It's been a while, but hopefully I'll post more often since after this chapter I'll be putting more of my own ideas into it, not just the show.

Ever since Morgana had almost been kidnapped, Uther's rules for her had gotten even more confining. There were more guards, more curfews, more schedules, and less time for herself. That's what made this one afternoon in the woods with Merlin so special. They hadn't been able to talk alone for weeks, not with Arthur so determined to learn everything he could about magic, and with Gwen curiously poking in to watch them during the rare moments when it was safe enough for them to practice. Everything for the past few weeks had been pressing Morgana into a cage.

Morgana's head had already been ready to burst with all the stress and knowledge that it had gained before Arthur had gone and found the hidden room. She was thankful for his findings - it looked like several of the books would have useful spells in them, or at least, that's what Merlin said. But along with the books, Morgana couldn't forget Gwen's mysterious finding. She didn't think she knew anyone that went by Corbin, although the name sounded familiar. If she really had been in that cell when he had arrived, would he really have gotten her out? Out and away to where? Morgana flipped a page of the book she was supposed to be searching without reading it.

"I don't think I mentioned it, but I got Arthur to admit he has feelings for Gwen while we were gone," Merlin said, breaking the silence between them.

Morgana snapped out of her thoughts of Corbin. "And you're okay with that?" Merlin hadn't held any resentment or jealousy in his tone, a fact that made Morgana feel oddly lighter, but it was still hard to tell with Merlin. He could still be interested in Gwen.

Merlin looked up at her. "Yes? I think it's great! Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"I wasn't sure… I thought that maybe you still loved Gwen." She twitched at the word "loved" and immediately wished she hadn't said it.

"Morgana," Merlin laughed softly, "I was never in love with Gwen."

"But Arthur said… and you always looked at her like… "

"Arthur said it to keep me from execution. That's all. Gwen is a great friend, one of the greatest in fact, but I never felt that way about her, even if she did have a bit of a crush on me at some point."

"Oh. Well, then, that's great for Arthur. And Gwen." Someone could pinch her cheeks and Morgana was sure they wouldn't get any redder.

"Yeah. Terrific."

The two went back to their books for a few more pages before the silence became unbearable. The quiet sounds of leaves rustling and birds chirping were no longer enough to make their silence a comfortable one.

"Why don't we work on some spells," Merlin suggested.

"Okay. Show me something new. Something fun and easy."

Merlin looked around. There wasn't much around them but the plants. In the distance, the smoke from a fire twisted towards the sky to join the pure white clouds. After a few moments, Merlin pushed out a hand towards the far tendrils of smoke.

"Hors, beride þá heofonum."

The smoke turned into the form of a galloping horse, climbing higher to reach the sky. Morgana gasped, even though she had been expecting something special.

"Are you sure no one saw that?"

"If they did, they'll blink twice, it will be gone, and they'll never think of it again. That's what always happens."

A short ways away, they heard a branch snap and footsteps running through the trees.

"Did you see it? The smoke, did you see it?" A woman's voice yelled.

"No, I saw nothing," a man replied.

"Are you blind? You were right here! It was magic, I tell you. There's sorcery here. We must tell the King."

Merlin looked at Morgana in horror.

"It was sorcery you saw, and you're certain of it?" Uther looked sternly down at Cathryn from his throne.

Morgana hadn't sat with Uther while he sat in his throne room for days, but after Cathryn's refusal to give up the idea of magic, Morgana had needed to see what would happen for herself and not hear anything second hand.

She and Merlin had made it back before Cathryn did, and had long enough to stash their books back in Arthur's room before taking separate routes to the throne room.

"Yes, Sire," Cathryn confirmed.

"And you swear this before your King?"

"I swear it."

Arthur, who for the first time in weeks didn't look bored out of his mind with his role as Prince, interrupted. "Perhaps your eyes deceived you, a trick of the light."

"The smoke was alive, I tell you. I feared for my life."

Morgana snorted with indignation. Feared for her life? Just because of some smoke shaped like a horse? It was ridiculous.

Uther barely bat an eye at Morgana's sound, but Arthur stopped to glare at her before turning back to Cathryn.

"I thank you for bringing this to my attention," Uther said. "Your loyalty will not go unrewarded.

"Thank you, Sire."

A knight escorted her out, and Uther's face grew stonier.

"It cannot continue."

"I will hunt down those responsible, Father," Arthur insisted. "I promise they will not escape unpunished." He shot a pointed look at Morgana that told her that she would not escape his interrogation. She and Merlin would be "punished" with a long lecture about being more discreet with their practices. Merlin, however, was not subject to Arthur's irritated looks as he stood far enough away that Arthur would've had to swing his head around to look at him, and doing so would have been suspicious.

"No. Stronger methods are called for. Send for the Witchfinder."

Morgana could not hear her own intake of breath over the gasps of the courtiers. The witchfinder hadn't been in Camelot since Morgana was ten years old. She had only been in the palace for a few months when he came, and she wasn't forced to be in his company for more than a few moments, but in those few minutes, his eyes had seemed to bore a hole into her body and grasp at any hints of guilt. Uther hadn't even called for him that time, he had simply turned up, supposedly just "passing through."

By the time he had gone, there had been three executions, and the witchfinder had walked away with a pouch filled with gold.

Gaius stepped forward. "Sire, is it necessary to resort to such measures?"

"The Witchfinder is a trusted ally, Gaius," Uther reminded. "His help will be invaluable."

"Of course."

"How many times will I have to drive it into that thick skull of yours that you must guard the secret of your magic with your life!" Arthur pushed Merlin into a chair next to Morgana.

"You're sounding a lot like Gaius right now," Merlin muttered. "I've already heard this from him, you don't have to -"

"And you!" Arthur rounded on Morgana. "This is something I would have expected of Merlin, but you were there! Why didn't you stop him? Why weren't you more careful?"

"Everyone makes mistakes, Arthur." Morgana scowled. "This one wasn't even a big one. If it had been anyone but Cathryn -"

"But it was Catheryn, so 'if' doesn't bloody matter now, does it?"

Morgana rose from her chair so that she wasn't so much shorter than Arthur was. She wasn't as tall or as broad as he was, but that wouldn't stop her from being an intimidating presence. "We did magic. It was seen. Now we have a problem. What good does your yelling do if it's all things we already know? Have you done something to prevent the witchfinder from coming? Because if not, Arthur, I think we have more important things to do."

Morgana wasn't sure what they could do in all honesty, but she held Arthur's gaze until he looked away. The best thing for them might be to stop all use of magic until the witchfinder had passed through, but that wouldn't be what was best for Camelot's citizens. Morgana knew that the witchfinder would not leave without at least one death, and if they didn't do anything, it would likely be the death of an innocent.

"Fine." Arthur backed away. He walked to his desk and pulled out the few books of magic that were hidden in a secret compartment behind one of the drawers. "These need to be put back in that room. And the one you keep under the floorboards, Merlin, it'd better go with them."

Merlin nodded and the books out of Arthur's arms.

"No, give them to me."

The boys looked at her with blank faces.

"Arthur, you said that Geoffrey found your behaviour suspicious. Merlin, your presence in the Library is always suspicious. Bring the other book to me, and I'll take them back."

Arthur nodded. "Good thinking."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Merlin asked.

"Just don't do anything… abnormal." Arthur suggested.

"I think you've forgotten who you're talking to," Morgana joked. "Not one person in this castle would describe Merlin as 'normal'"

Bringing the fog with him, the witchfinder arrived under cover of darkness a few nights later. The cage that followed made the dread Morgana felt even worse. There wasn't a single person that didn't fear him. Merlin and Morgana had stopped practising magic after Uther had called for the witchfinder, but Morgana wished they hadn't just so she could talk to him more than a slight nod as they passed one another in the halls.

When he looked up at her window, Morgana was sure the witchfinder already knew.

"I'd like to say your feelings mean nothing, Morgana, I really would, but you should have heard the man last night." Arthur slowed and deepened his voice in an impression of this 'Aredian.' "Do you smell it? Do you smell it, Uther? It's all around us, the foul stench of sorcery. It's infected your great city like a contagion." Arthur wiggled his fingers in Morgana's face like he had when they were younger and he was telling a scary story that involved an evil sorcerer. "Unchecked, it spreads like a disease. It seeks out the young and the old, the weak and the able, the fair and the foul of heart alike." He dropped his arms back down and resumed his normal walk. "And, the man is obviously here for the money. I don't know how Father doesn't see it."

"I think we can agree that there's a lot of things that your father does not see."

"And now, he's got something on Merlin, and you think he suspects you."

"What about Merlin?" Morgana hadn't heard anything about him, and she guessed that if anything happened to him, the castle servants chatter would reach her through Gwen.

"Aredian spotted him with Gaius - Merlin said they knew each other a long time ago. He requested Merlin's cooperation in answering a few questions. He declined everything of course, but he was seen in the forest that day. He's now a suspect based on the fact that he can't prove it wasn't him."

The two rounded the corner and entered the throne room. This time, the room was more organized. Courtiers stood to the sides as they watched the proceedings instead of milling about the room in idle conversation. Morgana took her seat at Uther's left and watched Aredian present his "evidence."

Three women, all from the lower town, confessed to seeing the results of magic. All three accounts were unrelated to Morgana or Merlin, which she would have to assure him later. She could already imagine his outrage and possible confusion at these stories.

Surely Arthur had the trust to know that neither she nor Merlin would conjure faces in well water, coal dancing goblins, or call toads to jump from their mouths. That disgusting use of magic would not only be horrific, but it had no purpose to it whatsoever.

"Fortunately I've utilised every facet of my craft to bring this matter to a swift resolution," Aredian announced after the final story.

"The sorcerer? You have a suspect?" Uther's relief was as plain on his face as it could get.

Morgana was doing all she could not to clench her fists or look as terrified as she was. Most of all, she did not look at Aredian's face, not even to see if he was looking at her. She would be pointed out as a magic user, she was sure of it, for even without her looking, she could feel the witchfinder's gaze.

"Oh, I do, My Lord. I regret to say, they stand among us in this very room." Aredian walked in a slow, casual circle, one that would have brought fear to anyone, not just the guilty. "My methods are infallible, my findings incontestable! The facts point to one person and one person alone: the boy, Merlin!"

"Merlin," Arthur scoffed. "You can't be serious."

Arthur was a good actor under pressure, Morgana would give him that, but she doubted Arthur's doubt would be enough to get Merlin out of danger this time around.

"This is outrageous!" Gaius said. "You have no evidence!"

"The tools of magic cannot be hidden from me. I am certain that a thorough search of the boy's chamber will deliver us all we need."

Uther nodded thoughtfully, turning to Merlin. "Merlin?"

"I have nothing to hide from him."

Morgana thought of the books she had taken to the secret room in the library only days beforehand and imagined they hadn't been warned to take such action before reminding herself that everything would be fine. Everything was hidden, so there wouldn't be any proof.

"Very well. Guards, restrain the boy. Let the search begin."

The search of Merlin's chambers turned into a full search of the physician's quarters, and there was nothing Arthur could do to stop it. His knights had finally been requested, but put under the order of Aredian instead of himself. They smashed Gaius's possessions without regard for any importance.

When Leon found an amulet in an inconspicuous powder jar, Arthur cursed Merlin's forgetfulness in his head. How could he just leave behind something so incriminating? If he had just given it to Morgana along with the books, nothing would have been found. Although Arthur had to admit that if he had been the one leading a search for sorcery, he would not have broken that powder jar and the amulet would not have been found.

"An amulet of enchantment." Aredian examined the artefact. "Were you aware, physician, that your assistant kept instruments of sorcery?"

"No."

"Well, our work is done. I must inform the King."

Aredian walked with his usual leisurely pace to the door while Arthur thought frantically for something that would prove Merlin's innocence. Even though Merlin was not innocent of the crime of sorcery.

Arthur almost wished he'd never found out about Merlin's magic until he realized what these events would look like to him having not known. He would never have believed Merlin to be guilty, but they would still be in the same place.

"Aredian!" Gaius stopped the witchfinder before he made it out the door. "I know for certain that that amulet does not belong to Merlin."

"Oh? Well, who does it belong to, then?"

"It belongs to me."

Arthur didn't know if Gaius was telling the truth - if he was, Arthur needed to expand the list of people that he trusted who turned out to have magic, and he had yet another piece of evidence that the laws against its practice were overly strict. If Gaius wasn't telling the truth, he had to be doing it to protect Merlin.

So Arthur didn't say anything as he went ahead of Gaius and the guards to the dungeons.

"You're free to go," he said, unlocking Merlin's cell. The presence of a guard to escort Merlin out prevented Arthur from warning him about what had happened, but it wasn't long before Merlin saw Gaius anyway.

"Gaius? What's going on?"

"Say nothing, Merlin. Do nothing. Promise me!"

Staying quiet would not be an easy task for Merlin, Arthur knew that, but he hadn't expected it to be difficult for himself. Later that evening at dinner, he found out that Uther hadn't executed everyone that had used magic - Gaius had been an exception. And for that loyalty, he would have to endure through whatever tortures Aredian might put him through.

Based on his look at the devices the witch hunter had brought with him, it was definitely more torture than a pleasant questioning. Arthur wanted to break Gaius out of the cell himself.

"Kilgharrah couldn't help."

"Of course he couldn't, that damn dragon isn't useful for anything other than giving pointless riddles." Arthur sat himself down at his table rather more abruptly than he had intended. "And you, Merlin, you shouldn't have left that amulet in that room anyway. What were you thinking."

Arthur would never have admitted it, but Merlin's glance at Morgana before he gave an answer irritated him more than it should have.

"It wasn't my amulet. Or Morgana's."

"So it was actually Gaius' then?"

"Must have been."

"And... " Morgana hesitated, "I probably haven't helped anything."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"Aredian questioned me earlier today. About my nightmares and how Gaius treated them for years and they only got worse until recently. He asked about the contents of the potions, and I had nothing to prove that they weren't some kind of evil magic."

The door was pushed in and Gwen entered in a rush. "Gaius confessed. He confessed to everything seen and is to be burned at the stake tomorrow."

Arthur knew to grab Merlin before his servant had even moved a single millimetre, and he didn't hesitate to act. Merlin squirmed, furiously trying to escape Arthur's arms, presumably to hunt down Aredian for his crimes. Arthur knew that Merlin knew that was a bad idea. If he didn't, Merlin would have escaped Arthur's grasp using magic.

Instead, Arthur felt the fight leave him.

"You can let go now."

Arthur let go and watched Merlin brush himself off.

"I can let you talk to him."

"Arthur?"

"Maybe he knows something that we don't. Something that would help clear his name."

Gaius did indeed know something that they didn't: the amulet wasn't his either. Merlin immediately blamed Aredian and the other three were quick to agree with his guess. The only thing was that their guess didn't do a thing for Gaius without any proof. And even though Gaius insisted they let it go, giving up on saving Gaius was not discussed even once.

The next day, Gwen reported Morgana's next session of "questioning."

Arthur had questioned or been present for the questioning of more than his fair share of prisoners, and he sincerely doubted that's what Aredian was doing. Breaking a person until they confessed to a crime wasn't questioning. It didn't bring truth.

"Aredian is paid to catch sorcerers," Merlin said. "Maybe he doesn't care whether someone is guilty or not. Maybe he gets confessions by lying, by planting evidence, just as long as he gets a confession, he gets his money."

And Arthur didn't understand how Uther could be so blind to it.

Arthur didn't understand how, to prove a person innocent of magic, he was going to have to rely on someone using magic.

It was a convoluted solution to a twisted problem.

But Merlin came through when he found the flower petals and extra amulet. Gwen came through with her knowledge of the town and its people and its methods of beauty of which Arthur and Merlin had no idea. Using flower petals that caused hallucinations in a beauty product, a tincture of Belladonna, was clever, an elegant plan of someone who knew what people would overlook.

Merlin planted their new evidence.

And it worked.

The timing was a bit late. For a moment as he stood outside watching Gaius as he was escorted to the pyre in the centre of the square, he thought they had missed their chance.

But then the apothecary confessed about the belladonna, Aredian's room was searched, and the cupboard opened. Dozens of amulets dropped out and Belladonna tincture.

"These things don't belong to me! This is a trick!" Aredian braced himself against a post as he coughed out his words. "That boy plots against me!"

Greedy fool.

The toads coming from his mouth were a perfect addition. Arthur was surprised - he hadn't thought Merlin would take that part seriously.

Then Aredian fell, letting his hostage the Lady Morgana go as he crashed through the window. Arthur didn't go look at the body. He followed his father.

Uther apologized to Gaius, but that wasn't enough.

"Father."

"Arthur, what is it?" Uther's forehead creased and he held the fingers of one hand to his temples.

"I hope you see," Arthur began cautiously, "that you went too far this time. You caused the people fear and pain. You almost cost them future pain as well — Gaius is our best physician. Without him, there would undoubtedly be many deaths in the future that we couldn't prevent."

"Yes. Yes, I see that now, and I am sorry for it. I was tricked. I was tricked and the suffering was my fault. It will never happen again."

"You say that now, but what happens in a few months when another member of the castle staff that we know is loyal is accused of sorcery?"

"You have my word I will take more time to issue a sentence."

"Good. I will, of course, remind you of that."

Uther nodded and straightened himself, his face returning to its usual composure. "Of course. Will I be seeing you for our evening meal later?"

"No." Arthur was already walking away. "I've been invited to dine with Gaius and Merlin. I expect Morgana will be there as well, so there's no need to wait for either of us."

"What I don't understand is how you knew he'd concealed the evidence in his chamber," Gaius said to Merlin as he set food out on their small table.

Arthur, Morgana, and Gwen pause outside the door, waiting to hear how Merlin would respond.

"Just a hunch, really," Merlin said lightly.

Gaius hmmed softly, clearly in disbelief. "I see. And the toad?"

"That I, er...ahem, I, er...can't explain."

Morgana muffled her laughter with a hand over her mouth, and Arthur himself didn't bother to conceal his smile.

"I can hardly explain it myself. Unless, of course, you put it there."

"OK, Gaius, fair enough. I promise I will never save your life again."

"Promise?"

"Absolutely."

There Arthur decided they'd been listening outside the door for too long. "Merlin might make that promise, but no one else will, Gaius. And I feel quite certain that's a promise Merlin is bound to break if the need arises."

"Sire!" Gaius said, looking around warily before meeting Arthur's eyes. "I didn't realize you had arrived. You weren't waiting at the door long, were you?"

Arthur looked at Merlin curiously. Arthur knew Gaius was well aware of Merlin's magic. It hadn't occurred to him that Gaius wouldn't know that Arthur shared the same knowledge.

"Honestly, don't you think the frogs were a bit much, Merlin?" asked Guinevere, returning to the topic of Aredian.

Gaius' mouth dropped open slightly in surprise.

"Well, it was Arthur's idea, really," Merlin confessed.

Gaius spit out his mouthful of soup. "Arthur's idea?"

"Yeah. Oh, I never did tell you that Arthur knows, did I?"

"Merlin! Of course Arthur knows that, that, er, you… does he really? The danger that puts you in…"

"Gaius, he's known for months now. So have Morgana and Gwen."

Gaius opened his mouth again, probably to scold Merlin, but shut it again after glancing at the other three seated at his table.

"I know that Merlin has magic," Arthur agreed. "And I'm fine with it. Now, anyway. It took me a while."

"And I know that I have magic." Morgana's face was not angry or unkind like Arthur guessed it would have been had they discussed this topic on an ordinary day and not just after Gaius had been tortured. "I understand why you didn't want me to know, Gaius, but you should have seen there were more reasons to tell me than there were to hide it from me. I have more control now, thanks to Merlin. Maybe if you told me sooner, if you didn't make me feel like I was going insane — "

"Morgana, that's enough," Arthur interrupted.

Morgana responded by pushing a plate towards Arthur and insisting he eats his meal and minds his own business before she returned her attention to Gaius.

"You can make up for this eventually, I suppose. But let's start with a question. Do you know anything about someone named Corbin?"

Both of Gaius' eyebrows raised in surprise. "Corbin? As in Corbin and Elaine?"

"Who's Elaine?"

Gaius shook his head. "If you do not know that already, it's better I stay quiet."

"Not another secret, Gaius," Morgana snapped. "We've been through this."

"And I believe that this one really should stay unearthed for now. Don't try to convince me otherwise."

Review/Follow!