Arthur watched Merlin carefully rise from where he sat and silently melt away into the forest. The knights each looked at Arthur expectantly. They seemed to be wordlessly prodding him. He had a duty- and right now, that duty was not that of a king. It was of something deeper. Not the sort of duty that bards sing songs about, or the sort of duty that would be remembered throughout the ages. It was a duty that was the business of no one save for two people. One that would never die, not like this. It couldn't. Arthur stood and nodded to no one in particular. With a sigh, he headed towards the direction where Merlin had gone.

He found the warlock several yards away, standing before a stream. The man stared at it sorrowfully, his shoulders slumped in sorrow as if they had held up the world alone for years. Merlin's form was tired; defeated. Arthur furrowed his brows with sudden realization. When had Merlin become a man? Had he not been a mere boy when they had met, a boy full of ambition and innocence? It was the fault of Arthur that all of that had melted away. Over the years Merlin had always played the part of the careless servant with his smiles and idiotic comments, but over time Arthur noticed that the smiles stopped reaching the servant's eyes. Acknowledging Arthur's presence, Merlin turned to face him.

"Do you know that the worst part is?" The warlock asked in a soft voice. "I can never leave you. No matter what you do to me, I will always live for you and always serve you, because I will always believe in you. Whether I'm in chains, or if you hate me, I can never leave. The day I stop serving you, Arthur, is the day I die."

"Or the day I do." Arthur answered. Merlin shook his head.

"No." He said, his voice louder now. He eyes bore into Arthur's, the eyes of a sorcerer. The eyes of unshakeable destiny. "No. If you die, I wait." Arthur blinked. A breath of air escaped his lips which were now slightly parted. A single word stood clear in the man's brain.

Oh.

In that moment, while staring into Merlin's eyes, it was all of a sudden clear. He had always known. Not about the magic, no, perhaps not the physical kind, but about Merlin. From the moment they had met they were destiny. The king and the warlock- but more than that, Merlin and Arthur.

Something strange happened then. Arthur chest rose, and with it, a silent sob escaped from his lips. As Arthur began to cry, Merlin watched him in fascination, but not without question. For Arthur cried now because they both knew. No more words were needed, no more battles. In the future, yes, but not now. Arthur wiped his eyes and took a breath. He waited a moment before speaking to ensure that his voice was steady.

"I am sorry." He said. "I am sorry, and I know that my words may never be enough, for I have wronged you. Many times I have wronged you." Merlin shook his head.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does, actually."

"No." Merlin protested. "I don't matter, and don't tell me that I do. I am only here to serve you, to give you what you need."

"And what's that?" Arthur asked. Merlin smiled then.

"Protection. To rule Camelot and it's people. To be the king that we all deserve."

"And is that all I need?"

"I don't know." Arthur put his hand to his hip and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of Excalibur. He had brought the sword to the stream on an instinct. The sword that Merlin had led him to those years ago. The king drew the weapon from its scabbard and walked towards Merlin. With an expression of grim determination, he raised the sword into the air.

"You do though. I need more than to be protected. I need a friend- and for once in my life, if only once, I need to serve you." The swords rushed toward Merlin, the wind whistling against the metal as it arced downwards. A brilliant sound erupted as steel made contact with steel, and with a flash of light the cuffs fell from Merlin wrists. As soon as Merlin was released from the cuffs he let out a strangled cry and sank towards the ground. Before he could make contact with the dirt, Arthur reached out his arms to catch him.

"Merlin!" He hissed. "What wrong?"

"I'm fine." Merlin gasped, although he looked far less than that. His face shown even whiter than was normal, and his breath came out in gasps. "It's the magic. It's been restrained… too long. It just… hurts… is all."

"You're alright, Merlin… just…." Arthur frowned. "Just, uhm… breath." Merlin laughed then, before twisting his face in pain.

"It's a good thing you're king, for you would make an awful physician." Arthur rolled his eyes at that, but couldn't help the sudden smile that sprang to his lips. He was relieved, now, that he had released his friend from his previous burden. What Leon had said was true. It was the one who used magic that made it good or evil, and Merlin would do more than good. Arthur saw in his mind a vision of Merlin no longer a servant, but an equal. An equal that would rule by his side as soon as they had returned to Camelot. Merlin would remain a protector to Camelot as he had always been, but this time his actions would be no secret. There was only one obstacle to go before that day, one that could only be achieved with the two men working together.

"Alright now?" Arthur asked. Merlin nodded.

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"Good." Arthur said, and he helped his friend to stand. "I'll take care of your watch tonight, you can just rest. And tomorrow- tomorrow we'll take care of Elaine."

Author's note: I do not own BBC or it's characters. Sadly. So guess who had no internet for more than a week? Meee! There should only be two more chapters on this one. I actually have an idea for another Merlin multichapter fic which is a horrible horrible idea because I am terrible at this multichapter thing. Sigh. Who knows, maybe I'll do it anyways. Anyways, thanks for reading! Please fav and review! Much love!