Merlin coughed nervously as he purposely walked past Morgana's door more times than was actually necessary. His chores seemed especially long that morning, what with all the extra walking. He had almost worked up the nerve to knock on her door, but common sense told him not to. What reason would he give Gwen for dropping by? She was already starting to suspect them…not that he distrusted Gwen. It was…complicated. He just hoped Morgana hadn't waited long for him last night. Maybe she had completely forgotten about it herself.

If not, he was in for it.

"Merlin, can I help you? " Rowan offered as he eyed some of the vials that were ready to be delivered. "That is, if it's alright with Gaius," he added quickly. "I thought it would be good if I tried to get familiar with the people here, so they get used to seeing me around."

"You've done your fair share of work here for the day, so I have no objections," Gaius said with a wave of his hand.

"Seems like you've got Gaius fooled pretty easily," Merlin muttered as soon as they left the apothecary.

"Oh, he's easy. You just act interested in medicine and he'll go on for hours. He talked my ear off this morning."

Merlin chuckled. "That sounds like Gaius alright. By the way, are you going to follow me everywhere now?"

"No…well, maybe a little. My job is to—"

"Protect me. Yes, I know. It's just…won't that look suspicious?"

"Not if people think you're training me."

"Training you for what…mucking out stables?"

Coming to a halt, Rowan looked both ways before speaking. "Look, I know it might be uncomfortable for you, but it's my solemn duty to look after you. If I don't, I might…miss certain signs. My people gave me strict orders to be around you as much as possible. "

"I respect you for that. Sorry…I'm just not used to people looking after me, that's all. I'm usually the one doing the looking after."

"So…you won't be too angry with me then?" Rowan asked, holding out his hand.

"Truce," Merlin said as he responded with a firm handshake.

After they delivered all the vials, Merlin gave Rowan a tour of the castle grounds, pointing out the training field and the arena.

"And right this way is the entrance to the …oh," Merlin paused, his gaze shifting to none other than Morgana, who was target practicing with a longbow. Feeling torn, Merlin toyed with the idea of walking over to her and explaining himself, but with Rowan watching, he hesitated.

Morgana glanced over, her countenance darkening when she spotted Merlin. Without even a nod of acknowledgement, she turned back to the target, delivering three precise shots…all in the bullseye. Merlin winced as he watched her, imagining himself as the target.

Rowan was strangely quiet as he fixed Morgana with that penetrating gaze of his. "The Lady Morgana," he said under his breath.

"Wait, how did you know…"

"Because, Merlin, she was also in my dreams."

Merlin pulled Rowan aside. "What do you mean, she was in your dreams? The ones where I was in danger?"

"Perhaps."

Sighing, Merlin brought a hand up to his forehead. "Look, I know you can't tell me much, but I need to know what role Morgana played in your visions."

"Why?" Rowan asked, a curious expression on his face. As the thud, thud, thud sound echoed in the background, he smiled slightly. "Ah, yes...of course. Well, this all makes much more sense now."

Merlin's eyes flashed. "What do you mean?"

"You both fancy each other."

"WE DO—"

"Shhhh."

Merlin lowered his voice, gritting his teeth. "We do not."

"Fine, whatever you say. But Merlin…you must be wary…of her."

"I've been through this before. I trust her completely."

"I wish I could explain why I'm telling you this, but my people forbade me to. I probably told you more than I should have, but it would be in your best interest to stay away from her. Please…it's important."

"I thought you said the future couldn't be altered."

"I know what I said…but it doesn't hurt trying, does it?"

Merlin's gaze flew back to Morgana as she continued to release arrow after arrow, her aim practically perfect each time. "I think it's time to head back," Merlin said quietly.

As Merlin walked through the castle corridors that night, he spotted Gwen and Morgana coming toward him. Gwen instantly smiled and stopped to say something, but Morgana continued walking, keeping her gaze straight ahead.

"Merlin, have you heard from Arthur at all?" Gwen said in a concerned tone.

"Um…no. Not since he left."

"I always fear something will happen to him…especially when you're not there by his side."

"Well, I'm glad somebody appreciates me. Now, don't you worry, Gwen. He'll be back safe and sound before you know it." Merlin craned his neck slightly as he peered past Gwen to catch a glimpse of Morgana. She had stopped at the end of the hall and appeared to be waiting for Gwen. As she turned, they locked eyes briefly. Merlin winced inwardly at her icy stare. There was no doubt about it…she was angry. She was the first to look away.

"Gwen, are you coming?"

"Oh, yes! Sorry." Gwen added in an undertone, "She's been stewing over something all day. I hope she's not been having those nightmares again."

Merlin smiled faintly. "Yeah, hope not."

Later that night, Merlin found himself standing outside her door, flowers in his hand. He had waited over an hour for Gwen to leave, so this was the perfect opportunity to speak privately with Morgana.

"Just do it…just do it," he murmured as he raised his hand to knock. If he didn't act now, the whole thing would get blown out of proportion. And frankly, he wasn't too keen being on the receiving end of Morgana's icy looks. Before he realized what he was doing, he heard the faint rapping on wood.

No response. Maybe she's asleep, Merlin thought. Or maybe she didn't hear me. He raised his hand to knock again, but stopped abruptly. As the soft patter of feet from the other side of the door came closer, Merlin's heart beat erratically.

It was now or never.

Happy Friday, readers! Not to be a pain, but getting reviews helps push me to keep writing, so if you're following the story at all, please leave a review! Doesn't have to be long...any encouragement is helpful. :) :) :)

Also, apologies if you got this email twice for those who are following...I re-submitted the chapter just because I didn't get a notification the first time. It might be just my email acting up or maybe it's fanfiction, because I still haven't gotten an email saying I submitted a new chapter. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the snow...if you're on the North East Coast. ;)