Just want to give a final thanks to those who have read, reviewed, favourited or followed this story. I also want to apologise for the delay. I'm blaming it on the massive writers block and me falling dramatically out of love with Merlin (a crappy ending to the series will do that to you). I've completed the story now and I just hope the ending to this story is satisfying. If not, I can only apologise.

Disclaimer - Merlin and it's characters do not belong to me :(

There was a dumbstruck silence in the room as the three occupants absorbed the impact of Arthur's order. Should Merlin be arrested there would be no going back from this. The world would know Merlin was a sorcerer and the pitchforks would be out. Arthur steadfastly looked away from Merlin, keeping his eyes locked with Lancelot as Lancelot fought a silent battle within.

Now here was Lancelot's moment to throw his cards on the table, to stand by Merlin the way Merlin had stood by him numerous times. Lancelot made the mistake of breaking eye contact with Arthur to glance at Merlin who catching his eyes shook his head viciously and held out his hands, silently ordering Lancelot to arrest him. Lancelot looked back at Arthur keeping his face expressionless as he tried to think of ways to buy himself some time. He needed time to think this through, dammit.

"Arthur, this is Merlin. Merlin, who can't even kill a deer without shedding tears. You can't think he would ever use magic to hurt you. " Lancelot said with a small disbelieving laugh.

"You knew about Merlin, didn't you?" said Arthur slowly but before Lancelot could reply Merlin quickly interrupted.

"No, no he didn't. He's only found out now, just like you."

Arthur looked at Merlin with a sneer. "You will not speak unless you're asked to."

Lancelot shook his head disbelieving. Did he not realise he was talking to the most powerful man on earth? and then suddenly it struck him. Power. This is what it was about. And betrayal. Arthur had just been told his best friend, his servant one whom he enjoyed asserting his power over was more powerful than he could imagine. Anything Arthur did was because Merlin allowed him to. This power shift would take some time for Arthur to come to terms with but Lancelot realised, he would come to terms with it. Eventually. Arresting Merlin was Arthur's way of gaining control of their rather bizarre relationship. And his way of hurting Merlin, like he was hurting now. Decision made, Lancelot eyes still locked in a silent battle with Arthur, brought out his chains and arrested Merlin hoping he wasn't wrong about Arthur. Merlin nodded approvingly, understanding that Lancelot had reached a similar conclusion to him. Arthur frowned, noticing Lancelot only appeared to act when Merlin had consented to it.

Merlin silently paced his cell. It had been three days since he was arrested and the guards had been his only company. He had been banned from having visitors. Word would now be out in the streets that he had been arrested. Rumours would be flying around as to why he had been arrested, Merlin the King's insolent servant, his best friend. Yes that piece of news would be very shocking, Merlin thought wryly. Merlin's thoughts wondered to Gaius. How would he be taking the news? Merlin felt guilt run through him. Had he done the right thing? he had almost got Lancelot in trouble with his confession and now Gaius almost certainly would be suspected of knowingly harbouring a sorcerer. And most importantly, was the druid safe? surely Arthur wouldn't be so spiteful as to leave the druid rotting in the dungeons?

Doubts plagued Merlin. He was playing a game of brinkmanship with Arthur. Was he right to trust Arthur would eventually do the right thing and free the Druid, him and his magic? It wasn't just his own life hanging in the balance. The visions he had seen when tortured by Morgana haunted him, not allowing him to sleep. As much as he wanted to believe the visions had been his fears and Morgana's magic combining together to bring his nightmares to life, he couldn't help but fear the visions meant something. Well, In the next few days he would find out and whatever the consequences Merlin realised, he wouldn't regret the confession. It had been a long time coming. Merlin narrowed his eyes determinedly, his mind finally clear. For far too long emotions had coloured his judgement. This was it. Arthur's final chance to accept magic was going nowhere. And Merlin silently vowed if Arthur made the wrong choice, he would face the full power of Merlin's wrath.

Meanwhile, Arthur paced in his room , his boots making a harsh thud sound every time he took a step. So far no one, not even Gwen knew why Merlin was currently residing in the dungeons. However from the King's demeanour it hadn't been too hard to guess that whatever the reason was, it was very bad.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The guards standing outside the King's room winced slightly. Clearly whatever was preying on the King's mind wasn't pleasant. Suddenly, the door was flung open and Arthur appeared at the entrance.

"John, please summon Sir Lancelot for me. I need to speak to him urgently. Thank you. "

Arthur slumped on his bed. He was tired. Since the hunting trip, Arthur had not had an opportunity to take in everything. First, Merlin disappeared before Arthur and the Knights made a desperate dash to rescue to him. Then the druid magically appeared and Merlin reappeared. And now Merlin's confession.

The truth was, Arthur felt like a fool. He was a fool, he thought. A betrayed fool. How could he have not noticed Merlin had magic? The more he thought about it, the more obvious it become. Suddenly, things he dismissed as inconsequential now appeared to hold the utmost significance to the puzzle that was Merlin. Yet it still didn't make sense. There had been so many opportunities for Merlin to plant the idea that magic was good or to hurt his family who had done so much wrong to the magical community yet Merlin had never taken up the agenda to promote magic. No, he didn't understand. Arthur resisted the urge to march down to the dungeons and get his answers directly from the source. He wasn't ready to face Merlin yet. Not until he knew what he was going to do with Merlin.

Arthur briefly wondered why Merlin hadn't broken himself out of the dungeons. He could easily have done so yet the guards had informed him Merlin did nothing but pace in his cell, barely eating or sleeping. He felt a twinge of satisfaction run through him. He wanted Merlin to hurt, hurt like how he was hurting now. There was a hesitant knock on the door signalling the arrival of Lancelot .

There was a tense silence in the room, only broken by Arthur to order the guards to leave the room, leaving him alone with Lancelot . "Well?" said Lancelot in a hard tone, looking questioningly at Arthur.

"Oh sit down, will you?" Arthur muttered tiredly.

Lancelot sat down on a chair and silently observed Arthur. Arthur was lacking the usual vibrancy that emitted from his person. The Kingly arrogance that gave him the air of being bigger than he actually was, was missing. Now he looked, and Lancelot hated this thought, a broken man. It appeared as if Merlin's betrayal had hit Arthur hard. Lancelot felt a dart of pity lace through him and he lost the defensive stance he had unknowingly taken.

"What is it, Arthur?" Lancelot said, his tone a lot gentler. He guessed the reason for Arthur summoning him had something to do with Merlin and now he awaited for his suspicions to be confirmed. He hoped this was the beginning of Arthur finally seeing the light.

Arthur was pacing again. "You're the only one beside me who knows about Merlin. I need to talk to someone about this. I know you're not happy with me for throwing Merlin into the dungeons but he broke the law. He's defied me and broken the law numerous of times and I can't have the people thinking he will be treated differently just because he's Merlin." He vented. "Magic is illegal. He broke the law." He repeated it again, as if hoping that saying it enough times would convince him that his stance on Merlin was right.

Lancelot felt his heart beat quicken. Arthur sounded terribly unsure of himself, almost as if he was hoping Lancelot could persuade him to save Merlin. This was the moment that could change everything.

"But Arthur..." Lancelot said cautiously. "No one knows about Merlin. And if they don't know, how can they know he's being treated differently? "

"I know about Merlin though." Arthur said angrily. "The people expect me to uphold the laws of the land and if I can't do that, I have no right to be King."

Lancelot quickly changed tact. "And if you let Merlin rot in prison, you have no right to be called his friend. " He said coldly. "Deep in your heart, you know Merlin is a good man. A great man. He has saved your life numerous of times, often going beyond duty. You've seen it with your own eyes. I've seen it with my eyes. He has never abused the power of his magic or the position he held in your service and heart to advance any magical agenda. He is evidence that magic doesn't make you evil. It might be time that you started questioning the laws of the land, after all you are the King, and stopped questioning the loyalty of your most trustworthy servant and friend. Do the right thing, Arthur. "

Arthur was quiet, reflecting on Lancelot's words. Lancelot let the silence linger before standing up. "If that is all?" he asked pleasantly.

Arthur nodded absent mindedly. Lancelot had spoken some truths that he had a hard time coming to terms with. Arthur was angry, so angry that he wanted to believe Merlin was evil but not even the anger could convince him otherwise. Merlin, despite the lies, was a good man and Arthur as King did not want good people to be punished.

"Wait!" said Arthur suddenly, remembering something. Lancelot stopped and looked questioningly behind him. "Have the druid released and escorted back to his home, please" Arthur said.

Lancelot nodded expressionlessly. He waited until he was facing the door before letting a smile touch his face. It appeared that Arthur might be softening after all.

It was two days later that Merlin heard the clanging of the guards keys and the click of his door being unlocked. Merlin looked up from the hard rock which passed for his bed and saw Arthur standing at the door. Merlin stared at Arthur with stony eyes. Arthur looked everywhere but at Merlin.

"You can go." He said.

Merlin remained sitting. "Why?" he asked. "Why are you letting me go?"

Arthur's head quickly snapped around to look at Merlin disbelief. Merlin now had Arthur's full attention. "Why would you even ask me that question, now of all times? sure, if you had just eaten a full hot meal and had a hot shower but now? why aren't you running out of the door?" Arthur countered desperately hoping to avoid answering Merlin's question.

Merlin gave a knowing smile but stood up. "By letting me go, what do you mean?" am I free? do I still have a job? "

"You're free, Merlin" Arthur said quietly. "Nothing's changed since.." Arthur faltered a little but quickly continued "since you were imprisoned. You're still my servant, if you still want the job that is." He said hesitantly

"What about the druid? has he been released?" Merlin asked. Arthur quickly nodded. "Yes, Lancelot escorted him back to his people. He's safe." Merlin sighed in relief, suddenly feeling unburdened.

The "M" word still had not been mentioned. "What about my magic, Arthur? I still have it and I always will. Pretending it doesn't exist doesn't mean it will go away." Merlin said with a challenging look in his eyes.

"Look, Merlin. You have to understand it came as a shock to me. I'm not proud of my reaction but it's in the past now. I just hope you can forgive me."

"Why do you think I didn't break out of the cell? I only stayed as I knew you would eventually be apologising to me." Merlin said laughingly at Arthur. Both exchanged tiny smiles.

"So why the sudden acceptance of my magic?" asked Merlin cautiously.

Arthur looked shame faced. "I spoke to Lancelot. And Gaius. And Gwen. Lancelot and Gaius told me everything. The things you've done and suffered. I am sorry, Merlin. I...I had no idea. I just wish you could have told me everything. But..."he said holding out his hand as Merlin opened his mouth to speak. "I understand. I'm sorry and very thankful for everything you've done. I just want you to know that."

Merlin nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm just relieved that you know. It was such a burden, pretending, lying all the time and in all honesty, your reaction was hardly the worse scenario that I cooked up in my head." He said with a grin.

"Come, let go and get you cleaned up" said Arthur. "And I'll get the kitchen to cook your favourite meal."

"Who are you and what have you done to Arthur?" said Merlin mockingly.

Arthur gave Merlin a light punch on the arm and grinned at him. Together they walked out of the dungeons, both better men than the ones that had entered.

Okay, so the last line is a little lame but I thought this had the potential to be dragged out some more and that's not what I want. Originally intended this chapter to be a lot more angsty but I just didn't have the heart for it.

Thank you again for reading and I would love to know your final thoughts this, good or bad :)