AN: I do not own Merlin. I should think that fairly obvious though.

This story mainly came to be because I felt like Merlin had quite honestly been through enough. And that he never really got the chance to breathe and come to terms with everything. And I think that if he had it would have made a difference. Hence this story.

I do hope you enjoy.

Merlin was tired. One of those bone weary, heart heavy, soul sighting exhaustions. He needed a break. And badly.

He had come to this conclusion midway through one of his frequent rants to Gaius. Gaius was ignoring him for the most part, which was understandable. He already knew what Merlin was going to say. Arthur was a prat who refused to listen to reason and who continued to get himself into potentially deadly situations, which Merlin then had to save him from, while continuing to act like an idiotic servant. After saving Arthur he would then have to deal with Arthur telling him just how worthless he was. And he was tired of it.

He knew that Arthur didn't mean it, or at least not all of it. But it had been nine years and sometimes Arthur still treated him the same way he had on that first day. And he was tired.

It was then that it hit Merlin. It had been nine years since he had had a holiday. Nine Years. Of course it wasn't like he could just take off whenever he wanted, Arthur was constantly getting into trouble.

But for the first time in nine years there was another magic user who had a sworn duty to protect Arthur.

He hesitated at the thought. He didn't really trust Mordred. He had been listening to the dragon for such a long time, and the dragon was pretty explicit when he declared that Mordred was not to be trusted.

But… Mordred had stabbed Morgana…

And Merlin was tired.

So tired.

So that was that. He turned to Gaius who was watching him with a raised eyebrow. Merlin beamed at him. "Gaius, I'm taking a holiday."

Gaius blinked once, apparently surprised. Merlin grinned in victory, it was getting harder to surprise Gaius, he knew Merlin far to well.

"A holiday?" he asked, "You're taking a holiday."

Merlin nodded. "Yes, I feel as though I've been working non-stop for nine years, and the only time I'm not working is when I'm too injured to move out of the bed. So I'm taking a holiday."

"And who's going to protect Arthur while you're off in this… holiday?"

Merlin grinned "Mordred of course. He's a talented magic user who's sworn to protect Arthur."

Another raised eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you didn't trust Mordred."

Merlin scowled, "Well, yes. But the dragons been wrong before… I think. And Mordred did stab Morgana. And you have said that everyone deserves a chance. So I'm going to trust Mordred to keep Arthur safe while I'm on holiday."

Gaius stared at him, and Merlin felt proud. He had completely shocked Gaius today. It had been far to long since he had done that.

"Well, have fun telling Arthur."

Merlin snorted. "Arthur isn't going to know until George shows up to wake him and Gwen up. I almost wish I could see his face when that happens, but I'll be to busy being on holiday."

It was Gaius' turn to snort. "Arthur will be rather frustrated when you get back." He paused. "Is there a reason for this sudden desire to take a holiday?"

Merlin sighed as he sat down across from Gaius, all humor briefly leaving his face. "Gaius, I'm tired. I'm tired of being stepped on and stepped over, I'm tired of having people mock me because I'm willing to take it. Don't get me wrong. I love Arthur and the knights, but sometimes they forget that I'm actually real, not a person around for them to torment for fun. They left me Gaius. They left me in the caves, and I could have easily died. And none of them came back for me. I'll be honest, I'm a feeling a little bitter. And I need to get rid of this bitterness before it gets out of hand. And I'm tired of having the weight of some great destiny weighing solely on my shoulders. And I've been dealing with this for nine years, and I've never really had a chance to just… breathe. And I need it Gaius, I need a chance to breathe, or I'm going to crack."

Gaius gave his ward a smile. "I understand. And I suppose a short holiday wouldn't hurt. You will keep this holiday short won't you?"

The smile was back on Merlin's face. "I suppose you'll have to define short for me." And with that he jumped up and was out the door.

Gaius frowned a bit. Something told him that the next little while would be pure chaos.

Mordred was walking down the hallway deep in thought when he was unceremoniously pulled from his thoughts as Emrys grabbed him. He frowned. Emrys had made it quite clear that he didn't trust Mordred. So Mordred felt himself get a little nervous when he saw that Emrys was beaming at him. He wondered briefly if Emrys had somehow become enchanted. Because it made no sense for Emrys to be smiling quite so delightedly at him.

"Mordred, I have something important to tell you."

He kept his face impassive even as he felt himself become confused. "Something important?" Emrys was still beaming and it was starting to make Mordred feel uncomfortable.

"Indeed, as of tomorrow, you are officially in charge of keeping Arthur alive as his secret magical guardian." Mordred blinked at the man standing in front of him. What had happened to the Emrys who wouldn't trust him within a mile of the King?

"Secret Magical Guardian?"

Emrys nodded sagely. "Yes, normally that involves making sure no one kills him, or the rest of the knights for that matter. Make sure none of them get enchanted or possessed. Stop any attempts to take over Camelot, make sure no magical beasts kill them, or trick them, or do anything else untoward. Basically you have to babysit them without them knowing that they're being babysat. You shouldn't need to worry too much though. Gaius is going to be here, and he knows how to deal with most of the problems that may or may not come up. If you're lucky nothing much will happen, but you never really know."

Mordred blinked. And then blinked again. "Where are you going to be? Why are you trusting me with this?"

Emrys gave him a piercing look "Are you saying I shouldn't be able to trust you with this."

Mordred wanted to sigh with relief that sounded much more like the Emrys he had been starting to get used to. Then he frowned. Didn't he want Emrys to trust him? "No no! You can trust me. I'm just wondering what's come up that would necessitate you entrusting this to me."

Emrys beamed again. "I am taking a holiday! But do me a favor, don't mention that I told you this to Arthur; he might want to thrash you during practice if he knew that I told you without telling him. And Gwaine will probably be offended too now that I think about it." He trailed off for a moment a small grin spreading over his face. "But anyways, I haven't had a break in nine years, and I need to take one now, or I might end up doing or saying something rash."

Mordred nodded slowly. "Ok then… I suppose I can be the…" he paused and glanced at Emrys.

"Arthur's secret magical guardian. But maybe we should call you the secret magic protector of Camelot. That's probably more accurate."

Mordred nodded, "Alright, I'll be the secret magic protector of Camelot while you're gone then."

Emrys beamed at him again. "Wonderful." And then he turned and set off again. He was just around the corner when he turned around again. "Oh, and do try to stop any plagues or invasions that may or may not occur." And with that he was gone.

Mordred was still standing where Emrys had left him. He was delighted that Emrys had apparently resolved whatever conflict he had with him and decided to trust him. And he was honestly a little excited to have a reason to use magic. But there was a small part of him that was filled with slight dread. Invasions and plagues? How was he supposed to stop those if they did happen? He shook his head minutely and started towards his chambers. This was going to be interesting.

George tried to hide his irritation. He had just caught sight of that Merlin boy, and he really didn't want to have to deal with him now. Of course he was careful not to say that out loud. Last time he had insulted Merlin, Mary, the cook, had whacked him with a ladle, declaring that Merlin was the sweetest, kindest, most adorable boy she had ever met. She seemed to forget that he was in his late twenties. Actually, now that he thought of it, the majority of the older female servants seemed to adore Merlin. Something about how he was adorable and sweet and ever so polite. George suspected some sort of conspiracy, because Merlin was a clumsy menace. Just the other day he had dropped all of the Kings armor as he came into the armory. George had been horrified. Think of the dents, and it would certainly require at least another coat of polish after such horrible manhandling. He shuddered slightly. He had tried, really, to help the boy realize what an honor it was to polish the Kings armor. But the impudent boy had merely given him an incredulous but amused look. George had been highly affronted.

"George, George!" He held back a shudder. Now he had to actually talk to the pesky, insolent boy!

"Yes, Merlin" He didn't even try to hide the sound of superiority in his voice. Really, it should at least be 'George, sir' the boy might be the Kings Manservant, but George had been on staff much longer than he had.

"George, it has occurred to me, that in the past nine years I have yet to have a holiday. Now it has occurred to me that it's really quite time for me to take one." George gave him a disbelieving look. Why did the boy seem to think that he would care? "But as I was considering this I realized, but who will look after Arthur?" George squared his shoulders a little. Trying to look superior, if he was reading this right George was about to get a promotion. "And it occurred to me, well he is the King after all, and he certainly deserves the best. And that's when I decided, I must ask George if he'll be the Kings Manservant while I'm taking my holiday." George tried to look thoughtful, as though he had to consider the proposal.

"Well, I suppose I could do so." He gave a longsuffering sigh. "I'll do it for the King." He tried to hide his smirk. After having George for a manservant there was no way that the King would want to have Merlin back, it was obvious that George was a far superior servant. This holiday would probably mean the end of Merlin's job as the Kings Manservant. Well, it wasn't going to be George's fault, the silly boy asked him to do this.

The boy gave him a bright smile. "Thank you George, I've made sure he already has everything he needs tonight, but if you could begin tomorrow."

George smiled. "Of course!" Tomorrow his job as the Kings manservant would begin. By the time that Merlin got back it would likely be permanent.

"Do you think you could give him this letter, it explains why I chose you to replace me." George puffed out his chest and took the letter.

"I suppose I could do so."

The boy beamed at him again. "Thanks again!" then he turned and ran off. George thought he heard the sound of someone tripping. And a small smirk crossed his face. He couldn't wait. Tomorrow he would show the King how a true manservant behaved. The poor clumsy buffoon of a manservant didn't stand a chance.

Merlin stuck his head into the kitchen to see if any of the cooks were there. He spotted Mary and headed over. So far everything was going to plan. Mordred was going to protect the kingdom in his absence; Gaius had agreed to help Mordred if the need arose; and George was going to serve Arthur while he was gone. He snickered a little. That was going to drive Arthur mad. George was the best… traditional manservant. Unfortunately those were Arthur's least favorite kind. But really, it served Arthur right, he was constantly complaining about how horrible a manservant he was; well now he could have the manservant he always wanted. One that didn't call him an insufferable prat whenever they felt like it. Yes, things were definitely going to plan.

"Merlin dear, what brings you to the kitchen, I thought you already brought the King and Queen their dinners?" Merlin sent a smile at the kindly cook.

"Yes, I did. I'm here for something else actually."

Mary smiled at him. "Well, what can I help you with dear?"

Merlin blushed. Mary made him feel like he was a lot younger than he actually was. She seemed to think he was still a teenager. Actually the majority of the older women treated him like he was still a teenager. "Well, you see, I realized today, that I've worked for the prince for nine years. But I've never actually taken any of the holidays we're allowed."

Mary let out a shocked gasp. "You dear boy, you've never had a holiday. No wonder you're skin and bones, you must have been working yourself to the ground."

Merlin gave her a small smile. He was not skin and bones, but that was beside the point. "So I decided that I'd like to take a holiday now. And I was hoping that maybe you could provide me some food for the first few days. Just enough to get me to Ealdor to see my mother. I'll be fine from there."

Mary looked delighted. "Oh, that's an excellent idea. I'll have something prepared tonight, and you can come and get it in the morning before you leave. I'll let the morning shift cooks know that it's waiting for you."

Merlin beamed at her. "Thank you so much Mary! It means the world to me."

Mary blushed and shooed him away. "Oh hush boy, you should go get some rest, you have a journey in the morning."

Merlin left the kitchen laughing. Mary smiled after him fondly. That boy worked himself to the ground looking after both the King and Gaius. And he was always so sweet and helpful, and really, Mary couldn't blame the younger girls for being interested in him, though the poor boy was completely oblivious to their attention. She shook the thought away. The boy really was far to skinny; she'd have to make sure he had a virtual feast for his journey tomorrow.

Merlin popped back into the chambers he shared with Gaius. "It's all in place Gaius, I should be able to leave in the morning. Mordred knows it's his job to protect Camelot, George has agreed to be the King's manservant and Mary said she'd prepare me some food for the journey tomorrow."

Gaius looked up from the cough potion he was making. "I see. And where will you be headed first on your holiday?"

Merlin sent him an incredulous look. "I'm going to visit my mum of course! And then I have several other places I'm going to drop by." He was beaming again. "This is going to be wonderful, I'm already starting to feel more relaxed!"

Gaius sent an appraising look at his ward. He was pleased, though he wasn't going to tell Merlin that. He had watched as the boy started to sacrifice everything for Arthur. His sleep, his time, his own well being. It was good for the boy to take this chance to find himself again. He had seen the look in Merlin's eyes. He looked as though he was drowning and nothing Gaius did seemed to be helping. Maybe this was what Merlin needed. And he wasn't going to lie; he was interested to see what Arthur would do without Merlin around. The King might protest and say that he didn't need Merlin. But Gaius had a feeling Arthur didn't realize just how much he depended on Merlin. These next few weeks were going to be interesting. And lonely. He at least didn't lie to himself. He had grown to depend on Merlin too. But Merlin needed this, and he wasn't going to make Merlin feel guilty for doing it.

AN: I am not a wonderful writer, I understand that. So I apologize for any confusion that you may have felt at any point, and I doubly apologize if your eyes burned from the mess. However, I enjoy writing. So I will update this story, hopefully this fact doesn't cause anyone despair.