Chapter Text
Camelot had not changed in five years. The banners still flew, the knights still trained, and the people still bowed when King Arthur passed, but something was missing.
A chatter beneath the silence.
Now his life was a shadow because his sun had died.
Merlin was gone.
His death had been sudden, shrouded in mystery. Some said he vanished in the forest. Others whispered of a final battle, a sacrifice. Arthur never spoke of it. Not to Gwen. Not to Gaius. Not even to the stone where Merlins name was carved.
But today, the silence cracked.
The boy was found in the lower fields, crouched beside a patch of dead earth. A guard had seen it happen, saw how the boy touched the soil, and a single flower bloomed where none should grow.
He was ten. Small. Wild-eyed. Barefoot. And terrified.
They dragged him to the castle in chains.
King Arthur stood at the top of the stairs, watching the child struggle against the guards. The boys face was streaked with tears and dirt, hia eyes simmering in an almost familliar shade of blue.
Whats your name?” Arthur asked.
The boy looked up, defiant.
“Hamish.” Arthur frowned.
“Where are your parents?”
“I don’t know my father,” the boy said. “My mother told me never to come here.”
Arthur turned to the guards. “Put him in the Dungeons. No one is to speak to him."
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Later, in the war room, Arthur paced like a storm contained in flesh. “He used magic,” he said. “Right in front of my men.” Gaius stood quietly.
“It may have been accidental.” Arthur turned sharply.
“Magic is never accidental.” Gaius met his eyes.
“He’s just a child.” Arthur’s voice dropped.
“And magic is forbidden.”
Gaius said nothing more. He would not betray Merlin. He could not say a word. Not even now.