Title: The legend of a Warlock who Served the Once and Future King

Author: Lamiabellascrittore (Correction: La Mia Bella Scritorice)but it was taken that's why its not gender specific. Sorry

Rating: T+

Warnings: Violence, sexual content, adult situations and more- deal with it. There is more to come.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, or any of the characters. If I did there would be a season six, seven, eight, and so on, and a movie, of course.

Spoilers: Possibly.

A/N: Okay. I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get this next chapter up, however this last few chapters a proving a little more difficult than I expected. Still I hope you all keep reading as the story comes to a close and the next one begins.

Review and let me hear your thoughts. 3

Chapter 30

Contemplation of Sacrifice

Morgana bent over her desk and braced her weight on one arm to look down at the battle strategies and siege plans displayed across the large surface but none of it registered. She could only see Mordred. His face hovered in her mind. His icy blue eyes, heated scowl and hostility as he left the tent. The way Mordred jockeyed for the chance to go after the prisoners, after his brother, Ranoue.

It had Morgana thinking Mordred had something to do with the escape. He was becoming more of a affliction than a remedy to her problems. Morgana rolled the potion bottle back and forth across the parchment massaging the palm of her other hand with the bottle. The liquid inside glimmered with golden possibilities but she couldn't keep her thoughts from being drawn back to Mordred.

What was wrong with him? What made him suddenly so antagonistic towards her? Did she care? No. It wasn't as if she held him close to her heart, and she knew he couldn't read her thoughts. Mordred couldn't know that she had been contemplating his death. She has been contemplating how else she could use him to further her cause more than she already had. She was running out of reasons to keep him around. She wasn't one to share, and to have to share a throne, a Kingdom, with Mordred in a world where men ruled everything... it would be a disaster. She would be damned if she let Mordred become her King when she refused to acknowledge Emrys.

Morgana sat down in her chair and leaned back contemplating her dilemma. She had one human life in reserve to help power the spell. Cedric. However, as Mordred pointed out, he was mundane. No magic in his blood line. A mute to the gift. That was fine, Morgana had another source that recently became available. A true magic user. One of the prisoners that Mordred and Theron the Giant had gone after. The prisoners death had the potion glowing brighter than it was only ten minutes before negating the need for Cedric's mundane life entirely.

She brought the bottle up for inspection. Finally bringing her gaze to the potion. She got lost in the gold helical glow as the liquid rolled, swirled and sparked in the bottle settled snugly in the palm of her hand.

Although, with Mordred's words circling around in her head replacing her confidence with uncertainty. Morgana now thought she was fooling herself into thinking that such an insignificant life would be enough to trap a warlock, and not just any warlock, but the Warlock Emrys. She knew and feared that Mordred was right and she needed someone born of magic, some one like Merlin and Morgana. Someone like Mordred. He was a powerful magic user, born into the power and strong enough to power the rest of the potion, make it last.

She had the spell ready for incantation but her mind was undecided. Her temper flared and she felt like lashing out. More than anything she was irritated that she had a solution to her problem but she wasn't sure she could go through with it. She was already so low on loyal servants that to take away her right hand man and use him as a sacrifice to achieve her goal didn't sit well with her. If fact she felt that if she did take his life she would have to take on another challenge. Killing Arthur. However, to not accomplish her goal, to keep Merlin, was not an option, and Mordred's life was the price she had to pay if she wanted to keep Merlin; and win Camelot. If she got to keep Merlin, the loss of Mordred would be worth it.

"What are you going to do with that elixir, Morgana?" A deep quiet voice asked from behind her. Morgana froze. She jerked up out of her chair sending it wobbling and spun around to face him. She hid the bottle behind her back like a child caught playing with something she shouldn't.

"You're back." Morgana declared. That was fast. She had only sent Theron and Mordred to retrieve him just over an hour ago. Theron returned ten minutes before having accomplish what she sent him to do but Mordred had yet to return. She looked over Merlin's shoulder but didn't see him. That had her a little concerned. Merlin better not have killed him. She needed Mordred now more than ever. She narrowed her eyes.

"Where is Mordred?" Morgana asked gazing at him warily. Why would Merlin come back of his own volition when he was free and could have been on his way to see Arthur? Morgana looked around him again hoping that Mordred, or someone would come into the tent. She didn't like how Merlin made her feel right at this moment when staring at her with those unreadable lazuline eyes. She felt Vulnerable. Powerless. Lost. She edged away from him slowly, putting the chair between them.

Merlin regarded her with restrained amusement. "Afraid I killed your pet lover, Morgana?" He didn't mean to let his ire show but the thought of Mordred touching Morgana in any aspect set his teeth on edge. It was near impossible to hold it in, and he wasn't sure why he did anymore. Merlin hated Mordred with everything in him just knowing that Mordred could, and would kill Arthur if given the chance had Merlin's blood boiling. It was moments like this when he hated himself for not killing Mordred when he was a child. It would have been simpler. "Don't worry. I haven't killed him," Merlin smiled softly. Yet, he finished mentally.

Morgana refused to acknowledge Merlin's two sided comment like she wanted and instead gazed at him letting the silence drown them both. She casually rested her hip on the edge of the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. The potion bottle clutched safely in her hand. She was doing her best to try and fool Merlin into thinking she was cool, calm and collected when she was anything but. She knew it bothered Merlin when she was with Mordred. She could read it on his face. In his movements. In the way he went out of his way to ovoid touch her when Mordred was near. When Merlin denied her his touch she felt provoked. In all honesty, she missed the contact more than she was willing to admit. Dissatisfaction was becoming a steadfast companion. The look in Merlin's eyes had her a little terrified. Her hand tightened around the bottle hidden in her hand.

"Why are you back?" She asked wary of everything Merlin did. Merlin smirked as if he read her thoughts. Morgana's lips pressed together in a firm line and worry creased the space between her brows. Merlin did that a lot. Picked her apart with just a glance. Had a way of making her feel... defenseless. Insignificant even. As if she was poisonous spider that he didn't deem dangerous enough to kill.

"I made you a promise, didn't I?" Merlin murmured darkly.

Moving quickly Merlin maneuvered around the chair and towards Morgana. Startled by Merlin's sudden movement she jumped back. Her arms windmilled before she was able to right herself and back up. Merlin stalked her around the desk. She clumsily tried to keep pace with Merlin's long loping strides. It was difficult. She was trying to keep the potion hidden behind her back away from him and he wouldn't give her the time she needed to right herself. Before she could steady one foot he forced her to back up again leaving her stumbling like a new born calf.

Dark mirth danced in Merlin's rapidly darkening eyes. He herded her around the desk backing her up to where he wanted her. His body tensed with each step that brought him closer. Her perfume of ambrosia and jasmine, bitter and sweet, made his mouth water for a taste. It was a shock to Merlin system each time he saw Morgana. Her mad beauty was so startling she often stole his breath away and caught his heart on fire. His loins stirred in the most painfully delicious betrayal.

Merlin desired her and hated that he did. He was excited against his better judgment. His body reacted before his mind could catch up. Merlin grit his teeth and gestured at what she had hidden behind her. He brought the conversation back to the potion and away from this foolish mutual want. She could never have him. He could never have her. She belonged to no one and no one belonged to her. She was a destructive distraction that called to the chaos he kept locked within him. Merlin stopped just a foot away from her. He locked his knees to keep himself still. He was low on will power and she just might be what was needed to tip him over the edge. Human nature was like gravity. All you need is a little shove.

"What is it you plan on using that elixir for?" Merlin pressed. Morgana didn't move. She refused to break eye contact. Merlin stared at her. His pupils eclipsed the blue of his iris's. The composition of ivory skin, raven black hair and pitch eyes was unsettling. "Well?"

Morgana brought the potion out from behind her back and looked down at the bottle in her slender hand as if it held the answer to a long sought after question. "It's less of what I plan on using it for and more of a 'How am I going to assure its success?'" Morgana smirked up at him with a hidden secret.

It took something fierce in him not to wring it out of her. How he managed to keep still was a mystery. Morgana, however, took a step towards him and tauntingly held up the bottle between her thumb and forefinger. Her plan gave her the courage she needed to confront the monster she had a hand in creating. The golden liquid glimmered and sparked in the torch light like living fire.

"What have you done?" Merlin demanded dangerously.

There was something about the way he spoke that unnerved her. She felt her heart lodge in her throat. Her heart started to pound. "I took out an insurance policy on your life." Morgana grimaced. She set the bottle on the table behind her and looked at Merlin who blocked her path. "A bond to last through the ages."

Merlin tensed. Mordred failed to tell Merlin what Morgana had planned. He had insinuated that she had the means to accomplish something akin to this but never did Merlin believe she would got through with it. Merlin felt ill. He paled a shade at just the thought of being bonded to her forever. As much as his soul burned for her and as much as he hoped they could be together he knew that would be a very, very terrible idea. He honestly didn't know why she felt the need to trap him when he was already here at her side as she wanted.

"Why?" Merlin asked genuinely confused. He had done everything she asked of him. So what if he disobeyed a few of her orders. Merlin still did as Morgana commanded and stood by her side. Now the Kingdom believe that he was with Morgana in the battle against King Arthur.

"Don't play the idiot, Merlin, it doesn't suit you." Morgana glared at him. Her wild green eyes bore into him. He knew what she wanted. She wanted obedience. When will she learn that he was a weapon, a killer. She seemed to keep forgetting it. She could use a spear as a walking stick but it will not change its nature.

Merlin scowled. "I'm here aren't I?" He snapped. "I follow your orders. I refrain from killing your pet lover, Mordred. I am as obedient as I am capable of being. How could you possible ask more of me?" Merlin's glare faded into an amused smirk setting off alarm bells inside Morgana's brain. "Besides, I don't know where all this rubbish about me being a 'difficult person' is coming from. All things considering, Morgana, I'm a constant fuckin' delight. " Merlin flashed his teeth in a odd semblance of a smile that was more of a baring of teeth.

Morgana pressed her lips together in a flare of aggravation and set the bottle on the desk. "This isn't a game." She looked back at Merlin, nostrils flared. "You can not make light of this as you did before. With this potion, Merlin, you and I will be bonded. As long as you live I will be there by your side." She explained. "I die-you die. You die... I die." She gestured to the bottle sitting seemingly harmless on the desk behind her, but Merlin knew better. That potion was the most sinister thing in this tent other than its Creator. "Try to run from me now." Morgana informed proudly.

Merlin didn't bat an eye. Didn't say a word. He just assessed Morgana with a lazy troll of his dark eyes from the crown of her head, to her boots and back. He looked dangerous, angry and unpredictable. Merlin stepped towards her deliberately trapping her between him and the desk bracing his hands on the edge creating a cage of human steel. His eyes lingered on Morgana's beautifully enraged face with amusement. Morgana actually thought he was going to run, Merlin wanted to laugh. Merlin leaned all the way in like he had a secret to tell.

"Why would I do that?" Merlin murmured. He smiled softly. His words measured. Controlled. The calm before the storm. "I can't kill you if I run." His warm breath fanned over her face. She shivered. Her lips tingle for a taste of him. Fear and anticipation raced through her bloodstream. She felt as if she just guzzled a large tankard or two of mead in just a few gulps. She was starting to shake again. This was why she needed the bond. To put them on equal footing. Merlin had no idea how much of Morgana actually belonged to him.

Morgana tried to squeeze out from between Merlin and the desk but he had her locked firmly between his iron like arms. Morgana looked up at Merlin. His eyes burned down at her. They were so dark she got lost trying to distinguish pupil from iris. She felt every hard line of his body pressed against her softness. It ignited a fire within her core she couldn't extinguish no matter what she did to drown the feeling out.

Merlin watched Morgana's emotions play out behind her green eyes. They were so clear it was as if he were watching her thoughts play out on the surface of a clear green lake. They blazed with fear, anger and something darker, hungrier. Golden sparks briefly lite up her irises before they slowly faded into green.

She looked down at their bodies pressed together, avoiding his gaze. Her hands rested listlessly on his chest. She didn't want him to read what was plainly in her eyes. Fear. Love. Hate. A little bit of chaos.

Merlin found in a little unsettling that she never released the magic that stirred just under the surface. She always had an ulterior motive. Always something more hidden in the words she spoke. She avoided his eyes. Instead she looked down at their bodies pressed together like so many times before. Merlin bent down, being sure he kept his hands security on the table, and captured her eyes with his own.

Morgana tried to fight the urge to look at him but she failed. She found herself looking up at him. He stood back to he full height. This time he eyes gave nothing away. They were as hollow as ever.

"What is the true reason you're doing this?" Merlin asked gently, genuinely curious.

"Why not?" Morgana challenged belligerently. "When I want something I take it. You're not any different."

Morgana leaned away from him making room for her arms to reach around her back and grabbed for the potion bottle before he could. Just as she grabbed the bottle she felt him shift. His hands wrap around both of hers preventing her from moving. He leaned forward bending her back with her arms trapped in his behind her back .

Merlin squeezed her closer to him. He needed to know why. It was all mixed up inside his head. He felt a misguided need to know why she did the things she did and it was at odds with the acceptance that she was who she was and that he could not keep loving a woman who clearly wasn't the woman he loved any longer. There was no point in searching for the 'Why' when she was going to do what she wanted no matter the why.

If Merlin was being completely honest with himself, what he hated most was how Morgana made him question himself when the problem was her. He must accept that fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be. Like their trust. Still he was curious.

"Tell the truth, Morgana." Merlin murmured.

"I am telling the truth. I want you. So, I'll take you any way I can." Morgana growled up at him.

"Really?" Merlin drawled sarcastically. He let a few inches of space between them so he could better look down at her in disbelief. His hands tightened on her wrists. "You really think that this quotidian potion could trap me? Even with a human life to power it..." Merlin barked a laugh. " You'll need something far, far more powerful than one mundane life if you plan to succeed."

Morgana growled. She knew he was right. She would need more. More life, more power...more magic. More than what she had and she hated it. Hated that he was right. Hatted that Mordred would have to be the price. She shoved him back as hard as she could.

Merlin stumbled allowing Morgana the opportunity to regain her footing but Merlin came at her to keep her from doing something stupid like run, however, she had no such intentions. Morgana shoved him again, the potion bottle clutched safely in her grasp until she opened her hand at the last minute and slammed the bottle against his chest.

Surprised but not shocked Merlin was able to restrain her once more. He spun her around and shackled her wrists and pinned her hands behind her back in one of his. He used the other hand to push Morgana down against the desk by the nape of her neck with her face pressed into the wood.

Merlin leaned over her so he could speak into her ear. He did his best to ignore the searing agony as the potion first went harmlessly through his Armor and then soaked painfully into his skin. The moment the liquid hit his system a fire raced through his veins with each pump of his heart letting him know that this wasn't a rouse. Morgana had started the bonding proses. She had already killed someone. Someone with enough power to jump start a very ancient and powerful spell but not enough to complete it. Merlin had a terrible feeling about who it was.

Morgana gazed at the individual grains of wood in the dark oak desk. She sudden felt a derisory urge to count them when Merlin leaned in to speak in her ear. He drew her attention away from the wood and to the feel of him against her. He pressed even closer. She felt each and every defined edge of his body. She started to shake. Her thighs like jelly. Her core heated and clenched. Desperate for him. It had been so long since she felt Merlin move inside her. Too long. She craved it and this angered her to new heights. She was disturbed because he made her feel desired...wanted even when he made it clear they were enemies. Maybe it was the way he didn't allow any distance between them; or the way he had been touching her, like he would die if he let her go. That has not changed, and secretly she hoped it never did.

"Didn't you listen when I said I would kill you, all of you, if you deluded yourself into thinking you ruled me." Merlin glared. "You may be the last High Priestess of the Old Religion, but I am Emrys of prophecy born of magic, the King of the Druids and the Last Dragon Lord. I will kill a thousand of your men before I become your slave."

Morgana refused to back down. Surly Merlin couldn't be so obtuse. She had Cedric. A born Druid. No magic and his life would do nothing to power the potion but it would harm Merlin to see Cedric killed. However she still might have use of him yet. "The process has already started, Merlin. It cant be stopped. I hold the power and you hold nothing but ash." She whispered something in the Old Religion and her eyes flashed gold.

Merlin received a zap to every part of his body that touched Morgana. Merlin grunted and stumbled back from the shock. Morgana turned around to face him, she smiled wide and wild. Merlin's breath caught. There was that lethal beauty about her that screamed madness and mayhem. Merlin wondered what kind of feral beast lived and breathed underneath that ivory skin of her's. Her eyes were cold and empty. Soulless.

Morgana raised her hand to her mouth and with a great burst of air she whistled so loud his ears rang. Moments later in walked a faceless sorcerer towing behind him a stumbling Cedric shirtless, bound and bloodied.

Merlin forced himself to look away from Cedric kneeling on the ground and instead glared a the sorcerer behind him. Memorizing his face. The silver like hair, nearly black eyes and too pale skin made him stand out. He looked a lot like most of the ghostly sorcerer that followed Morgana. Merlin spared the sorcerer one more glance, observing the restrained madness in his eyes, before Merlin turned on Morgana furious.

"Now your torturing your own men?" Merlin accused furious.

"Only those who disobey." Morgana simplified, looking from Merlin to Cedric.

"What has he done?" Merlin countered. His voice hoarse. The potion seemed to be working its way through him distorting and disrupting everything.

Morgana walked towards Cedric and looked down at him. "Nothing." Morgana shrugged. She looked back to Merlin. She bared her teeth at him in a ferocious smile. "Nothing except be loyal to the wrong person, and I need him. He can be the extended insurance that you will obey until the potion can be completed. I'm sure you feel that serrated tug deep inside you where your magic dwells."

Merlin's hand went absently to his chest as he registered what she meant. The searing pain, the feeling of falling and the pounding headache that was starting to cloud his thoughts was beginning make itself known.

"...so fortunately for Cedric here," Morgana caressed his battered cheek. "We have another to take his place to power the potion, unfortunately his life is only spared until the bond has been complete." Just then the Giant walked into the tent with a brown sack in one hand and a large bloodied ax in the other. The bottom of the bag looked black and dark liquid dripped sluggishly from the fabric creating a small puddle of deep red on the ground.

Theron reached into the bag and pulled out a severed head. His bloody fingers gripped the matted hair of the deceased.

"No," Merlin chocked. He shook his head in denial. He couldn't help his reaction. His knees buckled and they cracked against the ground hard. He barely notice. "Darrin." Merlin breathed, pained. He was only fourteen.

"How could you." Merlin swallowed. He looked over at Morgana. Tears streamed unchecked down his cheeks. He didn't care. He didn't try to hide them or wipe them away. This was devastating. No matter how many he saved, fate had a way of correcting things. How many more people have to die before this war ends?

"Lazarus, take Cedric to his tent. Let him rest but don't let him out of your sight. Have him report to me tomorrow morning. I have a job for him." Morgana smirked and nodded for Lazarus to leave. Once he left she turned to Theron. "You too, Theron. I need to speak with Merlin alone."

Theron nodded and turned to leave as ordered but Morgana stopped him with one more request.

"Find Mordred. Bring him to me as soon as he shows up."

"Yes, Milady." he bowed and left, leaving them alone. A very dangerous thing.