Yes I know its been a while but things have been manic. You'll be pleased to know (or maybe not) that this isn't the last chapter. I think there will be one more after this, possibly two but it depends how much more carried away I get. Though it shouldn't be such a long break till the next chapter as it is nearly done. Thanks for the huge amount of positive feedback I received for the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this instalment. Thanks to Roses-as-lips for the beta. Enjoy. x

Part two

Silence followed Merlin's words. Arthur's expression was unchanged and he hadn't moved a muscle. Merlin inspected him warily, unsure how he was reacting to his announcement. However the prince seemed to be frozen in place, probably in shock. Merlin bit his lip in worry as he waited for the inevitable explosion, but Arthur didn't seemed inclined to move. After a couple of moments Arthur eventually seemed to return to his senses and he blinked at Merlin in confusion.

"What?"

Merlin barely heard his quiet words over his pounding heart. He could feel the built up tension and worry filling him up and he took a nervous step backwards, away from Arthur. However the prince seemed to be waiting for an answer so Merlin took a steadying breath and repeated his revelation.

"I'm a warlock."

There was another brief, tension filled pause before Arthur face cracked into a smile. Merlin frowned in confusion at Arthur's reaction; this was the last thing he expected to happen. He had hoped that Arthur would eventually be okay with it but he had expected some shouting at the least before that happened. But Arthur seemed to be taking it really well.

"That's what I thought you said." Arthur said with a laugh, "You're a warlock, good one Merlin. Now coming up with something helpful would be nice."

Merlin's blood ran cold as he realised why Arthur was smiling. It wasn't that he was okay with it; it was because he didn't believe him. Merlin wasn't sure whether this was Arthur turning to denial instead of dealing with the issue or that he truly believed Merlin to be too much of an idiot to possess magic.

"Arthur I'm not joking, I really am a warlock."

Merlin squirmed slightly as Arthur's piercing gaze landed on him. He stayed perfectly still as Arthur inspected him closely, clearly looking for the truth in his manservant's face. However whatever Arthur found caused him to step backwards and he put a hand on the wall beside him to steady himself.

Arthur ran a hand distractedly through his hair as he surveyed Merlin. He'd always thought that the other boy was as easy to read as an open book and the expression on Merlin's face at that moment told Arthur that he was telling the truth. However part of his mind was telling him that if Merlin really was telling the truth then maybe he wasn't as easy to read as Arthur thought and so he could be wrong. Even to himself the logic sounded messed up but Arthur clung to it, hoping that this was all one of Merlin's jokes.

"Merlin this isn't funny." Arthur said seriously, "Can we please focus on finding a solution."

"It's the truth Arthur." Merlin said quietly, "And I think the only way to solve this."

However Arthur didn't register the last part of what Merlin said, all he heard was Merlin telling him that he was truly a warlock. And suddenly something clicked in Arthur's head. The reason Merlin always defended sorcerers a little too passionately, the shifty way he avoided answering some of Arthur's questions, and the feeling Arthur had had ever since they had met; the feeling that there was something else to Merlin that nobody seemed to be able to put their finger on.

Arthur sagged against the wall he had been supporting himself on and rubbed his temples with one hand. He had closed his eyes, unable to look at Merlin any longer. The pleading look on Merlin's open face was causing a whole new level of conflict inside the prince. The boy's wide innocent eyes were filled with the longing for Arthur to understand and he felt he would crumble if he looked into them any longer.

However now he was free of their conflicting gaze a whole new wave of emotion flooded through him. Anger seeped into him as he realised what this truly meant. Merlin was a sorcerer; he practised magic illegally in Camelot. Arthur didn't understand how Merlin could do that to him. After all he had seen, after all they had been through together, all the magical evil they had beaten together; Merlin had still chosen to join them.

The anger was soon joined by betrayal as Arthur realised that after all they'd been through together Merlin hadn't told him, hadn't even given the smallest hint. He thought they trusted each other, thought they'd moved past the restrictions that their social positions held and had become friends, though Arthur would never admit it out loud.

His eyes shot open and he saw Merlin stagger back in shock at the anger in his eyes. Merlin felt tears stinging the inside of his eyes as he saw the pure hate in Arthur's gaze. His breath caught in his throat as he felt himself start to panic. Arthur wouldn't really hand him over to his father, would he? After all they'd been through Merlin had believed that their friendship was stronger than that. However the look in his eyes was telling Merlin otherwise. The only small slither of hope he had was the glimpse he caught of pain and vulnerability behind Arthur's mask of anger. Merlin was praying that Arthur's anger was stemming from that feeling of betrayal that Merlin didn't tell him rather than actual hate for what he was.

"Get out."

The words were so quiet that Merlin almost missed them. However, even if he had, the look on Arthur's face was portraying the message loud and clear. Despite this Merlin didn't move. He couldn't leave now, he had to explain, had to make Arthur understand. Merlin knew that if he didn't explain now then he would never get the chance.

"Arthur I..."

"I said get out!" Arthur bellowed at him.

Merlin staggered back at the shout and stared at Arthur for a moment before fleeing the room.

Arthur could feel himself filled with anger, betrayal and hurt and couldn't get his brain to function properly through the mist of emotion. He strode into the middle of his room blindly, unsure as to what he was doing. How could he, was the only logical thought running through Arthur's head. He wasn't even sure whether it was how could he be practising an illegal art or how could he not tell Arthur. All he knew was that he couldn't be around Merlin any longer or he would do something that he might come to regret.

Running a hand through his hair agitatedly Arthur surveyed the room for something, anything, that might fix it. His gaze landed on his training gear and he strode towards it purposefully. The repetitive comfort of his training always managed to make him feel calmer no matter how stressed he was. He knew that a long session in the training ground would help him to process the new information and might help him come to a decision about what the hell he was going to do.

Moving towards the table where his gear was laid out Arthur stripped his shirt off and threw it behind him, grabbing the fresh one he preferred to train in. However the moment the shirt had left his grasp and disappeared behind him Arthur found himself wearing it again. It took a moment for his brain to catch up with what had just happened but the moment he did everything that had happened previous to Merlin's revelation came flooding back.

Arthur remembered the ridiculous situation he was stuck in and angrily threw the shirt he had picked up back onto the table. He felt a slight relief at channelling his anger through that action. Grabbing the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a vase that Merlin had failed to put in its right place, Arthur spun round and threw it against the wall. It shattered against it with a satisfying crash and water trickled down the wall from the point of contact. Arthur felt an overwhelming need to release all the tension and anger inside of him. If he couldn't release it though beating some unsuspecting knight into a pulp then he was going to have to find a different solution.

His gaze fell on the incriminating pile of clothes on the table, the pile that blasted shirt had come from, and he felt the anger welling inside of him again. He grabbed them, throwing them haphazardly around his room. Soon the rest of his belongings were joining them as rage overtook Arthur and he threw anything he could get his hands on around the room with as much force as he could muster.

Eventually there wasn't anything left for Arthur to break and he stood in the middle of the room, panting heavily, surveying the mess he'd just made. A small voice in the back of his head, which sounded annoyingly like Merlin, was telling him that this might have been a little bit of an overreaction. But before he could pursue that thought there was a tentative knock on the door. Arthur knew straight away that his visitor wasn't Merlin. There was no way Merlin would knock, even after what had just happened, and Arthur doubted he was going to come back so soon after the way he had reacted. He briefly debated ignoring whoever it was but the knock came again, more persistent this time.

"What?" He snapped angrily at the closed door.

It was pushed opened and a concerned looking Sir Leon entered the room. He moved forward but stopped when he saw the state the room was in. Arthur watched Leon do a once over, surveying the damage, before turning his attention back to the prince.

"Sire is everything alright? We heard crashes and..." Leon trailed off; unsure what to say about the state the room was in, "What happened?"

"I'm redecorating." Arthur explained shortly, saying the first thing that came to mind.

Arthur could see the exact moment that Leon realised that Arthur had made this mess himself. The expression crossing Leon's face was almost comical and Arthur was sure that, had Merlin been there, he would have been stifling his laughter. However thoughts of Merlin caused new waves of emotions to crash through him and he clamped down on his thoughts, pushing Merlin out of his head.

"Do you need any help?" Leon asked hesitantly before voicing the real question he wanted the answer to, "Sire, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Leon, you may go now." Arthur said coolly.

His unnaturally calm tone seemed to worry Leon more than anything else he had seen since entering the room.

"Sire maybe I should stay."

"Go Leon." Arthur instructed, his tone of voice indicating there was no room for negotiation.

However it seemed that today Arthur was cursed with people who refused to do as they were told. As Merlin had before him, Leon hesitated but didn't move. He seemed worried about the prince's mental state and was reluctant to leave him alone.

"Sire I really think..."

"Now Sir Leon."

Arthur's tone was dangerous and Leon knew from previous experience what would happen if he stayed. He knew that he wasn't going to get through to his prince when he was in this state, if he wanted to make sure Arthur was alright he would have to find someone who could. Leon bowed respectfully before exiting the room. He hurried down the corridor, knowing he would have to be quick if he was to find the prince's manservant before Arthur did anything stupid.

Arthur glowered at the closed door before moving to sink down onto the bed. He sunk his head into his hands, massaging his temple with both hands. He realised that trashing his room perhaps wasn't the best idea but brushed that thought away, Merlin could fix it later.

The thought of his manservant sent a stab of pain shooting through his chest. He was the whole reason behind this problem. He sighed in despair and realised that he was actually going to have to sort out the disaster that this afternoon had turned into. He closed his eyes and let everything wash over him.

Merlin was a sorcerer. That was what this whole thing boiled down to. Arthur realised there were so many problems with this that he was going to have to tackle it slowly. He knew that Merlin was aware of the penalties for practising magic in Camelot and, although Arthur may claim otherwise sometimes, Merlin wasn't as stupid as he looked. Arthur was pretty certain that there must be a reason behind why Merlin had decided to risk his life to practice this cursed craft because Merlin wasn't suicidal.

However this lead to another problem; his whole life Arthur had been taught that magic was evil as was everyone who practised it. His father had drilled into him since he was a child that magic corrupted a person's soul, turning even the purest person evil. But Merlin wasn't evil. Clumsy, bumbling, wears his heart on his sleeve Merlin wasn't evil, he couldn't be.

Arthur had always believed his father's teachings, followed his instructions to the letter. Well until recently that is. Although he had seen magical threat after magical threat, seen his father proved right time and time again, there had always been those occasions that made him stop and think. Maybe he didn't have all the facts; maybe his father wasn't entirely right. For if Merlin had magic then surely that proved that his father was wrong, for there was no way that Merlin fit the picture of sorcerers that Uther portrayed.

But then again, as Arthur thought back, he realised that it wasn't till Merlin had arrived in Camelot that Arthur had begun to question his father's methods. He had always thought that Merlin's presence had changed him into a better person however a niggling voice was telling him that maybe Merlin had been using his magic to turn him against his father. But this sounded ridiculous even to his suspicious mind. He knew he had become a better person through Merlin's influence. Guinevere had told him often enough that he had grown into a great prince and Arthur, though he would never tell him, owed most of this to Merlin.

Worst of all however was the fact that Merlin hadn't told him. Arthur had thought their friendship, unusual as it was, was stronger than that. Even if he decided he was okay with Merlin possessing magic, something he still wasn't sure he was, there was still the fact that he had betrayed all the trust that Arthur had put into him by not telling him. He had thought of Merlin as his closest ally and it turned out he was hiding this huge bombshell from him and, if he was honest, that was what was hurting him the most.

A wry smile crossed Arthur's lips as he realised he was no closer to deciding what on earth he was going to about this whole situation. And on top of that he still needed to get out of this damn shirt, a feat he couldn't achieve on his own. Suddenly Arthur started to laugh as he realised the ridiculousness of this situation. After all they had been through, after every life threatening situation they had been in, every occasion that Arthur was now coming to suspect Merlin must have used magic in to have come through so miraculously unscathed, it was over a stupid reappearing shirt that Arthur found out his secret.

His laughter died away as he realised that he did sound a bit crazy, laughing to himself like a mad man. He sincerely hoped that Leon wasn't outside his rooms as it would probably confirm his worry that Arthur had lost his mind. Thankfully Arthur was pretty certain that Leon wouldn't go to his father with his suspicions without solid proof.

He stood up; stretching as he tried to decided his next course of action. He had already tried every way he could think of to get rid of the shirt so that was out of the window. There was no way he could just continue on with his daily routine as if nothing was wrong, he was sure that the weight of all that had happened must be written across his face. This meant that he would have to avoid his father at all costs until he had worked this whole thing out with Merlin as he knew he would be wracked with guilt until he decided a firm course of action. He couldn't visit Morgana which under normal circumstances would be his next choice, as a good argument with her would always distract him from his problems, since they were no closer to finding her; their most recent search parties having come back with nothing. He sighed angrily as he knew the only option left:

He was going to have to go find Merlin...crap.