One-shot AU to 5x01

Edited 06/30/13

Special Thanks to FireflyFanatic3x for being a Superb BETA!

Disclaimer: All rights belong to BBC's Merlin, I'm just playing around with the characters.

Merlin: A Brave Fool

Arthur was seriously starting to worry about Merlin's inadequacy in the art of deception. He and Queen Annis were discussing Morgana's presence in Ismere when he noticed Merlin slowly edge closer to the royals and not-so-discretely stick his nose in. Arthur was sorely tempted to throw something at Merlin but it would be inappropriate for a king to start a food fight in a castle that was not his own. He wished that if Merlin was going to make a habit of eavesdropping on nobility that he at least learned the meaning of the words 'stealth' or 'discrete' first. Arthur smiled mentally; those words were antonymous with his clumsy manservant. Being the simple-minded fool Merlin was, he seemed to think it was a good idea to stand beside Arthur, fill his wine glass, and poorly pretend to be disinterested in their conversation. To make matters worse, Merlin caught the Queen's attention.

"I think it's time for a little entertainment," The sage queen mused, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I would love to see your fool perform," Annis smirked at Merlin. Arthur glanced at his "fool," and with a snort, rolled his eyes.

"Given all his failings, he must have some skills." She articulated in a soft, deadly tone. Merlin smiled asininely at Arthur; clueless in the queen's implications, and made Arthur wish he hadn't thrown so many goblets at Merlin's head.

"You would think so wouldn't you?" Arthur snorted, loud enough for Annis and Merlin to hear him. He smiled coyly at Merlin. "You heard the Queen, jump to it" He nodded at the floor. Merlin's smile faded away and he leaned close to Arthur.

"I'm not a fool," He whispered in his ears.

"That's debatable." Arthur replied seriously and took a sip of his wine; beside him, Leon snorted and coughed to cover his amusement. Merlin gave him a withering look before turning back to Arthur. His whispers were more panicky now.

"And I don't have any skills,"

"I know that, but we can't refuse the queen when she's granted us safe passage, now can we?" Arthur shrugged, secretly pleased with Merlin's punishment. He hoped his manservant would learn his lesson and stop sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Arthur could only save Merlin from his idiocy so many times. Leon grabbed the pitcher out of Merlin's stunned hands and began clapping. Arthur grinned facetiously and clapped along with the others. Merlin forced a smile on his face; he bowed Annis, glared at Arthur and slowly made his way to the center of the dining hall.

"How much do you want to bet he'll start a food fight?" Arthur slyly whispered. Leon scoffed and spat food into a napkin, a Cheshire grin spread on his oldest companion's face.

"You're on. Three weeks of voluntary patrolling that by the ending of the feast, Merlin will have food thrown at him," Leon laughed and played along with King's "bet" though Leon knew Arthur wasn't being serious. The King was, dare he say it, nervous for Merlin. Not that the boy would shame Camelot –no he does that just fine anyway– but for Merlin's wellbeing. As the banter with Leon melted Arthur's nerves, he was able to conjure a smile and punch Leon's shoulder with brotherly affection. All eyes turned to the King's manservant.

Arthur expected to see Merlin to be quivering in his boots; instead, Merlin stood calmly in the center of the great dining hall. His shoulders rolled back and his face settled into a meditative state, his eyes were closed. Silence fell upon the nobles as air around Merlin seemed to completely change. The manservant inhaled deeply through his nose and then his brilliant cobalt eyes snapped open, completely capturing the audience. Even Arthur couldn't bring himself to look away.

The great dining hall remained completely silent, enamored with the manservant who had yet to begin. A ghost of smile touched Merlin's lips, so small, that Arthur could have blinked and missed it, as the anticipation nearly consumed him, Merlin finally took a deep breath and….he began to sing.

Arthur's expression turned into one of gaping fish. Merlin's deep tenor voice carried around the dining hall as though it drifted onthe wind. His voice was rich and full and resonated against the burgundy tapestries. Arthur couldn't understand the language; it was definitely not English, but it was beautiful, ancient, and regal in sound. His once skittish manservant now stood tall and proud like a man of great power; his voice changing with the song as he lulled a deep bone-rattling bass to a high enriching tenor sound. Merlin's lyrical voice carried its own melody – a sound so soothing, Arthur envisioned an orchestra of sleepy violins.

The beautiful song of Old began with a heart-warming melody that reminded Arthur of a knight and his steed galloping free in a wide expanse of grassy fields; it reminded him of the innocence of being touched by the wind and kissed by the sun. Then Merlin's voice changed to sorrowful tone and Arthur saw the greens and blues of Camelot under a cold winter blanket of snow where Father Time slept like the hibernating prey. When Merlin's voice had become nothing more than a whisper of flickering flame, the ladies of the court were stifling soft cries, and daintily dabbing stray tears. But then his voice crescendoed, soaring like a phoenix reincarnated from the depths of its ashes, free and born anew.

Arthur couldn't understand the words at all, but Merlin's voice told a story – a story that had stunned the nobles of the court into silence. Then Merlin finished the song with a final note, warm and tender, the vibrato of his voice thud like the beating heart and then it faded like the setting sun, leaving the court in anticipation for when the sun would rise again.

It was the most brilliant thing Arthur had ever heard. Tears filled his eyes as Merlin's song of innocence, sorrow, and rebirth washed over him. He didn't need to understand the words to know what Merlin's heart was screaming.

"Look at me. See the real me". The words seemed to thunder in Arthur's mind. It was in moments such as these that Arthur wondered: just who was Merlin of Ealdor? He'd known from the beginning that there was just something about Merlin. When he thought he'd finally seen what that something was –it fled his mind like trickling sand. But here in Queen Annis's opulent dining hall, singing with his heart and bearing his soul, Arthur felt like – just for a moment –he'd seen the real Merlin. Just for a moment, Merlin had worn his "something" for all to see.*

Merlin smiled, bowed humbly, and hesitantly stared at Arthur as if to gauge his master's reaction. The audience broke out in a loud and rambunctious applause; none of them had expected to be blown away by King Arthur's fool. But as Merlin stood there, his face flushed in embarrassment and shying away from all the attention, Arthur finally put a name to Merlin's something.

"I don't know why Arthur doesn't Knight you Merlin. You're the bravest of us all, and he doesn't even know it…" Lancelot's old words trickled into Arthur's mind. Bravery, that was it. Merlin was indeed the bravest man Arthur had ever met. *

"Perhaps your fool isn't so foolish after all," Queen Annis clapped delicately and nodded at the blushing manservant. Arthur chuckled in response.

"Make no mistakes your highness. He's a fool alright, but he's a brave one." *

I always felt that scene could have been done so much better than Merlin just juggling eggs. Not that it wasn't epic, but I think with this, he gets a bit more of a BAMF! You know?

Also, sorry about the lack of a real a song, with an audience from so many different nations, I figured it would be better to just say Merlin was singing then to pick a song that people may or may not recognize. Though I have to say, I started writing this on a whim, I had no idea it was going to end up like this.

Cover Art done by my best friend!

(1) Kilgarrah's line from 4x02

(2) Lancelot's line from 3x13

(3) Arthur's line from 1x01 with a minor substitution

Kiki1770