Disclaimer: I don't own anything, this is just for personal pleasure and wish fulfillment. Although personally, I think disclaimers on such a website as this are a bit redundant since everyone knows that it's fanfiction, and people don't write fanfiction for money.

"You can trust me, Morgana, you know you can."

"I'm scared, Merlin. I don't understand anything anymore. I need to know what's happening. Please." She said all this haltingly, her eyes, full of fear and he so wanted to help her. But he couldn't. He'd promised Gaius that he wouldn't reveal his secret to anyone.

"Gaius will be back soon, he'll be able to help you –"

"He won't! I don't want any more remedies, they won't do any good."

Merlin knew this to be true. Gaius wouldn't help her, not in the way she needed. Gaius would just tell her to get some rest and give her some potion to help her sleep.

"It's magic, Merlin."

He couldn't look her in the eyes, not while lying to her, not about this. "What?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.

"I'm your friend, you know I wouldn't be making this up," Morgana said, a little desperately.

"Of course."

"And you believe me?" She must have seen something in his face because she said, "You think it's magic, too! Please, I just need to hear someone say it so I don't have to keep feeling like I'm imagining it."

Merlin thought of what Gaius said, how he had told him not to interfere in this. Gaius had said he wasn't to tell anyone of his powers, not even Morgana. But she needed him, needed him to say it. Looking into her eyes, he could see himself only a short time ago: lost, alone, and afraid. Even worse, she had been ignored when she reached out for help, told that it was nothing. She must be wondering if she was going insane. She needed someone to guide her through it, as Gaius had guided him.

Uther would kill Merlin if he found out about his powers. And then Gaius would kill him all over again. But Morgana was in the same position. She must be even more afraid, knowing how close she was to the king. Morgana had as much right to be helped as Merlin did. Gaius didn't know what he was talking about. Why was he so afraid to help her? What did he think would happen?

Merlin took a deep breath, and almost couldn't say it. "Yes," he got out. "It is magic."

The look on Morgana's face was so relieved, and so grateful, it warmed Merlin's heart.

"Thank you, Merlin. You have no idea how grateful I am. I thought I was going mad. But Merlin, what am I going to do?" Morgana asked him, clutching at the table with white knuckles. "You've heard Uther talking about magic. He's going to round up everyone associated with it tomorrow, and probably kill them, just because he thinks someone started the fire in my room with magic and he hasn't yet realized it was me. What do you think he'll do to me when he finds out?"

"He won't find out. And even if he did, he probably wouldn't have you killed; he loves you like a daughter. But he won't find out."

Morgana tried to take a few deep breaths, but panic found her again. "Aren't you afraid of me, Merlin?"

He took her by the shoulders, and looked into her eyes. "Listen to me, Morgana. Magic is not something to be afraid of. It is a gift, and can be used for either good or evil. But that is your choice, Morgana. You can choose to do good with your magic. And one day, we will live in a land where magic is not outlawed, where people like you aren't persecuted for what they're born with."

"How do you know all this? All my life I've been told that magic corrupts the soul, and the people who use it want only power and destruction. How do I know that won't happen to me?"

"Magic doesn't corrupt people. It's just a tool. It is true that it comes with power, and they also say that power corrupts, but not if you use it wisely. Remember this, Morgana. Magic is neither good nor evil. It is how you use it that counts. It won't corrupt you if you don't let it. Don't let hatred into your heart, don't use magic for vengeance, that sort of thing."

"How do you know so much, Merlin? How can you be sure?"

"I… I know someone else who has magic."

"Who?" Her eyebrows knit together in a way that made his heart stop.

"Me." He was surprised at the word that came out of his mouth. He had been planning to keep that much of his word to Gaius, and say something vague, like, "Oh, you wouldn't know them," or "Someone from home," or "I swore I wouldn't tell anyone and I can't break that promise, even for you." But no, he had to open his big mouth and tell her it was him.

"You?" She exclaimed in disbelief.

He got defensive. "Yes, me. Do you know how many times I've saved Arthur's life? Do you think I'm not smart enough or something?"

"No, of course not," she said quickly, smothering a smile.

"I know what you're going through, Morgana," he continued earnestly. "And I'm telling you, it's going to be alright."

Author's Note: I re-uploaded this chapter with some edits because I wanted to make the bits of dialogue I took from the episode more accurate, and also when I rewatched the episode I realized that when I first wrote this chapter I'd forgotten that Merlin didn't go to see the dragon until after this scene, and so my references to what the dragon told him were complete nonsense.

Anyway, I finally got my muse back (I think) so maybe I'll actually update again sometime soon. No promises, though.