I apologize for not keeping my word on when I would update. I actually finished writing the chapter a couple of days after the last update, but I wasn't quite satisfied and ending up rewriting a lot and adding a couple of scenes, so I hope the fact that the chapter is super long makes up for the wait.

Regardless, this is the final chapter and I hope you've enjoyed it so far.

The revelation that Merlin had magic was nothing short of a huge relief. It was the feeling of everything falling into place, the last piece of the puzzle finally revealing the bigger picture which Arthur had been so incredibly blind to before, but now could not understand how he had never noticed. Of course, Merlin had magic. It was the only thing that made sense in this crazy reality Arthur lived in. And Arthur didn't think of all the times in his life where Merlin must have used magic to miraculously save the day, no, Arthur thought of how he had finally figured Merlin out. He recalled the way Merlin's eyes lost the bright spark while looking at the pyre, the desperate regret in his voice when he spoke of Morgana, the careful approach he had when he spoke of magic and Will - and Arthur knew immediately that it was never Will who had magic. But most of all, Arthur remembered Merlin's voice. He remembered the voice of a friend, who so desperately didn't want Arthur to take the life of his own father, even if it meant incriminating himself and all who were like him, and Arthur suddenly understood that it was not just Arthur before everything. It was Arthur at the cost of everything.

And like with the wrist, the scars, all of Merlin's sacrifices, Arthur understood why Merlin had not wanted to tell him. There was fear, yes. Fear of losing their friendship and having it become the prize to pay for the lies and not because Merlin was afraid of losing him, no. It was because Arthur knew, better than he knew anything, that Merlin would walk through the fires of hell rather than leave Arthur's side. And Arthur couldn't even fathom how it must feel to have the person you have dedicated your entire life to not wanting you around. Because from the moment the poison had met Merlin's lips, he had thought that Arthur had cast him aside, and despite that, despite thinking that Arthur wanted him dead or worse, Merlin must still have urged Lancelot to warn Arthur about Agravaine, because nothing could sway Merlin's loyalty and the faith he had in Arthur. Because Arthur could take a knife to his servant's heart and Merlin would smile and tell him to stay safe.

Arthur understood that Merlin didn't want to tell him as long as Uther was king, not wanting Arthur to be in a position where he would inevitably choose his sorcerer servant over his father, the king - although Merlin surely didn't know that was the choice Arthur would make. He understood that on top of Morgana's - and eventually - Agravaine's betrayal, Merlin didn't want to burden him with more loved ones who were hiding their true self from him.

Arthur understood all that as he looked at the rose in his hand, and finally looked up at his servant, his friend who was holding his breath, fear in his eyes as he had just revealed his deepest secret to the person he had been told to be cautious of. And Arthur smiled. There was nothing to fear, not from him. He would never let Merlin fear him. Never again.

"Was that so hard?" Arthur asked teasingly and Merlin relaxed a little, letting out the breath he had been holding, but never once breaking eye contact.

"Yes," he replied honestly, "More than you can imagine."

And Merlin was right about that. Arthur couldn't imagine or even guess how Merlin had been feeling, or was currently feeling. To live with a secret so big, to know revealing it would change everything, and not knowing if it would be for better or for worse.

"Aren't you angry?" Merlin asked, not fearfully, merely curious, and Arthur couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Do you want me to be?"

"Of course not," Merlin said softly, the usual bite when he told Arthur off not present in his voice, "I just thought you would have more of a reaction..."

"I can understand that," Arthur said, "I might have been angry with you if our circumstances had been different, but that has nothing to do with the magic."

"Because I lied to you," Merlin stated and Arthur nodded.

"Because you lied to me," he confirmed, "But drugging you with a truth serum turned poison was pretty bad as well."

"Let's call it even then," Merlin offered with a soft smile on his face. Arthur found himself smiling as well.

"That seems fair."

Silence fell over the small room as they let their situation sick in. Merlin, perhaps coming to terms with how easily Arthur had accepted his magic, and Arthur, turning his attentions back to the flower in his hand, wondering how strong Merlin was. The flower was real and bright, dyed in the Pendragon colors, as if to show where his heart and loyalty lay. It was an impressive sight, but Arthur had no way of knowing if this display was a difficult act or mere child's play.

As the silent stretched on, Arthur found that what he really wanted to do was ask Merlin more questions. Questions about his magic and how he had used it, but now wasn't the time. Merlin had poured his soul out by revealing his magic to him, and Arthur didn't want to follow that up by another interrogation, not when it felt like he was finally getting Merlin back, now that he knew he hadn't lost the greatest friend he had ever had.

"You should rest," Arthur said slowly as he got up from his spot on the floor, "I'll be back."

"Arthur," Merlin called as the prince moved to leave and Arthur turned to look at him, "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked puzzled, and Merlin answered him with sincerity and gratefulness so thick in voice, Arthur could almost cry.

"For not casting me aside."

Arthur wanted to smile, but instead, an apology escaped his lips: "I'm sorry I made you think I ever would."

As Arthur closed the door to Merlin's room, he found Gaius sitting by sir Lucan's bed, tending to the now awakened knight, but looking up as the prince emerged from his ward's room.

"You look happy," Gaius remarked, "Merlin always forgives you too quickly."

"He does," Arthur agreed. He wasn't quite sure if he deserved Merlin's forgiveness, but he would take it and treasure it.

"Could I have a moment with sir Lucan?" Arthur requested, finally letting go of his conversation with Merlin and beginning to take action regarding the quite urgent matter at hand, namely his uncle.

"Of course sire," Gaius said, "I'll see to Merlin in the meantime."

Arthur sat down on the small stool next to Lucan's bed as Gaius disappeared into his ward's room, and and looked at the knight before him. Sir Lucan was a couple of years younger than Arthur, around Merlin's age, and had yet to experience some of the harsher realities of being a knight. His knighting had only been a few months ago, and Arthur felt that he looked more like a scared child than a courageous knight as Arthur began interrogating him.

"Do you know who injured you?" Arthur asked, trying to sound caring but authoritative at the same time.

Lucan nodded: "I do, sire," he said, horrified.

"Can you describe them to me?"

"I have a name, sire," sir Lucan said slowly, "But I fear you would not believe me."

"Tell me," Arthur urged.

"The one who attacked me was sir Kay, sire, I am sure of it."

The information sank in surprisingly quickly. Perhaps Arthur was getting too used to hearing the unexpected. Between Agravaine working for Morgana, who wanted Merlin dead and sent assassins after his servant, who was a secret sorcerer, well, Arthur was getting difficult to surprise.

"Walk me through the day," Arthur requested, "Tell me everything you remember."

"We left for Camelot in the morning, sire," Lucan began, "However, sir Lancelot wanted to investigate the magic that had been sighted in the forest of Ascetir in the first week of our arrival. We knew we weren't likely to find anything after such a long time, so as to cover more ground, we thought we could safely split up. Sir Lancelot paired me with Sir Kay and together we searched through the forest for any sign on magic.

"As we searched through the forest, we got to talking about the ban. Sir Kay said that he didn't think the law was fair. That the king didn't give suspected sorcerers fair trials, and that magic itself shouldn't be the crime, only the evil done with it. Of course, sire, I reminded him of how magic corrupts, reminded him of how it had corrupted our good lady Morgana, and how the king had lost his daughter to its evil.

"And he looked at me, sire," Lucan said with a tremble in his voice, "He looked at me with evil in his eyes as he thrust his sword at me. I barely dodged a fatal blow, but I could not escape him entirely. The next thing I remember is waking up here in Camelot."

"I see," Arthur mumbled to himself as Lucan finished his story, "Thank you for your honesty," Arthur said more clearly, "Now rest up."

"Yes, sire."

Arthur only waited in the physician's chambers long enough to bid Gaius goodbye and left to find sir Kay. Knights attacking other knights with intent to kill was a rare sight, and for it to happen outside a publicly issued challenge was even rarer. It went against the knight's code and Arthur knew Kay to be an honorable man. He had served as a knight for only a year's time, being knighted only a week after they had taken Camelot back from Morgana. But Arthur had known him for longer. Kay had been in training for quite some time, and before he had trained as a knight, he had been a page to sir Leon. He was honorable, honest and friendly, not the type to attack fellow knights over a disagreement, no matter how wrong he thought they were.

Arthur found Kay at the training grounds practicing with a dummy. A squire was stood by the makeshift armory and as Arthur came to stand by him, he asked if Arthur wished to wear armor, thinking the prince had come down for practice. Arthur considered it only for a while, before he let the squire help him into some light armor and gave him a dulled sword. When Arthur was ready, he walked up to Kay who was still striking the dummy.

"Want to practice with me?" Arthur asked in a friendly manner, and Kay spun around, surprised to hear the prince request such a thing of him. Lately, Arthur had only been sparring with his knight of the round table as they had quickly become the only people who could give him a challenge.

"It would be an honor, sire," Kay said with a little less confidence than he normally spoke with, but Arthur didn't comment on it as he lead them to a spot where they could move more freely.

Arthur waited for Kay to make the first move, and was surprised by the lack of power coming from the young knight. As Arthur pushed back, Kay was quickly off balance and was forced to take a step back. Arthur could tell that there was something on his mind that distracted him, and he also had a good guess to what it was.

"What's on you mind?" Arthur asked as he stopped attacking. Kay sighed heavily before he answered.

"I can't help but feel that sir Lucan got hurt because of me. We were supposed to have each other's backs, but, I don't know what happened, one minute we were talking and the next… he was on the ground. I had my sword drawn, and I… What if I did it?" Kay was rambling and it only confirmed what Arthur had been suspecting. Especially as sir Kay so quickly incriminated himself.

"You don't remember anything?"

"No, my lord. Gaius said it could have been the trauma, but my sword… there was blood on it-"

"Did you tell Gaius this? That you thought you did it?"

"No, my lord, I was too frightened. I only told him I had no memories of the event."

"Thank you for your honesty," Arthur smiled, trying to reassure Kay that he was in no trouble, "Don't tell anyone what we spoke of, and I will come back to you when we have everything figured out."

Once out of the armor, Arthur made his way to his own chambers, and was unpleasantly to surprised to not find a plate of food on his table, but instead Agravaine.

"Uncle," Arthur greeted, though the word felt awfully twisted as he addressed the man before him in a familiar way, "What brings you here?"

"Can't I simply drop by for a visit?" Agravaine joked lightly, "I haven't seen you since my return yesterday, and it is a busy time. I hear that you have been spending an awful lot of time at the physician's quarters."

"The harvest is all but concluded, so my duties are lighter," Arthur reminded him, "There was an accident a couple of days ago and Merlin hit his head pretty hard. I fear that the incident was my fault so I've been making sure that he is comfortable while recovering." With all the liars around him, it seemed to never occur to anyone that Arthur could lie pretty smoothly as well.

"I am sure he will make a full recovery, sire," Agravaine smiled, and Arthur had never before wanted to punch him, but that seemed to be the only emotion he was currently feeling. If it could even be called an emotion. "But you do have some duties to attend," Agravaine continued, "With the end of the harvest comes Samhain's Eve. I believe it would be wise to begin preparations now, while there is less on your plate. These celebrations are one of our longest standing traditions after all."

"Of course, uncle," Arthur agreed. He had completely forgotten about the annual feast held to honor one's ancestors, and added a mental note to see if any if the preparations had begun or if he needed to do something about it. If anything, organizing a feast was easy work and it would give him a good excuse to skip some of his other duties like training the knights or whatever else he was supposed to do.

Agravaine then left and Arthur wondered what he had really wanted. An update on Merlin perhaps? Even before the whole traitor thing, the two of them had been on unfriendly terms, but knowing that Morgana, with Agravaine's help, was willing to send assassins after his poor servant, Arthur needed to be vigilant. He could not allow Agravaine too many freedoms.

Arthur spent the rest of his day in his chambers, only interrupted when a servant came by with food and to pick up his laundry. Arthur had much to consider. Agravaine was by far the most important subject, but there was sir Kay's situation as well. There was no doubt in Arthur's mind that the young knight had not been acting of his own accord, but the question remained: was he still enchanted or was it only the magic of the forest which influences him? Arthur's safest bet was to ask Gaius or Merlin, but they had much on their plate, so for now Arthur merely kept an eye on him. He had a servant go to Elyan and ask him to spend the day with Kay, to train with him while keeping an eye on him - although the last part was not explicitly stated he hoped Elyan understood it nonetheless.

And then there was Merlin. The only problem Arthur had with the magic was that it quite possibly explained his servant's extreme recklessness. Regardless of how strong or weak his magic was, he had a hidden ace up his sleeve and the likelihood that Merlin relied on his magic to not die whenever he did something behind Arthur's back was incredibly high. And it clearly didn't work as well as Merlin likely wanted it to, considering all the damn times he had apparently been close to death.

The magic also explained the quickly healing scars. Or at least Arthur assumed that it did. As someone who studied under Gaius and possessed magic, which Gaius most likely knew of if Arthur was completely honest with himself, there was every chance in the world that Merlin would know healing spells. Arthur could even count a couple of times where Merlin must have healed him, and then claimed to have not known how he had gotten better or simply told him that the injury hadn't been as bad as he had first thought.

Merlin owed him a couple of explanations, but Arthur didn't want to demand that Merlin told him everything right away. There were stories to be told and clarifications to be made, and if they could talk about those things like friends every once in a while, then Arthur would prefer that. At this point, he was sure that Merlin would tell him everything he needed to know without Arthur having to push for it, so he wouldn't ask. He would wait patiently.

Arthur ended up falling asleep at his desk and woke up with his body slightly sore and a piece of paper stuck to his face with a bit of his own drool. He could only be thankful that he had woken up by himself so that no one had to see him in that state.

Arthur got up, managed a change of shirts and found himself in the kitchens, stealing a plate of food for himself and a bowl of fruit for Merlin. It was still early, and with Merlin's tendency to oversleep, he probably wasn't awake yet, but that was okay. Arthur just needed to make sure he was okay. Until Merlin was fully recovered from the poisoning, Arthur would probably worry endlessly about him and what Agravaine might or might not do to him.

Gaius wasn't there when Arthur arrived, so Arthur merely let himself in. Sir Lucan seemed to have been moved to his own quarters, so it was incredibly quiet as Arthur listed up to Merlin's room.

Merlin was, as expected, still asleep, and Arthur didn't want to disturb him, so he merely sat down the bowl of fruit by the bedside table, and sat himself down against the wall, making good of his time by eating his breakfast. It was then that Arthur noticed the loose floorboard under Merlin's bed, and curiosity got the better of him. He reached to remove the flooring which revealed a small hole in which Merlin kept two books - no doubt books the king deemed illegal to possess.

The big leatherbound book unsurprisingly grabbed Arthur's attention first. It was apparent from the cover alone that it was a book of magic, and Arthur flipped through the pages of it, not knowing enough to understand, but seeing just enough to get an idea of its contents. What really caught Arthur's attention were the small pieces of parchment which sometimes appeared between the pages of the book. Recognizing Merlin's handwriting, Arthur read those, curious as to what Merlin was taking notes about. Most of them turned out to be commentary on the contents of the book. If a spell required herbs or other items, Merlin had noted where to obtain them and sometimes how long it would take to get there. If a spell was very eye-catching when performed, Merlin had noted what the effects would be in order to conceal himself the best. However, on a few occasions, Merlin seemed to have corrected spells and their effects. One page described a spell which would heal wounds, but Merlin had noted that the spell only sped up a person's own recovery by using their energy, and that excessive use could harm and possibly even kill the victim. Merlin had even been cheeky enough to note that he should use it on Arthur when the prince was unwilling to cooperate as the spell would make him tired and sluggish.

Flipping through the book and reading Merlin's notes slowly told Arthur that Merlin was most likely very skilled when it came to magic. Merlin had always been quite clever and loved to learn, and it only made sense to Arthur that he would put those skills to good use when it came to magic. Arthur found that he couldn't wait for Merlin to tell him more, which was a strange thought seeing as his opinion on magic only a year ago had been much different. But Arthur was a changed man, and the best way to get over his own prejudices was to keep learning.

Arthur picked up the second book. It was smaller in size and looked more like a journal than a book of magic. The first page held the title in Merlin's handwriting: Proof that I am not as bad at healing as previously believed, it is just Arthur who is difficult to heal. Arthur chuckled silently at the title, and flipped through its contents. From what Arthur could gather, the book contained healing spells - healing spells which Merlin had created - and they were all for Arthur. The prince didn't know why Merlin had deemed him a special case since there seemed to have been plenty of healing spells with the exact same effect in the other book, but the notebook still filled his heart with warmth. The book contained a complete record of all the wounds and illnesses, which Arthur had suffered since Merlin had come to Camelot. Many of them, Merlin hadn't even attempted to use magic to heal as they were only small wounds or sometimes a head cold, but the ones where Merlin had used magic, he had noted what spells he had used and whether or not they had worked.

"Are you reading my magic books?" Merlin's voice questioned and Arthur looked to the bed beside him, finding Merlin still snuggled under the covers, head resting on the pillow but looking at him with a curious glint in his eyes.

"You are smarter than I give you credit for," Arthur smiled and Merlin shifted a little on the bed, not getting up, only moving his arms to rest his head on them as he kept on studying Arthur.

"Are you sure you're feeling well, my lord," Merlin smiled, addressing Arthur with his title in the teasing manner which he had so missed, "You seem to be talking nonsense."

Arthur could only roll his eyes. This was why he didn't compliment Merlin more often. It always ended up backfiring.

"Why am I difficult to heal?" Arthur asked to change the subject, and was surprised to see Merlin's smile falter. Arthur wasn't really sure how that had been a bad thing to ask, and was about to tell Merlin that he didn't have to answer if he didn't want to, but didn't get the chance.

"I can't be sure, but I suspect it's because you were born of magic."

Arthur blinked once, then twice, letting the piece of information sink in, nodding as he understood what Merlin meant.

"Morgause didn't lie when she told me about the circumstances of my birth, did she?"

Merlin sighed and shook his head slightly, "She used the information to manipulate you, but it was the truth nonetheless. I had Gaius confirm it."

"I see," Arthur said and slumped against the wall. Back when he had first learned of the circumstances of his mother's death, he had been angry with his father, thinking that the only way to right his wrong had been to take his life. But as Arthur had matured, and slowly learned on his own of his father's wrongdoings and shortcomings, he knew that killing him wasn't the answer.

"What will you do?" Merlin asked, almost as if he could read Arthur's thoughts.

"I don't know," Arthur said, knowing that after a night's sleep, he would be able to think about the whole situation differently, "Probably nothing."

A small smile returned to Merlin's face. "I'm proud of you," he said, almost sleepily. Arthur might not compliment Merlin a lot, but that went both ways. It was rare for Merlin to praise Arthur, especially when the prince was already in a good mood. Arthur could only imagine that Merlin had said what he had because he hadn't quite woken up yet.

Arthur forced himself back to reality. He had intended to talk to Merlin about sir Kay, and while it was tempting to stay in Merlin's small room and talk about magic all day, this was a more pressing matter.

"Can you tell if someone is enchanted?" Arthur asked, and Merlin looked confused for a second.

"Sometimes. Why?"

Arthur explained the situation to Merlin, as the servant likely didn't know much beyond some potential magic having been sighted. Merlin listened intently, slowly waking up and eventually sitting up fully, eating a bit of the fruit Arthur had brought with him.

"I see," Merlin said when Arthur was done explaining and presenting his suspicions, "It definitely doesn't sound like something Kay would do. It won't be hard for me to check if you just bring him to me."

Arthur smiled. When had their conversations last been this easy? When was the last time Arthur had not once worried about if what Merlin said was true or if he was holding something back+ When was the last time Merlin hadn't worried about saying too much or what Arthur's reaction would be when he learned of something new?

"Why did you tell me?" Arthur asked curiously. He knew why Merlin hadn't told him before, but given recent events, given that Arthur was not yet king and was still bound by the laws of his father, logically, Merlin should probably have held his tongue.

"I always wanted to," Merlin confessed, "At least, when I started considering you a friend," he laughed a bit to himself, no doubt recalling those early days of service where they could barely stand each other, "But I was always told that my secret was something to be guarded with my life. I live in the heart of Camelot and serve the king's only heir. It was dangerous enough just with that, but still, I wanted to tell you."

"But why now?"

"I guess I felt bad," Merlin confessed, "I knew you worried about me, and I wanted to ease your mind. I tried when I told you about Nimueh, but it might have only made the situation worse. And when you started asking me about magic and you said that you were starting to see it differently, I got so happy," Merlin's smile got a little brighter before it faltered again, "But I was scared. I knew the lies would end up hurting you more than the magic, and with Agravaine around, being so close to you, I felt like I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk not being here to protect you."

"You were scared I would chose my uncle over you?" Arthur confirmed, and Merlin nodded.

"I guess that you almost killing me ended up pushing me to do it," Merlin laughed and Arthur shook his head.

"Don't speak of that as if it was a good thing. I'll never forgive myself for what I did."

"That's okay," Merlin smiled, "I forgive you."

The following moment of silence was violently interrupted by Lancelot slamming the door open, effectively startling the both of them, and informing with a panic in his voice: "There was an attempt on the king's life."

Arthur was quickly on his feet ready to run to his father's side, but hesitated and looked back at Merlin. They hadn't talked about everything yet. He didn't want to leave things unfinished, but…

"Go, Arthur," Merlin urged, "We'll talk later."

Arthur nodded curtly and moved past Lancelot, but stopped one last time, putting his hands on the knight's shoulders and looking him in the eyes: "Look after him," he ordered, Lancelot barely uttering 'yes' before Arthur was out of the door, making his way to his father's chambers.

A million thoughts ran through Arthur's mind as he ran through the castle. It was Agravaine who was behind this. It must have been. He had finally showed his true nature and made his move. Arthur should have listened to Merlin sooner. Agravaine had sent an assassin to kill the king. Arthur should have listened sooner. Agravaine had betrayed them. He should have listened.

Entering the king's chambers, Arthur was met with quite the scene: There were guards at the door, as there should be, and in the bed, his father, barely conscious and seemingly trying to communicate something to Agravaine who was stood by the bed looking sympathetic. Beside him, Gaius, dressing the wound to the king's center, looking regretful as he knew he could only prolong the king's life long enough for him to say his goodbyes. In a corner, Percival, holding down sir Kay, who looked close to tears, streaks of blood covering his white tunic and his hands. Between Kay and the bed, Leon, hand on his sword, looking down at the restrained knight, ready to strike him down without a single moment's hesitation should he try something.

"Arthur!" he heard Agravaine call to him and Arthur moved to his father's bedside, standing opposite the physician and meeting his eyes.

"How is he?" Arthur asked concerned, paying no attention to the man who had called his name, as Gaius looked up with him in sorrow in his eyes.

"There is only so much I can do," he informed, "One day is all I can give you."

"Thank you, Gaius," Arthur said, knowing the old physician would have done all he could have for the king.

There was movement on the bed and Arthur looked immediately to his father, taking his hand as he met his father's gaze.

"Arthur..." he said weakly, and on the other side of the bed, Agravaine moved and ordered everyone to leave the room. As he made no move to leave himself, Arthur bid Gaius to stay with them, wanting someone he could trust in the room with them.

"Arthur," his father repeated once his chambers hosted only the four of them, "I'm sorry," he breathed, "I told you, I wouldn't want for you to become king like this."

Arthur wanted to say something but the lump in his throat made it hard for him to talk. He was sure he was crying.

"You are ready Arthur, I know you are. Always remember, I am proud of you and I love you. I love you so very much." There were tears in his father's eyes as he spoke.

"I love you too, father," Arthur croaked out through the tears and watched as his father's eyes slowly closed, squeezing his hand to let him know that he was still there.

"This may be the last time he wakes," Gaius said slowly, "Don't leave anything unsaid."

Arthur nodded and kissed his father's forehead. There was nothing else he wanted to say, so he stayed in silence, his company never breaking it.

It was dark outside when Arthur left his father's chambers, but he could not yet rest. There was still much to be done. As he moved towards his chambers, his tears finally drying, he sent some guards to fetch his knights of the round table and bring them to his chambers.

Almost to his chambers, Arthur passed a window looking over the courtyard and saw it filled with Camelot's citizens, candles in their hands to show their grief for the king and wish him a painless journey to the other world. It would have been a beautiful sight if it wasn't for the sorrow that filled Arthur's soul and he quickly tore his eyes away from it and walked away.

"Sire," was the concerned word of his servant when he opened the door to his chambers. Merlin still looked slightly like death, clearly not having eaten much the last few days and his skin paler than usual, but Arthur was happy to see him nonetheless.

"You should be resting," he still remarked, closing the door behind him, and Merlin took a step closer to him, making the distance between only an arm's reach.

"I didn't want you to feel alone," Merlin said softly and Arthur took a step closer and let Merlin hug him, comfort him through his grief. Merlin's presence was grounding and familiar, and Arthur quickly found himself gripping the back of his servant's shirt to keep him close.

"Thank you," Arthur whispered into Merlin's neck. He got no reply and they let the silence fill the room until Merlin hesitantly spoke.

"Do you..." he said slowly, almost frightened, but not quite so, "Do you want me to save him?"

Arthur's body froze. Nevermind that it was something Merlin could do, Merlin had suggested it, asking Arthur if he should save the king that burned sorcerers at the stake. And God knew that no child wanted to lose a parent they loved, no child wanted to let their parent die when they could have saved them, but there was only one right answer.

Arthur let go of Merlin, took him by the shoulders and put enough distance between them to look him in the eyes, "No," he said, "I don't want you to."

Merlin's eyes widened slightly, "Are you sure?"

"I am."

There was a cough, and Arthur and Merlin both turned their eyes to Percival standing by the door. Arthur had almost forgotten about that.

"What's this?" Merlin asked, "I didn't know we were expecting company," he teased and Arthur found himself smiling at his servant's antics.

"You're not my only friend, you know," Arthur said and Merlin looked dramatically offended before he fetched six goblets from the cupboard and placed them on the table. The table which used to be the usual rectangular shape, but had somehow turned circular in the time Arthur had been gone. As Merlin moved to the wine cupboard, Arthur got close to him and whispered out of Percival's earshot: "Did you do that?" He gestured to the table vaguely.

"I might have," Merlin smiled and was quickly gone, pouring the wine in the goblets.

"You're not staying?" Arthur asked, as he realized that they were a goblet short and Merlin shook his head.

"I just needed to make sure you were okay. I'm technically not allowed to leave my bed yet."

Arthur sighed a little. Trust Merlin to follow orders, when Arthur didn't expect him to. He could rely on Lancelot to speak on Merlin's behalf, but he would have preferred his servant here, if he could have him. But Merlin did need to rest. Arthur would rather have him close by when the preparations for his coronation inevitably began.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Arthur asked as Merlin moved to leave and his servant smiled reassuringly at him.

"Of course, sire."

As Merlin left, Leon entered and looked like he was about to question Merlin leaving, but said nothing as he took a seat at table to Arthur's left side. The three remaining knights followed soon after, Lancelot arriving last and taking a seat between Percival and the empty chair to Arthur's right.

"It's been a while since we've all been together," Gwaine remarked tiredly and Elyan made a face that said he didn't quite agree.

"I feel like we're missing some," he muttered and all eyes looked to the empty chair at Arthur's side for a moment, before Leon spoke up.

"Is this where you tell us what happened to Merlin?" He questioned, not quite as politely as usual, "I hadn't seen him for a couple of days and just now he looked like he had been dying."

The four knights in the know all looked at each other, while Leon and Percival realized that they had somehow been left out of something. Arthur took a deep breath and told them what had happened.

"You poisoned him?" Leon roared outrageously, while Percival merely looked perplexed.

"Not intentionally," Arthur explained, "He's fine now… mostly."

"Mostly?" Percival raised an eyebrow, and Arthur sighed again.

"Well, you saw him. He's technically still on bedrest."

"Did you know they were planning on doing this?" Percival asked Lancelot, ready to be very disappointed in his friend, but Lancelot shook his head.

"Not at all. Arthur told me what had happened when I came back to Camelot."

"Why only Lancelot?" Leon asked Arthur, still demanding answers.

"Merlin refused to talk to anyone else when he first woke up, so I had to," Arthur clarified, but they had to get off this topic, "Look, I am sure you are plenty mad at me, and with good reason, but we have something more important to discuss."

"Your coronation?" Gwaine scoffed, and Arthur had to resist rolling his eyes.

"No," Arthur declined firmly, "Agravaine."

"You talked to Merlin?" Lancelot asked, now making the other four feeling like they were out of the loop.

"A little," Arthur confirmed. He had planned to talk more about this topic this morning, but they had never quite gotten that far, "But unless someone else can bring it, we have no proof, no evidence. And although I don't doubt that Merlin is right, we need something tangible to act on."

"Not everyday you hear the princess say that Merlin is right," Gwaine mused and Arthur decided to just ignore him.

"Other than Agravaine, we need to figure out what to do with sir Kay."

"Sir Kay?" Leon questioned with that same tone he had been speaking with all evening. He was surely thinking that Arthur had gone mad, "You want to discuss what to do with the person who is responsible for the king's death?"

"Yes, because I don't think he is the one responsible," Arthur explained and gained a lot of questioning stares.

"Arthur," Percival spoke, "There were witnesses. Even the king himself confirmed it when Gaius asked him."

"Yes, but think about it," Arthur pressed on, "Why would he do it? Sir Kay is honorable knight, you all know that. And I've talked to both him and Sir Lucan. Both of them more or less confirmed that sir Kay was the one to injure Lucan on your mission, but Kay has no memories of it. And Lucan described Kay as to acting differently. What if he isn't acting of his own free will?"

"So you're suggesting magic?" Lancelot confirmed and Arthur nodded.

"I think the magic you saw, the red smoke in the forest of Ascetir, might have something to do with it, although that is only a speculation. In any case, until we can be certain of sir Kay's guilt, I do not want to execute him."

"But how do we prevent that?" Leon asked sceptically. It really was weird to have Leon more or less disagree with every single choice he was making, "Agravaine has already declared that he will be executed in the morning. He is acting on the king's orders."

"Well that's the easy part," Arthur smiled mischievously, "We break him out."

"Of course!" Gwaine sang, "Just another one of the knight's duties."

"Hold up," Elyan interrupted, "You think Agravaine did this? He doesn't really feel like the sorcerer type."

"Agravaine is only a part of it. This likely all leads back to Morgana," Arthur explained, and Elyan rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Yes, another logical conclusion to draw."

The fact that the majority of the knights didn't really take Arthur's word was fair enough. Although the lack of faith was a little disheartening, he was throwing out accusations without any real facts and he had also just proven himself dumb enough to accidentally poisoning Merlin. Arthur decided to turn to a person he knew the rest of them would trust.

"Lancelot," he said, bringing everyone's attention to the noble knight, "Anything to share?"

"It should be Merlin tell you this, since he noticed it first," Lancelot began, "But we have been suspecting Agravaine of disloyalty for quite some time now."

"Thanks for letting us in on that, Lance," Gwaine said sarcastically. He really had done nothing but make various rude comments all night and Arthur could imagine that he had either been denied sleep or mead to attend this somewhat secret meeting.

"I swore that I would not tell anyone until we had evidence," Lancelot argued, "Merlin asked me to keep an eye on Agravaine and although I never caught him in the act, he shows signs of suspicion. The mere fact that he wouldn't allow us to investigate the magic earlier should tell us to at least be wary of him."

"But suspicions and evidence are not the same thing," Elyan reminded them, no doubt thinking of the way his father had died, and Arthur nodded.

"Yes, without evidence, we can do nothing, so that is what we will do."

"Sire?" Leon questioned, "We can at least investigate."

"No," Arthur said firmly, "If we investigate, then he will surely notice. For now, we shall act as if he does work for Morgana. We take notice of what he does and what he says, and then act accordingly. We can use him to feed false intel to Morgana."

"And sir Kay?" Percival asked, "What do we do about him."

Arthur smiled: "Here's the plan."

Breaking sir Kay out the dungeons was even easier than breaking out the sorcerer, because this time Arthur wasn't alone. The most difficult part of the plan was getting Kay to Merlin before they helped him get out of the kingdom entirely. Arthur decided to explain his choice away by saying that keeping him in the castle for a short while after they broke him out would give them time, if only they let the search party astray by making them think he had already fled.

Arthur had Gwaine and Percival glued to Agravaine's side, as Agravaine sent out search parties for the escaped prisoner, keeping an eye on him and feeding him false information to lead them all astray. Leon and Elyan would be the ones escorting Kay out of Camelot, while Lancelot and Arthur broke him out and hid him at Gaius' for a short while.

"When I said 'bring him to me', I didn't mean 'send the whole castle into a panic'," Merlin said as Arthur and Lancelot barged in, the warning bell ringing endlessly to alert that the prisoner had escaped, "Also," Merlin continued, pulling the blanket around him a little closer as he had no doubt been trying to sleep before the whole castle had gotten so incredibly loud, "Before this gets really awkward and you start lying to each other, you both know about my magic."

The casualness with which Merlin spoke made the statement seem like much less than it was, so it took two seconds for Arthur to actually get it.

"You told Lancelot before me?" He almost yelled, not needing to draw attention to this part of the castle. Sir Kay was being held firmly by Lancelot, just in case the information would startle him. The knight only seemed mildly perplexed by the statement, although Arthur thought perhaps the knight was still in shock from what happened earlier in the day.

"So me having magic is not an issue, but Lancelot knowing is?" Merlin raised an eyebrow, but Arthur just kept glaring at him, needing an explanation, "I didn't actually tell him. Unlike the rest of you, he was just smart enough to figure it out by himself."

"Fine," Arthur said, also slightly surprised that this was the part he was upset about, "Just, see what you can do, we don't have much time."

As Arthur moved out of Merlin's way, he looked at Lancelot, who seemed slightly surprised as well. It was probably due to Arthur knowing, as Lancelot would have no doubt learned why Merlin had never told him or anyone else. But it explained why Merlin trusted Lancelot so much and why he seemingly preferred Lancelot's company to most others. Lancelot was not only in on the secret, but he was close to Merlin in age, a friend who held the same beliefs and values. It must have been important and freeing for Merlin to have someone like Lancelot around when it would have been hard for him to be himself everywhere else. Arthur wondered just how much would change now that he knew, but somewhere deep in his heart he knew it wouldn't be much. Merlin was still the same he had been before, Arthur was sure of that, and if he happened to have a little magic as well, then it could only make things more fun. After all, this was Merlin, what bad could he ever do?

Merlin examined Kay almost like a patient who needed a diagnosis. He examined his eyes, put a hand on his forehead and studied him from multiple angles, before confirming what Arthur had been sure was true.

"There is definitely something wrong with him," Merlin said, and then looked at Arthur hesitantly, "Are you sure you okay with this?"

"With what?" Arthur asked confused. What part of this could he possibly be opposed to?

"Me," Merlin clarified, "Using magic."

"Well, that's the whole point of this, isn't it? God, Merlin, you can be such an idiot."

Of course, Arthur wasn't exactly sure what to expect from this. The one time Merlin had used magic in front of Arthur - that he had been aware of - Merlin had uttered no spell (which Arthur didn't know was possible, but here they were) and Arthur hadn't been looking in his eyes. This time, it was different.

Merlin put his hand on Kay's forehead and began speaking words of the old religion. There had always been something powerful about hearing a spell being uttered, but Arthur found himself mostly amazed at the display before him. The words rolled off of Merlin's tongue with ease, as if he had known the language since birth. And with a flash of gold, the spell did it its work. Red smoke oozed out of Kay's body and Lancelot instinctively let go of the knight, as both he and Arthur pulled out their swords.

"Wait," Merlin ordered as the red smoke evaporated into nothing before it got far from Kay's body and when the smoke finally let up, Kay collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

"Is that it?" Lancelot asked carefully and Merlin leaned down to examine the fallen knight again.

"He should be fine now," Merlin said after a while, "He'll probably wake up soon."

"Do you just… know how to do that?" Arthur asked to kill the time, as they waited for Kay to regain consciousness. He didn't know the first thing about magic and since he wanted to learn, well, what better time than the present?

"No, not at all," Merlin laughed, "Although I'm happy that you think I could do that."

"Well, excuse me for not knowing," Arthur huffed, and out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Lancelot shaking his head slightly at their antics.

"When you asked if I could tell if someone was enchanted, I figured that it would be handy to break it too, so I studied up on how to break spells like these. It took me a couple of hours, but seeing as I am not allowed to leave my room, I had plenty of spare time."

"Says the person who left the room as soon as you were out of eyesight," Lancelot shot back and Merlin laughed again.

"What..." Sir Kay suddenly muttered, and as they looked down on him still on the ground, he looked up at Lancelot, "Sir Lancelot!" He exclaimed and was quickly on his feet, "Where… what?"

"What do you remember?" Lancelot asked the knight who looked as confused as one could get.

"We were… in the forest of Ascetir," sir Kay slowly recalled, "Lord Agravaine wanted to investigate the smoke and took me with him and… I don't know."

The three of them looked at each other. There seemed to be only one conclusion to draw. Agravaine was the source of it all, and Kay had been nothing but a puppet in his hands.

"Do you still think we shouldn't act, my lord?" Lancelot asked, and Merlin looked at Arthur wildly, questioning what on earth Lancelot meant by that.

"Yes," Arthur confirmed, "As long as we have Agravaine around, we have something on Morgana. If we expose him, she'll just get a new strategy which we know nothing of. Let's use what we can to make sure she can't make a move without us knowing or being prepared."

It was clear from his face that Merlin wasn't extremely fond of keeping Agravaine around, but Arthur knew that his plan made sense. With the knowledge they had, it was the smartest thing to do and even Merlin had to acknowledge that.

"Um, my lord?" Kay interrupted, "What exactly are we doing here?"

It occurred to Arthur then that it was possibly about time that they got Kay out of the kingdom - they could take him back when Agravaine was no longer in the picture - but of course, the poor knight didn't even know what he had done.

"Lancelot, take Kay to Elyan and Leon, explain what he needs to know on the way. I'll make sure no one follows you."

"Yes, sire."

"And you, Merlin, get some rest," Arthur said, a little more softly, "I'll need you tomorrow."

"Of course, my lord."

Arthur didn't sleep that night. How could he? After an hour or so of lying restlessly in his bed, Arthur got up and walked to his father's chambers, where he sat by his bedside until he drew his final breath. The morning sun had only just sent its first rays of light through the window, when Gaius declared the king dead, and Arthur kissed his father a final time, letting some of the older knights take him to where the funeral would take place. Arthur knew the whole castle had been working the whole night to have everything ready for when it was time for a new king.

Today, the kingdom would mourn, and tomorrow, it would celebrate as Arthur took the throne.

Back in Arthur's chambers, breakfast was ready, his bed was made and his clothes laid out, all while Merlin was preparing a bath. Or, rather, Merlin was casually using magic to heat up the filled tub to a temperature he knew Arthur would love.

"Good morning, sire," Merlin greeted, "I hope you are hungry."

Arthur wasn't really, but he ate a little anyway, knowing that he likely wouldn't have time for much else today. When Merlin looked satisfied with how much Arthur had eaten - enough to keep him healthy and not enough to make him gain weight - Arthur entered the tub and let Merlin do his job.

Arthur almost expected Merlin to keep using magic, but he didn't. He washed Arthur's back and hair like he always did, reminding Arthur of how often they would use this time to discuss things that would usually be deemed inappropriate for a prince and a servant to discuss.

"You will be king tomorrow," Merlin said suddenly, "How do you feel?"

"Like I'm not ready," Arthur confessed, and he heard Merlin sigh.

"How come?"

"I was regent for three months, and I felt overwhelmed. I second-guessed all my decisions and I kept asking for advice when I know I'm supposed to take charge."

Merlin combed his fingers through Arthur's hair soothingly as he rid Arthur of his worries: "I don't think you quite realize how well you did," Merlin began, "Do you know why I first started to suspect Agravaine?"

"Pray tell."

"He didn't trust you," Merlin said simply "It seemed that every time you made a decision, he questioned it, made you doubt yourself. It couldn't have been easy. But you never hesitated asking for advice, and that's what will make you a good king." Arthur was sure Merlin was smiling fondly at this point, "You can't rule by yourself. That's why you have your knights, your council, Gwen… me. We're all here to help you the best we can, because we know you can make the hard decisions, because you unite us and give us something to fight for. You have been ready to be king for a while, Arthur. Trust me. You are ready."

Arthur smiled. Merlin's wisdom never failed him when he needed it most, and Arthur couldn't fathom what he would do without it, without Merlin.

"Thank you," Arthur said sincerely, "Thank you."

That day, the kingdom mourned their king Uther Pendragon.

The morning of Arthur's coronation felt an awful lot like any other morning. He was woken up by Merlin, the curtains drawn back to let the sunshine in, and Merlin seemed impossibly chipper despite the early hour. He had to drag Arthur out of bed by the feet, and it wasn't until Arthur hit the cold floor that he realized just what was about to happen.

"Can I go back to bed?" Arthur mumbled and Merlin kicked him lightly in the side, "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Stop moaning," Merlin ordered, "Today is an important day, and if you don't look up to par, I will be blamed for that."

"So now you suddenly care about your job?" Arthur said slightly sarcastically, not really having the energy to go through with the insult.

"I always care, you just don't notice all the things I do for you. Now get up." Merlin took away Arthur's blanket, but the prince - because he was still a prince - stayed down and looked as his servant made the bed.

"Is that what you're wearing today?" Arthur asked absentmindedly as he watched Merlin work. He was wearing what he wore every day which really helped the feeling that this really wasn't any special day.

"Yes?" Merlin answered hesitantly, "I'm not letting you put me in that hideous servant outfit again."

Arthur laughed. That evening had ended with Merlin being poisoned - which seemed to happen on an alarming frequency - so Arthur wasn't in a particular hurry to put Merlin in that outfit again. But he did have something else in mind.

Arthur finally managed to get up and walked to his wardrobe, where he knew there was a set of clothes in the very back of it, which he had requested be made only a few days ago. As he took it out, Merlin looked at him questioning.

"I already prepared clothes for you, sire," he said, and Arthur threw the clothes at him.

"Those are for you," he explained as Merlin examined them, "If you are to be the king's servant, you need to look the part."

"They look expensive," Merlin muttered, probably not liking that Arthur had spent that much money on him, but the crown prince wasn't taking it.

"As the future king," Arthur said cheekily, "I am allowed nice things."

"I thought these were for me," Merlin teased, and Arthur smirked.

"Well, you're mine, right? I think it counts."

Merlin shook his head: "Just get dressed."

Arthur did as told and ate the breakfast Merlin had brought up for him, while his servant ran off to help with preparations around the castle and hopefully change into the set of clothes Arthur had given him. The time for the coronation was closing in, and Arthur leaned back in his chair to clear his head. Today was the day he became king.

Merlin came back in his new clothes just in time to get Arthur ready for the ceremony. As he dressed Arthur in his ceremonial wear, they didn't really talk. Merlin quickly gave him a run down of how everything would proceed, but was off as quickly as he came when the job was done, leaving Arthur by himself.

In the end, it was Guinevere who told him when everything was ready and together with her, he left his chambers. The air between them was still slightly strained, and conversation between them had been slight, but she no longer looked at him like she wanted to hit him. She had been silently supporting him throughout the funeral, and she squeezed his hand before he entered the throne room where members of the court, noblemen, the royal household and his knights were all present for the coronation.

The ceremony itself was something Arthur felt that he needed to get through. There were hardly any vows he hadn't made already as a knight or a crown prince, but he still spoke and meant every word. The crown placed on his head felt impossibly heavy, but as Arthur turned around to look at his people, it got easier. It got light because he wasn't alone. And he looked at his servant, he stood proudly, with a smile on his face and loyalty in his heart as he chanted with the rest of the crowd: "Long live the king!"

It was only a week later that Leon and Elyan returned, the official story being that they had been on a patrol, and they brought news.

"You are sure it was her?" Arthur questioned the two knights who stood before the new king, and they nodded.

"Yes sire, there is no doubt that it was Morgana," Leon confirmed.

"How power has grown, sire," Elyan warned, "And she wasn't alone."

"Morgause..." Arthur speculated out loud. If Morgana was on the move, they needed to keep a close eye on Agravaine. So far, he hadn't done anything. He had stayed within the castle walls, sometimes advising Arthur on various matters, but Arthur could only pretend to listen to him.

"We'll send out another patrol tomorrow," Arthur informed and then dismissed the council. Tonight was Samhain's Eve. Although there was much to worry about, sometimes feasts and celebrations were a good way to let off steam, and though Arthur's first week as king had been mostly uneventful, the mere presence of Agravaine added a lot of stress to the young king.

Arthur went straight to his chambers and was welcomed by Merlin who had his clothes ready for the feast. His servant was more or less fully recovered by now, the only sign of the last three months was the still bandaged wrist, which only hid the faintest of scars by now.

Merlin smiled brightly at the sight of his king, and helped him out of the ceremonial armor he wore to most council meetings.

"I heard Morgana has been sighted," Merlin said as he removed the chainmail, quite literally making Arthur's entire body feel lighter, "We need to be careful."

"We'll think about her tomorrow," Arthur said and rolled his shoulders, reliving some of the tension, "Tonight is the feast."

"Where you will be having a lot of fun and I will be working," Merlin complained and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Come on," Arthur retaliated, "We both know you steal whatever food you can anyway."

"How dare you?" Merlin said dramatically, "I am a loyal servant of Camelot, and stealing from banquets is as bad as breaking the law."

Arthur laughed at the irony of the statement. To not tip Agravaine off, they had decided to merely leave the ban on magic as it was, making Merlin a criminal by default - and technically Arthur would be considered a traitor by protecting him from the law. They had had very few incidents where the ban on magic had made their life harder, and whenever someone was accused of using magic, Arthur quite cleverly figured out how to make it seem like magic hadn't been involved at all. Sometime the young king would catch Agravaine making an annoyed face, when Arthur didn't listen to him, which Arthur always counted as a victory.

Arthur was quickly dressed in his banquet clothes, Merlin having chosen that same white tunic with the golden pendragon crest embroidered by his heart, which he had made for him all those weeks ago. Arthur let his fingers trail down over the dragon as he looked in the mirror. It was just a piece of clothing, but it felt special to Arthur. It was like a reminder of Merlin's loyalty and companionship. Arthur tore himself away from the mirror and left for the banquet hall, Merlin right at his heels.

The feast began as so many feasts did. There was food and wine aplenty, and laughter rung in the banquet hall. Close to midnight, Arthur held his well prepared speech, sending small messages to those who were no longer with them. His words were met with cheers and respect, all of them, unaware of what happened in the world around them. And as the clock struck midnight, they entered the darkest hour.

This it the end guys, however I am stoked to begin working on the companion story, so if you're really annoyed with how I left things, the story I have planned for the companion story extends beyond this one.

If you are wondering why I left things here, it's because this story was always just meant to be for Arthur to find out who Merlin really is, and for Merlin to understand that Arthur trusts him, magic or not, so there wasn't much to do after the reveal.

I hope you enjoyed the story, and if you want updates on the companion story, you can follow me on tumblr winglesscrows. I'll do a couple of shorter stories before it though, just to give myself a little break from a very plot heavy story, but I am very excited to start writing it though, so the wait won't be incredibly long (hopefully).

Thank you for reading :)