Author's note: Again, thanks for all the positive feedback. Things get a little dramatic for a few chapters here, but the mood'll lighten up after that.

I am sad to inform you that updates may be slowing down, as I have hit a small block, and am being swamped with homework by my math teacher. Don't worry- I'll update as frequently as I can, but, sadly, real life gets in the way of fanfiction. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Merlin and all its characters do not belong to me.

Arthur was quite put out that the hunt would have to wait until Friday, but then realized that this gave him a chance to make Merlin feel guilty before his plan went into action, therefore increasing the chance of a confession from the warlock. He smirked to himself as he sat at the council meeting, Merlin standing behind him with pitcher in hand.

"…I fail to see what could possibly be so entertaining about taxes, sire," one of the more arrogant council members said to the Prince Regent upon seeing his expression. Merlin wondered why he couldn't apply his insolence to when Morgana had Arthur's expression.

This statement wiped the self-satisfied expression off of Arthur's face, and the prince fumed. He took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm sure Geoffrey understands, don't you, Geoffrey?" Arthur defended, not willing to admit he hadn't been paying attention.

"Yes, sire, perfectly," the librarian said too quickly, earning himself stares from the other council members. He blushed and shrunk in his chair, the attention quickly shifting from the librarian to the other member of the council that was nodding excitedly.

Arthur nodded, not actually having expected the librarian to answer him. He wasn't complaining, though, as he was no longer the center of attention.

"Anyway…" one of the council members said, the attention shifting back to the taxes, "The outlying villages have been neglecting…"

His voice faded into the background as Arthur's schemes took up the entirety of his attention.

…

Arthur had a genius plan, and he was planning on using it. He looked at his manservant as the boy tidied up the room, waiting for the perfect moment to act. He sighed.

"Something wrong, Arthur?" Merlin asked, knowing full well what was wrong with the prince.

"Am I stupid, Merlin?" Arthur asked, the warlock turning around in surprise.

"Well, surely you know my opinion on that-"

"Merlin, for once in your life, could you be serious?" Arthur asked, trying to sound as exhausted as possible. Considering how exhausted he actually was after the council meeting, his charade worked perfectly. Merlin stiffened, and Arthur withheld a smile at his success.

"I mean, all of this time, I didn't even notice something was wrong with Morgana, and she's my sister. Am I so ignorant that I can't even see what's right in front of me?"

Merlin frowned, pushing the suspicion from his mind. This event was to recent and the wounds too raw for Arthur to be faking it, and, Arthur wasn't. "You're not ignorant, Arthur. How could you know what Morgana was planning?"

Arthur ignored him, and put all his recent emotion that he had been holding down into his next words, "But all this time… How long was she planning this?"

"Arthur…"

"Merlin, you knew, didn't you?"

Merlin suddenly went rigid, and Arthur gaped. He hadn't been expecting that. The thought was just a small suspicion at the back of his mind, a small part of him noticing how Merlin acted around Morgana before the attack, and he had voiced it before he could stop himself. Merlin sighed.

"Yes," he said wearily, and Arthur snapped his mouth shut at the boy's tone.

Arthur frowned as the small part of him that had voiced his suspicions realized that he was nearing Merlin's secret from the exhaustion in the boy's voice, and decided to push him.

"How long?"

Merlin creased his brow, "Well, I couldn't exactly say anything, but…" he trailed off, looking at the rag in his hand guiltily.

"How long, Merlin?"

"Since the battle with Cenred," Merlin said quietly, not meeting Arthur's eyes, "I saw her talking with Morgause."

Arthur gaped, "She'd been gone that long?"

Merlin simply nodded, beginning to scrub the floor again halfheartedly. There was a silence, and then Merlin stopped his scrubbing, looking up at Arthur.

"You're not an idiot, Arthur," he said, though he looked like he didn't really believe his words. Arthur sighed, turning back to his papers.

They worked in silence for the rest of the day.