Morgana leaned back against her pillows. Her room still reeked of smoke, so she had been moved to a new one temporarily. She could hear the slight rustle of movement on the other side of the door that spoke of the heavy guard presence Uther had insisted on. He was scared. She could understand that.
She'd woken last night to her own choking breath as she gasped for air. The room had been filled with the milky smoke, and confusion and panic had gripped her.
Morgana shivered. Whatever she had told Uther, there was no denying, magic had been used last night. Why? Why would any magic user attack her? She was on their side! Couldn't they see that? Or, as Uther's ward, was she as equally alienated from magic as she was from Camelot?
She pulled the blanket up higher, and closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep.
It didn't come easily. She tossed and turned, each sound in the castle that caught her ear making her pause and listen into the stillness of the night, straining her ears from some sound of threat or potential attack.
But she'd barely slept the night before and today had been a long and stressful one, so at last, even with the tension, she was able to slip off…and into dreams. There was even less rest there.
Flashes burst across her dreams, flashes which even asleep, terrified her.
A dragon's jaw opened wide, red flames shooting out, stone melting beneath the intense heat.
Men marching across plains. Lightning shooting across the walls of Camelot, homes catching alight.
Merlin screaming. Blood dripping to the floor. She had to stop it. The thought was so crystal clear in her head: she had to stop it. But she couldn't. And she'd never felt more pure hatred in all her life.
Arthur! Arthur where are you? The question kept ripping through her entire body.
An orb: a silver blue with fine delicate ruins engraved on all sides. And suddenly it was splintering through the air, shards cascading everywhere.
Now she saw herself, running through the corridors, looking, looking…what was she looking for? A knight approached, a bloody sword raised against her. She felt a surge of fury.
The castle towers shattering.
Lancelot…blood pouring from a chest wound.
Ruins and smoldering wreckage.
Herself again, looking older, tired, and bitter. A young man was standing beside her.
There didn't seem to be an order to the images, as they flashed one after another, furious and intense. And then it all seemed to judder to a halt, and freeze on one image that was crystal clear and so intensely bright that even in her sleep she felt a need to hold up a hand and block the light:
Two people were standing. One she recognized at once as Druid Relveer, but the other was shrouded in a cloak. Relveer was holding his hand and white, milky smoke swirled around it, obeying his command.
The image broke. The flashes returned. More burning, intense fire.
A flash of light, two people hurtling towards something she couldn't quite sense-
-and Morgana woke up with a jolt, shaking violently and a scream at the tip of her tongue which she choked back only just in time.
"Here," Gaius handed Merlin a pack. "Some food and a little hot tea to keep you warm in a, say we say, special bottle. It will stay warm for the night."
Merlin grinned. "Thanks."
Gaius sighed. "I wish there was another way. If you three keep staying up all night guarding the castle, you're going to wear yourselves so thin by the end of these talks that should there actually be an attack none of you will be in a fit state to stop it."
"What else can we do?" asked Merlin. "Someone went after Morgana last night. If they try something again tonight I've got to be there."
"If Arthur's theory is correct, whoever it was lured you to Morgana's room on purpose. If so that means whoever it was knew you all were on the alert and would be in the castle last night, awake. It's more of a game of cat and mouse now than guard duty. You could even be playing directly into someone's hands."
"So by going up to bed and to sleep I'd be thwarting them?" asked Merlin, grinning, "Sounds good to me. There haven't been enough threats to Camelot that could be solved by me just getting a good night's sleep."
Gaius rolled his eyes and then placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I simply mean: be careful."
There was a banging on the front door and both jumped.
"Who could that be at this time of night?" Gaius hurried over to the door and unbolted it. "Morgana!" he exclaimed, surprised. "What's wrong?"
"There hasn't been another attack has there?" asked Merlin, alarmed.
She had stepped into the chambers now, and pushed back the hood of her cloak. She was still shaking a little, and it was impossible to miss the agitation in her expression.
"What is wrong my dear?" asked Gaius.
"I need to know," she said, turning to him. "I need to know the truth once and fall. My dreams…what are they Gaius? The truth? The future? A possibility? Raving madness! I need to know what I'm seeing!"
"Morgana, calm down. Have a seat-"
"No. No more platitudes. No more avoiding. No more lies. I understand why you felt you had to hide it from me once. When my knowing what I am would be too dangerous. But now not knowing feels deadly. Not with what I've seen tonight."
"What have you seen?"asked Merlin.
She started pacing. "It's hard to say exactly. It all went by so fast. War and blood. Death. So much death. And fire. Tell me Gaius and tell me the truth: is what I've seen real?"
"…I believe so."
She drew back a little, and gave a sharp intake of breath. "You never should have lied to me."
"I was trying to protect you."
"I don't feel very safe right now."
Merlin came closer. "Morgana? Did you see anything that can help us?"
"What?"
"With figuring out what's going on in the castle?"
"Oh." She looked at Merlin, and frowned. "Actually…yes. Maybe. I saw…Relveer. It was strange. It somehow didn't quite look like the rest of the images. Or like the images I've seen in the past. I don't know why. But I saw him casting smoke, the same kind that was in my room last night."
"Gaius!"
"There was someone else with him, but I don't know who."
"Of course it would be Relveer!" said Merlin. "He's been causing trouble for these talks since they've started! And it makes sense then why he'd have made sure you'd be found last night before the spell killed you. He just wanted an excuse to get all the druids to leave. He didn't actually want to hurt you."
"We don't know anything for a fact yet," said Gaius, calmly. "We have some visions. That is hardly evidence and we are going to need evidence if we want to stop Relveer or anyone else from stopping these talks for good."
"And we'll have to figure out who's working with him."
Gaius tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the table. "I think it is time to consult Iseldir."
"Are you sure?"
"I would trust him with my life," said Gaius gravely. "I know him and his reasons for being here are none other than those of peace. He will listen to us with an open mind and try to help. He will know Relveer and who he is most likely to be working with. And I can't shake the fear that we are running out of time."