Arthur looked up in horror, barely registering that he was seeing his death lunge toward him in a blur of fur and vicious claws.

Until it wasn't.

A roar burst through the chaos of noise that surrounded him and Arthur saw the beast being violently thrown back by a beam of blue light. His hunter's instinct had the King of Camelot spinning on the spot in a crouch to face this new threat.

What?

His thoughts half formed from seeing his manservant Merlin – Merlin! – standing, tall and powerful, his arm raised in attack. Golden eyes burned back at him, fierce and terrifying.

A beastly growl ripped through the forest. Just as Arthur had identified a new threat, another creature had identified the greater target. Before Arthur could so much as call out, a mass crashed into the lanky form of his manservant and bore him to the ground. Flailing back in a scene so alike his old clumsy Merlin, the sorcerer was set upon by two of the great beasts.

Arthur darted to the side where he could see his sword, too stunned to come to horrifying conclusion that he was about to see a man – his friend – being torn apart.

He'd just picked up his weapon and was about to charge in to the fray to rescue the man when he was once again stopped by impossibility. The gathered beasts were thrown back, shrieking in to the air. Merlin stood, eyes golden, blood and dirt covering his angular face and torn clothes. He had never looked so powerful.

His arm darted forward, his hand splayed in Arthur's direction. Arthur tensed, not thinking anything but a possible threat and readied himself.

"Svelt deor!" the sorcerer commanded. Another flash of light, faster than the previous – or is it just because it was in Arthur's direction – sped towards him. Arthur didn't even have time to duck before the spell sped over his shoulder.

Bewildered, Arthur turned once again to see another beast thrown away from him. It had been sneaking up on him while he'd been distracted. Taking a step backward, Arthur looked in horror as the surrounding forest was filled with the beasts.

There was a pause as the pack glared at the man in front of them. One crept over and sniffed at the unmoving beast on the floor. A grunt from the investigator seemed to be the signal they had all been waiting for. At the confirmation of the death the horde charged toward the lone warrior, the area filled with the noise of their movement and their howls.

Behind Arthur he heard more growls and roars, which sounded different than the approaching beasts, more frantic and ancient…magic. Before he could identify the source of the other call his view of the approaching horde was blocked by a tatty brown jacket.

"Gescildan! Awendap eft wansaeliga neatu!"

Arms came up and a blue barrier flowed out from the sorcerer's fingers. Arthur's thoughts had long ago stopped being coherent. All he could think was a feeling of relief that whatever had been done had stopped the creatures from getting to him. They pressed against and attacked an invisible barrier which formed a dome around the two.

The sorcerer turned to Arthur for the first time since the attack had begun. He kept his hands up and his eyes remained golden and desperate.

"Merlin?" Arthur began uncertainly.

Merlin nodded slightly and met his eyes. For the first time, Arthur recognised fear in their depths. Despite the fact that his eyes were shining in a foreign colour, Arthur knew them. Somehow, his friend was still standing in front of him. And he had just handled an ongoing attack without wavering, but was afraid of meeting Arthur's eyes. Satisfied that he was beginning to understand this impossible situation, Arthur nodded back to him.

"How long can you hold them off?" Arthur asked.

"Long enough," Merlin responded shortly, straining with the effort of keeping his spell going.

"Until what?" Arthur demanded, eyes narrowing. Arthur knew Merlin wasn't telling him something. He'd seen that look before and had only now recognised it for what it was.

Instead of responding, Merlin looked up at the sky with a slight smile. A roar sounded and fire rained down. Kilgharrah had come.

BriefShiningMoment

Spells:

Kill this beast!

Avert back the terrible beasts!

My second oneshot. I've never written so much in a short space of time This is the first time I've had Merlin reveal his magic to Arthur. I'm not too keen on following it through with explanation etc, I think this is enough. If anyone wants to continue it, by all means do. Just tell me so I can read what you do with it, for curiosity's sake. Obviously I don't own Merlin or any of the characters.