Disclaimer-I don't own Merlin *pouts*

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Many of you have said such things as 'please continue with this fic', I can assure you all that I will not abandon this story. It will be completed.

Chapter 4-Now Who Loves Gwen?

He had only travelled about ten miles when Merlin realised how much he already missed the Prince. All of a sudden, walking away from Arthur seemed a great deal harder than it had when he had first left his bed chambers. But now that he was journeying down the beaten path back to Ealdor Merlin felt lonelier than ever.

It had been a mistake to return to Camelot. For the past few months when Merlin had been in Ealdor he had managed to occupy himself so that he didn't think about the Prince too much. Now he had gone back and had a fleeting taste of what could have been only to walk away from it again. Why did his mother insist on him going back to see Arthur? Nothing good had come from his short visit. The only result of Merlin's trip was that both he and the Prince were subjected to another bout of emotional agony.

The young warlock came to a stop by a tree stump and sat down dropping his bag to the floor. He massaged his shoulder where the strap had been digging in before looking around himself.

There was nothing particularly eye-catching out here. In fact the place was rather dull. It was just green grass, rows of brown trees with green leaves that all looked identical to his blue eyes, the dirty walk way and a large rock randomly poking out of the ground.

Having nothing better to do, Merlin stood up and walked over to the cross in four long strides. Bending down so his face was level with it, he read the carvings that had been engraved in stone:

Igraine,

This is where I first met you,

It is also where I first kissed you,

And now I ask you to marry me,

I love you.

Merlin finished reading the inscription and his eyes widened in surprise. The words were a little jagged and looked as though they'd been carved with a dagger. Though it did not say, Merlin was sure that the message was written by Uther to his now deceased wife. He couldn't imagine the King being so romantic. He wondered if Arthur would have ever done something similar for him if things had been different.

He lifted his hand with the intention of running his fingertips over the writing before hesitating then pulling his hand back; it seemed such and intimate and private thing that he didn't want to spoil it with his touch. However, he did whisper an incantation under his breath and his eyes glowed gold as he waved his hand over the rock.

After reading the message he'd magically created beneath the first he moved back to sit on the tree stump on the other side of the path. As he sat down he brought his hand up to his throat as he suddenly remembered that he'd left his neck scarf in Arthur's rooms.

The wizard sighed and turned his head in the direction of Camelot. He sat still in that position for a long time, only moving again when a strong gust of wind whipped through his hair and sent a chill through him.

Merlin stood up and hoisted his bag back onto his shoulder. It was only when he continued walking that he realised he had been sat down waiting for Arthur to show up and beg him to come back. He paused and turned around but he saw no sign of the Prince, or indeed anybody, hurrying down the path to stop him leaving.

Another aching stab pierced his heart before he forced himself to keep moving towards Ealdor and away from Camelot.

Meanwhile, after hearing about Merlin's departure and Arthur's anguish from Gwen, the Lady Morgana paced the length of her bedroom wondering what she should do.

"Perhaps you should do nothing my Lady." Gwen suggested.

"How can I not?" Morgana asked back. "The two of them love each other immensely. They are not meant to be apart. Look how miserable Arthur's been; surely Merlin must be hurting too."

"It was his choice to leave." Gwen pointed out. "As his friends we should respect his decision."

"Well I don't." Morgana said. "I think he's being a total idiot. They both are."

"That's true." Gwen agreed. "And I'd like to see them both happy just as you do but I honestly don't know how we can resolve this."

"We must persuade Arthur to go after Merlin." Morgana told her. "Then he can convince Merlin to come back."

"I fear Merlin is too stubborn to return." Gwen said. "And Arthur is too proud to follow after him."

"We cannot just sit around and do nothing whilst both are brokenhearted." Morgana objected.

"I do not believe we have any other choice." Gwen replied. "This is out of our hands. It is up to them to sort this out."

Morgana sighed knowing her friend was right. There was nothing they could do.

"Have you managed to get it through to the King that Arthur and I are not to be married?" Gwen asked changing the subject.

"I believe he finally understands that he was mistaken to assume it was you who held Arthur's affections." Morgana assured her. "It's a shame really; it would have been a most amusing wedding."

"That's easy for you to say." Gwen said as she shuddered at the thought of being wedded to the Prince.

"Do you think Merlin will ever return again?" Morgana asked as she perched herself on the edge of her bed.

"I do not know." Gwen admitted. "I can only hope that he does."

"I fear what will become of Arthur." Morgana confided. "A few nights ago I had a dream, a nightmare."

"A vision?" Gwen asked.

"No, just a nightmare, not a vision of the future." Morgana told her. "I can tell the difference. But I do fear that this dream could become the future."

"I don't understand." Gwen replied as she furrowed her brow and sat beside her mistress.

"I dreamt that Arthur killed himself." Morgana explained and her handmaid gasped in horror. "He threw himself off of the castle roof and crashed to his death. I worry that if he continues on in his depressed state he may just do something so drastic. That's why I need for him and Merlin to be together. When Merlin's here Arthur is happy."

"You said it was just a dream Morgana." Gwen told her soothingly. "I'm sure that's all it will ever be. Arthur may be upset but he would not do such a thing."

"I like to think not but I can't be sure." Morgana replied in a quiet voice. "I see the expression on his face when he looks out the windows sometimes; it looks as though he wants nothing more than to jump."

"Perhaps you should talk to him." Gwen suggested.

"What good will talking do?" Morgana asked rhetorically as she massaged her temples.

"Worry not my lady." Gwen told her as she hugged her comfortingly. "All will be well, I'm sure of it. Those boys cannot stay away from each other forever. Sooner or later one of them will take action and they'll be together just as they should be."

Morgana smiled weakly but was not entirely convinced. She thanked Gwen for listening to her rant before she made her way to join Uther and Arthur for dinner.

When she arrived Arthur was stabbing at his food glumly and his father was peering over at him with an expression of concern. Morgana apologized for her lateness as she took her seat.

"Do cheer up Arthur." Uther said. "Morgana and I do not like to see you so upset."

"No, we do not." Morgana agreed. "Unless it is I who is causing you grief of course." She added which managed to bring the smallest hint of a smile to the Prince's face.

"Forgive me." Arthur said. "I'm having a bad day."

The three fell silent and Uther and Morgana ate their meal while Arthur merely pushed his around not taking a single bite.

"You must eat son." Uther told him after a while. "You need to keep your strength up."

"I'm not hungry." Arthur replied.

"Arthur, there are people less fortunate than you that hardly get to eat at all. You shouldn't be so inappreciative as to waste your food." Morgana chided.

The Prince glared at her before biting a chunk out of a chicken leg.

"Happy?" He asked through a mouth full of meat.

She shot him a look of disgust before eating her own food in a much more dignified manner.

"Arthur, I don't like seeing you this way." Uther told him. "Please tell me what it is that will make you happy and I'll ensure that it will happen."

"You can't do that father." Arthur replied. "You cannot force someone to be with me when they do not wish to."

"What foolish girl would not want to be with a Prince?" Uther asked. "More importantly, what fool would not want to be with my son, Arthur Pendragon?"

The blonde just shrugged as he continued to poke and prod at his food.

"Arthur, this person loves you deeply, you know that." Morgana told him, referring to Merlin as a person rather than being gender specific. "Why don't you go after them?"

"It was their choice to leave." Arthur replied also leaving out the detail of Merlin's gender. "There is nothing I can do."

"Go after them." Morgana urged.

"No." Arthur said dismissively before getting up and leaving.

Both Morgana and a King let out a sigh when the Prince left their company.

"This girl?" Uther asked. "Why exactly has she left?"

"I honestly don't know." Morgana answered sadly. "I suppose because they know Arthur must produce an heir and they are unable to."

"I've already said Arthur may choose to marry whomever he desires so long as he impregnates a woman of noble birth to carry on the Pendragon line." Uther said. "There's no reason for this silly girl to leave."

"When you say Arthur can marry whomever he wants, do you really mean that?" Morgana asked.

"Of course." Uther replied. "I want Arthur to be happy. The same goes for you my child."

"Thank you my lord." Morgana told him. "Though I highly doubt that there is anyone out there for me. I fear I will die a lonely old maid."

"Impossible." Uther scoffed with a wave of his hand as he set down his wine goblet. "You are the most beautiful lady in all the land. Men everywhere would be more than willing to make you their own. Women to I should imagine."

"Women?" Morgana asked shocked that her guardian would say such a thing.

"Indeed." Uther told her. "The same with Arthur, my boy is so handsome that even men fall in love with him not just the women."

"Men in love with Arthur." Morgana said thoughtfully.

"Why yes, I've seen the way some of the knights eye him up." Uther replied. "They look as though they want to ravish him. They wouldn't dare of course; I'd have them strung up."

"What if it were the other way around?" Morgana asked. "What if Arthur looked at one of his knights in such a way? Would you sentence that knight to death then?"

Uther paused as he lifted his goblet to his lips. He looked at his ward carefully before taking a sip then placing his drink down again. He wiped his mouth before looking to her and answering.

"No." He said seeing a shimmer of hope in Morgana's eyes. "I'd want to and I would probably threaten to but…I could not commit such an act knowing that he would never forgive me."

"Is that why you allowed me to live?" Morgana asked bringing up the time Uther had almost killed her.

"Partly." Uther answered with an incline of his head. "But also because I care for you so deeply, I just forgot about that in my moment of anger. Luckily I was able to calm down before making such a grave mistake."

"So if Arthur wanted to be with another man, you'd permit him to be?" Morgana asked. "As long as he had a child of course."

Uther looked at her for a time before his lips quirked in a smile.

"I understand what's going on here Morgana." He said.

"You do?" She asked shocked.

"It is not Arthur who is in love with Guinevere." Uther said. "It is you. That's why you're asking me all these questions."

"I beg your pardon?" Morgana asked completely taken aback by the King's completely wrong conclusion.

"There is no need for embarrassment Morgana." Uther told her. "I'm pleased you have found someone you care for. You should tell the girl how you feel. Now that I think about it I realise how devoted she is to serving you, I am confident she feels the same. You'll have to keep your relationship discreet of course."

"Excuse me my Lord." Morgana said before hastily leaving the room.

Uther chuckled to himself as she left before finishing his wine and leaving the room.

Along the corridor he came across Gwen. He offered her a knowing smile and winked at her as he past. Completely bewildered by the King's actions Gwen carried on her way to Morgana's rooms wondering how much alcohol Uther had consumed. She told her mistress about the King's odd behavior and asked if she knew what had caused it.

"Oh that's nothing important." Morgana replied. "He just thinks that the two of us are in love."

"He thinks what?" Gwen asked.

Morgana explained everything to her and the two fell about laughing.

"You should tell Arthur." Gwen said when she managed to control her laughter. "If he knows what Uther said to you perhaps he'll go after Merlin and tell him then they can be together."

"You're right." Morgana agreed. "Let's go."

She took hold of Gwen's arm and they made their way quickly through the castle to the Prince's rooms. However, when they entered they found the room to be empty.

"Where is he?" The two girls asked at the same time.

As it happened, the Prince was sat astride his horse galloping towards Ealdor.

He hadn't travelled too far when he came to a stop. Getting down off of his horse he looked around. The place was unremarkable but there was something about it that seemed to call out his name. He walked over to a rock with the intention of sitting on it when he noticed a message had been carved into it.

The first he read surprised him as he realised it had been carved by his father for his mother. He looked down at the next one and felt his heart swell as he read the inscription:

Igraine won the King's heart,

The Prince won mine.

Arthur knew immediately that the message had been left by Merlin and he quickly located his dagger and hastily added his own words before jumping back onto his horse even more eager to reach Ealdor.

To Be Continued

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