Author's note: Thanks again for the feedback! You're going to hate me for the cliffhanger.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

Arthur was antsy. A week had past, and Morgana hadn't made any moves on Camelot. What could her plans be?

If Merlin noticed Arthur's constant pacing, he didn't say anything. The boy was probably thinking the same thing as him, though, so it didn't matter.

And Merlin was thinking of Morgana, but more pressing on his mind was the fact that today was the day when Emrys was supposed to visit Arthur again, and Merlin had just managed to wrap his mind around the fact that Arthur had magic. It made sense- he was born of it, after all, but Merlin couldn't figure out why Arthur hadn't made any moves to remove the ban. Was he that much of a hypocrite?

No, Merlin thought, he just was afraid of the consequences. After all, hadn't he suffered enough at the hands of magic, even if he did see that it wasn't evil? (Which Merlin knew due to several speeches that the king had made to his manservant during that week.)

Yet Morgana would attack whether or not Arthur repealed the ban, because her mind wasn't focused on magic anymore. It was focused on revenge.

And, Merlin had decided that it was time Arthur heard about a certain prophecy.

Arthur's voice ripped him out of his thoughts. "Merlin, you're making me nervous. Stop fidgeting and go shine my armor or something," the king said, and Merlin realized that he finally had his chance. He could use magic to do all his chores while he went to Arthur's room with his cloak. He nodded quickly and slipped out the door before Arthur could say anything about his strange behavior.

Not that Arthur could say anything about his behavior in the state he was in. The real reason Arthur had sent Merlin away was because he expected Emrys wouldn't appear until the manservant was gone, probably so the two of them could have some privacy. He stopped his pacing with a sigh and sat down. He wanted to ask the sorcerer if he could help with Morgana, anyway. WIth the promise of repealing the ban on magic, he was sure that Emrys would help. He seemed good enough, anyway.

And, just as Arthur was thinking this, Emrys slipped through the door, and Arthur acted exactly the same way he did the first time the hooded figure entered his chambers. He stopped about halfway through his antics when he realized that the intruder was just Emrys, though it was now a panicking Emrys. He sighed and sat down on his bed again, and Emrys relaxed.

"So, are you going to help me?" Arthur asked, and Emrys nodded, grasping his hood as he did so so that it didn't fall down.

"Yeah, I figured I should," Emrys said, and Arthur imagined he was smiling under his cowl as he said, "I feel oblidged to, anyway."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Emrys snorted, "I've saved your life more times than I can count! It'd be a shame to let you go without training!"

That made Arthur raise both his eyebrows, "You saved my life? When?"

Emrys was probably raising an eyebrow under that hood of his, "I said, more times than I can count! You are the once and future king, after all," he said, and Arthur's face was that of confusion.

"The once and future king?" he asked, and Emrys nodded, holding on to his hood again.

"Yes, the one destined to bring magic back and unite Albion, with the warlock Emrys at his side," he explained, and Arthur was surprised.

"Me?" he asked, and Emrys nodded.

"You," he said, and then quickly added, "Though don't think I saved your life just because of that, though. You're a good man, Arthur, and you'll be a great king," reminding the king of all the speeches that he had heard from Gwen and Merlin, though that wasn't relevant at the moment.

Arthur took this in. He was destined to bring back Magic to Albion and he was destined to unite the kingdoms, and Emrys had been protecting him all along. It made sense, when he thought about it- all those coincidences that could never have happened normally, like falling tree branches and random fires. He probably would've been dead if Emrys hadn't been protecting him, and, by the looks of it, Emrys must know him quite well, and he probably knew Emrys, too. He did recognize his voice, though he couldn't place it. He put a hand on Emrys' shoulder to show his thankfulness.

And his hood fell down.

Arthur gaped and Merlin gasped, trying and failing to grab the hood and pull it over his head again.

"Merlin!"