Part 2 of 2.
The dark was nice. There was no pain or anything really. He could just stay in it forever. But there was something he had to do. A name floated through his mind. Arthur. Awareness hit him like a lightning strike. He knows! A sense of panic forced Merlin to attempt to sit up. He only managed to open his eyes, a task that was much harder than it should have been. He could only manage to prop himself up slightly. The warlock frowned at the ceiling- it was lit more than any cell he'd ever been in, and the room smelled of herbs. And the bed he was laying on was one of the most comfortable he'd ever felt.
Merlin gazed around the room, wondering why he was in Gaius's chambers. Arthur had made it clear that he was a hated criminal; and enemy of Camelot. He glanced downwards to see what the heavy weight on his legs was. A slumped figure gave a snore- Gaius. Then shuffling to his right caught his attention.
Arthur was watching him from a chair, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but his dry throat refused to rasp out words. The king seemed to get the message, however, and he leaned forward and held a cup with water to his lips.
"What happened?"
Arthur seemed to ignore the obvious issue. "After you passed out like the girl you are, I found a group of druids. They tended to your wound and gave me a horse. We've been back at Camelot for a few days now." He hesitated for a moment, reading the unspoken question in the warlock's eyes. "And Gaius told me a bit about… the magic, and what you've done over the years. I'll listen to the full story before I make a decision."
Merlin sighed in relief, and sank back into the pillows. The small one-sided conversation had exhausted him. Arthur stood up. "Sleep now, you idiot. But you're telling me everything else later, and mucking out the stables for keeping this from me."
A little less than two weeks later, Merlin, Gwen, Arthur, the knights, and Gaius all sat in Arthur's chambers and listened to Merlin tell his story. As promised, the warlock started at the beginning, and spoke of everything he had done since the day he had walked through the gates of Camelot, and left nothing out but a small detail that was forgotten, often supplied by Gaius. When he told of the dragon, who Dragoon really was, and Morgana, Arthur almost shattered the barely mended friendship with shouting and threats. However, everyone laughed at the goblin and enchanted Arthur's antics, and shed a tear or two over Lancelot, Balinor, Will, and Freya. It took a week for Merlin to finish the tale.
It took Arthur two days after that to begin removing the ban on magic.
Yes, I know, corny ending. It's probably crap, but practice makes perfect, and this is my first non- drabble story. Thoughts? I might add a chapter from Arthur's point of view later, but no guarantees.