Hello again! Here's my next chapter. They're getting a bit long, aren't they? :D Well, we're almost in the middle of this whole story, so enjoy this chapter and all the Merthur scenes ;)

CHAPTER 4
The Night Mission

Merlin was acting so strangely, what was wrong with him? "Merlin? Are you alright?" Arthur called again as he went closer to him. "What's that idiot doing again?" He mumbled to himself as he was approaching his friend. Once he was standing behind him and Merlin didn't react even to a pinch to his shoulder, Arthur got really worried. He circled him until he was right in front of him and saw that Merlin's eyes were closed.

"Merlin!" He hissed (he would yell, but it was still night and who knew what was around them in the woods) and grabbed his servant's shoulders.

"Morgana!" Merlin hurriedly said and stared right into Arthur's eyes. He breathed out and said it again, a bit more quietly. "Morgana."

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked him. Merlin didn't make sense… as if he ever did.

"It was Morgana, something's happening to her in Camelot." Merlin said and Arthur finally let go of his shoulders, realizing he was holding them the whole time.

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Um…" Merlin scratched his chin, then his head. "Well, um…"

"Just say it you idiot, we don't have the whole night!"

"Okay, okay… but please don't get mad at her." Merlin said.

"What? Why would I?" Merlin didn't answer, he held up his finger and closed his eyes again. Morgana? He called.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Merlin, what on Earth-"

"Shh!" Merlin silenced him and listened again. Morgana?

Merlin? What's happening, how can you talk to me like this?

Morgana, this is going to sound ridiculous, but please, you must believe me.

O-okay.

Druids and all people who have magic and are strong enough, which you clearly are, can communicate like this in their minds, and-

Merlin, I know that. Remember how you sent me to the druid's camp? They told me. Mordred could talk to me like that, but how can you-

It's because I have magic too.

Silence. Then, What?

Please Morgana, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I really am, but you have to listen to me now. When Morgana didn't reply, Merlin continued. It was me, I freed Gaius. Now we're all hiding in the forests. Gwen and Arthur are here too.

Are they alright?

Yes, we're all okay. Where are you?

In my chambers.

Okay, and why did you scream? I heard you scream. Twice.

You heard me?

Yes.

Aredian told Uther I have magic.

What? Are you alright? Were you in the prison cell down in dungeons? What happened? Did he-

I'm alright, Uther didn't believe him and made him take me back to my chambers, that's where I am now.

Okay, can you get out?

What?

Do you want to come find us? Aredian will do whatever it takes to make Uther believe you're a witch, you know that, right?

Yeah, yes. … I want to get out of here.

Great! But wait, Arthur's standing next to me, he's waiting and I think he's pissed off, do you want me to tell him I'm talking to you? Do you want me to tell him you have magic too? I don't want to lie to him, but if you don't want him to know yet, I can try to-

Does he know about your magic, Merlin?

Well, yes, he found out today, at the execution.

And how did he react?

He's fine now, he doesn't mind. She didn't answer. Morgana?

Okay, tell him. Tell him I'm alright.

I will. You try to find a way out. And Morgana?

Yes?

Be careful.

Arthur was becoming very impatient. It was only a matter of seconds before he intended to shake Merlin's shoulders and ask him what the hell was going on, but then Merlin suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight at Arthur. "Okay, Arthur, this is going to sound crazy, but you have to believe me, okay? It's really important and she and I both were afraid to tell you, so please don't get mad." Merlin said in one breath and had to stop to take a deep breath. Arthur was looking at him as if Merlin had not only magic, but also two heads, or something really disgusting on his face.

"Merlin," Arthur started very slowly, almost carefully, and Merlin went silent. "Please tell me you're not about to say that you and my sister are... in a relationship…"

"What?" Merlin said and immediately started laughing. "God, no. Arthur, no, of course not." He laughed, making Arthur look like a fool.

"Then what is it?" He asked. He really was impatient now. Merlin calmed down a bit and had to take a deep breath again.

"Okay, so… Morgana is not my girlfriend, she just… she has… magic." Merlin said and suddenly Arthur was silent. Very silent. Unusually silent, Merlin got worried. "Arthur?" He asked, but the prince didn't answer. "Earth to Arthur, Arthur?" Merlin tried again, but Arthur only took a step back from him, looking somewhere behind him.

"You…" He swallowed. "You knew?" He asked. Merlin looked down and then back at Arthur.

"Yes, but it was not my secret to tell." He said. "Morgana was afraid of magic, she was scared and she didn't know what was happening, I had to tell her." He tried to explain. Arthur blinked. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked, taking a step forward. Arthur didn't move.

"And did… did she know about… you?" Arthur finally looked at Merlin. "I mean, you you?"

"No," Merlin suddenly looked ashamed. "Not until now." He looked down. "She wasn't the only one who was scared." Suddenly there was a hand on Merlin's shoulder and he looked up. Arthur was looking at him, still in shock, but seemingly okay. "Are you mad?" Merlin dared to ask. Arthur sighed.

"No," he finally answered. "If she didn't want me to know, then it was right that you didn't tell me." He smiled, barely, but smiled. Merlin smiled back and Arthur wanted to take his hand back down from Merlin's shoulder, but suddenly Merlin hugged him. "Merlin." Arthur said, a warning in his voice. Merlin was still wrapped around him and Arthur's hands were in the air, desperately trying not to touch his servant. "Merlin, what are you doing?" He asked, and tried to shake Merlin off of him.

Merlin didn't let go, but he looked up. "I... I thought we were having a moment?" He said. Arthur looked at him as if he couldn't believe his own ears.

"No!" He yelled. He sounded very frustrated.

"Um, sorry..." Merlin smiled nervously and let go of Arthur. Arthur growled.

"Why did I ever agree to have you as a servant." He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, sighing loudly.

"Just for the record, you didn't agree, your father wanted me to be your servant because I saved your life and he thought it was some kind of reward or something, but clearly he was absolutely wrong because the state of your chambers sometimes-"

"Merlin." Arthur said loudly. Merlin stopped talking.

"Yes, sire?" Merlin smiled innocently and Arthur leaned closer to him, making Merlin blush for some reason.

"Shut up." He said, looking at Merlin the whole time. Merlin smiled. "And don't smile like an idiot, I know it suits you perfectly, but please don't. Not in my presence." He added, making Merlin roll his eyes.

Merlin? Are you still there?

Arthur wanted to go back to the rock to keep watch again, but Merlin stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "Wait," he said.

"What?" Arthur asked

"Morgana's talking again. In my head." Merlin answered and closed his eyes, still holding Arthur's hand.

Yes. Merlin answered.

Thank God, I thought you wouldn't hear me. Morgana said, sighing with relief.

What's wrong? Merlin asked then.

The door is locked, it must have been Aredian, I can't get out of my chambers.

Do you think there are guards in front of the door?

I don't think so, anything Aredian would do to me is against what Uther said. He wouldn't dare to do anything but lock my door.

Alright, can you use magic?

What? No, I've never... I don't know... How?

Morgana, it's alright. If you're not sure, I'm right here and I can guide you through it until you get to the woods. If the door is locked, I can teach you a simple spell that should unlock the door. Are you ready?

Yes.

Okay, the spell is Tospringe.

Tospringe? Just like that? Nothing else?

Merlin laughed out loud, making Arthur look at him suspiciously.

Yes, there's nothing hard about it. Just reach your hand to the door and whisper Tospringe. Can you do that?

I think so... I hope so. Okay, I'll do it now.

Merlin waited a few seconds and then he asked. Did you do it?

No, I can't do it Merlin, it's too hard.

It's okay, just try it one more time, I'm sure you'll succeed. I had to try many spells many times before I was able to do them, it's nothing unusual.

Okay. I'll try again. Morgana answered. Her voice trembled a bit, but Merlin knew she was strong.

And now? Merlin asked after a while.

I did it, Merlin I did it! It's open, and no one's in front of the door!

Great! Be careful when you sneak out of Camelot and-

It's not my first time, you know?

Alright, just when you're out of there, head to the East to the Forest of Ascetir, that's where we're hiding. But do not cross the mountains, we found a cave much nearer to Camelot. If you're not sure where to go, just call me again, I doubt I'll fall asleep. And even if I did, I'm sure you'd wake me up anyway.

Merlin laughed again and he heard Morgana laugh too.

Thank you, Merlin.

That's what friends are for.

Then she was gone and Merlin finally opened his eyes. Arthur wasn't in front of him. "Arthur?" He asked, but no one answered.

"Yes?" Arthur said loudly, just behind Merlin's back. Merlin jumped and almost fell to the ground if Arthur didn't catch him. He blushed again and took a step back from Arthur, who was grinning. "Now I scared you." He laughed. He just had to scare Merlin after Merlin scared him. Not that he would admit it out loud of course.

"Prat." Merlin mumbled, but smiled.

"What did Morgana say?" Arthur asked then.

"She's running away from Camelot to find us. I told her where we are." Merlin said.

"What? She's running away too?"

"Yes, it's much safer for her here than in Camelot where's Aredian, he already knows she has magic and he won't stop until she, I and Gaius are all dead." Merlin answered, looking at Arthur.

Arthur nodded and then finally went back to the rock, sitting down and keeping the watch again. Merlin went there too and sat next to him. They were both watching the stars in silence.

xoXOXox

It was about two hours later that Arthur heard someone moving through the bushes on the way to their cave. He was supposed to be asleep and let Merlin keep the watch, but the boy was asleep with his head leaning against Arthur's shoulder, and the prince didn't want to wake him up. Now on the other hand, he had to because it might have been Morgana in the woods. And it might have been not. That's why he had to go and make sure.

"Merlin," he whispered and shrugged with the shoulder Merlin was leaning against. Merlin mumbled something but didn't wake up. "Merlin!" Arthur hissed into his servant's ear. "You idiot, wake up, will you!?" He said and Merlin slowly opened his one eye, looking around. As soon as he noticed he was sleeping on Arthur's shoulder, he immediately stood up and took a few steps back, mumbling sorry. Then he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and rubbed his eyes.

Arthur just rolled his eyes and stood up too. "There's someone in the woods, I need you to make sure it's Morgana." He said, pointing with his sword to the bushes.

Merlin looked at him as if he was out of his mind. "What?" He hissed at him. "There's no way I'm going there, what if it's a bandit? Or a knight?" Merlin looked so confused and scared with his eyes wide open that it was starting to look funny. Arthur didn't laugh though.

"No, you bloody buffoon, speak to her in your mind!" Arthur said, looking very irritated.

Merlin's mouth made a perfect shape of the letter 'o' as he looked at Arthur and understood what he meant. "Oh," Merlin said and laughed quietly and nervously. "Of course, what else." Then he finally closed his eyes, still embarrassed.

Morgana, there's someone near our cave, is it you?

Yes, it's me Merlin. Morgana answered and Merlin nodded at Arthur, who then put his sword back into the sheath and went slowly toward the bushes. In less than a few seconds he saw long black hair in a green silk hood.

"Morgana!" He called her name and she smiled when she saw him.

"Arthur, finally!" She smiled even more and stepped out of the bushes, closer to Arthur and Merlin. "Merlin," she smiled. "Thank you, it was so strange to talk to you in my head." She said and Merlin laughed.

"I know, but it's useful." He said and Morgana nodded. They led her back to the cave and as soon as they woke Gwen up, the two girls hugged, laughing.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" Gwen smiled, holding her friend close to her.

"Me too, I was afraid something happened to you after you disappeared." Morgana said, finally letting go of her maid and smiling. "But there's something I have to tell you Gwen." She said then.

"What is it?" Gwen asked.

"I... I have magic." Morgana finally said, looking down. "Like Merlin, we both have magic." She admitted. She was afraid that Gwen wouldn't take it that well as Arthur did. She wasn't even sure if Arthur took the news well, he didn't say anything. But in the next second Morgana found herself in another hug from Gwen.

"It doesn't matter, I don't care." Gwen said. "As long as you're alright, that's why we have to get rid of Aredian somehow, otherwise we can never return to Camelot."

"Gwen is right." Gaius said, who woke up right after Gwen. "We have to do something about this."

"But what should we do?" Morgana asked, looking at everyone around her.

They all fell silent. Then Merlin looked up. "If Uther thinks Aredian lied, he would let Gaius go, we would all be able to return home." He said.

"But how do you want to make Uther believe Aredian is a liar?" Gwen asked.

"We have to make sure that he believes it, we have only one chance to prove my father wrong." Arthur said, folding his hands on his chest. "Merlin told me he wasn't the sorcerer who's in the city and I believe him." Merlin smiled at Arthur and Arthur looked at him. Then he looked back at his friends. "Gaius and Morgana aren't the sorcerer either, so maybe there's no sorcerer." He mused.

"Maybe." Gaius said.

"Do you think Aredian would be able to make this all up?" Morgana asked, looking at Arthur.

"I don't trust that man, it's possible." Arthur said.

"He's paid to catch sorcerers, maybe he doesn't care whether someone is guilty or not." Merlin said, his fingers on his chin.

"Aredian is a powerful man," Gaius said and stood up, he was sitting until then. "I knew him before and he hasn't changed one bit. He made me confess even when I knew I didn't do anything wrong. He's able to do anything to make Uther kill the people he thinks have magic. Such as I, Merlin and Morgana. I don't doubt he experiments with magic himself when he has no other choice."

"All he cares about is confession." Merlin said.

"Excellent, so now we just have to find out how he did it and find a proof." Arthur said. "Then we can go to my father and make him believe we're right about Aredian."

"We have to search Aredian's chambers, there's no other choice." Merlin said then, looking at Arthur. Arthur looked at him and nodded.

"We have to go at night, he should be asleep." He agreed. Then he looked at Morgana, Gwen and Gaius. "Alright, that's the plan. I and Merlin go back to Camelot to search through Aredian's things, and hopefully we can find something useful." He pointed at Gaius and the girls. "Morgana, you, Gwen and Gaius stay here." He looked at Merlin. "Merlin, you can communicate with Morgana, so we can talk with her while we're in Camelot. Let's go."

He turned toward the entrance of the cave. "Arthur, wait." Gwen stopped him. "What if someone comes here? The patrol?" She asked.

Arthur looked at her. She was right, he was leaving two women and an old man behind. They were defenceless. Then he looked at Morgana. "It's alright," he told Gwen. "The patrol is probably sleeping, and if someone comes," he looked at Morgana again. "Just scream, Merlin should hear you and we'll come back. And you can try to use magic." He added. "I'm sorry, but we have to risk this otherwise we'd never return to Camelot."

Then he patted Merlin's back, urging him to go faster. And then they were gone.

xoXOXox

It took them another two hours to get back to Camelot, but it was still night and still dark and they had at least three more hours until the Sun would rise. They didn't take horses, someone would notice them and they would have to leave them in the woods.

After they finally reached the castle and went in, they found Aredian's chambers and Merlin slowly opened the door. They were right. The man was sleeping in his bed, unaware of the prince and his manservant. They were lucky.

Then they started searching through his things, making sure to not do any sound that might wake him up. Arthur looked under the bed and didn't find anything. Merlin opened the closet, but found nothing but clothes. Arthur then checked his things on the table and Merlin found a little cupboard, close to Aredian's bed. He tried to open it, but it was locked.

He went to Arthur and touched his shoulder. Arthur turned around. "What?"

"I think I found something." Merlin said and led him back to the cupboard. He reached out his hand and mumbled quietly, "Tospringe." In the next second the cupboard opened and he smiled. He looked at Arthur who was right behind him. Arthur was looking at Merlin the whole time, fascinated by the change of Merlin's eyes. The gold looked so unnatural, and yet so beautiful and powerful. Merlin blushed and as he turned back to the cupboard in front of him, Arthur smiled slightly.

He didn't know what was wrong with him, or what was happening, but lately, he found himself more fond of Merlin than ever before. Or it's always been there and he just wasn't paying attention and ignored it? It always made him somehow satisfied when Merlin blushed because of him. It was this strange feeling that Arthur couldn't understand, only describe. The only thing he knew was that he was glad he knew about Merlin's magic. It made Merlin more open to him and honest and it made their friendship stronger.

"What do you think are these?" Merlin asked suddenly and Arthur blinked. Merlin had opened the cupboard already and found a strange white, almost light pink petals. He was holding them in his palm in front of Arthur's face and Arthur reached his hand and touched one of them. It was a completely normal petal.

"I don't know," he whispered back and looked into Merlin's blue eyes. Why did it make him feel so relaxed when he looked there? "It looks like normal petals." He said.

"I know, but it's strange, why would he have petals in here? In a locked cupboard?"

Arthur chuckled. "Maybe he has a secret petals fetish." Arthur said. Merlin punched him in the shoulder slightly, snickering under his breath.

"Shut up," he said, but they were both grinning like two idiots. "We'll take them to Gaius' quarters, he has so many books that at least one of them has to be about flowers." Merlin said then. Arthur nodded.

Then Merlin looked around and went to Aredian. He looked at his face and reached out his hand, mumbling something magical.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked.

"Shh," Merlin looked at him. "Just making sure our plan is worth all this. We have to be one hundred percent sure about this." Then he went back to the cupboard and locked it. He reached his hand to the lock and did the same as he did to Aredian. "Hlyste min nexte bebod." He looked back at Arthur and nodded. They were ready to leave.

It wasn't a problem to get into Gaius' chambers. And once Merlin closed the door behind them and smiled at Arthur, they went straight to Gaius' library. Arthur had no idea how was Merlin able to do that, but living with the physician had an effect on him. He knew exactly where to look for the right book, as if Gaius' categorisation actually made sense to him. Then he put it on the table.

"Now we just have to find the right flower." He said and handed Arthur another book. Arthur looked at the unbelievably thick book and then back at Merlin to find out if he was serious. "What?" Merlin asked. Arthur sighed and took the book from Merlin, accidentally brushing his fingers against Merlin's hand. Merlin didn't seem to notice or he did a really great job at hiding it because when Arthur looked at him, he was already paying attention only to the book.

They searched for twenty minutes, then Arthur sighed loudly and gave up. "This is hopeless, Merlin, we don't even know if this flower means anything." He said.

"It's all we've got." Merlin answered and kept looking. And that was when he finally found it. "Look!" He exclaimed quietly. "I found it."

Arthur looked at the page of the book. There was a picture of petals that looked exactly the same as the ones Merlin put on the table in front of them. "Belladonna?" Arthur asked.

"Yes," Merlin smiled and read out loud. "Under certain conditions, a tincture of the flower can produce hallucinations." He said.

"So?" Arthur asked, looking over Merlin's shoulder.

"Aredian's witnesses!" Merlin looked at Arthur. He didn't even care they were so close and that Arthur didn't step back again, all he could think about now was that they finally had proof Gaius was innocent. "It was not magic they were seeing, it was visions!"

"That actually makes sense!" Arthur said.

"But he's too clever to have given them the tincture directly, he had to have someone else." Merlin said. They both were silent. "I should talk to Morgana, maybe she noticed something about Aredian." He looked at Arthur and Arthur nodded. Merlin closed his eyes.

It was weird seeing Merlin like this, really. His eyes were closed and it looked like he was sleeping, but Arthur knew he was talking to Morgana. But it was just in their heads, he couldn't hear anything. Then Arthur realized he was still really close to Merlin. But what surprised him was that he didn't even mind. He actually liked it... a bit. It was a strange feeling, but he didn't want to think much about it, not yet. They had to get back with the proof and find the person who was helping Aredian.

But then curiosity overtook him and he looked even closer at Merlin's face. His eyes weren't moving under his eyelids, and his lips weren't moving either. Arthur raised his hand carefully and waved it right in front of Merlin's eyes. Merlin's didn't respond so he did it again, smiling playfully.

Then Merlin's started laughing and opened his eyes. "I can still hear you, you know? I know what you're doing." He giggled. Arthur rolled his eyes and blushed a bit.

"Shut up, Merlin." He said, but smiled at his servant. Merlin smiled too, but more at Arthur's blush than at his smile. Then he closed his eyes again and continued his conversation with Morgana.

xoXOXox

Morgana was sitting next to Gwen and Gaius in the cave. Gwen was almost asleep. They moved deeper into the cave so they could let their fire burn without worrying too much. They left the horses outside, hidden behind the trees. If they took them into the cave, their sound could make an echo outside and it would be louder.

Morgana?

Morgana gasped. Gwen looked at her, yawning. "What's wrong?" She asked. Morgana smiled at her.

"Nothing, Merlin just spoke in my mind, that's all." She answered.

"What does he want?" She asked then.

"I don't know, wait." Morgana said and closed her eyes. She was so not getting used to this. Yes, Merlin?

Great, you're here. So, we found a Belladonna flower petals in Aredian's chambers and according to Gaius' books, its tincture can produce hallucinations. So Aredian's witnesses saw visions, not magic. We just don't know who could have given it to them.

It had to be someone who knew all those three witnesses. Morgana answered. Wait, I'll tell Gwen. "Gwen, they found a Belladonna flower in Aredian's chambers. It causes hallucinations, but we don't know who gave it to Aredian's witnesses." She said.

"Belladonna?" Gwen asked.

"Yes." Merlin, we have to find out what do his witnesses have in common. Is Arthur there too?

Yes he is, he's waving his hand in front of my face. He thinks I don't know what he's doing.

Morgana laughed a bit. "Gwen, what do they have in common?" She asked.

"They were all women." Gaius said, joining the conversation.

Merlin, they were all women. Morgana said in her mind.

That doesn't tell us anything.

"That doesn't tell us anything." Morgana repeated out loud.

"Yes, it does." Gwen said and looked at Morgana. "What's the one thing only woman would buy?" She asked. "Things that make them beautiful!"

TBC