I'm back! I am really sorry for the long wait, but I wasn't in a good place this passed year. I lost a very close person to me and that was very painful. I'm slowly moving on, but…

Anyway, I was sat in my room this weekend and I was going through my e-mail and all these notices and reviews just wormed my heart so much!

Thank you everyone for not giving up on me!

I quickly wrote this chapter to post it to you now, so please excuse any mistakes, I'll make sure the next one is better, I just couldn't not post this as soon as I could. I hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 10… Who is Merlin?

Merlin hummed as he used his magic to pack away the picnic. He felt free in a way he had never experienced before. He could allow himself to acknowledge his feelings for Arthur. Before, he was afraid of feeling the way he did because he had to lie to Arthur, but he wouldn't start something based on lies. Arthur was too important for that.

When the picnic was all packed, Merlin headed back to the castle, thinking maybe he would go to the great hall to see who these visitors were.

He was halfway to the castle when he heard screeching among the trees to his right, of the path. Feeling curious, he went to investigate. If he hadn't he might have ran into a flustered Mordred, who was looking for him. As it stood Merlin had reached the source of screeching and was hidden among the trees by the time the young knight ran down the path. The noises were coming from a rabbit that was stuck up a tree. Merlin stood staring for sometime. How on earth had the rabbit end up stuck up a tree?

The poor little guy was warped tightly among the branches. Using his magic to bring the furry animal down would be risky; he would have to climb the tree. As he made his way up the big oak tree, he let some of his magic escape towards the bunny, to calm the frightened rabbit down. When he got to the squealing animal, he very gently untangled the branches and freed the furry creature and brought him down the tree. He placed the creature on the floor as soon as his magic let him know that it wasn't hurt much, and the little bunny rubbed itself on Merlin's legs as thank you.

Merlin then made his way back to the castle feeling like this day couldn't possibly go wrong.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Once Arthur had reached his chambers he realised that Merlin wasn't there to help him dress. Determined to prove that he could dress himself, he approached his wardrobe and searched among the clothing for something suitable. He chose dark birches, clean boots and his red jacket that Merlin seamed to favour on him. Then he got to dressing. It took him a lot longer than when Merlin helped. Once he was dressed, Arthur made his way down to the courtyard to await the visiting nobles. With him stood Morgana and some of his knights. His parents waited in the great hall for their children to escort the Emrys' inside.

Arthur was a ball of nerves. How was he to look these people in the eye and tell them that he had stopped looking for their son? To tell a mother that he didn't think her child could be found? To tell a father that he had given up on his heir? Too soon, the royal party from Ealdor arrived. The royal carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the castle steps and a servant boy rushed to open the door.

First to emerge was King Balinor. He was a tall well built man with long black hair and rough looking beard that made him look imposing. His actions, however, were very gentle as he turned and offered his hand to his wife when she was descending the carriage. Queen Hunith looked the opposite of her husband. She had a kind face and smile.

Arthur and Morgana approached the two royals and bowed.

"Welcome to Camelot," Arthur greeted. "I hope your trip was uneventful."

"It was, Thank you Prince Arthur." The king answered. "Princess Morgana, you are looking lovely."

"Thank you your majesty." Morgana bowed her head.

"You look handsome too Arthur." The Queen smiled at the blond. "I think you would make great friends with my son." Arthur smiled awkwardly. What could he say to that?

"Please," Morgana intervened before Arthur could embarrass himself. "You must be tiered. Let us escort you inside." And with that they entered the castle and headed for the great hall where Arthur's parents awaited.

Once inside the hall, Arthur made the formal introductions between the two royal elders, though it was useless in his opinion, as the four already knew each other. Everything progressed rather smoothly after that… until a certain manservant entered the great hall.

Arthur noticed Merlin as soon as the younger boy entered through a servant door. He would always notice Merlin. He smiled to himself as the warlock disappeared behind some of the gathered crowed, no doubt to make his way to the front to stand behind Arthur.

Merlin however never made it to Arthur, as an Ealdorian servant stopped him. Nothing went smoothly after that.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Merlin reached the castle in high sprits and hardly paid any attention to his surroundings; if he had maybe he would have recognized the Ealdor banners and carriages. He whistled as he dumped the picnic in the kitchen and the pillows and blankets Arthur had lain on the ground for them to sit on in the laundry room.

When he made his way to the main corridor, he was greeted by the hustle and bustle of the Camelotian servants that were preparing the castle for the sudden visitors. Curious, Merlin stopped a young servant girl with arms full of white sheets.

"Sara, who are the visitors?" He asked the girl.

"I don't know," Sara replied sounding out of breath. "They suddenly announced their arrival. We have so much to do!" With that she scurried of to do what ever she was planning to do with all those sheets.

Merlin had planned to go back to his room and continue his reading; it was still his day off after all. But curiosity won and he made his way to the great hall. The young prince had only ever met a handful of royals, his own family and the Pendragons. As a prince he should have met them all.

Once he neared the hall, he approached a side door that only servants used. When he entered he sought Arthur's gaze, before dropping his head and making his way to the front behind all the crowed gathered. He was yet to see the visiting royals.

As he made his way to the front he bumped into some one. A servant. Not just any servant, but his own servant. A servant from Ealdor. Will.

The two young men stared at each other in shock, not having expected to see the other there. It also took a while for Merlin to realise that the presence of Will meant that the visiting royals were his own parents.

As soon as Merlin realised that, Will must have recovered from his shock.

"Mer-" The Runaway Prince quickly placed his hand over the mouth of the other boy to silence him but it was two late, the almost quite hall that was listening to the exchange of the royals had heard the cry of the servant.

Merlin looked up to only notice that everyone was starring at them. His gaze first went to Arthur, who looked at him with surprise, annoyance and affection. Then he looked to Gaius, Lancelot and Gwaine, who looked at him with worry and exasperation. Following them his eyes landed on Arthur's family who looked at him with curiosity.

Finally his wondering eyes slowly went to his parents who stood in the middle of the hall and looked at him with identical looks of shock. After holding their gaze for a little while, Merlin looked back at Will, whom his hand was still silencing.

He let go of the boy and gave a nervous quite laugh, and a mumbled apology with his head down. He could no longer look anyone in the eyes, and the pressure of the stare of the multiple people was becoming too much.

"Merlin!" Arthur hissed, clearly about to ask him what he was doing. But as if the sound of his name was a counter spell the silence of the hall was broke by a loud screech the likes of which Merlin had never heard before.

"MERLIN!" His Mother shouted and ran to him, before hugging him so hard Merlin stopped breathing for a few short seconds. Once she had let him go, his Father appeared in her place and placed a hand on his shoulder which he squeezed much like Uther does with Arthur. When he let go, Merlin looked up through his lashes at the two elder Emrys' before bowing to each in turn as he greeted them. "Mother, Father."

His words were followed by a silence much more profound than the one before. People even seamed to be holding in their breath. Suddenly wanting to look at Arthur, Merlin tilted his head to look in between his parents to the Prince of Camelot.

The blond was stood next to his sister, whom had her hand on his shoulder. Arthur had his head bowed and starring at the floor. Merlin willed him to raise his heads to look at up at him but he never did.

As much as he had missed his parents, Merlin longed to walk passed them and place his hand on Arthur's face to make the blond look at him. But he didn't.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Arthur did not know what to think. He was utterly confused and his brain refused to accept the concept that Merlin was the Emrys Prince, like the scene that was playing in front of him suggested. Merlin would have said that's because it was all to complicated for his brain to comprehend.

Arthur mentally shook himself, he didn't want to think about Merlin the servant right now, not when Merlin the Prince was in front of him. Because Merlin the servant was a liar, and the presence of Merlin the Prince proved that.

The blond Prince rubbed his temple, his head hurt. So did his heart. He had thought he'd known Merlin, but clearly he hadn't.

It wasn't long after that, when everyone was dismissed and Arthur made a hasty retreat to his own chambers. Morgana had followed him and after trying to talk to him with no success, she left him in peace.

He doesn't know how long he sat there on his desk chair, staring out the window and the quickly approaching evening trying to think of nothing, when finally Merlin came to see him.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Merlin was dragged to a chamber in the guest quarters, where he was unceremoniously stripped of his peasant clothing and a quite Will had produced some of his princely cloth from somewhere and had forced them on him.

Not long after Merlin was dressed his parents had came in, only this time they had come to release their anger on him.

"You had ran away, and lived here as a servant!" his father had raged. "What on this green earth had possessed you to do something like that?"

Merlin only looked down at his now expensive boots, where he sat on edge of the comfortable bed. He had seen this anger on his father before a few times, like when he had gone riding his father's war horse when he was five and he had fallen. After making sure he was all right his father had shouted much the same way. Or like the time he had climbed the tallest tower back home from the outside and his foot had slipped and only by the strength of his magic he had survived.

This was the anger that told Merlin he had really scared his father.

And it was his quietly sobbing mother who sat next to him and refused to let go of his hand that he knew he had done the same to her.

So Merlin sat quietly, with his head down and let his father's anger and his mothers sobs wash over him.

Not long after his parents had gone, did Nimueh come to see him. She didn't say anything, which made it all the more unbearable.

After she had gone did Lancelot, Gwaine and Mordred come to see him. The two brothers were quite and subdued. Merlin cringed in guilt, knowing that it was the result of their father's anger at them for keeping his secret.

When everyone had gone, Merlin finally let himself do what he had wanted to do all day, and went to see Arthur.

MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA

Merlin actually knocked before he entered, which is something he had never done when he was a servant. Arthur almost snorted out loud, trust Merlin to be disrespectful as a servant and respectful as Arthur's equal.

When Merlin came in Arthur gave him a once over and saw the expensive clothing that he wore now, and he had to look away for one, the younger boy looked too good in his new attire, and two he looked like a different person to Arthur's Merlin.

"Hi…" Well he still sounded like Merlin at least. Arthur just looked down, not knowing how to answer that awkward greeting. "Can we talk?"

Arthur still didn't say anything but silently indicated the chair opposite his desk, one where servant Merlin had occupied on a number of occasions. The Prince Merlin slowly and hesitantly walked over and sat on the chair and then an uncomfortable silence followed, neither boy knowing where to begin. Finally Arthur couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Well?" He almost snapped sounding harsh to his own ears. Merlin jumped at the sound. "What did you want to talk about?" Merlin took a moment to respond, a long enough moment that Arthur nearly snapped again.

"I wanted to explain everything." The brunet said simply.

"Explain why you lied to me?" a cringe was the answer to that. "I thought…" Arthur stopped there not able to say what he had thought, that they were friends? That they were more than friends?

"Arthur I wanted to tell you!" Merlin pleaded. "Earlier today when I told you I had a secret to share, this was it." Arthur deflated at that, but still…

"I wish you had been the one to tell me, instead of…" instead of finding out like this.

Merlin dropped his head at this.

"Arthur Please…"

"Please what Merlin?" Arthur was suddenly angry. "You ran away from home and came to Camelot and became my servant!" the older boy stood up suddenly. "We went out on a search for you! I confided in you regarding my guilt for abandoning the search! And what? All the while you were laughing behind my back for my stupidity!"

"NO!" Merlin all but sobbed out. "No, of course not! I wanted to tell you the truth so badly when I saw how upset you were over the matter."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I was scared Arthur!" Merlin was practically crying now, and as much as he hated to admit it the sight made Arthur even more upset.

"Scared of what?" the blond didn't think he was that scary.

"Scared of being sent back!" Arthur stared at him.

"Is your home so horrible?"

"No, but…" Merlin paused and Arthur mad an impatient noise in his throat, and the younger boy continued. "Do you remember a few weeks ago when it rained heavily for three days and you were stuck inside?" Arthur nodded, that hadn't been fun. "You told me that you hated being stuck indoors. Now imagine if it rains for 16 years! 16 years were you couldn't leave the castle!" Arthur shuddered, he couldn't even imagine. "That was what my life was like Arthur. I didn't even know how my people lived, or what happened in my kingdom from day to day. I just wanted to see it all before I became the Crown Prince and was forced to live the rest of my life in my luxury prison."

Arthur could understand, he really could. He didn't know what he would have done in Merlin's place.

But Right now he just needed some time to come to terms with what he had learned. He needed time to merge the image of the two Merlin's he had in his head in to one. And he told Merlin as such.

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"I just need time to think Merlin, I can't do this right now." Arthur said as he turned away from Merlin.

The younger boy felt as if his whole world had just come crashing around him. He recalled the echo of the happiness he had felt earlier that day when he had found out that he could admit to his feelings for Arthur.

He wished he hadn't been able to do that now. He wished Arthur hadn't confessed anything now. Maybe then it wouldn't have hurt so much.

"I understand." He whispered brokenly. "I'll leave you in peace." With that he left the blonde before he could say anything in response and all but dashed back to his new chambers, were a ever so quite Will was waiting for him.

Merlin didn't even try to confront his manservant. He felt like what ever he did from now on could never possibly make up for what he had put his friends and family through. What right did he have to ask for their forgiveness?

Will quietly helped him dress for the dinner that he was to attend in the hall with the other royals and some of the knights from the two kingdoms.

He gulped; he was not looking forward to this dinner at all.

End of Chapter!

Hope you all enjoyed, and again sorry for the long delay.

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