AN: Hello! *peeks out from behind my computer* It's been a while hasn't it? In the time since the last chapter I have graduated from college, gotten into the grad school of my dreams, and am a year and a half away from getting a doctorate degree, soooo ya, it's been a while indeed. Nonetheless, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about writing this story. To make up for being MIA, this is the longest chapter yet, just over 10K words! I continue to get so much support from readers new and old, so thank you all! Without further ado, on to season 3!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

"Music of the Soul"

Despite the stone floor he was sleeping on, when Merlin awoke the following morning, he had never felt more well rested in his life. Not only was he physically refreshed, but a certain calm seemed to have settled over his soul. In the few groggy moments of waking before his memory returned, Merlin simply laid there and savored the feeling. When his memory of the previous day came back to him a moment later, an uncontrollable grin took over his face as his eyes opened to the morning sun. He was finally, finally free from the burden of his secret. It was all Merlin had ever hoped for and more.

Suddenly, his moment was disturbed by the sound of a snort. "What are you so happy about?" Gwaine asked, laughing lightly with a knowing glint in his eye. He took a bite out of the apple he was holding, leaning against the round table and already fully dressed for the day.

Confusion clouded Merlin's mind for a moment. He was typically the first one up, he had to be in order to get all his chores done and wake the knights and Arthur. Merlin's eyes widened in realization that it was long past dawn, the time he usually awoke. He jumped up from the floor in a slight panic, managing to nearly trip over the blankets in his haste, and causing the rest of the men to look over at the commotion he had caused. Many of the knights began to laugh good naturedly while the warlock turned red and a goofy grin spread across his face, calming his racing heart.

Arthur walked nearby, dressed in pants and a light tunic. "I see magic has made no improvement on your clumsiness, Merlin." Arthur couldn't completely hide his look of relief. He had been worried that Merlin had only been pretending to be a childish, clumsy fool to cover the fact that he was the most powerful sorcerer in the world. It was good to see that even with all the changes that were recently revealed, some things would always be the same. Arthur was beginning to see that Merlin was still, indeed, his idiot manservant, despite the immense power he held.

"Oh!" Merlin exclaimed in over-exaggerated astonishment, "I see you learned how to dress all by yourself today! That does deserve congratulations!" The sarcasm in Merlin's voice was nearly tangible, and a mischievous smirk appeared on his face. The knights all suppressed their grins at the banter they had all grown so used to. Yes, hopefully, some things would never change.

Arthur threw the goblet he was holding in Merlin's direction, his typical response, but, instead of ducking like the manservant usually did, Merlin froze the goblet in the air with a flash of golden eyes. Arthur's eyes widened just slightly, still not completely used to the casual show of magic from his long time friend. "Well don't ruin all my fun now that I know your secret." The king said with a huff and a roll of his eyes. A laugh of mirth bubbled up from Merlin, who couldn't remember being this happy in a long time, if ever. The rest of the men laughed along, and soon, Arthur joined in as well. Merlin's euphoria had always been contagious.

Looking around, Merlin noticed the pot boiling over a fire, some kind of stew bubbling inside. Elyan nodded his head toward the pot, "We already hunted and made breakfast, figured you could use the sleep." Merlin smiled gratefully toward the knight before going over to the pot. "I made the stew." Elyan said with a bit of pride and humor laced in his voice.

Merlin looked into the pot before turning back toward the knight, "And you're sure it's edible?" the warlock asked good-naturedly with a small smirk on his face. Leon choked on the water he had just brought up to his mouth.

"Oh shut it Merlin." Elyan lightly punched Merlin in the arm, heading over to take his seat at the table to eat his own breakfast. The men quickly congregated at the table with their own bowls, and all talking ceased for the next few minutes while they devoured their food.

"So," Gwaine spoke over the sound of six spoons scraping against the bottom of their bowls, "When are we going to meet this dragon of yours?" He took his last slurp of stew before setting his bowl down, eyes turned toward Merlin. The rest of the men finished up their breakfast quickly, before also turning curiously towards the warlock.

"Kilgharrah." Merlin corrected and Gwaine rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Kilgharrah. When will he be here?" Gwaine spoke impatiently, eager to meet the dragon Merlin had received so much counsel from. From the looks on the rest of the men's faces, they were all pretty eager to see Kilgharrah, if not slightly apprehensive.

Merlin cleared his throat and took a swig of water before responding. "I'll have to call him here." He said a bit nervously. He had never called the dragon in front of so many people before, and never when it wasn't a dire situation. He felt a bit self conscious, knowing that the ancient language of the dragons could sound intimidating.

"Well, get on with it then!" Gwaine urged excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.

Merlin put his discomfort aside and stood up, saying, "Alright, follow me." as he led the men outside.

There was a large clearing that surrounded the castle so they didn't have to travel far, just a little ways away so the dragon wouldn't accidentally destroy the castle with his large wingspan.

Merlin turned back to the men, standing expectantly behind him. He let out a sigh, wringing his hands slightly before quirking up one side of his mouth and asking, "Ready?"

Arthur thought that Merlin was trying to make himself look even smaller than he already was. Clearly, the manservant was not completely comfortable. What happened next shocked Arthur, as well as all the men, to their bones. Merlin had turned back around and tilted his head towards the sky, before letting out the loudest, most commanding roar the men had ever heard. They were surprised the ground didn't shake with the force Merlin put into each word, calling to Kilgharrah in the ancient language that now only they two understood. The men stood dumbfounded as Merlin finished his call, turning around slowly to face his slack-jawed friends, all of them staring at him. He blushed a bit before rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Kilgharrah should be here soon." Merlin spoke in his normal voice, the stark contrast causing the men to snap out of their shock.

Percival had seen magic as a child, but those sorcerers had only been common druids, who used their magic to heal minor wounds or entertain small children. Though Merlin did not perform any magic just now, Percival had never felt so much power emanate from one person. The bond between a dragon and dragonlord was clearly a very old, very strong one. Looks can be deceiving. Percival thought. Who would have ever suspected Merlin of having such great power. If he wished it, Merlin could have complete control over the dragon. He was the most powerful sorcerer in the world and the last dragonlord, and it was finally, truly sinking in for Percival.

The men waited for a few more minutes in silence, each lost in his own thoughts, when suddenly, Merlin's head snapped up towards the sky, catching the attention of the rest of the group. The others also looked up, but saw nothing for a few more seconds, before a dark speck appeared on the horizon, growing larger with each passing second. Merlin smiled slightly, shuffling nervously, with a clear spark of excitement in his eyes. The warlock faced the dark speck, which was quickly taking the shape of the Great Dragon the rest of the men had heard so much about. Arthur and his knights stood slightly behind Merlin, allowing the warlock to face the dragon he had called to the castle, and explain the situation at hand.

As Kilgharrah landed before Merlin and the semicircle of men behind him, Arthur swore that he saw the dragon almost smiling at the manservant. Suddenly, Kilgharrah let out a resounding bark of laughter which shook the ground. The laughter turned into a light chuckle while the dragon gave Merlin a knowing look.

Merlin just stood in front of Kilgharrah, not saying a word, waiting for the smug dragon to get his gloating out of the way.

"Well, young warlock," Kilgharrah finally spoke, looking down on the man in amusement, "I see you have finally heeded my advice and revealed your destiny to the men whom you share it with." Merlin just looked up at Kilgharrah, wanting to roll his eyes, but unable to suppress his grin. That grin only grew when he looked back at the faces of Arthur and the knights, frozen in astonishment at hearing the dragon speak.

"I have been telling them the truth of what has occurred over the years, and they wanted to meet you." Merlin explained.

"It's an honor to properly meet the men I have heard so much about." Kilgharrah continued, looking into the eyes of each of the men in turn, before looking at Arthur last. "Although I'm not quite sure that I forgive this one for stabbing me." The dragon moved his face closer to Arthur's, narrowing his eyes slightly, but there was a mischievous glint behind them.

The king tensed, keeping his arms within easy reach of Excalibur as he looked upon the Great Dragon. "You were killing my people, you killed my knights." Arthur began angrily, the shouts of agony from Camelot as the dragon razed the town coming back to his memory.

Kilgharrah let out a hum of acknowledgment, cutting off the king and moving away from him once more. "The Once and Future King." Kilgharrah addressed Arthur, "It is an honor to meet you." The dragon extended his wings to the sides and bowed his head in Arthur's direction, much to the shock of the knights. "I was blinded by grief and the need for vengeance when I attacked your city. I do not believe you can quite comprehend the agony of believing you are the very last of your kind. Be assured young king, I intend no harm to you or your people."

Arthur looked upon the dragon, the last of his kind. He knew that he should apologize for his father's actions, for his father's systematic genocide of this dragon's kin, but the words were stuck in his throat. What could Arthur say that would not seem wholly inadequate and frail compared to the horrors inflicted on Kilgharrah, even if it was not Arthur himself who had inflicted them. Instead, the king only nodded his head once, sorrow for all that his father had done evident in his eyes.

The knights seemed to be holding their breath as the dragon then turned to face them. All of them staring with wide eyes at the chance to speak to a real dragon, the last dragon, before they turned to myth and legend.

"And your names?" Kilgharrah spoke, amused at the reactions of the men around him.

Gwaine, naturally, was the first to step forward, as he was the one to request this meeting. A wide grin spread across his face as he dramatically stated, "Sir Gwaine, at your service."

If dragons had eyebrows, Merlin thought, Kilgharrah would be raising his high enough to rival Gaius. For his part, the dragon held back any comment until all the knights had stepped up and introduced themselves, none with the same vigor as Gwaine.

At last, the dragon gave them a nod and said, "Merlin has spoken highly of all of you, it is an honor."

Elyan smiled at the thought of Merlin telling this giant creature of his adventures with his friends, before realizing that Kilgharrah was likely the only one that Merlin could tell these stories to for the longest time. Other than Gaius of course, but sometimes a man needed to speak with someone who wasn't his father figure. No longer would Merlin need to hide his adventures, accomplishments, and pain; it was a new day.

Kilgharrah turned his eyes toward Merlin, still standing slightly apart from the rest of the men. There was a glint of pride in the dragon's eyes as he said, "The lines of destiny seem to be falling into place." Merlin and Kilgharrah began to smile slightly, the dragon and dragonlord facing each other in the morning light of a rapidly changing world. "Well done young warlock." Kilgharrah said, as if in farewell. He swept his eyes over the men once more before unfolding his wings and suddenly taking to the sky, the wind from the dragon's wings causing the men to squint their eyes, hair flying haphazardly.

"Thank you." Merlin murmured, watching Kilgharrah's retreating figure with the rest of the men.

When the dragon was nothing but a dark speck in the distant sky, Merlin turned back to the men, clearing his throat. "Well," he spoke, "how about the rest of that story now?" Gwaine smiled brightly, eager to hear more after such an already exciting morning.

The men turned to walk toward the castle once more, passing through the doorway and taking their seats at the round table, before turning expectantly towards the warlock.

Merlin smiled tightly, becoming absorbed in memories before he slowly opened his mouth to begin the tale again. "We spent a year looking for her. Morgana." He said to clear up any confusion as to who they were talking about. Merlin turned towards Arthur. "Every time we rode out to try to find her, I feared that we finally would, and she would expose me for my betrayal." The solemn look on the warlock's face kept the men silent. "I worried what would happen if we found her, but knew that in order to keep an eye on her, she would have to be close. Then one day, it finally happened. We found her." Despite Arthur and Leon knowing what happened next, Merlin kept them all entranced.

"She did confront me when we returned to Camelot." Merlin nodded his head distantly. "But she told me she understood why I had poisoned her, that I had no other choice. She said she would have done the same in my position. And though still wary, I dared to hope that she had changed." Merlin smirked almost sardonically, no true humor reaching his eyes. "Evidently, that was a fool's hope."

"Morgana was, of course, still working with Morgause, her time away from Camelot having solidified her resolve to destroy Uther and take the throne for herself. She created something called a mandrake root, specifically tailored to Uther." Merlin winced, a mandrake was some of the darkest magic, tormenting its victim ceaselessly. "Because of the mandrake, Uther began to go seamingly mad. I know I've spent the entire last day trying to show you that magic can be used for good," Merlin took a breath, "but mandrakes can bring no good, they are a truly evil form of magic." Merlin looked somber, thinking on how Morgana didn't just want the throne, she was sadistic, and truly wanted Uther to suffer. What a change a year made.

The men sitting around the table looked slightly alarmed. Merlin could always find the good in anything, he was an optimist. Could this mandrake truly be so awful?

Leon broke the contemplative silence the men had fallen under, "What exactly is it Merlin?" Everyone looked apprehensive to hear the answer.

"It's just a root honestly, seems harmless, but if enchanted, it can pierce the soul of those without magic and drag their worst nightmares, their worst memories into reality. It creates illusions of a person's most intimate horrors, making them seem as real as any one of us." Merlin finished his explanation quietly.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror. One had to be truly wicked to think of doing something like that to another. Having just revealed their deepest secrets and regrets to each other the day before, the group of friends felt as if a weight had been lifted off of their shoulders, the burden now shared between the six of them. They could not imagine having to relive those awful moments, their greatest shame, fears, and regrets over and over without reprieve, all alone.

Arthur shook his head in disbelief, even so long ago, Morgana had been completely lost to them. There was no trace of the kind girl she once was. There was only cruelty and vengeance left in her place.

"News had spread of Uther's supposed insanity. He had begun talking to the illusions created by the mandrake in front of others and having panic attacks." Merlin continued.

"Even I had heard of Uther's insanity, several days ride from Camelot, I can't believe that was Morgana's doing." Gwaine interjected. It had been a joke back then, told around the fire in a village tavern. The king gone mad! Everyone had laughed, thinking nothing of it. So much had happened in Camelot without anyone but Merlin being the wiser. How he managed to keep all this to himself was beyond Gwaine.

"Yes, well, although cruel, it wasn't just out of vengeance that Morgana used the mandrake on Uther." Merlin explained, "As the news of Uther's insanity spread, Morgause travelled to Cenred's palace in order to rally an army to invade Camelot while it was at its weakest." Merlin sighed. Of course there was an army. It seemed like a new army was on Camelot's doorset every month.

Merlin looked sheepish at this point, grabbing the attention of the knights and king at the change in atmosphere. He rubbed the back of his neck, explaining, "I decided to follow Morgana into the woods that night, hoping to find out what she was up to. Turns out my sneaking skills weren't up to par. She knew I was following her, lured me out into the forest where Morgause was waiting, then captured and bound me in magical chains." Merlin blushed slightly.

Arthur just blinked for a moment before exclaiming, "Merlin!" with a shake of his head. "You would think that after years of hiding your magic in the literal palace of Camelot, you'd be a little more discreet!" The knights all choked on their laughter, but couldn't argue with that logic.

"Well I just got so used to nobody noticing me that I got complacent I guess." Merlin defended, face still red.

Leon just shook his head at the friends sitting before him, a smile on his face. The knights slowly settled, all the men looking brighter than before.

"Regardless of my stealth skills-" Merlin was cut off.

"Or lack thereof." Arthur coughed, making the knights grin teasingly once more.

Merlin rolled his eyes, "Yes yes, or lack of stealth. Like I was saying, I woke up in magically bound chains, and was soon surrounded the Serkets, scorpions twice the size of Percival." The man in question smiled at the warlock, sitting up straighter.

"I was unable to break the chains with magic, and soon a Serket had stung me in the back." The men all winced, thinking about how large that stinger must have been. "Luckily, I was able to call for Kilgharrah before succumbing to the venom. He came for me and saved my life." Merlin looked soberly around at his friends. "By the time I awoke, Cenred was about to begin his siege of Camelot, and I was hundreds of miles away. However, on the bright side," Merlin grinned widely at Gwaine, "I got to ride a dragon what would have been a three days' walk back to Camelot."

Gwaine's jaw dropped, along with Leon and Elyan's as well. "You got to fly?!" Gwaine sputtered, "Why couldn't I be a dragonlord?" Gwaine asked the heavens, looking towards the ceiling of the castle.

"If you were, you'd likely be dead by now Gwaine." Merlin grimaced, reminding everyone in the room that he was the last dragonlord, and creating a somber mood once more.

"Hold on, I remember this!" Arthur suddenly exclaimed. "You were gone the entire day and my chambers were a mess! When I demanded to know where you were, you told me you had been dying! I never would have thought that you actually meant it." Arthur shook his head in disbelief.

Merlin chuckled to himself, "Honestly sire, by then, I often told you the truth and relied on you not believing me and assuming I was at the tavern as an excuse." The cheeky grin Merlin flashed Arthur earned him a groan and grumbled annoyance from the king.

"I really did try to lie as little as possible Arthur." The warlock looked up at the king with a sad smile on his face.

"Well, thank you for that, Merlin." Arthur replied earnestly. Yesterday, Arthur was terrified that so many years of friendship had been nothing but a lie. It was good to know that Merlin never truly got used to the lies, and continued to want to tell Arthur the truth throughout the years, in whatever ways he could.

"As you know, Cenred began his siege and took the lower town, leaving us to defend the castle. However, Morgause had given Morgana a hawthorn staff, which, with magic, allows the wielder to awaken and control the dead." Percival and Gwaine, who had not been in Camelot at the time listened in horror. There truly was no limit to what Morgana was willing to do to destroy Camelot and take the throne.

"Soon, we were surrounded on one side by Cenred's army and on the other by living skeletons that couldn't be felled. I followed Morgana to the crypts and dueled her before ultimately making a castle arch crumble and knock her out." Merlin said.

Arthur was in thought for a moment before asking, "Merlin, all those times that random parts of the castle crumbled and fell on enemies attacking me… that was you wasn't it?"

Merlin chuckled and admitted, "Yes sire, it seemed to work particularly well, since you never found it odd while distracted by a battle. Had to keep your sorry hide alive somehow." Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the walls of the palace tremble for a moment, the rest of the men whipping their heads around the room before looking back at Merlin, who had a smirk on his face.

Leon just shook his head while the other knights looked amused, and Arthur exasperated. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

Merlin just grinned, eyes now bright with joy instead of magic. He on the other hand, could definitely get used to the freedom of his friends finally knowing who he was.

"I destroyed the hawthorn staff and the skeleton's fell apart, allowing us to gain victory over Cenred's army. I was on my way to tell Arthur about Morgana's treachery, but was too late, she had already told both Arthur and Uther that she was the one to discover and destroy the hawthorn staff." Arthur couldn't believe how easily Morgana had had them all fooled back them. Well, everyone but Merlin and Gaius he supposed.

"I arrived in Camelot a few weeks after the battle." Gwaine stated, excited to hear about Merlin's side of the story to events that he himself had encountered.

"Yes, but there is one thing that I should probably tell Arthur about that happened before you arrived." Merlin said, smiling mischievously.

"Oh no Merlin, don't you dare!" Arthur shouted, know what event he was talking about.

Merlin just laughed and began is story, the knights all curious as to what had their king blushing from embarrassment. "A week or two after the battle, I may have accidentally released a goblin from his box."

Arthur's jaw dropped, "That was you?!" he bellowed.

Elyan just chuckled, "Are you even surprised at this point Sire?" while Merlin indignantly shouted "Hey!" much the knight's amusement.

"No I suppose I shouldn't be surprised anymore." Arthur conceded, blowing air out of his mouth while shaking his head.

"As I said, hey!" Merlin rolled his eyes at his chuckling friends and continued. "To make a long story short, the goblin caused all kinds of mayhem including possessing Gaius, making Uther bald," a round of laughter went around the table, "and causing Arthur to grow donkey ears and bray." At this the knights understood why Arthur was embarrassed, his face turning red once more as Merlin smirked at the king.

"Oh, forgot to mention, disguised as Gaius, the goblin found out I had magic and told Uther, getting me locked up and sentenced to death… again." Merlin shrugged.

Gwaine just threw up his hands, "How do you manage to get yourself into these situations my friend?" he asked incredulously.

Merlin just shrugged again, "If you couldn't tell, I don't really have the best of luck." The men all nodded along, they couldn't believe that so much had happened to Merlin in such a short period of time.

"I escaped, as per usual, and me and Gwen were able to recapture the goblin, save Gaius, and clear my name. Just another day in Camelot." Merlin smiled.

"You know, Sire," Merlin turned towards Arhtur, "Of all the times you've accused me of being at the tavern, it was your fault that the brawl started at the tavern where we met Gwaine." Merlin grinned. Leon, Elyan, and Percival leaned forward eagerly, grins of their own beginning to spread.

"Hey! I did that to help the villagers!" Arthur argued as Gwaine laughed.

"Yes and you would have been completely clobbered if not for me." Gwaine claimed, puffing out his chest. Arthur just rolled his eyes, grumbling that he would have been fine.

"Yes well, when we met Gwaine, he saved both mine and Arthur's life," Merlin threw the kings a pointed look, "but got injured in the process. Gwaine returned with us to Camelot to heal. It's lucky he came when he did, because two of the thugs that we had brawled with in the pub had disguised themselves as knights in order to enter a tournament and kill Arthur."

"As if they could have defeated me." Arthur smirked proudly.

"Of course, Sire." Merlin responded, holding in a laugh. "Well, Gwaine being the troublemaker we all know and tolerate, got accused of trying to kill one of the thugs disguised as knights, and was banished from Camelot."

"Though we know that would never keep me from coming to the rescue! I returned in a disguise of my own, entered the tournament, and saved Arthur by killing the two thugs." Gwaine continued proudly.

"Yes, Gwaine was the true hero of this story." Merlin confirmed. "It's just a shame that Uther still refused to lift his banishment." At this the rest of the men nodded, frowning. If Uther was anything, it was unreasonable and stubborn.

"But you knew I would be back. Can't keep me away." Gwaine smilled, causing the rest of the men to smile back, thinking back to a different night years ago when they sat around this same table for the first time, and became brothers.

Merlin thought back to what had happened next all those years ago, and cringed, remembering his many botched attempts to stop Morgana without revealing his magic. "A few weeks after meeting Gwaine, Arthur and I were attacked by bandits in the forest." Merlin continued with a sigh, the other men wondering what made this particular bandit raid so memorable. "In order to escape, we had to go into the Valley of the Fallen Kings, but Arthur was shot in the back with a poisoned arrow."

Arthur grimaced, remembering that pain, and his miraculous recovery. Now that he thought about it, he supposed he could probably thank Merlin for that.

"I tried to heal the wound with magic but nothing was working." Merlin continued

Oh. Well there goes that theory.

"I had nearly lost hope when an elderly man approached me, healed Arthur with magic, and then brought me to the Crystal Cave, the origin of all magic." The men all just blinked at Merlin, open mouthed.

"Well that escalated quickly." Gwaine said, breaking the shocked silence.

"Honestly Merlin, I'm unconscious for only a few hours, how do these things just happen to you?" Arthur asked in disbelief. Despite having heard Merlin's role in all that had happened in the first few years the lanky man was his manservant, it was still difficult to reconcile years of friendship with a bumbling, loyal idiot, with the all powerful sorcerer and dragonlord that sat next to him. From Merlin's perspective, Arthur must have been the bumbling idiot, always two steps behind what Merlin had already discovered. Things would be different once they got back to Camelot, Arthur refused to be a bumbling idiot any longer, no more secrets.

Merlin sighed at Arthur's question, "I've been asking myself that for years, Sire." He bemoaned, looking to the heavens, much to the amusement of the knights.

"The Crystal Cave allows those with powerful magic to see glimpses of the future, and the old man urged me to look into them. There I saw Morgana sitting on Camelot's throne, being crowned," The men all cringed, remembering that day well. "As well as a series of events that ultimately led to what seemed to be Morgana plunging a dagger into Uther's heart." Merlin continued with a deep sigh. He never wanted to know the future again, it was more trouble than it was worth.

"As it turns out, the old man was a powerful seerer for the kings of old, and had died nearly 300 years prior. I believe that because I hold the power over life and death, I was able to see him in the Valley." Merlin just waited for the shocked faces, as was becoming customary every time Merlin revealed how powerful he truly was. This time however, the knights and Arthur only had that look of astonishment for several seconds before schooling their features and nodding for Merlin to continue. They were trying to make this their new normal, for Merlin's sake. The warlock couldn't hold back a smile, maybe they really could get back the trust they had for him before all these secrets came out. Maybe he really could have it all.

"Arthur awoke shortly after I got back, and we returned to Camelot, with me ready to prevent the vision I saw in the Cave. Unfortunately, the things I saw leading up to Morgana stabbing Uther were beginning to come true, and there didn't seem to be anything I could do about it." Merlin, bit his lip in worry before continuing. "That night, after Morgana's birthday celebration, I was watching her door when she snuck out. Believing she was going to kill Uther like I foresaw, I made a door slam in her face, which accidentally cause a torch to fall over, and her to tumble down a set of stairs. She broke her skull, and Gaius could not do anything to save her. I'm so sorry Arthur, for the pain I caused you, for the pain I caused Gwen. I did not mean for Morgana to get hurt." Merlin looked at Arthur with remorse, remember those dark days. Arthur just looked shocked, always having believed that it was an accident. He didn't know how to feel. Back then, Morgana meant everything to him, she was his family, even though he did not know yet how true that was. But now, Morgana was his greatest enemy. How times had changed.

"It's alright Merlin." Arthur said quietly, "It's not as though you could come to me and say that Morgana planned to kill my father." He shook his head, "I would have never believed you, but you did what you could." Arthur clapped a hand onto Merlin's shoulder, making the younger man smile sadly. So many things to apologize for, on both sides. Would they ever get to stop apologizing to each other?

Merlin cleared his throat and continued, "Uther visited Morgana while she was seemingly unconscious, and urged Gaius to do anything, even sorcery, to cure her. He revealed to Gaius that Morgana was his daughter, and I believe that Morgana must have heard him, discovering the truth of her heritage. This is likely when she formed a concrete plan to take the throne, believing it to be rightfully hers since she has Pendragon blood."

Arthur closed his eyes. It seemed like their bad luck never ran out. Of course Morgana would be awake to hear the best kept secret at the heart of Camelot, to hear the truth that would put her even further over the edge. Well, maybe there was one better kept secret. Arthur thought, glancing at Merlin.

"I couldn't let everyone continue to suffer, so I called Kilgharrah and ordered him to help me heal her, against his will." Merlin said a bit ashamed. He never liked to force the dragon to do anything, but it had seemed necessary at the time.

Gwaine just shook his head in wonder at the reminder that Merlin could command a dragon to his will. Such a tiny man held power over such a giant creature, it was astounding, really.

"Morgana healed, but with her newfound knowledge of her lineage, she went to Uther's rooms to kill him, just as I had foreseen in the Cave. I got there in time to blow a window open, knocking Morgana off her feet and startling Uther awake. What I had seen in the cave was Uther being suddenly awoken by the loud crash of the window, not by Morgana plunging the dagger into Uther's heart as I had assumed. By seeing the future, I had created it. I never want to know the future ahead of time again." Merlin finished, his eyes holding a wisdom only attained through making grave mistakes.

The men all thought on this, wondering if any of that would have happened if Merlin hadn't seen the crystal cave, wondering why the dead sorcerer had wanted him to see the crystals so badly in the first place.

"My next… adventure, I suppose you could say," Merlin smiled wryly at his friends, "Was when Arthur nearly got married to a fairy." He finished with a smirk.

The knights eyebrows all rose to their hairlines as Arthur gaped at Merlin, attempting to form words.

"Excuse me." The king finally got out, thinking back to his failed wedding to Princess Elena.

Merlin chuckled as he said, "While Princess Elena was in Camelot, I discovered that she was a changeling, cursed as a baby to have a fairy grow within her, dormant most of the time. This is why she was so… clumsy to use the mildest of terms."

Now all the knights were staring open mouthed at Merlin. To have a creature living inside you all your life without knowing it, seemed a horrific violation.

"Technically fairies are called the Sidhe, and pixies serve them. Princess Elena's royal nurse, Grunhilda, was a pixie, planning for her to marry Arthur, effectively placing a Sidhe on the throne of Camelot." Merlin stated.

Arthur was rubbing his forehead as if attempting to fight a headache. How many times had Camelot been in danger without him even knowing it? The king was beginning to lose count.

"Gaius and I discovered their identities, and he brewed a potion to lure the fairy out of Elena. We then destroyed them both, restoring the grace and elegance that princess Elena should have had all along." Merlin smiled. This was one story that actually had a happy ending, and did not concern matters with Morgana. "And I think it's fairly obvious from Gwen being Queen, that Arthur called off the wedding." Elyan smiled at this. His sister was so happy, as she always deserved to be.

"The reprieve from Mrogana's attacks was short lived unfortunately. Within a few weeks, she had Morgause kidnap Gwen and Elyan," Merlin nodded towards the knight, who's mouth had tightened into a line at the memory, "and gave Gwen the ultimatum that either she bring Arthur to Cenred in the Castle of Fyrien, or Eylan would die." The rest of the knights scowled. Gwen was a fair and just Queen, as well as their friend. They would ensure that she would never be threatened again.

"She was so terrified," Merlin continued quietly, "but fortunately I convinced Gwen to tell Arthur, and we all rode out as soon as possible to rescue Elyan, with Morgana insisting to come along." The warlock said with a scowl.

"We were captured, likely due to Morgana, and locked up, but were able to escape relatively quickly. Unfortunately, Arthur went to save Morgana, who was probably fine, and just talking over her evil plans with Morgause and Cenred." Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur, who scowled at the younger man. How was he to know that Morgana was evil?

"Well, I followed the clotpole naturally," Another glare from Arthur, "and exploded a wall of fire that Morgause was advancing on Arthur, causing broken pieces of the castle to fall on Cenred and Morgause, rendering them both unconscious. We all escaped with Arthur carrying Morgana. Of course she didn't want to leave her sister their unconscious, but had to keep up appearances." Merlin finished with a frown. Morgana had lied to those that considered her family for so long.

"Soon after, Arthur was to go on his quest that would determine whether he was fit to be King." Merlin continued. "For those that don't know, his quest was to go to the lands of the Fisher King alone and retrieve the king's trident. However, Morgana had given Arthur a bracelet for luck." the sarcasm in Merlin's tone was palpable, "The bracelet truly contained an eye of a Phoenix, which drains the life force of anyone in contact with it, and will kill anyone in contact for long periods of time." Merlin stated sardonically. Percival brought his hand to his forehead with a sigh. These secret battles that Merlin had been waging against Morgana for the better part of a year seemed to never cease. It was a wonder that he was able to keep his secret and protect Arthur until the truth came out.

"So that's why I fainted in that swamp!" Arthur exclaimed, outraged. The men all burst out laughing at the image of their king covered in mud.

Still chuckling, Merlin continued, "Once again, of course I went after Arthur."

Of course. Leon thought. It had become very clear that despite the revelation of Merlin's magic, his loyalty and friendship to Arthur had always been strong.

"And I picked up a friend along the way for some help." Merlin smiled at Gwaine who grinned back, giving the warlock a nod. "We all made it to the Castle of the Fisher King, to find Arthur unconscious from the bracelet and wyverns about to attack. Luckily, wyverns are a cousin of dragons, and as dragonlord, I am able to command them as well." Gwaine looked rueful , thinking of how he had to fight his own wyvern. "I removed the bracelet from Arthur and he awoke, furious that we came after him to save his life." Merlin gave the king a side eye as he emphasized the last words.

Arthur sighed, "Well, knowing the truth now, I'm obviously grateful that you followed me." Arthur said with a huff.

"Obviously." Merlin said sarcastically.

"That's some thank you, eh?" Gwaine elbowed Leon in the side, who grinned at the banter of the men, giving Arthur a joking shake of his head.

"Alright, alright, thank you." Arthur said half grudgingly and half sincerely, looking between Merlin and Gwaine, who smiled back at the king.

"We found the throne room of the Fisher King, but the door shut behind me, locking Gwaine and Arthur out." Merlin went on. "The Fisher King was inside." Arthur and Gwaine's eyes widened, not knowing what had went on behind those closed doors until now. "He said that Albion's time of need was approaching, and gave me a vial containing waters from the lake of Avalon, telling it was for the dark days ahead. The Lake of Avalon is the same lake that I let Freya go in." Merlin stated quietly, the mood somber. "In return, the Fisher King requested an end to his misery, an end the centuries he had lived in solitude. I gave him the phoenix eye bracelet, and his died as soon as he put it on." Merlin finished soberly.

"Arthur and Gwaine were finally allowed to enter and we found the trident, Arthur returning it home victoriously.

"One good thing did come out of this quest." Merlin stated, much to the curiosity of the men around him. "While we were gone, Gwen witnessed Morgana speaking with Morgause, as well as doing magic. Gaius and I had gained a new ally who knew the truth about Morgana." Arthur sat stunned. He couldn't believe that even Gwen had known so early on.

Noticing this, Merlin said, "Don't be angry with her please. At the time, Morgana was so dear to you that I doubt you would have even believed Gwen about this."

Arthur just sighed and quietly said, "You're probably right Merlin." Thinking back on how much he had cherished Morgana.

"The next time I saved your sorry behind -" Merlin started with a more cheerful tone.

"Hey!" The king exclaimed indignantly.

"- was when Gaius's ex-fiance came to Camelot under the control of a manticore that was set on killing Uther." Merlin continued with a grin as if Arthur hadn't interrupted.

"Gaius was engaged?" Leon asked wide eyed, unable to imagine the wizened physician in a romantic relationship.

"Yes, he was young once upon a time, as he often likes to remind me." Merlin said with a fond smile. "His fiance's name was Alice.

"She came to live with us upon reuniting with Gaius, but I discovered her speaking with a manticore one night about poisoning Uther. Manticores are nasty creatures, they draw their power from the evils of the spirit world, but when kept in our world for an extended period of time, they will die." Merlin educated the men. It was exhilarating to be the one that had the answers, to be the expert, the teacher. Unlike the sword-fighting 'lessons' Merlin had been forced to endure with Arthur as his 'teacher'.

"She poisoned Uther's potion one day, and the only way to cure him was to kill the manticore. Unfortunately, I told Arthur that it was Alice that poisoned Uther.I did not know at the time that Alice was controlled by the manticore, she could not stop herself. Gaius and I defeated the manticore, but once Uther recovered, despite explaining that she was under a creature's control, Alice was sentenced to death."

Percival looked down, so many had been unfairly executed under Uther's reign. He was proud to serve under a king that did not immediately react, but took the time to think through his actions, and make sure they were just.

"Luckily, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree apparently." Merlin said with a growing grin. "Gaius broke Alice out of the dungeons that night, and she left the kingdom safe." Merlin finished

Arthur let out a bark of laughter. "I would have never figured Gaius for breaking people out of the dungeons." He said with a shake of his head, shoulders shaking in mirth. "Then again, I would have never thought you were breaking people out of the dungeons either." Arthur threw a pointed look at Merlin, as the warlock smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes, well, we're all full of surprises, aren't we?" Merlin replied with a cheeky grin, glancing over all the nodding men who had shared their own secrets the day before.

"While all this was happening, Morgana was getting impatient." Merlin continued. "We are nearly to the part in our story when Morgana reveals herself and attempts to take Camelot."

Gwaine let out a relieved breath of air. Although the knight knew that everything turned out alright, he didn't think he could handle the suspense of Arthur and Uther believing Morgana was innocent for much longer.

Merlin's eyes darkened, thinking over the past. "Her next attack on you Arthur, came in the form of an attack on Gwen." The rest of the table scowled at this, none more than Arthur and Elyan. "When you and Gwen went on your picnic in the forest, I believe she led Uther there on purpose in order to catch the two of you, and reveal your forbidden love."

Arthur remembered those days well, when all he could feel was panic and rage. He never wanted to be that close to losing the love of his life again.

"When Uther banished Gwen from the kingdom, Morgana apparently did not think that was enough." Merlin scowled. "She planted a poultice under Arthur's bed and convinced Uther that Gwen had enchanted Arthur into loving her. The more Arthur fought and protested, the more convinced Uther grew that Morgana spoke the truth." Merlin shook his head. Uther truly was so short sighted.

"Gwen was then sentenced to burn on the pyre." Merlin continued quietly, earning a gasp from Percival and Gwaine, who had not been in Camelot at the time, the thought of their loyal friend and queen burning was more than horrific. "I knew that the only way to free Gwen and allow her to continue living a normal life was to frame someone else… so I invented a sorcerer." Merlin said, much to the knight's confusion.

Arthur on the other hand, was slowly widening his eyes in shock, mouth dropping open in a gape. "No, it can't be." The king's ton of disbelief had Merlin grinning. "I knew there was something familiar about that sorcerer! You? You were Dragoon the Great?!"

"Guilty." Merlin said with a laugh. Arthur sputtered, thinking back on all the insults Dragoon threw his way. At the time, Arthur believed it was just the rambling of a dodgy old man. Of course, now the insults made a lot more sense.

"Moving on!" Merlin interrupted Arthur's thoughts cheerfully, "I used an aging spell, got myself caught planting a poultice under Arthur's bed, and proclaimed that I enchanted both Arthur and Gwen in order to 'bring shame to Camelot'." Merlin said this last bit with sarcasm so thick that only Uther would be thick enough to believe him. "Uther released Gwen, and I was to take her place on the pyre. Unfortunately, the aging spell was particularly powerful and I couldn't undo it." Merlin face heated in embarrassment. "Luckily Gaius made me a de-aging potion. Unluckily, he wasn't able to get it to me until I was already being marched to the pyre amid the crowd. I exploded the pyre, took the potion from Gaius, and made my escape. Once again unluckily, Arthur gave chase, and once I transformed back to my age, he believed I had been too drunk to stop Dragoon." Merlin rolled his eyes at the king, who smirked at his servant. "And that's how I ended up mucking the stables on my own… again." The knights all laughed good-naturedly at the misfortune of the warlock.

"I suppose the last thing to happen that you don't know about, before Morgana attacked Camelot, was when a sorcerer entered Camelot's tournament." Merlin smiled, hoping that the day that he will be able to see Gili again was near. Arthur frowned, not remembering any odd occurrences during the tournament that year.

"His name was Gili, and he was using a ring as a conduit to control his magic to win the tournament." Merlin said, much to the displeasure of the knights and Arthur. Although it's true, the tournament had no rules, as knights, they believed in a code of honor, and cheating was vdefinitely dishonorable. Noticing their reactions, Merlin quickly jumped to the defence of the young sorcerer. "He wasn't a bad person. He was just sick of being ignored and underestimated all his life." Merlin stated quietly, thinking about how that had been happening to him his entire life as well. The men understood that Merlin wasn't just talking about Gili. He was speaking from his own experience, and many of them knew, as well, what it was to be overlooked, not good enough simply because they didn't have noble blood. "He just went about fixing that the wrong way." Merlin added.

"I warned him multiple times not to use his magic, fearing that Uther would discover it and have him killed. I even went so far as to reveal my own magic to him, explaining that I knew how it felt to be alone, but he refused to listen, wanting to strike back against Uther for the crimes he committed against magic wielders."

The men all looked sadly at Merlin, not missing his comment about feeling alone. They couldn't imagine hiding such a large part of their lives from each other, from the people that they considered brothers.

"You're not alone anymore Merlin." Arthur said quietly, putting a hand on the warlocks shoulder, the knights all nodding in agreement. If Merlin blinked a bit more rapidly to stop tears from forming, no one mentioned it.

"Thank you." He replied. "I don't think you know how much that truly means to me." Merlin looked away, wiping the corners of his eyes quickly.

The knights smiled fondly, watching the interaction of the pair who had become inseparable. Percival grinned even wider than the others, thankful the rift between the warlock and the king that was present yesterday seemed to be quickly mending with every new truth revealed, and not the other way around. Other than Merlin of course, Percival new the best that magic was not evil, and was thrilled to see that the others were not treated Merlin like a stranger after he revealed himself.

Merlin cleared his throat before continuing. "I could not allow Uther to die at Gili's hands in the final round of the tournament, for both their sakes. Gili is not a killer. So I countered his magic with my own, and Uther easily won. After another argument, Gili apologized for his actions, understanding that magic should not be used for revenge or glory, and promised that we'd see each other again one day, as friends." Merlin finished with a smile. He didn't specify that Gili would return once the ban on magic was lifted, not wanting to pressure Arthur or make him think that was the only reason Merlin had stuck around for so long.

"And so, we've come to the part in our history that Morgana finally revealed her true intentions and hatred of Uther and Arthur. Just in time too, I didn't know how much longer I could be the only one stopping her and keep my magic secret at the same time. Honestly, useless the lot of you." Merlin griped, making the knights smirk and Arthur roll his eyes exasperatedly.

"Morgana's attack started when Leon returned to Camelot, having been saved by the druids, who made him drink from the Cup of Life. As we well know, the Cup can be a horrific weapon in the hands of an enemy," The men all nodded along, pained expressions on their faces at the memory of so many innocent lives being lost to the immortal soldiers. "so Arthur and I went into Cenred's lands to retrieve it. Morgana heard our plans and sent word to Morgause and Cenred to take the Cup for themselves. Unfortunately, along the way, we were captured by a slaver. The slaver wanted me to fight his champion to the death, but Arthur volunteered in my stead. As it turns out, this champion was Gwaine." Merlin smirked. Percival, Leon, and Elyan let out a loud laugh. Of all the chances, of course it would be Gwaine.

"And I won the fight too!" Gwaine shouted with a cheeky grin aimed at the king.

"You did not, it was a game!" Arthur retorted, fueling the knights' mirth.

"A game it might have been, but I sti-"

"Actually I won the fight!" Merlin burst in, causing Arthur's eyebrows to climb higher than his hairline. "I sent fire to the netting above your heads, causing a panic and allowing us all to escape with our lives." Merlin gloated.

Arthur and Gwaine were silent for a moment before reluctantly grumbling "Well I suppose." and "Alright, I see your point." respectively.

Smiling, Merlin continued, "From there, we found the cave of the druids, and they gave Arthur the Cup, telling me telepathically that the Cup was my responsibility. Of course, the first chance I get, I have the Cup stolen from me while under ambush from Cenred's men." Merlin said with a huff.

"Wait, hold on." Leon interrupted just as Merlin was about to continue his story. "You can speak to people in their minds?" He asked incredulously.

Merlin opened his mouth to answer but then paused, looking puzzled. "Well, I guess I've never tried it before. The druids often speak to me in my mind when I encounter them, but I never tried to speak back. I should look into that." Merlin said in thought. An excited tone had crept into his voice, his love for magic shining through. Leon just watched the warlock in disbelief, it seemed there was no limits to what the young man could do.

"But like I said, Cenred's men got a hold of the Cup, and Arthur leg was injured and infected, causing us to make camp for the night. By the time we made it back to Camelot, Morgause had already created and marched her immortal army through the gates. We left Camelot defenseless." Merlin continued bitterly.

"We went to Gwen's house in the lower town, and found Elyan there, before the four of us continued up to the castle, finding more and more dead along the way. Once in the castle, we found Gaius, and Arthur asked Gwaine and Elyan to get him to safety in the woods." Merlin gave a nod of appreciation to the two knights for taking care of his father figure. "Meanwhile, Arthur and I made our way to the balcony above the throne room, where we witnessed Uther on his knees, an army of immortal soldiers surrounding the room. Morgana revealed that she knew she was his daughter, and was crowned Morgana Pendragon, Queen of Camelot." Merlin spit out into the silence of the room. The knights and Arthur listened on gravely, thinking about all the innocent lives lost during Morgana's terrible reign.

"Luckily we were able to escape, and while hiding in a cave, I accidently broke the vial of water from the Lake of Avalon than the Fisher King had given me. In it, I saw Freya's face." Merlin smiled gently. "She told me that a sword forged with a dragons breath can kill immortal soldiers, and to come to the Lake so she can give me Excalibur. I snuck out, called Kilgharrah, and had him fly me to the lake, where I retrieved the sword." Gwaine looked particularly jealous of Merlin getting to fly on a dragon again.

"You all know the next bit, Gwen and Leon arrive, we're attacked by immortal soldiers, Percival and Lancelot save us." Arthur scowled at Lancelot's name, and the knights all stiffened, knowing that Lancelot was a very sore topic for their king.

"No, stop that." Merlin demanded. "What you think you know of Lancelot is not true. He never betrayed you."

"But he tried to seduce Gwen, knowing full well of our relationship!" Arthur burst in.

"No, he didn't! He sacrificed himself for us! When he seemingly returned from the dead, that was Morgana's doing, he was not in control of himself." Merlin argued back.

"What?" Arthur said on a breath, astonished and outraged. The knights were all furious and disgusted. Morgana had desecrated Lancelot's rest, had muddied his name for her own ends.

"I'll explain in detail when we get there in our history, but just know that Lancelot is honorable, noble, and a true hero of Camelot." The men all nodded along mournfully, allowing Merlin to continue his current tale.

"As I said, Lancelot and Percival saved us, and we made our way to this castle, to sit at this table for the first time." The men smiled at each other fondly, remembering that fateful night well. "We all pledged to help Arthur save Camelot, and Percival, Gwaine, Elyan, and Lancelot were knighted." The three knights smiled even brighter than before.

"When we got to Camelot, Lancelot and I never intended to remove the warning bells." Merlin said sheepishly. "We went after the Cup of Life, because if the blood in the Cup were to be emptied, all the immortal soldiers would perish. We fought our way to the throne room, Excalibur immediately vanquishing any immortal soldier it touched." Arthur unconsciously placed his hand over the hilt of his sword with pride. "However, Morgause was waiting for us. We hadn't seen her when we entered, and she was about to strike. As it turns out, Gaius had snuk into Camelot as well, and blasted Morgause back with his own magic."

Everyone but Merlin's jaws dropped.

"What?" Leon sputtered. "I knew that Gaius once practiced magic, but had no idea that he was powerful enough to attack Morgause. The rest of the men seemed to be thinking the same thing, their eyes wide in shock. Elyan, Percival, and Gwaine had never even known that Gaius had magic!

"Yes, well, I think Gaius is full of surprises." Merlin said. "I believe he even surprised himself, but that is often the case when you're protecting those you care about."

This the knights could understand. The high of battle, of defending the innocent citizens they have sworn to protect often allows them to do things they never would have thought possible.

"I spilled the Cup using Excalibur, and the immortal army was destroyed. Morgana soon ran into the room and saw Morgause unconscious. In her anguish, she brought the ceiling of the room crashing down. We were lucky to escape, and had hoped that both Morgana and Morgause perished in the rubble, but as we all know, that was not the case." Merlin finished, the knights nodding along soberly. No, they had definitely not perished, Morgana still had much damage left to inflict on Camelot and its people.

"This seems as good a time as any to stop for a late lunch, don't you think?" Merlin asked the men around him. "I'm famished." Right at that moment, Gwaine stomach let out a loud grumble, causing the men to laugh. "And seems I'm not the only one." Merlin smiled.

The men all stood from the table, taking their time to stretch after a long morning of sitting still. With a flash of gold, Merlin ignited the fire underneath the leftover stew from that morning, and was greeted by only a moment of surprise, and a few gasps, which quickly turned to chuckles at their own reactions. Yes, things were changing indeed.

AN: Thanks for anyone who's stuck with me these long years, and to any new readers as well! I won't make any promises, as I'm going into finals season, but I will try my best to get the next chapter up by the end of January! There will likely be two more chapters in the story. Thoughts?