This is a one-shot I've had hanging around on my computer for years and I finally decided to publish it because i have no idea why I haven't yet. Anyway, I wrote this before season 5 came out and so it should fall post-season 4 and pre-season 5, with some imaginary raid by Morgana in between. Continuity... meh, ignore it.

Other than that, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did in making it and then finding it again (thank god for spring cleaning, else this may never have seen the light of day... never thought I would ever say that.)

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own Merlin, the BBC does. If I did, there would be a season 6 and Arthur wouldn't have died. Also, Arthur would be more observant.

In this kingdom there is a rich variety of people… One day you will know, one day you will understand just how much they have done for you…

The words had echoed around Arthur's head when he had left Gaius' chambers all that time ago and they did the same now, staring through the crack in the wall to the throne room. The old man from before, the one who had killed his father stood in front of Morgana, staring her down. Morgana looked terrified and yet also determined as if she had just seen her death and was determined to defy it.

"You… you cannot be here," she stuttered. "Why do you torment me so?"

"I am your destiny and your doom. Isn't that implied?" the old man said in a rather Merlin fashion. Once again Arthur found himself thinking that there was definitely something very familiar about this man.

"Die, Emrys and torment me no more!" Morgana screamed. She raised her arm and shouted words in a language that Arthur couldn't understand. He recognised it as the words of magic. The old man raised his own arm and with a flash of gold, deflected the spell. Morgana looked desperate as she chanted yet another spell. Yet again the old man blocked her spell.

"You cannot win Morgana. Give up now before you meet your end," the old man said. Morgana's eyes widened.

"No!" she shrieked ad threw another deadly spell at the man. The force of the spell made the old man's hair fly backwards revealing a rather familiar brown mark on the back of his neck. Arthur's breath caught in his throat. He knew that stupid annoying mark. He had seen it the first time he had fought Merlin properly, when he hadn't been wearing the ridiculous neckerchief that he insisted in wearing. It was almost hidden now underneath wrinkles and folds in the flesh but it was there all the same. So either this man was related to Merlin somehow or… Arthur shook his head. It couldn't be true. This man had magic! Merlin couldn't do magic. Merlin could barely walk across a flat surface without finding something to trip over. Plus, Merlin wasn't as old as time either.

"I tried to warn you Morgana," the old man said. And for the first time he began to chant. His voice rose and fell in a way that made Arthur feel both alert and sleepy at the same time. He wondered how that was possible. A glowing sphere started to grow in front of the old man and move towards Morgana. Morgana took a step back and began to chant herself. Then there was a blast of wind and a flash of light and Arthur had to close his eyes against the intensity of it all. When he opened them only the old man remained upright. Arthur was about to go when he saw the man glance around the hall and then took a vial out of his pocket. Inside the vial was a purple liquid which did not look very appealing. The old uncorked it and drank the liquid and then choked (probably on the foul taste). As he coughed the years seemed to wear away until a familiar black-haired, blue-eye figure stood in the middle of the room. Arthur stared as the figure glanced around the room one last time and tugged the red robe off. Arthur wondered how he hadn't recognised it before.

One day you will know. One day you will understand just how much they have done for you…

A week after the attack from Morgana and Arthur still had no idea what to do with his manservant. Merlin had shown no signs of turning back into an old man or doing magic. He was as clumsy and useless as before but Arthur was beginning to suspect that this may be an act. He wondered how much of the real Merlin he actually knew.

It seemed strangely odd that only a week ago he would have openly dismissed the idea of Merlin being Dragoon, or Emrys as Morgana had called him, but now, Arthur found himself believing it more and more. How had he not spotted the similarity between Gaius' robes and Dragoon's? How had he not realised that the man wore the exact some clothes that he himself had seen Gaius wear? And why had he not realised when he had stared into Dragoon's eyes that very first time they had met that he was truly Merlin? It was madness and yet it was the truth.

"Arthur!" Merlin shouted. Arthur yelped and shot to his feet to realise that Merlin was standing rather scarily close, looking shocked.

"What?" Arthur snapped stepping quickly away. He didn't want to stand too close to a sorcerer.

"You need to get ready for the feast! You only have an hour and knowing you you'll want a bath and your clothes steamed in the kitchen and your hair done…" Merlin carried on rambling but Arthur felt his temper rise up.

"You don't have to shout in my face to tell me that! Idiot!" Arthur shouted. Merlin blinked.

"You were sitting there with your head in the clouds!"

"I was not! I was thinking!" Arthur argued. Merlin rolled his eyes and Arthur was certain that he heard him mutter "prat" under his breath as he disappeared to make Arthur's bath. Arthur found himself worrying all over again about the practicalities of keeping Merlin as his manservant. He needed a manservant he could trust, not one that went against the law so much that he even used magic.

Arthur found himself on his feet again. That was it! All he had to do was fire Merlin. That way Merlin had no excuse to be in Arthur's chambers and he would also be jobless. Unless he was then made apprentice to Gaius and so he would have an excuse to go wherever he wanted. A physician could go anywhere as proven by that sorcerer who had tried to get Gaius fired. What was his name again? E-something*? It didn't matter anyway.

Arthur scowled, trying to think of a way that wouldn't give Merlin full access to everything. He couldn't just fire Merlin because, essentially, Merlin already ran two jobs. If he didn't fire Merlin then he was going to have to keep a very close eye on the sorcerer. And that meant finding out where Merlin decided to sneak off to in suspicious situations. Yes, he decided. He would do that. And anyway, since when did Merlin ever visit the tavern?

The chance to follow Merlin came soon at hand. Arthur had been doing some paperwork and glanced out of the window at a rather opportune time, just in time to see Merlin sneaking through the shadows of the courtyard. He grinned and pulled on the cloak that he used often to conceal his identity (it was well known to the guards now so they would leave him alone). Slipping out of his chambers he commenced to following Merlin which turned out to be a lot harder than Arthur had first thought.

At first, when he reached the courtyard he wondered where Merlin could have gone. He was consoled by the fact that the manservant couldn't go anywhere without tripping over something, let alone being stealthy. So when nothing came after five precious minutes of waiting Arthur set off through the lower town, hoping to catch sight of the renegade servant. He was lucky and saw him, briefly, outside the blacksmiths before he disappeared into the darkness again. Arthur followed these brief glimpses, all the way to the gate and out into the forest.

Where are you going? Arthur found himself thinking as he followed Merlin through a dense patch of brush. When he reached the other side the man had once again disappeared. Arthur growled quietly to himself, wondering how a man so clumsy during the day could be so stealthy at night and out of presence of his king. Where was this stealth when they were out hunting while his father was still alive?

Arthur grimaced at that thought. The memory of his father was still painful, made ever more so when he realised that Merlin had been the one to kill him.

A large gust of wind broke through Arthur's thoughts, nearly knocking him to the ground. The sound of beating wings reached his ears and his followed them to the edge of a clearing. There, standing in the centre of the clearing, staring up at the sky, was Merlin. He stood stock still as if waiting for someone. Or rather something, since the giant dragon that should be dead was not a person. Merlin didn't seem to be frightened of it though and when it landed it did the most surprising thing Arthur could ever have thought possible. It bowed its head to Merlin.

"What have you called me for this time young warlock?" the dragon asked as if it were a common occurrence for Merlin to call dragons out of the sky. But how did he do it? Arthur thought. He certainly hadn't heard Merlin shouting although he had vaguely heard a deep guttural sound that sounded like an animal roar a few moments earlier.

"I'm worried about Arthur," was Merlin's reply. Arthur blinked. Merlin had called a dragon for advice on how Arthur was acting? "He's avoiding me and thinking all the time. I'm worried something happened to him in Morgana's last attempt to take the citadel." Well, you could say something had happened to Arthur. He had found out his best friend was a sorcerer.

The dragon seemed to ponder this for a while before giving a sigh. "There is nothing I can do to help young warlock. I know it must pain you for his distance but there is nothing more that either of us can do," it said, a tinge of regret in its voice. Merlin sighed and dropped onto a tree stump that just happened to be conveniently there.

"I thought you would say that," Merlin said gloomily staring at the ground. Arthur realised that Merlin wasn't faking being worried about him. So he had noticed Arthur's sudden distance of him? That seemed odd for a sorcerer without the fact that said sorcerer was actually concerned about his wellbeing. The dragon seemed to want to leave and yet at the same time didn't.

"It will be better young warlock," the dragon said quietly, "One day soon, Arthur will reunite the land of Albion and everything you have sacrificed will seem worth it." And with those depressing words the dragon flapped its wings and flew away, leaving Arthur to wonder exactly what the dragon had meant.

If Merlin had been affected by his meeting with a dragon, then he didn't show it. He was his usual annoying, idiotic self, always falling over and being late and dropping Arthur's armour straight after he had washed it. How could someone so hopeless have magic? Arthur had pondered the question ever since he had found out and he still hadn't come to either an answer or a conclusion as to how he was going to deal with this new found knowledge. The meeting with the dragon hadn't helped either, only causing more questions to be raised.

One day you will understand how much they have done for you… Was that what the dragon had meant? That it was Merlin that had done so much for him? Did Gaius know as well? Well obviously Arthur thought to himself he lives with the walking disaster. How could he not know? But what about all the other people who knew Merlin?

Arthur quickly ruled the out the knights. They were hopeless and one of them (Leon probably) would have told him that Merlin had magic. Gwen couldn't know but it was a possibility since both she and Merlin were good friends. His mother should know. She had raised the idiot, the poor woman. But what about Lancelot? He had been very protective of Merlin while he had been alive although when he had come back the pair had seemed… distant. Merlin and Lancelot had been close friends, Lancelot even volunteering to take Merlin back to Camelot when he had been struck down by the Dorocha. It had seemed strange to find them wary of each other. Not that Lancelot could tell anyone now since he had died. Twice.

So that just left Hunith, Gaius and possibly Gwen. But wouldn't she tell Arthur that Merlin had magic since her own father had been struck down by its evil clutches? No, Gwen couldn't know. So just Hunith and Gaius. Neither would give up their secrets easily and if Merlin had kept this from him so long, then so could he, which was odd because Merlin was usually one of the most un-secretive people Arthur knew. He blabbered all of Arthur's secrets.

Then Arthur was hit by a realization. The way Merlin had moved the night before, how Merlin was completely useless with a sword, how he blathered all of Arthur's secrets out… He was covering up after himself. All of the outrageous stories and trips to the tavern finally made sense because none of it happened. Merlin had just been hiding whatever magical tricks he was up to behind the ruse of going to the tavern or coming out with some ridiculous story that made Arthur the hero and kept him out of the spotlight. And then there was the matter of falling tree branches and the servant's amazing good luck.

Arthur tried to think of all the times that they should have been overpowered and hadn't. That time when the skeletons had attacked inside of Camelot while Cenred's army attacked. But Morgana had stopped that… but she had come out to be a traitor in the end so it couldn't possibly have been her. And then when facing the immortal army… Merlin had knocked the Cup of Life over with no other help than Lancelot and Gaius… so Lancelot must have known if not before then, then after it. And when Morgana had taken over the second time and Morgana had been about to overpower Gwen and hadn't been able to use her magic… but the over-taking part was all down to Arthur. And what about the dragon? Clearly it was still alive and hadn't been killed when Merlin had said it had been. None of this made any sense. Magic was evil and yet everything that Arthur could think of put Merlin in a good light. Made him look almost… heroic. But he had also killed his father…

Arthur growled trying to figure out what Merlin was all about. He had been in Camelot for years now and never so much as tried to hurt anyone. But he must have learnt magic here because there was no way that he could have had it before he came. Unless his friend Will had taught him magic? Then again Merlin had probably been the one to do the actual magic and Will was just covering for him. That thought hit Arthur hard. He found himself suddenly contemplating an area he had never thought of before.

Will had given his life for Arthur but he had only come to the battle for Merlin. And in the end it had been Merlin that he had died protecting after all. Did Arthur have anyone who would be so willing to die for him? Before the answer would always have been Merlin, but now… he wasn't so sure. How could a man who had lied to him for the entire time that they had known each other want to put his life on the line for Arthur? It wasn't plausible which left Arthur clutching at straws, desperately trying to think of another who was as close to him as Merlin. The fact was that no one else treated him as a person like Merlin did and so no one else could be as close. Gwen came very close to Merlin but Merlin's devoted loyalty to Arthur was ridiculous to the point of madness. Things just didn't seem to be adding up at all.

I have to do something Arthur decided. I have to know why he's been hiding all these years and I'm not going to find that out by sitting on my laurels doing nothing. And with those thoughts Arthur began to plan how he was going to reveal what he knew to Merlin. There were so many ways in which he could do it. He could drop anonymous hints, but he discarded this idea since Merlin was barely able to grasp these hints when Arthur had tried to drop them before. He then thought about demanding to know outright, but this idea was disregarded even quicker than the one before. Demanding to know the truth would probably freak Merlin out and Arthur did not want a rampaging sorcerer trying to get away from him because he didn't know what Arthur was trying to say. So Arthur spent the next week coming up with ideas and disregarding them, soon coming to the realisation that coming out with the truth was harder than he had anticipated. Merlin may be a dangerous sorcerer but he was still Arthur's friend, now that the anger and betrayal had finally dissipated, and he didn't want Merlin to think that he was attempting to kill him. Eventually Arthur decided to just simply ask.

It had been nearly three weeks since Arthur had followed Merlin to the dragon. Most of that time had been spent by Arthur either watching Merlin warily or trying to work out how to confront him about magic. Now that Arthur had made a choice he decided that since he respected Merlin as a friend, he wanted him to know that before he revealed anything. That way, Merlin wouldn't try anything particularly explosive. He hoped.

Merlin brought him his dinner as he always did as Arthur sifted through the last of day's extremely boring paperwork. As the platter of food was set under Arthur's nose, he looked up and set his quill down. "Wait a minute Merlin." Merlin paused in the doorway and looked uncertainly back at Arthur, a faint look of panic crossing his face. Arthur couldn't begin to imagine the thoughts that were running through Merlin's mind but he had a feeling that he knew that something important was happening.

"What is it, Sire?" Merlin asked apprehensively. Arthur wondered if Merlin thought he was going to ask him to muck out the stables or something equally disgusting.

"Sit." Another look crossed Merlin's face, this time of confusion and a hint of even more panic. "I want to talk to you."

"I swear it wasn't me who dented your helmet!" Merlin cried. Arthur blinked and turned to where his helmet was sitting on the chest where his private armour was stored to see that there was indeed a rather large dent in it. Arthur wondered how he had missed it but then shook his head and turned back towards Merlin.

"As much as I would love to kill whoever did that to my helmet… that's not what I wanted to talk about. Now sit down before I have the guards tie you to the chair." Merlin stared at Arthur and sat rather hesitantly on the other side of the desk. He looked even more nervous than before. Arthur felt guilty that he was the source of that uncertainty and he hoped that after today Merlin wouldn't feel that way.

"What I wanted to talk about was your duties to Camelot." Merlin blinked and Arthur held back a laugh at the startled expression on Merlin's face. "You're a loyal servant, brave when you feel like it and, occasionally, a good place to go to for advice." Merlin was looking even more confused by the second. Arthur didn't want to feel as if he was going too soft but it was hard to ignore years of teaching by his father that friends were a waste of time and that anyone who was lower than your station wasn't worth as much as your own life. His childhood had been lonely and it had taken Arthur so many years to come to the realisation that he felt that Merlin was really a friend, no, a brother. But realising something and saying it out loud were two different things entirely.

"Are you trying to say that I'm not completely useless after all?" Merlin asked hesitantly. Arthur wanted to laugh with relief, to tell him that yes, he was valued more than he knew; that he was a true friend, but that voice at the back of his head that belonged to his father shouted at him not to trust this man as he had lied and betrayed the kingdom. That he was a sorcerer and was not to be trusted. This would be a lot harder than Arthur had anticipated.

"Look, I'm not trying to say that… I mean you're still completely replaceable…" Arthur trailed off cursing the knee-jerk reaction to lie about the way he felt but he noticed a smile beginning to form at the corners of Merlin's mouth.

"So what exactly is it that you're trying to say?" There was amusement in Merlin's voice and Arthur wanted to slap the stupid expression right off of Merlin's face but resisted the urge. Merlin was a friend and he wasn't going to throw that away, not after the past few weeks of trying to figure out what Merlin was about.

"What I'm trying to say is… that you're a trusted friend and that you shouldn't have to hide anything from me." A kind of relief went through Arthur's body as the words left his mouth. He had held it in for so long, had the need to tell Merlin for so long, that the moment it left his mouth it was like a weight had left his shoulders. He had had almost the same feeling when he had admitted how he felt to Gwen and when he had knighted Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival and Elyan. But it was almost ten times more intense with Merlin, as if the universe had been waiting with baited breath for this moment.

Arthur could have laughed at Merlin's expression. His eyebrows were practically buried within his raven hair and his mouth was hanging open. "You're joking?" There was disbelief there, as if Merlin couldn't quite believe it. Arthur was surpised. Every time he had admitted it in the past had been in jest but surely Merlin could tell that this time he wasn't joking.

"I'm deadly serious."

"Since when?"

"Merlin," Arthur said warningly. This was not the time for jokes, not when he was trying to tell his brother that he knew. The amused look on Merlin's face was replaced with one of confusion but a little spark of hope was flickering in Merlin's bright blue eyes.

"Ok, well, thanks… I'm honoured to know that I mean so much to you," Merlin said, rising from his seat. "But unfortunately I still have a long list of duties to perform that does not come under the 'friend' title." He sent Arthur a cheeky grin and started to leave the room. Arthur let a smirk of his own slip onto his face and called out to Merlin just as he left the room.

"Let your dragon friend know that I don't blame him for attacking Camelot!" Arthur caught a glimpse of Merlin jumping and then managing to trip over one of the supply chests outside his room. Well, at least that answered one question. Merlin really was naturally clumsy. He couldn't help it and found himself laughing at the expression on Merlin's face as he appeared on the other side. It was priceless.

* I know his name is Edwin, I just didn't remember it when writing this fic. Then I thought it would be unlikely that Arthur would remember one of the hundreds of people trying to kill him throughout the show and since it would have been like sevenish years since then, I doubt he would have remembered his name just the face. At least, I would have if it was me.

I hope you all enjoyed this little one shot. Please tell me what you thought in a nice review but I warn you now, any flames will be used to burn my revision notes from last year.