A/N: Some scenes/dialogue/spells will be recognizable, but instead of copying verbatim, I'd instead like to explore how the events of Vortigern's Tower might have changed things for our young heroes… I won't go too far afield, but I hope it's not boring, at least, in spite of the familiarity…

Also, just fyi, there will be eps and characters that don't figure into this intermission story at all, and that's because they will appear in a different way in part 2… !

The More Things Change

I. The Dragonlord's Arrival

Merlin's stomach was still flying. His feet were on the road, energetically covering ground, but his stomach was still mounting up and dropping in swoops of alternating excitement and fear. He had been waiting for this day for years… and he was afraid it was going to disappoint him in the end. Perhaps he should have walked the whole way, taken more time to prepare himself.

He shrugged to himself, smiling as he passed a gentleman on horseback, headed the opposite direction. Too late now.

Merlin wasn't too distracted to notice his surroundings, as he came over the hill and out of the thicket. It was amazing, the new citadel of Camelot, far grander and bigger than he'd imagined it would be. The rising sun gilded the high clouds lingering in the sky; it was beautiful, though it was likely to be clear by noon.

He kept smiling, as he strode through the lower town, feeling the pull of the straps of his pack over his shoulders. The people here were clean, friendly, walked with their heads up. And though the streets were crowded, there was a feeling of cheerful industry, of safety, that he knew was due to the fair rule of the king, the protection of the knights. It was childish, maybe, but he couldn't stop looking all around him, absorbing every detail of his surroundings, as if the one he was watching for might turn up at any door, around any corner. The feeling in his stomach swooped again – what would his reception be? He hadn't had any indication from the reply to his letter that his friend would prove as eager to welcome him as he was eager to arrive.

The white towers soared high above as he crossed the diamond-pattern cobblestones; there were two guards at the drawbridge, but neither of them spoke to stop him entering. Were they so fearless, then? Or was it that they had nothing to fear? That made him happy, too.

No one stopped him, but he figured they would before long; probably they didn't let strangers wander around the citadel. So he back-stepped from another doorway to face the guard on the right, dressed in chainmail covered by the red-with-gold-dragon livery of Camelot. He wanted to ask where the prince might be, but that would be presumptuous, he thought.

So he said, "Where would I find Gaius, the court physician?"

The guard looked a little surprised at being asked, but leaned into the doorway to point up a staircase. Thanking him with a nod, Merlin took the stairs two at a time, noticing a little sign on the way that read, Court Physician. He rounded a corner to the left and continued up another stair, grinning to himself. He was definitely going to be getting exercise, here – there weren't any stairs in all of Ealdor.

Reaching the door he hoped was the right one, he tapped, and it creaked open under his light touch. He poked his head in, saying softly, "Hello?" in case he was interrupting something important.

The silence was broken by the noise of bubbling liquid in a beaker in an apparatus that held it aloft over a candle's flame, and the squeak of the door's hinges. He glanced around, not sure if the old man he remembered would have left such a process unsupervised.

"Gaius?" he tried again, a little louder.

Movement caught his attention, high on one wall. He saw a narrow walkway, uneven shelves stuffed with books – and the court physician who'd once helped him save Arthur's life turned, surprised at his voice.

The walkway railing snapped behind him, and the old man flung his arms out, helpless to stop his startled fall.

Merlin reacted instinctively, slowing time to a crawl. He glanced about – he could catch the old man, but that might cripple them both, no, he needed – there. A bed. Another golden glance, and the cushioned furniture shot across the room, positioned itself under its owner. Satisfied, Merlin released the moment of time, and Gaius crashed onto the bed. Merlin reached to help him, but the old physician rolled off the other side of the bed, hardly winded.

"What was that?" he demanded irately. "And who are you?"

"I'm Merlin, remember?" Merlin said, smiling. "I wrote you a letter?"

"Merlin!" Gaius exclaimed. "Skin and bones druid lad? But you're not meant to be here until Wednesday!"

Merlin's smile turned sheepish. "I know. I was… a little impatient. So Aithusa brought me –"

"Good heavens, boy, please don't tell me you brought the dragon to Camelot!" Gaius sputtered. "If you haven't got any more sense than that –"

"No, just partway. He's off to the north, now, he was excited to be on his own, too."

"Ah." Gaius looked up at the broken railing, down at the new position of his bed.

"Sorry about that," Merlin told him. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I suppose I should be grateful it happened when it did," Gaius said. "That railing has needed fixing for a while now."

"I can do that for you?" Merlin offered.

"Thank you, my boy." Gaius looked up at the railing again, then glanced him over. "But it can wait a day or so. You'd better put your bag in there." He gestured behind him to a short stair leading to a small door with a pointed arch.

"Thanks," Merlin said, heading for the room that was to be his new home. He stood in the open door, sliding the pack from his shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. It was a storeroom, formerly, judging by the stacks of empty and half-empty crates, but there was a bed, a cupboard for his clothes and other things, and two tables for his use – one by the bed, the other under a high window, both with candles for his convenience in the dark.

"I suppose you'll be wanting to greet Arthur?" Gaius said.

Merlin left his pack – there wasn't much in it, unpacking would take all of five seconds, and could be done later – and turned, hopping down all the stairs at once. "Do you know where I can find him?" he asked, not bothering to hide his eagerness. Much.

"Training field," the old man said shortly. "Or maybe the side courtyard." As he crossed the chamber again, Gaius spoke after him in a cautioning tone, "Merlin," and he turned at the door, expectantly. "Please try to remember, any public displays of unauthorized magic will be highly offensive to King Uther."

Merlin smiled. "Right," he agreed, and ducked out the door again.

A/N: This is the first section of chapter 1. I'll be entering chapters under the new story heading The More Things Change as they're finished…