Morgana wakes from a dreamless sleep. She remembers the evening before and smiles ever so slightly at how she went past Merlin's boundaries in her panicked state. His warm embrace had calmed her immensely. Just his presence can either calm or infuriate her. It's so strange. She was very touched by his words yesterday but the idea that he cares so much more about others than himself still makes her frown. She wonders that if given the chance, would he give his life for another? She had seen him ready to do that for Arthur and Gwen and he had let himself be beaten countless times just to keep her secret safe. After all that she doesn't doubt that he would give his life for Camelot. He might even do so for Uther, maybe he has already been given the opportunity and was ready to take it! She knows that she would probably never do so for most people and certainly not Uther. There was a chance she'd do so for Arthur, more for Gwen but the only person she would sacrifice herself for is Merlin. She hadn't really forgiven him for betraying her but she knew he did what he had to do. She certainly didn't understand why he did it nor does she understand anything else he does or says. He deserves so much more. She finds that the only way she could ever get anywhere close to as good a person he is would be to give her life up. The very least she can do is help the people of Camelot and not attempt to overthrow Uther. That is really all she feels Merlin wants her to do. Try it she must even though it will be very hard if Uther sentences more people who practice magic to death.

Merlin sits up in bed, the embrace from yesterday evening still fresh in his mind. It had felt quite nice and even though he was comforting her it felt good for him too. She had calmed him a lot and he had realized something. She was a person he would give up his life for. He had already tried to kill her once and the immense panic and betrayal in her eyes haunted him everyday. He would do everything in his power to not let that expression appear on her face and do everything to protect her. That thought scared him slightly too.

He gets out of bed to wake Arthur. He doesn't have too much to do because Arthur is going to train with the knights and doesn't need him. Gaius will also brew the potions himself today. So all he really needs to do is deliver those potions. He might as well make himself useful down in the kitchens; maybe with heavy lifting or something like that.

"Merlin, you were speaking with them last evening, were you not? How are the new knights?" Arthur asks.

"At the moment they're getting along quite well with the older knights especially over a goblet of wine. " He fastens Arthur's armour.

"More a jug. I may need to speak with them about that. Or at least how they act when they have drunk too much." Merlin nods and when he's done he goes down to the kitchens. Many of the maids there greet him with bright smiles.

"What can I do to help?" He asks one, Mary is her name.

"You could fetch some water with me." She says and he grabs two jugs and they walk down the hall together.

"Did you have a lot of work yesterday?" He asks.

"Oh yes, there were even a few tears from some of us because of the workload."

"I hope that you'll be able to rest a bit now." He smiles at her.

"I hope so too." She returns it. They fill the jugs with water and start returning to the kitchens.

Morgana and Gwen walk down the hallway just doing a round of the castle because sometimes there are a few quarrels in the staff sometimes. She usually tries to sort things out when that happens. She has an easy smile on her face when she sees Merlin. It falters slightly when she sees him put one water jug under his arm and take another from a kitchen maid. She's quite pretty and smiling adoringly up at him and he returns it with a polite one. The next thing the girl does makes her smile disappear completely. She stands on her toes and pecks his cheek. Merlin's eyes widen and then they meet hers.

Merlin's eyes meet Morgana's and he smiles automatically at Gwen and her. He then notices that Morgana has a hint of anger in her eyes. He feels a bit scared when he sees her put an awfully bright smile on with that same look still in her eyes.

Morgana almost smirks when Merlin's eyes widen even more when they meet hers.

"M-milady, Gwen." He nods at the both of them.

"Merlin." They nod back. When they pass him Gwen is holding back giggles.

"He looked absolutely terrified just now." She says.

"He was meant to." Morgana nods.

Merlin puts the water jugs on the counter before excusing himself from the kitchens. He thinks about Morgana's look, it had come out of nowhere. Was she angry with him about something he did? Had she somehow found out about the rat stew he had made Arthur during the curse from the unicorn guardian? She had come into the chambers asking if they had any food and then they had given her the stew. Had Arthur accidentally told her? Or did she find out from Gwen that on one of his first days he was there; he had walked in and she had mistaken him for Gwen and started changing? He had done a few things that were quite harmless but could result in a look like that. Should he do something to win a smile from her? Just something to maybe make her in better spirits when he delivers her sleeping draught tonight. An idea hits him and a smile spreads across his face.

"I shouldn't think too much of it, should I?" Morgana asks Gwen.

"You shouldn't milady. He looked more shocked, and then terrified of course." She giggles, "What sort of look did you have?"

"I'm not entirely sure…must have been quite the look."

"Indeed." Gwen starts making her bed. Morgana goes to the window to see a familiar figure walking out of Camelot.

"The very person we were talking about might be fleeing Camelot?" She laughs.

"Really?" Gwen grins.

About two hours pass when Morgana hears someone knock on the door. Gwen opens it and bends down to pick something up. It's a bouquet of light purple flowers.

"For you." Gwen hands them to her.

"They're beautiful, any ideas who they're from?" She asks.

"Sir Edward, maybe?" She suggests.

"No, I don't think so." Morgana smells the flowers. It's a very distinctive one. It also calms her down.

Merlin is back in the kitchens in one corner cleaning a few dishes. It's quite amazing how boring not working can be. He's really not used to it, which is a big difference to when he was in Ealdor and had almost no work. He returns to Gaius who gives him a large bag of potions.

"To make up for your uneventful day and don't trip this time!" He says.

"I'll try not to." He laughs. He walks slowly around the castle taking his time. He comes to the aggressive knight's door and puts the potion on the floor and knocks before running off. That was what the knight told him to do in order to avoid getting hit. When he gets to Morgana's door he feels a bit of dread course through him as he knocks.

"One moment." Gwen calls and Merlin is relieved. She might keep Morgana from hitting him, hopefully. The door opens revealing a smiling Gwen.

"Come in." He hears Morgana say.

"I really shouldn't, I'm only delivering potions." He starts but then Morgana comes into the room with a bit of a stern look. He goes in without another word.

"You smell like flowers, Merlin." Gwen exchanges a look with Morgana. He looks at her desk to see the flowers he had dropped off at her door. Gwen probably did tell her about that one incident, he thinks.

"Did you give those flowers to me?" Morgana cocks her hair to the side.

"Um…"He looks at his feet, "What makes you think that?" He asks.

"Well you do smell like them and you have some dirt on both your face and trousers." She replies.

"Alright I did but did you like them?" He asks.

"I did, thank you." She says, "Was there a reason?" The tone she's using means that if he lies he'll fly into a wall. Regardless of whether or not Gwen is there.

"I thought that the Lady was angry at me." He mutters. Gwen and Morgana exchange a small smile.

"Why would that be?" Gwen asks.

"I had a few theories. Maybe you found out about—never mind." He feels his ears and face getting very hot.

"Found out about what?" Morgana frowns.

"Do you perhaps remember the time when there was a curse on Camelot and we had almost no food?"

"Yes, and I got food from Arthur." Her eyes narrow.

"Well there was something bothering Arthur at the time. So I found out what it was; a rat." He's silent for a moment and Morgana thinks about it.

"A rat." She repeats and then it hits her, "You had me eat rat?!" She shouts. Merlin winces and his knee shakes. She calms herself down a bit and then sees how Merlin and Gwen are looking at each other oddly. Gwen questioningly and also mocking and Merlin pleading, "What else is there, Gwen?"
"Sorry Merlin." She mutters, "On the second day Merlin was here, he may have walked in and you mistook him for me. It might have been the day the witch disguised as Lady Helen came. I'm not sure." Morgana lets out a frustrated sigh.

"My Lady, I am so very sorry for both occasions but if you didn't know about either before today, then what were you angry about today?" He asks looking at his feet.

"I doubt it matters anymore, you may go." She says. Merlin shoves the sleeping draught into Gwen's hand.

"Goodnight My Lady, Gwen." He rushes out. The girls watch him go and laugh when he trips but catches himself.

"Well I found out a lot but that boy really is clueless isn't he?" She asks.

"He is, am I excused My Lady?" Gwen asks.

"Goodnight Gwen." Morgana smiles. When she leaves Morgana lies down on her bed both amused and embarrassed about everything that's happened. She might one day tell Merlin why she was angry but for now she'll enjoy how much fun it was teasing the servant.

Merlin wakes still confused about yesterday. If it wasn't for the rat stew and him walking in on her, then why was she so angry with him? Then there was the matter of trying to calm her down. He had gotten many different flowers while in the field and he had a spell that can bring flowers back to life. This means that if any of them die he can just bring them back to life. He's slightly worried for when he'll deliver her draught today. One of the reasons (like always) he didn't look at her was because he always starts to stare. Especially when she's angry and her eyes are even more piercing he can't look away. He also sees the magic crackling in her eyes and that's one of the reasons why he's slightly scared of her. Well, not slightly, very scared. He knows she gets really irritated when he reminds her of his status or does anything remotely selfless. Other times she values it and that's what confuses him. He's not sure if she'll explode at him or smile.

Today Gwen and Morgana are in the town to get some new dresses. She wants more blue and purple dresses. She might also need some more reading material but that she can get in the library. The town's people are in relatively good spirits and are rushing around cleaning everything because two nobles are paying them a visit today: the king's ward and the crown prince. Gwen and her go into the dress shop and are greeted warmly by the woman at the counter. She's just buying another dark blue dress and a blue and purple one to replace the one she lost when two girls come in giggling.

"You know what I love about Prince Arthur's visits?" One whispers giggling.

"His charm and that of the other knights?" The other guesses.

"That too but I also love his manservant. Was his name Merlin? I think it was. He's so kind and caring. Mary is very taken with him and he helped her yesterday when getting water. My my, his smile is so gorgeous!" The first sighs.

"His eyes are too. They're such a deep blue." They giggle. Morgana thanks the lady before leaving with a very forced smile. This is so strange; she had never been the jealous type but she's discovering that when it comes to Merlin it's much harder to keep her emotions in check. She's really annoyed at how oblivious he is about these things. How so many girls fall at his feet when he smiles at them. How his readiness to help could be mistaken by some. How he has no idea about her emotional struggle. The list could go on and on about how annoying that servant is.

"Milady?" Gwen asks hesitantly raising an eyebrow. Her emotional struggle must be very obvious to her. She takes a deep breath before putting on a bright smile.

Merlin follows Arthur down the streets of the town. He sees several girls smiling at him so he merely returns them. He also hears a few complimenting his eyes and smile. He flushes at those comments because he's really not used to this sort of attention. He looks down at the ground.

"Morgana, Guinevere! It's nice to see you, are you going back to the castle?" Arthur asks. Merlin's head snaps up and he stops walking. Morgana is wearing a dark blue cloak over a green dress.

"We are." She nods.

"Merlin will escort you back. His work with me is finished for now. Just come to my chambers later." He says and Merlin nods.

"I'll take these off you." He says to Gwen looking at the dresses she's carrying.

"Thank you Merlin." She smiles at him when he takes them. The walk back is silent. Merlin is anticipating another thing like yesterday but it doesn't come.

"How have you been?" He addresses the both of them.

"Fine." They say. Morgana's voice seems somewhat strained. They're in the hall now.

"I'm sorry but I need to get to the kitchens." He gives Gwen the dresses.

Morgana tenses, no doubt that kitchen maid wants to see him again.

"Why?" Gwen asks.

"Cleaning the silverware. Arthur also suggested I do that." He replies before bowing his head. He glances to see that same anger in her eyes but it's less than yesterday.

"Do you think Merlin knows the kitchen maid is very taken with him?" Morgana asks when she and Gwen are in her chambers.

"Honestly I don't. He may be clever but when it comes to girls he has no idea what they think." Gwen says.

"What else has not been told to me? Yesterday I saw just how much happens that I don't know about." She frowns.

"Most I don't know either but there is something I have been meaning to tell you." Gwen looks down at the floor. Considering how Morgana feels about Merlin she should tell. She herself doesn't have those feelings for him any more, "This was when Merlin was poisoned."

The memory of Merlin falling to the ground and the goblet clattering to the floor fills her mind. She hadn't let it show at the time but that was when she started seeing the servant of Arthur in a different light. It had been the determination in his eyes that had Morgana rethinking the mentality of nobles being better.

"When Arthur had brought the cure and Merlin woke up. I had been so relieved that I kissed him." She says.

"You what?" Her mouth falls open.

"It was only because I had thought he'd died and I swear that I don't have feelings for him anymore." Gwen says and Morgana nods. She does believe her but she still feels immense jealousy because now two girls who have kissed that boy either on the cheek or the lips. She may like that boy a bit too much than she should and he makes her lose face even when he's not in the room.

Every now and then Mary visits Merlin while he's cleaning the silverware. She makes small talk, maybe to pass the time. She asks his favourite colour (either red or green) and tells him hers is blue. Upon that she says that his eyes are her favourite shade of blue. He had thanked her and now she's just standing near him watching. She has a strange look in her eyes but he brushes it off going back to his work.

Gwen looks into the kitchen looking for Merlin. For Morgana's sake she was checking to see if that girl was still hanging around him. Morgana had actually handled the news of Gwen kissing Merlin quite well. She understands how it feels if the person you like is being constantly approached by girls of the same status. She shakes her head, no need to think about that right now. She looks around the corner to see Merlin and that girl. He's cleaning the silver and she's slowly moving closer to him.

"Merlin! You're still cleaning silver, aren't your arms tired?" She asks. He looks up at her and smiles. Then he glances at Mary and he steps away from her.

"They are tired but I'm on the last few dishes. What are you doing here?"

"Just popping in. Morgana usually tells me to check in to see if anything is getting out of hand." Like Mary's affections for you, she thinks finally remembering the girl's name. She's actually disappeared now.

"That's nice of her." Merlin smiles.

"That girl Mary, do you have feelings for her?"

"What? I only see her as a friend and I think she does too, why?" She sighs at how daft he is.

"She's flirting with you Merlin. Be careful, she might mistake your kindness for flirting back."

"I myself don't notice these things at all. I really hope I haven't led her on." He scratches his head.

"Well I'll be off. " She goes to Morgana's chambers, "The girl's name is Mary and she was flirting quite a lot with him but he was oblivious to it." Morgana nods.

"How can a boy be so stupid?" She laughs.

"I'm not sure My Lady, it might be one of his many talents."

"Come in." Morgana says and Merlin opens the door.

"Your sleeping draught My Lady." He puts it on her nightstand.

"Thank you Merlin." She smiles at him and is pleased when he returns it. He tends to the fire before walking towards the door.

"Goodnight My Lady." He leaves the room. She sighs. He has no problem being close to her when she needs comforting but any other time he can barely be in the same room as her without being extremely nervous. She drinks the draught and then closes her eyes.

It's a relatively uneventful day apart from Morgana coming to watch the knights train. That would be fine apart from the fact the many are staring at her oddly and even whispering to one another about her. The one man who makes his blood boil is Edward whose eyes are not just looking at her face.

As Morgana watches the knights her eyes keep falling on Merlin whose eyes are on the other knights. His expression darkening each time she looks back at him. She does feel their gazes on her but she is quite used to it by now. They're not drunk at the moment so Merlin couldn't be disapproving about that now. There is still the possibility that he's jealous. She couldn't be certain but maybe she'll be able to get the chance to test it.

Merlin feels eyes on him and he looks. Morgana nods at him and that's when he realizes he's been glaring. As far as he knows, no one saw it but he can't let it get noticed. He also needs to buy some things for Gaius.

"Arthur, I still have some errands for Gaius, can I?" He trails off. Arthur nods before looking back at the training knights. Merlin leaves to buy the vials that Gaius needs to mix potions. Once he's got those he goes to Gaius's chambers to drop them off.

"Thank you, Merlin." He takes them. Merlin nods before leaving again. He's got to go get Arthur's washed clothes. The maids have already got them in a basket but haven't carried it up because Merlin told them not to. His reason was that they'd get back problems from the sheer amount of clothes. He picks it up and carries it to Arthur's room. When he leaves he hears Mary call him.

"Merlin! Have you been avoiding me?" She pouts playfully. Since Gwen brought it up he finally sees just how much she was flirting with him. He's quite flattered but he can't lead her on, that would be so cruel.

"I've just been busy with work." He says feeling uncomfortable because of how close she is to him.

Gwen sees Merlin walking ahead of Morgana and her. All of a sudden Mary appears, uh oh. She thinks when Morgana's eye starts twitching.

"So I was wondering if—oh my!" She lurches forward and Merlin grabs her forearm to steady her. Instead he's yanked forward into an alcove and the empty basket of clothes falls to the floor. There are lips on his. He's still for a moment in shock but then pulls away hurriedly.

"I'm sorry but I really don't feel the same way." He says before picking the basket up and rushing out of the alcove.

The girl Mary stumbles forward taking Merlin with her into an alcove. The one Merlin and Morgana have talked in many times.

Gwen freezes when Mary kisses Merlin. So does Morgana. Gwen finds herself fearing for the girl's life when she sees the fury in Morgana's eyes. She's lost it, Gwen thinks as Morgana starts walking over.

Merlin almost runs into a woman. She's wearing an awfully familiar blue and purple dress, has black wavy hair, pale skin, and she's got a smile so sweet he's afraid for his life. Even more so when he sees Morgana's eyes filled with absolute fury.

"Merlin! We have urgent matters to discuss. There's no need to follow Gwen." She turns to her handmaiden before walking off at a quick pace. Merlin shoots her a look pleading for her to follow before running after Morgana. It doesn't make sense why he's so scared of Morgana. It must be her eyes, when they're angry it's almost like a knife piercing him. She yanks her door open with him close behind. The door slams shut and she whirls around, "What was that?" She asks in a shaky voice.

"I was just as surprised when Mary did that as you were. I really thought we were only friends. That's how I saw it but why has it angered you so?"

"Why? Are you really asking me why?" He nods blankly, "You are such an idiot!" She screams and he winces

"That's what Arthur calls me, why am I an idiot?" He asks.

"Well first, you have no idea when a girl is flirting with you and second, you don't understand that I'm angry because of that!" He's silent at that. Is she jealous? But that's impossible isn't it?

Morgana sees he's working to understand what she's saying, "Are you saying that you're jealous?" He raises an eyebrow obviously not believing what he said for a second, "No, that's impossible." He shakes his head.

"Well you best be off. I'm going out with Sir Edward." She sees him scowl, "What's wrong?" She asks using his clueless tone from earlier.

"Nothing." He says in a very forced calm voice. Now he's angry and she's glad about getting a reaction.

"He had been so charming and kind. He's quite handsome too, and such a gentleman."

"He's no gentleman. You deserve a lot better than him." He blurts out, "A kinder man."

"Like you?" She asks because he fits the description.

"I am not a fine man; merely a servant. You deserve so much more." He shakes his head, "I apologize for what I said about Sir Edward. I'll leave so that you may get ready.

She laughs, "Merlin, I know you aren't sorry for what you said, second, you can't say what I do and don't deserve even though you are right about Sir Edward. Third, I lied about going out with that man." She says.

"Why would you lie?" He frowns.

"So that you can understand why I was angry, no, jealous about you and Mary." She says.

"B-but why would you be jealous about that? I'm just a—mmph!" She cuts him off by putting a hand over his mouth.

"You really need to stop saying that or you will be thrown into a wall again." She looks him dead in the eye. That's when she realizes it's a mistake, he's got gold flecks in his deep sapphire eyes and she's drowning in them. Her heart is beating so quickly she fears it might burst.

Merlin's palms are sweaty and once again, he can't look away from her burning gaze. He rubs his hand on his shirt before taking hers off his mouth. He releases her hand after three seconds.

"So, what sort of man do you deserve?" He asks, he's so close that she can feel his warm breath on her face. He takes a step back giving her room.

"Like you said, a respectful man, kind, and helpful." She says, like you, she thinks.

"That sounds like Percival or Gwaine would suit you." He smiles.

"But I don't want a knight."

"A prince? Then My Lady, I fear your job will be much harder. A prince like that is hard to find especially in Camelot." He winks.

"Once again, I don't want a prince. I don't want a noble. I want y—" She shuts her mouth stopping her confession from coming out.

Merlin cocks his head to the side, was she about to say "you"? Probably not.

"You want who? A normal shop owner?" She sighs. He is so slow and is once again testing her patience. She shakes her head, "Normal villager? Druid?" Same reaction. "I'll take a wild guess, servant?" She says nothing, "I know of one servant who is quite taken with you. Very irritated at the fact that I deliver potions to you everyday. His name is Richard."

"What sort of girl do you deserve, Merlin?" She asks.

"Me? One who's kind, isn't afraid to speak her mind, is strong both mentally and physically." He pauses. What's good is that he has a way to leave once he says the next bit, "Someone who isn't afraid to stand up for what is right and will be damned about the consequences." He watches her process it. "My Lady, I must go tend to Arthur. I'll bring your sleeping draught later this evening." He bows his head and then goes to the door, "Also, the person I described. I don't deserve her. She also deserves so much more than what I can offer her." He opens the door and leaves.

Author's Note

Finally another chapter! Sorry it took a bit longer but this chapter is longer to make up for it. I've developed Mergana a bit more so I'd love to know what you think about Merlin's words above. Once again, please review! They always make my day.