"Arthur?" Merlin whispered when he saw the man breathe easier and begin to stir, watching in wonder as his wound disappeared from view and the stitches fell to the floor. "Arthur!"

"Eorþ ġehǣl mec." the girl whispered, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she fell onto the moss, unconscious.

"Merlin?" Arthur groaned out, sitting up and looking around disoriented as the sun shone low in the sky, signaling it was well past mid-morning. "Where are we, what happened?"

"We were ambushed, Morgause attacked us. This girl healed us."

"Attacked, there's not a scratch on my body." Arthur ground out as he looked himself over, then he noticed the blood soaked pants his servant was wearing. "Clearly there was one on yours."

"Like I said. She healed us." Merlin answered, staring at the ground guiltily and waiting for his Prince to berate him and lecture him about the evils of magic.

"With magic." Arthur replied simply, looking at her warily and then back at his manservant. "Why?"

"I don't think she knows who we are."

"If she did she might not be so keen on healing me." he said, more to himself than anything.

"She's bleeding." Merlin pointed out, his fingers deftly untying the laces of her dress and pulling them aside as he watched in horror how the wound that had been Arthur's was now on her chest.

"I thought you said she healed us, how can she if she's that injured?" Arthur asked him, the same look of horror gracing his own features.

"This was your wound." Merlin explained, realization dawning on him. "She didn't heal us, she transferred our wounds to herself. Why would she do that?"

"Look, it's getting less red. And the ground around her…" Arthur observed, fascinated as he watched the ground turn brown around her slowly. "Cover her up, Merlin. She's healing herself."

"I don't get it! I've never seen anything like this in-" Merlin began muttering to himself, stopping himself with wide eyes as he realized what he'd just been about to say.

"In your magic book?" Arthur finished for him, decidedly not looking at the man as he went about collecting firewood.

"A-Arthur, I don't-" Merlin began, stuttering nervously.

"Don't deny it, Merlin." Arthur cut him off, giving him a disappointed look. "I've known since Ealdor. I just haven't said anything."

"You knew?" Merlin breathed out, eyes wide and mouth open in shock at the revelation.

"Of course I knew! I'm the Prince of Camelot, I'm not stupid! I saw you and Will, but it was your hand that was guiding the wind." Arthur screamed at him, taking a deep breath to calm his anger.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Merlin asked him breathlessly, rooted to the spot for fear this would be a dream.

"I'm not my father, Merlin. I know when magic is helping me, I know when it means to harm me. But I can't exactly go around saying that! My father would have my head if I didn't make it seem as if I hated magic with as much zeal as he did." Arthur whispered furiously, dropping the wood at his servant's feet and challenging him with his eyes. "I've seen you help with the bandits that seem to attack every time we leave the city, I saw you at Idirsholas. I don't know what else you've done, but I know enough to know you mean me no harm. I just wish you had trusted me." he walked away then, sitting by the girl and watching as the ground around her continued to slowly lose its color.

"All I've ever done is for you, Arthur." Merlin admitted, tears falling freely down his face at Arthur's declaration, at his acceptance.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Arthur asked after the fire burned brightly before them a good ten minutes later.

"I'm a magic user working for the Crown Prince of Camelot. A Kingdom that would see me burn for the simple act of existing, Arthur." Merlin replied slowly, drawing out the silence as he closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts, extremely grateful that Arthur didn't interrupt him for once.

"Glad to know you think that highly of me, Merlin." Arthur spat, having had enough of the man's silence as the dusk faded away and night settled in.

"I'm a coward, Arthur. What can I say? I thought that if I told you, I'd lose you. And Gaius never let me hear the end of it every time I was close to being discovered, or when I suggested coming clean. I didn't want to lose you. Our friendship, my destiny. I couldn't afford to do that. No matter how many nights I lay awake regretting not telling you when I could." Merlin admitted quietly, refusing to look anywhere but at the flames, closing in on himself as he spoke and feeling the weight fall back onto his shoulders when he realized he broke Arthur's trust, and perhaps he couldn't get it back.

"You're not a coward, Merlin." Arthur negated, shaking his head in disbelief as he noticed how he deflated. "The first thing you ever said to me was probably the bravest thing anyone could have. You stood up to the arrogant Prince for a simple servant. You challenged me in a way no one had before."

"No, I was just stupid. If I had known who you were, I probably would have just said it behind your back." Merlin joked half-heartedly, smiling at Arthur's breathy chuckle and daring to look up at him in hope.

"No, you still challenged me the next day. After you knew who I was. And then you pulled me out of the way of that witch and my father forced you upon me as reward."

"Can't say I appreciate it very much. But I don't regret staying. Most of the time. I could have left when you fired me after Valiant." Merlin smiled, though slightly forced.

"But you didn't." Arthur pointed out, choosing to ignore Merlin's reticence.

"No," Merlin agreed, looking firmly in Arthur's eyes as he said the next words. "You trusted me, took me at my word and went to your father. That alone showed me that you were a good man. Someone worth serving." he said with every ounce of sincerity he could muster, sitting up straighter as he declared his reasons.

"Someone worth saving?" Arthur asked, eagerly gulping the little water they had left, needing to know why.

"There were a few times I wanted to kill you myself." Merlin chuckled, his heart lifting with every sentence spoken between the two. "But then I remembered how you helped your people. All of them. And you did it because you wanted to, not because Morgana asked you to, or your father commanded you."

"The Druid boy." Arthur remembered, looking out at the woods in thought, remembering the night he first started to change his mind on magic.

"And the unicorn, you didn't have to take the poison, sacrifice yourself for us. I was more than willing to die for you, die for Camelot. I meant what I said then. That I would be your servant till the day I died. There's also the Questing Beast, Ealdor, Sigan. There are so many other times you proved your courage and your love for Camelot and your people. You are her champion, her greatest ruler." Merlin answered his unasked question with unspoken words

"I'm not the ruler yet, Merlin." Arthur pointed out, needing to hear him say what he knew he'd been getting at, what he yearned to hear from his best friend.

"No, but when you are crowned King…Arthur, you'll be the kind of King all your subjects would die for. The loyalty you inspire is not because of the crown on your head, or the ring on your finger. It's because you go into battle alongside your Knights. Always. Because you know that without the people, you are nothing more than a rich man with lands. Because you know that you are our servant as much as we are yours. I save you, Arthur, not just because we are friends and you are my King. I save you because I love you like a brother. I love you like a leader. You are the other side of my coin." Merlin told him reverently, the fire appearing to burn brighter at his words as if the land itself was rejoicing with the young servant boy.

"How did I inspire such intelligent words from such an idiot?" Arthur asked, though his smile and the fervor in his eyes spoke different words.

"Oh, you know me." Merlin began, knowing everything between them was the way destiny foretold. "I can be wise when I need to. Most of the time, I'm just an idiot."

"An idiot in disguise." Arthur agreed, throwing the empty waterskin at him and laughing light-heartedly.

"That is very nearly exactly what I told Gwen when we first met." Merlin reminisced, thinking of how he arrived at Camelot a naive seventeen-year-old and now sat there a man-a young nearly twenty-year-old, but a man, nonetheless.

"So, what happened to you, then? Get your manhood cut off?" Arthur changed the subject, looking pointedly at the still blood-soaked trousers and teasing him.

"Puncture wound. Deep. riding hard probably didn't help any, but I needed to get you away from Morgause's soldiers." Merlin answered, not falling for his trap. "Can't believe we rode as long as we did. Essetir's border to Nemeth is extremely far away."

"Morgause…" Arthur repeated, sighing wearily as she thought about the woman who had attacked him multiple times. "That day, when I fulfilled her challenge at that tower… was it true?"

"I'm sorry. The spell was true. It was not an illusion conjured up by her. I lied for you. I lied to you" Merlin lamented, knowing he had lied to save Uther. No, to save Arthur.

"So my father-"

"Loves you, Arthur." Merlin stopped him short. "Whatever his sins, whatever his mistakes, they are nothing compared to how much he cares for you. I saw it, in his grief when you were mortally wounded. The first time."

"Exactly how many times have I been mortally wounded and you just happened to show up with some obscure remedy?"

"Counting this one…hmm, let's see carry the one…that makes it… twice. Although, both times it was magic that was used to save you. Let's hope you don't have a third wound. You know what they say about threes." Merlin answered jovially, pretending to count on his fingers how many times it had happened.

"Knock on wood, Merlin." Arthur rolled his eyes, smiling good naturedly at him. "We need to move out as soon as she awakens. We've already lost a day of travel."

"I know." Merlin said, both of them turning serious at his abrupt change of topics.

"This man, Balinor, we need him to save Camelot."

"There's something you should know…" Merlin began, looking around guiltily and wondering how to tell him.

"Out with it, Merlin." Arthur ordered, recognizing the look in his friend's eyes.

"I set the dragon free. In exchange for his help against Morgause. Well, for his help against Sigan and so many other foes since I showed up at Camelot." he said quickly, in one breath so as to not chicken out.

"You idiot! Do you know how many people have died because of him!" Arthur yelled, lowering his voice as it echoed in the woods. "Don't suppose you're going to tell me next that you're a powerful sorcerer now." he muttered dryly, the anger rising up as he thought of all the death and destruction he'd seen the last week or so.

"Actually, the druids call me Emrys. I'm said to be the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the Earth." Merlin admitted sheepishly, looking down with red-tinged cheeks. "I don't see it though."

"Of course you are." Arthur shook his head, mouth gaping open as he rolled his eyes and slumped over.

"Are you okay? Is it the wound?" Merlin asked, getting up quickly and moving the new tunic aside to see his chest.

"I'm healthier than I have been since you showed up, Merlin." Arthur responded with a tired sigh. "Just tired of all the surprises. I need to sleep."

"One more quick surprise before you do…" Merlin said, straightening up and going to the other side of the girl to check her over.

"What is it this time?" Arthur breathed out as he used the bedroll for a pillow, the moss making the ground less hard.

"Balinor's my father. Good night, Arthur!" Merlin said quickly, grabbing his own bedroll and turning on his side, keeping his back to the prince.

"What?!" Arthur declared, sitting up throwing his shoe at the man.

"Gaius told me, just before we left. I swear, I didn't know. What I've told you about him, that was all I ever knew." Merlin sighed, explaining without looking behind him.

"Have to keep him alive for your mother, then, don't I?" Arthur muttered to himself, laying back down and closing his eyes against the thoughts of what lay ahead.