Title: Trust Me

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Summary: Merlin chooses to trust Morgana and reveals his deepest secret to her. Set in Season 1 Episode 10.

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WARNING: Nothing serious, just a heads up on the time frame of this fic. The setting is actually before Merlin learns that Morgana has magic but for the sake of this fic and the way it's supposed to flow, let's just pretend that Merlin has already been told by the Great Dragon about Morgana's magic and destiny, ok? Thank you.

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She can't sleep, but for once, it has nothing to do with her nightmares. This time, it has everything to do with paranoia. She's not used to sleeping in a tent. Her whole life was spent in luxury, sleeping on a soft, warm, and comfortable, four poster bed. Add that to the fact that their little camp is setup in the middle of the woods which are crawling with bandits and bugs, and that's enough to keep her awake all night.

Morgana sighs as she sits up next to Gwen, who had fallen asleep quite some time ago. She could see the dim firelight through the thin tent, and decides to go and make use of its warmth.

Crawling quietly over Gwen's slumbering form, Morgana drags her blanket with her, wrapping it around her shoulders and continuing out the tent flap. She's not sure why, but she's surprised to see Merlin, still sitting by the fire by himself with his back to her. Beside the tent, laid his mother, snoring softly under her blanket.

Morgana's heart aches a little at the sight of the kind woman. Though she was bruised and shaken up by the attack on their village, she had still travelled alone all this way to find her son and seek help from Uther. And of course, Uther was no help at all.

Morgana then looks at the man still sitting by the fire, oblivious to her standing a little ways behind him and staring at his back. Hunith is obviously a wonderful mother to have raised such a wonderful son.

She bites her lip as she continues to watch him. She feels a bit creepy, just standing there silently, staring at the back of the manservants head as he occasionally pokes the fire with a stick.

He's so different. She knows he has a lot of secrets. Can sense the way he pulls away when asked certain questions. And yet, when he looks at her, she could almost read him like a book. His eyes hold this depth that she's never seen in anyone else's. It held the knowledge of things no one else knows of. She knows he's hiding something... she just wishes he could trust her enough to tell her.

After about five whole minutes of just standing there, Morgana finally decides to make her presence known. She steps forward and softly clears her throat.

As expected, Merlin jumps to his feet, whirling around with his hand outstretched, turned towards her. She freezes, staring at his hand. He slowly lowers it, but now she's wondering what in the world he was going to do with his hand if she were an attacker. Slap her? Push her? She doesn't know, but it's an odd defensive stance. And now he's staring at her. "Milady..." he swallows hard and looks past her at the tent. "Is there something wrong? Is it the tent? Is there a bug in there or something? Are you okay? Can I get-"

"I'm fine, Merlin." She interrupts his barrage of questions. "Everything is fine. I just..." she shrugs and suddenly feels shy. "I couldn't sleep."

Merlin nods slowly as he stares silently at her.

"I didn't know you were still awake." She says truthfully.

He shrugs at her and smiles softly, "I couldn't sleep."

She smiles back and slowly approaches him, coming to a stop right in front of him. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, Milady." He moves aside, gesturing for her to sit down where he'd been sitting just a few moments ago. She does, looking up at him as he continues to stand there and look at her.

"Are you going to sit down? Or just stand there like a tree?" She asks jokingly. She thinks she sees him blush, and it spreads a warm feeling across her chest as he sits down beside her.

For a few, comfortable moments, they don't say anything as they both stare at the dancing fire.

Merlin then glances at her and gives her a questioning look. Morgana turns her head and looks back at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Merlin quickly looks away, obviously trying to hide a smile as he scratches his head. "Nothing."

Morgana quirks an eyebrow at him, remembering a conversation like this happening a few weeks ago when they saved the Druid boy. "Oh you don't get to do that again, Merlin." She laughs humorlessly and narrows her eyes at him. "You got away with that 'nothing' nonsense last time, but I'm not letting you get away with it a second time." Leaning towards him, she narrows her eyes further. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing!" He says a little too quickly to be convincing. "Nothing." He says a little more gentler.

Morgana looks him up and down and bites her lip. "You're lying." She concludes.

"I- I just- it's complicated, Milady."

Morgana snorts, rolling her eyes at him. "Merlin, stop calling me by a title... you can call me by my name."

Merlin nods, smiling crookedly at her. "Yes, Milady." He says cheekily, to which Morgana reaches over and playfully swats at his shoulder.

She gives him a curious look, "What's so complicated that you can't tell me?" She suddenly leans forward and lays a hand over his. "You know you can trust me, right?"

Merlin's smile disappears, he sighs and stares down at her hand, laying over his. He could hear Gaius warning him not to tell Morgana anything. He could feel Kilgharrah's anger as he warned him about 'the witch'… but his heart, though he knows how much trouble it gets him in at times, is screaming at him to tell her the truth. To let her in. To trust her… to help her when her own powers begin to manifest. Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes. And finally, he speaks. "The smart thing to do, would be to keep my secret safe… but the right thing to do, is to trust you, Morgana… the same way you trusted me enough to help me fight for my home in Ealdor." when he opens his eyes and looks at her, he's not surprised to find a confused stare on her face.

"Your secret?" Morgana asks curiously.

Merlin looks down at her hand again, before turning his large, calloused ones and gently closing his fingers over it. "My magic." with that, he closes his hands around hers, whispering a spell under his breath, before opening his hands again. From Morgana's palm, rose a beautiful blue butterfly, hovering above her fingers before flying away slowly.

Morgana blinks rapidly, obviously trying to process what had just happened. "What— what was—?" she manages as her eyes continue to follow the flight of the butterfly. "You're… what?" she quickly pulls her hand from Merlin's grasp and gets up as she stares fearfully at him.

Merlin follows as he stares pleadingly at her. "I have magic… I was— I was born with it… and I use it to protect you, Arthur, Gwen, Gaius, my mother… everyone I care for—."

"You have magic." Morgana repeats, her mind racing and her emotions on overdrive. "All this time… you've been lying to us all— to me!"

"I didn't know how to tell you." Merlin says softly, not sure if he should regret telling the Lady Morgana about his secret. "I— You of all people, know of Uther's hatred of magic… but you of all people also know me. I'm still the same Merlin I was before I told you my secret."

"But do I know you?" Morgana questions skeptically. "Merlin, a few minutes ago, I thought you were just a simple manservant with no extraordinary qualities… but now you're telling me that you could possibly kill me with a snap of your fingers?"

"Morgana, I would never hurt you." Merlin says with a heavy heart. He's not some ruthless murderer, or a complete psychopath looking for people to torment with his power. "I do not use my magic to hurt people… I use it to help those who need it. I use it only for good. For Camelot, and Arthur… I use it to protect and heal."

"Why should I believe you?" Morgana asks harshly. She's rightfully angry. How does one just spring something like that on their friend? When he mentioned a secret, she thought it was something along the lines of him being secretly in love with Arthur or herself! Not that he has magic!

Merlin sighs tiredly as he continues to stare pleadingly at the Lady Morgana. "You can believe what you want… but you know I would never hurt any of you. I couldn't."

"And why not?"

The manservant shrugs, "Because I'm not that kind of person. I do not want riches, or power, or anything… all I want, is peace, love, joy, and acceptance. I want people to know that not all magic is bad. I want people to know that magic, is more than just a tool for getting what they want. It's also a tool for helping. For saving lives… for a better future."

Morgana stares at the manservant for a very long time, letting his words sink in, before she finally shakes her head and squints questioningly at the man. "The day Mary Collins tried to kill Arthur… you saved him."

Merlin nods. "With my magic."

"Arthur told me that you were the one who told him about Valiant cheating… did you…"

"Use magic?" Merlin nods again. "Yes… it took me all night to perfect the spell that brought Valiant's shield to life during the tournament."

"Gwen's father was mysteriously healed from that poison… that was you?"

He nods.

"And the monster?" Morgana asks. "In the water supply… the afanc. You knew it was down there."

Yet again, the manservant nods. "Gaius and I went down there and found it. It was summoned by a dark sorceress by the name of Nimueh. And I used magic to help Arthur defeat the afanc."

Morgana shakes her head, her stare now turning into awe. "Is there anything you haven't done to save Camelot and it's people?"

Merlin sighs, "I only use my magic for good… for what's right. Because sometimes, you just have to do what you feel is right, and damn the consequences."

The Lady Morgana's defenses finally crumble as she steps closer to the manservant, her eyes searching his for any signs of danger. Like always, she detects no danger, no harm, no evil. And like always, she feels safe around him. She feels warmth beyond the cold of night, and trust beyond reason. She feels secure. She feels him, his magic, his power, his kindness, and his compassion. How can one possess that kind of power, and still remain so completely selfless? So gentle, polite, and kind.

She reaches a hand up, caressing his face with her fingertips. She starts with his cheek, her thumb brushing over his sharp cheekbone before descending down to his chin, her index finger feeling the hardness of his jawline. Her eyes stay in contact with his as she does this. Her breath quickens, matching the rapid beat of her heart. "You chose to tell me your secret… a secret that could get you killed if I utter a single word of it to Uther." She cocks her head to the side in wonder. "Why?"

Merlin shrugs, "Because I trust you." he knows that she has magic too… Kilgharrah had told him as much. And when the time comes for her own magic to develop, he will be right there to help her. He will make sure that she's never alone and that she always has someone to confide in… especially about magic. "You've shown me, a lowly servant, kindness and compassion. You chose to disregard King Uther's decision to turn a blind eye on my village, and personally volunteered to come and help me. You have a goodness in your heart that not many people possess…" he trails off, remembering what the Great Dragon had said about Morgana's destiny. He knows he's taking a huge risk, but so is Morgana in helping his village.

If he is to become the greatest Sorcerer to ever walk this earth, then it will be because he did something great to earn that title. And come hell or high-water, he will make sure that he changes Morgana's path. "I don't know what the future holds," he begins again, "I don't know how my life will play out, and I don't know how yours will either. But what I do know, is that the future isn't set in stone. It's not set in anything. So for as long as I have a breath in my body, I will not stop doing what is right, and I will not forsake those who I care for."

Morgana stares in bewilderment, "Merlin, what on earth are you talking about?"

Merlin chuckles softly, knowing that he must sound absolutely confusing. She doesn't know that she has magic. "Nothing," he shakes his head. "I just want you to know that from here on out, I will trust you and be as honest with you as I possibly can."

The Lady Morgana smiles shyly as she regards him with a curious look. "Honest?"

"Yes, Milady." Merlin answers honestly.

A smirk forms on the Lady Morgana's face as she takes another step towards the manservant. She had never really put much thought into the manservant, but now that she's so close to him, and he's confessing all these amazing things to her, she's seriously reconsidering her mental priorities. Raising herself on her toes, she whispers, "And if I kiss you right now?" she pulls back a little to give him a questioning glance, "Will you react honestly?"

Merlin stares, not saying a word and not entirely sure if he's still breathing.

Slowly, Morgana presses her lips against his, causing his heart to stop and his lungs to freeze. The most amazing and euphoric feeling envelopes him as he begins to kiss her back. When they pull away, his eyes are a bright gold and his entire being is humming with power. "Wow." he manages softly.

Morgana smiles widely and nods. "Yeah." she looks away shyly and bites her lip as she tucks a stand of stray hair behind her ear. "So… how did that feel?"

"Honestly?" Merlin asks with a large smile of his own.

Morgana nods. "Of course."

Merlin takes another step forward, feeling a new sense of confidence as he takes her hands in his and pulls her closer. "It felt like magic."

Morgana laughs heartily before Merlin leans down and claims her lips again.

Tomorrow morning, they'll have to continue on their way to Ealdor. There will be obstacles in their way, and plenty of unfortunate encounters. They don't know what the future holds, and they don't know if what they're doing is wise. But one thing they do know, is that no matter what, they have each others loyalty, honesty, and trust.

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The END

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A/N: Ugh.. this fic was kind of lame. I pictured it a lot more exciting than this. But it's a fic and I think some of you might kinda like it. Anyway, for those of you waiting on the update for "Servant in Shining Armor", I am ALMOST done with it and I will post it as soon as I'm done. I will also be updating "The Thief" soon, so keep a lookout for that. I hope you guys like this fic. Let me know what you all think of it!

-McDiggin'It