Chapter 2

A Hypothetical Situation

They had been riding for so long Merlin lost count of the hours. The only indication that time was slipping by was the sun slowly sinking behind the trees, and then rising once more. They road through the day, most of the night and part of the next morning and Merlin couldn't help but dwell on his own fate.

He was born to lead the Druids and all magical beings as much as he was born to serve Arthur Pendragon. It is Merlin's destiny to keep Arthur and the Kingdom safe. However, to do that he needed to use his magic, and magic was outlawed. Merlin wasn't entirely sure if his King cared enough for him to look past the fact that Merlin had magic and has been using magic behind his back his whole life. Even if it was only to save his kingly backside.

A part of Merlin wants to ask the King what he would do if Merlin had magic. He even tried to tell him last night at the tavern but Arthur was to intoxicate to understand much of what Merlin was trying to say. If he was being honest he feared what the King would do if he found out. Merlin had faith in Arthur, in that he would give him a chance to at least explain. Maybe. Hopefully.

Merlin sighed heavily and shifted in his saddle. Before Merlin knew it four more hours had passed in companionable silence. That feeling of being watched nudged him again, getting his attention once more. He shoved it aside. If they were in immediate danger, Merlin and Arthur would have been attacked by now.

"You know, Arthur." Merlin said breaking the peace at last. He needed his king, his friend, to know that he understood, that he knew the battle he fought. "I do understand." Merlin said, and sighed. "I understand what you are going through more than you could know." He said even lower.

Arthur turned around in the saddle to look back at him. Eyebrows raised questioningly, slight confusion in his light blue eyes. He was trying to remember what Merlin was referring to. They had been riding in such silence that he had almost forgotten they had talked at all on this journey. Merlin saw when it clicked and Arthur scoffed lightly.

"What is that supposed mean?" Arthur asked laughed.

"It means exactly what I said." Merlin watched the path in front of them not daring to meet the Kings eyes. "I understand." He shrugged.

Arthur stopped his horse and turned around to face him. Blocking the path.

"You know, Merlin, ever since I met you I have notice something peculiar about you." Arthur assessed Merlin deliberately. "Your irritating. Clumsy. Forgetful. You're always late and you never give me the respect my title deserves, however there is a presence of such…" Arthur cocked his head to the side. "I don't want to say power exactly but something makes you stand out at times, something that makes me wonder if you are even of this world..." Arthur shook his head and laughed. "I could almost say you have magic."

It was easy for Arthur to dismiss the very possibility of Merlin having Magic. Merlin played the fool extremely well. He had to if he was to survive living under the roof of a King purging the land of magic. Merlin chuckled with Arthur at the idea, his gut in a churning not.

Arthur dismounted. Merlin followed suit and look around them. The feeling of unease in the back of his mind was still there, only less urgent. Arthur led them off the trail to find a suitable place to set up camp for the coming night. They were laden down with hunger and fatigue, so they didn't really care if the camp was sheltered enough, they just wanted to start a fire and eat dinner.

They tied off their horses to a low hanging branch. Merlin went about unfastening the saddle bags and unload their things before he turned to Arthur. Merlin watched his King stretch before he sat down at the base of a very large tree.

"You know, Arthur. It wouldn't kill you to help out." Arthur turn to face Merlin satirically and raised a brow.

"...and do what?" Arthur asked sardonically.

"Never mind" Merlin grumbled as he bent down to gather some wood from the surrounding area. There was plenty of it, just not all was dry. Arthur wouldn't notice these things. "You're hopeless." Merlin snapped and turned away from Arthur. Merlin's eyes flashed gold with a silent spell, easily compelling the water from the wood. That strange shiver of fear he felt each time he did magic in front of Arthur snaked down his leg. Merlin shook it off the forceful feeling and set the wood next to Arthur where he planned to build the fire.

Merlin stayed quiet as he arranged the wood. He didn't look at Arthur once as he pulled the stone and flint out to start the fire. One strike. Two. The wood caught. Not as quick as magic but just as effective. Merlin sat back on his heels and glared into the fire. A few moments more passed in silence as Merlin watched Arthur from the corner of his eye before he decided to speak.

"Can I ask you a question?" Merlin mumbled suddenly. He poked at the wood with a long stick making the fire jump and pop. He probed the subject lightly as a dead hope flared in his heart.

Arthur looked over at Merlin a little concerned. He never asked Arthur permission to speak. Arthur watched Merlin closely, unsure of where this conversation was going. Uncertainty was deeply etched into his handsome face. His dark raven hair danced in the light breeze ticking his cheek bones and obscuring his soulful lazuline eyes.

"What if I told you I had magic?" Merlin finally looked up at Arthur. "What would you do?" Merlin tilted his head to the side questioningly. "Would you turn your back on me? Arrest me? Banish me?" Merlin paused, finding what he wanted to say next. "Would you kill me if – if I seemed dangerous?"

"Where is this coming from?" Arthur demanded. "What are you talking about. Magic, really Merlin?" Arthur scoffed.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I had Magic, would you give me a fair trial or would you execute me like all the rest?"

Arthur stared at Merlin mutely unsure of what to do, or how to react, so he laughed. "Don't be so melodramatic, Merlin. You and magic in the same sentence." Arthur chuckled. "Please." He waved it off. "It just doesn't work." Arthur snorted.

"Why is that idea so impossible for you to imagine?" Merlin stood up and started to pace. "For all you know I could be the greatest warlock that will ever live!" Merlin said defensively. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at Arthur. He was a little riled by Arthur. Here he was telling him the truth and it went right over his head. In one ear and out the other. However, they were speaking hypothetically so he he couldn't really blame the ignorance on his royal dollop-head.

"You're the least intimidating man I have ever known." Arthur barked a laugh.

"I'm being serious, Arthur." Merlin said solemnly.

The seriousness of Merlin's tone caught Arthur off guard. It was so unlike Merlin. He was always light and... happy. But now he looked like he was being burned from the inside out. The silence stretched thin, almost uncomfortably so, before Merlin broke in with a painful truth hidden behind a hypothetical question. A part of him wondered why he felt compelled to talk to Arthur about this now of all times. Last night didn't exactly work. So what made him think now would?

"There is something I've been needing to tell you Arthur. Something to help alleviate those doubts you have about ruling a kingdom." Merlin pushed himself off of his tree and knelt down, bending his knees till he was eye level with the King.

"This isn't like you Merlin, being so serious and depressing." Arthur frowned.

"I could say the same for you, being suicidal and filled with doubt." Merlin snapped back gently. He sighed and sat back on his heels. "Listen Arthur. If you don't want to answer the question fine, but you have to hear what I have to say. We are no longer in Camelot. We are in the forest of Asetir, in Morgana's domain, and you have to many fears and doubts to face her with a clear mind. So listen." He said forcefully when Arthur went to interrupt him. "There is going to come a time when you will have to decide what kind of King you want to be. A ruthless King like your father, who let his fear of magic turn to hate and let his rage dictate his actions, or a wise and just ruler that sees everyone as equal and will fight for what he believes to be right and just no matter what."

Arthur looked at his manservant and friend. He always wondered how this idiot could be so wise sometimes. It was moment like this that Arthur could imagine that Merlin had something akin to magic. Arthur shook it off, for the second time that day. What was going on. Of course Merlin wasn't a sorcerer, he would have noticed. Arthur looked back at Merlin and answered him as truthfully as he could.

"I honestly don't know, Merlin." Arthur started, truly at a lose for words.

"You don't know if you'd execute me? Or you don't know what kind of King you want to be?"

"You know, Merlin, I would almost call you wise." Arthur paused. "Almost." He said after a moments hesitation, a slight wistful smile flitted across his face. "But your a big pain in my ass." He finished.

"Huh. Well? Which one is it?" Merlin huffed, ignoring the Kings light jab, trying his best to hid how much he needed to hear Arthur's answer. Merlin paced back over to Arthur waiting for his answer.

"Both, I think." Arthur sighed. Merlin knelt down on his haunches to listen to him. "My father has always despised magic for as long as I can remember. His hatred of magic inspired a lot of fear, which then turned into panic and later to blood lust for any who had magic or was connected to it. It was like one torch lit after another until there was a serpent of fire that devoured everything decent and innocent until there was no end in sight." Arthur looked over at Merlin. "I don't want to be like my father and rule with fear and hate. I want my people to respect and love me as I do them. So, if you did, Merlin, truly have magic; I would do my best not to judge you to harshly. I would do my best to listen and understand, because you kept it secret for survivals sake; even if you had been lying to me for the last eight years because- because that's what do." He finished slowly, as if the words were dragged from his mouth. Its what family does, is what Arthur really meant but he couldn't admit to that out loud.

"Did you just admit to being my friend?" Merlin smiled slightly to lighten the mood. Arthur shoved him in a rare show of affection, and being the clumsy off he was Merlin fell backwards onto his backside with a exasperated huff. Arthur laughed heartily at his servant, his friend. They really were more like brothers.

Merlin smiled at him and stood up. "Shut up," Arthur snapped with a small smile fighting a light blush. Arthur watched his manservant grab two apples, a small loaf of bread and some cheese from his pack and walk over to Arthur.

Merlin knelt down and gave him half of everything. Merlin wasn't afraid of his King. Not really. But he did fear Arthurs initial reaction. If only Merlin could take what Arthur said as truth, and really believe that it was genuine. He said that now, but what if Arthur really found out about Merlin's magic? What then? All that reasoning would be tossed out the window when Arthur's anger and betrayal come to the surface over the realization that Merlin really had been lying. Merlin started to pace again.

"So, Merlin, what was it you were trying to tell me last night?" Arthur asked, changing the subject. Merlin glanced at him but kept pacing while Arthur leaned back on the tree to rest. "Were you going to tell me what you and Gwain have been up to for the last few weeks, and why you can suddenly wield a sword like a trained Knight. I would really like to know." He joked.

Arthur knew Merlin and Gawain have been practicing, he just didn't think Merlin would be so good at it. He was such a clumsy dolt when he spars with Arthur, and yet when he saw Merlin and Gawain spare he couldn't believe how much Merlin had changed in six years. The gangly, gawky kid was gone and in his place was a tall, thin, but muscular man who had seen some very dark days, and yet that insistently annoying sparkle never left his eyes. Merlin truly looked like he was born to love, born to fight, and be in battle. He was a protector.

Merlin paused and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ah, yes, well, no, actually its, um. " Merlin cleared his throat. Looking around for something, anything to help him find the confidence he needed to tell Arthur what he needed too hear. Only now probably want the right time. "Is now the time to talk about that?" Merlin said, with a small laugh to hid his unease. Arthur watched as Merlin went and sat opposite him, putting the fire between them like a barrier.

Merlin knew he wasn't hiding the fact that Gawain and him have been practicing none stop. They are preparing for the next battle, because it was coming whether or they are prepared and Merlin needed to be able to defend himself and those he loved with more than just his magic. Morgan has been able to block it one too many times for him to just rely on it when it wasn't just his own life on the line, but Arthur's. And Camelot's. But if he told Arthur about his magic he would need to tell him about the Druids and the Prophecies, and right now it would just be a huge distraction when they were in Morgana's territory.

"Why wouldn't it be a good time?" Arthur scoffed, waving his hand for emphasis.

"Because it will be dark soon and- and-I need to collect more fire wood before its to dark!" Merlin said as if it was this great Epiphany.

"Merlin, we have more than enough for now and at least two hour till the sun sets. Spit it out." Arthur scowled.

Merlin huffed and just about blurted out what was already on the tip of his tongue but he stopped himself after a moment's indecision. Now wasn't the right time. However, they were in Morgana's territory and if Merlin didn't tell Arthur now he would eventually find out if Morgana or her men attacked. Still as much as Merlin wanted to he knew it was a dumb idea. No. Now wasn't the time or the place It would distract Arthur to much like he originally thought, and he would lose focus. It could get him hurt, or worse killed.

Sometimes Merlin felt like he was in so much emotional pain he actually physically hurt. But as much as it pained him to kept his secret, he has kept it this long, and he would keep it just a little longer. So instead Merlin got more comfortable across from his King and decided to tell him a story.

"I want to tell you a story." Merlin said after a moments silence. "Something I heard a very long time ago and again the other night. I just wanted to, you know, tell someone, and you were there, drunk as ever, but there." Merlin fidgeted with a small piece of wood in his hands. Turning it around and around between his fingers.

"Okay." Arthur said after a slight pause. "What's it about?"

"The Druids. A King." Merlin paused, unsure, but continued after a short hesitation. "And a Warlock. " Merlin said and shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal, when in fact it meant everything.

Arthur scoffed and looked from the fire back to Merlin. "Merlin what could you possibly know about the druids or even magic?"

More than you could imagine, Merlin muttered mentally, looking up towards the sky as if asking the heavens for help. "It's just a story Arthur,. Are you going to listen or what?" Merlin said softly, the steel undertone went unnoticed by the King, however, as he rolled his eyes and motioned for Merlin to continue. Merlin looked at his king with slightly narrowed eyes. Arthur pressed his lips together to keep from chuckling at Merlin's obvious irritation. Merlin waited for the king nod for him to go on as he contemplated where to begin.

"You know the Druids believe in the Old Religion, right?" Merlin began a little hesitantly.

"Yeah," Arthur grunted. "It, along with magic, was banished not long after I was born."

"You cannot banish the Old Religion- or magic, for that matter." Merlin said, unintentionally coarse, his cobalt eyes snapped to Arthur face. Merlin fought down the flair of anger and the surge of magic.

Arthur was surprised by his manservant's sudden anger. For a second Arthur thought he could see a slight flash of gold in his azure eyes. Arthur shook his head, it must have just been a trick of the fire light.

Merlin glared at the fire as he got his magic under control. He hasn't been able to use his magic in a while and it was getting restless without daily use. He hoped that his eyes didn't betray him. Merlin took a deep breath and continued.

"You can't banish it. It is as constant and steady and strong as the ocean. Nothing could end that unless the world were to end." Merlin said resolutely. He watched Arthur quietly for a short moment before he continued. "The Druids also believe in prophesy." Merlin said. He has wanted to tell Arthur for so long that the words broke loose like water from a dam. "And there is a prophecy that they believe in more than any other, probably because it offers them hope. It says that the Once and Future King and the most powerful Warlock that will ever walk the earth, will create a new land called Albion. The once and future king would create a Kingdom where people with magic no longer need to hide."

"Who is the once and future king?" Arthur asked. Merlin hesitated. Will Arthur receive the information Merlin was giving him?

"That," Merlin cleared his throat. "The Druids believe to be you, Arthur..." Merlin said.

"And who is the Sorcerer?" Arthur asked looking at him, the laughter in his eyes finally snuffed out. All that was left was the King, the warrior, who has won a thousand battles. The Once and Future King.

"You must promise me that you will never repeat what I have told you until the right moment." Merlin asked.

Arthur thought about it for a moment before he nodded his agreement. There was doubt in his eyes, and fear. They mirrored the feeling in Merlin's gut. Doubt because Arthur is his fathers son, but not his fathers deeds, and fear because he knew that the Druids were peaceful people, and they believed in these prophecy's for a reason, because they came true more often that thought possible.

"The Druids call him…Emrys." Merlin confided.

"And what would you or I call him?" Arthur asked.

Why was he finally asking the right questions when Merlin wasn't really ready to give him all the answers.

"I don't think its safe for him if you know, not yet at least." Merlin wanted to answer as truthfully as he could. "I-" Merlin was cut off by movement to his left that drew his attention.

The glint of metal betrayed their presence. A group of men, weapons drawn, moved silent and tactfully down the ravine that bordered their small camp, trickling like water through the scattered trees.

"Saxons." Merlin hissed. He didn't think, he just reacted, assuming they were Morgana's men.

On instinct, Merlin jumped over the fire in one bound. He landed on the balls of his feet just on the other side of the fire. Merlin spared on last fleeting glance to his left and saw that, in fact, they were Morgana's men. He could tell by the white deformed dragon insignia on the chest of their black leather and chain mail armor.