Discussions and detective work

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Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin right now, but someday… No slash, general spoilers for the majority of the series. I've decided to split this chapter into two parts. So Arthur and Gwen investigate in this chapter, and then there will conversations with Gaius and Merlin next chapter.

Sorry it's taken to long!

Arthur and Gwen investigate Merlin's magic and make a decision on what to do about him.

Arthur was leaning against the battlements, watching Merlin talking and laughing with Gwaine and Lancelot, when she found him. She came up beside him, and placed a hand on his arm, immediately following his gaze.

'How's your head?'

Arthur glanced at her, and smiled, slightly. 'Fine, thanks to Merlin.'

Gwen smiled sadly as they watched Lancelot trying to rescue Merlin from the headlock Gwaine had trapped him in. 'You saw him take down the demon, didn't you?' Arthur nodded. 'What was it like?'

Arthur bit his lip, thinking hard about his answer. 'I'm… I'm not sure. It was incredible, but it was terrifying.' Gwen moved closer to him, watching him, and he took a deep breath. 'It hit me with this black cloud. I felt it burning me, and then, suddenly, it was just… gone. And I felt cool. My head hurt a bit, and I opened my eyes, and he was there. I could see his face, but he wasn't looking at me. He had one hand pointing just above the demon, and the other one was on my sword, which was just hovering next to him. And then this golden light hit it, and it screamed, and my sword burned with a silver fire, before he drove it into its chest.'

'The golden light…'

'Was the spell the dragon gave him, I guess,' Arthur shrugged, turning away as Merlin ran into the castle, Gwaine and Lancelot close behind him.

Gwen watched him closely, but he gave nothing away. 'Arthur?' He turned to her, his expression his regal one. 'Arthur, what are you going to do?'

He sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. 'I don't know. He saved my life; I can't have him executed for that.' She looked relieved but he pressed on. 'But, we don't know enough about his magic. We need to know more before we can make a decision on what to do.'

'And, if you can't trust him?' Gwen couldn't keep the hesitation and fear from her voice, and she saw the flash of hurt in Arthur's eyes.

'I refuse to murder him, Guinevere. He either stays in Camelot, or goes back to Ealdor. I just have to decide which.'

She nodded. 'So, what do we do now?'

Arthur laughed slightly. 'We're going to do some investigating.'

XxX

Lancelot was in the stables when Gwen caught up to him. She gulped slightly, before approaching him.

After a quick talk, Arthur had decided that there were three people within Camelot who were the most likely to know Merlin's secret. Approaching Gaius wasn't the best idea when they had so little information; the old man would probably diagnose them with some sort of head illness and send them on their way. They'd agreed that Lancelot and Gwaine were the best options right now. If they could convince the knights that they meant no harm to the young sorcerer, the two would likely come clean, eager to out all the good deeds that Merlin had done. Seeing as Gwaine wasn't going to react well to a threat to his friend, Arthur had agreed to talk to the head-strong knights. Which left Gwen to deal with Lancelot.

Lancelot turned to greet her, his grin faltering as he saw the look on her face. 'Gwen? Are you OK?'

She nodded slightly, and he frowned. She took a deep breath. 'I need to ask you something.'

He moved towards her, but was careful not to come too close. 'Of course. Whatever you need.'

Gwen looked Lancelot in the eye. 'What do you know about Merlin's magic?'

Lancelot froze; his eyes wide. 'What?' he breathed.

'What do you know about Merlin's magic?'

'Guinevere… I…'

'Don't 'Guinevere' me, Lancelot,' she snapped. 'We saw him the other night. You've been covering for him since you met him. What do you know about his magic?'

Lancelot's eyes narrowed. 'We?'

Gwen bit her lip as she realised she'd slipped up. 'Me and Arthur.'

Lancelot looked horrified. 'Arthur knows?' She nodded. He started towards the stable door, but she stopped him.

'Where are you going?'

'Gwen,' he turned back to her, his eyes serious. 'There isn't a lot in this world that scares Merlin, despite what everyone seems to think. But one of things that does scare him is Arthur finding out his secret and rejecting him for it. It's the reason he's kept this secret all these years, and it haunts him every day. I've got to warn him.'

Gwen felt a pang in her chest at his words. She'd always known that Merlin was no coward, despite what Arthur said, but to hear that Merlin was terrified, living everyday with this constant fear, upset her.

'We mean him no harm, Lancelot,' she assured him. 'We just want to know more.'

He looked wary, but, eventually, gave in, slumping down on a hay bale. 'There are things you must understand, Gwen.' He rubbed his eyes wearily as she sat down beside him. 'I met Merlin four years ago. And I found out about his magic not long after that. He tried to deny it; he was scared. But he saved my life, Arthur's life, and probably half of Camelot's when he killed that Griffin.'

'Merlin killed the Griffin?' she gasped.

Lancelot nodded. 'I remember the exact words he said. Bregdan anweald gafeluc.' She gasped again, but nothing happened. Lancelot continued as if he hadn't heard her. 'And I'll never forget the look on his face when he realised I'd heard him. But I swore to him that I'd keep his secret. And I refused to take the credit for something I hadn't done.'

'So that's why you left…'

'When I next saw him, he had come with Arthur to save you. He was more confident then, more trusting. He openly cast a spell once you and Arthur were down the tunnel, and made a joke afterwards,' Lancelot smiled sadly as he remembered the events of that day. Gwen couldn't help feel guilty as she was the reason he left.

'It wasn't until I went with him to destroy the cup of life did I really, truly, understand just how powerful Merlin was.'

'The..?'

'The cup of life,' he nodded. 'Merlin was going to go alone, but I persuaded him to take me with him. He defeated Morgause and emptied the cup of the blood it contained. He was ready to die to save Camelot, and he didn't get any thanks for what he had done. That's what Merlin does Guinevere. He hides in the shadows, and, when the time comes, he does what he has to, to protect this kingdom, and to protect you, and Arthur. Afterwards, he'll return to his position as the clumsy servant, always loyal, and never complaining. '

Gwen sat there, shocked. 'What else has he done?'

'More than he'd ever told me. Gaius told me that he lost the love of his life, yet he never said a word. His father died not long afterwards, but Merlin still carried on, bearing his burden alone. Even Gaius has been hard pressed to get him to talk about it.'

She was crying now, silent tears trickling down her beautiful face. 'Why didn't he tell me? I would've understood. I…'

'He doesn't talk about his magic, or anything related to it, Gwen,' Lancelot's tone was soft, but firm. 'His father was the last of the Dragon Lords, a heritage he gained when Balinor died. Unless you corner him and force him to confess, he will not tell you about his magic. Please, Gwen. Leave him alone. It's what's best for Camelot, and for Arthur, and for you.' He stood to leave.

'And Merlin?' she asked, her voice shaking slightly. 'Is it really what's best for him, Lancelot? To be going through this pain alone?'

Lancelot turned back to face her. 'Probably not. But it's the decision he's made, and all I can do is be there to support him.'

Gwen looked him in the eye. 'Then I'll be there too.'

XxX

Arthur followed Gwaine into the armoury, shutting the door and locking it behind him. Gwaine turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

'Something you want, Princess?'

Arthur leant against the door, surveying the knight. Gwaine glared at him, and Arthur laughed. 'I never would have guessed, you know. I get why he trusted you though. You're so overprotective of him.'

Gwaine frowned. 'What are you on about, Arthur?'

'Merlin's magic,' Arthur smiled. 'You knew, didn't you?'

The reaction, whilst explosive, wasn't unexpected. Gwaine stood for a moment, before hurling a sword from the rack at the Prince. Arthur side stepped it, turning as Gwaine rushed him, pressing the blade of his own sword to Arthur's throat. 'If you dare…'

'I'm not going to hurt him,' Arthur gasped, leaning back slightly so the sword didn't cut his throat.

'I swear princess,' Arthur flinched at the venom in Gwaine's voice. 'If you so much as touch him…'

'Gwaine…'

'I don't care if you're the heir to the throne, I will hunt you down and cut you to…'

'Gwaine..!'

'And if Uther goes for him, I'll make sure that both of you never….'

'GWAINE!' Gwaine's mouth closed and his eyes narrows. 'I don't want to hurt Merlin. I just want to talk.'

Gwaine glared at him for a moment longer before withdrawing the blade. He didn't, however, sheath it.

'That, however, is what I meant by overprotective.'

'What can I say?' Gwaine muttered. 'Someone needs to watch his back.'

Arthur nodded. 'I know. So, when'd he tell you about his magic?'

'He didn't,' Gwaine shrugged. 'I saw him do magic the first time we met, but I never got the chance to bring it up. Just… slipped my mind, I guess,' he smiled slightly at the memory. 'He was throwing plates and benches across the room with his mind. Didn't utter a word, all the while focused on protecting you and the villagers around you. Not what I consider evil, so I just let him be. Figured he'd tell me when he was ready.'

'He never…'

'Told me,' Gwaine nodded. 'Yeah.'

'What about Lancelot and Gaius?'

Gwaine's eyebrows shot up, but Arthur just shrugged, so he answered. 'He didn't want to tell them. Lancelot told me that they both caught him doing magic, not long after they met him, same as me. Difference is, they approached him and forced him to confess. I didn't.'

'Forced him?' Arthur exclaimed.

'Backed him into a corner where he couldn't deny what he'd done,' Gwaine explained, 'They wanted to help him, but he didn't understand to begin with. It's why he's so jittery all the time. He's terrified of being caught, and knowing that there was one more person who could blow his secret would probably send him over the edge.'

Arthur bit his lip. 'I never thought of it that way. I just assumed…'

'That he didn't trust you,' Gwaine finished. 'You can think of it in two different ways, princess. Merlin trusts you with life; he'd die for you in a heartbeat, and the rest of us without a second thought. But he never trusted anyone with his magic!'

Gwaine turned round and seated himself on one of the benches, watching Arthur closely.

'I don't know much about his magic; most of its just guess work. Lance won't tell me too much, and Gaius doesn't know that I know. He'd tell Merlin if he did.'

'So, what do you know?' Arthur sat himself down next to Gwaine, much as if he was talking to Merlin himself.

'I know he's powerful, and I know that he's very good at what he does. I've seen him save your life many times since I became a Knight; on hunts, in tournaments, even the occasional assassin that had a go while your back was turned. All these things that were threatening you that you didn't even notice. Plus all the ones you did, but you never figured out what happened to them.'

Arthur sat for a moment, staring at his hands. There were a lot of occasions like that; waking up to Merlin telling him that everything's fine; that Arthur had defeated the threat. How many of those times was it actually him?

'So, what now, Princess?'

Arthur looked at the Knight, and grinned, slyly. 'Now, you keep your mouth shut around Merlin, and I go talk to Guinevere to find out what she's learnt from Lancelot.'

Gwaine's mouth fell open. 'Gwen knows?'

'She was with me when we caught Merlin using magic.'

'Merlin will flip when he finds out that so many people know his secret.'

Arthur shrugged. 'Then he'd better not find out then,' he grinned.

Next Chapter: Arthur has a cryptic conversation with Merlin and the couple approach Gaius about Merlin's magic and what they plan to do.

Please review! I'm sorry it's taken so long but Boarding School, you know.
Anyway, see you soon!

Valkyriexx