Part of Morgana's World

Elia quickly walked down the sidewalk behind Marissa and Trevor, casually glancing around her to make sure that neither Morgana nor whoever else she may have recruited were there early staking the place out. She felt a bit of relief when she didn't see or sense anything out of the ordinary.

They were heading towards a normal-looking community building in a normal-looking neighborhood. Elia couldn't help but chuckle to herself. The druids had been alive and well this whole time, hiding in plain sight just under her and Merlin's noses. She glanced at him, seeing him focused on keeping up, though his jaw was clenched. She didn't blame him. She had been mentally preparing herself to see Morgana the last two days as well. Considering the last time she had run into the woman, the sorceress had caught her in an enchantment. She couldn't help but feel a bit smug at the idea of giving her a taste of her own medicine.

"It's just here," Marissa said, starting up a short set of stairs to the building. Elia nodded as they followed her and Trevor inside, making their way down a couple hallways to a small gym where a circle of chairs had already been set up. All the people there were off to the side, crowded around a table that held various biscuits and tea. There were about six of them. Elia had to admit she was a bit surprised. While she wasn't sure what to expect at a gathering of druids, this was definitely not it. It looked as though they were at a meeting of AA.

When they walked in, the group all froze as they looked over and saw Elia and Merlin.

"It's… is it really them?" someone murmured.

"Emrys and Elia," another said. There was more than one look of shock.

"All this time…"

Elia glanced over at Merlin, her eyebrows raised. She was glad that she had left her bow and sword at home, likely attracting more attention than necessary. But she had hidden several daggers around her person should she need them. She had to admit that she was a bit surprised that the group recognized them. Marissa and Trevor must have informed them as there were no paintings from that time. Well, a few. But she doubted anyone here would recognize them from a painting.

A short woman with large glasses quickly walked up to them, her hand out.

"It is such an honor to meet you," she said as Merlin awkwardly accepted her hand and she began shaking his vigorously. "I grew up hearing the stories - all of us did - but I never thought I'd ever see you with my own eyes. I'll admit, part of me wondered if they were even true..."

"How did you find them, Marissa?" a tall, skinny man asked. Marissa glanced at Trevor and turned back to the group.

"They found us. Or rather… they found Trevor. He's an elf," she said. The group whipped their heads around to look at him, more shock appearing. "He's, ah, well he was a close advisor to the queen and a very dear friend of hers back then."

"Guess now I see why you were so comfortable letting him in on the big secret," a tall, plump woman said, shooting a disdainful look towards the couple.

"That's besides the point. We believe Morgana is on her way here and she's going to try and recruit you," Merlin said.

"We'd never join her," the man said.

"And whatever for?" the plump woman asked. Merlin glanced at Elia.

"We're not sure. But we do know that she is back, she has magic and she is seeking the help of druids and others with magic," he replied. There was a tense silence as they glanced around nervously.

"On that note, I believe that I shall head home," the plump woman said, walking briskly towards the door. "I remember the stories and I want no part in this."

"That's your choice," Merlin said. "But I may need your help with her." The woman stopped and turned to look at him, her thin eyebrows raised.

"But aren't you supposed to be the greatest sorcerer the world has ever seen? Surely you can handle her without us," she said.

"We don't know how powerful she is," Elia said. "But if you're too afraid to face her, then by all means, head home." She crossed her arms in front of her, settling an icy glare on the woman, who only stiffened and narrowed her eyes at the elf.

"Elia," Merlin said, rolling his eyes. They weren't going to convince anyone to help by offending them.

"We must be ready for her. She could arrive at any moment," Marissa said. "If you want to go, then go, but do it now. We don't have time to stand here and argue." The woman glanced at her and then sighed, walking back to rejoin the group. Elia smiled at Merlin and then looked around the room, already searching for the best place to hide. There was a small stage at the far end with curtains. She nodded towards it.

"Think that's a good spot," she said, starting to walk towards it.

"So, what is the plan?" the small, mousy woman asked. "I assume you have one."

"We'll hide and then when she arrives, we'll take her unawares," Merlin said, ignoring the snort that came from Elia as he and Trevor followed her.

"Hide and then take her?" the plump woman asked. "How is that supposed to work?"

"We need everyone to act as though nothing is out of sorts," Marissa continued. "Act as though you don't recognize her or know who she is. She goes by the name Sarah." She looked around the group. "You think you can do that?"

There were soft murmurs of agreement. Elia didn't really believe them, but she wasn't about to say so. She hopped up on the stage and then stepped behind a curtain, glancing over as Merlin did the same on the other side. He nodded towards her and then fixed his eyes on the small group as they gathered their tea and then sat down. Trevor stepped behind Elia, watching the group as they started up a nervous conversation.

"You think we can pull this off?" he asked softly.

"Suppose we're about to find out," Elia muttered.

"And you're sure it was a good idea not to get the others here?" he then asked. Elia huffed slightly.

"Weren't sure we'd have enough time to get them all here," she said. Trevor only stared at her. "There's a large amount of people at the country house at the moment… And we didn't want to risk having too many people here and mucking something up." He couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly. Of course, Elia would assume they could handle it on their own.

They waited silently for a few minutes before the door on the far side of the auditorium opened and shut with a loud boom and the group quieted, looking over. Elia sucked in a quick breath as her eyes narrowed and she saw Morgana saunter in. She looked just as she did all those years ago, though her hair was shorter and she had a warm smile on her face. Granted, it didn't go all the way to her eyes.

Elia glanced over at Merlin, who had his eyes trained on Morgana, not moving a muscle as she made her way to the group.

"Sarah, how good of you to join us," Marissa said brightly as the chair squeaked slightly while she stood.

"I'm just happy to find a group of like-minded people," Morgana said.

"Please, have a seat. We were just about to get started," Marissa said. Morgana sat and sized up the group.

"What is it you lot do at these things?" she asked. "Discuss magic?"

"Primarily," a man said. "Share helpful spells and such." Morgana nodded slowly.

"And you all have magic?" she asked.

"Yes, though it varies. Some are more… fluent in it than others," the man replied.

"Speak for yourself, Alastair," the plump woman replied.

"What brings you here, Sarah?" the mousy woman asked, glancing nervously at the others as she pushed her large glasses up her nose. Morgana took a deep breath, once again studying the group. It wasn't quite what she was expecting, but she really couldn't be picky. She needed others with magic to help her and this group had a fair amount, from what she could tell. It was one of the first she had been to in which all members had varying degrees of magic.

"I'm here because I need help," she said simply. "There is a spell I wish to do, but it requires magic from more than one person." Elia glanced over at Merlin, who caught her eye. She then took a deep breath and stepped out onto the stage. Trevor and Merlin hurried to follow her.

"Hate to crash the party," she said, smirking at the sorceress. Morgana looked up, her face bland as she looked from Elia to Merlin. She then smiled and crossed her arms in front of her, tilting her head to the side.

"I was wondering when I would run into you," she said. "Surprised it took you this long to find me."

"Come with us quietly and no one has to get hurt," Merlin said. Morgana's eyes flicked over to him as she slowly stood.

"Just what makes you think I'll do that?" she asked, putting her palms up as fireballs appeared in each hand. The group quickly jumped to their feet, rushing to the sides of the gym to get out of the way as chairs toppled over. Only Marissa stayed nearby, closely watching Morgana.

"Don't do this, Morgana," Merlin warned. "It doesn't have to be like this." She just smiled as she threw the fireballs at the stage, the three narrowly jumping out of the way. Elia rolled across the stage and quickly hopped to her feet, pulling out two daggers.

"Now would be a good time to restrain her," she said, hopping off the edge of the stage and letting loose one of the daggers.

"Working on it," Merlin said, pushing up as Morgana easily deflected the dagger and set her sights on Merlin. He began shouting out a spell as his eyes flashed. Morgana tried to shield herself but was thrown back several feet, landing with a hard thud before sliding back another foot or so. Elia began running towards her, shooting glares at the other druids who were just standing there in shocked silence. Only Marissa seemed ready to jump in if needed, already moving towards the fallen sorceress as Trevor followed not far behind, his own daggers out.

"Some help would be nice!" Elia shouted as she pulled out another dagger.

Morgana was already pushing herself up to her feet, frowning as Merlin shot another spell at her. This time she was able to move out of the way and shouted one of her own. Merlin managed to somehow shield himself, but the spell inadvertently knocked a few of the druids to the ground as well as Trevor and Elia.

Morgana knew that she was too weak to take him on right now. Even more so if the others decided to finally help. But she couldn't let him know. She needed to create some sort of distraction so that she could get away. Live to fight another day and all.

Merlin started shouting out another incantation, this one much longer and more complicated. He was attempting to restrain her and she could feel the spell start to grab hold of her. Glancing around, Morgana knew that her only method of escape were the doors behind her. She looked at the ground just before her, seeing the others drawing near just beyond it. Chanting, she held her hands out, her eyes flashing as a massive wall of fire appeared, stopping the elf queen in her tracks as the other elf managed to grab the druid woman that had given her magic back and pull her back before she was burned.

Merlin stopped chanting, temporarily distracted by the growing flames. Morgana smiled as she then turned and dashed out of the doors, quickly making her way through the community center and towards the crowded street outside. She was prepared to defend herself there if needed but knew that even if the elf queen or Merlin managed to follow her, they wouldn't risk exposing themselves so recklessly.

"Fuck!" Elia shouted as she looked up at the flames that were starting to spread. She then looked around, trying to find another way out of the room. Before she could locate one, the flames quietly extinguished themselves, leaving a charred black line across the floor. She looked over at Merlin, who was lowering his hand and frowning.

Elia then dashed out, hoping to catch up with Morgana, Trevor not far behind her. They stopped as they reached the sidewalk outside, looking up and down it but finding no sign of the sorceress.

"Jesus Fucking Christ!" Elia shouted again, stomping her foot.

"We'll find her again, Lia," Trevor said, though the look on his face wasn't has hopeful as his voice. She just huffed and turned around, walking back into the community center and back to the auditorium. Merlin and Marissa were already looking after the others, making sure that no one was hurt.

"Well that went well," she grumbled as she put her daggers away.

"We knew it could be difficult," Merlin said, glancing at her. "And I told you we needed a better plan." Elia just rolled her eyes.

"She got away and we've no idea where to look for her," she said, turning to face him as she planted her hands on her hips. "Though I don't know why you waited so long to restrain her."

"You could have stayed hidden a bit longer and let me do the spell out of sight," he retorted.

"We'll find her again," Trevor said loudly, his voice strained. Merlin sighed and looked around at the druids who seemed to be shaken but otherwise unharmed.

"What sort of spell could she be talking about?" he asked.

"Who knows," the plump woman said. "There are a number of spells that require more than one person. Figured you of all people would know that."

"I do, just wondering if any of you have any ideas so I have a better idea of where to start looking," he said, his annoyance clear in his voice.

"Depends on what she's after," Alastair offered.

"We can assume that it's nothing good," the mousy woman said, earning a snort from the plump woman. "Must you be so disagreeable, Mildred?" she huffed.

"You mentioned that there are others," Marissa said. "More of you have come back?" Elia glanced at Merlin and then looked at her and nodded.

"Three knights - Gwaine, Percival and Lancelot, Queen Guinevere and Mordred have been reincarnated," she said. There was a tense silence around the room at the mention of Mordred. "Not to mention, Elidren, Cameron, and Fianna have also returned from the Isles. And Mordred doesn't have his magic."

Marissa was silent a few moments before meeting Merlin's eyes.

"You asked about a spell… there is one that she possibly could be trying to do… She mentioned to me that she plans to bring magic back, which I thought ridiculous because it never left. Not really, but…" she paused and looked around the group before looking at Merlin again. "She said that it would be beneficial to us… I think she wants to go public with who we are. In a big way."

"She could just light a building on fire with her hands, post it on YouTube and accomplish that," Mildred huffed.

"She's going to need more people to do big magic that makes a statement and there just aren't that many druids left," Marissa continued, ignoring the comment. "She may be trying to bring back more."

"Bring back more?" Merlin asked. He looked towards Elia. "What else did Faeranduil say about reincarnation?"

"No, not like that," Marissa said, interrupting him. "I mean… I heard about this spell, though I always thought it was just a story my gran made up to scare me off from trying dark magic. It's a resurrection spell."

Elia looked over at Merlin, raising her eyebrows. They hadn't come across many such spells in their many perusals of the elves' archives. But the few they had seen were rather complicated and they weren't sure if it was even possibly for Morgana to perform them. Some of the necessary ingredients had long since gone out of existence. Merlin sighed.

"If it exists, we should have a record of it," he said. "Back at the country house or perhaps it's in the elves' archives. We should go back and start looking. Once we find it, we'll have a better idea of how to stop her." Elia nodded. She turned to Marissa and Trevor.

"You coming with us?" she asked. Trevor nodded though looked at Marissa.

"You should go somewhere safe with Lila," he said, his brow furrowed. "Perhaps your parents' place in the country."

"Like hell," Marissa replied. "This is partially my fault. I gave her her damn magic back. I'm going to help fix it."

"It's not safe. You've seen her. Morgana is powerful and dangerous, and I won't have you getting hurt," Trevor urged. Marissa sighed and shook her head.

"When are you going to realize that we're in this together?" she asked, a small smile on her lips. "Besides, you're going to need me." Trevor stared at her a moment then shook his head.

"Fine," he said, relenting. He looked over at Merlin and Elia. "Give us tonight to make arrangements for Lila. Then we'll head back with you in the morning."

"Good," Elia said. She then turned on her heel and started towards the door. "Let's go, Merlin." The sorcerer looked around the group, smiling nervously.

"Lovely to meet you all," he said with a small wave before following Elia out.

Morgana breathed heavily as her front door slammed shut behind her. She knew they didn't follow her, but she couldn't help as she walked over to the window and glanced down to the street below, making sure.

The night had not gone how she had hoped. She wasn't completely surprised that Merlin and Elia had shown up. She figured someone in the druid circle may have found a way to contact them. But at the same time, she had hoped to get at least one recruit. She should have better vetted the druid woman and it was a mistake that she did not intend to repeat.

Sighing, she walked back to the dining table, glancing at the various papers and books strewn about. There were a few other groups and meetings that she intended to check out, but it seemed that she would need to spend a few days gathering what information she could on them before making her presence known. Not to mention figure out the best way to ensure that those she had already recruited wouldn't turn on her. She sat down at the table and opened up her laptop. A soft ping alerted her to a new email. After skimming through it, she put it aside. Her boss was wondering when she would be back from her indefinite leave and she didn't care to answer him. It wouldn't matter soon, anyway.

She looked over at an open notebook and read the name of another gathering, then quickly took to the computer, starting up a search. While it was advertised as a group for wiccans, she was sure there had to be at least one or two druids there. And she would be able to sense who had true magic and who didn't once she arrived.

Grimacing slightly, Morgana stopped for a moment, grasping her right wrist. Though her magic was back, she found that it wasn't as strong as before, though every day brought some improvement. But sometimes it caused a bit of pain when she flexed it a bit too much. And tonight had done just that. Creating the wall of fire while Merlin was attempting an enchantment to restrain her about did her in and she was lucky to have gotten away when she did.

Pushing the ache aside, she returned her focus to the task at hand.

"Won't be long," she sang softly to herself, thinking of her plans.

It truly wouldn't.

Hope you guys weren't expecting this to be the final showdown. Still have eight more chapters, plus the epilogue to go!

Fullshadow – Good to hear! And don't worry – much more to come.

OechsnerC – Haha, well, how did you do? Not sure if this was what folks were expecting, but I couldn't have the final showdown this soon. ^_^ And yea, I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm big on redemption stories. And it kind of fits with Mordred and Bridget.

AndreKl – God, could you imagine Arthur and Morgana sitting down in family therapy? Though now that's got me thinking on a one-shot… Those two definitely took sibling rivalry to a whole new level…

Thanks for reading, following and reviewing everyone!