More Than A Servant

Chapter 26

Morgana opens her eyes and blinks a few times slowly regaining consciousness. She's on ground and is having a bit of trouble waking up. She figures she must have been knocked out. Then why is she still outside? She looks around and sees that only Merlin is sitting there. He gives her a weak smile.

"Merlin? What's going on?" She asks groggily, still not quite comprehending the situation.

She goes to wipe her eyes to wake up. That's when she notices the manacles on her wrists. Awareness hits her like a truck. She doesn't have her magic. She's been captured. Where are the knights? None of them knocked her out, she would've felt it. It was Merlin. He used his magic on her! She looks at him, eyes wide with fear and anger. She gets up to run but he catches her, grabbing her by the arms in front of her.

"Let go of me!" She struggles, but he holds tight.

"Morgana, I can explain."

"No! Let me go! You knocked me out and put these cuffs on me. Let me go!" She continues to scream at him.

"Morgana! You have to give me a chance to explain or possibly neither of us gets out of this!"

"I don't care! Traitor! You liar! I trusted you! You betrayed me! I trusted you..."

Her yelling slowly breaks into sobs as she stops struggling. Merlin pulls her into an embrace, trying to comfort her in any way he can. She doesn't resist.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I couldn't let them hurt you. I promise I'll explain everything. I'm not asking you to trust me; I'm asking you to listen."

She nods her head and allows Merlin to help guide her back down to the ground. As they both sit Morgana simply stares at the ground, refusing to look Merlin in the eyes.

"Arthur showed up, that you saw. But the knights were surrounding you. I had to think of a way to get you and everyone else out of it alive. At the time it seemed like the only solution."

Morgana only gives a small nod in return. She still refuses to give him a verbal response or look at him.

"Arthur saw everything. He knows I have magic and he knows of what happened between us."

"Then why am I in these chains instead of you?" She asks bitterly.

"He had to use them on one of us. Morgana I would die if I wore those again. You wouldn't. But, I spoke with him and got him to see reason. I believe that he's willing to make peace with magic."

She scoffs.
"So what, did he banish you instead of burning you at the stake?"

"He did neither. He's going to continue to let me stay in Camelot. I will remain as his manservant and will be allowed to practice magic in secret, for now. He didn't say this directly, but hopefully one day it won't have to be in secret."

She looks at him skeptical.
"What's the catch?"

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me you don't actually believe that he's forgiven you. He's a Pendragon. He will never be able to see that magic can be a force for good. He'd probably just as soon have us both dead."

"That's not true! If Arthur wanted to kill me he would've. He certainly had the chance. He could've killed both of us and went on his way, but he didn't. He wants peace."

"I'll believe it when I see it." She pauses.
"Wait- why are we still here? Shouldn't I be halfway to Camelot's cells by now?"

"I can't leave, remember? I'm stuck in this clearing."

She smirks, remembering how she he is trapped here. Maybe that could be used as a negotiation tool. Her thoughtfulness is showing on her face.

"Morgana... I know you're upset with me,"
She scoffs, "and I know how this all looks right now. But please believe that I did not betray you. We could make peace with Arthur and go back to Camelot."

"Why should I? Just to be ridiculed for the rest of my life. To have children in the streets look at me and then run away? What kind of life is that?"

"You could be with me."

She opens her mouth but no words come out. He wants to be with her? Even after all of this? Goodness knows that Arthur still probably wants her dead.

"Still?" She finally asks.

"Of course. Morgana what we shared back in Camelot or even a few hours ago wasn't just a moment. It is something stronger than magic or destiny itself. You can't say that you didn't feel it too."

Her brain is in overdrive. He cannot possibly be saying that he loves her. This has to be some trick. Then again, she cannot deny that what he is saying is true. They certainly shared... something a bit ago. Could he possibly love her?

"Are you saying- do you love me?"

"I've loved you since the day that I met you."

She's finally unable to take any more of this. He loves her! But it can never be. She's done too much. Yet he still loves her... she's puts her head in her hands, overcome with mixed emotions. After a couple seconds she feels Merlin beside her putting his arms around her. Unable to hug him back, she leans in to him enjoying the comfort.

"Come with me," he whispers. "We can talk to Arthur, and we can live in peace together. I promise I will look after you."

She nods her head. Merlin smiles to himself looking down at her. This could actually work! As long as Arthur isn't a prat, everything should turn out fine. Merlin looks toward the woods and signals for Arthur to come out.

Guys... we're getting close to the end! Hope you all liked this chapter. I definitely had fun writing it. I have too much fun writing the Mergana chapters... 😂 Thanks for reading!