Merlin 1. Chapter 1

**The Master of Time Series**

A group of stories about Merlin's life after 5x13 and how he comes to fully understand his Destiny and 'The Once and Future King' prophecies.

BOOK TWO:

**Master of Time: Advisor of Kings**

Many years have passed and Merlin is continuing to seek out his reincarnated friends and form friendships with their families whilst he eagerly awaits the most important re-birth of all. Much has changed but much remains the same. What role will Arthur play this time around and how can Merlin help?

_**A/N:**__ This has been a taken a while to get sorted but at long last I'm ready to begin sharing. This story should stand on its own but new readers might find it easier to follow if 'Slave of Destiny' has been read first; it's only ten chapters long. :D _

_This story is non-linear and based on real, historical characters from the Ninth and Tenth Century so, enjoy the ride! :P More notes at the bottom of this chapter and on my PP._

* * *

**Chapter One**

**At the Royal Court of Wessex**

**Thirty-Five years before Arthur's rebirth**

Merlin walked slowly down the length of the smoky, wooden beamed Hall, packed full of courtiers and knights, conscious of every eye upon him. On reaching the top table the sorcerer stopped and bowed deeply to the king.

"State your name, old man?"

"Lord Emrys of Hwicce, your majesty," Merlin replied, dropping slowly to one knee and wincing as he tried to get used to this older body again. "I have come to pay my respects to the great King Ethelburt of Wessex and humbly ask to impose on his hospitality for a short while."

"Emrys? I have heard of that name." The young king looked toward an old courtier who merely gave a slight shrug in response. "There is much written about a Lord Emrys assisting kings in the area of Magonsæte over the years."

"My family has traditionally been a very learned one it's true, Sire, and we have always had strong ties with the local, noble families, including those here in Wessex," Merlin replied. "So, if I could be of any assistance whilst I'm here, either as an advisor or as a physician, I would be happy to serve such a great king."

"A physician?" Ethelburt said, suddenly more interested. "Now, that would certainly be of use to us. I have only recently become king after the death of my second brother and there are always so many illnesses and battles nowadays – It would be good if you could stay for a while and offer us your expertise."

"It'll be my pleasure, your Majesty," Merlin replied with another deep bow.

"But, all of that can wait until the morning. Eat, drink. Let it not be said that Wessex does not know how to welcome its northern guests."

~o~0~o~

Offering his medical services was a useful avenue for Merlin to have followed, as he was easily able to use this new job as an excuse to enquire about babies born during the last year and go in search of the first of the Round Table he had sensed. His magical instincts helped there, of course, but he was surprised at how easily he was able to recognise him, even as a baby.

Just as before, all those years ago, it seemed almost as if two people occupied the same body – the sense of the character and personality clearly etched on the small child that had barely begun to crawl.

"Hello, Gaius," he said kneeling down slowly with a smile on his face. "A slight matter of role reversal now, don't you think? Me the old man and you the child – although I'm not sure we ever met when I was as young as you appear to me now.

"Is he well, sir?" the child's mother asked as she came over with a drink for him. "I did worry when he developed an especially nasty cough last month but I think perhaps it was just a cold, after all."

"He seems to be in fine health," Merlin replied, hauling himself onto a nearby stool and taking a sip from the mug she'd offered him. "What's his name?"

"Eadric," she replied with a smile.

Merlin sighed heavily. "What is it with this fashion of everyone's name starting with E and Æ these days? It really is very confusing."

"Ah, I thought your name was Emrys, sir?" the girl asked with a sly smile.

"Ha! Fair enough, although I can assure you that, when I was young, our parents were generally more imaginative with their choice of initials. You have other children?"

"Eadric is my fourth, sir," she replied proudly. "My eldest son is set to inherit his father's lands, God willing, whilst this one is to go into the church and learn to read and scribe."

Merlin nodded. "A fitting choice."

"Sir?"

He shook his head. "Sorry, I just have this strange feeling that such work will suit him."

Unfortunately this land was now more war torn and confused that it had ever been during Camelot's time. Despite all the good they had done back then, it seemed that everyone and everything was going backwards. Kings and lords now lived in wooden Halls, medical knowledge had been lost and very few of the population were literate.

Sometimes Merlin despaired, thinking it had all been for nothing, but then he remembered what Kilgharrah and Taliesin had told him all those years ago. That if Arthur had not survived for long enough to have become king, the whole future of Albion would be put in jeopardy. This land had always been destined to fall into a Dark Age, but at least the work they had done back then had kept their legacy intact, and the magic of the Valley in particular was able to give these people enough of its strength in order for them to survive. They would all come out the other end of this, and perhaps Arthur's next re-incarnation would be a person who would help bring them out of these testing times. A different type of leader for a very different age.

"For he will always appear when Albion has need of him and you will always be there to guide him."

~o~0~o~

**At The House of Æthelred of Mercia **

**Twenty Years After Arthur's Re-birth**

Merlin entered the familiar northern Hall and attempted to get his bearings. It had been sixteen years since he'd last been here but this time was different, he could feel it.

They were _all_ here. All nine of the original Round Table brought together in the same room for the very first time since Camelot. Merlin closed his eyes for a moment, preparing himself for a very emotional and challenging evening and trying his best to focus on the task at hand. He was here as a young man this time around and so didn't have his advancing age as an excuse for any of his usual eccentricities.

"What in the world are you wearing?"

Merlin's good intentions were undone before he'd taken more than three steps forward. That voice! He would know it anywhere. He turned around slowly, steeling himself, but not even the numerous meetings of reincarnated souls before this day could fully prepare him for this shock.

"Arthur! It's … you?"

All the others had looked different; his old friends wearing someone else's skin, but this young man looked _exactly_ like Arthur; there was absolutely no difference that he could see. Of course, Merlin had broken his own promise immediately, standing there like the old fool he really was, gaping stupidly at the man he'd just called by the wrong name. Arthur simply gave Merlin a very familiar look of total disbelief, whilst his companions laughed loudly at the skinny young man in front of them.

"He's even more of an idiot than he looks," one of the young men said with a grin before turning more serious. "You are in the company of Æthelstan, eldest son of King Edward of Wessex, and you should in fact _bow_ in his presence, not stand there like a frog."

"A frog?" Merlin complained.

"Do I know you?" Arthur asked in exactly the same tone of voice he'd used the first time they'd met but, unlike before, the prince looked genuinely confused as he asked the question. Merlin was used to that reaction now – the first meeting with reincarnated souls was usually the only time his friends briefly, subconsciously recognised him. Then again, this wasn't actually the first time they had met in this life, although he would hardly expect Arthur to remember him.

"My apologies, Prince Æthelstan," Merlin said with a respectful bow. "I am Merlin, son of Lord Emrys of Hwicce and..."

"Hwicce?" Arthur's friend scoffed. "Well, that explains it. Have you been there, Æthie? There's absolutely nothing there."

"I have, Eadgar," Arthur said, still looking at Merlin curiously. "And you're right, of course, but it is a very beautiful area and somewhere my father views most fondly."

"Oh yes," Merlin replied with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure the king has some _very_ pleasant memories of the time he spent on my father's estate. I do believe he visited there oh, about … twenty one years ago." It was certainly no co-incidence that Arthur had been conceived in such a magical place.

The prince gave one of his familiar feral smiles and stepped closer to Merlin, whilst simultaneously signalling for his friends to stay back.

"You have far too much cheek for someone with such a modest background. Tell me, _Mer_lin, what exactly are you doing here at my uncle's house?"

As usual, Merlin stood his ground, holding eye contact with the prince whilst displaying his usual cheeky grin. "My father has sent me here to work in Alderman Æthelred's house due to their long friendship," he explained.

"Oh? Did my dear uncle loose a bet or something?" Arthur asked looking at his friends with a grin – prompting them to laugh at his joke. "What exactly are you here for? Something tells me it's not to join his army."

"Ah, no. I do not have much skill in that area," Merlin admitted. "However, I can read and write, and also have a thorough knowledge of the healing arts."

"You? You're the new physician?" Arthur couldn't hide his shock. "But, you're so … young."

Merlin couldn't help but laugh at that. He was the oldest man in this room, probably in the whole world but, of course, he could hardly say that when he still looked as if he were in his twenties.

"Have you met my uncle before?" Arthur asked then, indicating that Merlin should follow him and thankfully leaving his annoying friends behind.

"No, my lord, although I did meet your aunt recently at King Edward's Court."

Of course, Merlin had met them all many times before, but almost always as the elderly Emrys who could more quickly gain respect from the higher nobility. They would not recognise him in this form and so tonight would feel like a first meeting with all of them in many ways.

Arthur nodded. "Actually, your odd outfit is beginning to grow on me," he said as they walked and Merlin kept his eyes determinedly forwards. He could sense them all – all his other friends in this Hall – tempting him constantly to turn around and seek them out, but he tried his best to focus; having Arthur by his side was distracting enough as it was. "Is it the fashion in Hwicce?"

"The fashion? I wouldn't say so. I just wear it because it's comfortable." It had never occurred to Merlin to change the style of clothes he wore and he never quite felt himself when required to wear something else.

"Well, I admit I wouldn't mind boots like that."

Merlin stopped and gave the prince a suspicious look. "You're being nice to me now?"

"My aunt is always telling me off for my manners," Arthur admitted quietly. "She says it's not fitting for a prince."

Merlin grinned broadly. "Same old Gwen," he said under his breath. "Seems as if that's her job in every life."

"Sorry?"

Merlin grinned. "Well these boots are one-of-a-kind really but … I might be able to get you a pair." He'd used magic to repair or replace his favourite old clothes so many times already so he should be able to use it to make a copy.

The prince stopped then and turned to look at Merlin, his gaze was deep and penetrating and made Merlin feel briefly light-headed for some reason.

"You do seem very familiar," he said. "Are you _sure_ we haven't met before?"

Merlin just smiled in lieu of a reply. "Come on, weren't you going to introduce me to your uncle?"

He loved these moments, being back in the company of his friends after such a long time, whilst feeling that no time had passed at all and here, for a little while, he could believe that this really was Arthur, through and through, even though he had already noted small, subtle differences in the way the prince was reacting to him.

Arthur was still staring at him intently.

"What?" Merlin asked.

"There's something about you, Merlin, I can't quite put my finger on it." The warlock smiled slightly, initially amused by the repeated conversation before looking at him more closely; seeing something slightly unfamiliar in the young man's gaze which he was not quite able to pinpoint it. Arthur's smile turned suddenly wicked. "Although, I think I might enjoy trying to."

"Sorry?"

The blond moved very much closer until his lips were close to Merlin's ear. "And not just my finger either," he continued.

"What?"

Merlin took note of the frankly suggestive look on the prince's face and felt his cheeks suddenly flame. He assumed that he was being teased. If so then this Æthelstan certainly had more of a sense of humour than Arthur ever had. Trying his best to ignore his grinning friend, Merlin looked forwards and attempted to focus on the next introduction.

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N:** Oh my, what have I let myself in for?_

_As my 'Slave of Destiny' and profile readers will know, that has been the question I've been asking myself ever since I watched a TV programme about the Dark Ages and suddenly got 'Merlin' feels. I knew that it _could_ work, but actually making it work has been something of a challenge._

_So, it's been mostly about deciding which historical character each of our guys will play and then putting in a plot around the (luckily) sketchy history at this time. However the names have been an issue, as you can see, and Merlin is expressing my frustration perfectly in the earlier scene. _

_I will be adding a list of names and characters on my PP for your reference._

_Otherwise, I hope it's all fairly self-explanatory but, as usual, feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer or make the necessary edits._

_15/11/13_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Thirty-One Years Before Arthur's Re-birth**

A mere four years after Gaius was reborn, Merlin felt another pull to the east and set off to discover Lancelot. His old friend had also been born to a noble family; one with strong ties to the Middle Anglian throne, although the in-house squabbling in that region was even worse that it was further west. Having discovered this baby's family and name, (Edmund; yet another E) Merlin decided to go back home for a while but, after centuries of inactivity, there was to be little rest for the warlock from this point onwards; a new member of the Round Table reborn every handful of years.

Gaius had been very much older than everyone else originally but, this time around, it seemed as if the age gaps were set to be more evenly spaced. Leon was born just two years after Lancelot and then, after another three, it was Gwen's turn.

Merlin quickly decided to keep track of the births through the crystals, not really keen to trek through war torn country in order to visit babies who he couldn't properly interact with anyway. However, when he sensed Gwaine's birth just two years after Gwen's, and apparently at the same location, he decided it might just be worth a visit. His visions were leading him to the Court of the new King Alfred, the younger brother of Ethelburt, and Merlin had a feeling that this royal family would be important in the future and that this latest birth might well be something worth leaving Hwicce for.

Hwicce; an old word for Cauldron that few understood nowadays which was a corruption of its even older name Camelot. Well, there weren't that many around who could read and write the _current_ language, never mind any of the old ones, as none of the peasants were literate and few of the nobles either. At this point in time it was mostly the younger sons and middle classes that were taught to read and write – especially those that were attached to the Christian church.

Although, perhaps that wasn't all that surprising when Merlin thought back to the time when the same area had been called Camelot. Arthur had always been far better suited to sword play than word play and had never been content sitting at his desk – quite happily passing those tasks onto Merlin, and the warrior kings of this age did much the same, employing others to do the reading and writing for them.

King Alfred was one of the rare exceptions, having been born a younger son and not expected to rule. As a result he had always been a determined scholar – even if he had never found such study easy. Merlin even had the honour of tutoring the new king, helping him with his reading and research – a task he thoroughly enjoyed and that Alfred seemed to genuinely appreciate.

~o~0~o~

**King Alfred's Court.**

**Twenty-Three Years before Arthur's re-birth**

Merlin, typically, had no problem getting into the new king's court as an old man. The title of 'Lord Emrys' would always open doors; his ancient reputation proceeding him. And it wasn't as if he couldn't back up that with proof of his skill. His medical knowledge was far superior to any other here – even without the added benefit of magic, and those abilities quickly gave him access to the royal family itself; including an audience with the pregnant Queen Ealhswith and her two young children. Merlin nearly laughed out loud when he realised exactly who these royal infants were.

The little girl came up to him immediately, her dark eyes serious and faintly accusing.

"I know you," she declared. "You've been here before."

"This is Lord Emrys, Æthelflæd," her mother said gently, "And you've never met him before."

"I _do_ know you," the girl insisted, moving even closer.

"Yes, Gwen, you do," Merlin replied quietly, smiling at the three year old.

"Yes..." She nodded, as if happily accepting the strange name this old man had addressed her by, and the way she twisted her face and bit her lip was just so reminiscent of his dear friend that Merlin felt his eyes suddenly sting with tears.

"What a delightful daughter you have," Merlin said more loudly, smiling at the queen and desperately trying to distract himself. "And a little boy too?"

"Yes, this is Edward; the heir to the throne, of course."

Merlin forced out a smile as he tried to come to terms with this strange idea. Of course, back in Camelot, the eldest child always had the first claim; boy or girl. Another example of how things had gone backwards in so many ways. Nowadays a younger son always had prior claim – no matter how capable his sister might be – and this boy's sister was likely to be _very_ capable if she had but a fraction of the old Guinevere in her.

The sorcerer moved closer to the prince, just over a year old and knelt down next to him in the pretence of checking his health.

"Hello, old friend," he whispered. "Sorry I wasn't able to say a proper farewell to you last time around. I do hope you'll forgive me for that."

The boy held out a hand and made to grab at his beard, a small frown on his face.

"Merrr," he gurgled.

"Yes, Gwaine, it's Merlin," he whispered back. "And it's very good to see you too."

~o~0~o~

**At The House of Æthelred of Mercia **

**Twenty Years After Arthur's Re-birth**

"Eadlorman Æthelred, it is a great honour," Merlin began, "My name is Merlin of Hwicce and my father sends you his best wishes and humbly offers his son to your household, hoping he will be of some small use to you."

"Merlin?" The confusion on the man's face was not a surprise to the warlock. He'd seen it time and time again and, now that he was appearing as his younger self, it was perhaps even more telling that the name would seem familiar to this well respected lord.

Leon had been the First knight of Camelot for good reason.

"My lord?" Merlin asked, innocently.

"The family resemblance is very obvious," Leon continued, recovering his composure quickly. "Although I admit that I was expecting someone a little older."

"That's what I thought, Uncle," Arthur interjected. "How old are you, anyway? You seem even younger than me and I've only just turned twenty."

Merlin gave the prince a cheeky smile but was saved from answering by Gwen.

"Æthelstan, remember your manners. Merlin's father is a highly learned man who was able to read fluently by the age of seven," she said. "I've no doubt that his son is just as well educated."

"My thanks, Lady Æthelflæd," Merlin replied. "I hope my modest skills can be of some use to your Court." He turned briefly away from her and couldn't help but flash Arthur a cheeky grin. Old habits die hard.

"But you may know that we are honoured to have King Edward himself here tonight," Leon continued. "I should introduce you."

"Thank you, my lord," Merlin said with a bow and another cheeky grin at Arthur. "My father had the honour of meeting him some years ago and so I would dearly love to pass on his best wishes."

Which could end up being tricky, he had to admit. Edward had met him before as both a young and old man and, just like his former incarnation, Gwaine, was not someone who was easily fooled.

It appeared that Leon was about to say something more, but Arthur quickly intervened by grabbing Merlin by the arm and dragging him along with him, saying he'd take care of the introductions himself.

"Friends now, are we?" Merlin asked the prince once they were out of earshot.

"I wouldn't go _that_ far," Arthur replied. "But as it's obvious that your family has such a good relationship with ours, I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt. For the time being."

"Good of you," Merlin replied sarcastically.

The king was currently occupied so Arthur decided to leave that introduction until later and instead introduced Merlin to others that were in the Hall tonight. Which meant that it wasn't long before he had reacquainted himself with all the other members of the Round Table included Gaius, who was now Leon's scribe, and Elyan - Gwen and Gwaine's younger brother Ælfthryth - here as squire and companion to the king.

Lancelot's had chosen the wrong side in the latest uprising in the east and had quickly fled west in fear for his life, ironically being taken in by the man who had beaten him for Gwen's hand in marriage. The move had not been entirely random nor motivated by fate, as Lancelot was fully aware that his life was in danger back home and that his main protection now lay with the one royal family that might have the power to defeat Middle Anglia in the future. Here he knew he would be safe, especially as he'd agreed to become King Edward's man – giving any assistance he could to this family in return for having his childhood house restored to him in the future – even if it would only be as a minor holding lord.

Percival was also here, now a young soldier who was part of King Edward's personal guard. His build was much the same as it had been in his last life and he spent the whole evening close by Gwaine's side – hand constantly on his sword, eyes scanning the Hall for trouble. Merlin didn't think he would be any easier to cross than his previous incarnation.

"So, does the king often visit this house?" Merlin asked Arthur.

"Not as much as he'd like and probably far more than his advisors would wish," the prince responded. "But the has a great deal of affection for his sister and this Hall and takes any excuse he can to come and see us."

"Well, that's good for you too then, as I suppose you've not seen very much of him, living up here?"

Arthur pulled a face. "Father and I get along fine. Politics, however, dictate I stay in the shadows."

"Of course." Merlin knew only too well the complications of being illegitimate, both in this era and the last. "You still have a claim to the throne, though? What with you being the eldest son."

"Apparently, although I've never had any ambition to be king. My grandfather treated me as if I were a genuine contender for some reason, gifting me sword and cloak in front of the royal Court, even though my younger half-brothers are all considered far more suitable to the Court in general. Some still want me to rule, others support my half brother Ælfweard and, well, that doesn't make things any easier."

"No, I imagine not. And I suppose that means that you will continue to be viewed with suspicion in some quarters?"

"Some yes," Arthur looked up and winced. "Talking of which..."

He nodded his head over Merlin's shoulder and the warlock turned around to face the two ladies who were approaching their position, quite unable to hide his shock on realising who they were. At first he wondered why he'd not sensed their presence before, but soon realised there was no reason why he should, seeing neither had been members of the Round Table.

"Morgana..."

Yet again she was the younger of the pair and also around the same age as Arthur. The older woman was Morgause whom Merlin had met before, even though she'd only ever known him as an old man. Seeing the pair together, however, brought back unpleasant memories of his last encounter with her sixteen years ago and made him feel exceptionally nervous.

Morgause raised an eyebrow and gave Merlin a long, suspicious look before turning her attention to Arthur. "Interesting company you're keeping these days, Æthelstan. Will you introduce me to your odd little friend?"

Arthur glared at her. "And I get told off for _my_ manners?"

"Hardly surprising. You should have more respect for your elders and betters."

"Well, I certainly have full respect for your _years_," Arthur countered.

Merlin turned away slightly in order to muffle a laugh and, in the process, caught Morgana's eye. The young woman was gaping at him, a small, familiar frown on her face. She appeared to have subconsciously recognised him. Despite their history, he couldn't help but smile at her and noticed with interest that her cheeks immediately turned pink.

"Queen Elfleda of Wessex may I introduce Lord Merlin of Hwicce," Arthur continued in a bored voice, indicating Morgause. "Merlin, this is King Edward's wife."

"You are related to Lord Emrys?" Morgause asked Merlin pointedly.

"I am." He was now fully on his guard. How much would she suspect him of, now that she knew of his apparent relationship to the old sorcerer she'd had dealings with before?

"This is my companion, the Lady Edgiva of Kent," the queen responded, indicating Morgana. "You know Æthelstan already don't you, my dear?"

"He is quite impossible to forget, in fact," she replied haughtily and Merlin swallowed hard on hearing that beautiful lilting voice, so similar to before. She was close in looks this time around too. Not quite identical, as Æthelstan was to Arthur, but far closer than the others here; pale skin, dark hair and obviously the same amazing green eyes.

"Kent?" Merlin said, managing to find his voice at last. "That is some distance away. How do you come to be this far west?"

"Kent has part of this great kingdom for the last twenty-three years," she said, raising her eyes to the ceiling. "I came here seeking security and a suitable marriage alliance."

"And she has no shortage of offers, as you can imagine," Morgause said proudly. "Tell me, Merlin, how long have you known dear Æthelstan for?" The smirk she gave him seemed rather ominous. "Are you _very _good friends?"

Morgana attempted to stifle a giggle, making it was obvious that the question was a loaded one, although the exact nature of the barb escaped Merlin for the moment.

"We only met for the first time this evening, your majesty," he replied carefully. "But our families have a long association." He frowned for a moment, desperately trying to remember the family tree. "I believe my grandfather was an advisor to yours – King Ethelred?"

Morgause smirked. "Indeed. Your family does always like to be _very_ involved with ours." Another loaded comment.

"Are you church educated then, my lord?" Morgana asked him with a knowing twinkle still in her eye.

"Ah no. I studied at home, my lady. My family considered it important for my education."

"Don't get your hopes up, my dear," Morgause chided her. "Merlin's family is a fairly lowly one."

"What?" Morgana asked, feigning surprise. "What did I say?"

Morgause shook her head. "Well, if you'll excuse us, gentlemen, we have other people to talk with."

"It was good to make your acquaintance," Merlin responded, still slightly distracted as he bowed to both of them. "What was all that about?" he asked Arthur once the pair left.

"Looks like the lady Edgiva has taken a shine to you," Arthur replied, his expression indicating that he was not happy with that idea for some reason.

"Me?"

"Yes. Not that such a relationship would be sanctioned, as Elflæda was keen to point out."

"That's probably true but why is Mor- Edgiva with the queen?"

"Companion, as she said. Elflæda seems quite attached to her already."

"Attached?" Merlin mused, distracted again.

Arthur raised his eyes to the ceiling. "And she teases _me_ for my choice of friends."

"You have friends?" Arthur turned to glare at him and Merlin smiled broadly. "I thought the correct term was lackeys?"

"Apparently I'm not the only one who has no respect for their elders and betters." Merlin laughed at the idea of Arthur being either of those two things but decided not to push his luck. "Anyway, it looks like the king is free now so I suppose I can deal with these introductions and then I can get rid of you at long last."

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N:** Thank you for you early alerts and reviews, it means a lot to me. Writing is going well and, with luck, I may be able to increase the updates to twice a week, but I don't want to do that until I'm absolutely certain I won't leave you hanging at any point._

_Just a reminder that I have a list of names on my profile page as well as a link to a map of England from this time in history. Please let me know if you have any questions._

_22/11/13_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**At House Emrys in Hwicce**

**Five Years before Arthur's Rebirth**

They had all been reborn. All except for Arthur. Merlin continued to check the crystals, worrying that he'd missed something important. But the visions implied that everything was on track, that Arthur would soon be born in the general vicinity, and that he would be connected to the families that Merlin was already in touch with.

The age gaps were strange though. Gwen was a young adult already and, as the King's eldest child, had been a popular choice of bride for a number of families in the greater area. When Lancelot had appeared on that list, Merlin felt confident that he would become her husband this time around; destiny owned them both that much, he decided. So, he was especially surprised when Alfred instead accepted Leon for his eldest daughter and sent her north to live in Mercia.

Then again, Lancelot's family were not the most stable of influences at this point in time; the power dynamics in that region shifting even more than the western territories, as constant battles and fights for the throne meant uncertainty for all concerned in that area. Merlin realised that Middle Anglia was not the ideal place for Gwen to be right now, especially as he didn't expect Arthur to be reborn that far east anyway. Could he come back as Gwen and Leon's son? That seemed a little strange to Merlin, but he supposed that it wasn't totally out of the question.

So, the warlock stayed at home, sharing his time between the Crystal Cave and his house, working hard to study all the families and politics in order to make sure he was ready to second guess any surprise event, whilst regularly checking the crystals to ensure that everything was on track.

Gaius gained a job as chief scribe for Leon's household whilst young Gwaine grew up in his father's royal court with his two younger brothers. Ealhswith's third child was Elyan reborn – set to be Gwen's brother again in this life and the three young princes spent much of their time training to be knights as befitted young noble men of their elevated position. Meanwhile Percival, the youngest of those now reborn, was growing up in a more modest household in the area of Hwicce itself. Only time would tell what roles each of the Round Table would play in the near future.

~o~0~o~

Merlin was at his desk at home, working on some papers in his youthful guise, when his servant interrupted him to announce that he had a guest. This was surprising in itself as Merlin's various spells ensured that few would pass that way without him knowing about it, and the warlock certainly hadn't had any indication of his borders being crossed recently.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"A young Druid girl, I believe," the man replied, with no attempt to hide his distaste.

Merlin just nodded, now understanding why his alarms had not been activated. Most of the remaining Druids sheltered within his land these days, and any others had moved on years ago, opting to live further west in Cornwall or Wales where the old religion still held strong and their beliefs would be better catered for.

The girl had her head bowed as she was ushered into his Hall, but Merlin felt a strange sense of recognition from her, even before she lifted her head. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I-I have come in search of Emrys, sir," she replied, looking up nervously and Merlin gasped as he recognised the soul behind those bright blue eyes. No matter how different the person appeared to him on the outside, the eyes were always the same he noticed, and these particular eyes were quite impossible to forget.

"Nimueh?"

She blinked, a small frown on her face as she battled with the strange feeling of familiarity that the name invoked. What had started out as a bad habit on Merlin's part had become a useful confirmation tool for him now. Each person's reaction on hearing their old name indicating some subconscious remembrance of their former life.

"I was told to seek Emrys out here," she continued uncertainly.

"_Lord_ Emrys, you mean?" Merlin pushed.

She shook her head. "I do not refer to the lord of this manor, sir, but of his advisor – the ancient and all-knowing Emrys. I have been told that it is my destiny to seek him out, serve him and train with him."

"Really?" Merlin's surprise was genuine. He had not had any such vision and wasn't at all sure how he felt about his old arch enemy turning up here now and looking to be his apprentice.

"Both the tribal elder and the seer of my tribe agreed on the matter." She looked up at the apparently young man in front of her and frowned. "Are you the lord here, sir? I was expecting someone older."

"My name's Merlin," he said brightly, holding out a hand. The girl was barely a woman, perhaps fifteen and on looking more closely at the young man promptly turned pink and dropped her head back down."

"Ecgwynn," she mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"M-my name's Ecgwynn."

"If you say so," Merlin retorted, raising his eyes to the ceiling. "Do you have magic?"

She looked shocked at the blunt question. "S-sir?"

"Well, you say that you've come here to study with the sorcerer Emrys so I assumed that was a reasonable question to ask."

"Oh, ah... Yes." She looked at him more closely then. "What about you? Are you his pupil too? Do you have magic?"

Merlin promptly held out his hand and willed a blue ball of light to appear there. The girl yelped and he raised an eyebrow at her, surprised at such an extreme reaction from a Druid.

"You didn't say a word," she said.

Merlin smirked slightly. "No, I didn't."

"But that sort of power… I mean..."

He tipped his head and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You?" she gasped. "_You're_ Emrys, but… you _can't_ be him."

"Why not?"

"Ah..."

"Show me what you can do," he ordered in a tone that brooked no argument and, wide eyed as she began to realise the truth of the situation, Nimueh moved quickly to the newly laid fire and chanted _forbærnan,_ causing it to start burning brightly.

"Good, that's a start," Merlin replied in a slightly bored tone.

"You _are_ him, aren't you?" she asked then, her eyes wide. "You're Emrys?"

"Yes, Nimueh and, although I had no intention of taking on an apprentice at this point in time, I get the impression that neither of us have any choice in the matter."

"That is what I was told, yes. But, why do you call me that? Nimueh?"

"You'd better get used to it," he responded, "because it's certainly far easier than your other name."

"Other?"

Merlin waved a hand absent-mindedly. "Oh, never mind me. As you've guessed, I'm considerably older than I look and often find these modern names hard to remember. So, I tend to call people what suits them the most. You'll get used to my odd ways, soon enough, I'm sure."

He wasn't certain exactly how much he was going to tell his new apprentice about his destiny and special role here at this particular time, but at least this half-truth would help to explain his eccentricities for the time being and make his life very much easier in the process.

~o~0~o~

**At The House of Æthelred of Mercia **

**Twenty Years After Arthur's Rebirth**

King Edward had finished his meeting with a number of lords and had now returned to his chair at the head table of the Hall. On noticing this, Arthur again grabbed Merlin by his sleeve and dragged him forward, bowing deeply to the man that was Gwaine reincarnated.

"Father, I would like to introduce you to-" Arthur begun.

"Myrddin?" the king said, surprised. "But..."

"Ah, I'm Merlin, my lord. Myrddin is the name of my father." He had wondered if he'd be recognised looking like this.

"Of course, but you look so very much like him that it confused me for a moment."

"He will be honoured that you remember him so well."

Gwaine chuckled. "How could I forget. Is your grandfather still with us?"

"Unfortunately not, Sire. He passed away last year at the grand old age of ninety."

"An excellent age and not at all surprising," Gwaine said. "When I met him at seventy he seemed more vigorous than most half his age."

"I can only hope that such vitality is in the blood," Merlin replied politely. He still couldn't get used to having to kill himself off quite so often. How many times had the elderly Emrys died now?

"I had no idea you knew Merlin's family so well," Arthur commented to his father.

"Well, your mother was also of the House of Emrys, Æthelstan," Gwaine said sadly. "So, it was perhaps inevitable that I would visit there more often than I should."

"Oh, I hadn't made that connection," Arthur said before suddenly turning to Merlin. "You were related to my mother?" He blinked, as if realising something else. "Related to me?"

"Well, aren't most of our noble houses connected by some cousin or other?" Merlin replied with a smile. "Your mother was a distant cousin that my grandfather adopted as a favour to _her _father so yes, I suppose there is _some_ connection between us, but it's probably about as close as our looks."

"That is true," Gwaine said. "I often visited the late lord Emrys at his house and met his son once too when he was much the same age as Merlin is now." He shook his head again. "You do look very much like him."

"So I've often been told," Merlin replied with a weak smile. He hadn't intended to appear to Gwaine as himself that day, but the prince had rather caught him by surprise riding in unannounced like that.

The king had other business to attend to then and so Arthur again dragged Merlin to one side, asking him more questions about his mother as he carelessly grabbed a goblet that a passing servant offered him.

"I only have a few vague memories of her," the prince said as he took a large swig. "She lived at the royal court with me when I was small but, as I was only four when she died, the memories are not as clear as I would like."

"Yes, I recall seeing her too," Merlin replied carefully.

"It was her eyes I remember the most," Arthur said, with a small smile. "I'm not sure I've ever seen such a dramatic colour on anyone else, but then I assumed I was exaggerating the memory slightly.

"No, I... ah, my father often commented on them too."

Time seemed to be going so quickly nowadays that it was becoming very difficult for Merlin to remember what age he was supposed to be at the moment, and who he'd met up with in years gone past. If he _really_ had been a child sixteen years ago then it was unlikely he would have had much contact with Arthur's mother.

"Yes, well, it's a shame I couldn't spend more time with her but, when she died, it was considered best that I was brought up with my aunt."

"Politics again?" Merlin asked, although he knew the situation better than most. Seeing he'd practically engineered the whole thing.

"Yes," Arthur replied with a sigh.

"Well, I'm glad you were able to know your mother a little this time around."

Arthur coughed. "This time around?"

"Ah, sorry." He really had to stop doing that. "I just meant … it was good that you have those few memories, at least."

"Ah, I see." Arthur suddenly winced and swallowed hard.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked.

"No my throat … it feels." He took a ragged breath. "I feel odd." Merlin saw the colour drain from the prince's face and started to panic.

"When did this start?" Merlin asked as he lead the now unsteady prince to a nearby bench.

"Just now… I..."

As the plain, clay goblet he was holding clattered to the floor, Merlin had the sudden memory of a much brighter one rolling on another Hall floor a very long time ago; one that _he_ had ended up drinking from. Suddenly fearful of the vision, Merlin left Arthur where he was and ran over to scoop the cup up, quickly sniffing the inside and instantly recognising the scent. This was _not_ good news.

By now an audience was gathering, people crowding around the prince as he started to crumple where he sat. Merlin had no time for good manners though and quickly pushed them roughly to one side, forcing them to move.

"Stand back, all of you," he shouted with sudden authority. "I'm a physician and Prince Æthelstan has been poisoned."

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N:** New life - same old story. :)_

_It's a good job I'm so far ahead with this one as I've become engrossed in one of my original stories recently and haven't written anything on this for a week and a half. Nothing to worry about yet but it does mean I'm sticking with my once-a-week updates, just in case._

_29/11/13_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**At House Emrys in Hwicce: **

**Two Years before Arthur's Rebirth**

"I have to go travelling," Merlin announced, suddenly standing up from his desk.

"Ooh, where are we headed?" Nimueh replied, excitedly.

The young girl was quiet and studious and had shown few of the traits that Merlin associated with her from the last life. Then again, he had only seen her near the end of her life that time around and, despite his negative memories of the sorceress, even he had to admit that she had not had an easy time of it back then. Much like Morgana, the young, innocent girl had been quite unprepared for what life had thrown at her and had reacted accordingly. Merlin could still hold out hope for his apprentice and believe she would remain as this sweet young lady who's only connection with the old Nimueh was her bright blue eyes and knowing, cheeky grin.

"We? Who said anything about _you_ going?" Merlin responded as he hunted down his travelling bag and hurriedly started to pack.

Nimueh rolled her eyes. Merlin may currently be appearing as a young man, but she had seen his Emrys disguise often enough to no longer be in any doubt of exactly who and what he was.

"You're the one who's always telling me how naïve I am and how much more I need to learn about the world," she continued. "I can't imagine you'd want to leave me at home when you could take me along with you and enjoy proving your point every few minutes."

"Remind me again why I took you on as my apprentice?"

"So, where _are_ we going?" Nimueh repeated with a big grin, sensing her imminent victory in the discussion.

"King Alfred's court," Merlin answered, waving a piece of parchment. "My presence has been requested."

"Merlin's or Emrys'?" Nimueh asked.

"The old man's, obviously. He's the one that has the respect and reputation in these parts."

"Great," the girl complained. "What a fun journey this is going to be with your eighty year old self."

"Oh, I shall travel most of it as me, I think," Merlin continued calmly. "Although I can switch back and forth easily enough nowadays if the need arises."

"I'm going to need a new dress, you know."

"What?"

"Well, you can hardly expect me to be presented to King Alfred of Wessex wearing these old rags."

"Rags?" Merlin looked more closely at what she was wearing and frowned. "What are you talking about? There's not a tear or stain on them."

"Men!" Nimueh raised her eyes to the ceiling. "You just have no idea, do you? Come on, Merlin, I've often seen you mend and copy your clothes. Can you teach me how? Just one more lesson before we go?"

He gave her a long look. "I still don't recall saying you could come along."

She ignored the comment. "Red I think, with some nice embroidery along the sleeve and neckline."

"Red?"

"Yes, why? Don't you think that colour will suit me?" Merlin recalled his final meeting with Nimueh in her previous life and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I'm quite certain it'll look perfect on you," he admitted.

~o~0~o~

**King Alfred's Court**

**Two Years before Arthur's Rebirth**

"Ah, Emrys, good of you to come at such short notice." King Alfred looked at him more closely. "I'm quite sure you haven't aged a day since our last meeting."

"Good of you to say, Sire," Merlin replied, although he definitely felt old, now back in this elderly guise.

"And who have you brought with you this time?" the king asked, eyes studying Nimueh with interest.

"This is my ward, the lady Ecgwynn," Merlin replied.

"An honour to have such beauty in my Hall. And an honour for you too, my dear, to be taken in by such a well respected and learned lord."

"Indeed, your majesty," Nimueh replied graciously. She was more than able to turn on the charm if required.

After taking their leave of the king, the pair moved to one side and started to make the acquaintance of others in the Hall. It was at that point that Merlin suddenly became aware of a familiar presence in the room and started to look around, attempting to find the source.

"You are Lord Emrys?" Merlin jumped on hearing the smooth voice behind him and turned around to be confronted by a familiar soul staring out of light brown eyes and displaying a bright smile that the sorcerer would have recognised anywhere.

"Gwaine," he breathed, waiting for the expected flash of confusion to show itself on the young man's face before continuing. "Prince Edward," he said in a louder voice, bowing deeply. "It is good to see you again."

"We've met before?"

"Not since you were a child," Merlin replied with a bright smile, "But it was not difficult to tell who you were."

Gwaine's eyes flashed suddenly to Nimueh and he turned on a very familiar charming smile.

"My lady...?"

"This is my ward, Ecgwynn." Merlin surprised himself at his stern delivery of the introduction, one part of him genuinely protective of his apprentice and instantly nervous of how much of his old friend's characteristics would be present in this reincarnation. Nimueh's eyes widened and her cheeks turned far more pink than the sorcerer had ever seen. She managed a messy curtsey before glancing up shyly and smiling at the prince.

"Y-your highness."

Merlin saw Gwaine's confident smile briefly falter and his eyes widened before he blinked a few times and attempted to regain a little of his composure. The warlock remembered only too well what effect that look of Nimueh's had had on _him_ as a young man and it seemed that the prince was now equally moved. For a moment neither said anything, both just staring at each other, and Merlin moved his gaze from one to the other before giving an exaggerated sigh and clearing his throat loudly.

"Ahem!"

"My apologies, lord Emrys." Gwaine attempted to rediscover his calm, casual manner but Merlin could see that he was genuinely flustered by his encounter with Nimueh and it appeared that the feeling was entirely mutual. The warlock tried hard to find some sort of connection between the two souls in the last life but there was none that he could think of. Nimueh had died years before Merlin had first met Gwaine.

As much as the romantic side of him might like to encourage such a match, Merlin knew it would be highly unlikely. He had retained his land and title by regularly updating his historical papers and even using the odd magical spell – all to ensure that the valley, lake and precious cave were kept safe. However, the main reason he had been successful was by keeping his own status modest and ensuring that his title and lands would not be coveted by anyone else.

That had generally worked out well but, although he maintained a good reputation at court through the advice he gave to various kings, Merlin was under no illusion that they would consider his lowly family status suitable marriage material. Especially as, in this case, Nimueh wasn't actually related to him at all.

No, this definitely wasn't a relationship he should be encouraging.

~o~0~o~

**At The House of Æthelred of Mercia **

**Twenty Years after Arthur's Rebirth**

"Stand back, all of you," Merlin shouted urgently. "I'm a physician and Prince Æthelstan has been poisoned."

There were gasps from all around the Hall but, despite the urgency in the sorcerer's voice, the people surrounding Arthur were not convinced enough to move out of the way.

"The boy speaks the truth," Leon shouted moving forwards, "Let him through."

The crowd parted quickly at their lord's command and Merlin's knelt beside Arthur, already guessing the problem and having decided on the best magical cure. Now he would have to work hard to make it look as if he was healing the prince conventionally without drawing attention to what he was really doing. And so, waving the curious audience back a little further still, Merlin leant over Arthur and mumbled the spell, pushing in just enough magic to deal with the worst of the poison. That accomplished, he started to call out orders; asking for various random items from the table or the kitchen, mixing up a harmless placebo into another goblet and forcing the semi-conscious prince to drink it, all the while whispering quiet spells, concealed behind words of encouragement.

As his magic started to purge the virulent poison from his system, Arthur's eyes flickered briefly open and everyone breathed a sigh of relief – including Merlin. There had always been a chance that he had misdiagnosed this – no matter how unlikely.

"You saved the prince's life," Leon declared to the whole Hall.

"Hopefully," Merlin replied quietly before raising his voice. "He needs to be moved carefully to his chambers and I need to get to my own medical bag. He's not out of the woods quite yet." He was not remotely surprised to find that Percival, Elyan and Lancelot were the first to push forward and offer their services, whilst Gaius approached him eagerly, asking if his own modest level of healing knowledge could be of help to the young man. A very odd feeling indeed to be the superior healer of the pair.

"Thank you, Merlin" Gwaine said, as the prince was lifted up. "It is a good job you were here tonight. You saved my son's life and I owe you a great debt."

"Healing is my craft," Merlin replied, staying close as his friend was carried out of the Hall, "And I seek no reward. However, we really need to find out who did this and if there is any further risk to you or your family. I do wish I'd been paying more attention to the servant who passed him that goblet."

"A servant you say? Did he pass it to Æthie deliberately or did my son take it off him?"

"That's a good question and I'm not sure I can remember. I suppose it is possible that he wasn't the intended target."

"You don't seem very convinced of that," Gwaine said.

"No," Merlin replied with a humourless laugh. "I'm afraid History does have an odd way of repeating itself."

~o~0~o~

The first thing that Merlin gave Arthur after his poisoning was a strong sleeping draught, designed to keep him unconscious until most of the fuss was had died down, whilst also allowing his body to catch up with the rather sudden cure that had been thrown at it.

The prince came around when all was dark and quiet a few hours later and blinked in surprise when he saw who was sitting by his bedside.

"What happened?"

"You were poisoned," Merlin replied bluntly.

"I was..." Arthur blinked. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Aren't you glad you've got a physician here now?" he said, flashing the prince a bright smile.

"You? _You've_ been treating me?"

"Saved your life actually," Merlin grinned. "Apparently I now have your family's eternal gratitude."

Arthur groaned. "And you're never going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Just doing my job, Sire," Merlin retorted. "Although if you want to thank me, that would be fine too."

"Huh." Was his only reply but Merlin saw the look in his eye and instantly recognised it.

"How are you feeling now? Any pain? Anything I can get you?"

"Some water would be good but, other than that, I'm fine... I think. Just a bit tired."

"Well, I'll let you sleep now whilst I inform your family that you will made a full recovery. Your aunt has been especially worried about you."

"Æthelflæd is _always_ worried about me," Arthur replied, but the affectionate smile that played on his lips did not go unnoticed by the warlock.

"Of course." It was absolutely no surprise to Merlin how close Arthur and Gwen were in this life – even if their relationship was not at all what he'd expected. Then again, very few of the relationships between the other eight were.

Arthur was looking at him intently again now. His expression unreadable. "I admit that it wasn't entirely unpleasant waking up to you just then," he said, smiling slightly.

"What does _that_ mean?" Merlin asked suspiciously. "Is that your strange way of saying thank you?"

"If you like."

The prince continued to stare at Merlin for a long time, that same, knowing smirk on his lips the whole time. Again, for a brief moment, the sorcerer was made aware that this was not entirely the old Arthur lying in front of him. That there was some part of Æthelstan here that he did not yet know.

However that was a mystery to be put off for another day and so, as soon as Arthur was asleep, Merlin cast a few protective spells around his bed just to be on the safe side, before setting off down the corridor to talk to the prince's family.

He quickly gained entrance to the king's anti-chamber where he found Gwaine, Morgause, Leon, Gwen and Gaius all waiting for him. He was not at all certain the queen _should_ be here considering what he knew of her reputation in both lives, but obviously he could not openly object to her presence here.

"How is he?" Gwen asked.

"Sleeping," Merlin replied with a smile. "The poison seems to have been purged from his body and I'm confident he'll make a full recovery."

"It is most fortunate that the poison wasn't especially deadly then," Morgause said. "Or perhaps he hadn't taken that much of it?"

Merlin immediately became more alert. "We were talking for much of the time so I think he did only take a sip," he admitted, "The poison was pretty strong, however, I was just lucky that I'd been reading up on it recently and knew how to counter it."

Morgause would know better, of course. She would know for a fact that only magic could cure Arthur of that particular potion, and would now be assuming that the ability ran in Merlin's family – although she could not admit to knowing that any more than he could admit his suspicions of her. History repeating itself? He was almost surprised that it wasn't Morgana sitting in that chair right now.

"Well, as I said earlier, we all owe you a great debt and I'm assuming you'll want to be keeping a fairly close eye on Æthelstan over these next few days," Gwaine said. "In fact, I was thinking it might be a good idea to arrange something rather more official."

"Official?" Merlin asked.

"Æthie seems to like you," Gwen replied with a smile, "So we thought you could be his companion as well as his physician."

"And with your expert knowledge of herbs and poisons, we think you'll be a very useful man to keep around Court for a while anyway," Gaius said.

"Yes," Gwaine agreed. "And you could help us to solve this crime and find the culprit."

Merlin definitely couldn't look at Morgause while the king was speaking. "Of course, Sire although, despite what the lady Æthelflæd says, I'm not certain that the prince will be that impressed with the decision."

Companion? Friend? Servant? What was that he was saying about history repeating itself?

~o~0~o~


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Hwicce**

**One Year Before Arthur's Rebirth**

The time spent at the royal Court was very productive for Merlin and he felt honoured to have been included in such important discussions concerning the effective joining of most of southern England, as well as helping negotiate tentative deals with some of the kingdoms in the north. In fact, he was surprised that this job hadn't fallen to Arthur, as Alfred was indeed a great king to have united so much of the land during his relatively short reign. However, the country was still war torn, and the minor tribal kings and lords continued to fight against the idea of central rule, still wanting to keep their independence. Perhaps the time of a united kingdom had not quite arrived, after all.

Once back home, Merlin was quickly made aware of how quiet and withdrawn Nimueh had become, and worried about her heavy sighs and decreased appetite, even though she continued to work hard at her studies. The sorcerer guessed that his apprentice had fallen for Gwaine just as he'd feared, but couldn't pluck up the courage to broach the subject, mostly because any confirmation from her would inevitably require a lecture from him on their status and the unsuitability of the match.

However, a month later, Merlin was again caught unawares by a visitor, his alarms failing to alert him to an intruder. In fact, he was _so_ surprised, that he quite forgot to change into Emrys as was his custom and ended up greeting the guest as young Merlin.

"Prince Edward, what an unexpected pleasure," the warlock said with a bow.

Gwaine frowned. "Sorry, have we met?"

"Ah no it's just…" Merlin frantically tried to get out of the hole he'd just dug for himself. "Your attire, Sire and the fact that my father and Ecgwynn described you to me and-"

"Ecgwynn?" Gwaine face broke into a huge smile. "I do hope her description was flattering."

Merlin pulled a face. "Well, I recognised you, didn't I?" Gwaine raised an eyebrow and he quickly turned contrite. "Ah, sorry, Sire." He really should be more careful. Such cheeky back-talk only tended to be excused when he was in his Emrys guise.

"Oh, don't worry about it, lad," the prince continued. "In fact, I find it rather refreshing ah..." He paused. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Myrddin," he improvised quickly, choosing the Welsh pronunciation of his name. "I'm Lord Emrys' son."

"Well, I gathered _that_ much," Gwaine replied with a laugh, "And, I can see a certain similarity in the eyes now that I look closer."

"Ah yes, many people say that, and I'm sorry for the poor welcome and the fact that my father couldn't be here. He's visiting a neighbouring lord at the moment, as is often his custom, and is due back at any time."

"Of course, I know how much my father values his advice, so it doesn't surprise me that he's in such demand." Gwaine bit his lip. "I wonder if the lady Ecgwynn is here? I would very much like to meet her again."

"Well, yes, she _is_ here, but I'm really not sure if-"

"Excellent, thank you, Mithin. If you would just send for her."

"That's Myrddin," Merlin corrected. "And-"

"As I said," Gwaine responded offhandedly. "If you wouldn't mind."

And he was the prince, and Merlin had even less power over _this_ heir to the throne than he'd had over Arthur in the past, so he felt that he had had no choice but to do as he was bid.

Unfortunately, the moment Nimueh appeared the pair were inseparable; their eyes blind to everyone else, and Merlin couldn't recall having felt this awkward and embarrassed since he had attended Arthur on the morning after his wedding to Gwen all those years ago.

The warlock even left the room and came back as the elderly Emrys, but it made little difference to the young couple. Gwaine was polite and spent the expected, required time with his host before offering to take Nimueh for a ride and a picnic. Merlin knew enough of the world, and of his old friend, to understand that the prince had come to his house for the sole purpose of courting his apprentice and that there was nothing he could do to prevent it, save for using magic.

And, he was about to do just that; put a sedative in their drinks in order to give him a chance to think of another plan, but something stopped him. The familiar flash of nine faces around a table appeared again, but this time Merlin knew that the vision was a warning – the faces fading in and out before starting to disappear – a sign that this point in time was a critical one and that there was a real danger of this new Round Table failing before it had even begun.

He needed advice, but could think of no-one left to consult with. He could go to the cave and check the crystals but, since Gaius had been re-born, those visions had become obscure again, much as they had been when he'd been the age he now looked. Taliesin hadn't reappeared since that time many years ago when he told Merlin off for abusing the power of the cave, and Kilgharrah had died soon after that. He had last seen Aithusa flying off to the east and all attempts to use his Dragonlord powers to call her back in the years since had been unsuccessful. Considering everything, there was only one person left he could realistically ask.

And so, despite his misgivings at leaving Gwaine and Nimueh alone together, Merlin packed a small bag and set off towards the Lake of Avalon.

~o~0~o~

The lake was also contained within Merlin's land and so he'd managed to ensure that it had remained untouched; the place just as precious to him as the Crystal Cave was. He came here from time to time – a place of peaceful meditation for the most part – but it was rare that Freya ever appeared to him. Sometimes he would call for her, sometimes he'd cast enchantments to summon her, but it seemed that she could only cross over to this world when the time was right for her to do so, and even she could not answer his question as to when exactly those times might be.

However, today seemed to be one of those fortunate occasions, as Merlin had barely settled himself down by the lake in readiness for a long watch, when he sensed her presence and hopped up again; running to the waiting coracle and floating out on it to the centre of the water, a huge excitement building inside of him.

"Merlin." The way Freya said his name sent a shudder down his spine as it always had. "I know many years have passed, but I see that this is now your true form."

"Yes," Merlin signed, instantly lost in her deep, brown eyes. "'I'm young again. At least on the outside."

"Well, I admit that I much prefer this look," she continued with a cheeky smile.

"The change was unexpected," he replied. "But it happened the moment the circle was reopened."

She seemed amused at his wisdom. "I see you're no longer the uncertain young man, questioning his place in the world."

"Perhaps not, although I do question it often all the same, and I certainly don't have all the answers."

She nodded. "How can I help?"

How well she knew him. "Arthur is not reborn and yet I sense the time is near."

"You are correct, and I know you would not want to do anything that might interfere with that event."

He frowned. "No, of course not."

"Then do not interfere. Let the prince court the sorceress, allow them their time alone. For their union has been foreseen since the dawn of time."

"Their union? You don't mean...?" Merlin was shocked at the revelation.

"In fact I think this area would be a perfect spot for a picnic, don't you?" Freya continued with a sudden, cheeky smile.

"There are wild flowers," Merlin agreed

"A couple of cows."

"And a lake," he said sadly.

"And a lake," she replied. "The most important lake in the whole world."

~o~0~o~

******At The House of Æthelred of Mercia**  


**Two weeks after the Poisoning**

"Would you like another drink?"

Despite not being Arthur's servant in this life, Merlin had found himself falling into the role automatically. They had shared some refreshments in the prince's chambers that night; the fire blazing in the hearth whist a wild storm blew outside.

"Just a little. This type of weather always makes me feel cold, even this close to a fire."

So Merlin poured Arthur another drink and the pair sat in comfortable silence for several long minutes.

"You're a lot quieter than normal," Merlin said eventually. "Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"I love how you keep making these comments about my character as if you've known me for years rather than a couple of weeks," Arthur replied with a smile.

"Well, our first conversations made a lasting impression on me," Merlin said with a wince. "I rather assumed that that was your normal personality."

"Perhaps." Arthur sighed. "It's just … I keep dwelling on that poisoning. Wondering who... and why."

"I can understand that, but such things are hardly uncommon these days," Merlin replied with a shrug. "The life of a royal is often violent and rarely long. Look at your great uncles... look at Lancelot's family."

"Who?"

Merlin winced. "Sorry, Edmund... I meant _Edmund's_ family."

Arthur barked out a laugh. "You and your strange habit of getting names wrong, and it's not as if you're getting Edmund confused with Edwin; that would be understandable." He laughed again. "Lancelot? What sort of name is that?"

Merlin smiled slightly. "Sorry, a bad habit of mine, I know."

"Well, you're right about all the wars and in-house fighting of course but, as I said before, I've never had any ambitions for the throne, despite what grandfather said. I know Father wants me to take control these northern lands on his death, whilst Ælfweard takes the south, but I doubt the Court will even approve of that. They'll want my brother to take all of it."

"The Queen's eldest son?"

"Yes, he's thirteen now and his brother Edwin is ten. It won't be long before they come of age."

"You can understand why your father has named you heir though. If anything happened to him now...?"

"True, they're definitely too young to take over at the moment but, considering my illegitimacy, they are both more likely successors in the longer term."

"I suppose so." The thought of either of Morgause's sons on the throne did not fill Merlin with much confidence, especially as Edwin was Mordred reborn. He shuddered at the thought.

"I suppose, I'm just disappointed," Arthur continued. "I don't really want the throne and I'd happily waive any right I have to it as long as my brothers promise to be responsible rulers. So, what upsets me the most, I suppose, is that someone felt the need to kill me when I've never shown much ambition for leadership and simply tried to earn everyone's respect." He sighed. "It just hurts, that's all."

"Yes, I understand."

Poor Arthur, always betrayed by the family he loved in both of his lives, and Merlin had little doubt the poisoning _was_ Morgause's doing – even if he had been quite unable to prove it.

Merlin finished off his own drink in one large swig and stood, plucking his jacket from the chair and starting to put it on.

"You're not going already, are you?" the prince asked, a hint of concern audible in his voice.

"Well, it is getting late."

"Yes but... I'm not that tired yet."

"I just thought that you could do with a little extra beauty sleep," Merlin teased.

Arthur stood up and approached him, grinning broadly. "Now then, Merlin, I know you don't believe that for a moment."

He came closer – very close - invading his friend's private space as Æthelstan was apt to do and in a way Arthur rarely had. Merlin was starting to get used to it now and tended not to back away quite as quickly, but he still found it rather unnerving.

"No?" Merlin asked.

"Seriously. I've seen the way you look at me sometimes," Arthur continued. "There's no point in denying it."

"Denying what?" Merlin still couldn't keep up with this odd teasing style. He wondered if it was a modern thing.

The prince was still standing very close, studying him closely. "And I wouldn't say _you_ needed to worry about your beauty sleep either. Your looks may be unconventional but they are... intriguing."

"I have no idea how to respond when you're in this sort of mood," Merlin said, a little harshly. He really was far too tired to try and figure Æthie out tonight. Outside the lightening flashed and both turned in surprise. Merlin mentally counted, waiting for the thunder to roll.

"Aw, don't be like that," Arthur said, a strange edge to his voice. "You should stay here tonight, and then we can keep talking for a while longer."

"What? What are you on about?"

But Arthur was already preventing him from putting on his jacket, pulling it away roughly and throwing it carelessly back over the chair.

"It'll be fun," he continued. "And it's not as if my bed isn't big enough for both of us. It's warmer here than in the guest chambers too."

"Now I _know_ you're teasing me. Since when has my welfare concerned you that much?" Lightening flashed again and Merlin grinned as he saw Arthur jump – suddenly understanding. "Oh, _now_ I see how it is. You're afraid to be on your own during the storm, aren't you?"

Arthur flushed. "No, of course not, don't be stupid."

It all made perfect sense, seeing what had happened during that unnatural storm here sixteen years ago when Arthur had been a young child. Still, despite having a little more sympathy for the prince's fear, Merlin couldn't help but tease him about it some more.

"So, I should go then?" he asked making another move towards the door.

The next rumble sounded at almost exactly the same time as the lightening flashed, indicating that the storm was right above them.

"No! You'll stay." Arthur grabbed the front of Merlin's shirt and dragged him towards the bed. "I'm the king's son and so... and so you have no choice in the matter."

"Playing the rank card, eh? Well, very well, I'll humour you," Merlin decided. "But you better not make a habit of this."

"I don't know what you're complaining about," Arthur continued as he got under the covers. "This is far more comfortable than the beds in the guest chambers."

"Perhaps." Merlin took off his neckerchief, kicked off his boots and got in on his side of the bed just as the next clap of thunder sounded. Before he knew what was happening, Arthur had pulled him roughly into a firm embrace. "Of course," the warlock muttered into the prince's sleeping shirt. "Of _course_ you're not afraid of the storm at all."

"Shut up, Merlin."

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N:** There have been a few mentions of 'sixteen years ago' now. Don't worry, I promise you will be finding out what happened back then. At some point :D_

_13/12/13_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**The Year Before Arthur's Rebirth**

**Hwicce and Wessex**

Merlin spent as much time with Freya as he was able before she had to leave him again and, after a little time in contemplation and with numerous shed tears, the warlock then reluctantly returned to his house in the heart of Hwicce. There he was confronted by a surprisingly sheepish looking Gwaine who confessed his true love for Nimueh and said that he wished to take her back home with him. Seeing that Merlin's visions were hinting at Arthur being born in the Royal Court of Wessex, he saw no reason to deny the prince his request. Arthur had married a commoner and so surely, even now, it would be possible for Gwaine to marry someone who, on the surface, appeared to be lower nobility?

So, instructing his apprentice to contact him immediately if there were any problems, Merlin allowed the couple to leave before continuing to busy himself with the day to day running of his estate; visiting with the Druids, studying the crystals, and generally taking a little time to relax before he was called back to Court.

~o~0~o~

In fact, it was Alfred who asked for him first, having returned from a number of campaigns to the east and wishing to include Emrys in his latest council meetings. Merlin had only just come from presenting himself to the king when he found Nimueh at his side, her eyes wide as she nervously asked him to move to a quiet corner with her. Merlin quickly put aside the memory of the other Nimueh pulling the same trick in the guise of Cara as, in this case, he guessed the reason was a genuine one.

"I-I have some news," she started, anxiously. "And, I think that you'll be cross with me."

Merlin worked very, very hard not to smile; a sudden, nervous excitement building inside him. "Something to do with Prince Edward, I presume," he suggested cautiously.

She nodded. "I'm with child." It was practically a whisper.

_Arthur. Was Arthur really back?_

"The prince knows?" She nodded. "And the king?"

"Everyone does now, yes, and I appear to be accepted here but..."

"But?"

"There's a marriage already arranged for Edward, and the Court are adamant that she will be a far better Queen and, well, they're right because she's a high ranked noble with a royal pedigree and-"

"-but you're carrying his first son," Merlin interrupted.

"Yes, but that doesn't..." Nimueh stopped suddenly and stared at him. "Wait. What do you mean? Son?" She groaned. "Why does _everyone_ seem to know more about this pregnancy than I do?"

"What do you mean by 'everyone'?"

"I... It's just." She winced before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter."

"No, there is something," Merlin continued, "What is it?"

She shook her head, suddenly less timid. "Never mind that. Tell me what you know about my child?"

A group of people were walking towards them and, not wanting to be disturbed and quite certain Nimueh wasn't telling him everything, Merlin suggested that she must be tired and offered to escort her to her chambers.

"Well?" his apprentice asked the moment they'd arrived. "What do you know?"

"If my calculations are correct – and they probably are – you are carrying a son who is to be an important leader for the future of this country."

Nimueh looked at him suspiciously, opening her mouth as if to contradict him but probably knowing there was no point. Merlin looked down then, nothing that her dress was a little looser than normal and smiled as he became aware of the tell-tale bump.

"May I?" he asked, holding out a hand towards her. Nimueh hesitated for a moment before nodding and allowing Merlin to place a hand on her stomach. He concentrated, focusing his magic forwards, trying to sense something.

"Well?" she asked.

The smile on Merlin's face was one he had not used for a long time. In fact he couldn't remember a time when he felt this much sudden joy. Perhaps that time, long ago, when he'd fully understood that Arthur would be returning some day? Perhaps not since he was in Camelot itself. He could not remember for certain, but that was really not important. What _was_ important was that Arthur was here and that Merlin would soon be able to see him with his own eyes, and that would make everything he'd been through worth while.

"Now, will you tell me what it is that's worrying you?" he asked.

"It's just a feeling, a sense that I'm not as well accepted here as everyone's saying."

"Is this your magic telling you this?"

"Perhaps but, it's also _about _magic … about..." Nimueh bit her lip.

"Tell me - no matter how silly it sounds. Best to be safe."

"It's the lady Elfleda, the one Edward is promised to."

"She can't be happy about you being here."

Nimueh shook her head. "No, you see that's what's odd. She's being really friendly to me, saying what good friends we should be and about how she's going to help me with the baby."

"Really?" That _did_ seem suspicious. "You don't believe her? You think she has another agenda?"

Nimueh just shrugged. "Oh, I don't think it's anything like that just, as you said, it's a bit odd that she isn't acting more jealous."

"What about you, Nim? That feeling must go both ways. Many here would rather that Edward marries her and not you."

"I know I _should_ feel jealous but I don't - not really - and I admit that it is nice to have a friend here. Someone with the same interests as me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She knows I have magic, Merlin and … she does too. She even knew I was with child before I did. I think that's why she wants to be my friend, despite everything. She even says she wants to help train me."

"_She_ wants to train you?" Merlin scoffed, now feeling jealous himself. "Who does she think she is?"

_And far more importantly, exactly who was she before?_

"I've been evading her questions and didn't tell her that I'm already in training. I didn't think I should risk exposing our true relationship or let her know exactly who you are."

"I need to meet her," Merlin decided suddenly.

"Why?" Nimueh asked suspiciously.

Merlin smirked. "I need to find out what name _really_ suits the lady Elfleda.

~o~0~o~

"Morgause." Merlin mumbled the name and saw the brief flash of confusion in the lady's expressive dark eyes. "Lady Elfleda. It is so good to meet you. My ward has told me how kind you've been to her since she arrived here."

"Ah, you must be the famous Emrys that everyone here is talking about."

Morgause's smile hadn't changed one iota from her previous life. That same, sly, knowing smirk now played on this pretty lady's face, leaving him in no doubt of who was standing in front of him. But how much did she know?

"King Alfred has been kind enough to call on my years of experience when he needs it," Merlin replied carefully.

"Indeed, and such a valued family relationship gives Ecgwynn so much more importance here at Court than might be normally be the case."

"Well, I am not here to interfere in any such decisions about her status. I am simply here to give my ward my support."

"Oh, but she is in no danger here," Morgause replied brightly. "I know you may not believe it, considering the circumstances, but I have become quite attached to dear Ecgwynn and have every intention on being a good friend to her."

"That is very good to hear."

Attached? That sounded like she was talking about a pet, not a friend. Merlin had a horrible feeling that the analogy might be far too accurate. An image of the old Morgause with Morgana came to mind and he shuddered. He needed to watch this one very carefully.

~o~0~o~

**Twenty Years after Arthur's Rebirth**

After that first night spent in the same bed, Arthur often asked Merlin to stay, giving no real explanation and seeming both amused and frustrated by his companion's confusion. A few mornings later, Merlin awoke slowly, aware of the sun on his face before he'd even opened his eyes, and soon sensed something else too; an old magical feeling that he hadn't experienced for a long time.

He was being watched.

Opening his eyes slowly, Merlin blinked in the light to discover Arthur lying on his side facing him, leaning on one elbow and staring at him intently.

"Good morning," the prince said with a soft smile.

"Did you not sleep?"

"A little." Arthur paused. "Merlin, do you know why Eadgar suddenly left here yesterday?"

"Well, I heard it was some kind of disagreement between you two but, I didn't like to ask."

"You weren't curious?"

Merlin shrugged. "Not really my place."

"I do wish you wouldn't keep acting as if you're my servant or something," the prince replied gently. "I know in Court I outrank you, but here – _here_ I want us to be equals."

"If you say so." Merlin found that hard to believe, even if Æthie was rather more laid back than Arthur had been about such things.

"Well, he left because of you," the prince continued.

Merlin was shocked. "Me? What did I do?"

"Absolutely nothing, unfortunately, and I really wish you would."

"What?"

Arthur shook his head and sighed, slowly leaning towards Merlin and then, to the warlock's total shock, the prince kissed him very gently on the lips.

Arthur pulled away a little and Merlin opened his mouth to say something but found that no sound would come out. The prince was still very close and looking at him intently again, studying him in that way he had and, in this case, Merlin was pretty certain he was waiting to see if his friend was going to object to what he'd just done.

And one part of him really thought he _should_ object, but there was another part, a deep, secret part that Merlin had buried a long, long time ago, that felt a sudden, inexplicable flutter of excitement at what had just happened and realised, very belatedly, what it was about the way Æthelstan had been looking at him all this time that had been confusing him.

Seeing Merlin hadn't moved away or uttered any actual objection, Arthur leant forwards to kiss him again. This time he lingered for a little longer and Merlin moved his lips slightly in response, starting to enjoy the sensation. Again a memory of himself as a young, naïve boy in Camelot, totally in awe of the prince, came to mind. The way he had felt crushed when Arthur genuinely chastised him, the way the whole world seemed to brighten when he did or said anything that hinted at approval or affection towards his servant.

And what had happened to those feelings, Merlin wondered as his heart started to beat a little faster. Had he somehow buried them? Transferred them to Freya? Given up any thought of such a thing when he realised Arthur would never view him in such a way? He honestly couldn't remember now – it had been so many years ago after all – but those feelings _had_ been there, he was quite certain. And now?

Now he'd discovered that Æthelstan felt the same way toward him. Their second gentle kiss ended and still Merlin could neither move nor speak, just blinking and licking his lips slightly, still trying to come to terms with this most extraordinary revelation.

Arthur _should_ belong to Gwen but, in this life, she was his aunt and married to Leon. And relationships such as this _were_ acknowledged nowadays, if not exactly encouraged or celebrated, and Merlin knew that they'd taken place within Camelot too, even if they had been even more well hidden back then.

"That wasn't your first kiss, surely?" Arthur asked kindly, prompting Merlin to find his voice at long last.

"No. Of course not."

"Your first with a man though?"

"Ah, yes."

"And I think perhaps you liked it?"

_Like?_ Merlin had no idea how to explain the sensations that one chaste kiss had evoked and knew there was no way he could come close to comparing it with the others he'd indulged in in the past.

"It... it was a bit unexpected," he managed at last.

"That much was obvious, my friend," Arthur said, moving a hand towards Merlin's face and tracing the line of his cheek bone with a gentle finger.

Merlin shuddered at the touch. "_That's_ why Eadgar left?" he asked. "You and he were … in a romantic relationship and he... was jealous? Of me?"

Arthur smiled. "Why so surprised?"

"But we hadn't done anything then."

"Well, I'm afraid I told him in no uncertain terms that I had moved on. Anyway, it hardly matters now as everyone assumes we've been in a relationship since the first day you arrived, anyway."

Merlin blinked, finally starting to put everything together.

"_That's_ what the queen meant when she asked if we were very good friends in such a way?"

"Honestly, Merlin, I took you for at least eighteen years old. Are you _really_ that naïve?"

"No," he retorted with a glare. "Not at all. It's just... I have had other things on my mind, you know? Like saving your life and keeping it safe and it … it just caught me by surprise, that's all."

"So, you accept then?"

"Accept what?" Merlin asked suspiciously.

"Your role as my literal companion." The prince grinned.

"Ah...?"

"Good. You can stay here every night from now on then." Merlin's eyes widened as he saw the smirk on Arthur's face and started to get nervous all over again. "Don't worry, didn't I say you were my equal not my servant? I'm not going to rush you into anything you're not ready for."

"I... I'm still not sure if..."

"No? Let me try to fully convince you then." And with a large grin, Arthur moved in for another kiss.

~o~0~o~


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**The Year of Arthur's Re-birth**

**The Royal Court of Wessex**

Gwaine was quite determined to make Nimueh his wife, and it seemed that Alfred was sorely tempted to give into his son's wishes. Despite his earlier comment to Morgause, when faced by the king and asked to give his honest opinion, Merlin found he had no choice but to talk in his apprentice's favour.

"You know that I am hardly impartial in this matter," the warlock said. "Ecgwynn is my adopted grand-daughter and is in love with your son. Obviously I would _want_ them to marry."

"Yes, I understand but..." Alfred paused. "I have many advisors, Emrys; many that claim the same number of years experience as you do, but that is not why I keep you close. Your insights are … uncanny and I am quite aware that there are powers in the world that defy our understanding. Whether your talents are God-given or something more … pagan..." He swallowed hard as if finding such a thing hard to stomach. "I know you to be a good and just man, and so I wish for you to continue to be totally honest with me."

"Always, Your Majesty." Merlin was both nervous and flattered by the comments. Alfred was a devout Christian and admitting to such knowledge and apparently accepting it was very significant.

"This child will be Edward's eldest and heir to this realm – whatever that means in these uncertain days."

"Very little, unfortunately," Merlin replied. "Even if he were to be 'born in purple'."

"Born to a queen rather than to a consort, yes," Alfred agreed. "And I _would_ approve the relationship, despite her lower status; but the Court, I'm afraid, will not and you know as well as I do that being king in these times does not hold the absolute power that many believe."

"You certainly have the power to do whatever you will _whilst_ you are king," Merlin agreed with a sad smile. "But go against the popular consensus too often and someone else will decide they are better suited to the role."

"Indeed. So I cannot force the Court to accept this marriage and the 'popular consensus' as you so aptly put it, is all leaning towards Elfleda."

Merlin sighed. "Yes."

"What insights to you have?" There was a long pause as the king held Merlin's gaze. "I will not ask how you come about any knowledge you have, Emrys. In fact, I probably do not _want_ to know."

"No, Your Majesty, you really don't." Merlin also paused. "I believe that Ecgwynn will bear a son who will be of great importance to this land. I do not know exactly how, but I _am_ confident that he will continue your great work in uniting the country and bringing about a more peaceful age."

"I see." Alfred nodded and was thoughtful for some time. "Then I shall think carefully on your words, Emrys," he said eventually. "You have my thanks."

~o~0~o~

Despite his personal feelings and the words of his advisor, it seemed the Alfred was unwilling to risk alienating his Court, and ultimately ruled that Gwaine marry Morgause, whilst also decreeing that Nimueh and her child kept their honoured place within his Court.

Not that there seemed to be any issue with that, at least on the surface, as Merlin was now more aware that what Nimueh had said was true; everyone was being very understanding of her – perhaps a little _too_ understanding. Unless Alfred or Edward were quietly threatening people behind the scenes, Merlin couldn't understand why everyone seemed quite so happy to accept the prince's mistress, and it worried him no end that Morgause continued to insist that she was Nimueh's very best friend.

Gwaine was unsurprisingly unhappy with his father's decision and rebelled against it the only way he knew how; by refusing to visit Morgause's chambers at night, instead electing to spend them with Nimueh and making it abundantly clear to everyone which woman he considered to be the most important to him. Merlin tried to reason with the prince, tried to make him see the danger in this decision but he would not relent, not even when Nimueh reluctantly agreed with Merlin – worrying what would happen if her lover continued to shun the new princess in her favour.

Still highly nervous about the way everything was progressing, Merlin gave his apprentice a necklace as a gift for the imminent birth, but this was no mere decoration. The warlock had put as many protection charms as possible on the gem in order to protect both Nimueh and her unborn child during those times when he could not be near her; those times where either the king or prince were in need of his services.

He also ensured that Gwaine was protected, worrying what influence Morgause might attempt to assert on him during the rare times they spent together, and making certain the prince was kept safe from as many love spell enchantments as possible. For the moment it suited Merlin to have those two alienated – the lesser of two evils, he decided – but he was nervous about being away from the Crystal Cave and his visions at this time too. The one, small crystal he carried with him did not have anywhere near as much power to observe the numerous possible futures.

~o~0~o~

The wait for the birth was horrible. Most of the day had passed since Nimueh had started to feel pain and yet there was still no word. Merlin paced as much as Gwaine did – the pair of them just as nervous of the arrival as the other and, when finally news was brought of the delivery of a healthy son, it was all Merlin could do _not_ to push the prince to one side and run in before him.

But no-one here could know, no-one would _ever_ understand just how much this baby meant to Merlin and just how responsible he really was for this new, young life.

Then he looked at the small child, now finally cradled in his arms, and thought his heart would break.

"Hello, Arthur," he said, tears freely running down his face. "You have _no_ idea how much I've missed you, old friend.

~o~0~o~

Merlin was now permanently paranoid. He rarely left Nimueh's chambers, vetting each guest and ensuring that as many protection spells as possible guarded the room and the baby. Morgause's smile became more and more forced at every meeting until she rarely bothered to hide her dislike of the elderly man who was so often keeping her from her friend.

Merlin had no doubt that the princess knew what he was by now. Nimueh could easily sense the numerous magic spells that were surrounding her and so he had no doubt that Morgause would be able to do so too – and would know that it had not come from the girl. But, by now, it mattered little to Merlin if his cover as a powerful sorcerer was blown. He owed Arthur so much after the last time and would not, _could_ not, let him down again.

~o~0~o~

**********At The House of Æthelred of Mercia**

**One Year after the Poisoning**

The prince came into his room in a foul mood, slamming the door behind him and quickly heading the table to pour himself a drink. Merlin had never seen him acting so much like Arthur since he'd first arrived here. Right now, there was little of the scholarly and thoughtful Æthelstan in this young man's demeanour.

"What happened?" Merlin asked, coming over, and pulling out a chair, coxing him down so he could give his friend a shoulder massage.

"I told them years ago – My father, aunt and uncle." Arthur turned his head to the left allowing Merlin better access to his neck. "They all know my preferences. It's one of the reasons why I'm happy for my brothers to get the throne before me. I've known for some time that a wife and heir is not in my future."

"And you said before that they had accepted you in that way, so what's the problem now?"

"Dearest mother Elfleda is the problem," Arthur growled. "She's been whispering in Father's ear for years and now she's got the Court involved. Father's being told to publicly announce my desire to go into the church and to support Ælfweard as sole heir to all his lands and titles."

"You're going into the church?" Merlin asked, shocked by the idea.

That couldn't be right, surely. Arthur had a destiny. He _always_ had a destiny. Had Merlin made a mistake by becoming romantically involved with him? Had he made the situation worse somehow?

"Well, it's either that or agree to marry and I know which of those two options I'd prefer."

"But... you need to be here."

Arthur turned his head, a softer smile now on his lips. "You'll miss me, of course. I understand."

Merlin shook his head. "That's not what I meant. You need to be _here_, you need to help your father and the Court and, even if you can't be king, you can at least assist; fight the battles, help decide on policy. You can't do any of that cooped up inside one of those cold, stone mausoleums."

"Don't let the priests here you talk like that, Merlin. I know you're not a believer, but keep on saying things like that and they'll be accusing you of witchcraft."

"Very funny." Ironic, in fact.

Arthur stood up and came closer, genuine concern on his face. "I'm serious, Merlin and, considering your relationship with me, I doubt anyone will be using the fact that you're male to excuse you from such blasphemy. There are many priests around now who would consider what we get up to as a sin. Hell, there are some who are even daring to claim that father's reign is not recognised by God simply because he had a child out of wedlock."

"This crazy world is going backwards, I swear!" Now Merlin was the angry one. "How am I supposed to help all these idiots if they won't even try to be helped."

"You?" Arthur looked at him with a broad grin. "What are _you_ going to do?"

"You'd be surprised. I keep telling you, I have many talents."

"That much is certainly true." Arthur's grin became suddenly wicked. "Why don't you come to bed and show me a few more?"

~o~0~o~

"I need you to wear this," Merlin said on the morning that Arthur was due to spend the promised time at church. He urgently pressed the necklace into Arthur's hands, clasping the prince's strong fingers around it as he did so.

"A token of your undying love and affection?" Arthur teased.

"Please, I'm serious. It will help to protect you."

"Honestly, Merlin, you and your superstitious pagan beliefs."

"Says the prince who's going to spend his days and nights praying to some old man who lives in the sky," Merlin retorted.

"I shall pray for your soul of course."

"Idiot. Will you wear it?"

"If you insist."

"All the time?" Arthur grinned at him. "It's important!" Merlin pushed.

"If you say so."

Merlin sighed and played his trump card. "It belonged to your mother."

"What?"

"She wore it all the time she was at Court but, on the day she died, she left it behind in her chambers."

"Merlin..." Arthur's voice turned more serious, a slight warning in the tone.

"It's true, I swear. It's a family heirloom and its protection powers are very real. Please wear it, Arthur. For me."

Merlin had initially avoided calling the prince by name at all if he could help it, finding that it just tended to confuse him. Then, from time to time, he would call him Æthie as many of his close friends did, which was a similar sounding name and therefore a good compromise. However, as their relationship had become more intimate, the sorcerer had found it impossible to not use his true name and, after the initial teasing for his strange habit of getting names wrong, the prince had started to accept 'Arthur' as some kind of pet name, until it came to the point where he appeared to prefer Merlin using it.

"If it means that much to you then, I shall," the prince said eventually. "But, what I really need from you now is a hug. It may be some time before I see you again."

Merlin sighed. "I know."

They clung to each other for quite some time, Merlin revelling in the sensations; the scent of Arthur's shirt, the feel of his hair in-between his fingers. He was using his magical senses too, making quite certain he hadn't missed anything; ensuring that all his protection spells were working properly. If he had to be parted from Arthur physically, he wanted to be quite certain that his life was not in danger.

In many ways it was a good thing that they were to be separated for a while. For a start it meant that Merlin could go back and check on things at home; and at least there he would be able to see Arthur as often as he wanted, even if it was only through the faint blue haze of a crystal, but in so many other ways it was a wrench. Now he was attached to the prince in a way he never had been in his previous life and Merlin had already worked out what would happen in the future – already knew that this would not be the last opening and closing of the circle. Knew that he would lose Arthur time and time again before having to wait centuries until their next meeting.

This was never going to be easy, but allowing himself to become romantically involved was going to make it even harder that it had been before.

~o~0~o~

Arthur travelled south in order to spend some time at the monastery on the border of Mercia and Magonsæte whilst Merlin remained in Mercia and started to prepare to leave for Hwicce.

On the afternoon before his departure, Merlin made his way to Gwen's chambers in order to say his farewells, only to bump into Lancelot coming out of the door and looking rather flustered. Merlin looked back towards Gwen, one eyebrow raised, to notice her cheeks turn pink, and sighed as he guessed what was going on. Was this always to be Lancelot's fate, he wondered. Were some parts of their lives destined to be played out over and over again no matter what faces they now wore?

"I hope you know what you're doing," he muttered as he walked into her chambers.

"I'm quite sure I have no idea what you mean," she replied haughtily.

"Yes, right," he scoffed. "As if I don't know you two well enough by now."

"Sorry?"

Merlin shook his head. He still often forgot that he was only supposed to have known these people for a year, rather than for the decades he'd actually been acquainted with these versions - never mind the centuries of connection he'd had with their souls.

"It might be best to take a leaf out of Æthelstan's book and put some distance between you and Edmund," he suggested more calmly. "You have a lot to lose if anyone ever finds out."

Gwen sighed. "You're right, of course, Merlin. I suppose I do tend to forget the wisdom of the House Emrys. I shall talk to him about it soon, I promise."

"Good."

"And how are you coping with _your_ separation?" she asked him.

"Fine for the moment. I just worry about his safety, that's all. Especially after the evening of our first meeting."

"Yes, I worry about Æthie too. Sometimes I wish that Alfred and Edward hadn't got the idea into their heads that he could be a worthy successor. It would have been so much easier for the boy if he'd just been allowed to fade into the background."

Merlin smiled slightly. "Perhaps, but I don't think the background is his style, no matter how much he may say it is. He's a born leader, that much is clear, and such men tend to attract trouble to them whether they will it or not."

Gwen grinned. "What was I saying about the wisdom of the house of Emrys? Sometimes I find it hard to believe that you are the same age as Æthelstan – you seem so much older at times."

Merlin grinned. "You have no idea," he muttered under his breath.

~o~0~o~


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:** As I've said before, I'm assuming a couple of my other stories are fact for this fanfiction. In the case of this chapter, 'All Our Secrets'. _

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Four Years After Arthur's Birth**

Merlin had no desire to return home in the years following Arthur's birth and, thankfully, Alfred did not question the decision. This was helped by the fact that the king was not in the best of health nowadays, giving Merlin the perfect excuse to install himself as the monarch's personal physician in order to treat him more effectively, whilst also advising and assisting him with his work. Despite all of his very great skill though, the warlock knew that he was fighting a loosing battle against nature and a very stubborn man.

"Ah, Emrys, I'm glad you're here. There are a number of things we need to discuss."

Merlin sighed as he saw the king peering at a manuscript in poor light, still in his night clothes. "Did you get _any_ sleep last night, Alfred?"

The old man waved a hand. "No time for that. I need you to check this copy of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and then we have to find a better way to get it distributed. It's taking far too long and we need to-"

"Alfred, as much as I admire this ambitious project of yours, I really think you should-"

"Oh, and I need to see Æthelstan, there are important things I must discuss with him."

Merlin frowned. "Ah, the boy is only four years old, Your Majesty."

"Yes well, no time, as I said." Alfred sighed. "As wonderful as these remedies of yours are, Emrys, I suspect they're only delaying the inevitable."

Unfortunately the king was correct. It had taken Merlin very many years to realise it, but he now understood that many people's deaths were fixed and not even his great skill could keep someone from their fate when their time was up. Alfred was dying and all Merlin could do was make his passing more comfortable.

"I'll bring your grandson to you," he replied with a sigh.

"No, on second thoughts, I shall receive the boy in the Great Hall. I wish all to witness my words and my gifts."

~o~0~o~

The king was now dressed in his full regalia, looking very pale but sitting tall on his throne. Merlin held young Arthur's hand; the little boy trying hard to look confident, even though his nerves were very evident.

"Do not be scared, Æthie," he said. "You are a prince with a noble heritage and an important future. Never forget that."

The boy nodded his blond head and Merlin smiled at the sight. He could well imagine that his Arthur had looked much like this at four; there seemed to be so many of the characteristics evident on this child's face and he couldn't help wonder just how similar he might end up looking to his friend. Not that it mattered; Merlin could already see _his_ Arthur standing in front of him, sharing this little boy's body and wearing two faces, just as Will had all those years ago and just as other his friends were now. Stepping to one side, the warlock watched the young prince walk nervously forwards to be received by his grandfather and then, in front of the whole Court, the king presented the boy with a Saxon sword, belt and royal cloak; the regalia of kingship. Giving his blessing to the young prince, despite his illegitimacy.

Merlin quickly turned his attention to Morgause to notice that her usual mask had disappeared, a glower now obvious on her features as she observed the scene. She was the future queen and any child she may have would have a greater claim to the throne as far as many here was concerned. Gwaine was still being pressurised to put Nimueh aside and Merlin felt a very fear start to bubble up inside him. Things were coming to a head and it was clear that Arthur was already in a great deal of danger.

~o~0~o~

**Hwicce**

**Five Years after the Poisoning**

Merlin was usually only vaguely aware of someone attempting to come onto his land when his magic spells were activated. The system was usually foolproof and, if it ever did appear to 'fail', it was generally due to circumstances such as Gwaine's visit here all those years ago, where fate was happy to play its part and allow someone inside for a particular reason.

So, this new alert caught the warlock by surprise, indicating that a person had been allowed entry, even though their intentions were questionable. It was definitely a warning – an alarm call – and yet, entrance _had_ been allowed. Uncertain as to what that meant exactly, Merlin made the snap decision to remain as his younger self and rushed out to confront the visitor.

It was Morgana.

"Lady Edgiva?" he asked, surprised.

"Hello, Merlin," she said brightly. "I do hope you don't mind this visit?"

"Mind? Of course I don't but, are you sure this is wise? Travelling such distances on your own?"

"Oh there is no need to worry about such things," she said, suddenly coming closer. Merlin instinctively backed away and the young woman grinned, noticing his nervousness.

"The queen has told me all sorts of interesting stories about your family, Merlin," she continued. "She also suspects that you are a student of the old arts, as your grandfather was before you."

"Does she now?" he replied carefully.

"And, you see, I have come here because I also have such skills and wanted to talk to you about … things. Despite your lowly status, we are thinking that perhaps a marriage alliance between the two of us would not be such a bad idea after all."

"What?" Merlin stared at her, both shocked and confused by her comment.

"Oh, I know all about your relationship with Æthelstan," she responded with a dismissive wave of the hand. "But something tells me that, unlike him, you may not object quite so much to the idea of a wife. I think perhaps you are..." She paused before grinning suddenly. "... a little less fussy about the type of person you become romantically involved with?"

"You think so, do you?" he replied, rather more firmly now. But Morgana had come closer still, smiling slyly as she pressed herself up against him, and Merlin knew that he would not be able to hide his reaction – even after all these years - even given all their history.

Or perhaps even _because_ of that history.

She smiled as she pressed her hips more firmly against his. "So, you _do_ like girls as well?" she replied with a smirk.

"What is it you _really_ want?" he asked, glaring at her.

"I would have thought that was obvious," she said, moving even closer so that her lips were inches from his. "An alliance between us would be especially useful during these turbulent times. As I'm sure you know, magic is fading from this world and less learn the skill now because of their Christian God. Perhaps a child of ours would be of use in the future- help to keep the magic alive?"

Merlin shook his head again, not believing her excuse and quite certain there was something else going on here. He threw his senses out across his territory, and quickly confirmed there was still danger, despite his defences not alerting himself to the fact. He was also now aware that Morgana wasn't alone here after all, but then her lips were on his and the kiss felt so warm and so familiar, that he was quite unable to stop himself from returning it, even as part of him cried out that everything about this situation was terribly wrong.

"And it would be in your best interest to come onto our side," she mumbled between kisses. "To ensure that Ælfweard is King. Then there would be no threat to dear Æthie, and you and he could be together once more. Or you could even have us both if you preferred."

"What?"

"I wouldn't mind and perhaps I could give you a taste of something even more interesting. Show you what pleasure you could gain from having me as your wife?"

"No, Morgana," he said, pulling away from her embrace suddenly. "I don't know what's going on here, but I trust you no more in this life than I did in the last."

"What?" She frowned. "_What_ did you call me?"

"Æthelstan _shall_ be king and there is nothing you can do to prevent that. Not with me on his side."

She sighed deeply. "Elfleda said that would be your answer but I did hope she would be wrong. Such a shame, I would have enjoyed our wedding night, I think. Such a waste."

Her last words instantly put Merlin on alert but it was too late for him to react. Before he knew what was happening he felt her move and then there was nothing but pain, as hot fire suddenly ripped into his abdomen.

"What...?" he gasped.

"A dagger in the belly seems like justice to me," Morgana said, her tone mildly curious. "It felt like the perfect revenge for some reason. I'm not sure why."

"T-that won't stop me," Merlin gasped. "Not a mere knife."

"No? There's a nice little spell on that blade and some especially potent poison. Any magic you possess will not be enough to counter it."

Merlin was not so convinced about that but, whatever the ultimate outcome of this attack, for the moment he was most definitely helpless, unable to prevent himself from crumpling to the floor, even as he saw Morgause stride forward, a broad and excited smirk on her face.

"Very well done, my dear. Although, for a moment there I almost thought you had him. It'll make it all the sweeter when we tell Æthelstan that he meant so little to his lover that you were so easily able to seduce and distract him."

"No... you won't touch him," Merlin called out.

"You should not have got involved in your grandfather's schemes, Merlin. My son shall be king after Edward and, perhaps I might now work on bringing _that_ event to pass a little earlier too."

"No!"

Merlin found the strength from somewhere. He was not dying – he _couldn't_ die. Morgause had underestimated him here just as she had before and, this time, he would not allow her to escape. But she was coming forward with one hand raised and he could not take the chance that she might have some other scheme up her sleeve and so he did the only thing he could think of, pushed every bit of his magical power upwards, toward the roof of his old house.

There was a slow creak, followed by an almighty crash as the whole thing collapsed down on top of all three of them whilst, at the same time, Merlin desperately transporting himself to the Crystal Cave.

The effort of the uncomfortable spell was just too much for Merlin and now, in huge pain and having no idea what fate had befallen Morgause and Morgana, he passed out, hoping that Arthur would be safe and that the magic of the cave would help heal him yet again.

~o~0~o~

Merlin had no idea how much time had passed but, just as had happened many years before, he came around to find himself in the Crystal Cave with no evidence of any wound on his body.

But what had happened to Morgause and Morgana when the roof had caved in? Had they managed to survive?

The crystal visions were vague and gave little away, apart from the fact that Arthur was still far from safe. Determined not to waste any more time, Merlin quickly left the cave and made his way back to his house, only to find it in total ruins.

"Some rebuilding in order by the looks of it," he complained, sighing deeply. "But, not now. Now I have to get going."

He hadn't been on the road out of Hwicce for more than a few hours when he heard the sound of a horse travelling towards him. He held out a defensive hand but soon lowered it when he recognised the rider.

"Elyan?" he said in a surprised whisper before raising his voice in greeting. "Ah, Prince Ælfthryth. What brings you to these parts?"

"You're alive!" Elyan pushed his horse forward close to the side of Merlin's and grabbed his arm. "We feared you were dead too."

"Too?"

"Elfleda died in a hunting accident just last month but, when the king sent word to you, the messenger came back with news that your house was in ruins and so I came to check on you, fearing the worse.

"A freak storm in these parts," Merlin improvised quickly. "And the house was truly ancient. Luckily I was not at home when it happened."

"That is fortunate indeed. Were you travelling to Court?"

"To Mercia, in fact."

"Yes, it's probably best that you go to my sister's. The king has news that he wishes to share with certain people and has arranged a campaign to the borders of Middle Anglia as a cover for what he wishes to say."

"I don't understand."

Elyan shook his head. "There are so many plots afoot now and my brother is fearful for his life and more especially for my cousin's. He has sent word to those he trusts to meet at my uncle's house and that included you, if I were to find you alive."

"Why is he fearful for Æthelstan's life?" _Why are you totally incapable of staying out of trouble, Arthur?_

"Plots afoot, as I said. Anyway, I'll come back with you to Mercia now. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes," Merlin replied with a large sigh. "Let's get going."

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N: **(long - sorry)_

_1) You were to have two vicious cliff hangers in this one chapter, but there were some major problems with chapter length and flow and so a little rearranging was required. One of them was supposed to be just after the roof collapse but you'll still be getting the other one in the next chapter. _

_I'm finding the rearrangement a bit frustrating, but I suppose that makes a nice change after all I've put you guys through in the past. :D_

_2) So yes, just to clarify. I am assuming a romantic relationship happened between Merlin and Morgana in the original incarnation and luckily, the way I wrote 'All Our Secrets' allows for that sub plot without changing any of the canon facts. __It's not especially important in this second book but I did feel the need to reference it here, especially as it will become far more important during book three._

_3) As I said before, this story is loosely based on actual history and I was thinking of sharing bits of that research with you now. That'll be on my Heart of Camelot Progress page and perhaps here too, if I can trim my PP a little. I'll definitely be putting a link up there at least._

_3/1/14_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Royal Court of Wessex**

**Four Years After Arthur's Rebirth**

Merlin's time was increasingly taken up by matters of court and, despite wanting to spend his time with Arthur and Nimueh, circumstances dictated that they were often kept apart. He gained comfort from the fact that his protections spells were being regularly renewed and that the boy's life would not be threatened when he inevitably had to be elsewhere. All the same, the warlock began to think about other options, even talking to Gwaine about the possibility of his son living in a different places during such war torn times. In the secluded valley of Hwicce perhaps?

Gwaine was reluctant though and was constantly making excuses. He was still attached to both his son and Nimueh and was reluctant to be parted from either. He also didn't believe Hwicce to be the best place for a prince to be raised, instead suggesting that his sister might be the ideal person to see to his son's upbringing if he did agree to such a thing.

Arthur being brought up by Leon and Gwen? At this suggestion, Merlin felt an instant confirmation – a short flash of vision - and knew it was the right course of action to take. When he later mentioned it to Alfred, the king was quick to agree and so arrangements were tentatively made, despite Gwaine, typically, trying to put it off for as long as possible.

~o~0~o~

Merlin had been looking for Nimueh for some time and was beginning to get a little anxious when he was handed a message by a servant and instructed to read it straight away.

"Who gave you this?" he demanded of the girl but she just shrugged and walked away, giving him no answer.

_Emrys,_

_My recent reading of ancient texts has revealed some fascinating information and given me further insight into exactly what sort of guardian Ecgwynn has in you. If you value the lives of your apprentice and her son, I suggest you meet me at the old oak tree in the north field at your earliest convenience._

_Elfleda_

"Morgause!"

A sudden rage bubbled up inside of Merlin, the like of which he had not experienced for many years. He strode out of the castle, his long, white hair flying out behind him and ignoring any who dared to speak to him, whilst high above, grey clouds started to gather in a sky that had been clear and blue just a few moments before. The warlock ignored the sudden change in weather, simply decided that it suited his mood – not stopping to consider that he may have actually caused his own anger to manifest itself in that way.

Once he'd reached the oak tree he was fuming and the rain was falling heavily, whilst thunder had begun to rumble in the background. However, the ancient Emrys ignored the mild inconvenience, his whole being focused on the task at hand – fearing for the life of Nimueh and the young Arthur.

His mood was not helped on finding the area apparently empty and he walked around the tree several times, grumbling loudly, before hearing a voice and suddenly turning in that direction; the sound of the storm preventing him from making out the words of the spell until it was far too late.

Before he knew what had happened Merlin felt a strange sensation rip through him and his world quickly turned brown and green. To his shock and horror, he realised that he'd been trapped - bound to the old oak tree by a powerful magical spell.

His vision was odd, but he was still able to see in this form and now, into that vision, strode two female figures - Morgause and Nimueh - and his heart dropped. Had his greatest fear come true? Had Nimueh really turned against him?

~o~0~o~

**At The House of Æthelred of Mercia **

**Six Years After the Poisoning**

Merlin pushed ahead of Elyan and barged into the Hall, interrupting the quiet conversation that was happening in front of him.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"Merlin... really!" Leon scolded.

"Who?" Gwen asked.

"Art... Æthelstan. Where's the prince?"

"We're not sure," Leon replied. "We sent Godric to check up on him."

Merlin blinked. "Who?"

"My personal bodyguard," Gwaine said. "You know … Big chap, arms like logs."

"Oh, Percival."

"Pardon?"

Merlin waved a hand, dismissing the question. "When did you send him? How long ago? I have to get over there..."

"There's no point, Merlin," Leon reassured him. "They'll be on their way back by now … hopefully."

"Hopefully? Hopefully! What's happening? Why did you call this meeting? I thought the whole point of him going to that monastery was to keep him safe. What are you-"

"Merlin..." Gwen was by his side, a gentle hand on his arm. "I know you're worried about Æthie, we all are but... you need to relax."

"And an appropriate greeting to your king wouldn't go amiss either," Gwaine said pointedly.

"What?" Merlin blinked and looked around the Hall, as if only noticing all those that were gathered here. "Oh... My apologies, King Edward, I admit that I'm not myself. What with discovering that my house is destroyed and news of your queen and..." He swallowed. "My commiserations."

"Thank you, but we all know my true feelings regarding Elfleda."

"And, ah, how did you hear of that accident?" Merlin asked carefully.

"From Edgiva. The poor girl was beside herself. She and the queen were so close."

"Morgana," he mumbled before suddenly raising his voice. "Edward, I think you should know that she's-"

"Is he here?" The door was thrown open and everyone turned at the sound to see Arthur stride in, Percival one step behind.

"Æthie!" Gwen exclaimed, moving forwards, but Merlin was faster.

"You idiot! What have you been up to now?"

"What have _I_ been up to?" Arthur shouted back. "Never mind me. I'm called back here with news that your house is a pile of rubble and you've not been seen for weeks. Can I not leave you alone for five minutes?"

"Me? You have the cheek to put this on _me_?"

The two were now standing there in the middle of the Hall shouting more and more vicious insults at each other, whilst everyone else was left staring in shock at their outburst.

"Enough!" Gwaine's voice cut over their shouting and the two men turned towards the king, suddenly sheepish. "Ridiculous. We all know you were both worried and not really cross with each other so, quit with this act." The grin he gave then was pure Gwaine. "Just kiss and make up already."

"Can we not..." Gaius mumbled with a wince.

"Never mind that," Arthur said, simply putting a hand on Merlin's shoulder as he passed. "Tell me why you've called us all here. What's going on, Father?"

~o~0~o~

"I have thought for some time that Elfleda was not to be trusted," Gwaine explained as they sat around a large table in Leon's Hall. "Even as far back as twenty two years ago on that tragic day of the storm when she blamed Merlin's grandfather for everything, which in hindsight, didn't make much sense."

"It wasn't his fault, I swear," Merlin pushed. "Everything he did that day was to protect your family."

"I'm afraid I was too grief stricken to give the old man much of a chance to explain at the time but, now I look back on it, I think it's obvious that Elfleda was behind it. She always felt threatened by Æthelstan's claim to the throne and had been quite determined to push her own sons' agenda ever since."

"It's all ridiculous," Arthur grumbled. "As much as I'm flattered by your support, Father, it makes no sense for me to push myself forwards like this and, I never have. I told Elfleda often enough that Ælfweard was welcome to the honour. What part of that did she not understand?"

"She thought you were being political, Æthie," Gwaine explained. "She always assumed there was some other agenda going on."

"Ridiculous."

"Well, perhaps," the king continued, "But I'll be blunt here, and say that, so far, your half-brother is not showing any great signs of being a future king – the drinking, the women..."

Merlin turned to the king and raised an eyebrow. Elsewhere around the table there were a few muffled coughs. Gwaine paused for a moment as if replaying his comment in his head, before suddenly bursting into raucous laughter.

"Well yes... point taken, point taken," he managed eventually, still chuckling. "Like father, like son but, seriously, Ælfweard's behaviour makes me seem like a Benedictine monk."

"Then I shall see to his education," Arthur said. "His and Edwin's. Send the pair to me and I can teach them what they need to know."

"Why, when you can be king in their place?" Gwaine asked. "You have my full support and that of many key people and I have called this meeting in order to garner more for you. To ensure that we rout out all plots against you and allow you to become my successor."

"I am honoured, Father, as I said, but..."

"Æthie, consider this for a minute." Merlin interrupted. "What your father says makes a certain amount of sense and can we really trust the boys not to follow in their mother's footsteps? I did often wonder if she was behind your poisoning too but, obviously I couldn't say anything at the time."

"It does make a certain amount of sense now, I admit," Gwaine said with a sigh.

"I cannot gain full support without heirs and I will not marry," Arthur continued. "Father, you know this, I've told you."

"Yes, and I do understand but, this is now out of my hands," Gwaine replied. "There are still plots against your life at Court and nothing you say will convince Elfleda's supporters otherwise. For now I need you to lie low whilst I deal with this Welsh threat and the rest of you should also go out and judge the public opinion. See just who the people are supporting as my successor. That will help to inform any decision I make on this."

"Lie low? Where?" Arthur asked.

"Easy," Merlin answered with a smile. "You must come and stay at my house."

"Seriously?"

"It's certainly out of the way," Gwen said. "But is it safe?"

"As safe as anywhere is today," Merlin promised.

Arthur looked crestfallen. "Yes, but... Hwicce?"

~o~0~o~

Merlin and Arthur spent some months in Mercia whilst Gwaine made ready for battle and the others in the party started to put the king's plan into action. When the pair eventually arrived back in Hwicce it was to find Merlin house already rebuilt, courtesy of the king who had sent builders ahead without telling them.

"I really didn't need anything this grand," Merlin said with a sigh as he surveyed his new abode.

"You may not have," Arthur said, "but I'm the one who's been sent to live all the way out here."

"Slumming it in the country?" Merlin asked with a laugh. "I'm so sorry that you have to put up with this hovel and my poor company."

"Oh, your company I can put up with easily enough," Arthur said with a smirk. "Talking of which, where's our bedroom do you think?"

"One track mind."

"Not my fault you're cute."

"Cute? Cute!" Merlin complained.

Arthur laughed. "So, what do you do with yourself here usually?"

"Study mostly." Merlin sighed. "It's a shame so few of the books survived the collapse, it's going to take me years to replace them."

"Well, I can help with that, I suppose," Arthur said. "Come on, seriously, let's look around. Let's see what I have to put up with whilst I'm living here."

"Well, at least some things survived and ... oh... I need to check the table."

"What table?"

Merlin opened the door into the main Hall and grinned, gesturing grandly. "_This_ one."

Arthur stared and blinked at the stone table sitting in the middle of the Hall. A table carved with ancient symbols in nine segments in that Merlin had moved from a collapsing castle many years ago and kept safe within his own estate.

"It's a bit … shabby," Arthur decided eventually.

"That's because it's very old."

"Yes, I can see that but, more to the point... why is it round?"

~o~0~o~

**Two Years Later**

Time flew by and the pair heard nothing more about plots and little news from the Court at all. Merlin kept thinking that he should take a trip to the Cave to check up on things but he was selfishly reluctant to leave Arthur and not certain how to explain to the prince where and what he would be doing there anyway.

When they did next receive news, it was to learn that Gwaine and his party were journeying down to their location for another meeting. Merlin looked at the guest list and laughed, quickly deciding that fate was on his side for once. Soon afterwards, the seven guests arrived with the usual entourage and Merlin showed them to his Hall and enjoyed their surprise at seeing the strange round table that could have easily been designed just for them.

"I wonder what these symbols mean?" Gwen asked leaning over to look at the ancient carvings. "Is it an old language, do you think?"

"I sure it is," Merlin said with a smile, sitting himself at the 'magic' section. "Something for me to research perhaps. He grinned smugly as he saw them all sitting in their rightful places, just as they had done so many years ago.

The very first Round Table had been reformed.

~o~0~o~

There were many meetings in Hwicce, although Merlin didn't feel that they had especially moved on from their previous conversation. Gwaine was still determined to make Æthie king – Arthur was still objecting.

The king also brought the news that he had remarried and Merlin choked on his drink when his new wife's name was revealed.

"Morgana? Ah... I mean, you've married Edgiva?"

"Father, she's a year younger than I am!" Arthur complained.

The king shrugged. "She had no objections and I admit that she's a far more pleasant wife than Elfleda ever was."

"Yes, but..." Merlin said, wishing he'd got around to explaining Morgana's probable part in the plots against the king and Arthur.

"And we already have one son and another baby on the way," the king continued happily, seemingly unconcerned by the effect his news was having on the younger members around the table.

"Father, honestly, at your age?" Arthur complained, whilst Gwaine simply grinned broadly.

Eventually the king had to deal with more trouble on his Welsh borders, and the Round Table split up too, some returning home, others travelling with the king. Merlin and Arthur remained behind, enjoying some more time together, whilst awaiting further news or instructions.

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N:** Getting closer to having all the plot points join up. At long last._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Wessex**

**Four Years After Athur's Rebirth**

As Merlin's strange tree-vision cleared further, he noticed that Nimueh had her head down - staying close to Morgause - and wondered if she may be a prisoner rather than a collaborator. It was hard to tell for certain though as his apprentice did not appear to be bound in anyway that he could see.

There was little doubt about Morgause's intentions however, as the sorceress strode towards Merlin with a very familiar smirk whilst she viewed her handy work.

"That spell worked surprisingly well," she gloated.

"You really think this will hold me?" Merlin growled whilst, overhead the wild storm continued to rage around the royal grounds.

"No, I don't believe it would hold the mighty Emrys for long," Morgause replied. "But, before you attempt to break free, old man, I suggest you try sensing the exact nature of the spell that binds you."

"What do you mean?"

"Young Ecgwynn here has been very useful in recent months - so keen to learn new spells; magic of the type her master would be reluctant to teach her. Arts that the noble Emrys would consider far too dark."

"What have you done to her?" he demanded.

"Oh, she's fine, aren't you, my dear?"

Nimueh looked up slowly at Merlin, her blue eyes wide and nervous, but he could gain no further insight from her as she simply muttering a faint, 'I'm fine' to Morgause's question.

"For now. But, you see, Emrys, the spell that binds you to that tree is created from Ecgwynn's very essence and that of many others within the castle. If you attempt to break free, you'll break her too and so, she will not be the only one that dies this day if you attempt to escape."

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Merlin demanded.

"Your protection spells are powerful, Emrys," Morgause replied, before giving a sudden laugh as a bolt of lightening spiked down towards the castle behind them. "Or perhaps I should say they _were_ powerful. Now you are bound to that tree, it is only a matter of time before they begin to fade."

She was after Arthur, of course, but she probably had no idea just how important the boy was to Merlin; didn't know that he would do _anything_ to protect him, even if it meant his apprentice's death but, who else had been bound into this spell? If he was correct than all it would have needed was that person's hair and, between the two of them, Nimueh and Morgause had access to a lot of people. What about Arthur? Despite all Merlin's protection spells, if the boy's hair had been used in this enchantment, it was likely that his life would be in jeopardy too.

"Such a willing student," Morgause gloated. "So keen to help me, never fully understanding what it was she was doing."

"Do you really believe that, Elfleda?" Nimueh interjected with quiet authority. "I was born a Druid and have been Emrys' apprentice for nine years. Do you _really_ believe I had no understanding of the spell you were creating?"

"You did nothing to stop me."

"What could I do? At least this time I knew what you were up to. If I'd let you or Emrys know what I knew about your plans then you would have tried something else; something I didn't understand and I couldn't take that chance. At least this way I could begin to make quiet preparations."

"Nimueh, what did you do?" Merlin asked fearfully, but his apprentice ignored him, still focusing her attention on Morgause.

"Didn't you even notice that all the hairs were the same colour? Did you not realise that none of them were blond?"

Morgause started to look a lot less certain. "Who do they belong to then?"

"They are all mine," Nimueh declared proudly.

"No..." Merlin whispered.

"Oh, I'm sure your life is enough of an incentive for our powerful sorcerer," Morgause gloated as both turned towards the tree, but Nimueh's look had changed from fear to determination and Merlin's heart dropped as he finally understood. His apprentice had known that Morgause intended to ransom her son's life, and she also knew that Merlin would do anything to protect him. Her death would mean the warlock's freedom and Arthur's protection but still, it would be one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, even knowing that she had prepared for it.

"It has never been Arthur's fate to die at my hands," Nimueh announced then, surprising Merlin with the knowledge of her son's true name. "Not in my last life and not in any that are to follow."

And then the sorceress raised her arm dramatically to the storm clouds above and called the lightening down to her – echoing her death from her last life - by her own hand this time rather than by Merlin's.

Emrys' cry was one of grief and fury as he screamed the words that would release his body from the tree. He emerged to find Morgause gone and, fear overriding all other concerns, he thought of Arthur and transported directly to the boy's location.

He emerged to the sounds of a screaming child and shocked voices, as both Gwen and Leon recoiled from the magical whirlwind that had just entered their chambers, whilst Merlin himself crumpled to the floor, overcome by the dizziness and nausea that this form of travel always caused in him.

"Emyrs?" Leon asked. "What …?"

"You're here!" Merlin exclaimed, lifting his head up in surprise at seeing who was with Arthur.

"Yes, we were sent for some time ago with the view to taking young Æthestan and his mother back home with us," Gwen said. "Ecgwynn brought him over this morning, saying she had something she needed to do before we set off."

"Is he all right?" Merlin asked, moving towards Arthur who was still crying loudly.

"Lightening hit the roof and blew the window in," Gwen replied. "He was obviously terrified."

"And then you arrived in that ungodly fashion which didn't exactly help matters," Leon continued sternly.

"Oh yes, sorry about that, but I was fearful for his life and-"

The door flew open with a crash and Gwaine rushed in, looking almost as furious as Merlin himself had earlier. "What did you do?" he demanded, heading towards the sorcerer.

"I did nothing, it was El-"

"Stay away from my son."

"I mean him no harm, Edward, you must believe me. I came here to protect him, I swear."

"Elfleda said Ecgwynn's dead. Is it true?"

"Yes," Merlin replied, knowing the fury and grief he saw in Gwaine's eyes was much the same as his. "But not by my hand, I swear. You _have_ to know that I would never-"

Again the door flew open, interrupting the conversation for a second time.

"My lord, you must come," the soldier said.

"Not now."

"But..."

"Did you not hear what I said!" Gwaine shouted, swinging around to face the intruder.

Surprisingly the man did not back down, raising his chin as if waiting for the blow. "I am sorry, Sire, but you _must _come. It's your father."

"What? What's wrong with him?"

"I-I'm sorry, Sire but... King Alfred is dead."

~o~0~o~

Edward was crowned King with the full, rare support of all. Edward the Elder he would become known to history, the son of Alfred the Great. A noble house for the young Arthur to be born into.

Gwen had a long, heart-felt talk to her brother and made him see sense; made him understand his duty to his wife and his realm and then, satisfied that all was well, she and Leon took the king's young son home to Mercia and away from further danger. Merlin journeyed with them but only stayed for long enough to install magical defences around their house and renew the ones on the young boy, before returning home for a while in order to ensure there were no further surprises in store for them all.

Before he left, Merlin knelt down in front of Æthelstan and said his temporary farewells.

"Goodbye, Arthur and good luck," he said quietly.

"Arthur?" The little boy frowned.

"I will see you again some day, I promise," the warlock continued.

"Oh." The boy blinked, before nodding seriously. "All right then." He turned away, abruptly already distracted by his toy horse. "Goodbye."

~o~0~o~

**Hwicce**

**Nine Years After the Poisoning**

"Gwaine!" Merlin sat up in bed with a shout, fear coursing through his sweat soaked body.

"What is it?" Arthur said sleepily.

"Something has happened to Gwaine."

The prince sighed. "You had another nightmare, go back to sleep."

"No, that's not it and... I didn't mean Gwaine, I meant..." Merlin stopped as the realisation of what he had sensed hit him fully. Hadn't he known exactly when each of the Round Table had been born? Now, it seemed he was also being alerted to when one of them had died. "No..." he mumbled as he fully understood.

"Merlin, what's wrong?" Arthur was sitting up, now fully awake, a gentle hand on the slim man's shoulder.

"I can't say… I mean..." How could he tell Arthur his father had died like this? Not only would he not be believed, but Merlin couldn't tell him _how_ he knew. He would have to wait for official news to arrive. "I'm sorry," he continued with a sigh. "You're right. It was just a nightmare."

"Come here then," Arthur said holding out an arm. "Let's try to get back to sleep."

Merlin shook his head, his mind racing, knowing it would be impossible. The king was dead. What would happen now in terms of the succession?

"Fine then." Arthur smirked. "Perhaps I can think of something else we can do to help take your mind off things."

~o~0~o~

A week after that nightmare there was yet more drama with Merlin once again pulled awake, this time by a very different type of alert.

"Arthur, you have to get up. I think we're under attack."

"Here? Who would attack us? Why?"

"I don't know, but you have to trust me."

"But you've been asleep all this time, Merlin, surely this is just another one of your nightmares."

The prince was well used to them by now; usually Merlin reliving Arthur's death the first time around, sometimes those of his other friends. Occasionally he'd wake terrified from vague future visions that he couldn't remember, much like Morgana had all those years ago. Then, more recently, there was that incident when he'd sensed Gwaine's death on the battlefield.

"You have to trust me, Arthur. Get dressed, get your sword."

"You don't exactly have a large army stationed here."

"Hopefully I won't need it."

"_You_ won't?"

Merlin shook his head. "Quickly. I need to see what's happening."

The pair rushed out to the east, with Merlin still uncertain about what he would encounter. He had hoped it might just be a few people that had broken through his defences but, unfortunately, there were rather more than that. A small army was approaching, lead by young Mordred.

"Edwin?" Arthur asked of his half-brother "Why are you here? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Æthelstan, truly I am, but the king wants you out of the way."

"The king? What are you talking about?"

"Oh dear," Merlin muttered next to him.

"Our brother King Ætheweard, of course."

"What?"

"What happened to Edward?" Merlin asked as calmly as he was able, even though he already knew the answer.

"Killed in battle with the Welsh," Mordred replied.

"No..." Arthur whispered.

"I take it Edgiva told you how to find us?" Merlin asked the young man.

Arthur was still stunned by the news of Gwaine but managed to look briefly confused – unaware of Merlin's special defences that should have prevented any army from invading his land.

"Yes, it wasn't that difficult to counter your barriers with the knowledge she gave me," Mordred replied. "I'm sorry, but we're not here to talk or to negotiate." And, with that comment, the young man nodded to his men and pointed forwards, urging them to charge.

"I'm really sorry, Æthie," Merlin muttered as they approached, "But I see no other choice. You're going to get one more shock here today."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur was holding his sword up, determined to fight the soldiers coming forwards, no matter how outnumbered they appeared to be.

But it was daft for Merlin to hold back. Hadn't he regretted keeping the secret for so long the last time? And, to be honest, Æthelstan was long overdue the truth about who his companion really was. With a large sigh, Merlin held up both his hands and pushed; the smallest gesture and no words at all, but that was all the mighty Emrys needed. The whole army was knocked back as if blown by a great wind and, when half of them got back up and came forward again, Merlin threw fire at them from his fingers before dropping to his knees, slamming both palms hard against the dirt floor and causing the ground to shake. Anyone left alive was now running in the opposite direction, the young prince Edwin along with them. Any power Mordred currently held was no match for Merlin's and he knew it.

"Merlin?" Arthur was staring at him in disbelieve.

He couldn't believe he had to go through all of this again. Would the prince hate him quite so much for his lies this time around?

"Arthur, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you but..."

"Told me what? What... was... that?"

"Magic?"

Arthur gave a small laugh. "That's not possible."

"Miracles then."

"Don't joke about such things."

"I'm sorry, really I am, but I was born with this skill. This is who I am."

"I'm not sure I can take this all in." Arthur turned to leave, dropping his sword on the floor as he left.

Merlin bent to pick it up and scurried after him. "Æthie! Wait, please."

He stopped turning around aggressively and causing Merlin to skid to a halt. "What Edwin said back then... about my father?"

"I'm sorry, I think it must be true. Arthur..."

He shook his head and continued his journey back to the house. "Don't talk to me for a while, Merlin. I need some time on my own."

"I really am very sorry."

~o~0~o~

* * *

_**A/N:** Unfortunately that chapter rearranging I mentioned before meant that a whole bunch of key characters ended up dying in one chapter; Alfred, Nimueh and Gwaine. Oops. Those dates are firmly fixed in history though. When I saw that Arthur's mother and King Alfred had died in the same year, it immediately got my attention and I set about planning how to make it all happen. _

_And so, yes, that's why Arthur is scared of thunder storms in this incarnation._

_17/1/14_


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Merlin, Fantasy, Friendship