SCOP'S NOTES:

Here's my first proper story. It's also my first fan fiction, so I'd appreciate any constructive reviews.

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The story takes place just after the end of S4 but before Arthur and Gwen get married, during the cleanup phase in Camelot as Arthur and Merlin must deal with the mess Morgana left behind. Each chapter is going to be a mini-story about something that happens in that time frame, but they're all tied together and build off each other. Just don't expect any cliff hangers. This is going to be a Reveal fic, eventually, but there's other mini stories which will happen before that, so be patient.

Chapter 2 notes:

FYI, the beginning bit in Italics is a dream sequence. The words come from The Sword in the Stone Part 2

This started out being a little bit to go before the next chapter, but then Merlin started thinking...

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.

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-mAmAmAm-BEGIN-mAmAmAm-

The Consequences of a Bright Night: Chapter 2 - A Little Night Magic

As he ran down the corridor, he could hear the clash of swords and the sound of the woman's voices echoing round the corner.

"What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"It's not what you did, it's what you're destined to do! I'm sorry, Gwen, but I can never let that happen!"

He heard the sword hit the floor and the silence that followed. Merlin had seen too many battles not to know what was going on. The death blow was being pulled. He was too far away, he wasn't going to make it in time, he wasn't...

He wasn't...

He wasn't going to let that happen. The warlock's eyes flashed gold and time slowed around him. As he reached the door, he could see beyond Gwen's shoulder that Morgana had her sword drawn back, her eyes betraying the determination of her actions. Terror filled Merlin's heart, he hadn't realized it had been this close. Ever so slowly, the sword started creeping forward. Merlin reacted without having to think about it.

Morgana flew back with a force that caused part of the ceiling to drop. When the dust settled, however, Morgana's body was no where to be seen. He'd meant to kill her with that blow, just as surly as she had meant to kill Gwen. But he could tell by the feeling inside, or rather lack of the flutter that would mark her passing that she was not dead.

"What happened?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know." Merlin said. That was a lie.

-mAmAmAm-

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Merlin woke up later than he wanted to. Which meant he felt properly rested for a change. It also meant he wasn't going to have time to retrieve the poppet under Morgana's bed before he got Arthur's breakfast to him, and he still had to finish cleaning the main chamber before Gaius woke up. Merlin forced himself out of bed and set about getting dressed. He decided on his blue tunic, red neckerchief and a clean pair of trousers from the cupboard where last night's cleaning spell had left them.

It wouldn't be disastrous if anyone found the poppet. The first thing anyone would do would be to bring it here. Gaius was the expert on those sorts of things after all and no one except Gaius would suspect him of planting it. He certainly wasn't going to tell anyone. Merlin was more worried Morgana would find out about it-she could easily still have spies in the palace. He may have to use the poppet-under-the-bed trick again sometime. The irony was, he'd learned that trick from her. Just a variation of the mandrake root curse she'd left under Uther's bed. The expression on her face when her magic failed had been priceless. He owed her that for the whole snake in the head thing. He wasn't sure if her powers were still bound or, if like the enchantment he had placed on Arthur, the spell had dissipated in the morning. The longer it lasted the better as far as he was concerned.

With or without Magic, Morgana was going to continue to be trouble. From what he knew of the Old Religion, it liked balance. If Morgana was still alive, it could only mean one thing. Destiny wasn't through with her yet.

He still had to find some clothes for Arthur to change into. According to Gwen, Morgana had shredded everything in Arthur's wardrobe. All Arthur had when they left were literally the clothes on his back, which consisted of his undergarments, trousers, and the padding he wore under his chain mail, all of which he had sweated into several times since they had left Ealdor. Merlin grabbed his grey tunic. No way Arthur would fit into Merlin's trousers, but Gaius might have a spare pair lying around he could belt. If it came to it, Arthur was just going to have to suffer through wearing them. At least they'd be a step up from his "simpleton" garb.

-mAmAmAm-

Someone, probably Betsy, had hung another pot of chicken broth and rice porridge warming in the hearth in the main room. There had also left a chunk of cheese and an apple on the table along with a large picture of drinking water set carefully amongst the books he had left there from last night.

"This must be what it's like to be a noble," Merlin said. He knew Gaius couldn't hear him. But over the years, he had gotten used to pulling the old man's ear. "Sleep in late, have someone bring you your breakfast." He cast the cleaning spell on the debris on the floor. There'd been enough time. Everyone would assume he got up early to clean up in here. "And that's what it feels like to be a warlock."

The poultice would keep Gaius asleep for a few more hours yet while his body healed, but Merlin managed to get him awake enough to get a bowl of the porridge and a glass of water down him before settling him back to his healing slumber. His mentor looked worlds better this morning. Gone was the grey parlor and the blue tinge from his lips and fingernails. Things could have gone differently so easily yesterday. If they had held back the battle one more day... He didn't understand how Morgana could have done that to Gaius, after all the care he had given her over the years.

"Morgana's lucky, so lucky that all I did was bind her powers. If I had known about this, what she was doing to you... I might have put a different spell on that poppet."

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the rest of the books back to their shelves. They hit with more force than he intended, knocking more books down and breaking one of the shelves.

Merlin took a deep breath to calm down. A voice that sounded like Gaius's chided him in his head. "It not magic, but letting thoughts of anger and fear fester in your mind which lead to the same madness Morgana now suffers. Having magic just makes it easier to act on those thoughts." So did being a king, Merlin reminded himself. Uther had proven that much. Even Arthur was susceptible to it. Part of his destiny was to see to it Arthur didn't follow his father down that route. It was the times when Arthur tried to hide his insecurities that his Inner Prat lashed out at Merlin the most. "The madness doesn't care what path of power one takes to it's embrace. It holds no prejudice."

Merlin crossed over to the bookshelf. His usual mending spells weren't having any lasting effect. The repair simply wouldn't hold under the weight of the shelf, let alone any books put on it. He didn't know any masonry spells so he tried to see it if were salvageable by conventional means.

He knew he'd have to forgive Morgana if he were going to continue to be of use Arthur and Camelot and fulfill his destiny to prove that magic could be a force for good. It didn't mean he had to like her, it didn't even mean he had to trust her. It just meant he had to get rid of the want for vengeance, like Gwen had forgiven Uther for her father's death. "He means nothing to me. If I wanted him dead, I'd be as bad as he is."

"I don't want to be angry with Morgana. A part of me still wants my friend back. But Kilgharrah was right. That option ended a long time ago. This isn't over. She'll try again. But this fight we're locked in has nothing to do with magic. Morgana simply wants to be Queen and she's willing to abandon all her friendships for it. Even if I had told her about my magic earlier on, we'd still be in this same spot."

The shelf was hopeless. The plaster that held the screw in place had shattered. Plastering a wall through mundane methods wasn't part of his experience either. Out of curiosity, Merlin tried modifying a few healing spells.

"I can understand her wanting to go after Uther, but Arthur is not Uther. She knows that Arthur stood up to Uther for fair magic trials. She knows that he didn't equate magic meant to heal and protect with magic meant for evil. But she doesn't care. She want's Arthur to be just like Uthur to justify her attempts to take the throne. Everything she's done has been one steady reinforcement in Arthur's mind that magic corrupts and can't be trusted."

No good. A body knew how to heal itself. The plaster was still plaster, no mater what its form. It didn't know it was broken.

"If that's how my destiny to protect Arthur was meant to be played out, to protect him until he makes that decision, then so be it. Arthur will be the great king to bring about the time of Albion. But if Morgana thinks she can make pawns out of you or Gwen in the process..."

A repair spell... a simple repair spell was alluding him. Why was masonry so different from fixing a broken cup or a vase, and if he were such an all powerful sorcerer, why didn't he know the answer to that?

"... destiny or not, she can talk with Nimueh if she thinks she can get away with that."

In frustration, Merlin pushed the shelf at the wall. His eyes glowed as a little bit of his magic leaked out. The shelf exploded into dust. "Brilliant!" he chided himself.

"You cannot afford the luxury of courting such madness," he told himself in a voice that sounded exactly like Kilgharrah's. "The actions you take now will be the example for all who follow. You have to be strong for people you will never meet and who've yet to be born, throughout the ages. People who will desperately need your example to help them face the trials of their own time."

Because it wasn't enough for Destiny for him to be responsible for the people he knew in his own time. Sometimes, Destiny was a bigger prat than Arthur.

Gaius would be all right. Gaius was amongst friends who cared about him. In the course of one evening Morgana had lost everyone she had come to rely on, mostly by his hand. Maybe they were even after all. He took another deep breath and let his anger go... as best he could anyway. Even examples were human. He'd do a better job of forgiving once Gaius was up and about.

He had to get moving. He'd wasted more time on the shelf than he meant to.

Merlin grabbed the apple and cheese and pocketed them to munch on the way to the kitchens. He reached for the spare set of his clothes he'd picked out for Arthur, then stopped cold.

"Why do these itch so much? It's like wearing a scrub brush. And what is that smell?"

Maybe he could squeeze in a quick trip to Arthur's chambers on the way from the kitchen to see if there were a few pieces of nondescript clothing he could magic back together. He could always say he'd found them somewhere.

-mAmAmAm-END-mAmAmAm

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This one got a little heady, and a little dark. Was hoping to mix the thoughts with the action, the humor with the dark. Hard to do when only one person in the room is conscience :) How did I do?

The next bit should be cute, honest

SCOP OUT