After many months of waiting, eight is finally here! God, I feel awful. But, it seems the trick to inspire me to write more of this fic is to spend an entire day watching videos centered around this wonderful pairing. I hope you guys can forgive me for making you wait so long for something that is nada amazing, but I figured I might as well post something while I was still in the mood to write and had time to do so. Hope you enjoy!

And I still own no part of Merlin. But, 'Oh, I wish...'.

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"Sire, the king requests your presence in the throne room," came a voice from the other side of the massive oak door of Arthur's chambers. Arthur couldn't believe it- his father had managed to call for him in maybe one of the most crucial moments in his life. He could very well be exaggerating, but it did not feel that way to him.

"For the love of- does he need me right now?" Arthur called through gritted teeth. Then, he glanced at Merlin's blank expression and realized he was not going to get any sort of response right now. So, with a sigh, Arthur continued before the knight could reply, "Never mind, tell him I'll be there in a few moments." Arthur shot Merlin a look to say, 'I understand- just give it some thought,' before wrenching the door open and striding down the hall. He did not look to see if Merlin left as well.

VVVV

Merlin felt very, very confused. And vulnerable. And…happy? He couldn't be sure, but Merlin thought he felt little butterflies appear in his stomach to gently float to the beat of Arthur's name resounding in Merlin's head- "Arthur. Arthur. Arthur." However, they disappeared once the magnitude of the confession hit him.

"Oh…my. Di- did Arthur just admit he has feelings for someone, and me, of all people? And to my face?" He stopped for a moment, realizing he was speaking aloud. As he continued to attempt to contemplate the situation, Merlin just shouted out, "What the hell is wrong with this place lately?" Becoming frustrated with his inability to fathom what had happened, he hurried off in the general direction of his own rooms.

VVVV

"Father, you wished to see me," Arthur stated respectfully, inclining his head to his father. He heard the guards swing the doors shut to take up their positions on the other side, as usual. His father was sitting erect in his throne, immediately giving Arthur the impression they would be discussing a matter of, at least to the king, great importance.

Uther returned his son's gesture and answered, "Yes. It seems we still have the issue of finding who poisoned you at the banquet. I'm sure you realize I wanted to give you time to recover before bringing up the matter." This Arthur did understand, for he would most likely be the one left with the responsibility of finding the sorceress, for that is undoubtedly what the woman was.

"Yes, father, I understand the seriousness of finding this woman and punishing her according to the law of Camelot. Am I to lead the investigation?" Arthur's face remained blank, displaying no emotion, while he waited for orders.

The king stared at Arthur for a moment before replying, "I don't see the sense in you hunting for a woman whose face you do not remember. Unless, of course, you do remember what she looks like," Uther added, looking inquisitively at the prince.

Arthur paused, trying to recall and image of the one who tried to kill him, but it had happened so many times and the poison's effects were too far along by the time he had any understanding of what was happening to have gotten a clear memory of the situation. "I am afraid I would not know how to go about finding this woman," Arthur confessed to his king.

Uther nodded. "Well, I will find who does have an idea of how to look for her. In the meantime, continue to rest. Gaius said it may still be too soon for you to be so active." Uther's gaze held a warning glint Arthur knew he was wordlessly being ordered to heed. He was still on lock down. Eyes tight, Arthur bade farewell to his father before turning on his heel and opening the doors to the empty hall outside.

VVVV

"Merlin, how are you?" Morgana questioned as she passed him. Her voice seemed to catch the boy off guard, for he jumped and proceeded to fall over his own feet, as usual. Amused, Morgana quickly moved to help the warlock to his feet again. "I fear you're becoming even clumsier," she laughed while wondering at why Merlin would be so jumpy. Now that she thought of it, he was avoiding her gaze, seemingly engrossed by the stone floor beneath his worn old boots. "Merlin?" she prodded gently, resting a hand on his arm.

"Oh, what? Yeah, me, I'm fine. Fine, really," Merlin murmured disjointedly, his eyes darting around him, landing anywhere but on Morgana. This obviously didn't escape her notice.

"Merlin, if you're doing so well, look me in the eye when you speak," she commanded gently, already guessing how he would react. Morgana noticed how he seemed to physically struggle with keeping his eyes on her as he replied,

"I really am fine, Morgana, I just have a lot to do and a lot to think about. I appreciate the concern and all, but I really should be going." The seer sensed how badly Merlin just wanted to be alone for a while, so she knew not to press him any further. If something were terribly wrong, he would confide in her; she was sure of it. So, with a last goodbye, Merlin and Morgana went their separate ways, Merlin to figure out what was going on and what he was going to do with this mess, and Morgana began her search for Arthur. If anyone would know what was wrong with the young warlock, it would be the prince himself.

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I know it's nothing great, but everything else just felt so forced! And I promise, in the next chapter, I'll stop beating around the slash bush. But, in the meantime, could you leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter? Thanks so much for reading and to those who have already reviewed!