Oh god this is such a piece of horseshit, this chapter. I'm really so very sorry. I just felt there needed to be a kind of explanatory chapter, and for some reason my style of writing went haywire, and this catvomit resulted at 1 in the morning. It's really bad, I'm sorry.
The situation in Camelot had of late been an unusual one.
The entirety of the Round Table now knew of Merlin's magic, and their reactions differed.
Gaius noted the responses of the Round Table. Of course Lancelot knew, and he now hovered protectively over Merlin, watching soldiers and guards nervously whenever they approached.
Percival seemed to be fine with it. He knew Merlin was a good man, so if he had magic then all that changed was that he was now a good man with magic. Percival treated Merlin no different, on occasion asking questions about the magic but largely treating Merlin the same. For that Gaius was thankful. To be treated the same was a blessing for Merlin right now.
Gwaine treated it all like a joke. He often came barging into Gaius' chambers looking to rope Merlin into performing a prank with his magic. He claimed to have suspected it for long enough, and teased Merlin mercilessly.
Elyan was a bit more wary. He didn't avoid Merlin, but he wasn't the first to go looking for him, either. Whenever they met, which wasn't often as Arthur took care to prevent all contact between Merlin and his knights, Elyan regarded the warlock with a cautious respect, barely saying anything.
Leon was much like Elyan, watching Merlin with troubled eyes. He liked Merlin, and couldn't believe he was a sorcerer, but he'd seen the evidence. They all had. For now he kept quiet on the subject of Merlin's magic, deciding to follow Arthur's lead in whatever decision he made.
Gwen was completely astonished. The day after Merlin revealed himself, she came to his room asking for his entire story. They sat down, and Merlin told it. Gwen was hurt, but she soon forgave him, and he thanked the first friend he'd made in Camelot profusely. He then asked her to tell the other knights some of his story, seeing as he rarely saw them now. She agreed, and offered to speak to Arthur as well. Merlin asked her not to. "I'll talk to him."
Arthur was being…difficult. After their initial fight, Merlin hadn't dared go back to perform his duties as a manservant, feeling somehow he'd be unwelcome. He soon afterwards was officially fired. He was hurt, but didn't blame Arthur. It would take time for this rift to heal. He had taken to performing Gaius' chores full-time, as a way to keep busy. Arthur had also been keeping the knights that were his friends very busy-sending them on patrols that took days to complete, and ferociously throwing them into training. Merlin took this to mean he didn't want any of the knights having contact with him.
They'd not met until they literally bumped into each other in the corridor, and the curious meeting that took place there established a very wary peace between them. Arthur stopped keeping the knights away, and ceased avoiding Merlin, but when they saw each other they acted only as servant and king, and little was said on either side, although there were many anxious looks on Merlin's part.
This wary truce remained for several weeks, and the entire castle held its breath as it waited to the inevitable collapse of the house of cards.