Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to BBC

Warnings: more domestic violence, swearing and goofy humor.

Chapter 8

"You're a seer."

"What?"

"You know those that can see the future in –" She slapped him in the arm again, to which he cried out:

"Ouch! Stop doing that, Morgana! You have a heavy hand, it hurts a lot when you hit me!"

"In truth, my nightmares are visions! Gaius made me believe that they were only dreams and you backed him up with that lie! Do you have any idea of how much I have been scared to even sleep?"

"Morgana, please, you have to understand. He did that to protect you from Uther! And it was not my place to tell you the truth then, but I'm doing it now!" He retorted.

"Think about it! You told him about your dreams, not me!" He tried to reason with her.

"Yet he must have told you, as you've known that I'm a seer! The two of you have chosen to leave me in the dark while I was losing my sanity, thinking I was going mad!" She was still angry and her eyes glistened with tears.

"I'm sorry, Morgana, I just couldn't tell you before. I'm sorry for that." He stood up and she did the same, he was not sure if to run from him or to hit him again, so he hugged her and she reluctantly let him.

He kept repeating that he was sorry while drawing soothing circles in her back and she calmed down.

Then it became something more, the closeness of the other made them feel a warmth in their hearts and a comforting sensation. The two didn't change their positions, afraid to break the spell that came upon them. Just being in each other's arms like that was almost too good to be true after those days that they couldn't even see one another. So, forgetting she was supposed to be mad at him, and forgetting the difference in their status, Merlin and Morgana just stood there, enjoying their embrace and the other's presence.

Then suddenly, a stray strand of her hair got too close to Merlin's nostril, causing him to turn his head and sneeze loudly: "AACHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO".

That certainly took them both out of their reverie, and Morgana inquired, worriedly:

"Are you ok, Merlin?" She placed her hand on his forearm when she asked.

"I'm fine." He answered groggy, still affected by the sneeze.

"Good." She murmured and smiled at him.

He couldn't help but be awed by her smile. He certainly preferred when she was being concerned with him and gracing him with her radiant smiles rather than hitting him or crying, so he stared at her with his boyish grin plastered on his face.

Suddenly, she remembered that she was supposed to be mad at him and extract the rest of the truth from him, only this time she wouldn't abuse him physically. So, her expression acquired a serious demeanor, and she questioned him:

"I need you to tell me: did that dream about that girl from Tirmatur was true? Did she try to drown Arthur?"

"Yes, all of your dreams were true, Morgana. Well, that's what Gaius told me, I just witnessed that one." He replied.

"That bitch! I knew it was too strange for Arthur to be suddenly in love like that!" She exclaimed, pausing briefly before continuing: "So, I guess you stopped her? Does that mean Arthur owns you his life and I own you my thanks for saving him?" She spoke those sentences in a calmer tone and for some reason Merlin could tell, only by looking at her eyes, that she was thankful to him for saving the young prince.

"Yes, I did. She and her father were Sidhe that were banished from Avalon, their kingdom. She had to sacrifice a human prince to be accepted again there and she decided that Arthur was the offering." He answered.

She brought her both hands to cover her mouth and gasped, muffling an "oh".

"Sidhe, like the one that has enchanted us?" She asked.

"Humrum, but for other reasons." He retorted.

"That wasn't the only time you saved Arthur's life, was it?" She inquired.

"No, let's see." He said, thoughtful and used his hands to help counting, grabbing his thumb at first and using his other fingers later: "There was the Mary Collins incident, then Valiant and the snakes …"

Morgana gasped again and interrupted:

"I also dreamed that he would threat Arthur!" and paused, remembering quickly and adding: "And that time it wasn't a solo job, mister accomplished bodyguard." She smiled at him flirty: "If I hadn't thrown him that sword, Arthur would be history."

"You're right, we make a good team." He admitted, chuckling.

"See, you just have to let me be part of your moments of fun, saving Arthur's arse." She smiled wickedly at him.

"Trust me, Morgana, it isn't fun at all, saving the prat I mean." He widened his eyes and raised his hands in front of him, then he narrowed his eyes and asked: "Do you have any idea how hard it is? He's a magnet for trouble! Apparently, every magic creature or rogue sorcerer wants his pelt every three weeks or so!" She giggled, similar to the last time she said he could trust her with his secret.

"It's fine now, you have my help from now on." She grinned at him.

"Well, as long as you don't overexert yourself, knowing of your condition, I think I'll accept your offer." He retorted, mirroring her grin.

"I won't as long as you teach me some offensive and silent spells. I'll make sure to hide behind a column before casting it." She smiled at him.

"Fine, on the condition that you don't use them against me. If you get angry at me again, I'd rather have to withstand your fist than your magic." He joked, but it also had a hint of sincerity. If her hands were already extremely strong, imagine her magic!

She laughed and replied: "Okay, I promised to only slap you from now on."

"That's reassuring, now I can sleep at ease knowing that at the worst case scenario you'll just leave me with a good and old hematoma, no broken bones at all." He said sarcastically.

"I didn't hit you so strongly, Merlin." She argued and said uncertainly: "I think."

"Yes, you did, my lady. I prefer ten hits from Arthur than one slap from you." He retorted.

She laughed, thinking that he was joking, to which he said:

"I'm serious."

She got startled at his answer. Well, she hit him because she was infuriated due to his lies, but she didn't imagine that she could actually cause so much pain with a simple slap, nevertheless, she decided to say:

"I'm sorry, Merlin, for hitting you. It's just that you had lied to me and about a grave subject. I felt really betrayed!" She said, frowning and crossing her arms bellow her breasts.

"I know, Morgana." He said, shyly.

"But you're right. I shouldn't have slapped you so hard." She dropped her arms along her sides.

He nodded and the both of them smiled again. It was as if they caused that effect on the other: it didn't matter what they had done, a mere smile or a friendly gesture was enough for the other to forgive whatever wrongdoing they did before and they couldn't be angry at each other for long. Well, that was certainly a dangerous thing, but they didn't seem to care.

Remembering that he was supposed to be teaching her how to control her magic, Merlin said:

"Morgana, you should be learning how to control your magic and I should be teaching you. So, can we sit once more?" He asked.

"Yes, we can." And she settled again on her seat before adding: "But you won't be teaching me magic today." She said in an imperative tone while raising her chin.

"No?" He asked, confused.

"No. Today you'll tell me everything, every adventure that you had while protecting Arthur and Camelot." She smiled brightly at him and once again he was stunned by her beauty, which lead to a delayed answer from him:

"Oh, right. Camelot. Arthur." He stumbled with his words.

And they ended up talking about everything he had done for Arthur's sake and sometimes she laughed with him, other times she reassured him that he did the right thing, nevertheless at some points she disagreed with him, about what he should have done then, but in the end they mostly enjoyed their time together.

When the final minutes of her lesson were ending, Merlin put his necklace on again while he went to her chamber's entrance, provoking a small whine from her. She accompanied him to the door and before he could open it, she took his necklace from him again, kissed his left cheek and said:

"As a thank you, for all the times you saved Arthur's life and Camelot." After that she gently placed the magical item around his neck and he took Gaius frame once more.

"Sleep well." She said, while he left her bedchambers. He nodded and she closed the door.

For a while, she leaned with her back against the door, thinking about everything that had happened that night and the kiss (even though was only on his cheek) that she had given him.

When she closed the door, Merlin's mind was still hazy with what happened. Morgana had kissed him (only his cheek though) and she was so … god damn perfect! Ok, maybe violent at the beginning of his revelations, but them, their conversation went so smoothly! He never thought it would be so easy to talk about everything with someone else, who would imagine that he would experience that with her! Surely, at her previous statements about magic he was aching to tell her the truth, in part because he wanted her to understand her dreams and what she was going through, and in part because he wanted someone to fully confide in, someone that could understand how he feels and at the same time could inspire him to be a better person. Surely Gaius guided him and listened to his worries, he even thanked him, but his mentor's recognition paled severely in comparison with hers. Obviously, a kiss from Gaius wouldn't be so good and heartwarming, he thought and grinned, raising his hand to where she had kissed him.

Well, at that night all the guards on duty witnessed what seemed as the happiest day for the old physician, as Merlin under his guise passed by them greeting everyone with the brightest smile they've seen plastered on someone's face.

"You seem overjoyed today, Morgana." Arthur noticed that his foster sister was smiling radiantly during the entire time of their meal together. Well, she didn't even faked a smile to his father, which was an unusual event as she constantly disagreed with the king's opinions and struggled to maintain some civility between them. And there was more, that fact had only been aggravated since all the "fairy incident". Nonetheless, here she was, happy as child that had gained a new toy. Damn it, she was almost glistering today, he was sure that there would be fallen knights, nobles and guards, all victims of her charms. He whispered to her, as they were supposed to keep it a secret:

"Are you happy to begin your lessons? Is that it? Already planning to hex me or father with your sorcery?" He teased.

"That was totally inappropriate, Arthur." She reprimanded him, furrowing her eyebrows, and added: "But yes, I am happy, quite a lot." She smiled and continued: "And you know what, if you pester me too much I'll turn you into a dog, so that you can be exactly what Uther desires from you: obedient, dependent of his approval and a total fawner!" She teased him and spoke before he could reply: "Oh, wait, you're already all that! Come on, Arthur, give me your pawn and I'll speak highly of you to your owner." She made fun of him.

"Morgana, that wasn't even funny, just plainly mean." He retorted.

"If you can't take it, then don't start with the low blows." She told him seriously.

"I just did an inoffensive joke, you're the one that overreacted here." He countered.

"No, Arthur, you mocked my entire morality and doubted my character by saying I could be able to curse you or Uther with my 'you-know-what'"

"Hey, that wiped out that silly grin from your face, so that counts as my victory." He said in triumphal.

"Only if you count insensibility as one of your most commendable virtues." She countered.

"Hey!" He protested while she kept going:

"Humrum, that's the quality of the most beloved leaders." She said sarcastically.

"Arthur! Morgana! Stop your bickering!" Uther scolded his children.

Lately he was easily irritated by any of their usual small fights, by the smallest disobedience or mistake from their part. Surely, Gaius not having found a cure for Morgana's 'curse' was affecting his peace of mind, so the once insignificant things for him were now taking an entirely different meaning and he was overreacting. Due to his obsessive thought, the king has become even more bitter in the previous days and the idea of provoking an abortion on Morgana wasn't fully discarded. No, he was just thinking how he could outsmart her and her accursed momentary sorcery.

Meanwhile, Morgana was totally unaware of the danger and her mind roamed to Merlin and his beautiful well-shaped mouth. Not even Uther nor Arthur could ruin her mood, and when the king adverted them, she decided to comply instead of standing her ground. Only for now, his harsh words couldn't lessen the happiness she felt for being able to be close to Merlin again, even though she wasn't sure if he felt the same way (because he HAD safely avoided her seductive bite of her lower lip, a move she was sure that could lead any man slightly interested in her to kiss her right away, but he didn't and she also hadn't been brave enough to steal the kiss and get over with it once and for all.)