Summary: Merlin is forced to use magic to save Arthur and some of his knights. What happens when they discover the truth about Merlin?
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Merlin. Any recognizable characters belong to BBC. I just borrowed them for a bit of non-profit fun.
Spoilers: Minor spoilers for seasons 1&2.
Author's Note: Despite lurking around on fanfiction boards for ages this is the first story I've published so any feedback is welcome!
- A Knight's Honour -
Merlin scrambled to get behind Arthur and the other knights as the beast charged towards them. He had no idea what the monster was - but considering it looked like a scaly horse with a barbed tail and breathed fire, he was guessing it was magical. That, and it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked Arthur's party as they were returning from a visit to some of the outlying villages. 'And really,' thought Merlin to himself 'what else do magical creatures do but try and rip Arthur's royal head off?'
"Fan out, try and surround it!" shouted Arthur to the other knights as he stepped in front of Merlin, obviously trying to shield his friend.
Merlin watched as the knights circled around, looking for an opening to attack, but the beast was faster. With one swipe of it's tail, it knocked Percival into Arthur and they both went down in a heap in front of Merlin. Sir Owen and Sir Leon ran forward to protect their fallen comrades, but Merlin realized it would be futile. Merlin watched as the beast reared back both heads and he knew what was coming next. It was about to spew fire at the knights and there was no way it would miss this time. All four men would be killed.
Without thinking Merlin threw his arms out towards the creature and shouted "dægscield!" just as fire shot towards the knights. Owen and Leon ducked instinctively but the fire never reached them. Instead the men looked up to see the air sparkling golden as the flames parted around them, and the warlock's eyes shining with the same gold. There was no doubt of the source of the barrier. Merlin noted their looks of shock on their faces, and he heard Arthur swear under his breath as the prince picked himself up, but Merlin forced himself to focus on keeping the barrier in place as the beast continued to spout deadly flames
Realizing it's prey was still standing, the beast howled in fury and ceased it's fire and instead threw itself at Sir Leon but Arthur had recovered and threw himself forward and plunged his sword into the beast's neck and it toppled over with a final puff of smoke trailing from it's open jaw.
Merlin felt his arms drop to his side as he watched Arthur remove his sword and check that the animal was actually dead. The other men seemed not to even notice the threat was gone – they merely stared open jawed. Part of Merlin's mind noted that Sir Owen's expression was one of complete and utter disbelief, Sir Leon looked shocked but his mouth twitched in what could almost have been a smile. Sir Percival seemed to be recovering from the shock and his sword was twitching ominously in Merlin's direction. But mostly Merlin's attention was focused on the back of the one person who held his fate in his hands. Arthur seemed to be taking much longer than necessary to ascertain that the beast was truly dead, and slowly wiped his blade repeatedly to clean it, keeping his back to the others. But Merlin could see the tension in his shoulders and knew that his friend was merely delaying the inevitable confrontation.
There was no way Merlin could explain this away. His actions had been obvious to everyone. The seconds seemed like hours, he couldn't move –he could barely think. Would Arthur arrest him or just execute him on the spot? The fact that he wasn't looking at him was causing Merlin's stomach to sink further and further with every heartbeat.
Finally Arthur turned and Merlin thought he saw a flicker of respect and affection in his expression before it was hidden behind his "Official Crown Prince" expression. The prince looked at Merlin as if expecting him to speak. Merlin found that all he could manage was a fumbled "Erm, umm ah, that is I ummm…"
His words were mumbled and whispered and as he glanced over at Sir Percival he realized that the man seemed to have taken them to be some sort of spell. Merlin stopped speaking and backed up against the tree behind him as the knight advanced on him with his sword drawn a glare in his eyes.
"Percival! What are you doing?" Demanded Arthur, stepping quickly between Merlin and the much larger knight and glaring at him.
"He's a sorcerer sire!" Percival replied, never taking his eyes off the young warlock and keeping his blade trained on Merlin's chest..
"Merlin is no sorcerer. Now put down your weapon." Arthur said, drawing incredulous stares from the other men. Even Merlin was shocked – Arthur had clearly seen him do some serious magic, as had the others. Percival's sword did not move from it's target.
"But sire- he used magic!" Percival looked around at the others as if to confirm that he wasn't the only witness. Owen nodded, still open mouthed and his voice cracked as he stuttered "His eyes – they- they were Gold sire!". Sir Leon merely looked to Arthur with raised eyebrows.
With a quick look at Merlin that clearly said 'Follow my lead on this or you'll be cleaning chamber pots right up until the moment my father executes you' Arthur turned back to Percival and spoke in his most arrogantly royal tone. "I said lower your weapon Percival."
Merlin fought to hide a small smirk. While he may tease Arthur about being a royal prat, sometimes his arrogance did serve to remind others just who they were dealing with. It never intimidated Merlin but it did cause Percival to lower his weapon. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.
Arthur stepped up beside Merlin and clasped his shoulder, much like he would a knight who had just finished a successful training match. He smiled at his friend and turned to the knights. "Yes, Merlin used magic today-just as he has used it in the past, but Merlin is no Sorcerer. " Merlin fought hard to keep his face expressionless as his mid raced. 'In the past? Did Arthur know?' He was so surprised he almost missed the prince's next words.
"The law states that 'by royal decree the use of sorcery, being an evil and unnatural perversion that corrupts the land, is outlawed in the lands of Camelot'. By the letter of the law all sorcery is evil. Can anyone here honestly say that Merlin is evil?"
"No sire, I can honestly say that Merlin is a good, kind and loyal person." Sir Leon responded immediately. Merlin looked up surprise – he'd always gotten along well enough with Leon, but he never realized that the knight had such respect for him.
Arthur smiled "Exactly. Therefore since all Sorcerers are evil, and Merlin is not, then clearly Merlin is not a Sorcerer. He is in fact a wizard, and practices wizardry which unlike sorcery is for the benefit of Camelot and protects us from evil." Merlin was stunned – 'Arthur should stick to swordplay and leave negotiations to the council' Merlin thought to himself 'No one will buy this load of manure'. Arthur squared his shoulders and leveled a glare at the assembled knights as if daring them to contradict his royal self. When no one dared contradict the crown prince, he continued.
"Merlin has been acting to protect me from magical attacks since he entered my service. In recognition of this I have granted him a Royal Dispensation to practice has been acting with my full knowledge and support"
Merlin just about choked as he tried to keep a straight face. Full knowledge and support? How exactly was giving him with an impossible list of chores everyday supposed to be support?. And he knew, he knew. Merlin had been trying to figure how or if he should tell Arthur about his magic for months. He'd lost countless nights' sleep worried he'd lose his life if he said anything but that he would lose his best friend if he didn't. And all along the prat bloody well knew!
Sir Owen looked thoughtful, "Well I suppose that explains why Merlin follows you around on dangerous missions - I mean, most servants never leave the castle, but if Merlin's your magical bodyguard I suppose it might make sense, but…."
"So the king has agreed to this?" asked Percival suspiciously. Merlin felt his skin prickle at the mere thought. Uther would never agree to such a thing - and they all knew it.
"What my father knows of my affairs is none of your business. Is your father aware of all your actions Percival?" Arthur replied in a thinly veiled threat. While the knights may have all turned a blind eye to Percival's choice of bedmates Lord Phillip, his father, would disinherit him in an instant if he ever found out.
"It could be you are acting under an enchantment sire." He turned to Sire Leon who was the senior of the three knights "Sorcery is outlawed for a reason. Perhaps we ought to arrest them both and leave it to the king to decide." Merlin saw Percival smirk and began to panic. Uther would execute him without thinking twice.
"Please – You have to believe I would never cause any harm to Arthur or Camelot! I've done nothing but protect Camelot since I arrived! I killed the Afanc, the griffon, the Questing Beast and a few other beasts I can't even name-including that one" Merlin pointed at the dead creature lying on the ground. "I've defeated countless evil sorcerers who have a grudge against Uther, disenchanted Arthur every time some sorceress casts a love spell on him and if it weren't for me there would be a troll on the throne right now."
Arthur said nothing but by the way his eyebrows had risen up under his hair Merlin suspected that while he may have known of Merlin's magical abilities- he clearly hadn't known the full extent of his activities over the years.
Sir Leon looked thoughtfully at the two young men. His looke Merlin in the eye for a few seconds before his eyes came to rest on the prince. He looked at Arthur as if he were seeing not just the prince as he was, but the boy he had been and the king he would be. After several minutes he seemed to make up his mind.
"I've known Prince Arthur for years and based on what I've seen- I don't believe he's enchanted. I believe he simply does not share his father's blind hatred of magic. If he says Merlin has his royal permission to do magic, then I accept the decision of the crown prince. In fact I agree with him. Merlin has been a loyal servant to the prince and from what I've seen - a good friend to Camelot. Apart from the magical aid he mentioned, I've seen him protect not only the prince, but the King as well." He stepped closer to Merlin clasped his shoulder and spoke quietly. "That day you saved not only the King's life but perhaps the prince's soul. He truly never would have forgiven himself." Merlin knew he was talking of the incident in the throne room which was never to be discussed on threat of hanging, and Leon moved on quickly.
"To hand them over to Uther would be a death sentence for Merlin and imprisonment at the very least for the Prince." Leon continued speaking to the others "Merlin saved our lives today. To turn around and have him killed is beneath the honour of a knight. If Merlin has the prince's trust then I see no need to speak of what I saw here today. Do you agree?" he looked at the other two.
"Aye. On my honour as a knight I will say nothing." Owen nodded. But then thought Merlin, the youngest knight practically worshiped both Leon and Arthur. If neither of them would turn in the young warlock then neither would he.
Percival looked mutinous. Clearly he thought that Uther should be told the minute they returned to Camelot. Merlin watched as his eyes looked to each of the men and finally came to rest on Merlin. He glared at him with pure hatred.
"If you prefer Percival, we could of course discuss the matter with your father, his estate is on the way back to Camelot. I'm sure he'd be delighted to hear ALL the latest news from his son." Leon suggested.
"Fine. I'll hold my tongue." Percival agreed. "But I'm watching you." He glared at Merlin a final time and stalked off to gather the horses. Leon and Owen followed after him.
"Right." Arthur turned towards Merlin as the men walked off and muttered quietly, "First chance you get, you'll need to cast some sort of memory spell or something to make him forget all this or else turn into a frog or something if he tries to tell someone. In the mean time - about those monsters you claim to have killed - we need to have a nice long talk….."