Author: LadyFromPoland

Disclaimer: I don't own "Merlin". It is a TV show which belongs to BBC.

Warning: SLASH

English is not my mother language.

I'm going to have lots of exams, tests and quizzes in this month. I'll try to update every week but I cannot promise it. I'm sorry... Now enjoy new chapter!

Dearest to his heart

Chapter 5

"Vision"

Morgana hadn't had a chance to talk with Merlin for a few days and it annoyed her a bit. She, of course, was a proud and elegant lady but it didn't mean that she couldn't have some typical girls' desires. News about her friends' trip was one of them.

It was a beautiful afternoon when the sorceress strolled through the castle's corridors. She was going to pay a visit to the Court Magician. It didn't have anything to do with magic. Morgana was simply curious and she was able to do much to hear the good news. The thought that the trip could have been a disaster didn't cross her mind even once. Her plan had been perfect after all. She knew too well that these boys were crazy about each other. They only needed more time to understand it completely. Especially Arthur.

The woman was very close to warlock's chambers, when the man appeared within her sight himself.

"Merlin!" she said, smiling. "I was just going to you."

The sorcerer looked at her and for a few seconds he didn't say anything. "Hello, Morgana," he finally murmured but it didn't really sound as Merlin's typical, cheerful hello.

"Has something happened?" Morgana asked him.

"No... why? Everything is just fine." The man looked away, suddenly finding ceiling very interesting.

"I was going to ask you about the trip..." the lady said carefully. "I hope you enjoyed it."

"The trip was fine," Merlin answered shortly, still avoiding eye contact with Morgana. There was something nervous in the way he was acting.

"Just fine? Won't you tell me any details? I thought that you and Arthur would have spent a really great time together." She hesitated. "I thought that you both missed it."

"It was just a trip, Morgana." Merlin smiled sadly. "I'm sorry but I need to hurry up. It was nice to see you."

Then he ran down the stairs. Morgana knew that he had just run away. She just wasn't sure from what. Merlin that she had known never behaved that way.

"Something terrible must have happened..." Morgana whispered to herself. She felt that it had happened after the trip. After all she'd seen Arthur and he seemed pleased.

The woman sighed heavily and decided to come back to her chambers. She had a lot of important things to think about. The corridor was not a perfect place for it.

oOoOo

Morgana was sitting lonely in her chamber, wondering. She couldn't find any rational reason which could explain Merlin's behaviour. Many other people would have just given up but it was Morgana and she felt responsible for Merlin and the kingdom. There was no way that she could just try to forget.

The woman thought that there was only one way to find out what was going on. She had to follow Merlin but not physically. Spying on him was pointless. Morgana had to go and talk with the people who could have seen or known something. The first person that crossed her mind was the king himself. Arthur might have been blind and even heartless sometimes but he could have noticed something by accident. It was possible that he hadn't even considered that something by important thing but it could be helpful for Morgana.

It was decided that she was going to Arthur. She didn't even care that it was quite late already. Fifteen minutes later the lady was knocking on king's door.

"Enter." She heard Arthur's tired voice.

"I need to talk to you," the woman said quickly before the king could react.

"Morgana?" He frowned a bit. "Can't it wait until tomorrow? Honestly... it's night already!"

The woman crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly. "If it could wait, I wouldn't be here now, would I?" she asked quite impolitely. "I can see that you're tired but I need to know something," she said more quietly this time.

"What's happened, then?" Arthur sighed lightly.

"Exactly." The lady raised her right eyebrow. "That's the question that I wanted to ask you. What's happened, Arthur?"

The man frowned. "I'm sorry, Morgana, but I don't get it... What are you talking about?"

"Have you seen Merlin recently?" she asked without further ado.

"Pardon?" The man couldn't hide his astonishment. "I have a feeling that we had a similar conversation not so very long ago," he said a bit harshly. "Besides you know very well about our trip!"

"Oh, yes! I'm just asking you what has happened there?" Morgana had to stop the urge to throw something heavy at her king.

"And what would have happened?" Arthur asked. "Everything was great..." His voice became calmer and softer when he started recalling that day. "Really great... but..." He glanced at Morgana. "What did you mean by Have you seen Merlin recently? Has something happened?"

Morgana couldn't act as a strong and cold woman any more. Not after seeing Arthur's light and loving smile. "I'm just trying to find out. I... I thought..." She shook her head. "I've seen Merlin today. Something was definitely wrong with him." She sighed. "I hoped that you would have said to me something helpful."

"Maybe he just had a bad day?" Arthur suggested hopefully.

"Maybe..." Morgana whispered, even though she knew that it was not true. "I'm sorry for interrupting you."

"That's nothing." The man smiled shyly. "You were just worried about Merlin. You're..." he hesitated. "You're quite close, aren't you?"

The witch wasn't sure but she felt that there was something nervous about that question.

"We both have magic," Morgana said eventually.

"Of course." Arthur nodded knowingly. "It explains a lot."

"Do you...?" Morgana laughed. She couldn't believe that Arthur was actually jealous. Luckily she didn't finish that embarrassing question. "Goodnight Arthur," she decided to say.

"Goodnight."

Morgana could swear that she noticed sorrow in king's eyes when he was closing the door. She couldn't help smiling. It was amusing that unwittingly he started to treat her as a rival. Her, who tried to help them.

oOoOo

Merlin was walking through the streets of Camelot. It was after midnight but he didn't care. The darkness, cold air and silence were everything that he needed in that moment. The man didn't want to think about anything but it was one of those dreams that would have never come true. There were too many things that had happened in last few days to forget about them even for a while. First of all his affection towards Arthur, which was supposed to be a secret until his very last day, had been known by Miranda. Merlin wasn't stupid. He knew that the lady couldn't tell the king anything. She had much more fun seeing Merlin's silent suffering.

The warlock started even considering the possibility of telling Arthur the truth himself but after a few seconds he realised how reckless it was. That single truth, in Merlin's opinion, could only break the rests of bond that they both shared. If the warlock had been lucky enough, Arthur would have just pretended that he hadn't known anything. That, however, could hurt Merlin deeper than fuss or banishment.

The man suddenly felt helpless. He could only stay and watch. He could wait for princess Miranda's next move, not really being able to do anything in defence.

"Perfect," Merlin mumbled.

He stopped in front of the castle and looked up at the window of Arthur's chamber. He would have recognised it at any time.

There was dark inside. The king was already sleeping in his large and comfortable bed. Merlin couldn't help sighing. He would have done much to share that bed with Arthur just for one night.

oOoOo

The chamber was quite dark. Everything was a blur.

Someone moved. It didn't look good. There was something desperate in the movement. Something desperate and fatal.

The table rocked. It looked clearly. It was not a blur.

The chalice fell down. The remnants of wine dropped on the stone floor.

The drops looked like blood. Very much like blood.

Morgana opened her eyes. She was safe in her own bed. However she couldn't stop breathing hard. She couldn't calm down.

The witch felt that something terrible was going to happen. It was not just a bad dream. She, as a seer, was able to distinguish a nightmare from a vision. Morgana had seen many things while sleeping but she couldn't recall the day when she had such a strong feeling.

"Troubles," the woman whispered to herself. There was something foreboding in that one word. It made her shiver all over her body.

oOoOo

"Gwen..." Morgana hugged her friend carefully. She didn't want to bring any harm to the baby that the other woman was carrying.

After a while they both went inside Guinevere's house.

"Something has happened," the mother-to-be said, sitting on the comfortable chair.

Morgana smiled sadly. "You know me too well, Gwen." She sighed heavily.

"I do," the woman admitted. "Now tell me what it is."

The sorceress hesitated. "I shouldn't share this with you. You've got better things to think and worry about than my nightmares."

"You mean visions, right?" Gwen asked.

"I am afraid."

Guinevere looked seriously at her friend. "Now you need to tell me," she said firmly. "Uncertainty is far worse than truth."

"Is it?" Morgana asked. "Besides I don't really know what the truth is. That dream... the vision... it was strange." The woman shook her head. "I don't know what to think about it. I don't know who I saw... How can I help if I don't know that?"

"Tell me everything what you remember about the vision." Gwen was not willing to give up. She had a strong faith in Morgana's powers. "You have your gift for a reason, Morgana. If you saw something then it means that there's a chance."

The sorceress couldn't help smiling at Gwen. Although the dream seemed unreadable there was a reason why she had it. In the past there had been always the reasons. That was why Morgana decided to share it all with Gwen. She tried to do her best, describing every detail that she could recall.

"What do you think?" Morgana finally asked.

"I don't know," Guinevere admitted.

"You see..." The lady bit her lips.

"We need to wait..." Gwen whispered after a while. "Maybe in time the vision will be less blurry."

"What if it's not?" Morgana asked not only her friend but most of all herself. "Maybe..." The woman blinked a few times. "Maybe I'll see the signs? Here in Camelot?"

Gwen nodded encouragingly. "Who know what the future will bring."

oOoOo

Merlin looked way better when he was heading for the Council Room. He still was in pain and felt incomplete but the new day gave him a little strength and hope. After all Arthur wasn't Miranda's husband yet. There was still a huge chance that he would see a true face of the princess. Merlin understood that Arthur needed to marry but Miranda was the last person that deserved the title of Queen of Camelot. The sorcerer was sure that she would destroy everything what they had been building for years. Camelot with such queen would never be the place it was meant to be.

The man burst into the room, hoping that he wasn't late. Dealing with irritated Arthur was the last thing that he wanted to do in that moment.

Merlin looked around and felt a relief. Arthur didn't come yet. The thing that the warlock didn't notice was that there were only a few men in the room.

He came up to Sir Leon.

"I've been waiting for you," the knight said.

The dark haired man frowned. "What do you mean? I can't be late. Arthur hasn't come yet after all..."

"The king cancelled the council," Sir Leon informed him.

"Cancelled?" Merlin could not believe. "But why? He's ill or something?"

"The king does not have to say his reasons." The knight saw the warlock's confusion. He told him what he was meant to tell. However Merlin was also his friend and he couldn't leave him like this, without the answer.

"Come with me," Leon murmured and the other man nodded. They both left the Council Room.

"What's happened?" Merlin asked. There was such a worry and concern in his voice. The knight couldn't be passive. "Leon, I see that you know something."

The fair haired man looked directly at his friend. "Arthur didn't appear here because of Lady Miranda. I don't know any details."

Merlin looked away, nodding lightly. "I see..." he mumbled and couldn't stand it any more. He turned around and went away quickly.

"I'm sorry," Sir Leon said sadly. The warlock heard him but didn't look back. It pained too much.

I can't believe that I do this to Merlin. Anyway... please, review!