Author's Note: Okay, so I didn't do so well with the whole writing frequently thing, but I have another chapter finished after this and another started! I'll get those posted as soon as possible! Thank you so much for the continued support - favorites, follows, and comments! I really do appreciate it! This story has come so far. I never expected it to get so many favorites or write this much! (Over 700 pages in my word document now!) Things are getting intense and are going to come to a head at the ending of season four. Then into season 5 and to the conclusion!

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It was as if the illusion of the last few months had suddenly shattered. Reality came crashing down on Ryll like an avalanche, and she fell to her knees. The truth was devastating. Byron had been right – Morgana had enchanted her. Enchanted her to turn against Merlin and against Arthur. She'd turned her into the very thing she hated, the very thing she'd fought against. Morgana had violated her in the worst of ways; she'd taken everything that made Ryll Ryll and twisted and manipulated her until Ryll was something else entirely. She'd helped try to kill Arthur. She'd helped break him and Gwen apart. She'd broken Merlin's heart. She let out a cry of despair at this remembering the look on his face when she'd walked away. How could she do such a thing? Merlin meant everything to her. If she could keep one thing in this world it would be him.

She didn't know how long she knelt there, but suddenly her rage burned and boiled and she was on her feet and sparks were sizzling on her fingertips. Morgana needed to learn that Ryll was not some puppet waiting to be controlled. She knew she'd find her down in the hall watching Gwaine fight for food. The shudders on the windows crashed open as Ryll passed. It was as if a mighty wind had filled the castle, and the guards backed away as she passed. The doors to the hall were open but even still they banged against the walls as she entered. The men watching the fight turned to look at her and then backed away, fear in their eyes. She imagined she was quite a sight. Last time her magic had gotten out of control even she had been frightened of herself. But she was in control for a change. Anger fueled her magic, and Morgana looked up as she approached. She put up a hand and the man fighting Gwaine took a step back. Gwaine turned and noticed Ryll for the first time. His eyes widened. Morgana stood, uncertainty clouding her eyes.

"Ryll?"

"You were controlling me." Ryll's voice was calm though she felt the rage boiling within her. Now that she stood before the girl she had once called sister, she realized any kindly feelings she'd had toward her were gone. She now stood before her enemy. It didn't matter anymore that they both had magic. They had nothing in common.

Morgana's eyes flitted to where Ryll's necklace usually lay around her neck. "Your necklace."

"Byron destroyed it thus destroying the spell you put over it. Over me. How could you, Morgana? Did you really want me to join you so badly that you had to take everything away from me? I've lost everything because of you."

The pain in Morgana's eyes was real, but it didn't move Ryll. "I had hoped in time you would change your mind once you saw the world we could have."

"This? This world where my friends are forced to fight for food, where they're locked in dungeons or driven out of their own kingdom? That world?" She laughed without humor. "Morgana this is the world of nightmares. This is not what I wanted."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Morgana stood straighter, pushing the emotion out of her expression. "Even still I don't wish to harm you. If you want to leave, you can."

"I'm a knight of Camelot and knights protect the city until their last breath," Ryll said. Magic crackled along her fingers again. "So that's what I'll do. I challenge you, Morgana Pendragon. A duel between two witches. Magic against magic. Show me what you can do."

"You can't be serious." She gave Ryll a disbelieving smile.

"Deadly. Or does the new queen not want to get her hands dirty defending her kingdom?"

Morgana's eyes hardened. "Maybe I just didn't want to see you humiliated in front of all these men."

"I'm not so worried about that."

A smile was growing on Morgana's face, twisted and cold. "Back away," she ordered the men. They obeyed at once, and it was clear none of them wished to get in the crossfire. One of them moved to take Gwaine back to his cell. "Wait. I want him to watch," Morgana stayed him. "I want him to see what happens when a knight stands against the new queen." Then man kept an arm clamped on Gwaine's, but nodded, pulling the knight to the back of the room. Ryll met his eyes for a moment and he gave her a nod.

Ryll turned back to Morgana and let out all her anger and emotions. They hit Morgana in a blast that sent her flying backwards. She landed on the floor but before she even got to her feet she had sent a backlash of magic that struck Ryll hard in the chest. Ryll staggered, but held her ground. Morgana was back on her feet and paced forward. Ryll saw her wince slightly though she tried to hide it. "You think you can defeat me? I am a High Priestess. I've practiced magic you've never even dreamed of. You don't know anything about using your powers," she spat at Ryll.

"What you've taught me." Ryll sent out a surge that Morgana managed to block. She whispered another spell before Morgana had the chance to counter, and one of the soldier's swords went flying straight toward Morgana's chest. She flicked it aside, but Ryll could tell it had taken some effort. "You forget that my magic comes from the elements. I can draw it from everywhere." She pulled on the flames of the torches around the room and drew down a spiral of fire around Morgana. "I am much stronger than you give me credit for."

She saw fear flicker in Morgana's eyes for a moment. Then her eyes went to something over Ryll's shoulder and a mixture of emotions ran through her eyes. Ryll turned to see what she was looking at just as Gwaine started to shout. Helios had approached when she'd been distracted with her battle. A splitting sharpness cut through her side as she threw a force at Helios and sent him flying across the room into the crowd of soldiers. She looked down and saw a long knife protruding from her side. It took a moment to register she had been stabbed but then her knees began to weaken. Gwaine was shouting, fighting against the man who held him. Two more rushed in to hold him back. The flames around Morgana died, and she strode toward Ryll.

"It's over," she said, and her voice sounded far away in Ryll's ears. "You've lost. Camelot's knights aren't so strong after all." The soldiers began to close in on her. There was no way she could fight them all. Then a familiar face appeared on the fringes of the crowd. Byron. Ryll summoned her powers and let out a surge that sucked all the energy from her leaving her drained. Everyone within five feet of her suddenly flew backwards leaving the room filled with unconscious bodies. She saw Byron running toward her, felt his arms go around her. There was a surge of magic and the room fell away but Ryll was already gone, fallen into darkness and pain.

…

She felt something warm on her side and then a tingling. Was she dead? She couldn't seem to open her eyes and yet there was someone else there so she couldn't be dead. She could hear someone saying her name as the pain faded. Finally light worked its way into her eyes, and she opened them to find herself in a clearing. Byron knelt above her. His hands were covered in her blood and the knife lay next to him. She looked down and saw that her side was undamaged.

"You healed me."

Byron offered her a smile. "It was the least I could do after all I put you through," he said.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"You were under a strong spell. I think that excuses you. But me… Ryll, I was completely out of my mind. I wanted peace and yet I tried to get it through violence. I realized recently that Arthur is different just like you've always told me. We want the same thing but we've been raised very differently, taught to think in different ways. We might want peace but we've gone about getting it very differently. I don't want to fight him anymore. I don't want to fight anyone anymore."

"We have one more battle to win." Ryll sat up, testing her side. It felt fully healed.

"Against Morgana."

"I'm going to help Arthur win Camelot back. We need to find him." She got to her feet, and Byron did the same.

"I know where he is. Or at least where he'll be," he said.

"What do you mean?" Ryll asked.

"Just trust me. And Merlin. It was his idea."

"How is Merlin?" Ryll asked, her heart throbbing a little at the thought of him.

"He knows you were under Morgana's enchantment," Byron said.

"He didn't when I broke his heart."

"He knew something was wrong. He must have. You would never stop loving him."

"No. He means more to me than anything." She saw a tiny flicker of sadness in Byron's eyes. "I owe you my life, and I will always be grateful for that-"

"Ryll, it's okay. I know you don't reciprocate my feelings for you and never will. It would never work anyway." He gave her a smile.

"Why is that?"

"Because you and I are fires that burn each other up and Merlin is the earth that keeps you balanced and in control."

Ryll cracked a smile at that. "You make a good point." Her smile fell. "But fire burns the earth."

"Not this fire."

Ryll just shook her head. "I'm going to make sure Morgana never destroys anyone's happiness again."

"First let's find the king."

Byron seemed to know just where he was going as he led Ryll through the forest. They walked on for nearly half an hour until they reached a small glen. They weren't the only ones there. The people of Camelot had gathered there along with some of the surviving knights. Leon nodded to her when he caught sight of her. Then Ryll saw someone who had been missing from Camelot. Gwen. She smiled at the girl who returned the smile. Gwen was safe. Morgana hadn't destroyed that part of Arthur's happiness even if she'd torn them apart. Gwen was still alive, so there was still a chance if Arthur would forgive her. She realized that she could tell them both what Morgana had done. They didn't know that Gwen had been enchanted or that Morgana had brought Lancelot back from the dead. As far as they knew Lancelot had taken his own life which was a dishonorable end for a knight. He would never do that though. A wave of sorrow passed over her anew at the thought of her departed friend. She would tell Arthur everything that had happened to her over the last few months. She would tell him about Morgana's enchantments and schemes and how she'd forced Ryll to help her. Ryll wanted to be honest with Arthur. She knew he wouldn't blame her for Morgana's treachery, but she wanted him to know that her loyalty would always be to him.

She turned her eyes to the center of the clearing where a large stone sat. In the stone was a sword that glinted with the early morning sunlight. Arthur and Merlin stood behind it. She couldn't hear what Merlin was saying, but he seemed to be encouraging Arthur to try to pull the sword from the stone. Arthur looked nervous – and for good reason. The sword looked very stuck in the stone. Ryll wondered how on earth it had gotten there. Arthur put a hand around the sword and tried to pull. Nothing happened. She felt herself growing nervous for him as if it was her trying to pull the sword, not him.

"What's supposed to happen?" she whispered to Byron.

"Only the once and future king of Camelot, the true king, can pull the sword from the stone," Byron explained.

"But it's stuck fast. I believe in Arthur, don't get me wrong, but pulling a sword out of solid stone is impossible."

"Have a little faith. Maybe it's not you who needs convincing."

Ryll frowned but turned her attention back to Arthur. Merlin said something to him and Arthur took a deep breath placing both hands on the sword. A calmness seemed to wash over him and he tried to pull once more. To Ryll's surprise the sword came out of the stone until Arthur wielded it in both hands. Someone shouted 'Long live the king' and the call was contagious. Ryll felt a smile spread over her face as she shouted along with the people of Camelot. Merlin's eyes caught hers and she felt her heart give a twist. There was still a long way to go in repairing all the damage Morgana had done, but Ryll was more than ready to fight.

…

Merlin saw Ryll from across the clearing and his heart gave a jolt. Byron stood by her side, and Merlin felt a rush of gratitude for the druid boy. Byron had made plenty of mistakes along the way, but he had a good heart, and he really did care about Ryll. Now the way he was looking at Arthur, could that be pride in his eyes? He looked back at Ryll and saw that she was looking at him. He offered her a tentative smile, and she returned it. As the people of Camelot came forward to greet Arthur properly, Merlin moved toward Ryll. Byron moved aside to give them some space.

"Hey," Merlin said when he reached her.

"Hey." Ryll suddenly couldn't look at him. Shame for what she'd done to him pushed its way into her mind. "I'm so sorry," she said. "What I did was unforgivable even if I was under Morgana's enchantment."

"It wasn't your fault," he said. "What she did was cruel, but it wasn't you."

"All she did was enchant me to follow her, to support her cause. She didn't enchant me to act the way I did." Ryll still couldn't look at him, feeling ashamed.

He reached for her hand, but she pulled away. "That was a result of her enchantment. She changed the way you think."

"But I still caused you so much pain." She finally looked up at him, and she could see the pain there.

"I should have noticed that something was wrong sooner. I should have done something." Now she could see that the pain in his eyes was from the guilt he felt.

"Merlin!" Arthur called out to Merlin, and they looked over to see that everyone was moving out.

"This isn't the right time to talk about this," Ryll said.

"Later. I promise." His eyes were pleading and she remembered the last conversation they'd had when she had still been under Morgana's enchantment. When she had left him heartbroken.

"Later." She gave him a small smile. Later she had a lot to think about. "Right now we have a kingdom to win back."

"It's always something."

Ryll laughed softly. "Yes, it is." And unless they stopped Morgana today she would keep getting in the way, keep ruining their happiness. "Hopefully not for long," she said aloud. She was tired of fighting Morgana, tired of facing off against a friend turned enemy. It was time for peace and if she had to defeat Morgana to gain that then she would do it. As much as it would hurt her, she needed to protect her friends. "If Morgana attacks Arthur using magic I have to stop her," she told him.

"What?"

"I have to use magic to protect Arthur even if it means he finds out who I really am." She was tired of keeping secrets. Arthur would either accept the real her or not, but she was tired of not knowing, tired of playing the game of what if. It was time for the truth.

"Just don't do anything rash," Merlin warned her. "You might not need to use magic."

"I don't see how else we can defeat her."

"Just be patient," Merlin assured her. "A friend of mine dealt with her magic. If it worked, she'll be defenseless."

"A friend of yours? You're suddenly friends with sorcerers?"

"Just one."

"Emrys… You know who he is!" Ryll exclaimed quietly.

Pain passed through Merlin's eyes though she didn't know why. "Yeah, I know who he is," he said. "He's looking out for Arthur too."

"Then we may yet stand a chance."