This was really hard to write, so hope you like.

Arthur sat at his desk, watching as Merlin put the last few bits away from the quest. He still found that his heart was beating hard when he thought about what had happened. For a split second, he thought that Merlin had been about to come clean when he spoke about accompanying Arthur on the expedition and being able to help, but by now knew better than to be disappointed when Merlin had avoided the subject in his usual dismissive way. It did make Arthur wonder how many times their conversations had been about magic and he had just never realised it.

He should have known that Merlin would still have come along anyway. He wasn't sure whether he had been relieved or not that Gwaine too had turned up – it was just another way Merlin could deflect from what was really going on. But this time, there was no deflecting. Arthur knew that this couldn't go on for any longer, he had to do something about it. He knew that Merlin wasn't aware that Arthur knew what he could do – but right now, Arthur wasn't sure he knew what Merlin could do either.

He knew about the magic, that was certain. But he hadn't been as out of it as Merlin had believed when those beasts had approached. He had heard as Merlin had simply growled at them – and they had disappeared. Arthur wasn't sure completely what had happened, his head had been spinning and his vision had stayed stubbornly black throughout the whole thing until he felt the bracelet disappear from his wrist and Merlin's face swim into view. But that voice had sent a shiver down his spine – he knew that it was something else other than magic.

In the depths of his heart, Arthur thought he knew. It made sense – Merlin's reaction, the defeat of the Great Dragon… Everything made sense apart from why Merlin hadn't mentioned that Balinor was his father. Arthur knew the legend, he knew that Dragonlord powers could be passed down from father to son. He had been watching Merlin for a while, long enough to gather enough evidence to know that Merlin was powerful. Yet the prince was certain that hadn't been a spell he had directed to the creatures, it was like he had been communicating with them.

In a way, Arthur had been prepared to let that go. After all, what was another secret compared to what Merlin was already hiding from him? But it had been the bracelet that was troubling him. Had Morgana known that it would have that sort of effect on him? Arthur knew he had been feeling not quite himself before when he had been surprised in the forest, and the fact that his symptoms had cleared as soon as it had been removed was not something that could be overlooked. This was no longer just about Merlin hiding himself away. He had actively been forced to remove something from Arthur's person in order to save his life, meaning that others were involved. How could Arthur protect himself if he didn't know what was going on?

The question was, how to bring it up in conversation? Deciding that he was just going to open his mouth and see what happened (after all, it wasn't him that had been hiding the truth away), Arthur took a deep breath. He didn't think that he had ever been so nervous about an upcoming conversation as he was right now.

"How would you get a dog to back off, Merlin?"

"Excuse me?" Merlin turned from where he had been folding Arthur's cloak away, facing his prince with a look of disbelief on his face. It was as if he couldn't quite believe what Arthur had just asked. For his part, Arthur found that both his heart and mind was racing, standing up as he did so. Before he truly processed how his actions would be interpreted, Arthur found that he had moved across his chambers and was standing by the door. He wasn't going to let Merlin run away from this, not any more.

"So? How would you?"

"I think you've had one too many knocks to the head, Sire." Merlin's tone was joking, echoing the same casual banter that had been taking place between the two of them as they had ridden back into Camelot. Arthur, however, just glared coolly at him. Was Merlin never going to trust him with anything?

"Fair enough. Not that you've ever owned a dog in order to know about it. But do you think it would be the same as getting a dragon to back off?"

"What?" Merlin was aiming for joking again. But he missed dramatically by the fact that his voice had risen slightly and his eyes suddenly darted around. Arthur knew what he was doing- he was looking for a change of subject. But it was as Merlin reacted that he seemed to realise that Arthur was blocking the only way out of the room. Arthur wasn't sure whether to be hurt or not by the way that Merlin swallowed obviously.

"Are they any different from a wyvrens? They're smaller, maybe they are easier…"

"Arthur, what are you talking about? Are you feeling okay? Here, come and sit down and I'll fetch you a drink."

"Not this time, Merlin. What, just going to run away and not come back until you think that I've forgotten again?" Arthur's voice was harsh and Merlin flinched.

"Forgotten what?"

"How thick do you think I am, Merlin? You know perfectly well what, I know. I've known for months, just hoped that you would pluck up the courage to tell me yourself."

"Arthur-?"

"Damnit, Merlin, stop lying to me!" The silence in the room after Arthur's yell was the most deafening thing that the prince thought he had ever heard. Realising that this wasn't showing Merlin anything to be reassured by, he forced himself to take a deep breath. He stepped away from the door, raising his hands and sitting down at the table again. Making sure that his hands stayed on the top where Merlin could see them, Arthur locked eyes with his servant. When he spoke, his voice was calm and controlled, if a little forced.

"I've known for some time that you have magic, Merlin. No, I won't tell you what gave it away, it took months of painful snooping around to find out if I was right or not. As from yesterday, I have reason to believe that you are also a DragonLord. Am I right?"

"Arthur…"

"Before you say anything, Merlin, I ask one thing. I might have this completely wrong. I just ask that you do me the courtesy of not lying to my face, not anymore. I know, you have no secrets left to hide. I have also known for some time now, so you can rest assured that any thoughts that I had in regards to taking you to my father also disappeared months ago. You're safe, I just want to know."

All in all, Arthur was quite proud of how steady he kept his voice. Btu then he realised that his hands were trembling on top of the table, and one glance at Merlin's face showed that his servant could see it. For a long moment, Merlin didn't say anything and Arthur felt like he had made a terrible mistake. But then their eyes met and it was as if all the colour suddenly drained from Merlin's face as if he had only just realised the conversation taking place around him. One hand shot out and rested on the bedpost, yet Arthur didn't move as Merlin forced himself to take a calming breath.

"Gaius will kill me for this…I mean, not that he knows, Gaius that is…."

"Merlin, I already know that he knows, that is partly how I found out."

"Gaius told you?"

"Do you really think that he would betray you like that?" The incredulous look on Merlin's face faded and he lowered himself onto the bed. Arthur could see that Merlin's hands were shaking just as much as his were. Arthur's heart was almost pounding in his ears as he took note of Merlin's reaction.

"It's true then?" He found himself whispering. "I was right, you do have magic?"

"And I am a DragonLord."

"How long..?"

"Since Balinor…"

"No." Arthur cut through Merlin's attempt at an explanation. "I figured that part out for myself. How long have you been practising magic?"

"Forever." Arthur was expecting some sort of defence, for Merlin to claim that he had learnt so that he could save Arthur's life. Considering everything that he had witnessed so far, Arthur didn't think that was an unreasonable thing to believe. Yet he blinked at Merlin's answer, watching in silence as the warlock finally stumbled over to the table and sat down on a chair rather than Arthur's bed.

"As in..?"

"As in since before I could talk. I didn't chose this, it was something that I was born with. G-Gaius said that it is rare, that I'm…" Arthur heard the hesitation in Merlin's voice as he talked about Gaius, making it clear that Merlin didn't like revealing the physician had helped him hide for all of these years. But somehow, the prince knew the end of Merlin's sentence.

"That you're powerful."

Merlin nodded glumly, not seeming to meet Arthur's eyes but instead picked at a stray thread on his sleeve.

"I wanted to tell you. I just..."

"Thought that I wouldn't be able to handle it? I thought you knew me better than that, Merlin, I thought that you knew that I had stopped believing everything that my father said some time ago." There was no anger in Arthur's voice, and the prince finally realised what it was that he had been feeling ever since coming to the conclusion that Merlin was never going to tell him.

Disappointment.

Merlin seemed to hear it too and his head lowered. Arthur could see the way his hands tensed into balls on the table and knew that his words had upset the warlock.

"It seems you knew me about as well as I knew you then."

"No, Arthur, I… It wasn't that I didn't think you could handle it. It was that I didn't want to put you in a position between having to choose between me and your father. I just…"

"Hoped that I would never find out?"

"Sort of…" Merlin mumbled, before lifting his head and staring Arthur directly in the eye. "Arthur, I never wanted to lie to you. You are my friend, even if you don't feel the same way about me. There is more to this than even I can explain, for I won't give away secrets that aren't mine unless I have to. But know that I have only ever wanted to protect you."

"I kind of already figured that part out." Arthur muttered quietly. He could see by the look on Merlin's face that this was not how he had ever imagined this conversation to go. Either he told Arthur himself, or Arthur had only just discovered the truth and was angry. For the prince to have known for some time and even seeming to have accepted it was not something that had crossed Merlin's mind. Arthur wasn't sure whether he should be upset by that or not.

"So how long have you known about Balinor? Since it happened?"

"Since yesterday." Merlin blinked, clearly having expected Arthur to have realised that all along as well.

"How-? Oh, the wyverns? You weren't unconscious, were you?"

"I wasn't exactly conscious either, so no, I wasn't pretending if that was what you meant. I couldn't move or see, but I could still hear everything that was going on. I still heard you send them away as if they were nothing more than misbehaving pets. How do you do it?"

"Bal-my father said that there is part of me that is kin with the dragons, and because the wyvern are some sort of relation to them, the power works over them as well. They listen to me, and they can't refuse my orders."

Somehow, hearing that Merlin could give orders to something Arthur himself couldn't command just didn't seem right and the prince was hard pushed not to shudder slightly at the thought. He had known that Merlin was strong, but this conversation certainly seemed to be enlightening him to just how strong. How had he not realised that the man serving him had more power in his little finger than Arthur had ever had throughout his whole life.

"So you have magic and you can order dragons? Then answer me this, what was it about the bracelet? It's Morgana, isn't it? This isn't the first time that I've seen you two glaring at each other. Tell me what is going on."

"Not yet, Arthur." There was a gentle tone in Merlin's voice that made Arthur blink. As he stared at his servant, Merlin smiled reassuringly.

"I will, I swear. But whilst you've had months accepting this, I need time."

"Why do you need time, I was the one to find out you had lied for all this time."

"I know, and I'm sorry. But this is my life on the line here, Arthur. I've spent years acting as your fool so no one knew and so I could stay here in Camelot. Now I find out that you know, that you've accepted it. You might not realise it, but that is sort of a big deal for me. Give me a few days? Let me process everything that has just happened, then I swear that I will tell you all that you need to know."

Arthur knew he couldn't ask for anything more. Merlin had a point – Arthur had certainly reversed the roles by it being him to drop the bombshell rather than Merlin. He knew that if Merlin had lied to him for this long without Arthur knowing about it, then it would almost be too easy for him to start lying again. He just had to trust that his servant was right, that he was indeed going to tell Arthur everything.

Somehow, Arthur felt like he had to give Merlin some sort of sign that he trusted him. This was the only thing that Merlin had asked from him – ever if Arthur's mind recalled all their past conversations – and Arthur knew that he had to give it to him. After all, if he didn't start proving to Merlin that he meant what he said about trusting him, then he knew that he was never going to get anywhere with his servant.

He knew that Merlin still had things to tell him – he wanted to know what was going on between Merlin and Morgana for one thing. But unless he gave Merlin the time and the trust that he asked for, he would never get the answers. Arthur didn't think that he could figure this one out for himself, he needed his servant.

"Fine. You have three days…"

"Arthur…Sire, you can't order someone to accept changes in their life. You have to let me do this in my own time." It was that moment that made Arthur feel suddenly vulnerable. This was out of his control, he had to follow Merlin on this one. He wasn't sure how it made him feel, but he instead sagged back in his seat.

"Very well. You have as long as you need. But promise me that you will tell me what I want to know?"

"I promise, Sire." Merlin's voice was soft and sincere, and Arthur knew that he was telling the truth. He dismissed his servant with a wave of his hand – Merlin didn't need telling twice and practically leapt up. Not wanting things to stay on that note, Arthur lifted his head again.

"Oh, and Merlin?"

"Yes?"

"I still think you've been eating too many mushrooms living here with a secret like that."

"That's me, Sire. And you wouldn't have me any other way."

With a grin that made Merlin look more like himself than he had done in hours, the servant left the room. And Arthur suddenly realised that he was right. It didn't matter what secrets his friend had been hiding, he was still the same old Merlin.