For the last time. I. Don't. Own. MERLIN! How many times do I have to tell you?! Oh, you got the message? Oh... This is awkward...

FIVE MONTHS LATER

'Merlin, wake up you lazy arse!' Arthur's voice rang out loudly in Merlin's head and he opened his bleary eyes. It wasn't even light outside, yet good smells wafted into his bed room from the kitchen next door. He sat up, shoved his toes in his shoes, and ran his hands through his hair. He walked over to the wash bowl and splashed his face with the fresh water that his mother had just gotten from the well. It was so cold that it left Merlin shivering and pulling his jacket tightly around his shoulders.

A few weeks before, he had taken the trip with Gwaine to visit Ealdor and see his mother. Instantly, she had noticed something off. Hunith had touched the new scars on his face, her eyes growing sad at the sight of his pain. Then, she had hugged him close to her chest, even though she had to stand on her toes and he had to slightly slouch. She had let him and his drunken friend in without asking questions, although later, he heard the rogue tell his mother everything about his incarceration. He heard her gasps, and sad murmurs, but she didn't cry. His mother was aware of the dangers that her son had to face, but she was confident that he was strong enough to face the horrors that he got into, and how right she was. She had always been strong for him. He was strong for her.

'Don't you remember what today is, you idiot?' The prince said, excitedly.

'W-W-What...? Would you shut up, you royal prat?' He complained.

'No. I've been up all night thinking about this day and you're fast asleep!'

'What is today, then, cabbage head?'

'You bloody idiot! It's the day you come home!'

Suddenly, Merlin was wide awake. He dashed to the kitchen where his mother was facing the stove, her back to Merlin and Arthur said, 'Now, THAT'S the spirit!'

'Oh, shut up!'

"Hello, mother!" He kissed his mother on the cheek and she smiled.

"Hello Merlin." Her warm voice was gentle and kind, yet not at all laden with sleep at this early hour of the morning. "Today is the big day."

"So I've heard." He pointed to his head, his expression one of complete exasperation.

"Hello, Arthur!" She laughed.

'Good morning, Hunith.' Arthur's voice was cheery and proud.

"He says good morning." Merlin told Hunith. She pointed the large wooden spoon that she had been stirring the eggs with at the warlock and glared lovingly at him.

"You better not get into something like this again. Arthur, you better keep him out of trouble and stay out of it, yourself, while you're at it.

'Yes, Hunith.' He sighed.

"He says sure thing." Merlin, of course, made it sound better and more respectful, no sighs or annoyance in his voice, unlike the princes' tone. It was getting kind of annoying having his friend talk to him in his head and only his head because he had to repeat everything that Arthur said. It came in handy at sometimes when the prince would say something inappropriate or when he said something at a really bad time, Merlin would translate it into something different and kinder. He was a bit more eloquent than his master and had written nearly all of his most memorable speeches, yet he was never able to speak in front of large groups. The people would make him nervous, then his magic would start acting out, and everything would go wrong, yet he had always been a writer and a thinker. When he did say something to strangers, it was usually wise and well thought of as well as well articulated.

"Merlin!" His mothers voice broke through his thoughts and shook him out of his trance.

"Hmmm?"

"I asked you to set the table and you didn't respond." She looked over her shoulder at her son, clearly annoyed. Merlin grabbed the plates and silverware, her look spurring him into action.

"I'm sorry. I was-"

"Lost in thought. I was aware." Her voice was gentle and smooth. "You were thinking about Camelot. You know, you won't have to be trapped in thought to see it soon enough. Today, you'll see everyone you've missed for such a long time now."

He nodded happily and managed to get everything on the table before Gwaine crashed through the front door and dunked his head into a bucket of cold water, which had been sitting at the door, waiting for him, just like every other morning. His drinking habits hadn't changed, but Hunith had tried to keep him from picking drunken fights, which she was slowly accomplishing by harshly disciplining him in her own way. This was why Merlin liked having Gwaine stay with them. The drunk gave his mother someone else to worry about and discipline.

"Good morning, Gwaine!" Hunith smiled, her back to the door.

"Morning, Merlin's mum." He walked over and kissed her on the cheek, but before he turned away, she grabbed his face by his cheeks and whacked him on the head with her wooden spoon.

"Ow!" the buff ruffian complained, putting his arms over his head to protect him from another attack.

"How many times do I have to tell you? No bar fights!" She reprimanded him, threateningly waving the spoon.

"But he started it!"

"I don't care who started it. I only care who it ended, and it looks like it ended with him in a pile on the floor!"

"What was I supposed to do?" He whined in the not very manly voice of a child.

"You were supposed to walk away from his taunts, not encourage him with your own quick tongue."

"But-"

"No buts!" She put one hand on her hip, the other one still holding the spoon. "No more tavern this week!"

"But-"

"Gwaine, you have gotten in two fights in the last month. What did I tell you about the fights?"

"Well, at first you told me I could fight once per week..."

"Then?" She prompted him after a tense moment of silence.

"Then, once every two weeks..."

"Then?!" She did not back down.

"Then... once every month."

"That's it. Once every month." She began rationing out the scrambled eggs on five plates. "Now, this was the second time you stumbled into my house with a cut that's large enough for me to have to stitch it shut. Give me your arm." She grabbed his bicep which, to Merlin's surprise and Hunith's exasperation, was bleeding profusely. "Now, go to your room. I'll NOT have my guest embarrass me in front of the whole city. They are the only ones that see me with as much respect as men get and women like me deserve. I'll tend to that scratch after dinner. Merlin," She shoved a plate in both of the boys hands, "go grab some bandages and bind his wound. Please do it, because if I do, I might accidentally put some wolfsbane on the bandage." Merlin smiled when Gwaine went as white as a sheet.

"C'mon, you drunk. Let's go." The warlock laughed at his friends' horrified expression as he dragged him over to the mans room and sat him on his bed, grabbing the bandages as he went. When he closed the door, he set their plates next to the rogue on the bed. "You're twice as big as her, you know." He said as he wound the wrappings tightly around the wound. Gwaine hissed in pain, then, as Merlin finished, rolled his arm to test the wrappings.

"Yes, but your mother's frightening when she's angry! I bet she would scare away a wyvern if it tried to hurt you." He gripped his arm as the blood began flowing more swiftly from the wound then before.

"It's only a temporary wrapping. Please don't mess with it!" Merlin complained, grabbing his plate and taking a bite of his food and walking back into the kitchen.

Hunith glared at the fork in his bloody hand. "Before you eat and after you treat a patient, what do you do?"

Merlin froze mid bite. "Ummmm. Oh!" He ran over to the washbowl and washed the red liquid off of his hands, swallowing his food.

"There we go!" She said, sitting herself down at the head of the table, the boys next to her and sitting across from each other.

"Why are the other two always late?" Gwaine complained, impatiently tapping his foot.

"Probably because their journey is much longer than ours." Merlin rolled his eyes from his friends hyperactivity. In that moment, the door flew off its hinges, soared over the groups' heads, and would have torn through the house if Merlin hadn't stopped it with his magic. It froze in mid air, which gave Merlin time to dive under it right so that it wouldn't break on the ground before it collapsed on top of him.

"Emrys!" Cerdan cried from outside and ran in to help Gwaine get the heavy, wooden, magically carved door off of the warlock.

"I'm okay." Gasped Merlin as he sat up, happy to have the huge weight on his chest taken off of him.

Hunith's wooden spoon then met Cerdan's head with an auditory, CRACK!

"OW!" He howled and held his head in his hands. "What was that for?!"

"I TOLD you not to get Mordred to practice magic on objects in my house! I already had to go through that with him," She pointed to Merlin, who was slumped against the wall, "and I don't need a child who isn't mine breaking things for fun in my house, just because he can! And Merlin?" He looked up at his mother, who held her hands on her hips, a spoon sticking out from her right hand. "Don't put yourself at risk just because something in my house is going to break. If the spell had broken and it had turned back into a log, again, then Mordred would just have another spell to practice. Right, my dear?" The last part was aimed at the druid boy, who had run beside Merlin as the warlock had climbed out from under the door. The boy nodded so furiously that it looked like his head would roll off.

'Yes, Hunith.' Mordred, the younger warlock, agreed. They had all gotten used to the boy's telepathy long before Merlin and Gwaine had made their trip to Ealdor, but Hunith had gotten used to it much faster than the others. In fact, it only really surprised her the first time that he had projected his thoughts into her head. Yet, even the druids were afraid of Hunith's wrath ever since she had kicked a druid that had been spying on Merlin, then beat him with her wooden spoon while scolding him about privacy. The older warlock found that her spoon was not only being used for cooking anymore and was mostly just being used for disciplining or as a normal weapon.

"Good." She handed the druids their plates of eggs, but Mordred set his down on the table and threw his arms around the warlock, who was in the middle of trying to stand up, but he sat on his knees and put his arms around the boy, anyway.

'What's wrong?' Merlin projected his thought into the younger warlock's head. The boy was fighting back tears.

'I'm going to miss you.' he told Merlin, burying his head into the older boy's shoulder. The druid boy had visited the older boy every day that he had stayed away from Camelot and Merlin told the boy and his guardian the most wonderful stories of the prince's adventures with his loyal friend and servant, the secret warlock. When they had discussed his return and Cerdan had agreed with Merlin that he will visit every month, but it would be a significantly less amount of time with Mordred which made them all very sad. They had become extremely close and it would be hard for both of them to leave the other behind.

'I'm going to miss you, too, but I'll see you in a month, okay?' He rubbed the boy's back soothingly with the palm of his hand. 'I'll teach you some new tricks to do, alright?'

The druid boy, pushed away from the hug and wiped his eyes, nodding. Merlin smiled and stood up, stumbling a little bit when he planted his feet on the ground and realized at they had both fallen asleep, but Cerdan caught him and dragged him into a hug of his own.

"Thank you for giving Mordred the father that he always wanted and deserved." He whispered into the warlock's ear. As they separated, the older druid held out his hand and they shook hands, like acquaintances parting ways. "I'll see you in a month, my friend."

The corner of Merlin's mouth curved upward, slightly. "Just don't be late. I have a job, you know, but I'm working for a prat."

Cerdan laughed. "I don't think Mordred would allow me to be late!"

The smile melted off of their faces as they looked at Mordred. He stood next to Merlin like a little soldier, trying to hold himself together. The older warlock blinked away his own tears and told Cerdan, "You look after yourselves. Make sure to put up extra barriers to protect against Uther's searches. Make sure Mordred gets enough of everything he needs: Food, water, sleep, all of that kinds of stuff. He has to have a special practicing time in the middle of the day where you practice with him-"

"Merlin."

"-so that he doesn't feel alone. Bandits-"

"Merlin."

"-will attack this area because Uther won't check here because this-"

"MERLIN!"

Tears fell down Merlin's cheeks. Cerdan gripped his friend by the shoulder, then pulled him tightly to his chest. "Merlin, we'll be okay."

Merlin nodded and pushed away from the hug, pulling himself together and ruffling Mordred's hair.

"And Gwaine?" He said, gathering his few belongings that he needed with him.

"Yeah?"

"Take care of my mother, alright? Protect her." The warlock met Gwaine's eyes.

"Of course."

Hunith snorted. "I don't need protection. I've learned to fight with a sword well enough." She held her head high.

Merlin's mouth dropped opened. "When?!" But Hunith only laughed and gave him a mysterious look.

With a sigh, he grabbed his pack and slung it over his shoulders, looking back inside of his house for one last time, memorizing each detail. Everyone was completely still and nothing moving except the tears trickling down the druid boy's face. This might be the last time he would see everyone in his house, or the last time he saw everyone there. The dangers in Camelot felt more real then ever, yet it beckoned to him, dragging him back to the mess that was his life, his destiny, his home. Suddenly, the small cabin where he had spent most of his days looked like a painting. He already felt so far away, yet he was right there. He smiled, breathing deeply and, with one last glance over his shoulder, he left.

The next three days were a blur. He walked along the path that he knew so well. Finally, he reached a large hill and just as he reached the crest, he looked up and saw the painfully familiar white stone castle that for moths he could only see in dreams. Camelot, the place that he both hated and loved, stood towering above him, still about a mile away. He smiled and walked on, humming happily to himself. As he walked on the path, several people saw him and waved, recognizing him as the prince's servant. There had been speculations to what had happened to him for the passed few months. Some of them were surprisingly close to the truth, which made him think that it might not have been such a good idea to trust some of those kitchen maids. Thankfully, they had all just been passed along as rumors and ignored by everyone who cared. Most people waved at him and gave him large smiles. One person came up to him and, after chatting for a while, told him that Arthur had been in a horrible mood ever since he left.

"He's been grumpy all the time," She told him, excitedly, "although he has been extremely nice to the servants and the lower class folk. He has been making the knights train extra hard and not letting them break or leave until they beg for mercy!"

"Well, I better get going, then." Merlin smiled. "I've missed the place so much."

"I heard that your mother was sick." The woman said, concerned. "Is she okay?"

The warlock sighed. "Yeah. She was sick for a very long time, but I was able to nurse her back to health because she is a physician, herself, and she was able to tell me what medications to get for her."

The woman's mouth dropped open. "I'm so sorry!" she said, her eyebrows scrunching up. "I'm glad that she pulled through."

"Thanks."

"Well, you better get back to the castle as soon as you can, or the castle might fall apart without you!" She clapped him on the arm and gave him an encouraging smile. they parted ways, and Merlin found himself practically bouncing on the balls of his feet to a non existent melody. He couldn't wait to get to Camelot and found it hard to walk instead of sprinting the whole way there but he knew he wanted to save his energy. Just one foot after the other, he told himself.

'Really, Merlin? I can't believe you haven't contacted me earlier!' Arthur exclaimed in his head. He laughed out loud, then shook his head.

'It's been a busy day, my friend. I'm almost there.'

The next few hours passed by so quickly that it felt like one minute he was an hour away, chatting happily with his master, and the next moment, he was at the front gates, staring up at the large intimidating walls. He took a deep breath and bit his lip, remembering being stuck in the hell hole under the castle for that long week.

'C'mon, Merlin. You're stronger than that. You can get passed this.'

The warlock hugged himself and paced a little bit, running his hands nervously through his hair.

'But...' He struggled with the words. 'It's so hard!'

'I know, but we are all waiting for you in the courtyard. Think about every one of your friends you had to leave behind five months ago. We're all waiting, Merlin. You can get passed this.'

The warlock stopped pacing and put his feet back on the path, pointing towards the city gates. 'Okay, Arthur. I'm coming in.'

He walk stiffly up to the large gates of Camelot and the guards smiled at him, nodding. He smiled back and took a deep breath. It took all of his will power to not sprint out of the city that had missed so dearly, but he thought of his friends, and that spurred him on. The warlock held his head high, walking in large, even paces, and before he knew it, he was out of the lower town and staring up at the white, stone castle from below. A spark of panic ignited in his stomach and he began to hyperventilate. The boy sat down for a minute, trying to regulate his breathing and calm the furious beating of his heart.

"Hey, Merlin!" a voice called over to him. He looked over and the boy that had replaced him, David, was running over towards him, a large smile on his face. When he arrived next to the warlock, he plopped down next to him and hugged his knees. "I was told that you'd be out here. You have no idea how much everyone has missed you, my friend. It feels like there has been a blanket of sadness over everyone since you left. It's not the same without you."

"Wow, really? I didn't know... that many people... cared." He said, still struggling to catch his breath.

David looked at him closely, noticing his fast breathing. "Are you having a panic attack?" Merlin nodded, sadly. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. Here." He handed a small vial to the warlock, who took it with a questioning glance. "It's a concoction that I made and Gaius approved of. It's to calm the nerves, but don't take any more than this vial. It you take too much, you might fall asleep."

Merlin nodded and quickly poured the liquid down his throat, expecting the taste to be terrible. Instead, it was a sweet, creamy flavor that made it taste like the food for the royals instead of a medication. The drug worked almost instantly and soon, he was able to control his breathing and calm his pounding heart. "Thanks." He grinned at the boy, who shook his head with a small smile.

"No, thank you, Merlin. Do you remember a few months back when you were the prince's manservant and when... Lord Charles," he spat the name like poison, which surprised the other boy so much that he jumped, "came to visit?" Merlin nodded, slowly. "You remember that he was found beating his manservant for not knocking before coming in, and you brought the prince in to save the boy?" Another nod. "Well, I was that boy." He lifted his shirt, showing scars to the warlock, who gasped in horror. "The Lord kidnapped me from my home, killed my parents, and forced me into servitude. You saved my life, my friend. I will never forget that."

The warlock was shocked. "I'm so sorry. I didn't remember that you were him."

David shrugged. "I slipped out of the cart just before they left the city. One of the guards saw me and chased after me, so, I had to kill him or he would have killed me. When we were getting you out of the cell, all I could think of was that I couldn't handle two deaths on my hands, especially with the second one being you. Thank you for everything, Merlin." There was a short, comfortable silence.

"We really should go, now." David got up and wiped off the seat of his trousers and offered his friend his hand. "You don't want to keep every one waiting, now, do ya? Especially since most of them are royals."

Merlin laughed and took the hand, allowing David to pull him to his feet. "They can wait a little bit longer. How has everything been going?"

The two boys chatted, telling jokes and stories to each other and commenting on how being Arthur's manservant was the best and worst job there ever was. It took them a while to walk slowly to the gates of the castle, laughing and talking the whole way there. When they passed through the gates, they saw a bunch of people talking among themselves, laughing or nodding seriously. Merlin gasped in surprise. He knew every single person that was there. David disappeared into the crowd only to come back, dragging the prince behind him. Arthur looked at the boy with a serious expression.

"Hello." He said, crossing his arms with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Hello." Merlin said, awkwardly looking at his feet.

The boy suddenly found himself being dragged into a crushing hug. "Camelot has been bland without you, my friend." Arthur told him. The warlock could feel that beneath the prince's shirt and jacket hung the precious magic stone, warm and protective with it's own life inside of it. He felt the strong magic pulsing from within the crystal but it felt familiar in a way that nothing, not even Arthur, had felt in his entire life. It felt like it was a part of him.

Arthur pushed away from the hug but kept holding onto his upper arms. He began thoroughly examining Merlin.

"What are you doing?" Merlin began shifting, uncomfortably. His friend's look was beginning to make him self-conscious.

"Are you injured or unwell at all?" Arthur asked, seriously. "And don't lie. I know how to tell."

"How?!" Merlin looked scandalized.

"Gaius taught me." The prince smug expression grew as his warlock's expression of disbelief grew.

"Well, I'm not injured or hurt or sick. I'm very well and my trip was quite uneventful."

"That's nice to hear." Arthur stepped away from his servant and called, "Boys, he's all yours."

Five knights came out from the crowd and tackled him to the ground with a large shout of, "MERLIN!" He tried to wriggle out of their grasp, but it was too strong. They held him down as Leon came over to Merlin and knelt to the ground next to his head with a deadly serious expression.

"Promise us that you will never scare us like that again." Merlin bit his lip. That would be a heavy promise to make, seeing as he put Arthur's safety before his own.

"But-"

"Promise us or we won't let you get up." Leon crossed his arms in a way that made him look too much like Arthur.

Merlin sighed in resignation. "Fine."

"Say it."

"I promise that my mother won't get that sick anytime soon." The warlock rolled his eyes. "How am I supposed to promise you that?"

Leon narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't explain the new collection of scars on your face." He glared at the downed servant. "Your lying has gotten a lot better than when you first got here."

"Yeah, well, I've had a lot of practice." He squinted up at the head knight, the sun glaring into his eyes. "I've had to make up lies to cover myself when I woke up late for work."

Leon laughed and signaled to the men. Merlin sighed in relief when he felt the pressure lift from his legs. The loyal knight held out his hand and the warlock let Leon pull him back to his feet. Merlin realized just how much he had missed everyone and everything in Camelot since he had left. When he was there, he felt full and happy, like he was meant to be there. Camelot had always been in his mind, ever since he had learned of his existence. He would pretend that he was a knight of Camelot, and he would go off on journeys in his head and he would always save the beautiful princess. Never in his wildest dreams would he ever realize just how much of an impact he had made on everyone around him, and looking in the courtyard that was filled with people who were all waiting to see him was the greatest thing in the world.

There was one person that he had missed ever since he had left. Sadly, Merlin couldn't see him anywhere in the crowd. As he searched for his friend, Judy waddled up to him, a large wooden spoon in her hand. She whacked him on the head and he stumbled back from her.

"Merlin Ambrosius!" She growled. "Don't you dare get into that kind of trouble again!"

"Yes, Mrs. Judy!" He rubbed his head with his palm, trying not to laugh. She gave him one good stern look, nodded, then turned and headed back to the kitchens. She reminded him so much of her mother!

Merlin looked around again, hoping deep within his core that he would see the person that he had missed the most, yet he couldn't find him! Gwen came up to him, Morgana being dragged behind her through the crowds of peasants, and they hugged their best friend, and Morgana kissed him on his cheek.

"We were so worried!" Morgana said, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Well, I'm alright." He assured them, giving them his most charming smile and the girls couldn't help but smile back. "I have to go and find someone, but I'll be back, soon!"

The warlock ran inside of the castle and ran through the halls, tracing a very familiar route. On his way, he nearly barreled into the king. Shocked, he tripped over his own feet and landed in a pile at Uther Pendragon's feet. He looked up at the large, threatening looking man, remembering the one horrible, hellish week, and for a moment, he though the king would remember his magic. The king stood there for a minute, staring at the boy, who cowered under his gaze. Luckily, Uther only smiled and offered his hand. Merlin took it, hesitantly, and let the older man lift him to his feet.

"You're Arthur's servant, right?" he asked with a small tilt of his head.

"Y-Y-Yes, my lord. I mean, Sire. I mean, Your Majesty." Merlin bit his lip to stop himself from messing up even more and bowed, but the older man only laughed.

"He's missed you, boy, even if you are the most incompetent, lazy, clumsy servant that I have ever seen."

Merlin remained silent.

"You looked like you were in a hurry. Don't let me keep you waiting."

"Th-Th-Thank you, Sire. I m-mean-"

"Either one would be fine." Then, with a small smile, the king left and Merlin found it easy to breathe, again. Then, he remembered what he was doing and darted down the halls. He burst through one of the wooden doors and his smile grew so large that it hurt his facial muscles. An old, white haired man was slumped over a book. Scattered around the table were several vials and potions, bubbling or swirling. The colors raged from greens to browns to clears and everything in between.

"Hello, Gaius."

The old physician looked up from his texts and a grin crept up onto his face. He got up and hugged the boy who had become like a son to him.

"Oh, Merlin. You're home."

And that's all, folks! Thank you SO much for reading! I REALLY appreciate it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You helped me get through this. You all are amazing, no matter if you read it and reviewed or not. I love you all!

Later today, I'm gonna hold a poll to see what you want me next to write about. For the SPN fans out there who read my work, there will be a Merlin/ Supernatural crossover as one of the choices, but most of them are more Merlin stories. I'M STILL RECOVERING FROM THAT FINALE, OKAY? I CAN'T LET IT GO! (Both of them! SPN: DEEEEEAAAAAAAANNNNNNN NOOOOOOO! Merlin: wHY tHe heLL nO.)

I would like to thank my friends who forced me to make a account in the fist place, then told me to put this up when they had me trapped with my phone. You guys are great.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! This is the first fanfic that I have finished, EVER, so it gives me hope that I will able to finish my original book. If you find any grammatical errors or typos, feel free to tell me in a review. I am open to critiques, as long as you don't just mindlessly hate it and want to destroy my self esteem. Please tell me those in person and I will personally punch you in the face. :)

For the last time for a while, thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your week!

REM

UPDATE: Sorry! The poll is now up on my profile. Please vote! I'll also be editing this story, THEN doing my next one, so don't expect the next one to come too soon. BUT PLEASE VOTE ANYWAY.