A/N: This story is slightly ironic and therefore not completely serious. So if you see Merlin just as "monster of-the week show" than you should not read it. But if you see Merlin as a show, where the characters undergo a complex development you should read this.

Merlin belongs to the BBC. Note that English is not my mother tongue. Therefore I am sorry for grammatical errors. I also want to thank Crazy Kenny from , who inspired me to this story.

Chapter 1: Gaius – the puppet master

Gaius is the good soul of Camelot: mentor, physician, advisor and surrogate father for Merlin – there is absolutely nothing negative about him, isn´t it? Could it be possible that the nice uncle is not as perfect as he seems to be or better pretends to be?

Let´s have a closer look on the facts. Gaius lives in Camelot in a time of a monstrous genocide on the magic population. Even non-magical persons, who unknowingly talk or meet magic people are persecuted and slaughtered systematically. How is it possible that Gaius, a well-known sorcerer, survived? Moreover he became the expert for magic, closest friend and advisor of the king.

STRANGE! HOW DID HE MANAGE THIS?

Nimueh indicated that he was not as uninvolved in the purge as he pretends to be. Is it possible that he proved himself to be helpful in Uther`s war? There is no doubt that Gaius is willing to do everything to help his king, including sacrificing human lifes. An example for this is his role in Arthur´s birth. He did not know that the queen would die, but he knew that a life has to be taken for a new one to begin. And hey who cares for the life of a peasant if Gaius can assist his king.

It is also very clear that Gaius never tried to convince Uther to stop the war or even to resist actively. Fans of Gaius might say that this is a pragmatic attitude. He is in a better position to help Merlin as the king's friend and advisor. On the other side, nobody can deny that Gaius benefits from this attitude. he is always very quick to assist in magical problems as the last surviving expert for magic. There is a very symbolic speech of Gaius when Gwen´s father is arrested and latterly killed because of sorcery (S01 E12). In this episode he prays Uther to the skies: "… he brought this land stability and prosperity…"

Even the greatest fans of Gaius should ask oneself: "ON WHICH SIDE IS HE? WHAT ARE HIS TRUE MOTIVATIONS?"

Some might say that Gaius, like Merlin, is just waiting for Arthur to become king and make peace with magic people etc. The problem is that he did never make even the slightest attempt to move Arthur in this direction after Uther´s death. It is obvious that he keeps lying about the true reasons for the purge – Arthur´s birth. Otherwise he would have confessed to be a liar. But hey this is understandable, Gaius reputation is much more important than stopping a war. Who cares if hundreds of people suffer and die?

But lying is only one of Gaius´s minor wrongs. He is a much better manipulator. Gaius is always on the spot to stop Merlin telling Arthur about his magic; helping Morgana with her magic, etc. (in the first episodes). Morgana is one of Gaius´s preferred victims. She trusts him since her childhood and he lies to her and drugs her in return. Of course this is only to help and protect her. A likely story! Gaius is also very quick to condemn her as an evil traitor, when Morgana is the source of the sleeping spell, although she was not aware of this.

In summary, Gaius´s main interest is to avoid any changes of the existing status quo. In the end, it does not matter who is one the throne: Uther, Arthur, Gwen – the only constant power is Gaius - the puppet master.