What fools! thought Morgana to herself as she made her way through the halls of the castle. Killing the guards that had held were had been a piece of cake. This was all too easy. Camelot would fall this very night and Morgana would once again be queen.

Yet, there was something bothering her. The knife. It had been nice and cool when she held against Gwen's throat, but then all of a sudden it had been burning hot. It could only mean one thing: that someone in that room had magic...and was using it against her.

But who? Morgana thought of everyone who had been in there. She knew it couldn't be Uther or Arthur. Both of them believed magic to be evil and would never use it. Gwen herself? No, it couldn't have been her. Gwen too was trapped in the belief that magic was bad. But then who?

A small malicious smile spread across her face as an idea came to her mind. There's only one way to find out. Whoever used magic in the throne room was using it to protect Gwen. So, this person will have to use it to save her life.

"Dying?" Arthur felt numb. He stared at Gaius. "But how? She was perfectly fine this morning!" Merlin could only watch as Arthur suffered the worst possible news he could ever receive.

"I don't know, sire." said Gaius. "I only know that Gwen was suddenly taken ill and is dying. I'm afraid there is nothing I can do for her."

"May I go to her?" Arthur asked, his voice weak and shaky as he fought back the tears that were threatening to come. Gaius nodded and Arthur rushed off to Gaius's chambers where they had taken Gwen. Merlin followed behind unnoticed.

When they got there they arrived to see Sir Leon, Sir Gwaine, and Sir Percival trying to comfort Sir Eylan. Sir Lancelot stood a little ways away from the group, his head in his hands. Gwen lay on the bed, tossing and turning fitfully. The five knights all looked up when Arthur and Merlin entered the group.

Eylan went up to Arthur. Neither spoke, but instead they clasped each other in a firm embrace, sharing their sorrow together. The other knights all looked at each other and turned to leave. As Lancelot walked passed, Merlin whispered to him, "I'll do what I can." Lancelot nodded and then left. He sincerely hoped Merlin would be able to cure her. Even though he might lose her to Arthur, that would be infinitely preferable to losing her to death.

Gwen tossed and muttered Arthur's name. Arthur looked over at her as he and Eylan separated. Eylan glanced once at his dying sister and then left. Arthur didn't seem to notice Merlin's presence.

Arthur sat on a chair by Gwen's bedside and took her hand. "Guinevere..." he couldn't say any more than that and he burst out crying, his whole body shaking. Merlin put a hand on his shoulder, tears pouring from his own eyes.

Gwen had been the first friend he had made when he had arrived in Camelot and he had come to think of her almost as a sister. She won't die! he promised himself. She won't! I'll cure her. I must.

Time passed and Arthur cried himself to sleep, his head resting against the bed. Merlin slowly moved passed him, careful not to make any noise that would wake him up. Then he laid his hand on Gwen's forehead and his eyes turned gold as he muttered some words. Gwen's tossing ceased and her fever seemed to abate and she slept peacefully. Merlin let out a sigh of relief.

Morgana had watched the entire scene, hidden by an invisibility spell that Morgause had once taught her. As long as she didn't move, no one could see her. She had watched as the knights entered the room and tried to comfort the distraught Eylan. She had watched as Arthur and Merlin had come in and she had watched as the knights left. She had watched with unusual patience as Arthur cried himself to sleep. She had waited for Merlin to leave or for something to happen. Then it did. The last person Morgana had ever suspected of magic had it. She would have guess Arthur capable of it before even daring to think Merlin was. She was so surprised that without thinking, she blurted out his name. "Merlin!"

Merlin whirled to face her, the blood draining for his face. How long had she been standing there? It had been a trap, Merlin realized. A trap to discover who it was that had made the knife burn. He instinctively looked over at Arthur and was relieved to see that the prince was still fast asleep.

Morgana just stared at him. "I don't believe it." she said finally. "You...you of all people! How long of you had magic?"

"All my life." he answered honestly. "Far longer than you."

"Traitor!" she spat. "You have magic just like me. Yet instead of fighting against the man who would see you dead if he knew the truth, you choose to protect him!"

He stood to his feet and looked her straight in the eye. "I told you once, Morgana, that magic is to be used for good. It is not given to us to use for our own selfish ends. Yes, Uther has killed many of our kind, but that does not make it right to in turn kill him in cold blood."

"I am defending our kind, Merlin."

"No, Morgana," said Merlin, "you are destroying our kind. It is people like you, people who use magic to hurt and betray others, it is people like that that make Uther think that magic can only be used for evil. You are doing our kind more harm then good."

"Tell me, Merlin," said Morgana, moving closer to him, "tell me you haven't ever used magic for your own ends."

"I have only ever used magic to defend, protect, and save those I care about." said Merlin. "Including you." he added softly.

Morgana froze. "What do you mean?" she demanded.

"The time you fell down the stairs? The time you were dying? The time you overheard Uther confess to Gaius that you are is daughter? I healed you, Morgana. I saved your life. I could have just let you die. My life would have been so much easier if I had, but I choose not to. Can you honestly say you would have done the same if our places had been switched?"

Morgana wanted to believe Merlin was lying. She wanted to believe that he had just made the whole thing up. It would be so much easier to go on hating him then. But she couldn't. She knew he was telling the truth. She also knew the answer to his question. "No," she admitted, "I wouldn't have."

"That's what I thought." said Merlin, and Morgana sensed a certain sadness coming from him. It was if he regretted that fate had chosen different paths for them.

In that moment, that single moment, something extraordinary happened: Morgana began to cry. Her anger, her hatred it was suddenly gone. In its place were sorrow and remorse. She had begun to realize how much pain and how much suffering she had caused. Merlin stared at her in shock. She looked up at him, her face streaming with tears. "I'm sorry." she whispered. "Sorry for everything." Then she muttered a spell and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Merlin?" Merlin looked down to see Gwen, her eyes opened. "What happened?" she asked weakly.

"Morgana's revenge is no more." he answered simply.