A Look Into the Past

Arthur was particularly brutal to his knights in the months to come following Lancelot's near-knighthood. It seemed that he had a new standard to hold the training knights to. Marayna and Merlin truly felt for all those who faced Arthur in training as he held nothing back. It was actually getting to the point where they had had to request more noblemen from the area to train as some knights were too injured to continue their training till they healed.

At first they had been looking forward to the new men coming to Camelot, just for some new faces and change...until three things happened. First, Merlin had realized that each of the men, most of whom were quite good-looking, were to be introduced to the Lady Morgana, whom Merlin suspected Uther was trying to find a suitor for. That did not sit well with the young warlock, especially since he and Morgana had grown closer in the last couple months. He had taken to delivering her draught each night and staying till he was sure she would sleep soundly through the night, which the noblewoman was eminently thankful for. He had taken up the habit of glaring at any man who so much as looked at her, adding that with the glaring he did with the men who even glanced at his sister (and Gwen at times), he almost never stopped glaring.

That was connected to the second event that happened. These newer nobles were far too observant of his sister's beauty. True, his sister adamantly denied being beautiful, Merlin insisted she was fair to look at and was absolutely radiant when Morgana and Gwen would fix her up for banquets. It did not help that she had taken to trying to get away with wearing her tunic and leggings whenever not in the direct view of the king. He never outright called her beautiful, but he did try to get her to see she wasn't some wizened old witch. She had a more...subtle beauty to her. They both had cheekbones and something odd about their face, him his ears and her her eyes and lips which she claimed were just a bit lopsided or some such rubbish. True they weren't exactly symmetrical, but whose was?

It seemed the nobles HAD noticed her subtle beauty though, a few of them at least, and would sneak glances at her when they thought no one was looking, unfortunately for them, two men always were. Merlin and, surprisingly, Arthur kept a close eye on the men whenever they were around Marayna. Merlin, of course, because she was his sister and he would personally see to it that the men suffer incredible, mysterious, pain if they even touched the girl. Arthur because he did not want his servant to get too intimidated by the men and run off back to Ealdor, leaving him short a servant...or so he told himself. The fact that the other nobles were not in the presence and scrutiny of their own fathers and could basically do whatever or pursue whomever they wished played no part in that whatsoever.

Of course not.

Not at all.

Though, he began to doubt he'd have any problems with this little development, Marayna had shown absolutely no interest in any of the new men except one, and only then it was to get close enough to him to kick him in a very sensitive area after she learned that said knight had laid a wandering hand on Gwen's bum for a moment. Needless to say, the nobleman had been immediately taken to Gaius for treatment and fled the castle the next morning. Which truly just proved how dim and ill-suited the man was to be a knight in the first place if he hadn't thought to report her to the king and was intimidated by a woman...though, to be fair, Morgana intimidated the hell out of him.

The last thing that happened that made Merlin and Marayna question their enthusiasm regarding the arrival of the men...was the fact that they were expected to clean out extra rooms in the castle to lodge the rest for when they arrived. They were currently following Arthur to the other side of the castle where, apparently, it was warmer, though neither couldn't tell. If felt just as cold here as in the rest of the castle.

"Right then," Arthur turned around to face them, "Clean and air these rooms by tonight, the last batch of men shall be arriving soon for training."

Marayna leaned to her left and Merlin to his right to look around Arthur at the long hallway of doors, each of which held some sort of bedroom behind it, "You're joking," Merlin breathed, he had to be. There was no way they would finish all those rooms by tonight.

"Arthur," Marayna began, "Even if we split up, we wouldn't be able to clean all these."

"So work together," Arthur rolled his eyes as though it should be simple. Merlin and Marayna looked at each other, their eyes wide at how stupid Arthur's statement was, "Get one room done in half the time and move to the next."

Marayna was about to open her mouth to tell him just how stupid that was because, if they got it done in half the time, it would still take them the same amount of time to do two rooms together as doing them separately. Unfortunately, Merlin lashed out and covered her mouth with his hand, "Yes, sire," he mumbled, ignoring the glare from Marayna and the chuckle from Arthur as he strode away.

Marayna reached up and yanked Merlin's hand away, "And how do you think we'll be able to get through these rooms working together?"

Merlin simply walked to the archway at the end of the hall that connected to the stairs, the only way to get to the hall. He reached out a hand and whispered, "Clipung ús," motioning his hand along the archway. He turned to face his sister, smirking, 'Now, we can use magic to clean some of the rooms while we work on the others.'

She smiled as well, 'And if anyone comes up the stairs, the charm will warn us and we can make the magic stop.'

'Exactly,' Merlin nodded.

"You are a genius brother dear," she laughed, before sighing as she looked at the long hall, "Come on, best start then," she walked down to the farthest door at the end of the hall and entered it as Merlin did the same to the room across from her, "Afeormian," she hissed, watching as the room began to clean itself. She could hear Merlin mutter the same spell behind her as she carefully shut the door and faced her brother before they walked back to the archway and entered their first rooms there.

The smile on Marayna's face quickly fell as she slowed in her walking, finally coming to a stop just as she stepped fully into the room, as though a gust of wind had stopped her, making her stumble back. A strange feeling filled her as she rested her hand on the wall beside her for balance, before she lurched forward.

When she looked up, she was no longer in the old dusty room with her brother making noise behind her.

Instead...everything was blurry, glowing in a soft orangey-pink tone around her. She tried to take a step but it felt like she was walking through some sort of thick liquid that was slowing her movements. She reached out, curling her hand around the corner of the wall to try and propel herself into the room when a figure rushed past her and out of the room. It looked like a woman, with dark hair in a light dress, red or pink she might have guessed from the shading. The woman was crying, she could hear it, she could see it in how the woman's shoulders were hunched, her hands to her face. She turned her head to follow the sight of the woman disappearing out the door, only turning back when she heard an echoing sound of what seemed like anguished wails. With all her strength, she pulled herself forward to look around the corner of the wall and into the room.

She nearly gasped at what she saw.

The room was dark, illuminated only by two soft candles that were glowing on a table beside the bed. In the bed was a young woman, appearing to be sleeping. Though she couldn't see the woman's features or anything clearly for that matter, the sense of foreboding left Marayna to guess that the woman was not, in fact, sleeping but instead that she was dead. Clutching the woman's hand was another figure, it seemed male and in deep pain. Clearly the deceased woman was important to him as his heartbroken sobs indicated. There was suddenly another noise from behind the man, in a small basket set on a chest was a squirming figure, a baby crying for its mother.

The figure on the bed quickly moved, twisting so he could reach the basket without leaving the bedside and took the child in his arms, cradling it as he rocked himself back and forth, "I'll kill them all!" she heard him shout, his voice sounding like it was echoing around her, reverberating right out of the walls themselves, when she was startled by the feeling of a hand on her shoulder.

She snapped her head to the left and saw her brother, clearly in color, staring at her concernedly. Letting out a shuddering breath, she quickly fled from the room, running across the hall to lean against the wall as she began breathing heavily, clutching her chest as the tremors from whatever that was left her.

Merlin was at her side instantly, wrapping an arm around her shaking form and holding her. She knew that he knew what had happened, it had only happened twice before now and never gave her any warning at all in when it would happen, "Was it like last time?" he asked, she simply nodded, "What did you see?"

She took a breath, "A man," she answered, "I saw a man, mourning his wife. I think she died in childbirth."

Merlin simply nodded, understanding that it was hard for her to talk after an experience like that. The first time this happened, she hadn't spoken a word for a week, far to terrified of what had happened and how little control she'd had over it than what she actually saw. They had been visiting an old friend of their mother's who had just lost her husband to bandits when she had gone to visit their son in a neighboring village. Marayna had gone to fetch something for the woman in the woman's bedroom and hadn't come back. Merlin had gone to check on her and found her huddled in the corner of the room, crying. A week later, she had finally told him that she had seen the man murdered as though she had been standing right there in that room, watching the whole thing and unable to help. Neither knew what had happened or why, but when it happened again, they began to piece things together.

The second time had been years later, when they were exploring the woods and she had rested against a tree with a few scars in its bark. A moment later she had jumped back from it as though it bit her and was shaking. He'd held her while she said something about the bad men and the rope. He'd subtly asked his mother about the tree a few days later, only for her to explain that it was a hanging tree. One where the criminals of the village, the really foul ones were hung for their crimes. When he'd told Marayna about it, they realized she had been able to glimpse a bit of the past from just touching the object.

They didn't know why it happened, they didn't know when it would happen next. So they'd tried to practice on other objects, to see if she might be able to control it...but it never worked. And it happened so rarely, truly only 2 times (before now) in her entire life, so they didn't worry much on it. As best they could determine, it only seemed to happen when the event was either very recent or so powerful that it left echoes. They hadn't really been able to explain it though, because HE didn't have that ability either. They both knew that Morgana dreamed the future, but for her it was a near daily thing, it happened all the time. For Marayna it was so sporadic and random it was hard to guess when it would happen next, and she was never prepared for it.

"I can't go in there Merlin," Marayna's voice brought him out of his reminiscing, "I just can't, it…it makes my heart hurt."

"I understand," he whispered, dropping a kiss into her hair, trying to calm her.

"He was so sad, the man," she murmured after a moment of rocking in her brother's arms, it always seemed to calm her, that soothing motion. He just had a gift like that, though he never believed her when she said so, he could calm down anyone just with his presence. She had mentioned that Morgana was proof of that in how she slept better when Merlin stayed by to watch over her even an hour or two, but he had countered that Arthur was proof that it was not as the man continued to get riled up and overreactive.

Merlin nodded, stepping back, "I'll clean this room," he nodded behind him then to the door behind her, "And you clean that one. I doubt Arthur will be checking on us so soon. We should be able to finish them and then work on the rest together."

She nodded as well, rubbing just below her eyes so she wouldn't cry. She always hated crying in front of anyone, except her brother. They had seen each other at their worst, but she didn't want Arthur to see tear stains. She didn't want him to think her just another weak female, she didn't want to think of herself as one either and getting spooked by a simple room was not exactly brave.

Merlin gave her a smile and turned to enter the room, shutting the door behind him as she did the same with the room behind her.

~8~

The next day would find a rather distracted Marayna wandering the castle. Merlin was with Gwen, helping her deliver armor and weapons to the new knights while Arthur began training them. He had been so impressed by their ability to, as he said, 'finally get something right' by cleaning all the rooms in the wing the day before, that he allowed them a few hours to themselves today.

Which was just what Marayna needed as she quickly made her way down the flights of stairs to the Dragon's cavern, torch in hand. She found him dozing lazily on his rock perch when she reached the bottom steps. He lazily opened his eyes and smiled as he saw her. Over the last month or so she had regularly visited him for stories of his adventures, information he was actually glad to share.

"Ah, the young witch returns," he straightened up, "Have you thought of which story you'd like to hear this time?"

She nodded, "Do you know the story about Ygraine?"

The Dragon nearly fell off his rock, that was...NOT what he was expecting, "Why do you ask?"

She bit her lip and looked away. She had a hunch that the woman she had seen in the vision had been the Queen, Arthur's mother. She didn't know any other person who had lived in the castle that had died in childbirth, not that she knew everyone who had ever lived in the castle, but what the man said, 'I'll kill them all,' it WOULD explain Uther at least a bit. She didn't recall much from when she'd 'died' during that whole poison incident, she actually could hardly remember what she'd said to Arthur after that, something about his mother, but...she knew enough of Camelot's history to know that the Queen had died only a very short while after Arthur had been born...and that room...she just got a feeling that was where it happened.

She took a breath, "I think I saw her death," she told the Dragon, "And I was wondering if you could tell me about it, if it was what I saw."

The Dragon looked at her curiously, that was...an interesting development. Even he hadn't known about her slight skill to see the past. Though, now that he thought on it, it made sense, if one magical woman in the castle could see the future, another should see the past, for the natural balance of things. He had expected it to be Merlin though, given his destiny and its involvement with Morgana.

"It is a very painful and devastating story to hear," he sighed, "Not just for Arthur's loss but for all of magic as well."

She set her face firmly, "I want to know."

He nodded, motioning for her to sit with his head as he always did when he began a story, "The Lady Ygraine was a magnanimous woman," he began, "Wife of Gorlois before she was Queen of Camelot," Marayna's eyes widened a bit at that, she hadn't known the Queen was married before Uther. The Dragon chuckled deeply at that, "Yes, she was married to another, but that did not stop Uther from pursuing her. He made his affection for her quite known to all in his court, including her husband. Gorlois immediately left Camelot with Ygraine, which did nothing but anger Uther. Not only that, but leaving without the king's permission gave him the right to pursue them. And by pursue I mean…"

"Launch war," she answered knowingly, somehow she felt like she knew the story already but was just...rediscovering something long forgotten. She often felt like that when around the Dragon so it did not disturb her nor him when she cut him off.

"Unfortunately," he nodded, "Gorlois and Uther fought hard, until Uther bested him and took his life. This only served to leave Ygraine widowed and in need of a husband, a position which Uther immediately filled."

"Poor Ygraine," she murmured, giving a slight grimace as the thought of anyone being married to Uther.

"Not entirely. Ygraine was quite taken with Uther as well, which was why Gorlois saw fit to separate them as quickly as possible. His death would be honored as a way for the two to be together. And they were happy and kind, and Albion prospered greatly…"

"So what happened?" she had to as as the Dragon trailed off in memory, "How exactly did Ygraine's death lead to Uther devastating the kingdom?" for it was devastated, it was in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety, it truly was on the brink and struggling to survive.

"It was discovered that the Queen was barren. No matter what Gaius tried to do, both magically and medicinally, she could not seem to beget a child."

"But Arthur…" she shook her head, Arthur was clearly the son of Ygraine, she had apparently told him as much during her near-death.

"Yes Arthur, the child of magic," he ignored the girl's gape of shock, clearly she was not expecting Uther to have used magic to have Arthur, "Contrary to what you might think, Uther was once an embracer of magic. While he could not do any himself, he had court sorcerers and allies that could. One of his good friends was a young sorceress. He turned to her for help as she was in training to be a Priestess of the Old Religion and, as such, Uther thought she might know what could be done to help, beyond the scope of Gaius's knowledge."

He paused as he saw a frown on the girl's face as she tried to work out what he had said. Slowly, a look of realization grew, "Nimueh?" she guessed, really REALLY hoping the answer was going to be something negative...

But the Dragon merely nodded solemnly, "And Nimueh certainly knew a way for Ygraine to conceive."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head, knowing where it was going, "To make a life…"

"A life must be taken," he finished, serious, "Uther readily agreed, thinking that he could sacrifice a criminal, one who would die anyway, to satisfy the magic. Ygraine conceived a son and soon Arthur was born. But a criminal was not the one that Nimueh selected as the sacrifice…"

"Ygraine," she mumbled, feeling sick at the knowledge of just how cruel the sorceress was, "Why?"

"Nimueh…" he trailed, not sure how to continue, "She was rather fond of the King."

"She loved Uther?" she nearly shouted, half disgusted and half shocked. Not that she couldn't imagine someone loving Uther, but something about the image was wrong to her, as though Uther should only be with Ygraine.

"Loved is far too strong a word. She loved the King, not Uther. Do you see?" she shook her head in confusion, "She wanted to be Queen. Could you imagine the sway it would hold for followers of the Old Religion, to have a Priestess of theirs be Queen? The Old Religion would become far more respected and revered from such a union."

"And Nimueh thought that if Ygraine was gone, she could take her place," she nodded, understanding.

"Yes," he nodded as well, "She thought Uther would be so distraught over the loss of his wife, which he was, that she could pick up the pieces and that he would be so grateful that he would wed her. That, if she did not tell him SHE had selected Ygraine, but that the magic had, that he would see it as a most unfortunate twist of fate and not place the blame on her alone. Unfortunately she underestimated the power of his love for Ygraine, no other would do and anyone who took her from him would suffer dearly."

"And so he went after sorceresses and sorcerers alike," she frowned, "Anyone who could do magic, just because of Nimueh."

"He couldn't see that Nimueh was the one who chose Ygraine to die, nor did she tell him till it was too late. When she saw his tirade against magic, she tried to take back her plots, to save her kin and explain her actions."

"As though Uther would believe that," she muttered. Half-mad with grief, the king would surely have though it a mere trick of Nimueh's to save the other magic users.

"Indeed he did not. He thought only that magic had chosen his wife to die. And if magic took someone so good from him, then magic must be evil."

"But magic gave him Arthur!" she shouted, jumping up, "Unless Arthur is evil, magic would have to be good."

"Magic is neither, it is…"

"The one who wields it that decides its intent," she finished, rolling her eyes.

"Gaius has taught you well," he chuckled, "I did not think you would know about the balance of life but clearly Gaius…"

"Gaius didn't teach me that," she said quietly, her eyes widening slightly as though just realizing what she had said only moments earlier, "But…I knew it…how?" she looked up at him but he looked away, "No," she demanded, nearly stomping her foot at him, nearly, "How did I know it? How do I know things? Like about Merlin's destiny and today with Ygraine. How?"

The Dragon looked down at her, seeing her staring at him defiantly, and sighed, "That, young witch, is a story for another day."

He hoped that would be enough for her, that it would hold her at bay, the promise of telling her one day soon instead of right that moment. While he could fly away if need be, he dared not. She was far more powerful than she thought she was, both she and her brother were, and he could see her becoming angry.

"Just know...it is all a part of your destiny, yours and your brothers, and the shift in the fate of Camelot that occurred upon your births."

Marayna frowned at that, more...curious about her supposed-destiny and how a simple thing like a birth could shake the fate of a great kingdom like Camelot. Yes, she and Merlin had magic, but they were just two people, "A shift?"

The Dragon smirked internally at that, knowing that baiting her with that would ease her away from her demands to know more about her magic, "Arthur was to die at the hands of the sorceress Mary Collins…"

"But Merlin saved him!" Marayna cut in.

"That he did," the Dragon nodded, "When Merlin was born, we saw the rise of a glorious Albion. Where Arthur, through knowing Merlin, would return magic to the kingdom."

Marayna smiled softly at that, because of her brother, Albion would become a great kingdom with magic again. But a moment later her smile faltered as a thought struck her, "But if Merlin makes it a great kingdom, why was I born? If Camelot would become that...what need is there for ME?"

The Dragon sighed and looked away, "With the shift in destiny and the rise of Albion, we also saw its fall. A great betrayal would shatter the foundation of Arthur's reign and Albion would fall into ruin as Arthur fell to a death not even Merlin could save him from...magic reacted against that fate," he looked at her with a soft smile, he was...quite coming to like speaking with her. In a way, he was considering only giving 'straight answers' as Merlin always requested, when it was Marayna alone, just so that Merlin would have to deal with his 'riddles,' Merlin never came to visit just to...talk to him, "At your birth, another great shift of destiny occurred, Albion rose and remained for centuries as the greatest kingdom in the world."

Marayna let out a relieved breath, even though she knew that she was destined to be Queen and make the kingdom great, she had never thought of what it would be before she had been born. They remained in silence for a long while, just...thinking on the destiny she and Merlin were burdened with...

When the Dragon cut into her thoughts, "You'd best be leavening, I think your master is looking for you."

She nodded vaguely, still distracted from the information she'd been given, "Thank you, for explaining everything to me," she murmured, before slipping out of the cavern and leaving the Dragon to his solitude.

~8~

The Dragon had been right, of course, Arthur was looking for her. He had cornered Merlin and was just about to look for her when she arrived. They were to accompany the prince into town to collect some few last-minute supplies for training. As Uther didn't trust anyone but Arthur and Morgana with the money he was going to give for the supplies, Arthur was forced to go as well.

They had managed to gather the supplies quickly and were just walking around the market, looking at the various trinkets and booths that had been set up. Marayna groaned as Merlin spotted a man sitting at a small table with a little crowd gathered around him. He had three bowls face down on the table and was mixing them up as the people keenly watched. Merlin immediately grabbed her arm and half-pulled her to the man, Arthur following curiously behind them.

"Alright sir," the man at the table grinned, glancing up at a rather large man before looking back to the bowls, "Which will it be?"

The customer examined the bowls for a moment before pointing to the bowl on the left. The man lifted that bowl to reveal nothing but air, "Oh, I'm sorry sir," he replied, not sounding sorry at all as he held out his hand, "That'll be one coin," the customer begrudgingly held out a coin for the man before turning and stalking off, "Who'll be next?"

Before anyone could answer, Merlin stepped up, "Us sir," he replied, turning to Arthur, "Could I borrow a coin or two sire?"

Arthur stared at him for a moment or two a look of utter shock on his face. What was Merlin thinking? Asking him for money in the middle of the market? Of course, he had extra coin, but to have a servant ask money of a prince? It was completely improper and…

"Oh Merlin," Marayna spoke from beside him, "Where are your manners?" Arthur nodded, finally Marayna seemed to be catching on to protocol, "You should let Arthur go first."

He nearly blanched at that comment, "What?" just because he should go first didn't mean he needed or wanted to, he hadn't a clue how to play it anyway.

"Oh of course," Merlin replied, smirking, he seemed to see that fact in Arthur's face, "My Lord, after you."

He stepped back, waiting for Arthur to step up. Not one to look a fool among his people, the prince stepped up to the table and placed a coin in the man's hands. The man smirked, pocketed the coin, and lifted the bowls to reveal a small pebble hidden beneath the right bowl before replacing them. He then began to shift them around and mix them, swiping them until Arthur hadn't the faintest idea where it could be.

The man finished mixing the bowls and looked up at the prince expectantly and Arthur subtly turned to Merlin and Marayna, "What am I supposed to do?" he asked quietly, he truly had never been allowed to partake in such games as a child and he genuinely had no idea what to do next.

Merlin chuckled, "Pick one," he answered, "If you find the pebble, you get twice your money back."

"Oh," Arthur nodded, turning back to the man. He looked down at the bowls, examining them like the last man before pointing to the center. Unseen, behind him Marayna grimaced, a sign Merlin saw that it was the wrong bowl. Just as he expected, like last time, the pebble wasn't there.

The man and some of the peasants chuckled at the prince's loss, when Marayna stepped up. "Arthur, might I have a coin or two to try?"

Hoping that the girl would have better luck, or at least get the focus off his loss, he handed her five coins. Far too many than was proper for a prince to waste on such a game, but he didn't care he just wanted the eyes off his failure. She smiled thankfully at him before handing the man the coins.

The man just smirked as he laughed at her. He had been working this table far too long and knew every trick to throw off the person watching short of cheating and removing the pebble entirely. He'd made quite a profit off of the peasants and so far, barely anyone ever guessed correctly. A few lucky ones had bested him, but overall he came out on top nearly every time. And so he lifted the bowls to reveal the pebble to be on the left before dropping the bowls and mixing them up. The girl simply smiled as she watched the mixing before making her first mistake and looking up at the boy beside her.

Arthur nearly groaned as Marayna took her eye off the prize to smile at Merlin. So caught up in his regret at handing the girl five coins was he that Arthur didn't even notice the secretive smile Merlin sent back at her.

Marayna looked back down at the bowls as the man finished swiveling them around. She tilted her head as she casually looked at the bowls. She reached out, hovering her hand above a bowl as though she were about to lift it herself...before moving to the next and then the last before smiling wider and moving back to the center bowl. She lifted it, smirking in triumph at the man's shock when the pebble was revealed to all present.

"That'll be ten coins please," she held out her hand to the man, who grumbled as he fished the coins out of his pocket. She thanked him before walking off, Merlin and Arthur following close behind her.

~8~

"I still don't know how you did it," Arthur mumbled as they finished putting the supplies away (well, really, as Merlin and Marayna put the supplies away and he 'supervised') and walked down the halls of the castle.

Merlin smirked and draped an arm over his sister's shoulder, "Aya just knows things," he shrugged, "No idea how, but it's better to just go with it."

"Is that true?" Arthur asked with interest as he looked at the girl, blushing a bit from her brother's compliment.

She nodded, "I've always been able to tell things, guess things mostly."

"Like what?" Arthur tilted his head in curiosity.

"I can tell when people are lying," she furrowed her brow as she thought on what else she could do, "I can usually tell if I'm being watched, sometimes I can sort of guess at the answer to something. I guess...I can just sense things around me and understand what it tells me."

It made absolutely no sense whatsoever to Arthur, though Marayna seemed able to tell.

She sighed, "It's like when you're hunting and you know when someone's following you. Or you feel that your prey is nearby without actually seeing it. Or when you just know something bad's going to happen. Only, a few times, I can tell if something bad's already happened."

Arthur squinted at her, an idea coming to him. Just as they reached Gaius's chambers, Arthur hesitated, "Mara, I need your help with something. If you would?" he held his hand out for her to take.

She glanced back at her brother for a moment, but he just shrugged, "I have to deliver Morgana's draught."

She nodded and accepted Arthur's hand, letting him lead her away.

~8~

Merlin knocked briefly on the familiar door before him, not even having to wait a moment longer when it opened to reveal a stunning Morgana prepared for bed. As always, Merlin found himself speechless and stunned, and simply held up his hand with the small vial.

Morgana smiled, though she secretly smirked to herself as she saw Merlin's reaction. She relished in the different ones she got from him, it made her feel...beautiful and warm and happy to see him in such a state because of her. Though, she would never tell him that. She'd practically had to beg Gwen to keep her from telling Merlin that she purposefully dressed herself in such a manner to get to him. If Merlin found out what lengths she went to just to see him flush and be struck dumb by her, she would forever be embarrassed.

There was just...something about Merlin that made her smile. In all respects, she should have never been attracted to him. He wasn't noble, he wasn't muscular, he couldn't fight, he wasn't a knight, he wasn't even conventionally handsome. But what he was, was something far more than that. He was loyal, sweet, humorous, brave, mysterious, charming, honest, gangly, clumsy, with big ears and a grin that made her go weak in the knees. She would not change a thing about him and every little flaw she found in him made her like him more.

She desperately sought his approval, even if he didn't know he was giving it. She dressed impeccably to get him to notice her, though Gwen insisted that she could dress in one of the large flour sacks in the kitchen and Merlin would still find her stunning. She didn't dare go that far to see how Merlin felt though. There were many very lovely servant girls that could easily steal Merlin's attention away from her, ones that didn't have the king watching their every move and trying to set them up with arrogant knights.

She didn't know what she would do if Merlin ever gave 'her grin' to anyone else. Yes, she noticed a distinct variation in his smiles, saw one that only seemed to appear when he smiled at her. It made her heart flutter when he gave it to her because she knew he didn't give it to anyone else. It made her feel special and even a bit loved. She didn't dare allow herself the hope that Merlin might possibly love her, if he didn't…she didn't think she could stand it.

Because...she was quite certain there was a very real possibility she might be falling in love with the sweet and adorable servant.

Which led to her problem. She wanted to be with Merlin more than anything, to see what might come of her feelings, but there was so much at stake. If Uther ever found out, Merlin would surely be executed. And she knew, even now, even though she hadn't quite sorted through her feelings for the man, that she wouldn't be able to bear it if Merlin was gone. She wanted to be with him, to have him hold her in his arms and never let go, to...and she blushed at this...to kiss him whenever she wished. She hadn't been able to truly enjoy the kiss she'd bestowed upon him when he'd been poisoned, it had been too brief and quick and she hadn't planned it and she'd ended it far too soon but...she thought about it, a lot, more than was proper, the thought of kissing a servant, of kissing Merlin. But she knew she couldn't do anything outright that Uther might notice. And so, she had to live every day with the fear that Merlin might find another girl he could actually be with and leave her behind.

That was why she loved the nights, she was even starting to hope for nightmares if it meant Merlin would stay by her at night and hold her hand as she knew he had been doing for months now. She still had nightmares sometimes, but they didn't frighten her as they did because she knew that she would always be safe if Merlin was there. When he was with her, even just sitting beside her bed as she slept, she felt comfort in her dreams, even the nightmares.

She hated the nights when he wasn't able to come give her the draught and Gaius had to or Marayna did. Those were the days she despised Arthur for working Merlin so hard. Most days he was bearable to Merlin, and she was thrilled, she loved seeing him walking around the castle, looking happy and rested. But sometimes Arthur would grow a bit grouchy and pour on extra chores for Merlin and his sister and both would be too exhausted to do anything short of collapse in their beds. The next day Morgana would see Merlin shuffling around half-dead and her heart would clench painfully in her chest at seeing him so worn.

But enough of that, she scolded herself, Merlin was here now. It was better to appreciate the times she could spend with the man who had so captivated her. Ever since the first day he'd arrived at Camelot, she had been taken with him. She had been watching the execution of the Collins boy and saw a handsome traveler enter the castle with a bright red neckerchief and had been a bit smitten, she had to admit.

"Hello Merlin," she breathed, opening the door more for him to enter the room.

"My…my Lady," he managed to choke out, still staring at her, wide-eyed.

She smiled softly and took the potion from him, downing it in one gulp. She felt the effects almost immediately and swooned a bit. Merlin caught her as he always did and led her to her bed. She had to do this, every time he delivered the draught. She couldn't risk being so close to him in such intimate conditions, at night, with her in her night gown, him so close, in her room. If she didn't take the potion as soon as he arrived, she was sure to do something that would either embarrass them both and set them back in the familiarity they had grown into or spark something much greater. She couldn't risk the familiarity, even if Merlin were to choose another woman, she just wanted to be near him. But when she thought on the possibility of 'something greater' she realized she'd fooled herself into believing the familiarity would be enough. She loved spending time with him, even if it was in her dreams, with him really holding her hand.

"Here you are, my Lady," he murmured as he helped her get in the bed.

"How many times must I remind you, Merlin," she whispered, her words slurring as her eyes drooped and she lay down, "It's Morgana."

He smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of her face as she pulled the blankets up, thinking on her request that he call her that, even if just in private, "Good night, Morgana."

"Will you stay?" she murmured.

"Always," he breathed, taking his seat at the side of her bed.

And like always, he tortured himself by sitting so close to her yet not being able to truly touch her. He only ever laid a hand on her, beyond simply holding her hand, when she was in the midst of a nightmare. He didn't do more or do so earlier as...well, he was sure he'd do something stupid like over step the proper boundaries and ruin whatever it was they had.

He watched her carefully for an hour or so, trying to detect any sign of nightmare, but saw none. After a while, he was quite convinced that tonight would be a night without nightmares to plague her. But he spoke too soon for as soon as he stood up to leave, she began shaking in her sleep and muttering. He quickly knelt by her side and took her hand in his, rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

He frowned as his ministrations didn't seem to help. Morgana started tossing and turning now, her brow scrunched in what looked like pain and fear. He looked around the room for something to help but knew there was only him.

"Gaius…beetles…fire," she whimpered in her sleep, drawing his attention to her. She often would mutter about her nightmares, half of which she wouldn't remember in the morning, "Merlin…" his eyes widened at that, she'd never called out his name in sleep before.

He looked around once more, staring intently at the door until he heard a small click of the latch being slid into place. He wouldn't want to get caught with what he was about to do next. He carefully stood and made his way onto the bed, being careful as he crept over Morgana not to wake her. Once he was on her left, he laid down and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly and whispering soothing words into her ear.

Almost immediately she calmed and lay still in his arms, her one hand coming up to clutch at his shirt, just below his neckerchief. He tried to pry her hands away from him so he might slip out but her grip was relentless and only made her wind her other arm around him as well, so he simply settled for laying down and napping.

Eventually she would have to turn over and release him...right?

~8~

Marayna was growing a bit worried as Arthur led her though the castle. She had no idea what he could possibly need her help with, but she went nonetheless, not that she could really not follow as he still held her hand. It was because the halls were dark, they both reasoned, and it wouldn't do to have an injured servant. Honestly, the fact that it felt natural and nice to be linked by the hand to each other had nothing to do with it.

At all.

Really.

Marayna frowned as Arthur came to a stop before the first door at the hall that she and Merlin had just cleaned. At the end of the hall was where the first few knights were placed, not every room had been needed. This one, especially, was not to be slept in by anyone, king's orders, but it HAD had to be cleaned.

Arthur opened the door and tugged on Marayna's arm as she hesitated entering. She did so cautiously, afraid that whatever had assailed her before might happen again. But luckily it did not. Arthur pulled her into the room and dropped her hand when he turned to face her, "You said you know things sometimes?" she nodded, slowly realizing why he had brought her there, "Can you tell me anything about this room?"

She looked around, actually feeling the devastation that had occurred there, before looking at Arthur and sighing, "Arthur," she shook her head, "I don't think I should be the one to tell you. Your father…"

"Refuses to even set a foot in this room," Arthur interrupted, "I know it was the room my mother resided in on bedrest, I know this was where I was born, and I…I know this is where she died. But, please, can you tell me anything?" his voice nearly cracked at the 'please,' but years of training had prepared him for controlling his emotions, "I barely know what she looked like, all I know is from a painting in father's rooms. He never speaks of her, Gaius won't tell me anything, and I just…" he sighed, "If you had the opportunity to learn something about someone you loved and lost before you could know them, wouldn't you take it?"

She looked down, she would do anything to learn about her father, who he was, the sort of man he was, what he did, anything at all. She couldn't take this from Arthur, but how could she tell him the whole story without speaking of where she learned it? Feelings, as Arthur assumed she could get, guesses, were one thing...an entire history lesson would be quite another.

She glanced up and took Arthur's hand in her own, "If I tell you, what I THINK happened here, will you promise not to repeat anything of what I've said?"

Arthur stared her straight in the eye, unable to look away. It was one of the few reasons he tried so vainly to never look at her dead on, he could never tear himself away from her eyes, they were mesmerizing. He nodded, "I swear."

"I mean it Arthur. Not a word to Uther or Gaius, even Merlin and Morgana and Gwen."

He nodded again, "I swear."

She sighed and stepped back, pulling her hand away from him, though both were reluctant to let go, and hugged herself, "Before, when Merlin and I were to clean this room," she began, turning her back on him and walking around the room, "I couldn't go in here, it hurt too much."

"It hurt?" she heard him ask behind her, not following.

"I felt really sad. I felt like something terrible had happened in here and I couldn't bear it. After we finished, I went to…I went to Gaius and asked him," she glanced over her shoulder at him before returning her focus to the bed, "Merlin had gone to town with Gwen and I wanted to know why the room affected me," she took a breath, "He told me about what happened here, and made me swear not to say a word to anyone, especially you."

"Why me?"

"It was your mother, Arthur," she turned to face him, "And what he told me…" she trailed off, shaking her head.

"Please," he nearly begged, "I need to know."

To be honest, he was a bit surprised that Gaius had told Marayna anything as he refused to do so when HE asked questions. But, he supposed, Uther had likely ordered that sort of thing. He didn't blame Marayna for wanting to know what happened, HE always got a sense of sorrow when he entered the room too.

She looked away, "The Queen couldn't have children and Camelot needed an heir. So…Uther turned to magic."

Arthur stared at her as though she had just told him she'd seen Uther dressed as a woman before letting out a barking laugh, "My father? Use magic? He'd die first."

"I'm sure he wished for it after," she whispered, instantly sobering him, "He asked a close friend of his, the sorceress Nimueh to help."

"Nimueh…" he trailed, where had he heard that name before? Then it hit him. It was the name he'd heard Gaius and his father speaking of once, after he'd gone to get the flower after she and Merlin had been poisoned, the one who tried to kill him. But, why would she help his father and later try to kill him? Why would his father turn to her to begin with?

Marayna nodded, "She was able to get the Queen to conceive, but, with magic, to create a life…another has to be taken."

Arthur paled considerably and sank down, not even noticing when Marayna's eyes flashed gold and the stool somehow moved under him to catch him. He was breathing heavily and shaking when Marayna knelt in front of him. She reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, "Arthur…" she murmured.

"My mother…" he swallowed hard, "She took my mother's life for mine, didn't she?"

Marayna nodded, "Uther was furious, banished her, and began his campaign against magic," she hesitated when Arthur reached up and rested his hand on her wrist, he didn't seem to notice what he had done nor the fact that his thumb was gently stroking her wrist, "As far as he was concerned, it wasn't Nimueh who had taken Ygraine, it was magic."

Arthur nodded slowly, seeing how his father could think that. But also knew enough to see that the mistake of one person shouldn't condemn everyone. Had his mother been killed by a knight, he doubted that his father would have banished all knights and melted all swords. He grew a bit angry thinking on his father's reaction. He had massacred thousands of people for one woman's crime?

He'd always thought that a large band of sorcerers had attacked Camelot and slaughtered the people, driving his father to protect them from every sorcerer. But hearing that his father was slaughtering people, who had done nothing wrong, just because one of them had…it made him sick. To think, he'd participated in that. If anything, those who practiced bad magic should be punished, but leave the good out of it!

"…to forgive me," he heard Marayna mutter as he looked up to see her looking down.

"For what?" he asked as she lowered her hand, though he wouldn't let go of it.

"I fear I cannot hate the magic that gave me you," she whispered, looking up at him, before she realized what she said, "I mean, that gave you to Camelot."

He simply smirked at that.

"Either way, without the magic, you wouldn't be here," she said finally, fighting the blush off her cheeks, "That alone is reason enough for me to not hate all magic."

He nodded, "Nor I," he sighed, "I do hate Nimueh though."

She chuckled at that and nodded in agreement, "As do I," she smiled, "No one tries to kill my brother but me."

He smiled as well, shaking his head, "When I am king, I will only punish those who deserve it."

"Like who?" she asked, genuinely curious as to how he really felt about magic. She herself was most certainly going to add it to her list, those who used magic for evil deserved to be punished.

"Those who use it to harm. Knights have a sword, and they're supposed to protect, but some…some use it to harm. Not all the knights are punished for that one knight's mistake, neither should the druids or any other magic user. Unless they use it to harm."

She smiled softly, looking at him with the pride he had often seen directed at her brother. He felt a swell in his chest at being the receiver of the praise, it felt…good, "You will be a great king one day."

He smiled down at her, squeezing her hand, because...for the first time, he felt like he would be.

A/N: I know, Arthur knows! O.O I can say that there IS a twist for the episode where he sees his mother's ghost, there are still quite a few shocking things for Arthur to learn about that fateful day to get a very big reaction out of him }:) But I wanted to introduce the idea to Arthur that magic was a tool earlier, it'll play a BIG part of later in the Prophecies and I think, it might actually be harder for him to hold onto this thought, given how many people seem determined to harm Camelot that have magic ;)

Also, quick note/announcement. A reader contacted me to ask if I'd be open to them creating a Facebook page for my stories and things. I'm cool with it and they decided to make one. So if anyone's interested here's the link:

(the facebook website)/pages/Lizzexx/576098545801884

Clipung ús - Call us
Afeormian - Clean

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, all I can say for patience is I don't think Yoda quite got it with 'Do, or do not, there is no try' I know I try more for patience than actually succeeding lol :)

Thanks :) I try to post at least once a day around the same time :)

Marayna just know him yup ;)