What is this? An early(ish) update? Well, really, it's just because I won't have time later, so I thought I'd do it now instead of making you wait.

Again, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, read, story alerted, favorited, ect! It means the world to me to see how popular this story has become. I love reading all the reviews and getting your feedback! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last ones!

Merlin TV show and characters (c) BBC and their respective actors.

Merlin looked down, watching the glowing orb roll around his hands as he played with it. Telling Arthur about the Lady Helen episode, in his own words, made it easier to talk about the other times he had saved the prince's life. It hadn't felt like bragging, it hadn't even seemed all that perilous; it was simply, finally, just telling the truth. "Well," he responded slowly, "remember when you were fighting Valiant and the snakes on his shield came to life?"

"Yeah. He seemed surprised, like he didn't expect it to happen."

The raven-haired warlock grinned. "That's because he didn't."

Arthur looked at his friend, amused. "You?"

Merlin nodded, "Yeah. I stayed up all night practicing the – the spell," he stuttered (it still felt strange to speak openly of his powers), before continuing, "on one of the stone dogs from the courtyard. I got it, just in time to run out and animate the snakes."

The prince hated to admit it, but he was impressed. "You stayed up all night and still managed to save my butt? Not bad," he commented, only a tad grudgingly.

Merlin grinned at the praise, but it turned into a grimace as he recalled the rest of the incident. "Yeah. 'Course, then I had to deal with that darn dog when I was dead tired. That thing was vicious!"

The young Pendragon couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. The warlock's face instantly turned thunderous and pouty, which only made Arthur laugh harder.

"But it was vicious!" protested Merlin. "Look, it bit me and left a scar!" He held out his scarred wrist to prove his point.

The prince glanced at it, still chuckling, but sobered almost immediately. The animated stone dog hadn't left just a scar on his friend's wrist, it had left a pair of three inch long, ragged semi-circles of scar tissue. Arthur scowled at his own obliviousness, wondering how he hadn't noticed his servant was so badly injured at the time. Merlin was right, he really was a prat. An arrogant, supercilious, overbearing prat. The blonde boy wondered how many other scars his friend had picked up saving his ungrateful hide… Which train of thought led right back to – "Well, I got another one out of you. Now, when else?"

And so Merlin recounted the last three years, not only the times he had saved Arthur, but when he had rescued the king or Camelot in general. Any time he had used magic (even the pranks and mistakes) was spelled out for his friend. It felt so good to finally talk about this, like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He relived every moment of each adventure as he related them to the prince, watching his reactions carefully as Arthur soaked in every detail. The young Pendragon beamed with pride for his friend when the warlock told how he had defeated the false physician who had tried to kill Uther. But the hurt and disappointment in Arthur's blue eyes made Merlin burn with shame as he recounted the tale of releasing the Great Dragon, although he'd had no other choice at the time. (And though Arthur understood this, it was still difficult to learn his best friend had been responsible for unleashing the destructive, vengeful creature on the unsuspecting, innocent citizens of Camelot. However, the bitterness in Merlin's posture and voice told the prince clearly that he regretted the whole situation and that was apology enough, even without the constant refrain of "I'm so sorry" the warlock muttered every so often.

Then came the story of Balinor, and Arthur bowed his head in grief for his friend when silent tears began to roll down the warlock's, and last Dragonlord's, face. There was a moment of silence after this tale, as both boys pretended not to see the other furiously wipe his eyes. The imp story made Arthur glare in a "you're so going to pay for that as soon as I figure out how" kind of way, yet Merlin couldn't help cracking up at the memory of the prince with a donkey's ears and voice. And so it went, on and on, 'til they reached the present. Occasionally, Arthur would laugh at the crazy situations or admonish his best friend for the foolish risks he'd taken, but mostly he just listened intently. The warlock also spoke of the lessons he'd learned along the way; that magic was neither good nor evil but simply a tool, like one of Arthur's weapons; that the immense power of magic could easily corrupt, as it had with Gilli; that many times the way that seemed hardest was actually the best in the long run. When Merlin finished speaking, the room rang with an expectant silence.

The prince considered everything he'd just heard, weighing it against what he'd been told his entire life, the litany that all magic-users were corrupt and evil. But there was no way the goofy-eared boy before him could possibly be evil; an idiot, definitely, but not corrupt. Especially not after all the times he'd risked his neck, put his life on the line, for the people he loved, for the city he called home, and even for his enemies, his persecutors. With all that in mind, Arthur couldn't condemn Merlin, he just couldn't. Unless… but no, the warlock wasn't lying. The prince could recognize when his friend lied, had sensed the ebony-haired boy was leaving something out after each adventure in the past, and had chosen not to pursue the truth until now, so for any suspicion he felt because of Merlin's previous lies, he had only himself to blame. Besides, Arthur had been trained to notice inconsistencies and there were none in his friend's story. In fact, any prior discrepancies had dropped away when this last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.

Arthur took a deep breath. "I can trust you, Merlin, I know that. And I can't turn you in, not after all you've done for me and for Camelot." Merlin looked relieved. "But this is the most dangerous situation imaginable. If you were caught… I couldn't face the future without my best friend. So… I think it would be best if you…" the prince gulped, the words sticking in his throat, "if you left Camelot." He didn't want to send the warlock away, but he couldn't stand the idea that his friend might be caught someday and executed just for doing what was right in the only way he could. But the prince immediately regretted his suggestion when Merlin's expression clouded over with shocked hurt. He clearly couldn't believe the young Pendragon would be so callous. When he managed to speak, his voice was that of a man betrayed.

"You… want me to – to leave? After all we've been through? I thought we were friends."

Oh look, a deviation from my typical chapter ending! Merlin's asking the questions now... ;)

Again, my thanks go out to all of my readers, especially the ones that have been with me since the beginning! I get a little burst of joy every time I see one of the pennames I recognize because I know I'm about to get some wonderful comments/feedback. :) I couldn't do this without you guys!

So, if you liked it and want the next chapter, keep those reviews coming!

EDIT: There was a very long paragraph in the middle of this. Emachinescat suggested I break it up and I thought that was a great suggestion, so it is now fixed and should be a little less overwhelming. I apologize if any of you had to struggle with that monster before I fixed it!

Saoirse