Alright people, two church services, one Easter egg hunt, and a long meeting with a friend I haven't seen in about seven months, and I finally managed to find time today to write this. To be honest, I was worried I may not have it done in time, but I think I've got it just about right. Although some parts did surprise me. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Chapter 11

Arthur could hardly believe it. All of these months of waiting, all the time he had spent feeling like he was going mad, and now... now...

"Merlin?"

A pair of blue eyes snapped towards him, and Merlin broke out in to a goofy grin. "Ah! Arthur. Welcome. It's about time you got here."

"Merlin?"

"What?"

"Are you... jogging on the spot?"

"Why yes. Yes I am."

Arthur could feel his eyebrow beginning to raise already. "Why?"

"Well, I figured I'd get some exercise done while I was down here. I mean, I needed to do something to make up the time I'd usually spend running after you."

"Right... And, the beard is for...?"

"Oh, the beard?" Merlin raised his arm, stroking the two-inch beard which was now protruding from his chin. "For fun really. I needed something to keep me occupied, so I decided to see how much it would grow before I got out. What do you think? Does it suit me?

Arthur was torn- his relief at seeing Merlin alive and well after so much time warring with frustration over his friend's blatant flippancy. After a few short seconds, though, his relief won out, and before he knew it the two of them had burst out laughing.

That was when Kennard chose to enter the room. The younger Knight had stayed in the passageway outside at first, out of respect for his Prince's long-awaited reunion, but evidently curiosity had got the better of him. He looked around the cell, his eyes widening with every new thing he saw.

"Wow. This is not what I was expecting."

Two sets of eyes turned towards the young Knight, with Merlin being the first to speak.

"Who's this?"

Arthur beckoned the startled- looking dark-haired man over. "This is Kennard. He joined the Knights a while after you'd..." He died off, watching as a strange flicker of emotion crossed his friend's eyes. "He joined a few months ago."

There was an uneasy silence in the cell for a few moments, before Kennard stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Merlin."

"You too."

The two men stood for a short while, hands grasped. Arthur watched as each of them studied the other, clearly searching each-others faces. Kennard seemed slightly awed, while Merlin simply looked as though he were puzzling something out. Finally, Arthur had had enough, and a short cough from him made the two jump apart. He turned, gesturing around the small room.

"Still, I can understand Kennard's reaction. What on earth is all of this?"

The cell was unrecognisable as the dank, dark prison Merlin had first been locked in. Miniature fruit trees stood against one wall, each one about as tall as Merlin himself. There was a small, stone basin in one corner, filled with some of the clearest water Arthur had ever seen. Another corner housed a large pile of bread, resting on a stone slab, and in the centre of the room was a small, but very solid-looking, bed made of what appeared to be densely-woven straw. There was an orb of light drifting up near the ceiling, and about a hundred wisps of gold floating around the room, diving in and out of the trees.

Even Merlin himself was different. The golden mist which had encircled him the last time the Prince and he had been together was gone, but there still remained a strange aura around him, as though he was somehow more confident. But, at the same time, there was a sort of weakness hidden beneath that confidence- a vulnerability Arthur had never seen to such a degree in his friend, even through all of the younger man's previous troubles.

Merlin smiled cheerily, and Arthur couldn't help the uneasy feeling that Merlin was trying to cover something up. He was about to mention it when the young Warlock started his explanation, pointing at each object in turn.

"That's my food pile. I didn't exactly get that much food-"

Arthur flinched at this- he had had a suspicion that his father hadn't been treating Merlin well over the months- it was the cause of several of their arguments. Luckily, Merlin didn't seem to notice his involuntary action (although Arthur was fairly certain that Kennard did).

"-so I experimented with a few growth and freshness spells. They worked best on the bread, so I kept a lot of that, just in case I got peckish. I did the same thing with some water- hence the basin." He grinned at this, but this time it was obvious that he was trying to shield himself in case Arthur decided to delve in too deep. The Prince could only imagine how hard it must have been for his friend at first, before he worked out those spells. He must have felt like he was going to starve to death.

"What about the trees?" Asked Kennard. Arthur was a bit surprised- Kennard rarely asked anyone questions, let alone a man he had only just met. Merlin, meanwhile, simply grinned again.

"Oh, that's my grove. I used the pips from a few apples I was given, together with some water, and managed to get them to grow some pretty nice fruit. You should try some. It's good."

Arthur thought it was about time he stepped in. He'd noticed that Merlin had been purposefully avoiding one particular abnormality in the room, and he was determined to find out why. "What about those flecks of gold? What are they?"

Merlin froze in the process of picking an apple. His shoulders tensed, in a gesture Arthur recognised from before he had found out that his friend was a Warlock. It was one he only ever used when he didn't want to talk about something.

"They're...nothing."

Arthur could imagine the shifty look in his friend's eyes, and it didn't make him happy. However long they had been apart, and even though Merlin had changed, it was still easy for the young Prince to spot when he was lying.

"Merlin- what are they?"

"I told you- they're nothing. Just a random little thing I was doing. They're-"

"Counters."

Arthur turned towards Kennard. "Counters? What do you mean?"

"Well this is just an estimate, but there seems to be coming up to two hundred of them. It makes sense that there is one for each day."

So that was it. As Merlin's shoulders sagged, his eyes meeting those of the Prince once more, Arthur finally recognised precisely what the emotion was that Merlin was trying to hide. Loneliness. Intense, and painful, and not yet passed. It was an emotion most people skirted around- one often deemed unimportant. But loneliness can tear a man apart. It can change him. Arthur had seen it before, and had felt it himself. Loneliness was a poison which tore at a man's soul. And for someone like Merlin, who had always loved to be around people- who had experienced more than his fair share of loneliness while growing up- this particular emotion was quite possibly the worst he could experience.

And he had been forced to live with it for six months. Because Arthur had failed to protect him.

"I'm sorry."

Merlin smiled that stupid smile which Arthur had long ago come to associate with the man's pain. "What for? You didn't do anything. You just wanted to know what they were. Now you know. Counters. A hundred and ninety-three of them to be precise."

"You know that's not what I meant."

Arthur stared at Merlin for a moment, willing the young Warlock to just face him. To trust him enough to show him his true feelings. But Merlin just wouldn't look at him. And that hurt. It hurt to such a degree that part of the Prince wanted to run from the room- to ignore the matter. But he couldn't. So, instead, Arthur chose another course of action. He walked over to Merlin, drew back his arm, and punched the idiot right in the jaw.

Merlin fell to the floor, rubbing his jaw with a shocked expression on his face. Kennard started forward to intervene, but Arthur just held out an arm to stop him. He looked down at the young man at his feet.

"Hit me."

Merlin just giggled nervously, clambering to his feet. "What?"

"Hit me. I know you want to. I hit you- it's only fair. So do it."

"Arthur, I'm not going to-"

"Hit me!"

"No!"

Arthur took a deep breath. "Please."

There was silence, apart from the faint shuffling sounds as Kennard slowly backed away to the door frame. Arthur, waiting for Merlin's reaction, simply watched his friend. Merlin was just staring at him as though he had gone mad. So Arthur chose to say it one last time. Ever so quietly, and just slightly pleading. Because he deserved this. In fact, he deserved so much more than this.

"Hit me."

And then there was another smile shot his way, but this one was grateful. Understanding. And the next thing he knew he was stumbling backwards, massaging a sore jaw. He laughed ruefully.

"You know what, Merlin? You've got quite a good punch there."

"You're not so bad yourself, prat."

The oh-so-familiar insult was the final key. The two men straightened up, tears swimming in both sets of eyes. Arthur grinned.

"It's good to have you back."

Merlin nodded, beaming. "Right then, down to business." He tilted his head slightly to the side. "We've got a kingdom to save."

"Merlin? Before we save the kingdom..."

"What?"

"Get rid of the beard. It looks ridiculous."

Phew! Finally- a chapter where I can include a bit of light-heartedness! At long last!

Did you really think I would be so mean as to starve Merlin half to death? Come on- that's not evil. It's just plain mean. And as for Arthur, randomly deciding to punch Merlin without telling me. Not that I mind, but I do wish the characters would at least give me a couple of lines warning before they do something like that.

By the way, congratulations to the seventeen people who reviewed last chapter- you all get to choose between a ride on a Unicorn and a Paintball fight with Uther. Just let me know where, when, and which one you choose, and I'll write up a timetable. Did I mention how much I love you for reviewing?

And, yes. I gave Merlin a beard. I even had to research how fast one would grow. The average would be three inches in six months, but I just don't see Merlin as being a fast grower of beards...

Review? The next competition prize is one of Merlin's golden wisps. They can change in to any shape you ask them to.