Rowan gripped the table, his body curling inwards with laughter. Merlin rolled his eyes and groaned. "It's not that funny. Stop it."

Rowan snorted, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "You slept with crazy blondie."

"His name is Arthur." Merlin snapped. "And we were both drunk."

Rowan smirked, nodding his head alongside Merlin almost mockingly. "Yes, of course. Now, why are you freaking out again?"

"I told Elyan I would bring them to the lake. On a walk. That's a four hour-long round trip."

Rowan raised his eyebrow. "Ok. Why?"

Merlin tugged at his hair. "I don't know. Elyan was just like 'please, I'm begging you' and I broke. But I can't just take them to the lake, that's ridiculous. And walk there? Why can't we just drive or something?"

"Ok, so just tell him you can't do it. It's not that big of a deal." Rowan said, leaning back to prop his feet on the table.

"I can't do that." Merlin paced the floor. "I already told him I would do it."

Rowan leaned forward. "Hey, buddy. If you don't want to go, then tell him you're busy. You're not obligated to do anything for them. I'm sure Elyan can find his own way to the Lake."

Merlin gasped. "That's it. You should go. You can go and guide them to the lake and I'll stay here." And pack my stuff to leave, Merlin added silently.

Rowan snickered. "I am not walking to the lake. I don't even know them. There's a reason I never got close to them, okay? I don't have the emotional capacity for more than one friend."

Merlin pouted. "Well, I'm your friend. Consider it a favor for me."

Rowan shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. I can't go to the Lake with your friends. Just say you're busy. What's so hard about that?"

Merlin hesitated, collapsing on the couch beside Rowan. "I don't know. I feel like I have to go with them."

Rowan scratched his jaw. "I think we're going in circles here so I'm going to make the decision for you, yeah? You're going. It's one day and they promised to leave you alone after that, right? Just go. Let loose and have fun. A walk would be good for you. Anything happens, just call me and I'll get the police in case they're actually murderers or something."

Merlin laughed. "They're not murderers. They're far too nice for that."

"Ok, so you good?"

Merlin slumped back. "Yeah. I'm good."

Rowan sat up excitedly. "Ok, then back to what's important. You really had the audacity to look me in the eye and say that you were not interested in blondie and then hook up with him?"

Merlin dragged a hand over his face. "Oh my god."

-0-o-0-

Arthur was having a mental breakdown. He slept with Merlin. Merlin. And he can't even remember it. The last Arthur could remember was the flirty smile on Merlin's face and Merlin's hand pushing the glass of wine to his lips. After that, everything went blurry but judging by the way his body was aching, Arthur did not go to Merlin's house for a simple nap.

"I don't know why you're freaking out. I mean, ok, you slept with Merlin. So what?"

Arthur shot Morgana a glare. "So what? He thinks I'm crazy. And I went and got drunk and slept with him! He doesn't even remember me."

Morgana leaned forward. "Arthur, I promise you, Merlin is fine. It was just a hookup. Once we get his memory back, if I don't kill him, you'll have all the time in the world to sleep with him again."

Arthur clenched his teeth. "Why are you so angry with Merlin, anyway?"

Morgana snorted. "You really don't know anything, do you? I'm not so keen on explaining everything he's done to me so why don't we wait and Merlin can tell you himself."

"What if I want to hear it from you?" Arthur asked.

"That's not a good idea," Morgana said, not bothering to elaborate.

Arthur pressed his lips together and turned away from Morgana. He could feel Morgana's gaze burning holes into his head and his jaw throbbed. "Thanks. For helping me calm down. It was unorthodox, but I appreciate it."

Morgana snorted, flexing her fingers. The skin over her knuckles were just a bit cracked from when she had punched Arthur in the jaw. In her defense, he wasn't breathing and Morgana panicked. It was also an excuse to punch her brother so she took it. "Of course. What am I here for?"

Arthur looked up, a soft smile spreading over his lips and Morgana tensed. "I miss you. The old you."

Morgana licked her lips and took in a shaky breath. "You never knew me, Arthur."

"Your magic doesn't define you, Morgana. The girl that I grew up with was still you."

"And the girl that tried to kill you wasn't me?"

Arthur hesitated, his smile faltering. "It wasn't the Morgana I thought I knew. The Morgana who-"

Arthur's voice broke and he looked away. A tense silence fell over the two and Morgana clenched her teeth, getting up. "You're wrong. Magic does define me. But magic didn't turn me against Camelot. It didn't make me evil."

"No. It was the way that you were raised. The way Uther treated you and ingrained his own prejudices about magic in your head."

Morgana scoffed. "It wasn't just Uther."

"No." Arthur agreed. He glanced up, his eyes etched with guilt and regret. "It wasn't."

Morgana looked up, surprised. "You admit it?"

Arthur looked away. "I'm not admitting to anything. Whatever happened, whatever Father and I did to you, it does not excuse what you did."

"Oh? Then whose fault is it?"

"I thought that was obvious, Morgana." Arthur rubbed his forehead, his voice tired. "You can spend years trying to justify your actions but at the end of the day, you have no one to blame but yourself."

-0-o-0-

Gwen heaved a sigh and leaned back against the side of the wall. Her hands were sweaty and she tried to wipe them on her dress, trying to calm her heart rate.

"What's wrong, my lady?" Leon asked, dropping down beside her.

"Don't do that." Gwen chided softly. "I'm just Gwen."

Leon studied her and Gwen curled in slightly at the intense gaze. She could never keep anything from Leon. "I'm scared."

"We all are, Gwen. We just have to believe that everything will turn out alright."

Gwen chewed on her lip. "Was I a good queen?"

"I could think of no one better fit to be a queen of Camelot."

"Where is Camelot? It's probably fallen." Gwen blinked rapidly. Though all the chaos of the past month, it never occurred to her that the kingdom she once led was gone. Camelot was gone. Her home. And her family along with it. Her child. Leon's child.

Leon clasped a hand over Gwen's. "Camelot prospered for as long as it could. I'm sure that it had a dignified end."

"Ambrosius Pendragon was a great king. I only hope he finally found his way. He was always a troubled young man. I'm sure he got that from you."

Leon let out a small laugh. "From me? Are you sure? Did he finally win Evaine's affections?"

Gwen smiled. "Not that I know of. I'm afraid I wasn't a very good mother. Seeing how the only reason he came to be was to be king, I guess it makes sense. Hopefully, he found love in the end. I didn't live to see it though."

Leon pursed his lips. "Merlin did. He'll tell us, yeah? There might be some kids running around who have our blood running through their veins."

Gwen winced at the thought. "That's… disconcerting."

Leon's lips twitched. "Does Arthur know? Better yet, does Lancelot know?"

"Ugh, no." Gwen groaned, dropping her head in her hands. "Arthur asked me about what came of Camelot and I said I died before I knew."

Leon nudged Gwen lightly. "You have to tell him at some point. I doubt he wants to find out through Merlin. That would be embarrassing."

Gwen snorted. "That would be less embarrassing than me telling Arthur that Camelot's heir was your child as much as it was mine."

"What?"

Gwen and Leon jumped at the voice twisted around to see Lancelot there, gaping at the two of them.

"The next king was Leon's child? You slept with Leon?" Lancelot's voice went high and the door suddenly opened for Gwaine to peek in.

"Who slept with Leon?"

Gwen thumped her head against Leon's shoulder. "Shit."

Gwaine laughed. "Oh, I can't believe this. It seems like Gwen's got a game. She slept half of the guys here?"

"Who slept with half the guys here?" Morgana strode through the side door and Gwen cursed. Was everyone just waiting to join in the conversation?

"Our very own Guinevere." Gwaine shot her a wink. "Care to add one more to the list?"

Gwaine was suddenly shoved out of the room, followed by Percival. "What the hell, Gwaine?"

Morgana suddenly smirked and Gwen's mouth dropped open. "Don't you dare, Morgana."

"Don't forget about how she slept with all the girls here. Excluding herself, of course. I mean, actually–"

"Wait, hold up. You slept with Leon and Morgana?" Lancelot asked, looking horrified.

Gwaine leaned over and swung open the front door, calling out. "Oi, Princess. Are you hearing this?"

Gwen threw her hands up. "Oh my god."

Arthur came jogging in, his hair matted with sweat from the laps he had been doing outside. He was apparently afraid he'd lose his abs, which was ridiculous is Gwen's opinion. They all knew Arthur exercised when he was stressed. "What's up?"

Gwen shot up. "Nothing. Nothing is up. Jesus, can a girl have a private conversation?"

Gwaine laughed. "How the hell did I not know this? I thought we told each other everything—"

"Shut it, Gwaine." Gwen snapped. She latched onto Arthur's arm, shoving him out. "Let's go, Arthur."

Arthur sputtered but let Gwen slam the door shut. "What is going on?"

Gwen scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Nothing. They're just being nosy."

Arthur laughed. "That's not surprising. Are you okay? They didn't cross a line or anything right?"

"No. No. They were just shocked because I slept with Leon."

Arthur's feet stilled beneath him. "You what?"

"Oh, don't talk. You're the one who got drunk and slept with Merlin."

Arthur gasped. "Did Morgana tell you?"

"Gwaine, actually. He figured it out quite easily." Gwen smirked. "Besides, I only slept with Leon to give Camelot an heir. It was nothing more than that."

Arthur nodded slowly. "Oh. Girl or boy?"

"Boy. Ambrosius Pendragon."

Arthur wrinkled his nose. "Ambrosius? That was the best you could come up with?"

Gwen shoved Arthur. "Don't be mean. Merlin named him. It was a family name or something."

Arthur sobered up at the mention of Merlin. "Do you think Elyan will convince him? If I were him, I would never go to a lake with a bunch of strangers."

"We're not strangers, though. He would've left a while back if we were. There's a part of him that remembers us. I know that. We just have to find it."

Arthur locked eyes with Gwen, his gaze uncertain. "Yeah. We just have to find it."

Gwen smiled softly. "You have to find it. And you will."

-0-o-0-

Merlin knocked on the door again, glancing at the sign to make sure he was at the right place. He rocked back on his heels and contemplated knocking once more when the door swung up revealing Morgana. She gave him a nervous smile. "Hey."

Merlin mirrored the look and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. "Hi. Um, I wanted to apologize for last time. At the shop? I was just caught off guard and–"

Morgana waved him off. "Oh, don't. It's fine. I understand. I didn't think you would take up Elyan's offer."

"Me either. But here I am. Are you guys ready? We should leave soon if we want to get there before lunch. I have food and everything so don't worry about that"

Morgana pushed the door open further. "Yeah. We're ready."

There was a loud thud and suddenly a man popped into view. "Merls! Hey, how-how are you?"

Merlin backed up, scrutinizing the familiar man. "Lancelot was it?"

He frowned. "Gwaine, actually. Lancelot inside. I'm your favorite though, right?"

A woman came up behind Gwaine and smacked him across the head. "Ignore him, Merlin. I'm Gwen. I don't know if you remember me but I was here last time you came."

Merlin took her hand, instantly relaxed by the warm smile that spread across her face. "Gwen. I remember you."

Gwen pulled another man into view. "This is Lancelot, my boyfriend."

Gwen went on to introduce the others but if Merlin was being honest, he lost track after Leon, who was either the tall burly one or the red-head. Merlin backed away as they poured out and he couldn't help asking. "Where's Arthur?"

A teasing smile spread across Gwaine's face and Merlin instantly regretted asking. "Why? Do you miss him? He had a meltdown yesterday, you know? Apparently, the two of you got way more comfortable–"

"Do you ever shut up, Gwaine?" A voice groaned and Merlin caught sight of a golden head near the back of the group. Arthur made his way to Merlin and shoved Gwaine aside. "Merlin. Hey."

Merlin looked up and—Jesus. He would never get used to this bloke's face. "Arthur. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Probably not as well as the night before but he slept fine." Gwaine gave an over-exaggerated wink and Merlin felt his face heat up.

"Ignore him. He's an idiot. I slept fine. How about you?" Arthur gave an anxious smile.

Merlin started to wonder if it was normal to tell people to ignore Gwaine. Judging by what Merlin knew of the man, he wouldn't have been surprised. "It was good. Um, I admit was going to back out and sleep in but I—" Merlin scuffed the toe of his boot into the ground. "The lake is a beautiful site and who am I to deprive that of you all?"

Arthur smiled and Merlin was instantly endearing by the slight crookedness of his teeth. "Thanks for coming. Really. It means the world to us. I can't wait to get to know you."

"Yeah. Likewise."

A silence fell over the two of them and honestly, Merlin could have stood there for eternity, staring at Arthur and he wouldn't have realized.

"Ok." Morgana pushed through them. "You would think them sleeping together would fix the unresolved sexual tension."

Merlin choked on his spit. "What–?"

"We would like to be there before noon, so are we ready?" Morgana asked, watching Merlin with hawk eyes.

Arthur cleared his throat, looking away. "Yeah. Merlin?"

Merlin dug his fingernails into his palm and forced himself to meet Morgana's gaze. There was a type of curiosity in her eyes and he could also see the excitement that scared Merlin in a way that it shouldn't. Morgana arched an eyebrow when Merlin didn't respond and her lips twitched with amusement.

"Earth to Merlin? Are you there?"

Merlin looked away, sucking in a breath, startled by the sudden tension in the air. "Yeah."

He glanced up at Gwaine, who had quickly calmed down, watching Merlin inquiringly. Curiously. Like everyone else was. Gwaine tilted his head to the side, studying him with more intent than Merlin was comfortable with.

Merlin adjudged the strap of his bag and tilted his chin up, suddenly feeling like he was in the middle of a game he didn't understand. A game he shouldn't even be aware he was a part of. Merlin met Gwaine's gaze head-on, satisfied when he startled slightly at the intense look in his eyes. "Let's go."

-0-o-0-