... I was supposed to give this to you yesterday... Please forgive me.

Chapter 24: Heart Attack

And so Stephen got a whirlwind tour of the castle before dinner in Merlin's chambers, which were huge.

"Just wait until you see the royal chambers. Those are huge." It was really a mostly silent affair, both of them exhausted, and as soon as it was over they both collapsed into bed.

The next day, Stephen was free to roam as he pleased. Merlin even gave him a small pouch of coins to spend as he pleased. It was a beautiful sunny day, very conducive to thinking. He still wasn't sure what to make of the hints Merlin had given him on what the job was but there was plenty else to reflect on. For one, Camelot itself. He had never been in such a busy place; it was incredible. There was a multitude of little shops and things to see. He stopped in the Rising Sun tavern for lunch and found it was far more respectable than any similar establishment he had ever visited with his family.

Then there was his friend. Drugen Dourado, actual name Merlin. Drugen was simple. A first-year Slytherin the same age as him. Very bright and apparently more mature than himself. He was familiar with sword play from watching others but was rubbish himself. Drugen was a friend and a peer.

But Merlin. He had grown up hearing stories of Merlin. He grew up in Queen Annis's land, but his family was close enough to hear some of the most wild stories. He had heard of King Arthur's single combat with and subsequent sparing of Queen Annis's combatant. He later heard when King Arthur and his men came into his homeland asking passage. He heard stories of King Arthur's unnatural friendship with his manservant. He had heard how it was revealed that this same servant had been a powerful sorcerer all along and frequently saved the king's life. He was also told that when the king dies, Merlin had also vanished. Many people had speculated that he went back in secret, but no one knew for sure.

And here he was, in Camelot, with Merlin, all these long years later. That was almost too much for his mind to handle.

"Excuse me, sir?" He heard a voice ask as he sat on a low wall of a fountain. He ignored the voice. "Excuse me, Stephen, sir?" Now he looked up to see Armin standing next to him.

"I'm not a sir, Armin. Just call me Stephen."

"Yes Stephen."

"What did you come to tell me?"

"Queen Guinevere asked me to assist you into your new clothes and then escort you to dinner with herself and Lord Merlin."

"I bet Merlin does not like being as a lord either," he joked as he stood.

"No he does not. But he does not have any say in the matter," Armin responded with the barest hint of a smile. "Follow me, Stephen." Laughing and wondering if impropriety was a disease among Camelot's servants, Stephen obediently returned to his room and changed into his new clothes. He had always thought his clothes were comfortable, but these were on a whole different level. He was still marveling at them when he was lead into the small dining hall. Merlin and Gwen were already seated and engaged in conversation when he was lead in.

"Thank you Armin," Gwen said. "You may take the rest of the night off."

"Thank you, your highness, my lord," he said as he bowed. Merlin and Gwen smiled simultaneously as they both yelled "drop the titles Armin!" The servant in question only grinned and walked out.

"Darn Druids," Merlin muttered and put his head in his hands.

"At least he still calls you Merlin."

"Only when he speaks out loud." He looked over to Stephen standing uncomfortably just inside the door. "Come, have a seat Stephen. The food here is just as good as meals at Hogwarts."

"Do your clothes fit well?" Gwen inquired as he sat. "Yes. Very well, your highness."

"I'll excuse the title for now, Stephen, but if you accept our offer I will expect you to start calling me Gwen." Stephen's eyes widened. "Now please, eat."

They all dug in happily. At one point Merlin began to rise to get the pitcher of water, but Gwen told him to sit back down.

"I've told you before that when the two of us our having dinner you don't have to get up to get the pitcher."

"There's three of us Gwen," he reminded her.

"And oddly enough I don't think Stephen is going to mind if you use magic to refill our drinks." Merlin rolled his now golden eyes and the pitcher floated over to pour by itself. Stephen was amazed by the effortless display, but Gwen was right. He didn't mind. The food was far to excellent to pay much attention to that. Once they began to slow down, Merlin asked if he had any questions he wanted to ask them.

"We have given you a lot to think over but hopefully you were able to process some of that today. But if there is anything you wish to ask, go right ahead." Stephen thought hard. He had lots of questions; which to ask first?

"Can you really juggle?" Merlin burst out laughing and Stephen felt foolish. "I'm sorry, that's not important. I can -"

"Stephen, it's fine." Merlin took a deep breath and pulled himself together. "You grew up in Annis's land, did you not?"

"Yes."

"The only time I ever juggled was in her court. She requested that I entertain them while they ate and Arthur wouldn't let me refuse," hes explained to his listeners. "Something about offending our hosts. I could see Arthur was waiting to watch me really make a fool out of myself so I may have used some magic to cheat. The look on his face would almost have made up for being caught. So yes, I can juggle," he concluded. "What else?"

They talked for a long time after that. Stephen had many questions, both regarding happenings at Hogwarts and questions regarding the tales he had heard of the legendary Merlin, who also seemed to be called Emrys by the druids. He didn't know what that meant but Merlin kept avoiding that so he left it alone.

"It's getting late, Stephen, but before you go, we would like to officially offer you a job," Gwen pulled things to a close.

"We would like to offer you the position of Camelot's Court Sorcerer." Stephen stared slack-jawed at them.

"Aren't you the Court Sorcerer?" he asked in disbelief once he finally was able to make his vocal chords work properly again. Merlin shook his head.

"Camelot doesn't actually have a Court Sorcerer. Gwen has asked me multiple times, but it doesn't feel right. At least not yet. But I offered to find her one. And you seemed to be a pretty good candidate. Plus I already knew you and you knew me so that was also working n your favor."

"You don't have to answer right away," Gwen said gently when Stephen when silent again. "It's a big decision, we know."

"It's not that," he protested. Gwen noticed that over the course of their talking, he had finally completely dropped all titles. Although she suppose that after hearing some of the tales Merlin had to share, it maybe didn't seem like she was very queenly to him anymore. "I will accept the position," he continued. "It's just that maybe you are making a mistake. Not that you would ever make a mistake, I mean you're Merlin, but I just don't think I'm good enough."

"Nonsense," Merlin cut in. "First of all, if you knew all of the mistakes I had made, you might begin to understand why I stayed away from Camelot for nine years. Secondly, one thing I most assuredly did not make a mistake in is trusting you with this. Out of all the people at Camelot, I truly believe you would be the best for this. And lastly, I'm not going to throw you under a wagon here. I'm staying for a month to help you get adjusted before I leave again. And by the end of that month, you will be perfectly equipped to deal with whatever comes your way. Well almost anything." Stephen looked slightly less reassured at that last amendment, but Merlin's grin vanquished the last of his present anxiety.

"Then I definitely accept the offer," he said with a spark of pride. "When do I start?"

.

.

.

One month passed with a bit of chaos, it's Camelot, there is always chaos, and also a bit of time to relax. Stephen had fallen into a pattern of life in the castle. He found time to train with Sir Leon while also organising the vaults with Merlin and helping to organise the new magic section in the library. There were many fascinating books there and he was excited to learn from them all. He had his own personal chambers now too that were the size of Merlin's. They still felt big, but they were quickly becoming cluttered. Gwen tsked in disapproval when she saw them and asked rhetorically if it was a trait all sorcerers shared.

And now they were standing on the top of one of the towers, saying private last goodbyes to Merlin before he left again. They both thought it was an odd choice of locations to meet him, but up the long stairs they both tread. It was pointless to question Merlin and his strange way of thinking. They walked up to see him leaning against the roof with his pack at his feet. It hardly looked like it held anything at all. Maybe a book and some food, but not nearly enough for a long journey.

For his part, Merlin was looking quite relaxed. He had his midnight blue cloak pulled up over his head even though it was hot outside. He had simple travelling boots and clothes on too with his red neckerchief that Gwen couldn't believe he still wore. Staring up at the sky, he looked to be waiting for something.

"Merlin?" Gwen asked tentatively.

"Huh? Oh, you made it up." He pushed off the roof and stood in front of them. "Sorry about the strange place but it will make sense." Gwen caught him off guard then by running over and wrapping him in a hug.

"Merlin I'm going to miss you. Camelot isn't the same without you and it was so nice having you back. Even though I knew you were leaving it felt like it could stay like this forever and I don't want you to leave again for and not see you until I'm old and grey."

"Gwen, it will be alright," he soothed and he rubbed her back. When she calmed down she released him from the hug.

"Sorry, I just."

"It's fine Gwen." He brushed a tear from her cheek. "I'll look after myself. You know I will."

"Where are you even going?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I've done some reading on dragonlords and there's a lot of stuff I should've been doing so I first of all need to take care of Aithusa and teach her to speak. That should be good for both of us."

"What if we need you though?"

"You have Stephen here. Good with magic and a sword. Which is more than I can say." He patted him friend on the shoulder.

"Yes, but he's not you," Gwen continued. "You know perfectly well that many of the things you dealt with for Camelot's safety would've been impossible if anyone but you would've attempted it. And not because no one else had magic, but because no one else is Emrys. And no one else is Merlin."

"I appreciate it Gwen. And I had actually thought of that." He turned around and grabbed something from behind his pack, handing it to Gwen. "The Horn of Emrys. I really didn't know what to call it. It's basically a normal horn, but when you blow into it, no matter how far away I am, I will hear it and know that you have need of me." Gwen looked like she was about to cry again. But instead she just smiled her gratitude and hugged it to her chest.

"Oh and Stephen I have something for you as well." He once again grabbed another gift from the ground. This time a book.

"Merlin's book of useful spells and magical creatures," he read.

"Yeah. You've learned a lot at Hogwarts and I've taught you more, but I know my memory can be poor so think of this like a quick reference book of the most important things."

"Thank you. I'll treasure it always." In the month he had been at Camelot, his awestruck admiration of Merlin had not diminished. For every stupid thing the warlock did was always set off by a display of incredible magic or outstanding bravery. Merlin looked up to the sky again and smiled.

"It's time. Goodbye. I don't think I will see you again soon but I will try to write more frequent letters this time. And you know who to look for if you ever decide to visit your old school, Stephen." With one last hug from each of them, Merlin shouldered his pack and stood on the edge of the tower.

"Merlin..." Gwen was getting scared. But he only turned around and winked as a shadow passed overhead and he jumped. His two friends ran to the side just in time to see the warlock suddenly transform into a falcon and fly up, past their heads. The bird circled the tower once before cawing and flying after the other large shape in the sky. Which Gwen recognised as Aithusa. Shaking her head, Gwen began her long descent with Stephen trailing behind. Merlin was going to give her a heart attack one of these days. She could only wish that he held off until Ambrose was old enough to rule. Then, she could die happily.

The End.

AN: Wow. It's finished. Kinda a strange ending, but those were never my strong points. I don't have too much experience ending stories. Thank you to all of you who have read this story. Five points to all of you. Ten points to anyone who have favourited or followed this story, Fifteen to those of you kind enough to leave a review. And a big thirty points to those of you who lent me some of your creativity for this story, for allowing me to bounce ideas off of you. It's more helpful than you know. I just want to give all of you hugs and buy you endless supplies of cookies from Mrs. Fields. (Seriously the best part of going to the train station.)

There will be an epilogue up tomorrow for all of you to enjoy. And, no promises here, but there may be the possibility of little one-shots of things that happened during the one month that Merlin was back in Camelot. Of course, here I also offer a challenge to you.

If you want to write one-shots of that time or times when Stephen is alone at Camelot, just shoot me a PM and go for it. Here is your sandbox. Go and build a city.