This is my first attempt at writing a story with any sort of length to it. I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Alec walked through the gates of Camelot, glad that he had finally reached his destination. His blue eyes moved constantly, taking in the new surroundings. In the distance, he saw the castle and proceeded to walk towards it. As he walked, he attempted to smooth down his raven black hair. It was a habit of his he did when he was nervous. He had plenty of reason to be nervous. He was, after all, attracting the stares of the townspeople.

Doing his best to ignore the stares, Alec turned his thoughts to his reason for being in Camelot. He was excited. It had been a long time since he had seen Merlin, his brother, and he was finally going to get the chance to see him. Ealdor had been lonely without Merlin. Alec didn't have many friends, making Merlin's absence more noticeable.

I'll be able to see him soon, Alec thought. I just have to find him first. With that thought in mind, Alec entered the castle. He chose a random corridor and walked down it. When he saw a guard, he approached and asked, "Can you tell me where the court physician can be found?"

The guard raised an eyebrow at him. "You would think after all this time, you wouldn't get lost in the castle anymore, Merlin," the guard said, but he pointed towards the left anyway.

For a moment, Alec was confused. The man had just called him by his brother's name. Suddenly, he let out a little laugh. Of course! The man would have no way of knowing that Merlin had a twin brother. He laughed again and told the guard, "One of these days I'll learn." He walked away in the direction the man had indicated.

Finally, Alec found himself outside the court physician's chambers. Slowly, he opened the door and stepped inside. Standing in the middle of the room was an old man. Alec assumed he was Gaius based on the description his mother had given him. "Hello. I'm-" but Alec wasn't allowed to finish.

"Merlin! There you are. It's about time you showed up. I need you to start cleaning out the leech tank. The thing is an absolute mess. Why you didn't do it yesterday is beyond me," Gaius said. The man looked at Alec expectantly. Alec didn't move. Sighing, the old man walked forward and grabbed Alec's arm.

Alec tried to tell the man that he had him confused with someone else, but Gaius wouldn't let him say anything. He was led to an extremely gross looking tank. It was covered in all sorts of unidentifiable matter. Gaius doesn't really expect me to clean that, does he? It's gross! "Gaius, I need to tell-" but he was once again cut off.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Merlin. Now, take this rag and start cleaning. There's a bucket of water there on the floor." With that, Gaius walked away.

Alec stared at the tank before dunking the rag in the water. I might as well start. As long as Gaius thinks I'm Merlin I won't be able to get out of cleaning it. Besides, it's something nice I can do for my brother.

Alec wasn't eve half way done, but he was already disgusted with the task. He was covered in stuff that he couldn't identify, and he had pulled more than a few leeches off of his arms and face. Sighing, he was about to get started again when the door banged open.

Alec smiled to himself when he heard Gaius say, "Merlin, I told you to get that leech tank cleaned." Then a few seconds later, Gaius exclaimed, "Wait! You're cleaning it out right now, but that's impossible. You're standing right in front of me. If you're there, who's cleaning out my leech tank?"

Feeling sorry for the man, Alec stood up and walked over to the two men. "Hello, Merlin. It's been a while." Merlin and Alec stared at each other for a few seconds before they both burst into laughter.

Merlin managed to quit laughing first and said, "Gaius, I would like to introduce you to Alec, my twin brother." With wide eyes, Gaius looked between the two young men and promptly fainted.

This is going to be an interesting visit if all of Merlin's friends respond the same way, Alec thought to himself.