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Chapter Text

It was Elyan who collected Merlin the next morning. The knights had worked out who had free days over the next week, in case the search around the lake didn't find anything.

"Good morning Gaius,"

Gaius looked up and Elyan had to hold back a laugh. There was porridge on Gaius's nose, and Merlin was giggling madly.

"Elyan!" the boy called. "Come eat with us."

Elyan smiled and sat at the table. "Thank you Merlin, but I already had my breakfast."

Merlin grinned at him, then took another mouthful.

Gaius sighed. "I can't keep up with him. He just has so much energy. Who's looking after him today?"

"I've got him this morning and Percival this afternoon."

Gaius glanced at Merlin's bedroom door, then said, "If anything strange happens, come to me straight away. Merlin's room looks like there was a gale in there last night, and I know it was tidy when Leon put him to bed. Merlin was still asleep when I went in this morning, and he seemed surprised as I was at the mess."

"I think there's a fairy following me," said Merlin.

"Why do you think that Merlin?" asked Elyan.

"Cuz Will's mama always blames fairies when stuff gets messy and she doesn't know why. Mama says she's being silly and it's just Will making the mess, but Will says it's not him. He might be lying, but I can't always tell." Merlin shoved more porridge in his mouth.

Gaius laughed. "I doubt there's a fairy following you Merlin. They like trees and lakes, not stone buildings."

"Alright then," the boy shrugged.

Elyan smiled at Merlin as he finished his breakfast, then helped Gaius clean up, before taking Merlin's hand. "I'll take him to my room, Gaius, then to Percival's after lunch."

Gaius nodded. "I have to do my rounds today, but I'll continue researching this afternoon. Let me know if anything happens. It might help tell us what this enchantment is."

Merlin pulled Elyan down the corridor, and easily led the way to Elyan's room. They played for a while, then there was a knock at the door, and Gwaine came in. Merlin ran over, abandoning the wooden horse he had been playing with, and hugged the knight's leg.

"Gwaine! Have you come to play with us?"

"Sorry, Merlin, I haven't. I have to talk to Elyan for a bit."

Merlin pouted, but quietly went back to playing with his wooden horse.

"Find anything?" asked Elyan.

Gwaine shook his head. "Only one set of footprints near the lake. Probably Merlin's. No sign of anyone else being there, unless they hid in a tree. I don't see what else we can do. Unless you have any more ideas."

He shook his head. "Gaius can't work out which spell was used, and if we try the wrong antidote, we could end up doing more harm then good."

Gwaine sighed. "We can't let this go on much longer. We can't keep juggling patrols with the other knights, and Arthur's slowly going crazy having George serve him instead of Merlin. He called Sir Tor an idiot earlier, and he normally only says that to Merlin."

"It's not nice to call people names," came a small voice from behind them. They turned and saw Merlin watching them. "Names make you feel bad, and that's not nice."

Gwaine frowned. "Do people call you names Merlin?"

The boy nodded. "The older children say I'm strange. They don't like me cuz I don't have a da. One of them calls me bastard all the time. Mama won't tell me what it means, but I know it's not nice."

Elyan hissed. "Why does he call you that Merlin?"

"He says my da ran away. He says he didn't marry my mama, so I'm a bastard." Merlin shrugged. "I don't mind them calling me names, I just don't want to upset mama."

Gwaine looked at Elyan. "Has he ever mentioned this to you before?"

He shook his head. "But Gwen's been to Ealdor. You could ask her."

Gwaine nodded. Then he bent down and hugged Merlin. "I have to go, but I'll see you later."

"Bye Gwaine."

~~~

Lunch passed without incident, and Elyan passed Merlin on to Percival with a quick whispered conversation about Merlin's comments that morning.

Percival nodded in understanding, then Elyan left for training.

Merlin climbed on the bed, then jumped at Percival, almost knocking him over. The tall knight laughed, then responded by tickling the small boy. Merlin giggled, and tried to wriggle away, but Percival just tickled harder.

After a few minutes of loud laughter, Merlin picked up the wooden horse Elyan had given him, and said, "Tell me a story Percy. Tell me one of your adventures as a knight."

Percival sat down beside Merlin, and tried to think of something he could say that wouldn't scare the child. Eventually he told the story of how Lancelot had killed the griffin.

After the story Merlin grinned and said, "I know that story. It happened in my dreams last night. Only Lance wasn't supposed to ride with Arthur because he wasn't a proper knight yet."

Percival frowned. "You dreamed it?"

Merlin nodded.

"What else have you dreamed about?"

"There was a monster in the water, and it made everyone sick. Then Arthur and a lady went after it, and Arthur killed it with his torch cuz it didn't like fire. Then everyone got better again." Merlin tilted his head to one side. "The lady didn't look scary, she was helping Arthur, but I was still scared of her. Who is she, Percy? Why was I scared of her if she was helping?"

Percival thought for a moment. That sounded like the time that Gwen was accused of causing a plague, and Merlin, Arthur and Morgana had killed the creature causing it, so Gwen was released. Gwen had told them the story a few weeks ago. "Her name is Morgana. She used to be your friend, but then she got really angry at Arthur's father and now she wants to hurt us for protecting him."

Merlin shivered. "That's not very nice."

Percival stood up. "Let's go and see Gaius, maybe he can tell us more about your dreams."

"Alright." Merlin picked up the wooden horse, then took Percival's hand and followed him down to Gaius's chambers.

They got several grins from the servants they passed, who seemed to love little Merlin just as much as the knights did. When they arrived at Gaius's chambers, he wasn't there, so they sat at the table for a while.

Then Merlin got bored and went into his room. He picked up the wooden dragon and brought it back to the table. He made Percival take the horse and pretend that Arthur was riding on it, and he pretended to be the dragon attacking them.

"When did this happen, Merlin?"

"It was in my dreams again. The dragon was mean, trying to hurt people, so Arthur had to go out and stop it. Only Arthur and Leon got knocked off their horses, and the dragon was going to win. So I shouted at him, and he flew away."

Percival frowned, knowing that Arthur had killed the dragon, but Gaius came in before he could say anything.

"Ah, Percival. What can I do for you?"

"Hello Uncle Gaius," Merlin said loudly, then went back to playing with the dragon and the horse.

"Merlin keeps talking about his dreams," said Percival as Gaius sat down. "He's told me about Lancelot defeating the griffin and Arthur killing the afanc. Now he's playing out the time when Arthur killed the dragon."

Gaius looked curious. "I think he's dreaming his memories."

"But he said the dragon flew away."

"He's still dreaming, Percival. His memory may have mixed with a dream, making him a little confused." Gaius pulled one of his books towards him, and flipped through the pages. "This is mentioned in a few of the spells that could have been used on Merlin, so it narrows it down a bit. Thank you Percival. Now I can concentrate on these spells and ignore the others. But I haven't finished my rounds yet, so I need to go out again this afternoon."

Percival smiled, then picked up Merlin. "I'll see you later."

Gaius nodded, and smiled at Merlin, who waved back with the hand holding the dragon.

~~~

Gwaine and Elyan were on the training field with Arthur. After a few bouts, they were resting while they watched the other knights take their turn.

Gwaine glanced at Elyan, then said, "Arthur, when you were in Ealdor, did you notice any tension between Merlin and the other villagers?"

Arthur shrugged. "Not really. I was too busy trying to teach them to fight the first time, then I was injured. Why do you ask?"

"Merlin was saying he used to get insulted by the other children is all."

"I used to tease Leon all the time. What's wrong with that?"

Elyan sighed. "Apparently they didn't like that Merlin's father wasn't around. Do you know Merlin's surname?"

Arthur shook his head slowly. "I knew Merlin had never met his father, but I assumed he died before Merlin was born. And I've never asked for Merlin's surname. What's this about?"

"They called him a bastard, Arthur," said Gwaine bluntly. "We wanted to know if it was true without asking him and causing any issues."

Arthur started. "I don't know. As I said, I've never asked." He shrugged. "What difference does it make?"

Elyan rubbed a hand over his sword hilt nervously. "Technically, if he is a bastard, he's not allowed to inherit his mother's home. If he gets injured and can't work anymore after his mother dies, he'll have nowhere to go."

Arthur frowned. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Because we're worried about this enchantment," said Gwaine. "if it doesn't wear off, or Gaius can't cure it, Merlin's going to have to grow up the usual way. And it's likely that he will outlive his mother, and Gaius. So if something happens, he's got no-one to rely on."

"He's got us." Arthur's reply was soft.

"But again, if he has to grow up, then he'll outlive us too. Besides, we're knights. We're more likely to die younger," said Elyan.

Arthur was shaking his head. "You're worrying about this too soon. He's only been a child for three days. Gaius still hasn't been through all the possibilities yet. If it becomes obvious that there's no cure, then I'll think about sorting something for him. For now, we concentrate on a way of changing him back."

They nodded.

~~~

Percival had returned to his room with Merlin, wondering about what Gaius had said about dreams and memories mixing. Then his train of thought was derailed by Merlin tripping and falling hard on his knees.

After a few minutes of cuddles and soothing words, the tears stopped, and the child was back to playing with his wooden toys. Percival watched his friend closely, thinking hard. How much did Merlin remember? Did he trust them because they were friends, or because Gaius had told him he could? It hadn't taken long for Merlin to get over his fear of Leon, despite how scared he'd been. But again was that because Arthur had promised to protect him, or because Merlin knew deep down that Leon wouldn't hurt him?

Merlin laughed as he played, and Percival smiled. His friend seemed more free than he was as an adult, more trusting somehow, as if he had learned to be secretive as he grew up. What had happen to make him that way? Or was this simply how all children acted, trusting automatically? Percival wasn't sure.

Then he was distracted again by a small cry of horror. Merlin had dropped the wooden horse, and one of it's legs had broken off. Tears ran down Merlin's cheeks as he picked up the two broken pieces.

"Oh Merlin," said Percival softly. "It's alright, I'll find someway to fix it."

Then he blinked as Merlin's expression changed to determination and he placed the leg back where it should be, lining up the cracks carefully. Then his eyes flared gold and the break healed over, leaving no sign that the leg had ever been broken.

Percival sat frozen for a few seconds, then said quietly, "Merlin? What was that?"

The child suddenly looked up, eyes full of fear. "I didn't mean to! I just wanted to fix it. I'm sorry. Don't tell Mama, she made me promise never to show anyone. They might hurt me." Tears filled Merlin's eyes again. "You won't hurt me, will you Percy?"

Percival flinched, then replied, "I won't hurt you Merlin. But we need to see Gaius. Now." He reached down and pulled Merlin into his arms, careful to pick up the wooden toys as well.

He was halfway to Gaius's chamber before remembering that Gaius wasn't going to be there, he was on his rounds. Panicking a little, he wondered what to do. Then he remembered Lancelot's warning about strange things happening and turned back towards the knight's chamber.

~~~

He found Lancelot talking to Gwaine in the corridor and quickly pulled him into his room. The two knights looked at his shaking hands in amazement.

"Percival, what happened?"

The tall knight carefully put Merlin on the bed, then moved over to the other side of the room. "Merlin just did magic."

Lancelot froze. "Are you sure?"

Percival nodded. "He broke the leg off his wooden horse. He was crying, then he put them back together and it fixed itself. His eyes was glowing gold."

"What did he say?"

"He got scared. He knew he'd done something wrong, said his mother told him not to show anybody. For a moment he was scared of me, thought I might hurt him."

Gwaine ran a hand through his hair. "Could this be part of the enchantment?"

Percival shook his head. "If it was, he would be shocked, not worried I would tell his mother."

Lancelot had his hand over his eyes. "I was worried this might happen. Gaius warned me, he said Merlin wouldn't have good control."

"Wait, you knew about this?" Gwaine suddenly looked angry. "Why would he tell you and not us?"

"He didn't tell me, I found out. You try killing a griffin whose skin is so thick it can break a sword without the help of magic. I was sure it was going to kill me, but Merlin enchanted my lance. He didn't mean for me to know, but I overheard him. I promised not to tell anyone." Lancelot sighed.

"So what now?" said Percival.

"Well, I'm not turning him in," said Gwaine. "He's a child right now, and even when he's older, there isn't an evil bone in his body, no matter what Uther says."

Lancelot nodded. "He used it to help defeat the immortal army as well. That's why I made sure we were teamed up, so he could use it more easily."

"What else has he done?" asked Percival.

"He helps with bandits. Dropping trees branches and making them trip. Little things that won't be noticed."

Gwaine grinned. "I knew Arthur was too lucky for his own good. Merlin's been protecting him."

"Why?" Percival frowned. "Arthur's the crown prince of Camelot. Why protect the man who's going to have you executed?"

"It's his destiny," said Lancelot softly. "He believes that Arthur will be a better king that Uther, and that one day he can help Arthur see magic as a force for good."

"Merlin's manipulating him."

"No!" said Lancelot harshly. "He's showing him the truth. A lot of the sorcerers killed in the Purge did little more than spells to heal injuries, or make the crops grow better. Arthur has such a negative view of magic because he only sees it used to attack him, or his father. Which isn't surprising, considering the number of people Uther's had killed."

Percival was shaking his head. "Arthur won't see it like that."

"It doesn't matter what the princess thinks," said Gwaine. "We know Merlin would never hurt Arthur, or any of us. He protects Arthur and Camelot. So in return, we protect him."

Lancelot nodded. "I'd hoped you'd see it like that. And just so you know, Merlin wanted to tell you, but he's been told to hide it all of his life, for his own safety. The reason he gave me was that he didn't want others to be guilty of harbouring a sorcerer if he was ever caught."

Gwaine snorted. "If Arthur tried to have Merlin executed, he'd have to go through me."

"I know that, but Merlin's too self-sacrificing. He wouldn't fight back in case he hurt someone. He'd never hurt Arthur."

The three of them looked at the child playing quietly on the bed. Then Percival said softly, "Then we'll have to fight for him."

Gwaine's answering grin was brilliant.