AN: Hello, everyone and welcome to my very first full-length Merlin fic!

If you've read my fic, Liar, you've probably guessed by now that I love this pairing. It's unusual, but that's why I like it. I like that it has a bit of a Beauty and the Beast streak to it, which is why I decided to write this fic. Edwin and Morgana are a really fascinating crack pairing to me because not only do they have a bit of a Quasimodo/Esmeralda thing going on (which I will be writing too, eventually), but I think it would have been interesting to see Edwin's reaction if he did feel affections for Morgana. Would he try to help her when he discovers who she really is or would he be annoyed at his attraction to her distracting him from his plans?

If you don't remember Edwin, I'll refresh your memory. In the episode, A Remedy to Cure All Ills, Edwin cured Morgana in order to take revenge on Uther for having his parents burned when he was a child. He tried to save them, but was only left scarred by the fire and dedicated the rest of his life to vengeance against Uther. He's one of the more overlooked and, in my opinion, underrated of characters on Merlin. He was a really well-rounded and fascinating character who was brilliantly performed by Julian Rhind-Tutt and I think he should have stayed on a little longer, if not as a regular, but alas, Merlin had to chop his face off and ruin it. *le pout*

Anyhow, I hope you like what you read and if you do, please let me know in a review and please let me know if I should continue this. Also, feedback is love!

I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here.

Camelot had fallen into ashes. The Great Purge had brought hundreds, perhaps thousands, to fall to their knees in mercy, for magic and all to do with the Old Religion was a crime punishable by death. The ruthless King Uther longed to rid his precious kingdom of magic, leading his army to hunt too many of his people down and have them burned.

Morgana watched helplessly as a husband, wife and their young son were soon to be three of those many victims, hunted in their own home. They had fled from Camelot at the news of the laws against magic, but Uther and his knights had caught them in an old castle in a forest. She tried to move, but her limbs were cold, stiff and heavy as though she were the statue watching over the land. She wanted to cry for the poor family, but she had no voice to cry with.

They were healers, these two victims. They'd been married for ten years and they had a son, whom Morgana was forced to watch as their once peaceful day was destroyed once a lit torch was thrown through their window. Then another and then another and then another until their own roof was being lit as well. They were trapped.

The knights watched as the flames rose high and as much as Morgana tried to scream, there was not a peep to be heard from her. All that could be seen were the screaming faces of the boy's parents.

Morgana woke with a start, crying terribly as her frail breath trembled along with the rest of her body.

King Uther was preparing for that evening's banquet to honour the Great Purge, all those years ago. For those many years he had been fighting against the evils of magic since they had taken the life of his poor wife, Ygraine, at the birth of their son, Arthur. Morgana was only a year old at the time, so naturally, she would never understand the true dangers that magic held. She never did. Arthur, on the other hand, was a much better listener and set a much better example.

Uther sometimes felt like crying to see how much his children had grown and regretted his wife never being able to watch them grow by his side. She would have been so proud of Arthur and Morgana would have been so much more of a lady if she knew what grace and gentility that her mother beheld.

But for now, he would have to compose himself. There was a banquet to hold, after all, and he had an example to set.

Arthur was ready and Uther was ready, but where was Morgana?

"Gweninvere," Uther called for Morgana's maidservant.

Gwenivere, or Gwen as most called her, was sent to Camelot from the South and was praised to be the finest server the kingdom would ever know. She'd been Morgana's maidservant for years and was closer to her than even Arthur was.

Gwen entered the king's chamber and curtseyed politely. "Milord."

"Where is Morgana?" Uther asked.

Gwen's usual gentle smile was slowly beginning to fade at this question.

"Milady is feeling ill, your majesty," she said. "She says she isn't well enough to attend the banquet tonight and Gaius has insisted she rest alone for the evening."

Uther's frustrated sigh sounded more like a growl than a sigh. This was typical of Morgana. He knew she was too strong-willed for her own good, but did she have to humiliate him so by publically opposing to his laws? She knew how important they were to him and to his people.

"Gaius insisted she rest alone?" he asked.

"Yes, your majesty."

"Has he prepared an draught for her nightmares, then?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"The same draught he spends all day working on?"

"Yes, your…er…"

Uther could see the dark girl trying to think of a convincing response, but before she could say anything, he pushed her away and marched to Morgana's chambers.

Morgana had been in her chambers all day, staring out the window, as the day grew darker. She couldn't turn away from the blood-caked block in the middle of the square. Her heart was still raced from the blow of the ax reaching the poor girl's neck. She was only seven years old. She began to wonder if the girl had a family or home to promise to return to. She still felt sick to think of how such an innocent life had to be taken. The poor girl did nothing to hurt anyone. She wasn't a thief or a murderer; she was punished for practicing magic. Nothing else. There wasn't even any proof that she ever did practice magic.

Morgana knew that she should have been used to this feeling by now, she'd watched Uther announce the executions of Druids and practitioners of magic for years and was never given a reason why.

She was too busy wondering why Uther hated magic so much as to kill even the most innocent to avoid it to be startled by him walking into her chambers.

"The banquet is in less than an hour, Morgana," he said. "You should be getting ready."

"I'm not well," Morgana murmured.

"Then I shall have Gaius prepare some medications to go with your meals for the evening. You should represent your kingdom."

Morgana huffed coldly.

"If this were my kingdom," she said. "I wouldn't use an execution as a reason for celebration."

Uther looked to the chopping block that Morgana found so entrancing and looked sternly back to her, trying to catch her eye.

"As clever as you've always been, Morgana," he said. "You should have understood by now why I do this."

"But I do not," Morgana shot, finally looking to him with her beauty hidden by her anger. "That poor girl did nothing to hurt anyone."

"And you think she didn't have the potential to do so?"

"No, father, I don't think she did. She was seven years old!"

"She practiced magic, she could have caused bloodshed beyond even your belief by the time she grew older."

"And magic is your excuse? Is that so evil as being human to you?"

Uther was seething, but Morgana was not afraid. She knew that Uther was a powerful man, but her will was just as strong as his rage.

"Morgana," he growled, "you have not seen the evil that magic can do. When you do, you too will tire of this argument. Now, prepare for the banquet. If you will not respect my wishes, at least respect the kingdom's. I will send for your maidservant."

Morgana watched as her father left the room and wished with all her might that he would trip on the next step he took and fall on his thick skull. She wondered if his skull was even thick enough to crack and take his memory away from him so that he could forget his views on magic. It was a useless hope, but the thought at least cheered her up enough to let Gwen dress her in one of her finest gowns. She would wear blue this evening as opposed to Uther and Arthur's usual red. She wasn't feeling cheery enough to wear red.

At the banquet, Morgana refused to smile, as she knew that Uther would never scold his own child before his own kingdom. Even as every knight in the kingdom tried to make her smile with whatever "charm" they had, Morgana was too solemn to even grimace. Of course, Uther would have liked Morgana to humor them, for no man wanted a solemn wife.

One of the most handsome of the knights bowed before the king, prince and princess and did his best to at least bring half a smile to the sad princess.

"You may rise, Sir Lancelot," Uther commanded and Lancelot obeyed.

"Your majesty," he said, "if I may be so bold as to ask, will you permit me to cheer the poor Lady Morgana with a dance?"

Morgana avoided the eye that both Lancelot and Uther tried to charm her with.

"My dear girl," Uther chuckled. "Is Sir Lancelot so handsome to even make you blush?"

"Either that, milord," she said, taking a careless sip from her goblet, "or I should advise my maidservant to lighten my rouge at the next banquet."

It took an awkward moment, but Arthur tried to lighten the moment by starting a laugh for Uther and Lancelot to follow. Oh, that Morgana, their laughter seemed to say. What a witty little charmer she is! But Morgana was not laughing.

"I'm sure my daughter would be delighted to dance with you, Sir Lancelot," Uther said and nodded. "You have my permission."

Had the room not been crowded, Morgana would have used the knife by her plate to stab Uther repeatedly. Arthur could see her fuming and eyed her, allowing his eyes to say what he couldn't. Dance with him and save yourself the trouble.

She had no choice and accepted Lancelot's open hand.

Lancelot guided her to the floor as the band started a pavane. Morgana wished that she could find the ability to smile, for she didn't despise Lancelot at all. He was a good knight, a kind man and of course he was handsome. Even if she did have affections for him, she would never find it in her to smile, for she knew that he did not really love her. Morgana saw the way he looked at Gwen but what would a knight do in such high society with a servant for a wife?

When the music began, he looked to the other dancing pairs and among them was a very happy Sir Gwaine dancing with his wife, Lady Ragnell. When Lady Ragnell arrived in Camelot, she was not as beautiful as she was now, but it must have been her happiness that had brought out her inner beauty. Her bright smile only made her even lovelier. She was a kind and spirited soul with a smile that could light up even the darkest of nights and Sir Gwaine wouldn't have had anyone else for his wife. The two had been married almost a year now and Morgana couldn't have been happier for them, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel jealousy. She never saw them together without those great smiles on their faces and she longed to be just as happy as they were. If she had someone, anyone in the world–friend, family or lover–who loved, respected and understood her as dearly as Gwaine did Ragnell, she would have at least a reason to be happy.

"I see your interests turn to another, milady," Sir Lancelot said.

Morgana gave a weak smile. "It isn't that, Sir," she insisted. "I was only admiring how happy they look."

"You wish you had their happiness?"

"Some kind of happiness, yes."

"And what, pray tell, would make a princess smile when nothing in the world will?"

Sir Lancelot was a handsome knight, but Morgana knew he wasn't the smartest. He tried, Gods knew he tried, but she wondered if he knew that any other woman would take that question as an insult.

"Why, justice and liberty among the politics of the kingdom, sir," she answered, trying to sound cheerful, but failing quite miserably. "Don't you think the people of Camelot deserve that after all they've been through and all the labor they must do and the taxes they must pay?"

Lancelot laughed a nervous laugh.

"I am only a knight, Lady Morgana," he said. "I haven't much power over the law."

"That's a shame. If I were a man, I would risk even my own knighthood to better the politics of Camelot."

"But you are a woman."

"Yes, I know."

"And you are a very beautiful woman at that, milady."

Morgana looked at Lancelot and recognized the warm look on his face and she hated to see it on Lancelot. She could probably memorize the poetic words she'd heard from other men who had asked what he was going to ask now. She knew that he was a nice man and she did like him, but she hated to have to break his heart.

Please, she prayed. Please don't say it.

"Lady Morgana," he said softly. "Will you do me the honour of…?"

The music had finished before Lancelot could say anything else and the entire banquet applauded. Morgana escaped the applause and left poor Lancelot alone as though she had vanished without a trace. She didn't look back as she walked away. She couldn't bear to look at him or anyone else. She entered her chambers and tried her hardest to sleep, but she wasn't sure if it was her tears or her fear of another nightmare that kept her from sleeping.

Before Morgana could sleep a wink, she heard a knock on her door and opened it to find Arthur looking concerned. It was a new expression to see on his face, but the truth was that as selfish as Arthur was, he did care for Morgana and wanted to make sure she was alright.

"Arthur," Morgana greeted.

"Morgana," Arthur bowed. "You left early."

"I wasn't feeling well."

"I doubt that very much."

Morgana looked down from Arthur's eyes. She knew she should have known better than to lie to her own brother. He knew her well enough to know when she was lying.

"You're troubled," he stated and Morgana nodded. Arthur didn't even need to ask why she was so troubled. Time and again, he would agree with Uther's laws, but he knew how Morgana felt about them.

"I'm sorry, Morgana," he said sincerely. "I wish I could cheer you up, but I can't change my father's mind of the laws in any way and I can't bring that girl back."

Morgana nodded sadly.

"If there's anything I can do to at least make you smile, I'd move mountains to do it and you know I can do that."

Morgana chortled. "Are you so sure?"

"Of course! I'm the prince of Camelot, aren't I?"

"Yes, but I should remind you that I am its princess and know well enough that you cannot, no matter what your arrogance may tell you."

Arthur smiled to see that as depressed as she was now, at least she hadn't lost her wicked sense of humor. She may have insulted him, but at least she was joking at something.

"You are alright, though, aren't you?"

Morgana nodded. "I just need some rest, but thank you for your concern."

Arthur nodded in return and thought a moment.

"I'll tell you what," he said. "I have a quest to take tomorrow. Sir Gwaine has set up a challenge for me."

"What kind of challenge?"

"It is a quest to find true beauty."

"True beauty? However did you come across a challenge like that?"

"I'm not quite sure how it happened, really," Arthur began, "but it did. The knights and I were in training and I came to talk to Gwaine of his wife, the Lady Ragnell. I may have accidentally let slip of her...appearance...when she came here. As a result, it seemed to hurt him and he said 'You know nothing of true beauty, do you, your highness?' I wasn't really sure what he meant by that, but he just went on a rant on how much of it the Lady Ragnell held. Then he said 'Since you cannot find true beauty here, will you face a journey far off to find it?' I thought he was joking, but then he challenged me. You know Gwaine, he's rarely serious about anything, but he was serious when he spoke to me and said that he challenged me to a quest on the search for true beauty."

Morgana's eyes widened in curiosity. She never knew Sir Gwaine to be so serious. He was often a light-hearted man with a lust for life, which he and his wife shared, but she never imagined him to challenge a fellow knight to anything further than a jousting match or the drinking games he had such reputations on at the tavern.

Arthur continued: "I still don't really know what that means, but I shall try and just to make you fell even the slightest bit better, I'll bring back a gift for you."

"A gift?" Morgana grimaced.

"Yes, a gift. Anything to make you feel better. What will you have? A new dress? A new book? Jewelry?"

Morgana smiled at her brother's gesture and shook her head. "I have enough dresses and jewelry and I've plenty of books to read as well."

"What will you have, then? I won't go until you ask for something."

"Do you promise?"

Arthur laughed. "I promise. Ask for anything and I shall fight all evils to bring it to you."

Morgana thought a moment. There wasn't much that she could ask for, really. She already had more than she could ask for, but she could use something new in her room. Something fresh and lovely. Something that she could look to with a smile on her face before she slept.

"A rose," she said at last.

Arthur burst out laughing. "A rose? I offer anything in the world, fineries and tools for knowledge and all you ask for is a rose?"

"Yes. I'll have nothing else."

Arthur stopped laughing and smiled at his sister. It was always useless to argue with Morgana. Times came and went for him to be such a lady, but of course she would respond that he would never be clever enough to be a lady. He lifted his arms in surrender.

"A rose it is, then."

Morgana thanked her brother as he hugged her and kissed her cheek before bidding her goodnight. He left happy to see her smiling again and vowed to himself that he would travel great mountains, vast forests and high seas to find the perfect rose for her. He could return a broken man, perhaps years from now, but he would be sure that the perfect rose would reach Morgana if his life depended on it.