A/N So, I finally saw the Crystal Cave and had a quick debate with myself as to whether to place this after that episode. I've decided yes so Morgana and Merlin have had their so-called "confrontation".

For the record, if this show had had any decent plot or character development till now I probably would have enjoyed this episode. As it is, if even Morgause finds Morgana's motivations confusing, how is the audience supposed to deal with them? I'm doing my best to write this characterisation of her but it is challenging.


Seer

She strode confidently down the halls toward Gaius' chambers and then stopped short before knocking: a rare moment of doubt.

Gaius was in Uther's chambers tending to his master who wasn't feeling well after the carousing of the night before. Cenred's representative had quickly acquiesced to all their demands in humble penance and the party afterwards had kept many of them up drinking till after the midnight bell.

That left Merlin alone and ready for her to make her plea. She'd rehearsed her lines for hours that morning but was still unsure. Would he reject her? Laugh at her? Disbelieve her?

She thought of their altercation the night she'd decided to kill Uther with the dagger Arthur had gifted her for her birthday. A stupid, precipitous action, Morgause had said. If she killed Uther before he named her as his child she could never inherit the throne.

Still, Merlin had suddenly appeared in her chambers seemingly aggressively-determined to stop her. How had he known? It was just another reason why he was the only one who could help her now.

Damn him.

And, a small dangerous voice whispered at the back of her mind, maybe through working with him she could discover how he always managed to thwart her and stop him. Maybe, if a magical threat was coming to Camelot's gates, no questions would be asked if he fell in the battle. Maybe.

She shivered in the frosty morning air. The mid morning bell had sounded but the sun was barely visible in the miasmal fog. She pulled her cloak more tightly around her and made her final decision on how to approach her plea.

At first she had decided to opt for scared and vulnerable. Men were so determined to be heroes that frail, frightened maiden was so often the best way to manipulate them. It had even worked on Merlin when she had returned to Camelot. He'd actually believed that she would apologise to him when he had been the one who tried to kill her. Men were so easy to fool.

But that was then and this was now and he was unlikely to fall for it again. He knew too much. They were enemies, though the thought did not come easily to her. Of course, everyone in power in Camelot was her enemy technically but he was the one who fought against her directly.

No, that's how she needed to approach it. If there was one thing she'd learned from Morgause it's how powerful the truth could be. If she wanted Merlin's help, she would have to make her motives completely transparent. It's the only way he would believe her.

She drew herself up to her full height and knocked self-assuredly on the door. Then she opened it and walked in to find Merlin with his head down over some kind of potion muttering to himself about how overworked he was.

It was so incongruous an image with the man who had poisoned her, the one who had barged into her quarters and tried to physically restrain her, that she nearly lost her temper in anger. She schooled her features into concern.

"Merlin," she said, loudly.

He glanced up, saw her, then quickly took in the room to see if anyone else was there.

"Morgana," he replied and then went back to his potion.

"Is that any way to greet the King's ward, Merlin?"

"My apologies, My Lady." His tone left her in no doubt that he thought of her as anything but.

"You should treat me with more respect, Merlin," she fumed despite herself. "I could make your life a living hell."

"Don't worry, My Lady," he said reassuring, "you already make everyone's life a living hell. They're just too blind to notice. Were you after a sleeping draught?"

"If you think I'd drink anything brewed by a cowardly little murderer like you, you're sorely mistaken, Merlin."

A strange look swept over his face then; one she had never seen before and did not recognise. Usually when she mentioned her poisoning, she saw guilt and shame and determined rationalisation. But this...

She mentally shook her head to clear it. This was not how she had intended the conversation to go.

"Merlin," she began again, more earnestly this time. "I..."

She deliberately stopped as if what she had to say was difficult. It was, of course, an easy affectation since what she had to say was the hardest thing she'd ever said in her life.

"I need your help," she finished, her voice hitching slightly with the effort and the mask slipping slightly to show her fear.

"My help?" asked Merlin, incredulously.

She just nodded; the sleepless nights and horrific images of her nightmare finally taking their toll. Some genuine tears began to form. So much for confident and truthful.

"Merlin, I... I know that you and I...," she stopped and smiled wryly, "... but there is no one else and you have to help me."

"Help you with what?" a mystified Merlin inquired. He finally stepped away from his potion and walked over toward her. "Morgana? What's going on? What are you scheming now?"

"Sch...," she took a deep breath and decided to ignore that. Her voice dropped slightly as she forced herself to remain calm.

"I had one of my dreams, Merlin. Like I used to. You know, the ones that always... came true."

"What did you see?" he asked, seemingly curious in spite of himself. But wary as well, she realised. And suspicious.

"Someone will cast a spell on Camelot. Maybe they already have. This... Merlin, this is not a winter any of us are going to survive."

"And why are you telling me? After every hateful thing you've done you can hardly care if Camelot falls."

She gave him a look of genuine anger at the implication and protested, "I don't care if Uther falls, Merlin. Yes, I want him gone. Him and his hatred of all my kind."

Honestly, Morgana, she reminded herself. This will only work with honesty.

"And after what you've done to me, how you betrayed me, I wouldn't care if you died too."

"How I betrayed you, Morgana." he exclaimed in angered disbelief, "You conspired with Morgause to kill everybody in Camelot... twice... and you dare stand her and accuse me of betraying you.

"You know it's true," she said cuttingly, "that's why you're so angry. You know it's true. You were supposed to be my friend but you didn't come to me, you didn't talk to me. You left me for a year to suffer alone and then you poisoned me."

She stopped herself again. Old arguments would only get in the way. "I conspired with Morgause to overthrow Uther," she continued. "I don't want every single man, woman and child in this city to die. But that's what I saw, Merlin. Bodies of everyone lying dead and frozen on the ground. Everybody, Merlin."

"Even you," he finished in sudden understanding. "You don't care about saving Camelot. You just want to save yourself. Well, why don't you go to Morgause? She seems to come and go as she pleases."

"Morgause is not contactable at the moment," she admitted.

"What does that mean?" he queried her, disbelievingly.

"I'm not sure, I just know that it's true."

"I'm sorry, Morgana, but I don't trust you. For all I know this is another one of your... games."

"Games? Merlin, you know about my magic and somehow you always know what's happening in Camelot. I don't know how. Do you think it's easy for me to come here and ask you this? I'm doing this because I have no choice.

"And neither do you. I simply don't believe that your mistrust of me is enough for you to risk the lives of everyone around you."

He looked at her for a moment, swallowed, then looked down at this feet. He looked up at her again, his blue eyes dark like onyx in the candelight.

"I don't trust you," he said, earnestly, desperately.

"It's mutual. But as I said, we have no choice."

He just nodded resignedly and then went back to his potion. For a moment she thought she'd lost him but he simply packed away the ingredients he'd been using then sat down on a chair by the table.

"I guess you'd better tell me about this dream then."