Hi guys. This is my first ever fanfiction and I decided it shall be based on Merlin. It is a Merthur story (with quite a bit of Gwencelot) and it is set after 1x10 (The Moment of Truth). Well I hope you enjoy the first chapter. Yes I do have a beta but she refuses to write an author's note at the top. Just to let you know, she inspired me to write this fic.

Disclaimer- We don't own Merlin, that's the BBC's property (and Arthur's). -YES!

Two Sides of the Same Coin- Chapter 1

Merlin was brooding in his chambers. It had been a week since the four friends left Ealdor. A week since Will died.

Arthur hadn't been exactly the best friend he could be. Well, it was pretty obvious why. Will died pretending to be a sorcerer and protecting Merlin's secret. Arthur had been indoctrinatedsince birth to loathe all magic users. However that was truly a shame as his best friend was a warlock.

AbruptlyMerlin was disturbed from his musings by the opening door. Merlin knew it couldn't be Gaius. Gaius was helping a servant give birth. How curious.

The sight he found was not one he was expecting. He had returned…

"Lancelot?"

"Merlin. Guinevere sent me a letter telling me what happened. I came as soon as I could. I'm sorry."

"Did she tell you how it happened?" Merlin asked morosely, secretly hoping she hadn' wanted to explain himself. It would help him to talk about it; it would make it real.

"No Merlin."

"Well I should explain. When we went to Ealdor, there was a bandit problem. They took all the food, people were starving. Kanen, the head of the group, DARED TO HIT MY MOTHER! The idea was we would train the whole town to fight against the bandits. There were too many of them. I conjured up a tornado with Will by my side. Arthur saw, and Will was hit by a crossbow and … killed. When he was dying, he told Arthur that he was the sorcerer… even though I begged him not to." Merlin sobbed

"I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do…"

"It's ok, I need to move on and get on with my destiny. I wonder have you been to see Gwen yet."

"Yes I have." The fighter replied, his mind wandering to the beautiful Guinevere, the feel of her hands on his face, her smile when they met, how close they were and what it made him think of…

Lancelot blinked and Gwen vanished from his thoughtswhen the door was opened again. Arthur, prince of Camelot walked in attractively.

"Merlin where's my - Lancelot? What are you doing here?"

"Hello sire. I have come to visit Guinevere and Merlin."

"Of course." Arthur was a bit disheartened. Lancelot was one of the Prince's few true friends. He had hoped the ex-knight had cometo see him.

"Arthur did you want something?" Merlin asked.

"Hmm, yes, I need my armour. Oh and Lancelot, you are staying and I will convince father to give you back your knighthood."

"Oh but sire, you don't have to. I do not want to cause a rift between you and your father."

"Yet, what if it is your destiny?" Merlin whispered. He didn't want his two friends to hear but alas, it was not to be.

"Merlin, we make up our own destiny!" shouted Arthur.

'Lies. Our destinies are written out before we were born. Too bad some of us get stuck with massive ones'. Merlin telepathically told Lancelot. The warlock had to control himself when he saw Lancelot flinch when he heard the message. It was far too funny.

Arthur was curious as to why Lancelot flinched. He unwittingly glanced at his manservant who was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Well anyway, I shall go and see father about your knighthood. Oh and Merlin, polish my armour and muck out the stables then go to my chambers."

"Yes sire" Only Merlin could make Arthur's title sound like an insult. He didn't do it to spite the prince; he did it to show their deep bond, showing that they were equals. The bond was so strong. He stared at Arthur daringly.

Merlin's eyes. Arthur thought. They're a lovely cobalt blue…

Arthur shook his head and hastily exited the room to go and see the King. It took him only 5 minutes to go from the Physician's tower to the throne room. Arthur knew his father wasn't doing anything important.

Sir Leon and Sir Kay immediately opened the door for the prince and left giving the father and son some privacy.

"Sire." Arthur bowed. Uther was the only one above Arthur instatus. He had to respect the king or he would have to spend a few hours in the stocks for insolence.

"What is it now Arthur? I'm busy." The prince rolled his eyes at this. Uther, after all, was only sitting on his throne reading a book on the evil of magic.

"I supplicate you, my lord. I beg for you to allow Lancelot to become a knight." The boy said, clasping his father's knees.

"Lancelot?" Uther was shocked; Lancelot was from a while ago.

"Yes, Lancelot. He has proven himself that he is worthy for such a reward. Perhaps you may call it his destiny."

"Destiny? It is a load of nonsense. We have eradicated the Old Religion; destiny is not valid."

"Perhaps not destiny then. But I still believe that Lancelot is worthy of a knighthood."

"Allowing the boy to become a knight goes against the First Code of Camelot."

"DAMN THE CODE! HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT IT IS WRONG? MEN WHO ARE GREAT FIGHTERS AREN'T ALLOWED A CHANCE TO DEFEND THEIR HOMES BECAUSE SO CALLED NOBLE MEN WERE BORN INTO CERTAIN FAMILIES!" Arthur was fuming. How dare he. Lancelot was one of the noblest men the Prince had ever met.

"DO NOT RAISE YOUR VOICE TO ME!"

"Sorry, my lord." Arthur became humble in front of his father. "But please, give Lancelot a chance."

"Fine, I shall restore his knighthood. As long as you remain honest with me."

"Yes father." Arthur spat, gritting his teeth. Being honest with Uther was almost impossible. He couldn't even be honest with himself. Merlin drifted into his mind.

Arthur left and ran towards his chambers to check on his best friend.

So the idea of supplication comes from my classical civilisation lessons. Yes I am doing it for GCSE and it is brilliant. When we started the Odyssey, we learnt about 2 Ancient Greek ideologies. The first is Xenia and the second is Supplication. The two are completely and utterly linked. So the code of Xenia is the Ancient Greek code of hospitality. He idea was that as there were no hotels or inns for travellers to stay, they had to stay at people's homes. So a stranger would turn up to a random Greek's home and the Greek would have to be hospitable. They would invite the stranger to the house then give them food and drink then ask them questions like who they are and where they are from. After that, they would offer help for the stranger to go on his ways, either back home or somewhere else. They would then give the person a guest gift, increasing both their cleos' (reputation). The traveller cannot stay for longer than s/he is welcome to and the person who invites the stranger home cannot keep the stranger for longer than the stranger is welcome to. The reason they did this is because the stranger might be a God in disguise checking up on them and making sure they follow Xenia as the God of Xenia is Zeus, the King of the Gods, himself. To supplicate is to beg someone for help, by clasping their knees. Due to the code of Xenia, a person must help someone who supplicates you and offer Xenia. The reason Arthur supplicates Uther is because I can imagine him being very desperate for his friend.

So not much Merthur at the moment because I'm trying to sort out Gwencelot. Really excited about the next chapter, it will certainly be exiting to write. Yay! Anyway please review and tell me what you think and if there is any room for improvement. Reviews are love!

Beta- heheheheheheheheheheheheheh I don't know what I'm supposed to write here. So I'll just laugh hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe hehhehehhehehehhehhehehheheh hehehhehehhehehhe

#YOLO

(Sorry)