A/N: A whole chapter of pure Mergana. How much do you love me? Go on. Tell me how much you love me! Also let me know if I've butchered any respective characters. It's quite hard to judge when you're literally writing AU.


Queen's Gambit

::

Chapter Six

The Captors and Captives I

::

"So, my father was Welsh and my mother was English," Merlin said, "But he left when I was very young, I can barely even remember him. Gaius knew my father from years ago, so he offered to help me when I was older, if I ever wanted it. I grew up, made some horrible choices and when I turned sixteen, Gaius gave me an apprenticeship with his workshop. Once I realised that I could build something and design it and breathe life into it, I knew that's what I wanted to do. I went to university and the rest is history."

Morgana nodded, her eyes half lidded from the wine she'd been drinking. Merlin was affected too and they'd both shifted subconsciously towards each other with Morgana's hand resting lightly on Merlin's arm. She said, "That must have been hard, growing up without your father."

Merlin felt a thrill go through his body as Morgana's hand slid down his arm and rested playfully on his hand. Her fingers dancing across his wrist and over the back of his hand was more arousing than socially acceptable. He suppressed a shudder as both their knees touched.

"Tell me about your family," Merlin murmured, remembering briefly from Gwaine's presentation. Morgana's father had died when she was ten and after her mother disappeared, Uther had adopted her into his family. It still seemed a little odd though and if Merlin knew Uther, then there was something shady that tyrant was covering up.

"We lived in Ireland originally," Morgana said quietly, "My father was an accountant and when he got offered a job here, he grabbed it up, and we moved immediately. I hated it, fought every step of the way. It was horrible, such a culture shock. And everything was okay, for a couple of months, before my father's accident. His car crashed, it was an accident, he lost control of the wheel. My mother couldn't handle it, she..." she sucked in a sharp breath.

Merlin slid an arm around her back, "You don't have to talk about it."

"She left," Morgana finished, her voice strengthening, "I had no one... except for Uther. He took me in. If it wasn't for him and Arthur, I don't know what would have happened to me. Gaius has been such a big part of my life as well. He's always been there for me, making me feel... normal."

"I'm sure your father would be very proud of you," Merlin whispered, "And your mother, wherever she is."

"I'm not so sure about that," Morgana forced a smile onto her face. Then she said, "You'll have to show me your designs one day, I'd love to drop by Gaius' workshop, I've never been."

Merlin's eyes brightened at Morgana's suggestion of a second date, "I'd love that. You should come by this week, I'm taking over for Gaius while he rests."

Her fingers slid idly under his sleeve as she bite her lip. He suppressed a moan at her touch and leaned in towards her a little more until their faces were inches apart. They enjoyed the comfort of each other, the closeness, the warmth, the thrill. Morgana looked at him, like she could see right through him. He didn't like the fact that he felt so open in front of her, bared. It made him feel vulnerable and he wondered if she felt the same way.

"Let me take you somewhere," Morgana blurted out, "I wanna show you something."

Merlin's eyebrows perked, his smile warm, "Lead the—"

"Morgana?" a dangerously low voice full of experience and age suddenly interrupted him. Uther stepped into their view; Catrina Tregor on his arm. Uther was wearing a black tuxedo with a white bow-tie and Catrina was dressed in a silver gown with diamond encrusted jewels. Her dirty blonde hair was pinned up classically.

"Uther," Morgana pulled back from Merlin, flustered, "Arthur said you weren't coming here tonight."

Uther's eyes glanced from his adoptive daughter to Merlin. He cocked his eyebrow and said, "Arthur gets many things wrong. I'm Uther," he extended his hand out to Merlin, "You are?"

"Merlin," Merlin forced himself to swallow down the bile in his throat and reach out to shake Uther's hand.

"Merlin's my date," Morgana composed herself suddenly, glancing indifferently to Catrina. Morgana had never been a fan of Uther's friends in the past, but Catrina was consistently the most unpleasant person her adoptive father had chosen to spend time with. She added, "I see you've brought your own date."

Uther forced a smile on his face but his discomfort was evident. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name?" he said to Merlin, his eyebrows furrowing.

Morgana stood up, grabbing Merlin's hand before he could reply. She said quickly, "I'm sorry we can't stay and chat, but Merlin was just telling me what an amazing dancer he is."

"Morgana," Uther's voice dripped with disdain.

Morgana glanced briefly into the sky, before turning to Merlin and saying, "I'll meet you in there, okay?" she watched him slip through the balcony doors and back into the hall. She spun around to face Uther and Catrina, "I'm not interested in whatever you have to say," she said bluntly.

"That's no way to speak to me," Uther said, his tone annoyed. "Who is this Merlin? Is it serious?"

"I just met him," Morgana replied honestly, "But it could be, maybe."

"He looks a little... uncultured," Catrina said judgmentally, her smile false.

"He doesn't need to be cultured," Morgana snapped angrily, "I like him just the way he is."

"If you've just met him, then how much of him do you really know?" Uther questioned, "I've brought Valiant here tonight, I was hoping you would consider a date with him. You know how charming he is. And very well mannered too."

Morgana tried to stop from seething, "Valiant? I'm on a date right now. Why can't you just accept my life choices? Why must you always think you can do better?"

Uther rolled his eyes, "Stop acting so melodramatic, Morgana. I'm only looking out for you—"

"Well, you can stop," she cut him off, "Unless you want me to start giving you my romantic advice? Because if that's the deal then I suppose I have some things to say about your lovely date as well."

"Morgana," Uther warned her, his voice sharp. Catrina glared at the younger woman.

Morgana tilted her head at Catrina and said, "Silver's not your colour," she turned around and stormed back into the hall, slamming the balcony door shut behind her. Merlin was staring at one of the paintings on the wall by the time Morgana found him through the classical ballroom dancing and harp style music.

"Let's go," she took his arm suddenly.

Merlin glanced at her, his eyes narrowed, "Go?" he questioned, "Leave? But what about the Gala and your father—"

"My adoptive father," Morgana corrected him, "And I don't care. Come on, let's just go. I said I had something to show you, didn't I?"

Merlin knew he should have found Gwen and told her face to face that he was leaving but Morgana already had her fingers intertwined with his, yanking him towards the elevators. He settled for a simple text message instead. He hoped she wouldn't be too upset with him, but from the look of it on the dance floor, she and Arthur Pendragon seemed to be having... well... a ball.

"What did Uther say to upset you?" Merlin asked her when they had made it out onto the streets of London, trying to hail a cab.

"Nothing," Morgana avoided his gaze, biting her lip. Then she glanced up at him and a genuine smile graced her lips. He couldn't help but smile back. She was so beautiful and so unique and so different to any girl he'd ever dated before.

"It's nothing that matters," she added, clarifying quickly.

Merlin guessed the gist of Uther's conversation with her but he didn't press the situation any further. To change the subject, he asked, "Where are we going?" a night time adventure with Morgana le Fay wasn't something that bothered him, but he hated being caught out. He hated not being prepared for something, no matter what it was.

"It's a surprise," Morgana grinned at him, her smile hiding a million secrets. Her warmth had infected him slightly and he found—for once in his life—that he didn't care what was coming or what unknown lay ahead.

::


"Aren't they beautiful?" Morgana whispered, piercing the silent air around them. She glanced over to Merlin and found him completely engrossed in the sight before them. She'd taken off her heels and realised that she was quite short compared to him, her head barely reaching his shoulder.

"They are something," Merlin felt something catch in the back of his throat. It was rare that he was moved by something other than art these days. He continued to watch the movements of the dolphins in the water before him, only a sheet of glass separating them. Somehow, Morgana had managed to pull some strings with the security guard to let them in the aquarium after closing hours.

"This is where I come, whenever I feel lost or alone or... just having one of those days," Morgana confessed quietly. "It's like my little safe haven."

Merlin swallowed, realising how lonely and sad her reflection looked in the glass. Another layer of guilt started to settle in his gut. He didn't want to use her, but he didn't want to stop knowing her now either.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Morgana asked him, her eyes lighting up a little.

Merlin nodded, surprised once again by how surprisingly vulnerable she could be.

"See that dolphin?" Morgana pointed through the glass at a particular dolphin that had a nasty scar running down the front of it's nose, "That's Aithusa. I rescued her from Japan, in a little town called Taiji. Every year, the fishermen of Taiji have a drive hunt on Dolphins. When I was over there a few years ago with Uther on a business trip, we stumbled upon it on our sight seeing, purely by accident. Even Uther was shaken. I saw them, trying to kill her and I couldn't just let it happen. Something weird happened, when Uther saw how distressed I was, he paid for the fishermen to let her go."

Merlin stared through the glass, his eyebrows furrowed.

"But I knew the chance of other fishermen catching her if she was released back into the Taiji waters," Morgana continued sadly, "So they put her in a cage and kept her underwater until Uther could arrange for her transportation to London. It wasn't easy, but Uther was... So determined. It's the only time I've ever seen him act like he has a heart. I'm just sad we couldn't save all the dolphins."

"That must have been horrible," Merlin looked down, his expression unreadable.

"It was," Morgana blinked, "You don't ever imagine there being that amount of violence in the world until you're confronted with it. The water had turned pure red with the colour of their blood. It was horrifying," she swallowed the lump in her throat, her mind dragging her backwards into it's darkest corners.

She shivered, remembering her nightmare again. She was a little girl: so young, so tired, so innocent. And there was so much red, so much red, so much red, so much red.

"Are you okay?" Merlin placed his hand on her back, bringing her back to their current conversation.

"I'm fine," Morgana nodded a little too much, trying to convince herself more than Merlin. "I'm just cold."

Merlin shrugged his navy blue suit jacket from his arms and placed it on Morgana's shoulders. She beamed at him, goosebumps spreading throughout her arms at his warmth and rich scent. She couldn't help but laugh at such a clichéd move.

She asked, "Are you such a gentleman with all your girl friends?"

Merlin smirked, "Only the ones I like."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Morgana bit her lip.

"Take it however you want it," he glanced at her, wondering how soon he was going to fall for her. He could already feel it happening.

Morgana blushed, absent-mindedly checking her watch, "Shoot. It's late, I should probably... head back. I'm the Manager and I've got so much to do tomorrow."

"I completely understand," Merlin said softly, glancing back to the dolphins one last time.

"I know it's wrong to keep them in captivity," Morgana whispered, her attention also drawn to the dolphins, "But sometimes captivity is safer than the real world, you know?" she placed her spread out palm against the glass, "They wouldn't be able to survive in the wild anyway. Not anymore."

The one Morgana had called Aithusa—with the nasty scar—had swam away from it's pod over to Morgana. The dolphin pressed her nose against the glass right where Morgana's hand was, on the other side. Merlin felt a burst of joy spread throughout his body at the sight of such purity.

"She always knows when I'm here," Morgana told Merlin with her own childish smile. They both watched Aithusa swim back to her pod and turned to each other.

"I'll escort you home," Merlin said suddenly.

"I would like that," Morgana said softly.

As they left the aquarium behind, Merlin knew that there and then, Morgana had already captured him.

::


"Are you sure Uther isn't going to have security escort me out of the building?" Merlin asked jokingly as he followed Morgana into her en suite apartment. He thought he was going to bid her goodbye at the entrance of Camelot, but when she'd insisted that he come up to her apartment for coffee, he couldn't find it in himself to say no.

"Definitely not," Morgana closed the front door behind him, "Uther doesn't stay here, he's got a penthouse apartment across the city. Arthur and I haven't lived there since we left for the residency halls at university. After that... I never wanted to go back to living under someone's wing, so I moved in here. Arthur's in the apartment below this one."

"You two seem close," Merlin said casually, "You and Arthur, I mean. You and Uther... seem... not so close."

"Just about summed up my entire teenage years," Morgana laughed, "Arthur and I may not be blood related but he's my brother, has been ever since I moved here. Uther's just... He's just my guardian. He's not even really a father figure. Gaius is really the only parental figure I've had since my parents."

Merlin glanced around her apartment as they walked into the living room, "Uther looked like he was going to cut my head off earlier," he mused suddenly, "He really doesn't like anyone outside of his... circle, does he?"

Morgana threw him a wayward look, "Merlin, do you really care what Uther thinks of you?"

He shook his head.

"Good," she smiled, "Because I don't care either. I'm thankful to Uther for taking me in, but that's it. That's where it stops."

"You're really strong," Merlin commented as his eyes caught sight of a framed picture of Morgana and Arthur as children, "To survive without your father... and your mother at such a young age."

"The ground never stops shifting," Morgana agreed, "You just have to make sure you have something to hold onto so you don't fall," she glanced around, suddenly wishing she'd cleaned her apartment beforehand. She looked at him, "Do you want some coffee?"

"Let me," Merlin offered, walking out of the living room and towards the kitchen.

Morgana smiled to herself as she watched him go. She couldn't calm her beating heart or qualm the butterflies she felt in her stomach. Her cheeks were flushed and her palms sweaty. This never happened to her and instead of hating the lack of control on a situation, she realised that she welcomed this new found flood of emotions.

Is this what she had been missing her entire life? Is this what Jane Austen wrote about? Was this feeling why Romeo and Juliet had killed themselves? Was this why Paris declared war by rescuing Helen of Troy? If they felt a minuscule of what she felt, then she finally understood the hype over falling for someone, over having a connection that mattered.

Merlin walked back into the living room, carrying two cups; one coffee and one tea. He handed Morgana the cup of coffee and took a seat next to her on her expensive black leather couch.

"So, what do you do in your spare time when you're not rescuing dolphins or managing a hotel?" Merlin asked suddenly.

"I'm on the executive board of Save a Star Foundation for young orphaned children. We organise events, raise funds, sponsor the children, make sure the system finds them a good home. It's really just a way for the children to feel less... alone," she replied, "It hits close to home."

Merlin swallowed down his scalding tea. The guilt threatened to consume him. Morgana was possibly the nicest person he had ever met, and here he was, plotting to get inside her head, inside her apartment, inside the very thing she worked for: Pendragon Industries.

"Am I boring you?" Morgana noticed his expression, smirking.

"God no," Merlin almost cried, "I'm just thinking about all the many, many, many charities I'm on the executive board for!"

Morgana burst into laughter, "I know I sound like one of those rich pretentious people!"

"No," Merlin shook his head, "No, absolutely not. Where do you find the time to do all those good deeds?"

"I really don't have much of a social life," Morgana confessed, "I have Arthur, he's my best friend but... I don't have many girlfriends and all of my guy friends are my exes, and they're either in jail, or dead, or not allowed near me because of the restraining order. I have a very complicated life."

Merlin licked his lips, the corners of his mouth turned upwards, "I'm quite sure you do. So this restraining order... Anything to worry about?"

"Probably not," Morgana shrugged casually, "It was a while ago, we all do stupid things when we're teenagers, right?"

"Yeah," Merlin agreed too eagerly, remembering his awful years before he met Gaius, when he made terrible choices and conned people out of money.

"What about you?" Morgana asked suddenly, "What mistakes did you make?"

Merlin hesitated, his brows creased. He shrugged, suddenly rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, "You know, just those usual teenage mistakes."

Morgana put down her cup of coffee and looked at him. Not one of those passing glances that the mildly curious bestow upon the object of their affection. No, she really looked at him. The curve of his jaw, the sparkle in his eyes, the angle of his cheekbones, the slope of his back, the line of his arms. All the way through, she looked at him.

"What?" Merlin ruffled his black hair nervously, "You're staring. Do I have something on my face?"

"Would you like to?" she replied. He never saw it coming, never saw the meaning of her smirk or the appraisal of her eyes. She darted forwards and pressed her lips to his, her hand curling around the back of his neck. He was barely able to put down his cup of tea before he spilled it over himself. Something stirred in the pit of Morgana's gut; something that had been sleeping, something dormant, until her lips had collided with Merlin's. Morgana's fingers curled under his hair at the bottom of his neck as his lips parted against hers.

His tongue slipped inside and just at the touch of hers, the tight coil inside him burst free—something Morgana suspected he hadn't done in a long time—and he began to ravish her mouth like her lips were candy coated and addictive. Merlin's hands slid down the navy silk of her dress, caressing her waist and pressing her to his chest. She responded immediately, bringing her hands to rest on both sides of his neck. Their lips continued to move passionately, neither one slowing down for breath or rest; just lost in their moment.

It probably would have gone further, had someone not interrupted them at that very moment.