IDOM - I absolutely have to, have to, have to thank Musalmanath Morgana for showing up and reading over this and doing stuff that basically makes her my beta as well as a brilliant friend. Thanks soooooo much MM!

~ One week later ~

Arthur gazed outside his chamber's windows, leaning on the wall as he watched the hustles of the people as they went about their daily lives in the lower town. Despite having retaken their kingdom, compared to previous times there wasn't much damage to repair surprisingly, as if Vivienne had actually a sense to keep the castle in it's best shape. What little there was that needed to be fixed wasn't damaged either, just severely aired out and cleaned under Arthur's orders; his father's chambers. After he had heard that that was where Vivienne was residing, he was intent on making sure that any and all traces of her was to be gotten rid of.

The only other room that actually needed to be cleaned however, was the occasional alcove for dead sorcerers, and the throne room.

With the dust that still shimmered littering the ground along with the vines having been cleared of, Arthur had stood quietly in a corner, wearily leaning against a pillar when the servants - with disdain written clear all over their faces - had been dragging Mordred and the other nameless sorcerer away, rethinking about all the events that had taken place in the throne room. Past his torture session, Arthur had refused to be bedridden once he was able to stand upright and walk himself to Gaius' chambers, especially after the physician himself agreed that there wasn't any lasting damage to Arthur's internals, however reluctantly.

He still found himself more often that not tired however, and unable to stand for too long without support, though this was gradually a lessening occurrence, but it was still why he was leaning on the pillar then, and that was how Percival had found him.

"Sire," he said, his voice low. Arthur nodded to acknowledge him, though he still didn't take his eyes off the two servants who were dragging Mordred over to a stretcher. The corpses would later be burnt in the courtyard, the most efficient way to be rid of them as well as any lingering traces of their magic. Uther's method, and yet something Arthur hadn't bothered to change, unable to see any flaws in that reasoning, especially in this situation.

"There is something I must say sire," Percival said, his hands folded behind his back as he looked at Arthur, and the seriousness of his tone made Arthur finally turn to meet the knight's gaze.

"Go on," Arthur said, and Percival nodded.

"Before the sorcerer - Mordred - died, he had said something that I thought you should know," Arthur nodded, prompting Percival to keep talking.

"He said that he had cast a curse on Merlin, sire," Percival paused, but before Arthur could say anything, he went on. "However, unlike Morgana and Morgause's enchantment, his would fade off with his death."

Arthur frowned at the words.

"That is all, sire," Percival bent his head in a bow, clearly waiting to be dismissed so Arthur nodded distractedly, allowing the knight to walk away though Arthur was already swallowed in his thoughts.

Mordred had cursed Merlin.

For a brief moment, Arthur could almost hope that perhaps it was because of the curse that Merlin had access to magic, and that now Mordred was dead, Merlin would no longer be able to use it either. But the more he thought about it, the more ineffective that thought seemed to be. For even if Mordred had cursed Merlin to have access to magic, how would Gwen know both about the magic caused by the curse, even if she knew about the curse in the first place?

And more importantly, how would Merlin have been so… practiced with the magic as well, using spells and the such effortlessly?

No, it was clear Merlin must have had magic even before this… which must have meant Mordred cursed him for something else entirely.

That thought had Arthur straightening immediately, and for a moment he was almost tempted to go up to Merlin at that moment and demanded to know about what he had went through.

Almost.

As it was, he stood there for a moment longer before turning and stalking away from the throne room, unable to watch the procedure any further.

He was still going to have Mordred burnt anyway, nonetheless.

And he had, the people watching as the four sorcerers they had killed as well as Mordred's bodies were burnt to crisp, the smoke rising high up in the air from the pyre. When the fire had finally settled down, the wooden pyre fully consumed, had dispersed just as quietly as they had come, the thoughts of the sorcerers pushed away from their minds as they continued on with their lives.

That had been days ago. And Arthur still hadn't visited Merlin.

"Arthur?" Gwen's voice was soft as she slipped into their rooms, coming to stand behind Arthur and placing a comforting arm on his shoulder, making him subconsciously lean into her touch.

"You knew," he said after a moment of silence. "About Merlin's magic."

Her grip on his shoulder tightened, but he said nothing else, waiting for her to speak first.

And she did.

"I knew ever since he saved my life with it the day we were both stuck on the cliff," she finally said, and Arthur stilled, his mind going all the way back to when he had been standing outside the cave, remembering when he had seen Gwen run on a path of fire and into his arms, without any signs of burning herself.

"You knew and said nothing?" Arthur whispered, disbelief lacing his tone, still not looking at Gwen. She hadn't removed her hand from his shoulder either, he noted.

"He saved my life," Gwen repeated simply.

Arthur suddenly felt angry.

"And what? You thought I'd kill him without a second's thought if you had told me?" he said, turning around to face her, and she finally removed her hand to let it settle by her side.

"I don't know what you would have done, Arthur," she admitted quietly, looking up at him. "But I knew you wouldn't have killed your own friend," she finished, and just as quickly as it came, Arthur felt all the anger dissipate, leaving him feeling drained.

"You still could have told me," Arthur said weakly, and Gwen stepped forward, standing on tiptoes to bring him into a hug.

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Gwen said softly in his ear, and he drew his arms around her, breathing deeply, the smell of lavenders invading his nostrils.

"Did you know," he said after a moment. "About the curse?"

Gwen drew back, her eyebrows pinched in confusion even as she asked in worry. "What curse?"

Arthur sighed. "The sorcerer that took us; Mordred. Before he died, he said he had placed a curse on Merlin, though it would break with his death," Arthur watched on as Gwen held a hand to her mouth in shock, though she was suddenly looking thoughtful as well.

"You mean the sorcerer they had taken out from the throne room?" she asked, and Arthur nodded.

"Oh," she said softly, and Arthur raised an inquiring eyebrow, prompting her to explain.

"That sorcerer, I remember seeing him when we were attacked in the mountains. He had suddenly appeared behind you all, in front of Gaius, Merlin, and I, before saying some sort of spell. And then Merlin had fallen down… He wasn't looking very well after that either," she said thoughtfully, her eyes looking somewhere behind Arthur as she recalled the events. That was enough to let Arthur know that prior to this, Gwen had no idea of the curse herself.

"But he said that it would break," Arthur said, as if to reassure her, and she looked back at him, giving him a small smile.

"That would explain why Merlin has been looking a bit better…"

Arthur felt his breath catching in his throat.

"He's awake?" he said, unaware that his voice had dropped down to almost a whisper.

Gwen shook her head, the smile disappearing. "He still hasn't woken at all," she paused, as if wondering whether or not she should say whatever she was wanting to say next, but she eventually continued. "Gaius says the magic he had used was very powerful, and that it had only served to drain him further. Which is possibly why he hadn't woken yet, because he needs to recover from draining all that energy."

Arthur nodded, not saying anything as he slowly turned back to look out the window. He heard Gwen sigh behind him, before coming closer and resting her head on his arm, looking outside as well.

Two more days had passed since his conversation with Gwen when Arthur finally gained the courage to walk to Gaius's chambers. He had made it all the way to the door, about to knock when he paused, suddenly rethinking his actions and seriously debating turning back, when the decision was made for him in the form of the door opening.

Gaius looked up, blinking as he took in the King with his hand still raised to knock. Clearing his throat nervously, Arthur opened his mouth to speak, internally cursing himself for not thinking earlier of what to say.

"I-um. I came to see Merlin," Arthur finally said, and Gaius' eyebrow raised, even as he nodded in understanding.

"Of course sire. He's inside, I was just about to go and send for a servant to gather some herbs," Gaius said, stepping back to allow Arthur in. Arthur nodded, hesitantly following Gaius inside and staring at the door at the back of the chambers, leading to where Merlin still lay sleeping. Gaius didn't miss the action and quickly stepped back towards the doorway again.

"I'll actually be leaving now to get the herbs myself, as I trust you can look after Merlin?" he phrased it as a question, but the raised eyebrow made it hard for Arthur to even think of disagreeing.

"I-of course!" he exclaimed, and with his eyebrow raising ever more, Gaius quickly grabbed a satchel from a table and made his way out, letting the door close behind him.

Leaving him alone in the main chambers.

With nothing else to do - though Arthur did propose with the idea of stalling around and just looking around the physician's chambers, the idea was quickly quelled with one look at a murky looking potion set in the middle of a table, not wanting to find anything else akin or worse than that - Arthur reluctantly made his way up the stairs leading to Merlin's chambers, quietly opening the door and slipping inside.

Once inside, he took a deep breath before turning around to look at Merlin. And when he saw him, he paused.

He really hadn't known what to expect. Before he spoke with Gwen, he was imagining Merlin lying, all pale and sickly, looking as if on death's doorstep. After his conversation with Gwen however, gone was the imaginations of dark circles under the man's eyes, and maybe having regained some of his color, but nothing could have prepared Arthur for the sight of his manservant looking… normal. As if he was never stabbed, poisoned, or cursed, but looking for all the world as if he was merely sleeping the day away.

Arthur almost scoffed at that. Once upon a time, that would have been typical for Merlin, to oversleep and appear late to wake up his King.

With a sigh, and a longing look outside Merlin's small window, wishing he was anywhere but here, having to finally come face to face with the fact that his manservant had been lying to him for years about basically his entire life… Arthur would have rather braved the council's tediously mundane reports about the taxes for that entire year.

Instead, pulling out the only chair in the room from its place at the desk and setting it near Merlin's cot, he gingerly sat down, allowing himself a closer look at Merlin.

Merlin did look more than fine, but it seemed to Arthur only physically. Now that he was actually looking, he could notice Merlin's eyes rapidly moving underneath his eyelids, the occasional slight frown that marred his features before smoothing out, and the hitching of his breath that occurred every now and then before evening out again.

Arthur sighed again, looking around the room uneasily before looking back at Merlin.

"You're an idiot."

There. He finally spoke. Though admittedly, Arthur could actually think of many other, better ways to start a conversation. As it was, he already said it, and besides. Merlin was asleep, better yet unconscious, so there was no need to judge him for a conversation that basically isn't even happening if there wasn't anyone to listen to him, so he was going to say as he pleased and Merlin would just have to deal with it!

Arthur frowned, wondering briefly if he should be concerned by the way his own mind seemed to have developed dual personalities before deciding that he should just keep talking, and distract his mind from its rebellious ways.

"You know, you're an absolute idiot for having magic in the first place," Arthur said, just deciding to let himself speak and go along with it. Like his mind had helpfully mentioned; Merlin was unconscious and this conversation wasn't happening. Period.

"And then what, you choose to practice magic in Camelot? If you found out you had magic after coming here, you should have just went back to Ealdor! Or if this was prior, you could have just stayed there. What in all of Albion possessed you to come here?" Arthur exclaimed, leaning back in the chair before frowning.

"No," he paused. "I'm only saying this because you can't hear me, but… whatever made you decide to stay here, I'm glad you did," he said softly, before growing annoyed again.

"But you couldn't have done the honors and tell me about it, could you? You've practically lived with me, for more than five years almost, finding out just about each and every one of my secret, but you couldn't let me in on basically your life?" Arthur was gesturing wildly by the end of his rant, raking his hair in frustration.

"Seriously Merlin, why didn't you tell me? Granted, I don't think I would have believed you, after all I still am finding it hard to believe, but if you could have showed me something - even one of dancing little flowers, and really Merlin, how much of a girl are you as well? Vines? Really?" Arthur groaned, dropping his head on his hands.

"I must be going crazy," he mumbled. "I can't even hold a decent conversation by myself, though I blame you for that. You've rotten my abilities I tell you," he took a deep breath.

"But truly, Merlin, you've made me a better man. I wish you would have told me, I really do, but… I'm not sure what I would have done myself had you told me about your magic. Now… at least now you can rest assured that I'm not going to call out for the executioner," he lifted his head at that, sickened at the thought. "No, I would never do that. Merlin, I don't care how many times I'll have to drive this into your thick skull later, and if you really can hear this now I'll probably regret it later, but I want you to know, that for as long as I live, I will not. Tolerate. Any harm to befall you," he stared intently at Merlin's sleeping form, almost wishing for a reply, but also wanting Merlin to be asleep for just a bit longer. He needed to get this all out, and he doubted he'd ever be able to speak this much with Merlin awake.

"Magic or not, Merlin," He whispered, leaning closer to Merlin. "I don't care that you have magic, and yes, I wished I could have known - at least from yourself and not having to find out how I did, but… this isn't going to change anything between us," he let a small smile as he reached out to take Merlin's hand. "When you're awake, trust me when I say I fully expect you to return to your duties. My chambers haven't been cleaned ever since we left, and it is in a severe need of cleaning," Arthur paused, looking down at Merlin's hand between his own.

He said this much, he might as well go all the way.

"My friend you may be, but that doesn't mean you can get out of scrubbing my boots," he let out a dry smile, but froze when he heard a small grumble.

He looked up, not daring to believe it as he searched Merlin's face for any change, unconsciously holding his breath as he willed Merlin to react, open his eyes, to say something, to do anything.

"Merlin?" Arthur whispered, completely still so as to be able to hear even the tiniest of sounds.

"Pr't," Merlin muttered, his tongue licking at his dry lips as his eyelids fluttered, before slowly opening them to a tiny crack.

Arthur let out his breath, leaning back and chuckling in disbelief.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed, letting go of Merlin's hand.

"That's my name," Merlin said, groaning as he pushed himself up on his elbows, and then let out a gasp as Arthur suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Merlin in a hug.

"Don't you ever do that again, you idiot," Arthur said, finding it easier to confess when he couldn't see Merlin looking at him. "You scared me," he whispered.

There was a pause.

"So… friend?" Merlin said, and Arthur pulled back, staring at Merlin in disbelief while the man looked back at Arthur with mischief dancing in his eyes.

"You heard me!" Arthur gaped, and Merlin nodded with a grin.

"Then, you'd have also have heard me expecting you to return to our duties," Arthur said, and Merlin groaned, falling back on his pillow.

"One would expect you to be more merciful, what with me recovering from several wounds," Merlin started, but Arthur cut him off before he could continue.

"You've had more than a week's rest, and Gaius himself has said that physically, you're all healed," Arthur crossed his arms, letting his features soften after a moment.

"But Merlin," he stopped, unable to continue. Merlin, bless him, understood what Arthur struggled to say though, and smiled gently, nodding in acceptance.

Clearing his throat, Arthur spoke, his voice gruff.

"But I still have many questions, Merlin, and don't think you're getting out of that."

Merlin tilted his head, still smiling softly as he met Arthur's eyes evenly when he replied, his voice mocking yet his face belying his tone.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, sire."

Omg, i'm done…

Haa! I'm done! I was rushing to finish this before school 'officially' started for me because I didn't want to delay this any longer… but I finally understood what my sister meant… I mean yeah, its actually quite sad to see this finished, despite how much i wanted it done and everything and despite feeling really satisfied right now as well… I can't believe I finally finished this!

…

just… wow..!

Reviews?

Oh, and just because I'm truly evil, here's a sneak peak for my next multi (which I have no idea when I'll be posting btw) :

"I just wanted to introduce you to one of your many, soon to be friends. I'm sure this little one here-" Morgana cooed, almost cradling the mandrake root to herself, ignoring Merlin's breathing growing ragged. It was the first time he was actually panicking in a long while.

"-Can introduce you to all the rest of your friends," Morgana grinned, looking up sharply, and it was only then did Merlin slowly raise his eyes upwards, following Morgana's line of sight…

The room's ceiling was covered with mandrake roots.

o0o

"My boy."

Very slowly, Merlin lowered his eyes from the ceiling, and his unsteady breath caught in his throat as his eyes met his mentor.

"Gaius," he gasped.

"How could you?" Gaius asked, his voice hoarse, tears streaming down his face. "You were supposed to protect us all!"

It was then did the warlock notice his mentor being tied to a wooden pole.

"Gaius!" His breathing grew erratic as he struggled against his own chains. "I didn't mean to, I-" the woods were lit, and fire erupted, cascading the old man in smoke. "GAIUS!"

:D