Sorry for the really late update. Enjoy this chapter and bear with the slow ending- it will all make sense in a few chapters time.
"The bounty hunters won't be after me yet," Morgana laughed, relaxing in the grass. "They are miles away and will need to form strategies."
Merlin was unconvinced. "Morgana everyone wants to find you to hand you in. Almost every kingdom in Albion has a price upon your head although Arthur only has it because it is expected of him. You are most wanted person in Albion and everyone wants to hand you not just the bounty hunters. The reward for your capture is enough for a person to live a life in luxury without working."
Morgana gave Merlin a doubtful look but clambered to her feet nonetheless. If Merlin was telling the truth, they had only a couple of minutes to leave. Since Morgana was eager to get Lucas out of any danger, she began to head into the forest but Merlin steered her around towards the other side of the forest.
"They'll expect you to go that way as it is in the opposite direction of Camelot," Merlin explained. "I know this place like the back of my hand and I have dealt with people like this before. Trust me."
Morgana nodded and let Merlin wrap his arm around her to guide her through the forest in the right directions. They didn't run through the forest but walked at a brisk pace with Merlin constantly checking behind him to make sure they weren't being followed.
Eventually, Merlin came to a sudden halt making Morgana almost walk into the back of him. Merlin then led her through a narrow gap between two rocks into their final destination- a cave. Inside, the cave, it was airy but dull. There just about enough space for Merlin, Morgana and Lucas to comfortably fit in it. A brook supplying them with fresh mountain water ran through the middle of the cave.
Once Merlin had taken in the familiar surroundings he noticed Morgana's worried expression."We're in-"
"-Arthur's kingdom," Morgana finished for him. She rocked Lucas gently in her aching arms before lying him on the ground. She then thoughtfully added, "I came in this very cave a long time ago as a child. The point is we need to find a cow to get milk for Lucas. If we don't Lucas's crying will attract people passing by."
This made Merlin realise something terrible- Lucas drank some special milk which he didn't have the recipe for. In Ealdor, his mother had always made this special milk as cow milk apparently caused infant to suffer from major health afflictions. He made no hesitation in explaining this problem to Morgana.
"You need to go and get the recipe," Morgana ordered, once she had heard Merlin's problem. "Lucas has not been fed in around three hours and he usually wants fed around every four hours, I think. Be quick! Lucas's crying will blow our cover."
Merlin scrambled to his feet and was off before Morgana could warn him to be careful. Although Lucas was sleeping peacefully in Morgana's arms, she felt alone. For the first time in weeks she had time to think. Morgana knew she couldn't spend much longer roaming around with Merlin and Lucas. It needed to end now!
Living with Merlin, Gwaine, Hunith and Lucas had made her happy but not content. At the same time Merlin had made her nostalgic for the time when she had lived in Camelot. Sadness and regret had chilled her mind. However, Morgana knew that there was no going back. How could she go back to living in Camelot alongside Arthur when the world loathed her?
"I can't live this way Lucas," Morgana whispered to the sleeping baby. "I am not worth anything to anyone. Merlin just pretends to like me. I should just carry on trying to conquer Camelot because if I die no one will care."
The roof of the cave cracked open slightly. Morgana's anger was getting the better of her and was now controlling her magic. Morgana wrapped Lucas in the blanket and carried him outside the cave which was now teetering on the verge collapsing. As Morgana sprinted out, the cave's roof smashed into hundreds of pieces.
Morgana tried to calm her emotions. Magic controlled by her emotions put everyone around her in great peril. She spent the remainder of time, whilst waiting for Merlin, with her eyes closed trying to make her anger disappear.
"Morgana," a voice whispered in her ear. Morgana turned around in fright about to let out a small scream but the person had covered her mouth. "Morgana we have to go! There are lots of soldiers around!"
It took several seconds for Morgana to register that it was Merlin speaking. She let him pull her up. Making sure Lucas was alright, Morgana let Merlin pull her into a sprint.
"What crest do they bear?" Morgana asked suddenly stopping in her tracks. Merlin frowned at her sudden halt.
"Why does it matter? Every kingdom has a price on yo-"
"Just tell me!" Morgana snapped. This woke Lucas up making him cry. Merlin thought hard.
"I didn't recognise it. It was a fis- no shark with two swords crossed," Merlin stuttered
"Perfect," Morgana murmured standing motionless on the spot. This confused Merlin. He tried to get her to run again but Morgana just sat down and tried to comfort Lucas.
"What are you doing?" Merlin growled at her. Morgana looked up at the warlock her expression vacant.
"Waiting," Morgana boredly yawned, leaning her head against the trunk of a tree. This made Merlin feel even more confused but he slumped down next to Morgana and didn't say another word. He didn't want to anger Morgana again.
The witch and warlock lay on the ground for a few minutes before they heard hooves in the distance. Merlin quickly jumped to his feet in fright but slumped back down when he saw Morgana's serene expression. He could not comprehend why Morgana was so calm at the sound of the hooves. Unless, she had arranged to meet someone. Merlin doubted this. Morgana had been cut off from the rest of the world for two weeks.
Morgana only stood up when five mounted soldiers galloped into view. The five soldiers wore glistening silver armour with a sapphire tint to it. A cerulean cloak flowed behind each soldier fastened round their necks with ornate silver bucks. Each soldier was mounted upon a muscular, black horse. The horses were larger than any military horses Merlin had ever seen as they were each the size of a small elephant. If Merlin hadn't had magic then he was sure that he would have been cowering in his tracks.
The five soldiers all dismounted their steeds simultaneously. All of the soldiers were bigger and burlier than Percival. They cautiously unsheathed their abnormally large swords. Merlin felt Morgana tense next to him so he prepared himself to blast back the soldiers if he needed to. To Merlin's surprise all the soldiers bent down and bowed deeply. He turned around to Morgana. She didn't appear to be shocked in the slightest but her eyes were narrowed in concentration.
"My lady Morgana," one of the soldiers pompously said. All of the soldiers rose from the ground at this point.
"Take me to your master," Morgana silkily ordered. She passed Lucas into the safety of Merlin's clutches.
None of the soldiers stopped Morgana mounting the nearest horse. However, one of the soldiers pointed out Merlin and the baby.
"They have to come too. My master orders," the same pompous soldier said signalling to Merlin and Lucas. Morgana frowned for a moment before she spoke.
"If you harm either of them, then the answers no," Morgana snapped. "I do not think your master would be pleased with that."
Merlin frowned as the soldier lifted him and Lucas onto one of the horses as though they were lighter than feathers. The soldier than clambered on the large steed behind Merlin. His eyebrows knitted together as he noticed that Morgana didn't have to share the horse she had mounted. Instead, the soldier who had ridden on this horse shared a horse with another soldier.
"Follow me," the pompous soldier commanded. He hastily flung himself onto his horse and hacked his heels into its sides. The horse cantered off into the distance. Merlin was surprised that the horse could move so fast despite it's size. He watched as Morgana clicked her tongue and urged the horse she was riding onwards. The horse reared slightly in excitement but Morgana whispered something in its ear and it wildly galloped onwards.
Merlin, Morgana and the soldiers rode for a couple of hours before the lead soldier drew his horse to a halt and dismounted it. Morgana followed his lead and slid off the horse's silky flank.
"This way," the pompous soldier said guiding Morgana away. Merlin tried to follow her but he was hauled back by two of the soldiers. Morgana wasn't pleased.
"If there is as much as a scratch on either of them then I will curse you all," Morgana defiantly warned. She turned around and strode beside Merlin and Lucas.
"What are you doing?" Merlin hissed in an undertone. Morgana gently lifted Lucas from Merlin's arms into her own. Lucas wrapped his tiny hand around Morgana's thumb
"Playing it by ear," Morgana quietly replied not looking up at Merlin. She stared contently at Lucas.
"It is surely suicidal Morgana. I don't know what king wants to see you-"
"Shut up," Morgana snarled. She gave Merlin a good natured shove and then, to Merlin's surprise, Morgana smiled.
"What?" Merlin worriedly wondered.
"You should be more worried about your own wellbeing than mine," Morgana plainly said. "Your more likely to be killed than me. If you behave, you might get out here alive." Without further ado the priestess turned on her heels and swept away.
"She's unbelievable," Merlin muttered to himself. He sighed and watched Morgana vanish into the thickest depths of the forest.
...
Morgana held her head high as she was led through the forest. The one conversation that loomed in front of her could decide her future. It could decide the whole of Albion's future. Morgana just wished she had more time to prepare for it. Her eyes were beginning to get watery from tiredness as she hadn't slept in two nights. Fortunately, Lucas came to her rescue and began to wail loudly.
"He needs fed," Morgana drowsily mumbled dropping to the ground. She searched through the pouch that Merlin had brought back from his return trip to Ealdor. There was three corked bottle full of Lucas's baby milk as well as a folded piece of parchment which Morgana presumed had the recipe written on it. Morgana dug her hand in further to find a sort of piston syringe. She slowly extracted for the leather pouch and closely examined it to make sure it was clean.
"Why couldn't you have left your child with your husband?" the pompous soldier impatiently barked.
Morgana clambered to her feet and audaciously slumbered across to the man so he was mere inches away from her. She glanced up at him for a few moments. Then quicker than lightning struck Morgana grabbed the hit his sword and unsheathed it. Threatingly, Morgana pointed the sword up at his throat. She could hear the other two soldiers behind her unsheathing their swords.
"He is not my husband. I could never love him after everything he's done!" Morgana softly whispered. Her voice spurted venom. It was calmly dangerous but hissed with tranquil maliciousness. "This is not my child either. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my lady," the soldier gulped. To Morgana's delight he didn't sound so pompous now. "I humbly apologise."
"I wanted to take little Lucas with me so I could protect him. Merlin can look after himself," Morgana explained. Her voice was soft but still dangerous."I just hope your not the kings best soldiers because you have abominable reaction rates,"
Morgana laughed. That will sort them out, she told herself.
Morgana didn't return the sword to the soldier and ordered him to give her his scabbard. She felt much more confident with the sword swinging at her side. Once she had squirted an ample amount of milk into Lucas's mouth, Morgana continued to follow the now not-so-pompous soldier. The priestess was exhausted but determined to keep on going.
The trees were becoming closer together when the (now-not-so-pompous) soldier's pace began to decrease. He halted so suddenly that Morgana accidentally kicked him in the back of his shin. The soldier whipped around in anger with his arm outstretched. Morgana backed away from him to avoid being knocked off her feet
"You better behave yourself for the king," the soldier grumbled.
Enigmatically, Morgana smiled. The soldier seemed to mistake this smile for one of sweetness because he led Morgana to a clearing with several tents in it. A dozen men tending their business stopped to stare her. They whispered among themselves making Morgana wish that she wasn't wearing one of Hunith's ancient dresses. The hems of the dress were splattered with mud and torn apart. Morgana knew that her appearance was no better. Her face was grubby and her shoulder length hair drooped lankly by its side. The calloused skin on her wrists had several congealed droplets of blood on them.
Morgana turned around as she heard chaos behind. He was approaching her. Her every word she said had to be weighed to charm him.
...
Merlin was extremely distraught at how Morgana and Lucas had been snatched from his protection. He paced up and down the clearing that the muscular soldiers had stopped him in. His body was tense and his wrists were clenched with anger. Not managing to keep calm enough to stay still, Merlin resigned to pacing around the clearing. The soldiers watched him intently for the first few minutes but then relaxed. They decided that Merlin wasn't a threat.
Merlin could not understand what Morgana was playing at. Going of to see some King was not wise, was it? He couldn't see anything positive about it not for Morgana anyway.
A couple of hours after Morgana had left, Merlin spotted a few silhouettes in the distance. He had just about to break Morgana's word and set out after her but decided against it when he spotted the figures heading towards him.
"Morgana," Merlin exclaimed. Morgana narrowed her eyes at him. She had changed her clothing. Instead of wearing Hunith's tatty dress, Morgana was dressed in a white, flouncy shirt which was slightly too big for her. Over it she wore a black, leather tunic which had cobalt fastenings but no sleeves. Her trousers and boots were jet black and also looked a bit big for her.
"Here," Morgana sadly said. Wrapping Lucas carefully in his blankets, she passed him to Merlin. "Give him to Gwen to look after. He is in danger whenever he is near me."
"Give five minutes and I'll give Lucas to Gwen and be right back," Merlin hastily rushed on. He was about to turn around and leave when Morgana grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait!" Morgana paused. "You're not coming back."
Merlin frowned at her. "But surely n-" He cut himself off. "What?"
"I have made a choice." Morgana took a deep breath. She grabbed hold of Merlin's arm. " I need to do this! You must understand. I need to do this for the world-for Morgause. When I am queen, I shall make the world a better place. Thank you for making me realise this Merlin."
Merlin shook his head. "Arthur is a good and just king. You don't need to do this."
"I do!" Morgana firmly said. "Goodbye Merlin." She kissed Lucas's cheek and stroked his bald head. "Goodbye little one." Then to Merlin's surprise, Morgana quickly kissed Merlin's cheek too. She turned away hastily so that Merlin could not see her facial and took a few steps away before stopping.
Take care Emrys, Morgana telepathically said before continuing striding into the distance.
Merlin kicked the ground in the fury. After all he had done for Morgana he couldn't believe that it made hardly any difference to her. It didn't make any sense for Morgana to leave all of a sudden. She could have been offered some kind of proposal but Merlin couldn't think of anyone who would offer her one.
Glumly, Merlin turned to the route which would take him back to Camelot. There was no point in going back to Ealdor. Merlin couldn't face seeing his beloved mother an telling her that he had failed to change her enough to leave her old ways. Even little Lucas's smile couldn't cheer him up.
Merlin did not stop to eat nor drink the whole day. He found himself not caring about his own needs. It was well after sunset before Merlin reached the gates of Camelot, enervated. As usual Merlin found the guard, posted at the gate, crumpled on the ground in a deep slumber. The corner of his mouth twitched at the thought of how useless the guards were but Merlin was too emotionally drained to smile. He automatically walked to Gaius's chambers. His arms felt heavier than lead and ached from the effort of carrying Lucas the whole day.
"Merlin, I feared you might not return for quite some time." The young sorcerer felt himself being flung into an embrace with Gaius. Merlin had barely noticed himself entering Gaius's chambers or gently placing Lucas on the table.
When they broke apart, Gaius smiled and said, "I remember the clumsy boy you were when you first entered this room. You've have grown much since then and made me very proud to know you. Who could have known that you would turn out to be a man as great as you've become. Whatever happened when you and Morgana were away, I want you to know that nobody could have done anybody than better you."
"I failed," Merlin gulped. He felt nauseous and dizzy. "She's gone!"
Gaius sighed. "Do not beat yourself up. It is not your fault that she is like this- it is her own fault."
This angered Merlin more than anything and he stormed into his bedroom without saying a word to Gaius. Merlin lay facedown on his bed not caring that he was slightly muddy. He was fed up: nothing ever worked out for him.
It took Merlin several minutes to notice a message had bee carved into the wall- 'Savage Manor'. A book was wide open on his bedside table and Merlin read
'There was once three brothers born of a prosperous nobleman and lady. When his parents died, the eldest of the brothers was to inherit the large manor house and a half of his parents riches; the rest would be shared amoung his two brothers. The eldest brother was extremely greedy, vicious and paranoid- he was sure that his two brothers would try to kill him to inherit his riches.
Not long after inheriting his fortune, the eldest brother fell gravely ill. He blamed his two brothers for himself becoming unwell and on his deathbed placed a curse upon the manor house using dark magic.
After his brother's death, the second oldest brother went out to claim this manor as his own. As soon as he entered the manor's domain, the brother fled away screaming and cursing. It is said that he ran to a cave and carved 'Savage Manor' into the wall of his cave with his fingernails. After accomplishing this, the brother died. The last remaining brother died in exactly the same way when he went to see the manor house. It is said that everyone who enters the manor house's domain will die and write 'Savage Manor' with their last remaining strength.'
Merlin took one last look at book and stomped out of the room with Lucas in his arms. He didn't care about some stupid manor; he only cared about Morgana. What Merlin didn't realise was that 'Savage Manor' was the key to Morgana's redemption.
A/N: If anyone can guess what savage manor has to do with saving Morgana, you are seriously as clever as Sherlock. Any theories? I will let you name a characters in this story if you are even half close. Please review!
Next chapter: Morgana comes to Camelot with some exciting news for Mordred about a certain man, Mordred acts like a child upon hearing this news and Merlin continues to feel heartbroken.
Do you want a Mergana confrontation next chapter or is it too soon?