Miscommunication: A failure to communicate adequately.

He didn't mean it to happen, Merlin had been drunk at the time, he was always a fool when he was drunk. This time, was one of the worst. It was the night of King Arthur's coronation, there had been a feast afterward, with more food than you can eat and even more to drink. When the newly crowned King shoved a goblet of wine into the servant's hand, he hadn't thought anything of it. They drank, they all drank, marry in the thoughts of what a great king Arthur would surely be. It wasn't until sometime later, when Merlin had been following the King back to his chambers that he had realized just how drunk he was.

He was swaying something fierce, unstable on both his feet; he had ran into a wall and apologized remorsefully. That earned a hearty laugh from the new King.

"You are completely pissed," Arthur told him, grabbing him by the jacket and pulling him along.

"Is-your fault," Merlin told him, trying to decide which Arthur was the real one, there were at least two or three spinning in front of him.

"Hardly," Arthur remarked, guiding him through the halls, to the King's chambers. "I told you to enjoy yourself, not drink Gwaine under the table."

"That's-how I-enjoy myself."

"Figures as much."

Once they reached the new King's chambers. It was an even bigger chore than usual to get Arthur ready for bed; he dropped Arthur's night pants more than once and ran into a bedpost. Soon, Arthur just forced him into a high-backed chair and got changed himself.

"Thank you for nothing, Merlin!" Arthur called after him, as the servant was leaving the room. Merlin was in too much of a state to play the insult game with Arthur, even if it was one of his favorites. Instead, Merlin just picked up the basket of clothes he had needed to wash in the morning, bid Arthur a goodnight and left the room.

It happened on the stairs, Merlin was tipsily walking down them, heading to his and Gaius' chambers. It was a trying thing to figure out how to step down without falling, it was really far down to the bottom and even in his drunk state, Merlin knew a cracked skull did not make a happy skull...or an alive Merlin. He made approving noises to himself, as he peered over the basket, stepping down one step at a time. He heard other noises on the stairs and turned around, trying to see who it was.

But just as he did this, he stepped down and his ankle buckled, he wiggled and wobbled on the step, trying to stay standing. Forgoing the safety of the basket, Merlin dropped it and grabbed hold of the railing. He watched as the wooden basket tumbled down the stairs, Arthur's clothes falling out along the way, Merlin was just thankful it wasn't him loosing bits as he fell down the stairs. Even still, he was unhappy about the extra work he now had to do. He grumbled to himself as he stepped down, slowly, picking up one of Arthur's shirts as he went.

Shirts, pants, it was annoying, picking these all up and with nowhere to put them! It dawned on Merlin then, in his drunken brains, he didn't need to be. With the raise of his hand and a mutter of a spell the basket flew from the bottom of the staircase and right into Merlin's hand, he smiled to himself, shoving the clothes inside. But the smile was short lived. He heard a loud shuffle from behind him and he gulped, eyes widening. The man cleared his throat and Merlin just knew, he was royally screwed.

He turned around then, to face the music, how quickly a drunken state can leave you, when faced with a real problem. Agravaine stood there, on the top stair, looking down at Merlin, one would think puzzled, but Merlin knew better, this man was tickled pink with glee.

"What did you just do?" he asked, even though he had just bloody damn saw it for his own eyes. Merlin gasped, mouth opening and shutting, he was ruined, this was it. Agravaine would tell Arthur and Merlin would be dead by dawn. "Did you…just use magic?"

"I uh…" Merlin mumbled, it seemed some of the alcohol still held tight to the part of his brain that he needed to think with. He was never drinking again, Merlin vowed to himself.

"King Arthur's personal servant a sorcerer?" Agravaine said, trying to hide a grin. "Guards!"

"No, please," Merlin said, dropping the basket again, he heard it fall down the stairs this time. "I was just…I…"

With some quick thinking on Merlin's part, he held out his hand and said a spell, loudly, to ensure the power of it, and watched as Agraivne backed up, seeming to know what was going to happen, before something invisible hit him over the head and he fell, knocked out on the top of the stairwell. Merlin took in a deep breath, trying to think of what to do now, he didn't know any memory charms off hand, he needed to clear this memory from Agravaine's mind, and there was only one place to go for something like that. Merlin turned then, leaving Agravine on the floor, as he ran.

He burst into his and Gaius' chambers, not caring if he woke the sleeping physician, he needed to be awoken anyway.

"Gaius!" he said, failing over to the man, who was currently grumbling as he sat up.

"What is it, Merlin?" he was asking, pushing the blankets off himself. "Do you know what time it is?"

"I do, but…" Merlin turned away, over come with the predicament he was in. "Something terrible has happened."

"What is it?" Gaius asked, seeming to be more awake now.

"Agravine saw me use magic," Merlin admitted, feeling stupider and stupider by the minute. He had been such a fool. "We've got to do something, to clear his memory."

"How could you be so foolish!" Gaius yelled at him then, whacking him over the head with his head. Merlin scurried back, out of the man's way as he made his way to the shelf were the books were. "Memory charms are dangerous and require a great deal of skill," Gaius explained, as he seemed wide awake now, skimming through books. "Which, with an idiot such as yourself, will be hard to muster."

"I'm sorry, Gaius," Merlin told him, pleading almost. "I was…"

Gaius sniffed him then, eyeing him up and down, "You are drunk!"

"Just a little bit…" Merlin muttered.

"How many times have I told you to stay away from alcohol?" Gaius asked, shaking his head as he continued to look through the book. "You cannot afford to be venerable."

"I know," Merlin grumbled, kicking a bit of dirt with his boot, he felt terrible and stupid, Gaius was only making it worse.

"Clearly something went amiss in the journey from my mouth to your brain," Gaius told him, before slamming the book shut and grabbing another. "You have really done it this time."

"What am I supposed to do?" Merlin asked. "When Agravine wakes up he's going to tell Arthur I'm a sorcerer!"

"Wakes up?"

"Yes, I um…sort of knocked him out."

Gaius just rolled his eyes, even in the dim candlelight, Merlin could easily see that.

"You will simply have to tell Arthur before Agravaine gets the chance," Gaius told him, moments later, as he slammed another book shut.

"Tell Arthur I have magic?" Merlin asked, eyes widening. Did Gaius want to get him killed?

"Persisly," Giaus nodded, walking away, he went and stood by the table, tapping his fingers as he thought. "I have yet to find any charm that will permently clear this type of memory, unless you would like to clear his mind compeltly."

"That wouldn't bother me any," Merlin said, shrugging.

"Merlin!" Gaius warned. "You will simply have to tell Arthur the truth."

"I can't, Gaius!" Merlin retorted. "He'll…he'll kill me."

"I hardly think Arthur would sentence you to death," Gaius told him, shrugging one shoulder. "You mean a great deal to him."

"We might be friends, but I've broken the laws of Camelot, he'll have no choice."

"Arthur is king now, Merlin, he can make changes to the law as he sees fit."

"I can't tell him!" Merlin all but yelled. Gaius nodded then, heading back over to his bed.

"Then let Agravaine, who will surely twist whatever you have done, into something much worse."

Merlin knew he was right, Agravaine lived for this sort of thing, he loved getting others in trouble, it was almost as if he was trying to ruin everything for everyone. Merlin thought, as he tugged himself up to his bed, he probably was. There was something very off about Agravaine.

In the morning, Merlin woke up with a headache from hell. He moaned and cursed as he stumbled down the stairs, where, Gaius held out a tonic for him. Merlin downed it, disgusted by the taste, but when his headache lessened, he sighed, letting the upcoming day loom on him. He would have to tell Arthur about his magic. He had worked so hard to gain Arthur's trust, and now, it would all be shattered.

"Good luck, my boy," Gaius told him, with a smile, as he walked out that morning. There was a very good chance Merlin would never see these walls or Gaius again. He lingered in the doorway, watching Gaius for a moment, before heading out. He stopped and picked up the new King's breakfast, before trucking his way to the King's chambers. He opened the door, quietly, trying not to wake the sleeping man, so maybe, he could hold off on telling Arthur for a bit longer. But Merlin's plan failed, seeing the King already awake and dressed, sitting at his desk.

"You're up early," Merlin told him, biting his lip, as he walked further into the room.

"You're up late," Arthur retorted, looking up with a raised eyebrow. "You look like hell," he stated then, smirking as he stood. "That teaches you to drink so much."

"You would think…" Merlin muttered, off-handed, as he placed the tray of food down on the table. Arthur wondered over, leaning against the wooden table, picking at his food.

"I've got to hurry and get down to the training field, the knights are running drills," Arthur explained. "I've got a list of chores for you, if you are not too incapacitated to do them."

Merlin just nodded, in a daze, as he stumbled over to get the King's armor. Dressing Arthur today, proved just as hard as it had been the night before. But not because Merlin was drunk, but because he was too busy thinking up predicaments in his head. If Arthur didn't kill him, but only banished him, how was he to fulfill any destiny that way? And if Arthur did kill him…

"Merlin…"

"Yes, Sire?" he asked, trying to clear his mind of the haunting thoughts of death.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course, why?" Merlin asked, fumbling with a loop on Arthur's armor. He was shaky and his brow was drenched in sweat.

"You've barely said a word all morning," Arthur explained, turning to look at Merlin with concern. "And you've tied that same loop five times." Merlin looked down, dropped it and moved on to another. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out something is wrong."

"That's good, because you're defiantly not a-"

"Merlin," Arthur said, looking at him with a warning. Merlin grinned at him, or at least tried to. "Well, come on, out with it."

"Arthur, I…I don't know how to tell you this," Merlin admitted, biting down on his bottom lip. This is harder than he ever thought it would be. He always pictured himself doing something sort of heroic magic and that was how Arthur found out, not this, not just telling him. How was he supposed to believe Merlin only wanted to protect him, if there was nothing to protect him from?

"Well, do your best," Arthur smiled, encouragingly.

"I'm not all I seem, Arthur," Merlin started and cringed, stepping back from the King, after finishing the loops on the armor. "I…I'm different."

"Are you?"

"Yes, I…." he took in a deep breath. "I'm not like you, I want to be, but I'm…" he paused, trying to think of the proper words. "I'm special, that's what my mother tells me anyway."

"Is that so?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms over his chest, looking very interested in Merlin all of a sudden. "Is that all?"

"No I um… I'm not special though," Merlin fumbled further. "At least I don't think so, I know you are going to hate me when I tell you this, but I don't want you to!" he pleaded with him. "I don't want you to think of me any different, I'm not a monster, I care about you more than anyone, I just want to…" he trailed off, wiping the stray tear forming in his eye. "Arthur, I…"

"You don't have to say it, Merlin," Arthur stopped him, with a smile. "I know what you are."

"You do?" Merlin asked, eyes blown wide, in a mix of worry and astonishment. Arthur knew? But how…?

"I've known for some time now," Arthur continued, frowning now. "It's about time you've told me, it couldn't be easy to keep such a thing to yourself."

"Gaius knows," Merlin admitted, bashfully. But to his surprise, Arthur smiled at this.

"I'm glad someone does, you cannot possibly keep it all bottled up, you'll explode," he said, turning and grabbing his sword.

"I can't believe you knew," Merlin was baffled, absolutely baffled. "How long have you known?"

"Since we went to Ealdor together," Arthur said, smirking then. "It was plain to see, you nor Will could hide it from me."

"I'm sorry I lied to you," Merlin said then, but he couldn't help but smile. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I didn't think you were comfortable talking with others about it."

"I just thought you would hate me if you knew..." Merlin trailed off, feeling stupid now. Arthur was being so understanding and kind about this, it was almost too good to be true.

"Why would I hate you?" Arthur asked then. "It isn't your fault you are like this. I believe people can be born this way."

Merlin's heart almost exploded right there, with the feeling of wanting to hug Arthur. He just stood there though, smiling like a complete idiot, watching as Arthur finished off the last bits of his breakfast, he laughed at Merlin, when he looked back at him.

"You are such an idiot," he grinned, punching him in the shoulder. But the found smile was clear on his face. "Now, if you don't mind…I have knights that need training."

"Of course," Merlin muttered, skirting back so Arthur had a clear shot to the door. As the King walked toward it, however, Merlin couldn't stop himself. "Arthur…"

"Yes?" Arthur looked back, with a smirk.

"Thank you," was all Merlin said, Arthur nodded and with that, opened the door and marched out.

(A/N: I DO NOT OWN THE MERLIN! I'm completely in love with this, I'm not even going to lie. It makes me so happy! I'm sure my opinion will change as the story goes on, but for right now. ;p Please comment and tell me what you think!)