Chapter 1: Arrival in Camelot
Disclaimer: Merlin and its characters do not belong to me
The sun had just reached its zenith, when a young man passed through Camelot's gates, his blue eyes taking in the bustling streets. Carefully dodging past the various market stalls and general populous, he made his way up towards the citadel. The closer he got to the drawbridge, the thicker the crowd became.
Upon entering the courtyard a large crowd, gathered around a raised platform, came into view with the call of horns filling the air. Naturally curious, the young man made his way through the crowd to the platform, arriving as a door up on the castle's balcony opened, allowing a small group of men access.
"Let this serve as a lesson to all. This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments – and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death." The man at the front proclaimed, literally snarling at the mention of magic, before pausing for a moment to calm down and collect his thoughts, while observing his audience. "Now I pride myself as a fair and just King, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." Uther finished, before raising his arm and bringing it sweeping down.
At his signal, the executioner raised his axe, and swung, the crowd wincing at the sound of the axe as it connected with the wooden block.
"When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help, magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured, and Camelot freed from the Evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin!" Uther proclaimed with a flourish (obviously much calmer now that the sorcerer was dead), before turning back to the castle.
Before he could take another step, however, a loud wail resounded throughout the courtyard, causing the startled crowd to part, revealing an old woman, dressed in rags.
"There is only one evil in this land, Uther Pendragon, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son! And I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. A son for a son!" She called out in anger.
"Seize her!" Uther ordered, his gaze fixed on the old woman, with an odd, detached look in his eye.
The woman glanced around the courtyard, and seeing that the guards were already moving, she grabbed her necklace and started chanting. Instantly, a wind swept up around her causing her words to become lost in the moving air, and what appeared to be a white flame enveloped her breast. As the wind picked up speed, the onlookers were shocked to see that the witch had disappeared. Furious, Uther marched off back into the castle.
Shocked from what had just transpired in the courtyard, and more than a little nervous of what he was walking into, the young man shouldered his pack and moved over to where a pair of guards were stationed under an archway.
"Where would I find Gaius, the, er, the court physician?" he asked, still quite shaken.
"That way," one of the guards grunted, motioning off down a stone passageway.
Thanking him, the young man moved off, continuing to ask for directions as he went.
Finally, he was directed to a small, unassuming wooden door situated at the end of a corridor, behind which was a curling staircase; labelled with a plain wooden plaque citing 'Court Physician', although why it was inside of the door, was a mystery in itself. At the top of the stairs was a short passageway with what looked to be small alcoves lining the sides, with the occasional window for light.
Reaching the end, he knocked on the door, only for it to swing open.
"Hello?" He called out, while peering round the door. Hearing no answer, he stepped inside.
The revealed room was fairly large – and deserted. There were several tables of various sizes with all kinds of things: bottles, books, instruments, and so on. At one end of the room lay an empty fireplace, while the rest of the sides were taken up by shelving, leaving a small part of the wall clear, where another door (accessed by a small flight of steps) led off.
"Hello? Gaius?" He called again, wandering further into the room, before spotting an old man up on the first floor (which really was just a wooden platform built around the wall, accessed by a ladder fastened in the corner) busy looking at a shelf.
Not sure quite what to do, he cleared his throat – which turned out to be the wrong decision. Startled, the old man made to look behind him, which in turn, caused the wooden railing to break. Horrified, the young man reacted, slowing down time without even needing to stop and think about it. After a hurried check of the room, he spotted a bed, and with the thought barely conceived, his magic moved it across the room, just in time to catch the falling man.
"Wha-what did you just do? Tell me!" Gaius demanded, climbing up off the bed.
"I-I-I have no idea what happened." The young man defended, raising his hands.
"If anyone had seen that..." Gaius started, looking around the room as if to make sure no one was watching.
"Er, no! That-that was, that was nothing to do with me. Tha-that was..." the young man floundered nervously.
"I know what it was! I just want to know where you learned how to do it!" Gaius was obviously beginning to get agitated.
"Nowhere!"
"So how is it you know magic?"
"I don't!"
"Where did you study?...ANSWER ME!" Gaius yelled, slamming his hands down onto the nearby table when an answer wasn't forthcoming.
"I-I've never studied magic or, or been taught." The young man stammered nervously, backing up.
"Are you lying to me, boy?"
"What do you want me to say?" The young man asked exasperatedly.
"The truth!"
"I was born like this!" he yelled.
"That's impossible!...Who are you?" Gaius questioned, suddenly realising that he'd never seen the young man before.
"Oh! Erm...I have this letter," he replied, pulling off his pack and digging through it, before holding out a thin piece of parchment.
"What? I-I don't have my glasses," Gaius said, confused and wanting an explanation now.
"I'm Merlin."
"Hunith's son?" Gaius asked in surprise, before trying to reconcile the young man in front of him, with his memory of a happy, excitable five-year-old.
"Yes!" Merlin exclaimed, happy for the interrogation to be over.
"But you're not meant to be here til Wednesday!" Gaius retorted, pure confusion spilling out over his face.
"It is Wednesday." Merlin said slowly.
"Ah, right then. You better put your bag in there." Gaius said, turning to point to the door across the room.
Merlin nodded, before beginning to head over, stopping suddenly next to Gaius.
"You, um, you won't say anything about, erm..."
"No." Gaius shook his head. "Although, Merlin, I should say thank you." Gaius' eyes seemed to pierce Merlin's soul, as the old man appeared to stand straighter, before the moment passed.
Merlin managed a small smile, before turning back to the door, his new room, while Gaius cast an eye back over the mess of splintered wood scattered across the floor.
Once he had unpacked and made his bed, Merlin returned to the main room, where he assisted Gaius in clearing up the woody mess. With the quarters once more back to their standard amount of disorganisation, Gaius then turned his focus towards the evening meal.