So that last chapter was meant to be just a one-shot, but my dear friend Celeste wanted a sequel so here I am!
I luv Milarion 1201: Thank you so much hun! Hope you like the next part!
Sjritts: Thank you! Here's what happens after the ending!
Whovain101: Thank you dear, I should've made it a multi chap I guess! Hope you like part too then!
Cel140: This one's especially for you bae, hope you enjoy! :D
Lady Flurryous: Thank you dear! Agree with everything you said! And here's their extended happy ending lol :P
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He takes her hand and helps her off the white mare. The courtyard is shrouded in mournful silence, and there is no one at the gates to welcome them. They weren't expecting it anyway.
When she steps inside the castle she grew up in, her throat becomes tight. She'd always thought she'd return, one day, but never under these circumstances.
As they walk through the halls, the guards barely lift their eyes to them. Morgana wonders if they even remember her, the long lost Lady of Camelot. Perhaps she was just another story of another failure to them now, no longer a real person.
They find Gwen sitting on Arthur's bed. A soft gasp falls from her lips when she sees them. She looks at Morgana like she's a ghost.
And then she's up in an instant and running across the room to embrace her old friend. The breath is knocked out of her lungs as Gwen holds onto her like she might disappear any moment. Then the tears come, and when she feels the Queen trembling in her arms with heavy sobs, she can't hold back her own sorrow anymore. She cries with Gwen, running her fingers through her long hair and murmuring softly in her ears. It'll be okay, it'll be okay.
She feels Merlin tentatively place a hand on her shoulder, and turns to pull him close too. Together they mourn for the life they could've lived had destiny been kinder to them.
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It's not easy at first. So many questions and answers are exchanged, but every conversation seems haunted by the lack of his presence. "Why didn't you help us?" Gwen asks her.
"It wasn't my fight." she replies. Or maybe the correct answer was that there was too much at stake on both sides. Magic and family. She couldn't choose, but remaining neutral had cost her heavily. Gwen accepts her reason with a solemn nod.
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Merlin helps her move into her old chambers. It's exactly how she left it. "We didn't have the heart to throw anything away."
Morgana smiles. Then she notices the fresh flowers on the vase by her bed and is surprised.
"I used to bring flowers to your room, pretending you were still here to find comfort in them. A pathetic way to keep your memory alive." He shrugs.
She doesn't know what to say in reply, so she places her hand over his and squeezes gently. He doesn't let go when she tries to remove it. Instead he brings it close to his lips and presses a gentle kiss on her soft skin. Closes his eyes as she places her palm on his cheek.
"I can't here stay forever Merlin."
He pretends he can't hear her. After all this time, still pretending.
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The days pass. Slowly they are healing, though sometimes it feels like they take one step forward only to jump three steps back. It's a painful gradual process for the Kingdom. For the Queen. For the Sorcerer. And for the Priestess of Avalon who was still staying in Camelot despite the calls of her fellow priestesses to return to her home.
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The afternoons are a bit brighter now. One day all three of them find themselves laughing over Princess Vivian and Arthur's shenanigans, and suddenly they realize. For the first time they don't feel guilty for being happy. Arthur wouldn't have condemned them to misery for the rest of their lives. They smile at each other, chests light with this new emotion.
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When Camelot finally accepts magic, they celebrate. Gwen looks on with a knowing smirk as Merlin and Morgana stare at each other in their drunken stupor. She was better at holding her liquor than her two magical friends.
Gwen wants to shake her head at all their hesitation, when it's obvious that the feeling has been mutual between them for so long now.
The warlock reaches out, catches a strand of her dark hair, and tugs her forward. Morgana yelps, and then starts laughing as he clumsily tries to tangle his fingers in her silky locks. They are leaning against one another, breathing heavily.
The sound of the door shutting makes them jump slightly. Gwen has left.
Merlin turns his gaze back at her. "You're so lovely." His slightly slurred speech causes her to giggle.
"You're so lovely and I'm so sorry. I missed you so much. So much. And now you're back and I don't ever want to let you go."
Morgana inhales deeply. He cups her face. "Promise me you won't leave. I can't bear it a second time."
She closes her eyes. Rests her head on his lap. Falls asleep without giving him any of the words he wanted to hear.
He strokes her neck with the back of his hand. Soon he too drifts off to a dreamless slumber.
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Morgana wakes up in her bed, with no recollection of how she got there. The events of the previous night comes rushing back. She has to find him.
She gets up, stumbles a little, and sits back down again. After a while, with steady feet, she makes her way to his chambers. Her heart flutters with equal amounts of fear and excitement.
Merlin's sitting at his desk reading a scroll, wearing those glasses that make him look like a teacher. He glances up when she enters. Opens his mouth to say something but she puts a finger to his lips.
She kneels down beside him. Places her hands on his knees. "I think we both know how we feel about one another. And after last night..." she stops, unsure how to continue.
He can barely breathe. He reaches down to tip her chin up. "Do you want this?" he asks as he kisses her cheek. She hums in reply.
Merlin smiles. Kisses her other cheek, her forehead, nose, throat until she whimpers impatiently and grabs the back of his head and pulls, causing him to fall off his chair and land on the floor next to her.
"I'm going to stay right here love." She presses her lips to his and feels the magic in her veins burn. Merlin wraps his arms around her and brings her flush against him, mouth moving desperately with hers. They kiss each others' pain away.
When Morgana finally lets go, his eyes are shining.
"I promise." she whispers, before getting lost in him again.
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That's it for now, but I actually enjoyed writing this AU verse a lot, so if you guys want I could write more one-shots from it, about their wedding, babies and whatever else :P