For Gwaine life had changed drastically over the past few months. He was no longer a wayward drunkard, instead he held the title of a knight of Camelot. His new life suited him perfectly and although he would never admit it he even held a lot of respect
for King Arthur. Despite having a lot of new friends in the castle there was no one that he respected more than Merlin. Gwaine was sure that without his lanky friend he would never have come to live in Camelot. He would do anything for Merlin if it meant
helping him in any way which is exactly why he was headed towards the stables on a cold morning. Despite a desperate attempt from Merlin to cover it up Gwaine could tell that something had been bothering his friend for a long time, it was there in his
depthless blue eyes every time Arthur dismissed him again. Pain. With each passing month it was becoming more apparent that Merlin was decidedly unhappy, and Gwaine was going to try and do something about it.

The smell of sweet hay and horses greeted him as he pushed open the door to the barn. He quietly scanned the stables in search of his friends only to see no one. He was about to turn around and search somewhere else before a soft sound greeted him. It
was a sort of intricate folk tune being hummed softly from somewhere. Following the noise Gwaine finally found what he was looking for. Merlin was stroking the muzzle of his dark mare and humming a tune to her. It was agreed by all the knights and
even the king himself that Merlins mare, Mavie, was the most spoilt horse in the entire kingdom. Merlin would spend a lot of his free time down in the stable brushing or cleaning her. Anyone could tell that the horse had a strong affection for Merlin
and he was the only one that could get her to calm down after an incident.
"Merlin."
Merlin jumped and Mavies large head turned threateningly towards whoever dared to upset Merlin.
"Woah calm down there the both of you! I only wanted to catch my friend to discuss something."
Merlin sighed heavily and resumed petting the horse. He smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and turned to Gwaine, "and what's that you want to ask Gwaine? I'm not giving you money to go to the tavern if that what you want."
Slightly offended, Gwaine scrunched his nose and glared. "I'm flattered you think so little of me, Merlin. In fact I have a question to ask which I would like you to answer honestly."
Merlin looked slightly nervous at this and his eyes widened in slight panic. He nodded his head as an affirmation to ask away.
"Merlin. What's wrong?"
This apparently was not what he was expecting. His posture loosened and he turned once again to Mavie.
"I don't know what you mean, Gwaine."
He said in a steely tone. A tone that surprised Gwaine, he had never considered Merlin as the type to push anyone away but it seemed he was wrong. There was something seriously bothering his friend and he wasn't going to give up until he knew what.
"Merlin don't lie to me. Arthur might be blind but I'm not, I can see how sad you look and how much more withdrawn you are after every mission. You might hide it well but I know you, Merlin."
At that Merlins head turned his way. "That's the problem, Gwaine! You don't know me, none of you do. Not Arthur, Percival, Elyan. Not even Gwen knows who I really am! And it hurts, every time I have to lie I feel like I'm just digging myself further into
a hole."
That outburst came as a shock to Gwaine. To look at the normally cheerful Merlin and see a man full of pain and regret was awful. It was like seeing his little brother upset with no way of helping. This was going to be trickier than he thought.

What did he mean no one knew who he really was? That made no sense, Merlin was the most honest and kind person that Gwaine had ever met. How could he keep such a maddening secret? There was no way Gwaine would leave without an answer.
"Merlin what do you mean? What secret? Whatever it is you can tell me, I swear. You are the most caring person I've ever met and it hurts to see you like this."
Merlin scoffed.
"I can't tell you. If I did there would be no going back and I would miss you too much to lose you. If I told you then you would be sure to think of me differently, to hate me."
Gwaine was taken aback by these words. What could possibly be that bad?
"Merlin I swear to you, whatever it is I would never hate you and I will try not to think of you differently. You are one person that I could never despise, no matter what happened."
The words seemed to strike a cord with Merlin. He lowered his head and took a calming breath. Finally, with tears in his eyes and a determined stature he looked at Gwaine.
"Gwaine, I have magic."

That's it! Chapter two is going up soon. Please leave a review!