I don't have words for how sorry I am about the wait. But hopefully now that I'm settled into my new life (and I passed all my midterms!), I will get better at updating and writing. To all those who reviewed - I love you endless amounts. Please forgive me for my updating lapse.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

"Good morning, sire," Morgana said brightly as she entered the hall.

"You look awfully happy this morning, Lady Morgana," Arthur replied, looking up from his papers.

"Do I?" She smiled at him. "I can't imagine why."

"Hmm." Arthur returned to his papers, looking distracted and completely unconcerned with Morgana's mood.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, assuming a concerned expression.

"Not really," he said, shaking his head. "It's just that my father should be here by now. He never sleeps this late."

Morgana looked over his shoulder at the papers he was holding. "I'm sure he just lost track of time or is doing equally important king things. What are you looking at?"

"Reports of a monster harrying the outer villages. It could easily be a bunch of scared village people telling stories, but it may be more. I was going to send out a squad of knights to look it over, just in case, but I'm waiting for my father's approval."

"If you think that's what you should do," Morgana said, moving around the table to sit down. "Do you have any other plans for today?"

"There's just training. Would you care to join us?" The prince gave her a look and arched an eyebrow.

"Sure." Morgana stood up again, realizing how nervous she looked the instant she was on her feet. "I should go check on Merlin," she said by way of excuse. "He ought to be down here too."

As she left the door, a guard rushed past her and she paused, hiding around the corner to eavesdrop. Perhaps it was news of the king.

"Sire!" the guard gasped, sliding to a halt in front of Arthur.

"Yes?"

"Sire, your father..."

Instantly, Arthur was standing. "What happened? Tell me!"

"Your father, he isn't breathing..." The guard tried to regain his breath. Arthur's face went from worried to downright terrified – the change was incredible.

"Get Gaius!" he shouted to the guard, already at the door.

"Yes sire," the guard said, picking up his weary feet and dashing away.

Morgana tucked herself more tightly into the corner, grateful that she had chosen to wear a dark dress that day. Arthur rushed by without even noticing her, and she smirked. Withdrawing herself from her corner, she went to find Merlin. Far be it from her to put either of them under suspicion by not being where she was supposed to be.

Merlin's door was locked, and she opened it with a whispered word, locking it again behind her. The warlock was sitting at his table, looking more than a little tired.

"You did it!" she said quietly, hurrying over to his side.

"Did you think I lied?" he asked, rubbing one hand over his face.

"I believed you. Now we just have to wait for Arthur to die."

She sounded so eager it made him sick. But he had to play along, and so plastered a false look of excitement on his face. "Yes."

"How long should it be before the poison kicks in?" she asked, pacing back and forth across the floor, her heels clicking against the stone.

"About two days. It's going to attack his body and replicate the symptoms of a fever."

"That's good," she replied.

"Should we go?" Merlin asked, dying to get away from the anxiously excited girl for a little and deal with the drama that was unfolding elsewhere in the castle.

"Yes, of course. Just get dressed, and we'll leave."

Merlin picked up his clothes and dressed quickly behind the screen in the corner. In a minute, he'd combed his hair, and was moving towards the door. "Morgana," he said, turning around and almost running into her.

"Yes?"

"You need to calm down. If you go out there like that, they'll notice that something's up, and we will be caught for sure. Don't let this get to you. You are the Lady Morgana, political refugee. No more than that."

"Yes, of course. You are right." Morgana took a couple deep breaths and smoothed her face into a pleasant, but bored, expression. Just like she was a pampered nobleman's daughter instead of an assassin sent to murder the king.

"Wonderful," Merlin said. Strangely enough, while Morgana was excited, he was completely emotionless.

"Let's go."

They made their way down the stairs outside their rooms and into the main part of the castle. A guard pushed past them, Gaius right behind him carrying a small bag.

"Good morning Gaius," Merlin said as though he had no idea what was going on.

"Can't talk now Merlin. Come with me."

Merlin shot Morgana a look and they both hurried away after the physician, despite Morgana's lack of an invitation. As expected, they were led to the king's chambers where the door stood open, guards outside. Arthur and yet more guards were inside, but only the prince sat on the bed beside the king. Uther lay there, his eyes shut and mouth closed. If Merlin hadn't known better, he would have thought the king simply to be sleeping.

"What's the matter?" Gaius asked, rushing over to Arthur's side. Merlin followed, worry creasing his forehead.

Morgana gave a very convincing gasp and froze halfway across the floor. "Is he...? Oh gods."

"Sire, could you move?" Gaius asked, and Arthur slid off the bed and stepped back.

Merlin joined the physician at the king's bedside, and Morgana moved up to stand beside Arthur. The prince chewed nervously at his fingernails, his eyes worried.

Gaius bent over the king and Merlin folded the blankets back to allow easier access to the king's body. Two fingers were pressed against the king's throat, then the inside of his wrist. Merlin watched anxiously, hoping that the king had died as planned. Despite his assurances to Morgana, the warlock was still anxious that he would fail somehow.

He snapped back to the present when Gaius sat back and stood up. Arthur reached for his father, but Morgana grabbed his arm and held it against her, effectively preventing him from moving. Seeming unwilling to yank away from her, the prince froze.

"Gaius?" he asked, panic rising in his voice. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm afraid... he's dead." Gaius's voice was soft.

"Can't you do something?" Arthur asked frantically.

"No. Judging by the temperature of his body, he's been dead for about six or seven hours."

"How did he die? Was he poisoned? Stabbed? Was it natural?"

"I don't know," Gaius said.

Arthur's voice went hard. "I need you to determine how he died."

The physician bowed. "As you wish, sire. But you are king now."

The prince froze. "I guess I am. Right now I need to focus on finding out what happened to my father."

"Sire, it could well have been natural. Your father was a hardworking man with a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. It may simply be that the stress got to him."

Morgana loosened her hold on Arthur's arm, and he looked around. "Who was the last person to see him last night?"

Merlin knew that lying would do him no good, and it would soon be discovered that he had been the one to deliver Uther's medicine. Besides, all the tests he had run proved that if Gaius tested the contents of the vial, there would be no trace of the poison left to find.

"I was, I believe," he said, stepping forward.

"Why?" Arthur asked, his eyes as hard as his voice. "What possible reason could you have for being in my father's chambers?"

"I was delivering his medicine," Merlin explained. "He seemed fine then."

Arthur looked to one side, like he was trying to think something over. "I don't want to have to do this. You're my friend and I don't believe you would kill my father, but until his cause of death is confirmed, you will be kept in the dungeons."

Morgana's eyes widened and she moved between Arthur and Merlin, as though to protect the warlock. "What is this nonsense, Arthur? Merlin has done nothing wrong, and he cannot be punished for a crime he did not commit."

Merlin put a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her tensing up, adrenaline coursing through her veins at the thought of losing him. "Morgana. I am innocent, and the evidence will prove that. The bottle that the medicine was in is there, on his bedside table. Do whatever you want with it."

Arthur nodded to Gaius, and the old man picked up the glass vial, sliding it carefully into his bag. "Very well. Guards, take him away."

Morgana was pushed gently aside by the two knights, who shot Merlin apologetic looks before taking hold of his elbows and leading him away. They took him to the dungeons, where he had been barely two weeks before. They did not know that though, he reminded himself.

The cell he was put in was nicer than those he had seen before. This one had fresh straw on the floor, a relatively large window, and a clean mattress on a little frame. He was let in and the guards apologized to him as they locked the door. He knew many of them, though none well, just by sight.

The door clanged shut and he settled himself on the cot. He did not expect his incarceration was going to last too long.

####

Morgana sat on the bench across from where Gaius stood. Arthur had made it a priority that the bottle be tested for poison and the king's cause of death confirmed. The prince clearly did not want Merlin to be responsible for the death of the king, but he would rule out no possibility.

The physician shot Morgana a look. "My lady, this will take a while, possibly hours. I'm not sure that this is the most constructive use of your time."

She twisted her lips and played with a lock of her hair. "I'm just worried about Merlin. I'm certain that he has done nothing wrong, but still..." she trailed off, playing the part of concerned friend well. In truth she had complete faith in Merlin's abilities and the fact that he would get off.

"I don't think he poisoned the king, but I will certainly do my job," Gaius said for the sake of conversation. Morgana merely nodded. They sat in silence for another minute or two.

A knock on the door startled them out of their quiet, and a knight poked his head in. "Lady Morgana, Prince Arthur would like to see you in his chambers."

Morgana nodded and followed him from the room, offering no goodbye to Gaius as she left. Arthur stood in the window of his chambers, avoiding looking at the piles of papers on his desk. When Morgana arrived, she waited for a moment for him to recognize her, then cleared her throat softly. He turned, looking more careworn and haggard than she had ever seen anyone look, even Uther.

"My lady," he said, stepping towards her. "I wished to speak with you."

She nodded cooly, wondering if his appearance was a side effect of the poison Merlin had administered to him. "Yes, sire."

"I wanted to apologize for what is happening with Merlin. I like him and do not believe that he would kill my father, but I cannot rule anything out yet."

Despite the fact that Morgana in fact didn't care for the prince's emotions, she smiled gently and moved closer to put her hand on his arm. "It's okay. I understand your need to know the truth about your father's death. It's far more likely that he died of stress than of poison."

"My father has lots of enemies, Morgana. Enemies who would kill him in a heartbeat."

She sighed. "I can't imagine why. He was very kind to Merlin and I, taking us in like that when we had no place else to go." She went to pull her hand away, but was startled when something warm covered it.

Arthur wrapped his strong fingers around hers and looked at her intently. After a moment, she removed her eyes from their hands and looked up into his piercing blue ones. He let out a long, slow breath. The witch had entirely no idea how to respond, so rather than potentially offending the prince, stayed still. Their proximity was mildly disgusting to her, but she focused instead on keeping herself under strict control.

"Sire," she said. "I am very sorry for your loss and wish to help in whatever way I can."

"Thank you," he replied, but his grip on her hand didn't lessen.

Finally, she tugged gently at her fingers and he released them. She backed away, saying, "I should return to my chambers. It has been a long day."

He nodded. "Goodnight Morgana."

"Goodnight, sire." With that, she turned and fled the room, shutting the door to her own chambers with a hollow thud. What had that been about? And that look, in his eyes. It was revolting and sappy and looked too much like affection. She shuddered. In two days he would be dead, and she would be free of him.

The next chapter will be up within a week. I make no promises on the day, but by the time I publish chapter 8 I will have come up with a schedule for myself and will attempt to keep to that. Please review and tell me what you think!