I think this is the last of my Advent Calendar one-shots that I'll be sharing with you. Any others will probably be made into multi-parters. This is set in the future, sometime after 3.13.

Faith, Pride and Loyalty.

"Arthur, are you sure this is a good time to leave Camelot? What with your father … not at his best ..." Merlin trailed off as Arthur glared at him for the comment about Uther's current mental state.

"That's why I've left everyone else there. This needs to be tackled now Merlin, I can't have Morgana using a castle within my territory as her base, no matter how dilapidated it might be. Anyway, I have total faith in my Round Table."

"Even without the two of us there?" Merlin laughed at Arthur's expression and soon the prince relaxed and smiled at the comment.

"I trust Leon's military experience and Gaius' wisdom," he replied. "Guinevere and the other key knights need to start learning to make important decisions too. The main threat at the moment is the one we're off to deal with."

"Has Uther said anything more about the Table and the decisions you've made?"

"He complains about it every day, as do a few of the older nobles but, since most of them have accepted me as Regent, there's nothing much to be done; as long as I don't appear to be doing anything to harm Camelot. Why, you've not heard any complaints have you?"

"No, quite the opposite. Most of the court are pleased with how you're running the place and are prepared to overlook your promotion of commoners as a result. The servants in the palace and the people outside are, of course, delighted and are already getting excited about celebrating a royal wedding."

"What? But … we haven't even ..." Arthur looked exceptionally embarrassed.

"When are you going to ask her Arthur?"

"I can't yet, not while … Guinevere understands."

"Perhaps but, at least propose to her, even if you don't go public ..." he stopped suddenly and dropped his voice to a whisper. "... Arthur?"

"Yes, I know." They had both heard the unmistakable sound of twigs snapping. A blackbird cried out an alarm and the pair suddenly turned back to back; Arthur's sword already out of it's scabbard, Merlin now fumbling with his.

Four soldiers emerged, swords drawn, cloaks showing them to be part of Morgana's Blood Guard. Their leader approached both men confidently and gave an arrogant sneer.

"Just two of you? She said you'd be along soon, but we thought you'd bring more than this. This is going to be such a boring fight."

"You're probably right," said Merlin confidently. "You don't need me for this, do you Arthur?" He turned around the prince's back slightly so that Arthur was the one facing the threat. "Not for just four?" The prince grinned back.

"I shouldn't think so; just try and stay out of trouble, will you?"

"Me?" Merlin replied innocently and Arthur grinned again as he threw himself into the fight.

"Surely you don't think I'm going to let you just stand there and watch?" asked the leader coming towards Merlin aggressively.

"You should. It really is worth watching him in action, you know?" he replied with a grin. All the same, he parried the attack, confident enough that he could use a little subtle magic to defeat this man if needed, whilst Arthur was comfortably finishing off the other three."

"Your overconfidence in your friend will be your undoing," the man snarled as Merlin pushed him back towards Arthur."

"No, your lack of faith in his abilities will be yours," said Merlin and, just as he'd finished speaking, Arthur finished off his third opponent, quickly spun around and run his sword through the leader's back, almost without looking. "Nice," Merlin said appreciatively as the point of the blade suddenly appeared through the man's chest.

"You really should take this more seriously," said Arthur, although he was obviously trying to hide a smile. "It's not as if your sword skills are that good, after all." They walked the final distance towards the ruined castle.

"I'm a quick study though," said Merlin, continuing their banter.

"Study is irrelevant, you just don't have the muscles."

"And still you insult me … despite everything."

"Why should your promotion change that?"

"That wasn't what … oh dear." The area in front of them was suddenly full of soldiers with Morgana standing just behind them, dressed in green velvet and looking just as beautiful as ever. Merlin was annoyed to find his breath catching in his throat despite himself.

"How about fifty … brother?" Do you think you could fight them all by yourself? Arthur glared at Morgana and Merlin could see the prince's jaw tense and his eyes narrow. "How about you just toddle on home with your faithful little puppy dog and let this Pendragon keep this place safe for you?" This time it was Merlin's turn to glare at her.

"You are no Pendragon Morgana," Arthur retorted. "Even if your blood claim were legitimate, you do not have enough honour to wield such a name."

"You talk of honour Arthur but you should look a little closer to home. Do not be fooled by your puny servant or your simpering serving mistress, both know how to lie and betray."

"You know nothing Morgana. I am in charge of Camelot now and there have been a number of changes since you left. Both Merlin and Guinevere have been promoted and have shown their loyalty to me more times than I can remember."

"If that is what you choose to believe. So quiet Merlin? How honest have you been? How well does the prince really know you?"

"Stop digging Morgana, you'll only end up in the hole yourself. Yes, Arthur and Gwen know about the poison now and they know why I did it. Don't believe you have anything more on me that will made any difference."

"Are you quite sure about that Merlin?" They exchanged intense glares.

"Look are we going to stand here all day trading insults or are you going to give me my castle back?" Arthur asked lightly. Morgana stared at him in disbelief.

"You really believe you stand a chance against all of these soldiers?"

"No. I stand absolutely no chance at all."

"Sorry?" She hadn't been expecting that answer.

Arthur leant against a tree and turned towards Merlin with a small smile.

"Go on then. What are you waiting for? I can't wait to see her face."

Merlin laughed delightedly, spoke several words and raised his hand. There was an amber glow in his eyes, a flash of power and suddenly every one of Morgana's men lay flat on the ground. He turned back to see Arthur still leaning against the tree, arms folded and a look of amusement aimed towards Morgana. Then the prince looked back briefly at Merlin and, if he hadn't known better the young warlock would have been sure he'd seen pride in the prince's eyes. Merlin took a few steps towards Morgana and was pleased to see her back away.

"You can't be a sorcerer." He had never heard her sound so shocked.

"Do you know, that's exactly what I said," said Arthur lightly.

"I suggest you go Morgana," said Merlin. "I could do tricks like that years before you even knew you had magic. My power is far greater than yours. Would you care to put it to the test?"

"You knew about this?" she asked Arthur shocked. "but I thought ..."

"As I said, I've promoted Merlin and we now have no secrets from each other. Now, leave my castle and don't ever call yourself a Pendragon again. I'll remember you to the Lady Guinevere when I next see her."

"No!" Morgana threw her hand up and her eyes glowed with magic. What spell she had cast, Arthur didn't know but Merlin was there again with another spell that blocked it and almost knocked her off her feet in the process. This last demonstration apparently convinced Morgana because she barked an order at her guards and they all hurried away. The pair sat down and waited for them all to pack up so that Merlin could set up a few magical defences around the ruins.

"We need to bring a few guards of our own here," said the young warlock conversationally as they were waiting.

"Yes, and recruit more knights and common soldiers to help guard our borders more effectively; I'll put it to the Round Table when we get back," Arthur replied. There was a short pause whilst Merlin threw a few more twigs on the fire and lit it with magic. "That was quite fun - nice to have you do some of the work for a change."

"A change? Arthur, you do realise how many times I saved you during our previous fights?" The prince grinned and Merlin quickly realised he was being teased. "Still, it is nice to be able to do things out in the open now; I was beginning to get a bit rusty."

"Well, not quite in the open - not at home anyway, there's still more work that needs to be done there."

"True. Do you think that Morgana knowing will cause us any problems?"

"Almost certainly but, as I said before, I have faith in all members of the members of my Round Table ..."

"All members?" Merlin asked with a small smile.

"Yes Merlin, even you."