A/N : Hey you guys! Alright, so I'm back with another chapter... and thank you so much for your reviews on the last one, because I wasn't too happy on how that turned out, so it meant all the more to me! Now, this chapter is, as bcargill9 rightly predicted : "the one where things start to go really wrong", so it's a really important chappie, and I really really hope you'll like it!

Pleaase let me know? You can have cookies, hugs, kisses, and everything else you want! (though I can't deliver Merlin OR Arthur, sadly enough)

XO, as always

Merlin

"Arthur?" The prince turned around slowly to answer the call, his jacket hanging from his left arm. They had been silent ever since they'd entered the high walls of the castle, each processing his own thoughts – for Merlin could not stop thinking of his mother's words, or the emotion written on her face. "I'd like to go down to the kitchen for a while, if that's okay."

"You're going to confront him?" Merlin nodded, and Arthur looked at him incredously. He raised his eyebrows in a way that Merlin was all too familiar with. It was his master's Merlin-don't-be-an-idiot-face, and had been directed at him time and time again. "Don't you want to think about what you're going to say, before you storm off and have a fit?"

Merlin shrugged. "I'll make it up as I go along. There's no telling how he's going to respond, really."

"Sure there is." Throwing his jacket onto the bed, Arthur walked over to him, and Merlin eyed the mess Arthur had made, despair rising in his throat. Arthur was worse than he was when it came to tidyness, and he'd point that out to Gaius when the subject would come up again. Arthur's hand twirled in the air. "For instance, when you say…"

"I know you lied to me.."

"He'll say : 'I didn't. Your mother can't be trusted, Merlin.' And he'll try to make you believe him instead." Merlin groaned inwardly. Arthur prided himself with understanding how the enemy's mind worked, and it didn't matter how often he'd tried to make Merlin see this, too, the desired result never came. Merlin was still as clueless as ever when it came to none-magical foes.

"Alright, then what?"

"Then…" Arthur fell silent. "I don't know." Alright, so he wasn't the only one feeling clueless. "Just don't be nice to him."

Merlin smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Arthur. I'll just act like a complete prat." He walked to the door, pausing before he left. "Learned from the best." He teased, just before the door fell into place.

-

Arthur

He didn't like this one bit, and it wasn't because he thought Merlin to be dumb and gullible,… not really. Garreth was just too charming, too slick… and there was no way he would be giving up whatever he was planning just because Hunith tried to stop him.

The harsh knock on the door, disguised as an easy rhythm, made him abandon this train of thought, and he called softly for the person to enter. When the door creaked open, and two familiar eyes peered into the room, he wished he hadn't.

"What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you had seen Merlin. I'd like to talk to him." His voice, so smooth and warm, so completely at ease and certain of his own victory, spoke not of a question, but more of an order. Merlin would speak with him, whether he want ed to or not.

"No idea." Arthur slowly said, making sure Garreth knew he was lying. He would not back down – he would keep his promise. "In fact, I wouldn't go looking for him if I were you." He walked over to the intruder, trying to get him to back down. If he were anything like Merlin, however, he would just continue to be annoying (Arthur had learnt that the hard way) and sure enough, Garreth didn't seem the slightest bit afraid.

"Oh really?" He frowned. "Any particular reason why I should do that?"

"Because I don't trust you. And I can confidently say that you won't like the outcome when you don't." His voice was a slow, deep rumble – and he felt the protectiveness over Merlin kick in, just like that. He'd kill for his friend, there was no doubt about it, and at times like these, it was all the more apparent.

Garreth nodded, a slow smile spreading on his face."Oh, goody. I'll try to keep that in mind." He tilted his head, peering at the prince through eyes that more resembled those of a reptile than they did those of a man. "Anything else, your highness?"

-

Merlin

"I'm sorry, Merlin. Your father's not on the clock right now. He usually comes in around five, to prepare for supper." The woman smiled at him, kindness radiating from her eyes, and Merlin couldn't keep from returning it. He swore that despite all of his anger, he would never be cold enough not to acknowledge kindness when he met it, and this woman was no exception.

Her eyes shone. "He talks of you often, Merlin. You can tell he's proud to be your father." She put a hand on his arm, squeezing gently. "I know it's not any of my business, but I know he's desperate for you to give him a second chance. He's changed, Merlin. I can tell."

Merlin felt confused. "Did you… did you know him before he came to Camelot?"

She nodded. "We met on his travels, and he was always kind to me. He's a good man, Merlin. You can trust him." She patted his jacket softly, then sighed. "I'm afraid it's back to work for me. But you come and visit whenever you like, it feels as if I've known you forever."

-

Walking back to his master's quarters, he damned Arthur for living on the top floor of the castle, the steps too tiring for this day. Midway, he paused to catch his breath, disguising it as casually leaning against the wall for no apparent reason. It was then that he saw his father. Garreth came down the stairs, easily flying over the harsh stone levels. He stopped abruptly when he saw his son, and swallowed uneasily to show his distress.

"I've just talked to Arthur." He said, biting his lip in sadness. "I don't think he likes me very much."

Merlin grinned slowly. "Arthur seems like a prat to anyone who doesn't know him." He paused. "I was just heading up there, myself. I came from…"

"I suppose he thinks I'm going to pull you away from here." Garreth interrupted sternly, trying to make sure Merlin understood exactly what his master was up to. "But that's not what I want, Merlin, not at all." He took a step closer, his breath now grazing Merlin's bare flesh when he exhaled. "If you decide to forgive me," he whispered, "I just want to stay here, in Camelot. This is your home now, and if you let me, it could be mine as well."

Hunith's warning faded in his mind, his anger sinking to a level where it was almost unnoticeable. Garreth was asking him for a second chance, he was pleading with Merlin to forgive him. "Camelot is my home," he confirmed. "and it always will be." He couldn't answer his father now, he couldn't make a promise in this state of confusion.

He needed to talk to Arthur.

-

"There was a woman in the kitchen who asked me to forgive my father." Merlin was folding Arthur's clothes into neat heaps while the prince ate his supper, and he spoke to the red jacket instead of to his friend. "She said she knows him from before, and…" Arthur turned in his seat, observing Merlin, almost staring him down to measure his emotions, trying to figure out where he stood. If only Merlin knew himself. "…and she said he's never been anything but kind to her."

Merlin looked at him sideways, the blue eyes trying to find some sort of confimation in Arthur's behaviour, something that told him he wasn't being foolish. The prince folded his arms, a slight frown appearing between his eyes. "And I saw Garreth after that…he didn't seem like the person my mother described, and I think.."

He turned to the window, for some reason not wanting to see the disapproval he knew would reign in Arthur's features when he spoke the next words. "…I think I owe it to him to give him a second chance. And if he screws it up, then it's over."

Arthur cleared his throat. "Well, I know for a fact that that would be one of the worst ideas you've ever had." He stood, walked around the bed and forced Merlin to look him in the eye.

Merlin's gaze travelled from the window to the other side of the large matress, and he sighed slightly. "I knew you'd say that, but I believe…"

"The woman could have been hired by him to say those things to you." Arthur explained. "I don't think him to be above that kind of bribery."

"But she was." He stressed. "I know she wasn't lying to me, Arthur. I could tell she knew what she was talking about."

Arthur shook his head. "Your father is just playing you for a fool."

"He sounded sincere."

"Of course he did! For goodness sake, Merlin!" Arthur nearly shouted. "I can't believe you're being so damn stupid you can't even tell why he's still here! The only reason he even stayed in Camelot is because you're MY servant now, can't you see that? He never thinks of anyone but himself, and he's just using you to get what he wants."

Arthur

It wasn't until after his little tantrum had been thrown into the air, that he realized exactly what he'd said. His chest heaving, he tried to slow down his breathing as he saw the pain enter Merlin's large blue orbs. They became hazy, a deep mist clouding the clear vision.

The silence surrounding them was so heavy. If anything, Arthur wished that he could turn back time, to an era where the words had not been spoken, though in his mind they were probably dangerously close to the truth. Be that as it was, he had hurt the person standing in front of him by speaking his suspicions, and Merlin's hand, that had been raised in argument, fell slowly to his side. The movement, and the accompanying expression, were filled with bitter disappointment and a deep aching.

Merlin pushed back the rising emotion in his throat, not wanting to show how much the strung together sentence had cut him. If it had been any other argument, with any other person, Arthur would have been slightly proud, convinced that this was the only way to get out of a fight relatively unscathed. You have to reign in your own emotions to land another blow, for if you do you will be walking away the victorious one.

This time, his own belly constricted when he looked at Merlin, the pain so clear in all his features. "Merlin.."

"Wow." Merlin breathed the word out, his chest rising and falling slowly. "I didn't think we'd ever get here.."

"We're not." Arthur tried to reason with him. "If you'd just think about it, you'd see that."

"You know, Arthur," Merlin began with a passion, "there ARE some people who see me for me, and not just as your servant. I do have a life beside tending to your every whim and need, and if you weren't such a child you'd actually be able to clear the table by yourself."

"Merlin, stop being such a damsel." Arthur sneered. "You're blowing this up just so can have an excuse to feel right about this decision you're making."

"An excuse?" Merlin bit his lip. "Yes, Arthur. You're right. I'm just looking for a way to prove that I actually know what I'm doing." He bit the words out, the sarcasm hanging heavily on every syllable. "Here's an excuse," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "I'm done. Get yourself another puppy to boss around."

"Merlin."

The door slammed, and Arthur hung his head. "You must look out for him," Hunith's voice haunted him, her words cutting him in the aftermath of the fight.

"Promise me you will.."

Okay, pleaaase tell me what you think? It means the world to me! Xo, as always!