When Merlin located him, the Prince was in his room pretending to read. He looked ten years older, sitting at his desk with two books open before him, dominating the room from his position by the window, until one realised that his eyes were not even on the books, and that he was picking his nails beneath the table. Merlin almost walked in without knocking, but just in time he remembered his manners, and rapped on the door, which was slightly more than ajar.

The Prince called out 'Come in,' before he even looked up; but when he saw who it was, he frowned a little, and said: 'What do you want?'

'I want to prove I was right about the shield.'

'You're going to have to drop that. I got into trouble over it. My father knows it was you who told me, and he doesn't approve – but he punished me, for believing stupid peasant stories.'

'What if you saw the snakes yourself?'

'Like Valiant's going to be that careless.'

Merlin studied him for a moment, and, cautiously, came further into the room. Arthur bristled a little but did not stand. After a moment Merlin turned and closed the door.

'You believe me, don't you, Arthur.'

'That's Prince Arthur to you,' said Arthur, though somewhat less devotedly than usual. 'And yes, I do, sort of. I know you saw something and I know there's something strange about this whole business. But what exactly do you expect me to do?'

'I want you to come with me to Valiant's room.'

'What exactly are you going to do?' Arthur looked more anxious than mocking. 'If the snakes are summoned by magic, we're not going to be able to make them appear.'

'The shield has a defence mechanism,' said Merlin at once. His hands trembled a little as he began to weave his lie, the lie that he had spent half the day concocting. 'I worked it out. I can make them appear.'

'Then do it before the whole court. I haven't got time for this.'

'If I do it before the whole court, they'll think I have magic, and I'll be killed.'

He hadn't meant to sound quite so frank, but it certainly had an effect on Arthur, who pursed his lips, evidently knowing exactly what Merlin was talking about. The prince did not reply for a moment.

'But after you've shown me... what's your plan?'

'I'm going to try and kill one. You can take its head to the king.'

'Kill one!'

Now Arthur rose from his seat, astounded.

'But you... you...'

'You don't think I'd be able to do it.'

'No, it's not that...' It quite blatantly was, but Arthur blustered through his alternative with admirable persistence. 'You'd put yourself in danger. What if you got bitten?'

'Well,' said Merlin, 'we would have the head, and Gaius could work out a cure from the venom.'

Arthur blinked a moment, trying to work out if Merlin was serious or not. 'I don't know if you're brave or stupid,' he said at last.

'Both,' ventured Merlin, shrugging.

Arthur tried to smile, thrown off balance by Merlin's nonchalance. 'All right. I'll come. We'll have to be very careful, though.'

Merlin looked straight at him, grinned, and shook his head. 'I did ask you if you wanted to play with us... This is what all the hide and seek practice is useful for.'

They went up that evening, when they knew that Valiant would be mingling with the other competitors at one of their many Rising Sun gatherings. Indeed, the tournament quarters were all but empty; the silence was broken only by the sound of nervous pacing in one of the rooms. Merlin came to Valiant's quarters, and put an ear to the door.

'Empty,' he said after a moment. Then: 'But I think the door will be locked –' he gave it a push '– yes, it is.'

'Then how do you suggest we get in?'

'Pick the lock,' said Merlin at once, holding up a thin piece of metal. He bent over the heavy lock, shading it a little from Arthur; then, when he was sure the prince wasn't watching, he cast a quick spell on it. For effect, he twisted the metal a bit inside the mechanism, and then pushed the door open. Arthur tried not to look overly impressed.

'You know,' he said, 'if you're lying, I'll tell my father everything you've done that isn't allowed.'

Merlin just shot him a grin and indicated that they ought to keep their voices down.

The boy had to admit that he was surprised to find the shield still in the room, though he didn't make this evident to Arthur. It lay in a corner, inconspicuously, slightly more hidden than last time, but still menacing enough that Merlin hesitated for more than a moment.

'Well! do whatever you came to do,' Arthur said.

Merlin knelt beside the shield, and cursed Arthur's curiosity, for the prince craned his neck to see what was going on. His hands began to tremble again. For the first time, he became acutely aware of the danger he faced – not from the snakes, but from the revelation of his magic, for he had been overly confident that he would be able to hide it. He pulled the shield towards him, and drew from his belt the knife that he had smuggled from Gaius's kitchen.

'You're actually going to do this, then?' Arthur blurted out.

'If I'm right,' replied Merlin, breezily.

And after a moment he found what looked like a convincing position for his hand, and began to flutter his fingers; he looked away slightly, cast a spell, knew that the flash from his eyes had dissolved into the beam of sunlight from the window –

Then he jumped up, brandishing the knife; and though he could not deny that he was a little afraid, the appearance of the snakes drew a quiet cheer from him, and a gasp of astonishment from Arthur. For a moment, he let the snakes writhe, found himself almost hypnotised by their movements. Their eyes were bright, a red mirror that made him shudder, and yet he could not help but be drawn by their beauty, like jewels –

But another gasp from Arthur drew him from his reverie, and he rose the knife above his head, not really knowing how much force it was going to take. Then, just as one of the snakes wriggled free of the shield, and began to advance towards him across the floor, he brought it crashing down, and felt it strike flesh.

He didn't really know what happened after that; it was all a blur. He saw the other snakes retreat, and disappear; he saw Arthur run across the room, towards him; he felt a burst of adrenaline, and staggered backwards.

'Did I – did I do it?' he stammered, a moment later.

And Arthur, despite himself, managed to clap the boy on the back. He himself could hardly speak for the astonishment.

'Yes...' he said. 'I think you did.'

'We've got a whole snake!' breathed Merlin after a second, seeing the decapitated form on the floor. It did not bleed, merely lay limp and unreal before him. There was a liquid dripping from the fangs that he durst not touch. He drew a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it over the head, folding it carefully into the cloth. Arthur had picked up the body and was studying it with cheerful disgust.

When Merlin had finished parcelling up the head, the prince put out a hand for it; but Merlin hesitated.

'You definitely believe me now?' he asked.

'I believed you before,' said Arthur, defiantly.

'Do you think the king will believe me?'

'I hope so.'

Merlin smiled wanly, and handed over the snake's head. 'Gaius can look at it. He'll know what it is. But take it to the king first.'

Arthur nodded, and they stood a moment in awkward silence; the prince made to say something, but thought better of it, and without further ado hurried from the room, leaving Merlin to straighten the shield and lock the door, as if they had never entered.