Upon arriving back at the castle, Lancelot took the horses while Gwaine, Merlin, Arthur and Gaius walked slowly and silently towards the physician's old chambers. They were about half of the way there that a young girl came rushing up to them, telling them that Gaius was needed urgently down in the lower town. The physician – his bag with him, in case of emergency while on the trek to talk to Kilgarrah – had allowed himself to be led off by the young girl, telling Merlin sternly to get some much needed rest. Merlin didn't answer, save to nod shortly.
It left Arthur, Gwaine, and Merlin to walk the rest of the way to the room. Upon reaching the hall just outside their destination, Merlin stopped and looked at Gwaine and Arthur.
"Well," said Merlin, speaking for the first time since the dragon had left. "I think I'll be just fine on my own from here, thanks."
Arthur snorted slightly, and said, "Very funny Merlin."
"I'll be fine," said Merlin, "I just want to be alone for a bit."
"I don't know if you've noticed, Merlin, but you're somewhat in danger," said Arthur, "So give me one good reason why I would let you be al –"
"Because I don't want to talk to anyone right now," Merlin snapped.
Arthur paused. Merlin blinked, looking like he very much wanted to take the words back. But then the warlock cleared his throat, and squared his shoulders ever so slightly. Gwaine hung back, eyes twitching uncertainly from Merlin to Arthur and back again. Arthur knew he should walk away, send Merlin off to bed and leave Gwaine to stand watch. But he couldn't just let it go.
He had made a mistake, sending Merlin away. He knew that. He was ready to spend many years repaying his actions from that day. But it didn't change the fact that Merlin had lied, and that it hurt him. Arthur understood the lying over the magic – really, he did. After all, that was a life-or-death situation. Merlin, though had lied about the dragon. And if he'd lied over that, what other things had he let run free through Camelot out of some sort of misplaced sense of kinship? Arthur could accept that magic wasn't all evil – but that dragon had killed so many citizens of Camelot, rained fire and death down upon the city, upon the people that Arthur had sworn to protect. And Merlin had just let it go.
Arthur knew he should turn around and go off in the opposite direction. He should leave. Now. Before he did something he would regret.
"That dragon," said Arthur, instead, letting his anger get the better of him again, "It has to do anything you say, doesn't it? Because you're a Dragonlord."
"Leave me alone," Merlin said, taking a few steps towards the door.
"No," Arthur said, following, "You've a dragon at your disposal. A dragon. Why didn't you use him to escape from Morgana and Morgause? Or the bounty hunter?"
"I don't know."
"Listen, you two," said Gwaine, "We've all had a long night, and we should all just take a moment to –"
"You remembered that thing the dragon told you about," said Arthur, "You remembered it as soon as he asked you to think of it. Why couldn't you when we asked? Why can't you just do that now?'"
"I. Don't. Know," Merlin said, "I don't know, Arthur, I thought that we'd established that. I don't know why I couldn't get away, I don't know anything. Leave it."
"Yes," Gwaine said, "Let's leave it. That sounds like a lovely idea."
"No," said Arthur, ignoring the knight, "I think you're remembering more than you're letting on."
"I don't."
"You're lying," Arthur said, "You aren't saying something, aren't telling us something. I will have the truth, Merlin now."
