Several days later…

A young boy stood in a cave that he found, the rain pouring and dripping down the hill laid out in front of him. The howling wind whipped his black hair upwards and water was matted onto his skinny and pale face.

The boy stepped behind a fountain. With a wave of his hands, images start to emerge in the rippling water, followed by colors that began to fill in. From his pocket, the young warlock drew out a yellow bead and placed it in the restless water. It bobbled up and down in the waves and radiated a light shade of yellow that made it seem like a lighthouse. After finishing, the boy leaned onto the foundation, closed his eyes, inhaled a deep breath, and waited.

Several seconds later, a blonde king popped out of thin air, still dressed in his bed clothes, with a red blanket wrapped around him like a robe. He blinked groggily to adjust to his surroundings, then turned and spotted Merlin. "What the— I just wanted to grab the bead and then dress up but it didn't even wait for me to start." He pinched Merlin's nose to make sure that this was not his dream.

"Ouch!" Merlin cried defiantly and swatted off the prince's hand, making them both grin. "Anyways, I just teleported you here to show you something. It's a clue to the missing of Gaius." Merlin gestured towards the stone-basin-like fountain. The characters started to come alive, as if Merlin breathed into them.

Morgana and Morgause, on each side of a tattered Gaius, were staring at the old man like a predator eyeing its prey. "So do you know anything about Merlin's parentage and why he has so much power?" Gaius glanced up at the two sorceresses, sighed, and said, "Merlin's father was a soldier of Camelot. His name was Iris. One day, he was patrolling the nearby villages and stopped to rest at a village named Ealdor. There, he met a peasant named Hunith. They fell in love on first sight and gave birth to Merlin. Later, the king called the soldiers into battle, and Iris was never able to get back to Hunith again. He died and Hunith raised Merlin alone for 13 years. Then, she grew very ill and asked Merlin to find me in the city as his guardian."

"That's all you've got?" Morgause's fierce voice filled the cave, ringing in Merlin's ears.

"Ye-yes, ma'am. That't all." "Old fellow," Morgana chuckled, "you are no use now. Guards!" Immediately, two people with black hoodies that made them look like gangsters appeared by her side. "Throw this coward into the dungeon way underneath this castle, where he will wither and die of old age. Maybe we can even use him as a bait to attract the famous prince and his idiot servant."

Merlin turned to face Arthur. He said grimly, "It's good that Gaius told them lies. Do you remember Belinor, the man you said was 'not worth crying'? He was my father. Long before you were born, Uther commanded the Dragonlords to kill all the dragons until there was only one left. Belinor chained the last one into the castle dungeon in hope that Uther would make peace with these beings born from miracles and magic. But the king had developed a hatred to magic, so he tortured the great dragon. Then, instead of thanking the Dragonlords, Uther started to hunt them down, slaughtering them to create a path of blood. My dad escaped to Ealdor, and Hunith gave birth to me. Later, because armies were searching for him, he escaped to the cave where we found him."

Arthur was too shocked to say anything. "Morgana, she can't be working with Morgause… Maybe she was forced to obey her orders… YOU, Merlin!" Merlin was so stunned that her didn't realize that Arthur was advancing towards him, his hands reaching towards his sheath. "You made this up so that I would change my mind about my sister. You fabricated a lie so that I would go against her and murder my own kin. You showed this to me so that I would side with you and then you would use me to gain wealth and power. My father is right, all these years. Magic is an evil thing. In the end, I am only one of your chess piece. I trusted you. I brought you to the court. Now that I know, I have let in the traitor!"The king unsheathed his sword and pressed the skinny boy to the ground. Merlin raised his hands but Arthur pretended not to notice. His electrocuted blue eyes were filled with hatred and anger. He continued with his speech.

"Morgana was with me since I could remember. I treated her like my own sister, and she loved me like a real brother. Over these years, she was always there for me when I was weak. Oh, Merlin, you will never know how good it is to have someone that is willing to care for you. How about you? You were always in the shadow, whimpering and never helping me when I was in grave danger. You appeared so oddly that made me feel very uncomfortable. After you came to Camelot, everything was like a pot of stew, ready for you to stir into chaos."

"You've only noticed the good side of Morgana. She has evil in her heart."

"Nonsense!" Snapped Arthur.

"Even though you know about me having magic, you don't know about my life before you became king. It was I who saved you from many assassins. It was I that saved Camelot from the death army of Morgana. After my father died, I became the last Dragonlord. It was I that tamed the great dragon and set him free. It was I that forged the future of Camelot. It was I that was always by your side when you went to battle." All these years, Merlin had been hiding these secrets, but now they were pouring out of him from his soul. Arthur leaned forwards and searched in Merlin's eyes for lies, but he only found such fierce and honesty that made his hands tremble. Slowly, he withdrew his sword, stood up, and extended a hand. Hesitantly, Merlin grasped onto it and Arthur heaved him up.

A moment later, Arthur gathered his thoughts and stated, "Even though trust is a double-sided sword, Merlin, I still believe that your loyalty is with me. From now on, I bet my life on you, not Uther's ghost, nor Morgana. Please don't let me down."

"I promise you, Sire. Your life worths a hundred of mine." They embraced each other and listened to the rain outside.

No need for sorries and regrets. This is called real friendship.