Uther was barely clinging to life when they arrived, struggling to draw in every gasping breath. Merlin went straight to his bedside, brushing past Gaius and Alice, extended his hand over the ailing king's forehead and, before he could talk himself out of it, recited the spell Kilgharrah had taught him. Uther's breathing eased, and some color returned to his face.

Arthur thought the whole thing was rather anticlimactic until the king's eyes opened and he lunged, locking his fingers around Merlin's throat. "You! You corrupted my ward with your vile sorcery and you will pay with your life!"

Merlin doubted it; having just been snatched from the brink of death, Uther was much too weak to strangle him, and Arthur was already rushing to pry his hand away. "Father, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"With me?" Uther's eyes bulged in a way that made him look deranged. "This godless heathen has tainted Morgana with his black arts-"

"You can't actually think it's Merlin's fault Morgana has magic. It's more likely that she inherited it from her mother," Arthur said reasonably.

Uther, however, was in no mood for reason. "What do you know about it, you foolish, ignorant boy? Or have you also fallen prey to the influence of sorcerers? Well, I shall put an end to that; I see now what a mistake it was to think there could be any semblance of peaceful coexistence with their kind. I therefore declare the treaty between Camelot and Dagon null and void, and as soon as we return home I shall gather our forces to resume hostilities forthwith, only this time we will not rest until this haven of corruption is razed to the ground and then-" He turned his glare on Merlin, his eyes burning with hatred "-I will personally send you straight to hell where you belong!"

Merlin didn't waste his breath replying; there was no point talking to someone so far gone in delusional fury, so he simply walked out. Arthur followed. "I'm so sorry," he burst out as soon as the infirmary door swung shut behind them, blocking out Uther's ongoing rant. "I had no-"

"Don't ruin what little respect I have for your intelligence by saying you had no idea he would react that way."

Arthur deflated, as if all the energy had suddenly flowed out of him. "You're right, I had more than an idea, I just hoped I was wrong. I wanted to believe he was simply misinformed about magic, like everyone in Camelot, but he doesn't even want to see the truth when it's right in front of him, does he?"

"Not when it means acknowledging that every sorcerer's execution he ordered was nothing more than murder." Merlin didn't bother pointing out that people in Camelot were only 'misinformed' about magic because Uther himself had taught them to fear it. "So, now that you know where Uther stands, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. We can't afford another war, not when we're just beginning to recover from the last one, but if the king's mind is made up, I don't know how we can stop him. Maybe Guinevere and Morgana will have an idea."

###

Unfortunately, the girls couldn't think of any way out of their current quandary either, other than the obvious solution of killing Uther, but after the way Arthur had pleaded for his life not two hours ago nobody was willing to suggest that to him. "Look," Gwen said eventually, "we're not going to think of anything now, when we're all exhausted from being up all night. Let's all try to get a few hours' sleep and address the problem again with fresh eyes. Uther isn't in any condition to start marshalling troops today or even tomorrow, so we have a little time."

Everyone agreed that Gwen's suggestion made sense, but for Morgana, falling asleep was easier said than done. "You don't have to sleep if you don't want to," Merlin told her when she tried to apologize for keeping him awake with her tossing and turning. "I know it can be hard to do when the sun's coming up and you feel like you should be starting the day no matter how tired you are."

"It isn't that. I can't stop thinking about Uther."

Merlin sighed, and she felt the mattress shift behind her as he sat up and joined her where she sat on the bed's edge, staring at the crack of sunlight that was barely visible through the curtains they had drawn over their windows. "Of course not. You must hate him even more now than you did before."

"I didn't think it was possible for him to do anything that would anger me more than what he did to my parents, but he managed it last night. You saved his life despite the fact that you owed him nothing, and still he refuses to see that there can be good in magic as well as evil! I don't understand how the man can be so willfully blind. He claims to have suffered greatly at the hands of sorcerers, but he's always been vague about what wrongs were actually done to him, and anyway, what grievance could he have against any single sorcerer or group of them that causes him to hate us all so much? It makes no sense."

"No, I guess it doesn't when you think about it - which I never did. Most people in Dagon think he's just a madman, and I guess I thought so too."

"Well, I never knew him to be mad - inflexible and tyrannical, perhaps, but never mad - at least until now. Merlin, do you think- But no, you wouldn't have…"

"I wouldn't have botched his healing in some way that made him insane? I don't think I did, but I've only used that spell a couple of times, including the one you saw when I healed Gwaine after you hit him over the head with a river rock, and neither of those people were as badly hurt as Uther, so I can't say for certain that his condition isn't my fault. Finding out about your magic was what really seemed to set him off, though; it was like he took it as a personal betrayal."

"Rather like the way Sir Leon instantly turned on me…" Morgana was suddenly glad to have sleep deprivation as an excuse for not venturing out among the people right away. She wondered if she had any friends left besides Arthur, Gwen, and her husband now that everyone knew what she was.

When their servants arrived a few hours later, however, they reported that public opinion among the citizens of Dagon was very much in her favor. Fighting beside Merlin as he defeated Morgause's army and saving him again had only increased her popularity, her magic, while a surprise, was accepted readily, and the accident with Uther was nothing more than an afterthought - at least as far as people were letting on. Privately, Will assured her, "Everyone's glad you gave the old goat what was coming to him," though they mostly kept that sentiment to themselves out of respect for Arthur's valiant efforts at protecting the heart of their kingdom.

"William!" Freya exclaimed. "That isn't a very nice thing to say!"

"Well, it's the truth. Everybody hates him," Will retorted.

"Still, the man nearly died, and I heard he's still very weak - you could show a little sympathy. Besides, now that his life's been saved by magic, maybe he'll see it isn't all bad," Freya said hopefully.

Merlin and Morgana exchanged glum looks; they hadn't told anyone about Uther vowing revenge when he woke up and weren't looking forward to dashing Freya's hopes for a new age of peace and understanding between their lands.

"Don't you think so?" she pressed. "Merlin? Gwaine?"

"Yes, dear," Gwaine said quickly. Personally, he thought pigs would fly before Uther changed his mind about magic, but he didn't want to throw cold water on Freya's endearing optimism. Besides, it had only taken him one day of being seriously involved with a girl to learn that 'yes, dear' was usually the best response when she asked him anything.

Merlin's eyebrows shot up when Freya didn't bite Gwaine's head off for calling her 'dear'. "Don't tell me you and Gwaine are finally together?"

"You didn't think she could hold out against my charms forever, did you?" Gwaine proudly puffed up his chest…until Freya's elbow in his side took the wind out of him literally and figuratively.

"I know, I can hardly believe it myself - especially right now - but he's actually improved a lot. He stayed sober during your wedding-" Luckily, she didn't notice Morgana smirking at that, nor the chagrined look her suitor shot the princess "-and managed to express his feelings in a way that wasn't offensive, so I decided to give him a chance."

"Well, as long as you're both happy."

Gwaine and Freya's answering smiles made it clear they were very happy. Will, on the other hand, looked disgusted. "Just what we need in this castle, more people going sappy over each other. If I ever get like that over a girl, I hope someone ties me up and throws me down a well until I come to my senses."

Morgana assured him she would be happy to throw him down a well any day. Before Will could reply and start another verbal joust between them, Arthur and Gwen entered…with Leon, who didn't look thrilled to be there. Sensing that they were there on serious business, Will, Gwaine, and Freya did as all servants were expected to do when someone of higher standing wanted to use the room for a private conversation and made themselves scarce.

"What's he doing here?" Merlin demanded, fixing the knight with a rather cool stare.

To his credit, Leon never flinched. "I've come to offer my sincerest apologies to Princess Morgana." His gaze shifted to her as he continued. "I regret to say that I let fear and ignorance get the better of me, and my behavior toward you on the battlefield was unworthy of a knight - even more so when you had just risked your life to save us all. I can only beg your forgiveness, even though I do not deserve it."

Morgana graciously forgave him anyway. "I only hope you realize I never intended to harm Uther, nor did I choose to be born with magic."

"Yes, Prince Arthur and Lady Knight Gwen explained that thoroughly. It seems your particular…talents…aren't as well understood in Camelot as we thought."

This statement was received with a mixture of amusement and exasperation; Leon obviously had a long way to go in understanding and accepting magic - as evidenced by his inability to say the word or look directly into Morgana's eyes - but at least his mind wasn't completely closed.

Just then there was another knock on the door, and Lancelot came in with Princess Elena. "Pardon the intrusion, my lords, but the princess has something to tell you; it's a matter of urgency."

Merlin offered Elena a chair, but she was too agitated to sit, or even stand still; instead she paced. "My father and I went to see King Uther earlier, to wish him a speedy recovery, and we found him in a most…disagreeable mood."

"Is he still blaming Merlin for Morgana having magic and vowing to wipe out this entire kingdom in retaliation?" Arthur asked wearily.

"Yes, that was part of it, but he also said that this time no one would be allowed to remain neutral, and he will consider any nation that doesn't openly side with him an enemy as well."

"Is he mad? He can't declare war on all of Albion!" Gwen exclaimed.

"No, but he can declare war on Gawant," Elena said fearfully. "We're a relatively small kingdom, and so close to Camelot that we would be little more than a mouthful if he decided to swallow us up. Father managed to put off committing to anything for now, though I fear he won't be able to do so for long, and either choice will ruin us. We don't have the resources to wage war on a large scale, against Uther or his enemies."

"That's why I persuaded her to come to you when I came across her and saw how upset she was," Lancelot explained, leaving out the fact that his meeting with the princess hadn't been entirely coincidental. After the ball, he had hoped for a chance to see her again and perhaps went a little out of his way to cross paths with her. "I told her you would find a way to stop this madness."

"I don't know if it can be done," Leon said morosely. "When the king summoned me this morning and ordered me to begin preparations for our immediate return home, he made it clear that there's no changing his mind - in fact, anyone who voices the slightest dissent is to be hanged for treason. It saddens me to say that even Prince Arthur's loyalty is suspect."

"Well, I voiced more than slight dissent, so I can't say I'm surprised. I appreciate the warning, though."

"Tread carefully, sire," Leon implored. "Remember, although we may not like what your father is doing, the oaths we've sworn as knights of the realm do not give us leeway to disobey him whenever we disagree with his orders."

Lancelot regretfully agreed with him; knights were not to question their king's judgment.

"Can't King Balinor do something?" Gwen suggested. "If we told him Uther plans to go home and gather his army, couldn't Balinor just…keep him from leaving?"

Arthur, Merlin, and Elena immediately vetoed her idea. "There are rules for how royals deal with one another," Merlin told her. "Uther came to us as a guest, so we have to let him leave freely unless he actually commits an act of aggression here, no matter what he says he'll do later. If the rulers of Albion locked each other up every time someone got angry and ran their mouth off, we'd have wars every week."

Morgana abruptly got up from her window seat. "Excuse me. I need some air." She had bitten her tongue until it was sore, but if she had to listen to everyone lament that they were powerless to stop Uther because of their stupid oaths and rules of royal etiquette for one more minute, she didn't know if she could stop herself from saying something she shouldn't - or maybe she would just scream.

Declining Merlin's offer to accompany her, she quickly left the room and strode briskly through the corridors, ignoring everyone who called out greetings and congratulated her on her part in defeating Morgause. One person refused to be ignored, though; a hand reached out of the shadows and pulled her into a secluded alcove.

"Nimueh!" she cried when she saw who had waylaid her. "You gave me a fright!"

"I came to give you advice, which you will heed if you are wise. If Uther Pendragon carries out his quest for vengeance, Camelot and Dagon will both be brought to their knees, and eventually all of Albion will fall into chaos. Only you can prevent this, Morgana."

"How?"

"You know what must be done, and you are the only one willing to do it. Kill Uther - it is your destiny."

"No, I can't."

"You can." Nimueh circled behind her, too close for comfort, and leaned in until her lips almost touched the younger girl's ear. "Indeed, you've wanted to for some time. I know what dark desires lurk in your heart."

Morgana jerked away, spinning around so she could keep an eye on the High Priestess. "I could never do that to Arthur. There has to be another way."

"Certainly there are other ways, but did you see anyone willing to do what must be done? Even if they weren't all too spineless to remove Uther from power, he doesn't deserve to live!"

Morgana took another step back. "Now you sound like him. You both think you have the right to judge who deserves life or death."

"If you knew him as I do I'm confident you and Arthur would both agree with me, but I don't expect you to take my word for it. You wonder about the source of his hatred for magic, so why don't you ask him? After hearing his reasons for persecuting and slaughtering our kind, you can decide for yourself if he is worthy of drawing another breath. Of course, he won't tell you willingly, but I know a spell that is very useful for loosening a man's lips." She shared the incantation via thought-speak, imprinting it in her pupil's mind, and then she disappeared, leaving the young sorceress' thoughts in turmoil.

First and foremost, Morgana found it very disturbing that Nimueh knew what she'd said to Merlin in the supposed privacy of their chambers, nor did she appreciate the woman's attempts to nudge her into committing murder…yet she couldn't deny that killing Uther was the best way to ensure peace, maybe even the only way. After all, she wasn't foolish enough to think everyone hated him as much as she did. He had his loyalists among the lords of Camelot, and if he were removed from the throne but left alive, those men would rally around him, denouncing Arthur as a usurper, and the kingdom would be caught up in a bloody power struggle between father and son. Only with Uther's death could Arthur rise to power unopposed, yet it was because of Arthur that he still lived…

…Unless Nimueh was right in thinking that whatever secret she knew about Uther was bad enough to turn Arthur against him completely. If Arthur no longer objected, Morgana wouldn't hesitate to finish him off. I must find out what she knows about our most esteemed tyrant.

###

She waited until that night to make her move, having decided she wanted to hear Uther's secret herself before saying anything to anyone else, to make sure it really was as damning as Nimueh believed - after all, none of the atrocities they already knew Uther had committed had been enough to overcome Arthur's love for him, so Morgana feared the High Priestess may have underestimated the strength of the prince's attachment to his father.

At last, when the candles had been put out, the servants had gone home, and Merlin lay sleeping beside her, Morgana carefully extricated herself and slipped out of bed, then stood there watching him for a long moment, wondering if he was about to get up and try to stop her. She hadn't yet perfected the art of hiding certain thoughts - she knew it could be done but had never bothered to learn how, because privacy inside her own head had never been an issue until her mind suddenly became an open book to Merlin - so he could very well know what she was up to. It seemed luck was with her, however, and he'd been too busy to pay attention. He never moved.

Finally satisfied that he really was asleep, Morgana tiptoed across to his wardrobe, borrowed a black cloak to wear over her bright white nightgown - even though she still thought he should wear something more colorful on occasion, she had to admit that Merlin's dark clothing was better for sneaking around - and set out for the infirmary, where Uther was sleeping.

Well, Uther managed to be even worse than usual as his slide off the deep end continues, but he's about to get his comeuppance. Only one more chapter to go now…and an epilogue…and that'll be the end. I'm actually sniffling as I write this, though my allergies may also be partly to blame for that.