Title: The Truth

Authors: Cassy27
Words: 1914
Characters: Arthur, Gaius, Morgana, Uther, Merlin, OC (Edward)
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Merlin, sadly enough!
Spoilers: There might be a slight spoiler concerning Morgana and her secret...

Summary: When Arthur discovers Merlin's secret, he has to chose whether he still considers Merlin to be his friend or if he has turned into his enemy. Loyalties are tested and nothing will ever be the same for the young wizard.

AN: Again, any mistakes, grammar or spelling, are completely my own. Sorry for them...

Chapter 3

Previously...

Arthur knew there was only one way to find out. He stood up and walked out of his chamber, heading to Gaius, ready to find out the truth once more.

* * *

Gaius had been working on the medicine for Morgana when Arthur had entered violently. He hadn't even knocked and his eyes seemed that if they could kill him, they would have. Gaius left the medicine for what it was and focused on the young Prince. Obviously something was very wrong and Gaius couldn't help but think that Merlin had something to do with it.

"Sire," Gaius greeted Arthur.

"I have come to talk to you about Merlin," Arthur said, his voice hard.

"Is something wrong?" Gaius asked. His thoughts had been right, but fear now filled his mind. Arthur seemed very angry and that could only mean Merlin had done something terrible.

"How well do you know your ward?" Arthur asked. He watched every detail of Gaius' face, not wanting to miss anything.

"I know him very well, Merlin is like a son to me. Did he do something?" Gaius asked. His heart was beating incredibly fast and his voice trembled as he spoke, but he was able to keep everything under control. Arthur could not read anything in his eyes.

"He never acted suspicious? Out of the ordinary? You never caught him hiding something?" Arthur couldn't help but ask every question that filled his mind. At least a few would get answered.

"Merlin is a good boy, he would never hide anything," Gaius answered. He knew where this was heading, but he refused to believe it.

"Merlin is a warlock," Arthur said. He saw the shock appear in Gaius' eyes and he knew this was new for the old physician. Apparently Gaius did not know about his ward and that only made Arthur feel more at ease. At least this friend had not betrayed him.

"He is a what?" Gaius couldn't help but wanted to hear those words again. This was not possible! Of course Merlin was a sorcerer, but how did Arthur discover this truth? What did this mean? Where was Merlin anyway?

"A sorcerer," Arthur repeated, "I am sorry, Gaius, it appears you know nothing about this."

"Of course not," Gaius sighed. He hated lying, but if he could, he would tell Arthur the truth of him knowing. That would only cause more trouble though, this way, Gaius stood a chance of getting Merlin released. "But you must be mistaken, Sire, Merlin is your servant, surely he can't-"

"I saw him, Gaius, I know it is difficult to believe, but it is the truth." Arthur walked over to the physician and laid his hand on his shoulder. "Merlin was apparently playing us all and it is still unclear what his end game was, but everything is under control."

"Merlin is not evil," Gaius said, hoping Arthur would believe him.

"He uses magic, Gaius," Arthur took a step back again, "you must learn to accept this and you must accept that tomorrow, Merlin will be executed. I am sorry."

Arthur turned around and left the room, leaving a shocked Gaius behind. He was still convinced Merlin was guilty of sorcery, but it was never easy to see people get hurt by it. But Arthur couldn't help but wonder. Gaius didn't seem hurt by the fact that Merlin was a sorcerer, more hurt because he was going to lose his ward.

* * *

Morgana had no idea what was about to happen. Here she stood, before the King, wearing her most beautiful dress. Why had the King requested this meeting and why was she asked to dress pretty? Morgana never liked official meetings, but the King had never been so secret about them. Not even Arthur was here, but perhaps he still needed to arrive.

A guard entered and walked straight towards the King, whispering some words and Morgana saw how Uther suddenly started smiling. The guard left her and the King alone again and Morgana suppressed the urge to ask what was going on.

"Morgana," Uther smiled, "I asked you to join me because we are expecting a rather important guest. I thought you might like to be here."

Morgana only smiled along. She was very suspicious about all of this.

The great wooden doors opened again and a tall man entered, walking with a straight back, obviously proud of who he was and who he was meeting.

"My Lord," the man spoke before kneeling down before his King.

"Edward," Uther laughed, "please stand up."

Edward walked over to the King and bowed his head again. Only now did Morgana get a good look at him. He appeared to be not much older than 25 and he had dark hair with bright blue eyes. His teeth were white and his face appeared to be unshaven for the last few days, making him appear rather rough. Edward was handsome, Morgana could tell.

"I like you to meet my ward Morgana," Uther said, looking at her with a big smile.

"Always a pleasure to meet a beautiful woman," Edward spoke, taking her hand an kissing it softly. Morgana could feel a warmth filling her face and immediately she realized she was blushing. Not only was Edward handsome, he was very charming.

"Edward, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting you?" Morgana asked, her voice soft.

"My father send me," Edward answered, turning his focus back on the King, "I am here to offer you my services as a loyal knight of Camelot."

"You are a knight?" Morgana asked. She had never seen this man in the castle before and all knights were trained here under the supervision of Arthur himself.

"Yes," Edward smiled, "I have been for a few years now, ever since murderers invaded my home and killed my mother."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Morgana said. She could empathize with the feeling of losing a parent. But it all made sense now. If Edward was already a knight for years, Arthur could not possibly have trained him as the Prince would still have been a boy back then and Morgana would still have lived with her father.

"You must join us for diner, Edward," Uther said, "I believe Morgana would like that as well."

"Yes," Morgana immediately agreed, "I would like to hear more about your life."

"Then I shall be here," Edward said, bowing his head again, "but I have had a long journey and I wish to rest first if that is not a problem."

"Of course not," Uther said, "I shall call a guard to show you your chamber."

Morgana watched how Edward left the room and for the first time since long, she was actually looking forward to having dinner with the King.

* * *

Morgana smiled as she walked through the halls of the castle. She was heading to her chambers, already thinking what to wear tonight as she was certain she needed to look good. Edward was a special guest and she needed to look her best.

Being deep in thought, thinking about Edward, Morgana almost didn't notice Arthur was walking past her.

"Arthur," she quickly said. The Prince turned around, his face serious, his eyes hurt. Morgana knew him well enough that something was wrong, but asking him about it could be dangerous. Arthur wasn't a man that would share his problems, let alone his feelings.

"Are you alright?" Morgana had decided to take her chances.

"I'm fine, do you need something?" Arthur asked brutally. Morgana was taken aback by the tone of his voice, but she was not just going to give up.

"Uther invited me to come to dinner with Sir Edward," Morgana said, sounding casually.

"Sir Edward?"

Morgana could see on Arthur's face that he had never heard of this man before. She frowned as this didn't make any sense. "Yes," she said, hoping that perhaps Arthur was just confused, "he is a knight, but you did not train him, he is a few years older than you actually."

"I know every knight in Camelot, Morgana, and of course I did not train every one of them, but I am sure there is no knight Edward and if you could excuse me now, I have more important things to deal with." Arthur turned around and started walking away from her now.

Morgana swallowed heavily. She was used to Arthur being a brat, but this was not normal. Something was very wrong.

"Arthur," Morgana said, waiting for Arthur to look at her. Once he did, she took a step closer to him. "What happened? You are obviously not fine."

Arthur sighed and seemed to be thinking about what to say. Morgana could only hope he at least considered to tell the truth.

"I didn't want to tell you this in some random hallway," Arthur paused and looked Morgana straight in the eyes, "I discovered Merlin is a sorcerer and he is to be executed tomorrow morning."

Morgana gasped. This could not be true. After everything she had gone through with Merlin, after having trusted him with her secret, he had not trusted her with his? Perhaps Arthur is completely wrong.

"This can't be," Morgana said, her voice high.

"I saw him using magic with my own eyes, Morgana, I am sorry, but it is the truth."

Morgana saw sorrow in Arthur eyes, even guilt and she couldn't understand those emotions. Why would Arthur be feeling guilt? But this wasn't important right now. Merlin might have not told her his secret, he still is her friend and Morgana wasn't going to let him die. No, Morgana knew for certain now, she would do anything to make sure Merlin would live.

* * *

Merlin stared at the empty walls surrounding him. He had never liked this part of the castle, who did, but even now that he was in here spending what might be his final hours, he still couldn't bring it up to hate it. This cell was the only thing that stood between Merlin and his death so the young warlock couldn't help but wanting to enjoy these moments.

Would he see Gaius before it happened? What about Gwen? He would love to talk to her again. Merlin knew those chances were rather slim, but hoping couldn't do him any wrong, could it.

Merlin closed his eyes and sighed. Why was he even here. He had been running for his life, he only wanted to life and using magic had given him that opportunity and now here he was. Magic could cost him his life.

The thought of busting out of this cell using magic was getting more and more appealing, but Merlin couldn't do it, he simply couldn't. Arthur was his friend, is his friend and if the young Prince convicted him to death, so be it. Busting out using magic, fleeing, that would only prove to Arthur he was right; magic is evil.

Merlin was trapped, he knew it, there was simply no way out of this. He could only sigh once more.

* * *

AN: That was it again. It was a longer chapter than usual, but I wanted this all to be told in this chapter. I introduced a character of my own making, Edward, but not much is revealed about him...So who is he exactly? Why does Arthur not know him? What will happen to Merlin? What will Morgana do? What will Arthur do? Many questions need answering and I promise I will answer them as soon as possible.

In the mean time, let me know what you thought about this chapter!