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Chapter 14-China and Stone

After Arthur had spilled his release inside Merlin's passage he pulled out of the dark haired boy and they lay side by side staring at the ceiling. They remained silent and barely moved a muscle. However, they could not stay still forever and Merlin took it upon himself to be the first to make movement.

The warlock sat up and moved off the bed before pulling on his clothes. Following his lead, Arthur did the same. Once they were both clothed they stood opposite one another but had yet to make eye contact.

A knock at the door interrupted their mutual silence and Arthur permitted entrance to the person outside. A second later Morgana stepped into the room closing the door behind her. She looked between the two males and judging by the look on her face she had guessed what had just happened between them.

"Pardon my intrusion." Morgana said glaring at Arthur somewhat.

"You're still mad at me then." Arthur sighed.

"I promise you it will be a long time before you earn my forgiveness." Morgana told him. "I'm only agreeing to help expose Aradia's magic because of Gwen."

"We still have no idea where to even begin." Merlin spoke up. "We can't just accuse her of witchcraft when we have no proof."

"Then we must get proof." Morgana replied though there was a hint of hesitation in her voice.

"Morgana." Arthur said as he looked at her carefully. "If we're going to free Guinevere you need to be fully committed."

"Of course I'm committed." Morgana snapped at him. "Gwen is my friend; I will not leave her to rot in the dungeons."

"I only meant that you cannot let your friendship with Aradia get in the way." Arthur told her gently. "I understand that the two of you have grown close but she's the enemy, you have to remember that."

"She's not my enemy." Morgana defended. "There's a bond between her and I. We understand each other."

"What about your bond with Gwen?" Arthur challenged. "Surely that's more important to you?"

"Will you stop speaking to me like this?" Morgana asked beginning to get angry. "I've already told you that I want to help Gwen."

"You can't have both." Merlin said quietly and the two nobles looked over to where he was standing by the window looking down at the courtyard below.

Morgana and Arthur shared a look of confusion upon hearing Merlin's words and both waited for the serving boy to elaborate.

"You have to make a choice." Merlin continued.

"Choice, what choice?" Morgana questioned.

"Between Gwen and Aradia." Merlin answered her still looking out the window. "You cannot be friends with them both. You either choose Gwen and help us prove her innocence and free her from prison…or you choose Aradia and you turn your back on us, on Gwen, on Uther and on Camelot."

Morgana cocked her head to the side and surveyed the back of Merlin's head unable to give a verbal response to what he'd just said. She then turned to Arthur who gave her an expression that said he fully agreed with Merlin. The seer swallowed audibly before taking a few steps backwards towards the door.

"Morgana?" Arthur asked softly as he watched her shake her head. "Are you helping us or not?"

"I'm helping Gwen." Morgana told him quietly before opening the door and turning out of the room.

As Morgana left, the awkward silence that had previously encased prince and warlock returned. Whilst Merlin continued to gaze thoughtfully out of the window, Arthur alternated between staring at the dead flowers, the back of Merlin's head and the bed they had recently fucked in.

Eventually Merlin turned round but he still didn't meet the blonde's eye.

"Will Morgana be alright?" He asked.

"Of course." Arthur assured him. "Morgana isn't a fragile piece of china; she's as hard as stone."

"Do you think we can do this?" Merlin asked with an edge of doubt creeping into his voice. "Do you think we can thwart Aradia's plans whatever they may be and free Gwen?"

"We'll find a way." Arthur told him confidently.

At long last, the two boys made eye contact with one another. They wordlessly held one another's gaze for a long time before Merlin bowed his head respectfully then left the room.

***

When Merlin returned home Gaius looked up at him from where he was preparing some kind of medicine.

"We need to do something Gaius." Merlin told his mentor as he began pacing the room. "I visited Gwen earlier and I cannot bear seeing her locked up like that."

"I know Merlin." Gaius said soothingly. "We mustn't give up hope."

"But we're not doing anything." Merlin pointed out. "How can we help Gwen by doing nothing?"

"Morgana will help us." Gaius replied. "Now that we have the magic pendent that Aradia placed on Morgana's rooms to keep her visions at bay I believe Morgana's visions will return. She will see what Aradia's plans are and then we'll have a greater advantage."

"But what if Morgana doesn't have another dream?" Merlin asked. "Or what if she does but she doesn't realise it's the future or what if she doesn't tell us about it?"

"Merlin, have more faith in her." Gaius told him sternly. "Morgana is our friend; we can trust her to do the right thing."

"I'm not so sure." Merlin admitted. "The way she is around the lady Aradia…I've never seen her like that before. She says they have a bond, that they understand one another."

"That's perfectly understandable for Morgana to say such a thing." Gaius reasoned. "Aradia has magic and so does Morgana. It's natural that she feels a connection with her. All her life Morgana has been taught that magic of any form is evil. It must have been difficult for her to discover her own powers and always have to conceal them."

"Well that makes two of us." Merlin pointed out causing the physician to frown.

"Morgana hasn't met a woman her age that has magic other than Aradia." Gaius said. "Now she has someone she can relate to."

"But Aradia cannot be trusted." Merlin replied. "And if Morgana sides with her then neither can she."

"Not everything is black and white or good and evil Merlin." Gaius told him. "Rather like Uther, Morgana sometimes does the wrong things but her reasons come from the heart."

Merlin let out a heavy sigh and sat himself down. He drummed his fingers on the table for a while until Gaius shot him an annoyed look.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "And I don't mean to speak ill of Morgana. I want more than anything to believe the good in her but…I fear Aradia's influence may…I don't even know."

"Perhaps you should speak to Morgana about all this." Gaius suggested. "Tell her about your magic. I know I've advised you against it in the past but perhaps having a magical friend is exactly what Morgana needs and since neither of us want it to be Aradia perhaps it could be you. Although, not until Aradia is dealt with…if Aradia learned the truth about you the consequences would be unthinkable."

"How so?" Merlin asked. "I could beat lady Aradia. I'm sure my power exceeds her own, why else would the spell she cast fail to work on me?"

"I meant that Aradia would inform the king of your powers and Uther would have you beheaded without a second though." Gaius answered.

"That's not fair." Merlin complained.

"Life's not fair Merlin." Gaius said.

"If I went up to the king and told him Aradia was a witch he'd have me thrown in the stocks but if she told him I was a wizard he'd kill me." Merlin grumbled. "Why can't Uther value the word of a servant as well as he does a knight or a lady?"

"That's just the way Uther is." Gaius explained. "It's the way his parents raised him to behave."

Slumping in his set Merlin looked glumly about the room feeling stressed about everything going on.

"What's that you're making anyway?" He asked gesturing to the tubes and liquids that surrounded Gaius' workbench.

"An elixir." Gaius answered. "I'm going to slip it into Aradia's goblet. It is my hope that this will force her to be honest and reveal the truth."

"A truth potion?" Merlin asked sitting up straight. "Will it work?"

"I'm not sure." Gaius replied. "We'll have to wait to find out."

***

When darkness fell over Camelot, Merlin made his way through the castle heading towards Arthur's chambers. He came to a stop outside the door but did not enter. He merely stared at the wood as he thought of the blonde man who was probably in his bed inside the room.

It wasn't until Merlin heard the sound of footsteps that he tiptoed into Arthur's room. The room was dark and as Merlin's eyes adjusted he saw that Arthur was asleep on his bed snoring lightly.

Quietly so as not to disturb his sleep, Merlin crept over to the prince and looked down at his sleeping form.

"I do love you Arthur." Merlin whispered into the blonde's ear. "Someday I will find the courage to tell you to your face. I don't know if we can ever be together…not properly anyway. I mean you're the future king; you must marry a princess and produce an heir. You cannot achieve that with me. Then there's your father…he certainly wouldn't hear of you being with a servant especially a man. But whether we can be together or not…I will always love you Arthur. Sleep well sire."

Leaning down, Merlin placed the lightest of kisses to Arthur's cheek before slipping out of the royal chambers and heading back to his own bed. Just as he returned to his own bedroom and rested his head down on the pillow, Morgana jolted awake from a vision.

To Be Continued

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