Becoming Magic

A funny feeling

When morning came, he came out of his room to a startled Gaius who hadn't known he was going to be back. They hugged and had breakfast together. Then he was off to the kitchens to get a proper breakfast for Arthur. He found himself checking and re-checking his neckerchief to make sure it covered the brand he received. When he got there, most of the servants were giving him hugs or handshakes, glad that he was back. Even the cook broke her normal scowl to grin at him. When he got to Arthur's chambers, he opened the door, set the breakfast up on the table and went to open the curtains. As he did, he heard the muffled voice of his King.

"Rise and shine!" He said, and as soon as he said it the King shot up in bed looking at him in disbelief. "Good morning Arthur, breakfast is at the table, you have training this morning with the Knights for a bit then on to council meetings..." He paused confused as Arthur had come to stand very close to him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're back." He said a bit breathily.

"Yes, I am. Would you like to get dressed before breakfast or after?" As he finished, he found himself wrapped in a hug. He wasn't sure what to do at first, but eventually hugged his friend back. After a minute Arthur backed up and Merlin felt a hand smack him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Merlin exclaimed rubbing his head.

"That was for being away for so long. I trust you rested enough. I'm going to eat, while you put my clothes out for the day and start making the bed and picking up my laundry." Arthur said turning away to go to the table, relaxing, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Merlin wasn't sure what to make of this interaction, so he put it down to a one off. Once Arthur ate and dressed, they headed down to the training grounds together. What Merlin had not expected was to be tackled by most of the knights. All of them were apparently glad to see him back and feeling better. Once everyone had got off him, he made his way over to the side to watch as he usually did. It felt good to be missed and know that all these people were glad he was back. While he was watching training he noticed a nobleman that he didn't recognize coming over. When he got to the training grounds he caught Arthur's attention. Merlin, could swear that he heard Arthur call him 'uncle'. Strange. He didn't think Uther had any family, but this man didn't look anything like Arthur's mother. But that was the only connection he could think of. There was something about him that Merlin didn't like. Just then the man looked up and spotted Merlin watching them. He bowed to Arthur and went back towards the castle, while Arthur walked over to him.

"Seems the council meeting is happening earlier than I thought. You ready?"

Merlin just looked at him. "Am I ready? I don't do anything in the council meetings. I just stand to the back blending in with walls and such. Are you ready? You seem a bit tense after talking with that man." Merlin added hoping Arthur would explain.

"Ah, that's right. You were gone when Aggravaine arrived. That was my Uncle, on my mother's side. He has been advising me. He's been very helpful." Arthur finished as they walked toward the castle. Great. If Arthur trusted him this much it could only mean one thing. He would eventually betray him. Merlin made a note to keep an eye on him, just in case.

They made their way through the castle to drop Arthur's armor off at his chambers and grab the council papers before heading to the meeting. Once Arthur took his seat, Merlin took his spot to Arthur's right slightly back. Throughout the meeting he caught Arthur glancing back to him, almost as if he were checking to make sure he were really there. Merlin wasn't the only one to notice this. Aggravaine had picked up on Arthur's focus shifting to him every so often. Merlin did what he could to pay attention to the topics of discussion, but kept feeling eyes on him. He glanced up and found Aggravaine looking at him. Like he was trying to study him. That was odd. Once they were done for the day, Merlin had gotten Arthur to bed and taken his armor and sword to polish back to his room. He'd forgotten how tiring keeping Arthur going could be. He settled in to a restless sleep that night. He couldn't help but feel in the pit of his stomach that something was about to happen. Arthur would call it one of his funny feelings. He knew it had to do with the illness he had experienced the week before his birthday. He just hoped he was wrong.