Sorry, sorry, sorry about leaving this story hanging for so long! I have never written something that deals with the post-reveal and all the emotions and so this was really hard. Also I couldn't decide on how to write the memories that Merlin shows the others and I wanted to make it perfect! Anyway, I'm back and you guys can all thank someone for the inspiring review that made me pick myself out of my laziness and actually write something that I'm pleased with! Big round of applause for XxMerlingirlxx!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

Arthur felt like the world was collapsing around him, when he saw Merlin's eyes flash gold and a jug of ale coming to rest in Gwaine's hand. He pulled out his sword and finally found his voice. It came out rough and gravely, as if unused for centuries.

"You can do magic." He said. His manservant, no former manservant just nodded.

"Thanks mate." Came Gwaine's voice and Merlin smiled.

"Now you know my secret. Now you will know my destiny."

Suddenly images came flickering in his mind. He still had a sense of his surroundings and that he was sitting on a log in the middle of the forest, but he was mainly focused on these images, these memories.

He found himself in a small but neatly kept hut. A small fire pit lay in the center and a bed at the far corner. There was also a wooden crib and inside, Arthur found himself looking at a baby. He had a mop of black hair and bright blue eyes. It was Merlin.

Arthur then noticed that his eyes turned gold and that a bucket of water that was tucked away in the corner began to rise and drift towards the lit fire. Suddenly the door opened and in came a younger Hunith. She dropped what she was carrying as soon as she saw what her child was doing and watched in fascination as the bucket began to tip and spill it's contents, dousing the fire. The young Merlin giggled.

The memory faded away to an older Merlin and another person. There was a fire in one of the houses and two boys were trapped inside. The smoke was growing denser and threatened to kill them both. Suddenly there seemed to be a small area surrounding the boys that didn't allow the smoke to penetrate. The boys ran and made it out alive just before the building collapsed. The other blond boy was looking at Merlin in a peculiar way before giving a smile. He had accepted Merlin's magic.

Next, it showed Merlin leaving home. He had been bundled off in hurry and didn't have much with him, except the clothes on his back and a couple of possessions. He walked for a couple of days, through forests and around mountains before arriving in Camelot. Merlin stared around in wonder at the people and things that surrounded him. He made his way to Gaius's chambers after asking for directions from a guard. Gaius fell off the balcony as Merlin entered and he used magic to slow down time and save the physician.

Everything else sped up until the images were almost a blur. Golden eyes were clear though and Arthur began to discover just how often the illegal practice of magic had been used under his very nose. There were those incidents where a sword was sharpening itself or boots were being wiped and polished without anyone physically doing it but the ones that Arthur cared the most about were those where everything would have gone wrong if not for Merlin's intervention.

Arthur watched everything with wide eyes. He could feel all the pain and sorrow that Merlin had had to deal with, along with the fear that one day, his magic would be revealed when destiny wasn't ready and that his life and the lives of those he cared about would be in jeopardy.

Arthur realized that Merlin had suffered had lost many people in a short while. People he cared about that had perished and could either have saved or wouldn't have died in the first place if it hadn't been for the law that his father had made. He recognized Merlin's childhood friend that had died to save the life of a king he hated and take the blame so that Merlin wouldn't be punished and Arthur now hated himself for not feeling any remorse or guilt at the way he had treated the village. Freya, the cursed girl seemed nice enough and didn't deserve the pain that had haunted her for the better part of her short life. Merlin didn't deserve the pain of losing a loved one either. The Dragonlord. How Arthur wished that he could have gone back and changed what had happened so that Merlin would actually have a father, even if the time that he would have was extended by only a day or two. The words that Arthur had spoken as Merlin was preparing him for the battle with the dragon were the thing that, if it was possible, Arthur would go back and not say anything to the servant. Lancelot was next. Arthur still couldn't forgive him for the kiss that night before his wedding to Gwen, but he couldn't fault the courage that it had taken for the man to willingly give his life for the population of Camelot and to stop anyone else from doing what he did.

There were those moments when Arthur winced at what he or his father had done and at what he had said, and he could see the disappointment clearly written in Merlin's eyes.

There were times during Merlin's show that Arthur truly feared for the boy's life. He never realized just how close he had come to losing one of the only people that he truly cared about and hadn't even noticed. The incident with the serkets was fresh in the king's mind. Merlin had been poisoned and Arthur hadn't even thought for a moment that something was wrong.

The one thing that hadn't changed about his servant was the selfless loyalty, the heroic actions that should have killed him and yet he managed to pull through and live to smile that goofy grin of his and to get pelted by goblets and other miscellaneous objects. Why should someone with such power not want to get back at the people who made their life so difficult and could have them killed without a second glance? Arthur didn't think that he deserved someone like that, especially not one who had managed to weasel their way deep into the king's heart.

The revelations that the scenes and memories brought up were shocking and Arthur didn't know how he hadn't noticed the obvious use of magic right under his nose. He also hadn't realized the depth of Merlin's pain and how far it ran. The boy had suffered much for his age and Arthur now understood that there was hidden turmoil under the cheerful smile and the bright mysterious eyes.

When he finally recognized that the old sorcerer with the long greying beard and the red garments was actually Merlin, he found it difficult to be angry with his friend. He should have been. He should have felt the rage and desperation to skewer the magician on the end of his sword, and watch as the blood and life dripped out and away. But he found that no matter what he had felt at the moment of his father's death, he couldn't bring those emotions in to play now. Maybe it was the fact that he had discovered all that Merlin had done for him, good and bad. Maybe he had already forgiven the servant for lying all these years and trusted his word even more then before. Maybe it was the speech that Gaius had given him after the old man had been abducted and tortured that made Arthur reluctant to blame his friend. What ever it was, Arthur felt a bit more at peace with his father's death after finding out that his friend had truly regretted the deed that he had performed.

The rest was a bit of a blur for Arthur. He watched as all those close calls that he had had, were thwarted by his bumbling manservant with his hidden gift. He watched as Morgana's worst fear came true in the form of his aged manservant and as the fights and battles, both physical and mental, took place. He watched as the incident with Gwen and Lancelot happened and realized that he hadn't truly forgiven both of them and that it wasn't of their own free will. He watched as all the events that had taken place over the previous weeks were replayed and the secrets that had occurred were thrown into the light and unveiled.

"I'm sorry Gaius. I wish that I could save you. I'm going to tell Arthur about my gift soon and I wish that you could be there. Goodbye Gaius." The words echoed through Arthur's head and he barely had time to register what had been said when he felt a tug at his entire body and his eyes were forced open. The king blinked a few ties to clear his vision and to stop his eyes from watering. The trees came into focus, followed closely by the stars, clouds and moon silhouetted against the night sky. Finally he turned his head to look at the others. Arthur found that he had completely forgotten that they had also been allowed the glimpse into Merlin's life. Gwen was staring at the ground, eyes wide and tear tracks running down her cheeks. Gwaine was taking it pretty calmly, gulping down the ale, Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. The others were just watching for their king's reaction with various degrees of surprise and shock written on their faces. Arthur then realized that the object that was filling all their thoughts wasn't present.

A piece of red fabric was fluttering, pinned beneath a rock. Arthur immediately recognized it as Merlin's neckerchief. He got up and grabbed it, turning it over several times as he tried to grasp what it meant. Merlin would never leave that scarf behind unless it was on purpose or he wanted to. As Arthur fingered it for a few seconds, black letters began to appear and form a single word.

Goodbye.

Arthur's brain didn't fully comprehend the meaning of the message until a voice began to echo throughout the forest and sky. There was no emotion and no unnecessary words. It was sharp and to the point.

"Meet your destiny by the old oak Morgana. You know who I am."

I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter after me being away for six months. I hope that Arthur's reaction was good enough for you guys and that he wasn't too OOC. There will probably be one or two more chapters and then the story is finished. In the meantime, please REVIEW!