That night, Morgana dreamed that Knight Valiant was fighting Knight Ewan. Morgana was pleased to see the charming knight in yellow knock Ewan to the ground…and then her pleasure turned to horror, as Valiant commanded the snakes on his crest to come alive and strike Ewan. Ewan fell unconscious while Valiant celebrated his victory.

Morgana woke with a gasp. Firmly, she tried to remind herself that it was just a dream, that Valiant and Ewan hadn't even fought yet…

But it had felt so real.

That day, Morgana was unnerved to see that Valiant would indeed face off against Ewan. She tightly gripped Gwen's cloak, repeatedly reminding herself that her dream was not real. And yet, she couldn't quite bring herself to root for Valiant this time.

And then, it happened. Ewan fell, just like in her dream, and Valiant pinned Ewan with his shield. Morgana couldn't quite see what happened next, but Ewan did not get up. Gaius walked onto the field, and Ewan was carried away on a stretcher.

"Do you think he's all right?" Gwen asked worriedly.

"I…" Morgana swallowed. "No. I don't."

As soon as the tournament ended for the day, Morgana went to Gaius's chambers. The physician was bending over Ewan, who looked ashen and remained unconscious. "Will he be all right?" Morgana asked.

Gaius looked up, frowning. "I'm afraid it's too soon to say."

"What's wrong with him?" Morgana demanded.

"I'm not quite sure," Gaius responded blandly.

The bottom seemed to drop out of Morgana's stomach. "He was bitten by a snake, wasn't he?"

Gaius looked surprised, and…was that a hint of alarm in his eyes? "Whatever makes you say that, my lady?" he said quickly. Too quickly.

"Gaius, please!" Morgana begged.

"No, my lady," Gaius said stiffly, turning back to his patient. "I believe this is most likely a head injury, nothing more."

Morgana narrowed her eyes, not believing him. "Very well. If you're sure." She left the room, already planning an alternate avenue of investigation.

Morgana had Gwen relay instructions, and later that evening, Merlin arrived at her chambers with a sleeping draught. Morgana warmly invited him in, but dropped the smile as soon as Gwen closed the door. "Tell me truly—what's wrong with Ewan?" Morgana demanded.

Merlin grimaced. "Gaius says he shows all the symptoms of having been bitten by a snake. I think the snake came from Valiant's shield—I spied on him earlier to confirm my suspicions, and I clearly saw the snakes on his shield come alive."

Morgana paled and clutched her desk for support. "So it's true, then."

"Yeah," Merlin confirmed, scowling. "But Gaius won't let me tell anyone, because apparently my word doesn't count for anything."

Morgana frowned. "Your word may not count for anything if you approach Uther yourself, but your word counts for something with me, and my word counts for something with him. I just need to come up with an explanation for my suspicions that doesn't involve either your word or my dream…"

"Your dream?" Merlin repeated, confused.

"Yes." Morgana swallowed. "Last night, I dreamt that Valiant summoned a snake from his shield to strike Ewan. And it's not the first time I've had a dream that came true. I've often wondered if they're more than just dreams, but Gaius…" She trailed off as it hit her.

"What?"

"Gaius lied," Morgana realized. "I directly asked him if it was a snake bite, and he lied. And before that, every time I've told him about one of my dreams, he has always dismissed my fears. How many times has he lied to me before?"

"You think he's hiding something from you?" Gwen asked hesitantly.

Morgana turned to her friend, eyes wide with distress. "What other conclusion can I draw?"

"I-I'm sure he has a good reason?" Merlin offered tentatively.

Morgana scowled. "A good reason to leave me wondering if I'm going mad? Why don't you try asking him about the possibility of dreams that tell the future—clearly, he's more honest with you than with me!"

"Erm…okay." Merlin swallowed. "But in the meantime, what do we do about Valiant?"

"Ewan would have seen the snake, wouldn't he?" Gwen said thoughtfully. "If he wakes up, he can testify. Can Gaius cure him?"

"He said that he would need venom from the snake that bit Ewan," Merlin explained.

"Well then, it would seem the solution is obvious," Morgana stated. "I must go to the armory and fetch one of those snakes myself."

"But he's not keeping it in the armory any more," Merlin said worriedly. "After he caught me inspecting it, he started keeping it in his private quarters."

Morgana sighed. "Well, that does complicate things." She spent a few moments pondering the problem. "The knights are meant to dine with Uther tomorrow night…do you think Ewan will survive that long?"

"I'm not sure," Merlin admitted, grimacing again.

"Even if Ewan doesn't make it, the king will at least believe your testimony," Gwen pointed out to Morgana.

"True," Morgana conceded. "Very well, I will sneak into Valiant's guest quarters at dinnertime tomorrow."

The following night, Morgana snuck her way into the guest wing. Gwen had helpfully found out which chambers belonged to Knight Valiant, but unfortunately, there was another glaring issue—the door was locked. Morgana quietly rattled the door, hoping against hope that she could somehow shake it loose.

"I was afraid that might happen," Merlin said quietly, badly startling Morgana. He took a deep breath, then reached a hand out to the lock. "Allinan."

There was a click, and Morgana had to restrain herself from staring. For all that they'd discussed Merlin's magic before, this was the first time that he had deliberately performed a spell in front of her. Morgana shook off her surprise and cautiously pushed the door open. "Keep a lookout, will you?"

"Of course," Merlin nodded.

Morgana nodded back, then slipped inside. She picked up a sword from Valiant's sword rack and approached the shield. The snakes remained resolutely lifeless. A noise echoed in the distance, and Morgana nervously looked over her shoulder. When she turned back to the shield, she saw that a snake had emerged and was moments away from sinking its fangs into her wrist. She quickly severed its head. The other two snakes emerged from the crest, and Morgana hurried back to the door.

"Got it?" Merlin asked.

"Got it," Morgana replied. She handed the head to Merlin. "Get this to Gaius. I'll summon the court."

Merlin nodded again. "Thank you for believing me," he said quietly. Then he headed off in the direction of Gaius's chambers.

Morgana turned in the other direction toward the council chambers. Halfway there, she was surprised to run into Valiant. He looked equally surprised to see her. "My lady!"

"Knight Valiant." There was an awkward pause, then Morgana forced a flirtatious smile. "I was pleased to see that you made it to the final. I do hope you will be escorting me to the feast tomorrow."

"I hope so too, my lady." Valiant bowed, then walked past Morgana towards his chambers. Morgana let her smile fall, and heaved a shaky breath of relief.

Half an hour later, the knights and courtiers had gathered in the council chambers. At last, Uther swept into the room. "Why have you summoned the court?" he demanded.

Morgana held her head high and glared coldly at Valiant. "Knight Valiant is using a magic shield to cheat in the tournament." Valiant looked shocked and perhaps just the tiny bit betrayed by her accusation.

Uther turned to Valiant. "Valiant, what do you have to say to this?"

"My lord, this is ridiculous, I've never used magic," Valiant protested, sounding offended. "Does the lady have any evidence to support this outrageous accusation?"

Uther looked back at his ward. "Do you have evidence?"

"I do," Morgana stated, lifting her chin. "I saw something odd when Knight Valiant fought Knight Ewan yesterday, and when Gaius's ward delivered my sleeping draught last night, he confirmed that Knight Ewan has been suffering symptoms of snakebite."

"There could have been a snake in the arena, that hardly serves as evidence!" Valiant interjected.

Morgana shut him up with an icy glare. "So, I went to take a closer look at your shield, and one of the snakes came alive and tried to kill me. Is that evidence enough for you?"

Uther gave Morgana a cautious look. "You're absolutely certain?"

"I swear it on my father's grave," Morgana confirmed. "I cut off the snake's head and sent it to Gaius to create an antidote. I'm sure Knight Ewan will corroborate my story."

"Indeed I shall," came a somewhat shaky voice from the doorway. Knight Ewan was leaning heavily on Merlin. "During the tournament, Knight Valiant's crest came alive at his command and attacked me. Another snake tried to kill me in Gaius's chambers not a few minutes ago. Were it not for the Lady Morgana and the servant Merlin, I would not be standing here now."

"I've heard enough," Uther decided. He turned to the guards. "Arrest Knight Valiant. He is to be executed at dawn." Valiant was hauled away, and Uther turned back to smile at his ward. "You have done well, Morgana. Thanks to you, the dark forces of magic have once again been driven from the realm."

Morgana swallowed down her anger and forced herself to return the smile. "Thank you, my lord. I only did what any good citizen should have done."

After some debate, it was decided that all of Knight Valiant's former opponents (barring Ewan, who was still recovering) would compete against each other for the right to face Arthur in the final. Unsurprisingly, Arthur then proceeded to defeat the new finalist.

At the feast that night, Morgana mingled with various courtiers while watching Merlin out of the corner of her eye. Eventually, she saw him approach Gwen, and she walked over to them both. "So, Merlin," she said quietly. "Did you ever ask Gaius about dreams that tell the future?"

"Yeah." Merlin looked around and lowered his voice even further. "Apparently, you're a Seer—born with the ability to see the future in your dreams. It's a kind of magic, which is why Gaius is so reluctant to talk about it. He's convinced that if you ever realize your dreams are magic, then somehow Uther will find out and kill you. He expressly forbade me to tell you any of this, even after I pointed out you already know what really happened to Ewan."

Morgana stared in disbelief. "Because I'll be so much safer if I talk about my dreams to anyone who'll listen, hoping that someone will finally tell me I'm not going mad."

Merlin winced and shrugged. "I tried arguing with him about it. He insists that he's older and wiser and that's the end of it. I'm starting to think he might be going a bit senile. And I think I'm going to continue letting him believe you two don't know about me. He'll probably be more helpful that way."

"Perhaps so." Morgana shot a brief glare in Gaius's direction. "Well, I certainly shan't attempt to discuss my dreams with him again."

Gwen gently patted Morgana's arm. "At least you know the truth now. You can always talk to me about your dreams, and I'm sure Merlin will listen too."

"Yeah, of course," Merlin agreed.

"Thank you." Morgana looked around again, then lowered her voice to a near-whisper. "If my dreams are truly magic…do you suppose I could learn spells too?"

"I'd be happy to share what I learn with you," Merlin whispered back. "Just…you know…not here."

"Thank you," Morgana said again. She turned to leave, but Merlin quietly called her back.

"Actually, if you want to know more about your dreams, there's someone else we could ask."

"Who?"

Merlin shook his head. "Easier to show you. Meet me by the entrance to the dungeons after the feast."

"The dungeons?!" Gwen exclaimed incredulously.

Morgana silenced her with a look. "I'll be there." With that, she walked away to mingle with the courtiers again.

After the feast, Morgana cautiously snuck through the corridors and found Merlin already waiting by the dungeons. She nodded at him. "All right, I'm here. I take it we're here to see a prisoner?"

"Yeah. Follow me." Merlin led the way down into the dungeons, easily distracted the guards (rather too easily, but that was a concern for another time), lit a torch and then turned into a side tunnel that Morgana had never noticed before.

They made their way deeper underground, passing a pile of broken carvings and finally emerging onto a small ledge in a truly massive cave. Morgana's jaw dropped at the sight. "What is this place?"

"It is my prison, young witch." Morgana nearly jumped out of her skin as an actual, honest-to-god dragon flew down and landed on an outcropping opposite their ledge. A chain trailed from a heavy manacle attached to one of the dragon's hind legs. The dragon glared at Merlin, clearly displeased. "You were not meant to ally with the witch. She cannot be trusted."

"Excuse me, I am standing right here!" Morgana objected. "What makes you say I cannot be trusted?"

The dragon bared his teeth. "You are destined to bring about Arthur's downfall. You are the darkness to Merlin's light, the hatred to his love."

"She doesn't hate Arthur!" Merlin defended. "And she's been a right sight more helpful than Arthur has since I arrived in Camelot! If she's really destined to bring about Arthur's downfall, I'm not entirely convinced I should stop her!"

The dragon looked highly affronted. "You are but one side of a coin. Arthur is the other. As I told you before, Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion. The witch has no place in Albion."

"And why not?" Morgana demanded, her tone clipped. "I have known Arthur all my life, and though we frequently rile each other, I care for him as a brother. Merlin has but known Arthur for a week, and from what I've seen, Arthur has hardly treated him kindly. Of the two of us, I should think Merlin would be far more likely to turn against Arthur and bring about his downfall!"

The dragon snarled. "None can choose their destiny, and none can escape it."

Morgana huffed in irritation. "So, you would have Merlin turn against me, not for anything I have done, but for something you are convinced I will do. I have seen scores of innocents put to death by that exact logic. Do you realize who you sound like right now?" She took a step forward, glaring viciously. "You sound just like Uther."

The dragon recoiled, looking shocked. It took him a few moments to find his voice. "How dare you compare me to my jailer!"

"How dare you act like him?!" Morgana countered. "I can see the future in my dreams; don't talk to me about inescapable destinies! If what you say is truly unavoidable, then it will happen regardless of whether Merlin heeds your advice now. But if there is any chance you might be wrong, how could either of us in good conscience ignore that possibility? Better to try to change the future, and fail, than to sit back and let something terrible happen when it was within our power to stop it!"

"I am doing everything in my power to stop you!"

"No, you're doing everything in your power to turn me against her," Merlin pointed out, staring at the dragon and looking rather betrayed. "I'm starting to think you want her to be the enemy. Well, I don't! Whatever you think my destiny is, whatever it is you think I'm supposed to do, you can find some other patsy for it!" Merlin turned away from the dragon. "Come on, Morgana. Clearly, it was a mistake to seek his advice."

"Yes," Morgana agreed through gritted teeth. "It most certainly was."

They started to walk away, but turned back at the sound of an angry roar. The dragon had reared up on his hind legs. Morgana and Merlin both instinctively threw up their hands to defend themselves, just as the dragon breathed out a torrent of fire. It hit an invisible barrier scarcely a pace in front of the two young magicians. Eventually, the flames stopped and they lowered their hands. "You won't see us again," Merlin said in a low, angry voice.

They turned to leave again, and this time, they departed the cave unmolested. Once they were out of earshot, Merlin stopped, sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Sorry about that."

Morgana raised her eyebrows. "What exactly was it that made you think he was such a reliable source of information in the first place?"

"I don't—I don't even know." Merlin ran his fingers through his hair. "I guess…all my life, I desperately wanted to understand why I was born like this. The dragon was the first person—well, not exactly a person, but you know what I mean—he was the first one to give me an answer. I guess I just…really wanted to believe him."

Morgana was silent for a few moments, considering this. "It's understandable, to want answers. Heaven knows I spent long enough asking the wrong person for answers about my dreams. But we know now that both of us were born with magic in some form. Maybe there's a reason, maybe there isn't, but if there is, then we'll find it together." She smiled at Merlin, and he offered her a tentative smile in return. Morgana turned to continue their way out of the tunnel. "Besides, the dragon did say one thing that was not wholly objectionable."

"What was that?"

"That Arthur will one day unite the land of Albion." Morgana smirked. "Oh, I'd never say that to his face, his ego's already big enough, but I always have believed him a better man than his father. Instead of bringing about Arthur's downfall, I think I'll work at removing him from his father's influence so that he becomes a king worthy of uniting Albion. What better victory over the dragon and Uther both?"

Merlin swallowed. "But what if the dragon simply had it backwards? You said it yourself, what if I'm the one who's destined to become a monster?"

Morgana snorted. "I doubt that. You've already saved Arthur's life after he'd given you little reason to do so. And as a result, you were put in a position where you'll have ample opportunity to tell him when he's being a pig-headed idiot. From what I've seen of the two of you together, I imagine you'll have no trouble doing so. Between the two of us, I'm sure Arthur will have his head on straight before long."

Merlin swallowed again. "Okay. So, how do we do this?"

Morgana stopped to ponder this. "First, I think we really need to start changing his mind about magic. But we'll have to be careful, he's not going to completely change overnight. We can start by telling him about my dreams; he knows I've long suffered from nightmares, and I think he trusts me enough not to go running to his father at the first hint of magic."

"You think?"

Morgana swallowed. "At worst, he'll simply think I'm imagining the whole thing. He wouldn't report me just for having dreams." At least, she hoped he wouldn't. And if she was wrong…well, then bringing about Arthur's downfall might not be such a terrible thing after all.

The following evening, Morgana gathered up her courage and went to Arthur's chambers. Inside, Arthur was looking through papers at his desk while Merlin cleaned under the bed. Arthur looked up at her entrance. "Morgana? Is there something I can do for you?"

Morgana took a deep breath. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Well come on then, spit it out," Arthur encouraged.

Morgana hesitated, debating the merits of demanding an oath of secrecy first. She knew that Arthur would take such an oath very seriously…but if she did demand one, then Arthur would probably send Merlin out of the room, and she decided she would prefer that Merlin was here in case Arthur reacted badly. She took another deep breath. "It's about Valiant. The truth is, I didn't actually see anything odd during the tournament proper. I had a dream the night before, in which he commanded the snakes to come alive and strike Ewan."

Arthur stared incredulously at her. "You mean to tell me that you accused a knight of sorcery, based on nothing but a dream?"

"I did investigate first," Morgana snapped, irritated. "And I was right, wasn't I? Ewan confirmed it."

Arthur swallowed. "But then…Morgana, what exactly are you saying?"

"I can see the future in my dreams," Morgana pressed on determinedly. "I can't help it, it just happens. I never chose to be like this, but I can use this power for good!"

Arthur swallowed again. "All right, so you had one dream that came true. That doesn't make it a power. It's…probably a coincidence." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"How many times must it happen before it becomes more than coincidence?" Morgana demanded. "Remember that time your patrol was attacked by bandits, and you and Leon were the only ones to make it back alive? I had a dream about that! Or what about the time that fire broke out in the lower town? I had a dream about that too, and I could go on! This isn't some fluke, Arthur. I see the future in my dreams."

Arthur stared. "But…but that's impossible," he said shakily. "It sounds almost like…like magic…" Abruptly, he stood up, and Morgana unconsciously took a step backwards. "That's it," Arthur decided. "You must be under a curse. We need to get you to Gaius immediately!" He tried to steer Morgana to the door, but she pulled away and shook her head.

"Gaius already knows, he's been lying to me about it for years," Morgana revealed bitterly. "He tried to drug my dreams away, and when that failed, he tried to convince me I was going mad. I don't need any more 'help' from him."

"This has been going on for years?" Arthur repeated, looking gobsmacked.

"For as long as I can remember," Morgana confirmed. "Please, Arthur, your father would never understand, but you've always been different. You would never think I was evil just because I have an unusual ability, would you?"

Arthur swallowed hard before answering. "Of course not. After all, it's not like you're actively using magic. Your secret's safe with me." He put an arm around her shoulder. "Next time you have a dream, come to me and we can figure something out."

Morgana smiled in relief. "Thank you, Arthur. Sometimes I think you're like the brother I never had."

Arthur pulled back to smirk at her. "Morgana, are you saying you care?"

Morgana scowled at him. "Well, you've certainly got the annoying part down perfectly."

There was a muffled snort from under the bed, followed by a cry of pain as Merlin tried to sit up and hit his head on the underside of the bed frame. Arthur whirled around, eyes widening as he apparently noticed Merlin for the first time. He quickly marched over and hauled Merlin to his feet, keeping a tight grip on his shoulder. "If you breathe a word of this to anyone, especially my father, I will have you in the cells for the rest of your miserable life, do I make myself clear?"

"No, I wasn't gonna say anything to anyone, why would I want to tell anyone anything about anyone? My lips are totally, completely, and absolutely sealed," Merlin babbled quickly.

Arthur looked unimpressed. "This is serious, Merlin. You cannot say anything to anyone, and I do mean anyone."

"Yes, Arthur, I do know what 'anyone' means," Merlin retorted, rolling his eyes.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Good. See that you remember it." He finally released Merlin, still giving him a suspicious look.

"Anyway," Merlin said, smoothing out his jacket as if he hadn't just been threatened with a lifetime of imprisonment, "I'm done cleaning, so if there's nothing else, Sire…"

Arthur sighed and carelessly waved a hand. "You're free to go." Merlin exited the room, and Arthur turned back to Morgana. "Sorry about that. Normally, he talks so much that you'd have to be deaf not to notice his presence…"

"Oh, it's all right," Morgana replied, smiling. "He certainly has more spirit than your previous manservants. I think having him around will do you some good." She sobered. "Again, thank you for believing in me."

"Any time, Morgana," Arthur said seriously. "Just remember, come to me if you have any more dreams."

Morgana nodded. "I will. Thank you." She turned and left, heart lighter than it had been in a long time.