So, I'm not really sure how I'm going to use the masculine and feminine pronouns for this fanfiction… in this chapter I keep referring to "him" and "he" when I talk about Merlin, even though… well, you'll see :P

I don't own any characters belonging to the BBC take on Merlin. If I did… *sighs happily*.

Merlin had really screwed himself over this time. Granted, he hadn't meant to in the slightest... he hadn't even been conscious!

Panicking, Merlin flipped page after page of his spell books, desperate for the counter-spell, ANY antidote to his current… condition. The sinking feeling in his gut told him that he wasn't going to find answers anytime soon. In his search for answers he avoided any reflective surfaces. The last thing he wanted to do was to see the results of his damned sleep talking. He would have been thinking "Where the hell is Gaius when you need him?!" But in this situation…

Merlin flipped faster, using magic to speed read the small text on the paper.

The sound of pages flipping masked the sound of Gaius entering the room.

"Merlin, Arthur is looking - Oh dear," the old physician said, stopping dead in his tracks. "Merlin?" Instead of the usual masculine appearance of his ward, he was met with a young woman dressed in Merlin's clothing. Shoulder length, thick hair the same dark shade as Merlin's framed her face, the same deep blue eyes peered hopelessly into his. In Merlin's... transformation, the height had been reduced by about a foot, and his hips and breasts had filled out to resemble a woman's. She could have been his twin sister. Except, instead of her being his sister, she actually WAS Merlin. Apparently.

Merlin felt his face heat up as Gaius stared. He nodded once, stiffly. Due to his changed biology and all the added hormones, his emotions were running rampant. 'Do not cry!'

He sensed Gaius coming closer. The fact that Gaius had not laughed yet, or made some witty remark, reminded Merlin of how trusting their relationship was. And of how serious his situation was.

"What did you do?" Gaius asked, eyebrows raised.

Merlin turned fully to Gaius, his shoulders slumping. "I -" he paused, momentarily shocked at how high pitched his voice sounded, "I don't know! I just woke up like this!" The distressed warlock, or rather, witch, could tell that his mentor was struggling not to laugh, or react in any other way than worry. Merlin appreciated how hard he was trying.

"Were you dreaming? You must have said a spell in your sleep, a very powerful one at that," Gaius offered. He joined Merlin in his search for answers, picking up a nearby spell book.

"What I am going to do Gaius? I can't face Arthur like this!" Merlin cried. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself (herself?). His throat was tight. He gave a few quick blinks to keep the building tears from falling.

Gaius sighed. Clearly Merlin was extremely distressed. Hell, any man would be if they woke up as a woman. Unfortunately for Merlin though, the old physician was drawing a blank as to how to remedy the situation. This case, unsurprisingly, was unique. In all his years Gaius had never seen a warlock turn himself into a girl in his sleep. He had known that Merlin was a powerful sleep talker ever since the incident with the mortias flower. Unconsciously, the boy had projected a glowing ball of light from his hand all the way to the location in which Arthur was, in attempt to guide the Prince to the special flower. Unfortunately, sleep talking was not something easily stopped.

"We should get you a change of clothes," Gaius offered lamely.

Merlin looked desperate. "You don't know how to fix-" without looking down, he gesticulated to his now curvy body "- this?"

Gaius sighed again. "In all my years Merlin, I've never seen anything like this," he said.

Merlin pulled up a stool and sat down, burying his face in his hands. "What am I going to do, what I am going to doooo," he mumbled repeatedly. If only he could remember the words he had said to have caused this transformation! He was too distressed even to be impressed that he was powerful enough to change his own gender. He hoped his powers stopped short at changing his gender permanently.

"The Great Dragon may be able to offer some advice." Gaius suggested helpfully.

Merlin sat up straight, grimacing. "He'll never stop laughing."

"But it's worth a try," Gaius prodded. "In the mean time, I'll keep looking through these books."

Sighing, Merlin stood up. He paused for a minute, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked down at himself. He removed his red neckerchief to see himself better. He started shaking his head and pressed his lips tightly together. "Maybe I'm still dreaming," he said.

Gaius chuckled. "You have weird dreams, then."

Merlin glared at Gaius. "Oh shut up," he said, his face flushed. Merlin turned to make his leave. He then noticed that he was still in his normal clothes. Flushing more, he turned to Gaius. "While I'm gone, could you ask Gwen for a change of clothes?"

Gaius nodded. "And we'll have to design an identity for you, and an explanation for your absence."

Merlin frowned, thinking. "I could be really sick in bed, and you could ask that no one see me, and then this me could be the other me's cousin, or something."

They both looked confused at that. Gaius just nodded. "Sounds believable. I think."

Merlin gave a weak smile and made his leave, hoping beyond hope that the wise Great Dragon would be mature about all of this and offer some help instead of laughing in his face.

Unsurprisingly, the Dragon's maturity, however fruitful, was precluded by an intense bout of laughter. The Dragon of course, being as wise as he was, didn't hesitate in believing that the young woman was in fact Merlin. Which made the laughter come even faster than was necessary, in Merlin's opinion. For a good five minutes Merlin waited for the laughter to stop, and then another minute for the echoes of that laughter to stop propagating throughout the cave.

"Are you done?" Merlin said, his teeth ground together in frustration and face red with embarrassment.

"This will amuse me for the centuries that I remain. In all my years of living, I have never seen this kind of mistake," Kilgarrah spoke, his voice rough from laughing. "Your sleeping mind is a curious one!"

Merlin stood there with his torch, glaring.

The Dragon sighed in contentment. He leaned forward to get a closer look at female Merlin. "What will you call yourself whilst in this form?"

Merlin blinked a few times, caught off guard. "I was hoping this wouldn't be permanent enough for naming,"

Another chuckle erupted from the Dragon's throat. "So young and naive, young warlock. Or should I say witch."

Merlin was visibly defeated at the Dragon's statement, which implicated he would be stuck in womanhood for a long time. "There's nothing you can do?"

The Dragon leaned back on the rocks. "Fortunately for you, there is. But, as with all things, it will take some time. And it will be challenging on all fronts."

Merlin almost dropped the torch in excitement. "Please, I'll do anything!"

A momentary silence, punctuated by echoes of Merlin's new voice, filled the cave. "You should not be so quick to utter those words. They mean more than you will ever own up to,"

Merlin blushed. "I just – I don't want to be stuck like this."

Kilgarrah nodded. "That is understandable."

"Very well. You must seek out the sorceress Tenaya. I believe she resides in the Eastern mountains. She has the gift of probing the consciousness down to the deepest recesses, bringing forth memories both on the surface and those long forgotten. You will present yourself to her, and she will probe your mind with her powers of the Old Religion, attempting to resurface the spell used to transform your physique."

Merlin couldn't believe his fortune. It sounded perfect! Wait… "What's the catch?" asked Merlin, wearily suspicious.

"Ah, not so naïve, are we? The catch," the Dragon said, "is that while you remain under her mental grip, you will become completely vulnerable to the outside world, and to her. Tenaya has, over time, become infamous for trapping those who come to her desperate for recollection. Weak minds are easily ensnared. If the spell you cast has sunk so deep into your memory that Tenaya is able to bury her hook into your mind, you may fall slave to her forever."

"So, I just have to have a strong mind?"

"You must have memories stronger than her hold over you, whilst remaining just enough at her whim so she may recall the spell from your mind. Aiding her attempts to enslave the minds of others are creatures she keeps around her dwelling to which you will also be vulnerable. I suggest taking along some help."

The sound of the quest gave Merlin a headache. He nodded, trying to ignore the feeling of long hair bouncing around his shoulders. "Right," he mumbled. Maybe he could bring Arthur along with him? Merlin smiled ruefully. He hadn't even seen Arthur yet since he had woken up that morning. Butterflies filled his middle as he thought of what the Prince's reaction was going to be like.

Merlin smiled up at the Dragon. "Thanks so much," he said gratefully.

Kilgarrah smiled back. "I am almost saddened to know that your new form will be rectified. I have not had such entertainment in eons," the creature said, beginning to laugh again. "This figure rather suits you!"

Merlin began stomping away, his face a furious blush. His blush deepened as he received a very inappropriate catcall from a passing guard on the way to Gaius's chambers. The drive to redeem back his manhood increased with every step back to the physician.