I heard the sounds of music, laughter, and chattering, so I pushed myself off of the damp ground and opened my eyes to see what the fuss was about, only to find the druids playing music as well as dancing, the knights feasting and cooking, and everyone with joyful expressions, and my confusion seemed like it just reached the clouds. "What's going on?" I asked, somehow sensing Merlin near by.

"Oh, nothing...if nothing means that the druids got a brilliant idea to throw some merriment in the mix of our time of confusion and loss. It's what they do. When there is sadness or grief they try and lighten each other's spirits so that their sadness doesn't linger."

"Why is it, that everytike I've been waking up lately something strange meets me?" looked to where I sensed him and he was directly behind me standing, and smiling brightly. "I suppose the druids asked you first?"

"Yes, and it was not yet day break when they asked, so we had time to place an invisibility spell, sound proof spell, strengthened the protection spell, and placed a warding spell."

"Wait...don't you have to concentrate to keep those up?"

"Not always. If it's just one sorcerer yeah, but if it's many, the spell stays up unless the main caster puts it down. I'm the main caster, so you don't have to worry...unless I get killed."

"Do you have no sense of danger? You talk about yourself getting killed as if it's no big deal."

"Oh, I treat it as a very big deal, Sire, as you well know from my nightmares. However, it's not as much of a big deal now."

"Because I have magic now?" I questioned as I picked up the bowl of food next to me thay Merlin likely brought and I began to stir it with my spoon.

I heard him laugh lightly and freely. "No, it helps but no."

"Then what is it?"

"You know about my magic."

"Yes, but remember, I haven't fully accepted it yet and..."

"That doesn't matter to me. What matters is that you've grown so much since the day we met. You were and at times still are a royal prat, but when you were a prince you slowly began to defend those weaker than yourself regardless of magic. You acknowledged your mistakes, and..." He stopped himself and looked to the sky for a brief moment as he chuckled and seemed to hold something back, before he looked down at me with honest eyes once more. "...and when you found out about me...that I had been lying...that I wasn't the man you thought I was...when you found all of that out, and you didn't run me through when you first woke up or order the knights to keep me on watch...I thought I must've still been dreaming I had thought that it didn't work and that it was just an elaborate dream."

"When did you find out it wasn't a dream?"

"The way my magic reacted. When you're thoughts entered my head, my magic flared and I guess it's kind of like pinching yourself to see if you're dreaming...I don't know...I just knew."

I nodded my head at his words, because it seems all of my questions come down to his magic as an answer. I sat back down and sighed as I stared at the food in the bowl. "So, are you going to explain what you've done for me?"

He qquietly sat down next to me and gave a heavy sigh if his own. "Arthur, this is all still very strange and out of place for me. I was used to keeping my magic a secret even before I met you. Although, back then I didn't take it seriously enough, and I realized that when I arrived in Camelot...anyway, it's still strange thinking about explaining it to you. I was always in your shadow and I was perfectly fine there if it meant protecting you and Camelot."

"I can completely agree with that, but Merlin...you owe me an explanation now. I felt like I knew you, and then I'm proven wrong. I stand by my promise to you, but with what I don't know now...I feel like I only read half of a book and placed it back on the shelf. You've become someone that I trust, I want to be that same kind of person for a man who has supposedly saved my life, but I can't if..."

"...If you don't know what type of man I am..." I simply nodded my head without looking at him, and I felt him shift slightly in his spot before I heard the ruffling of his hair, likely in frustration. "Alright, let's make this easy I suppose...um...you can ask me questions about my magic and what I've done and I'll answer them honestly."

"I can agree to that." I looked at him with half of a smile, because I couldn't help but feel slightly hurt that he didn't want to tell me, and I was going to find out why. "When you first came to Camelot did you use magic?"

"Yes..."

"Merlin, I'm not asking yes or no questions you idiot, answer me with details."

"Cabbage head!" He stuck his tongue out at me like a petulant child before laughing slightly. "Yes, I used magic when I arrived in Camelot, but it was to save Gaius from falling."

"How do you mean?"

"Gaius was in the upper level where the higher books are, and apparently the railing wasn't strong enough so when he tried to turn to see me, he broke through the railing and I slowed down time as much as I could, and as it was slowed I moved his bed underneath him to keep him from serious injury."

"Did he find out"

"It's kind of hard not to find out then and there, when you knew perfectly well that your bed was on one end of the room and you were at the other."

"So he knew from the moment you arrived?" I asked, somehow feeling slightly taken back at this news, but also acknowledging that it makes sense in a weird way.

"Yes, and the next day he even tried to experiment with it because he said it was impossible to be born with magic like I was...he got a bucket of water and tipped it off the table and I stopped it in mid air, we both looked at it and I let it fall the rest of the way. He has been protecting me ever since."

"A protector for the protector." I stated, with a short laugh.

"Hmm...something like that."

"So...did you do magic again after that?"

"Yes, of course."

"I mean did you do magic again before becoming my servant?"

I watched as he rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously with a hint of guilt. "Yeah..."

"Go on..."

"Do you remember the mace fight we had?"

"You cheated!"

"Not true! I just used my own type of weapon. Hey look at it this way, when I arrived to Camelot's castle I was greeted with an execution for a magic user. Shortly after that I found out who you were and I didn't immediately try and kill you."

"Fine I'll give you that, anything else before becoming my servant?"

"I slowed down time to pull you out of the way of the dagger the sorceress had thrown. I couldn't let you die...I just couldn't. You were foolish, arrogant, pompous, and a prat, but I couldn't, it was like something was shouting at me to get you out of the way, so I did."

"So even from the beginning, you were saving my life with your magic?"

"That's what it's purpose was for apparently."

"Okay, explain that one to me. Your magic's great purpose was to save the life of the son who's father would have you hanged or burned just for sneezing in the direction of magic?"

Suddenly he bellowed out a loud and amused laughter I had never heard from him before and he nodded his head through his laughter. "Sorry, Arthur, it's just...that's funny because it's true and I thought the same thing...sort of." He wiped the tears from his laughter away from his eyes before sighing and looking at me with a soft smile. "It was Kilgharrah who told me that my destiny lies with you. I told him 'there's got to be another Arthur, because this one's an idiot.' To which he so smugly remarked 'Perhaps it's your destiny to change that.' I couldn't argue much after that, because I was the one searching for a purpose for my magic, and it turns out my mother sent me straight to it. Gaius had tried to get me to control or stop my magic but I told him if I haven't got my magic I might as well die...I still regret saying that to him to this day. It's true still, but it was no way to speak to him after he found out everything about me and still chose to keep me."

"So wait...destiny? I heard them talk about how you were my protector, but what do you mean destiny?"

"There is a prophecy about us. Some are in verse and some are rather simple. The one that is simple clearly states, 'Emrys will stand at the once and future king's side and unite the lands of Albion in peace and prosperity for all, bringing back the ways of the old religion. He will not only protect the once and future king's life, but his heart and mind as well.' There are many others, and some are even songs...or so the druids have told me...but the basic thing I've been told about our destiny, is that you will be the greatest king Albion will ever know and that I am to protect you and guide you to be a fair and just king as well as a caring and just man. I am to protect your values as if they were my own and advise you when you need it and..."

"Wait, wait, wait...hold on a minute. This seems like you only stayed with me because of your destiny, and it seems that this prophecy effects you the most."

"Well, first, I didn't stay because of my destiny. I stayed because it was where my mother wanted me to learn how to better control my...gift. Later on, I stayed because I noticed the type of man you truly are. Still a prat, but a good man. After that I stayed because you became someone I couldn't lose. You became my best friend. Secondly, there is quite a bit about you in the prophecies. They speak of you bringing magic back to the lands, protecting the weak, becoming a good and just king that loves his people as if they were his own children. There is quite a bit, but I do believe you wanted to know what I've done with my magic...if you want to know more about the prophecy, the druids are the best place to go."

Hearing about myself in a prophecy felt odd and it left chills down mmy spine as I took in every word. It was almost too much to process, but then I heard Merlin clear his throat, and I realized he was right, I wanted to know about his magic. Prophecies could wait. "Um..."

"Um?"

"Um..you know, it would be a lot easier if you just tell me when you've used it...could you do that?"

"Yeah, it's just a bit difficult I suppose." He rubbed his hands on his knees for a brief moment before looking at me with a familiar serious expression. He usually only wore this expression when he needed me to listen, and I was fully ready to do that today. "Do you remember when you were facing knight Valiant in the final round?" I simply nodded my head and he took a deep breath as he began to continue, "You had sacked me, and were angry with me, but I still couldn't let you die and I knew that's what he would try and do if he couldn't beat you. I stayed up all night trying to perfect the spell and once I did, I swear, I didn't think my legs could carry me that far that fast. Once I made it to you, I waited for an opportune moment, and I brought the snakes to life on his shield."

"That's why he looked so surprised..." I brought a hand to my forehead, feeling completely idiotic for not finding that out sooner.

"Yup, and after that, it really was me who cured Gwen's father, and after that...well..."

"Wait, don't tell me you were the one who sent the guiding light." At my words he smiled sheepishly and said a spell, causing a beautiful blue orb to appear in his hands and one above my head. Before anyone could see, he quickly ended the spell and I was left dumbfounded and curious. "How could you have done that if you were dying?"

"I don't know. Gaius doesn't even know. He has never even heard of a spell like that, not even in the old religion. It seems...to protect you, my magic created a spell just for you, and it controlled my speech and breath when I couldn't, forcing me to speak the new spell aloud. It was strange though..."

"Stranger than a dying man producing a ball of light, guiding me out of cavern filled with spiders?" I laughed and he smiled, but it quickly faded.

"I remember dreaming...and it was like I was there with you. Gaius said I spoke as if I were commanding you to climb and move faster, but I never told him I dreamt it. It was so real, but it was as if I was your eyes one moment and by your side the next, begging you to leave the flower and to just keep climbing."

"Wow..."

"Yeah, my magic is a bit strange sometimes."

"No, you don't say! So, what else is there?"

"Well, when the griffin was attacking, I enchanted Lancelot's weapon to kill the griffin and..."

"Wait, does he know?"

"...yes."

"That's not fair how could you tell..."

"I didn't! He just...found out."

"Fine...what else?"

"You remember when that man came who claimed he had a remedy to cure all ills? Well, when your father came down with the same sickness I pulled out the actual source out of his head using magic. It turned out to be enchanted beatles."

"You did that for my father?"

"He was your father, how could I not?"

"Oh, I don't know...lets start with the fact he hates those with magic and kills them on sight most times."

"But he was still your father." He replied simply and all I could do was stare wide eyed at him that to him, the answer was as clear as day, while I'm still confused as to why someone with magic would choose to help my father. "There were a few minor things after that such as broken branches, bars, moving stuff around..."

"Then just tell me all the times you saved my life, or kept me from doing something stupid." The words form before I can stop them, but it was beginning to sound like an awful lot of times he used his magic.

"Alright...remember when Gaius and I told you that I hit you over the head with a lump of wood?"

"Yeah..." I answered with a growing feeling that I wouldn't like where this was going.

"Well, you were enchanted by a magical creature, and I used my magic and a staff to defeat them, but she was already sending your body to Avalon so that she could return. I swam further into the lake than I ever thought possible, and I saved saved you."

"Oh...that actually makes a bit of sense..."

"How so?" I looked at him and he looked as confused as I was moments ago.

"Well, I had a nightmare after that, and in it I was drowning..."

"Huh...well, to continue there was also the time that I...Have you ever heard of the high priestess Nimueh?"

"Only when we heard my mother speak of how my father used magic so that I could be born, why?"

"When you were bitten by the questing beast, your father tried to carry you to his chambers but he collapsed in the courtyard because of the knowledge of what the bite would do. The knights carried you the rest of the way...after that, I went to Kilgharrah and told him that I had failed in my destiny, that I had failed you...he told me if I had, we wouldn't be having a conversation. That's when he told me of the isle of the blessed. There, I could find someone who practiced the old religion and could control life and death but that there's a price...I didn't know it until I told Gaius where I was going and he tried to stop me...Once I got there I found out it was Nimueh and she was also the one who poisoned the cup I drank out of...I offered my life for yours. She explained it wasn't that simple but we made a bargain anyway. After Gaius and I gave you water from the cup of life, and we heard that you lived I was so relieved, and I happily accepted my fate, but it never came. Instead, it was taking my mother. That's when Gaius made his way to the same place, but I followed him. However, once I got there she had already killed him. We fought and she gave me a nasty scar on my chest, but it didn't matter...I was so angry, my magic flared and it felt like there was a fire, rage, and hatred for just Nimueh. I got up, and I called forth a thunderstorm and I had lightning strike her down...without saying a single word. Now, Nimueh is dead."

I couldn't help the smile on my face as I realized what he had done. "You know, in a way, you avenged my mother's death."

"Huh, I had never thought about it like that."

"So what happened after you killed her?"

"I had apparently mastered the power of life and death itself and killing Nimueh, brought Gaius back to life. No one else was harmed after that."

"I don't suppose you could top that can you." My eyes were wide at his words and I couldn't hide the impressed look on my face, but he simply smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"If you want to know the rest, it will take all day, likely past nightfall."

"Well, it's a good thing I had sent Sir Percival out to search for GuenivereGuenivere just before going to bed. We've got time."

"Alright, but there's a lot..."

"Bragging really doesn't suit you Merlin."

"It does if it's true."

"Go on then...what else have you done?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was well past nightfall, and I had more than I ever thought I would ever hear, including Merlin disguising himself as the old man and old woman, both equal in strangeness, and he told me that he wasn't the one who killed my father it was a magical necklace that Morgana had enchanted. "Is there...um...is there anything else?"

"Well, I sometimes use magic to get your armor and weapons to perfection but other than that, no...now we're here, and I forgive you."

"Hold on, forgive me for what?"

"For calling me an idiot all those times."

"Ah, well sorry to inform you Merlin, but you're an even bigger idiot now. You used magic under everyone's noses with the threat of death hanging over your head, you protected a kingdom that would see you dead, you didn't listen to the dragon when you should've let Morgana die, you didn't listen about Mordred and we don't know where he is or if he's already joined Morgana...You didn't tell me about the Disir and you could've had everything...you're an even bigger idiot than before!"

"Maybe so...but it kept you and Camelot alive, and I'm perfectly fine with that."

"Will you ever make sense to me, Merlin?"

"I hope not, you'd get bored. So...what do you think of my magic now?"

I remembered everything he told me carefully, and I couldn't find any fault in the things he did aside from being a complete moron and not listening to the dragon or Gaius. "Merlin, I find I have no other choice but to accept your magic. I would be an even bigger idiot than you if I didn't and we can't have that now, can we?"

"No, certainly not, Sire." He belted out with laughter and tears of joy.

"Sire!"

Merlin and I both snapped our heads up at Percival running at us from the east, but it was a little hard to tell since it was a little darker now. "What is it percival?"

"Merlin, King Arthur..." He said in a huff of breath before smiling. "I present you, Queen Guenivere." He moved aside to reveal my equally out of breath wife.

"Gwen!" I shouted and immediately hugged her, and it felt like the longest time since I've held her like this. We let go of each other and I felt scared for a moment as I remembered that I have magic now, and she doesn't know. "There is...so much to tell you."

"I'm sure. I see Merlin is alright, Percival told me a little of what happened but he wanted you to tell me the rest about Merlin."

"I'm fine thanks to Arthur. It's good to see you Gwen." He beamed a grateful smile at me and he moved to hug her, which made me move out of the way.

"The two of you seem different." She said as she looked at both of us after her hug with Merlin.

"How?" we both asked and found ourselves smiling slightly at it.

"Well, that right there, for one. Secondly...it seems, Merlin, that you have just had a huge weight lifted off your shoulders, and Arthur, you look like a great inderstanding of something has washed over you."

"Both are correct I suppose." Merlin answered.

"You both will tell me, won't you?"

"Seeing as their party over there is dying down now, I don't see why not." I looked to Percival and nodded giving him my thanks and he went to enjoy the remainder of the part with Gwaine.