Chapter 7

"Rise and Shine!"

Arthur groaned and rolled over to hide his eyes from the light pouring in through the curtains Merlin had flung open. How did he manage to be so annoyingly cheerful every morning?

Arthur started to doze again, his brain drifting back into blissful unawareness.

Merlin yanked the covers off of Arthur's bed and added them to a pile of laundry he was collecting. Arthur shivered and curled himself up in an attempt to keep warm without having to wake up completely. He could hear Merlin thundering about his room, doing his morning chores as loudly as possible, which was one of his usual tactics for disturbing Arthur's peaceful rest to make him get up and face a new day.

Then Arthur suddenly remembered the events of the days before and the utterly bizarre fact that Merlin could do magic; that Merlin was Emrys. Arthur suddenly felt much more awake. Merlin, his rude and incompetent manservant was a powerful sorcerer and it was the weirdest thought Arthur had ever woken up to.

He peeked his eyes open and saw Merlin laying out his outfit for the day. It was such a normal sight that he could almost believe that everything that had happened in the last two days had been a dream. So much stuff had been happening that he hadn't really had a chance to sit back and absorb the truth about Merlin since his discovering that Ygraine had been a shade and Emrys was his friend rather than his foe.

Arthur tried to consolidate everything he knew about Merlin with what he knew about Emrys. Merlin had been born with powerful magic and better control over it than most people, but couldn't really use it properly until he got hold of a magic book. He had come from Ealdor to Camelot and became Arthur's manservant. Also, Gaius knew of his magic since they met. Just from his basic backstory Arthur already had a lot of questions. Where did he get the magic book? How did Gaius know he had magic? And most importantly – why had he come to Camelot of all places?

Emrys had summoned an orb of light to save Arthur when he was in the caves of Balor. But Merlin had been dying of poison and back in Camelot at the time. Already more questions.

Arthur had forced Merlin to stay back in Camelot rather than accompany him on his mission to the forest of Magnaroth and then Emrys had turned up out of nowhere to save him when the mission went sour. That actually made sense.

Emrys had hidden himself in plain sight and never told Arthur his true identity because he needed to stay in the shadows in order to protect Camelot. He knew Arthur would be conflicted by whether to uphold or break his own decrees if he knew who Emrys was. Although Arthur wished Merlin could have trusted him with the truth, he realized that Merlin would know better than anyone of Arthur's mistrust of magic, especially before he had met Emrys. Arthur could hardly blame him for keeping his secret. If anyone was to blame for that, Arthur felt he was responsible himself for never giving Merlin reason to believe he wouldn't be rejected if Arthur found out the truth.

When Emrys had saved Arthur in disguise, that had been Merlin. And he had also been saving Camelot for years. Emrys had been the one to explode Morgana's immortal army, defeat Sigan, and stop at least several other threats to the kingdom that Arthur could think of. He was almost certain that he was right about that. Which meant that it was actually Merlin who had done those things – Merlin who was right here currently digging through Arthur's sock drawer.

Arthur sat up in bed, all thought of trying to get back to sleep abandoned. He was far too curious to sleep now. He had had so many questions he wanted to ask Merlin.

"Merlin," he started to say.

Merlin turned to him and said in shock, "You're awake!"

Arthur was rather insulted by Merlin's tone, which hinted at a lack of faith in Arthur's ability to get out of bed in the morning, but he ignored it because he had too many questions to bother reminding Merlin that he managed to get up every morning perfectly fine.

"Yes, Merlin," he said impatiently, "I want to ask you a question."

Merlin waited and actually starting to look a little nervous.

"Did you make Morgana's immortal army explode?" Arthur asked.

"Yes," Merlin replied, with an annoying lack of elaboration.

"How?" asked Arthur, sure that there must be an epic tale behind Merlin's single-handed defeat of an entire army of soldiers who could not be killed.

"I knocked over the cup of life and emptied it of the blood within."

"You had to knock over a cup?" Arthur asked, strangely disappointed.

Arthur had been imagining – well he didn't know what he had been imagining to be honest, but it was not that. If all it took to destroy the immortal army was to knock over a cup, Emrys the invincible sorcerer wasn't needed; Merlin the incompetent manservant could accomplish that with no magic. In fact, he did it on a regular basis.

"It was a little bit more difficult than that!" Merlin said defensively.

"I'm sure," said Arthur sarcastically.

"I had to get past an immortal army first! And Morgause!"

Arthur tried to hold back laughter but found he couldn't. Merlin sounded so indignant.

Then something else occurred to him.

"What ever happened to Morgause?"

"She's dead," Merlin replied, "When she cast the spell on the Cup of Life to create the immortal army, she had to bind the spell with her own soul. It was kind of like how Morgana had to bind herself to the Amulet of Dhakira – a bit different though. But it meant that when I broke the spell she had exactly one year to live. At least that's what Gaius' book said. Morgana said that I had condemned Morgause to a slow and painful death."

"Wait, when did you talk to Morgana about this?"

"When she captured me a couple months ago," Merlin said casually.

"When she what?!"

"Uhm," said Merlin, who had started fidgeting and avoiding Arthur's gaze.

Any actual explanation that he may or may not have been about to give was cut off by a sudden knock on the door.

"Enter," Arthur called, getting out of bed.

A guard opened the door, "Sire, there is a messenger here to see you. He seems very confused."

"Where is he from?" asked Arthur.

"He is from Camelot, my Lord."

Well he must be confused, thought Arthur. Why would a messenger from Camelot be sent to Camelot? And Arthur couldn't remember sending any messengers out recently that could be bringing back a reply message.

"Why is he confused?"

"We don't know, he won't tell us what the message he was supposed to be delivering is. He says it is confidential."

"Very well, I will see him shortly," Arthur replied and the guard left.

Arthur would have to finish questioning Merlin later. He was starting to wonder if he even really wanted to know the answer to some of his questions.

The messenger stood before Arthur in the throne room, looking as though he had just returned from a long journey.

"Sire," he said nervously, "I was sent to bring a message to King Ecsed, proposing a marriage between yourself and his daughter, Princess Eliza."

Arthur's breath hitched. He had forgotten about that.

"However, as I neared the kingdom I suddenly remembered that Morgana, who had been the one to send me on the quest, was not the queen. I have never failed to deliver a message, Sire, but I am not entirely sure how I ended up on the mission to deliver this one so I thought it best if I returned to Camelot."

The messenger bowed low as though in shame.

"So I'm sorry my Lord, but the message concerning your proposed engagement has not been delivered."

Arthur let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," he said, "You have done well. That message was a trick by Morgana and would have done great harm to the kingdom if it had been delivered. You have done a great service to your king."

The messenger was looking incredibly relieved at Arthur's reaction. The man must be really serious about his job if he was more concerned with having failed to deliver a message than finding out that he had been enchanted by a witch.

"Go and rest after your journey," Arthur added, "You will be compensated for your trouble."

The few people gathered in the room dispersed, except for Guinevere, who approached Arthur.

"Arthur, you have been so withdrawn lately," she said when the two of them were alone.

Arthur knew that had been true. He had hardly spoken to Guinevere of the things that had been happening as of late and it really was unfair to her.

"Tell me what is on your mind, Arthur," she said encouragingly.

"A lot of things have happened Guinevere," he said, not sure where to begin.

"Since you met Emrys in the woods?" she asked.

Guinevere had always been so perceptive. Of course she would notice when he had started shutting everyone out.

"Emrys has helped me a lot," he said, "And he said a lot of things to me that made me think."

Guinevere smiled in understanding. She put her hand on his arm, silently encouraging him to continue.

Arthur glanced around to make sure they truly were alone. He hadn't wanted to speak to anyone – even Guinevere – about this, but knowing who Emrys really was had steeled his resolve.

"I think that my father was wrong about magic," he said quietly, watching Guinevere's reaction, "I think that it is wrong to continue to outlaw it."

Guinevere looked less surprised than Arthur thought she would be.

"Are you going to change the laws?" she asked quietly.

"I would like to, in time," he said, and then added, "Do you think I'm mad?"

"Of course not, Arthur!" she said with certainty, "I know that magic can be a scary thing but I also trust you. I know that you would not believe what Emrys said without due cause to do so, or consider any action that could harm the kingdom. Besides, Emrys saved your life. Perhaps he is living proof that magic is not always evil."

Arthur felt his convictions strengthen with Guinevere's support.

"Emrys is a good man," he said, "He saved us all yesterday by breaking Morgana's curse. And he has saved Camelot so many other times that no one even knows about."

"You said when you ordered the search for him that he had an alias and lived in Camelot," she said, probing for information.

"I didn't know who he was at that time."

"You mean you know now?" asked Guinevere in surprise.

Arthur nodded, "He is someone that I trust completely. You are right; he is proof that not all magic is evil. I know him, and he is most certainly not evil. He has kept himself hidden for years in order to stay by my side to protect me and the kingdom, with no thought of reward for himself."

Guinevere's hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"Oh my goodness! Emrys is… Merlin!"

Arthur sputtered. When had he said that?!

"Mer… Merlin?" he said, trying to make it sound like her guess was completely off.

"I'm right, aren't I?" she said, clearly not falling for Arthur's attempt at acting stunned by the idea of Merlin being Emrys, "It all makes sense!"

What made sense? How on earth could Guinevere possibly have deduced the identity of Emrys when she had absolutely no evidence that even hinted at it.

"I mean, you ordered a search for Emrys and then out of nowhere you suddenly called that off and ordered Merlin to be killed on sight, and then you changed your mind about that as well. And then there was the whole thing last night where Merlin was dead, and then he wasn't and the explanation didn't really make any sense. And you said just now that Emrys had broken Morgana's curse, but it was Merlin who had the amulet when the enchantment broke."

Ok maybe she did have some evidence. But really, the idea of Merlin being a sorcerer was so farfetched; surely it should have been dismissed out of hand.

"Someone who has been by your side for years, who you trust completely," Guinevere continued, "It has to be Merlin! I'm right, aren't I?"

Arthur just stared at her. There probably wasn't any way he could deny it now.

The doors suddenly swung open and Merlin walked in.

"There you are," he said, "You are supposed to be on the training grounds. The knights are looking for you."

"Merlin, is it true?" asked Guinevere, "Are you Emrys?"

Merlin looked sharply at Arthur. First Agravaine and now Guinevere. He could practically hear the unspoken, "Are you just going to tell everyone?" in Merlin's accusing stare.

"What makes you think that?" asked Merlin, looking back to Guinevere and doing a much better job of acting surprised by the implication than Arthur had a few moments earlier.

Arthur sighed. There wasn't much point in trying to hide the truth from her now.

"Yes, it's true," he said, saving them all a lot of trouble.

Guinevere walked slowly towards Merlin, who was looking rather flustered. She placed a comforting hand on his arm and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Merlin visibly calmed at her words.

"I'm not evil, I promise," he said in a tone that was half-joking and half-worried.

"I know," she said kindly.

Arthur edged out of the room, leaving them to have their moment on their own. Besides, he didn't exactly want to face Merlin after inadvertently letting his secret slip only a day after finding it out himself. Especially after the whole thing with Agravaine. Merlin was never going to let him live this down.

Anyways, he had to get to the training grounds. His knights wouldn't train themselves after all.

Arthur had a new matter on his mind as he ate his supper that night. After he had left Guinevere and Merlin earlier, he couldn't stop thinking about the things she had said. She had so much wisdom and kindness. Even before she had known who Emrys was, she had recognized goodness in his heart and had been willing to give magic a chance despite being wary of it. And she had pieced together clues that would have left Arthur stumped and figured out the best kept secret in Camelot all on her own. Arthur was more convinced than ever that she would make a wonderful queen.

Something else Arthur realized was that a large factor in his delay in marrying Guinevere had been Agravaine constantly advising him against it. Now that Arthur knew the truth about Agravaine he was starting to realize how he had let the man influence him in ways that had brought no good to him or the kingdom.

Arthur was now thinking about doing something that he had wanted to do for years – propose to Guinevere. He was certain he wanted her to be his Queen. He could think of no one better. He had wanted this for so long and he was tired of pointlessly delaying.

Arthur stirred his food around on his plate. He was feeling rather jittery. He could do it tonight. Guinevere was working now and wouldn't be home until late. He had time to plan.

Since he couldn't ask her father's permission, he would have to talk to Elyan. That shouldn't be difficult though. Elyan was not likely to forbid the marriage.

And he would need to do something special for Guinevere. Something romantic. Something from the heart. It had to be memorable.

Why couldn't he think of anything?

Merlin. That was it. He would go ask Merlin. Merlin often had surprisingly good ideas for romantic gestures he could do for Guinevere.

Arthur left his dinner uneaten and headed over to Gaius' chambers.

"Is Merlin here?" he asked Gaius when he arrived.

"He's in his room," said Gaius, hardly looking up from the potion he was mixing.

Arthur nodded to Gaius and crossed to the back of the room. He opened the door, entered Merlin's room and then froze.

Merlin was facing away from him, standing and leaning over his magic book which was sitting open on his desk. He was holding his finger at a point on the page that he was staring at intently as though concentrating on a single word. He was completely naked.

"What on earth are you doing, Merlin?!"

Merlin whipped around in surprise and clothes suddenly appeared on him.

"What…" said Arthur.

"Oh," said Merlin, turning bright red, "I was just…"

"You were just…" said Arthur, raising his eyebrows and preparing himself for what was certain to be a very interesting explanation.

"Well you remember that spell that I used on the amulet that allows me to turn something invisible so long as it is connected to me or a person I am touching?"

Arthur nodded slowly, a grin starting to spread across his face.

"Well I thought I might be able to use it to turn myself invisible, but the spell didn't quite have the effect that I was…" Merlin trailed off.

He was being drowned out by wild laughter.

"What did you come here for, Arthur?" asked Merlin grumpily.

"I... came here... for…" Arthur gasped out through bursts of laughter, "romantic advice."

He completely lost it.

Eventually Arthur had managed to get a grip on himself and Merlin had suggested filling Guinevere's room with hundreds of lit candles and leading her there blindfolded before proposing to her. It was a surprisingly poetic idea for someone Arthur had found accidentally turning his own clothes invisible.

Elyan had given his permission gladly and said he would spend the evening in the tavern to give Arthur and Gwen their moment alone.

It had taken Merlin less than a minute to set up all the candles and light them with magic, which had been a sight in itself. Guinevere had also been suitably touched by the sight of her home all lit up. Leading her mysteriously to her home blindfolded before revealing the romantic scene and getting down on one knee had indeed created the perfect moment.

And she had said "yes".

Arthur was an engaged man.

Soon to be married to the woman of his dreams.

He felt like he was walking on air.

She looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle wearing a dress of purple silk and glowing with happiness. Arthur felt like the luckiest man alive.

She knelt on the steps before him and looked up into his eyes.

Arthur held a crown up for all to see and as he lowered it onto her head he pronounced, "By the sacred laws vested in me, I crown you Guinevere, Queen of Camelot."

He took her hands as she rose to her feet. She leaned in and they shared a kiss before she took her place at his side.

As cries of, "Long live the Queen!" sounded through the hall, Arthur looked out into the crowd.

Elyan looked like he could not be more proud of his sister.

The other knights and people cheered for Guinevere as enthusiastically as they always cheered for Arthur. It seemed as if all of his worries that people would have a hard time accepting Guinevere as their queen had been for nothing. They loved her.

And Merlin looked like he couldn't be happier for his two best friends. Arthur had spoken to Merlin about a lot of things during the time preparing for the wedding and he had been amazed by some of the things he had learned about his friend. Even now, there were still unanswered questions but they had time enough to get through everything.

As he looked out at his friends cheering in the crowd and felt his wife's hand in his, Arthur knew that he was surrounded by the most wonderful people he could ever have hoped to know.

Notes:

I am currently working on writing a third sequel, which will be the final part of this series.

Sorry I skipped over most of the stuff where Merlin explains things that happened in the show to Arthur. It is interesting at first but I have read so many reveals that I get really bored by those bits now since there isn't really anything that can be done to make it original so it is basically just the same conversation in every fanfic.

The show never properly explained how Morgause died. Merlin smashed her into a pillar and then the next time you see her she is inexplicably weak and disfigured and dying and then Morgana later claims that Merlin was responsible for that. There is no reason why smashed into pillar = face looks like it was splashed with acid. Also, Morgana didn't even see Merlin smash her into the pillar. But Morgana did know that Merlin was responsible for emptying the cup. So I have a headcannon that it was Merlin breaking the Cup of Life spell that killed her. It was part of the deal that if the cup was emptied, all the immortal knights would be destroyed, so I find it quite plausible that the spell would also involve a mandatory slow and painful death for the sorcerer who cast the spell it if it was broken.