Thanks to all those who read/reviewed/alerted the story! It made me really happy :D
This chapter is longer than the previous one (yay!) but i also tend not to write long chapters in general.
But anywho, enjoy the chapter!
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It was almost night, and Merlin was just finishing up his chores for Gaius. Unfortunately, the main task to complete was the cleaning of the leech tank. Merlin had spent the better part of two hours scrubbing at and attempting to clean the leech tank, but had barely made any difference in the top quarter of the tank. He was currently crouched over and was picking at the residue on the very bottom of the tank when a loud banging on the door startled so much that Merlin he crashed the top of his head into the inside of the leech tank. Cursing under his breath, Merlin slowly backed out of the tank, massaging the top of his head as the door burst open and in stormed Prince Arthur Pendragon. Merlin scowled. Of course it would have been Arthur at the door; who else would feel entitled to barge in everywhere they went?
"Merlin," the Prince stood, condescendingly looking at the boy with his hands on his hips, "are you familiar with the custom of answering the door if someone knocks?"
Merlin stared at the prince, the scowl becoming more clearly defined on his face, "You didn't even give me a chance to get to the door!"
Arthur shook his head in mock disappointment. "Speed is something that all competent servants have in Camelot, something more to prove how horrible of a servant you really are, Merlin."
"Then why have I not been sacked by now? Pray tell." Merlin cracked one of his sheepish grins.
"Well, although your cowardliness and sappy sensitivity make me want to gag at times, I can't very well go around teasing and pointing out the faults of everyone in the kingdom now can I? Imagine the reputation I'd get from doing that."
"Yeah, that'd be awful." Merlin stood and walked over to the counter to fetch a washcloth, "Truly awful." he played along.
"Yes, well that's why I haven't sacked your sorry little self yet. I get to insult you, and the rest of the kingdom is spared. You're doing a service to Camelot."
"Wow Arthur," Merlin chuckled and wiped his face with the cloth, "I'm truly honored to be the lucky person to carry that burden. I really am."
"You should be."
Merlin proceeded to cleaning his hands as well as he could with the puny washcloth. "So what is it, Arthur? I'm guessing that you're here to order me around, or did you just decide to come over to chat with your lowly servant?"
"Father has called for the court to come to the Great Hall immediately, and I figured that if I have to sit through a court meeting, then I shouldn't be the only one to suffer." Arthur turned and walked out the room.
Merlin groaned and wiped his face again with the washcloth; if he was to be in the presence of the king, he figured that he should look somewhat presentable.
"Now, Merlin!" Arthur's impatient voice rang through the hallway and Gaius's chambers.
Knowing he meant business, Merlin threw the washcloth into a basin and raced out of the room.
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Merlin stifled a yawn as he stood in his regular spot in the Great Hall: just off to the side and next to Gaius. Uther had summoned the court to discuss the renewal of a peace treaty with a neighboring kingdom, which was quite a dull topic of conversation, especially to Merlin.
Another yawn began to creep up on the young warlock and this one was stifled with great difficulty. Unfortunately, it caught Gaius's attention, and Merlin received a sharp elbow to his arm.
"Pull yourself together Merlin!" Gaius scolded in a whisper as Merlin rubbed the spot on his arm that Gaius hit. "This is an important meeting."
"Important, yes, but that doesn't mean it's not dull." Merlin whispered back.
Gaius raised his eyebrow to complete his trademark judgmental glare. "You would do well to listen in these meetings Merlin. When Arthur is king, you will be advising him on these matters and more."
"Only if he doesn't decide to chop off my head for being a sorcerer." Merlin retorted in the quietest whisper possible.
"Warlock, Merlin, warlock; there is a difference. And do you really have that little faith in Arthur? Surely you know by now how different Arthur is from Uther."
"Better to be pessimistic than optimistic." the young warlock joked.
Gaius shook his head in annoyance and turned his attention back to Uther.
"…and send a messenger to King Fendrel immediately. I want his opinion on the matter before the week is out." Uther finished giving orders to his son.
"Yes, father." Arthur replied, "I will send our fastest messenger when he returns tomorrow."
"Good," Uther turned his attention back to the rest of the court, "Now that the renewal of the treaty has been covered, I…"
Uther was cut off as the enormous wooden doors of the main entrance creaked open unexpectedly. As the doors continued to open, all in the room turned to see who had dared to interrupt a court meeting.
The emerald-green cloak that clung to the shoulders of the Lady Morgana was visible to all as she entered the room.
Upon seeing her enter, Uther and Arther's expressions changed to shock, Gaius's eyebrow shot straight through the roof, and Merlin blanched. Morgana stopped at a respectable distance from Uther in the middle of the hall. The King stood and slowly walked towards her.
"Welcome home, my child." His voice came out barely more than a whisper, but somehow everyone in the room seemed to hear him. A rare smile of relief began to form on his face.
None were more surprised than Merlin to see Morgana step without hesitation into Uther's arms and into an embrace.
"Uther," she said with a smile on her face, "I have missed you so much over the past six months. She broke the hug and stared into the man's eyes with genuine care, "I am truly happy to be back. Throughout the past months, I have witnessed magic in a new light, and now I understand why you have spent so many years ridding Camelot of magic. It is, as you said, an evil that has to be stopped. I managed to escape from the witch Morgause and I have returned to Camelot to ask your forgiveness for not understanding."
Uther smiled more broadly this time, "Morgana, you're safe, that's all that matters now. Come, you need some rest after the ordeal you've been through. I'll escort you back to your chambers, and we will dine in an hour."
As Morgana exited the room with Uther, she turned her gaze towards Merlin and their eyes met. For a fraction of a second, Merlin thought he saw a look of cold, unadulterated hatred on the Lady Morgana's face, but she turned away and the look disappeared.
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"Eat up, Merlin." Gaius placed Merlin's dinner in front of the boy. Merlin didn't even acknowledge the food's presence. "Merlin, is there something you would like to talk about?"
"No." Merlin mumbled. Gaius's eyebrow instinctively crept up to its usual position.
"Merlin, please do not insult my intelligence. Since we've come back from the court meeting, you haven't strung together a coherent sentence and you've been sitting in the same spot staring off into the distance. Something is bothering you, and I am almost certain that it has to do with the unexpected arrival of the Lady Morgana."
"Well how do you expect me to react?" Merlin rounded on Gaius. "She was my friend, and I tried to kill her! I honestly don't think she's all that happy to see me. You should have seen the look that she gave me as she left the hall…" his voice drifted away as he recalled the fleeting look in her eyes. "She looked like she was going to kill."
"I don't think she will try to exact revenge, if that's what you are suggesting." Gaius sat down opposite from the young warlock.
"…Why not?"
"I hope I wasn't the only one to notice a significant change in her character tonight."
Merlin picked at his soup with his spoon, seemingly oblivious to the point his mentor was trying to make. Gaius continued on. "Didn't you think Morgana's speech tonight was a bit out of character?"
"What, when she was denouncing magic?"
"Yes, Merlin." Gaius prodded.
"I thought it was weird that she suddenly decided to hate magic, yes, but honestly I was more concerned with if she was going to let Uther in on the fact that I tried to kill her!"
"I see." Gaius gave up; he knew that he would get nowhere with Merlin tonight. True, Morgana had returned, and she seemed a changed woman, but there was something that didn't feel quite right about the whole situation. Why did she suddenly view magic as an evil that had to be stopped? Why had she turned her back on Morgause? What had happened with her animosity towards Uther? And what happened to her in the time that she was gone? These questions and more were running through Gaius's mind as he quietly ate his dinner.
A quiet knocking on the door broke the silence that had ensued during the dinner. Surprisingly, Merlin bolted to the door before Gaius had the chance to stand. He opened the door and a scrawny servant boy stood in the opening.
"The Lady Morgana requires your presence immediately."
Gaius rose from the table. "Of course, I'll just get a sleeping draught –"
"No, Gaius." the servant interrupted, "She doesn't need a sleeping draught. She's sent for Merlin."
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This saturday, I go into tech week for a show, so I probably won't be able to post again until the beginning of August.
Thanks for reading! :D