Agravaine continued to be an irritation. Compared to working with Hans, someone who shared Morgana's ambitions and intellect, working with Agravaine was like trying to train a particularly oblivious sheep. However, Morgana took what she could get, and once Hans had walked out on her, she hadn't really had another choice for a friend.

Not that she considered Hans a friend. One thing Uther was right about, no one could ever be a friend when you had power.

Morgana snapped back to focus, ridding herself of distracting memories and honing in on what was at hand: Agravaine and whatever news he carried. He'd foolishly approached without warning, and Morgana had responded with a knife to his throat. She pulled away once her mind had cleared.

The older man touched his fingers to his neck and pulled them away, checking for blood. None appeared. Morgana hadn't pressed the blade that hard. She still held it in her hand, cool and free of dirt or blood.

"Don't startle me next time," she warned.

"My apologies, my lady."

"I trust you have something useful to share?" Morgana took a seat at her table, not bothering to offer Agravaine the other one. He could stand. He deserved no offerings of comfort.

"News brought into court remains much the same. Arthur still acts as though he's king already, parading around the palace with that servant girl on his arm and his own personal little army —"

"I have heard your complaints already. Move on."

"And then, she left."

Morgana detected no trace of lying in his action. "She left?"

"Sometime yesterday evening, I would guess. Prince Hans turned up the day before —"

She inhaled sharply. "Why the hell wouldn't you start with that piece of information?"

"The man no longer works with you, I didn't think it was important." He did not try to hide his scowl of disdain in response to Prince Hans' name. "Prince Hans turned up, and Arthur called a meeting with that inner circle of his. I don't think he intended on telling us they had caught him if he could've avoided it. The next thing we know, three of Arthur's knights have left for Arendelle with the prisoner, and the maid and the Prince's manservant went with them."

It didn't make sense. Hans could've done anything, gone anywhere, and he let himself be captured in Camelot? Why? And why would such a large group be arranged to escort him?

Why would Arthur send his only magical protection so far away?

Merlin's presence in Camelot was yet another reason Morgana hadn't taken further action. Arthur still trusted Merlin, at least enough to keep him around, and presumably he had to know his manservant had magic by now. Yes, Morgana believed she had a right to the throne, but now that Arthur seemed to be making room for magic, her reasons for wanting the power shrank.

"Something's troubling you, Morgana," Agravaine said. "What is it?"

"Arthur's manservant has magic, and I believe Arthur knows this. Why would he send him away on an errand?"

Agravaine's eyes darted around as if the answer to her question might be plainly written on one of the wooden beams that formed the lodge's roof and walls. It made Morgana want to roll her own eyes, but at least when he searched for answers his eerie gaze didn't linger on her.

"Nevermind. It doesn't matter. What does is that Camelot goes unprotected, and we have work to do. And by we, I mean you if you wish to prove your loyalty."

Agravaine bowed his head, sleek black hair falling into his face. "Of course."

"Kill Uther."

Morgana's need for power might be uncertain, but her hatred for her father was as clear as ever. "You have options." She directed Agravaine over to a shelf further in and pulled the objects out, one by one. "You can simply stab him." She placed the dagger, a decorated birthday gift from Arthur, in front of him. "You can poison him." She offered the poison. "Or, you can poison him, but a little more slowly. Let him… enjoy the pain a little." The necklace was new to her collection, designed to replicate the effects of the eye of the phoenix, but with less effort and it would only work once.

"I don't care which one you do, Agravaine, but next time you come here, it had better be to tell me that Uther Pendragon is dead."

"I — of course, I can do that," he stammered. "Er, what about Prince Arthur's mission? Prince Hans?"

"Let me deal with Prince Hans. I'll figure out what he's up to. You focus on the King." If Hans had started his own scheme without consulting her, well, Morgana would have to see if he was worth teaming up with again.

Eager to see some more magic, Gwaine and Elyan followed Merlin and Elsa out to the banks of the river, leaving Gwen with Hans and Sir Leon. After over a day and a half of travel, they'd finally decided to slow their pace. No one was following them. Elsa needed to be at full power when they arrived. It made sense to stop.

Their camp had already been set up under a circle of trees when the others left. Hans, wrists chained and tied with rope to a tree, stared dully ahead of him as he sat, and Leon wandered the area looking for firewood. At first he seemed concerned about leaving Gwen alone with Hans, but seeing her armed with a sword he thought better of it.

While Leon was absent, Hans jerked his head to point at the flask of water, raising an eyebrow to further emphasise the question. She only watched without making a motion to help him. He rolled his eyes, ginger hair sweeping across his forehead. Gwen watched him slump back down and hesitated.

What harm would it do to give him some water? Gwen didn't need backup for that. Hans couldn't make her do anything bad. She couldn't be persuaded to free him because didn't have the keys to his handcuffs, and Hans' voice could only be so powerful.

She grabbed the water pouch and untied the gag.

"Thank you," he murmured, voice scratchy instead of the silk Gwen remembered from a year before as he tried to convince her to give Anna the potion that was destroying her mind.

"Don't speak," she ordered. She held the pouch to his mouth as he drank and then reached to tie the fabric again.

He leaned away from her. "Wait. Just, give me a minute. Please."

To her surprise, she couldn't detect any magic behind the words, and she was pretty sure she knew what to look for. Once you knew he had magic, you could remain vigilant against it. It was like noticing something out of the ordinary in a familiar space — you might not notice what was wrong at first, but you can sense it unconsciously.

"Why?"

"It's uncomfortable."

"And that's the only reason?"

He smirked. "I miss talking to people, believe it or not. You seem like the type I could get to talk to me, and maybe you could convince the others to leave the gag off?"

Gwen didn't know which offended her more, the fact he'd seen her as a weak link or that he'd been right: Gwen was talking to Hans, and it hadn't even taken much effort on his part. Gwen's empathy went a long way.

"I can't convince the others to do anything."

Hans shook his head. It looked almost to be in pity, but that didn't make sense.

"You have no idea how much power you wield, do you Gwen?"

"Don't call me that. We're not friends."

"Guinevere, then. The two of us, we're not so different."

Gwen's heart thudded. She still held the gag, but she didn't move to make him stop talking for reasons that she couldn't admit out loud. She wanted to understand him, what made him say that, and what made him tick. She wanted to understand why he thought he understood her.

"Words are our magic. The only difference is that I embraced that and used it intentionally. Yours only comes out when your emotions are high, like Elsa's used to."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I think you do." He glanced back in the direction the others had gone, making sure they were still alone. "You have influence. Arthur's heart, Elsa's trust, Merlin's friendship, don't tell me those aren't powerful things to hold in your hands. I wouldn't want to cross someone like you, especially if you ever take control of that magic gift of yours."

A twig snapped and Gwen realized she'd taken a step backwards. "I will never be like you."

"You already are, whether you like it or not."

She almost slapped him. She took the step forwards and stretched out her hand, but she didn't bring it down with full speed. She just retied the cloth, and satisfied herself with knowing that he couldn't say anything else.

It was, in a way, opposite to the way Uther acted. The king, unbound and free to talk, had nothing to say, or at least couldn't express it. Hans had everything to say, but no freedom to use that voice. Both were people briefly put under Gwen's care. Both were people Gwen both despised and pitied.

When Gwen turned around she was startled to see Leon behind her. Silent as a fox, he'd managed to sneak up on her while she was distracted by Hans' words. Even without magic he had too much power. How much had Leon heard?

He looked at her no differently than before. His eyes glanced over the scene, probably going through some sort of mental checklist, before landing on her. His eyes seemed to tell her that everything was fine.

He opened his mouth to say something, then reconsidered for a moment.

"He's not wrong about your influence, Gwen," he said finally. "I trust you anyway."

Here's that bonus chapter. Next chapter should still be up on Saturday, and yes, it will have Merlin's POV.