I seemed to have gotten questions about how Arthur is immune to magic, and why? Well for one thing, it's a surprise; you'll just have to keep reading to find out… xD

Mind you, I put a lot of work into some of the facts of this story, like how I use an old English translator for the spells and I look up some old herbs and beliefs about some of them.

Thyme for instance was used to treat burns in medieval times, and was believed to protect one from magic.

This chapter seems a little shorter than previous chapters I've written, I hope that doesn't disappoint anyone.

Thanks for the reviews; they're all very welcome…

Disclaimer: Merlin Belongs to BBC

(EDITED SLIGHTLY, MORE TO COME IN THE FUTURE)

Don't Insult the Commoners Part III

~Arthur's POV~

The witch had escaped, disappearing in a flurry of smoke and wind, leaving the crumpled unmoving form of the princess lying on the floor behind her, so still that she looked to be dead.

The sight of the princess' still form sent a surge of panic through the blond haired knight's mind.

Arthur rushed over to her side at the witch's dramatic escape, kneeling down to her to look for some sort of fatal injury.

She wasn't breathing. Her chest wasn't rising and she had stopped flailing. She wasn't gasping to bring air into her lungs or garbling like she had been earlier. She was just lying there; eyes glazed over, and darkening. But there was no blood or bruise to be seen, which reassured Arthur just a little.

Arthur tried to shake her awake, the fact Leon and Owaine had unfrozen completely slipping his notice. He just continued to try and shake the princess awake, despite how Leon and Owaine kept on telling him he needed to get Gaius when they saw how unresponsive she was. But he just ignored them as he continued his efforts to shake the princess awake.

After Arthur finally realized that simply shaking her wasn't working, he slipped his gauntlets off and moved to turn her onto her side.

However, as soon as the bare skin of his hand touched her shoulder, she started gasping, and grabbed his hand before he could do anything else. Chills ran up Arthur's spine when he realized just how cold her hand was.

Arthur clasped Merlin's hand with his own, rubbing it to try and warm it up, he saw how much she was shivering and grabbed a blanket from her bed. He wrapped the princess tightly in the blanket rubbing her sides in a feeble attempt to warm her up. She continued to shiver and shudder violently through the soft warm wool of the fabric. The blanket wasn't enough. She needed to see Gaius.

Leon and Owaine had long since become invisible to Arthur; he was completely focused on Merlin. Their continued shouts for Arthur to go get Gaius was not heard as the blonde haired knight effortlessly lifted Merlin up and ran out of her chambers, heading towards the physician's door.

He simply focused on her gasps, and held her shivering form close.

He couldn't let the infuriating girl die.

She didn't deserve it. No matter how much grief she gave him, or how much trouble she caused anyone around her.

She had people depending on her, an entire kingdom of people.

The revenge of one witch was nothing compared to the number of people it would hurt if Merlin died.

The stone corridors were so empty, no servants bustling to prepare for a feast in this part of the castle. It made making his way to the physician's door easy. He reached the physician's chambers in a matter of minutes.

Arthur didn't even bother knocking; he just kicked the door open and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"GAIUS!?"

A startled shout could be heard from above him.

Arthur's head jerked up in the direction of the shout, eyes locking onto a full head of grey hair and wrinkled frown lines. A relieved sigh escaped Arthur's mouth when he saw the physician.

"Gaius, the princess, she's not waking up!"

Something on Arthur's face must have shown Gaius just how serious the situation was. Because the old physician's eyes locked onto the shivering form wrapped in the blanket before his expression smoothed over into one of clinical professionalism. He began to make his way down a set of stairs towards the two of them, nodding over to a bed that was set up in the room.

"Lay her down there and tell me what happened."

Arthur had no problem following these directions, he moved over to the bed and laid Merlin down, just as Leon and Owaine came barging in shouting about how insubordinate Arthur was. The two of them were no longer invisible to Arthur now, however they were still of very little importance to him. He was just about to tell them as such when the gray haired physician shouted at the both of them.

"Be quiet the both of you! I need to hear what happened!"

Arthur turned back to Gaius, glancing only momentarily at the worried frustrated faces of Leon and Owaine as he began telling his story to Gaius. He started with how he found the witch over Merlin, what she had said to him, the fight, the dagger, the big swirl of wind, how Merlin didn't look to be breathing until he turned her on her side. He rushed through all of it, but he didn't leave out any details. It wouldn't do to leave out any information that could help the old physician.

The physician listened intently to Arthur's story as he looked the princess over. Pressing fingers to her neck, laying the back of his hand to her forehead, pulling back her eyelids to check her pupils, opening her mouth and looking inside, and even looking into her ears.

"Hmmm…" Was all the response Arthur got when the physician finished.

"Hmmm?" Arthur responded, staring at the physician with a look of both frustration and curiosity. He didn't like the vagueness of the response, it wasn't telling him anything. "What's hmmm? Suppose to mean?" He snapped letting it show just how impatient he was.

His impatient attitude was met by a glare from the physician, and a shove in the opposite direction by a certain brown haired servant who seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

"Back off you dollop head and let the man work. He can't do anything with a meat headed knight like you demanding answers for everything he does!"

It was a bit of a surprise to be told off by the servant again, especially for something as menial as a demand for answers. But then again he was getting a bit too used to the boys rudeness, and disregard for nobility.

"I am her bodyguard and am responsible for her wellbeing!"

Arthur could see the way that Will inflated at that comment, and he would have been greatly satisfied with how well he had riled the boy up if the princess wasn't on the verge of death.

"Oh yeah, well you're also-" Will didn't get a chance to finish that statement before the grey haired physician whipped around and shoved rags into Will's face.

"That's all well and good, but I am her physician, and have been responsible for her health since she was an infant! You can trust that I will not let anything happen to her. Now if the two of you are done bonding, Arthur I need you to grab that bucket over there and hold Merlin's head over it, and Will, I need some angelica, coltsfoot and southernwood." The two boys stood silently in front of the Gaius for a little bit, Arthur shocked at the continuous disregard for his position, and Will shocked over Gaius's uncharacteristic outburst.

The old physician rolled his eyes at the both of them before shoving Will away. "Don't just sit there with your mouths hanging open, go get the things I asked you for boy!"

Will clamped his mouth shut at that last statement, as he stared at Gaius before turning sharply on his heel and running off to retrieve the things Gaius had asked for.

Gaius then turned his attention on Arthur. "Well what're you waiting for, that bucket isn't going to retrieve itself!"

Arthur, whose mouth had been hanging open, clicked his jaw shut before moving across the room to retrieve a wooden bucket. However as soon as he moved away, Merlin began to writhe, in agony, gagging more than she had been before. She turned paler, becoming clammy and cold.

Arthur, with the bucket in hand quickly returned to Merlin's side, grabbing her shoulder, setting the bucket down. It was at this that the princess regained some of the color that she'd had before, and stopped writhing, beginning to breathe just a little bit easier.

Gaius at seeing this frowned at Arthur and sent him a look that would have been followed by questions if not for the fact that the physician needed to keep the princess alive. Ignoring the strange event that just occurred before his eyes, Gaius knelt down with difficulty to the princess, gripping her shoulders and turned her on her back.

After kneeling to the princess Gaius motioned to Arthur.

"Hold her head in place while I work."

Frowning a little at the request Arthur took Merlin's head in his hands as Gaius had asked, then watched in fascination and horror as Gaius forced a wooden instrument down Merlin's throat.

Arthur didn't know what was supposed to happen, but by the look on Gaius's face told him that the fact that the princess was gagging into a bucket wasn't what was supposed to happen.

"Strange." Was the vague response Gaius responded with, before he glanced at Arthur once more, before shoving the instrument down Merlin's throat again?

Arthur flinched a little when Merlin gagged. He had seen a lot of people gag and puke before, but for some reason the fact that the princess was being forced to gag simply made him want to puke for her. He watched as Gaius swabbed something from Merlin's mouth, something that was a strange grey blue color, and shimmering.

"It's just as I feared…" The physician stated before telling Arthur to keep Merlin in that same position as he moved over to his shelves, to grab various vials and jars placed on the shelf.

"What?" Was all that Arthur could choke out as he looked back down at Merlin then back up at Gaius. "What did you find?" Arthur shouted at Gaius, trying to move his head to follow Gaius as he disappeared behind a shelf.

Arthur groaned a little at the dismissive nature of the graying physician, before he noticed that Will had returned to Gaius's chambers, with various herbs in his hands, roots and all. This fact alone made Arthur frown. Did the servant go and freshly pick them? Was there some sort of herb garden that he tended to that allowed him to only be gone for 10 minutes to gather them?

"Gaius, I got the herbs you asked for!" The brown haired servant shouted out, turning in a circle in the center of the chambers as he tried to spot the graying physician.

Arthur noticed Gaius's emerging from behind the shelves, once more moving over to a table set up with various tools in the room. He motioned for the brown haired servant to approach the table, beginning to give the boy instructions, as he himself began mixing things in a brown wooden bowl.

"Remove the roots from the southernwood and angelica, then take half of the southernwood and grind it up with all of the angelica. Don't worry about being to forceful, we want the herbs and the juices to mix together." The graying physician stated, as he poured a strange liquid into his bowl.

Will in response began removing the roots from the angelica and southernwood he was asked to retrieve and began to grind the two herbs together. His hands working fast yet with a skill that showed he had been doing this for years. While he worked his face formed a frown, and he asked Gaius about something of which Arthur did not understand.

Not that it really mattered to Arthur; he was just a tad bit more concerned with the fact that Merlin was squeezing his hand to death.

~Will's POV~

Will felt confused about what he had been asked to retrieve from the physician's herb garden. Angelica, southernwood, and coltsfoot were all herbs that they typically used to help with respiratory diseases such as asthma or blackening of the lungs. Which confused Will to no end; since it seemed that the princess was drowning, not suffering from asthma.

Being raised to follow the scientific process, and with a man who naturally encouraged Will to ask questions, will wasted no time in voicing his concerns.

"Why are you treating this like asthma? It's like she's drowning?"

The physician shook his head at Will. Whether in disapproval or recognition was a little lost on the boy.

"Very observant Will, normally we would assume that she was drowning, but when I looked at her airway it was closing like an asthma patients would." He stated, not looking up from the herbs he was working with as he continued with his explanation. "The constricting of the airway seemed to be the result of a grey substance that is stuck in her airway."

To prove his point Gaius, pushed the wooden instrument he had used to make Merlin gag in Will's direction. The tip of it had a grey shimmering substance stuck to it. Will clenched his jaw at seeing this, the shimmering seemed magical and the grey color concerned him, nothing naturally came out of the body grey and shimmering.

He began grinding the herbs he was working with much harder.

"Shouldn't we just try to make her puke it all up?" Will asked hesitantly, not sure about what the protocol for getting rid of seemingly magical grey gunk from the inside of someone's throat was. His eyebrows furrowed at Gaius as he shot worried glances back at the princess.

The old physician shook his head at Will for the second time.

"That was what I first tried to do, but it would seem that the substance is keeping her from expelling anything. I pulled some of it from her throat and it was shimmering. It's quite obviously magical in nature."

Will nodded in agreement at this statement, before realization dawned on him.

"Is that why you asked for all of these ingredients? To try and combat the magic?"

The physician sighed in exasperation before nodding at the browned haired servant.

"Correct, I don't know for sure if this will work, but I'm hoping that if we can neutralize the magic, then she will be able to puke it all up."

At this explanation, Will nodded his eyes setting into a determined gaze, as he focused back on the herbs he was grinding.

The herbs that he was crushing mixed together well, and once he was done, you couldn't tell that the mixture in front of him had once been any sort of herb. Lifting the grinding stone up, Will scraped the mixture into a bowl Gaius had set before him, allowing Gaius to take over mixing the herbs, while he himself grabbed the coltsfoot and the rest of the southernwood and moved over to Merlin. He had a pretty good idea about what Gaius wanted to do. After all the physician had been mentoring Will for over 14 years, he knew what to do.

The herbs that Gaius had asked for where known for something else as well. In fact, they were known for being able to repel and combat magic. The whole treatment wasn't meant to remedy the constricting of the airway, or to absorb water. It was meant to rid Merlin of the enchantresses spell.

Clutching the herbs tightly in his hand, and glaring at the noble who was holding Merlin still, Will sat down in front of Merlin, before grabbing a candle from nearby, and lighting the herbs in his hand so that they smoked.

"I suggest you move back." Will stated, moving closer to Merlin as he took over for Arthur, moving the smoke in front of Merlin's face so that she would breathe it in.

As Arthur moved away, Will sat behind Merlin, propping her up so that he could easily keep her upright as he had her breath in the smoke. Her back rested against his chest while he wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her in place, making it so that her head lolled back and rested on his shoulder.

He focused on making sure that Merlin breathed in the smoke, ignoring the harsh glares her got from the blonde knight as he worked. However, it wasn't long before; Merlin started writhing more, her breaths coming in ragged gasps, her skin turning to a pale white color, and she began to gurgle on water that wasn't there. Her head whipped from side to side, as she arched her back and kicked out her feet. Will's eyes widened at this as her arms flailed out and she knocked the smoking coltsfoot and southernwood from his hands.

"Woah! Merlin! Calm down! It's me Will!" He shouted out, as she continued to flail. He moved around trying to hold Merlin still, however somehow she got her head underneath his chin, so that when she jerked back up, the top of her head hit Will's chin with enough force that Will fall backwards, off of the bed Merlin had been propped up on.

"Gaius!" Will shouted out, motioning for Arthur to help him restrain Merlin. The physician's apprentice grabbed the princess's arms, holding them down in place, while the knight moved to keep her legs still.

"What's is it boy" Gaius responded, coming into where Will and Arthur where struggling to keep Merlin still, and frowning when he saw how badly they were losing.

"I don't know, one moment she was fine and then the next she starts, flailin' around like she's being attacked!" Will shouted, struggling to keep Merlin's arms pinned to her side.

Gaius watched them struggle with Merlin, Will with keeping her upper body still enough, and Arthur who was trying to get a hold of her legs so that he could keep her from kicking his face. It didn't take much time for Arthur to get a firm grip on the princess's ankles and pinned them down on the floor.

Although, the strangest thing happened.

Just as Gaius was about to grab the smoking herbs to help, as soon as Arthur got a firm grip on her, and as soon as Will was poked in the eye by Merlin's flailing arms, the princess began to calm down, her breathing becoming somewhat normal, her skin returning to a better shade, and she no longer writhed so violently.

The three of them frowned at this revelation, and Gaius looked at Arthur with a curious gaze.

"Set her back up onto the bed Arthur, and don't take your hand from her." Gaius suddenly stated, much to the confusion to Will, and the understanding of Arthur.

Picking up the smoking herbs Gaius handed them back to Will.

"Continue to have her breath the smoke; it should help open her airway."

Will did what he had been asked without much question. He did wonder what he wasn't being told about, but he wouldn't dwell too much on it when his best friend was drowning because of some enchantress's magic. They didn't have time for him to question what was going on, no matter how long Gaius had drilled it into his head that it was always important to ask questions. It was already a miracle that Merlin had lasted this long under the influence of the spell. They could grill Arthur later about how he had managed to calm Merlin down, but for now they needed to focus on helping Merlin.

Continuing with what he had left off doing, Will allowed Merlin to breathe in the smoke. He could tell that she was already breathing just a little easier, and he could also tell that the herbs anti-magical properties were hindering the effectiveness of the magical substance in Merlin's throat.

Will allowed himself to smile at this, thanking the gods and goddesses above that they had left at least some sort of defense against magic for those people who could not use it.

Will, didn't stop with the spreading of the smoke, even when Gaius finally came over with the liquid they hoped would negate the effects of the grey substance stuck in Merlin's airway.

"Tilt her head back for me." Gaius said to Arthur, as he sat in front of Merlin, holding the bowl with the liquid up to her lips. He tilted the bowl forward, pouring it into Merlin's mouth, as Arthur in turn held her head as to allow none of it to escape her mouth. Once half of the liquid was gone, Gaius set the bowl aside, closing Merlin's mouth and plugging her nose, titling her head back further.

When this happened, Merlin flailed some more, before she ended up swallowing the liquid instead. Gaius satisfied with this, let go of Merlin's nose, and moved Merlin so that she was laying on her side, her head over the bucket, and he once again grabbed the wooden instrument, and shoved it down Merlin's throat.

This time, instead of dryly coughing into the bucket, Merlin puked, emptying the contents of her stomach, and in turn, forcing the magical substance out of her airway.

However, instead of landing the bucket that had been set in front of her, a sort of black cloud rushed out of the princess's mouth, forming blackened spindly tendrils that flailed violently after being expelled.

The princess, after expelling this substance, completely stopped in her distress, she breathed normally, the pained expression that had been on her face was now gone, she slumped back into the bed succumbing to the more pleasant dreams that now awaited her.

But the tendrils shrieked. They shrieked violently, and loudly. Like a bird, but also like bubbles popping on the surface of the water. It cried in outrage of being denied its sacrifice, flailing around as if it were a child throwing a tantrum.

The men in the rooms were alarmed by the sudden appearance of the magic. More so surprised at how tangible it was, how alive it looked. Gaius took a step back, Arthur stood between it and Merlin his sword drawn, while Will gapped at it with dumb amazement.

More angry screeched came from the blackened monstrosity, the magic wanted its sacrifice. It wanted to set the balance right, it would have its victim.

So it lunged at Arthur.

Its tendril's wrapped around Arthur's neck, tightening, and choking. It then threw its entire being over Arthur's head, suffocating him, drowning him.

Gaius and Will shouted out in alarm, standing dumbly, helpless only to watch, they had no way to fight the magic, and the only sword in the room was laying under the magic.

Arthur, gasped and choked at the monster. It was so real now, it had taken on a solid shape, and it had become something entirely new. Something bent on revenge, and death.

Clenching his eyes shut, Arthur grabbed one of the throwing knives he had kept on his belt from earlier that day. Holding it firmly in hand, thrusting it upwards at the magic.

Another screech could be heard, as the magic cringed back, its form dissolving and flitting away, away from the people who had thwarted it. Away from the gapping boy, and panting knight.

~ Gaius's POV ~

Gaius was not at all surprised by the angry shouting coming from the hall outside of his chambers. Nor was he surprised by the loud bang that sounded out throughout his chambers as an angry king stormed into his living quarters. He was far too numbed by past events to be anything but exhausted.

"Gaius!" Uther shouted, sounding more panicked than angry.

Gaius turned away from Merlin, who was now breathing normally, and turned to face Uther not hinting in the least bit about how exhausted he was or how much he would like to simply sit down for a nice hot meal, then go to bed.

He had told Arthur and Will to go and attend to their duties as soon as the three had calmed down a bit from the appearance of the magic. Will had gone quietly, without much protest, while Arthur had looked at Merlin at that moment and stated that she was his duty. Gaius had been in no mood for any of the young knight's sense of duty, so he simply told him to go and clean himself of the horribly rancid smell that he exuded. Which got the knight running for water faster than anything else.

Looking the king over, Gaius noted that Uther was tense, tenser than usual, his face was hardened, teeth grinding together in an angry snarl, his fists clenched tightly. Gaius could see the out of place hair, the paleness in his face, and the fear and worry in his eyes.

Gaius stood up straight, standing equal to Uther, seeing as at this moment in time, Uther needed someone to be higher than him, to help assure him that his daughter was fine. So Gaius used his seniority and experience to help him let off an air that would show Uther that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Uther tensed more, looking at Gaius with a sense of hostility that was completely animalistic, the sense of anything of anyone being higher than him was very unsettling for Uther, as he wasn't used to the feeling, and it made him think he had to fight a rival. But when Gaius smiled an assuring smile and put a hand on Uther's back in something resembling comradery, his tension dissolved.

Gaius led Uther over to Merlin, so he could look at her sleeping face and know that she wasn't going to die any time soon.

Uther, seemed to collapse onto the chair in front of Merlin, and took his daughters hand in relief. All sense of being a king disappeared, as he knelt by his daughter.

"Do you know who did this?" The king asked, his voice deceptively calm now.

Gaius nodded.

"The guards you assigned to Merlin have confirmed it to be Mary Collins, the woman who threatened Merlin's life before."

Gaius could have swarm that he heard a rumbling growl come from Uther.

"She would kill a child for the sake of revenge!" Uther shouted, standing on his feet, his eyes filled with fire. The need to protect his child from the hands of the enchantress who wished a gruesome death upon her.

Gaius pushed back, not hard, but gently. He nudged Uther back into a sitting position, willing the strained King into letting go for a moment.

"A mother's grief is a terrible thing Sire, the way you feel about protecting Merlin is much the same, but in a mother it is also more intense. I could hardly imagine the pain she must feel at being unable to protect her child." Gaius moved to sit close to Uther, who had gone silent. He sighed inwardly and began to lead Uther on to a less upsetting topic. "You mustn't stress yourself sire. Your old injury will begin acting up if you don't calm yourself." Gaius chastised.

Uther tore his gaze away from the sleeping face of his daughter, his eyes a bit red, but not wet, he nodded rolling his shoulder, seeming grateful at the opportunity to veer away from Mary Collins.

"I had been meaning to talk to you about that Gaius. But more pressing matters had come up."

Gaius cocked his eyebrow.

"Have you been using the tonic?" Gaius asked.

Uther nodded. "It helped at first, but my injury has been clenching, and it becomes hard to hold a quill."

Gaius, stood thoughtfully for moment, before going to his shelf and pulling off a jar of clear liquid. He unsealed the jar and poured a little of it into a smaller container of which he sealed and brought back to the King.

"Try adding this to your bath sire. It should help loosen your muscles."

Uther took the vial from Gaius thankfully. "Thank you Gaius." He stated simply, before looking back at Merlin and falling into a depressed silence.

Gaius, simply stared at Uther sympathizing with the downcast king before opening his mouth to address an issue of which he had just recently stumbled upon.

"Sire. What do you know about the new Knight? Arthur from Cornwall? I believe?" Gaius suggested, intending to bring the issue up slowly, after all magic was an extremely touchy subject with the king.

Uther nodded, not thinking too much of the issue, his mind being flooded with thoughts of the witch, and how to best protect Merlin if the witch could so easily sneak into his daughters room.

"He protected Merlin rather well, even after two of your best knights were frozen by the enchantress." Gaius continued, trying his best to come upon this subject gently, he wished not to get Arthur executed, but he also knew that this could very well be one of the best things for Merlin. To have someone who could balance out her talents with one of their own.

Uther's alarms started to go off when Gaius mentioned the enchantress, and his temper flared.

"Yes, Sir Leon explained the whole thing to me. Arthur saved my girls life."

Gaius nodded before continuing.

"Do you not think it is amazing that he was able to resist the enchantress's spell, when both Leon and Owaine had been frozen in place?" Gaius prodded.

The alarms were blaring in Uther's head at what Gaius was saying, he shot up, turning to Gaius in alarm.

"What are you trying to say Gaius?" Uther asked, his eyed wide and his tone alarmed.

Gaius seemed to stiffen a little at the King's alarm. He knew that he should tread carefully. So he simply stated what he believed quickly, not allowing for the king to interject before he had reached his point.

"I believe that your new Knight is something very rare Sire. I believe that he will be able to protect Merlin better than anyone else ever could." Gaius stepped closer to the king, intending to make sure that his point was heard.

Uther's eyebrows narrowed at Gaius. "Are you accusing one of my knights of using magic Gaius?" Uther fumed, having immense pride in his knights, and taking great offense in even those knights who had just begun being accused of using magic.

Gaius shook his head calmly.

"No sire, I am actually suggesting just the opposite. Have you ever heard of people who naturally repel magic?"

Uther was taken aback by the unexpected turn of the conversation. He had been fully prepared to begin ranting and raving about how Gaius should be absolutely sure that what he was accusing was true before continuing. But he had been completely blindsided by this. People who naturally repelled magic? Such a thing existed?

Gaius continued. "Such people are extremely rare, and usually their ability does not appear until they have been exposed to a powerful spell, or a certain mixture of random things and magic. More often than not, the ability usually manifests itself when the person in question is in a life or death situation." Gaius's hands were in front of him, making grand gestures in an attempt to explain just how it worked.

"No one knows exactly why it works, but after this ability is revealed, no magic can affect the person."

Uther was rendered speechless by this revelation. It opened up countless number of doors, and made suddenly made Arthur, a boy he had only just met recently, one of the most valuable assets he had.

"You're… You're saying that Arthur… Arthur isn't affected by Magic?" Uther stuttered, glee apparent in his voice, he seemed to have bounced back from whatever depression he had been in before and was standing before Gaius once more in his usual confident manner.

Gaius felt relieved that the king was thinking about Arthur as an asset instead of a threat. It would have been very unfortunate if Gaius told Uther about Arthur's ability only for him to think the worst and begin assuming Arthur had magic. Which in all reality was the very opposite of what he was, but he still had to walk through his revelation to further cement the fact that Arthur was NOT magic in any way shape or form. Nodding at Uther Gaius moved to explain more to the joyous king.

"I noticed it when the young Knight brought Merlin in. I asked him to set Merlin down and step back. But as soon as he let go of her, Merlin began to writhe. Arthur helped me restrain her, and I noticed that when Arthur came to her, she began to calm. It happened once more when Will came back with the Herbs I has asked for, and he asked Arthur to step back. Merlin began writhing again, just as before, and just like previously, she stopped when Arthur got a hold of her."

Uther digested this information, and nodded for Gaius to continue.

"Then there was the magic, it wasn't the normal kind of magic, the kind that simply dissolves away once it has been thwarted. It formed, took shape, and became as real and as tangible as you or I."

Uther's eyes widened in alarm at this, and he frowned.

"This was because of Arthur?" He asked, utterly confused at how Arthur's ability could have caused such an unusual effect.

Gaius shook his head. "No sire, Arthur's ability is what can be considered as the total opposite of Magic, and as such he is able to combat it by simply being close to it. The fact that the Magic became so real was because the spell that was used on Merlin is one that has never been thwarted before. It's one that requires a sacrifice no matter what, and cannot be destroyed without one." Sighing Gaius admitted. "It doesn't truly matter who the sacrifice is however. So it will be just a matter of time before it returns."

Uther's fist clenched, and he moved to speak.

"Will it attack the lower citadel?" Uther asked, truly concerned for his people.

Gaius nodded. "I suspect it will look for a victim right away. We would be very lucky if it hasn't already claimed its sacrifice."

Uther sighed, he mourned the loss of a citizen, an innocent bystander who died because of the misguided anger of an evil witch. He vowed to himself that he would see this witch dead no matter what it took. She had already left too many dead bodies in her wake, and that was simply unacceptable.

Gaius stared at Uther's face, it had hardened with a look of steely resolve. He seemed to have already assumed that the magic had taken its victim, and was taking a personal interest in the victim, despite the fact that he didn't even know them.

"I'll keep an eye on Arthur, and see just how useful he can be. For now, I would prefer him to stay with Merlin until this witch is apprehended." Uther had spoken suddenly, and after he was finished, he looked Gaius straight in the eyes.

"I trust you to make sure my daughter recovers."

And with that, the king left the room, no doubt going to tend to preparations for the feast.

~Arthur's POV~

It was all wrong, suspicious, and just plain weird. No one got put on guard duty alone. Especially when there was an evil witch trying to kill your charge. It just didn't make sense.

So when King Uther had dismissed Sir Leon and Owaine, and left Arthur alone to guard the princess, he felt more than a little wary about what it meant.

It was a huge gamble to put your child in the hands of one knight when someone with magic was trying to kill them.

Under normal circumstances it usually took an entire army to defeat a person with magic, or at the very least a team of well-trained soldiers equipped with magic repelling objects, and even then it wasn't a guarantee.

Staring at the black tresses that fell down the princess's back, Arthur's eyebrow twitched, he hadn't quite grasped the situation that had befallen him.

One minute he was just a normal nobleman, training to become one of the best knights that Camelot could offer. He'd trained day and night, listening to the clang of metal against metal, feeling the sting of cuts, and the smell of battle.

Then he met "her" the princess of Camelot, beloved daughter of the king, and the most stubborn, clumsy, smart aleck, big eared, loudmouthed, not-so-sneaky, improper "PRINCESS", he had ever seen.

"Honestly, how can she be considered Royalty? She's not even trained properly! Not even graceful!"

He couldn't quite accept that his image of Camelot's royal family was being spoiled by the way the princess acted. She acted so independent, fierce, and cunningly. They were all good qualities in a prince, but for a princess…

Sighing to himself, Arthur chastised himself, he supposed that it was all that should be expected of the young princess. If what the dragon said had been true.

~Flashback~

It was still very dark out, and the halls were being patrolled by the guards, all being very vigilante in their efforts to keep the castle free from any ill that would intend to befall it. Arthur, was in the quarters he was assigned to as a nobleman, a section of the castle that was close to the armory and not too far away from the royal chambers, in case there was an emergency and the knights were needed to protect the royal family.

He had just finished scrubbing away the purple substance that stuck to his skin, dressed in a casual attire of a red shirt and black pants. He had called for a servant to take away the bath water. A servant girl, Guinevere, arrived to take that bath water away, along with another girl who went by the name of Penelope. Both were lovey young ladies, but Arthur had noticed that Guinevere held herself up a little bit more than the servant Penelope.

It had made Arthur wonder if all of the women in Camelot were strange.

He tested his theory on the two girls, seeing if they would tell him off, or at the very least act in a way that most women anywhere else would when being harassed by a knight. He didn't dishonor them, no, he would never stoop that low, but he did give them a fair bit of grief, tripping them once in a while and watching the mess the water made. Then purposely insulting them for their clumsiness. And he hated to admit it, but he was having a bit too much fun with it as well. Which he normally didn't.

Not once did Arthur relent while the two were there, and he watched them leave with the bath water, fascinated by the contained way the two girls (Especially Guinevere) held themselves. He could tell how much they wanted to tell him off for leaving such a mess for them, as well as for the way he harassed them while they were there, but they held back. It was strange in the fact that no one did that, yet it was also the most sensible and proper thing to do.

He watched them leave, pleased, yet also puzzled. No one would put up with the grief he had put the two through without at the very least some sort of retribution. He continued to puzzle this fact as he cleaned his sword, focusing on the metal, and cleaning it until he could see his reflection.

He almost didn't notice the flare of "something" in the corner of his eye.

Looking up suddenly when the flare happened, Arthur, frowned when he saw light disappearing around the door.

Stopping with his attempts to clean his sword, Arthur stood, holding the sword in front of him, in a ready stance in case something were to jump out at him. Slowly he approached the door, cautious as he pokes the door open with the tip of his sword.

Nothing.

Moving swifter than before, Arthur suddenly rounded the corner of the door and stood facing away from where the door was opening, he saw nothing on that side and quickly looked behind the door.

Still nothing.

Frowning, Arthur looked around once more, before moving to put his sword away.

However, before he could even position the sword over the sheath, another light seemed to flit around the corner.

Becoming on guard again, Arthur held his sword out again and approached the corner quickly. Like before, he rounded the corner quickly.

Nothing again.

"What in the-"

Arthur's words were interrupted as another light seemed to linger for a little bit, behind a corner, flickering and staying still for a while. He saw the shadow of a hand beckoning him to come, waiting, before the light flitted away down the corridor of that corner.

Feeling suspicious, yet also not threatened by the source of the light. Arthur reluctantly put his sword away, and proceeded with caution as he followed the light.

That light, was always much farther ahead of Arthur, always at the next bend or turn, or shining from behind a door. It never stayed for long, just long enough for Arthur to get a good look at where it was, then disappear. It also disappeared every time a guard would pass by, and Arthur would feel a strange compulsion to hide as well. It didn't made sense to Arthur. Why he was following the light, but he did so anyways, and seemed to "humor it" by hiding from the guards just as it did.

Even when it led him down to the dungeons, and distracted the guards so that he could pass by them without being noticed, not once did he think to himself "I should turn back". He just followed the light, drawn by some inexplicable curiosity and wonder.

Until of course, he arrived in the cave.

"Where am I?" Arthur said to himself, also at the same time, to the strange companion of light that had led him there. He jumped a little when the torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the inky darkness of the cavern.

Drawing his sword once more, eyes wide, and startled, it seemed that he had been tricked into coming here by some sort of sorcerer, perhaps that enchantress that had tried to kill Merlin. With anger evident in his voice, he shouted out into the cave.

"Where are you? Show yourself you cowardly wench! You filthy enchantress!"

No response came to him for a while, as if the silence were a contemplation, until the beating of wings could be heard. Arthur heard this sound, and looked up into the air, expecting some sort of aerial assault.

Then his jaw dropped.

It was a DRAGON! A DRAGON! That landed before Arthur, staring down at him with a looked that was comprised of annoyance, pity, and… Joy?

Arthur was knocked back by the powerful gust of wind that came from the dragons wings. And he stared up at the dragon, his mouth hanging open, gapping in wonder, and fear.

Even being scared out of his wits was not enough to deter Arthur from keeping his sword pointed at the position of which he thought the heart of the dragon was positioned.

It was at this display of bravery that the dragon's expression changed, and seemed to lay down in front of Arthur as if honored, yet at the same time, angry.

"The balance of the world has been shifted, young Pri- Warrior." The stumbling of words, and let alone the words that came from the Dragon's mouth was enough to throw Arthur off completely. His stance wavered, and his sword dropped out of his hands, complete and utter shock showing clearly on his features.

A grim smile slipped onto the dragons face, as it continued with its cryptic discussion, a discussion more so meant for the dragon alone than for a blond haired knight that had never seen a dragon before.

"It is unfortunate to see someone meant to be so great stripped down to being a mere knight, no matter how good." A cloud of smoke blew from the nostrils of the dragon, as he stared down at the gaping knight, almost as if at a loss for words, which would look painful and strange to someone who knew the dragon by name.

Stumbling over his own words, Arthur garbled, not so much in terror anymore, than in confusion.

"Wha-what? I thought the dragons had been wiped out! Yet there's one in Camelot's dungeons? Does Uther even know about this? Is it somehow the enchantress? She must have conjured it! Danm w-"

A cry of outrage ripped from the throat of the majestic creature in front of Arthur at the suggestion of being a conjuration of the enchantress.

"Do not mistake me for a mere conjuration of a lowly enchantress! I am an ancient and noble creature and have lived for too many centauries to be called a mere summons!"

Arthur stopped in his tracks, staring up at the dragon as if it had grown a second head. Which wasn't all that strange, it would just constitute a name change.

Swallowing his words Arthur's thoughts returned to some semblance of normal, instead of the jumbled mess of a rambling knight scared out of his wits. He didn't quite believe that he was awake, or that he was still sane, but he did want answers. Questions that he had burned on his tongue, and he couldn't contain them any longer, no matter how afraid he was, and much like the dragon, the words spilled out of his mouth like flames.

"Were you the one who brought me here? With that ball of light?" Arthur asked, somehow his tone remaining steady, despite how much his hands shook. The bravery and courage that was intricately woven in Arthur's very being made itself known, in the way his eyes shone with fear, yet he still stood tall, facing the dragon with his head held high, challenging.

The dragon looked at Arthur with respect, admiring the way that Arthur shone like a gem, the dragon was very tempted to keep the young knight there with him, hoarding him like a gem.

"Very observant courageous one." The dragon rumbled, amusement and pleasure evident in his voice. The transgression of being called the summons of an enchantress was forgotten as the winged creature laid itself on the rock with its eyes level with Arthur's easing the knight's worries to a certain degree, but causing the questions he had to double.

"Why?" The blond haired knight questioned, confusion etching his voice. "Why call me here? It wasn't to eat me was it? No I think you would have already done that if it were your goal. So why? Why am I here?" Arthur asked, his brow furrowing deeply as he puzzled over the intentions of the dragons like so many before him.

The dragon chuckled, amused by the utterly mundane and typical line of thought that the young noble had followed.

"I wished to meet half of the future of this kingdom." The dragon stated simply, as if it were an obvious fact, and not another statement that would lead the young noble to more questions.

"The Future of this Kingdom?" Arthur questioned, his tone incredulous, and not at all believing what he had just heard. Surprisingly, it was only at this time that Arthur bothered to pinch himself to see if he were dreaming.

When the young blond haired noble confirmed that he was not dreaming, his eyes widened a little further and he looked up at the dragon with skeptical and critical eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Arthur snapped, no fear evident in his features now, just anger.

Sighing the dragon continued, exasperated. "It is just as I have said young one. I wished to meet you, the future of this kingdom. The prophesized leader, a king who will unite all of Albion." The look on the dragons face was puzzled as he said this, as if he himself was beginning to see Arthur as less than what he should be. Not at all the stuff of Legends that had been passed down through druid legends and texts of the old religion.

Scoffing, Arthur turned, talking to himself, having already had enough of the shite that he was being fed. "I can't believe this. I have just fallen victim to a prank by a dragon. You have fallen far Arthur, very far."

The dragon's anger flared once more at the actions of the young knight, he did not appreciate his words being dismissed so easily as a prank by a child who knew nothing of the legends, who had barely lived long enough to know the difference between his behind and his big head. The dragon reined in his anger with difficulty, seeing that it would do him absolutely no good to burn the future of Albion to a crisp.

"Deny it all you wish young warrior, but destiny cannot be denied, you are half of the future of this land."

Turning sharply, Arthur glared up at the dragon, staring into the slit pupils of his eyes. "Half? Now you're just making stuff up. Who could I possibly be partnered with for such a thing? Better yet, why me, I'm nothing? I'm not even a full knight of Camelot yet! I don't know what they're feeding you down here, but I know that it's done something to your head, you're not making any sense." Arthur snapped, his glare surprisingly harsh, seeing as he had been a stuttering mess not two minutes ago. The dragon sighed.

"Greatness is in you young warrior, you just have yet to realize it."

Arthur shook his head.

"How can I be great when I'm stuck being the babysitter for a clumsy princess?" Arthur sighed, more so as an exasperation. "A princess who hates me no less."

A reptilian smile seemed to don the dragon's features. "One cannot truly hate that which makes it whole." The dragon stated, a true tone of mysticism accenting his voice.

This got Arthur's attention, he understood that particularly cryptic message, albeit it still confused him, but he had a vivid picture of what the dragon was suggesting. His face colored, and he gapped at the dragon, his mind wandering to things that he really didn't want to think about.

"I don't know what you're suggesting, bu-"

The dragon shook his head before interrupting Arthur. "You and the young princess are two sides of the same coin, your destinies are intertwined and inescapable, together, you will create a shining future for Albion."

Staring up at the dragon with a face twisted in confusion.

"How?" He asked, flustered at the answers the dragon was giving him. He had so many questions, questions that were being answered cryptically by a dusty old dragon. But even with all the questions that were popping up in his head he still didn't even have a clue about where to start.

The dragon sat up, looking down at the warrior.

"There are numerous threats to the princess's life, she is in mortal danger, and it is up to you to protect her, as it is up to her to protect you."

Arthur groaned, he understood that he had to protect Merlin, but the other part was just…

"You've quite obviously got the wrong person, there is no way that I can be this 'whatever' that you're expecting me to be."

One beat of the dragon's wings was enough to tell Arthur that the winged creature was leaving. His head snapped up so that he was staring up at the dragon as it beat its wings to hover above the spot it had just been in. Arthur covered his eyes, shielding them from the dust the dragon's wings whipped up.

"Wait, where are you going!? I still don't understand what you want me to do."

"Greatness is at your fingertips young warrior, you just have to reach out to grasp it. But beware there is a cost for this greatness. Your life is irrevocably tangled with that of Merlin's, you are two sides of the same coin, and as such you cannot survive without the other. So whatever you may find out about the young princess, you must remember that everything you care for, and cherish, depends on her."

And with that, the dragon flew away, leaving Arthur to stare after it, intense confusion marring his face.

~Present~

Arthur sighed, that conversation had been the night before, after which Arthur had been plagued with endless questions. It had not prevented the blond knight from falling into a fitful sleep, but it had been the source of the constant frown that marred his features the whole time he had been guarding the princess. A whole day had passed, with few highlights aside from the arrival of Lady Helena, and the attempts Merlin kept on making to try and escape. It was nearing time for the feast to begin. It was funny how time flew by when you were thinking about something with such deep and personal content as Merlin and the future of the land.

Even if Arthur had not been a knight, he was a prestigious enough noble that he would have been invited to the feast anyways. However, seeing as Uther was still concerned for his daughter, he had told Arthur that he would be standing to the side, by the servants, ready to jump in at a moment's notice in case something were to happen and he would need to protect Merlin.

It had been a bit of a blow to Arthur's confidence that he would be demoted to the position of servants. He was a member of a prestigious noble family, and as such he should be sitting as close to the royal table as possible. But duty to his kingdom came first so Arthur sucked it up, and prepared himself for a knight of vigilance.

Arthur had dressed in his knight's attire, a red shirt, with a brown tunic over his chainmail, he had leather pants, and a red cape draped over his shoulders, with the insignia of Camelot's knights keeping the cape in place. He had wanted to relax by dressing in something that was far more comfortable, but that would have made him lazy, so he settled for uniform.

He was leaning against the wall in Merlin's chambers, watching as the princess readied herself for the banquet, her maidservant, a girl named Anna, was doing the princess's hair into an intricate braid, while the princess herself chatted with the girl animatedly, as she sprayed perfume on herself and picked out jewelry that would complement the dress she was wearing.

Normally a man was not allowed to be present when a woman was changing, and Arthur was not an exception. The girls had shooed him out of the room so that Merlin could change into her dress, before they allowed him to come back into her chambers.

A sudden comment interrupted Arthur from his thoughts. "I can hear you thinking from all the way over here."

Turning his head to look at the owner of the voice, Arthur's mind went blank for a moment, being eclipsed by a single thought.

"Gods have mercy."

Merlin was dressed in the colors of Camelot, a red velvet dress hugged Merlin's body and drew attention to assets of which Arthur had previously thought the princess was bereft of. The dress curved with the girls body and guided the eyes down, to where extra fabric just barely touched the floor with her every step, while a train swept along behind her as she walked. Merlin's sleeves themselves ended at the middle of her upper arm, and sheer glossy fabric continued as the sleeve, before being cut by a slit at her elbow and hanging from her arm and floating through the air like a feather. The sheer fabric, was a shade of red that almost matched the velvet material of the dress until it gradually started fading into a golden shade. The top portion of the sleeves and the area surrounding Merlin's chest, seemed to be spattered with what looked like golden specs that continued in scattered patterns down the princess's right side. The specs were outlines in silver, which made them take on the appearance of dragon's scales, but that wasn't all, embroidered along a low neckline, was the swirling patterns of flames, that spread over Merlin's entire dress giving her the effect that she was covered in golden flames that burst open at the ends of her elbow to allow for elegant hands to show. The jewelry that she wore was golden as well, a golden circlet was woven into the princess's hair signifying her as the crowned princess of Camelot. Brilliant red jewel were set into the circlet, no doubt put there by Merlin herself, seeing as the crowns of the female royals were always made so that stones could be taken out and replaces with various jewels. The necklace that the princess wore was a delicate chain that had a dragon pendent holding another brilliant red jewel in its grasp, her bracelets had no jewels in them, but rather had golden fire engraved into them, while the ring that she wore was embedded with the same red jewel as her circlet and necklace. The princess's hair was in its usual style, albeit with the circlet woven in, but it still cascaded down her shoulders and back in black waves.

Merlin looked like fire.

A breath that Arthur hadn't realized he'd been holding escaped his mouth as he stared at a "princess." A beautiful elegant creature that shone brightly, leaving no doubt in Arthur's mind that this is what a princess should look like.

Familiar laughter came from the girl sitting in front of Arthur, snapping Arthur out of his trance as he took another look at the creature in front of him.

Blinking Arthur recognized the gangly limbs, and pale skin. He couldn't see the big ears anymore, but he could still make out the hidden outline of them underneath Merlin's hair. Although he had to admit that the more he looked at them, the more he thought they made her look like an elf.

"I'm sorry, I missed that." Arthur said breathlessly, shaking his head to try and shake off the blush that had colored his face.

Out of the corner of his eye Arthur could make out a satisfied smirk from the princess. Looking over to her maidservant, Arthur noticed the way that Merlin threw a conspiratorial smile in her direction, waved her away, and continued to watch as the maidservant giggled at Arthur expense before she scurried away.

Merlin rose to her full height, stepping away from the vanity that she had been primping in front of only moments ago and approaching Arthur. Who quickly stood at attention.

Cursing, Arthur reminded himself that this was Merlin, the same, gangly, clumsy, not-so-graceful, and "un-princess like" princess he had ever had the misfortune of meeting.

It was too late, to take back his sudden action, since Merlin had already taken notice and was instead beaming so widely at him that he swore the room would burst into golden flames like her dress. So instead, he threw a vicious glare in Merlin's direction, turning away from the bane of his existence and heading towards the door.

"I assume that you're ready?" Arthur stated, keeping his eyes focused on the door and refusing to look at the picture of beauty his newly sworn evil counterpart had become.

More giggles came from behind him, before he heard one click of a heel, and a satisfied sigh.

"You would be correct." Merlin replied, her voice suddenly losing that mischievous quality and becoming formal.

Arthur heard the princess take a calming breath, and he did the same. Realizing that he would need all the control he could get if he was going to make it through the banquet without strangling the princess.

~ Merlin's POV ~

Waking up from a near drowning experience had not been pleasant. Waking up to the smell of rotten knight had been even worse. Which made the morning following Merlin's little scrape with death, the worst possible combination of the two. A pounding headache, combined with the swirl of Merlin's magic (Which was practically fussing over her wellbeing) when she woke up, had clashed in opposition to create a crippling headache.

Groaning to herself, and turning to bury her face into the softness of her pillow, Merlin dully noticed that the sound of captivity that usually colored the mornings was blissfully absent, a fact of which Merlin was extremely grateful for. Until of course she opened her eyes, and saw the golden head of her favorite knight, making Merlin wish that the atrocious sounds would move into her room.

She'd pretended that she was asleep, hoping that the blond haired noble would leave, so that she could use her magic to camouflage herself and climb out the window to scale the wall into the room next to hers, but that hadn't happened, so she ended up forcing herself to rise from her comfortable plush grave in order to greet the blond haired knight with veiled disdain.

The fact that he wore the same look on his own face did not go unnoticed, and a strange kinship suddenly formed between them.

...

Throughout the day Merlin's headache faded, but in its place chaos arose.

Lady Helena had arrived, and the castle had plunged itself into a state of constant movement. It was a nightmare for Merlin, since it meant that even if she could get away from Arthur, she couldn't use her magic without someone seeing her.

She had learned every nook and cranny of the castle at a very young age, and she could easily find a place to hide if she wanted to. But the problem was that she would always be watched, slipping into those crannies was impossible when everyone started to gap at you, whispering about how the princess of Camelot was gracing their presence.

That didn't mean she wasn't going to try though.

She kept on trying to slip away from Arthur, using magic, hiding her eyes far too often, and finding that no matter what kind of spell or magic or object she used to try and slip away from him, it would always be dispelled.

It was endlessly frustrating, a very affront to Merlin's pride, and belief in herself, her very magical existence, that someone as utterly simple and brutish as Arthur could combat the thing she held the most pride in effortlessly.

Which is why every time Arthur managed to catch her, she could never believe it.

After a total of 15 escape attempts, Merlin was finally confined to her room by the prat who had foiled her attempts.

She had sulked for a bit, before finally deciding that it would be better to just cut her losses, and call her maidservant, Anna, to help her prepare for the banquet.

The rest of the afternoon was spent gossiping about scandals in the castle, picking out, then altering a dress, twirling in it, and in general just being a girl, an activity which Merlin normally avoided, ever since she had dreamt of woman saying "Let them eat cake" and having her head chopped off.

It was pleasant for Merlin, to forget for once that a kingdom was on her shoulders, to forget that if she were to even once slip up in her duties, a kingdom full of people would see and in turn feel the effects of her actions.

"What do you think your highness?" Anna had asked, not feeling at all confident in her seamstress skills, despite the fact that she was one of the best tailors in in the city.

Shaking her head at the modesty of her maidservant, Merlin smiled.

"You did fine Anna." She smiled, before turning to look at the work they had completed.

Merlin had picked out a simple red dress, one that she had never worn before, one she had specifically brought from the seamstress to be altered at a later date. The dress had been bare of any embroidery or accents, and was made so that it could fit anyone, before it was fitted to the body while being altered.

Uther had never understood why Merlin insisted upon altering dresses herself instead of having servants or tailors do it for her. He considered it a task royalty was above, and disapproved of Merlin's participation in it.

What Uther didn't realize however, was that Merlin liked altering clothes because it was an activity that kept her close to the common people.

People who bought their own fabric and threads. Cutting the cloth and fitting it to their own bodies. The common people who took great care in making their clothes, knowing that they would have to wear it for a long time.

Merlin had never done that, despite how much she wished she could, Uther allowed her to alter dresses, but he drew the line with her making the dress from scratch. Which was a shame, since Merlin had found out very early on, that magic wasn't the only thing she was good at.

"Your Highness, you would have made a wonderful seamstress." Anna had mentioned, earlier when Merlin was skillfully patterning the sheer cloth they had decided would be used for the sleeves.

Blushing slightly, Merlin shook her head. "I doubt that very much Anna, if I were a seamstress I would be rubbish at making dresses for other people."

Anna in response had laughed and pointed to the sheer in Merlin's hands.

"I beg to differ your Highness that is beautiful."

It had been difficult patterning the sheer the way that they had, and Merlin herself thought it would have been better if they had just made it from scratch, dying the thread as they made it. But Anna had shook her head telling Merlin that she could try that when they weren't pressed for time, and instead showed Merlin how she could dye and bleach the sheer quickly. Once Merlin got the hang of it, she began patterning the sheer as if she'd been doing it for years, the resulting pattern was stunning.

The end result was something that Merlin was immensely proud of. A beautiful dress modeled with Camelot's crest in mind.

The pattern on the dress resembled the scales on a dragon, golden, and red, the colors of Camelot.

She would floor everyone in the banquet hall.

It also wouldn't hurt to be able to say that the dress was all her idea.

...

Watching Arthur's eyes bug out when he saw her in all of her finery was satisfying to say the least. Specifically because she knew that he thought that she didn't have any womanly features. So when she saw his blush, and his attempt to not admit even to himself that she looked lovely, she couldn't help but wish she'd gotten a portrait of his face.

Even thinking about a portrait if the shocked look on Arthur's face could not lift Merlin's spirits at the banquet.

But of course it was her own fault.

Merlin had taken more care in her appearance for that night than she had in a long time. Mostly because she was bored, but also because she had wanted to make those people she'd overheard mocking her appearance while she was in camouflage eat their own words.

She had not stopped to think about why exactly she preferred to keep her beauty hidden.

It may have been a nice change to suddenly have people who knew her as an awkward and strange looking girl turn their heads when she walked by, but she didn't like it when she was suddenly pursued by suitors who she knew would never be able to match her in anything.

She remembered why she hid her form, and kept her hair hidden under a hat.

The nobles at the banquet had always annoyed Merlin, it was bad enough when she was pursued by nobles who were only interested in her title, but it was just degrading when they suddenly were interested only in her beauty. She had tried to stick to the sidelines, standing by her favorite castle mate, while socializing with the nobles who were less annoying and weren't trying to obtain her chastity, but Uther had insisted that she spread out, or in other words, "Go socialize and find a husband."

It had never been much of a secret that Uther had wanted a son. He didn't even need to say it for people to know it was true. His actions spoke loudly enough for it to be well known.

His knights for example, were privy to his special attention. He prided himself on their training and made sure that whenever there was a tournament, that the best knight at the time received his special training.

It also showed in the way that he didn't punish Merlin as harshly when she deigned to go out dressed in men's clothing. As well as in the way that he was always bringing suitors to Merlin's attention.

That fact alone stung.

She'd gotten used to being paraded in front of men, meeting them, and mastering the art of becoming friend zoned, an accomplishment of which she was very proud of. Friendships were far more valuable than unions, friendships were easier to maintain, and easily maintained things were something she would need quite a bit once she ascended the throne. She was completely fine with suitors. Although lusty and over privileged nobles were another thing entirely.

Merlin was thrown off her game by the nobles, which interrupted the well ingrained flow of politics, manners, and social skills that had been beaten into her since she was old enough to read.

More than one friendship that she had formed that night would have to be reinforced later in life. Which really wasn't like Merlin, she made friends easily. It was noticed by everyone, even people that she barely knew, even her father had noticed, which was saying something.

After the initial meet and greet for those in attendance at the banquet, as well as after Merlin's father had given his whole speech about how they had maintained a peaceful existence for years (a speech that made Merlin's skin crawl), and the welcoming of Lady Helena, Uther confronted his daughter. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Uther leaned in to whisper in Merlin's ear.

"I understand if you are shaken up by the attempt on your life Merlin, but you must stay strong. We must keep up appearances. We cannot have our people thinking that you are weak."

Merlin pursed her lips at this, tensing up just a little, yet still keeping a smile on her face. She had thought that her father would know the reason for Merlin's discomfort was because of the attention from the nobles, but she supposed that was too much to ask for. Clenching her fist, Merlin looked across the room, avoiding looking into her father's eyes.

"Yes father." She replied, keeping up appearances as the demure, obedient princess that listened to her father. Not the stubborn, fiery, and outspoken child that she was.

She steeled herself from her fathers gaze, watching in rapt attention as the fair Lady Helena entered, and started to sing, capturing the attention of all within the room. Her voice was splendid, truly the voice of the most celebrated singer in all of the land.

"Blah khien barrah fweelah, blah khien aiza krum, aloe khio bragam harah eefnell, broe floe mesing lah"

A sadness swept through the air with the words of the singer, drowsiness danced through the room like waves, Merlin saw this, and was utterly enchanted by the beautiful magic that swept through the room, feeling it along her skin, like the familiar caress of a mother's arms, a sensation which Merlin welcomed gladly. Everyone around her fell into sleep before the effect started to weigh down on Merlin, and her eyes slipped shut as well.

"Breeyoolah naaadryu, Sorin sar akhwah, roe hagroe nonestroe"

The intensity of the lyrics grew, the sadness steadily becoming stronger, the emotions began to take shape, and Merlin could feel the magic creating silk that stuck to her skin, continuing to caress her, lulling her into sleep, the growing sense of sadness, and motherly grief causing Merlin to see her own mother, a woman mourning.

"Broilin sar akwah, mortsin danah bradeh, broilin sar akwah, noe-..."

The magic grew heavier, and the sadness slowly began to cover her, the magic's silk becoming sticky, heavy, a constant pressure weighing down on Merlin, the image of her mother crying, hugging Merlin too tightly.

"Weeben proe, proe sah yakmah, haryay nakhah"

The pressure became stifling, the sadness became anger, and the image of Merlin's mother started screaming, no longer warmly hugging Merlin, but instead holding her in a vice grip. The sound of metal, and the glint of a knife in Ygraine's hands. The sound of the knife was what snapped Merlin from the dream, her own magic flaring to life and fending off the sleep that had settled over Merlin, allowing Merlin's blazing golden eyes to settle on the form of Lady Helena of Mora, her eyes piercing through the glamour that the enchantress had draped over herself, allowing Merlin to see Mary Collins.

"Agah madah Sadah Hagah!"

The anger of the song fueled Merlin's own rage at being deceived and made to dream of a mother she had never met, the sound of the knife sliding from a sheath, reminding Merlin once again of the sound of captivity. The glint of the knife rose above Mary Collins, and Merlin's eyes burned a brighter golden color, staring straight at the angry face of Mary Collins.

The sound of another weapon being drawn from its sheath, tipped Merlin over the edge, as she watched a head of brilliantly golden hair enter into her line of sight.

The head of blonde hair didn't get far before Merlin looked up and willed the chandelier to fall.

A crack, and a sizzle could be heard when the chandelier fell on Mary Collins.

Merlin's eyes returned to normal as soon as the chandelier hit the floor, and she slumped in her seat, slowly moving the cobwebs that had somehow formed on her body from her line of sight so that she could stare at the prone form of Mary Collins as she lay under the chandelier.

The nobles of the banquet hall, all held their breath, as they looked at the body under the chandelier. Confusion passed over the hall as the nobles stared at the body.

Three things happened after that.

Mary Collin's lifted herself up, crawling out from under the chandelier in an amazing feat of strength. She once again, lifted the knife above her head and threw it at Merlin with a cry.

Merlin's eyes widened at this, flinching and reflexively closing her eyes and cringing away.

Her eyes flashed gold under her eyelids, and she felt the world slow as warm hands grabbed a hold of her arms and yanked her away from the path of the knife and pulling her down into the warm embrace of the man she thought despised her.

An enraged cry ripped from the throat of Mary Collins, as she bellowed to all in the banquet hall.

"I am not finished yet! I will not stop until I have avenged my son! Merlin Pendragon will die! She will die tonight!"

Raising up her arms, the enchantress began to call upon every evil intention and action through a random and singularly purposed set of words in the language of magic. They did not fit together, nor did they adhere to one another, it was simply a mashing together of magic, magic meant to destroy.

"Ragu fir cwalu endian hearmcwalu ætlætnes!"

The discord and lack of harmony of the words created a ghastly effect. Black, writhing fire formed in Mary Collin's hands, emotions from her mind bleeding out from her eyes, the hunger of a thousand starved children flying to her from the windows, the sounds of war and chaos screaming as they too joined the magic.

The magic itself screamed in ecstasy, joy, anger, hatred, jealousy, and strife, before an agonizing screech came from somewhere.

A monster appeared in the banquet hall, in the form of inky black tendrils, dripping substance that never hit the floor, and bubbles popping everywhere on its form.

Merlin felt the blonde haired knight tense, and push Merlin to hide behind him, knights all over the hall drew their swords and prepared to attack the creature that had appeared in the banquet hall.

However, they all found out soon enough that they had no need to draw their swords. The creature flew to Mary, its tendrils wrapping around her, punishing, angry, before it covered her form, smothering her, and absorbing the discordant magic that she had been holding in her hands. The monster seeped into Mary Collins through her very pores, her nose, her mouth, her eyes, and ears, before it disappeared entirely.

The creatures was all but gone, having disappeared into Mary Collins. The face of the mourning mother was anguished, suffering. Merlin recognized the look on her face. It was turning blue, she was gurgling, and struggling for even the tiniest bit of air.

She was drowning.

Merlin watched in horror as Mary Collins drowned in the air, listening to her gurgling screams, flinching as her body fell to the floor with a wet thud, and she writhed on the floor like a snake with its head cut off. Her skin turned black, her eyes glazed over white, and she stopped moving, signifying the very end for Mary Collins.

Silence enveloped the banquet hall, as nobles stood in silence, staring at the prone form of the enchantress who had just tried to kill the princess.

A woman she felt deep sympathy lay in front of her.

The monster that had killed Mary was the magic that had almost killed Merlin.

Random images flew by.

The image of her mother.

Camelot's crest

Blond hair.

Dragons flames.

Swords.

Warm hands.

Merlin was numb, she couldn't register anything.

Aside from the realization that one of her own kin had just tried to murder her.

~ Arthur's POV ~

Relief swept over Arthur when he saw the witch drop dead to the floor.

It was over.

Finally.

He would no longer have to watch the spoiled princess, while she tried to escape from him.

Not when the person who wished her dead was lying in a blackened heap on the floor.

Arthur looked at the face of the woman he had been running around protecting for the worst part of 2 days. And registered the look on the girls face, before becoming rather puzzled.

There was no relief on the princess's face, nor was there any joy. Instead, her gazed was locked on the broken form of the witch, her face portraying only grief.

Arthur couldn't fathom it. Why in the world would the princess be sad over the death of the person who had been trying to kill her?

She should be relieved! Grateful! Prostrating herself at Arthur's feet for pulling her from the path of the witch and saving her life.

Arthur's mouth formed a tight line as he stared at the anguished look on Merlin's face, before he was snapped out of his puzzlement by a hand being placed on his shoulder.

Arthur and Merlin were hoisted to their feet by a beaming king, as he stared at the pair with pride.

Taken aback by the overly joyous face of the King of Camelot, Arthur straightened his back, and stood in respectful attention to his sovereign. Who only seemed to become even happier at the display of respect.

"You have saved my daughter's life." He breathed out, positively glowing. The side of Arthur's mouth twitched up about to curl into a smile, before he stopped himself.

"Oh, no sire, I was only performing my duties." Arthur stated, only being modest as he should be, instead of basking and gloating in the glory of the King's praise like he wanted to.

Shaking his head, the King continued.

"No, no, this occasion warrants something special." Uther stated, a contemplative look crossing his face. It was at this that Arthur suddenly got a feeling of dread.

"No. Really sire, I couldn't ask for you to award me anything." Arthur continued, feeling tense, and nervous about whatever the King had in mind for a reward, he just "knew" it wouldn't be good.

Shaking his head once again and patting Arthur on the back, Uther seemed to light up, having found the answer.

"Nonsense my boy! I must reward you." The King bellowed, before continuing with a gracious smile. "You Arthur, will henceforth be known as Sir Arthur of Cornwall, and shall hold a position in the royal household that previously did not exist!" Uther paused for a moment, no doubt to add a dramatic effect to the announcement. "You will be granted the position as Merlin's personal bodyguard!" Uther boomed, confirming the suspicion Arthur had about the reward.

Arthur deflated at this declaration, watching as Uther turned away from the dejected knight turned bodyguard. The nobles in the hall had all started clapping, truly believing the new position to be a reward, and not the punishment that it was.

He didn't know how this had happened, but he did know that it was a major setback, it would keep him from achieving the full potential he had come to Camelot to obtain, a lifetime of sword training and cramming of tactics, all being stored away, ready to gather dust while he played babysitter to a princess who couldn't keep herself out of trouble even if her life depended on it.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Arthur turned to look at Merlin, as she glared at Arthur, mentally blaming him for all of the troubles she had ever faced in the world.

Sighing, Arthur turned away.

At least he wasn't alone in his suffering.

The song that Mary Collin's sings is in welsh, and is called "The Witch's Aria" for those who did not know. Its translation can easily be googled.

The translator I used for most of the spells in this story is one that was used in the show, albeit I often put the spells together incorrectly.

I have to say that this chapter took me far too long. (And I posted it in a hurry for you readers, sorry for the mistakes.) However, one thing that kept me coming back to try and finish this chapter was the reviews. Specifically one that revealed how I left you on a particularly cruel cliffhanger. (I didn't even realize)

I'll say this right now, if this story can get over 60 reviews by 4/12/2014 (I must add the year to clarify), then you can bet that I'll be submitting another chapter by the end of April. If not, then I will be under no obligation, and the next installment will take a heluva long time.

I need a Beta reader. That's a fact. I'm sloppy and just from re-reading this story, I noticed so many mistakes that mortify me.

Leave a comment if you're willing. (Not likely to be seen otherwise.)

So? Any flames? Comments? Suggestions?

All are welcome, especially suggestions.