A Marriage that Started a Legend

by IJustShowedUp

Follows canon but with my own arranged marriage spin on it. What happens when Hunith makes a mistake and is forced on the run with her infant son? What happens when Camelot knights find her twenty years later? What happens when Arthur learns he's betrothed to a peasant boy? Will Merlin be able to stand among royalty? Will these two different boys survive each other? Review!

87. Chapter 87

Seven Hours and Thirteen Minutes before their Execution

Merlin had no idea of the kind of hellfire that was awaiting him, under the king's sudden orders for his head to be placed on a silver platter, before he was brought before the council to show 'this' was what happened to those who thought they could make a mockery out of the Royal court. If he had known, maybe Merlin would have taken this as his chance to run while he still could, one last chance to decide his own fate. To decide to live the life he would choose, rather than lose said life due to his spur of the moment decision to gamble it away on the off chance that he could stop everything. As it would turn out, Merlin was no ordinary man, and a coward he was not. If he had known, he would've used what time he had wisely to do exactly what it was he was doing now.

Researching.

Ignorance truly was blissed, because Merlin had it in his mind that he had a good seven hours or so to do what needed to be done. He was frantic for sure, not knowing how long it would take for him to find the right book he needed, that would give him all of the answers he sought. But seven hours of possible research ahead of him, and a sleepless night to look forward to, would always be so much better than the few minutes of searching he could risk before taking his chances against the afanc in the water with what little he did know. Which was basically nothing. The dragon hadn't exactly been free with his information on the matter, speaking only of elements. What a load of hogwash, Merlin knew this was going to be, because there was not one thing he could find in reference to it.

And trust him, he's been looking.

Merlin climbed onto one of the short ladders that Gaius had stationed around the place, climbed up the three or four stairs afforded to him, and didn't hesitate to yank another three books off the shelf at random. These tomes, just like the ones Merlin had plucked off before it, was just as heavy and as thick as all the others. Each one seemed to weigh as much as he did, the musty smell of old books and parchment that had been sitting out for much too long tickled his nose and nearly caused him to sneeze from how much dust coated each one he'd grabbed. Merlin nearly fell backwards off the step when he came down, the books themselves trying their damn hardest to throw him off balance. But he ignored this, stumbling his way across the way to drop the armful of books onto the nearest table he could reach.

Dust kicked off in every direction, coating every inch of the place and himself. Merlin reeled back and started coughing, feeling as if he was about to lose a lung, the dust coating the insides of his throat. He was almost sure he had swallowed just about enough dust to-if he could harden it-create another whole bookshelf. Merlin waved away all of the dirt still lingering in the air, feeling it coating on his hand, clinging to him like it was trying its damn hardest to become a second skin. Did Gaius never dust around here? If Merlin lived past the next day or so, he would have to see to dusting some so he wouldn't die from dust inhalation-was that a thing that happened? Merlin felt as if it was something that could happen. If Merlin was going to be living here long term-which was his plan if he ever got around to figuring out what the bloody elements had to do with an afanc-he'd have to pull his own weight around here. He didn't want to do the duty of a consort, but Merlin needed to do something to occupy his time with.

Or at least that was the dream. A world where he could do whatever he deemed worthy of doing in his own free time. Where he could work his way in reading through these books, explorer the side of him that wanted to indulge and find out more with about this whole physician thing. Hell, Merlin was more than willing to try anything at this point just because he knew getting more involved would've irritated Arthur to no end. Fucking prick, looking down on him because he showed an interest in something other than fawning over him. But that was neither here, nor there. Arthur could go and fuck himself, and Merlin would be here. Among his many, many books.

Merlin barely glanced up when he heard the door opening, crouching over so he was on his knees in front of the books, picking up one of the ones he'd picked from the bookshelf and started reading the title inscribed in faded gold along the spine: herbs and their remedies. Probably something extremely useful for any other time than what he needed in his hands right now. Merlin highly doubted a book promoting different types of herbs and what kind of plant was needed to make a certain remedy-as fascinating as that sounded-would have anything to do with elements. He dropped the book off on the side, deciding it had no use to him and picked up the next one.

Funny, Merlin thought grudgingly as he held up a book labeled: Fungi and where to find them. He'd end up exactly where he'd left from not that long ago. The whole point of leaving to see the dragon was so he would not have to wade through tome after time of aged books. But that ended up being exactly what he had to do. Merlin was only able to comfort himself with the knowledge…the dragon had gave him a direction to look for at least. Merlin would not have to flip through page after page to try and find one single scrap piece of information about an afanc, scrawled across the margins of a random page as if it had been an afterthought. Or written down before the knowledge could've been forgotten and there were no other clean sheets of parchment on hand. Merlin would have ended up doing the same, if he needed to jot down a piece of information before it escaped him.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Gaius asked from in the doorway, watching as his nephew picked up a third book, tilting his head sideways to read along the spine for the title. Gaius hadn't been here, the old physician had to step out when the wife of one of the noble knights had came asking for his help with her daughter. The lady had been frightful and thought her daughter had somehow came down in sickness, despite the quarantine in place. Luckily, it had been nothing but the common cold, though it could have been quite distressing for a mother fearing the worse. Gaius was only just now coming back, returning to his home where Merlin must've climbed back in through his window to be in here now. The boy was like a monkey by this point, the constant way of going in and out of his window as he was, pulling taunt muscles he didn't even know he had…

Merlin didn't bother looking back to his uncle as he answered him, snatching up a forth book that was already sitting on the table, "I'm looking for a book." This was probably the least information the consort could have given his uncle, but he didn't have the time for a lengthy explanation. His mind was focused intensely on, his head tilted further to read the title…Magical Creatures: real or myth…that was the book Gaius had discovered the afanc inside of. And the section describing what exactly an afanc was-the short one page summary written detailing it's information-had already been read by the both of them. This was another useless book Merlin didn't need, and he dropped it back down on the table carelessly. More dust kicked up again, but Merlin was better at ignoring it this time, going for the next book, hands snatching up the leather bound tome. With all the hope in the world that it would be 'this book' that held the answers to what he needed to know. Any little scrap of information detailing the elements, just one little sign, hint, or clue he was on the right track…

That was all Merlin wanted. Just one little nugget to show him he wasn't wasting his time wading in and out of these books. Dozens and dozens of the tomes decorated every inch of the place, and they all looked the same. Merlin had no possible way to determine which book was on the elements, other than reading the titles as he had been. And hoping something would jump out at him if he just kept on flipping through them…

"…Are you going to tell me which one?" Gaius said slowly, when his nephew didn't offer him anymore information on this sudden urge to tear apart his personal library. Obviously, as Gaius had been the one to track down these books and had read most of them himself, he could probably point Merlin in the direction of whatever he was looking for. This would be better than Merlin just ripping things off his shelves, only to go back looking for more since it was entirely possible that Merlin was digging in the wrong section. Gaius liked to say he had all of his things organized how he wanted them, but he also knew it was the only kind of organization he himself was able to understand how it worked.

Merlin seemed to show no shame in being caught rifling through his uncle's belongings by the man himself, squinting at the spine of a fifth book as he struggled to make out the faded lettering covered in a healthy layer of dust, "A book on elements." It came out as this half-murmured answer, almost as if Merlin didn't even know he was talking. And the consort probably didn't, having already gone back to sounding out this particular book title, his lips silently moving around the letters of this word. But he gave up, tossing it to the side. His reading may have gotten much better since his arrival into the city, but he truly doubted he would be able to find anything on elements from a book that had thirty letters in one word to form the title. A nonsense word if he had ever seen one.

The answer brought Gaius up short with surprise though, and he blinked down at his nephew with an expression of baffled wonderness, "Elements?" He asked, just to make sure he had heard right, or maybe his ears were finally starting to fade away his hearing. The last time they had been here, the two of them had been searching for information on how to deal with an afanc. So Gaius couldn't be sure when or how 'elements' had started playing in the picture. It was like heat and oil, two things in this world that shouldn't mix, unless one would be looking for an actual explosion to happen.

But maybe, that was exactly what Merlin wanted to happen.

Merlin seemed to suddenly realize…Gaius might have more information than he thought he would have, because the consort suddenly turned to his uncle, giving up on the endless searching of these books in front of him, "Where would I find a book on elements, exactly?" The dragon, Merlin started to realize, might have given him this lead to go off on. But surely his uncle would be more willing and forthcoming with the actual information. Elements were different from afancs, right? Even if the two were connected somehow, the elements were not nearly as rare as a creature created from the muck and clay on the ground.

Gaius still didn't seem to understand where Merlin was going with this, if the look of confusion on his face was anything to go by, but he answered with a generous nod of his head to the rows and rows of mountainous books, "Well, most of them." And Merlin followed the physician's gaze straight to all of the books, his own eyes widening in horror. The books almost seemed to grow in their length and volume right before her eyes. The two hundred or so books-his own estimation although Merlin was doubting he'd ever be able to get an exact number of how many Gaius owned-suddenly seemed to appear as five hundred. If what his uncle said was true…there was no chance in hell Merlin would be able to find what he was looking for. Especially not before Gwen's execution was scheduled…and his own. "The study of base elements would be at the very heart of the scientific process."

That was…actually something the consort found himself wanting to ask more about. Questions that had nothing to do with the afanc and everything to do with this 'scientific process' filtered throughout his mind, dozens of them quicker than Merlin was able to blink. Questions like: how exactly did these elements pertain to the scientific process? What is it that made elements so intwine with the things a physician had to deal with? How did the elements help people who were hurt or in pain and needed healing, did the elements have…Merlin's thirst for knowledge and to learn more information on these things that could never have been offered to him in Ealdor came to a standstill. Because all of these questions would have to wait until Merlin had time to himself to learn.

"But, how would the elements help with killing an afanc?" He asked instead, whipping his head away from the mountains of books to look at his uncle for answers. Not the question he would have liked to ask in more normal circumstances, but there were some things that took precedence over even his own desire to learn. Time was running thin and there was only so much of it Merlin would allow himself to waste in his pursuit to get the truth and their freedom.

"Well…" Gaius said slowly, walking deeper into the room and taking the time to settle his medical bag on the table next to the stack of books Merlin had accumulate during his searching. Gaius took time to think over the answer proper, ignoring Merlin as the young boy started jiggling his leg up and down with impatience. Merlin was so close, he could all but taste the answers with his tongue and hold the truth the dragon riddled to him in the palms of his hands. "The afanc is a creature made from two of the four base elements. That would have been the elements: water and earth."n

Water and earth, Merlin repeated slowly, throwing the words around in his head. That made sense to the consort, remembering how the monster made itself a home in their water supply, able to sink into its depths without anyone the wiser. The clay-just another version of earth, only more malleable then it's original form-dripping off the monster in large clumps. Making it thicker and meaner and durable enough to withstand the more normal attacks. So, Merlin considered to himself, this must have been where the elements came in at. Some kind of odd elemental magic was the key to stopping it, and it was up to Merlin to learn how to wield it. "What of the other two, then?" Merlin asked his uncle with a quick tone. His mind was already starting to put all of the pieces together, and maybe he should have talked to Gaius sooner rather than trying to dig his way through all of these books.

Gaius was the smartest man he knew, after all.

"Well," Gaius said, looking as if he was putting the same pieces of the puzzle together that the young sorcerer had been. "Perhaps combining the other two will be enough to destroy it. Now, what you're going to need is fire." Merlin could already feel the fire burning inside of him, the spark of this inferno waiting to burst out of him, stirring restlessly deep inside the pit of his gut. Bubbling dangerously as it waited impatiently for Merlin to unleash only the flames he could control onto the beast. "Wind and fire…how did you come across such an idea?"

Merlin had climbed to his feet as Gaius started up explaining things to him, feeling a flash of growing excitement now that he had the answer right at his fingertips. Fire and wind…Merlin knew that would be easy enough for him to command. Well, he was able to summon those elements, controlling them might be another matter entirely, especially since he estimated he would need a grand deal of more force than he would usually use for the everyday happenings. But there was no time for him to get a good deal of practicing in before he went down to deal with the beast. Even now, he could hear what sounded like a whistle in the wind, the phantom of a beast howling as Merlin was forced to take the hundred lives lost in it's destructive path out on its hide. The sound of Gwen's freedom echoing deep in his soul as the creature fell, roaring it's last after Merlin took it out. Yes, Merlin could feel it deep in his soul, this was it.

This was the answer he'd been searching for.

But now, Merlin could feel himself stiffen after he took in his uncle's questioning. The consort found himself not trusting what his uncle's reaction was going to be if he discovered Merlin was taking his advice from a giant, talking, fire breathing dragon hidden underneath the city. What would happen if Gaius tried to ban him from seeing the surprisingly helpful if not confusing beast? Merlin didn't want to lie to his uncle-the one person he thought he'd be able to be honest with about this secret side of his life, the one nobody would never know-but he couldn't risk being stopped. Not if something like this week ever happened again, and he needed to more advice. So yeah, he lied…big.

"It's…I just knew, you know. One of my powers."

And wasn't that a bunch of horse crap. Merlin had many abilities under his belt, could do things he'd never be able to understand no matter how many years of training he managed to obtain, but one of his abilities wasn't just 'knowing things' before it happened. He wasn't a seer. He couldn't see the things he had heard they couldn, he wasn't able to see glimpses of his future or what life would be like many years from now. Although if one wanted to be honest, Merlin wouldn't mind having the gift of sight at this moment. As overzealous as he was about handing this creature it's own arse after he took it down, Merlin wasn't entirely sure if he'd be able to survive his encounter if the beast did turn out to be as strong as the dragon had eluded it to be. And maybe…Merlin would get to see if his next five or ten years was any different than these last two months have been. He'd want to know rather or not he managed to get away from Arthur during the next decade of his life, or if he would still end up being here. Wasting his life away as he rushed around after a spoiled prince.

Spending the next decade or two of his life doing that, if he lived past tonight, seemed almost like a nightmare scenario. Merlin almost wanted to give into his urge and throw himself at the feet of the beast, allowing it to do away with him long before he had to go back to…that. He didn't even want to think of the decision he would have to make any moment now. Before he left to tangle with on his own with the beast…

"And what else did your powers tell you?" Gaius asked his nephew slowly, narrowing his eyes with suspicion. His nephew wasn't being as sneaky as he thought he was. Something wasn't right here, it was obvious Merlin was trying to hide something from here. Something that didn't have anything to do with Arthur this time around. Gaius might show fascination for Merlin's strange ability-he was truly a scientist at heart, and he'd never seen anything like the ease in which Merlin was able to use his magic-but Merlin's questions had been a little too on point. Too specific, for that matter, for Merlin's abilities to have just 'told him'. And unless Merlin's magic had started talking to him-which Gaius truly hoped they haven't, because hearing voices going off in one's head was often considered a sign of madness rather than good fortune-Gaius couldn't see how Merlin would have put together anything if his magic had somehow managed to give him a hint in the right direction.

This, Gaius would later look back on, as he felt the tingling sensation on the neck of his neck he'd get when he felt Merlin was hiding something, would be his first inkling that something was wrong.

"That I am only one side of a coin." Merlin spoke, his awkward and endearing smile to hide behind as he lied slowly dimming until he was glaring in bitterness at the dozen or so books he'd managed to drag off the shelves before Gaius interrupted him and his search. Two sides of a coin…this was just another way of saying Merlin was one half of something. Merlin should be happy, considering he'd spent his entire life wondering what purpose he had in a world that would condemn him over how he'd been born. It was like saying he could be burned to death for being born with blue eyes, but Merlin was able to hide his magic more effectively than he could his eyes.

The way the dragon would speak to him-two sides of a coin, his destiny was forever intertwined with Arthur's, up to Merlin to change him-it all sounded like fairy tale stuff. The things people would write ballads and poems and stories about in the future, of how epic this 'once and future king and his warlock' was. Merlin had a feeling nobody would write about the hardships it had held, the chaos and depression and anger, or even the suicidal thoughts that plagued him when he least wanted them to. Those were the ugliness that would never belong in someone's else's own rendition of the story they were living. Disgusting it would be, to hide the truth just to mask how his 'prince charming' was an absolutely awful human being. Merlin almost felt like this was an insult to human beings, what was the point in being happy living the fairy tail life of destiny and star crossed lovers and soulmates meant to be or whatever the crap Uther had tried to peddled out to the people after he'd married his son, when all Merlin could see was the nightmare. Was privy enough to see and witness the ugliness hidden behind the glitz and the glamour. Living amongst people content with keeping their heads bowed, too scared to make all of the waves that needed to be waved. Not one of them would ever know true struggles, sipping the porcelain champagne goblets as they gladly went to congratulating themselves for doing the bare minimum.

Merlin gave his uncle a brittle smile, stronger than he actually felt but putting on a good show for him anyway, "The brighter side, obviously." The clever whip fell from his lips, falling short even though it was true. How Arthur could be so obnoxious and blind to everything that was right in front of him…Merlin was tired. And he felt no energy in himself to try and convince Arthur of something else. The Moronic Prince, something Merlin felt would be an adequate name even though he wanted to find the one name that would describe him better, one that was much harsher and less forgiving, couldn't see Morris for the creep he was. And like he had said, Merlin was tired, his bones feeling weary like he'd aged sixty years in the last day alone. He couldn't even bother to think of a better name that 'Prince Moronic', how was he supposed to convince him to help him with a monster he would probably try to deny the existence of, before believing him.

"And whose the other side?" Gaius asked him, but he had a feeling he already knew the answer to his question before he had even said it. He only knew of one man who could put that look on the face of his nephew. And Gaius was ashamed to know who it was, and even more ashamed since Merlin was refusing to offer any details as for what the prince had done to make him this way…

Merlin's face dropped…

The dragon had obviously been in his cave far too long, thinking Merlin had the ability to convince a damn thing of his princely husband. He had been going back and forth on whether or not he should do as the dragon said, and try one more time with Arthur. Truth was, even after this hour of switching back and forth, he still didn't know what he would do. He really didn't want to, but the dragon hadn't been wrong about him needing somebody to be a good alibi for him. And whose wouldn't trust the word of the prince. But on the other hand…once long ago, his mother had told him only fools tried to do the exact same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

And Merlin didn't want to be anybody's fool.

"I think it might be Arthur," the consort finally said, the name itself tasted sour-as it would more often than not nowadays-as it fell off his lips. He wasn't any fool by any sense of the word, even if he knew the prince thought he was. But he was hesitant to go after the beast. He didn't 'need' Arthur, hell, he knew it would probably be better if Arthur didn't come. Merlin wouldn't have to hide himself or do any trickery to keep from being discovered, it was one less thing for him to worry about. But this was bringing him to the question…what would happen afterwards? The dragon had made sure his point came across, how would Merlin explain defeating the creature when he couldn't even shove Arthur off of him when he got handsy?

Fuck, Merlin could already see he would be back, forced on Arthur's doorstep before the hour was up, wouldn't he? And on the very same day Merlin had finally told him he wouldn't be coming back to bother with him again…slam! Merlin's head swung around to face the door as it was flung open hard enough to bang against the wall behind it. Then a lone figure strode into the room, and her long blue dress flew out behind her like a train. Her braided black hair fell elegantly over her shoulders like one would expect of a Lady, but her eyes were looking lit with an inner fire.

"Consort Merlin, I hope you will ignore my lack of decorum with interrupting your important need for rest." Morgana drawled out, voice on the rude side of sarcasm as her nostrils flared with her anger or impatience. Merlin frowned deeply, having not one idea what he had done to have made Morgana act angry with him. He already had Arthur angry on a daily basis by this point, Merlin didn't know what he would do if one of the few people in the castle he could actually stand grew to detest him with a similar ferocity. At this point, Merlin felt like he had lost a limb if he ended up losing a friend. Maybe it was a bit dramatic, crippling even to put any kind of expectation on somebody who owed him not a thing and had already done enough for him, but it was a lonely world he lived in. And Morgana would be one of the handful of people who didn't look at him as if they thought he was a particularly stupid slug. "I would have been here much quicker, but I fear I was detained by your apparent…need…for a rest?"

Morgana's eyes landed on the overgrown stack of books laid out on the table next to him, and Merlin swore he saw her eyes softening around the edge of them, like she'd just realized Merlin hadn't been taking a rest. Where on earth had she…Merlin was forced to stop that train of that when he saw what could only be the imposing figure of Gregory who stood in the doorway. Oblivious to Merlin sneaking in and out his window as he pleased running amok around the castle halls, getting himself in and out of trouble so many times it was ridiculous by this point. But this was apparently the cover story his uncle had gone with, Merlin being none the wiser, as the means to explain to Gregory why he didn't need to check on Merlin periodically, giving Merlin a clear way to travel without having Gregory on his back constantly.

Gregory must have tried doing that thing he had done with Tom, stopping him from entering before he had permission. Only, Morgana was a Lady and she wasn't used to having to wait before she was given something. Especially considering, because of the lie they told Gregory, it led to Morgana with thoughts of Merlin enjoying the high life while they had their friend suffering. Morgana's realization as it turned out, was probably the only thing that had saved Merlin from a serious verbal tongue lashing of epic proportions.

Merlin nearly fell against the door as he stumbled over his own feet in the rush to get to it, "It's okay Gregory, she's fine!" And then he was slamming a door into his face as hard as he could, before the man could try to get in and access their situation for himself. Merlin gave a heavy sight, and turned around so he could slump his back tightly against the doorframe in relief, hopefully Gregory wouldn't be any problem, or try to stop them from whatever the next move was going to be. Merlin still found it a bit odd though, thinking about it now as he was leaning his entire weight against the door-on the off chance Gregory might try to push himself into the room-that the knight would have no problems with listening to his own orders if Merlin wanted to see Morgana out. Morgana was a True Lady, it was she was the birth and the life style and the training befitting of a Royal who should have been listened to with haste.

Not Merlin, the False Consort forever fighting for a place to belong.

"So, I'm going to take a gander here, and say you have not been resting while our dear friend sits on bended knee, chained in shackles where only the worse Camelot has to offer should belong?" spoke the Lady, even her manner of speaking seemed to have been born of an education only one highborn among society's best could offer her. The Lady of Camelot raised a trimmed eyebrow at Merlin, and it was obvious she already had her answer. But, it was something she wanted to hear from Merlin by his own words, refusing to justify the harshness of her entrance as anything more than her panicking, thinking only she cared about what happened with an innocent girl, chained down as she was, similar to an animal just waiting to attack her enemy with a swipe of her claws and bite of her fangs. If only the king would see…Gwen's nails were broken and unable to do much damage, her 'fangs' used only to swallow down her sobs as she waited until the moment she would breath her last.

"Of course not!" Merlin exclaimed in response and almost felt like a fraud as the country twang in his voice came out, exasperated by the stress of their situation. Standing next to Morgana, who wore her looks with pride, collected among herself and she showed no distress. Not one hair out of place, and not one silken fold of her dress askew as she had stormed the quarters. Merlin almost felt like a fool in his place, knowing he was coated in this layer of sticky sweat, dirt making his skin and clothes here and there after his exploration of the caves. It was impossible to imagine a lady having such grace to the fool, but it was nothing considering it seemed to be the two of them only, against the entirety of a kingdom. Whose own bloodlust was seemed to be fueled by anger, and vengeance, and fear, and prejudice born of propaganda spread around over decades. They would rather see the death lof one innocent to satisfy that bloodlust, rather than see the one who laid truly responsible, be punished to the crimes she committed.

"Well then," Morgana spoke up cooly, but the lone consort was able to see the truth in her eyes. The Lady believed him, she truly believed he had been working his fingers to the bone, rather than trying to hide and pretend the situation wasn't the reality of their lives, even as citizens would eventually be carrying torches and pitchforks past his windows as they headed for the pyre being built. Merlin did not realize until this very moment, how good it felt to be believed. To not have to go through a dozen or so hoops over and over again just to be listened to, and then subsequently ignored or dismissed as nothing more than trying to cause problems. But it was Morgana, Merlin realized, who would believe something as simple as this. Rather than his own husband, who didn't even want to acknowledge all of the bigger stuff happening around them. Merlin listened-just as Morgana had for him-as the Lady continued to talk, "I hope you've come up with any plan we can use. I've just received word that Gwen has had her execution moved up. It's happening to her now! Before the sun rises, she will be dead."

Her last words came out, whispered as if they had been spoken in prayer. But the words themselves almost felt as sharp as a lash being swung against the virgin skin of a bare back, unprotected against the whip as it struck again and again, creating red marks and splitting open flesh as blood started to pour itself free from it's imprisoned body. Nothing she said spoke of a lie, and Merlin pushed himself off the door in horror-even Arthur would not have any trouble with believing the ward-staring at her as his body nearly shook from it's sudden surge of panicked fear.

"What!" Merlin echoed so loudly, he was honestly surprised when Gregory didn't try bursting down the door in his attempts to get to him, and pull the consort to safety away from his 'attackers'. Merlin didn't care for that now, too panicked to care over rather or not they would be overheard. By the man whose being paid to see to his protection and was not going to allow Merlin to wonder off into those deep parts unknown by most of the city. "But the king…! He's promised me twelve hours! I still have half a day's worth left on my time limit! He cannot do something like this!"

But even as Merlin uttered those last words in his frenzied state, he knew in the back of his mind the king could do whatever he wanted. He didn't have to honor an agreement he'd made with Merlin that one spur of the moment. Neither of them signed a contract, written in blood as the old religion would dictate and forcing somebody to comply with their end of the bargain lest their death be forfeit to the cause. Merlin had thought he had the upper hand in this situation, but as it would turn out, the King had known exactly what he was doing. It wouldn't surprise Merlin to find out if the king had been the one to orchestrate this somehow. Uther would've had to know Merlin would do something that was completely outrageous before allowing Gwen to go, so he had filled the room up with men as their witnesses. But men who would never protest him not keeping his end of the deal. Hell, not even the prince himself would protest this on Merlin's own behalf…he wasn't expecting him too either.

Merlin had gotten himself into this mess. And now it was up to Merlin to get himself out.

Morgana shook her head, the ends of her braid curling around the underside of her breast as she did the motion, "Clearly, the king cares only with picking and choosing what deals he should keep with honor." Her voice came out just as bitter as it did when Merlin spoke about Arthur. Morgana also didn't seem surprised to hear Merlin had been off making deals with the devil himself. Which made Merlin frown, confused and not understanding just how she could know such a thing. Morgana only turned away, painted lips scowling with her anger at the situation before them. "The king's word has apparently became useless."

Merlin couldn't argue with her on that, there was no point in pretty placates for something the both of them knew was true. The king's word was very useless when it counted, and apparently the king himself really did decide what words he should be able to uphold. There was a clawing feeling inside Merlin's chest, making him want to buck up and fight against the king himself for answers. If Uther cared so little about his word, then why had Merlin been forced to come here in the first place. Why in the word was Merlin forced into marriage with this man's son, if he could so easily wave away what was promised. Did the king's signature beside his own parents really make so much of a difference? That he couldn't rip up the contract and pretend it never existed…what made the marriage deal more important than this? Maybe the king had decided seeing Merlin burn for fighting against him would be too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Merlin ignored the raging inferno trying to claw its way out of his throat, though it was hard since his hands were clenched so tightly they were shaking as he resisted the urge to break his knuckles hard against the closest wall, "…How do you know?" he asked Morgana, face pinched and voice contained to hold back his yelling. Not because Merlin didn't believe her, he knew the pain of knowing his word wouldn't be good enough, but simply because he wanted to know how she came across this secret information. Not about Gwen, Merlin was certain the whole city would know by this point, he could only imagine what Tom must be going through as the news reached him. But how did she know his dealings with the king? The council meeting was closed, Morgana wasn't even allowed in due to her womanly status, and he couldn't see any of those old men who sat in their golden chairs debating as the real issues passed them by, breaking the oath and telling her what went on inside.

Morgana's eyes narrowed on him with her interest sharpened, "Oh, I have my ways around the king's council and their barbaric outdated practices." she clearly didn't take too kindly to being left behind in the cold while the real men did the work, and was daring Merlin to show her he believed in the same ideas. But Merlin didn't, and he would have gladly welcomed Morgana at his side when he had been facing the council on his own. Her advice instead of half-remembered things would've been a good help. Maybe she could have advised him to make sure to get the king's signature on their deal long before he had left.

"Good." Merlin voice, sounding stronger than he had since Morgana broke the news to him. "We'll need somebody who knows what to do about the king, and how to see his lies for what they are." he could see the surprise written all over Morgana's features, and Merlin wondered when he gave her the impression that he cared about such things. A man or a woman…it had nothing to do with brains inside one's head. Morgana was a woman but she knew far more than Merlin did about the world and the lifestyle he'd been thrown into. This fact would please Merlin greatly. If Merlin ever figured out the whole Consort thing, if things-god forbid because he didn't know how it would happen-got better in the years to come, maybe Morgana could join the pseudo council he had somewhat subconsciously started forming.

The dragon, Gaius, Morgana, and Him.

They would make a formidable team against the world who degraded them in one way or the other.

And if things went right…Gwen would be standing among them. Her servant status or darkened skin color was not a deterrent to Merlin. It would only make him want her more, because Gwen was his friend. And she's already given him good advice before, whose to say she wouldn't again in years to come. If Merlin was stuck here in this kingdom, then he needed a few chosen companions to keep him surrounded. Otherwise, Merlin didn't have any doubt in his mind, he would snap and kill Arthur as brutally as the actions he took against Merlin.

Morgana didn't say anything more on the subject, although Merlin could see there was some kind of understanding between them, the form of a bond similar to the one he'd already forget with the own lady's handmaiden, she whipped her head around to look at Gaius, "We need to act now. Or Gwen is not going to stand a chance." This wasn't a sign of arrogance, thinking Gwen needed them. It was the simple truth. Because Gwen 'did' need them, and she needed them Now. Yes, Merlin decided as he also turned to look at Gaius-the oldest one of the group, with hopes that he might have a plan in his mind-Morgana would make a good fit it Merlin had need for a council of his own one of these days.

If he lived long enough to see a say where he was no longer ignored and forced in the background as nothing more than an inconvenience.

"We're trying to think of something." Gaius spoke to the Lady, which was as useful as a slug dying in the hot rays of a burning sun. Morgana didn't look pleased by this answer either, her lips pursuing in disdain. Because she would have thought there'd be a little more progress than this. Morgana would spent time on and off trying to convince Uther of his wrong doing's, but no amount of her pleading was enough to sway him. She had all but given up on him, only something drastic would have made the king see reason. It wouldn't be long now, but soon the sky would be filled with fire as the flames inched their way up a pyre before overtaking the whole thing, lighting up the darkness of the night sky like some sort of mocking celebration.

Morgana shook her head furiously, braid flapping wildly in her agitation, "That isn't good enough for this. For Gwen. You cannot tell me there is nothing we can do for her! There has to be something that we just haven't thought of yet!" She slammed her hands down onto one of the tables, a light seen of dusting coating the palms of her hands, looking to be quite out of place on a lady with an impeccable taste. "There has to be something we can do that will help her." Her voice was much quieter during this last part, looking solemn and her hands were lightly shaking. Merlin thought she would probably find it easy to get them to stop if he pointed it out to her. Morgana would know how to look the part of a lady even when she felt anything but. But he didn't, because it made Morgana look more like a human being, then some figure one could watch only from a distance. She shouldn't have to hide how she was feeling in front of him-stressing out about Gwen just the same as he was-they should probably have been working on this together from the beginning. Instead of alone…alone…alone…

"Fuck." Merlin suddenly said, breaking the silence in the room as he rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling like a mockery of the heavens. Both Gaius and Morgana whipped their heads to look at him in surprise, even though Merlin's one word would be very adapt considering their situation. But he didn't care, he knew what they had to do, even if it practically killed him to admit it out loud. Merlin let his eyes loll back down to meet the very confused gazes of his uncle and…ward-in-law? Would that be the right word to cement their relationship? He didn't know, he liked the word 'friend' more. But it didn't matter not like this did, "…We need Arthur."

Morgana looked startled by this, to know surprise to Merlin. She hadn't been there when the dragon told him his best bet would be to bring the prince along with him. She hadn't been there when he'd been stressing out over rather or not he should be swallowing his own pride and returning to Arthur like a downtrodden puppy with it's tail tucked right between it's legs. "Arthur?" She repeated, clearly not seeing where Merlin was going with this. This made Merlin realize, as big as a talker as Morgana was, she didn't know everything. She didn't know about the creature willing to take the head clean off of anything that wondered too close in its new home in their watering system.

Merlin was quick to explain the situation to her as fast as he could to get it out of the way, "There's a monster, an afanc, in the water supply. It's exactly what's been causing the plague." And Merlin was watching as Morgana's eyes widened in shock and surprise at this information. Obviously, she hadn't realized Merlin and Gaius had been doing far more than just searching through moldy old books. But Merlin felt a swish of bitterness in his gut when he saw Morgana's astonished face. Now see, that is what he thought. It was creature's like this afanc thing that gave being like him a bad name. How in the world were they going to get past this whole witch burnings as the norm, if the goods ones like he was trying to be, was constantly being looked over by the ones causing mass murder.

Morgana didn't hesitate, "We must tell Uther this at once then!" Her voice coming out urgently, as she gazed up at Merlin confused. Clearly, she was wondering why they were sitting on that kind of information instead of bringing it immediately to the king's attention. News like this…this would be actual solid proof of Gwen's innocence! Morgana tried to head to the door, intent on doing this for herself if nobody wanted to be the one, but Merlin grabbed her by the arm to stop her from making it more than two steps.

"You can't." Merlin said, dropping his hand away from her arm. He glanced over at Gaius before he was looking back at her, to her growing, increased confusion over what she was missing. "Trust me, we would have already gone if we could." Hell, he would have rather taken on the beast than bother himself with dragging Arthur into it. He felt sick at just the thought of returning back to that room, at the mere idea of being in the same space where it would have happened. Where Arthur would have…fornicated…with that…Clarissa. And then he had the nerve to act as if Merlin was the crazy one…it was absolutely sickening. And it was no wonder to him why Arthur hadn't been married by the time they were old enough for the contract to be valid.

Nobody would want him, if given the choice.

"The afanc is a creature forged by magic." Gaius took this time to explain to Morgana why the two of them had yet to go to the king. And Merlin felt himself frowning, the afanc had definitely been a being forged by magic. But it was this ugly, dark, twisted magic unlike anything he had ever felt in his life. He dreaded going back down in the caves to destroy it, but what else was he too do? Gaius continued talking, "Telling Uther wouldn't be able to save Gwen. He would just put the blame right at her feet, and accuse her of being the one to have conjured it in the first place."

Merlin thought this was a load of hogwash. For the city to be so terrified of magic, he'd have thought there was somebody who knew something about actual magic. They would have had information on it, or somebody specifically assigned to know the facts, if only so this person could explain how they would be able to neutralize a magical threat. If the kingdom had somebody like that, then they would have been able to tell the king how Gwen couldn't possibly be the witch. After all, even if Gwen had been a witch, she was too young to have anything like the experience needed to conjure a beast like this under her belt. Even if she had been a prodigy in the craft, there would've surely been some kind of sign she had been practicing. Then again, they never noticed Merlin and unlike Gwen, he seemed to have every eye on him at any given moment. It was exhausting, and he didn't know how the noble people were able to live like that.

"So, what do we do?" Morgana asked, she darted her eyes back and forth between Gaius and Merlin clearly uncertain who would have the answers she asked for. She didn't question Gaius logic with the conclusion he'd made, Morgana knew better than anybody how stubborn of a man he was. She had known that nature would be his downfall, but she refused to allow her handmaiden be dragged into the same hole the king was burying himself in. He would not believe them though, not until the three of them were on their knees before them. With the consort in the middle, delicate hands folded as he held out the great bloody heart of the beast like a present for the king.

"We need to destroy it." Merlin spoke up, sharing a glance with Gaius who nodded his agreement with his words. Merlin bit back a bothered sigh with the plan, knowing full well what would be included into this little plan of theirs. Damn the dragon for being a voice of reason. When Merlin had thought about a council of his own slowly coming together, he'd not considered all of the advice he did not want to hear causing him such a bother. He could ignore it completely and do what he decided would be best for him. And that would not ever include returning to the prince's side. "Then the plague will stop just before the execution. Even Uther will be forced to see reason."

Or, at least Merlin hoped this would be the case in point. Knowing the son of the man as he did-somebody who twisted the truth right before their very eyes, who outright dismissed and ignored the signs before it was too late, somebody who would dismiss words of spoken truth just because they didn't like the person uttering them-Merlin had no doubt the king was exactly the same. That same man who took pride in trying to humiliate him right in front of an entire council of people he cared not a wit for, was not a man so easily swayed till they'd thrown the proof at his feet.

Morgana seemed to see where they were going with this, remembering the words Merlin had told her only moments ago, "And that's why you need to get Arthur. He's the only one here who has the skills needed to destroy the beast." And Merlin did not wince at that, but it seemed to be a near thing without question. Merlin wanted to argue how the prince was not their only fighter, their heavy hitter who could take out the beast with only one mighty swing of his sword. But he did not, knowing it was not the time or place for revealing his secrets. The whole point of getting Arthur to come…it was only going to be for Merlin's own safety. Somebody he could hide behind as he sneakily managed to cast his spell work on the beast. An alibi, a witness, the man who could claim Merlin had nothing planning the beasts demise. Not when Arthur held onto the blade and the head of the beast.

"He's…he's our best choice." Merlin forced out of his mouth, his stomach twisting unpleasantly with those words. He wanted to take them back since Arthur would never be the best choice for him. He wanted to go back to when he had used magic on the snakes during the tourney, the elation he'd felt in knowing he had finally used his magic for good, to help somebody. But those days had long since passed, and Merlin needed to stop being selfish to this matter. He needed to do this for Gwen, he just needed to…use Arthur, and his princely status to explain away his defeat of the beast. It wasn't the best solution, but this time, Merlin would get to be the one in charge and pulling the strings, instead of Arthur running the show. Merlin turned his head to look at the lady with a grim expression, "But it's Arthur, and he won't want to disobey the king."

Was it sad that Merlin already knew Arthur enough to guess this? Was it pitiful and disgusting that the prince would rather see Gwen burn, before daring to go against his own father. Yes, it most definitely was and Merlin wasn't going to pretend it was less than it was. Purely disgusting that all of them, and their safety, relied on somebody who'd attached themselves with brute strength alone, onto their father's coattails. This was probably why he didn't feel any guilt about what he would be doing later on: getting Arthur down into the tunnels would be the hardest part. But manipulating him once they were down there, making Arthur unknowingly be a pawn between people questioning how Merlin was able to defeat a beast on his own…he just needed to remember to time things properly. So the blond would not see what he was doing behind their own scenes…

Morgana nodded her head once in a firm fashion, as she took command of the situation, "Leave that to me." Among the three of them in the room, the lady felt as if she would be the best qualified with this mission. If they were really going to do this, it was obvious they would need to play to what little strengths they had to make it work. Gaius with his researching, had already done his part by finding out what it was. Arthur with his strength and his sword had the actual physical skills needed to be able to crease the beast's rampage on the city it had tried to burn. Morgana herself, would know all of the right words and buttons to push that would get the blond's attention, Arthur wouldn't be able to resist following after what she had to say. And Merlin…Morgana had a feeling none of this would be possible if Merlin hadn't been there pushing on the matter. None of them would be here, fighting for Gwen if Merlin hadn't pulled them all together. It was only right for Merlin to be there as well, and see this through.

Merlin, whose eyes boggled at her in surprise, "So you're going to talk to Arthur?" He questioned. For all his plannings on what tactics he could use that would get Arthur's attention-something he hadn't used yet, even though he didn't know what it was going to be, since just telling him didn't seem as if it worked anymore- he hadn't considered another could tell him instead. Although, it wasn't really an awful idea, musing it over in his head. Arthur had already established how much he hated Merlin-a feeling which was very much mutual-but he didn't think Arthur hated Morgana. The prince might be willing to listen to somebody he actually had some kind of history with, rather than the one who had planned on using him..

Morgana lifted her eyebrow at him with this very curious sheen to her eyes, "Yes, I know I'm able to convince Arthur to come with us." She sounded as if she was sure of herself, and Merlin couldn't find himself more grateful than he was. If Morgana was willing to take one for the team, and be the one to talk to Arthur, Merlin would not argue against it for one minute. This gave him one less thing to worry himself over-already knowing Arthur would have no patience for listening to his 'lies' again-and he could stay behind and wait for them. If she could take over handling Arthur-Merlin would be happy to pass him off to somebody else and give himself a break-then Merlin had more time thinking what he would do once he got into the cave. This…this was perfect! "Unless," Morgana drawled out, just before Merlin could fall into this manic laughter at being freed from the responsibilities of Arthur and his issues. "You would wish to do it for yourself?"

Merlin felt as if he'd just been jolted straight back into his body, looking at Morgana with horror, as if she had just taken back her generous offer: doing the hard part and getting Arthur to agree to come with them, "No, no, no!" He said quickly, he waved his arms back and forth frantic, before she would have the chance to go back on her word. "This is fine, absolutely fine. You can do it." Merlin nodded his head almost frantically, looking like a modern day bobble head in this regard.

Morgana's eyes only went higher at this, and she examined him quite like Arthur would. Merlin felt a shiver of discontentment come across him, for the two to have no relation at all, Morgana and Arthur were quite similar. Don't get him wrong, they were obviously two different people who looked nothing alike. But they had their similarities-one he could only assume after having grown up together-small things through. The lift of their eyebrow, the curve of their grin, the look in their eyes while they were left wondering about Merlin's mental facilities…

Merlin cleared his throat awkwardly, he very much wanted to relax now that he wouldn't have Arthur trying to poke holes into his words as his king was prone to doing, but he felt it was only fair to give Morgana an actual chance to back out of getting involved, "Are you sure that you want to be apart of this? You can back out now before you get into this too deep." Merlin's voice was tense, strained as he offered Morgana a rope to pull her away to the safety of the castle like a lighthouse shining in the darkened ocean. As much as he wanted to get the Lady to do the work for him, it wasn't exactly her responsibility to deal with Arthur or whatever mood he was in this hour. It was Merlin's, and he would suck it up and deal with it just like he had everything else, if he had to. "It won't be easy, this might even be dangerous."

If, Merlin thought, Morgana planned on getting far more involved and doing more than just bringing a prince to them, then she needed to be aware how dangerous this was. It wasn't exactly a nature hike in the woods, surrounded by armed guards who'd cater to your every whim with just an order and a flick of the flingers. This would be dangerous, this would be a true life or death situation. This wasn't even Merlin standing off to the sidelines and doing his magic while the prince fought the battle. It was going to be a 'real' fight, and Merlin didn't know if he could do this, no matter how big he would like to talk. He especially didn't know if Morgana had thought this through on her own.

"Merlin," Morgana spoke up, her eyes narrowed on him in sharp contrast to the curiosity she'd been displaying earlier. The Lady had a certain drawl to her voice that promised Merlin the pain of death if he even tried talking her out of following. Gwen is her friend as well, after all, and Morgana met eyes with the consort's, before speaking in a manner ill befitting if a lady, "Do shut up."

Merlin couldn't have stopped the smile forming on his face if he tried, the tenseness in his shoulders started easing in an instant. Morgana was a strong woman for sure, a force to be reckoned with, and the consort had no doubt that she would carry the strength with her until she made herself known in all the lands. Her name not latched onto any man's through a powerful marriage like his was, nor was it to be latched onto Uther's as the pitiful child of dear friend's lost too soon. Anybody who tried to dismiss her because they thought her useless as a woman…Merlin knew they would regret it with her sharp tongue being a viable weapon of choice. He had been smart, accepting Morgana into his circle and little pseudo council forming right before his own eyes.

There was a hand settling itself onto the crook of his elbow, and Merlin's head whipped around only to meet eye's with his uncle. The old man looked at him sternly, daring future him to do something that would get himself killed, "You will be careful, won't you?" He demanded, but was holding out a key in the palm of his other hand. The metal key that opened the doors to the water supply behind the castle…Gaius was an old man and he wouldn't be able to keep up with the young one's as they fought for the kingdom's health and a young girl's freedom. He could only hope what little Merlin had learned in their time together, would be enough to keep them all safe.

Merlin's face softened, before taking the key from his uncle, holding it tight in the protective grasp of his hand. In a strange way, it almost felt as if Gaius was giving him his blessing, telling him in a silent manner…he could do this. "You know me, Uncle Gaius. I'm always on my best behavior." He said in a cheeky tone, hiding how touched he was with knowing somebody else believed in him. But the expression on Gaius' face said he wasn't fooling anybody. Merlin's cheekiness died off sheepishly, and he turned back to Morgana, "Okay, so this is what we need to do-"

Merlin explained to Morgana what the first phase of the plan would be, key still burning against the skin of his hand with Gaius' grudging acceptance of Merlin being able to do this himself. Morgana, in accordance to his plan, would wait outside further down the stairs, out of sight until Merlin could get to her and they would go together. Merlin would need to climb out his window once again in order to avoid Gregory from following them.

Morgana frowned deeply, bringing her hands up to rest on her hips, the long blue sleeves dragging low past her fingertips, "Wait, you're telling me all this time, you've been climbing in and out of your window just to avoid your guard? Why have you've not just instructed him to stay back whenever you need a moment of privacy? It's what I have to tell my guard when I want him to stop following me to even the bathroom." And Merlin wrinkled his nose at that. Geez, here he was thinking he had it bad with Gregory standing outside his door, refusing to allow Merlin to leave without being attached to his very hip. But at least he didn't have his guard trying to peek in on him in the chamber pot.

"I'm pretty sure that only works for you because your a woman." Merlin pointed out dryly. He didn't have anything against women, obviously, but he's pretty sure Morgana's guard wouldn't want to risk the chance of being seen as someone making an unwanted advantage on Camelot's First Lady. The same would not go so easily for Merlin, who didn't have the advantage of having womanly parts he'd need to hide for the sake of propriety. "But Arthur has ordered him to stick by my side, so he will not leave me alone. Going out my window seems to be my only reprieve. It's also the only time I seem to get anything done around here is when I don't have him slowing me down. And that would be the last thing we need right now, to be slowed down."

Merlin didn't believe for one second Morgana was going to tell Arthur about his secret, he was pretty sure Arthur wouldn't move Gregory into the room to keep a better watch on him if he had known, as Merlin wouldn't hesitate to fly off the handle if he did. God grant him strength, if a monster like him was even allowed to ask for such a thing, if Arthur struck out against even more than he already had, to keep him feeling more like a prisoner within his own walls. But unlike the prince, Merlin found trust with Morgana, she would not betray him, not even close to the manner in which Arthur had already.

Morgana seemed to take no offense with being called out over using her feminine sensibilities to her own advantage when she needed too, the lady was able to wear such a charm with pride, and she waved Merlin off with a delicate wave of her wrist, choosing instead to question Merlin more with his situation against the guard, "And Gregory cannot just come along with us? You intend to leave him here, guarding an empty home?" Here, Gaius gave a little cough to indicate he would still be here and waiting for them to return, but Morgana ignored it and continued on, "Would it not be a good idea for us to have an extra sword around, just in case the prince fails? We don't know anything about what that creature is, or how strong it might be. I know Gregory is competent with a sword, you would be surprised to know how many of our own guards can't hold their own against even each other. Why, I'm almost surprised Camelot hasn't fallen yet to our enemies. It's gotten better in the last couple of years since Arthur has taken over the training, but it's far from being perfect."

That brought Merlin up short in surprise, but he only filed it away in the back of his mind for later on. See, this was another good reason for keeping Morgana around. She knew things like this others wouldn't, able to join in discussions with the king and the prince while others would have been sent away or snubbed. Merlin doubted many people knew there were plenty of Camelot's knights that were not up to snuff when they were supposed to be. But wondering about Camelot's armed forces were neither here nor there, since Morgana asked him a question, "What we need to do is move as quickly as possible." He explained, keeping voice hushed as if he thought Gregory would have his ear pressed up against the door and listening to them speak. But mainly because he wanted to be able to move on, and not talk about anything the prince might have done. While impressive, if he'd gotten the knights better-although really, just how bad were they before compared to how awful they seemed to be now-Merlin had no intentions on praising Arthur for anything. "The only reason any of this will work out is if we can get by unnoticed. The more people involved, leave us with a higher chance of being caught. And if we're caught, we'll be taken straight to Uther instead of finishing this thing through. We can't help Gwen if we're locked in the throne room while she's being taken out on the pyre."

Morgana didn't look entirely convinced, since any extra blade they could stand up against this beast wasn't a bad thing, but she nodded in agreement as Merlin had many good points as well. They did have a higher chance of getting caught with more and more people getting involved. Plus, did they really want to waste what little time they had left on explaining things to Gregory, and convincing him to come along. And whose to say the knight would even come. There was every chance that he would run off before they finished explaining, and inform the king what they were planning. This would only set them back, and wouldn't help their friend survive. No, there didn't have the luxury to afford making mistakes like that by trusting the wrong person. It was already a big enough risk to bring Arthur into the fold, but as Morgana seemed convinced she could do this, Merlin didn't fight her on it. He might be forced to share a cave with Arthur once they got down there, but he couldn't stomach anything more.

Just an alibi, he had to tell himself. He only had a need for the prince because he needed someone with a voice that was heard who could deny Merlin had used anything like Merlin. After all, surely the prince would have seen him if he had…dumbarse couldn't see more than two inches in front of his own face.

With the details of their plan mostly finalized, the lady swore to wait for him where he told her too, and disappeared out the door with a swish of her blue skirts following her. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief, and tucked the key down deep into a pocket to make sure he wouldn't lose it. Without speaking to Gaius and with great haste, Merlin hurried quite quickly-stumbling over his own feet and the steps up to his room-where he knew his rope of blanket was going to be waiting for him.

X

Gaius furrowed his brows, now that the room was empty. He could hear Merlin upstairs, stumbling around with a few muffled curses before he heard the unmistakeable sound of a creek as the window was thrown open. This boy, he just knew, would be taking the next decade or so of what his expected lifespan would be away with how many scares he had given him already. Despite the bold words his nephew had spoken-he most certainly was 'not' always careful-Merlin had given Gaius absolutely no confidence in him or in how seriously he would take his own safety.

This was the same boy who Gaius had watched as his heart leaned into his throat, drag Arthur out of the way before a dagger could pierce him right in his heart, nearly taking said dagger to the back of his shoulder blade if he'd been even just a hair of a second slower. The same boy who had risked a chance of being seen, as two snakes slithered to the ground. Gaius hadn't bought that excuse: that Valiant had just lost control of the magic he could not possibly hope to understand. Gaius had been able to understand though, and he knew that any shield made like that wouldn't lose control with so much ease. No, it had been Merlin, publicly using magic from wherever he'd been hiding at. And this was now…Merlin was off to face a creature who'd nearly taken his head off not that long ago!

Needless to say, Gaius was more than concerned.

Gaius' whole body jolted, whipping back around in surprise when his door suddenly bursted open, so harshly he was surprised it managed to keep in its frame. Four knights entered the chambers, and he saw Gregory looking disgruntled after allowing the group in. "W-what is the meaning of this?" the old physician blustered, nearly purpling with his rage at the audacity of these people entering like they had. And considering his keen physician's eye, he could see none of these men were sporting a life threatening injury. These were still his personal chambers after all, and Gaius had a right to keep his own privacy outside of those who needed him.

"Gaius," Gregory spoke up from behind the row of four knights who spread out across the room. The physician barely paid him any mind, looking at the knights in disbelief. Two of them had started their searching around his quarters, one looking under tables and another opening cabinets and even the broom cupboard. Pretty much anywhere a person could squeeze themselves into. And Gaius could only watch with a panicked eye as two more of the group went upstairs into Merlin's room. "The men here have explained they know the consort's been with you during the sickness. According to them, Consort Merlin has been summoned by the King this instant." Gregory looked grim, his hand went tight around the handle of his sword, as if he had to stop himself from completing his duties, doing what he had to do to keep these men away from his charge. "…He is to be executed before the end of the night."

Gaius' head whipped around to look at the knight in utter horror as what was happening dawned on him. The deal, that blasted deal Merlin had made with the king to ensure Gwen's freedom…he knew he should have seen this coming. But Gaius would forever be ashamed to realize this unfortunate bit of events hadn't occurred to him. Uther was really going to have Merlin-his nephew-on the chopping block! This was like when the sickness first shown itself, and the knights had turn apart his chambers in their search. Only, they weren't looking for their magical objects tucked away within the seams of his books or underneath his cookery. They were looking for a teenage boy, for their consort! As if he were a criminal! Although by their laws, Merlin was…Gaius would eat his own glasses before his nephew was a hardened criminal…

"Don't worry, Gaius." Gregory said firmly, keeping his gaze locked on the empty landing at the top of the stairs, clearly expecting the two knight to start dragging a frantic Merlin down the stairs. But, the old physician waited with baited breath, knowing they wouldn't find anything. Merlin was already long since gone, off to vanquish a beast to save all of their hides. "This has to be a misunderstanding of sorts. I will walk Merlin to the king's chambers myself to ensure his protection, and I'm sure that the prince won't be far behind. It would be quite an oversight if nobody thought to inform our own prince of his consort's predicament. And we'll get the matter settled."

This was all meant to be a reassurance to the man who was about to watch his nephew dragged out like an animal meant to be in a cage for spectators to watch. How was Gregory to know it would have been anything but? And Gaius let out a whoosh of air he didn't know he'd been holding when one of the knights called from upstairs, "He's not here!" It had been a tense moment for Gaius, where he had not been sure whether or not Merlin had really left his room before the knight's arrival. The two men had been quiet for quite a few unsettling minutes.

"What?" Gregory's head whipped up with shock and surprise in his usual stiff features. Two of the knights who'd gone up there reappeared in front of them on the landing, and Gregory immediately argued against them, "That is impossible! I have seen Consort Merlin with my own two eyes, and he was here but not a moment ago! There's not one place he could have gone in such a short time without my knowing. I was stationed out front this entire time and nobody passed me other than the Lady Morgana on her way out."

"Are you sure there's no other way out of this dreadful place?" One of the knights asked in this gruff tone as the four knights conjugated into the middle of the room. Bringing attention to the fact that there was only one entrance in and out of this chambers. "Because I seemed to have found how our 'esteemed' Consort has managed to evade us thus far. Somebody must have tipped him off that we were coming and he's made a run for it."

And the knight tilted his crossed arms forward, as he allowed his bounty to spill from his arms and to land on the ground with a loud thump. Gaius felt it when his heart stuttered to a stop when his gaze landed on the rope of blankets still all knotted up together. Gaius had already realized the blanket was usually left hanging out over the window sill in Merlin's room, waiting for him to return so he was able to climb back in without alerting Gregory he'd ever left. Merlin didn't have that safety now if he'd wished to return, and Gaius couldn't stop himself from wondering rather or not Merlin would make it to the caves at all. Just because Merlin managed to evade the knights by coincidence, didn't mean these were the only knights looking for him. How far was Merlin going to make it if he had knights looking for him everywhere he went? And Merlin wouldn't even be trying to hide, no idea what was coming for him…

"Lady Morgana was here, did you say?" One of the knights asked Gregory in a rough tone, while narrowing his eyes sharply at the man who had somehow managed to lose track of their consort the one time they actually needed him. "Was she acting strange, could it be possible that she was the one that warned him we were coming?" While it was hard to imagine their Lady, the ward to the very king himself, had aided and abetted with the escape of someone who was now considered to be a fugitive, if she was the last one to see him in this very room before his escape, then it stood to reason she was the one that told him to leave.

"No." Gregory said in a harsh tone, voice slicing through the air like a whip even though he spoke no louder than in a whispery tone. "Lady Morgana was acting perfectly normal. She was upset with the handmaiden's execution and wanted to mourn with the Consort in peace. She left mere minutes later but she appeared to look better than she had when she went in. Everyone knows the Lady was friendly with her servant and argues against what is being done." Although it was strange to have a Royal be so vocal against the mistreatment of the servants, even more wrong for a woman to involve herself in such horrific matters, nobody would've had the guts to instruct Morgana on this like they would Merlin. Uther was the only one allowed to speak to Morgana when he thought she had done wrong or wasn't behaving fitting enough for a lady of her standard.

One of the other knights scoffed in disgust, and he was obviously thinking on similar lines along with what Gregory had spoken. But they didn't linger for long on the topic, and he turned straight to Gaius, "And what say you, physician? Have you not any idea where the consort could have gone if he was on the run? It's not like he would be able to leave the castle grounds. The drawbridge allowing movement between the two parts of the city has been closed off in order of the king as the sick is still spreading. So where would he go if he had no place to go?"

Gaius looked up at him, behaving as if he seemed shocked he was being spoke to at all. As if he had not been paying attention to every single word he was speaking, just in case Merlin returned before he was caught and there was no telling if he would need this information to keep evading them, "Er…" he started, the weighty gaze of all five knights as they looked at him, waiting impatiently to get an answer out of him. For a man who was so smart in all other matters, his brain did have a tendency to freeze on him when confronted like this, "…Have you checked a tavern?"

X

Merlin stood in an empty hallway, having gone around the tower he'd just escaped from and entered through one of the side doorways. From his positioning, he had the perfect view of seeing the door to Gaius' chambers. He frowned though, not seeing Gregory in his usual position. The only reason he had wiggled himself out of his window once again was to evade Gregory. Merlin tried to figure out if this meant Gregory had just upped and abandoned his post…that seemed to be a bit concerning considering Gregory refused to leave his side any other time. And Morgana wasn't here either…she had understood where he'd meant for her to wait, hadn't she…?

Merlin flinched, nearly jumping out of his own skin when a delicate finger poked him on the shoulder from behind, "Geez!" He breathed out this heavy sigh of relief when he noted it was just Morgana who had returned from wherever she had gone in the first place. "Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Merlin usually wouldn't be acting like such a nervous nelly, but considering the two had already agree being as inconspicuous as they could possibly be was the best way to go, Merlin was just waiting for something to go wrong. And by this point, if something could go wrong, then Merlin had just the luck that would possibly force everything to go wrong.

"Shhh!" Morgana hissed at him frantically, raising her hand to press against his own lips in her urge to silent him. Merlin's eyes went wide, the press of her fingertips petal soft against his lips, Morgana suddenly looked to be so much more fearful than she had been when she'd been in his chambers a moment before. She had definitely been urgent before, but now she looked promptly terrified. But of what, Merlin wouldn't have been able to say if his life depended on it. What could have possibly happened in the last few minutes they had been separated from the other? Morgana seemed to look around, her head going back and forth as if she thought something was about to happen at any moment. But whatever she expected must've not happened, because she was grabbing at his hand, "Come, we need to go now before you are seen." And then she started herding him off down the hall, hand clenched tightly in her own, acting like she thought he would try to escape from her grasp.

Merlin-confused as hell to what was going on-shot a glance back over his shoulder to the empty spot Gregory usually stood. He couldn't help but find himself wondering rather or not Gregory and his sudden a sense had anything to do with the lady's concerning behavior. Either way, Merlin did find himself grateful there was no chance the man would see them making a run for it. Gregory, even hated as Merlin felt being stalked by the other guy at every waking moment, had been kinder to him than any other knight had been. Did Merlin have a slightly skewered perspective on things, since his criteria for not being an arse was his own personal stalker? Probably. But at least that would be one less person Merlin would have to keep an eye on while they were down there in the caves. It would be bad enough keeping close to Morgana to make sure she didn't die a gruesome death at the hands of that beast. And Arthur…maybe Merlin should've just allowed the beast to keep him. But the point was…nobody else should have to lay down their lives.

Merlin didn't know rather or not any of them would survive their encounter…

"Morgana!" Merlin hissed under his breath when she started dragging him down the other hall, her hand still clamped tightly around his own while her other hand was balling up the skirt of her dress to prevent from tripping over the thick fabrics. "What is going on? Why are you acting as if somebody is chasing us? Can we not stop for a minute and just explain things things to me?" Merlin asked all the questions rapidly, trying to get proper answers to what he needed to know. If Merlin didn't know any better, he would have thought somebody was out to kill them. But that was just crazy! Maybe not for Merlin himself, but surely nobody was trying to kill Morgana.

"I will explain everything when we can get you out of the open and someplace safe." Morgana said in a distracted tone, dragging Merlin down one more hallway. Merlin felt his throat tightening in panic as he didn't know why Morgana thought he wouldn't be safe. Clearly, this was more about him than was about Morgana, and that made him worry. Almost to a paranoid level as he glanced around, while he expected hellfire to suddenly rein down on top of them and preventing their escape. The large and opened windows they passed by suddenly acted as if they were 'too' large, and peeking out of one as they passed, Merlin could see a platoon of ten knights stalking through the courtyard. It was only luck none of them looked up and saw Merlin as he made his bid for freedom.

"Morgana!" Merlin hissed louder, whipping around to connect eyes with the back of her head as they went faster and faster down the hall, every chance they would be caught the longer they lingered out in the open like this. He was pretty sure Morgana was ignoring him though, too focused on getting him to 'safety'. Although where safety was, Merlin didn't know. He'd been trying to find himself some kind of 'safe zone' ever since he arrived in the city itself, and the closest thing he'd managed to find was Gaius' chambers. Not even his royal suite had given him the feeling of solitude, someplace he'd not be watched like a hawk waiting for some kind of mistake to be made. It had been too different to what he was used to, too opened, with a doorway that led straight to Arthur… "You can't just leave me hanging like this! You need to tell me what is going on! We haven't even done anything yet!"

Okay, so the guards would probably be on them in a heartbeat if they knew what they were trying to do. But considering they haven't even gotten any chance to save the city yet, there wouldn't have been any reason for this paranoia. No reason for the lady to act like the both of them were about to be carted off to a jail cell. Hell, only Gaius knew of their plans! And he definitely hadn't gone telling anybody. Besides, why would the guards want to waste their time chasing them down, when they could go destroy the beast themselves and get to be known as the heroes who saved the city. They would all be slaughtered of course, going into the fight with swords drawn instead of fire and wind at their command. But they didn't know that…

Morgana stopped the both of them at the end of the hallway, not looking at him as she perked just around the bend to see if the hallway would be as empty as the one they just came down had been, "…Just to let you know," Morgana tossed over her shoulder towards him, leaning further out into the hall and waiting another second to see if there'd be anymore guards coming. "You really shouldn't try hiding things from me. I will always find out in one way or the other." Merlin could feel one more surge of panic overcome him-maybe it would be wise for Gaius to check his heart if they survived through the night, it couldn't be healthy for him to be going through so many emotional panics-as his first thought fell onto his biggest secret.

Morgana knew he was a sorcerer.

Merlin swallowed, forcing the lump of panic after it had formed in his throat, down. "W-what are you talking about?" He asked, trying not to show her how panicked he was just in case he was wrong. It had happened before, where he was convinced he had been caught, only for it to be nothing but him having a lifetime of keeping this secret catching up to him in the worse moments. More questions were filtering through his mind, almost more than he could keep up with: why hadn't Morgana acted this way when they way in Gaius' chambers if she knew what he was? Did she think Gaius wouldn't know, so she had played things cool until he had gotten out of there? And if Morgana did find out what he was-how would be the biggest question he could think of in this moment-why did it seem as if she was protecting him? As much as Merlin respected Morgana and her manner of handling things, he would have thought as the ward of the king, she would have had a healthy dose of fear for magic and turned him in the second she found out.

Unless she did turn him in, and now she was guilty and trying to hide him from the guards…mark his words…Merlin had a feeling he would die today. It was just so much going on: with the beast, and his deal, and the moving of Gwen's execution, trying to get Arthur to come along…it would be truly one hell of a miracle if Merlin made it out of this night in one piece.

"Your uncle, of course." Morgana said, bringing up Merlin short, not entirely sure what Gaius had to do with Morgana possibly knowing his secret, not unless Gaius had been the one to tell him. But, no, Gaius wouldn't betray him like that! He wouldn't have told another without telling Merlin first, it was Gaius who was always stressing him important it was for him to stay hidden, preaching about it far more than his own mother did half the time. For his uncle to have told somebody…it was almost unfathomable to think… "What I mean," Morgana continued on. She must have determined no other knights were coming at this moment and started pulling Merlin down another length of hall. "Is you should have told me Gaius was your uncle. That's not the kind of information I should have learned from Gwen-" her voice cracked as the name of the friend they were risking it all for past her lips.

Merlin was pretty sure his brain was fried, since he had actually been certain Morgana had known the truth. Fuck, Merlin felt his shoulder's sagging with relief feeling him, it was a really good thing he had not started running his mouth and having the lady figure it out by putting the pieces together. It was a moment that would teach Merlin not to doubt his own uncle and his ability to keep secret the 'one' thing Merlin needed too. Morgana apparently had deemed Merlin capable of walking on her own and she dropped his hand, using the now free hand to lift the other side of her heavy skirts in her fist to prevent the fabric from getting tangled around her long legs. Merlin had a brief moment where he'd been left wondering rather or not Morgana should make a pit stop in her room and change into some dress that would be more suitable for trespassing in the water system-but really, could it be called trespassing when they had the key?-but he had already learned his lesson the last time he'd made the bold move of suggesting a girl change from a dress into a pair of trousers since it would be far easier to trek through the forest.

He'd been ten.

She pushed him in the river. Never again.

"Now Merlin," Morgana started up again, stopping long enough to squint through a window to look at a row of torchlights down in the courtyard as they saw more knights trekking across the grounds for him. Apparently for him, if how Morgana's reaction was anything to go by. "The only thing I would like to know if why you haven't told Arthur about that little fact in your family history. Like I said, I know all that goes on around here-" Merlin allowed her to think that, because if she did know everything that went on around here, she wouldn't be trying to help him. She'd be running from him, scared he was about to turn her wicked spells onto her for whatever possible reason he could for doing it. A sorcerer didn't just do things for no reason, most people would only cast spells if they had need for something, even if that need was small and petty in the long run. The risk of using magic was just to great these days. "And I don't think Arthur would treat you so badly if he knew you had more than just peasant blood running through your veins. So, I know your uncle isn't exactly royalty, but he's got a position within the king's court, rose up from his meager beginning's to become a trusted member of the community. A renown physician of the high among the lower beings trying to pass themselves off as one. And your his bloodline, his next of kin. Even for propriety's sake, Arthur would speak with more respect, surely."

Merlin had never thought of it this way, had never thought some of his uncle's own prestige within the city would be enough to rub down on him. He barely even bothered to think about the place his uncle had in the community, yet along what kind of respect it could give himself if people started to know. "I'm not trying to hide it from anybody, but I don't exactly go around talking about it without no cause too." Was that a thing people did around the noble lifestyle? It wouldn't surprise Merlin to know all these nobles gathered around and blathered on about what the people in their family did, acting as if they were a donkey's rear end as they would try to take credit as if the deeds were their own. That was disgusting, and it was definitely how nobles defined themselves by. The achievements of other as they scurried to bask in the passing light while it passed their direction. But back to Arthur moron Pendragon, "And I don't want Arthur to go treating me any different just because of who I am related to-" it was hard enough believing Merlin actually had a relative that might make Arthur stop in step for a moment. If only because he held a healthy bit of respect for the man. "At least this way I 'know' he hates me, and I'm not stuck wondering if he's only playing nice because he doesn't want to go offending my uncle or something stupid like that is. Besides," Merlin gave a heart hearted shrug as he finished up. "If he wanted to know anything of me or my family, he can always ask. Which won't be happening."

Vaguely, Merlin could recognize Morgana seemed to be trying to distract him from the bigger issue as it played out around them. This was proven as a true fact when Morgana stopped in her tracks to back up just before they went around another part of the hallway, putting one of her arms out to stop him from going any further. Three guards ran past the hallway they were hiding in, never seeing their forms half hidden in the shadows of the night. The two waited for a second to make sure they'd gone, and then Morgana was carting him back down the hall in the opposite direction the knights had went down. Merlin frowned deeply, but followed, noting they were steadily getting closer and closer where the Royal Suite's were located. Where Arthur was likely to be found…

Arthur…

Merlin sighed tiredly to himself. He hadn't been lying with what he'd told Morgana earlier. If Arthur had any interest in him or his family, he could have asked and Merlin would have no qualms explaining Gaius was his uncle. And now that he was thinking about it…Arthur had claimed he was only trying to be nice to Clarissa because he hadn't wanted to do anything that might cause offense to her uncle, or whatever sheer stupidity Arthur had been trying to feed him because he thought Merlin was stupid enough to not see what was going on. But it made Merlin wonder if Arthur would try to 'be nice' with him in a similar fashion-take him out on a date and some such nonsense since Arthur and he couldn't do the same as Arthur and Clarissa could, the two of them did have incompatible body parts for a thing like that-to 'appease' his uncle or something as equally stupid. Fucking Arthur. If he ever tried something like that because he finally learned one thing about Merlin, he would turn that down flat. It was far too late, and Merlin had already seen the real Arthur. And he wasn't interested in fakes.

Morgana seemed to take his words 'as is' because she nodded sagely in response. Merlin was almost expecting Morgana to take Arthur's side since she has known him for much longer. But Morgana had managed to surprise him, as they continued down another side hallway-one not connected with the main path and therefore, less likely to one into one knight or more-when she said, "So, what you are really telling me is you value honestly. Instead of a few pretty words meant to placate you, something used to trick you into a false sense of happiness. I think Merlin," she glanced over her shoulder with a direct look of semi-fondness mixed with the same urgency she'd been carrying this whole track past the castle hallways. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you would rather see people for who they are in a nutshell, rather than the persona they hide behind as they try to grant power or favors by befriending those above them in the ranks. You would want to know, would you not, if someone is truly a friend to you. Or if they are waiting for your back to turn so they can stab you in it."

Merlin, who hadn't forgiven Morgana for an earlier comment she'd made, when she claimed he would not be seen as 'all peasant' of people knew of his relation to someone seated on the council-Merlin would always identify as a peasant, he identified himself as belonging in the dredges of society, the place he could have been happy with if he wasn't already a pariah in those parts after his marriage to Arthur-frowned owlishly, "Well…I wouldn't have put it exactly like that…but…yeah."

He gave Morgana the side eye as they stopped in the middle of the hallway, Morgana glancing one way down an intersecting hall before shooting the glance down the other side. She choose the right hallway, and down they continued walking as the consort continued to eye her from behind. Merlin was a bit concern, giving the wording she's used to describe exactly what Merlin felt. Now, he was starting to wonder if he should keep a closer eye on Arthur than he had been before. Merlin would have every intention of surviving past this night, the only light fueling this dark hall was the moon as it filtered in through the windows. There would be no point in his survival if he allowed the prince to murder him in some distant part of the future he didn't want. As morbid as it was-Merlin would have planned out his own suicide, something that was more flashy than just diving headfirst out his window, to get the attention in death he couldn't have in life-it was even more morbid to allow one person to get close to him when he knew they had ill intent. And Arthur…Arthur had never wanted to get close to him without trying to force something from him in return. Fucking pig.

"…I'm glad for that." Morgana finally answered him after the silence had stretched on for far too long, not looking back at him as she kept her focus on making sure they wouldn't be caught, knowing far better than Merlin what routes the knights would most likely take. And as if she was trying to shock Merlin more than he'd already been during the last hour or so, he watched as the Lady opened up for him, her voice going lower as she talked about the kind of life she'd lived here in the castle, a similar morosely tone Merlin usually used when he would describe his own time, "Growing up among people bred and raised by other nobles to be just like the predecessors that came before them…one cannot help but see how fake the people around them are truly. Many like to play with their words, acting as if one is a friend, as if you are too stupid to see the viper in the grass waiting to strike at the first hint of weakness. Only hidden behind the mask while they try to forge good will, just enough where they think they will be given favors by the party who is more powerful than them in the ranks of Royal and noble blood. It's very…difficult, without learning to trust what you know to be true, and hard when its left up to you to discern who is being truthful with their intentions, and who just wants what you can give them."

Merlin-as he glanced over his shoulder toward the darkened hallway they'd just creeped through with almost certainty he had heard something behind them, but he figured it was just his imagination as he saw nobody following them-figured Morgana was talking from personal experience. A personal experience Merlin had already experienced a time or two on his own on a less serious level. He could still remember all the shopkeepers he had tried to talk too before the sickness had started, and how they only wanted his attention when they thought he would spend his non-existent gold at their own stands to fatten up their pockets. Morgana would have it much worse though, Merlin figured, being who she was, she would probably have plenty of people vying to be her friend. It must have been a betrayal of sorts, finding out someone wanted you only for what you could give them, instead of just being friends for the sake of friendship. What was wrong with people just hanging out together since they liked each other? Why was everybody trying to walk around with their hand out, acting as if one another should drop the extra power right into the unworthy hands, desperate to clench at what little measly bit they could get. Disgusting, and Merlin found himself loathing the noble kind even more with every little bit of information he got on them.

Maybe the rich had problems too he hadn't taken seriously, before he became one of them and was starting to realize he faced similar problems of his own. But Merlin shook his head solemnly, having a new insight on the people who actually lived such a life far longer than he ever head, "It shouldn't be like that." He murmured, half underneath his own breath, voice barely heard throughout the silence of this dark hall. He couldn't stop his mind when it took the time to wonder in Arthur's direction-as it always did when trying to figure out what should be done with a problem he couldn't get rid of-and he wondered whether or not it's what was wrong with Arthur. If Morgana, as the ward of their king, had experienced such betrayal's and faced those harsh lessons in her youth, it only stood to reason that Arthur had lived through much of the same as Prince.

It might have explained why Arthur had shown so much hatred for him from the very moment they'd met. It might even explain why Arthur continued to hate him after they were wedded, instead of trying to learn how to get along like Merlin had tried with in the beginning. It was hard enough to trust when stranger's were constantly trying to get closer and closer for their own alternative reasons. But for all Merlin knew, Arthur probably saw Merlin 'skipping the line' so to speak. Merlin didn't need to fake a thing to get Arthur's devotion or even barest of his attention. Merlin ahead already gotten what most people would have wanted from Arthur, all without even lifting a hand, their futures signed away from their conceptions. It didn't excuse the actions the prince had launched against him in the last month or two, but it did explain the way he acted…barely.

Merlin shook his head and looked back toward the Lady as they headed up a servant's staircase only a few halls away from where they were headed off too, "People shouldn't have to wonder whose your friend, and whose cursing and badmouthing who you are to anybody who will listen even as you are showering them with the attention they wanted in the first place." Merlin shot Morgana a wry grin as he finished off, "Or wondering who is planning out your early demise."

Merlin didn't think he would ever have the chance to understand people like that. Did they truly have nothing better to do then trying to improve what their own pitiful stations in life were? Merlin was a consort and he already had so many things forced onto his plate, he barely had the time to breath yet along the time for planning and plotting, and how it would all rely on how good of an actor he could be in front of people who'd been warned since the birth that brought them into this world, to always sniff out the weakness in others, even if they tried to hide it.

Morgana didn't laugh, the situation they'd found themselves in was far too tense and stifling for either to find the touch morbid humor funny. The strange feeling of being watched even if there was nobody there, the hair prickling at the back of the neck as both of them expected to be caught and dragged to the king at any second, would cause a lack of laughter during this turbulent time. But the lady did stop walking long enough for Merlin to be able to reach her side, Morgana hooked her arm in the crook of his elbow, holding his arm in-between the valley of her breasts as they continued down a different hall, only one more to go before the two reached their destination, "But alas," Morgana told him in a slow voice, keeping her eyes ahead of the passageway, regretting there was no way for them to light a torch. There was every chance their light would have been seen, and their cover blown long before they started. "That is the way of the world and we are all just forced to live in it, unable to get the status quo to stop."

Merlin mused over this, ignoring the way Morgana was plastered to his side. Although really, he was able to see how that was a good move on her part of their situation. These halls were so dark, Merlin would have had trouble seeing his hand directly in front of his own face. The servant's halls, it would seem, cut off from the main passageway so all the servants could get from place to place without the 'better off's' having the displeasure of seeing one servant in rags as they ran about making the lives of nobles better. The servants probably wouldn't be looking for them like the knights were-it would be safer to go this route, not even a torch seemed to be lit along the wall to light the way-and would not stop them if they saw them. If they were even out and about, Merlin hadn't seen a single servant since they'd left Gaius, probably all squalled away in the servant's quarters until Uther was confident nobody would try to help aid Gwen in her escape, he didn't seem like the type of man who would be willing to take chances. But anyway, anybody they passed would have only assumed Merlin as doing the honorable thing, and escorting a lady back to her own to make sure she got their safely during these troubling times.

"You know," Morgana spoke up as they reached the final strength of the hallway before they would get to their destination. "It has been quite a while since we've gotten to talk this much. We shouldn't have allowed a crisis to keep us separated for as long as we did. Maybe if we'd been working with the other from the beginning, everything would've been settled. We may have even been allowed to continue our daily lunches, with Gwen joining us at the table instead of running around doing her chores."" And Merlin understood, he really did. He had missed those rare moments he'd get where it was just him and his friends sitting around a meal and bitching about Arthur or whatever else that was going on in the city. But they were different then than they were now, Merlin didn't feel like he was wasting his life by entertaining men seemed to have more power than even he did.

"What?" Merlin shot her a wry grin, trying to hide his growing depression through the sarcasm of it all, "You don't think possibly walking to our deaths and dragging Arthur into as well, should be seen or considered as a good 'bonding experience' for us to partake in? We even have Gwen included in some way, so the whole gang's together…" but the poor joke seemed to die off on his tongue. He had realized too late that the joke was in bad taste, as somebody could 'actually' die from this. It wasn't some childhood game they could all go home and warm themselves up by the hearth afterwards. It was the real thing, and this was no time for even one of Merlin's sarcastic whips. Morgana and him, they were at the mercy of men who would have no trouble punishing them both accordingly-even the Lady would suffer some repercussions for actions of her own taking, even if it wouldn't be beheading like Merlin's probably was-and they were both too powerless to stop it. Like Morgana had said, it was the world they were forced to live in.

Maybe that would change someday, but maybe it wouldn't. And they-with their own problems-had to keep doing what they needed to, to surviving in a world such as this….

"Don't even joke." Morgana said boldly, speaking up what Merlin had already realized. The two had slowed down, Morgana tightening her arm around Merlin's just before they went around the bend, as to slow him down to a stop. Merlin looked at her in questioning-the two had been walking at an even pace, not going any faster than they had too, just on the off chance they really would come across somebody else. Neither one wanted to drag any extra attention to themselves, as they understood this much without needing to voice it. Word would get started if somebody witnessed the consort and ward running about as if they were chickens with their heads cut off-when she tugged on his arm to stop him from going to where the foot of the royals staircase were waiting. "Listen to me for a quick moment here, Merlin." There was just one thing she wanted to make sure he knew before it was too late. Once she went around this bend and went upstairs to get Arthur, she would be leaving Merlin alone. She had no way of knowing rather or not he would still be there once she returned, or if the guards would find him first. And if he managed to evade being caught, there would be no time for this conversation once she returned with Arthur in hand. There would be too much fighting and them trying to slay a beast to slow down long enough to get this out. No, it was best she say what she had to say now, before they dove in too deep, "What's been going on with you and Arthur…I know that he is an idiot. And I know there's a good chance that we might not make it out of this alive. But if we do make it out, I want to make sure you won't behave like you did…I want to know you aren't going to go and hide yourself away from the world like you did earlier…"

Merlin whipped his head around to look fully in her direction, barely about to see her features without the moonlight streaming in through one of the few windows situated nearby, "Wait, one darn second right there." Merlin knew Morgana had started up this conversation, reminding him of his horrific self isolation he'd gone through, the one he'd broken out of barely a week ago. And just in time for him to get caught up in his very first witch-hunt. The month Merlin had spent hold up in his room, trying to hide from the world after Arthur had brought up questions about their false marriage to the rest of the city, leaving Merlin to fend for himself while he danced the night away with the whore of Babylon underneath him. Merlin would never dream to use such foul language against any woman-his mother would have scrubbed his mouth out with soap so harshly, he would have been tasting it for days in the aftermath-but there was only so many things Merlin could call somebody who had deemed their own selves worthy of stealing another's husband, storing themselves away in the others bed as they left Merlin to wonder in on such a scene. Yeah, he had hurt like hell the night of the dance, that night was probably the first time Merlin had started with his slow realization of how truly alone he was, and the old wound might have popped open and was now starting to fester after seeing she hadn't left like previously told, but Merlin hadn't hid himself away…for Arthur. He had done it for his own self-preservation, the knights had more brute strength than Merlin had ever fought against without magic to aid him, he needed time to himself to recover in the wake of their attacks growing more pointed, or more intent on his person as their behavior went unchecked by those who could stop it. "I've never hidden away from Arthur, and I am never going to do that again. In fact, to prove it to you, I'll go and drag Arthur's arse down here myself! So don't you go thinking I'm scared of him or something!"

Merlin was getting all pumped up over this, ready to start one more damn fight with Arthur. Forget only needing him to be used as a fucking alibi, his ticket to not being accused of having magic after bringing Uther the head of the beast, the one and only thing Merlin wanted to do was prove he was not-in anyway-frightened over Arthur. Merlin was almost offended Morgana thought that had been the whole side of the story. Here he was, thinking Morgana could be his friend-an actual member of this false pseudo council he was forming inside of his mind-and she still thought he hid himself away over a stupid crush. A crush Merlin could honestly say, he was embarrassed to have ever had in the first place. So no, Merlin would prove to Morgana and to himself, that Arthur…fuck, Merlin hated his life so much right now. Hell, he had hated it for the last two months…maybe he should learn for once, it was sometimes best to keep his mouth shut. He did not want to waste precious time fighting about Gwen 'again' with Arthur.

Fuck it though, if this was a normal crush, Merlin would have been able to move on with his life and forget it had ever happened. He truly doubted the masses had to live, breath, and be stationed with the presence of their failed crush practically every little moment of the waking day…but Arthur was really the least of his problems considering the big picture.

Luckily though, Morgana didn't seem to take him seriously, reaching out and putting a hand on his shoulder to relax him, "Calm yourself down, Knight Merlin. There's no reason to start opening up the battle hatches quite yet." She jokingly told him but the frown on her face indicated she didn't find him funny in the least. This only made Merlin sigh with deep contempt with himself, as if he didn't already hate himself, a hatred that seemed to grow strong and proud within himself, like a giant beanstalk he could never get rid of no matter how hard he had tried. Merlin's depression, even now when the two of them were so close to finding Gwen's freedom and getting her out of that dreadful place-started to fester and bleed inside his soul. The brightness of his eyes after he'd arrived had startled dimming overtime, until the spark that made him Merlin was almost gone behind the void of a painful life. Even now, whatever light Merlin had was buried behind the sadness and sorrow Arthur had wrought over him…

"You're right," Merlin said, with a world weary sigh that looked out of place on his youthful face. The consort brought a hand and rubbed tiredly across his face, trying to force himself to sound normal to not bring Morgana's attention to how messed up he was. How pathetic and disgusting he was, with the way he was thinking only about himself in this moment. He should be running down into the cave with his hands lit with fire, ready to take command over the beast that tried to command him first. He should not be thinking about how absolutely awful his own life was, full of disappointment after awful disappointment, especially not when Gwen was to have no life to live very 'very' soon. Merlin was the worse friend ever, truly selfish to the highest and worse possible degree, he deserved to die. Merlin deserved Gwen's place, deserved to burn only for trying to play it smart and think this situation step by step, rather than running off half-cocked. This method was taking too long, Gwen probably didn't even know they were coming for her and thought she was all alone…how much worse could this be for him? And there he goes, thinking of himself… "As soon as all this is over, as soon as Gwen can be freed…we can all go back to normal and move on with our lives."

Morgana thought that was a lovely idea, the mere thought of returning back to normality-where she didn't have to avoid people, scared she'd be next to contract the plague. Where she could wonder amongst the castle at her leisure and casually do her shopping amongst the townspeople. And with her innocently pretending she was one of them, a plain woman just doing the shopping for her family instead of a beautiful Lady who needed to live her life cuddled from the world. Well, she was tired of being cuddled-and Morgana wasn't interested in hearing pretty words come from Merlin's lips, full of empty promises because she knew-Morgana would eat her left shoe if she was wrong-Arthur would do something again. And that was if he had not done something already. But as lovely as the idea was, she was too concerned to let something like this fall through the cracks. She would never be able to forgive herself if there was something she could do to help Merlin. Gwen wasn't the only one that needed their help, even if hers was the more pressing matter at large.

"…Merlin," Morgana said slowly, needing him to know that when all of this was over, he could talk to her. She knew he wasn't hiding away anymore in his room, but she didn't like seeing first hand of the effect Arthur had on him. He was so unhealthy and depressed whenever she saw him, Morgana felt if nobody else in the Pendragon household felt it their responsibility to make sure the one they'd brought here was alright, then it would have to fall onto her. "Please promise me when we've finished this…we'll talk. It's not healthy to keep things like this all bottle up. Something has to give at some point, and I'm worried things will grow worse and worse over time. I don't want to see you fall down and be victimized! These people…they don't see how hurtful their actions can be. I know what that feels like-"

Morgana had only wanted to help out, to make the consort feel as if he wasn't so alone. She'd been new here once herself, left to wade through this mess as a young girl after the tragic death of her own parents. Overtime, things had gotten better as she adjusted to her life. She made friends and connections, was even used to how restrictive the place could be even though she longed to stretch her metaphorical wings. And she hoped the same would come to be true for Merlin, that he was able to find his own way though the world. But the lady hadn't accounted for Merlin's reaction when she compared her to himself, as if she was trying to minimize the damage and hurt he was living with on an everyday basis.

"No," Merlin cut her off before she could finish her words, voice snappish in a way usually reserved to the prince sorely. Morgana was a good friend, and he would love her advise on certain matters, but it was not the time. Nor was this one of the matters he would wish to discuss. His problems were his own, and he could handle them without feeling as if he would be judged for them. "You don't know a thing about what I'm going through. Nobody could know, so how can you possibly hope to relate!"

Merlin knew people were forced into marriages for convenience and pre-existing arrangements long before his own had been. And it would continue to be a thing long after he was gone. But that didn't make it right, and how many of those people who were involved in these kinds of matches could say they shot their way through at least five different tax brackets. Morgana, even before she had came to Camelot, had grown up in a certain lifestyle. So she had already been apart of this world far longer than she had been a Pendragon child. She didn't have to wait and wonder rather or not a single life preserver would be tossed her wait to pull her out of the churning waters. Or if he would be left with swimming through the storm, constantly trying to kick his way above the crashing waves. Before he was sucked back underneath, left to drown for his sin of being born…

"Well, I…I don't…" Morgana stuttered with surprise by the sudden ferocity of Merlin's voice. She was really regretting pushing Merlin into trying to talk to her when it was clear he wasn't ready to do one thing like that. She had only been trying to return the favor, he had always listened to her complaints when they had their lunches, listening truly as he actually answered her instead of giving dismissive answers like a man who didn't give two shits was prone to doing. But maybe she should have told him her door was always opened should he ever wish to escape Merlin and complain to somebody who would listen and join in. But Merlin was tight lipped with his own problems, usually, except for now it seemed, after Morgana had pushed all the right buttons to get him to push back. "I suppose I don't really…"

"Have you ever been forced to commit yourself to a relationship you never wanted? Found yourself tied to a man that you can 'never' share yourself with without being judged for it?" Magic was his essence, and it was the very thing that he would get killed over. Merlin wanted to shut his mouth to stop himself from blowing up on somebody who was an 'actual' friend to him. But it was like lava or word vomit kept spewing out of his mouth, like he was finally letting loose and getting rid of the few things that had plagued him over the last couple of months. "A man whose head is so far inside of his own arse, that he doesn't care who he hurts on the way as long as he gets what he wants. A man like that is 'my' husband-" Merlin jerked his arm to point in the direction of the Royal suites to bring up just how close they were to him. "And I will not ever be free of him. And then-"

Morgana watched silently when Merlin's voice had started to hitch, everything crashing onto him as if this wasn't the worse possible time for it to have happened. While they were trying to be incognito, while they had the guards stalking along the entire castle looking for them, but Morgana didn't do any more than glancing around to make sure none of the knights had yet to stumble across them. It was clear Merlin needed to get this out while he could, to let some of the strain he'd been under out so he could focus entirely on Gwen. And sometimes, the only way to get the underlining stress out of one's head, was to rage about it. Good, Morgana mused over in his own head, watching their surroundings as she listened to Merlin. He needed this just like Gwen needed to live in a world where one wasn't subjected to witch burnings just for showing any sign of being different than the masses were.

"And when you finally start to think maybe, just maybe you don't need him in your life-" Merlin continued on, not noticing the calculating look in Morgana's eyes now that she had finally gotten him to talk. "It's his lost or whatever, but it really isn't his lost because the marriage was doomed from the second you realize the only chance you had was if you had been born a girl. The rug just rips right out from under you not once, but over and over again with every little thing you try and his only goal in life is to make you as miserable as he is with this arrangement. I'm a peasant! I was born and raised with a trowel in my hand. I wasn't meant for a life like this, where politics and every word said has some kind of different meaning to what is actually being said. So tell me, Morgana, how could you possibly know how I'm feeling?"

As soon as the last word left Merlin's lips, he came to the realization that he may have unloaded onto the wrong person. There was only one man who'd deserve the rage Merlin was building up and very slowly containing inside his slim body, and it was not Morgana. Merlin opened his mouth, starting to take a few steps back away from Morgana to give them both the space they needed, ready to start spewing apology after apology for unloading all of this onto her, truly regretful he had let his rage out on her in this uncontrollable manner. Not one little sound managed to leave his lips before he saw an expression forming on Morgana's face, watching as her eyes shifted to somewhere behind Merlin.

There was no time for Merlin to turn around to get a glimpse at what she may have seen, having only been a step away from stepping out of the hidden side hallway and out into the open. Morgana was rushing forward, followed by a trail of the thick silk of her heavy skirts, and she all but tackled him to the side, pure panic on her face. Merlin's startled yelp was drowned out, muffled by the heavy and thick red drapes of the curtains Morgana had sent them careening through, hiding them in the small closet sized alcove hidden behind it.