No one but Gwen ever found out for sure what Arthur said that got Bergam and Cranog out of Camelot so fast. Even when talking to Elyan, she stuck to the official version: that Arthur had told them that the negotiations with Mercia were going to entail quite a bit of work for him and that he could not properly entertain guests at this time. Everyone was pretty sure that the two princes wouldn't have left with so much haste if that had been all, but when asked, Arthur put on his blandest smile and said that they had become bored and were happy to return home to Mora. Whatever it was he had said, he seemed to have no fears that there would be a diplomatic backlash from their father. Merlin's private theory was that Arthur knew about some secret of theirs from when they had actually been friends, and had threatened to tell their father about it. He also rather hoped that Arthur had threatened physical violence. It made the whole thing that much more satisfactory.
Arthur had been uncharacteristically gentle toward him since his return. When Merlin was back on his feet and moving around the castle again, Arthur would stop and ask him how he was every time he saw him, reminding him occasionally not to come back to work until he was completely healed. He was consistently kind; not a single negative remark on Merlin's lack of intelligence fell from his lips.
It was actually starting to get on Merlin's nerves. He was determined to do something egregiously wrong his first day back on the job, just to irritate Arthur into insulting him.
Meanwhile, he had another person's behavior to worry him: Anna. She had been very friendly and caring through his recuperation, but now that he was well on his way to health again, she seemed… distant. She didn't talk much to him, and when she did she seemed strangely nervous and distracted. She didn't make as many jokes, either.
"Anna, is something the matter?" he asked one morning as she was tidying up the surgery.
She dropped a glass bottle of expectorant on the floor. "Nothing," she said quickly, picking up the pieces.
"You're only clumsy when you're nervous," Merlin said, hobbling over on his crutch and handing her a cleaning rag. "What's wrong?"
She looked up at him with an expression that was almost fearful. "I—"
"Good morning, Anna," Gaius said, coming in. "Oh, careful with that sharp glass!"
Anna shot him a quick smile as he passed and went into the storeroom.
"We have to talk," she said quietly to Merlin when the door was shut behind him. "Can you meet me at two, on the parapet?"
Merlin only had time to nod before Gaius came back in. But the look on Anna's face worried him.
000
She was already on the parapet, sitting on a bench as Merlin opened the heavy door that afternoon. He was getting around alright these days on his crutch, but he was a little out of breath from the stairs. He dropped onto the bench next to her, but Anna didn't even look up.
"The night you were attacked," she began abruptly, still not looking at him—"how much do you remember?"
He looked at her averted face worriedly. "Not much," he admitted. "After they knocked me out—I have some confused impressions of motion, a moment of warmth, and then the next thing I knew I was waking up in the surgery." He frowned. "Why—what happened?"
Anna took a deep breath. "When Gwaine and I found you, you were unconscious. He went to get a stretcher, and I stayed with you. I gave you a quick examination, and you—had internal bleeding."
Merlin stared at her.
"I'm sure of it," she continued. "It was—bad. Not something you could survive. But then you seemed to be regaining consciousness. You muttered something—nonsensical. I thought you were delirious, but then your eyes half-opened and… they were glowing gold. There was a light, and…" She took a deep breath. "Your internal bleeding was just—gone. It was fine, there was no mark to show it had ever been there." She still wasn't looking at him. "Merlin, tell me the truth," she said quietly. "Do you have magic?"
Merlin closed his eyes. "Yes," he answered softly.
Anna's shoulders slumped. "Oh my God," she muttered, then sprang to her feet. "Merlin, how could you?" she exclaimed angrily. "You, of all people! The prince's personal servant! Do you want to be hanged?"
"Do you think I don't know it's dangerous?" he snapped. "It's not something I can help, Anna. It's just who I am." She was standing with her back to him, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were cold. Merlin stared angrily at her back. "I have sacrificed, and kept secrets, and had to make awful decisions by myself—you think I would choose this?" She still didn't move. "You know what? Just forget it. Forget you ever saw anything." He got clumsily to his feet and headed toward the door.
"Merlin, wait," Anna said, in a different tone of voice. "Please." She ran up and stood between him and the door. "I'm—I'm sorry." She was looking in his face at last, and he could see that her own was white. "I'm glad you have magic," she said haltingly. "If you didn't, you'd be dead by now. I just—" she dropped her glance again. "I'm afraid. And it made me angry. And I still—I don't understand. This is beyond my experience and—it's kind of terrifying. Knowing that you could be caught and killed at any time, knowing that I could lose you, knowing that I could be arrested as an accessory—it's a lot to take in." She looked up at him again. "Just—please be patient with me. I want to understand."
Merlin reached his free arm out and gave her a small hug. "Thank you," he said.
She gave him a thin smile. "So is this why you're healing so much faster than you should and why that hip injury hasn't crippled you for life?" she asked as they headed back into the castle.
"Probably," Merlin said, a little startled. Gaius hadn't mentioned anything about how bad his hip was. "I have a lot of magic, so I heal quickly."
"And does anybody else know?"
"Gaius—"
"Oh, good," Anna said, relieved.
"My mother. Lancelot knew." Anna nodded; she had heard about the brave knight who had sacrificed himself for the kingdom. "There have been a couple of others, but none of them are in Uther's kingdom."
"So Gwaine doesn't know," she clarified.
"No." He dropped his gaze. "I wish I could tell him—I wish I could tell Arthur. But it's out of the question."
They were silent for a long moment, pacing down the corridor together. "Come on," he said at last. "Let's tell Gaius there's someone else in on the secret."
TBC
AN: One mini-arc finished, but the fic is only just begun!
