A/N: I keep getting alerts in my inbox about people subscribing or favoriting to Common Knowledge and Unexpected Knowledge, I thought I'd better get cracking on the next oneshot in this little collection. It's a bit more serious and less humorous than the first two, but I think I stitched it together nicely (I hope I did). So here you go, Merlin readers: this is the third Knowledge fic, your Christmas present from me. Merry Christmas!

No one was sure who had first instigated the idea, but it spread through Camelot like wildfire in the days after the ban on magic was officially repealed by King Arthur. The rumour was that the king, now that he had allowed magic back into the kingdom, intended to select an official Court Sorcerer — a position which had been briefly filled during Uther's reign before the Great Purge had done away with it. Gossip on the streets was rife with speculation about whether or not this was truth; and later, when King Arthur confirmed that it was, idle chatter turned to genuine conjecture about who would be chosen as Court Sorcerer.

The swirling anticipation was strongest in the capitol of the kingdom, where Camelot's citizens watched the comings and goings of the castle closely —particularly the druids and other magic-users who visited regularly in order to foster a spirit of cooperation and diplomacy to ease the transition of welcoming magic again — in an effort to discover who might be chosen for the new post. Some, however, were of the opinion that the king already knew who would be his Court Sorcerer.

"He must already have someone in mind," declared Bregal, a baker in the Lower Town. "He would not have announced his attention to appoint a Court Sorcerer otherwise."

"Nay," objected Bregal's current customer, a merchant named Sigbert. "The king has only recently made overtures to the magical populace — he cannot be on such good terms with any particular sorcerer that he would choose him for the job."

"Or her," Clarisse, Bregal's outspoken wife, interjected. Both Bregal and Sigbert looked at her askance.

"As if the king would choose a woman!" Sigbert's tone made it clear he thought the very idea was laughable.

"Such an important position during this time, when the waters are still settling, must be held by a man who can remain strong under the pressures which will weigh upon him," agreed Bregal.

"Women are just as capable as men," Clarisse sniffed. "Our dear Queen is a wonderful example."

A passerby who happened to overhear their conversation chose that moment to add her own two cents in. "I say the king will choose a druid. The druids have always been peaceful, and there is no better way to cement Camelot's relationship with them than by choosing one of their own for such an honour."

"The druids are not the only sorcerers in existence," Sigbert pointed out. "And while they are cordial enough to the king, their ultimate loyalties lie with the one they call Emrys."

"Who?" questioned Clarisse.

"Ah." Sigbert smiled knowingly. Since he travelled frequently to conduct his business, he had much more opportunity to hear such tales and folklore than his current companions, who resided mostly in Camelot's capitol. Quite obviously, none of them had heard of Emrys before — so Sigbert took it upon himself to enlighten them. "The druids have a prophecy of a mighty sorcerer — a warlock, they call him — named Emrys. According to their legend, this Emrys is the most powerful magic-user who will ever walk the earth. All the druids have sworn to serve him when he arrives."

"And has he?" asked Bregal.

Sigbert shrugged. "If he has, the druids have kept mighty quiet about it. There have been whispers that he's been around, but I don't believe it's possible such a powerful sorcerer could have arrived without some sort of magical celebration — let alone remain hidden all this while."

By this time a fifth person had arrived at the baker's shop, and he, like everyone else in Camelot, was extremely interested in the topic of the would-be Court Sorcerer.

"That's a fascinating story, mate," he said to Sigbert. "There anything else in the legend?"

"Oh, undoubtedly." Sigbert looked gratified that the passing stranger found his tale so intriguing — he attributed it to his skill at storytelling. "However, I'm afraid only the druids are privy to that. But it's something to think about, isn't it?"

"Indeed," agreed the stranger, nodding solemnly.

Sigbert could not have known it, but the very next day Emrys' name was introduced to King Arthur, courtesy of one of the druids' representatives in court. After a short discussion with Camelot's monarch regarding his tribe's status and allegiance, the druid smiled with sincere delight and bowed with a flourish.

"Your Majesty, on behalf of my entire tribe, I wish to convey that we will be forever loyal to Emrys."

Arthur frowned at the unfamiliar name. "Brother Killian, I'm afraid the name is not known to me. Who is Emrys?"

The druid blinked in confusion for a moment, before he realised that Emrys must not yet have revealed himself to the missing a beat, Killian replied to Arthur, "Emrys is our prophesied leader, the most powerful warlock who will ever live. All druids are loyal to him, but he is loyal to you, King Arthur."

Arthur was perplexed. "But who is he?" he pressed. "And why hasn't he come to make his presence known?"

"His reasons are his own," Killian responded. "He will make himself known to you when the time is right, but until then, know that he is your friend and protector."

With another bow, Killian left the throne room, leaving Arthur bemused and a little concerned. As the guards closed the doors to indicate the end of court for the day, he turned to Sir Leon and wondered out loud, "Should I be worried?"

"I'm not sure, Sire," Leon said carefully. "This Emrys sounds formidable, but Killian assured us he is loyal to you, and he has no reason to lie."

"Have you ever heard of him before?"

Leon shook his head apologetically. "No, Sire."

"I have," Gwaine spoke up from Arthur's opposite side, causing the king to turn to him. "I overheard a merchant telling the baker about a druidic legend yesterday — it was about Emrys."

"And?" Arthur prompted.

"Well, the merchant didn't know anymore than what Killian just told us — that Emrys is as powerful as all get-out and that the druids have been waiting for him for years."

"That's very helpful, Gwaine," Arthur complained. Gwaine just shrugged.

"Princess, I know next to nothing about the druids. You know who you should ask? Merlin." He looked around and seemed to register for the first time the distinct lack of the dark-haired sorcerer. "Speaking of which, where is Merlin?"

"Hiding," Arthur growled. "He's been avoiding me all day."

"Why?" Gwaine demanded at once. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Arthur insisted. "He's just nervous about tomorrow — acting like a complete girl about it, of course — and I didn't have time to go looking for him this morning."

Gwaine gave Arthur a look. "Well, you're free now, aren't you?"

Arthur smirked. "So I am."

"Merlin!" called Arthur as he barged into Gaius's chambers looking for his manservant (Gaius, thankfully, was not there). "Merlin, I know you're here!"

"Go away," came a muffled voice from the room at the top of the stairs. "Can't a warlock suffer a nervous breakdown in peace?"

"Idiot, the ceremony's not even till tomorrow." Arthur hauled himself up the stairs and banged open the door to Merlin's room, noting with some satisfaction that the sorcerer had not magicked it locked against him. Merlin was sitting on his tiny bed, scowling fiercely at Arthur.

"In less than twenty-four hours, I'm going to be outed as a sorcerer in front of all Camelot. Excuse me for being anxious."

"You're being ridiculous," scoffed Arthur. "The ban was lifted over a month ago. The people have come to accept that magic is as natural as a sword or a shield — they're not going to take up pitchforks and call for you to be burned at the stake."

Merlin cringed. "Oh, thanks so much for that reassuring image." His tone was sarcasm incarnate.

Pretending he didn't notice, Arthur continued, "Besides, if anyone has a problem with you being my Court Sorcerer, they'll have to take it up not just with me, but the Round Table as well. I can assure you that Gwaine and Lancelot would not stand idly by while some idiot heaps verbal abuse on you."

"Really?" said Merlin with a hint of a mischievous smile. "That's funny, I was under the impression that they do that a lot." He smirked at Arthur, who took several seconds to realise that he was the idiot Gwaine and Lancelot allowed to heap verbal abuse on Merlin — at which point he frowned heavily at his soon-to-be Court Sorcerer.

"All-powerful warlock," Merlin reminded him, in case Arthur got it into his head to do anything rash.

Arthur, however, had the last laugh. "Yes, Merlin, you're an all-powerful warlock…who's quivering in his shoes at the mere thought of tomorrow's ceremony."

Merlin's grin was wiped off his face.

"Why do you call yourself a warlock, anyway?" asked Arthur. "I thought the general term was 'sorcerer'."

"It is," Merlin confirmed. "A warlock is a bit more than a sorcerer, though."

"How so?"

"Warlocks are sorcerers who are born with magic."

Arthur took a moment to process that. "So, you…"

"Yes. I was born with my magic, which makes me a warlock. All warlocks are sorcerers, but not all sorcerers are warlocks. In fact, most of them aren't — being born with magic is very rare."

"I didn't even know that was possible," admitted Arthur. He was taking this new information remarkably well — but then again, he'd had over four years to get used to the idea of Merlin being magic.

"Like I said, it's very rare. Maybe only one out of every thousand sorcerers was born with their magic. Besides myself, I know of only one case."

"Who?" Arthur inquired.

"Um…" Merlin hesitated. "Morgana," he responded quietly.

There was a short, uncomfortable silence as Arthur recalled the sister who had betrayed him. Merlin looked guilty, but after several seconds Arthur simply shrugged and changed the subject.

"Well, warlock or sorcerer or whatever you are, I have a list of chores I need you to do…"

Merlin looked indignant as Arthur produced a piece of parchment. "Chores?" he exclaimed.

Arthur seemed genuinely surprised. "Yes, Merlin, chores. You're still my manservant until tomorrow, and anyway, it'll give you something to do — maybe then you'll stop worrying about tomorrow's ceremony and I won't have to listen to you whining for the rest of the day."

"Arthur, from tomorrow onwards I'll be Camelot's Court Sorcerer — I'd like to spend my last day as just Merlin without having to do your laundry or polish your armour, thank you very much."

"You're still whining," Arthur noted with some exasperation. "Honestly, Merlin, it's not like you couldn't do it all with a snap of your fingers. Here's the list. I'll see you at dinner." He extended the parchment to Merlin, who stared at it disbelievingly until he realised Arthur was serious. With a derisive snort, Merlin snatched the list of chores from Arthur.

"Prat," he muttered as he moved to carry out his instructions.

"Oh, Merlin, one more thing."

Merlin turned, a deceptively mild expression on his face.

"Who's Emrys?"

Merlin paled, staring slack-jawed at Arthur — who looked confused by his reaction — while he racked his brains for a way out of the situation.

It had been over two months since he'd come clean about his magic (only to find that the entire Round Table already knew – Merlin was still rather disgruntled by that fact) and explained what he'd been doing with it since arriving in Camelot. However, he still hadn't gotten around to telling his friends that he was Emrys, the most powerful warlock in existence, or that Arthur was the Once and Future King, or about the prophecies, or about…well, there were still things — mostly related to his and Arthur's shared destiny – he hadn't told them. Gaius had been urging him — quite strongly, as a matter of fact — to give them the full story for weeks, and Merlin was sincerely thankful that the old physician was too principled to spill the secrets himself.

With some effort, Merlin managed to get his tongue working. "What are you…I mean, er…where did you hear that name?"

"A druid mentioned it to day in court. He declared that he and his tribe would be forever loyal to Emrys, whoever he is. And apparently, Emrys is loyal to me — but I don't even know the man. I'm still not entirely certain that I'm comfortable with this information."

Merlin inwardly groaned. The druids had been visiting the castle periodically to meet with Arthur (and in some cases, Merlin) since the ban was lifted, but it had not occurred to Merlin that one of them would inadvertently let his druidic name slip — thus alerting Arthur that there was more to his manservant that he didn't know.

However, it didn't seem as though Arthur suspected him of being Emrys — it was a bit of a stretch, after all.

On the other hand, he obviously thought that Merlin knew something about Emrys, or he wouldn't be asking.

If Merlin had been thinking rationally, he would have taken this chance to admit to Arthur that he was still keeping a few secrets the king didn't know about (and Arthur thinks I'm such a terrible secret-keeper, ha!) and come clean about being Emrys. However, he was very reluctant to reveal this part of himself, because it would mean explaining about the prophecies, and he wasn't sure he wanted Arthur to know about that just yet. Moreover, he was already extremely anxious about tomorrow, and he really didn't want to have to deal with this kind of revelation the day before Arthur made him Court Sorcerer.

"Oh, yeah, Emrys…I might've heard the name…" Merlin deliberately pretended not to notice Arthur's intent expression and glanced at his (fairly short) list of chores. "Don't worry about him, Arthur. I'll tell you more about him later, but for now…" He gave the parchment a little shake. "Chores, you know," he said, daring to sound apologetic. "Last day as your manservant, and all that…see you tonight!"

With that, Merlin rushed out the door, leaving Arthur scowling behind him — and more than a little curious as well.

Much as Merlin would have rather mucked out the stables than admit it, doing Arthur's list of chores did go some way towards taking his mind off the ceremony tomorrow. Unfortunately, the manual labour did nothing to ease his sense of apprehension about the Emrys issue. He knew that he would soon have to tell Arthur about their joint destinies, but — much like his feelings about telling Arthur about his magic — he was hoping to put it off for as long as possible. While the reveal of his magic had gone better than he could have hoped for, he had no idea how the knights would react to him being essentially the king of the druids. Would they look at him differently? Would they fear him? Would they be in too much awe of him to act normally around him? And what about Arthur? He had been very understanding about Merlin's lies so far, but how many could he accept? How many secrets could one friendship take before it broke?

Merlin was self-aware enough to realise that it wasn't so much Emrys he was reluctant for Arthur to know about as it was the prophecies. Merlin himself had to admit that he would not have accepted his fate as Arthur's guardian if it were not for their shared destiny — he hadn't liked or trusted Arthur at all at first. If — when — Arthur found out that Merlin had had to be ordered by destiny in the form of a dragon to be his friend, how would he not doubt Merlin's friendship? The problem about Emrys wasn't so much that it painted Merlin in a vastly different light, but that it was linked so closely to the prophecies of the Once and Future King that he would have to include them in any explanation of who and what Emrys was.

Of course, before he could deal with any of that, he had to weather through the storm that would no doubt erupt when he was declared Court Sorcerer tomorrow.

"Just get through tomorrow, Merlin," he muttered to himself as he polished Arthur's armour a bit harder than was necessary. "Just get through tomorrow first, then you can figure out how to deal with Emrys."

"Talking about yourself in third person?" Lancelot stood at the doorway, smiling in amusement at Merlin's mutterings. "I thought that was more Gwaine's style." He sauntered over to Merlin. "Everything all right?"

"Everything's fine," the warlock replied automatically. "I'm just nervous about tomorrow."

"Don't be, Merlin." Lancelot clapped a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be fine. I know it's scary now, but come tomorrow you won't have to hide anymore — from anyone. Won't that be a relief? No more secrets."

Though he smiled, inside Merlin cracked a bit more.

If only he knew…

Merlin was wrong. His appointment as Court Sorcerer didn't create a storm — it created a hurricane.

It started normally enough. Arthur stood on the balcony with Gwen and thanked the people for supporting the abolishment of the ban and spoke of his hopes for a new era of peace and coexistence.

"In accordance with this vision," he said then, "I have decided to reinstate the position of Court Sorcerer; and while I know that many of you have had many ideas about whom I would choose, there was only ever one man whom I could have considered. This man is the one who taught me that magic can be used for good. He is my friend and my brother, and I trust him with my life. People of Camelot, I give you your Court Sorcerer, Merlin of Ealdor!"

Trembling from head to toe, Merlin gingerly stepped out onto the balcony, to a thoroughly stunned audience. The silence was so complete he could literally hear a pin drop.

This was a bad idea.

Then the murmurings started.

"The king's manservant?"

"MERLIN?"

"…been lying all this time…"

"A sorcerer close to the king!"

"…could have killed him any time…"

Panicked, Merlin looked to Arthur, who opened his mouth to explain; but before the king could get a word out, a shrill, hysterical laugh rose above the noise of the crowd, and Merlin's blood froze.

"Oh, this is precious!"

Arthur's hand, and those of his knights, all went for their swords as a woman in the audience threw back her hood to reveal Morgana's face. The citizens couldn't get away from her fast enough; they parted like the Red Sea (if the tales from the south were to be believed) around her, giving her a wide berth of space.

"Morgana," Arthur hissed.

"Hello, brother dear," she said mockingly.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded furiously. Morgana's lip curled into a smirk.

"You surely didn't think I wasn't keeping an eye on Camelot's affairs, did you? I'll admit I was surprised when you lifted the ban on magic — I never would have expected that from you — but when you declared your intention to appoint a Court Sorcerer…well, that I had to see for myself. I was curious to see which sorcerer you trusted enough to make part of your court — and who I would have to kill to remove your protection."

Merlin inhaled sharply. Morgana's eyes ghosted towards him challengingly.

"And of course it was Merlin. Merlin, a sorcerer!" Morgana looked genuinely amused. "I can't say I'm not shocked, Merlin — but it does explain a lot of things." Her eyes hardened as her amusement gave way to anger. "It also makes your betrayal so much worse."

Merlin closed his eyes in horror, but jerked them open again when he heard Gwen defend him.

"The only traitor here is you, Morgana." The queen's voice was firm with conviction.

Morgana tittered with glee. "My, my, Merlin, you're still keeping secrets? Even after Arthur so graciously accepted your magic? How many lies do you think you can tell before Arthur realises he can't trust anything you say?"

Arthur glanced at Merlin, who was holding himself rigidly. "Merlin, what's she talking about?"

"I'm sorry, Arthur, I'm so sorry…"

A sense of dread began knotting in Arthur's stomach. "Merlin?"

"Go on, Merlin, tell him," said Morgana. "Tell him how you lied to me, how you tried to kill me, how you did everything you could to leave me alone in the dark." Her voice rose to a shout as she delivered her final barb. "Tell him how you made me what I am."

Merlin was beginning to feel oddly detached, yet connected to what was going on; everything was clearer and yet muted at the same time. Time appeared to slow, and it was as if he was suddenly capable of deep introspection while still keeping up perfectly with what was happening. His mind, unbidden, started providing verbal insight on the different elements of the situation.

"She's insane," Gwaine grunted. He clearly doesn't believe anything Morgana's saying.

Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin caught Percival nodding in silent agreement, but Leon and Elyan looked more uncertain. They can't help wondering what else I've hidden from them.

A smaller mind-voice assured him, They still trust me, though.

Lancelot was biting his lip — concerned for his friend, Merlin's instinct told him. Gaius wasn't on the balcony, but Merlin knew what he would be thinking.

I told you so. Gaius had been insisting for months that Merlin's remaining secrets would only drive a wedge between him and the rest of the Round Table.

Arthur demanded, "Merlin, aren't you going to defend yourself against these slanderous lies?"

Merlin's mind brutally observed, He doesn't know they're nothing but the truth.

Gwen was looking at him knowingly and sympathetically. She knows I still have secrets, but she also knows who I am.

Morgana — obviously taking delight in the upheaval she's causing — said, "I think you'll find, Arthur, that Merlin is the one who's been lying."

Not lying, no. Not since the day I told Arthur.

But I've been withholding information.

"…apparently, Emrys is loyal to me."

Yes. Yes, I am.

"I don't even know the man."

Yes, you do, Arthur. Or rather, you will.

With a sudden clarity, Merlin realised that it was indeed time to let go of all his secrets. Arthur would understand — he'd already understood so much. And if Arthur accepted him, the knights would too.

Merlin didn't know why he'd been so afraid of this moment.

This whole ceremony was supposed to reveal the truth, after all.

Merlin felt like his little epiphany had taken at least a few minutes, but he knew it had been almost instantaneous in real time. No one could possibly know that he'd just done what felt like the equivalent of half an hour's thinking before he declared firmly, "No."

Everyone's attention turned to him. Morgana's eyes glittered.

"No?" she repeated. The challenge in her tone stood out like spikes on a mace.

"No," Merlin said again. "I never lied."

Morgana snorted derisively. "Come now, Merlin, even you can't expect Arthur to believe…"

"I have never lied," Merlin repeated clearly, meeting Arthur's confused eyes. "I withheld the truth about my magic, about my destiny, about Emrys —" Arthur sucked in a sharp breath and Morgana's eyes widened. "— but I have never lied about my friendship, my faith, or my loyalty." Merlin cast his gaze over each of the knights on the balcony, and over Gwen, before he looked back at Arthur. "This I swear, no matter what else I've kept from you."

Arthur nodded. He understood, even if he obviously wasn't happy to hear that Merlin had kept even more secrets from him.

Morgana scowled. "Well, Merlin, I hope you've said all you need to say, because today is the day I rid myself of you. Ástríce!"

A blazing bolt of energy shot its way towards Merlin; he swept it into nothing without a word.

"A friend told me that I wouldn't have to hide anymore after today," said Merlin. Behind him, Lancelot smiled. "He was right. Leave now, Morgana, and I won't have to kill you."

Though shaken by how easily Merlin had negated her magical attack, Morgana scoffed. "I know who will kill me, Merlin, and you are not the one who will have that honour." Confident enough in that knowledge, she went on the offensive again. "Líget ácwele!"

Lightning arced from what was supposed to be a sunny sky, directed by Morgana's finger towards Merlin.

"Merlin!"

Arthur and the knights cried out and Gwen screamed as the deadly bolt slammed into Merlin. Morgana looked supremely pleased with herself.

But when the bright flash faded, Merlin was still standing, apparently unharmed, his eyes blazing power. Merlin's friends exhaled in disbelief as Morgana's expression became one of pure terror.

"You can't be…" she whispered.

"I didn't ask to be the one who will kill you, Morgana, but I will if I have to," said Merlin, and everyone could tell he meant every word. "Camelot is under my protection, and I will defend it to my last breath."

Morgana's eyes narrowed. "You're powerful, Merlin, but you won't kill me so easily."

"Don't test me." He sounded deadly.

"Oh, I will." The knowledge of who her enemy really was seemed to have injected Morgana with some assurance that she could one day defeat him. "But not today." She smirked. "Today is yours, Emrys. Tomorrow is a different matter." In a flash of darkness, she disappeared.

Slowly, Merlin turned to face his friends. Leon's eyes were narrowed, Elyan was blinking, and Percival was stoic. Gwaine looked like he wanted to press for details immediately, but Lancelot frowned to deter him. Gwen was biting the inside of her cheek in anxiety.

As for Arthur, his jaw was locked and his eyes were stormy. When Merlin reluctantly met his gaze, Arthur jerked his head hard towards the castle before promptly turning on his heel and striding inside. Merlin exhaled, casting a pleading glance at his other friends before following, leaving Gwen to wrap up the official proceedings outside.

Arthur and Merlin didn't say a word to each other during the walk to the former's study. Arthur didn't even glance behind him to check if Merlin was following. Only when he had closed and locked the door behind Merlin did the king finally turn to face him again.

"Explain. Now."

Haltingly, Merlin told him about the prophecies of the Once and Future King and the warlock Emrys and the destiny that awaited both of them. Arthur listened to it all with a blank face, never interrupting. When Merlin finished, he stared at him for so long the warlock began to wonder if he hadn't understood after all.

"What are you to the druids, Merlin?" Arthur asked finally.

"Er, I'm not sure, exactly…they've never really explained…but I think…I'm sort of…their king." Merlin looked uncomfortable with the idea, and Arthur had to snort at how very like him that was. "Or, as close to a king as they could have, I suppose. The hierarchy's a bit different."

"So all the times you've said you're an all-powerful warlock, you actually mean it." There was a hint of awe in Arthur's tone now, and Merlin sighed.

"Yes. Sort of. I'm not omnipotent; there's things I can't do, and some I won't…but basically, yeah."

"I see." Arthur's voice now returned to some semblance of normal. "Any reason you didn't tell me about any of this earlier?"

"I was scared," Merlin admitted. "Like when I told you about my magic — I didn't want you to see me differently. If I told you about Emrys I would have to tell you about the prophecies as well, and I didn't want…I was afraid you'd think I was only with you because of destiny."

"You're an idiot, Merlin."

Merlin blinked. "I know."

"No, I don't think you do," disagreed Arthur. "I don't just mean you're an idiot, with a capital I — I mean you're the biggest moron I've ever met in my life. All-powerful warlock or not, it doesn't change the fact that you are a top-notch, world-class, only-one-of-your-kind IDIOT."

"Right, I get it, thanks." Now that he was assured Arthur still considered him a friend, Merlin was decidedly surly about how insulting he was being. Arthur scoffed.

"If you'll stop behaving like a complete girl, I'll explain what I mean."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Go on, then."

"Merlin, I kept your magic secret for years. I defied my father. I protected you. I waited for you to tell me. I lifted the ban for you. Do you really think I'd have done all that if I didn't have complete faith in you?"

"Er…" When put that way…

"Honestly Merlin, I really don't know what else I have to do to get it through your thick skull that I know your friendship is true. I know you've kept secrets, and I know you've lied to me — but I didn't need you telling me that you never lied about your loyalty to me. I know, Merlin. Whatever you tell me about prophecies or destiny or whatever damn else you're still keeping from me — will not change that."

Merlin stared at him, mouth agape. Arthur exhaled.

"And it won't change for the knights, either. Or for Gwen, or for Gaius. We know you, Merlin." He shook his head. "You have so much faith and trust in others…it's high time you learned that there are people who have that same level of faith and trust in you, and that nothing you could tell us will change that. I don't think you know that, sometimes."

"I do now." Merlin's voice was strangely thick.

"I should bloody well hope so."

Merlin smiled then, bright and sunny and totally goofy. "Arthur…thank you." Arthur punched him.

"Don't mention it. Trust is a two-way street, Merlin. Remember that."

Merlin nodded, still smiling.

"And while we're on the topic, is there anything else you've been keeping from us?"

Merlin grinned. "Oh, just one or two things," he said lightly. Arthur gazed at him suspiciously.

"Like what?"

"Well, Morgana wasn't entirely lying when she accused me of betraying her…"

"What?"

"And I don't think I've mentioned the baby dragon to you before…"

"Good grief, Merlin!"

Merlin paused and looked at Arthur. "I've been keeping a lot of secrets for a long time, Arthur," he said seriously. "Even though I want to tell you, it's going to take time for me to get through all of them."

Arthur sighed, but nodded. "All right." He opened the door. "Now come on, Merlin — I think you owe the others at least an explanation of Emrys today, if nothing else. I think the Round Table deserves to know what their Court Sorcerer can really do, don't you?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, but dutifully followed Arthur out.

He still had secrets, yes — it was inevitable after so long in hiding — but he no longer feared telling his friends about any of them, because he knew he had nothing to be afraid of. He understood now that they believed in him just as much as he believed in them; that was extraordinary knowledge indeed.

A/N: It's customary to exchange gifts during Christmas. I'll take mine in reviews, thanks =)