"Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore"
Morgana was pacing the walls of Camelot. Merlin had to know that she was there. He'd been dodging Arthur and trying to get out of the castle walls all day. She had been watching and waiting and now the sun was setting she expected him to come out of the dungeon door. She was angry and frustrated. She'd heard rumors from other witches and warlocks that Emrys guarded Arthur Pendragon constantly. If this were true Merlin would know, and whether or not she'd find out exactly who Emrys was she'd at least find out if he was there.
Morgana ran her fingers through knotted hair and worried about Merlin's absence. She watched the night grow darker. She grew more restless and upset every hour he failed to show. Just when the sky lightened in the earliest hours of the morning Merlin slid out when she was walking away from the castle.
"Morgana!" He hissed. He rushed over to her and escorted her behind a mossy hill. He didn't want her being caught by any guards. Merlin and Morgana were pressed against each other and breathing heavily. The last time they had seen each other they gave into deeper more physical desires. Their hearts raced now in the same longing but Merlin shook his head to bring them back to why she was there.
"I have been told by various sources that Emrys guards Arthur. Is this true?" Morgana looked panicked to him surely. She had told him before of her fear of Emrys that he was named enemy. Merlin always seemed distant as if she shouldn't worry of him but such a thought was never vocalized. Usually he would insist that he didn't believe her demise would be Emrys, that she was a strong woman and capable of keeping herself alive.
"Emrys has been prophesized as Arthur's guardian. If you have been told he is here it then it's not difficult for me to assume it's true. I've told you before that you can stand your ground if this tale of your battle to death with him ever comes to pass." Merlin again didn't make eye contact with her. He looked all around to ensure nobody was nearby to hear them speaking. They'd always snuck around and always been cautious, however this day Morgana had been less than patient.
"Just tell me if he is in Camelot, Merlin. I don't wish to know whom he is just where he is at, you know how I fear his strength. I'm not sure I'm ready to take him on yet. If he were to attack I would surely die!" Merlin kissed Morgana's neck and ran his hands over her hips. It was almost as if he were trying to distract her from the topic at hand. If she didn't know better she might have thought he was Emrys…
If she didn't know better she might have thought he was Emrys…
If she didn't know better she might have known he was Emrys…
…a long time ago…
"You're Emrys." She choked. Merlin stopped. Time slowed down for just a second.
"You are Emrys." She gasped. Her breathing was rapid and uncontrollable. She was completely frantic.
"YOU ARE EMRYS!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Merlin was trying to hush her and keep her from nearly seizing beneath him. He hushed her as she fell into tears and shattered in front of his eyes. She couldn't believe it. All this time Merlin had been Emrys. Never once had she caught him doing magic. Never once had she suspected that Arthur's good luck wasn't because he was so close to Merlin but because Merlin had magic. Never before had she connected the distance in Merlin's stare during conversations about Emrys to the concept of him actually being Emrys.
The stories and destinies laid out all the years before they were born detailed that they would be enemies. That he was her destiny and her doom. Morgana had fallen in love with the man that was supposed to kill her and he fell in love with the woman he was supposed to destroy. She panicked not because of the reality in it but because of the loss she was going to experience.
"This cannot be!" She exclaimed into his chest. Merlin cried with her. A greater tragedy could not exist. They would never get married. They would never have children. They couldn't grow old together even though it was all they longer for, all they wished to have as long as could live. But in order to live the other must first die.
"Remember what you said to me last time we met?" Merlin asked her in a tone so low she almost didn't hear them. She remembered quite well.
"I never stopped loving you." She repeated to him. The statement was never truer than it was in light of her discovery.
"And neither have I stopped loving you. I knew the prophecy before I fell in love with you and I haven't let it stop me from continuing to love you. Whatever our destinies this will not change." Merlin commanded the words that had always ruled Morgana's mind, only now it was in a different sense that they were true. She nodded into him and he offered to meet her again in a few days while Arthur was on a hunting trip with the knights. Morgana promised no attacks would occur. Not for a while, she admitted. The trauma of Merlin also being Emrys left her body feeling weak and left her body feeling empty. Perhaps she'd always been on the wrong side.