Hey guys, I want to give a huge thank you to my hero, jellyblobs, for being super helpful and encouraging! This one is a Merlin chapter, and our plot thickens, so hang in there, things are about to get interesting! Pretty, pretty please review!

*disclaimer* still don't own this

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Merlin had been pondering the same question all day; What was Morgana doing? He'd barely slept the night before, lying awake and wondering. Obviously, she was trying to ruin the negotiations, but how? And was Arthur in immediate danger? How did she hold a spell like that so long? He considered asking Kilgarah, but he knew the dragon would only tell him something about the evil of Morgana and his destiny. No, there was a better way to do this; by snooping. And Merlin, after years of practice, was an expert snooper.

Evening had fallen, and negotiations were still going full swing as Merlin snuck up the stairs to Morgana's chambers. He unlocked the door with a stolen key and slipped inside. He quickly surveyed the chambers once, his eyes settling on the table in front of the mirror. Merlin rummaged through the drawers, looking for clues. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, so he moved on to the bedside table. Again, nothing unusual. Nothing under the bed either. Merlin turned and looked at the ornate wooden cupboard.

He walked over to it and and tried the doors. Locked. Merlin glanced around out of habit, then muttered a spell under his breath. His eyes flashed gold, and the door popped open. Merlin peered inside, then gasped in shock. Inside the cupboard lay Odin, bound hand and foot in chains. He was bedraggled, dirty, and unconscious. The old king had various cuts and injuries, and on closer inspection, Merlin saw that on one side of his head, large clumps of hair had been cut away. Merlin mentally noted that most transformation spells used hair. "That could be useful," he muttered.

Before he could do anything else, Merlin heard footsteps approaching in the hall. He quickly closed the cupboard and used a spell to lock it again, then hid under the bed and pulled the sheets down to hide him from view. He was just in time, because only moments after hiding himself, "King Odin" entered his chambers and bid his escort good night. He listened as Morgana locked the door and chanted her spell that returned her to her normal form.

"Everything is going according to plan," he heard Morgana sneer. "Arthur is so foolish and trusting, to allow his oldest enemy into his precious citadel." Merlin heard the gentle click of a lock and a spell of awakening. He heard a gruff groan. "Good evening, King Odin."

"Let me be, Morgana," Odin said.

"That's an unkind way to address an old ally, Odin," Morgana chided.

"I came here to end all this fighting," Odin spat, "Not to start a war."

Morgana laughed coldly. "You could have joined me, Odin, and together we'd have conquered Camelot, and you would have your revenge. Instead, you turned your back and gave up your rightful vengeance. Your son would be ashamed."

"My son," Odin hissed, "can finally rest, now that I've made peace with his passing. Arthur showed me a better way to reconcile with his death, and it's not through more violence. I allowed grief to blind me, and my acts of vengeance have only caused more suffering. I was a fool, and I came here seeking to make amends. You would do well to do the same, Morgana Pendragon." Merlin heard a solid thump, and a groan from Odin.

"You're wrong!" Morgana screeched. "You disgrace your son's memory by coming to cower at his murderer's feet. You're a fool." She walked toward the bed and Merlin shrank back. He heard Morgana pick something up off the bed and throw it on the floor before Odin. "Eat," she commanded.

As Odin did as he was told, Merlin listened intently to Morgana. He heard the sound of water pouring into a cup, then the pop of a stopper being pulled from a bottle. He heard two drops plink into the goblet, and the squeak of the bottle being re-corked. "You must be thirsty," he heard Morgana say. "Drink it." Merlin heard the glub of water, and then Odin feel silent. "Sweet dreams," Morgana cooed in a sickly sweet voice.

Merlin remained hidden as Morgana prepared for bed. He didn't dare move even after she fell asleep. He waited for hours before he finally worked up the courage to crawl out from under the bed. He used his stolen key to let himself out, then locked the door behind him and sprinted towards Gaius' chambers.

He almost made it. As he glanced behind him, Merlin barreled into a guard patrolling the halls. He'd forgotten about the curfew! He gave the guard a panic-stricken look. "Arthur's going to kill me." he pleaded.

The guard looked at Merlin pityingly, but shook his head. "Sorry Merlin, rules are rules." Merlin hung his head, but allowed himself to be dragged to the dungeon, all the while wondering what to tell Arthur. He was thrown into a small, all to familiar, cell filled with straw. After being told the king would deal with him as soon as possible, the guards left him to continue their patrols. Merlin sighed, and flopped onto the hay, trying to make himself comfortable. He lay there and mulled over what he had learned before drifting into a restless, dream-filled sleep.