A/N: So I tried to update this thing in February. But then, life hit hard. I won't go into details, but I will say that this has been the longest semester, possibly the longest two months, in my life. Anyway. Life calmed down a bit. I tried to update in March. Then, school hit hard, and I found my happy place in How to Train Your Dragon, perhaps my favorite movie ever, and I got re-bitten by that movie's bug and started writing a lot for it. Now, although there are plenty of other things I should be doing, I've decided to hunker down and finish the partial chapter that's been wasting away on my desktop for far too long.

Sorry for the long delay, all. Your patience is appreciated. Hopefully, I can update quickly from here on out. I want to finish this thing well, before my inspiration for it runs dry.

It began as a twitch in the back of his brain, a sort of tapping on the inside of his mind that grew increasingly more insistent as they drew further and further from Camelot and into the forest. He didn't fully recognize the dread that had been growing in his chest until all at once, he realized he that he knew. His heart leapt and the surprise tried to make him say something, but he choked on his tongue. It was safe, he knew, to say something. This Arthur knew about the magic, he had no need to hesitate. Still, it was hard for Merlin to make himself speak. Clearing his throat all the way up to Arthur's side, Merlin leaned across his saddle toward Arthur.

"Arthur, she's here."

"What?" Arthur darted his head back around, and only thought about keeping his voice low after Merlin jumped and the rest of the knights began trying to eavesdrop. He sighed. "Where?"

"Somewhere up ahead," Merlin said, glancing about, "I can feel it."

"Well, let's go then, we can rescue ourselves sooner rather than later."

"No, Arthur, it…" Merlin paused, and Arthur gave him a questioning look. "I think it might be a trap. There's two of her, remember."

Arthur's brow line fell. "You can't tell which one it is, then?" Merlin looked guilty, and shook his head. Arthur nodded. "Right. Keep close. Leon! Close ranks! Can't risk torchlight, and I won't be losing any of you on this goosechase. Keep close."

"Yes, sire."

"And Merlin?" Arthur said, quieter,

"Yes?"

"I don't care which Morgana it turns out to be, what you think about her nowadays, or if any of the knights can see you - if you see her and you have a clear shot, you take it."

Merlin gulped, and his stomach twisted. "Yes, Sire."

Merlin and Arthur didn't say another word to each other all the way to Morgana's hideaway, partially because the taboo of magic still clung to the air, partially because Arthur was weary from walking, straggling along as far back and as slowly behind the cart as his tether would allow. When they arrived at Morgana's camp, it was almost hard to tell because it was so dark. One minute, they were going through almost complete blackness with the rustle of plants and rumble of dirt, and then they were in complete blackness, with a strange echoing sound distorting their hearing, and an inexplicably constant draft of cool, odd-smelling air brushing their faces. Arthur realized before Merlin did that they were underground, because he had to walk on the cave floor and splash through the puddles that gathered in the divvied bedrock.

The cart halted. Morgana tied the reigns of the horses, and used some rather unnecessary magic to manhandle her two captors to one corner of the cave, into crude prison cells, made up of stalagmites that she had no doubt magicked there for the purpose.

"I would sleep while you can," She said, "You have a big day tomorrow."

Even through the darkness, Merlin cast a look at Arthur. He hadn't yet commented on their adversary being Morgana, though Merlin knew he had to have noticed by now. If he'd thought about the matter at all, his thoughts were a mystery.

Morgana left at a brisk walk, her footsteps echoing down the corridors until they were gone completely. Somehow, the silence grew ten times more unbearable with her gone. Merlin found himself sighing.

"Well, this is a fine mess," his dry wit had always been a coping mechanism of sorts.

"I don't suppose you could magic us out of here?" Arthur asked, contempt and venom not really concealed at all. Merlin chose to overlook both.

"I can't, actually. These damned cuffs that she has me in keep me from doing magic." He jangled the chains in the darkness for emphasis, and rubbed where they touched his wrists "They rather hurt, actually."

"Oh," was all Arthur said, sounding a bit disappointed. Another moment passed in silence, before Arthur asked suddenly, "It's Morgana, isn't it?"

Up until that moment, there had been a faint background ambience of beating hearts, breathing, shifting, drafts, and the odd watery sound, but right then, it all stopped for a beat. Merlin didn't breathe for a moment, until he remembered he should probably answer. "Yes," He said plainly. There wasn't any reason to lie to Arthur, now. He added kindly, "She is not the same woman you grew up with, Arthur."

"And… and she's magic too, is she?" Arthur's voice sounded strained. Merlin heard him sniff.

"Yes."

"What, did she learn it from-from you? Did you… did you both learn together?"

"Arthur-"

"Oh, this is…" he let out a humorless laugh. "just rich. Sorcerers. Both of you. All this time…"

"Arthur, neither of us learned, it's-"

"Well, if you two are such… such friends, why not just make it official and marry her, for heaven's sake!"

"Arthur Utherson Pendragon, you shut the hell up right now and listen." Arthur did shut up. It was too dark to tell if he might be listening. Merlin continued, "Morgana and I are similar in one way and one way only: neither of us learned magic. We were born with it. As I said, it was never 'just this once', Arthur. Magic is a part of who I am. I've always been magic. And…" Merlin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose where Arthur couldn't see, "And I really shouldn't be the one telling you this. Well, I should, but not… me. The younger Merlin should be having this conversation with you right now – and he will, eventually. So I'm going to cut through the apologies and explanations that he will gladly give you and cut to the facts. I am a warlock. A magician who never required any instruction in magic except to control the powers I already possessed. Morgana is the same. Her powers did not surface until after she was an adult, but they are nearly as strong as my own. However, she... she never learned to control them well. She couldn't. Not in Camelot. Not under your father. So she rebelled. She turned to the dark sorceress, Morgause, for instruction. Now, she is the last High Priestess left in Albion, and she is out for the blood of those she believes to have wronged her, including yours."

He'd decided to leave out all mention of Morgana's parentage, of Morgause's relationship to Morgana, of the plot against Uther, about the horrible drama that was the Pendragon family, but even so, the information that Merlin had given Arthur to ponder was heavy. It took a while before the Prince could respond. When he did, it wasn't in a way that Merlin would have ever guessed.

"And what about you?"

The question was so quiet and so different from what Merlin was expecting, it gave him pause.

"I'm sorry?"

"What about you, Merlin? What are you?" He was using that lost tone that Merlin knew, the one that was betrayal and curiosity fighting for dominance. "You said she was nearly as powerful as you. If she is a High Priestess… Hell, Merlin, what are you?"

Somehow, Merlin smiled. "A story for another time, I'm afraid." He let that sink in, before adding quickly, "But know, Arthur, know that there has always been more than one side to the world of magic. There is darkness and light in magic just as there are in men. There is good, and evil, commendable and damnable, and there is always a choice between the two for those who practice magic. Morgana chose to destroy, and to hate, and to never forgive. As for me… well, I didn't so much choose as I was chosen, really, so I can't take too much credit. But I was chosen to protect, and to make peace."

"Protect who? Make peace with what?"

"The Once and Future King, on both accounts."

"The what?"

"Oh, d'you need brushing up on your bedtime stories?"

"Lord spare me, don't."

"You never were very keen at reading, were you?"

"And you were never good at explaining things with any sense of clarity, Merlin."

"Fine. The other side of the coin, we'll call him."

"Merlin, you're not making any sense at all."

"Hmm," Merlin smiled to himself, "a trick I learned from an old friend."

"Right. Whatever. Whoever this Oncer-Future Coined King chap is, he sounds like a cryptic old bastard."

Merlin actually snorted. "Not so cryptic. Although, now that you mention, he is a bit of a prat."

And perhaps that got through the Oncer-Future Coined King's thick skull, because Arthur suddenly had nothing more to say.

King Arthur and Merlin might have been facing the younger Morgana, but younger did not necessarily mean easier to outwit. She had, after all, grown up in the same tactics lessons as Arthur. She was smart. And, Merlin had the sneaking suspicion, she knew exactly where they were, whereas they couldn't find the slightest sign of her. She was to the left. No, right. No, behind. Merlin's head was aching horribly at the strain of trying to pinpoint her location, and Arthur's growing frustration wasn't helping. The knights were growing restless, because even without Merlin's magic, they knew she was close.

But Merlin knew she would keep them guessing until she got what she wanted. Merlin wondered if this was such a bad thing, after all. Eventually, he pulled Arthur off to one side.

"We have to give ourselves up," he said.

"What?!"

"It's the only way we'll get her to show herself. She has the upper hand right now, and she came for us, not them," Merlin gestured back to where the knights were all on guard. "She's bold, but not stupid. Even a sorceress won't go up against an entire company of knights, not when some might get away and sound the alarm to follow her."

Arthur was watching Merlin with an intense look, like he didn't want to believe him, but was beginning to anyway.

"If we split off from them, give ourselves up, what is the worse that could happen?"

"She could kill us," Arthur said bluntly.

"She couldn't. She's not powerful enough to face me unaided – she knows that as well as I do," and it was almost refreshing for Merlin to brag on his own powers for once, "the most she could do is capture us and take us to her accomplice, the Older Morgana. Which, in turn, would bring us to her captives. Which is exactly what we want." He looked straight into Arthur's eyes, and the King stared back, calculating. "If we don't, she'll wait until your men are tired, and slaughter them to capture us all the same."

Arthur's lips thinned, he stared some more, and then moved in a sudden burst of purpose back towards his men. "Leon, we've lost her. You and the knights move eastward and fan out a search. Merlin and I will go west. Sound the alarm if you find anything."

"But sire-"

"There's more eastward ground to cover, hence, more men. We will regroup at dawn."

"Dawn?"

"It's dark enough as it is, camp for the night when you need. Merlin and I will be fine." He and Leon locked gazes for a minute, challenging and questioning. Eventually, Arthur's expression softened into something almost pleading. "Please, Leon."

The knight stiffened his face and gave a barely perceptible nod. "Move out!" He called to the rest of the knights. "Find the sorceress!"

"Go," Arthur nudged Merlin, and the warlock didn't need any encouragement. He nudged his mare into a full gallop, to ensure Morgana would be drawn as far away from the knights as possible. She was after Arthur and Merlin alone, it was true, but Merlin didn't trust her with his friends regardless of intention.

It wasn't long before she cornered them. Her hand outstretched threateningly, she bid them to dismount, and they did so with surrendered hands.

"A wise decision, giving yourselves up," She sauntered up to them. "I won't kill you, of course." She smiled. "Well, I won't. Not yet. I can't say the same for your sister, Arthur." She laughed, and Merlin cast a wary sideways glance at the King. He looked sad.

Eventually, Prince Arthur had come back around to talking.

"So if… if Morgana went bad, as you said,"

"Yes?"

"Well… why didn't you help her?"

The question burned like a dagger in Merlin's chest, though Arthur probably didn't realize that. Merlin knew he'd tried to pad the question with some amount of gentleness, but it was like trying to soften the blade of an executioner's axe: It only made the execution hurt more.

"Do you know, Arthur," Merlin replied, his ego and conscience aching with every syllable, "my cowardice in regards to Morgana is the greatest regret of my life." When Arthur didn't say anything, he felt compelled to say, "I was too scared to help her. I was petrified. I knew she was magic, but I knew her powers were dangerous. I didn't know what she thought about it, what she would do to me, to us, if I told her about my own magic. She was Uther's ward. What was I to do?" He sighed. "Of course now I can think of five dozen things I could have done. I could have. But I didn't." And I'm sorry, went the unspoken finish, but the words had been repeated so many times that he wasn't sure they meant the same thing anymore.

Arthur said nothing. The softened axe fell for a second time.

Merlin closed his eyes, returning to that dark place that he'd sworn to his king that he'd never revisit. To that age-old regret, to the tears that rose in his eyes when he'd seen the unspoiled Younger Morgana weeks ago, to that anger at himself for his cowardice, to that urge to fix, amend, heal, in ways that were impossible but he'd be damned if he didn't try. Morgana had to be able to change. She had to. He'd told himself that often enough to make sure she could kill more people. He'd been naïve. He'd been too late. He'd been wrong, so wrong.

But then Merlin opened his eyes again.

Wait a minute.

He was in the past.

The past.

Younger Morgana was, for the most part, still Morgana. She was still only just beginning on the road to darkness – she still had space for redemption. He could try. He could try to heal her, try to mend the road he'd neglected before. Fix his own failure.

So maybe they hadn't changed anything in this past world, as they'd determined earlier. But that didn't mean they couldn't change anything, surely. He could change the past if he really tried. Surely. Why on earth would such a thing as time travel even exist if not to right the wrongs of yesteryear? Merlin felt himself warming to the idea, and a thousand ideas, a thousand speeches, a thousand ways to get Younger Morgana to see, all ran through his head at once. He could change this. He could. He felt like weeping, because there was hope intruding on his burden of guilt, and it made his mind spin.

So much so, that it took Arthur a couple of goes to get his attention.

"Merlin!" He hissed, the tone of annoyance hinting that he'd already said it at least three times. Merlin jumped and shook himself.

"What?"

"Do you hear that?"

He didn't have time to answer before Morgana was there. Her eyes glowed and their cages melted around them. She whispered a word and a glowing light came to life in the air, illuminating the room with a brightness that made the captives squint and blink. Arthur sucked in a gasp as he saw, really saw Morgana le Fey for the first time. So alike, and so different from the woman he knew. Merlin felt sorry for him, but he also felt a certain steeliness to Morgana now, knowing that he would change her younger self later. He would.

"How did I know that neither of you would sleep?" She laughed a private thought. "Come along, then, big things to do. You ought not try to run, either of you. I've closed off the cave entirely, and should you try anything brash or stupid at all, I have only lift a finger and in your pain, you will beg me for death. Am I understood?" She smiled at them, and Arthur was still reeling from her appearance, but Merlin only glared. This made her chuckle again. "Very well. Come along, then. Oh," She suddenly turned back toward Merlin. "How rude of me, Emrys. We'll be needing you out of these, of course," she touched the cuffs on his wrists and said a few words, and they clicked open and fell to the floor. Merlin rubbed his wrists, and neither Arthur nor Morgana noticed when he looked at them, panicked.

"I will not remind you again that the threat applies to warlocks as well as kings," she cast a glance at Arthur. "Or should I say Future Kings. I still have the upper hand here, Emrys," she waved a hand through the air and Merlin's Elder Staff materialized into her grip. "I expect you to remember that."

She marched them out of the room and down a narrow corridor. Merlin walked compliantly behind her, and Arthur behind him. The light bobbing between them provided enough space away from Morgana that when Arthur jogged to catch up with Merlin and whisper with him, she couldn't hear.

"Alright, don't get me wrong, I don't like this magic thing one bit. I hate it. I'm mad at it and I'm madder at you, but… damnit, what am I turning into?" He sighed frustratedly and turned back to Merlin, "your shackles are off, Merlin, can't you just magic us out of this now?"

Merlin's face was actually scared. "No."

"Look, I know she said not to, but I thought you were Lord Supreme of not following ord-"

"No, I mean I can't," Merlin hissed, growing mentally upset with his younger self, who was the only person who could have possible cut off the Borrower's connection. "I can't. My magic is gone. Again."

A/N: RIGHT. I'm pretty sure there will be 3 more chapters, the last of which I've actually already written. We'll see how this goes.

I realize that there will be a whole world of possibilities and interactions that I will not write into this story, and I'm sorry, but it's really a matter of feasibility and realism. There are just some things that I don't think would come up, some things that wouldn't really be resolved or figured out, and some things that don't need to be touched on. So I'm sorry if that one scenario you were hoping for doesn't end up in the final cut, that's just the way it goes.

Again, I'm super duper sorry for the long wait. You guys are patient if anything, and thank you for that.