Hiding

Chapter 17

"Your Majesty!" Leon bowed as much as he could while he was practically carrying Merlin. Morgana and Gwen followed suit, curtsying to the king they had thought was shut away in his own chambers.

"Sir Leon, Morgana." Uther acknowledged the two nobles and turned back to Gaius, not deeming any of the four of them worthy enough to stop his conversation with the physician. Gaius looked uncharacteristically nervous.

"Gaius, I wish for you to answer truthfully. Did you know Arthur had magic?"

Gaius took a steeling breath. "Yes, your majesty, I did."

Uther slammed his hand on the table, startling Gwen and Morgana, but not bothering Leon, who was used to it, nor Merlin, who was on the verge of unconsciousness and didn't notice. "And you didn't feel it was necessary for me to know?"

"I feared for what might become of the prince. Forgive me, your majesty, but you had had fifteen years to stew in your grief and to grow your hatred. I could not predict how you would react to Arthur coming to you and admitting that he was guilty of the one law you always uphold with no discrimination. It is true, I advised Arthur not to come to you because I did not wish to see my prince on the pyre, and I could not guarantee that he would not end up there."

Uther looked like he might smash something. He was filled with rage. One of his few trusted friends had not come to about something as serious as the Crown Prince of Camelot having magic. Everyone else in the room was frozen. Gaius had known? Merlin, of course, had known that Gaius knew, but he was still out of sorts, and was in fact falling asleep again, this time because it was actually getting late.

Leon shook himself out of his stupor enough to drag Merlin to a cot. Not his room, but a cot was better than falling asleep in Leon's arms. Leon was fine with Arthur having magic. He knew Arthur, trusted him. Maybe he didn't trust magic as a whole just yet, but he'd get there. If Arthur had wanted to destroy Camelot, he would have done it ages ago. He was in a better position to do so than any of the previous evil sorcerers that had come to take Camelot over.

But Gaius had known and hadn't told the king? Would Leon have told the king? Would it have mattered if he had? Arthur could just say he was lying and Leon would be punished instead. Everything was becoming a muddled mess. His prince was a warlock in love with his manservant and the court physician had known about all of it. He was drawn out his thoughts by the strained voice of the king, who seemed to have forgotten that there were other people in the room.

"Surely you know I wouldn't kill my own blood? I don't know what I'll do with him, but he is my son. I won't kill him. Gaius, do you put so little faith in me? Have I failed as a father and king? Is that why you didn't trust me enough to let Arthur tell me?"

"Sire, you have been overcome with grief and anger the last two decades. I did not trust that your judgement would not be so clouded as to sentence your own son to death. It has nothing to do with your skills as a parent or ruler."

Uther slumped onto a bench and put his face in his hands. Gwen, Morgana, and Leon all looked at Gaius, who gestured that they should go. They'd simply have to come back later. Gaius looked concernedly at Merlin, but he seemed healthy enough at the moment, and the best thing would just be for him to rest.

Uther... would be a struggle. If Gaius played his cards right, he could get Uther to lessen the ban on magic. Convince him that he'd lose a lot of support as a king if it became common knowledge that he let his own son live even though he was ruthless with his rulings for anyone else, and Gaius might have a step up. Maybe some good would come of all this. The people would know in no time flat that the prince had magic. And they could stop some of the nastier rumors from spreading beyond the castle.

"Gaius, what am I to do?" Uther had a pleading edge to his voice, one that unnerved Gaius slightly. His king never pleaded. Ever.

"Sire, if I may speak my mind?" Uther nodded and Gaius continued. "I believe.... I believe that you should at least consider lessening your punishments for those with magic. You will face much scrutiny if word gets out that your son is the only exception to the strictest rule in Camelot. Those already out for your throne will renew their efforts. You must also put to rest the rumors that Arthur attacked the guards without being provoked and that he hurt Merlin and kept him against his will.

"The people love Arthur, and he will make a great king one day. Don't renounce him as your son. Don't lock him in his chambers forever. Let the people see he isn't a threat. Let Merlin assure them that Arthur didn't harm him. Let Arthur become the king he is meant to be. "

"He has magic, Gaius. He is everything I have tried to destroy in the last two decades. I can't just let him roam the halls of the castle freely. And I certainly can't allow him to become king. He may not be evil now, but magic will corrupt him. It will only be worse if I let him have his freedom. I won't lessen the ban on magic, either. Arthur will escape the cells and the pyre, but he is no longer free to roam the halls as he once was. I will make an official announcement in two days, when everything has settled down. He is no longer my heir and he is a prisoner in his chambers. Good night, Gaius."

Uther didn't wait for a reply and simply walked out. Gaius sighed. He tried everything he could think of, but Uther wouldn't budge. Well, at least they had two days to fix this. Gaius put it out his mind and turned to Merlin. He didn't know what had happened to him, but it had taken a toll on the boy. He was about to find Gwen, Morgana, and Leon when they walked back into the room.

"Alright, you three. What happened?" Last I checked he was in Arthur's chambers and everything was fine."

Gwen answered him. "Earlier today I went to give them some food. They were all curled up together, but then Arthur got it into his head that Merlin needed to leave to keep him safe or something foolish. Merlin didn't want to, obviously. In an act of desperation, he told Arthur that Arthur wouldn't send him away if he loved Merlin. And Arthur, the idiot, still sent him away. Merlin's barely been coherent since."

Gaius sighed. Of course it would be Arthur's habit of playing the hero that would have Merlin in this state of melancholy. "And Merlin believed that Arthur doesn't love him. They're both fools. I'd say we need to lock them up in a room together to get them to figure everything out, but they were already cursed to stay together and then they were locked in a room together. I don't know any other ways to knock some sense into them. They're both so stupid sometimes."

"Let them sleep tonight. We'll shove Merlin back in there tomorrow, rumors be damned. It's obvious that Uther will never let Arthur out of his rooms. They'll have no reason to fear Arthur anyway. Arthur will just have to accept that he won't be able to keep Merlin safe, especially when it reaches the king that they're in love. Because it may not have reached the king's ears yet, but all of those guards saw Arthur kissing Merlin. It won't take much longer. He'll be the safest with Arthur when that does happen. With any luck, Merlin will be permitted to stay with Arthur as a bedmate."

Everyone was grateful for Leon's level head. Gaius didn't know when all of them had figured out Merlin and Arthur's true relationship, but he took it in stride. Leon was right. Gaius sent them all off for a good night's sleep, because the next two days were going to be testing. Gaius left Merlin on the cot, not wanting to wake him. Once again, Gaius had the thought that everything was becoming a large, jumbled, mess.