the many secrets of merlin [completed]

Chapter 1 - Magic

/AN: For context, this is in between the 4th and 5th season and Lancelot is alive. I died when he died..../

"I am gonna head to bed early." The words that left the servants mouth was a mixture of murmurs and a yawn. He had been stuck on a horse all day, following Arthur and the Knights. They were on their way to visit a smaller village of Camelot, as Arthur was still quite newly crowned the King and therefore did these small visits when he had the time. During this trip Merlin had kept himself at the back of the group instead of next to the blond, and had tried to take naps whilst on the move. He was quite exhausted these days, and haunted by nightmares, so he had entrusted the knights to protect Arthur, as "That is actually their job". The energy he had left at the end of the long day was spent on making the dinner, and he left the group before he even got a bite for himself. The knights, for once, took pity in him and did the dishes in his stead. Even through they would usually tease him for his "laziness" and "tardiness" they all knew he was everything but. Even through Gaius often blamed on him being in the tavern, Gwaine could swear he could count the times he had seen the raven haired man in there. But then again, Gwaine's word when drunk is not one to trust, so he had never uttered this "fact" to anyone else.

There was, of course, someone who was always understanding of the servant. When Lancelot was finished with his part of the chore, he walked over and tucked Merlin in properly whilst he kept his eye on the young warlock as he could be quite the light sleeper. The neckerchief that was usually put on with care had become loose as Merlin had basically fallen onto the rug-like blanket he had placed out to sleep on. But under the piece of cloth that surrounded his neck was something that instantly caught the knight's attention. It was a scar, pink and faded after it had healed quite a while back, but still very much a scar. Lancelot's first reaction was that of surprise, then anger, although that was quickly transformed into one of worry. What was bothering him the most was why Merlin had hid this from him. Merlin had trusted him enough to tell him about his magic, but not a scar of this depth?

After giving it a couple more seconds of thought, he stood and walked to the rest of the group, that were seated around the fire, laughing over yet another one of Gwaine's stories.

The first one to notice his return was the largest one of the bunch.

"What is it Lancelot?" Percival said to his fellow knight when the brunette returned, a puzzled expression painted on his face as clear as day.

"Hm?" Lancelot looked up at the little group of ironclad men who all wore different degrees of curiosity on their faces, and wondered if the truth was worth telling. "Uhm.. I just saw something on Merlin that i found, ehm, odd... " In his mind, he was silently praying that this was the right way to go at this, and it would not only cause harm to his dear friend.

"What do you mean 'on Merlin'?" Leon voiced the question that the rest of the group had on their mind.

Lancelot took a deep breath as he tried to collect himself, and softly continued.

"Well, I happened to see a scar, which was quite visible even tho it seemed to be old. It's under the neckerchief..." The reaction this brought to the iron clad group was a mix of anger and worry. Gwaine seemed almost revengeful, and didn't even notice as he gripped the handle of his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Arthur only seemed somewhere be puzzled and flabbergasted, unsure of how to react.

"I am going to find whoever did this to him-" Gwaine's boiling anger was cut short.

"As I said, it was old. The thing that worries me is why he hasn't told us!" Lancelot countered, and left the knights and King with a puzzle seemed to have no clear starting point - the puzzle of Merlin. The group continued to sit around the fire, the only thing to be heard was the cracking of the fire. Several pairs of eyes travelled back and forth between the group and the raven haired boy with pity and perplexity shining through their eyes. It was almost surprising who broke the silence, but the surprise was gone as soon as the words were uttered.

"You know... Merlin has a journal..." Gwanie characteristically mischievously stated. His eyes scanned the group's faces and was met by two striking and foreboding blue eyes.

"Don't even think about it, Gwaine." Arthur said sternly.

"But, think about it..." he said. He only dared to breathe before continuing in fear that anyone could cut him off, as even he knew that invading other's privacy is not particularly ideal, but his curiosity and anger got the best of him. "Merlin knows everything about us, I know I am not the only one who found the man reliable and trustworthy among us. Let's face it, all we know about him is where he is from and who his mother is. We don't know who his father is, even if he would know..." His words were met with a pondering silence.

"Maybe just a little peek...?" Percival spoke, as even he knew that they were entering dangerous water. Even though he joked around with him as much as anyone else, he was definitely one of the men who knew him the least, and the little information he had gathered was very limited. But his words seemed to make the rest of the knights agree, even though some seemed apprehensive. Soon, Gwaine had obtained the book. It was quite easy, Merlin had took of his brown jacket off before sleeping and so the long haired knight had found it in a pocket there. The book was small and brown, seeming to match the jacket it was taken from with only the fireplace illuminating it. It was worn and the papers had started to turn yellow, and were torn in spots.

After  it, Gwaine quietly sat back in the circle, and started reading before anyone else could stop him.

"Sometimes I wish they all knew. It is hard enough to keep a secret this big, just a secret. I know Lancelot knows-"

Even Gwaines eyes left the book he was holding to join the rest of the group to quietly question their fellow knight.

"You will know. In time." He answers. He didn't feel that this was the right way to go at this, but his curiosity to find out the story behind Merlins scar overtook the other feeling.

Gwaine, on the other hand, just rolled his eyes.

"Ominous, much." He stated before continuing reading.

" -and, of course, Gaius has known since I got to Camelot. I truly wish that they knew that I save their lives, daily at that, but they can't know. They would probably chop my head of, and if they had to choose between me and my magic... I can't put them in that position. "

"What?" Was the initial startled emotion that hit the group. Then all they laughed, all except Lancelot, whose eyes seemed to be lost among the flames.

The laughter died down, as some where searching the eyes of the others, trying to affirm the absurdity of this. Others looked deep in thought, but they all had the same thought at the back of their minds.

All those times, when they were miraculos saved,

Could that have been Merlin?

/AN: hope everyone enjoyed reading this as much as i do writing it!/