Sorry I broke my last promise about updating.

Arthur knows Merlin's a dragonlord, nothing else, and he's confronting him about it now. OH and M&M know too. Lalala. I feel like I'm writing a blog.

'You need to talk to me?' asked Merlin.

Arthur nodded, an almost apprehensive look in his eye.

Merlin frowned. The faintest idea formed in his head. 'Is there some sort of huge secret that you want to tell me?'

'I-' began the prince, but he changed his mind and started again. 'Don't be such a girl, Merlin. If it was a huge secret, I wouldn't be telling you.'

'Unless it concerned me,' said Merlin slowly.

Arthur looked like the words were being torn from him. 'Well... Maybe...'

'Don't worry,' he said reassuringly. He wondered if the prince was coming out. 'You can trust me.'

Arthur nearly choked at the irony of the statement. Merlin was a Dragonlord, after all, and he certainly hadn't trusted Arthur with his secret. He decided to start at the beginning. 'Two years ago, I met a man.'

'Holy cow, you are coming out!' Merlin said.

'What?'

'Arthur, I don't want to hurt you, but you should know that others wouldn't approve. People just don't like these things. Nor do I swing that way-'

'NO!' yelled Arthur. 'I'm not talking about that. God, what goes through that mind of yours? What I wanted to say was I saw you at the hunt yesterday.'

Merlin looked like he still thought Arthur was coming out. Arthur waited for the full implications of his words to hit him, but it didn't look like it would happen anytime soon.

'With the dragon,' supplied Arthur.

The manservant laughed. And didn't stop laughing for at least half a minute. If Arthur had looked into his eyes, he would've seen a flicker of fear pass through. But, like with so many other things, he hadn't looked close enough.

'That's good, Arthur,' wheezed Merlin.

The prince narrowed his eyes. 'Hmm, let's see. You've healed Morgana with some dragon-voodoo magic, released it from its prison and let it run everywhere destroying Camelot, and most importantly, you never thought it'd be worth the time to tell me that you're a Dragon Lord.'

Merlin's eyes widened. 'I - you-'

'I just want to know why you didn't tell me earlier,' said Arthur.

They stared at each other for a long moment. 'You're not angry at me?' said Merlin softly. 'I would've told you, but I was afraid.'

'I won't tell anyone, Merlin. Being a Dragon Lord is far too close to sorcery for comfort. Frankly, I don't even know why you're still here. Although, if you were a sorcerer...' Arthur trailed off and cracked his knuckles.

Merlin audibly gulped.

'No secrets from now on, okay?' the prince said. His servant nodded emphatically. 'Good... Anything else you'd like to tell me?'

Merlin thought of the several thousand times he'd used magic. He thought about the magic book hiding under his bed, and the Druids, and the prophecies of Emrys. 'Well... I would like to tell you that your poetry is terrible. That song you wrote Gwen - it reeks.'

Arthur gaped like a fish. 'You little - how do you know about that?'

'It's a secret,' said Merlin, who ran out of range before Arthur could throw anything that happened to be within reach at him.

Back in Gaius' chambers, Merlin sank gratefully into a chair while the physician finished his last batches of medicine.

'Merlin, feel free to help an old man,' said Gaius, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The warlock massaged his forehead with his fingers. 'Too many confrontations today… Not you too…'

'Then do feel free to share,' replied Gaius, still sounding a bit annoyed.

'Arthur found out I'm a Dragon Lord, but he doesn't know I have magic. Same with Morgana. How did that even happen? Then she tried getting me to join her side, and she threw a hissy fit when I refused. And that pesky old dragon is giving me more riddles to solve. Can't I have just one moment of peace?'

Gaius stared at Merlin's outburst, contemplating the situation. 'I know this is very hard for you. But with great power comes great responsibility.'

Merlin came up with several smarmy comebacks, but he didn't have the heart to say them. Instead he nodded.

'And with great power comes, also, a lot of chores,' Gaius said. 'Just because you're the greatest warlock ever, doesn't mean you're exempt from chores.' He playfully threw a rag at Merlin.

He gaped like a fish. Gaius laughed. 'Here's your dinner,' he said. He took the plate of food on the table and handed it over to Merlin, a smile curving his lips. 'Only you, Merlin. Only you.'

An old woman had come to Camelot. She was from the furthest parts of the kingdom, from a small village called Elmsbane. She sought an audience with the king, who drew the whole court together to hear her plight.

'My village has been attacked by a group of sorcerers,' the woman said. 'I was the only one from my family who could escape in the forests. Please help us; our village is small and we are not able to defend ourselves.'

Merlin burst into the hall, strands of hay sticking out of his hair. 'Sorry I'm late,' he gasped.

The old woman glared at Merlin, and Arthur rolled his eyes. 'Stand next to Gaius, Merlin. Next time you're late, I'll make sure you get extra punishment.'

He obediently shuffled to his usual place in the hall and found a sudden interest with the floor as everyone stared at him. 'What's happening?' he whispered to Gaius.

'Just listen,' was the response.

'As you were saying,' the king said.

'As we were escaping, the sorcerers saw us,' she continued, her face tightening as she remembered the incident. 'I hid behind a tree, but everyone was captured except for me. As the rest of my family was taken, I could hear them talking about something… about their leader…' at this point the woman's voice cracked, and her shoulders started shaking. She barely managed to get the words out, 'they said "he'll be happy that we've caught some more scum, that Emrys…"'

Emrys? Merlin exchanged a worried glance with Gaius, who kept his poker face - something Merlin was not able to do.

Uther's expression hardened. 'We will take action at once. Sorcery must be eradicated.'

The woman bowed and turned to go out of the hall, still sobbing. As soon as the doors had shut behind her, the king turned to Arthur. 'How soon can you leave?'

'By the end of the day, if we must,' said Arthur.

'Good. Take whatever you need, and ride out immediately. It'll be at least three days' ride, and this threat must be taken care of as quickly as possible.'

Arthur bowed, and that action signalled the dismissal of the court.

Do I make the scenes too short? Or is the fast moving actiony angsty thingy majiggy plot good? PLEASE REVIEW :)