The atmosphere in the castle was palpable. The knights went in for training that morning, sweat behind their ears. The lot of them hovered outside the armoury door, where no doubt the prince was waiting for them to grab their swords and get started.

Sir Gwaine nudged Sir Percival, "I'll bet you a drink that we go in there, and princess is making sad googly eyes at Merls."

The taller knight eyed him, wondering if maybe Gwaine started the drink early this morning.

"I'm not going to take that bet. I don't doubt that he is." Sir Gwaine snickered.

"I'll bet you he's in there angry at us for not coming in on time," Sir Elyan spoke up.

"Then why don't you go in first, my lord?" The two of them glared at each other, Gwaine stuck out his tongue. Sir Leon took the bait.

He knocked before he entered, never having done so before. It was just the armoury, where a knight like Sir Leon was meant to peruse. One can take a gander that the man had some insight into the situation, and that surely if he knocked first, the prince and his manservant would be appropriate immediately afterwards.

It was a useless safety net.

"Good morning, sire?" The prince was brooding, and sure enough, making sad googly eyes at his servant two feet away who was folding something or other. No one really cared what he was doing. It was clear what he (or who) he was not doing.

At attention, he looked up to greet his knights, who he did not catch on were a bit late. He had spent the entire morning willing Merlin to tell him the truth, as if one could do so with just body language.

"Good morning, all. We've got a rigorous-" Gwaine groaned, very loudly, and Arthur glared at him, "-session planned this morning. I figured we could let off some steam."

The knights were right to be wary. It was a difficult morning.

........

Sir Leon was pulled aside. The prince had something top secret to discuss. Gideon, of course, snuck in.

"Leon, I...," He sighed and looked around. "It has come to my attention that Merlin is keeping secrets from me."

Leon took this quiet moment to panic. Did Arthur suspect his magic? What would that mean for the happy family dynamic they had going on if he did? The knight had not dared question Arthur's nobility before, but he did wonder sometimes if the prince would ultimately choose his father. In the past, the prince did tend to be misled by his hateful notions, in a misplaced attempt to please him. Outwardly, Sir Leon showed no conflict.

Arthur had not begun to even suspect Merlin had magic, but was rather going on about his evident infatuation with Lady Morgana. It was only evident to him, as everyone else in Camelot had eyes. The prince's head was ringing with the questions he was afraid to ask. What if it went beyond that? What if the two were already courting? The stupid idiot wouldn't come clean when he had asked so it was now up to Arthur to look out for him.

Everyone knew it was dangerous to be involved with a woman like Morgana. Really, at the end of the day, Arthur was just doing him a favour. For a friend. That's it.

"Sire?" The prince looked resigned.

"I need to do some investigation. Bring me the infiltrators."

........

The infiltrators were Sir Gwaine and Sir Lancelot.

"I don't get why he calls us the infiltrators. We are on Merlin's side. In any case, we're...reverse infiltrators. Double agents. Oh, that's cool." Gwaine sat next to a tired looking Lance. He shot a smile at him.

Sir Lancelot rubbed his face, "I don't want to be involved with this. If you guys want to go behind Merlin's back, you go ahead."

A flush slowly crept up his neck. It was true that he and a certain maidservant had begun snogging in every private crevice of the castle, and he had been keeping himself up at night wondering what it meant. The knight didn't know if they were courting now- or did she want to court? Or-

His head was occupied with these useless flowery thoughts. Not that he would go behind his best friend's back on a good day. Sir Gwaine was correct, Lancelot was Merlin's man. If Arthur wanted to play some practical joke or other, he was asking the wrong man.

"I believe he means to stalk him. He thinks Merlin's courting Lady Morgana." Gideon's mouth curled downward, in the slightest frown. The words sounded wrong being spoken aloud. Only an idiot would think Merlin was actually courting Morgana. Only an idiot would try.

Lady Morgana was not someone who was courted. One would ask nicely, and wait and see if she would let you live.

Gwaine snorted.

"Princess is off his rocker if he thinks that. Only him," He shook his head.

Lance yawned. He shook his head, as if to rid himself of sleep. He turned to Gwaine.

"What if he finds out about Merlin's magic? Spying on him...," Gwaine rolled his eyes.

"I doubt he'd catch on even if Merlin set fire to the castle and started wearing a pointy hat."

.......

They were spying on him. Arthur led the way, followed by Leon and Gwaine. A few paces behind him was Gideon, nervously biting his fingernails like they were following a big scary beast. In a way, with the knowledge the boy had of Merlin's power, perhaps he was wary to catch himself on the warlock's bad side.

The prince felt a bit ridiculous, if he was being honest. Sneaking around his own castle? It had come to this.

He watched as Merlin rounded a corner with a basket full of fruit. Where he had got the fruit, he did not know. Arthur's gut clenched with the idea that perhaps he was taking it off to Morgana, maybe to have a picnic. Why the thought was so vile to him was a dubious affair, but amongst the group, the prince was yet the only one who still questioned his intentions.

Merlin appeared to be in a good mood, and occasionally a hum could be heard travelling down the corridor. His happiness just made the situation worse. Arthur hadn't decided how he felt about the situation.

The prince checked around the corner, and gave the signal that it was all clear. The four of them followed the boy as he made his way out of the castle.

Once Merlin crossed the courtyard, the prince continued onwards. He was clearly headed into town, but why was a mystery. Arthur's chest felt lighter when he came to the conclusion that there was no way Merlin was headed to Morgana's. But then where was he going?

They had to don disguises. Heading into the market as the prince was never a silent affair, and what they needed right now was stealth. Arthur wore a scarf around his head, and a long peasant's cloak. Leon also traded his finer clothes for some cheaper garments. Gwaine was holding the frock that no doubt would be unflattering as he spoke,

"Can't I just go shirtless?" The knights sent him a glare. Gideon shushed him, as Merlin walked right by the alley that they were hiding in. He still had a basket of fruits.

Arthur made to walk out into the streets when Merlin suddenly turned around. The prince jerked back, where Leon, Gwaine, and Gideon bumped into one another in turn.

"Leon, why is your back rock hard?" One couldn't say if it was with admiration or irritation that the knight asked. Leon sent him a pointed look regardless, one that was too resigned to call a glare.

"Would you two shut it?" The prince fired back. Leon looked at him, open mouth and outraged, prepared to blame Gwaine. His anger lasted but a moment, for he realized the futility of arguing.

Merlin had turned around and knelt to talk to a child. He reached into his basket and pulled out an apple, that the kid took before smiling. The servant boy smiled back. The exchange was so fast one could've easily missed it if not for that fact that Arthur had been watching him intently.

A feeling rose in his chest, heavy and light at the same time. It clawed its way into his neck, and he realized to his embarrassment, that he was probably blushing. Due to fortunate circumstances, the present company did not catch on because the scarf hid most of his face.

What was this fondness that he felt-? So interlinked with irritation, that it approached madness. He couldn't put a name to it.

Merlin ran off again, this time stopping to chat up some old ladies at a fabric display.

"Princess?" Gwaine poked him in his arm, for he had been standing too still for too long.

"We've got a good view of him now. He won't be leaving the market anytime soon it seems."

........

Merlin had a few hours to spare before Arthur got so angry at him for disappearing that he threw him in the dungeons, so he decided to cut his visit to the market short.

He handed out apples to everyone who spared a smile, until he had none left. Then a merchant dumped more apples into his basket, before grabbing his cheeks and kissing him loudly.

"You're a darling, Merlin. Thank you for helping with Nel's sores." Nel was a dog that kind of belonged to the streets, but also found a home with everyone. Merlin had taken two minutes to magically heal the sores that littered her back. The warlock found it easier to heal animals for some reason.

"It was nothing. I'm studying to be a physician and it's important to get field experience." It was a load of crap and they both knew it.

The lady lightly pushed him away, "Oh, you. Too modest. Say hello to Gaius for me."

Merlin was just leaving when he bumped into Gideon.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" The boy asked him. He looked a little sick.

"I'm just out and about. I've got to go get some herbs for Gaius and I just stopped to say hello to everyone. Apple?" He offered the fruit in one outstretched hand. Maybe he was just hungry, and that's why he was pale.

Gideon swallowed. It was a good-looking apple, and his bottomless stomach yearned for it. He grasped it with both hands, as if holding something precious.

The prince had sent him to 'run into' Merlin and ask what he was up to. The prince's patience was running a little thin, he supposed, for all Merlin did the last hour was flirt with grannies and hand out apples like he some spring Santa Claus or something. Perhaps he was wing-manning for Gaius, as Gwaine had suggested, but there were only so many adorable activities Merlin could partake in before Arthur blew a fuse. Gwaine and Leon were both leaning against some wooden cart, waiting for the princess to call the whole thing off.

"Thanks. I've got to get going. I'll see you later!" Gideon ran off. The manservant noted that he was acting very strangely. One could guess, Gideon didn't often leave Merlin to his peace.

He watched him run off into the market, in the opposite direction of the castle. Merlin shook his head fondly, considering for a moment that that was exactly how he must be perceived at times. He was correct.

........

"Picking herbs for Gaius? How many herbs does Gaius need? Why don't we plant him his own garden or something?" The prince was grumbling as they followed Merlin to the edge of the woods, from a safe distance away.

The lot of them had shed themselves of their disguise and were now dragging their feet. Gwaine had miscalculated. Princess was not going to give up any time soon.

"If we knew now that he's not secretly rendezvousing with Lady Morgana then why are we still following him?" Gwaine threw his hands up. The older knight sighed, agreeing with him. Leon had better things to do than indulge Arthur in his perverted voyeuristic emotional foreplay.

Arthur glared at him.

"If he were going to secretly rendezvous with Lady Morgana, going into the woods under the guise of picking herbs would be perfect- wouldn't it?" He cuffed Gwaine on the back on the head. Leon rolled his eyes.

Gideon shuffled nervously behind them. He couldn't mention it now but he tried desperately to telepathically send a warning into their heads. One would think that going into the woods under the guise of picking herbs was also when Merlin did magic. He held himself, hands grasping his thin upper arms.

They tracked him, thinking it would be better to keep a larger distance between them. It would be easier to be caught now that there was no one around. Even if they were caught, Arthur didn't have to explain himself- he was the prince! But also, Merlin might ignore him and that was a punishment too severe to bear.

The stopped when they hit the edge of a clearing. It was a meadow that Gwaine recognized, for this was where he had watched Merlin grow flowers after an eventful trip to the tavern. He took on a serious expression, as he came to the conclusion that he had come here to perform more magic.

Leon was unaware that this was Merlin's go-to spot, but unlike the other two, he wasn't an idiot. He also quickly came to the conclusion that there was a good chance Merlin would perform magic. The two knights looked to each other, sharing a nod, before watching the prince.

Arthur was watching Merlin graze his hands on the long grass of the meadow. He was far enough away, and with his back to them, that he couldn't see exactly what was happening. Alas, destiny was a bitch and had decided to play her own games.

A deer peeked into the clearing. This had no other consequence but Merlin turning his head to smile at the unexpected guest. Thoughtlessly, he grew the grass around the deer longer, and the deer munched away.

No other consequence, except for Arthur watching as Merlin's eyes turned gold. Even from the side, it was obvious, they practically glowed. He wasn't paying attention to the deer, or the length of the grass, or anything else. He watched as his manservant looked down to the grass at his feet and started growing leafy plants and flowers.

The moment Arthur's jaw dropped, they pounced.

Leon had his hand around Arthur's mouth, muffling his cry. Luckily, he hadn't planned on screaming, because a hand wouldn't have been enough to muffle that. Gwaine grabbed Arthur's shoulders.

They dragged him a hundred meters away before letting him go. Arthur ripped them off him.

"You didn't have to do that!" They spoke over each other.

"Arthur, I know what you saw-"

"Princess, this is Merlin we're talking about-"

"-he's saved us so many times-"

"-he was growing flowers!"

"-I really don't prefer dying-"

"-he's so cute, you can't hate him-"

"-we haven't died yet-"

"-if you hurt him, Morgana will kill you and I will cover for her-"

"-you can't tell your father!"

"Would you two quit it?!" Arthur was out of breath.

He just needed a moment of silence and those idiots wouldn't shut up.

Okay, so. Merlin had magic. That was evident. Gwaine and Leon both knew, that was also obvious given their ranting. They thought that Arthur wouldn't be okay with it and were trying vehemently to convince him otherwise.

"I'm not going to hurt him!" He pushed his hair out of his face.

Leon and Gwaine were staring at him, on edge, and if waiting for a bomb to go off. One could suppose that that was exactly what they were doing.

Gideon, long forgotten, was watching with wide eyes.

"I just need- I'm going to go think." Arthur marched towards the castle. The three of them glanced at his leaving form. That wasn't the reaction they expected.

The prince, indeed, just wanted a moment to think. Even if he hurt himself.

Gideon ran after him.

........

"He's a sorcerer." Arthur's head spun.

"Yeah." Gideon uselessly whispered back.

Arthur couldn't wrap his head around it. Merlin- Merlin- had magic. The boy who tripped over his own feet and fed apples to children and stole his sausages had magic. It didn't make sense.

He wasn't evil. There was no way. How could he have lied about this for so long, unless maybe he did have ulterior motives? Maybe, he was never sincere. Maybe the Merlin he knew didn't exist, and that one thought pained him so much, he doubled over.

"Why?" He didn't know what he was asking. Why had Merlin chosen to practise magic?

Maybe he was born with it. He hid it because it was illegal obviously. But he had lied. To Arthur.

Was it the same as betrayal? It didn't feel like it. The prince was so distraught by the idea that Merlin was actually an evil spy who had wormed his way into his heart for kicks that he couldn't breathe right. The thought was unbearable. Impossible. It had to be otherwise.

Merlin must have picked up some basic magic to help grow Gaius his stupid herbs, because that sounded exactly like the self-sacrificing idiot he knew. It would make sense that if the boy had garden variety magic (as if Arthur knew anything about it) that he would use it to help others.

"It's-" He stopped. How could he word this?

"It's still Merlin, right?" He looked at Gideon, sitting dutifully across from him on the floor where he had come to sulk.

"You know him." He nodded. That made the acidity in his throat relax a bit. It would be rather unsightly if he threw up now.

He thought that maybe he was angry, now that he knew that he had been lied to, but he was just buzzing. There was a buzzing in his ears, in his head, his skin. Merlin had magic. He had lied to him.

But it wasn't as if he was all that powerful, he assumed. The prince of course went the logical route, considering that if all Merlin did was grow flowers, and maybe magic a few lucky branches to break, then he couldn't be all that powerful anyway. Maybe power was correlated to corruption, and Merlin couldn't even be considered a sorcerer for all he could do. Perhaps, the prince thought, he kept it a secret because it was so inconsequential it didn't matter and there was no point stressing Camelot with it. Goodness knows, his father would've executed him on sight. This made sense to the prince.

After all, why would the world's most powerful sorcerer risk being a servant in Camelot?

........

"So, you saw Arthur running out of the castle?" The knight was standing by the stables, answering Gideon's questions about today's earlier events.

Lance didn't mind. "Yes, he was looking for Merlin. That's not unusual. You guys were just stalking him yesterday, weren't you?"

The prince had been calling out for the boy when he came upon Lancelot. He inquired where Merlin was. Lance told him that he was out picking flowers, and if the prince saw him wince when he realized he should've lied, he didn't comment.

"Oh, really? Gaius said he was at the tavern again." There was a reason Arthur called them the infiltrators.

Lance rubbed the back of his neck, "Don't be too angry at him, Arthur."

The prince nodded tritely before running out to the meadow where he saw Merlin growing flowers the other day. He had an inkling he'd find him there. Unbeknownst to the knight, Arthur intended to be very angry with him. After the initial pain, Arthur had dealt with it the only way he could; he had bottled up his feelings, and let them simmer over last night. This morning was painfully quiet before he dismissed Merlin for the day. He hadn't been ready to confront him just yet.

Now, he was.

"Merlin!" He was exactly where he was the day previous, surrounded by flowers. The prince was just mustering up the courage to find the right words-

Merlin turned around, a bunch of flowers in hand. This time it was white lilacs and tiny red flowers he didn't know the name of. Whatever anger he had fizzled away, swallowed up by a throbbing hole in his gut telling him that the flowers were for his lady love.

"Merlin." The boy was confused. Arthur had angrily dismissed him earlier that day, and Merlin figured he was having one of his moods. On the off chance he needed him, he had told Gaius to cover for him until he came back, and he had never thought in a million years that Arthur would go into a flowery meadow of his own accord to- to what? Follow him? Had he followed him?

"Arthur...?" The prince sighs. There goes the big confrontation. He didn't know what bothered him more- the flowers for Morgana or the lying.

"Are you devoted to me?" The words just came to him.

Merlin blushed. It was immediate, he couldn't stop himself from thinking that Arthur was asking with a different connotation. He knew he wasn't though, there was just no chance. Lance would've commented that they were so obvious.

"Of course, what's brought this on?" Merlin prayed his face wasn't as red as the flowers he was holding. The prince didn't take notice of this, he was focused on finding the right words. For some reason, he was terrible at communicating his feelings without great effort. Perhaps something to do with his stunted emotional upbringing, or, you know, a misplaced notion of manliness. Because real men don't have feelings.

Obviously.

"Are you- are you loyal to the crown?" He swallowed. This was an obvious question, if Merlin had committed treason in good will he would know that Arthur suspected him. The prince prepared himself for his reaction, thinking that maybe he would be outraged or at the very least pretend to be.

But Merlin was not aware that Arthur knew of his magic, for he assumed that whenever that happened it would have an explosive effect. As did the majority of Camelot. He genuinely had no clue what he was going on about, but it was a simple question. Was he?

Merlin hesitated, looking down at the flowers in his hands. After a beat,

"I'm loyal to the one that's on your thick head." He smiled goofily. There was a simple answer.

Arthur blushed, but he wouldn't admit it unless you held a knife to his throat. Sir Gwaine would comment that this would've been the perfect time for Lance to sneak up behind them and push them together.

Too many thoughts were swimming around in his 'thick head'. Merlin was a sorcerer, yes, but there was no way he could be evil. There was never a time he gave Arthur a reason to doubt him. He had saved his life on several occasions, maybe more than he knew of, with his magic. The prince, at least, had the insight to gander at that. He had saved his life more times than he knew of, more times than he could count.

He knew, couldn't doubt, that Merlin was loyal to him. As a prince, maybe less so, but as a friend- there could be no question. Merlin had lied for his own safety, and Arthur honestly appreciated that the boy could show some self-preservation skills. The prince did not have the insight to consider that Merlin had lied for Arthur's well being. It was far too telling to admit that one's happiness took prevalence over one's well being.

"These are for you." Merlin pushed the flowers towards him. Arthur stared at the flowers, his brain hurting.

Well, that was that then. If anyone dared hurt him, even his father (especially his father), Arthur knew he would hunt them down and extinguish them. One would think that now, with his face cooling down, hands twisted around sweet-smelling flowers, he would've registered that he loved him.

He did not. For some reason it was easy to rationalize that there was nothing he wouldn't do, wouldn't sacrifice to be with him, but that little neuron that was supposed to crawl over and connect to the part of his brain that said- why, have you considered that you love him?- did not.

He often dreamed of running away to live on a farm, just the two of them. Now that he knew Merlin had magic, it would actually be a lot easier, actually. He could help grow the crops with it, couldn't he? He found himself reliving this daydream.

"They're white lilacs and red mask flowers. They'll help you sleep better. I figure you're not a flowers man, but-"

"Put them in my room."

"Really?"

"Just do it before I change my mind."

One could guess that this was a farce, as the prince would surely fight anyone who dared take the flowers away from him now. Merlin was, of course, bull shitting. The flowers did smell nice, but he had actually enchanted them to aid with sleep and healing of aches and pains. He chose the red mask flowers because he knew it was Arthur's favourite colour.

Arthur, who was still living somewhere in the realm of fantasy where Merlin wore farmer's clothes, still with that red neckerchief; bent down over the budding carrots (did carrots bud? Arthur had no clue) with a little dirt on his face and sweat falling from his hairline down to rest on his lip where it fell off his face-

He was occupied, you see. He did not have the time to think that this was love.