Chapter XXIV: The Hunter of Men

Morgana's head was high and her shoulders straight, but her fists were clenched tight, her spine rigid, and she found it hard to breathe.

Uther sat upon his throne, gazing down at the man before him. He did not smile, but Morgana had known him for years. She could tell that he was pleased.

Gwen stood at Morgana's back, almost radiating worry. Morgana could feel her stare boring into her. The maid had squeezed her hand on the way to the throne room, a silent promise of support and protection—or at least, Gwen's eyes had said, whatever meager protection a maidservant could offer. Morgana couldn't help but be grateful for her friend's presence, couldn't help but take strength from Gwen's support. She had the feeling that she could use all the support she could get.

The lady's eyes flitted around the room, settled on Gaius. The old physician looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. He kept his face blank and expressionless, but the tightness around his eyes, the stiffness of his posture, spoke of tension, even a little bit of fear. At his side, Merlin alternated between looking worriedly at his mentor and glaring at the cause of Gaius's fear with a mix of anger and apprehension.

The rest of the court looked on with a thousand emotions: fear, hope, happiness (and Morgana took especial note of those ones, for they were her enemies), wariness, distrust, dislike, eagerness. Leon's new squire, a lad called Marrok, was visibly trembling. Old Geoffrey of Monmouth was as blank-faced as Morgana herself, but once in a while he would glance at his friend Gaius. Arthur was particularly hard to read, which was quite unusual for him, but Morgana didn't think that he seemed particularly happy.

The cause of all this anxiety and anger and, yes, sick joy as well stood in the center of the throne room as calm and cool as a lake on a windless day. He was smiling, but the smile didn't quite reach his cold, serpentine eyes. As Morgana watched, he bowed low before the throne. "Your Majesty."

Uther smiled back, and Morgana's heart twisted at the reminder that he was her enemy, that he would kill her if he knew the truth about her dreams. "Aredian. It is truly a pleasure to have a witchfinder of such talent here at Camelot."

"I wish, Your Majesty, that I could say it is a pleasure to be here, but alas, I cannot. Your city reeks of sorcery, Uther Pendragon. A kingdom one noble and powerful has grown corrupt, rotten to the core, and now we stand on the brink of dark oblivion. You did well to call me here. I only hope that I am not too late."

"My knights are at your disposal," the king announced. "You will have access to all the might of Camelot."

Aredian inclined his head. "The knights of Camelot are the finest in the world, but sorcery is a subtler, more insidious disease. It can only be fought by methods perfected after decades of study, methods known only to myself. All I ask is a fair price, for gratitude alone cannot put food in a man's belly."

"You will have your payment, Aredian," Uther declared. "Now, when do you begin?"

The witchfinder's smile returned full force. "I've already begun."

"Stay away from him, Gwen."

"I should say the same to you."

Morgana shook her head, dark hair flying to and fro. She was pacing from nervous energy, her shoulders shaking. "I don't have a choice," the lady reminded her friend. "I'm Uther's ward, and Aredian is going to eat at his table. But I don't want him to know you exist, even if you're about as magical as my shoes. At least I have my status to protect me."

"And me," Gwen said quietly. "You have me, too."

Morgana's eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away, swallowed hard, unable to speak.

"We have to find some way of getting rid of him," Gwen continued. She sighed. "I don't suppose we could try framing him for theft?"

Morgana winced. That hadn't gone so well last time. Still…. "It almost worked with Sophia," she remembered. "Uther was furious. He would have thrown her and Aulfric out if even if they hadn't tried to kidnap Arthur. And nobody knows that the Tir-mors were framed. Leon is still trying to figure out why they stole those rubies but didn't bring them with when they fled."

Gwen's brow creased. "So do you think that's feasible? Not with woman's jewelry, obviously, but if we could get ahold of, say, something from the royal treasury…."

"Maybe. How long do you think it would take Uther to notice?"

"I really don't know. And then there's the issue of actually getting into the treasury."

Morgana sighed. "I suppose that we should just keep it in mind." She ran her hand through her hair. "But we have to get rid of him somehow, and soon. You heard him going on about how Camelot is rotten to the core. He's going to find spellbinders everywhere, whether or not they're real." She shuddered. She didn't need to say that Uther wouldn't need more proof than Aredian's word before he burnt the poor accused sorcerer alive. Gwen knew that just as well as she did.

Gwen frowned pensively. "Do you think there are any?"

"What?"

"Spellbinders," Gwen clarified. "I used to think that there weren't any actually living in the city, that they'd get as far from Uther as they could, but now I know that there are some who can't get out. And I bet there's others who don't know what they are, people with oddly prophetic dreams or young witches using magic in their sleep."

Morgana nodded slowly. "I never thought about it before, but…. I think you might be right." Somehow, the knowledge made her feel a little less lonely.

"Which is all the more reason to get Aredian out," Gwen declared. "Because even though Uther says all spellbinders are monsters, Morgana, you aren't, and that means that they aren't either. Well, some of them are, I suppose, like the one who poisoned Merlin, but that was something she chose instead of something she is. And—and that little druid boy, the one who disappeared, he and his father were here to get supplies. They weren't going to hurt anybody; they weren't evil either. They shouldn't be treated like the witch who almost killed Merlin, and neither should these other hypothetical sorcerers if they haven't done anything wrong. If they do something evil, if they hurt or kill or something like that, then yes, they should be punished, but—"

"I know," Morgana interrupted. "I know, Gwen."

Her maid smiled weakly. "I suppose you do." She sighed. "But back to the point, we have to get rid of him somehow. Should we do it?"

"Maybe. Let's just see if we can think of anything else first. Any ideas?"

"We could maybe try to—"

A knock interrupted Gwen's suggestion. The maid jumped, eyes going wide. Fear flitted across her face. Morgana wasn't much better. The same question raced through both their minds: Did they know?

The knocker knocked again. Hands fluttering, Gwen darted to the door. She took a moment to compose herself, then opened the door.

A young maidservant stood there, looking just as uncomfortable as the other women felt. "The witchfinder wishes to speak with Lady Morgana," she announced.

Gwen somehow managed to choke out, "Why?"

Morgana's heart pouded in her ears. He knew. He knew, he knew, he knew. He knew, and he was coming to burn her.

But that was not what the maid said. "It's about Gaius."

By the time Morgana's interrogation was over, her entire body was covered in sweat. It glued her hair to the back of her neck, left her palms slick and slippery. She didn't like him at all, the witchfinder with his reptilian eyes. Even if he wasn't going after her—he was after Gaius, a thought that made bright rage flash in her belly—he could always change his mind, could always stumble across something that implicated her as a seer.

But she couldn't think about that now. First, she and Gwen had to figure out some way of saving Gaius, because it was painfully obvious that Aredian wanted the old physician dead. Why, Morgana wasn't quite certain. Everyone knew that Gaius had practiced magic before the Purge, but Uther had pardoned him and he hadn't cast a spell since. Perhaps Aredian knew that Gaius often served as the king's voice of reason, that Gaius might just be able to stand between them. Whatever. Morgana didn't particularly care. She just wanted to save him.

Upon exiting Aredian's chambers, she was unsurprised to find Gwen hovering outside the door. What did surprise her was the presence of her companion—although, if she'd been thinking more clearly, she really wouldn't have been surprised. Merlin was Gaius's ward and nephew and apprentice. Of course he'd be called for questioning.

Wait. Aredian had called Merlin for questioning. The thought brought a completely inappropriate smile to Morgana's lips. She almost wished that she could see their conversation.

Yet Merlin did not enter Aredian's interrogation room. Instead, he walked with her and Gwen. At Morgana's questioning look, the physician's ward explained, "I was the first one he talked to."

Gwen winced.

Merlin glowered at her. "If you must know, I kept the sarcasm to a minimum and went on and on about all the times Gaius has saved Uther's life and how much Uther trusts him and incidentally, Uther would not look kindly on false accusations against his friends because he doesn't really have any, and I've saved his life too. Uther's, that is. Not Gaius's."

Morgana was appalled. "You threatened him?"

Merlin sniffed. "Of course not."

"You threatened him!"

"No, I really didn't. I simply reminded him of a couple pertinent facts."

"By threatening him."

"She's right, you know," Gwen said.

By this time, they had reached Morgana's room. Merlin really ought to have left them then (actually, he technically should have gone right back to Arthur after his bout of questioning was over, but this was Merlin and nobody expected that), but instead he followed them into the room. Morgana arched her brow.

It was Gwen who answered her lady's unasked question. "I ran into him while you were with the witchfinder, and, well, I thought that since it's Gaius, Merlin would help us."

"She thought right," Merlin chirped. A sunny grin dominated his face, but it slipped away mere moments later. The expression that replaced it was cold and calculating and dangerous and not Merlin at all; it made Morgana's neck break out into goosebumps. "But I'd help even if it wasn't Gaius. Seriously, are we the only ones who see the innate problem in trusting a man who's paid to find spellbinders to find spellbinders?" He snorted, rolled his eyes, Merlin once again.

"Uther clearly doesn't," Morgana grumbled.

"What do you think about framing him for theft?" Gwen asked, bringing them back onto topic. "We could plant something in his room and conveniently discover it there."

Merlin's eyes widened to enormous proportions. "So that's how those rubies got there," he breathed, grinning widely. "That was really smart, you two."

"It was Gwen's idea," Morgana told him. Her maid flushed.

"Okay. Gwen is sneakier than she looks. I'll have to remember that for next time I do something nefarious."

The girls rolled their eyes. "Gwen's sneakiness aside, do you think that that would work this time?"

Merlin tilted his head. "Well, he hasn't displayed any interest in Arthur."

Gwen giggled at that, prompting her friends to look at her oddly. "Sorry," the maid said, "it's just that if he had displayed any interest in Arthur, we wouldn't need to have this conversation because Uther would march Aredian to the borders himself."

"…Was that a suggestion?" Merlin asked, trying and failing to keep a straight face. "Because it sounds a lot more entertaining than the theft thing."

"It wasn't," Gwen assured him, but she was starting to look thoughtful.

Morgana tilted her head, deep in thought. "Am I the only one who thinks that this is too good not to use?"

"You're horrible," Merlin chuckled.

"You do realize that I was joking, right?"

"I know, Gwen. But you have to admit, it would be pretty hilarious."

"But how would we do it?" Merlin asked. "Other than carefully, I mean."

"Good question," Morgana muttered.

"My first impulse was to make it look like he'd tried to cast a love spell on Arthur," Merlin said. "Gaius says that there's a truly ridiculous amount of love spells out there. But, well, that would kill him, and I get the impression that you want him gone, not dead."

What he didn't say chilled Morgana's blood. "What?" she breathed.

Merlin looked to the floor, bangs obscuring his eyes. "If it was a choice between Gaius and Aredian…." He swallowed.

"I know," Morgana whispered.

There was a long moment of silence.

"So." Gwen's voice was too light, too loud. It didn't fool anybody, but everybody let themselves be fooled. Merlin and Morgana turned to her, brows raised in question. Gwen smiled. "So," she repeated, "how are we going to do this?"

"Carefully," Merlin instantly replied.

The women glared at him. Flushing, he held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'll be quiet now."

That wasn't going to last long, Morgana knew, but she nodded her acceptance anyways. "I can tell Uther that I've seen Aredian… ahem, gazing inappropriately at Arthur while he's training. He might believe that."

"At the very least," Gwen said, "you'll plant a seed."

"So I will, then," Morgana decided. "What then?"

"Maybe I could arrange for him to 'accidentally' see Arthur in the bath," Merlin suggested. The manservant thumbed his chin. Without a beard, he looked a bit silly doing that, but Morgana decided not to comment. "Maybe I could even do that really soon after the training session."

"No, do it right after I've gone to Uther."

"You realize that you'll have to get him onto the training field, right?" Gwen asked. "How can we do that if he spends all his time in his office?"

"Good question. Do you have any ideas?"

Gwen flushed. "The only thing I can think of right now is using Gaius as bait, but…."

"Okay," Merlin muttered. "Maybe we can come up with this bit later. What should we do after the bath thing?"

"You're not doing the bath thing," proclaimed an all-too-familiar voice.

The three conspirators jumped. Gwen dropped into a quick curtsey. Merlin adopted a highly unconvincing expression of innocence. Morgana plastered a smile onto her face. "Arthur! Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that it's rude to plot against my father's guests?"

Merlin and Gwen exchanged panicked glances. Morgana flushed. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Ever since Merlin started talking about my bath." Arthur raised his brows at them. His arms were folded across his chest in a gesture of forbiddance. "Why exactly did you want Aredian to see me in the bath?"

"He's going after Gaius," Merlin tried to explain.

"And how does that lead to him seeing me naked?"

"Well—"

Arthur held up a hand. "No, no, I don't actually want to know what goes on between those oversized ears of yours. What I want is for my manservant to quit his frankly disturbing little conspiracy and do his job."

"But I am doing my job," Merlin protested. "I'm protecting you! Remember what happened last time your father had 'guests'?"

The prince rolled his eyes. "Merlin, if you find evidence that he has anything to do with the Tir-mors, I'll exile him myself, without him seeing me in the bath. For now, just come with me."

Sighing, Merlin obeyed.

When they were gone, Morgana turned to face her maid. "So I guess we just have to plant money in his room, then?"

"Probably," Gwen admitted. "Arthur will be looking for… well… he won't be looking for evidence that we're trying to frame Aredian for theft."

"Probably."

"Yes, probably." She grimaced. "We really need to figure out a way to stop eavesdroppers."

"We do," Morgana agreed, because what if they'd been talking about her dreams? Well, they obviously wouldn't do that with Merlin there, but the point remained.

They spent the rest of the day deep in conversation. They talked about eavesdroppers and how to prevent them (be more careful and actually check for them), about Aredian and how to get rid of him (it really was a pity that Arthur had caught them, because they'd wanted so badly to pull off their plan), about Camelot in general.

When it was time for supper, they were all talked out. The two wandered back to the dining hall, where Aredian was seated at Uther's right hand. Arthur sat at the king's left, Merlin hovering behind him. Both looked a bit disgruntled, and Merlin (idiot boy that he was) kept shooting glares at the witchfinder.

Gaius was not present.

That was only because he didn't want to be near Aredian, though. He didn't want to spend time near the witchfinder who was so obviously trying to get him killed. That was all, that was the only reason he was gone.

Gwen glided over to Merlin, where she picked up a serving tray (an excuse, no doubt), and whispered something in his ear. Merlin growled something back, then shot his most poisonous glare yet in Aredian's direction. Gwen, stricken, gasped in horror.

"He's been taken for… more extreme questioning," Gwen whispered upon returning to her mistress's side. "He's in the dungeons."

Morgana didn't need to ask who 'he' might be.

What should she do? She couldn't just leave Gaius to rot in the cells. She had to do something, but what? Talk to Uther? If Aredian had already convinced him to imprison one of his few friends, then she doubted she could persuade him otherwise. Unless, she thought, suddenly hopeful, Uther wanted an excuse to let Gaius out, and she could give it to him. Yes. She would talk to Uther, beg him to let Gaius go, but not now, not with Aredian sitting at the king's right hand to contradict everything she had to say. She would speak with him after supper, when Aredian was elsewhere.

Morgana didn't put much on her plate. She wasn't very hungry, and she didn't want to linger here too long, not with Aredian so close and Gaius locked away. She wondered if the witchfinder knew how much he frightened her. He had to know that people were afraid of him, even innocents who had never seen a spellbinder in their lives.

The lady barely noticed when Leon entered the room. She did notice, though, when he went up to Uther and started murmuring in the king's ear. Uther listened with a steadily growing frown. His eyebrows drew together.

By the time Leon was finished saying whatever it was he had to say, half the court was watching. Many courtiers had developed a sixth sense to help them discern when Uther was angry, when he was at his most dangerous. It was a necessity of survival here in Camelot. Now they could all feel the force of his anger.

"Aredian."

"Sire?"

"Come with me. Now."

The king's tone brooked no argument, so Aredian kept his slimy words to himself. Silent and frowning, he followed the other man back to his chambers. Morgana followed at a safe distance, torn between her desire to say away from the witchfinder and her need to know what was happening.

Uther flung open the door. He and his followers filed into Aredian's chambers.

"Here it is, Sire," Leon said softly, opening a plain wooden chest, the same one that had arrived on Aredian's wagon. He reached inside, pulled an item from among the clothes and books.

Morgana's jaw sagged.

It was a staff, a slender length of wood carved with unfamiliar runes and topped with a blue crystal, identical to the staves which Aulfric and his daughter had carried.

For a long moment, nobody moved. It was as though the room itself was holding its breath.

It was Uther who broke the silence. "Arrest him."

Leon stepped towards Aredian, a grim smile on his face. "Of course, Sire."

But the witchfinder was faster than he appeared. One moment, he was gazing at Leon in blank shock. The next, he had pulled a knife from… somewhere, Morgana wasn't quite sure where… and pressed it against the lady's throat. "I think not."

"Unhand her," Uther snarled. His face had gone very white, though whether that was from fear or rage Morgana couldn't tell. She was more focused on the cold steel pressing against her throat.

"No. Not until you've given me a fast horse and a thousand coins of gold, and your oath to not follow me."

Uther's eyes flashed. "You conspired with those who sought to kill my son, and now you hold my ward hostage! No."

Aredian shrugged. The dagger pressed against Morgana's throat, digging into the skin but not yet cutting. She held her breath, tried to shrink away from it, but the witchfinder held her tight.

The tension lay heavy in the room, like how the air grew heavy and charged moments before a lightning bolt struck. Every eye was on Aredian and the hostage he held.

And then he wasn't holding her anymore, but staggering like a drunk, the knife tumbling to the floor. Morgana jerked away, almost running backwards. Aredian grabbed at her, his hands like claws, but he missed.

Gwen lifted the heavy serving tray and hit him again. Her eyes were wide and bright with fear, but her jaw was set and her hands didn't tremble.

Aredian grabbed his knife, spun to—attack, run, Morgana didn't know and would never find out—but then Arthur was there, his sword shining, and Aredian's bleeding corpse dropped to the floor.

"Are you all right?" Gwen asked, her face still pale.

Morgana forced a shaky smile. "I am. Thank you."

Gwen smiled back, and though it was just as wan as Morgana's own, there was genuine affection there, affection and friendship and protectiveness.

"Any time."

I did have Uther say something about summoning Aredian (I think it was just a bit after the Tir-mor incident, but it might have been earlier), so I figured I'd best bring in the witchfinder before I forgot all about him. That, and this can help with my plans for Merlin because it'll remind him of something that he'd forgotten about. We're both very forgetful people, you see, so he needed the reminder.

What Morgana is experiencing is probably what the average person feels during a Season 1 or Season 2 episode: nervous anticipation, outright fear, vaguely confused bemusement as things apparently solve themselves.

Next chapter: May 28. Merlin remembers that thing he'd forgotten about, and I think that we can finally meet Blaise.

Alternate chapter title: "Wherein Merlin Totally Doesn't Threaten a Professional Witchfinder, Just Reminds Him of a Couple Pertinent Facts"

-Antares