Morgana awoke the next morning from her fitful sleep wrapped up in a pair of strong arms. She looked up and saw that Merlin was still asleep. She looked at his arms and smirked, looking at him you would never think that he was strong, but he was holding her tightly and she appreciated it. It made her feel not so alone. She decided to wriggle her way out of his grasp before he woke up and awkwardness set in. She crawled over to her own blanket and sat down, cocooning herself in her top blanket. She sat and watched as Merlin started to wake up. He opened his eyes and she smiled, "good morning."
He smiled back as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, "good morning."
"So... you have magic."
"Yes... you have magic," he chuckled at her attempt to start this conversation.
"How long have you had it?" she asked curiously.
"I was born with it but I didn't realize that I had magic until I was 4 years old."
Morgana's mouth hung open, "4 years old? You've had magic for that long?"
Merlin nodded, "it was part of the reason I left Ealdor. The people started to grow uneasy at the thought of me having magic."
"So you came to Camelot where magic is outlawed?" Morgana raised an eyebrow.
Merlin chuckled and shrugged, "Gaius is an old family friend. He said he would help me control my powers."
"Is that what you've been doing since you moved there?" she asked curiously, wanting to know how long he had been practicing magic under Uther's nose.
Merlin nodded and then asked her a question, "so how long have you been having your dreams? If you don't mind my asking."
"Since I was around 12 or 13. At first I thought that they were just nightmares until they started to come true."
Merlin nodded and moved to a spot a few feet away from the blankets and lit a fire, motioning for her to come sit. She stood up, taking the blanket with her, and sat down on the log next to Merlin, taking in the fire's warmth.
"How did you control it?"
"Practice," he smiled, "but practice is fun, so you shouldn't have much of a problem with it."
She gave a small smile and then her stomach let out a growl. She turned red and Merlin chuckled, handing her a slice of bread from his pack. She accepted and slowly chewed on it, "could you show me something you can do?"
He nodded and quickly granted her request. "Celeb Elenath," he whispered as he held out his hand. The sparks from the fire started to dance around each other until they formed a shining star.
Morgana grinned at it, "it's beautiful. I never knew magic could be like this. I always thought it was something used for evil like raising the dead or taking over kingdoms."
Merlin shook his head, "magic can be a weapon, but it's no different that a sword or dagger," he said, motioning to the dagger she had brought with, "a dagger or sword is neither bad nor good, just like magic. It all depends on who is wielding it. I use my magic for good, but many a sorcerer before me have used it for evil purposes. That's why Uther has such distrust of magic, he's never seen the beautiful potential it has."
She leaned closer to the star and watched as it slowly disappeared into ash.
She looked up at Merlin and smiled at him, "can you teach me?"
"Of course, but I really think we should get started on building that shelter first," he said as he pointed to some rain clouds in the distance. Morgana quickly nodded and packed up their supplies, bringing them underneath a tree where they could sit while she and Merlin worked on the shelter. Merlin raised his hand at a small nearby tree and whispered, "alda cú daro." His eyes flashed gold and he watched as the tree fell to the ground. He then whispered a few more incantations and the tree split itself up into logs. He turned around and faced Morgana, "now we just have to piece it all together."
Morgana blinked twice at the log before looking back at Merlin, "quite the demonstration, there."
Merlin gave a sheepish grin, "well we didn't really have anything to cut down a tree with."
She smiled and walked towards the logs, putting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips, "any spell you can use to make them assemble themselves?"
Merlin shrugged, "I can try a few things," he closed his eyes and rested his fingers on his temples, helping him to concentrate. He held out his hand and whispered, moving the flat beams onto the ground and sealing them together, creating a floor. Next he whispered a few more words and willed a few logs to create outside walls around the floor. He then created three walls inside of the house: one room for Morgana, one for himself, and a kitchen. Lastly, he took the remaining logs and built a triangular roof above it. Once he placed one last spell to make sure the house was steady and secure, he and Morgana walked inside.
Morgana let out a low whistle and smiled, "quite the architect, aren't you?"
Merlin chuckled, "not really, just determined to not be rained on."
Morgana laughed and ran back outside to grab their things and bring them in before the rain came. Morgana closed the door behind her and Merlin smiled, "I guess I should've added windows," he said, noticing how dark it was. "I think I'll wait on that until the rain passes. For now," he raised his hand and made a small lantern appear, lighting it with his magic, "this'll have to do."
Morgana smiled, "your gift is wonderful."
Merlin smiled, "you have it too."
"Yeah but, I won't be as good as you are."
"That's only because I've had practice," he reassured her. He handed her the lantern and smiled, "this one can be for your room. I'll make another one for myself."
She took it and smiled, heading into her bedroom. It was actually a bit bigger than she expected, it was about 15 feet long, 15 feet wide, and 10 feet tall. She shook her head and smiled, whispering to herself, "Merlin, you never cease to amaze me."
She laid out her pack and her lantern next to her shoes. Even if it was a bit improper for a lady to remove her shoes, she didn't want to track mud through their house. Besides, Merlin wouldn't care. She walked over to his room where he had his eyes closed in concentration as he conjured up a bed frame. She clapped when he opened his eyes again, "very good."
He turned around and smiled, "uh, thanks."
"I can't believe how big these two rooms are. This house looks much smaller on the outside."
Merlin chuckled, "it's like magic."
Morgana scrunched up her nose, "that was terrible," she said, even though she was giggling.
Merlin walked over to her room, "I assume you would like a bed as well?"
She nodded, "yes please."
He closed his eyes in concentration and suddenly, a bed frame started to appear before her very eyes.
"Thank you, Merlin," she said as the bed frame appeared.
"Of course, but wouldn't you want a mattress as well?"
She giggled, "that would be lovely."
He whispered a few words that made no sense to her and his eyes glowed, making a mattress and a pillow appear on top of the bed. "There you are," he said as left her room to finish his own bed.
"Thank you, Merlin," she replied as she walked over to it. She flopped on to it and laid on her back. She smiled in delight as she felt how comfortable it was. "Magical," she sighed.
* * *
Morgana awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon frying. She pulled the blankets off of herself and quickly changed out of her nightdress and into one of Gwen's everyday gowns. Once she decided she at least looked presentable, she walked out of her room and into the kitchen area where Merlin was cooking breakfast. She sat down at the small table and smiled, "you know, I really shouldn't even be surprised anymore."
Merlin jumped, not knowing that she was in the room with him, "oh, good morning."
She nodded in return and he turned back to the small pan he had over the fire he built.
"Don't you think an open fire in a wooden house is a bit dangerous?" Morgana asked, amused.
Merlin shrugged, "I've got it under control. I made bacon, would you like some?"
She nodded and she walked over to the pan, which was now cooling since Merlin put the fire out, and grabbed a strip of bacon. She ate it slowly and sighed, oh she missed having bacon. "Hang on," she said after thinking for a moment, "where did you get bacon?"
"My mother gave it to me right before we left," he chuckled, "she didn't want us to starve, she said."
Morgana shook her head and laughed, "your mother is amazing."
"I think so too," Merlin smirked.
"Do you think we should head to the nearest village for supplies and all that?" Morgana asked a few moments later as she looked around the empty house.
Merlin nodded as he chewed on his bacon, "I think that's a good idea, yeah. I can get us there quickly, but it takes a lot of energy..." he paused for a moment and then felt like he should add, "and I've never done it before."
Morgana's eyes widened and she looked at him with concern, "you've never done it before? What if something bad happens?"
Merlin shrugged, "only one way to find out." He closed his eyes and before Morgana could stop him, he disappeared.
She looked around in concern before Merlin popped out of his bedroom and walked back to his seat across from her. Morgana's mouth hung open and she stared at him, speechless.
Merlin smiled at her, "yeah, it works."
She finally shut her mouth and then asked him, "so you're going to get us to the nearby village like that?"
"Would you rather a 6 or 7 hour walk?" he raised an eyebrow.
Morgana shook her head, "I guess not..."
"Good, then we can go whenever you're ready," Merlin said as he walked towards his room to grab the few coins that he had brought and the coins that Gwen had given him from his room back in Camelot. He walked back out and Morgana stood up, "ready as I'll ever be."
Merlin nodded and held out his hand to her, "M'lady."
She took it apprehensively and he laced their fingers together so that she would be able to be transported with him.
When Morgana opened her eyes again, she was right on the edge of the village. She looked over at Merlin, "that was brilliant!"
He panted but flashed her a grin nonetheless, "thanks."
"Exhausting?"
He nodded and they started to walk towards the marketplace. Morgana nodded, "well then, we can wait a little while before you have to do it again."
He unlaced their fingers and put his hands into his pockets to grab the money as they arrived at the town center.
* * *
As it turned out, Morgana was very good at negotiating. They left the market place and returned back home with more blankets, four plates and some silverware, two cups, a broom, a rug, some bread and meat, a little bit of cheese and fruit, and some salt and pepper with some money still left over. Morgana was able to hold most of the food and the silverware, plates, and cups in a sack, with the blankets slung over her shoulder while Merlin transported them back holding the broom and the rug. When they arrived Morgana grabbed the sack of food and set it on the small table they had. Next, she carried the blankets and put one in each of their rooms. Merlin set the rug down on the kitchen floor and put the broom in the corner. Next he walked outside and returned a few moments later with a few logs which he set in the other corner for when he made the next fire. He carried the left over logs into his bedroom and started to make two cabinets with his magic. Morgana stood in the doorway and crossed her arms, smiling as she watched him. When he finished, he carried one into her room and set it down by her bed, "I figured you might want a place to put your clothes," he had explained when she asked him about it. When he had finished setting up the cabinets, he walked into the kitchen where Morgana was slicing up some bread, cheese, and fruit.
"You've got to be hungry after all you've done today," she said as she handed him a plate, which he accepted gratefully. She sat down and ate her food at the table with him, "you're enjoying this, aren't you? Being able to do magic?"
Merlin nodded and smiled, "was it obvious?"
Morgana laughed, "a little bit."
Merlin smiled as he cleared his plate, "it's great to be able to be myself again, with no fear of being executed. It's wonderful."
"I'll bet," Morgana nodded, in understanding.
"So when would you like to learn?"
"To control magic? As soon as possible, if you don't mind."
Merlin shook his head, "not at all," he held up a finger, "one moment." He disappeared a moment later and after about a minute or two he returned.
Morgana rolled her eyes, "you're going to die of exhaustion if you do that twenty times a day. Where did you go?"
"Camelot," he said after he caught his breath, "I needed to get a book from my room. Don't worry, no one saw me."
"What book did you get?" she asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the cover.
"A spell book," he said as he handed it over to her. She took it cautiously and flipped through the pages carefully. She traced her fingers along the hand drawn pictures of magical beasts in the book and gasped as the beasts seemed to dance across the pages.
She looked up at him, "where did you get this?"
"Gaius and my mother both pitched in and bought it for me. It's one of my most prized possessions. It's also what I'm going to use to teach you."
Morgana smiled as she flipped through pages and pages of words that looked like gibberish with the pronunciation and what they did printed next to it. She looked up at Merlin, "I'm going to be learning these?"
He nodded, "I'll teach you as best as I can."
"Can we start now?"
He nodded and he pulled his chair so he could sit next to her. He flipped to the first page and pointed to the first spell, "we'll start with something easy."