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Chapter 3
Merlin doesn't know where she has gone. Gwen hadn't seen her for a while. Lancelot and Gwaine hadn't seen her. Nobody had seen Morgana for a few hours. With the dragon's words floating around his mind, he was starting to panic.
He was becoming more and more desperate with everyone that he asked. He asked everyone who passed him. He must have sounded panicked when one of the servants grabbed him by the arms and told him to calm down. Merlin looked at the man before he took a deep breath and let it out. He was right, he did need to calm down.
As he walked through the camp, a little more calmly, he started to think of where she could be. If she wasn't in her tent, where would she go?
He let out a groan as he realised where she could be. He turned and walked towards the edge of the camp. He felt calmer as he walked away from the tents. He held out his hand and allowed it to brush against leaves, branches and trunks of trees. He allowed his magic to roam, becoming one with the earth. He could remember the last time he had felt such at peace. He knew why Morgana was out here.
He stopped when he had found her and watched Morgana as she sat at the edge of the stream, her shoes sitting by her side and her toes in the water. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine them in the gardens in Drugonia. He would go over to her and ask her what was up and she would tell him that she couldn't grasp a spell. They would sit, by the stream in the gardens in Drugonia and Merlin would help her with the spell in question.
He opened his eyes to be met with the darkness of the forest. He sighed as he took the final few steps and sat down beside her.
"Morgana." He said softly.
"Everything is wrong."
He turned to her and placed his arm around her, bring her to him. He placed a kiss in her hair as he felt her grab his jacket.
"I know it is."
"What are we going to do?"
"Arthur and I have talked and we have agreed that this war isn't going ahead. We are going to go back home and mourn and prepare for the winter. In the Spring, we will head to Camelot or Arthur will head to Drugonia and we will make the greatest alliance that this land has ever seen."
"Why do I think that there is more to this?"
"Because the dragon council has decided that it is my place to be in Camelot, to help Arthur learn how to rule."
He went to say about what the dragon had said about her but thought better of it. Part of him felt like it was a battle for him to face by himself. He felt like he had to be the one to save her. After all, he was her husband.
"Your place is in Drugonia. Not in Camelot." Morgana said as she pulled back and looked at him.
Merlin sighed. "I know."
"But you are going to go to Camelot."
"Because the dragons do have a point."
"What's that?" She said angrily.
"I have my mother to help me. I have you to help me. I have Lancelot and Gwaine. I am surrounded by Lords that I have known since I was a baby. I know that they back me not because I am my father's son, but because they know the person that I am and the king I could be. Arthur doesn't have that. He doesn't have a mother or a wife. He is surrounded by Uther's lords who would want him to carry on what Uther started."
"That isn't our problem."
"Then Arthur's change in the way that he thinks about magic will be for nothing. Arthur has accepted magic for what it is. That is the first step in making this golden age that the dragons keep talking about. I want that golden age. If we leave Arthur on his own until the spring, the lords might have been able to brainwash him like Uther has done to them. The terms of our alliance won't be the same and it won't be the greatest alliance this land has ever seen."
He sighed. "I understand why you are reluctant to return to Camelot. I am not going to make you return and you are more than welcome to go back to Drugonia and be with my mother but I would like you to come. I have this feeling that there are many who wish to see us fail. I want you close to me."
"This is all my fault."
Merlin grabbed her hands and made sure that she was looking at him. "No, it is. Don't think that way. It isn't your fault. We were forced to show our hand. We had to make do with the situation presented to us. It is not your fault."
"If I didn't use magic on Uther then we wouldn't even be here."
"No, you would still be in Camelot, waiting for talks that would never happen. Morgana, I promise you. If you come with me, I will not allow anything to happen to you. I will do anything for you." He placed his right hand on her left cheek and stroked it with her thumb. "I love you Morgana, and I don't want to lose you."
He could see the tears in her eyes. He knew that his father's death would affect her but he was sure that it was affecting her worse than he could imagine. Merlin stood up and offered her his hand. He helped her up.
"Everything will be okay." He said.
He didn't know whether he was trying to reassure her or himself. Something had definitely changed. This was a different world that they were living in. One thing Merlin knew for sure, they were at the crossroads and the next few months would be vital.
