Merlin One Shots

Arthur finds out (Part 1)

It had started off as a day like any other. On this particular morning, Arthur had been marching down to his manservant's quarters, determined to give the idiot a severe tongue lashing and demanding to know why he had been forced to drag himself out of bed and dress himself that morning. He grimaced as he heard Merlin's teasing comments in his head about how a Prince should learn to put his own clothes on.

Shaking those annoying thoughts away, he had continued purposefully towards Merlin's chambers. Looking back on it, he would most definitely blame his manservant's nonexistent habit of knocking before entering, to have rubbed off on him.

He had silently strode into the physician's living space, and seeing it to be empty, had made his way up the small wooden steps to his manservants own room.

Now, he stood frozen in shock, and stared past the narrow opening he had created when nudging the door open. His eyes widened in horror, as they focused on the scene in front of him.

No.

Nononono.

It simply couldn't be true. Yet it was. The proof was right in front of him, refusing to be ignored.

Merlin had magic.

The other man, completely unaware of the prince's presence, was happily levitating various books and objects around the room. Books floated casually in the air, a broom quietly swept on its own in a corner of the room and pieces of what looked to be Arthur's own armour were being vigorously polished by flying rags. Merlin himself, was stood with his back turned to the door, frowning intently at the open book in his hands and, if Arthur wasn't mistaken, muttering quiet words under his breath.

Forcing his legs to work, he immediately backed away, barely managing to catch himself from falling down the couple of steps behind him. His mind was thrown into chaos; a thousand thoughts whirled and crashed into each other with a violence not unlike that of the vigorous clashing of swords.

When? How? Why?

Merlin.

His most trusted servant, though he'd be the last to admit it out loud. Someone he had considered a....a friend.

No!

This has to be some sort of mistake, he thought desperately. This has to.....it can't-

Alas. He knew what he had seen with his own eyes. Merlin was a....scocerer. A traitor. To camelot and the king and....Arthur.

He quickly and silently hurried out of the room, not wanting to spend another minute in there. He had to put as much distance as possible between him and- the scocerer.

He all but ran through the halls, ignoring everyone who he passed in favour of trying to sort through the absolute turmoil in his mind. Finally, he made it to his chambers and hurriedly locked the door, safely sealing himself away from the outside world. The world of liars and people who betray him when his back is turned. He was perfectly content to stay locked in his room, until he had figured out a way to make sense of the sea of jumbled feelings and the crazed storm that was his thoughts, inside his head.

He dragged his feet to the armchair infront of his fireplace, and collapsed into it. His body felt like he had put it through an entire day of intense training, as he leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

How could this have happened? Someone who Arthur thought would be the last person to betray him, had done so right under his nose! What had he done to drive Merlin to commit such a treasonous act? Where had he gone wrong?