His talents and secrets

Old Friend Part 2

Summary: Curiosity and an unexpected half-aka allows Arthur and the rest of the Knights of the Roundtable to uncover who Anna really is and how important Merlin is

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◈ Arthur POV ◈

Several weeks have passed since Anna arrived in Camelot and became a Gaius protage. I can say that her arrival in Camelot brought something new. 

At first I thought Anna was Merlin's girlfriend that we didn't know about and that made me sad and jealous. However, this quickly passed when they told me they only saw each other as brother and sister.

During her first week stay in the Kingdom I could see that this was true and I was happy about it. What many people do not know is that I have loved Merlin for several years. Gwen helped me understand this two years ago when we talked about him and she told me to my face that I love him.

It took me a few weeks to accept this however I did not tell him. I didn't know if he felt the same way and I didn't want to make things awkward between us and lose him as my friend. 

Merlin is and was my first real friend and a person who treated me like a normal human being and not like a Prince and later a King.

He has become my most trusted advisor and helper while working for me but I know he is hiding something else from me. 

I got to this point when I asked about his childhood and he would answer briefly and change the subject or simply change the subject. However, I could tell that it was hard for him to talk to you so I didn't get into it and didn't ask more.

During Anna's stay with us, I learned that she is a calm and funny girl. However, I would advise you not to get on her bad side if you love life. She is like Merlin in this situation. She sits quietly until the right moment to get you at the most expected moment.

If I didn't know they were not siblings I would think they were. They are very similar to each other in different situations. The worst is when they make movements in sync and say the same thing at the same time.

The longer I knew her, the more I started to think of her as a sister and I could tell that Leon, Lancelot, Gwaine, Persival, Elyan, Morgana, Gwen and Mordred were thinking the same thing.

For this I could tell that something was wrong when we arrived at the place where they were supposed to gather herbs for Gaius. 

Although their reaction lasted for a few seconds I could catch it and I noticed that Lancelot was the only person with me who saw it. I suspected that Lancelot knew why they tensed up for begin here because he was close to them. I didn't get a chance to talk to Merlin about what was going on.

When Merlin said that he and Anna and Lancelot would take the first watch, I got the answer to my question. 

I decided to pretend to be asleep and listen to their conversation. I know it was wrong, but I wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong with them. It was quiet for a long time until I heard Lancelot speak 

'' Is everything all right Merlin? I haven't had a chance to ask this before with others close to us. I noticed that you and Anna tensed up when we woke up here after our arrival. Don't worry I am the only one who noticed it because your posturing lasted for a few seconds '' he said calmly.

There was silence for a moment '' We are about two days away from Celestial. To think that we are not far from the place that was our beautiful home now is ruins saddens us '' said Anna quietly. I could hear the sadness in her voice