It's short and kind of filler, but it's something, right?

Chapter 31

They peered through the small square peephole into the dungeon.

The couple was sleeping soundly, Merlin spooning Morgana, his hand on her flat stomach. Despite the surroundings, they presented a beautiful picture. Peaceful even. And they slept on.

As if they didn't have a care in the world. As if the noose wasn't hanging over their heads. As if a magical revelation and pregnancy scandal hadn't just rocked Camelot.

"Do you believe her, sire?" asked Gaius, a frown on his wrinkled brow.

Arthur's pouted lips and deadly scowl showed his skepticism. "I don't know, Gaius. It wouldn't be the first time she's pretended emotions and regrets she didn't feel. We've been played by her before."

Gaius nodded and glanced at Arthur from the corner of his eye. "What about Merlin? What do you plan to do with him?"

"Yes, what about Merlin?" said Arthur with a deepened frown. "I'm going to assume that you knew about him."

"Since he arrived. He burst into the room, startled me to the point that I fell off the staircase, and used magic to save me from a rather nasty fall. Saved my life that day, several other times too. What will you do to him?

Sighing, the prince responded. "Honestly, I don't know."

A few moments passed in comtemplative silence. "He's incredibly powerful. I've never seen his like, even when magic was welcome at Camelot," said Gaius.

Arthur's frown returned. "He said as much. How powerful is he?"

"As dangerous as you are with a sword, that's how dangerous Merlin is with magic. Defintely more powerful than Morgana. He'd even eclipse Morgause and Nimeh. He didn't learn it. He was born with magic-that's not a common occurrence. Yet all this time, he's only used his power for good."

Arthur seemed to weigh those words, then sighed and said, "I can't think on that right now, I've got a treacherous and potentially pregnant witch, who is also my sister, in the dungeons. Did he give you any clue about this?"

"Not a word. I did catch him sneaking out this morning, but he said that if whatever it was happened, then I'd certainly know about it. It appears whatever 'it' was has occurred."

Despite the gravity and seriousness of the situation, Arthur let out a small chuckle. "Indeed."

8ish months later.

It felt like someone was stabbing her in the spine. She twisted slightly but the pain eased only a degree.

A small moan escaped her lips and that was enough to awaken Merlin.

He shot up and stared down at her, his face harried as he asked anxiously, "Is it time?" His hands ran over her bulging belly as his eyes darted from her face to her stomach in pure panic.

The extremely terrified look on his face was enough to earn her kindness, even if his paranoia was not. "No, you idiot, I merely have a sore back from this floor. It'll abate as soon as I stretch. Don't be such a ninny."

He visibly relaxed, the tension loosening the muscles in his face as he began to rub her knotted back. "You could be upstairs in a castle suite waking up on a feather bed. But noooooo, you had to be stubborn and prove a point," he chastised. After Camelot's knights had protested it was cruel and unsual punishment to keep a pregant woman in the dungeon, Arthur had offered her a suite used for courtly prisoners. She'd promptly refused, citing that she hadn't given the knights or anyone else such a concession. She'd made their bed, now she'd have to lie in it herself.

"It's an important point, sweetheart. Yes, yes, right there," she finished with a contented moan as his fingers found the sore spot.

"Bollocks. Not even the most bloodthirsty of the group expects a pregnant woman to sleep in the dungeon. On the floor," he said, disapproval evident in his voice. "What if it affects the baby? He has to sleep here too."

"Plenty of women make it through pregnancy without the benefit of feather beds and silk sheets. Your mother, for example. And you turned out perfectly fine. Well, fine enough, I suppose," she said teasing.

"Watch it, minx, these fingers don't like your insults," he said, reaching down to pinch her bottom.

She chuckled as he went right back to massaging her lower back. "You could've slept upstairs," she admitted with a sigh.

"And leave you? Never. Although after you decided to stay down here, Arthur only suggested that a few hundred times."

"True. He's become very protective of me. And despite all of this," she said, waving her hand to indicate her swollen belly. "He still thinks of you as 'Merlin the Impregnator'."

He smiled at the nickname. "Your fortitude has impressed him. He'll forgive you in time," he said burying his nose in her hair.

"I know. It's just….I'm not sure if I deserve his forgiveness. Or anyone else's for that matter," she said with a frown.

For the past eight months, Arthur had granted her the opportunity to apologize and reconcile with the people. Once a week the people of Camelot aired their grievances against the Lady Morgana.

It had been such a sobering experience, to see all of the pain, all of the sins she'd committed against people she knew, people she didn't. To have all her sins lain at her feet, all the consequences of her rashness drawn in vivid detail by the horrific stories of villagers, plain on the faces of grieving families.

She'd cried with them. Sat silent and contrite while they raged at her. Apologized profusely. Promised them anything within her power to give. She'd even been slapped a few times.

Despite some of the initial rumors, it wasn't a show or a performance done for the audience. She was answering for her crimes. And the people had answered.

While Arthur's initial reaction had been uncertain, he had decided that his opinion was just one of many. Everyone was hurt by Morgana's deflection; the people needed to speak, to decide what to do with her.

More often than not after such an audience, the people had asked Prince Arthur for leniency for Lady Morgana.

And it seemed as if the whole experience as cathartic for the entire kingdom. Telling their stories, reliving the pain of time spent under her rule had purged the putrid infection from Camelot's wound.

The last of the victims were slated to speak today. Her judgement would be procured then, to be enacted after the birth of the baby.

Merlin's voice called her back to this moment. "Yet you've earned it nonetheless. Forgiveness is our most divine capability. A testament to our belief in redemption, in change. You forgave me, right?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, turning to look into his blue eyes. "But I've done far more evil than you."

"And I forgave you. All of us are capable of evil, Morgana. Everyone. But it's our faith in each other, our faith in forgiveness that eventually saves us. It saved us, didn't it? And it'll save Camelot too," he said earnestly.

A moment passed in silence. Then she smiled and said, "You're growing quite wise in your old age. I think I might keep you around for a while."

"How about another fifty years or so?"

"Sounds lovely," she whispered, pulling his head down for a kiss.

But in the back of her mind, she was still worried. Could they make such promises to each other?

FINIS

One, maybe two more chapters on this fic. After all the months away from this story, I'm glad that I got to put something up, even if it wasn't as much as expected. Thanks to everyone for the continued support! I hope to have the next chapter up soon.