A/N: The title of this story is inspired by the song Lessons In Love – Neon Trees.

Chapter 1

Merlin had never felt more helpless in his life. He had lost one of the most precious thing in his life, his magic. He could feel the emptiness inside of him. He tried desperately to reach his magic, but it was like it was pulled out of his reach every time. He knew this could be no one other than Morgana's doing. How could she have taken the thing that was so special to him? She must know how much his magic meant to him, especially her, who has magic as well. He felt incredibly angry, but he knew he would stand no chance against her, not without his magic.

"Can I get my magic back?" He asked Gaius, desperately. He crossed his arms over his chest, and held back the tears in his eyes in a desperate attempt to look confident. Gaius passed him an understanding look. It didn't exactly make him feel better at all; it just reminded him of his position. He remembered what he told Gaius the first year he came here.

"If I can't use magic, I might as well die." But right now it was more than that. Now, his magic was even more important. His magic was the only thing that could keep Arthur safe. Without his magic, all these years of protecting Arthur and putting his life on the line, would have been for nothing.

Gaius got an old book from the shelf, and looked through it, a frown on his face. Merlin didn't like that frown, and he was dreading the fact that there was no way of getting his magic back. If that was the case, Morgana was going to pay, if there was one thing he would never forgive, it was if someone took his magic. To Merlin's relief, Gaius stopped scrimmaging through the pages, and actually ended up on a page, that could help him. So there was a way!

"There might be a way to get your magic back, in the place where magic was born." Gaius told him. Merlin sighed in relieve, but was still a little put off by the word might.

"The crystal cave." Merlin mumbled, thinking of the time he was there before. Merlin nodded, and planned to go there right away, when Gaius reminded him of something he was stupid to forget.

"It would be unwise to go alone." Gaius reminded him, his eyebrows raised. Merlin groaned, who could help him? His thoughts wandered to his friend, Gwaine, he would help him without needing a reason why.

"I know who to ask." Merlin said, He saw Gaius was about to ask who, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Merlin answered him. "Gwaine."

Merlin put on his jacket, and left the physician's chamber in a hurry. He had no time to lose.

~#~

Morgana sighed, why was the girl late? This was the second time already. She had hired someone to spy on Camelot, so that they would be one step ahead of them. The girl was romancing one of the knights, Gwaine she believed his name was, and he'd been foolish enough to tell her everything so far, stupid knights, they could never do something right. The sound of footsteps could finally be heard, and she sighed in relief, the girl was finally here.

The girl smiled apologetically, and looked slightly afraid to be in her company. A slight smile crept up Morgana's lips, thinking that she was already winning, without anyone in Camelot knowing it. Not even Emrys could stop her now that he was neutralized.

"Any news?" Morgana asked her, gently, hiding her annoyance, so that she wouldn't scare her off. The girl nodded and smiled smugly, before she spilled the beans.

"Merlin and Gwaine are going to the crystal cave." The girl spoke, and Morgana's eyes widened, the crystal cave? Wasn't that the birthplace of magic? Did they figure out a way to get Merlin's magic back? This wasn't good; she had to stop them now!

"I must leave. Now!" Morgana said, her voice trembling, Merlin wasn't going to thwart with her plans any more, their game was over! Mordred frowned.

"But, what about..." Morgana interrupted him before he could continue.

"You go, alone. I must handle this first." Emrys wasn't going to win from her; she didn't care about some stupid prophecy. Emrys was done, and that was that. She was going to do everything she could to make sure that Emrys was never going to come between her and the crown that she deserved.

~#~

Merlin had said goodbye to Gwaine, and he strutted towards the crystal cave in good faith. Now that he was here, he began believing he was actually getting his magic back. He was going to stop this war, and Arthur would be victorious. The cave was dark and chilly, just like any other cave. But there was definitely something different about this cave. You could feel the presence of magic clearly in the air, and he could swear he could feel his own magic returning to him. Slowly, but it was definitely returning. The alarming sound of someone moving ringed in his ears. He tried to pinpoint the source of the sound, but the source quickly revealed itself, Morgana. How did she know!?

"Good to see you again Emrys." She mused in a condescending tone. "Not so almighty now, are you?" he wasn't in the mood to be playing games with her right now, and he definitely wasn't going to show any weakness to her, however scared he might feel, and did actually. She was pretty powerful, and he was basically powerless.

"Show yourself Morgana." He hissed. He was actually surprised at the strength of his own voice. But Morgana didn't seem to feel the same way, when she appeared behind him, with a mocking smile on her face. He held his sword in front of him, ready to strike her. But she didn't seem to be afraid at all. This worried him, but he was cautious not to let his worry show on his face.

"Don't even bother..." She laughed. Her mocking him irritated him to no end. He huffed, and held in his anger. He needed to be guarded. One mistake could lead to his dead easily. She approached him, slowly, her eyes on his sword. He needed to strike now, or he was sure his chances would be over. He took a deep breath and struck her with his blade, hitting her side.

She let out a loud gasp and reached for her wound, but to his surprise, she looked at him with amusement in her eyes. Mere seconds later, the whole room started shaking. At first, he thought it was Morgana's doing, but she seemed just as surprised as he was.

"What's happening!" he yelled at her. Rocks were falling down; one almost hit him on the head. But he managed to avoid it by an inch.

"How should I know!" she responded. He rolled his eyes, and tried to find a way to get out. He rushed to the only exit there was left, before it collapsed before him. He stepped back, to avoid the falling rocks.

A yell was heard behind him, and he saw Morgana getting hit with rocks that were falling down from the ceiling. He was about to run to her, to see if she was still alive, before he got hit himself. The last thing he remembered was his body smacking to the ground.

~#~