SUMMARY: Just a small story, one-shot. Merlin argues with Gaius about his feelings for Arthur. In which Merlin discloses facts pertaining to his magic, leaving behind a rather stunned audience.

There is a mix on the history take. Gwen's been banished from Camelot as Lancelot returns, and betrayals have already surfaced.

Sorry have a bit of some good old fashioned writer's block, dealing with Emerald Sparks will update as soon as I can.

DISCLAIMER:

NOW THE PLOT IS ALL MINE; THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO BBC, BBC ONE HD STUDIOS, AND JULIAN JONES, JAKE MICHIE, JOHNNY CAPPS, JULIAN MURPHY. THE REST OF THE STORY AND CHAPTERS BELONG SOLELY TO ME 'SAHIBA'.

This story is rated M. Please Enjoy.

Chapter One.

Moonlight Confessions

Lanterns gleamed and flickered high in the towers of the ancient castle, ruled and founded by power, a few torches shimmered in the windows, north of where stood one lone figure, hidden from the rest of the world. Late as the hour was for a kingdom, where most people retired indoors with the coming of night, some lingering, hastened to make final work of their secret rendezvous.

Lights also glimmered in the distance of the village, but very few people chose to walk the streets, this time at night. Centuries ago the then founders ruled the majestic ruin, leading the castle with power and intellect.

The moon had risen in a now-cobalt sky lording it over a host of attendant stars. The figure clad in black stood on a against his window, leaning back, a young man only a few years old, but tall and proud, surveyed the surroundings below keenly, he put a hand to his hair, and pulled, his unruly hair spiked out in random wayward mannerism, as if controlled by a magic more mysterious than the man himself. Raising his eyes, the moonlight shone on bright sapphire orbs, as the wind blew the hair around his face and across his forehead. His form was lean and thin, his eyes stood out, they were tense and alert; the eyes of an eagle, aware of every movement and every rhythm of change that struck the evening air.

As he narrowed his eyes Merlin sat by the window of his room, staring out at Camelot. The beauty of the sunset, set a throbbing within his ribcage, had he been paying complete attention, he would have noticed the Prince and his few trusted knights, crawling beneath his window, intent to Prank him clear, as crystal.

Merlin sighed as throwing his head back, the moonlight falling on his features he sighed, and without really thinking about the consequences, that anyone may hear him he sang softly.

Nothing goes as planned
Everything will break
People say goodbye
In their own special way;

All that you rely on
And all that you could fake
Will leave you in the morning
Come find you in the day;

Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste, at night inside of my mouth
Oh, you run away, cause I am not what you found
Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out

Everything will change
Nothing stays the same
Nobody is perfect
Oh, but everyone is to blame
All that you rely on

And all that you can save

Will leave you in the morning
Will find you in the day

Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste, at night inside of my mouth
Oh, you run away, cause I am not what you found
Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out

No I cannot get you out
No I cannot get you out
Oh no, I cannot get you out
No I cannot get you out

Everything is dark
It's more than you could take
But you catch a glimpse of sunlight
Shining
Shining down on your face
Your face
On your face

Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste, at night inside of my mouth
Oh, you run away, cause I am not what you found
Oh, you're in my veins, and I cannot get you out
No, I cannot get you out
No, I cannot get you out...
Oh no, I cannot get you...

Merlin sighed softly, as Gaius sat beside him, on the bed, "You should tell him how you feel", he whispered. Merlin smirked, "I may be a masochist, but I assure you Gaius, I am not suicidal", he grinned weakly.

Gaius sighed, "You never know, he might feel the same way, it's not frowned upon in Camelot, relationships between two men, that is", he tried to ensure. Merlin laughed a soft sad heart wrenching laugh, which pierced all within listening distance. "Please don't mock me Gaius", he whispered. Voice loud enough to be carried to the eavesdroppers below, five men winced in unison. Gaius nodded, "I know but still, even if we erase that impediment, he might feel the same way", the old man implored weakly.

Merlin snickered, "That is definitely impossible, I believe it's been proven as well, he likes women, I mean have you realized how many times, the man has landed into dangerous trouble because of the women in his life?" he joked, as Gaius chuckled weakly in agreement. Almost as if to reassure and explain to the listeners below, Merlin recounted.

"Let's see, Even though I will agree that he may not have been charmed by lady Helen, but he did find her voice mesmerizing enough to end up covered in a spider's web", he stated blandly. Gaius nodded, "True, but then Arthur may have been borne from Magic, but that doesn't mean he'd be sensitive to it", the 'like you are' went unsaid as he tried to defend the Prince.

Five men blinked as they suddenly realized who Merlin was singing about. Four pairs of eyes slid to a shocked Prince, who slid down the wall, and simply sat there, staring at nothing.

It wasn't lost to Leon, Percival, Elyan and Gwaine, as they had watched the interactions between the two (over the years), that there may have been more than just friendship between the two. Finally having received a confession of sorts from Merlin, they settled against the Prince hoping to further listen in on what was turning out to be quite an entertaining story.

Merlin nodded, "I know, but there was the part where when one wakes from deep sleep, one doesn't just stare at the woman, I mean given Uther's sensitivity to magic, I assumed that's where he'd start screaming 'Guards!'" Merlin shrieked the last word on a high pitched note, which made Leon and Gwaine snicker, the imitation oddly similar to how Uther had once yelled the word. Gaius shook his head, one eyebrow raised, an expression of derision clear across his features, "Well you must agree when I say, that we all were fairly in shock, it's not everyday one gets to be covered in silk webs", he scoffed. Merlin nodded, "Fine. Point Taken, how about Nimweh?" he tilted his head daring Gaius to retort with a satisfied excuse. The old man winced, "I almost lost you to that witch twice Merlin, I can fairly ascertain that she was more after you than the Prince", he stated.

Leon blinked, "Why Merlin?" he asked warily. Arthur shrugged weakly, but paused to listen to Merlin rather than answer the question, with any comment.

Merlin sighed, "Yes, But, I'd reckon that Arthur would have definitely fallen for her wiles, she was beautiful, even when I dueled her. Dangerous but still inherently beautiful", he stated. Arthur hissed in anger as Merlin repeated the word 'beautiful', but paused a second time as the last words registered. "D-Dueled h-her?" he stuttered. Elyan shrugged.

Gaius laughed, "Oh Nimweh was always beautiful, even at Arthur's conception, she had been beautiful then as well, even if she may have had another face then", he sighed almost dreamily. Merlin snorted, "Oh yeah, I can see the beauty in that gob-smacked expression", he teased. Gaius threw a cloth at him. Merlin laughed a boyish laugh. "Anyway—", he stressed, "— I know Nimweh tried to kill me twice", he snorted playfully, "But hey I killed her right? So she won't come back. I won't let her hurt Arthur again, even if it is indirectly", he promised unaware of the impact of his words uttered. Gaius hid a smile.

Arthur breathed in deeply, and willed himself not to flush, failing miserably. The knights chose not to comment each hiding a soft smile.

Merlin hummed under his breath and then, "Ah… Let's not forget, Sophia", and he snorted. Gaius laughed, "Ah I remember, what was it you said you did to bring Arthur back to senses?" he asked. Merlin snickered, "Told him I knocked him out with a lump of wood", he chuckled. Gaius snorted, "A lump of wood indeed. With a hard head like his, you'd have needed a lump of Rock to knock him out", he stated. Merlin smirked, "Lucky Sophia did that with a staff. Ah, magic truly makes things easier", he joked.

Ignoring the rage in his voice Gaius sighed, "You saved his life you know, and not all magic is bad". He placated weakly. Merlin huffed, "All I did was dive into a lake and swim to the bottom, and pull him out, it's not like I used magic to teleport him from the lake itself. Manual labor… At the rate he gets attacked it will be a long time before he trusts anyone with magic", he snarled. Shaking his head Gaius smiled, "You do realize you pulled an unconscious man wearing the heaviest and strongest known armor in the land, from a lake, where water tends to increase the weight of any metal and clothes in general, yet still managed to not only pull him back up, but also to swim back to shore with said man. That was definitely not easy", the old man praised.

Arthur and the knights gaped in awe; they were aware of how difficult it was to wade through water conscious of the weight, yet to not only drag a man to the shore but also one unconscious, which in itself was a redeemable job.

Merlin shrugged, "I wasn't really aware of the weight, getting Arthur to safety was my main concern, I don't think I noticed whether he was heavy at all, granted his not exactly the lightest bloke around", he answered absentmindedly and then crowed, "Morgause", he intoned with a voice of absolute triumph.

Arthur smiled, trust Merlin to make light of any praise given.

Gaius shook his head, and Merlin whined, "Oh come on, what now… Morgause definitely was trying to kill Arthur", he said pitifully. The old man nodded, "Yes, and the King, a thing which you stopped, thankfully", the man said, and continued overriding Merlin's questions, "However, the first time Morgause dueled Arthur in a organized duel, there really was no lust or attraction there, mostly just shock. And then there was also the few other times, between, showing Arthur truth about his conception, however edited it was, and the moments with the 'Cup of Life', you have to admit, Arthur wasn't exactly vying for Morgause's attention, or lusting for her in particular", he pointed out. Merlin nodded, "Well obviously not, he was lusting for Gwen rather at that moment", he pouted, "But yeah, I get it, so okay not Morgause then, how about Vivian", he nodded as Gaius winced, "See, even you agree".

The eavesdropper's sighed, "Point in favor", Leon muttered. Arthur flushed, "in my defense I was bewitched", he mumbled.

Merlin smug voice wafted down to the listeners, and forced Gwaine to hide his head in Leon's shoulder muffling his guffaws, "And don't say anything about him bewitched, The girl was attractive enough, and Arthur did kiss her willingly once, after that it was just another magical disaster". Gaius sighed, "Point, but hey I still believe you should have kissed Arthur, in the words of The Great Dragon, 'You two are the sides of the same coin'. Arthur is your destiny, as you are his", the old Medic said mysteriously, ignoring Merlin's sputters.

Coughing Merlin looked up, forcing his flush to recede, "I do believe Kilgharrah said, he could only be awaken by True Love's Kiss, Destiny or not, I'm one hundred percent sure that Gwen has always been the only one Arthur has ever loved. The only one he was willing to fight the social barrier for", he said.

Silence descended on the room, and Merlin closed his eyes, and tipped his head back, the moonlight danced across his features.

Arthur looked up and saw a silent tear trickle down his face. The droplet fell and landed on the Prince's lips. Swallowing Arthur placed the finger that held his Pendragon signet ring, and placed it on his lips, closing his eyes, he almost missed when Merlin whispered a sixth name. The name turned his blood cold.

Merlin wiped away the tear, and turned to Gaius, "Morgana". Gaius hissed, "You loved her", he hissed. Merlin nodded, "Hmmm…" he barely acknowledged.

Arthur grit his teeth, Anger clouded his stormy blue eyes, and Percival took a hesitant step back.

Merlin sighed, "I did, but then she did try to kill me", he laughed, "Evil as she is, Morgana needs a lesson in Torture. Aredian was better, but still—", "That's not funny Merlin", Gaius interjected. Merlin flinched as he looked up apologetically, "Shite! Sorry Gaius I forgot he tried to hurt you, almost got you killed". Gaius waved his apology aside, "Not what I meant, beside you gave him his due, when you made him throw up a frog/toad/whatever. I meant—", he paused, and swallowed, "—I meant, that Morgana torturing you was not at all a thing to joke about. The fact that she knows you are Emrys, is in itself a dangerous problem", he warned. Merlin waved his hand, "I can handle Morgana, I am a lot more powerful than she is, I'm not boasting Gaius. I am. The next time she attacks Arthur, I'll kill her. The fact that she caused Arthur more grief than was absolutely necessary irritates me. The fact that Arthur loved her annoys me, the fact that she loved Arthur pisses me off, but the worst is that even if I kill her, the pain it would cause Arthur is not something I want on my conscience; I'd rather he just forgot who she was, and I kill her regardless", he hissed venomously.

His voice a dangerous treble, scaring the knights as they heard the shift for the first time in the gentle and always clumsy boy, Arthur shivered.

Gaius sighed, "As wonderful as that idea maybe, Magic has a way of causing problems, say you do manage to kill her, and Arthur does forget her, what's to say, when an old magic opponent strikes Camelot and resurrects her. The idea that the Prince of Camelot, Morgana's half-brother does not remember her; the end result would be catastrophic!" he explained.

Merlin sighed in wary defeat, and then, "I could torture her", he began happily, and "It would give me great pleasure to inflict the same pain on her that she has given Arthur. I could strip away the skin from one of her arm bones slowly. Then I could boil one of her arms, with Magic, a touch as light as a simple kiss. Oh she likes dreaming doesn't she, I'll give her one minute long dreams of several different ways I could just kill her. As soon as her mind shatters, she'd be aware of the effect as I burn her at the stake, as she remains helpless as she watches her body burn, keep half her ashes, and spread the rest across the fields", he dream t.

Gaius looked at him, "We really need to keep that mind of yours occupied with something a little less disgusting. And the fields would suffer if we spread Morgana's ashes over them", he shot back. Merlin smirked, "Hmmm… I could always feed the ashes to Mordred", he murmured. Gaius choked, "Merlin!" and gagged. Merlin shrugged, "It was only a suggestion", he said. Gaius looked vaguely pale as he stared at the boy, no warlock, as power radiated off him in waves. "Even as it may have been, aren't you forgetting something, you don't usually act so, so, for a lack of better word… evil!" the old man cried out. Merlin shrugged, "I told you, she hurt Arthur that is one of the mildest things I've thought up to do to her, the rest are a lot worse. It's not evil if it means I can pay her back in full", he explained. Gaius winced, as raw power flowed through him, "Merlin", he warned, gesturing to the items of clothing that began to hover in the room. Merlin grinned, in silent apology.

The knights and Arthur shivered, in all the times they had fought against Magic, the undercurrents of what they felt were far stronger, as Merlin's power wafted down to them, and only to be pulled back rather abruptly as Gaius admonished the warlock.

Merlin smiled, "Oh… Elena", he spoke up suddenly. Gaius snorted, "Oh that was priceless", he snickered. Merlin smirked, "In all fairness, she was possessed by a pixie", he began only to burst out laughing. Gaius sighed, "Witches, Sorceresses, Sidhe, Pixies", he snorted, "I guess it is fair to say the man really does get enchanted, a lot!" he grinned weakly. Merlin guffawed, "I told you so. The only human female he's had to encounter was Queen Annis", he retorted.

Gaius smirked, "Not that she didn't give him a run for his gold" and as they exchanged looks of exasperation and burst out laughing, Arthur rolled his eyes heavenward praying for patience, as his knights held back there own snickers.

Merlin snorted, "Oh I almost forgot", he started and Gaius sighed mentally repeating exactly what Gwaine murmured, "There's another one?"

Merlin smirked, "There was also… Lamia", he murmured. Gaius sighed, "She—", "I know", the warlock interjected, "There may have been no enchanting The Prince, but by the Gods she was a handful. Not to mention her enchanting all the knights. That was just painful, not only were Arthur's best enchanted but she was aiming for the Prince, it was simply painful", he pointed out. Gaius sighed, "That makes it a total of nine women that caused The Prince harm, four of which he ended up loving one way or the other", as he counted down. Merlin shook his head, "Five he ended up Loving. Guinevere was one of the women he loved. Still loves", he said.

Stretching Merlin stood up, "It's nice to have dreams Gaius, but as long as she hold The Prince's heart there is no way in hell, that the Prince would ever love for now all I can say is he is 'In my veins'. Even if she betrayed the King's trust, the King's—", he stumbled over the title and laughed, a belly aching throw down painful laugh, "— trust…" he paused again and fell to his knees, "The one he loved was banished from the kingdom. Gaius—" he broke out, "I'd rather stay his Manservant and friend for life rather than be sent away, when it comes down to it, I'm the one whose betrayed him the most. I can't, I can't—" he hiccupped over the words, "I can never let him know how I feel. Promise me Gaius, you have to promise, he never finds out. You can't tell him. Promise me!" he begged. Gaius caught the boy, "Merlin! W-what's wrong my boy", he asked.

Five knights stood up straight as Gaius' worried voice carried to them.

Merlin sighed, "So tired. I guess I let my exhaustion run through me, I'm going to sleep Gaius. Keep your promise, okay", he murmured weakly as he fell asleep. Gaius sighed as he intoned weakly, "You silly Boy", laying Merlin to bed, Gaius walked to the window and peered down scaring the five knights who stood rigid. "I assume you'd like to come up and hear the whole story?" he asked.

Arthur sighed, "That would be great. How long will he sleep?" he asked. Gaius sighed, "Judging by the emotional upheaval his been though and the reaction its had with his magic I would estimate a guess as to we have a approximately seven or eight ours more or less. Let's not waste time", he whispered and closed the window.

Walking to Merlin he ruffled the boys hair, "True Love or Not, he is still your destiny", the old Medic promised.

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Let me know if you want me to continue...