With All My Magical Heart

Arthur breathes a sigh of relief as they finally reach the Cauldron of Arianrhod. These last couple of days had been hard on them all, but at last, it seemed that they had reached their goal, despite Morgana's appearance.

He looks at his Queen, brushing a hand through her hair as he lifts her from the saddle, and places her as gently as he can on the hard rocky ground. In the background he can hear Merlin leaving, probably to find the sorceress, but his sole attention is focussed on Guinevere, and the problems that he may face if this doesn't work.

It seemed like mere hours that he pondered the realisation of her betrayal, but in reality, only minutes, but by then he had noticed a distinct lack of an annoying manservant's inane prattle.

Standing up from where he had crouched by his wife's prone body, he approached Mordred, the young knight (and dare he say is protégée), having followed him and Merlin on their quest.

"Where do you think that servant of mine got to?" he asked of the knight, to which his only reply was a shrug and an answer of 'he was going to find the sorceress'.
Arthur, for the second time sighed, but this time in exasperation, for as much as he knew Merlin could be smart, and dare he say wise, the fool could just as easily have gotten hurt, either by his own clumsiness or the sorceress.

Arthur growled, loudly. Mordred who had been standing in spot quite calmly before looked up at the royal.

"I'm going after him," the worried King said. "I want you to stay here and look after Guinevere, make sure no harm befalls her."
Mordred at once started to rise up to this, which, was surprising to Arthur, as he had never once seen the young man do this, "No, no, I'm sure he's alright sire, Merlin is quite capable of handling himself. You have forg-"

Arthur held up his hand, "I'm going after that idiot, Mordred, don't want him ruining away our only chance of getting Guinevere back to normal."
There was a flicker of fear, and a rebellion in Mordred's eyes, but it had gone by the time Arthur had turned to follow the path which Merlin had taken around the bend.

What Arthur saw next made him blink and take a couple of steps back. In fact, he has to pinch himself to make himself believe that this is truly what he is seeing in front of him, and not just some conjured illusion made up by is mind in his tense and tired state.

But then Merlin turns, hands hoisting the skirt up to his waist, and he freezes, his mouth half open, his eyes going impossibly wide, and stands up.

Arthur blinks, once, twice, but still the vision doesn't disappear. But then it speaks.

"You'd think I'd be embarrassed, but let's be real with each other, I've done far worse things."

Arthur's mouth opens once or twice, before everything hits him at once:
Gaius had said that this time he had chosen a woman to help them.
Merlin had disappeared for a very large amount of time.
Merlin was standing there, obviously in the midst of changing into a skirt.
The only logical conclusion that could be made from this sudden turn of events is that Merlin is a sorcerer.

"You're a sorcerer," the words come out sharper than intended, but Arthur is actually pleased that his voice holds no sign of wavering.

"Look, Arthur I can explain, you see, I –"

Arthur growls, his hand reaching for his sword, but something is niggling at the back of his mind, and memories come, unbidden, as he remembers all those years Merlin has spent at his side, joking about saving his life yet again, and the movement stops.

"Can you fix her?"

"What?"

"I said can you fix her, as in can you bring Guinevere back?"

Merlin blinks, "Umm, well, ah, yes. Yes, I can."

"Good," Arthur turns to leave, his heart imploding with hurt and betrayal, but also affection for the young man. "Oh, and Merlin, we're not done having this conversation. When we get back to Camelot, you are going to tell me everything, no more lies, do you understand?"
Merlin nods, his eyes still feared with fear, but not as much as when Arthur first realised his secret. With a nod of confirmation Arthur turns Merlin trailing behind him, the soft patter of his feet and swish of th-

"Merlin?"

"Yes sire?"

"Lose the skirt."