As the first order of business, let's all give a round of applause to Aeden, who translated the spells in this chapter for me. He or she was kind enough to point out that Google Translate isn't always the most reliable source and generously agreed to become my Latin consultant. Aeden, thank you for helping me improve the quality of this story.

Second, does anyone know for sure whether Aithusa is male or female? I don't want to accidentally force the little guy (or girl!) to undergo gender reassignment when I write him/her in - yes, that was a spoiler.

"There's something I've been meaning to give you," Merlin remarked when he and Morgana were back in the palace.

"Not a hairbrush, I hope."

Merlin looked bemused. "Er, no. Did you want one?"

"No, but it's the favorite choice when someone feels the need to give me a gift."

Her explanation only confused him more. "I can't see why - your hair doesn't look as if it needs brushing." He stopped outside the door to his chambers. "Wait here."

A short moment later he returned with a white gold ring shaped into the semblance of a dragon, its serpentine body coiled into a circle, with a jade stone no bigger than the nib of a quill for its eye. "It's beautiful," Morgana marveled, amazed that something so tiny could be so exquisitely detailed, "and so lifelike. It's a symbol of the dragonlords, is it not? I've seen you and your father wear similar rings."

Merlin nodded. "I had this one made for you because the metal they're traditionally crafted from is good for retaining magic, and I've put my best protective enchantments on it. I thought after Edwin you might like something to keep you safe in case you're ever attacked with magic again."

"And this trinket will do that?" she asked dubiously. Fierce as the little gold dragon appeared, she found it hard to imagine a ring shielding her from power like Edwin's.

"Just watch." Holding the ring in his right hand, Merlin raised his left hand and intoned, "Ignis conveni!" The air above his palm burst into flame, into which he thrust his right thumb and forefinger with the ring held between them.

Morgana cried out, afraid he was about to burn his fingers, but the ring drew the fire into itself, snuffing it out and leaving Merlin's hand unscathed. "Incredible," she breathed, awestruck.

Merlin smiled - this was the most positive reaction his magic had garnered from her as yet. "I enchanted it to absorb the energy of offensive spells, which should discourage anyone from trying to attack you a second time. If it doesn't and they keep it up, it'll drain their magical energy eventually. Depending on how powerful they are, they might even be weakened enough for you to finish them off with your dagger; if not, at least you'll be able to escape." He paused to see if she was following him, and thought she was - even if she didn't understand a word of what he was saying about energy, at least she was listening instead of changing the subject or simply blocking him out altogether, as she had on prior occasions when he'd tried to discuss magic with her.

A worried frown wrinkled her face. "But suppose I'm attacked by someone shrewd enough to figure out the source of my protection, and they take it from me?"

"I can take care of that. Give me your hand." Morgana held out her right hand, and he slid the ring onto her finger. "Hic orbis amoveat solus ab Morgana. Now no one except you can remove it. Well, not unless they chop off your finger." He grinned, thinking that anyone who tried to cut Morgana's finger off would have a hell of a fight on their hands.

"Thank you, Merlin. I hadn't even realized how vulnerable, how...powerless Edwin had made me feel until this moment, when you made me feel safe again." She twisted the ring on her finger. "I don't think I shall ever take it off."

"Well you needn't sleep with it - I put enchantments around your chambers as well to stop anyone wanting to harm you from entering, and to limit the use of magic inside. Freya will still be able to use it for small things like cleaning and warming food or bathwater, but not much more. Not that you can't trust her, but just in case someone else slips past the first set of barriers-"

"Thank you," Morgana said again. "I can see you've put a great deal of effort into providing me with every possible protection, and I'm grateful."

"Well, we're friends now. I look after my friends." He was beginning to suspect that in time he might come to feel more than friendship for her but kept that to himself, not wanting to put her off just when she was finally lowering her defenses. Besides, he mentally defended himself, he wasn't lying to her - if any of his other friends were in danger, he would do whatever he could to keep them safe. His feelings for her - feelings he wasn't even certain existed yet - were entirely irrelevant to the matter.

"And thank you for explaining how your protection spell works," she continued, oblivious to the internal debate taking place inside his head. "I believe I've learned more from five minutes with you than from all my lessons with the court historian. He only ever speaks of magic as an abstract concept; it seems to be quite important to my studies, yet he's never once tried to explain anything about it to me."

"He isn't supposed to."

Morgana blinked; all this time she had thought Theodosius was simply a poor teacher - it had never occurred to her that he might have been instructed to skirt the issue of magic. "Why not?"

"It's a complicated, confusing subject, even for those of us who use it every day, and you don't have magic, Morgana. How could you hope to understand?"

He said this without a hint of condescension, almost gently and perhaps even a touch wistfully, and Morgana hated it. So this was how their life together would be: even if they opened their hearts completely and gave one another everything they had, his magic and her lack thereof would always stand like a gaping chasm between them; part of him would forever be out of her grasp. Could she live with that, loving him while giving up her need to possess every part of his heart and soul? She didn't know.

Sensing her frustration, Merlin reached out to her, then stopped mid-motion. Touching her face, even to offer comfort, felt too intimate for a friendly gesture. Why is everything so complicated with girls? If only she were a boy, he could simply slap her on the back or punch her on the arm; those were the prescribed methods for cheering up his male friends, and although he never understood why, they usually worked. He squeezed her hand instead - he had made sure to keep his hands off Freya in the early stages of their friendship, fearing that any physical contact might be taken as the unwanted advances she had later confessed to expecting when he offered her his protection, but Morgana was comfortable with holding hands. "I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to; that's just the way it is."

Before she could answer, they heard footsteps approaching, accompanied by tuneless whistling. "That'll be Will," said Merlin - his manservant's whistling was a sound he knew well, having heard it almost every day while his chambers were cleaned.

Will strolled into the corridor carrying a load of freshly laundered clothes, his whistling ceasing when he saw the two young nobles. "Hello there. Where've you been all morning?"

"Riding, like I said I was going to."

"You didn't say you were going riding with her." Will waved a dark green scarf at Morgana. "Or when you said you wanted to be alone, did you mean you and she wanted to be alone together?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"It wasn't like that," Merlin said sharply.

Will's mocking leer transformed into the very picture of innocence. "Not like what?"

"Not like whatever you're thinking of!"

The manservant sighed heavily as if he'd just suffered a deep disappointment. "And here I thought you might finally be making progress. My lady, I hope you won't mind spending your wedding night watching him read a book on the other side of the bed...unless he has another bed brought in for you. Or you can just stay in your chambers in a different wing of the castle..."

Morgana flushed; with no mother or suitable substitute female role model to teach her about the things husbands and wives did together, she had focused only on her upcoming wedding day and tried not to let her thoughts stray to the night that would follow it. Merlin just grinned and said, "You'd better hope I don't have a second bed brought in, Will, or you'll have twice as many sheets to change. Now why don't you go put my clothes away before you drop them on the floor? I'd hate for you to have to wash them again."

"Right you are, sire." He continued on to Merlin's chambers, elbowing Merlin out of the way to get to the door, which Morgana helpfully opened for him. Once he was over the threshold he paused, one foot jammed against the door to keep it open, and said, "By the way, the king wants to see you."

"About what?"

Will shrugged. "Don't know, but he looked all serious so it must be important."

"And you're just now telling me?"

"I didn't know where you were. He's in the throne room; I'd get my rump down there if I were you."

###

Morgana followed Merlin to the throne room, where Balinor was waiting along with Arthur and the usual coterie of knights and courtiers who gathered around their king at every opportunity. "I'm sorry, Father, I just found out you wanted to see me and I came as soon as I heard-"

Balinor cut off his apology. "No matter, you're here now. I summoned you because I have received a report of a witch peddling items of dark magic in a nearby village. My source believes she may have been the one who sold Edwin Muirden the bloodstones he used to curse the Lady Morgana, so I thought you'd want to investigate personally."

"I do, and if this witch contributed in any way to what Edwin did, I'll see that she's brought to justice."

"Bring her back alive, and I will see that justice is meted out," Balinor said firmly. He was taken aback by Merlin's cold tone and worried about what it portended if he caught the witch.

Merlin's eyes hardened; this order was both unexpected and unwanted. "Sire, if this woman was Edwin's supplier, she not only could have caused the death of my fiancée but also gave my friend the means to commit treason! I know if Edwin was truly determined he would have found another way, but-"

"That is true," the king interrupted in a voice that shut his son up at once. "His decisions were his, and his alone. Though I understand his betrayal hurt you and blaming someone else for turning him against us would ease that pain, you must not allow your feelings to cloud your judgment. If you cannot deal with this matter objectively I'll send Fredrick to assist Sir Lancelot in arresting her instead. You aren't the only sorcerer in this court, just the best."

Merlin sighed, knowing his father was right and only wanted to stop him from doing anything he would regret when the sting of Edwin's treason faded. "Yes, Father."

"My lord," Morgana spoke up, "I would like to accompany Prince Merlin and Sir Lancelot, if I may."

"No," Arthur said flatly. "A witch hunt is no place for you."

Morgana looked beseechingly at Balinor, but the king shook his head. "Your guardian has appointed Prince Arthur to look after you in his stead; his word is final. Besides, Mistress Flora has requested an audience with you today."

"Very well, your majesty," Morgana said with a small sigh.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm going with Merlin and Lancelot," Arthur told her. "I'll see that they get back in one piece."

"Wonderful," Morgana said sarcastically. "That is indeed a great comfort to me, Arthur."

###

She spent over an hour poring over designs for her wedding gown with Mistress Flora, and when she finally selected one from the intricately detailed drawings the dressmaker presented her with an assistant helped take her measurements so Flora could get to work. By the time she left the workroom bells were tolling the hour at which lunch was usually served, but neither of her maids appeared with any food, so Morgana set out to look for them.

Although she failed to find Gwen and Freya, she did come across Balinor. "Lady Morgana," he said politely.

"My lord."

"Why are you wandering the corridors when almost everyone is eating lunch?"

"I cannot find either of my maids, and while I don't suppose missing one meal will kill me, I would like to know where they are."

"I'm sure they'll turn up, but since they aren't here now you are welcome to eat with me unless you have better things to do than keep an old man company."

Morgana smiled winningly. "Oh? Will an old man be joining you, my lord?"

Balinor laughed and offered her his arm. "You're too kind." He escorted her out into the gardens, where a small table made of a frosted glass disk mounted on a single wrought iron column was set off a narrow, winding path. The flowers and manmade waterfall bubbling nearby gave their lunch the feel of a rather formal picnic. Balinor thoughtfully gave Morgana the seat which afforded her the most shade.

"This is a beautiful spot, sire," she commented as servants laid out their lunch.

"I like to get outside whenever possible; my wife used to say I would probably live in a cave if I wasn't the king." The servants set out the last dishes and excused themselves with deep bows. "Now, enough chatter. You seem well again, but how are you feeling? You look pale."

Morgana dismissed his concern, assuring him that she was completely recovered and attributing her paleness to a naturally light complexion. They ate in silence for several minutes, and then he asked, "And how is my son treating you?"

"He's been very kind."

"But?" Balinor prompted. "I've had enough experience with bureaucratic dithering to know when someone's biting their tongue."

"It's nothing really. I've just found myself wondering...why you agreed to this match between me and Merlin. Surely you could have found someone better suited for him."

Balinor blinked in surprise. "I don't know that anyone is better suited to my son than you."

"It's just that today I was reminded yet again that he is a being of magic, and because I am not there are things about him I can never understand. Even when I'm standing beside him I still fear he's too far away from me." She nervously twisted her napkin in her fingers. "I apologize, sire; I should not say such things to you."

"So now it's 'sire' again, is it? Lady Morgana, I'm going to be your father-in-law, so let me speak to you as such. I know my son better than anyone, and I can tell you that if he wanted to marry a sorceress, he could have had his pick of them. Magic isn't everything. Merlin has friends without magic that he's very close to, and if that ring you're wearing is anything to go by you're more than just a friend to him."

"This?" Morgana glanced down at her dragon ring in confusion. "He didn't give it to me for sentimentality's sake."

Now Balinor also looked confused. "A dragonlord wouldn't have given that symbol of our heritage to someone not of the blood unless they considered them family. You would have been entitled to wear it after the wedding, but if Merlin gave it to you before it can only be a sign of his feelings for you."

Morgana arched a delicate eyebrow. "He neglected to tell me that. Is it possible he didn't realize this ring would indicate he has feelings for me?"

"No. So you see, you shouldn't worry that you won't be able to get close to him - seems you've already managed that."

So we finally got to see some of the Morgana & Balinor bonding I promised, and Merlin gave her the ring which will take the place of her healing bracelet in this story. It won't help with her nightmares but it will come in handy later. Next up, Edwin's supplier is revealed (it's a character we know, not an OC, so I'll give a prize to anyone who can guess who), Mergana get more scenes together, and maybe I can get to Morgana's big magic reveal AT LAST.