Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin because if I did Merlin and Morgana would have gotten together even if they were enemies at first!
Author's Note: This is a random plot-bunny that struck relentlessly in my head. It was to be a post-Albion, Merlin/Morgana, multi-chapter fic but the story wrote itself and I am rather pleased with the result. So enough rambling and do enjoy the story although you should be warned of nudity, the consumption of alcohol in a medieval drinking game, and brief mentions of non-graphic sex between two adults hence the "M"-rating. Let the tale begin!
Merlin awoke with a start, jolting into a sitting position. Almost instantly, he clutched his head in pain confused as to the throbbing pain in his head. It was definitely a hangover but he hadn't drunken any ale or wine last night...or had he?
Then again, it was a pretty wild festival considering the fact that it was in honour of the dawn of Albion and the restoration of magic to the land so he shouldn't feel so surprised to having consumed some ale. It was probably Gwaine and the knights who put him up to it.
Funnily enough, he seemed to recall some drinking game about who could consume the most mugs of ale before passing out. Oddly enough, he had carried out the competition with none other than the Lady Morgana Pendragon who lasted just a wee bit longer than he did.
The last thing he recalled before fainting was her traditional smirk and her eyes filled with glee at her rightful triumph and...lust. Merlin frowned. That was strange. It was true that over time they had become close friends and maybe even more.
The rekindled friendship all started a few months after Arthur married Gwen, finally, and some law and order was restored to Camelot. During that time, Merlin could not contain his anticipation and he was almost beside himself with anxiety for one of the prophesies of Albion hinted that it would form soon after the Once and Future King chose his bride in a marriage of true love.
Merlin could barely contain his enthusiasm and the hope that bubbled within him that Albion's time was almost near, for it meant no more secrets and lies between him and his friends. However, he never suspected Albion's time would be so soon for it was a mere few months when it happened.
By "It" Merlin was referring to the redemption and acceptance of the late Uther Pendragon's ward and daughter, the Lady Morgana.
Merlin never hoped it would be possible but she collapsed in the throne room during an intense meeting about recent attacks by a group of rogue sorcerers led by one Druid boy named Mordred.
Morgana surprised them all by collapsing on the floor in the middle of all the lords and knights. She was half-dead and begging plaintively for mercy. The sight of the proud and haughty Morgana brought so low nearly broke Merlin's heart and all his good feelings about her, when they were friends and allies, rushed back to him after years of being savagely crushed.
Fortunately for Morgana, Gaius was able to convince Arthur to listen to what she had to say and the whole court was shocked once more to learn that she had previously sought out an alliance with none other than Mordred, the leader of the band of rebel sorcerers Camelot was currently up against. Morgana had sought him out after learning from an oracle that she was destined share an alliance with him.
But that was as far as it went since the alliance didn't do Morgana any good. Morgana didn't know it at the time but Mordred contained an intense bitter hatred for Camelot because of Uther killing his parents and sacking his camp. He was forced to kill at such an early age too and hated the deceased king all the more because of that. Thus, he was only using Morgana for information about how to best infiltrate Camelot.
Of course, Morgana had been so blinded with her desire for revenge and lust for the throne that she never suspected any of this. Needless to say, she was caught off-guard when Mordred was done using her. He was a powerful sorcerer in his own right, no matter how useful, and did not want to be an ally of a Pendragon anymore than was necessary. In fact, he coveted Camelot's throne for himself and did not want to share power.
So when he was finished extracting information from Morgana, he cast her aside and banished her from his camp. Since he was already allied with a strong army of renegade sorcerers and rogue disgruntled Druids, Mordred had no need of her and began launching a series of ambushes and skirmishes on Camelot supply trains and outlying villages to sow the seeds of fear and division amongst the people making them doubt their leader's capability in defending the kingdom.
At first, Arthur and the court were convinced that this was just a small uprising that would be easily crushed like before. But now Morgana shocked them further by informing them that Mordred had planned a surprise attack while distracting them with another invasion from the south. Camelot would be forced to fight on two different fronts and what with all the sorcerers and monsters at Mordred's beck and call, the kingdom would never survive the assault.
Naturally, Merlin, Arthur, and the others did not trust Morgana at first until she revealed to them where Mordred was holding a secret war council after a few successful midnight raids. Morgana proved to be telling the truth when the knights of Camelot stormed into the underground grotto where the meeting was held and wrecked havoc on the denizens within. But being sorcerers, they were not so easily defeated and most escaped alive including their leader.
The knights returned to Camelot with a few prisoners and hope of victory. They were also reassured now that Morgana had returned to their side. Truth be told, the witch in question was sick of fighting just as much as she was sick of losing. She was tired and fed up with it all and merely wanted peace. She wanted to practice magic freely without having to look over her shoulder all the time. But that time was not yet for Mordred launched the attack even after the council ambush.
Only, Mordred attacked sooner than they expected and in full force at Camelot. This still worked though since Arthur ordered the bulk of his knights to guard the town where Mordred was believed to be attacking from to distract them. Severely weakened, Camelot was about to be overthrown when Merlin was forced to meet Mordred head on and reveal his magic. He even had to summon the Great Dragon at the last minute nearly freezing everyone in the closest proximity with shock and awe and fear.
With the Great Dragon's help, Merlin dealt Mordred a mortal wound forcing the sorcerer to escape in a whirlwind vortex. Without their leader to stir them up with pretty words and a sense of purpose, the army of sorcerers scattered and Merlin found a good use for his magic as he fought against them. At last, the missing knights of Camelot returned and thrashed the rogues and monsters. During the battle, Morgana used her magic for good to saving many lives including Gwen's.
Shortly after that, the battle was won and Gaius had many long days of healing and tending to the sick and wounded. Merlin used his magic to help the process as did Morgana and neither Gaius, nor the king, chose to stop him although afterwards Merlin and Morgana were summoned to the council chamber, with only Arthur present, where they had a long talk about all that had happened since Merlin first came to Camelot and many truths were revealed.
Thankfully, Arthur's mercy won out in the end and he just wanted an end to it all like they did. He wanted his friends back and didn't care what was different about them. So finally, miraculously, he relented in his hatred of magic having seen for himself how it could be used for good as well as evil. With that knowledge in mind, Arthur rewrote history making magic legal and lawful. He made Merlin the Court Sorcerer and Morgana the Court Seer, both trusted advisors to the king and protectors of Camelot.
It was a few weeks after this, when all the confusion of rebuilding and restoring law and order to the people had died down, then Arthur declared that the festivals and celebrations should begin and begin they did. The first one happened last night and they partied into the wee hours of the morning. It was during this event that Merlin found himself engaged in a drinking competition with Morgana who had become a close friend and confident after their secrets were revealed and the healing of Camelot began.
Merlin could not deny that he sensed a kindred spirit with Morgana and was, at one time, most definitely attracted to her although it had been tempered with fear due to him being a servant and the stern King Uther on the throne. Now he was as good as a noble, being the Court Sorcerer, and courting the Lady Morgana was indeed an option. But Merlin had always put it off not wanting to ruin the fragile friendship they shared considering their enmity in the years before.
Heaving a sigh, Merlin shrugged those thoughts aside and dragged himself to his feet. Taking a deep breath of crisp fresh spring air, the warlock trudged over to the basin of water that sat on a table next to an elegant mirror in the corner of the room. He splashed the water on his face and neck in a feeble attempt to wake up better. Gazing into the mirror, he could not resist a grin at how good it felt to be free of lies and double-crossing and half-truths.
He felt like he could do anything now that his secrets were gone and that Albion was formed at last. But if only he could remember what happened last night after passing out! He didn't recall falling asleep in a bed so he must have been dragged there by a couple of the knights who were most probably waiting outside the door to tease him, albeit good-naturedly, about how he was defeated in a drinking contest with a woman.
Heaving a groan, Merlin leaned his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. He closed his eyes as he wracked his brain trying to remember what in the blazes happened last night. Just when he was about to give up, glimmers of memory flashed rapidly in his head nearly sending him reeling. No it couldn't be... But it was! Or was it? Straining, the vision-like memories became clearer and his heart-beat sped up rapidly as he remembered.
He and Morgana were dancing drunkenly to a flurry of harps, flutes, and drums.
They were laughing and teasing each other, and flirting, like two childhood sweethearts.
Morgana said something about wanting a breath of fresh air so Merlin grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the hall with a goofy-grin on his face, much to Arthur, Gwen, and the knights' amusement.
Merlin groaned in embarrassment. He most definitely hadn't heard the last of this! Giving himself a mental shake, he steeled his reserves and pressed on.
One minute he and Morgana were standing on a balcony over-looking the kingdom quietly, watching the stars in the heavens. The next, they were snogging heatedly, their hands running all over each other.
The scene changed and the two magicals were in a large four-poster bed in some poor lord's room. He would receive a nasty shock upon coming to bed!
Everything happened so fast. There were flashes of bare, unclothed flesh as two nude bodies pressed against each other. There were moans and groans as Merlin and Morgana alternated between snogging and caressing each other.
All too soon, Merlin entered Morgana and they rocked back and forth, their bodies fitting perfectly together as if made for each other. All the hate, anger, and division between them washed away as they gave into the undeniable sexual tension between them.
The last thing Merlin remembered was a feeling of utter bliss as Morgana cried his name in ecstasy before passing out once more, sweaty and weary but unfathomably happy and content.
Needless to say, it took quite some time before Merlin was able to comprehend what just happened. Surely it could not be so. Or could it? Was he just imagining things? Maybe they went to bed but didn't actually make love? That would be so much easier but highly unlikely considering what happened when two young people were even mildly attracted to each other and alcohol was involved, not to mention two magicalpeople!
Merlin muttered a curse under his breath and turned around slowly, dreading what he would probably see. Opening his eyes even more slowly, he glanced furtively at the bed, his heart pounding wildly and his head throbbing savagely. A thrill of fear shot through him, although mingled with lust and desire, as he saw the nude body of Morgana sprawled unceremoniously on the bed before him in all her naked glory.
As if on cue, said seer woke up groggy and disoriented. When her confusion cleared and she seemed to regain her senses, Morgana's eyes widened and filled with shock and fear. Her beautiful green eyes darted about in panic as she searched for who had shared the bed with her. Merlin chose that moment to greet her, deciding to get the inescapable confrontation with her over with now rather than later.
"Morning, Milady," He stammered hoarsely, shuffling awkwardly to Morgana painfully aware he was still dressed in his birthday suit.
Morgana's eyes flashed angrily for a moment until they softened when they fell on Merlin.
"Morning, Milord," Morgana replied in mock courtesy although not too harshly. "It seems you have some explaining to do."
"I could say the same thing for yourself," Merlin retorted.
"You were the one who dragged me away from that hell-hole if I recall correctly!" Morgana shot back. "So you first."
"Ah so you were glad that I whisked you away then?" Merlin smirked.
Morgana growled angrily and pushed herself up from the bed making Merlin's breath catch in his throat as her lithe nimble body sauntered dangerously towards him.
"It seems were have reached an impasse," Morgana glared. "What do you propose we do?"
"First we should find out if you are pregnant," Merlin gulped, sweat beading on his forehead. "Then we can discuss the details."
"Good point," Morgana sighed reluctantly.
Placing her hands on her toned luscious belly that Merlin could not help but ogle, the witch closed her eyes as she chanted the spell to determine whether or not she was with child. Unfortunately, it was too soon to know what gender the child would be. Morgana opened her eyes and they glowed brightly as she completed the spell.
The warlock and the witch held their breaths as they waited for the sign. Time seemed to slow and everything moved in slow motion. At last, a golden aura lit up around Morgana's belly and Merlin let out a sigh of half-relief and half-disappointment, for the green aura meant that Morgana was not pregnant while an emerald one would mean she was fertile with his seed.
Merlin was relieved since a child born out of wedlock would be a scandal and ruin their hard-built reputations preventing him from being advisor to the king as Albion and destiny required of him. On the other hand, he was not at all turned off to the idea of being the father to Morgana's child although he did not know if he was ready for it yet and didn't doubt that Morgana wasn't either.
Morgana's facial expression was impassive though so Merlin followed her apprehensively as she led him to the bed, patting the mattress beside her. Merlin sat down wearily, bracing himself for a tongue-lashing. Instead, Morgana actually wrapped an arm around him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Merlin found himself intertwining one hand with hers and his free hand stroking her long dark locks.
"What happens now, Merlin?" Morgana asked softly. "Where do we go from here?"
Merlin paused as he weighed the decision carefully. On one hand, it could easily complicate things for the Court Sorcerer to be married to the Court Seer what with his common birth and all. However, they were basically equals and there was definitely a kindred spirit between them. Merlin and Morgana were not in love per se but the warlock didn't doubt for once that a relationship could form between them.
"I'm definitely not opposed to a relationship between us," He admitted at last. "Although I feel you should make the choice here since we would have been lost without your help."
"But it was because of you revealing your magic that I was redeemed," Morgana reminded. "Arthur would have never accepted me if I was the one lone witch. No one else would either but the people know you and trust you. They have accepted me because they accept you. And I haven't thanked you properly for that."
"I'm sure I could think of a few ways for you to remedy that," Merlin quipped with a cheeky grin.
Morgana's eyes sparkled with mischief.
"So can I although you might not be able to handle a lover who is both a witch and a seer," Morgana said with a saucy grin. "After all, I have the power of prophecy and once I hone it I can know your every move before it happens. I don't know if you'd like that in a girl you might marry one day."
"I don't think you'd get that good," Merlin chuckled. "But I'm always willing to find out, especially if marriage is involved."
"Really?" Morgana asked, an eyebrow arched delicately.
"Really," Merlin nodded soberly, with a soft smile.
"Then why don't you come over here and prove it to me," Morgana challenged.
"As my lady commands," Merlin grinned.
Morgana smiled at him and their lips crashed against each other as they tumbled back into bed. Needless to say, it was quite some time before the poor unknown official got his room back and when it did it looked like the Apocalypse had happened within it ten times over.
And no one was quite so surprised when Merlin and Morgana announced their relationship status nor when they announced their marriage nine months later!
The End