Disclaimer: Merlin's not mine.

"Who is this coming, again?" Leon asked, swinging his sword at Percival and trying not to wince – Merlin, at Percival's back, was shouting instructions at the young Eideen, who was covering Leon.

"Don't hesitate so much - just aim!" Merlin called. Eideen squeaked out an incantation, and magic sputtered in the air for a moment, but the flash in her eyes was barely visible and dimmed almost immediately. Leon flinched and gained a step on Percival for a moment, but all Merlin had to do was wave his arm and the fight was over. Percival knocked Leon down.

"Arghh!"

Percival looked as though he were trying not to smile as he stood over his defeated opponent. "Merlin, how about you cover him next time?" he suggested.

"I'm so sorry, Leon," Eideen muttered, cheeks flushed.

"It's fine," Leon grunted from the ground. "Merlin, if you're not too busy making Percival an unstoppable force of nature, will you let us know who's coming by the road from Amata?"

Merlin shrugged loosely, feeling energized from the practice. "His name is Gilli. He was the one who nearly beat Uther in the ten-year arena."

Leon's jaw dropped. "The skinny one? He used magic?"

Merlin nodded. "So did I," he said, dimly wondering when it all became so easy to talk about. "Had to keep Gilli from winning."

Percival laughed and clapped while Eideen stared at Merlin, fascinated. She seemed to realize she was doing so and cleared her throat. "I…I can't hold the gold yet," she stammered. "That is, I mean, my eyes. I feel it for the tiniest second but I can't keep it long."

"All right, everyone!" The four of them turned around to the center of the training field. Maro was striding through the practice duels. The clanging swords stopped at an uneven rate as she called out again. "We're going to try shields now – first individual shields, then a volley. Begin!"

Merlin turned to Eideen – she was nearly shaking now. "You'll be fine," he said to her.

Eideen seemed to be steadying her breath. "She wants us to shield ourselves this time, doesn't she?" she asked.

Merlin studied her for a moment while she stared uneasily at nothing. She was young – still a teenager, really – barely younger than Merlin himself had been when he first came to Camelot.

Without warning, he turned away and quickened his pace. He saw Leon out of the corner of his eye shouting "Oy, where do you think you're going?" and ignored him. After ten paces, Merlin swung back around, and aimed a hand straight at Eideen.

"Forbearnan!" he shouted.

Fire lashed from his hand as his eyes burned. He saw and heard Percival and Leon screaming, outraged, pulling out their swords and ready to charge him, but the next second they froze. For Eideen's eyes glowed with gold and, flinching into action, she raised both hands and dug her feet into the mud. A transparent glow of green, thin as an eggshell, suddenly materialized before her, and the fire collided with a shield as tough as any metal. The flames roared and scattered into thin air, and the shield fell, leaving a pale, wide-eyed Eideen standing there, completely unmarked.

The silence didn't last long. "What the hell were you thinking?" Percival roared, storming up to Merlin. Leon didn't move.

Merlin met Percival's glare. "That she needed to stop thinking. Magic in battle is reactionary. It comes from immediacy," he said.

"And what if she wasn't ready?" Percival growled.

"It's my own magic," Merlin said calmly. "I wouldn't have harmed her."

"Do it again," Percival and Merlin both whipped around. Eideen was shivering, but no longer pale, and her tiny chin was firm as steel. "I need the practice," she said. "Do it again."

Merlin, blinked, nodded, and finally said, "All right." Percival didn't seem particularly inclined to argue.

Leon wasn't sure how he remembered it – whether it was the angle at which he stood or the tone of Merlin's voice, but he remembered it now. Arthur's manservant, a boy he hardly knew, racing to the throne-room door, demanding to be let in - They're going to kill each other…

Both Merlin and Percival began alternating attacks on Eideen. She blocked Merlin's magic and Percival's hesitant sword until he strengthened his grip.

Leon just watched.

Finally, Percival charged at Eideen with full force. Merlin stood by, hand at the ready, just in case she failed.

Arthur, you don't have to do this.

Morgause is lying.

Leon had forgotten about that day. He could never understand it, so he blocked it out. For such a long time.

Had to keep Gilli from winning…

Merlin couldn't have killed Uther.

He kept him alive.

He kept saving Uther's life.

Leon didn't know whether or not Morgause actually lied to Arthur that day. It didn't matter. The boy with magic had every reason to want Uther dead, but he kept him alive. For years and years, he kept him alive.

He did it for Arthur.

And as he watched Merlin cheer Eideen on after her fourth consecutive block, Leon felt himself finally let go of a knotted weight in his chest. He could listen to Iseldir now. He didn't have to hold onto that doubt like some horrible lifeline.

He could trust Merlin.

Mithian's sharp eyes were rapt on the scene before her as they trekked across the training grounds, sticking to the sidelines for fear of stray hits. Her men wouldn't join the sessions until the next morning, but she had refused to wait. "This is extraordinary," she said.

Gwen wondered at it herself. There were shields flinging up from thin air all over the field, far more than there had been merely a week ago. "I'm as amazed as you are," she replied honestly. When she heard Maro call for the volley shield, she nearly grabbed Mithian's arm and pulled her backwards on instinct, but restrained herself and put a hand on the other monarch's back instead. "Come, your majesty – we'll want to be a little farther away for this."

Mithian let herself be rushed by Gwen to the top of the short hill on the other side of the training ground. They had a full view of the trainees as they filed into two distinct opposing sides – experienced fighters against amateur magicians.

When everyone appeared to be in position, Maro walked down the central line and turned to face the rehearsed battle. Gwen and Mithian watched from behind her as she called out "Arrows knocked! Bows at the ready!"

The fighters followed her orders while the magicians stood stock-still and wide-eyed. Out of the corner of Gwen's eye, she saw Mithian raise an apprehensive brow. Gwen too, was unsure. The sorcerers-in-training had yet to succeed in this.

"Aim!"

They pulled back their bowstrings. Their opponents did nothing.

"Fire!"

As the strings snapped and the arrows flew, Merlin, at the center of the opposition, was the first to lift his hands. He said nothing, but everyone else in the ranks followed suit. Gwen heard some of them shout the shielding spell aloud, but others, like Geoffery's neice, were able to cast silently. Almost every pair of eyes glowed gold – though not all at once, and not all for very long, it was enough.

When Gwen heard a gasp escape Mithian next to her, she felt an almost smug grin tug at her own lips. A shimmering, flickering glow suddenly spread across the volley's opposition. Different colors, blue, green, purple, red, yellow, and pearl, each seemingly from a different caster, suddenly encased them in something like a glass bowl. Gwen felt her pride slip away into amazement as the volley of arrows reached the shield. Her jaw dropped. They fell, nearly every single arrow, harmless at the magicians' feet. The few that made it through the clearer patches of the shield were immediately frozen by Iseldir, who watched from the opposite corner of the field. The casters beneath those patches backed away, horrified, but the rest of the amateurs let their eyes dim gradually, blinking in astonishment after realizing they'd done it. They'd used magic. They'd saved their own lives.

Whoops and cheers came from the crowd. Some of the archers stood dumb while others ran to tackle their friends in congratulations. Gwen suddenly felt a warm tug in her chest, blinked, and realized her eyes were nearly wet. She breathed in deeply and discreetly before turning back to Mithian.

The other queen had her arms folded, with one hand under her chin, resting a finger on her temple. Her eyes were narrowed at the field. When she felt Guinevere's gaze on her, Mithian said, "I hope you realize what you've done here."

Something about her tone made Gwen feel slightly on edge. "What exactly do you mean?" she asked.

Mithian shook her head, eyes still skating intently over the field. "Guinevere, these are the people of Camelot. The knights of Camelot. You're teaching them magic and you did it in less than a month."

Gwen tilted her chin. "And?"

Finally Mithian turned to face her. "You've changed the entire culture of a kingdom almost overnight. I don't wish to compare you to that man, but it's exactly what Uther did."

"I'm changing it back," Gwen retorted petulantly before she could stop herself.

"And for the better," Mithian continued firmly, unoffended, "—But you cannot pretend that this pace is anything less than alarming."

Gwen looked down, her face hot with shame. "Not exactly," she said slowly. After explaining the memory spell she'd had cast over the training grounds, Mithian's eyes sparkled.

"I can't say I envy the position you'll be in when all of this is over," she said. It took Gwen a moment to realize that Mithian was nearly laughing.

"If any of us survive, that is," Gwen replied wryly.

"Hmm. True."

They watched the trainees in silence for a moment. The two of them had never exactly been friends. Gwen could never help but feel a bit restrained around Mithian, the woman who'd nearly married Arthur and who had also been Morgana's captive. Their lives were too close. "I've read the terms of our alliance, you know," Gwen broke the silence to ask the question that had been itching at her. "You were under no obligation to come here. Why did you agree to help us?"

Mithian scoffed. "I nearly led you and your people to death once, if you can recall," she said. "I owe you a debt."

"You don't. "

"I have a feeling this is not an argument I'll win, but I didn't just bring my army here to risk their lives because of guilt. I…" Mithian hesitated. "I've been having dreams."

Something stirred in Gwen's stomach. "What kind of dreams?"

"Dreams of a strange place," Mithian said, her eyes distant. "The air tasted different there, it was…it was denser, somehow. And there was less color there - almost everything seemed gray, even when it wasn't. But the landscape was somehow familiar…" she trailed off before saying: "I think it was Nemeth. I think it was what Nemeth will become if we lose."

Morgana, Gwen thought, nearly scoffing out loud.

Even in death, Morgana had the power to inspire war.

They watched the training quietly before turning back toward the castle. "I'll have supper brought to you in your room so you can rest," Gwen said. "Would…would you still like to see Elyan after supper?"

"Yes. I would."

"That was amazing,"

Merlin's wide grin slipped off his face as he turned away from the celebrating amateurs to see Gwaine. The knight was smiling, but he was holding his shoulders at such an awkward angle that made Merlin unsure he had ever seen Gwaine so uncomfortable.

"Yeah," Merlin replied, with a strained laugh, glancing back toward the crowd to avoid Gwaine's eyes. "They're getting better every day."

"Mhm," Gwaine looked down and Merlin noticed he was carrying something – a letter. "Um, your friend Gilli sent this by bird. Gaius didn't think you'd mind if he opened it."

Merlin took it, frowning, and scanned it quickly. It wasn't fantastic news. "Did you read this?" he asked Gwaine.

Gwaine nodded. "Gaius thought we should be the ones to go," he said, nearly muttering, "—but I understand if you'd rather take someone else," he added quickly.

Merlin tried not to gape as a blush spread across Gwaine's face. "No…it makes the most sense for you to come with me - I mean, Percival and Leon have to keep training Eideen, and Gilli wouldn't trust anyone there without me," he said, focusing on logic to avoid the impulse to stutter.

Gwaine smiled weakly. "Right. And you're too valuable to go alone."

Merlin's face grew hot.

Finally, Gwaine cleared his throat again. "You tell Gwen and I'll ready the horses."

Merlin nodded absently as Gwaine walked away.

It wasn't as though Merlin hadn't known – subtlety had never been Gwaine's game – he had just never expected him to say it out loud.

And now that he has? I have no idea.

Guinevere frowned. "He thinks he's being followed?"

Gaius and Merlin, standing across from her, nodded. She was sitting at her favorite writing desk, one that she and Morgana had carved their initials into when they were young. She had no idea why she still loved it.

"He's seen the same pair of men in the last few major towns he's passed through," Merlin said. "Last night, he stayed at the Thorn Moon and he saw them on their way from his window with five more men behind them. He's shielded his room with magic, but he's afraid to leave without help."

"And you and Gwaine are leaving tonight?"

"We'll be back by tomorrow night at the latest."

Gwen nodded. "All right. You'll miss the Nemeth knight's first training, though."

Merlin shook his head. "Maro and Iseldir have it covered," he said.

"And the three of you can handle seven men? Even if they have magic?"

"Gilli could have easily taken on the two who were following him, but seven would be risky. If we let any one of them escape, they'll report back to the other armies. We can't afford that. He figured he'd ask - better safe than sorry."

Gwen's mouth tightened grimly. "Do it. Go tonight."

And Merlin turned, bid Gaius farewell, and left the palace. He found Gwaine outside with everything ready, and they rode off into the rising dusk.

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