Chapter 6 A Rude Awakening
A/N: Edited and revised May 2021
The campfire crackled to life again under Leon's ministrations. Percival emerged from the trees with more wood to last them through the night. Arthur leaned closer to the flames, feeling chilled, despite the mildness of the summer night. He could feel the watchful eyes of the enormous dragon laying protectively beside his dragonlord and his juvenile kin. Percival and Leon settled themselves around the fire, saying nothing, but stealing discrete glances at the silent beasts just a few yards away.
Gwaine finally stopped pacing and sat heavily beside the king on the log they had appropriated as a bench. Arthur looked at the knight questioningly as Gwaine picked up a half-carved hunk of wood, pulled out his short blade then began to aggressively hack at the piece in his hands.
"Is that what you call carving?" Arthur asked, for lack of anything better to say.
"It's what I call taking out my frustration," Gwaine said through gritted teeth, taking a moment to look at his unconscious friend before shaking his head and slicing a thick chunk off the piece of wood. Arthur raised his eyebrows, but said nothing more until Gwaine sliced too aggressively and the head of the crude wooden horse fell to the ground at his feet.
"Well if that isn't a perfect metaphor for this situation," Gwaine grumbled, tossing the rest of the wood into the fire and exhaling a long sigh of frustration.
"What am I going to tell him?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin and Morgana laid out on the manservant's blanket beside the fire.
"There's nothing that we can say to make this right," Gwaine groused. "Merlin deserves better. He's a better man than all of us."
"Aye," Leon agreed, looking at the warlock with respect.
"We should separate them," Gwaine said.
"How? They are bound together with magic!" Arthur protested.
"Surely with the four of us, we could physically overcome a bit of dancing light?" Gwaine offered, standing and taking a step around the fire. The knight pulled up short, however, when the young white dragon grisled at him and moved on all fours to hover over the witch and warlock.
"Whoa," Gwaine said, raising his arms and backing up as Leon, Arthur and Percival stood up.
"Peace, Sir Knights," Kilgharrah rumbled.
"Peace?" Gwaine scoffed, looking at the Great Dragon incredulously. "Does no one else remember what that woman did just a few months ago? She took the citadel, imprisoned me and Elyan and Gaius, along with a score of others. She starved us! She made me fight just to feed us moldy bread."
"I know," Arthur said solemnly, gripping Gwaine's shoulder in consolation. "I know, Gwaine. I'm not happy about this either."
The fight went out of Gwaine at the king's words, and he sat heavily, looking over at the pair on the ground as the young dragon laid down beside Merlin, resting her snout on the warlock's shoulder and chirruping softly. Kilgharrah sighed, closing his eyes in an expression of frustration that Arthur wasn't aware the creature was capable of.
"The little one..." Kilgharrah broke off at a growl from the little dragon. "Aithusa insists that this was necessary."
"Necessary," Arthur repeated flatly.
"Yes," the dragon replied, just as flatly. "Aithusa had foreseen that Morgana wasn't well and that only Merlin and Morgana together with Aithusa's aid could heal the witch. If you would recall, I said before that a dragonfasting is a pure magic. If the witch were truly evil, they would not be bound as they currently are."
Arthur raised his eyebrows; the dragon's reluctance to admit to Morgana's potential goodness was obvious. Kilgharrah made no effort to hide his disdain for the woman.
"If anyone can pull this off, Merlin can," Percival said simply, lightening the hearts of everyone present.
"You're right, Perce, that is true," Gwaine had agreed hopefully, possibly just trying to convince himself of that fact. "After all, he's handled you for seven years, Arthur."
The king rolled his eyes, then looked to his second. "Leon? You've been quiet."
Leon met Arthur's eyes, unable to hide his own unease. "I have faith in Merlin, sire. However, I cannot proclaim to be pleased by the things that we've witnessed tonight. I don't know if I have it in me to forgive Morgana. She hurt innocent citizens in an effort to sway my loyalty to you the first time she took Camelot. Merlin is like a brother to me; to see him bound to her? My heart is broken."
"As is mine," Arthur said solemnly, agreeing with his first knight.
"We should not forget who Merlin is," Percival interjected.
"An idiot?" Arthur asked, aiming for humor but falling far short. The knights smiled regardless.
"He is Emrys," Gwaine murmured, warming to the conversation.
"A dragonlord," Leon added, and all four of them looked at the imposing creature on the other side of the fire. Percival nodded his head, gesturing to Aithusa.
"Look at the loyalty of this creature, the love she has for her master. Would she have done something to hurt Merlin?" As one, the four men turned to look at Aithusa, who spread her wing over the unconscious pair protectively in response. Arthur's heart rose at the thought.
"No, I suppose she wouldn't," Arthur allowed.
"Of course she wouldn't," Kilgharrah replied. The four men almost grinned at the indignant huff that just came out of the Great Dragon. It was so reminiscent of Merlin that they couldn't help but feel hopeful.
Arthur sat up the rest of the night, keeping watch as the others bedded down, though the two dragons on the other side of the camp would scare off the fiercest brigands around. The far-reaching implications of what had happened between his manservant and his half-sister were mind-boggling. Oddly enough, first and foremost in Arthur's mind was the fact that Merlin could no longer be his manservant. For all intents and purposes, Arthur had just gained another brother-in-law.
Though many would argue that Morgana had long since lost any privilege she may have had of claiming the Pendragon name. And yet more would deny that the name was ever hers to take, despite her parentage. But Arthur could not forsake even an illegitimate half-sister; she had always been a sister to him in his heart.
Next in the king's thoughts was that Morgana was certainly Camelot's most feared enemy. But the dragon had said she was not the evil she once was. What did that mean for the future? Would she no longer seek the throne and Arthur's death? Would Morgana still be hell-bent on revenge? What had Kilgharrah's cryptic ramblings meant? Most worrisome to the king, would Merlin be stuck forever more in a marriage founded not in love, as Arthur and Guinevere's was, but by mutual hatred?
Was it possible for Merlin and Morgana to simply disregard the marriage and continue as before, or were they so bound by this magic that they had to stay together? What would become of them? If Morgana forsook her previous ambitions and showed true remorse, could Arthur and the whole of Camelot forgive her for her crimes? Could Merlin?! Or would the people begin to lose trust in Merlin because of his unasked-for wife, despite how well-liked he was? More immediately tangible, Arthur wondered how long the witch and warlock would be bound by the infernal tie around their wrists.
Had there been something making Morgana do the things that she had, like the way Arthur had unwittingly chased after Lady Vivienne? Morgana had seemed different somehow after they had found her stumbling through the forest after Morgause had taken her. It wasn't anything large or glaringly obvious, at least, they hadn't been obvious at the time. But there had been a collection of smaller things that should have caught Arthur's attention much sooner.
After her return, Morgana hadn't teased Arthur in quite the same way. She had once been a frequent sparring partner; when she wasn't beating the young prince at the sword, she used to bait and taunt Arthur about his training with an amused smile. Upon her return, Morgana's remarks had become barbed and vitriolic. She hadn't seemed as talkative; conversations between her and Arthur had seemed stunted and awkward. Perhaps most telling of all, Morgana had spent far less time amicably strolling through the castle or the lower town with Guinevere.
At the time, Arthur had put it down to the stress and trauma of captivity, but now he was wondering if it wasn't something else. The Morgana he had known and loved had treated Guinevere as her own sister, handed out her spare coin in the market, defended those sentenced to death and followed a gangly manservant to his beleaguered village and risked her life to defend complete strangers from a bully.
As Arthur pondered over the matter further, he realized that there had been one glaringly obvious change in Morgana that should really have raised Arthur's concerns more. Before she was taken, Morgana had come to Arthur in Merlin's defense many times. Especially when Morgana thought the manservant was unjustly put in the stocks. It was enough to make Arthur wonder if the infatuation between the king's ward and his manservant was mutual.
After Morgana's return, however, she had avoided Merlin, had refused his service when he was attending them at a meal and had once looked Merlin coldly in the eye and suggested that perhaps a night in the dungeons would improve Merlin's belligerence. In short, she had gone from a good, loyal friend to an antagonistic enemy. How had Arthur overlooked it?
At daybreak, Aithusa stood and moved away from Merlin and Morgana just as the sun started to filter through the trees to the east. Arthur was surprised when his manservant's eyes flew open without any warning as Merlin inhaled sharply. He lay still for a few moments, moving just his eyes, taking in his surroundings in silence. Arthur was painfully reminded of the way Merlin had looked that horrible morning in the forest after the manservant had taken a mace to the chest. Exhausted, in pain, and overwhelmed.
Then Merlin startled Arthur further by suddenly sitting up and looking all around the quiet clearing. Without saying anything, the warlock raised his hand to rub his eyes, only to meet resistance. Merlin looked alarmed once he realized his arm was still bound to Morgana's.
"Arthur?!" Merlin called out, staring warily at his tied arm and trying to orient himself.
"I'm right here," Arthur answered softly, trying not to startle his agitated friend. Merlin looked around at the other knights, the dragons and back to Morgana before everything seemed to fall into place.
"Did it work?" Merlin asked groggily, rubbing his brow as though he suffered from a severe headache.
"Did what work, Merlin?" Arthur asked, hoping the warlock knew what he was talking about. Arthur was still in a state of shock himself. He was grateful that Merlin had revealed himself before Morgana's dramatic scene the night before. Arthur was certain that had he discovered Merlin's magic when things had been blowing around and glowing, his heart would have given out.
"She wasn't herself, just like when Elyan was possessed at the shrine. She couldn't get out of it. It was trapping her. She couldn't control it, it was so powerful. It was my fault," Merlin rambled. Arthur was starting to worry that Merlin wasn't himself.
"Young warlock," Kilgharrah's voice interrupted, to Arthur's great relief. Perhaps the great scaly beast would be the one to tell Merlin that he was a married man now.
"Kilgharrah, did it work? What happened?"
"Peace, young warlock. You've had a trying ordeal. What do you remember?" the dragon rumbled. Merlin closed his eyes in concentration and related to them what he had done the night before.
"What does dark sticky magic in her head mean?" Arthur asked, grimacing.
"Do you remember the story I told you about the creature Morgana used to control me?" Merlin asked, finally sounding coherent.
"Yes," Arthur answered, shivering at the thought of Merlin trying to kill him. Albeit in the least effective ways possible it seemed. Merlin nodded and opened his eyes.
"The dark magic in Morgana's mind was a powerful enchantment cast by Morgause. It seemed to work a lot like the formorroh, binding every good part of Morgana until she was left an empty husk of her former self." Merlin paused to swallow thickly. When he continued, his voice was tinged with regret. "This spell... was anchored in Morgana's magic and pain and fueled by Morgause's hate and bitterness."
"Why would Morgause do such a thing to her own sister?" Arthur asked. Merlin shook his head sadly.
"Morgana wasn't as ruthless as Morgause, so Morgause made her that way," the warlock explained.
"How is it possible that such an enchantment would linger this long? I thought that a spell was broken when a sorcerer was killed?" Arthur asked in disbelief.
"Unfortunately, Morgause was very talented in rooting self-sustaining spells and enchantments in others. This spell was feeding off of Morgana like a leech."
"Lovely. Why was she so unstable though?" Arthur asked distastefully, thinking back on his sister's disturbing behavior of the night before.
"As clever as Morgause was, such dark magic has serious side effects," Merlin explained. "The spell had been driving Morgana insane even as it fed off of her, and once the spell was destabilized further, the madness became more pronounced."
"What destabilized it? The battle? Her injuries? You mentioned yesterday that you had bound her magic before the battle. Was that it?" Arthur asked, his questions tumbling out rapid-fire. Merlin shook his head, wondering if binding her magic had done something to start the destabilization.
"I'm not entirely sure," Merlin admitted. "Aithusa found Morgana in the forest after the battle for Camelot and healed her physical injuries two months ago. Aithusa's healing magic started to break down the web of the spell, but she is young and not as powerful as she will one day be."
"It would seem not," Arthur agreed. Merlin smiled proudly, looking at the young dragon fondly.
"Even so, Aithusa created a breach within the enchantment that allowed me to break through and hopefully bring back the Morgana we all loved."
Merlin's ears turned red at his last words, but Arthur felt a well of hope spring up in his heart. It had hurt him deeply to see Morgana so driven by hate and revenge. Many times since Morgana had revealed herself, Arthur had wondered what he had done to make his sister hate him so fully. He could understand his sister's anger at their father, but Arthur had always tried to protect Morgana from Uther. When he had approached her in the throne room and sheathed his sword during their most recent battle for Camelot, Arthur had hoped that she would somehow turn back into the sister he had once protected.
"Do you remember what else happened, young warlock?" Kilgharrah asked warily, pulling Arthur back to the present. Merlin narrowed his eyes and tried valiantly to pull the memories from his mind.
"I remember... light. There was an energy around us. Morgana's hair was standing on end..."
"So was yours," Arthur smirked. "You looked like the mushrooms you foraged for last night's supper."
Merlin rolled his eyes. "Thanks. I remember... as I was trying to break through the darkness, Aithusa did something, breathed a spell over us. It was intense. Our thoughts and memories sort of began blending together. Like our magic had joined for a minute or two. It gave me the strength to tear through and destroy the enchantment," Merlin explained, then his brows furrowed as he closed his eyes and concentrated. " I- I- I don't remember anything else."
"It is as you said, young warlock," Kilgharrah agreed. "Aithusa said that she foresaw last night's events and knew that only together could you and Morgana destroy the curse upon the witch. And it felt as though your magic had joined with Morgana's because for a moment, it had. You and Morgana were literally of one mind and soul while Aithusa's spell worked its magic."
Arthur and Merlin's eyes widened and the warlock looked down at Morgana beside him. One mind and soul sounded too intensely personal for his liking. Too personal and intimate for two people who had been so far at odds with one another.
"So will she be good again?" Merlin asked hopefully. Arthur couldn't help but join Merlin in that hope.
"She has a long road ahead of her. You both do," Kilgharrah said.
"What does that mean?" Merlin asked, exasperated.
"There are trying times ahead," Kilgharrah answered vaguely. Merlin fought the urge to growl at the riddle-loving dragon.
"How do we take this off?" the warlock gestured to his bound hand.
"I think the other side of the coin can explain it best, and you'll figure out the rest." Kilgharrah laughed not unlike he did when Merlin had told him that Uther had married a troll. "Come, young one," the great dragon called to Aithusa, and together they took flight, leaving a confused Merlin in the hands of an irritated Arthur.
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Arthur yelled to the fleeing dragons. He was even more irritated when the great beast laughed again. Merlin had said the day before that the dragon could be as infuriating as he was helpful and Arthur found he was inclined to agree.
"Arthur? What isn't he telling me? What do you know? And why am I still tied to Morgana?"
"Ahh, that's a very interesting question and it has a very interesting answer," Arthur stalled.
"Arthur."
"Merlin."
"What. Are. You. Not. Telling. Me?!" Merlin raised his eyebrow in a very good imitation of Gaius. Arthur's face paled.
"What, what is it?!" Merlin asked, worried for Arthur's sudden loss of complexion.
"Gaius is going to kill me," Arthur moaned. "Of course he's not," Arthur reconsidered, brightening slightly. "I am the king! Not to mention, I'm technically family now."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Merlin yelled, startling Arthur. Merlin had been irritated, even angry with Arthur before, but he had never yelled quite like he just had. Leon, Gwaine and Percival stirred at the noise.
"Can you keep your voices down? Some of us didn't sleep very well last night," Gwaine groused.
"Shut up!" Arthur and Merlin said together.
"Look, they're acting like brothers and everything," Gwaine grinned, stretching as he sat up.
"Somebody had better explain to me what is going on right now, or you will all ride home with giant boils on your backsides!" Merlin said, trying to emphasize his point with his hands. Except that he was still bound to a limp Morgana, and it looked much more comical than menacing. Gwaine, Leon and Percival were struggling not to smile, though the threat of arse boils was enough to stem the tide of their laughter.
"Merlin, you remember the little dragon-"
"Aithusa," Merlin interrupted.
"Yes, Aithusa," Arthur agreed. "You said she did something when you were throwing your magic at Morgana. Do you remember?"
"Yes. It made our thoughts and memories blend together, one mind and soul," Merlin said flatly, shivering involuntarily. Merlin repeated the rest of the explanation exasperatedly. The knights all looked to one another with wide eyes, all of them hopeful that Morgana would no longer be the evil woman she had become.
"Well, there was a small side-effect to Aithusa's dragon magic. It has certain long-lasting, um, consequences," Arthur hedged his way through the explanation.
"Arthur? Giant, pus-filled boils, I kid you not! Just spit it out!"
"Merlin, you and Morgana are bound together for eternity."
"I hope you don't mean literally," Merlin said ominously, lifting his and Morgana's bound arms, shaking them back and forth.
"Well, I should hope not," Arthur agreed. "But Heilyn said that it was an ancient magical rite."
"Alright, what kind of rite?"
"A Firo...drag...fest... I believe he called it a dragonfasting," Arthur said quickly, gauging whether or not Merlin knew what exactly he had inadvertently gotten himself into.
"What the hell is a dragonfasting?" Merlin asked, answering Arthur's unasked question.
"Well that is an interesting question, and it has a very interesting answer," Arthur said, delaying the inevitable.
"Would you just tell him he's married already?!" Gwaine said irritatedly, tired of Arthur's hesitation.
"Gwaine!" Arthur, Leon and Percival exclaimed at once even as Merlin gasped.
"What?!"
"He is!" Gwaine defended himself.
"Please tell me you're joking," Merlin deadpanned. Everyone winced at his tone.
"Heilyn said that it was an ancient rite reserved for dragonlords... and their brides," Arthur finally admitted. Merlin froze in place, blinking slowly for an entire minute.
"You mean to tell me that Morgana... me and Morgana, your sister Morgana-the-dethroner, and me, your manservant, are married?" Merlin stammered. "No, no, no, no, that can't be it. Morgana hates me! This can't be what Freya meant. She said I wasn't meant to love only her, I thought that I would meet someone new, not Morgana, but... this, this... this can't be right," Merlin rambled, confusing everyone with his nonsense.
"Freya?" Percival asked. Merlin shook his head and pulled his legs up to his chest. He certainly didn't want to have that conversation at the moment.
"You loved this Freya," Leon stated, though he was ignored as Merlin put his head between his knees and took several deep breaths.
"This is not happening," Merlin groaned.
"He's certainly grumpy for someone who just got married," Gwaine said offhandedly, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. Merlin lifted his head and glared in his direction, though Gwaine didn't notice, rummaging as he was through his pack for something to eat. Suddenly, the knight chuckled into his bag. "But I suppose it's only natural. He did sleep through his own wedding night."
Red-faced, Merlin tilted his head to the side as though considering a difficult problem. Then a smirk appeared on his face and his eyes flashed gold. Gwaine yelped as his rear-end sprouted a tail and his ears lengthened and grew fur. Any further protests were reduced to brays that perfectly matched Gwaine's new tail and ears.
Percival and Leon both laughed uproariously, though Arthur grimaced in sympathy. His ears had itched for a week after that blasted goblin had given him a set of those donkey ears.
"Merlin, you should have finished the job, we could have used a pack animal," Percival said straight-faced. Gwaine finally fell quiet and sat grumpily next to his horse, eating from his pack while giving Merlin the occasional scowl.
"What are we going to do when we get back to Camelot?" Arthur asked solemnly. Merlin sobered immediately.
"We'll tell the Round Table, then the council, that I have magic. Then we'll start to change things. Lessen punishments to fit the crime, let those that use magic for good to use it openly, that sort of thing. Allow druids to trade within Camelot without subterfuge. Morgana is another situation entirely. We'll have to see when she wakes up. We'll have to tell the council sometime. Let's keep the Emrys bit within the Round Table, though. It tends to get me a bit more attention than I'm comfortable with."
"Did you hear that?" Arthur asked the three listening knights. "The identity of Emrys stays secret. Only the Round Table will know; let Merlin reveal things in his own time. He's a big girl and he doesn't want any attention."
"You have my solemn vow," Leon pledged to his king and Merlin both.
"Aye," Percival agreed, though Gwaine just nodded.
"What was that, Gwaine? I didn't quite hear you?" Leon asked, cupping his hand to his ear. Gwaine tried to tell everyone off, but only managed to bray obnoxiously.
"What is that infernal racket?!" Morgana moaned, trying to bring her hands up to cradle her head, but finding it rather difficult with her left arm still attached to Merlin's right. Everyone held their breath as Morgana slowly sat up and looked around her in confusion. "Why am I tied to you, Merlin, and what are we doing in this forest? Did everyone wake up?" Then Morgana looked down at her tattered black dress and gasped. "What am I wearing?!"
"That would be Gwaine's braying you hear, Aithusa bound us together, we were camping overnight on our way back to Camelot, and Arthur, Gwaine, Leon and Percival are indeed all awake, and I believe that is called a dress," Merlin explained, eyeing Morgana speculatively.
"I know it's a dress! But I don't recognize it, it's not one of mine! And Gwaine? Aithusa? Percival? Why do I know those names? They sound familiar, but I don't know why," Morgana looked around again, looking at Gwaine and Percival with confusion.
"What do you remember?" Merlin asked cautiously, unsure what to expect.
"I remember... We were in Camelot. I was wearing my emerald gown and you and I were dragging Uther down the corridor and those dark knights were after us. Everyone was asleep... Everyone but me and Arthur and you..." Morgana trailed off, looking at Merlin with newfound hurt and suspicion. Morgana started trying to pull her arm away from Merlin as the suspicion grew into anger.
"Morgana," Merlin started, trying to stop her efforts which only led to a tug of war.
"Get away from me," she growled, yanking harder, which made Merlin struggle to capture her free hand that was probing at the glowing tie.
"You don't remember anything else?! You remember what you were wearing but everything else is blank?! The Knights of Medhir attacked Camelot four years ago! Stop pulling on me, that hurts!" Merlin argued, pulling right back.
"You're pulling on me, too!" Morgana countered, just as Merlin finally grabbed her free hand in his.
Morgana's eyes burned gold, and a bolt of instinctive magic reverberated against the glowing tie around their hands, though all it succeeded in doing was knocking the witch and warlock flat on their backs. Struggling to sit up once more, Morgana looked around at Arthur and the knights with terror in her eyes. She had just performed magic where they could all see.
"It's all right, Morgana," Merlin soothed. "They know you have magic."
"You told them?!" Morgana gasped, looking at Merlin with betrayal in her eyes. Merlin grimaced, first in shame, and then in pain as Morgana began pulling against the binding once again.
"Stop pulling!" Merlin repeated as he and Morgana struggled to their feet and glared at one another fiercely as they continued to pull at their hands.
"What is this?!" Morgana asked again.
"Aithusa bound us together," Merlin explained.
"Aithusa?" Morgana asked, her eyes narrowing in concentration, until her face brightened. "The little dragon!"
"Yes!" Merlin agreed, hopeful that more would return to Morgana soon.
"I want it off!" Morgana growled.
"You're not the only one!" Merlin replied. The king and the knights looked to one another warily; things could clearly be worse. But they could be so much better, as well.
"You can't magic it off, Morgana, you've already tried!"
"If you know so much, then you get it off!"
Arthur groaned; it was going to be a long ride back to Camelot with two such stubborn people at odds with one another.
"Pack up," the king ordered. "We leave as soon as possible."
It hadn't taken long to gather all of their things. The knights had done most of the packing, Gwaine only occasionally braying now that Merlin had taken pity on his friend and had allowed the spell to wear off. Percival ensured that the fire was thoroughly doused and that no trace of them remained while Leon and Gwaine finished loading their bags onto their horses.
Merlin stood helplessly watching the knights performing what would normally be his chores. Morgana stood as far from him as their hands would allow; they had finally given up struggling against the binding. Morgana had seemingly taken a vow of silence, only communicating through pointed glares at Merlin, who returned them full force.
While Percival, Gwaine and Leon mounted their horses, Arthur led Merlin's mare to the bound witch and warlock and eyed them speculatively.
"I'm not entirely sure how we're going to manage this, but you are both going to have to get on this horse somehow," Arthur said.
"Have the horse kneel, it will be easier for us to step on that way," Merlin proposed. Arthur raised his eyebrows at his manservant.
"This is a war horse, Merlin, not some jester's pet. She does not kneel."
Merlin rolled his eyes and took the reins from Arthur. The warlock murmured soft words and stroked the side of the horse's head while he reached out to the mare with a small tendril of comforting magic. Then, with a slight downward gesture from his free hand, Merlin's horse knelt down on the forest floor.
"How did you do that?!" Arthur asked incredulously.
"I have a way with animals," Merlin answered dryly. "Right then, let's get on."
"What do you think you're doing?" Morgana said, pulling Merlin back when he moved to get into the saddle.
"I'm getting on the horse, what does it look like?" Merlin asked defiantly.
"I will not ride behind you! You will sit in the back," Morgana insisted haughtily.
"I think you're mistaken," Merlin replied. "It's my horse, I am riding in front."
"This is no way to treat a lady of the court," Morgana argued. Merlin laughed dryly.
"You have not been 'my lady' since you sided with Morgause and staged a coup, Morgana."
"What?!" Morgana asked, narrowing her eyes and putting her hand to her forehead, trying to break through the haze that clouded her memories. Her face crumpled at some recollection. Merlin's eyes softened marginally as he explained once again what he had done the night previous.
"Morgause is my sister, she wouldn't do that to me," Morgana protested half-heartedly when Merlin finished. The warlock shook his head sadly and continued.
"In the last four years, you've been doing everything in your power to kill everyone you used to love and take control of the throne. The white dragon, Aithusa, remember? She helped us to break the enchantment, but that has somehow left us... Dragonfasted," Merlin explained hesitantly.
"What? What does that mean?" Morgana asked weakly, overwhelmed by the onslaught of information.
"Ah, we're married," Merlin confirmed sheepishly, avoiding her eyes and holding up their bound hands as confirmation. Morgana's mouth fell open.
"Married?!"
"That would seem to be the case," Merlin agreed.
"That's preposterous! Uther will never stand for this!" Morgana protested. Arthur laughed humorlessly.
"Uther is dead, Morgana. Arthur is king now," Merlin said gently. Morgana's eyes widened and then her face crumpled.
"What?" Morgana whispered.
"Like it or not, we are married, and we-," Merlin continued, but Morgana cut him off.
"I will not be your wife, your prize! You are a servant!"
"You think you're a prize?! Far from it! And I'd watch what you say about servants," Merlin griped. "Gwen is queen now, despite her humble beginnings. A lot has changed in the last four years, and much of it was your own doing! You're the one who killed Uther."
Morgana's eyes widened and she wavered on her feet. Merlin instinctively caught her upper arms as her knees buckled. He instantly felt contrite. Merlin knew she didn't remember, and that her previous actions had not been her own. But she was still so angry with him and it raised his defenses.
Coming to herself, Morgana straightened and stepped back as far as she could. She did not want to be held by Merlin at the moment. It only brought her most recent memory to mind, and recalling how tight her throat had been when she had been poisoned nearly brought the sensation back. Arthur stepped in.
"Merlin is right, Morgana. Much has changed in the last four years, not to mention in the last two days. We have much to discuss, and I suggest we do that back home in Camelot," Arthur offered. Morgana looked haughtily at her brother. Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"Get on the horse!" the king commanded.
Morgana glared at Arthur for presuming to give her a command. Merlin sighed and tried to guide her onto the horse. Morgana pulled back violently, nearly pulling Merlin off his feet.
"What is your problem? Are you still on about sitting in front?!" Merlin asked, exasperated.
"I don't take lightly to riding on a horse with a man who's poisoned me."
Merlin rolled his eyes and nearly growled.
"I didn't want to poison you, it was the only option I had. Besides, it's not like you haven't tried your best to kill me in return!"
"Me, do something to you?!"
"Yes! How about chaining me up and leaving me to the serkets? Or the snake you stuck in my neck, the formorroh! You think those were pleasant experiences? You know how much serket venom hurts, you've been stung before! That was just your leg; I was stung in the back and it almost paralysed me. I nearly died! Kilgharrah is the only reason I'm still alive!"
Morgana's eyes widened at Merlin's ranting. Then she nodded, her brow wrinkling in concentration. Suddenly she deflated.
"I remember, I think... I can remember moments... Events, when you mention them... But it's like watching it in one of my dreams. Arthur!" Morgana spun to face her brother with an astonished look on her face as she remembered what Merlin had said a few moments before. "You're my half-brother... and you're king, that's why Gwen is queen! I killed Uther, I killed..." Morgana's knees went weak again and she started to fall, but Merlin grabbed a hold of her and held her against him.
"We all have things that we're ashamed of, Morgana," Merlin said somberly. Morgana pulled back, tears filling her eyes, and almost forgot to glare when she met Merlin's sympathetic gaze. When she finally glared at him, Merlin sighed and deftly maneuvered her onto the horse. He moved to sit in front of her, twisting around under their linked hands so that he held her arm in front of him as she sat behind. Her left arm wound around his waist, still bound to his right arm, and as a result Morgana's front was pressed into his back. It was more comfortable than leaving their bound limbs between them with his arm twisted behind his back, but it also had the rather unfortunate drawback of being entirely more intimate than either Merlin or Morgana were prepared for.
Merlin shifted more comfortably in the saddle, which pulled Morgana closer. Merlin gasped and froze as he felt her faint breath on his neck. Clearing his throat awkwardly, and willing the redness to recede from his face, Merlin ignored Arthur's knowing smirk and prompted the horse to stand up. Without waiting for Arthur's order, Merlin nudged his horse to a walk, preparing himself for the longest ride he'd ever endured.
Leon, Gwaine and Percival all quietly chatted throughout the morning, watching an entirely different Morgana shrink into Merlin's back. The change from the Morgana who had woken them up the night before with madness in her eyes, to the haughty king's ward, to this timid, confused woman was undeniable. Arthur rode beside Merlin and Morgana, only occasionally joining in the knight's conversation. What he had seen of his half-sister this morning gave him hope like he hadn't dared to feel in ages. Timid though she now was, this woman pressed into Merlin's back was closer to the girl he had grown up with than any other incarnation of her that he had faced in the last four years. It made Arthur happier than he cared to admit that he once again recognised the sister that he had cared for and lost to Morgause.
By mutual decision they all had dried provisions in the saddle rather than a cooked breakfast. Merlin gave half of his to Morgana, though he thought she might refuse whatever he offered. But as she watched him eat the other half of anything he gave her, she submitted and ate the food. A few hours later, when they crested the slight rise that gave them a magnificent view of Camelot, they all stopped wordlessly. Arthur's heart beat faster at the knowledge that Guinevere was close by.
"We'll have to hide Morgana's identity," Leon advised. "There will be panic otherwise."
Arthur nodded his head in agreement.
"Get a blanket, let's wrap it around her. Morgana, press your face into Merlin's back," Arthur ordered. Gwaine pulled his horse up to the other side of Merlin's and pulled the bedroll from the strap on the warlock's pack. Then he and Arthur worked together to drape the blanket over her shoulders. Morgana offered no protest, seemingly returning to her earlier vow of silence. Merlin tensed when her forehead rested on his back between his shoulder blades, then pulled his neckerchief off to cover their unnaturally bound hands. The motion caused Morgana to stir and Merlin froze when he felt her fingertips brush the now-revealed scars from Gaius' removal of the formorroh heads. Without saying a word, Morgana dropped her hand and once again pressed her face into his back.
"I don't know about you gents, but I'm ready to be home," Gwaine offered.
"Aye," Leon agreed.
"You mean 'ale,'" Gwaine joked half-heartedly.
"You can think about ale at a time like this?" Percival asked in disbelief.
"Gwaine is always thinking about ale," Merlin said, joining their banter for the first time that day, though his grin was more reserved.
"Now that's just not true," Gwaine argued. "Mead and wine are often on my mind as well. Pretty ladies, too. And occasionally, honor and all that knight stuff."
Arthur rolled his eyes. They all knew Gwaine was being facetious. If there was anything Gwaine took seriously these days, it was his duties as a knight.
"We all know what's on Arthur's mind," Merlin teased. The king raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Guinevere," Merlin and the knights said in unison. Arthur's face reddened momentarily, but he quickly subdued everyone.
"You're all just jealous," Arthur protested, much to everyone's amusement. "Just because you can't manage to find yourselves a wife..." he trailed off, looking chagrined at Merlin and Morgana riding beside him. Merlin narrowed his eyes at the king and raised his eyebrow. Arthur coughed to cover his awkwardness. "Let's get home," the king ordered, kicking his horse onward and stopping only once the cobblestoned courtyard clattered beneath their horses' hooves.
Clearly a scout had announced the imminent arrival of the king; Gwen was waiting with Elyan on the front steps to welcome their party home. Arthur grinned at his wife as he jumped down from his horse and was quick to greet her with a kiss.
"Arthur, you smell like a campfire and the forest, you need a bath," Gwen teased. Her face morphed into curiosity when she noticed Percival and Leon awkwardly helping Merlin and his mysterious passenger to dismount. Leon was steadying Merlin while Percival had the passenger. Both Merlin and the cloaked figure leaned into the knights' arms as they were half-dragged, half-lifted off of the horse. Elyan had moved to assist, suspicion clear in his posture. Gwen frowned at the woman- for she was sure it was a woman- who was cloaked entirely in a blanket. The queen's frown deepened when she realized that this woman was tied to Merlin somehow, though his scarf covered the binding. Arthur took in Guinevere's expression and murmured quietly through a forced smile.
"There were some complications along the way. Gather the round table in the council room, immediately. We have much to discuss."
Gwen forced her own smile for those watching them and nodded her agreement. "I'll just send for Gaius, then. He had rounds in the lower town this afternoon."
"Thank you, Guinevere," Arthur breathed, grateful for his wife. Then he kissed her again, regardless of who was watching- no one could complain, he was the king. All teasing aside, he had missed his wife, and he didn't care who knew it.
A/N: Reviews are appreciated.
