Thank you everyone for your great response to the last chapter and to all those who followed, favourited and commented!
We're getting slowly into the real nitty gritty, as you will see. Brace yourself.
"Fucking media!" Uther roars at the top of his voice as he sends a pile of newspapers flying across his office. The individual pages flutter silently on the soft rug between the coffee table and the desk to cover it in a vast quantity of headlines. "They are having a field day twisting everything we say or do!"
City under siege!
Magic threat on the rise!
MUs tricked Justice Squad AGAIN!
Can we contain the spread of sorcery?
Uther Pendragon helpless?
Uther grits his teeth, not sure whether it's out of desperation or anger. Probably a bit of both. The people of Camelot have become restless, maybe even fearful, over the last six months, and he can fully appreciate why. Petty crime has quadrupled, most of it magic-related, and innocent men and women have been exposed to an array of magical activity throughout the city.
Historical statues were seen to come alive in the middle of the day to frighten passer-byes senseless, fountains started spewing rainbow-coloured water in the square outside the Ministry of Justice – the pure insolence of that! – and on one night the electricity supply of the city had been switched on and off for a whole hour, causing chaos everywhere. The audacity and arrogance of the sorcerers responsible seems boundless.
It's not as if the government hadn't tried to squash this wave of criminal activity. No, the Justice Squad has never been more present in the streets of Camelot than now. And yet, it seems that every move they make is easily outmanoeuvred. The Police are never on a crime scene quick enough to catch the culprits, and there are never any clues or any evidence left behind that could indicate who was behind it all. It's almost as if the MUs know when the police are coming and are well ahead of them.
"They're taking the piss." Uther's livid. "These impertinent bastards think they can walk all over me."
Edwin looks at him with apparent sympathy. "I'm sorry I have to agree with you on that one. And it looks like magic activity is still increasing."
Uther's pacing up and down the room. This is getting out of hand. Something has to be done and asap, or people will demand his head. Some papers have started hinting at it already. Despite the Pendragon PR machine doing as much damage control as possible.
"I don't get it, Edwin," Uther says, looking at his friend totally puzzled. "Why is this happening now?"
"There have always been rebels out there, Uther. It would be naïve to assume otherwise."
"Sure, but why don't these MUs give a shit about the Serum and what it can do to them? They've been kept in check by it for years!"
"Something must have triggered off this wave of opposition." Edwin rubs his chin in thought. "When did all this nonsense start to get really bad?"
Uther sits down and thinks it over. Is it possible to pinpoint an exact time? There's always been the occasional magic-related crime, but he remembers discussing a sudden upsurge with Arthur about nine, ten months ago. But that was nothing compared to what was happening in the last few weeks. Suddenly something clicks inside Uther's head. Arthur. He looks up at Edwin in shock.
"Arthur's abduction. That was the trigger. I know it was. Seeing that some MUs were daring enough to kidnap my son must have encouraged others to flex their magical muscles."
Edwin shakes his head, seemingly totally stunned. "Of course! Why did I never think of it!" Edwin stops for a couple of seconds, clearly trying to work something out. "I wonder…," he says, "I wonder if that's their way of taking revenge because they didn't manage to get to the formula."
Uther's eye brows shoot up, his index finger waving in front of Edwin's face. "That's it! Those sorcerers and their leader, Merlin, must have been seething when the formula virtually vanished into thin air before their very eyes! I bet he's the one who's behind all this."
Edwin claps on Uther's shoulder. "Yes, you're right!" he shouts in excited agreement. "The man was the embodiment of a sneaky, untrustworthy MU, infiltrating the Ministry and deceiving Arthur into trusting him. He wants to avenge himself, no doubt. We ridiculed him, now he's trying to do the same to us."
"Why the heck didn't I see that sooner?" Uther scratches the nape of his neck distractedly. "I can't believe we still haven't found that traitorous fucker."
"He must have gone underground and orchestrated the attack on Camelot from behind the shadows."
"True." Uther's tapping his fingers nervously on his desk. "Is there no way any of your special sources can lead us to his whereabouts?" He looks at Edwin expectantly.
"You mean my contacts in the magical community?" Edwin gives Uther a sly sideways glance.
"As usual we understand each other. Finding Merlin has to be our priority. If we can try him for all the crimes he's committed, the people of Camelot will see that they're safe as long as a Pendragon is the head of state." It's the first time in weeks Uther feels genuinely pleased. This sounds like a plan, a plan that's going to keep him in power and restore the peace in Camelot.
"Merlin will be found, tried, and convicted. We will be merciless with our interrogation methods. He will pay for what he's done. And his fate should be deterrent enough to keep all other MUs from mocking the laws of the Pendragon government again."
"Well said, Edwin. Well said. Let's go and have a drink on that."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"It is time." Morgana's shining eyes are beaming at Alvarr. This is the moment they've all been waiting for. Alvarr has finally called a meeting with every existing rebel. They've gained massive support since the early days, and the room's crowded with sorcerers and witches of all ages. They would have never been able to maintain the qualtity and quantity of their 'attacks' if there hadn't been so many of them. This was the major ingredient to their success.
What's more, the magical community is upbeat for the first time in over thirty years.
Getting the better of the Justice Squad and showing up their impotence against magic have caused a lot of smiling amongst MUs. And courage to stand up against the status quo has been blossoming all around.
"The government's on edge. The police have started to take us more than seriously. The media have become very sensitive to all of our actions. Many of them are highly critical of The Governor for not providing proper protection to the citizens of Camelot. One more major shove, and Uther Pendragon will have no choice but to resign."
Many of the MUs around are nodding their heads. Just like Morgana's, their faces are determined and unwavering. After so many years there's a general feeling of a new era dawning and their fate changing in their favour. Morgana throws a sideway glance at Merlin. She worked hard to persuade him to come along tonight. Alvarr had asked her to bring him along, because what they're hoping to do will be impossible without him. Not that Merlin knows about this yet. At the moment he looks rather uncomfortable, clearly hedging his bets, depending on what's to come.
"Some of you will have already guessed what we're going to suggest." Alvarr looks around the crowd to see plenty of excited faces. He takes a deep breath as if he's contemplating the enormity of his plan. "We're going to go for the formula one more time."
"Hear, hear!" "Finally!" "Yes!" "We're all the way with you!" There's approval all over the room and exhilarated mumbling's soon followed by expectant calculations.
"What's the plan, Alvarr?" a tall, broad sorcerer shouts. Morgana vaguely remembers his wife being killed by the Serum. But so many of them have a lost a loved one to the blue poison.
"I have it from an inside source…," Alvarr exchanges a glance with Morgana, "…that there's a copy of the formula on Arthur Pendragon's computer. I say we'll break in there and make it ours!"
Morgana feels Merlin's stare in the back of her neck. Surely he can't be annoyed with me for passing that information on. He spoke about that quite openly after Arthur's abduction, and he never asked me to keep quiet about it.
"But we've never been able to penetrate the Ministry before!" a dumpy little witch blubbers, looking slightly frightened at the prospect of tackling such a dangerous task.
"We also have never had someone before who knows the Ministry inside out and can give us essential hints how their security works." Alvarr's looking straight into Merlin's eyes now. "Merlin here has got a know-how that could get us right into the heart of the Ministry." Everyone's craning their necks and turning their heads to see who Alvarr's talking to and Merlin blanches.
He scowls at Morgana, clearly displeased at getting blindsided, his face eloquently expressing what's going on inside. His lips are mouthing something that looks suspiciously like 'What the f…", and for the first time that evening Morgana wonders if she should have talked to Merlin about this before. Guess I was too scared he might say no.
"Of course we don't know yet whether Merlin's actually going to help us." Alvarr challenges Merlin, his eye-brows raised sarcastically and his mouth twitching into an unpleasant smile.
"I lost my wife to the Serum. He must help us!"
"My brother died of the Serum a few weeks ago!"
"I buried my son a year ago!"
Lots of voices are gathering momentum as they urge Merlin to confirm his alliance to their cause. Morgana's anxiety soars when Merlin remains still, looking around the room and eventually burning his gaze into hers.
"Merlin, think of Father! I don't need to tell you he was a good man, a man of honour and integrity. His life was cut short because of this one thing – the injustice the Pendragon government has imposed on all of us. He sacrificed his life for our kind, and we must do the same, if it means there's a chance to lift that curse off all our shoulders."
Applause follows Morgana's little speech, and when she scans Merlin's face warily and finds no sign of immediate agreement, she spits out angrily, "For goodness sake, Merlin. You've been after an anti-dote for ages. This is your chance to make it come true."
Merlin's fighting with himself, Morgana can spot the signs. The way he bites the inside of his cheek, the nervous fingers tapping at the side of his leg, the Adam's apple bobbing up and down, all hint at it. What is there to think about? Why would he even consider not helping? Is this because of Arthur? Jealousy races through Morgana like a wildfire. He's still thinking about that bloody bastard. Has he not read the papers? Arthur's been seen with an old flame of his, smiling into the cameras, looking content. Why is Merlin still beating himself up for that arse?
"I will do it on one account." As soon as Merlin starts speaking a hush falls over the crowd. "Nobody's going to get injured or killed. The plan's got to be fool proof." Merlin stares back at Alvarr, his whole body language revealing how uneasy and doubtful he is.
"We'll make sure of that, Merlin." Alvarr holds out his hand to shake Merlin's, who hesitates for a moment before grasping it, but he does eventually. Claps erupt around the room and Morgana walks up to her brother to hug him.
"What did you do that for, Morgana?" he hisses into her ear as he releases her.
"It's all for the best. The formula has to become ours. You're the key to it all. You can save so many people, Merlin," Morgana whispers and squeezes his hand firmly. "Father would be so proud of you."
Merlin nods. "I'm doing this for him, first and foremost. And for all of us. But I still don't like how you're going about it."
Just then Alvarr comes up to them and takes Merlin aside. "I'm glad to see you've finally come down on our side, Merlin," Alvarr says with a sly smile on his face. "If we succeed, and, with your help we will, neither Pendragon won't be in power much longer."
Apparently amiss of any words he wants to say, Merlin stares Alvarr out.
"Of course, …" Alvarr chuckles somewhat sneeringly, " … the young Pendragon doesn't look like lasting for much longer anyway, hypospray or not. There was another report in the papers yesterday that he collapsed again."
Morgana catches only bits of Alvarr's comment, but she can't hear anything that warrants Merlin strange reaction to it. He visibly freezes and throws Alvarr a suspicious side-way glance before his face turns into an inscrutable mask. That's his poker face. What does he think he has to hide? Morgana's heart sinks. Here we go again. He's probably got scruples. Arthur's really fucked with his head. Maybe it's time for me to help Merlin out a bit. I've given him plenty of time to get over Arthur. I won't allow him to suffer any longer.
Just as well she's come prepared. This event is the perfect opportunity to do what she's been thinking about for so long. She walks up to the table where soft drinks, coffee and tea are available and takes two cups to fill them with orange juice. It's far too busy in the room for anyone to notice what's she's doing next, and Merlin's deeply in conversation with Alvarr. She removes a small vial with a transparent fluid from her bag, opens its lid with her thumb and empties the contents into one cup with a swift move. A quick swirl and she grabs both cups.
When she joins Alvarr and Merlin, she simply places the cup with the liquid into Merlin's hand. Without thinking or looking at the drink he accepts it graciously and holds on to it for a couple of seconds while listening to Alvarr lining out his plans for the retrieval of the formula. Morgana quietly toasts her brother and takes a sip of her drink to encourage Merlin to do the same. He throws her a tense half-smile and, evidently thirsty in this stuffy room full of people, empties the cup in a couple of glugs.
Finally! Morgana can't help smirking. He's going to be mine now.
ooooooooooooooooooo
Merlin's been tossing and turning in his bed for the best part of two hours. The alarm says it's 2.15. Shit. I'm really fed up with this. And why do I feel as if I've had a whole bottle of whisky? Even lying down his head's spinning, but that's probably all due to the plethora of thoughts that criss-cross his brain like crazy. He tries to relax for the hundredth time, anticipating that this will have as little effect as all the other attempts he's already made. Too much has happened earlier that night.
According to the press, Arthur collapsed three more times, so that makes six all in all, if he's counting right. Panic seizes his heart at the mere thought of what's bound to come next. I must try again, I have to, he vows. He's tried everything he could think of to tell Arthur about the hypospray. His e-mail was returned in a flash as undeliverable, an anonymous phone call to his office got intercepted thanks to Percival, he even wrote a regular letter, but no doubt that didn't reach Arthur either. And if it has, Arthur's certainly not acted upon it.
As if his heart wasn't hurting enough, the recent reappearance of Aiden on the scene has completely destroyed the tiny flicker of hope remaining in a forgotten corner of his heart persisting doggedly that what they'd had together was too strong to die completely.
Arhur's moved on. Merlin chomps at the inside of his cheek as the pain in his chest blossoms into fully fledged agony. He's moved on and is finding comfort with the man who looks like me. How ironic is that. Bet he wishes we'd never met. I hope he's happy at least. Merlin swallows the sob that's been sitting in his throat and wipes away the sweat from his forehead. Why is it so blooming warm all of a sudden? Am I coming down with a fever? That would be the worst timing ever! Merlin pushes out a puff of air and throws his blanket off. He has to be fit if he wants to join Alvarr.
Although he hesitated to start with, he's aware that the break-in is going to provide an ideal opportunity to let Arthur know about the danger he's in. If he leads the rebels to Arthur's office, he'll be able to leave a message there, a very personal message, maybe one Arthur will take seriously. That's one reason why he's accepted to work with Alvarr. Of course he wants the formula. Of course he wants his kin to become free citizens, but warning Arthur is the biggest incentive in this whole undertaking.
Alvarr has already milked him for information about the ins and outs of the Ministry, the alarm system, the guards, and any other details Merlin was able to remember. Not that he could answer all Alvarr's questions, but having lived inside the Ministry has definitely given him some insider knowledge. He's pretty certain that they'll make it to Arthur's office undetected and, if Will and Gilli do their job right and use the technological data he's given them, they should be able to work out how to open Arthur's computer.
Then they can copy the formula and take it away. End of story. Even if they're intercepted by guards, magic will help them to leave unharmed. Hope Alvarr sticks to his promise and isn't going to hurt anyone. Merlin still doesn't trust the man. Never has. Alvarr hates everything about the Pendragon's, that's for sure. That bastard had sounded so happy that Arthur was in pain and ill and weak. Fuck him. Ignorant, narrow-minded extremist. Why did he have to make that biting comment about Arthur? To rile me? To hurt me? To take the mickey?
"The young Pendragon doesn't look like lasting for much longer anyway, hypospray or not," Alvarr had said. For one instant he'd considered punching the man straight into his smirking face, sending him crashing into the nearest wall, in the next his heart stopped. How the heck did Alavrr know about the hypospray? As far as Merlin's aware there are only very few people who know of its existence and why Arthur's taking it. Uther, Edwin, Gwaine, and most likely Leon and Percival who've been Arthur's life-long friends, and Gaius and him. Merlin's knows that he's never mentioned it to Morgana, just like the fact that Arthur's got magic. So that option is out.
Morgana! For a moment her beautiful face floods every square inch of his brain. The curve of her delicate nose, the flutter of her eye-lashes, the emerald depths of her eyes. Merlin fervently shakes his head like a dog trying to get rid of water on its coat. What was that all about? What an odd image to dominate his mind! What was I thinking before that? Ah, yes. Alvarr and the mention of the hypospray.
Merlin doesn't believe for one second that Uther, Gwaine, Percival or Leon have anything to do with this. There's only one person who could have passed that secret on to Alvarr. Edwin. Is there any other way Alvarr could have found out? Most unlikely! But if this was true, it would mean that Alvarr and Edwin must be in contact with each other and share pretty important information.
They must be working together. Must be. But for what purpose? Merlin's even more awake now than he's already been. Shit. If Alvarr was in league with Edwin, would it not be feasible that Edwin knows everything the rebels do? Double shit. Does this mean that Edwin knows what they're planning to do? Why would he allow it? Surely he wants to keep the formula safe?
Everything always leads back to Edwin. The disappearing bodies, the suspect examinations of MUs at Lamia House, the Serum in the hypospray, … Yes, that. Does Edwin want to kill Arthur? There's no logic in that. He was most likely told by Uther to prescribe a dose of Serum to Arthur to keep his magic under control. But Uther has no way of really understanding what exactly is in Arthur's hypospray or what it might do. Is Edwin deceiving Uther? What motive would he have for that? Edwin is Uther's right-hand man. He's in a positon of high power. Why would he risk it all?
Just then, another thing strikes Merlin. Morgana! She's right in the middle of this. Does Morgana know anything about an alliance between Alvarr and Edwin? She's really close to Alvarr. I've seen the way she looks at him. She has no right to look at Alvarr like that. No right at all. Not when I am there. Morgana should not be wasting her time on that idiot. Merlin grits his teeth, and then stops short slightly bewildered. Surely Morgana can do what she likes. It's never bothered him before and it shouldn't bother him now.
But it's a fact that she hangs onto every word Alvarr says and backs him up whatever it might be. And she follows every one of his instructions to the T. Like this afternoon. Surely Morgana and Alvarr had conspired to take him by surprise and more or less 'blackmail' him into agreeing to work with them. He was pretty angry about it then, to put it mildly, and he's still annoyed about it.
Why hadn't Morgana spoken to him about it before-hand? Most likely, he would have said 'yes' anyway. She was right when she said all he ever wanted was an anti-dote for the Serum so their kin could live in peace and without fear. Why did she have to stab him into his back and almost bully him into this decision?
She's always been a strong-willed girl. And once she's passionate about something she's going for it with all her conviction and energy. She didn't mean it. I know she thinks it's for the best. Okay, he might not approve of what Morgana's has done, but he can't be really mad at her, either. It was just a silly mistake. Morgana is a passionate woman and it got the better of her. An image of her face, cheeks flushed and eyes burning with conviction, careens through his brain.
Her passion got the better of her. Hmm, actually the idea of a passionate Morgana sounds rather appealing. She's made a silly mistake this afternoon, that's all. Okay, he might not approve of what Morgana's has done, but he can't be really mad at her, either.
Morgana. Morgana. Morgana. Her name reverberates inside his heart and saturates every fibre of his being. From feeling fully alert one second, Merlin goes to drowsy and confused the next so suddenly, he isn't even aware it's happening. All the thoughts that have been whizzing through his head intermingle with each other, topple on top of each other, break up into fractions of ideas and finally end up in a pile of obscure fuzz. Drowning in shades of gold and black and green his brain shuts down and seconds later he's fast asleep.
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Morgana!" Merlin beams at his sister the next morning and walks up to her. "You look amazing!" God, she's really gorgeous. It's nothing new that Morgana's an incredibly attractive woman. He's always been aware of that. But looking at her just now has made his heart beat faster and he can hardly take his eyes off her as she settles at the kitchen table.
"I'm so pleased you could join us for breakfast!" Hunith smiles at her daughter and places a kiss on her cheek. "It'll be ready in a second." And then she turns round to busy herself at the cooker to finish off the bacon and eggs she's started a minute earlier.
"Merlin, how are you today?" Morgana asks gently, and when her green, glorious eyes dip into Merlin's he almost forgets to breathe for a second. That shade of green is stunning, and it's brought out even more by the dark red of her lips and the soft, long curls of black hair that play around her face. Merlin almost reaches out to touch them to see how soft they are, when he realizes what he's doing. What the heck? I'm obviously still half asleep. It's no wonder after the short night I had.
"Tired." Merlin grins sheepishly, feeling tongue-tied and awkward like a teenager. "I had a lot to think about last night."
"I bet you did." Morgana squeezes Merlin's hand and the surge of electricity that runs through him takes him by surprise. Wow. She is lovely. Her mouth. Her lips….
"I thought about Alvarr's plan," Merlin starts, but Morgana puts her finger over her lips, her eyes looking pointedly towards Hunith. Of course, it's not a good idea to alarm Hunith before he knows what they're actually going to do. How kind of Morgana to think of mum first! She's such a considerate, warm-hearted girl.
Throughout breakfast Merlin repeatedly checks out his foster sister, the pull towards her increasing virtually every time their eyes meet. Every smile makes him feel light-headed, every touch sends shivers down his spine, every time she holds his gaze his knees go weak.
By the time they're clearing the dishes away, Merlin's forgotten why the strong attraction towards Morgana should feel odd. He really has to talk to her, really needs to put his hands into that mass of dark hair, really must touch that heavenly neck…
There's a glint in Morgana's eyes that makes his blood run faster and when she draws him back into his room after they've finished helping tidy everything away, he doesn't resist. Morgana settles on the bed after removing the latest newspaper that's been cluttering it. She stretches out her hand to pull Merlin down to sit next to her.
"Oh, these papers!" Morgana exclaims and points at the headline of yesterday's Daily Mirror. "Poor Arthur, he's not looking great these days, is he?" She watches him expectantly, as if whatever he's going to say might be something special. Merlin's eyes run over the headline and the picture on the cover. Arthur Pendragon does look a bit run down.
A strange sensation spreads in Merlin's chest, and a vague memory of sorrow passes in a flash. He remembers feeling pretty upset and depressed about Arthur's illness the day before. He does recall thinking about trying to do something, something that has to do with Arthur and the time when he worked for the blond. That's such a long time ago. Why was he so desperate to help him? Was that what he actually wanted to do? Why would he?
An image of Arthur kissing him pops into his head, followed by another memory of his lips on hot skin, on Arthur's body, on his … What? Fuck! Had he really done that? He must have been totally out of his mind. Or had it been some freaky dream? Merlin blushes although he knows that Morgana can't read his mind. Just as well, I don't want to put her off. And I still haven't answered her question.
"He looks ill," Merlin says rather matter of fact. "Maybe his new boyfriend is wearing him out." Thank God, he must have said the right thing because Morgana beams at him with sparkling eyes.
"Yes, maybe," she says with a grin and cuddles into his side. Merlin immediately places his arms round her shoulders to pull her in tight. Why has he never noticed before how good Morgana smells? "So have you and Alvarr decided on a plan yet?"
"Nothing completely concrete, but I've passed on everything that might be useful. Alvarr thinks we'll be able to go ahead with our task in a week, two at the most."
"So soon?" Morgana's delighted and Merlin's hearts soars.
"The sooner, the better. Are you going to come with me?" Merlin asks, desperate to have her support. Morgana isn't only the most beautiful creature he's ever seen, she's also a formidable witch and a loyal ally, and to have her backing and approval means everything to him.
"I'd go anywhere with you," Morgana whispers, running her fingers gently over his, and finally interlocking them. That feels amazing. Merlin's head is starting to spin, but he isn't too dazed to answer her.
"Nothing would make me happier!" And then instinct takes over and he bends forward to place a tender kiss on her lips.
Looks like Morgana is having a field day... But what is it going to mean for Merlin?
As always delighted to hear from you!