Chapter Text
It had been weeks of tension between him and Arthur ever since the king found out about his magic. Merlin was sure Arthur was going to have him killed, or at the very least, banish him from Camelot. To his surprise, Arthur simply dismissed him from his duties for the day, stating he needed time to think. Once morning came, Merlin nervously entered the king's chambers to wake him, finding him already awake and dressed. Arthur had called for a servant to bring them both breakfast and had turned to one of his guards, instructing him to let Leon know that he would need to train the knights today and that any meetings that were not urgent were to be postponed until tomorrow. Once their breakfast was brought in, he motioned for Merlin to sit with him. They sat, and Arthur told Merlin to tell him everything, so he did; he told him of all the times he'd saved his life, of every threat Camelot faced and how magic had played a part in thwarting said threats. He told Arthur of the prophecy, of their joint destinies.
He could tell Arthur was overwhelmed, but the man had not dismissed Merlin from his position or from his duties, so despite the tension, they continued as if nothing had happened. They both knew they were pretending, pretending nothing had changed, pretending that the comfortable dynamic they once shared hadn't been irrevocably sullied forever.
It was over two weeks after the reveal that Arthur declared they were going on a hunt with the knights. Merlin felt a stab of uncertainty grow in his chest, not knowing what the new normal was going to be for these situations. Would he have to follow Arthur in secret on all of his Quests? He doubted the prat would be so oblivious to him sneaking after him now that he knew everything. He was pulled from his musings by the sound of Arthur walking up to Merlin and Llamrei, whom he had prepared for Arthur.
“I thought we had already established that you aren't actually lazy or incompetent, Merlin.”
“Uhh, we did, sire?”
“Then, where pray tell, Merlin, is your horse?”
Merlin's eyes widen in surprise and delight, grin spreading from ear to ear. “So you mean I can come along?”
“Why wouldn't you come? You always accompany me on hunts. And besides, there's no point trying to stop you, is there?” He gave Merlin a pointed look, the corner of his mouth tipping up in a small smirk. He grabbed the reins of the horse Merlin had been fiddling with and gave a nod towards the stables. “Go on, go saddle up your horse, well, wait for you.”
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Lancelot gave Merlin a signal with his eyes, and they drifted to the rear of the group just far enough behind to be out of earshot. “Is it just me, or has Arthur been acting differently towards you as of late? Is everything alright, Merlin?”
Merlin often finds himself extremely grateful to have a friend like Lancelot, who has known and kept his secret for years. “Yes, I'm fine. But Arthur found out about my magic, and things have been… strained ever since.” he could see his friend's eyes widen in shock.
“Well then, I suppose we should be grateful he has taken the news as well as he has-”
“Are we talking about the princess finding out about Merlin's magic?”
Merlin jerks his head up to find “Wh- Gwain? You know? Since when?”
“Oh, we've all known for a while; we even had a bet going to see which of us you would tell first. We didn't tell Lance about it because the honourable fool probably would have shut it down. I guess if we had brought him in on it, he would have won anyway.”
“But on a more serious note, Merls, we all care for you and would do anything to protect you, you know that, right?
Merlin felt like he didn't deserve this loyalty after the years of lies. After all this time, all the sneaking around, he expected something. He expected anger, resentment, hell, even threats of the pyre; his friends were all sworn knights of Camelot after all. This however? Bets and jokes? He'd gladly take this and is grateful he has such good friends.
Just then, the weight of what Gwain had told him sank in. “Wait, so you're telling me that everyone here,” he gestures to the company of knights on horseback,” knows about my magic? I don't have to hide it anymore?”
“Yeah mate, at least not while it's just Arthur and the lot of us.”
The pure relief he feels is unparalleled by anything he has felt in his life. He is finally free to be himself, for now at least. The giddy feeling that thought left him with carried on until they stopped to set up camp for the night. The boring, mundane tasks he had to complete suddenly didn't seem so bad. He even lit the fire with a glance, drawing a few startled gasps from his friends. He amusedly observed Percivle, Elyan, and Leon glance around cautiously at Arthur, seeming to settle when the only reaction the King gave was a soft, “Huh, well that's convenient.”
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They were all sitting around the crackling fire, joyfully sharing stories; stories that Merlin grudgingly noticed happened to all be about him. His so-called loyal friends were regaling their favourite accounts of times when they were surprised nobody else noticed Merlin doing magic. The crowd favourite seemed to be that time he was trying to wrangle a pesky sprite and ended up face-first in a river.
He heard a rustling from behind him, and apparently so had the others because they were all on their feet in seconds, swords drawn, prepared to fight. Just then, a group of about twenty bandits emerge from the trees. Their laughter must have masked the sound of their movements, allowing the men to surround them. However, before even one bandit had a chance to strike, Merlin, with a flick of the wrist, had all of the attackers flown back, slamming most against trees and letting others simply flop to the ground. There were a few moments of stunned silence before all hell broke loose.
“What the hell was that?” The outrage in Arthur's voice had them all tensing, Merlin most of all. He froze, afraid that he had misjudged Arthur's earlier words when he allowed him to come along. He had thought that at least meant Arthur had accepted that Merlin was still going to protect him. He thought, foolishly, that Arthur had started to believe in and accept their prophecy, their destiny. He thinks now that Arthur probably just brought him along to keep an eye on him.
He steps back slightly, raising his hands in a pleading gesture.
“I-i thought you would be okay with me using my magic to protect you. Im-im sorry, sire.”
He respectfully dips his head, shame visible in his posture. He tries to hold back the wetness in his eyes. Arthur probably saw him as a monster after witnessing the destructiveness that his magic was capable of. He wondered mournfully if Arthur was scared of him now. He couldn't live with himself if Arthur despised him.
“So you're telling me-”
Merlin flinched at his stern tone and body language, Arthur having crossed his arms over his chest, glaring daggers at him. “- that we could have been having our battles ended before they began this WHOLE TIME!”
“I- what?”
“Yes, Merlin, I knew you would be using magic on this trip, that's the reason I wanted you to come along, I wanted to see what you could do for myself. But that? That was incredible, Merlin. Can you imagine how many lives we could save if you could end every battle so quickly?” It surprised him how genuinely enthusiastic Arthur sounded about Merlin's abilities.
“What else could you do for the kingdom?”
The awe and reverence that Arthur is portraying encourage him to think. He had spent countless nights pondering that same question. Though he knew hundreds of ways his magic could benefit Camelot and its citizens, there were a couple that would make a large impact that would be relatively easy for him to do. He shifts his stance and begins to enthusiastically list off some of his ideas.
“I can enchant the land to be more fertile, so crops grow fast and hearty, and don't die.
I can reinforce the castle walls with wards so they never fall to enemy forces.
I can summon water from deep within the earth in the event of a drought.
I can even enhance the potency of Gaius’ potions and remedies, though he'd be better at that.
And don't forget, I have two dragons.”
He says that last one with a cheeky smirk. Arthur let out a startled laugh at the reminder that his bumbling manservant had the power to command dragons. At the same time, about half the knights make their shock known.
“You can really do all that?” Leon asked, surprise and disbelief in his tone.
Arthur stepped up beside Merlin, clapping a firm hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
“Merlin here, despite how unlikely it may sound, is the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth. And he is also the last dragonlord.”
Merlin dared not hope, but he believed he heard pride in his king's voice. He looked around at his friends; even Lancelot seemed surprised at the sheer magnitude of his power.
Merlin was still getting used to Arthur being okay with his magic. And forget being ok with it, the clotpole is singing his praise and asking him millions of questions, about his limits and potential.
“You must get a start on these improvements as soon as we get back.”
It was Leon who interrupted Arthur's planning. “You forget, sire, magic is still against the law in Camelot. I know none of us here have a problem with Merlin's abilities, but sire, it would cause outrage if your people saw you accepting sorcery while it is still punishable by death. Might I suggest waiting until the law can be lifted?”
“Yes, right, thank you, sir Leon, I was getting ahead of myself.” He turned to Merlin then, with an intense look. “I swear to you that as soon as we return home, I will start crafting the proposal for the repeal of the ban on magic. And seeing as over half of the council is comprised of the men here now, I have no doubt it will get approved. You will be free, Merlin. I swear to you.”
The utter relief and joy he felt at those words threatened to consume him. After a lifetime of hiding, he could finally be himself, wholly and truly himself.
“And once it is legal to do so, we can begin to improve Camelot and create that golden age you spoke of.”