Hi everyone,

This is my first full-length fanfiction story and I hope you all enjoy it! It is a reveal fic, although I'm not sure if all of the characters will find out about Merlin's magic or only one or two. Please review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or any of the characters.

The knights, Arthur and Merlin were riding through the woods, teasing and insulting each other playfully.

"Well, we all know that I'm the strongest", Gwaine said confidently. Leon snorted and Percival was unable to keep back his own bark of laughter. Arthur rolled his eyes at the knight's antics, Merlin smiled to himself and Elyan ignored Gwaine completely because he found that was the best thing to do in most situations.

"What?" Gwaine asked, looking around at his snickering friends.

"Gwaine… even without taking the rest of us into consideration, Percival is twice the size of you and has the strength to match", Arthur called over his shoulder. Percival grinned proudly and Merlin tried to stifle a giggle. Arthur looked over at his manservant.

"Obviously when I said 'the rest of us', it didn't include Merlin", the King continued, to the amusement of the knights. "I think Guinevere is stronger than he is." The knights laughed as Merlin bit his lip, trying to contain his annoyance. The truth was, though, that Merlin loved the bickering that he engaged in with Arthur and the knights. He loved how they treated him as an equal, despite their elevated rank. He knew that this was partly due to the fact that all of them, with the exception of Leon, had grown up as commoners so could relate to him better. But he also knew that they were his friends, the best he had ever had. They were all noble men, both by their status and in their hearts, and Merlin considered them his big brothers.

The knights had continued their banter whilst Merlin was thinking, but they immediately fell silent when Arthur raised his hand in the air. The King drew his horse to a halt and the rest of the knights followed suit.

"It's too quiet", Arthur observed, his voice only the merest whisper. They all looked around warily and Gwaine drew his sword. Suddenly they heard the pounding beat of heavy footsteps and the sound of something large crashing through the forest. The bushes to their left were abruptly flattened and the next second Percival gave a cry of pain as three short scratches materialised on his well-muscled arm. The knights looked around frantically, but the thing was gone. Merlin stared at the spot where the beast had disappeared into the wilderness, fear etched onto his features.

The creature was one of the most terrifying he had seen; a huge reptilian monster which stood on four legs, each ending in wickedly sharp, extendable claws. Its head – though covered in scales like the rest of its body – was the head of a bull, and giant, curved horns extended from either side of it. But that was not the worst thing. Oh no. The worst thing was that – judging by the knights' shocked expressions when Percival had cried out and the fact that the big knight had not even tried to get out of the thing's way – Merlin was the only one who could see the creature. His friends were completely defenceless.

He had no choice. As soon as he had realised that his friends could not see the reptilian beast he had known that there was only one way to protect them.

He ran after the creature, ignoring the knights' cries. The trail was easy to follow thanks to the sheer size of the thing and Merlin hurried after it, trying not to think about what he would do when he faced the creature because he had absolutely no clue. He knew that if he stopped to think about it he could lose his chance, and he couldn't run the risk of anyone else being hurt by the monster. So he kept running.

It took only a few minutes to find the beast. He had burst into the miniature clearing only to find the thing waiting for him. It stared at him greedily, testing him, and he felt his gut twist in fear when he realised that this had been its plan all along; to lure him after it. His eyes flashed gold and its head snapped up, sending it stumbling backwards. It regained its footing and looked back at him with hungry eyes.

The beast took a step in his direction and he instinctively stepped backwards. The creature continued to advance, pushing him further and further backwards in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Merlin tried to take another step but stopped when his foot connected with the trunk of a tree. He looked around him anxiously, but there was no escape. His eyes flashed gold once more, but this time the creature barely faltered before resuming its slow advance. Merlin took a step sideways, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the monster. It continued to walk towards him, a smug look gracing its cruel features. Merlin observed how its muscles subtly bunched and knew that in the next second it would pounce.

"Ástríce!" he cried, eyes burning with molten gold as the creature was flung across the clearing. It crashed into a tree on the opposite side of the clearing and the wood creaked ominously with the force of the landing. Pushing away from his tree shakily, Merlin quickly began to cross the clearing, anxious to return to Arthur and the knights and to check that Percival's wound was not infected.

He was halfway across the clearing when he heard the creak of wood and the unmistakable sound of a growl. He turned his head just in time to see the creature spring at him, claws extended. Responding to his instincts, he dived straight towards the reptilian beast, hoping against hope that he could get underneath it. But he had reacted too late.

As he tried to escape, the creature's razor-sharp claws sunk into his back, ripping the muscle to shreds and creating deep lacerations in the warlock's skin. He screamed in agony, and his scream reverberated throughout the still forest.

….

Merlin's scream penetrated Gwaine's daze. When the servant had insanely run off after the thing that had attacked them Gwaine had barely hesitated before following his friend. The servant may have been lucky in the past, but he couldn't fight off something he couldn't see and even if he had been able to see it Gwaine got the feeling that the thing would be pretty difficult to kill. Although Percival's wounds had only been minor Gwaine had an awful feeling that they were the least of what the creature could do. Plus, it was magical – it had to be; normal beasts were not invisible – and that just made it even more dangerous.

So Gwaine had run after the ridiculously brave (or ridiculously stupid, it depended on who you asked) servant, hoping he would be okay. He couldn't see Merlin, but followed the creature's tracks, knowing instinctively that this was the way the servant would have gone.

When the knight reached the clearing he found Merlin slowly backing away, eyes dilated in absolute terror. His gaze was fixated on something that Gwaine couldn't see, and the knight drew back, wracking his brains to think of a way to help Merlin when he couldn't even see the creature stalking his friend.

Gwaine gasped as the realization hit him. Merlin could see the creature. There was no reason to be backing away from something that wasn't there. His head swirled with half-concocted explanations. It was only invisible to knights. It was only invisible to nobles. Merlin was scared of a bunny, the creature was nowhere nearby. The knight scanned the ground hopefully, but there was nothing in the clearing except Merlin.

Maybe Merlin had heard the creature. Perhaps he couldn't see it, but had been alerted to its presence by a sound it had made. Gwaine felt his heart slow back to its normal rate and he took a deep breath. Of course, that would be what had happened. It was a logical explanation, and Gwaine felt incredibly relieved that Merlin wasn't – wasn't – Gwaine didn't know exactly what his friend wasn't, but he suddenly remembered that Merlin was in very real danger. Heart pounding, the knight peered into the clearing once more, scared of what he might see. Merlin was flattened against a tree, looking more terrified than Gwaine had ever seen him, but thankfully alive. The servant took a slow step sideways, eyes never straying from the centre of the clearing. He tensed and Gwaine rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to charge in at a moment's notice. The servant suddenly threw back his head and shouted one word: Ástríce. His eyes burned with golden fire and a tree at the opposite side of the clearing creaked, wood splintering. Gwaine stood, dumbfounded, but unable to hide the truth. Merlin had used magic. His friend was a sorcerer.

….

Arthur's head snapped up as a scream rang through the silent forest. His gut twisted in fear. He knew that scream.

He didn't remember getting to his feet, but suddenly he was standing. He pushed past Leon and Elyan blindly, ignoring their attempts to stop him. He ran through the forest, following the trail of devastation to where he knew he would find his servant and friend. Whether Merlin was alive or dead was something Arthur tried not to think about.

….

Merlin screamed as he felt pain explode through his back; a white-hot agony that was worse than anything he had ever known. Raising his head a fraction, he saw the creature looking at him with an expression of smug satisfaction and – could it be? – pity. It was disconcerting to see such human emotions on the face of the reptilian beast, and Merlin couldn't suppress a shudder.

Studying him, the creature seemed to realise that its prey was done for and turned away from the warlock. Merlin knew its plan. He could see the intention that shone from the creature's evil yellow eyes... Now that there was nobody who could see it, the thing would seek out Arthur and the knights – and kill them. They would never see it coming. But Merlin could not allow that to happen.

Pushing past the pain that built until spots flashed across his vision, the warlock concentrated all his power and felt it surge to the surface of his body, eager to escape. Muttering a few quiet words under his breath, he watched as a sword appeared in his hand.

Sensing the display of magic, the creature turned, licking its scaly lips in anticipation. Merlin faced it fearlessly. His eyes burned with golden fire even stronger than before as he raised the sword and sent it spinning through the air towards the creature.

"Bregdan anweald gafeluc!" he commanded, voice rippling with power. The sword began to trail blue fire, and embedded itself deep in the monster's chest. The beast fell, dead, and with a sigh of relief Merlin collapsed into peaceful oblivion.

…..