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Morgana stalked through the woods as quietly as she could. That darn Merlin had just foiled another of her and Morgause’s plans. How does he keep doing that? He almost seems to know about their plans before she does. But that can’t be right . . . wait, is he following her again? She turned but saw no corresponding movement behind her. She continued walking and muttering about meddlesome manservants.
Eventually she came upon Morgause, who stood in a small clearing with her blood guard. She looked completely unruffled by events, even though she had to know their plan had failed. What sort of advice would she give Morgana now?
“Morgana, there you are, sister,” Morgause purred.
Morgana hurried over to her. “I’m so sorry, sister. The plan failed all because of Merlin.”
“That meddlesome manservant? He seems to be a frequent complaint of yours.”
“He gets in the way every time, Morgause. I don’t know how he always finds out, but he does.”
Morgause frowned. “Then it seems we need to remove him from the picture. Permanently.”
“How will we do that?”
“Love, my dear Morgana.”
“I don’t understand.”
Morgause reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a scroll. “You will enchant him to fall in love with you. And when he does, it will become obvious to everyone around you, even Uther. And Uther will surely have him executed for daring to love his better.”
Morgana clapped her hands. “This is perfect! The only drawback is that I will have to put up with his attentions, but if it works as you say, I won’t have to for very long.”
“Here is the spell.” Morgause handed Morgana the scroll.
Morgana unrolled the scroll and read the words written there, “Þú béo in lufe eac mé. It seems too simple.”
“Sometimes simple is the most effective. Practice it now so you will say it exactly right when the moment comes.”
Morgana read through the spell several times. Morgause corrected her here and there, but eventually she proclaimed that Morgana had it right. “Now return to Camelot, sister, and think of an opportune moment when you can enchant him.” She took Morgana’s hands. “I know you can do this.”
“Thank you, Morgause.” She embraced her half-sister. “Farewell for now.”
“Farewell, Morgana.”
Morgana marched through the woods, a triumphant smile on her face. Soon Merlin would be dead and a plan of hers would finally succeed. She’d be Queen of Camelot in no time at all.
xxxXxxx
Merlin woke at first light. It was just something he did these days, always having to wake up Arthur as soon as possible after. He grumbled and got out of bed, wishing for simpler days when his mum didn’t wake him until well after sunrise.
He’d just gotten dressed when he heard Gaius calling softly from the next room. After fastening his neckerchief, he hurried out to breakfast. Once it was consumed, he bid Gaius farewell and left for Arthur’s chambers to face the day with the Prince. As far as he knew, there was nothing special going on today, no patrols or visiting dignitaries. This meant training, and plenty of it.
Off to the kitchens he went, to fetch Arthur’s breakfast. That being procured, he bent his steps to Arthur’s chambers to wake the Prince.
Once inside Arthur’s chambers, Merlin sat down the tray and moved to open the drapes. A groan emanated from the bed as Arthur rolled over and attempted to block the sun with one of his pillows. Merlin grinned and made his way over to the bed, where he snatched the pillow away from Arthur.
“Hey!” Arthur complained.
Merlin just chuckled. “It’s time to get up and face the day, sire.”
“Oh wonderful. You’re in a cheery mood.”
“Yep. Get used to it.”
Arthur smiled. “Then you won’t mind the personal training you’re going to get today.”
The smile fled Merlin’s face. “I should have known.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.”
The last time Arthur “went easy” on Merlin, Merlin had had bruises for two weeks. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to repeating that experience. But the training was helping him become slowly competent with a sword and shield, so he didn’t complain now.
Hours later, Merlin followed his master back to his chambers where he was to set up a bath and bring him dinner. The training hadn’t gone too badly today—Merlin had been able to defend himself somewhat, as the Prince had indeed gone easy on him. He was a bit sore but not the worse for wear as before. But he looked forward to his own dinner and down time.
After seeing to Arthur for the night, Merlin walked back to Gaius’s chambers. The old physician would have dinner waiting, and good conversation. It had been a better than average day, which were few and far between for Merlin.
“Good evening, Merlin,” Gaius greeted him. “I have one thing for you to do before dinner.”
“What is it?”
“Take this sleeping draught to Morgana. She requested it for tonight.”
“Gaius, we both know she doesn’t need this sleeping draught.”
Gaius held out the bottle. “True, but if we do not take it to her, she will bring the matter to the King. And that is attention we do not need.”
Merlin took the bottle. “Fine. I just hope she doesn’t have some sort of evil plan she’s hatching.”
“We cannot know for sure.”
“You’re right. I’ll just take her the draught and be on my guard.”
“That is all you can do for now.”
Merlin turned and left the room. As he made his way to Morgana’s chambers, he tried to think of anything Morgana could try. The possibilities were endless since she had Morgause on her side.
When he reached her door, he knocked. It was opened by Morgana herself, so she must have sent Gwen home already. That didn’t bode well.
“Ah, Merlin, come in.”
“I’d rather not. I just brought your sleeping draught.”
“Don’t be mean. I’m not going to harm you.”
“Fine.” He stepped inside and she closed the door behind him. “Here,” he said, holding out the bottle. “I’m sure you’ll want to take it as soon as possible.”
“I’m sure I will. But now that I have your attention, Þú béo in lufe eac mé.”
Merlin suddenly felt dizzy. “Wha . . . what did you say?”
“Oh I think you heard me,” she purred. “And 3, 2, 1 . . .”
Merlin felt a swelling of something within him, a feeling. Something about Morgana. “Morgana, I . . . I think I love you.”
“Oh, I know. Isn’t it grand?”
“Morgana,” he got down on his knees in front of her, “what can I do for you, my love?”
She giggled in delight. “Well right now, Merlin, you can get out of my room. Return to Gaius’s chambers and do what you wish. I’ll think on what you can do for me.”
“Yes, my love.” He got up and went to the door. “Anything for you.”
She giggled again. “Goodnight, Merlin.”
“Goodnight.”
And Merlin was off, back to Gaius’s chambers, because his love wished it. Once through the door, he smiled at the old man and said, “Isn’t this the most beautiful day?” He then sat down at the table across from Gaius and began eating the stew the old man had prepared.
Gaius looked at him quizzically, but didn’t reply. He tucked into his own dinner, but at a different speed than Merlin. Merlin seemed to be eating as quickly as he could, which was a bit unusual. “Merlin, are you quite all right?”
“I’m great, Gaius! I just need to go out tonight to pick flowers for my love.”
“Your love? I didn’t know you had time for that.”
Merlin put his hands on Gaius’s cheeks. “Of course I do. Now I must go pick flowers. Adieu!”
Gaius stared in amazement at where Merlin had been sitting. This seemed quite a turnaround for the young man. Not that he’d complained about a bad day, but he usually wasn’t this chipper before bed. And now he had a love? This must have been a very new thing. He decided he’d ask Merlin more about it in the morning after a good night’s sleep. Yes, he needed a good night’s sleep.
xxxXxxx
Gaius woke to the sound of someone moving around his chambers. He opened his eyes and saw Merlin, already dressed, moving stacks of books. Just as he was about to say something, Merlin spoke. “Good morning, Gaius! Isn’t it a beautiful morning? I’m just looking for a book on how to be a good lover, since I don’t have any sort of experience with that.”
Gaius felt his mouth fall open. What had gotten into his boy? “I do not think we have anything like that, Merlin.”
Merlin’s face fell. “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to look in the library then. I’m sure I can fit that into my day somewhere.” And just like that, he was smiling again. “Well, Gaius, I’m off to deliver my flowers and see to Arthur.”
“Wait, Merlin. Did you eat?”
“Yep, I already ate. Don’t worry about me!”
“Merlin.” The boy stopped again on his way to the door. “Who is this love you speak of?”
“Didn’t I tell you? She is only the most beautiful, most kind and generous, most perfect woman in the whole land. The lady is Morgana.” And with that, he walked out the door.
Morgana? How on earth had Merlin managed to fall in love with Morgana? They were bitter adversaries. Something else had to be at work here. Gaius got out of bed and dressed himself for the day. After a short breakfast, he pulled out all the books he had on love spells and enchantments. He feared that was the only way Merlin could have fallen for Camelot’s newest adversary.
xxxXxxx
Morgana woke to a knock on her door. She knew it wasn’t Gwen; Gwen didn’t knock. “Come in,” she called out.
She shouldn’t have been surprised to see Merlin standing there, a big bouquet of flowers in his hands. Oh this was going to get annoying very quickly.
“My love, I have brought you flowers. What shall I do with them?”
“There’s a vase on the table. Put them in there with some water.”
“Anything for you, Morgana.”
That’s just what she was afraid of. How long would she have to put up with him before Uther found out and executed him? She hadn’t thought this part of the plan through. Well, she’d made her bed and would have to lie in it.
When he turned to face her, she plastered a smile on her face. “Thank you, Merlin. They’re lovely.”
He hurried toward her. Kneeling by her bedside, he took her hand in his. “I’m so glad I could please you, my love.” He kissed her knuckles then stood. “I’m afraid I have to leave you now, but I’m sure we will see each other again today.”
“Of course.”
“Goodbye, my love.”
“Goodbye, Merlin.”
After he left, Morgana smirked. So far, so good. Despite the annoyance of seeing her adversary, she was pleased. He was firmly in love with her and if he continued with such displays of affection, Uther would be bound to notice sooner rather than later. Merlin’s days were numbered and she couldn’t be happier about that.
xxxXxxx
Arthur again woke to the opening of his drapes and sunshine hitting his eyes. But there was something else going on too, some sort of noise. Instead of dodging the light like he usually did, he turned into it and sat up. “What is that awful noise?”
The sound stopped and Merlin turned to face him. “Humming, sire. I was humming.”
“Well do me a favor.”
“Of course.”
“Don’t hum.”
“As you wish, sire. Nothing could bring me down today.”
Arthur stared at his servant. Something seemed off about him this morning, and he was going to find out what. “You seem more cheerful this morning.”
“Do I? It must be the positive side of being in love.”
Arthur’s mouth fell open. Since when was Merlin in love? He hadn’t acted like this yesterday, not even a hint of it. So it must have happened last night. Whatever it was, Arthur wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he was going to ask anyway. “With whom are you in love?”
Merlin dropped the shirt he’d been holding as a big smile came over his face. “Oh, Arthur, you’ll never guess.”
“That is why I was asking.”
Merlin walked over to his master. “It’s Morgana. I’m in love with Morgana, the most beautiful woman in all the land.”
Morgana? Arthur’s mouth fell open again. Could he have become this addled by Morgana overnight? The answer was, of course, yes, since Merlin was known to be scatterbrained. But this new-found love could also get him killed, and that was something Arthur wouldn’t entertain. He watched Merlin dance around the room for a moment before he spoke up again. “Listen, Merlin, I want you to be careful.”
“Careful? I just want to proclaim my love on the highest towers, so everyone will know how I feel about Morgana.”
Arthur was getting worried. If he did that, which in his current mood, Arthur wouldn’t put past him, he would for sure find himself executed. “Merlin, I really don’t think this love of yours is a good idea. If my father found out, you’ll find yourself in the dungeon awaiting execution faster than you could say ‘Morgana.’”
Merlin stopped in place. “You really think so?”
“I do. You can be in love with her, but you need to keep it quiet.”
“Can I talk about it with you?”
“Ah, sure. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thank you, Arthur. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” Merlin threw his arms around Arthur for a tight embrace. He then let go and started dancing around the room again.
Arthur rolled his eyes. This was going to quickly become annoying. “Merlin.”
“Yes, Arthur?”
“You still have to do your chores.”
“Of course!” Merlin laughed like nothing would bother him.
Great. “Merlin, I want you to clean my room, polish my favorite sword, wash my clothes, and muck out my horses. And all that has to be done today.”
Merlin giggled. Giggled? “Yes, my liege, whatever you say will be done.”
“Good. Now come dress me.”
“Coming sire.”
Arthur rolled his eyes again. This was going to be one very long day unless Merlin got a hold of himself.
xxxXxxx
By the end of the day, Arthur had had it with Merlin’s lovesickness. Everything was “Morgana this” and “Morgana that” it seemed. Merlin was careful not to say anything in front of anyone else, fortunately for him. But that meant he spent that much more time talking to Arthur. And Arthur had grown to dislike all this prattle intensely.
After dinner, he set Merlin to polish his armor and chainmail and took himself off to Gaius’s chambers to speak with the physician. It was likely the old man had noticed too, and Arthur was genuinely worried about his friend.
He let himself into Gaius’s chambers and addressed the old man. “Gaius.”
“Arthur. How can I help you, sire?”
“It’s about Merlin. Have you noticed anything odd about him today?”
Gaius put down his book with a sigh. “Indeed I have. Has he mentioned Morgana to you?”
Arthur rolled his eyes for the hundredth time that day. “Only every time I wasn’t busy with something else. It seems he’s in love with her.”
“Yes, he had given me the same impression. Have you noticed anything between them lately that could have incited this?”
“No. In fact, they seem to have been colder toward each other. I was wondering why.”
“Pay that no mind. It is this love I am concerned with. It seems to have come from nowhere.”
Arthur crossed his arms. “Are you saying he’s enchanted?”
“That is exactly what I am saying.”
“So, what is it? A spell or potion? And why Morgana?”
“It could be either a spell or potion. There are several hundred possibilities for both. And as for why Morgana, it could be that someone is trying to get him killed by having him publicly declare his love for her.”
“That would do it. I’ve talked to him about that myself. He’s been quiet about that, except to me. I told him I understood and it was all right for him to do so. I regret that now.”
Gaius chuckled. “I can imagine.”
“So what do we do? We’ve got to cure him of this before he does make a public declaration.”
“I agree. Unfortunately because of the sheer number of spells and potions, it will be hard to figure out which one it is.”
“I was afraid you’d say that. We’ve got to try, Gaius.”
“I know, Arthur, I will keep looking.”
“Thank you, Gaius.”
Arthur returned to his chambers. He found his armor half-finished and Merlin standing at the window, gazing at the courtyard below. He stifled the urge to roll his eyes again and addressed Merlin instead. “What’s so interesting down there?”
Merlin turned to face him. “Morgana.”
Arthur crossed to the window to look out the window himself. Morgana was standing there, talking with Gwen. Of course. “Merlin, listen. I want you to go fetch my dinner then you can have the night off.” Merlin grinned. “But I want you to go back to Gaius’s and eat a proper dinner. You’re looking a bit thin these days.”
“Of course. Thank you, sire.” With that, he was off, presumably on his way to the kitchens.
Arthur sighed and sat on his bed. He hoped Gaius could find the solution soon or he might just be driven mad.
xxxXxxx
Merlin showed up again in Gaius’s chambers a little after he normally did. Nothing unusual for him. Gaius looked up when he entered and nodded at him. He had prepared dinner and sat at the table waiting for Merlin.
Merlin sat down across from Gaius and dug right into dinner. He ate quickly, hardly giving Gaius a chance to speak up and ask him the questions he had. Finally Merlin finished and made to get up. Gaius laid a hand on his arm and he stopped, sitting in place.
“Merlin, are you still in love with Morgana?”
“Oh yes, Gaius, isn’t it wonderful? I just saw her in the courtyard after not being able to see her all day. She is a sight for sore eyes. That’s why I ate dinner so fast, so I could go spend some time with her—”
“Merlin, did Morgana enchant you to fall in love with her?”
“If you mean, did she enchant me with her beauty, her goodness, and her sheer radiance, then yes, she enchanted me. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before—”
Gaius fought the urge to roll his eyes. He could easily see why Arthur was so irritated with Merlin, if he’d prattled on like this all day long. “What did Morgana say when you visited her last night?”
“She told me to come in, that she wouldn’t harm me. I gave her the sleeping draught, then she said, ‘Þú béo in lufe eac mé.’ After I declared my undying love for her, she promised to tell me what I could do for her. Then I left.”
Gaius had frozen at the words of the spell. It guaranteed the caster that the subject would fall in love with him or her. He’d come across it in all his reading that day. Now if only he could remember which book he’d read it in, he could find the cure for poor Merlin.
“Thank you, Merlin. Well, you had better not disappoint Morgana, so get going. And be sure no one sees you going into her chambers. The consequences could be dire.”
“Thank you, Gaius.” Merlin got up, brushed himself off and loped out the door.
As he watched him go, Gaius just hoped Merlin would indeed be careful. Camelot needed its protector with his head intact. He sighed and headed over to his stack of books about love potions and spells. It was going to be a long night.
xxxXxxx
Morgana was delighted when Merlin showed up at her door again. She let him in and accepted his wishes for her health and put him to work around her chambers, cleaning this and that which Gwen usually did. She’d let her maid off early today, in anticipation of Merlin’s arrival. But she quickly grew bored of ordering him around and told him to stop. Perhaps she could take advantage of his knowledge instead. He had to know something of Arthur’s secrets.
“Merlin, my love, come sit next to me here.” She pulled out a chair from the table where she sat.
“As you wish, Morgana.” He sat in the chair and stared at her adoringly.
Oh yes, this was perfectly sickening. But now how to get the secrets out of him? And what should she ask for? Maybe something innocuous at first, then she could work into the secrets. “Tell me, how is Arthur doing?”
“What do you want to talk about him for? I’d much rather talk about us.”
Morgana forced a smile. So, he was still stubborn, even with the spell in effect. Fine, she could be stubborn too. “I don’t see him very often these days, and when I do, he seems distracted.”
“Oh, well he could be distracted because he’s in love with Gwen. He can focus most of the time, but if he sees her, goodbye focus.”
Morgana sat blinking at him. Arthur was in love with Gwen? How did she not see that before? But this was good news, something she could use in the future, should the need arise. “So Arthur is in love with Gwen? How long has this been going on?”
“Oh, about two years. He didn’t want me to tell anyone, but I know I can trust you, Morgana.”
For two years? My my, she has been slipping up. “So, what else can you tell me about Arthur? Is he going on any quests soon?”
“None that I can think of. And things have been pretty quiet here since Princess Elena left.” He chuckled.
It was true. Things had been fairly quiet since Elena had left. And that had been such an interesting affair, almost like Elena had been a different person when she left. But this was not getting her any useful information she could bring to Morgause. “All right Merlin, you can go back to Gaius now. I’m done with you for the night.”
“Thank you, Morgana. I do have to get up early tomorrow to pick you some more flowers.” He got up and knelt by her chair. “Goodnight, my love.” He picked up her hand from her lap and kissed it. Then he got up and left.
Morgana smirked. Things were going very well so far. He couldn’t be too far from publicly declaring his love for her, then he would be gone from her life. She looked forward to that day fondly.
xxxXxxx
Gaius was still studying when Merlin came back from Morgana’s chambers. But Merlin said “goodnight” and went straight back to bed, saying he was going to be up early. Well so would Gaius, if that’s what it took to cure Merlin. At the rate he was progressing, he could be up all night anyway.
Hours later, Gaius finally found the spell. He quietly whooped and read over the spell and its cure five times, to commit it to memory. He marked the place in the book and closed it carefully, just in case he forgot the cure. He’d visit Arthur in the morning and together they could take Merlin where he needed to go.
After a few hours of fitful sleep, Gaius woke to the sound of Merlin getting his own breakfast. He waved goodbye to the physician and left. Gaius sat up, got dressed and ate his own breakfast quickly. Then he was off to Arthur’s chambers, hoping the Prince wasn’t as difficult to wake as Merlin said he was.
He went to the kitchens for Arthur’s breakfast then entered his chambers. After he sat the breakfast tray down, he went over to the bed to wake Arthur. He shook his shoulder and called his name, but all Arthur did was roll over. So Gaius resorted to opening the drapes like Merlin did, and that finally got a response from the Prince.
“It’s too early, Merlin.”
“I am not Merlin, and I need your help,” Gaius replied.
Arthur rolled over to see Gaius. He blinked up at him. “Gaius, why are you here and where is my manservant?”
“I am here because of Merlin. I found the cure for his enchantment and I need your help to get him to the Lake of Avalon.”
“The mythical lake?”
“It is not mythical, and, in fact, it is nearby. He needs to bathe in the lake to rid himself of the enchantment.”
“Sounds easy.”
“Well, yes, but I need your help in case he decides to resist reason.”
“I see. In that case, we’d better get going.”
“Thank you.”
Arthur rose from bed and Gaius assisted him a little in getting dressed. After breakfast, they left and headed to the stables for horses. They weren’t going far, but they’d appreciate the help in carrying Merlin if he didn’t go with them willingly.
They rode through the town and out through the gate. Gaius directed them from there, to the meadow where Merlin picked flowers in. There they found Merlin, with an already substantial bouquet in his hands. “Good morning!” he said. “I didn’t expect the two of you.”
Arthur and Gaius looked at each other. They hadn’t exactly prepared for this and didn’t know what to say. Arthur shrugged and Gaius spoke up. “Good morning, Merlin. I need you to do something for me.”
Merlin stood and brushed himself off. “What is it?”
“We need to visit the Lake of Avalon.”
“The Lake? No, I’ve got to get these to Morgana. But at least I don’t have to wake up Arthur. Hey Arthur, what are you doing up this early?”
“Helping out a friend.”
“Gaius?”
“No, you.”
“Me? I don’t need any help. Unless you want to loan me your horse so I can get back to the citadel faster.” Merlin grinned.
“No, Merlin, I am afraid you need to come with us to the Lake,” Gaius countered.
“Why?”
Arthur cut in. “Because you’re enchanted, you idiot, and washing in the lake will clear you of the enchantment.”
Merlin began backing away. “I’m not enchanted.”
Gaius sighed. “Yes you are, Merlin. Your love for Morgana, it’s unnatural. Someone is trying to get you killed.”
“I don’t believe you, and I don’t need to waste my time by going to the Lake.”
“Arthur, if you please,” Gaius said.
“How did I know it would come to this?” Arthur muttered. He dismounted and withdrew his sword. “Come on, Merlin, don’t make this any harder on yourself or us.”
Merlin’s eye went wide. He dropped his flowers and took off running.
“Well, at least I’ll get my exercise in.” Arthur began running after Merlin.
Gaius sighed again and dismounted. He watched Arthur catch up to Merlin, then hit the back of Merlin’s head with the pommel of his sword. Merlin collapsed to the ground and Arthur bent to pick him up. He carried Merlin back to his horse, and slung him facedown over it.
“I am sorry you had to do that,” Gaius told him.
“It’s what you brought me for, isn’t it? Well, let’s get going. The sooner we have the old Merlin back, the better.”
They both re-mounted their horses. Gaius led the way to the Lake of Avalon, where they once again dismounted and tethered their horses.
“I didn’t even know this was called the Lake of Avalon,” Arthur said.
“Very few do. Mortals are not usually able to see it.”
Arthur glanced at Merlin’s inert form. “Well, let’s get this over with, shall we?” He carefully slid Merlin down and back into his arms. Then he walked out of the woods and onto the small beach before wading out into the lake. Once he was about waist-deep, he dropped Merlin.
Gaius, who’d been waiting on the beach watched as Merlin woke abruptly, arms and legs churning the water. His head broke the surface and he gasped for air, shouting, “What did you do that for?” He stood and turned to Arthur, who stood back, grinning.
“Because Gaius told me to.”
Merlin turned to Gaius. “Gaius? I hope you have a good explanation for this.”
“Merlin, how do you feel about Morgana?” Gaius asked.
“Morgana? She’s not my cup of tea. I’ll put it that way. Why do you ask?”
Arthur walked over to Merlin and put a hand on his shoulder. “Because you professed your love for her yesterday. Over and over.”
“I did?” They began walking out of the lake.
“Yes, Merlin,” Gaius cut in. “Someone enchanted you to fall in love with her, probably in order to get you killed.”
“If I were to profess love for her publically . . . yeah, I can see how that would have worked.”
“We should get you back to the castle so you can get into some warm clothes,” Gaius said.
“Thank you for saving me,” Merlin said to both.
“You can thank me by getting changed and back to work as soon as possible,” Arthur said.
“Yes, sire.”
Merlin rode with Gaius as they made their way back to Camelot. Once Merlin and Gaius were alone in Gaius’s chambers, Merlin turned to Gaius. “It was Morgana, wasn’t it?”
“I am afraid so. She enchanted you the other night when you took up her sleeping draught.”
“I remember that, but not much of the past day. It’s all kind of foggy.”
“That is probably for the best. I’m afraid you made a fool of yourself in front of Arthur several times.”
Merlin put a hand to his face. “Great. Just great. I didn’t say anything to anyone else, did I?”
“To me, yes, but I have no idea what you said to Morgana. As for Arthur, apparently he warned you to keep your mouth shut to everyone else and you did.”
“That’s good, at least. Thank you, Gaius.” He embraced the older man.
“You are welcome Merlin. Now, let’s get us both into dry clothes.” They both laughed, and Merlin went back to his room to change.
xxxXxxx
Morgana was puzzled. Merlin had promised to bring her flowers this morning, but it was lunchtime and he hadn’t shown up. He hadn’t stopped by at all and she hadn’t seen him around the castle either. Had he somehow broken the spell? Well, she’d see him at dinner tonight, when he and Gwen served her, Arthur and Uther. She’d see how he looked at her and make a determination from there.
She sat down to dinner wearing one of her more provocative dresses. Merlin stood directly across from her, waiting to serve. But he didn’t look at her. And he continued to avoid her eyes the whole way through dinner. Fine, so he must have broken the spell somehow. But how? She’d find out after dinner by cornering him in one of the little alcoves off the corridor.
Morgana made sure to leave before Arthur did, and bade Gwen go ahead of her to her chambers. She stationed herself in an alcove and waited for Merlin to walk by.
After several minutes, Arthur walked by, with Merlin trailing behind. She reached out and yanked him into the alcove with her, slamming him against the opposite wall.
“Ow!” Merlin complained.
“Quiet! Do you want to alert the whole castle?”
“What do you want, Morgana?”
“Are you in love with me?”
“No, Morgana, I’m free of your spell. Don’t do it again.” Merlin made to leave but Morgana slammed him against the wall again. “Stop doing that!”
“How were you freed from the spell?”
“If I tell you that, you’ll just seek retribution. So now please leave me alone.” He pulled free from her grasp and edged out of the alcove, leaving Morgana to seethe.
And seethe she did. How dare he not tell her what cured him? But this is what she should have expected. He was, after all, Merlin, the annoyance, the pain in her side, the foiler of her plans. She held her head high as she left the alcove, determined to seek out Morgause once again and report her failure. One day soon, she knew, their overall plan would come to fruition, and once it did, she’d make sure Merlin suffered. Oh he’d suffer all right, and she’d stand back and laugh. The thought cheered her and she stalked back to her chambers, ready for the next part she’d play in the plan.