Yup, another reveal drabble. Because I can, and because someone once mentioned Gwaine liking Pinata (cue Carwa111)
Hope you all enjoy!

Merlin took a look at the huge pile of armour in Arthur's chambers, then across at the huge, teetering piles of paperwork on the desk, then at the huge basket of laundry and finally at the floors which needed cleaning. Again…
And he had an idea which he quickly swept aside as ludicrous.
But, as he started polishing the bracers and recalled that Arthur was in a chambers meeting, the idea slowly, but surely, crept back into his head.
His reasons against it seemed to fade away as his aching shoulders, headache and overall fed up-ness grew. Eventually, realising that there was no reason for anyone to come into Arthur's chambers for at least two hours or so… Considering that Gwen was currently busy with the other ladies of the court, doing whatever it was that ladies of the court did, and all of the knights were in the chambers meeting, he had to work hard to supress the little, 'come on already' voice inside is head.
The small, rebellious thought had already seeded itself in his mind, and eventually grew to the point where Merlin was sincerely considering it.
Even if it was close to suicidal…
However, when the chest plate fell onto his foot, causing him to cry out, he finally snapped and gave in.

Five minutes later, the pieces of armour were floating in the air, the mop was dancing around the room and the dirty clothes scattered around the room were in the basket.
He, himself, was sorting through the piles of paperwork, scribbling notes down on parchment, and so, the time whittled away.
He hadn't realised how much time had passed until the doors flew open, and Arthur stormed in, ranting.
"Those…pompous, cowering idiots are so…."
His voice trailed off as he saw the armour, which, in his shock and panic, Merlin had failed to drop to the floor.
Which he now did, not that Arthur was distracted by the clattering. The King was staring at his man-servant in disbelief. Which slowly morphed to something that Merlin couldn't make out.
"Merlin… was that what… did I just see what I think I saw…?"
"That depends… What did you see…?"
"Floating armour…"
Merlin gulped, holding his hands up,
"Okay.. It's not what you think…"
The young man took a step around the desk, and, in true Merlin style, his arm sent one of the meticulous piles of parchment tumbling to the floor. Of course, that wouldn't be a hazard for anyone but Merlin.
As he took a step out from behind the desk, his foot slid on the paper, sending him stumbling backwards.
That, also, wouldn't normally have been a hazard, aside from the fact that the window was open.
With a sharp cry, Merlin went tumbling out and vanished from sight.

It took a few seconds for Arthur to let that sink in, but as he did, he was overcome with a wave of panic for the clumsy idiot. He ran to the window, and thrust his head out, looking down.
Only to see Merlin lying spread eagled on the floor.
"Merlin!"
Relief filled him as he saw his manservant raise his head, and call up.
"Yes Sire…?"
Arthur's relief quickly changed to confusion as he wondered how Merlin could have survived the three story fall. Then the last few moments came back to him and he mentally face-palmed himself. He could float armour around his chambers… no doubt he could have slowed his fall.
Merlin was a sorcerer…? This he had to hear….
He called down again.
"Merlin! I think we need to have a little chat. Don't you…?"
The distant figure raised his head, and sat up, before replying.
"That depends Sire… It won't put a damper on my mood will it…?"
"Just get your ass up here Merlin, or I will come down there and drag you up every staircase by your ankles."
"…Yes Sire."
The hasty response was followed by a failed attempt to stand up. A few more attempts, however, and the young man was on his feet, hastily circling around the castle.

As he waited for Merlin to make his way up, Arthur sat at his desk.
Thinking things through, he realised that he should be feeling angry... hurt… betrayed… But he wasn't. All he felt was a stark relief that the idiot hadn't killed himself falling out of the window. And he realised that a lot of things were piecing themselves together.
Hadn't he always said that several of the threats that Camelot had faced should have been harder to defeat? Well, at least now he knew why…
It was several minutes before the door inched open and Merlin poked his head through, a sheepish, slightly worried expression covering his face. But in those several minutes, Arthur had figured out four things.
One, There was no way that he was going to hurt Merlin because he had magic.
Two, He was clearl less Merlin-like thn he could ever had thought possible... This came with a humbling realisation that he would have to apologise to the bumbling moron…
Three, Merlin was probably the most loyal idiot he had ever laid eyes on.
And four, he was going to have far too much fun with this.
That why, as soon as Merlin's head poked around the door, Arthur got to his feet and motioned for the young man to 'get his ass inside'
Merlin slowly followed the clear, if not verbal instruction, and made his way over to the desk. Arthur sighed as he left the door wide open.
"Merlin…? Door?"
His eyes widened slightly as Merlin froze for a couple of seconds before muttering,
'oh what the hell…' under his breath and flicked a hand, eyes turning gold, causing the doors to slam shut.
The king took it in his stride however, and hid his smirk with a serious expression.
"Sit."
"Actually, Sire. To be honest I would rather-"
"Sit your ass in that chair Merlin, Right now!"

The speed with which his manservant complied would have been comical if the situation wasn't so serious. None-the-less, Arthur had to really work to stop a grin forming.
"That's better. Has to be the first time you have ever followed orders."
Merlin looked about to protest at that, but seemed to think better of it and pinched is lips together.
"Of course…" Arthur continued, "It seems that aside from not following orders, you haven't been following a certain law either… When did you start studying magic?"
Merlin gulped a little, before replying.
"I never studied… I was born with magic."
Arthur's eyes widened. Was that even possible?
"Born with it…?"
"Yeah… I was moving objects with my mind before I could crawl… Apparently, I had a fondness for floating anything that was easily breakable."
"Right…" Arthur let that sink in before he asked a question that had been burning at him.
"Okay, so you have magic. What on Earth prompted you to come to Camelot? The place where sorcery holds a death penalty?"
Arthur noticed the slight flinch that Merlin gave at that, but it vanished so quickly, he had no idea whether he had seen it at all.
"My mother thought I would be too easily noticed in Ealdor…" Merlin said, giving a slight shrug, "And she thought Gaius would be able to help me learn to control my magic."
"But why would you become the Crown Prince's manservant? Are you completely insane or just suicidal?"
Yep, that time there was definitely a flinch, but before Arthur could rectify that, Merlin was speaking again, his voice gradually increasing in volume.
"So I should have just let that dagger skewer you? And I suppose I should have let Valiant win, let you drink that poison, let you die in that cave, let Camelot be destroyed with that plague. Okay, maybe I should have let Morgana die when that idiot poisoned her just to get to Gaius, I mean, it would have saved us an awful lot of trouble… But then there was that time with Sophia, who was actually a Sidhe who wanted to kill you so she could get back to Avalon. Oh and we can't forget the Black Knight, the Labyrinth of Gedref, the questing beast. Then there was Sigan, and believe me, he was not easy to defeat… And all of those little adventures and rescue missions. Then there was the time your father married that damn troll… Seriously, I should have just left it. And do you know how hard it was for me when that damn Witch Finder was called to Camelot? Then there was the Bastet who, seeing as you wouldn't know, was actually a girl called Freya… The Knights of Medhir, The Dragon…"
The shouting ceased as Merlin paused, taking huge breaths, having said most of that in one breath. (1)
Arthur was just sat there, mouth open, speechless.
He had thought pieces were fitting together, but he never thought that there would be so… much.

He recovered from the shock just as Merlin opened his mouth, but before he could start ranting again, Arthur held a hand up.
"Okay, I get it... Actually, no I don't. Why did you do all of that? If you had been caught…?"
Merlin sighed, slumping down in the chair, his voice back to its normal volume.
"One reason? Destiny… At least, it was at first. But after the first few months, I protected Camelot because I cared about the people in it. Because it often got to the point where the city would have fallen if I hadn't intervened."
"But… Why did you protect me? After everything my father did…"
"You aren't your father. I protected you because it's my destiny to protect you… And because I always protect my friends… "
Arthur shook his head, bemused. Merlin really was so… So Merlin.
"Okay then, let me get this straight. You were born with magic, got sent to Camelot, have since protected Camelot and saved my life god-knows how many times even with the threat of discovery and execution hanging over your head every day?"
Merlin cocked his head, thinking that through, then shrugged.
"Pretty much…"
Arthur slumped down into his chair, shaking his head. Wow. It was silent for a few minutes until the King straightened up again.
"Right. So the question is, what now…?"
"We all live happily ever after…?"
Arthur looked at the small grin on Merlin's face, and sighed, getting to his feet.
"Yeah... Because we're that lucky. "
"Luck's got nothing to do with it… Can I assume this means you're not going to run me through with Excalibur…? I am the reason you have it, after all…"
"What do you mean? You're the reason I… Actually, don't answer that. I want to hear everything properly." Then the first part of Merlins question came back to him and he glared at the raven haired sorcerer, "And in god's name Merlin, Of course I'm not going to have you executed. Honestly, you really are an idiot…"
"My apologies Sire…" The effect that the snide remark would normally have had was ruined by the huge, relieved grin that spread across his face as he got to his feet. Then he blanched, groaning.
"Damn it…"
"What?"
"Wait till Gwaine finds out… It'll be dragons and fairies and never ending tankards of ale and goblins and toads and potions and…" Merlin sighed, "Life is about to get so much more interesting…"
"And hectic. Now I'm going to have to call a meeting for the advisors and the court and the knights and… Gods Merlin, why do you always make life difficult?"
"Must be a gift…" he replied, grinning,
"Or a curse… Now. Sit, and tell me everything that has happened since you came to Camelot."
_

The sun was just about to set when Merlin finally stopped talking.
He stifled a yawn, realising they had been there for hours, and sank back into his chair, watching Arthur's face.
The King was obviously deep in thought, (Merlin had to stifle a very snarky comment at that) and didn't seem to be in any hurry to speed his thought processes along.
Merlin, getting bored already, scanned the room, realising that he still hadn't completely finished his chores.
With a quick look at Arthur, who didn't seem to notice, he raised his hand, muttering a string of words, and the armour floated back up into the air, along with a duster and the mop, and he set about doing all of his chores… From the comfort of his nicely warmed, and surprisingly comfy, chair.
Ten minutes later, the last few things were completed, most having been done earlier, and Merlin stifled another yawn, turning to see Arthur, staring at him with something akin to disbelief.
"What…?"
Arthur just snorted,
"All of the times you've saved Camelot, and come so close to being discovered, and you're found out because you couldn't be bothered to polish."
Merlin was silent for all of two seconds before he burst out laughing.
"Gaius is going to kill me…"
_

The next morning, it took Merlin several seconds to realise that something felt different. It took him several more seconds to realise why. When he did, however, a huge grin split across his face and he tumbled out of bed.
He was dressed within moments and nearly tripped down the stairs as he left his room.
He came to a stumbling halt as he saw Gaius staring at him, exasperatedly.
"Good Morning, Merlin. Now would you please slow down? I know that you and staircases don't get along very well, and I'd appreciate not having to mediate a close contact meeting between you and the one you are currently about to trip backwards on. Especially seeing a you and destiny are finally on good terms with each other…"
Merlin blinked a little at the use of so many big words so early in the morning, stifling a yawn.
"Okay Gaius… Whatever you say…"

Half an hour later, and Merlin was shoving open Arthur's door with his boot, his arms busy holding the breakfast tray.
Gwen had already left, seeing as she was doing early rounds in the lower town, and so it was just Arthur, tangled in a mess of bad sheets, in the room. Merlin grinned, and crept a bit closer.
A flash of gold and the curtains flew open, bathing the room in bright sunlight.
"Come on Arthur, rise and shine…"
The king simply opened a bleary eye, glared at his manservant and rolled over, away from the sunlight.
Merlin grinned again, and another flash of gold had Arthur being tugged over the side of the bed.
He hit the floor with a yelp, tanged in the sheets.
After a few moments, he had managed to untangle himself and threw the sheets behind him, in a huge heap. Merlin ignored the glare he was getting and left the try on the table, grinning cheerfully.
"Good Morning, Sire. Fancy seeing you awake so early… Why, it's barely past dawn…"
Merlin yelped as a goblet connected with the back of his head, and he spun around, glaring.
"What was that for?"
"Being an idiot…"
"Prat."
"I'm sorry?"
"Begging your pardon Sire, I meant to say your royal Pratness…"
Merlin ducked the spoon that was thrown at him, grinning, and turned to see the tangled me of sheets. He moved to grab them, then stopped, a small laugh escaping as he realised that he didn't have to slave away doing chores all day every day any longer.
A flick of his wrist, and the sheets all flew into the air. A few seconds later, and the bed was made.
Merlin turned back around to see Arthur, with one eyebrow raised, and shrugged, grinning.
"Ya know… I get the feeling life is going to become much less… boring now."
"Why doesn't that fill me with confidence, Merlin?"
"I don't know Sire. We both know I'm very responsible when it comes to-"
He glared indignantly as Arthur snorted,
"Of course Merlin. You are about as responsible and mature as Gwaine…"
"Oh. Now that was just unnecessary. And uncalled for."
"True though…"
"I'm mature…"
"Of course, which is why you are pouting and whining."
"I'm in the same room as you. Anyone would be pouting and whining…"
"Now that was unnecessary and uncalled for."
"True though…"
"Okay, this conversation is going in circles."
"I had realised that Sire."
"Merlin?"
"Shut up?"
"Idiot."
"Prat."
"Merlin!"
"Yes Arthur?"
"… Just shut up."

Merlin grinned, before heading to the wardrobe and pulling out a handful of clothes. He lay them out on the bed, noticing, out the corner of his eye, that Arthur too was stifling a smile, and then head over to the window, shoving it open.
"Careful, Merlin, wouldn't want you falling out…"
"Am I ever going to live that down?"
"Nope. And just wait till I tell Gwaine…"
"You wouldn't…"
"Try me…"
"Ass…"
"Ya know, those insult are getting rather stale Merlin…"
"Rather like your socks… And yup, insults. Plural. You only seem to have the one."
"Not true…"
"Oh really? Call me something other than idiot then…"
"…" Arthur frowned, but his mind was blank.
Hence Merlin's joyful 'I told you so' expression.
"Look at that. The Royal Dung-Fork, Arthur Pratdragon, is lost for words. Not that I'm surprised, but still…"
"Shut up Merlin…"
"Wait, haven't we had this conversation before…?"
"Merlin…"
Merlin picked up on the warning tone, and clamped his mouth shut, miming locking it shut.

After a few moments of silence, Arthur realised that he didn't like it. It was too quiet.
"Damn it Merlin, you are so irritating…"
Merlin looked at him, indignantly, and mimed unlocking his mouth, before responding.
"What? I speak, I'm irritating, I don't speak, and I'm still irritating…"
"Yes, we have already established that you are always irritating…"
"I guess I just have that kinda personality…"
"What? Idiotic?"
"And again with the idiot. Now I see why I write speeches for you. You really are useless…"
"Oh, and you aren't?"
As soon as he said the words, Arthur felt like hitting his head against the table top. As it was, he refused to look at the disbelieving, 'wow you really are an idiot Arthur' look that he knew was on Merlins face. He's walked right into that one… He really needed to start looking out for when Merlin set him up to say something stupid…
As it was, Merlin contented himself with a tut of disapproval at his masters moronic-ness and helped himself to a hunk of bread, which he started nibbling on as he left the room.
"What time did you want the knight's in the throne room?"
"In an hour… Might as well get this over with."
Merlin nodded, unable to speak around the mouthful of bread, and head off down to the different places where he knew he would find the knights.
Arthur finished eating, then got himself dressed, mind half on was he was doing, half on the meeting he was going to be having in less than an hours' time.
They had decided that it would be best to let the knights know about Merlin as fast as possible… or rather, Arthur simply dreaded the meetings he would be having with the council and court. At least this way he could be sure of having some allies… hopefully.
_

Half an hour later, Merlin arrived back, nodding at the questioning look Arthur gave him.
"Yup. There were a few I couldn't find, but the message will spread."
It was another fifteen minutes, in which Merlin helped Arthur into his armour, constantly making jokes about having to loosen the straps, before they head down to the throne room.
As they got nearer, Merlin stopped talking and started fidgeting nervously. Arthur couldn't blame him. He'd kept a secret for his entire life, and now it was going to be revealed to some of the most dangerous men in the land.
Ah well, at least it would be interesting.

Twenty minutes later, and every knight, aside from a few on patrols, were seated around the round table, looking interested in what Arthur could possibly have to say that required all of them to be there. Gwaine, seated on Arthur's right, was obviously drunk, if only slightly, and both Arthur and Merlin were worried about where this was going to go. A sober Gwaine would have been bad enough, but a drunk one?
"I'm soooo screwed…" Merlin muttered to himself, under his breath, as he leant against his usual pillar.
After a few more minutes, Arthur got to is feet, and the quiet chattering vanished as they all looked up at him.
"Okay, I suppose you are all wondering why I've dragged you here. Well, let's just say, I've recently come by some information that many of you will find… both surprising and fairly interesting."
Leon shifted,
"Sire? By interesting…?"
"I mean you'll probably think I'm insane."
Gwaine snorted
"What do you mean 'think'? Trust me princess, there is nothing you can do to surprise us…"
Arthur raised an eyebrow, and shrugged.
"Okay then. Merlin has magic. Anybody like to share their thoughts on that?"

There was silence around the table for a few moments before the entire hall erupted into laughter.
Arthur glanced back to Merlin, who was looking slightly peeved.
He could understand that. After all, it wasn't that much of a stretch… right?
Then he thought it through from the knight's point of view and hid his own smirk. Okay then, so maybe it was a little hard to believe…
After a few minutes, the laughter died away and Elyan spoke up.
"Okay Sire, now what did you actually want?"
"That's just it Elyan. I was being completely serious…"
At the obvious sincerity in way he said it, the hall took on a much more sombre atmosphere, and every pair of eyes in the hall homed in on Merlin, who, at the attention, smiled sheepishly and stuttered,
"Errr… Hi…?"
Everyone was silent for a few more moments as they let it sink in, then Sir Kay, who was sat next to Gwaine-and was one of the knights who had been very loyal to Uther- jumped to his feet, pulling out his sword.
He got no further than that before Gwaine jumped to his feet, and punched him in the face.
Sir Kay collapsed back into his chair, nose streaming blood, and looked at Gwaine, outraged and also rather wary. Gwaine spoke up,
"Oi, That's my best friend you're threatening, you pompous, ignorant asshole!"
Several of the other knights, mainly the most recent additions to the ranks, smirked a little at seeing the arrogant noble treated like that, but their smirks soon faded to confusion as they regarded Merlin again.
Merlin sent an 'Arthur? Now would be nice…' look at the king, who hastily obliged and spoke up.
"As I said, Merlin has magic. What I haven't said is that he has been responsible for saving Camelot, and all of our lives, more times than I care to remember. He is as loyal as any other man in this room, if not more so, and I fully intend to see that he gets the recognition and credit he deserves. Does anybody have a problem with that?"
Sir Kay spoke up again, nearly spitting the word.
"How do we now he hasn't enchanted you? Just to get close to you?"
Merlin snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Why do you people always assume enchantments? Honestly, If I was going to take over Camelot, I'd click my fingers and do one of several things. I could turn to all to mindless zombies… Bring the citadel crashing down… Get my pet dragon to attack… Make you lose your hair and send you all into chaos… Get the chickens to turn evil… Conjure a hoard of evil bunny rabbits… could-"
"And anyway," Arthur said, finally getting his voice back without bursting out laughing, and before Merlin could begin insulting anybody, and before anyone could act on the fact that Merlin had so much power, "He's been my manservant for five years now. If he had wanted to harm me or Camelot, then he has had ample opportunity to do so. He hasn't done any such thing. In fact, he has risked his life countess times for this kingdom."
Leon spoke up,
"And now that I think about it, a lot of things are fitting together…" He turned to Merlin, a questioning look in his eyes.
"The immortal Army? Was that you?"
Merlin looked surprised, but nodded,
"Yes…"
"And the Dragon?" Elyan piped up, causing Merlin to nod again.
At their unofficial commander's acceptance of Merlin, the vast majority of the rest of the knights seemed to relax and started calling out their own questions.
After a few minutes of this, Arthur got to his feet again, asking for quiet.
"So, Can I assume that this means that you are in support of my decision to soon repeal the ban on magic?"
Merlin felt a huge smile split across his face as most of the men in the room either nodded or shouted out assertions. Of the few that didn't, only one or two seemed completely averse to the idea, Kay especially. Also a few other knights who Uther had held in strictest confidence.
Merlin sighed, as he realised that things might finally work out.

Of course, a group of sorcerer's, intent on the destruction of Camelot, chose this moment to materialise in the throne room.

"Arthur Pendragon!" One of them called, the other four ranging themselves around him, "You're reign has finally come to its end! We, of the Northern-"
Merlins voice interrupted him,
"Oh, great. Perfect timing! I need some training practice…"
The sound of the knights getting to their feet cut him off, and Arthur's voice echoed over the sound of scraping chairs and unsheathed swords.
"Sit down!"
Each of the knights looked at him, as though he had gone mad, staying on their feet.
"I said sit down."
"But Sire…"
"Sit Gwaine. There are some in this room who doubt Merlin's intentions and abilities. Merlin here is going to show you all why that is not a good idea."
All eyes turned towards Merlin, who's face held an expression of amused resignation.
"But Arthur… I'll be left clearing up the mess…"
"No, I'll get someone else to do it."
"That's what you said a few weeks ago… I was still left clearing up a mud-bath…"
"Oh, stop complaining Merlin. Seriously, I don't know why I put up with you…"
"Because other servants would be bootlickers?"
Arthur grinned,
"Exactly-" Before he could say anything further, however, the robed sorcerer spoke up again, obviously trying to figure out why no-one was afraid of them.
"Pendragon! We of the…"
His words turned into a yell as a rope coiled around his ankles and he was hoisted up, upside down, and the rope tied itself to the chandelier.
As he dangled upside down, beneath it, Merlin spoke up again, obviously irritated.
"Oi, we were talking. Can't you 'take over the world' types' ever keep out of a conversation?"
For a few seconds, there was only a stunned silence, until Gwaine let out a half-drunken laugh, and made to get to his feet.
"Yay!" he whooped, grinning wildly, "Piñata!"
Before he could get any further than his feet, however, Arthur grabbed his collar and pulled him back down into his seat, giving him a warning glare.
Gwaine scowled, but stayed seated. Then he grinned again.
"Hey, Merlin? Could you turn one of them into a toad?"
"Gwaine…"
The exasperated warning in Merlins voice seemed to have little effect on the knights bouncy attitude, and Merlin sighed, smacking him around the side of the head.
"Hey! No toads. And I don't want to hear anything about unicorns either, Is that understood?"
Gwaine's face fell, and he sighed, pouting.
"Fine. But I want to see you turn something green before this day is out…"
Merlin sighed, and turned back to Arthur, continuing their conversation.
"So, I'm definitely not going to have to clear up after this?"
Arthur shook his head, shrugging.
"Nope… Now get a move on will you? We haven't got all day…"
"Okay then… What do you want me to do?"
"Oh…" Arthur considered for a moment, before shrugging. "I dunno… As long as there's no permanent damage…?"
"Of course, Sire…"

Of course, the four remaining sorcerers now completely confused by the reaction they had received and the fact that there appeared to be a sorcerer working for a Pendragon, had decided to group together and sent a bolt of light at the king. Unfortunately for them, Merlin was ready for it.
It got no-where near Arthur, as Merlin threw up a shield and the ball dissipated against it. Then he turned, glaring at the sorcerers.
Obviously, the sorcerers didn't seem to get the idea, and two of them sent bolts of light at Merlin, the king now forgotten.
Merlin threw up a shield, then retaliated, sending two jet of light at the sorcerers, sending one flying into a wall and another crashing into one of his comrades.
The one still standing, looked around at his fallen comrades, then looked at Merlin, eyes wide beneath the hood that covered his face.
"Who are you?"
Merlin grinned,
"Ever heard the legends about Emrys…?"
The sorcerer visibly paled, and took a step back.
Arthur couldn't help but be a tad surprised that Merlin, of all people, could inspire such fear in someone.
Didn't mean he wasn't rather enjoying the scene before him.
Merlin spoke up again,
"Oh, so you have heard them? Good. That saves so much time…"

The sorcerer didn't let him finish, and sent another bolt of energy at him, which was joined by two more as the two sorcerers who had fallen over got to their feet.
Merlin had enough time to sigh, exasperatedly, before he held up his hand, drawing the three orbs in and seeming to absorb them. Immediately, he added his own power to the mix and sent a huge wave towards the three cloaked figures.
All three went flying, two into the wall and one into the door, before collapsing to the floor, twitching feebly.
After a few seconds, it became obvious that none of them were, in any way, a threat any more-not that they had been in the first place-, and Merlin straightened his neckerchief, turning back to face Arthur.
Only to be met with a mixture of stunned stares, disbelieving expressions and, in Gwaine's case, unbridled glee.
Arthur just raised an eyebrow,
"Not bad…"
Leon spoke up, his voice awed,
"Remind me never to piss him off," he said to Elyan, in a stage whisper, and the other knight nodded, starting to grin.
"Unless we're about to face an army, right…?"
"... I'll take it."

Merlin shrugged, self-consciously, but grinned.
"Wouldnt be the first time I've faced an army. And what do you mean, piss me off? Please. I'm a perfectly lovely person…"
Another of the knights, Bedivere, who Merlin got on well with, snorted and waved his arm in the direction of the now unconscious sorcerers.
"Yeah, we can see that…"
"Well, that was due to the… extraneous circumstances. Yeah, let's go with that."
Several of the knights laughed at the indignant expression on the young man's face, obviously not bothered by the fact they were in a room with a sorcerer. Many were grinning, and even some of those who obviously hated him seemed a little afraid.
Merlin sighed, inwardly. At least if they were afraid of him, they wouldn't be a problem…
He grinned at Arthur who simply rolled his eyes, retaining his dignity, before his face fell slightly,
"You know," he said, causing the knights to quieten down, "I'm now much more confident about how the court will react…"
His face split into a smile as the others took in the implications of his words, several of them turning thoughtful.
Gwaine looked around at the dulled faces, and snorted.
"Oh please. Those idiots have no backbone. Anyway, if they give us any trouble, Merlin can turn them into toads… Would be an improvement in the 'looks' department…"
"Gwaine…"
Merlin and Arthur had spoken in unison, one in exasperation and one in resignation.
"He has a point Sire…"
Everyone stared, incredulously, at Leon. He hastened to make his statement politically correct.
"I mean, they won't stand against you if all the knights are with you… And if Merlin give them another demonstration like that-" he gestured to the still prone forms of the sorcerers, "They won't speak out… I mean an asset like Merlin isn't to be taken lightly…"

Merlin raised an eyebrow, slightly put out by being called an asset, but perked up, realising that Leon was putting him in terms that the court couldn't argue with.
He saw the growing smile on Arthur's face, obviously already planning a 'demonstration', and grinned himself.
Raising a hand, he muttered a string of words, and sidled over to Percival as the entire hall erupted into laughter.
It took several seconds for Gwaine to realise that his, now bright green, hair was the source of the amusement, and turned to search for Merlin.
But the Warlock had already sidled behind Percival, his, long-time, human shield.
"Merlin!" Gwaine's voice echoed, growling slightly.
"What? You said to turn something green… And it'll fade in about… ooh… a week?"
He ducked, yelping as Gwaine threw a goblet at him, and sent it flying back, colliding, with a thunk on his foot.
The knight cried out, hopping on his left foot as he grasped his right.
Unfortunately, his currently partly drunken state meant he had very bad balance.
With a curse, he fell to the floor, tripping over his own foot, and landing in a tangle with his cape.
Merlin joined in with the laughter, before cautiously making is way over to help his friend up.
At the glare, he rolled his eyes, good-naturedly, and his eyes flashed gold.
Gwaine's hair returned to its normal colour, and he scowled for a few more moments, before his face split into a grin, and he pulled the young man into a headlock.

Arthur watched the scene, amused by the ridiculously powerful sorcerer's attempts to get out of a ale fuelled headlock, Percival hurrying to help, his own frame shaking with laughter, Leon obviously trying to regain his composure as tears streamed down his cheeks, and The King laughed.
Magic or not, some things would never change…

(1) I tied saying it all in one breath... Third time lucky :D Not easy though...

Anyway, yup. Hopefully this one-off wasn't too OOC, too crackish or too... well, not good.
But please review and let me know what you think!

Raven xx