DARKNESS AND LIGHT, TRUTH AND LIES, a merlin fanfic

This is set in late season 1, just after episode 11, but with a few changes:

-Morgana did found out about Merlin´s magic at the end of episode 4, but she didn´t say a thing until after they went to stop Kanen from raiding Ealdor. (She wanted him to tell her when he was ready.) She also overheard Hunith and Merlin talking, and Will and Merlin fighting.

-Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival, and Elyan all live in Camelot and are friends with Merlin, but they aren´t knights. They all work with Gwen´s and Elyan´s father at the forge and have helped Merlin when needed.

-None of them knows about Merlin´s magic.

-Lancelot was never interested in Gwen.

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"...sma."

Arthur stopped in his tracks and frowned. 'What was that?'

"Bl...ma."

The Prince turned his gaze to the physician´s door he was just passing by and stepped closer. 'Was that…?'

"Come on, ...lin...you...do it."

Arthur rolled his eyes. It was his manservant alright. 'For a second I could have sworn he was speaking in other language.' Arthur blond was just about to go on his way when Merlin's voice sounded again.

"Blo...a"

The older boy frowned again at the door. 'What is that idiot doing?' Coming to a decision, Arthur opened the door quietly and entered. Gaius was nowhere to be seen. 'Must be doing his rounds.' Arthur thought as he stood in the center of the room.

"Ok, ...ce again. Bl...ma."

Arthur spun to the door at the end of the room and frowned. The Prince was about to shout out for the younger boy, but something stopped him. All his life the blond had trained to be the best swordsman and fighter he could be, part of that included honeying his senses and learning to trust his instincts, and now they were telling him something was off. As quietly as he could, he walked to the rackety old door of Merlin's room. There was a little gap in the wood, hardly noticeable, but enough for Arthur to crouch and peek into the room unnoticed.

The room was as messy as Arthur remembered it. Clothes thrown haphazardly over a chair, bed in disarray, and herbs lying randomly near the window for drying. What was interesting, though, was the thick book that laid open on the bed, the medium-sized flower pot which rested upon the table, and the way Merlin was pacing back and forth and talking to himself.

"Focus, Merlin! This is for Morgana, you can do it."

Arthur nearly snorted. He should have known. Merlin´s infatuation with the King's Ward had been plain obvious for him for months now, and even though he had strongly encouraged his manservant against it, the pair had been seen walking and talking through the courtyard and the gardens. Nothing so obvious that it would cause someone to go running to the King, but enough for Arthur to realize that he had never seen Morgana smile so much with anyone aside from Gwen, and that Merlin seemed more at ease with her than with anyone else in the castle.

Arthur´s expression softened as he watched the boy walk to the bed and flip through some of the pages in the book. He would never admit it out loud, but the truth was that had the situation been different, he would consider them a good couple, a sickeningly cute one, even.

Morgana may not be a Pendragon by blood, but she was the closest thing to a sister he had, and one of the strongest persons he had ever known; and Merlin, for all his quirks and oddities, had repeatedly proved himself a trustworthy friend, one of the truest ones Arthur had had in his life if he were to be honest. The boy rode out with him, and he did it unarmoured and unarmed. That kind of bravery and loyalty was hard to find, and it rivalled that of his best knights. He couldn't see the young boy wanting to take advantage of Morgana's station or feelings.

'Which, in truth, is more than I can say of some of the so-called "nobles" that have come for Morgana's hand in the last few years.' Arthur thought with annoyance, which promptly turned to grim satisfaction as he thought of the way Morgana had disposed of each and every single one of them. The imbeciles hadn´t even known what hit them and each one of them had been running back home the moment Morgana was done with them. The prince almost felt bad for the poor sods. Almost.

The blond was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of Merlin moving to stand again in front of the table. The dark-haired boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When the blue orbs opened, Arthur could see that something was different. He had never seen this kind of expression in his normally goofy manservant. His eyes were focused, his face a mask of determination. Arthur watched as Merlin pointed his arm towards the flower pot and with a clear voice, he spoke one word. One word that had Arthur´s blood freezing in his veins and caused his heart to skip what felt like several beats.

"Blotsma!"

The blond could have talk himself out of believing what he was seeing in front of him. The word was just some gibberish Merlin had invented, it certainly wasn't an archaic and ancient language capable, in the wrong hands, of destroying entire cities and killing thousands; The book on the bed was full of scribbles and idle doodles, not of countless chaos-wreaking spells; and if Merlin's eyes had shined gold, it was a trick of the light that was pouring from the window, it sure as hell wasn't because he had cast some god-awful spell. Arthur could have talked himself out of believing what he had seen…, that is, until the flower pot started to bloom.

It started with just one flower. A small royal blue rose which opened its petals to drink the rays of the sun. The first flower was followed by a second, and then by a third. The roses continued to grow until, almost in no time, the formerly empty pot had been turned into a dazzling flower arrangement.

Arthur couldn´t move, couldn´t breathe, couldn´t speak. It seemed as if the entire universe had come to a standstill. That is, until his body caught up with his panicking mind and did the only rational thing he could in a situation like this. He ran.

He dashed through the corridors like a mad man, causing servants and nobles alike to quickly move aside unless they wanted to get ran over by the panicking prince.

It wasn´t until Arthur had reached his chambers and bolted the door behind him that his mind caught up with the last few minutes. Arthur collapsed with his back against the door and proceeded to slide to the ground. He sat there, head on his knees, trying to catch his breath while the same sentence sounded time and time again in his head.

'Merlin is a sorcerer…'