I have and never will understand why Merlin doesn't tell Morgana that they both possess magic. It's such heart-wrenching episode with complicated and torn emotions. Yes, there's Gaius and the Dragon's warnings about Morgana's destiny, but I think destinies are malleable. The reason Morgan clings to Morguese so easily is because she feels so alone. And let's face it, while Gaius is a great mentor, Merlin needs someone who understands him more fully. And that person is Morgana.

Chapter 10

She saw the spark. She knew…well, he wasn't entirely sure what she knew. But her pleading glances from across the table said she knew something was happening.

He left the Great Hall immediately after dinner, barely avoiding a moment with Morgana. Back in his room, he was frantically searching through his book of magic. There had to be some way to end this, some way to alleviate the symptoms, to avoid the spark between them.

It was getting harder and harder to resist the urges. When she had swept into the Great Hall, he nearly lost his mind. That dress…her hair…all of it spoke of dark pleasures that they both wanted. He instantly wanted to rip that blasted bit of fabric off her body and reveal the sensual curves that the dress alluded to.

And the way she looked at him throughout dinner…he felt like the last piece of bacon on the plate. And she looked ravenous. He never thought that a woman's gaze could make him so aroused, but the emerald fire of her eyes burned his skin.

The worst thing for his tattered control was her aroused response. He had been hypnotized and unable to look away…and his stare had the same effect. Her luscious skin flushed with arousal and her breasts were begging for his touch.

And then Uther had ruined it all. Nearly exposed their magic. Her touch was so unexpected in that moment. His hands were still shaking with rage yet one touch of her soft palm replaced his anger with something else entirely.

And nearly got them both hanged. That's why he needed to find a solution, a temporary way to end the agony for one more day. Then he could go back to being Merlin, the lanky servant and she could go back to the beautiful, untouchable princess of the castle. No one's secrets would be revealed and everything would be back to normal. Well, normal enough. He'd still be hopelessly smitten with her. But that he could control.

Avoiding her hadn't work and neither had pushing her away. He hated the look on her face when he said "it's not". But he spoke the truth; it wasn't love, it was magic. And the less illusions he held the better. He could almost believe her, too. Her voice had sounded so sincere speaking words of love. But he knew better. Or at least he would.

He hated this. Hated the way she was making him feel, like they had a chance. And he hated magic despite all of its benefits. He began to curse loudly, words of anger, words of passion, words of pain.

"You'll strip the paint from the walls with that language," Gaius said as he entered Merlin's room.

"Yeah, well, you'd be cursing if you were nearly caught by Uther himself in the Great Hall," Merlin said frustrated.

"How did this happen?" Gaius asked, immediately alert.

He relayed the whole story of Uther's story and Morgana's comfort while scouring through the book.

"So you see, I have to find some way to handle this. I'm nearly out of my mind as is, but now she knows something's afoot. I tried everything to get her away from me. Avoidance, rejection, nothing has worked," Merlin replied, another chapter of the book proving useless.

"You could leave,"Gauis said.

"You have no idea how much that idea appeals to me. But Uther told the tale, remember? He's already suspicious of me because of Morgana's reaction to my touch. If I try to leave, he'll likely throw me in jail," he said.

"What about Morgana? Did she say anything to you? Does she know about your magic? Does she know about your own?" Gaius said.

"I don't know. She heard the tale too and she was looking to me for answers. But I might be able to explain it away. Something about static or something. She might believe that. She's confused but I think I can persuade her that it was nothing. Particularly, if I can end this madness," he said. He was searching and still couldn't find anything. This book was supposed to be one of the only magical texts left in the kingdom and if it didn't have answers, he didn't know what would.

"You probably won't find anything in there," Gaius said without prompt.

"Well, then where in the bloody hell am I supposed to find some information about this holiday?" Merlin said, clearly exasperated.

"The library. Uther destroyed books as well as people during the Great Purge. But a few still remain. They're in the far right corner, row five, shelf one. Check behind the shelf and you'll find a small cache of books on magic," Gaius said.

"Far right corner, row five, shelf one. Got it. How did books like this survive?" Merlin asked.

"I saved them. I couldn't let all of our knowledge about magic be lost. Now go on with you, it's after dinner, so you should be able to sneak in. I hope you find something but it's unlikely. Magic like this is…elemental. It will be very difficult to undo," Gaius said.

And with those words of pessimism, Merlin left for the library. There had to find some way to undo this. He valued both his and Morgana's necks.

And his sanity.

FINIS

What say you? Yes, the next scene will be in the library.

What's your opinion on to tell or not to tell?

Do Merlin's actions in 2.3 determine Morgana's fate?

Please review!