A/N: I drew loose inspiration for OUaT's Dark One for this one.
. . .
The thing about being the Emrys was, it wasn't a title you were born with or even earned, exactly. You just got it when a dying old man showed up at your village with a weird knife, grabbed your hand, and forced you to kill him.
Or at least that was what had happened to Merlin. Gaius's gory stories about the knife and its history suggested his experience with this was not universal.
After yet another person tried to kill him for the stupid knife, Merlin was nearly ready to just tell the next person who turned up that they could have it.
"Merlin!" Gaius scolded.
Merlin slumped on the bench by Gaius's table. "I know, I know. The power is a responsibility, and I have to use it wisely. I can't just throw it at somebody." Even if that was exactly what the last Emrys had done . . . .
"The power is in you now, not the knife," Gaius warned. "Only your death will change that now."
Merlin looked up. "Then why do you keep telling me to hide the knife?"
"Because the knife does offer control of the magic - and, more importantly, the mage."
Merlin's eyes widened. "I feel like you could have mentioned this before," he squeaked.
Gaius looked at him in incredulous exasperation. "I assumed you knew."
"It's not like this thing came with instructions! I'm making this up as I go along! You know that!"
Gaius sighed. "Your mother's letter hinted as much," he admitted. "I should have realized." His expression turned stern. "But now you do realize, so be more careful."
"Right," Merlin said determinedly. "I will be."
Gaius eyed him doubtfully, but all he said was, "Good."
. . .
"More careful, you said," Gaius's voice was as dry as the wells had been during Anhora's curse three months ago. "What exactly about any of this do you consider being careful?"
Merlin looked up from the bowl of broth he was hunched over. "I was careful!" he protested.
The blanket he was huddled under made Merlin look sufficiently pathetic that even Gaius hesitated to yell at him. He just raised an eyebrow as he said, in a mostly calm tone. "You fought a sorcerer in front of the entire court."
"I was in disguise!"
This was true, and also the only reason Gaius wasn't either currently trying to smuggle Merlin out of the city or attempting to explain her only son's untimely death in a letter to Hunith.
That didn't mean the disguise was a good idea. "An aging potion won't work forever, Merlin. What will you do when you're old enough to actually look like that?"
Merlin shrugged. "I'll worry about that if I get there."
If. The boy was fighting off increasingly dangerous opponents nearly every week as mages and monsters sought both vengeance and power. Merlin's power was unmatched, but his knowledge of how to use it was severely hampered by the holes in Gaius's own knowledge.
The if hurt Gaius's heart, but the boy wasn't wrong. He was walking a dangerous path, and his chances of reaching old age naturally were slim.
"At least you managed to come up with an alias," Gaius said, sinking down on the bench opposite of Merlin with a sigh. "Although, honestly, Merlin, your skills in that area could use some work."
