Chapter Twenty-eight

"Arthur! Arthur wake up!" Gwen shook her husband violently. He shot up in bed and groggily looked towards her, trying to quickly pull his thoughts together.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing how distraught she looked. Then an instant later he remembered. "Merlin! What happened?"

Gwen shook her head. "It's not Merlin. It's Morgana." She looked so completely devastated that Arthur reached out and took her in his arms.

"What happened?" he asked, trying to make his voice sound comforting.

"She used magic," Gwen whispered.

"What?" Arthur asked, shocked. He held Gwen at arm's length and looked into her face. "Magic? Morgana?"

"Yes, during the knighting. In front of everyone. In front of Uther," Gwen whispered.

There was a knock on the front door.

Gwen and Arthur exchanged a glance and then looking hopefully Arthur suggested,

"Maybe it's Merlin! Come in!" he called.

Gaius entered. Arthur struggled not to show his disappointment.

"Arthur," said Gaius, beginning at once. "Have you seen Merlin?"

"No," Arthur shook his head.

"I have not seen him since he went to bed last night," said Gaius gravely. He looked keenly at Arthur. "Has Guinevere told you what happened at the knighting?"

"She said Morgana used magic…but that's impossible," said Arthur.

"I'm afraid it is not. I had been concerned about this for some time." Gaius looked skeptically over Arthur. "Am I right in believing that Merlin has confided in you?"

Arthur glanced sideways at Gwen and then nodded.

"I thought so,' said Gaius, "He didn't tell me, because I have so often urged on him the importance of secrecy, but I have heard the two of you talking occasionally just as I come in. I suspected he had told you his secret."

"Well," admitted Arthur, "He didn't so much tell me it as save my life with it, but yes, I know his secret."

Gwen frowned, looking from one to the other of them.

"Then I can trust you," said Gaius, "I'm afraid I must. You must have realized by now, from knowing Merlin, that magic is not evil!"

Arthur nodded slowly. "I have come to realize that fact. There are as many different ways to use magic as there are people to use it." He thought briefly of his father.

"Wait…" Gwen's eyes were opened wide in surprise. "Merlin has magic? That's what you two are saying isn't it?"

"I…would have told you Gwen but it wasn't my place to tell," said Arthur.

"Merlin?" she repeated. "I mean I always knew there was so much more to him then he showed but…magic. I never expected that."

"You and me both," muttered Arthur.

"I need to trust you both now," said Gaius. "I have suspect for some time now that Morgana's nightmares were not natural."

"What are they?" asked Arthur.

"I believe her to be a very powerful seer. It is not a common talent, even among magic users, so I cannot be sure. But I believe the nightmares to come from that. Regardless it is clear she has power, and from what we saw this morning, it's a very strong power, if at yet she is unable to control it. But I think she's known, subconsciously, for some time now." Gaius sighed and shook his head. "I wish this could have been avoided. I prayed that Uther would never learn the truth."

More secrets, thought Arthur contemplatively. Had the secrets ever really helped? Had they helped Morgana now? Or did the secret of his mother's death ever really help anyone?

"It could have been avoided today," said Gwen. "It was Morgause."

Gaius raised his eyebrows. "The Lady who was sent by Lord Salvak?"

"She wasn't sent by him," said Arthur. "That was a lie."

"I saw her," continued Gwen, "She crushed some glass and something came out of it and went into Morgana. It was some kind of smoke."

"Do you think she possessed her somehow?" asked Arthur, concerned.

"No," Gaius shook his head, "From of I heard of the incident, the magic that came out was all Morgana's. Whatever kind of spell Morgause used, it must have been something to force Morgana's magic to erupt and reveal itself."

"Why would Morgause want that?" asked Gwen.

"She wants to kill Uther," said Arthur, "She told Merlin so."

Gaius frowned at this. "Why would she tell Merlin that?"

"They've been…sort of friends," said Arthur, not feeling quite capable of explaining the exact relationship between the two. He waved the issue aside. "That's not important now. What's important is she has told him that she wants to kill Uther. She exposed Morgana during a very public ceremony. All of Camelot will know and soon all the neighboring kingdoms will know too. If Uther dies now, before he has a chance to execute Morgana or make plans for a new heir…Camelot will either fall, torn apart by bickering nobles each grabbing for the throne…or Morgana will become Queen. A Queen exposed as a sorceress. More people than just Uther hate magic. Powerful people. They'll come after Morgana. In fact, with Uther's death occurring so shortly after Morgana's exposer…it will look as if she were responsible for it. Any ally or friend of Uther, or anyone who simply is looking for an excuse to expand the borders of his kingdom. They will all come after Morgana. She will need the support of other magic users if she hopes to keep her throne and Camelot. Magic will go from being hunted and feared…to being Camelot's first line of defense."

Gwen shook her head at the idea. "It can't happen this way."

"I agree," said Gaius. "One day there will be peace between magic and Camelot, but it cannot be allowed to be brought about like this."

Arthur rose to his feet and nodded. "Then we have to do something. Where is Morgana now?"

"She's been taken to the dungeon," said Gaius.

"Very well. I'll go into night and try and break her out."

"What about Morgause? She doesn't need Morgana in the dungeons for her plan to work. In fact if Morgana is missing while Uther is killed, it could facilitate it. She must be stopped as well."

"Yes I know. But I don't think I can stop her without Merlin and I won't leave Morgana in the dungeons at Uther's so called 'mercy'."

"Where is Merlin?" asked Gaius, "I'm very concerned about him."

"As am I," Arthur agreed. "He went out last night to meet Morgause in the woods and he hasn't come back."

Gaius looked horrified and Arthur hurried on,

"But I don't think she would have killed him. From what he's told me, she seems to think he's important in building magic's future. I think she probably realized he wouldn't have anything to do with Uther's murder and would try and stop her so she's got him prisoner somewhere. We'll find him Gaius, I promise."

He turned to Gwen. "I don't want to put you in any situation that might be dangerous, but I will need you tonight, but you must swear you won't do anything reckless."

Gwen crossed her arms and gave him a look. "I seem to remember taking pretty good care of myself when there was a pack of shadow hounds around. I think I can manage myself thank you."

Arthur grinned. "Alright. I need you to sneak into the castle. There's a pillar right near my fa-, Uther's chamber. You should be able to hide behind it and not be seen by the passing patrols. I need you to keep an eye on the room through the night. I don't think Morgause would try anything tonight but I want to be sure. If you do see her enter the room however, get the guards immediately. Don't try to stop her yourself."

Gwen nodded and Arthur continued, "I'll break Morgana out. She and I make for the woods then and we'll look for Merlin. He told me where he was meeting Morgause. Maybe I can follow their tracks from there. Once we've got him back we'll go after Morgause. And Gaius," he turned to the physician. "You're Uther's best friend and most trusted advisor. If he'll listen to anyone he'll listen to you. Tomorrow, whether we fail or succeed, you must try and convince him to be lenient on Morgana. He loves her dearly, and I know, despite the differences, how very important he is to her as well. She needs him as much as he needs her."

Gaius nodded, "I'll do my best."

Arthur nodded and sighed, "We all will."