Flashback from Chapter 5 - Leaves

Being in the woods with Morgana, Merlin realized something. Watching her play with her magic and the leaves, it didn't make him feel so alone anymore. There was someone else, someone else with magic that he did not have to hide from, someone he didn't have to keep secrets from. Yes, there was Gaius, but he was a retired sorcerer and only used it on dire situations. He didn't understand. He didn't understand that every morning, Merlin woke up with the fear of his magic being revealed that day and his body burned by night. Being alone with Morgana, he realized that she understood how he felt even if she didn't know he was feeling that way. Being with her, he wasn't alone anymore. Why had Gaius and the Great Dragon warned him against her? There was nothing wrong with her. She had magic, that was all, and there was nothing wrong with that at all.

It was also, in that moment, he realized he had feelings for her. He could never imagine this realization happening to him, but it did. She looked so beautiful in the daylight and so innocent playing with the leaves. He never felt this way with someone, not since….. Not since Freya. He never thought that someone could have his heart again, not the same way Freya had stolen his heart. But it happened, Morgana did it, unknowingly. Maybe there would always be a small place in his heart for Freya, the memory of a lost love that would never fade.

Merlin was upset with this realization. How would a Lady of Camelot love a servant? Yes, there was the prince loving a servant, but he felt as if that was an entirely different story to its own. She would never feel the same way for him, a deep regret he would be forced to hold.


Merlin was proved wrong. He felt Morgana's lips kiss him back, her arms traveling around his neck. It was perfect. And it was their own kind of magic.

"Well, well, well, this is highly interesting," said Morgause, appearing by the doorway of the chamber.

"Morgause!" said Morgana bitterly, pulling away from Merlin. She drew her sword.

"Morgana, behind me!" said Merlin. "Oferswing!" Morgause was pulled far into the chamber and away from the doorway, allowing the two the chance to escape through it.

"Gehæftan!" incanted Merlin on his way out the chamber. The vines that overrun the walls of the chamber began slithering their way to Morgause's arms and legs and ensnared them into a trap.

"Morgana! Get back here!" called Morgause as the two ran away from the ruined castle.


It was too late in the night to travel back to Camelot. They could have used magic to travel, but they were still in Camelot's lands.

"We need to retire," said Merlin.

"Merlin, that witch of a sister could be right behind us, we must keep going!" said Morgana urgently as she continued trekking through the dark woods on her horse, leading the way. She had also brought Merlin a horse. He noticed she was distancing herself from him ever since they kissed. It hurt him a little.

"Morgana, Camelot's a couple of leagues away from here. We need to save our energy for the morning," said Merlin, bringing his horse besides hers and looking into her eyes.

"Fine, I'll take the first watch," she said.

"Allow me, I was sleeping when you came. You need rest."

"I'm going to be fine, just get some sleep," she snapped, dismounting from her horse and walking away from the clearing the two had arrived in. He saw sit on a log, her back turned to him. He sighed and walked over to him. When she noticed him arrive, she turned away. Her arms were folded, more out of the coldness of the night rather than her ignoring Merlin.

"I thought you were going to sleep?" she said, still turned away.

"I can't," he said simply, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her. "Here, you look cold."

She did not bother taking it off, but she remained quiet. However, she did turn herself forward instead of having her back to him. They sat there in the quiet night for a good amount time.

Finally, she broke the silence and said, "I'm still cold."

He laughed and pulled his arm around her. "Better?" he asked.

"I was actually hoping for magic, but this is fine too," she said, smiling.

"There's many types and forms of magic. Technically, this is one type of it," he said, happy she didn't pull away from him.

"Oh yes? And what type of magic is then?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. She laid her head on his shoulder, willing for him to answer.

A moment or two passed and he replied, "Magic of the heart. Most powerful of magic actually."

This time, Morgana leaned in for the kiss. And, this time, it went uninterrupted. There was no Morgause, no magical attack, and no bandits, nothing to stop them besides themselves. Merlin pulled her even closer to him, if it was possible. It felt nice, having her warmth with his was a comforting feeling. He couldn't help but remember the last time he was in a dark place alone with someone he cared about, kissing. He pushed the memory out of his mind. Without really meaning to, he pulled away.

"Is something wrong, Merlin?" she asked, confused by his withdrawal.

"Morgana, what are we doing?" he asked.

"It's sort of obvious what we're doing," she said.

"I mean, you've never shown signs of any type of feelings for me."

"You exactly haven't been sending love poems or anything of the sort up my window either," she replied. "I don't know, I just feel drawn to you. I don't know how to explain it. You found me in a time where I thought I was a monster, cursed with magic. You comforted me and told me all these nice things. I just couldn't help begin growing feelings for you. And then, finding out you had magic, it just made me feel so not alone anymore."

"I- I feel the exact same way," he said.

A silence followed his comment and she said, "I'm going to bed, you take the watch."

"What? I never even got to sleep!" complained Merlin.

"That's what you get for staying up and wooing me while you could have slept. G'night Merlin!" she said, smiling and winking at him. He rolled his eyes playfully in response and took a position watching their little camp. His eyes traveled to the dark sky. It was a full moon that night, whose rays of moonlight still casted into the forest. Staring into the sky, a thought occurred to him.

What happens when we return to Camelot?


Author's Notes: You'll have to excuse me on the excess of love in this chapter. Last night and today, I found myself watching episodes of Merlin, typically the ones where there's love involved. I don't know why, I think I probably needed inspiration or something to write this chapter which I found surprisingly difficult to type. So yeah, now I'm really upset over Freylin (As much as I love Mergana, Merlin really did deserve a few more episodes with love and happiness with another) which I think somehow gave me some form of inspiration to write this chapter. I guess that's also why I felt the urge to bring in the memory of Freya.

Also, I'm working on a new Merlin fanfic! It's a modern AU reincarnation fanfic. I'll keep you all posted with updates on that and when I plan to release it. Unlike True Extent, the new fanfic will be more planned and concise than this one (I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but this is a sort of "go-with-it" storyline, meaning I have notes on my phone with a million plot ideas and no exact way to tie them together. But, I sort of have the ending of this story planned out, which could either be a good or bad thing.) Also, if the writing style of this fanfic starts getting a little awkward or whatever, please excuse that. The new fanfic I'm working on is a completely different writing style and POV than what I'm used to, but I think it's necessary for it.

Well, that's all! Thank you so much for reading and leave a review please! Stay tuned for the next update!

(P.S. To anyone who was searching for the TS reference in the previous chapter, it was when I said Merlin was "lying on the cold, hard ground". I Knew You Were Trouble came on the radio when I typed up that scene, so yeahhhh).