Doenja, thanks for the review. Chimaira is an ambitious woman. Very like Morgana only she is dead and has nothing to lose. And she's very bored. At this point, Morgana is very confused and she has no idea what to do with her new life. The perfect opportunity for Chimaira.

The queen doesn't love Merlin, but she does agree with him being the king. She doesn't want him to kill Eugene, that's all. Well, Merlin is a stranger to her while she'd seen Eugene grow up. She might have preferred the eldest son, but for many years, Eugene was the only grandchild she knew about. She couldn't learn to love Merlin overnight. But she had to act with her mind, not her heart.

Mysterious guest, thanks for the review. Everything is new for Morgana and she has the slightest idea how she is supposed to act. She may not love Merlin, but even she has to admit he's doing a good job as a future king and her new life is simpler and more comfortable. She doesn't want it to change. Plus, she doesn't like to be second best. She's not going to allow Chimaira to take him.

I suppose it seems strange that she abandoned her plans to have revenge on Merlin. Everything would be explained.

The necklace

"Hello, Kira." Merlin greeted the blond witch. "Thanks for coming."

"I wanted to say it wasn't a big deal, but the truth is it wasn't easy to sneak here. Eugene's men are on alert and he hardly leaves me alone. He's terrified. The idiot thinks I can protect him. Pity I don't even want to. What about you, Your Highness?" Kira looked amazing despite all the complaints about how horrible her life was.

"Of course he pampers you." Merlin thought, "Poor idiot. He will do anything to keep you on his side. I guess that lovely necklace isn't too much of a price to pay for your loyalty." The necklace was indeed amazing. No mortal hands could have waved the gold like it were a thread and create a spider web from it. "Magic. Obvious. So he had someone with magic on his side or he stole the necklace from somewhere." The spider was even more astonishing. Ruby eyes and Onix stones scattered all over his body.

However, he didn't mention the necklace as returned his attention to her and started to talk about his life.

"I hardly have time to breathe." He started. "Last night I had a meeting with the lords of Drakar. The night before I summoned my people and we discussed for hours. At day, I try to help poor people and learn more about their needs. Morgana has been wonderful. People seemed to adore her."

"Morgana? You mean the Morgana Pendragon."

"Yes, she's helping. Today, she met a lot of people. She's a great healer."

"I haven't known she's on our side. She must be furious with Eugene."

"Yeah, I don't think it's wise for him to cross her path."

"Certainly. I suppose it's a good thing she's our ally. Though, could she be trusted?"

"Well, Kira. Morgana is more than an ally. I…I suppose this is the best for Drakar."

"I don't understand."

"Having a queen like her."

"Queen?! What do you..? Did you?"

"Yes, she's my wife and the future queen of Drakar. I know it sounds crazy. I could have married any princess. A more supportive one. I guess I knew it would be hard."

"But you married her anyway."

"I knew I wouldn't be able to make anyone happy and I didn't want to force someone to marry me. Morgana was cursed and she would have died hadn't I married her. Plus, her life hadn't been a fairytale, either, so I supposed it couldn't be worse. On the other hand, I needed a princess who could handle the havoc which would follow the change of power. It didn't know someone who could stand her ground better than Morgana."

"So, you married her because…?!"

"I think it was the perfect combination. The lords asked for a royal blood princess. Morgana wanted to live. I didn't care who I had to marry as long as I could get the support of the council in rebuilding Drakar."

"Oh, so that's why?" She asked, her tone denoting disbelief.

"I think the fact she's brilliant, strong and beautiful helps as well. But…"

"I'll admit I'm surprised. I can't help considering her a spoiled girl. I hope you won't regret it. She's not going to be beautiful forever."

"When it comes to Morgana there are very few things that surprise me. Now, about Eugene...it seems he got help. Any strong witch...warlock? I have lots of enemies myself. I won't be surprised to find they ally with my dear cousin to punish me. The problem is I know only three people capable of that power. "

"There's no..."

"You, Morgana and Karliene. Which one has betrayed me?"

"What do you mean? Merlin, you know I would never betray you. I want Eugene dead as much as you do."

"Yes, you do. I have no doubt you do. But you are strong enough to kill him and now you have the perfect context to get rid of him. You could have killed him by now. Though, you didn't. Why?"

"Because you told me not to."

"Or you wanted to use him to get rid of me. Getting him killed is the easy part. Getting me out of the picture, on the other hand...even for someone like you is a very risky move."

"You're wrong."

"Though, I doubt you are able to make something like that." He pointed toward her necklace. "Yes, it's created by magic. I don't know about the queen. Is she on his side?"

"I don't know. He hadn't said a thing about her all this time." Kira started to get nervous.

"And he would have told you if she had helped him?"

"Yes, there's no traitor. I would have known."

"Unless someone warned him not to tell you. However, that one didn't tell him you are the spy. "

"I don't understand. How...?" She couldn't hide her confusion.

"He's treating you well, isn't he? It couldn't have been easy to get that necklace. You're right. It isn't you, but he does keep things from you. Did he tell you where he got that necklace from?"

"I haven't asked. He's rich. I just assumed..."

"Eugene ran out of the palace. He didn't have time to take anything. Yes, Vasilias could have made a necklace like that, but it means that someone had brought the jewellery to him. And this isn't the only one, isn't it?"

"You wife," Kira suggested as she started to explain. "No one will suspect the widow, after all. Then, she could kill Eugene and become the queen while everyone would buy her grieving widow image. She knows I'm on your side, does she?"

"There's a problem. I considered this scenario before. Yes, she could have done it, but...she swore an unbroken vow. She can't betray me."

"Then who is the traitor? The queen is an old cunning fox, but these types of games are not actually her cup of tea."

"I don't know. I just wanted to make sure you are still on my side."

"And you know it now? Just by looking at me?"

"Not exactly. I can't read minds, Kira. But I know a few potions that could make people say the truth no matter what. I'm surprised you haven't tried to lie to me. You would have figured it out otherwise."

"How?" The last time he used a similar potion on Eugene he had put it in his drink, but she hadn't drunk anything...unless Merlin had sneaked inside her room and put something on her tea. "How did you get inside my room? It's guarded by Eugene's best people." The thought frightened her. She knew Merlin was strong, but she wondered just how strong he was.

"The roses." She looked at the flowers he'd offered her when they met. Such lovely flowers. "You don't need to drink it. Some potions are potent enough if they are inhaled. And you had the flowers very close to your nose all the time."

"You could have asked me directly. What did you get from all those questions? You found nothing. The traitor is still unknown."

"Contrary, I got a second opinion on my grandmother, found what my wife would have done hadn't she made that vow and I discover the traitor is from inside."

"I wouldn't be that sure about Morgana." He heard a voice he knew way too well.

"Chimaira," He exclaimed as the blonde sat down next to them.

"Nice to see you, Merlin. I could help." She offered. "Find the traitor. "

"I don't trust you. You lied to me before."

"It was before I started to like you. I was obsessed with leaving. You're right, the necklace was made by magic...by Vasilias. A gift to his wife. The jewellery was supposed to lay with her in the tomb, but someone seemed desperate enough to rummage through bones and dust. A woman, I suppose. It explains why Eugene hasn't told a word about her to Kira."

"I suppose you're right. Could you find her?"

"If you ask me nicely, I might try. If you're more than nice I'll put some effort into it. It depends on how nice you are."

"Chimaira." He cried.

"Because I'm a nice woman who cares for you, I'm going to tell you that the unbreakable vow isn't that unbreakable."

"What do you mean?"

"Every spell has a loophole. Morgana found the loophole. I don't know how."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Ask her if you don't believe me. Where was she last night, Merlin? I bet you haven't known she'd sneaked out, and paid a servant to keep her secret. If you check you'll find that her servant had washed her cloak. You'll probably discover one of Morgana's necklaces among the maid's things. She lied to you before, didn't she?"

"How did you find it?"

"You and Morgana were lovers!" Kira couldn't help her surprise.

"We were friends, but I didn't tell her about my magic. She kept something from me. Things ended horribly." He confessed.

"She managed to trick you into believing she regrated her actions. What?" She exclaimed as she noticed the surprised look on his face. "I checked about you. Your dragons adore talking about you. A lot."

"This time is different."

"Is it?" Chimaira provoked him. "Fine. If you trust her so much it must have been something unimportant."