"So, you are the worst servant possible – you don't do what I tell you to do and most of the time I can't even find you. If Gaius tells the truth when I ask him where you are then you are constantly at the tavern. Yet I have never seen you having a hangover. Has Gwaine shown you some trick to drinking?" Arthur looked genuinely interested. "If so you have to tell me about it. I have had enough of feeling horrible the next day after a feast." The king groaned, remembering one day when he had had to spend his day with a terrible headache and a bucket near him. That day he hadn't been able to do any of his duties – he felt too weak to train and reading just made his headache worse. He hoped to never experience it again but it had been difficult because feasts mostly consisted of people making toasts. And when someone made a toast he, as a king, had to set an example and drink to it. Whatever trick Merlin had, he could definitely use it.

Merlin nervously swallowed. He had to be careful, one slip and the secret would be out. Sure, it would be out later anyway but he wanted to reveal it in connection to his himself, not his alleged drinking. "Actually, I don't spend that much time in the tavern. The only times that I'm there are when Gwaine invites me, but I refuse most of his invitations because I want to stay sane, and when you want to play dice. I'm always happy to beat you in that game." he said, carefully choosing his words. Merlin knew the question that would follow so he tried to divert the king's attention by teasing him about losing to him. Sure, he had cheated to win but Arthur didn't know that. And never would if he could help it.

"You don't beat me that often." Arthur frowned. Merlin just smiled, of course he didn't win too often, it would be too suspicious if he did.

Arthur continued and asked the one question Merlin had feared he would ask "But if you are not in the tavern where do you disappear to so often?"

"I have no idea why Gaius tells you I'm in the tavern. I ask him to make up an excuse and the first thing he thinks about is the tavern? Why couldn't he have chosen the woods or some meadow, or even the lower town? Sometimes I think he does it on purpose. I remember this one time when I specifically told him to say anything but the tavern. You know what he said? The tavern! I was just behind the door when he said it. Maybe he likes seeing me in trouble. Or maybe he is just a terrible liar. But that couldn't be the case because he has kept my secret and that required lying. I'll have to ask him about it when we get back." Merlin tried to avoid answering but Arthur was not so easy to fool.

"Stop dancing around it. Just answer." Arthur said sternly but made a note in his mind that Gaius knew the secret Merlin was so scared to reveal to him.

Merlin sighed; Arthur wouldn't let it go until he answered. "Fine. I'll tell you some of it. But this will not be the whole truth; there will be some things I will leave out. You have to promise not to ask about them because I'm not ready yet." Merlin looked seriously at his friend. Arthur nodded, brimming with curiosity.

"Most of the times, actually, all the times when Gaius has told you that I'm at the tavern I have not been at the tavern. In fact, I was probably as far from a tavern as possible." Merlin slowly started, thinking about each word before he said it.

"I suspected as much by your long and unnecessary musings about Gaius's lying abilities, go on." Arthur quipped.

Merlin paid no attention to the slight mockery in Arthur's tone and continued "The tavern is an excuse. For me "the tavern" is usually an extremely dangerous adventure to save you, Camelot or people I, you, Gaius, Gwen or any of our friends hold dear. When I go to the tavern I leave the town, find the threat, fight it, sometimes almost die, and come back to hear you yelling at me and asking where I had been." Arthur looked guilty at his words. Merlin continued "So far I have managed to survive and get rid of most of the threats." The servant thought about Mordred, how he hadn't got rid of him despite the dragon's warnings. So he couldn't claim to have the perfect score, he laughed darkly. "I hope I will be so lucky all the times that are still coming." Merlin quickly added looking at the ground and avoiding his friends surprised eyes.

That was why he was taken by surprise when Arthur suddenly grabbed his shoulders and forced Merlin to look into his eyes. Disbelief, gratitude, surprise, and finally resolve were the emotions Merlin saw in the king's face.

"Do not dare to go to "the tavern" alone ever again. The next time you see a threat, you must come straight to me." Arthur said, struggling to get out the words. "You must have been incredibly lucky to survive it all. I do not want to see your luck run out, so from now on we will fight the threats together. Is that understood?" the king was completely serious, he didn't want Merlin to fight alone, he didn't even want to think about what could have happened if his servant wasn't so ridiculously lucky. He felt shivers run over his spine when he imagined how Merlin without him knowing rode out to face threats he never knew about and probably never would, had they not been in the cave. His clumsy servant really was the bravest man he ever knew.

"I cannot promise that." Merlin replied with conviction snapping Arthur out of his thoughts. "I have… a special way of dealing with the threats. It concerns my secret. Whether or not you will want to fight together after finding it out is up to you. But you should know, I have faced them alone and, even though it would be better to face them with you, I am prepared to continue alone."

Arthur looked taken aback by these words. He had expected his servant to simply agree. He had wanted his servant to simply agree. But Merlin was never like that. He should have known. The loyal idiot had always done as he wanted.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get there." he decided and saw hope sparkling in his servant's eyes.

"Actually, most of the time you were there, you were just knocked out." Merlin joked trying to lift the mood. "So I actually thought about a question for you. Want to hear it?" Arthur nodded, he was still thinking about the dangers Merlin had been in, but he felt like he had no right to refuse to answer Merlin's question.

"What happens to you when you are knocked out? Do you just see black, or are you dreaming? Don't get me wrong, I have been unconscious too, but I would like to hear your experience, as you have had more practice doing it." Merlin smiled mischievously.

Arthur laughed, only Merlin could joke when they had serious conversation just a minute ago. "If you have to know, at first I just saw black and woke up somewhere. But the more I got knocked out the better I got at it. Lately I have managed to hear some snippets from things that have been happening around me." Merlin froze hearing this. Could Arthur actually have heard him admitting he had magic to Uther's spirit? Arthur continued "But the things I hear rarely make sense, so I am starting to think they may be hallucinations caused by the many times I have been hit on the head. I'll have to ask Gaius about it when we get back." Merlin calmed down hearing the king admit it.

Meanwhile Arthur had already thought about a question to ask Merlin. "Ready for the next?" he asked.

Merlin just nodded, still thinking about what he had heard.