Chapter 31
So, there he was, Merlin, the king's manservant, the most powerful sorcerer alive, standing still on the balcony trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. Apparently, Arthur, who just a few minutes ago lifted the ban on magic, somehow already knew about him and had now chosen him as his advisor in magical matters. How had he found out? Had Gwen told him? And how long exactly had he known? He wanted to curse him for keeping this in secret, but he realized how ironic that would be.
Those questions probably would have to wait, because Arthur had told everyone in Camelot that he was going to say a few words to them, and according to their faces they were beginning to wonder why he wasn't talking. But, what could he say? It's not like he had a speech prepared. And how much did Arthur exactly know? How much could he actually tell them?
Mordred probably noticed his panic, because he spoke inside his head: "It's fine, just start with your name."
Merlin jumped a bit when he heard him. Mordred didn't seem surprised at all. Did he knew about this? Of course he knew. Still, it wasn't a bad place to start. He faced the crowd and opened his mouth.
"Hi, I'm Merlin," he said, stuttering only a bit; speaking to crowds was Arthur's thing.
The people looked even more confused than before. Most druids were wondering who he was and the rest of Camelot was wondering why was the king's manservant the one who was speaking when they were expecting some kind of sorcerer. Merlin heard as a murmur started to fill the previously silent Citadel.
"I meant your other name..." Mordred told him, raising his eyebrows.
Merlin looked at him. Did he really mean that? He had spent his entire life hiding who he truly was and now Mordred was asking him to announce it for everyone to hear? Did that mean Arthur already know about that? He now looked behind him, at Arthur, who had a smug grin on his face. He definitely knew about that. Merlin gave him a deadly look and faced the crowd once more. He always knew this day would come, but he had never suspected it would be today. He let out a sigh and cleared his throat.
"I'm Merlin, but some of you might know me as Emrys," he said, speaking louder this time.
That did caught their attention. The druids turned silent and looked at him, which made the rest of them to stop talking too, wondering why the king's manservant calling himself Emrys was of any consequence.
"So, people of Camelot, this is not how I imagine myself doing this, but I must confess... I have magic." He couldn't believe he had just said that. "Answering your following questions: No, I'm not evil. No, I haven't hypnotized Arthur... well, just once, but... never mind." Merlin heard Arthur saying something behind him, but he ignored him. "And no, I'm not planning on taking over Camelot or something like that. I'm just one of you. You know me. You have seen me put up with your king for years now! Do you really think I would have done that if I meant any of you any harm? Believe me, it wouldn't have been worth it. I'm the same person you know, just with some additional abilities."
Merlin put his hands together and made a spell that once, a long time ago, had been the reason the witchfinder came to Camelot. He made a small flame on his hand and then he quenched it. The smoke moved and warped until it became a large horse, marching and galloping above the Citadel. Many of Camelot's citizens had amazed looks on their faces, especially the younger ones, but Merlin saw that some others were scared. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but he wouldn't give up just like that. His eyes glowed and the horse suddenly got on two legs and started dancing. He didn't exactly know how a horse dancing in two legs looked like, but he thought it turned out fairly good. He heard a few laughs coming from below, but he wasn't done. Two other horses joined the first and started dancing along. The crowd started clapping a rhythm, and some of Camelot's musicians even started playing their instruments. Having to make the horses dance to actual music made Merlin's task a lot more demanding, but he still managed.
Suddenly, another smoke horse appeared, but it wasn't one of Merlin's. Also, according to the dress it was wearing, it was a lady horse. Somehow Merlin knew it was Morgana's. Had he heard Arthur's speech? He was almost sure she had. He couldn't wait to talk with her about that.
All but one of Merlin's horses vanished, and the one remaining started dancing with Morgana's. Some of the druids, such as Mordred, probably could sense that someone else was doing the lady horse, but for the people of Camelot it was all his work. Merlin couldn't help but to smile, remembering the time he and Morgana danced at her birthday. It was insane how much had happened since then.
When the song ended all the horses disappeared into thin air. Merlin noticed the citizens looked a bit disappointed that the show was over, but at the same time they weren't afraid anymore.
"As Arthur said," Merlin continued, "magic can be used both to do good or to do evil. Most of you have only seen one face of it, so I ask you, I beg of you: let me show you the other. Let us prove to you that magic is a gift, that it can be beautiful." He took a deep breath. "However, I won't lie to you. The Saxons have sorcerers with them, powerful ones, and they will use their magic against us. Once again, Camelot will be attacked by spells, and also by arrows and swords, but this time it's different. This time we'll stand besides you. And with all of us together, they don't stand a chance." This wasn't exactly true, but that was besides the point.
That made everyone cheer. Merlin felt as he was channeling his inner Arthur and he decided to quit while he was still ahead, so he waved the crowd and let Arthur have the word once more. The king just wrapped it up, told the citizens to go back to their assigned tasks and the druids to report back to their leaders. Merlin had expected a bigger reaction to the ban on magic being finally over, but most people was still a bit in shock, himself included.
Arthur turned around and looked at Merlin. Before Merlin could say a word, Arthur told everyone that he needed to have a few words with him alone and he moved towards the castle, signaling Merlin to follow. They walked in silence, which felt very strange for Merlin. Even when he probably shouldn't worry much, taking in account he was now the advisor of the king and all that, he couldn't help feeling things weren't fine between him and Arthur.
After what felt like the longest walk ever, Arthur and Merlin reached the throne room, and Arthur closed the doors behind them.
Merlin was waiting for Arthur to say something, but all he did was pace around the room, cracking his knuckles.
"So..." Merlin said.
"So..." Arthur replied.
"You know about me?" Merlin asked, as if that wasn't clear enough.
"Yes," Arthur answered.
"How long?"
"A few months."
"Huh..." Merlin said, nodding. "How?"
"I saw you cast the spell to banish the undead."
"I told you to close your eyes!"
"Well... I didn't."
"I got that." Merlin looked away and then back at Arthur. "What now?" he asked.
"I don't really know," Arthur said, shrugging.
"Huh..." Merlin said, nodding again. "Well... I'm glad you know."
"Not thanks to you."
"True... Look... I should have probably told you."
Arthur was the one who nodded this time. "You should have," he said.
They both stood there, looking at each other in silence.
"Oh, my, God, you two are impossible!" a woman's voice exclaimed.
"Guinevere, what are you—?"
"Hug!" Gwen demanded, moving towards there from the door. "You two, hug right now."
"What?" Arthur asked. "Why would we do that!?"
"Why!? Because you are friends! When are you two going to just accept that and stop hiding behind titles and prophecies? "
Merlin looked at Arthur for a second. "Well, that may be," he said, "but that doesn't mean we have to hug."
Arthur nodded in agreement.
"Look, I love you both, and that's why I'm not hitting you in the head right now, but if you don't hug... I'll tell each other your secrets."
"Secrets? What secrets?" Arthur asked, smiling nervously.
"I can tell Merlin your secret fear," Gwen answered, smirking.
"Secret fear?" asked Merlin, amused.
"And you," Gwen said, looking at Merlin, "I can tell Arthur who you've been dating these past few weeks."
"Dating? I haven't been d—" Merlin started, but then he froze when he realized who she meant. "You wouldn't! How do you even know about that!?"
"What? Do you think we don't talk to each other?" Gwen asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Dating?" asked Arthur. "I knew it! Who is she?"
"I think we should hug," Merlin said, looking at Arthur.
"Oh, no. Now I want to know," Arthur said.
"Arthur greatest fear is..." Gwen started.
"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Alright, alright..." Arthur said, raising his hands in defeat, "we'll hug."
They both walked until they were closer and awkwardly put their arms around each other in what you might call a hug. When they decided it was enough, almost a second later, they let go and took a step back.
Merlin cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kept the truth from you all these years," he said.
Arthur shook his head. "No, you had seen my father take on magic, you were entitled to have your doubts on coming clean," he replied.
"Yes, but I know you. I know that you wouldn't have killed me or something like that. It's just... I got so used to hiding the truth from everyone that it just came natural to me. I hated it, but at the time it's what I had to do both to survive and to keep helping you all."
Arthur smiled. "I know, I've been going through some of the times things have mysteriously solved themselves."
"You don't know how nice it is to finally be able to take some credit," Merlin said. "I have a long list of things you have to thank me for. Maybe we can review it some of this days."
"Don't get cocky Merlin..." Arthur warned him, which made Merlin smile.
"Now, this is better, see?" Gwen said, holding a few tears. He moved towards Merlin and hugged him. "So, what does it feel not having to keep your true self secret anymore?" she asked him.
"It's weird," he said after some thinking. "I think I haven't fully assimilated it yet."
"Well... you better hurry, because I don't think the others will wait much longer."
"The others?" Merlin asked.
Gwen nodded towards the door, which was ajar and several heads were sticking out of it. Merlin could see Mordred, Gwaine, Elyan, Leon, Percival and a few more people. For a second he was impressed of how they managed to peer at the same time without falling, but when they noticed that he and Arthur were looking at them, they tried to move away from the door at the same time, but instead they tumbled and fell into the room.
"Men..." Arthur said in a scolding voice, looking at them.
"Sorry Arthur," Gwaine said, standing up, "it's just... is it true?" he asked, looking at Merlin. "I mean, it's actually true? Not some strange trick? Do you actually have magic?"
Merlin nodded. "Yes, it's true," he said, afraid of seeing how would they react.
"Dammit!" Gwaine cursed, looking away. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"
"Gwaine... this is not a bad thing, I'm still me, I promise," Merlin said, with concern in his voice.
"Oh... no... I know that," Gwaine said, turning around and smiling to him. "It's just that I've lost a bet to Percival."
"A bet?" Merlin asked, confused.
"Yeah, we bet on impossible things to happen. I choose Morgana abdicating the throne of Camelot and he choose you practicing Magic."
"He made a similar bet with me," Leon said, raising his hand, "and he also choose Merlin practicing magic."
"Same here," Elyan added.
Everyone looked at Percival.
"Percival..." started Arthur, looking at the knight, "did you know about Merlin?"
"I... had my suspicions," he replied.
"Why didn't you say something!?" Arthur asked.
Percival shrugged. "He was on our side," he explained.
Merlin let out a small laugh and the knights complained that that was cheating.
"Alright then..." Arthur said, clapping his hands, "Anything else anyone want to confess something? Anyone of you is a sorcerer, or a troll or something like that?"
Everyone looked to each other for a while, waiting to see if anyone spoke. "Not that I know of," Merlin finally said.
"Good," Arthur said, sounding relieved. "Now, we have to get ready for what comes next. Merlin, you have to create a group of rules and regulations for the use of magic in these lands; I think it would be a good idea if Mordred helped you," he said, looking at the druid.
"So, does this mean I can stop cleaning your armor?" Merlin asked.
"Why do you complain? You used your magic to do so!" Arthur protested.
"I guess you are right..." Merlin said, shrugging. "So, do I at least have an outfit as your personal assistance?"
"Well... I was thinking of a tall blue pointy hat. What do you think?"
"Arthur, remember, I can turn you into a frog," Merlin said, in a threatening tone.
"Can you?" Arthur asked, a bit wary.
"Not really," Merlin answered, smiling, "but I'm sure I can find something equally troublesome."
"Well... no pointy hat then," Arthur said, returning the smile.
.
.
.
Some long hours later Merlin and Mordred were still working on those damned laws. All the times Merlin had dreamt about this, he didn't even once think about the pain of regulating the whole deal. Some things were obvious, but then there were others that varied from case to case, and place to place, and time to time. He had hoped to end this quickly and then go to talk with Morgana about the ban of magic, but he already realized that that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
At least he wasn't alone; for the past few hours people kept coming in to the throne room and now everyone he knew in Camelot was there. Everyone. Arthur had told the kitchen stuff to bring some food, and what started as a few people trying to regulate magic, ended up as a sorcerer and a druid trying to come up with laws in the middle of a full blown party. Merlin had asked Arthur if it wasn't better to leave the lawmaking for later, but Arthur had said that he needed at least a draft as soon as possible. Just when Merlin thought that his new job meant the end of Arthur's impossible requests...
Merlin took a break and looked around. Arthur was standing near the throne with Gwen at his side. They were talking to a bunch of druids, among whom were Kara and some other druid who Merlin had seen in Mordred's camp. It felt unfair that they were having fun while he was stuck doing this, but Arthur had told him that this alliance was still too new to take for granted, so he had to talk with the druids. That reminded him that he probably should be going back to making those laws... in a few minutes.
In the other side of the room, Dragoon was talking with a few knights, who still believed he was his uncle. That was yet another thing he and Arthur had to talk about. Merlin wasn't very sure of how much Arthur knew about 'Dragoon the Great', but he suspected the king didn't know about who the old guy really was, or he would have probably said something by now. However, there were many things he didn't realized Arthur knew, so he couldn't be that sure.
No matter where Merlin looked, he could see someone he knew. He saw his mother and a few other Ealdor villagers talking to Gaius. He saw Gwaine and Ariel kissing in a corner. He saw Leon shaking hands with Iseldir. He saw Morgana looking back at him. He saw Elyan d— Wait! What!?
He looked back to check if he had been mistaken, but there were no mistaking those green eyes. The one who was wearing a black cloak and had just walked through the door was definitely Morgana. Merlin tried to come up with a way to move towards her without drawing attention, but he was on the other side of the room and he would have to move through everyone to reach her, including Arthur. Besides, she wasn't standing still waiting for him, but instead she was moving ahead... towards Arthur.
Merlin saw all what happened next in slow motion, and it wasn't your usual 'slowing time with magic' slow motion, but actually the 'what the hell is happening?' one. Morgana kept walking, getting closer and closer towards Arthur by the second. Merlin tried to come up with some idea to get her out of there, but even before he could start, Morgana had been already recognized by some of the people there. The villagers and druids took a step back, creating a empty pathway between her and Arthur, while the knights drew their swords and stood ahead of Arthur, trying to protect him. Many people still had no idea what was going on, but they stood silent trying to figure out the situation.
Still walking, Morgana removed her hood, which caused the room to fill with gasps. The people were ready to run away and the knights were ready to attack, but before any of them could do anything, Morgana dropped her knees and bent her head.
"I, Morgana Pendragon, hereby resign all rights to the throne of Camelot and recognize Arthur Pendragon as the rightful king. At the same time, I turn myself in to receive judgment for my crimes."
Some time later Merlin would wonder which statement shocked him the most, Arthur's or Morgana's, but right now his mind was very busy for that.
The place turned silent. Some of them probably expected her to start laughing manically, or that her conspirators revealed themselves from among the guests, but none of that happened. Still, the silence didn't last much longer.
"Yes!"
All eyes focused on Gwaine, who for some reason had just blurted that out.
"Ehm... sorry everyone... it's just that I've just won a bet..." he explained. "Carry on..." he added, making a dismissive gesture.
"Morgana, what are you doing?" asked Merlin, in a pointlessly hushed voice.
"What I have to. Don't interrupt Merlin," she ordered him, still holding her pose.
"Don't interrupt! Do you really expect—? Are you crazy?" he asked her.
"Merlin, what's going on?" Arthur asked him, rightfully confused.
"Well... long story short, Morgana is good now."
"I'M NOT GOOD!" she exclaimed, looking at him with red eyes. "I'm the reason why Uther is dead," she said, looking at Arthur.
"She's the one who saved Gwen's life!" Merlin said in response, pointing at her.
"I brought back Lancelot and casted a spell on Gwen to make her fall for him!"
"She's Le Fey!"
"I... I tried to kill Merlin."
"I tried to kill you," he replied, shrugging, "and besides, you kind of tried to kill everybody, so it's not like—"
"Alright! STOP!" Arthur yelled. "Everyone who isn't directly tied to this get out! Now!"
No one there really understood what was going on, but the king's tone was firm enough that everyone did as he said. There still remained a lot more people that Arthur had expected, including Merlin's uncle, but he didn't argue.
"Merlin..." Arthur said, looking at him. "What is this? What's your relationship with Morgana?"
Now, Arthur probably asked that question wondering why Merlin was defending the one who was supposed to be their enemy; however, that wasn't exactly how Merlin understood that question.
"Relationship!?" he asked, with wide eyes. "Well... ehmm... we... I mean"
"He has no relationship with me," Morgana answered.
"Stop lying!" Merlin exclaimed, facing her. "I know that you probably feel you deserve this, but now is not the time. Camelot needs you. I need you."
"You don't know all I've done, Merlin... all the people I killed... and for what!?" she asked, making a face of disgust. "You were right! Arthur has lifted the ban on magic just as you said he would... What... " She tried to keep talking but the words choked in her throat. "What does that make me?" she asked, taking her hand to her chest. "How can I live with myself knowing everything I did was for nothing... or worse?"
"So, what!? Do you want die!? Is that it!?" Merlin asked, showing anger in his voice.
"I... I just want to be at peace..."
"You should have talked to me. We could have found another way!"
"There was no—"
"Don't say it!" Merlin interrupted her. "You always say that! There is always another way! Always!"
"Guys, please," interceded Gwen, reminding both of them they were not even remotely alone in that room.
"Sorry... sorry..." said Merlin. "So, answering your question," he said, looking at Arthur, "we were kind of dating, but now apparently we are not anymore because it looks she wants to die."
"I don't want to die!" Morgana exclaimed.
"Then why are you doing this!?" Merlin asked her.
It wasn't her who answered.
"Because sometimes you've got to do what you think is right, and damn the consequences."
Everyone looked at Arthur, who was the one who just said those words. Morgana laughed and cried at the same time, her hand covering her mouth. Arthur took a deep breath and sat on the stairs leading to the throne.
"So, let's talk," he said, looking at her. "Is it true that you killed our father? Were you working with Odin?"
"I didn't have anything to do with Odin's attack, but I casted a curse on him so the healing would end up killing him," she answered.
Merlin looked at the king. Of all the bad things Morgana did, and there have been plenty, Merlin knew that in Arthur's eyes that was probably the worst. Merlin, who sometimes dreamt with the possibility of Morgana and Arthur making peace with each other, had spent hours and hours devising some plan to make him forgive her for that, only to come up empty. Now, Arthur's face showed what he always had feared, a mix of sadness and hatred.
"Would have he survived otherwise?" Arthur asked, looking down.
Morgana remained silent, and was Merlin who spoke. "It wasn't a sure thing."
"But there was a good chance he would," Morgana added.
Merlin gave Morgana a complaining glance, but for a while no one spoke; Arthur was still trying to put everything together in his mind.
"Are you friends with Dragoon, then?" Arthur asked, looking at Merlin.
"Arthur... I am Dragoon."
In other situation Arthur would have probably reacted differently, but there was just too much going on. The king made a small laugh and shook his head.
"I should have seen that," he said. "You can make yourself older?"
Merlin nodded. "It's not easy."
"So... you are The Dolma, I suppose?" Arthur asked, looking at Morgana.
She nodded.
"Why did you save Gwen?"
"Because I owed Merlin a favor..." she quickly answered, and then she looked at Gwen. "And because I didn't want her to die."
"But you've tried to kill her," Arthur pointed out. "You've just said that you were the one who made me exile her from Camelot."
"I did... I was..." Morgana replied, looking down.
"What changed?" he asked.
"I... I don't know," she answered, shrugging with a sad smile.
Another pause.
"Did you know about this?" Arthur asked, looking at Gwen.
"Yes," she answered. "We already talked it through and I've decided to forgive her."
"Why?" he asked, confused.
"Because I think everyone deserves forgiveness," she said, sure of herself. "Is there anyone here who hasn't done something they regret?"
"Nothing as bad as her," Arthur replied.
"Really?" Gwen asked him, tilting her head and showing a caring smile.
Arthur didn't have to ask her what she meant. She was the one comforting him when he had the nightmares about all the innocents people he and his father had slaughter in their zealot pursue to rid Camelot of Magic, all the people they had executed just because they weren't like them.
"Point taken," he said, letting out a sigh. "And you say she's Le Fey?" he asked Merlin
"She is," he replied.
"What's up with that?" Arthur asked Morgana. "Since when are you in the healing villagers business? Was there a plan behind that or...?"
"It started by accident, and then it... escalated," she explained.
"Why don't stop?" Arthur asked. "I'm sure you could have gotten away from a few villagers..."
Arthur waited, but Morgana didn't answered.
"Because she didn't want to," Merlin said. "Because helping people made her feel good."
Arthur was expecting Morgana to curse Merlin and to say that it hadn't been because of that, but she remained silent. So there she was, Morgana Pendragon, Le Fey, the worst enemy of Camelot, his sister, his father's killer, his wife's healer, and who knows what else, all of that, kneeling before him, surrendering to him and now he was the one who had to decide what to do with her. And the worst of all was that when he looked at her he didn't see the one he had fought against over these past few years, but the girl he had grown up with. Something had changed her, but what?
"So... one more question," he said, looking at her,
Morgana nodded.
Arthur looked at her all serious. "You are dating Merlin? Really?"
"What?" both her and Merlin asked back, not expecting that question.
"I mean..." Arthur continued. "I knew that he had a crush on you, but I would have never, ever, thought he was your type."
"Well... I..." Morgana started, looking really nervous for the first time in all the questioning. "He's sweet and he makes me laugh..."
"Arthur, do you actually think this is a good time to talk about this?" Merlin asked, trying to bail her out.
"I need time to think about the rest," Arthur answered. He stood up and walked until he was next to Merlin. "So... you are dating my sister," he said, raising his eyebrows.
"Well... yeah... technically..." Merlin said, mumbling only a bit. "Please don't kill me?" he added, in an inquisitive tone.
"We'll see. What are your intentions with her?" Arthur asked.
"Really not the time for this!" Merlin protested.
"Merlin..." Arthur said, in a scolding tone.
"Alright..." Merlin replied, rolling his eyes. "My intentions? I..." He looked at Morgana who seemed very interested in his answer. He had never wondered about his 'intentions' with her. He was happier when they were together, wasn't that enough? Thinking about intentions meant planning about the future, and the present was messy enough to make that impossible. Who knew what would happen tomorrow? Or the next day? And besides, he had to be careful with his answer or Morgana might just freak out. Just imagine if she found out that after his talk with his mother, he actually had given some thought about how they children would look like...
"Come on, Arthur," Gwen interceded. "Leave him be."
Arthur was going to protest, but Merlin spoke first.
"I love her," he said, and then turned his head towards Morgana. "I love you."
"You do?" half the room asked in different tones of voices.
Merlin smiled. "With all my heart," he answered, looking at Morgana.
Morgana already kind of knew this, but hearing Merlin actually say it was another whole deal. Even now, facing every bad thing she ever did, she couldn't help but to feel happy at those words. She still had trouble understanding why someone as good as him would ever love someone like her, but she was too afraid to ask... In fact, that had been one of the reasons she had decided to come clean. What kind of future could they have while she was an outlaw? Not that she had thought much about their future, of course not.
She stood up and walked towards him, which meant that Arthur had to stop the knights from attacking her. She reached Merlin, grabbed his head with both hands, pressed her forehead against his and closed her eyes.
"I..." she started. "I..."
"Morgana, you don't have to say it," Merlin said, noticing where she was going.
"Shut up, Merlin," she said, smiling. She opened her eyes and looked at his. "I love you too," she said, and then she pressed her lips to his.
"I can't watch this!" Arthur exclaimed, turning around.
"Oh, come one Arthur, it's beautiful!" Gwen pointed out, smiling.
"Beautiful? I feel like I'm having some kind of really weird nightmare," he said. "Mordred! Are you crying!?"
"What!?" the druid asked, surprised. "Not, it's just... I've got something in my eye."
"Of course you have..." Arthur said, letting out a sigh.
After a few more seconds, just in case, Arthur turned around to see Merlin and Morgana standing side by side grabbing hands. He decided not to comment on that.
"You do understand that she has to be punished for all her crimes, don't you?" Arthur asked, looking at them.
"You do understand that I won't let you hurt her, don't you?" Merlin asked back.
For almost a minute, they both stared at each other in silence, without even blinking.
"Good," Arthur finally said.
"Good?" Merlin asked, confused.
Arthur didn't answer, he just moved towards his throne and sat on it.
"You know?" he asked, looking at Morgana. "All this would be a lot easier if you hadn't just barged into the room and started ranting about everything bad you ever did."
"Actually I've left a lot out," Morgana said.
"Not helping," Merlin pointed out.
Arthur was staring at them, probably trying to come up with something that was a punishment fit for Morgana's crimes but wasn't killing her, which wasn't an easy task.
"Sire, if I may."
Arthur looked up, to where the voice came from. Merlin's uncle was walking towards him.
"Yes, Drake, what is it?" He could swear he saw the man smile at the sound of his name.
"Sire, I know how difficult must be to find a good solution for the conundrum you have before you, but I would like to propose something." Dragoon waited until Arthur nodded. "It's no secret that Camelot is at disadvantage against the coming army, and one of the reasons is because we lack powerful sorcerers... or sorceresses. It's true, you have the support of the druids now, but there are a few of the Saxons whose powers are far beyond what they can handle."
"I've already considered sentencing Morgana to help us against the Saxons," Arthur said, "but it's not enough. Not after everything."
"That's not what I'm saying," Dragoon said, shaking his head. "I'm saying that you shouldn't decide the punishment until after the attack." Arthur looked confused. "Right now most of the people remember her as the evil witch who attacked this place and play a part in killing their king. Nothing short than her death would satisfy them. But what if they saw her fighting along them? What if she becomes part of the reason why Camelot survives this attack? What then?"
Merlin was impressed; that actually sounded like a plan. Maybe Dragoon was actually growing up.
"And besides, there is always a chance we'll lose, and then it won't matter," Dragoon said grinning.
Or maybe not.
Arthur looked at him for a little while, and then let out a sigh.
"You are not Merlin's uncle, are you?" he asked, looking at him.
Dragoon smiled back. "No, sire. You have the honor to be in the presence of the asto—"
"Not now..." Merlin interrupted him.
Dragoon look at him and for a second Merlin thought he might threw a fireball at him. "Alright kid, fair enough," he finally said. "I'm Dragoon the Great, the real one," he continued, looking at Arthur.
Arthur's eyes went to Merlin and then back to Dragoon. "Sure... why not?" he said, shrugging. "Can we trust him?" he asked Merlin.
"Most days," he answered.
Arthur nodded. "So... Dragoon... I suppose that you have magic, but we'll talk about that later. Right now we have to deal with this," he said, gesturing towards where Merlin and Morgana were standing. "I think your plan is a solid one, and to be perfectly honest I welcome the time to think, so I'll decide her punishment after the attack. Meanwhile, Morgana, you will have to stay in the magic proof prison," he said, looking at his sister. "And if by some reason you need to go out, then you will have to be accompanied by Merlin at all times."
"Arthur, don't you think—" Merlin started.
"That's fine," Morgana interrupted him.
"Good," Arthur said. "And Morgana... I want to believe you are saying the truth... I do believe it... but if this is some kind of trap..."
"It's not."
Arthur looked at her. "I truly hope so..."
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A/N: I hope you liked it!
So, more changes kept coming! You could say that it would be better for some of these things to be a bit more apart, but I'm aiming more to a "snowball" effect xD.
At some point we have to wonder how Arthur could forgive Morgana for all she did (not that he actually had done so yet), but I think that he wants to save her almost as much as Merlin, and all the good things she did make this a bit easier. Besides, if they don't spread a bit of forgiveness around, I think the only one in Camelot who would be spared would be Gwen (the Lancelot thing was under a spell, so that doesn't count!).
Also, Morgana and Merlin finally said the L word! (and it wasn't Lesbians!) (Scott Pilgrim joke)
There still are a few more things pending before this "snowball" is over...
Thanks The Forrest of Fanfic, AndreKl, Starry Roses, Patiku, mersan123, Lady Flurryous, Meri Ley and caitlincoleman1 for the reviews =D
Starry Roses: Alright, I will be honest here: I screwed up xD. For some reason I wrote Forever when it was Future :p. Fixed! Thx =D (my comment was referring to the fact that he used his 'prophecy-title')
AndreKl: It's true that the series' Arthur is a bit too... dollophead to realize most of this, especially in the first seasons, but now he is the King of Camelot, and one expects that after taking his throne he would step up a bit xD. Also, he gave me a lot of gold to write him smart.