Thank you for the reviews! I can't believe how quickly this is coming together. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

It was late afternoon and the two ladies were alone in Morgana's chambers.

"I don't know about this," came the worried voice of Gwen from the other side of the privacy screen.

"Don't be such a Nervous Nelly, Gwen. Everything will work out. This plan is practically foolproof," Morgana responded.

"If by foolproof you mean absolutely dangerous and might jeopardize someone's life, then sure, it's foolproof."

"I appreciate your confidence, Gwen" Morgana replied sarcastically, "Look, this is something I have to do. I just need to try it, alright? If anything feels weird or I get strange looks, I promise, I'll come up with another plan."

"I could always bring you a sword. There are still some old ones left over from my father's business, no one would notice-," Gwen said.

"No, it's too dangerous, Gwen. The King would assume that you helped me. This way, everyone can plead plausible deniability and I'll take the blame. Besides, I need a partner. Don't worry, this plan is going to work. See," Morgan said as she stepped out from behind the screen.

She was dressed in a pair of brown breeches, a loose green tunic, and boots. While her hair was still unbound, she definitely didn't look anything like a lady of the court.

And while the breeches and tunic loose enough to hide her curves but there was still something not quite masculine about her. Gwen noticed as well, "It's hard to hide your rather womanly lines, but it's pretty good. What did you do to your…um, bosom?"

Morgana glanced down as she said: "I bound them with a length of cloth. I haven't seen my chest this flat since I was twelve."

"It's rather convincing. You look more like a boy than a man, but that's not surprising. Do you think it will work?"

"Yes, I mean, it's not as if I plan to be a knight or anything. I'll just say I'm a squire, everyone expects them to be young and kind of gangly."

"True. But we'll need to do something about that hair," said Gwen contemplatively. "We can't cut it, the King would know something was afoot and might deem that further proof of your 'unladylike' activities. I know just what to do-we'll braid it and then shove it all up into a hat of some kind. Most squires wear caps, so it won't look out of the ordinary."

"Good idea, Gwen."

As Gwen started to braid Morgana's hair, she said, "And you'll have to work on your voice, try lowering it bit."

"Whatever you think, Gwen," came back a super deep gravelly voice.

"Ok, maybe not that low. Something that sounds more natural, like you have a really bad cold or something,"

"Whatever you think will work, Gwen," came back Morgana's voice, deeper and slightly masculine but not too over the top.

"Perfect. You should be able to keep that up in male company," she said, enthusiastically.

"What else?" said male voiced Morgana.

"Well, you'll need a male name and a knight that you're a squire to. If you run into anyone, they'll likely ask you that," she said.

"How about James for my name?"

"Perfect. Very masculine," said Gwen with a smile.

"And what about Sir William of Daira? You know, I haven't seen him in weeks, I could just pretend—"

"No," Gwen said rather quickly, " he…he…he's gone home for the year. How about Sir Kaye? He's just left to visit his wife in Cadec. She's about to have a baby. He won't be back for a least a month which should give you a reason to be here instead of with him."

"True," she said, then reverting back to her man voice, "I'm James, squire to Sir Kaye of Cadec."

"Good, now we'll need to work on your walk," said Gwen. Somehow Gwen found a cap and put all of Morgana's hair up in it, "Ok, try to walk with like a swagger."

Morgana smiled, "Like Arthur? He's got quite a swagger."

Her friend merely blushed and mumbled something that sounded like "sure". For the past few weeks, Gwen had blushed whenever Arthur's name was mentioned. She wouldn't explain and Morgana didn't press, but something had happened, of that she was sure.

Morgana took a few steps, slumping her shoulders a bit and taking large strides. She tried to keep the sway out of her hips and to lead with her chest.

Walking the length of her chamber, she felt more confident with each step. I can do this, she thought, I can pass as a man.

Echoing her thoughts, Gwen said, "That's quite good, my lady. You've got the right mix of masculinity and arrogance."

Spinning in a rather ladylike circle, Morgana asked, "Anything else I need to do to be a man?"

"Hmm, I think you should dirty up your face a bit when you get outside. It'll hide some of your features better. And I we should cover up your neck. Most of the squires wear neckerchiefs, the less conspicuous you can be the better," said Gwen.

Gwen went over to a basket of laundry and pulled out a blue neckerchief, "Here. This is one of Merlin's. He won't miss it, he has nearly forty of these."

Morgana quickly tied it behind her neck and couldn't help but notice how much it smelled like Merlin. The smell was spicy and manly; it was both familiar and exotic, a bit like the man himself. She had to resist the urge to bury her nose in the fabric.

Gwen grabbed the laundry basket and said, "I'll tell everyone you're napping. Good luck and be careful."

"Don't worry, Gwen, I'm ready."

She had been wrong. She hadn't been ready.

Even with smudges of dirt on her face and a confident swagger, she felt as if everyone in the courtyard was staring at her. Could they tell she was a woman? Did they know she wasn't man? What gave her away? Were her curves visible?

She tried to remain calm but her eyes kept glancing around her, certain that at any moment someone would yell out "That's not a man! Seize her!"

And while she continued to get quizzical stares, no one said anything.

Yet despite the sudden burst of anxiety, she felt liberated. Her courtly gowns were usually confining and sometimes the material was itchy. Her skirts would get caught in closing doors (not to mention her hair) or her delicate slippers would slide on floors. She liked her bold and luxurious clothing, but with breeches, tunic, and boots, she felt much more stable and much less constrained.

And while people were staring at her, it wasn't with awe or barely repressed desire. Instead it was with ordinary curiosity. Her position as the King's ward was always evident in her bold clothing and manner. It was nice to be seen as something other than her social position. It was nice to be ordinary. Or ordinary enough.

She made her way through the courtyard without incident and swaggered to the training field. Arthur was stuck in the castle on business for Uther, so she wouldn't run into him today. Although she planned to avoid him like the plague, she wanted to be sure she could pass as a man before she came into any type of contact with him.

She swaggered up to the sideboard full of swords and tried to look natural. She wanted to immediately grab a sword and fight the nearest man, but she had to hide her enthusiasm and wait for the right moment. While she knew the basic job of a squire was to assist his knight, she wasn't sure what would be expected a squire without a knight present.

It didn't take long for her to find out.

"Oy, you there boy! Pass me a sword," came the brisk voice of a passing knight.

"Me?" James replied in a squeaky voice.

"Who else would I be talking to? Quick, you idiot, or I'll knock you on your ass," said the knight.

A bit flummoxed at such crass language and a little frightened of the knight's temper, she quickly grabbed the nearest sword and gave it to the surly knight.

"Good boy," said the knight smarmily as he walked away.

What rudeness! Frankly, she thought the barbarians who tried to capture her and Gwen might've had better manners than the knight of Camelot. Why he would never speak to her if he knew who she really was. And furthermore-but before she could finish that errant thought, a familiar voice sounded behind her.

"Don't worry too much about Sir Edward," turning she saw Merlin or who she thought might be Merlin. She could only see the legs and hair of him as he tried to balance a tall pile of armor. He continued, "He's been rather cranky since his wife tossed him out. She caught him cheating with her sister. Not that he was pleasant before, but now he has the temperament of a dragon."

"Thanks, I mean, I can handle it," James said back, uncertain of how a man would respond to such a statement.

Seeing Merlin's predicament, he said, "Can I give you a hand with that?"

"Sure," said Merlin as a few pieces of armor fell to the ground. James picked them up and grabbed a shield from Merlin's back.

"Follow me," said Merlin as he led them to a small shed near the practice field, "What's your name?"

"James. I'm squire to Sir Kaye."

"Sir Kaye? But isn't he gone?" said Merlin, setting his armful of armor down.

"His wife's about to have a baby but he'll be back in a month," James said as he too set his large pile down. Damn, it was heavy.

Merlin finally turned to face James and put his hand out to shake the squire's hand. There was already a quizzical look on Merlin's face as he saw the young squire. But when their palms touched and the same jolt of awareness swept through her, she knew he recognized something.

"Have we met before? You look strangely…familiar?" said Merlin, his eyes crinkling with recognition.

" No…I…umm…I'm new to Camelot….I …ummm... I mean, I was squire to someone before but he wasn't a courtly knight, so ummm…Sir Kaye wanted me to know the court which is why he left me behind," James said, removing his hand quickly from Merlin's grasp. Why couldn't she stick to the script? Why did she have to make things more complicated? And why did he have to shake Merlin's hand? Merlin was bound to see through the entire ruse.

"I see, but are you sure we haven't met before? I feel as if I know you," Merlin said, his keen eyes searching her face.

"Uh, well, I um, have a twin sister who lives around here. I'm staying with her here in Camelot. We have similar faces, people always say we look alike. Maybe you've seen her?" James said as smoothly as possible. It was difficult to concentrate as Merlin kept visually dissecting her face. Any minute now he's realize that James was actually Morgana.

After a moment of intense scrutiny and pregnant silence, Merlin said," I suppose" and shrugged.

They walked back to the sideboard together. Merlin kept glancing furtively at him, but said nothing more. Knowing that she needed to change the subject fast, James said, "Whom do you work for?"

"Prince Arthur," said Merlin, a slight note of pride in his voice.

She couldn't help but smile. He and Arthur might have their moments but Merlin clearly enjoyed his work. "Wow, that's a great post. It must be a real honor to serve a future King," James said.

"Yeah, it is, particularly when Arthur isn't being a prat," a sudden smile graced his lips as he finished, "Thankfully, he's tied up with state business for the next week, so I'm free to do as I please."

"That's nice. I'm in a similar situation with Sir Kaye gone," James said.

Could she partner Merlin? While she knew it was a bit dangerous, she did a partner. And with Merlin free for the next few days and James in need of a partner, well, the situation seemed perfect. She'd seen him fight a few times before and Arthur had trained him some, so surely he would make a decent sparring partner.

"I'm actually hoping to work on my sword fighting skills," James said, hoping that Merlin would take the bait.

"Oh?" said Merlin. "Well, I could always help you with that. Since I've got the time and all. I've trained with Arthur so I know how to fight pretty well" he finished with a bit of arrogance in his voice.

"Really?" James said, "You would help me?" She tried not to oversell it, but she was excited. To have a sword back in hand and a sparring partner was all she hoped to accomplish with this entire enterprise.

She knew that he would probably help, but it was nice that he was so willing. His kindness was something she always admired about him. And maybe in this situation she was taking a little bit of advantage.

"Sure. How about we start tomorrow? After the midday meal?" said Merlin.

"Absolutely," James said.

FINIS

I'm having trouble keeping the pronouns straight here. Let me know if it's confusing. Please review!

Historical Note: So as I was doing research to make sure that I understood the role of a squire, and as it seems, a squire does many of the same tasks that Merlin does. He helps the knight dress (usually in a knight's armor), takes care of the horses, cleans and replaces his armor and swords. And while Merlin does have several extra duties, enough of the tasks overlap that I think that "James" and Merlin will have plenty to do together.

A boy is a page from ages 7-14, at 14 he is made a squire, and stays a squire until 21. He presumably comes of age and is subsequently knighted.