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Entry tags:
Pendragon's Folly, Chapter 10
Title: Pendragon's Folly
Pairing: M/A, eventually.
Characters: in this chapter – Merlin, Arthur, Gaius, Morgana, Gwen, Lance, Gwaine, Miss Kay.
Rating: PG maybe even U
Chapter Word Count: 10,200
Warnings: No sex
Summary: There's an out of work wizard, a museum, a sizeable donation that turns it into a building site, suspicious happenings and magic. A sort of 'take your fandom to work' story.
Author's note 1: When it comes to romance, this story is the definition of 'slow burn'.
Comments are always greatly appreciated, loved and cherished.
Author's note 2: More thanks than I can say to my beta, plot wrangler and best friend,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sparrow2000. And many, many thanks to DJ for (hopefully) catching the typos we missed. If you spot any more, please do let me know.
Disclaimer: I write fan fic. All the characters from the Merlin series are the property of the BBC and Shine, etc. No infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this writing.
A longer chapter this week, because now it all comes to a head.
Chapter 10
The first order of business in the morning was planning when, where and how they should approach Morgana. Arthur was determined not to delay. "I wish I could believe we weren't about to embarrass ourselves in the worst way, here," he said. "But if we are, I need to do it now. Besides anything else, I have to get back to work; I'm needed there."
Merlin, knowing that Lance was in the office for a couple of hours most Saturday mornings, phoned him to ask for her address. "I was away in London, Thursday and yesterday," he explained. "So I was thinking of going around, to check she's okay."
"That's kind of you," Lance said, making Merlin's conscience twinge. He got the address, however.
Meanwhile, Gaius was flipping through the pages Merlin had photocopied at the British Library. When he first saw them, he was horrified to think of Merlin being so cavalier as to subject rare books to the potentially damaging effects of a photocopier. But once past that, he was willing to agree to the necessity, in the present circumstances.
"I found a copier in the basement and copied every spell that looked promising," Merlin said, pocketing his phone and handing Arthur the slip of paper on which he had jotted down Morgana's address. Arthur opened the A-Z of Camelot he had retrieved from his car.
Leaning forward over the table, so he could peer down at what Gaius was reading, Merlin said, "I think there's some useful stuff there. Did you know, if I concentrate on what I want and let the book fall open, it opens in just the right place?"
Gaius grunted. "Not this one," he said, tossing the page aside. It skittered across the table top and tipped over the edge. "It's a charm to remove warts." He picked up the next sheet from the pile.
"It might have taken a few tries to get it right," Merlin admitted. He reached across and retrieved the rest of the papers. Rifling through them, he extracted one. "This," he said, handing it over, "is the spell I think Morgana used. Or one like it."
Gaius took the page. Arthur slipped Merlin's note into the A-Z, put it down and began to stack the breakfast dishes. He carried them through to the kitchen and Merlin heard him moving around, and then the sound of water filling the kettle. He hunched forward to watch Gaius read.
Eventually, after almost ten minutes, Gaius put the paper down. "Yes," he said, just as Arthur came back into the room carrying a tray with three mugs on it. "If I'm reading this correctly, that could have done it."
"And?" Arthur asked, setting the tray down. "My father's in a nursing home now. He was discharged from hospital, but he's in no state to look after himself. The doctors don't seem very hopeful, although they don't say so. Is there's any way…?"
"I don't know," Gaius said. "I'm sorry, but there's no clue to an antidote here." Arthur's shoulders slumped.
"But I wasn't looking for one," Merlin said. "I wasn't thinking about your dad, sorry. I was thinking about Morgana and what she'd done and ways to stop her killing you. I bet if I were to go back, I'd find something that would help."
Arthur picked up one of the mugs and handed it to Gaius. He looked as if he was about to say something, but instead he shook his head. "Yes. Of course," he said. "Thank you."
Gaius shot him a sympathetic look as he took his tea. "I know it's hard to believe, but..." He stopped. "Never mind. I've known your father a long time," he said, in a firmer tone. "He's overcome obstacles before; I'm sure he'll recover from this one too." He smiled encouragingly. "He is a very determined man. You remind me of him, when he was younger."
Arthur's attempt to appear unaffected by the comparison didn't fool Merlin. And it was clear that it didn't fool Gaius either because he said, "You were always resourceful, just like him, even as a child." His smile became almost conspiratorial. "And like him, you had a sometimes foolhardy degree of courage. It got you into more scrapes than you can probably remember. So what I mean is, your father will recover from this setback; he always does. Just as, I don't doubt, once we sort out this present mess, you will apply your attention and succeed in rescuing your company. And the museum."
Visibly moved by Gaius's speech, Arthur nodded. "I'll do my best," he said. "If I have to fight him every step of the way, I will."
Gaius took a drink of his tea. It was a sort of punctuation mark, signalling a shift back to more immediate matters. "But first we do have this current mess to sort out."
"Yes," Arthur said. "I need to know if she really is my sister."
Gaius didn't respond to that. He picked up the page he'd begun to read before Merlin had interrupted with Morgana's spell. "Show me what else you got from your vandalising expedition," he said and Merlin handed all the papers over.
Gaius added the single sheet to the front of the pile and tapped the bottom edge of the stack against the table top, to straighten it. Then he began to look through them again. Merlin and Arthur drank their coffee and watched him. Occasionally he would pause to read a few lines, but mostly he seemed to be scanning the pages, maybe picking out keywords. One or two pages followed the wart removing spell to the floor, but most were placed carefully down on the table. Finally, he put the last sheet on top of the new stack. "I make that thirty-seven potentially useful spells," he said. "But I'm sure there's duplication. We need to sort these out. Wart removing spells aside, some of them are protective and some, I don't know what they are."
"I was concentrating on the idea of revealing and restraining spells," Merlin said, "but after I found the fourth book, I wasn't even reading them anymore, just copying any page that opened for me. There was so much."
"All the more reason to winnow the pile down now, then," Gaius said. He picked up the top sheet again. "See this?" He put it down and looked through the rest. Pulling two other pages out, he placed them either side of the first. "These two appear to be direct copies of this one." He pointed at the one in the middle. "In fact…" He picked up the one on the left. "Actually… Well, well, well, isn't that fascinating?" Within moments he was totally absorbed.
Arthur stretched, rolling his shoulders and arching his back. He relaxed, picked up his mug again and studied the pile of photocopies. "I'm not going to be much help to you here," he said.
Gaius grunted softly without looking up and Merlin and Arthur shared a rueful grimace. "Not sure how much use I'm going to be," Merlin said.
Arthur picked up a random page, studied it and put it down again. "At least you know what you're looking at."
"But I don't. Not really. It's like you said - I've always done all this instinctively. The idea of actual spells is almost as crazy for me as it is for you." Merlin put the page Arthur had picked up back on top of the others. Picking up the whole pile, he flicked through it with his thumb. "I don't think there's really that much here," he said. "It shouldn't take too long to sort. As long as..." he turned to Gaius and completed the sentence in a louder and clearer voice, "I can stop Uncle Gaius getting caught up in the pure joys of research." Gaius looked up and Merlin turned back to Arthur. "It looks like a lot, but I think Uncle Gaius is right - some of it's duplicates. I tried to sort it out, yesterday. But I don't know. I need Uncle Gaius's help."
"Might you have something by this afternoon?"
"Maybe. Or this evening."
Arthur braced his hands on his thighs. "Okay," he said, getting to his feet. "I suppose I'll get out of your hair then. Not to sound too trivial, but I could really do with a change of clothes."
Merlin laughed. "Something less corporate, yeah," he agreed.
He saw Arthur out and handed over his own front door key. "So you don't have to knock when you get back." Arthur nodded his thanks and took it. He turned toward his car, but Merlin stopped him. "Please," Merlin said. "Please come back here, won't you?"
"Where else do you imagine I'd go?"
"Please don't go knocking on Morgana's door without me."
Arthur sighed. "I don't think I'd know what to say," he admitted. "I want to find out if she thinks she's my sister. This whole thing is crazy, but if, on top of that, I'm going to go and accuse her of doing magic, you are definitely coming too." He grinned. "If only so I have someone to blame when she laughs in our faces."
Merlin smiled. "Okay," he agreed, "I'll do that bit. And if I'm wrong, you can both laugh at me."
Returning to the living room, he resumed his seat. "He's never going to believe Morgana's dangerous," he said, "until he sees it for himself."
Gaius looked at him over his glasses. "I think he's doing pretty well, really, but part of him still doesn't believe, you know. Light shows and levitation are almost comprehensible; he has no idea what a person with ill-intent and a high degree of skill can do. You'll just have to make sure you can protect him, because if she's capable of stooping to the kind of magic that perverted Uther's free will, I'm afraid she might be capable of anything."
*****
Three hours later they had sorted all the papers into separate piles of defensive spells, restraining spells and another pile for those of dubious value. Merlin was hunched over, reading one called, according to the heading on the page, 'Shakles of Lite or The Most Unfaling of Means Wherof to Lay By & Hold An Evil-Doer'.
It tasted to Merlin like a variation on the lasso of light spell he'd used to save Arthur from being run over, only stronger. But the script was almost illegible and even with Gaius's help he was struggling with the pronunciation. However, as he managed to master each word, he felt the spell sinking in and taking root in his mind. Finally, as they reached the end of the last line, it settled and he sighed. "Got it," he said. "Thank goodness. I have a horrible feeling that if I'd got that one wrong I might have turned Arthur into a frog."
"A frog?" Arthur asked, pushing the door closed behind him.
Merlin grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Much better," he said, running his eyes over Arthur's jeans and hoodie. "It was worth the wait."
"Bugger off," Arthur replied. "I had to call Geoffrey. How's it going here?"
It was Gaius who answered. "No frogs," he said. "We don't know what Morgana will do, but I can't imagine Merlin has ever studied so hard before."
Merlin shot him a wounded look, which he ignored. Arthur came over and put a white paper bag down on the table. "She's not really going to do anything. We'll go over and we'll talk."
"Well just in case, Merlin now has a dozen possible contingencies."
"I'd already looked at three of them while I was waiting for you to get home, yesterday. But I couldn't get them right, not without the proper pronunciation." He tapped his head. "But they're in here now and I don't need the words anymore."
"I think you mean," Arthur said, twirling his forefinger next to his own head.
Merlin pushed his chair back from the table. "You can mock," he said, "but I'm deadly serious." He stood up. "Time for a coffee break."
"I'll make it," Arthur said. "You stay there." He pointed at the white paper bag. "I brought Chelsea buns."
By the time he came back with the teapot, milk, sugar and mugs, and coffee for Merlin, Gaius had gathered most of the papers back into a single pile. There were only four sheets spread out in front of him. Arthur put the tray down and remained standing while he poured tea for Gaius and himself. Merlin took the other mug and added milk and sugar to his coffee.
"I do appreciate what you're trying to do," Arthur said, "but do we really need all this?"
Gaius was uncompromisingly serious when he said, "Morgana has magic. We have to be careful. Remember, she has tried to kill, or at least injure you, twice that we know of. And she has hurt your father. So we can hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst."
Arthur shook his head. He caught Merlin's eye. "I know, I know," he said. "I saw it. I know there's magic in the world. I know you have it. But you have to understand that, even so, it's really difficult to believe that someone I don't know is trying to kill me."
"Your sister," Merlin said.
"But I don't even know that. An old lady told you so and you believe her?"
"She's not an old lady."
"Then what is she?"
"I don't know, but I don't think she's human."
Arthur threw his hands in the air. "Oh my god! Don't you realise how mad this sounds?"
Merlin glanced across to the window and the curtains pulled themselves closed. He stretched out his arm, hand palm up. In the crook of his elbow a miniature horse appeared out of nowhere with a knight in armour on its back. Horse and knight were about three inches tall. The horse reared and the knight levelled his lance. The horse began to gallop in slow motion down Merlin's arm, while on the tips of his fingers a creature appeared. Winged, with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, it crouched on its hind legs and pawed at the air with its foreclaws. The knight charged towards it and the tip of his lance glowed with a clear blue light. The lance struck the creature in the chest and it screamed. The sound reverberated around Gaius's living room, although it was not loud, and the entire tableau disappeared. Merlin lowered his hand. "Magic," he said. "It's real. Believe me, Morgana has it."
He looked up at Arthur. "You're right; we don't know that she'll try to hurt you. Maybe you can talk to her and she'll be happy to hug and make up. But just in case she isn't… I know we only have Miss Kay's word that she's your sister. But I believe her. I believe she knows."
"And I suppose I believe you," Arthur said as he took his seat again. He sounded resigned rather than happy with the admission, but Merlin was glad to accept the statement for what it was – a real expression of faith, considering that Arthur had no real and logical reason to trust him.
Across the table from him, Gaius nodded, apparently satisfied. "How are you doing?" he asked Merlin.
Merlin shrugged. "I don't know. I've never used any of these before. It might be like trying to ride a bike after reading a book of instructions. But what else can we do?"
"You can wait a few days. Practice," Gaius suggested, but Arthur vetoed that.
"No," he said. "I have to be back in London tomorrow. Monday at the latest. I can't wait. And I know you're worried…" He left the end of the sentence unspoken. He had said it all before. He cupped his hands around his mug of tea and looked at them both. "I don't know why I trust you, but I do."
"Okay," Merlin said. "I guess we're ready then."
Reluctantly, Gaius let them go. Standing on his doorstep he watched Arthur get into the car. "Be careful," he said,
Merlin paused with the passenger door half open. "Bloody hell," he said. "We're really going to do this."
*****
It was just after twenty-five past two when Arthur pulled the car into a space around the corner from Morgana's street and they climbed out. "Um… How are we going to do this?" Merlin asked. "I mean, we can't just go in there and accuse her of magic, can we?"
"I thought you were confident?"
"Yes, I am. But –"
"Leave it to me," Arthur said, placing a steadying hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I only have one question to ask her."
He started walking and Merlin hurried to match step with him. When they turned the corner, they paused. The street was a respectable Victorian terrace of five-storey houses that all seemed to have been converted into flats. They were plain fronted and built from warm red brick, with curved brick arches or solid stone lintels above big windows that had once been sashed, but were now double glazed. The street ran along a gentle slope, so the houses on the near side were set high, with their 'basement' flats, the original kitchens and other service rooms, almost at ground level and ten or twelve stone steps leading up to the big front doors. Across the road, the basements were half a floor below the pavement and there were only five or six steps to the door above.
"You've been busy with your stuff," Arthur said. "I've been thinking about this." He glanced at the number on the nearest house. "31 must be along there," he said, pointing diagonally across the street. "Come on. It'll be fine."
He crossed over and again Merlin hurried to catch up with him. After about seventy-five yards, he stopped and looked up at the house in front of them.
Black wrought iron railings surrounded a narrow, sunken area that had hanging baskets full of tumbling flowers fixed to the wall on either side of a large window. The imposing, black, panelled front door had four doorbells on the jam next to it. A large brass '31' was fixed its central upright.
"Flat A," Arthur said and climbed up to inspect the labels next to the doorbells.
Merlin peered down into the area, at another door set under the front steps. "I think it's down here," he said, opening the gate and descending. "She has her own front door." Arthur clattered down the steps, turned in at the gate and followed him.
A brass letter 'A' was set into the door at eye level, above a knocker in the shape of a writhing sea serpent and a vertical letterbox. Merlin clapped the knocker against its stud and they waited.
From inside the flat, sounds of movement were followed by the door opening to reveal Morgana. "Merlin," she said, her voice rising with surprise and welcome. She looked beyond his shoulder. "And Arthur," she added more coolly. "How unexpected. I didn't know you were coming."
"We, um, we came to see how you are," Merlin said. "You know, after the other day, when you fainted and hit your head."
She smiled sweetly, "Yes, I remember," she said, but Arthur interrupted. "We came to talk to you. Can we come in?"
She stepped wordlessly back into the dark entrance and turned to lead the way into the flat. They followed. Merlin pushed the door to behind them, but on some instinct left it off the latch.
The dark foyer under the front steps of the house above opened into a single long room with the window at the front looking out into the area and French doors at the back, next to another door that led further into the flat. The French Doors stood open and beyond them Merlin could see a narrow, but real garden, with grass, flowerbeds and an old apple tree.
"Nice place," Arthur said.
Morgana ignored the politeness. She walked between a small, two-seater settee and two chairs in front of a large cast iron fireplace and turned. "I didn't know you were coming," she said again. "Why didn't I know that?" She didn't invite them to sit.
"Because we didn't call?" Merlin suggested. "Sorry, I guess we took a chance you'd be in. Lance said you were still feeling a bit poorly."
Arthur walked past Merlin into the room and faced Morgana. She didn't look happy. Her voice was cold and abrupt when she said, "You wanted to talk?"
Merlin edged behind Arthur to take up position near the French windows, so the three of them formed a narrow triangle with Morgana at its apex.
In spite of having stated that he knew what he was doing and announcing his intention so clearly to Morgana, Arthur seemed uncertain. "I need to ask…" He stopped and started again, more firmly. "Did you see Question Time last week?"
A slow smile touched Morgana's lips. "Yes," she said. "It was," she paused for a moment, as if savouring the memory before adding, "very entertaining."
Arthur balked.
Morgana raised an interrogatory eyebrow and Arthur took a breath. "Since it happened, I've discovered things that I never suspected."
"And? For some reason this concerns me?"
Merlin followed the exchange, his attention switching from one to the other, but concentrating mostly on Morgana.
"I've been told," Arthur continued, "that, that you're my sister. That my father is also yours. And, if that's the case, as brother and sister –"
He was interrupted by Morgana's loud and angry denial. "No!" She pointed at a photograph on the mantelpiece, next to an ornate clock. A man in uniform, framed in heavy silver, stood to attention in front of a tall gate. "That's my father!" she said. "He was a hero. Your father," she almost spat the last words, "is nothing to me."
Holding up his hands in a placating manner, Arthur said, "Alright, I'm sorry. Maybe I was misinformed." He smiled. "We certainly don't look alike."
"If Uther's nothing to you," Merlin asked, "why did you do what you did to him?"
Abruptly calm and cordial again, Morgana asked, "And what exactly did I do?"
Merlin glanced at Arthur and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. He edged closer to him, wanting to present Morgana with a united front when he said, "You cast a spell on him, to make him break down in public and embarrass himself. You ruined him and did your best to ruin his company." Morgana's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything. "But worst of all," Merlin said, "you used magic to try and kill Arthur."
Morgana didn't move, didn't blink, her eyes fixed on his face. Then she threw back her head and laughed. "Magic?" she exclaimed. "Oh Merlin, can you hear yourself?" She glanced across at Arthur. "You're raving as much as Uther," she said and returned her attention to Merlin. "I don't know where this fantasy of yours has come from, but you'll get locked up too, if you go around talking about magic in this day and age."
"And yet, we know you have it, whatever you choose to call it," Merlin said.
Morgana's smile grew smug. She straightened her shoulders and once again she was the beautiful queen, de facto ruler of DuLac and Lott who Merlin had met when he first arrived in Camelot. "I choose to call it power," she said.
"You think you have power?" Merlin shook his head and stepped a little closer. "You remember Miss Kay?"
"What has she to do with anything?"
"She has real magic and she doesn't like you, because she can taste yours on the air and she says you can't control it."
"Then she knows nothing!" There was a momentary glint of gold in her eyes which made Merlin tense, readying himself, but instead she laughed again. He remembered how he had thought of her laugh as musical. Now it was cracked and harsh. This, more than anything else made him feel he was facing a different woman from the one who had gaily pointed him at the files full of invoices in her attic office.
But Arthur had only met her once or twice. He was apparently still labouring under the impression that she could be reasoned with, because he stepped forward. "Morgana," he said. "I can understand that you're angry –"
He didn't get a chance to finish because she raised her right hand, her eyes flashed gold and he flew backwards across the room. Merlin turned to follow his flight, powerless to do anything except watch him hit the wall halfway up. He didn't fall. Hanging in mid-air, pinned, his face was twisted with shock and an unsuccessful attempt to speak, or possibly yell.
This Merlin could do something about. He moved in front of Arthur, raised his arm and allowed the arcane words Gaius had taught him to pronounce, to form in his mind.
Morgana's eyes widened, but she was fast. "You!" she spat, pointing her hand at him, palm forward and deflected the coils of magic he threw to entangle her. Behind him, Merlin heard Arthur slide to the floor, but he couldn't spare any of his attention from the battle that had begun so abruptly. Morgana slashed downwards with her left arm and sliced through his magical ropes. They dissipated. "You have magic," she said. It was almost a question, but not quite and Merlin didn't answer. He was fully occupied in anticipating her next move. He rifled through the spells he had memorised earlier, trying to find an effective protection that would win him back a moment to think and check on Arthur.
"It wasn't my magic failing," Morgana said. "You stopped it."
Merlin found what he was looking for, "You can't kill people," he said. "It's not right."
He could feel the focus of her attention, almost like a physical force. "Accidents," she said. "I didn't try to kill anyone." She edged sideways between the end of the settee and the wall and Merlin moved with her, keeping himself between her and Arthur. As he did so, he formed the spell in his mind and allowed it to expand, creating a wall between them. Behind him he heard Arthur groan and begin to get up.
Morgana faced him across the back of the settee. She hunched forward. It looked as if she was drawing her magic up from her diaphragm. A ball of fire began to form in her left hand and, focussed on Merlin as she was, she appeared not to hear a woman's startled voice ask, "What, what's going on?"
Merlin did hear and, distracted, he looked over to the doorway. Gwen and Lance were standing there, with Gwaine crowding behind Gwen's right shoulder. "Why is your front door open?" Gwen asked. "Morgana?"
At the sound of her name, Morgana whirled and threw the ball of bright fire.
Taken completely by surprise, Merlin did his best to redirect his efforts. He tried to deflect it, to push it towards the window, but it was too fast. It veered slightly from its path, but not enough. It burst between Lance and Gwen, sending Lance staggering and clipping Gwen's left shoulder, spinning her around. She cried out in surprise and pain.
Morgana froze. "Gwen!" she cried.
Arthur lurched past Merlin to Lance, saying, "Get her out of here."
Lance looked from Arthur, to Morgana, to Gwen, who was in the act of collapsing to her knees. He appeared a little dazed, but he caught her before she hit the ground and clasped her to his chest. "Go!" Arthur said.
Gwaine shoved Lance's shoulder. "Do as he says, Man." And Lance did. Shifting his hold on Gwen, he half carried her from the room.
Morgana watched the scene with an almost forlorn expression, but as Gwen and Lance disappeared, her attention snapped back to Merlin. "You made me do that!"
In the chaos Merlin's protective wall had fallen and he began to build it up again.
Another ball of flame was forming in Morgana's hand, but this time he was ready. When she threw it, it hit his invisible defences creating a cobweb of clear blue sparks in the air between them. Morgana screamed with frustration and began to gather her energies again.
Merlin's mind skittered from one possible spell to another, seeking something that would both protect him and restrain her. She was so much stronger than he had expected.
The spell that he privately called The Blanket of Silence popped into his head and he began to draw it up from the pit of his stomach and the far back reaches of his brain.
Morgana was almost ready to cast.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, hoping to buy himself a couple of seconds.
Morgana laughed again, a harsh and brittle sound. "Why?" she echoed. "Why not? Because I can." And in a harder, almost vicious voice, "Because they deserve it."
"Did Gwen deserve it?"
"There's always collateral damage in a war."
"And is that what this is, a war?"
"It is to me."
She raised her arm and Merlin gathered his own energies, ready for the attack and ready with a follow-up of his own.
It didn't come.
Disregarded by both the main combatants, Arthur and Gwaine charged past Merlin on either side, crashed into Morgana and brought her to the floor.
Arthur, lying across her chest with Gwaine on top of him, was holding her left hand flat against the carpet. He turned his head and looked up at Merlin. "Little bit of help here?" he suggested.
Morgana groaned under their combined weight, and the ball of fire on her hand faded and died.
Merlin pulled himself together and insinuated a coil of magic between the writhing bodies, to loop itself around Morgana's chest. It coalesced into a visible rope, glowing golden with flecks of silver and green. Morgana's face was contorted with effort, but without the use of her hands it seemed she was unable to build any effective defence against it.
"Bring her arms down," Merlin instructed and Arthur and Gwaine pushed themselves free, forcing Morgana's arms to her sides. Merlin's magic wound its way around her to hold them in place. Arthur and Gwaine got to their feet.
The final loops of magic spiralled down Morgana's legs and wrapped themselves around her ankles. She fought physically against her bonds, but was unable to cut them. They held firm. Eventually she gave up and stilled. Trussed up like a parcel, she glared at Merlin. "Who the hell are you?" she snarled. "What have you done to me?"
Arthur and Gwaine exchanged a look and together they bent down, hoisted her up and carried her around the end of the settee. They deposited her on it and she sat, held by Merlin's magical ropes, so upright and rigid that if her hair had not been so wild she would have looked like a prim young mother at a coffee morning.
Walking around the settee, so that he was facing her, Merlin said, "I'm Merlin. Same as I always was."
Her face was a picture of frustrated anger. "And now you've trapped me here like this, what are you going to do?" she asked.
"That's actually a good question," Gwaine said. "And while I'm at it, what the hell just happened?"
Arthur replied before Merlin could. "Morgana has magic," he said. "So does Merlin. Morgana was trying to kill me. We stopped her. Thanks for that."
Gwaine glanced at Merlin and back to Arthur. "What about him? Shouldn't we restrain him too?"
Merlin opened his mouth to protest but Arthur got in first. "You believe me?"
"Not sure. I came to see Morgana and walked in on a magical pissing contest." He regarded Merlin warily. "However, you don't look like you're about to do anything dangerous, so –"
Arthur interrupted. "You believe in magic?"
"What? Oh, yes. My aunt's a witch and healer. I don't need to believe; I can see they've got magic. But what I don't know, is what the fuck is going on."
He directed the question more towards Morgana than either Arthur or Merlin. "What did I just see?" he asked. "Where did that fire come from? And why did you hurt Gwen?"
Morgana looked up at him and her expression softened. "I didn't mean to?" She sounding more like a child than the proud, confident woman they knew. She looked back at Merlin and Arthur and her voice hardened. "It was supposed to hit them," she said. Concentrating her glare on Arthur she added, "Him."
Gwaine started back, obviously shocked by her admission, almost disbelieving.
"Oh my goodness, Lance and Gwen!" Merlin exclaimed. "Where are they? Is she okay?"
Gwaine turned and ran, away from Morgana and out of the door. Through the lace curtains at the window, Merlin could make out his shape as he scrambed up the steps to the street.
Coming to stand at Merlin's shoulder, Arthur asked, "Can you hold her?"
"Yeah, it doesn't take any concentration to maintain this spell."
"Good." He swayed and bumped his shoulder with Merlin's. "I suppose it was just as well you did all that studying then."
"Is that you admitting you were wrong?"
"No." Arthur stepped around Merlin so he was standing almost in front of him, although he didn't block Merlin's view of his prisoner. "But it might be me saying 'thank you'," he said and he smiled.
The bubble of happiness that abruptly exploded inside Merlin in response to that smile surprised him. He grinned in return. For a moment he thought Arthur was going to kiss him, but he didn't. He stepped back.
"You're welcome," Merlin said.
Any possibility for further conversation was prevented by Gwaine's return, followed by Lance with his arm around Gwen's good shoulder. Gwaine took a deep breath and walked over to the settee. He perched himself on the seat next to Morgana, but Lance and Gwen hovered just inside the door, clearly uncertain of what to do next.
"It's okay; it's over," Merlin said. "You'd, you'd better come in. We need to talk."
"You didn't call the police, did you?" Arthur asked.
"I didn't have time," Lance said. "I hardly got Gwen up to the pavement before Gwaine was telling us to come back."
Merlin glanced over at the clock on the mantelpiece, amazed to see that it was only ten past three.
"Come and sit down," Arthur said and set an example by walking around the end of the settee and taking a place on the arm of the chair opposite Morgana.
Lance and Gwen came cautiously into the room, Lance still holding Gwen close. They paused just past the end of the settee and Lance asked, "What is that?" He was staring Morgana and her golden bindings.
"It's a restraining spell," Merlin said. He walked past them and chose the seat of the chair that Arthur had claimed, where he could keep an eye on Morgana.
Lance watched him. "Spell?" he asked. "What the fuck?"
Superficially, it appeared that the only person untouched by the events of the past few minutes was Gwaine, whose voice was typically flippant when he said, "Fuck knows, but I agree it's swear-worthy." But his eyes didn't hold their usual mischief, whatever his words said.
"You'd better take a seat," Arthur said.
Lance helped Gwen into the other chair and perched himself on its arm. He spoke quietly to her and she carefully pulled her ruined blouse and cardigan away from her left shoulder, exposing a small but ugly looking burn.
Gwaine got up and crossed the room to the door leading into the back of the flat. He returned a few minutes later with a green first aid box, which he placed on the floor and opened. The next few minutes were occupied by Lance tending to Gwen's shoulder.
Arthur and Gwaine both winced occasionally when Lance's gentle dabbing of the wound with antiseptic caused Gwen to take a sharp breath. Morgana's expression was calm. She watched the operation with an air of detachment and mild curiosity that was at odds with her earlier remorse.
When Lance had finished and the dressings, scissors and antiseptic were packed away in their box, she finally spoke. "You can take a top from my wardrobe, to replace that one," she said.
Gwen looked at her and nodded, but Lance was scowling. "What just happened?" he asked, the task of caring for Gwen having apparently restored his normal, polite vocabulary.
Arthur took a deep breath. "It's like Merlin said," he explained. "It's magic." Lance and Gwen stared at him blankly and he sighed. "I know," he said. "I didn't believe it either, not until Merlin showed me."
"And not even then, at first," Merlin interjected.
"You just saw it," Arthur said. "You saw the fire Morgana threw and you can see the, the mystical rope Merlin is holding her by, now." He turned to Morgana. "That's magic, isn't it Morgana?"
"If you say so," Morgana replied. "But I'd like to see you try to convince the police of it."
"The police?" Gwen asked. "Why would you need the police?"
Arthur indicating her shoulder. "Grievous bodily harm?" he suggested.
Gwen just shook her head, not in contradiction, but as if it was all too much to take in.
"She tried to kill me three times, she injured Pell, she drove my father temporarily insane and she tried to ruin Pendragon's."
Morgana sniffed. "Temporarily?" she asked. "Are you sure?"
Arthur's mouth tightened but otherwise he did not react to her taunt.
"No, I don't believe it," Lance objected. "Morgana's no murderer." He appealed to Morgana, herself. "You're not."
Morgana looked back at him in stony silence and he blanched. Placing a steadying hand against the back of Gwen's neck, he focused on Arthur and gamely continued, "Besides anything else, if she ruined Pendragon's, it would ruin us." He sounded like a man trying to find logic in a nightmare. "We've tied our fate to your star with this project and she's worked with us from the beginning." He turned back to Morgana. "You wouldn't do anything to hurt us?"
She still said nothing and Lance looked over at Gwaine, his expression appalled. Gwen put her hand on his thigh and stroked. Gwaine stared back at Lance, equally confounded.
Into the silence Merlin said, "In fairness, I don't think she meant to hurt you." He looked at Morgana. "But I think maybe you lost sight of the consequences?"
Morgana made a small dismissive sound, but her voice was firm when she said, "I knew what I was doing. I lost sight of nothing. My sight was never as clear as it's been in these past weeks." She looked around at them all and Merlin followed her gaze. Their expressions clearly showed their incomprehension.
"I meant to have my revenge," she said. "Uther had to suffer for what he did – betraying my father while he was away serving his Queen and Country. He was his friend. And he betrayed him. And you." She turned on Arthur. "You took what was mine."
"I did?" Arthur asked. "Where in your twisted brain does that make any sense?"
"Uther robbed my father of his wife. He was supposed to pay for his betrayal with his son."
"But he wasn't your father," Arthur said.
"Nor was Uther," she spat. "We were alone. And he walked away from us. He didn't want a daughter. And he didn't want my mother, either. Not when he thought he was finally going to get a son from his wife."
Merlin laid a hand on Arthur's arm. "So this was all about revenge?" he asked. "It wasn't even a little bit about saving the Folly?"
"The museum!" Morgana said. "Yes, I would have saved the museum, once-" She cut herself off and instead finished with, "I still will."
"You intended to be my father's heir," Arthur said.
"I will be," she snarled. "And the LeFay memorial museum will open. I'll make sure it does!"
Lance and Gwen were staring at Morgana in horror. Gwaine looked both appalled and very sad. Arthur's expression was a complex mix of revulsion, regret and curiosity.
"How, how could you feel like this and never talk to us?" Lance asked and Merlin felt a stirring of admiration for his humanity in the face of such incomprehensible events.
Gwen took Lance's hand and held it between both of her own. "Why didn't you talk to any of us?" she asked.
Morgana said nothing, her expression mutinous.
The silence stretched, until Gwaine broke it. "I think it's more to the point," he said, taking a seat on the arm of the settee, as far from Morgana as possible, "to ask what we are going to do now?" He refused to look at Morgana again as he continued, "You can't call the police. You can't keep her imprisoned with your," he waved his hand vaguely, "magical ropes forever. And you aren't going to kill her."
"No," Merlin agreed. "We can't do that."
Morgana smiled.
"Oh, I don't know," said a voice from the doorway. Their heads all whipped up and around to see Miss Kay standing on the threshold. "That was a powerful battle, Young Warlock," she said approvingly. "And now you have a problem. I told you to call on me when the time came."
"Miss Kay?" Gwen exclaimed.
"Sorry," Merlin said. "But I, I don't know your number."
Miss Kay walked over to stand where she could see everyone and they could all see her. "It is just as well you didn't need one, then, isn't it?" she said. She nodded at Arthur, "The courageous young Pendragon," she said. Arthur nodded back. His face registered both surprise and some amusement at her description of him. Her eyes passed over Lance and Gwen, "The Pure Knight and his lady," she said. She halted on Gwaine. "And strength," she added.
Gwaine got to his feet. With a bow, he offering her the chair, but she shook her head. He sat back down.
Finally turning to Morgana, Miss Kay said, "And the witch. You have caused a great deal of trouble, young lady, and unless you are dealt with you will cause more."
"You can't kill her," Merlin objected. "I won't let you."
Miss Kay smiled, although her eyes were hard. "Don't be foolish, boy," she said. "This is the 21st century. Even my magic hesitates in the face of forensic science. No, we don't need to kill her." She looked down at him. "Pass me her ring," she said.
Finally Morgana reacted, "No!" she screamed and twisted in her seat, trying to break herself free of her bonds. Merlin went down on one knee in front of her and reached for her hand. She closed her fingers tightly into her palm, but with Arthur's help Merlin forced them open and pulled her ring off. As it left her finger, she stopped fighting and collapsed in her chair. She glared up at Miss Kay from behind her hair.
Merlin handed Miss Kay the ring and she held it up. It seemed to catch a stray beam of light from the French windows. For a moment the stone glowed a deep red that flooded the room and outlined Miss Kay in flames. Then the effect faded, leaving an elderly lady holding a very ordinary garnet ring. She folded her hand around it. "If either Arthur or Merlin come to any harm through your agency," she said, "I will break this ring."
Morgana paled and Miss Kay nodded. "And that would not be good for you, my dear, would it?"
Not waiting for an answer, she slipped the ring into her pocket and stepped forward. Merlin knee walked to the side, out of her way and stopped in front of Arthur, who smirked down at him, although the expression was gone within a moment. He returned his attention to Miss Kay and, with some relief Merlin hitched himself back into the chair. He was conscious of feeling tired.
When Miss Kay reached forward Morgana shrank away from her, but she remained defiant. "Stay away from me, you old hag," she said. "And give me back my ring."
"You have learned nothing from your defeat?" Miss Kay asked.
There was something about her presence that kept the rest of them silent, but it didn't seem to affect Morgana. "I'm not defeated yet."
Miss Kay made ostentatious play of staring at Merlin's ropes and Morgana sneered. "They can't hold me forever. And when I get free-"
"When you get free you will do precisely nothing," Miss Kay said. "You will leave Camelot. You will leave this country. You will find that Australia is ready to issue a residency visa, as soon as you apply. You will go there and you will not return. If you do, I will know and I will take whatever measures I see fit."
Bending forward she reached out, laid her left hand on Morgana's head and Morgana could not escape.
For a moment nothing happened. Then Morgana's entire body shook. Her back arched away from the seat and she froze in that position. Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. Miss Kay didn't move. She continued to look down into Morgana's face with her hand resting on her hair. After about twenty seconds she drew back and Morgana collapsed, her eyes closed. She looked like she was asleep, or maybe unconscious.
The silence that had held as Miss Kay's aura kept them all frozen, broke. Gwen gasped in alarm and Lance got to his feet. "She is not dead," Miss Kay said. "She may spend the rest of her life trying to break down the wall I have built, but my magic is more powerful than any human magic. She will never succeed."
"Human," Arthur said flatly.
Ignoring the implicit question, Miss Kay continued, "It will give her a purpose in life that will hurt no one. Send her away, young Pendragon."
"Send her...?"
"Will she be all right?" Gwen asked.
Miss Kay turned and looked down at her. "If she does as she's told and goes to Australia, she will be well. The soil of that land responds to a different song. If she comes back here, the disharmony will be detrimental. You will explain that to her, when she wakes."
"Me?"
"You have no stake in this battle. As the only truly neutral person here, it is your task to advocate for her best good."
"So we just let her go?" Arthur said. "That's, that's almost like rewarding her for what she's done."
"What would you do instead?" Miss Kay asked and Arthur was clearly stumped for an answer.
Miss Kay stepped past Gwaine, Lance and Gwen, into the open space near the door. "She acted only from a need for revenge," she said, addressing Arthur primarily, but sweeping her gaze around the room to include them all. "And believe me, this is no reward. Her aim was to punish the elder Pendragon, by killing you who took her place from her. She has already had her vengeance. Let her go."
She tilted her head slightly and studied Arthur. "The Pendragons have always served their people before themselves," she said. "In times of war, heroics are easy to find – your great-great-great-grandfather was part of the Light Brigade's mad charge towards the guns at Balaclava. Another of your kin died, dragging wounded men out of No Man's Land in Flanders. All the way back to the peddler and ploughman, your family has gone to war when called. But in times of peace, it is the actions of the philanthrope that mark his or her quiet passing."
She paused and her voice was harder when she continued. "Your grandfather did not fail, he simply had different priorities from those of your father. He used his company for the means to do good in his corner of the world. There is more than one school owes its playing field to his careful manipulation of local planning regulations, or its music room to his generosity. His father was instrumental in building the town's hospital, in the days before the State took on the cost, when the poor died for the lack of a guinea to pay the doctor's fee."
"In pursuit of enlarging the minds and educating the morals of the residents of Camelot," Merlin said and Miss Kay nodded her head in regal ascent.
"It is your father who reneged on his responsibilities, his duty. Traditionally, the folly of the Pendragons has always been the grand gesture."
"You're not describing folly," Arthur objected.
Miss Kay smiled. "That rather depends on who is making the judgement. As you must decide what type of Pendragon you are going to be."
Arthur shrugged awkwardly and Miss Kay smiled again. "It is your time of choosing, young Pendragon," she said.
With a final sweeping glance at each of them, she went to the door.
"I'll come and see you tomorrow?" Merlin said.
Miss Kay paused. "Why?" she asked. "We have nothing more to say at this point. We will meet again soon, but this battle is over. Now you need to restore your strength and build your future."
"I feel fine"
"Soon you will not."
Then she left, leaving Merlin staring helplessly at the door. He turned back to the others, to find his own confused emotions mirrored on their faces.
It was Gwaine who pulled himself together first. He leaned over and laid a couple of gentle fingers against the side of Morgana's neck.
"Is she all right?" Gwen asked.
"Well, she has a pulse and it's steady, so I think perhaps she will be."
"How long? I mean, she's unconscious. We should take her to the hospital. She had a concussion."
Gwaine looked across at Merlin, who shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He was struggling to follow the conversation because, quite abruptly, a dark cloud of exhaustion was threatening to smother him. "I don't know what she did."
"But?"
Merlin sat up straight in an attempt to will himself alert and sharp. "But Miss Kay said she'd be okay, so I think she will. I mean, I don't think Miss Kay lies and I do think she knows what she's doing."
"So we wait," Gwaine said.
Lance shook his head. "I don't think we all do. If I've put it all together correctly, Morgana might not be best pleased to see you two, when she wakes up."
"But…" Merlin protested, before seeing his point and shutting up.
"She's apparently my sister," Arthur said. "And I feel sort of responsible…" He trailed off.
"You're not," Lance said. "Any more than you're responsible for being born."
"My father is."
"Which is not your sin. I didn't understand half of what Miss Kay said, but I got the gist – you are only responsible for your own choices."
"I think Lance is right," Gwen said. "And I think it will be easier to talk to her if you're not here."
Arthur frowned, but after a moment he nodded. "Okay." He looked over at Gwaine. "You don't seem as surprised as the rest of us were by all this. You'll explain it to them?" He nodded towards Gwen and Lance
Gwaine shrugged. "As much as I can. I think I've understood." He shook his head. "Bloody hell, what a fucking mess."
"Thank you." Arthur said. He grabbing Merlin's hand and pulled him to his feet.
"I need a drink," Gwaine declared. "There's an offie on the corner of Devonshire Road." He got to his feet and turned to Gwen. "Beer or wine? Or do you fancy something stronger?"
Still looking slightly dazed, Gwen shook her head affectionately and ruled for beer.
Lance and Gwen stayed with Morgana. Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine left together and, once outside on the pavement, lingered for a few minutes.
"She will be okay, won't she?" Gwaine asked.
By this point, Merlin was swaying with exhaustion. "I think so. Yes. Yes, she will," he said. "And I don't think she'll be a danger to anyone, anymore."
Gwaine nodded. "Good," he said. "Good that she'll be okay. Because in spite of everything I've heard, in spite of seeing her throw fire at my friend and in spite of having to tackle her to the ground, in a totally platonic way, I still sort of love her."
"I know," Merlin agreed.
Arthur was watching Gwaine with a sympathetic expression and when Gwaine intercepted it he grinned. "Give over, Princess," he said. "Don't be mistaking me for some delicate flower. I'll see you soon, yeah? I'm sure Gwen will text you when Morgana wakes up." And he turned on his heel and strode away.
Merlin and Arthur watched him until he reached the corner. Then they exchanged a glance and turned away themselves. After a few yards, Arthur threw his arm around Merlin's shoulders and Merlin didn't shrug him off. It was nearly four o'clock and he was exhausted. Arthur ended up supporting his steps as they walked back to the car.
*****
Saturday evening was a bit of a blur. Merlin had a vague memory of Arthur driving them back to Francis Street. He didn't remember the stop at the off-licence, where Arthur bought a bottle of whiskey, but it obviously happened because nor did he remember anything other than fragmented snatches of conversation with Gaius around his dining table. Not after the first glass was placed in front of him. He had no memory at all of getting to bed.
He awoke to the comfort of his duvet on top of him, Arthur's warm length down his back and Arthur's right arm curled around his chest. He rolled over and discovered that Arthur was already awake, with a ruefully apologetic smile on his lips.
Merlin blinked and rubbed sleep from the corners of his eyes. He swallowed to loosen his throat. "Did we?" he asked.
Arthur's smile broadened into something both amused and fond. "No. I'm an honourable man. And you're a total lightweight. I didn't take advantage."
"Prat," Merlin retorted. He smiled in return. "Good," he added. "Because that would have been a waste."
He rolled very slightly on his shoulder and Arthur leaned forward to meet him. Like most first kisses, it wasn't perfect. But they didn't bang noses or teeth, mainly because Arthur lifted himself on his elbow a little to get the angle right. And like most first kisses, it was followed by a second, that was even better.
After that Arthur laid his head on Merlin's shoulder and Merlin curled his arm around Arthur's back. "You ever seen the movie, Speed?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Remember at the end, when Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves kiss? Sandra Bullock says something about how relationships that start in the aftermath of danger have a high chance of not working out."
Arthur snorted a laugh. "But they didn't know each other before hand."
"True," Merlin agreed. He bent his head and rubbed the tip of his nose over Arthur's hair.
*****
It was lunchtime before they got out of bed and then only because Gaius called upstairs to say that dinner was almost on the table. "Gods, yes, I'm starving," Merlin said.
Over roast chicken, potatoes, peas and gravy, Gaius told them that Lance and Gwen had stopped by earlier. "Gwaine and his girlfriend are staying with Morgana," he explained. "They were on their way home so they didn't come in. They still looked a little shell-shocked."
"But they said how she was?" Arthur asked.
"I think the words were, headachy and frustrated."
Merlin looked across at Arthur and back to Gaius. "I don't remember; I was a bit out of it last night. Did Arthur explain what Miss Kay did?"
"He described it, yes. She said she'd blocked Morgana away from her magic?"
"Yes. No. More like she's blocked Morgana's magic from its source. She said something about Morgana going to Australia and something about the, the song the land has there. Something like that?" He paused a moment, staring blankly at the wall behind Gaius's head. "I think if she had blocked Morgana from her magic, it would have killed her. She once said there's magic in the centre of every cell, in every living thing. But Morgana drew her power from her ring, her focus. But, but I think that was just a channel, gathering the magic from the land."
Gaius frowned. "It's an interesting theory," he allowed.
Merlin put down his knife and fork and Arthur reached over and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze. Merlin felt himself flush, but although he watched the gesture, Gaius's expression remained neutral.
"It feels right," Merlin said. He turned his hand and returned Arthur's squeeze.
Gaius's mouth turned up very slightly and his gaze softened. "I'm not disputing that," he said. "If it feels right to you, it probably is." He laughed out right and changed the subject. "Do I have to ask you both if your intentions are honourable?"
Arthur smiled. "It's a bit early for deciding that," he said. "We have a year or more to drive each other away, first."
Distracted, Gaius's eyebrow rose. "Ah," he said. "You've made a decision?"
"More like conceived a plan. It'll need to be worked out in detail, but yes, I think I know how to save your museum and even secure its future. And hopefully also get my father's approval for it."
His meal totally forgotten, Gaius sat forward in his chair. Merlin divided his attention unevenly between the conversation and his plate, struggling to eat one-handed, but unwilling to let go of Arthur's hand.
"I'm going to repossess the building," Arthur said.
Merlin looked up. "What?"
Arthur's hold on his hand tightened reassuringly. "Don't worry. It's too big and you know it. But if half of it is turned to profit and a proper space is turned into a proper museum, then part of the profitable part can be dedicated to paying for its maintenance."
Gaius opened his mouth, closed it again and ended up smiling widely.
Merlin grinned. "That's brilliant!" he said.
With a modest and slightly embarrassed smile, Arthur said, "It does mean I have to take the building back and dissolve the trust."
"No huge loss," Gaius observed.
"It will have to be managed carefully. If any of my father's previous dealings become public, it would do huge damage to our reputation and, worst case, could result in an enquiry that would kybosh it totally." He looked at Merlin. "So your friend, Will..."
"I'll talk to him," Merlin promised.
"It also means the refurbishment will take longer. We need to start again with the plans. Luckily, the only work done so far is structural repair."
"How long?" Merlin asked.
"Maybe two years? Maybe less."
Gaius pulled himself together. "The details can be worked out later, as you say." He picked up his cutlery and attacked his dinner with renewed vigour. Merlin gave Arthur's hand a last squeeze and reclaimed his own, so he could eat properly.
When the plates were cleared away, they settled back around the table with coffee. "And what happens to Morgana?" Gaius asked. "Will she go to Australia?"
Merlin frowned. "I think she'll have to. I felt the pressure of Miss Kay's magic. Even sort of side on, it was powerful."
"She might resist."
"She might last a couple of days. But I don't think anyone could resist for longer. Eventually she'll go."
Arthur broke into the exchange. "I have to go to London, but I'll come back and take her to the consulate." He caught Merlin's expression and placed his hand over Merlin's free one. "I sort of feel I owe it to her." He paused. "Maybe not that. But I do believe she's my sister and as such I feel sort of responsible."
"You're not."
"Maybe not. But I think I need to do this. Responsibility, duty…" He shrugged. "It's sort of –"
"It's sort of what you do," Merlin said. "But I doubt she'll accept your help. Are you going back today?"
"Tonight, yes. Want to come?"
Merlin smiled. "I don't know. I have this boss who's a bit of a slave driver."
"Yes, about that," Arthur said. He lifted their clasped hands. "And this. I'm thinking you might need to resign."
"What? But-"
"But," Arthur interrupted, "if Morgana leaves, and you think she has to, then Lance and Gwaine will have a vacancy that I think you could fill admirably."
"But..."
"And I'm thinking," Arthur continued airily, "that if you worked for them part time, you could spend half your week in London, at the British Library."
Gaius looked at them from under a raised eyebrow before turning his attention to his coffee with a satisfied smile.
Pendragon's Folly, Chapter 11 - epilogue
Note: I would ask any scholars of Early Modern or Jacobean English to please forgive my mangled attempt to name the spell Merlin is reading in Gaius's living room.
Chelsea buns are a type of currant bun made in a spiral shape - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_bun or http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chelsea_buns_95015
Pairing: M/A, eventually.
Characters: in this chapter – Merlin, Arthur, Gaius, Morgana, Gwen, Lance, Gwaine, Miss Kay.
Rating: PG maybe even U
Chapter Word Count: 10,200
Warnings: No sex
Summary: There's an out of work wizard, a museum, a sizeable donation that turns it into a building site, suspicious happenings and magic. A sort of 'take your fandom to work' story.
Author's note 1: When it comes to romance, this story is the definition of 'slow burn'.
Comments are always greatly appreciated, loved and cherished.
Author's note 2: More thanks than I can say to my beta, plot wrangler and best friend,
sparrow2000. And many, many thanks to DJ for (hopefully) catching the typos we missed. If you spot any more, please do let me know.Disclaimer: I write fan fic. All the characters from the Merlin series are the property of the BBC and Shine, etc. No infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this writing.
A longer chapter this week, because now it all comes to a head.
Chapter 10
The first order of business in the morning was planning when, where and how they should approach Morgana. Arthur was determined not to delay. "I wish I could believe we weren't about to embarrass ourselves in the worst way, here," he said. "But if we are, I need to do it now. Besides anything else, I have to get back to work; I'm needed there."
Merlin, knowing that Lance was in the office for a couple of hours most Saturday mornings, phoned him to ask for her address. "I was away in London, Thursday and yesterday," he explained. "So I was thinking of going around, to check she's okay."
"That's kind of you," Lance said, making Merlin's conscience twinge. He got the address, however.
Meanwhile, Gaius was flipping through the pages Merlin had photocopied at the British Library. When he first saw them, he was horrified to think of Merlin being so cavalier as to subject rare books to the potentially damaging effects of a photocopier. But once past that, he was willing to agree to the necessity, in the present circumstances.
"I found a copier in the basement and copied every spell that looked promising," Merlin said, pocketing his phone and handing Arthur the slip of paper on which he had jotted down Morgana's address. Arthur opened the A-Z of Camelot he had retrieved from his car.
Leaning forward over the table, so he could peer down at what Gaius was reading, Merlin said, "I think there's some useful stuff there. Did you know, if I concentrate on what I want and let the book fall open, it opens in just the right place?"
Gaius grunted. "Not this one," he said, tossing the page aside. It skittered across the table top and tipped over the edge. "It's a charm to remove warts." He picked up the next sheet from the pile.
"It might have taken a few tries to get it right," Merlin admitted. He reached across and retrieved the rest of the papers. Rifling through them, he extracted one. "This," he said, handing it over, "is the spell I think Morgana used. Or one like it."
Gaius took the page. Arthur slipped Merlin's note into the A-Z, put it down and began to stack the breakfast dishes. He carried them through to the kitchen and Merlin heard him moving around, and then the sound of water filling the kettle. He hunched forward to watch Gaius read.
Eventually, after almost ten minutes, Gaius put the paper down. "Yes," he said, just as Arthur came back into the room carrying a tray with three mugs on it. "If I'm reading this correctly, that could have done it."
"And?" Arthur asked, setting the tray down. "My father's in a nursing home now. He was discharged from hospital, but he's in no state to look after himself. The doctors don't seem very hopeful, although they don't say so. Is there's any way…?"
"I don't know," Gaius said. "I'm sorry, but there's no clue to an antidote here." Arthur's shoulders slumped.
"But I wasn't looking for one," Merlin said. "I wasn't thinking about your dad, sorry. I was thinking about Morgana and what she'd done and ways to stop her killing you. I bet if I were to go back, I'd find something that would help."
Arthur picked up one of the mugs and handed it to Gaius. He looked as if he was about to say something, but instead he shook his head. "Yes. Of course," he said. "Thank you."
Gaius shot him a sympathetic look as he took his tea. "I know it's hard to believe, but..." He stopped. "Never mind. I've known your father a long time," he said, in a firmer tone. "He's overcome obstacles before; I'm sure he'll recover from this one too." He smiled encouragingly. "He is a very determined man. You remind me of him, when he was younger."
Arthur's attempt to appear unaffected by the comparison didn't fool Merlin. And it was clear that it didn't fool Gaius either because he said, "You were always resourceful, just like him, even as a child." His smile became almost conspiratorial. "And like him, you had a sometimes foolhardy degree of courage. It got you into more scrapes than you can probably remember. So what I mean is, your father will recover from this setback; he always does. Just as, I don't doubt, once we sort out this present mess, you will apply your attention and succeed in rescuing your company. And the museum."
Visibly moved by Gaius's speech, Arthur nodded. "I'll do my best," he said. "If I have to fight him every step of the way, I will."
Gaius took a drink of his tea. It was a sort of punctuation mark, signalling a shift back to more immediate matters. "But first we do have this current mess to sort out."
"Yes," Arthur said. "I need to know if she really is my sister."
Gaius didn't respond to that. He picked up the page he'd begun to read before Merlin had interrupted with Morgana's spell. "Show me what else you got from your vandalising expedition," he said and Merlin handed all the papers over.
Gaius added the single sheet to the front of the pile and tapped the bottom edge of the stack against the table top, to straighten it. Then he began to look through them again. Merlin and Arthur drank their coffee and watched him. Occasionally he would pause to read a few lines, but mostly he seemed to be scanning the pages, maybe picking out keywords. One or two pages followed the wart removing spell to the floor, but most were placed carefully down on the table. Finally, he put the last sheet on top of the new stack. "I make that thirty-seven potentially useful spells," he said. "But I'm sure there's duplication. We need to sort these out. Wart removing spells aside, some of them are protective and some, I don't know what they are."
"I was concentrating on the idea of revealing and restraining spells," Merlin said, "but after I found the fourth book, I wasn't even reading them anymore, just copying any page that opened for me. There was so much."
"All the more reason to winnow the pile down now, then," Gaius said. He picked up the top sheet again. "See this?" He put it down and looked through the rest. Pulling two other pages out, he placed them either side of the first. "These two appear to be direct copies of this one." He pointed at the one in the middle. "In fact…" He picked up the one on the left. "Actually… Well, well, well, isn't that fascinating?" Within moments he was totally absorbed.
Arthur stretched, rolling his shoulders and arching his back. He relaxed, picked up his mug again and studied the pile of photocopies. "I'm not going to be much help to you here," he said.
Gaius grunted softly without looking up and Merlin and Arthur shared a rueful grimace. "Not sure how much use I'm going to be," Merlin said.
Arthur picked up a random page, studied it and put it down again. "At least you know what you're looking at."
"But I don't. Not really. It's like you said - I've always done all this instinctively. The idea of actual spells is almost as crazy for me as it is for you." Merlin put the page Arthur had picked up back on top of the others. Picking up the whole pile, he flicked through it with his thumb. "I don't think there's really that much here," he said. "It shouldn't take too long to sort. As long as..." he turned to Gaius and completed the sentence in a louder and clearer voice, "I can stop Uncle Gaius getting caught up in the pure joys of research." Gaius looked up and Merlin turned back to Arthur. "It looks like a lot, but I think Uncle Gaius is right - some of it's duplicates. I tried to sort it out, yesterday. But I don't know. I need Uncle Gaius's help."
"Might you have something by this afternoon?"
"Maybe. Or this evening."
Arthur braced his hands on his thighs. "Okay," he said, getting to his feet. "I suppose I'll get out of your hair then. Not to sound too trivial, but I could really do with a change of clothes."
Merlin laughed. "Something less corporate, yeah," he agreed.
He saw Arthur out and handed over his own front door key. "So you don't have to knock when you get back." Arthur nodded his thanks and took it. He turned toward his car, but Merlin stopped him. "Please," Merlin said. "Please come back here, won't you?"
"Where else do you imagine I'd go?"
"Please don't go knocking on Morgana's door without me."
Arthur sighed. "I don't think I'd know what to say," he admitted. "I want to find out if she thinks she's my sister. This whole thing is crazy, but if, on top of that, I'm going to go and accuse her of doing magic, you are definitely coming too." He grinned. "If only so I have someone to blame when she laughs in our faces."
Merlin smiled. "Okay," he agreed, "I'll do that bit. And if I'm wrong, you can both laugh at me."
Returning to the living room, he resumed his seat. "He's never going to believe Morgana's dangerous," he said, "until he sees it for himself."
Gaius looked at him over his glasses. "I think he's doing pretty well, really, but part of him still doesn't believe, you know. Light shows and levitation are almost comprehensible; he has no idea what a person with ill-intent and a high degree of skill can do. You'll just have to make sure you can protect him, because if she's capable of stooping to the kind of magic that perverted Uther's free will, I'm afraid she might be capable of anything."
*****
Three hours later they had sorted all the papers into separate piles of defensive spells, restraining spells and another pile for those of dubious value. Merlin was hunched over, reading one called, according to the heading on the page, 'Shakles of Lite or The Most Unfaling of Means Wherof to Lay By & Hold An Evil-Doer'.
It tasted to Merlin like a variation on the lasso of light spell he'd used to save Arthur from being run over, only stronger. But the script was almost illegible and even with Gaius's help he was struggling with the pronunciation. However, as he managed to master each word, he felt the spell sinking in and taking root in his mind. Finally, as they reached the end of the last line, it settled and he sighed. "Got it," he said. "Thank goodness. I have a horrible feeling that if I'd got that one wrong I might have turned Arthur into a frog."
"A frog?" Arthur asked, pushing the door closed behind him.
Merlin grinned and raised an eyebrow. "Much better," he said, running his eyes over Arthur's jeans and hoodie. "It was worth the wait."
"Bugger off," Arthur replied. "I had to call Geoffrey. How's it going here?"
It was Gaius who answered. "No frogs," he said. "We don't know what Morgana will do, but I can't imagine Merlin has ever studied so hard before."
Merlin shot him a wounded look, which he ignored. Arthur came over and put a white paper bag down on the table. "She's not really going to do anything. We'll go over and we'll talk."
"Well just in case, Merlin now has a dozen possible contingencies."
"I'd already looked at three of them while I was waiting for you to get home, yesterday. But I couldn't get them right, not without the proper pronunciation." He tapped his head. "But they're in here now and I don't need the words anymore."
"I think you mean," Arthur said, twirling his forefinger next to his own head.
Merlin pushed his chair back from the table. "You can mock," he said, "but I'm deadly serious." He stood up. "Time for a coffee break."
"I'll make it," Arthur said. "You stay there." He pointed at the white paper bag. "I brought Chelsea buns."
By the time he came back with the teapot, milk, sugar and mugs, and coffee for Merlin, Gaius had gathered most of the papers back into a single pile. There were only four sheets spread out in front of him. Arthur put the tray down and remained standing while he poured tea for Gaius and himself. Merlin took the other mug and added milk and sugar to his coffee.
"I do appreciate what you're trying to do," Arthur said, "but do we really need all this?"
Gaius was uncompromisingly serious when he said, "Morgana has magic. We have to be careful. Remember, she has tried to kill, or at least injure you, twice that we know of. And she has hurt your father. So we can hope for the best, but we have to prepare for the worst."
Arthur shook his head. He caught Merlin's eye. "I know, I know," he said. "I saw it. I know there's magic in the world. I know you have it. But you have to understand that, even so, it's really difficult to believe that someone I don't know is trying to kill me."
"Your sister," Merlin said.
"But I don't even know that. An old lady told you so and you believe her?"
"She's not an old lady."
"Then what is she?"
"I don't know, but I don't think she's human."
Arthur threw his hands in the air. "Oh my god! Don't you realise how mad this sounds?"
Merlin glanced across to the window and the curtains pulled themselves closed. He stretched out his arm, hand palm up. In the crook of his elbow a miniature horse appeared out of nowhere with a knight in armour on its back. Horse and knight were about three inches tall. The horse reared and the knight levelled his lance. The horse began to gallop in slow motion down Merlin's arm, while on the tips of his fingers a creature appeared. Winged, with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, it crouched on its hind legs and pawed at the air with its foreclaws. The knight charged towards it and the tip of his lance glowed with a clear blue light. The lance struck the creature in the chest and it screamed. The sound reverberated around Gaius's living room, although it was not loud, and the entire tableau disappeared. Merlin lowered his hand. "Magic," he said. "It's real. Believe me, Morgana has it."
He looked up at Arthur. "You're right; we don't know that she'll try to hurt you. Maybe you can talk to her and she'll be happy to hug and make up. But just in case she isn't… I know we only have Miss Kay's word that she's your sister. But I believe her. I believe she knows."
"And I suppose I believe you," Arthur said as he took his seat again. He sounded resigned rather than happy with the admission, but Merlin was glad to accept the statement for what it was – a real expression of faith, considering that Arthur had no real and logical reason to trust him.
Across the table from him, Gaius nodded, apparently satisfied. "How are you doing?" he asked Merlin.
Merlin shrugged. "I don't know. I've never used any of these before. It might be like trying to ride a bike after reading a book of instructions. But what else can we do?"
"You can wait a few days. Practice," Gaius suggested, but Arthur vetoed that.
"No," he said. "I have to be back in London tomorrow. Monday at the latest. I can't wait. And I know you're worried…" He left the end of the sentence unspoken. He had said it all before. He cupped his hands around his mug of tea and looked at them both. "I don't know why I trust you, but I do."
"Okay," Merlin said. "I guess we're ready then."
Reluctantly, Gaius let them go. Standing on his doorstep he watched Arthur get into the car. "Be careful," he said,
Merlin paused with the passenger door half open. "Bloody hell," he said. "We're really going to do this."
*****
It was just after twenty-five past two when Arthur pulled the car into a space around the corner from Morgana's street and they climbed out. "Um… How are we going to do this?" Merlin asked. "I mean, we can't just go in there and accuse her of magic, can we?"
"I thought you were confident?"
"Yes, I am. But –"
"Leave it to me," Arthur said, placing a steadying hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I only have one question to ask her."
He started walking and Merlin hurried to match step with him. When they turned the corner, they paused. The street was a respectable Victorian terrace of five-storey houses that all seemed to have been converted into flats. They were plain fronted and built from warm red brick, with curved brick arches or solid stone lintels above big windows that had once been sashed, but were now double glazed. The street ran along a gentle slope, so the houses on the near side were set high, with their 'basement' flats, the original kitchens and other service rooms, almost at ground level and ten or twelve stone steps leading up to the big front doors. Across the road, the basements were half a floor below the pavement and there were only five or six steps to the door above.
"You've been busy with your stuff," Arthur said. "I've been thinking about this." He glanced at the number on the nearest house. "31 must be along there," he said, pointing diagonally across the street. "Come on. It'll be fine."
He crossed over and again Merlin hurried to catch up with him. After about seventy-five yards, he stopped and looked up at the house in front of them.
Black wrought iron railings surrounded a narrow, sunken area that had hanging baskets full of tumbling flowers fixed to the wall on either side of a large window. The imposing, black, panelled front door had four doorbells on the jam next to it. A large brass '31' was fixed its central upright.
"Flat A," Arthur said and climbed up to inspect the labels next to the doorbells.
Merlin peered down into the area, at another door set under the front steps. "I think it's down here," he said, opening the gate and descending. "She has her own front door." Arthur clattered down the steps, turned in at the gate and followed him.
A brass letter 'A' was set into the door at eye level, above a knocker in the shape of a writhing sea serpent and a vertical letterbox. Merlin clapped the knocker against its stud and they waited.
From inside the flat, sounds of movement were followed by the door opening to reveal Morgana. "Merlin," she said, her voice rising with surprise and welcome. She looked beyond his shoulder. "And Arthur," she added more coolly. "How unexpected. I didn't know you were coming."
"We, um, we came to see how you are," Merlin said. "You know, after the other day, when you fainted and hit your head."
She smiled sweetly, "Yes, I remember," she said, but Arthur interrupted. "We came to talk to you. Can we come in?"
She stepped wordlessly back into the dark entrance and turned to lead the way into the flat. They followed. Merlin pushed the door to behind them, but on some instinct left it off the latch.
The dark foyer under the front steps of the house above opened into a single long room with the window at the front looking out into the area and French doors at the back, next to another door that led further into the flat. The French Doors stood open and beyond them Merlin could see a narrow, but real garden, with grass, flowerbeds and an old apple tree.
"Nice place," Arthur said.
Morgana ignored the politeness. She walked between a small, two-seater settee and two chairs in front of a large cast iron fireplace and turned. "I didn't know you were coming," she said again. "Why didn't I know that?" She didn't invite them to sit.
"Because we didn't call?" Merlin suggested. "Sorry, I guess we took a chance you'd be in. Lance said you were still feeling a bit poorly."
Arthur walked past Merlin into the room and faced Morgana. She didn't look happy. Her voice was cold and abrupt when she said, "You wanted to talk?"
Merlin edged behind Arthur to take up position near the French windows, so the three of them formed a narrow triangle with Morgana at its apex.
In spite of having stated that he knew what he was doing and announcing his intention so clearly to Morgana, Arthur seemed uncertain. "I need to ask…" He stopped and started again, more firmly. "Did you see Question Time last week?"
A slow smile touched Morgana's lips. "Yes," she said. "It was," she paused for a moment, as if savouring the memory before adding, "very entertaining."
Arthur balked.
Morgana raised an interrogatory eyebrow and Arthur took a breath. "Since it happened, I've discovered things that I never suspected."
"And? For some reason this concerns me?"
Merlin followed the exchange, his attention switching from one to the other, but concentrating mostly on Morgana.
"I've been told," Arthur continued, "that, that you're my sister. That my father is also yours. And, if that's the case, as brother and sister –"
He was interrupted by Morgana's loud and angry denial. "No!" She pointed at a photograph on the mantelpiece, next to an ornate clock. A man in uniform, framed in heavy silver, stood to attention in front of a tall gate. "That's my father!" she said. "He was a hero. Your father," she almost spat the last words, "is nothing to me."
Holding up his hands in a placating manner, Arthur said, "Alright, I'm sorry. Maybe I was misinformed." He smiled. "We certainly don't look alike."
"If Uther's nothing to you," Merlin asked, "why did you do what you did to him?"
Abruptly calm and cordial again, Morgana asked, "And what exactly did I do?"
Merlin glanced at Arthur and saw the uncertainty in his eyes. He edged closer to him, wanting to present Morgana with a united front when he said, "You cast a spell on him, to make him break down in public and embarrass himself. You ruined him and did your best to ruin his company." Morgana's eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything. "But worst of all," Merlin said, "you used magic to try and kill Arthur."
Morgana didn't move, didn't blink, her eyes fixed on his face. Then she threw back her head and laughed. "Magic?" she exclaimed. "Oh Merlin, can you hear yourself?" She glanced across at Arthur. "You're raving as much as Uther," she said and returned her attention to Merlin. "I don't know where this fantasy of yours has come from, but you'll get locked up too, if you go around talking about magic in this day and age."
"And yet, we know you have it, whatever you choose to call it," Merlin said.
Morgana's smile grew smug. She straightened her shoulders and once again she was the beautiful queen, de facto ruler of DuLac and Lott who Merlin had met when he first arrived in Camelot. "I choose to call it power," she said.
"You think you have power?" Merlin shook his head and stepped a little closer. "You remember Miss Kay?"
"What has she to do with anything?"
"She has real magic and she doesn't like you, because she can taste yours on the air and she says you can't control it."
"Then she knows nothing!" There was a momentary glint of gold in her eyes which made Merlin tense, readying himself, but instead she laughed again. He remembered how he had thought of her laugh as musical. Now it was cracked and harsh. This, more than anything else made him feel he was facing a different woman from the one who had gaily pointed him at the files full of invoices in her attic office.
But Arthur had only met her once or twice. He was apparently still labouring under the impression that she could be reasoned with, because he stepped forward. "Morgana," he said. "I can understand that you're angry –"
He didn't get a chance to finish because she raised her right hand, her eyes flashed gold and he flew backwards across the room. Merlin turned to follow his flight, powerless to do anything except watch him hit the wall halfway up. He didn't fall. Hanging in mid-air, pinned, his face was twisted with shock and an unsuccessful attempt to speak, or possibly yell.
This Merlin could do something about. He moved in front of Arthur, raised his arm and allowed the arcane words Gaius had taught him to pronounce, to form in his mind.
Morgana's eyes widened, but she was fast. "You!" she spat, pointing her hand at him, palm forward and deflected the coils of magic he threw to entangle her. Behind him, Merlin heard Arthur slide to the floor, but he couldn't spare any of his attention from the battle that had begun so abruptly. Morgana slashed downwards with her left arm and sliced through his magical ropes. They dissipated. "You have magic," she said. It was almost a question, but not quite and Merlin didn't answer. He was fully occupied in anticipating her next move. He rifled through the spells he had memorised earlier, trying to find an effective protection that would win him back a moment to think and check on Arthur.
"It wasn't my magic failing," Morgana said. "You stopped it."
Merlin found what he was looking for, "You can't kill people," he said. "It's not right."
He could feel the focus of her attention, almost like a physical force. "Accidents," she said. "I didn't try to kill anyone." She edged sideways between the end of the settee and the wall and Merlin moved with her, keeping himself between her and Arthur. As he did so, he formed the spell in his mind and allowed it to expand, creating a wall between them. Behind him he heard Arthur groan and begin to get up.
Morgana faced him across the back of the settee. She hunched forward. It looked as if she was drawing her magic up from her diaphragm. A ball of fire began to form in her left hand and, focussed on Merlin as she was, she appeared not to hear a woman's startled voice ask, "What, what's going on?"
Merlin did hear and, distracted, he looked over to the doorway. Gwen and Lance were standing there, with Gwaine crowding behind Gwen's right shoulder. "Why is your front door open?" Gwen asked. "Morgana?"
At the sound of her name, Morgana whirled and threw the ball of bright fire.
Taken completely by surprise, Merlin did his best to redirect his efforts. He tried to deflect it, to push it towards the window, but it was too fast. It veered slightly from its path, but not enough. It burst between Lance and Gwen, sending Lance staggering and clipping Gwen's left shoulder, spinning her around. She cried out in surprise and pain.
Morgana froze. "Gwen!" she cried.
Arthur lurched past Merlin to Lance, saying, "Get her out of here."
Lance looked from Arthur, to Morgana, to Gwen, who was in the act of collapsing to her knees. He appeared a little dazed, but he caught her before she hit the ground and clasped her to his chest. "Go!" Arthur said.
Gwaine shoved Lance's shoulder. "Do as he says, Man." And Lance did. Shifting his hold on Gwen, he half carried her from the room.
Morgana watched the scene with an almost forlorn expression, but as Gwen and Lance disappeared, her attention snapped back to Merlin. "You made me do that!"
In the chaos Merlin's protective wall had fallen and he began to build it up again.
Another ball of flame was forming in Morgana's hand, but this time he was ready. When she threw it, it hit his invisible defences creating a cobweb of clear blue sparks in the air between them. Morgana screamed with frustration and began to gather her energies again.
Merlin's mind skittered from one possible spell to another, seeking something that would both protect him and restrain her. She was so much stronger than he had expected.
The spell that he privately called The Blanket of Silence popped into his head and he began to draw it up from the pit of his stomach and the far back reaches of his brain.
Morgana was almost ready to cast.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked, hoping to buy himself a couple of seconds.
Morgana laughed again, a harsh and brittle sound. "Why?" she echoed. "Why not? Because I can." And in a harder, almost vicious voice, "Because they deserve it."
"Did Gwen deserve it?"
"There's always collateral damage in a war."
"And is that what this is, a war?"
"It is to me."
She raised her arm and Merlin gathered his own energies, ready for the attack and ready with a follow-up of his own.
It didn't come.
Disregarded by both the main combatants, Arthur and Gwaine charged past Merlin on either side, crashed into Morgana and brought her to the floor.
Arthur, lying across her chest with Gwaine on top of him, was holding her left hand flat against the carpet. He turned his head and looked up at Merlin. "Little bit of help here?" he suggested.
Morgana groaned under their combined weight, and the ball of fire on her hand faded and died.
Merlin pulled himself together and insinuated a coil of magic between the writhing bodies, to loop itself around Morgana's chest. It coalesced into a visible rope, glowing golden with flecks of silver and green. Morgana's face was contorted with effort, but without the use of her hands it seemed she was unable to build any effective defence against it.
"Bring her arms down," Merlin instructed and Arthur and Gwaine pushed themselves free, forcing Morgana's arms to her sides. Merlin's magic wound its way around her to hold them in place. Arthur and Gwaine got to their feet.
The final loops of magic spiralled down Morgana's legs and wrapped themselves around her ankles. She fought physically against her bonds, but was unable to cut them. They held firm. Eventually she gave up and stilled. Trussed up like a parcel, she glared at Merlin. "Who the hell are you?" she snarled. "What have you done to me?"
Arthur and Gwaine exchanged a look and together they bent down, hoisted her up and carried her around the end of the settee. They deposited her on it and she sat, held by Merlin's magical ropes, so upright and rigid that if her hair had not been so wild she would have looked like a prim young mother at a coffee morning.
Walking around the settee, so that he was facing her, Merlin said, "I'm Merlin. Same as I always was."
Her face was a picture of frustrated anger. "And now you've trapped me here like this, what are you going to do?" she asked.
"That's actually a good question," Gwaine said. "And while I'm at it, what the hell just happened?"
Arthur replied before Merlin could. "Morgana has magic," he said. "So does Merlin. Morgana was trying to kill me. We stopped her. Thanks for that."
Gwaine glanced at Merlin and back to Arthur. "What about him? Shouldn't we restrain him too?"
Merlin opened his mouth to protest but Arthur got in first. "You believe me?"
"Not sure. I came to see Morgana and walked in on a magical pissing contest." He regarded Merlin warily. "However, you don't look like you're about to do anything dangerous, so –"
Arthur interrupted. "You believe in magic?"
"What? Oh, yes. My aunt's a witch and healer. I don't need to believe; I can see they've got magic. But what I don't know, is what the fuck is going on."
He directed the question more towards Morgana than either Arthur or Merlin. "What did I just see?" he asked. "Where did that fire come from? And why did you hurt Gwen?"
Morgana looked up at him and her expression softened. "I didn't mean to?" She sounding more like a child than the proud, confident woman they knew. She looked back at Merlin and Arthur and her voice hardened. "It was supposed to hit them," she said. Concentrating her glare on Arthur she added, "Him."
Gwaine started back, obviously shocked by her admission, almost disbelieving.
"Oh my goodness, Lance and Gwen!" Merlin exclaimed. "Where are they? Is she okay?"
Gwaine turned and ran, away from Morgana and out of the door. Through the lace curtains at the window, Merlin could make out his shape as he scrambed up the steps to the street.
Coming to stand at Merlin's shoulder, Arthur asked, "Can you hold her?"
"Yeah, it doesn't take any concentration to maintain this spell."
"Good." He swayed and bumped his shoulder with Merlin's. "I suppose it was just as well you did all that studying then."
"Is that you admitting you were wrong?"
"No." Arthur stepped around Merlin so he was standing almost in front of him, although he didn't block Merlin's view of his prisoner. "But it might be me saying 'thank you'," he said and he smiled.
The bubble of happiness that abruptly exploded inside Merlin in response to that smile surprised him. He grinned in return. For a moment he thought Arthur was going to kiss him, but he didn't. He stepped back.
"You're welcome," Merlin said.
Any possibility for further conversation was prevented by Gwaine's return, followed by Lance with his arm around Gwen's good shoulder. Gwaine took a deep breath and walked over to the settee. He perched himself on the seat next to Morgana, but Lance and Gwen hovered just inside the door, clearly uncertain of what to do next.
"It's okay; it's over," Merlin said. "You'd, you'd better come in. We need to talk."
"You didn't call the police, did you?" Arthur asked.
"I didn't have time," Lance said. "I hardly got Gwen up to the pavement before Gwaine was telling us to come back."
Merlin glanced over at the clock on the mantelpiece, amazed to see that it was only ten past three.
"Come and sit down," Arthur said and set an example by walking around the end of the settee and taking a place on the arm of the chair opposite Morgana.
Lance and Gwen came cautiously into the room, Lance still holding Gwen close. They paused just past the end of the settee and Lance asked, "What is that?" He was staring Morgana and her golden bindings.
"It's a restraining spell," Merlin said. He walked past them and chose the seat of the chair that Arthur had claimed, where he could keep an eye on Morgana.
Lance watched him. "Spell?" he asked. "What the fuck?"
Superficially, it appeared that the only person untouched by the events of the past few minutes was Gwaine, whose voice was typically flippant when he said, "Fuck knows, but I agree it's swear-worthy." But his eyes didn't hold their usual mischief, whatever his words said.
"You'd better take a seat," Arthur said.
Lance helped Gwen into the other chair and perched himself on its arm. He spoke quietly to her and she carefully pulled her ruined blouse and cardigan away from her left shoulder, exposing a small but ugly looking burn.
Gwaine got up and crossed the room to the door leading into the back of the flat. He returned a few minutes later with a green first aid box, which he placed on the floor and opened. The next few minutes were occupied by Lance tending to Gwen's shoulder.
Arthur and Gwaine both winced occasionally when Lance's gentle dabbing of the wound with antiseptic caused Gwen to take a sharp breath. Morgana's expression was calm. She watched the operation with an air of detachment and mild curiosity that was at odds with her earlier remorse.
When Lance had finished and the dressings, scissors and antiseptic were packed away in their box, she finally spoke. "You can take a top from my wardrobe, to replace that one," she said.
Gwen looked at her and nodded, but Lance was scowling. "What just happened?" he asked, the task of caring for Gwen having apparently restored his normal, polite vocabulary.
Arthur took a deep breath. "It's like Merlin said," he explained. "It's magic." Lance and Gwen stared at him blankly and he sighed. "I know," he said. "I didn't believe it either, not until Merlin showed me."
"And not even then, at first," Merlin interjected.
"You just saw it," Arthur said. "You saw the fire Morgana threw and you can see the, the mystical rope Merlin is holding her by, now." He turned to Morgana. "That's magic, isn't it Morgana?"
"If you say so," Morgana replied. "But I'd like to see you try to convince the police of it."
"The police?" Gwen asked. "Why would you need the police?"
Arthur indicating her shoulder. "Grievous bodily harm?" he suggested.
Gwen just shook her head, not in contradiction, but as if it was all too much to take in.
"She tried to kill me three times, she injured Pell, she drove my father temporarily insane and she tried to ruin Pendragon's."
Morgana sniffed. "Temporarily?" she asked. "Are you sure?"
Arthur's mouth tightened but otherwise he did not react to her taunt.
"No, I don't believe it," Lance objected. "Morgana's no murderer." He appealed to Morgana, herself. "You're not."
Morgana looked back at him in stony silence and he blanched. Placing a steadying hand against the back of Gwen's neck, he focused on Arthur and gamely continued, "Besides anything else, if she ruined Pendragon's, it would ruin us." He sounded like a man trying to find logic in a nightmare. "We've tied our fate to your star with this project and she's worked with us from the beginning." He turned back to Morgana. "You wouldn't do anything to hurt us?"
She still said nothing and Lance looked over at Gwaine, his expression appalled. Gwen put her hand on his thigh and stroked. Gwaine stared back at Lance, equally confounded.
Into the silence Merlin said, "In fairness, I don't think she meant to hurt you." He looked at Morgana. "But I think maybe you lost sight of the consequences?"
Morgana made a small dismissive sound, but her voice was firm when she said, "I knew what I was doing. I lost sight of nothing. My sight was never as clear as it's been in these past weeks." She looked around at them all and Merlin followed her gaze. Their expressions clearly showed their incomprehension.
"I meant to have my revenge," she said. "Uther had to suffer for what he did – betraying my father while he was away serving his Queen and Country. He was his friend. And he betrayed him. And you." She turned on Arthur. "You took what was mine."
"I did?" Arthur asked. "Where in your twisted brain does that make any sense?"
"Uther robbed my father of his wife. He was supposed to pay for his betrayal with his son."
"But he wasn't your father," Arthur said.
"Nor was Uther," she spat. "We were alone. And he walked away from us. He didn't want a daughter. And he didn't want my mother, either. Not when he thought he was finally going to get a son from his wife."
Merlin laid a hand on Arthur's arm. "So this was all about revenge?" he asked. "It wasn't even a little bit about saving the Folly?"
"The museum!" Morgana said. "Yes, I would have saved the museum, once-" She cut herself off and instead finished with, "I still will."
"You intended to be my father's heir," Arthur said.
"I will be," she snarled. "And the LeFay memorial museum will open. I'll make sure it does!"
Lance and Gwen were staring at Morgana in horror. Gwaine looked both appalled and very sad. Arthur's expression was a complex mix of revulsion, regret and curiosity.
"How, how could you feel like this and never talk to us?" Lance asked and Merlin felt a stirring of admiration for his humanity in the face of such incomprehensible events.
Gwen took Lance's hand and held it between both of her own. "Why didn't you talk to any of us?" she asked.
Morgana said nothing, her expression mutinous.
The silence stretched, until Gwaine broke it. "I think it's more to the point," he said, taking a seat on the arm of the settee, as far from Morgana as possible, "to ask what we are going to do now?" He refused to look at Morgana again as he continued, "You can't call the police. You can't keep her imprisoned with your," he waved his hand vaguely, "magical ropes forever. And you aren't going to kill her."
"No," Merlin agreed. "We can't do that."
Morgana smiled.
"Oh, I don't know," said a voice from the doorway. Their heads all whipped up and around to see Miss Kay standing on the threshold. "That was a powerful battle, Young Warlock," she said approvingly. "And now you have a problem. I told you to call on me when the time came."
"Miss Kay?" Gwen exclaimed.
"Sorry," Merlin said. "But I, I don't know your number."
Miss Kay walked over to stand where she could see everyone and they could all see her. "It is just as well you didn't need one, then, isn't it?" she said. She nodded at Arthur, "The courageous young Pendragon," she said. Arthur nodded back. His face registered both surprise and some amusement at her description of him. Her eyes passed over Lance and Gwen, "The Pure Knight and his lady," she said. She halted on Gwaine. "And strength," she added.
Gwaine got to his feet. With a bow, he offering her the chair, but she shook her head. He sat back down.
Finally turning to Morgana, Miss Kay said, "And the witch. You have caused a great deal of trouble, young lady, and unless you are dealt with you will cause more."
"You can't kill her," Merlin objected. "I won't let you."
Miss Kay smiled, although her eyes were hard. "Don't be foolish, boy," she said. "This is the 21st century. Even my magic hesitates in the face of forensic science. No, we don't need to kill her." She looked down at him. "Pass me her ring," she said.
Finally Morgana reacted, "No!" she screamed and twisted in her seat, trying to break herself free of her bonds. Merlin went down on one knee in front of her and reached for her hand. She closed her fingers tightly into her palm, but with Arthur's help Merlin forced them open and pulled her ring off. As it left her finger, she stopped fighting and collapsed in her chair. She glared up at Miss Kay from behind her hair.
Merlin handed Miss Kay the ring and she held it up. It seemed to catch a stray beam of light from the French windows. For a moment the stone glowed a deep red that flooded the room and outlined Miss Kay in flames. Then the effect faded, leaving an elderly lady holding a very ordinary garnet ring. She folded her hand around it. "If either Arthur or Merlin come to any harm through your agency," she said, "I will break this ring."
Morgana paled and Miss Kay nodded. "And that would not be good for you, my dear, would it?"
Not waiting for an answer, she slipped the ring into her pocket and stepped forward. Merlin knee walked to the side, out of her way and stopped in front of Arthur, who smirked down at him, although the expression was gone within a moment. He returned his attention to Miss Kay and, with some relief Merlin hitched himself back into the chair. He was conscious of feeling tired.
When Miss Kay reached forward Morgana shrank away from her, but she remained defiant. "Stay away from me, you old hag," she said. "And give me back my ring."
"You have learned nothing from your defeat?" Miss Kay asked.
There was something about her presence that kept the rest of them silent, but it didn't seem to affect Morgana. "I'm not defeated yet."
Miss Kay made ostentatious play of staring at Merlin's ropes and Morgana sneered. "They can't hold me forever. And when I get free-"
"When you get free you will do precisely nothing," Miss Kay said. "You will leave Camelot. You will leave this country. You will find that Australia is ready to issue a residency visa, as soon as you apply. You will go there and you will not return. If you do, I will know and I will take whatever measures I see fit."
Bending forward she reached out, laid her left hand on Morgana's head and Morgana could not escape.
For a moment nothing happened. Then Morgana's entire body shook. Her back arched away from the seat and she froze in that position. Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. Miss Kay didn't move. She continued to look down into Morgana's face with her hand resting on her hair. After about twenty seconds she drew back and Morgana collapsed, her eyes closed. She looked like she was asleep, or maybe unconscious.
The silence that had held as Miss Kay's aura kept them all frozen, broke. Gwen gasped in alarm and Lance got to his feet. "She is not dead," Miss Kay said. "She may spend the rest of her life trying to break down the wall I have built, but my magic is more powerful than any human magic. She will never succeed."
"Human," Arthur said flatly.
Ignoring the implicit question, Miss Kay continued, "It will give her a purpose in life that will hurt no one. Send her away, young Pendragon."
"Send her...?"
"Will she be all right?" Gwen asked.
Miss Kay turned and looked down at her. "If she does as she's told and goes to Australia, she will be well. The soil of that land responds to a different song. If she comes back here, the disharmony will be detrimental. You will explain that to her, when she wakes."
"Me?"
"You have no stake in this battle. As the only truly neutral person here, it is your task to advocate for her best good."
"So we just let her go?" Arthur said. "That's, that's almost like rewarding her for what she's done."
"What would you do instead?" Miss Kay asked and Arthur was clearly stumped for an answer.
Miss Kay stepped past Gwaine, Lance and Gwen, into the open space near the door. "She acted only from a need for revenge," she said, addressing Arthur primarily, but sweeping her gaze around the room to include them all. "And believe me, this is no reward. Her aim was to punish the elder Pendragon, by killing you who took her place from her. She has already had her vengeance. Let her go."
She tilted her head slightly and studied Arthur. "The Pendragons have always served their people before themselves," she said. "In times of war, heroics are easy to find – your great-great-great-grandfather was part of the Light Brigade's mad charge towards the guns at Balaclava. Another of your kin died, dragging wounded men out of No Man's Land in Flanders. All the way back to the peddler and ploughman, your family has gone to war when called. But in times of peace, it is the actions of the philanthrope that mark his or her quiet passing."
She paused and her voice was harder when she continued. "Your grandfather did not fail, he simply had different priorities from those of your father. He used his company for the means to do good in his corner of the world. There is more than one school owes its playing field to his careful manipulation of local planning regulations, or its music room to his generosity. His father was instrumental in building the town's hospital, in the days before the State took on the cost, when the poor died for the lack of a guinea to pay the doctor's fee."
"In pursuit of enlarging the minds and educating the morals of the residents of Camelot," Merlin said and Miss Kay nodded her head in regal ascent.
"It is your father who reneged on his responsibilities, his duty. Traditionally, the folly of the Pendragons has always been the grand gesture."
"You're not describing folly," Arthur objected.
Miss Kay smiled. "That rather depends on who is making the judgement. As you must decide what type of Pendragon you are going to be."
Arthur shrugged awkwardly and Miss Kay smiled again. "It is your time of choosing, young Pendragon," she said.
With a final sweeping glance at each of them, she went to the door.
"I'll come and see you tomorrow?" Merlin said.
Miss Kay paused. "Why?" she asked. "We have nothing more to say at this point. We will meet again soon, but this battle is over. Now you need to restore your strength and build your future."
"I feel fine"
"Soon you will not."
Then she left, leaving Merlin staring helplessly at the door. He turned back to the others, to find his own confused emotions mirrored on their faces.
It was Gwaine who pulled himself together first. He leaned over and laid a couple of gentle fingers against the side of Morgana's neck.
"Is she all right?" Gwen asked.
"Well, she has a pulse and it's steady, so I think perhaps she will be."
"How long? I mean, she's unconscious. We should take her to the hospital. She had a concussion."
Gwaine looked across at Merlin, who shrugged. "I don't know," he said. He was struggling to follow the conversation because, quite abruptly, a dark cloud of exhaustion was threatening to smother him. "I don't know what she did."
"But?"
Merlin sat up straight in an attempt to will himself alert and sharp. "But Miss Kay said she'd be okay, so I think she will. I mean, I don't think Miss Kay lies and I do think she knows what she's doing."
"So we wait," Gwaine said.
Lance shook his head. "I don't think we all do. If I've put it all together correctly, Morgana might not be best pleased to see you two, when she wakes up."
"But…" Merlin protested, before seeing his point and shutting up.
"She's apparently my sister," Arthur said. "And I feel sort of responsible…" He trailed off.
"You're not," Lance said. "Any more than you're responsible for being born."
"My father is."
"Which is not your sin. I didn't understand half of what Miss Kay said, but I got the gist – you are only responsible for your own choices."
"I think Lance is right," Gwen said. "And I think it will be easier to talk to her if you're not here."
Arthur frowned, but after a moment he nodded. "Okay." He looked over at Gwaine. "You don't seem as surprised as the rest of us were by all this. You'll explain it to them?" He nodded towards Gwen and Lance
Gwaine shrugged. "As much as I can. I think I've understood." He shook his head. "Bloody hell, what a fucking mess."
"Thank you." Arthur said. He grabbing Merlin's hand and pulled him to his feet.
"I need a drink," Gwaine declared. "There's an offie on the corner of Devonshire Road." He got to his feet and turned to Gwen. "Beer or wine? Or do you fancy something stronger?"
Still looking slightly dazed, Gwen shook her head affectionately and ruled for beer.
Lance and Gwen stayed with Morgana. Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine left together and, once outside on the pavement, lingered for a few minutes.
"She will be okay, won't she?" Gwaine asked.
By this point, Merlin was swaying with exhaustion. "I think so. Yes. Yes, she will," he said. "And I don't think she'll be a danger to anyone, anymore."
Gwaine nodded. "Good," he said. "Good that she'll be okay. Because in spite of everything I've heard, in spite of seeing her throw fire at my friend and in spite of having to tackle her to the ground, in a totally platonic way, I still sort of love her."
"I know," Merlin agreed.
Arthur was watching Gwaine with a sympathetic expression and when Gwaine intercepted it he grinned. "Give over, Princess," he said. "Don't be mistaking me for some delicate flower. I'll see you soon, yeah? I'm sure Gwen will text you when Morgana wakes up." And he turned on his heel and strode away.
Merlin and Arthur watched him until he reached the corner. Then they exchanged a glance and turned away themselves. After a few yards, Arthur threw his arm around Merlin's shoulders and Merlin didn't shrug him off. It was nearly four o'clock and he was exhausted. Arthur ended up supporting his steps as they walked back to the car.
*****
Saturday evening was a bit of a blur. Merlin had a vague memory of Arthur driving them back to Francis Street. He didn't remember the stop at the off-licence, where Arthur bought a bottle of whiskey, but it obviously happened because nor did he remember anything other than fragmented snatches of conversation with Gaius around his dining table. Not after the first glass was placed in front of him. He had no memory at all of getting to bed.
He awoke to the comfort of his duvet on top of him, Arthur's warm length down his back and Arthur's right arm curled around his chest. He rolled over and discovered that Arthur was already awake, with a ruefully apologetic smile on his lips.
Merlin blinked and rubbed sleep from the corners of his eyes. He swallowed to loosen his throat. "Did we?" he asked.
Arthur's smile broadened into something both amused and fond. "No. I'm an honourable man. And you're a total lightweight. I didn't take advantage."
"Prat," Merlin retorted. He smiled in return. "Good," he added. "Because that would have been a waste."
He rolled very slightly on his shoulder and Arthur leaned forward to meet him. Like most first kisses, it wasn't perfect. But they didn't bang noses or teeth, mainly because Arthur lifted himself on his elbow a little to get the angle right. And like most first kisses, it was followed by a second, that was even better.
After that Arthur laid his head on Merlin's shoulder and Merlin curled his arm around Arthur's back. "You ever seen the movie, Speed?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"Remember at the end, when Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves kiss? Sandra Bullock says something about how relationships that start in the aftermath of danger have a high chance of not working out."
Arthur snorted a laugh. "But they didn't know each other before hand."
"True," Merlin agreed. He bent his head and rubbed the tip of his nose over Arthur's hair.
*****
It was lunchtime before they got out of bed and then only because Gaius called upstairs to say that dinner was almost on the table. "Gods, yes, I'm starving," Merlin said.
Over roast chicken, potatoes, peas and gravy, Gaius told them that Lance and Gwen had stopped by earlier. "Gwaine and his girlfriend are staying with Morgana," he explained. "They were on their way home so they didn't come in. They still looked a little shell-shocked."
"But they said how she was?" Arthur asked.
"I think the words were, headachy and frustrated."
Merlin looked across at Arthur and back to Gaius. "I don't remember; I was a bit out of it last night. Did Arthur explain what Miss Kay did?"
"He described it, yes. She said she'd blocked Morgana away from her magic?"
"Yes. No. More like she's blocked Morgana's magic from its source. She said something about Morgana going to Australia and something about the, the song the land has there. Something like that?" He paused a moment, staring blankly at the wall behind Gaius's head. "I think if she had blocked Morgana from her magic, it would have killed her. She once said there's magic in the centre of every cell, in every living thing. But Morgana drew her power from her ring, her focus. But, but I think that was just a channel, gathering the magic from the land."
Gaius frowned. "It's an interesting theory," he allowed.
Merlin put down his knife and fork and Arthur reached over and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze. Merlin felt himself flush, but although he watched the gesture, Gaius's expression remained neutral.
"It feels right," Merlin said. He turned his hand and returned Arthur's squeeze.
Gaius's mouth turned up very slightly and his gaze softened. "I'm not disputing that," he said. "If it feels right to you, it probably is." He laughed out right and changed the subject. "Do I have to ask you both if your intentions are honourable?"
Arthur smiled. "It's a bit early for deciding that," he said. "We have a year or more to drive each other away, first."
Distracted, Gaius's eyebrow rose. "Ah," he said. "You've made a decision?"
"More like conceived a plan. It'll need to be worked out in detail, but yes, I think I know how to save your museum and even secure its future. And hopefully also get my father's approval for it."
His meal totally forgotten, Gaius sat forward in his chair. Merlin divided his attention unevenly between the conversation and his plate, struggling to eat one-handed, but unwilling to let go of Arthur's hand.
"I'm going to repossess the building," Arthur said.
Merlin looked up. "What?"
Arthur's hold on his hand tightened reassuringly. "Don't worry. It's too big and you know it. But if half of it is turned to profit and a proper space is turned into a proper museum, then part of the profitable part can be dedicated to paying for its maintenance."
Gaius opened his mouth, closed it again and ended up smiling widely.
Merlin grinned. "That's brilliant!" he said.
With a modest and slightly embarrassed smile, Arthur said, "It does mean I have to take the building back and dissolve the trust."
"No huge loss," Gaius observed.
"It will have to be managed carefully. If any of my father's previous dealings become public, it would do huge damage to our reputation and, worst case, could result in an enquiry that would kybosh it totally." He looked at Merlin. "So your friend, Will..."
"I'll talk to him," Merlin promised.
"It also means the refurbishment will take longer. We need to start again with the plans. Luckily, the only work done so far is structural repair."
"How long?" Merlin asked.
"Maybe two years? Maybe less."
Gaius pulled himself together. "The details can be worked out later, as you say." He picked up his cutlery and attacked his dinner with renewed vigour. Merlin gave Arthur's hand a last squeeze and reclaimed his own, so he could eat properly.
When the plates were cleared away, they settled back around the table with coffee. "And what happens to Morgana?" Gaius asked. "Will she go to Australia?"
Merlin frowned. "I think she'll have to. I felt the pressure of Miss Kay's magic. Even sort of side on, it was powerful."
"She might resist."
"She might last a couple of days. But I don't think anyone could resist for longer. Eventually she'll go."
Arthur broke into the exchange. "I have to go to London, but I'll come back and take her to the consulate." He caught Merlin's expression and placed his hand over Merlin's free one. "I sort of feel I owe it to her." He paused. "Maybe not that. But I do believe she's my sister and as such I feel sort of responsible."
"You're not."
"Maybe not. But I think I need to do this. Responsibility, duty…" He shrugged. "It's sort of –"
"It's sort of what you do," Merlin said. "But I doubt she'll accept your help. Are you going back today?"
"Tonight, yes. Want to come?"
Merlin smiled. "I don't know. I have this boss who's a bit of a slave driver."
"Yes, about that," Arthur said. He lifted their clasped hands. "And this. I'm thinking you might need to resign."
"What? But-"
"But," Arthur interrupted, "if Morgana leaves, and you think she has to, then Lance and Gwaine will have a vacancy that I think you could fill admirably."
"But..."
"And I'm thinking," Arthur continued airily, "that if you worked for them part time, you could spend half your week in London, at the British Library."
Gaius looked at them from under a raised eyebrow before turning his attention to his coffee with a satisfied smile.
Pendragon's Folly, Chapter 11 - epilogue
Note: I would ask any scholars of Early Modern or Jacobean English to please forgive my mangled attempt to name the spell Merlin is reading in Gaius's living room.
Chelsea buns are a type of currant bun made in a spiral shape - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_bun or http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chelsea_buns_95015
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Arthur sounds like he's come up with a solid plan, putting him in the illustrious ranks of his ancestors in giving back to the community. Uther should be ashamed of himself for trying to break that philanthropic streak. He's paid dearly for several mistakes here.
Arthur's plans for Merlin made me smile. He just wants his boyfriend close but having him learn more spells is a good idea, too. It's going to be win/win!
I'm looking forward to the Epilogue.
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Yes, Arthur is a different sort of man from his father (although in fairness he will inherit much more than his father did *g* so his comfort has never really been challenged.) He does have some good ideas, though *g*
Thank you. The epilogue will probably be posted early, because I am away next weekend at Writercon.
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Arthur is so wonderful and still naïve. He really thought he could just talk to her and resolve the issue. Poor dear boy. But I love his plans for the museum. It works out best for everyone. Very clever.
And, of course, the fact that Merlin and Arthur are obviously about to be a real couple makes me all gooey inside. Beautiful job. Well constructed story.
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Yes, Morgana has, under the influence of wild magic, totally lost her perspective. It makes me wonder whether canon Uther might not have had reason for his prejudice about magic, ill informed and incomplete though it might be and as prejudice always is. As many people have said - with great power comes great responsibility *g*
Arthur does have some good ideas, doesn't he? And he was certainly on a winning streak at the end of this chapter.
Thank you for all your lovely comments, hon. I hope to have the epilogue posted early, because I am away at Writercon next weekend.
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I will be posting the epilogue on Friday.
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Love Merlin's demonstration of magic with the miniature horse and knight in armour - gorgeous bit of showing.
"I choose to call it power," And there's the difference between her and Merlin.
Love Gwaine's casual admission that he knows about magic! *g*
Yay for Miss Kay - definitely a hint of 'I want to test that theory' :)
The soil of that land responds to a different song. Love this explanation for why Morgana's magic won't work in Australia, and as others have said, the fact that the solution is about neutralising Morgana's powers rather than destroying her (although some might say the end result is the same) sits well with the difference between Arthur and Uther as well as the enigmatic nature of Miss Kay.
And yay, so happy to see the bit about the folly of the Pendragon's. It works beautifully.
Yay for first kisses, and bed and Arthur having a plan. Yay for this chapter, it was immensely satisfying.
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Yes, that is the biggest difference between Merlin and Morgana and the world can thank Hunith for bringing him up right.
The idea of the song of magic made Australia the only country to which I could possibly send Morgana and yes, I think Miss Kay has laid a heavy burden upon her.
Happy to credit you with that Folly of the Pendragons line.
*hugs you* Thank you for all your patience and nagging and support during the long, long time it took to get this story out here.