A/N: Just thought you guys might want to know, a lot of these drabbles are not based on the lyrics of the songs. In fact, a lot of the songs don't have lyrics. But for the ones that do, more often than not, they're based entirely on the title of the song, so don't feel like you need to look up all the songs just to read them.

Give Me A Sign – Michael Danna – 2:36

If someone had told Merlin that it would take this long when he started out on his destiny, He would have probably abandoned the whole thing.

Sometimes, he was still tempted to give up hope that Arthur would ever learn to not hate magic, to not hate him, but he made himself keep trying. He didn't need it all at once. He didn't expect Arthur to change overnight. But he needed hope. He just needed a little hint, a little sign, to tell him that it might all be worth it in the end.

He'd been having a horrible day when, out of the blue, Arthur had started talking to him about magic.

"Our laws have claimed many innocent lives," Arthur had said, staring out the window. Merlin had froze, laundry in his arms. "I don't know if I could continue that."

It was all he said, and when Merlin pried, Arthur affected to not know what Merlin was talking about. But Merlin took it for what it felt like, what he knew it was.

A sign to hope.

I Know Who I Am- Jeremy Camp – 3:37

In was an anomaly that Lancelot claimed was unique to Merlin. Merlin didn't think it was unusual, all things considered, but the knight would only laugh, shake his head, and mutter his appreciation for the fact that out of everyone, it was Merlin who had been given immeasurable power.

After all, what other flawed human in the world would be dense enough to forget his title?

Emrys was revered with nearly godlike status among the druids, but more than once on his escapades with the secret warlock, Lancelot had watched as Merlin took seconds, even minutes before he turned his head to a druid who'd been calling him by his second name. Other times, they'd simply be sitting together, and Lancelot would make a side-smirking kind of comment about Merlin's vast power, and Merlin would only shrug with a self-depreciating tilt of his head.

It wasn't as if Merlin didn't know who he was, what he could do. He just sometimes forgot, and it wasn't like that mattered. He wasn't anything special. Right?

We Built Our Own World – Hans Zimmer – 1:55

Uther Pendragon was probably rolling in his grave.

Merlin took in a lungful of fresh air as he looked over the courtyard. Wind whipped though the springtime market, dragon-decked banners flapping in the wind as the merchants sold their goods. There were cloth merchants, hedge magicians, jewelers and charms dealers all in the same area, with some eyes flashing shades of gold now and again.

Merlin smiled. He and Arthur had built it together, slowly; a place where magic and non-magic lived together, as one entity. A place of peace, and flourishing. Taking in another breath and leaning more heavily on his tall staff, Merlin started out into the market, smiling at those who saw him. He whispered a small spell and conjured a flower for one of the non-magic merchants, a friend of his. She smiled at him, even after seeing his eyes flash with magic. He would never tell her, he got a thrill of the experience every time he used magic and no one cared. It was a liberating feeling.

They'd made a truly remarkable world.

Fairytale – Enya – 3:04

"Please, Uncle Merlin, please just one more story!"

"You two should both be in bed," He scolded, even as the smile fought its way to his face.

Two pairs of huge eyes pouted up at him, and when Raina spoke, it was with a lisp around her two missing front teeth. "Ple-ease?" she pouted, and as ever, it made him beam.

"Oh, alright. What would you like to hear?"

"A fairytale!" She answered immediately. Merlin nodded and looked down at her brother. "And what about you, Amhar? Any preference?" The toddler sucked on his fist and looked up at them through a huge mop of dark curls. He giggled. Merlin nodded sagely. "Very well then, a fairytale it is." He settled himself against the headboard of Raina's bed and opened his arms. She gleefully pranced over to him and curled up into a small ball against him. He reached over to plop Amhar in his lap and pulled the boy's hand from his mouth. "Comfortable?" Raina nodded against him. "Good. Now, let's see, where to start…" he looked up in pretend thought and put on his best storyteller's voice. "Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there was a magic kingdom, ruled by a handsome young prince. But the kingdom was very dull and sometimes dreary, and there were never any flowers to be seen around the castle."

Raina's eyes grew wide. "Never?"

Merlin shook his head gravely. "Not a single one. The prince didn't mind, but the prince, although handsome, was a very silly prince. He was selfish and rude, and sometimes very mean. But also in this kingdom there lived a beautiful young lady,"

"A princess?" Raina wanted to know. Merlin smiled fondly at her.

"No," He said, "A blacksmith's daughter. And when she came into the castle, she brought in love and beauty, and the kingdom – and the prince - became a great deal brighter."

"And flowers, did she bring flowers, too?"

Merlin's smile grew larger. "She still does."

Queen's Ransom – Epic Score – 1:27

Arthur stared at the paper in silence. Only Merlin could see how he was shaking. The amount was huge, and everyone knew that even the king wouldn't be able to pay it. But it wasn't the money that had them concerned.

They had Guinevere.

Off to one side, a nurse tried to quiet Raina, who was beginning to grow upset at things she didn't understand.

"Merlin," Arthur said, not moving. The Court Sorcerer turned his head toward the king. "Find her."

Merlin was out of the room in seconds. He didn't need to be told twice.

Starting to See – Spur58 – 3:21

The weeks and months following the day when Merlin's magic came to light were strange for Arthur.

It was like waking up slowly, or learning to see all over again. Suddenly, everywhere, there were hints. Such simple knowledge, Merlin has magic, was like the key to all the locks that had puzzled him for years. The riddle of Merlin was finally beginning to undo itself, and Arthur was shocked and intrigued to learn that the puzzle extended beyond the servant and into his own life, into his kingdom, into his land, his destiny.

Intertwined with all he knew and thought he knew, there was a whole other world, as dark and as bright and wonderful and human as the world he'd known all his life, and he was just now beginning to see it.

He wondered if he'd ever see it all. But he thought that it might just be worth trying.

Ghosts – David Arnold – 1:47

There were too many of them not to haunt him. In his dreams, in visions, in memories good and bad. Their names and voices would float back to him.

Will. He was always still a boy in his mind's eye, his childhood friend.

Freya. She would always smile at him. His heart still ached with love for her.

Balinor. Father. He never smiled with his mouth, but something in his eyes said far more.

Lancelot. A steady nod, a smile, all honor. Thank you.

Ghosts haunted Merlin often. But sometimes, it wasn't so bad. Sometimes, he'd sit in front of the fire and listen to their voices, see their faces in the dancing flames, and would smile to himself, even if he let the tears fall. Those moments felt like home.

Delirium – Magnus Christensen – 2:12

There was absolutely nothing about this situation that should be funny, he tried to tell himself. Arthur was on his bed, coated in sweat and layers of blankets, facing his death. Gwen was crying for worry, and Gaius was losing sleep over the king's illness. Merlin himself was growing dark-eyed from watching over his friend at all hours of the night. But darn it all, he couldn't keep from laughing.

Arthur was singing.

It was all part of the delirium, Gaius told him, (which was definitely not a good sign) but Merlin couldn't keep from snorting as Arthur slurred out an incredibly enthusiastic but very off-tune rendition of one of Gwaine's favored drinking songs, The Lady and the Bright-Eyed Dragon. Arthur's singing came much to the bewilderment of his poor children, who Gwen quickly escorted from the room before Arthur could reach the more, er… racy portions of the chorus.

"Oh, you utter prat," Merlin said around a throat that wanted to laugh. "When you get through this," Because he would, damnit, "I am never letting you forget this."

Heartless – Kris Allen – 3:42

He heard it far too often for his own taste. Heartless. That was how they described her, Morgan le Fey, who had gone into hiding after her half-brother's ascension to the throne. Heartless. Cold. Dead. They all said it, even the knights, sometimes even Arthur. But Merlin knew better.

Morgana had never been heartless, and that was the problem. She had such a huge, passionate heart that she couldn't take the mistakes that led to her betrayal. The fault fell in pieces at all of their feet, largely at her own, but also to Merlin, to Gwen, to Arthur, to them all. And it hurt Merlin to hear them say, after it all, that she was heartless.

If only it were true, she wouldn't hunt them anymore. She'd curl in on herself and waste away, a pitiless creature that ordinary humans could ignore. But she wasn't heartless, because she still filled with hate and pain.

She is the hate to your love.

But that was just it, Merlin wanted to say, hate and love. They both took passion, and feeling, and heart.

So perhaps it wasn't she, but them who were heartless. Perhaps it was the most hated, the most feared one in the world who had the biggest heart of them all.

Spellbound and Soaring – James Dooley – 2:24

Arthur had hated the idea. But Gwen had only to bat her eyelashes a few times, and despite whatever strategic training or husbandly protective instincts Arthur possessed, he crumbled on the spot.

"I assure you it is perfectly safe, your Majesty," Aithusa told them in his most assuring of voices.

"And I'll be there the whole time," Merlin put in. Arthur glared at them both in turn, but said nothing. He looked at Gwen, and the two spoke silently with their expressions for a moment. Eventually, Gwen smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be fine, dear. Come on, Merlin!" She was smiling giddily as she pranced over to Aithusa. Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm.

"So help me, I will skin you alive if anything happens to her."

"It'll be fine, Arthur," merlin assured him. "Flying is fantastic! One day I'll drag you up there."

Arthur doubted it, but only grunted his protest. Soon, Merlin and Gwen were both up on Aithusa's back, but they seemed hardly any weight as the dragon took off. Arthur could hear his wife's delighted shouts from the ground, and he scowled.

"Can I go, daddy? Can I can I can I?" Raina tugged at his jacket. He didn't look down at her.

Magic and dragons and spells were all fine and good on the battlefield, but bring them into domestic life, they were downright dangerous. Never before had he considered the risk of losing his family to the sky, of all places.

Would they be safe? Perhaps. But it wouldn't keep him from worrying. And when Arthur was worried, dangerous things happened.

"Elyan!" He called, marching off. "Where is my sword? I need to pommel something!"