Hey guys, I'm sorry with the cliff hanger! And no Izzy, you're not a stalker with all the reviews! Keep 'em coming! During this story I got a bit of writers block, then I started to write and this chapter kind of wrote itself. After this I'm planning on writing more Merlin fan fictions, but I'll be writing a few others. Also, has anyone seen Repo! A genetic Opera? Starring Anthony Head (Uther) and Alexa Vega (Spy kids) it's amazing, I didn't know Uther could sing! Here's the link to a song: .com/watch?v=ogNZUZvo7Wg

On with the Story!

"Morgana!" Gwen squealed, her hair in a nightcap.

"I always wondered how you kept you hair so neat" Morgana said, and Gwen pursed her lips.
"Don't joke, Morgana. I meant what I said earlier, about you could get hurt. You always jump into things without thinking. How the hell did you get out? Why are you out?" Morgana felt sheepish. Her plan was sounding less and less genius.

"I was er, wondering if I could stay with you?" Morgana asked, and Gwen pulled her inside.
"Quick, before anyone sees!"

"And so, I hear them saying it was Alvarr, it's not him, Gwen, it's just not!" Morgana said, finishing the story. Gwen had listened the whole time. "How do you know, Morgana? No one knows how he escaped! He could have used dark magic then, and now he's trying to get you for what Uther did to him!"

Morgana hadn't told anyone about Alvarr, not even Gwen, not to protect yourself, but for some other reason she couldn't quite understand. Alvarr was like her. He wouldn't try to kill her, like Uther would if he knew her secrets.

"Gwen, magic isn't bad. He wouldn't use dark magic. I know-" she paused. "Gwen, Uther killed your father because of magic. How can you believe it's bad?" She said gently, not wanting to upset her friend.

"Morgana, you keep saying you know Alvarr wouldn't do this. How? Did you talk to him before?"
When Morgana paused, something clicked. "It seems you have three hearts you are holding" she said quietly, and when Morgana just looked at her, she said "Arthur, Leon, and Alvarr. I don't particularly know them, all I know is you care about Arthur, but I think your bickering gets in the way of you telling your feeling, Sir Leon definitely likes you, Merlin says he's always talking about you, your hair, your skin, your eyes. In fact he thinks it's quite creepy but that's love in a different form I suppose. And you have to decide about Alvarr. What would Uther do if he found out the truth, that you like a criminal, a sorcerer? He'd burn you both at the stake, that's what! Then again, sometimes we have to suffer for love"

Morgana was speechless.

Then she realised something about the three men, she didn't knew why, or how, all she knew, was that:

One loves you, one wants you and one needs you.

But which is which?

Morgana was about to tell her everything, when another knight walked in. But Morgana was prepared this time. Throwing her cloak over her shoulders, she pulled out two daggers and threw them at the knight's heart, and he dropped to the floor, jerking, dead. That was surprisingly easy Morgana thought. Her instincts were screaming at her 'too easy!' and she grabbed the daggers from the body. Gwen was pressed against the wall, white and shaking. "You okay?" Morgana asked her. Gwen screamed silently, and pointed to the door. Morgana turned, but too late- she faced a big, metal fist towards her face.

"Wake up, darling" for a moment Morgana thought she was home in Camelot, her safe, warm bed. Then she felt something rip at her stomach, and she screamed, feeling agony. Opening her bleary eyes, she looked at the person. He had a whip in his hand, covering with her blood.

But it wasn't the whip that caught her attention.

It was the face.

His face.

LEON.

"Leon?" Morgana gasped, surprise covering her face. He smirked, which didn't suit his boyish face.

"Hello Morgana. I'm glad you are awake!"

Morgana looked around. She was in some kind of small dungeons, the tiles on the ceiling dripping with stuff she didn't want to think about, the floor freezing cold, bumpy stones making it uncomfortable to sit on.
Around her hands were chains, attached in the wall behind her. Her left eye stung where she had been punched by one of the knights. She had one whip mark across her stomach, blood rolling down her hips in small drips, ruining the dress she was wearing. She saw her cloak and dagger in one small corner, to far away to reach with the chains on.

"Why?" She asked Leon in a small whisper, not managing to raise her voice.
"Well, at first I wanted to get back at Arthur. As a young boy he was a bastard to me, he used me to hold targets the throw darts at! I went away, it got so much, ran away from my family, my friends. I didn't even tell my mother was going. Then, one day, I finally decided to take revenge on Arthur. I was 16 years old, a full man. Arthur didn't even recognise me. I searched everywhere for my mother, and finally, I found out that she was executed for being a witch. Guess who passed that order? Uther Pendragon. So I really had it in for your family when I saw you, with that serving girl. I didn't know who were. You hurried back to the caste, and -"

"I dropped my purse" Morgana finished for him "And you picked it up and said 'you'll have to be more careful'"

"That's when I realized, and over the next few weeks when Arthur made me a knight, that I decided killing you would effectively kill Uther, and Arthur, because he's in love with you. But then Arthur mentioned this crap saying he didn't believe in death, that eternal spirits would meet again, and I knew killing you wouldn't just do it; I changed my plans, told the knights not to kill you, but to bring you to me. Because I'm going to marry you"

His words brought on a silence, in which Morgana's heart dropped painfully, as the words sunk in like needles.

"Wait- so what about the knights? Who are they, how did you get them to do your bidding for you?"

"I'm a sorcerer" he mentioned casually, like talking about the weather. "But I was not born of magic. When I left Camelot, I met with some group called the druids. They taught me everything I knew. But when I spoke of my plan of killing you, they all turned against me. Even the little boy, Mordred, and Alvarr, who had been captured by Uther before. A lot of people care about you Morgana, people I hate. Come now, my sister is going to help you with your wedding dress. I will send an invite to everyone, including Arthur, but not Gwen. I'll be keeping her safe so she doesn't tell a soul. And if you tell anyone that this wedding is against your will, I will kill Prince Arthur, and Gwen, and Uther and everybody in the world you have to love" and with that, a woman came in, about five years younger than Morgana.

"Leon! You said you wouldn't hurt her!" she scowled at him, Morgana looking betweens them like a tennis match.
"She wouldn't wake up! I had to do something" he insisted. "Will you please get her ready?"
"Fine, but you owe me. She's probably going to scratch my eyes out. I think this is a terrible plan, Leon"
"It's not what you think, Gabrielle, it's what I think. I still haven't forgiven you or Marcus for just standing there and letting mother die" his eyes were glinting like cold diamonds. "Leon, it wasn't our fault! I was a little girl, you had gone, Marcus was drinking, mother was crying over your photo, when they came. She hid me under the table, and Marcus hid himself" Gabrielle started crying as Leon just glared at her with disliking. "I don't care what crap you made up, Gabrielle. Just get Morgana ready for the next few weeks. It's Monday the tenth December, isn't it? Right then Morgana darling, I think we should have a Christmas wedding! Don't worry, I'll get Lisa to do the invitations" and he walked out of the room, almost gleefully.

Morgana turned to Gabrielle. "Gabrielle? Look, I know you love your brother, but please, you have to help me-"
"Save it, Lady Morgana" Gabrielle spat. "Leon told me you were very persuasive. My brother hardly trusts me as it is; I'm not going to throw that all away for some Kings ward. Now, hurry up" she said, unlocking the keys. Morgana took a note that she put the key in her skirt pocket, and wondered if she would get a chance to steal the key. Gabrielle led Morgana out through the dungeons into a labyrinth of dark stone walls, with lamps rarely lighting the way. Finally, they walked up about 10 flights of stairs, Weariness nearly knocking Morgana down. They walked into a windowless room, and in the middle was a mannequin with a white dress on it. It must have cost more than the place she was in, or more than all of her beautiful dresses at home. It was low cut, a bodice made from an ivory bodice, pearls sown into it, with a silk skirt trailing to the floor. The arms were loose, made of fine lace, like spider webs. Gabrielle instructed to try it on, and locked her in the room. It fit Morgana like a glove, and she had to admit it was the most beautiful thing she'd seen in her life. Gabrielle came in. "Well, you'll certainly make one of the most beautiful brides ever" she said drily. "You are to stay in your room until the big day, and we'll do your hair and get you ready then. Everything else is being sorted, including telling Uther. Leon showed me a trick" she said, waving a hand in front her face and torso. Before, Gabrielle was a short, skinny girl with freckles and tanned skin. She had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. But she seemed to morph. Her skin grew pale, and creamy, her eyes a startling blue, she grew a few inches at least taller, and her hair grew, getting more wavy and dark. Morgana watched Gabrielle form into herself. And when Gabrielle spoke, she had Morgana's voice "Uther! I'm so dreadfully sorry that I ran away. I was afraid, confused. But I bumped into Sir Leon, and he said kindly that I should tell you I was safe, because you'd be worrying. He's such a considerate man, Uther, and that's why I want to ask you if I can give him my hand in marriage" Gabrielle finished her speech, and Morgana's eyes widened.
"You're going to say that to Uther, aren't you?" She whispered.
"Well, duh!" Gabrielle smirked. "Look princess, it was either this or a letter. Leon preferred the face to face approach, but we can't trust you not to give a signal to Uther. Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to tell my magic hating daddy I'm getting married!" and she flounced out the room, and Morgana watched herself walk away, hoping she would never have that sneer on her face Gabrielle had used.

She finally realised she was in a hopeless predicament, and she didn't know how she was going to get out of this sticky situation. Then a thought popped into her mind. Arthur! He wouldn't be fooled by Gabrielle, she assured herself. He knew her like she knew herself, surely? That had grown up together. But if that was the case, why was she always trying to figure out what he was thinking? And what if Arthur didn't even see Gabrielle. And when he heard of the wedding... Morgana felt her heart crumple, and she sank to the floor, not caring about the dress, and wept.

12th December- Morgana stays in her room.
13th December- She is forced to join Leon to dine, though she does not say a word.
!4th December- The dress is adjusted, then cleaned several times.
15th December- Morgana stays in her room till the 18th
18th December- Gabrielle returns, the job being done, though she is obviously worried about something.
21st December- Morgana finally manages to get Gabrielle to tell her what happened.

"He's such a considerate man, Uther, and that's why I want to ask you if I can give him my hand in marriage" Gabrielle told Uther, as he sat broodingly. Then he cracked a smile. "Where's is the lad? Bring him in, I want to tell him how happy I am! Thank God Morgana, I thought you might marry a village boy just to spite me!" Gabrielle smiled sweetly, which was totally unlike Morgana if she was insulted, but no one noticed. "Uther, I'm sorry, he's gone to his family to tell them the good news! But you'll see us at Christmas, on the big day!" Gabrielle said, clapping her hands together. Arthur came walking in, pausing at the sight of Uther smiling while Morgana clapped her hands. "What going on? Father, Morgana?" he asked.

"Morgana's getting married!" Uther explained, and Arthurs face dropped. In the same split second, he had a cool, hard face on, like a mask. "To whom?" He asked.
"Our own knight Leon!" Uther was surprisingly happy "Of course, I had hoped for her to marry some Lord, or foreign prince, but a knight would be the next choice"

"Sir Leon?" Arthur asked appalled. Then he stalked out the room, Gabrielle on his heels. He headed into her chambers, which had now been fixed from the break in weeks ago, the mirror shards cleaned up, the wall hangings replaced. On the side, though, was Arthurs flowers.
"Arthur... What's wrong?" She said, still sickly sweet.
"What's wrong? One minute you say that you weren't... you weren't... And now you're getting married? I just..." and he sighed, walking away.
"Don't be sad, brother, Leons been good to me" She almost squealed as Arthur spun on his heels, face-to-face with her, shaking with anger. "Brother? Brother? Morgana, never once in our lives have you ever called me brother? And what, now you're getting married, why should that change? You are not. My. Sister." He said through gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry" Gabrielle said, softly. Arthur's eyebrows rose. Morgana never caved in to a fight.

Arthur grabbed her, pinning her against the wall. "Who are you?" he demanded. Through his eyes he could see he was hurting Morgana a little bit, then remembered that this wasn't Morgana. "Arthur, it's me, Morgana!" Gabrielle said, twisting and turning as she tried to get out of his reach. "If you're really Morgana, have we ever kissed?" he asked. Surely only Morgan would know that. Gabrielle didn't answer. "I'm your sister" she said, and it almost broke Arthurs heart. Maybe it was Morgana, and she didn't want t admit to the kiss because she knew it was wrong, that they in a way, were siblings.

"Next question. If you're Morgana, you'll know this. What is your favourite flower?"
Gabrielle's eyes darted, seeing the flowers in the vase. Roses and Lily's. "Arthur, this is ridiculous-" she looked at his determined face "Fine. Roses."

Arthur beamed. Then he lunged at Gabrielle, pulling his sword to her throat. "Where's Morgana?" He asked.
"how- did -you -know?" Gabrielle gasped, trying to wriggle away from the sharp point of the sword.
"because Morgana- the real Morgana, could never make a choice believe the two. She thought the roses had a better scent, but thought Lilies were too underrated, that they should get more attention. Also, she never saw lilies before as the smell of lilies reminded her father of death because they were at mother's funeral."

For a second Gabrielle just stared at him "You care about her that much, huh?" Tears welled in her eyes as she saw him nod fiercely. "Why? How can you love someone so much?"

Arthur paused, thinking of all his memories with her, which was basically all his, because she was in them all.

"I know her more than myself. The way she never backs down without a fight, she cares about people, she stands up for them, she's loyal, she's intelligent, she doesn't brag much, she knows exactly what to say at the right time, she's funny and can have even Uther stitching up, the way the sunlight catches her hair, the way she can quote poetry and is well educated, the way she looks so innocent and yet can be behind the best pranks, she's loving to everyone and brave..." he trailed off "And the way she can make anyone fall in love with her, especially me" realisation had hit him full in the face.
"I've been so happy for all these years with her, everything perfect, and I guess I didn't want anything to change. And yet, know I realize that I've just been rejecting my feelings because some part of me is wondering maybe I'm not good enough for her. She deserves to be a queen, and she can be, but Morgana is so much deeper than that. She believes in true love, even though she knows people suffer for it. And know I know why she's believed in true love all this time, because surely she feels it for me as I feel it for her? It's amazing, like eyes being opened for the first time, everything blinding, bright and overwhelming. Now, one more time before I kill you, who are you and where is Morgana?"

"My names Gabrielle. I'm Leons sister."

Arthurs face dropped. Eyes widened, mouth opened as he tried to take in the fact that "Leon?" he asked. "Leon is the one that's got Morgana? Why? What's he doing to her?"

"Let me up and I'll tell you" Gabrielle said. The pair got up, dusting themselves off. "Thank you, Arthur. What you and Morgana have is special, but I'm afraid I can't let you ruin plans for my brother" and she sprinted out of the room. Arthurs reactions were too slow, and by the time he ran after her, she had disappeared.

Christmas day.

"Here comes the bride, all dressed in white" sang Leon through the door, as Morgana tried the dress on for the final time. "Come, my love, it's time for you to return home to Camelot!"

Hours later, Morgana stood outside the doors, shaking. Where was Arthur?

The music started, and the doors opened.
After Gabrielle had returned, Leon had returned to Camelot, and had placed a spell on Arthur, making him forget everything.

Arthurs eyes blazed as he saw Leon standing there cockily. He felt disliking for him, but why was he so angry? Shouldn't he be happy his favourite knife and Morgana were marrying? Then he saw her. Everyone gasped.

Morgana looked like an angel.

The dress was beautiful, and complimented her in every way possible, her body slender with curves in the right places, her skin silky smooth and creamy, and her hair flowed down her shoulders in inky waves, like ripples in the water.

Arthur realised he loved her. Every moment they had shared- lying in the gardens in the sunlight, staying in reading as the rain poured, bickering, joking, and laughing, every moment he had loved. Because of her. He wanted more. He wanted to hold her and kiss her, to call her his. For her to look at him with eyes filled with love and trust, as they did that day he saved her in the lake.

He had to do something. But suddenly everything was speeding up, faster and faster.

Why was she marrying Leon, and not him? Leon wasn't good enough for her, no one was. But he would try.

"I do" Leon said.

Morgana just nodded, when it came to her, as if she couldn't speak.

"Speak now, or forever hold your peace" the old vicar said.

"STOP!" Arthur called. Every pair of eyes in the room turned on him, but he didn't care. He just saw Morgana's ones, desperate and pleading. For what, he didn't know. For him to shut up, or to save her, he didn't know.

"Morgana, can we please go outside?" he asked, and she nodded, and more eyes followed them. Music played to entertain people in their absence.

Morgana was mouthing something at him, as if she couldn't talk. "Morgana, what's wrong?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Do you love him?" he said, anger and jealously in his tone. She made a gasping sound, then spoke.

"I- I, why do you care?" She asked angrily
"because I care about you, Morgana!" Arthur said angrily.
"No- that's not what I mean. Why would you jump to conclusions that I was unhappy? You were a bit too ready to jump to conclusions in the stables that night, Arthur"

Tension was building in Arthurs head, voices whispering from all directions. Feelings and emotions that he'd never felt before were writhing inside him.

"I- Why do you have to make everything difficult, Morgana?" he exclaimed.

"I'm not the one avoiding questions. And it's not like I deliberately try to make things difficult for you, sometimes you're just intolerable!" Morgana was getting everything off her chest, all the past few years. She expected Arthur to save her, not quarrel like two year olds. She was about to tell Arthur that she was being forced into the wedding, but then realised that she hadn't talked properly to Arthur in ages, and all their problems were just building and building.

"Well, I guess maybe I was just jealous of Leon" Arthur finally admitted, his eyes dark.
"Jealous? Because of some contest? How do you think I feel when I see you with Gwen, or any other maid or lady? Always flirting and inviting them to your chambers-" that had hurt her the most. It was like he didn't know her feelings for him.

"but- I only did that to make you jealous" Arthur said. "And anyway, it didn't work. You didn't care"

"I only pretended not to care, Arthur! I felt-"She sighed "I guess I felt betrayed in a way. But that's not the point, you tell me first. Why did you feel jealous? Why do you care about me? And don't you dare say it's because I'm your sister, because I'm not" for a second they stood there, breathing heavily.

"Because I love you Morgana. I've loved you ever since I first laid eyes on you, I just didn't realise it. And if you marry Leon-" he pointed to the door "Then I don't know if I can bear it. Morgana, I love you"

As the words sunk in Morgana took a small step back. Her head was woozy, but she just concentrated on Arthurs face. She had been waiting for this moment for basically all her life. All the ways she had dreamed of it, and this was just perfect. She threw herself into Arthurs warms arms, and kissed him on the lips. At first he was taken aback by her enthusiastic response, but he soon eagerly contributed to the kiss. Their lips moved together in perfect harmony, both longing and relief in it. Arthur could taste strawberries on her tongue, and he winded his strong arms around her slender waist, as she knotted her fingers into his hair.

They broke apart, both grinning sheepishly. "I've been dreaming of doing that for ages" Arthur admitted. Then he glanced at the door. "You do feel the same way then, Morgana?"

"Yes. Arthur, I love you. I can't explain the happiness I'm feeling knowing you feel the same way. I can't imagine being apart form you, arguing with you, any longer" as she saw Arthurs frown, her face fell "-unless?"

"No, I'm happy too, I was just wondering why you were marrying Leon" Finally sense struck Morgana.

"It wasn't of my free will, you dunderhead. He's kept me prisoner for weeks! Did you not notice?" she said, a little bitterly.

"I remember Father locking you in the room to protect you from the knights, but after that, it's like I'd forgotten about you. Every time I thought about you it was a little blurry, and then I was always somehow busy" he frowned. "There's something nagging at me, like a memory of some sort, but I can't quite put my finger onto it"

"Arthur, Leons a sorcerer. He was bullied you as a child, and Uther killed his family. He sent the knights to kill me, but then kidnapped me, intending me to marry him and make you jealous. His sister, Gabrielle, helped him"

Suddenly, Arthur remembered. "Yes, she pretended to be you!" he said "And I somehow knew it wasn't you, and when I questioned her she said she'd tell me everything, then ran off. Wait- Leon kept you prisoner?" he face turned deadly "What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" his voice growled, low.

Morgana shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's you he wants to hurt. Look Arthur, I don't know what we're going to do. He surely suspects something by now"

"Your right Morgana, I did suspect something, about five minutes ago" a voice boomed out, like on a loudspeaker throughout the castle. "And I heard enough. Come inside please, you too Arthur"

Arthur and Morgana stared at each other and walked inside.

They gasped.