"Let me get this straight," Arthur said for the fourth time since Merlin began speaking about his magical adventuring, from pulling him out of the way of the dagger to defeating Sigan and so on. "All the times you disappeared for hours or even days wasn't because of the tavern but because you were warlocking stuff around?

Merlin rose an eyebrow and smirked. "I'm not so sure that's an actual term."

"If it wasn't it is now." Arthur stated indignantly. He leaned forward so his forearms rested on his thighs as he struggled to come to terms with just some of the situations Merlin had dealt with on his own. From what Merlin had described, Arthur realized he has fought nearly as much as some of the oldest knights Camelot had.

Gwaine laughed while staring pointedly at Arthur. "I always knew you were slow."

Arthur scoffed. "I'm the king, Gwaine."

"Doesn't mean you can't be slow." Gwaine grimaced as he lifted his injured leg he had propped across on Merlin's bed and moved it to rest upon a pillow.

The other knights sat nearby as Merlin spoke. One of the infirmary's nicely made beds would have to be redone as it was being occupied by the four knights who were sitting upon it listening attentively. Leon was nearly falling off the end as Percival's wide shoulders wouldn't allow him any closer.

Elyan cleared his throat directing their attention to him. "If you're done antagonizing the king, Gwaine, I would like to ask a question. Who else knows of your magic?" Elyan bit his lip as though not wanting to ask his question. "Does-"

"Gwen doesn't know." Merlin interrupted, reading Elyan's mind perfectly.

The knight seemed to release a breath he had been holding and his shoulders dropped their tension. "Forgive me for feeling relieved."

"There's no need to." Merlin knew exactly why Elyan had reacted the way he did. Knowing his secret had forced Gaius into dangerous situations in the past. Reliving the times when Merlin felt as though he would lose Gaius was hard enough. He couldn't imagine living with himself if he had put Gwen into the same situation. "It's not a secret I wanted others to have to carry."

Arthur raised his pointer finger which garnered Merlin's attention. "Am I safe to assume that Gaius knows?"

Merlin nodded quickly and smiled at the memory of adjusting during his first few days in Camelot living with the wizened old man as his only confidant.

"Gaius told me right away that my magic was- different. I knew no spells when I first walked into Camelot. Yet, when Gaius would purposefully knock water off the table I could stop it instantly."

"So he taught you magic?" Arthur asked trying to piece together Merlin's odd situation.

"No, Gaius never used magic unless absolutely necessary for healing after the purge. He gave me a book of magic to study and use to mold my power so I could better control it. Otherwise, you would have all known and I would have lost my head ages ago."

Gwaine cleared his throat and looked at his hands. "I had my own suspicions."

Merlin's head shot up to look confusedly at Gwaine. It was the same look Arthur held. He overcame his shock much faster than Merlin; however, and began to launch questions at him.

"You knew Merlin had magic?"

"I knew there was a possibility Merlin had magic." The knight clarified. "I figured it was safest for Merlin if I didn't know all the details, so I never tried to pry."

"Why did you never inform me of it?" Arthur asked his newly reinstated knight who answered with a raised eyebrow. Arthur swallowed any further argument forming on his lips. How he had reacted when Merlin told them of his power came to the forefront of his mind and silenced him. It was a terrifying thought, but the young kind wasn't sure if he would have been able to accept Merlin's magic in any other situation. Unfortunately, Arthur did have the tendency to allow his emotions to blind his judgement. Gwaine was the one to get him to realize that they needed Merlin alive simply for the fact that he had kept them from getting axed.

Arthur shuddered to think of what would have happened had Gwaine not been present.

"I wasn't a knight at that point so I didn't have to answer to you." Gwaine paused for a moment as though debating his next words. "And honestly, Merlin was my only friend. I didn't want to see him hurt if my suspicions were correct."

Merlin didn't know how he should react. It was difficult to imagine he had gone this long without knowing that there could have been one more person to confide in. When Lancelot was still alive there was no pressure to be anyone but himself as he knew of his secret and accepted it. Had Gwaine told him then maybe-

No. He was done living in the past. The only thing it had ever procured for Merlin was a nasty headache and a depressed mood.

That didn't mean that Merlin felt any better about the situation.

Gained nudged Merlin's shoulder, drawing his attention. "You alright there, mate?"

Merlin released the breath he forgot he had been holding. "I don't know how you knew and managed to keep it to yourself."

"Plates don't just fly off the shelves all on their own, Merlin." Gwaine laughed and Merlin was brought back to the bar fight where they had met. In all the confusion he had assumed there would be none paying him any notice. A scrawny man hiding behind the bar amongst the chaos of a room filled with drunken flying fists and raucous shouts should have been the least of anyone's concerns. Yet, Gwaine had paid him the attention Merlin fought so hard to be rid of in these times.

"And why would a servant with seemingly no talent whatsoever other than talking back to his master think he would be able to do anything in the Perilous Lands." Gwaine flipped his hair back showing off his shining eyes. "I was damn near convinced of it when that bridge guardian stated magic had arrived as soon as he saw you."

Merlin breathed out a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't know you heard that."

"I heard him mention something about a trio. He called you magic and me strength." Gwaine sent a cheeky look at Arthur. "I had to assume he called Arthur princess."

Arthur's chest puffed up a bit in pride. "I'll have you know that he called me courage. A title that seems to be quite fitting considering the circumstances we had been under."

Leon held up his hands to stop the trio from talking more on the subject. "Not to get off topic, but the only time you went to the Perilous Lands, Sire, was when you were on your quest- a quest that was supposed to be accomplished completely alone."

"Well, I was alone up until those two idiots found me." Arthur crossed his arms and glared at Gwaine and Merlin. "I had been doing perfectly fine."

Gwaine snorted. "Yeah, you were doing wonderfully." His tone held every bit of sarcasm he could muster. "You would have been wyvern food had Merlin not used his magic on them."

Merlin's head whipped up, remembering how he ordered them away with his dragonlord abilities. A disbelieving laugh shot from his mouth and he shook his head. Merlin couldn't help but feel a swell of gratitude for Gwaine keeping his secret safe.

"Why did you never tell me?"

"I figured if you wanted me to know you would have come to me when you were ready." Gwaine shrugged.

Merlin gave a sad half smile. "I wanted you all to know as soon as we grew to know each other."

"No more dwelling on the past, Merlin." Gwaine said sincerely. "It rarely brings any sort of good."

Merlin nodded in agreement. "I had just been thinking the same thing."

Arthur cleared his throat, drawing the attention to him. "Did you know of Morgana's magic?"

Merlin bit his lip. He knew the topic of Morgana would come about eventually. "Gaius and I watched as it manifested from simply seeing future events in her dreams to uncontrolled spurts of magic during the night."

Arthur cleared his throat. "And Morgana doesn't know about yours?"

He had been wondering this since he had first learned of Merlin's magic. Immediately afterwards, Arthur thought that his manservant was obviously working with her. How could he not when anyone with an ounce of magic seemed to be automatically tied to her evil schemes. As some of the shock wore off and Arthur became more aware that Merlin was in fact still Merlin, he knew that had never been the case. For some inexplicable reason at the time, Merlin was the exception.

Now he knew why.

Merlin shook his head. "And she would become quite dangerous if she did."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Morgana is already dangerous, Merlin."

"I know that, clotpole." Merlin tried to smile, but it took more effort to wear than he would care to admit.

"Then what would prompt her to become even more dangerous?" Arthur's tone was disbelieving and almost cocky. "Because right now, I don't know if she can get any worse."

Merlin's face paled and he seemed to be struggling for anything to say. As much as Arthur knew Merlin had tried to school his features, he had done a shoddy job at it. There was an unnatural tightness in his fists and he seemed forced to take extra effort to look in his eyes. As much as Merlin would fight him on the matter, Arthur was no idiot and could almost always tell when something was bothering the man. Even if he hadn't realized Merlin had magic he ran a bloody kingdom for goodness sake. One could not succeed in doing so if they were an simpleton. There was something about this topic that made Merlin apprehensive to speak outright.

"Are you afraid to tell me something?"

Merlin turned his head to the side to keep himself from having to see Arthur. After several deep breaths that pushed his injuries right up against the soft wrappings, he swallowed his fear.

"I'm not afraid for you to know."

Odd. Arthur had thought that this would have been something that Merlin feared would make him angry or distrustful of him. Arthur would argue the point to his face but the facts remain that Merlin was incredibly brave and not one to back down from anything. The man argued constantly with the king even when he knew that the consequences could be great. If Merlin wasn't afraid to let him know then what was the real reason behind his fear?

"What is it then?"

"I'm afraid that saying it out loud will make it real." Merlin admitted.

"Whatever it is we'll find a way to work passed it, together."

Merlin gave Arthur a fond look that held for several moments before Merlin broke it.

"Emrys is prophesied to be her end."

If asked, Arthur would have no clue how long the room was silent after that. All this time, Arthur had never known the heavy task placed upon his shoulders. The power Merlin held was hidden, tucked away in a slight unassuming frame.

"So you are supposed to be the person to kill my sister?"

He only managed a nod in regards to Arthur's question and the king swallowed the thick information. It was still a bit odd to think that Merlin had magic. It was harder to hear that Merlin would be the one to end Morgana's life.

Merlin had a far away look as he gazed mindlessly past Arthur. He methodically rubbed the wrappings on his as he felt his stomach turn. He never liked the thought of ending anyone's life. "It's not something I like to think about."

"You don't want to kill her."

"I still see the Morgana we knew every damn time I look at her." Merlin took a shaky breath. "She's been gone for years yet it's still the same way."

Arthur knew the feeling. Every time he thought about his sister and her dramatic transformation from a loving and vibrant young woman to a dark cold witch was unsettling, but he couldn't feel hate for her. Arthur yearned to go back in time and help her rather than be oblivious to the entire matter until it was too late.

"It is not naivety to hope she find her way back to us, Merlin." Arthur said in an assuring tone. "Hope was something Morgana gave up on long ago. You may be the one to be her end, but she was her own undoing when she never searched for another way concerning her magic. You were only ever her friend, Merlin."

"I poisoned her." Merlin instantly heard her pained gasps yet again boring into his mind. The look of betrayal as she realized what he had done would always haunt him as the day Morgana flipped entirely to Morgause's side. Perhaps it was why the thought of killing her now sent his head reeling.

Arthur glanced to his knights who looked just as shocked as he felt. "What?"

"She was the anchor for the sleeping spell killing Camelot. By binding the spell with a living vessel it increased its effects. It was why she was never affected."

Arthur remembered the feeling that overcame him when he felt the spell. It had affected him as well as Merlin. Knowing now of Merlin's immense power made the strength of the spell all the more impressive and all the more terrifying.

"She had been working with Morgause by then. Sooner or later her hatred of Uther would have overcome her better judgement. Her choices created who she has become."

Merlin gave what seemed to be a thankful smile at Arthur's words.

A sudden question burned on Arthur's tongue. "How did you know it was Morgana that held the sleeping spell?"

Merlin swallowed as Kilgarrah flashed across his mind. "It was a-a friend." Merlin ended with a pitiful amount of confidence.

Arthur's eyes narrowed calculatingly stopping Merlin from any further explanation. A shamed burnt in his stomach. He was still skirting around questions he knew would have to be inevitably answered.

"The dragon, the one that was imprisoned beneath Camelot, he told me."

"They can talk?" Arthur heard Merlin snort at his surprise and gave him a nod.

"Why did he help you so much if he had nothing to gain?" As Arthur finished his question he watched Merlin blanch yet again. Arthur was edging on an answer he had looked for the years since the Great Dragon escaped.

Who released him?

By the way Merlin was behaving, the answer was sitting in front of him trying very hard not to panic.

"You released him didn't you?"

Merlin looked shamefully away from the group and said, "I swore on my mother's life to free him in exchange for information to stop the sickness."

Arthur clenched his jaw to keep him from saying something he knew he would regret. Running a hand through his hair, he looked to Merlin who had been hesitantly watching him. Before Arthur had a chance to work through what Merlin had said, Leon charged through the silence.

"It was you?" He spat as his features turned into a livid snarl. "You released that monster?"

"Woah Leon," Gwaine began to try to calm the irate knight. "I am sure that Merlin has an explanation for why-"

"You weren't there to fight that thing." Leon cut Gwaine off before he could say anything else. "That creature was responsible for the death of both knights and civilians, not to mention the number of buildings it damaged throughout Camelot."

"Enough." Arthur stated silencing Leon immediately. Arthur understood Leon's reaction. Hell, any of the knights present at that battle would have reacted similarly. Arthur himself was not far from it, but when he looked at Merlin his entire stance flipped. Merlin's arms wrapped around himself and his spine bowed down as though he were trying to make himself as small as possible. Arthur realized that in all his anger he had failed to consider why Merlin had released him. Had Merlin not made the deal they may not be standing here today.

Arthur looked to Leon who seemed to be contemplating protesting Arthur's order. Arthur shook his head as a warning to Leon. Arthur became immensely grateful as his knight remained silent.

"I believe that Merlin was justified."

The weights released Merlin's bowed head and it snapped up like a bow string at Arthur's words. "You do?"

"If the dragon only told you how to save Camelot in exchange for his release then you judged the situation rightly." Arthur paused for a moment to ensure that Leon understood his words as much as Merlin did. Leon reluctantly nodded, and crossed his arms in front of him. Arthur was grateful for it even if he knew the knight held a small grudge for how the battle against the dragon had played out. Both Leon and Arthur had lost many of his friends that day. Discovering that Merlin was the one who facilitated the dragon's tirade was disheartening but validated. "What is done is in the past.

Merlin remained quiet. He was looking down and playing with the edge of a blanket. Arthur felt that Merlin still had more to say on the subject, but for some reason he didn't divulge anymore. Arthur decided to gently press him by saying, "Is there anything else that I should know."

Merlin looked up and Arthur noticed for the first time the weight that Merlin's eyes carried, as though they had seen more than they had ought to.

"Kilgarrah is still alive."

"Is Kilgarrah who I think it is?" Arthur said his stomach sinking.

"That's the name of the great dragon. You never dealt him a mortal wound." Merlin said shamefully. He swallowed thickly. "I- I allowed him to live."

Arthur held his composure even though he felt anger like when he had first discovered Merlin's secret. First Merlin released the monster, then he kept it alive. There couldn't possibly be a valid reason for it.

"Why?" Was the only thing Arthur could say. It was truly remarkable that he was able to stay calm enough to say just that.

"He's the final dragon. I couldn't kill him and live with myself when so many lives had been taken that day. I told him to leave Camelot and if he ever returned that I would kill him myself."

"And he simply listened to you?"

"He had no choice." Merlin swallowed the hard lump in his throat.

Arthur looked dumfounded. "You mean to tell me that your magic is more powerful than that of a dragon's"

Merlin shook his head. "No-" He stopped. Did he have more power than Kilgarrah? It was an absurd thought. His magic did no good against him when he was launching enchanted spears at him, but what of his power?

Merlin didn't know if he wanted an answer to that.

Merlin rubbed the back of his neck as he realized the very long and awkward paused that had ensued after his not so confident answer. Judging by the tight way Arthur had his arms crossed in front of him it had been a few moments to long which forced a quick answer from his lips.

"I didn't overpower him with magic, exactly."

Arthur exhaled forcefully through his nose as he increasingly frustrated. "Then what was it that you did?"

"I ordered him to leave." Merlin said yet again. He was going around in circles and it was doing nothing to quell Arthur's anger. Perhaps he was afraid that telling Arthur this piece would repeat his reaction after he discovered his magic.

Arthur sighed. "Yes, Merlin. We have established that. Why did he listen to you?"

Merlin rushed to say the next words for fear that he wouldn't if he waited. "I'm a dragonlord."

They all stared at shock at Merlin save for Gwaine who laughed in a dumfounded sort of way. "Well, that is definitely something I didn't figure out on my own."

"I am a dragonlord." Merlin said slower as though admitting it to himself for the first time. "It was why I could control the wyvern in that cavern." Merlin scrunched his eyebrows together, momentarily meeting Arthur's gaze, which held a dumfounded expression. Merlin thought back to the stomach turning smell of death that those beasts had brought with each step closer to them. Their ability to fight his control was still a mystery to him. He looked down to his heavily bandaged chest. "Well, I could control it for a little while."

"Then why the hell did you not order him away sooner?" The events that took place years ago came rushing back to Arthur. To this day he bore the scar from the dragon and remembered the slow process it took to heal up until the time he had awoke in Balinor's cave with many of his symptoms alleviated. "You even came with when we wasted time searching for Balinor."

Merlin felt his chest ache at the mention of Balinor and looked at anything but the eyes of those in the room. His father's death was something that he never wanted to think about, but he didn't want to keep anything else from them. He was through with the lies and the secrets that had been hidden by a wall he had put up. It was time to break that barrier.

"You don't understand. I wasn't a dragonlord when we left and Balinor was the last dragonlord at the time. You aren't simply born with the power to command dragons.

"Then pray tell, how do you aquire it?" Arthur asked shortly.

"The ability is passed down from father to the son-" Merlin said looking at his feet. "-at the time of the father's death."

The room was silent. Arthur waited frustratedly for Merlin to continue, but realized that Merlin seemed to have said all that he would. Arthur was about to further question the weary looking man when his eyes widened in realization. If Balinor was the last dragonlord and the ability is passed down from father to son then that would make Merlin-

Damn

Balinor, the man his father had hunted and forced into hiding for the remainder of his life, was Merlin's father.

"When you told Catherine earlier that controlling the wyverns had been a little trick from your father you meant Balinor."

It wasn't a question and Merlin simply nodded in confirmation. He was relived that he didn't have to say it. It was harder than Merlin had expected to talk about his father. Even though Merlin had hardly known the man, speaking about him brought the painful memory of his father jumping in front of the sword so he could live.

"I worried that you wouldn't be able to piece that together in that small brain of yours." Merlin teased without his usual lighthearted nature.

Merlin glanced quickly at Arthur to gauge his reaction at the revelation. Merlin hoped he wouldn't be met with more yelling from him. Looking at his king, Merlin realized that Arthur was taking this worse than expected. His face was contorted into one of pain as though he had been punched in the stomach.

"I told you that no man is worth your tears after your father died in your arms." Arthur said disbelievingly.

"You didn't know he was my father." Merlin rushed to say. "I barely even knew Balinor. He was never a part of my life."

"Because of my father." Arthur snapped. Merlin started at the sudden outburst, but Arthur seemed too wrapped in his thoughts to notice. "My father was the reason that yours had to go into hiding. Uther was the reason that you grew up without Balinor."

Arthur struggled over this realization. He looked to Merlin, but was met by a blank slate. The man was guarded and offered little insight as to what he was feeling.

"How did you support me while I mourned my father."

"Arthur-"

"How could you even look at me?" Arthur stood quickly and began angrily pacing around the room. And stopped suddenly facing away from Merlin. "What did I ever do to deserve your loyalty?"

"You didn't need to do anything." Merlin said in an attempt to calm Arthur's racing thoughts. It helped about the same as Kilgarrah's riddled words of wisdom. Arthur continued to stalk around the room in spite of Merlin's words.

"Just listen to me!" Merlin shouted and his eyes lit up gold. Arthur was stopped in his tracks as he felt his feet stick to the ground. It wasn't as though he could just slide his foot from his boot if he tried. Both feet were stuck mid pace as though the bottom half of him were frozen in time.

"Did you just use magic on me?" Arthur asked slowly, looking over his shoulder as his feet still refused to pick themselves up. He saw that Merlin's arm was still raised after directing his power at Arthur. He looked nearly as surprised he had used magic as Arthur felt.

"It's hardly the first time." Merlin lowered his hand suddenly and dropped the spell, nearly sending Arthur tipping over. It had done its job and effectively silenced him. As Arthur regained his footing, Merlin continued. "You can execute me later, but you need to listen to me. I stayed by your side all those years because I knew you would make a good king as you matured. I knew you were a good man that was the type of person I wanted to serve- that I wanted to use my gifts for. Most of all, I stayed because you're my friend, Arthur."

Arthur gave a sad smile. "I was hardly any good at it."

"I never thought that way." Merlin's eyes shown the honesty that could finally be expressed after being forced to stay hidden behind the veil dictating the roles they were destined to play in Camelot.

"If I couldn't recognize the atrocities playing out around me how could I even hope to make amends to the people I persecuted."

The room was silent, causing Arthur's stomach to drop. Could he even begin to hope for anybody to see him as anything more than a continuation of his father's legacy?

"A wise king once told me that mistakes themselves do not define who we are, instead we are defined by our actions after we realize the mistake."

Arthur looked to Merlin's sincere stare and sighed to ease the pain he felt in his chest. "That must have been one wise king."

Merlin smiled fondly. "He definitely is."

Merlin suddenly looked towards the door. Arthur followed his gaze and found nothing. When he looked back to Merlin was staring at him.

"Sarah and several other healers would like to come it."

Arthur stared dumbfounded before remembering Merlin's weird mind connection to the Druids. "Very well, we can finish this when we return to Camelot."

Merlin smiled and closed his eyes momentarily. Not one moment later did four healers entered the room. Sarah was at the head of the group who's members seemed weighed down with exhaustion. Arthur saw her stern face brighten as she looked at the group. At least Arthur figured it was the case as her tightly held lips that were seemingly always downturned straightened slightly.

"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked with a slight bow of her head.

Merlin gave her a smile and returned the bow respectfully. "Quite well, considering the circumstances."

Sarah acknowledged his statement with a nod, but she was staring directly at Arthur. Arthur nodded back to her, remembering her words to him the previous night. Somehow this woman sensed the change among them and was able to flawlessly interpret it.

"Indeed, you seem to be doing just as you say. I only wish this was not the second time you visited my infirmary. You must know your physician in Camelot very well."

Merlin fought a smirk. "I know him well for a different reason, but he too has implied similarly."

"I apologize that we have had to postpone your healing. If you insist upon it we can finish it so as to facilitate the remainder of your stay as well as your return to Camelot.

One look at each of their tired bodies had Merlin shaking his head adamantly. "I'm not going to be the cause of any of you overexerting your magic. You each had to attend to more people than you probably ought to have."

"Couldn't you provide the power, Merlin?" Arthur asked which directed the healer's attention intimidatingly to him. Obviously, Arthur was one of the last people to be able to question the expertise of a healer. The question had popped out of his mouth before he thought to stop it. Merlin raised an eyebrow at him which had Arthur grappling for a confident explanation of his question.

"I don't doubt that you are terrible at healing spells," Arthur said with a smirk. Merlin on the other hand scoffed as Arthur continued. "But if there is a possibility of diverting one's magic inside a gem to power the enchantments for the complex then why would it be any different for a person? Can you simple allow them to heal you using your own magic?"

Sarah smiled. "That could be quite possible. I have heard of such things taking place; however, I worry that it might put too much strain on his magic."

"My body is what is weak right now, not my magic. Healing magic is not something I can do instinctively or else I wouldn't be in this position." Merlin admitted.

Sarah stared at Merlin as though trying to catch him in a lie before she nodded. "Alright, we'll give it a chance."

Sarah and the healers began to draw closer to Merlin while Arthur and the knights allotted more room by stepping to the side. Gwaine began to slowly stand to move out of the way when he was stopped by Sarah's surprisingly gentle hand on his injured leg.

"Sir Gwaine, you might as well stay there so we can heal you as well. We have two birds and only one key to release them with."

Gwaine nodded understandingly and remained where he was. One of the healers directed his attention to Gwaine while the others remained next to Merlin with Sarah standing directly in front of him. "Hold out your hand and draw your power as you did with the crystal."

Merlin nodded and immediately called his power to just beneath his skin. He felt his power tingle beneath his palms. Sarah held his hand while the healer for Gwaine rested his hand upon his knee. The other healers rested their hands upon his shoulders and began to draw from his power while they chanted the spell in unison.

"Þurhhæle dolgbenn"

A gasp escaped his lips as he felt an odd sensation across the slashes. His skin felt as though it were knitting itself back together. Typically whenever he was injured and saved by Kilgarrah he wouldn't be conscious for his healing magic. The feeling stopped and Merlin felt the healers release him.

The young man who had been holding his shoulder took a step away in shock. "I will never know how it is possible for that much power to be contained within one man."

Merlin smiled sheepishly and pulled up under a section of poorly secured wrappings. "It seemed to have worked."

"Are you in any more pain?" Arthur asked hopefully.

"Not nearly as much as I was before." Merlin responded cheerfully. "Thank you all so much."

Sarah, who seemed to be much less tired, gave him a small bow. "You did just as much as we did. If it is not too forward of me, I would like to offer you training within the healing branch of magic. You would pick up quite fast, I am sure of it."

"I would greatly appreciate that." Merlin beamed and went to stand up. It was too much for him as the pain returned. Steady hands kept him from falling forward and instead brought him back to the edge of his bed.

"How could you have thought that would be a good idea?" Arthur asked rhetorically. "I don't think they healed the blood loss."

"I'll be fine, besides, I am more eager to walk around this place than I am to memorize each of their infirmaries."

Arthur held up a stern finger. "If you hurt yourself further, Merlin-"

Arthur left the threat open as if he thought he could instill a sense of fear into Merlin. Rather, Merlin ignored Arthur entirely, save for an eye role, and directed his attention to a pile of neatly folded white garments. A quick flash of his eyes was all it took to have it zooming into his hands. He carefully pulled it over his head, popping his arms through the holes gingerly before finally pulling it down to cover his torso. Had Arthur not known about Merlin's injuries, he would have thought him to be perfectly fine.

Sarah made her way to the door. "I can send for some clothes for you so you don't have to walk around in our clothing meant for infirmary patients."

"Don't bother." Arthur said. He removed the padded red jacket he wore under his chainmail, which Elyan had helped him removed a few hours ago for the sake of comfort. Arthur was left in his simple black shirt as he draped it across Merlin's shoulders. All he received in return was a stare from Merlin.

"If I had known it would take that to make you speechless I would have done it ages ago." Arthur laughed.

"I can't take this, Arthur." Merlin began to shrug off the expensive fabric until Arthur stopped him by grasping his shoulder.

"I'm not doing this for you." Arthur stated in the midst of Merlin's analytical stare. "It's because I would hate for those poor druids to continually have to make you new clothing just for you to ruin it. It puts my mind at ease knowing that you will be the one fixing this if something is to soil it."

Merlin felt the soft fabric and cleared his throat. Arthur was lying, but he ignored it, opting to instead slip his arms through the warm sleeves. The jacket fit loosely around his slight frame and gapped near the shoulders, but it seemed to not be terribly noticeable. "It is a tad large, though I guess I should have expected that."

Arthur growled and stood. "There's just no pleasing you sometimes."

That brought a smirk to Merlin's face as he no doubt remembered it as one of his own complaints towards Arthur. The king fought to keep his face neutral, if not a bit disdainful, but it cracked into a smile like it did so often as he continued staring at Merlin. He grabbed hold of Merlin's forearm, gently pulling him upright and wrapped it around his own torso to keep him from toppling over. When he knew Merlin did have enough strength for the walk they began making their way to the hall, but before they had taken two steps, Arthur stopped in his tracks, forcing Merlin to halt as well.

"What is it?"

"I forgot to ask earlier. What the hell is up with that once and future king nonsense? It is just a story right?"

Merlin blinked twice before rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "Did you not pay any attention to Catherine the other night at dinner?"

Arthur's stomach twisted as he remembered how he had reacted after discovering Merlin's magic. "I may have been a bit distracted with other priorities at the time."

Merlin sighed. This would be a fun topic of discussion. Would Arthur even accept that he is really this foretold king? One glance at Arthur and Merlin realized that in all the years he had known Arthur, he had never been more ready to learn about his role.

Merlin debated whether or not they should sit down again or not, but they continued walking while Merlin spoke. "Well- there's this prophesy."