A/N: Have I mentioned lately that I love all you reviewers? Seriously. So much love.
Disclaimer: Nope. STILL don't own Merlin.
Merlin opened his eyes with a soft groan. His head hurt. He hurt all over. And he had no idea where he was. Someone touched his shoulder.
"Merlin?" He turned on his side to blink at the intruder. It was Gwaine. His whole chest was bandaged. "Are you fit to ride? We need to get back to the camp. I sent a falcon to Kai, but he says the soldiers are restless. He told them Arthur was taken by an evil sorceress but that she was defeated at that the King was returning, and they'd really like proof."
"Sure." Merlin felt a throb of pain as he lifted himself onto his forearms. He swore loudly. Gwaine grimaced.
"Sorry. This place is pretty much deserted, we couldn't find a proper physician." Merlin looked around. He was in some sort of royal bedchamber, but it was nowhere in Camelot.
"Where are we?"
"My old home." Gwaine sat on the edge of the bed. "All of us were fighting, with Morgana, when the entire line of creatures broke. Leon, Lancelot and I were exhausted and just about out of our minds at that point, and Morgana I ended up just sort of stumbling around the swamp." Gwaine grinned. "Which, as a matter of fact, was excellent, because we stumbled across you and Arthur collapsed by the river. We followed the river to the castle, since it's the only decent shelter anywhere around here. I gave you Gaheris's bedchamber, because he's the cleanest and I thought you deserved it."
"Oh." Merlin blinked. Then scrambled up, ignoring the pain in his…well, everywhere. "Arthur!"
"Is fine." Gwaine frowned. "But he refuses to talk about what happened while you two were in Avalon."
"Oh, God." Merlin whimpered. He thought he remembered Arthur being awake. Arthur being awake meant Arthur seeing, and not even Arthur was unobservant enough to not see that his manservant was using magic.
But he hadn't been killed in his sleep, and that was probably a positive.
"I'm guessing that something less than pleasant happened?" Gwaine asked ruefully. Merlin nodded. Gwaine waited. "Fine, don't tell me. But we need to get on those horses as fast as we can, and get back to camp. I gave you a set of clothes, all of yours were ripped to shreds." Gwaine tossed him some clothing and left. Merlin scrambled into it, ignoring his various aches and bumps and bruises.
As he bumped down the stairs and tried not to knock over and of the suits of armor, Merlin went over the possibilities. Maybe he'd only be banished. Or maybe Arthur was saving some incredibly horrible punishment for him, something that could only be done at Camelot because Uther was the one who created it, or Arthur was going to ambush him outside and only hadn't killed him because he felt it was dishonorable to kill a sleeping man.
None of that happened. The horses had eventually gotten up and made it back to Gwaine's family stables, but there were enough horses in there to take fresh ones and gallop back to camp. Most of the riders privately thought that, being in the condition they were in, they would rather walk.
Arthur didn't look at Merlin once. Merlin shied away from Arthur. Morgana shifted nervously and failed absolutely at not showing how nervous she was. Gwaine discovered he could sleep while riding a horse at full gallop and not fall off. Leon winced every time there was a bump. Lancelot thought dreamily of Gwen and ignored everyone else.
They arrived with the camp in a state of uproar. Kai and Sir Ector were doing their best, but a few thousand soldiers who hadn't seen their king since the major battle could be a rowdy lot.
"Hey! It's the King!" shouted one man. And then there was a reverent mob surrounding the party. Arthur forced a smile to his lips.
"Yes. I'm not dead or dying, just have a few small wounds. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to have those seen to." Arthur pushed his way through the cloud of advisors and physicians and collapsed inside his tent. He didn't need a healer. He was in perfectly fine shape thanks to a certain lying excuse for a servant.
"Merlin, what's wrong?" Gaius asked in a low voice. "You're shaking, and I don't think I've seen you this unbalanced in all the time I've known you."
"It's Arthur." Merlin whispered back. "I think he saw. I mean, I'm certain he saw. When I was getting him back from Morgaine he was conscious and I don't think he could have possibly missed what I did."
"Well what did you do?" Gaius demanded. Merlin looked away. "Fine. I'll go talk to his highness and see if I can get him to see sense."
"No!" Merlin yelped. Gaius raised an eyebrow. "I don't want you in trouble for harboring a sorcerer, I'll talk to him myself. Don't you have to bring him a tray in?" Gaius nodded slowly. "Well, I'll do that."
"Merlin, do you think putting yourself in an isolated tent with Arthur really wise at this time?" Merlin shrugged.
"It's not as though things could get worse."
Arthur paced around his tent. Gaius was coming in to give him food and make sure he hadn't infected a wound and Arthur had no idea how to talk to the man. Did he tell him about Merlin? But then again surely Gaius knew, Merlin couldn't keep a secret for his life…
Ha. That only applied before Arthur found out that the man he'd wanted as a lover was a sorcerer. The man that he still wanted, dammit. His father's ghost was going to rise from the grave and start haunting him out of spite.
There was sound at the tent flap.
"Gaius I'm fine." Arthur broke off when he saw who had actually entered. Merlin cowered at the entrance, looking particularly guilty. "Oh. You."
"Me." Merlin tried to force a grin and failed. "We haven't talked, exactly, and I thought it might be a good idea."
"No." Arthur said flatly. Do not engage in discussion with sorcerers. They will attempt to trap you. His father's words rang in his head.
"But…" Merlin trailed off, then flared up. "I'm still here you know! I don't just drop off the map because you don't want to talk to me! I'm still your manservant and you'll have to talk to me sometime!"
"I could always fire you." Arthur picked up a goblet of wine, unaware that it was a habit he had picked up from his father.
"But where else would you find a servant so masterful at the art of dropping things?" Arthur laughed a little despite. Then he slammed the goblet down so that wine slopped out over his hand.
"Sorcery?" Merlin flinched back. Arthur flung his hands up. "Other things I could understand, but magic? Are you out of your mind? You should be running from me as fast as you can carry yourself right now to get away from me!"
"First of all, if I planned on doing that, I would have done it the day I met you. Secondly, where would I go? You'll be King over all Albion. It's destiny." Arthur groaned.
"And I suppose magic told you that."
"Actually yes." Arthur took a gulp of wine. He'd rather have this conversation drunk. "Arthur!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know how I'm supposed to react! I'm never had someone I…someone who was my bloody friend commit this particular degree of treason before!" Arthur snapped. Merlin dumped the tray on the ground.
"What was I supposed to do, let you die!"
"Maybe!" Arthur suddenly frowned. "You killed Morgaine. How many other people have you killed with magic?"
Merlin looked very small. "The crone who tried to kill you when we first met. Edwin. Sophia and Aufleric. A couple of Tauren's followers. A bunch of bandits. Nimueh." Arthur's mouth opened in a soundless exclamation. "Morgause's army, sort of. A lot of random soldiers who were going to strike at your back. Some important Sidhe." Merlin sighed. "At this point, I don't even remember everyone."
"Everyone who ever tried to harm me." Arthur's tone held a kind of quiet wonder.
"I've saved your princely backside quite a few times." Merlin's mouth quirked up. "The rest of the knights too."
"Gwaine knows, doesn't he?" Arthur felt a bit of old jealousy surge up. Merlin's eyes flashed with anger.
"Yes, he and Lancelot know. I'm sorry Arthur but I'm glad they knew! Do you have any idea what it's like having a secret that you can't tell anybody because it'll get you and probably people you care about killed and how horrible it feels! Having somebody tell me magic wasn't a curse was nice!" Merlin glared. Arthur ran a hand through his hair and still didn't know what he was going to do about this mess.
He opted for the Pendragon method, which was to sit down and eat and ignore the problem. Merlin, unfortunately, responded to that by sitting down too and looking hungry. Arthur sighed and pushed the plate across the table to share with him. Merlin nibbled on some bread.
"You know, this is going a lot better than I expected." Merlin commented. "I thought maybe you would ambush me and kill me."
"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed. "No! I'm angry but…I'm not killing you. Why didn't you just tell me?"
"When? After your father executed his third sorcerer in a week? After you were stalking around muttering out paranoid delusions on how everyone with magic was out to kill your line? Or perhaps as you fought to keep your kingdom?" Merlin slumped. "I was going to tell you. I just kept trying to find the right time and it was never proper."
"I know that feeling." Arthur muttered. "Still, I would have liked to know."
"I guess." Merlin eyed him over the table. Arthur eyed Merlin back.
"There's something I should tell you - "
"While we're on the topic of secrets - "
Arthur covered a laugh with his hand. "I can't believe we have even more problems."
"Camelot doesn't encourage normalcy." Merlin leaned forward and started to say something. Arthur, who was now operating a policy of too little sleep, a lot of wine, and the fact that everything was messed up enough already, leaned forward and kissed him. Merlin froze, then reciprocated.
"Um, yeah." Arthur muttered, once he was back on his side of the table. "That was what I wanted to say."
"Me too." Merlin admitted. Arthur sighed. "I wish I'd managed it a few years earlier."
"Agreed." Arthur put his head on his arms. "Can we also agree that you won't be executed and under no circumstances may you leave to seek another position?"
"Are you kidding?" Merlin said, a grin lighting up his features. "Then again, the scullery maids badger me enough, and as soon as they find out I'm sleeping with you the gossip will just never stop."
"There will be no gossip." Arthur said flatly. "I'll life the anti-magic laws, and you can just tell everyone you're a warlock." Arthur saw Merlin's face glow from across the table a second before he lunged across to kiss Arthur. Arthur made a grunting noise and fell over, dragging Merlin with him onto the pallet that some excellent maid who was now getting a pay raise put there.
He opened his eyes just enough to see Merlin's turn gold, and all the buttons on his shirt pop off. Arthur was lowering his hands when Merlin pushed him off, blushing.
"What?"
"Not to be insulting, but…" Merlin gestured to himself. "Bruises all over, pulled half my muscles, and I'm ready to fall over. Gaius was mad enough at my just for riding in this condition, I think any other strenuous activity is out of the question."
"Oh." Arthur muttered. "I guess there's plenty of time later, and my bed in Camelot if more comfortable anyway?"
"Your bed?"
"I'm not doing it on yours, it's got fleas on it!" Merlin shoved him. Arthur grinned and draped an arm over Merlin's shoulders. "Quite frankly, you will just need to move into my room. No need for me to wait every morning, or have to watch you get dressed and leave every night." Merlin rolled his eyes.
"That's what magic is for, idiot." Arthur was about to protest that he not an idiot, when he realized that Merlin was talking about using magic for casual things. Little things.
"Do something right now?" Merlin blinked at him. "Magic. Something…" Arthur struggled for words. "Non evil."
"Gosh. Do something that an essential part of me in a non evil way, how will I manage." He saw Arthur's face and softened. "You know, it's not all people like Nimueh and Morgaine and Morgause who twist everything. Look." Merlin put a hand up and suddenly, the ceiling of the tent was a starry sky. "There's so much amazing stuff you can do with magic."
"That's…" Arthur stared. Merlin rolled onto his side and opened his hands. There were bluebells in them, which changed to a bunch of fluttering doves. "I don't like birds."
"Killjoy." Merlin lay back down and closed his eyes. "Do you think the army would be mad if I made it rain?"
"You can do that?" Arthur though back to their extraordinary lack of drought over the last few years. "Wait a minute, so the perfect weather for harvests in the last few years?"
"I just changed things whenever I heard you complain. Weather magic is fun." Merlin said, smiling dreamily. Arthur sighed and pulled Merlin closer.
"Yes, I think they'd be furious. There are still people sleeping outside." Arthur laughed. "Do something else. I've never seen magic and liked it."
Merlin's eyes turned gold, and silver wisps began to collect in the air above them, slowly forming a model of Camelot. Arthur's mouth fell open as it grew more and more detailed, tiny replicas of the knights and servants hurrying along ramparts forming.
"Wait just a second, is that Gwaine beating me in a duel?" Arthur sat upright. Merlin laughed. "That's not very nice."
"Not sorry." Merlin grinned and waved a hand, getting rid of the model. "Do you want to see more?"
"Yes. No. What else can you do?" Arthur laid back down. "Do you have any special powers?"
"Um." Merlin coughed. "Well, yes. Quite a few."
"Really?" Arthur looked interested.
"Ah, I'm a Dragonlord. But before you get mad, I didn't have this power until my father died because that's how Dragonlord power works, I don't know who made up that stupid rule, but as soon as I did have that power I got rid of Kilgarrah. He's sort of our ally now." Arthur stared at Merlin. "Um. Also the power of Life and Death."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I can give life to the dying. At the cost of another's life." Merlin coughed. "That was what happened when I killed Nimueh." Arthur frowned.
"Wait. So when I was bitten by the Questing Beast, and I was dying, you were the one who saved me?" Merlin shrugged. Arthur rolled over to kiss him. "You really are an idiot. How could you possibly think that I'd have you killed after all that?"
"Your family has a less than perfect history with my kind." Merlin snuggled into Arthur's side. "So do I get my own magical position?"
"Absolutely." Arthur thought. "Palace Warlock. No, court sorcerer. Or maybe wizard of Camelot? Magical village idiot?"
"Shut up." Merlin kicked his leg. "As long as I don't have to wash your dirty socks anymore."
"No, you still have to do that." Merlin kicked him again. "It's practical! If you've got magic you don't have to touch them, and isn't that kinder than inflicting them on some other hapless servant?"
"Prat." Merlin closed his eyes.
"Excuse me, sire - Oh." Arthur opened his eyes and sat up. There was a guard standing at the tent flap, his face about the same color as his uniform.
"Yes, what is it?"
"The men have requested instructions about the prisoner. We're not precisely sure about how many guards you want, or whether she should be in chains, or…fed…" The guard was deliberately not looking at Merlin.
"What prisoner?" Arthur asked.
"The princess Morgana." Arthur exchanged a glance with Merlin.
"Summon her here, and Merlin and I will decide what should be done." Arthur commanded. The guard bowed and retreated. "I might as well make you one of my official advisors. God knows you think that's your position anyway."
"Great." Merlin grumbled. He sat up and made his way to a chair. "So I get to be the one who gets blamed every time you mess up. Wait. I'm that already."
"Shut up!" The tent flap rustled. Arthur rose to his feet as Morgana entered.
She'd cleaned up. Someone had given her water to wipe away the worst of the dirt, and she's gotten a comb through her hair. She was wearing a man's tunic and breeches, doubtless loaned to her by one of the knights. The dress of a princess was hard to come by at a war camp.
"Arthur." Morgana dipped into a curtsy. It was still flawless, despite the time since she'd last been in court. "My King."
"Morgana." Arthur swallowed. Then took one step forward to crush her in his arms. "By God I have missed you."
"And I you." Morgana hugged him back just as tightly. "I am sorry, my brother. I swear to you that I am sorry." She pulled back, eyes quizzical. "Where is Uther?"
"Dead." Morgana swayed.
"Oh. I…" She closed her eyes. "I spent so many months dreaming of his death, and now…now I feel nothing but grief."
"Understandable. But we have a lot to talk about." Arthur sat back down. "I'll have a servant fetch a chair, you shouldn't stand for too long."
"No need." Merlin spoke up. His eyes flashed gold and a chair grew from the ground. Morgana paled and sat on it gingerly.
"So. You've got magic." Morgana took a deep breath. "In retrospect, this is very obvious."
"Isn't it?" Arthur said wryly.
"I can't help but notice you aren't executing him." Morgana commented. "Does this mean you are straying from our father's policies?"
"It does." Arthur put his elbows on the table. "I seek a new era. One free from the hatred and pointless bloodshed of my father's reign. To do this, I plan to lift the bans on magic. Those who practice magic with evil intent will still be prosecuted, but no longer shall the innocent burn."
"Oh." Morgana sighed. "I…I no longer count as one of the innocent, do I?"
"I'm not starting my reign by executing my sister." Arthur said flatly. Morgana smiled faintly. "You were…misguided, before."
"That's an understatement Arthur." Morgana's eyelids lowered. "I was afraid. Fear turned to hate against Uther, the one who terrified me, and against Merlin, who betrayed me in order to save Camelot."
"What?" Arthur turned to Merlin with a frown. Merlin shook his head minutely. I'll explain later. "Go on."
"I don't think you could understand it Arthur. Suddenly finding yourself alone, with a curse on you that you can barely control, that would make your own father execute you, and then having one person come forward and tell you it's okay…." Morgana took a deep breath. "I believed every word Morgause told me. And her hate and bitterness consumed me. I have tried, in the past few months, to…to do some good, to make up for the harm I caused."
"You mean helping the knights, and helping Gwaine's brothers escape." Morgana nodded.
"Yes." Arthur put his chin on his hands and thought. Merlin kicked him under the table.
"What?" Merlin stared at him. "Of course she can come back with us, you don't have to kick my shins!"
"Good." Merlin smiled at Morgana. "I'm sorry too. I should have told you that you weren't alone." Morgana studied him. "I didn't trust you. I'm sorry for that."
"I think we should start over." Arthur said. He held out a hand to Morgana. "A new beginning." Morgana smiled at took his hand.
"I wonder how the people will react." Morgana commented. She turned her head to the opening of the tent. "They used to love me, as I recall."
"They'll be suspicious, but this is a new age." Arthur said confidently. "And you fought alongside Leon, Gwaine and Lancelot. The three of them are regarded as heroes in Camelot, once they tell people how you went into battle with them it will sway the feelings of the people. Besides, I'm sure they have other things to talk about."
"I'll say." Morgana suddenly giggled. "I heard the guard talking about walking in on your and your concubine when he was coming to get me."
"Concubine?" Merlin spluttered. Arthur grinned.
"I like that. Merlin the concubine has a nice ring to it."
"I'm not a concubine!" Merlin said indignantly. "I don't get paid."
"Yes you do." Arthur was still grinning.
"I don't get paid to love you." Merlin grumbled. Arthur's heart warmed. Morgana sighed, her head tipping to the side and one hand going to her heart. "Besides which, you don't pay me enough to be a concubine!"
"I pay you plenty!" Arthur protested. Merlin rolled his eyes. "And for the service I get - "
Merlin made a disgusted noise and made a sharp gesture with his hand. Arthur yelped. He was no longer sitting. He was dangling upside down, arms flailing. Morgana burst into laughter. Merlin leaned back and examined his nails.
"Merlin! Put me down!"
"No. Not until you come up with a better title than bloody concubine." Merlin's mouth twitched up.
"How did you do that?" Morgana asked. She was looking at Arthur's state of levitation with great interest. "I'd love to know how."
"It's easy." Merlin leaned across the table and waved a quill over. "See, you can move the air under his feet to bring them up, then you do this." Merlin made a vague gesture, his eyes flashing gold. Arthur was hiked a foot further up. "Simple."
"Hmm." Morgana made the same gesture. Arthur wobbled then went to the side.
"If you two are quite finished?" Arthur asked icily. Merlin cocked his head.
"Maybe."
"I don't know how to think up titles!"
"For heaven's sake, both of you." Morgana tutted. "Just call him your Wizard Consort."
Merlin shrugged. "Works for me."
Arthur fell to the ground in a heap. Then he began to laugh. Harder and harder. Morgana and Merlin exchanged a bemused look.
"It's just…" Arthur managed to stop chuckling. "Do you remember the first day we met? You told me that you could take me apart with less than one blow. I thought you were just suicidal but…" He shook his head, still laughing. "It's a miracle you haven't been caught."
"Maybe." Merlin muttered. "I could still hoist you in the air!"
"You really must teach me these things." Morgana said. Her eyes glittered. "Arthur needs more than 1 person to keep his head small enough to fit under that crown."
"I would be happy too." Merlin grinned at Morgana. "You could be my apprentice!"
"Apprentice to a servant. What would father say?" Morgana chuckled.
"Apprentice to the Wizard Consort." Merlin corrected. "It sounds a lot better."
"Good God, what have I gotten myself into?" Arthur muttered. Merlin and Morgana turned matching evil smiles on him.
A/N: I think there's only one chapter left. Golly. Expect a lot of fluff. Review?