Author's Note: Wow, look at me updating. I just finished rewatching season four of Merlin. That show never gets old. I actually teared up at the end of part two of The Sword and the Stone. Gonna sob my eyes out again at the end of season five... Anyway I hope everyone is enjoying! I'll try to keep updating more regularly. I've somehow managed to write three chapters this week while also working every day, so that's a good sign. As always thank you for favorites, follows, and reviews! Totally makes my day!

-94-

Morgana's forces struck after the feast was finished. No one in Camelot suspected a thing. They were happy and full of the feast, too caught up in the festivities to realize the city's underground tunnels were being flooded with the enemy. Ryll did not go to the feast, pleading a headache. She waited until the screams started and then went to her window to watch the lower town burn. She saw the outlines of the Southron men fighting Camelot's knights. A smile twisted her face. Everything she and Morgana had done led up to this moment. Victory was finally within reach, and this time it would not be taken away from their grasp. Ryll changed into one of her finest gowns – one Morgana herself had gifted her. She left her necklace on her dressing table. It reminded her too much of Byron, and she didn't need it anymore. She belted her sword at her side and left her room. She came across several fallen knights, their red cloaks pooling out around them mingled with blood. She made her way down to the throne room where she knew she would find Morgana. Camelot's new queen was seated upon the throne, but she did not look happy.

"Arthur has escaped," she told Ryll.

"We'll find him. He's got nowhere to run to now," Ryll assured her.

"It's not a true victory with him still out there."

"He can't do anything with his kingdom taken. Have the knights fallen?"

"Fallen or imprisoned," Morgana told her.

"I can find Arthur if you send me," Ryll told her. "I'm the best tracker in the kingdom."

"I need you here," Morgana told her. "I'm sending Agravaine to track Arthur down."

"I could find him faster."

"I know, but I could really use your support here," Morgana said. "Besides Agravaine, you're the only one truly loyal to me. You're the only one I trust."

Touched, Ryll nodded. "Of course I'll stay."

"I can't trust that the people will accept me as their queen." Morgana's tone was bitter, and Ryll felt a stab of sympathy. This was all Morgana had ever wanted, but now that she had it there was the matter of gaining the peoples' respect.

"They'll accept you once they see the kind of person you are," Ryll told her.

"And what kind of person am I?" she asked, her voice hollow. Ryll knelt down in front of her.

"A passionate high priestess of the Old Religion who has fought tooth and nail to give magic a place in this world. You have done what no one else has ever done. Because of you I can finally be myself without fear of being executed. You grew up here, you are a Pendragon by blood. If they can't see all this then perhaps it is they who are in the wrong."

Morgana smiled then, and Ryll saw a light in her eyes that she hadn't seen in a long time. "I don't know what I'd do without you," Morgana told her. "When Morgause…after she was gone, I felt so alone. Having you by my side means more to me than I could ever say."

"It's an honor to be by your side." She stood.

"You're not wearing your necklace," Morgana said suddenly.

"No. I took it off so I could access my full power. I hadn't had the chance to tell you. Byron isn't on our side anymore. He betrayed us. He tried to take me down, but I got the better of him."

Morgana's smile turned into a scowl. "I should have known he couldn't be trusted."

"He fooled us both. His heart wasn't truly in it."

"Did he take your necklace?" Morgana looked alarmed.

"No. It's in my room."

"Good, good." Morgana looked distracted. "It might be better if you kept it on."

"Why? I have nothing to fear now. Why should I restrain my powers?" She didn't understand why Morgana was making such a big deal of it.

"I'd just rather you kept it on," Morgana said, her tone terse. "A powerful stone like that will help you use your powers to their full ability not restrain them."

Ryll frowned. "If it means that much to you, I'll put it back on."

"Good. I need to speak to Agravaine." She stood and Ryll walked with her to the door. "Rest well tonight," Morgana told her. "Tomorrow begins a new age."

…

As it turned out Gwaine, Gaius, and Elyan did not make it out of the castle. Morgana was holding them prisoners in the dungeons, and Ryll was pleased to see Gwaine dragged out to fight for food. When his eyes snagged on her, standing at Morgana's side while the new queen lounged in her throne, they widened. His mouth opened but for once no words came out. Ryll smiled at his loss of words.

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked.

"Ryll? What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes narrowing now in confusion. She could tell that he was refusing to believe that she was on Morgana's side.

"Do you really have to ask that?"

"No. I don't believe that you've been working with her all this time. Not you."

"Maybe you didn't know me as well as you thought you did."

"I fought beside you, I was your friend, supported you when you were having a rough time. We're knights of Camelot. How could you forsake your vows? What about Arthur and Merlin?"

"They don't really know me. If they did they wouldn't think twice before shunning me," Ryll spat. Morgana leaned back in the throne looking as if she was enjoying this argument.

"What do you mean?" Gwaine asked.

In response Ryll held out her hand. Her eyes flashed and flames appeared out of thin air lapping against her skin without burning her. Gwaine's eyes widened. "You have magic."

"I always have. Now you see why my allegiance lies here with Morgana."

"No. I don't. Arthur and Merlin have always treated you with kindness. They wouldn't shun you if they knew the truth. You're not evil. You're not like her." His gaze flickered to Morgana whose smile slid into a scowl.

"Morgana is my sister. I owe her everything."

"No, you don't. This has to be some sort of trick. I've known you for far too long. You can't have lied about everything."

"Perhaps not, but things change. I need to forge a new life for myself where I can be respected and not feared."

"I respected you," Gwaine told her. "I still do, magic or no magic. But your choice to join Morgana, that I don't respect."

"You're lying. You'll say anything to keep in favor." Ryll searched his face for signs of a lie.

"I'm not lying. You've never done anything to hurt Arthur. You've been a noble knight, one I'm proud to fight alongside. I don't care if you have magic."

Ryll opened her mouth but now it was she who was at a loss for words. Morgana intervened for her. "Enough of this. I brought you here to fight not talk." She tossed him a dull sword. "So fight."

Ryll moved back behind Morgana's throne as Gwaine faced off one of Helios's men. Her mind was repeating Gwaine's words over and over though. I don't care if you have magic. I respected you. I still do, magic or no magic. Gwaine's eyes met hers and there was nothing hostile in them, only hurt and confusion. He lifted his sword to defend himself, and Ryll found herself hoping that he won.

…

"Did you mean what you said?" Ryll had volunteered to walk Gwaine back to his cell. His wrists were shackled, and the chains jangled as he walked. He clenched the piece of bread that had been his reward in the fight.

"Every word." He looked down at her, and Ryll suddenly felt small.

"I only want to be free. I want to live without fear of people hating me because I was born with magic."

"Not everyone would hate you. People have been taught to hate magic. Uther's reign didn't help."

"Why are you different?"

"Because I know you, the real you, and you've only ever tried to help others. You've always been true up until now. That's what I don't get." He glanced down at her, brow furrowed.

"I got tired of hiding who I was," Ryll said simply.

"I can see why you would hide while Uther was king, but Arthur is different. You're his friend. He loves you like a sister. Do you really think he'd execute you?"

"He'd banish me at the very least. He'd only see the lies I'd been telling him."

"Have you ever told him you don't have magic?"

Ryll looked up at him. "No…"

"Then you haven't lied. Not really."

Ryll couldn't help the smile that creased her face. "You always have a way of making things suit your way of thinking."

"A special talent of mine."

"You really think Arthur would accept me for who I really am?" Ryll asked.

"There's only one way to find out, but if you side with Morgana his trust in you will be destroyed," Gwaine told her.

They had reached his cell, and the guards moved forward to push Gwaine in. "Keep this between us," Ryll said in a rush suddenly afraid of more people learning of her gift.

"I will if you think about what you're doing," he promised. Ryll nodded before walking away. Would everything have been different if Morgana had told Arthur about her magic a long time ago? Would Arthur have shunned her? Would Uther have executed her? Ryll suddenly remembered the frightened Morgana when she had first learned she had magic. She had been so terrified. She'd tried so hard to hide her powers. In the end she hadn't tested Arthur or Uther she had simply turned against them with the assumption that they'd never accept her for who she really was. Maybe Ryll would never find out now.

Back in her room Ryll spent a long time staring at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't know if she recognized herself anymore. Her face had hardened, and the light in her eyes was dim. She wanted to feel the surge of magic she had felt when she'd fought Byron. She unclasped her necklace and laid it on the dresser. She closed her eyes and let the power fill her. It felt wonderful. It felt like the real her. She had a sudden urge to unleash her full powers, but she reined herself in. Instead she decided to go to bed early. She had plenty to think about and it took her a long while to fall asleep. When she did her dreams were unsettling and she woke up feeling trapped.

…

When Ryll awoke the next morning she noticed at once that her necklace was missing. She looked around the dresser but the necklace was nowhere to be seen. "Byron." No one else would have known to look for it there. No one else would want to steal it. She knew the druid would be long gone. A spark of doubt entered her mind. Did Byron really believe that Morgana had enchanted the necklace? He'd turned against Morgana because he believed she was using Ryll. Why would he make something like that up? It didn't make sense. Ryll wanted to believe that Morgana would never lie to her, but she had been persistent that Ryll put the necklace back on. Ryll couldn't push the doubts aside once they entered her mind. She thought of Merlin and, for the first time in weeks, wished he was there. He always knew what to do, always kept her going straight. A giant hole opened up suddenly in her heart, and Ryll lowered herself to the floor. She had driven Merlin away, broken his heart. A sob left her throat, and she clasped a hand over her mouth. What had she done? She wanted to flee the castle and find Merlin, but something held her back as if she were tethered to the castle, no, to Morgana. She was like a caged bird, and Morgana was her keeper. Maybe if Byron had the necklace he also had a plan. Maybe he could set her free. Until then she needed to play her part. She might one day test Arthur by telling him the truth, but she knew she could not test Morgana.

…

Merlin started awake. He'd heard something in the woods, something the others had not heard. After the siege of Camelot he'd taken Arthur to safety meeting up with the smugglers Tristan and Isolde. They were camped in the Forest of Ascetir for the night, temporarily safe. At first Merlin thought he was simply jumping at night noises, but he heard the sound again. It was his name only he could hear it in his head. He looked around. Tristan was sitting against a tree on watch. Merlin got to his feet and gave the excuse of relieving himself. He made his way into the woods toward the sound of his own name and found Byron standing in the shadows. They had gotten separated in the castle during the siege, and Merlin hadn't put much thought into where he had gone.

"Merlin." Byron held out his hand, and Merlin saw Ryll's necklace. "Can you find the sorcerer?" he asked.

"If you give it to me then yes," Merlin said, reaching out.

Byron pulled back a little. "I'm not leaving without seeing that enchantment broken."

"I need to speak to him alone. He's very touchy about this sort of thing. Doesn't like strangers," Merlin insisted.

"Does he live here?"

"Yes."

"I want to meet him. Surely he'd accept a druid into his company," Byron persisted.

"Look, do you want the enchantment broken or not? I need to take that to him now. Alone." Merlin reached for it, but Byron did not hand it over. "Please." Was he going to have to use magic to knock Byron out? Then to his surprise Byron handed the necklace over without another word. "Thank you." Merlin turned away hoping that Byron wouldn't follow.

"It's you, isn't it?" Byron's words stopped Merlin in his tracks.

"Me what?" Merlin turned back feigning a look of innocence. Was Ryll's memory spell on Byron wearing off?

"You're the sorcerer. You're Emrys."

"What a thing to say! I can hardly walk without tripping over my own feet." Merlin grinned.

"You keep insisting that you do this alone but that this sorcerer can break the enchantment. I think that you're the sorcerer. You don't have to be afraid. I wouldn't tell Morgana. I wouldn't tell anyone. Does Ryll know?" Merlin hesitated. Byron had brought him the necklace, but did Merlin trust him with his secret? "I would never do anything to harm the one she loves," Byron added softly.

"She forgot that she loved me," Merlin said. "Morgana's enchantment took care of that."

"Then break the enchantment. Please."

Merlin stood for a moment, unsure of what to do. Right now Ryll needed help and that was his first priority. He took a deep breath and then began a counter spell. His eyes glowed amber for a moment and the necklace burst into a thousand tiny pieces, scattering in the forest undergrowth. He could feel the enchantment break. Byron sucked in his breath.

"I knew it."

"You knew that I had magic before but Ryll made you forget," Merlin told him. "You were going to tell Morgana who I was."

"I wouldn't do that anymore. The name Emrys is revered among my people. I've been too caught up in my own personal war that I forgot to consider that Emrys would make a better ally than Morgana." To Merlin's surprise, Byron bowed to him. "It is an honor to meet you for who you really are. I apologize for giving you cause to fear that I might tell someone. Ryll did the right thing in making me forget."

"She had me take her memories of my magic too," Merlin said softly. "So Morgana couldn't find out who I was through her."

"I'm going to go find her. You need to stay with Arthur. Don't worry; I'll get her back safely. I promise." Byron turned to leave. "Good luck, Merlin. Arthur doesn't know how lucky he is to have a friend like you."

Merlin watched Byron leave. He hoped Ryll would forgive him for staying with Arthur and not going after her. Right now his duty lay with his king. Ryll could take care of herself especially now that the enchantment was broken. He just feared what Morgana would do if she found out she no longer had control over Ryll. Desperation had made Morgana do a lot of terrible things even to people she had once cared about and Ryll was no exception. What she had done to Ryll was an ultimate betrayal, and he knew Ryll would never forgive her for that.