I won't be able to publish tomorrow and Sunday, so I decided to update Dynasty today and leave Thorns and The night without the moon for the weekend after the next one. I hope it's okay for you. Enjoy the read!

Many thanks to all who reviewed and followed the story. I hope you'll stay until the end.

I didn't ask for this

"Why don't you marry him? He's very handsome. He can tame dragons and he is damned strong, I've heard," a red-haired young woman from the cell commented.

"And he's going to be the king of Drakar." Another one completed. Morgana watched them disgusted as she retorted:

"I don't care. And he isn't handsome. He's just an ordinary man."

"I would marry him if I were you." The red-haired woman advised her.

"But you weren't me." Morgana mocked the red-haired.

"Why do you need to be Morgana, to marry him?" Gwen tried to encourage the red-haired "Let him know what you feel."

"I'm just a servant." She answered.

"I was a servant, too, when I fell for Arthur." The queen tried to encourage her.

"But Merlin doesn't love me. In fact, he doesn't know I exist." The woman declared, disappointed.

"You are so pathetic." The High Priestess spat. "Both of you. You don't love him either, but he's the future king. Who wouldn't like to be a queen?"

"You certainly would." Leon remarked.

"I'll rather die than spend a day next to him." Morgana snapped, foretelling the beginning of a war.

"Did you see his eyes? How could someone not to fall in love with him?" giggled one of the women, a pretty blonde one. The other women joined the blond one and started to give arguments in favor of Merlin. "You must be crazy not to notice him."

"If you don't stop rambling, I'll gouge his eyeballs from their sockets and offer them to you." Morgana threatened them.

"We think we have more serious problems than Merlin's eyes and whether he is or isn't handsome." Arthur intervened, annoyed by their attitude.

"He is handsome." A woman cried out.

"Have you two ever been together?" The blond one asked Morgana, ignoring the king's remark. "How is it like to be kissed by him?"

"Are you going to spend all day talking about Merlin?" Arthur scolded them. Gwain was giving his best to hold back a laugh. Gwen felt her face burn. She's kiss Merlin once. Well, he hadn't kiss her back, but the memory remain. Now, it was a foreign memory, but listening to the women debating about kissing Merlin, she remembered of that day.

"You haven't, have you?" The red-haired woman teased the witch.

"I have no intention of ever kissing him." Morgana raged as the discussion was getting on her nerves.

"I can't believe how lucky he is." Gwain said out of the blue. "I've never manage to conquer so many girls." The other knights burst into laughter.

"I'll marry you, too." The red-haired girl comforted him.

"Thanks."

"You're such kids." Gwen laughed. It was so strange to be in a cold dungeon, waiting for possibly death and yet to find reasons to laugh.

"Speaking the one who was heels over head for him, but was so stupid to notice how much he liked you." Morgana attacked Gwen. "Arthur, how is like to know your servant used to like your wife?"

"He hadn't. He'd always seen me like a friend."

"He got over it if he was actually in love with her." Arthur wasn't that sure, though. He'd never considered Merlin's feelings towards Gwen, but Merlin was the one who'd encouraged him to marry her so he supposed he did indeed see her like a friend.

"No, he wasn't. He never was in love with me" Gwen insisted.

"How could you be so sure? Did you ask him?" Morgana decided to torment her.

"Not exactly, but he knew how I feel about him. Yet he made clear he saw me like a friend." The queen said.

"What? You were in love with Merlin!" Gwain exclaimed. "You hardly threw me a glance." He declared disappointed.

"First of all, it was just a crush. Second, I don't see why you are so surprised. He's a great man. Brave, witty, loyal and handsome. He conquered me with his courage to stand out for the weak ones. Arthur used to bully his servants at the time. Third, I was in love with Arthur when you happened to try your luck with me, Gwain. So, sorry. And Morgana, you are the stupid one. He loved you so much, but you were too blind to see it. Too proud and arrogant to notice how great he was. You've spend so much energy into getting a crown. You betrayed, lied and deceived, but you never got the courage to fight for his love."

"I didn't want his love." The witch retorted, but she was one against everyone and she started to feel she was losing her ground.

"What are you going to do? Will you become his enemy by marrying Prince Eugene?" The red-haired asked.

"I'll marry none of them." The High Priestess tried her best to sound confident even if she wanted nothing else but to be left alone.

"You won't have a choice. You swore and such an oath can't be broken with words. They are very tricky. A single mistake and it could cost your life." The red-haired explained.

"What do you mean?" The witch asked, clearly interested in the topic.

"I don't think the queen intended to put such a curse on you. I don't think she has realized her spell was altered." the red-haired went on.

"What do you mean?" Morgana's loos of confidence started to become obvious. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to be forced to marry Eugene, either. And Merlin. He wasn't an option for her.

"Someone or something interfered with the spell and not in your advantage." The woman continued.

"How do you know that?"

"I'm a seer. I've seen certain things."

"What have you seen?" Morgana insisted.

"I can't tell you that. It's dangerous to toy with the future."

"Am I going to die?"

"Not if you marry Merlin."

"I won't marry him."

"Why?"

"Because…I hate him."

"Do you really? Or are you furious he didn't warship you like a goddess."

"I didn't want him to warship me. I wanted him to care for me. Everything. Everyone. Arthur, Gwen, the kingdom, everything was more important than me. Arthur made mistakes, too. He was a bully and an idiot. And arrogant. And he treated Merlin like rubbish. But Merlin forgave him every time. No matter what he did. But not me. He pushed me away when I needed comfort. He suspected me and didn't hesitate to sacrifice me for his beloved Camelot. Merlin would sacrifice his life for everyone else, but me." Morgana let all her frustration out. "

"He cared for you, too. He would have given his life for you if necessary. I'm sure of that." Gwen contradicted her. "But… the path you chose, he couldn't support you. Neither do I. If you'd told me about your magic, I would have given my best to comfort you."

"Do not lie to me Gwen. I don't believe you anymore. You betray me, too." Morgana snapped.

"Maybe I would have got scared at first, but I would have accepted it, eventually. But when I discovered you have magic, you had already turned against us. What did you expect me to think about you, but that magic is evil and you'd got corrupted?"

"He could have told me he had magic instead of being a coward." Morgana pointed out like it were the obvious solution.

"And you wouldn't have yearned for the throne if he'd told you?!" Arthur spoke. "Honestly, Morgana. I agree you should be furious with him, even blame him for not being there for you. I am furious, too. Furious for being deceived for so long. Furious for not being trusted enough despite him repeating to me he trusted me with his life. And I'm furious for being so blind. Though, it doesn't excuse your killing innocent people. You would have turned against my father anyway. And I fear he was right not to trust me, either. Much it hurts me to admit, I don't want to think what I would have done if he'd told me before. So, stop blaming him for your own decisions."

"I've done what was necessary for my people."

"Which people, Morgana? During your reign, people suffer more than they'd ever suffered during Uther's reign?" Leon decided to speak. "You claim to be better than him. You keep accusing Arthur of being cruel and unjust, but what about you? You had your chance. People didn't want you. Those who support you were thefts and greedy men who look for easy gains. Your purpose may have been right, but your means ruined everything good in you."

"Enough." She yelled. "You don't know what I've been through."

"So does Merlin. I've never thought he had such a sad story." Elyan admitted.

"He told me about his father, but…I didn't figure out it was Uther who…you know…" Gwain revealed.

"Ohh, poor Merlin, Let's support him. He had such a heavy life. Let's help him gain the throne. He will make such a fair and good king." Morgana snarled, annoyed by Merlin's sudden popularity.

"He lost his mother. Could you imagine how he's feeling right now?" Gwen reprimanded her.

For a few moments, it was a deep silence.

"That spoilt prince must pay for it. Whatever it takes, I'll support Merlin." Arthur announced.

"We too." The knights chanted.

"So will we." The prisoners vowed.

"He supported me when my father died." Gwen declared.

"So did I, but you've forgotten." Morgana reminded Gwen.

"I haven't. You were amazing, but that girl is gone. You have also tried to kill me. That Morgana would have done everything to save my life. She would have shared my happiness and my grief. I can't forget that, either." Gwen contradicted her. "Merlin has always been a good friend. I can't give him much, but a shoulder to cry and a friend to listen to him. I'm in."

"Morgana?" All the eyes were on her.

"You don't have a choice." Someone pointed out.

"I need to sleep." Morgana put an end to the conversation. She lay in a corner, decided to ignore the others. She wasn't sleepy and she was sure she wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all, but she wasn't willing to accept defeat.