Alright I'm back again! Ok first let me just say if you have never been to the Grand Canyon you should go, if you have been go again. Pictures do not do it justice and a couple of the viewing sites have places you can hike down into it and it is so much fun, make sure you bring plenty of water and sunscreen though. I didn't know skin could turn that color from a sunburn… I look like Neapolitan ice cream cause I am burned, pale where my tank top covered and then just tan, it's pretty amusing to be honest. ANYWAY! One scence in a few chapters was written while I was watching the sunset over the Grand Canyon! SO new chapter, I would like to give a shout out to all the wonderful people who reviewed my last chapter and especially to Leana Nas and JoanneSBlack for names for knights and lords! Enjoy!

When Merlin woke the next morning, he looked over to see the slumbering form of Sir Richard on the floor. He smiled to himself as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and made his way to the door. He would be surprised that he was able to sneak past Richard if it weren't for the years of practice he had from sneaking through the castle in Camelot and through the woods. He slipped out the door and soon found himself sitting at the table that the group had eaten as last night. He was soon lost in thought and was only shaken from his thoughts when Richard sat down next to him.

"Good morning." He said cheerfully. Richard frowned at him.

"Why are you up this early? And how did you get out of the room without waking me?" he asked, concern written on his face.

"I guess I'm just used to waking up this early to get the clot-pole his breakfast before I wake him, he's gets grumpy when he doesn't eat. I do hope George is feeding him properly." Merlin worried, Richard interrupted him.

"And how did you get out of the room without waking me?" he repeated his question.

"I suppose I'm just quiet enough, I've had plenty of practice after all." He said, shrugging. Before Richard could ask when he had this practice Percival came down and greeted the two with a silent nod as he sat at the table, he was quickly followed by a slightly hungover Gwaine. Richard sighed as he filed his question away with the rest of the things he needed to ask Merlin. Soon the entire group was sitting around the table, both Owen and Gwaine slightly hungover, only slightly even though they had both ended at 8 tankards of ale last night. They would have kept going but Richard had put his foot down saying that they had a long day in the morning.

The Inn keeper brought their food over and hesitated, seeing unsure of himself.

"What is it?" Richard asked, eyeing the man warily.

"Sorry sir, I was just, well I was just wondering." The man seemed nervous as the group all turned their eyes to him. "Well you see we're just a small village and only a day's ride away from the city, so we hear lots of rumors you see and well I was wondering, well really the whole village is wondering- "

"Out with it." Growled Owen and the man gulped before continuing.

"I – er we wanted to know if the rumors are true," he blurted out, everyone looked at him in confusion "is the prince really returning? Are you all one of the groups that went to search for him?" he asked, eagerly. Merlin paled and Richard's face turned to stone, Owen glared at the man and the others simply forced their faces to go expressionless.

"That is a matter of state," Richard said coldly. "If there is an announcement to the public then I am sure you will hear of it. Thank you for your hospitality but I believe it is time for us to take our leave." He finished, rising from his seat as the others did the same.

The group quickly packed what they had brought and saddled the horses, no one spoke as they left the small village behind.

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When George quietly and gently woke Arthur the next day he and Guinevere got ready in silence, George helped him into his armor and after securing the cape around his shoulders, asked if the young king needed anything else and upon hearing that no he was fine left. Arthur stood there awkwardly for a minute while trying to decide what to say.

"If Merlin returns while I'm gone tell him I said to aid Gaius in whatever he needs until I return." He said, deciding to avoid the heavy conversation. Guinevere looked at him in confusion.

"Wait, wouldn't he be returning with you and the Knights?" Arthur looked at her, confused.

"No, he's gone to Ealdor to help Hunith, she fell ill a few weeks ago." Arthur said, a feeling of dread growing in his stomach, Guinevere frowned.

"Are you sure? I received a letter from Hunith just yesterday, she's doing quite well and asked if Merlin was eating enough. I assumed Merlin went to Aria with the knights." She said, worried.

"But he told me that- "Arthur cut himself off as realization dawned on his face, his face turned stormy. "I'm going to kill him." He growled.

"Now Arthur" Gwen said, trying to placate the blond. "I'm sure he just wanted to help."

"It's not his place to help" Arthur growled. "And he lied to me, I'm going to throw him in the stocks for a month for this." He said, grabbing his sword, suddenly there was a knock at the door that cut off Gwen who was no doubt about to say something in Merlin's defense. Arthur opened the door and saw Sir Bedivere standing there, fully armored and ready to go.

"Sire," he said bowing "The horses are saddled and the men are waiting for you." He reported.

"I'll be there in just a minute." He said, dismissing the knight, Bedivere nodded before bowing to Guinevere and then leaving.

"I have to go," he said, turning to his wife. She nodded gently.

"Just be careful Arthur, and give Merlin a chance to explain." She said walking over to him. He nodded before pulling her into a hug and giving her a deep kiss on the lips.

"I love you." He said softly as he pulled her in and rested his chin on her head.

"I love you too." She replied, turning her head so she was resting against Arthur's chest. They stood like that for several seconds before finally Arthur pulled away and the two walked out of their room to the courtyard. When they got to the courtyard he kissed her gently on the lips. He turned and walked down the steps before mounting his horse that one of his knights had been holding steady. Twenty of his best knights were mounted around the courtyard waiting for Arthur's signal. As he turned his horse towards the gates he glanced back one more time and looked at Gwen. He smiled in pride at her, standing there surrounded by knights, she looked like a queen, Arthur knew she would be fine if something happened to him. With this thought in mind he turned and unknowingly began the most life changing quest he had ever faced.

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*Merlin POV*

As the group got closer and closer to their destination Merlin watched as Richard began to look increasingly worried and tense.

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, urging his horse forward so it was in pace with the older man. Richard shook his head.

"It's strange," he replied, "We haven't run into any patrols yet, normally we would have by now." Merlin frowned as well.

"Do you think we're in danger?"

"Perhaps, we should be on guard just in case" Merlin nodded before chuckling.

"You're always on guard Richard" The Knight smiled weakly back, telling Merlin that he was extremely worried. "I'll tell the others, I'm sure we'll be fine." He reassured, Richard simply nodded silently, eyes once again going over the terrain to check for any danger. Merlin let his horse fall behind and began telling the others to stay on guard. Finally, Merlin was riding next to Gwaine in the back and began chatting next to him, soon enough it turned into tavern stories from Gwaine and the two were laughing uproariously. As evening drew closer the temperature began dropping and Merlin pulled a cloak from his bag and wrapped it around himself, pulling up his hood for added warmth.

The closer they got to Aria the quieter Merlin became, he reminded the others to address him as a prince not as a king once they reached the city so that no one knew of Balinor's death until he was ready to tell them. After spreading that message Merlin pulled his signet ring out of his pocket and stared at it. He had carried this precious ring with him for the past ten years, now it was finally time to wear it again. He slipped the ring onto his hand and it glowed as it refitted itself to his now larger fingers. He smiled slightly as the charm on the ring worked, the ring was made so that he would never outgrow it and it could always adjust to the size of his finger.

Other than reminding the others to not let the secret of his father's death slip Merlin mostly remained silent, nervous about the upcoming conversations and events. Gwaine eventually got tired of Merlin being quiet and began telling Merlin more of his tavern stories, making the young Warlock forget his worries and soon the two were laughing and swapping stories and jokes. After some time everyone but Richard had joined in and laughter filled the air as stories, jokes, and pranks were swapped.

*Robert POV*

Sir Robert crouched in the bushes, waiting for the Camelot knights to arrive to the trap he had set. Suddenly there was a tapping on his shoulder and he whirled around to see the scout he had sent to survey the group. The man was red from running but looked panicked.

"What is it?" he asked, worried.

"Sir." The man panted. "It's not just Knights of Camelot, Sir Richard and his men are with them." The knight swore and ran a hand through his hair. He had 30 men waiting to attack the group, some of them knights. If what this scout said was true, then he had to not only manage to stop the attack in time but he would look like a fool. He cursed again.

"What's wrong?" a new voice asked and Robert whirled around to see one of the younger knights, Sir Alaric.

"Apparently that foolish villager told us the wrong thing, Sir Richard and his party are with the Camelot knights. Still, I refuse to allow any Knight of Camelot to step foot in my city." The older knight growled, the younger man looked at him in alarm.

"What if they are here to help?" he questioned. "And what of the last man, could he truly be the prince?" Robert scoffed.

"No Knight of Camelot would help a kingdom like Aria, they are more likely here to spy or something as equally as low." He growled. The younger Knight scowled at him.

*Mixed POV*

"And what of the other man?" he asked, angry now. Could the older knight truly be so stupidly stubborn?

"Could be a servant, I don't particularly care, if it were the prince then Richard would have sent word ahead that he was found so that reinforcements could help escort him." He reasoned, nodding to himself because surely his prince wouldn't travel with any Knight of Camelot. "Still we can't attack our own, we will block the road and force the Camelot Knights to turn around." He decided.

The younger Knight looked at him, frustration written across his face but said nothing, Robert was his senior, therefore his superior and so he remained silent. He was thankful that the man had at least decided not to attack.

"Go to the other group tell them that instead of attacking they are to block the road and surround the group, no one is to attack unless I give the order." He said, turning to the scout, the man nodded before running across the road after checking that no one coming down the road would see him. Robert then turned to the younger knight beside him. "Pass the word on this side." He ordered and the young man quickly hurried off to do so.

It was another 30 minutes before the group arrived, though they heard their approach before that. Robert was stunned at the laughter that drifted from the group, several of them he recognized as the men with Richard others he assumed were from the enemy knights. He grit his teeth angrily. How could any self-respecting Arian Knight be so friendly with a Knight of Camelot? Finally, the group can into view and Robert noticed that Richard was the only one that wasn't joining in on the camaraderie but instead seemed tense and wary, perhaps Richard did have enough sense to not trust the Camelot knights. Watching the group, he noted that the Arian Knights and the Camelotian Knights all seemed to congregate around the figure with the hood, the man who had assumed was a servant. However, there was no time to dwell on this because at that moment the group reached the point that meant it was time to attack. And so, he did.

*MERLIN POV*

Merlin was laughing happily with the others when suddenly he felt something in his gut. He only ever felt this when danger was near. He stopped laughing and looked around in fear, the others looked at him in confusion but before he could explain men came pouring out of the woods on either side of them, swords and crossbows at the ready. At the front of the group, Richard drew his sword as his horse reared at the unexpected people. The other knights immediately followed suit and Merlin felt his magic well up in him, he quickly picked a target and was about to shout a spell when he realized something. These men were all wearing his colors.

All of the men were wearing his colors, blue and silver. Some of them appeared to be foot soldiers while about ten of them appeared to be knights, wearing chainmail and armor, blue cape draped across their backs with his family seal sewed onto the back of them. The soldiers wore chain mail and armor as well though they wore royal blue tunics draped over their armor with the seal sewed onto the front.

Looking back to his friends he saw that his Knights were looking at each other in anger and confusion while his friends from Camelot were simply looking ready to attack. The group surrounded him protectively and Merlin realized that the attackers had trapped them in, creating a ring around them and blocking any chance of an exit. One of the knights at the front walked forward. The man had short dirty blond hair streaked with gray, similar to Richard. Merlin vaguely recognized him but couldn't quite place him, that is until Richard spoke.

"What is the meaning of this Robert?" The Head Knight growled, finally regaining control of his horse. Merlin recognized him then, this was Sir Robert, one of the knights that was almost always with his father and assigned to the king's protection.

"I could ask you the same thing, Sir Richard." The knight said coldly. "How dare you bring Camelot Knights to Aria." Richard glared at him and Merlin couldn't help but wonder what had happened to drive the two apart, the two had been good friends before everything went wrong. "They will not be allowed to pass into Aria." It was at that moment that Merlin remembered that he was wearing a hood that obscured his features, making him anonymous, he decided to take advantage of this.

"Why?" he asked coldly, nudging his horse forward, the others reluctantly let him pass. He looked down at the older man, frowning. The knight scowled up at him as he answered.

"They are Knights of Camelot, many of our people are refugees from The Great Purge, people that those bastards would happily burn alive without a second thought." He said, glaring at said knights with pure hatred. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, turning his hate filled gaze back to Merlin "Some servant for those scumbags?" he asked, gripping his sword tighter. Everyone is Merlin's party bristled at the insults, several of them looked ready to kill the knight with their bare hands, and if looks could kill the man would be dead nine times over already. Merlin spoke before they could do anything however.

"And under whose authority do you ban the Knights of Camelot? You don't even know what they are doing here, perhaps they have come to aid you in your war." Merlin said, ignoring the man's questions.

The Knight scoffed "No Knight of Camelot would aid anyone with magic let alone an entire kingdom that accepted it. As to where I get my authority, I am a Knight of Aria I am sworn to protect this kingdom and her people with my life, that should be authority enough." Merlin raised an eyebrow, not that the man could see it.

"Oh? Well, Sir Richard is a Knight of Aria as well is he not? And he seems to accept the Knights of Camelot, and is he not of higher rank than you? Is he not the Head Knight of Aria?" Merlin questioned, hurling the questions faster than the older knight could really think. The knight glared at him and raised his sword up at him, despite Merlin being on a horse and him not, immediately Richard dismounted and made his way to Robert, sword still drawn, an angry expression on his face. Merlin flung out his hand towards Richard and the older man stopped, shock showed on the faces of the men around them. One young knight, in particular, seemed to realize just who he was and went white. Unfortunately for Robert, he didn't seem to notice any of this instead he simply glared up at the prince.

"Who the hell are you and how do you know so much?" he asked, fury filling his voice.

"I believe I asked you a question first." Merlin said, knowing full well that technically Robert had asked who he was first. This seemed to anger the knight further.

"I am going to ask you one more time and then I am going to pull you down and gut you." He said, brandishing his sword at Merlin. Merlin finally decided it was time to reveal himself, he had seen what he wanted to, he had seen exactly what kind of man Sir Robert had become. "Who. The. Hell. Are. You?" He growled out each word, Richard stormed forward and grabbed him, yanking the other knight back from the horse by the back of his tunic before swinging his fist into the other man's face, Merlin heard a sickening crunching sound and knew the knight's nose had to be broken. Richard then lunged at the man ripping his sword away from him and throwing it to the ground some feet away before yanking the man towards him, his own sword positioned under Roberts throat.

"Enough Richard," Merlin said. Richard looked up at him and seemed like he was about to ignore the order before he finally released the other knight and stepped off to the side, sword still in his hand. Robert looked at Richard in rage and confusion as his hand flew to his nose, he then looked back at Merlin, blood pouring from his nose. By now many of the knights surrounding them and some of the guards had realized who he was and had laid down their weapons. Robert looked at them, furious.

"What are you doing you fools?!" he yelled. Merlin answered for them.

"I believe," he said coolly lifting his hand to his hood, his signant ring flashing in the light of the dying sun as he did so "that they have finally realized who I am." He finished, pulling his hood back and revealing his face. Robert paled as an expression of shock and disbelief spread across his face, his hand falling to his side, his broken nose forgotten.

AN: IMPORTANT PLEASE READ

Hey guys! Thank you all so so much for reading! I was wondering what y'all thought of a side fanfciction in which you all would learn about Richard's side of the story? If I wrote this you would be able to learn what happened after little Merlin had to flee, you would learn how Balinor was wounded and how Richard got his scar. You would find out in detail what happened between Robert and Richard and you would see not only glimpses of the Knights of Aria hiding out but also the taking back of the Castle and more details on the search for Merlin. What do y'all think? I don't want to write it if no one will read it so please review and tell me what you think about that idea and this chapter! Again thank you all so much for reading, I will update soon!

P.S. Did you all see that punch from Richard coming? Cause I did not, it was a surprise when I wrote it XD. Sometimes characters just take over and write themselves, Richard seems to like to do that a lot, Owen does as well…