DISCLAIMER: NOT MINE ........I merely own my imagination.

NOTES: THANK YOU SOO MUCH! All those reviews bring me to my desk even faster to write another chapter! This one is a little shorter, but the next will be longer ...with the wedding and all!

So glad you all like!! THANK YOU!

OATHKEEPER

It was almost dawn when Morgianna walked back. In front of the fort's entrance she could see Merlin waiting for her in the twilight.

"I have been waiting for you....." he said solemnly. "Walk with me."

Morgianna nodded, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders. She had not felt the cold before, now it seemed to seep in through her skin, chilling bone and marrow.

For a time they walked next to each other in silent, matching steps until Merlin broke the silence first.

"Arthur told me that you offered to stay with him and not return to your duties."

There was only the barest hint of reproach in his voice, certainly less than she had expected. Still ...knowing Merlin as well as she did, Morgianna did not trust the first impression.

"I did..." she answered simply, looking straight ahead." I promised to rescind my.... position if that was his wish."

Merlin nodded to himself."Good, he will need your council and clarity if he is to bring order and peace to this land. He has lived here long but there is much he does not know or understand about his people."

"He has Guinevere and his knights....."

Merlin shot her a meaningful look, which was supposed to remind her not to pretend with him.

"He will need you." He said with emphasis, stopping were he stood so that Morgianna was suddenly two strides ahead. She turned to him with a challenging look and was surprised to find that his expression had softened.

"Will you really step down and give up your position if he asks this of you?"

"Yes...." She answered without hesitation. She had been proud to be named her aunt's successor. She had loved Viviane dearly and she had been trained for her office for long, hard years. The sight had come to her unbidden, unexpected and undeniable, a gift as much as it was a curse. She had revelled in the power, the attention it brought upon her when she was still a young girl. When she had still been too young, to inexperienced to understand the value of her aunt's lessons.........This kind of power does not come free. The more she had seen the more she had understood: Everything had its time and its price. Wearing the cloak of the lady was a position of power, but also of duty and devotion ......lately that duty had become a burden and her loyalties had become divided.

"He has much affection for you.....and you for him." He remarked, eyes fixed on her face. The woman in front of him straightened her shoulders, meeting his gaze with her head held high, resolve and authority in her clear, cold eyes. She knew that searching gaze that was directed at her now.

He was searching for weakness, for a sign of emotion in her face .....Something he could exploit, something that would serve to remind her of whom she owed allegiance to. Merlin was a man of power and influence, but a man, a mortal none the less ....he was not unfeeling or unreasonably cruel, but he pursued his goals with fervour and uncompromising dedication. In his eyes everything had its use. He had seen the grief, the regret, the fear in her eyes. Returning his inquisitive stare, Morgianna steeled herself. She knew in his eyes, her love for her brother might seem useless to the cause.

"I gave Arthur my word, I will not be forsworn." Morgianna said, her voice cool and controlled, suddenly more than just a voice.......holding the whisper of the wind, the rushing of leaves, the sounds of the night. She had known him since her childhood, but just now she felt it necessary to remind him that he was not just talking to the girl he had known, but that he was also addressing the lady of the lake, not just the woman but the office.

Merlin nodded to himself again, obviously satisfied with her answer. His serious expression melted away in front of her eyes, giving way to a warm, affectionate smile as he held his right hand out to her in a fatherly gesture.

"The elders agree that your place must be at your brother's side. We have sent for Nimue to receive your blessing. If they make haste she can be here as soon as tomorrow."

Morgianna stared sat him in wonder and for a moment she thought the impact of his words were enough to bring her to her knees.

On the outside she looked as calm and serene as ever, but inside her mind and soul a storm was raging. The implication of what Merlin had said was not lost on her. Nimue could assume her duties, her position ......they would let her step down, they would release her from the oath she had sworn.....or was he merely testing her?

"Nimue...." She whispered slowly, turning the name over in her mind until the sounds fell from her lips lightly as pebbles.

"You taught her yourself. She is still young, but .....she has the sight and followed your lessons and teachings faithfully."

"Yes..." Morgianna asserted almost inaudibly, searching Merlin's face. For once there was no careful, calculating look, and when he smiled at her the sentiment reached his eyes.

"She will be the lady...."

"You will still have to hold your position until after your brother's wedding, Nimue will not arrive tonight. She will assume your duties as soon as she has received your blessing."

"And she will take my place...."

"In all things..." Merlin nodded, still patiently holding out his hand. They both looked at each other, knowing all the meaning, the cruciality those few words held.

She could be free.....of obligation, of oaths sworn so long ago, before she had understood the impact of words whispered over fire and blood.

Morgianna´s breath caught in her throat and her facial expression became almost raw with emotion. She would be free...

"Thank you." She whispered, taking the offered hand, leading it to her forehead before kissing it. "Thank you ...."

She let him draw her in with one hand. Stepping into his open arms she could feel his lips on the top of her head, the rough texture of his cloak under her cheek and the smell of moss and hawthorn that always clung to him. It had been years since she had been held in a comforting embrace and for a moment Morgianna thought she might cry. All the things she had seen, all the things her dreams had shown her, the things she had done ...sometimes they had turned her heart to ice with dread. She had been schooled to appear removed and detached from all others that at times she felt as though it had turned her to stone. Now .....Having this weight lifted from her heart and shoulders was like being saved from drowning, like reaching the surface for the first clean, deep, liberating breath.

"Enough....it is enough." Merlin whispered into her hair, softly enough for her to know that he understood. "Enough pain, child."