As soon as the announcement of Uther's death the Privy Council was called and Arthur swore the oath of succession which made him King. Announcements were made as tradition. The Privy Council was then informed of the events as much as were known. Arthur then went straight into a meeting with the Commissioner and the Prime Minister.

Morgana was waiting for her brother Arthur to come out of the meeting, it hardly seemed possible that only twelve hours previously they had been sat at their father's bedside, they were now orphans not that that was any miss as far as she could see, but more importantly Merlin was with them once more. But she suddenly had a thought that chilled her to the bone. If Uther hadn't had his heart attack he could have lived for decades, he was after all only fifty two, Merlin could have been kept in that room for another thirty of forty years! Morgana got up and went to the nearest bathroom where she vomited.

Lance, her protection officer who was nearby asked her if she needed help.

"No Lance thank you, I think everything just caught up with me" The pale Princess replied.

Lance arranged for some water to be brought, "I think you should rest ma'am"

"Not until I speak to Prince Arthur, and hopefully Merlin" Morgana insisted she smiled at Lance "Thank you for your support Lance it means a lot"

Inside the meeting Arthur was getting heated he didn't want to wait until morning to make some sort of announcement "The radio and television are full of programmes and such since we announced Uther's death. I think it wrong that the people are mourning a man that they might think differently of once they know the facts. There are people camping out. They deserve to know the truth"

Commissioner Bayard was the next to speak "Sir, whilst I agree with you we need to be careful, we still have two people at large"

"They know the King is dead, and there has been activity at the house, I see no point in delaying" Arthur insisted.

"I think I agree, we could release a statement with some pertinent details for the next news, and promise to make further statements as needed. As we have searches at all the ferries, airports and the tunnel the operation will be leaked at some point."

After reaching a consensus the content was the next to be agreed and then the person to give the announcement. A press conference was called at Windsor they now had less than an hour to get it over with. The plan was to film it then allow Arthur and Morgana to get to the hospital before the news broke. As the couple made arrangement to go to the hospital Arthur rang Gaius Emrys, his step mother's brother and Merlin's uncle and broke the news to him before he heard it on the news. With Agravaine arrested there was no other immediate family to tell. He was not about to ring Agravaine's family, he was sure the police would deal with that.

Once the press were present Arthur was the first to speak, there was to be no opportunity for questions. The world press waiting to hear what they thought would be the new Kings comments on his father's death. Arthur stood at the front of the press, freshly bathed and with a black suit and tie on as expected. As he started to talk a stunned hush hit the room.

"As you know King Uther Pendragon died at eight five am this morning following a major cardiac arrest. My sister and I were at his bedside when he made a deathbed confession, which stunned and saddened us both. Whilst I cannot go into details, as there is now a Police investigation in progress, I can say that following what was said we discovered that our brother Prince Merlin, is still alive, and we will be reunited with him very shortly. We ask that you respect my brother privacy at this time."

Arthur turned and left to walk immediately to an unmarked car and his sister where they were taken to the private hospital to see their brother.

Commissioner Bayard and the Prime Minister took Arthur's place. Bayard spoke next:

"I ask that everyone respects the Royal family's privacy at this time of grief and shock. As to the investigation I will release information as and when I can, but this is a complex and sensitive matter that will require detailed investigation. Some arrests have already been made and we still have two people we are looking for in connection with the case. The Prince had been safely recovered and is receiving a full medical assessment. It would be helpful if undue speculation was resisted."

It was then the PM's turn "The normal business of Parliament was suspended as a mark of respect following the death of King Uther, however we will meet to discuss the implications of the events of today. Flags are flying at half-mast and will remain so. Regardless of what you have heard now, the Royal family is in mourning and we offer our heartfelt sympathy at this time. They will have more emotional trauma in the days ahead and I plead with you all to respect the privacy of the family. As was announced earlier King Arthur has sworn the succession oath and is now King of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. The King is dead, long life the King."

The minute the Prime Minister left the podium the place erupted as the press got their stories out. They had not been allowed to broadcast live, or send out messages to give Arthur and Morgana time to get to the hospital. The radio and televisions all over the world were soon full of the announcement and it wasn't long before all sorts of stories and theories were put forward. Some remarkably close to the truth. Security for the Royal family and the hospital was increased and also for Scotland yard. No leaks were to be permitted.

As Arthur and Morgana arrived at the hospital, the same one that they had been at only that morning, they were greeted by the doctor who was in charge of Merlin examination. Bowing as the couple approached the doctor showed them into a private room and then spoke "Your Majesty's Prince Merlin has been thoroughly examined and appears to be in reasonable health physically. We were asked by the police to check for physical assault and as far as we can establish there has been none, certainly not recently. Although we have yet to speak to him. We have had to heavily sedate him as he was getting very distressed. From what we have been able to ascertain he has been unused to people, probably only having minimal contact. We also suspect he has not been out of the room he was found in. In the morning we will allow him to waken and we have a team of highly qualified specialist phycologists and a psychiatrist who will assess his mental health. I am sorry we have so little to offer you" he hesitated "We have also taken a quantity of blood tests and others body fluids to check, one of which was a DNA as the police need to confirm his identity. Using DNA for your father we can confirm he is your brother, but if at all possible we would like to take DNA from the Princess to confirm his mother's line. We do realise it is highly unlikely not to match, as the patient has scar lines from his previous surgery" Morgana immediately agreed and a swab was taken there and then.

"Can we see him?" Arthur asked

"Yes but he is as I said sedated, we would like him to remain very calm so could you not speak to him, or even touch him, hard as that might be for you, the stress has already cause two more seizures"

Arthur and Morgana were shown into a room where they could see a figure in the bed. Walking closer they looked at their brother for the first time in sixteen years. They could tell, even covered as he was, that he was very slender. He had very pale skin and almost black hair, his eyes were closed and he looked peaceful and almost ethereal. Arthur could see his pronounced cheekbones and looking carefully he could see the small boy he once knew and loved. Morgana gasped at his side "It's him Arthur I know it is"

Arthur held is sister as it really began to sink in, they had their brother back. "It is Morgs, I just pray he will be alright"

"We'll make sure he is, we have sixteen years of love to catch up on, I don't think I ever want to let him out of my sight again"

They stood just looking at their brother until they were led out by the doctor. The door shut behind them "I understand that it would be best if you stayed the night, the press have arrived in droves. We have rooms for you both, also that way you can be there in the morning. We will discharge the Prince as soon as he is deemed fit, the mental health team have already said it would be best if he was him his home environment as soon as practical. He won't be used to lots of people he doesn't know, with his own room he can begin to settle and rebuild his life. Also he would be ensured complete privacy"

Arthur was pleased to hear the news but also realised it would be a hard road. "Of course, before we left I arranged for his suite to be cleaned and made ready."

Arthur and Morgana were exhausted and retired as soon as they could, they had stressful days ahead.