Summary: Arthur realises Merlin has magic, when he recalls Grettir's words... What happens?

Details/Disclaimer: Merlin, and anything from the series belongs to the BBC. This is merely a piece written for my - and perhaps your - entertainment.

This is the first part of the trilogy The Rise and Fall of a Queen.

Enjoy!

Tazz~

It's So Good to Not Have to Hide

Word Count: 1499

Arthur strode down the castle corridors towards his chambers, exhausted. The quest he had taken to prove himself, necessary in the eyes of his father, had been demanding, even if he had stopped getting those dizzy spells that had plagued him on the way to the Perilous Lands... he still didn't know why.

In any case, the journey just left him pining for a nice warm bath and then the safety of his comfortable bed afterwards, but, of course, he had had to report to his father first. Uther had praised him generously, before excusing him so he could (finally) get some rest. So Arthur immediately left for his chambers after presenting the golden trident to the Royal Court. He hoped that Merlin was at least competent enough to have a bath drawn and ready.

Courage, Strength, and Magic... The words came to Arthur when he was in the semi conscious state halfway between being awake and being asleep. He remembered Grettir, the Keeper of the Bridge, saying those words when they met at the borders to the Fisher Lands. The... dwarf? The dwarf had said that Arthur wouldn't succeed without Strength and Magic, and it had sounded like he was referring to people, not the respective qualities.

But on the mission there were only two others, despite them not actually being allowed there. However, although he wouldn't admit it, Arthur knew he wouldn't have lived, let alone succeeded, without them.

Gwaine... and Merlin. And the idea of Merlin being called Strengthin any way was ridiculous. But if Gwaine was Strength, which made a great deal of sense, then Merlin was...

Magic.

Which did not; of course Merlin didn't have magic – the concept was more laughable than him being personified as Strength. Grettir was just a stranger, Arthur reminded himself, and from his disappearing act, he was a stranger with magic, and magic is evil...

But he was still in a state of conflict when he finally fell into a troubled sleep.

Something was wrong – Merlin was sure of that. Arthur was acting much too oddly; watching him with strange looks when he thought Merlin couldn't see, and with the weirdest expression on his face – thoughtful, but with a conflicting edge that unnerved the subject of the stares.

The looks had begun after the golden trident retrieval – Arthur hadn't overheard the conversation between the ancient King and, the rather younger, Merlin, had he? Surely if they had, Gwaine or Arthur would have referred to it in some way on the way back, even, in Arthur's case, if that involved running Merlin through with his sword.

Magic, Arthur finally decided after weeks of internal debate, wasn't evil. At least, magic itself wasn't. He had enough common sense - not that his father didn't - to realise that it depended on who was wielding it, and their intentions.

Which left him wondering about Merlin; what intentions would someone who possessed magic within Camelot have, without using it for evil?

He now knew that Merlin had magic, though he wasn't sure why. It might have been the way he always had a secretive edge in his eyes, one that Arthur was only aware of now.

Or perhaps it was the things that had happened in Merlin's presence. He thought of the many times that something unbelievably coincidental happened, such as a sudden branch falling to knock out someone an inch away from killing him, and he saw it for what it was. No, it wasn't good luck that Arthur had; it was Merlin, who must've used magic during the many times when he was sprawled upon the floor.

And there was only one way Arthur could put Merlin and evil in the same sentence; Merlin isn't evil. He looked at his clumsy, incompetent servant and saw a loyal friend, who would, and probably had many times, put his own life on the line for Arthur's.

All that was left was for him to talk to Merlin about it.

"Rise and shine, Arthur!" Merlin announced loudly, putting the breakfast tray on the table before striding over to the drapes and flinging them open. "Beautiful day today," he said conversationally.

"Good, because we're going hunting," Arthur said, flinging a pillow at Merlin, and chuckling slightly when he saw Merlin's wide grin fall off his face, before it was smothered by the cushion. He did have a reason – he thought a few days out in the great wilderness would be the perfect place and time to confront Merlin.

"Do we have to?" Merlin complained, placing the pillow back on the bed and rearranging the sheets neatly.

"Just pack for two or three days, and stop complaining," Arthur told him.

"We'll set up camp here," he declared, stopping his horse, before sliding off adeptly – unlike Merlin. It was nightfall, and he still hadn't breached the subject of Merlin possessing magic yet. He had thought of a way of seeing Merlin use it first hand; a way of making sure that Merlin did indeed have magic and used it on a regular basis. He wouldn't persecute him if he did – Arthur knew he'd been using it for good – but he still needed to know.

"I'm going to get some water. Make sure there's a fire up by the time I'm back," Arthur told him, turning back and heading into the forest. But after going in a few metres, he turned around and, with a silence that only a hunter could achieve, headed back to the camp, staying concealed within the trees, so that he could watch Merlin without being seen himself.

He heard Merlin grumble to himself about royal prats forcing people to go on stupid pointless hunting trips where all they did was butcher some innocent, poor animals for sport, and almost gave himself away by laughing. He watched as Merlin dropped a pile of firewood in a ring of stones before whispering what Arthur was waiting for.

"Forbearne." His eyes shone a brilliant gold in response, before returning to their normal blue, and the fire roared up suddenly.

"I knew it!" Arthur shouted triumphantly, jumping forward to face his startled manservant.

"Y-You what?" Merlin asked, still staring at Arthur, somewhat dazed.

"I knew you had magic," he answered. Merlin looked slightly shocked.

"Wha-How long?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Arthur chuckled. "Since the Fisher King quest."

"You've known about my magic that long?" he exclaimed. "That was ages ago!"

"Well, I wasn't entirely sure, was I? After all, it's hard to believe that you could keep something this big a secret."

"I've done so my entire life," Merlin pointed out.

"What do you mean? Didn't you learn magic?"

"Arthur, I know you think I'm stupid, but do you honestly think I would be thick enough to learn magic in Camelot? And that someone would be even stupider to offer their services for teaching?"

"So how did you get magic?"

"I didn't get it. I never chose to learn it; it chose me. I was born with magic; it's an actual part of me."

"Really? Explain what you mean."

"I don't really know how." Merlin grimaced. "It's kind of like an extra limb or sense, but much more significant. It someone tried to take my magic, I doubt I'd live to talk about it."

"Can you show me some? What with the ban on magic, I've only ever seen evil and destructive spells... but there must be some good that magic can do?"

"Of course there is - watch." Merlin picked up an unremarkable twig, and muttered some more words, his eyes flashing amber-gold again. Arthur stared in fascination as right in front of his amazed eyes, the dead stick sprouted miniature leaves and small flowers blossomed up its length. It curved in on itself, turning into a circle shape, slowly becoming sliver, taking the form of a circlet. It floated over to Arthur, who found himself picking it from the air and studying it in wonder, comparing it with the wood before.

"You can give it to Gwen," Merlin suggested quietly, breaking the silence.

"It will make a wonderful gift. Thank you." Arthur looked away from the circlet and back at Merlin, who had a soft smile on his face. "There aren't... any magical effects or enchantments on it, are there?"

"You're too suspicious." Which he took as a no.

"But why didn't you tell me? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do!" He looked affronted that Arthur even mentioned it. "I just didn't want to put you in that situation... It would've been unfair, to say the least. Not only would you be committing treason, but it'd be like you were picking between me and your father."

Arthur thought about that, then responded. "I don't see it like that, Merlin... I see it as... picking between my best friend and an unjust law."

"Thank you, Arthur." Then he smiled, properly smiled. "It's so good to not have to hide anymore."

So, yeah, this was my first Merlin fan fiction... But it's a re-write now! xD A short one shot where Arthur actually realises (XO) about Merlin magic... hope you enjoyed it! :3