Wow, I was really in no way, shape or form expecting the amount of Faves and Follows Ive gotten for this story... But they are very much appreciated, none-the-less :D
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(Sorry I couldnt thnk you all individually, but I will definitely reply to all reviews :D)
Merlin stifled a yawn as he finally stopped talking.
It had been late evening when he and Arthur had finally sat down and Merlin had started telling him everything. Sure, there were a few things he was vague about, but Arthur had seemed willing enough to let that pass.
It was now in the early hours of the morning, and Merlin was just answering the odd questions being fired at him. Speaking of odd questions…
"So… Merlin? The first time you came to work for me, and had that uncanny improvement in putting armour on? You can't tell me that that came with magic…?"
"Nope… I read up on it. Then decided it wasn't helping, so did the chores with magic and went and found Gwen…"
"Wait… So you used magic to help with… polishing?"
"I was tired…" Merlin sounded defensive. "And it was only the one time…"
At Arthur's raised eyebrow, Merlin shrugged,
"Okay, maybe it was nearer to the three or four… But not after the first few weeks."
"Right… And I can't believe Gaius used the Tavern as an excuse for you all these years."
Merlin's face fell at that, even as he was marvelling at Arthur's ability to flit from thought to thought,
"Yeah… I hardly ever go to the Tavern. Unless I'm in the mood to win more of your money from you."
"And do you use magic for that?"
Merlin gave him a look of outrage, which, in Arthur's eyes, was really over-the-top.
"Arthur! Cheating? It would never give me the satisfaction."
He kept up his indignant expression for all of three seconds under Arthur's disbelieving gaze, before he cracked.
"Okay, okay. So I cheated slightly."
Arthur glared for a few seconds before he let it drop.
"Fine. Can I meet the dragons?"
Merlin couldn't help it. He burst out laughing at the childishly keen look on Arthur's face and the absurd twists in the conversation.
"Yeah," he said, a few seconds later, hiccupping, "You can meet them."
Arthur looked ridiculously gleeful for a moment before he yawned. That was when he seemed to truly realise how late, or rather, early it was.
He looked slightly guilty as he realised that Merlin was obviously exhausted, and got to his feet, stifling another yawn.
"Right… Okay. I think we can continue this conversation in the morning. You obviously need to sleep."
Merlin looked rather surprised for a moment, and spoke up.
"Arthur? Are you feeling okay? I mean, you're actually giving a damn about whether I need sleep or not… Are you sure you didn't hit your head earlier-"
He stopped as a goblet came towards him, and threw up a small shield, causing the projectile to fall towards the floor. He caught it before it could hit, however, and put it back on the table, grinning at the look on Arthur's face as he realised that he would most likely never hit Merlin with a goblet again…
Ah well, Merlin reasoned, at least he seemed okay about the whole magic thing…
He nearly started laughing again there and then. This was all so surreal. Yesterday morning, he had woken up with a headache, and a list of chores to do, before a hunting trip, which was about as long as his arm, and here he was now, using magic in front of Arthur.
Who was, not only okay with it, but seemed to be more than a little interested.
Merlin got up to grab the trays and take them back to the kitchen, but Arthur spoke up.
"Leave them. It's late, you can take them in the morning."
"…Okay."
Merlin was instantly suspicious. Arthur never acted nice…
He was downright worried for the king at his next words.
"Oh, and you can take the morning off if you like… I'll probably be sleeping late anyway…"
Arthur couldn't understand the bemused look on Merlin's face. Was it really that out of character for him to act nice?
As he thought about it, he realise that yes, it was.
Which was probably the reason why Merlin, as he said goodnight and walked out of the room, kept looking back, bemused. He nearly walked into the door, he was so engrossed in seeing what the hell was wrong with Arthur.
He had just pulled the doors closed when Arthur realised that, whist he had been walking, he must have been using magic to stoke up the fire and sort everything out that he would normally have done by hand.
He couldn't find it in him to complain about the excessive use of magic. After all, Merlin had been keeping it a secret for his whole life. He deserved to have a chance to revel a little in it.
It was with this thought that he lazily went through his routine.
The thoughts were cut short as his head hit the pillow, as he was asleep the moment he pulled the covers up.
_
Merlin yawned and sat up. At first, he couldn't explain why he felt so relaxed, then it all hit him.
Arthur knew about his magic.
Arthur was okay with his magic.
And he had been able to sleep in till… Merlin looked out the window, and yelped jumping to his feet.
Yup, been able to sleep till past noon.
Arthur was going to kill him.
Ten minutes later, Merlin was out the door, half focusing on wolfing down the hunk of bread Gaius had foisted on him, and half focusing on what excuses he could use.
Hence the way he managed to completely forget to look where he was going and barrelled right into Gwaine.
The knight laughed, grabbing a hold of Merlin to top him tumbling to the floor, and chuckled at the sheepish expression on his face.
"Merlin! Shouldn't you be getting Arthur his lunch right about now…?"
"I know! Not my fault I only just woke up."
Gwaine gave a dramatic shudder, shoving Merlin in the direction of Arthur's chamber.
"Better get a move on then. The later you are, the worse it will be…"
"What if I just run away and never step foot in Camelot again? That way, I won't have to face the wrath of a starving Arthur…"
Gwaine thought it through, before shaking his head.
"Won't do… He wouldn't be able to stand a new servant. They are all bootlickers."
Merlin nodded.
"Yeah… He'd get bored."
They shared a grin before Gwaine nudged him on,
"Better get a move on…"
Merlin took the hint and started running again, calling back over his shoulder.
"Catch you later!"
It was only as he slid to a gasping stop outside Arthur's chambers that he realised that he hadn't even thought of revealing himself to Gwaine.
It was rather depressing to realise that hiding had come naturally to him…
He let the thought drop as he shoved the door open, only to scowl.
His royal pratness was still in bed, snoring away. And here Merlin was, worrying that he had been late.
The small voice telling him that not only was this a very bad idea, but that it wasn't actually Arthur's fault, was swept aside by the more mischievous, vengeance seeking side of his brain.
He stepped inside, closing the doors and head over to the window, only stopping to grab the goblet from Arthur's bedside and place it, out of reach, on the desk.
He waited a few seconds, before he used magic to make his voice louder inside Arthur's head.
"Good afternoon, Sire!"
The king flew upright, yelping, and, even better in Merlin's opinion, fell over the side of the bed, tangled in sheets.
Merlin pulled the curtains open, sending sunlight directly onto Arthur's face, causing him to yelp again.
Merlin took in the scene for a few seconds, then doubled over, laughing.
Even as Arthur got himself untangled, glaring at Merlin the entire time, Merlin had collapsed into a nearby chair, tears of mirth streaming down his cheeks.
It was a few minutes before he could calm down, but when he did, he was still chuckling.
Arthur just stood there, scowling and glaring at him.
Which, to Merlin, made the whole thing even funnier.
Eventually, Arthur seemed to have had enough, and spoke up.
"Merlin? I know that you're an idiot and all that, but I can still throw you in the stocks…"
"You really think that would work?"
Arthur considered, before he sighed.
"No, probably not. But this was unnecessary, you immature, irritating moron."
"Ah, look. The Pratdragon has come up with more insults. Good for you…"
Arthur reflexively reached for a goblet, and, when his hand grasped air, Merlin picked it up from the desk where he had put it, staring at it in mock concentration, before turning to Arthur.
"Is this what you're looking for, Sire?"
"Merlin?"
"Shut up?"
"Got it in one. Oh, and you can get this mess sorted out too…"
Merlin simply grinned, his eyes flashing gold, and Arthur watched, surprised, as everything flew back, neatly, into place.
He also got hit in the face with a bundle of clothes, and he glared at Merlin. But the glare soon turned to a grin as he took in the, now as clean as ever, room, and the huge grin across his friends face.
"You know, the convenience of all of this may become addictive…"
Merlin rolled his eyes as he head for the door.
"Wait till Gwaine starts asking about Unicorns. You'll soon get tired of it… I'll just fetch your lunch. Well, breakfast. Reckon you can dress yourself?"
"Merlin!"
"Shutting up."
When Merlin got back, twenty minutes later, it was to Arthur, fully dressed, sat at his desk, frowning over a notice.
Merlin set the tray down, then peered over the king shoulder, reading the notice.
Arthur,
Just thought I'd let you know before the council foists it on you. The outer villages are being attacked by, according to reports, a few sorcerers. The village where most of the attacks have taken place is about a day's ride away.
They have called for aid, hence the councils need for a meeting. They intend to ask you to leave it to the rest of us, and remain in Camelot.
Leon.
Merlin frowned. Whilst it was no unusual for Leon to leave notices like this, the content of it was rather stranger than most.
"Well? What are you going to do?"
Arthur looked up, his expression in the form of his very well known 'You know full well what I'm going to do' face.
"I'm going to inform the council that I intend to ride out. Can you spread the word amongst the knights? I want to be ready to ride out early this evening. We can cover some distance before setting up camp, then arrive at the village late tomorrow afternoon."
"Of course. Who?"
"Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Bedivere, Erec, Owain and Tristan."
Merlin frowned.
"So few?"
"Well, I intend to tell the about you, then sit back and relax as you deal with the problem so we can all head home…"
"You cannot be serious…?"
Merlin blinked, widely, shaking his head at the idea. Trust Arthur to come up with the most unsubtle way of doing something.
Arthur nodded,
"I'm completely serious. If I wait till we set up camp before I tell them, it'll give them a night to sleep on it…"
"Or head back to Camelot and tell everyone you're crazy…" Merlin, said, under his breath.
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Crazy? Nope. I'm sure that the others will have no trouble with it. Gwaine will laugh about it, Percival will shrug it off, Leon and Elyan may take a bit longer, but they'll come around. Bedivere, Erec and Owain will follow me. The only one we may have trouble with is Tristan. He was a very outward supporter of my father's war against magic…"
Merlin merely looked at him, blinked a few times, then shook his head.
"Okay then. I'll spread the word."
Now it was Arthur's turn to blink,
"Just like that? No complaints?"
"Nope… Just don't expect me to summon the dragons."
With that, Merlin head out to find Leon…
Three hours later, and the small group was riding out of Camelot.
They managed to make good time, and were well into the forest when night fell.
Before they could do more than prepare a few fires to be it, however, Arthur ordered the men to gather together as he needed to tell them something.
They were more than a little confused as Arthur and Merlin conversed in mutters for a few moments, and the King's manservant rolled his eyes before sitting down against a tree on the other side of the clearing, staring at the blonde, looking irritated.
If they had been able to hear the conversation, it would have gone like this.
Merlin- "So, you still wanna tell them?"
Arthur- "Don't really have a choice. It'll be fine…"
Merlin- "For you maybe…"
Arthur- "Merlin…"
Merlin- "I know… I just… it's just coming as a bit of a shock all at once."
Arthur- "I get that. I do, but they need to know."
Merlin- "I know that… You know they won't believe you at first, right?"
Arthur- "Which is why you will be giving them a demonstration…"
Merlin- "Like what?"
Arthur- "I dunno… Be creative…"
Then Merlin rolled his eyes and set off to sit at the other side of the clearing, sending a short message into Arthur's head.
"How about turning you into a toad?"
The king simply grinned, and turned to the knights.
"Okay," he began, "I know you're all wondering what I have to say that is important enough to keep you from Merlins stew… But it's important, and actually concerns Merlin anyway. Now, before I say anything else, know this, What I am about to tell you is still unknown to anyone but Me, Gaius and Merlin, and I want it to stay that way until I get around to telling everyone else. Is that understood?"
The men all nodded, some looking slightly confused as their eyes flickered over to Merlin, who was twiddling with his neckerchief… an obvious sign, to those who knew him, that he was nervous.
Before they could say anything however, Arthur spoke up again.
"Okay, so, now that we've cleared that up, I also want to say that some of you will likely consider me crazy at first, believe me I almost did myself, but I need to have your word that you will hear me and Merlin out, and that what I am about to say will not reach the ears of anyone else until I have said so."
The men nodded again, all now looking interested, if not completely confused by Arthur's uncharacteristic seriousness.
Sure that he now had his men's attention, and that they would not spread this news around, Arthur glanced to Merlin, who rolled his eyes and called over.
"Oh, just tell them and get it over with, already."
Arthur nodded, and turned to the men, deciding to just be blunt.
"Right then. Straight to the point, Merlin has magic and is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the five kingdoms."
It was silent for a few moments, as everyone realised that Arthur was being completely serious, and their eyes all flickered over to Merlin, who was whistling softly, shrugging to Arthur in an 'I told you so' way.
The silence was broken by the sound of a gleeful laugh, and they all turned to Gwaine, who was grinning widely.
Even Merlin, who knew his strange moods better than anyone else, was completely non-plussed by the laughter, and raised an eye-brow.
"Gwaine? Would you like to share…?" Arthur asked, hoping that this would turn out better than he thought it would, and was relieved when the knight rubbed his hands together, gleefully.
"This is great! Now I can finally meet a unicorn…"
Leon smacked him round the back of the head, before turning to Merlin, eyebrows raised and suspicion evident.
"Care to explain Merlin?"
The raven-haired warlock grinned slightly, shrugging.
"Born with magic, came to Camelot, saved Camelot more times than I care to remember, saved this royal prats life even more times than that… Oh, and I'm a figure from Druid legends and prophesies that are decades old… Oh yeah, and I'm a Dragonlord."
Leon blinked at the short, succinct speech, and was silent for a few moments.
Arthur knew that if Leon was okay with Merlin, then the others would follow suit, though it seemed that Percival and Elyan were okay with it anyway. And Gwaine? Well, he was being Gwaine.
After a couple of minutes, Leon shook his head, a huge grin spreading across his face.
"You know, now that I think about it, this answers a lot of questions…"
At that, both Merlin and Arthur visibly relaxed, and the other knights started to smile.
Of course, Gwaine had to choose that moment to speak up again.
"Okay then, all powerful sorcerer, show us!"
Merlin sighed, half amused half exasperated.
"First of all, it's warlock, not sorcerer. Second of all, I've never really been one for display magic… what with the whole 'magic is banned in Camelot' thing..."
Gwaine pouted,
"Please…?"
At his eagerness, and the other knights interest, Merlin sighed and raised a hand, palm up.
"Forbearne leanúint mo smaointe "
A flame appeared in his hand, and immediately grew and reshape itself.
A couple of seconds later and there was a miniature dragon flapping around Merlin's hand, made completely made from fire.
At his urging, his creation flew towards the knights, circling around their heads, before snorting smoke at Gwaine. He then enlarged it, making it into the image of the crest of Camelot, where it burned for a few seconds before fading away, leaving the clearing in darkness again.
It was silent for a few minutes before Elyan gave a low whistle.
"Well… That was… That sure was something Merlin."
Merlin nodded, smiling, in response to the compliment, and raised a hand again,
"Forbearne…"
All of the fires that he knights had prepared around the clearing burst into flame, lighting everything up with a warm glow, and Merlin sank back against the trunk of the tree, relief coursing through him. This had gone better than he could have hoped for.
He turned to Arthur, who was almost as dumbstruck as the knights at the display, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Creative enough for you Sire?"
Arthur blinked a couple of times, and nodded.
"Yep…"
After a couple of hours of telling the knights the basic outline of what he had done since coming to Camelot, they all settled down for the night.
Merlin decided that he may as well get used to the whole 'using magic in the open' thing, and paced around the clearing, casting wards that would alert them of any danger.
As Leon and Arthur watched him, the others having fallen asleep, Leon shook his head, amazed.
"Wow. I never thought I would say this, Sire, But Merlin is even more loyal than we ever gave him credit for. And a hell of a lot braver too."
"Yeah, I know. He told me the story in much more detail, and I sometimes had to remind myself that it was Merlin. The bumbling, ridiculously loyal idiot that had been traipsing around after me for years."
"You have to admit though, Sire, that things make a lot more sense now. I mean, we always knew there was something about him… And apparently not all magic is evil…"
"Yeah. I'm going to have to do something about that."
Their conversation as cut short as Merlin flopped down next to them, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.
"Wards up. Won't do much against attacks, but will give us enough of a warning to prepare."
Leon snorted lightly.
"You know, this would have made our lives a whole lot easier over the last few years…"
Merlin grinned, rolling his eyes.
"Tell me about it… No matter what I say about Arthur being blind, you guys really made things difficult for me…"
"Err…. Sorry?"
Merlin grinned at the sheepish tone in Leon's voice, then yawned again, and shuffled away.
"Ah well, what's done is done. Why bother dwelling on the past…? Now, if you feel the need to wake me, please don't act on it."
With that, he rolled over and went silent.
For a few seconds, neither man said anything, then they both lapsed into quiet laughter at how Merlin could say something wise one moment, then ridiculous the next. Apparently, their laughter was not quiet enough, as a clump of dirt smacked into Arthur's head.
"Merlin…?"
"Not me. Gwaine did it…" Merlin's voice was muffled, "Thought he could get away with it by framing me… Drunken ass…"
Gwaine gave an indignant snort from where he was, apparently, sleeping, and Arthur couldn't help grinning as he swept the dirt from his hair.
Some thing's were never going to change…
Okay, so one more chapter to go I think.
What do you think of this chapter? Good? Bad? Thumbs up? Thumbs down?
Whatever it is, let me know!