AN:

Sacred3:

I understand what you mean (I see it in a lot of FF) but when I read a book I don't see every sentence start on a new line or having 'he/she said' at the end of it, so I try to maintain a book-ish style.

But trying not to be a complete prat (which you might think I am right now) I'm going to explain how I write my dialogue.

When I write one-on-one dialogue I usually make them take turns like this:
"Prat." The manservant muttered.
"Merlin?" Arthur turned to his manservant.
"Yes, Arthur?"
"Shut up."
"Shutting up."

With lengthy or interrupted dialogue, I do it like this:
"Well," Merlin began but seeing the look in Arthur's eye, he changed his mind "never mind."

^This is interrupted dialogue which I resume later on, still on the same line.

or like this:
"You can't do that!" Merlin shouted. Arthur turned away but Merlin wasn't going to be ignored.
"His royal pratness thinks himself to good for the common folk, is that it?" Merlin kept shouting.

^Here I'm being explicit with who is saying what to (try to) keep things reasonably clear.

But I do thank you for reviewing my story and I'll be sure to keep an eye out to make sure it is more clear who says what.

To Feel and Understand

Merlin sat in the chambers next to Morgana's writing the letters declining the offers of so many nobles. Some of them wanted to court her, others invited her to a feast and she refused all of them. Gwen had left hours ago but had been a great help as she knew a few tricks to make the words seem less empty with something of a personal approach.

Then came a cry or yelp from the other room, Morgana's. Merlin rushed to her door and entered without knocking. She was sitting upright, holding the blankets so tightly her knuckles were white, and her head was shaking as if she were looking for something.

"Morgana?" Merlin asked, gaining her prompt attention. He knew of her nightmares and there was no doubt in his mind that she just woke up from one.
"It's alright, I'm fine." She said. Morgana was a strong woman and seeing her scared like that made him feel sorry for her. He knew her as the cheerful, bright and proud Lady of Camelot but now she was a scared little girl.
"You don't look fine." He said concerned. Strong as she may have tried to be even she would have her 'weaker' moments where one would simply need to comfort her. Gwen usually dealt with it but in the back of his mind he doubted it had helped much.
"Merlin, I'm okay, go to bed." Gwen never left her rattled like this and he wasn't going to let himself get sent to bed.

Morgana would say I'm fine even if she had a sword sticking out of her.

He walked over to the bed, sat down at the edge of it and looked at her with those very considerate blue eyes of his.
"You never get used to it, do you?" He asked. The question came as a surprise. Gaius always asked when the nightmares occured, Gwen asked what it was and try to comfort her by telling her it was just a dream and Morgana would have to smile a fake smile as it didn't really help. Uther didn't have to deal with her when she was like this and neither did Arthur, she didn't blame the latter but at times Uther didn't even seem to care. All the question, they were always how, what, when or why but that wasn't even the worst of it, the worst was they always asked about the dreams and the only question about her would be 'how do you feel', like that solved anything.

Until now. Merlin was the first to actually empathize and notice how horrid the dreams were, it was like he understood what she felt like.
"Never." She shuddered, despite his understanding she still didn't want to think about it.
"Do you ever have a good dream?" He asked.
"It's rare but I do have them." Everyone knew she had nightmares and simply assumed she never had good dreams. Then again, Merlin wasn't everyone.
"What was the last one like?"
It was a bit of an odd question but he hadn't gotten it wrong so far, and so she told him of the dream in which Gwen emptied a bucket of water on Arthur by accident, something Merlin knew had actually happened in the past but didn't let on he knew. It wasn't a very long story but at the end of it Merlin could see a shy smile on her face.
"Feel better?" He then asked and Morgana chuckled realising what Merlin had done, he really was something else. Arthur's- No, her manservant had drawn her attention away from the nightmare and made her feel better, he even got her to smile. Why hadn't anyone else ever talked with her like this?

Merlin really was the only one who know how to empathize with her.
"Yes, thank you."
They said goodnight and for the and for once she went to sleep hoping for a good dream instead of fearing the nightmares.

The wooden door to the physician's chamber opened with a creak.
"Merlin?" Gaius asked blinking with his eyes as he struggled to see through the light coming from the door. Merlin had tried to avoid waking him like he always had but apparently today was not such a day.
"Sorry." He mumbled as he tried to find his way in the dark. He would've conjured up a bit of light but Gaius wouldn't allow it.
"When you said you would be late I thought it would be an hour at the most."
"I was busy writing letters." Merlin explained.
"To whom?" Busted, Merlin hadn't told Gaius he was now Morgana's servant.
"Could we talk about this tomorrow, I think we both need our rest." Merlin tried to avoid answering.
"You most certainly will as you'll be cleaning the leech tank for me." Gaius said, though he did go back to sleep like Merlin hoped he would.

The next morning he brought Morgana breakfast as usual and they went through the invitations and such as she ate. He had gotten up earlier that morning to sneak past Gaius and had done so successfully, no uneasy questions.
"You have an invitation from lord Agon. He is organising a feast for his anniversary of 25 years as a lord." Merlin summarized.
"Him again, bothersome toad. The answer is no but don't be too harsh, Uther wants to keep him close because he's on good terms with Bayard."
"Like this?" Merlin handed her his letter. On the list, which was made by Gwen, it said 'deny' and 'political influence'.

Dear lord Agon... congratulations... honoured to receive your invitation... I unfortunately have to decline for I do not wish to miss the birthday of Prince Arthur Pendragon...

"I almost forgot Arthur's birthday is next week already." She might've almost forgotten but Merlin didn't and how could he? The prat had been mentioning it to everyone over the last month and thankfully Merlin had been able to catch a break as Morgana's manservant.
"And the letter?" Merlin asked as that was his original question and caught her a bit off guard, not that she let it show.
"Splendid, no reason for him to be upset at all."
With Morgana being at ease and all, Merlin thought she might allow him to cut a teeny, tiny bit of slack so he could run an extra errand for someone else.
"Would you mind if I were a bit later with the dinner preparations? Gaius wanted me to gather some herbs from the forest." He asked.
"Would you mind if I tag along?" She asked, never ceasing to amaze her manservant with her spontaneous behaviour.
"Not at all, I'll go saddle the horses."

The horse ride wasn't especially interesting but Merlin was smiling internally, he knew she would like where they were going. The herbs Gaius told him to gather were near an old grove, not a religious one mind you. He could've gotten the herbs a bit closer to Camelot but then they wouldn't see the beauty of the grove, the difference in time was a negligible 10 minutes for the hour they spent riding.

They arrived at the grove and Morgana brought her horse to a halt as she seemed awestruck by its beauty[*1]. The grove wasn't just a bunch of trees and a patch of grass, it was huge and so densely packed with daisies and buttercups it seemed more like a giant flowerbed.

"I thought you might like it." Merlin said as he rode past her.
"Like it? It's beautiful." She said as she dismounted and tied her horse to one of the trees, followed by Merlin who did the same not far from hers.
"Does it work often?" She asked him.
"What do you mean 'does it work'?"
"On the girls you fancy, does it impress them?"
"You tell me, you're the first person I've ever brought here." Merlin was glad he wasn't facing her, he was looking for the herbs, as his face would've betrayed the absolute embarrassment he was in underneath it all. What if she thought she was one of those girls he fancied? The 'you tell me' had taken Morgana a bit off guard and for a moment she did indeed think Merlin might fancy her. But she was the only person he had ever brought there thought it seemed a bit unlikely.
"Surely there have been others before me." She said, the disbelief clear in her voice.
"This far from Camelot?" He made a good point, even on horseback it had taken them a whole hour. She laid down between the flowers and looked at the sun desperately trying to reach the flowers beneath the brances of the trees. She couldn't help but smile. Merlin had kept an eye on her and marvelled at the sight of Morgana and her radiant smile as she lay amongst the green, yellow and white of the flowers. It was one of those moments he wished would never leave his mind. Being her friend and servant, the way they were around each other, Merlin enjoyed it greatly. But now more than ever, his mind wandered to what it would be like if they were more than friends, how great that would be. The thought slightly worried him. Not too long ago he had finally come to terms that nothing would ever happen between them, that being friends would be as good as it would get, and he was content with it. 'Was' being the key word as feelings had started to resurface, feelings of a forbidden love that could never be.
"I don't get it." Morgana said as she got into a more upright position, whatever 'it' was must've bothered her.
"Get what?" Merlin asked.
"How come we never see you with a girl?" There was a thought. He knew there was that barmaid at the tavern, Elwyne, that fancied him. With her gaunt face, bluish eyes and brown, almost reddish hair she was far from unattractive. But both she and Merlin were shy by nature and nothing would ever come of it. He didn't feel like telling Morgana though.
"Why haven't we seen you with a man? Lord knows they want you." Merlin tried to imitate Arthur's way of dodging questions.
"Because half of them can't fill their armour and the other half doesn't fit in it." He grinned, she was quite right about that and Arthur would be one of them if he wasn't careful. Would he let Gwen add another hole to his belt? He chuckled at the thought.
"But you didn't answer my question, how come you haven't got a girl?" Morgana persisted.
"You'll probably think I'm an idiot."
"'Course not. Who do you think I am, Arthur?" Morgana sure as hell wasn't Arthur,
"I... Girls at the tavern only want a good time, a single night, I don't want that. I want love, not lust." He explained but he did feel a bit silly. Then she tilted her head, was she studying him again?
"I'm making a fool of myself, aren't I?" He asked, he felt a bit embarrassed by her stare but thankfully it was Morgana and not Arthur.
"No, you're not. It's admirable but finding love is never without risks and it's wanting to face those risks with that special someone that makes it all worth it. But be too afraid of getting hurt and you'll never find her." Morgana replied. She thought him a bit naïve but at least he had more decency than some of the knights did, more than sir Montague for starters.

Merlin smiled, for some reason the memory of Gwen kissing him had come to the surface. He didn't know how he might've hurt her feelings but she was alright now, wasn't she?
"I know what you mean." He said and, for a moment, he thought of Elwyne. But he could see light was fading and they'd best head home if they were to be in time for dinner at all. He helped her back on her feet and they made their way back to Camelot.

Once they were back Merlin had to deliver the herbs he had gathered to Gaius and Morgana had to dine with the King and the Prince. Just before she entered opened the door and join Uther, Arthur called her name further down the corridor.
"Arthur." She greeted him a bit cold. Over the years she had learned to recognise what Arthur wanted from her by the way he called her name. Already she knew he was going to try and make a bargain.
"There's something we need to discuss, about our 'exchange'."
"Merlin's doing fine." She boasted, she wasn't going to let Arthur walk away without a single taunt.
"Great, so you won't mind it if I tell him to muck out the stables."
"What, why?" Mucking out the stables should be Gwen's chore and not Merlin's anymore.
"Do you really want Gwen to do it? It'll get all over her dress." He didn't say what 'it' was but Merlin was usually covered in 'it' by the time he was done with it. Morgana shuddered at the thought of seeing Gwen's dress in such a state, never mind imagine the smell of it.
"Fine, for Gwen's sake." She said. She might know how to manipulate the Prince but he also had ways to manipulate her, usually by making her feel guilty.

Merlin wasn't all too happy with putting another chore on the already growing list. Writing the letters had proven to be quite a task but he was dead set on doing them himself as he had done with the one to lord Agon, without Gwen's help. It was just a burden he would have to bear. For the sake of Camelot He told himself, hoping that would make it more bearable.

He cringed, he also still had to clean the leech tank.

AN:

I've noticed this chapter is (slightly) bigger than the last one, are big chapters a good thing or a bad thing?

So Morgana doesn't have romantic feelings for Merlin yet but its seeds have been planted.
Love between friends (that's what they are) needs to grow before it can blossom, so no sudden head-over-heels.
The next chapter is going to shake their relationship quite a bit, especially for Morgana (but don't get your hopes up).

[*1] To get a general idea of what kind of grove I am referring to, go to wikipedia and then the 'Grove_(nature)' page, there's a picture of a beautiful grove filled with Windflowers. However, windflowers are poisonous to the skin.