STILL NO SLASH, NEVER WILL BE.

Disclaimer : Nothing you recognize belongs to me. I mean, it is fanfiction after all. Were it original, I'd submit it to FictionPress.
Warning : Set after season four, Reveal fic, Terribly written spells, Catboy!Merlin, King Arthur Pratdragon, the Knights of Camelot, and a whole lot of MAGIC~
I'm really sorry if their reactions seem out of character, this is just my imagination talking XD

Prepare for the (ish?) angst. Not really. Here comes the brain-wracking and thinking (doesn't that sound painful.) Please review!

Arthur had barely blinked, from the moment Merlin uttered a spell to the moment he fainted. He didn't want to miss a thing.

But he realized that he had missed a lot. How could simple, clumsy, Merlin be a sorcerer? How could he be Emrys?

He had managed to catch the young warlock before his head hit the hard ground, and lowered him slowly. He seemed alright; he was breathing deeply, as if asleep. His left ear would twitch every few seconds, as would his tail. It was... odd, to put it all in a word.

"Is he alright?" Gwaine asked, kneeling down next to his King.

Arthur said nothing, simply stared at his friend... the sorcerer.

"Sire?" Leon asked worriedly, walking aver and seeing Arthur's expression. Percival and Elyan hung back, their hands hovering uncertainly above their swords.

"He... he lied to me," Arthur whispered, barely audibly.

"Arthur..."

"For all these years, as long as I'd known him, he's just been lying!" Arthur's voice augmented in volume in every word, until even Elyan and Percival could hear.

"Hold on, Princess, don't boil over just yet," Gwaine intercepted none too smoothly. "I've been thinking about this."

"That's not going to help anyone!" Arthur said, nearly giving into his rage.

"Arthur, just think for a moment, would you?"

"Don't tell me what to do, Gwaine."

"Think of all the times he's nearly died for you," Gwaine went on, unfazed. "Does Merlin seem like the kind of sorcerer who would be out to get you and Camelot?"

"Why would he do all this?" Arthur demanded suddenly, more to himself than anyone. "If he really could just... kill us... all of us, with a snap of his fingers, then why would he... how... Has this all been a ruse to gain my trust all along?"

"Whoa, Arthur, calm down a second. Shall we list off all the things he's sacrificed for you?"

"Gwaine, stop joking around," Elyan warned, seeing the nearly broken look on Arthur's face.

"Who says I'm joking? Let's see... from what I've heard around the tavern, he drank poison for you, went to the Isle of the Blessed to trade his life for you…."

"I never heard that," Arthur exclaimed hotly.

"And all those times he disappears, where do you think he goes?"

"To the tavern," Arthur growled. He glared at Gwaine as he let out a puff of laughter.

"Who told you that? Now, Arthur, you know I spend a lot of time in the tavern. I know a lot of people there... everyone, in fact. I know who goes and who doesn't. And let me tell you; Merlin doesn't go to the tavern unless I can convince him, which isn't often."

Arthur was jolted out of his raging for a precious second, during which he considered what Gwaine had said. If Merlin was never in the tavern, and Gaius was simply covering for him, then where was he? When he disappeared for days on end, coming back looking haunted or depressed; sometimes a mixture of both, where had he been? Had he been telling the truth when he said he'd been dying? So many questions floated in and out of Arthur's mind, shedding new light on the matter. When he'd been attacked by the Questing Beast, he had heard snatches of conversations as he drifted in and out of consciousness. From what he could tell, he was meant to have died that day, but he hadn't; someone had traded their life for his. Something clicked in his head as Merlin's awkward 'advice' the day he woke up came up. It had been his way of discreetly saying goodbye. And what of the dragon? Merlin had come out of the fight completely unscathed; when just about all of Arthur's best knights had been killed. And there were all those branches falling in strategic places...

There was one other thing that had always bothered him. When he was searching for the flower that would save Merlin's life, in the cave with the spiders, there had been that ball of light. It had been comforting, even if he could feel the magic rolling off it in waves of power. He never thought about it, but he recognized the feeling of the magic. It was the same feeling he got when Merlin let out simple words of wisdom.

And back in Ealdor, the wind... it had been Merlin all along, and Will's last gift to him was the safety of his secret. Arthur recalled all the times when he told Merlin that his hate for magic had been renewed, or that it was completely evil, that it corrupted people... If Merlin really was a sorcerer, and, God forbid, a good one; that must have pained him immensely.

The King realized there was so much about his small manservant he didn't know. He had just barely scratched the surface, catching but a glimpse of the truth.

Was there an end to the lies?

When it was deduced the King would not reply, lost in his musings, Percival walked over and gently hefted the thin manservant into his arms, much like he had when the Dorocha had attacked. He walked back to Merlin's bedroll and set him down.

He sat on a log nearby, feeling it best that someone had their eye on him at all times. Everyone else, save Arthur, marched about, cleaning things that needed no cleaning and eating the leftovers. Every few seconds, a glance was aimed at either Arthur or Merlin; mostly concern.

No one was glaring at Merlin like he was a monster.

Everyone left Arthur alone, knowing that he needed time to gather himself. They had all had their suspicions of the manservant, so they didn't really feel betrayed like the King did. They were wary, yes; magic was always dangerous, no matter whose hands it was in; but they knew Merlin was still Merlin. He was still the bumbling fool who could trip over his own feet and speak to the King like an equal.

Sir Leon, as loyal as he was to the King, could do nothing to help him in his state. He plodded over to Percival and Merlin and sat down next to them.

Percival was the first to speak. "Do you think Merlin's evil?"

Leon hesitated for a long while before answering tentatively. "Merlin... no, not really."

"What do you reckon the others think?"

"I don't know, you should ask them. But Merlin... is Merlin, he simply can't be evil. Even if he has... magic." He spat the word like it was venomous.

"I don't think magic makes him evil," Gwaine stated, sauntering over and plopping down.

Leon frowned. "Gwaine, I've seen a lot more magic than you-"

"But you've only seen the bad magic, haven't you? Trust me on this one; not all magic is evil." There was so much certainty in his voice, no one dared question him.

By that time, Elyan had joined them, but he said nothing, pondering Gwaine's words. If it was true, then had Uther really been as bad as Morgana thought when he killed all those sorcerers? In Uther's time, you didn't question it. It wasn't even worth thinking about; it was too dangerous. But Uther was dead, and Arthur was King, and a new way of thinking could be introduced, if he allowed it. Would Arthur be open-minded enough to allow magic to return, even if throughout his entire life, he'd been taught that there was no greater evil?

Gwaine seemed calmer than the others in Merlin's presence. He had suspected that Merlin had more to him than just being Arthur's clueless servant. If he had been normal, he would have been killed off by a bandit, or a dragon, or an evil sorcerer long ago. Something Gwaine hadn't mentioned was that he had also overheard Arthur and Merlin's conversation last night about magic. He could hear the desperation in his young friend's voice as he practically pleaded with Arthur to admit that not all magic was bad. And that thing he mentioned, about being born with it and not being able to control it... was that even possible? Had Merlin really had no choice in the matter?

But most of all, did Arthur truly understand all these things about his manservant? Did anyone really know him at all? Gwaine had always thought Merlin a terrible liar, yet he'd kept this one secret from just about everyone in Camelot for all the time he'd been there. It must have been horrible, not able to show people who you truly are. Merlin wasn't evil; it wasn't in his nature. He tripped over tree roots and got himself bumps and bruises so that the animals they hunted could get a warning. He hadn't even lived in Camelot his whole life, yet he was willing to throw himself into the face of death for the city and all of its people more than once.

And now, Merlin was sleeping on the ground, with cat ears and a tail. He hadn't known what the spell would do, yet he still took it for Arthur. Now, if Arthur would only realize that Merlin was always there for him, regardless of the lies, they could solve all this nonsense...

Just then, Merlin's eyes fluttered and his fingers started twitching. He was waking up.

All of the knights brought their hands instinctively closer to their swords. Arthur did not move. Merlin let out a small groan as he squinted his eyes open. He opened his eyes fully when he noticed four keen pairs of eyes on him. At first, he wondered if there was something wrong. And then it all came flooding back to him. He immediately sat up, gasping, and covered his mouth with his hands. He felt tears prickling his eyes. Had he really just told everyone his secret? Did they hate him? Oh no... was Arthur going to execute him?

He could understand if he wanted to. Merlin had lied, a lot. It was only normal for Arthur to be feeling intense betrayal. He wished it could have been another way, but the moment had come quicker than expected. It actually wasn't expected at all; Merlin was beginning to wonder if he'd ever tell anyone.

And it had all been let out in the open. No avoiding it now. Merlin brought his knees to his chest, unaware that he was trembling slightly. He noticed Gwaine sitting next to him, staring at him. He stared back, trying to convey all his emotions in a single gaze. Gwaine grinned, startling the warlock immensely. He was even more confounded as the knight brought up a hand to pat him on the head.

"Gwaine," Elyan began softly, trying to make sense of the situation, "What are you doing?"

Gwaine looked up innocently, his hand never leaving Merlin's head. Merlin was too confused to move. "He's a cat," he said, as if that explained everything.

Leon frowned. "Gwaine, that is hardly appropriate, considering the situation..." Merlin's heart dropped at those words. So they still didn't trust him.

Gwaine pouted and gave Merlin's head a final pat. "Sorry mate, but you've got a lot of explaining to do... haven't you?"

Merlin sighed and began to clamber to his feet. Then he stopped, remembering he was technically in their captivity. "Am I allowed to get up?" he asked innocently, trying not to look at the swords his friends-were they still friends?-were itching to unsheathe.

"Yes," Leon said curtly, deliberately holding his hand away from his sword.

Merlin stood up uncertainly, wary of the swords. He could stop them from hurting him if the need came, but it would probably make him seem more dangerous and less trustworthy.

He looked around, but mainly at Gwaine, who was still next to him. He took a deep breath while the knights continued to gaze back expectantly.

"What do you want to know?" Merlin asked earnestly.

TAN TAN TAAAAAAN.

Yes, I did just ignore Arthur at the end there. Is that alright?
... could this be considered a cliffhanger? Huh, I guess it could... well, sorry (not) XD

I HOPE I DIDN'T TAKE TOO LONG TO UPDATE. Cuz I'm very lazy and I'm surprised I finished this... well, I actually didn't. A cliffhanger, to me, means 'unfinished'. To be continuuuuuued!

Please review!