Merlin peered into Arthur's chamber. He felt silly, but he knew how big a deal this was going to be. This was a literal 'make or break' situation: either Arthur was going to accept this, or not, and if not, then Merlin was going to be in big trouble.
"Arthur?" he called out, albeit somewhat weakly.
"Come on, Merlin," Arthur's voice resounded from the room. "You've never had to ask permission to come in."
Merlin took in a deep breath, steeling himself for the next few seconds. Then, he straightened his back slightly and walked in. He saw Arthur sitting at his desk, doing his least favourite task: writing reports and answering letters to the Pendragon family.
"It's about time you showed up," Arthur stated without looking up. "My chamber floor is in need of a good clean."
"Yes sire," Merlin replied quietly, cowardly thinking how glad he was to have some other task to be doing.
He then realised that he had to leave the room and get a broom. That meant he would have to make that agonising journey back to Arthur's chamber. And, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure if he could do it. It had taken all his willpower not to turn around and run away, just to get here the first time.
"Merlin?" Arthur had looked up from his work when he realised that his servant hadn't moved in the last five minutes.
Merlin looked back at Arthur, half his brain screaming to do one thing, while the other was screaming not to do it. Currently both halves were fighting over what to do and it had left Merlin paralysed to do anything but stand there like a petrified hare.
"Merlin, what's wrong?" Arthur frowned, his friend's silence and lack of movement was seriously starting to worry the prince. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything," he assured the younger man.
Merlin then took in a deep breath, turned around and closed the doors. Arthur shifted in his chair as Merlin turned back round, feeling slightly unnerved by the expression on his friend's face, it was a mixture between absolute terror and sparkling hope.
"I've been your servant for about half a year now," Merlin started, clearly unsure of what to say.
Arthur shifted again in his seat to face Merlin, showing his undivided attention. He could tell how nervous Merlin was, and so Arthur allowed him plenty of time to think. Besides, if this was what he thought it was, they'd both be laughing about it in a couple of minutes.
"And, I think I've kept quiet about something for too long. But, I wasn't sure how to say it," Merlin paused and looked at Arthur, not sure what he was hoping for, just knowing that he was hoping.
"Merlin, if this is so important: just say it," Arthur instructed kindly, though he was tired of Merlin's stalling. "If it's important then it's best that you say it clearly, or someone might get confused about what you're trying to say."
Merlin frowned thoughtfully. Then he nodded, closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Arthur would have smirked at Merlin, if this was what he suspected, but the next thing he heard was something completely different.
"I'mawarlock," he stated, speaking so fast that Arthur had difficulty understanding him.
"Sorry, what was that?" Arthur shook his head.
Merlin breathed in again, and then breathed out, slowly. It was obvious that this was not going to be easy.
"I'm a warlock. I use magic," he admitted, trying his best to ignore the plummeting feeling in his stomach.
Arthur looked at Merlin blankly, and Merlin believed this was out of shock, and so hurriedly continued.
"I didn't tell you earlier because, well, I was afraid. When I first met you, I was afraid that you'd hand me over to the king without a single question. And then, after a while, it felt like we were becoming friends and I didn't want you to have to choose between keeping my secret and betraying your father, or staying loyal to your father and betraying my secret."
Then, the room was silent. The silence seemed to go on for an eternity. Then Arthur pushed his chair back, and stood up. Without a word, he walked over to Merlin and met the young warlock's gaze. There they stood for a moment, the silence seemed deafeningly loud.
"I already knew," Arthur stated calmly.
"I know you-" Merlin cut off, Arthur's words finally sinking in. "You did?"
"I've know since the banquet when you saved my life," Arthur replied, resisting the urge to smile at Merlin's expression.
The dagger came flying towards Arthur. He couldn't move; he was frozen with terror as he watched with horror as his death came closer and closer.
Then, he felt two strong hands on his shoulders. For a moment, he fancied the thought that it was his father, but knew it was most probably a nearby knight. He made no resistance as those hands pulled him out of the way.
As he landed on the floor, he turned to his saviour and started. It was the gangly youth who had stood up to him earlier that day. Beneath the mop of raven-black hair, he saw the younger man's eyes glowing gold before the glow faded, showing azure blue. The youth blinked and then looked at Arthur for a second, before returning his eyes to Arthur's chair.
Arthur also directed his eyes to follow the other man's gaze. He watched the dagger, which had been about to kill him, spin slowly in the air before finally contacting the chair, embedding itself deep within the back.
Arthur felt his body go cold, as he realised what he'd seen. This man had saved his life… using magic. He had slowed down time to give him a long enough moment to reach the prince and pull him out of the way of the dagger. The prince's mind reeled.
His father had told him that magic was evil, that it was something to be destroyed. But here was someone who had used magic to save his life, rather than try to take it. This man wanted no harm to come to him.
Arthur stared at the sorcerer in shock. He watched the man stand up and offered Arthur his hand, which he took numbly. Everyone would assume that he was shocked with the attempt on his life.
He was vaguely aware of his father speaking to the pair of them, then one idea arrived in his head: Arthur's new manservant. The sorcerer was to become his new manservant. The thought of having the man so close to him, Arthur was not happy with the image.
He pulled an expression of disbelief to his father, who had already turned around. He was suddenly aware that the man next to him was also in disbelief at his new appointed position.
"I'm going to watch you sorcerer," Arthur thought venomously. "You saved my life tonight, so I won't reveal you. But as soon as I have proof that you perform magic, then I'll turn you over without a second thought."
"What do I do?" Arthur suddenly thought. "I swore that I'd reveal him as soon as I had proof. But I didn't know him back then. Now I know Merlin would never harm Camelot… he's a friend. What do I do?"
Merlin looked into Arthur's eyes and suddenly felt very safe. It occurred to him that if Arthur was going to do anything, then he'd had ample time and opportunity to act. The fact that he hadn't acted was an encouraging thought.
"Thanks for keeping my secret," Merlin stated sincerely.
"Thanks for finally telling me," Arthur stated.
"What will you do now?" Merlin asked, voicing Arthur's thoughts.
But, as Merlin asked, it seemed like the answer fell into place for Arthur. He straightened slightly as he looked at his friend. He smiled comfortingly.
"Nothing," he answered. "I've known since the beginning. To start with, it was only to keep myself out of indebting my life to you, but now, I just don't care. You proven to be nothing more than the sincerest person I've ever known. I don't believe you would ever do anything to harm Camelot, or anyone in it."
Merlin smiled in relief and pride. Arthur felt that pride infect him, it was as if the warlock was proud of him. Or, maybe he was proud that he'd judged the prince correctly, and then Arthur was proud to prove his friend right.
Then, Arthur turned around and looked at his room, and realised that he ad found a way to ease all tensions.
"You know, my room won't get cleaned if you keep standing here," he teased, still smiling.
Merlin nodded and returned the smile, his own warm, if somewhat goofy smile. He then disappeared to find a broom. Although he and Arthur were now at an understanding, he couldn't do any differently, or more precisely, he wouldn't do anything differently.
Arthur watched Merlin leave to find a broom, and decided to return to his own task. He raised his eyes to see Merlin return with a broom and begin sweeping. It felt strange to know that Merlin could probably cast a spell to send all the dust out the window, or something. But, he found that he didn't mind; it was a comfort to hear the brush sweeps as Merlin went about his task.
And so, master and servant, prince and warlock, friend and friend, they both focused their efforts on their assignments. There was no tension in the air, and nothing in the room felt any different. For which, both Merlin and Arthur were grateful.