Merlin walked out of the room, not sure what to think about Mithian's greeting. Although she had told him that she loved him, he had never believed that a princess would greet him so–lovingly. In public. For a moment he'd been afraid she would kiss him again.
Not that she was terrible to kiss, but he really didn't fancy suddenly finding himself engaged to a princess. He liked her and all, but he had so many important things to do. And he didn't think he would ever feel that unreserved desire to leave his destiny behind for love that he had felt for Freya again–not because he could never love again, because he was sure he would–but because he had been young, and his destiny had chaffed and bitten him so much then. It had been hard and far off and unbelievable to think that Arthur could ever be a great king and Merlin could help him get there. Now it seemed so close, and so real, that he was not going to neglect his destiny just because a beautiful, wonderful woman loved him.
"Merlin. You're just the person I was looking for," Arthur said.
"Really?" Merlin said. "And here I thought you were avoiding me."
"I was avoiding you," Arthur said. "But I realized that I can't do that anymore. I need to talk to you. I need to know everything there is to know about you."
"Why?" Merlin asked.
"Isn't it obvious? Because you know everything there is to know about me. It's only fair I know everything there is to know about you," Arthur said.
Merlin eyed Arthur cautiously. He thought Arthur had been quite happy pretending Merlin didn't exist, or at least, only as Gaius's assistant. He knew there were things about himself that Arthur would hate. The poisoning. The dragon. Uther's death. "And you thought a state visit would be the perfect time for this?"
Arthur leaned a bit closer to Merlin. "Gwen is convinced that Princess Mithian is in love with you. Perhaps it's best that you not spend too much time with her. And we all know the true purpose of the visit is for Donal to meet Gwen and talk to her about how to go from being a commoner to a royal with absolute grace, so I really don't need to be around too much, either."
"Princess Mithian? Love me? No. That's shocking," Merlin said, trying to lie convincingly.
Arthur looked at him closely. "You can't be serious. Gwen was right, and you knew? Why is she always right?"
"She generally only speaks up if she is certain of something," Merlin observed.
"Well, tell me about Mithian," Arthur said.
Merlin looked around nervously. "Here, in the corridor?"
"Of course not here," Arthur said. "Let's go to Gaius's chambers."
"I don't want to talk about this in front of Gaius," Merlin protested. "I just know he'll find a way to disapprove of me."
"I don't want to go to my chambers. Someone is sure to find me, there," Arthur said.
"Well I don't know where we can go where no one will find you," Merlin said. "I mean, you are the king. Someone is sure to recognize you wherever you go."
Arthur was thinking. "Do you know, long ago, when my father was first king, there was an old sorcerer who lived here and advised him?"
"Did he tell you that?" Merlin asked.
"No," Arthur said. "Follow me."
Merlin followed Arthur into a part of the castle that was rarely used. Merlin had snooped around a bit but found nothing of interest–well, except the door that was always kept locked. He had always been curious about that.
And it was to that very door that Arthur walked. When they arrived he took a key from his belt and opened the door. Inside, there was a winding staircase up a tower. "I found the locked door when I was young, but never opened it until my father first gave me duties as a prince and the keys to the castle. I asked Gaius about it. He told me it used to be the sorcerer's room."
They walked to the top of the tower and Arthur opened the door. The room was circular, dusty, and filled with the remnants of someone's life.
"I suppose anything magical was destroyed or locked in the vault?" Merlin asked.
"It was. Some of the books might be of some interest to you, though," Arthur said.
"To me?" Merlin asked.
"I just thought perhaps you'd like some space of your own. I know you and Gaius work all day together and will probably still take your meals together, but you're hardly just an apprentice, now. You should at least have your own separate chamber," Arthur said.
"And if you ever decide to change your mind about me using magic, you can lock the door and keep me up here forever," Merlin said, only half joking.
Arthur looked at Merlin. "I meant no offense. If I thought of a room that was out of the way for you, it was mostly because I wanted to be able to occasionally hide out without servants or courtiers being able to find me. It was not to hide you from sight."
"In that case, I would be pleased to accept the room. Maybe I should clean it a bit before we actually use it, though," Merlin said.
"Can't you just–" Arthur gestured obscurely, obviously meaning that Merlin should use magic to clean the room.
"I thought you didn't want me to use magic when I didn't have to," Merlin said.
Arthur threw up his hands in exasperation. "Just clean the room however you want. I will wait in the stairwell."
Merlin picked up all the loose papers and shook them, then put them in a drawer. He shook the bedding outside the window and then secured anything that looked lightweight and then created a whirlwind to take the dust away. The place still needed a good scrub, but they could at least sit at the table in front of the fire and have a talk. Merlin set up the fireplace, and then lit it with magic.
"I think the place is habitable," Merlin said, poking his head out the door.
"You've done wonders with the place," Arthur said. "Now, tell me about Mithian."
"Well, I helped her with her problems, and she told me she fell in love with me. And then I left. And now she's here," Merlin said.
"That much I could have figured out on my own," Arthur said dryly.
"Where is this sudden interest coming from, Arthur?" Merlin asked.
"You don't think I've a right to know who you are?" Arthur asked. "You always knew me better than anyone, and I would have said I knew you better than anyone else, too, except maybe Gaius. But the fact is I didn't know you at all."
"Of course you have a right to know the things I've done over the years. But you do know me, better than anyone. Better than Gaius," Merlin said.
"I don't believe that," Arthur said, shaking his head.
Merlin paused. "How about I tell you everything, from the beginning? If you know how it happened that I found out it was my destiny to help you, and why I made the choices I made, perhaps you will understand."
"Or maybe you just don't want to tell me about Mithian," Arthur said.
Merlin ignored him. "It all started with the dragon's call."