"Well, Uther hopes for it. He tried to arrange for Arthur to marry her. I'm glad I'm not her, Arthur is..." Gwen trailed off, realizing she was talking about the prince.

"He what?" If Calli married Arthur... that would be...

"She managed to talk him out of it. I would have yelled at him, if I were in her place."

I couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Oh, come on, Gwen. I thought you liked those real rough, tough, save the world kind of men."

"No, I prefer much more ordinary men like you."

"Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary," I chuckled.

"No, I didn't mean you, obviously. Not you. But just, you know, I like much more ordinary men like you." She said. This had gotten awkward...

"Thanks," I said, not sure how to reply. It was like she had said she fancied me, but at the same time told me she didn't. I glanced over at Calli, and saw her talking to a man who looked even more annoying than Arthur. She was trying to look interested, but I could tell she wanted to punch him in the face. I returned to the awkward moment at hand, and Gwen and I awkwardly turned away.

Calli's POV

Shut. Your. Face. Or I shall punch you. In the face. I thought, grimacing. This moron was talking about how superior nobles were, and how servants needed to be shown their place. However, what he said next was what really crossed the line.

"And some of these 'modern' females, they need to learn that men will always be better than them. Intellectually, physically-" I raised my fist and punched him, hearing the crunch of his nose when it made contact. Never tell a feminist that men are superior.

"You sure about the 'physically' bit?" I asked, walking away. His nose was probably broken, and I grinned. The smile was wiped off my face when I felt a hand yank my hair.

"It's time to teach you a lesson, girl," He spat, slapping me as he turned my face towards him by pulling my hair. Another thing not to do: Never. Mess. With. My. Hair.

I elbowed him in the stomach (my back was towards him, he had only turned my head) and kicked him away from me. He charged forwards, and punched me in the jaw. Heads turned, now we had the attention of the crowd. Before the guards could intervene, I grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm, shoving him to the ground with my foot. I still held his wrist, and his arm seemed limp. It was probably dislocated... "Never touch the hair, you little-" I began, but was interrupted when four guards arrived. They pulled me away from the nobleman, and picked him up. Gaius came forward and popped his arm back into place, causing the man to scream. The nobleman was escorted to the infirmary, and Gaius followed. I looked around, and thankfully didn't see Uther. The crowd returned to normal, and Merlin, Gwen, and Em ran up.

"What did he do?" Asked Gwen, her voice laced with concern.

"He ranted about servant inferiority, and then he started saying men were better intellectually and physically, so I punched him in the face. Then he pulled my hair and slapped me. I elbowed him and kicked him. He punched me, so I twisted his arm and dislocated it. That bit was an accident..." I trailed off. My hair had become wild (both from fighting and from anger) but I didn't care.

"Where is he?!" Shouted Em, no doubt prepared to go and re-dislocate his arm.

"Gaius took him, I may have broken his nose," I said without remorse.

"That was brilliant," Merlin grinned. I grinned back, and almost forgot what I had told myself. But even if, I was still not from this time. I'd have to go back eventually. He must have noticed my inner conflict, because Merlin reached up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, yeah." I said, and went to sit down. Lady Helen was about to sing. I turned before I reached the table, and looked at Merlin. "Be ready. But... be careful." I hoped that somehow I hadn't disrupted time with my presence, because I didn't want to think about Merlin getting injured. Especially because of me. After a few words from Uther, Lady Helen began to sing. Her song was beautiful, but I covered my ears, pretending to sleep. I watched as Merlin dropped the chandelier with magic, and as Mary (aka Lady Helen) Was crushed. I pretended to wake up when everyone else did, and I saw the dagger fly towards Arthur. I could see time stand still, and Merlin shove Arthur out of the way. But something was wrong... he wasn't moving fast enough... I willed the dagger to miss, I ordered it not to hit Merlin. Merlin could not die. He was too important. To the show, to me... the knife veered slightly. Not even a noticeable amount, but it was enough. I looked at Merlin's eyes, and saw they weren't gold. But someone had saved him... I looked around for a sorcerer, and realized who the only person could have been. It wasn't Morgana, she was half asleep. It wasn't Merlin, his eyes had been blue. It could only have been me. I had seen time slow down, and I had known Merlin needed to be saved. How could I have magic? When I was three years old and had concentrated for hours on making a feather float to be like Hermione Granger, nothing had happened. When I was eleven and had stayed up all night camping willing the fire to grow, occasionally saying Fobarenan, nothing had happened. Only now, in a time of magic... now I could live my dreams. I grinned as Merlin was made Arthur's Manservant, knowing it was more of a punishment (at first) than a reward. My eyes met Merlin's, and I noticed that he looked vaguely puzzled. Had he noticed the knife miss him? Maybe I hadn't even done anything, maybe I was just crazy. It probably wouldn't even have hit him in the first place, I decided. But I still felt uneasy, my presence would somehow make things more difficult for Camelot in the trials to come.

Merlin's POV

I am going to die. And it's my fault. I just had to save the prat... the knife was coming directly at me in slow motion, and there was no way I could avoid it. There wasn't even time for my instincts to kick in, I had less than a second to live... but something was changing. Just a small change, the knife went just a centimeter or so off course, but it was enough. Had I done that? No, it had to have been someone else. I looked around, and saw Calli staring at where the knife had hit the wall. No one else was really coherent, but she seemed fully awake. Her blue-gray eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief. Had she seen me use magic? Had she seen who saved me? Unless... that was preposterous. She wouldn't be able to hide sorcery if she spent so much time around Uther. People noticed her. She could have just discovered magic... but it was impossible. It would be brilliant if Calli had magic, I could confide in her. But I wouldn't wish that fear, that utter loneliness that comes from having magic on anyone.

A/N: Soooo... how was it? Review! And I will give you an imaginary imagination! Or a pineapple! Wait, never mind... my pineapple... STAY AWAY FROM MY PINEAPPLE! I HAVE DUCT TAPE AND COFFEE! So yeah. This is the end of Episode 1: The Dragon's Call, but next is Valiant. And RowanAsterCode's OC (did I ever say she won the thing? I don't remember...) will be there! I'm super excited to write it! It'll take a week (or knowing me more) or so to update, I'm going to start doing an episode per chapter (probably) so it'll have longer chappies. Like. WAAAYYYYY longer.