Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited, I realize I always thank the reviewers but not you guys which is stupid since I appreciate all of you! So thanks A LOT everyone!

Also special thanks to my beta MissFiyerabaMeponineWholock (I finally got one, bout damn time! :P) You're awesome ^_^

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After taking a few calming deep breaths, Morgana smirked back at Morgause. Panicking would get her nowhere. She needed a plan and she needed it fast.

"I think it's time for me to leave Morgause, any longer and Uther will start sending out troops to search for me again."

"Just a few more days, after that he'll be a nuisance of the past. Shall I walk you to your horse?"

"There's no need for that, I actually came here using magic."

Morgause looked quite pleased. "Really? It's great news Morgana, that you're becoming so comfortable with your magic. Traveling this far by yourself, soon you won't need me anymore!" she joked.

A pang of guilt stabbed at her chest when she thought about all the times Morgause had helped her and been there for her and now she was going to betray her; but it wasn't as though she had a choice. She knew Morgause was only doing what was expected of her, but how could she explain that Merlin meant so much more to her now without infuriating her sister? She was afraid to admit the extent of her feelings for him to even herself, let alone someone else.

Pushing all those conflicting thoughts aside, she concentrated on remembering where the mandrake room was situated. She knew it was down near the dungeons, but the exact location was lost on her. She wondered if asking to see it once before she departed would seem too shady.

She realized Morgause was waiting for her to perform her spell, her eyebrows expectantly raised. "Well, goodbye then." She spread her arms and gathered her magic around them, visualizing the place where she wanted to be.

"Cyningæðeas áflíegungum nien."

Morgana appeared outside the citadel, head reeling from the spell. She stumbled a few steps forward, clutched the brick walls, and steadied herself. This was why she always told Merlin to teleport them, it was one of the most necessary, yet annoying forms of magic that ever existed.

She knew she had to move fast though, should anyone see her just randomly standing there will be questions. Wrapping her cloak tighter around her shoulders and keeping her head down, she walked forward briskly until she felt she had placed a safe distance between her and the castle. Besides, any further and she would be going towards the heart of the forest and that was the last place she wanted to be. Who knew what type of creatures roamed Essiter's woodlands?

Resting her head against a tree, she tried to lay out all the options she had before her. She could do this alone or ask somebody for help.

The first person that popped in her head was Gaius, but explaining the situation to him would be like pulling teeth. He would never believe her and would instead heap blame on her. Merlin being in danger might even lead him to expose her in front of everyone, and then that'd be the end of it. No, she'd rather go through a root canal than confide in Gaius.

Then whom? Gwen wouldn't be able to do much except worry even more, Arthur couldn't be involved, and she couldn't think of anyone else.

With despair she realized that in a dilemma like this, she would've consulted Morgause before and now Merlin. Those two were the only ones she felt she could trust while stuck between a rock and a hard place.

She had no other magical friends, no ally to turn to. This was why Arthur needed to know the truth, this was why she needed to reach out to others like them, so that when circumstances like these arose, she didn't have to waste time thinking about who to call for help while Merlin was held captive and was being tortured every passing second.

Finally, she decided that she'd have to go back inside straight to the dungeons and rescue Merlin herself. Unless he had somehow managed to claw himself out of that dank room since he was quite at expert at pulling stunts like that; but somehow she doubted he'd be able to hold up against mind torture, since the fommorah had proved last time that even Emrys bowed to its will.

So seeing no other alternative, she figured she'd teleport herself back into the bowels of the castle and ask the guards to take her to mandrake room. She was a convincing liar, but if they acted suspicious she could easily stun them and, if worst came to worst, even kill them. She trembled a little at the thought, having never killed anyone in this lifetime, but if she were to accomplish all her goals of freeing magical users, she couldn't exactly remain murder-free. She would just have to do whatever it takes. Her only hope was that Morgause remained occupied with Cenred while she carried out her plan, should she decide to come down for a visit...Morgana wasn't sure what she would do.

But she straightened up and told herself to get it over with. So what if she was all alone? She had survived like that for the majority of her life before. If Merlin had managed mostly by himself all those years, then surely she could do it too.

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No shred of light peeked through the doors above. She groped around in the darkness and realized she was standing in a stairwell, leading to Goddess knows where. She was aiming for the dungeons, but Morgana had no clue if she had succeeded. Breathing a quick spell into her palm, she conjured up a ball of fire.

Her eyes took some time to adjust to the light. Carefully she went down one step at a time until she reached the end. Too busy looking at the ground, she didn't notice the burly guard standing in front of her until she felt the tip of his sword at her abdomen. When her head shot up, the guard immediately stepped back with an astonished look.

"Mi'lady, forgive me, I wasn't aware-"

"It's alright." she said a little softly, before realizing her tone was too gentle. Hardening her features she commanded, "Take me to the mandrake room. And next time learn to use your eyes and look before you decide to attack nobility."

He bowed his head and put his sword back in its sheath. The glowing torch in his other hand cast eerie shadows on the wall as he lead the way. Morgana matched his long and steady stride as they marched down the corridors, cells on both side containing prisoners. Most of them were young and kept their eyes averted, but a few dared to sneer at her from behind their bars and she wondered what could have landed boys their age in here. But this was Cenred's Kingdom, for all she knew their biggest crime could have been stealing a loaf of bread. She paused when she spotted the first girl, hands and feet manacled. Sitting in the corner of her cell, she picked at her nails with her teeth like a deranged child. The inmate slowly turned her head in Morgana's direction and the look in her eyes made her skin crawl. For a second Morgana wondered if she was even human.

The girl parted her cracked lips to say something, but Morgana all but bolted ahead, having no desire to hear it–her–speak. She couldn't place it at first, the horrible, twisted feeling in her gut as she saw her; but the answer loomed in her head. She reminded you of yourself. The claustrophobia returned in a sudden rush, making her feel like she was trapped in those cages instead of walking freely outside.

It pushed her to almost run the remaining distance, catching up with the guard and urging him to move faster, until they finally reached their destination.

There was another jailor standing outside the mandrake room. No sounds came from inside and the silence worried her.

"Leave." she ordered both of them.

When they opened their mouth to protest, Morgana performed her favorite spell. If there was one thing she was great at, it was erasing memories. They dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Carefully sidestepping their bodies, she broke the lock with magic and creaked open the wooden door.

The acrid stench of blood mixed with mandrake potion assaulted her nostrils. Filthy black liquid dripped down from the roots and was spread all over the floor. The shallow sound of his breathing reached her first before her eyes could find him.

He was pressed against the wall, knees pulled to his chest, with a look of pure hatred on his face.

"You're not real." he rasped out.

She took a step forward but when he flinched and crawled farther away she stopped. "I used to think the same thing about Emrys, but it turned out he's as real as any of us."

Merlin squinted in surprise. He wasn't expecting the mandrake hallucination to say that. Morgana smiled. "And I'm just as real as him. You. I know you're terribly confused, but let me-" she stretched out her hand the same moment his eyes glowed and she was hurled backwards by his magic.

"No. You're the worst of them all." he spoke slowly, as though each word drained him of the little energy he had left in him.

She sat up rubbing her head and asked, "Why?"

"Because you said you'll hate me forever. No matter what I do, how hard I try, you'll never forgive me."

Seeing him look so wretched made her want to hold him in her arms, but she knew better than to even attempt that. "That's not true Merlin. You know I don't hate you."

He laughed miserably. "See, now you're just giving me false hope. Just like the last time. You said it would be a fresh start, that we would forget the past, but it was all lies. And you know what the sad thing is? I think you're right, even if you are just an illusion. My Morgana can never let go. She'll resent me forever."

Out of all the things, this was his fear? She didn't know whether she should be extremely frustrated or genuinely worried that after everything he still held this doubt in his heart, so much so that the mandrake had latched onto it and used it against him.

"You idiot, 'your' Morgana hates you so much that she risked her life to get into these dungeons so that she could rescue your sorry hide and make you realize that perhaps she is capable of not holding century old grudges."

She matched his fierce glare with one of her own and hoped the conviction in her voice would tear through his delusions.

"Oh you're crueler than the last one. Making me believe she would actually do that." But he didn't seem so sure anymore.

And that hint of uncertainty gave her the courage to inch a little bit closer to him. When he didn't retreat, she continued and stopped only two feet away, not wanting to overwhelm him. She knew she would have to get out soon, those guards wouldn't stay unconscious forever.

"I have been cruel in the past and so have you; but you've shown me kindness that I never thought you were capable of, especially not with the way things ended between us last time. And we've come so far Merlin, do you really think I'm not capable of the same kindness and mercy?"

His chest heaved up and down as he stared at her. Suddenly he leaned forward and grabbed her by the throat. She gasped and tried to move back but his grip was too tight.

"Now I know for sure you're not real. Only my fevered mind could conjure you up."

His hand moved up to her hair and she breathed out. "Merlin listen to yourself; if I were just a hallucination how are you able to touch me?" She was growing more and more agitated by the second and the dazed look on his face was not helping.

Tangling his fingers playfully in her dark locks, he replied, "Just another trick of this revolting room. But you're nice, so that's unusual. Though I don't mind, it's a sweet reprieve, keep lying to me."

Morgana sighed and closed her eyes. If he was this far gone in such a short time then she didn't know how she would pull him out of his own mind's trap.

"Can I ask you something else?" he whispered against her ear and she nodded, aware of how he was crowding her against the stone pillars.

"Do you think she'll ever love me, or is that just a pipe dream at this point?"

She had been worried about overwhelming him, but right now she was the one who couldn't breathe. This was far from the ideal circumstances under which she would've liked to hear him say something along these lines and now that he had said it out loud, she wanted him to keep going, spill his heart, tell her she was the only one and that he would never forget it.

Her brain felt as muddled as his and she wondered if the mandrakes were messing with her too.

"I think," she said, placing her palm gently on his torso, "she already does. Because if she didn't, why would she do this?"

Streaks of golden light emanated from her fingertips as her healing magic coursed through his body. He gasped in relief as he felt the pain in his ribs disappear. Morgana withdrew her hand. He wasn't completely fixed because she'd didn't want to overtax herself, but she got what she had hoped for.

Comprehension dawned on him finally as he murmured, "It's actually you Morgana."

"Yes, you mighty moronic wizard. It's actually me."

A slow grin spread across his dirty face. "And you, and you said-"

The door was kicked open and they both spun around to see Cenred standing over the bodies of the unconscious guards. He saw them and pulled out his sword. She cursed under her breath.

"I knew you were a traitor. Morgause!" he yelled and she heard the sound of her sister's footsteps approaching and froze in fear. Her mind was screaming at her to do something, anything, but she couldn't get the words out.

Cenred was so focused on her that he didn't notice the flash of the servant's eyes. In an instant he was being suffocated and he clutched his throat with both hands, shock evident on his face.

That jolted Morgana into action and she grabbed Merlin by the shoulders and put all her effort and concentration into getting them as far away as possible from that dreadful Kingdom. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cenred's lifeless body drop to the floor just as Morgause came into view.

But when the older high priestess looked up from his prone form, the mandrake room was empty. The quiet fury that bubbled inside her at the sight was something she had never felt before.

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