Chapter 5: Healing and Understanding

Yike! so sorry! I know I usually post midnight or in the morning, but my sister is visiting, and I haven't seen her since summer so I got carried away. Enjoy!

Merlin set Morgana down inside the cave. The mouth was situated about three and a half meters up the side of a cliff, with a rough path to the top that was covered in brush that hid it from view. It would be a good place for Morgana to stay, for the time being. Just until he could figure out what was wrong with her and the source of the dark magic.

But until then, he could heal the small cuts on her arms and face at least.

Putting a hand over her forehead he whispered, "Ic hæle þina þrowunga." and felt satisfied when the cuts on her face disappeared. He repeated the spell on the cuts to her arms, and watched as they too faded to nothing.

The only thing that worried Merlin now was how pale she still was- more than usual, that is- with the dark bags under her eyes. As well as how light she had been when he had carried her. She probably hadn't eaten in days, nor had she probably gotten any rest before passing out.

Merlin opened his bag and took out the food he had packed for his lunch, setting it out for her when she woke, as well as his water skein.

He tried not to think about the last time he had given her water.

Merlin then turned his attention to the objects that she had had on her when he found her.

A sword, that was a good sign, at least, Merlin decided. If she had a weapon, she probably wasn't relying on magic to fight. Inside her pack she had a small bit of money, an empty water skein, and what looked like a dinner knife. What gave him pause was at the bottom of the bag.

It was a length of expensive green fabric, and Merlin recognized it instantly as the dress she had been wearing when she had been taken by Morgause. When he had poisoned her.

Guilt tore at him, as it did every time he thought of that day.

He went to take the dress out, to unfold it from the mess it was and hopefully get some of the wrinkles out for her, so that she had something else to wear when she woke, but felt something solid when he did. Unraveling the cloth, two objects fell out, one he recognized as the magic healing bracelet that Morgause had given her. The second was a decent sized book.

Merlin could feel instantly that it was magic. He opened the book, and his feeling was confirmed by his eyes. A book on visions and scrying- seer magic.

Where did she get this?

Merlin had never seen another book on magic besides the one Gaius had given him before, and certainly never anything on this type of magic. She must have gotten it from Morgause. Merlin decided. But if Morgause gave this to her, where is she now? Why would she leave Morgana out for dead? And why would Morgana come this close to the city with a book on magic? She feared Uther more than anything, even her own power. Whatever was wrong with her, whatever dark magic had taken hold of her, must have overpowered that fear.

That, or he was walking straight into a trap set up by Morgause.

Regardless, Morgana needed help, and he wasn't going to let her suffer.

But that didn't mean he wasn't going to keep her away from Arthur for the time being anyways, just to be on the safe side.

Checking over her again, and assuring he had done what he could for her, he got up and left the cave, casting a protection charm over it. He wouldn't have time to collect the herbs Gaius had sent him to, he would have to do so later, after the Nemeth party arrived, but that would give him an opportunity to check in Morgana later that day.

"Merlin, there you are, what have you been doing that's more important than your job?" Arthur greeted as Merlin walked through the door some time later.

"My other job." Merlin shot back.

Arthur rolled his eyes and held up two of his jackets, the red one and the long brown one. "I need your valuable opinion, which one should I wear?"

"The red one."

"Thanks." Arthur threw the red jacket at Merlin and put the brown one on. "Hang that one up. And be quick about it, Lord Gaheris and Princess Mithian are almost to the city. Meet me in the courtyard."

"Yes sire." Merlin said sarcastically.

Merlin met Gwen and the new maid, Sefa, in the courtyard, taking his spot behind the nobles of the court as the visitors filed into view.

A young man was the first to dismount; he was about the same age and height as Arthur, maybe a little older and a tad shorter, with light brown hair. He carried his head high but had a bored expression on his face. Lord Gaheris, Merlin assumed, as he walked over to King Uther without so much as a backwards glance to the other figurehead of the party, who remained seated on her horse. Merlin could hear Arthur huff in annoyance as the prince himself broke rank to help the princess down and Gaheris approached the king.

"King Uther. A pleasure. My uncle sends his best regards and regrets that he couldn't join the visit."

"Lord Gaheris. Welcome to Camelot."

Arthur, having assisted Princess Mithian, returned to his father's side. Uther continued. "My son, Prince Arthur."

Arthur nodded in acknowledgement. There was an awkward beat before Uther turned and welcomed the princess.

"Shouldn't he have bowed?" Merlin heard Sefa whisper to Gwen.

"He should have." Gwen replied.

Princess Mithian, however, did not make the same folly as her cousin, and curtsied to both king and prince.

Formalities out of the way, Uther led the visitors inside, Gaheris following quickly behind. Arthur followed with Princess Mithian.

Merlin turned back to Gwen. "Gwen, do you think you can take the lead on helping them settle in? I still have a ton more herbs I need to pick for Gaius."

"Of course, Merlin. I'll see you at the banquet later." Gwen said.

"Thank you so much, I'll see you then." And he was off.

Merlin only paused for a moment to pick up the supplies he had hidden away before making his way back to the cave. Inside the bag he had more food and water, a blanket, and some flint for starting a fire, as well as some medicines and bandages.

He hoped it would be enough, knowing that, whatever state he found the Lady Morgana in, it wouldn't. Not when it came to mending what had been broken between them. What he had broken.

When he walked through the cave mouth, he was expecting to see Morgana still unconscious, but instead there she was, sitting on the floor. Her wild eyes met his and she paused, her face flashing through startled, confusion, until finally settling on anger.

"You!" She exploded.

"My lady I-"

What excuses he had run though his head on the way over died on his lips as Morgana's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed, her entire body going rigid and her face contorting in agony.

Merlin didn't have to feel magic to know that this was the work of the curse he felt on her earlier. He rushed to her side and, not knowing what else he could do, gathered her in his arms.

"Aweorpnis cwealmnes líðs row smyltnes." He whispered, praying the spell would have an effect. He breathed a sigh of relief when she relaxed into unconsciousness again.

What kind of curse was this? Merlin wondered. No wonder she looked like she had been through a walking nightmare.

Suddenly aware of how close they were, and the weight of her in his arms, he carefully set her down on the floor, covering her with the blanket he had brought.

And he waited.

This can be over. Let me help you sister. I can take the pain away.

Sister.

Find Emrys. Do not trust Morgause.

Sister.

Find Emrys.

Find Emrys.

When she came to, Morgana knew she wasn't alone. She had seen him, just before she had had the attack.

Sure enough, when she opened her eyes a crack, there he was, having the gall to look worried. She closed her eyes again.

"Get away from me." She wanted to threaten, but it came out as a croak.

"My lady, you're alive."

"No thanks to you."

"I deserved that." Merlin muttered.

Morgana scoffed. Her head still hurt and there was a terrible burning feeling down her back that started at the base of her spine and spread up and outwards, but she pushed it from her mind.

"I was running out of time." Merlin explained. "You were the source of the sleeping spell, and the only way to break it was to get rid of the source."

"Of course," Morgana said dryly, hoping her voice dripped with the sarcasm she wanted "You did what you had to do. You had no other choice."

"I did have a choice. I took the easy way out."

That surprised Morgana. She opened her eyes again, taking a good look at him.

He looked practically the same from a year ago, right down to the scarf tied around his neck. But there was something else there too, which she couldn't be sure was there before. Something in him almost looked hard.

"I didn't know." Morgana said, "I didn't know that Morgause made me the source. I thought it was just my magic protecting me." She didn't know why she was explaining herself to him, not when he still had way more to be sorry for, but she wanted him to believe her. She remembered her dream, the one that had sent her on this journey. Though she was loath to admit it, she had to remember that Merlin was a part of it, Arthur's perpetual shadow. And he knew her biggest secret. She knew she would have to work with him to achieve the future she wanted.

"I understand." Merlin said. He shifted. "Morgause- does she know you're here?"

"I don't know." Morgana whispered. "She can scry, I know that, I saw the instruments for it in her room, and I'm sure she's the one who put the curse on me. But I haven't seen her in a year, I swear."

Merlin's eyes widened. "You've been cursed like this for a year?" he asked, but Morgana saw something else in expression: doubt. As if he knew she couldn't have been. What does he know of curses and magic? She wondered.

"No, just the past week. I think. The days were hard to tell apart. It got worse the closer I came to the citadel." Morgana paused, then continued in a whisper. "And I hear her voice. Inside my head. Telling me to come back to her."

Merlin's eyes widened. Slowly he nodded. "Alright." He said at last. "We'll figure it out, some way to break the curse. In the meantime, we should get you back to the castle and-"

"No." Morgana cut him off, "I'm not going back there. I don't even know why I came here at all. Something was telling me to, maybe it was Morgause, I don't know. But if I'm there I know I'm a danger to myself and others. I still can't control my magic. And as much as I'm loath to admit it, Merlin, the only one who can help me break this curse is you."

Merlin nodded. "Very well." He said. "I'll help you." He passed her a wrapped parcel. "Here, I got you some food."

"It's not poisoned is it?"

Merlin winced. Morgana smirked. "I couldn't resist." She paused, studying him. "You do feel guilty about it."

"I do." he swore.

"Good."

Morgana didn't forgive him, not yet. But whether she liked it or not, Merlin was her best and so far only chance of breaking the curse. Then, she could leave him behind while she continued her search for Emrys.

Next Chapter: Love and Loathing (coming 4/10)

Whew! Merlin and Morgana have FINALLY interacted! In case you haven't caught on yet, this is going to be somewhat of a slow burn. I also had to split the action of what I was planning for this chapter across three chapters, which is why the next chapter is in a week instead of the usual two, and the seventh will be a week after that. Then it will be back to our regularly scheduled programming of two week intervals. In the meantime, please review!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!