When Merlin woke up he could not stop himself from smiling. He could see past the illusion, and there, curled up against him was Morgana. A woman who he had tried to kill so many times, but a woman he was now beginning to love. Who he just so happened to be sharing a bed with.

"Okay, I cannot handle this," he heard a voice yell from the kitchen. Morgana opened her eyes at the voice, and when she realised where she was, a red crept up into her cheeks. Merlin gently rolled away from her, making his way to the kitchen. He saw Arthur standing there, looking around, and Mordred sitting by the kitchen table, his head in his hands. Arthur turned to see Merlin standing there. "No microwave," he started and Merlin knew where this was going. Abandoning the world they knew to return to medieval times, there were certainly a lot they were going to miss. Before Arthur could say another word, Merlin grabbed a bag of coins and headed out onto the street. "Where is he going?" asked Arthur, annoyed his complaining had been interrupted. Merlin came back in soon, four loaves of bread in hand.

"What do you want?" asked Merlin, looking at Arthur.

"What?" he replied, as Morgana finally emerged from bed.

"What food do you want?" Merlin said, making it so clear even an idiot could understand. He never was a patient man in the morning.

"Um," said Arthur, looking down at the bread. "Cheeseburger?" he asked.

"Honestly, you could at least go for something breakfast like," muttered Merlin, placing one of the loaves of bread on a plate. He held his hand out over the top of it, his eyes flashing amber. A cheeseburger with a side of fries sat on the plate.

"Well it looks like food won't be a problem after all," muttered Murdered, perfectly content to have a loaf of bread for breakfast, as well as stealing a couple of Arthur's chips. He and Morgana stared at each other. The fact that Merlin could do that with such ease, and that he was so willing to do it just reminded of his power.

"So the plan for today," said Merlin, noticeably not grabbing any food. Morgana tried to grab herself a loaf of bread, but before she could grab any, Merlin had grabbed a bowl, put the bread in it and turned it to coco puffs. Her favourite. She smiled up at Merlin. "We need to get you into the knights Arthur, that is the priority. We need someone who knows what is happening, and you told your knights lot. Plus we can always go to Merlin if we need to," he said, sitting down at the table. Next, he needed to decide the best places for the rest of them to target. "I will ride out of the city and summon Kilgarrah, I need his advice," Merlin said. "Mordred, I think you should join the knights with Arthur," Merlin continued.

"Just one problem Merlin," said Arthur, who had already eaten the whole cheeseburger and most of the fries. "Neither of us remember a thing about sword fighting, and we are not sons of noblemen," he said.

"Well I can forge the paperwork, but I don't need to. I knew all the noblemen of this time, and I know one who will work with us. I sent a raven last night, his reply should be through that window any minute," Merlin said, and the other three all turned to the window. There was no way he was that good, no way he could know when a raven was going to come through the window. They shouldn't have been as surprised when a raven pecked at the window. Merlin broke a small bit off the loaf of bread, and traded it to the raven for the note. "Congratulations you two are now the sons of Lord Drayton. Arthur, you are his eldest Athelard, then Mordred you are the next Macarias," Merlins aid, handing them their papers. "Your father has written to the court to inform them you plan to come to train to be knights. They will expect you by the week's end. Until then, you two are stuck in here," Merlin said. Arthur immediately grumbled.

"And what are we supposed to do huh? It isn't like I can play PlayStation to kill time anymore," muttered Arthur, spinning his cup on the table.

"Fine," said Merlin, not wanting to deal with Arthur whining. He had enough of that the first time round. He held his hands out towards Mordred and Arthur's pendants and their appearances changed enough that no one would recognise them once they went back to normal. "Also Arthur, you cannot approach Gwen. At all, you can't be trusted with her," Merlin added, heading into the back room quickly. That lazy Aithusa was still asleep. He decided to leave him, he looked too cute curled up on the blanket to disturb.

"But she's Gwen!" he heard Arthur yell.

"Yes. The Gwen who is your true love. But this Gwen is not meant for you okay, so just stay away," muttered Merlin, grabbing his cloak from beside the door. "Morgana, you can do whatever you want. I wasn't sure if you would want to be a lady or not, so if you just let me know when you decide," Merlin started to ramble and Morgana couldn't help but laugh.

"Merlin, I think I will be fine without a title. It should make it easier to explore the city, and get gossip from palace staff if we need it. Besides, I can function without all the pomp of the upper class just fine," replied Morgana, a smile on her face. Merlin put his cloak around his shoulders, fastening it tight.

"I will be back soon," he said, grabbing his bag from the table. He threw three pouches of gold coins onto the table. Just in case. He also passed Morgana a piece of paper. "Say that if you need me and I will come right here," he whispered to her, planting a kiss on Morgana's cheek. They both then ignored the gagging noises coming from Arthur and Mordred.

"Be careful Merek," she whispered back to him. Merlin headed out the door with a wave from Mordred and Arthur mimicking kissing. He was always so immature. He raised the hood over the top of his head to keep himself hidden. He may not look like himself but he had spent so many years in the shadows that anonymity and he were old friends. It was so weird for him to walk through the town. He could almost see it burning to the ground in his mind, see the flames destroying the lower town to a crisp. He tried to block the image from his mind, but he couldn't. He moved out of the town very quickly, heading towards a nearby clearing in the forest. He checked to make sure no one was near, then he looked towards the sky.

"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anakes!" he shouted, his voice even deeper than it used to be. He barely used dragon speak anymore. He could communicate with Aithusa without it. Merlin knew it would take Kilgarrah awhile to arrive so he sat down, crossing his legs and meditating. He reached under his shirt, pulling out a shard of a crystal from the Crystal cave. He had kept this by his chest ever since he had seen the vision of the future where Morgana killed him and all those he loved. And he had not entered the Crystal Cave since. He wondered what he would see if he went to the caves within Camelot, saw what was in the future of today. Would he see the burial of Camelot by Morgause and Nimueh? Or would he see a future foreign to his eyes, a future where nothing had a place? By coming back in time Morgause and Nimueh were fighting with fate, daring to argue with destiny. The crystals could have lost their power of prediction, something Merlin would have to investigate at a later date. However for now, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the quiet of the blackness. There were so few moments that he had to himself to completely shut off from the outside world. With everything Merlin had seen it took a toll.

He had been there in America, when the battle for independence was being waged. He liked George Washington, though the whole slave business had always made him sick. The man however was rather good to have a drink with, and even better to play a round of cards against. Easiest money Merlin had ever made, and that was saying something. He had understood why the revolutionaries had fought for freedom, why they wanted control over their own country. He just wished violence had not been the only way to achieve it.

He had been there in Europe for the First and Second World Wars. He refused to fight, Merlin had taken too many lives for his liking and wanted to avoid any other damage that he could. But he could not watch oppression take hold, especially when the persecution reached such high levels. He helped as a medic for the allies in World War Two, and occasionally redirected the odd bomb in battle. He had celebrated the day the war ended, before disappearing from the world for ten years. He could not bear to see the destruction any longer, and needed time to mourn those the world had lost.

Merlin felt guilty. Every tragedy that befell the earth, any life lost. He felt the weight on his shoulders. He knew that if he were to raise his staff, he could end any battle in a moment of minutes. He could have made every nuclear weapon disappear with a mere second of thought.

Thirty years after the fall of Camelot, Merlin had come across a kingdom at war, fighting for control of the throne, as Morgana and Arthur had. He had raised his staff and every weapon of the field had disintegrated from the hands of those who held them. They had all turned to see who had caused this, and there stood a man with raven hair, boots, a jacket and cloak. He still appeared younger than half of them, Merlin had yet to realise the guise of an elder man was easier as a disguise. Everyone had stood silent, staring at him. Then the two armies moved towards Merlin, united in taking down this common enemy. He quickly vanished from their sight in a sweep. But there was something in their eyes, fear. It drove Merlin mad for days. And he realised he had taken away their right to decide their own fates. He had decided the outcome of a battle that should have been in the hands of destiny. And it was at that moment Merlin had sworn not to interfere in the choices of man. He would do the minor thing to reduce damage, but he would never decide the outcome of the battle.

"Well now, this is a surprise," Merlin heard a familiar voice grumble. Kilgarrah had landed in front of him while Merlin had been deep in thought.

"Kilgarrah," said Merlin, bowing his head slightly. It felt weird to see him after how long it had been. Merlin had last seen him the day Arthur died, and it had been their farewell as well. Dragons could live a long time, but with what Kilgarrah had gone through it had not been easy for him. He had lost a lot of his will to live, and Merlin respected his decision. That didn't mean he didn't miss him. There was a bond between them from being dragonlord and dragon.

"I take it those disturbances in magic were caused by you?" he asked, lowering his back legs to the ground.

"One," Merlin replied. "The other by Morgause and Nimueh," he continued and Kilgarrah scowled.

"Those witches," he spat. "When are you from?" Kilgarrah then asked.

"Far into the future. We followed them as quickly as we could, and I need you to help us stop them," Merlin said, sitting down on the ground before Kilgarrah. "I don't know how to stop them," he muttered, for the first time saying those words out loud. It terrified him to. "They created a spell to travel through time, and they know almost as much of what is meant to happen as I do. Together, their power can challenge mine. Then there is Mordred, who I am worried will allow emotions to cloud what is right and wrong once more. And Arthur, who is still trying to overcome the fact of his death even though he will not discuss it with me. Or the fact that he harbours resentment of my lying to him about my magic all those years ago. Plus everyone is back home, Gaius, Gwen, Lance, and I have no idea what is happening to them," Merlin rambled on and on, finally feeling free to talk about everything that had been a burden on his mind for so long. "Aithusa, he is a dragon who will be hatched by the younger me soon, feels the same burden you felt for so long, being the last of his race. He cannot allow himself to mature past the mind of a child, because then he has to face the isolation of his situation," Merlin continued, tears beginning to fall down the side of his face. "And then my biggest worry. I fear Morgana will fall to the side she is fated to, and I cannot bring myself to kill her again, not with the love I feel for her. If the woman who I love turns against me, I will not be able to survive it," Merlin whispered.

"Merlin," whispered Kilgarrah back. He knew what the warlock felt, the weight on his shoulders. It was the burden of knowing fate and having such a role to play in it. "I will do whatever it takes to help you," the dragon swore, looking the warlock in the eyes. Merlin stood, reaching his hand out to the dragon.

"I have missed you old friend," Merlin said, smiling at his friend. He stepped back, giving Kilgarrah plenty of space to take off.

"Call should you ever need me," Kilgarrah said before taking to the air. Merlin watched his friend fly off. He started to walk back towards Camelot. There was a lot of work to be done.

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update. I hit a block, and then life got in the way. And I am so sorry. Thank you to everyone for sticking with it. I'm going to try and update a lot quicker this time. If there is any ideas you guys have leave a review!