Two

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"Are you ready?"

Ready? Merlin drew a breath, attempting to calm his jangling nerves. He glanced at Gaius finding no worry, only pride on his beloved mentor's face, and gave a smile. "As I'll ever be."

Gaius laid his hands on his ward's shoulders, his touch reassuring as he shook his head lightly. "There's no need to worry, Merlin. It will all be fine."

Merlin nodded, albeit a little hesitantly. "I know." He ran a hand back through his short, tidy hair, raising the other to rub his face and no longer hairy chin. "I know."

That insistent knowledge did not stop the nerves.

"You have waited for this day since you first realised your destiny." Gaius squeezed his shoulder fondly, a bright smile on his face. "You should enjoy it."

Yes. Enjoy it. Merlin cocked a look at the closed doors of the Great Hall, his nerves clanging like hundreds of bells in synchronised ring at the very thought of opening them.

Gaius bit back his smile, and chuckled lightly under his breath at the nervousness on Merlin's face.

At the sound, Merlin shot him a glance. "Look." He forced a toothy grin at Gaius, "See? Enjoying it. Enjoying my day."

Gaius couldn't help but chuckle again seeing that display. How he had missed his boy.

In all the time that Merlin had been gone, he had never once lost faith. Now to have Merlin standing in front of him, alive and well, dressed in that fine red coat Arthur had made him wear at the royal wedding, he could not say how happy it made him. He pulled Merlin to him, embracing the boy he thought of as a son with all the ferocity he could muster. "I am so proud of you, my boy."

Merlin did not say anything. He rested his forehead against his surrogate father's shoulder, holding onto the old man as though his life depended on it. In all of his wanderings, of everyone he had missed back at Camelot, it had been Gaius that he missed the most.

Behind them, the doors of the Hall opened, prompting them to release one another. Gaius stood with his hands resting upon Merlin's shoulders, tears in his eyes as he looked over the boy he had cared for, marveling at the man he had become.

Merlin sniffed, the smile the action elicited from Gaius raising a grin, and a laugh from him as he swiped at his eyes with his sleeve.

Gaius clapped his boy on the shoulder, and nodded towards the open doors. "I think they're ready for you."

Merlin glanced at the two guards holding the doors open, and swallowed lightly. "I think they are."

"Well. Go on, then." Gaius folded his hands inside his sleeves, preparing himself to follow. "Don't keep Guinevere waiting."

"Yeah." Merlin nodded, and turned for the door. He hesitated a moment to wipe his eyes on his sleeve once more, and take one final look at Gaius.

The old physician encouraged him with a nod, winning one of those unique lop-sided grins in return before Merlin started forward into the Great Hall.

Men and women from all walks of life filled the hall. From nobility to peasantry, knights to servants they stood in quiet rows. Merlin felt their eyes on him, following him as he made his way along the aisle they created towards the steps where Gwen waited.

She stood tall, adorned in her finery with Geoffrey of Monmouth at her side. Watching Merlin approach, she held back a smile, fiddling with her fingers at her skirts.

Seeing her there assuaged some of Merlin's nerves. He glanced about as he walked, meeting the eyes of those who watched him pass; from the noble-born members of the queen's council, to the scowling face of Audrey the cook, and the curious expressions of the servants of Camelot with whom he had worked and laughed.

His eyes swept over the people who had come from the Lower town, and further afield, some smiling at him, others regarding him with a quiet curiousity. He turned his head, finding the earthen colours of druid robes among those on his left. They bowed their heads as he passed, their faces all respect and quiet deference. Iseldir stood with them, meeting Merlin's gaze and bowing his own head, the barest hint of a smile upon his face.

Merlin returned the gesture, glad to see the druids, and of their presence there.

The subdued colours and differing dress changed suddenly to become uniform. Rows of glittering maille and the brilliant Pendragon red bright in the shafts of warm sunlight filtering through the tall windows of the Great Hall. The knights of Camelot, stood facing their queen, but with their heads turned that they may watch Merlin as he passed.

What he had thought that he would see on their faces, Merlin did not know. What was there made his heart clench with surprise and uncertainty.

They watched him, every one of them with the same neutrality and quiet respect etched in their expressions. They did not look at him as an enemy, or even as different. They regarded him as they regarded one another. To see such acceptance on their faces almost brought tears to his eyes once more.

He reached the steps, and took a quiet breath. The eyes of all behind him were on his back, flushing heat up his neck and into his cheeks. Silent, he composed himself, and knelt before Gwen.

He looked up at her briefly to find her looking down at him, still containing her smile, and bowed his head.

Beside her, Geoffrey began to speak, reading from an old and faded (and slightly singed) parchment in his hands. "Do you solemnly swear to serve Camelot and her queen, to practice your art in service and duty to the crown in times of peace, and in times of war?"

Merlin inclined his already bowed head. "I swear."

"And do you swear fealty and protection to the peoples and lands of this kingdom, until your dying day?"

"I do."

Gwen let her smile shine through, and held out her hands to her dear friend, closing her fingers around his as he took them. "Then rise, Merlin. Sorcerer to the court of Camelot."

Merlin did as she bade him, and rose to his feet. They regarded one another a moment, her smile bright on her lips, his face all seriousness.

Behind them, the first applause sounded in the Great Hall.

Merlin looked round, out over the crowd as each and every member began to clap. It continued until the hall rang with the sound of applause. From the townspeople, to the servants, to the druids and nobility, and to the knights, every man and woman clapped for him.

He looked down at the knights, and his eyes settled on those at the very front; on Leon, and Percival, and the pride on their faces as they grinned and applauded him. On the others who stood with them: On Bors, and Breunor, and Galahad. Gwen's round table. The men who had risen into her highest confidence, as Leon and Percival had done alongside Gwaine, and Lancelot, and Elyan, for Arthur. Men he had known perhaps not as well as he ought, whose armour he had polished, and swords he had sharpened, and who he had allowed to beat him black and blue on the training field, but who had this past couple of months begun to join Leon and Percival in their brotherly affection towards him. New friends, who would never replace the old, who applauded him with the same grins and same zeal as Percival and Leon beside them.

He found himself smiling, returning their grins with a disbelieving laugh.

Across the aisle, to the left, Merlin's eyes settled on Gaius, and his mother.

Hunith smiled back at him, holding the young prince Amr to her chest as those around her applauded her beloved son. Her face was filled with joy, seeing her baby receive the reward he had never demanded, and the acceptance he had feared would never come. Today was that day, when all who knew him, and all who did not, realised finally how special he really was. At the smile on his face, she could not be happier for him, or more proud.

Gaius' pride was clear on his tear-streaked face. His voice was lost in the roar of applause, but to Merlin, the movement of his lips was clear enough:

"Well done, my boy. Well done."

Merlin looked from one to the other, a bright smile on his face, and finally turned back to Gwen.

She squeezed his hands, her smile still clear for him to see. Though he had seen it there before, Merlin's heart still leapt as he looked on her expression. The happiness on her face, that she felt for him, brought with it something he had longed to see in all of those he held dear.

Acceptance.

Of him. Of his magic. Of all that he was.

Gwen accepted him. Percival, and Leon, and the knights all accepted him. Camelot accepted him for who he truly was.

Druids stood side by side with the knights who had once hunted and slaughtered them. The citizenry of Camelot who had once shunned magic, and talked of it with fear and suspicion when it was thought to have been witnessed did not shy away from those standing beside them they knew to possess it. While some may still fear magic, some may still hate it, the chance for that to change had been given. For that, Merlin would forever be grateful to Gwen.

He looked to her once more, meeting her fond regard with a breathy laugh he could no longer keep quiet.

She was wonderful. Just as he had always known that she would be. Camelot's wise, and just queen. The kingdom was in good hands, and would one day continue to be, in the hands of her son. The kingdom Arthur had built, and that she continued to build.

And Merlin resolved that he would be there, by her side, protecting her and Amr, helping her to keep building that fair kingdom.

His destiny to protect Arthur may be over, but Albion had not yet come to pass. That part of his destiny was not yet fulfilled.

For once, the thought of destiny did not fill him with weariness, and dread. It brought him joy, and anticipation. The grief of Arthur's death was still with him, and it always would be, but now he had something to work towards, something to look forward to. He had begun to mend, and over time would do so fully.

After so long out in the cold, he was finally home, where he belonged. And for the first time since he had laid his best friend to rest, the future looked bright.

He met Gwen's smile with a grin, let his eyes sweep over the assembled people of Camelot's court and citizenry, over the knights, and his mother and Gaius. He was finally back where he belonged, back where he needed to be.

He was home.

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Notes: So that's that. A bit cheesy, I know, but it's all done and dusted and leads into the main story nicely. Chapter one of The Red Dragon will be posted up either tomorrow or Sunday, so keep an eye out for that if you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading :) XXX