Chapter 3: A Monster

Gwen sighed as she crossed the courtyard, clutching a basket of laundry she'd just finished folding. It had been four days since Arthur had ridden out, four days since she'd helped Merlin disguise himself to go with the prince, and four days without word of what had happened.

Morgana was acting far too smug, and Gwen was starting to fear the worst. There was a chance she had just sent her best friend and… Arthur to their deaths. She should never have–

A commotion across the square courtyard drew Gwen's attention. She paused, glancing toward the gate, wondering what was going on. Guards were starting to gather, talking quickly to each other as they pointed at something down the road. Gwen stood on her toes, peering over them to see what was going on. Past the drawbridge, a hunched figure slowly struggled into view, and carried, on their back, was an all too familiar person.

"Arthur!" Gwen broke into a run. She pushed through the guards, pelting down to the path, only to realize who was struggling under the prince's weight. "Merlin!" Her friend stumbled at his name, blinking owlishly as she skittered to a halt beside him. "Are you alright?"

Merlin looked utterly exhausted. He opened his mouth to speak, only to start listing to the side. Gwen dropped her basket of laundry, grabbing hold of Merlin to steady him. "Easy Merlin, easy. What happened?"

"Trap," he whispered, leaning heavily against her.

Her heart jumped. "I'm sorry." She should have done more to stop this.

Merlin shook his head as he offered her a weak and utterly exhausted smile. "We made it back."

A lump formed in her throat, robbing her of her voice. She glanced quickly away, struggling to contain the tears in her eyes. She needed to be strong. Her friends needed her right now. Sucking in a deep breath, she took charge. "How bad is he?"

Merlin glanced back at Arthur, forgetting his shaky balance until Gwen pulled him steady again. "We need to get him to Gaius," said Merlin.

Gwen nodded, squaring her shoulders. "Right." She turned to the still gawking guards. "Don't just stand there," she snapped at them. "Do something!" When that failed to gain a reaction beyond the guards glancing at each other, Gwen scowled. "You," she barked, singling one of them out. "Warn Gaius." He continued to give her a blank look. "The court physician! Prince Arthur is hurt along with his manservant! Tell Gaius to prepare two beds!"

That thankfully seemed to get the idiot moving. The guard snapped to attention, nodding frantically, and took off toward the physician's quarters.

Beside her, Merlin gave his head a tired shake. "Don't worry 'bout me."

"Merlin, you're barely staying on your feet." Gwen gently patted his arm as she turned back to the three remaining guards, and chose another at random. "You, go inform the King." Thankfully, this guard was much smarter, and dashed off right away. "And you two, take the prince and get him to Gaius."

Far more hesitantly, the two remaining guards approached, staring at Merlin like they'd never seen him before. She frowned at their reaction, but her friend, for better or worse, was oblivious to the attention he'd garnered. The guards came around behind them, carefully lifting the prince from Merlin's back. The second they took Arthur's weight, Merlin collapsed against her, much to her concern. Gwen turned toward her friend, only to bite back a gasp.

Merlin's shirt was missing, revealing a small but alarming collection of scars. The one that held Gwen's eyes, though, was a star shaped burst right in the middle of his chest. It reminded her of the burns she'd helped Gaius treat during the dragon's attack a year ago. But she didn't remember Merlin getting injured. Where had they all come from?

With some difficulty she tore her gaze away, looking at the two guards who were still staring. "Get Prince Arthur to Gaius. Hurry!" The two nodded, stealing one more glance at Merlin, before quickly carrying the blond away.

Gwen grimaced. Everyone in the castle was going to hear about Merlin's scars before the day was through. "Merlin, I'm going to help you over to the wall, will you be okay there for a moment?" Her friend assured her that he would, but Gwen still hovered after he was leaning against it. The last thing she wanted was for him to take a nosedive into the ground.

Satisfied, she rushed back over to her spilled basket and grabbed a discarded shirt. Going back over, she carefully wrapped the shirt over Merlin's shoulders, hiding as many of the old injuries as she could. If she could minimize the rumours even just a little, she'd do whatever she could. She paused at a particular strange looking mark right on the small of Merlin's back, and felt cold all over again. It was tiny, but perhaps far more horrifying. It looked like someone had stabbed him with a small blade.

Her throat suddenly felt tight. "Merlin?" He looked up at her, and she opened her mouth, almost asking, but something in his tired gaze stopped her. She swallowed the words back. "Let's get you to Gaius."

She helped him slip his arms through the sleeves of the shirt, before hooking his arm over her shoulder again, and began to lead him on the long walk to the physician's chambers. She tried to focus on keeping Merlin steady, but her friend seemed to have gained a second wind and was managing surprisingly well.

That sadly left her with too much room to dwell on her own dark thoughts. Morgana… she'd known. All of this, it was her doing, which meant…

Gwen squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push away the pain in her heart. She swallowed hard as their footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. "She's trying to kill him, isn't she." It wasn't a question, simply a resigned realization, the last nail in a long dead coffin.

Merlin's shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry."

But Gwen didn't want apologies. She didn't want to sit back and simply react anymore. She was tired of it, sick of all of it. "She needs to be stopped. We have to tell someone, Merlin."

Her friend scoffed, expression pinched. "Who's going to listen to us, Gwen?"

"Arthur will."

To her surprise Merlin tensed against her. "No! Gwen, we just– no."

"Why not?" Why was he being so stubborn about this? "Merlin–"

"Gwen," his voice was pleading, begging her to understand. But all it did was confuse her more. Suddenly she feared there was something more to all of this, something he wasn't telling her.

Cautiously Merlin checked their surroundings. They had to be careful, even now Morgana was still the King's ward. Satisfied no one was near, Merlin turned his focus back to Gwen. "This isn't a problem Arthur can just swing his sword at."

Gwen scowled. "He doesn't need to swing his sword at– at–" She stumbled on the last word, unable to say Morgana's name.

Merlin looked at her with sad understanding. "Do you think she'll just go quietly to the dungeons then?" Gwen grimaced. "We can't face her head on, Gwen. Even if we did convince everyone, she'd just…" He waved his hand in the air like he was casting a spell. "She'd stop hiding." He stared at his own hand for a long moment, before slowly letting it drop to his side. "And… to stop her then… I don't want to imagine what we'd have to do."

Something in his expression made Gwen pause. "Merlin?"

He met her gaze, but there was a look in his eyes, one that reminded Gwen of her earlier thought: she really didn't know everything, and… that stung. She was missing a piece of the story, just like the scars Merlin kept hidden. "There's something you're not telling me."

Merlin opened his mouth, close to speaking, only to swallow the words back. His eyes slid to the floor, suddenly unable to face her. After a long heavy silence, he spoke. "Morgana's powerful, Gwen. I don't think conventional weapons can stop her."

Gwen's heart sank. "Then what do we do? We can't keep silent."

"No. If it comes down to it…I'll…" That same expression came to Merlin's face, before he sighed tiredly. "I don't know what I'm saying." Silence fell once more, filled with all the tension of their situation. Gwen hated it. And from the look on Merlin's face, he did too.

"We have to tell Arthur," she said again. This time Merlin didn't offer resistance, but his expression read clear as day. "You don't agree."

"Is telling him really the right thing to do?"

"Is leaving him in the dark any better?"

Neither of them could agree, though both knew whatever path they picked, Arthur would still be in danger.

They came up the last flight of steps and Merlin perked up at the sight of his home. The door was already open, and Gaius's voice could be heard ordering one of the guards to fetch a blacksmith. Merlin squeezed his eyes shut. With his magic still rolling like the high seas, he hadn't dared try to get rid of the manacle. Not when the mere sight of it filled him with enough rage that his skin crawled and began to–

Merlin jumped as a guard burst out of the room, nearly crashing into them. Gwen yanked Merlin aside, but the rushing guard skittered back like they were nobility. Merlin blinked, not understanding why the guard was staring at him, but before he could say anything, the guard edged around them and took off down the hall. Merlin looked after him in confusion. What was that about?

Beside him, Gwen let out an angry huff.

"Gwen?" he said, turning to her.

But she didn't meet his gaze. "Come on, let's get you inside."

Gaius looked up as they finally entered, and froze at the sight of his ward. Merlin grinned back sheepishly, well aware of his own tattered state. "Hi Gaius," he greeted, nearly tripping as he tried to wave.

Gaius immediately snapped into physician mode. "Gwen, help him over to the bed here." Gaius gestured to his own bed, seeing as how Arthur taking up the only patient bed in the room.

Merlin shook his head wildly. "No, no really, I'm fine." Only to stumble again, before he'd even finished protesting.

"Merlin," Gwen said, as she pulled him further into the room. "You are most definitely not fine." He grimaced. "Come on, into bed." She tried to lead him there, but he couldn't bring himself to move from where he stood. "Merlin?"

He pressed his lips together, knowing he'd been caught, but he couldn't quite bring himself to provide an answer. The hard look Gaius shot him, however, brought the debate to an end. "With all this ruckus…" Merlin glanced toward the still open door, fists clenching. "She's going to come investigate."

Gwen's stomach plumped. She didn't need to ask who.

"Let me deal with that," Gaius said. "You've done enough, Merlin. Now please, you need to–" He didn't get to finish before the King of Camelot came storming into the room.

Without even sparing the two servants a glance, Uther marched straight to the bed of his son. He stopped at the edge, and for a long moment just stood there, staring at Arthur. Then Uther's expression darkened like a storm cloud, and he wheeled on Gaius, voice dangerously low. "What happened?"

Gaius didn't look up from where he was examining Arthur. "The guards carried him in just moments ago, I don't know the details yet."

Uther jaw clenched. "And? How bad is he?"

Here Gaius paused, choosing his words carefully. "Head wounds are always tricky things, sire. I need time and space to work."

"Yes, of course." Uther took a step back, gesturing for the physician to continue. Gaius did so without comment.

Gwen shifted uncomfortably, subtly trying to push Merlin into moving, but the warlock was still stubbornly refusing to budge. It left them in an awkward state of standing in the middle of the room, not that Merlin cared. He was far more worried about when Morgana was going to make an entrance. Another minute passed and finally Gwen had had enough. "If you keep standing there, Merlin, so help me, I will let you fall flat on your face."

Mulishly Merlin refused budge.

"At least sit down then." She gestured to the small table that Gaius and Merlin used for meals, and figuring that was best compromise he was going to get, Merlin agreed. Gwen helped him over, easing him down onto the wooden bench. Once she was certain he was settled, she went to help Gaius, fetching bandages and other items the physician called for.

Merlin watched them lazily, struggling to keep his eyes open. He couldn't sleep, not until he got a feel for what Morgana's next move was going to be.

"Do you have anything to add, boy?" Merlin blinked, surprised at the loud voice. He turned his head, only to find Uther staring back at him. It took several moments longer for him to realize the King had just addressed him.

"What?" His brain was not up to speed.

His answer only seemed to provoke Arthur's father, if the murderous expression was anything to go by. Merlin blinked tiredly, wondering if he should be worried. There was a promise in Uther's eyes, one that involved reacquainting Merlin with his good old friend the stocks. Hmm, maybe he should be worried.

"Sire," Gaius interrupted, quite bravely if Merlin said so. "They have just been through a rather trying ordeal."

Uther nodded once to show he understood, though his anger did not abate in the slightest. "Boy," he barked, making Merlin jump. The King jabbed a finger at Arthur's arm, the one still trapped in the maniacal. "That is your shirt, is it not?" Merlin kept his eyes away from the bit of metal. He did not want to see it. He'd scarified the last tattered remains of his shirt, hoping to protect the prince's already raw skin, but also to use it as a curtain to keep the manacle out of his own line of sight.

Merlin drew a slow breath. He'd never had problems with his temper before this, but now he had to watch it ever so carefully. "Yes, Your Majesty, that is my shirt."

"What happened!?" snarled Uther. "Arthur takes you everywhere, does he not?"

Merlin hesitated, eyes nervously flickering around the room. Gwen stood frozen by a shelf of bottles, while Gaius's expression had become pinched even as he continued to examine the prince. But as Merlin's eyes drifted toward the still open door he saw a shadow shifted just outside the frame. Morgana.

For a moment Merlin floundered, lost in indecision. But Gwen was right, and hadn't he thought the same thing only days ago? Things… couldn't continue like this.

He sat straighter, finally meeting Uther squarely in the eye. "We were ambushed, Sire."

The king's expression twisted with rage, and maybe once upon a time, Merlin would have found him frightening, but that day was long past. Right now, the shadow lurking just outside the door was far more dangerous.

He glanced at Gwen. He knew she wasn't going to keep silent about Morgana, not after this newest attack. She would tell Arthur as soon as the prince was well enough, and that would make them both bigger targets, unless…

Merlin turned to face Uther. Hmm, maybe he should be concerned about all the stupidly dangerous plans he'd been coming up with. But if it kept his friends safe…

He would gladly face the consequences, regardless of what they were.

He drew a deep breath. "The mercenaries ambushed us when we got there. They… knew we were coming."

"Are you saying someone tipped them off?"

Merlin nodded. "Yes, Sire." He tried to ignore the way Gaius stiffened.

Thankfully Uther was too focused on him to notice the physician's reaction. "Tell me everything, boy, and don't you dare leave a single thing out."

Everything? Merlin schooled his own reaction. When there was magic involved? Not a bloody chance in hell. So Merlin drew a deep breath, and did what he was becoming very good at doing, lying by omission. He told them about the ride out, the ambush, breezing over the trap by saying simply he was knocked out, and that when he woke up, both he and Arthur were in the mercenaries' camp, forgetting entirely to mention anything about a giant cage made to house something far bigger than a human. "So we escaped–"

"And the monster?" Merlin flinched. Uther scowled, pressing. "What about the enemies' monster?"

Merlin scrambled to pick up his narrative, but Uther's words, the reminder brought the situation crashing back down on his head. He was cursed. Made into a monster, which at the slightest trigger could–

Uther slammed his fist down in front of Merlin. "Tell me what happened!"

Merlin's skin crawled, shifting, and then Gaius's calming hand was on his shoulder. Merlin went still, looking up at his mentor, as Gaius faced down the King. "That is enough, Sire." Merlin couldn't see the expression on his guardian's face, but it must have been good, because Uther, despite his resolute belief that no one was his equal, very quietly backed off.

Gaius was very much Merlin's hero in that moment.

Then the old physician turned, kneeling so he level with Merlin. "Are you alright?"

Merlin gave a shaky nod, swallowing hard. His hands tensed and relaxed against the edge of the table, but he just wanted to get this over with. He glanced once more at the King. "It– it escaped."

"How?"

Merlin stared down at the table. "I don't know, it just… started attacking them." His voice cracked. He'd been so furious. He hadn't let anything stand in his way. "We–" he faltered, gesturing toward Arthur. "I grabbed him and ran."

"Were you followed?" He could tell Uther wanted to snap at him, but Gaius's steady presence was apparently good for more than just keeping Merlin calm.

The warlock shook his head, relieved to be back on familiar ground. "I didn't stick around to find out." He hesitated. "I kept moving, as much as I could, even during the night. I… uh, that is, th– the monster must have hit them hard… I don't think it left very many of them alive." He tried to keep his voice steady, even as the memories bit at him.

Gaius's hand tightened on his shoulder, as though through force of will alone he could keep Merlin grounded. Merlin swallowed hard. He stared at his hands, at his long pale fingers, trying to forget the sharp claws they had been. Finally he had to tear his eyes away. He could still feel Morgana's shadow looming in the doorway. "They knew we were coming." He focused on the King. "Arthur and I were lucky to get away."

Uther's expression was unreadable now. "And what happened after that?"

Merlin sighed, resisting the urge to rub his forehead. "There really isn't much else to tell. I tried to bandage us up a bit. Other than that, I just walked back." He glanced back at the unconscious prince. "He woke up a few times, and he spoke… a bit, this morning, before the sun was up."

"That's a good sign," Gaius told him, even as his worried gaze lingered on his ward. "You did well, Merlin." The secret warlock smiled weakly at his guardian.

"One more question," Uther announced, adding when Gaius gave him a hard look. "And then I will leave you to recover." Merlin nodded his assent. "Did you get look at the monster? See what it was?"

Merlin's expression blanked, before he slowly began to shake his head. "No," he answered truthfully. "I didn't– see it."

"Very well." Apparently that was the answer Uther had been expecting, much to Merlin relief. The King glanced briefly toward Gaius. "I am to be informed the moment Arthur's condition changes." And with that, the King finally swept back out of the room. Merlin watched him go, not the least bit surprised Morgana was already gone.

Gaius patted his shoulder, a silent question in his eyes. But Merlin shook his head, glancing pointedly toward Gwen. With a reluctant nod, Gaius went to finish looking after Arthur, even as his eyes kept wandering back to Merlin.

Exhausted, the secret warlock flopped forward onto the rough wood of the table. They were home. They'd made it back and Merlin felt utterly spent. Maybe he was being a fool sending Uther on the hunt for Morgana. But there was one advantage, this would force her to lie low for a while, no matter how pissed she was, and give him some breathing room to figure out what to do about his… curse.

Just thinking about it made him unhappy. He was going to have to do research… and ask Gaius and… he was so very tired… so very…

"Merlin?" He startled awake, not even realizing he'd drifted off. His head was pooled in his arms, nose pressed against the wood of the table. He wiggled, moving his nose out of harms way and felt a soft blanket shifted from where it had been draped across his back. Gaius's hand touched his shoulder. "Are you injured at all?"

Not bothering to open his eyes, Merlin shook his head, only to pause. Oh right… his hand. It felt like ages ago when he fought that poor little pitcher. He'd never gotten the chance to have Gaius take a look at the injury. Slowly he pushed the limb forward onto the table.

Careful weathered hands lift his own up, turning it over to examine. There was a pause, where the silence of the room echoed heavily in Merlin's ears. The injury was four days old, and the sigh that escaped Gaius spoke exactly what he thought of that. He set Merlin's arm back down, moving away from the table.

Merlin listened as his guardian crossed the room, heading to collect some supplies. There were clinks, and rattles of bottles being shifted about as Gaius rummaged through his large collection for what he needed.

"Where's Gwen?" Merlin asked, voice echoing against the wood of the table.

"She's gone back to work," Gaius said, moving more bottles. "You've been asleep for over an hour." Ah, that explained a lot. "I'm surprised you didn't hear the blacksmith taking the manacle off." Merlin sagged. It was off Arthur then. Good. The blanket on Merlin's back slipped off his shoulders.

There was a final clink of glass before Gaius came back to the table. Merlin knew his guardian was waiting for him to explain what had really happened out there, but… suddenly he wasn't sure he wanted to. How did he even go about saying that he was– that he'd been–

A sound of distress escaped him.

"Take your time," his guardian said with a calmness that baffled the warlock. How Gaius could say that when… when… "Breathe Merlin." He did, though it was anything but steady. He squeezed his eyes shut, and his forehead pressed hard against the rough wood of the table. Quietly, Gaius settled onto the seat opposite him, placing his supplies down around him. "There now. Let's take a look at your hand."

Merlin turned his injured hand over, and Gaius began to gently clean the wound. The physician worked in silence, and after a while, even the quiet seemed to press in. Merlin couldn't take it. He wasn't ready to talk about what happened, but maybe if he worked his way up to it, he'd get the words out. So with a deep breath, Merlin aired one of his other worries. "Gwen's going to warn Arthur."

Gaius, for his part, didn't even pause in his work. "I assume you mean about the traitor." Carefully he began apply a salve to Merlin's injury.

Merlin stared into space. Even with an hour's sleep he still felt bone weary.

"Merlin?" He tensed, but didn't respond. Gaius sighed. "That was quite foolish what you said to Uther, you realize."

He shrugged, not surprised his guardian disapproved. "She has to be stopped."

"Really Merlin, and sending Uther on the hunt for her was the first thing you could think of?"

Merlin pushed his head up, gazing grimly up at his guardian. "What was I supposed to say? That this was some unplanned bandit attack? Morgana has enough free rein already, I can't– couldn't just–" He squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't know." He resisted the urge to burry his face once more. "I don't want Gwen or Arthur getting hurt."

Gaius paused from where he'd started wrapping a bandage around Merlin's hand. "That doesn't mean you should make yourself a bigger target, Merlin."

Merlin smiled weakly. "I know." He glanced to the now shut door of their room. "I saw her, though, listening at the door." His guardian shut his eyes, if possible, looking even more upset. Merlin knew this was a dangerous game he was playing. He turned his injured hand so he could touch his guardian's arm. "I'll be careful, Gaius, promise." He could only hope he really was doing the right thing. He gave Gaius's arm a gentle squeeze, forgetting for a moment which hand it was. "Ow!" He snatched his limb away.

"Careful." The physician caught his hand before he could unravel the whole of the cloth binding. "You're lucky that it's only a minor burn. You should have looked after it sooner." Merlin winced as the bandage was wrapped back into place. "How did you get it anyway?"

The wince turned into a grimace. "I got in a fight with a water pitcher and lost."

"Merlin." The famous eyebrow rose as Gaius gave him the look.

"Morgana booby-trapped the pitcher in Arthur's wash basin and I accidently set the spell off." He winced, biting his lip. "After that… I guess I just had bigger things to worry about…"

Gaius finished typing off the bandage, pausing before finally looking his ward in the eye. "What really happened out there, Merlin?"

And for all of Merlin's fear, the answer burst out of him. "I turned into a dragon!"

This time, both of Gaius's eyebrows shot up. Merlin winced, nervously twisting his hand over his new bandage. "I didn't do it on purpose," he said in a rush, afraid to stop speaking now that he'd started. "It wasn't– I don't– I didn't even know that it had taken until... until…" He choked, tears in his eyes. "They were trying to curse Arthur, and I couldn't just– I don't know what to do, Gaius."

Before he'd even finished, gentle arms wrapped around him, drawing him into a hug. "It's alright, Merlin." Gaius had moved without him realizing, taking up the spot on the bench beside him. He reached out, clinging to his guardian just as tightly. For a long while, they just stayed like that, and slowly Merlin began to calm.

When he finally did pull away from his guardian, he blew out a slow breath, whipping his eyes on the corner of the fallen blanket. He swallowed hard, finally saying the words out loud. "I've been cursed, Gaius."

His guardian carefully reached out, drawing the blanket back up around Merlin's shoulders. "I think, you should start again from the beginning. And slowly this time."

Merlin nodded quietly, and with another deep breath, he began again, telling Gaius what really happened. His guardian listened intently to his account, and once he was done, Gaius stood, fetching a cup and jug of water. The warlock accepted the water gratefully, not realizing till then how very thirsty he was.

Gaius settled, mulling over what had been said, while Merlin sipped at his water. "So, this trap, it was built right into the ground?"

Merlin nodded his head. "That's right." He set his cup down, before reaching into his pocket. "I didn't even know it was there, until well…" He brought the rocks out, placing them down on the table. "I've never seen anything that powerful before. It… the air was alive with magic, Gaius. Both of us were glowing with it."

Gaius nodded his head, gazing at the small stones. "Understandable, given both your natures."

Merlin blinked at that, not so much because of his own account, but rather because of Arthur's. He'd never thought about it before. He knew Arthur had been born from magic, and that had been the catalyst for Uther's hatred, but Merlin had never thought about it in the terms of magic leaving a mark on Arthur. It made sense though, magic had left its mark on both of them.

"Huh," he finally said. He idly wondered if that meant Arthur had the potential to maybe cast spells, and then snorted. Arthur using magic was about as likely as Merlin showing skill with a sword. It wasn't going to happen.

Gaius pointed to a single mark etched into one of the black stones. "Do you know what this rune means, Merlin?" He tapped the symbol, but Merlin could only shake his head. "It's a very old sign, used in rituals to gather up natural magic from the earth."

Merlin frowned. "Meaning what exactly?"

"Well, in the case of your trap, it was used to gather power for these other runes. It's an old trick developed by sorcerers to cast spells that are well beyond their abilities. It does, however, have one major downside; that is, beyond the time required to set it up properly."

Merlin grimaced. "Let me guess, the person has to walk right into it."

Gaius nodded. "If I had to guess, Morgana and Morgause picked that location specifically for its potency."

Merlin gave a dark chuckle. "There's no need to guess about that." He shivered. "It turned me into a dragon." Concern creased Gaius's brow, and he reached out for Merlin, only to have the warlock pull away. "I'm alright, really. I– we both made it back, that's what counts, right?" He smiled weakly. "And I haven't been the least bit scaly or fire breathing since that one bout of– of dragon-ness." His weak smile crumbled even more.

"But?" pressed Gaius. Sometimes his guardian was far too perceptive.

Merlin grimaced. "I can feel it sometimes… just under my skin, and… there's… Gaius, I think it's thrown my whole system out of balance. I can't–" He sighed. "It'll be easier just to show you." Drawing a breath, he raised his hand, palm pointed toward the cup he'd been drinking from. "Rǽdee ásce geotan!"

His eyes flashed gold, and the cup instead of floating gently upward, shot straight into the air as though fired from a trebuchet. It shattered against the ceiling, sending wood fragments flying across the room.

Gaius stared at him wide-eyed, making Merlin cringe. "It's been like that since I was…" He drew his hands back, pulling the blanket more tightly around him.

Gaius's expression was unreadable, his brows creased. "I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, Merlin. I'll need to do some research." Merlin nodded, he'd figured that was what Gaius's answer was going to be. "It the mean time, it would be best if you didn't use your magic at all." Merlin nodded tiredly, he'd guessed that as well. "And Merlin," Gaius began very carefully, in what was the voice he used for his patients. "Curses are by far one of the most dangerous and unpredictable forms of magic."

"I know," he said, his thoughts lingering on Freya.

It must have shown on his face. "My boy, I promise you, I won't let that happen."

Merlin offered a weak smile. "That's a dangerous promise to make, Gaius."

"And it won't stop me from making it." His guardian pressed a hand to his shoulder. "We'll figure this out, Merlin. I promise."

Despite himself the warlock smiled, nodding his head, and for the moment, let himself think that things really were going to be okay.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The day wore on, and Gaius began to look through his library, before he'd been forced to leave for his physician rounds. He'd given Merlin strict orders to rest, but the warlock had found himself too agitated to do so. He'd instead changed into new clothes, setting aside the shirt Gwen had given him, and set his antsy mind to researching how to break his curse.

Grabbing the first books he could find on the subject in the physician's collection, Merlin hauled them over to Gaius's reading table and settled in. Half an hour later saw him slamming the first book shut, and shoving it away across the table. He shuddered. Never before had he read anything that spoke so gleefully about the horrible effects curses had on someone. It was nauseating. He could only be thankful the text didn't include any of the incantations, but on the flip side it hadn't mentioned ways of breaking curses either.

He reached for the next dusty tome, praying it would hold the answer he was looking for. He flipped absently through its pages, until he found a relevant passage. Merlin perked up, hungrily taking in the words. Curses are considered the most dangerous form of magic, for they blur the line between sorcerers and ourselves. This makes it imperative to uphold the distinctions between them and us–

Merlin frowned, skimming over the diatribe. A curse, once cast by the sorcerer, uses the victim's own magic to enact itself, and keep hold of the victim. In the case of where the victim is a sorcerer themselves, the curse renders them helpless, and unable to call upon their magic. This also makes them easier to kill, barring the nature of the curse.

In the few cases where the victim has previously had no contact with sorcery, they become more susceptible to its influence. This has no obvious effect on those who are cursed, but in the even fewer cases where the curse has been broken, the victims have succumbed to the lure of magic, and become that which twisted their nature to begin with: sorcerers. Thus the cycle continues, and those once victims have now met the same fate all magic users deserve: death by fire.

Merlin sat back in disgust. Clearly the only reason Gaius kept this book was because it had been okayed by Uther for singing the evils of magic. There was no way any of that could be truthful… right? Merlin bit his lip. If it was, then he was even more of an anomaly then he'd ever previously realized. He could still use his magic, wonky and uncontrolled that it was. The lore writer had to be wrong, or maybe cursed sorcerers simply didn't use their magic because it was out of control like Merlin found his own.

The warlock sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. He snapped the book shut and stood, grabbing the first tome he'd shoved away. He carried it back over the Gaius's shelving unit. Setting his hand down on an empty spot of the shelf, he stood on his tiptoes to replace the book he was never ever going to read again.

He was just settling back down on his feet, when something changed in the air. Merlin tensed, hand instinctively tightening on the bookcase. He hadn't heard the door move, but he knew without a doubt he wasn't alone anymore.

He debated what to do, but this was a confrontation he couldn't avoid. Drawing a breath, he turned to face the room. "What do you want, Morgana?"

She was leaning against the shut door, masks all dropped as she watched him with flinty eyes. "What? I can't come and visit dear Arthur now?" Her tone was mocking and edged with hatred.

Merlin's hand tightened on the shelf, nails digging far deeper into the wood then they should have. "You're trying to kill him."

She didn't even bat an eye. "Of course I am."

"He's done nothing to you, Morgana!"

She sighed, waltzing further into the room, absently examining the jars Gaius had left out, possibly looking for poisons. "And what are you going to do to stop me?"

Merlin said nothing.

Morgana smirked, lazily passing the table and its contents by. Her eyes fell to Arthur, where he lay prone on the patient bed. This time Merlin did move, skirting one of the tables to stand between the two siblings. Morgana only looked amused. "Really Merlin?" She raised a delicate eyebrow. "You must be as mentally deficient as Uther says."

Merlin wasn't moved by her words. "I'm giving you one last chance, Morgana."

She drew herself up, the smile falling from her lips. "Then let me give you a warning, Merlin. You might think you're being clever sending Uther after me, but if you try so much as to point another finger in my direction," she leaned in threateningly. "I'll burry you."

Merlin didn't bat an eye. "You already want me dead."

Morgana gave him a smile that was anything but pleasant. "I'm glad we've come to an understanding then." She turned gracefully, about to leave when his hand caught her arm.

"And if you touch Arthur," he growled menacingly. "I'll see you burn."

For a moment shock overtook her face, before it was replaced by something far more dangerous: dawning realization. Merlin's stomach dropped, but before he or Morgana could do anything, there was a moan from the bed behind them.

They froze and then it was like someone magically snapped their fingers as Morgana abruptly changed back into the caring ward of Uther Pendragon. Merlin could only stare as her eyes suddenly filled with tears. She tried to rush toward the waking prince, but Merlin stepped in her way.

Behind him, Arthur groaned. "Mer…lin…?"

Taken by surprise, he turned, and that was all Morgana needed to get by him. "Arthur!" she cried with false joy, taking over the chair at his bedside. "Thanks the gods you're awake."

Arthur blinked blurrily, slowly turning his head towards her. "Morgana?" He seemed genuinely surprised to see her. Merlin took a step closer, making sure she knew very well he was still there. Not that she seemed to care.

She clasped one of Arthur's hands in her own, allowing her tears to roll down her face. "I thought the worse when they carried you in. I should have never sent you after that monster."

The prince shook his head. "No, Morgana. We were taken by surprise, it's not your fault."

Merlin was very hard pressed not to snort.

Morgana offered a watery smile. "How did you ever manage to escape?"

So that was her aim. Arthur didn't have more than a chance to frown, before Merlin cut into their conversation. "I carried him out, but I'm sure you've already heard the excruciating details by now."

Morgana's eyes narrowed at him. Not subtle, but Arthur was still too out of it to notice.

"You? Carried me out?" But, apparently, not so out of it to be incredulous.

Merlin scowled at them both, not that it worked, for two very different reasons. "Need I remind you, Arthur, about a certain incident with Sophia."

Arthur paled. "Shut up Merlin." Oh good, his memory was working just fine.

But his comment had done its job, and the prince, now mortified, had fallen silent. Now he just had to get rid of the other problem. "You shouldn't strain him, Morgana, he did just wake up." Or pump him for more information.

"You're right," Morgana agreed far too easily. "Why don't you go fetch Gaius, then, and he can have a proper look at Arthur."

Merlin bristled. "I don't think that'll be needed. Gaius'll be back any minute now."

Morgana raised an eyebrow as though saying, Is that supposed to scare me? But she thankfully didn't call him on it, because as far as Merlin knew Gaius wouldn't be back for another hour, or more. So maybe it wasn't so thankfully, then, because Morgana took full advantage his answer. "Then there's no harm in keeping Arthur company, now is there?" She smiled far too sweetly.

Arthur was now frowning at both of them. Lovely.

She turned her focus back on the prince, carefully fluffing his pillow up. "Now, how are you feeling Arthur?" How much effort do I need to put into my next attempt at killing you?

Arthur puffed up his chest, suddenly all bravado. "Never felt better."

Morgana's smile turned up at the corners. "That's good to hear, you took a nasty blow to the head." She reached out toward injury.

Merlin 'clumsily' bumped into her chair, knocking it with enough force that she had to catch her balance. "Sorry." He smiled with false sincerity as her eyes shot daggers at him. Ha! As if that was going to work. He finished passing her chair, calling to the prince. "Gaius said not to touch the bandage, Arthur."

A huff escaped the blond, as Merlin picked up a cup and poured some water into it. "Are you thirsty?"

"Very." Arthur immediately tried to sit up on his own.

Bringing the cup, Merlin hurried over to help. It was difficult with the use of only one hand, but there was no way he was even going to think about letting Morgana do anything.

Once settled, Arthur held out his hand for the cup, which Merlin carefully handed over, silently appraising to see if the prince really was steady enough for the task. Thankfully for Arthur's pride, he was, bringing the cup to his lips and taking several deep gulps. Finished, the prince smacked his lips loudly in the oppressive silent that had fallen over the room.

He frowned, glancing back and forth between Merlin and Morgana. Finally he turned to his servant. "What of the knights? Are they…"

But Merlin was already shaking his head. "We're the only ones who made it back. I'm sorry Arthur."

"I see."

Morgana reached out and patted the prince's knee. "I'm sure they died honourable deaths." Merlin twitched, but she withdrew before he needed to 'accidently' bump her chair again. "From what I hear, your lucky to have even escaped alive."

"Luck?" Arthur scoffed. "It was skill." Oh, as if his head wasn't big enough as it was.

Merlin shook his head. "You were unconscious for most of it, Arthur."

Arthur waved dismissively. "That's beside the point. Those mercenaries wouldn't have stood a chance otherwise."

Merlin tried to keep his expression schooled, but the memories were back again, dancing in horrible circles in his mind.

Arthur was right. The mercenaries hadn't stood a chance.

Morgana's lips curled into an unpleasant smile. "From what I've heard, they couldn't even stand up to their own beast. Fools."

Arthur snorted, saying without care, "Dead fools now."

This time Merlin did have to turn away, but he could feel Morgana's eyes on his back. His shoulders tensed, but he couldn't face her, not without giving away much more.

Morgana gave of soft 'tsk', beforesmoothly rising to her feet. "Too bad they can't all be gallant escapes." She began to make her way toward the door. Merlin turned, watching her very carefully from where he stood beside Arthur's bed.

After all that, she was already leaving?

She paused at the door, glancing back. "Get well soon, Arthur, you are Camelot's dragon slayer, after all." Her eyes rose, resting solely on Merlin. "You can never be too sure when a monster needs slaying."

Merlin froze, even as she slipped out the door. He'd been wrong. She hadn't been here because she wanted more details about what happened, she'd come because she was looking for her monster, and Merlin had no doubt that she'd just found him.

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Dun, dun duuuuh! Well, that's not good. What have you gotten yourself into now Merlin?

In other news, we've officially hit the halfway mark of the story and to celebrate I gave you guys a slightly longer chapter. Hurray! Which I had to even out by adding a cliffhanger, so there is that. Hurray to me!

Gwen is such a cool character to write. I always liked the scenes in the series where you got to see a hint of the Queen she's going to become. So, of course with this, I had to have Gwen take charge of the situation when Merlin shows up with Arthur, and have her boss the guards around.

I also have to admit scenes involving Morgana are fast becoming one of my favourite things to write. It's probably because of the word fencing I have her and Merlin go through in this chapter. So yeah, right now it's a toss up of which scene I like most: the one above with Morgana, or the first scene of chapter one with Merlin waking up Arthur and the stressed out hunt to find out what Morgana's done to the room. Though, I will admit that's not counting any of the scenes coming up in the next three chapters. But my lips are sealed about those.

Next Time: In which Merlin panics and his friends both do and do not help. Look forward to Chapter 4: A Traitor on Feb 19th.

A big thank you to all my readers and reviewers! You guys have been great. I've really enjoyed reading all your comments. Till next time dear readers!