A/N: As promised, Arthur's perspective. "Long conversation" to come tomorrow.

IDOM


Arthur had managed to hide his emotions in front of the court and in front of Mordred, but secretly he was reeling in shock. Aredian had seen Merlin perform magic? Surely that couldn't be right—it was blatantly obvious that Merlin had only claimed ownership of the amulet in order to protect Mordred. As for the amulet itself, well, Gaius was the unofficial royal advisor concerning all things magical. There was probably an innocent explanation for it, not that Aredian would see it that way. Never for one moment had Arthur considered the possibility that Merlin might actually have magic…until now.

As soon as Arthur had let Mordred into the cell with Merlin, he walked back down the hallway to the interrogation room. Uther might have taken Aredian at his word, but Arthur needed to see the so-called magical destruction for himself before he would believe it.

The moment Arthur reached the doorway, he lost all hope that Aredian might have been lying. The room was utter chaos. The chair was in splinters, several tables had been flung into the wall with great force, and anything metal had become twisted and melted beyond recognition. The two dead guards were exactly where Aredian had left them, bloodstains visible where they had slid down the walls. This was clearly the aftermath of some very powerful magic.

Oh god. Merlin had magic. The man that Arthur had come to like and respect as a friend was secretly a sorcerer, capable of horrific destruction.

But ever since that fateful whirlwind in Ealdor, Arthur had begun to doubt whether all magic was evil. And after all, Merlin had been in Camelot for over a year and Arthur had never seen anything like this before. Merlin might be capable of destruction, but he didn't appear to make a habit of it. In fact, considering that Merlin had apparently possessed the power to fight back all along, it was quite impressive that it took an entire week for him to snap and lash out at his tormentors.

And besides, did Merlin having magic negate any of his good qualities? It didn't change the fact that he was willing to speak his mind rather than say what Arthur wanted to hear—even on the subject of magic. It didn't change the fact that he had once drunk poison for Arthur. It didn't change the fact that he had just been tortured and sentenced to death because he selflessly took the fall for Mordred. And considering everything that had just happened, Arthur could hardly blame Merlin for lying and hiding his magic. In conclusion: Merlin was a good friend and a good man.

Arthur dragged himself back out of his thoughts and returned to fetch Mordred, knowing they could both get in trouble if they were caught down here. But before they left, Arthur made sure to tell Merlin what he really thought of him—if nothing else, he could make sure Merlin wouldn't die believing Arthur hated him.


Once Mordred had been dropped off with Gaius, Arthur returned to his own chambers, mind still whirling. How on earth could he have missed this? A sorcerer had been right under his nose this whole time—surely there had to have been some sign? Something he had overlooked?

Knights. Merlin had always been uncomfortable around knights—and now that Arthur thought about it, he realized that Merlin was edgiest around knights wearing Camelot colors. An entirely logical reaction for someone the knights were meant to hunt rather than protect. No wonder Merlin never listened when Arthur tried to reassure him that most knights were different to the bastard that had taken Merlin's voice.

Ealdor. That whirlwind could have been cast either by Merlin or his friend…and considering the friend had already been on his deathbed when he confessed, just how credible was his confession? He had nothing to lose by protecting Merlin. And before the battle—Merlin had been about to say something. He'd vehemently denied that he ever intended to reveal his friend, so what had Merlin intended to say? Perhaps Merlin had meant to reveal his own magic.

The Questing Beast. The knights said Arthur's sword had been found in the beast's body, so obviously Arthur must have killed it before he passed out—but he didn't remember killing it. He remembered landing a blow that glanced uselessly off of the creature's scales. But Merlin was the only other person present, so if Arthur hadn't killed the beast, Merlin must have. Merlin, who loathed physical combat and was utterly useless with a sword. And who had never sought credit for killing the magical creature.

God, it all seemed so obvious in hindsight.


By the time Merlin was taken to the courtyard the next morning, Arthur was so firmly entrenched in this mindset that it took a few moments for Mordred and Gwen's pleas to fully register. Proof that Merlin was innocent? Was that really possible? Was a completely innocent man about to be executed?

Arthur looked back at the pyre. The law be damned. Magic or no, Merlin didn't deserve this—forced to endure one final torment, buried in an unmarked grave, and widely remembered as a monster.

"Wait!" Arthur called, knowing he had quite possibly just saved the life of a sorcerer.


Arthur insisted on carrying Merlin back to Gaius's chambers himself, heedless of what his father might say. It was the least he could do for his friend, after he nearly let him get burnt at the stake. Once Merlin had been deposited on the patient cot, Gaius shooed everyone except Mordred out the door. Arthur once again returned to his chambers to think.

Morgana, Gwen and Mordred had proved that Aredian was a fraud, but they hadn't really proved that Merlin wasn't a sorcerer. The revelation of Aredian's deception had no bearing on Merlin's discomfort with knights, his aborted confession in Ealdor, or the mysterious death of the Questing Beast. No, Arthur still suspected that Merlin had magic. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't possibly report it now—not after he'd made the choice to halt the execution. He had committed himself to breaking the law and keeping the secret.

What Arthur really needed was to talk to Merlin about this…but even if Merlin pulled through, it would no doubt be a long time before he was in any shape to answer Arthur's questions. If he pulled through—he really hadn't looked too good.

Arthur swallowed, shuddered and began pacing. Gaius clearly thought there was hope, or else he wouldn't have demanded space for treatment. And if—when Merlin did pull through, Arthur needed to figure out what on earth he was going to say to him.

After some brief reflection, Arthur decided not to say a word about magic until Merlin was capable of explaining himself. The whole ordeal would have been harrowing enough as it was, Merlin didn't need the added stress of knowing that this conversation was coming. For the time being, Arthur would settle for assuring Merlin that nothing like this would ever happen on his watch again.


Throughout the next few weeks, Arthur made sure to visit Merlin at least once a day. Not only was he fairly certain that Merlin appreciated the company and the news of life outside the physician's chambers, but he also wanted to be certain Merlin understood that Arthur was his friend and Arthur cared about him.

His hopes rose when Merlin entered Arthur's chambers and said that he'd been permitted to return to light duties…and then his heart sank when Merlin promptly winced in pain and resumed nonverbal communication. Clearly, the ability to sign did not equate to the ability to hold a long and serious conversation. By the time Morgause showed up, Arthur was still waiting on Merlin's recovery.


As soon as Arthur asked to see his mother's spirit, he wondered whether Merlin would comment. It would be the perfect lead-in to talk about Merlin's magic, but it was still rare for Merlin to say more than two sentences in an entire day—if that. Then it occurred to him that he could discuss the topic without bringing up Merlin specifically—after all, he supposedly still believed that Merlin's childhood friend had been a sorcerer.

In hindsight, given how highly emotional he had gotten, Arthur was impressed he never once slipped and referred to Merlin directly.


Merlin, of all people, had talked Arthur out of killing his father. A suspected sorcerer had saved the life of Uther Pendragon. If Merlin really had magic, why on earth would he do that? He would have had everything to gain from letting Arthur complete the act. But instead Merlin defended the king. Perhaps Merlin truly wasn't a sorcerer. After all, the evidence was circumstantial at best.

Then there was Merlin's expression when Arthur said that magic was highly dangerous. That statement definitely upset him. Arthur really didn't know what to think any more.


Time went on, and Merlin finally regained full use of his hands. Arthur still did not broach the subject of magic. If he was wrong, he would give Merlin a nasty shock for no reason, and if he was right, well…how did one start such a conversation?


And then there was the druid girl. For normally-cautious Merlin to take a risk like that…Arthur suspected he must feel a kinship with the girl. He was once again sufficiently confident in his suspicions that he steeled himself to start the conversation. And the druid girl herself made for a fairly good lead-in…although admittedly her death put something of a damper on things. Arthur wasn't lying; he did feel bad about that.

But the look in Merlin's eyes was enough to give him pause. For a moment, there had been pure, unadulterated fear—fear of Arthur. Even when he promised to keep the secret, Merlin did not relax. Arthur had become quite adept at reading Merlin's body language over the past few months, and it was plain to see that Merlin was ready to flee if he detected anything resembling a threat from Arthur.

Arthur fell silent as he thought about his intentions. What exactly would be the point of confronting Merlin, anyway? Whether Merlin did or didn't have magic, this conversation wouldn't change that fact. All it would accomplish would be the satisfaction of Arthur's own curiosity. Was he really so selfish as to destroy Merlin's peace of mind for the sake of his own?

Arthur stood up, resigning himself to hiding his suspicions indefinitely. "If there's ever anything I can do, just…let me know."


Life went on. Now that Arthur was paying attention, he began noticing moments where he suspected Merlin might have used magic—the roof chose a very convenient moment to collapse in Idirsholas, and Arthur had a feeling he wasn't actually responsible for the dragon's defeat—but he let Merlin make his excuses. Sometimes he succumbed to temptation and tried to coax a confession out of Merlin, but the instantaneous flash of panic in Merlin's eyes was almost always enough to prevent Arthur from confronting him directly.


A/N: Also, in case anyone's curious about Arthur's seeming anti-magic rant while drugged during The Wicked Day...he was thinking back to Merlin's ordeal in The Witchfinder, but his drugged mind blamed Merlin's magic instead of Aredian.