AN: *Smashed head into wall repeatedly* This- was not- supposed- to be- so-damn- LONG. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SHORT DAMMIT! But NOOO it just kept going and going and going and GOING! I literally cut the last chapter in half because it was getting this long what the heck?! Half of what happened in this chapter was unplanned or not supposed to happen yet! WHY DOES THIS STORY INSIST ON WRITING ITSELF SO MUCH?! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE AUTHOR *Cough cough RICHARD* STOP WRITING YOURSELF YOU BASTARD! IF YOU KEEP WRITING YOURSELF I SWEAR I'LL STRANGLE YOU.

Richard: *smirking* "no you won't you love me too much."

Me: "WHY YOU SMUG SON OF A- *lunges at him*

Gwaine: *Grabs me and holds me back* Calm down, calm down you like Richard remember?

Me: *tries in vain to reach Richard, hands out to strangle him* Just let me at him!

Richard: *looking worried* Uh- maybe we should end this author's note now.

*Merlin POV*

Merlin quietly worked on the rest of the patients with Sir Oswald and Sir Alaric, ignoring their questioning and worried glances. He cursed himself for making such a stupid mistake and letting them see the scars. He had hoped the scars from when Morgana had captured him would have healed but they never had. Merlin was just grateful that they hadn't seen any more of his scars, otherwise Merlin was sure they would never leave him alone. When Merlin finished taking care of the patients on the ground he went over to Richard who was talking to several knights. Seeing him, he quickly ended the conversation and walked over to him.

"Sire," he said, bowing slightly. "You weren't hurt in the fight were you? I would have checked on you earlier but you seemed to be fine and quite busy." Merlin shook his head.

"No, I wasn't wounded, were you?" Richard looked at him, his expression knowing.

"Then why is your arm bleeding?" he asked, pointing towards Merlin's right arm where the crossbow bolt had grazed by him. Merlin looked at it in surprise.

"Oh, I didn't even notice it." He said, furrowing his brow as he looked at it. Richard sighed and shook his head.

"I figured as much, I'll get Sir Oswald so he can clean it and bandage it." He said, moving to go to the knight but Merlin stopped him.

"No, I'll be fine, I can do it myself." Richard looked at him doubtfully.

"With one hand? No, you need someone to help." He said, shaking his head, a sad expression took over his face then "You're not alone anymore Merlin, you can ask for help, there is no shame in needing it. You don't need to hide anymore" Merlin looked at him, seeming to debate what to do. Finally, he nodded.

"But not until after we set up camp, it's too late to make it to Aria tonight, we'll go in the morning." Richard nodded in agreement.

"I sent someone to look for somewhere to camp while you were tending to the wounded, there is a clearing a little ways into the woods, its large enough for us to camp there, and those with minor wounds can be taken care of there." Merlin nodded, before turning to Richard, his expression filled with worry.

"How many did we lose?" He asked and Richard needed no clarification before shaking his head and answering.

"Seven men, Four soldiers and 3 knights."

"Five soldiers." Merlin corrected. "One of the wounded didn't make it." Richard sighed but nodded and the two watched silently as the Arian soldiers cleared the dead enemies out of the way. Suddenly they heard shouting and the sound of swords being drawn, Richard hastily drew his own weapon as he and Merlin ran towards the noise. When they reached the scene several knights stood around a form laying on the ground. It was one of his uncle's men.

The man had a crossbow bolt sticking out of his abdomen, blood was seeping past the wound and as Merlin drew closer he saw that the man was shaky and pale, only getting paler by the second. Looking at the wound Merlin noted that by its location it had most likely hit the abdominal aorta, a large blood vessel that came directly from the heart. The only reason the man was even still alive was that the bolt blocked the artery from bleeding out. Judging by the amount of blood around him the man had only a few minutes left in this world, given the relatively slow pace at which he was bleeding out; should Merlin remove it, the dying soldier would bleed out in seconds. Despite this being one of the men who had just tried to kill him, Merlin felt a pang of guilt at not being able to save him.

"Well well, if it isn't the boy king." The man growled as Merlin walked up, stopping beside him. One of the knights glared at him, digging the tip of his sword into the man's neck slightly.

"He is our prince, Our king is-"

"Dead," Merlin said, cutting him off "My father, your king, is dead." As much as Merlin hated his men finding out like this he wouldn't lie to them. Shock, grief, and anger, sometimes even resignation showed on the faces around him. "The question is however, how did you know that?" he said crouching beside the man. The man laughed and spit blood into Merlin's face, the knight dug the blade even further into the man's neck, causing a small stream of blood to appear.

"How dare you?!" The man yelled, his face beet red in his fury, he opened his mouth to rant more but Merlin cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Enough, this man doesn't have enough time left for you to yell at him. Now tell me, how did you know that my father is dead? The only ones who know that are the ones I have told. Does my uncle know?" The man just glared at him in response, Merlin noticed that the soldier's breathing was becoming labored, his breaths increasingly rapid and shallow. "Tell me!" he said, pressing for more information, the man didn't have long and if Merlin wanted answers he would need to get them before the oxygen deprivation started to affect his cognition, and it wouldn't be long now.

"I'll- n-never," the man's breathing was even shallower now and he began blinking rapidly, as if trying to clear his vision. "I- I'll nver," his eyelids began drooping as his speech became slurred. "I'll never- tell yuanfing" the man's speech fell into incoherent blabbering and Merlin sighed, the man would no longer be able to answer any questions. He looked at the bolt and knew what he had to do. With the bolt still in it would take at least another minute or two for the man to die, and he would no doubt die in agony. Wrapping his hand around the bolt Merlin gave the man the only mercy he could and wrenched the object out. Blood began pouring forth from the wound, and within a matter of seconds, the man was dead.

Merlin stood up and looked at the men standing around him, looking at him in shock. He sighed, he really didn't want to face these men right now, not after what they had just learned, but he knew that the longer he delayed it the worse it would be. By now most of the Arian soldiers and knights had gathered around and all of them had been caught up on the events by their comrades. He looked at the expectant faces and fear seized him, for a second he felt as if he couldn't breathe but when he saw Richard step closer and knew that the older knight was there he felt his fear and anxiety ease and he knew exactly what to say. He felt as if Arthur guided him and told him exactly what to say, he called to his mind the speeches Arthur had given to his own men and prayed that his would be half as good as the Once and Future King's.

"I know that for many years you have all been waiting for me and my father to return. I understand what you are all feeling right now, for I have felt it too. You feel sorrow, anger, and maybe even betrayal. But I will tell you this, my father did not desert you, he did not desert Aria. When I found him he had finally healed from his wounds, and was returning to Aria. Many of you are likely wondering how he died, well I will tell you. He died saving my life." Merlin felt a lump form in his throat at the painful memories but swallowed it down and continued. "Me and a dear friend of mine found him many years ago when we needed his aid, while traveling we were attacked by Cenred's men, one of them was about to kill me when my father saved my life. That was 5 years ago." Merlin paused to let this sink in and murmurs swept through the men, he let them whisper for a few seconds before continuing.

"Many of you are now wondering why I had not returned to Aria sooner, unfortunately I cannot give you that answer. But I assure you I had a valid reason and you will know the truth when it is time. For now I want you all to know that no matter what happens I will not desert Aria, I will stand beside you and fight with you, die with you." Merlin's voice was louder now, commanding and regal. "I will not let my traitorous Uncle win this war, even if it is at the cost of my own life. I will happily die for Aria and her people. I cannot promise you that in the fight to come you will all live, as you have seen today that is not the case. What I can promise you is that I will fight with you every step of the way, that I will lead you to the best of my ability and that I will not let my father's legacy die, I will not let the men who have died in this war have died in vain. And when the dust settles and the war is over, those who have survived will be able to rebuild Aria to her former glory. I do not promise gold, glory, or power. I promise freedom from the tyranny of my Uncle, freedom for our families, our women and children, and freedom for all of you." Merlin let silence take over for a minute. " Who among you will stand with me? Who among you will fight for freedom, for Aria?!" he called, his voice ringing in the air.

He was met with silence for several seconds before Sir Alaric drew his sword and lifted it into the air, the metal ringing as it left the sheath.

"Long live the King!" he roared, his call was quickly answered as the rest of the men drew their weapons and copied his actions, repeating the call. Merlin felt pride and joy swell in his heart at the sight and out of the corner of his eye saw that Richard and the rest of his knights had joined in the call.

"Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!"

-Line Break-LB: YEAH LONG LIVE THE KING WHOOP!- AN: No, not you-LB: Aww :(*pouts*-

At the camp site that night Sir Alaric managed to pull Sir James aside.

"Hello Alaric." The twin grinned at him, "It's good to see you again."

"What took so long, you were supposed to be back a week ago." The knight frowned.

"We ran into some," the knight hesitated "issues." He finished and Alaric narrowed his eyes at him.

"What do you mean issues?"

James shrugged in response, "That's not for me to say, if you want to know ask Merlin." He responded and Alaric rolled his eyes.

"I can't simply waltz up to the king and demand to know what took so long." He exclaimed, exasperated. James shrugged again and Alaric considered punching his face in but quickly dismissed the idea, the king had enough injured to deal with without Alaric adding another broken nose to the mix.

"Then it seems like you won't get an answer." He relied, nonchalantly. Alaric wondered if maybe just one more broken nose would really hurt all that much. A broken nose shouldn't take too long to heal, right?

*Merlin POV*

Merlin was quietly bandaging one of the soldier's arms, the man had been wounded by a sword during the fight but the wound was minor enough that it was able to wait. The man was the last of those who received minor wounds and Merlin was grateful of that fact, he was exhausted and simply wanted to sleep. The soldier seemed rather uncomfortable at being healed by his king and thus remained silent through the process, exactly like all the men before him. Merlin had at first tried to make small talk but when that failed miserably, the men uncomfortable with being on such familiar ground with their king, he ended up working in silence. When Merlin's nimble fingers finally finished wrapping the man's arm he sent him away, the man bowed and thanked him before leaving. Merlin began cleaning up the loose bandages and packing them away.

"Your speech was very inspiring my lord." Merlin heard a voice behind him say. Merlin turned and saw Sir Richard standing there. The large knight walked over and sat beside him and stared into the fire for several long seconds, the two were each thinking of the future, the war, and Merlin's future reign. "You will make a great king Merlin." The knight said, Merlin understood that by using his name Richard was talking to him as a friend, not as a subordinate. Merlin sighed as he turned to face the man.

"I hope so, I hope that I am able to live up to my father's legacy and I hope that I will be able to lead Aria to victory."

"If anyone can do it, it is you. In the time that we have been traveling together I have seen that you have grown to be one of the kindest, wisest, and strongest men I know. I don't know what happened to you in Camelot, I don't know how you got your scars but what I do know is that you've been through hell and back yet you are still such a good man. I can see the pain of the things you've faced in your eyes, when you think no one's looking I've seen it. Yet when most men would have shut the world out and turned to hatred you only grew kinder. I heard a saying once and I thought I knew what it meant, but seeing you now I know that it was said about men like you. 'The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone suffer the way they do.'" Richard quoted, still staring into the fire, finished he turned to the young king. "You are the kindest person I have ever met, you smile brighter than anyone I have ever seen and you are wise far beyond your years, there is no doubt in my mind that you are going to be the best king Aria has ever seen."

Merlin looked back at him, tears in his eyes. "Thank you" he said, his voice hoarse from trying not to cry, he opened his mouth to say more but the lump in his throat wouldn't allow him to say anymore. Instead he reached over and hugged the older man. Richard seemed startled at first but gently returned the hug, holding the younger man in his arms for a second. Richard glared at any knight or soldier who gave them weird looks, his expression making them pale and hurry away. Owen, Nathan and the twins were off somewhere with the knights of Camelot hunting for something to eat for dinner.

"Now," Richard broke the silence as Merlin pulled away "let's get that arm taken care of. Didn't think I would forget did you?" Merlin laughed out loud and nodded before pulling the bandages and salve out again. "Take off your shirt." Richard ordered and Merlin looked at him hesitantly before glancing around at the camp of knights and soldiers, reluctant to let them see his scars, because while Merlin's fire was a little ways away from the others, they would still see the scars. "They're going to find out eventually, besides do you think they don't all have their fair share of scars as well?" Merlin sighed but nodded reluctantly, there was no reason to hide his scars, they told his story and to deny his story was to deny himself, and he refused to do so any longer.

Pulling his shirt off over his head, he felt the stares immediately. He noticed several knights freeze at the sight and several soldiers looked like they were going to puke. "Uh Richard?" he said hesitantly and the knight, who had been inspecting the young king's arm turned to him expectantly.

"Yes?" he questioned, his voice vaguely annoyed as he really just wanted to treat the wound. Merlin motioned towards the gawking men. Richard growled before shouting at the men "Stop gawking you fools, you've seen scars before this is no different!" Immediately the men flushed in embarrassment before going back to whatever task they had been taking care of, occasionally casting worried or curious glances in their direction. When Sir Robert was walking by and saw the scars however he stopped what he was doing and walked over to the two.

"Sire," he said, bowing deeply when he reached the edge of the campfire. Richard continued to silently work on Merlin's arm, seeming to not notice the other knight, in truth he was watching him out of the corner of his eye, Merlin looked at Robert expectantly. "I came over to apologize. I acted rashly today, I was blinded by my hatred for Camelot and didn't think clearly, my actions cost the lives of good men and I beg your forgiveness." He said, dropping to one knee as he finished, bowing his head in submission. Merlin inspected the knight as he thought of how to reply.

"You are right Sir Robert, your actions were rash and they did cost the lives of those men." Merlin replied bluntly. This still kneeling knight winced at the words but remained silent. "I do not know why you turned to anger and hatred, I do not know what you went through in the years that I have been gone, but nothing excuses attacking innocent men. If those knights had been traveling alone, would you have attacked and killed them without stopping? Because I believe you would have." Robert's silence was answer enough to his question and Merlin pressed on. "What if King Arthur had decided to free magic and those knights had come to Aria to attempt to make a treaty?" he asked and Robert scoffed quietly but Merlin caught it. "If you have something to say, say it." He ordered calmly, doing his best to hide the rage that welled up in him.

"Forgive me sire but King Arthur would never free magic, he is his father's son. Magic will never be free in Camelot as long as he reigns." Merlin did his best to not allow his emotions to show on his face. Fortunately, the knight's head was still bowed and he didn't see the pained expression that crossed the king's face, but Richard did. Merlin composed himself again before speaking.

"You do not know that, you do not know King Arthur. You do not know his heart, his mind, his soul. And yes, he is his father's son in many ways but he is also different in many more ways. Already his reign is much different than his fathers. Already he has made decisions that his father would never dream of making. He is a good king and a great man, I have faith that he will see reason eventually." Merlin said passionately, defending his friend, and speaking his heart. "Now stand up, it's about time I tended to that broken nose." Richard, who had finished the bandage on the King's arm mere moments ago, blushed slightly at that, embarrassed that he had lost control. Robert stood and walked to Merlin, kneeling again when he reached the seated king. "This is going to hurt." Merlin warned but the older man just gave him a nod to continue and Merlin reached forward, ignoring the fact that Robert was now staring at the scars on his chest and arms. Merlin quickly snapped the nose back in place and Robert cried out slightly, then Merlin laid his hand on the swollen nose and whispered several words in the Old Religion and his eyes glowed gold as the nose began repairing itself. Merlin nodded to Robert and the man stood up and took a step back.

Merlin heard a gasp behind him and turned to see Gwaine standing there, staring at his back in shock, when Merlin turned he exposed his chest, allowing the brunet to see the scars there as well. Gwaine gasped again. Leon came up behind him and looked at the roguish knight in confusion, curious why he stopped, Leon followed his gaze until his eyes landed on Merlin, the blond dropped the rabbit he was carrying in shock as he stared at the warlock. Merlin scrambled to put his shirt on but by the time he did the others had come up and seen the scars as well. Gwaine was the first to break the impending awkward silence.

"Merlin mate," he murmured, "what- what happened to you." Merlin, who was now standing looked at them all nervously. Robert stood nearby expectantly, wanting an answer to the question as well.

"Well-um- I" he stuttered, unsure how to tell them the truth. A few more seconds of stuttering later and Merlin sagged in defeat. "I guess it's time to tell you all the final secret I've been keeping, everyone will find out when we reach Aria anyway, there's no point in making it a surprise. You will all be wanting to sit down for this." He said and everyone nodded in agreement, as everyone moved to sit around the fire he noticed that Sir Alaric was standing with James, he nodded to the knight and the man nodded back respectfully.

Once there were all seated around the fire and the rabbits the knights had caught were cooking over the fire, Merlin began.

"Have any of you heard of the prophesy of Emrys and the Once and Future King?" he asked looking at everyone around the fire though directing his question to his own knights as they were more likely to have heard of them, but to everyone's surprise it was Percival who answered.

"Emrys is supposed to be the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth, and he is supposed to guide and protect the Once and Future King, who is supposed to unite all of Albion." He answered and everyone turned to him, shocked, Percival simply shrugged at the looks. "like I said, the druids took me in once my family was killed, they told me the prophecies but I thought them just fairy tales." Merlin nodded.

"Many people do." He answered, still shocked that Percival knew the prophesies. "However, I can tell you the truth, the prophesies are real." He said and before he could go on Alaric spoke.

"How do you know?" he asked, curiosity filling his voice. Merlin smiled at him before answering.

"Because, I am Emrys."

AN: Well then. That chapter was… unexpected. Lets play a game! Its called: all of the things that happened in this chapter that were unplanned or not supposed to happen yet!

1. The enemy soldier who died was not supposed to exist

2. the whole oh the enemy soldier knows that Merlin is a king and that Balinor is dead was not supposed to happen yet.

3. Merlin's speech was not supposed to happen

4. Richard's speech was not supposed to happen P.S. with the thing he quoted that is not mine that is from an anonymous source, you can find it online

5. Everyone seeing Merlin's scars

6. Alaric finding out about Merlin being Emrys

It was also supposed to be longer but I decided to cut the chapter off at 3,859 words, longest chapter yet, whoop! I hope you all enjoyed. Also shout out to my older sister who helped me out with the wound and the symptoms, she told me about the aorta and what would happen so yeah thanks sister! Please review they mean so much! Almost at 200! Also the thing y'all were supposed to guess in the last chapter was that the enemy soldiers knew the truth, go back and read it you'll catch it this time I'm sure.