Merlin stumbles across a strange stone in the woods. It has been used as a tool to place a powerful curse on someone, and Merlin, thinking he is doing someone a huge favor, removes it. But then Arthur comes storming after him, hysterical and accusing him of sorcery. Set after season 3, but before season 4. Crack. One shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Merlin was out gathering rare herbs for Gaius. Thus he was in a new part of the forest that was rather dense. He pushed a low tree branch out of the way when he felt a strong pull of magic, somewhere nearby. He turned slightly to his left and walked toward the direction he felt the power radiating from. He arrived in a small, somewhat clear spot that was still surrounded by trees. He looked down and saw a stone about the size of his fist, from which the magic was emanating. Carefully, he bent down and studied it. Markings of the old religion had been scratched on the surface. He could tell that it was a curse of some sort, but exactly what kind, he was not sure. Better remove it, he thought. Someone is going to be genuinely happy to have a curse suddenly lifted. "Afyroe wiccunge," he said, and the stone began to glow white. As he felt his magic lifting the curse, he frowned. This power was a lot more resistant than it should have been for an ordinary sorcerer. What's Morgause been up to now? He thought. Or was this Morgana now? Since Morgause is likely incapacitated? He pushed his magic a little harder and finally felt the enchantment completely lift. He picked up the stone and turned it over in his hands. What he saw made him gasp. He blinked several times to make sure that he was seeing it correctly. There was a circle of clumps of what looked like blonde hair that had been stuck to the stone by magic. And it hadn't been Morgause or Morgana who cast the enchantment. In the center of the circle was the mark of Nimueh.

This surprised him, because Nimueh had been dead for a long time. He was surprised he had never come across this before. He shrugged. Whomever that curse had been placed on had had a really hard time. He gathered his herbs and began his trek back to the castle. He would have to tell Gaius about what he found.

He walked through the courtyard and headed up to his room in the physician's chambers, noticing that Gaius wasn't there. Immediately, he set down his collection of herbs and headed straight for his room. He lifted the floorboards up to grab his magic book…

It wasn't there. Panic spread throughout him. Frantically, he began tearing apart his room in search of his magic book. When he didn't find it, he moved on to tearing through Gaius's shelves. It was getting late, and he was supposed to attend to Arthur. After a while, he took a few deep breaths and prepared himself to walk out into the hall.

Quickly, he began the walk towards Arthur's chambers. Surely he had just misplaced his spell book. He had actually done it quite often before. He was about to turn the corner when he was interrupted by a frantic Lancelot.

"Merlin, run!" he shouted.

Merlin stopped. "What? Why?"

"It's Arthur! Somehow, he knows! And he's hysterical!"

Merlin's jaw dropped. He didn't need telling twice. He twirled around and…BAM! Merlin staggered back and looked into the angry eyes before him.

"You have magic!" Arthur shouted, and slammed his spell book in front of his face.

Merlin was stunned. "Who, me?" he asked, nervously.

Arthur glared.

"Arthur, I don't have magic-"

"Stop lying!" he demanded.

"Arthur! I'm not-"

"Yes, you are! You have magic and you've been using it in Camelot from the day you stepped foot here!"

Merlin gave Lancelot a desperate glance. He tried again. "No, you're mistaken-"

"I'm not mistaken! You're always there! Dropping tree branches to kill people and calling on your stupid dragon! That I did not kill!"

Merlin opened his mouth to deny it, but instead found himself uttering, "How?"

"I figured it out! Did you really think I was that much of an idiot? You shouted that spell right next to my ear to make that ceiling cave in!"

Merlin widened his eyes in horror and looked at Lancelot, who looked equally as terrified.

"And you!" Arthur pointed towards the knight. "You knew! And you kept this a secret!"

"Sire," Lancelot tried.

"Don't sire me!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Uther came stomping up, followed by Gaius.

Lancelot spoke. "There is nothing to worry about, your majesty-"

"Yes, there is plenty to worry about! This idiot here is a sorcerer!" Arthur jabbed his finger at Merlin.

Gaius looked frantic. "Prince Arthur, I think you must be mistaken-"

"What did you say?" Uther looked pale, directing his question at Arthur.

"My idiot of a manservant is a sorcerer!" Arthur screamed.

By now, Arthur's screams had attracted the attention of several bystanders, including Gwen and several of the new knights, Sir Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival. Merlin, Lancelot, and Gaius were exchanging nervous glances.

Uther stared at him worriedly. "Arthur, listen to what you are saying."

The prince paused.

Uther looked at Merlin and laughed. "Your manservant is a complete idiot. There is no way that he is a sorcerer."

Merlin's eyes widened.

Arthur stomped his foot. "Yes, he is!"

Uther took a step forward and put his hand on his son's shoulder. He shook his head. "You are merely paranoid. Seeing sorcerers where there are none. Get some rest. You will feel better soon. Wouldn't you agree, Gaius?"

Gaius, bewildered, answered, "That is most certainly the case."

"I am not paranoid!" Arthur protested. "He is a sorcerer!"

Uther gave him a worried look.

Lancelot leaned in to Merlin and whispered, "Aren't you lucky! This is mad. Uther sees sorcery everywhere." Merlin snickered.

Just then Uther's expression turned to complete panic. "Oh, my son! You are not thinking rationally! You must be enchanted!"

Lancelot and Merlin's jaws dropped.

"I am not enchanted! See, there's his spell book! Right there!"

Merlin's eyes glowed gold and the book turned invisible.

"He's hiding it! With magic!" Arthur exclaimed.

The knights and Gwen were staring open-mouthed at Arthur.

"Arthur, I believe you are mistaken," Elyan said cautiously. "There is nothing there."

"I am not! It was there! I found it underneath his loose floor boards! And now it's gone, which means he's hiding it by magic!"

The knights and Gwen kept giving him concerned looks, and Uther's expression was changing to one of horror. "Arthur, this is the enchantment talking. Listen to yourself!"

"I AM NOT ENCHANTED!" he yelled, stomping the floor wildly.

Uther's eyes were popping out as he stared at his son, terrified.

"I will see that he is treated, sire," Gaius cut in.

Uther nodded. "Hurry, Gaius. And no one here is to speak of this," he warned.

"I'M NOT-" Merlin and Lancelot darted over, Merlin slapping his hand over the prince's mouth and Lancelot grabbing his hands behind his back. "Mmm…mrrr…lnn!" Arthur protested.

Uther nodded at the servant and the knight. "Thank you," he stated. Merlin and Lancelot nodded politely.

The king walked away, and the other knights began to clear out.

"Will he be alright, Gaius?" Gwen asked worriedly.

Gaius nodded. "I'm certain."

"Okay," she said. Then she gave Arthur a concerned look before heading off.

"Gw…nnn!" Arthur tried.

Suddenly Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and his magic book appeared. "Gaius?" he asked. "Can you get that?"

Gaius looked down, and nodded. He bent over to pick it up.

"Mmmm! MmmMMmmMM! MRRRLNNN!" Arthur was kicking now, as his eyes followed the spell book.

Merlin flashed his eyes, and a rope appeared, tied around Arthur's hands. He flashed his eyes again, and a cloth appeared over his mouth.

"MRRRLLNNNNN!"

"We need to get him to Gaius's chambers," Merlin said to Lancelot. The knight nodded, and they each grabbed one of his arms and began pulling him in that direction.

"NNnnn!" Arthur tried to kick.

"You know, I really can take you apart in less than one blow, so I suggest you shut up right now and follow," Merlin said.

Arthur's eyes widened and he froze. Then he frantically nodded his head.

Merlin and Lancelot exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. "Now, come on," Merlin said, and Arthur followed agreeably to Gaius's chambers.

When they arrived, they sat Arthur down on a table.

"Now, we're going to untie you, but you have to agree to stay silent and sit there," Merlin ordered.

Nervously, Arthur nodded in agreement. Then he jumped as Merlin's eyes glowed and the rope and cloth fell off.

"So, are you going to make him forget?" Lancelot asked. Arthur's eyes widened.

Merlin sighed. "That's what I was thinking, although there might be a problem…"

"What's that?" Lancelot asked.

"He seems to have pieced together a lot of memories to come to this conclusion. Not only would it be difficult to erase that many specific details, it could leave him, well…"

"With too much memory loss?"

Merlin nodded. Then he called, "Gaius, have you found anything?"

"Not yet, Merlin. Here, there is an enchantment that could do what you just described, but I too am afraid of erasing that much of Arthur's memory-"

"You knew!" Arthur jumped up and shouted. "You knew! And you've been harboring a sorcerer this entire time!"

Lancelot ran up behind him and banged him over the head with a book, knocking him unconscious.

"Anything else?" Merlin asked.

Gaius shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Although, the circumstances do seem rather strange…"

"What do you mean?" Lancelot asked.

"It seems unlikely that Arthur would suddenly put together this much information in one day. It's almost as if he has been enchanted to become, well, observant."

The three let this sink in. Suddenly Merlin gasped. "Or he was enchanted before," he said.

Gaius looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Today," Merlin started, "I found a strange stone. Markings of the Old Religion had been carved on it. It was a curse, placed on someone a long time ago, but still active, and I removed it. But the odd thing about it was that it bore the mark of Nimueh."

Gaius and Lancelot looked astonished. "I thought you killed her, on the Isle of the Blessed?" Lancelot asked.

"She was a very powerful High Priestess of the Old Religion," Gaius said. "She definitely had the power to cast such a curse that would carry on after her death."

"It must have been part of her revenge," Merlin stated. "To curse the prince of Camelot with, well…"

"Obliviousness?" Lancelot suggested. Merlin tilted his head thoughtfully, then shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"Merlin, do you remember the exact markings on the stone?" Gaius asked, flipping through the pages of Merlin's spell book.

"Of course, Gaius!" He excitedly snatched a piece of paper and redrew them.

Gaius studied them thoughtfully. "You'll need another stone, probably. It has to be something that will last."

Merlin grinned and his eyes glowed gold. A stone appeared in his hands.

"And it says you will need some of the vict- patient's hair if you are casting the spell at a distance or if you are inexperienced, but for you it won't be necessary."

Merlin waited.

"And then you'll have to carefully carve these markings…"

Merlin's eyes glowed gold again and the markings appeared on the stone.

"Or not. Now, here's the enchantment." Gaius pushed the book toward Merlin.

"You're going to curse Arthur?" Lancelot asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No!" Merlin protested. "It's… just a… spell. You know, a normal, everyday spell."

"You're going to curse Arthur," Lancelot stated. Then the two started laughing.

"Alright. Here it goes." Merlin held the stone over Arthur's head, and began chanting.

Suddenly, Arthur bolted upright. "You're using magic! On me!" he screamed.

"Sire! You need to calm down!" Gaius pleaded.

"I am not going to calm down!" Arthur stomped over and smashed a row of his potion bottles.

"And would you stop destroying my chambers!" Gaius added. Arthur continued stomping around.

"Arthur! You need to stay still! And stop shouting!" Lancelot yelled.

Arthur stormed over and knocked over a row of books. "HE IS" he threw a book at Merlin and heaved a table over, "A SORCERER!" He knocked over a cart of Gaius's potions and the tiny glass bottles spilled over and shattered.

Just then, the door burst open. "Gaius! Are you alright?" Percival asked. He and Gwaine were standing in the doorway.

"Uh… I think so. I can't say the same for my chambers."

The knights looked at him apologetically.

"Gaius! How is my son!" Uther came running in, followed by Gwen.

"He's being a bit difficult, sire-"

"I am not difficult!" Arthur shouted. "I'm telling you, Merlin is a sorcerer, and you all are just too blind to see it!"

"Arthur," Gwen begged. "Look at yourself. You are clearly enchanted."

This seemed to make Arthur stop.

"My son," Uther stepped forward. "You will be better soon. You will see."

Arthur slammed his fist on an empty shelf. "He's trying to use magic on me!" He jumped forward, trying to knock over another row of books.

But then Gwen darted across the room and punched him in the back of the head as hard as she could, and he fell over, unconscious.

Everyone stared at her, wide eyed for a moment. She shrugged.

"Thank you," Uther breathed, nodding in approval.

"Now, if you all could clear out, I would like some peace. The treatment won't take long, and I will inform you when he is better," Gaius stated.

"You are wonderful, Gaius," Uther said. Then they all flooded out except for Merlin and Lancelot.

"Let's try this again," Merlin said. Then he held the stone over Arthur's head again and began chanting. The markings began to glow a faint gold at first, then they started to turn black. Black smoke started to hover around Arthur's head. At the end of the incantation, Merlin's eyes glowed and the black markings sizzled and absorbed the smoke and faded back to the color of the stone.

The three of them looked at each other, slightly incredulous.

"That was…" Lancelot started, "a bit dark."

Merlin looked slightly annoyed. "No, it wasn't."

"Black smoke? Then sizzling?" Lancelot asked.

Merlin shook his head. "That doesn't mean it was dark."

Lancelot raised his eyebrows at him. Merlin shrugged, then turned to Gaius. Whose eyebrows said everything his mouth didn't need to say.

"Alright! Maybe it was… a slightly dark spell…"

"A spell?" Arthur said, stirring.

The three of them froze. Gaius began carefully, "Yes, Arthur, you were enchanted."

Arthur blinked several times. "Again?"

The other three nodded.

Arthur looked at them skeptically, then shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll be off… who destroyed your chambers?" he asked, puzzled.

The other three glanced between each other, then Merlin smirked. "The chambers are destroyed?" he said, in fake astonishment.

"Yes!" Arthur said. "They are! Look… what's happening?"

"Is something happening, sire?" Merlin asked, as his eyes glowed gold and the items in the room began to realign themselves.

"Yes, these things are… moving."

"Moving?" Merlin asked innocently.

"Yes, Merlin! Wha- your eyes!"

"Is something wrong with my eyes?"

"They're glowing!"

Merlin fake gasped. "It must be… the light reflecting." The room stilled, perfectly clean.

Arthur looked around, confused.

"I believe you were having a hallucination, sire," Gaius cut in.

Arthur glanced around. "I was?"

Gaius nodded. "Just an aftereffect of the enchantment."

Arthur rubbed his head. "Right."

Just then, someone knocked. "Come in," Gaius called.

Uther walked in, followed by Gwen, then the remaining new knights and Sir Leon.

"How is my son?" Uther asked.

"He is just fine, my lord," Gaius answered.

"Having hallucinations, apparently," Arthur mumbled.

Uther walked up to Arthur and placed his hands on his shoulders. He smiled, then turned to Gaius. "Thank you, Gaius."

The physician inclined his head.

"What happened?" Arthur asked.

Everyone glanced around, nervously.

"You were accusing Merlin of sorcery, Arthur," Gwen said gently, "and you were hysterical."

He snapped his head toward Merlin, eyes wide with shock. "I was?"

Merlin grinned mischievously, then nodded his head.

Arthur stared in wonder at Merlin for a moment, then shrugged.

"You are safe now, from the evils of sorcery," Uther spoke. Then everyone watched as Uther comforted his son.

"Well, there was one good thing out of this," Lancelot whispered to Merlin.

"What's that?" he whispered back.

"At least you know Arthur isn't really as oblivious as he seems."

Merlin thought this over for a moment, then nodded. He motioned in front of him. "The rest of them?"

They glanced at the small crowd, all smiling because Arthur had been cured of the latest enchantment.

"You know, I'm beginning to wonder if some of the others have the same curse placed on them," Lancelot whispered jokingly.

Merlin snickered. "No, I don't think so."

Then Gwen's voice caught their attention. "Gaius?" she asked. "How did your chambers get cleaned so fast?"

Uther and the knights looked around, as if noticing for the first time that the chambers were clean. "That is a good question, Gaius," Uther said.

Gaius started to panic. "You see, sire, both Merlin and Lancelot helped straighten it up. The work goes surprisingly faster with the help of both a servant and a knight."

Uther looked at them curiously. "It does?"

"Yes, my lord. It seems to be an ideal combination."

Uther looked questioningly at Gaius for a moment, but nodded his head. Then everyone returned to smiling at Arthur and thanking Gaius.

Merlin and Lancelot's jaws dropped. They looked at each other, eyes widening in disbelief. "On second thought…" Merlin began, "I think they might be enchanted."