How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I looked up. The blue eyes, fierce as a fox, stared down into mine. I held it [the apricot] out to him. "I don't want it. It's black inside. Look, you can see right through." (I.2.110)
This is really the first time that we get a sense of Merlin's power. Up until now, we might think of him as an odd kid, a bit of a loner, perhaps a little sensitive. But when his "kindly" uncle offers him a sweet and beautiful apricot—which is so much nicer than the fruit he's normally allowed—Merlin literally sees right through the surface of the fruit to the poison underneath. It's a sign of exciting things to come.
Quote #2
[…] it should have been the slow-growing beam of a candle flame that I saw, but instead there was a flash, a sparkle, a conflagration as if a whole pitch-soaked beacon was roaring up in flames. Light poured and flashed, crimson, golden, white, red, intolerable into my cave. I winced back from it, frightened now, heedless of pain and cut flesh as I shrank against the sharp walls. The whole globe where I lay seemed to be full of flame. (I.5.21)
Merlin's sneaking around where he shouldn't be: he's in the crystal cave inside Galapas' home. Turns out that the crystal cave is the perfect place to see mystical visions, if you've got the head for that sort of thing. Here we learn for sure that Merlin's life will be extraordinary, filled with visions and contact with the powers of the universe. Sweet.
Quote #3
"Be careful. It matters whether this is true. Your mother told you?"
"No."
"Slaves talk, then? That's all?"
I said desperately: "I heard him myself."
"Then where were you?"
I met his eyes. Without quite realizing why, I told the simple truth. "My lord, I was asleep in the hills, six miles off." (II.5.91-96)
Ambrosius recognizes that the child Merlin is something special, but he doesn't know the extent of it until they have this little chat. Merlin tells him that Uncle Camlach meant to side with Vortimer in a future rebellion against Vortigern. It seems that Ambrosius' kindness to the little prophet will pay off pretty quickly.