Here's the first chapter. Don't be alarmed if you notice a lot of Mergana(Merlin/Morgana) scenes. This is definitely an ArMor fiction. However, since Morgana and Merlin are on the same side this time, there will be a lot of positive interactions between them. They will share a secret between them and this will make them grow close to each other, thing that Arthur will definitely notice and that will make him jealous(Who doesn't love a jealous Arthur?). Anyway at this point in time Merlin actually had a little crush on Morgana so I'm just following canon.

Well, this is it, I hope you like it. Oh, this chapter follows the pilot episode 'The Dragon's Call'. You will find senteces taken directly from the script(even of scenes present in the original script of the first episode and that were never actually filmed).

09/02/2014: I'm searching for a beta to check my stories. Anyone interested to help me?

Chapter 1

BACK WHEN IT ALL STARTED

"You don't know what it's like to be an outsider. To be ashamed of how you were born, to have to hide who you are."

(Morgana - 'The Tears of Uther Pendragon', Merlin 3x02)

Morgana startled awake, with her heart beating a mile a minute and her mind full of images she was struggling to put an order to. She looked around her and widened her eyes. She was in her old room, in Camelot.

It worked, it actually worked. She was back in the past.

She took a deep breath and tried to remember everything that happened that had brought her there, especially her conversation with her mother.

It seemed impossible that she was alive again, and back in Camelot with no one having any idea what she had actually done.

She remembered most of the horrible things she had done: bringing war to Camelot, trying to kill Uther numerous times until she had succeeded, trying to kill Arthur, Gwen, Merlin.

But the hate that she had felt for so long was practically gone. Just her hate towards Uther was still there but it wasn't as intense as it had been before.

She remembered other things too. How Morgause had lied and manipulate her to get Morgana to do what she wanted. She knew not to trust her now. Her allegiance would not be to Camelot or Uther, but it would be towards Arthur, only towards Arthur from now on.

She knew what she needed to do now, she just had to decide how to do it. She wanted Arthur by her side, the both of them crowned King and Queen and magic used freely and without fear. She knew how to control her magic, she was a High Priestess of the Triple Goddess, she was very powerful but one woman against an entire kingdom wasn't enough.

She had already tried that and looked how good that had turned out. She needed to be very careful. She had no intention of going against Uther or Camelot this time but if the King found out she had magic, that would be the end for her and for the dream of a unified, peaceful Albion. This time around Uther must not suspect even remotely the fact that she had magic. She would not have the fact that he believed she was his daughter as a protection anymore.

And that reminded her, she needed to do the spell to make Uther forget that or he would never allow her to marry his son.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Gwen entered the room, smiling at her. Morgana looked at her and wondered why she had ever wanted to kill her. Gwen was so sweet and kind, why had she hated her so? She couldn't remember. But it didn't matter now. Everything would be different from the last time.

Gwen helped her getting ready for the day. When it came the time for her to wear the dress Gwen had prepared for her, she stopped for a few seconds in wonder. She really was back, in Camelot. She really had a second chance to make things right this time around.

"Are you all right my lady?" Gwen asked her concerned.

"Yes, thank you Gwen." Morgana answered before getting dressed. Suddenly she heard the booming voice of Uther Pendragon from outside, talking to the people gathered around the square. She went to the window to observe what was going on and realized that there was about to be an execution.

"Let this serve as a lesson to all." Uther was saying to the crowd gathered in the square "This man, Thomas James Collins, is adjudged guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. And, pursuant to the laws of Camelot, I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death. I pride myself as a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery, there is but one sentence I can pass." Uther was saying and then he gave the order to proceed with the beheading. She stared sadly at yet another person being killed because he had magic, unable to turn away, and she felt that familiar hate against Uther, but she knew that she couldn't get lost in it. Arthur needed her and she needed him. That was the most important thing.

"When I came to this land, this kingdom was mired in chaos, but with the people's help magic was driven from the realm." The King continued, his jovial and smug tone a terrible contrast against the actions he had just taken against an innocent man. "So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evil of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin." Morgana grimaced in disgust and felt anger at the injustice of it all. She felt powerless once again against Uther's tyranny, expect this time it was even worse because she couldn't do anything about it or risk losing Arthur once again and she couldn't allow that to happen. That didn't mean that if there was even the slight possibility of her saving people with magic from executions, that she wouldn't act. She intended to save as many people as possible with Uther being none the wiser. That would be a much better revenge that anything else she could have come up with anyway.

Suddenly she noticed an old woman, that had suddenly appeared on the stage, wailing and screaming against the King. "There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic! It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance! You took my son!" She was shouting at the King, her tone distressed and heartbroken. Then she continued, her tone changing into something colder and full of vengeance. "But I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a son for a son." Morgana became suddenly alert at those words. Arthur was in danger because of his father's cruelty. She had no intention of letting anything happen to him. She had the power to protect him now.

In the meantime the woman had disappeared into thin air after giving her speech, no matter the guards who had tried to capture her at the King's orders. Part of her was happy that the woman was able to escape but the other part of her was not because she knew that because of this woman, Arthur would be in danger. If only she could remember what had happened the last time, but no matter how much she tried to, she couldn't. Her memories had been blocked or erased somehow.

She had forgotten how pointless and boring life had been before she had found out she had magic. She had basically spent all morning doing nothing at all. Now she was standing in front of a window from the Griffin landing, looking outside and thinking how she was supposed to protect Arthur if she didn't even know where that woman was. Her musings were interrupted by the King "Morgana."

"Yes?" She answered, turning around in his direction.

"What is this? Why are you not joining us at the feast?" His tone was angry.

Morgana frowned at him. "I just don't think chopping someone's head off is cause for a celebration."

"It was simple justice for what he'd done." Uther answered her coldly.

Morgana looked at him astonished, even if she knew her words were useless. "To whom? He practiced some magic, he didn't hurt anyone."

Uther sighed like she was a small child that couldn't understand something very obvious. "You were not around twenty years ago, you have no idea what it was like."

"How long are you going to keep punishing people for what happened then?" Morgana retorted, losing a little of her calm façade.

"Until they realise there is no room for magic in my kingdom! You will be with me when I greet Lady Helen." He ordered, losing his temper.

"I told you!" She answered angrily back at him. "I want no part in these celebrations!"

"I'm your guardian! I expect you to do as I ask. If you show me no respect at least respect our finest singer." He turned to leave, indicating that he was done listening to her protests. He just expected her to obey him and that was it.

"You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you will create!" Morgana said to his back. Uther stopped and turned around before replying "I don't fear them".

"Maybe you don't - but you put the rest of us in danger." Morgana continued.

Uther took this in but he didn't reply, he simply turned around and walked away. Morgana shook her head, wondering why she was losing her time arguing with him. She knew perfectly well that trying to change his mind about magic was impossible.

Morgana was walking through a corridor that lead to the outside courtyard when she noticed Arthur practicing with his knights. She smiled, stopping to observe him. This was the first time this morning that she had seen him. Immediately though, her smile transformed into a frown when she remembered in what circumstances she had seen him the last time. 'What happened to you Morgana? I thought we were friends.' 'As did I. But alas we were both wrong.' She shook her head, trying to forget those images and she kept looking, noticing that the Prince was engaged in tormenting one of his servants. She shook her head at Arthur's behavior. She had forgotten how arrogant and a prat he was before starting to grow up into the leader Camelot needed.

"Where's the target?" Arthur asked the servant, the other knights laughing in the background.

"There, Sir?" The serving boy - Morris was his name - indicated with his hand the target.

"It's into the sun?" Arthur asked him sarcastically.

The servant frowned confused. "But it's not that bright."

"A bit like you then." Arthur replied mockingly. Morgana rolled her eyes at him. It was strange that he still hadn't noticed her observing him. Or maybe he did but he was ignoring her.

"I'll put the target on the other end, shall I, Sir?" Morris asked the Prince. He started to move with the heavy target towards the wall. She heard the other knights continuing mocking the poor servant and when she noticed Arthur started throwing daggers at the target, telling Morris to keep moving because he wanted a moving target, she decided that enough was enough and she was about to intervene but there was no need because someone else had already done that. "Hey, come on, that's enough." She heard a voice saying, a voice she immediately recognised: Merlin. Morris had in the meantime dropped the target to the ground, exhausted. "What?" Arthur asked, surprised that someone had dared intervening. Morgana looked at Merlin with a smile. 'This should be fun'.

"You had your fun, my friend" Merlin continued.

"Do I know you?" Arthur asked, now between amused and outraged.

"Er..." Merlin said, now a little embarrassed. "I'm Merlin." He held his hand out to shake Arthur's but the Prince just looked at it without taking it. "So, I don't know you." Arthur said with a mocking tone. "No" Was Merlin's simple answer. "Yet, you called me 'friend'".

Merlin's face had become suddenly hard and Morgana shivered for a second at that expression that too often had been directed towards her in the her past. "That was my mistake." he replied coldly.

"Yes, I think so." Arthur agreed, thinking Merlin was apologising.

"Yeah. I'd never be friends with someone who could be such an ass." Continued Merlin, evidently surprising Arthur. Merlin started walking away but Arthur's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Or I with one who could be so stupid. Tell me Merlin, do you know how to walk on your knees." Morgana decided that now was the time for her to intervene. "No" Had answered Merlin in the meantime.

The time it took for her to reach the two of them, Merlin had already tried hitting Arthur and Arthur had now had a firm grip on Merlin's arm that had twisted behind his back. "I'll have you thrown in jail for that." She heard Arthur saying and Merlin's question at that statement. "What, who do you think you are? The King?"

"No, I'm his son, Arthur." Morgana had finally reached them and she immediately said. "Come on, Arthur, that's enough." Arthur turned around to look at her and glared in her direction. "This does not concern you Morgana."

"I don't think he deserved being thrown in jail just because he recognised that you behaved as a prat. He told you nothing but the truth after all." Morgana smirked at him and she heard Merlin snorting at her words.

"He tried to hit me Morgana." Arthur protested with a whiny voice.

"Just because you provoked him." Morgana came closer to him and put an hand on his arm, wondering if she had as much influence over him as she hoped she did. She looked into his eyes and whispered but loud enough for Merlin, who was still standing beside them, to hear. "Come on, Arthur. He doesn't deserve to be put in jail. You know that. It's just your stupid ego getting in the way. Please, let him be." When she noticed Arthur hesitating, she added, hoping to convince him. "For me."

Arthur looked at her for a few seconds before sighing and nodded. "Fine." And then turning towards Merlin. "You can go. But another comment about my training or interference on your part and I'll send you directly to jail. Are we clear?" Merlin glared at him but nodded.

Morgana, satisfied that she had some influence over Arthur after all and that she had saved Merlin from a night in a cold cell in the dungeons, nodded at the Prince and Merlin and then left. She had just walked a few steps when she heard Merlin's voice calling towards her. She turned around and stopped. Merlin reached her side and said "Thank you. For what you did for me. Convince Prince Prat to let me go." Then, probably noticing what he had just said, he blushed but continued. "I'm Merlin by the way." Morgana smiled at him. "I'm Morgana. The Lady Morgana actually...I'm the King's ward." At Merlin's alarmed look, she continued. "You can call me Morgana, I don't mind. Being called 'Lady' all the time gets tiring after a while. It's too formal." Merlin smiled at her and then he thanked her once more before walking away, probably directed towards Gaius' chambers.

Morgana waited a few minutes to make sure Gwen had been able to reach her home and retire for the night and then left her bed before making her way outside her room and towards the King's chambers. She needed to be extra-careful if she didn't want to end up like Thomas Collins.

She looked first left and then right, in front of and behind her but fortunately she didn't meet any guard. She reached Uther's chambers and went inside without making any noise. She looked at the King sleeping peacefully and for a moment she was reminded of that time when she had entered into his chambers to stab him with the knife Arthur had given her as a birthday gift. She breathed deeply to calm herself and then came closer towards the bed. She immediately put a sleeping spell on him to make sure he wouldn't wake up while she was chanting. She didn't want to leave anything to chance.

She took another deep breath before starting to chant "Ofergiete mec swá þín dohtor. Ðu ágoest ángilde an eafora*" She continued repeating, over and over again. She knew her eyes had become gold and she could feel the spell taking effect on the King. She breathed in relief that she had been able to do it and was about to leave his chambers when she realized that he was still under the sleeping spell. She chanted a counteractive spell and then finally got back to her own room. Only when she was safely ensconced into her own bed, she allowed herself to smile.

Merlin was lying on his bed, unable to sleep. He had arrived in Camelot only two days ago and so much had already happened. As soon as he had set foot in Camelot, he had been met with the execution of someone guilty only of having practiced magic, not something you wanted to be faced with if you had magic yourself. Then Gaius had found out Merlin had magic the moment he had crossed Gaius' chambers. After that, he had ended up antagonizing who he thought was simply an arrogant knight and that, instead, turned out to be the King's son. He had been saved from ending up in jail by the beautiful and kind King's ward - the Lady Morgana - the same woman he had seen looking sadly from a window at the execution going on in the square below her. He had met the sweet Gwen, the Lady Morgana's maid. He had fought again against Prince Arthur - or as he called him Prince Prat -, using magic to humiliate him, and let's not forget about Lady Helen who was acting really suspicious and who he thought was someone who had magic too. So yes, two intense days to say the least.

"Merlin... Merlin..." He suddenly heard from nowhere. A voice was calling him. The same voice he had heard yesterday night. He decided to get up to follow it. He wanted to find out who or what was calling him. He left Gaius' chambers without waking Gaius himself and reached the town square. The voice kept calling him. "Merlin..." He crossed the square and reached the Wrought Iron Stairway. He descended the stairs until he arrived into the castle's dungeons. He noticed two guards playing dice while keeping guard. He needed to find a way to distract them to pass unobserved. He used his magic to make the dice roll and the guards - like idiots - followed behind. Merlin smirked a little at that. He grabbed a torch from the wall and headed down towards the tunnel in front of him. The voice kept calling him still.

He finally entered inside an enormous cave, it was so big that you could barely make out the ceiling.

"Merlin" the voice said again, chuckling slightly. It seemed...happy for whatever reason.

"Where are you?" Merlin raised his voice slightly, a little exasperated.

Suddenly a huge creature came flying from out of nowhere in front of him. It was a dragon, the last dragon Gaius had told him about earlier today to be exact. Merlin drew back slightly, a little scared if he was honest but curious most of all.

"I'm here!" The dragon said to him. "How small you are for a such a great destiny."

Merlin looked at him confused at those words. "Why? What do you mean? What destiny?"

"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason." The dragon simply replied.

Merlin breathed in relief at that. "So there is a reason."

"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion." The dragon explained.

"Right." Merlin replied in a tone that clearly said that he didn't care much about him.

"But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike." The dragon continued like he hadn't talked.

"I don't see what this has to do with me." Merlin said, even more confused.

"Everything. Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion."

"No. No, you've got this wrong." Merlin grimaced, he and Prince Prat shared a destiny together? Please, the dragon MUST be wrong.

"There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't."

"But I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand."

The dragon laughed at that. "None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin, and none of us can escape it."

Merlin shook his head in protest. "No. No way. No. No. There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot."

"Perhaps it's your destiny to change that."

"Why can't it be Morgana the future Queen or something? She would be a much better choice than that idiot"

"Ah, the Lady Morgana. Have you met her then?" the dragon said, his voice suddenly different, more serious.

"Yes, yesterday in fact. She convinced Arthur not to put me in jail for having told him that he's a prat and for trying to hit him." Merlin smiled in remembrance at that. The way she had manipulated Arthur to do what she wanted, very clever. It was obvious that Morgana had a great influence on Arthur.

"She could become Queen one day, just like you want. She could marry Arthur and the two of them would reign together."

Merlin grimaced. "No, she can't marry him."

The dragon chuckled again. "Unfortunately this is not a clear future. I can't see it with certainty but it's the best version of the future. You need to find a way for that to happen in reality. If Arthur marries Morgana, Albion will really come to be. But if Morgana becomes evil, like some visions tell me could happen, then everything you and Arthur will try to build, will be in vain. Morgana is the key to everything."

"Become evil? But she's so kind." Merlin couldn't believe someone like Morgana could ever become evil.

"Sometimes, even the kindest of hearts can become corrupted by hate." The dragon replied sadly. "But you need to stop this from happening. Arthur and Morgana must reign together, or there will never be a united Albion when magic is used freely."

And with that said, the dragon flew away. Merlin tried to call him back, he needed to know more. But the dragon was gone.

Morgana looked outside the window of her chamber, a bored look on her face. She missed being able to use magic freely, actually being able to move freely at all. She had been back to Camelot only a few days and it already felt like a prison.

She couldn't help but think once again about what had happened between Merlin and Arthur. Seeing with her own eyes the way they had clashed so spectacularly, it was incredible to think that they would become such good friends in the future. But become friends they did.

Morgana felt conflicted about her feelings towards Merlin. A part of her couldn't help but feel admiration, knowing who he really was, the great Emrys. Another was actually scared of him since Emrys was supposed to be her doom in her old life. And then there were her feelings of jealousy for the easy relationship he had with Arthur.

She also felt compassion and empathy towards him, because - just like her - Merlin was forced to hide who he really was, except with Gaius, Morgana suspected. It was obvious now that Gaius had known Merlin had magic. Like he had known Morgana herself had magic.

Morgana felt suddenly angry towards the old physician but tried to reign herself in. All those negative emotions were the reason why she had let herself become someone she was not. She didn't want to turn into that vengeful and hateful person she had been back then. She was a new Morgana, or the oldest, better version of herself.

She suddenly heard the chamber's door open and immediately thought it was Gwen, that had come to help her prepare for the feast. She didn't even turn around to look, she simply went behind her changing screen and started taking her dress off. "You know, I've been thinking about Arthur. I wouldn't touch him with a lance pole." She started saying, even if both her and Gwen knew that she was lying. But she needed to behave as she would have done once upon a time. If she suddenly started to enumerate Arthur's virtues and saying how much she loved him, everyone would immediately realize that something wasn't right with her. She didn't want to make anyone suspicious of her.

"Pass me that dress, will you Gwen?" She asked then. She found strange the fact that Gwen hadn't replied to what she had just said but let it pass.

She started to put the new dress on and continued "I mean, the man's a total jouster. And just because I'm the King's ward, that doesn't mean I have to accompany him to the feast, does it? " In actuality, she was disappointed that Arthur hadn't asked her.

A moment of silence from Gwen and Morgana started to become confused. "Well, does it?" She asked again. "Mm-Mmm." She heard an high-pitched voice answering, one that didn't sound like Gwen at all. What was going on? "If he wants me to go, then he should invite me, and he hasn't." She continued, pretending like she hadn't noticed anything wrong. "So do you know what that means?" She asked rhetorically. "Mm-Mmm." The voice that wasn't Gwen answered again.

"Where are you?" Morgana asked then, turning her head towards the door and seeing a figure hidden behind one of her cloaks. She immediately recognized who he was and smirked. What was Merlin doing in her chambers?

"Here." Merlin replied, in the same high-pitched voice as before. He sounded panicked. "It means I'm going by myself." Morgana continued, turning her head away from him. Then deciding to have some fun at his expense she asked "I need some help with this fastening." She wondered how he was going to get out of this situation.

"Gwen?" She called then, since Merlin was still immobile. "I'm here." The real Gwen replied, obviously having arrived in just that moment.

Gwen went behind the screen to help her with her dress. She came out from behind the screen and looked around her. No Merlin in sight.

"So, what do you think Merlin was doing in my room?" Morgana asked casually towards Gwen. Gwen looked at her surprised. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew. His imitation of a woman's voice leaves much to be desired. I wish I actually saw his face when I asked him to help me with the dress." Morgana smirked and Gwen laughed.

"So, how much have you heard of what I said about Arthur?" She asked then.

Gwen smiled at her and replied. "Enough to know that you wish he had invited you to the feast." She replied slyly.

Morgana immediately protested but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone. "I want him to regret not inviting me. So, you know what I'll do? I'll wear this little tease" and with that she showed her the dress she wanted to wear for the evening.

It was red with a belt made of golden leaves and it was a little daring since it would have left her shoulders bare.

She wanted to leave Arthur with his mouth hanging opened. "and give him a night he would really remember" She continued aloud, a smirk passing through her lips.

Arthur was recounting once again what had happened between him and that boy Merlin yesterday. "So I stood up and..." He fainted a punch into one of his friends' stomach and the knights around him immediately started to laugh. Arthur immediately joined them.

Suddenly he noticed the attention of his knights had shifted. They were all looking in the same direction, towards the door, so he turned around too and that's when he saw her.

Morgana, wearing a rather bold red dress that left her free to show more milky skin than usual.

Arthur couldn't stop looking at her while she glided through the crowd. The words "God have mercy" coming completely unbidden out of his mouth.

She was so beautiful. Of course, he had noticed that Morgana was pretty, he wasn't blind, and obviously the other knights had noticed it too. And yet, the actual realization of how much beautiful she was, hadn't really struck him until that evening. She was almost ethereal, catching the attention of every male in the room.

Arthur felt a frisson of jealousy at that, not liking the way they were looking at her, with admiration mixed with lust. Even Merlin was looking at her entranced.

Arthur decided to approach Morgana now that there was still time to talk with her, since it wasn't Lady Helen's turn to sing just yet.

Morgana smiled at him once she saw him arrive but Arthur perceived that smile as one of satisfaction for having left all the men in the room completely speechless.

"Oh, I didn't see you arrive, Morgana." Arthur said casually towards her. Morgana raised an eyebrow in reply because they both knew it was a blatant lie.

"Oh, and I didn't notice you were here or I would've come over, Arthur." Morgana said without batting an eyelash.

Arthur came close to her until he was standing next to her. "I've got to say - that is an absolutely gorgeous dress." Morgana looked at him, surprised that he was actually paying her a compliment.

"Have you seen it? The woman just behind you, she looks fantastic." Morgana changed expression for a second at those words before returning to smile. "Yes, I saw her earlier, she was with that really handsome man."

Arthur tried to no grit his teeth in irritation at that, wondering who this handsome man was "Not your type." He immediately said back.

"You don't know my type."

"Yes, I do. The ones you have to chase." Arthur replied with certainty.

"No, I like the ones who have to beg." She whispered back, coming closer towards him. Arthur gulped at that, his gaze suddenly shifting towards her lips.

The moment was interrupted however by his father, telling everyone to take their places because the feast was about to begin.

Arthur escorted Morgana towards her seat before sitting himself at the table. He shook his head and wondered what the hell had that been. That moment with Morgana earlier. He and Morgana were like siblings, were they? They had grown up together. And yet, Arthur didn't exactly feel brotherly feelings towards her, not with the way he had looked at Morgana's lips earlier.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity." Uther was saying, standing behind the table, in the central position. All the other people there were standing too, waiting for Uther to finish his speech. Morgana refrained from rolling her eyes at his words. "It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora." The lady in question entered the room and immediately everyone applauded. They sat as one while Lady Helen stayed standing, ready to give her performance. Morgana wondered if she was as good as they said.

A few minutes into the song, Morgana noticed that something was wrong. She was feeling suddenly drowsy and she had a sudden urge to fall asleep. Cobwebs started forming all around her and all the other other people gathered there.

She immediately figured out that it was because of the song Lady Helen was singing. She was placing an enchantment on all of them. She covered her hears to counteract the effect of the song and her mind became clear once again.

It was in that moment that she noticed, she was not the only one awake. Merlin was awake too and was looking towards her. Lady Helen kept singing and approaching Arthur in the meantime. She hadn't noticed that Morgana wasn't asleep like everyone else, her attention was completely focused on the Prince of Camelot.

Morgana became desperate to stop her and immediately got an idea when she noticed the huge chandelier hanging over Lady Helen's head. She didn't care if Merlin found out this early that she had magic, she needed to protect Arthur.

She noticed Lady Helen pulling a dagger out of her sleeve, ready to stab Arthur and she immediately began to chant a spell under her breath to drop the chandelier over her head. It worked. Lady Helen had lost consciousness under the weight of the chandelier and the court members had began to awake.

Morgana immediately looked at Merlin again and noticed that he was looking at her astonished. Morgana tried to convene with her eyes the need for them to talk. Merlin nodded back at her.

Unfortunately it wasn't over. Uther and Arthur had woken up and were looking around them, trying to understand what was going on. They immediately noticed Lady Helen - now Mary Collins, having resumed her original appearance once the spell had been broken - lying on the floor.

Mary though had woken up and found enough force within herself to throw the dagger towards Arthur. Morgana panicked, not having any idea how to stop the dagger from reaching Arthur's heart.

Fortunately she didn't need to do anything because Merlin had promptly reacted to this new threat and had slowed time with magic enough to reach Arthur and pull him out of harm's way. The dagger hit the chair when a moment before Arthur had been sitting. Morgana noticed the prince looking at it in astonishment.

Morgana breathed a sigh of relief. Arthur was safe.

Uther turned his surprised gaze towards Merlin and said, a smile on his face. "You saved my boy's life." Obviously he hadn't noticed Merlin using magic to do it or his reaction would have been much different. "A debt must be repaid."

Merlin looked sheepish at that. "Oh, well..."

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."

"No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness." Merlin tried to protest at that. Morgana followed the scene amused.

"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special."

Merlin looked both resigned and pleased at that "Well..."

"You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant." Both Arthur and Merlin looked less than happy at the King's announcement but neither of them dared protest aloud. The court immediately applauded.

Morgana looked at Arthur and caught his eye. She smirked at him, enjoying his misery and Arthur glared right back at her.

"Merlin!" Morgana immediately called out to him. Merlin, that was about to enter inside Gaius' chambers, stopped and turned to look at her. He sighed at seeing her there and nodded. "Better come inside. It's better if no one hears us having this conversation." Morgana immediately agreed.

"So, you have magic hum?" Merlin immediately asked her once the both of them had sat down.

"As do you." Merlin nodded before asking. "Were you born this way or have you been practicing it in secret?" Merlin asked her curiously.

"A bit of both actually." Morgana hadn't thought about what she was actually going to say to Merlin but she was everything but a bad liar. The words to say to him came to her immediately, without needing to think about it. "I always had nightmares, since I can remember." She explained without looking at his face.

"Well, a few years ago I realized that mine were not simple nightmares, they were actually visions of the future. I had magic." She stopped for a second to look at him and noticed that Merlin had a look of understanding on his face.

"Well, you can imagine my reaction at that revelation. Me, the King's ward, having magic? I was so scared at first, scared of being discovered, scared of who I was. But then I realized that maybe, magic is not a bad thing in itself, maybe magic is just something that chose you and that it's your choice what to do with it. If you want to use this gift that has been given to you for good or for evil."

Merlin was looking at her in open admiration at that and Morgana felt a little uncomfortable under that gaze but continued. "So, I realized that if I wanted to avoid being discovered or hurt anyone unintentionally, I needed to learn how to control it. So I stole Arthur's keys of the castle's vaults and stole a book of spells from it - Uther keeps magical items of every kind inside it, I knew there was a possibility I could find a book of spells there. And I started to teach myself spells." Morgana finished with a smile.

Merlin smiled back before saying "You don't know how much it means to me, knowing that I'm not alone."

Morgana looked sadly back at him before replying "Me too, Merlin, me too."

Morgana hadn't planned to go see Arthur that night but after her talk with Merlin, she had the sudden urge to see him. She wanted to make sure that he was real, that all of this was real. But she especially wanted to make sure he was really okay. She knocked on his door gently and a few seconds later Arthur opened the door. He wasn't wearing any vest so she had the perfect view of his chest. She gulped slightly, having suddenly forgot what she was doing there.

"Morgana?" Arthur said, surprised at having found her there. Morgana shook herself out of her daze and looked at his face. "Arthur...I..." she hesitated, feeling suddenly embarrassed. She took a deep breath before continuing "I wanted to make sure you were okay." She said in the end.

Arthur's look suddenly became warm. "I'm fine." Then, maybe noticing how gentle he was being, he added, his tone suddenly smug. "Were you actually worried about me? Oh, Morgana, I'm touched"

Morgana glared, irritated at his arrogant behavior. In a haughty voice, she said "Actually no. Wanting to know how you were was just an excuse. I wanted to warn you to treat Merlin well. It certainly was not his choice to become your servant. I mean, who in their right mind could ever choose to become your personal servant? I really pity him."

Arthur glared at her, obviously offended and maybe a little hurt. "Since when do you worry about a servant?"

"Since always, I'm not a selfish idiot like you. And anyway, Merlin is not a simple servant, he's special." Arthur's gaze turned deadly. Morgana could be wrong but it actually looked like he was jealous. "My father would never condone a relationship between his ward and a servant, you know?" He asked scathingly. Morgana rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"Fine, I'll try not to torment him too much. Are you done now? I would like to go back to sleep, it's been a long day." Arthur said, arms folded in front of his chest. Morgana nodded before bidding him goodnight. She turned to walk away and stopped "I was really worried about you tonight. I couldn't bear to see you hurt...or worse." She said with her back turned towards him. She didn't wait to hear his answer, she just walked away towards her chambers.

*These two senteces can be translated pretty much as:

'Ofergiete mec swá þín dohtor' = 'Forget me as your daughter'

'Ðu ágoest ángilde an eafora' = 'You have only one son'

It's old English. I don't know how much of it is actually correct, I never studied it, I just used a translator. If someone here has actually studied it and knows what the correct form is, please, let me know!