Arthur marched after Arnold, dragging Merlin along by the hand as he did so.

"Arthur, we don't know what he wants!" Merlin protested as he tried to halt Arthur. Arthur sighed, but did not stop.

"Merlin, he could be hurting innocent people, I cannot allow that!" Arthur insisted. But then he paused, heard the things that Merlin had not said out loud, heard the things that were apparent in his tone of voice. "Merlin I promise you, I will do my upmost best not to kill him... just in case he's... he's..." Arthur bit his lip, ducked his head ever-so-slightly as he failed to say what needed to be said.

"In case he's the father of my child," Merlin whispered, loud enough for only himself and Arthur to hear. Arthur nodded.

"As much as I would like to destroy him, I could never leave a child without a parent without good cause." Arthur smiled, although it wasn't a happy smile. Not in the least. "I would rather see your child happy, with both its parents alive and well, than kill the man that raped you,"

"That's very noble of you Arthur," he said. "But I doubt very much, that even with such righteous intentions, that you could keep your temper in check," They had rounded the corner by this point, and were met with the sight of Sir Leon, alone on the executioners stand, surrounded by almost all of Camelot. He looked terrible, eyes shrunken into the back of his head. His skin was tinged yellow and his clothes were encrusted with dirt. It was obvious, from the way that he swayed – despite trying to stand still – that he was beyond just being intoxicated. He was wasted, almost dead with the amount of alcohol in his system. In his hand, he held the executioners axe.

"What the hell..?" Arthur looked on confused. What on earth was Sir Leon doing? Was he even aware of what he was doing?

"Arthur..." Leon stumbled as he bowed, fell face first onto the wooden planks below him. Arthur stood and watched Leon in a stunned awe. He was completely unsure of what to do. Should he speak to Leon now, or should he wait for him to find his feet? He opted for the later. Leon seemed to take an age to find his feet; he stood slowly, hanging onto the executioners axe as if for dear life. Yet still he managed to slip down it, back to the wood beneath him. However no one dared help him. Eventually, minutes later, Leon was on his feet – swaying slightly, but he was on his feet. "Sire... I am here to...here to beg... for your... your understanding and... forgiveness..." Arthur growled slightly – how dare this man, this man who raped his lover, stand there and beg for his forgiveness and understanding? –it was only Merlin's calming presence that stopped Arthur from running at Leon full pelt, sword in hand, without pause for thought.

"Forgiveness Leon? After what you have done to me, to Merlin... to the future of the Kingdom. I don't think you are in any position to be asking for forgiveness," Arthur said. His rage was near bubbling over, but he kept calm, if only for the sake of Merlin. "Even asking for understanding is pushing it," Leon's eyes bulged, making them even more noticeably bloodshot. He mumbled slightly, his words almost completely inaudible. All but one. 'Please'.

"Surely Sire, you ought to allow Sir Leon the simple pleasure of giving his side of the story. After all, isn't that how you conduct a fair trial? You listen to both sides of the story," Lady Ysabel's voice was transmitting all throughout the square, yet no one seemed aware of where she was. Most of the crowd seemed to think this a wise idea... Arthur was about ready to have her head. Everyone was watching Arthur for his reaction. He gave none, expect for a nod to his guards to give confirmation that they should search for The Lady Ysabel.

"Arthur please... let Leon give his side of the story. The sooner we here it, the sooner we can but an end to this nightmare," It was Merlin who spoke of course, pleading with his lover to listen to what the broken man in front of him had to say. Leon may have looked broken, but his rupture seemed nothing in comparison to that of the Court Sorcerer. Merlin looked as though he wanted the world to swallow him up, him and any memory of him. He looked lost, wrecked... a ghost of the man that Arthur loved. It was that sight, which gave Arthur the strength he needed to nod at Leon just once.

"Go ahead, give your side," Sir Leon gave a bow that was closer to a nod – it was likely that he would fall down again if he bent any lower.

"Thank you... sire... I promise you that... that if you... you don't believe me... if you cannot... cannot forgive me... I will place my head down... and allow you to... to execute me... for the crime of treason..." The crowd gasped at Leon's words. A man asking to be executed was something that was virtually unheard off. Arthur, although shocked by Leon's words, kept his face free from any movement and again, nodded just once.

"Get on with it Leon," he growled through gritted teeth. Merlin had to squeeze his lovers hand once again. Arthur gripped back tight – not trusting himself enough to let go.

"That night... I... I... wanted to... wanted to bed... Prince William... of Stortford... he looks... looks remarkable like... like Merlin..." Leon mumbled, turning his gaze for the first time, to the young warlock. The audience turned to stare too, and muttered amongst themselves about the similarities between the young Prince mentioned, and the court sorcerer. It was soon apparent that the similarities between them were striking.

"I seem to remember Sire, that even you mistook Prince William for Merlin after you'd been at the mead," cam Lady Ysabel's voice – again, seemingly from all around the square. Arthur choose to ignore her. His was a drunken moment of stupidity and blindness after a night of heavy drinking when the candles were low and his eyes glazed over. What was Leon's excuse?

"Looks like Merlin! Then why the hell didn't you check to make sure you had the right man!" Arthur raged, fighting harder this time, to break away from Merlin. He was desperate to grab Leon by the throat and chock the truth out of him, and if it hadn't have been for Merlin, he would have done it without question.

"I was… beyond drunk… beyond and… I wasn't thinking… I was just… I just…" Leon whispered, his voice becoming strained and high as he became excruciatingly emotional. "I just… needed someone…" It didn't matter of course, how emotional Leon had gotten, Arthur was still infuriated.

"Just needed someone? Needed someone… you could have had anyone! Why Merlin? Why some guy that looks like Merlin? You could have had anyone Leon, anyone! Women throw themselves at you; you could have had any one of them!" Arthur screamed. Merlin could feel his lover shake under his grasp, and gave his hand yet another squeeze. Arthur sighed and turned to Merlin, mouthed the word 'sorry' at him, and turned back to Leon, trying his best to be calm. "Leon… surely, you would have gotten a decent look at Merlin before you slept with him," he whispered.

"No… I mean… I should… should have… yes… but I just… from behind and… he never said a word, not one… I thought… Prince William wanted to meet me in… one of the guest chambers and… and Merlin… Merlin was in there…" Arthur simply laughed.

"So, if all this is true, if by some wild coincidence you agreed to meet a man, who looked so remarkably like Merlin, in the same chambers that Merlin managed to find himself in, then surely you would have realized that the man you agreed to meet, was not the man that was in that room!" Arthur was screaming now, his face red with rage, his eyes bulging the way his father's used to – the way his never normally did. Many members of the on looking crowd backed away from their King. Leon opened his mouth to talk, but it was Merlin that spoke.

"Arthur… it was dark, I was alone in the guest chambers with no candles lit because my head was spinning so much… and then he was there… I don't really remember much…. But I really don't think he knew it was me until after it was all said and done…" Merlin pleaded. Arthur gave him a disgusted look. The Lady Ysabel's laughed boomed out around them.

"I knew it Sire, he was not raped by Leon… he lies to protect himself…" Again Arthur decided to ignore her, choose to give Merlin the benefit of the doubt.

"So now you're defending him? Merlin, you can't accuse someone of raping you then defend their actions!" Arthur's rage was back now, reaching a whole new level.

"No! I'm not defending him… not really… Arthur come on! This isn't the Leon we know! None of this is! He is loyal to you so completely, and he has never touched a drink in his life… I think he made a valid mistake!" Merlin's pleas sounded genuine, and it was hard to mistake the desperate look on his face. Watching Leon in such a state had made him realize that maybe the Knight was being truthful. Why else would such a loyal man, who was so dedicated to his King, act in such a way?

"Merlin he is acting this way to make us believe that he made a mistake, he knew exactly what he was doing! He knew it was you beneath him! Knew it and still carried on!" Arthur cried. "How can you defend what he did, especially when its outcome might result in the downfall of our Kingdom?"

"Sire…" It was Leon who spoke this time, now void of any emotion at all. "If you… if you feel that way then… then go ahead… and execute me… it is more than I deserve…" He whispered, extremely serious. Arthur turned to glare at him again, then ripped his grasp from Merlin's and marched through the crowds to where Leon stood. Merlin was pleading at him, screaming his name, but Arthur wasn't listening. He snatched the executioners axe from Leon's hands.

"Go on then, put your head on the block!" he ordered his voice loud and piercing. Leon gave his King one final bow – stumbled – and then knelt down in front of the executioners block.

"I am sorry sire, so very sorry…" he whispered, before he lowered his head, and gripped either side of the wooden block. Once in place, Arthur raised the axe high above his head, and the crowd around him screamed…