I'm beginning to think that the only way for me to actually write a chapter of this is after listening to hours and hours of music. XD (Which is exactly what I did.) So...here I am! I finally managed to get up a chapter! :) Do I still have some readers out there? O.O

If so, enjoy!

Chapter Ten. Bruising Hands, Healing Hands

After everything that had happened today, Merlin was quite thankful for the silence. Morgana had declared that she was going to hide up in the upper level of the house and see if there was anything she could bring down. Merlin was wary of her arrangement, (and he still is,) but he had only nodded in response. He had played enough of her games – fallen into enough of her traps – gotten tangled into too many of her plans. If she was to show the first sign of betrayal or deceit, Merlin would be sure to end –

Merlin blinked.

End what?

End her?

Merlin paused, running his mind over with those unsaid words over and over again.

"There's just something…odder about you, Merlin. Harder. Colder."

The sorcerer shuddered. Once upon a time, he didn't take a second to really end Morgana. But the circumstances were right – she was going to kill Arthur, kill Merlin, and undoubtedly try to take over Camelot. And Merlin had the chilling, steely feeling that he wouldn't blink to do it again if Morgana proved herself to be a threat again.

Another set of shivers ran up Merlin's spine.

"Harder. Colder."

Was he just that? Was Merlin really Merlin?

"You know, that wall might just blow into flames if you keep staring at it like that," someone said quietly from behind the warlock. Merlin didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. Instead, he lifted his head and stared up at the ceiling, feeling Violet walk around him. He could see her sitting herself on top of a dusty, worn-looking table from the corners of his eyes. He ripped his eyes away from the ceiling and back at the wall before asking, "How do you know that's not what I'm trying to do?"

Violet's eyes widened. She leaned forward, her hands curled over the edge of the tabletop. "Did I hear that right? Did the great Merlin make a joke?"

"Rather dry joke if you asked me," Merlin murmured, but the brunette simply shrugged the comment away. She tilted back, her legs swinging back and forth. "But you weren't going to set the wall on fire – you're a bit smarter than that. Since you really weren't going to proceed with that action, your words qualified as a joke," Violet said, sounding satisfied. Merlin gave Violet a sidelong glance. "And I suppose you would know all about humor," Merlin replied simply.

Violet crossed her arms. "Yeah, I do," she said, though after another passing moment, she puffed out a breath. "Actually, no. I'm rubbish at making jokes. Always was told as the most serious member of my family."

"For some reason, I'm finding that a bit hard to believe," Merlin remarked. Violet rolled her eyes and said, "Maybe that's your version of humor, Merlin – sarcasm." She kicked herself off the table and started to wipe her hands on her legs.

"People do say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," another voice chimed in.

This time, Merlin allowed himself to smile. "Bet you would know, Arthur," he retorted. Moments later, the king was standing between Violet and Merlin. Arthur, like Violet, was wiping something against his pants – probably dirt – and wore the same small tired smile as Merlin was sure was on his own face.

But it was still a smile, which was better than what Merlin had been thinking about. He only let out a weak, semi-convincing laugh before turning back to the wall.

•◊•

"Well, this certainly takes me back to the good, old days," Arthur's sleepy voice murmured from the pile of blankets he was perched on. The entire cabin was dark except for the occasional flame bursting from Morgana or Merlin's fingertips. (Morgana usually produced it because she was bored, and Merlin would sometimes conjure it if he heard a suspicious sound. Nothing ever really appeared.) The four were gathered around in some sort of circle of blanket clumps. Arthur was only a few feet away from Merlin's head, and Morgana was just a little ways from Merlin's feet. Violet was (against her will, Merlin might add,) plopped right in between Arthur and Morgana.

Most of the cabin was quiet, too. There was the occasional creak of the floorboards from underneath the group, or a small sigh uttered from one of them. Sometimes, they'd hear a wind whip by the windows, but it wasn't a very comforting sound. And so, the only thing they could do to fill the silence was to speak in whispers.

"Hm…sounds promising, only that's something that a certain someone can't really relate to."

That was Violet, naturally.

There was a snort – Morgana. "Well, luckily for you, Viola, I don't have a lot of memories of the good, old days, either," the priestess whispered. Merlin fought back a chuckle as Violet said slowly, "My name isn't Viola." Merlin could make out Morgana shrugging her shoulders in the darkness. "Good for you," she said carelessly. Merlin heard the rustle of blankets and a small, unmistakably annoyed huff.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Arthur asked patiently. He propped his head up on an elbow. Merlin could see him flicking at the fabric of the blankets. "I'm not really one to talk about things like this, but…" His voice drifted. Merlin couldn't see his expression – it was too dark.

"Might as well," the king added after some time. "I feel like we haven't had enough time to catch up with one another."

The silence that followed Arthur's words was tense and thick. Merlin flicked his eyes between Arthur – then Violet – then Morgana – and then back to Arthur. (He was fairly sure that the others were doing the same thing.) Inwardly sighing, Merlin braced himself and asked quietly, "Would someone like to start?"

"Why don't you go ahead, Merlin?" Morgana asked. "After all, I think you've got the most input on the world out of the rest of us." Merlin heard someone suck in a breath – definitely Arthur. However, the warlock only replied, "Lots of things changed. That's it."

"Would you mind being any more specific? Some of us have been gone for a while, after all," Morgana said slowly. Merlin flicked an annoyed glance at Morgana, though he knew as well as anyone else that it wouldn't be too much use. However, before he could come up with a satisfying response, Violet murmured, "Something known as electricity was invented. It allowed light to travel in buildings without using torches, so it was a bit safer. Technology advanced – there's proper doctors – no one has kings or queens these days, and most of the time, they don't have a lot of power because we have different forms of government." (At this, there was an odd squeak from Arthur and Morgana. Merlin supposed he should have told them that before…)

"But that doesn't mean that there can't be a leader for Albion," Merlin added softly.

"Ah," Arthur mumbled, sounding relieved.

Another blanket of quiet settled over the group and then Morgana asked, "So, Viola – how did you get here? Last time I checked, my dear brother and the great Merlin didn't really spend much time outside their circle of companions."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur asked dubiously.

"Oh, you know exactly what I mean," Morgana retorted. Her attention turned back to Violet. "Well?"

"It's Violet," the brunette automatically corrected. "And I only followed Merlin and got myself…here."

"That's not too detailed," Morgana replied. Merlin caught sight of Violet's outline rising from her blankets. "That's the only way I remember it," came the younger woman's slow reply. She stood there awkwardly, and after a few more minutes, Merlin watched Violet's figure sink back.

"What about you, Morgana?" Arthur asked after a while. "What were you doing?"

Morgana placed an arm across her forehead. "Just sitting, watching, and waiting," she replied emotionlessly. "I had the occasional talk with the Triple Goddess, but each conversation was the same." Her voice grew softer at that. "Always about having a chance at maybe doing something better."

There was a light sigh. The blankets above Morgana rustled and then she said in a clearer, louder voice, "So I'm here now. I don't have any stories worth crying about, no dramatic tales being spun. Nothing very interesting happened." She rested her head down and pointed a finger at Arthur, who hadn't moved since Morgana spoke of her own time.

Something else was in the air now, and Merlin could sense it – if the atmosphere hadn't been heavy before, it was definitely darker and sadder now.

"What about you? Anything going on in the lake area?" Morgana asked.

Arthur planted a hand on the dusty ground. "Nothing much," he murmured. "Met a few nice people, watched others." He hesitated, and for a moment, Merlin thought he felt Arthur's eyes flick up to meet his own. Again, Merlin couldn't really make out Arthur's face to see if his inference was accurate, but there was still something unspoken about Arthur's words. They both knew what Arthur wasn't sharing – the fact that Arthur had been watching Merlin – but to be honest, Merlin figured that suit them both just fine. Some things were just too personal or too precious to really share aloud.

"Hm," Morgana hummed and shifted her position on the floor. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I think we've gotten to know just a little more about each other."

"How?" Violet asked, bewildered. "I don't think –" She stopped abruptly and then, burrowing herself a bit further underneath the blankets, went on, "I don't think we've really gathered too much about each other. We basically just talked about what we already knew about each other."

Morgana sighed tiredly. "Details, Viola," she said airily. "You're missing them." Before she could elaborate and what exactly she meant, she added, "I'll take the first watch."

Merlin sat up immediately. "No, I'll be the one to take it," he said quickly. He heard Morgana make a small scoffing sound. "Still not trusting me, then," she said. She lifted the blankets over her shoulders and whispered, "That's just fine – goodnight, everyone."

With that, Morgana went quiet.

"I'll get some sleep, too," Arthur said after a while. Merlin could feel his eyes trained on him again. "Just wake me up if you want me to take the watch, Merlin."

Merlin bobbed his head up and down in agreement, but he figured that he wasn't going to be the one to wake Arthur for the watch. He wanted to think by himself, anyways. He watched Arthur settle back underneath the blankets and then, after a few minutes, he heard the soft breaths of sleep all around him.

Bringing his knees to his chest, Merlin started to scan the cabin with his eyes with the wind only for company.

And long after the wind settled down, it was only Merlin's thoughts that kept him awake.

•◊•

"Please don't tell me you were awake for the entire night," Violet whispered as the morning sunlight started to filter through the dirty windows. Merlin turned his head, struggling to keep it above his shoulders. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and replied, "I won't, then."

He heard Violet sigh and say dryly, "For someone who's known to be the greatest warlock on the planet, you sure can be…idiotic."

"Yes, because we all know that staying up to keep watch is an idiotic thing to do," Merlin managed to retort, but the heavy notes in his voice took away the real bite in the comeback. He re-opened his eyes, looking round the cabin wearily. Arthur and Morgana were still sleeping, crumpled underneath their individual piles of blankets and appearing to be sound asleep. (At least, Merlin hoped so – the last thing he needed was for the Pendragons to eavesdrop on whatever words were to be uttered in the next few minutes. That is, if there was going to be anything to be really eavesdropping-worthy. Which Merlin highly doubted.)

"Yup," Violet replied. She stood up, brushing the blankets away and crossed over to Merlin. She sat down beside him, and when he shifted away, a sad smile crossed over her face. "Relax," Violet said. "I'm not going to bite." She gathered one corner of Merlin's blanket and tossed it over his head.

When shooting her a questioning look, Violet explained, "You still have some time to catch up on sleep." She looked over at Arthur and Morgana and added, "I'll come up with some sort of explanation if they wake up soon." With that, she stood back up and headed out of the room.

After another moment of stunned quiet, Merlin sank underneath the blankets and closed his eyes.

A/N - Still stuck in the friendship part of Merlin and Violet's relationship, in case you were worried. :) I don't really know how long I'll carry out the friendship between these two, but I'm not going to make it too long, either, just for the sake of having a too-slow pace. XD

Please, please, please review! I would like to know if there's still some readers out there - I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but real life is a pain in the neck. *Merlin puppy eyes* Please review? I'll go as far as to accepting constructive criticism (I'm always looking for a way to improve), but no flames, please!