Dramatic

In this chapter: Merlin finally learns what everyone's been keeping from him, and Arthur has one more thing to say.

(A/N) Off topic, has anyone else listened to Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls and thought the chorus fit Merlin perfectly? I did.

Merlin woke the next morning to the smell of bacon drifting up from Gaius' chambers. He lay for a moment, breathing in the smell, before climbing out of bed. He dressed quickly and made his down into the main room, where Gaius was stood at his work table, flicking through the pages of a very large book.

He looked up and smiled at his ward, before gesturing to the table, where Merlin's breakfast was sat.

'Where did that come from?'

Gaius glanced at the plate. 'A gift from the Lady Guinevere.'

Merlin laughed. 'She didn't have to do this.'

'You know what she's like, Merlin. She probably thinks I'm not feeding you enough.'

Merlin's only response to this was a raised eyebrow as he sat down. Gaius quickly clouted him round the back of the head, and told him to get on and eat.

They sat in silence for a few moment, save for the sound of contented eating and pages turning.

'What this big announcement Uther's making this afternoon?'

His guardian shrugged, but Merlin could have sworn that he saw the old man's lips turn upwards, ever so slightly, in a smile.

'I'm not sure.'

'It must be important if everyone in the Kingdom is ordered to attend.'

'It must be,' Gaius nodded. Merlin narrowed his eyes.

'Gaius...' his tone was accusing, and Gaius turned, a look of pure innocence on his face. They stared at each other for a moment before they both burst out laughing.

'Go on, off with you,' Gaius chuckled, making a shooing gesture with his hands. 'I've got work to do, and I'm sure Arthur has a long list of chores for you.'

The Warlock groaned. 'Of course he does,' Merlin muttered as he stood up, and made his way across the cluttered chambers.

'Oh, and Merlin?' Merlin turned back to his guardian. 'Don't forget to do my leech tank.' Merlin glared at Gaius before turning back away. 'And Merlin? Lucy wants you to meet her in the Courtyard after Uther's speech.' Gaius laughed at the way Merlin's eyes lit up as the mention of his love. The young man nodded before disappearing into the corridor.

Gaius watched his ward walk away, pride welling up inside him. If only Merlin knew...

XxX

'Do I haveto go?'

'Yes, Merlin, you have to go.'

'Why?'

Arthur sighed and threw his quill down, turning to face his manservant. 'Because I said so!'

'That's a rubbish reason,' Merlin stated.

'Tough!' Arthur turned back to his reports, and Merlin smirked.

'You know, today is...'

'I'm already giving you the afternoon off, Merlin. Don't push it.'

Merlin rolled his eyes, and finished straightening out the cushions, the silence filled by the scratching of the Prince's quill. 'What's so important about today anyway?'

Arthur hesitated slightly, causing the Warlock to frown. 'No reason.'

'Well, there obviously is, if the whole town has to be present,' Merlin snorted, as he moved over to the table where the remains of the Prince's breakfast were waiting for him to take back to the kitchens.

'My father just decided to make the announcement today.'

'No one even knows what it's about! Why..?'

'He's the King, Merlin. He can do what he likes,' Arthur snapped

Merlin stared at the Prince, until he looked up.

'What?'

'You're acting weird again.'

'What a charming compliment.'

'I'm serious, Arthur,'

'So am I.'

The younger man huffed irritably, and Arthur couldn't help but laugh.

'Just get on with your chores, and then you can spend the afternoon with Lucy.'

Merlin's cheeks flushed red, causing Arthur to snigger. He grabbed the tray and made his way over to the door.

'High noon, Merlin. And don't be late.'

'When am I ever?' Merlin replied with an innocent look.

XxX

Merlin stood quietly behind Arthur and Gwen, head bowed and arms clasped behind his back. He didn't know what was going on, and neither did anyone else. He could see Gaius and Lucy stood to the side in the Courtyard, and wished that he was down there with them. Why on earth did he have to be up here for the whole kingdom to stare at?

The King was stood at the edge of the balcony, looking down on his subjects. Most of the city had gathered to hear what Uther had to say.

'One month ago, Prince Arthur and Lady Guinevere announced that they are to wed next spring. On this day, Prince Arthur presented me with a request,' at this Uther glanced at Arthur. 'After much discussion and deliberation, I agreed to his request.' Uther paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. Merlin was confused. What was causing the King to show so much emotion? What had Arthur asked of his father?

'As King of Camelot, ruler of this land and father to Arthur and Morgana Pendragon, I declare that, from this day forth, magic will no longer be outlawed in Camelot, on pain of death or any other punishment. Sorcerer's will once again be welcome in this kingdom, as it was before the Purge.'

The crowd beneath them let out a collective gasp. Merlin's head shot up and he immediately met Arthur and Gwen's gaze. One look was all he needed. Gwen smiled warmly at him, before grabbing him in a massive hug. He was still in shock, and he glanced at Arthur as the Prince clapped him on the shoulder.

'Happy Birthday, Merlin.'

XxX

She was waiting for him in the Courtyard, as Gaius had said she would be. As he descended the steps she hurried over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. He just slumped forward, burying his face in her long, auburn hair.

Lucy laughed, and drew him closer, stroking the back of his head. 'I'm so proud of you.'

He lifted his head up, and she laughed again, gently wiping the tears from his face. 'Did you know?'

Lucy nodded her head. 'Gaius warned me that you'd need a dose of reality after it happened.'

Merlin's smile was soft as he placed a kiss on her forehead, and leant against her. 'I can't believe this is happening.'

'But it is, Merlin. It really is.'

He leant back to look at her. 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you before.'

'It's OK; I understand. I just need to know,' she fixed him with a serious gaze. 'Were you ever going to tell me?'

'Of course; when I was sure it wouldn't put you in danger.'

'You're worth the risk,' Lucy whispered, standing on her toes to kiss him.

They stood there, in each others embrace, until a loud wolf whistle jerked them out of their thoughts.

Merlin's eyes immediately flashed gold, and a loud yell echoed around the courtyard as Gwaine was hoisted into the air by his ankle.

'Ah! Merlin!'

'Serves you right!' The Warlock smirked, turning to watch his friend struggle.

'Come on, mate! Give a friend a hand.'

Merlin tilted his head to the side. 'I think you look rather good upside down. Wouldn't you say, Lucy?'

She giggled, and wrapped her fingers through Merlin's. He took hold of her hand, and led her back into the castle, Gwaine's protests echoing loudly behind them.

With another flash of gold, the Knight landed in heap on the floor, and the whole courtyard burst out laughing. Merlin felt his chest swell at the obvious acceptance of his magic, and, yet again, Lucy wiped a tear from her boyfriends eye.

XxX

Merlin sat on the steps leading into the castle, watching the people of Camelot go about their daily business. Instead of his usual cotton jacket, he was wearing deep blue robes, courtesy of Arthur for his promotion as the new Court Magician of Camelot two days ago. Across the courtyard, Gilli gave him a small wave from where he was helping shift a particularly heavy load. Merlin gave him a small salute back, smiling to himself. It was good to see the other sorcerer settling into a role in Camelot that suited him. Arthur hadn't hesitated to recruit a knight that could also use magic, and Gilli had come with a recommendation from Merlin.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately knew it was Arthur as the Prince sat down next to him, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, observing his people.

'Are you alright?'

Merlin glanced at his friend, before smiling slightly. 'Yeah. I don't think it's fully sunk in yet.'

Arthur laughed lightly. 'I don't think that's how you expected your magic to come out.'

'You got that right.'

The two friends sat in silence for a few more minutes.

'Arthur?'

'Yeah?'

'When did you find out?'

Arthur was silent for a moment before replying. 'I think I always knew. There's always been something about you, something that's been bugging me since we met. There was so much stuff that couldn't be explained, and I know, now, that it was always you. But, to answer your question, I was walking Guinevere home when we saw you sneaking out the castle, and decided to follow you.'

Merlin bit his lip, and looked down at his hands. 'You saw Kilgarrah.'

'Yeah,' Arthur snorted. 'That was a bit of a shock, but the thing that scared me was how you talked to him, almost like he was your friend.'

'What were we talking about?' Merlin asked, praying silently that it wasn't the conversation about the Cup of Life and Merlin's powers over Life and Death.

'You were worried about the demon that Morgause let loose in the castle.'

Realisation hit Merlin as he thought back to the incident over a month ago. 'Oh, so that's why you were so eager to help when I came to you! Normally you just ignore me when I say stuff like that.'

'I do not!' Arthur stopped at the smirk on Merlin's face. He bumped his shoulder into Merlin's, seeing the younger man's grin widen, and smiling himself.

'Yeah, it's the reason I didn't questionyou. And it's the reason we didn't confront you. Gwen and I spent ages talking about it, which was when we worked out that Gaius and Lancelot knew, and it was likely that Gwaine did too…'

'Gwaine?'

'Yep,' Arthur smirked, looking triumphant. 'He knew pretty much from the moment you met. Something about flying plates and benches.'

Merlin grinned sheepishly, remembering his first meeting with Gwaine. 'Didn't think he'd noticed. He wasgetting pounded at the time.'

Arthur chuckled before continuing. 'We decided not to talk to you just yet, not until we'd found out more. So Guinevere spoke to Lancelot, and I, for some mad reason, decided to corner Gwaine. In the armoury.'

Merlin laughed; he couldn't help it. 'That was probably a bad idea.'

Arthur nodded, 'That's an understatement. I've never been threatened so much in my life; he's very protective of you, Merlin. But I did manage to get him to talk eventually; I heard his side of the story, put it together with what Guinevere had got out of Lancelot, and then we talked to Gaius. That was when we decided to keep it from you altogether that we knew about your magic. I was hoping you'd tell me yourself…'

'I wanted to,' Merlin interrupted. 'You don't know how much I wanted too, Arthur…'

'I know, Merlin. Like I was saying, I was hoping you'd tell me, but I knew you wouldn't. You were scared, and you had every right to be, especially after this whole Morgana thing. I just… I'm sorry you had to go through all that on your own, but I swear, Merlin. You're not alone any-more'

Merlin looked down at his clasped hands, an overwhelming sense of relief rushing through him. Arthur clapped him on the shoulder and stood up.

'Arthur.'

He looked back down at his friend.

'Thank you.

The Prince smiled. 'You too.'

Only one more chapter to go!

I know I said it would be quick, but that was only if my laptop didn't decide to crash Microsoft Word again... And it did. So I'm now using a different programme.

Thank you again to my lovely Beta's Arthurmol, and hollyblue2 who has written a Merlin drabble series that's certainly worth a look.

Please review and I'll get the final chapter written as soon as I can!

Valkyriexx