Since so many people requested a reveal chapter, here it is! If people have something specific about it that they want to see in another chapter, I'll consider it, but no guarantees. Thanks for all the love though! :)
"So have any sorcerers come forward yet?" Merlin asked hopefully.
Arthur chucked a pillow at him. "Merlin. You've asked me every day this week. No, none have. They're all too scared. But I'm going to change that."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Merlin said skeptically.
"Mordred's a Druid. He's bound to know someone who knows magic. And if I can just publicly have one magic user on my side, others are likely to move forward," Arthur decided.
Merlin gave Arthur a sideways glance. "You really want magic users on your side then? I thought this was just about being able to keep your warlock son."
"It…it was," Arthur admitted.
"And then?" Merlin pressed.
"Gwen…she and I started talking about Morgana. She thinks that maybe if Morgana had someone she could have talked about her powers with, if she had people supporting her, maybe she would not have turned…" he trailed off with a shudder at what Morgana had become. "Anyways, Gwen thinks maybe we could make sorcerers our allies. At the very least for our son to have a mentor "
"That's a big leap from hunting them down to being allies with them," Merlin pointed out. "Who's going to actually come forward with admitting they are the same people you were hunting down just a few weeks ago?"
"It's not going to be easy," Arthur admitted, something he could have never done with anyone but his trusted manservant.
"I…I might know something that could make it easier," Merlin ventured.
"You?" Arthur said dubiously. "Really, Merlin? What, do you know a sorcerer?"
"Well, what if a sorcerer was someone you already knew and trusted, but who had to hide his magic from you?" Merlin said uncertainly.
"Please, Merlin. I think I would know if someone I knew what doing magic," Arthur laughed.
Merlin grimaced. "Just answer the question, Sire."
"I would…wait, Mordred has magic?" Arthur said, realization suddenly hitting him. "I can't believe he's been hiding this from me!"
"I – I didn't say that, Sire!" Merlin said, panicked.
"You said enough. And it's been under my nose this whole time!" Arthur said, pacing back in forth across the room. "He…he hid this. The traitor! He's probably been plotting with magic this whole time!"
"Arthur!" Merlin shouted. Arthur stopped in his tracks, shocked at seeing Merlin actually angry for once. "Sire. He wasn't who I meant actually. Although…Never mind. But if this is how you're going to react, why would any sorcerer ever come forward?"
Arthur stared at Merlin wildly. Merlin took a deep breath to compose himself and continued, "What's more, this is exactly why Morgana turned evil."
That caught Arthur. "You…you think so?"
"I know so," Merlin said so solemnly that Arthur was confused. It was as if Merlin knew the experience for himself. But…no, it was impossible. Merlin, a sorcerer? That would be the day.
"So, who is the sorcerer you've been hinting at?" Arthur frowned.
"I…I can't tell you," Merlin chickened out. "You'll just get angry."
"I…If the sorcerer swears that he never used magic against Camelot, I may be persuaded. Although it would be hard to believe that any sorcerer would have good intentions for sneaking into Camelot," Arthur thought out loud.
"What if…what if this sorcerer has used magic to protect you?" Merlin said hesitantly, afraid of saying too much and not being able to go back.
"Why would a sorcerer use magic to protect me?" Arthur said, bemused.
"If…You know, among the Druids, there's a prophecy," Merlin attempted.
"About?" Arthur said impatiently.
"A…a great sorcerer called the Emrys. And that…he would serve the Once and Future King. You. And…unite the lands of Albion," Merlin said hesitantly. "So he…he's been using magic to protect you. Because of the prophecy. And maybe he actually likes you too. Even though I hardly know why anyone would like such a clotpole."
"Prophecies…how accurate are those anyways?" Arthur frowned, so interested by the idea that he ignored the customary insult. "If they are, I must find this Emrys!"
"It's…it's definitely true," Merlin said. Belatedly, he noticed his hands were quite literally shaking from fear.
"But how do we know this Emrys won't turn on us? Especially if…especially if he is so powerful?" Arthur said, pacing about the room impatiently.
"He won't," Merlin said confidently, knowing this was the one thing he could count on.
"How can you be so sure?" Arthur frowned.
"You…you would trust me to never betray you, right?" Merlin attempted.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Arthur complained.
"Well, if you trust me, you can trust him," Merlin said slowly, afraid Arthur might jump to correct conclusions.
Arthur stared at Merlin for a moment. "Alright, then, have it your way. I do trust you, I suppose. So do you know this Emrys?"
"I…I do," Merlin admitted.
"Gaius! He used to do magic, right? I knew some of his potions were too good to be true," Arthur said triumphantly, confident that he had figured it out this time.
"No, it's not Gaius," Merlin said, half relieved Arthur hadn't guessed correctly and half annoyed that Arthur was always so cocky. Although that arrogance was what had always saved Merlin from being found out in the past. "But if it was, would you still trust him?"
That caught Arthur off guard. He mulled it over a bit and concluded, "I…he's saved so many lives that I guess I would."
"That didn't sound very confident," Merlin commented, resulting in a pillow being thrown at him.
"Fine. I trust him. Confident enough for you?" Arthur said.
"Maybe if you said it without slouching so," Merlin teased. When Arthur reached for another pillow, Merlin quickly said, "But you would? So as long as the Emrys is someone you really trust, you wouldn't forget that trust?"
"I….I guess if he came forward to me first rather than waiting to be found out I suppose," Arthur frowned, not entirely sure what he would do if Emrys was someone he knew well. But he puzzled who outside of Gaius and Mordred could possibly have even the littlest bit of magic.
"You would accept his magic then? Even if it was someone who had been hiding it from you?" Merlin said.
"Merlin! I've told you already, yes! Having a warlock for a son, well, that rather changes things, doesn't it?" Arthur said exasperatedly.
"Oh, right. And the Emrys is a warlock too. He was born with it. And very confused by it when growing up," Merlin added. "But he was fortunate to find a good mentor to keep him from turning bitter and evil like Morgana did."
Something about the way Merlin said it was just too emotional to be talking about some stranger.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked, bemused. "Just how well do you know this Emrys?"
"Um..." Merlin stalled. "You know me. I'm friendly with everyone."
"Hmm," Arthur said, knowing that much was true. "So Emrys had a mentor? Maybe we should work on getting the mentor on our side first so that the Emrys won't turn on us."
"The mentor is on your side. And I already told you, Emrys is good. He won't betray you," Merlin said earnestly.
"Alright, so who is the Emrys?" Arthur said impatiently. "You keep evading the question."
"He…You absolutely swear you won't change your mind about that person?" Merlin clarified.
"I…It'll change my mind a little bit?" Arthur tried.
"But not in the bad way?" Merlin said.
"Oh hurry up, Merlin! Or I'll throw you in the stocks for not answering your king," Arthur blustered.
"Please! You've got to promise me you won't turn against the Emrys!" Merlin insisted.
"I …If you really believe this so-called Emrys is truly on our side…well, then I guess I trust you. Even if you are incapable of the simplest tasks," Arthur said.
"You just had to get the insult in there," Merlin sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you."
"Well?" Arthur prompted.
"I am," Merlin said, waiting with baited breath for Arthur's reaction.
"Don't just tell me that you're telling me. Actually tell me!" Arthur said impatiently.
"I am telling you! I am!" Merlin said, annoyed.
"Who?" Arthur said loudly, still misunderstanding him.
"Me!" Merlin shouted. "I'm Emrys!"
Arthur stared at him wide-eyed for several moments before bursting into loud chortles. "You really had me going for a moment there, Merlin. But enough wasting time. I have real problems to be facing."
As Arthur headed out, Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he made several swords and various other assorted weapons around the room encircle Arthur, all pointing at him.
"M-M-Merlin?" Arthur said nervously, reaching for his sword at his side until he realized it too was pointing at him.
"Just joking, Sire!" Merlin said cheerfully with such a silly grim that Arthur knew Merlin hadn't changed. That he was somehow both the quirky, clumsy manservant Arthur knew and trusted and an all-powerful sorcerer who could kill him in an instant. And yet wouldn't. Merlin's eyes flashed gold again as he returned the weapons. "So, do you believe me now, your clotpole?"
"You're capable of this and yet you can't even polish my armor correctly half the time?" Arthur complained, throwing a nearby goblet at Merlin's head. Merlin grinned as he just narrowly ducked it. No, nothing had changed. Including Arthur being a prat.
"And by the way, your idea of humor with the weapon trick thingie is just plain stupid," Arthur said, wriggling his fingers in what Merlin supposed was meant to symbolize magic.
Merlin shook his head. Indeed, nothing had changed, especially Arthur being a prat.