I have a feeling a lot of you are going to HATE me for this chapter. Please leave all threats in my PM box :)

So, anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or favorited last chapter. You guys are amazing!

Thanks for reading, drop me a comment if you can, and I don't own 'em.

P.S. This is for Blue Turtle of AWESOMENESS. Thanks for the idea and I do hope you at least find some joy in it.

P.P.S. For those of you following 'That's What Friends Are For' a new chapter has been started. I just need to sit down and finish it. Please be patient and I am sorry for the delay.

Bye!

The fight had started unexpectedly and brutally, with one of their knights taking an arrow to the head. As he fell off his horse, the rest of the convoy pulled on their horses' reins, stopping their steeds and mares in mid-step, scrambling off their backs.

Arthur yanked his sword from his scabbard, swinging it at a quickly approaching enemy while Merlin sent three back with his magic. It still felt weird, using his magic in front of everyone, but it also left him with a sense of freedom. He no longer had to hide himself.

The fight lasted a good ten minutes, the two dozen bandits easily disbanded, but they still managed to lose two more men. While Arthur barked orders at the remaining men, assigning a few to collect the bodies and another couple to secure the area, Merlin stood by his horse, keeping his eyes open for anymore possible threats, ignoring the stares he was getting from a few of the knights.

The majority of the kingdom still didn't have a clue what he was, but the royal court had been informed, and the knights were still adjusting. A few, like Gwaine and Percival, had readily accepted him, while others, like Leon and Elyan, were still slowly coming around. Then there were the knights who took Uther's teachings to heart and were unwilling to keep an open mind when it came to Merlin.

"I'm surprised the king hasn't had that poor excuse for a servant executed yet," Merlin heard one knight mutter a few feet away from him. He couldn't be sure if the man wanted him to hear, but it wouldn't surprise him in the slightest if he did.

"Lucian let it go," his friend whispered moving away from him.

"Why?" Lucian argued, his voice raising a little, glaring Merlin's way. "Why should he get special treatment? No one else ever did."

"Lucian…"

"No Victor, it's a valid question."

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you with my existence," Merlin commented drily, before he could stop himself. Lucian's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing, but before he could move towards Merlin, Arthur was calling his men to attention.

"Men return to your horses," he called walking towards his steed. "I want to get a bit closer to Camelot before nightfall."

Lucian threw one more glare Merlin's way before trudging towards his horse. The warlock waited a beat, making damn sure Lucian had a head start, before returning to his horse. It wasn't because he was afraid of Lucian, Merlin could take him with less than a blow, but he was really trying to avoid using his magic unless absolutely necessary. Arthur may have accepted he had magic, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Besides, they had yet to really discuss, in depth, everything Merlin had done with his magic, and the warlock knew some of those things were not going to make Arthur happy.

They were almost halfway to Camelot when Arthur abruptly came to a stop. He glanced over at Lucian, who had been riding close to the blond, and sharply asked, "Do you have a problem, Sir Lucian?"

"No sire," Lucian replied unconvincingly, Merlin practically hearing the contempt dripping from his lips. "Nothing at all."

"Then perhaps you can explain to me what you were muttering to Sir Victor." Arthur turned his horse around to face Lucian, folding his arms tightly across his chest, eyebrows raised in faux-curiosity. "It must have been riveting if you were willing to forgo your duty to have a conversation."

"It won't happen again, sire," Sir Victor said quickly, throwing Lucian a dark look.

"I should hope not," Arthur snapped and uncrossed his arms, retaking his horse's reins so he could face forward again. However, halfway turned, he stopped when Lucian said, "It's just funny, sire."

"Funny?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly. "May I ask what is so funny?"

"It's just funny…"

"Lucian no," Victor groaned but he was ignored.

"…how every other sorcerer, witch, warlock, and anything remotely not natural gets slaughtered in front of everyone, but this servant," he practically spat the word Merlin's way, "works for King Arthur so he gets away with no punishment. I just find it funny, and it makes me wonder just what Uther would think if he could see the mercy you showed the traitorous bastard."

It was a good thing Gwaine hadn't been with them, Merlin had a feeling the chatty knight would not have shown Sir Lucian any mercy, but he still had to deal with Percival, who looked about ready to leap from his horse, fly over six more horses, and body slam Lucian into the ground.

"Do you dare question my decisions, Sir Lucian?" Arthur was using his 'I'm king and I don't have to answer to you' voice, and Merlin readied himself to step in between the two knights should they decide to get into a fight.

"I am merely suggesting that you have a soft spot for the cretin," Lucian responded coolly. "Or, perhaps he's using magic to manipulate you."

"That's a lie," Merlin protested, again before he could stop himself. How could Lucian suggest such a thing? Merlin would never, ever use his magic to harm any of his friends, especially Arthur.

"Merlin, stay out of this," Arthur snapped catching the warlock by surprise. Lucian and Arthur were talking about him, there was no damn way he was going to stay out of it. "And you," Arthur continued before Merlin could argue, turning to face Lucian again, "if you ever question any of my decisions again I shall send you to the stocks for a fortnight. And that goes for all of you!"

And, without waiting for an affirmative, Arthur turned his horse forward again, continuing onward in furious silence. The convoy followed suit, their silence much more tense, and Merlin couldn't help noticing the dark glare Lucian tossed his way.

I just love making new friends, Merlin thought sarcastically, looking away from the knight. He couldn't help the anger building up in his stomach after Arthur's outburst. Clearly, he and the king were going to have a nice long chat.

Merlin

They set up camp about an hour later. Arthur assigned tasks to his men, keeping a close eye on both Merlin and Lucian, ready to step in if anything were to happen between the two. As he studied both men, he thought back to earlier. Lucian deserved to get reprimanded, his attitude would not have been tolerated under Uther's reign, and it sure as hell was not going to be tolerated under Arthur's. But did Merlin deserved to get snapped at, too?

A part of Arthur didn't think so, but another part, one that had been festering like an open wound since discovering Merlin's secret, didn't regret yelling at the younger man. Accepting Merlin's magic and actually liking Merlin's magic were two entirely different things. And it wasn't like Arthur didn't appreciate what his servant had done, and from what Merlin had told him (which had not been nearly enough) he had done a fair bit of good, but after almost thirty years of being constantly reminded that magic was evil, that it could not be trusted, that anyone practicing it should be put to death, left Arthur still trying to adjust.

And it didn't mean he wanted Merlin dead, far from it, but that same, festering part could see things from Lucian's point-of-view. He hated that he could, but it still didn't change the fact that a tiny part of him saw Merlin as evil. And it might take a while before that part disappeared completely.

"Arthur," a voice said suddenly, startling the blond. He turned his head, eyes narrowing slightly at Merlin's hovering form. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Fine," Arthur agreed after a short pause, leading Merlin away from his men, stopping just in seeing distance of them, but making sure they couldn't hear anything. "What is it?"

"Sir Lucian was talking about me, Arthur," Merlin started in a low voice, "and I know you were just doing what was right, but you can't just tell me to stay out of it."

"Merlin, can we please talk about this later?" Arthur asked not wanting to discuss magic at that moment. Couldn't Merlin give him a few minutes, perhaps an hour, just so he could reel in his prejudice, was that too much to ask? He'd hate to say something he regretted, especially to Merlin.

"Are you sure? It's just, the last few times I tried to talk to you about my magic you told me no." That might have been true, maybe Arthur only wanted to discuss Merlin's magic on his own terms, but could anyone really blame him?

"Merlin, later," Arthur insisted, using his 'I am king and I wish for you to be silent' voice (the same voice that rarely worked on Merlin), and turned to walk away.

"You don't think Lucian was right, do you?" Merlin asked softly causing the king to stop in his tracks.

"You know what I think, Merlin," Arthur started turning back to face the younger man. "I think that I asked if we could talk about this later."

"It's a simple question."

"Merlin…"

"Arthur, I just…"

"Yes, all right," Arthur exclaimed, regretting the words the moment they left his lips. His servant took a step back, away from Arthur, his blue eyes wide. "Merlin, I…"

Raising his hands, taking another step away from the king, Merlin hissed, "Then why did you even keep me alive." He then turned on his heel and stormed away, disappearing into a clump of trees. Tipping his head back, Arthur ran his hands down his face, feeling anger and guilt settling in his stomach, neither of which were directed at Merlin.

He had really mucked up.