I don't own anything except the story line I came up with and some of it was inspired from other stories. First Fan fiction I've ever written, I hope you like it.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Merlin could feel the familiar itch beginning to creep up on him. He swallowed hard, and slowly made his way to the door of Arthur's chambers

"Where do you think you're going?" Arthur had briefly looked up from his papers as he heard Merlin's boots heading towards the door.

"I'm not feeling very well, and was going to go get a tonic from Gaius." Merlin dearly hoped Arthur wouldn't question him.

Arthur looked Merlin up and down and noticed he was shaking a little and more pale than usual.

"Alright, I'll give you the rest of the night off, but remember to bring me breakfast on-time tomorrow."

Merlin smirked, "I wouldn't dream of being late when bringing the King breakfast sire." He replied just as sarcastically as usual.

Arthur hid his smirk behind his papers, "You can't talk to me like that Merlin; now get out before I change my mind."

Merlin left with a smile, though it soon turned to a grimace. He had to get out of the castle before it got any worse. He rushed to his quarters to pick up his cloak, and

left quietly so as not to wake his sleeping mentor. He hadn't realized how late he had been working until he had noticed how empty the castle corridors were. He snuck

out of the castle as quietly as possible and when he got to the tree-line he bolted for his favorite clearing unaware that he was being followed.

As Merlin approached his clearing he slowly began to let his magic seep out, the footprints left in the softened mud he ran on staining golden, all the trees around him turning greener than the rest, the wind whipping his cloak making it look as if he was floating as he ran. The rain around him stopped mid air as he went by and color exploded from long dead plants. The tingle was getting better but he knew he'd have to release a lot more magic before he would feel better. Finally he burst through the trees into his clearing and he skidded to a stop in the middle of the clearing, sliding on the muddy ground. He bent over panting from the exercise but not tired in the slightest.

As the moon shone down on him he felt his magic swell and he leaned his head back and released a giddy laugh. He held up his hands and with just a thought his eyes turned gold and the most beautiful butterflies anyone had ever seen or would ever see sprung forth from his hands. Hundreds swirling around him and then taking off into the air of every color imaginable, tears slowly made their way down his face as he smiled at the beauty he had created. He was always so tired and felt as if he was filled with cotton, but at moments like this his head was finally clear. He just let it all go; he didn't have to hide here or repress his magic. Here he could let it surround him and feel the wonder envelop him as if he was still a child seeing what he could create for the first time.

For years he had thought himself a monster, constantly bullied and tormented by everyone around him. Until the day he sat alone in the forest crying and something landed on him. He jumped afraid it was a bug, but was instantly mesmerized at the beauty he held before him. A beautiful thing with wings the brightest shade of blue was sitting on his arm as if it was the most natural thing in the world. His tears slowed to a stop as he slowly reached out for it. It flew up and for a moment he was afraid it would fly away, but instead it settled itself on his outstretched hand. Almost as if someone was speaking to him telling him what to do he felt his magic slowly reach out and feel the life force within everything around him until he felt a reaction. The trees, the grass the Butterfly, the flowers, everything around him sent him back a little magic of their own. He could feel it slowly pulsing back to him. He began to once again let tears slide down his face, but this time not from believing that he was a monster. This time he was crying because he could see it. The life force of the earth all living things connected and slowly pulsing towards him as if to comfort him, and heal his hurt. He knew in that moment that nothing this beautiful, this wonderful could be evil. That is how he learned to create butterflies, the earth showed him how to create and share his life force. He was immortal and had an infinite amount of life to give. As long as he existed this planet would never die.

As the last butterfly left his hand, he felt the earth pulsing beneath him and slowly he felt the exhaustion begin to sweep over him, but no not yet. He refused to sleep until he had once again seen the beauty of the earth and shared his life with it. He slowly knelt down on the ground and gently put his hands on the cool grass. He released his magic into the earth and felt as the trees around him began to liven, as the dead grass came back to life, as the animals in the area came to the clearing if only to be nearer to such power. When he finally opened his eyes he was not prepared for the sight he found. Kneeling in front of him was none other than Arthur Pendragon, tears sliding down his face as he was surrounded by all that Merlin had just created.