A/N: Hey! Thanks for checking out this story, it's really appreciated. If, while you're reading this, you think I forgot what I was writing about every ten lines — well, I didn't. This is some sort of weird AU where the Merlin adventures repeat themselves in the past as well as the present. So if one moment I mention Gwen is Morgana's servant, and they live in medieval times, and the next I say they're friends, going to the same university and in the present... Well, it's normal. Each chapter will actually be a moment in their lives, that happened the same way — more or less — in the past as well as the present. There won't be a specific order to the chapters — they just appear like that in the way I write them.

Anyway, that's enough introduction. I hope you like this story! (And, short disclaimer, I, unfortunately, do not own BBC Merlin or its characters. Not at all.)

Of Nobles and Servants

Magic belongs to monsters.

"Morgana?" Gwen called for her friend as she knocked on the door to her room in the dorm. "Morgana, are you there? Are you okay?" the young woman repeated, worried. Her friend had been distant all morning, looking over her shoulder every time, as though she was waiting for someone to come after her. With a sigh, the young woman made sure no one was in the hallway, and took out the key Morgana had lent her long ago in case Gwen's roommate was busy, and she needed a place to crash for the night. She used it to open the door, and her worry only increased when she saw her friend sitting in a corner against the wall, hugging her knees as if her life depended on it.

"Gwen, don't," Morgana told her. "Leave me alone." Of course, the brunette did no such thing. She could see her friend needed help, and instead of doing as she told her to, she closed the door behind her, and approach her. "Stay away!" Morgana tried to hide deeper into corner of the room, but she couldn't go much further.

Gwen stopped right in her tracks, but didn't leave either. "Morgana, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked, keeping her voice soft, though it was laced with worry. "You can talk to me, you know that." Because it was too uncomfortable for her, the brunette knelt in front of her friend, so they were at the same height. "I just want to help."

"You can't." Morgana's eyes were dry, but it was clear she had been crying. They were slightly red, and Gwen could see the marks tears — now dried — had left on her cheeks. "Gwen, you need to leave. Please." The brunette refused, of course, and demanded an explanation. "I'm a monster." The answer caught her by surprise, and her mind went blank.

"Of course you're not," Gwen finally replied, approaching the noblewoman. She sat next to her, despite the panic on the other woman's face, and took her hand in hers, in reassurance. "Morgana, you are the kindest, most compassionate person I know," she stated. "You are no monster."

"But I…" Morgana trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. She was in Camelot, after all. Admitting it to the wrong person would mean life or death, never mind her status as the King's ward. He would gladly execute her if he found out she had it. "I have…" But the words needed to come out. She needed to tell someone. If she didn't, she felt she would explode. "I have magic."

"Morgana…" Gwen whispered, mortified. If anyone else found out about this… She didn't want to think about it. It was a good thing they were alone, and that the servant had closed the door behind her. She couldn't bear the thought of the wrong person finding out about this. She also couldn't bear the thought of Morgana thinking she was a monster. The brunette knew her words could be considered as treason, but she said them anyway, "You're not a monster. Magic does not make you a monster." She squeezed Morgana's hand lightly.

"Uther seems to think so," the noblewoman countered. She couldn't help herself — it was what she'd been taught to believe, all her life. How could she possibly think otherwise, when it had been ingrained in her ever since she was a child? "He would happily burn me at the stake if he found out."

"He won't," Gwen reassured her, though whether she meant Uther finding out, or the King burning his ward at the stake, Morgana didn't know. She accepted the comforting words regardless. She desperately needed those. "Does anyone else know about this?" she asked, and her friend shook her head.

"No one," Morgana assured her. "Otherwise, I would've been arrested long ago." The thought of the police arriving at her doorstep made her shiver, and when the image of a dark interrogation room appeared in her mind, she couldn't help it when the tears returned — which, of course, made the young woman curse herself silently.

"Morgana, hey." Gwen released her friend's hand and hugged her, trying to give her as much comfort as she could. "They won't come. They won't arrest you. You're safe, I promise." The brunette kissed the top of her friend's head, who simply continued crying, staining Gwen's grey jumper with tears. "Nothing's going to happen to you."

Gwen decided to stay with Morgana that night, and the young woman didn't question it. In fact, she welcomed the comfort her maidservant offered her. Her mere presence was soothing, and the fact that she didn't judge her, or think differently of her because of her magic was more reassuring than anything else.

For the first time since she found out she had magic, Morgana was able to sleep through the entire night, and only woke up when her alarm clock beeped, reminding her she had to get to class.