To Morgana's relief, the fight played out exactly like it was supposed to, with Morgause's sword at Arthur's chest. The crowd, especially Uther looked on in abject horror as Morgause said something to the prince, then backed away, satisfied with his answer.
Before she retreated from the arena, she caught Morgana's eye. A mutual understanding passed between them.
Morgana walked beside Gwen as the crowd filed from the stands. The maid was smiling.
"What's got you so happy?" Morgana asked, remembering she had once said something similar.
Gwen's grin only grew wider. "Our worries can be resolved now, can't they... Prince Arthur isn't dead!"
"Indeed."
"And... I think he might have learned a lesson about underestimating certain opponents."
"I believe he has." she smirked.
<<>>
The next few days were quite uneventful. To the surprise delight of Morgana, she spent a quite a bit of her time with Gwen, meandering the grounds and garden's of the citadel and wandering the streets and colorful vendors in the lower town.
Of course, Uther had been in a rage when he found Arthur had disobeyed him and ventured off, keeping his word to Morgause, but Morgana knew by now how to stay out of his way.
However, as she knew he would, Arthur returned safely and nothing was said of the prince showing any homicidal tendencies toward his king, or at least none that she had noticed.
She was slightly ashamed to admit it, but Morgana was having a pleasant time reliving her peaceful past - that is, until something happened that she wasn't counting on.
She had given Gwen the evening off and found herself high in the battlements, looking out over the vast city.
"Morgana?"
She turned hastily, not expecting any disturbance. "Oh, Merlin..." Her heart rate quickened. Merlin had not approached her before, not on this day. What was she to do?
"I wanted to umm..." he stumbled over his words. His bright young eyes flitted about their surroundings, landing anywhere but Morgana's face. "I wanted to speak to you about... you know... I want to make sure you're okay..."
"Oh," Morgana stared, trying to read his expression.
"Will you allow me?"
"I suppose so," she said of of curiosity.
"You seemed upset the other day and I wanted to know if there was something troubling you." Finally he made eye contact. "Do you really think magic had something to do with your fainting spell?"
She hesitated. That is what she had said, but not what she wanted him to believe. Her insides writhed with a mixture of guilt and hate as she was transfixed by the genuine concern housed in Merlin's innocent expression. "Oh, no... I was just confused the other day. I don't think it had anything to do with magic."
He furrowed his brow. "Are you sure? I thought it might make sense..."
"Why would you think that?"
"Because... after you fell, your skin was like ice. I could barley hold onto you. You were too cold. You felt more than dead."
Morgana had no response to this. The chill must have been a side affect of Kyulds' spell, but she couldn't yet reveal herself. "I-"
"Gaius thinks I imagined it but..." he shook his head. "I can't shake the feeling that something strange is going on."
"Oh?"
He waved her away. "It's nothing... probably nothing."
"I feel perfectly fine now," she said, a little too chipper.
"Right..." he responded, suspiciously. He shifted his weight and twisted the hem of his shirt. "You know you can trust me, Morgana. I- I want to help you in anyway I can and..." He hid his expression, but not before Morgana caught the slight quiver in his voice. "It's alright if you're afraid of it. That's completely understandable... I think, anyways..." He took a steadying breath and looked back up to her. "Just know that I'm here and I'm not afraid of you."
"Why would you be afraid?"
"Not that I would! N- not that I am! I'm just telling you so you can hear it." He scratched the back of his neck. "It's good to hear it," he said, more to himself than to Morgana.
"Thank you, Merlin," she said, surprising herself with the genuine way with which she managed to say it. "To be honest, I am very afraid," she tried, attempting to act like she would have if Merlin had approached her all those years ago. She used to be afraid of herself. Almost every moment she was afraid.
"You shouldn't!" His eyes were wide.
Morgana watched him curiously, wondering how far she could make him go. "Why shouldn't I be?"
"Because... because..." he was floundering. "It's just not something to be afraid of..."
"How would you know?"
"I- it-... you... I think Uther's wrong, that's all. About magic, I think it's nothing to be feared."
"Why do you think that?"
His lip quivered. "Because I... because I know... I just know what it..."
Was he going to tell her? What was the change that had led Merlin to that decision? Should she let it happen?
"Thank you, Merlin!" she said quickly, stopping his near confession. "I should accept your support, I don't need to know why."
"Oh..."
Why had she stopped him? "I'm sorry if I've been acting strange. I'm just trying to learn to live with myself. You needn't worry."
"Okay."
She smiled weakly. "I should go."
"Right, me too. Arthur probably needs me."
"I'm sure."
They parted awkwardly, Merlin shuffling back until he felt it right to turn away. Morgana thought she saw him wipe a tear from his face, but maybe she imagined it. This was not good, she thought. Things were changing. That was a conversation that had previously not existed. What was the cause of it? Would this change lead to anything more substantial? something disastrous for her and her sister?
She sighed looking out again over the city, frustrated that even though she had knowledge of the future, there were still so many things she didn't know.
<<>>
Morgana walked back to her chambers in silent but concentrated thought. It troubled her deeply that Merlin had acted in a way that was foreign to her. It was true, he had shown some concern and sympathy in the past, like when he helped her get in touch with the druids, but as far as Morgana remembered he had never come as close to telling her about his magic than he had only an hour ago. Again she asked herself the question, how much had she already affected the future by spending only a few days in the past?
She sighed to herself. Hopefully, by stopping Merlin before he could tell her anything else, she had secured the proper course of events. She still worried though. The entire point of reliving her past was to be able to be one step ahead of Emrys at every turn, but now it seemed that might be an issue. She did not know Merlin's mind. Too many things were already changing.
She paused before entering her chambers. If she had full control of her magic she could simply find a spell that would allow her to read his thoughts, or something to that effect, but with the fledgling state her abilities were in she would have to discover his mind the old fashioned way: spying.
She made her way down through the citadel towards Gaius chambers. Before she got too close, she removed her shoes so as not to create any unwanted noise that would give her away. She crept silently towards the physicians door. It was slightly ajar, spilling flickering firelight into the dim hall. She crept close to the wall as to not be discovered. She could hear two voices inside that she recognized. It was Merlin and Gaius seemingly in the middle of some unknown disagreement.
"Tell me you didn't tell her, Merlin! Please, tell me you didn't. It is a foolish thought!"
"No, I didn't. I came close, but I didn't." He sounded ashamed.
"You seem disappointed, like you wanted her to discover your secret? Merlin, we've talked about this before. Telling Morgana will only bring you more trouble. It is foolish."
"I don't care about the kind of trouble I get in! She is struggling and she needs someone! I've tried to help her without revealing myself, but it just hasn't worked. She needs more than that. You should have seen the way she talked about what happened that night. At first, she was sure it had something to do with her magic. Then... she denied it completely."
"Morgana fainted due to a lack of sleep, Merlin. There was nothing magical about my diagnosis."
"Well, then you were wrong. I felt it Gaius, it was magic."
The old man sighed. "Have you spoken with Kilgharrah about this?"
"He always says the same thing."
"Which is?"
"That she can't be trusted."
"Have the dragon's words ever failed you before?"
Merlin didn't answer.
"I think it wise to listen to him."
"If I listened to him when the witch finder was in Camelot, then you'd be dead! He told me there was nothing I could do for you."
"What you did to Erydian was extremely risky and reckless. Kilgharrah was right to caution you against it."
"Why do you always have to side with him!? He's wrong about this, and I know it. He would have me leave her in the dark to struggle alone, he would have me let Mordred die... His wisdom can only go so far. Morgana needs me or she needs someone to tell her she's not alone!"
"As I said before, it is too dangerous for you. What am I going to tell your mother if something happens to you?! Morgana will have to make do with me."
"Your not enough, Gaius!"
A chilled silence filled the chamber.
"Excuse me?" Gaius said quietly, hurt bubbling in his voice. "Am I not enough for you?"
"Growing up in Ealdor, there wasn't a day that passed where I wasn't disgusted with myself, scared of who I was. They were the loneliest days of my life. I know exactly how Morgana is feeling right now and I can't sit by and watch anymore, I just can't! I saw her the other night in Morgause's chambers. If I don't help her then she'll fall into the hands of someone like her. You know what Morgause tried to make Arthur do... and she almost succeeded. I can't let Morgana fall into that trap. I can't keep my secret from her anymore, it's just not right!"
"You must."
"Why do you keep saying that?!!" he shouted. Morgana heard glass shatter.
"Calm yourself, Merlin, before you destroy anything else!"
"I'm going out."
"No, you're not."
Morgana shuffled back into the darkness as she heard Merlin's footsteps approach the door.
"Do not walk away from me, Merlin! You will clean this up at once!"
His footsteps stopped. "Gebétung!" She heard something shift in the room and assumed it was the shattered glass repairing itself.
"I did not say you could use magic!"
"I might as well! It's all I'm good for!" And with that, he stormed from the room. Morgana held her breath as he passed, but he was too lost in his own emotion to pay any attention to his surroundings. She followed, keeping a safe distance as he winded through corridor after corridor, ever descending down into the depths of the citadel. He grabbed an unlit torch from the wall. He waved his hand and flames instantly engulfed it, lighting his way down a particularly dark set of stairs. Morgana continued to follow, but froze when she heard Merlin shout.
"Kilgharrah!" There was no answer to his yell. "I know you're there, but it doesn't matter anyway. I came to tell you that I'm going to help Morgana. I think you're wrong about her. You can't stop me!"
"Merlin..." came a weak voice.
"Kilgharrah?" Merlin's voice sounded frantic now. "What's happened to you!?"
There was a violent splutter that shook the cavern. "Emrys..."
"Kilgharrah!" She heard Merlin's footsteps disappear down some sort of path.
She felt it was safe to follow, peering through the small cavern opening. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of a great beast, a dragon much larger than Aithusa. It seemed to be panting and gasping for air. The small form of Merlin scrambled down a treacherous flight of stairs to meet him.
"Kilgharrah! What's happened to you?!"
"What do you mean, 'what's happened to me?' I'm chained! You must release me at once!!"
"I know I promised to release you, but I didn't know you meant this soon!"
The beast paused and narrowed his golden eyes. "Have you done this?"
"Done what?"
"Chained me! Brought me back to this place!"
"What? No, it is Uther that keeps you here."
"Uther is dead!"
"What? No he's not."
"I don't know what type of game you're playing, young warlock..."
"There's nothing, I don't know what you're talking about!"
He reared his long neck high in the air. "Let me look at you." He brought his eyes close to Merlin's small form. "Impossible."
"What?"
"I'm not sure what to tell you."
"Kilgharrah..."
"Something has happened... I wasn't sure of the extent of it until now..."
"What has happened? I must admit, I have been feeling some sort of presence in the past week. Is this what you speak of?"
"It is possible..." the dragon said mysteriously.
"Why did you think I chained you up? And what did you mean by 'brought me back'? Have you left?"
"I did, young Warlock."
"How did no one see you?"
"Oh, they saw me."
Merlin furrowed his brow in confusion. "Kilgarrah, it is not unusual for me to have trouble understanding you, but I have never been more utterly confused."
"Allow me some time to think. I do not think it wise for me to reveal all yet. But I can tell you this, something is threatening you. I can sense it. It stalks you like a shadow."
"There has been something..."
"If it reaches out, promise me you won't engage with it. You will leave matters be."
"What is there for me to engage with?"
"A powerful enemy."
"Is this about Morgana again?"
The dragon laughed. "That witch is the least of your worries."
"Don't call her that! She's my friend!"
He continued to chuckle. "I'm sure..." he quieted. "Now, leave me. There are matters I must... ponder."
"Very well." Merlin rose and began to ascend the stairs. Morgana sank again into the shadows as he approached the cavern entrance.
"Merlin?"
The boy turned.
"I cannot stress this enough... do not engage with the thing that calls itself Kyulds."
"Kyulds?"
"Promise me."
"Uhh sure... I promise."
"Keep your word."
"I will," he said before slipping through the entrance and back up the dungeon stairs.
Morgana was about to follow him when...
"Morgana Pendragon." She froze. The voice came from her mind, like the way she and Mordred could speak. "Show yourself to me."
Against her better judgment, she stepped cautiously into the vast cavern.
"So..." the dragon spoke with his physical voice. "You have decided to dabble in matters beyond your control, beyond your ability."
"I don't know-"
"Do not feign ignorance. I have lived for thousands of years, including those which you have erased."
"How-"
"It does not matter how," he growled.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?" she answered, matching his sinister tone.
"I will not have to do anything. You have already doomed yourself."
"You know nothing of-"
"Wrong again, high priestess, or, rather in this time you are merely a common witch. I know of many things, things you couldn't possibly understand. In resetting time you have changed nothing."
"I'll be the judge of that!"
"Silence!! You are the judge of nothing! Your destiny has been written since the dawn of time and so has Emrys'. Destiny will ensure your doom by his hand in one way or another... no... no... what you have done is far worse..."
"If I cannot change the outcome, if I cannot change fate, then why was I brought back here in the first place?!"
"You were tricked by someone who can deal far more damage than you. You have been used. Believe me Morgana, that thing, Kyulds, is not your ally. He has come back for one purpose and one purpose alone."
"And that is?"
Kilgharrah sneered. "I am not your ally either, witch."
"Then I think I can make my own decisions about who and who not to trust."
"Then by all means, have at it!"
"I will!" She stormed away, the dragon's laugh continuing to echo behind her. He was trying to trick her! That, she was sure of. He was trying to mislead her away from those who would help her with her quest. Kyulds was on her side, why else would he choose to help her in such an astronomical way?
No, Kilgharrah was wrong!
She had often searched for the Great Dragon in her travels, but had never succeeded in receiving his wisdom. Now, she was glad of it. His wisdom was nothing but opinion, his words nothing but speculation. She would trust who she wished, she would follow her instinct, and although she had at first been wary of the strange being, her instincts believed that Kyulds could be trusted, whatever he- it was. She hoped he would meet with her soon. She needed to speak with him to clear up any misconceptions that the dragon had shoved into her head.