And the plot thickens, so they say.

Guys, gotta leave your thoughts! I'm getting a bit discouraged over here. :(

Analise paced through her chambers, her heels clicking against the wooden floor as she tried to come up with a reasonable solution for the problem that was set in front of them. Merlin sat on her bed, playing with a loose thread on his neckerchief.

"Won't it seem suspicious, though, me riding out suddenly with no explanation, with the Lady of Astolat?" Merlin asked.

"Of course it would. But we can't involve Arthur or any knight in this. He and his men are riding out to Astolat in a few days to fight off Cenred. And if they realize I'd been lying to them the entire time..."

"What are we supposed to do?"

"If I knew Merlin, do you think I would be pacing around my chambers trying to figure out a solution?"

"I suppose not."

"There has to be some way we can go about this. Some way that won't seem glaringly suspicious."

Merlin pulled off his boots with a light groan, they were getting too tight for his feet, and fell backwards onto her bed.

"I have not a clue. I wish I did, but I don't."

She climbed into bed next to him, the fabric of her silvery-white dress tickled an area of his torso where his tunic had ridden up, and he brushed it away. He played with some beading on her sleeve, almost mesmerized by the obvious focused dedication put into the design of this royal outfit.

"You can do some of your memory magic on Uther," Merlin suggested.

"No, I've done enough of it when I first came to Camelot, with the recounting of my tales with Astolat. After so many spells, the person begins to notice something's not right."

"Here I thought I had a perfect idea."

She chuckled and rolled to her side, propping her head on her hand. They shared a smile, the kind of smile that only two people who understand each other so deeply share. A comfortable silence fell between them, both lost to their own thoughts, and they both eventually drifted into sleep.

~O~

In Camelot, for a servant to have a relationship with somebody of noble blood was strictly against the law, just part of Uther's tyrannical reign over the kingdom.

So, it made sense, that when a castle servant caught Merlin and Analise together and told the guards, Merlin was forced out of bed, put in chains and led down to the dungeons. They were a dark, damp, altogether completely unpleasant area of the castle. He was shoved into the cell, shackled to the wall and left alone to breath in the musty air, staring at the tiny window toward the top of the wall. He hated these damn dungeons. He sat lonely in the dark for possibly an hour, judging by the shadows, chains irritated his wrists even though he hadn't moved from his position in the far corner, legs drawn up, head on his knees. Arthur and his father came down to visit him, and he dreaded the thought of what Uther might say.

"Show yourself Merlin," he heard Arthur say.

He carefully took a few measured steps out of the dark and toward the king and crown prince.

"There has to be a good explanation for this."

"I'd love to hear it," Uther said.

Merlin hung his head.

"Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

"I don't see what I did wrong," Merlin said, his voice low.

"You were caught in bed with Lady Arian."

"Father, please. That's hardly a crime," Arthur tried.

"He is a servant. In my kingdom, that is a crime."

Arthur rolled his eyes; if there was one thing to be said about Arthur, it was that he didn't share many of his father's views.

"This is ridiculous. How could you possible know the nature of their relationship? It may be completely innocent."

Ignoring his son, Uther walked directly up to Merlin.

"You will not be released until Lady Arian leaves this kingdom."

"Father! Who knows how long that'll be. He is my servant, after all."

"Then you can find a new one in the meantime."

Uther brushed past his son and left without another word.

"Arthur, please, you have to understand..." Merlin began.

"I'm sorry Merlin. There will be no changing Father's mind here. You should have known better."

Merlin sighed and slunk back into the dark, sliding to the ground. Arthur stood for a moment, watching Merlin stare at the wall before he, too, left. He was alone for another maybe two hours, amusing himself by occasionally using magic to make the hay at his feet form different shapes in the air. That amusement didn't last very long though. His next visitor was one Merlin certainly didn't expect: Morgana.

He made little effort to his dislike for the king's ward as he said, "What are you doing here?"

"I...I came to see you." Morgana sounded honestly shocked at the tone of Merlin's voice.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'm terribly sorry about what happened. I've talked to Uther, but you know there's no convincing him once his mind is set."

Merlin was almost convinced; then he remembered, now Morgana was only out for herself and the crown. She wanted to rule over Camelot, for she saw herself as the 'rightful' Queen. All her words hid her motives, her warm smiles hid her hardened hatred under the surface.

"I'm sure you tried your best."

Finding that sufficient encouragement, Morgana rushed over and dropped to her knees beside him, holding on to his arm. "I am so sorry, Merlin. For everything. You must have been through a great ordeal with all of this."

Merlin then deduced that it wasn't one of the castle servants who turned him in; it had been Morgana. She knew of his abilities, or was at least suspicious of them. She still believed Analise to be an ally of hers, so Morgana saw Merlin as a threat. He pushed her hands aside, refusing to to fall for her sugar coated words. "I'm sure you are."

An angry look played across her face before she stood up, the delicate, light selections of fabrics on her dress falling around her. Merlin hardly noticed the sound of her footsteps fading away, or the incoherent sound of her voices talking to the guards outside his cell door.

When he learned that Morgana had visited him, Uther decided to come back down to his cell to make it known just how he felt about such a visit.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this second visit?" Merlin quipped, beyond bitter and caring at this point.

Uther reached and struck Merlin across the face. He stumbled back against the wall and clapped his hand over the right side of his face.

"Under what circumstances did Morgana come down here?" Uther demanded, grabbing Merlin roughly by the shoulders.

"I don't know!"

"Do not lie to me."

"I'm not lying!"

Uther searched Merlin's face for any sign of dishonesty but found nothing but the boy's blank azure eyes staring back at him. Releasing his shoulders with a shove backwards, Uther took a step away from Merlin.

"What is the nature of your relationship with Morgana?"

"We don't have a relationship."

"If I find out you're lying to me..."

"I'm not!"

"What did she say to you?"

"That is none of your business."

Uther reached out and struck him again.

"I have a right to know everything that goes on in my castle."

"And you care about a simple servant?"

"When it involves my ward, yes."

Merlin rubbed his jaw, attempted to work out the pain.

"I hate to inform you, but it's a conversation even you would find uninteresting."

"You have a lot of nerve speaking to me like that," Uther said threateningly. "Unless you want to end up in the stocks for a week, I suggest you choose your next words wisely."

Merlin sighed; it was lucky for Uther that Merlin really hated the stocks. "I'm sorry, sire."

"I better not hear of Morgana coming down here again. Do you understand me?"

"I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Good."