Merry Christmas guys! (Or happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas). So here is the final part that I promised would be up today.

Though I do have to apologise to emiliexox as this is her Christmas present and its not Christmas in Australia any more so I'm really sorry for that! In my defence I have crazy relatives shouting at me to get off my laptop and socialise and this is the first moment I've had to update.

Anyway on with the story. I really hope you enjoy the final part and I would love to know what everyone thinks. x

So my friends you are here for the rest of the story. Well if any of you are still thinking that Arthur is the perfect handsome hero after my last tale then you will soon be set straight as I stand by my claim, Arthur is entirely to blame (as always). I feel, before we start, that I should fill you in on everything that had happened between my last story and the one I am about to tell you. Well Arthur is now king (and even more of a prat) and he knows all about my magic. Telling you how that happened would take an age and isn't really relevant. Let's just say that I was avoiding Arthur for longer than a week this time, (man he can hold a grudge).

So it was nearing the end of Arthur's first year as king. I had been his court sorcerer and chief adviser for all that time (not that he ever listened to any of my advice) so it's not like he hadn't had time to bring this up beforehand. However it was then that he decided to set off the events that I have named The Return of The Hat...

x-x-x

"Merlin I'm bored."

The warlock sighed and looked up from his work to the whining king. Merlin had been studying more of the artefacts that they had brought up from the vault where Uther had confiscated them. There had been much more then Merlin had imagined and he had been examining them for the best part of a year and still hadn't gotten through them all.

Currently he was in what used to be his and Gaius' chambers, but when the elderly physician had retired at the start of Arthur's reign, Merlin had changed it into a workplace for himself. He was bent over an ancient jewel that he believed had the power to amplify a sorcerer's powers, muttering spells to help him discover its secrets. So absorbed in his spells Merlin hadn't heard Arthur enter however his words brought Merlin out of his reverie.

"Arthur I thought we had a deal." Merlin said with a sigh, "I wouldn't mess around in your council meetings and you wouldn't disturb me in here."

"Well I had to tell you something to get you to pay attention. It's hard to get things done when documents keep mysteriously disappearing and reappearing." Arthur pointed out.

Merlin smiled at the memory. He hated council meetings but as Arthur's chief adviser he had to be there. So was it really his fault if, to amuse himself, he had decided to move their documents around magically? The looks on the nobles' faces had been priceless as they tried to find the figures they were supposed to be presenting the king. Well they had been until Arthur had worked out what was going on. It was safe to say that he hadn't been amused.

Whilst Merlin had been caught in the memory Arthur's eye had been caught by the spear on the table to his left. Merlin had only noticed where Arthur's attention was heading in the nick of time. Muttering a quick spell his eyes flashed gold and Arthur found his hand blocked from reaching the spear by an invisible barrier. He turned to look at Merlin with a glare.

"You know I really hate it when you do that."

"It's cursed Arthur. So unless you wanted to spend the next ten years as a stone statue I suggest you don't touch anything else."

Arthur withdrew his hand swiftly at Merlin's words. Instead he moved over to where Merlin had turned back to his work and moved up behind him. Placing his hands on the warlock's waist Arthur leant down over him and whispered in his ear.

"What are you doing Merlin?"

He smirked as he felt Merlin shiver beneath his touch, knowing exactly which buttons to press.

"Arthur I'm working." Merlin said, turning round to fix him with a glare, "Don't you have something you should be doing? I can't imagine that the King of Camelot has nothing at all he could be doing."

Arthur smirked at Merlin making his glare deepen.

"You're so cute when you're angry." Arthur murmured, increasing Merlin's annoyance, "I've got nothing to do that can't be done another time and I'm sure you could come back to this later. Why don't you come entertain me in our room?" Arthur practically purred in Merlin's ear.

"Arthur this is a very delicate process, I can't just leave it and come back later." Merlin tried to explain.

However Arthur wasn't listening. He pulled Merlin closer and moved in to kiss him. But after all the time they had been together Merlin was expecting it and, before Arthur could press their lips together, Merlin's eyes flashed gold. Arthur frowned confused as he felt himself being dragged backwards by an invisible force. However the moment he looked into Merlin's golden eyes the confusion vanished.

"Give me an hour Arthur, I'm sure you can find something to do to amuse yourself in that time." Merlin said with a huge smile as his spell pulled a glaring Arthur out the room and closed the door on him.

-x-

It was late evening by the time that Merlin managed to drag himself away from his work. He did have to admit that he felt slightly guilty for leaving Arthur for so long but he was sure that the king would have found something to do with his time; it wasn't like he had nothing to do. He sighed as he approached the chambers he shared with Arthur, fully expecting to have to face Arthur's displeasure. Pushing the door open Merlin stepped into the room, scanning it for Arthur. He spotted him on the other side of the room, staring out the window.

Merlin took a moment to admire the perfect picture Arthur made with the sun setting behind him before he moved towards the king, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"That was a long hour." Arthur commented casually, not moving from his position.

"I'm sorry, I got sidetracked." Merlin replied apologetically, "It was important."

"I know." Arthur said simply before turning round to face Merlin so their noses were practically touching, "But it did mean that I had plenty of time to come up with your punishment."

Merlin pulled back slightly to inspect Arthur's face with a frown. The blonde was smiling wickedly at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Merlin felt his heart sink. He knew that expression and it never boded well for him.

"Arthur I'm not your manservant anymore, you can't just order me around."

"You may not be my manservant but I am still your king, I can do what I like."

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur's superior tome and tried a different tact.

"Last time you decided to punish me you put me in the stocks and we both know how well that turned out." Merlin pointed out.

A smile appeared on Arthur's face as he remembered what had happened. It was just before they had made that deal about council meetings. Arthur had decided that it had been too long since Merlin had been in the stocks and had attempted to put him there as punishment for causing chaos in the meeting, forgetting that Merlin was the most powerful warlock in all of Albion.

Needless to say it hadn't ended well. Merlin had humoured Arthur, letting him lock him in the stocks. But the moment Arthur had left, Merlin's eyes had flashed gold and he had freed himself. And then, for the next week or so, the rotten fruit that should have been thrown at him kept mysteriously appeared in some of the councillors' beds.

Merlin claimed that it had nothing to do with him; however it didn't escape Arthur's notice that it was all the councillors who disapproved of Merlin's rise from a simple peasant to court sorcerer and Arthur's chief adviser who had been the ones to receive the unpleasant surprise. Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that his bed would also have been filled with rotten fruit, as he had been the one to send the warlock to the stocks, if it hadn't been for the fact that Merlin shared his bed and didn't really want to inflict it upon himself as well.

"Yes but I've had plenty of time to think about it today and I have the perfect solution."

He kissed Merlin on the nose before moving towards the cloth bag that was on the table. Merlin frowned at the amount of dust covering the bag and wondered where on earth Arthur had dug it out from.

However when Arthur pulled out its contents, Merlin knew exactly where Arthur had found it; in the furthest corner of Arthur's old room where Merlin had hidden it. Arthur was smiling at Merlin broadly as he held up The Hat. Merlin felt the dread return to the pit of his stomach as he realised what Arthur's 'punishment' was.

"No way!" He said resolutely.

Arthur's face fell slightly at Merlin's words however he wasn't going to be deterred.

"Well you don't have a choice." Arthur said firmly.

"But Arthur I hate that thing!" Merlin whined.

"You're not supposed to like it Merlin. That's why it's called a punishment." Arthur stated resolutely, approaching him predatorily.

Merlin had a brief flashback to the last time Arthur had made him wear The Hat. He had stalked towards him in exactly the same way. However Merlin had learnt a few tricks of his own since then and wasn't going to fall for it this time.

"Come on Merlin." Arthur breathed in his ear, "You know you want to."

"You know what I do want to do Arthur?" Merlin replied in a low voice, wrapping his arms around Arthur's neck, "This."

And with that he pressed his lips against Arthur's. He felt Arthur smile against him, but he wasn't done yet. As Arthur's hands came to rest on his hips Merlin's eyes flashed gold and Arthur gasped as he could suddenly feel another pair of hands running down his chest under his shirt. He pulled back from the kiss and stared at Merlin incredulously. He could see that Merlin still had his arms around his neck but Arthur could still feel another pair of hands running across his chest even though his eyes were telling him there was nothing there.

However one look at Merlin's face told him everything he needed to know. The young warlock's eyes were blazing gold and a teasing smile graced his lips. Although Arthur would never tell Merlin, he loved it when Merlin's eyes changed gold. There was something about how pure it looked that always brought a smile to Arthur's lips.

However all of these thoughts were driven from Arthur's mind as the invisible hands reached his waistband and slipped beneath it. He let out a low groan at the sensation.

"Merlin!" He moaned, "What the hell are you doing?"

"It's a new spell I found in one of the books I was reading last week. And by the sounds of things it works perfectly."

Arthur's brain tried to some up with a witty reply but all sense seemed to have left and he could only grunt out;

"What sort of books have you been reading?"

Merlin's smirk grew at Arthur's comment and something told the young king that he didn't want to know. Instead he lent forward, capturing Merlin's lips with his own.

x-x-x

Needless to say my persuasion techniques worked like a charm and I escaped having to wear The Hat. (By the time I was finished with him Arthur couldn't even remember what he was punishing me for). However that was not the end of it, Arthur had more tricks up his sleeve.

x-x-x

Merlin woke up feeling groggy. He had spent the last couple of weeks organising the magical council. Despite the fact that it had been over a year since Arthur came to the throne and lifted the ban on magic there were still those who were wary of the young king and believed it to be a trap to flush all sorcerers out as his father had done during the great purge. It was taking Merlin a lot of work to persuade people that they weren't going to be punished for their skills. It did help that news had spread fast that Emyrs was at the king's side. Although Merlin disliked being referred to as Emrys it did help to persuade those who were less than convinced.

A group of Cornish Druids were due to arrive at Camelot at some point this week, they were unsure when, and so Merlin had been preparing everything for their visit with the help of the magical council he had set up, with Arthur's permission, to deal with all magical problems and threats. They were hoping to get the Druids on their side to help against Morgana's troops in the south.

As important as all this was it had also meant that Merlin had had very little sleep and had hardly seen Arthur over the past couple of weeks. Although he was not as grumpy as the blonde when he didn't sleep he still found his body protesting as he pulled himself out of bed. However a smile spread across his face as he spotted Arthur sat at their table eating breakfast. True to his word Arthur had demanded that they had a round table instead of a square one so that Merlin didn't walk into the corners. It had resulted in him having a larger round table made for him and his knights. Something about equality and no head of the table but Merlin hadn't really been listening, touched by the fact that Arthur had remembered his promise.

He took the seat across from Arthur with a sigh of relief, pulling the plate towards him hungrily.

"Morning sleepyhead." Arthur said with a smile.

Merlin grinned his goofy smile at him before turning back to his food. Arthur, who had finished his own, picked up the jug and filled Merlin's goblet with water. Merlin glanced up at him in surprise; the action was so unlike Arthur. However the prince just smiled back blandly. Merlin narrowed his eyes as he tried to work out what Arthur was up to but the prince continued to watch him eat with a smile.

Deciding that lack of sleep had made him paranoid Merlin turned back to his food, taking a deep swig from the goblet Arthur had just filled. Normally Merlin liked to fill their morning with inane chatter but this morning he was still half asleep and couldn't make his brain form anything that remotely made sense. As he ate Merlin felt himself growing wearier and his whole body started to ache. He sighed, maybe Arthur was right, maybe he was getting old.

Merlin sat bolt upright as that thought hit him. Getting old. The last time he had felt like this was when he had taken the potion to make him look like an old man so he could take the blame for enchanting Arthur and prevent Gwen's execution. He glanced at his hands and saw that they were aged and wrinkled. Lifting them up to his face he felt the wrinkles that had appeared upon his face.

His gaze fixed on Arthur and he saw that the blonde was struggling to suppress his laughter. Merlin's eyes narrowed as he realised who was behind his current predicament.

"I am going to kill you." Merlin replied slowly.

He got up and moved over towards the floor length mirror in the corner of the room. Standing in front of it he found an old man looking back at him dressed in his bedclothes. Merlin frowned as he realised that he didn't quite look the same as he had the first time he had taken the potion. Although his hair was still long and white and he'd magically grown an almost floor length beard, he didn't quite look the same and Merlin breathed a sigh of relief at that. He didn't really want anyone recognising him as the sorcerer who had enchanted the prince and then escaped. Arthur already knew it was him but Merlin didn't want anyone else making the connection.

"You know you can still tell it's you if you look closely." Arthur said with a smile coming to stand behind him.

"I hate you." Merlin sighed, "How the hell did you even do this?"

"Elaine gave me the potion." Arthur explain, "Don't worry she said it would wear off by then end of the day."

"I still hate you." Merlin muttered rebelliously, "Arthur I have so much to do today, how am I going to get anything done looking like this?"

"I have no idea." Arthur said with a smirk.

Merlin glared at Arthur in the mirror, he was enjoying this way too much for Merlin's liking.

"You know I could always make you grow donkey ears again." Merlin threatened casually.

He smiled as he saw the smirk drop from Arthur's face. However before the king could reply there was a knock on the door. A panicked look crossed Merlin's face, making the smirk reappear on Arthur's. Merlin shot the blonde a vicious glare and went to hide behind the screen as Arthur called;

"Enter!"

The door opened and Arthur's new manservant Dawson entered. Once Arthur had been crowned king and made Merlin his chief adviser and court sorcerer he had to find another manservant. Though, much to Merlin's disgust, Arthur seemed to prefer to get Merlin to use his magic to do his chores and so Dawson didn't have half as much to do as he had had to.

"Sire the Druids have arrived." Dawson told him, "They're waiting for you and Merlin in the great hall."

"Thank you Dawson, I will make sure he is there. That will be all." Arthur dismissed the young boy.

Merlin stepped out slowly from behind the screen, cursing under his breath. Panic was coursing through him. He knew that he had to be there to greet the Druids as the whole reason they had come was to meet the famous Emrys of their legends. He ran a harassed hand through his hair, trying to come up with a plan.

"There must be a way out of this." He muttered, "What did Elaine say when she gave it to you."

The smile had reappeared on Arthur's face as he surveyed Merlin.

"She said there was no way to break it other than to let it wear off." Arthur said with a smile, "I made sure of that."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Merlin yelled.

Arthur frowned at Merlin's aggressive tone.

"It was just a laugh Merlin." Arthur said slowly.

"Arthur we need these Druids support." Merlin said with a sigh, "We can't afford to mess this up."

"Well personally I think you look much more like the picture that the stories about you paint. At least we won't have to spend the first hour persuading them that you are who you say you are despite your age."

"No we're going to have to spend it persuading everyone else that it is actually me." Merlin said with a sigh.

Moving back to the mirror he surveyed his reflection critically. As Arthur came to stand next to him Merlin measured himself to him with a sigh. Normally he was a couple of inches shorter than the blonde but now he found himself taller than him.

"God Arthur has this thing made me grow as well?" Merlin asked in despair, "Now I don't even have anything to wear."

At that Arthur's mood seemed to pick up as he smiled and moved over to the bag that was lying by the door. Bending down he picked it up and threw it at Merlin.

"Here, this might help."

Merlin glanced at him suspiciously before opening the bag and peering inside. What he saw made his heart sink.

"You have to be joking." Merlin muttered as he pulled the contents out.

Inside that bag was a deep blue robe which, on its own wouldn't look so ridiculous. However it was covered in white stars and crescent moons. Merlin glanced up at Arthur's grinning face with a glare.

"I really hate you."

"Yes you've said that already." Arthur chuckled, "And I love you too."

Merlin sighed, realising that he didn't really have a choice. Muttering curses under his breath at Arthur Merlin grabbed the robe and moved behind the screen to change. Arthur smiled and settled himself in one of the chairs, waiting for Merlin to get ready.

With a sigh Merlin stepped out from behind the screen to present himself to Arthur. Arthur stifled a laugh as he looked at Merlin. The robe fitted perfectly and the deep blue of it matched Merlin's eyes as Arthur had planned. However he did have to admit that the warlock looked ridiculous.

"It fits well." Arthur said with a smile.

"You know if I was a suspicious person I would think you'd planned this." Merlin glared.

Arthur smiled innocently under Merlin's distrustful glare. The aged warlock sighed and moved towards the door.

"Wait a minute." Arthur called Merlin back as he was about to exit the room, "You missed something."

He grabbed the bag where Merlin had abandoned it and pulled out a hat. Merlin had thought The Hat was bad but this was almost worse. It was a tall pointed hat that matched the robe he was wearing perfectly.

"No way Arthur, that is too far." Merlin said adamantly.

"Well I did say we'd have to find a new hat replace the other one." Arthur replied innocently, "And if you don't want to wear this I'm sure I could find the old hat for you to wear."

"I don't know which one's worse." Merlin muttered rebelliously, glaring and Arthur's huge smile.

However Arthur looked at him with what could only be described as puppy dog eyes and Merlin found his resolve crumbling. Reluctantly he allowed Arthur to place the hat on his head, completing the ridiculous outfit.

"Well come on then." Arthur said imperiously as he swept past a glaring Merlin and out the room.

-x-

"My lord." The lead Druid, who had introduced himself as Gudwal, bowed to Merlin and Arthur.

Merlin had felt heat rushing to his face the moment they had entered the room. He had seen the shocked looks on those present who were from Camelot's faces as they were expecting to see Arthur enter with his younger self. However the moment Arthur had introduced him Merlin had seen many of them stifling laughter behind their hands. He had caught Elaine, a young druid who was a member of the magic council's, eye and had glared at her.

"You are so going to pay for this." He told her telepathically making her smile widen, much to his despair.

Merlin had listened to the discussions going on around him, joining in when his opinion was needed, however he had spent the majority of the meeting plotting revenge on Arthur and Elaine in his head. There was no way he was just going to let this go.

-x-

Later that evening the potion had worn off and Merlin had returned to normal age. He had ignored Arthur all day, adamant that he wasn't going to forgive him. Arthur had decided halfway through the day that actually he didn't like Merlin's new hat half as much as the old one. This had led Merlin to remain wearing it all day, even after he had changed out of the ridiculous robe, just to spite the king.

"For god's sake Merlin I said I was sorry will you just speak to me again already!" Arthur eventually snapped.

The pair of them were sat in their room looking at different reports, from all over the parts of Albion that had united so far, as to how they had fared throughout the winter. Merlin had refused to reply to any of Arthur's conversation starters and had even ignored Arthur's teasing comments that usually invoked a response from him.

"You didn't." Merlin said quietly without looking up.

"What?" Arthur asked, relieved that Merlin had finally spoken to him but not understanding what he was on about.

"You didn't say you were sorry." Merlin clarified.

"Well I am." Arthur announced.

Merlin however remained silent. Arthur sighed, he knew exactly what it was that Merlin wanted him to say and rolled his eyes at his partner's stubbornness.

"Fine I'll say it." Arthur huffed, "I am sorry."

Merlin lifted his head and looked at Arthur properly for the first time since the Druids had left, they had refused Arthur's offer of rooms in the castle, preferring to sleep under the stars. The warlock sighed. He knew that Arthur had just been messing around and he had to admit that some of the pranks he had pulled on the blonde had been just as bad, though he wasn't going to point that out now.

"Well I suppose I'll forgive you." Merlin said with an over dramatic sigh.

Arthur smiled as he realised that Merlin was serious. Merlin rolled his eyes at the way Arthur's face had lit up and smiled back fondly.

"Though if that image of me sticks because they've gone back home and told everyone that's what I look like I'm going to kill you."

x-x-x

And as you know, that image does stick as the druids tell the tale of Emrys the wise old man, and that's now how I'm remembered throughout history. So I think you'll agree that it was all Arthur's fault (and if you don't then he has clearly been bribing you not to agree with me). But don't go away thinking that this was then end of it all. I can hold my own when it comes to tormenting Arthur and I can assure you that I got my revenge.

The End