Author's Note: Who dares wake me from my slumber? With all your comments and questions and likes. Disgustang! I will now turn Merlin into a bastard with my dirty little gremlin hands. I had deemed myself unfit for creation and now you will know why. I pity the fools.

-----

The wind rushes past their ears and Arthur squeezes his eyes shut tightly. Merlin yells something that sounds like what happens when eight-year-olds try to speak backward phonetically and their descent slows, coming to a near stop just a meter from the ground. 

Once his feet touch solid ground Arthur keels forward, caught by the scruff by Merlin, who hauls him back up with a huff. 

"Honestly, Arthur, reflexes not what they used to be?"

"You threw us-" He huffs, almost dry-heaving, "-Off of a building! Why did you think that was a good idea?? We have stairs, Merlin! Stairs! For the love of God!"

"Ha!" Merlin responds, already striding towards the stables, "Too slow, We're on a schedule. Now come on!"

Merlin turns to beckon Arthur on, a glint of something giddy and aggressive in his eyes. It looks akin to madness, though maybe that's a side-effect of them glowing a faint gold.

"Even with horses it's an entire day's ride, a few minutes taking the stairs would barely make a difference!"

"That's where you're wrong!" Merlin throws open the doors of the stables, "These horses are about to gain some peculiar talents!"

"Oh my god," Arthur murmurs under his breath, rushing to catch up, "What is he going to do to the horses?"

Merlin feels as though he could eat the world raw. He's not sure what's happened, but the power thrumming in his veins feels suddenly limitless. He could still the turning of the earth if he saw fit to do so. He knows he should be frightened, but he finds that he can't summon the will for it. This must be what it feels like to be struck by a lightning bolt. He ignores the sweat that snakes along his spine, instead focusing on the task in front of him. 

"Ha! You there!" He calls to a frightened stable boy that is currently ducked behind a horse, "We'll need the two best horses you have. No time to waste!"

"Uh, Sir, those are reserved for the king-"

"-He won't mind!" Merlin turns to Arthur who is still striding up the hill, "Arthur! We're taking the fastest horses, doth it please his majesty?"

"What?" Arthur calls back, "Yeah, yes, fine."

"Well, you heard his royal highness!" Merlin nearly shouts to the boy.

"Yes sir, right away sir." The boy quickly saddles the horses, getting ready to fasten the saddlebags when Merlin begins yelling again.

"No need for those, the less we carry the better!" 

By now Arthur has caught up and is staring open-mouthed from the doorway. Seemingly unable to process the great shift that has taken place in Merlin's demeanor. The instant the boy steps back from the second horse Merlin grabs Arthur by the elbow, dragging him over to the horses and pushing a waterskin into his hand almost forcefully. 

"Go on, saddle up, I need to discuss the plan with our friends here," Merlin commands, looking one of the horses very sternly in the eye.

The horse freezes and Merlin closes his eyes for a second, opening them to meet an equally golden gaze as the horse seems to enter some sort of trance, glowing at the eyes just the same as Merin. He nods to the animal and then moves on to the one that Arthur is currently astride. He does the same, nodding at that horse too, and then swinging himself into the empty saddle of the first. 

"Merlin, what did you just do to my horses?"

"It's hard to explain, but essentially I'm using them as magical conduits of power, now I suggest you hold on tightly because try as I might, I doubt the ride will be smooth."

"What is that supposed to me- AH"

The horses take off at a full gallop, quickly surpassing any speed that they should naturally be able to achieve, let alone maintain. Merlin takes the lead, cackling madly. 

Arthur soon realizes that no amount of pulling on the reins will make his horse slow or change direction. Merlin has full control, a thought that becomes far less than comforting as Merlin lets out a wild, "Whoop!"

Arthur closes his eyes, holds on, and tries not to be sick as the world around him blurs into a mess of green and brown.

-------

It seems like only minutes later that their pace begins to slow, causing Arthur's stomach to lurch uncomfortably as he is forced to the front of the saddle by his momentum. He finally opens his eyes, regretting it as he sees the ledge not a hundred meters off. 

"I know what you're thinking, but don't scream. It will be ok, just don't make a sound, got it?"

The voice seems to be in his head, and he glances around, catching Merlin's gaze at his side, pulling up on the reins of his horse, Arthur's horse somehow following the command as well. 

Arthur presses his lips into a thin line, being sure to breathe deeply through his nose in an attempt to keep any of the panic he feels inside from seeping out.

Sure enough, the horses slow, coming to a stop with a good twenty meters to spare. 

Arthur lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, slipping quickly from the saddle and falling to his knees on the sparse grass, bending over to try and stop his head from spinning. 

He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up to see Merlin standing over him, the glow in his eyes as bright as it had been when they left, but now his face is pale and drawn, sweat gathered on his forehead. 

"Are you alright? I'm sorry we had to do it that way, but the enemy will be passing below us in about ten minutes, so there was no time to spare."

"I- uh- yeah." He shakily gets to his feet, grounding himself to his new surroundings, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Good." Merlin's face splits into a grin as he claps Arthur on the shoulder, striding past him to look over the edge. 

Arthur watches him go, wondering when life got so strange and heavy. He sighs, dragging a gloved hand over his face. He should be happy. He's alive, Merlin is here, they have a good chance to defend Camelot, Gwen is an amazing leader, and they'll all probably get to laugh about it over drinks in a month or so, but... the weight of everything that's happened still settles in his chest. Nothing will ever be the same. He no longer knows where he stands. Is Merlin his servant? Friend? Advisor? Just a strangely gifted stranger? And what is to come of him and Guinevere? Will she ever forgive him for abandoning her? Will he ever be able to forgive himself? Should he?

"Arthur-" Merin's voice pulls him out of his thoughts, "It'll be alright, just get through today and then we'll get through tomorrow, ok?" 

"You can read my thoughts?"

"Yes, but I don't need to, and I don't like to. I could tell by your expression. I've known you for years Arthur, it's not hard to tell when something is troubling you."

"Right." Arthur huffs a laugh. That will take some getting used to.

The sound of distant hooves on stone echoes up out of the ravine and Merlin shushes him, beckoning him over to the edge.

From this vantage point they can see the narrow trail below, they're positioned just after a rocky outcropping that turns the trail into a bottleneck. Only two or three men will be able to pass through it at a time. 

"How many are we expecting?" Arthur whispers.

"About two hundred, not many."

"Merlin, we have a lot of advantages, but there's still only two of us."

"Not for long, you'll see."

Arthur huffs, focusing his attention below where the first few soldiers are beginning to round the curve toward the bottleneck. The familiar jittery feeling returns, he has always gotten nervous before battles. Everyone does, surely.

"Alright, We'll jump from here once they're close enough." Merlin whispers.

"Jump? how are we supposed to jump? We'll break our ankles!" Arthur hisses back.

"Arthur, just-" Merlin presses a hand to his head, wincing, "-just trust me! I need you to trust me!"

"Okay, alright. I do, I do." Arthur puts his hands up in surrender.

Merlin just nods, turning back to the scene below them. The first soldier has just passed through the bottleneck. 

Merlin grabs Arthur by the elbow, throwing them both off the ledge. Somewhat-less-than-miraculously they land unharmed in front of now three soldiers. The reach to draw their swords but are thrown against the stones by an unseen force before they have the chance. 

"You take the front now." Merlin switches their positions, standing back to back with Arthur. Arthur draws his sword as the next wave of soldiers breaks through the bottleneck, swords already drawn. Merlin starts to yell something unintelligible in a voice that sounds too deep and loud to be his own, Arthur presses down his surprise and focuses on the problem in front of him, lurching forward to meet the first soldier's blow.

Dark shadows pass over them, screeches ringing through the air as the Wyvern fly fast the bottleneck, cries erupting from the men on the other side. Merlin takes his place next to Arthur, throwing back two of the men with a wave of his hand. Arthur is suddenly very grateful that Merlin is on his side. 

The fight gets out of hand quickly, men flying left and right, screams and screeches echoing off the ravine walls, reverberating through the small space. Arthur just keeps swinging to block the blows that seem to come from every direction. 

He didn't notice at first when the ground began to shake. The fighting seemed to still a little as millions on stones lifted up from the ground until they're about chest level. Merlin let's loose a cry from behind him, and the stones fly out toward the surrounding enemies, tearing through shields and chain maille and flesh, embedding in the stone walls of the ravine. 

There's a moment's stillness, and then another wave of soldiers begins to stream through the bottleneck, in the moment he has, Arthur turns to check on Merlin. 

He's doubled over, clutching his head, visibly shaking. Arthur moves toward him, stopping only to deflect blows from the encroaching enemy. Without Merlin they're dead. 

"Merlin!" He yells into the fray, his voice seeming to dissolve against the wave of noise created by the soldiers.

"MERLIN!" He tries again, struggling to get to him before the approaching soldier.

He watches, helpless as the soldier's sword comes down, his view of Merlin now blocked by another body.

"MER-" He's cut off as a concussive force explodes from Merlin, flattening the battlefield around them, soldiers dropping almost instantly as the wave overcomes them. 

Miraculously, the wave passes over Arthur without even a touch.

He rushes to Merlin, who now lay on the ground in a heap.

"Merlin!" He calls, kneeling beside him. 

Arthur flips him over so he can see if he's conscious. A gash runs across his left eye, the flesh of his forehead and cheek torn open cleanly. Arthur can't tell whether the eye is okay due to the mess of blood gushing from the wound. 

"Merlin!" he yells again, lightly slapping the good side of his face, desperately trying to convince himself that the damage isn't as severe as it seems. 

Merlin's good eye snaps open, a clear and piercing blue.

Before Arthur can breathe a sigh of relief, Merlin sits bolt upright, forcing Arthur back and crying out in agony. 

He grabs at his wound, light seeping between his fingers, seeming to drip like blood. Merlin screams, apparently as confused as Arthur is about whatever's happening. 

Arthur scrambles back in fear as the light grows brighter and Merlin's screams grow louder. Merlin doubles over again, covering the glowing wound with both hands, his screaming fading to whimpering, and then panting as the light subsides. 

Arthur creeps forward, cautious of whatever is going on.

"Merlin?" He asks warily.

"Yeah," Merlin pants, "I'm good now, I'm good."

He slowly lowers his hands from his face. Arthur sucks in a gasp at the sight of the wound. 

It seemed to have done weeks worth of healing in mere moments. A slightly ragged scar runs from his forehead in a line down his cheek, but that's not what makes Arthur's breath catch. In place of his iris and whites is a solid gold, glowing, blank eye. Merlin blinks in surprise.

"Is it bad? Everything looks a little strange."

"Well, it's... different for sure," Arthur answers hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Merlin seems to panic a little, running a hand over the scar that now stretches across his face.

"Your eye is still there, but, it's strange now. It's gold."

"Gold?!" Merlin starts to breathe heavily, looking around for some way to see for himself. 

He grabs the sword of a nearby soldier splayed on the ground, catching sight of his reflection in the polished blade.

"Oh," He mumbles, "Yeah that's- that's strange."

"I guess it's a good thing your cover is already blown because that would be a dead giveaway."

Merlin huffs with what might be a laugh and drops the sword.

"So much for subtlety." He shoots back. 

"On the bright side, whatever that released ended the battle pretty quickly."

"Yeah... " Merlin trails, looking around uncomfortably at the carnage scattered around him. For the first time that Arthur's seen, he looks almost afraid of what he can do. 

"We should head back, they may need support on the main front."

"Right." Merlin agrees, following Arthur up and out of the ravine.

----

Author's note: harass me when its time for another update. I made this one extra long to make up for the wait and I'm working on a new cover for the story that I think you guys will like. Signing off.  -E