Chapter Five- A Ring of Hearts

It had been 24 hours since Merlin had first knocked on Morgana's door, but his presence in her hut had made a big difference to the enchantress. She really wasn't meant to live a solitary life, and his presence in her current home had lifted her loneliness.

Once Merlin had finished eating she had allowed him to rest on her bed, and he hadn't awoken since. Morgana had been awake all night pacing back and forth across the room, too proud to make herself a bed on the floor, yet not quite having the heart to wake Merlin.

Morgana watched him sleep, deep in thought and sitting at the table once again. She had known him well enough in Camelot to know that he was no fool, so she was struggling to understand why he would have travelled here alone.

Merlin eventually woke up. His body was feeling numb and exhausted, but his mind was alert. The food and rest had worked wonders on him, and he was finally ready to try and talk to Morgana. He opened his eyes slowly, his lids still heavy from sleep. He looked over to where Morgana was sitting and watched as her body tensed when she realised he was waking.

"Good morning Morgana."

"More like evening," she spat back at him, "you have been sleeping for a long time."

Merlin stood and walked towards one of the windows, looking out to the dark night outside. A slight sense of hope began to build in him. It was encouraged but the fact that Morgana had let him sleep for so long, vulnerable and defenceless, and had not disturbed him. She had given him her own food, and even though her demeanour was hostile, her actions were not.

He turned and looked at her; "Where have you slept then?"

"I am a powerful sorceress Merlin; I have no need for such a mundane act as sleeping."

If Merlin did not know any better, he probably would have believed her lie, however, he did know better. Merlin observed a slight blush of pink touch her cheeks, and she looked down at the table, avoiding is gaze. Her hair was slightly frizzed and unkempt at the ends, there were heavy bags under her eyes and her usually porcelain skin looked a shade closer to sickly white. It was obvious that she had spent the whole night worrying and stressing.

Looking at her hair reminded him of his own predicament. Merlin raised a hand to his forehead, and felt the bald patch of singed hair that was remaining from his wound. He looked at his reflection in the glass window and winced. He truly did look ridiculous. Looking past his own reflection he could see Morgana smirking behind him.

"Looking good Merlin" she laughed.

"For such a great sorceress, you are really bad at hairdressing" he shot back at her, grinning.

"To be perfectly honest, I think it's a great improvement."

"Anything would be an improvement when you have grown up with Arthur, and only have him to compare too."

At the mention of Arthur an awkward silence fell between them. For a fleeting moment they had had their old banter back, poking fun at each other playfully. Merlin had missed her cheeky grin, and the playful scoff she made when she was trying to sound offended but really wasn't. The feeling of hope within him grew and he felt like there was a real chance now that he could reach the old Morgana and bring her back to him.

Partly to break the uncomfortable silence, and partly to stop prolonging the inevitable, Merlin decided to begin.

"I've just come her to talk…" Merlin started.

The silence was broken as Morgana slapped the table hard and stood from the table, fury making her body shake and her eyes burn, any sense of playfulness quickly disappearing, as if it was never there at all.

"HOW DARE YOU!" she yelled, "Who do you think you are? You must severely underestimate my powers Merlin, or be more mentally deficient than any of us ever knew."

Merlin sighed, "There is another possible explanation," he said.

"Oh and what's that, that you are more powerful than me?" she scoffed.

The jab hurt Merlin, but he knew there was no way that she could know of his magic. Net yet anyway.

"No Morgana," he said, "I came because I love you, and because I think that there was once a part of you that loved me back."

This was met with silence once again. Morganas shoulders slumped, and she lowered herself back down to the table. She let out a deep sigh and buried her face in her hands. Neither of them moved for a few minutes, Merlin allowing her to process what he had just said, and to decide what she was going to do.

"You love me Merlin? How could you possibly?"

Merlin's eyebrows knotted in confusion.

"What do you mean? How could I not love you?"

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling from a few escaped tears.

"Merlin, all I have done is tried to hurt Arthur, and Camelot. I have even allowed my sister to wrap you in chains and abandon you in the woods. Yesterday I wrapped you in those same chains, broke your ribs and cut your head. I do not believe that you could love me."

Merlin walked to the table and sat down opposite her.

"I see more than those things Morgana. I remember how things were in Camelot when you still lived there. You and Arthur, you bickered like a brother and sister should, but you also cared for each other in the same way. You had a best friend in Gwen, who was loyal and loving to you, and a confidant in Gaius. I understand how hard it is to live in a kingdom that outlaws magic, and yet have magic within you, but don't you see? You were surrounded by so many people that would have loved you anyway. You could have been the one to change those laws, and bring understanding and acceptance to Camelot," Merlin explained.

"How could you possibly know what that feels like Merlin? And besides, Uther would never have let that happen. He would have killed me the way he thoughtlessly killed so many of my kind."

The pain in Morgana's voice was undeniable.

"That time is over, Arthur is our king now. Neither he nor I would let anything happen to you if you came back with me."

"Came back with you?" she questioned.

Morgana looked uncomfortable at the thought. She ran a hand through her hair and looked down at her them. She pulled an old gold ring off her finger and studied it. She remembered the day that it was given to her, on her 14th birthday. It was a gift from Uther, and she wore it as a reminder of her hatred of him. She spun the ring around between her fingers, contemplating the idea of returning to Camelot with Merlin.

Could it be true, would she be able to return magic to the kingdom just through the love of her old friends? But they were no longer her friends, and they had tried to hurt her as many times as she had them. Her grip tightened on the ring and it slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor. She immediately leant down to retrieve it, yet at the same time Merlin had risen from his chair to reach for the ring as well.

"Let me get that for you…"

"No it's fine Merlin…"

Their hands reach the ring at the same time, fingers touching. Morgana jolted backward as if she had been shocked, neglecting the ring on the floor and snatching her hand back against her chest. She could still feel the warmth on her hand where his fingers had brushed against hers. Merlin sighed and dropped to the floor, picking up her ring, and kneeling, looked up to her.

"This could be our future one day, if you trust me, and love me back," he said.

Merlin reached up to Morgana's wrist and pulled it towards him, turning her hand upwards. He placed the ring in the palm of her hand.

"But I suppose that is not now."

He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, and stood slowly towards her. Merlin's hand cradled her jaw, pulling her face closer to his. Merlin leant forward, and placed his lips on hers; kissing her like he had dreamed of doing ever since he moved to Camelot. She resisted, but only momentarily, eventually giving in to him and grasping the back of his head, pulling him in closer.

Their hearts raced together as one.

AN: Sorry this chapter took a little longer to write, but I really wanted to perfect their dialogue. I'm super excited to write the next chapter, which is going to be the morning after, so hopefully it will be up quickly!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-Magicsuperhero xx