Sorry it's been a while - but hey, it's Christmas/New Year! It's non-stop parties for my family at this time.

And that cliffie in the last chapter was an experiment to see how many more of you reviewed. :) It worked well.

I've almost finished the next chapter too, so expect that up in a few days.


Steel clashed as metal met metal. The wind whistled past the sword as it was raised into the air, carving deftly once more against the enemy's shield… Morgana grinned happily, triumphantly raising her sword over her opponent's limp form. But something was different… she was back in her old body.

"Sire? Arthur!"

Someone was calling Arthur's name - one of the knights, possibly Sir Corrs?

"What's happened?" A new voice now, actually sounding very similar to Morgana's voice. Morgana heard a loud rippp and felt something soft touch her head. Her world spun black, the battlefield disappearing into darkness.

"Morgan - Arthur!"

There was that voice again…

Morgana forcibly opened her eyes. The face staring back at her slowly swam into focus, confirming what she'd just remembered.

Merlin, in Morgana's body, was kneeling opposite the real Morgana. "Are you okay?" he said anxiously, rocking backwards and forwards. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Morgana tried to focus on the hand in front of her. "Two?"

Merlin sighed with relief, dropping his hand. "Oh, good!" He reached forward and gave Morgana a quick hug before helping her up into a sitting position.

Morgana groaned, clutching her head. A slight damp cloth was bound across Arthur's hair; Morgana drew her hand away and stared at her fingers. There was a faint trace of blood.

"What happened?"

"Sir Corrs knocked you out," Merlin explained. "Gave you a nasty cut on the head. I bandaged it, but I think you should still let Gaius see it."

Morgana gazed up at the knights surrounding them, noticing Corrs nearby. He averted his eyes when she glared at him. She glanced back at Merlin, who hastily hid his left arm behind his back.

"Bandaged it with what, Morgana?" Morgana asked slowly, suspicion creeping into her voice.

"Umm… a piece of cloth," Merlin answered innocently, not meeting her gaze.

Morgana reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing it forward. The left sleeve of her dress had been torn off. "Merlin! You ruined my dress!"

The knights all glanced at one another, clearly bewildered by 'Arthur's' statement.

Merlin forced a look of concern on his face. "Arthur, are you sure you're okay? Maybe we should go and see Gaius now."

Morgana took a few deep breaths, constraining the urge to shout at Merlin. "I think you're right, Morgana." Carefully, she pushed herself to her feet; Merlin also standing up.

"Sire." Sir Corrs stepped forward. "I feel like I should help you to the physician's chamber, seeing as I was the one who injured you."

"I'll be fine with him," Morgana replied grouchily, pointing at Merlin-in-Morgana.

Corrs looked confused. "Him?"

"The sooner we get him to Gaius, the better," Merlin interrupted, grabbing hold of Morgana-in-Arthur's arm. "Thanks for your offer, but I think I can manage him okay."

As the two of them made their way off the training field, Morgana leant down and whispered in Merlin's ear "That was my favourite dress too. I am going to make you pay, Merlin."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Gaius was enjoying a peaceful nap when a sudden knock at the door woke him up.

"Alright, alright," he mumbled, getting to his feet. "Who is it?" he called louder as he approached the door.

"It's me, Gaius," Morgana's voice replied. "Arthur hurt his head during training."

Gaius swung the door open. Morgana entered, looking more dishevelled than normal - one side of her dress hung in rags, and her hair held little of its usual gloss. Arthur stepped in beside her, his head bound in a cloth similar to that of Morgana's dress. On closer inspection, Gaius determined that it was in fact from Morgana's dress.

"So, you hurt your head?" Gaius guided Arthur towards a seat. "Who bandaged it?"

"I did," Morgana replied, pacing the room. Her eyes wandered back and forth.

"Hmm." Gaius turned back to Arthur and slowly peeled the make-shift bandage from the prince's head. Arthur winced.

Gaius wet a small sponge and siphoned off the dried blood. The cut he uncovered was fairly shallow, but messy.

Gaius placed the cloth from Morgana's dress on the table. "That was quick thinking, Morgana," he praised her. He chuckled. "One would almost think that you were a professional at this."

"Well, you taught me," Morgana muttered under her breath, then glanced up, her eyes wide. "You didn't hear that, did you?"

"Hear what?" Gaius walked over to a shelf, shifting through various herbs and concoctions.

"Gaius?" Morgana's voice was hesitant this time. The physician turned to look at her; she was staring at him nervously.

"What is it, Morgana?"

"Gaius, if anyone can help us, I think that you can."

"No!" Arthur's voice said sharply. "Morgana, do not say anything further."

"He has a right to know!" Morgana shot back. "He's helped us before - remember with Mordred?"

Arthur sank back in his chair, suddenly looking beaten. "I still don't think the others would agree," he muttered.

If Gaius was confused before, he was truly puzzled now. "Morgana? Arthur?" He said cautiously. "Is something wrong?"

Morgana sighed, placing her hands on Gaius's desk. "Gaius, I'm Merlin."

There was silence in the room for what seemed like a long time.

"Merlin?" Gaius echoed finally. He laughed nervously. "My dear, I think you must be mistaken..."

"No, honestly, I'm Merlin," Morgana argued, her face flushed. "I'm just in Morgana's body. The real Morgana - Morgana's soul, or whatever - is in Arthur's."

Gaius glanced at Arthur. The prince was staring at Morgana intently, a look of annoyance on his face. "I really don't think you should have told him. Arthur's going to be mad when he finds out."

"So," Gaius interrupted. "If you're telling the truth…"

"Which I am."

"You, Merlin, are now in Morgana's body, while Morgana is in Arthur's. So, is Arthur in Merlin's body, then?"

"No, he's in Gwen's," Arthur's body replied.

Gaius sank into his chair. "Gwen?"

"Gwen's me," Morgana - Merlin? - explained. "Gaius, you've got to believe us."

"I wouldn't believe you if I wasn't Arthur right now," Arthur's voice added.

Morgana turned back to Gaius. "Look, I'll prove that it's me." She took a few steps forward and whispered in his ear "Gaius, I can do magic. I'm a warlock." She lowered her head, stepping back. Her eyes were on the physician the whole time, and Gaius suddenly noticed the odd expression in them. It was an expression he'd only ever seen on one person before…

"Merlin?" He breathed. "Merlin, is that really you?"

Morgana/Merlin nodded eagerly. "It's me."

"But - how…?"

"There was a parchment on your table yesterday," Merlin-in-Morgana explained. "I read out a few words from it, and we ended up in each other's bodies."

Gaius breathed in sharply. Memories rushed back to him from a time many years ago. "That parchment? Oh, not again!"

"Again?" Now Morgana's face looked surprised.

Gaius leaned forward. "Before I tell you anything, let me get this straight. You all ended up in my room yesterday, Merlin read some words from it, and you switched bodies. Was this just before I came in?"

Arthur (Morgana?) and Morgana (Merlin?) nodded sheepishly.

"I should have known," Gaius mumbled, folding his hands together on the desk. "So Merlin is Morgana, Morgana is Arthur, Arthur is Gwen and Gwen is Merlin?"

The two young adults nodded again.

Gaius sighed. "I guess, then, I should tell you. That spell was an invention of someone I knew, someone who was curious about making new spells. It was invented before Arthur was born, and before Uther banned magic."

"You seem to know an awful lot about it," Morgana-in-Arthur said suspiciously.

"I should," Gaius admitted, lowering his gaze. "Because of the spell Niameh invented, Ygraine, Uther, Niameh and I switched bodies."