More Than A Servant

Chapter 23

"So... Merlin?" Gwaine starts with a sly look on his face.
"What's up with you and Morgana?"

"Ah... that." Merlin blushes.
"Well... back in Camelot we kind of had this thing- well it wasn't really a thing- but we were close back then and then I guess things just happened."

The knights all look at each other confused. They all came to the general agreement that that made absolutely no sense.

"Umm, considering the amount of times she's tried to kill us, and the fact that you were her prisoner, you're going to have to explain a bit more than that." Percival remarks.

"Well... it's pretty hard to explain."

"Start with Camelot then. I don't recall there being anything official between you two. I mean, I knew she liked you, but-"

"Wait... you knew what?"

"She never said anything, but I could just tell. It was something about the way she talked about you. She cared a lot." Gwen answers.

"Oh..." Merlin replies, slightly surprised.
"Well I guess that basically explains Camelot. We were pretty close, and she trusted me with a lot. Actually, I was the first to know about her magic."

The knights gasp in unison.

"And you didn't tell anybody?" Elyan exclaims.

"Of course not! She was still good at that point. Besides, I had the same secret she did..." he mumbles.

The knights nod in understanding. Most of them momentarily forgot that Merlin had magic.

"But anyways- we were friends and everything was going well, until I had to poison her." He said guiltily.

Again, the knights gasped and Gwen covered her mouth.

"You... what?" Percival says, shocked.

"I had to! She was the source of the spell that knocked everybody out in Camelot. Her magic was sustaining the spell."

"So she was evil then?" Gwaine asks.

"Not exactly. She was tricked by her sister. After that, Morgana was lost. She was with her sister for a year. When she came back to Camelot, she was already turned."

"Well that's a great history on how Morgana turned evil. Now can we talk about that magical kiss back there?" Gwaine smirks.

Merlin instantly goes red.
"You all saw that?"

"Uh, yeah we saw it. You two were glowing. Literally!"

"Oh..." Merlin was unaware of that fact.
"Well, like I said before I was captured and being held by Morgana. I can tell you she definitely wasn't nice at first. However, as time went on we got talking and cleared some things up. Then yesterday I got my magic back and our magic kind of reacted to each other. We tried to act like old times but then, I don't know. Today we fell and we were laughing and she just kissed me."

"It seemed like it went both ways, mate." The knights chuckle.

"Well, yeah. It did."

He looks at the ground shyly.

"So what does this mean for you and Morgana?" Gwen asks.

"I have no idea. I guess that's up to Arthur."
Merlin looks down, remembering that his fate also lies in the balance. He takes a steadying breath and begins again.
"I think I was really starting to get through to her though, even before the thing that just happened."

The knights snicker at that last bit.

"Do you think she'll surrender?" Gwen asks, growing serious.

Merlin sighs.
"I don't know. That's what I'm hoping for. I guess it will depend on what's in it for her."

"That makes sense." Gwen looks around for a moment.
"I'm going to see if I can find Arthur. I'll try to talk some sense into him. And Merlin, thank you for telling us the whole story. I understand why you couldn't tell anyone."

Merlin smiles at her, grateful for the understanding. If Gwen is with him, then he should have a better chance at withstanding Arthur's wrath. Gwen stands up and leaves to look for Arthur.

"So Merlin," Gwaine starts scooting closer to Merlin, "after all these years I'm sure you've got a good story or two to tell. Even a few on the more humorous side. Care to share."

Merlin smirks thinking back over the years, and begins to tell.

***

Arthur has been walking alone in the woods for who knows how long at this point. He still can't comprehend everything that just happened. This whole thing has been a disaster. The plan was simple: rescue Merlin, capture Morgana. Now Merlin has magic and has been living outside of the laws of Camelot for years. Merlin and Morgana clearly have some sort of thing going on. Also, now Arthur is this Once and Future King? This is too much. He decides to try and focus on one problem at a time. He can worry about the Once and Future King thing later, and he can probably worry about Morgana in about an hour. What to do with Merlin though...

The law against magic is under penalty of death, but Arthur never really agreed with that rule. He always believed that the punishment should fit the crime. That being said, Merlin has lied to him all this time. Arthur trusted him completely, and Merlin betrayed that trust. Then again, Merlin saved Arthur's life numerous times. That's a debt that can never be repaid. Arthur knows he can't kill Merlin, he just can't. But what to do with him is the question. He could banish Merlin, but is that too harsh? He could put Merlin in the cells, but for how long? He could also just try to cover the whole thing up, and act as if nothing happened, but then what would happen if people found out about Merlin's magic? Arthur's brain is spinning at a million miles per hour. For the time being, the trust Arthur had with Merlin is broken, but could it be mended?

Arthur begins to hear twigs snapping in the woods and stands on guard for a second.

"Calm down. It's just me," he hears Guinevere say.

"Gwen," he breathes.

"So... how are you doing?"

Arthur laughs.
"How do you think I'm doing? Merlin's a sorcerer, Morgana and Merlin have something going on, and I supposedly have this great destiny."
Arthur leans against a tree and puts his head in his hands.
"What do you believe I should do?"

"Hear him out. Talk to him about it. Merlin has only ever been loyal to you. Him being a sorcerer doesn't change that. Just please, don't be harsh with him. You're not the only one who's had a rough day."

Arthur scoffs.
"I don't want to hurt him, but I can't deny that he hurt me. I just don't know whether to punish him or let this slide."

"You'll figure it out. I know you will," she smiles at him.
"Let's head back to the others. You can think on the way."

The walk back to the clearing went hand in hand with Arthur beginning to feel peace about his decision.

So I completely forgot to update... sorry! Here you go though! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I'm almost finished writing the whole story so we'll see how it turns out. Thanks for reading!