Merlin winced as he knocked out two guards. It looked like it would hurt when they woke up. "Sorry." He whispered as he passed them and continued into the castle and snuck up and down stair and corridors as he made his way to Gaius's rooms.
He only had to hide a few times, when guards came around the corner on their nightly rounds. He finally made it up to the rooms and ducked inside. Quietly he made his way over to Gaius and woke him up gently.
Gaius woke with a start, staring up at Morgana who had her hand on his mouth.
"Gaius, don't freak out. It's me, Merlin." He whispered. "You have to believe me."
Gaius nodded under his hand and Merlin let him go. Gaius peered closer at him, "Merlin?"
"Yes, it's me. I already said that. Now, I need help."
"I knew you were acting funny, but I never thought that it would be Morgana in your body." Gaius continued to peer up at him. "This is weird."
"Yeah, you think it's weird. What about me?"
"Yes, well." He sat up. "What do you need?"
"My body back. Do you have any potions or spells that can reverse this?"
"I don't think so." He stood up, now. "But let me check." Gaius shuffled over to the center table and lit a candle.
Merlin looked towards his door. "Is Morgana sleeping in there?"
Gaius glanced back at the door. "Yes." He shifted his gaze back towards the books on his table and started sifting through them.
Merlin continued to watch the door; he grew more and more worried and anxious. "The dragon said that I should kill Morgana. Her body, I mean." He looked over at his mentor. "Do you think I should?"
Gaius looked up at him, "It's up to you."
"I don't know what to do, Gaius."
Sighing, the old man took off his glasses and looked at Merlin, "Merlin, I cannot tell you what to do; you have to decide on your own." Seeing that the answer isn't good enough he adds, "You have a very difficult decision to make and if I was in your situation I wouldn't know what to do either. Just do what your heart tells you and know that I will support you, whatever you may choose to do."
"Thanks, Gaius." The mentor smiles at his pupil, seeing Merlin that lies beneath the skin of Morgana. He goes back to checking his books and Merlin returns to looking at the door of his room.
Hours later, Merlin is slumped in a chair falling asleep when Gaius makes a small triumphant noise that jerks him awake.
"Merlin, come look, I found the spell." Merlin comes to stand by Gaius's side who runs his finger underneath the words as he reads them aloud, "The body-swapping spell. It says that the person who casts this spell exchanges souls with whatever person they desire to do so with. Ah, that's just the spell, ah, found it. To reverse the effects of the spell the person who cast the enchantment must cast the reversal spell or one of the bodies must be damaged, sending the souls back to their original owners." Both of them stared at the book. "That's it."
"That's it?" Merlin cries, "No, that can't be it. There has to be a spell I can cast."
"No, Merlin, I'm afraid there's not." Gaius puts a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah." A thud from Merlin's room catches both of them off guard.
"Hide!" Gaius whispers and shoves him towards a cupboard.