Teach Me

Chapter 17

"So now we have you in custody, but what have you done with Morgana?"

Merlin shook his head and frowned, "I haven't done anything to her, my lord."

"Well then, could you tell me where she is?"

Merlin frowned deeper this time, "my lord, I assure you, I haven't the faintest idea where she could be."

Uther gritted his teeth and grabbed the bars of the cell, "you're lying! I need to find her."

"Why?" Merlin asked, "so you can lock her up in a cell?"

Uther calmed down a bit and rested a hand on his forehead, "the Knights told me that she was seen using magic."

Merlin pretended to act shocked, "Morgana, magic? Impossible."

Uther looked at him suspiciously and squinted his eyes, "you know something," he started to grow angrier, "tell me what it is!"

"Well I know lots of things, what would you like to know?" Merlin said cheekily.

Uther's looked like he was about to explode and Merlin realized that playing this game with the king probably wasn't the safest idea. "I'll have your head for talking to me like that! First you both commit treason by helping the Druid escape, then I hear reports of Morgana using magic, and now you talk back to your king. You leave me no choice but to sentence you both to death. You'll be executed in the morning and as soon as we find Morgana, though it pains me to do this to her, she will be executed as well for using magic."

"She's your ward! She loves you! You can't do this to her!"

"I love her as well, but magic is evil. What kind of King would I be if I let evil go unpunished?" Uther then swiftly walked away and back up the stairs to return to his throne room. Merlin was about the break the lock again when Gwen and Arthur came running down the steps and to his cell.

"Merlin!" Gwen cried.

Merlin looked up and smiled. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "fancy meeting you here."

Arthur smirked, "first we try to help you and then you have to go and get yourself arrested?"

Merlin shrugged, "wasn't exactly planned."

Arthur returned serious, "where is Morgana?"

Merlin reassured him, "safe, but rattled after everything that's happened."

"You mean having magic?" Gwen asked. Merlin looked at her, shocked, and she elaborated, "we heard the reports, but we're not scared of her. I know she'd never hurt us. How has she been handling it?"

Merlin looked slightly uncomfortable at the fact that everyone seemed to know that she had magic. This meant that they were now in more danger than before. "She's been doing well. She's excited actually," he whispered so that he wouldn't give her away to anyone else who could be listening.

"Weren't you scared when you found out she had it?" Arthur asked confused.

Merlin sighed. He might as well tell them now so that they wouldn't hate him later for lying to them, "I've been teaching her."

"Like you would know anything about magic," Arthur scoffed as he folded his arms.

Merlin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He quietly whispered, "ruin tuilë." His eyes flashed gold and a blood-red rose appeared in his hand. He handed it to Gwen as she gasped.

Arthur looked at his friend in shock, "you too? Does everyone in this bloody kingdom have magic?" he asked exasperated.

"You don't seem as scared and angry as I thought you'd be..." Merlin said after a moment.

Arthur sighed, "Merlin, I was raised to hate magic, but I also see some of the good in it. I understand why you kept it from everyone. We're not scared of you. Though," said Arthur as he glared at him, "I am a little ticked at you for not telling me earlier, but I'll yell at you for that later."

Merlin smiled a big happy smile, "that's a relief. Now, I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be executed tomorrow morning so I'm going to escape. You two better get out here before someone thinks you helped me."

"How are you going to do it?" Gwen asked. Merlin gave her a look and she blushed, "oh, right."

He whispered and his eyes flashed gold, breaking the chains that held him. "Get out of here. I'll be fine."

Arthur and Gwen nodded, "look after her, Merlin."

Merlin nodded, "you have my word."

Arthur and Gwen quickly walked out of the cellars and Merlin waited until the guard came to bring him his last dinner before execution so that no one would think Gwen and Arthur had helped him. Once the guard had left he quickly transported himself out of there and back to the woods where his and Morgana's house was. He knocked on the door and it slowly opened. He was face to face with Morgana, whose frown immediately disappeared and was replaced with a smile. She looped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, "you're okay!"

It took him a moment to return the hug, but he slowly wrapped his arms around her, "yeah, I'm okay."