Chapter 3

"You need to get ready for the feast," Merlin said. It had been almost an hour since the trial. Arthur sat on the edge of his bed and looked at his feet.

"I know." Arthur said, absently. Merlin was messing around with a pile of Arthur's freshly cleaned clothes, deciding which shirt would look the best for the king, and which would be less likely to stain. Arthur was quiet and distant, and it made Merlin uncomfortable, but he said nothing to him.

"Merlin?" Arthur finally said.

"Yes?" He folded the dark blue shirt that was in his hands.

"Do you think the girl, Lavinia, deserves execution?"

Merlin looked up, shocked, but it faded as he set the shirt down and came to sit next to him on the bed. "No, Arthur," he said. "I think that she did nothing to harm anyone, and neither did her father, or many of the other sorcerers who have been killed for doing harmless enchantments."

Arthur didn't meet his eyes. "So you disagree with the laws?" He said. His voice had grown a little cold, but he was still talking to Merlin as a friend.

"I agree that dark magic should be outlawed, but I think that some magic can be innocent."

Arthur sat, silently. He was thinking. It was the first time that he had listened to Merlin's opinion about sorcery without getting upset with him. Merlin wished that he could just tell Arthur the truth, maybe that would spare hundreds of innocent people. But that could also mean his own execution, and Merlin couldn't very well protect Arthur if he was dead. Merlin sighed and shook the thoughts from his head.

"My father spent so many years purging the land of sorcery. Who am I to say that he was wrong to do so?" Arthur continued. "But I am seeing flaws in his actions, and I am now in the position to change it if I decide it's right."

"You wish to bring magic back to Camelot?"

Arthur shook his head. "I don't know."

Merlin looked at him. He could tell that Arthur had been thinking about this for a long time, and that it was weighing heavily on his chest. He always knew that Arthur hated watching people killed when they had done nothing to harm anyone, but he also knew that Arthur was struggling with everything he had been taught his whole life. Magic had taken both of his parents, after all.

Merlin pressed his lips together, tightly. "If you are having doubts, Arthur, you shouldn't execute the girl. It may turn out to be something you regret forever."

"But I've executed so many for the same crime, they will rest on my heart no matter what I do with Lavinia."

"Then don't add her to the list."

Arthur looked up at Merlin, staring into his blue eyes with his own.

"When did you become wise?"

"Around the same time you became soft."

Arthur gave a short, unenthusiastic chuckle. "Really Merlin." He said. "Thank you, your council is appreciated."

Merlin rolled his eyes in an exaggerated way. "Please, Arthur, next you're going to say that I'm a great friend, the best servant you've ever had, and you don't know what you'd do without me."

That made Arthur smile. "Don't be a fool, Merlin, you're the worst servant I've ever had."

"There's the Arthur I know."

Arthur grabbed a pillow and swung it at Merlin, causing him to jump up off the mattress. "Ay!" He lifted his hands in front of his face for protection, laughing along with Arthur. Merlin grabbed the pillow and pulled it out of Arthur's hands, holding it up as if he was about to swing back. Arthur grabbed his wrist.

"Calm down. You'll hurt yourself," he said, lowering Merlin's hands. He didn't take his hand off his wrist.

"You're just scared I'd hurt you."

"You? Hurt me?" Arthur mocked. "Are you okay? Do you need to go see Gaius?" He pulled Merlin towards him by his arm, wrapping his arms around the boy's waist. Merlin frowned and lowered his head.

"You can't do this anymore, Arthur." His voice was low, the playfulness gone from it. Arthur lifted Merlin's chin.

"You just don't love me anymore," Arthur said, teasingly.

"You know I do," he whispered.

"You just don't want me."

"You know I do."

Arthur leaned in to kiss Merlin, but before he could land it, there was a knock on the door. Merlin jumped out of Arthur's grasp just as Leon stepped in.

"You're expected in the dining hall, sire."