AN: This has to be the best week of my life. Folks, I am now the proud owner of a trans-Atlantic ticket. In 65 days, I'll be leaving this country for a five month study abroad in Athens, Greece! I've been preparing for this study-abroad trip all year, but it's starting to feel very real just now, and I could NOT be more excited. Then of course, when I checked my ff-dot-net emails... I had SIX reviews for chapter 19. You guys are seriously the best. Cannotlogin, sorry to hear that you can't log in. ;) But thanks for reviewing, and so glad you're enjoying the story. 2spoopy, thanks for the spot-checks. I fixed those! To all you members who reviewed, sorry if I haven't messaged you back. I'm trying to catch up, and I'll be doing that ASAP.
Anyways, here's a treat for you all since you're so fantastic! Reviews are very inspiring, so please drop me a line when you finish if you've got time. 21 is already in the works!
Cheers!
AveryveryVERYhappyhyperandsleepdeprived...
Sandyy
It wasn't a sound, a touch, or even a dream that woke Merlin. It was something more subtle but more insistent. Merlin felt as if his very being had been disturbed. He didn't know why, but from the moment he opened his eyes in the dead of the night, something was off-kilter in his surroundings. The feeling reminded him of what he'd sensed when he first heard the dragon's voice—a tug at his consciousness. Magic. His skin prickled with an indefinable sense of foreboding. He sat up, rubbing his sleep-blurred eyes, and listened for a moment. Nothing… not even the sound of Gaius snoring. He sighed and flopped back onto the bed where he lay staring up at the ceiling. But try as he might, he couldn't fall back asleep. He was about to get up again and check his email for messages from Will when he heard the sirens.
Sirens were a common enough sound in the city. Merlin could often hear them when he lay awake in the later hours of the night. With the curfew in place, they were usually the only sound at night save perhaps for a dog barking. Compared to Armagh, Camelot was almost unnaturally quiet after the curfew set in. Outside, the streetlights had shut off for curfew, but it wasn't unusual for them to come back on either if an unscheduled patrol chanced to pass by… But the sirens didn't usually come this close. As Merlin went to the window, he spotted the flashing blue and white lights approaching from the end of the street. They pulled to a stop just before the apartment buildings, and Merlin let the blind he'd been holding up drop back into place.
"Gaius," Merlin's voice was low and urgent. His uncle was already awake and putting on his jacket. "Did it wake you up too?" Merlin asked, stumbling as he tried to pull his second boot on. Gaius sighed.
"They weren't exactly quiet."
"What were… oh, those." The sirens… Merlin blinked. Gaius hadn't felt it? His uncle patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't get in the way," he warned quietly and headed down the stairs.
Four emergency vehicles were pulled up in front of the Pendragon house, all bathing the street in the glow of their colored lights. Merlin tasted an acrid tang in the air even before he saw the smoke. He spotted a familiar blond head at the edge of the ring of emergency vehicles and parted ways with Gaius to join the teen.
"What's going on?" Arthur flinched and darted a brief glance at Merlin. For a split second his eyes betrayed an open, vulnerable concern, then he turned away again and his face became impassive.
"Dunno." He shrugged, returning his attention to the cluster of uniformed men and women. "No one will tell me. Apparently there was a fire, and—" He broke off, and the lines of tension in his stiff figure relaxed as he let out a breath. "There she is. Morgana!"
"Arthur, wait—" Merlin tried to protest, but Arthur didn't so much as glance back. Merlin had spotted the girl as well. She was sitting upright, unhurt, but her head was bowed, and one of the medical personnel crouched beside her. Merlin bit his lip nervously and without further hesitation plunged into the crowd of uniforms after the blond. Merlin nearly collided with Arthur when the blond stopped abruptly, and he found himself face-to-face with his uncle again. Gaius gave him a sharp look, as much as to say 'you knew better'.
"Arthur." He put a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Give her a moment. She's had quite a shock," he said quietly. Arthur's brow furrowed.
"What happened?" he demanded. Gaius shifted his gaze to Merlin briefly and sighed.
"The fire started in Morgana's room." Arthur gaped.
"What…? How?" Merlin pitched in when his companion seemed lost for words. Gaius shook his head, and there was a wordless warning in his expression.
"We don't know."
"Sorcery." The voice behind Merlin made him jump. Of course, Uther wasn't talking about him, but his insides still twisted into knot at the word. Just a few feet to his left, he saw Morgana stir slightly. He strayed a glance at her. Uther Pendragon, just behind him, was scanning the activity about the house with narrowed steel-gray eyes. "There can be no other explanation," he declared. "The teams have already done analysis on Morgana's room. She doesn't keep candles, matches, or lighters and her electronics were off. There was no natural reason for a fire to start."
"Uther, there are many other explanations. It's been four months since the boy was last seen. Surely—"
"Aredian traced the boy's tracks to this street before he disappeared," Uther interrupted. "He is still here. Clearly the Druids are targeting my home." His voice was hard. "The search effort will be doubled. This boy must be found." Arthur and Merlin exchanged a glance, though neither dared say a word. Gaius was unconvinced.
"If the Druids meant to harm you, do you not think they would have sent someone older than nine?"
"But of course, Gaius." Like an evil spirit conjured up by the very mention of his name, Aredian seemed to have materialized out of the night, and Merlin saw Morgana's whole body tense. "The boy has an accomplice in the neighborhood—a clever one, and a powerful sorcerer in his or her own right. How else would he have remained hidden for so long?" The Patronus officer nodded deferentially to Uther and turned on Morgana. For a split second, the girl looked up, and her gaze fastened not on Aredian but Merlin standing close by. The steel in her gray-green eyes, almost uncannily like Uther's own sharp gaze, was gone, and the haunted expression Merlin saw in its stead chilled him. "Miss Cornwall, can you tell me what happened?" the Patronus officer asked in a brisk, businesslike tone. Morgana shrank in, arms wrapped tightly around herself.
"I don't… don't know," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
"You must have seen something," Aredian pressed crouching beside her and putting a hand on her shoulder. Morgana flinched away, and Merlin felt a surge of dark anger. He took a step forward so he was standing beside the girl.
"Leave her alone!" he snapped. Five pairs of eyes turned on him, but he looked fiercely back at Aredian, bristling at the calculating look he received. "Can't you see she's had enough?" It was a testament to how badly Morgana had been shaken that she didn't try to stop him, but Gaius was quick to intervene.
"Merlin," Gaius said in a low voice, brushing past Arthur to steer his nephew away.
"It's alright, Gaius." Aredian rose smoothly to his feet again. "He's right. There will be time to question her later. Uther, could I have a moment?"
"Certainly." The man paused and glanced back at the house. "Gaius, I'm sorry to ask, but can Arthur and Morgana stay with you, at least for tonight?" The smell of smoke was still rank in the air, and Merlin didn't like to think what the inside of the home was like. Certainly Morgana's room would be uninhabitable.
"Of course," said Gaius. "They can stay as long as you need." Uther smiled and clapped the physician on the shoulder before striding away after the Patronus. "Come," Gaius instructed gently, looking at Morgana. "You should all get some rest." Morgana flicked a glance up at him and got up, still unusually quiet.
"Are you alright?" Merlin asked softly, falling into step beside her with Arthur on her other side, Morgana blinked hard and wiped a sleeve across her downcast eyes.
"Yeah." She lifted her gaze briefly. "You… shouldn't have done that," she said.
"That's rich coming from you," Arthur observed wryly. "Actually, for once in his life, I think Merlin did something useful just now." Merlin's lips quirked in a slight smile.
"I have my moments."
Merlin's good will towards Arthur evaporated pretty quickly when he found himself stumping out into the living room with an armful of pillows and blankets. Nope… couldn't possibly. I wouldn't want to chase you out of your room. I can sleep on the couch… All the things Arthur hadn't said… Merlin dragged his feet as he trudged down the hallway. He'd have been happy to let the boy have his bed if he'd at least acted like he was sorry for inconveniencing his host.
"Spoiled prat," he muttered under his breath, dumping his things on the couch and flopping down. He heard a door clicking shut a few moments later and suppressed a groan. Gaius would probably be in and out of his surgery and the kitchen for the next hour. His uncle didn't get back to sleep easily if he was woken in the middle of the night. He heard the clinking of mugs in the kitchen.
"Sit down," Gaius' voice intoned. "Is your throat still sore?" Merlin stirred. His uncle wasn't alone.
"A little," Morgana answered softly. A few minutes passed in which Merlin held his breath, half afraid to be caught listening.
"You only breathed in the smoke, then. You weren't hurt otherwise?" A pause. "And no one else was there—you're sure?" Perhaps Morgana had nodded. Merlin couldn't be sure.
"There was no sorcerer," she said after a moment. "Gaius…" Her voice shook. "It was me." Merlin's breath caught in his throat. He wanted to sit up and look over the couch at the speaker, both horrified and bewildered by her statement, but he didn't dare move.
"Morgana," Gaius' voice betrayed very similar sentiments. "You couldn't possibly have—"
"It was me," Morgana interrupted him insistently. It was a tone Merlin recognized. Much like when they'd spoken on Christmas day, she was pressing forward with a subtle note of urgency. She was afraid. "I told you about my dreams before, and… about the boy. This was… it wasn't the same, but… It was in my dream. The whole house was burning down in flames, and… they kept spreading. No one was there to stop it." Gaius was quiet. The girl took a shuddering breath. "And when I woke up… the curtains… I looked at them, and they just lit. It was me. I made it happen!" Merlin's heart was pounding painfully hard. The words stirred a memory deep within him of the first time he'd sparked a fire. He'd been awake, but the impulse had been the same; the thought simply leapt into his mind and it happened… But Morgana… she couldn't be… she couldn't have… Unable to sit still any longer, Merlin rolled over as quietly as possible and crawled forward to peer around the side of the couch. "It's magic, isn't it?" Morgana voiced the question burning in Merlin's mind. Gaius' answer was instant and firm.
"It's no such thing. You probably smelled the burning in your sleep and it crept into your dreams."
"There was no burning. Gaius, it started when I woke! This isn't the first time. I've seen things—people in my dreams—and they always appear later. It's not just chance."
"Morgana, you're distressed." Merlin heard the soft scrape of porcelain against the counter, and he could just see Gaius' hand as his uncle passed Morgana her mug. "Your mind was playing tricks on you."
"No one else heard the boy speak!" Morgana's voice rose. "Was that my mind too? And the dreams?" She had heard Mordred's voice! I knew it!
"Morgana," Gaius' voice was conclusive. "There is a perfectly natural explanation for all of this, I'm sure. You've had a serious shock, and you need rest." Merlin heard the soft shift of fabric and a chair scooting back from the table. He leaned forward further just a bit and caught a glimpse of Gaius putting a reassuring hand on Morgana's shoulder. "You'll feel differently about all of this in the morning."
"Gaius, I know what I—" Intent on getting a look at Morgana's face, Merlin lost his precarious balance and toppled off the couch, hitting the ground with a telltale thump. The room went dead quiet for seconds which seemed to stretch into hours, and Merlin lay still in the vain hope that Gaius would ignore it, but it wasn't long before his uncle's face appeared over the top of the couch.
"Merlin." It was more like an accusation than a question. His expression was hard.
"I… I was sleeping," Merlin said lamely, wriggling free of the blanket he'd tangled himself in and rubbing his head where it had met with the leg of the coffee table. Gaius's eyes narrowed, and the teen knew he'd crossed a very obvious line. Gaius would be speaking with him about this later, but not with Morgana present.
"Go back to your room," he ordered.
"But Arthur—"
"You can sleep on the floor." Gaius was entirely unsympathetic. Merlin guiltily picked up his blanket and pillows again and trudged back down the hall, not daring to look back.
"What's the matter? Can't handle a bit of cold?" Arthur asked, shoving Merlin with his shoulder as the two boys and Gwen left the school. Merlin ignored the jab and rubbed his eyes.
"No. I just want to go home to take a nap," he muttered. "I'll come join your stupid game tomorrow, alright?" Arthur pursed his lips.
"Are you still mad about me stepping on you?"
"No. But my arm still hurts. Thanks for asking," Merlin said caustically.
"Don't be such a wimp," Arthur countered. "I didn't step on it that hard. And it's not my fault you decided to sleep next to the bed like a pet dog." Merlin balked.
"Okay, first of all, the heating vent is right next to the bed, and I was cold. Secondly, I am not the wimp here. You didn't even offer to sleep on the floor."
"What? You offered. I wasn't going to argue," Arthur huffed. He elbowed Merlin. "Come on. We've got an odd number." Gwen shook her head at the pair of them.
"Let him alone, Arthur," she interjected. "He's tired." Arthur's attention shifted to the girl, and suddenly he brightened.
"Guinevere!" A grin broke across his face and he stopped walking and turned to look at her. "Why don't you join us? Merlin here is enough of a girl anyways. I'm sure we won't even notice the difference." Gwen's eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms.
"Being a girl has nothing to do with it Arthur. I can throw a snowball as well as you." The blonde's grin broadened.
"Yeah? I'd like to see that. Come on. You can fill in for Merlin since he needs his beauty sleep." Merlin rolled his eyes and shoved Arthur sideways. Gwen shuffled out of the way to avoid the stumbling teen and caught his sleeve before he could exact his revenge on Merlin.
"Fine," she responded. She smiled at Merlin. "Say hi to Morgana for me."
"Will do," Merlin agreed, scooting back out of Arthur's reach, unable to resist a little grin at the blond. At the expression on Arthur's face he turned and quickly headed down the street. He really didn't fancy a face-full of snow just at the moment. As he turned the corner, out of sight of his two classmates, little tendrils of wind played across the street sending little eddies of snow spiraling across the plowed pavement. Merlin smiled slightly. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, under the eaves of the apartment. The street was empty, and his eyes flickered almost involuntarily, causing the powdery tendrils of snow to morph into the shape of a little horse that pranced across the cool black surface. A puff of wind disintegrated it before long. Merlin watched until the sparkling white powder had blown away down the street in the opposite direction of the Pendragon house before letting his hand drop and trudging up the stairs to the apartment.
Morgana was up when Merlin got back. She was huddled under a blanket on the couch, turning over the pages of one of Gaius' books.
"Gaius back yet?" he asked. She shook her head mutely. Merlin discarded his boots and jacket by the door and wandered into the kitchen in search of a snack. In truth he was relieved that Gaius wasn't there just yet. He still had to face his uncle's disapproval once Gaius cornered him to discuss the conversation he'd overheard.
"Merlin?" Morgana looked up from her book unexpectedly, and Merlin stopped to glance back at her. "Ignore what I said last night," she said quietly. "I just… I was scared. And… like Gaius said… It was probably my imagination." Merlin's fingers tangled in the tassels on the end of his scarf. Even the mention of that conversation made his heartbeat race.
"I know. I haven't said anything to anyone," he promised. She blinked once at him, her eyes a little too bright, then turned away with a soft, muffled sound. "I'm sorry," she said, barely above a whisper, burying her face in her hands. Merlin bit his lip and returned slowly, cautiously to take a seat on the other end of the couch.
"I don't mind." Wait... That's not right. Merlin suppressed a groan. That wasn't what he'd meant to say. He'd made himself sound like an idiot. Great. "I mean… I understand. It must be frightening for you. Especially for you." Morgana lifted a pair of damp gray-green eyes to his face and shivered.
"Why especially for me?" she asked in a shaky voice. Merlin shrugged and looked down at his hands, weaving his fingers in between the red strands of his scarf tassels.
"You know better than anyone how Uther feels about… you know."
"About magic." Morgana supplied the unspoken word for him. He raised his head again. A desperate gleam had rekindled in her tired eyes. "You think it is magic. You do!"
"I-I don't… I wouldn't know," Merlin backpedalled quickly, but Morgana's gaze fastened on him.
"It could be, though," she pressed. Merlin shook his head vigorously. Gaius would have killed him if he even knew this conversation was going on.
"I really wouldn't know," he muttered. Just like that, the light went out of her eyes again, and she looked away. Merlin heard the girl take a hitching breath. She didn't say anything for a long time, and he didn't know whether to stay or go.
"If you knew someone…" Morgana ventured in a quiet voice, and Merlin shifted closer, frowning as he tried to listen. "Someone who had… magic…" She faltered. "What would you do?"
"I wouldn't do anything," Merlin answered promptly. The girl lifted her head, brushing her hair back behind her ear. "People shouldn't be judged by their abilities…. Only by what they do with them." A fresh sheen of unshed tears were gleaming in the girl's eyes, and Merlin looked down again. To his surprise, Morgana's hand came to rest over his.
"Thank you," she whispered. Merlin's lips quirked in a faint smile, and he turned his hand over to squeeze hers gently.
"It'll be okay," Merlin promised, and he felt a glow of warmth in his chest when she smiled and squeezed his hand back.