I have no notes, so on with the review replies!

MerlinMorgana1579: Oh no, Lancelot died and he's staying dead; no shade!Lance, whoopie! Lotsa Mergana feels coming up and the salt...doesn't work.

sjritts: Gaius absolutely should know better! Mergana will be awesome, I hope. I know I wouldn't drink out of some random well in the woods, jeepers.

mersan123: Thank you! More Mergana next!

finnickfelicis: Hehehe I hope you like the Mergana! Don't worry about reviewing every chapter- I love reviews but I don't want you to feel guilty. :)

Lady Cougar-Trombone: I like how you put that- yet. Morgause is trading evil secrets w/Odin, the slime. Elyan is too awesome to stay down for long. ;)

CHARLES CHUKU: Short and sweet- thanks!

Patiku: I hope you enjoy the Mergana! And I hated undead Lance, so he's being spared. :)

Meri Ley: Oh yes, major Mergana- please enjoy! And the knights will learn a lesson.

Mike3207: (ch26)Hehehe, swords-thrown-by-magic skills. ;) Arty's always been fair-I like that about him. (ch27)I guess it's just another part of his charm to lie to Gaius. And the engaging isn't over yet.

Crazyaniknowit: No undead Lance, yeah, party on! :) More fluff on the way, but possessed!Elyan gets worse.


Merlin walked into his master's chambers in the morning only to find Arthur asleep at his desk. His head rested upon last night's dinner, a plate of stew. The warlock smacked his hand onto the desk and Arthur bolted upright. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, not a bit of regret in his voice.

"You didn't scare me, I was asleep," Arthur replied. Merlin had to physically restrain himself from laughing—Arthur's head was covered in stew. "Why have you got that stupid smile on your face?"

"It's nothing. Why were you sleeping with your head on the table?"

"I fell asleep while I was reading."

Merlin glanced at the table, but he didn't see any readable material nearby. "What were you reading?"

The King looked down at the paperless desk. "I am the king of Camelot; I do not have to answer to the likes of you."

"Oh, you're in a good mood. You obviously got out on the wrong side of the table." He laughed at his own joke, but Arthur was not amused. "The wrong side of the bed, but you slept on the table."

Oh-Kay. "That's extremely clever and funny, Merlin. There really are no limits to your wit. Now, will you please just get me some breakfast?" he asked with a sarcasm-laden voice.

"Right. I don't suppose you'd give me the afternoon off?"

"No." Arthur looked down at the plate of stew and moved it off the platter. He saw his reflection in the platter and lifted it for a better look. "Merlin!" he yelled. But Merlin was already gone.

After breakfast, Arthur had planned a training session with his knights. Maybe it would work off his foul mood. At the training yard, he surveyed those present and decided. "Pair up! Concentrate on counter-cutting. Gwaine, you're with me."

"What's in your hair?" Gwaine asked.

Unfortunately for Arthur, Merlin heard and answered, "It's stew."

"Why have you got stew in your hair?" Leon asked. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

Merlin answered again, as if it should be obvious. "Well, because he was reading."

The knights gave Arthur confused looks. The King got a new idea; one that would shut his servant up. "Change of plan. I think we'll try something different." He called Merlin over and plunked his own helmet on the servant's head. "And no magic," he said so everyone could hear. Someone handed Merlin a spare shield; he grimaced and held the shield in front of his face. Arthur approached him to demonstrate the new exercise—he beat Merlin's shield with his sword. After several strikes, he hit hard enough to knock Merlin to the ground.

Merlin stood up, holding his arm. He changed position to prepare himself as Elyan stepped up next. He invited Elyan to strike. The knight started with soft strikes, not really wanting to hurt his friend. But then he began to get into it. A sudden flash of anger crossed his face and his next strike knocked Merlin to the ground. He continued beating Merlin's shield ferociously.

"Elyan," Arthur called. But the knight didn't stop; Arthur and all watching become concerned. Elyan raised his sword to strike again and Arthur grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Elyan, I think he's had enough." The knight finally relaxed and Merlin took off the helmet. "You all right down there, Merlin?" Arthur asked. Merlin mumbled something unintelligible. "Good."

Arthur summarily ended training. He took Merlin to Gaius, and told his servant to take the afternoon off. Merlin grinned and told his master he was going out, but would be back before evening. Arthur opened his mouth to protest, but decided to forget it and left.

xxxXxxx

After Gaius cleared him, Merlin went to the kitchen and swiped enough food for two people; they'd eat as they rode. Then he headed to the stables and saddled his and Morgana's horses. He thought to Morgana, "It's time, are you ready to go?"

"I will be. Give me five minutes," she replied.

"Meet me in the courtyard." He gathered up the reins and led the horses into the courtyard. After two minutes, Morgana appeared at the castle's entrance. She wore a purple dress made for riding, which made her glow. She took his breath away.

She walked down the steps to him, coming close. "Breathe, Merlin," she said.

He immediately inhaled and smiled at her. "Thanks," he whispered, "you look stunning."

"I could tell." She smirked.

"Funny. Shall we go?"

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace special. You'll see." They mounted their horses and rode out.

On foot, the journey would take half the day. But on horses, significantly less. Morgana didn't realize where they were headed until she saw scattered pieces of sculpted stone lying around. "The Valley of the Fallen Kings?" she asked.

"There's something here I want to show you," Merlin replied.

Once they were close, he had her dismount and did so himself. He took the reins again and led the horses as close to a cave's mouth as he could, then tethered them to a tree. "A cave?" she asked.

"This is no ordinary cave," he told her as he took her hand and led her inside. Her mouth dropped open as crystals, glowing blue, came into view. "This is the Crystal Cave. The birthplace of magic."

They'd stopped where the crystal growth began. Merlin half expected Taliesin to show up, but the old seer didn't come. Morgana just looked around, different formations catching her eye. "It's warm," she commented. "I should be cold, but it's warm."

"Magic," he said. "I ended up here by accident last year, right before your accident. I met a long-dead seer by the name of Taliesin. He explained the cave to me and told me to look into the crystals. I saw a piece of the future and it was awful; I thought I was going mad. It was like when I looked into the Crystal of Neahtid. It came from this cave."

"So you know how I feel."

"Unfortunately. So I don't recommend looking into any of the crystals. Although, since you're already a seer, it might not affect you the same way."

"I'll pass. But they are beautiful."

"I agree." He paused for a moment. "Can I see your ring?" She slid the chain over her head and put it into his outstretched hand. He opened the chain, took off the ring and handed the chain back to her. Then he walked over to a thinner crystal, held out his hand and said, "Tóscæne se cristalla." A very tiny piece of crystal broke off and fell into the hand he'd held out. He held the ring in one hand and the piece of crystal in the other, then held them together. "Gefange cristalla."

Morgana held her breath while he picked up the ring to test the fastening. The crystal held to the silver band. He spoke one more time, "Gehíwlæce." The crystal changed shape and the silver rose slightly to hold it in place. She breathed again when he turned to her, but when he knelt in front of her and took her hand, her breath left her again.

"Morgana, I never imagined I would meet anyone like me. Especially one so beautiful inside and out. When I first saw you, I knew that there was no way someone like you would even look at me, let alone love me back. And when you came back to Camelot, even that slim chance faded. The day we healed you was one of the best days of my life. And then it happened—we came together and I felt like nothing could stop us. So, Morgana, even though we may have to wait a while to realize this, will you marry me?"

Her hand flew to her mouth, where it trembled. Her whole body was trembling. But she took a deep breath, swallowed and said, "Yes!"

A blinding smile came onto his face and he reverently slipped the ring onto the third finger of her left hand. He held that between his and bent to kiss it.

But she'd had enough of his gentility. She reached down with her other hand and yanked him to standing. He was too stunned to say anything, so she took advantage and grabbed his head. She pulled him to her and sealed their mouths together.

He finally came around and began kissing back with equal fervor. His hands went to her hips to pull her closer. Her hands remained in his hair, moving through it soothingly. With an extra push of her mouth, she opened his mouth. Her tongue swept in to taste his, and he moaned at the touch.

His hands moved up to hold her just under her arms, so close to another delicious part of her body. She gasped, breaking the kiss. But his mouth moved to her neck. She took advantage of his distraction to cover his hands with hers and push them toward each other. "Ohh . . ." she moaned. His hands squeezed reflexively and his head shot up as he realized where his hands were. He squeaked and moved them back to her hips while she pouted. Before he could say anything, she leaned in to resume the kiss.

He relented and kissed her back gently before breaking away. "You sneaky little . . ." he said, taking in her too-innocent grin. He took her hands again and her smile turned genuine. "I love you. I really love you, and I always will."

"As I love you. Now and forever." She tilted her head up to meet his tender kiss.

When they broke apart, they pressed their foreheads together. "You've made me so happy. And now we have to go back to reality," he said.

"Speaking of reality, did you tell Arthur about this little trip and what you were going to do?"

"Umm . . ."

She giggled. "I'll take that as a 'no.'" He nodded. "So you're going with the theory that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission?"

"Yeah. But I'll tell him. What can he do to me? I know several ways to stop him with magic." He smirked and she rolled her eyes.

When he let go of her left hand she lifted it to get a better look at her ring. She turned it in different directions to examine the sparkle. She looked up to see him smiling fondly at her. "I love it," she said simply.

His smile grew and he nodded toward the cave's entrance. "Shall we?"

"Only because we have to." They both laughed as they walked out of the cave.

As they mounted and rode back to Camelot, a figure stepped from the shadows. "All is well," Taliesin whispered and turned to enter the cave, disappearing as he did so.

xxxXxxx

Merlin made it back in time to attend Arthur for the night. The King was in a fairly good mood because he'd gotten to eat dinner with Gwen. He chattered on about that and Merlin listened with polite amusement. Maybe he won't be upset at my news.

"Would you like me to make up the bed, sire, or will you be sleeping on the table again?" he asked.

"Ha ha. Are you auditioning for Court Jester?" Arthur shot back.

"Noo."

"Then why are you grinning like a fool?"

"I have some good news."

"Well, out with it then."

Merlin was suddenly nervous. "I, uh, asked Morgana to marry me."

"Without my permission?" Arthur's voice had turned serious and he'd raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yes?"

"You realize that regardless of what she answered, I could deny you her hand?"

"Uhhh . . ."

"As the King and her closest male relative, I have that right." Arthur stood and walked closer to Merlin.

"Yes Sire," Merlin said miserably. He looked down at his boots.

Arthur put his hand on his friend's shoulder, causing the warlock to look up. "But I won't."

"Wait, what?"

"Merlin, since you two first told me about your relationship, I knew this outcome was inevitable. I could just tell."

"So . . ."

"Of course you have my permission to marry her, provided she said 'yes.' She did say 'yes,' didn't she?"

"Oh, yes. She said 'yes.'" He smiled his biggest, cheesiest smile.

Arthur put his other hand on Merlin's shoulder. "Then I am happy for you two." He smiled genuinely.

"Thank you Arthur." Before the King could react, Merlin had thrown his arms around him in a tight hug.

"Merlin," he gasped, "I can't breathe."

"Oh." The warlock let go and stepped back. "Sorry."

Arthur laughed. "Don't be sorry, be happy! Now, turn down the bed and take the night off."

"Really?" Merlin moved to take care of the bed.

"Yes, really. Now go before I change my mind."

"Thank youuu!" Merlin skipped from the room, his master chuckling behind him.

xxxXxxx

Merlin floated into Gaius's chambers. "Arthur must be losing his mind," he told Gaius. But his mentor didn't respond—he was too focused on what he was reading. Merlin didn't notice and just kept talking. "He gave me the night off after giving me the afternoon off."

Gaius closed his book. "I fear we may have more important things to worry about than the King's sanity."

Merlin came back to earth. "What is it?"

"Did Elyan disturb anything yesterday at the shrine?"

"I'm not sure."

"I need you to be sure, Merlin."

"I don't know. He may have done. I tried to warn them. You know what they're like. They don't listen."

"I'm sorry, Merlin. It's just that I'm deeply concerned for Elyan. He hasn't spoken a word since he regained consciousness and I can find no physical symptoms to explain it."

"When did he lose consciousness?"

"This afternoon, after you'd left. The knights had a bit of a scuffle in the armory and Gwaine knocked Elyan out cold. They took him to his chambers and I examined him there. The only thing I could find was a pile of salt at the foot of his bed."

A pile of salt? "Oh, no."

"What is it, Merlin?"

"He's trying to ward off an evil spirit."

"With a pile of salt? That's utter nonsense."

"Elyan believes it to be true."

Gaius sighed. "Then I fear that Elyan may have disturbed the spirit at the shrine."

Merlin went on guard. "What? What will that do to him?"

"I dread to think what horror it might unleash. You must tell Arthur what happened at the shrine. You must tell him that Elyan is possessed."

"I'm not sure he'll believe me."

"You must make him believe you."

xxxXxxx

The King sat at his desk, reading. Elyan walked in silently with a sword at his hip. Arthur looked up and jumped, then sighed in relief. "Elyan, you startled me. Is everything all right?" Elyan walked forward and drew his sword, alarming Arthur. "Elyan? What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Arthur fell back with his chair to avoid Elyan's sword as it slammed down on the table. Then he rolled out of the way as Elyan stabbed the floor. He used a stool to block Elyan's strikes until it broke apart and Arthur was left with only the stool's legs. "Guards!" he yelled. He tossed the legs at Elyan and grabbed a larger, sturdier stool.

Elyan kept attacking, but was distracted when the guards entered. Arthur threw the stool at Elyan then jumped forward to grab him, but Elyan was already running out, the guards giving chase. A couple more guards had heard the commotion and came in to survey the situation. Arthur asked them to fetch Sir Leon.

When Leon got there, Arthur explained what had just happened. As much as he didn't like it, he ordered Leon to rally the knights and look for Elyan. He was concerned—Elyan had fought sloppily and hadn't responded to him. He clearly wasn't himself, but was still dangerous.

Merlin, having been alerted by Gwaine, came running in several minutes later. "What happened?" he asked.

"Elyan. He attacked me," Arthur replied, still surprised.

"I think he's possessed."

"What do you mean 'possessed'?"

"He may have disturbed a spirit at the shrine. I think that spirit's possessing him." He watched Arthur consider this seriously. "Why else would he attack you?"

"Well, when we catch him, I intend to ask him that very question."

Merlin waited with Arthur. About half an hour later, the Round Table knights entered the King's chambers to report. They'd captured Elyan and he hadn't been harmed, aside from the bump he'd gotten from Percival's sucker punch. But he'd definitely not acted like himself and was now in a cell. Hopefully they could figure out what was wrong with him without anyone else being hurt.


So, was that a good engagement scene? Thanks for reading! Next up: Major angst for Elyan, what will everyone do? ;)