AU: Sorry it took so long, finals killed me.

After the message had been sent to Arthur's men Merlin pulled aside Arthur into his chambers.

"Arthur I wanted to ask you this in private," Merlin said nervously, wringing his hands. Arthur was too busy looking around Merlin's bedroom to notice.

"This is your bedroom? Seems far too nice for you." He teased, frowning. He turned and saw Merlin's serious expression. "Sorry did you say something?" he asked before smirking "I usually ignore idiots." Merlin smiled weakly back and Arthur turned serious.

"What's wrong?"

"er, nothing I just-I want to officially invite you to my coronation," Merlin said, trying his best to look confident. Arthur stared at him for several moments and Merlin began to babble. "I-I just think it's a smart political move is all." He lied. "If the people see you there maybe it will convince them you are on our side." Merlin tried and Arthur raised a doubtful eyebrow.

"Merlin you can't lie, well apparently you can but you can't lie to me about this, why do you really want me at your coronation," Arthur questioned, crossing his arms and giving Merlin his most kingly look. Merlin blushed slightly at the comment on the lying.

"I know you're still angry at me Arthur." Arthur scoffed slightly in confirmation. "But I still consider you my greatest friend and I want you to be there."

Arthur dropped his arms to his side before clasping Merlin by the shoulder and forcing him to meet his eyes.

"I will always be by your side Merlin, you were there for me every time I needed you I will be there for this." He said. Merlin smiled at him weakly.

"Thank you, Arthur, that means a lot."

"And I'm not, angry, per se. I understand why you didn't tell me, it makes sense when I think about it. I just wish you would have trusted me."

"I'm sorry." Merlin said, seeming to shrink in on himself. Arthur shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

"No, it is my fault, I mean I didn't exactly do much to make you think I would accept it. Just, give me a bit of time to adjust is all." He said. Merlin nodded.

"Fair enough." He agreed. "We can talk about it whenever you want."

"So, when is it?"

"When is what?" Merlin asked, looking at him in confusion. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Your Coronation Merlin, honestly I don't know what you would do without me."

"Five days." He answered, smiling shakily. The two began discussing the details of the coronation and eventually moved on to discussing Merlin's adventures further. As they spoke Merlin studied Arthur, a broad grin on his face. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. They talked for several hours, even though Arthur had been apparently shown Merlin's adventures by the Triple Goddess, he still wanted to explain some of his choices. When they got to what happened to Morgana he hesitated, a sorrowful look on his face.

"I'm sorry Arthur. It's my fault what happened to her." He admitted quietly. Arthur frowned at him.

"Don't be an idiot Merlin, Morgana made her own choices." He argued. Merlin shook his head.

"I should have done more, helped her more. Maybe if I told her about my magic she wouldn't have been so afraid, wouldn't have turned to Morgause. If I hadn't let my own fear stop me maybe I could have helped her." He said, sighing and hanging his head. Arthur rested a hand on his shoulder and Merlin looked up at him curiously.

"Merlin, you did the best you could. If you had told Morgana of your magic and she had still turned evil then she would have gotten you killed for it." He said.

"Maybe, maybe not, I just, I feel like I could have helped her more."

"You took her to the druids, you told her you were on her side and you were there for her, you did a lot, Merlin. Maybe something would have gone differently, maybe not. Either way what happened is in the past now, you made your choices and she made hers. It's time to move on and look to the future." Arthur said. Merlin blinked as he looked at him.

"I think that's the smartest thing I've ever heard you say Arthur." A look of concern flashed across his face. "Who are you and what have you done with Arthur?" Merlin demanded. Arthur huffed and hit Merlin across the back of his head, making him topple forward, laughing.

"Merlin I swear I will-"

A knock at the door interrupted Arthur and he scowled at the laughing figure of Merlin before going to the door and swinging it open. Andrew was standing there and took a step back in surprise, eyes wide. His eyes flicked to Merlin who just grinned and waved him in.

"Yes Andrew?"

"Um, dinner is ready Sire, er Merlin." Andrew said, glancing nervously at Arthur. Merlin nodded and stood up, straightening his clothes.

"Alright, we'll be there in a minute, will you tell the knights to meet us at dinner?" He asked. Andrew nodded and hurried away, apparently all too happy to get away from Arthur. The blond frowned and turned to Merlin.

"Why does he seem so scared of me?" He questioned. Merlin sighed as they walked out the door, heading to the dining room.

"A lot of the citizens of Aria have magic or have family members with magic, it won't be an easy thing getting them used to an idea of an alliance with Camelot. Especially since many fled to Aria seeking refuge from those who hunted them for using magic." He explained as they walked.

Arthur nodded, a deep frown on his face. "I can understand that, just tell me what I can do to make them more comfortable." He said. Merlin grinned.

"Just be you Arthur, and try to be open about magic, I understand you are still wary, but do your best to show you are open to learning about it." He encouraged. Arthur nodded again and the two fell into a comfortable silence as they walked the rest of the way to the dining room.

At dinner Merlin noticed, with a twinge of sadness, that the two groups of knights had split again, not really talking with one another. In addition, Leon and Elyan seemed to not be talking with Gwaine and Percival. Merlin noted this with a frown before taking a seat at the head of the table, Arthur sitting to his right. The two launched into an explanation about Arthur's dreams and their subsequent conversation, as well as Arthur's decision to stay in Aria for now.

Everyone seemed to take it their own way. Richard took it calmly, simply nodding but watching the Knights of Camelot warily. Owen seemed a bit peeved and was sending Arthur small glares, obviously not liking him for his initial reaction. The twins seemed relieved and Nathan didn't really react. Percival and Leon seemed relieved while Elyan just seemed confused. Gwaine joined Owen in glaring at Arthur.

Dinner was tense, to say the least. While yes Arthur and Merlin had made up and the treaty had been arranged there was still conflict between the Camelotians and the Arians. An uncomfortable silence permeated the air and conversation was nothing more than what was needed. Merlin felt a pang of sadness that this had happened, wishing for the time only a few days ago when the two groups seemed to have beautifully merged.

*Messenger POV*

He couldn't help but feel honored to be carrying such an important message. When he had heard that the new king needed his services his heart had leapt in glee. He was currently carrying what his king had told him was a vital letter and he couldn't be prouder. Having been a messenger for only two short years, this was the most important letter he had carried yet. But being the fastest rider had its advantages. He was about to stop and make camp for the evening when a bolt suddenly shot from the woods and struck his horse. The horse went down and bucked him forward. As he was thrown from the horse it felt like everything was moving far too slowly. He couldn't help but wonder if the fall would kill him. Seconds later he received his answer as he landed.

He managed to throw his hands over his face before he hit the ground but the pressure of landing still broke his nose. He heard cracking and then felt blinding pain in his torso. Lying on the ground he struggled to roll over and breathe. The pain from his ribs when he breathed told him something was broken and the blood that he felt filling his mouth meant something was seriously wrong elsewhere as well. He coughed slightly, flecks of blood landing on his face, and nearly blacked out from pain when the coughing didn't stop, nearly choking on the blood. Realizing his eyes were closed tightly he opened them only to gasp in pain at the brightness of the dying sun and quickly close them again. He tried again and was terrified to see several swords pointed at him. Even more, terrified when he realized who the men were, they were the Traitor King's men.

"P-please" he gasped out. "I-I'm just a messenger, I have nothing you want." He choked out, the pain it caused him to say these few words nearly unbearable. He silently prayed the men wouldn't find the hidden message from his king. Due to the importance of the message he had been given a decoy letter and a real one. He had hidden the real one in the saddle of his horse in a secret pocket designed exactly for that purpose. His eyes finally focused on one man, this man wore no helmet and much nicer armor. He sported a nasty scar across his face that only made him more terrifying as he sneered down at the messenger.

"The message your king is sending, where is it?" he questioned.

"I-in my saddle bag." He said. One of the men disappeared and came back several moments later with the decoy. The soldier handed it to the scarred man and he ripped open the seal before reading it. He balled the letter up and threw it to the ground drawing his sword and putting it to the messenger's throat.

"Where's the real one? I know what it's supposed to say so there's no point in lying." He sneered again. A traitor, there had to be a traitor in the king's court.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He lied, gritting his teeth as the pain seemed to grow. "I was given that message to deliver to a merchant in a nearby village."

"Don't bother lying to me boy, it will only end in pain." The man growled. Putting a heavy boot on the messenger's chest and pressing down. He screamed in agony as his ribs were crushed further. He finally stopped and allowed his captive to breath. "Now if you wish to die painlessly you'll tell what I want to know. Don't and the king has promised to let me play with you a bit before you get fed to his beasts." The man said, giving him a nasty grin.

"Go to hell." The man spat, sending a bloody glob of spit at the man. "I will never betray my king."

The man's grin only widened.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

-LINE BREAK-LINE BREAK-PASSING THROUGH-EXCUSE ME-BYEEEEE-

Preparations had begun for Merlin's coronation immediately. The castle was a flurry of activity as nobles from Aria and the neighboring kingdoms began arriving. Servants hurried through the halls, trying desperately to get everything done in time and keep their guests happy. Richard was busy setting up the guard and organizing the watches for the next few days. Security would be kept extremely high with the recent threats to their King. The kitchens were in a flurry trying to prepare the food for the next few days as well as for the coronation. Decorations were being set up everywhere and there was more than a little magic being used to get it ready. Arthur had a small heart attack each time he saw someone using magic but slowly he got more and more used to it until he was merely flinching.

With everyone, including Merlin, too busy to stop and talk Arthur and the knights were left helping out in any way they could or simply staying out of the way as best as possible. Eventually, they were declared too much in the way and Merlin oh so politely kicked them out of the castle. The knights were left to wander around on the training field dueling one another as they waited to be let back in. Arthur noticed, despite Merlin's insistence that he was oblivious to everything, that the knight seemed to have split into pairs, Elyan and Leon worked together and trained with each other while Percival and Gwaine seemed to do the same, neither pair talking or working with the others. It was odd Arthur noted, as normally the four would trade dueling partners and talk all through practice. They didn't even seem to be looking at each other. In addition, Gwaine, usually all too happy to duel Arthur and potentially one-up him seemed to be avoiding him. Percival was respectful but distant.

The dream from the triple Goddess quickly came to the forefront of his mind, seeing the knights divided had been heartbreaking for him. Would they still become divided? What could Arthur do to stop it?

Eventually, Arthur called an end to training, the knights were exhausted, and though he refused to admit it, so was he. Still, the castle was bustling with people and Arthur didn't particularly feel like getting kicked out of the castle again so they just waited. Arthur sat with Elyan and Leon, as he was clearly not welcome with Gwaine.

"Leon, care to explain to me why Gwaine keeps glaring at us?" he questioned lazily as Gwaine sent yet another glare their way.

Leon looked up in slight surprise, as if not having expected Arthur to notice.

"It's nothing important Sire, we had a disagreement the last night, it will blow over soon." His head knight promised. Arthur studied him for several long minutes, face unusually grave before nodding in satisfaction.

"Alright then, just make sure it gets sorted out before Merlin's Coronation." He paused here. "That has to be the most terrifying sentence I've ever said." He commented idly. Leon snorted softly but nodded in understanding, It wouldn't do for Camelot to show a divided front at such an important event.

*Merlin POV*

Merlin couldn't help but feel exhausted, the entire day he had been running around the castle, trying to take care of all of his Kingly duties and ensure that everything was ready for his coronation. Andrew had been immensely helpful, dealing with many of the minor issues that didn't necessarily require his direct attention. He felt a bit guilty giving him so much work but there wasn't much other choice. He saw little of any of his friends, his own knights busy with their own duties and Arthur and his knights had to be kicked out of the castle early on in the day.

Things were made all the more difficult as he constantly had to be pulled away from his other duties to meet various nobles as they arrived. As the sun began to set and the nobles stopped arriving Merlin finally let himself slow down. Once everything was done he dragged himself down to the training field where he found Arthur and the knights. He frowned slightly as he noticed the group had seemed to split, instead of all being together. They were all scattered across the field, looking tired and bored. When Merlin walked up Arthur seemed to perk up but quickly tried to hide it.

"Took you long enough Merlin." Arthur drawled, looking bored. Merlin rolled his eyes but a small smile made its way to his face.

"Well unlike you Arthur, I don't make my servant do all of my duties for me." He retorted. Arthur frowned at him but his eyes sparkled with a playful light.

"I gave you the duties of a manservant Merlin, which was your job. Which you were terrible at I might add." He responded. Standing up and trying to look kingly.

Merlin snorted. "Right because writing your speeches was my job, not yours, you know, the person making the speech." He pointed out, grinning. Arthur sputtered slightly.

"I have many kingly duties Merlin, writing speeches takes too much time." He defended.

"Are you sure it's not cause that thick brain of yours can't think of anything to say?" he teased.

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"Shut up," Arthur growled, hitting him across the head.

-Line Break: I'm back! Bet you didn't expect to hear from me again!"-AN: Maybe no one wanted to?-Line Break: HOW DARE YOU?! I HAVE FANS!- AN: Five, you have five people who enjoy you.-Line Break: THEY STILL MATTER!-

The Dark King scowled as he sat on his throne, brow creased with thought as he considered his options. The servant before him stayed silent, knowing it was best to keep silent in times such as this. The king finally straightened, a thoughtful look on his face. His nephews new alliance with Camelot would prove to be a problem. True that he had stopped the message to the knights but as soon as Camelot's armies arrived things could be reversed if the young king handled things correctly.

"If my nephew has gained himself a new ally then we will need to find one as well." He said with a sly grin. "Since my nephews ally is Camelot, mine will be an enemy of Camelot." He stood and motioned the servant to follow him as he walked. The two made their way to his chambers where the King sat at a desk. He began quickly writing on a piece of parchment before finally signing it and closing it with his seal.

He held the letter out to the servant who quickly took it.

"See that a messenger gets this to the Lady Morgana, immediately." He ordered before waving the servant away. Once the servant was gone he leaned back in his chair and grinned.