The prince awoke to find his hands and feet tied. His head was throbbing and his mouth tasted of blood. He saw his manservant staring into the campfire, he hadn't even noticed he was awake; it seemed that he was deep in thought.

"Merlin!" He screamed.

His servant's eyes met his; he looked at him, unfazed that his captive prince was now awake, and angry.

"Yes, Sire."

"Can you tell me, why am I all tied up?"

"I had to stop you from doing something stupid, Sire."

"Merlin untie me this instant or I'll have you thrown in the dungeons!"

"Oh when will that be? Before or after you murder your father?"

"This has nothing to do with you! My father must pay for what he has done."

"I agree but storming into Camelot and murdering your father in front of everyone isn't the best idea."

Arthur struggled to get loose but it the knots were too tight.

"How did you even-"

"I knocked you out. That was the easy part. Tying those knots took ages but it looks like I did a pretty good job," he laughed.

"Merlin this isn't funny. I am your prince and I command you, to untie me!"

"No!"

"No? When I get out of ropes, which, I assure you, I will, you will be sorry."

"And why is that sire?"

"I just found out my father is the reason why my mother is dead! I'm the reason why…So help me god Merlin, I will seek vengeance for my mother's death! If it takes me all night to get free, if I have to walk all the way to Camelot, if I have to cut you down to do it, I will make my father pay!"

"You're not getting out of those ropes."

"You tied them Merlin, I doubt it would be that difficult for me to get loose."

"Trust me, sire! You will not get out of those ropes but you can always roll yourself all the way to Camelot."

"Merlin! Do not get in my way! Not this time! Not with this!"

"Oh so what's your plan? Burst into Uther's chambers, run him through with a sword?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"And you say I'm the idiot. Have you given thought to what will happen if you do that?"

"I don't care-"

"Oh of course you don't! Prince Arthur, always thinking of himself! Well I'll tell you what will happen! You will be arrested, and hanged for regicide. Leaving Camelot without a ruler! The surrounding kings, and I suspect a few war lords will descend upon Camelot, throwing the kingdom into a civil war! Have you given any thought to what will happen to Morgana? To Gwen?"

"Don't you dare bring them into this!"

"Why not? Why shouldn't I think of them, when you clearly haven't! What about your people? The nobles will get away just fine, perhaps align themselves with one of the kings but the peasants? Well they'll be recruited, or killed, or will starve because the war has robbed them of their crops!"

"I didn't- I didn't think of that."

"Naturally."

Arthur paused. He was so filled with rage he did not think beyond seeing the light leave his father's eyes. Revenge was all he wanted, he didn't think of what that revenge would bring to others.

"Well what do you suggest? My father cannot go unpunished!"

"Rebellion," Merlin said in an almost whisper.

Arthur sat up, he couldn't believe what he just heard.

"What?"

"Arthur you are already a better man than Uther could ever hope to be. You may be stupid but you're brave and you truly care about every single person in Camelot. I see in you the makings of a great king! Everyone's always telling you, you're not like your father and they mean that as a compliment. You're already the best knight in all the five kingdoms, you could be the best general; the best king."

"A rebellion? With what army?"

"For starters, your knights. Not all could be brought over to your side but a few, and having a few noble families on your side will help Uther's power, take a bruising."

"My father's power needs to take more than a bruising if I hope to take the throne."

"So you are interested in my plan?"

Arthur took a deep breath; he could feel a lump beginning to grow in this throat.

"What Morgause revealed to me, it made me realize what I've suspected my whole life."

"What's that?"

"That my father loves Camelot more than me, more than my mother. Hell, Merlin he sacrificed her life so that his kingdom could be secure. He never loved her, he doesn't love me. He allowed me to think that I was the reason she's gone when the truth is, it was him; he was the one who killed her, all for his precious kingdom. If he loves Camelot more than anything in this world then I want to take it from him, I want to see the pain in his face when the battle is lost, when the son who despises him takes everything he holds dear. His crown; his throne; his kingdom; I will take it!"

Merlin stared at him, blinking.

"We will Arthur! We will."

"And how will we do that," he said, swallowing the growing lump.

"Your father has many enemies; enemies that were made because of his blind hatred. You weren't the only one blamed for your mother's death, Arthur."

"What are you saying?"

"There are a few kings I can think of who would support you but also-"

"Yes?"

"The day of your mother's death Uther outlawed magic and condemned any who had or practiced it to death. He blamed them for his own arrogance and it is they who will be our key allies."

"Witches and sorcerers? Don't be stupid!"

"Listen Arthur! So we get a handful of knights, Uther will still have an army, and what's five knights compared to a hundred thousand men? So we ally ourselves with another king. Once the battle is won, he'll want land, rights, taxes; you'll just be a king subject to another king, Camelot won't be free! But align ourselves with those who have magic, all they want is freedom, all they want is the right to be who they are in the light of day. You won't have to give up lands, you won't have to pay taxes, your people won't suffer, and with them you can actually win this battle, because beyond their power they're fighting for something more, they'll be fighting for their lives. There isn't a more powerful motivator than that. Sorcerers would be powerful allies indeed."

"Father said the kingdom was in chaos before he outlawed magic."

"The kingdom was in chaos because Camelot was a newly formed kingdom that your father won through civil war! The chaos was due to a few rebellions here and there by people who did not want to submit to Uther. It had nothing to do with magic! Are you really going to believe his lies after everything?"

"Where did you learn all this?"

"Let's just say the court historian was committed to giving a very accurate portrayal of Camelot's beginnings."

"Gaius, told you didn't he?

"He did, Sire."

Arthur thought about what Merlin was saying. What Morgause had revealed, the look on his mother's face, the years of persecution is father inflicted on all those who practiced magic. He thought of all the people he killed on his father's orders. All the pain and suffering Uther was responsible for, it was as if he was seeing for the first time.

"I feel like I've never known my father. That the man I've looked up to my whole life doesn't even exist and instead I've been given this selfish, warmongering, monster, as a father…what do you suppose Morgause's purpose was in telling me?"

"Hm, I don't know but I think it's best to keep our distance from her."

"I think you are right, Merlin…about everything but how will we begin?"

"We have to wait for the opportune moment, Sire. We can't walk into Camelot declaring rebellion. We have to see where Uther lies with his allies and his enemies alike. How many men he has; how prepared Camelot is for war; if there are any nobles we can sway to our cause; if he has any weaknesses. Then we can make preparations, where we'll set up our own camp, who we'll call on to fight, and figure out what is the best way to defeat Uther, and then we'll wait."

"Wait? For what, and how long?"

"When Uther is weak. When another enemy draws him out, then we'll declare our rebellion!"

"Another enemy? How are we going to find someone stupid enough to attack my father."

"Oh, I think I know where to find someone. He's closer to Camelot than you know."

Arthur saw his servant's eyes light up. He had never seen Merlin like this before; so calm, so collected, so callous. He was a dedicated servant and a loyal friend but he had no reason to hate Uther so deeply…or perhaps he did. It frightened Arthur a little to see his bumbling servant become this focused politician. How did Merlin think of all this so quickly? Had he been out that long? Merlin had his moments but he would have never guessed he would be so cunning, on top of being an expert at tying knots. He wondered what else he didn't know about his servant.

"Will you untie me now?"

"Not a chance."

"Why not?"

"I'm still not convinced you won't run away to Camelot to murder Uther in front of the entire court. Hopefully a night's rest will sober you up from your rage. In the morning you'll see that I'm right."

"Merlin!"

"Get some rest, Sire, for I fear it will be quite some time before you do."