A/N Hey, so sorry for the long delay ! Hope you like chapter 4 x


Morgana shook her head.

"That's impossible," she whispered. Her emotions were beginning to build, a boiling mix of confusion, fear, shock, and she couldn't stop staring at Morgause's eyes. Their shape, curved identically to her own, was the only thing that made her even consider the possibility that Morgause's statement was true.

"You've noticed your father is ill. You know how distraught he is. Vivienne was his life, and Uther took that away from him two days ago when she was executed," Morgause said.

"I thought he was just sick," Morgana whispered. The pang of loss in her father seemed so clear now, as she recalled the loneliness of his house, and his own depression enveloping him. "How long were he and Vivienne together?"

"A few months before you were conceived." Morgana froze.

"Vivienne was my mother?" she gasped. Morgause smiled sadly, and removed a strand of hair from Morgana's face.

"I'm so sorry it had to come to this, sister," Morgause sighed. Tears began to form in Morgana's eyes.

"I never knew her," she said, her voice vibrating.

"I knew her very little. She was very beautiful. But Gorlois didn't want you to have any connection with her. He knew her secret, that she had magic. He couldn't have people realising you were her daughter, because then suspicion would fall on you," Morgause explained gently.

Morgana swallowed. She finally understood where her traces of magic came from, and she realised now it was unavoidable.

"You said Gorlois was your father," Morgana began, "I don't understand. Is Vivienne your mother as well?"

"No," Morgause said. She paused, glancing at her sister hesitantly, "Ygriane is. What I said this morning was true. Uther enchanted Ygriane. He had loved her ever since they first met, and even though she was married to Gorlois and had a daughter with him, Uther still wanted her to be his wife. He used a rare magic to enchant her, she left her husband and became Ygriane Pendragon." Her explanation ended on a note of disgust, the raw anger bubbling inside her was visible in her eyes.

"So you were the daughter?" Morgana assumed. Morgause nodded.

"Vivienne helped Gorlois recover from his loss. They were just friends, at first, but after time they became something more. You were born, but Gorlois thought it too dangerous to have the connection, so he distanced you and your mother. He loved you both very much. He still does."

An eerie silence filled the forest as Morgana registered everything she had been told. Clouds formed a thin layer of white in the sky, but they were too light to rain, so held the planet in a calm, unmoving bubble. The forest lacked its usual life; only the wind made a sound as it twisted between trees and whipped through leaves.

"I know you have magic, Morgana," Morgause said suddenly.

"No I don't," Morgana said immediately, her voice tinged with threat. She tried to control the panic exploding inside of her - if Morgause were to tell anyone, she would be killed. Morgause smiled at her sister.

"You don't know me; you don't have to tell me anything. But remember, I know you. I have to go now, I am already late. But I will see you again. Something is happening Morgana. People like me, people like us are finally coming together. Uther Pendragon and C.A.M.E.L.O.T have taken everything away from us, and soon, it will be time for them to face justice. You'll be on our side when the time comes Morgana. We will make him pay."


"Will you go out with me?" Arthur glared at himself in the mirror. His hands were balled into fists, his face was pink with effort and his teeth gritted. Too intense, his mind snapped. He ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. More casual. Take it easy.

"Hey, Morgana, I know we had an argument…a disagreement…an incident about this before, but I was wondering if you'd like to hang out some time?" Arthur stuttered.

"Dammit," he muttered. Since when had he ever had trouble asking a girl out? This was ridiculous. Getting girls was as easy to him as breathing or loading a gun. He'd never even had to think about it. What is it about her?

Arthur turned away from his reflection, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me some time?" he said, and opened his eyes with a smile, happy he'd finally formed a sentence.

"Uh…" Merlin raised his eyebrows. The door to Arthur's office slammed shut.

Arthur froze. He felt heat immediately swarm to his cheeks.

"No," he said, "No, I wasn't talking to you, no, I'm not gay, I –" Arthur's embarrassment turned to fury as he saw a wide grin spread on the Merlin's face, almost reaching those idiotic ears of his.

"Shut up," Arthur snapped.

"I didn't say anything," Merlin said, his grin faded but the corner of his mouth still hinting at a smile. Arthur resisted the urge to grab him by his collar and slam him against the wall.

"Don't ever come into my office without knocking again, you understand me?" Arthur warned, his voice the acidic tone of an enemy. Merlin nodded, the laughter in his eyes not yet dissolved.

"You knew I wasn't talking to you," Arthur said.

"Then…who were you talking to?" Merlin asked innocently, enjoying Arthur shifting his position uncomfortably.

"I was…practising," he mumbled.

"You were what?" Merlin said, attempting to hide his smile. He'd pushed it too far. Arthur approached him, his eyes squinting menacingly.

"I've got two choices here, Merlin," he said, his voice sickly thick with emphasis on his name. Slowly and deliberately, he lifted up his jacket to reveal a gun underneath.

"I can either fire you, or fire this at you. Show me a little more respect, and we won't need to go there."

Merlin swallowed his laughter, and gave his office a sweeping glance. It was large and beautifully designed. The ceiling was high and spacious, the glass windows glittered in the sunlight, overlooking the training area below, and the furniture – a rich mahogany table cluttered with documents and a laptop, artfully decorated wooden cabinets and two dark leather couches lining the opposite walls – seemed to speak of luxury and wealth. Clearly no expense had been spared in the heir of C.A.M.E.L.O.T's office.

Suddenly, a high-pitched, repetitive screech ran out through the room. Merlin winced.

"What is that?" he yelled. Arthur rolled up his sleeve to expose his watch, which was flashing red in time with the beeps. He pressed a button, and the room fell to silence.

"It means that someone has used magic in an area we've been monitoring," he said, his voice now firm and serious. He marched to a cabinet and pulled out a gun. He seemed to hesitate for a split-second, but handed it to Merlin.

"Do you know how to use this?" Arthur sighed.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to be going into the field yet," Merlin said.

"Training needs to begin somewhere," Arthur grinned, "I said, do you know how to use this?"

"Yes," Merlin answered confidently, nodding, and accidentally pulled the trigger. The bullet missed Arthur's side by a fraction and hit the wall with a crack.

"Shit, sorry - " Merlin began.

"Jesus!" Arthur yelled, snatching the gun off him and shoving him aside as he marched past. Merlin stood still, grimacing.

"Are you coming?" Arthur snapped. Merlin sighed and followed Arthur out the door.

"So where's the signal coming from?" Merlin said, jogging slightly as he hurried after Arthur.

"House belonging to Gorlois le Fay. We've heard rumours, nothing confirmed, but a few of our sources say that he and Vivienne Olwen are friends." They marched down the brightly lit corridor until they reached the lift at the end, Arthur stabbing the down button.

"Vivienne Olwen?" Merlin paused. "Wasn't she that sorceress that was executed? It was all over the news."

"Yes, well done, Merlin," Arthur smiled sarcastically. Merlin gritted his teeth.

"So he might be friends with Vivienne? So? Why are you monitoring the area?"

"Witches, sorcerers, they tend to stick together," Arthur said as they stepped inside the lift, "We monitored his house just as a precaution. Turns out we were right."

"That's another thing…how do you even look for magic? How can you tell someone has used it?"

"Do you ever shut up Merlin?" Arthur growled.

"Yes but not now, I was just wondering how it's possible to –"

"No, you don't seem to get this. I decide when you shut up. I'm your boss, and I'm heir to Camelot. Can I give you the gun back now? You're not going end up shooting me?"

"I wouldn't count on it," Merlin muttered. Arthur laughed.

"Be careful, Merlin," he said, and walked out the lift as the door opened with a beep. Merlin rushed after him, but the area was so crowded Arthur was lost from his sight. People were running in all directions, shouting, bellowing orders, loading guns. He heard a piercing shrill from outside, and spotted a black van with flashing blue and red lights. He pushed and shoved his way through the crowd, heading for the queue to pass the security detectors and leave.

Once he stumbled outside, he was grabbed roughly by someone behind him.

"Take all the time in the world, Merlin. It's not like we've got to find a powerful sorcerer who is most likely to disappear before we get a chance at catching the son of a bitch again," Arthur snapped. He hauled Merlin into the van, and nodded at the driver. They took off immediately. Merlin looked round at the back of the van. Instead of the usual seats, it had been remade into two rows of benches occupied at present by five officers, and a large cabinet at the back housing rifles, shotguns, and explosives. He took a seat at the edge, thankful Arthur was on the opposite side of the van riding shotgun. The man next to him smiled, holding out his hand.

"I'm Leon," he said. His curly blond hair bounced on his shoulders, and his short-cropped beard was well combed. His eyes were blue bruises.

"Merlin," he replied, shaking his hand.

"Never seen you around here before. Where did you do your training?"

"Er…training? No I haven't had any, I was just supposed to be helping Arthur out. I'm his assistant."

"Oh you're his assistant! Merlin right?" Gwaine looked up from opposite Merlin, his hair falling in waves and his chocolate eyes gleaming. "Arthur mentioned you. Yeah he really has a thing for you, what did you say fto piss him off?"

"I called him a prat, I guess," Merlin shrugged.

"Nice," grinned Gwaine.

"I'm not deaf Gwaine," Arthur shouted from the front of the van.

"Arthur if he's not had any training you really shouldn't be taking him anywhere," Elyan said.

"Would you all like to stop babycoddling Merlin? He'll be fine, he's got to get out in the field sooner or later," Arthur said.

"So when did you start?" asked Lancelot.

"Today's my first day."

The van pulled up bumpily at the end of the street. It was quiet, the streets deserted and desolate. The driver nodded towards the house in front.

"That's the one, boys. Be careful," he said, resting his hands on the steering wheel.

"Thanks Tristin. Wait here, I'm hoping this won't take long," Arthur said, patting him on the shoulder as he left the van. He caught Merlin as he opened the back door.

"Here's your gun," Arthur sighed, handing it back. He hesitated.

"Look, you're probably not going to need it, but here's the safety," Arthur explained, clicking it on and off again, "It's not on now, so you pull that trigger guess what you're gonna shoot bullets. Safety's off, got it?"

"Yeah, okay," Merlin nodded, pocketing the gun.

"Then let's go."


The fire had finally burnt out. A few sparks flickered, but the water cascading down on them extinguished them easily. Morgana glanced up hopelessly at the streams of water hovering, mid-air, over the bushes in her father's forest. Water trickled down, endless, from the jets of liquid suspended above. She was soaking, her hair matted against her forehead, her clothes sticking to her. She tried, again, to force it down back into the pond with her mind, but no matter how tight she balled her fists and closed her eyes, the water did not move.

"Fuck!" she screamed. Just run, a voice said, get away from here before someone sees you. But she couldn't. When her father got back, he would see, he would know she had magic, and he was already broken. And I just don't want to talk about it. I can't talk about it. So she stayed, and tried again, and the water remained in mid-air.

"If only the fire hadn't started," she whispered. She hadn't meant for that to happen either. It was just all her frustration and confusion, about Morgause and her father and Vivienne and everything, that she snapped. She smelt smoke, and turned around and a fire was burning, cackling as it spread from bush to bush, crinkling leaves and licking at the twigs. She was stumbling backwards, falling to the floor with the shock of what she had just done, when she remembered Morgause on the news. Vivienne was killed because she had magic. She lit a fire with her eyes. The fear froze her for a moment, but she stood up, gasping against the smoke in her throat and eyes, and tried to think. Her eyes flashed amber, and within a second water rose from the pond, swirling in a whirlwind, and formed into streams of water falling from the sky in hard lines.

"Dammit," Morgana muttered, and pulled her phone from her pocket. She was just going to have to call him. She had just found Gorlois' number when her phone vibrated with an incoming call.

"Dad?" she gasped into the phone.

"Morgana, you're not still at the house are you?"

"Yeah I am, why?" Morgana recognised the urgency in his gruff tone.

"I was just driving home, I saw a black van with soldiers coming out! They were heading for our house, you need to get out!"

"What Dad who are they where are you?" Morgana cried.

"Camelot. They were from Camelot. Leave now Morgana you don't want any trouble. I'm at the driveway but they were going round the back you'll need to be quick." He cut off. Morgana glanced at the water above her, trying to take a deep breath, and started running back towards the house. Her clothes were sticking to her, her heart pumping and pumping as if to escape her chest, but at last the house came into view. She paused, hands on her knees, to regain her breath.

Then she felt a gun on the back of her head.

"Turn around," a familiar voice commanded. Trembling, she slowly turned her feet and looked up.

"Arthur," she gasped. He took a step back, his mouth falling open.

"Morgana?" he said incredulously, "What are you –" he stopped, and something registered in his eyes.

"No," he murmured softly, "Not you. There's some mistake here."

"You work for Camelot?!" Morgana said.

"Morgana, is it?" A tall man with short blond curls stepped forward, "Can you tell us who did that?" He pointed to the waterfall of water among the trees.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Then we're going to have to place you under arrest," said Arthur. His jaw was tight, his eyes narrowed harshly.

"I don't think so," Gorlois walked forward from the house. "It was me, this is my doing. Let Morgana go."

"Dad?!" Morgana turned, pleading.

"You admit that you cast an enchantment today in this forest?" Arthur said to him.

"Yes, I do."

"No, Arthur, it wasn't him it was me what are you doing," Morgana screamed.

"Kneel on the ground, put your hands interlocked behind your head" Arthur ordered, ignoring Morgana, and withdrew a pair of handcuffs from his jacket.

"Fuck you, Arthur," she spat, and went for him, holding back screams as she laid her fists on him. Two of his men pulled her off him, and held her tightly by the arms as Arthur cuffed Gorlois. He glanced at her, then shook his head and went behind the house, out of sight.

"I'm coming with you," she told the two men holding her.

"I'm sorry," one of them said, with dark wavy hair and heavy stubble, "There is not room. If you wish to visit your father, come to Camelot." They let her go and she sank to the floor, her eyes hot with tears, and they disappeared too. She slapped the tears against her eyes, and the water fell to the pond without a sound.