Arthur had been taking the news that Merlin had magic, fairly well. They didn't speak of it. He focused on his daily life. Merlin had gotten busy all of a sudden, too. Arthur would have thought that his servant was avoiding him, had he not been there to witness Gaius sending Merlin off to some magical endeavor. Arthur didn't know how to feel about everything, yet. He certainly didn't understand magic. Though, after Merlin had left, Arthur had returned to Gaius and inquired about learning some things. Of course, Gaius had tried to dissuade him. But Arthur was stubborn and he had ended up walking out with Merlin's very own book of magic, which was now stashed in his clothing wardrobe. Gaius hadn't given it to him, willingly, but when he had let it slip that Merlin had the only book on magic that he knew of, Arthur did not let up until he had searched Merlin's room and discovered it, at last.

Arthur had tried studying it, looking forward to hearing Merlin's praise. But after a whole day had passed, and Merlin had still not returned to Camelot, not only was Arthur worried, but he missed his servant terribly, so it was hard to focus. Besides, how was he supposed to care for himself? Merlin did so much for him on a daily basis.

Arthur threw himself into his responsibilities as best he could. But everything was overly calm in Camelot as of late. Not many distractions to be had. On the second day without Merlin, which the Prince would have said had been at least a week, Arthur Pendragon decided to go on a little trip. It had been so long since he had taken time away from the castle. He took far longer preparing than he would have if Merlin had been there, but somehow he managed. Then off he rode on his favorite horse. It was the most uneventful and boring few hours that the Prince could recall having since the days of his boyhood etiquette lessons. He returned home much earlier than he had planned.

As he was stabling his horse, he saw two familiar faces. They were two males that he used to spend time with, in the days before Merlin had come into his life. Merlin had taught Arthur so much, about friendship and loyalty. In Merlin, for the first time in the young Prince's life, someone had genuinely cared about him. Merlin had attended to his every need, pampered him, spoiled him in a way that no other servant ever had, because he had spoiled him with love. It had seemed so genuine. Half the time Merlin had a mouth on him that should have rightfully landed him in the stocks on a daily basis for speaking that way to royalty. But Arthur secretly loved it. He loved the way they bantered and treated each other as equals, all the while, Merlin being his loyal servant.

Now, Arthur knew it was because of their intertwined destiny. Who knew how long Merlin had kept that secret agenda to himself before finally sharing it with Arthur? The Prince would wager it had been for a while, though most likely not at the start. Arthur was sure that Merlin hadn't known who he was upon first meeting. The Prince thought back on those first couple of meetings with fondness. He wanted to hold onto that image of Merlin. His fearless, clueless, endearing friend.

"Oi, how have you lads been?" he called out to his former mates.

They seemed pleased to see him, which made him instantly perk up. Deep down he knew they worshipped him for the wrong reasons. If he weren't the Prince of Camelot, they might not give him the time of day. But he didn't care. This was something, false as it might be, and right now that seemed awfully inviting. And it wasn't as if he were replacing Merlin as his friend. He was simply... taking advantage of a distraction until things got back on track between him and Merlin. Things [had] to get right between them, he silently pleaded to any gods of both old and new religions, who might be listening. If Merlin had magic, then it couldn't be all bad, so Arthur would pray to as many deities as he could get.

"How would you boys like to go on a little outing with me?" He was sure things would be much more fun this time with comrades.

Merlin couldn't believe the rotten timing. Gaius had told him of a mythical creature, that only a magical weapon could defeat. Merlin was supposed to go and enchant a sword for use in King Cenred's army. It would be dangerous, but with his abilities, he wasn't worried. It was nice to get out of the castle. He was enjoying himself, but the back of his mind nagged that he had left Arthur at the worst possible time.

Ah, well, it couldn't be helped, he thought, as he finally arrived in Essetir. It felt good to be back in his homelands. He had grown up here and it would always be a part of him. He was happy to help in this way that would ultimately protect his mother. It would have been nice for Arthur to accompany him, but he knew that King Uther would have never allowed it. Arthur had already put himself at risk while helping defend Merlin's hometown of Ealdor, recently. Merlin would not repeat the same, especially when this time his task was simple. Enchant a sword. What could go wrong?

Merlin normally would have returned to Camelot in record time, so that Arthur would not suspect him of being gone in the first place. But since Arthur knew everything now, and had given him leave, Merlin wanted to stick around to actually see to it that the creature was vanquished. He could offer magical assistance if need be. Though he would have to hide it as he always had, only for different reasons than in Camelot. If King Cenred caught wind of Merlin's gifts, he would surely enslave him and force him to fight for the Essetirian army.

With the Prince and the Warlock away from Camelot, the Great Dragon decided to enact his back-up plan. He called out softly to the Lady Morgana's mind as she slept. He could sense when she finally awoke, and then he continued to call to her until she would finally come to him, as Merlin had first done. Then she would hear of her great destiny, all for the small price of his freedom. He would have rather used Merlin to do his bidding because the foolish boy had seemed so less problematic, but the witch would just have to make do.