Freed

A New Alliance

A few miles from Camelot's border were the ruins of a castle, known only to a few. Those who did not know of it were highly unlikely to find it. Even those that had merely visited forgot their way back after they left. Many high priestesses over the years cast spells to make the place unfindable. Of course, this is the very castle the Edith was making her way back to while contemplating all she had seen.

So the Disir were right. The witch and the warlock seem to have made amends, to say the least. Now their destinies, as with their magic, is bound. If one falls the other will quickly come to their aid. Edith knew that she would have to bare that in mind in the days to come. Chances are she could not break the connection between the two of them. According to the Disir only Merlin or Morgana could do that.

Edith smiled to herself, amidst her concern. Though the two of them may be powerful, she believed herself to be much more cunning. Emotion clouded their judgement. They would lay down their lives for the people they loved.

'Fools,' Edith thought to herself.

She finally reached the palace and quickly rushed off to the 'physicians chambers.' It closely resembled Gaius' chambers as far as its contents. There was an array of books, many herbs and potions, and a few cots for unwell visitors. Edith also kept a notebook up there to keep track of her findings and her plans. Just because she had some plan to take over the kingdom didn't mean she had to be disorganized about it! Nowadays she often found that she was in these chambers researching, mixing potions and making plans.

"Edith," came a raspy voice in the corner.

Not to mention, she also had a patient.

"Yes, My Lady," Edith answered without turning from her notebook.

"I assume your journey was fruitful? Seeing that you are now pouring over books."

"It was."

"Well? Did you find out anything about Emrys?"

"I did, my Lady. He was consulting the Great Dragon. It appears he is a dragon lord as well."

"Of course he is," the voice muttered. "What of him and the Lady Morgana?"

"It appears the Disir were right. They have joined forces, to say the least. The dragon said that their magic was bound by a magic older than the universe itself. They can feel when each other is in distress and find each other without uttering a word. When they join hands they come in touch with this 'other magic.' Should we carry on with our original plan?"

At this point Edith turns to see the figure in the corner, sitting up in bed. The face was mostly obscured by shadow, but Edith could still see the outline of a smirk appearing on the figure's face.

"No, I believe the Lady Morgana is out of reach."

The woman in the shadows scooted forward, bringing her scarred face into the light.

"It seems my sister has found a love. Worry not; I know her better than anyone. We can still overpower her and Emrys."

***

"Here they come!" Guinevere exclaimed, making her husband jump.
"Did you fall asleep?"

"No!" Arthur started defensively.
"I was resting my eyes. It certainly took them long enough to get back."

Arthur and Gwen rushed down to the courtyard to meet their friends. Merlin and Morgana were already walking up the steps when they arrived.

"You're back!" Gwen welcomed. "How was your ride?"

"Long," Merlin answered.
"Let's go somewhere where we can sit before getting into actual conversation."

Arthur suggested that they all go to the King and Queen's chambers. Once they arrived the four of them sat comfortably around the table.

"So, what did you find out?" Arthur went straight to business.

"It seems that we managed to change destiny," Merlin started.
"Morgana and I were always destined to be working against each other. I was your protector, and she was meant to wage war against you." He looked to Arthur.

"However, in the past year something changed within me. I realized my mistakes and decided to side with you all. Specifically, I guess I decided to side with Merlin."

"When we made amends, we awoke some deep magic from before the beginning of the universe. Now that magic binds us together. That is why Morgana could feel when I was attacked, or why she was led straight to me."

"So basically," Arthur interjected, "you broke destiny."

"Well... basically yes."

"You two said that you felt your magic reacting when you felt hands, correct?" Gwen asked. The pair nodded.
"How long has that been happening?"

"I started to really notice it after I took the cuffs off. I felt something with the cuffs on, but I assumed it was something else. It's been getting stronger."

Guinevere and Arthur turned to each other and shared a look. A look that clearly said they thought they had an idea of what was really going on.

"What?" Merlin questioned.

"How long are you two going to keep up this charade?" Arthur quipped.

Morgana looked down, but Merlin still tried to seem confused.

"You two changed destiny and are bound by a magic deeper than the universe. Possibly the most shocking thing about this explanation is how many ways you avoided saying the word love!"

Despite all knowing Gwen for years, they were all still surprised by her bluntness. Arthur raised his eyebrows in shock and approval. Both Merlin and Morgana blushed and looked down. Well, the conversation was bound to happen at some point. Merlin looked to Morgana for approval before going on. She nodded.

"In our defense, those were the words of Kilgarrah. But you're right; you've been right from the beginning. Things have just been so crazy over the past year that we've barely had time to stop and think about it. Honestly, the most real conversation we've had regarding the subject happened on the ride back to Camelot. We're just trying to figure things out. Now with the whole magic and destiny thing thrown on top of it, it's complicated."

"Trust me, we understand things being complicated," Gwen chuckled.
"We'll be here for the both of you along the way."

"Thank you," Merlin and Morgana smiled at the Queen.

"Well however complicated it may be, I just hope it will not affect you two working together," Arthur added.

"Working together? What do you mean?"

"Although Morgana does certainly have a knack for sitting in her room and brushing her hair all day, I believe her some of other talents may be of great use to the kingdom."
Morgana glared at Arthur, but allowed him to continue.
"Morgana, I am asking you to officially be part of my council. With all these destiny changes, magic being legalized, and all the knowledge you already have from growing up here, I believe you would be a good addition. Besides, Merlin may need help with his Court Sorcerer duties."

Merlin rolled his eyes, but looked to Morgana expectantly. Of course he wanted her to take the position! Her knowledge of kingdom policies far surpassed his own. She gave him and quick glance before turning back to the king.

"I accept the position. Thank you Arthur."