"Morgana, are you all right?" If anyone could make the King nervous, it was certainly his wife. "You haven't spoken to me in days."

She sat in a chair, staring vacantly out the window. The Queen was dressed and her hair neatly groomed, so her handmaiden had still been attending to her. Despite that, the woman seemed to have lost her energy, her fire.

"Morgana, I do not wish to fight," he stated to the silence gently. "I… I am…" Why was the right word so hard to find? "...concerned for you."

Cautiously, he took a step forward. His bride gave no indication of even hearing him. Arthur reached a hand out and touched her shoulder. "Morgana?"

"War is coming," she breathed, looking up at him suddenly with hollow eyes. "War is coming to Camelot."

The intensity of the fear her eyes held frightened him. He wasn't entirely sure that she was even seeing him.

"The nightmares? When was the last time you slept well?" He asked instead, and her eyes looked back to the window. "Come," he helped her stand, and she let herself be walked to her bed. "You need to sleep."

He laid her down, but Morgana clutched his arm when he went to leave. "Stay," she pleaded in a whisper. "Don't leave me alone. They're the worst when I'm alone."

"I can only stay a while," he informed her, but took the space next to her and let her curl up under his arm.

He stroked her hair until long after she'd found sleep.

"Addie, I need a favour."

"Anything," she answered, focusing on folding sheets and placing them into the basket beside her.

He swallowed. "I.. I want to tell Arthur. Now."

Her head whipped towards him. "Is that wise?" She asked uncertainly. "You know the law, Merlin! No changes have been made. He could kill you."

"I don't know how he'll react," Merlin admitted, "that's why I want you with me."

"What?" she choked out, her voice barely a whisper.

"I want you to help me convince him that magic is okay. I've shown you things, you can tell him..." he began to explain but noticed how her hands were shaking as she folded the next sheet. "Addie…"

"No."

"No?"

"No," she repeated, looking blankly at the sheet as she tried to hurriedly fold it. "I can't. I can't.

"Adelaide, you know it's not evil," he pleaded.

"I know that you're not evil," she corrected, "I can't say that about magic. I still don't know how I feel about magic, and I most certainly don't know how Arthur feels about it, but judging from his father I'd say likely just as most of Camelot does. He'd convict me as well as you. And I don't want to die."

This wasn't the reaction he'd expected. "You won't."

"You can't promise that!" Adelaide exclaimed, her voice growing hysteric. "What of Morgana's former handmaiden? Guinevere? Didn't you all promise that she would live?" Tears welled in her eyes. "I want to live, I want to marry, I want to have a family. And I don't want you to die either."

"I won't if you help me!" Adelaide picked up the basket and tried to walk past him. "You said anything!"

"You ask too much," she whispered, leaving the room as fast as she could.

He heard her approach, but didn't acknowledge her.

It didn't stop her from speaking. "Back when I lived in my village, I was very beautiful, and I knew it. I received a lot of attention, and I liked it. I had a lover, and life was good. That is, until one day he decided to help me get over my fear of horses. I've been afraid of them ever since I was a young girl. At first it was okay, but my horse reared, and threw me off. I wasn't terribly injured I guess, not as I could have been. My nose was badly broken, and my face bloodied. Most of the cuts healed, though I have some faint scarring," she motioned along the side of her face. He looked from the corner of his eye. "My nose was never again how it once was, and he decided I wasn't pretty enough to be his wife. The looks I got after that... I had to leave."

"Why are you telling me this?" Merlin asked, finally turning his head towards her.

"Because I want you to know that I do trust you, and your magic," she explained. "I couldn't think of a better way to show you. I'm just a coward, and I'm scared of Arthur." She took his hand, though he didn't hold hers back. "After my accident, I didn't think anyone would ever… I mean, it's not like I'm anything to look at anymore. That's why I came here. I figured at least being a servant would keep me busy."

"You want me to forgive you," he surmised.

"I don't want you mad at me."

"I'm not mad," he answered truthfully. Hurt, but not mad. "Will you come with me now?"

"No. I'm sorry, Merlin. Really." He swallowed and looked down. Adelaide held tightly to his hand. "If you're too scared to face him on your own, maybe you're not meant to tell him yet? He is your friend after all."

But he was also king. Merlin finally squeezed her hand back and managed what he hoped looked like a sincere smile. "Yeah. Maybe."

She hesitated a moment before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, one that took him a moment to return. "I am sorry," she said into his chest. "I do trust you, I do."

He held her close, one hand on her waist and the other against the back of her head. "I know," he replied, his voice giving away his hurt. Maybe the fact that she did trust him was what hurt. He laid his head against the top of hers. "I know."

"I don't want you to die, but I just… I can't."

"It's okay," he told her, though it really wasn't. "You're probably right. Now isn't when I'm supposed to tell him. I won't die, don't worry." He held her for a while. "So that's what happened to your nose?"

"That's it." Keeping his arms around her, she turned so that her back was to his chest. "I'd sell my soul to be beautiful again, Merlin. I really would. I know how that sounds, but it's the truth, and I don't want to keep anymore secrets. Not from you."

He rocked her gently, debating with himself. "My father was a dragonlord," he stated after a moment. "When he died, the power passed to me. I can actually summon and control dragons."

Adelaide was quiet a moment. "Well. I guess we're even now."