+Hey guys, thank you for all your reviews and the people who have read it and followed it and all that palava. It means a lot and really inspires me to write more! But I think there's something I need to clear up; that first chapter is kinda a prologue I guess. The next few chapters are gonna be hopping back and forth in between those times; mainly focussing on the development of Arthur and Morgana's relationship to how they got to the day when they find out who Merlin really is. I'm definitely gonna be focussing on Dark!Merlin a lot, too, he seems to have gotten a good response. But I'm gonna try and do it subtley at first and well..yeah, you guys will see what happens then. This one's only a short one cos I wanted to set the scene. The next few chapters will be in the past. Here goes, keep reviewing please!+
Eventually, the aching in her heart had tired Morgana out to the point of exhaustion. Neither of the pair knew how long they had waited there, sat on the floor and enveloped in one another. It was a familiar feeling; this betrayal. It seemed that whoever the two of them loved soon enough turned against them or were keeping something from them.
But Merlin-...they never thought it would be Merlin. He had been with them through thick and thin. He was their closest friend; the one person they could truly trust. Even that had been ripped away from them. He had been ripped away from them. The idiotically brave and loyal servant, he was long gone if he was even there at all. It wasn't even as if the pain ended there for it instead lodged inside of them, blossoming with questions that shook them to the very core. What more had he lied to them about? Could they really trust him as much as they once thought? Had everything been a lie?
When he eventually felt Morgana's body still and her sobs began to quieten, Arthur pulled away to look at her. He hoped and prayed that that light in her eyes, the one that shone so bright for him would not go out. That it would remain strong. But there was nothing as he looked at her. He was only met with blank eyes. A lump began to rise in his throat but he quickly swallowed it away. He had to be brave for her. He had not even begun to process what his feelings were about Merlin's-...what even was it?
Was it betrayal?
He couldn't even decide that. He cleared his throat before taking her pale hands in his and pulling her to her feet. Yet, she still did not speak. She simply stared forward as he lead her over to their bed, pulling the covers up for her to slide under but she barely made herself comfortable. Almost as if she was planning on not staying there.
"Morgana..." he started gently, slipping in beside her.
But what could he say?
He couldn't tell her it would be alright because it wasn't a promise he could keep. She was hurting and he was, too. Perhaps her name was all he really could say. For every time it uttered from his lips, it was caressed by the tones of his voice, his heart wrapping around the words fully. But then something happened that he certainly did not expect.
Something of a feral, animalistic growl escaped Morgana's lips, building from her chest as she pushed him to one side and with a ferocity that surrounded her like an aura, she ran from the room.
"Morgana!" Arthur shouted after her, quickly stumbling after her but she was fast. Faster than he was with her slim form and graceful legs that carried her ahead of him. "Please!" he called once more, slowing to a stop and releasing a sigh of relief as he saw her do the same. She was self-destructive, she always had been. Acting in moments of anger, of rage that stemmed from her soul. She would either get hurt or do something she would regret and he couldn't let that happen to her. His hand had subconsciously risen to reach out for her and as she turned around, he let it fall to his side once more.
Tears were once again streaming down her flushed cheeks as she looked at him. The worry and concern in his voice broke her heart but she had to know. She had to speak to Merlin herself. She had to find out just what-...what all of this was about. Yet, here was Arthur; the one man who had not let her down. The one man who she trusted with everything that she had. She knew as well as he that he would do anything to keep her safe and that was exactly what he was doing now. He knew her better than anyone. He knew what she was going to do and precisely where she was going. He had stilled her hand once before before it acted out rashly and once again, they were in the same situation. She thought she was better than this; she thought she had changed. He had changed her. But now-...perhaps not.
"Please..." he spoke once more, quietly.
The word effortlessly reached her ears as they flowed down the corridor, moving straight to her heart. It thudded violently against her chest, so violently she feared that Arthur would be able to hear it. It took over, taking control of her body and its movements rather than her brain as she started to move back towards him.
She bit down hard on her lip as she watched the relief wash over him and when she reached him, she cupped his cheek. "I'm sorry, Arthur," she whispered, running her thumb across his cheekbones.
"'Sorry'? What do yo-..." He was cut off, however, as he saw her normally emerald eyes pooling with gold as she whispered a spell beneath her breath. His sight started to blur, his knees felt weak as they began to buckle. "M-Morgana," he stuttered as he gripped her shoulders for support but she simply shushed him, lowering him to the floor.
"I have to do this alone, my love," she said softly but firmly so he knew there was no chance of her going back on her plan. She carefully rested her head in her lap, smoothing his hair from his forehead. "I just have to know why he would do this and I cannot do that with you by my side. Merlin wouldn't speak. He cares for you too much to hurt you and-...I have a feeling that he has plenty to say."
Finally, his eyes closed and she leant down to press a kiss to his forehead. Cupping her hand around the back of his head, she lowered him carefully from her lap to the floor. The spell wouldn't keep him out for long but it would be long enough for her to speak to Merlin. With that thought, a fierce determination set within her as she stood from the floor, brushing the dust from her dress. She closed her eyes for a moment before turning back towards the dungeons and taking in a deep breath before setting off once more.
How could you have been so stupid? Merlin chastised himself in his thoughts as he sat curled up in the corner of the cell, surrounded only by hay, stale bread and grime. He should have listened to Kilgaharrah, he should have killed Morgana when he had the chance. That heart of his - that stupidly forgiving heart-...the Great Dragon had said himself that it would be the death of him; that it would be his undoing.
And he was right.
Merlin cried out in frustration, his fist punching against the wall and bloodying his hands in the process but he paid it no attention. He had lost. He had failed. All of his hard work for his destiny, all of the blood on his hands, all of the pain and heartache he had gone through-...it was all for naught.
Or perhaps not as suddenly, a sound came from down the passageway; the pained gasp of a guard. Someone was here for him; he was the only prisoner in this section of the dungeons. His heart tremored with worry, however.
Who was it? Gaius? He would be the only one who would still trust him, who would still not let him down or foresake him. But he shouldn't-...it was too dangerous, far too dangerous.
"Gaius?" he whispered hoarsely, scrambling up to grip the bars tightly in his pale fingers. "Is that you?" Silence was the only sound that greeted him, meeting with the darkness of the jail to converge in a symphony that sent shivers down his spine.
He was about to call again when he heard a cold, emotionless voice. "Three years ago, I told you I had magic..."
"Morgana?" Merlin asked, not even attempting to hide the crack in his voice. Admitting fear was not a weakness, it merely proved that he was human. And Gods, was he scared of Morgana and her temper. He knew what she was like, how rash she could prove to be. And now he was on the receiving end of that fury. His eyes searched desperately for her form but found nothing, her words seeming to bounce off the walls as they swam into his ear, not giving away any clues as to where she was.
"And you told me there was nothing you could do, nor say," her voice continued, stemming from various different areas in the dungeons. "You left me alone to deal with this. You made me think I was a monster."
Her words were dripping with venom and he could picture the the snarl writing itself across those porcelain features of her.
"Alone, Morgana?" Merlin asked, his confidence building as he chuckled darkly to himself. "You had Arthur. You've always had Arthur."
Morgana's laugh mirrored his as it echoed through the dungeon, reaching a loud crescendo until it almost hurt for Merlin to hear it. "You almost sound jealous, Merlin."
"Of you?" Merlin rested against the bars of the cell, shaking his head with a smirk on his face. He was certain she could see him and he didn't want to seem easily throne. She was, after all, only the King's ward. He was to be the greatest sorcerer of all time. That was his destiny. "A woman who is too afraid to face little old me?"
With that, all was silent until suddenly in a whisp of fog, Morgana appeared directly before him. "Hello, Emrys," she spat, raising her chin as she looked at him.
The movement was so quick that Merlin couldn't hide the way he violently jerked back from the door. "Morgana," he stated, ever chivalrously inclining his head at her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
It took everything that Morgana had within her to not reach through and grab him by the throat as he looked at her with indifference and-...arrogance.
How dare he? They were friends. Or at least she thought they were. And he had hurt her. And Arthur. Yet he stood there, smirking.
She clenched her jaw as she felt tears well in her eyes once more, causing them to burn. "I want to know why," she whispered, all attempts at a haughty nature diminshing as once again, she showed her heart, wearing it on her embroidered sleeve.
"Why what?" Merlin asked, rolling his eyes but she smashed her hand against the edge of the cell.
"Why you lied to us," she hissed, her eyes meeting his and locking them furiously.
Merlin licked at his lips, swallowing back a dry throat. "You want to know, Morgana? Then I'll tell you. But the story does not begin now. It in fact begins three years ago. When you came into my chambers and told me you had magic." With that, he stepped back to sit down, his legs crossed, taking the pose of a storyteller.
Morgana followed suite somewhat cautiously, curling her legs to the side of her as he began to tell his tale.