This chapter is dedicated to anyone who wants to see more of Merlin and Balinor's relationship, or just to indulge in a little humor at Uther's expense, courtesy of Merlin's wacky friends.

Thursday night found Merlin in the palace infirmary, assisting the court physician in mixing up various potions to replenish his medicinal stores. He had done this so many times that he was able to brew a draught to relieve pain or reduce fever from memory, and it could be a rather dull task once it became so familiar that it no longer required one's full attention, so he decided to pass the time by trying to get an answer to a question that had been weighing on his mind for some time. "Edwin, do you have a minute? There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Edwin Muirden glanced up from the bottles he was in the process of filling, labeling, and lining up on his shelves. "As no one is injured or ill at the moment, sire, I have unlimited time. By all means, ask your question - that's what I'm here for." Besides serving as court physician, he also tutored Merlin in medicine and magic. "What is on your mind, my lord?"

"Our last battle with Camelot is on my mind. For as long as I can remember we've been enchanting our swords so that the blades never break or grow dull, so they can cut through almost anything and burn when they touch an enemy's skin, and I never saw a disadvantage to doing that until Arthur Pendragon got his hands on my sword. Once he took it, the magic worked for him as well as it had for me - there's no way he could have brought down a dragon without it. I need a way to keep that from happening in case any of our weapons ever fall into enemy hands again, but there hasn't been anything helpful in any of the books I've checked so far."

"It seems to me that an ideal solution would be to bind each sword to the knight who wields it; then its magic would work against any other who tried to take it for their own."

"Is that even possible? I've never heard of a sword that could only be used by one specific person."

"I assure you, sire- That cauldron is about to boil over!"

"What? Oh! Aeris gelida." Merlin's spell cooled the air under the cauldron; the liquid within stopped bubbling immediately.

"This is a very delicate mixture!" Edwin exclaimed, hurrying over to peer into the cauldron. "Too much heat might have ruined it. Perhaps we should save discussions of magical theory for tomorrow's lesson."

"No, I want to know what you were going to say. Tell me," Merlin insisted.

"Very well. It is possible for a sword to be made for a single hand, if the metal in its blade mingles with that person's essence at the time of its forging."

Merlin grimaced as if something bitter had touched his tongue. "You're talking about blood magic. That's almost dark, Edwin."

"That particular branch of magic lends itself well to certain dark purposes, yes; that does not mean the magic alone is evil."

"Still, it's frowned upon by a lot of people, including my father." Merlin's tone sharpened, making it clear that as far as he was concerned, Balinor's opinion was the first and last word on the matter.

Edwin almost argued that blood magic, while a social taboo, had never actually been outlawed, then changed his mind. Physician and prince went back to their work, a tense silence hanging in the air between them until it was broken by Will barging into the infirmary. "The king's just returned," he said to Merlin, "and he wants to see you right away, in his chambers." He turned to Edwin. "Sorry for stealing your student."

Edwin bowed. "Far be it from me to interfere with the king's orders."

###

Will followed Merlin as far as the ten-foot-high oak door leading to Balinor's private chambers; there he was stopped by Lancelot, who was taking his turn on the king's honor guard. "My lord wishes to speak with the prince alone. You'll have to wait outside."

Merlin and Will exchanged looks of confusion - Will had put in enough years as Merlin's personal servant that he was known to be trustworthy and loyal; there was almost nothing the royals would say in private that they wouldn't say in front of him. Knowing this, Lancelot gave him a small apologetic smile. "I'm sorry."

Will shrugged it off although he was clearly burning with curiosity. "It's fine. I'll wait right here." He placed a slight emphasis on the words 'right here', which Merlin understood to mean he was going to be bombarded with questions as soon as he came back.

Lancelot opened the door and stepped aside to admit him, and he entered to find the king pacing before his fireplace, brow furrowed in thought, or perhaps even worry. Merlin stopped a respectful distance away from the brooding monarch. "Father."

Balinor turned and put on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come here, son. There is much I must tell you."

"Did the negotiations with Camelot end badly?" It was the only explanation Merlin could think of for the anxiety he saw on his father's face.

"No, we signed a treaty that will end the war. King Uther has even agreed to some mitigation in his dealings with anyone caught using magic in Camelot, but in return he wants something...from you."

Merlin's stomach clenched as he recalled Nimueh's warning that Uther would give no ground without a price, and he immediately started trying to guess what demands the king of Camelot could place on him. The worst possibility his vivid imagination could conjure up was losing his magic, or being forbidden to use it - to him that would be a fate worse than death. But he seriously doubted Uther would be able to take away his magic, and in any case Balinor would never agree to something like that. Therefore he had to ask, "What is it he wants?"

"It concerns his children." Balinor began pacing again.

"His children?" Merlin repeated, surprised. "I thought there was only Prince Arthur."

"Yes, him - you know he was badly wounded in the last battle. Their physician has done all he can for the prince, yet I hear his recovery isn't going well. Uther wishes for you to heal him completely."

"That'll be easy," Merlin said cheerfully, feeling that Uther didn't drive a very hard bargain.

"Good. Then there's the matter of Arthur's foster sister, a girl Uther took in when her father died."

"I never knew Uther had a ward. Does she need healing as well?"

"No, to the best of my knowledge the Lady Morgana is in perfect health. Uther doesn't want you to heal her, he wants you to marry her."

Merlin's mouth fell open. Either he had misheard, or Balinor was playing a joke on him. But the king's face showed no trace of humor, and he sounded perfectly serious when he asked, "What say you, son?"

With his father waiting for an answer, Merlin found his voice at last. "I think it's a terrible idea! I don't know Lady Morgana, she doesn't know me - what if we can't stand each other?"

Balinor frowned, disappointed by his son's reaction. "Why would you suppose that will be the case? As you just said, you know nothing about the young woman."

"I know she's Uther Pendragon's daughter-"

"Adopted daughter."

"Whatever, she's been raised as his daughter, hasn't she?"

"For the last eight years, since she was a girl of ten, Uther said."

"Wonderful. So he's been her guardian since she was a child, and I'm a warlock. I'm sure she'll take to me like flame to kindling," Merlin said sarcastically.

"Perhaps not, but I'm confident you'll win her over." Balinor paused; an old sadness showed in his eyes. "I had always thought your mother would be here to advise you on winning a girl's affections - she'd do a better job of it than I."

"Well, you got her to marry you," Merlin replied in a tone of forced levity. "You must be all right with girls. At least you were two decades ago, right?"

"I can still teach you a thing or two," Balinor growled.

###

"What happened to you?" Will asked ten minutes later, when Merlin emerged from the king's chambers with his clothes and hair significantly more rumpled than they had been when he entered.

"I got into sort of a wrestling match with my father. He won, of course."

"Ah. Do I even want to know what it was about?"

"Put it this way: you shouldn't question his skill with the ladies. Ever."

Will nodded as if he now understood everything. "So, he finally decided you need help learning what to do with girls. He tell you it's about time you find one?"

"No, actually, he said he's already found one for me."

Will's reaction was swift and predictable. "Is she pretty?"

"I don't know; I've never seen her. All I know is that her name is Lady Morgana and she's Uther Pendragon's ward." Will stopped dead; Merlin continued down the corridor until he realized his manservant was no longer right behind him. Turning around, he saw Will standing several paces further back, jaw dangling and eyes bulging. "What's the matter with you?" he asked, as if he himself hadn't had the exact same reaction.

"Sorry, must need to clean my ears out. I thought you just said your father's arranged for you to marry Uther Pendragon's ward."

"That's what I said. Your ears are fine, Will," Merlin assured him.

"But- But- He- You- You can't do that!" Will spluttered.

"Father and King Uther seem to think I can, and Father knows there's no other girl I like better unless you count ones who are only friends, so I have to. I don't know why you're so shocked - kings have been arranging their heirs' marriages to secure treaties for centuries. I suppose I always knew my father would have to do the same for me one day."

"Not to the daughter of that old goat!"

"Adopted daughter. And when we leave for Camelot at the end of next week, you should probably put a lid on the 'old goat' comments. Or at least don't speak quite so loudly."

"We're going to Camelot? Why?"

"To join Uther's household in a festival celebrating our new alliance - officially. Really we're going so I can heal Prince Arthur; I heard he was wounded when the dragon Pyria fell on top of him-"

"Shouldn't have killed her then, should he," Will said unsympathetically.

"-And meet Lady Morgana. I'm hoping she hasn't picked up too much from her guardian over the years she's been with him."

"Oh well, I'm sure he can't have ruined her looks anyway."

Merlin's nose wrinkled. "What has that got to do with anything?"

Will carefully peered up and down the corridor, making sure that Freya, who had an inconvenient talent for catching him unawares, was nowhere within earshot. "Well, sire, so long as a girl's nice to look at, you can ignore everything else about her easily enough."

"So...you're saying I should just sit and stare at her all day?" That, Merlin thought, would probably get dull after an hour or so, no matter how beautiful the woman might be.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm just saying that most of a woman's negative qualities can be overlooked so long as she isn't a complete troll."

Merlin pretended to take him literally. "Well, I'm sure the Lady Morgana isn't - someone who hates anything magical as much as Uther does would have to notice if one of the ladies of his court was actually a troll."

The idea of Uther having a troll in his court and not realizing it made Will laugh so hard that Merlin had to grab him to keep him from falling over. "Could you...imagine...if that...really happened?" he panted once he could speak again.

"That would be hilarious," Merlin agreed even though, having actually met a troll, he knew they weren't really a laughing matter. They were vicious creatures, and their odor alone was a powerful weapon.

Will's humorous mood lasted until they got back to his master's chambers, and Merlin summoned one of his favorite spell books. Will stopped laughing the second the book flew into Merlin's hand, his expression of amusement turning to incredulity. "You're going to do research at this hour?"

"I'm going to look up transportation spells - it'll be a long ride to Camelot, and I want to see if I can't save us some time," Merlin explained. "You're free to leave for the night, unless of course you'd like to help me...?" He held out the thick, heavy book. Will fled. Merlin closed the door behind him, chuckling to himself. Works every time.

###

Will went out to the stables, where he found Gwaine bragging to Freya about how he had succeeded in breaking a particularly rambunctious colt to saddle. She was listening attentively but seemed far less impressed than Gwaine had expected. "There you are!"

Gwaine broke off mid-tale. "And where else would I be? I'm always here, and I'm just lucky enough that tonight the lovely Freya has decided to join me."

Will cut him off before he could begin enumerating Freya's many attractive qualities, hoping he hadn't already been to the tavern. Surely not - if he had, he probably wouldn't have come back. Anyway, Gwaine was such a flirt that he could wax poetic about a pretty girl with or without alcohol. "Yes, Freya's lovely - never mind that. You won't believe what I just heard." He then told them everything Merlin had told him.

When Will finished, Gwaine spat into a hay pile. "See, this is exactly why I never wanted to be part of the nobility - they're always doing stupid things like this. How's Merlin marrying a girl he's never even seen before supposed to strengthen an alliance when they might not get along at all?"

"I'm sure King Balinor wouldn't do this if he didn't think it's for the best," Freya said quietly.

"Well, I think it's a fine joke on us," Will shot back. "Act like he wants to be friends now that his son needs magical healing and then slip his ward onto our throne where she can turn Dagon into another Camelot! Uther Pendragon isn't an old goat - he's a scheming, slimy weasel. We can't let this happen!"

"I don't see what we can do to stop it. If Merlin couldn't convince the king to change his mind, we won't be able to," Gwaine pointed out. The other two looked at him in amazement. "What? Someone had to point that out before Will starts planning something crazy."

"Yes, someone did," Freya agreed. "It's just that being the voice of reason is usually my job."

"Gwaine's right, we probably can't do anything about this engagement, at least not yet," Will said impatiently. "What we need is someone to keep an eye on Uther's ward." He turned to the only female member of their group. "Someone like you."

"Me?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, you're one of the best on the castle staff, so when the lady arrives I'd wager a month's pay you'll be assigned to wait on her, and that she'll be the kind of noblewoman Gwaine hates, the kind that sees servants as part of the furniture. And people will say anything in front of a piece of furniture."

Freya rolled her eyes. "For goodness' sake, William, it sounds like you want me to be a spy!"

"Well, we need one. If Uther's daughter thinks she can take this place over, she'll have to go through us first."

"I'm sure the rest of the kingdom will sleep easier knowing that," Gwaine said solemnly.

Hope you enjoyed that, because the next chapter will be Morgana-centric and not very funny at all. Also, I'm going to put up a poll just to get everyone's opinions on possible secondary pairings for this story, so please remember to stop by my profile page and vote!