Merlin was wandering around the palace during the afternoon, Arthur was busy at practice and he had not given his servant/lover any work to do. This left Merlin alone with his thoughts and anxieties.

'Hmm, how should I tell him?' Merlin wondered, he could not think of a way to tell Arthur about his secret without the prince freaking out or worse... Killing him. He was running out of time before the end of the day, but it felt like forever to the anxious warlock.

Merlin knew it would be a while longer before Arthur finished practice for the day, but just thinking about time made the warlock even more fearful of what would happen when he told Arthur.

went to visit the great dragon, hoping for a little wisdom. He managed to sneak into the dungeon easily and waited for the dragon to reveal himself. The great dragon eventually swooped down and landed before Merlin, looking amused, "You are quite patient, young one".

Merlin gave a small smile, "So the wait was on purpose?"

The great dragon tilted his head, pretending to not understand, "Now, about your question… whether you tell him your secret or not, Arthur will find out sooner or later and either way your life, as well as your heart, are at great risk".

Merlin's eyes widened as he took in the knowledge that he might very well die quite soon. "S-so, should I tell him?", the worried warlock asked.

the great dragon did not answer as Merlin understood the fate of his own life was in his hands. Merlin nodded slowly and left, trying to figure out what he was going to do, his mind was torn even more now than before.

Merlin was walking through the palace whilst deep in thought. He was caught up in his own little world, so much so that he did not notice when someone came walking straight up to him. "Ah", he cried out before falling to the ground. Two bruised knees.

"For goodness sakes! You stupid servants need to watch where you are going!", a voice complained.

Merlin looked up to find Morgana glaring down at him. "I'm deeply sorry, m'lady!", he apologised before standing up and looking the lady over. "You are not hurt, are you?".

Morgana disregarded Merlin's questions and instead indicated towards the hallway behind her, "Anyway, I guess it is fate we bumped into each other. I left something behind in Guias's chambers. A small velvet purse that has a lot of money it."

Merlin instantly nodded, "I will go get it for you, m'lady!". He ran off towards Guias's chambers. He had not seen the evil grin on Morgana's face.

Once inside Guias's chambers, Merlin noticed that Guias was not around. He checked on the tables, chairs, even in the fire, and found nothing. Merlin then resorted to looking under the tables and all the hard to reach places. When he still turned up empty handed, Merlin found himself up in front of the books, but it was not there either. The door opened and Merlin turned to see Guias, the palace physician looked slightly confused as his apprentice starred at a bookshelf., he walked over and he stood next to the young man. They were both staring at the stack of books now.

"Merlin? You do not have any errands today, what are you doing?", Guias asked.

Merlin sighed and he looked at Guias "Morgana left her purse behind, she told me to fetch it."

Guias furrowed his brow, even more confused now "But she told me to hand it to Gwen for her since she was going to explore the market later."

'Just brilliant' Merlin thought before he turned around and walked towards the door "I have got chores to do". He opened the door and he began to walk down to Arthur's chambers. He was annoyed that his time had been wasted by Morgana but at least he knew what he wanted to do now.

He walked through the palace for a few minutes before he arrived at his destination, he opened the door and he walked into Arthur's chambers. Once he had closed the door, the servant made his way over to the desk, here a piece of paper and quill lay. Merlin lifted up the quill and dipped it in ink before starting to write:

Dear Mother

I am working very hard at the palace. Admittedly working as the prince's manservant is nothing to laugh at. It is very tiresome and kind of a pain in the ass. But he is nice to me and we get along better these days than the earlier ones. Hopefully, I shall be allowed to visit you soon, I cannot wait to taste a homemade stew.

I hope everything in Ealdor is alright.

Love, Merlin.

The warlock sighed as he put the letter in an envelope, he then kissed it before he slipped it into his pocket. He lifted his head and he sighed when he saw that the room was a pigsty. "Arthur, I love you with all of my heart, but you could at least pick up your clothes".

One hour later...

Merlin circled the room, tidying and re-tidying as he went. He was desperately trying to think of a way to reveal his secret to Arthur but what the great dragon had said still bothered him as the words circled around his mind like vultures orbiting their next meal. 'Whether you tell him your secret or not, Arthur will find out sooner or later and either way your life, as well as your heart, are at great risk.

The risk of him getting killed no matter what stressed him out even more and he became anxious as well as panicky. The door opened and Arthur stepped into the room, making Merlin jump in shock and he spun around to see who had just walked into Arthur's chambers. The prince looked at his servant/secret love and he saw the panic on his face, he could see the fear in Merlin's beautiful eyes and he became concerned about the young man.

"Merlin? You look stressed, is something bothering you?", the prince asked.

Merlin tried to speak but fear held back the words and soon he felt the feeling overcoming his body, making him quiver before flopping to his knees as he struggled to breathe. Arthur ran forward and caught him as the trembling got worse and he started to hyperventilate.

"M-Merlin?", Arthur questioned, panicked. After a few seconds, he finally realised what was happening and hugged Merlin close, whispering comforting words into the warlock's ear. "Ssshhh it is alright. Close your eyes and put your head on my shoulder" he spoke softly as to try and calm his Love.

Merlin was struggling to breathe normally and he was terrified as the room started to spin and his chest became tight. He closed his eyes and he leaned his head against Arthur's shoulder, "A-Arthur! I... I c-can't breathe!"

Arthur turned his head and he kissed Merlin's head "Just listen to my voice and focus on mimicking my breathing" he gently grabbed his Love's wrist and he lifted it slightly, he placed Merlin's hand on his chest so that he could feel his heartbeat. "Just focus on copping my breathing and try and focus on my heartbeat, it might help to calm you down".

Merlin sniffled as his tears fell down his cheeks "I am so sorry".

To say that Arthur was confused was an understatement. He was completely bewildered, here he was cradling his Merlin in his arms and young boy was sobbing into his shoulder 'What is he apologising for? What has caused this?' he thought to himself as he tried to calm the young servant down.