Chapter 11- Do You Trust Me?
Merlin sluggishly got out of bed and went downstairs to Gaius.
"Hello Merlin, good morning- I see that you've recovered a lot!" Gaius said while making breakfast.
Merlin nodded, then looked around for the arrow that had been in his back. "Gaius- can I see the arrow?" Gaius didn't question him as he handed him the object. Merlin looked at the arrow suspiciously, but all he saw were markings of Cendred. Whoever had shot him had done it from bushes far away- at least half a mile, as Arthur had extremely good senses. As far as Merlin knew, no human was capable of shooting that far. So, Merlin got out his spell book and looked for a certain spell. "That's it!" Merlin looked at the spell in the book, took a deep breath, and then braced himself for his first bit of magic since he had been awakened. "Unheran Bragdan Ali Unhcover" Merlin spoke. As the last bit of gold in his eyes died down, he looked at the arrow once again. This time he saw signs of magic. His spell had revealed the unrevealable. A sorcerer threw this. He looked for markings of the archer, and saw only one name. A sorcerer named Morgana. He had to tell Arthur before Morgana would destroy Camelot! He knew that Morgana was acting different and acting meaner then before, but this was proof that she was evil, and this was proof that she was attacking Camelot- and Merlin knew why. Uther was her father, and he didn't bother to help her or tell her, and Uther would kill her kind- magical kind. Inside Merlin, he had another secret just wanting to burst out of him. But that would have to wait. The fate of Camelot lay ahead of him. And it was up to Merlin to save it.
Merlin walked down the castle, happy to see familiar people moving around and patting him on the back. Although Merlin was afraid of what Arthur would say, he was happy to see the castle of Camelot. However, Camelot would have to wait. First, Merlin wanted to speak to one of his closest friends.
Merlin knocked on one of the houses in the lower town, excited to see one of his best friends.
"Merlin!" Gwen exclaimed happily and ushered him in. "How are you doing? Are you still injured? What happened?" Gwen asked many questions, rambling and rambling, until she realized that Merlin was being overwhelmed.
"God, Gwen, do you ever take a rest?" Merlin smiled playfully, and then added, "I'm doing fine, no I'm not injured, I got hit by an arrow, as I'm sure you've heard. Anyways, I stopped by before I attended to Arthur, just to let you know I'm fine. I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight, and I may invite others as well. I wanted to see everyone again."
"Sure- as long as I get to talk to you!" Gwen responded. The pair sat down on the couch in the small cottage and they talked for the whole morning. Then, Merlin realized the time, and rushed to the castle, wincing at the thought of what Arthur would have to say.
As Merlin was walking to Arthur's chambers, he saw Gwaine in the knight's arena, training with the other Camelot soldiers. Merlin decided to sneak up on him. He came from behind, then grabbed a sword, and pushed it against Gwaine's neck.
"Hey," Merlin said casually.
"Hey, could you get this sword off my neck?" Gwaine said painfully, though glad to see the sight of his friend.
Merlin apologized and lowered the sword, then said, "So, before you start bombarding me with questions, like Gwen, I was wondering if you could come over for dinner- I invited Gwen too, then we could catch up. If you're coming, that's great. But, I really got to go now- Arthur's going to be so mad- I'm hours late!" Before Gwaine could speak, Merlin had fled to his job.
Merlin timidly knocked on the doors, knowing that this didn't work out to plan. Arthur was already angry- he would be furious once Merlin told him his secrets.
"MERLIN! Get in here, you lazy servant!" Arthur shouted angrily. Merlin shuffled inside, and before Arthur could yell at him, started his chores. He waited for Arthur to calm down, and walked over to him when he was working on his plans for the council tonight.
"Uh, Arthur?" Merlin asked nervously.
"What is it Merlin- and before you say anything, why were you so late?" Merlin sighed. "What you thought I forgot about it?" Arthur's blue eyes glistened in disbelief.
"No sire, I didn't. Um, I was late because- well, I was talking to a few people- I had to do something!"
Arthur sighed in exasperation, and then said, "Fine, you're off the hook this time. Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Merlin started sweating and stressing, hopping around, as Arthur looked on in amusement. How was he supposed to say it? When Merlin was shot with the arrow on the quest, he had seen something before he was knocked out. Morgana- Morgana's dress, Morgana's eyes, Morgana's hair. He was certain she had shot the arrow at him. Why she didn't shoot it at Arthur was beyond him, but Merlin knew that Morgana was the culprit. Finally, he figured out how to phrase the secret.
Finally, Merlin spoke. He whispered, barely above the wind, "Do you trust me?"