Hey! I just rewatched 4x02 to refesh my memory, and it turns out Merlin and Gaius suspect Agravaine by the end of the episode. So I'm completely in canon! Also reminded me of some things of minor impact that I'd forgotten, so good thing I watched it, huh?

Also, I recieved a standing ovation for my portrayal of the batshi - um, guano insane Morgana. I figured that the death of Morgause by her own hand and the revelation that it was all for nothing AND the information that she will fall to this scary Emrys guy would drive her over the edge.

Oh, and the spell with the human eyes will be important later on. I know exactly why she needs it. It's a pretty useful spell, actually.

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"Merlin."

Guinevere found she had lost track of why she had said his name. As his gaze moved from Arthur to her, she floundered.

"You said...some things. That you had done before."

Understanding dawned on Merlin's face, and there was something else. Fear?

"Yeah," broke in Gwaine "Something about saving Arthur and almost getting killed? A lot?"

Merlin looked uncomfortable.

"Was that true?" Arthur sounded faint, a ghost of who he had been twenty minutes before.

Slowly, Merlin nodded, gaze fixed on the floor. "There have been...some things and...happenings that I haven't told you about."

"Such as?" Surprisingly, Percival was the one to ask.

"Assassins. Threats. Problems. Traitors-" Merlin stumbled over the word and realized his mistake an instant too late.

"Traitors?" Arthur took a step forward, his voice rising, "You mean there are more? And you kne-"

He broke off abruptly, face freezing.

"Her."

The word was flat. Merlin flinched.

They all knew who he was talking about.

"You knew."

Merlin's face was full of pain. It was more than enough assent.

Arthur leaned against the bedpost, wanting to feel something solid as he kept staring at Merlin.

Arthur's face said a single thing.

Why?

Merlin's face said another.

Forgive me.

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Agravaine swept to his rooms.

He was apprehensive.

Ever since the warning of Emrys had been given to her, Morgana had rapidly descended into near madness. She was convinced that she could destroy this Emrys if she thwarted him. He would slip up and expose himself, and she would kill him and reign over Camelot uncontested.

Agravaine had relayed to her Gaius's reaction to the name - slight, but definitely a spark of recognition.

Really, her plan to kill Merlin had potential. If his ward died a gruesome death, it could possibly make Gaius lower his shield and he might let something slip. This was added to the fact that Arthur would take it badly if he died as well. The prince was the one running the entire kingdom by this point and everyone knew it. If he were to suffer a personal tragedy the kingdom would suffer as well. The people would welcome a change in rulers if their present one failed in his duty.

How did that old nursery rhyme go? For want of a nail, a kingdom was lost.

Agravaine had figured out long ago Merlin was that nail.

The problem was, how could he do it?

More specifically, how could he take his eyes?

If the servant was 'taken ill' and died, it would be plausible. If he was 'accidentally' put in the way of an arrow in a bandit attack, it would be plausible. Even if he 'fell' off the towers it would be plausible. He had a reputation for clumsiness.

But how could his eyes being hacked out of his head be plausible as an accident?

Agravaine sighed.

Even more tricky, Morgana had made it clear she would greatly prefer the boy to suffer before dying. Blinding him would probably work, but it would be...noisy. Should he damage the boy's vocal chords beforehand?

That might work, he thought idly. Something to remember. Ah, yes, and he would need to clean up the mess. There would be a lot of blood at the scene.

Which brought him back to the original problem. How to disguise it as unintentional.

Perhaps...

Maybe he didn't need to disguise it.

It could simply be what it actually was: a brutal murder. Merlin was the unassuming lynchpin that, if removed, could fell the kingdom. That was, if he died. If he was murdered...

Agravaine felt a smile begin to appear on his face.

Arthur wouldn't fall, he would jump.

He would become irrational. Hurt. Crushed. Possibly even insane, if his friend's death was horrible enough. He would become obsessed with finding Merlin's killer, and the kingdom would topple.

Agravaine thought. Guilt. He could add guilt to the mix, manipulate Arthur into thinking it was his fault his friend died.

Torture would do it. The eyes would already appear to be part of that, and Agravaine supposed he could find someone who was well versed in these things to apply some very visible injuries. Torture was a well known method of extracting information, and it was common knowledge that Merlin knew quite a bit about Arthur. It wouldn't be hard to convince his nephew his friend had been tortured and killed to gain valuable information on him.

Agravaine began to think of things he could say to convince Arthur of this. Like always, he would leave some ideas hanging to be filled in, let his nephew take leaps where Agravaine wanted him to go.

I cannot imagine what you must be going through, your majesty, especially since you - oh, I shouldn't, really, I'm terribly sorry.

Well, the thought just occurred to me - it is simply...barbaric to consider...

The question is, sire...why would they do this? What did they want from him? One would assume he had something of value to them, the enemies of Camelot...

That should do it, he reflected. More damage could always be done, but the revelation Agravaine was pushing for would most certainly drive Arthur to near-suicidal lengths of guilt.

This plan was turning out to have potential after all.