Chapter 11

Gwen quickly caught Arthur up on everything that had transpired in his absence. As she spoke, his jaw dropped lower and lower - until a glaring Merlin poked it back closed with the top of his head, annoyed when it kept nudging him.

"You're magnificent," he told his wife once she had finished the tale. He couldn't take her in his arms, for they were currently occupied with a grumpy four-year-old, but he leant across to kiss her swiftly on the cheek. "Truly, Guinevere. No one on the council can doubt your capabilities now."

"Not even Lord Kendrick," Gaius added with a smirk. "I would have liked to have seen his face when you triggered Merlin's enchantment."

Merlin, hearing his name, asked, "Whassa enchan'ment?"

"That is." Arthur indicated a gargoyle clambering up the castle parapets. "And when you're older, Merlin, you must remember to tell us when you're planning on casting one."

"Huh?"

"Never mind..."

They entered the palace and Merlin, catching sight of Elyan and Percival chatting in the entrance corridor, hid his face in Arthur's shoulder. The two knights rushed forward when they spotted their newly returned king.

"Arthur!"

"Where have you been?"

"Wait!" Merlin clutched tighter at Arthur when he heard the king's barked command. "Take off your cloaks."

The knights frowned in confusion and Gwen, seeing this, added, "Do as he says. It will make sense I swear."

Still confused, but always faithful to even the strangest of their king's whims, they shrugged out of their cloaks. Arthur nodded approvingly and tapped Merlin on the shoulder.

"See?"

Merlin twisted around to look, relaxing when he saw no sign of Camelot red.

"Bring the other knights to the dining hall," Arthur instructed briskly. "Tell them no cloaks."

With this bizarre statement he strode down the corridor and out of sight, Gaius and Gwen smiling apologetically as they followed after.

"Where's Merlin?" Percival said once they were gone. "And who was that child?"

"I don't know," Elyan replied. "But he looked familiar..."

Merlin had never seen so much food in his life. He was so distracted by all the delicious things on display, he didn't even notice the other knights trooping in to the dining hall and barely acknowledged when Arthur introduced them to him. He was far too engrossed in breaking apart a large pie with a fork that Gaius had given him, fascinated when gravy came dribbling out.

"I don't understand," said Leon. With the attempted attack on Camelot, the statues, armour and gargoyles still roaming the castle (quite peacefully, which only made it stranger somehow), and now the sudden appearance of both the missing king and de-aged warlock - it had been quite a day. "How did this happen?"

"I can't say." Arthur was glad to be home. He clutched Gwen's hand in his own, revelling in the familiar feel of her skin against his. "I woke up in the cave with my wounds healed and Merlin four years old. I assumed at the time we had been there just one night, but as it turned out it must have been over a week."

Iseldir, who had come to join them at the king's request, looked thoughtful. "Some spells, particularly powerful ones, can take a long time to work. A de-aging spell like this... I've never heard of anything like it."

"But Merlin can turn himself old, can't he?" Gwaine questioned. "Dragoon the Great and all that?"

Gaius shook his head. "Although we call it an ageing spell, he isn't truly ageing but masking his appearance. To actually change someone's age, revert them back and forth to a version of themself from the past or present... that is manipulating time, not appearance. One of the most powerful forms of magic there is."

Iseldir frowned. "But King Arthur, you said the cave's purpose was to heal?"

"It healed me while I was asleep. And there was a word repeated, etched into the walls, the only word I could recognise - hǣle."

"Strange indeed... I have heard of healing sites before, powerful ones - but I can't fathom how a healing spell could result in this outcome."

"So what do we do?" Elyan glanced to Merlin, who had now moved on to licking all the icing from a large cake. "We can't leave him like this."

"There is someone who might know," suggested Gaius. "Kilgharrah."

"And how are we to call him?" Arthur demanded. "Merlin can't do it."

Those gathered stared at him incredulously.

"Why not, Sire?"

"Well, because he's- he's-" Arthur flapped a hand towards the long dining table (Merlin was now busy lining carrots up like soldiers going into battle). "He's little!"

Iseldir did his best to quash a smile, not quite succeeding. "King Arthur, a Dragonlord's power is passed down from father to son. It does not matter what age the son is when that happens."

Arthur groaned. "You're telling me that all this time I could have just gotten him to call the Great Dragon to take us home?"

"Merlin's right," Gwaine commented unhelpfully. "You really are lost without him, aren't you?"

"I don' wanna bath!"

Arthur was on the brink of sending for a nanny from the Lower Town and making his tiny court sorcerer someone else's problem. "You're not sleeping in that state."

They had decided to call the Dragon tomorrow, for it was late and Merlin was tired. He was also covered in icing, gravy, and a few other sticky substances that Arthur would rather not think about. In hindsight, perhaps they shouldn't have given him free reign of the leftover feast.

Arthur had tried to get Merlin to stay the night with Gaius who, being a physician, had a great deal more experience with children. Merlin wasn't having this however, and came the closest to having a tantrum that Arthur had yet seen.

"Wan' Arfur!" he had insisted, clinging to the King's trouser leg and smearing it with his runny nose. "Don't wan' yew."

"Merlin, don't be rude," Gwen had reprimanded, but to no avail, and the four year old had won out.

"Don' wanna sleep. 'M not tired."

"Merlin," Arthur growled. "Get in the bath, now."

Sensing the shift in the king's tone, Merlin moved cautiously towards the bath, which Gwen had gotten George to fill before she beat a hasty retreat to the antechamber.

"Where are you going?" Arthur had asked in a panic when he saw her leaving.

"This is going to be awkward enough for Merlin when he gets back to normal without me helping him bathe, Arthur."

Arthur had to confess she had a point, but he would rather face the Afanc again than try to give an overtired magical toddler a bath.

Fortunately, Gaius chose that moment to show up. The physician smiled when he saw Merlin still filthy.

"I thought you could use some help." Gaius pulled something from his pocket. "Merlin? I have a present for you."

At the word 'present', Merlin perked up. "Wha' issit?"

Gaius held the toy out for inspection. It was a dragon, carved from wood, one Arthur remembered was a gift to Merlin from his late father.

Merlin reached his sticky fingers out, but Gaius pulled the dragon back with a shake of his head.

"Not yet. After you've had a bath and a good, long sleep. Alright?"

Merlin glared, but finally nodded and let Arthur approach to help him undress. The king frowned, realising there was something in the boy's trouser pockets.

"What's this?"

"For mum'n'Will," Merlin answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "'S 'portant to share."

He had stuffed his pockets full with food from the feast. Cake, meat, fruit and, perhaps most disgusting of all, entire lashings of gravy. Somewhat charmed by Merlin's kindness, but mostly revolted by the mush of food, Arthur resolved to have the trousers thrown away at the earliest opportunity.

Half an hour later Merlin was washed, dried, and a great deal calmer than he had been before his bath. Arthur, in contrast, was almost entirely soaked from what Merlin had dubbed 'The Swimming Game'. Arthur still didn't know the rules to the game and didn't fancy learning them. He perched on the end of the bed, utterly exhausted.

"'S I good?" Merlin mumbled sleepily as Gaius helped settle him into bed.

"Very good." Gaius pulled the covers up over the little boy's shoulders. "Go to sleep now and tomorrow you'll get your present."

Merlin fell asleep within seconds, a contented smile on his face. Gwen popped her head in from the other room.

"Is he down?"

She had meant Merlin, but a deep snore revealed that Arthur had also fallen asleep, sprawled out on top of the covers. Gwen and Gaius shared a grin and left the boys to their rest.