Apologies for the slightly delayed update, I'm back at uni now after the holidays and work's already starting to pile up so I probably won't be able to update as regularly, but I promise I will try to do so at least once a week!

And thanks to everyone who answered my arwen question! :) the majority of you have asked to see some Arthur/Gwen, so your wish is my command! I'm not sure how much I'll be able to put in the fic, only a little bit probably as I don't want it to take anything away from or distract the story, but I shall try my best to put some in :)

Anyway, a bit of a quieter chapter today, but I hope you enjoy it! :)

Chapter 21

Hidden Guests

"All that I left behind
Another night of weary dreams, unravelling"

- Epica, Delirium

They managed to find a suitably dusty and deserted guest bedroom in the castle which looked as if it hadn't been used for months and wouldn't be used again in a while. It was small but comfortable and Arthur assured them no one would think to look for them in there. It had been weeks since Morgana had had a proper bed to sleep in and a proper chamber to stay in, and for a moment her nagging anxieties calmed and she smiled with joy and relief.

"We can bring you up food from the kitchens, if Gwen does it no one would question why a servant was bringing food into a chamber," Gaius commented.

"But we'll have to keep this locked I'm afraid, we don't want anyone accidentally wandering in." Arthur added. "Did you bring anything with you?"

"No, just my horse, Emre," Morgana said. "He should still be outside. Please take care of him."

For the first time since they met, Arthur smiled. "I will treat him like one of my own."

"We only have to stay here for a few days," Merlin promised. "Just long enough for us to have some rest and to know it's safe to go out there again."

"No," Arthur said quite harshly, but then he added. "You can stay as long as you need. I've missed my friend being in the castle and I still owe you for saving my life, no matter how you did it. I've thought over many times that day and how I reacted. I stopped your execution but I should have done so much more, I shouldn't have let my friend go. Even though you have taken a huge risk coming here, I'm glad I was able to have a second chance to save my friend."

Merlin smiled at these words. He had thought he had lost his best friend a long time ago, but after so long Arthur still cared.

Gwen smiled and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, appreciating how hard it was for him to go against the will of his father and letting him know that he had her support. It was then that Morgana noticed the look in Arthur's eyes when he turned to glance at Gwen, and the look that Gwen returned. She couldn't help but smile at the thought that her friend had found something so much more than a new job in Camelot. However despite Arthur's promises in the brief silence she could feel her nerves building up again. They would be far away from Odin's grasp but right under Uther's nose, the man who wanted Merlin, a man who she was discovering meant more and more to her every day, dead.

"Are you sure we'll be safe here?" Morgana asked.

"Don't worry, my Lady, we're all here to look after you." Gaius assured her.

"Thank you. But please, call me Morgana," Morgana smiled, but she still didn't feel convinced. She tried to tell herself that Merlin knew what he was doing.

The five of them continued discussing any supplies they might need for the chamber, including bringing them some clean clothing, before deciding they should leave Merlin and Morgana to have some rest. The long day was starting to catch up with them both and they felt exhausted.

"Shall I fetch you some food from the kitchens now? It must have been a while since you ate." Gwen offered.

"Yes please," Morgana said, not realising it hadn't eaten since the night before and she was starving. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she was afraid that the worries hovering in her mind would keep her awake and she would never get the rest she needed. However as soon as Gwen, Arthur and Gaius left the chamber she lay back on the bed with a heavy sigh and before she could do anything else she found herself drifting off to sleep.

Morgana was awoken from her brief doze when Gwen entered the chamber again, carrying a plate of bread and cheese and trying to remain as silent as possible, but the sound of a key in the lock had woken her. Merlin was lying on the bed beside her, looking like he too had sat down next to her and unintentionally fallen asleep, but he was still dozing. For the first time it looked like the invisible, back breaking weight had finally been lifted from Merlin's shoulders.

Morgana got off the bed as quietly as possible and went to Gwen, who smiled at her and whispered an apology for waking her.

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad you're here." Morgana assured her, taking the plate of food from her. With the two of them able to talk without any eavesdroppers Morgana couldn't help but grin and add, "I saw you standing with Arthur earlier on, you look like you would make a sweet couple."

To her surprise, Gwen's smile faltered. "Maybe we would, but he is the future King of Camelot and I am a servant. We have become friends in the time that we have known each other, but we can become nothing more."

"Listen, Gwen." Morgana said, "I was once the ward of King Odin, who saw me as nothing but an unfortunate burden. He was probably relieved when he finally got me to marry someone, and I was meant to be Lady Morgana Kasim, and for a time I was. But then I built up enough courage to run away and I met a man who had come straight from my dreams and now I am standing within the castle walls of Camelot. I am no longer a lady, I am no longer the ward of Odin and I can't remember the last time I changed my clothes. But I am happy, so believe me when I say anything can happen."

Gwen smiled, "Thank you Morgana, I'll remember that. I'll leave you to rest now." And the two shared a brief hug before Gwen departed.

The sound of the door closing awoke Merlin with a jolt, "Sorry," Morgana said quickly, "that was Gwen."

"It's no problem," Merlin said, rubbing his eyes and lighting up at the sight of bread and cheese which Morgana brought over to the bed. "I can't remember the last time I had a proper meal," he admitted. He seemed a lot happier sitting beneath a roof and eating wholesome food, despite the risk they were taking.

They sat and ate in silence for a while, despite Morgana telling Gwen that she was happy, she couldn't ignore her feeling of unease, even with a full stomach.

It didn't take Merlin long to notice something was bothering her. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Morgana hesitated, wondering if she should tell Merlin what she was feeling. There was probably nothing to worry about, especially if they were only going to be staying for a few days, but she had sworn not to hide anything from Merlin and that included her fears.

"It's just...are you sure this is a good idea? The man who sentenced you to death lives in this castle, he rules the Kingdom, and we are hiding right underneath his nose. I don't like it."

Merlin sighed, but rather than become annoyed or frustrated at her constant anxiety, he had a look of understanding as he put down his last mouthful of bread and took her hand. "Morgana, I wouldn't come here if I thought we had a safer option. I only wanted to protect you and I hoped that there might still be some people who would be willing to help me, and there was. No one is going to give us away and like you say, Uther has a Kingdom to rule, he'll be too busy to notice anything strange happening in his castle. I was living right under his nose for years before he truly noticed me."

"But then he tried to kill you-" Morgana couldn't help but blurt out.

"Trust me, Morgana. I would never purposefully lead you into danger, and I believe we are safe here. You'll feel happier about it once you've had a good night's sleep, and then we can talk about where we can go from there, we won't be here for long," a flicker of sadness appeared on his face at these words, "we need to find the others, but we will stay here until I am sure you will be safe."

Morgana nodded, Merlin was right, she knew he would never purposefully take them into danger, ever since they had met his main focus had been to keep her safe and she trusted him. Besides, he knew much more about Camelot and about the man who ruled than she did. All she knew was that he was an enemy of Odin, and if Odin was their enemy too, perhaps Uther wasn't? And for the first time in weeks she was in a warm, comfortable bed with a full stomach, it was time to put these worries at the back of her head, at least until morning.

Morgana had hoped to get a good night's sleep after these words, and it wasn't long before she had Merlin drifted off to sleep again. But it was far from peaceful, as it wasn't long before Morgana's dreams began to haunt her once more.

There was the sound of shouting. Several different male voices were yelling at each other. Some were filled with rage, others with horror and one was even begging. Their shouts were echoing off the stone walls and through it all a woman was screaming too. Morgana was screaming. She couldn't hear what anyone was trying to say, she just knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong and she was screaming at it to stop. Someone had just thrown her to the floor and that was where she knelt now. She felt like she had been there for an eternity. She was staring down at her hands which were surrounded by broken glass and drops of blood which shone so brightly in front of her eyes. Something terrible was happening but she didn't know what. And all the time she was screaming just one name:

"Merlin, Merlin, Merlin!"

Morgana woke up with a jolt, shivering with fright and drenched in cold sweat. She was met by a world of silence and darkness. She could just about hear Merlin's heavy breathing, he was still fast asleep and Morgana for first time in a long while she felt totally alone.

Morgana gazed out into the darkness into what was a totally alien world, her own screams still echoing in her ears.