A/N: Hey everyone! I'm hoping to keep this going as strong as it has been and end it on a high note, so leave a review and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Arthur had fled to his chambers, where he sat, specifically instructing the guards to not allow him to be bothered by anyone unless it was of the utmost importance for him to know whatever they had to say. He had no idea why he hesitated. Yeah, it was Merlin, but it was also a sorcerer. Sorcerers were the very same people who killed his father, who wreaked havoc upon Camelot in the siege.

Then again, some sorcerers were peaceful. The druids, by nature, were a peaceful people. They wished not to engage in war, but to simply protect their own and avoid conflict. He could understand them quite well, as although he was a gifted swordsman and frequently enjoyed good-natured duels, or the melee, he could not stand the thought that, during the previous siege led by Morgana, because of his failure to recognize her betrayal sooner, she cost the lives of many citizens.

Is that what he was doing now? Simply dreading the truthful but obvious answer - that Merlin was not truly his friend?

Or was he not ready to accept a more difficult explanation, that magic was simply a tool? He had heard from a druid in the past that magic was only a destructive tool, much like a sword. A sword can protect those who need it from attackers, as Arthur's own had done before, or it can strike the hearts of those closest to it because the swordsman's own heart was corrupt. Was Merlin like that - simply someone using a tool to his advantage?

For a moment he entertained the idea of going to Gaius, but stopped short. Gaius must know about Merlin's secret. After all, Gaius was the one that told Arthur what he did about Merlin's secret. Although it wasn't much, it was still far more illuminating than anything he'd heard before then. So Gaius was in league with a sorcerer. Although he'd heard from whispers between servants and between Gaius and his father's hushed conversations years ago that Gaius potentially had an unnamed sorcerer he was in contact with, he'd not truly believed it until now. Was Merlin the one who had been Gaius' informant?

No, Merlin wasn't intelligent enough to tie someone's shoelaces, much less able to sneak around the castle without being detected considering his inherent ability to annihilate anything in his path with the type of disruptive noise one might expect from a rampaging herd of horses. Then again, was that another part of his act? Did he simply choose to act clumsily to dispel suspicion?

He went to sleep that night, still conflicted, unsure of whether to trust his instincts telling him to trust Merlin, or to allow previous experience to triumph his gut feelings.

"Morning sire!" A cheery Merlin flung open Arthur's curtains, which brought Arthur to a simple conclusion. He'd thought of it for hours the night before and now, finally, at the last second, settled on a decision.

Merlin did not seem like an evil sorcerer, but it was difficult to tell considering he'd never payed much attention. So, he would seek to reveal Merlin's true colors. He would find a way to not only make Merlin organically reveal his own magic, but also pay close attention to his servant and watch his movements to see if he was doing anything suspicious.

He quietly got out of bed and walked to his desk, deep in thought. How could he get Merlin to reveal his own magic? He had never noticed it before, so one would have to assume he was careful with when and to whom he showed it to. Presumably, he thought he was alone when he used it to catch the cup of water, but if he were to knock one over this time?

He knocked over his own cup of water, watching Merlin whip around at the tiniest sound of it falling and stuff his hand into his pocket quickly. Arthur's cup fell to the floor, water spilling out of it. "Oh, now who's the clumsy one?" Merlin joked as he went to go clean it up.

So that didn't work. He supposed assuming Merlin would make the same mistake twice was wishful thinking, considering despite any shortcomings his servant may or may not have, one thing he certainly was was a fast learner. No, he'd have to find some other way to get him to slip up. He got up to dress, and did so silently despite Merlin's incessant complaining about cleaning Gaius' leech tank. He returned to his desk moments later to resume his breakfast, now ready to tackle the day's necessary tasks. One of which, being revealing Merlin.

As discreetly as he could, he knocked down the stand where a few swords had been gracefully hanging. They were, primarily, for decoration, their hilts decorated with the finest jewels to be found in Camelot, the metal said to have been foraged in a volcano mid-eruption. They were a gift upon Arthur's birth to the Pendragon family, and upon Uther's death were bequeathed to him.

Arthur watched in shock as Merlin gracefully dove to catch each one and succeeded in catching the three beautifully adorned swords without a single one touching the ground. His impression turned to a mix of guilt and worry as he noticed Merlin had caught one in particularly by the blade and his hand was now decorated with a cut across the palm. Merlin, however, acted as though he didn't even feel it, and simply hung the sword back up, still holding it by the blade. He wiped off the blood seeping from the cut and continued on cleaning like nothing happened, leaving Arthur dumbfounded.

"Merlin, I-"

A sudden pounding on the doors startled both of them, and Merlin went quickly to open them.

Gwaine, Percival and Leon all stood in front of the doors, Gwaine at front. The warning bells begun ringing and Arthur looked to the trio for an explanation.

"It's Morgana - she's begun a siege. I've no idea how this happened, there was no warnings - I apologize, we should have seen this-"

Arthur put up his hand and thought up a plan. "You three, go evacuate the lower towns. Reinforce the gates with any guards we can spare and send the knights to gather any other civilians they can." The men nodded and rushed towards the action, leaving Arthur to instruct Merlin.

He turned to his servant grimly who stood awaiting orders. A cool breeze blew through Arthur's window, sending a chill through Arthur's bones. He waited for a few moments, the gentle breeze pausing blowing as though it were in as deep of thought as Arthur was, before finally, reluctantly he made a decision.

"Merlin I know you're going to have questions and I have them too but right now you need to listen to what I say carefully and do it without questions, okay?" He didn't wait for a response. "I know you have magic. The siege against Morgana last time was won by dumb luck. No one could have predicted her magic would stop working, much less replicate such results. So I need you to come with me, into the fire, and do whatever it is that you do to help me stop her. Can you do that?"

Merlin nodded, eyes wide but expression a mixture of shock, dread and determination.

Arthur did not wait for questions, and began to quickly run towards the front of Camelot to meet Morgana.

Once the lower towns had been fully evacuated, Morgana was all but at their doorstep. She easily broke through the gates, sending a shock wave ten feet in front of her and bursting into the courtyard where Arthur and Merlin waited.

Arthur and the knights quickly began to spar with the other knights Morgana brought with her. It was an easy match - Camelot's knights outnumbered them two to one, and soon the only one who remained in the courtyard was Morgana, Arthur and Merlin, the rest of the knights dispersing according to Arthur's orders.

"Morgana. Why do you do this? What do you gain by souring the name of sorcery even further, until there will be nothing but hatred in the hearts of men when they think of magic?" Merlin asked. His eyes were watery. He did not want to kill her. There was a time he considered her one of his few friends, and yet now here he stood, prepared to kill her.

Morgana simply chuckled. "Ah, well see, I don't intend to leave any ordinary men alive in Camelot. A new great purge, if you will. I suppose you could be the first to die..."

Merlin's expression turned steely. "I tried to save you. You dug your own grave, now you shall lie in it."

He sent out a shock wave much alike Morgana's only wider, more powerful. She was knocked down in an instant.

Her eyes widened in terror, and she quickly got up to face Merlin. Despite her fear she regulated her expression and attempted to look unafraid, not fooling Merlin.

"Ah, Emrys. I suppose you've come to finish this for good."

"Let's begin then, shall we?"