THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS
Merlin was led, two guards holding either of his arms, through the whispering, murmuring and gasping members of the court who lined the hall.
The windows high in the walls allowed brilliant light to shatter the shocked atmosphere which swelled around him as he entered.
While the majority of the eyes were fearful and confused as the great doors crashed closed and Merlin was forced onto his knees in the centre of the hall, there were those who stared at him with different emotions.
There was Mordred, the young druid boy who had turned into a man Merlin would not allow himself to trust.
He stared at Merlin with confusion and worry, for as complicated as his relationship with Merlin was, and for reasons that he did not understand while Merlin did, he did not want to see Merlin punished for something that was not his fault.
Arthur was furious in his hurt over the matter, but he was not Uther.
Mordred, like Merlin and those closest to him, had to hope that it was this trait in the king that would triumph.
Arthur glared hard down at Merlin, mustering the pretence from deep within his anger that the young man before him was not the man who was his friend.
Gwen sat in her throne at his side, her back straight and her hands flexed round the hard wood of the chair.
She stared at Merlin and swallowed.
He was still Merlin…
Arthur would see that…
But she was unsure as to whether he was listening to anyone at all.
Gaius watched Merlin carefully.
He had lived too long to take anything for granted, but he had lived long enough to know that Arthur was not his father, and that if he allowed himself time he would see the true worth behind Merlin's confession.
He only hoped, as Gwen did, that Arthur would allow himself time to think, and not be rash in his anger and hurt.
If Arthur had admitted it to himself, he would have realised that he was angry because Merlin had kept it from him, not because he was a sorcerer…
Tanya stood at the back of the hall, her arms around herself, her heart squirming in her chest.
Merlin was shoved onto his knees before the king and queen who stared down at him.
Arthur held a charge sheet in his hands, glaring at Merlin, while his wife stiffened at the clatter the brutal shackles made on the stone floor.
All she saw was Merlin.
Arthur flexed his jaw at his wife expression, seizing hold of his fury and looking down at the parchment he held and shaking it firmly to smooth it in the same agitated moment.
"You are summoned to the court of Camelot on accounts of sorcery."
Arthur's voice was as cold as the wind outside the room, which leaked in through the sunlight and touched no part of the king with its warmth.
Merlin, Gaius and Tanya, as well as everyone else in the court, had no doubt that the parchment the king held detailed the reviewed laws of Camelot on sorcery.
Magic was under review… whatever that really meant.
Merlin doubted it would make much difference now.
Arthur looked right through him, and his gaze turned the young warlock's bones to ice.
"Do you confirm or deny these accusations?" The king's voice was stiff.
Merlin wasn't sure he could speak to this man that Arthur seemed to have become, for fear had found him.
Arthur was looking at him as though he had no idea who he was, as though he was just another sorcerer.
But Gwen…
She was staring at him as though she was really seeing him for the first time.
While her eyes were shocked, they were glimmering with an emotion that only came when it accompanied a worried love for a friend.
Merlin swallowed and straightened on his knees.
"Confirm."
His voice was smaller than he would have liked.
"Can you please speak up?" Arthur's voice was monotonous and not his own, "Do you confirm or deny these actions?"
"Confirm."
This time Merlin's voice was a clear statement.
Gwen straightened and swallowed.
The court was silent for a heartbeat, before the ripple of gossip coursed like a wave.
The knights exchanged a look but Mordred did not share it.
He still stared at Merlin.
Tanya bit her lips together and swallowed.
Gaius sighed, for he felt responsible.
He stared gravely at the bow in shackles, who had become a man that Gaius feared he had failed.
He should have protected him better…
But then he realised that Merlin had always been building up to this moment.
For such steps were necessary if he was going to complete his destiny.
Arthur, Guinevere, and those around him had to be told.
Arthur's jaw flexed and he stared hard at Merlin.
The betrayal, or the lie, that merlin had undersold himself so greatly to achieve was what hurt him.
Arthur found it easier to be angry at his magic, rather than at his best friend…
He still was his friend.
His trust meant so much to Arthur…
But to have been lied to…
By Merlin!
Of all people…
His jaw locked.
Gwen glanced at her husband.
Seeing Arthur's hard expression made her sit straighter in her throne, fingers flexing around the arms of the chair.
She drew in a breath before staring at Merlin.
Something burned in her husband that frightened her.
She did know what he was thinking, what he would do…
Neither did Arthur.