Merlin stood alone in the middle of the stage looking anxious. They had eaten merrily with the people and now they all sat on the lawn of a natural amphitheater, the large half moon somehow housing the entire camp. Gloriana approached him, smiling at him. "Alright?" Merlin nodded. She turned back to the crowd, "My people! Today we have a treat! The magic of a dragonlord on display." She turned back to Merlin. "When you're ready." He nodded again. The band started to play an upbeat tempo on their flutes and Arthur leaned forward as Merlin closed his eyes. He was front center, not wanting to miss a single moment and yet still anxious.
Merlin took a deep breath and then, "Regnian." Arthur furrowed his brow as Merlin's eyes glowed gold. What? But just as he began to wonder it began to rain on the stage… But not on the audience. Merlin seemed more confident the more soaked he got. He mumbled low in his throat a string of words and the rain froze in mid air. They sat their suspended above the ground for a couple of seconds before Merlin muttered a few more words and they became flower petals. As they fell to the ground, Merlin spun his hands, one over the other causing a wind to suck them all in. He stopped spinning and in his hand was a complete rose. The rose became a blue flame which he spun around his head like he would a mace on a chain. He raised his hand and it shot above their heads. It exploded into a million bubbles of blue light that floated down to the crowd which applauded in delight, as Merlin's eyes turned back to their piercing blue. Arthur caught one in his hand, dumbfounded. In the Forest of Balor he had witnessed such a ball of light. It popped after a few seconds and he looked to Merlin, who was smiling sheepishly. All that had been breath taking. Arthur couldn't stop gaping; Merlin was capable of such… Amazing things. All this time he had not had to face Merlin being a sorcerer. Now, the last remnants of the display floated around them. When he met his friend's eyes he couldn't look away. He was grinning and somehow he couldn't help but return it. A part of him felt terrible, like he was betraying his father. Yet when Merlin joined him on the grass and they watched the fairy folk begin their show, their knees touched and life was alright.
"Well?" Merlin asked in a low whisper, his breath tickling Arthur's ear. He suppressed a shudder and shrugged.
"It was good." That was an underestimation. It was beautiful and glorious and all the bits of Merlin he knew somehow seemed to join together to form the man at his side. Finally, he had the whole picture and it was a masterpiece.
"You didn't freak out?"
"No. I didn't." Merlin looked almost a little disappointed. Arthur whispered back, "It was your light in the cave wasn't it?"
Merlin flushed scarlet but said nothing.
The fairies did a show of similar transformation magic. They danced and flipped, leaving glowing trails in their wake. Fire came from nowhere, the same with leaves and then butterflies. The grand finale was the queen herself, singing an incantation that caused a brilliant pattern to form in the grass of a wide variety of colors. It was then the crowd all began to join in the dance. Soon Arthur himself was pulled in (by Gwen). They laughed and danced as the music picked up faster and faster. He somehow got stopped in the center of the crowd and he watched as they all spun around him. It could have been any celebration in Camelot then. Merlin spun away from the partner he had and pumped into Arthur. "Sorry, sire."
Arthur looked up at him and frowned, "Since when are you taller than me?"
He shrugged, "Since always." Merlin grinned at him. "So what do you think of fairy hospitality?"
Arthur looked around and shook his head, "Everything I thought I knew is wrong."
Merlin nodded, as if considering. "But wrong in a good… growing as a person way."
He glared and punched Merlin's arm, "Shut up." The song ended and the crowd stopped letting out a cheer and they all herded out of the theater. The two followed the crowd out into a glen where two large unlit bonfires stood.
The queen stood on a platform so that she could speak to the crowd. "Everyone! It is time to light the bonfires and cleanse away the old, bringing in the new. Remember, whatever the future holds is not set in stone." She looked directly at Arthur, her purple eyes piercing his heart once more, "It can be forged as we see fit." Gloriana looked away, "So if you may be gifted with a vision of the future given by the eldest trees in the forest that we burn. Do not fear it." She turned to two men with torches on each side of the bonfires. "Light them." The wood caught fire unnaturally fast and the people cheered. They moved together as a wave, passing between them two by two. He saw Gwaine in the crowd offering his arm to Gwen and leading her through. Lanval, with much dramatization, bowed and offered his arm to the queen. She smiled and took it lightly, walking together at even step between the blazes. Arthur looked to the fires then. Strange shapes and shadows danced together and he found it hard to concentrate. His head felt light, his body heavy, yet he still could not make out the images.
Merlin came up next to him grabbing his forearm. "Are you alright, Arthur?"
There was a flash in front of his eyes and suddenly the fires' images made sense, Camelot was burning. Hooded figures descended upon it, staffs in hand, fighting his knights. His father's face white with fear as he grabbed his sword. It was soon. He didn't know how he knew but it was. Uther was losing. He was failing. He was- "No!" Merlin's face came back into view, concern and terror blending together on his face. "Merlin." He whispered. But his friend was pushed out of the way and replaced with the queen.
"And there it is: the tiniest bit of magic blood hidden out of sight. There was always a rumor that the Pendragons had it. The exposure to all this magic at once must have allowed you to see into the bonfires like us."
"Are you saying Arthur is a sorcerer!" Merlin croaked somewhere close by.
"Lord and lady, no! Just that deep in his ancestry there must have been some magic. He'll never have the Gift." She was searching his heart again, "You must choose tonight. I can see it. Something is going to happen at home. Something soon. I cannot keep you longer." Arthur's head was still spinning. No, he needed tonight to say goodbye to Merlin. He needed to find a way to tell him. He wasn't ready.
Lanval stepped out of the crowd. "I'll stay, your highness." Everybody turned to him. He stood a bit taller smiling a little at their shock.
Arthur did his best to sit up, "Lanval-"
"I will be fine, my lord. I like it here. Besides, I never had a place at court anyway." Arthur felt relieved, and then, immediately- and perhaps for the first time in his life- felt guilty for being so selfish. "Don't just sit there, you've got to pack." Merlin helped him up, slinging Arthur's arm around his shoulder.
Gwaine and Gwen stepped out of the crowd, the man coming to help support the prince. Gwen hugged Lanval and followed them back to their camp.
Back at the tent, Merlin sat Arthur down on the bedding, "Are you alright to ride on your own?" Arhut nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. His vision had stopped swimming and he was regaining his sense of balance. Merlin kneeled beside him and touched his forehead; the cool hands were soothing against his warm brow.
Arthur sighed, speaking gently so no one outside would hear as they busied to pack their things. "It was supposed to be you stay. But I'm glad he volunteered."
Merlin looked taken aback, "What are you talking about?"
"You are my best friend. I cannot ask you to come back with me, knowing the danger you are in every day. You're not safe back home. I can't guaranty my father will never find out what you are. I might not be able to protect you the way these people could. I was supposed to let you go."
He stopped to look at Merlin. The moon was rising and Merlin was watching him the way he always did just before he said something profound. The moonlight lit up the half of his face, the lone eye he could see bore into his soul and once again, Arthur wondered if he had been bewitched. "You'll never have to."
Arthur gulped back a lump that suddenly started in his throat. Was this what it was like? Being so completely loved by someone? He didn't think his heart could take it. "You know exactly what to say to make things harder."
Merlin was searching his face, as if he was looking for an answer to a question he hadn't asked. "Why is it so hard? If you don't need me…"
Arthur moved quickly to wrap his arms around Merlin's neck. He hugged him tight and sighed into Merlin's shoulder. When was the last time he'd been hugged? Merlin had always been trying to hug him and he had never allowed it. Why? "Alright." He was defeated. He never stood a chance. Never. "I guess I am a prat."
Merlin returned his embrace with a chuckle, "Idiot." Arthur nodded. "My place is with you. It's my destiny. That is the funny thing about destiny; you can't escape it. Just when you think you're rid of me and can pass me off to the fairies, Lanval falls for the queen."
"You're the idiot."
Merlin pulled away and stood. "You rest and I'll come get you when we're ready to go." Arthur nodded as he left. Merlin was coming home and he was finally at ease. He felt selfish once more, not even thinking about Camelot's imminent peril. He laid back promising himself only a few minutes rest.