Greetings!

So I got the idea for this story after watching Gaius and Uther's relationship in Merlin, I would greatly appreciate your feedback on it!

Disclaimer: Merlin isn't mine and in all likelihood never will be

The regal and yet aging King of Camelot ran his fingers through his grey hair as he went through the many papers in front of him. Suddenly there was a knock on the council room door.

"Enter."

The door opened to allow entrance to the Court Physician, whom had almost as much grey hair as the King. With a deep bow of almost forced respect the Physician entered the room and began to regard the King whom he cautiously continued to call his friend after all these years.

"Ah, Physician I'm glad you're here."

"Are you well my lord?"

"Yes yes," said the King dismissively obviously much more excited about the papers on the table before him. "I called you here because I am rewriting our treaties with the Druid people. We have been far too lenient with them. They are, after all, sorcerers." The Court Physician's heart skipped more than one beat at these words.

No he thought the King hasn't slipped that far; please tell me that I haven't lost him completely. "My lord," he began tentatively "the Druid people have shown us nothing but kindness, they have shown no ill will towards Camelot…"

"Anyone with magic shows ill will towards Camelot!" Shouted the King, pounding his fist on the table to accentuate his point. "Have you learned nothing from the countless magical attacks we have suffered? You yourself have lost much to these attacks."

The physician winced as he remembered he was running, fast, oh so fast, but not being quick enough. Bursting into the physician's chambers to find his body lying there where he had been killed…

"But sire, the Druid people were not responsible for those attacks…"

"Enough! I only called you in here so you can advise me on how best to track them down and dispatch them." Replied the King, clearly done humoring his subject on the matter.

The Kings words rang through his friend's head track them down…dispatch them…the King truly was becoming his father. The Court Physician clutched his chest at the loss of his closest and dearest friend, he had been in denial for a long time but here it was, proof at last, Arthur was truly lost.

"STOP THIS ARTHUR PENDRAGON!"

King Arthur clearly looked startled at such a display, he spluttered trying to come back to himself. "Merlin! What has gotten into you?"

"Me? What has gotten into you? If I had not heard it with my own ears I wouldn't have believed it. The King that I once had so much faith in has fallen so far that he sends his knights into the woods to hunt down innocent women and children whom he swore to protect. For too long have I stood by and allowed your hatred for everything magical spread until it has become as terrible as your father's.

"But I am as guilty as you, for I stood by during the second purge while you murdered countless innocent men, women, and children. I did it all in the hopes that by doing so I could reach my Arthur buried deep within there." Merlin's ancient face looked at Arthur with such sadness and loss that Arthur felt deeply hurt, did Merlin not think that he was Arthur?

"Merlin this is enough, I am going to forget that you said all of that because of our years of friendship but I warn you if you go any further…"

"Then what? You'll execute me too?" Merlin asked, his arms open wide as if daring Arthur to do it. However Arthur could see the pain and sorrow deep within his eyes as they filled with years of unshed tears. Arthur felt a weight in his stomach as he looked at Merlin, really looked at him for the first time in a long time. The loss of their friendship was slow, did it start when Merlin became Court Physician instead of his manservant? When Arthur began to realize that in order to lead properly he mustn't rely on others too much? He use to seek Merlin's council on every matter, whether it be personal or matters of state. But no more. All of a sudden there was a weight in his throat as well. Arthur realized that this was the longest they had talked in years. Why did they never talk anymore? What had changed? Without realizing it he asked these last two questions out loud.

Merlin's face softened, did he feel the loss of their friendship too?

"I blame myself for what you have become," said Merlin sadly. Arthur became indignant, wasn't Camelot a better place now? Weren't his people safer? "I could have prevented all of this from happening, but I was scared."

"And how could you have done that Merlin?" Even the way Arthur use to say his name sounded wrong, unused, another sharp knife of grief to Arthur's heart.

Merlin merely smiled sadly and held up his wrinkled hand and whispered something Arthur couldn't make out. And that's when both of their worlds came crashing down. The aging King watched as his lifelong friend produced dragon made of fire, the Pendragon crest. To Merlin it was a sign of his loyalty, to Arthur it was a sign of betrayal of the highest level.

At first Arthur couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he couldn't function. Breathing started again first, then thinking, MerlinsasorcererMerlinsasorcererMerlinsasorcercerMerlinsasorcercer. Then Arthur began to feel the deepest sense of betrayal, hurt, confusion, anger and other emotions he couldn't begin to put a name on.

Throughout this entire process Merlin was watching him with a blank look on his face, as if he had always known this day would come and had worked through almost every possible outcome.

Arthur began to pace behind his chair in the council room, trying to figure out how his friend could have fallen so far, to have practiced the arts of evil. Once Arthur got his voice back he found anger to be at the top of the pile of emotions, "How could you do this to me!? To Camelot!? You have betrayed everything I have stood for!" He would have continued but Arthur was interrupted, again (he was getting really tired of Merlin picking up that old habit).

"Betrayed you!?" Asked Merlin incredulous, "I have done nothing but protect you and Camelot. It is YOU who have betrayed me, Camelot, your people, and worst of all, yourself. I have fought, killed and almost died more times than I can count, all in your name, all in the hopes that you would build a better and brighter future. But look around you Pendragon! Because all I can see is fear and hatred. You use to be a King who believed all were equal, but when was the last time you held a meeting at the round table?" Arthur winced because it was true, meetings with his knights were now held at the usual table with lots of 'yes, my lord' and 'sire'.

"But Merlin how can you practice sorcery when it was a sorcerer who killed Gaius?" Asked Arthur imploringly.

Even though it had been decades Merlin still cringed at the memory. A sorcerer had come looking for Merlin (or rather Emrys), wanting to kill him for not helping the people of the magical community, but instead the sorcerer had found Gaius. From what little Merlin could to find out, the sorcerer had tried to find out where Merlin was and what his reasons for not acting were. Gaius however, would give him nothing.

Merlin did not know that the sorcerer was within the castle until too late, he ran and ran trying to get to his mentor in time, instead he found Gaius' body lying on the floor where the sorcerer had left him, dead. Merlin had cried for hours and hours until his body was empty until someone found him and called Arthur. In the end the sorcerer had gotten the showdown with Merlin he was looking for, however it ended differently than the sorcerer had hoped and he became dragon fodder.

"So Gaius was protecting you?" Asked Arthur incredulously, Merlin merely nodded. "But doesn't that prove that magic is evil?"

"And don't I prove that it isn't? It's just a tool Arthur nothing more, it can be used for good as well as evil, for healing as well as fighting."

"I will hear no more of this!" Arthur looked at him with distain, as if he was less than human "Why are you here? Are you trying to enchant my entire court?"

Merlin smirked "Well I must be very bad at it if that's the only reason I've stayed." Arthur didn't even smile. "No Arthur I'm not here to enchant the court, you or anyone else! I've been saving your life every other week!"

"You lied to me for years about your magic, and yet you expect me to believe this?" Arthur yelled barely believing his ears, in his years of hearing sorcerers beg for their lives he had heard more than one that had sounded partially plausible, but this? Why would a sorcerer want to protect him? Arthur knew what he had to do; his friend was gone, lost to the arts of magic and its evil ways. "You have been charged with conspiring in the arts of sorcery, do you deny it?"

Merlin looked at the man who at one time held so much hope, so much promise, whom he risked his life for again and again. When people from the magic community asked why he protected Arthur the answer use to come so easy, 'he is the once and future king', 'he is my friend', 'he is a great man' and now he found that he really had no answers to give. Maybe that was why he had finally decided that he would tell the King his secret. No he wouldn't fool himself, there was never any hope of Arthur changing his mind on magic, maybe years ago there was a chance…but not now. Not after all of the betrayals he has suffered, Morgana, Agravine, Gwen and Lancelot. No, Arthur wouldn't change the laws for a mere manservant.

"No sire, I don't deny it." Said Merlin with as much pride as he could muster, standing up as straight as his old back would let him.

As the aging King regarded Mer- the sorcerer his heart ached as he thought back over all of the adventures that that two of them had overcome. The two immortal armies, retaking Camelot countless times, fighting Morgana, revealing his uncle, Mordred's betrayal, countless hunting trips, and so many others. At one point in time Arthur had regarded the man in front of him as his dearest friend, as his pillar of support, however those days are now long past. Now when the King saw Merlin standing there he also saw the evilness of sorcery and its potential to corrupt. And so, with a heavy heart Arthur merely nodded then called "Guards! Arrest him." His voice never breaking, not even once.

What do you think? Did I mislead you in the beginning? A little? Not really? Anyway r&r and I will post the second part soon!