Arthur hurried up the stairs that led to the Royal chambers. The witch's pace was so excruciatingly slow that he'd had to pull her behind him by the wrist to make her keep up with him. The situation got them a couple of puzzled looks from several guards on their way, but he didn't care.
They finally reached Uther's room, and there they found Gaius, still looking after the King, true to his duty, as ever. When Arthur's gaze fell on his father, he had a sudden and uncontrollable feeling of revulsion. At his side, he felt the witch cringe and take a step back at the King's sight, covering her mouth with her hand.
Arthur averted his eyes. He was such an awful sight... And the expression of pain on his father's face...
"I'm glad to see you back, Sire," Gaius welcomed, "though I don't have any good news for you, I'm afraid."
"He's..." Arthur began in a whisper.
"Still alive, yes," Gaius completed. "But not for long." He paused to sigh. "I have exhausted every solution I could think of. So now it's entirely up to what you seem to have in mind."
"There's... something I'd like to try, indeed," Arthur confirmed.
Gaius' look switched to Livia. He had probably recognised her as the witch, and from there, understood what Arthur meant to do.
"Sire," the physician began, "as one of the King's advisers, it is my duty to warn you about the risks of practising -"
"Gaius," Arthur interrupted, "I'm absolutely aware of what I'm going to do. This is my decision and I will take full responsibility for it. However, I'd rather not drag you into this, so you'd better leave us for now."
Gaius observed him silently for a second until he nodded. "I see you've already made your choice. I'll be right outside if you need me," he finally said, and left quietly. On his way out, he cast another long look at Livia, but Arthur put it on the account of distrust.
As soon as Gaius was gone, he turned to Livia. "Come on, hurry up and get started," he urged.
"It's the King. You never said it was the King," she protested.
"He's just one cursed man amongst hundreds, it doesn't make any difference." But then he wondered: "Or does it? Does it make a difference to you? Are you refusing to heal him?"
"No! No, of course not, but he... He wouldn't approve of -"
"He's not in any condition to make that decision," Arthur interrupted. "I am. I'm the one in charge and I say you heal him. Now."
"But there's -"
"No. No more talking. Just do what you have to."
"The sickness is way too advanced..."
Arthur sighed. "Will I have to menace you again? You know, right now, my patience is extremely limited, so if I were you, I wouldn't push it."
The witch moved towards Uther's bed at last, raised a hand above him, and closed her eyes in concentration. "Toorhim farunka sitow!"
A small part of Uther's face – almost entirely wooden – turned back to flesh, but for a very brief moment only. Nearly instantly, it was wood again.
She took a step back. "It's no use. I'm sorry. I really am."
"You're not trying hard enough," Arthur accused.
"I warned you I might not succeed."
"Stop lying! You can do this! You healed Gwen the other day!"
"No, I didn't!" she contested. "It wasn't me! Well I... I wasn't alone."
Arthur paused. "You're right! You're absolutely right! Merlin and I helped!" he exclaimed, filled with renewed hope. "So for this to work, do you need some... spiritual support? Then I'll do it! What was it again, joined hands and concentration?"
He extended his hand towards her, but she didn't take it. Instead, she just stared at it with a saddened look.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry but you've been misled. This won't help."
"Of course it will. It has to! Come on, let's do this!"
"I'm not the one you need to -"
"Look," Arthur interrupted. "I'm desperate, I don't have any other options. He's dying, and this is my last and only chance to save him," he insisted, but she still didn't move. "Come on, he's... He's my father, and I can't just..." He stopped and took a deep breath when he felt a knot in his throat. He would not show weakness in front of a stranger. "Please," he finally asked simply.
Livia sighed. "I'll give it another try, but... don't get your hopes up."
Morgana was looking angrily at Merlin while he stood up. "What are you doing here, Merlin?" she questioned.
"You know I'm here because of you."
"No, I mean here, in Camelot. Playing Arthur's little servant boy. Why? Why do you do that? What is your plan?"
"I don't have a plan..."
"I'm tired of your lies, Merlin!"
Merlin felt that invisible force push him back again, but this time it didn't take him by surprise, so he managed to resist it and remain standing. "I don't know what your intentions are, Morgana, but I will not fight you."
"Then leave now," she advised coldly while returning to her previous spot near the tower's edge.
Merlin was more and more worried about what she might do. At least, when her anger was directed at him, she was too busy to consider anything too harsh. He decided to risk his all.
"This is ridiculous. It doesn't have to be like this. We shouldn't be fighting, but working together!"
The very instant Morgana's gaze fell on him when she turned to face him again, he felt like strong iron hands were wrapping around his neck and squeezing, crushing until he choked.
"Too little, too late!" Morgana exclaimed furiously. "You chose your side long ago! Uther's side! Hiding in Arthur's shadow and betraying your own kind! And all that for what? What is it you're really after, Merlin?"
Merlin wanted to deny all of her accusations, but his throat was too tight. How was she doing that? She didn't know any spell, she had never learned to use magic! Did she manage to do this on instincts alone?
Merlin was suffocating. He had to stop her. But he didn't want to harm her either...
"Woma tahi!" he managed to articulate with difficulty.
A tiny whirlwind appeared right in front of Morgana. It was not much, but it was enough to distract her and interrupt her magic, and Merlin was released. However, she quickly recovered her concentration. With a wave of her hand, she sent a loose stone flying towards his head, but he ducked just in time to avoid it. The stone shattered on the wall behind him.
Morgana seemed enraged. "The other night, when I went to Gwen's house to see if I could heal her neighbour, I had plenty of time to take a closer look at that magic book of yours there. Would you like to check how good my memory is?" She raised a hand, her palm facing the sky. "Pyrha Follius!"
Flames appeared in her hand, burning and crackling. And when Morgana looked at them, she laughed.
A fireball. This was a fireball. Had she lost her mind? Merlin didn't recognise her any more. Was she was so blinded by her wrath that she would have no scruple going as far as killing him?
"Mahili Quanta!" he muttered.
A large amount of water materialized right above Morgana's head, and remained momentarily still until gravity took over. The impromptu shower managed to put out the fireball. However, soaking wet and water dripping from her hair, Morgana now looked angrier than ever.
"Morgana, let's stop this madness! I'm not your enemy! Come on, you know that! Don't you want to -"
Merlin gave up his attempt at diplomacy when he realised there was something really, really sharp heading right at him really, really fast. As soon as he concentrated on the projectile – an arrow conjured by magic – it continued its way is if in slow motion, which allowed Merlin to very nearly manage to dodge it. But it still cut his arm as it flew past him.
As for the second projectile, it took him completely by surprise. He yelped when it dug deep into his thigh.
"All right, this is enough!" Ignoring the pain, Merlin marched towards Morgana. "Vierna Arhoot!"
Morgana fell to the ground, a little more violently than Merlin had intended. When she straightened up, she wiped a few drops of blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry, but you're giving me no choice," Merlin apologised.
Morgana stood up, but after taking a few steps only towards him, she suddenly stopped right dead in her tracks with an eerie faraway look.
"She's here..." she whispered. "I can make this right..."
Merlin was puzzled. What was she talking about?
Before he could react, he saw her turn back and head resolutely towards the tower's edge once more.
"Morgana, no!" he cried anxiously.
Instead of jumping like Merlin feared, Morgana stopped close to the edge, and extended her arms towards the city below them. "Toorhim farunka sitow!"
Merlin had to avert his eyes when he was blinded by a sudden outburst of light that seemed to be coming directly from Morgana, from the instant she cast the spell.
Arthur couldn't believe what was happening under his eyes. In an amazing and impressive transformation, the cursed King was almost instantaneously restored to his normal self. Once the initial surprise was gone, he exclaimed happily: "It worked! You finally did it! See? Never loose hope!"
Meanwhile, Livia was looking down to her own hands with a puzzled expression on her face. "It's not me... I didn't do anything..."
Arthur approached his father to examine him. There didn't seem to be any trace of disease left. "Gaius!" he called.
The physician arrived immediately.
"It's done, we healed him," Arthur informed him joyfully. "So how is he? Will he be all right?"
Gaius took a few seconds to check the King's health, and then turned back to Arthur. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he finally invited with a smile.
When Arthur looked beyond Gaius, he saw his father looking right back at him.
"Arthur? What am I doing here?" Uther asked in a whisper.
"Well, you gave us quite a fright, Sire..." Arthur replied with relief.
"What happened? I remember the curse, and the pain... But after that it's just – hey, what is this witch doing here?" he suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Livia who was trying to keep a low profile in a corner of the room. "Guards!"
"No, wait, she -"
"Take her away!" the King ordered as soon as the guards entered.
After several long seconds, the light subsided at last. Merlin found Morgana still standing in the same spot, immobile.
"Morgana?"
No answer.
He silently moved closer, just in time to catch her before she hit the ground when she collapsed.