Shit, sorry guys! I thought I'd uploaded the whole edited chapter, but apparently I didn't. Sorry, everyone! Oh, and just so you know, I won't be continuing this fic, not unless many people beg me to. Also, thank you so much for your literally overhwelming response! I opened my email the day after I posted the first chapter and found 3 pages fo emails relating to it. I'm really very flattered. Oh, and if I haven't replied to your review, then it's either because I opened it at 1 in the morning and was too tired, or becuase FanFic won't link me to your reviews...Anyway, here it is.
Arthur was looking out the window, arm braced against the frame in a position that was very familiar to Merlin- it was the position he took whenever he was worrying about something. Merlin hated seeing it, knowing that the cause was him.
He lingered just inside the room, anxiously waiting for Arthur to speak.
"You're a sorcerer." He finally delivered, with a finality that chilled Merlin's heart. He opened his mouth to speak, but Arthur cut in front of him.
"You're a sorcerer. Sorcerers are evil. You are evil." He spat out, forcibly keeping himself from shouting; hatred, fury, and a flicker of betrayal contorting his face.
Merlin opened his mouth. "Arthur..."
"Do not speak to me!" the king roared suddenly, taking a step towards Merlin, hand raised to hit him. The warlock flinched and fell back, cringing.
The king lowered his hand, but continued shouting.
"How dare you! How dare you speak to me, you lying, traitorous bastard! You have no right to speak to me, not after this! You've planned this, haven't you? You came to Camelot with every intention of destroying it, of weaseling your way into the court and then tearing it apart! With your... magic! That's what your kind does, isn't it? You plot, and you kill, and you betray. You filthy, lying, bastard!" Arthur had been getting closer and closer to Merlin as he spoke, until he was spitting in the warlock's shocked face. He spun around then, clenching and unclenching his fists, pacing back and forth, determinedly not looking at Merlin. He, meanwhile, just stood there, shocked at this outburst, speechless. He found his voice.
"Arthur, let me explain..."
"NO!" he thundered, swinging back to face the warlock. "Don't you dare try and justify your actions! You can't! You learnt magic, knowing full well it was banned, and you hid it from me! You betrayed me! You used me! You lied to me!"
At this point Merlin lost it.
"ARTHUR, SHUT UP." The prince gaped at him, the wind taken from his sails as he listened to the warlock talk.
"Yes, I lied to you! Of course I bloody lied to you! I'd be dead if I didn't lie! My whole life I've had to lie! My whole life, your royal bleedin' highness, my whole life! I was born with magic, I never learnt it, I've never had a damn choice! I have no choice! Magic is part of me, sire, and it always has been, and it always will be! I'm not a goddam sorcerer, I'm a warlock! A warlock, you stupid man! I'm the only one in the entire world! I have been alone my entire life. There is no one else like me, do you understand? Do you know what it's like to have hidden this gift for as long as I've lived? My whole life has been spent lying and hiding, and I am sick and tired of it!"
Merlin stood, panting, eyes furious and blazing, desperately shedding the weight off his chest.
"Listen to me. I am the most powerful magic-user to have ever lived. I don't need spells and words to control my gift. I can perform magic with only a thought. If I am evil, if I wanted to be rich and powerful, don't you think I would be already? I certainly have the magic to make it happen. If I wanted to kill you and destroy Camelot, wouldn't I have done so already? The amount of times I had the opportunity! Or I could have let others do it for for me! The first time we met, our fight. You said you could take me apart with one blow. I said I could take you apart with less than that. This is what I meant! I could have killed you then. Or I could have let that witch's knife stab you. I could have let so many people kill you, or I could have killed you myself! But you know what I've done? I've saved you. So many goddam times. I am your bloody guardian angel, Arthur, and if it weren't for me saving your arse every time you step outside, you'd be dead!So don't you dare say I've betrayed you, Arthur Pendragon, because I have been by your side saving your ungrateful life for years!"
Arthur was shocked, the warlock could tell. But the king gathered himself and fell back on what he'd been taught since he was a child.
"If you've saved my life it's only been for your own purposes! Magic is evil! There are no exceptions!"
Merlin felt a flare of fury at Arthur's repetition of the ignorant words of his father.
"Magic is not evil!" he hissed, thrusting his face within inches of the king's.
"Then how do you explain all the evil sorcerers?" snapped Arthur.
"How do you explain all the evil non-magical people, then?" he bit back. "It's not the magic that's evil, it's the people!"
"All those with magic are evil!"
"No they're not!" Merlin threw his hands up in frustration at the king's prejudice. "The Druids aren't evil! Neither was Anhora!"
"He cast a spell over all of Camelot!"
"Because you'd gone and killed one of his unicorns! He took it off, didn't he?" demanded Merlin. "Besides, most of the time people only attacked Camelot because your father wrongly executed their friends and family! Your father murdered them, when they'd done nothing! He was cruel, and wrong. Are you really so blind that you can't see this?"
Arthur stared at Merlin, jaw tensed and body stiff.
"My father did what he thought was best for Camelot." Arthur stubbornly insisted.
"No, he didn't. He acted out of revenge, out of anger. He killed thousands of innocent people. You know he was wrong, Arthur, I can see it. Do you really want to be like him? Feared by your people?"
The warlock could see the battle going on behind his eyes-preserve his father's laws and the injustices that came with them, or acknowledge that Merlin was right. They stared at each other, the space between them crackling with tension and fury.
Arthur looked away, jaw tensed as he furiously, shamefacedly conceded. He slowly lowered himself into a hardbacked chair, whitened fingers gripping the back. He sat stiffly, still not looking at the warlock as he forced out, "So what do I do?"
Merlin felt the relief spread inside him, and he sighed, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. He answered Arthur.
"For now? Nothing. Let me stay as your manservant. But you must promise me that eventually you'll lift the ban on magic."
"And how will I do that?" the king answered dully.
"Do it slowly. Pardon a child accused of sorcery. Send an ambassador to the Druids. Give those convicted of sorcery a fair trial and relax the sentences. Welcome those with magic back into Camelot."
The king, with downcast eyes, defeatedly dipped his head in agreement, and Merlin heaved a shuddering breath.
"Thank you." he whispered.
"Get out." replied the king.
"...What?"
"Get out. Just... get out. I can't..." Arthur was fighting to get the words out, voice tired and dispirited. He waved a hand at Merlin, gesturing for him to leave. "Please... Just leave."
At the plea, Merlin nodded silently, despairing at the bond broken between them. He turned and walked silently to the door. He paused, one hand resting on the handle, muttered lowly, "I'm sorry," and left.
As Arthur heard the door click softly shut, he buried his head in his hand and groaned in disgust, defeat, and despair. Outside, with his head resting gently on the wood of the door, Merlin did the same.
He'd gained sorcerers their freedom, but his friendship was broken, and it might not recover.