Finally it's here, the final chapter. So as requested this is Arthur talking to the others about their magic. Sorry it took so long, I couldn't get it to flow right. Anyway after this all that's left is the epilogue. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far and special thanks to those who have reviewed. I hope you enjoy this and I'll see you all in the epilogue! x

Chapter 26

When Merlin woke again he had to blink rapidly at the bright sunlight pouring into the room. His vision cleared and he struggled to sit up, glancing round the room. Instantly he felt an arm round his waist, holding him up, as they rearranged the pillows behind him so he could lean against them. A cup was brought into his line of sight and Merlin moved away from it, not wanting to be sent back to sleep again.

"You need to drink it Merlin."

Merlin glanced to his right to see that it was Isabelle who was holding the cup out to him and was propping him up. He leant back against the pillows behind him and Isabelle withdrew her arm from around his waist but, much to his despair, didn't put the cup down.

"I don't want to go back to sleep." Merlin said stubbornly.

She laughed at the stubborn expression on his face but didn't back down.

"Gaius was right, you are a terrible patient." She told him, "Don't worry; it's just to keep your strength up. It won't send you to sleep."

Merlin stared at the contents suspiciously for a moment before allowing Isabelle to pour it down his throat. He grimaced at the unpleasant taste but had to admit that he did feel a lot more awake once he had drunk it. Merlin moved to get out of the bed but before he had gotten anywhere he felt Isabelle pushing him back down onto the pillows.

"You can't get up yet Merlin." Isabelle scolded, "You need to rest."

"I've been lying in bed resting for the last week and a half, I need to get up." Merlin protested.

"Lying in bed poisoned is not the same as resting." She pointed out, much to his annoyance.

Merlin turned his pleading gaze on Isabelle, hoping he could get her to let him get up. However she just smiled fondly at him.

"Don't look at me like that, Gaius's orders." She said with a smirk, ignoring his pout.

"I hate resting in bed." Merlin sulked, "It's boring."

A wicked smile appeared on Isabelle's face and she leant towards him.

"Well I'm sure I can think of something to amuse you."

And with that she pressed her lips against his. Merlin sighed at the contact and reached up to wrap his arms around her. Isabelle moved off the chair she had been sat on at his bedside and perched on the edge of his bed, deepening the kiss. Merlin laced his fingers through her hair as he felt her hands running down his chest. He felt as if he could stay like that forever, wrapped up in her.

"Oh for goodness sake, get a room you two."

The voice cut through his bliss and Merlin moaned in protest as Isabelle pulled back. He turned to glare at whoever had spoken and spotted Arthur stood in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes at the prince and debated whether to use his magic to show Arthur how displeased he was at the interruption. He decided against it as Morgana entered the room behind Arthur.

"We had one till you interrupted." Merlin replied sulkily.

Isabelle and Morgana exchanged a look at the pairs bickering, smiling fondly. Arthur however ignored Merlin's subtle hint for him to leave and strode over to the bed the warlock was laying on, taking the seat that Isabelle had just vacated. She was still perched on the edge of the bed and Morgana took the chair on Merlin's other side.

"We need to talk." Arthur announced.

The three sorcerers stiffened slightly. They all knew what Arthur wanted to talk about and didn't really want to have the conversation that they had all known was coming. Isabelle stood up, swiftly followed by Morgana.

"Well we better be going." Isabelle said cheerfully, slowly moving towards the door.

"Sit down Isabelle." Arthur said, "You too Morgana."

The two girls sighed and returned to their seats.

"Traitor." Merlin whispered in Isabelle's ear.

His smile told her that he was joking and she slipped her hand into his and gave it a comforting squeeze. They turned their attention to Arthur who seemed to be having some sort of internal battle. Merlin knew that Arthur wasn't big on sharing and knew that he was having trouble deciding what to start with.

"So, you three are sorcerers?" He finally asked.

"Well I prefer warlock." Merlin replied cheerily.

"And we're more like sorceresses." Isabelle added, including Morgana in her comment.

Arthur rolled his eyes at them. He was glad to see that none of them seemed to have changed after the revelation of their secrets and that was making it easier for him to accept that they weren't evil and corrupt but it still hurt him that it had taken a life or death situation for them to tell him, and even then it hadn't really been their choice.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Arthur asked.

An uncomfortable silence followed Arthur's words. Each of them had their own reasons for not telling the prince but no one wanted to be the first to speak. All of them were deliberately avoiding Arthur's gaze, hoping that someone else would be the first to talk.

Arthur didn't fail to notice that the three of them exchanged a look that he clearly wasn't involved in as they tried not to catch his eye. He had to admit that he was as uncomfortable about the whole conversation as they were, magic had always been a tabooed subject in his life and now he was sat down with three sorcerers about to discuss it, but he knew how to hide his discomfort. He had to suppress a smile as he saw Merlin's feelings written across his face. Morgana and Isabelle had been brought up to be able to cope in uncomfortable diplomatic situations and they knew how to keep the mask in place. However Merlin had always worn his heart on his sleeve and Arthur could normally tell what he was feeling, he really was a terrible liar.

That thought wiped all the good humour out of him. He had always thought that Merlin was an awful liar but it seemed like he had been keeping so much from him. Arthur had to admit that that was what was infuriating him the most. He had told Merlin everything; his feelings for Gwen, his problems with his father, his doubts about the future, and yet Merlin seemed to have told him nothing.

"Arthur it was never that simple."

Morgana's words came just in time as Arthur was about to force an answer out of the young warlock. His gaze turned to the woman he had considered his sister for so long and saw her flinch back slightly at the anger in his eyes. Arthur felt marginally guilty but Morgana squared her shoulders and glared right back at him.

"You're sat there feeling so sorry for yourself yet you haven't even considered it from our point of view." She snapped, "You have no idea how it feels to spend your whole life terrified of the nightmares you have that seem to bring images of the future whilst you are told everyday that people who can see the future, people like you, are evil and corrupt and should be killed."

Silence fell after Morgana's rant and Arthur stared at the raven haired women in shock. He did have to admit that he hadn't really considered their side of things as he had been so wrapped up in the betrayal he had felt.

"For a long time I didn't know what was happening to me." Morgana continued to explain, "It's only recently that I realised that it was magic that I had and that it wasn't something to be afraid of. The druids helped me start to realise that and..."

"Wait the druids?" Arthur asked, things starting to slot together in his mind, "They didn't kidnap you did they?"

Morgana shook her head slowly and Arthur ran a hand through his hair in despair. Things were starting to make sense that hadn't at the time. The mysteriously smashed window in Morgana's room, Gwen telling him about the candle she was sure she had blown out, Morgana's strange mood once they had brought her home.

"I went to them to find out more. Merlin told me how to find them."

As soon as the words had left her mouth Morgana regretted speaking them. She hadn't meant to bring Merlin into it. She had thought it best to speak first as she could practically feel the fear pouring of Merlin as Arthur waited for him to speak. She'd known this conversation wasn't going to be pretty but, the moment Arthur had discovered their magic she knew it had to happen. Too much had been kept from the prince. Too much that they probably should have trusted him with earlier.

"He did, did he?" Arthur asked, turning his gaze his manservant.

Merlin shrugged uncomfortably under Arthur's gaze, not meeting the prince's eyes.

"And how did you know how to find them? Or is it the same sorcerer sense that seemed to lead Isabelle to them?" Arthur asked sceptically.

Merlin glanced at Isabelle as she shifted in her seat before turning his attention back to the prince.

"I saw the list of druid associates in your chambers and asked one of them how to find them." Merlin explained half-heartedly.

"And they told you?" Arthur asked incredulous, "Just like that?"

Merlin shrugged.

"What can I say, I have a trusting face."

Arthur rolled his eyes at this but inwardly he was still processing what he had just learnt. It seemed there was a lot more going on under his nose that he was completely unaware of. He glanced at Isabelle and realised that it was unlikely that she had found out their location that way, they hadn't really had time for that. Also it had been a long time since she was in Camelot and Arthur thought it unlikely that they had remained in the same spot for all that time.

"How did you know where they were?" He asked the nervous women.

Isabelle glanced up and met his gaze for the first time since they had started this conversation.

"I could feel their magical presence." She explained, "That many people with magic in one place give out a much larger aura. I just followed the strongest trace and the likelihood was that it would be them."

This didn't make much sense to Arthur but Merlin seemed to completely understand what she was on about.

"You can do that?" He asked amazed.

"Sure it's easy. I thought everyone could." She replied turning her attention from Arthur to Merlin and Morgana.

Merlin shook his head and Morgana looked as confused as Arthur. The prince could see Merlin mulling something over and he was about to interrupt when the young warlock spoke.

"No, I've never been able to tell who has magic and who hasn't unless I've seen them using it." Merlin mused.

"I've always been able to tell whether a person possesses magic or not, I just thought it was something everyone could do." Isabelle replied puzzled.

"Is that how you knew about my magic?" Merlin asked.

"Wait a minute." Arthur interrupted, "Are you telling me that you already knew Merlin had magic?"

"Well yeah, Morgana as well." Isabelle said turning to the other woman, "I've always known but I thought you did too, I'm sorry."

Morgana smiled slightly. She knew that it wasn't Isabelle's fault but a small selfish voice in the back of her mind was telling her that if Isabelle had mentioned it years ago then they could have avoided a lot of torment and confusion.

"It's not your fault." She replied quietly, her wary gaze flickering to Arthur.

"So how did you not know that other people don't have this magic sense?"

Isabelle smiled at Arthur's description of it before letting out a weary sigh; she knew this was going to get complicated.

"Well it's not like I had a chance to sit down and compare abilities with anyone. Father always told me that I couldn't tell anyone about my magic. He feared that word would get back to Uther and any alliances we had would be ruined." She explained, "From birth it was ingrained into me not to tell anyone that I possessed magic so I didn't really have a chance to learn what was normal. There was a herbal woman back home who taught me healing magic. But her magic was limited and so there was only so much she could teach me."

Arthur mulled this over. Isabelle had already explained how her father had made sure that she never told anyone about her magic and so it did make sense that she wouldn't have associated with any other sorcerers. He considered asking her about Perses but remembered the pain he had seen in her eyes when he had been mentioned before and didn't want to bring that forward again. Also he reasoned that they were both children and so there couldn't be that much they could teach each other.

"So how did you learn you had magic then?" Arthur asked Merlin.

A small part in the back of Arthur's mind was protesting against even asking this of anyone but he had to push the instincts that had been ingrained in him aside. He knew that if any of them were going to be able to move forward from this then he was going to have to fight a lot of the lesson's his father had taught him.

To his annoyance Merlin seemed to be smiling at the question. Arthur didn't understand why Merlin found that question so amusing but managed to bite down the comment that he was itching to speak.

"I don't have magic, I am magic." Merlin answered simply.

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Arthur snapped, after the trip to the druids he was sick of cryptic comments.

"I was born with magic like Isabelle and Morgana but my magic isn't like theirs, it isn't like anyone's really." Merlin faltered, unsure of the right words to explain it, "My magic is much more of a part of me than it is anyone else. It would be as easy for me to give up magic as it would for you to give up breathing Arthur."

A look of surprise crossed Arthur's face at this but he quickly pulled his emotions back under control. He was having trouble comprehending his image of his bubbly, clumsy manservant with this being of magic that it turned out he was.

"Arthur do you remember the story I was telling Bliant and the other children at the druids camp, the one about Emyrs?" Isabelle asked suddenly.

"The all powerful sorcerer you said was supposed to help me unite all of Albion?" Arthur replied, unsure what this had to do with anything.

"Well it's more than a story. The druids have prophecies about Emyrs and whoever was worthy enough to pull that sword from the stone."

Arthur's mind jumped to the sword that was currently lying on the table in his room as Isabelle spoke. He had filled his father in on what had happened whilst they were away, well the edited version anyway, but he hadn't known how he was supposed to explain that he had been able to pull the sword out of the stone. In fact he hadn't really been able to comprehend it himself and he been keeping a carful distance from the sword since they had returned.

"So you're telling me that Merlin's magic is like this Emyrs person's?" He asked.

"No I'm telling you Merlin is Emyrs."

Arthur was unable to contain the shock that flooded through him at Isabelle's revelation. It was one thing to learn that Merlin had magic and quite another to discover that he was the most powerful warlock in all of Albion who was supposed to help him unite the land. The embarrassed expression on Merlin's face confirmed that Isabelle was speaking the truth even if it seemed the other boy would have preferred that knowledge not to have come out.

"That confirms it." Arthur stated firmly, "I am definitely dreaming. Any minute now I'm going to wake up and discover that this was all just a really weird dream."

Merlin smiled sheepishly at him but didn't reply. Isabelle leant over and pinched Arthur's arm.

"Ow." He cried, running his arm, "What was that for?"

"I was just checking you weren't dreaming." She replied, smiling sweetly.

"This is ridiculous." Arthur said stubbornly, "Next you're going to be telling me that Merlin has spent the entire time he's been in Camelot saving my life."

The sheepish look on Merlin's face increased as he replied;

"Not the entire time."

"You have got to be joking." Arthur replied, dropping his head into his hands.

Just the epilogue to go! I'd love to know what you guys think as always.