Merlin grimaced, glaring at his and Morgana's joined hands.
This situation was humiliating, and faintly ridiculous. The only good thing about it was that Morgana was still currently unconscious.
Now Gwaine had broken the news to him that the party was going to wait until morning. That meant that he would have to spend at least two days and nights tied to a viper who wanted to kill him, and who, even without magic, could probably kill him with her bare hands.
He should have lied and told Arthur he knew of no spell he could use to imprison Morgana. This was too much to bear.
Merlin jumped as Morgana began to stir, but she snuggled back into sleep and he relaxed again. They were still sitting in the grass of the courtyard, waiting for a room to be made up for them. Actually, it was more like they were making the room down, as they were going through and taking away anything that Morgana could use as a weapon against him.
They were going to have to share a bed tonight, not that either of them would be able to sleep. Merlin would never relax his vigilance enough to sleep, and, even if Morgana could, she'd been asleep all afternoon.
Another thing that worried Merlin was bathroom breaks. He kind of had to pee right now. Morgana wasn't going to make such a task easy for him.
He examined the magical bond between them, seeing it in his mind's eye. It was effortless to maintain when they physically touched, but maybe it was possible to stretch it to allow them some distance from each other.
Merlin undid the leather straps that he had wrapped around their hands, and released Morgana's hand, flexing his own. He closed his eyes and confirmed that the bond was still there, but it needed his full attention to maintain. It was dangerous, but it would allow them to have pee breaks, at least. It was too tenuous to allow them to sleep away from each other, though, and if he wanted to be able to function at all with no sleep he would have to keep the physical bond as much as possible.
When he opened his eyes he saw Morgana glaring at him, and with Gwaine's help, managed to go to the privy and allow Morgana to do with same without compromising the spell. Gwaine ducked away as soon as he was no longer needed. Merlin supposed he was no one was going to want to speak to him now—except, and this was rather frightening—Morgana, apparently. She had been trying to engage him in small talk ever since she had awoken.
Morgana's behaviour was a bit worrying to Merlin, too—she closed her eyes with a blissful expression and smiled in the warm, autumnal sun and sighed with satisfaction, swinging their joined hands cheerfully.
"What are you so happy about?" Merlin asked.
"It's so rare to find a man who dotes on you so much he just wants to hold hands all day," Morgana smirked. They walked together to the great room where they had left Arthur.
"Just get those jokes out of your system now, Morgana, because we are going to be constant companions until we get to Camelot. Strange bedfellows indeed," Merlin muttered.
"You can't actually expect me to agree to sleep with you," Morgana said.
"You can lodge a formal complaint with Arthur if you like. There's no other way to contain you. I must be touching you to contain you, especially while I'm unconscious."
"That's patently ridiculous. Touching you may stop me from doing any magic, but I could just smother you with my pillow as you sleep," Morgana said.
Merlin sighed again. "I had thought of that. We will be watched by guards, as well."
"So I have to sleep in a room with you, holding your hand, with at least two guards watching?" Morgana shrieked.
"The shift will probably change at midnight, so it's more like four guards watching you sleep. And to think you could have just toddled off to another kingdom far away, landed some wealthy bloke, or let's face it, King, with your beauty and magic and, um, let's call them, charms, and never seen any of us ever again."
"Why should I have to start again? Camelot is mine," Morgana said.
"What exactly was your plan, anyway?" Merlin asked.
"You'll see," Morgana said.
"So it's not done yet. Your plan," Merlin prodded, trying to hide his surprise that she was telling him anything at all. She did seem to have a slight weakness for bragging about her plans.
"Well, you had to have known there's nothing worth taking in this dump of a Keep," Morgana said contemptuously. "I hope you have your best man guarding Camelot—not that you'll be able to get there in time."
"I can't get there, that's true. I can't use any spells to take me there while I am holding your magic back with my own. But I can find out what is happening," Merlin said. He hated to think of talking to Kilgharrah with Morgana tied to him—Kilgharrah would not only make fun of him for it, he might lose all respect for Merlin. If there was one thing the dragon despised, it was mercy towards enemies, especially Morgana. Worrying about that was a foolish reason not to talk to the dragon, though, and doing so might save lives.
He looked over at Morgana's knowing smirk. "No rider can get to Camelot and back here in time. And you knowing what's happening can't stop it. The people of Camelot will be crying in agony and filling the crypt before you can make your way back there," she said.
Merlin couldn't ever remember being so instantly angry in his entire life. She was so smug—about people, her people, suffering and dying. Without realizing his surroundings—he had entered the great room with Morgana—he stopped abruptly, purposefully jarring her shoulder. She turned around angrily to face him and he slapped her as hard as he could across the face.
Whatever she had been about to say died on her lips. She almost looked frightened at Merlin when he pointed his finger towards her face and said with contempt. "I can be in Camelot in an instant if you're dead, Morgana, so don't tempt me."
"Merlin!" Arthur called. Merlin looked around the room, seeing where they were for the first time.
Merlin sighed and forced himself to calm down, leading Morgana to chairs side by side at a long table in the great room, where they sat down. Merlin had since noticed that nearly anyone who mattered in the kingdom had just seen him slap Morgana. The room was still full of knights, and Arthur appeared to be calming Mithian down to one side of the room. She can't have liked to see him lose control and slap a woman like that, even Morgana.
"I'll get you for that," Morgana said, touching her cheek.
"You've already tried to kill me so many times, Morgana. One little slap shouldn't make you any more homicidal than you already are," Merlin said wearily.
"You forget, Merlin, I thought you were my friend once. You betrayed me first," Morgana said.
"You betrayed Camelot," Merlin said.
"Uther! I betrayed Uther, and he deserved it. He had already betrayed Camelot years before by polluting her with his disgusting purge. I remember watching the executions with you. I know how they affected you. I remember protecting the druid boy with you. You didn't believe magic was evil–and you had the best reason of all not to believe it. You are magic. Born with it, like me. How could you let Uther get away with it?" Morgana asked.
Merlin looked down at the table. He sensed that for once in her life, Morgana was asking an honest question with no agenda. She had to know by now that he would never join her, and she only wanted to know why. Merlin was well aware that, although their conversation was quiet, many people in the room were straining to hear. "Morgana, the magic we were born with was a gift. It was not given to us so we could enslave people and force them to believe what we believe. We're meant to help people. Uther was the King, right or wrong, and most people were happy with his rule. It was not my place to remove him from his position."
"Most people were happy with his rule because by the time we came of age, anyone who disagreed with him about magic had been killed–tortured and burned alive! When you found out I had a claim to the throne, you should have been on my side, Merlin. I would have given you a place of honour in my kingdom, maybe even by my side. You'll never have that with Arthur. Arthur is just like my father. He won't return magic to the land. He is a king, not your friend. Kings can't afford the luxury of friends. He's only let you take this position in his court because he's discovered he can use you. He knows you'll do whatever he says without question so he's willing to let you fight his battles for him. But of course," she continued softly. "Of course you would find such an arrangement acceptable. You love Gaius, and he made that deal long ago. It's a coward's deal–to serve his enemy and save his own skin."
"That is not what's happening here, Morgana," Merlin said. He wanted to argue that that was not what Gaius had done, either, but he knew there was no point in even saying it. Morgana would never agree.
"Merlin!" Arthur interjected loudly.
"Yes?" Merlin replied.
"Just don't speak to her. She's obviously lying about everything. She doesn't know my mind anymore. Don't let her upset you," Arthur said.
Merlin wondered what expression had been on his face that had made Arthur come towards them and interfere. He hoped Arthur was right, and Morgana didn't know what she was talking about. He honestly couldn't pinpoint any part of what she had said that was a lie, though. Part of him had believed every word she had spoken. If he hadn't known about his and Arthur's shared destiny—about the future they would create together—he would have joined Morgana long ago. He was glad he hadn't, because she was ruthless and evil and he knew now why Kilgharrah had warned him so long ago that she had no one's best interests in mind but her own. If he had never met Kilgharrah, though, he was certain he would be on her side.
"Merlin knows I didn't lie about anything," Morgana said, not taking her eyes off Merlin's face.
"Merlin betrayed you first? Not likely," Arthur said.
"That's sweet, Merlin. You lie to the man for years and he still thinks you're incapable of betrayal. It might interest you to know, Arthur, that Merlin knew I had magic for years. He never betrayed me. He frequently lied to you and Uther to protect me. And he did betray me first, well, unless you don't consider dosing me with hemlock betrayal."
"You make it sound so sordid, Morgana, but I did it to save Uther's life, and probably Arthur's, too," Merlin said.
"You really knew Morgana had magic?" Arthur asked faintly.
"Neither you or your father would have ever believed me if I'd told you. I would have been thrown in jail for slander," Merlin said.
"Don't expect Arthur to make allowances for reality. It's his way or nothing, just like Uther," Morgana said bitterly.
Merlin looked at her, unexpectedly feeling more kinship with her at that moment than with Arthur. He smiled briefly. "He has to forgive me. At least until we figure out what to do with you."
"Merlin, you can't really believe that," Arthur said. "You've told me you're going to explain everything, and I am going to withhold judgment until I've heard it all from you."
"But there will be judgment, to be sure," Morgana murmured.
"That's not what I meant!" Arthur said.
"It's interesting, being bound to your worst enemy in the world, isn't it, Merlin?" Morgana asked.
"We don't have to be enemies, Morgana," Merlin said.
"Merlin!" Arthur said.
"None of us have to be enemies!" Merlin nearly shouted. "She's your sister. There was a time you would have laid down your lives for one another."
"That time is past!" Arthur shouted. "She must die for her crimes."
"Should you die for your crimes, Arthur?" Merlin asked.
"Crimes?" Arthur asked. "I have not always made the right choices, and I have done things I regret, but I can't think of any crimes."
"I doubt the druids would agree," Merlin muttered.
Arthur's face suddenly went pale, and he lowered his voice, bending down to speak almost in Merlin's ear. "Merlin, we have to stop this. You can't go on this way. She has you doubting me, who you are, everything! It's only been a few hours and she has us at each other's throats. We have to execute her now."