A/N: Sorry for the delay, everyone; now that I'm running out of canon scenes to use, I'm afraid that I am having more trouble deciding what should happen and where this is going. If only I had planned this out beforehand... then again, I never really foresaw it becoming a full reveal fic, so the blame can be shoved onto all you wonderfully pressuring people for demanding updates.

I am saving most of my AN for after the chapter. For now, enjoy the late and not very long chapter!

DISCLAIMER: Do you see my name in the credits at the end of the show? No? Well, there you have it.


Blind Trust

Chapter 4

Eventually there was a knock on the door, forcing Arthur to pick his head up and regain his bearings. He called wearily, "Enter," trying to compose himself to look more like the prince he was. The door opened part way and a guard stepped halfway in, bowing slightly before stating that the prince's presence was requested in the courtyard. Arthur thanked him and the man left; he smiled slightly, allowing himself to focus on something other than the battle and his mysterious manservant. Gwen must be returning with the knights.

He stood and took one more look around the destroyed room before sighing and walking out, closing the door behind him.

When he reached the courtyard, he found that the entourage had not yet arrived, and had instead sent a man ahead; he informed Arthur that they were close and would be arriving any minute. Arthur sat down on the stone steps to wait, anticipating seeing Gwen again, feeling eager to relax in her comforting arms; he also wanted to apologize for her being left behind alone in an unfamiliar old castle, blaming himself partly for having left her so far behind. It was as he got so lost in thoughts again that he didn't notice when someone came up behind him until they sat down next to him, and by then it was too late to avoid the situation.

Merlin didn't say anything for a moment, and neither did Arthur; they simply sat there, staring out into the courtyard side by side, each with his own thoughts. Although Arthur had unconsciously tensed up when he realized who it was beside him, he did not actually feel as uncomfortable as he'd imagined he would; instead, he found the boy's presence somehow comforting, despite all that had transpired over the course of the last few days. It calmed him, sitting next to Merlin, and that only confused him more about the whole situation.

It was Merlin who finally broke the silence. "They're clearing up the rubble now. They haven't found anything yet."

Arthur nodded, considering the implications of that statement. He wasn't sure if he was relieved that Morgana might be alive or not; he hadn't quite sorted out those feelings yet, either.

It was silent again for a moment, before Merlin quietly spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Arthur glanced sideways at him. The boy's head was hanging slightly, his shoulders hunched as his elbows rested on his knees, his eyes still staring out into the courtyard.

"What for?" Arthur asked carefully.

Merlin chuckled slightly but without humor. "Everything?"

Arthur was about ready to question him closer and try for some answers, when he saw the boy's face; it was tired and grimy, with bags around his eyes and a bruise still on the side of his head, but it was none of this that caught his attention. It was the grim expression of weariness that seemed so out of place on the servant's face, yet again making Arthur feel confused and unable to interrogate the boy. It just didn't seem fair, to attack him now when he looked so forlorn, he who was always so cheerful and optimistic. And so, once again, Arthur found himself missing his opportunity to find answers from his friend, simply because he lost his nerve.

Instead, he found himself shrugging slightly. "It's not like any of it was your fault. It wasn't the fault of anyone, save for maybe Morgana or Morgause."

He thought he saw Merlin flinch slightly at that, but he pretended not to notice, assuming it had to do with Morgana's betrayal; they had all been friends with her, and he could see how any of them might turn the blame on themselves for what happened to her. It was a huge shock to everyone, not something that could be easily accepted.

In the silence that fell once again, Arthur noticed Merlin unconsciously reach up to rub his shoulder. Reminded of the boy's worryingly similar behaviour in the hall, he found himself speaking up.

"Merlin, what happened to your shoulder?"

Merlin glanced up at him sharply, when he seemed to realize what he was doing; he immediately let his hand fall.

"Nothing," he said quickly, "I'm fine, nothing wrong with me."

Arthur sighed. "Merlin, if something's wrong, if you're hurt-"

"Arthur, I'm fine, really. Nothing's wrong with my shoulder, I don't know where you got that idea."

"Merlin-"

He was about to threaten the boy into telling him, or at least press him some more, but when he caught sight of the boy's face, he stopped short. His expression was stubborn and even bordering on fearful; it was enough to make Arthur pause and reconsider. He turned to look into the courtyard again, frustrated. Why was Merlin so infuriatingly mysterious? And why did he have to be so selfless?

Noticing the slight tension that was now between the two, Arthur scrambled for something to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Have you seen the state of these boots?" He finally directed at the boy to his left.

Merlin glanced at the prince's feet, before unconcernedly returning his gaze to a group of guards crossing the courtyard. "Yeah."

Arthur waited for a further response; when none came, he prompted the boy again. "Well, go and get something to clean them."

"Why? They're your boots."

Arthur stared at Merlin. "Have you lost your mind?"

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Merlin's face. "I thought you believed in equality."

"I'm sorry?"

"At the Round Table, you said-"

"Shut up, Merlin."

Seeing Merlin sitting there, biting his lip to keep from smiling, Arthur found himself grinning slightly in response. He leaned over to shove Merlin in his good shoulder, earning a half-hearted glare from the boy. He just smiled and sat next to him.

After a moment, Merlin voiced a question. "How's your father?"

Arthur sighed. "I don't know. All this. Morgana. It's hit him hard."

"Perhaps we're heading for a new time," Merlin said carefully, not looking at him. "You may need to take charge, become..." He hesitated. "...Become King."

Arthur didn't respond for a moment. When he did, it was with a weary tone. "Who knows what the future will bring."

Eventually, Merlin sighed. "I went by your chambers on my way here. I should go tidy them; they look like they could use some serious cleaning."

Arthur stared at him for a moment, before coming to a decision.

"Take the rest of the day off, Merlin."

Merlin in turn stared at him, surprised.

"I'm serious. Forget my rooms tonight, and my boots, and my stables... All of it. I can find someone else to fix the room for tonight."

Merlin tried to protest. "But-"

"I said forget it, Merlin." He paused before saying more quietly than before, " You've earned it."

Merlin stared at him; Arthur, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, just looked straight ahead, watching the various people crossing the courtyard. Eventually Merlin turned his head back around to join him in his watch.

As they sat there, they heard the clattering of hoof beats coming towards the entrance to the courtyard. Arthur raised his head as the horses came to a stop on the hard stone; smiling, he stood and walked down the steps, then strode over to the front of the group, sweeping Gwen off the horse. Both smiling, they kissed and then hugged each other, each savoring the other's warmth and comforting embrace with relief. Feeling much happier, he threw a grateful glance at the knights and turned to lead Gwen into the castle; by the time he was facing the staircase, however, he noticed that Merlin was gone.


Guinevere had eventually headed for the makeshift infirmary, wanting to help with the injured, and Arthur had accompanied her, deciding he ought to ask Gaius for a more detailed report on the medical state of the castle. Upon arriving back in the large room, however, he found that Gaius was no longer present; he realized it was later than he had thought, and the physician must have gone back to his chambers to retire. Gwen began walking around and tending to the wounded, and Arthur decided he would leave her to her work and find Gaius.

Upon reaching the physician's chambers, Arthur was just about to enter when he heard voices coming from inside through the slightly cracked open door, sounding agitated; pausing with his hand still raised to knock, he tilted his head in an effort to better hear. Yet again recognizing the voice of his servant, he slowly lowered his hand, carefully pushing the door slightly farther open. He wondered wryly when it was that he had developed such a knack for spying; he seemed to be doing a lot of it lately, particularly on his manservant. The two seemed to be discussing medical topics such as injuries, the number of wounded, how many more bandages they had, and so forth. Feeling rather relieved but slightly disappointed that there was no point in hiding and eavesdropping, he straightened and went to push the door open, only to freeze again when he heard his sister's name mentioned.

The subject had changed; having apparently exhausted the topic of herbs and poultices, Gaius had turned the direction of the questions to that of the two sisters.

"And they searched through the remains of the rubble, and still no Morgana."

Arthur leaned closer to the door.

"Or Morgause," Merlin added grimly.

"They won't have gone far," Gaius said, sighing. He paused, then addressed the younger man sternly. "Merlin, no one else is going to say this to you, but I will."

Arthur's ear was practically touching the door.

"Well done."

Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion. Here was more proof that Merlin was up to something secret, but what? What on earth had the boy done to deserve such praise by Gaius, something he felt he had to hide?

Merlin just replied brightly, "I told you Camelot needed both of us."

Gaius chuckled slightly in response, but Arthur's mind had started going in circles again. Not only was Gaius in on the secret, he was a part of it?

Arthur heard a rustle as Gaius spoke again. "We're going to have to tidy this place up. "

Merlin made a noise of agreement. "But not now," Merlin said suddenly, and Arthur heard his chair scraping, implying that he was standing up.

"Where are you going?" Gaius asked sounding bemused. At Merlin's hesitation to answer, he demanded, "What are you up to?" Arthur could perfectly imagine the old physician's one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

Merlin sounded like he was smiling slightly. "There's something I have to do."

Arthur heard more moving around in the chambers; realizing Merlin was about to leave, it occurred to him that, being the prince, he couldn't be found spying at the door of the court physician. He quickly but quietly walked back to the end of the hallway before turning around and walking slowly and deliberately back towards the door. By the time the door opened and Merlin came out, it looked as though Arthur was only just reaching the chambers.

By that point, however, it didn't matter.

Merlin had turned the other way and strode purposefully down the hall, not even noticing the prince, so Arthur needn't have bothered with the whole act. But suddenly Arthur forgot all about appearances and Merlin's secrets and whether or not princes should be spying. Suddenly, none of it mattered to him. Because his attention was completely on the package in the servant's hands.

It was wrapped in rough brown cloth, easy to ignore, and Arthur might not have paid it too much mind normally; but the edge of the cloth had come loose on one side and was hanging down enough to show the edge of the object that was wrapped. And Arthur saw a flash of gold.

It was the sword; the same sword that he had seen Merlin with right before the fight, the same mysterious sword that had somehow called to him, drawn him towards it. And it was happening again; he felt a tug in his gut to follow it down the corridor, a sudden desire to hold it, to wield such a beautiful weapon.

It wasn't until Merlin turned the far corner, still oblivious to the prince, that said prince shook his head and snapped out of his trance. There was something about that sword that made him feel... He wasn't even sure what it did, all he knew was that it was not a normal sword. It didn't seem evil or malicious, but rather it felt somehow right, like it was supposed to be used. It just felt like his, and he found himself yearning to hold the perfect balance and weight of it, to feel it effortlessly slice through enemies and foes. Why did it have this effect on him? He couldn't say exactly why, but it slightly unnerved him. What sort of sword was it? And that brought back the matter of where Merlin had attained it; he doubted something like that could be found abandoned in an old castle by bandits. So where was it from? Now that Arthur was thinking straight again, his brain finally caught up with the implications of what just happened. Where was Merlin going with the sword? He rushed forward to look around the corner, but Merlin was long gone.

Arthur, cursing his slow thought process, raced down the hall to a window that overlooked the courtyard; he scanned the various faces and figures that milled about, until he found the bright red and blue clothing he was looking for. Merlin was exiting the stables on his mare, making his way over to the entrance to the courtyard. Arthur frowned, looking for the sword; finally he located the rough brown bundle of fabric sticking out of the saddlebag. He watched as Merlin made it through the main group of people and clicked his horse into a gallop, heading for the main gates to the city. Arthur strained to keep the horse and rider in view as long as possible; it seemed that they were headed for the forest, oddly enough. What could he possibly "have to do" in the middle of a forest with a sword? Once he was out of sight, Arthur stood there for a moment at a loss as to what was going on, before turning and making his way back to the physician's chambers in defeat.


A/N: Jeez, that part about the sword was horrible. I had trouble writing it and I'm still not too spiffed with how it came out... Oh well, at least it wasn't too painful (I hope).

On matters of the earlier chapters: I wasn't really sure if the cup was in a specific room or not, but I remembered thinking it looked like the throne room and I didn't feel like researching, and I thought "throne room" sounded better than "random large windowed room #43". Also, I wasn't sure about time periods... I just went with the idea that it's all relatively in the same day, excluding chapter one which was obviously the night before. As for Arthur's room, I know that Morgana hadn't really gone insane yet, but I think that she had always had a very short temper and done rather rash things when provoked. I could see her becoming angry that Arthur and his knights had escaped, the people would not yield to her, etc., and therefore she could easily have decided to wage war and chaos on his belongings in an attempt to vent her feelings.

I'm sorry that I haven't been replying to reviews. if you were expecting a reply, please don't be offended that I seem to have ignored you, I just never seem to get around to it. I promise I'm reading them all!