Yay! An update just two days after the last one! Truth is: I really don't how good this is since I'm sick with a fever at the moment. I could quite possibly be thrown off my writing axis. Due to my overwhelming desire to be unconscious until this illness is over I probably wouldn't have even had this up today, but I got a review that really inspired me to write. The reviewer said that it was quite mean of me to leave all of you lovely people hanging with the ending of that last chapter and I have to say that I agree. I'm not sure why I'm so mean to you all, unless my writing whump has turned me into a cruel person.

Anyway, I got a bunch of lovely reviews for the last chapter so I want to thank you all for that. Now, on to the resolution of that last cliffhanger.

"You're firing me? Again?" Merlin asked incredulously. "Why?"

Arthur still hadn't looked back at him. Merlin was starting to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with the prince. After all, he knew he was a prat, he was insecure, had no idea what he believed, and loved lobbing things at his servant. Not to mention that he was massively conflicted about how to both be his own person while pleasing his father, which is impossible. But now Merlin was beginning to think that Arcturus had cast some sort of spell over him, or maybe the prince was just born with two personalities.

Some part of Merlin, though, panicked at the thought of no longer being Arthur's servant. He had gone through too much, lost too much even before coming here. Despite Arthur's prattish ways, he enjoyed being his servant, but more than that he knew that Arthur would get into some serious trouble and would probably die if Merlin wasn't there to help him. Arthur needed him, and…Merlin needed Arthur. He needed to have a good friend and he needed a purpose for his magic. He had grown up all his life not knowing why he had magic or whether or not he was evil. He was just starting to believe that his power might be used for good.

"Because, Merlin," Arthur finally rounded on the boy, "you seem to gotten the idea in your head that you have to protect me at any cost, even if that cost is your own life. You're not a knight; you're not a guard or anyone who has sworn to protect Camelot and defend me. In fact, you've only been living in Camelot for a few months. It is not your job to protect me from anything other than having a messy room."

Arthur sighed and Merlin vaguely thought of how tired the prince had looked lately. "Merlin, you are a good person. A better one than I am. You're kind and loyal, but I have done nothing to deserve your loyalty. You have a lot of people who care about you, and I have made promises to several of them that I would protect you. I thought that by being your master I would be in the perfect position to do just that, but I was wrong.

"You've already suffered enough in your life, Merlin; I don't want you to suffer any more on my account. So that's why you're fired, because you have a lot to live for, yet seem insistent on dying for me." Arthur turned around again.

Merlin was panicking slightly. If he couldn't protect Arthur then who knows what could happen to him? Though, he had to admit that it was nice to know that the prat cared enough to want to keep him safe. And as he thought back on all he had suffered he began to get angry at Arthur for trying to undo it all.

"What? Would you rather have some bootlicking servant who cares for nothing but himself? A servant who talks at even the mention of pain? What I did, Arthur, may very well have saved your life, but what if I hadn't been there? It's not just about you; it's about the whole of Camelot. Many lives rest on you. What if you had died? Hmmm? Some stuffy lord would have taken your place as king, a lord with no brains and no love for the people of Camelot.

"And the knights, you would let them die for you, they all have taken oaths. I know that if you weren't a prince you wouldn't let anyone give their life for you, but since you are you do what is best, no matter how it makes you feel. You do it because you know that you have a duty to Camelot, a duty to survive. I wasn't lying when I said that my life was worth nothing compared to yours."

Merlin had tried appealing to the loving-and-protective-of-his-people side of the prince, but he could tell that it hadn't worked.

Arthur just took another step towards the door. "No arguing, Merlin. You're fired, end of discussion." And though his tone sounded final he hadn't actually left the room yet. Merlin began to wonder if maybe the prince wasn't as confident about his decision as he seemed.

Merlin had been telling the truth when he had talked about Arthur's importance, but that really hadn't been his main reason for saving him. Merlin knew he had one last chance. Arthur couldn't fire him for a myriad of reasons, and the warlock was beginning to think that he would have to give some of the most important ones—the ones he hadn't even fully admitted to himself yet.

Merlin had been annoyed at first when Arthur had made his ridiculous proclamation. He had just told the prince something that he had never told anyone else about his past and this was his reaction?

And the thing was: it had felt good, too. Getting that weight off his shoulders had felt wonderful after all these years. Not to mention the fact that he had told Arthur something personal about himself without having to really lie. Sure, he'd left out the fact that being accused of sorcery had scared him nearly to death since it was what he had feared all his life.

And he hadn't revealed how—even though he had known that he hadn't—the pain had gotten to him after a while and Merlin had started to believe that he really had set the fence on fire. And he certainly hadn't mentioned that he had been so scared that he had been unable to use his magic, because, at the time, his magic had been much less powerful and could be suppressed by strong emotions.

But in the end Merlin had told Arthur everything of importance, and that had made him feel more free and alive than he had in years. But then the prat had to go and ruin it.

But after all of this Merlin wasn't simply going to let go, so he slowly got up and walked painfully over to where Arthur was still standing with his back to him. And if that meant overexerting his tender and still-slightly-burning back then so be it.

He reached out and touched Arthur's shoulder and the prince spun around sharply at the contact. "Merlin, what are you doing?" he asked, clearly stunned to see him out of bed when he had no good reason to be. Just because Merlin could move around now didn't mean that he should.

Instead of answering Merlin said, "Arthur, listen to me, I told you on the hunting trip that I had a friend called Will back in Ealdor. I told you that he and I were the best of friends and that we both got into trouble and out of it together.

"In that creepy little hut the most terrifying thing was not the pain or the madman torturing me, but the loneliness. I can handle pain and fear and even the threat of death, but what scares me the most is being alone.

"They didn't save me, Arthur. And I don't blame them for that; I know that they would've if they could. But they didn't, I was completely alone and more than a little bit delirious. That can do things to your mind.

"That's why I was able to endure what Arcturus did to me, because I knew I wasn't alone. You were there with me and I knew that you would get me out. And you did, before Arcturus had a chance to do anything else to me.

"Arthur, you went on a quest to get an antidote to save a servant you barely even knew. You were there with me and you even tried to tell the sorcerer what he wanted to know just so that you could save me.

"Ever since that wretched night and day in the shack I have felt more alone than ever. People in Ealdor always sort of thought of me as a freak, some stranger, even though few of them ever said it to my face. But here, in Camelot, I feel like for the first time in my life I have a family. I have friends and people who care for me. I've got a ridiculous job that keeps me insanely busy. And I work for a prince who would risk his life to save a mere servant.

"You told me that I'm not alone anymore, and I think you're right. I no longer feel as empty as I used to. And you're a big part of that. I feel more alive and like I finally have a purpose. I feel like I have...a destiny." Merlin smiled a bit sheepishly.

"So don't fire me, Arthur, not when I've finally started to heal."

It would be a lie to say that Arthur wasn't moved by the hope and sheer conviction in Merlin's voice. He was surprised that being his servant mattered so much to the boy. But then he thought of how Merlin had basically told him that he was lonely, and then of how his most recent experience could've been quite cathartic for him. After all, it made sense that one of the things Merlin feared most was being alone, and since Arthur had been with him the prince could imagine how that could almost bring closure to the incident that had happened many years ago.

Looking at Merlin now, he knew that he really had no choice. From the way the boy had made it sound, letting him go would do more harm than good. And Arthur had to admit that a huge part of him was relieved: he hadn't really wanted to fire Merlin.

Arthur sighed. "I suppose, Merlin, that if I keep you as my servant you will still try to save me even if it isn't your job?"

A great big smile erupted onto Merlin's face as he read in-between the lines. "Of course I will. After all, if you died then I would be without a job at all, so it's really in my best interests to keep you alive." If possible the grin widened even more.

"But," Arthur said, "you won't be able to return to work at all if you continue to strain your back like that." Arthur put a hand on the back of the manservant's neck and gently guided him back to his bed. Merlin hissed slightly in pain. "Tender, is it?" the prince asked.

"Why, Arthur, are you actually concerned?" Merlin asked with that familiar mischievous glint in his eyes.

"No, why on earth would I be concerned about you, Merlin?" Arthur defended.

"Come on," Merlin said, "Admit it, you like me at least a little bit."

"No, I don't."

"Not even a little bit?"

"No."

Don't worry, that is not the end to this story, though, I really, honestly, unequivocally believe that the next chapter will be the last one. Though, I suppose I could end it here, but I have a few more tiny things I wish to see in this story yet. Plus, I want an even 25 chapters.

So, review and tell me what you think. Am I just too feverish right now and I should rewrite this when I get better? Do you think that it was in character? Did it disappoint? Should I just abandon this whole story and go be pathetic somewhere else? Actually, if you say yes to the last one I may have to track you down and punch you and then console myself with more chocolate and sugar than I know what to do with. (:

"See you on the other side."