"It's simple, really. Arthur and I will take the secondary attack, while you lot hold down the citadel."

"Are-" Arthur starts, clearing his throat, "Are you sure that, uh, we'll be enough?"

"Yes, we"ll be fine, and if we aren't, no one is going to be left to bicker about it anyway. There's a pass that the second attack will have to get through. It's edged by cliffs, perfect for an ambush."

"Yes," Leon adds, brow still knitted in distrust, "Perhaps if you had a couple dozen archers, but, as you can see, we're a bit short-staffed around here at the moment."

"Leon, did I not just say I would be taking only Arthur and I?"

"Yes, but you couldn't possibly pull this off with only two men-"

"Whoever said I needed men? Two is a crowd. Arthur is just coming in case we need something shiny for bait. I'll be calling the Wyvern. I think they'll suffice." Merlin rises from the table, adjusting his tunic, "I'll need a cloak. Had enough cold to last a lifetime."

"Are you seriously suggesting that we allow you to take the king to use as Wyvern bait?" One of the younger knights asks, incredulous. 

"Uh, yeah. I remember that bit too." Merlin begins a brisk walk toward the door, "Off we pop then."

Merlin waits at the door, leaning against the frame. Arthur says nothing, staring down at the table. Finally, he rises, placing a kiss to the back of Guinevere's hand, and turning to go. 

Merlin waits until the door closes behind them, allowing the silence to be punctuated only by the tap of their shoe soles on stone. Arthur shifts uncomfortably, avoiding Merlin's gaze.

"So, you-"

"You don't-"

"You first." Merlin quips.

"You don't intend to kill me, do you? Am- Am I actually bait?" Arthur glances around the corridor as though he couldn't navigate it in his sleep.

"Ha!" Merlin laughs, "No, I just really wanted to mess with Leon after being threatened with a sword."

"But the plan is still to ambush them, just the two of us?"

"And the Wyvern."

"Right, and the Wyvern."

Merlin holds the door to the servant's stairwell open for Arthur, "So, my turn. You didn't tell everyone what happened in the valley?"

"No I- I was too ashamed."

"Ah, I should have suspected it was to save your own neck. Couldn't imagine the great Arthur Pendragon keeping my secret purely from the goodness of his heart."

There's a scrape of leather on stone as Arthur sinks down against the wall, burying his face in his hands, shoulders shaking. 

Merlin stops, sighing before he turns. Arthur is heaped on the stairs behind him like a vase fallen from a windowsill, a pile of shards and cracks and sharp edges.

"Arthur..."

"I'm sorry." Arthur sobs, breath hitching like a child, "I'm sorry. I thought I couldn't live knowing I had killed you, but now we're both back, and it's nearly worse because I've lost you, an- and Guinevere, oh Guinevere, what I've put her through. I- I can't go on like this-"

"Dying is easy, Arthur. Take it from someone who's done it." Arthur flinches at that, another choked sob escaping, "It's holding your bones up, no matter what, that's the trick."

Arthur stays curled into himself, as though expecting a blow.

"Though, granted," Merlin moves down the steps toward him, "Sometimes we need a little help."

He offers a hand to Arthur, a ghost of a smile teasing at his lips.

"Even a sorcerer?" Arthur asks, taking the hand as though he were worried his fingers would pass through it.

"Even a king." Merlin corrects, "Now come on, up you get.  Time is of the essence."

"Right." Arthur wipes the tears from his face. He looks tired, small. The sight tugs at something in Merlin's chest, but he turns away. He's not ready to forgive, not by a long shot.

They continue up the stairs in silence. Merlin pauses at Gaius' door, feeling rather strange to be knocking on the door of what he used to feel was home. Now, he's not sure what he thinks of it. It's been a lifetime. 

"Merlin!" Gaius throws the door open, catching Merlin in a rib-crushing hug.

"Hey, Gaius," Merlin wheezes, "It's been less than an hour."

"I know, I- I'm just so glad you're back." Gaius releases him reluctantly, pretending not to cry tears of joy at the mere sight of him.

It seems that he's managed to make everyone cry today.

"Glad to be back," Merlin assures him with a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes.

The power thrumming beneath his skin itches, almost painfully. He needs to release it. Everything just feels like wasted time. 

"Are my clothes still in my trunk?"

"Yes, I haven't been able to go in there."

"Right." He strides past Arthur and Gaius, heading straight for his room, taking the stairs two at a time. 

He ignores their murmured conversation, digging through the chest until he finds what he's looking for: a simple, heavy brown wool cloak. He fastens it around his shoulders, ignoring as the heat rising off his skin seems to increase tenfold. The itching becomes burning, as though he could melt the flesh off his bones from the inside out. Still, he shivers the smallest bit as the cool air of his room slips beneath the heavy fabric. Something is wrong with him.

He strides back into the main room, feeling strangely anxious, or maybe giddy? He isn't entirely sure, but he's restless. 

"Alright, We've got to go." He sounds hoarse, strained.

"Merlin, are you sure you're alright? You're a bit flushed." Gaius approaches, attempting to lay a hand on Merlin's forehead. 

Merlin catches his hand, feeling as the power flares up even in response to the smallest irritation. 

"Merlin!" Your hand is burning up!"

"Right, sorry, sorry," He releases him, stepping back, "But really, we must go. Now."

"Merlin your eyes, they're..."

"Let me guess, glowing? They're glowing, right?" Merlin feels inexplicably impatient, "They do that, now come here Arthur. We've got to GO."

"Go? How are we going to go from here? I don't even have my sword-"

"Argh!" Merlin exclaims, flinging out a hand, a sword flying into his grip.

"Here," Merlin hands it to Arthur, who takes it weakly, astonished.

"And armor, you'll need armor." Merlin snaps his fingers and Arthur is fully armored, stumbling from the sudden shock of thirty pounds of metal stacked on his shoulders.

"Merlin-!" Gaius nearly shouts.

"Be back by midnight, bye." Merlin grabs Arthur, sprinting toward his room and dragging a disoriented king behind him. 

"Ha! Out we get!" Merlin keeps running, straight for the now-open window.

"No! No no no-"

Merlin yanks Arthur towards him, tossing him out the window and falling out after him, propelled by their still-clenched hands toward the ground far below.

----

To that one person still commenting: Let me know when you want another chapter.