SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I went on vacation and there wasn't a lot of time to write. But I did it and even while I'm still on vacation. I go home tomorrow, but you are lucky to get it now. Anyway. I hope I can make it up to you by having it be rather long. I believe it's my longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoy it and sorry again.

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Chapter Eleven

Arthur stood in the middle of his room, a hand clutching the back of his head as he began to try to think things though. He let out a breath slowly and started to pace around.

Merlin has magic, he began thinking. Now that he was thinking, he realized the two, Emrys and Merlin, had never been in the same room together and he realized how similarly they acted. It made sense why the old man had told him to treat his servants better, or ridiculed him, or knew so much. He could see them being the same person now that he knew they were. Though it still didn't explain everything.

Arthur at first didn't want to start thinking of all his experiences with Merlin, but found after ten minutes he had nothing else to think about. He thought of the first time he had met Merlin, how strange he had seemed to him, how he had saved his life. He thought of all the times Merlin had been accused of magic, even said he had it himself once. He thought of all the times Merlin said he had saved his life, how he would be loyal, how he would have random moments of wisdom. And all the sudden he understood what Gaius and Gwen had been telling him. He found the important answers. Merlin was loyal to him. He couldn't have faked anything, no one was that good. If Merlin was evil, he could have killed him a long time ago. He wouldn't have even had to try. He could have just stood by and let someone else kill him. The only reason he was alive was because of Merlin, and Arthur was curious as to just how many times Merlin had saved his life without his knowledge. He said he had saved his so many times.

Every time Arthur thought of something that Merlin might have been behind, more and more questions filled his mind. Every answer he found brought forth more questions.

While he did have the answers that were most important, such as where Merlin's loyalties lie, he still had so many questions. Questions he needed to have answers. Answers he would get when the sun rose the next day.

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When Merlin woke up, he found a somber Gaius sitting besides him.

"Gaius?" Merlin said softly, still trying to wake up.

Gaius looked sharply at Merlin, a sad look in his eyes.

"What's wrong Gaius?" Merlin asked shifting a little.

"I'm sorry Merlin. I had no choice." Gaius said. "You were going to die."

"Die? What do you mean? What did you do?" Merlin asked extremely confused.

"You got an infection, your old body couldn't fight it off properly. I had to..." he said handing Merlin a small cracked mirror.

Merlin stared at his reflection seeing nothing wrong. "I don't..." then it hit him. He wasn't old anymore. Merlin's eyes widened. "Did Arthur..." Merlin began.

"Yes," Gaius replied simply.

"So he knows that..."

"You are Emrys, yes." Gaius confirmed.

"and that I have magic." Merlin continued.

Gaius just nodded.

"And I'm still alive?"

Gaius nodded again.

Merlin put a hand to his head, trying to take in this information. "But why did you...?" Merlin began to ask.

Gaius looked down and sighed. "You would have died Merlin. And if I had changed you back to normal without him being there, Arthur would have either believed Emrys to betray him, or he would have become suspicious if he saw you here instead. In any case, he would have either found out anyway, or come to hate magic all the more. I felt it was time he knew. And apparently I was correct. He hasn't killed you yet, though he wasn't particularly happy..." Gaius said wondering if the only thing that kept Arthur from killing Merlin was the promise he had made Arthur make.

Merlin nodded in acceptance. He started to try to get up, "I need to talk to him, I need to explain-" Merlin said standing uneasy before collapsing. Gaius caught him and had him sit on the bed again. "Your still weak from the spell Merlin. Stay here, keep your strength. I will get Arthur and Gwen."

"Gwen?"

"You don't want to have to tell your life story twice now would you?" Gaius said.

Merlin shook his head and Gaius stood up and left.

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Arthur lay in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. He had tried to sleep at some point in the night, but found he couldn't. The sun was rising, but he didn't notice until a knock came at his door. He sat bolt upright and stared at the door before jumping out and stumbling across the room and throwing the door open. Before him stood Gaius and Gwen, looking calm and collected.

"He's awake," Gaius said.

Arthur needed no further encouragement and left with them.

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Arthur entered the chamber, followed closely by Gaius and Gwen, and found Merlin sitting upright, trying to stand and failing. Merlin snapped his head towards the door and stared at Arthur, fear glinting slightly in his eyes. Arthur was nearly shaking, purely out of anticipation of finally getting some answers.

Merlin was unsure of what to say. He wasn't sure how Arthur felt about him anymore, and in turn didn't know how to talk to him anymore. So he decided to let Arthur start conversation, questions, or accusations. Whatever they might be.

"Merlin," Arthur said cautiously, sitting down near him.

Still Merlin remained silent.

Arthur sighed, staring his friend in the eye. "I need you to answer all my questions truthfully. Can you promise me that?"

Merlin nodded vigorously, eyes wide with hope.

Arthur steeled himself, preparing for any answers and asked his first question. He had had all of yesterday to prepare what to ask, and in what order. So he began. "Why on earth would you start practicing magic when you know how evil it is?" Arthur began.

"Magic isn't evil and I never started practicing magic," Merlin said shaking his head back and forth, his eyes never leaving Arthur's face.

"I told you I wanted the truth. We both know you have magic." Arthur said starting to get angry again.

"I'm not lying. It's the truth." Merlin answered quickly.

"It is true sire," Gaius confirmed.

Arthur gave a quick glance at Gaius before turning back to Merlin for an explanation.

"I was born with magic. I have never had to practice. It's just...natural really. I've been using magic since before I could talk. My magic is the whole reason I even came to Camelot in the first place." Merlin explained.

"What do you mean it's the reason you came to Camelot?"

"My mother sent me to Gaius to learn how to control my magic since I just used it instinctively. Magic is the reason I even ever became your servant. I used magic to save your life that day your father appointed me your servant."

Arthur thought on this for a moment. If Merlin had never had magic, they probably would have never met. Which means Arthur would have died long ago. Arthur moved on to his next question. "Have you ever done anything bad with magic?" Arthur asked.

Merlin looked down. "It's more complicated than that." Merlin said softly.

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, I suppose I have." Merlin replied stiffly. Arthur felt this was like a knife to his heart. "But you have to hear them and my reasons. I never intentionally did anything evil. I've always tried to do good. I've always done what I thought was best, but sometimes I'm wrong or something happens that I didn't expect..." Merlin said quickly.

"I'm listening." Arthur said calmly, preparing to hear the worst things. He would listen, he had already lost someone he had trusted. He didn't want to lose another without good reason.

"Are you sure you want to hear the bad stuff first?" Merlin asked cautiously.

"I promise to listen and at least try to see your side of things." Arthur said and looked at Gaius. "I also promise I won't do anything rash until you tell me everything. Good and bad."

Merlin nodded slowly and continued. "I first need to explain some other things in order for you to understand." Merlin began with a deep breath, avoiding Arthur's eyes. "When I first came to Camelot, I met the Great Dragon. He called to me, and told me very important things that I will get to later. It's sure to come up," he mumbled the last part to himself. "Anyway, for a while I would go to the dragon, Kilgharrah is his name, and I would get help from him. This went on for a while until I learned he had other motives for helping me, and I refused to go to him. At least for a while..." Merlin said.

Arthur took in this information. He didn't like where this was going.

Merlin started again. "You remember Sigan, don't you?" Merlin inquired.

Arthur thought for a moment before remembering. "The immortal sorcerer who nearly destroyed Camelot? Yes, I remember." Arthur confirmed, wondering what he had to do with any of this.

"Well, he was a very powerful sorcerer. Too powerful for me at that time. I had no choice but to go to Kilgharrah. I got the help I needed and I succeeded but his help came at a price this time. He wasn't happy when I had abandoned him and he made me make a promise to him before he gave me any help."

Arthur looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What did you promise?" He asked, unsure he really wanted to know the answer.

Merlin avoided the question and continued. "I tried to put off fulfilling my promise for as long as I could, but after the attack on Camelot, the one with Morgause and the knights of Medhir, which in itself was another thing I wasn't proud of but I'll get to that later, after that I had to fulfill my promise."

Arthur knew what it was before Merlin spoke it, but he didn't want to believe it. He wanted to hear it from Merlin's mouth.

"I freed the dragon, Arthur." Merlin said. "I'm sorry."

Anger boiled in Arthur's chest. So many had died, he himself had almost died. "You're sorry. That just fixes everything. Your lucky I managed to kill that thing!" Arthur burst out.

Merlin cringed and reluctantly corrected the king. "Actually, that's another thing Arthur. You never killed the dragon."

Arthur couldn't speak. He stared at his servant, chest heaving with anger. "What do you mean I didn't kill the dragon!" Arthur demanded.

"Well, I was the one who told you that you did that, but I told you that in order to cover up...well other things." Merlin replied mysteriously.

"What other things?" Arthur yelled exasperated.

"Like I'm the one that got rid of the dragon."

"You."

"Yes."

"You killed the Great Dragon," Arthur said condescendingly.

"What? No." Merlin said shaking his head. Arthur gave him a deadly look. "I told it to go away." Merlin explained. "The dragon is still alive."

"So you just told it to leave you alone and it obliged having killed enough at that point, is that it?" Arthur said.

"No," Merlin gave another sigh. "I'm afraid I have another big secret you still don't know." Merlin said with a sigh and Arthur stared at his servant in disbelief that there could be another big secret. He wondered if he had ever really known Merlin, how could he with this many secrets.

"You remember Balinor?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, the Dragon Lord, what has he got to do with this."

Merlin was quiet for a long moment.

"He was my father," he said quietly. "When he died, his power as a Dragon Lord passed down to me. That's how I got rid of the dragon. He had to obey me. And he still does."

"So let me get this straight," Arthur said. "You are a sorcerer, and a Dragon Lord, you released the dragon, Balinor was your father, and the dragon is still alive."

"Uh, yes. That basically sums it up," Merlin confirmed.

"Great," Arthur said finally. "The dragon is still around. Just great."

A long silence ensued. Merlin looked at Arthur cautiously and posed a question. "Would you like to meet him?"

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Hope you liked it. I had fun writing it. so should Arthur meet the dragon? I might make a decision without your opinion but tell me what you think. Tell me what you would like to see. Again, sorry for the wait and thanks again for the reviews and once more I really hope you enjoyed it.