Arthur Pendragon and the Philosopher's Sword Part 2

[a8c_sock]

MASTERPOST
PART ONE

Part Two

The journey seemed to fly by, and by the time the train came to a halt, Arthur finally knew more about the world he had entered. He still didn’t think he had magic, but at least now he could find out more about his mother and the world she had left behind not long before Arthur was born.

“We're here,” Merlin said, looking out of the window.

It was completely dark outside and Arthur couldn’t see a thing. “Are we?”

“Yes,” Merlin replied, standing up and opening his trunk. “I'll just need to put these away,” he said, obviously referring to the books scattered all over the seat.

“Do you need any help?” Arthur asked, willing to repay the kindness Merlin had shown him.

“No, it won't take long,” Merlin said.

Merlin waved his hands and Arthur noticed Merlin's eyes glow gold. Arthur watched as the books danced around and organised themselves into piles before neatly floating down into the trunk. As the last one went inside, the lid of the trunk closed and locked itself. Arthur wasn't sure he would ever get used to seeing magic used so casually.

“Ready?” Merlin asked.

Arthur gathered up his rucksack and trunk and steeled himself for what lay ahead. He thought he could now make out lights through the window, so at least they wouldn’t be stumbling around in the dark.

He smiled at Merlin. “Ready.”

There was as much of a crush getting off the train as there had been getting onto it. It seemed everyone else was eager to get off. It seemed he and Merlin were in the part of the train farthest from the door, so they had to queue up behind their peers. Merlin seemed very eager and Arthur was sure he could feel Merlin pushing in close to get a better view. Arthur was feeling apprehensive.

When they made it out onto the platform, there were more men dressed as knights, wearing chain mail and red tabards. It felt as if Arthur had stepped onto some sort of strange film set. The knights were directing people, but Arthur still felt lost.

“Come on,” Merlin said cheerfully. “We'll put our stuff in the carts and then we can get in the carriages.”

Arthur was relieved Merlin knew what to do. He followed Merlin off the platform and out of the small station to what looked like a dirt track. All along the track were horses and carts, as well as horses with small carriages. Lamps hung from the side of them. Arthur could already make out knights helping load trunks onto the carts, and fellow students getting into the carriages.

He followed Merlin to the nearest one.

“Hi Lancelot,” Merlin said to the knight helping to load it.

“Hello, Merlin; nice to see you again.”

“You know him?” Arthur asked.

“Oh yes. Arthur, this is Lancelot. Lancelot, this is Arthur Pendragon.”

Lancelot bowed his head. “An honour to meet you.”

“Thank you,” Arthur said hesitantly. Why it would be an honour to meet him he had no idea. “I think.”

“May I take your trunk?” Lancelot asked.

Normally Arthur would have told him he could manage, but Lancelot sounded so sincere that Arthur's automatic politeness kicked in. “Yes,” he said, hauling it toward him.

With what was obviously practised ease, Lancelot took the trunk and swung it up and over and onto the cart, pushing it along to join several others. Arthur was impressed; he knew how heavy it was.

“And your rucksack?” Lancelot asked.

Arthur was reluctant give it up. Unlike his trunk, it contained personal items that he'd brought from home. He'd clung onto it as a way of reminding him about the real world he'd had to leave behind. Although he hadn't really thought about it since talking with Merlin on the train.

“Here,” Arthur said, shrugging the straps off his shoulders and handing it over to Lancelot. “Be careful with it.”

Lancelot smiled. “Of course.”

Once Arthur's rucksack was safely on the cart, Lancelot turned to Merlin. “Your things, Merlin.” he said.

It looked as if Merlin was pouting. “Lancelot...”

“No magic until you reach Camelot,” Lancelot said, firmly. “You know that.”

“You're no fun,” Merlin replied, but his voice held no malice.

Arthur didn’t mention Merlin had openly used magic on the train. Maybe he was allowed to on the train. Or perhaps Merlin’s magic came so naturally he just used it without thinking. Arthur couldn't imagine that.

Lancelot helped Merlin’s trunk onto the cart along with his small suitcase. Before he handed over the birdcage that housed his owl, Merlin had a stern word with him.

“Now behave, Archimedes,” he said, as he handed the cage to Lancelot. “Be nice to the other owls.”

Arthur found himself smiling. Especially when Archimedes gave Merlin a look that plainly said 'of course I will be'. Not usually a fan of any sort of animal, Arthur was starting to like that bird. “If anything, those other owls will be jealous of him,” Arthur said.

Archimedes fluffed his feathers.

“Don't flatter him, Arthur,” Merlin said. “His ego is too big as it is.”

“You better get in a carriage,” Lancelot said. “They're already setting off.”

Around them, several fully-loaded carts were already beginning to move. Arthur saw their fellow students climbing into small, Victorianesque carriages, like something out of a costume drama.

“Yeah we should,” Merlin said, grabbing Arthur's hand. “Come on, Arthur. See you later Lancelot!”

“Be careful, Merlin,” Lancelot said. “Good luck, Arthur.”

Being dragged along Arthur thought he was going to need it. Merlin took him down the line of carriages, peeking inside each one. Arthur began to notice that none of the carriages actually had drivers. He was going to ask Merlin about that when he was yanked inside the one they had just been looking at.

“Should I close the door?” Arthur asked.

The carriage was small and the seat only just big enough for the two of them squashed up together their legs touching. It was a little warm inside, which Arthur decided had to be the cramped conditions. He tried not to glance down at where his jeans were pressed against Merlin's shabby brown trousers.

“That's a good idea,” Merlin said, breaking Arthur out of his reverie.

Arthur nodded and shut the door. The moment he did so, the carriage set off. Merlin was smiling and kept stealing glances out of the small window next to him.

“I can't believe we're going to be in Camelot soon,” he said. “I've been waiting to come here to study for years.”

“I'd never heard of it a few days ago,” Arthur said. “Is it really that good?”

“It's the foremost magical university in the world. Sorcerers from all over the world want to be accepted to study here.”

“I never applied.”

“Most of us don't have to. If your ancestors went to Camelot and you have magic you automatically get a letter.”

“What's it like?” Arthur asked. “I mean what sort of things do you learn?”

“Everything to do with magic.”

“Obviously.”

Merlin gave Arthur a look. “How to control your magic, how to really use it. Everything from elemental magic to healing magic. There are lots of different ways you can use it.”

“So there aren't exams?” Arthur asked, hopefully.

“Yes but practical ones. You get judged on control and spell casting.”

“If I even get that far,” Arthur muttered.

Merlin opened his mouth to reply when the carriage stopped.

“We're here,” Arthur said, opening the door and climbing out, not giving Merlin a chance to say anything.

As he climbed out, Arthur could see they were in front of what could only be described as a castle. Huge stone walls loomed above them, although Arthur couldn’t see much detail in the dark. Merlin was standing beside him, craning his neck upward, taking in the view.

“Amazing,” he said quietly.

“Come on new students, we're waiting for you inside,” came a voice.

Arthur turned around to see another knight. Merlin was waving at him and the knight offered a little wave back.

“How do you know these people?” Arthur asked.

“I'll tell you later,” Merlin whispered back.

Everyone shuffled forward into a small group. Students jostled each other hoping to get a good look at the castle and what lay beyond. Arthur found he couldn’t help but do the same. Next to him Merlin seemed to be standing on his tiptoes.

“I'm Gwaine,” said the knight. “Follow me please and try and keep up.”

The crowd of students organised itself into a line of pairs. Naturally, Merlin walked next to Arthur. They were led along the wall, then through a large wooden door that opened before them, and across a cobblestone courtyard. Arthur could appreciate the true scale of the castle, no university he knew about could have been this impressive. Not even Oxford.

They were led through another large wooden door, and along corridors and hallways lit by torches. The flames cast ominous shadows on the walls, and made Arthur think about Gothic horror films like Dracula. The odd carved gargoyles he kept seeing didn't help.

Eventually, they stopped outside yet another wooden door. In front of it stood Gaius. The same Gaius Arthur had left behind hours earlier. Arthur imagined he'd done that strange transporting thing to get there before him.

“Thank you, Gwaine,” Gaius said.

“No problem, Professor,” Gwaine replied and he went off down a corridor to the side.

Gaius addressed the assembled students. “Welcome to Camelot,” he said. “It's good to see you all here safely. Shortly you will enter the Great Hall. There you will be sorted into your colleges: Valerian, Sage, Yarrow, and Thyme. Professor Kilgarrah will be overseeing everything. Afterwards, you will be escorted to your chambers. The rest of the students will arrive later in the week, so you will have a few days to familiarise yourself with Camelot. Any questions?”

Whilst there were several murmurs, there were no questions.

“Colleges?” Arthur asked Merlin.

“Yes. Each college focuses on a particular magical talent. I'm hoping to be in Valerian like my parents. They might disown me if I'm not.”

“Do you know which college my mother was in?” Arthur asked, thinking it would be the only way to have a preference.

“Valerian,” Merlin said. “It's a good college. You don't want to end up in Thyme. That's the one he was in.”

Arthur nodded, feeling nervous. His head was aching a little at the temples and his stomach was doing flip flops. He hadn't been this nervous on his first day of school. As the doors opened, Arthur told himself to keep calm. Everything had been fine so far.

As they entered the hall, Arthur caught sight of a young boy in amongst the crowd of students. He couldn’t have been much more than twelve or thirteen. He briefly fixed Arthur with a cold stare and an odd smile, before he turned away.

Looking forward Arthur saw the name great hall wasn't an exaggeration. It was a combination of stone and intricately carved wood. There were large tall windows that almost reached to the ornate wooden ceiling that was painted with symbols and scenes of the night sky. Or what looked like paint. As Arthur looked more closely it seemed to move.

He was distracted by this long enough that he had barely noticed the large dragon at the end of the hall. The creature had to be sixty foot long, and was very real from the way it moved. That would explain why the floor was stone. It would have to be in order to support the creature’s weight.

Coming closer, Arthur saw the dragon had brown scales with an odd, almost golden, glow. Then there were the sharp talons; Arthur decided he didn't want to be on the receiving end of those. He could barely comprehend that he was seeing a real live breathing dragon.

“Students of Camelot,” the dragon said. Apparently it could speak. “Welcome. I am Professor Kilgarrah.”

This was the head of the university? It did make sense to choose a dragon for the role. There was no way anyone would argue with a dragon with teeth that sharp.

“You all have a destiny. Your time here will be to find that destiny. I hope you find it useful.”

The students had gone quiet, seemingly in awe.

“When I call your name you will stand in front of me one by one. I will then assign you to a college.”

The group of students shifted expectantly.

The dragon closed his eyes and then opened them. “Vivian Lady,” he said.

A blonde girl stepped forward.

“Come closer.”

The girl, Vivian, didn't seem to be very happy about having to be first and seemed nervous. She stepped forward more and the dragon smiled. Then he closed his eyes and breathed lightly on her. A stream of what looked like an icy wind hit Vivian, and her eyes closed. A few moments of silence before the dragon opened his eyes.

“Yarrow,” he announced. “Please stand with Professor Alice Mandrake.”

Vivian didn't seem to be very happy at all and practically stomped off to stand near an older lady with a kindly face.

“Sophia Sidhe,” the dragon announced.

The same thing happened, as the dragon blew on Sophia. Moments later he announced the verdict. “Sage,” he said. “Please stand with Professor Nimueh Lake.”

Sophia didn't seem pleased with her selection either. She went to stand with a woman with dark hair who barely looked old enough to be a student, never mind a professor.

The next candidate was an Elena Godwin. She was sorted into Valerian and told to stand with Gaius. She was also blonde and Arthur wondered if it was a pattern forming. She seemed pleased with the selection.

“Mordred Druid,” the dragon said.

The young boy Arthur had seen earlier stepped forward.

“Is he old enough?” Arthur whispered to Merlin.

“Some people get an early letter,” Merlin said. He didn't sound happy about it.

“Thyme!” The Dragon boomed. “Stand with Professor Edwin Muirden.”

The boy gave that odd smile again, and went to stand with a man with a terribly scarred face. Arthur shivered as the man glanced his way.

Several other students were sorted. Yarrow gained a few male students, and a couple more ended up in Sage. Valerian had a few more girls join Elena. Only two more joined Mordred in Thyme. A few male students joined Sage.

“Gilli Ring,” the dragon called.

A tall young man, who looked as awkward as Arthur felt, stepped forward. He seemed nervous, but he didn't flinch as the dragon breathed on him.

“Valerian!” the dragon announced.

There were smiles all around. Gilli looked surprised but pleased.

Arthur was wondering when his turn would come, when the dragon called out another name.

“Merlin Emrys.”

The other students went oddly quiet. Arthur wondered why. He noticed that Merlin didn’t show any fear when approaching the dragon, but then his father was a Dragon Lord. He'd probably met plenty of dragons before.

As the dragon breathed on Merlin, Arthur felt a cold shiver run up his spine. His heart pounded as he waited to see if Merlin had got his college of choice.

“Valerian!” the dragon announced.

Those that had already been sorted there seemed delighted, and Merlin was greeted with handshakes and back slaps. He was smiling, and Arthur really hoped he'd be able to join Merlin.

“Arthur Pendragon!” the dragon called.

Taking a deep breath Arthur stepped forward. As he met the dragon's eyes, he saw something odd reflected there, like a fuzzy image he couldn’t make out. The rest of the hall was completely hushed as he stepped forward. He closed his eyes before the dragon's breath even touched him.

“How like your mother you are,” the dragon said.

Arthur opened his eyes a little. He could hear the dragon chuckle, but it didn't look as though the dragon was actually moving his lips.

“Yes you have a great destiny, yet you cannot do this alone. You are but one side of a coin. The other you have already met.”

Arthur was very confused but kept quiet and closed his eyes tightly. Please put in me in Valerian, he thought.

“There is nowhere else you can be,” the dragon said. “Valerian!”

Arthur opened his eyes to see the Valerian students jumping up and down and clapping madly. None more so than Merlin who had a big grin on his face. Arthur hurried over to them.

“I never thought we'd get you,” Elena said.

“It's brilliant,” Gilli added.

Arthur smiled politely as Merlin leaned close. “I knew you'd be in Valerian,” he said.

Arthur gave him a smile. He hadn't a clue what the dragon had been talking about but he knew the Camelot experience was going to be a lot better being close to Merlin.

Once the rest of the selection had been completed the colleges stood more or less equal with a mix of boys and girls. Arthur liked everyone he had met in Valerian. They all seemed genuine and friendly. He tried his best to be polite. Merlin was already charming them and Arthur couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Of who, he wasn’t sure.

“You will be led to your chambers now,” the dragon said.

“Follow me please, Valerian students,” Gaius said, leading the way out of the hall.

“I hope we get to share chambers,” Merlin said as he and Arthur walked out together. “It's two to a room.”

Arthur was secretly hoping he'd be able to share with Merlin too. Although given the fact he was feeling warm again now he was with Merlin, he wasn't sure it was such a brilliant idea.

Gaius led them along corridors and up staircases. It was such a twisty turning route that Arthur was sure he'd forget it. Perhaps he could ask Gaius for a map. He had a feeling he would need it; the castle was huge and seemingly never-ending.

“Here we are,” Gaius said, as they stopped at one end of a corridor. “These will be your chambers for the time you spend here. I expect you to keep them in order.” He looked pointedly at Merlin.

“Now let's see where you have been assigned.”

Looking at each door Arthur noticed each one had two brass plates with the names of the students who had been assigned to it. Already? They had just been designated as students of this college and their names were on the doors? It was very strange.

“Elena and Gilli,” Gaius said as he read out the nameplates on the nearest door.

“Excellent. I'm sure we'll have fun,” Elena said to the nervous looking Gilli.

He just smiled back. “Yes, I'm sure we shall.”

As they went along the corridor, Arthur hoped his name wouldn't be read out unless it was in conjunction with Merlin’s. He'd been lucky so far, he hoped that luck would hold.

“Arthur and Merlin,” Gaius said. “This is yours.”

“Yes,” Merlin said quietly.

“Try to keep it tidy, Merlin. I'm sure Arthur won't appreciate your clothes all over the floor.”

“Yes, Gaius.”

“Do you know everyone here?” Arthur asked.

Merlin looked sheepish. “Gaius is my Uncle,” he said. “I used to come here a lot until a few years ago.”

That explained things, Arthur thought. At least Merlin didn't have magical powers of knowing everyone. That would have been too weird.

Merlin opened the door to their new room. Or chambers as they seemed to be called here. To Arthur's surprise, their things were already laid out on the two, rather large, beds. They weren’t four posters, but they were old and quite ornately carved. The floor was stone, but covered with several red rugs that had seen better days.

Immediately Merlin went over to what had to be his bed as it had his trunk on it. He opened it and books and items of clothing began to float out and land on the floor.

“Should they be doing that?” Arthur asked.

“I'll put them away in a minute, Merlin replied.

Arthur was doubtful. There were several cupboards and couple of chests of drawers across from the bed. Two desks were situated on one side of the room, next to a window. Well, what Arthur presumed was a window given the curtains were drawn.

As Merlin continued to empty his trunk haphazardly, Arthur thought perhaps he should do something with his own. Except he had no idea how to unlock the darn thing. He rattled the padlock to see if it was loose, but it wasn't and refused to give even a little. As he glanced over at Merlin in the middle of the growing pile of his things, he decided that if Merlin was going to completely mess up their chambers, he could at least help Arthur with the lock.

“Merlin, are you going to put any of that away?” he asked.

Merlin glanced down. “Yeah, but I don't need to do it now.”

“Then you can help me open my trunk,” Arthur said.

“It's just a trunk, Arthur,” Merlin said as he picked his way through his clothes and books, and came over to Arthur's side.

“Yes, but it has a padlock, and I don't have the key.”

“Why would you need a key?” Merlin waved a hand over the padlock, and it fell open; he hadn't even had to say anything.

“Maybe because I don’t have magic,” Arthur replied.

Merlin sighed. “Arthur...”

“Let's just unpack,” Arthur said. “And put our things away,” he added.

Arthur was surprised how much stuff had fitted in his trunk; books, clothes, everything he'd need. The thing seemed almost bottomless. In fact, Arthur did stick a hand in at one point and couldn't touch the bottom. It was more than a little unnerving.

It was Arthur's suggestion to divide up the storage space. He put his things away quickly and neatly, everything folded or hung up in a proper place. Books on the desk, clothes in the wardrobes and drawers. Merlin, on the other hand, took a much more haphazard approach to putting things away, more in bundles and piles than any other scheme.

“Were you born in a barn, Merlin?” Arthur asked as he observed Merlin's method of tidying and organisation.

“It was a cave, actually,” Merlin replied.

“A cave?”

Merlin nodded, as if there was nothing unusual about this.

“Are lots of people born in caves?” Arthur asked.

Merlin shook his head. “No. It depends where they live.”

“And you lived in a cave.”

“Yes. It was a nice cave,” Merlin said, defensively. “It had a bed and a sink.”

“I'm not going to think less of you for living in a cave, Merlin.”

Merlin smiled. “Good, because it's a great place to live. We had to move into a house a few years ago. Mum said she wanted a proper oven. ”

Arthur wasn't convinced a cave would be a great place to live, and was wondering about asking Merlin if he had had a shower or a bath in his cave, when a scroll suddenly appeared before him out of thin air. Arthur stepped back. He wasn't used to magic at all. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it.

“Merlin?”

Of course Merlin would find it perfectly normal, and he grabbed the scroll out of the air where it was floating, pulled off the ribbon, and read it.

“Evening meal is served in the college hall,” Merlin said.

“Where's the college hall?” Arthur asked, remembering how confusing the layout of the castle was.

“I don't know,” Merlin said, “but there's a map on here.”

He turned the scroll around and Arthur could see a map fading in and out, as if the ink was disappearing and then reappearing. “And you can read this?”Arthur asked.

“Of course!”

“You're leading the way then.”

As it turned out Merlin couldn’t completely read the map, which Arthur discovered when they ended up in several corridors that were dead ends. However, once they had negotiated that, two spiral staircases, and three doors that moved, they found themselves in the college hall.

It was apparently the hall used by the college for meal and study times. It was smaller than the Great Hall, with a large fireplace on one side. It was made entirely from white stone, and dragons were carved into the walls. Several wooden benches were laid out with long tables. Most of their fellow students were already seated around one.

Arthur and Merlin joined them. Luckily there was a space near Gilli and Elena, and Arthur and Merlin sat down together. As they did so their fingers brushed and Arthur looked down wondering how easy it would be to twine his fingers around Merlin’s. Luckily, Gaius coughed, and Arthur turned his attention to where the professor stood at the end of the table.

“I hope you've all had a chance to settle in,” Gaius said, smiling.

The students all murmured affirmative replies.

“Good. Now dinner will be served shortly, but before that I'd like to mention a few things. Firstly, as you know as first year students you will be doing standard set lectures. Your timetable will be delivered to your rooms by seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Your first lecture will begin at nine o'clock sharp. It is important that you are on time.”

Arthur hoped Gaius wasn't referring to himself and Merlin following their late arrival.

“Secondly, you are welcome to study in your chambers or here in the hall. It is open for student use from six am until midnight. Your meals are at set times and will be on your timetable. Finally, the other students will be arriving in a few days. There is a fresher's fayre early next week where you'll have the chance to choose extracurricular activities.”

So far, Camelot sounded like a normal university, Arthur thought. Albeit one with weird maps and moving doors.

“Dinner is served, please enjoy.”

Gaius waved his arms in a circular motion and the tables filled with food. There were cooked joints of meat, vegetables, bread, cheese and even ice cream. Arthur wasn’t sure where to start, but his fellow students wasted no time tucking in.

“You should try the mashed potato,” Merlin said, his mouth full.

Arthur put a large spoonful on his plate and tried it. It did taste good. He tried some of the pork, and the lamb. There was even gravy, apple sauce and mint sauce. It was all very civilised.

As they ate, everybody asked questions about each other's backgrounds.

“My mother was a sorceress,” Elena said. “I never knew her, but she had the best spells for creating horses. She was an excellent horse rider. My father was so proud when I found out I had her gifts. He barely has any magic at all.”

“I never knew my mother,” Arthur offered. “My father doesn't have any magic.”

“I didn’t know mine did,” Gilli said, quietly. “He never used it. He preferred to live like a mundane.”

Arthur wasn't sure what to say. He'd lived as 'a mundane' all his life.

“I'm sure he had good reasons,” Merlin said.

Gilli nodded. “Maybe.”

“What about you, Merlin?” Elena asked.

“Dragon Lord father, sorceress mother.”

“A Dragon Lord, how exciting,” Elena said excitedly, and began to engage Merlin in dragon related conversation.

Arthur felt just a little bit jealous of the attention she was paying to Merlin. Not out of jealousy that she wasn't speaking to him but because Merlin was his friend. Elena was nice enough though, and Arthur liked her. He also liked Gilli, even if he did seem to be quiet compared to the rest of them.

Part way through the meal Gwaine and Lancelot appeared, and came to chat with Merlin. Gwaine stole a chicken drumstick from Merlin’s plate.

“So, Merlin, who did you get for a roomie?” he asked, taking a bite.

“Arthur Pendragon” Merlin said, indicating Arthur.

Arthur forced himself to offer a smile. He was more than a little jealous of the two men who Merlin clearly knew quite well. Two attractive men who Merlin knew quite well. Really, he shouldn't be getting jealous over his room mate's friends. There was no reason to be, Arthur had his own chance to get to know Merlin.

“Ah, Arthur Pendragon,” Gwaine said, still eating. “The little mundane who ended up here.”

“Gwaine!” Merlin hissed.

“It's good to meet you, Arthur,” Lancelot said with genuine warmth.

“You too. Both of you. You've known Merlin long?”

Gwaine got Merlin into a headlock. “Years,” he said. “This wizard was running riot when the two of us were green knights just learning to hold a sword.”

“He's trouble then?” Arthur asked.

Gwaine let Merlin go. “No, he's a great sorcerer and a good person but if you upset him you'll have to answer to us.”

“Gwaine! Arthur is not going to upset me.”

“I honestly have no intention of upsetting Merlin,” Arthur said firmly. “Merlin's lucky to have friends like you.”

He was lucky. Arthur's friends were mostly ones he played a bit of footie with, or played computer games with. He hadn't thought about his friends since he'd left home with Gaius. He'd thought about his father and Morgana but what his friends would think had never really occurred to him.

Gwaine seemed to appreciate what Arthur was saying. “All right then,” he said.

“We should be getting back on patrol,” Lancelot said. “It was good to see you, Merlin. And nice to meet you, Arthur.”

“Likewise.”

“He's just pining until his girlfriend gets back in a few days,” Gwaine whispered. “Nice girl Gwen and she stops Lancelot from being too serious.”

Merlin grinned. “Stay out of trouble.”

Gwaine and Lancelot walked off. “Don't we always?” Gwaine called.

“You know the knights?” Gilli asked in awe as they went out of earshot.

“Not all of them,” Merlin replied.

“It's great,” Gilli said. “I feel a little bit jealous.”

Merlin seemed embarrassed so Arthur tried changing the subject. Except no one had really heard of football.

Eventually, once dinner was over, the students drifted back to their rooms to get ready for their early start the next morning. Arthur walked back with Merlin.

“Your friends seem nice,” he said as a conversation starter.

“Don't mind Gwaine,” Merlin replied. “He's like my big brother, always looking out for me. Not that I need protecting. I have magic.”

“I believe you.”

Merlin smiled and Arthur tried to ignore the fact he was most definitely developing a crush on Merlin. He'd even been relieved when Merlin hadn't said Gwaine was his boyfriend. Really, Arthur was starting to wonder about his priorities.

When they got back to their room, well chambers, they had to change. Luckily, there was a screen at one end, so they took it in turns to go behind it and change. Arthur was glad that he wouldn't be distracted by any part of a naked Merlin. His head was starting to throb again, and by the time he was in bed he couldn't help rubbing his temples.

“Are you okay?” Merlin called from his bed.

“Headache,” Arthur replied.

“Pent up magic,” Merlin said, getting out of bed. “You really need to release it before you blow something up.”

“It's not magic,” Arthur said, through gritted teeth.

Rolling his eyes Merlin came over to the bed. “It's magic,” he said, firmly. He put his hand on Arthur's forehead.

Panicking a little about having Merlin in such close contact Arthur was perhaps a little sharp with him. “What are you doing?”

“Helping you. Unless you want to go to bed with a headache?”

“I don't.”

Merlin closed his eyes and Arthur began to feel a tingling in his forehead. It was pleasant, and as he closed his eyes he was sure he could see gold swirling behind his closed eyelids. His head began to feel lighter, and the pain slowly began to disappear as if it was being drained away.

Then everything went dark, and Arthur opened his eyes as he felt Merlin's hand move away. “That feels better,” he said.

“Gaius taught me how to do that,” Merlin said. “I used to get pain all the time from too much magic. You always have magic, but if you don't use it it grows and that's when it starts to hurt.”

“Whatever it was it's better,” Arthur said. He wasn't so willing to accept the idea of magic. If he actually had magic he was sure it would have found some way out before. He thought about the glass on his father's desk but shook his head. He didn’t have magic.

******************************************************************************

The next morning Arthur woke up first. It took him a moment to realise where he was. He glanced across at Merlin's bed. Merlin was still sound asleep, he looked quite cute lying there, looking so innocent. Arthur knew it was rude to stare but he couldn’t help it. That was when the scroll landed on his head.

“Ow!” he said, picking it up from the bed where it had eventually landed.

Merlin was now awake, having also been awoken by a falling scroll. “Our timetable,” he said excitedly as he read it. “Oh look, our first lecture is elemental magic.”

Arthur glanced down and saw times and rooms written down in an elaborate script, along with what presumably were the subjects for the lectures. There were a few other things listed, such as an introduction to the library after lunch. It looked like lunch was their only break throughout the day. Arthur had been hoping they would at least ease into it.

“There's a lot on here.”

“Yeah, but it's mostly simple introductory stuff and we won't get any extra study yet.”

“As long as I don't have to write dozens of thousand word essays.”

“Oh no, it will be about measuring how much magic you have.”

Arthur's heart sank. He might have preferred to write dozens of thousand word essays than to suffer the humiliation of not showing any magical ability whatsoever.

They got washed and dressed and headed down to the hall for breakfast. Arthur wasn't really very hungry, but he let Merlin get him some bacon and eggs anyway. They sat with Elena and Gilli who were busy studying their timetables.

“I was hoping that we'd get 'Introduction to Magical Creatures' as our first lecture,” Elena said. “I've been practising how to turn a frog blue.”

“Why would want to turn a frog blue?” Arthur asked.

“Why not? You might want one to match your shoes.”

“Do people actually wear frogs?” Arthur whispered to Merlin.

“It's gone out of fashion these days,” Merlin replied. “Toads are more fashionable now.”

Arthur remembered he had once heard odd croaking noises from Morgana's bedroom. He wondered if his sister did actually go out wearing frogs or toads. He would ask her, but it wasn't as if he could call her on his mobile. Nothing electronic seemed to work in Camelot. A shame, since he had wanted to listen to his iPod.

Once breakfast was over, the four of them headed to their lecture together. There was safety in numbers. According to Merlin Professor Lake had something of a fearsome reputation.

They walked through the College and into the main castle. Here too, doorways moved and staircases became spiralled as they walked up or down them. It turned out that Gilli and Elena were quite good at map reading, so they came across were fewer dead ends than if Merlin and Arthur had been navigating.

Professor Lake's rooms were on the far side of the castle in what was termed the 'Blessed Isle' annexe. They made their way into what would be considered a classroom rather than a lecture hall. There were long work tables, and bench seats lined up in rows. There was one window at the far end, and the rest of the room was lit by a variety of candles.

Several students were already there. Arthur recognised Sophia and Mordred, who offered another odd smile. Not sure of how to react, Arthur followed his friends to a bench at the front, where there was enough room for the four of them to sit. Gilli sat at one end, next to Elena, then Merlin sat next to her, and Arthur was at the other end.

Luckily, they had arrived in plenty of time as Vivian bustled in behind them. Looking around, Arthur tried to pick out familiar faces. All the Colleges had lectures together as all students were at the same level. It was only in later years that Colleges ran their own timetables.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash and the young looking professor appeared. She wore a red dress and had rather piercing blue eyes.

“Welcome to Camelot,” she said. “I'm Professor Nimueh Lake; Professor of Elemental Magic. Elemental Magic is one of the most important magicks to master and I expect you all to make the required effort.”

Everyone murmured quietly in the affirmative.

“Good. Now to begin can anyone tell me what the elements are?” Professor Nimueh asked as she walked up and down the classroom. She paused in front of Arthur. “Perhaps you, Arthur Pendragon. Can you tell me what the elements are?”

Arthur was surprised that she even knew his name. He felt completely out of his depth but decided to hazard a guess. “Erm.. is it something to do with the periodic table?”

She sighed. “I see your mundane education has taught you little. Anyone else?”

Next to Arthur Merlin held his hand up.

Nimueh turned to him “Yes, Merlin?”

“There are four elements: water, earth, fire and air.”

“Very good, Merlin.” She smiled. “This year we will be focussing on one of the most destructive of the elements; fire.”

She strode to the backboard at the front of the classroom. “I will be testing you on each of the elements. Before we move onto controlling them you must first summon them.” Nimueh waved a hand, and the chalk began to write on the blackboard of its own accord. “The spell for fire is a very simple one: forbærnen,” she said, pointing to the newly formed word. “Repeat after me; forbærnen.”

Arthur joined in with his fellow students. “Forbærnen.”

Suddenly the bit of the bench next to Arthur caught fire, and Merlin began frantically waving his arms around.

“Sorry!” he said, as he unsuccessfully tried to out the fire out.

Nimueh came over and waved a hand over the fire. “Acwence.”

Immediately the fire was extinguished.

Merlin smiled sheepishly. “I'm sorry,” he said.

Nimueh smiled. “There's no need to apologise, Merlin.” She turned to address the group. “Mr Emrys has accidentally demonstrated what we're going to be doing today.”

She clapped her hands and a small pile of twigs appeared before each student. “Before each of you is a small pile of wood. When I tell you yo I want you to hold your hand over it and say the word 'forbærnen'. It may take a few attempts. We can't all be as powerful as Merlin here.”

Everyone nodded.

“Then begin, please.”

One by one the students held out their hands and said the words. Mordred lit his almost before Nimueh had finished speaking. Merlin managed it (again) without any effort. Gilli got his to light almost immediately. Sophia managed it on a second try. It wasn’t long before Elena had a small glowing fire too. Vivian took a little while longer.

Soon the classroom was filled with the smell of burning as flames flickered in front of the students giving the whole place a golden glow. All the piles were burning well, except for the pile in front of Arthur. It remained completely unburnt without even a flicker of smoke to suggest any success.

Arthur was trying; he was. He tried to will flames to suddenly take hold. He kept saying the right word, altering his delivery to see if the way he said the word had any effect; it didn't. Feeling morose he slumped back in his seat. Now he would be exposed to the rest of his classmates as a fraud.

“Arthur? You're having trouble?” Nimueh asked.

Arthur nodded. “I can't do it.”

“Try again,” Nimueh encouraged.

Once more Arthur held out his hand. “Forbærnen,” he said.

Again nothing happened. Nimueh looked concerned.

Merlin coughed. “It's my fault, Professor,” he said. “Arthur had a headache last night and I helped him drain some excess magic. I might have drained too much.”

“Your hand please, Arthur.”

Reluctantly Arthur held out his hand. Nimueh's hands felt cool as she cradled it between hers. She closed her eyes and Arthur felt a slight hum of something under his skin. Then the feeling was gone.

“Hmmmm no, Merlin, you didn't drain too much. Arthur has more than enough magic for this spell. Try it again.”

Arthur tried three more times without success. Nimueh looked puzzled. For the rest of the lecture Arthur had to sit there as he watched his peers set paper on fire, cause earth to smoulder and try to conjure flames on their palms (only Merlin and Mordred managed that with any real success).

There wasn't much for Arthur to do. Merlin kept talking to him, encouraging him, and Arthur appreciated it, but he felt sick. For a moment he'd thought he'd belonged in Camelot, but clearly he didn't. Sooner or later Professor Nimueh would tell Gaius about Arthur's failure and he would be whisked off back to his old life, and he'd never get to see Merlin again.

That thought hurt and Arthur hated when the lecture was over. It meant he was a step closer to being sent away from Camelot.

As they filed out Nimueh called out to Merlin. “Merlin, I'd like a word with you. It won’t take long.”

Merlin shrugged at Arthur who went to wait outside with Elena and Gilli, both of whom seemed rather pleased with how it had all gone.

“I never thought I'd get to set things on fire,” Elena said. “My father never even let me try. I think he was worried it would get out of control.”

“Nor did mine,” Gilli said. “That was fun.”

“Oh, sorry, Arthur,” Elena said, as she noticed him. “Maybe elemental magic isn't your talent. I'm sure you'll do better at the other disciplines.”

“Thanks,” Arthur said. He was fairly sure that he would be just as useless at the other magicks as he was at elemental magic.

Merlin reappeared shortly afterwards and they headed to their next lecture: 'An Introduction to Healing Magic' by Professor Gaius.

Professor Gaius's rooms were filled with bottles, brewing equipment, and various other odd items. Herbs hung from the ceiling, giving the whole room a nice pleasant smell. It also helped covered yp the acrid smell for the various things Gaius seemed to be burning.

Luckily for Arthur, no actual magic was involved. Gaius, it seemed, wanted them to familiarise themselves with theory first.

“Healing Magic can do a lot of good,” he said. “But if you get it wrong the consequences can be severe.”

Although Gaius droned on a little, and there was a lot of reading involved, Arthur at least felt relieved he wouldn't suffer any further humiliation from trying to do magic. This was more the type of lecture he would have envisaged in a university. He was at least able to concentrate, unlike Merlin who he had to nudge a few times to keep him awake.

“Sorry about that,” Merlin said as they walked to lunch. “I've heard Gaius give that lecture about fifty times by now.”

“You have?”

“He's been giving it to me since I was old enough to pick herbs. He's always wanted me to follow in his footsteps.”

“Will you?” Arthur asked, remembering Merlin's love of dragons.

“I like it, and it's interesting but...”

“It's not dragons?”

“No.”

At lunch Arthur sat with Merlin, Elena, and Gilli.

“You must be very powerful to do that Elemental spell,” Elena said, bringing the conversation back to their first lecture. She seemed to have really enjoyed it.

“You did it without trying,” Gilli added.

“I just have a lot of magic,” Merlin said.

“You're a supernatural, aren't you?” Gilli asked.

Arthur was puzzled by the term. “What's a super-natural?”

“An exceptionally talented wizard,” Elena said. “Someone with unlimited magic, who can draw it from the very earth itself. Only one in every ten thousand witches or wizards are supposed to be that gifted.”

“And you are?” Arthur asked Merlin.

He nodded. “A bit, yeah.”

Now the reactions of the students in the hall when they had first arrived began to make sense.

“I used to come here for lessons when I was little,” Merlin told them.

“So, is there anything you can teach us?” Elena asked.

Arthur felt another flare of jealousy. It seemed there was a vast gulf between him and Merlin; magic-wise. Elena and Gilli could talk to him on a level that Arthur would never be able to. Why on earth would a powerful sorcerer like Merlin even want to be friends with a mundane like Arthur?

Merlin didn't talk much, he obviously didn't feel very comfortable. He gave brief answers about what he had been taught, but didn't go into detail. Again Arthur decided to come to Merlin's rescue, if only because he was tired of seeing the awestruck looks on Gilli and Elena's faces. He asked more generally about education in the magical world, and how it differed from his own mundane upbringing.

“Thank you,” Merlin mouthed, as Elena went into great detail about her horse riding lessons.

The distraction was welcome for Arthur as he gleaned what information he could. He wondered if they would wipe his memory before sending him back home. He hadn't felt at all hungry and, by the time lunch was over, he had barely eaten anything.

“Are you all right?” Merlin asked, as they made their way to the library for their 'Bibliographic Introduction.' “You didn't eat much.”

“I'm going to be thrown out,” Arthur said.

“No you're not! Of course you're not! You just need some time.”

Arthur appreciated Merlin's encouragement but that didn't alter the truth. “I'm just a mundane, Merlin.”

Merlin grabbed his hand. Arthur felt his whole body feel warm and tingly. It was nice. “No, you're not. Really.”

Then Merlin let his hand go, and Arthur felt cold again.

The library tour turned out to be boring, although Arthur wasn't paying it much attention. He was thinking about Merlin, and about how he might never see him after the day was over. Would he even get to remember him?

Geoffrey gave them a tour of the library, although it appeared that he wasn't sure where half the volumes were located. He also gave some droning lectures on the proper treatment of books but it seemed that generally, if you wanted something, you would ask for it.

Arthur stared up at the dusty volumes and wondered if his mother had ever read any of them. She would have walked in the library he was currently in. At least he had got to see where she'd gone to university.

After the library tour was the final proper lecture of the day: 'An Introduction to Dark Magic'. Arthur wasn't looking forward to it, especially since dark magic was the cause of his mother's death.

“They don’t really teach us dark magic,” Gilli said, as if reading his mind. “Just how to recognise it and fight against it.”

“It didn't help my mother,” Arthur said, sadly.

“You're here aren't you?” Gilli asked. Perhaps he had a point.

The lecture was taken by Professor Edwin Muirden, the scarred man who was in charge of Thyme College. Arthur didn't like him at all. He got a funny feeling every time the professor spoke. It was all theory for the moment, but that didn’t stop the odd creeping sensation Arthur felt throughout the entire lecture. His temples throbbed.

By the time it was over Arthur's head was pounding. He had only absorbed the bare basics about what dark magic was. It was the darkest part of the soul, it drew power on negative emotions, corrupted the soul, and yet, in doing so, gave great power. Now Arthur understood why his mother would have stood against it.

“Arthur?” Merlin asked, touching Arthur's shoulder.

“Just a headache,” Arthur said.

“Come on, I'll take you back to our chambers,” Merlin said, putting an arm around him. Just that light touch made Arthur feel better. Slowly his headache dissipated, and it was all but gone by the time they were in the College building.

They made it back to their chambers in one piece and Arthur flopped onto his bed. Not that it would be his bed for much longer. He felt tears prickling behind his eyes, but he wasn't going to cry. He would cherish the memories of his few days in this other world. Perhaps it would make a good story to tell his children.

He hadn't realised he had closed his eyes until he felt another weight on the bed. He opened them to see Merlin looking at him. “Arthur? Do you want me to fetch Gaius?”

“What for? So he can make me pack?”

“Why would he make you pack?”

“I don’t belong here,” Arthur said. “I don't have magic.”

Merlin’s hand touched his again. “You do. I know you do.”

“I couldn’t say a simple spell everyone else could do. I'm a fraud.”

“No.” Merlin said. “You're not.”

“I'm sorry,” Arthur said, sadly.

Merlin was looking at him with pity and disappointment. No wonder. Merlin was a powerful sorcerer, finally where he belonged, and the first friend he'd made was a fraud. Arthur wouldn’t blame Merlin for not even wanting to see Arthur again. Still, he liked Merlin; really liked him. If he wasn't going to see Merlin again anyway surely there wouldn't be any harm in one kiss? One last goodbye.

He pulled Merlin down and their lips pressed together with a bit too much pressure. It wasn't romantic and caused Merlin to topple over on top of Arthur, but Arthur didn't care and he tried again, this time with less pressure as he met Merlin's lips. It was a gentle, quick kiss, but it felt wonderful.

“You're not apologising for that, Arthur,” Merlin said. “I thought I was going to have to wait until you got drunk at the freshers fayre.”

“I won't be here,” he said. “Professor Lake's probably already told Gaius I don’t have magic.”

Merlin rolled his eyes and leaned down to kiss Arthur again. This time, the tip of Merlin's tongue touched Arthur's lips and the kiss became hot and wet, and Arthur found himself pulling Merlin even closer.

“You do have magic,” Merlin said, as he pulled back. “I wasn't supposed to tell you yet but Nimueh wants me to give you extra tutoring.”

“That's what she wanted to talk to you about?”

Merlin nodded. “She says I have the potential to help you unlock yours or something. She wanted to clear it with Gaius before it was official though.”

“I'm staying?”

“Yes, Arthur,” Merlin said, smiling, as he wiggled on top of Arthur and the two of them began to get hard.

Arthur was pulling Merlin down for another kiss when a knock on the door startled both of them.

“Merlin? Arthur? I need to speak to you.”

Merlin groaned. “Gaius.”

“We should let him in,” Arthur said.

Reluctantly, Merlin got up off the bed (and Arthur). It was then Arthur realised how warm he must have been for, as soon as Merlin left him, he felt a little chilled.

“Hi, Gaius,” Merlin said, cheerfully, as he opened the door. “Come in.”

Arthur was sat up, hoping that Gaius wouldn't be able to tell what exactly he and Merlin had just been engaged in. “Gaius?”

Gaius looked at the two of them, and gave them a subtle quirk of the eyebrow, but he said nothing. “I've heard that you had some trouble today, Arthur,” he said, kindly.

“Yes, I did.”

“Professor Lake thinks that you would benefit from some extra tutoring. She thinks Merlin is the best person to teach you. Professor Kilgarrah seems very keen on the idea. Are you willing Merlin?”

Merlin gave a brilliant smile. “Absolutely.”

“Good. Some private study sessions will be factored into your timetables but I expect you to use them for actual study not personal matters.”

Arthur blushed. “We'll keep them professional.”

“Honestly,” Merlin added.

Gaius didn't look convinced. “Yes, well, see that you do. I need hardly remind you dinner will be in an hour.”

“We'll be there,” Merlin said.

“Make the most of the time,” Gaius said, sighing. He went out and shut the door behind him.

As soon as Gaius had gone Arthur smiled. “What do you want to do with that hour?”

“I'm going to teach you how to set things on fire,” Merlin said, cheerfully.

Arthur laughed. “You're taking this tutoring thing seriously.”

“Well, I have to be mature and practical as your tutor. Let me find some wood and we can start.”

It seemed that Merlin did actually mean to teach Arthur how to set things on fire, but not quite in the way Arthur had been hoping for. “Is there a reward for doing well?”

“Yes, but it's a surprise,” Merlin replied, still smiling. He went over and rummaged through his trunk until he brought out a small branch.

“You keep pieces of wood in your trunk?”

“Of course. Archimedes likes different perches so I keep a selection.”

Speaking of the owl Arthur hadn't seen him since he'd been loaded onto the cart. “Where is he? You didn't turn him invisible, did you?”

“No, he's getting to know the area. It usually takes owls about a week to get their bearings. He'll be fine.”

Arthur felt oddly relieved. “So you want me to set fire to this branch?”

Merlin placed it on the desk, and waved Arthur over. “Yes. Do you want to stand up or sit down?”

Considering he had been sitting down during his failure in the classroom, Arthur thought it was a good idea. “I'll stand,” he said, as he stood in front of the desk.

“Okay, hold your arm out like this,” Merlin said, taking hold of Arthur's left arm and angling it so his hand was aimed at the wood. “Spread your hand out.”

Arthur did so and he felt an odd tingling sensation all the way down his arm, concentrating in his fingertips. Merlin was still holding onto his wrist. “Are you doing anything?” Arthur asked.

“No, that's your magic,” Merlin said, pleased. “You can't force someone do magic. Your own magic doesn't like it.”

Hoping Merlin was right, Arthur concentrated on the piece of wood. “Forbærnen.” he said.

Nothing happened and Arthur's heart sank. He had felt something in his body, some sort of sensation. Now he was wondering if it wasn't just his imagination or some psychosomatic response to needing to have magic.

“Let go, Arthur,” Merlin whispered in his ear. “You're thinking about it too much.”

“How do I not think about it?”

“Think about before,” Merlin suggested.

“About us kissing each other?” Arthur wasn't sure how that was supposed to help.

“Yes, let your mind be distracted by that.”

Arthur decided he was not going to blush at that thought. “Okay, you are distracting.”

Indeed Merlin was distracting Arthur so Arthur decided to use it. He concentrated on the feel of Merlin's fingers around his wrist, Merlin's breath close to his ear and then he pictured exactly what they had been doing earlier. He closed his eyes and tried again.

“Forbærnen,” he said, quietly.

Arthur opened his eyes. For a moment it looked as if nothing had happened, but then a thin trail of smoke appeared to emanate from the wood.

Merlin let go of his wrist. “Again,” he said.

Closing his eyes and trying not to think of the possible success he concentrated on where his wrist felt cold now Merlin was no longer touching it. Arthur repeated the spell. “Forbærnen.”

When he opened his eyes he saw the amount of smoke had grown.

Now Merlin stepped back. “Again,” he instructed.

The tingling sensation in Arthur's fingertips was getting stronger; it felt like pins and needles. He flexed them slightly, but then went back to thinking about other things. He pictured Merlin’s eyes turning gold when he did magic, his warm smile and his friendship.

He said the spell again.“Forbaernan.”

At first Arthur didn't want to open his eyes, but then he heard Merlin clapping. When he looked he could see a small flame dancing on the branch. His fingertips no longer felt odd and tingly but pleasantly warm.

“You did it!” Merlin said, hugging Arthur. “You did it.”

“I did?” Arthur looked at the flame as it grew and the branch began to burn. “I did. That was me.”

He'd done it; he had actually done magic. Merlin kissed him hard on the lips.

“So, how am I as a teacher?” Merlin asked, his arm slung around Arthur.

“Not bad, Merlin. Not bad at all.”

*****************************************************************************

They weren't late for dinner, although it was a close thing. Merlin had brought out another branch and with a little bit of coaxing Arthur had managed to set fire to that as well. So engrossed did they both become that it was lucky that Merlin had spelled his book into being an alarm clock.

As they entered the hall they immediately sought out Elena and Gilli, two people Arthur was now happy to call friends now he knew he was in no danger of being thrown out of Camelot. It was Merlin who shared the good news. Arthur didn't stop him.

“Arthur did it; he did magic. We tried the fire spell again and he set a branch alight,” Merlin said, unable to keep the pride out of his voice.

Arthur felt pleasantly warm and smiled as Merlin detailed his exploits to their new friends.

“That's brilliant, Arthur,” Elena said, reaching across the table to give him a punch on the arm.

“Thank you,” Arthur said, rubbing where she'd hit him.

“You’re staying at Camelot then?” Gilli asked.

Arthur nodded. “I hope so, now I've got Merlin as a teacher.”

“Well, I'm glad you're staying,” Elena announced. “You wouldn’t want to miss Fresher's Fayre.”

Arthur looked at Merlin. “No, there are a lot of things I wouldn't want to miss.”

That night Arthur lay in bed staring at the ceiling. “Did my eyes change colour when I did magic?” he asked. “Like yours do?”

“You had your eyes closed,” Merlin said, yawning.

“Hmm I did.” Arthur closed his eyes and decided he should get some rest. He didn't feel tired. In fact since he'd done his first bit of magic he'd felt more awake than ever.

It had released something inside him. Camelot felt different now; familiar and comforting. The place was vibrant, he could almost feel it in the walls. He felt stupidly content. He couldn't remember being happy, so happy with himself, before.

“Maybe I can try it with my eyes open next time,” he suggested.

Merlin's snores told Arthur he was already asleep.

*****************************************************************************

Over the next few days Arthur began to settle into the routine of Camelot. He and Merlin woke up at around the same time, got ready, and then went down to breakfast together. There they would meet up with Elena and Gilli before heading off to their lectures.

Most of their lectures were currently based on theory. Nimueh was the only Professor letting them do anything practical. Well, unless you counted Gaius making them process herbs. Arthur was relieved as he still hadn’t managed to do any magic outside of his chambers, even though he had tried.

In the end Merlin had arranged for Nimueh to come to their chambers to watch Arthur set some wood alight. Given the practice he'd had, as well as Merlin’s excellent tutoring, Arthur was able to do it almost at once. He also knew his eyes turned gold, a fact which had finally convinced him it was his magic doing it.

“I'm impressed, Arthur Pendragon,” Nimueh said. “It seems you have your mother's talent.”

“Why can't I do it during your lectures?” Arthur asked.

For a moment Nimueh looked concerned, but then her face was impassive once again. “These things take time,” she said, quietly.

That was all she would say.

“Maybe it's the pressure,” Merlin suggested, when Nimueh had gone.

“I think I might need some more distraction then,” Arthur replied, moving in for a kiss.

He and Merlin hadn’t actually progressed beyond some very involved making out. They didn't want to rush into anything. As if kissing your room mate of less than twenty four hours hadn't been rushing into things. Arthur just couldn’t help it. He liked Merlin more than he'd liked anyone before.

Merlin said they had to save something for the Freshers' Fayre.

PART THREE