Merlin smiled, "I never imagined you'd take this so well. I was terrified that you would be like your father. I should have had more faith. I'm sorry for not trusting you. For not telling you sooner, for still not telling you everything."

"I am not going to force you into anything. I can see why you would be afraid of what I'd do and I can't say that you not trusting me doesn't hurt, but I understand. I mean just listening to what you've told me so far… I could have never imagined… never known how many secrets you've kept… how many burdens you've had to carry alone."

"It has been difficult, but I haven't always been alone."

"How many people have you…" shared your secrets too?

"Before you, I suppose just two…wait umm four… umm I'm actually not sure but definitely three people that matter the rest were in passing."

"In passing? What do you mean in passing! You went spilling your secrets to total strangers on the streets but not me."

"That's not exactly what I meant?"

"Right? So how many other people know your this Emrys/ Dragonlord person."

Oh. Well that's different. Merlin blushed before stuttering, "I thought you meant something else for that it's a lot less… or more I guess? Umm all the druids seem to know I'm Emrys. Like I said I had no idea till Mordred told me I was Emrys. I don't know if he knows I am a Dragon Lord. I wasn't exactly subtle during our attack with Morgana months ago. Umm I'm guessing the dragons don't count." Merlin finished the last part cheekily only to tighten his smile was he saw Arthur's look towards him. He was clearly not amused.

"Right. Umm my Mum knows, obviously. Gaius as well, he's been really helpful, but I don't think he can truly understand how I feel. And umm Lancelot…" Merlin whispered the last part so softly Lancelot had always been a sore spot for Arthur. It's been ages since the whole Guinevere and Lancelot incident, but Arthur had grown a bit cold after the shade incident.

"I must have misheard. Speak up Merlin."

"It doesn't matter umm they passed."

"If they passed, there's no harm."

"Lancelot."

"Lancelot. You told Lancelot. Of course, you did. You'd tell anyone who wasn't me." Arthur let go of the breath he was holding before standing and grabbing his goblet finishing the water before slamming it on the table.

"Arthur, that's not…"

"Shut up, Merlin. So is that everyone who knows or knew."

"Umm… Julian the man who wanted to steal the egg, I told him I was a dragon lord before he was crushed by the temple… umm… Your uncle…"

"My uncle?!"

"He discovered I was Emrys in the tunnels before I fought him and his men off…"

"You?..."

"Umm story for another time. Anyways I think those are all the non druid people who knew-know." Arthur nodded before deciding he was about done with the conversation.

"So, how did Morgana end up with a dragon anyway?"

"I wish I knew."

"You said the dragon was the one from the temple of Ashkanar?"

"Yes. But after I hatched it, I never really had the chance to keep tabs on it. I guess I expected Kilgharra to raise him. That obviously wasn't the case and somehow Aithusa ended up with Morgana."

"You hatched it?"

Merlin smiled remembering the memory before nodding, "Only a dragon lord can call a dragon from their egg. It was amazing, he breathtaking."

"I feel a story coming on."

"Not exactly. I took the egg to Kilgharra where he revealed that the only way for a dragon lord to call forth a hatchling was to name it. I decided on Aithusa, Light of the Sun. He was supposed to have a role in the future of Albion, but that was before Morgana crossed his path."

"Can't you command it away from her maybe before Morgana decides to make another sword. Could you command it to burnish Excalibur?"

Merlin was clenching his teeth from the last comment it be so much easier to reveal to Arthur that he was the Once and Future King and that his sword was already forged by a dragon's breath. "I don't want to force him against his will… But now that you know I suppose I could call him one day and figure out what happened between him and Morgana. As for Excalibur…its not necessary the blade is powerful enough to rival any that Morgana makes."

Elated the King nodded, "What if you command the dragon to never be able to make a sword?"

"It's complicated, I should probably speak with Kilgharra. I'm sure he'd approve of a sword with such power never coming into existence again, but I don't know how I'd feel about taking Aithusa's free will away."

"But you're a dragonlord, Merlin. You have the power to command Aithusa and stop him and Morgana. Being King I have to deal with difficult choices. Choices that not everyone agrees with and will rebel against, but are necessary for the greater good. You have power to change things, but you have to use it. You can't expect change if you don't take actions and enforce your decisions. As horrible as this sounds Merlin, not everyone has the privilege or capacity for freedom, Morgana has used her power to hurt the innocent and bring Camelot to its knees more than twice. If I had any sort of power over her I would use it to stop her from terrorizing all the five kingdoms. The druid who wrote to you is right it is your duty to stop Aithusa, because you are the only one left who can."

"What if the price is too high?"

"The decision is ultimately up to you, but inaction is worse than not-not doing anything. As much as I would like to stare out and watch the sky, or spend the day in bed all day, or just ignore every problem that arises, I can't. Because I have a duty to myself and the people of Camelot. I have to make tough decisions because I'm one of the few people who can."

"I'm not like you Arthur. I wasn't groomed my entire life to be a ruler. I was a farmer. Now I'm a servant."

"You are much more than just a servant. You may have not been groomed, but from what I have learned you are powerful and surprisingly wise enough to figure things out and make your own choices."

"I don't want to talk about this. I'm done, Arthur."

"Merlin. come on."

"I will take it under advisement, but I'm done. Both of us have a lot to think about and we both have duties to get to."

Arthur nodded before rising from his seat, "I should go see if I could track down Lord Marcus and Lady Isolde and make up for missing lunch with them. In fact, go set up an area to have tea in the garden while I go find Gwen. Afterwards just deal with your other chores I can get George to serve us."