AN: Only one chapter left to go, should be up tomorrow, but if not by the end of the week at the latest.
Merlin woke earlier than he normally did, and he was much warmer than normal as well. After grabbing his glasses from the bedside table he lay back unmoving taking stock of everything; he wasn't in his room, and he had a warm body curled half on top of him, blonde hair spilling onto his chest. Roxanne, he thought to himself, he looked down at her, she looked so peaceful and innocent in her sleep, a contrast from when she was awake. She was the complete opposite of innocent, the woman was so devious many wouldn't believe it, he knew that none of the other knights would believe of her what she could get up to; the only one who would believe she was anything near what she was would be Eggsy, and that was only because they were friends of a sort. Merlin was glad in a way that Percival at least hadn't seemed to catch onto what a wanton young woman she was acting recently, he was worried enough about when the knight found out about him and his goddaughter without the man thinking Merlin had corrupted her or something. Knowing that he had awoken earlier than usual he allowed himself to lie there for a while watching Roxy sleep, it was strange to see such a vivacious woman so quiet.
When Merlin felt his glasses buzz he knew it was time to get up, if there was someone trying to contact him at this time he had to find out what was going on. He pulled away from Roxy slowly so as not to wake her, not that he was successful. Roxy blinked at him sleepily, watching him as he got out of bed searching for his clothes.
"Go back to sleep Roxy." He told her, placing a chaste kiss to her lips once he was dressed. "I'll see you later on."
Once in the corridor outside her suite he checked the message that he had been left for him when he hadn't answered his glasses. After listening to the message he began the walk to the witches' domain, forgoing the opportunity to go and change out of yesterday's clothes.
Merlin rubbed his eyes before replacing his glasses and turning his attention to the room full of knights. He fully briefed them on the situation that they had become aware of as a result of Galahad and Lancelot's mission earlier that week. While there hadn't been much evidence to tie their main target to anyone conclusively there had been enough to warrant moving in on the situation. Questioning hadn't come up with much either, but then one of their analysts had stumbled upon something that cleared things up a bit for them.
The situation was discussed and a couple of the knights close in physical location were informed of their new orders to deal with the situation. Merlin then turned the briefing to other matters that needed to be discussed; having all the knights around the table at once gave him the opportunity to cover a lot of ground in one sitting, rather than having to repeat himself. Throughout the briefing the knights would make their opinions known on certain things, all except Lancelot who was silent.
Merlin kept an eye on her throughout the briefing, and while she was silent she seemed to be alert and listening to what was being said, there was a bit of a glint in her eyes when his eyes caught hers and he could tell she was suppressing a smirk. Her hands he noticed were completely out of his sight, under the table, hidden to the rest of the room. His mind skipped for a second, the thought that crossed it couldn't be true, she couldn't be.
As the briefing ended he couldn't contain his curiosity, he had to know. "Lancelot, are you alright you are rather quiet?"
His words prompted a subtle flush in her face as she looked at him across the table. "I am feeling rather flushed." She admitted, "I think I may go and lie down for a while."
She stood from the table, and Percival one of the other knights who had been attending the meeting at Headquarters stood with her, offering her his arm and escorting her from the room. Merlin couldn't believe it, she had won, hands down there was nothing that he could do to top her, of that he was sure. She hadn't gotten caught in a room that was full of both physical and holographic spies, not a single one of them seemed to notice her indiscretion, and he was sure that the only reason that he had caught onto her actions was because he knew of the game that they were playing. He excused himself from the dining room and made his way to the sanctuary that was his office so that he could think. He knew that his mind was made up already anyway, there was no point in drawing their game out any longer, she had definitely won; he would surrender to her control that night.