the ultimate killing machine

Leon cursed their luck. Of course another damned witchfinder would come looking for work in Camelot. And of course Uther wouldn't turn him away even after what happened last time.

With a sigh he folded the letter for Arthur. It pained him to leave the prince to his own devices but Leon was a knight. Protecting people was his duty and his honor.

And Merlin needed any protection he could get with how horrible that man was at hiding his magic.

Don't get Leon wrong, he had not taken the revelation quite as easily as this now suggests but from the moment he had the suspicion he started observing the servant and found no evil whatsoever. Leon himself owed him his life many times over, if anything this would balance out the scale a bit.

As the night quietly descended upon Camelot, Leon opened the door and listened carefully for the familiar rhythm of the nightguards footfalls.

_____

If Arthur was honest he didn't have a plan BUT that only was because he genuinely thought his father would listen for once. Last time Morgana almost got kidnapped! And she was his favorite child!

It would be fine though. He was good at strategy, he had been trained for scenarios like this his entire life. For the last time he looked at his chambers, searching his brain for an adequate way to say farewell to his home and came up short.

He may have spend his life here but his heart was not attached to those walls nor did it long to stay here when the soul of this place was clearly missing. The same soul Arthur was determined to get to safety, far away from his fathers clutches and somewhere where Merlin could be himself without having to risk a death sentence. Maybe they could get a cottage, a small farm maybe and—

"This is really not the time, dollophead." Arthur muttered to himself and headed out the door.

Fortunately the castle was quiet and empty, which made it easier than he would have thought to get to the physicians tower. He paused at the wooden door, fearing the familiar protest of the old hinges, which could easily wake Gaius and he really hoped to avoid explaining this to the old healer.

Carefully, inch by inch he pushed it open reavealing total darkness only disrupted by faint patches of light where the moon spilled through the windows. But something was wrong...

Something was missing.

Whenever Arthur had come here in the middle of the night there had always been the sound of Gaius snoring but now everything was quiet. And a glance towards the narrow cot confirmed it: the healer was not here.

Could Arthur really be so lucky? A small grin spread over his face maybe this wouldn't be hard at all, maybe-

The creaking of the wooden steps interrupted his train of thought and he cursed his own thoughtlessness when he spotted a dark silhouette on the stairs leading to Merlins bedroom. At once Arthur unsheated his sword and only a few seconds later the blade rested against the intruders neck. His triumph was shortlived as someone came up behind him mirroring his own gesture with a dagger.

"What do you want? Who are you?"

Arthur demanded in a low voice. Two against one. He would manage as long as Merlin did not come bumbling out of his room, ruining the odds by being his clumsy, reckless self.

"Sire?" The man behind him asked, clearly confused. The title made the man in front of him turn around as well, almost forgetting the sword pointing at his throat.

"Arthur?" Lancelot, asked bewildered.

"What brought you here? Do you need the assistance of a healer?" The man behind him, Leon as it turned out, questioned.

Simultaneously they sheated their weapons but Arthur's heart kept racing, thinking about his next words. These were his knights, his men and more than brothers to him. He knew they would not betray him but were they willing to commit treason? To break their oath to the king?

"No, but I need you to go, both of you. When you are questioned you did not see me. I know this is a lot to ask, I cannot order you, but believe me when I say I do not ask for this favor lightly."

His eyes apparently got used to the darkness as he could see the frown on Lancelots face.

"You know...?" He said at the same time as Leon asked: "Are you here for Merlin?"

The prince pinched his nose. "You know as well?"

For a moment there was no sound as the three men processed this development. "So what was your pl-"

"God damn this gods forsaken shit-heap of a castle ouch!" Someone cursed, but the voice came from outside which made no sense, seeing they were in a tower so a passing man should have not sounded like he was just outside the window. The knights collectively tensed as Arthur pressed his finger to his lips. Slowly he pulled the dagger from his belt, approaching the window without making a sound. With a swift move he opened the ajar standing window completely peering over the stone wall and down. His dagger was firm in his head ready to deliver a killing blow.

"Ah princess! Nice of you to show up! Would you mind helping a man in need?" The man who was currently climbing the castle wall mumbled as he held a glove between his teeth. Gwaine. Of course.

"What the hell are you doing?" Arthur wondered

"Helping a friend? What does it look like?"

"It looks pretty stupid if you ask me." The prince answered but offered a hand nonetheless. Shortly after and with surprisingly little noise Gwaine was in the room as well.

"Okay we need to get Merlin out of the city, we can talk afterwards. And we have to be quick or else-"

Suddenly the door to Merlin's room opened. The men focused on the dark spot, expecting a sleepy Merlin to emerge and ask what was going on but instead the man coming out of the small bedchamber was much larger and carried the warlocks sleeping form in his arms like he was holding nothing more than a pillow.

"Percy??" Gwaine almost sounded hurt

"Of course!" Arthur muttered ironically and threw his arms up.

Leon sighed and nodded towards the servant. "Is he asleep?"

Percoval nodded: "I put a sleeping portion in his drink."

Gwaine didn't seem to register the words and continued: "You would have left me behind?"

Percy: "Of course not! I would have gone to the rising sun to get you as soon as found some place safe outside the city walls to put him!"

Lance: "You put something in his drink!?"

But Percival defended himself: "He wouldn't have left Arthur willingly would he?"

Surprisingly enough the men agreed and Arthur's heart swelled inside his chest. The warlocks loyalty was absolute and they all knew it.

"Wait how do we smuggle a sleeping person out of the castle?" Leon asked, rightfully so.

When the answer came, it was not the voice of any of the knights, in fact it was not a male voice at all. "Through the servant corridors obviously. Are you coming? We don't have the entire night."

It was Guinevere who had entered without any of the knights noticing and now stood there in the middle of the room with crossed armes.

Arthur could not believe this! "You knew as well?"

Gwen's expression changed from determined to amused. "Of course I know and now hurry I already got Morgana out she's waiting for us in the woods."

"You got Morgana out? Wait are you saying Morgana is like Merlin? She has magic too?"

"Holy shit Merlin has magic?!" Elyan whisper-shouted from where he had appeared just now, dressed in his sleeping tunic and breeches.

"Yes, did you not come here to save him?" Percy answered easily

"I am trying to get this spell right...Do you know where I can get a ring that was found by a magpie and blessed by the fates? Wait what does that even mean??" He read the sentence again but decided it still made no sense and dramatically fell back, summoning a pillow from the nearby cot to avoid hitting the floor with his head. A sigh escaped him after his eyes changed back to blue.

"What is it for?" The former maid asked.

Hunith sat in front of the fire and grinned, Guinevere had the patience of an angel.

"Arthur. Not the ring per se, I need that to make the protection spell for some lady, because the painter who made the portrait of Ygraine claimed he had sketches but he refused to give them up unless I help his girlfriend who had angered some ancient spirit." He rubbed his hands over his face. "And I hate ancient spirits! They have nobody to talk to which is sad but that means when you summon them they'll always start to ramble and they won't shut up, Gwen!" He grabbed her ankle and shook it without much force so he wouldn't hurt her. "They never shut up!!!!"

A giggle spilled over her lips as she looked down at the Court Sorcerer of Camelot pouting on the floor.

"Good thing you like Arthur more than you apparently hate these ancient spirits." His mother remarked with a poorly hidden grin and an arched eyebrow as she knitted some socks.

Gwen promptly chimed in: "And that must say something considering you really hate these spirits."

Merlin glowered at both women. He would have had a witty comeback, no doubt, but was cut off when the door opened again.

"Uncle Mewlin!!" Finch exclaimed as they entered the room. Arthur held the boy but he started to wiggle when he spotted the sorcerer. Lancelot, who stepped over the threshold a moment after the king put the boy on the ground smiled at Gwen.

Summoning a tiny gust of wind Merlin closed the book next to him, hiding his notes inside as he sat up and held his arms out to greet the boy.

"Hello little one. Has Arthur bored you enough?" He questioned lightly.

Arthur only laughed and went over to greet Hunith with a kiss on the cheek. "Has Merlin bored you enough? Should I give him some chores?"

"Oh you know how he is." She replied fondly, squeezing the kings arm.

Meanwhile Finch's tiny form had collided with the warlock and he was now planted on his lap demanding-

"Magic! Pwease!"

"Your wish is my command! What extraordinary spell would my lord want to see me perform?"

"Can you make a baby cat? Dada said I'll get one for Yule!"

The look Gwen gave Lancelot suggested that Dada was in a lot of trouble for that.

"I can make one but you know it won't last, remember?"

His magic could make life, but he hadn't dared to test it on something bigger than a butterfly yet and he didn't plan to. To create life was not a power that should be wielded out of curiosity, it was a responsibility.

Finch nodded seriously. "I know. Wait Uncle A'ther should watch too! Mom, Dad and Hunif Uncle Mewlin does magic!!" The boy was so excited it was hard for him to sit still and despite his sudden nervousness it made Merlin smile fondly. He vividly remembered the day Lancelot and Gwen had asked him and Arthur to meet them in Gwen's home. The couple had been married for a year, so it was not a huge surprise, when Gwen told them teary eyed that she was pregnant. The real surprise came from Lancelot after he squeezed his wife's hand. "We know this is no small thing to ask but we would love you both as godfathers for our child."

Arthur had cried. Not that the king would ever mention it whenever he told this story. Another part he failed to say anything about was that when Gwen went into labor Arthur was pacing the hallways like a caged animal. Only when the first cries of the child announced his wellbeing and Gaius joined the both men in the corridor to give the young family some space, could Arthur calm down enough he let his body sink on the floor next to the spot where Merlin had patiently waited.

Finch as it soon turned out was the human embodiment of a bright summer day, his smile lightened up the entire kingdom and like the first messengers of a storm on a summer evening, the boy always seemed to be on some mission or another. Keeping up with him took indeed an entire village.

Now Merlin spoke the words to mold his magic into the form of a small kitten. Finch watched with his big brown eyes as it started to purr and rub its little head against the boys hand before it darted over to where Hunith's yarn was pulled up as she continued to knit.

"Whoa!" The toddler was up in a second, following the cat as Merlin let it grow into an adult. "Mommy, Dada look!"

Before the boy could become to attached Merlin tugged at the spell and made it shrink until it fit into a hand and then let it explode like the magical fire Mordred sometimes summoned.