Hello! This is a new story I decided to write the other night. So far, I'm not sure how many chapters there are going to be but I will update as often as I can! It is set some time after 5x13 and basically Merlin is Court Sorcerer, Arthur and Gwaine are both still alive and magic is legal in Camelot.

I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review, even if it is just pointing out mistakes.

I don't own Merlin.

The king's loud footsteps echoed around the empty halls as he strode quickly through the castle. There was not a person in sight, all the Lords and Ladies were outside enjoying the pleasant weather and all the castle staff were busy at work preparing for the feast that was to be held that night. It was a celebration held every year on the first day of spring. To this day, Arthur did not know who decided that spring would always fall on this day; some years it was still tremendously cold when they held the feast. However, this year it was obvious that spring had sprung; leaves and petals were appearing on the trees and flowers, and each sunrise was earlier and sunset later.

Arthur cast his mind on the source of his journey through the castle, the one and only Merlin. The king sighed, thinking of how much had changed regarding his ex-servant in the last eight months or so. After Merlin had managed to heal Arthur with magic after he had been wounded in Camlann, the king had begun the task of repealing the ban on magic. Soon a new law had been made that stated that citizens of Camelot were permitted to use magic sensibly and responsibly, however people may still be taken to court if they use magic inappropriately. Along with the new laws Arthur had made, he had also appointed Merlin as Court Sorcerer. They had had an official ceremony and everything, most people were very pleased with the new laws and Merlin's new position, and anyone who thought differently did not voice their opinion in within a wide radius of the king.

Merlin had been thrilled with all the changes made, however a member of the court could not be seen continuing to carry out a servant's duties, which meant Arthur had seen a lot less of his friend as the raven-haired man was always working in his chambers. The king had taken it upon himself to interact with his friend on a regular basis so their relationship would not be damaged by Merlin's new status. It was now a common sight to see Arthur journeying towards Lord Merlin's chamber, or the other way around, or seeing them talking together in the grounds.

Merlin had been Court Sorcerer for six months now, but Arthur still welled up with pride whenever he saw Merlin making a speech, performing a difficult spell, or even being addressed as "Lord" or "Sir".

Swooping back to reality, Arthur realised he was standing right outside Merlin's door, Staring at the wood.

"Come in," came the response from inside and Arthur entered the chambers.

The room was dimly lit by candles burning in the corners of the large chambers. A bed stood at the far end, the covers wildly thrown on top. Books and papers littered the floor and the dining table along with discarded robes. Merlin himself stood by his work bench, potions bubbled continuously and he stood pouring a mixture of blue and red liquid together. The concoction steamed and hissed menacingly, but it only took one flash of gold in Merlin's eyes and the potion had righted itself to a dark purple colour.

"Did you have a good hunt Sire?" the warlock asked, not looking up from his work.

"Very pleasant, actually. Hunts are much more successful know you aren't there falling over with every other step." Arthur said whilst strolling over to the window and drawing the curtains wide.

Merlin flinched at the sudden light, "Believe me, I'm as glad as you that I don't have to go with you anymore." Although Merlin had been worried some crazy assassin might try and kidnap Arthur the first few times he left the castle without Merlin, the warlock had soon realised that the king was more than capable of looking after himself.

"But you'll still be enjoying the catch at the banquet tonight." Arthur stared intently at Merlin, waiting for a reaction, he was not disappointed.

The raven-haired man sighed, "Yay, another boring feast to attend. Please don't tell me there aren't going to be speeches…?"

"Only from me, and I've kept it short this time." Arthur laughed at his friend.

In the brighter light, the king could see Merlin's pale complexion and the dark rings around his eyes. He was wearing a slightly upgraded version of the outfits he used to wear daily; a red tunic made from a finer material, dark trousers that fit his slender form better, boots made from a sturdy leather and polished regularly. However, the same scruffy blue neckerchief was tied around Merlin's neck.

"There's entertainment," said Arthur, trying to lift the warlock's spirits.

"What sort of entertainment?" replied the raven-haired man, still not looking up from his potion mixing.

"Erm…I'm not sure actually," Arthur had not been the one to organise the event, so had little idea of what was going to happen that evening. "But it doesn't matter, you have to come," Arthur called over his shoulder as he made his way back towards the chamber's door, "you have duties now, Merlin."

The door snapped shoot behind the prince.

The Great Hall was buzzing with life. Lords, Ladies and Knights were all seated around the room, empty dishes and goblets on the tables in front of them. Everyone was waiting eagerly for the feast to begin.

Arthur looked up at one of the stain glass windows in the wall, a few last rays of sun were shining onto it, although the candles in the room made it hard to see. Each second that went by, the rays grew dimmer and dimmer, until they were completely gone.

Arthur stood up and anticipatory silence fell across the hall.

"Tonight, we celebrate the start of spring," Arthur's voice boomed and echoed round the room, "it is the beginning of new life and fresh starts. We head into this spring with hope in our hearts, we have been at peace for eight months now, with little disturbance. We all wish it may continue until next spring, and the spring after that. But you should also know that we are strong as a kingdom, we can face any threat with courage and skill. All I wish for is for my citizens to feel safe. And now they feel so more than ever." he quickly glanced at Merlin at this point, "We have fantastic farmers who will grow our food in the following seasons, we have brave knights who can defend our kingdom against anything," he looked at the knights (the Round Table especially) "we have new warriors and methods of defence that were not here last spring also. And so, tonight we raise our glasses to all in Camelot and wish everyone luck for the following months. To Camelot."

"To Camelot!" chorused everyone in the hall.

"Now, my friends, enjoy the celebrations." Arthur sat in his seat at the head of all the tables, between Guenivere and Merlin, as servants and kitchen maids paraded into the room, trays full of food and wine.

Darkness spread outside as the feast continued. All the food had been eaten and plenty of wine had been drunk. Everyone was sitting around the room and chatting, Gwaine was cracking jokes with the knights who would burst into laughter every few minutes. Merlin sat beside Arthur, who was deep in conversation with Gwen until a servant tapped on his shoulder and spoke in his ear.

The king smiled and stood, once again the room fell into respectful silence.

"I have just been informed that our entertainment has arrived, I would like to welcome…" he looked back at the servant and said almost doubtfully, "Michael the magician…"

There was a polite applause from the guests as the large doors to the hall were opened to emit a short, bearded man with an even shorter bald man beside him, carrying an old wooden box between them.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," said the taller of the two, coming right into the middle of the room, between the tables, "I am Michael the magician and this is Gavin, my assistant," he gestured towards the bald man who took a low bow, his head almost touching the floor. "Tonight, we shall be performing many fascinating tricks for you, including a very special trick for our grand finale!"

Merlin looked at Arthur and rolled his eyes, the king had to stifle his laughter.

"Our first trick," Michael said to the crowd, "is juggling."

The man showed them his empty, and slightly grubby, hands before making a motion of throwing balls in the air, and as he did so three red balls appeared from nowhere.

There was another smattering of applause as the man continued his act, his assistant occasionally throwing extra balls in for is master to use. Finally, Michael made the balls disappeared into thin air and the crowd cheered.

The king caught Merlin's eye, an exasperated look on his face, remembering the time his manservant had performed a similar trick in front of Queen Annis. Merlin simply shrugged and smiled as he turned his attention back to Michael.

Gradually, the magician worked his way through his act getting the same polite clapping after every trick. He did some conjuring's and transformations, but anyone could tell that they weren't that impressive and didn't require a great deal of magic.

Merlin watched tiredly, not really paying attention to what was going on until he heard the blissful words come from Michael.

"And now, it is time for our final trick," a quiet sigh of relief travelled round the room, "for this I will need three willing participants…" he looked around the room, eyeing everyone with a studying gaze. "You, Sir, are you up to the challenge?" inquired Michael, pointing his finger at Gwaine.

"Of course!" said Gwaine, eagerly.

"Well step right this way, Sir, and sit on one of the chairs at the front." Gwaine sat in one of three chairs layed out by the magician's assistant at the front of the room,

"Who else… how about you, my Lady?" Michael smiled while Lady Bethany blushed, nodded and rose from her seat to join Gwaine at the front.

"And lastly, perhaps, the Court Sorcerer?" Merlin was taken utterly by surprise as Michael whirled around and pointed at him. Arthur clapped him on the back, and pushed Merlin out of his seat. The warlock found one of his funny feelings growing inside of him as he walked to the front; Michael had not made eye contact with him once whilst he had been selecting people, had he planned his participants beforehand?

Deciding he was being ridiculous, Merlin cleared all the suspicious thoughts out of his head as he sat down between Gwaine and Lady Bethany, Michael was only a lowly magician after all.

"Now, this trick requires no magic at all… it is a simple hypnosis. Simple if you know how…" Merlin saw the guests all look round at each other and murmur. "So," said Michael, turning to the three sitting at the front. All the audience's eyes turned with him and Merlin felt suddenly self-conscious. He shuffled into a more comfortable position, fixing the red Camelot cloak he was wearing over his upgraded garments. "Throughout this hypnosis, I will simply be manipulating your actions through your mind. I will not be able to read your mind, nor you mine. You will simply be doing things that I tell you to do. You will always know what you are doing, you just cannot control it. Now, are you ready to begin?"

The three participants nodded.

"Good! Ok so what I'm going to ask you to do is close your eyes," Merlin shut his eyes, even more self-conscious now he could not see what was going on, "very good… now simply let your necks relax and let you chin fall to your chest." As Merlin did this he thought the man must me circling around them as he spoke as his voice seemed to move around the warlock. "Now let all your muscles relax, any tension should disappear… very good. Now from here onward all I need you to do is concentrate on my voice; let it fill your head and ignore any other sounds. Listen to the shape of my words, the texture of my voice and the rhythm I speak in."

The warlock couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved, the man's voice was deep and ominous, and the thought of a stranger's voice being the one thing he had to focus on made him feel uneasy.

"I'm going to count to three," Michael continued, "when I reach three I am going to say the word sleep, and you are going to oblige. Throughout this demonstration whenever you hear me say the word sleep, whether your eyes are open or closed and no matter what you are doing, you will simply fall into a peaceful sleep and I will wake you up when necessary. Ready… now concentrating on my voice… one… two… three, sleep!" And Merlin knew no more.