Merlin held his wife's tired body upright, partially dragging her to the grand chair in front of the fireplace. She fell clumsily as he sat her down, but was unfazed. Her eyes were glassy- staring into the roaring flames of the fire.

He worriedly took in her anguished face and brushed away the sad tears that threatened to spill from his eyes as he realized that this happened way to many times to count. He hated seeing her like this and now he had a new worry to add onto his conscious as he looked at his heavily pregnant wife being unresponsive. He knelt down in front of her, cupping her cheeks in his hands, stroking the tear stained skin with his thumbs.

"Elsa," He whispered softly, his eyes glowing gold as he tried to gain her attention, "Elsa, it is alright." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. His soothing words and slight magic brought the girl back. He watched as her body gave a sudden jolt and her once blank stare turned into one of pure fear. She began crying again, her head frantically surveying her surroundings, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the arm rest.

Merlin shushed her as she bawled, pulling her towards him. Her head fell onto his chest, her thick tears staining his blue shirt. She clung to him as though he was going to just vanish out of thin air.

They spent a few moments in this position, Merlin continuing running his hand through her red hair- pulling out the many pins that still adorned the auburn locks as he did so. When her sobs had quieted down to a whimper, he pulled away slightly so he could look into her face.

"Elsa , darling, why don't you go take a bath. I shall run it for you, alright? Then when I return, we can discuss what happened." His voice was barely above a whisper, and Elsa shivered at the affection in his voice. She could only imagine the sight that he was looking at when he was looking down at her. Her long hair hung in random directions, and she could feel the heavy knot in the back of her head. The long, green dress she wore for her dinner with Merlin, Arthur and Gwen just hours previous, was torn and wrinkled from the way she convulsed and gripped at the clothing as though it were poison. Her face flushed in embarrassment as she looked towards her husband.

"I am sorry." She mouthed and fresh tears poured out of her eyes again, which she tried to wipe away quickly with the back of her hand. Merlin stopped her efforts, taking her hands softly in his and kissed the palms.

"Elsa , you have nothing to be sorry for. Come," he brought them both into a standing position and led her towards the large tub in the other room. With a flick of his hand, warm water appeared in the tub. He gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek before walking towards the door. "I am going to go speak with Arthur. I will be back soon enough." Elsa smiled at him in thanks, but said nothing. This worried the warlock. Elsa had never been one for not saying anything. She always had a sarcastic remark on the tip of her tongue; one that she was never afraid to speak out loud. Whatever she saw, must have frightened her terribly.

Merlin walked towards the King and Queen's chambers, lightly rapping on the door. Arthur opened it immediately, a worried expression on his face. He had been a nervous wreck ever since dinner. One moment Elsa was telling them a hilarious story about Merlin, and the next, she just fell to the ground and started convulsing. Her green eyes were taken over by an unknowable dark force- completely black and lifeless. Her skin became very pale. Gwen shrieked as her best friend fell to the ground, and he jumped from his seat. Merlin was the only one who remained calm- gently picking up his convulsing wife from the ground and bringing them to their chambers. Elsa was like a sister to him. Elsa was his sister.

"How is she?" He asked in a rush. Since she had been a best friend to both he and Merlin for so long, he was used to these moments. But this just seemed… worse. It was never this bad.

"She is fine now. A little shaken up is all." Merlin sighed and entered the room, plopping down on the chair. He covered his face with his hands before thanking Gwen who had poured him a glass of wine.

"I do not know what happened." Merlin said, more to himself than anyone else. Arthur leaned against the wall.

"She has never had anything this bad before." Arthur spoke softly and looked towards his best friend, who had a saddened look in his eye. It was barely a week when his two best friends had gotten married. Now this happened.

"I just hope," Merlin spoke with glistening eyes, "that this does not destroy her. Or hurt the baby."

Gwen stifled a sob as Merlin drank the rest of his goblet's contents in one gulp.

XxX

Elsa cleansed her skin of all dirt. The feel of the warm water washing her bare skin made her shiver in delight- almost made her forget what had occurred. She felt more embarrassed than anything else. She had always been younger than everyone else and having to be carried off like a child didn't make things any better. She sighed as she dunked her whole head underwater before rising again and massaging her scalp.

When she had exited her bath and dressed in a soft white nightgown, she was slightly relieved to see that Merlin had not yet returned. She did not want to tell her of the vision she just had. It made her uneasy to realize that she could have a future like that…

No, Elsa . She scolded herself. Do not think of that now.

Busying herself by running a comb through her thick, red hair she became lost in the rhythm of the brush strokes and hissed as she pulled it through the tangles. She sat at her vanity, and it took her a moment to realize that Merlin was behind her, leaning in the doorway. She smiled as he stared at her through the mirror. Every time he looked at her, her breath hitched in her throat. Instead of his usual attire of blue and red scarves, Arthur had made him wear clothes for someone of more noble status- and they suited him well. A dark midnight blue coat done up to the neck with black pants and brown boots. Everything was clean and freshly pressed and perfect. The only thing that took away from his perfection was the worried look in his eye. She warily took him in as she walked up behind her.

She gave a small, teasing smile. "Damn tangles… maybe I should just cut the whole lot off."

He chuckled and walked over to her and took the brush from her hands, taking over the job himself. He did it slowly and Elsa closed her eyes in content.

The sound of the brush hitting the vanity made her open her eyes. She was about to speak when he knelt down behind her, wrapping his arms around her swollen waist and leaning his chin on her shoulder. Tears fell from his eyes as he watched her carefully. She placed her hands on his own and swallowed thickly. If there was something that she hated most, it was seeing her Merlin- her Emrys- cry.

Merlin seemed to be struggling to swallow back tears as he gently stroked Elsa's stomach.

"The child is fine, Merlin." Elsa sounded bitter, but she really did not mean to. She just hated the fact that she might have endangered her child, and she began to question if she would make a good mother or not. If she could not protect her child in the womb, what hope would it have out in the real world?

"Elsa," his voice let out a slight choke after a moment. "You scared me tonight. I thought I was going to lose you."

"Well, you didn't." Elsa mumbled, trying to joke. She instantly regretted her words as he huffed in frustration and moved towards the changing screen, the rustle of his clothes the only thing heard in the large chambers.

"I have suffered through your quick, witty answers for years. As a friend, I have understood why you have always said them. You have wanted to show your strength to others." He emerged and she stood up slowly, using the vanity to aid herself. She did not interrupt, but could only stare at him as he continued his rant. He had changed into sleep trousers, yet wore only a loose white shirt.

"But, silly me. Here I was thinking that when I fell in love with you and we married, then things would be different. I am your husband now! I do not want you to feel like you have to take on the world yourself." He stood in front of her and sighed, taking her hands in his. "You do not have to be strong for everyone. I am here now. I can be strong for the both of us. For our child."

"I don't want you to be –" Elsa mumbled, yet was cut off as Merlin placed his lips on hers, his hands going to her stomach again. She closed her eyes and felt tears threatening to return. He gasped as he pulled back.

"Elsa , please. You are not alone anymore." He gave a weak chuckle. "You never were."

Elsa looked down and Merlin could tell that she was ready to break once more. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have said such things." He meant to turn away when she held on tighter to his hands.

"No, I am sorry." She stuttered before saying, "It was the vision. Merlin, it was not a good one and I think Arthur is in danger."

Merlin's eyes grew wide as she led him to the bed. He sat on the edge, yet she paced in front of him, unsure of where to start. How do you tell your husband of one week that your future involves murder?

When she had difficulty beginning, Merlin's anxiousness took over.

"What happened?" He questioned quietly as sat dragged the vanity's stool in front of him and began rocking back and forth, covering her face with her hands.

"Elsa ," He began again, more forcefully. He hated rushing her in this state, but he knew that she would forget what she had seen soon, and time was running thin. Especially with this knowledge that Arthur's life may be in danger.

She slowly lowered her hands and started at him with large, tear-filled eyes. He couldn't help but notice how dark her eyes became after her visions.

"I saw who it will be…" She said in a hoarse whisper. "Who it will be to bring about Arthur's bane."

Merlin was stunned, yet slightly anxious. If she saw who it was then perhaps he could defeat them soon…

"It is going to be me." She finally admitted in a small voice before breaking down again once more. "I am to bring Arthur's destruction."

Merlin sat in shock before shushing his wife and leading her to the bed with him. He lay her down and blew out the small candle beside the bed. Covering them both with the large quilt, he laid her head on his chest and just lay there- allowing her to let out her fears. His mind was working too fast. Why would she want to destroy Arthur? But she didn't want to do it, he knew that. Arthur was one of her best friends. And the future could always be changed…

"Please help me." She pleaded. "Help me not to fall into that path!" She wailed, pushing her face into his chest even more.

He pulled her close in a bone-crushing hug and kissed the top of her head, stroking her hair.

"It's not going to happen, Elsa." He said, but the crack in his voice deceived him.

He always had to watch everyone with a close eye. He never thought that the day would come that it was someone so close to him that he would have to watch- especially his wife.

XxX

In the middle of the woods, in an undisclosed location, Morgana awakes from her slumber- smiling at the vision of the two lovers. She saw the usually strong Elsa breaking down in Merlin's arms- watching as his face slowly turns into one of suspicion.

She smirked evilly as she realized that her vision was slowly forming.

Soon, the kingdom of Camelot will be broken; in more ways than one.