Alright, here's the second installment for tonight. I hope you don't mind that I posted them separately. By the way, thank you for all the lovely reviews lately! And I'm always grateful for corrections on grammar, etc. There is always room to improve. :) I hope you all enjoy this chapter! (and I hope no one skipped the last one, lol)

'Twas partly love, and partly fear,

And partly 'twas a bashful art,

That I might rather feel, than see,

The swelling of her heart.

~~Samuel Taylor Coleridge~~

Frederick and Morgana didn't speak a word to each other until Erwan and Morgause were safely out of sight. When they were alone, Frederick turned to Morgana, who had gone as white as a sheet.

"So…she's your sister?"

"Yes," said Morgana so faintly that he could barely hear her.

"Interesting. Uther never made that news public."

"He doesn't even know that I'm aware of our connection. We're half-sisters…we share the same mother."

"Ah," Frederick said, feeling a little awkward.

"What are we going to do?" she asked quietly.

"I say we kill that self-righteous high priestess and be done with it all."

"No! You can't go against Morgause. She's too powerful. Besides, that's not the way to handle this."

"And what is the way to handle this?"

"I don't know," Morgana said, distraught. "And I don't know what to think of Erwan now."

"No matter how much he's been used, he's still doing all of this for himself. Don't forget that."

"You don't understand. You don't just simply refuse Morgause. She's more powerful than you can even comprehend."

"Whatever the case, you cannot marry him, especially not that we know of Morgause's plans to get to you. And there's not a doubt in my mind that she'll kill Erwan once he proves to be too much of a burden."

"She might kill you too if you get in her way," Morgana said. "And it would be all my fault."

"I can look after myself."

"I told you, Morgause is no simple sorceress. There's nothing you can do to protect yourself against her. And she's angry…with me…with Uther. If I could just meet with her…"

"No."

"But if I could stop this madness, why not give it a chance? I could talk some sense into Morgause. She's a lonely soul, and I'm afraid I've only made it worse."

"Morgana, no. You cannot risk your own life for her. But tell me one thing: why does Morgause want you on her side so badly, besides the fact that you're her sister?"

"I…I have no idea. I told you, she's lonely. I'm her only family."

"She's a high priestess. Couldn't she just make a person out of a doll, or something?"

Morgana cast him a withering look. "Don't be ridiculous."

"She said you have a destiny. And just what might that destiny be?"

"How should I know!" Morgana said, growing more uncomfortable by the second. And why was Frederick looking so intently at her?

"Well, Morgana, you were the one who spent all those months with her-"

"And I was under an enchantment, if I might add," Morgana interrupted.

"Were you, now? For the whole time?"

"It's none of your business," Morgana said as she stood and brushed herself off. "Now, I really think we should be heading back."

But Frederick wouldn't be persuaded as he also stood. "Let's see, if she's a high priestess with powerful magic…and your sister…wouldn't there be a small chance that you just might have magic as well?"

"How dare you!"

"Oh, your cheeks are growing very red. Is there a small chance that I'm speaking the truth?"

"You're the most impudent man I've ever met. I'm walking back to Camelot…alone." Morgana flippantly turned and nearly ran to get ahead of him. But Frederick wouldn't be deterred.

"Lady Morgana, I beg your forgiveness. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I don't have magic, so leave me alone," Morgana said through gritted teeth.

"You don't have to lie to me, you know. I wouldn't hand you over to Uther."

"I'm not a fool. Magic isn't tolerated in your realm either."

"No, but I don't necessarily share my father's viewpoint on the matter."

Morgana slowed her pace, but refused to give him the satisfaction of stopping. "Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Tell me, do you share Uther's hatred of magic?"

"Uther has taken his hatred toward sorcery to the extreme. He's let it cloud his judgment so that he no longer sees friend from foe. So no, I do not share his hatred of those with magic."

"Then I am relieved. We seem to share the same views." Frederick had finally caught up with her since she had considerably slowed her pace.

It was Morgana's turn to be skeptical. "And what would you know of sorcery?"

"Nothing, but I don't think it's right to condemn a person to death for being born with something they can't control. My father thinks the individual born with magic is cursed and shouldn't be allowed to live. Little does he know how wrong he is."

Morgana looked at him curiously. "Have you told your father?"

"Told him what I believe? Yes, more than a dozen times. But he only grows angry with me and then proceeds to tell me how little I know of the matter. If only he knew…" he trailed off.

Morgana's heart raced a little faster as a sudden thought came to her. Turning, she gripped his arm. "You don't…it's not possible…"

Frederick glanced at her hand on his arm, then to her. "What's not possible?"

"Do you have magic?" she blurted out.

Frederick looked confused for a second, but then unexpectedly let out a long, hearty laugh.

"What's so funny? I asked you a serious question!"

"You…you think I have magic?" Frederick asked once he had caught his breath.

"Well, you said you didn't agree with your father, and you just said if only he knew…and when you just left off like that I assumed…" Morgana stopped there. She had never felt more ashamed in her life as Frederick just stared at her, amused by her embarrassment. "You would have thought the same thing! Oh, never mind."

"Morgana, wait." Frederick gently pulled her back so that she faced him, although she refused to look him in the eyes. "I was wrong to laugh at you. And your suspicions weren't so far off."

"Then you do have magic?" she said with some hope.

"No, I do not."

"Oh. I don't understand."

"What I'm about to tell you…you must swear to me you won't tell another soul."

Morgana was intrigued, but wary. "Is this some sort of trap?"

"Trap? No…what I have to tell you concerns someone very dear to me."

Someone dear to him? She suddenly felt worried, although she couldn't understand why. "And who might that be?"

"Oh no. First, you have to give me your word that this conversation won't go past us."

"Alright, you have my word. Now who is this person?"

"My sister."

Morgana blinked. "Your sister? Do you mean to tell me that your sister has…magic?"

"Yes. Katherine was born with it."

"And your father doesn't know?"

"No. When my sister was younger, she would come to me and tell me how frightened she was. She didn't understand what was happening to her. She could make things move around her at will; it was like she wasn't even in control of herself anymore."

"Did she ever suffer from…nightmares?" Morgana asked quietly.

"No, not that I know of. Why?"

"No reason. I've heard that certain people with magic sometimes experience bad dreams. Go on."

"I told Katherine to never tell my father the things she told me. Sometimes she would just think a bad thought against a person and it would happen. Of course, her conscience would haunt her and she would come running to me, scared that she was hurting people. I didn't understand what was happening to her, but I had a gut feeling what it was. So, I brought her to the Druids."

"The Druids? That's where…" Morgana began, but quickly stopped herself.

Frederick was so distracted he didn't even seem to notice. "Yes, and they told us everything. How my sister had magic and that there was nothing she could do about it. She was devastated. You see, Katherine is a very fragile person. That's why I was so angered with Erwan when he left her like that…with no explanation at all. It broke her heart, just like it did when she discovered that all her fears were true. She had magic, and she had to hide it from our father."

"Your father wouldn't execute his own daughter, surely?"

"You know, to this day I ask myself that very same question. In his heart, our father is a good man. If he ever found out, I think he would see reason and show kindness to my sister. His love for her is very great. I think she reminds him of our mother, who passed away shortly after Katherine was born."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Morgana mumbled.

"But I could never risk my sister's life, so we've kept her secret between the two of us all these years. And…well, now you know. I probably shouldn't have told you. Actually, I have no idea why I did." Frederick looked nervously at Morgana.

"Don't worry. Your sister's secret is safe with me; I can promise you that."

An awkward silence fell between them. Morgana wanted more than anything to tell Frederick that she too had magic, and could understand more than anyone how difficult it was to hide who you are. But how could she even bring it up? She had already denied his accusation, but that was when she thought he couldn't be trusted. And why did she feel so excited when she thought he was the one who had magic? It could still be a trap-a trap to get her to admit she had powers. Oh, she didn't know. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

"Morgana, you're very quiet."

"Oh, I was just thinking. About your sister. She must be a lovely person."

"She is. I love her very much."

"She's very fortunate to have such a caring brother."

"Well, I wish I could do more for her."

"It's wonderful you stayed by her side, even after discovering she has magic. Not many would have done that."

"You sound like you've experienced something similar," Frederick remarked, looking at her curiously.

"No, I just know how important it is to have someone looking out for you."

"Morgana, if there's something holding you back from telling me the truth, I want you to know you don't have to be afraid. I know what's it like to keep a secret."

"Really, I don't know why you keep insisting that I have a secret," Morgana said, laughing nervously.

"Because I know when someone is lying."

Morgana walked ahead of him again, not knowing exactly how to respond. If he was so sure she was lying, she didn't want him staring her in the face. It was too uncomfortable. But she desperately wanted to tell him the truth. So what was really holding her back?

"The truth of the matter is…oh!" Morgana stumbled on a log and slipped.

"Morgana, are you alright?"

Clutching her ankle, she tried her best not to groan. "I'm fine. No, really…you don't have to help me up."

"Is it your ankle?"

"I think so, but it's not sprained. You go on ahead. It won't look good if we're seen together anyway."

"I'm not leaving you here…not by yourself."

"Believe me, I can take care of myself."

"Still, I'm going to stay with you until you're ready to stand."

Morgana saw that there was no getting rid of him. It would really help if he would stop staring at her with those large, expressive eyes of his. Green, too. She'd never noticed until now.

"I-I think I'm ready to stand now."

"Here, let me help you up."

"No, I'm fine…ow." Morgana fell back on her ankle, groaning.

"Come now; it won't hurt your pride too much to let me help you up, will it?"

"Perhaps you're right."

As Frederick held firmly onto both her arms, he slowly brought her to her feet.

"How does it feel to stand?"

"Better. Thank you." Morgana realized he was still holding onto her, and what alarmed her more was that she didn't want him to let go.

"What are you two doing out here?"

Both Frederick and Morgana swiveled around. Merlin was standing a few yards away from them, and he looked extremely confused as he looked from Frederick to Morgana, and then to Frederick's hands on her arms. But then another emotion registered on his face that Morgana couldn't bear to see:

Hurt.

Uh-oh. How is Morgana going to get herself out of this? I hope no one's mad at me for putting some romance between Frederick and Morgana. But hey, Merlin's got to have a legitimate reason to be jealous, right? ;) And about that poem, well part of the poem (titled "Love")...I think it's really sweet and applies to this chapter. Hope you don't mind!