"Arthur?"
Arthur blinked and straightened in his chair. "Yes?" he replied.
"Is something the matter?" asked Gwen.
Arthur sighed. Should he tell Gwen that Merlin had magic? Maybe he shouldn't mention that it was Merlin. "How would you feel if someone you've known for a very long time has magic? And it's not something they can help- they were born with it. And they've obviously been keeping it a secret from you- how would you feel? What would you do?"
Arthur could hear Gwen walking over, then felt her hands on his shoulders. Gwen was silent for a while, then said, "If it's something they're truly born with, then I think it'd be foolish to punish them for it." She paused. "Arthur...who is it?"
Arthur lowered his head. "Can you promise me you won't react negatively?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Gwen.
"It's Merlin," said Arthur.
"Merlin?" Gwen said in shocked tone of voice. "Merlin has magic?"
"I heard him say it myself," said Arthur. "Gaius confirmed it."
"I can't believe it," Gwen murmured. "All this time, he's been hiding it..."
"I scarcely could either," replied Arthur. "But think about it- there's always been something... *different* about him."
"True," Gwen said. "But...magic. It's hard to believe." She was silent for moment, then said, "So what are you going to do?"
"Gwaine argued for legalizing magic," replied Arthur. "I know I can't kill him- he's a friend, no matter that he has magic, and Gaius said that if I did kill him, I'd be as good as dead- he's apparently been protecting me all these years. But I don't know how well people would take the news or my attempt to legalize magic- for almost three decades the people have heard and believed that magic is evil. Legalizing magic, or instating Merlin as the Court Sorcerer might not be popular decisions."
"Well, no matter what, you shouldn't stay up all night thinking about it," said Gwen. "You need your sleep."