Arthur's eyes flickered open. The room he was in was dark and dreary, no light entered through the small window. He felt a hand gently stroking his hair, and he sat up, too quickly. He pressed a hand to the open wound on his stomach, hissing air through his teeth and bowing his head. Behind him, a worried voice called out.

'Arthur!'

Merlin scrambled to his knees, placing a hand on Arthur's elbow to steady him. The king shook him off.

'Get off me…' he mumbled. Was that a touch of nervousness in his voice? Merlin shook his head.

No, he thought. Never.

Arthur looked around the room, his eyes resting on the bodies of the three men.

'What happened?' he asked, quietly. Merlin moved his eyes to the bodies, deciding not to reply. The room was silent for a minute or two, and Merlin moved away from Arthur.

'A-are you alright?' he asked, nervously. Arthur turned to look at him.

'I'm fine…' Merlin sighed. It was obvious that Arthur was lying to him. Merlin had always been able to tell.

'You're not..' he said, in almost a whisper. Arthur looked away from him, towards the open door.

'Arthur, I…' Arthur stumbled to his feet and moved for the door.

'Don't.'

Arthur walked through the open doorway. Other than the occasional creaking of floorboards when he moved, the building was silent. Outside, rain hammered against the window, and the strong winds threatened to knock over the large oak tree that stood near it. He turned right and headed along the corridor. Behind him, he heard Merlin, running to catch up with him.

'Wh-where are you going?'

'Home!' Merlin followed after him, unsure if he was welcome to. After a while of waling in silence, Merlin could take it no more.

'You s-saw… didn't you.'

'Of course I bloody saw, Merlin!' Arthur snapped, shaking his head. Merlin fell back a few steps.

'Arthur, I'm sorry, but I-'

'You what, Merlin?!' he yelled, spinning around. Merlin stopped in his tracks.

'I wanted to tell you…' he whispered

'Then why didn't you? I thought you trusted me, Merlin!' Merlin looked up and into Arthur's eyes.

'I do, Arthur. More than- than anyone, but…'

'But what?'

'I was afraid… of- of you.' Arthur folded his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows.

'Me?' he asked, unbelieving.

'I know how you hate magic, Arthur, I was… afraid of how you'd react. Of what you'd do.' Arthur looked to the side, shaking his head.

'You're a sorcerer...'

'Arthur…'

"How long, Merlin?"

"What?"

"How long have you been practicing magic?"

"I…." Merlin looked away. Whether it was in shame or from fear of answering the question, Arthur didn't know.

"How long, Merlin?" Arthur asked through clenched teeth as he took a tentative step closer. It was the tone he used to assert himself, the one that said, "I'm the crown prince, and you will answer me.

"Since before I came to Camelot," Merlin answered quietly, still not looking at Arthur. "I was…I was born with it."

"Born with it? That's preposterous!" Arthur scoffed, insulted that Merlin thought him dumb enough to fall for that.

"It's the truth," Merlin said, looking back up at the prince, and Arthur noticed a firm edge in the way Merlin said it.

"The truth?" Arthur bit the word out, practically choking on it. "How can you possibly expect me to know what 'the truth' is where it concerns you, Merlin?"

Merlin looked down again, his shame clearly evident this time. He looked not unlike a sad little puppy that had just been reprimanded by its master for running away. But Arthur was not going to let Merlin's sad little lost boy act work on him. He had far more than Merlin's feelings on his mind.

"Have you used magic in Camelot before now?"

"Yes."

Arthur shook his head slightly. "What do you expect me to do with this news, Merlin? You know how my father feels about magic. You know how I feel about magic."

Without warning, the shamed look on Merlin's face quickly became one of anger. "What would you have had me do, Arthur? Let the people I love die rather than use my magic?"

Arthur froze, letting the words sink in, too distracted by the conversation to chastise Merlin for his tone. The implication that Arthur was one of those people whom Merlin loved hung heavy in the air between them, not going unnoticed by Arthur, who felt slightly touched. But there was no time for that. He was angry, dammit! And he wanted more answers.

"So back when I first met you, when you saved me from Lady Helen-"

"Yes."

"What about Lord Valiant?"

"I brought the snakes on his shield to life."

Fear coursed through Arthur, and it must have shown on his face, because he saw Merlin flinch slightly at the prince's reaction. Arthur couldn't help it. The thought of Merlin bringing inanimate objects to life with just the power of his mind scared him more than he cared to admit.

"And what about-"

"I enchanted the sword Lancelot used to kill the griffon. I stopped Edwin and his magic beetles. Cornelius Sigan, Nimueh-"

"Nimueh?"

"She's dead. I killed her."

Arthur couldn't hide it this time. He shuddered, taking a small step back. There was no use denying it: the prince was actually afraid of his manservant.

"So that time in Ealdor," Arthur continued as more memories came back to him. "When your friend said he was a sorcerer. That was a lie?"

"Yes. William was trying to protect me."

"And what about that blue light in the cave? When I went to find that flower that I needed to save you?"

"I was barely conscious when that happened, but…yes, that was me, too."

"You weren't anywhere near me when you did that," Arthur said, the implications staggering.

"I know," Merlin answered softly, unable to hold Arthur's gaze anymore as he looked down at the floor once again.

"My god, Merlin."

Arthur wanted to pace – the nervous energy he felt was making him restless – but he had to admit he wasn't sure he wanted to turn his back on a sorcerer, even if it was Merlin.

"All this time…ever since I met you…you've been using magic."

"Arthur, I swear to you, I've only ever used magic for good. To help people. To help you."

"Magic is evil," Arthur replied quietly, and Arthur refused to admit to himself that the excuse sounded a bit feeble.

Merlin looked back up, shaking his head slightly. "Arthur, you once told me you thought that not all magic could be evil."

"But that was before. Before I saw how magic is used to spread lies and create conflict," Arthur replied, thinking about Morgause and her lies about his father.

"But I never used magic for those reasons, Arthur. I swear, on my life, that I've only ever used it as a weapon for good.

"A weapon!" Arthur cried, throwing his hands in the air, losing the tentative grasp he had on his temper. As usual, Merlin had put his foot in his mouth. "What a fine choice of words, Merlin! A weapon indeed."

Arthur turned his back on Merlin, his outrage overcoming his fear. They stood in stony silence, Arthur's mind reeling at how Merlin really had been using his magic as a weapon. How many people had Merlin killed with just his thoughts and a few choice words? How many were there that Arthur didn't even know about?

"It's not any different than you using a sword for a weapon, Arthur."

"Of course it is," Arthur responded, turning back to face Merlin. "Magic is evil."

"No, it isn't," Merlin said, and Arthur noticed yet another change come over his servant. Merlin looked strangely determined, as though what he had to say was of the utmost importance and he desperately wanted Arthur to understand. "Without a hand to guide it, your sword is just a piece of metal lying on the floor. It's only when you pick it up that it becomes a force for good or evil, and that all depends on how you use it. Magic is the same as your sword. By itself, it's a neutral entity; it's not inherently good or evil. It's how you choose to use it that matters."

Arthur wanted to come up with a retort, but he couldn't. He was floored. What Merlin had said made a strange kind of sense to him, though it was a wonder Merlin had been able to put it so eloquently. He had to have been practicing. But as Arthur pondered his servant's words, something that had been bothering him for the past few minutes came back to him, pushing all talk of weapons and the nature of good and evil and magic from his mind.

"What about that girl…the one the bounty hunter was looking for? Were you hiding that girl, Merlin? Even though I told the bounty hunter to leave you alone because you had my absolute trust? Were you really the one that hid her?"

Merlin seemed to deflate instantly, his determination gone as he once again looked to the floor in shame. He didn't even have to admit to this one out loud.

Arthur fought to keep composure, but he lost the battle.

"So you let me defend you, admit that you had my trust, and you were lying to me?" Arthur asked angrily. "That girl was a monster, Merlin! She killed innocent people; she nearly killed me and my men. And you were protecting her?!"

"I'm sorry," Merlin whispered, still not looking up.

"You're 'sorry'?" Arthur mocked. "Well, that makes it all right then! My god, Merlin…" Arthur started pacing slightly, unable to contain his nervous energy anymore as the shock of everything he was hearing became too much for him.