Day Nine

(otherwise entitled, In Which Morgana Gains an Ally)

I do not own the Arthurian legends, and I certainly don't own the TV show. Those belong to the public and to BBC, respectively.

Morgana sighed as she trudged back to her room. All of these debates—no use hiding it—arguments about Arthur's reforms were taking a toll on her even though the court had been fully functional only since the day of Uther's funeral, which had been four days ago. She'd skip out on the meetings altogether if she had a choice, but Arthur insisted that, if he had to listen to the blustering idiots, she should too. He also showed no shyness about using his royal summoning privileges if she didn't come nicely when asked. That very morning, in fact, he'd even had her dragged out of her room before Gwen had arrived to discuss the Very Important Matter of whether turning a neighbor's chicken green was an act of criminal magical vandalism or just a joke. Debate was delayed until it was seen whether the chicken in question's laying and eating habits were still consistent with that of a normal chicken, though Morgana believed that it would end up being delayed until it was seen whether the chicken in question still tasted like a normal chicken. Whenever it was, Morgana hoped she would never again be caught before dawn and forced to dress and groom herself. Her hairpins were poking into her scalp dreadfully, and she was sure that the laces on the back of her white gown were crooked (she was already getting sick of white, and she would have to wear it for the better part of two seasons).

At least the Merlin investigation was making absolutely terrible progress, which was about the only good thing in the last week and a half. It hadn't taken them long to discover that Merlin was really and truly missing; by dinnertime of the first day of Arthur's reign it was confirmed beyond doubt. She'd been superficially questioned by one of Arthur's lieutenants and grilled by Arthur himself. Merlin should have thought about my reputation as the one who knows all the secrets all the time, she thought irritably as she opened her door. No one expects me to know absolutely nothing, least of all Arthur.

Morgana made a beeline for the vanity, walking quickly past Gwen, who was busying herself with the things that had been left out on the table last night. "Gwen, can you help straighten my laces?" Morgana said as she started plucking the pins out as quickly as she could. "I had to do them myself this morning and I re—"

Morgana stopped short. She stopped because she noticed that Gwen had stopped short and had fallen absolutely still in the mirror. Gwen wasn't a still creature by nature; she would always know or see or think of something very terrible to make her freeze like that. Something truly terrible.

Morgana knew with a sinking feeling exactly what Gwen was looking at, just as she knew with a sinking feeling that she really needed to get into the habit of putting secret things away right away instead of planning on doing it the next morning when certain kings could summon you away at any moment and therefore risk having secret things seen. And if one were making a list of things that Morgana knew with sinking feelings, one would have to add that she knew there was no way she could avoid discussing this matter with the one person who she actually did have to see every day.

Just as she thought she couldn't feel any more sunken, Gwen spoke. "How long have you had this?"

Morgana's eyes were fixed on the mirror, looking at Gwen's reflection instead of directly at her back. "A little more than a week."

"Before or after Uther died?" Gwen turned to look around and met Morgana's gaze in the mirror, her dark eyes seeming to burn through the glass until Morgana couldn't take it anymore.

"Just before. A matter of hours before." Morgana stared at her hands, her pins, anything but Gwen's reflected, unreadable eyes. "It was a gift."

Gwen jumped back several feet. "A gift? My Lady, how do you know it's safe to keep this book? There might be a curse on it. Oh, and you've already had it for several days—"

Morgana turned around and sighed. "Gwen, it's only a book with spells written in it. Merlin would never give me a cursed book."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Why couldn't she have said she found it in the back of the library and was curious? Why couldn't she have simply not said from where she got it? Why couldn't she have just refused to talk about it at all? But Gwen was her dearest friend, of course. Gwen would rather die than betray her. At least, that's what Morgana kept telling herself, hoping that it was true.

Gwen was the first to speak. "Merlin gave you the book?"

"Yes." Gwen wasn't stupid, Morgana knew, and the maid would very quickly figure out everything there was to know (except the Dragon part; that very admittedly came out of nowhere). Gwen is one of Merlin's best friends, Morgana reminded herself sternly. She's not going to use this information against him. It wouldn't occur to her.

"Merlin's a warlock." It was not a question.

"Yes."

"And he gave this to you. And you've been reading it."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"He knew I believed magic could be a force for good." Morgana really, truly hated telling Gwen half-truths, but she hated breaking promises more. "He thought that once I understood it I could persuade Arthur to think the same way."

"Arthur's proclamation…but that was too soon after the death. You couldn't have played a part in that."

Morgana smiled wryly. "Arthur, miraculously, managed to find a couple of scraps of courage and sense on his own to issue it. Pity his motivation was that his father would have been cured had the magic ban not have been in place."

"Do you think Merlin ran out of fear Arthur would find out about the magic? If Merlin could cure the King and didn't lift a finger…"

"Quite possibly." That theory did make sense, but it gave her a sickening feeling in her stomach. If Merlin was indirectly responsible for Uther's death, he might be accused of regicide. With his disappearance alone he might be accused of regicide. The chances of him coming back were miniscule if Merlin had any sense in him, and Morgana prayed (for his sake) that he did. People would be lining up to wait for him to enter the city in order to catch a man who left the castle shortly after the death of the former King. They were already scouring the countryside for him. And even if Merlin were cleared of possible involvement in Uther's death (she doubted he would be officially cleared, though Morgana would do all in her power—except tell the truth— to prove Merlin's innocence), Arthur loved Merlin like a brother, though he'd never admit it. Arthur would want him back.

"You know I won't tell a soul about Merlin, my Lady."

Morgana didn't have time to feel relieved at Gwen's statement, because the wheels in her head had finally ground to a halt, and she hated the conclusion she'd just come to. "They're going to be looking for him for a very long time," she said, more to herself than to Gwen. "They're not going to stop looking for him. They're not going to stop just because no one knows anything."

"You're right." Gwen grimaced. "What can I do to help?"

"What? Gwen, you don't have to do anything." She wanted to add that what they were doing was potentially dangerous, but one look at Gwen's face told her that the maid, like Morgana herself, would not take no for an answer.

"My Lady, I have to do something, even if it's just to keep saying that I don't know anything about Merlin. Though I don't know how long they'd believe it."

And there they got to the sticking point. Morgana had spent considerable time over the last week thinking about why Merlin had chosen her, of all people, to be the last citizen of Camelot to see him. Granted, their conversation at the time had been vital, but that only explained why he talked to her and not why he talked only to her that night. In fact, the most logical person for Merlin to go to would be Gwen.

"What's your position on lying to the authorities?" Morgana asked slowly.

"I wouldn't have offered to help if I minded."

"Eventually people will think that you're trying to cover for him if you feign ignorance on your best friend's activities, even if you didn't know anything." Morgana wracked her brains, searching for a story that would seem plausible for Camelot's Worst Servant of the Year. "Tell them…tell them that he came to your house just before he left the city, around two o'clock. He told you that with Arthur becoming King his job was done, and he was determined to leave Camelot. You were half-asleep through the whole thing and didn't remember anything more specific than that and, most importantly, you didn't think to ask him where he was going. It's such a blur to you that you barely remember it at all, so you can be excused if your story doesn't always line up perfectly."

Gwen nodded solemnly. "I believe I can do that."

"I don't want you to do something you feel truly uncomfortable with," Morgana said earnestly. "I'm asking this as your friend, not as your mistress. You don't have to do it if you think it would put you in danger."

"Merlin was willing to trade his life for mine, once," Gwen said stubbornly, "and I'm guessing he's also responsible for giving me those months with my father after he should have died. The least I can do is tell a little lie to give him more time."

"Thank you, Gwen," Morgana clasped Gwen's hands gratefully. "And…and should the truth get out, I did ask you to tell this lie. I was afraid for my reputation."

Gwen shook her head. "Don't worry about me, my Lady, worry about yourself. Magic may be legal, but there won't be a few who take kindly to you learning it."

"I know," Morgana said under her breath. "I know that quite well."

Gwen's eyes flew open in her trademark just-realized-she-misspoke expression when the door burst open.

"Morgana, the chicken laid a green egg, and now they've found a green sow and billy-goat too. Farmer Samuel's demanding another audience, and you've got to be there."

Morgana rolled her eyes for effect and hoped Arthur couldn't tell just how fast her heart was pounding. "Of course. Far be it from me to force the King to endure discussions on laws regarding colored livestock."

"You saw that man this morning; it's not funny," Arthur insisted, looking ever so slightly put out. "At least he's mildly afraid of you when you talk, and Lord knows that might be the only way to get him to shut up about how no one will want to buy a green egg or green pork."

"I know, I know. I'll come. Gwen, don't fetch luncheon for me; I won't be back by then." Morgana walked straight out the door, pulling Arthur with her so he wouldn't have a moment to speak to Gwen. If he was going to pull her to meetings about chickens at all hours then she was going to limit his access to a Particular Person.

"What was that tome on your table? I never knew you to be one for steady reading."

Damn. Damn and blast. She hurried her footsteps as they continued towards the audience chamber.

She wracked her brains for the simplest explanation she could come up with. "I'm not. Pages and pages of plows and types of barley make me fall asleep at night."

"All those potions Gaius made for you failed, but a book works?" Arthur sounded incredulous. "That sounds rather miraculous."

"It works," she said shortly as she turned a corner. But she couldn't help but bring her hand to her breast where the pendant lay beneath her dress.

You're on the right track, Arthur, but there's more magic than miracle in this world. And with that she resigned herself to many hours of tedium, wishing there were miracle or magic to get her out of this meeting.

Dr Seuss is now IN.

Next one is about two weeks farther down the road in story-time; I'll see if I can get it done then by real-time.

Note: I originally thought about trying to do Uther's funeral as the second chapter, but that would have been a lot of Morgana standing around wishing she could be anywhere else. I may go back and see what I can do with it, though, now that I've added something else happening on that day (namely, that Merlin is discovered missing). If that happens, it will go in between Day One and Day Nine in chapter order; I'll make a note in the story summary so my gentle readers may know.