Thank you to everyone who's been leaving reviews! They make me so happy :') In return, here's almost 1.7k words of Merlin being a drama queen!

Merlin reached up to rub his forehead absently as he read, only to still at the loud crack that broke the silence. He blinked and looked up from his book. The source of the sound soon became clear as he straightened, at once feeling- and hearing- his entire body complain at the slumped position it had been forced into for several hours. It was probably time for a break, he thought wryly; he didn't want to imagine what Gaius would say if he saw him neglecting his health this way.

Dim light shone through the small, hidden chamber he'd once discovered in the library, although he'd been a bit too preoccupied with a goblin to appreciate its significance at the time. Later, though, he'd returned to this place and found exactly what he'd hoped to find- this place was a relic from before Uther came to power. Most of the library- most of Camelot- had been purged of any information on magic, but this place remained untouched. Merlin was frankly a bit embarrassed by how excited he'd been when he'd seen the magic books. Thankfully, Gaius too had been excited at the prospect of so much knowledge, although he'd been far more graceful about it.

As Merlin stretched and rose to pace around the room, the blood rushing back through his numb limbs, he remained preoccupied with one idea he'd read about in the now abandoned book. His search for a solution to Bradan's issues with spells had taken him through every magic book he could get his hands on, and even some tomes he'd found in the ordinary sections of the library. Surprisingly, the most useful hint he'd come across had been in a non-magical book. The study of elements was not necessarily magical, after all, and Merlin felt like a bit of an idiot for not thinking of it earlier.

It had been a book on alchemy that held the information Merlin needed. By that point, he'd been so immersed in the book that it had taken him a while to realise he'd found something relevant. The most important of the elements in alchemy, however, is fire, for it is the element of transformation and will. He'd read the line a few times before startling Gaius with a loud exclamation and rushing off to the library without answering his guardian's concerned inquiries. One search through the magical section later, he'd found enough to confirm that the same principle applied when it came to spells. A considerable portion of fire spells was placed in the same category as transformation spells, he learned, because they felt very similar when being cast. The book did not explain that further, so he filed the information away for later.

Merlin had no idea if there was any merit to the theory but it was the best he could find. If Bradan managed to succeed in mastering transformation spells, Merlin would know he'd been right. Otherwise, he thought with no small amount of dread, he would go back to searching. It had all been fascinating, of course, and extremely useful; Merlin had learned more about magical theory in the past few weeks than he had his entire life. He couldn't wait to try out some of the spells he'd read about. However, he thought it was a bit much to be expected to spend most of his very limited free time cooped up in the library or his room. His back- his entire body- was sore, and his eyes had taken to twitching uncontrollably, and he couldn't remember when he'd last slept. He'd also been forced to neglect some of his duties as the physician's apprentice, and although Gaius claimed he could handle it, Merlin didn't think his guardian should do all of that work alone at his age.

Bradan was going to cast those spells even if Merlin had to force him into doing it.

Once he felt like he was no longer in danger of falling over, Merlin collected his books- yes, they were his now- and carefully returned them to their shelves, leaving out only the one he'd been reading so he could show it to Gaius. Long used to carrying things he really shouldn't around the castle right under the guards' noses, he slid the book under his jacket and strode out of the hidden chamber after a quick peek to make sure no one was near. By the time he reached his and Gaius' rooms, he was even more convinced that this was what Bradan needed. He'd always been told that his instinctive understanding of magic was remarkable, and right now, his intuition was telling him that he'd found the solution. Still, it would be good to get Gaius' opinion; he'd studied magic for longer than Merlin has been alive, after all.

Merlin slipped into their rooms with a bright greeting, sighing as his guardian hummed without looking up from his book. He made his way to their worktable and plopped himself across from Gaius. Ah, he couldn't wait until he could do this without having to worry about his research, exhaustion and sleep deprivation. He thought he might have lost a bit of weight during the past few days, too. Nonetheless, Merlin's tiredness had yet to stop him from being a nuisance, and he determinedly whined and poked at Gaius' book to get his attention.

"Gaius, stop ignoring meee," he wailed. "Gaius. Gaius, look at me. Gaius!"

He covered the pages of the book with his hand, and his guardian finally looked up at him with a long-suffering expression. "Yes, Merlin?" he replied, although what his eyes said was you were my greatest mistake.

Merlin sat up happily and lifted his hand away from the book. "Remember in the morning when I read something, rushed out of here, then stayed out all day, and you didn't even come to check up on me?" Gaius looked as though he was about to protest, but Merlin pulled out his book and forged on, "That was because I found something to help Bradan! I think. But I wanted to show it to you first to make sure it's actually useful; can't get his hopes up for nothing, right?"

Gaius leaned forward with interest. "What was it that you found?"

"Oh, so now you're interested, because it's about Bradan. I see how it is," Merlin said sourly, making a face at Gaius when all he did was shoot him an unimpressed glare. Teasing him really was no fun, unlike Arthur. He sighed in defeat and flipped the book open to the page he'd marked, long used to ignoring the pained noises Gaius made when he saw him mark books this way. "Here, it's this passage."

He waited impatiently as Gaius studied the page with a furrowed brow. Merlin had read the passage himself, and he knew for a fact that it was just about six lines. It couldn't possibly take that long to read them. Gaius placed his hand over Merlin's to stop his tapping without looking up from the book.

Eventually, an eternity later, he leaned back in his seat and hummed thoughtfully. Merlin couldn't hold his impatience in check in any longer. "Well?" he asked eagerly. "What do you think?"

"It is a plausible theory; it could very well work. I'd almost forgotten you had a perfectly functional brain under that thick skull of yours, with how little you use it," Gaius said. By the time Merlin was done deciding whether to be flattered or offended, his guardian had moved on. "However, there are a few issues with the implementation."

Of course there were, Merlin thought grouchily. It could never just be that easy. "Which are…?" he prompted.

"Transformation is generally one of the most difficult branches of magic," Gaius pointed out. "How do you intend on teaching it to a beginner?"

He really hated his life sometimes. "Well, Bradan does seem to have an affinity for it. Won't that make it easier?"

"Yes, it might make it only very difficult, rather than impossible," Gaius replied dryly. His eyes softened as he watched his ward groan and slump in defeat. "The theory is sound, Merlin. You just need to find a way to apply it to Bradan."

"Find a way to teach a beginner who can't even master locking spells an extremely advanced branch of magic that I don't have much experience with." Right. Merlin nodded firmly. Right, he could do this. Could he do this? He really had no idea.

"Well, then it's time for you to begin studying, isn't it?" Gaius said smugly. He always acted that way when Merlin was forced to study. It wasn't as if he never studied on his own! He just- he was busy all the time. And he hated studying, but that wasn't relevant.

"Fine, I'll study," he muttered with a pout. Truly, no one had ever suffered as much as he did.

"If anyone can do it, Merlin, it's you. You understand magic on an intrinsic level, in ways that no one else could." Merlin blushed and preened at the same time, so unused to praise that it was a bit dizzying. "You just need to master transformation, and learn which spells would be easiest for someone as unexperienced as Bradan. And, of course, you know that you can always come to me if you need any assistance."

"I know," Merlin replied warmly. "Thanks, Gaius. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Let us hope you never find out. Now, go and start studying. You've got a lot of work ahead of you."

Merlin made a face at that. "Never mind, I take it all back. You're awful."

He ignored Gaius' smug smile and went to sulk in his room. No matter what Gaius said, he definitely wasn't about to start studying right away; he needed to prepare mentally and emotionally for this terrible ordeal. Studying could wait for a bit.