What's this? Two updates in one day? And maybe more to come - I'm on a writing roll today.

This chapter was unplanned, but here it is out of popular demand.

Enjoy!

"Arthur?"
Merlin's voice made Arthur jump, and his quill skidded across the parchment.
"Merlin," Arthur answered. "I wasn't expecting you for another couple of days."
"Sorry." Merlin replied. He looked as awkward as Arthur felt, standing in the doorway.
"Well, come in. There's no point in you just hovering over there." Merlin took a whole three steps into the room. He opened his mouthC closed it again, looked down, looked back up at Arthur and finally said:
"Are you ready yet?"

"Merlin?" Arthur asked as he crept into Gauis's chambers. Merlin and Gauis were eating at their table, and both startled when Arthur came in.
A servant had told Arthur that Merlin was awake soon after his talk with the knights, but he hadn't had the courage to confront him until this morning.
"Arthur," Merlin replied, placing his spoon down into his bowl. Judging by the way he moved, the injury still hurt.
"Good morning sire," Gauis said.
"We need to talk," Arthur stated. Merlin nervously looked at Gauis.
"I would agree, sire," Gauis said. "You two have a lot to talk about." Merlin gave Gauis a look, Gauis replied with a look, and for a couple of seconds Arthur just stood there awkwardly.
"Fine." Merlin grumbled.
"I will be on my rounds," Gauis stated. "I expect you two will remain civil." Gauis gave Arthur a respectful nod, but Arthur understood the undertone.
With another look at Merlin, Gauis grabbed his bag and went to his rounds. Awkward silence followed.
"You should know that I promised Gwaine I would hear you out before doing anything else," Arthur started.
"That's good to hear," Merlin mumbled.
"Would you stop mumbling? In order to hear you out, I actually need to be able to hear what you're saying."
"Sorry." Arthur sighed and sat down at the other end of the table.
"Listen, Merlin, you have been one of the most loyal friends I have ever known. I'm hurt that you didn't trust me, but I understand why you kept it a secret. But I need to know why you did what you did. Will you please do me that one favor?"
Merlin hesitated.
"If it will make you feel better, I can go get Guinevere or Gwaine."
"Do they know?"
"Apparently, they've known for a while. All of the round table knights have."
"What?"
"They admitted it after we got back from the patrols."
"I don't understand. Why wouldn't they tell me they know?"
"They haven't been able to come up with a coherent reason." Merlin looked flabbergasted. It was almost funny, but Arthur knew they had to stay on topic. "But this isn't about them."
"No, it's not."
"When did you start studying magic?"
"Well, it's complicated."
"Not really."
"I've had magic since I was born, but it was uncontrolled and acted up in weird ways. So my mom sent me to study under Gauis."
"So Gauis taught you?"
"Yes. But I've only ever used it for good."
"I know. It's not your loyalty I'm doubting Merlin." Arthur thought for a moment. "How about this: when Gauis clears your injury, you go back home for a couple of weeks while I... process everything. When you come back, I expect the full story start from end."

"I think I am," Arthur replied after thinking for a moment. He stood up from his desk and offered Merlin a seat at his table. Arthur sat down at the head, as usual.
"It started when I was born," Merlin started. "You see, for some people magic isn't a choice. I was born with it, and if I don't use it it tends to act out. Growing up in Ealdor, so close to Camelot, it was scary not being able to control it. My mom did her best to cover it up, but people started getting suspicious. So she wrote to Gauis, asking for his advice. He offered to teach to me to control my powers and to hide them from others. That's how I came to Camelot."

"Sire, may I speak with you?" Gauis asked, after a week of Arthur avoiding him.
"Listen, Gauis, I understand your concern for Merlin, but I need to hear the story from him."
"I understand completely, sire, but there is still something I must say. I fear that I am much of the reason Merlin has kept his secret for so long. I lost many good friends to the purge, and Merlin was like a son to me. To see him have the same fate - the idea scares me. So I ingrained in him that his secret must be protected at all cost."

"When I got to Camelot, I started hearing voices from under the castle. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and found the source: the Great Dragon."
"You knew the Great Dragon?" Arthur asked.
"Unfortunately. He's very annoying."
"Why are you talking as if he's still alive?"
"That is a later part of the story."
"Merlin."
"Anyways..," and Merlin kept talking.

"So you just busted in and admitted to everything?"
"That was stupid if me, I know."

"So Lancelot knew?"
"Yes. It was nice having him here, someone to talk to whenever things got tough."

"He really thinks Mordred's going to kill me?"
"He does."
"And he's convinced you as well?"
"Yes."
"You do realize he's almost half my age, not to mention my most loyal knight?"

"You forged Excalibur?"
"Gwen's dad made it, I just forged it in a dragon's breath."
"You say that like it's a small thing."

"And now you're wondering if you should go back?"
Merlin hadn't wanted to call the dragon to Ealdor, but he needed advice and his mother was stressed after the whole burning the village down thing. So he had.
"You think I should?" Merlin called back.
"I have told you many times, young warlock, that you and Arthur are inseparable. Do you really think your friendship can be broken this easily?"
"You act like this is a small argument. He knows about my magic!"
"In the grand scheme of things many things that seem large are small indeed. You should know this by now."

"So you defeated Cornelius by manipulating him into trying to possess you?"
"Yes."
"Wasn't there a better way? I mean, if you are as.. powerful as you sound, then it would have been awful if he had succeeded."
"I needed him out of Cedric's body for the spell to work. Anyways, after that I think the next thing was..."

"That was stupid. You could've trained her, saved her!"
"I know, trust me. I would have to but everyone kept telling me not to. Eventually the dragon got to my head."

"You switched the potions. Merlin, that was actually kind of smart!"
"I am much more intelligent than you seem to think."

"So I ran in and stopped you." Merlin finished.
"You kept me from killing my father, even knowing everything you did?"
"You killing Uther wouldn't have fixed anything."
"He was a hypocrite."
"And he was the king. A prince killing a king never ends well."

"You know, living like that must of been hard," Gwen wondered out of the nowhere.
"Who living like what?"
"Merlin. Living under Uther." Arthur paused. He had never really thought about that. All of the anti-magic rants, all of the accusations, and all of the times Merlin had helped saved him - that must have been hard.
"Yet he never seemed bitter about it." Gwen stated.
And how many times had Arthur contributed to that? What had Merlin thought of him when he had him arrested? When he admitted to killing those druids? Whenever he had some spill about magic being evil?
Arthur shook his head clear of the questions - they would all be answered when Merlin came.

"We will not talk about this."
"I don't know, that was pretty funny."
"I was dumbed down to an idiot by that enchantment."
"Like I said, pretty funny."

When Merlin finished talking, he looked down at his hands. Arthur just stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Balinor was your father?" Arthur asked. Merlin nodded. "If you're a dragon lord, why couldn't you keep the dragon from attacking those first couple of days?"
"A son only receives the gift of a dragon lord when his father dies." Merlin answered, still not looking at Arthur.
"So you did everything you could to stop the dragon?" Merlin nodded.
"But I still let it loose."
"To prevent even more deaths. If you had not done what you done, Camelot would have been lost that day."
"So many people have died because of it."
"Sometimes we can't avoid death. You did what you needed to do."

"Merlin," his mother asked. "Is there something you're not telling me?"
One look at Hunith's face was enough for Merlin to know he wasn't getting out of this, so he put his bowl down and thought of a way to tell her.
"Arthur knows."
"Arthur knows?"
"He caught me saving him from a fireball."
"Did he seem mad?"
"Not really. Just stunned I guess."
"That's... good."
"Is it?"
"Merlin, you have been nothing but loyal to Arthur. I'm sure he knows that."

"You were stunned by a serket? I thought those were deadly."
"Normally they are. If it wasn't for Kilgarrah..."

"So Elyan was right. You were the one to disperse Morgause's flames."
"Did you think they just exploded on their own?"

"So that's why you were so adamant to go on that quest with me."
"And yet you yelled at me."

"You. Are. Dragoon?"
"Yes."
"I... don't understand. Didn't he kill my father?"
"Arthur, Morgana killed Uther. I did my best to save him, but it backfired."
"No, Dragoon killed him. I watched him!"
"You watched me put a healing spell on Uther that didn't work. I promise you I did my best to save him."
"Why would you?"
"Why would I what?"
"Save him?"
"Because I wanted you to see that magic is good. Change your mind. So I acted rashly and it ended up killing Uther. I'm sorry."

"Did you really need to be saved by Gauis?"
"Oh shut up. I didn't see you going after The Cup of Life."

"How do you think he did it?" Gwaine wondered aloud in the armory after practice.
"Do what?" Elyan asked.
"Tip the Cup of Life. I mean, did he just go in there and magic it down, or did he have to fight Morgause or Morgana, or defeat soldiers?"
The whole armory stopped at that. It was a crazy thought.
The more the knights talked about it, the more Arthur realized how powerful Merlin was. But going up against Morgause?
"And why hadn't Gauis told Merlin about the Cup of Life beforehand?" Leon questioned. "If he knew that Merlin could tip it?"
"Hadn't Gauis said that he hadn't thought of it until we left?" Elyan asked.
When Arthur had caught up with Lancelot, Merlin, and Gauis, it was to find that they had found the key to defeating Morgause and Morgana and tipped the Cup of Life by themselves. Gauis had explained that he hadn't remembered that legend until after they had left, and had only been able to find Lancelot and Merlin, hence why they were the ones to attack the cup.
"Maybe Gauis had already told them," Percival added.
"But why did Gauis need to go?" Elyan questioned. "Merlin is obviously capable of taking care of himself."
"Gauis was probably just making sure that Merlin didn't trip and fall and knock himself out before he got there." Arthur decided.

"The biggest of your mysteries, and you can't tell me anymore than you already have?"
"I told you I just woke up feeling fine. I don't know what happened."
"The touch of the Dorocha is deadly, but you just woke up feeling fine?"
"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me about the necklace?"
"I didn't think it mattered. I didn't think much mattered at that point." And Arthur found himself realizing that Merlin was right.

"Ow! What was that for?"
"Being an idiot and letting yourself being talked into trying to steal a dragon egg!"

Arthur was honestly trying not to laugh.
"You just walked over them?"
"Aging spells are tiring."

"You did what?"
"You were being an idiot and not leaving. If you had stayed the kingdom would have been lost!"

"You need to do this," Hunith said, sensing Merlin's hesitation.
"I know." Merlin replied. "I guess I'm just scared."
"You have nothing to be scared of." Hunith gave Merlin a confident smile. "Now go!"
And so Merlin went.

"And then I was stabbed." Merlin finished.
"You really are an idiot." Arthur concluded. The conversation lapsed into silence.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Well for one I'm not going to be letting you slack off on your chores. I expect my room to be as clean as it is now. But I do believe a raise is in order."
"Really?"
"Of course. You are obviously doing so much more than your duty. Maybe we need to find a new position for you now. Of course, that won't come for a while. Until then I expect you to be in my chambers tomorrow morning with some nice breakfast."
"Yes sire."