A/N: I'm sorry! I know it took forever for me to post this, but it was a tough chapter to write and I will be honest I sort of lost my inspiration to write this story. I hope I did well with this chapter! There are 2 more of my stories that were posted on the site recently...it's like a bribe..oO! Oh and the story is basically done! I just need to figure out whether or not I'm going to put an epilogue or just do two more chapters and end it. Your feedback would be appreciated! And again thank you very much for the reviews/alerts/favourites! You guys are amazing!

Spoilers in Story: Up to Season 3 episode 13

Pairings for Story: ArthurXGwen; slight GwenXLancelot;

Disclaimer: The show "Merlin", its characters, and its plot are not mine.

Chapter 9: Coming to Terms with Magic – Part 1

Arthur was trying hard to ignore the stomach churning feeling that flying on the dragon brought on. After this ordeal the Prince would try doubly hard to keep two feet firmly planted on the ground. That gave him some control at least, but this was him relying on a beast that had almost destroyed Camelot and tried to kill him too. The things he did for Merlin.

Then again that would be an unfair thought because Merlin had probably done enough outrageous things for the Prince too. Arthur looked down at the unmoving body that he clutched like a life-line. Merlin's chest was still rising and falling, but barely.

"How much longer till we reach there?"

The dragon replied, "Not much longer. Do not worry, the person you're holding on to is the most powerful warlock of this time, he won't succumb that easily."

There it was again, a reference to the power that Merlin held, however Arthur still didn't want to acknowledge it...he had accepted what Merlin was but he wasn't happy about it. Power or no power Merlin had betrayed him. Had been lying to the Prince since the first day they met.

That was something Arthur was finding hard to forgive. He was grateful to Merlin for saving Camelot, her King, and her Prince but he just couldn't swallow past the betrayal. How was he to trust Merlin when the servant had lied to him about something so monumental?

Arthur had trusted Merlin with everything but Merlin had never returned the favour. It was as if the Prince had been the only one that considered the other a friend and that was the crux of the problem. Not just the betrayal but the feeling of friendship which to Arthur seemed to be flowing only one way.

Merlin had had plenty of opportunities to say something...to confide in Arthur as Arthur had confided in him. But the warlock had chosen not to and that hurt, more than the Prince was willing to admit. Sure in the beginning Arthur might not have taken it well but...Arthur sighed and pushed the thoughts away from his head.

He would ponder them later...well maybe not ponder so much as yell at Merlin later...because Merlin would live through this. The dragon said the Priestess at the Isle was loyal to Merlin so there was no chance of Merlin dying.

He continued staring down at Merlin, taking in the brief glimpses of skin that could be seen through the cuts on the shirt. The skin was burned...quite horribly too. This was the wound that Merlin received when the foolish idiot had decided to take the pillar of fire Morgana had thrown his way head on instead of dodging it. He was supposed to be the most powerful warlock but he couldn't find another way to stop an attack except using his own body!

Arthur was still staring down at his manservant when he felt an unmistakeable chill in the air. It was a weird feeling. He looked up and ahead to be greeted by the sight of a thick film of fog. But he could make out a faint outline of mountains in the distance.

As the dragon flew further on, Arthur looked down to catch sight of the dilapidated walls of a structure that might have once been impressive. The dragon circled once and then landed with an enormous thud. Arthur gave a cursory glance around taking in the sight of the scraggly pillars of stone that surrounded an old altar.

He then asked softly as if afraid to disturb the silence of the Isle, "What next?"

The dragon rumbled a reply, "Andromeda will help you with the rest."

Arthur blinked then turned around to look for Andromeda and was startled to see a beautiful woman standing a few paces away from the dragon. She lifted her arm and muttered a few words and Merlin was lifted clean off the dragon, wrenched from Arthur's arms.

"We do not have much time."

Arthur reacting to the urgency in her voice jumped off the bent neck of the dragon and landed on the floor. He was about to get closer to Merlin's fallen body but he felt a weight...some form of pressure coming off of the woman that held him at bay.

He narrowed his eyes and struggled to take a step forward. Although the Prince could move it was a difficult task. The woman, Andromeda, was chanting over a cup and Arthur saw rainclouds forming. Then he heard the rumbling sound of the dragon's laughter.

"Young princeling, that woman is an immortal priestess with powers beyond the imaginations of mortals. I would suggest you don't get too close, you might not be able to handle it."

Arthur bristled at that and was about to throw caution to the wind and give a snappish retort back when he felt the first droplet of rain. The Prince looked up and felt the water trickle down his face. It was refreshing and slightly cleansing. He didn't understand it but attributed the feeling to magic.

The rain stopped as soon as it started and Arthur turned around to see Andromeda tilt the cup, which he assumed had the rain water in it, onto Merlin's lips. Arthur wasn't anywhere close by so he couldn't see much but he did see Merlin's bleeding wrist heal itself miraculously.

The cup disappeared from Andromeda's hands and the Priestess moved away from the warlock, which gave Arthur the opportunity to rush towards his servant. The Prince was glad to see that the burn mark on Merlin's torso had also disappeared and the man seemed to be coming around.

Guinevere was helping the Knights with the injured around the castle. The moments after Arthur had left on the Great Dragon had been the most awkward ones she had ever faced in her life yet.

The King had been in shock and then his face had contorted in rage. Lancelot had gone over to Gaius to check on the Physician. Gwen had decided to follow him because she didn't want to look the King in the eyes.

The Knights followed suit and were all glad to see Gaius coming around. The physician had looked around at them all for some time and Lancelot nodded at the old man. Gaius's eyes had widened at that and then he had turned to Uther who was pacing like a caged animal.

Leon had then decided to take charge of the situation seeing as how the King was not being very helpful. He had said softly that the Prince's commands should be followed. The Knight had then started delegating jobs to everyone present.

Gwen along with Gaius had been asked to set up the great hall for helping the injured. The rest had been sent off to different areas of the castle and lower town to gather as many men as possible. Then everyone was to determine the amount of damage around the area and help the villagers where possible.

Gwen had been relieved to be away from the angry monarch. The King hadn't paid any attention to anyone; he had just continued pacing relentlessly.

Now with the injured pouring in from all corners Gwen decided to concentrate on helping Gaius. She would worry about Uther later.

However, thoughts of Merlin couldn't be pushed off of her mind as easily. He was a sorcerer! How had she never realized as much? Merlin was always there whenever Arthur pulled off a never-done-before victory. And she remembered her father...Merlin must have been the one to do it. He had after all admitted to doing so.

She had grown up in Camelot so she was brought up on the belief that all sorcerers were evil. She had also never known any sorcerers who were not evil...well there was that boy that Morgana had saved. Then again...that hadn't gone so well.

But Merlin can't be evil. He had just saved everyone by cutting off his own wrists without a moment's hesitation. He had always found a way to help out his friends, including Gwen herself. She couldn't imagine someone like that as being evil.

Maybe...maybe magic was just a tool...like a sword used by the Knights or a hammer used by a blacksmith. Both tools alone were harmless, but when used by a person who was evil it could cause great damage. However, when the same tool was used by someone who was pure of heart it could be used for good.

Maybe magic was just a tool and when in Merlin's hands it was a tool that could cause a wave of goodness to flow through the lands.

Arthur was kneeling beside Merlin as the servant's eyes opened. The Prince felt relief spread through his body and almost laughed in jubilation, but curbed that desire forcefully.

Merlin's confused eyes connected with Arthur's and then the servant shot upright. Arthur pushed away in surprise but didn't get far because Merlin's hand shot out and grasped on to him.

"Why am I alive? What did you do?"

The servant looked around the Isle and blanched, "Arthur, what did you do?"

Arthur scowled slightly in anger, "What is wrong with you? I just helped save your life you ungrateful idiot!"

Merlin shook his head frantically and said, "No you don't understand! You can't just save a life! Someone else's life must be sacrificed to save mine! Whose life did you sacrifice?"

Arthur blinked in shock and then turned to Andromeda. He saw Merlin turn to face the priestess as well. However, Merlin looked angry as he said, "You tricked him! He didn't know! I thought you said you weren't like Nimueh! You're a liar!"

Andromeda's eyes narrowed as she said, "Watch your tongue warlock!"

Merlin immediately quietened but his face was still thunderous. Arthur then asked a little apprehensively, "Whose life was sacrificed to save Merlin's?"

Andromeda turned blank eyes to Arthur and stated, "Morgana's..."

Arthur felt his heart stop. His tried to squelch the rising sadness but it wouldn't go down. He heard Merlin say, "Oh..." but he paid no heed to it.

No matter what she had done, Morgana was still his half-sister, and no matter how much he tried to hate her he could never bring himself to do so.

Lancelot was silently helping an injured man to get into the medical ward. He refused to allow his mind to wander around to Merlin. He had to believe that his friend would be alright.

He performed the tasks assigned to him mechanically without his mind really being in it. He was happy to help where he was needed, however he still felt that insistent churning deep within his gut at the thought of Uther pacing like a mad man.

Lancelot didn't worry about Merlin surviving the cut on his wrist. He knew with the Dragon on Merlin's side the warlock would be fine. He forced himself to believe that. However, it was the time after Merlin returned to Camelot that Lancelot feared, because Merlin would definitely return to Camelot. Arthur wouldn't allow Merlin to stay away.

Arthur would also not allow Merlin to be executed. Lancelot believed with every fibre of his being that the Prince wouldn't save Merlin's life only to end up killing him after. So all that really mattered was Uther, because Lancelot knew the King would definitely sentence Merlin to death.

It was the first time Lancelot had seen the King completely lucid since Morgana had taken over Camelot. But the Knight knew Arthur would be able to save Merlin and Lancelot planned to help.

After all, what are friends for. He was sure Arthur thought the same thing.

Arthur was still reeling slightly from the shock of the announcement. He saw Merlin turn to look at him in his peripheral vision. The warlock's eyes were slightly wide and fearful.

Arthur ignored his surroundings though and focused on the twisting feeling of unfounded guilt. Technically, Morgana couldn't have been kept alive, it wasn't an option. One way or the other she had to be killed. It was only a matter of who did the killing.

Arthur had started thinking he would have to do it himself, and the idea had given him no pleasure. Morgana was after all his sister, no matter what she had done Arthur couldn't just cruelly kill her. However, now the choice was taken out of his hands and this should have been a good thing.

Arthur knew he should be happy that he didn't have kill her himself, but he still couldn't work around the guilt. It was as if he had traded his sister's life for his friend's and he was confused as to his feelings about that.

He heard Merlin make a cautious comment, "Arthur...in a way this is a good thing...she wouldn't have stopped trying to kill you or your father..."

Arthur's head snapped up and he said angrily, "She was my sister!"

Merlin flinched and said, "I know...I just...I know you never wanted to kill her yourself...no matter how bad it sounds this is a good thing...she's harmed many innocent people with her magic..."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Merlin and said, "So I should probably kill you too!"

Merlin's eyes widened as he whispered, "What?"

"Well you have magic as well! You should probably die like her shouldn't you?"

"Don't compare me to her!"

The venom in Merlin's tone took Arthur by surprise. It was strange, Merlin had been Morgana's friend, so Arthur couldn't understand where this intense dislike had come from.

Merlin continued speaking, "I'm not like her...I'll never be like her! She abandoned everybody that loved her. She used magic for the wrong purpose! She was ready to kill you...ready to kill Gwen!"

Arthur blinked in shock, "Gwen...during Camelot's takeover..."

Merlin shook his head towards the negative and said, "No, twice before that she tried to harm Gwen...you just never knew. I had to deal with her all this time...she was after your life from the very first day she returned to Camelot."

Before Arthur could say anything more, Andromeda interrupted the conversation. Arthur had nearly forgotten she was still there.

"All in good time. I believe we should start from the beginning, correct?"

Merlin nodded his head and the dragon chuckled. Arthur was once again slightly startled, he had nearly forgotten the dragon as well.

"Yes, all in good time, we cannot have the Princeling knowing of how the young warlock freed me before he hears the whole story from the beginning!"

Arthur froze and then turned enraged eyes to Merlin. The warlock in question said hastily, "Wait! Arthur, listen to me! It wasn't like that! You have to..."

Arthur didn't wait for anything more he lunged at the warlock, grabbing on to fistfuls of clothing and slammed Merlin on to the ground.

Gwaine was walking around the castle looking for any injured people and checking to see how many of their new recruits had survived. His job was to rally what remaining men were left and scour the area to see if any of Alvarr's renegades were left behind.

They had all believed that Morgana's plan had been to attack everyone directly. No one had suspected what actually took place. They still didn't know how Morgana had gotten into the castle and how the food had been poisoned. Hell they didn't even know how Merlin's blood had been used for the spell. Hopefully though, when Merlin returned everything would be made clear.

Merlin would return for sure. That was something Gwaine didn't doubt, Arthur would not abandon the warlock. Gwaine may act like a joker who didn't understand what was going on in his surroundings but that facade was also why he could notice certain things. Arthur cared for Merlin. This entire episode had proved that, so Gwaine knew that Arthur would do anything in his power to help Merlin and bring the servant back to Camelot.

It was once they returned to Camelot that the problems would begin because Uther would obviously sentence Merlin to death. However, Gwaine had a plan for that and he was just waiting to meet up with the others to discuss his plan. It would work flawlessly because Arthur was on Merlin's side and the Prince was the one who would do all the talking.

Arthur was grappling with Merlin in anger, "How dare you? Do you know how many people died because of you?"

Merlin's eyes flashed in anger as he said, "You know anything of how much that decision affected me! You don't even know exactly what happend! You're just jumping to conclusions!"

Arthur snarled out, "Jumping to conclusions? He just said that you'd freed him!"

"Do you really not know me enough by now to realize that I wouldn't have done that unless I had no choice in the matter?"

"I don't know you Merlin! You've lied and betrayed me! I don't know who you are anymore!"

It was then that the thud of Andromeda's sceptre hitting the ground echoed across the area and penetrated the haze of anger inside Arthur's mind. She didn't scream but her voice held power as she said, "Enough!"

Arthur was forcefully shoved away from Merlin and held a few paces back from the warlock. Merlin was also held in place by the same type of magic it seemed. Though it didn't stop the angered yell from the warlock, "Kilgharrah, why did you do that?"

The dragon just kept chuckling. Before Merlin could open his mouth to say something else Andromeda said, "That's enough young warlock! We'll start the story from the very beginning and then the Prince will know all."

Merlin sighed then nodded his head and Arthur turned away from all three of them to look out across the Isle as Merlin began his tale.

A/N: So um...was it ok?...I'll try my hardest to get the second part to this out. I was actually gonna make it all one chapter but in the end I decided to split it because I know you guys have been waiting for a while! I'm really sorry!