Finished Series 3! Whoa. Whoa. Whoa-excited to watch Series 4. Anyways, this is a short chapter, but I wanted to get it out. I'm in the middle of grading 40 papers (YUCK) and I didn't want to keep this any longer.

Chapter 5

"You're getting rather brown, Morgana," said her guardian from across the long expense of the table.

Her fork stopped midair. It was breakfast at the castle and she was picking rather ravenously at her meal. Morgana and Uther were seated in the great hall. Arthur had quickly gulped down his breakfast, determined to return to the books this morning. Merlin was bid by Arthur to say and help serve the King with a whisper about how his presence in the room would create more mess than was already present.

"Am I?" she said calmly.

Several days had past since her first 'lesson' with Merlin. They had fought daily, their battles growing more intense. More physical. And even in the past few days, she had learned more about swordplay than she had during her entire time with Arthur. He was patient and aggressive. Encouraging. She was rather proud of her sword prowess, but under his guidance, she had really begun to blossom. The only thing that seemed to change from their initial day was that Merlin peppered James with questions. He wanted every detail of James' arrival in Camelot. Every minor allusion to someone back home. Details about person James knew in Camelot. It felt as if he was searching for something specific, but was too afraid to ask. Morgana did the best she could to keep his questions at bay, coming up with answers when necessary, changing the subject when possible. But still Merlin persisted.

"Yes. Indeed, I can see quite a bit of pink in your cheeks too. Surely you haven't been sword fighting?" Uther said with a deadly undertone.

"Of course not. I've no desire to give your executioner more work," she said tartly.

"True. Poor Burns, never enough work to satisfy him," he trailed off with smug smile. "If it's not swordplay, then what has caused this change in your complexion?"

"Wildflowers. Haven't you noticed how littered the castle has become with them? I've taken to long walks in the afternoon to pick wildflowers and mingle with your subjects. I have met some new arrivals to Camelot."

"Oh? And who would these new arrivals be?" said Uther suspiciously.

"Ummm…a few people… a young squire. James, in particular," she lied. From the corner of her eye, she saw Merlin start.

"James? Really? Tell me about this James?" Uther said almost sarcastically. There was still a malicious glint in his eye. He was still uncertain.

"He's squire to Sir Kaye. A very nice young man. He comes from Cadec," she lied again.

"I didn't know that Sir Kaye had taken on another knight. Particularly in his absence. Why isn't this boy with his master?"

"I believe Sir Kaye left him behind to train up. If you don't believe me, ask Merlin. They've met," she said. Uther was determined to route her out. His pointed questions were annoying and dangerous. He wouldn't rest until he had more evidence.

"You've met this boy?" said Uther, turning to face his son's servant.

"Yes, your majesty," replied Merlin evenly.

"And you're sure he's real? Not some creation of Lady Morgana's imagination? Possibly to cover up her own sword play?"

"If he's a creation of her imagination, he's also one of mine and several other people's, sire," said Merlin with only the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

Uther said nothing was clearly enough proof that she wasn't lying. She breathed a little easier as the king finished his meal in silence.

But Merlin's ever inquisitive eyes continued to follow her. Had she just tipped her hand?

Prince Arthur was hunched over an enormous stack of paperwork when Merlin returned to the Prince's chambers after breakfast.

"Morgana also knows James," said Merlin without preamble.

"What?" said Arthur, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Morgana also knows James. This is a good thing. It means we can ask her about him She and Gwen are rather close and if she knows James, she might know more about what's going on there…I could just ask her about them-"

"No, absolutely not. First, the fewer people who know about my feelings for Gwen, the better. Believe me. Second, Morgana would tease me mercilessly. Third, we don't even know if Gwen would've told her about James. Like I said, Gwen seemed rather secretive about the whole thing. She might not share that information willy-nilly with Morgana. No, just keep asking him questions. He'll slip up eventually."

"But it's not working. I've asked him nearly every question I can without asking him outright if he knows Gwen and if they're involved."

"Well then Merlin, you'll have to loosen his tongue."

"And how do you propose I do that? Poison him? Ask him questions at knife point? Wait, you're not going to throw him in the dungeon, are you?" said Merlin, suddenly worried.

"Of course not. I'm not my father. Besides, nothing loosens a man's tongue more than ale. Last time you were drunk, you said you loved me and that we had some destiny together. Something about powers for good and Albion united. Bit unnerving really."

"I…what? I said that?" said Merlin, shock evident on his face.

"Yeah. Like I said, very strange. Then you hugged me and said I'd make a good King. The point is, ale loosens tongues. And if it'll loosen a compliment out of you, then ale will definitely wrangle James' secrets."

"So you think I should get him drunk?"

"Yeah. It's perfect. I heard some of the other knights were going to the tavern tonight. Invite him along, a lads' night out and all that. He won't be able to resist. Ply him with drink and we'll know everything."

I have part of the tavern chapter written already. Hopefully it'll go up soon. I promise some sexual tension then.

Please review! And think of me hunched over, writing constructive comments until my hands hurt.