Chapter 25

The Unexpected Visitor

He had to tell Gaius. If there was one person he could trust, who would help him make the right decision, it would be Gaius. He would listen to what Merlin had to say, he is wise, he'd know what to do.

Merlin decided to wait until the next morning to talk to Gaius, it was unfair to wake the physician in the middle of the night and tell him all that had been happening and what he had discovered these past few months, even though he was so desperate to tell him as soon as he left the tower. He knew Gaius would be up early though, and dawn had barely broken when Merlin, who hadn't slept a wink, heard the old physician pottering about in his chamber.

Merlin entered the chamber cautiously. Gaius was sitting at his desk, pondering over a huge, old leather-bound book. At first Merlin thought the physician hadn't heard him come in, as he didn't look up, but then Gaius said, "Good morning Merlin, have you had any breakfast?"

"Erm...no," Merlin began slowly, sitting down in a chair on the opposite side of the desk. "I'm not hungry."

Gaius looked up at this, slight concern on his face, "You're not falling ill are you?" Merlin shook his head, "Well that's good," said Gaius, turning back to the book, "because you have lots of work to get done today. You need to go and collect some more heather for me, and deliver Mr Pott's medicine, and Arthur was looking for you last night, he wants you to-"

"Gaius," Merlin interrupted Gaius before he went on with a whole list of things he had a feeling he would never get done today, there was something far more important on his mind. "Can I talk to you about something?"

The physician looked up from his book again, he could definitely tell there was something wrong with Merlin now. Merlin wondered if it was the way he spoke so cautiously, or was the lack of sleep and worry about Morgana clear in his eyes?

"Of course you can," he said, "what's the matter?"

Merlin took a deep breath, where to begin? "Do you remember the King's ward, Morgana?"

"Yes."

"They say she died a long time ago."

Gaius looked at Merlin closely, wondering where this was going. "Yes..."

"Well...what if I told you she wasn't dead?"

At first Gaius just stared at Merlin, but then he shrugged his shoulders. "You would find it hard to find someone who would believe you."

Merlin didn't like the slight careless tone Gaius had in his voice, if Gaius started telling Merlin that someone whom he had assumed was dead was in fact still alive, Merlin was sure he wouldn't act like he didn't care. "But I'm not telling other people Gaius, I'm telling you. What would you think?"

"I would think it was quite a sudden and random assumption to make Merlin, to suddenly wake up one morning and decide that the King's ward, who hasn't been seen in years, is still alive." Gaius said quite casually.

"And why does it not surprise you that I suddenly believe that?" Merlin questioned suddenly. Why are you acting like you already knew-" he froze. There was something in Gaius' eyes then, sadness, regret, a secret he hadn't told. "Hang on, you do know she's still alive!"

Gaius hesitated, which confirmed Merlin's suspicion. "Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded.

"I didn't think it would be any of your concern," Gaius admitted, he paused, and raised an eyebrow, "why is it your concern?"

Merlin opened his mouth to argue, and then realised Gaius was right. The King's ward didn't really have anything to do with him, he only knew about her because he was curious about a face at the window. How could you bring up in casual conversation that the King has locked up his own ward in a tower for ten years? And just knowing her presence wouldn't have made much of a difference, but now there was a way they could make a difference. Merlin decided the best way to go about this was to tell the truth.

"I was curious about what was in Camelot's tallest tower so one night I went to investigate and found that Morgana was being kept there. I've been visiting her several nights a week since...and now she wants me to help her escape from the tower, run away from Camelot...and I said I would." He paused, Gaius opened his mouth to say something, but now he had told him what he knew, Merlin felt he deserved to ask a few questions himself. "Why did you never help her?" He asked.

Gaius sighed, "There was nothing I could do to help, it would have been my voice against the King, and keeping her locked away, however cruel it may sound, was better than having a child killed because of what she was. I hardly ever saw her, but when she fell sick I sometimes visited her to help."

So not only had Gaius been aware of Morgana's presence in the tower, he had actually been to visit her there. Merlin was in shock, why had Gaius not told him about her when he had asked about her all those weeks ago? Why hadn't Morgana said Gaius would sometimes come and visit?

But that wasn't the point, such things could be debated when Morgana was out of the wretched tower.

"I think we do have an opportunity to help now though, so will you?" Merlin asked.

"Help with what?"

Merlin wondered if Gaius was in fact unsure about what they could do to help, or he was feigning stupidity to try and avoid the suggestion that they could set Morgana free. Merlin hoped it was the former, he wanted to have people on his side for this. "Help Morgana get out of the tower."

Gaius looked at Merlin closely as if he thought the statement was some sort of test. "Where would she go?"

"I don't know!" Merlin admitted, he didn't want to be tested. He wondered if it was worry about Morgana, lack of sleep or a combination of the two that was making his patience rapidly run low. "But she can't stay in the tower any more Gaius, you know that. I could take her somewhere safe, I'll let her taste freedom."

"You clearly haven't thought this through-" Gaius began, shaking his head as if listening to a child talking about an impossible dream.

"What is there to think through?" Merlin demanded, suddenly angry. "We can worry about what will happen to Morgana she's out of the tower. I don't want to see her trapped up in there anymore. Uther keeps her locked away like a prisoner, he doesn't care about her any more, whether she's in the tower or not. It doesn't matter what happens when she's free, but everyone deserves to be free. Have you thought through that?"

Gaius sighed, and suddenly he looked very tired, as if he had had this argument a hundred times before. Merlin suddenly wondered if perhaps he had, maybe Gaius had once tried to argue for Morgana's freedom, but Uther had always said no, until the physician had accepted that Morgana would have to remain locked up in that tower forever. And now the same argument was happening again.

And it seemed over the years Gaius had taken the side of the King, even though at first he wasn't going to admit it. "Uther does care about Morgana, even though I know sometimes that's hard to believe. The very fact that Morgana is still alive shows that he loved his ward, as if she was his own daughter perhaps, and he had no choice but to keep her locked away and convince the whole Kingdom that she was dead."

"So no one else knows?" Merlin asked slowly.

Gaius shook his head, "Only a maid who makes sure Morgana has everything she needs. Not even Arthur knows, and there's nothing we can-"

"But we can do something about it!" Merlin burst out desperately. So few people knew, so few people could help, but they could make a difference...

"And how do you think the King would react to his ward disappearing, or two servants telling him that one of the biggest secrets he has should be set free?" Gaius argued, he too seemed to be running out of patience now.

"Who cares what the King thinks!" Merlin snapped. "I don't care whether he truly cares for Morgana or not, he shouldn't have locked her away. He could have found another way, he could have sent her somewhere where magic was accepted and she could be safe. He can't keep her locked up for the rest of her life."

Still, Gaius didn't seem sure. "It's the best for Morgana if-"

But Merlin suddenly decided he didn't want to listen to what else Gaius said. He would not listen to the man who had taken the side of a tyrant. Did he not see the desperation, the loneliness, in Morgana's eyes when he went to visit her? The sadness when she realised that she would be locked away and alone for yet another night of her life. He wasn't going to help Morgana escape, and although the more Merlin thought about it, the more insane the idea seemed, he wasn't going to let Morgana remain a prisoner any longer. Gaius would not be swayed by his argument however, he would not help.

Merlin suddenly found himself on his feet, his eyes as cold as stone. "Fine. Don't help me, but I know what's best for Morgana, and I don't care what you say, I'm going to make sure Morgana has a life worth living."

He walked out the chamber and didn't look back. He wondered if Gaius would have perhaps called him back, tried to persuade him to change his mind, or seen reason and changed his own mind. But only silence followed him out the room. Once Merlin left the chamber he made a decision. He still wanted people on his side, and he wanted to talk to someone who would perhaps listen to him, who knew what was right and wrong.

He would tell Arthur.

So, not the most eventful chapter, but the secret about Gaius knowing about Morgana is out! How do you think Arthur will react to the truth?

Can't believe we're almost reaching the end of the fic now people! :( But the story is far from over...

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