Chapter 6. Discovering

The party was coming to an end and the guests were gradually beginning to leave. Before Merlin took Morgana home, he quickly grabbed the chance to say goodnight to Gwen and wish her a happy birthday once more.

"I take it you're not coming home tonight then?" she asked him with a grin.

"Doesn't look like it." His answering grin was just as cheeky. "What about you?"

"What? No!" she replied in a shocked voice and then coloured. "I mean, not yet … that is ... ah … Of course I'm going home."

"Ah, you're going to put me to shame by actually sticking to the first date rule," he said ruefully.

"Certainly," she replied haughtily. "Not that this is really a date ..."

"Neither was mine ..." Merlin shrugged with another grin. "... but, you know." Gwen thumped him affectionately on the arm.

"Arthur did kiss me though," she whispered, moving closer and biting her lip in that endearing way she had.

"Really? And ..?"

"The best ever," she breathed. "Honestly, I could have sworn there was sunlight and bird song and violins!"

"Oh, Gwen," he said with a laugh. "You're such a hopeless romantic."

"Well, it was romantic. It was ... wonderful."

"Good. I'm glad. Just make sure you get a proper date offer from the prat before you leave here tonight."

"Oh, stop it." She looked up and grinned. "Now then, Morgana's looking very … hungry. You'd better go before she decides to seduce you here and now."

"You're right and she's already threatened it," he agreed, giving her Gwen peck on the cheek before moving back towards his date.

"What were you two talking about?" Morgana asked.

"Mostly Arthur," he replied. "Their first kiss?" He grinned and she raised her eyes to the ceiling.

"God, he's impossible when he's in love and this time it actually looks like the real thing so … I dread to think."

"You reckon he really is serious then? Good. Gwen's smitten too. Ready?"

"I'd say," she replied, deliberately raising her voice as they walked past Gwaine who was leaning against the bar. "I need to get you naked and into my bed as soon as possible."

"Morgana!" Merlin complained as Gwaine collapsed in fits of laughter behind them.

However, by the time they'd reached the top of the stairs outside her flat, the dynamic between them appeared to have shifted. He had no idea where his sudden desire and impatience had come from, but Morgana had barely closed the door when he pounced on her for a change, kissing her deeply as he pushed her back firmly against the closed door.

She quickly overcame her initial surprise at the move and kissed him back greedily, almost instantly stripping him of his shirt. Still kissing, the pair grabbed and fought to undress each other, leaving a trail of clothes leading from the front door all the way to Morgana's bed. Merlin pushed her quite roughly onto her bed, as he continued to kiss and caress her, determined to pleasure her as much as possible before they got really serious, but she had other ideas.

"We can play more later, Merlin," she gasped as he employed his usual unique tricks whilst gently kissing her neck. "Just get on with it ... I need you inside me ... now!" Merlin groaned in delight at the comment and was only too happy to oblige.

They got even less sleep than last time. After that first impatient love making, Merlin was quite convinced that Morgana had not got as much pleasure as she should have and so quickly remedied the situation, using both conventional and magical means to pleasure her over and over until she was literally begging him to stop because she was too sensitive. After that he fell asleep, only to be woken up some time later by Morgana, curled up against his back, with one hand caressing and stroking him quite determinedly which quickly set them off again, this time taking almost an hour to very slowly build up the tension and passion between them and driving both of them crazy as a result.

Despite that, the final moments were surprisingly gentle and romantic, each gazing into the other's eyes, with Merlin certain he was seeing more than passion in those beautiful green iris' as she cried out his name at the end. He felt a strange sensation deep within him at that moment; one that only last week he thought he would never feel again. Afterwards he stroked her long, dark hair as she lie sleeping on his shoulder and realised that he was falling in love.

No, he decided, it was too late for 'falling'. He had already fallen, despite the short amount of time they'd been together and despite being convinced that he couldn't possible have such strong feelings for her when they still had not talked or got to know each other as much as he would have liked.

xoxOxox

Merlin was woken yet again but, this time it was by Morgana's voice, low and distressed, muttering next to him.

"No, Arthur … he's lying. Don't believe him … please!"

Merlin frowned, moving closer to her again and stroking her hair. "Morgana, hush, it's alright ..." he murmured in her ear.

"Merlin … we have to help … find out about Jennifer ... about the attack ..." Her voice dropped lower too quiet for him to hear before she started to grumble again, tossing and turning. "Merlin … please … trust me. Forgive me."

"Morgana." He said it more forcefully, determined to wake her. He hated seeing her so distressed even if it was just a dream. With a cry she sat up sharply. Her eyes wide and unseeing, her skin pale and sweat covered. "Morgana ..." he said again and she turned to him blinking before dropping her head into her hands. He shuffled towards her on the bed, throwing an arm around her.

"S-sorry, just a bad dream."

"I think it was more than that." She looked at him wide eyed and fearful and shook her head.

"No, honestly, just a dream."

"It was a nightmare and it's not been your first. Morgana, talk to me. Tell me what you saw." He was becoming more and more convinced that what she was experiencing were not dreams but visions. He'd had a few of those himself, although his, annoyingly, tended to happen when he was awake and often at the most inconvenient of times. However, she was now reacting in a way which seemed similar to his own incidents even though it appeared that it was something that she could not or would not admit to; she just kept shaking her head, refusing to explain. "What did you dream about? You mentioned a Jennifer?" he pushed.

"I don't know anyone with that name - I don't remember anything … please Merlin? Just hold me – having you here makes it better."

He found that rather worrying. If these dreams were better in his company he dreaded to think what they were like when she was sleeping alone. He did as she asked though, lying back down on the bed and bringing her with him, pulling her close up against her side and allowing her head to rest on his chest.

After that he had no memory of waking again until morning. Already he was becoming used to having her next to him. Either that or his body was so tired after the last week that it wasn't giving him any choice in the matter. Either way they were both woken from a deep sleep by the shrill buzz of her Comp and he muttered in annoyance as her warm presence pulled away from him as she moved to answer the device lying on her bedside table.

"Hello?" she asked in a slightly sleepy voice. Merlin felt her jump, aware of a sudden tension emanating from her. He cracked open an eyelid but couldn't see much other than her dark hair framed by the far too bright morning light coming through the window.

"Ah ... I'm afraid Mr. Le Fey is unavailable at the moment," Morgana continued and Merlin grinned, suddenly understanding. "This is his secretary speaking, may I be of assistance?" He had to admit that he was impressed at her improvisational skills so early in the morning. "That sounds very interesting ah, may I ask where the recommendation came from?" Merlin winced, burying himself deeper down into the covers. Trust Morgause to phone now when he was with her. He continued to listen to the one-sided conversation as Morgana quickly tried to arrange a meeting whilst simultaneously convincing Morgause she was the photographer's secretary. Merlin remembered that he'd only said 'Morgan Le Fey', and was interested that this seemed to have been quickly interpreted as male. He said as much to Morgana once she'd put the phone down.

"Personally, the idea that it's a man is all the more helpful to me in keeping my identity a secret," she replied.

"Of course but, for a moment, I worried that you were going to have me play the part of your 'boss'," he continued.

"I didn't want to give you any ideas," she retorted, giving a contented sigh as he pulled her closer. Merlin smiled at the thought. "I must say that I'm most impressed that Arthur went to such trouble on my account." Merlin blinked at the unexpected comment before quickly realising how she'd have come to the conclusion.

"Oh, he contacted this person for you?" he asked, deciding to play along.

"He did say he supported my photography one hundred percent, and Morgause seemed perfectly aware of our Oxford ... problem."

"There certainly seems to be rather more to your brother than first meets the eye," Merlin continued with a broad grin.

"He is a little misunderstood at times."

"Not quite as much of a prat as he appears?"

"Oh, he's definitely a prat," she replied, the amusement obvious in her voice, "but no, perhaps not as much as he sometimes implies."

"I suppose you've got work again today?" said Merlin with a large sigh. Having her lying this close to him was starting to give his body some interesting ideas.

"Yes, and I'd better start getting ready - I can't keep using doctors' appointments as an excuse for going in late. It really is a nuisance that your weekends aren't going to be free."

"I get the feeling I might be trying to take a few more Friday or Saturdays off in the near future," he said with a smile as he thought of his weekly timetable and wondered how often he could arrange to stay over.

Whilst she was in the shower, Merlin sat back on the bed and checked his own Comp for messages and sent a couple of his own. As she came out of the bathroom, he went in, although not before stopping her to indulge in a short but passionate kiss which had him seriously contemplating pulling her back into the shower with him. He grinned at that interesting thought, filing it away for future reference.

"I really am running late," she said as they eventually moved apart. "So, I'll leave the spare key card on the table for you to lock up – just in case I'm gone when you come out?" Merlin raised his eyebrows in surprise and Morgana smirked. "Don't get any ideas – you can push it back under the door when you leave." Her smile turned a little more genuine then and Merlin guessed it was her way of letting him know she wasn't deliberately being mean and he grinned back. Honestly the thought of her giving him a key to her flat after half a week of knowing each other would have been far more scary than her suggesting she gave it back.

He'd basically finished washing and was just deciding how long to remain under the water when he heard the sound of Morgana's intercom buzzing quietly in the next room and, curiosity getting the better of him he got out and moved towards the door to see if he could hear who it was.

"Arthur? What are you doing here?" he heard her ask, her voice muffled through the door. He moved an ear closer, wondering if he should use his magic, feeling slightly guilty as he changed that question to whether he should be eavesdropping at all. He heard her ask another question, too quiet to hear and was about to give up.

"I had to see you, Morgana." Arthur's voice was louder and much easier to hear. "I'm in such trouble ... well you too, apparently …" Again Morgana's words were too quiet to be heard but Arthur was practically shouting, his voice showing him to be highly stressed about something. "Guinevere ... her surname ... I just found out her surname!" Merlin froze as he heard the shock in the young man's voice. "Leodegrance. Guinevere Leodegrance."

Any concerns about manners quickly disappeared and Merlin grabbed a towel, moved back toward the door and used his magic to subtly enhance his hearing.

"What!" Morgana sounded just as shocked as her brother and Merlin wondered why his friend's family should be of such concern to the siblings.

"You know the situation, you know what's happening? Mr. Leodegrance is the linchpin to the whole of this take-over war." Merlin shook his head, fervently hoping that this was not what he thought it was.

"Arthur, keep your voice down ... we'll talk about this later." Merlin would not have heard that if he hadn't been using magic. She was deliberately trying to keep her brother quiet, worried that he might hear. Where they really talking about the Kilgharrah's share issue or something else? He was torn over what to do next. Keep quiet and try to see if they said something else, or come out and worry about it later?

"But I have to tell you about Father's board meeting the other day, he said …" Arthur was saying. Merlin decided on the latter, even as his brain tried to remember any mention of the name 'Cornwall' during any of his recent meetings about Camelot and it's share holders.

"Later ..." Morgana was glaring daggers at Arthur as Merlin emerged, with just a towel around his waist. In his distraction, he'd forgotten how that might appear to Arthur and froze as the blond turned around shocked, before looking comically back and forth between the pair.

"Oh ..." Merlin said, trying to look surprised. "I thought you'd left for work by now. Ah ... hello, Arthur."

"Merlin," he replied with a growl. "I'd ask what you're doing here this early in the morning, but I think the answer's glaringly obvious."

"Ah yes, pretty much," he said with a slight wince, turning to Morgana and working hard to act as if he'd heard nothing out of the ordinary. "Shouldn't you be going?"

"Yeah, the key's on the table. Will you lock up for me?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, I'll phone you tonight," and she moved forwards to give him a very passionate kiss. Far too passionate, considering that her brother was standing right next to them. When she let him go he noticed that Arthur's expression looked rather more shocked than angry but, right now, Merlin had far more important things to concern him. He had to find out more about what they'd been talking about and, as much as he was dreading it, he knew that following the pair was the only way to discover the truth. So, the second they left the flat, Merlin slowed down time, ran into the bedroom to dress, checked he had everything and the apartment was fairly tidy, and then let his magic go. He waited a few seconds before opening the door very slightly to find the siblings were still only halfway down the stairs.

"Leodegrance?" Morgana was saying to Arthur "It's an unusual name but ... you're sure it's the same family?"

"Come on, think back – you've met the man? Guinevere and Elyan ... it's obvious they're related." As they closed the front door, Merlin slowed time again, locked the flat, pushed the card back under the door and ran down the flight of stairs before releasing the spell. From then on it was a simple matter of him following quietly behind, confident that the pair would not be expecting him to be nearby.

"Father is furious and he says he wants to see us both tonight to discuss options," Arthur was saying.

"What is he so cross about?"

"It seems that Kilgharrah's are playing him at his own game," Arthur continued as they turned a corner. "It looks like they're now buying up Camelot's shares and planning their own take-over of our restaurant." Merlin groaned as his worse fears were confirmed.

"Really?" Morgana said. "No wonder Uther's mad. You know, I thought they were a peaceful, family organisation and so, I have to admit that I'm quite surprised by this turn of events."

"Yes, so was I but … I think it's their way of telling us to back off. Morgana … this is going to be really awkward. I asked Guinevere out properly last night. She said 'yes' and Lancelot seemed content to back off, but then all of this and Merlin's her best friend and ..." Arthur sighed and then stopped abruptly, requiring Merlin to quickly duck into a nearby doorway. "… What are his family connections anyway?"

"I'm not sure ... he's got Irish and Welsh roots and, well, he hasn't really mentioned his family much, but then it's a subject I've worked hard to avoid - for obvious reasons." Merlin leant his back against the wall, his heart pounding and tears threatening. Exactly who were they and how did they know Uther Pendragon?

"What was his surname again?" Arthur's voice was quiet now and Merlin realised they'd resumed walking. He waited a second before moving out and cautiously following again.

"Wyllt."

"Doesn't ring any bells," said Arthur, "but, all the same, if word gets back to them about our father then you know what they'll think ..?"

"That we're only sleeping with them for company information," she replied calmly. Again Arthur stopped walking, this time turning a stern glare in her direction.

"Speak for yourself, Morgana. I'll have you know that I've been a perfect gentleman."

The pair crossed the road to reach Morgana's office and the traffic drowned out their voices as they did so. Merlin debating following further but they were now entering the building on the other side and he quickly decided that he'd heard more than enough. He moved back a little and found another convenient wall to lean against. The world was spinning now, both due to the magic he'd used and the shock. His worse fears had been confirmed. Morgana was not only an important member of the Pendragon corporation but was quite obviously trying to get information from him about Kilgharrah's. Uther must have found out who he was and had put her onto him to spy.

He was a prize idiot! How could he honestly have thought that someone like Morgana would be interested in him otherwise? The world started to spin and a strong buzzing rang in his ears. He closed his eyes desperately, recognising the worrying signs and willing himself not to fall into one of his magical trances …

"Merlin …" It was always the same. A strange darkness, a pair of golden eyes and a deep voice that vibrated the very ground he stood on. A wise, ancient voice, that would occasionally pluck him out of consciousness and talk to him.

"Merlin ..."

Usually in riddles.

"Kilgharrah's is in danger and … it's my fault," Merlin explained to the golden eyes. "I should have listened to you. I should never have trusted Morgana."

"You did what you felt was right, and that shows great courage, but trust is a double edged sword." Merlin winced at the words, knowing them to be true. Morgana had lied but then, so had he.

"I thought, because she had magic, I thought … we were the same."

"In some ways you are."

"No, I'll never be like her. I could never ... do that, hurt someone in that way."

"You have learnt an important lesson, Merlin. Your determination to see goodness in everybody will be your undoing," said the voice and Merlin sighed. So many people said his kind nature was a strength not a weakness but, in the modern business world, this was probably not the case. "But, I fear that your futures are now joined forever ..." The voice was fading now, the sounds of the traffic and busy London street, indicating that Merlin was coming out of his trance. As he fought to make sense of his surroundings he heard one more sentence, fading into nothing.

"She is the darkness to your light ..."

"Are you alright?" He opened his eyes to find an old lady looking up at him, concerned by his obviously stressed state.

"Ah yes, thank you. I just came over a little faint, that's all."

"I'm not surprised. You need to eat more," she said looking him up and down critically before walking away. On any other day Merlin would have found that amusing but right now he was severely distracted. He took his Comp out of his back pocket to ring Gwaine, but quickly changed his mind, deciding that this really needed to be tacked face to face. Checking the time, he made his way over to The Green Knight on foot, trying to remember everything he'd heard during that conversation and the vision and wondering what it was that he had missed.

xoxOxox

"What are you doing over here at this time of day," Gwaine yawned. He was up, just starting to get the pub ready for a ten-thirty opening but he and Merlin rarely interacted at this time of day ordinarily.

"I need to you find out more about Morgana and Arthur Cornwall," he replied, knowing the panic in his voice was quite audible.

"Ah ..." Gwaine responded with a wince. "I'm afraid ... well, I already did ... I was going to phone you ... a bit later but ..." He looked a bit embarrassed but Merlin just shrugged, not at all surprised that someone like Gwaine would have been highly suspicious by the situation.

"Well?"

"Not Cornwall, mate, Pendragon. They're the son and daughter of Uther Pendragon. I found out about an hour ago."

"She gave me a false name," Merlin said with a groan, "and has a false Comp too. I can't believe it."

"Well, not exactly. Arthur's obviously using a second one but she really is a Cornwall - her birth name, you see, as they're only half brother and sister and ..."

"They mentioned the take-over war," Merlin interrupted, not at all interested in such excuses. "Mentioned their father and Uther but ... I thought they were talking about two different people." He sat down on the chair with a thump. "It did cross my mind that she might just be using me before but ... I had really hoped." He sighed. "I was actually beginning to think she cared."

"I'm really sorry, mate ..."

"No, don't ..." He shook his head in an attempt to dispel all the nasty thoughts that were gathering there.

"What are you going to tell Gwen?" Gwaine asked and Merlin suddenly looked up at his friend wide-eyed.

"Oh no. Gwen!" he groaned. How could he have been so selfish? In his shock he hadn't thought about how this would affect his best friend or that he was going to have to be the one that broke the news to her.

"Wait until I get my hands on that bastard," Gwaine growled. "For him to use Gwen like that when Morgana was already close to the source. I can't imagine that Uther had to work too hard to persuade him either - I saw the way he was looking at her last night." Merlin frowned, fighting with some strange emotions that he was struggling to grasp. The memory of another part of the overheard conversation surfaced; Arthur apparently scolding Morgana for sleeping with Merlin when he'd been the perfect gentleman. He shook his head, far too cross and upset to be making excuses for Arthur Pendragon right now.

"I'll talk to her after this," Merlin said instead. "Despite everything, I can safely say that I haven't said anything of significance to Morgana about Kilgharrah's and I'll check that with Gwen too." He shook his head as he continued to recall bits of the overheard conversation. "No, Arthur just seemed confused and worried. I think we're in the clear."

"Merlin, mate. I don't know what to say. I do have to help you look after your business interests but I appreciate that this is personal and … painful for you so ..."

"That's fine," he said, trying to waive the concerns aside with a flick of his hand. "At least I found out a few interesting things in the process."

"You did?"

"Arthur said that … his father had called an emergency meeting due to the Camelot shares that are suddenly being bought up. Looks like your plan is working already - they're in a bit of a panic about it, apparently." He looked up suddenly determined. "I think it's about time we got in contact with Uther Pendragon, don't you?"

"Ah?"

"I think it's time we met face to face and gave him our ultimatum. Show him exactly what happens when someone like him dares to threatens my company and hurt the ones I love."

He turned to Gwaine who swallowed hard, looking uncharacteristically nervous at the anger that was brewing deep within Merlin's expressive blue eyes.

"As I said before ... very glad I'm on your side, mate."

xoxOxox

Chapter 7: Regretting. (Working title was 'Depressing' for a while!) Despite being heartbroken, Merlin still has work to do to ensure that Kilgharrah's stays out of Pendragon hands.

A/N Hope you liked Gwen's line about hearing violins when she kissed Arthur. I just couldn't resist that one! :D

Up until this week, the sequel section only had a vague plot but I've now worked out exactly where it's going and, quite typically, the story is becoming far more involved than I'd originally planned!

Currently, Merlin's pov of the original story will end with Chapter 9 and the new stuff will start from chapter 10.

More info on my profile page.

14/10/11

(I was planning one more read through before publishing, but my internet connection's been playing up and I thought it best to just try and get this out there asap)