Chapter 9- the penultimate chapter
Merlin returned with water not long after the other three had left. He made several trips to fill the tub halfway then stopped to murmur, "Áfyle eac wӕter." The tub filled with water. Morgana looked on, impressed, as he uttered another spell, "Onhǽte þá wæter."
Steam rose from the heated water and Morgana sighed with appreciation. "Mm, thank you, love," she told him. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"You're welcome." He turned in her arms and matched the gesture. "Is there anything else I can get you right now?"
She gave him a coy look. "Help me with my bath?"
He flushed and backed away a couple of steps. "I-I . . ." She laughed in delight while he stuttered out, "I don't think I'm ready for that.
"I'm just kidding, Merlin. Though it would be nice." She winked and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"Ah," he sighed. He cupped her face in his hand and brought it up so he could press their lips together. She reached for his waist again and pulled them closer. Warmth radiated through her body and she relaxed into the kiss, enjoying the sensation.
He pulled away after a long moment and looked down into her eyes. "I'll leave you to your bath and be back in an hour with lunch. Is that enough time?" She nodded and smiled up at him. He pulled her close for another minute then reluctantly let go. "Enjoy." With a grin he was off again, leaving her to enjoy the warmth of her bath.
Later, after she had bathed and found a simple, but pretty dress in the wardrobe, Merlin knocked on her door and entered. He held enough food for two and they ate together, sharing hopes and expectations for the next day. Later on, he also brought dinner for two and Merlin found himself comforting Morgana's growing anxiety.
He held her hand. "This really is the best way to make sure your punishment is just," he explained.
"I know, but I overthrew Camelot twice! That in itself merits execution."
He chuckled. "And that's exactly why you don't get to judge yourself. I want you to live. So this way is your best option. Face your accusers with the love in your heart. Apologize sincerely and they may see you in a different light."
"You don't know everything I've done. I'm . . . I was so uncaring, so full of hate and desire to hurt."
"But that's not who you are anymore." He took her other hand. "Even Arthur can see it, and if he can, then you know you've really changed."
She smiled. "You always know how to make me feel better."
He scoffed. "And you thought magic was my true talent."
"I'm sure you have many more that I don't know about." She winked and laughed at his confusion. "Oh, Merlin, you're too innocent for your own good."
"What do you . . . ohh." He flushed and looked at the floor.
She giggled and lifted his head with her hand. "I love that about you. You give me hope that I can be forgiven."
"You don't need me for that. You'll get there on your own merit."
Her answering smile was brilliant. "I love you."
"I know. I love you too." He leaned down to meld their lips together. He ached with the sweetness of her touch and reveled in her warmth. She could do anything, be anything, but she'd chosen to be here, with him.
When they broke apart, she looked at the window. "Oh my, it's getting late. And I'm keeping you from your other chores."
"Don't worry about it. Arthur's been pretty understanding of everything I've had to do. He won't mind. Besides, he has Gwen to distract him."
"That must be fun."
"Let's just say I've learned to appreciate the fine art of knocking before entering their chambers." They both burst into laughter at that. Morgana's tapered off into a yawn. Merlin stood and held out his hand. "Come on—let's get you to bed. Tomorrow will be a long day and you'll need your strength."
Morgana let him pull her up. He pulled a nightgown from the wardrobe and draped it over the changing screen. He turned his back on it while she changed behind it. When she was done, she came out and tapped his shoulder. He turned and took her hand to lead her to the bed. She crawled under the covers he'd turned down and he tucked them back over her. He leaned down to kiss her lips and her forehead.
"I'll be here with breakfast an hour before Arthur's proclamation. I'll be with you the entire time, so please don't worry. Just relax and sleep. Remember that I love you." He leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss.
She looked up at him. "With you on my side, how can I worry?"
He brushed the hair back from her face and smiled. "Goodnight, Morgana."
"Goodnight, love."
He walked away from her slowly and blew her a kiss at her door. Then he was gone and the door locked behind him. Morgana smiled and rolled to her side. She truly had nothing to fear with him at her side. Soon her eyes slid closed and she settled into a peaceful rest.
xxxXxxx
Morgana woke to the sound of Merlin's voice. He touched her shoulder before kissing her forehead. "Time to wake up, love," he whispered.
"Mmm," she replied as she stretched.
"How did you sleep?" He was now sitting on a chair next to her bed, a fond look on his face.
"With my bracelet? Beautifully. I didn't want to risk seeing the immediate future."
"Understandable." He smiled and took her hand. "Though you have nothing to worry about, I'm sure."
She squeezed his hand. "As long as I have you with me, I have nothing to fear."
He leaned over to press their lips together sweetly but too briefly for Morgana's taste. "Here, let me help you up."
She let him pull her up and lead her to the table where breakfast for two was laid out. They sat and ate, talking about light matters as if nothing important was going to happen later. That, more than anything, relaxed Morgana. And when she finished, Merlin excused himself to wait outside while she dressed. He told her to knock on the door when she was done and he'd take her to meet up with Arthur and Gwen.
While she was dressing, she heard Merlin speaking to different people. She couldn't hear what was said but could tell the people were curious as to why he was standing in front of the absent witch's door. Little did they know, she thought. Soon they would though. Very soon.
When she was done, she tapped on the door and it unlocked to reveal Merlin. He held out his arm for support and she took it gladly. The time for anonymity was up and they began walking down the corridor to the royal chambers.
They didn't encounter many people, but those they did had interesting reactions to seeing her. One Lady turned into their corridor, saw Morgana then turned to walk back the way she'd come. A female servant carrying food dropped her platter, screamed and ran past them as quickly as she could. Morgana rolled her eyes but they kept walking until they reached the royal chambers. Merlin knocked and opened the door when he heard an "enter" from within.
Gwen was helping Arthur fasten his cloak. She looked over to Morgana and asked, "How are you feeling this morning?"
Morgana smiled and pulled Merlin with her over to her friend. "I slept well, so I feel pretty good. Plus Merlin tends to brighten one's day."
"He does, doesn't he?" Gwen replied. Arthur scowled. Gwen whacked his shoulder lightly. "He's cheerful in the morning and you especially could use that."
Arthur opened his mouth to reply but changed his mind and closed it again. Merlin beamed. "Thanks Gwen!"
"Is everyone ready for this?" Arthur interrupted.
Merlin and Gwen nodded. "As ready as I'm going to be," Morgana said steadily.
"Good. Let's get going then." As they walked out of the room to the balcony, Arthur turned to Morgana. "I'm sorry about this, but I'm going to have to put you in shackles. To show that you've truly submitted to Camelot."
Morgana felt surprised but didn't show it. "I . . . understand. I don't really like it, but if you think it's best . . ."
"It's what they'll expect. I'll have them removed at the end of the day though."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
Guards awaited them at the entrance to the balcony, they fastened cuffs around Morgana's ankles and wrists. She sighed but let them. Arthur had a point—she would look more submissive and repentant with them on. As they finished, Gwen came to stand on her left side while Arthur remained on her right. "Ready?" he asked. Both women nodded and the guards in front of them opened the doors leading out into the sun.
Shocked gasps and whispers met the trio. Morgana looked around to find Merlin behind her. She took a deep breath and turned back to face the muttering crowd. Now that they'd caught sight of her, the chatter increased in volume with occasional angry outbursts. Arthur and Gwen exchanged a glance and Arthur nodded.
"People of Camelot. I know how most of you feel about my sister, Morgana. She has returned here to surrender herself to me and to Camelot." Some of the murmuring died down at this. "I have decided to give her a chance to confess her crimes and pay for them." People began to protest and several "boos" were heard. "Today I am opening the court to everyone, noble or not, to confront Morgana with the wrongs she has done to you and yours. When everyone has had their say, she will be judged and punished for her crimes."
The murmuring grew louder again as the people debate among themselves. Gwen shot Arthur a look that said "finish this before it gets ugly." He nodded and opened his mouth to continue speaking. That's when a tomato sailed through the air and hit Morgana's thigh. "What?" Morgana gasped.
Before anyone else could speak, more vegetables came sailing through the air. Guards stepped in front of the King and Queen as Arthur pushed Morgana back at Merlin and said, "Get her out of here." Another tomato smashed itself at her feet.
Merlin turned Morgana around then moved behind her to protect her from the crowd. "Move," he told her, giving her a gentle shove. She began shuffling forward to the doors then through. Once inside, Merlin helped her down the corridor back to the royal chambers. He found a cloth, dipped it into the washbasin then began cleaning off her dress. "Are you hurt?"
She moved different parts of her body around. "Just my pride" she replied.
He stood and cupped her face. "Good." He then started picking bits of food from her hair.
"You're good at this."
"I wonder why?" He grinned.
"Intimate knowledge of the stocks, I'd say," Arthur replied, coming into the room with Gwen. "Any ideas on how to get her into the throne room without using up this year's harvest?"
"Sure." Merlin finished his cleaning. "We take her through the servants' entrance."
"Of course," Gwen said. "Though we should probably forestall any more vegetable-throwing."
Arthur marched back to the door and opened it. "Bring me Sir Leon," he told the guard outside. The guard nodded and left.
The two couples spent the next few minutes talking about what Arthur had said after Morgana left. He'd rebuked the crowd and told them that as people of Camelot they were surely better than this. Then he told them to line up outside the throne room so they could have their say to her. He and Gwen left after that, shaking their heads in disgust at the ill manners of their people.
Leon stepped through the door just then and Arthur gave him instructions to have the people searched for rotten food and to give them instructions. He hoped no one would take the opportunity to spit on or otherwise abuse Morgana, but he knew that in reality some probably would. Morgana was oddly all right with that. She felt she'd deserved it. Arthur shrugged and finished up with Leon, who then left.
"Are you ready for this?" Arthur asked Morgana.
"No, but it's what I came here for." She exchanged a look with Merlin, who nodded and smiled at her. "Let's go."
Merlin led them from the room and down corridors Morgana thought she'd never seen before. Eventually they ended up in a narrow passage that came out into the back of the throne room. "You'll stand down there," Arthur pointed to the base of the steps, "while we'll be up here watching. If anyone gets too abusive, the guards will rein them in."
Morgana nodded. This was why she was here, even though she just wanted to get through it. She knew every little bit of what she's go through would be worth it. She'd made them suffer so she would take it in return. Stepping down the stairs, she stood waiting. Merlin stepped down next to her and took her hand. "You can do this," he whispered and squeezed her hand. She smiled back at him before he walked back to stand behind Arthur.
"Ready?" Arthur asked again. Morgana nodded. "Let them in," he called down to the guards at the doors. The guards opened the doors and people streamed in.
xxxXxxx
The trial lasted three days. Days so long they felt like years and each dragged on for a lifetime of emotions. Morgana hadn't known there were this many people in the kingdom and it made her physically ill to think of their numbers.
A few really stood out in her mind. A woman whose knight husband was imprisoned, beaten and nearly starved to death. A man whose wife and daughter were killed when Morgana's crossbowmen shot into the crowd. A woman who had been violated when Helios's men took the lower town.
But for every prominent memory, there were several more—families whose homes had been pillaged and/or burned down. Merchants whose livelihood had been destroyed. Farmers whose fields had been sacked. Servants who had been abused. Nobles who had lost family members or fortune to one or both of the invading armies. And so many more.
She'd cried with them and laughed with them even as they'd ranted, raved and hurled abuse at her. She'd apologized over and over—some accepted her apologies and forgave her, some didn't. They expressed their hatred often by spitting but were stopped short of physical violence by the guards.
Now, she sat in her chambers, numb from the emotions of the past three days. She was startled by a knock at the door, even though she'd been expecting Merlin. She stood and walked over to the door to await him. When he opened it, she crossed the last couple of feet to collapse into his arms.
"They're deliberating now," he told her. She clung rather tightly to him, more than he expected. He struggled to balance them and ended up leading her to sit on her bed. He put an arm around her and stroked her hair with the other
Suddenly cold, she began trembling. "Will they be long, do you think?"
"It's hard to say. They do have three days of evidence to go over."
"So, I shouldn't expect anything tonight."
"Probably not."
"Good." But tears ran down her face again.
Merlin pulled back a little to look in her eyes. "What is it?"
"How can I sleep tonight, knowing what I know now? Knowing a handful of people are discussing my fate?"
He reached out to take her face in his hands. "Morgana, there's nothing you can do about that. You have to let it go, love."
"Will you stay with me tonight?"
"I-I . . ."
"Not like that. Just sit with me?"
"I can do that. Did you want some dinner before bed?"
"No, I'm not hungry."
"All right, then. Let's get you to bed." He helped her up and over to the dressing screen so she could change into her nightgown. While she did that, he pulled down the covers so she could get in.
He turned when he heard her footfalls behind him. She crossed the room and flung herself into his arms again. After a minute, she pulled away only to lean up and press their lips together.
I started out gentle but gradually became more urgent on her side. While he loved the warmth that spread through him at her touch, he knew this wasn't the right moment. She wanted to forget the heavy emotions of the past three days, but that wouldn't work long-term.
He allowed the kiss to go on for a couple minutes then gently broke away. "Come on now, you need your rest."
"But I want . . ."
"Believe me, I know what you want. I want it too, eventually. But now's not a good time for you—you might regret it later."
"I guess." She hung her head.
He reached out and lifted her chin with his hand. "Hey. We'll get there. Just not tonight." He took her hand and pulled her over to the bed.
She lay down and waited for him to pull the covers over her. Then she watched as he levitated a chair to sit near the head of her bed. As he settled into it, she patted the bed and said, "You don't need a chair. Come on over here."
His eyebrow rose and he shook his head. "You don't give up easily, do you?"
Her eyes glittered up at him. "Never."
He leaned over and kissed her tenderly. "Good. Now go to sleep." He took the hand nearest him, kissed it then settled it with his between them.
Her eyes closed and her breathing evened out into sleep. He tried his hardest to stay awake but decided to rest his head on the bed for a little while. Soon he too was asleep and they slumbered together all night, blissfully ignorant of the debating men below them.
See you tomorrow with the last chapter! :)
