Chapter 16

Good things are happening!

Mordred's head hurt massively. Something was seriously wrong. He remembered meeting a woman in the woods. She'd been wearing a hood and she appeared to be injured. He was going to help her? He couldn't remember the specifics very well, but he did remember one thing. He had seen his sister, but he hadn't been able to say anything about it. He had been trapped inside his own mind for quite some time. So, why was he suddenly free?

"Mordred. You need to wake up." Someone was shaking Mordred's arm. That sounded like Merlin.

"Mordred please. You need to wake up. Alyssa needs you to wake up."

"Alyssa," Mordred shot up from the table he was laying on. He spun his head around, ignoring Gaius and Merlin. His eyes landed on his sister. She was lying on a couch across the room, unconscious. She didn't look very good. "What's wrong with my sister, Merlin?"

"She's taking on the dark magic that was used to attack you. She's taken just enough into her body to weaken the spell that Morgana put on your mind. This is the only chance we have to break the spell. I need you to voluntarily get into the circle so we can break the spell completely."

Mordred was very confused but he trusted Merlin with his life. After all, Merlin was a good guy and he was a fellow sorcerer. There was no reason for him not to trust him. And if Morgana put a spell on him, then there was no way he was going to let it stick around to mess with his life any more.

"Merlin, just guide me to the circle and help me get up."

Though Mordred was still weak, Merlin was able to help him into the circle. Then he closed it behind him. Mordred looked around him. The circle was made of salt and magical stones. He recognized Moonstone, quartz and tiger's eye but stones weren't a very big part of his magical training and there were many that he couldn't put a name to.

Merlin began to chant the spell and as he did the stones around the circle began to glow. The candles in the room that were lit all were blown out by a sudden gust of wind. Magic flew around the room and Mordred could feel it in the air. His head began to throb and he could suddenly feel the spell Morgana had put on his mind. It felt like a giant bug. It was crawling through his mind, trying to escape the grasping tendrils of magic Merlin began to send its way. But the bug wasn't fast enough. Magic took hold of the struggling creature and, with a yowl of pain from Mordred, the bug was gone and the spell was broken.

Alyssa could feel the darkness that had been holding her captive begin to recede slowly but surely. It was like water returning to sea after a wave forced it onto the beach. Eventually, she could open her eyes and when she did she met the deep blue eyes of Merlin. Her magic pushed away the rest of the darkness and it felt as if someone far away dragged it from her quickly.

She opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly as she scanned the room for Mordred. He wasn't lying down on the table like he had been when she absorbed the dark magic from him. He was standing and awake and staring at her with tears in his eyes. There was a recognition that hadn't been there before, causing her own eyes to tear up and they overflowed.

Merlin stood up and got out of the way as Alyssa jumped up and ran into the open arms of her twin brother. Both were crying openly now and Alyssa felt the relief of him being able to recognize her. She pulled away to speak.

"Mordred. What happened? The dark magic that was hurting us; it's gone. How?"

"I don't know. I felt it get dragged away from us though. It's strange, but I'm just glad we're both awake and not spelled now."

Alyssa hugged him tightly again. Her heart was soaring with relief and she felt as if her entire world was brighter. She looked over Mordred's shoulder to Merlin's watching eyes and mouthed a thank you. He nodded in return and Alyssa's thoughts turned to the kiss they had shared before dark magic had swallowed her whole.

What would come from that? There was sure to be heartbreak in the end, but what about in between? Did he realize how strongly she felt for him? Did he feel the same way in return? Alyssa pulled away from her brother again.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"You've been out for about a day."

Merlin broke his silence and walked towards her.

"I was worried you wouldn't wake up."

There was a raw sound to his voice. He stopped walking when he was standing directly in front of her. She could now see that his eyes were tinted red, as if he had been crying. Mordred backed up a bit with a strange look on his face as Merlin reached for Alyssa. Alyssa reached for him at the same time and they ended up holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. Mordred merely stared, but they were far past noticing. Alyssa was so close that she could feel his breath on her face. The familiar scent of her home woods filled her senses as they closed the distance between them and their lips met in the middle.

Alyssa felt all the passion and magic they had been holding back release all at once. They were not two strands of magic anymore. They were one twining strand of silver and gold magic. Alyssa felt her eyes change from gold to silver as her magic was released out from her body at the same time that Merlin's was. It was amazingly thrilling and neither of them wanted to let go, but Mordred coughed, loudly, a few times and they reluctantly pulled away from each other.

They stood there, smiling like idiots, until Mordred coughed again. Alyssa turned to him, her earlier questions had been most obviously answered with that one kiss. She laughed when she caught sight of his expression. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were widened in surprise and shock. He was staring from Merlin to her, and when he looked to Merlin, there was a barely suppressed rage in his eyes.

Alyssa reached up and patted him on the back, hard, knocking him out of his shock. He shook his head and stared at his sister openly.

"Really? Merlin?"

"Yes, really."

She answered with a laugh and felt rather than heard Merlin come up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she reveled in the warmth before turning to plant a small kiss on his cheek.

"We should probably go tell Arthur that his knight is awake and alright,"

Alyssa said.

"And we should probably tell Gwen that you're feeling much better as well," Merlin answered her with a goofy grin on his face.

Alyssa took Merlin's offered hand in her own and grabbed the hand of her brother before turning to the door and walking out with them both in tow. She was so happy. Nothing could ever ruin this feeling. Her smile was wide and her happiness was uncontrollable. She felt like magic.

READ AND REVIEW PEOPLES!