Well, here we are, the last chapter. Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed/alerted/favourited, anything, whether it has been from the beginning or picking it up halfway. It really means the absolute world to me and I cannot thank you enough.

Hope you enjoy the last part.

The next few days were practically agony for Merlin. Nothing else had been said about their conversation, yet he could see Arthur watching him intently in the few moments they had alone together. Even with half of his memories missing, Arthur seemed to have been able to recall enough to know not to draw attention to his servant in front of his father. Merlin knew that he should have been relieved, he should have been grateful that Arthur was so determined to be a friend. But he couldn't. As much as Arthur had been meaning what he was saying at the time, Merlin knew that if the prince had been in his right mind, his only thought would have been for Camelot, maybe even going as far as thinking how Merlin had betrayed him. He certainly wouldn't be taking it like this. With Arthur not remembering, he might have accepted the magic, but Merlin knew that until he remembered, until he understood that Merlin had effectively betrayed the same friendship that the prince himself was trying to create, the issue wasn't settled.

Instead, Merlin was more on edge than he had ever been in his entire life. When Arthur hadn't remembered, he was almost convinced that the prince wouldn't say anything. There was enough of the knight left in him for Arthur to know that he needed all the information before picking his battles, and without that, he would stay quiet. But as pieces started to come back, Merlin could occasionally see the glimmer of anger in Arthur's eyes as something made itself known to him. Merlin wasn't sure whether he was regretting what he had said before about wanting to be a friend, but he did know that he had to be careful.

Of course, things never went that smoothly. Rather than Arthur slowly beginning to come back to them as his memories slotted into place, the opposite had happened. Gaius had warned both Uther and Merlin that it might be a possibility, but it was something that they had hoped to avoid considering how long Arthur had been unconscious for. Gaius had hoped that those few days would have been enough for the drug to leave his system, but Merlin had been certain that something felt off. There was something magical about that drug, something that he knew meant Nimueh had done something in order to make sure that Arthur didn't escape her that easily.

Uther had sent a fresh lot of knights out almost as soon as he had made sure that Arthur was settled, and Merlin had been relieved to find that Jorah had gone with them. He was sure the man didn't mean him any harm now, but he couldn't stop his skin from crawling every time he caught a glimpse of the man. But whilst the knights were still out there searching for some sign of Nimueh, a message had come back that absolutely nothing had been found. There was evidence in the cave that proved that Arthur had been held prisoner in there, but other than that, nothing. No sign whatsoever about where the witch might have gone. Merlin knew that his magic hadn't been strong enough to kill her, not with the way that he had lashed out. But knowing that she was still out there somewhere, possibly even having her sights still set on Arthur… It was why Merlin had practically refused to leave Arthur's side, just in case. His mind might have been put at rest if Arthur had been regaining some of his strength, but that was not the case.

Instead of recovering, the prince had gone into withdrawal.

It was horrible to watch, yet as his servant, Merlin had no choice in the matter. Arthur had been shaking and trembling, sweating violently as he tried to plead for something to make it all stop. Gaius had tried talking to him, tried to soothe the agitated prince and make him use the restraint he had through his training as a knight to not give in to the effects of what was happening, But Arthur still didn't remember everything, and Gaius had instead been forced to back away rather rapidly as Arthur had suddenly gone for him, snarling dangerously. Arthur might not remember his training, but his body did, meaning that he was still as deadly as ever. Possibly even more so considering he didn't have the self-restraint the old Arthur would have.

Thinking back to the wild look that had been present in Arthur's eyes, Merlin sighed. He was sitting at the prince's bedside, desperately trying to ignore the way that Arthur's body was straining as small cries fell from him. They had been given no choice but to tie Arthur down before he hurt either himself or someone else. Soft strips of cloth were wrapped around his good wrist and bound to the bed, keeping him pinned. His other arm was still strapped up across his chest, but Gaius had taken precautions but securing Arthur's ankles as well. Merlin wasn't sure whether anyone had even noticed that he had secretly reinforced them with magic, knowing better than most Arthur's strength when he was angry. Whilst it hurt hearing and seeing Arthur like this, Merlin knew that he had to ignore him. Gaius had told him that the prince would try every trick in the book to give his body what it was craving, so anything that he said was not Arthur thinking straight.

"I hate you." Arthur snarled, bucking up against the ties holding him down as he struggled to get free. "You're a filthy sorcerer, a liar and a cheat. I'm protecting you, and you won't even have the decency to let me go! This is all your fault!"

Merlin sighed, placing his hand on Arthur's shoulder and forcing the prince to lie back down again. When Arthur refused to yield, Merlin let his eyes flash and the prince's elbow gave way from where it had been supporting him, sending Arthur crashing back down again. Thankfully, he didn't try and rise again, and Merlin scrubbed his hand over his face, sighing in exhaustion. It was all very well Gaius telling him to ignore what Arthur was saying, but it was so hard. Especially considering he knew these were the same words that Arthur might have been saying if he had found out about the secret that his servant had been hiding in any other way. Arthur's words about hating him, Merlin could ignore, he knew that wasn't true. But what he was saying about the magic…Part of him wondered how much Arthur meant what was coming out of his mouth.

Standing up, Merlin looked down long and hard at his master. Arthur was refusing to look at him now, staring at the canopy above his bed and clearly blinking back tears as his body trembled. Cursing Nimueh under his breath, Merlin began to move around the room, tidying up as he went. Not that there was much that needed doing, someone had obviously come in during the time that they had both been absent from Camelot, but Merlin couldn't just sit there and listen to Arthur say those things. He needed to be moving, needed to be busy and keeping his mind occupied with other things rather than the words that had been falling from Arthur's lips for the last two days. He had too much on his mind to be able to take much more of it, yet refused to leave Arthur's care to someone else.

In a way, he envied Arthur. The prince could fall apart like this because everyone was blaming it on the drug, knowing that it wasn't him acting like this. He could scream and cry all he liked, and no one would think any differently of him for it. Yet Merlin had to listen as his destiny claimed to hate him, claimed to hate who he was. He had been through as much as Arthur out there, and yet he had to once again pretend that everything was okay. Arianna was haunting his dreams in a way that Merlin didn't even think was possible, but apart from the odd snatches of conversation he could have with Gaius, he couldn't talk about it. He certainly couldn't scream and rant in the way that Arthur had been doing.

"Merlin, please…" The prince's voice was a quiet whisper this time, and when Merlin looked over, he could see that the only part of his body that Arthur had moved was his head. His servant wasn't fooled though, he knew that Arthur was simply changing tact. Claiming that he hated the warlock hadn't made Merlin react, so he was going for something different. It might have looked and sounded genuine if it wasn't for the way that his hand was twisting in their restraints, still trying to get free.

"Please, just let me go, let me have some and it will all go away. I don't want to be like this, I don't want to hurt you…Please, Merlin, please…"

"Go to sleep, Arthur." Merlin muttered, forcing himself to move back across to the bed. Pulling the covers up higher over Arthur's trembling body, he checked the prince's temperature and sighed. It was still too high, he was still fighting this off. Dipping a nearby cloth in the ready and waiting bowl of water, Merlin gently laid it across Arthur's forehead, using a spare to dab away the building sweat.

"Please…"

"Just rest, Sire, and it will all be better when you wake up." Merlin kept his voice soft and calming. The only good thing about what Arthur's body was putting him through was that it meant that he did fall asleep often and Merlin knew that he had been awake for a few hours now. It was time for him to get some more rest, and just this once, Arthur didn't try and argue with him. He just rested his head back, staring at the ceiling once again.

"I'm sorry." He eventually whispered, sounding more like the prince that Merlin knew than he had done for days. The warlock sighed, busying himself with adjusting the covers and the cloth once again so that he didn't have to look Arthur in the eye.

"I know you don't believe me, I know you just think that I'm trying to find a way of getting what it is that I want, but I mean it, Merlin. Leave me tied up here all month if you have to, just please believe that I am sorry for what you have been through. I know I'm not the only one that is having the nightmares, I heard you last night."

Merlin flushed. He hadn't meant to fall asleep in the chair, but had napped for at least an hour before Gaius had woken him up and sent him back to bed. Whilst Merlin's own fever had broken, his wounds had not yet healed and the physician was making sure to keep a close eye on both of the injured young men. Merlin was using Arthur as an excuse, claiming that he had to be near in case his master wanted anything, but the truth was that it just stopped him from having to sleep. He couldn't face seeing Arianna's accusing stare more than he had to.

"It's nothing." He shrugged, his hands yet again smoothing the covers down around Arthur. The prince rolled his head so that he could look his servant in the eye, and Merlin could see the way that he was biting his lip. It was obvious that Arthur was trying hard to control himself here, that he was thinking clearly enough to want to have this conversation, and Merlin just hoped that it meant that he was beginning to win against Nimueh.

"You can't lie to me, Merlin. How on earth you managed it for this length of time, I have no idea, but you can't lie now. I'm protecting your secret, am I not?"

"Yes." Merlin said slowly, sitting back as he did so. Somehow, he just got the feeling that Arthur's grip on reality had slipped again, and sure enough, the maniacal gleam was back in the prince's eye.

"So the least you can do is thank me by just letting me go, damnit! I'm your master, Merlin, I order you to release me this instant and give me what I want." The softness to Arthur's voice had completely disappeared and his words came out as little more than a snarl. Merlin shook his head softly.

"You know that I never do as you say." He murmured, adjusting the cloth once more. He let his hand rest on Arthur's forehead, locking eyes with the prince even as gold began to flood his irises.

"No! No, Merlin, you can't, do you dare, please…" As threats and pleas fell from Arthur's lips, Merlin sighed softly.

"Sleep." He breathed, releasing the magic as he did so. Instantly, Arthur slumped and Merlin removed his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take, this was not the first time he had used magic to force Arthur to fall asleep. Whilst part of him knew that it was for the prince's own good not to be fighting all the time, he also knew that it was his way of protecting himself. There were only so many times a day that a warlock could be threatened with execution and then offered half the kingdom in one breath as Arthur tried to find a way to get more of the drug.

This time, however, Merlin leant back in his chair, sighing deeply as he dropped his hand and stared at the ceiling. There had been a moment, he was sure of it. Arthur had had a sense of clarity, he had known what he was saying. It hadn't been some attempt to get free, he had been genuinely apologising for what was happening. Merlin could only hope that it was because he was winning, that he was fighting back and forcing the drug from his system.

Arthur grunted in his sleep, his body jerking slightly as it continued to rebel against what it was being put through, and Merlin found that he was watching closely. It was exhausting being on edge this much, still not being sure whether Arthur was going to keep his secret or turn him over to his father the second that he was able to think clearly. Merlin just hoped the fact that he had lasted this long even with Arthur being delirious was a good sign. Once he knew one way or the other how Arthur was going to react, it would provide him with a sense of understanding.

Until then, however, he simply had to sit here and watch, knowing that the battle against Nimueh wasn't over until Arthur was back to himself once more.

MMM

It took a further two days before Arthur finally began to calm down. Not that Merlin would ever admit how worried he had been when he walked in that morning (he had only left because Gaius had forced him to spend at least a few hours in his own bed!) to find Arthur sleeping peacefully. He knew that it should be something that was good news, but for a heart stopping moment, the warlock had truly believed that Arthur had gone and died on him.

Thankful for the guards that Uther insisted stayed outside, Merlin had managed to get one of them to go and get Gaius relatively quickly. The old physician had looked more worn than Merlin had ever seen him as he hurried into the room, but the transformation that overtook the man's face was astonishing as he declared that Arthur was only sleeping. Merlin hadn't believed it, especially not when Gaius had managed to draw blood from the prince without him stirring, but he had seen the sample with his own eyes, he had felt how Arthur's temperature had gone back to normal again. When the royal finally opened his eyes hours later, there could be no denying that his mind was clear once again.

Arthur hadn't said anything for a long moment, and Merlin found that he was still waiting for his prince to say something. Anything… he just needed some sort of hint regarding what was going through Arthur's mind right now. His eyes were darting around the room anxiously, his mind going into overdrive about what was about to happen. Would Arthur call the guards? Would he let Merlin have a head start before hunting him down like the prey he could so easily be if Arthur chose?

"Gaius, can you give us a moment?" Arthur eventually asked, his voice hoarse and rough from days of misuse. Gaius looked at them both for a long moment, his gaze steady and searching before he muttered something about having rounds to do and left. Merlin tried to take a step after his guardian, tried to do anything to put off the moment that he had been waiting for. He had never before felt uncomfortable about being in a room with Arthur on his own, until now. Arthur simply raised an eyebrow.

"Help me sit up?" The prince was already struggling into an upright position one handed as he spoke, and not wanting him to hurt himself, Merlin followed his orders for once. When he had Arthur settled back comfortably on the pillows, the warlock once again made to step away, but found that Arthur's hand enclosed around his wrist, preventing such a movement. Merlin had to struggle to keep himself calm rather than immediately trying to fight Arthur off.

"I remember everything, Merlin."

"Right…" Merlin didn't know what else to say. He had guessed as much from Arthur's silence. The prince not only remembered that Merlin had magic, he also recalled how the warlock had used it to save him, and how Arthur himself had tried to put their friendship first rather than his duty to his kingdom.

"And I have to admit, I don't like it." Grateful that Arthur had finally let go of his wrist, Merlin took a small step backwards. This was it, this was when Arthur yelled for the guards and Merlin would be in the dungeons before he could even offer some sort of protest…

"But I also know that part of me accepted it. Not only you, but her as well, when I thought that she was helping me, I didn't mind that she had magic."

"Magic isn't good or bad, Sire." Merlin whispered, studying his feet as he tried to keep himself still. He had to get this right for both of their sakes. If he didn't say the right thing, Arthur would turn against him, it was that simple. He had already admitted that he wasn't happy about the secret that his servant had been hiding, Merlin just now had to prove that everything was out in the open. This was who he was, Arthur had to either accept that for good, or say otherwise. Merlin could no longer live a lie, he refused to do so. "It's how it is used. You trusted her there because you only saw her magic being used to help you. You accepted me because you know that I saved you, that I would only ever look out for you…"

Arthur sighed, biting his lip as he avoided making eye contact with his servant.

"I need you to tell me everything. From the beginning, everything that has truly happened since you arrived here in Camelot." Grateful that he was getting the chance, Merlin did exactly that. He told Arthur everything, from how he truly saved him from Lady Helen's dagger to what made the snakes come alive in Valiant's shield during that final battle. He explained how he had cured Gwen's father, and then had been the one to cause the wind which allowed Arthur to defeat the Avanc. He told the prince every single thing that had truly happened since Arthur had been taken, talking until his voice was hoarse and he had run out of words.

Arthur listened in silence, even if his expression did change rapidly throughout Merlin's narration. But when the warlock finally finished talking, the silence stretched on. Merlin couldn't help but shift his weight, his eyes glancing between the prince and the door. Arthur may have been getting better, but he had only just got the drug out of his system and he still had a broken arm, Merlin could run for it if he had to.

"I still don't like it, it changes everything that I have ever been taught." Arthur muttered, his good hand picking with the bedclothes as he spoke. Merlin might have sympathised, understanding that this had just turned Arthur's world upside down, if it wasn't for the fact that his life rested on Arthur's decision here.

"But I did tell you that I would keep your secret, even if I was off my head at the time. I can't go back on my word."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did." Merlin mumbled, now playing with a stray piece of thread on the bottom of his sleeve. Gaius had finally declared that his wrists had healed enough for the bandages to come off, but Merlin still found that they hurt. It hadn't just been the chains that had made their mark, but Nimueh's magic as well. "Like you said, you were drugged at the time, I won't… I won't hold you to it."

"You would rather I turned against you?" Arthur sounded almost incredulous, as if he couldn't believe what Merlin was saying. In a way, Merlin himself wasn't sure why he wasn't just keeping his mouth shut and letting Arthur tell him that everything was going to be okay. But he had to know for sure, rather than just what Arthur felt like he should be saying.

"No." Merlin said simply, suddenly realising just how exhausted he felt. "But I would rather you had me executed than constantly holding it over me that you are keeping my secret. This is supposed to be some big moment for me, Arthur, and yet in the last few days, you've screamed that you'll have me executed, and then promised to never tell. What am I supposed to think? What do I believe?"

"You believe that part of me was telling the truth regarding what I said about friendship." Merlin blinked, looking up. The corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly as he realised that Arthur was purposefully avoiding his gaze once again, and there was a distinct tinge to his cheeks. He always knew the prince wasn't one to talk openly about his feelings, but to see Arthur actually blush because of it… Merlin couldn't help but smile.

"You're a completely useless servant, idiotic and clumsy. You can't do anything right, you never get anywhere on time… Yet you saved my life. I can't deny what you did, Merlin, not when I saw it with my own eyes." Merlin barely dared to breathe, realising that these were the words that he had been waiting to hear for all of this time. Arthur wasn't just brushing it off in the same manner as he had done when he hadn't been aware of what was truly going on, there was a heavy note to his voice that Merlin had never heard before. Yet at the same time, it was still Arthur lying there and saying those words.

"Maybe because I am prince we can never be friends. And I sure as hell don't need someone like you protecting me, I can manage that perfectly well myself, thank you. But… I… Will you stay, Merlin?"

"Do you mean that?"

"No, I just made the whole thing up." Arthur drawled with a roll of his eyes, and Merlin couldn't help but grin. "Of course I meant it, you idiot, and I'm not saying it again."

The grin widened. Merlin couldn't help it, it was everything that he had been hoping for and more. Arthur had accepted him! He had accepted his magic, he wasn't going to have him banished or executed. He was letting him stay!

"You're not going to fire me again, are you?" He asked, but his voice was light and teasing, falling back into the familiar banter that they were both used to.

"No… but the stables do need mucking out." There was a glint back in Arthur's eye now. But it wasn't one of madness or desperation, just the familiar teasing glint that Merlin had become used to during his time with the prince. It seemed as if Arthur was truly on the mend. It was as if part of Merlin's mind was stuck on a loop, replaying Arthur's words, that he was allowed to stay, that both him and his secret were safe over and over again, it was only then that Merlin realised just how much he had been on edge ever since they had got Arthur back to Camelot.

Before he knew what was happening, his legs had given way. He completely missed the chair and ended up sitting on the floor, leaning back on Arthur's bed and focusing on keeping his breathing even and steady, his eyes screwed up tight. The overwhelming emotions that had been bubbling under the surface for so long threatened to overcome him and it was a good few moments before he could bring himself to open his eyes.

"You okay?" Arthur asked gruffly, and Merlin craned his head up to see that the prince was leaning over the bed awkwardly, making sure that he didn't put any pressure on his broken arm. Merlin offered his master (still inwardly celebrating the fact that that was what Arthur still was!) a weak smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Merlin dropped his eyes, pausing for a moment before he suddenly looked around again.

"Arthur?"

"What?"

"Are we okay?" The pause as he waited for Arthur to answer was possibly one of the longest in Merlin's life. It was one thing Arthur saying that he could stay, it was another thing him truly accepting the warlock for what he was.

"Yes, Merlin. We are okay. Like someone once told me, you have to fight for a friendship, it is not something that comes easily. We'll get there."

And just like that, Merlin knew that this whole ordeal was over. Arthur was right, their friendship was something that they were going to have to fight for. Maybe it wouldn't last, maybe there would be too many differences between them in order for them to work together even as master and servant. But the fact that Arthur was willing to give it a go was enough for Merlin. They might not have been able to find Nimueh, but Merlin knew one thing for sure. She had lost.

Destiny was back on track.

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