AN: I know, I know I'm horrible for not updating like forever...hope you will ever forgive me. But life came into the way and inspiration...or rather the lack of it. Oh and a probably PTSD after the series finale. I'm still crying guys.

So, I hope you will forgive me and enjoy this chapter.

Please leave some comments :)

Part 4: The Distance Between us

It was already in the middle of the night and Merlin was tired. The day wore him out. His head was aching to process all the new developments that had happened during the last twenty four hours and his heart was yearning for the one that was so far away.

He sighed. He wanted nothing more than to go to bed and sleep over it all, but he couldn't. He was standing on a small clearing near Camelot and waited, how long, he had no idea.

The cold wind was dancing around him and he stared into the sky. "Bloody dragon." He murmured, hoping his giant dragon friend would soon show up.

It was untypical for Kilgharrah to take so long, but Merlin figured the dragon might be angry after their last encounter. In a way he chose Morgana over his destiny and therefore he chose her over him.

He closed his eyes for a moment and was yet again lost in his thoughts. It had been merely two days and he already missed Morgana like hell. He needed a way to communicate with her or he was sure he would lose his mind sooner or later.

"Merlin, you summoned me." Merlin opened his eyes; there was the dragon right in front of him. He sighed again; his mind was so full of Morgana he didn't even hear him coming.

"I need to ask you something." He said quickly. "Gwen is pregnant." He studied the dragon's face and hoped to see his typical 'know-it-all' look in his eyes, but there was nothing. Not the usual spark he had when Merlin told him something he already knew, not the wise-cracking growl he always made, there was nothing but shock and surprise.

"So it begins." Kilgharrah said all mysterious and for once in his life Merlin wished the dragon would speak like any normal person. "The course of destiny has changed already." He looked at the few stars that were sparkling on the dark night sky. "Do you have any idea what your…indiscretion with the witch has caused? I cannot read the stars anymore, Merlin. I cannot predict the future anymore."

Merlin went through his air and tried to stay calm. He knew that was his fault. He was aware of the consequences the moment he started to help Morgana, but he didn't care. His heart chose to ignore any warn signs for once.

"But a baby…an heir to the throne that is something good." He said in a desperate attempt to see something positive in his actions.

The dragon panted. "Merlin, I am not saying that a child is something bad. Indeed it is something wonderful, but you have to understand, that this child was never meant to live. That is a whole new life; you cannot change the course of destiny any further."

Merlin stayed silent and looked away. Of course he was aware of that. In a few months there would be a new human life, a life that should have never existed.

"Merlin, just because one positive thing happened, doesn't mean that everything will turn out for the better." The dragon continued. "Morgana's allegiance with Mordred is broken, but can you predict what the boy will do now? Maybe his new allegiance will be even worse."

That was a thought Merlin had as well. He didn't fear Mordred, he knew that the boy's magic couldn't compete to his own and now it was him to have Morgana on his side, but he wouldn't do the mistake to underestimate the boy. He was clever and unpredictable.

"Only time will tell…." He almost whispered. "Tell me just this one thing…do you believe we can make our own destiny?"

Merlin didn't expect the dragon to answer or at least not to answer clearly, he never did.

"I am old Merlin." The dragon answered. Not exactly what I wanted to know.

"I dreamt for years about the future Arthur will bring, the future you will bring and now everything is unclear and the stars don't answer me anymore." His voice sounded so heavy and for the first time since Merlin met Kilgharrah he could actually hear his age and the long years he lived on this earth. "I would not dare to challenge destiny and you Merlin should not do it either."

Merlin chuckled. He didn't expect anything else; after all he was destiny's tool.

"But –" the dragon said suddenly and searched for the young warlock's eyes, "You are also and most of all my friend Merlin and even if I will never trust the witch, you do deserve to be happy."

Merlin was shocked, more than shocked. Kilgharrah wished for his happiness? The Kilgharrah who lectured him since day one? I didn't change destiny, I changed everything.

He wanted to reply something, anything, but he couldn't because the dragon disappeared as fast as he had come.

Merlin lay on his stomach and snored into his pillow. He didn't know when he fell asleep, but he was glad he was able to dream. Because in his dreams he could meet her, talk to her, kiss her, love her.

"Merlin…" a voice said. He ignored it. Now was not the time to get up.

"Merlin…." The voice hissed again, louder this time.

"Not now…" Merlin murmured and buried his head deep under his pillow.

"You idiot, get up!" Someone kicked him into the side. With a growl Merlin got up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was still dark outside.

"Finally!" Arthur stood next to his bed, arms crossed.

Merlin was confused, why was it dark? Why was Arthur there? "Oh my God, did I oversleep again? Is it night already? I'm so sorry Arthur, I –"

"Shut up!" Arthur said. "You gonna wake Gaius, you idiot." He sat down on Merlin's bedside like it was the most normal thing in the world for the king to be in his servant's room.

"It is just before sunrise." He said calmly.

Merlin's eyes widened. He seriously hoped that clotpole had a good reason to wake him up in the middle of the night. "Don't tell me you want to go hunting…because you can forget that." He fell down on his back, not caring at all that Arthur was still sitting next to him. "Go and wake up Gwaine or Elyan."

"Merlin, I am your king and I say GET UP!" He grabbed Merlin's ears and pulled him up.

"Ouch! Are you insane you prat?" He snapped.

Arthur smiled triumphantly. "I really need your help, Merlin." His voice and face turned serious.

Merlin immediately noticed that something was wrong. That wasn't Arthur's 'I'm so full of myself do what I want face' no that was his 'I need you as my friend face'.

"What happened?" Merlin asked concerned.

Arthur bit his lip and looked away for a moment. "It is Guinevere…and the baby."

"Is something wrong? Is she hurt? We should wake Gaius –" Merlin panicked, but Arthur covered his mouth with his hand.

"Shh. No, she is fine, soundlessly asleep and as happy as one can be." A small smile covered his lips. "I'm just…you know just a bit…that thing what people feel when something big is happening and they don't know how to deal with it."

Merlin needed all his willpower to not burst into hysterical laughter. Arthur could be such an idiot. "So, you are nervous." He stated causally.

Arthur laughed and clapped Merlin's back. "Don't be ridiculous, Merlin. I am the king, I don't get nervous. I am just a bit….nervous." He swallowed the last word and hoped Merlin didn't hear it.

Merlin shrugged, grinning. "If you say so." He watched Arthur quietly. There is was the mighty king of Camelot, freaking out about a baby and he couldn't even admit it to himself.

The baby was not supposed to exist, but Merlin was glad it did. Arthur may didn't know it, but Merlin was sure he would make a good father.

"I loved my father." Arthur said suddenly with a touch of sadness in his voice. "But he made so many mistakes. He always treated me more like a prince than a son. I'm still getting used to be a king, to have the responsibility for a whole kingdom, but this is different. This more personal, what if I'm not a good father? What if the child…doesn't like me?"

Merlin smiled warmly. "You are a prat and a dollophead. You are immature and too full of yourself and most of the time you –"

"Merlin…" Arthur interrupted him. "Not helping."

"Right." Merlin laughed. "But you are a great king and you will be a great father. You care so much for other people and you will love the child so much. And don't forget you still act like one as well, so the baby will think you maybe –"

He was interrupted again by Arthur's fist on his head. "Ouch…"

"Thank you, Merlin." He said then and lay his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm glad I can always count on you and if I'm sure of one thing, then that the child can count on you as well."

They both looked out of the window. "Sun is rising." Merlin said.

Arthur smiled. "A whole new day."

The sat together in silence. Merlin wished it could always be this way, the two of them as best friends, but he knew it would eventually come to an end. He lied to Arthur, betrayed him. He fell in love with his sworn enemy and there was no turning back.

He had all the power in the world, but there was no magical solution to fix the mess he had done.

"I have some new dresses for you." Hunith said and lay them down on Morgana's bed. "They are not quite as fancy as those you are used to, but winter is coming and I don't want you to get sick." He voice was strict, but yet very motherly.

Morgana smiled. "They are perfect Hunith, thank you."

She liked living with Merlin's mother. She knew Hunith was far away from trusting her, but she accepted her and didn't ask any questions. Life in Ealdor was simple and full of hard work, but Morgana didn't mind.

She actually enjoyed working, it felt like she was making atonement for her previous sins. For the first time years she felt like she had a home. Hunith gave Merlin's old room to her, gave her clothes and food and she could spent time with Aithusa whenever she wanted to.

The only thing that was missing in her new life was Merlin. She wished she could see him, wished she could touch him, but it was impossible. Her even being in Ealdor put him into a risk, so there were no letters or form of communication between them.

Somehow Morgana began to understand what people meant when they said that absence only made their feeling stronger.

She caught herself more than once watching young families in Ealdor and wondering what could be. She wondered if she and Merlin could ever have a normal life together. Living together, getting married and start a family.

The thought made her happy and sad at the same time. It was something that kept her going and slowly destroyed all the same. They were not normal people and things were complicated.

At nights she hoped to dream about him, but her nightmares kept him away from her. Whenever she closed her eyes, she was back in the dark tower, alone and afraid and haunted by the voices of her loved ones.

She couldn't sleep one night without it and Hunith started to worry for her health and sanity, how much she wished for Merlin to visit and take away those horrible dreams from the young woman.

No matter what Morgana did, when she first told Hunith about the nightmares, she got scared and decided those dream were something she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy.

When Merlin's duty for the day was done, he was still restless. He knew he needed his strength and that involved getting enough sleep, but it was impossible for him to calm down without knowing Morgana was fine.

So he sneaked out into the library when Gaius was on a late night visit to a patient.

If he couldn't talk to her, he could at least do a little research on her nightmares. He was sure the nightmares were continuing and even surer that whatever happened when she first vanished, Morgause did something horrible to her. Even with their new situation, he still blamed himself for most her misery and he promised himself he wouldn't stop until he found a way to fix her.

He quietly opened the library door and much to his luck Geoffrey was already gone, so he had all the books to himself without answering any weird questions.

"Let's get started…" He said to himself and clapped his hands.

Mordred felt like an animal in a cage. He should be lucky that Merlin wasn't out in the world doing God knows what anymore and that he could keep an eye on him, but he wasn't.

Merlin's threat from two nights before was still lingering above him and he just couldn't shake it off. He had the feeling the warlock's eyes were everywhere and that he was watching every step he was taking.

He couldn't sneak out to meet his allies anymore without risking Merlin following him. He never saw him as a believable threat, but that changed. Merlin changed and he would give a lot to know what caused that change.

Just before Merlin returned home there was a huge among of magic in the air, something that seemed to shake even the stars and ever since then, Mordred had a feeling nothing was the same and that whatever it was Merlin had caused it.

How he wished he could just sell him out to Arthur, but the king would never believe him or worse he wouldn't mind and Merlin would share all his secrets with him, including Mordred's true nature and his plan to bring Arthur down.

No, Mordred needed something else to get rid of Merlin, something Arthur would never understand or let alone forgive.

Guinevere looked outside of her window and smiled to herself. Camelot was so calm and peaceful and she hoped it would always stay that way.

Of course she knew it was an idealistic dream that would never come true. Not as long as they had dangerous enemies like Morgana, her former mistress and best friend.

She rested her hands on her stomach and sighed sadly. In another life Morgana would now stand by her side, she would assure her that the baby would be fine, she would be happy for her and be a proud aunt.

But that Morgana was long gone and Gwen gave up on the hope to get her back a long time ago.

Still, there was a part in her that still wondered what would have been if Morgana had never left.

Would she and Arthur act like true siblings? Would magic be allowed because of her? Would she and Merlin…Gwen shook her head. She couldn't think about that.

Her hands were moving over her stomach, stroking the life inside carefully.

It was almost ridiculous to think about it now, after everything that had happened. But once upon a time she suspected that there was something going on between Merlin and Morgana, even though neither of them ever confirmed it.

"What are you thinking about?" Arthur appeared behind his wife and gently put his arms around her. She leaned back, enjoying the closeness.

"I'm just truly happy." She took one of his hands and placed it over her own on her stomach. "Us and the little one inside here…we are a family."

Arthur softly kissed her head. He was still freaked out about the pregnancy, but knowing that Merlin would be there for him helped a lot.

"Yes. A family." He repeated. It felt good knowing he still had a family. After Morgana betrayed them and his father died he felt truly lost. But he was never really alone. There was always Guinevere and there was Merlin and Gaius and his knights. And now there was another person that would make his life better.

His thoughts fleshed to Merlin for a second. His servant, his friend was always there for him and yet Arthur wondered what else was there for Merlin. Had he ever been in love? Did he think about starting a family one day? He sure hoped so, because if one person deserved happiness in this world it was Merlin.

Merlin's eyes were tiered and the candle next to him was almost burned out. He still hadn't found a thing and it frustrated him.

He looked through it all. From books about druids to urban legends and fairytales, there wasn't anything about a dark tower that could manipulate people.

Maybe it was just a story Uther made up after all. He thought.

He shook his head and grabbed the next book. No, what she described was real.

Weeks passed, days were colder and her nightmares were getting worse. It felt like her mind was desperately trying to get her to remember something but there was a blockade that made it impossible.

Without Merlin there to calm her down she felt like she was slowly breaking apart from the inside.

"Morgana?" Hunith said one cold morning. "Sit down child, we need to talk."

Morgana gulped, she was afraid Hunith finally had enough of her and decided to send her away.

Hunith grabbed the young woman's hand. "Child, I'm worried about you."

That surprised Morgana. "Why?" she asked, even though she could imagine it. Hunith had to wake her up from the nightmare more than once because she was screaming her lungs out.

"These nightmares, they are getting worse, right?" She asked.

Morgana nodded slowly. "I wish I knew what they mean…Merlin had a few theories, but…I don't know."

The mentioning of her son's name made Hunith flinch a bit. She hadn't heard from him since he sent Morgana to live with her and she still had no idea what their relationship exactly was, even if she had her suspicious.

She caught Morgana more than once pressing her son's blue scarf close to her head and looking like she was far away from reality.

Hunith bit her lip. "Maybe we should contact him." She suggested. Her son was powerful, even though she had no idea how powerful he really was, she was sure that if someone could help Morgana, it was him.

Morgana's face went white. She shook her head. "No…no…that is not possible. If Arthur would find out he would have his head…he can't…I don't want him to risk anymore for me."

"Morgana, calm down." Hunith softly lay her hands on Morgana's shoulders. She didn't expect her to react this way. She more or less thought she would be happy to see Merlin again.

"Merlin did so much already." Morgana almost whispered. "He saved me…." And she didn't mean her stab wound all those months ago. A few tears were falling down her cheeks. She missed him, she couldn't even find the right words to express how much she missed him.

Hunith pulled her into a deep hug. She knew what Morgana was capable off, knew what she did in the past, but this woman was so lost, so fragile she couldn't help but care for her.

"Morgana…" there was still the one thing she needed to know. It was her motherly instinct to look out for her son. "What is your relationship with my son?"

Morgana slowly pulled away and looked Hunith into the eyes. She knew that question would come sooner or later, she just hoped for later.

"I love him." She said sincere. There was no denying it anymore. No distance, no nightmare, no Arthur, no Mordred could change that. She, Morgana Pendragon was in love with Merlin and she didn't know if she would ever get the chance to tell him so.

Hunith wasn't surprised, she expected that for a while, but hearing it was something different. She grew fond of Morgana, but she wasn't sure if she wanted her to be with her son. There was still that mistrust deep inside her and the fact that the king wanted her head and loving her would put Merlin in an impossible dangerous situation.

"Does he feel the same?" she asked.

Morgana blushed and looked away. She didn't want to share all the details of her relationship with Hunith. After all she was still his mother.

"I don't know." She answered. It wasn't a lie. Merlin never directly told her what he felt for her.

Hunith eyes her suspiciously before she stood up.

"I'll make us some soup." She said and Morgana stared after her, irritated.

Merlin was exhausted, if that was even enough to describe what he was feeling.

He suspected he only functioned because his body was basically filled with magic. He thought any normal human being would have collapsed already.

He spent his days doing chores for Arthur, listening to his friends worrying, helping Gaius and being there for Gwen. Ah, and of course he never left Mordred out of his sight.

And he spent his nights researching the mysterious dark tower. And of course missing Morgana, but that was more or less an every second of the day task.

So it was no wonder that Gaius started to worry about him. Actually he started to really worry about him.

Merlin looked horrible. His eyes were covered by dark circles, his skin was pale as winter's snow and his usual happy-go-lucky smile was tired and insincere.

"Merlin…" Gaius started one night when Merlin almost fell asleep on the dinner table. "Talk to me my boy."

Merlin looked immediately away. It was always a matter of time until Gaius would suspect of something being wrong, but how could he get himself out of this situation?

"I'm fine, Gaius." He lied and the worst part was, the lie was so obvious there was no way in hell Gaius would believe him.

Gaius nodded. "Alright. And now stop lying."

Merlin groaned. He needed a better lie, something Gaius would believe, because he couldn't tell him about Morgana, couldn't tell him his heart broke every day he couldn't be with her, couldn't see her smile or feel her lips on his.

"It is just…Arthur is really nervous since he knows Gwen is pregnant and Gwen confuses me for her best girlfriend or something like that and Gwaine always urges me to go on women hunt with him and I'm just tired that is all." He forced a smile and hoped Gaius was satisfied with his answer. "Of course there is also Mordred to worry about." He added quickly.

Gaius eyed the young man suspiciously. Merlin's reasons were all very valid and believable, but still Gaius knew him far too long to believe that this was it all.

"What about your nights? You sneak out every night." So Gaius noticed. Merlin shouldn't be surprised by that.

"I'll watch Mordred." He said with a touch of insecurity in his voice. But still, it was believable.

Gaius raised his eyebrow. "You are lying, Merlin." He said in a matter of fact kind of voice. "And I wonder why, because you have always been honest with me."

Merlin felt horrible. Gaius was his most trusted friend for years, his mentor, his father and now he was betraying him. But could he trust Gaius with his most dangerous secret? A part of him wanted to tell him everything, was sick of lying and even hoped Gaius would help him to help her. But telling him would also put her at risk, so what should he do?

His head was aching again. Life wasn't fair to put him into situations like that. "Gaius, I'm sorry." He said and stood up.

But Gaius wouldn't give up, not this time. Merlin pushed him away over the last months and he wouldn't bare it any longer. He grabbed his arm and pushed him back on his chair.

"Tell me now, Merlin and no more lies. We both know this started when you were visiting Ealdor. What happened there?" He asked.

There it was the explicit question to 'what happened back then' the one he couldn't avoid anymore. It was now or never. He could lie himself out of it, disappoint Gaius even more or he would take a leap and risk it all.

His mind drifted to Morgana once again. Gaius had a lot of book the library didn't have, he had knowledge he could only dream about and he could help her better than he could.

So he took a deep breath and decided it was time to tell the truth.

"I wasn't in Ealdor." He said as calmly as possible and then waited for Gaius reaction.

Gaius nodded. "I suspected that much." After all Gaius was no fool. "It would have been very unusual for Hunith not to contact me in case of a serious sickness."

Merlin was slightly relieved Gaius voice didn't sound angry. The first step was done. The only thing left was the hardest part.

"I had a dream that night…about Morgana and I went to investigate…" It sounded harmless enough, right?

Gaius eyes grew wider. "Don't tell me you were hunting Morgana all this time you were gone on your on?" Again no anger in his voice, only fear and worries.

Merlin shook his head. "Actually, I found her. She was wounded…"

Now Gaius looked seriously shocked and Merlin was afraid to talk anymore. "What happened then?" Gaius ask, his voice suddenly shaky.

Now was no going back anymore. "I helped her…stayed with her…" Merlin hoped he wasn't blushing, but remembering his extraordinary time with Morgana always did that to him.

"Boy…are you out of your mind? You helped her? Merlin, she is dangerous, insane even!" Gaius threw his hands around.

It was the reaction Merlin expected and still he didn't like him talking like that about her. "That is what I thought…but something is wrong with her. She has this nightmares and I believe Morgause did something horrible to her when she abducted her the first time! I want to help her, she is almost like the Morgana we always knew and there is his dark tower and I really think –"

"Merlin, you should listen to yourself!" Gaius interrupted him, raising his voice. "This is Morgana we are talking about! Don't try to justify her actions that is only what she wants, Merlin. She manipulates your or worse you are enchanted again!"

Merlin shook his head, a desperate laugh escaped his lips. "I think she is herself for the first time in years!" He argued back. "And I need to help her, need to fix her."

Gaius couldn't believe his words, he didn't understand where Merlin was coming from. "Boy, I know you blame yourself for what happened to her, but you cannot fix her. She tries to get into your head that is all."

"She is not!" Merlin snapped. "You don't understand, Gaius. Just listen to me!"

Gaius stood up. "No Merlin, you listen to me! Morgana is lost to the dark path, she is the enemy it is your destiny to –"

"Not that again!" Merlin stood up as well, he was getting angry. The lights around him started to flicker, he needed to control his magic better. He didn't know what he expected but he hoped Gaius would at least try to understand. "I don't care for destiny anymore!"

"Merlin, you have to –"

"I love her!" she shouted, without thinking about it.

Gaius fell back in his chair, he suddenly felt dizzy. "Tell me that is not true." He looked at Merlin in desperation. He could understand Merlin being too kind and helpful for his own good, but in love with her? He hoped it was a bad joke or some magic spell. But the determination it Merlin's eyes spoke for itself.

"I love her, I can't help it or no, I don't want to help it." Merlin couldn't stop talking. "I love her with all I got, even my magic is calling to hers. And you can say she bewitched me all you want, it is not true. I always knew, it has always been her, back then and now…it has always been her!"

"She is a murderer, Merlin. She threatened and killed people in cold blood." Was arguing even an option anymore? When it came to love, every logic failed and Gaius knew that. But how could Merlin of all people fall in love with Morgana? They were destined to be mortal enemies, there was no other option.

Merlin clenched his fists and laughed bitterly. "So have I."

"That is not the same." Gaius said.

"I really hoped you would understand or try to, but you should have tea with Kilgharrah, you would get along so well." Merlin was disappointed, sad and angry at the same time. He stormed outside, he needed to get away from Gaius.

Merlin sat down on the cold stone castle wall and stared straightforward. Snow was falling down on him but he didn't care.

If Gaius wouldn't understand, there was no way Arthur would ever get there. It was a hopeless situation.

He couldn't have both, his life in Camelot and the woman he loved. He had to make a decision. The realization hit him, he would lose no matter what he chose.

Either he would lose his best friend, his family and home or he would lose the one person that completed him. How can one man make a choice like that?

"Merlin?" His head turned around. Arthur was walking towards him. "What are you doing here, it's freezing."

"I…just needed some air." He answered, hoping Arthur would be too much of a clotpole to understand that something was wrong.

"Get inside, idiot. A sick servant is not a good servant." Nevertheless he sat down next to him. "You want to talk about it?" he asked.

Merlin shrugged. "I had a fight with Gaius." He didn't need to tell him the details.

That surprised Arthur, in all the years Merlin has been living with the physician, Arthur couldn't recall one time they were fighting. He was about to ask Merlin why they were fighting, but the look in his eyes almost pleaded for no more questions.

"You can sleep in one of the knight's chambers if you like." He said, proud that he was sensitive enough for once just to be a good friend.

Merlin shot him a small smile. "I'd like that, thank you."

Arthur stood up, reaching his hand out and pulled Merlin up. "You should talk to Gaius tomorrow, I bet whatever it is you will get over it."

"Sure." Merlin replied, knowing all to perfectly that this time there maybe was no way around it.

Gaius still sat on the same chair at the table and watched the flame of the candle in front of him slowly burning down.

Merlin was the closest thing to a son he ever had, the boy was his family and he let him down. He was too shocked to even consider trusting Merlin's judgment and feelings, but how could he? That was Morgana they were talking about.

And Merlin loved her. His boy, his Merlin loved that woman. A small smile formed on his lips. His boy was in love. If the situation had been different he would have been proud, Merlin deserved happiness and someone he could share his life with. Big destiny or not.

But this love, this love was forbidden and against everything he believed in. They weren't supposed to be lovers, they were supposed to fight each other to the death.

Gaius started to wonder where Morgana was now and if she felt the same, because that would change everything. It would change the whole course of destiny and Gaius wasn't sure if the change would be for the better or the worse.

"A dark tower…" He mumbled. Merlin mentioned a dark tower earlier and that he thought Morgana had been manipulated all along. "Could it be?" He stood up and walked to his old book shelf. He pulled a book with a red cover outside and opened it carefully.

It was dusty and his eyes started to get wet, but he needed to know the truth. He read about a dark tower once, but believed it to be just a scary story to scare children off, now he wasn't so sure.

"It is going to be a long night."

Sleeping in the knight's chambers was one of the worst experiences in his whole life. Much to his luck he could sleep in Gwaine's and Percival's chamber and it was horrible.

They snored. No, snoring wasn't the right word. The noises they made were beyond everything he ever heard.

So in the morning he was actually glad he could just go to work. He decided not to look for Gaius, he still wasn't sure if he even wanted to talk to him.

When he entered the king's chamber he was surprised to see Arthur already up and dressed "Sire? Am I late?"

Arthur laughed. "I just wanted to show you I can dress myself."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Right…because that is so difficult."

"I talked to Gaius, just before you came in." He announced. Merlin thought he would pass out. He was glad Arthur cared about him as a friend, but talking to Gaius was the last thing he wanted him to do.

"That was not necessary." He tried to sound as friendly as possible.

Arthur shot him a brilliant smile. "Don't worry, Gaius came to me."

That however surprised Merlin. "He did? Why?"

Arthur crossed his arms. "He asked me to give you a few days off. He needs to take care of a sick cousin or something who lives outside Camelot and needs you with him." He stretched his arms. "I'm not happy about that, you seem to take more vacations lately, you lazy idiot." He walked towards Merlin and clapped his back. "But maybe it helps you to sort things out, so go and pack a bag or whatever you need to do."

Merlin ran outside the castle and immediately to his and Gaius little home. He opened the door and saw Gaius already packed up.

"There you are." The old man said, smiling like the previous night never happened.

"What is going on?" Merlin asked confused. Gaius handed him an old red book he didn't recognize.

"I don't know where you are hiding her, but we should leave immediately. I can't promise you that we can cure her, but we can ease whatever this tower did to her." He talked slowly, but Merlin didn't understand the words.

"What are you talking about, Gaius?" It couldn't mean what he was thinking it meant right?

Gaius sighed. "I always trusted you Merlin and even if I don't like it I will trust you now." He took the book from Merlin's hands. "This place, this dark tower you were talking about, it is real."

Merlin gasped.

"We will probably destroy Camelot's future and burn in hell for this, but if you truly love Morgana, we have to help her." Gaius knew this idea was horrible and that it would only end in tears and betrayal in the end, but he couldn't let Merlin down, not after everything he already sacrificed for his destiny.

Merlin pulled Gaius into a deep hug. He couldn't believe it. "Thank you." He whispered.

"Where are we going, boy?" He asked as they pulled away.

"Ealdor." Merlin answered. "We're going to Ealdor." He couldn't help but smiling, he would see her again, finally.