Here's chapter 2! Special thanks to those who've reviewed, followed and/or put this into your favorites! :)
A couple days later, Merlin took Morgana's draught up to her a little earlier in the evening. He wanted to ask her opinion about something and had just worked up the courage to do it. When he got to her chambers, the door was open and female voices drifted out. He paused in the doorway until they finished their conversation.
"Look what's just arrived for you," Gwen said. She was holding a large bouquet of lilies.
"Who are they from?" Morgana asked.
"I don't know. Maybe Arthur?!"
"How disappointing."
"Why? Who'd you like them to be from?"
"I don't know. A tall, dark stranger?"
Something erupted in Merlin's stomach just then. Why would Arthur give her lilies? He wouldn't; he wasn't that thoughtful. So who was the mysterious man who gave Morgana the flowers? He shook his head to banish the thoughts from his mind. What did he care that someone gave Morgana flowers? It's not like he could give her anything. He knocked on the door.
Morgana looked up and Gwen turned around. They both said hello. Gwen sat the flowers on Morgana's nightstand and left the room on another errand. Merlin bowed his head in respect and handed her the draught. Again their hands brushed and the flare of their magic responded to the other's presence. His heart beat wildly for a moment before calming.
"Merlin, would you snuff the candles for me? Gwen's left early again and I'm retiring early tonight; another nightmare kept me awake too long last night."
The servant looked at her bed and saw that it was indeed turned down. "As you wish, milady." He walked around the room, carefully snuffing the candles. "Is there anything else I can do for you, milady?"
"No, thank you, Merlin." Her eyes lingered on him for slightly too long and he had to wonder at that. She'd said "tall, dark stranger," and that loosely described him. Did she think he'd sent the flowers? But she shook her head and said, "You may go."
Merlin walked back to Gaius's chambers, oddly disappointed until he realized he had wanted to be the one to give Morgana flowers.
xxxXxxx
Gaius was gone when Merlin woke in the morning. After poking around here and there (and detouring to Arthur's chambers), he found Gaius leaving Morgana's chambers. Morgana had taken ill in the night and was "all but dead." No one understood how Morgana could deteriorate so rapidly.
By nightfall, no one could concentrate on any task for long. The King and Prince in particular were distracted and begged Gaius for updates every five minutes all night long. Merlin assisted him as usual, and at one point, left Merlin alone with her. He sat at her bed side and took her hand. He smoothed her hair off her forehead with his other hand. "You have to live," he told her, "The world would be so much darker without you." He bent lower and kissed her forehead, then jerked away as Gaius reentered the room.
When Gaius proclaimed she had mere hours to live, Arthur remembered an encounter with a man claiming to be able to "cure all ills." Uther immediately told Arthur to fetch the man so he could examine Morgana.
After Uther cleared the man, Edwin Muriden, he asked about Morgana's illness. Arthur had his equipment moved to guest quarters and tasked Merlin to work for him temporarily. Merlin was thrilled by Edwin's gizmos and gadgets, but was dismissed when Edwin went to heal Morgana.
In fact, no one watched Edwin heal Morgana. He demanded "peace and privacy." But no one grew suspicious of Edwin until he avoided Gaius's questions about his methods. Neither could anyone doubt his methods, because Morgana was fine and responding well to whatever Edwin had done.
The next day Merlin reported to Edwin and found him gone. He poked around the equipment on the table and found a small box with an inscription written in the language of magic. He read it and something started moving around in the box. Edwin entered the room just then, but it was too late. He'd seen Merlin use magic. Luckily he revealed himself as a sorcerer too, and explained how magic could be used for good. He offered to teach Merlin, but Merlin was unsure and excused himself; Edwin gave him a weird feeling.
Much later in the day, he stood in the council chambers with Arthur when Edwin entered. It seemed the King had asked Edwin to review Gaius's work. He reported that he'd found fault with several of Gaius's cases and theorized that he was getting too old for his job. Morgana stepped up to defend Gaius and Merlin admired her all the more for that.
Later on, Gaius was called to the King, who summarily retired Gaius and promoted Edwin to court physician. Merlin wanted Gaius to fight for it, but he refused. Gaius packed and left, refusing to let Merlin talk him out of it. Merlin tried to talk to Arthur about it, but he agreed with Uther and was no help.
Late in the night, Merlin was running an errand when Arthur found him. Uther had caught whatever had plagued Morgana. Merlin ran back to fetch Edwin and found Gaius there, at Edwin's mercy. He ended up killing Edwin to save Gaius and together they figured out what Edwin had done.
They raced to Uther's chambers where Merlin magically healed Uther. In the morning, The King restored Gaius to his position and gave him his freedom. And Gaius "rewarded" Merlin by asking him to collect herbs for him. Merlin grumbled good-naturedly and left with his satchel and a list. He'd realized he could pick flowers for Morgana while he was out there and did so.
That evening, he visited Morgana again with the flowers and her draught. He noticed that the lilies had withered greatly and smiled to himself. He presented the draught in one hand and the bouquet he'd picked in the other.
Morgana crowed delightedly. "Ooh Merlin, these are so beautiful! Thank you!" He watched with satisfaction as she took the wilted lilies from their vase, poured fresh water into it and placed his flowers in it. "I think I should have you pick me fresh bouquets every other day or so. You really know what you're doing."
Now Merlin blushed and ducked his head. "As you wish, milady."
She thanked him again and he left, practically floating back to his little room. He nearly missed Gaius's summons to dinner and didn't hear a word his mentor said the entire time. After dinner he wished Gaius "goodnight" and went to bed.
He lay there a long while, thinking about how Morgana had received his flowers. It was impossible to clear his mind of her. By now he'd witnessed how beautiful she was on the inside as well as the outside and loved her all the more for it. Wait, love? He loved her? He examined every thought he'd ever had of her and concluded that yes, he was in love with Morgana. But then he despaired, because he was so far beneath her that she'd never notice him, let alone ever love him back.
Those thoughts cycling through his head kept him awake for a while, but finally exhaustion overwhelmed him and he fell into a troubled sleep.
xxxXxxx
The next few days were quiet. Morgana noticed that Merlin seemed a bit nervous around her again; he responded quickly to questions and requests with his usual, "as you wish," but he sounded a bit more fervent. What was going on with him? He couldn't possibly like her, could he? She dismissed that, because even if he did, he was a good enough man to not act on any feelings.
One night she woke up gasping—she'd had a nightmare about Arthur drowning, from his point of view. A pretty girl stood over him and was saying something. It absolutely terrified her. Was it a vision of the future, as these terrifying dreams usually were? Only time would tell.
Later that same day, Morgana was on her way to dinner when she saw a pretty blonde girl walk toward a guest room. She looked like the one from her dream. The girl looked back at her for a moment, smiled, then went into the room. Morgana approached Merlin, who appeared to be helping the girl.
"Who is that?" She asked.
"Uh . . . Sophia Tír-Mòr. We rescued her in the woods. Well, Arthur did most of the rescuing," he replied.
Oh no. "She can't stay here."
"The King said that she and her father are welcome in Camelot. Is everything okay?"
Morgana mentally shook herself, realizing she looked overly anxious. "Yes. Thank you." She walked away, not wanting to burden him anymore. So she went to see Gaius.
But even though Gaius sat and listened intently to her story, he dismissed it as her mind playing tricks or a mistaken identity. He told her again that the dreams were just that and had no deeper meaning. Then, even though she told them they didn't work, he gave her another sleeping draught.
She thanked him and he told her, as usual, not to bother her father with her dream. After muttering, "I understand," she stood and left the room. It looked like she needed to find another confidante.
xxxXxxx
The next day, Morgana confided in Gwen. She suggested that Morgana talk to the King. Morgana protested on the grounds that he'd think Morgana was doing magic. He'd go ballistic and execute her. Gwen protested that he wouldn't kill his own daughter, but Morgana wasn't confident. He refused to listen to anyone when magic was even hinted at. Morgana decided she'd have to stop Sophia on her own.
A bit later in the day, she bumped into Sophia as they went to pass on the stairs. Morgana knew she'd been out with Arthur and was anxious to see if he was all right. Sophia introduced herself, but Morgana cut to the chase and confronted her about what she'd seen in her dream. The other girl just laughed and accused Morgana of jealousy. That made the Princess even angrier and ordered Sophia to stay away from Arthur. Sophia just smiled mockingly and flounced away.
Next, Morgana went to visit Arthur. She tried explaining her dream to him and warned him to stay away from Sophia. Much like Sophia, he just laughed and accused her of being jealous. Could he be enchanted already? She had to shake her head and walk away from him. He refused to take her seriously, as usual. She'd just have to watch out for him as planned.
xxxXxxx
The next day, Merlin headed back to Gaius's after his second stint in the stocks in as many days. While he was there, Gaius confided in him about Morgana's dream and explained how he thought she was a seer. He felt that Arthur was in danger, but he didn't know why.
Merlin decided to watch Arthur's chambers. After a while, he saw Sophia's father, Aulfric, come out, which was odd. He tailed the man all the way to a lake where incanted a spell. Merlin blinked and suddenly small blue people with wings appeared and danced on the lake. Aulfric spoke to them, and when he was done, Merlin ran all the way back to Camelot.
He told Gaius who figured out they were dealing with Sidhe, the fairy guardians of Avalon. He concluded that Arthur was most likely enchanted because they wanted to sacrifice him to get into Avalon. Now he had to keep an even closer eye on Arthur.
Later the following day, Arthur formally requested permission to marry Sophia. Everyone in the room was shocked. He backed down when Uther threatened to execute Sophia and Aulfric, but no one believed Arthur would let it go.
Morgana followed the King; she had to somehow convince him to stop Arthur. She told him Sophia was dangerous, but the King brushed that off. He thought Arthur was a fool in love, nothing more. Then he asked her how she knew Sophia was dangerous. Morgana was seriously tempted to just tell him the truth, but her nerves got the better of her. She explained she had a sense that Sophia was a "love 'em and leave 'em" type. Uther accepted that but didn't take any action. Now what?
xxxXxxx
Merlin just knew Arthur would run off with Sophia. But he didn't expect her father to knock him unconscious. Gaius woke him and explained how Morgana had come to him. She'd begged him to help her or she'd go to Uther and explain how she really knew about Sophia and damn the consequences. Gaius stopped her by explaining he'd find help.
Merlin ran off to save Arthur. Meanwhile, Morgana hoped the help that Gaius spoke of was Arthur's mysterious magical guardian. Because if her brother was enchanted, only another magician could hope to save him. She was relieved when Merlin returned with Arthur, safe and sound. She wasn't quite sure how he'd become involved, but at least he'd helped Arthur. What really mattered was Arthur's safety.
The next morning she went to visit Arthur. He told her the story Merlin and Gaius had told him: how he'd eloped with Sophia and Merlin had had to knock him out to get him back to Camelot. She thought that was amusing, but saved her brother's ego by not laughing—until she left his chambers.
She went to visit Gaius, to see if Arthur's story was accurate. Gaius and Merlin were there talking about who knows what, and that threw her off a bit. Instead of saying what she wanted, she ended up saying, "I've had some troubled nights."
"I prepared another draught for you. Have the dreams stopped?" Gaius said.
She shook her head. "Arthur told me what actually happened," she turned to Merlin, "You must've hit him round the head really hard."
"Yeah. I feel really bad about that." He replied like he'd prepared the answer.
Gaius handed her another bottle. "Here you are. Remember, every night just before you go to sleep."
"Thank you, Gaius." She left and went back to her chambers.
Once there, Gwen helped her change. She drank some of the new draught and got into bed. Surprisingly, she felt sleepy right away. But her sweet sleep didn't last long. Only a couple of hours later, she woke from another nightmare. But the only thing she remembered from this one was fire and maniacal chuckling. It kept her up for most of the rest of the night.
xxxXxxx
Several days later, Merlin was walking down a random corridor on some errand for Arthur, which he promptly forgot when he heard a child screaming—in his head. The only other being able to do this was the dragon, so maybe this child had magic too? He looked around the corridor, but he was alone. He followed the sound of the voice into the courtyard and looked for someone in distress. Finally he saw a boy crouched by a wagon, clearly in hiding. The boy spoke in his mind again, asking for help; the searching guards would kill him. Merlin ran to a side door, closer to the boy. He bid him to run over to him, but the guards saw them anyway.
Merlin led him up the nearest staircase, which happened to be the one closest to Morgana's chambers. That was fortunate—she was the nearest help he could think of anyway. He burst inside her room with the boy, slammed the door behind them and leaned against it to catch his breath.
Morgana and Gwen looked up. The Princess, in her shock, exclaimed, "Have you forgotten how to knock, Merlin?"
"The guards are after him. I didn't know what to do," Merlin gasped.
As if to highlight his urgency, a knock sounded on the door. "My Lady?" Another knock then, "My Lady?"
Morgana pointed to the curtain in front of her deep window. "In there." She waited until Merlin and the boy were behind the curtain to open the door.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, My Lady," the guard said. "We're searching for a young Druid boy. We believe he came this way."
"I haven't seen anyone. It's just me and my maid."
"Best keep the door locked till we find him."
"Of course. Thank you." Morgana closed the door and ran to check on the boy. He'd collapsed into Merlin's arms and the servant was covered in blood. The boy's blood.
They cleaned and bound the boy's wound as well as they could. Meanwhile, Uther had come out on his balcony to oversee the execution of the man who'd been with the boy. Among other things, he said, "Anyone found harboring the boy is guilty of conspiracy, and will be executed as a traitor." Merlin, Morgana and Gwen exchanged glances.
Morgana finally turned from the window and said, "I can't watch this." She walked over and sat next to the boy.
As they heard the axe fall, the boy, who'd come to a few moments earlier, went pale. In his head, Merlin heard him scream "NO!" The mirror next to the window cracked. Merlin and Morgana exchanged a horror-filled glance—the boy was not only a Druid, he had magic.
Merlin left to ask Gaius some subtle questions about Druids and collect some medical supplies. When he got back to Morgana's chambers, he found her watching over the boy like a devoted mother. "How is he?"
"He's very pale. I worry he may have lost a lot of blood."
He walked closer to Morgana and the boy. "Has he said anything at all?"
"Nothing. He won't even tell me his name."
"You know, uh, for a moment there earlier, I-I thought you were going to hand us over to the guards."
Morgana pretended to be affronted. "I'm glad you have so much faith in me, Merlin." She stood.
"No, no, sorry. Um, I meant, you're the King's daughter. You're taking a huge risk helping the boy."
"I wouldn't see an innocent child executed. What harm has he ever done anyone?"
Merlin decided to play devil's advocate. "Uther believes he has magic, and that makes him guilty."
"My father's wrong."
"You believe that?" He was amazed by her courage; one of the many reasons he'd fallen for her.
She'd subconsciously walked a lot closer to him. "What if magic isn't something you choose? What if it chooses you?" He was looking at her like she'd given him the key to her heart. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
He glanced away briefly, embarrassed at being caught staring. "No reason."
"Why are you helping him?"
"It was a spur of the moment decision." Well, it was only half a lie. "What do you think we should do with him? He can't stay here."
"We have to find a way to get him back to his people."
She had to ask him to leave then, because she had to dress for dinner. Merlin just blushed and said, "As you wish." It's not like he'd stay anyway, but just the thought of her undressing . . . he really had to find something to do to take his mind off of that thought.
xxxXxxx
Merlin came by again, after dinner. He discovered that the boy had a raging fever and concluded that his wound was infected. He decided to treat him on his own; Gaius wouldn't want to be involved since he'd already warned Merlin not to get drawn in. At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Morgana shoved Merlin behind a screen with the boy and opened the door to Arthur. He was looking for the boy and wanted to search her room. She delayed and annoyed him enough that he got disgusted and left; Morgana and Merlin breathed sighs of relief. They stared at each other for a long moment before Merlin muttered that he'd better go collect supplies to help the boy, and left.
Morgana sighed and went to sit next to the boy. She dripped water between his lips and cooled his forehead with a wet cloth. These measures would help but they wouldn't cure the infected wound.
Merlin came back much later than she thought he would. "What took you so long?" she asked.
"Sorry. Once Gaius gets talking about anatomy, there's no stopping him." She looked confused but didn't ask; he moved past her to treat the boy.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
He sighed mentally. "I'm doing my best."
"I'll get you some more water."
The boy opened his eyes slightly and spoke into Merlin's mind again, "Thank you, Emrys."
He replied the same way. "Emrys? Why do you call me that?"
"Among my people, that is your name."
"You know who I am. How?" The boy's eyes closed. "Speak to me," he tried, but the boy had fallen unconscious again.
Morgana had been watching them. "I don't know if he can't speak, or . . . he's just too scared to."
Merlin frowned. The boy knew something about him that he'd never heard before, and he wanted to know more. He'd ask Gaius, but then he'd know Merlin had lied. So that just left the dragon, and he had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't like what the dragon had to say.
He made small talk with Morgana while he finished treating the boy. After that, he made his excuses and left. He was sure Morgana thought he was flighty and unsure of himself, but he simply had this need to know. So he snuck through the castle to visit his scaly mentor.
The dragon told him all about the name Emrys, but also warned him not to help the boy. Of course he didn't explain why he shouldn't help the boy, and just flew off. Merlin ended up leaving in the usual foul mood he found himself in after talking to that creature.
I apologize for all the canon exposition. I hope there's enough divergent bits to make it interesting though. Chapter 4 is where it will go totally AU, so hang on til then? It'll be worth it. :D
