Hey! I'm Lia. I have always been so sad that Will had to die, so one day I had a thought: What if he didn't? The seed was planted and this fic was born! I hope you like it! Please sit back, relax, and enjoy Visiting a Friend!

- Lia :)

"Who did that?"

Arthur scanned the area, trying to see where the magical windstorm had come from. It had appeared out of nowhere, blowing all the bandits away. The village looked like it had been through a giant storm, which it kind of had, though not of a natural kind.

Thankfully, it had scared the bandits away, leaving most of the villagers alive. Arthur knew that Ealdor would be safe from at least these bandits now that they had been chased out, and that Kanen, their leader, was lying dead on the ground.

Merlin glanced around, pretending to struggle to see the sorcerer. His childhood friend, Will, stood next to him looking quite pleased.

"What?" Merlin asked.

Arthur turned to face him, with an expression that Merlin was not quite able to place.

"Wind like that doesn't just appear out of nowhere. I know magic when I see it. One of you made that happen." Arthur was certain that it had to be either Merlin or Will; the wind had seemed to explode out from right where they'd been standing.

"Arthur-" Merlin started. The prince felt a sense of panic rising in his chest. He heard something in Merlin's voice that sparked a moment of doubt, and he found himself considering the worrying possibility that Merlin might be the sorcerer.

Having been distracted by his thoughts for a moment, Arthur was not paying attention to his surroundings and was startled by the sharp "Look out!" he heard from someone nearby. He felt someone ram forcefully into him and they both dropped to the ground. The arrow that had been meant for Arthur soared past him and wedged itself in the roof of a nearby house.

The battle-hardened prince was in shock as he peeled himself up off the ground, and saw that he'd been saved by yet another Ealdor-raised farm boy.

"You saved my life," Arthur thanked, with a small shake in his voice that he would never admit to having.

Will nodded half-absently, his mind racing. He knew that he had a chance to save Merlin from the prince depending on what he said here and now. Will looked towards Merlin. His best friend did not want Arthur to know he had magic, and so there was only one thing he could do. "That's twice now," he said, saving his friend.

"Twice?" Arthur could not believe what he was hearing. Was this man, who had just saved his life, about to confess to sorcery? He was convinced Merlin was not the sorcerer at this point, but would Merlin have knowingly been friends with one? Still, Will had not said he'd saved his life with magic specifically, so maybe he meant an instance during the fight that Arthur had missed.

But, no. A second later, filled with inner conflict and panic within the young man deciding to give his life for his best friend, Will said the words that he knew could kill him. "It was me. I'm the one who used magic."

Merlin felt his heart practically stop for a moment when he heard those words exit his friend's mouth. Will was about to give up everything for him; for Merlin's stupid, yet incredibaly realistic fear of his best friend finding out his deepest secret and not reacting well. It was all his fault for bringing it up around Will, and now he could lose his closest, oldest friend if he continued.

"Will, don't," He begged.

"It's alright, Merlin." No. No it wasn't! Will should not be doing this, should not be risking death for him. And yet, Merlin couldn't stop him. If he said something about Will lying, he'd have to come up with another explanation for the windstorm; one he didn't have. He was forced to let Will continue.

"I risked my life for the prince, now I'm doing it again. Making sure sire, you know that it was me. I did it. I created the wind. I saw how desperate things were becoming, and I had to do something." Will finished resolutely, and Merlin prayed to the goddess that Arthur wouldn't kill him.

Arthur was trying to make sense of the whole thing. Will had admitted to sorcery, and from the look on Merlin's face, he'd known all about it. Magic was evil. It corrupted, hurt, killed. How could he not have seen this sooner? And yet - Will had saved his life with it and Merlin still trusted him. Realizing he'd been silent for almost too long, Arthur backtracked in his thoughts.

"You're a sorcerer?"

"Yeah," Will stated nonchalantly. He shrugged his shoulders like it didn't really matter, like it was something he was so used to that he barely even noticed it. "So, are you going to kill me?"

Arthur continued to be baffled, like his brain that was furiously trying to process would not connect properly to his mouth.

"You saved my life. You're a sorcerer, yet you saved my life," he repeated, yet again.

Will watched Arthur's face change as he continued to think it through. Having not known the prince for more than two days he was not able to read his expressions very well, but Will could tell when Arthur had made his decision by the set of his jaw and the resolute look on his face. The prince looked Will right in the eyes. Will took a deep breath in, knowing that he might only have a few more left.

"If not for you, Will, we all would be dead; me, twice over."

Arthur took a pause to make sure he really wanted to do this. He did. Will did not deserve to die for saving his life. If Merlin vouched for him, then so be it.

"Since we are not in Camelot, I will spare your life."

If Arthur had expected a sigh of relief - something, anything - from the villagers gathered around, there was nothing of the sort. It almost seemed as if everyone around was in just as much shock as he was a moment ago.

Not wanting to stand around in that awkward circle anymore, Arthur made a sharp turn, and stiffly walked to the forest surrounding Ealdor. He had a lot to think on after the events that had just unfolded.

Back in the village, Merlin and Will walked back to the former's house. Neither could wrap their heads around what had just occurred between them and the prince.

Once they were safely inside and out of earshot, Merlin turned to Will. "I can't believe you did that for me," he said. "You could have been killed if Arthur reacted the wrong way. You understand how wary I've been about letting Arthur know there's anything magical regarding me, yet you were ready to give your life for me. You took a huge risk for me, and I'm so happy that it went alright. I don't know what I would have done if you'd died."

Will didn't quite know what to say to all that. He'd acted to save his friend, so that was exactly what he said in response, speaking from the heart in whatever way felt right.

"You're my best friend, Merlin. I know how much you care for Arthur, but also how scared you were for him to find out your secret. I knew that if I didn't speak up, he might suspect you, which might lead to you dying. I couldn't let that happen, so I did the only thing I could think of at the moment that would spare you."

"Thank you, Will." Merlin gave him his biggest smile, the one that was so genuinely happy and thankful, it could light up even the blackest night. "It also served a lesson on how he may think of people with magic. This could be the turning point for him in realizing that magic is not evil, that it is neutral and completely up to the sorcerer to decide whether it's used for good or not. Maybe, one day, when I'm ready to tell him the truth, he will remember today and how he let a sorcerer go because they saved his life."

Will hoped for Merlin's sake that Arthur would give him a chance. "I believe that, with a little help from you, eventually he will." If not, it could mean the end of the happy-go-lucky attitude that Merlin still held. He knew it wouldn't come to that. Merlin and Arthur had a friendship that he could see going a long way in a few years.

At that moment, Arthur walked into the small home, looking for his manservant.

"Merlin." Arthur motioned for him to come back outside with him. Not one to disobey orders at such a tense time between them, Merlin turned with a small nod to Will and followed the prince.

Once they were out of the house, Arthur began leading him out to the woods beyond the village so that they may have a moment alone to talk. Once they reached a clearing that Arthur deemed far enough away for a private conversation, he motioned for Merlin to stop walking.

"Merlin, you should have told me about Will," Arthur started. He saw Merlin try to make an excuse but Arthur cut him off before he could. "But," he continued, "I know why you didn't. You were worried for your friend's safety. I just want you to know that I'm not as ruthless as my father. I know that Will was doing nothing wrong, because here, magic is not illegal. It's not my place to execute a man for breaking Camelot's laws when he doesn't even live in Camelot. I just want you to know he's safe. I won't tell my father about him."

Merlin visibly relaxed at true, clear intention from the prince that Will would not be harmed. "Thank you, sire."

With nothing more to say, Arthur turned and began walking back to the village, quick enough that the startled and contemplating servant was nearly left in the dust. He needed a small push to get him moving. "Come on, Merlin!" Arthur called behind him. "We've got to be leaving soon! Get moving!

"Yes, sire!" Merlin called, and he began racing back to the horses to prepare for departure.

When he got back to the village, Merlin began packing up all of the belongings they'd brought. It was quite a large task, and it did not help that Will was standing there judging him and offering 'pointers' that did not help very much. Once he finally finished packing, he took a seat on a wood stump next to Will.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, just thinking about what all had happened these past few days.

Merlin was the first to break it. "Will, thank you. You saved me from having to reveal myself to Arthur and risk my life, by risking your own. Because of you, I can continue to be by his side without having to make him choose between me and his father. So, really, thank you."

Will clapped him on the back, accepting the praise. "I know what I was risking. I did it for you because you're my best friend, and you were right; the prince is more than just an arrogant and selfish prat."

Merlin smiled at that. "Well, that too, but I'm glad that you can see his good side. It's my job to help him learn to show it just a little bit more."

"I'm going to miss you, Merlin," Will said with fondness. "Ealdor just isn't the same without you."

An idea struck Merlin like a bolt of lightning. He didn't know how he'd make it happen, but the mischievous spark had been lit. "What if you come visit me in Camelot? I'd love to show you around!"

"Are you crazy?" Will nearly jumped out of his seat in shock at what his friend had just suggested. "I'm a known sorcerer. Even if Arthur doesn't tell the king about me out of respect for saving him and the fact that I live in another kingdom, he won't allow me to cross the border!"

All Merlin did was give Will a sly smile and Will knew this was something that could not be stopped. "I'll see what I can do. Who knows? It may just be exactly what he needs to help him see the good in magic." Merlin gave a mysterious wink and began to practically waltz back to the prince he was so excited about the idea.

Will secretly hoped that Merlin would be able to pull off whatever crazy scheme he had just thought up, so that he would be able to see the famous city. But for now, Will just rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that," he called after Merlin, receiving what sounded like a "you're an idiot" in return.

When Merlin approached the prince and the horses, he and Arthur bantered a bit about the whole experience, got on their horses, and rode off back into the land where the very thing that defined Merlin's existence was banned. That had never stopped the young warlock before though, and it definitely wasn't about to now.