A/N : Hi you guys! Aaaah, I'm so happy that you liked the last chapters, your reviews really meant the world to me - - really really really!! Now, please tell me what you think of this chapter.. Yes, I am aware that there are less Arthur/Merlin bits in this chapter than usual, but I will fix that in the next chapter, which I will start writing as soon as I post this one (I'm on a roll tonight!).

Please tell me what you think? Please review?

Xo, as always

Merlin

"I don't like this," Gaius murmured next to him, silently enough so only he could hear, and for some reason, it would appear to anyone who saw the moving of his lips, as if he were talking to himself aloud. "At all," he added as an afterthought.

Merlin leaned a little closer to him, positioning his weight on his left foot and his upper body falling slightly to the side. His eyes never left the scene that was unfolding in front of him - - though the feeling of danger hadn't grown since the arrival of the two strangers, it hadn't lessened either, and Arthur's life needed his constant guarding. "Why?" he whispered. "Who are they?"

"There's nothing wrong with the cousin, that I know of – but the man who's with him isn't a stranger to this court, even though he tries to make it seem that way." When Uther's gaze momentarily tore away from his guests and swept through the room, Gaius was silent. "He was once a suitor of the late Queen Ygraine before she held that title."

"And in the end she chose Uther?"

Gaius nodded. "Ulrich hadn't been heard from since, and though the King himself may be oblivious to his wife's old acquaintances, I am not." A small smile appeared around his lips. "The lady Ygraine was kind to me… she trusted in me." He sighed heavily. "I'm afraid that in some way, I might have influenced her decision."

"No, no." For the first time since their conversation had started, Merlin turned to Gaius and looked him straight in the eye. He raised his voice slightly, trying to convince the man who was more of a father to him than anything else, that he hadn't been at fault in any way. "Without Ygraine no Arthur – and without Arthur no future Camelot… and my destiny would be of no use at all. At least I have a purpose now, despite the fact that 'my other half' still isn't sure if he can trust me."

The older man motioned for him to be silent. "We'll attract attention, Merlin. I know indeed it is very difficult for you to keep a low profile, but try not to make yourself known to Ulrich the very second he walks in."

Merlin smiled a little at Gaius' hidden reprimand, and took it upon him to study the Lord's every movement, hoping for a way to discover if he was the danger he had been alerted to. "So do you think he's here to take revenge on Uther? For killing any chance he might have had with Ygraine?"

"That, I am not sure of. But we had better sleep with one eye open."

-

Grady

"I thought it would be harder than this." Grady took his clothes out of his backpack, before placing them in the cupboard. Well, stuffing them in there, actually. He had never been one for tidyness, and at the age of 21 years old, he wasn't about to start. "Seeing Arthur again, I mean. It's been a long time since we'd seen eachother, and I had feared some of the ease would have disappeared."

His guardian glanced at him from the corner of his eye, taking in every detail of the boy's posture, analysing every quirk of the lips, every higher note in his tone. "It's going to be important that he trusts you." The man answered his protegé. "But I hope you haven't forgotten our purpose here. We did not come to Camelot to reminisce about past adventures, Grady. We must not stray from our plan."

Grady nodded, his features sadder than they had been before, but accepting and confident all the same. "I understand. We've worked too hard at this."

"And I'm afraid we must work a little harder yet."

The young man's head snapped into his guardian's direction, a questioning look in his eyes. "What do you mean? Has Uther a clue as to who you really are?"

"No." Ulrich explained. "But it seems our young prince has made himself a special friend." He walked over to the window and watched the servant cross the courtyard, in the direction of the armoury. "A known sorceror, more powerful than even he realizes himself. If his loyalty to Arthur is as great as foretold, he will certainly stand in our way."

"And if that happens, we'll…" Grady watched as a dark cloud passed over the familiar face, and having seen it in the past, he knew it would come to no good.

"We must always eliminate a threat, my son." Ulrich told him. "No matter the consequences."

-

Arthur

"He's my cousin, Merlin. He deserves my trust just by being connected to me in that way." He couldn't believe it. The first good thing that happened – the visit of his cousin had triggered joy inside of him – ever since he had found out about Merlin, and here the latter was, trying to shatter his happiness after only a few hours.

Merlin continued, exasperated. "I'm not telling you not to trust your cousin, Arthur. I'm not! All I'm saying is that you should beware where his guardian is concerned. He holds a grudge against your father and Camelot. Maybe the danger that's coming is Lord Ulrich. There's a definite possibility of that."

"Because, as you say," Arthur's hand cut through the air, moving in circles to express his wariness of Merlin's intelligence. "He was in love with my mother, who chose my father instead." He frowned angrily. "Where do you get this stuff?"

"Gaius. He's been around this court and its occupants for a long time, Arthur. He knows things that we do not."

"All right, then who's to say that Gaius isn't a potential threat to me? As you say, Merlin – he knows things, things that could destroy the kingdom if he wanted to. And as I remember, he knew a lot of things about evil sorcerers. Maybe he's one himself." He felt himself spinning, trying desperately to grasp at something solid, feeling as he had in the darkened cave in Balor, never being fast enough, or strong enough. Not clever enough to discover that the woman had been evil.

Merlin pulled a face that portrayed his pure confusion at this distrust. "Really, Arthur? Gaius, the physician who has nursed you back to health a million times, who fought time to keep you alive? After twenty years he suddenly decides to turn against you."

"Well, he could…" Arthur's arm swung upward, before falling back to his side. He sat down on his bed and held his head in his hands. "You're right, I'm sorry. Gaius didn't deserve to be spoken of that way. He has been there for my family ever since I can remember and he deserves my respect." He drew his hands over his face while inhaling deeply, breaking up the sound of it by the slide of his fingers. "It's just that I can't stand the fact that lately, everything good in my life seems to be – in fact – life threatening. First there's you, then my the possibility of my cousin's guardian and/or my cousin himself.. it's just too much. "

"You count me among the good things in your life?" Merlin gave him a cheeky grin. "Thanks." He happily said.

Arthur threw his pillow at him. "Shut up, Merlin. Besides, I'm still waiting to find out if whatever I think of you should be described in past or present tense. We'll have to wait to find out." Pause. "But," he amended. "I'll think about what you said about Lord Ulrich."

"Try not to let show that you know of his past life here. It may set him off."

"Right."

-

Merlin

"Right." Gwen started, staring wide-eyed at the stack of documents laying in front of them, which was as high as a small pup. "It's not that I mind abandoning my duties to help you Merlin, but I just don't see the point. If he's Arthur's kin, then why is he a possible suspect?"

"Sh." Merlin pressed a finger to his lips and gestured with his eyes towards Geoffrey, the keeper of said documents. "It's not Grady we're investigating, it's his guardian. Something doesn't sit right with me about him, and if there's anything that should worry us, I need to know about it."

She smiled sweetly. "You take this protecting Arthur job awefully serious, don't you?"

Her friend tilted his head. "Well, I'm his friend, and I think he still cares about that, even after what happened between us. I can't let anything happen to him, Gwen. He's like my brother."

With a playful sigh, she opened the first stack of papers. "Alright," she said. "Let's do it."

-

Arthur

"You've gone soft." Grady grinned at him. "In the old days, you wouldn't have someone like that," he motioned towards the long, slender figure of the stumbling boy, "go by without poking fun at him."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes, well – unlike some people, I've matured into a responsible adult." Yet there was a glint in his eyes that spoke of other things. He was reminded of the first time he and Merlin had met, and how he had teased him about his knee walking. God, the fool was still as clumsy with a mace as ever, despite all the hours they had trained using the weapon. Unless, of course, he cheated by moving objects with only his thoughts. He shook his head in wonder.

"Oh yeah?" Grady wiggled his eyebrows before reaching to the ground and retrieving a rotten tomato that lay beside the stacks. With a small laugh, he hurled it towards the boy, and when the splash could be heard, both he and Arthur ducked behind the old cart, holding their breaths.

"You're a bad boy, Grady Dumare." Arthur pointed his finger at his cousin menacingly, but just received a smile in return. "As if you're any better, prince Arthur."

-

Grady

The minute the words left his mouth, he felt like vomiting. Prince Arthur. Wasn't that the reason why he was here in the first place? He felt bad about betraying his cousin like this, but after all he'd been through – all he'd seen and heard, the future of Camelot needed to rest with someone who was capable of being King, someone who didn't follow his father's every command and whose politics and beliefs were grounded on true things. Uther had destroyed his beloved aunt by having her birth a child, and he would not have Arthur do the same to Camelot.

He would be a fair ruler, a just king. He would turn this kingdom upside down and destroy the archaic institutions. By force, he would invade the outlying kingdoms and make them bend to his will. He would unite the lands under his command and all would be well.

But before that could happen, the present monarchy needed to be brought down.
For justice, he thought, for Camelot.

So, please tell me what you thought? Please review? It means the world to me!

Xo, as always!!