He nodded and leaned back in the chair, his gaze trailing towards his hands as he took a deep breath.

His head was still throbbing, and his body was still aching, and he couldn't help, but to wonder what had happened. Had things gone terribly wrong in the other world?

A few hours has passed since he awoke from his collapse. Margareth had cooked them food, which they had eaten, although Merlin had struggled to keep the food down, due to a nauseous feeling in his gut. In the end, he had only eaten half of what he had been given. He had nodded off for half an hour, only to wake up at the sound of the front door creaking open. He caught a glimpse of Jonathan's back, as he left the house, Margareth remaining at the house with him.

As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and pushed himself up to a sit, he released a soft yawn. His gaze trailed about their house. His gaze eventually found Margareth, seated in a chair, with a book resting in her lap. It was the sound of his voice that drew the elderly womans attention towards him.

"Where is Jonathan going?" Merlin asked, his voice sounding oddly meek. "He is simply going up to the village, to see if they have passed through yet, or not." The woman spoke in return, her gaze meeting his, a small smile appearing on her face as she closed the book on a finger.

"I see.. " he murmured, before he continued, his interest being drawn towards the book. He rose to his feet as he spoke, waddling over towards Margareth despite the aches in his body. "What are you reading?"

The elderly woman peered down towards the book in her lap, before a hand moved on top of the book, as if to cover the title, though the gesture was subtle, and he couldn't quite decide if it had been intentional, or not. "It's nothing interesting." the woman replied, as she pushed herself to a stand. She folded the upper corner of the page she was on, before she carried it off towards the bookcase, where she returned it to where it had once stood. The backing of the book had no title.

He, for once in his life, did not feel the desire to pry, only casting a lingering gaze towards the book. "Right." He murmured again. His gaze returned to Margareth. "I don't think I thanked you for helping me today. Well, maybe I did.. But I don't think so. It's a bit of a blur. So, Thank you, Margareth. It means a lot to me, and I'm not sure I could ever repay you." He smiled towards her, and she smiled back at him.

"It was the least we could do. The best you could do to repay us for this, is to head back to where you came from." Merlin nodded in response to her reply. "I will.. Trust me, I will. It's just that.. how will things ever be as they were again? Half a year from now, I'm not sure there will be anything left for me to return to, and if there is.. How could I possibly repair the damage that has been done?" He bit back the tears that wished to appear as he murmured those words. He turned around, approaching the table, examining the vase with a few flowers closely. It was a decent enough distraction.

It held intricate patterns, molded into the clay while the vase was still being made. The curves of the spirals, leaves and flowers were all highlighted with a golden sheen, and the painted colors have grown pastel over the years. The flowers were half-withered, and absentmindedly, he placed a finger upon them and muttered a word underneath his breath. His eyes flashed golden, and the flowers regained life.

He found himself apologizing. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with that. It's not your problem, but mine. You two have enough to worry about as it is."

"I want to hear what you need to say. I wish to know what it was like, where you are from, if you wouldn't mind. It may still be a little while before Jonathan returns, and I always did love stories." He had been wanting to talk about these things ever since he got to Ealdor, but his mother did not know the truth, and he was dead certain that she mustn't find out. He realized that he had nodded, and it did not take long before he was seated, with a cup of tea within his grasp.

"I'm not exactly sure of where I ought to begin." he eventually muttered, after having taken a sip of the tea. It seemed to calm the raging headache that had yet to leave him.

"Well, you could begin with your departure from Ealdor?" the woman suggested, and so he did.

He told her of his travels to Camelot, how he had seen an execution of an alleged sorcerer on his first day. Of how he met Gaius, and saved him from a fall with his magic. He spoke of how he met Arthur for the first time, and then eventually Gwen, after Gaius had pulled a few strings, which landed him in the pillory. He spoke of his first encounter with Morgana, in her chambers, and then about his first meeting with the dragon. He mentioned on the go all the times he had saved Arthur's life, the time Arthur had saved his, after he had been poisoned by Nimueh. He went through everything that had happened since his arrival in Camelot.

".. Morgana was a seer. She dreamt things, and after a while.. Well.. she lit her room on fire once, it turned out, and she even broke a vase. She was horrified. She went to Gaius, fearing that she had magic, and all he did was lie to her, and say that it wasn't the case, even though he knew it to be true." he paused momentarily.

"When she asked me, I told her. Gaius had told me to not say a word, but I knew what it was like, being in her shoes. I just didn't want her to feel like she was alone in all of this, so I told her about my own magic. She didn't believe it at first, she almost became angry with me. I ended up showing her by throwing a goblet across the room with a mere mutter. She cried after that, but she thanked me. I remember it like it was yesterday. I spent time with her after that, teaching her that magic could, and should be used for good, and that it was something beautiful, not something to be feared. It was like taking a heavy load off my back, even by telling just a single person about my magic. We were careful, but having someone else I did not have to hide and lie around.. It was incredible. It felt so good, being able to help someone with magic for once, instead of watching the injustice..

Gaius didn't know. She was angry with him at first, but after some convincing, she realized that the he only did what he thought was right." He grinned like a moron as he spoke about this bit, his chest filled with pride and a sense of accomplishment. He had been so angry with Gaius back then, and he had felt so sorry for Morgana. He simply couldn't stomach seeing her go through that alone. He knew that he had made the right decision.

"Though.. it didn't last long. Uther called for a Witchfinder. I had shown Morgana something in the woods, and some farmers had seen the result of it. Morgana was terrified beyond belief, but I tried to reassure her. The witchfinder arrested Gaius and interrogated him after finding a bracelet none of us owned. I don't know why, or how.. but somehow the bastard made Gaius confess to something that wasn't true. We were in the process of trying to expose the bastard for framing Gaius. We were onto something when Morgana came to me. She was in tears, practically panicking. Before I could stop her, she had thrown a bag into my arms, and pushed me down the hallway. I couldn't stop her from crying. She told me that they knew about my magic, and over and over she apologized as she sent me fleeing. I heard guards shouting as I fled the castle. I'm not sure what happened. I hid in Camelot for a while. Gaius was freed of all charges, but I was charged for sorcery, and became wanted man.." he paused again, taking a sip from his tea, which was now luke warm.

"A little while after, I met Morgause.. She was leaving the castle when I encountered her, we exchanged a few words, before we departed. She seemed to know things, and although she recognized me from the posters, she didn't turn me in. She only warned me that it was best to leave, before I was discovered, and she offered me to come with her. Of course I didn't listen." He took another sip of the tea, a sullen look appearing on his face.

"Arthur and a group of knights left Camelot some time later. That night was when I saw her for the first time, locked up in a cage during the cold night. She was a druid girl, and her name was Freya. I helped her escape. I just couldn't leave her there to die. I took her to my hiding spot, and gave her food to eat, and water to drink. She turned into a Bastet, but I managed to restrain her. The following morning, I had her tell me everything. She was so beautiful, lovely, sweet and kind, but she had been cursed. I promised that I would help her. I remember feeling resentment towards Uther and Arthur. Without even knowing her, they were going to kill her, and patrols were out searching for her. I made her flee from Camelot, but I promised that I'd meet her again and try and break her curse. A few days later she successfully fled." And then, his facial expression darkened considerably. Just the mere thought of what had happened next made hatred rise to the surface, causing it to boil deeply in his chest.

"And then.. Arthur returned" he stated, spitting the words like they were poison. "They had mother. Uther sentenced her to die.. for acts of sorcery.. You know mother, she isn't a sorcerer.. I went there to stop them, before they could kill her.. But I was too late.. I saw Arthur.. his blade coming down to my mother's neck.. There was so much blood.. and he didn't even get a clean cut.. I could hear her gasping all the way from the crowd.." he stated. His words were now filled with hatred, yet, he was nearly at the brink of tears. He felt a hand upon his shoulder.

"They all just stood there.. all of them, except Morgana.. watching my mother die. Everything after is a blur. I found Morgause afterwards and went with her. She promised she would help me, and she listened.. She has done more for me.. than anyone could ever know.." he let out, gritting his teeth.

"We traveled for a few days, dodging patrols and bandits, until we reached a house which stood alone without any other buildings or towns nearby. Morgause had stayed there for a while in the past, and it was a good place to get some rest. We spoke a lot, and eventually we reached the conclusion that people will magic will never be safe, unless they are surrounded by their own kind.. That's when we decided to start building the Sanctuary. It started with a few houses and a family or two, and then it just naturally grew as people came there from all parts of the world. Once we realized the potential this had, we started planning the layout of the Sanctuary, so that our kind would be best protected against those who wish to harm us. We made the inner district first, and built walls around it, but as more and more people came, we had no choice but to build even more. That's when Camelot attacked for the first time, and for the first time since the great purge, sorcerers managed to hold their ground against the knights of Camelot. We lost people, but those who survived only grew stronger in their resolve. We started to build a secon-" he was cut off, as the door shot open, Jonathan barging inside. He slammed the door shut and locked it with a swift incantation.

"You must leave, now. They're here."
"What do you mean, they are here?" Margareth asked, removing her hand from Merlin's shoulder, as she shot up to her feet. Merlin shot up to his feet as well, although the sudden movement made him lightly dizzy. Mild panic was beginning to spread across his face.
"The Camelot Patrol. They're on their way here."
"I should have known.. If they couldn't find him in the village, they would search the nearby houses and farmsteads.. How far away, Jonathan?" Margareth questioned further"A few minutes at most." he stated, walking to a window, where he pulled aside the curtains. Merlin had a look of disbelief. He had though that he'd be safe from the patrol, but in the end, his presence had now put Jonathan and Margareth in danger. What if they were found out? His gaze trailed around the house, and the closer he looked, the more magical artifacts he noticed placed here and there. None of them really stood out, but to anyone who knew a thing or two about magic, they'd be recognizable. His gaze also searched for an escape route, except for the obvious front door, which was now locked. There were a few windows he could possibly escape through. But before he had the time to finish exploring that idea, Jonathan spoke once more.

"I take that back. They are here."