Merlin froze. It must have been a dream. This couldn't be real. Arthur should be flipping tables and beating Merlin till he's blue, and ranting on about lies and deciet. But instead he was standing there, huggin Merlin, telling him that he was sorry.

"What?" Merlin said. He was wide eyed.

"I'm sorry for what I put you through. I did not know Balinor was your father. If I had known, I would not have killed him. No matter what my father told me to do. I feel so horrible." Arthur choked out. Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur.

"I am alright now. It was long ago. I do not hold any grudges." Merlin said. Arthur squeezed him harder, then let go.

"So that means you must have inherited his powers." Arthur said. Sort of asking and stating the fact.

Merlin did not answer. He didn't want to. He thought that telling him his father was bad enough, and to full out confess his powers. He could not do it.

"I know how druid births go. It only takes one druid parent to have a druid child. Mix a dragonlord in there, and you have someone very powerful." Arthur said.

"The druids told me that I was not forged by a single birth. That I was created by magic itself. Every single druid channeled their magic towards the son of Balinor, and pretty much created me. I am considered magic itself. That I embody the esence of magic. Everytime a born sorcerer dies, I fell a little part of me die inside. And if a mass of druids are killed, I can hear their screams echo in my head. But I could not help them. My sole purpose is to protect you. Not to be a painter or a blacksmith. Just a servant of the future King of Camelot." Merlin told Arthur. Might as well let Arthur know what he's in for was Merlin's philosphy. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but he trusted Arthur not to kill him.

Arthur didn't say anything for a moment. Merlin looked up at him, and noticed he wore a smile.

"Seeing as though I am not dead yet, I'd say you are doing an excellent job at protecting me." Arthur said. Merlin looked at him dumbfounded. He spilled his guts onto Arthur, and he was smiling.

"So am I going to be exiled? Killed? Defriended?" Merlin asked, not really wanting an answer.

"I will say none of the above. You will stay my servant, alive, and my friend. My best friend. But we will have more conversations about this in the future. There is much that you need to cover for me. But I feel like being under the same ceiling as many potential assassins makes story time not as important." Arthur laughed jokingly. Merlin smiled in relief. He sat back down on the bed, and unwrapped his bandage. It was pretty much healed except for a large scab that would eventually fade away into a scar. But he didn't have to hide it from Arthur.

Arthur sat back down, and poked the wound.

"So a quick spell and your good to go?" Arthur asked. Merlin nodded.

"Small cuts heal quickly on their own because my magic is instinctive. But stab wounds need more help. Plus I was pretty sure he impaled my stomach lining." Merlin chuckled. Arthur laughed with him.

"Is it possible for you to die? I heard the rumor around Balinor that he could not die of old age." Arthur asked. Merlin nodded.

"It is true. If I wanted to die, I would have to be injured fatally. But if I was healthy my entire life, I would never die." Merlin said. Arthur nodded in agreement. They talked about miscellaneous stuff for a little longer. Gaius came back with an empty basket.

"Everyone is in bed resting with stomachs full of stress relievers. It looks like they will stay the night, then leave." Gaius told them.

"Do you need help with anything Gaius? I am quite alright now." Merlin said. He held onto his wound as he stood up, and he was finally free to walk around. The wound only made the area sore, but not too much.

"Don't strain yourself Merlin. Don't want it to tear open." Gaius warned. Although he knew it wouldn't. Merlin chuckled.

"You cannot tear a scar Gaius." Merlin reminded him. Arthur stood watching the show.

"You must be delirious my boy." Gaius said. He did not understand what Merlin was implying. Gaius went to reach up for a book, but could not reach it.

"Let me." Merlin said. Instead of reaching for the book, Merlin levitated it off the shelf, and into Gaius's hands. Gaius almost had a heart attack. Arthur was in the room, and Merlin openly used magic.

"This is not what you think Arthur. Just a mere parlor trick." Gaius frantically explained, making up excuses. Arthur started to laugh, and so did Merlin.

"Do not fret Gaius. I have found out about Merlin. And I do not feel any differently about him. He is still my best friend and servant." Arthur told him. Gaius used a hankercheif to wipe his forehead, and sat down. He pointed to Merlin.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again. I will send you back to Hunith." He dared. Although they both knew that would not happen.

"I'm sorry Gaius. A lot happened since you left. But all you need to know if that when you around Arthur, you need not tip toe." Merlin told him. Gaius nodded, and opened up the book.

"Well then. Be careful. Uther is on his way here. Apparently there was another attempt, but Gwain knocked the woman out. She tried pulling a dagger out on Uther. We can expect two people to hang tomorrow." Gaius told them. Merlin frowned.

"I believe King George is behind this. I think we can expect Uther to give him an earful. Also the woman that danced with me must be druid. She guessed that the druids call me something different. Only a druid would know that. I bet she has a mark." Merlin said referring to the blue symbol that appeared on every druid.

"If we can prove that she is a druid, then we can convince Uther that there are more of them in the castle. Everyone will be forced to leave under suspicion. No one will be kept here." Arthur said. Speak of the devil, Uther walked into the room just then. Merlin turned his back to him, realizing he still did not have a shirt on. He grabbed one laying on the stool next to him, and pulled it on.

"I see you are well. You must be very hardy." Uther commented. Merlin faced him with his shirt on, and smiled in agreement.

"Father. I have suspicion that these people may be sorcerors. Merlin claims that as he was dancing, he could have swore he saw a blue mark on one or two ladies. We should have Gwen inspect the woman in the cell for druid marks. If so, that means there could be more here." Arthur told him. Uther looked horrified.

"I will have Gwen search her right now. If she is a sorcerer, everyone from Stavia is leaving. The empire has caused too much trouble as it is." Uther grumbled. He left the room as quickly as he came, and the three were left.

"I believe an investigation should be done. But you two need to be safe. The guards are gone, so you should take this chance." Gaius told them. Merlin thought so.

"Are you comfortable going back out and living the fast pace life?" Merlin grinned stupidly. Arthur nodded. They left the room stealthily, and used the hidden halls to get around the castle. They soon reached King George's room. Merlin looked through the keyhole, and saw him there.

Merlin placed his hand on the door, and muttered a spell to listen in. Arthur watched his back.

Merlin leaned on the door, and listened to what he was saying.

"Stupid Remon. I needed him to kill Merlin, not wound him. By now he is probably walking around saving the kingdom." King George said. Another voice emerged.

"We need Emrys to die. It is the only way to ensure that Arthur dies. With Emrys out of the picture, Arthur will be an easy kill." A sick luring voice said. It sounded almost sick. Merlin looked through the keyhole. Only George was inside the room. Odd.

"But how do we kill Emrys? He is too aware now." George said.

"Merlin cannot drink wine to save his life. It's too strong for him. They entire day he has only drank water. Which means that if we poison the water supply, Merlin will die." Said the mysterious voice.

"But that could kill everyone else. We only need Arthur and Merlin dead." George said.

Merlin stopped listening. He whispered to Arthur.

"Whatever you do, do not drink the water. It's going to be poisoned. We need to warn the others." Merlin said. He turned to the door, and used a spell to lock it shut. He then placed a silencing spell on it so no one will hear him call.

"That should stop him for a bit. He can't get out. Now I need to lock everyone's doors. The whole castle is going on lockdown." Merlin said. Arthur and he ran down every hall, past every door. Merlin locked and silenced each inhabited room. Once he reached the almost empty dinning hall, Merlin found Uther.

"What the hell are you doing outside the room?" Uther exclaimed. Merlin held his hands up.

"I know I know. but that's not the main concern right now. I need you to lock down the aquafer. Do not let anyone in or out. Have it guarded. I need the castle to go on lockdown. We need to escort everyone one by one out of the castle, and not loose anybody. Someone is planning to poison the royal water supply." Merlin explained to Uther. He did not believe him. Arthur nodded, as to say that Merlin was right.

Uther shook his head. He pulled a couple of knights to him, and told them to guard the perimeter of the castle, and to not let anyone in.

"You better fix this." Uther told Merlin. He only nodded, and ran to work. He stepped onto a table, and exclaimed to the small numbers of people still in the dinning room.

"I need you all to follow me. This is under King Uther's instructions." Merlin told them. He and Arthur lead the mob of people out of the castle with the knights permission, and escorted them down.

"Please take your carriages are go home. We will send you your luggage back by tomorrow morning." Merlin told them.

"And who said a servant like you can boss us around!" A man yelled.

"Because the King and Prince of Camelot has ordered you to. Now leave, or become imprisoned. We will keep our words and send you back your belongings." Arthur yelled to them. They agreed, and climbed into their coaches. The coachmen left, and they were gone.

Arthur and Merlin ran back to the castle.

"We need to evacuate those in the locked rooms. We can do two at a time, and King George by himself." Merlin told Arthur. They headed inside, and opened up the doors. They gave excuses like the door became jammed, so that's why they wouldn't open. Merlin grabbed their luggage that was already with them, and Arthur lead them to their carriages.

Merlin and Arthur did this many times, and waited for King George to be out last. Uther accompanied them.

"This is quite dreadful. I was just enjoying the party when the fun stopped." King George said.

"I am sorry about the problems that have insued. But we got word of a plot that was being put together, and we had no choice but the evacuate the castle. So no one from Stavia gets injured on our account." Uther apologized.

"No need to apologize I understand. I expect you to keep your word on returning my family's belongings." He said. King George loaded himself onto the carriage, and waited for Amelia to join him.

Once back, they went to Amelia's room. They opened the door, but she wasn't there.

"Where is she? I knew I locked her in." Merlin said. He thought.

"We need the knights to look all around the castle. We need to find her." Merlin urged. Arthur grabbed a couple passing knights, and told them to search the castle for Amelia.

Merlin looked around for a bit, then moved down underground.

"If we can't find the culprit, we'll need to guard the water. If anyone tries to come down here we will know." Merlin said.

They headed down, but Merlin stopped short. He pulled Arthur out of the hall, and into a crevice. They hid there silent.

Arthur understood why. There was a low humming noise coming from the direction they were traveling.

"They're already here." Merlin whispered. He stuck his head around the corner, and slipped out. Arthur followed.

They stopped, and listened.

"Pollutio Regium." Merlin heard. Then a water plopping noise. Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he understood the Latin phrase. It was an incantation. Merlin tooled around the corner, and saw a woman with long black hair that was braided back. She wore a familiar black dress. Merlin saw her grab a bag. It was now or never.

Merlin jumped out of his hiding spot, and got her attention.

"Don't move." He said. The woman faced Merlin. It was Queen Amelia.

"Hello Merlin. Haven't seen you in awhile. Shouldn't you be tending to Arthur's needs?" She said

"I know your going to poison the water. Just drop the bag, and you won't be in trouble." Merlin told her. The bag was hovering over the water. She shrugged.

"Alright." She then let go of the bag, and let it drop. Merlin quickly stopped the bag from dropping with his magic. She stood dumbfounded.

"You're a sorcerer!?" She exclaimed. Arthur walked out of the hiding place, and retrieved the bag.

"It looks like you will be staying in Camelot for a little longer so we can have a trial. Any queen that dares kill an ally will be reprimanded immediately." Arthur told her. He grabbed her wrists, and pulled them behind her back. Merlin retrieved the bag as evidence, and they walked to Uther with her restrained.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Uther asked as Arthur walked with Amelia restrained. Merlin handed Uther the bag.

"Merlin and I witnessed her trying to poison the royal water supply with magic. She intended on killing us." Arthur informed him.

Amelia tried to wiggle out of Arthur's grip. "It's not true! Merlin used magic. I saw him with my two eyes." She said opening her eyes wide. She looked truly mad in fact. Uther gave her a look.

"Are her accusations true Arthur?" Uther asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all. We witnessed her cast a spell of some sort of a this bag." Arthur said referring to the squishy bag in his hand. "Then Merlin tried to stop her. She tried dropping it in the water, and Merlin grabbed the bag. I restrained her and brought her here." Arthur said, covering for Merlin. It made Merlin very happy.

"Well then it seems we have a predicament. We signed our loyalty agreements, and then the Queen tries to kill us with magic. Put her in a cell, and inform King George to come inside so he and I can have a discussion." Uther said calmly, yet the look in his eyes read murder. Arthur escorted her to the dungeons while Merlin ran outside to bring George back inside.

Merlin ran to the gates, and saw no carriage. He looked around, maybe they went into the shade. Nothing. Merlin went to the knight standing by.

"Excuse me. Did the carriage leave?" Merlin asked. He nodded.

"Left as soon as King Uther headed back to the palace. Why?" The knight said. Merlin started to run back to the castle, and nearly ran into Uther.

"What is it? Where is he?" He asked.

"He left. The carriage, the coachmen, the horses, all gone. He left Camelot." Merlin told him. Uther rubbed his eyes, and sighed. He got the attention of a passing servant.

"Go get me something to write on and with. I need to send a letter." He ordered the servant. Arthur walked up to the two.

"She is in the cell. Where is King George?" Arthur asked.

Before Merlin could say anything, Uther spoke. "He fled like the coward he truly is. I'm going to send him a letter that tells him if he doesn't come back in one month, I will execute his wife publicly. I do not tolerate sorcerers, and will not tolerate another King bringing trouble to my kingdom." Uther said. He trudged away.

"How is your scar?" Arthur asked, referring to the wound he received.

"It's fine now. Just scarred over." Merlin answered normally. Merlin excused himself as he went to help clean up the ball room. It didn't take long, and soon it was barren again. Dinner time quickly arose, so Merlin grabbed Arthur's daily tray of door, and brought it to him.

Merlin knocked on the door, and went inside. Arthur was still sitting at his table, reading over some material.

"I've brought dinner." Merlin told him. He set the tray onto the table, and pulled the cover off. Chicken thighs were the main food on the tray.

"Where's your plate?" Arthur asked. Merlin gave him a confused look.

"That was yesterday. Today is a different day." Merlin said. He was confused if Arthur forgot about yesterday.

"I am aware Merlin. But I would like you to dine with me every day. I enjoy the company. And now that Uther is busy getting papers ready for my coronation, plus the who Stavis issue, I will be dinning alone." Arthur told him. It felt a little awkward to Merlin. Arthur got up, and picked up a big chicken leg, still on the bone, and handed it to Merlin. Arthur grabbed himself one as well, and sat on his desk.

"Eat up. We are on the brink of another famine. Cannot be wasting food these days." Arthur urged Merlin. He then took a big bite. Merlin brought the chicken thigh to his mouth, and took a small bite. It was delicious. It was greasy from the fat that had melted, and it was warm. Merlin pulled a chair, and sat down. He and Arthur joked and laughed. Merlin even drank a little wine with him, but not enough to make him tipsy.

When the food was gone, Merlin stayed with Arthur, and talked some more. He looked down, and noticed he was still wearing Arthur's clothes, besides his own shirt.

"I forgot about the attire I borrowed. I can have it cleaned and brought back to you tomorrow." Merlin apologized. Arthur shook his head.

"You can keep it. They don't fit me anymore, so why should I have it." Arthur told him. Merlin thanked him dearly.

They could tell by the moon that the day went by fast. Merlin said goodnight to Arthur, and brought the empty tray back to the kitchen for washing. Then he went back to his room for the night.

Arthur laid in bed and thought. He rethought every detail that happened today. Even though there was a crisis, it was the best day he's had in awhile. He thought about Merlin, and how he saved the day. How handsome he looked in clean clothes. Handsome? Merlin could never look handsome. Right? Arthur contemplated many ideas in his mind.

'He does have bright blue eyes, and they shine a pretty gold when he uses magic. And he has very prominent cheekbones. His hair is a little messy, but a good kind of messy. He was also very buff for a servant. And his body was littered with scars. If I have the time of day to count them I wouldn't be able to. There's too many layers to count.' Arthur thought to himself. He felt his face blush, and covered it with a pillow. He sighed, and turned over to his side.

"Maybe not all servants are not handsome." Arthur said quietly before falling asleep, hugging a pillow.