Chapter 52

They crashed open the doors to one of the smaller halls in Camelot, Merlin and Gaius whirling around, a wounded soldier jumping to his feet, attempting to raise his sword but it was too heavy for his injures, he dropped back down to his bed heavily once he saw it was his King

"Gaius I need you" Arthur moved to an empty table and gently placed Morgana upon it, cradling her head, Kara was by her side in an instant taking her hand again

Gaius hurried over, closely looking over the sorceress, he checked her heartbeat, then carefully using the tips of his fingers dragged open her eye lids, revealing her green eyes, her pupil contracted with the new source of light hitting it.

She wheezed

"Merlin" Gaius called out "Come here"

Kara's eyes shot up from Morgana to find Merlin walking over to them, she glared at him, he caught her gaze and faltered, shame filling his features, he broke their eye contact, keeping his gaze low as he came to stand beside Gaius

"Sire you should return to you men" Gaius said looking up to Arthur "They need their King, Kara you can stay and help if you are able" he gave her a pointed look

She nodded, handing Excalibur back to Arthur who looked between all of them

"They need their leader Arthur" she encouraged

Arthur looked torn but agreed, taking one last look at Morgana before retreating out of the doors once more

Gaius turned to Merlin instantly "Bring her into the back"

Merlin moved towards her reaching out

"No" Kara snapped quietly

Both men watched her, the young warlock freezing

"I don't want him anywhere near her" the blonde whispered quietly, they were still surrounded by wounded knights that probably had no idea what had transpired all those years ago

The older man shifted towards her so he could hear his whispered voice

"We need to move her" he watched Kara's eyes carefully "I cannot cure her problem, it is magical and Merlin is the only one that can help her now"

Kara stayed quiet, she kept glancing between Morgana and Merlin, if it was indeed magic then she had no choice but to allow Merlin access to her

"Fine" she finally said, not wanting to waste any more time "But I swear if you harm her" she didn't finish her sentence, not knowing exactly what she would do

Merlin didn't say a word, but swept her body up and taking her through a set of double doors at the back of the hall to a separate chamber, Morgana was placed on the large ornate looking desk in the middle of the room, Gaius closing the doors behind them

Snapping his fingers, Merlin illuminated all the candles that surround the room, he studied Morgana for a moment before placing a light hand to her forehead, his brow furrowing as he closed his eyes, sensing something that Kara and Gaius could not, from his expression Kara knew it wasn't good

"She is almost totally drained" he murmured opening his eyes "Her essence is diminishing, she has used too much of her powers" he like Gaius gently pulled open her eyelids, he snapped his fingers in front of them and they glowed gold like his own, but it faded quickly

"What do we do?" Kara asked, stepping forward

She looked to Gaius who just stood there with a sadden expression, she whipped around to stare at Merlin but his eyes were still focused on Morgana, something flashed in his eyes as he met Kara's gaze

"She needs power, magic" he explained slowly "If I give her enough then… she should wake" he didn't sound confident at his own idea, a worry in his young eyes

Kara was growing impatient but even she wasn't angry enough to force Merlin to risk his own life, it was a decision that he would have to make by himself

"Merlin" Gaius started "Be cautious, magical essence is a fickle thing"

Merlin's eyes were fixed on Morgana

"I owe her" he muttered quietly, glistening ears in his sorrow filled eyes "I made a mistake all those years ago, I put her onto this path, everything that has happened is my fault"

Kara could feel her own eyes stinging, she had been so angry at Merlin after she had found out he had attempted to poison Morgana that she never really thought about what that weight had done to him, he had carried it all this time, watching as Morgana had darkened with anger and fought against her own kingdom and her own brother.

He had been practically a teenager when he made that choice and Kara felt ashamed that she had thought so lowly of him, he had done nothing but help and believe in her since she arrived, he just wanted to protect Arthur in a way that Arthur didn't truly understand.

The blonde stepped forward and took Merlin by the hand, squeezing it gently, letting him know that he wasn't alone, he met her gaze and gave her a weak smile

"You're not alone" she said

Merlin nodded and took a deep breath, dropping his eyes back to Morgana's motionless form, only her chest moving, slowly rising and falling

"Gaius, make sure that nobody enters"

The older man stepped forwards and placed a comforting hand on the young warlock's shoulder

"Be careful my boy" he turned and left the room, silence falling after he closed the doors once more

Merlin moved so he stood at the end of the table where Morgana's head rested, he placed a light hand on both of her temples, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, when he opened them they were shimmering gold, but he did not focus on anything, it was like he was seeing in another world

His own breathing becoming slow, matching Morgana's

Kara stayed silent, not knowing exactly what was going to happen, she didn't know anything about magic so she just stood there by their side, watching, silently praying for both of them

The blonde didn't notice it at first, not until she shivered, but the temperature had plummeted, goose bumps sprouted over her exposed skin, her breath creating condensation clouds in the chilled air in front of her, she looked between the two magic users, neither of them creating clouds

Kara's mind panicked, they were not breathing, she held back a sob, she didn't know if this was part of the spell or not, all she could do was to clasp her hands together, to stop herself reaching out for Morgana.