History Repeats

Marayna was quiet, thoughtful and contemplative as she sat on the ground of her prison cell. It was sparse, everything had been removed, even the cot on which to sleep, the hay for her to sit on. They only comfort she'd been afforded was a small pail to relieve herself in but it had, thankfully, not come to that. However, given the twisting in her stomach, she knew it would only be a matter of time before she ended up with her morning sickness again. She didn't understand why people called it that, it happened at all hours of the day.

Her eyes were closed as she leaned her head back on the cold walls of the prison cell. She'd woken up there hours ago when it had just started to fall dark. Unceremoniously dumped in there if the bruises were anything to go by, but luckily it appeared she'd landed on her back and not her stomach, something she could be grateful for. But she'd been left there, no one had come to see her, not Gaius, not Gwen, no one. She'd heard a commotion before, she'd heard her uncle shouting but the guards were holding firm to their apparent orders not to allow anyone to see her. Of course they would, of course they'd be their most vigilant NOW. This wasn't just any prisoner, this wasn't just any sorceress, this was the Queen of Camelot who was sitting in that cell. She was the closest person to their king…and she had betrayed him.

She rubbed her head, she was regretting it now, so much, that spell that had made Uther forget about their magic. It had affected Arthur as well and he'd forgotten all that he'd learned about her and Merlin and Morgana, all they'd done for him and Camelot. She should have expected this though, she really should have. He was reacting the EXACT same way he had when she'd first outed her magic to him…only this time the betrayal hit harder, because his father had just DIED of magic, and Merlin and Morgana had exposed themselves too. The three of them, his family, all showed their magic and it sent him over the edge. There would be no banishment this time, there would be only execution.

She was relieved for only the fact that she had managed to send Merlin and Morgana away before Arthur could order them seized. But it had been too much and she'd collapsed, been captured, and thrown in the dungeon like Merlin had often been. She let out a breath, her eyes snapping open, flashing gold with magic as a ripple went out from the room, surrounding her cell before it faded.

Merlin and Morgana were at it again.

She could feel it, even from a distance, she could feel them trying a transportation spell, but not one that would bring them to Camelot, the Druids, she was sure, would forbid it. After all she had sent them to the group to protect them, the Druids would NOT forsake that clear intent and allow Merlin and Morgana to come back to Camelot like that. But that didn't mean her brother and his beloved wouldn't try to take her from Camelot and bring her to them via magic. She could feel it, every time the spell nearly hit her, and she repelled it each time. Some might think her foolish for doing so, mad even but…if she used magic to escape, it would just be proving to Arthur that he couldn't trust her, that she would use magic for anything. This was her choice, this was her way of proving to him that she was loyal to him and hadn't betrayed him.

It would be so easy to blast the doors off the cell, to stride out and knock out the guards, to move through the halls of Camelot and out to the market, blasting back knights as they came at her, and off to the woods. It would be so easy to prove to Arthur that he and his father were so incredibly foolish to think that they could truly hold a magic user there if they did not wish to be there. It would be even easier, through her actions, to show the people that if SHE could easily escape…how many others who had been burned hadn't escaped, how many had been accused and labeled as a sorcerer who burned instead of fled? None of them would have had her ties to Camelot or felt that loyalty, they'd have fretted for their own lives and escaped instantly.

She knew she was being completely ridiculous to think to stay in that cell, it wasn't just HER life that was on the line, it was her baby's too, Arthur's. But in her heart of hearts, she was truly afraid of what would happen if the baby was discovered. It would never be accepted at the current moment, Agravaine would see to it that the child was murdered because it came from her. And she was terrified that Arthur would think the same, that he'd agree, even though she knew that was NOT realistic at all, she was…she was a mother and her hormones were going mad and she was starting to get worried and afraid and…

She let out a muffled groan, wrapping her arms around her stomach, willing the bile back down. If she got too worked up, her uncle said, it wouldn't be good for the baby. They weren't sure just yet how much of her Merlin had healed, how thoroughly, they had to be very, VERY careful about her stress and her getting hurt. And this was not helping.

She swallowed hard as the nausea receded, wondering vaguely if it made her a terrible, evil, cruel person to think, just for a moment, that it would be good for Arthur to suffer her being executed and then later realize she was pregnant with his child. But she shook her head, no…she had to have faith that something would happen. With Uther's death, Gaius had warned that his blood was the source of the enchantment of forgetting her magic. That it would fade, that Arthur would remember it all. It had been one reason they were all holding out telling him about their magic, they wanted him to naturally remember so as to avoid this happening again.

What was with Pendragon men and wanting to execute her?

Her head jerked to the side when she heard the sound of a struggle, but not one of someone trying to get in, more like someone not liking being restrained. She crawled over to the bars on her cell and looked out, her eyes widening when she saw Gwaine being dragged in between two guards towards her cell…no, not her cell, the one across from her.

She was silent, not wanting to anger the guards or have them strike Gwaine for her concern, waiting till they threw him into his cell and turned to stride off. She winced as one spit at her before he continued.

"Get back here you bloody bastard!" Gwaine scrambled to his bars, seeing that act of disrespect.

"Wen," Marayna shook her head for him to stop, "What did you do?"

She knew why he'd been put in the cell across from her, it was the farthest cell into the dungeons, symbolic for the level of betrayal. The farther into the dark recesses, the larger the crime. For Gwaine to be there…well, she could guess he'd done something to be thrown into the jail cell, but she wanted to know what.

"What do you think?" he nearly snapped at her, but she knew it was more his anger at the guard and the situation than herself.

"Punched Arthur?" she guessed, winding her arms through the bars to cross on the other side, resting her chin on one of the beams.

"Nearly ran him through actually," Gwaine smirked.

"Have you completely lost your mind!?" she hissed at him, "Wen what were you thinking!?"

"I seem to recall thinking 'like hell I'm going to let you send her to the pyre!'"

Marayna fell silent at that, "So, that's it then?" she whispered after a moment, "That's how it's to go? Me on the pyre, just like Uther nearly had me?"

Gwaine sobered up with a solemn air instantly, "I knew he and Uther were too alike."

"That's just it…he's not," Marayna rested her head against the cold bars, "He'd nothing like his father."

"Doesn't seem that way from here," Gwaine remarked.

"Where's Percival?" she frowned, hoping that the larger man wasn't about to be dragged down there too.

Gwaine sighed, "He didn't say anything, smart of him," he nodded, "We'll need a man on the outside to argue for you Ray, to help us escape if..." he stopped there, before scooting closer to the bars and glancing down the corridor towards where the guards were, "Ray…why don't you use your magic, get out of here?"

"And how would that change anything?" she shook her head and glanced at him, "I use magic, then I'm just another slippery sorceress. I disobey this decision, it shows I can't be trusted. But if I stay here…" she shook her head, "Magic loses a High Priestess, Merlin a sister, Arthur a wife…Camelot falls. I can't win Wen," she sighed, "There's nothing I can do without being labeled even more of a traitor or abandoning my people."

"I'll think of something Ray," Gwaine swore, "I promise you, I will NOT see you burn."

Marayna looked at him sadly, "Then don't look."

Gwaine swallowed hard and looked away, his mind racing, he NEEDED to find a way to prove to Arthur that Marayna wasn't a traitor. Merlin had told him what happened last time this happened, he'd BEEN there in the aftermath of Arthur banishing Marayna. He just…he needed some way to convince the man of what he'd been convinced of before. It was just…harder, last time Merlin and Morgana had been there, without Arthur knowing of their magic, and convinced him to listen…

This time Arthur thought everyone was betraying him and would make himself as deaf as possible.

~8~

Marayna jerked awake at the sound of someone stomping down the halls in the middle of the night. She'd just managed to sleep, having found herself more recently more tired than she normally was yet unable to fall asleep. The cell was cold and dank and she was shivering, which she knew her uncle would likely have Arthur's head for given her current condition. She and Gwaine had talked for quite a while, him wanting to know ALL about her magic, about the things she'd done to save Arthur, the things she and Merlin and Morgana had done for Camelot, not just the ones they'd glossed over or waved off. She knew why he'd asked her that, to try and find something to argue with Arthur about, tell him about that might change his mind. She knew it was pointless. Merlin might have been able to get through to Arthur before with Morgana's help, but not now, now after Uther had died at magic's hand.

She glanced over when she saw a flash of red to see Arthur appear before her cell and her eyes flashed.

Instantly he drew his sword, "What did you do?!" he demanded, an angry look in his eye, as though he were furious she'd DARE use her magic around him.

"Look behind you," she nodded.

His grip on his sword tightened, "As though I'd turn my back on a sorceress."

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "Witch," she muttered, "It's WITCH if you're born with the magic and don't study it to possess it."

Arthur frowned at that, at that admission that she'd had magic longer than he thought. Had he been thinking clearly, he would have realized she'd just admitted to being BORN with it, to having no choice in the matter, to having just an unfortunate circumstance in birth. He'd have realized that instead of merely thinking of the length of time she'd hidden her betrayal from him. Had he been thinking clearly though. He, unfortunately, was not.

But it did give him just enough of a push to step to the side and turn, more so that he could keep both of them in sight. His frown deepened though when he saw Gwaine raging but no noise coming from his mouth, and looked back at Marayna questioningly.

"I'd rather you NOT cut out his tongue for the things he'd likely say to you," she shrugged, sighing.

Arthur looked down at her, feeling his heart twist painfully at seeing her in the prison cell, but his jaw tensed, forcing his heart to harden against it, "You further disrespect your king by not rising?"

She scoffed, "King you may be, but I am STILL your queen."

"Not for long," he hissed, "Tomorrow at dawn you shall burn and I will be free of this enchantment."

Marayna stared at him for a long while, "You still keep thinking love is an enchantment then?" she shook her head, "Is it really THAT foreign of a concept to you Pendragon men that you think that you're being enchanted if you dare feel anything other than hatred and anger?"

"I KNOW you have enchanted me," Arthur glared, "Why else would I…"

"Marry a servant?" she cut in, giving him a tired look, "Put up with her insults? Be willing to give up the throne for her?" she let out a long breath, "If you've nothing new to say to me, Arthur, then just get yourself gone," she waved him off, "I've heard all this before and once was more than enough."

Arthur stared at her a long while, not sure what she meant by having heard it from him before, "You will not defend yourself? Deny anything?"

"Defend myself against what?" she muttered, "My husband and King? You've had hold of my life and heart from the moment I fell in love with you," she looked at him, "And deny my magic?" she shook her head, "I'm tired of doing that Arthur," she admitted, "I'm tired of living in fear and in the shadows and protecting you and your father and this kingdom and for what? For you, the man I thought had pledged to be loyal to me, to wish me dead? To sentence me to death for rescuing you and winning you a battle that would have resulted in Camelot's destruction? Arthur…" she struggled to her feet, using the wall beside her for support, hesitating to speak more as the room swam before her eyes for a moment as she settled, she hadn't eaten in a while now, "I have dedicated my life to protecting this kingdom from the moment I set foot in it. My life has been tied to Camelot and to you since my birth," she looked at him sadly, "And if you cannot see that I have only ever used my magic for good, to help you, to protect you…if you TRULY think ME capable of the evil you associate with magic…" she swallowed hard, "Then there is nothing more I can say, because my husband would listen to me, as he promised to do, and you…you would not be him," she looked at him intently, "I don't see Arthur right now, I am speaking to Uther and that…breaks my heart," her voice cracked, though she could see a hint of tears in Arthur's eyes as he stared her down, "You want me to burn…fine. I'll stand there, I won't use magic to escape…yes," she nodded, "I can escape right now…magic and all."

"Then why don't you?" he shook his head, if she could…WHY was she still there?

"Would that help you regain your trust in me?" she countered, "No. So I stay. And I won't fight you. I'll stand there and I'll let the fire consume me alive…but only if you stand there in front of me, with me tied to the pyre, and you light the base and watch me burn."

Arthur seemed nearly about to gape at her if he hadn't had more control over his facial features.

"If you can do that," she wasn't even smirking, this wasn't a playful challenge where she knew he'd cave and she'd win, this was a serious challenge, "Then I can as well."

And with that, she turned around and stumbled to the back of her cell, her hand braced against the wall, to look out the window and out at the dark night.

Arthur though, remained standing there, staring at her back before he seemed to remember himself and turned to stalk off.

"I'll never work it out," Gwaine was able to speak, the spell on him broken the moment Arthur had stepped out of his sight.

"What?" Marayna glanced back at him.

"How you do that," he smirked, shaking his head, "You're the most crude woman I've ever met and that is saying something," he laughed, "But those rare times…you spout out wisdom and…you make people realize what's at stake."

"There's too much at stake for me not to," she murmured, before wincing, her face scrunching as she slowly slid down the wall to sit.

"Ray?" Gwaine got as close to his bars as he could, "What's wrong?" he asked her quietly.

"Nothing."

"Ray."

"What makes you think anything's wrong Wen?"

He gave her a look, "Oh, I don't know, perhaps how you threw up in that bucket before the Prat showed up?"

"I'm fine," Marayna said quickly, FAR too quickly if the look Gwaine threw her was anything to go by.

"Don't lie to me Ray," Gwaine gave her a pointed look, his eyes dropping to her stomach and back to her, "Do you have any idea how much Arthur's going to hate himself when you burn and he finds out that?" he looked at her intently, "When he finds out that he STILL feels the same for you then as he does now because he's not enchanted?"

"As bad, I think, I feel knowing that he thinks he's enchanted in the first place," she remarked, "Again," she sighed and rested her head back against the wall, "THAT is the part that hurts the most. He knows me better than anyone, well, except Merlin," she smiled sadly, thinking for a moment what her brother would go through if she died, praying that he wouldn't turn into Uther and go on a rampage against Arthur and Camelot, praying Morgana could temper his rage, "And for him to believe me capable of doing that to him…" she wrapped her arms around her stomach, "He feels it's an enchantment, it makes me wonder if it's even really love."

She closed her eyes and fell quiet, signaling for Gwaine to not speak to her again, that she wanted to sleep with the little time she had left, to not have to sit there awake and think about what was coming.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Arthur remained just out of sight, having listened to their entire discussion, a pit forming in his stomach, a sort of ringing in his ears, his head starting to throb, but shook his head. No, Marayna was lying about not having enchanted him. She was a sorceress and they lied, they were incapable of love or being truthful.

They had to be.

Marayna had to be, she had to have enchanted him.

Because he would NOT have fallen in love with an evil sorceress.

~8~

Arthur slowly woke the next morning, keeping his eyes scrunched closed as the light was just barely starting to peek in from the windows, the curtains open. He rolled to the side, burying his face into his pillows with a muffled groan about hating to wake up to the sun, and reached out his arm to his side. He stilled for a moment, before swinging his arm out a few more times, then patting the bed before he pushed himself up and looked beside him to see that half the bed was empty. He frowned and rolled over, sitting up quickly and looking around, confused and more than a little worried as to why his wife wasn't there and why her side of the bed hardly looked touched.

"Mara?"

He stood and was about to rush to the door and call the guards in, fearing the worst…when he caught sight of something out his window and rushed back to it. He could see his uncle standing in the courtyard, ordering the guards down there on building a pyre.

"What…" he breathed, not sure why a pyre was being built…before he collapsed to his knees, half falling against the wall, a hand flying to his temple as his head throbbed.

Images flashed through his mind, the events of the last year, the things he'd said, the events that happened, and…Annis, the memory of Merlin, Morgana, and Marayna standing before his handful of knights, using their magic before them all before Marayna sent Merlin and Morgana off, and him…throwing her in the dungeon, threatening her, condemning her to burn on the pyre.

"No," he swallowed hard, pushing himself up and nearly running out of the room before he realized he ought to grab a shirt at the very least as it would be quite undignified for the king to be rushing through the halls at the crack of dawn in his nightclothes…which meant he ought to grab his boots as well even though it wasted time.

He practically flew through the halls and down the stairs to the dungeons, only barely shouting out to the guards not to follow him, as he bolted down the hall. He nearly dropped to his knees when reached the cell to the left, staring at Marayna as she sat inside it. She was curled in the corner, her arms around her stomach, her legs curled to her chest, her head to the side as she seemed to try and sleep. She was pale, with bags under her eyes, and she was shaking. He could even see a bit of sweat on her brow. This was coming FAR too close to how he and Merlin had found her the first time he'd done this…

He nearly felt sick thinking on that. The first time he'd only banished her…this time, oh god…he'd…he was going to… He closed his eyes and rested his head to the bars a moment, that pyre in the courtyard was for HER. He was going to actually execute her this time. Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered what he'd been thinking, that his father had just died from use of magic and he was reacting to that in his wife, despite the fact she and Merlin and Morgana had just saved his entire kingdom this time instead of just his life…but this was his WIFE! He KNEW about her magic…so why hadn't he then? Why had he forgotten?

He shook his head, now wasn't the time.

He quickly pulled his keys out and tried to open the lock, swearing he would deny to his grave that his hands were shaking as he tried to get the right key into the lock. The jangling of the keys seemed to have woken the knight sleeping across in the opposing cell.

"Get away from her!" Gwaine snarled as Arthur finally got the cell door open, "What, have you come to bring her to the pyre yourself, like she challenged you?"

Arthur flinched at that, "I remember Gwaine," he told the man simply, hardly sparing a moment to look at the knight before he tossed him the keys, "Get yourself out and help me! I need to get her to Gaius now!"

Gwaine's entire demeanor shifted. He knew about the Blood Magic, how it had affected Arthur, and the fact that he was now demanding he help him save his wife than carry her to the pyre…he'd hardly slept the entire night, watching Marayna, seeing her getting a bit more ill than he felt comfortable with. He'd only just drifted off he'd guess an hour ago. He didn't care how Arthur remembered, what mattered was that he remembered and he was DOING something about it, he was revoking his sentence on Marayna and right now she needed more attention than he had time to give to Arthur. So he caught the keys and made quick work of getting the lock open, running into the other cell, half shoving Arthur away to pick Marayna up himself.

"She's MY wife," Arthur glared at him for the move.

"And who put her here?" Gwaine shot back, not even bothering to finish speaking before he was out the cell and striding down the halls, Arthur rushing after him, spouting something to the guards about an enchantment or something by means of an excuse why he was taking the prisoners out, that he'd been enchanted to put them there first.

He didn't care that he might sound like a raving lunatic, with how frantic he'd been as he rushed into the dungeons, but he hoped that would be enough of a panic for the guards to think he had broken the enchantment or something. He didn't care, because right now the only thing that mattered was getting Marayna to Gaius and see her well again…

And then get on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness.

~8~

Arthur was pacing in the physician's quarters, having sent Gwaine to Percival, to tell the man to help him go find the Druids, to get Merlin and Morgana back there to help Gaius who seemed far too quiet and solemn for him to feel comfortable. He wasn't entirely sure why Gwaine had snatched a vial that he knew contained Morgana's sleeping draught before he left, but he didn't bother to ask just as long as the two returned with the other magic users. He knew that the best bet to find Merlin and Morgana, the most likely place Marayna would send them was as close to the Druids as she could, or to the Bloodguard, but only to get them to the Druids.

Oh he was NOT looking forward to another confrontation with Benedict. The man had punched him for banishing Marayna…he could only imagine what the man would do when he learned he'd been planning to actually execute the girl. He felt bile rise in him at the thought…how could he POSSIBLY think that his wife, the woman who was responsible for at least half of Camelot being safe, was evil?!

No memory of her magic or remembering, he KNEW his wife! He should NEVER have let that happen!

What was wrong with him!?

He looked over when the doors flew open, Gwaine having shoved it open, allowing Merlin and Morgana, both in brown, traveler's cloaks (and it hit Arthur to realize that not even his own sister felt safe coming into Camelot, she likely fully believed that he'd ordered hers and Merlin's head on a pike or something if they were caught) to enter. He was NOT expecting to be thrown to the side by magic, by Merlin in the process of him and Morgana rushing in.

He was a little disoriented as he tried to stand, when he saw a hand in front of his face and Percival before him. He grimaced in pain, that thump had rather hurt, but took Percival's hand, moving to try and get closer to his wife as she lay on a cot in the middle of the room, but Percival stopped him with a hand to his chest, "Best wait," he told the king, "They'll need to focus."

Arthur swallowed hard but forced himself to stand there, not entirely comfortable with not being able to be beside his wife…but he deserved this. He knew Merlin would be murderous not just to see his sister in such a state but because of the fate he'd been about to subject her to. So he stood there and watched as Merlin and Morgana knelt on either side of Marayna, looking at her in concern.

"I'll take her," Merlin looked at Morgana, before nodding more towards her head, making Arthur think he was talking about her top half while Morgana focused on her lower half as Morgana just nodded and put her hands on Marayna's stomach and abdomen, while Merlin put his on her forehead and shoulder. He watched as Merlin mumbled words under his breath, not caring what he was saying as long as it worked and Marayna was ok. Morgana, ever the Healer, was just flashing her eyes, not even needing to speak as she went about healing the girl on the cot.

A stressful and tense few minutes later, Merlin and Morgana sat back on their heels, Merlin glancing at Morgana as she smiled and nodded, "She'll be ok."

Merlin let out a breath and leaned over to kiss his sister's forehead, gently stroking her hair away from it as she slowly woke. He and Morgana had instantly transported themselves to Camelot…they hadn't even really needed to the men to sneak into the forest for it. Gwaine had had the forethought to take Marayna's communication crystal from her pocket and followed it right to where one of the Bloodguard was waiting in the forest's borders. They passed on the message and the man disappeared, moments later with Morgana and Merlin reappearing in his place, cloaks up and ready to rush in. Well, he hadn't exactly gone right to the forest. No…he'd gone to Agravaine first, intercepted the man's food as it was being taken to him and managed to distract the young serving boy who was delivering the man's breakfast, George…something, and slip the draught into the meal. He knew that Leon and Elyan would go to Arthur first about the pyre being built but Marayna not being there. They wouldn't sound the alarms because she was Arthur's wife. Agravaine…he'd be only too happy to see a witch hunt for her. So he'd taken care of the man, make him sleep long enough for them to get Marayna well again and come up with a plan.

Arthur hadn't wanted to make a public decree about Marayna till the execution was taking place, the pyre was being built and the people just thought it was another execution. Only the knights who had been there, Agravaine, and the guards outside the dungeons had known it was Marayna that was prisoner. But now those guards thought Arthur had been enchanted to condemn his wife, which was made all the easier given that they hardly ever left the dungeons and, without Merlin or Morgana being put there, they could assume that it had been Merlin that broke the enchantment.

"Hey," Merlin smiled at his sister as she slowly woke, "Don't take this the wrong way Aya…but I never want to have to heal you again."

She let out a soft breath, "I don't want you to either…you're rubbish at it," she reached out and took his hand, "Leave it to your wife."

He smiled, "Not my wife yet."

"Will be one day," she murmured.

"How are you feeling?" Morgana scooted closer to look at Marayna as well, knowing she was still weak but needing to know if there was anything else wrong.

"Like I just spent the night in a cold, dank prison cell," she muttered.

"Yeah well, you know who to blame for that," Gwaine remarked.

"Yes, where is my idiot husband?" Marayna tried to sit up.

"Don't," Arthur stepped forward, Merlin giving him a glare before he stood up to let Arthur take his place, "Don't get up just…rest."

Marayna gave him a blank look before she looked at Morgana, "Can you…"

Morgana nodded, not even needing her to add more to know what she was asking, and stood, "Come on," she gestured for the others, "All of you," she added to Merlin and Gwaine even as Percival and Gaius started to head out, "Now," she gave them a look, her hands on her hips.

Merlin sighed and stepped around the cot, pausing to squeeze Marayna's hand, "Shout if he tries to kill you again," he warned her, smirking when he saw Arthur flinch at that.

"As opposed to all the other times he's tried to kill me?" she gave Merlin a raised eyebrow, "I think I'm harder to kill by now if the 'killing machine' can't manage it."

Merlin gave a small chuckle at that, giving her hand one more squeeze before he headed out of the room with Morgana, tugging Gwaine after him when the man tried not to follow.

"Mara I…" Arthur began.

But Marayna held up a hand, closing her eyes as she laid back down on the cot, taking just a moment to gather her strength, "The Blood Magic we used on Uther," she took up instead, "We didn't factor in that YOU were of Uther's blood, that you shared it. Morgana was protected by Kilgharrah's magic, but…" she let out a breath, "Not you. We thought with the memory charm being broken, that you'd be safe. This is partially our fault for not working that out first. It's partially my fault for not trying to find some way to tell you about my magic first, before you saw me using it…again. We all knew, the three of us, that after Uther died there was a very real possibility that you'd have us killed instead of banished because of it…"

"What…DID happen with my father?" Arthur asked, NEEDING to know that before another word was spoken.

"Morgause placed a charm on Uther that reversed any healing magic done to him and increased the power of it, according to Gaius," she added at the end, in case there was a slim chance he didn't believe her, which he owed her to believe her now about, "Given how quickly it all happened…the spell worked perfectly, both of them."

Arthur was silent a moment, taking that in before he closed his eyes, "So magic would have saved him if not for Morgause."

Marayna opened her eyes and looked over at him, "Do NOT let the actions of one magic-user define your opinion of us all Arthur Pendragon."

"No!" he shook his head frantically, looking at her, "No, I…I wasn't I just…" he took a breath, "I remember feeling so…angry and betrayed and like a fool that I'd trusted the magic my father warned me against. I didn't remember how much good it had already done for me, if I had…Mara," he reached out and took her hand as it rested absently on her stomach, "I would have been suspicious, I would have thought something had gone wrong and not blamed Dragoon and…"

"You wouldn't have needed Dragoon in the first place," Marayna added, NOT about to tell him Dragoon was Merlin, not with what had happened to Uther, not even after he seemed like he wasn't as angry about magic as before if he could claim he'd have been suspicious, "It would have been us, Merlin or Morgana or I and you would have trusted us FAR more than some old sorcerer. You would have KNOWN, given how many times we've saved his life, that we would NOT kill him."

"I should have known Dragoon hadn't anyway," he admitted, startling her a bit and confusing her, "If he had wanted my father dead…he would have just refused to heal him in the first place. I should have realized that before I reacted…but I didn't. I…" he closed his eyes, "I have a very bad habit of…reacting first."

"I'd say," she muttered.

"It comes from a lifetime of training though Mara," he looked at her again, "In battle…you react or you die. I am trying to temper that. I'm trying but…I have not been king long and, I haven't been trying long. It wasn't till I nearly lost you last time," Marayna squeezed his hand slightly when his voice broke, "That I realized how much of a problem it was for me. I was trying to be calmer, to…to hear things out more because of your magic but…"

"But when we cast the Blood Magic that was stopped," Marayna realized, "Because you couldn't remember what made you want to be like that in the first place," she sighed, "Sometimes I feel like magic creates more problems in trying to fix them."

"Mara," Arthur looked at her, "I am so sorry, I will never be able to say it enough, to make it up to you for what I was about to do. I…I can hardly believe it myself now that I remember that I…I was going to…" he swallowed hard and shook his head, he couldn't even say it.

Marayna took a breath, shaking her head at what she was about to do, "The important thing is that you didn't," she cut in, "That you remembered."

They had been hoping that, with Uther gone, the Blood Magic would be weaker and that it would be easier to break it. If they couldn't, they were hoping a large display of good magic would help him, that all three of them together would temper his reaction. When Uther died by magical means, it was harder to work out any sort of good magic that could counter the memory of his father dying the way he had. But it seemed like the shock of it all and the notion of burning her just like Uther had the last time had been enough to get through to him and return his memories.

"Thank you Mara," he breathed, "For forgiving me and…"

"I didn't say I forgave you," she looked at him, "I implied I was glad you remembered and didn't kill me."

He nodded, that was a mistake on his part, to assume that, "Is there anything I can do to earn your forgiveness back?"

"You'll have a long road ahead of you Arthur," she warned, "I have forgiven you for…many things, and while I know you're sorry…" she shook her head, "Nearly being burned twice by a King of Camelot? It's a lot to try and forget or forgive."

"I'll do anything," he swore, pressing her hand to his heart.

"I'll have to think about what I want," she remarked, knowing that, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't ask him to change the laws of magic…Arthur had all but announced that Uther's death had been the result of sorcery, he just hadn't stated how. To try and change it now…it would likely mean revolt. But Arthur DID remember now and it allowed them more freedom to keep those who practiced good magic safe and deal with the evil ones properly, "But at the moment…there's one thing that we will have to focus on first."

"What?" he looked at her, before he realized, "Uncle was there! He saw your magic! And Leon and Elyan…" now that he thought about it, Elyan and Leon, how they acted, it had to mean they'd been affected by the Blood Magic too since the Memory spell hadn't been broken on them.

"I think we can trust Leon and Elyan, if YOU tell them it's alright," Marayna remarked, "Elyan was there with the Druids even if he doesn't remember, something about it might slip through, a feeling of trust or something, and Leon will trust that you know what you're doing, he's loyal to YOU Arthur. Your uncle though…" she sighed, "I'd rather have him forget."

"Don't you think it might be useful if he…"

"Arthur," she cut in, "I WANT him to forget," she gave him a firm look.

He nodded, in NO position to have her do anything that she didn't want, "I…can ask Merlin if he'd mind seeing to it that uncle forgets the last day or so…"

"That brings me to another thing you'll need to do for my brother, but besides that, the main issue…how are we going to explain to the people how a forest sprang up over night?"

Arthur chuckled a bit at that, "No one really goes to that area," he reassured her, "Not many peasants leave the main territory of the castle, those who do likely haven't been there in years or travelled through it, they won't really notice more trees."

She nodded, "Ok…" she started to push herself up.

"Mara, relax, please," he tried to gently nudge her back down.

"Arthur," she gave him a look and he let her sit up, "The trees still contain the soldiers AND Annis…"

"You…really DID turn them into trees?" Arthur blinked at her, he'd thought…well he honestly wasn't sure what he thought, it was all such a blur of shock in seeing them using magic.

"They're trapped inside the trees," Marayna corrected, "It was a spell that Gaius found and showed us, it's meant to enchant a forest, to be a sort of…extra protection. You create a shield to keep out danger and place it onto the forest in question, the trees, the animals, everything reacts in a way to deter those that wish ill to a place from travelling through it. We…had to create the forest first…we were investigating shapechanging and some, we're not sure why, but they included turning into plants, they had an odd side effect since plants are stationary that it essentially creates a tree around someone and then releases them later, leaving the tree intact. The person, if they're the original magic-user, can then enter the tree whenever they want. But the point is that we'll only have 24 hours before the spell ends releases the men. We NEED to get there first. If we can release Annis in time, we can still negotiate a peace," she nodded, "Her army returned to her for peace."

"But you said it only lasted 24 hours…"

She nodded, "Annis won't know that though."

Arthur smiled at that, "That is…brilliant."

She shrugged, "TRUST your wife next time ok?"

He nodded, "Always," he swore, moving to help her up, "But um…what was the thing, about Merlin that you needed me to do?" he would do ANYTHING if it meant she'd eventually forgive him.

"Later," she warned him, "After we see to Annis, I'll tell you, but we have to hurry."

~8~

Annis stumbled forward, gasping for breath to find herself at the edge of a vast forest…a forest she recalled her own men turning into. She spun around and her lips pursed, seeing Arthur and his wife, Merlin and Morgana standing before her, none of the other knights present, just the king, his wife, his wife's brother, and his own sister, the trees behind them.

"Queen Annis," Arthur greeted, steeling himself to face the mourning and grieving queen, knowing her anger would be FAR less than Benedict when he was inevitably confronted by the man.

"Did you cheat again?" Annis glared at him.

"If you accepted Morgause's company, I doubt you DIDN'T know who she was or what she can do," Marayna remarked, "A wise queen does not trust any odd person who comes to see her without knowing who she is and what her motives are."

Annis's lips pursed more.

"Did you know she proclaims herself to be the High Priestess of the Old Religion?" Morgana asked.

"She IS the High Priestess," Annis stated.

"No," Merlin shook his head, "SHE is," he nodded at Marayna.

"It appears Morgause has lied to you as much as she has lied in her actions," Arthur mused, "You KNOW we were not the ones to use magic till you forced our hand."

Annis looked around at the trees.

"We can return your army to you," Marayna offered, "Under one condition."

"And that would be what?" she snapped, "My head like my husband's?"

"You agree that, because of Morgause's actions, your army must forfeit the single combat," Arthur began, "Which, as it is an honor duel, is within my rights as the offended party to demand."

"What else is there?" she eyed them suspiciously.

"Just that," Morgana agreed, "If you claim Arthur the victor and keep true to the terms agreed upon when it was first made…we return your army."

"We made the trees," Merlin reminded her, thankful that he'd taken care of Agravaine with a small memory charm, nowhere near as big as the one on the kingdom, but enough to handle just one person, "We trapped your soldiers, we trapped YOU. We can release them just as easily."

Annis eyes them a moment, before she gave a curt nod, "You are victorious, Arthur Pendragon. And you may rest assured that I shall comply absolutely with the terms of our agreement. My army, when returned, will be gone by nightfall."

Merlin, Marayna, and Morgana smiled and stepped back, moving to form a small circle, holding hands as they focused their energy and magic, Arthur and Annis watching them kneel to the ground, a green glow spreading out from their joined hands and seeping into all the trees, men starting to fall out of them and to the ground.

"They assured me it'll be only a moment of disorientation before they wake," Arthur glanced at Annis.

She shook her head, "A Pendragon trusting magic," she mused, "Times have changed."

"I am not my father, Queen Annis," he turned to her.

"No," she agreed, eyeing him, "You are sparing my army, when you could have kept them and myself trapped. You could have conquered my kingdom that way. Why didn't you?"

Arthur was silent a moment, not about to tell her that the army would have been released in only hours, "Because it's not conquest or victory I seek. It is peace. I hope that today will mark a new beginning for our kingdoms."

"There is something about you, Arthur Pendragon. Something which gives me hope for us all."

"I know what it is," he nodded, looking back at the trio as they slowly stood, "My wife."

Annis smiled sadly at that, her husband used to say the same about her, that she made him different, better.

~8~

Arthur stood on a balcony before the kingdom as peasants who had come to see the burning of some sort of criminal gathered around, the pyre being dismantled, "I know that word has spread," Arthur began, "That a sorcerer," he was sure to say sorcerer instead of sorceress, not wanting to say anything that would point a finger at his wife, "Had been captured and was to be executed this day. I regret to inform you that…the sorcerer took his own life in his cell," it was better than telling them that another sorcerer escaped, "There will be no execution."

The crowd gave a small cheer though at the death of another magic-user, which had Arthur's smile tensing.

"However, as you have all gathered, I find there is another announcement to be made that will be of even more good fortune for the kingdom…" he gestured to the side and Morgana stepped beside him, taking his hand, "My sister, the Princess Morgana, with my blessing, is officially betrothed!" the crowd erupted in applause as Morgana blushed and nodded her head at them, though Arthur could see tears in her eyes at FINALLY having this official and out to all.

"Might I present," Marayna stepped up with Merlin, "Her betrothed, my brother, Merlin!"

Merlin would admit that he was quite startled at how the cheers actually grew LOUDER when that had been announced. He grinned widely and waved at the crowd, before taking Morgana's hands as the king and queen stepped back. He pressed a kiss to Morgana's hand before they threw their entwined hands up into the air, the cheers reaching their peak as the two beamed out at them, hopeful for their future.

A/N: I can say we'll still have one more rather tough moment for Arayna coming up, with each 'betrayal' of Arthur's, Marayna will have a harder time forgiving him. But Marayna will give Arthur an ultimatum that will FINALLY see a real change start with him ;)

On a lighter note...there's only one more secret Marayna is keeping from him and it won't be secret for very long ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Arthur definitely reacted badly :( Much worse than before, but I can see why, with his father recently (to his knowledge) being killed by a sorcerer :(

I meant that Marayna might not know the gender till the very end when the baby might be born ;) They might have a spell to determine gender, but she might just want to have it be a surprise. If the baby doesn't make it because she's not fully healed, it would be devastating to know if it was a boy that the heir was lost :( So she might opt to keep it unknown till then :)

Nope, Marayna sent Merlin and Morgana away to protect them :( But luckily they came back to help her :)

Lol, I have no idea why I keep doing this to her. I can say there's only one more slightly heartbreaking moment for her, but it more angers her than anything, and one more more...harming event for her but I won't say harming how ;)

I can say that Marayna won't die...but I will say nothing more or less about the baby's fate }:)

I took a peek at your letters thing, you need to be really careful about posting something like that though. Not only was what you posted an Author's Note and not a true chapter (which is against the rules and regulations of the site to post either a note or announcement) but it also appears to be interactive (not entirely sure what that means in terms of FF but that's also on their rules page). It might be better to post that as a forum topic to get the first few letters to respond to and then make an A/N at the beginning/end of that first chapter where you tell readers to submit via review or PM instead. Posting a chapter just like that is a violation of the site and it might be taken down :( I only say that because I did something similar once to bring up my 'sneak peeks' for DW about 2 years ago since I hadn't had any new DW stories up at the time, and not only was it removed but my account was locked for 48 hours and I couldn't post anything :( I think it's an interesting concept, but you might want to consider removing that and replacing it with an actual first chapter (a letter/response, even if it's a letter from you) and put that note at the end :)

Yup, Arthur was way worse than stupid lol, but he didn't find out about the baby yet. I think Marayna needs just a tiny bit longer to recuperate from this event before she hits him with another shocker ;) Merlin and Morgana got sent to the Druids for protection and, in a way, they did save her yup :)

I think it's more that what Agravaine said to him, about the people thinking he listened to his wife too much got to him more than his trust issues. Being so newly king, it wouldn't do to appear like he has to keep asking his wife what to do instead of making firm decisions on his own, how she defies him openly probably doesn't help how he thinks his people see him. So he was a little gullible and manipulated in that :( I can say there'll be one more moment where he'll trust Agravaine and be hit with the terrible truth :( Arthur and Marayna are back in action right now, Marayna didn't go anywhere, but Arthur's memories of the past year are intact yup :)

Your friends sound great and I think they'll definitely back you up. Most people don't want others to know they're trying to copy otherwise it's more people that might tell or bring it up to a teacher so if she sees that your friends are aware she might back down ;)

Lol, that's ok, I tend to read over things sometimes too :) But yup, it was meant to be 'her' in the 'giving her lessons on 'how to do that'' ;) As for Johnlock (yup, I know what that is ;)) I can say I'm not a big fan of it in the romantic sense of the pairing. Mostly it's because I feel like it's wrong to take two clearly straight characters (until they expressly state that they ARE gay, are in an openly or secretly gay relationship, or are very clearly (I use the term flamboyantly only in the sense obviousness) gay, I classify them as being straight) and try to almost force them into a romantic relationship that goes against their natural preferences even if they're just characters :/ It's why I have an issue with Destiel and Merthur as well. I have absolutely no issue with gays or lesbians, one of my best high school friends is gay and one of my roommates in college is a lesbian, so I have no issue with them, because that is their natural disposition. When people who are one preference are forced to be with someone that isn't their preference (even if it's a fictional character), I just feel like it's wrong. To me, I just keep thinking how offended many people, both straight and gay, would be if they were forced to enter into romantic relationships they aren't naturally drawn to just because that's how someone else prefers them to be, not even in just society's view but in a general view as well. I just find it very upsetting for anyone to be put with someone that is against their preference, we should love who we love and not be forced to love someone else because that's how others want it to be :) I'm all for 'Johnlock' in the sense of a very deep and profound friendship though, the same for Dean and Castiel and Arthur and Merlin ;)

Arthur was a bit terrible with when he found out this time :( But it was over much more quickly ;) I'll be back on tumblr today yup ;) I planned to be on yesterday but my dog was sick and developed a really bad limp so I was taking care of him and bringing him to the vet and then had class :( But he's ok now, it turns out he ate some berries on a bush by our house and it just upset his stomach, the limp was just a sort of cramp thing apparently :)

I think Kilgharrah sees her as a very close friend, not quite a daughter, but one of his kin definitely :) He'll be a little more open in emotions when she starts showing ;) He'll definitely offer her some sound advice when things get hectic, but there'll be one point where he swoops in to help her yup ;)

I can say there's only 1 baby in Marayna and I know the gender and name for it ;) But I won't say :)

That's a very good video, I love it :)