Hi everyone! School is all finished for a while, so *hopefully* I should be able to update this story a couple of times over the next few weeks. I thought I would be able to update sooner, but with it being Christmas time it's crazy at work and I didn't get a chance to. But I really wanted to get this chapter posted and I finally have a little time, so here it is! Thanks for your patience, and if you have time afterwards let me know your thoughts on it!

Chapter 14

Merlin has been feeling unusually ill for most of the day. Maybe he ate something that wasn't right, because his stomach has been cramping like mad. He holds a heated rock to his stomach as he continues to flip through the dusty book in front of him.

Then Morgana storms in, and he forgets about his discomfort, because she looks like she is ready to pick a fight with a bear. "What happened?" he asks automatically, even though fearing the response.

"That- That- Cocky," she sputters. "He- He- Argh!" Looking him straight in the eye, she huffs, "Merlin, as much as it pains me to admit it, it is admirable that you haven't blown my brother's head off yet. He certainly would have deserved it."

Merlin throws his head back and laughs at her utter frustration of working for Arthur. "Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." He sees the questioning look in her eyes, and he hurriedly tries to backtrack. "Not the killing him part, I mean, but, you know, that it's admirable."

She offers a small smile in return. It doesn't reach her eyes, but it's better than the glares she has been giving him recently. "Of course, Merlin. I'm sure that's exactly what you meant." She unties the neckerchief and throws it off to the side with a flourish. "Thank goodness I can finally take that horrid thing off."

He pretends to be offended. "Excuse me, but that horrid thing," he grabs it and waves it like a flag, "is my most prized possession. It's my favourite scarf."

"Well, I'm happy for you. You evidently need to learn to have a better taste in clothing." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the healing bracelet, turns it around in her hands. "He did see this, though. Not close enough to recognize it," she states as Merlin's eyes grow wide and he opens his mouth to admonish her for doing exactly what he told her not to. "He simply thinks that it is a gift from," and here she changes the pitch of her voice to a mocking tone, "someone special. I almost laughed at that one."

"Hey!"

Ignoring his offense, she continues, "Now, I think I'm going to have a hot bath. I can't remember the last time I was able to have one without being in a dank little hovel, and frankly, I think I deserve it as a reward for not killing Arthur. Don't you?"

Merlin is spluttering. "What? You're not actually- You're me- You'll see- No, you're joking, right?"

Morgana rolls her eyes at him. "Merlin, after all we have gone through, this is what you are most worried about? Or has the thought of the woman you supposedly had feelings for once upon a time seeing you naked made you forget about my presence being a threat to Camelot?"

At these words, he feels his face burn. "She- Um- What? Who told you that?" Knowing very well who it was that spilled his secret to her. Damn it, he had heard correctly.

"Why, Gwen, of course. She was worried that seeing me had broken your heart." She gives him a wicked smirk, with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Worry not, I'm sure it won't be that exciting. It's not like you'll be the first man I've ever seen."

"Wait, what? Morgana!" Now he is completely flustered, he can feel that the redness has reached his ears. She ignores him and proceeds to drag the big wooden basin into his room. He can't even make eye contact with her to give her a dirty look as she heats the water and draws the bath.

Before she disappears into his chambers, she calls to him, "Don't worry Merlin, I'll be careful with it, I promise." She laughs, shutting the door behind her.

Somehow the thought of her having seen other men in that way and of being careful with it has completely obliterated his capability to think rationally. Because now all he can worry about is how Gwen told her that he had feelings for her, and that he is extremely thankful to all the gods that Gaius was not in the room to hear that, and that she is currently looking at him naked. Forget about their current situation and how much of a problem it poses, and that they still haven't found a solution. Nope, that isn't even remotely close to being on his mind right now.

He groans, walks over to the hearth where he has been heating a new stone, and slumps down on the bench with it held up against his stomach to relieve the aching that he has finally remembered is present. Maybe this will at least help him take his mind off of the embarrassment of her... He can't even finish the thought.

His face has finally cooled down by the time Gaius returns home. The old man glances over at Merlin, eyebrow quirking up as he sees he is holding a rock to his abdomen. "Merlin," he begins cautiously, "is everything all right?"

"What? Oh, yes, Gaius. I think I ate something bad, because I've had a cramp in my stomach for most of the day. I just put some heat on it to help relieve the pain."

Gaius looks like he is about to say something, opens his mouth to do so, but with a knowing glint and a small smirk that Merlin doesn't seem to notice, he shakes his head and turns away, chuckling. Merlin, forever oblivious, wonders what that was all about. Sometimes the old man can be just as cryptic as the bloody dragon.

He frowns at the thought of Kilgharrah, imagining that the dragon's reaction to him stuck as Morgana would be similar to that of when he found out that Uther had married a troll.

Or, knowing his hatred for Morgana, he may very well be furious. Just so long as he didn't try to kill her, which would ultimately result in a rather brutal death for the both of them. That would be unlikely, though, because Kilgharrah could never attack a dragonlord. He hopes not, anyway. He didn't think Kilgharrah would ever attack Arthur, either, seeing as he was always the one talking about how it's his destiny to help Arthur unite all of Albion and to see that he becomes the greatest King in all of history. But when he was on his rampage he did try to incinerate the prince, and managed to take out most of the knights who were present. Merlin purses his lips at the thought. Probably best to avoid getting the dragon involved in the first place...

Morgana emerges from his chambers just then, startling him from his thoughts, and announces, "Well, that was surprising. I must admit, I wasn't expecting that."

Gaius looks completely baffled. Merlin feels himself turn beet red, again. "Excuse me?"

She seems to revel in his discomfort, and makes a suggestive gesture to the area she was talking about. Gaius' eyes widen as he puts two and two together and he turns away, hastily busying himself with preparing dinner.

Merlin can't let her get away with this one. He knows he can't embarrass her with similar comments, she'll just find a way to turn it around on him (plus Gaius is standing right there, otherwise he would be able to make a better comeback), but he has to shoot back with something. And it almost instantly comes to mind.

"Well, I'm relieved to hear that," he retorts in a sarcastic tone. "Now, would you like to know what I'm surprised with?" He holds up a matted clump of hair. "Honestly, Morgana, don't you ever brush your hair anymore? You'd think for someone so worried about cleanliness, they would at least take the time to do something that simple. I mean, what is this?" He pulls the rest of her tangled dark hair into his hand and waves it about at her to emphasize his point. "I'm pretty sure that's a dreadlock."

It's not anything compared to some of what she has just said to him, but she was extremely vain about her appearance at one time, and he knows it. Still is apparently, at least somewhat, because her brow furrows at his remark, and he allows himself a small grin of victory.

"Oh, that's rich coming from you," she snorts, "a man who owns a grand total of two shirts and two neckerchiefs. Criticizing my appearance!"

"Hey, I own more than two shirts, thank you very much! I have at least five!"

"They are all the same shirt, the only difference is whether or not they're red or blue!"

"Would you two stop bickering?" Gaius cuts in. "Why don't you make yourselves useful and keep reading through those books to see if you can find anything. That is, unless you think that your current conversation is more important than returning you both back to normal."

Morgana huffs indignantly and Merlin mutters a quick, "Sorry, Gaius." But they both obey and return to the tedious task.

Gaius gives them a stern look, but when he turns away he can only wonder at how the two young adults' predicament has changed both of them so drastically in just under a week. They were threatening to kill each other only a few days ago, but seem to have moved on to trying to embarrass the other as much as is humanly possible. Gaius can't quite suppress a chuckle at the thought as the young warlock and witch flip through the pages of the books.