Gwaine had to admit that he was feeling a bit nonplussed. When he, Elyan and Hunith had arrived in the clearing shortly after noon, Merlin had not said so much as a word about the prank that was played last night. Merlin's behaviour was in fact so jarringly normal that he was beginning to think the warlock had made alternative sleeping arrangements. Had someone tipped him off? Who could have done it? He hadn't even told Elyan!

He continued to mull on the strangeness of it all until after the dragons had arrived and Merlin and Ethan had finished securing all of the supplies to the saddles being worn by the white and green dragons. He was snapped out of his contemplation by Merlin's calling for everyone's attention.

"Alright so I was thinking that Mother and I would ride on Niall and everybody else could fly with Aeris. Is everyone alright with that? Ethan and I will have to be in the front-most seats anyway since we're the only people here who have any sort of experience in riding dragonback."

After everyone had supplied various forms of verbal agreement to Merlin's seating arrangements it was then decided that Hunith should be the first person helped into her spot on Niall's back. Niall had apparently been paying close attention, for as soon as this had been decided he stretched out his right foreleg in an effort to make the gradient as slight as possible. Since he was already lying flat on his stomach, Gwaine supposed there really was nothing more he could do to make it easier for them.

Merlin and Ethan then took up positions on either side of the dragon's extended appendage and Merlin instructed his mother to walk up the dragon's leg and sit herself down in the rear seat of the two-person saddle. "Don't worry about falling Mother, Ethan and I will be ready to catch you if you slip."

Gwaine watched in fascination as Hunith began walking up the dragon's leg, arms extended to either side for balance. But it wasn't Hunith he was finding fascinating. Rather, it was the actions of the two warlocks on the ground that had caught and held his attention. Both young men had their arms raised at shoulder height and extended towards Hunith, every now and then taking a small step to the side as they kept pace with Merlin's mother.

It wasn't until Hunith's left foot slipped on one of the dragon's scales and she began teetering towards Merlin, arms windmilling in a futile attempt to regain her balance that things really began to get exciting.

Quick as lightning, Merlin tensed his arms and positioned his palms so that they were flat and open, fingers pointed gracefully towards the sky. He then made a pushing motion towards Hunith as though there were a flat surface immediately in front of him that he wanted to move in her direction.

In perfect synchronisation with Merlin's movements, Hunith's body began to right itself on Niall's leg. The look on her face made it obvious that she had had absolutely nothing to do with it. However, it soon became clear that that same lack of control was working against her as she began to tilt dangerously in Ethan's direction.

Immediately realising that Merlin had overcompensated, Ethan mimicked the dragonlord's movements until Hunith was balanced perfectly between them. They continued to hold their position until Hunith declared herself fit to continue and then backed away slightly as she recommenced her journey toward the saddle, only having to intervene twice more before Hunith was seated in the rear position and receiving instruction on how to secure her legs.

"Alright!" Merlin grinned enthusiastically. "Who's next? Elyan, how about you?" There was, of course, a chance that he was imagining things, but Gwaine couldn't help feeling there was something decidedly sinister about that grin. Could it be Merlin wasn't feeling quite as blasé about Gwaine's prank as he was letting on?

The white dragon (Aeris, wasn't it?) stretched out her right foreleg to assume the same position as Niall. Elyan, who had been sitting by Gwaine, rose to his feet looking somewhat apprehensive. Perhaps he had also heard something slightly off in Merlin's voice, or maybe he was just scared of heights. Or dragons. He and Elyan hadn't really progressed to the stage in the 'getting-to-know-you' process where phobias were discussed.

Unless you counted the whole 'evil spirit' scare of the previous year, which in hindsight would be a bit unfair since Elyan was possessed at the time and in any case, he'd been teasing Merlin not Elyan. Gwaine was beginning to wonder how many of Merlin's apparent fears were actually his worry over a particular threat that no one else…

Gwaine was snapped out of his musings mid-thought by Elyan's startled yelp.

"I'm so sorry!" Merlin exclaimed without a trace of sincerity, "My hands slipped."

Elyan was spared a nasty fall (the blame for which would apparently rest with Merlin) by Ethan's less-than-gentle shove. "Whoops! I think I may have overcompensated", Ethan explained with mock chagrin.

"Don't worry, I'll save you!" Merlin cried catching Elyan and shoving him back towards Ethan with enough force that Ethan was obliged to right him once more. This continued until a rather seasick Elyan was seated on the rear of Aeris' saddle.

"Gwaine", he groaned. "What did you do?" Perhaps he ought to have read Elyan in on last night's prank. But really, he hadn't expected Merlin's reaction to be so… extreme, not to mention bipolar. In any case Elyan didn't seem to be having any trouble filling in the blanks.

It was at that moment that Merlin chose to turn his vindictive smile on Gwaine. "Your turn", he announced in a voice that promised ample retribution. Feeling no enthusiasm at the prospect but thinking it best to get it over with, Gwaine got to his feet. He knew Merlin would not do him any real harm and that he was perfectly entitled to get his own back at a later date and that really in all fairness, he had started it.

Arthur met his wife in the courtyard at noon, praying to all the gods he had heard of that Merlin wouldn't choose today to be punctual. Guinevere was sure to make his life a living hell if he failed to see his servant off. He noted with some relief that two horses had already been saddled. Guinevere mounted her horse as soon as she saw him, leaving no doubt as to her opinion of his timekeeping.

It was as he mounted his horse that he suddenly realised, "Guinevere, do we even know where this clearing is? All I heard Merlin say is that he wanted to leave at noon."

"Well you had better hope he is running late Arthur Pendragon! I was a hair's breadth away from leaving without you! As for where he's leaving from, he said it was the same clearing where you fought the Great Dragon."

"Of course it is", he groaned. "Let's get going then. If we take it at a gallop we should catch him before he leaves."

When Arthur and Gwen were still some distance from the clearing, they heard a startled shout. A shout that sounded eerily similar to a surprised Elyan. Arthur silently signalled to Gwen to dismount and taking the reins from her, secured both their horses to a sturdy branch. "I don't suppose I could convince you to wait here?" he whispered anxiously.

"Not a chance", she hissed back resolute.

"Then for pity's sake be sure to stay behind me, I've no idea what we're walking into!" he ordered as quietly as he could manage. Women!

As they crept silently towards the clearing, they heard a yelp that unmistakeably came from Gwaine and was quickly followed by Merlin calling out, "Did you know Gwaine, that when a man's mother comes to visit, it is common courtesy to offer her his bed, particularly in circumstances when he does not own a spare one?"

Arthur and Guinevere managed to reach a vantage point where they were able to see what was going on it time to hear Gwaine groan "Oh you can't be serious!"

It wasn't Gwaine's predicament that first held Arthur's attention though. Oh no, it was Merlin's eyes.

As he stared into those gold irises, all he could think was: Merlin is a sorcerer. Merlin has magic. He is using it to harm.

He dimly heard Guinevere's shocked gasp beside him and knew she was seeing the same thing. Gwaine getting tossed about like a sapling in a violent storm. Merlin and Ethan with eyes glowing gold, laughing, as they tormented a man unable to defend himself from arcane attacks.

Arthur felt his heart splinter as he crouched with his wife in the undergrowth, still too shocked to do anything other than watch. Merlin had been his constant servant, companion and friend for nearly a decade. He had trusted the man with his life, his heart, his kingdom and his secrets. He had shared with Merlin things that he had not even been willing to tell Guinevere and now he had to face the awful fact that Merlin may have been his enemy all along.

For this had to be the secret that Hunith had alluded to. What had she said? The idea that he'll be treated as something 'different' or 'other' for something that he has no control over is and has always been his greatest fear.

Always.

That had to mean he had been a sorcerer before he had come to Camelot. What had been his plan then, once he had successfully infiltrated the court? Arthur couldn't believe that he had granted a sorcerer unrestricted access to pretty much the entire castle! What was wrong with him? Why did he always end up trusting the wrong people?

"Come, Guinevere. You wanted to see him off, so let's see him off." As Arthur rose to confront his dearest friend, he wondered if his heart would ever heal. Of all the betrayals he had suffered, never had one hurt so much as this.

Merlin was laughing good-naturedly with Gwaine now that the knight had made it to the middle seat of Aeris' saddle. Though he could feel the disapproval rolling off his mother in waves, he knew that she would not scold him in public, especially since Gwaine himself did not seem bothered by Merlin's less-than-civil behaviour.

He was about to congratulate Ethan on a prank well played when he heard a cold voice behind him declare "I should have known!"

Immediately recognising the voice, Merlin's flight instincts kicked in and he sprinted for Niall's foreleg while growling "Aithusa, the sky!" in the dragon tongue. That done, he then locked eyes with Ethan and not bothering to switch languages growled "Climb!"

In a matter of moments, Merlin was seated on Niall's back and upon glancing about he noted that Aithusa had perched high in an oak tree, while Ethan had made it to Aeris' saddle without incident. Only then, did his eyes seek Arthur.

"Arthur, I -"

"You're a sorcerer, of course you are." Arthur interrupted bluntly, his voice devoid of emotion. Merlin wondered, a little hysterically, if this penchant for stating the obvious was a Pendragon thing.

"My sister turned out to be a witch and my uncle a traitor, so I suppose I should have known", the king continued with a false calm, "that my servant would turn out to be a sorcerer."

Merlin didn't think it wise to say anything and simply waited for the metaphorical axe to fall. He wouldn't let it become a real axe, even if he was sentenced to death. As he had told Gwaine, he was perfectly capable of saving himself and had every intention of doing so. However, that course of action would force him to flee and would effectively result in his banishment.

Camelot had been his home and Arthur his everything for so long now that he didn't know what he would do if denied the right to set foot in Pendragon territory ever again.

"Was any of it real?"

Startled, Merlin re-established eye contact with Arthur, not having realised he'd dropped it.

"What?" he asked, hating the tears he could hear in his own voice.

"The bumbling idiot I spent seven years shielding from my father." Arthur clarified. "Is he in there somewhere? Or was he part of the charade, the mask the sorcerer hid behind?"

Merlin understood what Arthur was really asking, what he wasn't prepared so say out loud. 'Was our whole friendship a farce? Were you simply trying to make me your puppet, as Agravaine attempted to do?'

"Of course it was real!" Merlin cried fervently, "I never lied about who I was, only about what I'm capable of doing."

"Terrorising an innocent man", Arthur stated.

"I'm far from innocent, Princess. Believe me, I had it coming." Gwaine put in, attempting to come to Merlin's defence.

Arthur's eyes never shifted from Merlin's as the silence stretched on. Eventually Arthur retreated a step and said "Don't bother coming back Merlin."

Merlin's tears finally made an appearance as he pleaded desperately, "I thought you weren't going to banish me."

Arthur looked so lost as he, ever a man of his word, replied "I'm not. It was more of a request than an order. I don't want to do something I'll regret." That said, Arthur turned around and stalked off towards his castle.

"If - if you change your mind…" Merlin called hesitantly.

Arthur stopped but did not turn. Realising that was all the encouragement he was going to get Merlin continued in a defeated voice "Gaius knows how to contact me."

Arthur gave no further acknowledgement, choosing instead to just continue walking.

After a hastily murmured goodbye, a tearful Guinevere followed.

Poor Merlin, of all the ways for Arthur to find out! I'm horrible, I know.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited. Particularly the Guest reviewer brave enough to tell me to hurry up!

As always, please review. There should also be an update for my other fic in the not to distant future!