No.311 here with a plot rabbit! If you're all nice to it you can pet it! I know, I know, I should update my story, sorry that I didn't, but I just can't concentrate! I have another half-finished oneshot, a barely started chapter and two other stories I should do. And I will! But for now, I present you: Arthur's Findings! AU, by the way: Mordred failed to slash Arthur with the enchanted sword. Arthur survived, Merlin didn't reveal his magic, and the battle at Camlann is won. Gwaine survived too. Now they're back in Camelot. Also thanks to my proofreader: DreamweaverAki!

Part One: Morning

He had seen it. He just couldn't believe it. Maybe that was the reason the king got out of his bed before sunrise for once, to spy. Because he couldn't, wouldn't believe what he saw. Because if he did, well then he didn't know what to do. He just hoped it wasn't true. He stood behind the door, listening to breakfast being eaten. After five minutes it still wasn't finished. Arthur was getting impatient. He should just go and ask him. But part of him held him back. Because if the answer was yes, then there was trouble. But somewhere within him, he knew that the answer was yes. But that would mean…

In all his days as a king, none had been so hard for him as yesterday.

The day he saw Merlin use magic.

He knew it was true, but he desperately clamped himself at the hope that it wasn't. So he decided to spy on Merlin, and reinforce his statement that it was impossible for Merlin to be a sorcerer. That was why he, the King of Camelot, was now standing behind the door of Gaius' and Merlin's quarters, like some petty stalker. Him. The king. Listening to someone eating breakfast while even he himself hadn't had any yet. And he was quite hungry. Having some meat, pork perhaps, with a small side salad would probably do for today. He already looked forward to eating it. One of the perks of being king was that you always got nice, dinner and breakfast. Talking about breakfast… The sounds had stopped. Arthur leaned in on the door, proceeding to lay his ear against it, when the door was violently pushed open, smacking his face. Now Arthur was a man among men, but this hurt. He started massaging his face.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?"

"I was going to get you, you lazy idiot!"

"Why? Did something happen?"

"Yes, Merlin, my stomach started growling! Get me some breakfast!"

Normally Arthur wasn't this irritable, but it is really hard not to be when you get a door smashed into your face. Merlin had just gone away when Arthur already regretted being so harsh. Wait, Merlin… had just gone… away… Damn! If he wanted to spy on Merlin he would have to go after him! Arthur ran after him with dignity, or at least tried to. After a few moments he found Merlin again when he turned around the corner. He was talking to a serving girl that he thought was called Missi. But he wasn't sure. Arthur smirked. If this situation hadn't been at hand, he could have teased Merlin with having a lover. He watched Merlin end the talk with a polite goodbye and heading into the door, the kitchen, he knew. He crept to the door and carefully opened it a little. Through the gap he could see Merlin picking his breakfast joyously. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Gwaine, smiling at him.

"Hey, Princess, I was just going to eat something, but you're blocking the door while peeking. You're the king, why don't you go inside?"

"Shush! Because I'm… inspecting the staff. Yes, inspecting the staff." Arthur whispered.

"That's new. Who're you inspecting then?" whispered Gwaine.

"…Merlin."

Gwaine looked at him with a smiling look, which Arthur didn't like at all.

"I'm in!" shout-whispered Gwaine. Arthur groaned. This was not a good moment, but he decided to let it be for now. He looked through the gap and saw Merlin rapidly coming to the door.

"Gwaine, behind that corner, now!" he shout whispered while pointing to the corner he knew would not lead to his chambers. He himself hurried there as fast as he could, but Gwaine stayed behind. "What are you doing?" he mouthed, but Gwaine only gave him a thumbs-up in return.

Merlin walked out of the kitchen while whistling a tune that sounded an awful lot like one of the nursery rhymes Arthur remembered. Gwaine greeted him and got in a heated discussion with him about his work in and around the castle, while making some jokes in between. Arthur gritted his teeth. Most of the jokes were about him. Arthur followed them while they walked in the direction of his chambers. He listened to what they were talking about, and got some new insights about how Merlin would want to have some more sleep and maybe a little bit less chores and such. Arthur might reconsider that… Nah, it was way too much fun for him to tease him with it. Eventually, they arrived at his chambers, and Gwaine and Merlin went their separate ways. Gwaine's way, was unfortunately in his direction. Gwaine was a good friend, but sometimes he was a bit annoying, and Arthur doubted that Gwaine could help him with this. But luckily for Arthur, Gwaine only stopped shortly to tell Arthur what he had learned. Arthur thanked him and told him the inspection was finished and that Merlin passed. Gwaine smiled at that.

"Just you wait until your inspection, Gwaine...". Arthur smiled evilly at Gwaine.

Gwaine looked almost scared and quickly went to practice. Arthur laughed at him quietly.

Then Arthur walked in his chambers with a regal air.

"Breakfast ready?"

"Yes, sir!" Merlin mock-saluted at him and pointed to the table. Arthur sat down and started eating. But what if Merlin really was a sorcerer? Would he have to hang him, or chop his head off, or would he make an exception? Could he hang him, and could he make an exception? He didn't know if he was able to hang his best friend/manservant who had been loyally next to him all these years. But if he didn't, it wouldn't be fair to those who did get punished for practicing magic. And then he would have to get rid of…

"Are you ill or something?"

Arthur thoughts snapped back to the present. "No?"

"You're a lot less a prat than you normally are."

"Are you worried?" He asked his manservant, with just a tone of curiosity, wanting to know how he would react.

"No, but if you were ill I would be a lot less busy today." Merlin teased

Arthur stayed quiet. Of course Merlin would tease him. It was how things went between them. Or was it just an act. Was he just an evil wizard patiently waiting…

"What? No 'Merlin'?" If Arthur didn't know Merlin better, he could have thought that he was honestly surprised. But he knew Merlin better.

"Merlin!"

Merlin chuckled. Arthur chuckled evilly. Merlin gave Arthur a confusing look.

"Did you forget? Today, we have a hunting trip planned."

Merlin groaned, and Arthur smirked. It would be an excellent opportunity too, to spy on Merlin.

After some time, Arthur finished his breakfast and stood up.

"Ready the horses, Merlin. We will depart in half an hour."

It was clearly visible that Merlin didn't want to go on the hunting trip when he exited the room, but today was the yearly Grand Hunt. It was the one day that every lord would go hunting. Arthur was guaranteed to meet some of the nearby living lords, and hunt with them.. Arthur was looking forward to that. But first... He opened the door silently and followed Merlin from a distance. Hopefully Merlin was just going to the stables. But after a while Merlin suddenly turned his gaze southwards. He turned around and went towards the South Wing. And Arthur, knowing his castle, knew that the stables weren't in that direction. But it was ok, Arthur thought desperately, maybe Merlin just forgot something. But Arthur knew that there was no reason for Merlin to be in the south wing at all. Still, he followed Merlin closely, but made sure that he wasn't spotted. Merlin took a few stairs and turns, and came at a secret pathway Arthur was sure Merlin shouldn't have known. The pathway came out just outside the castle wall, but a locked door was at the end. Arthur felt tension rise in his throat. No... But Merlin uttered a few words and the door sprang open, lock or not. For Arthur, time stopped. Merlin did have magic. He had seen it twice, he couldn't deny it any longer. And this made matters complicated. How had this escaped him so long? And why had Merlin not tried to kill Arthur as of yet. Merlin was a sorcerer, so he had to be evil! But maybe, just maybe he was wrong. Maybe this sorcerer was Merlin, so he was safe... And the law. Before he had just thought of the possibilities, but now he really was in this mess. Arthur decided to just keep following Merlin for now. Maybe he could find out the sorcerer's motives... He caught the door before it closed, and went through it.

" I, the great Forlar, am here for..."

"...revenge, yes, I know." Merlin answered almost boredly.

"REVENGE, on king Uther!"

"Uther's dead."

"You killed him? Who are you anyway?" the evil sorcerer asked him in disbelief. Arthur saw Merlin's face darken. Could he really...

"Urther has been dead for some time now."

"Then I will take my revenge on Arthur!" the sorcerer screamed in the air.

"No." was the only thing Merlin said to the wizard. His eyes flashed golden, and the earth trembled under his command. Arthur couldn't believe his eyes. The magic-user was flung high in the air and came down several kilometres further. Merlin turned around and neared the secret passage. Arthur, there were no other words to describe it, ran. To his room, some comfort to deal with his findings. Merlin was a sorcerer. Merlin was highly dangerous. Merlin might have killed his father. Arthur should have to throw him in jail for that, like the law dictated. But he didn't want to. Merlin also defended Arthur. Maybe the persona he knew as Merlin wasn't an act. He thought for quite a while about this, and stopped when he heard footsteps in the hallway. Merlin opened the door.

"The horses ate ready, Arthur! Are you coming or not?"

Yes, yes, of course he was coming... He stood up and signalled Merlin to follow him. Which he did. But for how long would he keep doing that?

Part two: Afternoon

They had released the dogs. Barking like madmen, they ran after the rabbit that they had found. The dogs were a bit overkill, but if you wanted to find another lord to hunt with, this was the way to do it. Growling was heard, along with a sound that Arthur knew was the rabbit being torn apart. Merlin winced, and Arthur winced as well. Merlin looked at him strangely. Arthur just sighed. He didn't feel at ease with Merlin anymore. Only tension, and unanswered questions. It tore him apart from inside. He also realized some things. Some good, like Merlin guiding him with a blue light, or the conveniantly falling branches, but also some bad things, like Merlin framing his best friend. He also suspected that Merlin had more to do with the attack of the great Dragon than he let on.

He heard happy barking. His dogs had probably found another lord. He rode his horse in the direction he heard his dogs bark. He found lord Kenneth, a lord that was well-acquainted with his father. He saw Arthur and smiled.

"Well, well, if it isn't Arthur. Did you also decide to take part in the Grand Hunt?"

"Of course. I, as king, can't be missed from this kind of event."

"Of course you can't."

One of the other lasting traditions of the Grand Hunt was that when two hunters met, the hunter higher in standing would invite the other hunter to dinner.

"Would you like to dine with me tonight, lord Kenneth?"

"I am busy..."

"But I insist, lord Kenneth."

"It would be my pleasure, king Arthur."

"Let us hunt then."

Arthur thought lord Kenneth was a bit of a slime, but his loyalty was pure, and he was a good and wise friend. The hunt was enjoyable, but for some reason Arthur didn't get in the flow. His thought wandered to Merlin every five minutes. For some reason, Merlin continued to use magic to help them, which Arthur noticed when they hunted down a boar. The boar tripped over something like a string of woven grass. That had to be magic. But that also didn't fit in the sorcerer-that's-biding-his-time-to-kill-him profile...

They also met lord Dreyas, who joined them, lord Fungus, who joined them too, and lord Jangles, who had to refuse, sadly. Together, the four of them headed back to the castle. They had to prepare for the feast of that evening. But just before they reached it, Merlin excused himself again. Arthur waited a minute and excused himself too. He rode after Merlin, eager to figure out his motives. Merlin halted at a clearing. Then, he began roaring in some strange language. Maybe Ealdor tongue? Arthur couldn't believe his eyes when the great dragon appeared. He flew crippled, like something was wrong with his wing. He landed right before Merlin, and Arthur was sure his eyes would pop out of his head. Was Merlin a dragon lord?

"Hello, young warlock. Is there a reason for calling me here?" If Arthur still had lingering doubts of Merlin being a sorcerer (which would be strange, considering what had happened), they were gone by now. But why 'warlock'? He knew it was some word for magic-user, but he was told it was only used for a select few. Was Merlin not only a sorcerer, but a special one as well?

"I have the growing feeling that I'm being followed. Do you know whether anything happened?"

The eyes of the beast drifted around the place, until they spotted Arthur. A smile grew on his lips, and he winked.

"All is as it should be. Is that the only reason?"

"I also wanted to say goodbye. Is there anything..." Merlin looked pained.

"Well... Actually, yes, there is." The dragon signalled Merlin to come closer, which was, no doubt, to keep it secret from Arthur. Merlin nodded and came closer, leaning in to hear what the dragon wanted to tell him. The dragon whispered something in his ear, and Merlin's face brightened visibly. Directly after that it became it became determined, and. Arthur wondered what was going on. Then the dragon lied down, and looked extremely weary.

"Goodbye, Merlin" he smiled. Merlin sat down. He was shaking. He was probably crying, crybaby that he was. Arthur watched as the dragon grew quieter and quieter. After a while, Merlin stood up. He had indeed been crying. His cheeks were red and wet. When Merlin had gone past him, he went to the dragon, to examine it up close. It was dead. The great, mighty dragon had died,from age.

Part Three: Evening

He, lord Kenneth, lord Dreyas and lord Fungus had just started their feast. The lords had brought a couple of knights and the head servant of their household to eat with them. Arthur remembered he always found it strange that the servant could eat with them, but that was just how it went. He had asked his knights of the round table to be present, and of course the head servant of his household, an elderly man that had been present as long as he knew. He had also asked Merlin. He didn't exactly know if it was the right thing to do, maybe Merlin decided to attack, now that his ally, the great dragon, was dead. But while Merlin was here, Arthur could keep an eye on him. So in the end, he still asked him. Merlin was now talking animatedly talking with Gwaine. Such friendship had to be real, Arthur was sure of it. But there was still a tiny chance it wasn't. He had decided to get to the bottom of it today. He would call Merlin to answer some questions to him when this dinner was over. Arthur greeted and kissed Gwen on the cheek and sat down.

"So nice of you to join us, my liege." Lord Fungus was a sarcastic man, who couldn't resist trying to irritate Arthur on every occasion, but he always made sure to use the right honorifics. Arthur figured he had to keep him away from Gwaine. He wasn't sure he would survive that.

"Well, we're in my castle, so I think it is only common to do so."

"So you really do think, my lord." Was his retort. Arthur gritted his teeth. Someday he would challenge this man in a duel, and give him a nasty scar. But for now he had to keep his cool… just… keep his cool… count to ten… 1… 2… 3…

"My lord! Don't strain yourself! You might get a headache!" Arthur decided to go and talk with Kenneth, before he beheaded Fungus in this very room. So he turned around, hearing Fungus laugh good-naturedly behind him.

"And how do you like the festival so far?" Arthur asked him.

"Splendid, splendid. Lord Dreyas and I were just talking about it. Especially the soup! Marvellous! What's in it?" Damn! It never interested Arthur what was in his food, as long as it wasn't poisonous and tasted well! He could, of course, summon his cooks to answer this question, and raise his display of wealth, but if the display of wealth was too high it would distance him from his people in the eyes of the lords. And if he guessed, and guessed wrong, then he would be the laughingstock of this evening. And the probability to be found out if he guessed wrong was high, because lord Dreyas was a well-known connoisseur.

"It is a vegetable soup with little pieces of rabbit meat and a few spices, prepared in a time span of three days." Merlin was standing behind him, with his usual happy nature showing.

"My, my, you have been preparing, milord! And it came out great! But who is this fine young man?" Arthur had totally forgotten that the three lords had never met Merlin.

"This is my manservant Merlin. He has been serving me well for a few years now."

"He is certainly a good addition, you must be quite happy with him, my liege. Does he have other skills?" Oof. One punch at the stomach. Figuratively, of course. Arthur thought he knew what Merlin was capable of, but he had been hiding his magic up till now. What else had he been hiding?"

"Well, ehm… Merlin is quite capable at talking…" Arthur supposed the teasing was real. Merlin looked at him confusedly. He was probably getting suspicious of Arthur's discoveries. Arthur berated himself and tried to act more normal. "and he is quite good at working with horses…" Merlin had been in the stables so many times now that he would have to know how to do that by now. "he is also quite adapt at swordplay, I taught him that…" Merlin look of confusion grew, but Arthur couldn't see what he was doing wrong… Wait! He was praising Merlin too much! It was out of character, because normally he acted as if Merlin was the worst servant in the world. "And he does some medicine. But all these things were of course taught to him by the best of the best in Camelot, so it's surprising that he isn't more skilled than this." Merlin's look softened and was replaced by a look of annoyance. Arthur relaxed. If Merlin found out Arthur knew, then things could get dangerous.

"Now, now, King Arthur, if you don't want him, I wouldn't mind to buy him from you. For a good price too! And he'll get a good wage!" Lord Kenneth was known for his collection of talents. He bought servants with talent, educated them, and sold them to the original owner for a slightly higher price. If this wasn't Merlin, it would have been an honour. But now, Arthur was desperate. But he hid it well. Merlin, however, did not. He was looking at Arthur and Lord Kenneth in turns in shock. And Arthur, because of his façade of treating Merlin like the worst servant in the world, couldn't say no. That would be strange. So he had to solve this another way… Then he knew how to solve this.

"Let's ask Merlin."

For a second, Merlin looked like the cornered rabbit that Arthur's dogs had killed this afternoon, and an awkward silence followed. You could see the cogs turning in his head.

"I think that will not be necessary, oh lord Kenneth. I quite like it here." So now Arthur knew that Merlin was or extremely loyal, or extremely hell-bent on killing Arthur himself. Arthur shifted uncomfortably.

Lord Kenneth deflated a little. "Seems you've found a loyal servant at that, my king! I envy you a little!"

"It seems I have, lord Kenneth."

"Hey Arthur!" It was Gwaine. Arthur saw lord Fungus' eyes glint with interest. Damn. " Speech!"

"Yeah!" The other knights joined in.

"It seems you have a very healthy friendship with your knights, Arthur." Dreyas commented.

"Thank you, lord Dreyas." Arthur stood up. He didn't really know what to speech about. He could speech about Camlann, but then again, this was supposed to be a happy feast, and a lot of knights, friends, died at Camlann. So he decided he would only mention that briefly. But everyone was looking at him expectantly, so he had to improvise.

"As many of you know, we are sitting here today in honour of the traditions of the Grand Hunt. But we are also sitting here today as friends." Arthur inserted a small pause. Just when he wanted to continue, the lights went out by an ominous gust of wind. On one hand, Arthur rolled his eyes. On the other hand, Arthur was deeply afraid (he would deny it later) of the possibility that Merlin had decided to make his move. A hollow laugh cackled through the room, and Arthur sighed in relief. It wasn't Merlin. He looked behind him to double check, and he was right. Merlin was standing there with an, surprisingly, annoyed look.

"Friends! HA! What would you say if one of those 'friends' was a sorcerer? What would you think? What would you do…?" this man was clearly insane.

"Hang him!" Lord Dreyas shouted on his right. Lord Dreyas wasn't a tactician, of course, more a fighter, but Arthur hadn't known Dreyas was this stubborn. Lord Kenneth and lord Fungus shared his meaning, and Merlin looked pained. You could almost feel the vibe of "how could he be so stupid" from his knights, but Dreyas' knights and some of Fungus' and Kenneth's knights cheered.

"Exactly! At least that's what my lord did! He tried to hang me! The pain! So I decided someone had to pay! Congratulations!" he cackled a spell, snapped his fingers, and everyone was suddenly bound in chains.

"Dear, dear, dear… uh, what's your name?" The insane man cackled in his face.

"Arthur Pendragon."

"Well, that's a…" suddenly he froze.

"Wait… so this is… Camelot?" Seriously… Was this guy stupid or something?

"Did you miss the signs?" Gwaine shouted. A lot of men sniggered.

"You mean… This is the place protected by… Emrys?"

"Huh?" Arthur did honestly don't know. Merlin however, seemed to know exactly what that man was talking about. "Who is Emrys?"

"He's a myth… He's a myth… There's no way he's real… He's not real!" The man exclaimed. "Emrys…" the man spat out the name as if Emrys had killed his cat. "… is a traitor of his kind! An immensely powerful sorcerer that protects Camelot! It is rumoured that his first priority is to protect you! But almost nobody knows his face, and everyone that does doesn't tell who he is! But he's not reeeaaaal!" He cackled, and kicked Arthur some more. Arthur however, didn't mind. He got it! Merlin was Emrys! There was no other way! He looked at Merlin, who looked back at him. In that tiny moment, Arthur understood. Merlin would never betray Arthur. Merlin was his friend.

"Beat him, with compliments of Camelot." He whispered to Merlin, who was still behind him. Merlin nodded with a mischievous grin on his face, and unbound everyone. Many looked surprised at being unbound suddenly. The insane man was shocked, and was desperately looking around to see who did it. Arthur had to at least give Merlin the credit of hiding his spell well, for it seemed that nobody realised it was Merlin.

"Maybe you're wrong." Arthur deadpanned. The insane man looked around. He had probably seen Merlin, because his face contorted in a desperate look.

"N-no… This… This can't… This can't be!" In a desperate wail of rage he released all his magic. Arthur figured it was probably meant for him. But it never reached him. Instead, it was bounced back to the man with a shield, and the man flew, in a great arc, through the window. Arthur summoned a guard.

"Release the hounds."

"Right, milord."

Arthur kept his calm. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He had a problem. It was the same problem he had had all day: follow his father's rules and burn Merlin at the stake, or defend him. But that was easier said than done. His father's rules weren't only ingrained in him, they were also igrained in the kingdom, and they had quite a lot of followers. If he excepted Merlin, he could as well rewrite the rules about magic, and he didn't know if the kingdom would accept it. Finally Arthur came to the decision to wait with deciding until he had heard Merlin's story. Then he would decide. So he kept quiet. But the others? Probably not.

"Apprehend this 'Emrys'!" It was one of the knights of Dreyas. The other knights of Dreyas roared in agreement.

"Let's talk this out nice and easy, before we act." Lord Kenneth was always a peace-maker.

"What is there to talk? There is a sorcerer! In the castle!" Dreyas said with urge.

"But nobody actually saw who it was!" Arthur looked the other way. He had seen it.

"But still! A sorcerer! We must call a witchfinder!"

Oh no, not a witchfinder again! Arthur would not stand for that. Too much trouble. The last one even turned out to be a sorcerer himself. And for money, a witchfinder would accuse anyone as a sorcerer. Even Merlin, Morgana and Gaius… But wait, Merlin was a sorcerer, Morgana was a witch… And Gaius practised sorcery in the past. Oh, Arthur felt like a fool now. But still the man hadn't been pleasant. Besides, he already knew who it was.

"Silence!" He shouted. "I will deal with it when the feast is over. This is my castle, and I will not burden anyone with it."

The lords accepted that. Well, Kenneth and Fungus agreed, and Dreyas accepted it begrudgingly. Luckily so, because he had been told that it was a hobby of Dreyas to hunt down sorcerers. To the extreme.

He looked behind him to see that Merlin had paled a bit. He shoved a note to him, with the words "Tonight, at the front gate."

Part four: Night

Arthur met up with Merlin at the edge of the woods. He still looked a bit pale, in Arthur's eyes, but otherwise he looked just fine.

"Are you ready for answering some questions?"

"Yes. But why the woods."

"Oh, I thought it a more neutral ground. Besides, if you want to escape…"

"Ah." Merlin looked a bit relieved.

They went in the woods together. Merlin was fiddling with his neckerchief, and Arthur was fiddling with his sword. Arthur noticed that when Merlin noticed Arthur had a sword, he became even more nervous.

"You aren't planning to chop my head of, eh, Arthur?"

"What?" Arthur didn't get it. He was just going to ask questions to Merlin, and didn't get why... Oh, wait. Of course. He apologized and quickly put it away.

"You know, I made that sword."

"You did?" Arthur was now honestly surprised. Merlin was a lot of things, a lazy man servant among others (or so he thought), but he was sure Merlin wasn't a blacksmith.

"Well, not really, but I asked Kilgarrah to enhance the sword with dragon fire. It's destined at your side."

"Oh." Insert awkward silence. Arthur didn't really know what it meant. It was too spiritual for him. He needed more concrete things.

"Did you really kill my father? I thought the old sorcerer did it." Arthur was dying to know. This could influence his choice greatly.

Merlin's smile was pained. "Well, in a way, but I wasn't the cause."

"Explain."

"Well, you know Dragoon the Great?" Arthur frowned. Of course he did.

"That's me, when I take an aging potion." Arthur looked at him with wide eyes. It all made sense to him now. The humor, the attitude, the random disappearances of Merlin paired with the random appearances of the wizard…

"In that form, I can, could use magic more freely because my identity was hidden. So I tried to heal your father, with magic, in that form."

"But he died because of it."

"No, he died because of an amulet of Morgana."

"What did it do." Arthur was curious.

"It reversed the effect. So my healing magic became damaging magic, and killed him. In a way, I am responsible. In a way, I am not." Merlin looked down.

"Sit down." Arthur sat on a fallen tree, near a river.

Merlin sat down.

"Tell me everything."

And Merlin did. Arthur heard some interesting things, like how he had stopped Morgana multiple times, like how he stopped Sigan, Muirden, and many others. How he was the one that freed the great dragon. How he was the one who had offered his life to get Arthur's life back. How the Lancelot that kissed Gwen wasn't really Lancelot. His loyalty was amazing. They sat there for hours, Merlin telling stories, Arthur asking questions. Arthur was shocked to learn that Balinor was Merlin's father. With everything together, Merlin should have been rewarded, not having to hide. On the way back, Arthur had made his choice.

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"I will ask you to hide it a bit longer."

"What?! But why?"

"Because, if I'm going to change the rules about magic, people won't accept that so easily. There will be multiple sweeps of Camelot for sorcerers, and if you're found out, they will think you are manipulating me. Then everything you have done, will be for nothing."

"I understand."

"And Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"What did the great dragon say to you, this afternoon?"

"You were there?" Merlin had a bewildered look on his face, a look of pure shock.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Merlin, one would think you would be sharper by now after everything you've done to hide your identity. Now spill it."

"He told me that he found another dragon egg, somewhere high in the mountains." Arthur snapped around. This was news.

"This is important. We will talk about it later." Arthur didn't want to talk about it now. Otherwise it would be too much in one night.

They walked on. Arthur still had one question, but it went against all his principles to ask it. But he still did.

"Merlin… Can you… give a demonstration?"

Merlin looked at him. "Really, you want me to demonstrate it?"

Arthur gulped. He had to follow through now. "Yes."

Arthur steadied himself, for earthquakes, fire, lightning, and other things he had seen sorcerers use. But nothing happened. Just a tiny flame. Small, fragile, and beautiful. The power of magic, source of evil ( or so he though until today), could be gentle too. He just stared at the flame, enthralled by it beautifulness, and smiled.

"Thank you, Merlin."

"I never thought you would thank me."

"Merlin! You just ruined the moment."

"Prat." He chuckled, and Arthur chuckled with him. He didn't know where it came from, but it was relieving. In good spirits, they walked back to Camelot.

The end! You liked it? Review if you did. Maybe there will be a sequel, but not anytime soon. Bye!

No.311

Updates: Changed Stocks to Stables thanks to Kizmet.