Sorry about the delayed update, the past week has been...hectic, to put it in one word! And I've been so busy I can't even remember if I replied to the reviews for the last chapter! So if you did review but didn't get a reply, I apologise, but thank you for reviewing! :)

And the new series of Merlin has now started! :D For those of you who have seen it, what did you think of the first episode? I really enjoyed it!

Anyway, on with the chapter!...

Chapter 26

The Unpleasant Truth

Merlin stood nervously at the door of Arthur's chamber. It was reaching midday, and the Prince was pouring over official-looking parchments at his desk, his back to Merlin. He hadn't even noticed his manservant was standing there yet. Merlin wasn't sure how long he had been standing in the doorway, trying to think of what to do, what to say, eventually he cleared his throat to alert Arthur to his presence.

Arthur turned round in his chair, he looked surprised at not being alone, but when he saw who was standing there he rolled his eyes, as if he was telling himself he should have known who it was disturbing his peace and not bothered to knock. Perhaps this wasn't a good time to disturb him, but he had to get it over and done with. "Yes Merlin?" Arthur said.

"I need to talk to you..." Merlin said slowly.

Arthur glanced back down at the parchments spread across his desk, "This isn't a good time Merlin, I need to get these read through signed by the end of today. Can it wait?"

I've been waiting too long for this anyway, Merlin thought to himself as he shook his head. "No, sorry, but this is important."

For once, Arthur seemed to notice the seriousness in his voice, and turned back to Merlin, concern in his eyes for his friend. "All right then, what seems to be the problem?"

Merlin took a deep breath, and then cursed underneath his breath, how on earth could he explain all of this? He was taking too long to think of something to say, he could see Arthur growing impatient, tapping his toe absent mindedly on the stone floor. "So...how is your day going?"

"Not that well actually, my manservant interrupted me during some very important work just to ask me how my day was going!"

"Sorry! I just..." Merlin took a deep breath, no beating around the bush then. "Do you remember once we had a conversation about Morgana?"

Arthur looked surprised by this question. "Yes...yes we did. It must have been a few months ago now though. What about it?"

"You said she's dead?"

"Yes." Arthur's voice was a little more stern this time, defensive, he did not like talking about past loved ones and he couldn't see where the conversation was heading. "Why?"

Merlin sat down on the corner of Arthur's bed, he found he couldn't keep eye contact with the Prince. He looked down at the floor. "What would you say if someone told you Morgana wasn't dead, in fact she was alive, but imprisoned, in this very castle?"

There was a pause. "I would say it was some sort of sick joke," Arthur said, "and that the person was lying to me. They had to be. After all, why else would Morgana still be alive and imprisoned in the castle? I think I would know if she was still living in the castle. She was just a child when she died, that is nothing to make jokes about by trying to convince me she's still alive."

This was not going well, but Merlin hadn't expected Arthur to believe him so quickly or so easily, this was natural reaction - confusion, annoyance, hurt. He kept trying. "But the things you've witnessed in your life Arthur, you must realise that not everything is at it seems, there are secrets hidden within this castle, sometimes the impossible can happen."

"So you're telling me my childhood friend has back from the dead, and no one had the courtesy to tell me?" Said Arthur, he didn't sound impressed.

"Well...not exactly..." Merlin began.

"Or that my father just decided to keep his ward locked away somewhere in the castle since she was a child and not tell anyone, not even his own son?"

"Actually, yes, I am..." Merlin began.

Arthur looked like he was trying to work out if Merlin was being serious or joking with him. Either way, he wasn't very impressed. "And you really expect me to believe that my own father would keep such a secret away from me? That he would do that to Morgana?"

Merlin flinched at the sound of Arthur's raised voice, tinged with rage. He knew this was going to be hard for Arthur to understand, but he had to. "I know this sounds stupid but..."

"Yes Merlin, it sounds very stupid, what are you trying to prove with this lie? Do you want me to turn against my father?"

"No!" Merlin said quickly, he thought desperately of a way he could convince Arthur. "Do you remember, when the wyverns attacked the castle, and you were injured, you said you heard a scream from the Tallest Tower?"

There was a pause, Arthur's eyes narrowed, but he did remember. "I asked you about it, you said it was nothing."

Merlin cursed under his breath, of course he had, that was not going to help things. "I didn't want you to worry, that's all, you were badly injured at the time. But really you did hear a scream. And it was Morgana..." Arthur was shaking his head impatiently, making Merlin feel desperate. "But you just said you remembered! And have you never considered what might be in the tallest tower, why no one goes in there?"

Still, Arthur wasn't convinced. "I had hit my head Merlin, I may remember but it's not very clear, there must have been lots of people screaming, Camelot was under attack. And have you ever considered that no one would be able to be hidden in the castle for so many years without anyone noticing?"

"Someone has noticed, me! I would never lie to you!"

"Really? Because at the time you said the scream was nothing, now you're saying it's something, so one of them must be a lie." Arthur paused for a moment, thinking of what to say, his voice softened a little, as if he wanted to understand, but just couldn't. "And I'm sorry Merlin, but I trust my father's word over you, and he has told me nothing about the tower. I remember when he came to my chamber and told me what happened to Morgana..." Arthur paused for a moment, even after so many years, the memory of him being told his childhood friend had died still hurt. "He wouldn't make something like that up when really she was still alive."

This was harder than Merlin thought, Arthur was refusing to see reason, to think twice, surely he realised not everything added up? A sudden tragic death with no real explanation, no body, hardly a mention of her again, a haunted tower nobody entered, a face at a window, the scream..."I know she's here Arthur, I've seen her, I've spoken to her!"

But his words did nothing, in fact they made things worse. "I think you've taken this too far now Merlin," Arthur growled dangerously.

"But it's true-"

"No! I don't want to hear anything more! Don't you dare tell me my father was a liar, don't you dare tell me my own father hid my best friend away from me for years, and don't you dare speak out against your King, when you are nothing but a servant!" Suddenly Arthur was on his feet, his eyes burning with rage, Merlin actually felt a little afraid. But what he mainly felt was horrible, bitter disappointment, that his friend wouldn't listen, his friend wouldn't help. And a slight pain in his heart, that after all they had been through, Arthur still didn't fully trust him, he still saw him as a servant.

Arthur suddenly seemed to realised he was standing, and that he had lost his temper. The fire in his eyes died down and he looked surprised at his own outburst. He turned his back on Merlin. "I think it's time for you to leave," he muttered at the wall.

Merlin pulled himself to his feet, aware now that he will receive no help at all, not from anyone. He didn't know who else he trusted enough to turn to. It was just him and Morgana.

Perhaps it was always meant to be like this.

"You know what?" Merlin spoke into the silence, a tinge of sadness in his voice. "I think you're right."