"So, how are things going at the castle?" Morgana questioned Gavin with an evil glint in her eyes. Gavin stood a little taller, looking very proud of himself.

"I've got them wrapped around me finger." Gavin responded, "Well, Merlin anyway..." Morgana gave him a questioning look and he chuckled to himself. "I've arranged a weekly bird calling routine." Morgana's eyebrow raised, clearly unimpressed. Gavin sighed, trying not to lose his temper. "That means that I'll have plenty of opportunities alone with him. I've arranged an inccident for our most recent bird calling session."

"What sort of inccident?" Morgana looked skeptical as she met his eyes with her own piercing ones.

"Well, you know i'm capable of controlling animals, as you know."

"So? You're planning to cause an attack?"

Well, she's a bright lass. Gavin thought sarcastically. "Yes. That's exactly what I plan to do."

The corners of Morgana's mouth twitched a little, but she did not display much of her opinion on the plan. "and what of Arthur?"

"Well, the lad will be depressed, won't he? Maybe he'll kill himself."

"No. Arthur's stronger than that." Morgana dismissed Gavin's idea. "Camelot means too much to him. He wouldn't abandan if he was depressed."

"But, this is Merlin." Guinevere responded as she entered the dark room. Gavin was pleased when she came in. He quite liked the way the girl didn't scoff at his plots and all.

"See? The lass agree's with me!" Gavin grinned, pointing at Guinevere who looked down at her feet with embarrassment.

"I-I never said that I agreed with you." she said quickly, "Arthur is a very strong headed man. He won't just take his life like that." Gavin's face fell and he shrugged it off.

"Fine. I'll think of a way to take Arthur down when the time comes-"

"No!" Morgana said sharply, making Gavin roll his eyes. "You have to think everything through carefully! I will not have you messing everything up, Gavin!"

"Hey! Yer the one tha' hired me fer this! If ye don't like me methods, ye shouldn't have asked me to do it!"

Morgana looked as though she might smack his hard across the face, but Guinevere quickly intervened. "No! Please do not have a row! We'll never succeed in the plan if we can't get along."

"Sorry, Gwen. You're right." Morgana sighed. Guinevere smiled briefly with relief before scurrying out of the room to prepare drinks for the three of them.

"Gavin, I think that you should really think more thouroughly of your plans. I know that you prefer to do things quickly and on the spot, but this is important. We cannot fail. You are aware of how long I have wanted this." Morgana explained, "You know how far I will take this and how hard I have strived to recieve my rightful place on the throne."

"Yes, Lass. I know. I'll find an efficent plan to kill Arthur." Gavin stood, pulling out the worn black book that he kept in his rucksack. Morgana gave him a mocking smile.

"Writing in your little diary again?"

"Yes."

"and you're not ashamed?"

"No."

Gavin scribbled away in his book, eyes never leaving the page. Morgana always thought of him as rude when he did this, feeling ignored. Guinevere returned with the drinks.

"Thanks, Gwen." Morgana said, sipping her herbal tea as she gathered her thoughts. Guinevere nodded, heading over to Gavin.

"I hate tea, Lassy." Gavin responded, not even looking at Guinevere who looked slightly peeved. Morgana raised an eyebrow.

"She is not your maid and if I hear you speak to her with such disrespect again, I will not hesitate to kill you. Do not think that just because you are doing a job for me that I owe you anything more than what you deserve."

Gavin's jaw was set, but his eyes never left the pages that he was writing on. "Yes, Yes, Lass. I hear ye." Morgana's eyes narrowed and her hand suddenly was out and a jet of power left her hand, knocking Gavin back against the wall, his book falling to the floor.

"Bloody Hell, Lass!" Gavin glowered. Morgana smirked as Guinevere held back a smile.

Arthur and Merlin lay upon the grass, enjoying a picnic together. The same place that he and Guinevere had once had one. "Remember when my father caught me with her here?" Arthur chuckled softly, wondering how Uther would react if he had caught him there with Merlin. Oh, he would have him executed in a minute.

"Yeah." Merlin responded, recalling the jealousy he had felt when he saw Arthur eyeing Gwen that day. She had looked so stunning. Merlin had played along, but he still felt depressed that day, but it only got worse when the two were caught. He had wished that it was him next to Arthur that day, but he still wanted Guinevere and Arthur to be happy and when their relationship was a risk after Uther caught them together, Merlin felt guinuenly sad for the two of them.

"You know, if Uther knew that I was with you, he would accuse you of sorcery and haywire would break out." Arthur said, "He would never accept out love to be real. My affection was only real in his eyes when it was for someone that he approved of. If I had eyes for ANYONE, he would automatically assume that they were a sorcerer. It's ridiculous."

Merlin hated having to hide things from Arthur, but although they were married and were supposed to have released all of their secrets to one another, he couldn't help but to hide his magical abilities. He still could not help but to feel the paranoia that Arthur might leave him or even have him executed for sorcery. 'No. Arthur would never do that to me.' Still, Melrin could not bare to find out if he was right or wrong.

The guilt of not telling him still got under his skin, though. He felt terrible about it. He always felt that he was betraying Arthur. Melrin frowned, "What if I was a sorcerer?"

"Do not say such things, Merlin." Arthur responded, making Merlin's stomach churn. "I know you're not and it's nothing to joke about."

"I-I wasn't joking. I was simply asking if you would still love me."

Arthur looked puzzled. "I'd love you no matter what, but I know you are not."

This answer did not satisfy Merlin. He wanted a clear response that would assure him that Arthur would always stay by his side, but the mans tone did not make him sure of that. Merlin sighed as Arthur's lips met his and he only returned it half heartilly. No. He would not tell Arthur. At least not yet.