A/N: I don't own Merlin.

Merlin heaved a sigh of relief once he left Agravaine's chambers. He didn't know exactly what he'd been expecting, but he had definitely expected something worse than being asked to sharpen a dagger. In fact, that was such a simple task that he could probably do it while reading his spellbook. He hadn't had a chance to browse his spellbook in a while.

Soon, Merlin was comfortably settled in his bedchamber with the dagger in one hand, the whetstone in the other, and his spellbook on his lap. He supposed there was a danger he would accidentally stab the book, but hey—contrary to popular belief, he could be careful.

Merlin paused when he heard Gaius call his name in the main chamber. Setting aside his task, he got up to investigate. To his shock and horror, he saw a burly shirtless man hefting an unconscious Gaius over his shoulder, accompanied by a bald man in a purple robe. "Hey!" Merlin shouted angrily.

In hindsight, that hadn't been the smartest idea. The bald man whirled around, pointed a staff at Merlin and chanted a spell. Merlin was blasted backwards into his bedchamber. He groaned, dazed, then forced himself to snap out of it. He grabbed the dagger and hurried back to the main chamber. The burly man was just about to walk out the door, Gaius still slung over his shoulder. Merlin threw the dagger, using a touch of magic to make sure it missed Gaius and plunged straight into the burly man's back.

The burly man crumpled, Gaius falling to the floor beside him. The bald sorcerer whirled around to face Merlin again, looking surprised. He tried to blast Merlin with his staff, but this time Merlin dodged. His bedroom door flew off its hinges. He then hid behind a shelf of potions, which the sorcerer quickly destroyed.

Merlin darted from furniture to furniture, trying to come up with a plan. Did he dare duel this man with magic? There were no other witnesses at the moment…but all this commotion might attract the guards. Probably better to assume that someone could see him at any time, so he needed to think of something else.

Suddenly, Merlin realized that the sorcerer hadn't attacked him for nearly a full minute. He poked his head out from behind the spare bed and saw that both Gaius and the mysterious sorcerer were gone. Silently cursing, Merlin ran out of the room.

Guessing at the sorcerer's direction, Merlin ran down the stairs toward the courtyard. Partway there, he froze, realizing he could sense nearby magic moving in a different direction. He followed the magic to a secret tunnel underneath the castle walls, and he caught up to the bald sorcerer just as the latter was exiting the tunnel. Two horses were tied to nearby trees, but a murmured spell caused them to break free of their bonds and flee the scene.

The bald sorcerer whirled around again, releasing the spell that had caused Gaius to hover alongside him. "This is none of your concern, boy," the sorcerer said in a threatening tone. "I suggest you leave, before I decide to avenge my bodyguard."

"I won't let you take Gaius," Merlin said firmly, debating whether he could risk openly using magic here.

The sorcerer narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful. "I have shown you my power, yet you do not fear me…and you recovered quickly from a spell that should have knocked you unconscious, at the very least. You must have incredible power, to be so resilient."

Merlin stiffened, drawing himself up to his full height and raising a hand. "Then release Gaius, or you will find out exactly how powerful I am."

The sorcerer stepped away from Gaius. "I have no need of him now. Morgana told me Gaius would lead me to Emrys. I believe he just did."

Merlin winced; though he hated to attack first, he couldn't let this sorcerer take his discovery back to Morgana. He would have to kill him. He opened his mouth to cast a spell.

"Tell me," the sorcerer said quickly, "why do you choose to live in the heart of Camelot, with death around every corner?"

"Because it is my destiny," Merlin said somewhat coldly.

"Destiny?" the sorcerer repeated, sounding intrigued.

"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion and usher in an era of peace for all people, both with magic and without. And it is my fate to help him. And I will not let you stand in the way." Merlin prepared to cast his spell again, but much to his surprise, the sorcerer knelt.

"I am Alator of the Catha," the sorcerer said, his head bowed. "I wish to offer myself in service."

"…what?" Merlin said dumbly, wondering if he'd heard that right.

"I understand the burden you carry," Alator continued. "The burden of magic. I have lived with it all my life. I have been shunned, persecuted, and sometimes even hunted in every corner of the five kingdoms. I understand what that feels like. You are not alone. I share your hopes, and I and others like me have dreamt of the world you seek to build. We would gladly give our lives to help you do it."

Merlin kept his hand raised. "Why should I believe you?"

"I, Alator of the Catha, do swear on my life and my magic that I will help you build this world of peace."

Merlin slowly lowered his hand, staring at Alator. "And if I let you go, you will say nothing to Morgana of what you have discovered here?"

"She will learn nothing from me, I swear it."

Merlin hesitated. It seemed too easy. And yet…something in his gut told him Alator was sincere. "Thank you. I apologize for your bodyguard; I was merely attempting to protect Gaius."

Alator nodded, rising to his feet. "I understand. I would like to collect his body, if you do not mind." Judging by the look on his face, Merlin didn't think it was really a request.

"Of course."

Agravaine stood in the doorway of the physician's chambers, surveying the wreckage in dismay. Hadn't he explicitly said to clean up any signs of a struggle? There was no way he was going to be able to make it look like Gaius had taken off on his own now. His plan to frame Gaius was foiled; he would have to hope that Alator could at least get Emrys's identity out of the old man.

Well, no point raising the alarm now. No doubt Merlin would discover the scene soon enough; best to give Alator as much of a head start as possible.

On the way back to the physician's chambers, Alator nearly walked into a pair of guards. He attacked them before they could see Merlin, but the damage had been done—it would only be a matter of time before the soldiers were found and someone raised the alarm. "We'd better hurry," Merlin said quietly.

When they reached Gaius's chambers, Alator surveyed the wreckage. "You will need a cover story. If you claim that you single-handedly foiled a kidnapping, they may begin to suspect you are more than you seem." He turned to Merlin. "Until we meet again." His eyes flashed gold, and the world went black.

Next thing Merlin knew, someone was shaking him awake. "Merlin? Merlin!"

"Go 'way Arthur," he mumbled.

"Merlin!" Arthur sounded oddly…worried.

"What?" Merlin blearily opened his eyes and sat up. To his surprise and confusion, he was lying in the outer doorway of the physician's chambers. Blood was dripping from his shoulder and pooling on the floor…which was strange, because his shoulder felt fine. A bloody dagger laid on the floor next to him.

"Merlin, what happened? Who attacked you?"

"Attacked…oh." It was coming back to him now. "There was a sorcerer trying to kidnap Gaius…I tried to stop him…" Merlin's eyes widened as he looked around the room. Arthur was accompanied by Agravaine and several guards, but no Gaius. "Where's Gaius?!"

At that moment, Leon arrived with several more guards, two of whom were carrying Gaius. "Sire. We found Gaius in the north corridor. It appears the sorcerer realized he would not escape Camelot with his hostage in tow. Unfortunately, he is long gone now."

Ah. Merlin understood now. Alator had made Merlin look like a hapless victim of the attack, and then led the guards on a wild goose chase to make them think they were responsible for foiling the kidnapping. He wasn't sure what had happened to the bodyguard, but clearly Alator had recovered the body.

Merlin sprang to his feet and rushed to Gaius's side. "Is he all right?"

"So far as we can tell, he's merely unconscious," Leon replied. He looked at Merlin's shoulder, and frowned. "Merlin, you're wounded."

"I'm fine," Merlin insisted. He was pretty sure his injury was an illusion conjured by Alator, and that the pool of blood had actually come from the bodyguard.

"You've lost a lot of blood," Arthur said, still sounding unusually worried. "Don't be stupid."

"I'll bandage that for you," Leon offered.

"No, I can do it," Merlin said hurriedly. He grabbed a cloth and clumsily tied it around his shoulder.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea who that sorcerer was, or what he wanted with Gaius?"

"It sounded like he was in league with Morgana," Merlin quickly invented. "Said Gaius had information she wanted, and one way or another they were going to get it."

"And why would she go to Gaius for this information?" Agravaine demanded, an odd look in his eyes.

Merlin glared at Agravaine. "I don't know. He's one of Arthur's primary advisors, isn't he? He knows a lot about the kingdom."

Arthur stared at Gaius through narrowed eyes. "'One way or another'…it sounds like he didn't believe Gaius would provide this information willingly."

"Of course he wouldn't!" Merlin exclaimed, offended.

Arthur nodded. "I was wrong to doubt him. Send for me when he wakes, I want to speak to him." With that, he swept out of the room, followed by Leon and the guards.

Agravaine hesitated before following, trying to make sense of the night's events. Alator should have been out of the city long before the warning bell sounded…and Agravaine could have sworn that the body in the doorway had been Alator's bodyguard, not Merlin…but then again, he hadn't taken a very close look. He hurried out of the room, hoping his Lady wouldn't be too angry with him for his failure.

Morgana screamed and hurled objects around her hovel. Thwarted by Emrys again…and Alator! The nerve of him, coming back to return her bracelet and tell her that he would no longer aid her in her search. He claimed he'd been foiled by the guards, but she could see the lie in his eyes. He had found Emrys. And for some reason, he'd thrown his lot in with the old hypocrite.

She would find Emrys. And when she did, he would die. Slowly.