This story has morphed a little, but basically although aspects of Series 3 might get into this, Morgana is not evil. I'll write in any explanations I need, but most won't be that important.
Now dressed in his armour Arthur carried Merlin to Morgana's chambers. Merlin looked very sulky about the whole thing.
"Sorry, but it's the best we can do. She's not that bad."
Merlin sighed, and shrugged and then gave a resigned smile. One that Arthur was often used to seeing on Merlin. Usually when he gave him a list of chores that was as long as his arm, or he demanded they go hunting.
"Good boy," Arthur said, idly patting Merlin's leg with his supporting hand. Merlin scowled but as Arthur paused and knocked on the door loudly Merlin was distracted. A moment later Gwen opened it, looking at Arthur in surprise but she stepped back as he walked into the room.
"Is Morgana here?"
"Yes," Morgana said appearing through a doorway, running her fingers through her hair. She smiled as she saw Merlin in Arthur's arms. "Hello Jake."
"Hello," Merlin said. Arthur swung Merlin off his hip and put him down.
"I have to go patrolling, and Gaius is a little busy this morning. Would you mind looking after him, he's eaten and had a wash, so he's all sorted. I should be back just after mid-day."
Morgana looked down at Merlin and she assessed his clothing, and damp and spiky hair.
"I'm sure we could give him a bath, and get those clothes cleaned up a little."
Arthur smirked inwardly as Merlin backed up towards him, and hid behind him a little, Merlin's little hands reached up to clench on his chain mail. Arthur glanced down at him, meeting Merlin's panicked gaze. The adult in there most certainly had no desire to be bathed by Morgana. Arthur supposed if they ever found out who it really was Morgana might be just as mortified. In his own way Arthur failed to see a downside to any of that but he balanced that against Morgana's reaction, and what Merlin would come up with as revenge, once he was restored. Merlin tugged on the chain mail, his face setting into a stubborn glare. Arthur looked back up at Morgana.
"I'll deal with him when I get back. I just need someone to keep an eye on him."
Morgana raised her eyebrows at the sudden edge in Arthur's voice, she shared a glance with Gwen who shrugged and looked at the little boy again. Merlin stayed where he was using Arthur as a shield, getting very uncertain about this babysitting thing.
"Okay," Morgana said. Merlin shuffled out from behind Arthur, with help from Arthur holding one of Merlin's ears. Morgana stepped forward and smacked Arthur's arm. The gesture was more for show than done with any actual force, she knew how hard it could hurt trying to hit Arthur when he was wearing his chain mail.
"Leave his ear alone!" she snapped at Arthur. Arthur let go.
"I'll only be a few hours," Arthur said, suddenly at that moment very reluctant to leave. It was fine leaving Merlin with Gaius. The physician knew what was going on. Morgana was an entirely new prospect. Morgana looked at Arthur, smiling at his sudden discomfort and quite curious about it at the same time.
"We'll be fine, we were only planning to go shopping, we can look for something nice for Jake, can't we?"
Merlin looked up at nodded, then turned to look at Arthur. Arthur's eyes rolled but he left the room, almost crashing into the doorframe on his way out. Merlin snorted, Morgana laughed and Gwen smiled, a little wistfully in Arthur's direction.
"Shall I finish, My Lady, I'll do your hair."
"Will you be all right for a minute Jake?" Morgana asked, she swept down and picked him up, taking him over to the window. Opening it she pointed down. "You'll be able to see Arthur."
Merlin rolled his eyes a little and obligingly looked out of the window for a moment, looking at the poor groom holding Arthur's horse, and then he got bored of that, even before Arthur came out. He knew the scenario well enough, instead he turned to look at Morgana and Gwen. Gwen was plaiting up Morgana's hair, sliding pins into it, and concentrating on what she was doing. Merlin frowned as he watched, he wriggled to the edge of the seat and slide off. He trotted over and looked up at what Gwen was doing. She gave Merlin a vague smile and then carried on with what she was doing, thick strands of Morgana's hair wound around her fingers. Morgana turned her head to check on him and then realised he was peering at Gwen's work with fascination. Morgana tried not to move her head too much, even though she wanted to keep an eye on the little boy.
When Gwen was finished, letting her plait fall down, Morgana turned and looked at Merlin, whose eyes were still wide and fixed as he tried to work out what Gwen had been doing. Morgana reached out and took his hand.
"Would you like to go shopping with us, Jake?"
Merlin nodded, giving her a big wide eyed stare, which he had worked out people found endearing. Morgana smiled at him, a slight frown creasing her brow as she watched him. Merlin turned and on hearing the horses, toddled back over and clambered up on the seat to watch as Arthur rode out at the head of the group. Morgana looked at him for a moment longer, and then standing up let Gwen put a necklace around her throat and a bracelet on her wrist. Morgana gathered up her purse and held her hand out to Merlin. He slid back off the seat and wandered over to take her hand.
He stayed close to them as they moved through the market. Everything was now up so high. Morgana kept his hand in hers, keeping him as close to her as possible, sensing his nerves at the bustle around him. They had paused by a stall selling pies, and Merlin's face had lifted, sniffing delicately, and so cutely, that Morgana had bought him a small meat pie to nibble on and had then paused to get him some proper leather boots, to replace the material wrapped around his feet. Merlin kept looking at them in awe, holding his feet up in the air to admire his new footwear. He did rather lament the fact he wouldn't be wearing them for very long, hopefully. But he couldn't say that to Morgana, instead he had just smiled at her and said thank you in a happy piping voice.
They had paused again to look at material for Morgana's new dress. Gwen and Morgana rolled through several possibilities, while Merlin listened to them avidly. He clung onto Gwen's dress, screwing the material up tightly in his tiny fists. Initially he had turned to Morgana, reaching out to grasp her dress, but then Merlin had assessed the rich, silky material and instead grabbed the light cotton material of Gwen's. It seemed a far safer option, if his hands got sticky. Gwen had smiled down at him and Merlin had shuffled closer, out of the flow of people.
"Jake, which do you think?" Morgana asked.
Merlin looked up, she had draped some purple cloth over one shoulder, and a deep rich sapphire blue over the other. Merlin blinked as he looked from one to the other, contemplating the choice very seriously. He bit down on his lower lip and then slowly pointed to the purple fabric. Morgana smiled. She slid the material off her shoulders and held up the purple one to the stallholder.
"My gentleman escort prefers that one."
Merlin giggled, sniggering into the folds of Gwen's dress. Morgana was not likely to appreciate it if she found out who he really was. Merlin stopped giggling as he thought that he might get into trouble for that. He looked up at her, but Morgana just smiled, and after Gwen worked out how much material they needed, Morgana negotiated the price. As she was haggling, enjoying herself, Gwen turned and looked at another stall nearby.
"I'll look for some matching buttons, Jake, you stay with Morgana."
Merlin let go, shuffling under the stall a little, now he had no anchorage. Morgana ruffled his hair.
"You can hold on, it won't matter if it gets a little dirty."
Merlin felt a little apprehensive but he felt better latched onto someone so he grabbed the thick material of her dress and shuffled closer to her, looking around. He spotted the man as he walked along the street, but didn't really pay much attention. The tall stranger was a little rough looking, and bulky with it, his leather jerkin decorated with heavy looking studs and he was, Merlin noted, carrying a sword. But they were safely within the town limits, everyone knew who Morgana was, and no one would dare cause any trouble. However, by some idle instinct Merlin turned to look down the other way, seeing two guards wandering through the stalls.
Then all of a sudden he stumbled, Morgana's dress yanked from his fingers as she was dragged away from him. Morgana yelped in shock and the stall holder recoiled in surprise. The two soldiers paused and turned. Morgana was slightly out of view, but her scream had attracted enough attention. She staggered as she was pushed but stayed upright. Merlin gave a yip and scurried backwards as the man tried to grab him. He felt the pull as some of his hair was yanked out, but he dodged under the stall, crawling along to the next one, trying to stay just ahead. The man swore as he got away and then recoiled as Morgana lunged forward, seeing the man's intention to grab Merlin.
She threw a right hook, connecting it with the man's jaw. Morgana knew what she was doing, even Arthur had an inclination to duck when her fists came out. But the man was a little taller, and heavier than Arthur. He swung back so the impact of the punch was lost, then he took a step back, and drew his sword.
"My Lady!" Gwen yelled in shock, running back to them as the altercation started. Morgana recoiled, taking several swift steps back as the man pulled his weapon out of his belt. Her intention, however, was not what the man though, as he smirked and ducked down to try and grab for Merlin again.
Two stalls down a cluster of weapons were laid out. Morgana grabbed the nearest sword and lunged back. The man was forced to recoil again, and parry her thrust. He pushed forward and took a swing at her with his left fist, catching her on her left temple and making her stagger. Gwen ducked down to try and coax Merlin out. The soldiers were already on the way, and another pair alerted at the far side of the market, the sounds of clashing swords echoing around the tiny square.
The man pressed his advantage, bringing his sword down. Morgana blocked and tensed her shoulders and arms. The man was pressing the sword down, and as good as she was, he had strength and weight on his side. If she moved her sword clear to strike, he'd get there first. The soldiers coming towards them started to run, realising by then that it was Morgana. They could not afford for her to get injured.
Merlin watched the same thing and with a snarl dashed out from concealment. A second later the man yelped in shock. Merlin had grabbed hold of his leg and lurching up sank his teeth into the man's thigh. He worried at it like an irate terrier, determined to get the man away from Morgana before he hurt her. She pulled clear and dashed to the side, slicing at the man. He dropped his sword to try another grab for Merlin, but he had to dodge Morgana's swing. Merlin let him go and fell clear. The four soldiers were almost on them. Gwen ran forward, grabbed Merlin around the waist and swept him off the floor and took position behind her mistress.
The man snarled and pulled something from his pocket, he held the stone tightly in his hand. Merlin narrowed his eyes, taking a sharp, hitching breath as he sensed magic. The man muttered a word, and backing up was engulfed by a small tornado and vanished. Morgana blinked, and turned to Merlin and Gwen. Merlin's eyes were fixed on the spot the man had vanished from.
"Are you all right, Jake?"
It took Merlin a second to realise he was being spoken to. It was only as Morgana took hold of him, taking him from Gwen and settling him down on her hip that he snapped back. He nodded, and clung to her tightly, putting his face down on her shoulder. Morgana hugged and murmured at him gently before turning to the now confused soldiers.
"Search the town, find him!"
"He used magic My Lady, he could have gone anywhere."
"Search quickly then," Morgana snapped at them.
"We should escort you back," one guard said.
"He looked to be after the boy, isn't that the foundling Prince Arthur brought back?" one of them asked.
Morgana dropped her shoulders and glared. "We can take him back to the citadel."
"You shouldn't go alone My Lady."
"Fine, come along."
She carried Merlin, who clung to her tightly, keeping his face averted. Morgana strode into the castle, went indoors and then turned to the guard lingering behind her.
"I'm sure we'll be safe now, I'll take the boy to Gaius' chambers for now."
There wasn't much else the man could do, he backed off and Morgana swept away with Gwen in tow.
""I don't think we'll have much time, Gwen."
"Why were they after him?"
"That I don't know but Uther is already suspicious as to why Jake was abandoned. I doubt this will do any good, we need to tell Gaius, we need to get Arthur. It's possible we need to get Jack out of Camelot."
Merlin whimpered, thinking exactly the same thing.
"Uther wouldn't hurt him, he's only a boy."
Morgana turned, she shifted Merlin closer to her, pressing him against her torso. Merlin kept his head down and Morgana put a hand over his exposed ear as if that could possibly protect him from hearing.
"Trust me Gwen, that won't mean anything to him. If there is even the remotest suspicion of sorcery Uther will act."
Merlin gave a little whimper and clung onto her tighter. Morgana hugged him back, running her hand up and down his back.
"Don't you worry, nothing's going to happen to you."
Gaius looked up in surprise as Morgana, Merlin and Gwen burst into the room. Well, Morgana and Gwen burst, Merlin just hung in Morgana's arms.
"Gaius, we have a problem."
Five minutes later, Gaius did agree, they had a problem.
"We may need to get him out of the city, or hide him somewhere."
"How? The patrols are on alert now."
"I should be able to do it," Gaius said. Morgana frowned.
"Maybe I should, I mean, if we get caught I could…"
"No, you shouldn't get yourself into trouble, Morgana…"
"Gaius! Morgana!" Arthur burst into the room. Merlin, who had been huddling under the table ran out and latched himself on. Arthur put a hand on his head. Merlin pressed his face into Arthur's leg.
"What happened?"
"A sorcerer tried to take him Sire. Merlin was in the town, away from you, they must have seen it as their first chance," Gaius said.
"Still, it was attempted in the citadel. They must need him urgently."
"I would assume so Sire, once the first spell activates, they only have a certain amount of time before the later parts disintegrate, which would also leave us with him as he is now."
"Also not good."
"Arthur, what is going on?" Morgana said. "Who would want Jake? Does he have magic?"
"Oh please, of course he doesn't", Arthur snapped irritably. He glared at Morgana and gestured down to Merlin, who was glaring up at Arthur, until Gaius put a hand on his head. "Look at him. Look at him, Morgana."
Morgana did, frowning a little. Then she looked up at Arthur again.
"It's a spell that went wrong, somehow, maybe. It's Merlin, for heavens sake, just look at him, it's obvious. It's Merlin!"
Gwen had gone to peer out of the door, listening to the sounds going on around the castle. Suddenly she shut the door.
"It's Uther, I think we really need to get… Merlin! ... out of here!"
