Because it has been a ridiculously long time since my last update (sorry), a quick recap: Merlin is currently on trial for magic, lying to the king(s) repeatedly, and murder (Nimueh, Cornelius Sigan, etc.); he is not expected to get the death sentence as Arthur has changed the laws on magic, but in the interest of not having Merlin be accused of enchanting him, Arthur is allowing the council to have a voice in the matter and they are pushing for punishment. Arthur is doing his best to work with the council and appear as just and fair and free of bias as possible, but still help Merlin to have as easy a time of it as he can. In chapter ten, Merlin gave his testimony of what he'd done-limited by agreement between him and Arthur to not include some unnecessary and needlessly incriminating things-but the council is questioning his trustworthiness, given that he's known to have been lying for years to cover up his magic, and has asked if anybody is able to confirm or support his assertions. Arthur, Gwen, the knights of the Round Table, and a few other knights offered to relate their memories of the events Merlin claims to have helped with, but as none of them were definitively able to verify Merlin's use of magic specifically, those testimonies were initially tabled. Gaius then spoke up, offering his knowledge of magic to explain that certain threats could only have been defeated with magic and his knowledge of Merlin as his ward to prove that he was there when they were defeated; he did not reveal that he knew about Merlin's magic. This chapter begins immediately following Gaius's testimony.

DAY 19:

Eventually the council decided they were finished with Gaius—for now—and turned to the other testimonies offered, beginning with the knights.

Leon went first, to set the example, Arthur suspected, for Gwaine more than anybody else. He stood in the space between the tables, just behind Merlin, with hands folded behind him and back straight and gave his testimony much the same way he gave reports: steady and confident and clear, mostly facts given with as little bias as possible with the occasional opinion or clarification thrown in, but always indicated as such. Arthur knew, and hoped Merlin did too, that Leon wanted very much to speak on Merlin's behalf, but that he knew as well as Arthur that anything that seemed to be biased towards Merlin as a friend would be summarily disregarded without impact on its listeners.

Speaking of the dragon and their suicide mission to face it, he said, "I knew then that Merlin was a brave soul, to ride out with us to face the dragon as an unarmed and untrained servant, but I suspect now an even deeper bravery, to ride out to face the dragon and likely perform some sorcery in the company of knights and prince alike. I suspect, looking back, that sorcery must have been involved, for the dragon to have been defeated after so many failed attempts and to have disappeared so entirely." He prepared to continue, but was interrupted by Lord Gauteron.

A former knight renowned for his service during the Purge, Lord Gauteron was harsh and unforgiving of even the smallest offences and had spent the better part of the trial trying to trap Merlin, and later Gaius, in lies to prove sorcery as deceptive and untrustworthy as he believed it to be and as Uther had taught. Now, with Leon's introduction of a topic Merlin had previously avoided—on Arthur's orders, unbeknownst to any but the two of them—he pounced on yet another opportunity. "A moment, Sir Leon." He turned a canny eye on Merlin, a slight smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth. "You never mentioned any involvement with the dragon, sorcerer. Have you anything to say, now, to the honorable Sir Leon's suspicion?" He was daring Merlin to contradict a knight, Arthur's First Knight, in such a public way and on such a sensitive matter, and Arthur was sorely tempted to intervene; he saw Leon opening his mouth in preparation to step in as well, to retract his suspicions maybe, but both men were cut off by the sorcerer in question.

Rather than looking at Lord Gauteron—something Arthur was thankful for considering the predatory look the lord was sporting—Merlin lifted his head and spoke directly to Arthur. There was an apology in his eyes. "Sir Leon suspects correctly." Gasps and murmurs of interest swept through the crowd; the council shifted, intent on what Merlin might say next. "I used magic in the defeat of the Great Dragon." He started to say something else, to continue, but was cut off by Lord Gauteron.

"And yet you failed to mention this," he practically purred.

"I did," Merlin admitted freely, voice subdued and serious, but steady. Arthur's heart lurched. "My king asked how I had used magic for the good of Camelot and . . ." He stumbled on his words, eyes dropping away from Arthur's as he swallowed then rising again determinedly. "Failing to stop the dragon sooner is one of my greatest regrets. I cannot count it as a victory, as good for Camelot, when so many died. Innocent people. Brave soldiers and knights. Very nearly our king himself."

As Lord Gauteron floundered temporarily for his next words, Lord Varick spoke up. "Why did you not stop him sooner?"

Merlin turned to him. "I didn't have the magic I needed yet. I tried. Every night. And I failed." He looked back at Arthur. "Every night." Turning back to Lord Varick, his tone became more informative and less guilty. "I did as much research as I could, but so much knowledge of magic has either been destroyed or locked away because of the Purge that I had a difficult time finding anything of use against the dragon."

"But you did," Lord Varick concluded. "How?"

Again, Merlin turned back to Arthur, as if seeking permission. Arthur nodded, curious to see what Merlin was going to say about his father and his Dragonlord power. Merlin turned back to Lord Varick. "King Uther knew of a man, one who had helped him capture the Great Dragon in the first place and had been forced to flee Camelot." He didn't need to say magic or betrayal for the crowd to understand and Arthur couldn't begrudge him this small chance to speak to the innocence of magic—and, though those watching couldn't know, his father—even if it meant putting down his own father (who, after all, had been in the wrong, in this as in many other things). "He sent our then-prince, Arthur, to see if he could find this man and bring him back to stop the dragon—" The murmuring of the crowd, begun when Merlin first mentioned Uther's knowledge of Balinor and increased already at the implication that he had used him and his magic and then had betrayed him, rose sharply at the thought that the king who had stood so staunchly against magic had intended to use it so recently and in secret. Arthur had to raise a hand to quiet the crowd in order for Merlin to be heard.

But before he allowed Merlin to continue, he spoke in answer to the questions of crowd and council alike, "He speaks the truth." Another wave of sound rose, which Arthur allowed for a moment before again raising a silencing hand. "Merlin," he said once the crowd had mostly quieted, "please continue." The crowd fell utterly silent in anticipation.

"The king sent him to find the man and bring him back and I accompanied." At a questioning look from several members of his council (imbeciles), Arthur nodded confirmation. "We found him and managed to persuade him to come back, but were attacked by bandits on the return journey and he was killed. In his dying moments, he gave me the magic I needed to stop the dragon." The crowd murmured appreciatively, passing the story along, but Arthur couldn't help noting that Merlin had left out a very important part of the story. It was understandable that he keep his deeply personal relationship with Balinor private, but—

"Lords of the council," Arthur announced, "in the interest of transparency, I feel it necessary to add here that it was not I who convinced the sorcerer to return with us." He kept his tone grave and innocent, making as much of an effort to seem unbiased as possible. "He had a deep, and not entirely unearned, hatred and mistrust for the Pendragon line, and though he healed me of an injury I had sustained in fighting the dragon, he refused to accompany me back to Camelot, wary of a trap. Merlin is the one who persuaded him, by reminding him of the innocent people of Camelot who were dying and in need of his aid." Another wave of murmurs swept through the crowd and council alike, many seeming to note Merlin's reddened ears at Arthur's praise with interest.

The council conferred among themselves for a moment, before Lord Gauteron again spoke up. "You claim he 'gave' you the magic you needed, sorcerer. How is that? How can magic be 'given' to another? Could you 'give' magic to anyone here?"

Merlin looked up at Arthur, and though he looked strained, Arthur could see he was also repressing the urge to roll his eyes. "I meant, he gave me the information I needed. He told me what to do." He paused, looking to Arthur and wrinkling his brow as if uncertain whether to continue answering the lord's other absurd questions. Arthur shrugged minutely, deciding to leave it up to him, but before Merlin could speak, Lord Gauteron did.

"Perhaps you should speak more clearly, then, sorcerer. Perhaps you should remember that you are speaking to your king and his council on serious matters. Misinformation is as grievous an error, as much a deception, as outright lying, and you would do well to be careful."

Merlin bowed, still facing away from Gauteron, but towards Arthur. "My apologies for my error, my lords." Arthur noted that his voice was a bit breathy, as if the relatively shallow bow had taken a great deal of effort, and wanted to frown, but instead nodded politely in acknowledgement of Merlin's apology. A few of the lords of the council nodded as well; others sniffed in dismissal, including Lord Gauteron.

"If everyone is quite satisfied on the point of the defeat of the Great Dragon, perhaps we can allow Sir Leon to continue?" Lord Varick put forth. There were some general murmurs of agreement and no one spoke up with any questions, so Lord Varick nodded at Leon in a signal to continue and the knight complied.

There was not much left for him to tell, a few major events and probably more fights in which tree branches had mysteriously fallen on people's heads and swords had fallen out of people's hands than anyone really remembered, though Leon made a valiant effort to make sure they were still noted. He ended his testimony shortly after he began again, bowing and turning to leave, but hesitated at the last moment.

He turned back, gaze sweeping the council and finally landing on Arthur and with another bow, spoke again. "My lords, I wonder if I might add something which I believe to be relevant to the proceedings here today, though it may not be directly related to the actions of the man on trial."

The council turned to one another, conferring and glancing occasionally at Arthur, who watched them as well, gauging the mood, but made no indication either way.

Lord Varick leaned forward over his folded hands, intrigued, and glanced at the other lords of the council. As the chatter died down, he turned to Leon. "Sir Leon, you are a trusted and respected servant of the Crown, and as a knight who has served many years directly beside our current king you have a perspective on these proceedings few can claim. I, for one, would be interested in hearing what you have to say."

A few others spoke their agreement and Leon acknowledged them with another bow and began to speak.

"Some time ago, shortly before the plans of Morgause and the lady Morgana came to fruition in the form of an immortal army and Lady Morgana was revealed a traitor, I and a large patrol of knights were attacked by those now known to have been in their employ. I alone returned. I was badly injured and would have died—should have died—but instead I woke in a cave, tended by druids. They had found us where we lay, knew us unmistakably for knights of Camelot, those who would be their enemies, and they saved me anyway." Leon took a deep breath. "I believe they used magic to do so."

"Magic! On a knight of Camelot!" Lord Aalart cried, sounding scandalized.

Leon didn't hesitate, turning to the man and saying in the same steady tone as he used to report an uneventful patrol, "Yes. I believe they used magic. To heal me, a man duty-bound to kill them by law, without hesitation or question or thought of reward. In spite of the fact that Morgana and Morgause—magic users who proclaimed themselves the champion of others like themselves—were responsible for my injuries." He glanced at Merlin. "They turned against other magic users to save the life of one who would see them dead simply for their ability to use magic, just as Merlin claims to have done, and as many here today have dismissed as unlikely or impossible."

"But—!" Aalart squawked. The man seated between him and Lord Ingram's empty seat waved a quieting hand and Aalart turned, saw the empty chair, and pursed his lips, but didn't make any move to continue his protest.

Leon ignored him anyway. "Since then, I have been wrestling with the question of magic, forced to question all I had been taught about it." There was a rumble of anger at that, but Leon determinedly continued. "As a knight of Camelot, I have a duty to uphold the law, regardless of my personal convictions, but as a man, I began to wonder if it might not be as inherently evil as I believed. If there might be good in magic, hidden from us because of that law." He paused and Arthur could see him debating something with himself, then his eyes dropped to Merlin and it was settled. "I no longer wonder. There is good in magic. There can be no denying it, when the proof would appear to be sitting right in front of us."

As he bowed and stepped back into the crowd, the room was abuzz. There were those who were angry that Leon would dare to suggest such a thing, that any knight would question his king in such a way or dare to speak to the council so authoritatively. There were those who were intrigued by his statements, who were perhaps swayed. There were those Arthur couldn't read, either impassive—withholding judgment—or swept up in the overall excitement of the trial. Arthur tried to be satisfied, but there were far too few who appeared to be on Merlin's side and his stomach wouldn't stop fluttering. Then it got worse.

"Have you ever used magic on a knight of Camelot?" a shrill voice rose above the din. Instantly, the atmosphere changed.

Arthur turned with the rest of the crowd to see Lord Aalart pointing a thin finger directly at Merlin. His demeanor—and the general response of the listeners to that particular question—was equal parts fear and fury. Arthur had always found the slightly younger man pathetic and irritating, and the feeling only increased. He shifted to lessen the instinctive stiffening of his spine, stifling the urge to shout the man into silence and instruct Merlin and the rest of the council to ignore the question.

Merlin blinked in surprise, brow wrinkling in confusion, as whispers skittered nervously around the room. "What do you mean by 'on,' my lord?" he asked carefully.

"Don't be impertinent, sorcerer," Lord Gauteron barked. "And don't try to avoid the question."

Merlin's jaw shifted and he said, very politely, "My apologies, I was merely trying to clarify what it was his lordship wanted to know." Arthur knew Merlin, and he knew he was holding back something smart that he very much wanted to say.

He decided to say it for him, cutting off anything Gauteron might say. "It is best for all parties to be careful to speak clearly, to avoid misinformation, is it not, Lord Gauteron." Merlin's lips twitched. So did Gauteron's jaw. Arthur turned to Aalart, but his satisfaction quickly fell into dread. "If you wouldn't mind clarifying your question, my lord."

Aalart spluttered. "Enchantment!" he finally shrieked. "Or attack! Or—or any sort of magic! On the person of a knight of Camelot!"

Arthur drew in a slow breath, consciously relaxing jaw and fists and spine.

Merlin took a breath as well, considering, before he finally answered, slowly. "I have never used magic on the person of any knight loyal to Camelot or my king."

Arthur held his breath in worry. That sounded like a lie, risky in the current circumstances. Then he reconsidered and had to quickly restrain a snort. No, Merlin wasn't lying, not directly. He was just being very specific. The only person he had ever admitted to enchanting was Arthur himself, who by some definitions wasn't a knight. He had only mentioned healing—or trying to heal—Arthur, Morgana, and Uther. He had attacked knights only when he knew them to be traitors to the Crown. And he had admitted to distracting knights and guards to sneak out, not using magic directly on their persons. Clever.

But still risky.

"I can't help but notice the specificity of that wording, sorcerer," Gauteron drawled. "You have used magic on knights of Camelot who you claim were not loyal?"

"I have," Merlin answered without pause. There was a hint of steel in his tone, some promise or threat, and Arthur wasn't the only one to hear it: council and crowd shifted in interest, quieting and straining to hear.

Gauteron prepared to continue, but was cut off by Lord Varick. "You refer to the Knight Valiant, whom you spoke of earlier?" Merlin nodded and Varick hummed consideringly. "And perhaps also of Lord Agravaine, who was once a knight of Camelot and whom you claim to have worked against in secret for the better part of his recent time here in court?" Merlin tipped his head to the side and gave a half-shrug of acknowledgement. "Are there any others to add?"

"No, my lord."

"Then we need drag this out no longer," Lord Varick said, again cutting off Lord Gauteron.

"Now, just a moment," Gauteron protested, loudly, as if worried he'd be cut off again. "We're going to just take his word for it that there aren't any others?"

Geoffrey spoke up. "You think he's going to change his testimony if you keep pushing?" Lord Gauteron's expression indicated that he certainly did, and Geoffrey scoffed. "The question of his honesty might be under scrutiny at the moment, but the fact that he is stubborn is irrefutable. I have observed the boy for several years now; asking questions he has already answered once is going to do nothing but waste time. I agree with Lord Varick. Let us move on."

"I'm not certain—" Lord Gauteron began.

"I am," Arthur cut in. "Geoffrey speaks truth in regards to Merlin's stubbornness. The fact that he remained in my service for so long rather than having gone home to his village years ago speaks to that, if nothing else does. There are other testimonies for us to hear, let us not waste time in doing so."

Percival's testimony, next, went more smoothly than any previous, perhaps because he had less to relate and it had already been covered in Merlin's, Gaius's, and Leon's testimonies, perhaps because the council was growing impatient and tired and did not want to draw another testimony out as they had the previous ones, perhaps because the warnings of Lord Varick, Geoffrey, and Arthur from the attempt during Sir Leon's testimony were still ringing in their ears. His tone was grave and measured, his words economical and confident. Arthur was quite pleased at the result.

As he gave his testimony, his perspective—rare among those of his station—of having grown outside the borders of Camelot and under laws less strict on magic came through clearly. He spoke of the events that he had observed and openly added his history with magic as support for Merlin's claims—Arthur hoped a knight of Camelot, trusted and respected by all, speaking without any fear or bias against magic would help ease the people's concerns.

"Someone used magic for our benefit, over and over in fights," he said. "And Merlin was there, every time, as Merlin always has been. He's a good man; it's no surprise he'd use magic for good," he concluded.

Or, Arthur thought he was concluding. Percival, too, had a surprise in store once he'd finished relating the facts, not that Arthur felt as surprised as he thought he likely should have been. "There is one more thing, something I didn't see first-hand, but learned through a good friend, Sir Lancelot, before he was killed." He paused, looking to Arthur for direction.

"As Sir Lancelot is no longer with us to relate this information himself and you appear to be the only source of it, besides Merlin, please, share what you know."

Percival nodded. "When Sir Lancelot first arrived, Camelot was being beset by a griffin; I don't know how many it had killed, but I do know that it seemed invincible, that no one had been able to defeat it. Lancelot joined a party riding out to face it, a party that was uncertain of victory because of the magical nature of the creature and its known history, a party that ultimately failed, all killed or knocked unconscious in the battle except for Lancelot, who charged in one final effort. He never said how, but he always said that he hadn't defeated the creature, that Merlin had, and that he'd risked more than I could possibly know to do so. In light of Merlin's magic, I can imagine what those risks might have been: he used magic to defeat a creature of magic and in doing so he could have been discovered—was discovered, by Lancelot, but he could have been discovered by any of the others, which would have meant the pyre." Arthur was pleased to note that, although some in the crowd looked as if they would happily throw Merlin on the pyre at any given second, there were others who appeared sickened by the mention of it and sympathetic to one facing it.

"Thank you, Sir Percival," Lord Varick said. "Who is next?"

Gwaine instantly stepped forward. "That'd be me," he said, all brash challenge and cocky swagger.

Gwaine's testimony, as the fifth so far this trial covering more or less the same incidents, should have gone at least as smoothly as Percival's. But Gwaine was Gwaine and he'd never made anything particularly easy, or smooth. His testimony of Merlin's exploits obviously took Merlin's testimony into account—and took it as fact—and he presented each bit of information as if challenging anyone to question either himself or Merlin.

And question they did. Lord Gauteron and his cohorts, those eager to trap Merlin in a lie, shifted their search for dishonesty to Gwaine. They accused him of agreeing with Merlin without proof, which he rather handily refuted, only to add, "Not that I need proof, anyway. Merlin only ever had one reason to lie about any of this and that no longer matters; now that everyone knows he's got magic, there's no reason to hide what he's done with it. Especially when what he's done with it is save all our lives, more times than anyone can probably guess, let alone prove."

He scanned the crowd. "It makes sense for Merlin to have done what he said, not just because it fits with what we all saw, but because he's a brave lad, and always willing to help, even a stranger who probably doesn't deserve it." He paused and spoke more quietly. "All the things he's done to help people around here, from individual people—with little favors and kind words and friendly smiles—to the whole of Camelot with his staunch determination to do what needs to be done for our king and us knights to see victory, all of that is too much to be a lie. It can't be, because he didn't have to do any of that. No one would have thought anything of it if he hadn't. But he did, because that's the kind of person he is. And that kind of person, if he has magic, uses it for the good of Camelot, just the same as he uses his time and other efforts.

"I said earlier, and Sir Percival there showed as much in his testimony, but magic can be good. Those outside of Camelot know it. Anyone who's spent significant time outside of Camelot, especially in certain places, know that magic is whatever the user wants it to be, and that's good as often as not."

Apparently having said his piece, Gwaine offered Arthur a half bow, flipped his hair back, and sauntered back into the crowd.

Elyan came next, testimony short and to the point with no added frills, no interruptions, and no new information.

Then came Sirs Aymer and Roulfe and Evrart and Hardegin, men who had gone on patrols with Arthur and Merlin in the past, had fought alongside them, and who were honorable men. Hardegin was impassive, practical, loyal to the throne and not given to bouts of philosophy; Arthur had declared magic to not be evil, so he saw no reason to be biased against it, though previously he would have hunted magic users to the ends of the earth if ordered. The other three were understandably more wary of magic still, but honorable enough to overcome their own prejudices to verify what they knew or believed to be true in regards to Merlin's actions. Arthur wished more would have spoken up, but he was unbelievably proud of the ones who had, especially those who didn't even have a personal friendship with Merlin to encourage them.

Only two more testimonies to go, Guinevere's and then Arthur's own, and then they would be done with this ordeal.

Updates may continue to be slow, they may not; I can't be sure. I am absolutely not giving up on this story, though. I am determined to see it through to the end.

All chapters up to this point have been edited and updated, mostly for grammar, but also for some slight clarifications of the thoughts and opinions of characters. If you have already read them, it shouldn't be necessary to re-read.

As always, comments, critiques, and constructive criticism are more than welcome as I am always looking to improve!

Have a terrific day!

M1ssUnd3rst4nd1ng