A/N: It's been a little quiet on the review front lately, so I hope I haven't lost you! Hopefully people are reading along and enjoying but not wanting to review – which is cool! Just as long as the story is enjoyable :)

Morgana is going to be a lot more involved in the story from here on in. I've had a problem with the one-dimensional way 'Evil Morgana' has been dealt with in season 3 and so, while she's still 'evil' in my story, it's a little bit more 'reasonable' evil than just evil for evil's sake, if that makes sense.

Thanks for reading


Chapter 9. Confusion

Gaius looked across at Merlin for a long time, both silent as he took in the news Merlin had just relayed to him.

"And they don't know she saw them?" he asked eventually.

Merlin shook his head. "They think I was just angry about the state of the room and the trouble it could cause," he said slowly. "I didn't know what else to tell them. If I let them know Morgana saw them and the room it brings up the whole issue of Morgana's magic and then..."

Gaius leant forward and spoke with urgency. "Merlin, you must keep this from him. Arthur must not learn about Morgana's magical ability right now. He is in turmoil as it is. I fear that if he finds out that Morgana has magic and is in league with Morgause we will not be able to hold him accountable for his actions."

Merlin nodded his head and then let it hang forward. He was at a loss. There were too many forces combining against them, too many secrets being pushed out into the daylight. His optimism had deserted him and he wasn't even trying to find a way out anymore. Fear and trepidation were all his mind could produce right now.

"We need to be prepared for the fact Morgana may well find a way to use Arthur and Gwen's relationship against them, now that she has seen the truth," Gaius murmured, deep in thought.

Merlin stood up and took a few restless paces across the room before turning back to Gaius. "All I keep thinking," he said, his hands reaching out before him in a questioning gesture, "is why hasn't Morgana gone straight to Uther? After what she's seen, with the evidence laid out there before her, why aren't we all locked up in the dungeons right now?"


Morgana stood at the window in her chambers, staring out at the city which lay before her. Her mind was whirling and she had to consciously focus on slowing it down, thinking things over calmly and analytically. Morgause had taught her that her emotions were to be subjugated, forced into the background so that reason and purpose could rule unopposed. She'd struggled with this to begin with but, as she became a better student, she had discovered how much easier it was to work towards their goal without the weakness of emotion clouding her judgement. Now it was second nature.

Even so, this situation was a challenge for her. She needed Morgause; her cool reasoning and guidance. But she was in discussions with Cenred and they would not be able to meet until tomorrow night in the forest. Until then, she would be left to ponder this alone.

Finding Arthur and Gwen sharing such adoring gazes had surprised her. It was with no small amount of annoyance that she wondered how she had not seen this before. How long had her 'brother' and her maid been involved in such an amorous relationship? How had she missed it?

But the thing that startled her most, that shocked her to the core, was the blatant and extravagant display of magic. Who had conjured the surreal summer-garden inside Arthur's chambers in which the lovers were so engrossed? Arthur and Gwen she ruled out immediately, though they might have been the most obvious choices. The idea of Arthur having the ability to create anything magical, let alone something so beautiful, was ridiculous, and Gwen was far too simple to have managed it. Neither of them had magic, of that Morgana was certain.

So, who did that leave? Merlin? The bumbling fool could hardly manage to walk without falling over, never mind exercising the skill to practice magic. Out of all the possibilities that ran through her mind, the only one that seemed anything other than laughable was Gaius, and she doubted that he would be tempted into such a reckless exhibition of magic even if he did have the ability.

Not knowing where the magic came from left her unsure of what action to take. Part of her suspected that Morgause would want her to go to Uther with what she had seen and further the work she had begun with Sir Cenwig. Implicating Arthur in the use of magic would firm her position with Uther and push Arthur to the outside, breaking irreparably the trust Uther had in his son. But it was dangerous to act without full knowledge, to jump into something she didn't understand.

She ran her hand over the brickwork of the window alcove and let the chill it emitted cool her. She would bide her time. Morgause would be waiting in the forest tomorrow night and she could speak to her then. She had thought that idea would give her comfort, but Morgana was aware of the unsettled feeling deep inside her.

It had been beautiful, watching Gwen and Arthur sitting together in their enchanted garden. Gwen had had a glowing, ethereal quality about her which was something more than Morgana had ever seen in her before, something delicate but enduring. She somehow looked more herself, freed from her subservient role and totally absorbed in the beauty around her and the man by her side. Arthur had personified pride and adoration, almost bringing a smile to Morgana's lips as she watched him playfully tucking a yellow bloom behind Gwen's ear. For a very long moment they had been her friends again and she was delighted with her discovery. That feeling had been overcome but something of it lingered and she realised a part of her was loath to do anything to corrupt the innocence of what she'd witnessed.

Even as she battled against these feelings, a persuasive new thought was washing over her. Arthur had been so at ease with the magic around him, so comfortable. She and Morgause were fighting to free Camelot from the tyranny of Uther's reign, and she had always assumed that would mean fighting against Arthur as well. But maybe he could be persuaded. Maybe he wasn't the enemy to magic she had thought him to be. The very thought felt almost treacherous and she suspected she knew what Morgause's reaction would be. But she found herself unwilling to give up on the chance that freedom might be a step closer than they had thought.

Conflicted and unsure, Morgana stayed by the window for some time, Morgause's conviction in the need for outright warfare battling with the image of the peaceful magic she'd witnessed within the walls of this very castle, the bastion against the existence of magic itself.


Night had fallen and the lamps were lit across the lower town. Merlin sat in the chair he'd pulled up to the window and looked out at the scene before him. He couldn't sleep. Every time Arthur stirred in his bed Merlin cringed in expectation, wondering if at that moment, Morgause was feeding him ideas, pictures of realities he was better off not knowing. He thought of Gaius, sitting alone in his room, scanning through books that were probably going to be of no help and preparing the next treasonous lie he would need to tell the King. He thought of Gwen and wondered if she was lying awake worrying about Arthur and his magic and their future. And all the while, in the background of every thought he had, murmured that anxious voice which wouldn't stop asking what Morgana was up to and why she hadn't yet made her move.

The knock on the door startled him but his nerves calmed when Gaius slipped through the door. Merlin stood to meet him and, after a quick glance to check Arthur was still sleeping, he walked with Gaius to the far end of the chambers.

They stood close together in the dark.

"I've just left Uther," Gaius murmured, keeping his voice as low as possible. "I've told him that Arthur is improving and that the quarantine will be able to be lifted after one more day."

Merlin opened his mouth to protest but Gaius shook his head and started speaking again firmly.

"This cannot continue, Merlin. Uther is concerned for his son. If we continue with this deception he will break the quarantine and come here to see Arthur against my advice. He has already suggested bringing in other physicians who might be able to find the cure that is 'eluding' me. If that happens, we will be exposed without a doubt. We have no choice. We cannot keep Arthur hidden away forever."

Merlin ran his hands over his face, rubbing his eyes hard with his fingers. "That's it then," he said, letting his hands fall to his sides. "Tomorrow Arthur and I are leaving the castle."

"Merlin! You can't seriously think running away is the answer to all this?"

"I'm not talking about running away," Merlin placated. "If Arthur is going to have to face his father – and the rest of Camelot – then he's going to have to be able to control his magic, at least until we find out how to free him of it. I'm going to take him somewhere out of the way and teach him how to keep it under control."

"Merlin, be reasonable," Gaius pleaded, worried by the fierce resolve he saw in the young man's eyes. "Leaving the castle is far too dangerous. And what makes you think Arthur will ever be able to control his magic?"

"I learnt how to," Merlin countered.

"But magic is part of you," Gaius reasoned. "It's different for Arthur – this magic has been forced upon him. It is not part of his very being as yours is to you."

"Is there a reason the pair of you are standing over here in the corner whispering about me?" Arthur's voice took them both by surprise, as did the fact that he was walking towards them, barefoot and bleary-eyed.

Gaius and Merlin exchanged nervous glances, worrying about how much of the conversation he had overheard.

"I'm sorry, Sire. We didn't mean to wake you," Merlin said.

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the use of the deferential title. "Merlin? What's going on?"

Satisfied that he would have been knocked out cold by a flying chair by now if Arthur had picked up on the discussion about his magic, Merlin decided to opt for a selective version of the truth.

"Gaius has had to tell your father the quarantine can be lifted the day after tomorrow," he explained. "And we're not any closer to finding out how to fix the...problem."

Arthur folded his arms over his chest and nodded acceptingly. "This plan was never going to work for long," he agreed.

Merlin watched as the Prince furrowed his brow. He was tackling this problem like he did a military one, thinking it through strategically. The realisation filled Merlin with new hope that his plan would work and a smile found his lips while he wondered just how he was going to set about getting them both safely out of the castle in the morning.


"I'm going to have to speak to my father about replacing every single one of those guards," Arthur muttered in disgust, as his horse trotted alongside Merlin's.

Merlin looked to his side and saw Arthur pulling at the neckline of his tunic in annoyance. The Prince had been disgusted by the coarse and worn clothes Merlin had brought him to wear and only marginally less dismayed when he saw the 'poor excuse for a horse' he was expected to ride, insisting to Merlin that it would be more accurately described as a goat. To be fair on the guards, who had let them ride out unopposed, it was hard to see any hint of the gallant, dignified Arthur Camelot was used to seeing in the grubby peasant who rode by his side.

Smiling to himself, Merlin looked up ahead. It was almost like normal, the pair of them riding out like this, Arthur grumbling the whole time. If he tried hard enough he could begin to imagine they were out on a hunting trip, what with the washed-out glow of the winter sunrise lighting their way and the air of expectation hanging over them. But this was no hunting trip. Merlin saw the trail he was looking for approaching and urged his horse on.

"Come on," he called over his shoulder, in no small way enjoying Arthur's mutter of annoyance at Merlin being the one to call the shots.


Arthur was standing in the middle of the clearing. He had no weapon on him (Merlin had insisted that they brought none out of sheer self-preservation) but he looked for all the world as if he were preparing to take on a fearsome opponent in a battle to the death.

"Right," he said to Merlin, his face showing total concentration and his feet set apart in a steady stance. "Give me your best shot, Merlin."

The gasp of laughter that escaped Merlin's throat was not met with amusement.

"I thought that's what we were doing out here," Arthur snapped. "If I need to learn how to not let my anger and annoyance..."

"Your feelings, you mean?" Merlin teased.

"...and irritation," the Prince added, glaring at his manservant, "turn into magic, then you're going to have to make me angry which, luckily, you have a natural talent for."

"So, had Gwen made you angry or irritated when you decided to turn your chambers into a romantic garden retreat?"

Merlin had barely got the words out of his mouth before a clod of dirt hit his face trying to make its way in. Spiting a few blades of grass out of his mouth, Merlin looked across at Arthur with raised eyebrows, his displeasure obvious. "We're going for no magic here, remember?"

Arthur looked slightly abashed. "Yeah, sorry."

Merlin shook his head and used his fingers to fish something that felt disturbingly like a slug out of his mouth. "You know," he said after a moment, deciding to go straight for the jugular. "Gwen's a really lovely girl. I can understand why you like her."

Surprised by this sudden change in conversation, Arthur nodded and took a few steps towards Merlin, scuffing at the dirt with his feet.

"I mean, I know that time she told me how brave I was and that I was a hero to stick up to bullies like you..."

"When what?" Arthur asked sharply.

Merlin spared Arthur only a quick glance and then walked past him towards a plant he had a sudden and inexplicable interest in. "When she told me she thought I was brave," Merlin repeated, with a shrug. "And that time she kissed me, well, that was pretty good too."

Merlin crouched down to the ground to examine the plant and winced in anticipation, waiting for an assault of flying slugs.

"I could have you strung up for telling lies like that," Arthur said after a few long seconds. "But look, no magic."

Merlin swivelled around cautiously to look at him. There was a peculiar look on his face which was a mixture of anger and smugness. His arms were held out in a gesture meant to display his wonderful mastery of magic. But the most noticeable feature was something else.

Letting out a groan, Merlin stood up straight. "Arthur, you're green with envy."

"I am not," Arthur retorted. "I can recognise slander when I hear it. Guinevere has too much self respect to..."

Merlin shook his head in exasperation and cut Arthur off by walking up to him, picking up his hand and holding it up to his face. "Arthur," he repeated. "You are green with envy."

Arthur focussed on his hand then let out a cry of shock. His skin had taken on a strange green tint and his fingernails were practically emerald. He frantically pushed up his sleeve then hitched up the awful tunic to inspect his torso. The effect was the same all over. With a growl of frustration, Arthur walked off towards a fallen log and sat himself down despondently.

Merlin smothered the amusement which had risen inside him and walked over towards the Prince.

"It's not that bad," he consoled, sitting down next to Arthur. "It'll fade soon, just like the wilderness in your chambers did."

"It's no good, Merlin," Arthur lamented. "I can't control this. It just happens. I don't even know where to start with trying to fight it."

Merlin jumped to his feet and stood in front of Arthur. "Listen, it's like this. The magic is there and you're going to have to learn to live with it until can find out how to get rid of it. But you can control it. You're Prince Arthur. Self-control is part of what you're all about. When you went out to fight the Great Dragon you must have been scared, but you didn't let it stop you doing what you needed to do. How did you do that?"

Arthur looked up at Merlin and frowned. "You just put it to the back of your mind, I guess. Then you use that energy to help you fight, to think clearer, to move faster."

Merlin nodded enthusiastically. "And when you were cold and exhausted when we were looking for Morgana? Or when your father makes decisions you don't agree with but you can't do anything about? Do you see what I'm saying? You have to stay calm and focussed. You have to push your emotions to the back and do what needs done. Now get up and use that same discipline to get this situation under control!"

With that, the green Prince got to his feet and the two set to work with focussed intent, determined to pull the rogue magic into line.