Thank you for reading. For still reading this long story. It means a lot. I hope that you are enjoying the home stretch of the story. As I said before there is a bit still to go and I hope that it doesn't seem rushed or anything. I did not think enough about the pacing of the story when I was working it all out. Hopefully that is making the ending more exciting rather than confusing.

The atmosphere was thick in the king's office as the two couples where left alone. No really knew what to say or do next. It was a unique and unpresented situation. All four of them knew well that how they choice to deal with it was very important and would set the tone for the future. Especially the relationship between Camelot, Albion and Avalon. Arthur and Morgana desperately wanted it to be a strong and respectful relationship, but neither would be willing to back down if they felt the people they served were threatened. So they did their best to rein in their harmful emotions. The calm and supportive presences of both Gwen and Merlin went a long way in aiding this.

"What do we do know." Arthur asked breaking the heavy silence.

Everyone looked towards the king. Surprised, they had been looking towards him to move the matter forward. After all it would ultimately come down to him what happened to Kara. Gwen would of course would have a say and Arthur would take great stock in what she did say. Merlin's option too would also play a part in what the king would choose to do. Morgana would plead the case of the young women and he would listen, but he knew that his sister's view was a biased one. As was his own. That was why what Gwen and Merlin had to say, what they thought would be so important.

"Isn't that up to you." Morgana answered as she pulled away from Merlin. Her answer that was really a question could have sounded impudent in the wrong tone, but she sounded more confused than anything.

"I meant about the wedding." Arthur said.

In the last few minutes the thing that had been the main focus of all of their attention for just over a week, all of them had completely been forgotten about it. The wedding. Morgana looked down at the beautiful dress that Gwen had taken so much time and such care in making for her. Feeling that she was once again seeing it for the first time. Wondering how she could have forgotten that she was wearing such a exquisite garment and the reason why.

After a long pause Merlin was about to speak not really knowing what he was going to say but Morgana quickly cut him off before he could get more than a syllable out.

"We're already married." She said, watching Arthur's face to gauge his reaction. He didn't seem to react at all. In fact he almost seemed like she had told him something that he already knew.

"Arthur-" Merlin tried to speak but was cut of again by a pendragon.

"I'm glad then that your day hasn't been ruined, as you already had it." Arthur said in a even tone.

"It wasn't planned." Merlin offered. Seeing the tiniest flicker of hurt on Arthur's face.

Arthur nodded. "I think we all know what it means to feel held back from living the life you wish because of others." His perceptive point hit them all hard knowing he was right. "I'm glad that none of us feel that way anymore."

The king then walked towards his sister and pulled her into a tight embrace. Kissing the top of her head he told her that he only carried that she was happy. She was still tense, but felt relieved that Arthur wasn't hurt by her and Merlin's actions. He was the only blood family that she had left and she didn't want to harm their relationship. She even wished a little that she felt some pain herself at Uther's death. So that she could be more understanding, but she felt nothing.

Gwen walked over to the siblings placing a hand on Arthur's back she said that she would go and tell those gathered in the great hall waiting for them that there was going to be no wedding today. She would say that they had chosen to wait until Merlin's mother could attend. They would all then have time to think and process what they had just learned. She was firm that the feast in the evening should still take place. It was important to keep things as normal as possible while they decided what to do next. Everyone agreed with the queens wise words.

Merlin with an arms around her shoulder directed Morgana back towards her chambers. She seemed to understandably be lost in her thoughts. So much so that unless he was guiding her Merlin wasn't sure that she would have been able to find her way back to her chambers. A trip that she had made countless times over the years. He supposed that he didn't have to sneak to back here at night anymore. Despite what as going on that gave him a warm feeling. Since they returned to Camelot, really a little bot since they had married he had felt that they had not fully been able to be fully open about their changed relationship. He could now hold her hand when he wanted to, but he still felt that they had to hold back a little as no one knew they were married. Maybe now they could be a little more open. A glance at his wife pressed close to him let him know that he couldn't allow himself to become to caught up in that right now. When they reached what was now really their room Morgana slipped from his hold walking to the centre of the room.

"Why did you do it." Morgana said as Merlin closed the door behind them.

"Do what." He asked confused, as he walked towards her.

He was now seeing her properly for the first time that day. In her wedding dress, this time one that had been specifically made for her. She looked as she always did, beautiful but her fear and the anger born of that fear cast a harsh shadow over her face. As he got closer she took a step backwards, away from him.

"Help Leon-"

"I didn't know what he was going to remember. I told him he should speak to you. If I'd known-"

"Would you still have helped him. If you knew it would lead to this, would you have lied to help Kara and Mordred." She asked, but it was clear that she was really asking something else. Something that she didn't feel confident about asking directly.

Merlin took a second to answer. Knowing that what he was about to say was important. "Nothing good comes from knowing what we know now. So I don't see any reason in making sure that it was known." She nodded, visibility relieved at hearing her husbands answer. "Leon could have lived with the not knowing."

"Kara might not live now that it is known." Her voice rose as she spoke and tried not to cry.

Merlin swiftly crossed the distance between them. Wrapping his arms around Morgana again as a tear slid down her face.

"You heard Arthur, whatever happens now. He won't have her killed."

Rationally she knew that Merlin was right. Arthur would not have a young women killed for a split second decision. He knew that Uther was not an innocent victim in his death. His fate had been sealed long ago with the hate be unleashed onto his kingdom. It was only a matter of time before that hate came back to him. He had been fortunate to have avoided it for as long as he had.

"I need you on my side." Morgana said what she had been afraid to voice earlier, as she pulled away from Merlin to look him in the eye as he answered.

"I am."

"No." She said reaching out and taking his hands in hers. "In the past you choose Arthur, sided with him, with-"

"Morgana."

"I just need you to choice my side for once."

"It won't come to that."

Morgana was not going to settle for wishful thinking. "Maybe not, I hope not. But if it dose."

Merlin held her hands in his tightly. "I'm on your side Morgana." He could see that she wanted to believe him but was having a hard time fully trusting him. "I know in the past I haven't been. That I haven't felt that I had a choice. But I promise you now, It might not always be my choice, but that as long as it is my choice. I choose you." She smiled for a second. "If I could go back and change things You know I would."

"If I could go back and change anything, I would not have allowed myself to be weak. I would have let Uther be killed after what he did to Gwen's father."

"Morgana-"

"You can't tell me that everything would have been better if he had died back then."

Merlin of course couldn't. "Maybe there is a way." He lightly joked as he pulled her into a embrace again.

"Cornelius sigan did try such magic but it never worked." She said into his chest in an of hand way. "If anyone could find a way to make it work though it would be you."

They stayed like this for a while. Trying to make the time were they could stay still last a little longer. Eventually Morgana sighed all pulled back a little. She said she was going to check on Kara and then speak to Mordred. He should find out from her what was going on. Merlin offered to go with her, but she said it was fine, he should go and see how Arthur and Gwen were getting on with cancelling the wedding. It would make things seem less dramatic if people saw him. Especially if they wanted to try and keep what was going on from the public. They kissed quickly before she left. Like it was something they had been doing for years and not something that they had only just began to be able to do for little over a week.

The king and queen made their way to the great hall. Everyone gathered there followed them with their eyes as the royal couple made their way to stand before them. The lords and ladies of the court and the knights listen as king Arthur explained that there would be no wedding. The grooms mother was not going to be able to attend. So the Couple had decided to delay the ceremony until she was able to be present. They was a low muttering at this. Those that knew Merlin easily believed what Arthur was telling them. Those that knew the couple only by degree began to speculate that there was something else going on. Surprisingly they were the ones who were correct.

Mordred being the exception. If Kara had not been called away, and having still not returned he felt sure that something else was going on. He ran over all the possibilities in his head. None of them made sense. He couldn't understand where Kara could have gone. From What Arthur and Gwen told those gathered together he couldn't understand why Morgana had asked for Kara's help. It could have been to do with magic and that was why he had not been called for as well. As Morgana knew he did not practices the art anymore. That had to be it he told himself and tired to make himself believe it.

As he was making his way back to his room, he caught sight of Leon talking to the king and queen at the end of a long corridor. That was when it all fitted into place for him. Leon must have seen something of what happened to Uther before he fell unconscious and had now told the king and queen. That was why Kara was called for. His heart beat rapidly under his armour. It was a large leap he was taking, but he found he had no trouble believing that that was exactly what had happened.

Quickly he changed his course and made his way to Morgana's chambers. She would tell him what was going on. When he reached the door he was about to push it open when he heard voices, slightly raise on the other side. He stopped and listened, but only for so long. When he heard confirmation that he was correct, that the king knew what was truly the cause of the old kings death, he spun around and ran to the cells in the basement of the castle.

"Kara." He called out into the long narrow corridor that ran in front of the cells.

"Mordred." He quickly heard her call back.

She sounded surprised and a little scared. He ran down the corridor to the second furthest cell on the left.

"What are you doing here." She asked him as she ran to the cell door, meeting his eyes through the small barred window in the cell door.

He didn't answer, he asked his own question instead. "What happened."

"Leon remembered I think, king Arthur knows." Kara answered.

"We'll tell him Leon was mistaken-"

"I already told him I did it."

"Why."

"He asked about you, I couldn't let you be blamed for something you didn't do."

Mordred gave a frustrated groan as he took hold of the bolt that locked the door and tried to pull it opening. He knew it wouldn't budge, but he needed to do something to channel his anger or he would yell at her for being so stupid as to worry about him when she was being accused of murdering a king. Giving up in greater frustration he took hold of the bars over the small wind and pulled on them sharply. Hoping maybe that if he could get them off Kara might be able to fit through the window.

"It's not going to work." She said gently as she placed her hand over his.

"I can't leave you here." He said his voice breaking.

"It's alright." She said forcing a smile. Griping his hand tighter. "You believe in Arthur. That he is a just king. We have to trust in that."

She was right, but right now Mordred didn't feel like he believed in anything.

He shock his head and she saw his eyes flash a bright gold for a second. In panic she trust her arm through the window and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Don't. It'll only make it worse."

Again he knew that she was right, but he couldn't bare to leave her here in a cold dark cell for another second longer. "I'm so sorry." As she spoke he slipped his head out of her gentle touch.

"What for." She asked with a shocked laugh.

"If I had just listened to you. You said you didn't want to come here."

"Oh Mordred." Kara said gently. "Thinking like that won't do any good and it's pointless."

"I should have put you first-"

"Don't. I'm not dead yet. Maybe we can't trust in Arthur to be merciful, but I trust that Morgana won't let me be killed. So we have to be patient."

She was trying to be so brave, but he could hear the fear in her voice. It made him more fearful himself. The young knight didn't think he had ever truly felt more afraid than he did right now.

"Kara I-"

"You shouldn't be hear." A new voice called down the corridor before Mordred could tell Kara how much he loved her. A fact she already knew, but had never tired of hearing.

Mordred spun his head around to watch Percival walking towards him along the dark corridor.

"No one is allowed to be down here." He said at a normal volume and in a less harsh tone as he drew closer to his fellow knight who he now recognised.

"It's Kara." Was all Mordred could say as he turned to fully face Percival.

The older knight looked shocked as he stopped walking a few feet from Mordred and turned to look through the bared window in the cell door. Seeing the scared young women in a bright purple dress. Arthur had not told him who he was to be guarding. Just that there was a prisoner in the cells and he was to stand guard at the door leading down to the cells. Someone would come to replace him during the feast so he get something to eat and enjoy the celebration. The king said nothing of who was in the cell and Pericaval had never asked. It made little difference to him. He hadn't thought that it was anyone that posed a great threat or it would be more than just him, a single knight that stood guard. He never would have guessed who it was.

Percival looked sympathetically back and forth between the frightened couple. "I'm sorry, I have orders."

"Please-"

"I don't know what is going on and I don't want to." Percival said a little more firmly now. "You need to go now. You don't want to make what is going on worse."

He patted Mordred's shoulder when he was finished talking. It was meant as an act of solidarity and sympathy, but Mordred couldn't help but feel it was also a little patronising. His frustration at the situation and his helplessness in it rose again. He pushed Percival's arm away, that was when he noticed it. The set of keys on the knights belt. The keys to unlock the cells. In a flash he reached out to grab them.

He was not fast enough though. He gave himself away before he even made a move for them. Percival noticed Mordred noticing the keys and moved backwards out of reach as Mordred moved forward.

"Don't be childish." Percival said not unkindly. "Leave now and clear your head before you do something you can't take back." He urged again.

Mordred unfortunately did not listen to the advice. Instead he took a strong stance and drew his sword. Percival gave him a annoyed and patronising look in return.

"I am not leaving without Kara." Mordred said unflinchingly.

"Mordred don't." She pleaded from the cell.

"Be sensible." Percival again cautioned.

Mordred lunged forward not listening to either of them. He lunged slowly and little less force. While his goal was the get the keys, one in particular, he did not want to hurt his fellow knight, his brother. But he would if it came to it. In the background he could hear Kara yelling for him to stop, but he didn't take any notice. He stared Percival down. Until the taller and broader knight drew his own sword.

Kara yelled as she grabbed hold on the door and yanked hard. The door moved only a few millimeters either way. Under the sounds she was making she could hear the clashing of swords clearly on the other side of the door. From the small window she could only she flashes of the action going on. Someone's head moving past. Mordred was skilled with a sword and had great stamina, but Percival had more experience and was both taller and stronger then him.

Giving up in exasperation on trying to force the door open, Kara clenched her hands and began to bang on it. Her yells turning into choked sobs. Her hands beginning to hurt she gave one last violent thump on the door. To her surprise the door shattered into thousands of broken splitters and chunks of wood as her hand it the wood. She hadn't been trying to use her magic, it had just happened. shacking a little she tentatively stepped forward over the remains of the cell door. The sounds from the corridor were now gone too, leaving a eerie quiet.

She was not the only one that had been taken by surprise by her use of magic. Percival had frozen at the sudden exposition of the cell down. Mordred, who had been taken by surprise as he was lunging forward lost his footing. Stumbling he jerked forward. His sword still held out before him.

It happened so quickly that neither noticed until they started to straighten themselves up. Percival and Mordred watched as Kara stepped slowly out of the cell. Turning her head towards them she waited for one of them to move, to react. None of them really knew what to do. Percival was the first of the knights to try and move. As he did he felt his left leg give out under him. Slamming onto the ground he looked at his left leg and saw a large spot of blood growing wider.

Mordred seeing the blood pooling on the stone floor, sunk to his knees and reached out to try and stop the bleeding. His efforts were met with a hard punch to the side of his head that he didn't see coming. It made his head spin.

It took him sometime to realise that the thumping sound he was hearing was not coming from his spinning head. It was someone running down the corridor towards them. Someone that dropped to their knees next to him and pushed him out of the way as they moved to cover the other knights injury. He could hear voices talking, but they sounded far away.

Kara took hold of Mordred's shoulders and pulled him back to lean against the way. She watched at Morgana covered Percival's wound, her head turned to look at the couple. Kara in as few words as were needed told her what had happened. She stopped talking when Mordred's head lolled to the side.

"You have to get him out of here." Kara demanded.

Morgana was still trying to catch up with what was happening. She wasn't thinking clearly.

"Please Morgana they will kill him." She begged.

Morgana looked into the eyes of the frightened women, as she didn't dare look to Mordred.

"Go." A voice said clearly that neither women had expected. They turned to look at the older knight. "Take him and go."

Morgana gave a small nod to Percival and turned back to Mordred and Kara. "We're all leaving." She told Kara.

"If we both go we will always have a shadow hanging over us." She said calmly.

"Don't be stupid-"

"I don't want to run anymore. I have to stay, for now."

Morgana was moved by Kara's braver. She was willing to stay and take what punishment came her way, so that she had Mordred would not have to live the rest of their lives feeling like they were trapped. Unable to move for fear that the consequences of their actions would catch up with them. They had both lived in one a prison of one form or another their whole lived. They had had enough. She didn't like it, but she would take Mordred away now and come back to deal with the rest. It was really the only thing she could think to do right now. Merlin, she needed to speak to him first, before she could think to how to do that without dragging into the messiness of everything, Kara called her name again sounding more frightened than before. She then reached out and grabbed Morgana, pulling her towards herself and Mordred. The knight was pushed into her arms. Kara looked in right in the eye, demanding her to leave now.

A cloud of smoke grew from the spot on the floor where the witch and knight had been sitting. Leaving only the still bleeding knight and the prisoner.

Kara felt a wave of relief wash over her, but it only lasted for a second as she heard the echoing sound of footsteps walking down towards the cells.

Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter. Only six more chapters to go. I know that I say it all the time, but I truly can not believe that we are so close to ending the story. A story that I started twelve years ago. I never thought that it would take over a decade to finish.

I know that everyone has their favourite character and will differing views of the conflict. I really wanted to make sure that while you don't agree with everyone's choices, that you can at least understand why they do what they do, make the choices that they do. Basically I don't want there to be a clear right or wrong side. No hero and villain. With a fitting bittersweet ending. If that it not something that appeals to you, then I'm very sorry.

As always any comments, feedback or ideas that you have are very welcome.