Strongest of the Warlocks: Chapter Eleven: Siege From Within

AN: Now, this is a chapter I've really been looking forward to, mostly because I couldn't resist the whole Merlin and Morgana changing places, especially since I'm sure I was going to do it what with Morgana and Merlin's physical similarities.

This chapter was based off an episode of Reign when the castle was taken over by a man who had a grievance against the king…and of course how could I resist attempting to do my own version of it in this fic?


Merlin drummed her fingers against table, gazing around the library with interest, taking in the various titles of the books she could currently see.

"May I help you, Miss Merlin?"

The dark-haired warlock jumped wildly at the sound of Geoffrey's voice as he came around the corner, a small noise reminiscent of a squeak leaving her lips, and a hand shooting to her heart.

"Geoffrey, you startled me!"

Geoffrey smiled thinly. He wasn't quite as approving as Merlin, though Merlin suspected this had more to do with the fact that Merlin was the complete opposite of the typical female, what with her wearing trousers and tunics instead of dresses, and using a sword.

"Gaius sent me down for some books on medicinal remedies that he wants me to memorize," Merlin said, extending a scrap of parchment towards the man.

"Indeed," Geoffrey said simply, taking the list from her and surveying it through his spectacles. "One of these books is concerning magical remedies." His eyes fastened on hers, narrowing suspiciously.

Merlin, on the other hand, hardly blinked. "Yes," she said. "Gaius told me it's a book concerning the cures to illnesses inflicted by magic."

He took the response in stride, and Merlin relaxed as he stepped out of view. In reality she'd been trying her hand at forging Gaius' handwriting. She could probably have come back after dark to search for the books in question, but she was certain that Geoffrey might notice something amiss, so better to be upfront about it than be sneaky.

The book of magical illnesses was her true prize, but it was better to mask it within books of a similar nature, even though Gaius had the two other books in question.

"Here you are."

Merlin took the books eagerly only to grunt at their combined weight. "And when should I have them back?"

"Will a month be long enough?" he inquired.

"Plenty, I'm sure," Merlin said, attempting to position the books better in her arms. "Thank you," she added for good measure.

"Always happy to be of service," Geoffrey said as she made her way to the door, opening it with difficulty and making her way out into the corridor.

She released a sigh once she began to walk. In the clear…

The castle was more deserted than usual, in fact, the whole kingdom was less defended than usual, a fact that Camelot was hiding from its enemies as best as it could.

Uther had ridden out with the majority of his men when a skirmish at Camelot's border with Cenred's kingdom descended into chaos. He had left his sulking son behind to act as regent in his place, and that had been more than a week previously. But hopefully the army would return soon so the overworked soldiers and servants that had remained would get some decent rest.

Merlin turned a corner and ran right into Gwen who was making her way down to do Morgana's laundry.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Gwen!"

"It's nothing," Gwen said quickly, sparing her friend a small laugh as she righted herself. "I think Arthur was looking for you."

"He's always looking for me," Merlin grumbled, more to herself than to Gwen, but the brown-eyed girl smiled. "I thought he was still in training?"

"Well, there's not much training to do when there are so few knights left in the wall of Camelot," Gwen reasoned. "Maybe he wants to work on your sword technique?"

It was no secret that Merlin trained with Arthur, in fact, it was probably a good thing that she'd learned a thing or two concerning the proper use of swords from the prince.

"Doubtful," Merlin muttered, "more likely he just wants to vent 'cause Uther left him behind."

"Better you than me."

Gwen grinned when Merlin spared a scowl towards her friend. "You are too cruel."

"You're resilient," Gwen responded, rolling her eyes for good measure, "I'm sure you can take it."

Merlin's lower lip jutted out slightly in a pout before turning on her heel and heading off in the direction of her and Gaius' quarters.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Arthur at this time?" Gaius asked when she stumbled through the door, maneuvering around the various obstacles (she earned a bruised shin for her efforts).

"I'm on my way," Merlin sang, tripping up the stairs to her room before dropping the books at her bedside table. She grabbed up her sword in its sheath, binding it around her waist as she moved down the stairs, wincing at the yell of "MERLIN!"

"Keep your trousers on! I'm coming!" she shouted, reaching the door just as it swung open to reveal Merlin's irate master.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Merlin said before he could say a word, fixing the belt that the sword was attached to her waist, "but one day you'll be grateful for my head of medicinal remedies—"

"Merlin," Arthur spoke over her, "I need a favor."

She froze in surprise, staring at him for a long moment. "What?" she asked.

"A favor," he said shortly, shifting uncomfortably as Merlin and Gaius shared a look of confusion, because when was the last time that Arthur had asked for a favor? Merlin reasoned a very a long time.

"A favor?" she repeated dubiously.

"Are you deaf?" Arthur asked with a vein of annoyance.

"No, just surprised," Merlin said, "you aren't the type to ask for help."

Arthur ignored that jibe.

"I need you to pretend to be Morgana," he said instead, grimacing even as the words parted from his lips, as though he knew how ridiculous it sounded.

Merlin's mouth fell open as she gaped at the blonde-haired prince. "You want me to what?"


They were all gathered in Morgana's quarters and Merlin was sitting backwards in one of Morgana's chairs, pressing her forehead down against the chair's back before lifting it to scowl at Arthur.

"Here's a great question: just how insane are you?"

Arthur gave her a glare. "I'm not insane."

"You want me to pretend to be the ward of the king," Merlin retorted. "How does that not count as insanity?"

"Well, you do look similar," Gwen had to agree with Arthur.

"See!" Arthur jabbed a finger in Gwen's direction before gesturing towards Merlin. "You look similar!"

"We do look a bit alike," Morgana said with a smile, which only served to deepen Merlin's scowl.

"That's not the point," Merlin refuted, throwing a hand around carelessly, eyes narrowing. "You are asking me to pretend to be someone else, someone walks different and talks different and acts different—"

"For good reason!"

"You don't want to risk Morgana but since I'm a servant—"

"That's not it and you know it!" Arthur snapped.

Gwen and Morgana shared an uncomfortable glance as the prince and maidservant glared furiously at each other before Merlin sighed.

"Who is he?" she asked.

"What?" Arthur balked at the sudden change in tone.

"There is a reason, I hope, that you want me to pretend to be the king's ward," Merlin responded archly, giving him a rather dry expression.

"He's the Duke of Lancaster," Arthur said slowly.

"Lancaster falls within Camelot," Morgana pointed out, crossing her legs where she was sitting elegantly.

"It does," Arthur agreed, running a hand through his hair, giving it a wild look that would have been more easy to overlook it if his hair was longer, but it wasn't. "But the Duke and Father have been having large differences of opinions over the past few years. It can't be a coincidence that he shows up when a majority of the soldiers, knights, and my father are gone."

Gwen could see her friend aggressively chewing on the inside of her cheek.

"If I do this, I get three days off and I get to pick the days," she said with finality.

Arthur spluttered at that and Gwen was starting to wonder if the prince could actually last a day without his maidservant tailing after him to make sure he wasn't going to get himself into serious trouble on his own.

It seemed a marvel that he hadn't been killed any time before Merlin's arrival in Camelot, though Gwen suspected that luck must have played a very important part.

"Three days?" he demanded. "What—?"

"Three days," Merlin declared, crossing her arms, eyes unwavering as she met his aghast expression, "or no deal."

Morgana arched an eyebrow in clear amusement as she watched the older boy flounder and attempt to deny Merlin, but it was clear that he was on his last leg and since he did need Merlin and Morgana to switch places, he was going to have to deal with being Merlin-less for three days.

"Fine," he conceded, "three days, no more."

Merlin grinned widely, leaning back, conveniently forgetting that she was sitting on the chair backwards, so there was no back to catch her when she fell right off it, arms flailing before her backside met the ground.

Gwen smothering her giggles behind her hand, whilst Arthur rolled his eyes and Morgana cracked a smile.

The dark-haired girl pulled herself upright by grasping at the chair she had just fallen from.

"How long is it before the Duke arrives?" Morgana asked, turning her head towards Arthur who frowned for a brief moment, trying to remember the information that he had been given. "An hour at the least, at the most, maybe two."

"That should be more than enough time, don't you think, Gwen?" Morgana appealed to her maid who smiled eagerly.

"I should think so, My Lady," she replied just as easily, inspecting Merlin closely. "However, we are going to need a needle."

"A needle?" Merlin said flummoxed. "What in the name of the gods do you need a needle for?"

Morgana's grin became devilish and it sent a shiver down her spine as Arthur took the chance to make a quick escape out of the door which clicked behind him.

"You only have one ear pierced," Gwen pointed out, gesturing to the one from which her metallic earring hung. "Morgana has two."

Morgana was certain she had never seen the willful physician's apprentice so horrified.

"I think she's in shock," Gwen mentioned.

"I think you'd best go get that needle, Gwen," Morgana said, waving a hand in front of Merlin's face only to find the blue-eyed girl gave no response in return.

"Yeah…" Gwen muttered to herself as she made out of the room to search for a needle.

"It's not as bad as you think," Morgana assured her.

"You know, I only did it to one ear because I only had earring that required a piercing…there's a reason for that."

Sticking a hot needle through her flesh wasn't something that she had liked the first time around and it certainly wasn't going to be something that she could ever find herself doing again.

Yet here she was about to get a new piercing.

"One day we will have a conversation about being stabbed by needles and how desensitized towards it you are," Merlin told her.

"If you insist," Morgana replied with a wide smile.

Merlin narrowed her eyes suspiciously towards the daughter of Gorlois, and then she slumped against the chair with a loud, echoing groan.

This was just turning into a massive headache.


Merlin was glaring at the blue silk of the gown as she pulled it up her body, situating it carefully from behind the changing screen that Morgana had ceded to her whilst changing on the opposing side of the room behind another screen, having Gwen take Merlin's clothes from the girl once she'd disrobed.

"You look lovely," Gwen assured her as she stepped out from behind the changing screen as Merlin flapped her arms in an annoyed manner, a petulant expression on her face that would have been better suited for a child.

"I look ridiculous," Merlin countered. "Just look at me! No one's going to mistake me for Morgana."

"I have never met the Duke," Morgana said as she came out from behind her screen, "for all he knows, you are the Lady Morgana."

Morgana wearing Merlin's close was a bit odd, if Merlin was completely frank. The tunic was loose on her, like it was on Merlin, the same was clear with the dark trousers.

"How can you wear this?" Morgana asked, arching an eyebrow. "It barely fits you, let alone me."

"You've obviously never traveled by yourself through bandit-infested lands," Merlin commented dryly as Gwen forced her into a chair and Merlin winced as she undid her knotted braid.

"Always with an escort, I'm afraid." Morgana played with the black sash at her waist, the one that held Merlin's hidden flat dagger. "Is this supposed to be heavy?"

"It's got a knife hidden in it, so I expect so," Merlin uttered with just a touch of sarcasm that was enough to make Morgana laugh and she tried to hold appropriately still as the comb was raked through her hair, ridding it of the tangles it had gained since she'd taken her bath the previous night; Merlin considered cutting it off, but she actually liked her hair long.

"I never knew your hair was so curly, Merlin, you should wear it down more," Gwen interjected once the conversation had lagged and she had smoothed a lavender-scented pomade into the dark locks.

"It gets in the way when I'm working," Merlin said without preamble. It wasn't a lie; Merlin found it was better to make potions when her hair wasn't falling into the fire.

"Hm…" was all Gwen said to that. "How's the ear?"

A scowl marred Merlin's lips at the question. The first thing they'd done was stab a hole through her earlobe and it was still throbbing from Gwen's assault.

"I will never forgive you," she vowed.

"I'm sure you won't," Gwen responded dryly, taking a necklace of aquamarine and clasping it behind her neck. "Oh…you're going to need to take off your earring too."

Merlin raised a hand automatically to the cylinder of metal that still dangled from her opposite ear. She had relinquished her vambrace to Morgana, who did not understand its significance, but the earring had completely slipped her mind. "I guess it's obvious it doesn't belong to a lady," she mentioned, more to herself than to Gwen as she removed it, handing to over to her friend who in turn handed it to Morgana.

The green-eyed ward took the earring, examining it closely. It didn't have much to its design, apart from the shape and the hole in it from which the ear-clasp was connected, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't quite recall a time where Merlin hadn't been wearing the earring or the vambrace that sat chunkily on her own arm now.

Morgana fastened it to her own lobe with easy before taking Merlin's neckerchief about her throat and pulling her jacket up and over her shoulders. It was snug, warm, and comfortable, and Morgana could see why Merlin wore it with her tunic and trousers.

It was certainly far easier to move around in something that wasn't a skirt, and being quick on your feet was practically a requirement for being a servant under Arthur.

"Ow-ow-ow!"

"Sorry," Gwen apologized quickly as she looped the dangling blue earrings from her lobes, one of which was still a fading red which didn't do anything to help the firm glower on her face. "Don't move."

Merlin complied to her demands as she pulled out a thin brush to sweep black over the edges of her eyes in a thin line, thickening it just slightly to draw attention to the dark blue of her eyes, but it made Merlin's eyes water.

"I never realized how pretty your eyes are," Gwen mentioned as she leaned back and Merlin tried to adjust to the invasive substance. That dark shade of blue wasn't one she'd seen before she'd met Merlin.

"You're not the first to mention it." A pale flush adorned Merlin's cheeks and Morgana and Gwen shared a knowing look.

"Merlin…" Morgana's lips curled up into a knowing smile as the girl turned towards her, pink still apparent on her cheeks, "do you have a lover?"

The flush bloomed a bright crimson at the merest thought. "What?" Merlin choked on her own tongue. "No-no-no! He's not– we're not—"

"Didn't you tell me you had a man the day we first met?" Gwen grinned and Merlin recoiled in her chair like an animal caught in a corner. "In the council room during that feast that you saved Arthur?"

Merlin's face was heating up faster than Morgana would have thought possible and she watched its progression with fascination.

"That was- I was- we're not really together," Merlin managed to stutter out, despite how flustered she was. "We only kissed once!"

That admission seemed to be a nail in her own coffin, though.

"But was it a good kiss?" Morgana pressed and Merlin almost buried her face in her hands if only to hide her glowing cheeks from her friends, but she couldn't really do that with what was currently on her face.

"I won't dignify that with a response."

And that was just another nail in her coffin.


The Duke of Lancaster was a bit infamous. He had abandoned Arthur's father during an important battle only to make excuses and reappear after its conclusion, acting as though he had been there the whole time when it was clear he had run with his tail between his legs.

And he couldn't seem to keep on any servants longer than six months; Arthur assumed there was some maltreatment there, even if no one would ever admit to it (he suspected they were being paid for their silence).

The idea of inviting him willingly into the palace that he called home was as daunting as the number of soldiers that he had brought with him.

The Duke was a man with a round belly and a pudgy face with too many rings adorning his fingers.

"Duke Elton," Arthur plastered a kindly smile onto his face that he had perfected from many encounters with nobles he didn't like, "what a pleasure. I apologize for the reception. If we had been aware that you coming, we would have been better prepared."

"It is no matter," the Duke bolstered loudly, gazing around the council room with dark eyes, wandering until they landed on the vacant seat that his father usually occupied.

Arthur did not miss the movement and it made him very uneasy.

He relaxed slightly at the sight of a familiar form with a dark plait down her shoulders, but the green eyes ruined the image and made it obvious who was the one wearing the masculine clothes.

Morgana winked before schooling her expression as she came to stand beside him, a few paces back as was the typical standing position for servants, though that was a rule that Merlin constantly broke; he would never admit how refreshing it was to deal with someone who constantly challenged his authority.

"This is my maidservant, Merlin," Arthur said, inclining his head to the side where Morgana gave a small bow, "she will get you whatever you need."

"Is that so?"

The leer was unmistakable and it made Arthur's stomach roil.

"Within reason," Arthur continued, the muscle in his jaw twitching. "How long will you be staying? I'm sure Father would very much like to see you before you go."

"And where is your father?" the Duke asked with an air of innocence that couldn't have pulled the wool over Arthur's eyes even if he'd tried his hardest. "Not out fighting in that skirmish, is he?"

"He is," Arthur acquiesced, "but I am certain that he is on his way home very soon."

The Duke's eyes were so dark that they bypassed Gwen's soft brown completely to an almost black.

"Hm," was all he said on the matter before moving onto a completely different subject entirely. "I have heard tales of the Lady Morgana's beauty…tell me, is she here in Camelot?"

"She has just returned from a pilgrimage to her father, Gorlois', grave," Arthur said diplomatically. "She's spent the morning resting but I'm certain she will join us shortly."

"Good, good…" The Duke spoke more to himself than to Arthur and Morgana who shared a glance of their own.

With the number of soldiers he had brought with him, which looked to be the entire cavalry of Lancaster, they were no match. His father had left them enough soldiers of their own, but perhaps he hadn't thought anyone would be so foolish as to attack Camelot with such a superior force.

What they needed to do was play their cards right…the only problem was, Merlin was exceptionally good at showing her hand, or playing by rules that no one but her knew.

Hopefully, Merlin would keep her head on straight this time around.

The doors to the chamber opened suddenly and two figures swept inside before the double doors were shut once they had passed them by.

The 'guests' turned to see the two figures, and thus missed Arthur's mouth dropping open as he looked upon his maidservant.

Merlin hardly resembled herself at all.

The silken blue dress hugged the curves he hadn't known she had, but it was as modest a fashion as any of Morgana's gowns possessed, ornate rings adorned her pale fingers and dark curls fell over her shoulders. The blue of her eyes was more obvious than before and the red painted to her lips made them look much fuller than before.

"And this must be the Lady Morgana!"

The Duke was before her in moments and Arthur clenched his fist at the brief surprised expression Merlin had worn before extending her hand to be kissed as Morgana had no doubt instructed her to do so.

"I see the stories do you no justice," the Duke said, bowing his head to brush a kiss to her knuckles. "You are as beautiful as they say."

"You are far too kind," Merlin responded, "and I hope you forgive my tardiness, Duke Elton, I'm afraid the ride to my father's grave took more of a toll on me than I anticipated."

Morgana nudged Arthur and he quickly righted himself. Here he was worried that Merlin was going to be the one that did something wrong, but she was playing the part of Morgana effortlessly.

But how long would it be before the illusion would be broken?


AN: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!