Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. It belongs to BBC.

Thanks to you all the followers and to those that have favorited my story.

Now, answering reviews:

To larasmith – Again, thank you for always reviewing every chapter, : )

Well, they do miss her, they just don't often talk about it though. Gwen certainly is more able to forgive and Morgana having magic as well as Merlin will come as a big shock for Arthur. I think Arthur's distrust and hate towards magic is something that you can't exactly measure during the seasons, like in episode 2x08 we'd kill Uther and be a protector of magical folk and everything, which changed drastically in the end of the episode, in fact increasing his personal hate for magic. So who knows what will be Arthur reaction? I think nobody.

Gwaine isn't actually trying to win Morgana's trust, it's more like he wants to be in a relationship with her (well, because she's awesome and he has a thing for ice queens), so would she trust him to do a life or death mission? Probably not. As her 'evil' persona, Morgana in season 4 still respected Lancelot and having him by her side, I think that respect and admiration will only grow. About Percival, I think he is neutral towards magic and not much of his personality is shown in the series (guess he just doesn't have much screen time), but in general he's a good guy that will do as told and everything. I think that the most important point here is that they're following her not only because she's restoring magic, more like because she shows she'll accept anyone that needs help. In this chapter we'll have a glance about Morgana's thought concerning ruling a kingdom and everything.

Chapter 21

Camelot's council room

One month after Morgana's coronation

"That was the twentieth attempt of assassination, my queen." Leon said, and continued: "Lot has been growing bolder as we speak! Something must be done!" He exclaimed.

"It's fine, Leon. Thankfully we didn't withstand any loses, as all the attacks were aimed directly at me." Morgana replied.

"This is outrageous, my queen!" This time Gwaine protested. "You must put that bastard back to his place!" Lancelot and Percival, that were also present, agreed.

A servant poured some water to them. To most of the members of the council, his presence wasn't notice, nor the fact that he had in his possession a magic item that allowed King Lot to hear whatever was said in the room, even though he in the safety of his camouflaged camp.

"No harm was done, because, as you all know, I'm a seer." Morgana stated calmly.

"Oh, yeah, you're right, my queen." Gwaine agreed and added: "Lot must really be extremely stupid, thinking that he could surprise you, as you're a seer."

The king of Essetir, that was hearing their conversation in that exact moment, clenched his fists and teeth in anger.

"Indeed, his actions are of utmost stupidity! Trying to assassinate a seer!" Leon chuckled.

"I think he must have a brain in the same size as a bird." Percival said and complemented: "Some birds have bigger eyes than brains."

"Maybe he should be thinking of changing his crest to a pooping pigeon. It would suit him better, as that's just his state of mind for sending assassins against our queen." Gwaine sneered at his own commentary.

"Please, let's not indulge in this unnecessary badmouthing of him." Lancelot said, always the noble knight, but he also added: "He's just a dull-witted man for attacking our Seer Queen, he deserves our pity."

Lot was puffing in anger, blood rushing at his temples and he was absolutely furious. He'd teach that bunch of witch ordered poor excuses of men what a true king was made of. He would attack them that same night, using the secret passageways underneath the city of Camelot. The first thing he'd do was behead their pretty queen and make a necklace with her knights' tongues.

"He must really be unintelligent, as it is notorious that I'm, well, a seer." The queen herself said.

"Maybe it's a requirement to be king of Essetir: to be idiotic and a coward at the same time!" Gwaine happily exclaimed.

"Don't forget the cretinism too." Percival added.

"Well, I think we could all tell more of his unpleasant characteristics. It isn't as if it's hard to remember how moronic King Lot can be." Leon said.

Lot that was still listening to them gripped the magical stone reproducing their conversation and tossed it on the ground, shattering the object in many tiny pieces.

"My king!" The witch that accompanied him exclaimed, as he had just smashed one of the most precious advantage they had over their enemies.

"Quiet, witch!" He shouted at her, angrily. Growling, he added: "I'll cut their tongues for speaking ill things about me!"

The blond-haired woman – that also had clear blue eyes and pale skin – merely nodded at him.

"We attack Camelot tonight! I'll make them pay for having insulted me!" Lot said.

Camelot's underground

"My king, our reinforcements haven't arrived yet, do you truly believe that's wise to invade Camelot tonight?" The sorceress asked Lot.

"Quiet, witch! You're here to fight that devil's whore, not to question my judgements!" He snorted angrily.

"As you command." The woman replied.

Lot was followed by three hundred men. He and his troops were previously hidden in the forest surround Camelot, but as the king lost his temper with the knights and Morgana, he went straightly to the city's underground, rushing his surprise attack plan.

They were walking for more or less ten minutes when they met a dead end. Lot spun to talk with his magical subordinate and said:

"There's a fucking wall in front of us where it was supposed to be a stair! Where's the map? Don't tell me that you read it upside down or else I'll have your head on a plate!" He yelled at her.

"My king, you are the one with the map, it's in your hands." She stated the obvious.

He murmured a 'oh' and screamed:

"Do I have to do everything on my own? This worthless map isn't indicating the place correctly! And now what? This is all your fault! If you had done your job properly, we would have a fucking right map, not this piece of crap!"

"I'm afraid it's not her fault, King Lot." One of the soldiers pointed it out.

"Who the hell do you think you are, huh? Do you have a death wish? I'm always right, someone fucked up everything! And that someone is this useless witch! If you say one more word I'll have your tongue for opposing me!" He cried out in fury.

"She didn't mess up because the true map was never acquired, only a copy was displayed in Camelot's vaults." The soldier calmly spoke.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lot asked confused. By then, the witch that accompanied him realized that they were no longer the ones surprising their enemies.

"Check mate, King Lot." The soldier said, taking off a necklace, only to show that in fact he was a she, more precisely queen Morgana.

Lot was horrified that his nemesis was there, staring at him, ready to fry his head and he didn't see it coming, not at all. So, he just gapped in shock meanwhile his witch underling acted.

The witch tried to chant a spell, but Morgana was faster, aiming directly at her:

"Hleap on bæc!"

And Lot's ally flew on the air, ending up falling on the solid grow while Morgana spoke:

"Not so fast this time, huh?"

"You damned witch!" Lot yelled and attacked her with his sword, but his blow was parried by another soldier that was nearby. The man also took off a necklace and showed his true face. It was Gwaine and he used the attention he had gained to say:

"You just proved yourself, Lot! We weren't sure if you'd be so moronic to take the bait, but I guess our queen knew better!"

"But it was fun to badmouth you!" Another soldier said, also taking off his magical artifact and reveling he was Percival.

In the meantime, Morgana used her magic to make a barrier for Lot's remaining soldiers don't reach their location, and signaled – using the strap attached to her arm – her men to capture them. At the same time, Lancelot and Leon also took their disguise, facing five knights from Essetir alongside Percival, while Gwaine dueled with Lot.

Essetir's king tried to hit Gwaine's chest, but the roguish knight dodged the blow and struck his hand with the sword's hilt, forcing the king to drop his weapon. Unarmed and with his allies busy tried to defend themselves, Lot gritted his teeth and tried to run, evading his adversaries blades, but was stopped by Morgana's invisible barrier as he hit his face hard against it, causing him to fall on the ground with a bleeding nose.

"Not so fast, King Lot." Morgana said stoically and put a spell on him:

"Swefn"

Lot was fast asleep after that and his knights didn't last long against four of Camelot's finest fighters.

The queen took a strand of hair from the other witch, using that opportunity to take a good look at her. She seemed to be younger than Morgana, she had blond hair, pale skin and facial features that indicated that the woman wasn't from Albion, probably had more kinship with Saxons or other Germanic people. She could even be from the Baltic seas, judging her appearance.

The queen tied the hair to a doll made of straw, similar to the one she used to control Morgause, and chanted:

"Clústor eallne þæs drycræftes hire sawle!"

"Hey, my queen, sorry to interrupt you when you're hexing the enemy, but … what do we do with those guys over there?" Gwaine asked, using a flirtatious tone while speaking the last sentence.

"The ones that have surrendered shall be imprisoned and those that haven't, well, are they even alive?" She inquired.

"They all surrendered, once they witnessed our awesomeness!" Gwaine grinned while speaking that.

"You mean mine, Lancelot and Percival's awesomeness, right? You were sooooo busy trying to catch the big prize that you forgot about your comrades, Gwaine." Leon teased him.

"Hey, I helped too." He said, pretending to be indignant at Leon's words and added: "You weren't complaining when I saved your pretty head just a while ago." He said mockingly.

"Okay, guys, you were all great today, no need to tease one another." Morgana tried to placate their small bickering.

"Oh, my queen, if you praise me like that I don't know if my heart can take it." Gwaine teased her.

"It's not the time for your jokes now, Gwaine, we have more important matters to deal with." She dismissed his words, but not as coldly as he expected her to do.

"Hey, Gwaine, let's talk about something else, you trying to win our queen's favor is too repetitive." Percival said.

"I agree." Lancelot commented.

Gwaine dramatically acted as if he had been struck by something and said: "Ouch, when even the rightful and love defender Lancelot says that, even I get hurt. I have feelings too, guys."

"It's more that you act disrespectfully towards our queen. That's not how an honorable man courts his loved one." Lancelot told him.

"Hey, she isn't complaining, right? And it isn't as if she'd ever notice me if I courted her like an honorable and boring man, no offense, Lancelot." Gwaine retorted.

"I heard that, Gwaine." The queen said from a certain distance, as she was checking the prisoners with Leon. Then, she replied: "I would never court Gwaine, not even if he was the last man on this earth." She said, smiling wickedly.

"See? She doesn't smile like that to any of you. I'm special!" Gwaine stated, grinning.

"Yes, if you call those people that are mental like that, then, yes, Gwaine, you're special." Percival mocked him. The blond and Lancelot laughed, but Gwaine just replied:

"You're all jealous that I get a special treatment."

"Yeah, totally." Percival sneered.

"Hey, boys, can you please give us a hand? Ruadan will come here at any minute." Morgana said, paused briefly and continued: "Percival, be a darling and carry Lot upstairs. Gwaine –" The queen was about to ask him to carry the young witch, but she changed her mind in the last minute and said instead (probably afraid that Gwaine would grope the poor girl, judging by his inappropriate remarks towards herself): "Lancelot, you carry the girl."

Gwaine was about to protest, but the queen interrupted him, saying instead:

"Gwaine, help me and Leon to watch our 'guests', ok?"

"Yes, your Highness."

Essetir's capital

Courtyard of the Castle

Five days after Lot's capture

"People of Essetir!" Morgana spoke clearly and loudly to the crowd reunited in the courtyard. She had Camelot's knights, including Lancelot, Percival, Gwaine, Leon and Lohengrin, as well as the magic users Ruadan, Alathor and Brienne. Also, the queen was wearing her chainmail, as she had readied herself for a battle that was easily won as she had magic and even the help of some of Essetir's citizens to get inside the citadel.

"I present you your king, Lot." She paused dramatically as said man was presented to the crowd and forced to knee by her side.

"This very man killed your previous king, Cenred, and blamed the last High Priestess, Morgause, when that wasn't the truth. He lied to you all and sent his men – Essetir's sons – to attack Camelot unjustly."

The people reunited there were listening attentively to her, awaiting to know what the witch queen would do to their king and what she'd do to them.

"He used the same magic he so vehemently persecuted and condemned to disguise his underling as Morgause and murder Cenred."

Murmurs were heard from the multitude, some saying it was only her trying to trick them into believing that, others, that had more knowledge concerning their king's true nature, were convinced that she spoke the truth.

"Today, I present you a choice, a chance to live differently." She spoke to them and the crowd made some silence to hear her.

"A true ruler is one that doesn't let his people starve, one that is just and provides the needs of the people, being those shelter, protection or simply the right to make their own choices, to pursue their own happiness as long as they don't harm unjustly others."

She took a deep breath and continued:

"If you don't feel safe in your lands because bandits roam the area and your king doesn't send his soldiers to defend you, he fails as a true ruler. If you starve because the taxing rate is so high that you don't even have enough to feed yourselves and your families, your ruler fails you again. If your roads are dangerous and swarmed by outlaws and your products either perish or are stolen, or you take a long amount of time in a journey that would be fast if you had a decent road, then, again, your ruler fails you! If your loved ones die because of lack of medical help, your ruler fails once more!"

She took a deep breath again and she also noticed that she had the entire attention of the people reunited there.

"A true ruler is only one that provides the needs of his or her people! If they have power, if they have soldiers, they do so because you pay the taxes, you enlist in their armies, because you produce the food that they eat! So, it's only right that the ruler's orders, his or her actions have the people's best interests in mind! That's the only way that a rule is legitimate."

Some people gasped when she spoke, others looked at her with admiration, but others were fearful for the mob's reaction. Morgana took a deep breath again and continued:

"If you join me, I'll be a true ruler to you! You'll pay a just sum of taxes to give you roads, fortresses, healers and education. Magic shall return to this realm, obeying the regulation of the Order of the White Dragon, so it can be used for good, to give opportunities where there were none!"

That surprised part of the crowd, as they were expecting the usual, just another monarch swooping in and despoiling them from their food, their cattle, the royal coffers, not a proposition of a better life, especially not coming from a witch. So, maybe, that rumor saying that Camelot accepted anyone that just wanted to star over was real and now their queen was in Essetir giving that same opportunity to them.

Others, the nobles that didn't want to give up their privileges, but also couldn't go openly against her as she spoke such encourage words to the peasants, decided that it would be best, at first, to know the extent of her changes (maybe they could be good, in the general scenario, and not many of them had any affection either for Lot or Cenred).

So, someone screamed a 'yay' and the rest of the population followed, and that day became known as the one in which queen Morgana won a war with a speech (because no one tells the hard work her intel had to do in order for that to happen and for keeping her rule in Essetir).

By the end of the day, Morgana Pendragon was queen of Camelot and Essetir.

"Hleap on bæc" – Flip on your back.

"Swefn" – sleep (imperative).

"Clústor eallne þæs drycræftes hire sawle!" – Lock all the magic of her soul!

So, I'll be writing my dissertation for my post-graduation, so I'll take a long while to update this story and the other (I'll try to finish a chapter for Uther's daughter today, if you accompany it too then cross your fingers, : )

Anyway, here I'll keep answering to reviews in the A/N, in the other fic I answer by P.M.