A/N: Sorry it's been so long! But here's the next chapter. And yes! Leon gets to figure it out! YAY! :D Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think!
Leon gasped as the pieces slowly came together in his mind, "B-but he's Merlin! He's just a bumbling servant! He- he can't be in a prophecy! He can't!"
"Oh, come on, Leon!" Lionblaze meowed, rolling his eyes, "Surely, you've figured it out by now!"
Leon was silent. No! It can't be! Merlin can't be-! He can't have-! NO! He CAN'T have magic! It… makes sense, after all that, but- NO! There's no way! He's just- he's- he's- he's MERLIN! That kindhearted bumbling little servant who follows Arthur around! He'd never do anything wrong! He's my friend! There's no way… Is there?
Leon backed slowly away from the cat. "No…"
Lionblaze shook his head. "Leon, it's not his fault."
"NO!"
"He never meant any harm…" Lionblaze sighed.
"Merlin can't have magic! He can't!" Leon cried, punching the wall in frustration.
All he'd wanted was to be a good knight, and serve his kingdom well… and now? He was friends with a sorcerer and quite possibly using magic himself! He was doing illegal things! He was threatening the kingdom!
"Leon…" Lionblaze said, quietly, "Please don't blame him. He was born with it. He literally can't help it."
"You heard him," Leon muttered, darkly, "Everyone has a choice."
Lionblaze shook his head, sadly. "Not Merlin. Think about it, Leon. He's been using magic since he was a kit! And he's been held firmly to his destiny for eight years now! If you were an evil sorcerer, would you really put up with being Arthur's servant for eight years? Would you take all the grief that Merlin gets, without a single word of thanks no matter how many times you'd saved Camelot?!"
Leon looked away. What am I doing? He's right. Sorcery may be evil, but Merlin is definitely not. But something was still eating at him. "But… what he said about Morgana…" he stammered.
"It really wasn't his fault, not really," Lionblaze meowed. "He just… he had magic, and instead of directly talking to her about hers, he sent her to the Druids. Gaius had told him it'd protect them both. But Merlin, of course, now feels responsible for everything Morgana's done…"
Leon shook his head. That certainly sounded like Merlin. "Of course he would," he snorted softly.
Lionblaze nodded. "So… you understand?"
Leon nodded. "Yes… I don't know what came over me…" then, he sighed sadly, looking at the cat. "Lionblaze…"
"Yes?"
"Immortality really isn't magic… is it?"
Lionblaze looked up from grooming his paw in surprise. "I don't know… It never really mattered to me, I guess. You could ask Merlin. He knows a lot more about such things than I do."
That statement startled Leon. He, like everyone else, had been inclined to believe Merlin foolish, but Lionblaze spoke of him as if he was… wise.
"Lionblaze, I am such a fool."
The cat grinned, but didn't look up from his grooming.
"I'm going to go talk to him," Leon decided.
Lionblaze meowed in a way that almost resembled laughter. "You do that."
Leon started towards the door, and Lionblaze suddenly looked up, expression grim. "Oh, and Leon?"
"Yes?"
"Leave the sword."
Feeling ashamed, Leon left it next to Lionblaze, who nodded and resumed his grooming.
