Gwaine was out of his chair. "You WHAT?!" he thundered.
"It's alright, Gwaine—she's letting me do it."
"This is preposterous," Arthur burst forth.
"We don't have time for this, you clotpole!" Anna said loudly, exasperated.
"Oh my God." Arthur fell back in his chair and stared at her blankly. "Merlin?"
"We've got to get the troops ready right now," Anna-Merlin repeated. "Before she ran, Morgana said that as soon as she recouped her powers from that freezing spell, she would attack—while we weren't prepared. We need to be ready for her."
Arthur made a great effort to regain his composure. "Call up as many recruits and volunteers as possible," he ordered. "An—Merlin, how long will it take for Morgana to regain her strength?"
"Anywhere from several hours to a day," Merlin answered, shaking her head.
"Then we have to prepare fast," Arthur said, nodding to his knights. "Let's get to work."
000
Arthur quickly dispatched people to gather up local recruits and arm them. However, they were quickly running out of good weapons.
"We can't just arm our soldiers with pitchforks and spades," Gwen objected. She, Arthur and Merlin had formed the hub of the operation in the Council Chamber. Most of the knights were running around the castle and the town carrying out orders. Gwaine, however, was hovering in the background with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.
"Get the swords of the knights who were cursed," Merlin said, and Arthur and Gwen looked up at her in shock. She pressed her lips together. "They will not be taking part in this battle," she said quietly. "They have a resource we can use. We had best use it."
"Can't you cure them?" Gwen asked.
Merlin shook her head and looked down. "I tried to cure myself, once I had—" she gestured to her body. "But nothing works. I'm sorry."
Gwen automatically reached for Arthur's hand. "You mean nothing can be done?" Arthur asked hoarsely. They heard a sharp intake of breath from Gwaine's corner.
"There are some other things we can try," Merlin said quickly, then paused, looking uncomfortable. "But they take time. That is something we don't have at the moment. We can worry about breaking the curse when we've defeated Morgana."
Arthur nodded. "Alright. Leon?" he called. Leon stepped into the room—he had been in the corridor outside, relaying orders. "Tell the men to use the swords from the fallen knights for the new soldiers."
"Yes, Sire."
"I'm going to go see if Gaius has found anything in his books," Anna-Merlin said, and headed out of the room after Leon. Gwaine followed her.
"Merlin," he said when they had reached the stairs. Merlin turned, and Gwaine grabbed her arm and pulled her into a storage room.
"Gwaine? What—"
Gwaine stepped up to him and stared her down—easier to do now that Merlin was no longer taller than him. Merlin bridled. "Merlin, if you hurt her, I swear to God—" Gwaine growled.
"Gwaine, come on—" Anna-Merlin tried to step back, but Gwaine closed the space.
"I'm serious," he added. That much was clear: he was angrier than Merlin had ever seen him.
"What are you going to do?" Merlin asked, his own nerves finally frayed. "Beat up your girlfriend's body? Come on, we have more important thing to worry about right now." He tried to push past him, but Gwaine grabbed her shoulders and stopped her so abruptly that Anna's eyes went wide.
"Nothing is more important to me than Anna's wellbeing," he hissed. "I saw two of my best friends completely paralyzed today, and now Anna—"
"She's fine. I swear, Gwaine. She's allowing me to do this. It's like when she heals people—it's my power, but she's the one allowing it to work through her. If she didn't want me in here, I couldn't be here." Gwaine dropped his chin, breathing deeply through his nose, getting himself under control. "I have to go, Gwaine," Merlin-Anna added, stepping out of his now slack clutch. "There are things I have to do before the battle."
Gwaine's head shot up again. "You're not going to fight, are you?" He sounded more worried than angry now.
"I don't have any choice. None of our sorcerers is strong enough to face Morgana. I have to do this, or she'll paralyze the whole lot of us!"
"Merlin, please." It was hard to tell—the closet was pretty dark—but Gwaine's eyes were pleading. "Don't do this. Don't put Anna in harm's way."
"Gwaine, it's the only way."
"Don't."
Merlin paused for a moment, as if listening. "Anna wants to talk to you," he said. She closed her eyes and frowned, and as Gwaine watched, her face changed subtly. When she looked up her expression was very different—gentler, sadder.
"Anna?" Gwaine said.
She stepped forward and kissed him. It was her, beyond a doubt. She rested her forehead on his and he closed his eyes.
"You don't have to do this," he pleaded.
"No, I don't," she agreed. "But I want to. You're not the only one who has duties to those he loves. You have to do your part, and I have to do mine. This is my part."
"I don't want to lose you," he said around the lump in his throat.
She kissed him again. "This is war, and the soldiers must be brave." She gave him a tight smile. When he managed to return it, despite the tears in his eyes, she stepped back. Her face changed again and she shook her head once. Merlin-Anna looked at him questioningly.
Gwaine took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "Let's do this," he said.
Anna smiled. "First I have to change clothes," he said, slipping past Gwaine and out of the storage room.
"Merlin," Gwaine said warningly. Anna turned. "Don't look."
Anna grinned—it was Merlin's bright, eye-crinkled grin on Anna's face. "I'll let Anna do it, don't worry," he assured him, and ran up the stairs, almost tripping when he forgot to lift his skirts.
Gwaine took a deep breath and went to help Leon.
TBC
AN: Sorry about all the "Merlin-Anna" and the pronoun confusion. It's hard to figure out how to remind the reader that it's Merlin's mind and mannerisms in Anna's body without making the writing either confusing or unwieldy.
Thank you to everybody who reviewed—you keep me writing!
May be a few days until an update: I've got a wedding to be in this weekend!
