Come Back to Me With All Your Love

He had bought her Devizes castle as a wedding gift. Dark clouds loomed over the estate. Cenred was away in Spain for a business meeting, she had an itch that there was a mistress there too but bringing it up this early in their marriage would bring out a scandal. She was smart. She planned for the long term and Cenred would pay his dues. A sly smile made it's way onto her face. She sat in the throne room, or what she had made into her throne room. The trees casted shadows into the room. Devizes wasn't Camelot, but it was very much the Othrys to it's Olympus.

She lounged in her throne. This was hers, it belonged to nobody else.

The door opened.

Morgause sat up, seeing her uncle walk into the room.

"What did you do to my brother?" Agravaine demanded.

"Oh hush, Uncle. Just a little drowsing draught," Morgause sighed. "It won't kill him."

He avoided looking at her. His black hair looked greasier than normal and he wore a black suit. She rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for the castle, I've meant to say it in person as well," she said.

"Of course," Agravaine responded. "And how do you intend on getting Morgana to our side now?"

"I've been working on getting allies to support my claim in parliament, which hasn't been easy..."

"More brainwashing?"

"Perhaps. I've also been trying to recruit whatever druids and witches I can find. Most of them have pledged their loyalty to me as I've stated my claim as the Priestess of the Old Religion. The new age witches are barely tapping into their magic but it's energy that I need."

"That will come back to bite you when Morgana raises up as the High Priestess. Simply putting 'the' at the start won't do it forever, Morgause."

She sneered. They needed energy and followers before they needed Morgana. To simply storm Buckingham palace without her would be treason and the end of her reign.

"Uncle, I ask you to consider tagging Morgana," she said. "Emrys will take her to Avalon soon I'm sure."

"Why not tag Emrys? I'm sure he goes there more frequently than Morgana," Agravaine asked.

Since Agravaine had reached out to her years ago, he'd become a fatherly figure towards her. When he did ask questions it was usually to test her intellectual and strategizing abilities. He never did it without reason.

"Emrys will be able to feel something different on him. Morgana is less honed in her abilities," Morgause explained.

"Less honed in her abilities? She and Emrys, as I understand it, were powerful enough to take you out of battle together. And Morgana was quite powerful with what she could do," Agravaine challenged.

"Morgana is nothing without him! She will have to crawl back to me so I can train her once again! I cannot lose her to him! I cannot!"

In her fit of rage, the lighting fixtures of the room blew out. She held onto the handles of the throne as her eyes fixated on the floor. When she looked up she saw Agravaine afraid. An epiphany came to her.

Her hair was frizzing. No matter how many times she'd tried to brush her hair out after the way she did her braids it remained in more structured yet frizzy state. Two weeks had gone by since Uther became bedridden. Merlin was helping her out more with taking care of her father which she appreciated. Mordred, however, was becoming depressed the longer he stayed at Uther's side. She'd tried to pull him away but he always went back.

The door knocked. She pulled a headband over her head and ran to the door.

"Who is it, darling?" she heard Merlin shout.

A man with thinning grey hair and a mischievous eye stood at the door wearing a green cardigan and brown trousers.

"Gaius," the name left her lips.

"You must be Morgana," he smiled.

"Yes... yes, come in. I'm sure Merlin will be happy to see you."

She ran up the stairs before Gaius could say any more. Merlin looked up from his books.

"Gaius is here," she said.

He walked down the stairs with her. Gaius greeted him with a warm hug.

"Morgana, you should go and get ready," Merlin said.

She looked down at the oversized sweatshirt and jogger pants she wore.

"Merlin's asked me to watch your father for the evening so you two can get some air," Gaius said.

"Are you sure?" she forced out.

Merlin nodded.

Morgana went up the stairs, hearing the mutterings of Gaius and Merlin below her. She pulled out a pair of capri trousers and kitten heels, and struggled finding a decent top. She'd gone with a grey quarter length shirt that hung off her shoulder. To the bathroom she returned and put in a small side braid in her hair. Since living with Merlin she found it easier to be minimal. She brushed through her eyebrows and did a quick eye liner along with concealer. She found a small handbag of hers and threw in a tinted lip balm.

She took a breath in front of Uther's door. He laid there, unresponsive with his eyes opened. Mordred laid curled on his side. Her finger stroked his head. He'd grown so much in the past few months.

"I wish you laid on me like that again," she sighed.

He looked up at her. His eyes always seemed so expressive and the defeat in his eyes was unbearable.

"I don't... Merlin wanted us to get out of the house tonight. His uncle, Gaius, he's staying behind to watch out for you. You'll like him," Morgana said. She wasn't sure how much else she should reveal openly to him. "We'll be back tonight, promise."

She held onto the hand rail going downstairs. Merlin looked at her in awe and she felt blush rise to her cheeks.

"I... I guess I should um get ready as well," Merlin said. "Gaius, Morgana."

He went up the stairs.

"Would you like tea my dear? I was about to prepare a cup for myself," Gaius said. "Merlin will take some time."

"Thank you," Morgana said.

She walked with Gaius into the kitchen and watched as he prepared the tea.

"Thank you for watching my father again," Morgana said.

"No need to thank me," Gaius said.

"Merlin trusts you, immensely. I appreciate that you've been able to be there for him as well."

He nodded. He put the tea in front of her.

"And you know of Merlin's... abilities?" he asked.

"I do," Morgana responded. "It's... I appreciate him trusting me with it and... it just feels good to know at last."

"Your brother, he's in South Africa, I believe? How is he?"

"Arthur is good. I talked to my friend um Gwen, she went with him. Both of them are enjoying their time down there."

Merlin walked into the room with a grin and a jacket over his shirt.

"Ready to go my lady?" he asked.

"I already told you I'm not a lady," Morgana laughed. She turned to Gaius, "Thank you, again."

She took his arm and they walked down the streets.

"So where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, I considered dinner, but then I thought, why not try a movie?" Merlin said.

"You want to do a movie?"

"Why not? Let's think... what's playing in the cinema that's new?"

"Hmm honestly I can't think of anything. There might be something Marvel in there."

An idea occurred to her.

"You know, we probably should've looked at movie times before we left then. But I know just the theater," Morgana beamed.

She dragged him onto a bus that ended up taking them to the edge of London into a fairly unfavorable area. He allowed her to continue dragging him. The sign of the cinema lit up the darkly lit area.

"They just play old movies," Morgana said, holding tighter onto Merlin's arm with glee.

The woman in the booth had short blue hair and a bored expression that reminded her of Ramona Flowers. They looked at the queue.

"Alright they've got Psycho, The Bodyguard, Chinatown and Princess Diaries coming up," Merlin rambled. "The Princess Diaries is on the menu. For an old movie theater that's a strange film to put on it. Didn't it just come out what, eight years ago?"

"It came out in two thousand and one buddy," blue hair said. "That's like eighteen years ago."

"That's not possible that's not right..." Merlin said, visibly shaken.

"Do you want to see Princess Diaries?" Morgana asked him.

"Well, it does seem more favorable compared to Chinatown..." Merlin sighed.

"Two for Princess Diaries please," Morgana said.

With a sigh, the blue haired woman rang up the tickets and put them on the counter in the middle area. Merlin held the door open for her and she couldn't help but smile.

"Do you want popcorn or anything?" he asked.

"Um, we could do popcorn," Morgana responded.

She checked her phone. They still had a decent amount of time to get into the movie theater. An elderly lady broke their tickets before letting them pass. The concession stand was open. The auditorium was sparsely occupied. Morgana snugged herself in the hardened chair where the leather on the seat was littered with cracks; at least it was a seat in the middle. Merlin looked at the chair confused.

"Didn't all the movie theaters put in nicer reclining seats?" Merlin asked before sitting down with the popcorn.

"Oh a lot have. I'm sure the padding on these will be redone soon. But I love this theater," Morgana smiled. "Makes me feel like a kid again. You know, before everything got posh and luxurious and monopolized."

The trailers leaned towards what the theater would be showing the coming month. Morgana found herself resting her head on Merlin's shoulder early into the movie.

"So do you want to stop at a bar or something before we go back home?" he asked her.

"Do either of us really like bars that much?" she asked.

"Fair point."

They got off the bus. A chill air went through the street. Morgana spotted an ice cream shoppe that was still opened and started walking in it's direction with Merlin. The couple in front of them had a young girl with them who had long curly blonde hair and wore a light purple dress and jean jacket. She held Merlin's hand just a little tighter. Her vision had shown them happy at a cottage. It didn't appear as if they'd had children. Her heart ached to have at least one with Merlin.

"Darling," he said.

"Sorry," she said, breaking out of her thoughts.

"What flavour did you want?"

"Oh, just a mint chip in a cup."

Merlin started talking again to the server. She drifted back into herself. She walked with Merlin down the station and watched as he paid for the ice cream.

"Let's sit on the patio," he said.

"Alright," Morgana said.

The street lights were soft and people still walked around in groups and loud.

"You really went with mint ice cream?" Merlin asked her.

"It's my favorite," Morgana said. He held a repulsed expression. "What is wrong with mint chip ice cream?"

"It's an abomination."

She rolled her eyes. And she purposefully looked at him as she brought the spoon to her mouth, holding his gaze as she ate the ice cream.

"Thank you, for tonight," she said after a while.

"You're welcome," he said.

They threw away their trash and he put his arm around Morgana as they made their way to the transfer bus that would take them home.

She felt her shoulders sigh in relief once they walked into the flat. Gaius was reading over a few of Merlin's books in the sitting room; he looked up seeing htem walk in.

"Hello Gaius," Morgana forced out. She felt her throat drying out tired.

"Hello," he said. "How was your night?"

"Wonderful," Morgana smiled.

"Why don't you get ready for bed dear? You're exhausted," Merlin suggested.

She looked up at him, confused as to how he appeared to be so alert. Especially at this hour. He looked at her concerned. He always seemed to be this way so she let the thought go.

"I'll meet you upstairs," she said.

Her hand dropped from his.

Merlin walked closer to Gaius, seeing Morgana already go up the stairs.

"How was he?" Merlin asked.

"A fairly stable condition, wasn't anything I couldn't handle," Gaius said. "This tome, it seems very dated."

He looked at the book Gaius was referring to.

"I believe that was nineteenth century," Merlin said.

Gaius' eyes bulged.

"In this condition?" Gaius asked.

"Magical protection and the lot," Merlin shrugged.

"Merlin."

"Yes, uncle?"

"I remembered the year after Morgana's absence in Camelot more fluidly while being here. Uther's behavior, Merlin, I think parallel's his state after Morgana's departure. Of course, he appears to be more trapped in his mind."

"He says Arthur's name. Most of the time. If he says anything at all."

"Curious, curious. You need a better collection, Merlin."

"These are antique books! Lost to the ages! Famed in their day! Good references on the occasion!"

He felt as though his uncle was looking at him in that distain and fucking tired look he had on the occasion, although he wondered if it was just the shape of Gaius' brows. And then Gaius waved him closer.

"Merlin, do not tell Morgana I said this, but I do not believe that you should heal Uther," Gaius said. "I fear that if he should ever wake then it will spell trouble for the second rise of Camelot. Especially Morgana. She has such a bright glowing spirit that should he wake I fear that she will begin to loose that goodness that Camelot will need."

"I feel as though you've given me similar advice before," Merlin mused.

"Perhaps. Perhaps a few times in my past life."

"I can't. Maybe it will spell doom for Camelot once again. Only Uther is Morgana's family. She's been fighting day and night to keep him stable and healthy while he's like this. I cannot fail her. I have to trust that she's strong enough to keep that light in her. I believe in her."

Gaius sighed, nodding his head in defeat.

"I must be on my way now, Merlin," Gaius said. "I have to be at work in the morning."

"Oh, oh yes of course," Merlin said. "Good night and drive safe back home."

"Will do, Merlin."

He watched his uncle walk out the door and sat on the couch where Gaius had been moments earlier. He remembered the time that Morgana had beat him to defending Uther when it came to the assassin that she'd accidentally set upon her father in his early age. Of course her rage against Uther was beginning to manifest but the goodness in her still prevailed. And he had to hope that the goodness in her now would be enough.

The eggs sizzled in the pan. Morgana heaved a sigh. She heard Merlin move her father to the bathroom upstairs. Gwen called every so often. And she told Arthur that Uther had fallen ill but she was taking care of him, nothing life threatening. He'd thrown a tantrum at first before cooling down and appreciating that she was putting in effort to keep their father stable. Her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hello Morgana," Agravaine said. "How are you lately? Arthur's told me that Uther's fallen ill."

"Um, yes he has. But we're working with two physicians to keep him stable and I'm usually taking care of him."

"Ah well that's good. Dutiful daughter as always."

"Uh huh."

"Well, you've been couped up for a while. How about a lunch tomorrow?"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I'll message you the details."

The line hung up. She looked at her phone in contemplation. As a child, Agravaine had been her favorite uncle. Now she had a nauseating feeling in the pit of her stomach; nothing radically large just a turn.

And the day seemed to go on fairly routine after that. She helped Merlin look over books but at best she just picked up anything that could help her as a sorceress which was progress in an unneeded way for the moment.

Arthur requested a face time call and Morgana relented.

"Hello Arthur," she said.

"Morgana," he said. "So how are you? How's dad?" he asked.

"I'm... fine. Dad's in a stable condition right now."

"Have you and big ears figured out what he has? Why haven't you taken him to a real hospital yet?"

"Arthur. His name is Merlin. Got it? And trust us, a 'real doctor' would have less of a clue than us. For now, all we can do is hope that he remains stable. That's the best situation we can have for the moment."

"Alright, alright. Sorry, I just, I get concerned."

"I know."

"Anyway, I thought I would tell you. It is very very weird being in South Africa."

"Is your boss giving you a hard time?"

"Not really. He's great actually. No, it's the people in the city. It's like, I get apartheid was hard on these people but I honest to god feel like I'm treated like a second class citizen. If I'm with Gwen it's not as bad. But they just look at you so funny and they seem to just hate white people."

A fury rose up in her.

"Do you know how dense you sound right now?" she snapped. "Think about what Gwen has to endure here. But that's not even a fair analogy. Both of us grew up entitled but god do you reek of it Artie! Maybe it's not 'fair' but that's ridiculous bloody ridiculous. If I were in your shoes I would drop the entitlement, the arrogance that you have. You're a good person, Arthur. But you should consider the conditions the people there have been through and how they've reacted or. That is such a rich history that you should study. Not as a scholar as a person. I don't think you can change everyone's attitude to fit some perfect utopia that serves you, but you can at least show the effort to want to understand them."

"Always the diplomat," Arthur said. She felt her nose scrunch at this dismissive attitude he seemed to have.

"Arthur, learn something from this. Ask Gwen questions. I'm sure this is just a small stepping stone to whatever greater responsibilities you'll have in the future."

"You think i'll have greater responsibility?"

"You need to be ready for the future. All I'm saying."

He looked as though he contemplated it.

"Alright. Well, should get going now. Gwen's bothering me to read some novel with her before bed," he said.

"Have fun with that," she smiled.

They mock saluted each other before cutting off.

She changed into a loose tank top and shorts that were printed with dragons before getting into bed. It was late when Merlin came in the room.

"You're still awake?" he asked.

She held up her phone that had been in her hand.

"News and the like," she said.

"You should've gone to bed ages ago," he said.

"So should you."

"I'm immortal, we've been over this."

"Still doesn't mean you should be reckless about it. Even when it comes to a good sleep schedule."

He kissed her cheek and nuzzled her neck. She traced his jawline for a while before kissing him. Slow is how he wanted to take it. She felt the hunger rising in her soul and the lust in her body. She tried to comply with Merlin's gentleness. But she was a dragon, and dragons took. He allowed himself to take advantage of her openness. Her top flew off her body across the room and she itched at the ends of Merlin's shirt before he threw it off. Every inch of him was hers tonight. The bed sheets pushed to the end of the bed as the lost direction.

Merlin had been reluctant to let her leave to Agravaine's lunch meeting by herself. She assured him it was fine and messaged over the details Agravaine had sent over to her. It was a public place and as far as she knew, her uncle was not his past life. He'd been disappointed when she said that Agravaine was having his car pick her up. She walked down the stairs trying to put her pearl earring in. The sound of a bird came from the kitchen. She saw Merlin with a large hawk.

"What is that thing!" she shouted.

"It's nothing, he's friendly," Merlin said. He did a once over on the bird. "Well, at the moment he is."

"Well get it out of the house. It's still a hawk."

She saw him remove something from the bird. Her phone beeped.

Uncle:
Driver's been waiting outside.

"I'll message you when I'm on my way back," Morgana called as she went to the door.

It was a cafe below a hotel and they seemed prepared for Morgana's arrival. She caught sight of her reflection in the glass. Her curly hair had been pulled into a low bun and a white scarf headband was in her hair. The white dress was summery and flowing around her knees.

"I've already ordered our lunch," Agravaine said.

"Oh," Morgana said.

He snapped at the nearby waiter. A moment later, the waiter came back with two drinks.

Her uncle, as she remembered, always seemed to ask too many questions. She answered as half truthfully as she could, or left it at simple answers. The food came out and she felt nauseous half way through it. Her head was swimming but she forced herself to not throw it back up. She kept a pleasant smile through the ordeal.

"I also decided to bring you a gift Morgana," Agravaine said.

Another snap and the waiter came over with a small red bag. Her eyes went wide.

"Open it," he said with a smile.

Reluctantly she opened it. She would've opened her mouth to protest but found she couldn't. Inside the bag was a small black box. The lid snapped open to reveal a broach. It was modestly sized, a deep ruby gem sat in a gold frame that had pearls on the top and bottom.

"Oh uncle," she forced out.

"Found it in Spain this summer," he said. "It's yours."

"Thank you."

She closed the jewelry box and put in her bag. The waiter came by and picked up the gift bag. And she found herself tripping over herself more before Agravaine helped her into the car once again. She resisted the urge to fall asleep or throw up. She messaged Merlin that she was on her way home.

/

She laid on the couch for the rest of the day. The nausea came and went but it was insufferable. She'd thrown her purse in the closet and changed back into lounge wear, throwing the fine clothes in the hamper. It got late and she fell in and out of sleep, although she was acutely aware of her surroundings as she slept. It was getting dark when she seemed more conscious again. Merlin came down the stairs, putting his coat on.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

He turned around to face her. Almost surprised that she was awake.

"I have to do something, love," Merlin said.

Merlin looked between the door and her. He walked over and he kissed her. Lightly. Then all over her face, down her neck, before lingering on her lips.

"You have me scared now," she said.

"I'll be back," he said. "No need to get scared."

She caressed the side of his face. She wanted to voice her suspicions that she could be pregnant. Or at least wanted a child.

"Come back to me," she said with a forced smile.

He kissed her forehead and threw a blanket over her. She watched as he walked out the door.

Morgause rolled her eyes. Meetings with this particular group of druids had been exhausting. She tapped into the memories of her past life. The druids back then never seemed to take this much effort. She'd forced smiles and pleasantries. After all, she had to make herself an appealing ruler before she indulged herself. They closed up about a druid named Arthur Pendragon after one of their younger members let it slip. She'd forced herself to calm down and acted as if nothing was wrong. That nothing had happened. She looked over the story they had shown her.

"So the Queen is distraught that her lover lost his memory and killed herself in grief? Pathetic," she sighed. "A powerful woman like that should never have fallen."

Authors Notes: More interactions with Morgause and Agravaine this chapter... yikes! Gaius also made another appearance and was very Gaius. I did also want to give Morgana and Merlin at least somewhat of a break. Just the pulls from the news and some dreams; I have no idea how this chapter ended up being so long but I think I enjoyed it. Thoughts?

I finished this chapter during a bout of sleep deprivation at like four am? And you know what, I did try to go to bed early.