Becoming Magic

"Tonight?" "Tonight."

The morning was a blur for Gwaine. He was in a world all his own. Training actually went well, but he found himself wanting to run back to his room. He knew it would be empty soon, if it wasn't already, though. His mind was caught reliving the night before. The other Knights had picked up on his change in mood and distracted thoughts. He had a far off look in his eyes, and kept glancing back toward the castle.

"Are you alright, Gwaine?" Elyan asked him.

"Wonderful. Why?" He responded, almost too quickly.

"I don't buy it." Leon said, standing by Elyan.

"Buy what?" Gwaine asked innocently.

"That! That right there. Something's different..."Elyan said, and started to circle Gwaine to see if he could figure out what it was.

"No!" Eoin shouted. Gwaine could see he'd figured it out and he only hoped he wasn't blushing as much as he thought. He crossed his arms to hide his fidgeting hands. It was at that moment that Arthur noticed what was going on.

"I thought I told you to let him sleep." Arthur growled at him.

"Don't look at me like that. I was planning to let him go straight to sleep. He, however, had other things on his mind. In all fairness, you should have told him to let me sleep." Gwaine rebutted. Arthur rolled his eyes and put a hand to his head.

"Wow, Gwaine. Not what I was needing in my head this morning. Can we take this to mean anything in particular? Any questions or declarations exchanged?" Arthur asked, a wicked glint in his eyes. Gwaine cleared his throat hoping to give him enough time to come up with a believable lie or a distraction. Instead, there were exclamations and shouts from the Knights surrounding them, as they took his delay for confirmation.

"Have you set a date then?" Lancelot asked, grinning widely.

"I hadn't intended to ask him last night. It just sort of came over me, and I couldn't wait. No nothing has been set. Please just let us enjoy this." Gwaine said before they could pester him with more questions. He noticed some coins being handed over to Arthur, and just rolled his eyes. After training he went to his room and found a rose on his pillow along with the circlet Merlin had worn. He smiled, wondering how long he had to wait to see him again.

Merlin had woken up to the sound of swords clashing and the sun shining in on his face. He smiled to himself. Last night had been amazing and wonderful. He glanced at his hand to see the ring Gwaine had given him. Knowing it was real and not a dream filled him with a warmth he hadn't realized he was missing. He felt complete. He breathed in the scent of his lover from the sheets. Once he was well and awake, he got up and dressed in the clothes he'd worn the day before from the druids. He caught a glimpse in the mirror and had seen his eyes were stuck somewhere between blue and gold. He sighed and donned the hood to make the walk to Gaius. Before he left, he placed a rose on the pillow for Gwaine to find after training. He walked to the physician's chambers, and gave Gaius a big hug before going up to his room to change. Once his arms were covered and he put on a red neckerchief to cover the marks that reached his neck, he joined his mentor for breakfast. When he sat down, Gaius simply sat and waited. Merlin rolled his eyes.

"You just can't let me eat first, can you?"

"No, I cannot." Gaius said, sternly.

"When I got there, I was only conscious, briefly. I passed out after only making it a few steps in the camp. I couldn't focus on anything. It felt...weird. Like I was disconnected or something. Out of sync. I'm not describing that right...It's like I went from feeling muffled, to suddenly having all of my senses assaulted." Merlin paused. "Anyway, when I woke up it was the fourth day since Lancelot had brought me there. Merrik and Iseldir met with me, bringing me food and making a plan of how to help sort of train me. They had some texts, but they were mostly just more spells. Nothing that explained what was happening with me. They had me sit in the open and describe what it was I felt, what I sensed. It took a few days for me to be able to keep my magic from just bursting out of me. I was able to direct it after that. Iseldir was worried about how my emotions tended to heighten my magic's reaction. He helped me with breathing exercises and safe ways to expel the excess magic." Merlin stopped so he could eat some before his breakfast got too cold. "At the end of two weeks, I'd learned nothing more about why or how I could do what I can do. But, I'd found a sort of peace being among the Druids. It felt empty though. Felt like something was missing." Merlin touched his chest, unconsciously. "When I went to sleep, knowing that Lancelot would be coming in a few days, I thought of Gwaine. I pictured him, and I guess as I fell asleep, my magic reached out for him. He was at an inn in Essitir. He was upset. I reached out and I could touch him, Gaius. Like we were right next to each other. We were able to speak to each other for a little while before exhaustion overcame me and I fell asleep. One of the things I had been doing each evening at the camp, was going out to a clearing at sunset and safely expel some magic. The Knights were there to witness it the night they got there, so you can ask them what it felt like. Anyway, the Druids had been planning a ceremony of sorts for before I left. They placed a gold and silver circlet on my head, carefully drew symbols all over my body, my arms, my feet and then dressed me in fine clothes. When the sun was directly overhead, the ceremony began. I felt so much magic around me, the symbols connecting me to it all. It pulsed through me and raced around. As I stood in front of the Druids, they began reciting. I don't know if it was a spell or just a promise in the language of the Old Religion, but as soon as they said it, I could feel the connection being made from me to them and them to me. I might have fallen under the onrush of magic if not for Gwaine. He steadied me. When they finished speaking and knelt in front of me, I put my arms above my head and a giant golden triskele appeared. I pulled the magic down from the sky and through me to the ground. The magic rushed through me and raced across the land. I felt each and every magic user and Druid in that moment, Gaius. It was incredible."