A/N – As a thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm putting this chapter up early. I hope you enjoy :).

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Chapter 2

Knights and Monsters

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Groaning, he bit his lip, grabbing his hand and squeezing his eyes shut as he leant against the wall.

Merlin had lied to him.

Merlin used magic.

Merlin didn't trust him.

Why did those thoughts hurt so much?

"Well, that was smart."

Looking at the ceiling, Arthur wondered who he had annoyed to have the day he was having today.

"Morgana," he replied, turning his head to look at the woman staring at him amusement. "How can I help you today?"

Morgana stared at him for a moment, small smile on her face as she glanced at his door, before looking back at him.

"Having a little bit of a hard day?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "Want to tell me about it?"

Ignoring the throbbing in his hand, Arthur straightened up, taking a breath before looking back at her.

"No, everything's fine," he replied, running a hand through his hair, wincing as he realized it was his hurt hand.

"The day's still young, Arthur," Morgana said, her eyes flitting to the door. "If you change your mind and need my help, you know where to find me."

Arthur snorted as she walked past.

"Like that's going to happen," he called to her retreating back.

Staring at his door, Arthur slid down the wall, wondering how he could be so stupid. It was obvious now that he thought about it. All those times he'd been knocked out, only to wake up and find Merlin standing there fine, the attacker gone, or knocked out, or tied up.

Or the mysterious tree branches that fell on their opponents, or, or …

Giving a bitter laugh, Arthur hit his head back against the wall, wondering why he cared so much about Merlin lying to him.

Maybe it was because Merlin was the first person who treated him as Arthur, and not as the Crowned Prince or a knight of Camelot.

Closing his eyes, he wished that he could just spend the day out here, not having to face anyone or anything that reminded him of how betrayed he felt. But his father had always taught him that he should face everything head on.

Standing, he reminded himself that the little boy in his room wasn't to blame, he could yell and hit him when he became big again.

If he became big again.

And Arthur had no idea how to go about helping Merlin become big again so that he could hit him. He hoped that it would just fix itself. The thought of Merlin not turning back into his older self making something twist viciously in him.

Arthur pushed the thought away as he opened the door, frowning when he didn't see anyone even remotely looking like Merlin in the room.

"Hello?" he called, wincing a little as he heard the angry tinge still in his tone. "Merlin?"

Putting his hands on his hips, Arthur looked around, wondering if the young boy had managed to magic himself out of the room, panic running through him at the thought of little Merlin out there by himself, showing people his magic, not realizing what happened to his people in this kingdom.

A sniffle interrupted his thoughts, Arthur turning towards the bed and making his way slowly over to it.

"Merlin?" he called, his voice softer this time, Arthur waiting a few moments and rolling his eyes when no head was appearing.

What was it with Merlin and beds anyway?

"Merlin?" he said again, crouching down on the floor, looking under the bed.

Guilt rushed through him when he saw the little boy, hair a mess, tears streaming down his face, as he lay on his side, knees pulled to his chest.

"Mommy?" Merlin whispered, more tears slipping down his face.

"Um, no," Arthur replied, cursing again that he didn't know how to deal with children.

The little boy looked back at him in misery, Arthur wondering if anyone had ever looked that sad, the protectiveness that he tried to ignore concerning Merlin making itself known.

"But, if you come out," he continued, trying to think of something kids like Merlin would like to do. "We can play … knights and monsters?"

It had been a game he'd played once, a long time ago, and he thought he might still have his toy sword and shield around somewhere.

Merlin was looking at him with interest now, his arms falling away from his knees, as he moved a little closer.

"Sowwy," he whispered, his eyes wide and imploring, and Arthur had to think for a moment before he remembered about the magic, and how Merlin had lied.

Looking away for a moment he swallowed, making sure his face would show none of his anger and hurt, reminding himself that he couldn't take it out on a little boy, before turning back to his manservant.

"It's alright, Merlin," he replied softly, glad to hear his voice was clear of any anger. "But you have to be careful who you use it in front of."

Merlin nodded, Arthur wondering if Hunith had had this conversation with him a lot when he was younger, no doubt causing the older woman to have many near heart attacks with Merlin being the bumbling idiot he was, before he slowly slid out.

Pushing himself up, Arthur hissed, looking down at his hurt hand and surprised to see it was swelling, his knuckles looking red and starting to bruise.

Merlin frowned as he looked at the hand, before looking up at Arthur. Biting his lip, he reached out, his hand resting on top of Arthur's, something glowing between them, his eyes turning the same glowing gold they had before.

"Merlin," he said sharply, looking down at his now healed hand.

The little boy flinched back, his eyes looking at Arthur in a way that had the Prince wanting to say he'd let the boy do anything, but he knew if anyone else saw Merlin do magic, he'd be put to death.

The thought made his stomach rebel, as he thought of little Merlin being killed, or even his big Merlin, panic and worry rushing through him at the idea.

"You can't do that," he continued, his voice softer then initially. "Even if you want to."

"Hurt," Merlin replied, folding his arms and glaring up at Arthur.

"I know," he said, kneeling down. "But I would've healed with time. If someone saw you, you might get hurt."

Merlin shrugged, Arthur wondering if the little boy understood a word he was saying, or whether Merlin had been so careless from the day he was born.

Shaking his head, Arthur briefly wondered if all kids were so hard to talk to. He stared down when he felt a tug on his pants, staring in shock at the two play swords the little boy was holding, grinning up at him.

"Where did you …" he trailed off, shaking his head, deciding that he couldn't say anymore about Merlin's magic today. "Never mind."

Ignoring all of his conflicting feelings, Arthur couldn't help but smile as Merlin held the sword up to him, big grin on his face, giggle escaping again as Arthur took it, the little boy taking off out of the room.

"Merlin!" Arthur called, chasing after him, surprised at how quick the kid was, running down the corridor after the little boy.

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"Arthur?"

Freezing, Arthur turned around, throwing the toy sword he had off to one side, and giving his father his full attention, praying that Merlin wouldn't come back now. They had been playing knights and monsters for awhile now, Arthur surprised at how much he enjoyed it, warmth filling him as Merlin had smiled and laughed. The little boy was currently pretending to be a growling monster, Arthur trying to find him, while trying not to think of the boy as adorable.

"Yes, Father?" he replied, pasting an innocent look on his face.

Uther stared at him for a moment, his eyes going to where Merlin had disappeared before returning to him.

"Did I just see you playing with a little boy?" Uther asked, folding his arms.

"What?" Arthur replied, pretending to look shocked and outraged. "Of course not!"

"Really?" Uther asked, eyebrow raised, a clear indication that he didn't believe Arthur at all.

"Yes, I have much better things to do then … be off gallivanting around, playing knights and monsters with some kid," Arthur replied, swallowing a little as he realized he was blabbering.

He'd specifically picked this part of the castle because no one ever came through here, he couldn't help but once again think about who he must have annoyed to be having the run of bad luck he was having.

"And that little boy, who is he?" Uther said, pointing to the archway, Arthur praying that Merlin wasn't standing there.

Turning slowly, he clenched his jaw when he saw Merlin staring at them, the little boy's eyes narrowed as he looked at Uther, before looking back at Arthur with a worried look crossing his face.

"I have no idea," Arthur replied, turning a little to address his father. "One of the servant's children perhaps?"

"Really?" Uther repeated, staring at Arthur with a suspicious look.

"Or maybe Morgana's looking after him," Arthur continued, when he saw her walking towards them, staring at Merlin with a curious look, before looking at Arthur.

Was everyone going to walk into this part of the castle?

"You know this little boy, right, Morgana?" Arthur asked, giving her a significant look, Morgana smirking before addressing Uther.

"Yes," she replied, clearly willing to play along with Arthur for now, although the quick glance she sent him, told him that he would have to explain to her later. "He's the child of a friend of Gwen's. I've been looking all over for him."

Uther stared at them both, suspicious look still on his face, before he nodded slowly, moving past them.

"Kindly tell your servant that I don't want little children running around my castle," he said to Morgana, before turning back to Arthur. "I need to talk to you, Arthur."

"Oh," Arthur said, stopping himself from looking back at the little boy whose gaze he could feel on his back. "Of course, I'll be right down, father."

"Now, Arthur," Uther said, cocking his head to the side, eyes narrowed. "We can talk as we walk."

Arthur couldn't help but spare a quick glance to Merlin, the little boy frowning as he looked between him and his father, lower lip sticking out in a pout.

"Yes, Arthur," Morgana added, walking over to Merlin and resting a hand on the little boy's shoulder. "And I'll take this young man back to Gwen, so we can take him home to his parents."

Swallowing hard, Arthur nodded, not allowing any of his concern or worry cross his face, heart clenching as he thought of leaving Merlin with anyone but him.

"Come, Arthur," Uther said, turning and starting to walk away, Arthur following after him reluctantly, ignoring the part of him that wanted to turn around and make sure Merlin was okay.

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A/N – So Arthur is slowly working through finding out about Merlin's magic. It certainly helps that Merlin is adorable. As always let me know what you thought. The next part will be up Monday :).