"Morgana Pendragon." The Cailleach greeted her in the enveloping darkness. "Are you ready to see the future?"
Before she even had the chance to reply, the darkness faded and Morgana found herself in Gaius' chambers.

Merlin stood at the workbench and was flipping through a book like a physician's apprentice should. Morgana saw he had a patient and was only slightly shocked to see it was her future self. Morgana wanted to check for her own pulse only to find her hand flying straight through it, the downside of being a ghost.

Morgana looked at Merlin. He wasn't the young, happy boy he once was. Time had passed since then. How long had it been? How many years? Morgana estimated half a decade, maybe even more.

The door opened and Queen Guinevere entered the room. There wasn't a doubt in Morgana's mind that she had married Arthur.
"Is she awake yet?" Gwen harshly demanded to know.
It took Morgana by surprise. She wasn't used to hearing her former maid speak so violently.
"I'm working on it." Merlin replied annoyed as he kept flipping through the pages.
Gwen idly walked through the room. She looked at a few books on the shelves but take any of them. Finally, the Queen stopped moving at Morgana's body.
"Don't." Merlin looked at her from the corner of his eye.
"Sorry?" Gwen asked innocently but Morgana didn't believe her and neither did Merlin.
Arthur's former manservant stood in front of Gwen and on the other side of his patient with his hand held out.
"Left hand, give." He spoke with an unrelenting stare.
She bit on the inside of her cheek as she handed him the vial that was in her left hand.
Morgana was in shock. Gwen had planned to poison her? What was possibly even stranger was that Merlin prevented her from doing so.
"Why do you even bother?" Gwen asked cruelly. "She'll be sentenced to death anyway."
"Arthur would've wanted her to stand trial nonetheless." Merlin answered.
"Arthur isn't here anymore, Merlin!" The Queen was shouting at this point.
Arthur was dead? It was more the result than the fact that shook her. No matter what happened, Gwen and Merlin had always been friends.
"See it as an act of mercy." Gwen tried to persuade him. "That way she won't have to face execution."
When had Gwen become such a cunning woman?
"Leave, milady. My patient needs rest." Merlin didn't want things to get out of hand.
Gwen held her head high as she walked over to the door with Merlin right behind her to make sure she didn't make a mess of things. With the door open and the knob in her hand, Gwen gave into the urge to have the last word.
"You're lucky I don't blame magic for his death." She said and that would have been the end of it if she hadn't antagonized Merlin so much.
Without thinking, the servant replied "No, then it would be like he married his father." and closed the door to force her out of the room.

Morgana was stunned. The look on Gwen's face was fantastic but it was horrifying to see the devastation Arthur's death left behind. Merlin and Gwen, she thought they would be friends until the bitter end but no, they had been torn apart by those who died and those who remained. Not only had their friendship withered, they were arguing and openly hostile.

"I have one last thing left to show you." The Cailleach spoke as their surroundings plummeted into darkness once more.
Then the landscape seemed to form beneath their feet as the sun rose to illuminate their new surroundings.

They were in a forest and Morgana recognized Merlin's lanky, sulking, sitting figure straight away.

She could see that he had been crying and then looked at what he was looking at. Stirred ground at first sight but it had the measurements of a grave.

"I can only guess you would've wanted to be buried like your father. Besides your father rather than here, I can imagine." Merlin mused.
Morgana felt a load of guilt wash over her. He was right, she would have wanted to be buried next to her father, and it went without saying that 'father' referred to Gorlois rather than Uther. She could scarcely believe he would bury her and not dump her in a ditch. It was what he said next that was even more unbelievable.
"Queen Gwen" He spat "wanted to burn you. Now she's keeping an eye on your father's grave, hoping I'd give you an unmarked grave."
In that respect, Gwen had gotten what she wanted.
"Do you remember this place? It's where you first met the druids." He carried on his monologue.
She did remember. He brought her there to find answers about her magic, how it could be used for the good of things. It's where she met Aglain and found Mordred once more. It had ended so abruptly but it had brought her so much hope. If he hadn't shown her the way, she would've gone mad. So he remembered as well. Would he visit her grave from time to time? She hoped he would.
"Who would've imagined it would come to this? So many people are dead because of you... and me." He admitted without much trouble.
Morgana didn't know how much time had passed since she had been his patient. Perhaps he had come to terms with it.
He took a deep breath and continued. "Arthur is dead, in case you didn't already know. Him and Mordred."
Mordred? Why? What had he done to deserve death? Oh gods, had she dragged him into it? He was but a boy, well, a young man considering the time that had gone by but still. Young life always ended far too soon.
"Magic is free and I'm banished for stealing a dead body." He smiled wryly.
Magic was free? Gwen had said something about blaming magic and his cruel reply but she thought that Gwen was talking about another Great Purge. Magic was free and still she had waged war.
"I hate you." Merlin was starting to cry again.
"You should've lived but you gave up on life, didn't you?" He sobbed angrily.
It wasn't a secret but it was a rarity. People would be sick or wounded and despite the healing magic, the person would die. Those were the people that had not just given up but actually lost the will to live, not wanting to remain in the world anymore. How much had they suffered for something like that to happen?
"Why?!" He cried and Morgana wanted to reply but she couldn't, the reasons laid in the future.
Out of all people, it was him that shed tears for her. The man that failed to poison her still got to bury her, reluctantly. It was her nemesis that cared most for her. He smuggled her body out of Camelot but he wanted her to live, he would've helped her escape if she had been alive. He wouldn't have let her stand trial if he couldn't even let her dead body burn. This was about more than that. He was banished from Camelot for wanting to bury her body and did it anyway. This was about so much more than their hate, more than their friendship, more than regret or pity. He did this for her, just for her. Arthur's death made him cold to the world but now it was as if there was nothing left of him. The words he had spoken in the burial vaults were sincere. His betrayal made her heart ache and Morgause helped numb the feeling. No one did that for him, his heart had never stopped aching. Not even now she was dead.

Darkness shrouded the world from them once more and Morgana found herself crying.

"I don't want this." Morgana said. This wasn't the world she wanted.
She must have become obsessed to wage war while magic was free. Arthur lifted the ban, like a fair King and kind brother would, and still she caused his death. Gwen, cheerful, hopeful and forgiving Gwen had become so very bitter. The maid that used to help her sleep became the Queen that tried to poison her. Merlin, cheery, happy, goofy Merlin had become so cold and full of pain.
"Then don't let it come to this." Spoke the Cailleach's voice.
"What do you mean?" Morgana stopped her sobbing for a glimmer of hope.
"This day is a crossroad.
Stay on the path which you travel now and you may wear the crown one last time before you die but it won't bring magic back.
Let go of the throne and you will find yourself a life surrounded by magic where your name will instil hope rather than fear."
Morgana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She made her decision and opened her eyes to reply.

She was home again, the Cailleach was gone. The answer had to be lived.

AN:

Next chapter is, of course, redemption.
It will be happy rather than dreadful.