Chapter Three

Early Twenty-First Century

"What a wonderful invention the internet is," Merlin mused as he sat in his bedroom at home with his latest new machine in front of him. "A desktop Crystal Cave for every home."

He had first become acquainted with computers as far back as the 1950s when news reached him of the new machines. By finding ways to get himself hired for certain specialised jobs, signing up for courses and ultimately teaching himself, Merlin continued to hone his skills and improve his knowledge over the decades. Since then, new technology had allowed computers to shrink to a size where they could fit onto a desk, and the process was ongoing.

And, right now, Merlin was using the new World Wide Web to his advantage, making sure all paper and online records for two generations of his current family were up to date; both for the elderly lord Emrys, and the middle-aged lecturer who was applying for a job at the same college as Gaius would be attending. None of the other seven from the original Table had been born yet, although Merlin's crystal visions were hinting that some of the other souls were around. Unfortunately, unless he actually bumped into them or had an especially clear vision, it was unlikely he'd discover who they were until the Circle had opened fully. Luckily, as soon as Arthur arrived, all these characters would start to be drawn inexorably towards each other and, at that point, it would be easy to find them.

Gaius had been born into one of the old, upper class families with a private school education and relations who were all heavily involved in the government in one way or another. His father wanted him to go into politics, whilst Gaius was interested in history, and so eventually, after a lot of angry words and threats from both sides, a compromise was reached and he was now applying for a course in ancient languages.

Merlin couldn't believe his luck when he heard the news. That would be an easy job for him to get. After all, there was no greater expert on the planet than Emrys.

~o~0~o~

Gaius drifted a little once he'd graduated university, as many young people tended to in those days, and Merlin only received the occasional Christmas card from his old student. Merlin kept up with news of him and other souls he'd encountered via the crystals and more modern means, moving between his own mansion and the flat he kept in central London and continuing to ensure he made the right contacts as this slightly younger version of himself. As usual, he allowed the previous, elderly version of himself to pass on and started to make plans for the birth of the next generation of his family; the boy who would hopefully befriend Arthur and his friends.

It was some years later when Merlin next heard from Gaius and he responded quickly to the summons, making his way through a now-all-too-common torrential downpour to meet with him at a coffee shop near to their old college.

"What was so important that you had to drag me out in this weather, Guy?" he complained.

Merlin now looked about sixty and was working hard to make sure that those he met would see him getting gradually older. He remained fairly vague about his age when asked though, as he was hoping to still be able to play the part of Emrys when Arthur was a young man.

"Well, it is about the weather, as it happens," Gaius replied. "You've heard all about these new flood prevention initiatives?"

Merlin shrugged. "I seem to remember hearing something about a barrier for the Severn?"

"Yes, yes... but I really don't think that's going to work, and then there's the old Thames barrier failing and..."

"Hang on," Merlin interrupted. "What's all this about weather and flood defences? What happened to my star student who was so interested in languages and history?"

Gaius winced. "Well, Father pushed me into politics immediately after graduation, which is not really my thing, as you know. And, from there, I sidestepped into the civil service which was almost as bad. However, after my grandparents got flooded out of their home in both 2007 and 2014, I decided that I wanted to be a part of the solution. So... I got my father to pull a few strings and-"

"-Right... I see," Merlin said. Although he didn't really. "But why did you want to see me?"

"Because our concerns are being ignored at every turn, and my father's string-pulling will only go so far. However, I thought that seeing you're in the House of Lords and have the Prime Minster's ear that perhaps you could... I mean I hoped you might consider... pulling a few strings of your own."

Merlin stared at him. "You found out about that?"

Gaius grinned. "I did. It was a surprise, I must admit. What are you doing lecturing when you have such influential friends in exceptionally high places?"

"I get easily bored," Merlin replied offhandedly.

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Gaius continued. "I'm definitely not complaining, as your lectures were the most interesting I attended by far. But, yes, I had no idea that your family line was even more ancient than mine."

Merlin laughed at that, quite unable to think of a suitable reply.

"Well, Guy, no promises, but I shall do my best. I happen to agree with you that something needs to be done about the changes in the weather. It's not as if this country can afford to loose large amounts of land every winter, after all. Not with the population increasing so rapidly."

"Yes, I hoped you'd understand. I was confident that you'd see it too. And I looked at the map and noticed that your family seat isn't too far from the Severn, so it'll also help you in the long run."

"Well, leave it with me then, but no promises, as I said. It's never an easy task persuading the government to do anything, especially if it looks like costing them large amounts of money.

~o~0~o~

Emrys Mansion

June 2059

"Perhaps you would like to take the drinks somewhere a little quieter?" Merlin asked Morgana as they moved away from Arthur and Gwaine. He could sense her magic from here and knew she was currently barely in control of it.

"Why?" she asked with a cheeky grin, obviously thinking he had some other agenda. "What were you planning on doing to me?"

He shook his head. "I just thought we should talk about... things and how it was you recognised me."

She shrugged and automatically followed him out of the door. "I don't know. I must have seen your picture somewhere."

Merlin gave a little laugh in response, always amused at how people justified the familiar feeling they experienced whenever they met him. This was different though, as Morgana had both known his true name and sensed something deeper in a way none of her previous incarnations had.

"Here this is a bit cooler and quieter, isn't it?" he said as they reached the corridor.

He took her hand in order to better focus on her magic and try to find out what it felt quite so volatile. She of course, had no objection to such contact, even using it as an excuse to move closer, her own hand now on his other arm as he tried to get a sense of her magically.

Merlin was perfectly used to Morgana being moody and unpredictable in all her guises, but it seemed to him that there was more going on here than the usual. He could definitely sense magic in her but it was erratic; pulsing and then fading in a way he had never seen or sensed before. Then again, he hadn't encountered anyone with significant levels of magic for many decades and the fact that hers was quite so strong, albeit untrained and unpredictable, was really piquing his interest. Checking again to ensure they were quite alone, Merlin shifted his grip on her hand so he was holding her wrist and concentrated, trying to see if he could sense what was going on.

"Taking my pulse?" she whispered, grabbing his free hand. "Try here instead." And she put it firmly on her exposed cleavage, instantly distracting Merlin as the contact brought back all sorts of interesting memories. "Do you think my heart rate's a bit fast?" she continued with a very cheeky smile. "I'd blame that on you, really. You do look so very sexy when you're concentrating."

"Not now, Morgana."

She laughed brightly. "It's Morgan. You know, like Morgan le Fey?"

He was again distracted from the task at hand, pausing his magical exploration and looking at her curiously. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you choose that name?"

"Oh, I've always been fascinated by the Arthurian legends and with Morgan especially. The myth and the magic and everything about it."

"So, that's why you called me Merlin just now?"

She frowned. "Did I? Sorry."

"it's fine." He attempted to get back to the task at hand.

"What about you, Martin?" she pushed. "Have you read any of the books? Seen any of the films?"

He scoffed. "Yes, I've read and watched them all... unfortunately."

"Really? Don't you like them?"

"Half of them are completely wrong whilst the others are just..." He shook his head.

"Wrong?"she asked. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind. Morgan, serious question now. What pills have you taken today?"

She shrugged. "Oh, nothing really bad. Just some of that new stuff – Nectar?"

"Never heard of that one."

"It's not really hard or dangerous. It just... you know, gives you a bit of a rush."

"You really shouldn't take anything like that with your…" He hunted for the best word to use.

"Illness? Affliction?..." Her voice developed a distinct edge to it. "...Mental impairment?"

"I'm serious, Morgan."

"What? A doctor now, are you?"

"I'm just trying to help."

It had taken him quite a few minutes but he'd finally managed to focus on the task at hand and had purged most of the drugs from her system, which meant that her magic was now starting to settle down a bit. Merlin knew only too well what these substances did to magic users, as he'd experienced it first-hand when he'd experimented with drugs during the twentieth century. In fact, he'd got so carried away back in the spring of 1976 that the country ended up experiencing one of the worst droughts in recorded history a few months later.

Never again.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked her.

"Far too sober for my liking." She took a long swig of her drink.

Merlin sighed and shook his head. "I suppose that is the lesser of the two evils, but don't overdo it, will you?"

She glared at him. "You sound like my father."

He raised an eyebrow. "Now, that's just rude,"

"No, you're quite right," she said, now smiling. "That is unfair. No-one's as bad as Euan, and you're definitely far better looking."

Merlin frowned. "I think you must still be a bit high."

"Na, just a bit... horny." She licked her lips and looked up at him coyly.

"What?"

"The rooms here are nice, don't you think? How about you show me your bedroom."

"We.. ah, really should be getting back to the party," he said, eyeing the nearby door.

"But that's so boring."

He tried a different approach. "I really don't want to risk loosing my job."

She sighed. "We'll go back in a few minutes then, but don't think for a moment I'm letting you off completely. I need to prove to my brother that you swing both ways."

"I am not your experiment, Morgan."

She quickly turned on him, suddenly angry. "But it's quite all right for me to be yours? What did you do to me back there, anyway?"

Merlin shook his head, trying to keep up with her wild changes of mood. He really should be used to them by now, but somehow, after all these years and numerous reincarnations, she still managed to catch him off guard most of the time. And she was always able to push his buttons, even when she didn't know who he really was.

And, as if reading his mind, Morgana suddenly pounced, throwing her arms around him and kissing him soundly. Merlin was torn between wondering if she was relapsing, savouring the delightful sensations, or pulling away and checking for a concealed weapon.

That incident here on this very spot, one and a half thousand years ago, still haunted his dreams.

"A dagger in the belly seemed like justice to me. It felt like the perfect revenge for some reason. I'm not sure why." He shuddered at the memory.

And there had been other incidences too. None quite as violent, fortunately, but still happening often enough for his nerves to be perfectly justified. Bringing Morgana onto the Round Table in Gwaine's stead during the very first Circle reopening had appeared to herald a change of direction for her, but it still always felt like a constant battle – forever trying to keep her on his side and away from the darkness – and, despite his very great gifts of foresight, Merlin had to admit that he had no idea if he'd ever be able to fully heal her or help her soul to find the peace it craved.

"My doom in this life, but my destiny in the next," she had once said.

Back then Morgana had shown more knowledge of the future than he had, but then that was hardly surprising as she had been a seer long before he had acquired the skill. Saying that, she hadn't quite got it right, even then. 'My destiny in all my next lives,' would have been more accurate, and Merlin had remained her doom in quite a few of them too, unfortunately.

"Maybe this time," he thought, still kissing her passionately.

"What on earth do you two think you're doing!"

Merlin quickly turned around to see Arthur staring at them both with a stunned expression and started to back away nervously. However, the blond's initial shock quickly changed to resignation.

"Put him down, Moira, you don't know where he's been."

Her mood switched again, the lights in the corridor flickering violently as she turned to confront her brother.

"Morgan, Archie! My name is Morgan and it's no business of yours whom I kiss."

He shook his head, sadly. "Perhaps you should go to your room whilst Martin returns to the party. Some of us are trying to take this job seriously."

"You're ruining it, Archie," she snarled, moving so close to her brother that their noses almost touched. Merlin was impressed that Arthur didn't even flinch. "You always ruin it," she continued, turning away without even glancing in Merlin's direction. "You always come and take away my toys!"

~o~0~o~

A/N: Again a casual reference to a conversation in 'All Our Secrets' which has become canon in my head now, to be honest, as well as a little something from book 2 of this story. Nothing you really need to have read to keep up with things though.