Surprise

It's Merlin's Birthday, and the newly engaged Prince has a surprise for him. (Inspired by Cassy27's It's Merlin's Birthday. Definitely worth a read.)

XxX

Merlin stood quietly behind Arthur and Gwen, head bowed and arms clasped behind his back. He didn't know what was going on, only that Arthur had requested that he attend Uther's announcement that day.

The King was stood at the edge of the balcony, looking down on his subjects. Most of the city had gathered to hear what Uther had to say.

'As most of you will remember, two months ago, Prince Arthur and Lady Guinevere announced that they are to wed next spring. On this day, Prince Arthur presented me with a request,' at this Uther glanced at Arthur. 'After much discussion and deliberation, I agreed to his request.' Uther paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. Merlin was confused. What was causing the King to show so much emotion? What had Arthur asked of his father?

'As King of Camelot, ruler of this land and father to Arthur and Morgana Pendragon, I declare that, from this day forth, magic will no longer be outlawed in Camelot, on pain of death or any other punishment. Sorcerer's will once again be welcome in this kingdom, as it was before the Purge.'

The crowd beneath them let out a collective gasp. Merlin's head shot up and he immediately met Arthur and Gwen's gaze. One look was all he needed. Gwen smiled warmly at him, before grabbing him in a massive hug. He was still in shock, and he glanced at Arthur as the Prince clapped him on the shoulder.

'Happy Birthday, Merlin.'

XxX

Merlin sat on the steps leading into the castle, watching the people of Camelot move about their daily business. Instead of his usual cotton jacket, he was wearing deep blue robes, courtesy of Arthur for his promotion as the new Court Magician of Camelot. Across the courtyard, Gilli gave him a small wave from where he was helping shift a particularly heavy load. Merlin gave him a small salute back, smiling to himself. It was good to see the other sorcerer settling into a role in Camelot that suited him. Arthur hadn't hesitated to recruit a knight that could also use magic, and Gilli had come with a recommendation from Merlin.

It was three days after Uther's announcement, and Merlin was still in shock, although he was no longer sure of the cause. Maybe it was the fact that, not only had Arthur and Gwen found out his secret, but they had told the entire Round Table his secret behind his back and convinced all of them to keep it a secret, including Gaius and Lancelot. Or maybe it was Arthur going to Uther and asking for the ban on magic to be lifted on Merlin's birthday and Uther had agreed to it. Or maybe it was all of them, leading up to Arthur publically appointing him as his official Court Magician (not sorcerer because, as Arthur had said, to Merlin's surprise, Merlin wasn't a sorcerer) in front of the whole of Camelot, whilst Merlin was trying to recover from the former shocks. Maybe it was the latter. He really wasn't sure.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately knew it was Arthur as the Prince sat down next to him, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, observing his people.

'Are you alright?'

Merlin glanced at his friend, before smiling slightly. 'Yeah. I don't think it's fully sunk in yet.'

Arthur laughed lightly. 'I don't think that's how you expected your magic to come out.'

'You got that right.'

The two friends sat in silence for a few more minutes.

'Arthur?'

'Yeah?'

'When did you find out?'

Arthur was silent for a moment before replying. 'I think I always knew. There's always been something about you, something that's been bugging me since we met. There was so much stuff that couldn't be explained, and I know, now, that it was always you. But, to answer your question, I was walking Guinevere home when we saw you sneaking out the castle, and decided to follow you.'

Merlin bit his lip, and looked down at his hands. 'You saw Kilgarrah.'

'Yeah,' Arthur snorted. 'That was a bit of a shock, but the thing that scared me was how you talked to him, almost like he was your friend.'

'What were we talking about?' Merlin asked, praying silently that it wasn't the conversation about the Cup of Life and Merlin's powers over Life and Death.

'You were worried about the demon that Morgause let loose in the castle.'

Realisation hit Merlin as he thought back to the incident three months earlier. 'Oh, so that's why you were so eager to help when I came to you! Normally you just ignore me when I say stuff like that.'

'I do not!' Arthur stopped at the smirk on Merlin's face. He bumped his shoulder into Merlin's, seeing the younger man's grin widen, and smiling himself.

'Yeah, it's the reason I didn't question you. And it's the reason we didn't confront you. Gwen and I spent days talking about it, which was when we worked out that Gaius and Lancelot knew, and it was likely that Gwaine did too…'

'Gwaine?'

'Yep,' Arthur smirked, looking triumphant. 'He knew pretty much from the moment you met. Something about flying plates and benches.'

Merlin grinned sheepishly, remembering his first meeting with Gwaine. 'Didn't think he'd noticed. He was getting pounded at the time.'

Arthur chuckled before continuing. 'We decided not to talk to you just yet, not until we'd found out more. So Guinevere spoke to Lancelot, and I, for some mad reason, decided to corner Gwaine. In the armoury.'

Merlin laughed; he couldn't help it. 'That was probably a bad idea.'

Arthur nodded, 'That's an understatement. I've never been threatened so much in my life; he's very protective of you, Merlin. But I did manage to get him to talk eventually; I heard his side of the story, put it together with what Guinevere had got out of Lancelot, and then we talked to Gaius. That was when we decided to keep it from you altogether that we knew about your magic. I was hoping you'd tell me yourself…'

'I wanted too,' Merlin interrupted. 'You don't know how much I wanted too, Arthur…'

'I know, Merlin. Like I was saying, I was hoping you'd tell me, but I knew you wouldn't. You were scared, and you had every right to be, especially after this whole Morgana thing. I just… I'm sorry you had to go through all that on your own, but I swear, Merlin. You're not alone anymore.'

Merlin looked down at his clasped hands, an overwhelming sense of relief rushing through him. Arthur clapped him on the shoulder and stood up.

'Arthur.'

He looked back down at his friend.

'Thank you.

The Prince smiled. 'You too.'