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Chapter 6

"Morgana, today we shall begin your 'herbalist' lessons. As a first lecture, I'll show you how to use your 'instrument' for the following months." Merlin disguised as Gaius said, doing imaginary quote marks with his hands every time he changed magic or the reference of a magical item for another name.

"Gaius, you don't need to do that. We're in my chambers, at night, Gwen already went home and the guards have orders not to disturb us under any circumstances. Even if we wanted to show the entirety of Camelot that I have magic, I don't think that would possible, because Uther would bark something first and everybody would turn a blind eye." She tried to lighten the mood.

Merlin chuckled – totally un-Gaius-like when someone was making a joke about the king – but her attempt to calm his nerves had the opposite effect. He was even more self-conscious that they were alone in her bedchambers and more, without the slight possibility of being interrupted during their lesson time. His heart was beating fast inside his chest, maybe at the same speed as a small bird's during a flight.

For a moment, he just smiled to her and admired her beauty, completely forgetting that he was supposed to teach her how to control her magic and give her a blood crystal. He glanced at her belly, but had the presence of mind to do it quickly. Her, the idea of having impregnated her, being face-to-face with Morgana again after one month, the notion that he could freely (well, not exactly) touch her, smell her scent, appreciate her, listen to her clever remarks that sometimes filled his heart with hope that other people that sympathized with magic were there, just waiting for it to be freely accepted again (duh, she also had magic, she was more than that, much more), well, the goodness of her heart, in the end everything that made her the Morgana he loved (wait, love?).

Her words abruptly took him out of his reverie:

"Gaius, Gaius, are you feeling unwell?"

"What?" He replied.

"You were staring blankly at me, your mouth was open and you let drool fall on the ground." She inquired, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Oh!" He suddenly remembered he was using Gaius's image (and maybe his guardian would be cross with him once he heard a report about the events of the first lesson) "No, Morgana." He liked how her name sounded when it left his mouth and if he were as himself and she were being comprehensive with his lack of rational thought, he would repeat her name indefinitely just to test how it sounded. For him, it was like an entire symphony (what? There he was, exaggerating again). Merlin shook his head like a dog, what must have been an entire unusual sight if you combined his actions with Gaius's frame. That particular action made Morgana even more confused and worried, to which Merlin simply spilled the words in one single breath:

"I took a little bit of ale to give this lesson, it makes me do strange things, I drank because it's been a long time that I haven't practiced magic."

"Fine." She said, still furrowing her eyebrows. Then she extended her hand in the direction of a chair near the table of her room. "I think it's better if we seat, Gaius."

He nodded and followed her lead.

Once they settled, we was again mesmerized by her eyes. Damn, all the implications of having held her in his arms, the idea that she carried a new life, that was half him half her, always turned him into a babbling idiot. All this situation was making his worst nightmare come true: Arthur being right about something.

Again, she was the one to rescue him from his dreamland:

"Gaius, Gaius, have you been listening?" She asked.

"Hummm, what?" The mentally kicked himself, he was finally learning to know beforehanded what the prat told him most of the time, so not listening to the prince wasn't a problem (in fact they were turning into moments that he could use to better his concentration when he needed to do something important while in the middle of a lot of noise), but not listening to Morgana because he was staring at her was definitely reprehensible. And the worst part, with Gaius's face it could be a little bit (just a little, not that he'd admit to his mentor) creepy. He was sure Morgana was getting uncomfortable with all the eyeing.

"I was asking about the magical item that you'd show me." She replied and as he was still mentally confused regarding what she was talking about, she complemented: "The one for the following months."

"Ohhhhhhhh, that!" He said as if she had just saved his life in the last few seconds. "Here." He took a blood crystal from one of the tunic's pocket (don't ask how that clothing has a pocket) and gave it to her, continuing to speak: "It's a blood crystal."

"What does it do?" She inquired with curiosity.

He took a few seconds to appreciate her expression before he answered: "If you spill blood of a person on it and another uses the necklace, the one with the crystal will take the shape of the owner of the blood. It can also be used by the same person whose blood is dropped, so that he or she can present the appearance they had when they spilled the blood."

"Oh, so that's the plan to conceal my pregnancy? Making me look slim during the next eight or so months?" She asked.

"Yes. Look at the bright side, many vain women would kill for a chance to remain thin during a pregnancy." He grinned at her.

"I guess that ale improves your sense of humor, Gaius." She smiled at him. "What do you know about it, huh? Heard any complaints about bellies and weight gain from the many pregnant women that you have attended to?" She also grinned.

"Not many. Most women that I've seen during pregnancies were braver than an incredible high amount of soldiers." He smiled at her, but in the back of his mind he was reminded that she would also have to go through labor, and that many lost their lives during that time, both mother and child. So, instead of ruining the light mood, he continuing with the small talk: "I'd love to have one of those to myself. Can you imagine it? Not having to shave for days and the best part, not listening to people saying that a rat decided to inhabitate on my face?" He grinned at her, in a goofy way, and she openly laughed at his joke. He took the chance to fully that the sight of her laughter.

"That was funny, Gaius. You seem so different today." She said, still giggling.

"Me, no, no, no." She gave him a look that made him modify his statement. "Ok, maybe a little. But don't tell this to nobody. It's our secret." He smiled wickedly at her.

Morgana nodded and asked him:

"How does it work?"

"You have to put a drop of blood and say the spell's words." He replied.

"So there's already a spell on the first day?" She inquired enthusiastically.

"Yes, but you're not the one performing it." He mimicked Gaius's eyebrow lifting, which was incredibly easy in that form, while it was extremely hard for him to impersonate that particular gesture of his guardian in his own original appearance. He proceeded the explanation: "First you'll have to control your innate power, so that it doesn't run wild when you're stressed." At those words, she pouted and he thought that she looked even prettier doing so, if that was even possible.

"First, I need a little bit of your blood." He told her.

"Ok, I'll get my dagger to scratch my fingertip." She raised herself from the seat and went to her bed table, moving her hips while she walked. He couldn't help but to follow her with his eyes and was almost caught ogling when she spin when she got the object.

When she returned to her position on the table, she pierced her finger and let a drop of blood fall on top of the crystal surface. As that happened, Merlin inclined himself to the object and chanted:

"Þece treowee andwlitan heora fram gesiht eallra!"

His eyes glowed gold and the crystal seemed to absorb the blood. Satisfied with his work, Merlin smiled and was surprised as Morgana grabbed his own crystal and pulled the necklace from him.

"Merlin!"