"Are you sure it's safe in here, Merlin?" Morgana asks, closing the door to Merlin's room behind her.
"To practice magic? Of course. I've learned a lot in this room." Merlin replies, as he kneels next to the bed and pries up a loose floorboard, revealing a veritable trove of forbidden artefacts. Kneeling next to him, Morgana peers into the nook, fascinated.
"This," starts Merlin, his hand grasping a large, leather-bound tome, and interrupting the exploration of Morgana's eyes, "is what we shall be learning from." he finishes, though the act of pulling the book out shifts a fold of cloth, revealing a faint blue glow.
Morgana's eyes immediately shift to the glow. Knowing that Morgana's tenacity wouldn't allow him to divert her attention, Merlin simply sighs, puts the book aside and pulls out a long, wrapped bundle. Unwrapping the cloth reveals a wooden staff, one end of which a large blue orb was entangled with tendrils of the wood, almost as if it had grown around the glowing gem.
"This is a Sidhe staff. You remember Aulfric, and his daughter Sophia?" Morgana nods. "They were Sidhe, and this was Sophia's. I picked this up after Sophia discarded hers, and managed to stop them both with it before they drowned Arthur." Seeing the question in Morgana's eyes before she could voice it, Merlin answers. "Yes, your dream was true. In fact, without it I may not have been able to save him."
Not yet ready to discuss her dreams yet, Morgana swallows and asks,
"When else have you used it?" The conversation had led exactly where Merlin hadn't wanted it to go, but knew it would as soon as Morgana spotted the staff. Taking a deep breath, he readies himself for what is sure to be an uncomfortable conversation.
"I've only used it one other time. Tauren." Confused, Morgana tried to place Merlin in the events around Tom the blacksmith's, Gwen's father, execution. Once again answering an unspoken question, Merlin asks,
"Did you not wonder why Tauren did not attack Uther with more sorcerers?" Merlin's flat tone spoke more to Morgana than his words, clearly telling her that he knew exactly her role in the attempt on Uther's life.
"Oh." was all that she could say.
Author's Note:
apologise for my lack of an update the past couple of days. Be assured that I had my reasons.
On to reviews! Where possible, I will PM you with my reply.
Guest: Once again, thank you. I myself do like pieces where Merlin is teaching Morgana, but I will likely only have this one chapter about it specifically. I just wanted a way for Merlin to tell Morgana that he knew just what she was capable of.
Meri Ley: Thank you! It's always good to go back over what is established every now and then. You never know what little ideas will jump into your skull and never leave until you've scrawled them all over a dozen sheets of paper.
