So I have gotten LC to write for me! If she intends to use me as her sounding board, dictionary, thesaurus, grammar police, editor, etc; I intend to make her flesh out my ideas. Quid pro quo.

King Arthur had a routine. Everyday he woke up and got ready to search for Morgana- his sister, the enemy of Camelot. Merlin would get to him, late- as always, looking uncomfortable at the idea of confronting the High Priestess of the Old Religion. Arthur would then call Merlin a girl, and they would leave the castle. When dusk fell upon them they would return to the castle empty handed- go to bed to get some rest and do it all over again the next day.

But that day, Merlin was sick and had to stay back. However, that was not the only change to his routine. Arthur found a druid camp not too far from the walls. How did they miss it all these weeks he'll never know! But that was beyond the point- magic was probably involved anyway. The point was what those druids told him. When he entered the camp, they kneeled in front of him and said they were honored to welcome the Once and Future King in their camp. That's how Arthur found out about the prophecies, about his future and also about Emrys.

On the way back, the King was abnormally quiet- lost in his own thoughts. He was thinking what if the druids told him truth, then there was something utterly wrong with the laws. A sorcerer bound by destiny to guide and protect the king of Camelot to bring a time of peace unlike anyone had ever known. Peace both for magic users and non-magic users. Albion united. And there was no Merlin to help him figure this out. Not that he needed Merlin for anything anyway- Merlin was incompetent. The biggest problem was now: the law. In the actual state of things, the sorcerer could never come forward. He needed to change that as soon as he got back to Camelot. First would come the council, then the knights and finally the search for his guardian angel. In that order!

As Arthur was going back to Camelot with this life-changing piece of information, Morgana had finally found Alator. That traitor to his kin had never revealed Emrys' identity. She was really going to enjoy extracting every bit of information out of this man. It was with a confident smile that she entered her dungeon. Yes, he would be hard to break, but she was Morgana Pendragon, High Priestess of the Old Religion and she would know the truth!

Few days later, Morgana was smashing everything around her. Destruction was the only way she found to express her anger. Merlin! It had been Merlin all along. That sneaky little rat. He was the one who always came up with answers, solutions to every problem. She had known for quite some time that he was a problem. But she would never have thought that he could be Emrys. She was going to kill him… Or maybe not, she had a better idea.

Unaware of Morgana's deadly thoughts, Arthur had moved on with his plan. Pleading his cause- the cause of magic, to the council had become so much easier when Geoffrey read the original laws of Camelot "Every act of magic intended against the crown will be punishable by death. Any other act of magic will not be prosecuted" or something like that. He had been King for some time now, but laws were still as boring as when he was Prince.

Today Arthur had gathered his knights. Unfortunately, Merlin was still sick. He was regretting the fact that he never got the chance to speak with him about this matter, and he was also missing the help for the speech. Yes, he had a whole speech prepared for the occasion. But as he was standing there- each and every of his knights looking at him, he realized that they wouldn't care about half the things that were written on his scroll. He sighed and decided to improvise. It was important, but it was his knights- his friends standing there and one of them probably was Emrys.

If he had to bet on someone, it would be Sir Leon. That man simply couldn't die! What were the odds? Well he didn't know exactly, but low. Very, very low. So the knight must have some magic within him. And there couldn't be two sorcerers in Camelot. The odds of that happening were even lower! Once every one sat, the king stood up and came forward.

"I have gathered you today to discuss a very important matter: sorcery. It has come to my attention, that magic in itself is not evil," some people were gasping, not a really good start; but he had convinced his council and he would convince his knights.

"No, magic is not evil. It is very much like a sword (no reactions there, they didn't seem to understand), or fire (still no reaction, were his knights that stupid?) or even like nobility (wide eyes… finally!). When you are noble, you don't choose it. And the power you have over the lives of so many people can make you greedy and seek for more. It is your own strength of heart that will determine whether you will be a wise ruler or a terrible one. That is why I decided to repel the ban on magic."

"That and another reason," he continued. "I have become aware of some druidic prophecies concerning two persons. The Once and Future King born out of magic and to unite Albion, and his magical advisor, Emrys a sorcerer more powerful than any other. Since, I apparently am the Once and Future King, this means that there is someone close to me who is a sorcerer. And I want to find him. I need to find him to restore magic to Camelot."

There was a lot of noise in the room; most of the knights were against the idea of working hand in hand with sorcerers. Some were even saying that the King had been bewitched. But Arthur shushed them; and when they finally settled on a way to find the sorcerer that Morgana appeared. All draped in black, a cruel smirk stuck on her face.

"My dear brother," she spat; "I come bearing terrible news, I am afraid. There is a traitor in your entourage. Your only friend has been lying to you for years. Merlin is a sorcerer, and not any sorcerer may I add. He is called Emrys by the druids."

She looked at her brother and his knights: they were gob smacked. She gleefully expected all the knights to draw their swords and run after the servant immediately. But instead of that Arthur looked at Gwaine and said:

"Gwaine, can you bring Merlin here? Fast!"

The knight ran off to Gaius' chambers, and brought a sick Merlin. His fever was still high and he was still pale but his cough seemed a bit better. They entered the room, everyone's eyes on them. Merlin reached Arthur.

"Merlin. Morgana here says you have magic. She says you are Emrys."

Merlin chocked on his tongue and became even paler. How did she figure it out? And more importantly, will his death be slow?

"I'll take that as a yes," Arthur said looking at Merlin.

"Will that be all, Morgana?" He smiled sweetly, looking back at his sister who was now puzzled.

"Then if it is all sister; Merlin, can you please help the defenseless knights, that we are and cast her away from my castle," he said by wriggling his fingers. "I think we have more important things to discuss."