Emrys strolled into Camelot, looking around with cheerful interest. Previous visits to the city hadn't left much time for sightseeing. They tended to be, get in, save whoever's life he was there to save (usually Prince Arthur's much to the king's gall) and get out again situations.

Now he wore a glamour that made him appear much more like his mother so he could walk around Camelot without guards attempting to arrest him for magic (and for being a druid). As he reached the courtyard of the castle Emrys realised that there was about to be an execution. Huffing out a sigh of annoyance, Emrys slipped behind some nearby barrels to be out of sight and dropped his glamours. Uther would execute no one on Merlin's watch.

The man to be executed was marched out onto the platform and Uther began one of his bigoted speeches. Merlin rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. Uther lifted his hand and the executioner raised his axe. Emrys strolled out from behind the barrels and cast a spell turning the axe into a bouquet of flowers just as Uther dropped his hand.

Uther let out a rather impressive growl as he caught sight of Emrys. Then he noticed what Emrys had done.

"You will murder no one on my watch, Uther Pendragon," declared Merlin.

"Guards arrest that man," instructed Uther pointing at Emrys. Merlin saw the guards headed towards him and his magic reacted instinctively. Time froze around him. Merlin was surprised; he had managed to slow time down before but never to stop it completely like this.

Shaking his head to rid himself of distraction, Merlin walked over to the man Uther had been about to execute. Merlin let his spell drop, took a moment to enjoy the look on Uther's face, then put his hand on the other sorcerer's shoulder and cast a teleportation spell. The teleportation spell took the two men back to the camp Merlin had come from.

"Emrys, are you alright?"

"Emrys what happened?"

"Why are you back so soon Emrys?"

Questions, comments and exclamations met Merlin from all sides as he reappeared in the camp.

"I have just saved this man from execution. His only crime was practicing magic," Merlin addressed Isuldir, the camp leader. Isuldir nodded.

"We will take care of him Emrys. You better go, your mother's friend will be expecting you." Isuldir was careful not to mention Camelot or Gaius in front of a man from the citadel.

Merlin nodded and teleported back to the alley where he had dropped his glamour. Here he replaced the glamour and headed off to find Gaius. Merlin was beginning to feel slightly drained from using so much magic in one day. He wondered if Gaius would let him have a nap.

Spotting a guard, Merlin asked for directions to the physician's chambers. The guard gave no sign that he recognised Merlin as he pointed him in the right direction. Merlin was thrilled that his glamour had worked. Of course, the real test would be if he ever met the king or prince whilst working as the physician's apprentice. The prince was the one he'd gotten closest to when he'd been in the city before. Arthur would be the most likely of all to recognise him. The question was would Arthur tell the king?

Arthur had begun to change as Emrys had been entering the city to save his life. The first time Emrys had saved Arthur, when a sorceress had impersonated a singer for an assassination attempt, the prince had attempted to arrest the warlock. When Emrys pointed out that he'd just saved the prince's life, Arthur had been shocked into letting him go. He seemed less and less reluctant about not arresting the warlock each time Emrys saved Arthur.

Merlin reached the physician's chambers and went inside without knocking. He was used to living in a druid camp where there were no doors to knock upon. Merlin didn't know he was supposed to do so.

Gaius turned when the door opened to see who had entered. The gangly lad in the doorway looked so much like Hunith that Gaius knew who he must be at once.

"Ah Merlin, welcome to Camelot. You can put your stuff through there." Gaius pointed at a door near the back of the room which had a few steps leading up to it. Merlin went over to the door, turned the handle and entered. He found himself in a small bedchamber, bare but for a bed and a wardrobe for his clothing.

Dropping his bag on the bed, Merlin returned to the main room and looked at Gaius.

"Right then, you can get started as my apprentice by cleaning out the

leech tank," the physician stated. Merlin was horrified. The boy was really not a fan of leeches.

Merlin had just finished the disgusting task when a knock sounded upon the door, startling the boy.

"Gaius are you in there?" came a voice Merlin recognised belonging to a knight by the name of Leon. Since Gaius had left to go on his rounds whilst Merlin cleaned the leech tank, Merlin was the only person in the room. After making sure he had secured the lid of the leech tank firmly, Merlin went to open the door and speak to Sir Leon.

"Gaius has gone off to do his rounds Sir," Merlin pretended not to know who the knight was.

"Ah, I see. And who might you be?" replied the knight.

"I'm Merlin sir. I've only just arrived in Camelot. I've come to apprentice with Gaius."

"Well then, it's good to meet you Merlin. I'm Sir Leon," and with that Sir Leon turned and left. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief when Sir Leon was far enough away. The knight, who had been in close proximity to Emrys several times, clearly hadn't recognised him.

Sir Leon walked down the corridor away from the physician's chambers. His mind was still fixed on the boy who was to apprentice with Gaius. There was something very familiar about that boy, despite his claim to have only just arrived in the citadel. It hadn't been obvious until the boy spoke, Sir Leon thought. Perhaps the boy just had a similar voice to someone else Sir Leon knew.

Arthur Pendragon growled in frustration as the servant he'd bought hunting fell down a rabbit hole for about the hundredth time, startling the game away. Pulling the lad up by the scruff of his neck, Arthur noticed a cut on the servant's forearm. It looked deep.

"We'd better get you to Gaius," sighed the prince. "Come along."

When they reached Camelot the boy was beginning to look rather pale. Arthur decided he would accompany him to Gaius in case the boy passed out on the way.

In the physician's chambers they found a young man reading one of the books of healing Gaius had written. Gaius was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you know where Gaius is?" Arthur asked the lad.

"He went out on his rounds Sir," Merlin told Arthur, pretending not to know he was speaking to the prince. Arthur was not wearing a single item of clothing that would indicate his royal status.

The door creaked as Gaius returned from his rounds.

"Arthur, what brings you here?"

"It's Morris sir. He tripped in a rabbit hole and cut his arm. I thought he might pass out so I accompanied him here."

"I will see to his injury. Merlin, come and watch."

"Yes Gaius." Arthur wondered why the boy's voice rang a bell. Was he someone from the town? Shaking it off, Arthur left the physician's chambers. He needed to change before he went to dine with his father.

Apparently it was too much to ask for Arthur Pendragon to have a meal with his father without them being attacked by some sorcerer with a vendetta against Uther. Luckily for Arthur, there was one sorcerer who seemed to quite like him. Or at the very least wanted to keep the prince alive.

Emrys was a very strange sorcerer. As far as Arthur Pendragon knew anyway. Since Emrys was the only sorcerer Arthur had met who wasn't seeking revenge for something, Arthur supposed he didn't really have much to judge on.

When Emrys had dealt with the vengeance set sorcerer, he turned and bowed to Arthur. He didn't bow to Uther, which seemed to further infuriate the king.

"My lord," he spoke then he vanished leaving Arthur staring after him. The voice that had just spoken was the one that had been nagging at the prince all afternoon. Merlin's voice; the new apprentice physician was Emrys.