Prompts: Beauty and the Beast
Summary: Merlin decides to conquer the beast for both of them.

Beauty and the Beast
Merlin watched Morgana from an upstairs window as she walked in the garden. He watched as she lingered at a bush or a group of flowers. It wasn't the first time he had done it. He enjoyed watching her in the garden among the beauty of the flowers.

But none of them were as beautiful as she was to Merlin. To Merlin, she was beauty personified.

Sometimes he wondered why she even looked at him with love in her eyes. He knew that his eyes were full of love of her as well.

The one thing he feared would change her was the beast called 'magick'. He knew it well but the beauty walking among the flowers did not. Morgana's magick had just started to show its ugly head.

Merlin knew there was nothing he could do to protect her from the beast. He couldn't even protect himself from it most days.

Gaius said she was going through 'the quickening'. Merlin didn't care what it was called. It still frightened him. He was afraid it would change her.

Merlin had never gone through this strange dance with the beast. He was born with his magick already present. Gaius told him once that was very unusual and it made him special. Merlin just thought it made him have to accept the beast as part of him sooner rather than later. If acceptance was really what he called it?

Merlin watched Morgana turn for the house. As if she sensed him, Morgana looked up and waved at him.

He waved back and stepped back from the window. He was going to talk to her about magick and what it meant to have it as a part of you.

This was a conversation he really didn't want to have with her but he had no choice. It was becoming more obvious everyday something was going on with her. The dreams were getting more vivid and more disturbing. Her fear was growing and he had to keep her from losing her mind to the beast.

Merlin met her on the stairs as she was coming up from the garden.

"Morgana, I need to talk to you." Merlin said. "It's about your dreams."

"What about my dreams?" Morgana asked.

"Not here. We should do this in private." Merlin held out his hand to her. Morgana took it and he led her to her room and shut the door.

"You're scaring me, Merlin." Morgana said.

"Sorry but I need to talk to you about magick." Merlin said.

"Why? I thought we were going to talk about my dreams." Morgana was confused.

"Your dreams are a part of your magick." Merlin said.

"I don't have magick." Morgana laughed.

"Yes you do and so do I." Merlin said as he made fire appear in his hand. Then put it out as soon as he saw Morgana's shocked face.

Morgana sat down in the closest chair. "Help me Merlin."

"I promise I will." Merlin knelt at her feet. He wasn't going to let the beast frighten them anymore.