The Rise of Arthur Pendragon

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

It was a long day for the court of Camelot. Arthur held meeting after meeting to try and gather evidence that Merrill had indeed been under the orders of Lord Aragon, Camelot's most feared enemy. He had also made sure that any other infiltrators were found and evicted from Camelot. Thankfully, none were.

The traitors chambers had been searched and, much to Arthurs dismay, it had been proved that their suspicions were true. Letters were found, some addressed to Sir Merrill, thanking from the information and saying that the lord was pleased, some had which had been started by Merrill but never finished, containing the locations of the next patrols. There were spell books and books about the old religion. It seemed that the traitor had been studying dark magic in the heart of Camelot. The King, his knights and his council had worked tirelessly to gather as much information as possible. Merlin had been at Arthurs side all the time. Carrying out every order as fast as he could in the hope that the day would soon end. But he was also there for moral support. Everything that had happened in the past few months, from Gwen getting poisoned to finding out there was a traitor in the castle to almost getting killed (again) had taken it's toll on Arthur. Even though he didn't said it aloud, Arthur was immensely grateful that Merlin was there. He never would have admitted it to anyone but the King was glad of someone to lean on.

...............................................................................................................

"Right.",Arthur was sitting alone in the council chambers, with only Merlin for company. "Are we done Sire?" "Yes Merlin. I think we are." The two men grinned at each other, both relieved that the day had come to a close. "I should umm..." Merlin pointed to the door and slowly started to sidle towards it. "Of course! I'll come with you. I want to see how Alia's doing." Trying hard to keep the smile plastered on his face Merlin muttered; "Naturally. I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you." So they set off towards Gaius' chambers in silence, both too tired for conversation.

"Arthur!",Alia jumped up from her bed and ran to hug her friend, as he entered the room. "I'm so glad you're here and-",she stopped short, noticing Merlin standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Merlin!",he too received an, if rather brief and stiff, embrace. "So ummm how are you?",asked Merlin, his face turning red. "Much better thank you Merlin." Alia stared shyly at the floor. Arthur just watched the pair with his brow furrowed, becoming increasingly confused. "Did I miss something here? Why are you two acting all strange?" "It's complicated.", Merlin and Alia replied simultaneously, then proceeded to stare in opposite diretions. Arthur, who was none the wiser, decided he didn't even want to know. The three of them chatted for a while then Arthur thought it best for them all to get some sleep, and he went. Which left Alia and Merlin sitting side by side on the bed staring shyly at anything but each other. After a few minuets of awkward silence Merlin finally spoke; "Alia, we need to talk."

A/N: Hey everyone :) Thanks again to everyone who read my story! I know a lot of people say this but it really does mean the world to me that someone would take the time to read this. I'm really sorry for the irregular updates but I have a lot of school work... :/// If any of you have any ideas on how it should continue please tell me! Thanks again!