Word from the author: this is a short chapter but another one is coming up shortly.

…..

Chapter 19: From the Ashes

"No!" Merlin cried out as Morgana's hand reached out for the folded piece of parchment.

As he had expected, he felt a surge of magic coming from the map. It unleashed all around them with a powerful wham. Merlin's whole body was shoved backwards and his shoulders collided with the wall behind. This time, however, he wasn't a fragile eighty years-old man and he fell right back on his feet, feeling only a little dazed. Unlike how it had happened at the sea fortress, he had been ready for it and he had used his own magic as a shield. The old map held some kind of magical protection against intruders, that much was certain. What he hadn't been prepared for was Morgana reaching out for the map first.

Though his feet were firmly on the ground, he could feel the floor and the walls shaking from the powerful surge. Bits of rock, mortar and a lot of dust were falling freely from the ceiling. He heard a loud creaking from above. The chandelier was balancing as though it was caught in a storm.

"Merlin!" shrieked Morgana.

He saw her through a cloud of ashes and flames. She had flown backwards and she had landed inside the fireplace. With shaking hands and eyes burning gold, she was trying to keep the flames from consuming her. At the same time, the old fireplace was crumbling down on top of her with large chunks of the wall. In fact, after the powerful blow, the entire room was collapsing on top of them.

Closing his eyes for concentration, Merlin raised both of his hands, allowing the familiar wave of magic to flow through him and out into the room. He reached out for Morgana first, forcing the flames around her to die out. Then he turned his attention upwards, shaping his magic so that it held into place everything that was currently falling down. At his command, the chaos froze. The falling pieces of the fireplace, the walls and the ceiling slowed down unnaturally to hang in midair as though suspended by an invisible thread. The dust began to settle down. On top of the floating rubble, Merlin could see five bewildered faces.

"Is everyone all right?" he called at large.

Arthur mumbled "show off" as he was brushing dirt off his hair.

"I told you she cannot be trusted," growled Gwaine. Merlin saw that the knight had pulled out his sword.

All eyes turned to Morgana. She stood just in front of what was left of the fireplace with one hand on the wall for support. Her hair and her dress were all covered in ashes.

"You're going to let him go!" she screamed out angrily. She turned to Arthur with fury in her eyes. "What else am I supposed to do? You act all noble with your Round Table and your knights, yet you're going to let your most loyal friend risk his life. Well, I won't allow it! I can't! I… I've got no one else. No where else to go."

A bubble of hot, reassuring relief took birth in Merlin's chest. For a moment, he felt like running to her and sweeping her into his arms. If Arthur and the knights had not been in the room, he might have. A tiny bit of him had been afraid that Morgana was turning her back on them. And on him. But she wasn't.

"I didn't expect that," murmured Gwaine, though he was still eyeing Morgana suspiciously.

"Didn't expect what?" said King Lot. "Are you blind? They're in love. I say let's marry them now and settle this once and for all."

"That's not an option!" cried out Arthur, outraged.

Merlin could only grin, and hope that he wasn't blushing too much. As the level of tension inside the room was slowly going back to normal, Merlin took the opportunity to return the many objects and pieces of rubble to their rightful places. The chandelier lifted back into its place. The chairs and jugs flipped over. The rocks settled on the walls as though they had never fallen off. His final touch was to send a cool breeze swirling around Morgana that shook the ashes off her hair and dress.

"I think you can put away your sword now," Galahad said to Gwaine.

Arthur had moved closer to Merlin's side. "She does have a point," he said in a low voice. "What am I supposed to do with her?"

That question was on Merlin's mind as well. But the others were not going to like the answer. He wanted to offer her a choice. For him, it was more like a wish that he was making in his heart. For her, it would determine how she was going to spend the rest of her life.

They all seemed to be waiting for him to speak up.

"You can't come with me," he said directly to Morgana. He tried to ignore her piercing glare. "The map is my quest. You have your own to choose now. Arthur is riding back to Camelot to face Morgause. You can ride with him and face her as your enemy. Or…" He took a deep breath. "Or you can go back to Morgause. No one will stop you. If you ride ahead you will reach Camelot before Arthur's men and you'll have a chance to warn her."

Arthur could not hide the bewilderment on his face. "Are you mad?" he bellowed.

But Merlin cut him off right away. "This is not an easy choice. You have a lot to make up for in Camelot. As for Morgause, she will welcome you back but she may not trust you as she once did. Whatever you choose now, it will be for the rest of your life."

Morgana shook her hair. A single tear slid on her cheeks, making a clear line on her pale skin.

"What if I choose another life?" she asked almost pleadingly. "What if I choose to go back to the way things were?"

"We can't go back to the way things were," he said resolutely.

Several times, Morgana opened her mouth to reply, but the words did not seem to want to come out. At last, when she seemed about to break into sobs, she ran out of the room, leaving a cloud of ashes behind her.