+Guys, you are killing me. Thank you for being so kind and encouraging, it's really sparking my muses. From now on, unless stated, it's going to be in the past to show the development of Arthur & Morgana's relationship and also why Merlin is like he is. It's getting a bit more plotty now so the pieces may be longer but I'm hoping they'll be worth it. Keep reviewing, please.+

"I need to hear someone say it so I don't have to feel like I'm imagining it," Morgana pleaded her friend, her eyes drooping from the exhausting events of the day. She had always suffered from nightmares, ever since she was a young girl. But nothing had ever happened quite like this.

The night before, she had been plagued by nightmares once more; the same thing every night. An old man standing over her as she cradled someone in her lap. But she couldn't see either of their faces. All she felt was dread and then pain. Mind numbing agony that twisted both her heart and her flesh. She shot up just as lightning struck, sending a wave of fear through her. Storms always reminded her of the night that she lost her father. She had stood outside in the rain waiting for him to come home only to find that he never would. Normally in a storm, she would go and fetch Arthur and he would stay with her throughout the night. He was always so-...kind, so caring. As much as it enchanted her, it also scared the wits out of her.

Why would he do something like that for someone like her? A man like him needed all the sleep he could get what with the training and the meetings. And yet, every night there was a storm, he came.

Her breath was scarcely making its way out of her lips as she looked to the window, a lump of fear throbbing in her throat. Her eyes flitted over to the candle by the curtains and she gasped. That wasn't-...that wasn't alight before. She started to panic, her head spinning as she tried to calm herself down but to no avail. Something started to course through her veins, something-...powerful and otherworldly. For a moment, her vision blurred as a wave of power flowed out of her very form. She didn't have any time at all to question what it was as the candle's flame suddenly heightened, crackling loudly and catching the drapes alight. The fabric immediately began to spread with flames, elliciting a scream from the young ward.

Needless to say, Arthur was in her chambers in moments, Uther following shortly afterwards. As the Prince comforted her, the King began to rant and rave about how it was a conspiracy, the work of sorcery but Morgana knew better.

It was her.

She had tried desperately to convince Gaius but he had pushed it aside, claiming that she was in shock. That she wasn't thinking things through clearly when in fact she was thinking clearer than ever before. She knew it was magic. She had felt it.

And this was hardly the first time that something-...supernatural had happened around her.

What about every time that she had dreamt something and it had come true? Was that, too, a consequence of shock?

No. It was her reality; she had magic. She didn't know how and she didn't know why. All she knew was fact. For a moment, she had thought about telling Arthur. But he would have laughed it off, surely. He would have said that she was overreacting, as always. But perhaps-...

Merlin.

He had always been there for her, helped her through everything. But most of all, he had believed her. When she had told him of her fears for Arthur's safety, he had followed through in checking them and keeping him safe. So that was why she soon found herself in his chambers, having just desperately told him about her ordeal. There was something in his eyes that told her that he believed her. That maybe he had had these worries for a long while just as she had.

Merlin, too, knew that to be true. His eyes searched hers, seeing the desperation and hope mixed within them.

How could he let her down? Perhaps Gaius was wrong-...perhaps the Dragon was wrong, too.

How could the young, frightened woman in front of him be of any risk? She had been nothing but kind and courteous to Merlin, treating him not like a slave but as a friend. He could tell her anything and the fact that she was in his chambers now proved that she felt the same. And-...she was of his kind. Surely she would not cast him aside, much less betray him. He could tell her. Gods, he could tell her and finally have someone other than Gaius know of his secret. Have someone help him to keep it. Possibilities began to ramble through his head; he would have a friend. A true friend that he would be able to be himself around. But something was holding him back. Or rather, multiple things. Morgana's temper was as notorious as the Pendragons'.

What if he was to upset her somehow? She was closer to Arthur than he was - however much he secretly hated it - and she could divulge his secret at any moment. He could still hear Gaius' words in his ear and the Dragon's, too.

She cannot be trusted.

I mean it, Merlin, stay out of it.

So many things were telling him that he should help her but then again, the negatives were close to outweighing the positives. With a lump in his throat and noticeable tears glistening in his eyes, he choked out, "I really wish there was something I could say."

But there is, you idiot! Tell her you know exactly what she's going through. Tell her you've been through it, too. Tell her you know what it's like to feel like an outsider! he scolded himself as he saw the hurt burning in her eyes.

She was so scared and for once, she did not even try to hide it. Not taking her eyes off of him, she slowly stepped back and ran from the room, barely hearing her name being called from behind her.


Tears poured down her face as she ran, dressed in naught but her white nightgown, the empty silence of the halls only emphasising how alone she was. Merlin was her last resort, he was the last person she could turn to. Apart from, of course-...

She grunted as she ran straight into someone and with fisted hands, she began to thump against the stranger's chest. "Get off of me, leave me alone!" she shrieked, sobbing but she merely felt the now-familiar arms wrap around her, holding her tight to his chest. Exhausted from running and crying, she slackened against him, letting her weight rest entirely on Arthur. "Leave me-..." she whimpered, her hand thumping half-heartedly against his chest only to be caught in his strong one.

"Morgana, what is it?" he asked softly, his voice wrapping around her like a blanket, making her instantly feel safe as it seemed only he knew how to do. "What's wrong? What's happened?" His hand carefully smoothed down her hair, his chin rested on top of her head as he quietly soothed her.

For a moment, everything almost seemed to fade away. She let out a ragged sigh and focussed purely on his arms around her, encasing her. She couldn't help but feel somewhat confused though. It was known that Arthur Pendragon was not a patient man and yet, here he was. Simply waiting for her to finish crying.

But the tears kept spilling down her face and onto his tunic. It only flared his worry for her even further and he finally pulled back, holding her upper arms in his hands as he dipped his head to look into her reddened eyes. "What's the matter, Morgana?" he asked, the fragments of his voice caressing her as did the pads of his fingers.

She wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him everything.

But what would be the point? He would either laugh or shirk her aside or perhaps even tell his father and-...Gods, she would lose her head. She whimpered, shaking her head vehemently as she pushed against him. "No...L-let me go." Surely experience should have taught her by now that she could trust nobody but herself. Soon enough, everyone betrayed her. Soon enough, everybody left her. And yet there was something in her head and heart that was telling her 'not Arthur'.

But she was not listening to either of them now as she pushed past him, continuing her run but he gripped her wrist and held fast.

"Morgana, please. I just want to help and I cannot do that without you telling me what the problem is," he said, his voice still gentle but firm. He knew her better than anybody and he knew that something was wrong.

Morgana snarled, pulling her hand from his grasp as she quickly turned on her heel and stomped away from him. "Nothing, Arthur. Can you not leave your big nose out of one thing in this wretched castle?" she shouted as she made her way back towards her chambers but he was hot on her heels.

He quickly ran ahead of her and pressed his hands against the frame of her closed door. "No. No, I can't. Not when you're acting this way. Not when you're so-...upset. I'm worried, Morgana, is that so much of a crime?"

"Get out of my way, Arthur," she said coldly, not meeting his gaze.

Arthur rolled his eyes, that notorious impatience of his finally showing through. "No," he snapped. "Something's wrong and if you weren't so damn stubborn, you would tell me! Why do you have to make things so difficult for yourself? I just want to hel-..."

"I don't need your help!" Morgana screamed.

Arthur was entirely frozen to the spot as he saw those emerald eyes that he had looked into so many times glint golden. Before he had time to even register it, he was thrown back through Morgana's chamber doors, crashing through it as he was thrown into the air. He seemed to be in the air for ages but it was mere nanoseconds before his head cracked against the floor, rendering him motionless.

Morgana stared at him, her mouth agape as she looked down at her hands. How had that even-...

"Arthur!" she screamed as she ran towards him, pulling his head into her lap. "I'm so-...so sorry," she whispered, looking at the blood that was appearing on his forehead from the cut there. Her hands were shaking as they ghosted over his forehead, disbelieving that she-...that she had done this to him. She had hurt Arthur. And not only that, she had hurt him with magic. She thought that maybe for a moment, he would be unconscious; that he wouldn't have noticed or with the hit he would have forgotten. But as she looked into those eyes of his, she saw the hurt pooling in them.

His Morgana-...how could she do this to him? How could she be a sorceress? It didn't make sense. Perhaps he was dreaming; this was all some horrid nightmare. But the pain radiating his skull felt very earth-shatteringly real, indeed. He swallowed back a choked sob as he pushed away from her, unable to meet her gaze.

She wasn't who he had thought; how could she have kept this from him?

"Ge-...get off," he mumbled, breathing out of his nose as he was afraid that if he parted his lips he would either kiss her for being so stupid and keeping this from him or he would cry and scream at the cruelty of this world.

Quickly lifting her hands off of him, she crawled back but didn't stray far from him. He was hurt, he was confused. But he was also still her champion. And she wouldn't let him go through this alone. Curiously, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. He had not immediately called for the guards.

Which was good, wasn't it? At least-...at least she would have the opportunity to talk to him.


Hours passed, it seemed, as the pair looked out of the window of Morgana's chambers to see the sun rising. "Morning," Morgana stated, her head resting on the edge of her vanity table.

Arthur had moved from his position and was now sat up against her bed, his eyes fixed firmly to the floor. His jaw was clenched and his forehead was bloodied but it had stopped producing fresh blood. He was chewing on his knuckle, a small trait of his that seemed to have stayed with him since he was a young boy, showing that he was in deep thought. For the first time in a long while, he raised his gaze from the floor to look at the window, squinting them slightly at it burned his eyes. He allowed himself to smile for a moment before it faltered. He closed his eyes, resting his head back against the foot of the bed. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, his voice gravelled.

It was the moment that Morgana had been both longing for and fearing. She wetted her lips before pushing herself up from the floor, her heart falling as she saw him flinch slightly. He was scared of her. And rightly so, she supposed; she had attacked him only hours before.

"I-...I have only truly just found out myself, Arthur," she said softly, her once again trembling hand rested on the top of the chair as she tried desperately to catch his eyes. When he didn't comment, she continued, "The nightmares have been getting worse, that you know but-...these things, these occurences that have been happening. My chambers catching alight, the smashed glass on my floor...it was me. It was my-...my magic."

Arthur's gaze finally met hers with those words, his chin tilting upwards to look at her properly. "The fire was you?" he asked, his words sounding like an accusation.

"Well, I hardly planned on it, Arthur," she retorted but she regretted the sharpness of her tone. She was the one who had lied to him, not the other way around. Well, not lying so much as conveniently straying away from the truth.

However, he did not seem to be in the forgiving mood as he quickly stood up and stormed up to her, gripping her upper arms in his hands furiously. "Don't play games, Morgana," he hissed, their noses nearly touching. "I was-...I was worried sick. I thought somebody was out to kill you. I-..." He stilled himself for a moment, his eyes closing once more as he took in a breath to calm himself down. "You know me better than anyone, as I know you," he said quietly, his eyes still remaining close. "Or at least I thought I did. And yet you could not trust me with this. How long have you known?"

Tears were beginning to burn in Morgana's eyes as she bit her lip against his strong grip. She knew that he would never willingly hurt her - but she assumed that was before she told him something such as this - but she knew that his fingerprints would easily leave a bruise.

"A-...a few months. I mean, that is how long the noticeable magic has been going on. But the nightmares-...I believe them to be magic, too. You knew that quite well, Arthur. That day I warned you not to go; not to fight that monster. And yet you did and you returned-..." She paused, closing her eyes, too, as she remembered that haunting image of Uther holding Arthur's limp body in his arms as he walked him through the courtyard. She would never escape that picture, that nightmare. The day she almost lost him.

A lump rose in Arthur's throat as he thought back. Gods, she was right. She had warned him. She had seemed-...crazed, hysterical. He had simply shrugged it off, blaming it on lack of sleep. But it wasn't; it was a vision. She had dreamed of his demise. The thought, somewhat annoyingly, sent a flutter through his heart. From what he knew of magic, a majority of it was based off of the conjurer's emotions. So surely dreaming about him in such a way-...she must have cared for him. A lot. He cleared his throat and shook his head, finally opening his eyes. He couldn't comment. He just-...didn't know what to say.

What words could amount? None. She had always been able to read him and his emotions, however, so he knew that it would not be much of a problem. "Where were you coming from?" he asked, loosening his grip on her, a glimmer of guilt showing in his eyes as he already saw the red marks from his fingers. "When I found you. Where had you been?"

He had not shouted at her yet. Surely that was a good sign. She, too, cleared her throat. "Merlin's chambers. I-...I needed to get a draught from Gaius. I thought perhaps it would help the nightmares be eased somewhat." When she was met with his glare, she knew that story would not pass. Like he said, they knew each other too well to lie to each other. "I went to speak to Merlin."

Arthur rolled his eyes, stepping back from her as he turned his back on her. "I might've known that dollophead would be involved." He peered over his shoulder at her, his eyes glazing over her form. "So, what? Are you two in love or something?" he snapped, his voice bitter and dripping with annoyance.

Morgana was taken aback and mimicking the Prince's normal phrase, she said incredulously, "Merlin? You think that I am in love with Merlin?"

Arthur threw his hands in the air, turning back on her full force as he muttered irritably at her nature. "Well, what else am I supposed to think, Morgana? You learn a big secret like this about yourself and the first thing you do is go and tell my manservant!" he snapped, letting the jealousy in his voice seep through.

And despite the situation, Morgana couldn't help but laugh. The sound felt almost foreign to her after the pain and despair of the past few days but nonetheless, she laughed and did not stop even when he glared at her.

"Well, I'm glad you find this all very amusing, Morgana," he muttered, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall.

"Arthur, there is nothing going on between Merlin and I," she said softly, shaking her head fondly.

Despite himself, his eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked, a smile beginning to cross over his face but he quickly attempted to cover it up by shrugging and shifting his gaze from hers. "Not that it matters much to me. Your love life is your personal business as is who you spend your time with."

Then, suddenly, they both realised what this was truly about. It was not about her magic, it was not even about Merlin. It was the fact that they had grown apart. Apart from the occasional stormy night, they never spent time together.

They had once been inseperable, what happened to that? That was why the fact that she had told Merlin first hurt him more than he thought it would; he missed her. Gods, did he miss her. His Lady.

He used to be the person that she would directly go to in her time of need and now, he was not even second but third choice? Alongside Gaius and Merlin? Needless to say, it sent a dagger to his heart.

As if she had heard his thoughts - and maybe, Arthur thought, what with her magic, it was not beside the realms of possibility - she said, "I miss you, Arthur."

The words, so gentle and yet so daunting pulled at his heartstrings and he met her eyes, his expression softening dramatically. "As I miss you, Morgana," he said, offering her a soft smile before returning his gaze to the floor. "But-...I need time. I need to think things through," he said as he made his way towards her. Catching the look of distress on her face, he shook his head. "Nonono, don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I certainly won't tell my father. But I need to think about-...Gods, I don't know, Morgana. I need to think," he said, clutching his fists at his side.

She let out a sigh; it was better than nothing. She lowered her eyes to the stone cold floor. "I understand."

Looking at the top of her head, he smiled once more, gently, his eyes filled with nothing but admiration where once betrayal lay. He took a step forward and grasped her shoulders in one of his hands once more but this time it wasn't in anger, nor was it a violent movement. It was gentle, it was loving. With his free hand, he tilted her chin up with his forefinger. He wanted to tell her to not be afraid, to not worry. But knowing Morgana, he knew that was not possible. So he merely grinned. "I must admit, I'm rather glad that you have magic. For a moment, when-when I thought you were with Merlin, I-..." he trailed off, sighing as he bit his lip. "Needless to say, I'm glad it's not a secret man that you've been hiding from me."

But rather the first thing that earnt a person their deaths in his father's kingdom; what on Earth had happened to him? He was spouting such rubbish and it was all because of the shining beacon in front of him.

Morgana tilted her head at him, her brow furrowed in both confusion and curiosity. "And why is that?" she asked quietly, the small crinkle in her brow softening as he chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked as he craned his head towards her, pressing his lips to her cheek. "Sleep, Morgana. For tomorrow brings a new day and with it, a new court meeting." He released her somewhat reluctantly before stepping slowly backwards out of her chambers. "Goodnight, my lady."

Morgana barely noticed the door clicking, her hand was pressed to her cheek where his lips had once been, staring in disbelief at him.

What had he meant? Obvious? How could that have been any less helpful? But all the same, it brought a smile to her face as she turned and crawled into bed. "Goodnight, my champion," she breathed into her pillow before promptly falling asleep, exhausted by the day.


Walking down the corridor with a giddy grin on his face, Arthur soon reached his chambers. He opened the doors to find a worried Merlin waiting for him. "Merlin," he greeted, still beaming. "You're early. Good, I have a job for you."

But Merlin, for once, did not make some sort of sarcastic remark such as 'when do you ever not?', nor did he call him a dollophead. All he did was step forward towards his master, nothing but concern writing itself into his features as he saw the cut on his forehead. "What happened?" he insisted. "Who did this to you?"

Arthur merely shrugged in reply as he took a giant gulp from his goblet that he found on the table. "I fell over, Merlin, it's nothing to worry about. Even a Prince has his clumsy moments. Now, stop your fussing and fetch me my white tunic, will you?" he asked, standing in the middle of the room and holding out his arms expectantly.

Merlin frowned, something was definitely wrong. "Where have you been?" he asked as he followed through with his job, rummaging through Arthur's drawers until he found his tunic.

"I hardly think I have to explain myself to my manservant, do you, Merlin?" Arthur asked with a quirked brow as he pulled his red tunic from his body only to replace it with his white one. His wardrobe was not very varied at all. "If you truly must know, I was with Morgana."

Merlin froze for a moment; luckily, he hoped, not too obviously as he looked the Prince over.

Had she done this to him? She was hurt and delirious when she had left his chambers.

Gods what if-...what if his actions had prompted her to hurt or even kill Arthur?

"Is that so? In the middle of the night?" he asked as he folded Arthur's tunic over his arm, his eyebrow arching.

"Yes," Arthur snapped, rounding on him. "Is there a problem with that?"

Merlin pursed his lips, raising his hands in a surrendering manner. "Of course not, sire. It's just that-...well, it's the middle of the night. Not even that, it's morning. And yet you have only just returned from a Lady's chambers."

Arthur cleared his throat, shrugging as he quickly made his way towards his bed. "You know as well as I - or maybe even better - Merlin, that the Lady Morgana suffers from nightmares. They're worse when it's storming so I thought that I would check she was alright."

Merlin tilted his head as he looked out of the completely dry window. "I didn't hear a storm," he said, frowning. Something was wrong.

Had Morgana told Arthur about how indifferently Merlin had treated her? Of course not, that would involve her telling Arthur about her magic. And that was the one thing he thought she would never do.

But then again-...what did Arthur mean by 'maybe even better'? What possible reason could a manservant have to be consorting with a Lady of court? He also worried about what she would become if she was left alone. He knew as well as anyone in the castle of her determined nature and of her rage. She could prove to be dangerous. He would certainly have to keep his eye on the sorceress.

"Goodnight, Merlin," Arthur said pointedly as he flopped down on the pillow, blowing out his candle.

Merlin chuckled to himself; what did he do to deserve such a prat for a master. "Goodnight, sire," he said as he briskly turned on the heel of his boot to make his way to the doors. Just before he opened them, however, he turned to face Arthur even though he could not see him. "So you and Morgana are-...good, then?" he asked, knowing how the Prince had been missing her, even if he would not admit it.

Arthur smiled into his pillow. "Goodnight, Merlin," he said once more, the smile evident in his voice and answering his question entirely.