Merlin had been thinking again. He had tried hard all morning to focus on his duties, but his curiosity would never leave him alone. The thought just kept running around his head: What had happened to Morgana?

Arthur believed that she was most likely dead, and most of the castle seemed to agree, but Merlin knew she was alive. He also knew that if she were alive, she would surely attempt to seize the throne again. This meant that Arthur's life was still in danger and, if people were correct about Merlin's 'destiny', it meant that it was up to him to stop Morgana.

Merlin hadn't mentioned Morgana to Arthur, or that he thought he could find her; he knew exactly what Arthur would say. "You idiot, Merlin. You're hardly capable of looking after yourself, let alone a whole kingdom."

This was why Merlin knew he had to leave Camelot and find Morgana alone, without telling anyone. Even Gaius had told him it was a fool's errand.

"Even if she is alive, Merlin, she would be far away from here by now," he had said, and Merlin hadn't argued. In fact, it was quite a good point, but Merlin refused to be deterred. He was unsure of what he would do once he found Morgana, but he would cross that bridge when he got there.

The castle was cold that night as Merlin crept through the empty corridors. His heart was pounding in his chest and his hands were sweaty where they held his small bag of provisions. He had to reach the stable and find his usual horse without being seen. If he was caught, Gaius, and probably Arthur, would realise what he had been trying to do.

His breath formed white clouds around his mouth and he shivered, tugging his jacket closer to his skin. He was slinking across the courtyard to the stable when two guards rounded a corner, laughing and jeering about the day's work. Merlin froze, unsure what to do. It only took a few seconds for the guards to spot him. They paused, studying him in the dark of the night. Merlin seized his chance and bolted.

"Stop!" the guards shouted as Merlin sprinted past them. They watched him run with quizzical expressions. "Wasn't that Merlin? The King's servant?" one of them asked.

The other shrugged and they continued their patrol. What harm could Merlin do? He was quite renowned for being a bit of a fool.

Merlin had made it to the stable. Panting for breath, he began glancing into the boxes, searching for the scruffy, bay gelding.

The horse was startled to see him, but didn't complain as Merlin tacked him up and led him into the courtyard. The main gate was closed, but there was a side gate that they could leave through. Merlin knew they would be seen from the wall, he only hoped that he would be too far away for anyone to chase after them.

The side gate creaked and the horse scuttled through, with Merlin right behind him. The guard on the wall heard the noise and shouted for Merlin to halt where he was. Shining a torch over the wall, the flame's light allowed him to see a figure mounting their horse and then swiftly gallop away. He called to the other guards, who told him that Merlin had been spotted in the courtyard. They decided against raising the alarm. It was just Merlin, after all.

Merlin's horse slowed as they reached the forest. It seemed highly improbable that anyone would come after them now. Merlin had managed to escape the castle, but that had been the easy bit. The hard bit was finding Morgana and somehow convincing her not to return to Camelot again.

There was still a possibility that she was dead, Merlin reminded himself, his gaze flashing around the surrounding trees. He had no idea how many creatures, magical or not, were living out here and whether they were capable of tearing him limb-from-limb. He thought briefly about all the creatures he and Arthur had fought in this forest. The thought was not comforting, so he turned his mind to finding Morgana instead.

He had no idea where she'd gone after fleeing the castle, so he was following the main trail out of Camelot. Maybe the best way to think about it would be to figure out where she wouldn't have gone.

The horse abruptly broke his concentration by shying at something in the darkness and almost throwing him off.

"Easy, Diablo," Merlin said gently, patting the horse's neck.

Diablo was not reassured by the gesture and scuttled sideways, snorting. Merlin rocked in the saddle and started to feel slightly worried. He picked up his reins and tried to hold the large beast in.

Diablo became panicked at the tug on his mouth and bolted deeper into the forest. Merlin leaned forward and grabbed handfuls of mane into his hands to help keep his balance.

He knew it was too dark for Diablo to be able to see clearly enough to be going at such high speeds, but any attempt at stopping was futile. Merlin resigned himself to the fact that he was just going to have to wait for Diablo to tire himself out.

At least we're covering a lot of distance, Merlin thought silently as he ducked his head and just missed a branch.

Diablo stumbled, catching his hoof on a root. Tumbling forward, he caught himself and continued to race onward into the night. Fear filled Merlin and he muttered quietly to himself. Suddenly, the magic took hold and they were encased in light. It lit the forest around them and Merlin could see they had left the main path and were moving through the thickly-grown trees.

Diablo slowed now that he could see where he was. His ears flicked back and forth suspiciously, but he let Merlin pick up a contact again and guide them more carefully.

They hadn't been walking for more than a few minutes when Merlin spotted a cave. He would have sworn he could hear something within the cave. It was a kind of murmuring. He also picked up on a strangely familiar feeling at the entrance.

Leaving Diablo tethered to a tree, Merlin entered the cave, his magic still lighting his way. The cave was old and smelt smoky on the inside. The murmuring grew louder as he moved further in. It was distinctly a voice now. Merlin came to a fork in the cave. From one direction he could hear the voice and, from the other, he could hear a rough snoring noise.

Bringing his fingers to his hip, he felt for the sword that was fastened there. He had brought it as a last minute decision. He had taken it—stolen it—from the armoury, to which he had unlimited access due to being Arthur's servant. He would put it back when he returned to the castle, or so he told himself.

The voice stopped as he drew near and Merlin allowed the light around his body to fade as he reached the final corner. He knew it was the final corner because there was a torch lit there and he could hear someone moving.

Merlin didn't realise how little he had been expecting to find Morgana in the cave until he saw her. She was standing in the centre of the room. Her hair was loose and trailing down her back in ebony waves. She hadn't seen Merlin yet, and he stood mutely in the doorway, staring at her. Her back was to him and he could hear her humming softly to herself. Her dress was tattered, showing her long legs and the skin of her arms. Merlin couldn't move. What should he say? What had he meant to say to her?

Morgana turned, twisting her hair between her frail hands. She gently lifted her dark eyes and met Merlin's stunned gaze.

"Merlin!" she exclaimed, horror creeping onto her face. She held her hands in front of her chest and backed away from him.

"Morgana," Merlin returned, disturbed by her shock.

They stared at one another for a long while before Morgana finally dropped her piercing gaze and managed to speak.

"What are you doing here, Merlin?" she asked. Her voice was low and shaky.

"I was looking for you," he said, unable to think of anything better to tell her. She seemed so sad and alone. He wondered for a moment if he had meant to kill her. He knew he couldn't kill her. He didn't know what to do now. Awkwardly, he scratched the back of his head. "How did you come to be here?" he asked, lacking anything better to say.

Morgana's expression darkened and her eyes narrowed.

"I was brought here by…" she trailed off, thinking over her answer. "I was brought here by a dragon," she said, looking Merlin full in the face.

"A dragon?" Merlin immediately thought of the dragon, but surely he would never help Morgana, and there were no other dragons. Or were there? "What did this dragon look like?" he asked, something occurring to him.

"White," Morgana said quickly. "A white dragon."

"Aithusa," Merlin breathed.

"What did you say?" Morgana asked quickly, never one to miss anything.

"Um, nothing," Merlin answered.

So Aithusa had saved Morgana. That was quite interesting. What importance did Morgana hold for the young dragon? And why wasn't he with the older, wiser dragon, with whom Merlin had left him?

Morgana watched Merlin's face attentively. She had a lurking feeling that Merlin was here to kill her. She didn't think he was capable, but why else would he have gone looking for her? Perhaps Arthur sent him, she thought to herself. Then she almost laughed. Arthur sending Merlin on a mission that held such danger? Never. She knew her brother well enough to know that he would never risk anyone else's life for his own.

Watching Merlin was making her feel horribly uncomfortable. She remembered the way his eyes looked when he was worried, and how he laughed. She recalled when he had been her friend and made sure she was always well cared for. She also remembered the way he had betrayed that friendship. He had always loved Arthur more than he had ever loved her.

Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but none of his words would form. Morgana had looked almost happy in the last few moments, only to replace the expression with one showing pain and anger. She was now glaring at the cave wall, her eyes watering in the corners.

Even though she was dirty and miserable, Merlin couldn't help noticing how beautiful she was. He had tried so hard to learn to hate her but, even now, he still wanted to comfort her. Maybe there was still some good in her somewhere?

"Morgana," he said softly, moving nearer to her.

She shied away from his advance and wiped at an escaped tear with the edge of her ruined dress.

"Stay away, Merlin," she said, but he moved closer again. "I could kill you," she warned, her eyes glinting with darkness.

"But you wouldn't," he said guardedly. "You could have killed me many times over if you so wished."

"True," she said, smiling a little. "Maybe it's because I had planned for you to watch Arthur die at my hand first."

Merlin stared at her. She appeared to be more relaxed, and he hoped she was joking, but he couldn't be sure.

"Do you still mean to kill Arthur and become queen?" Merlin asked her directly.

"I will never stop trying to take what is rightfully mine!" Morgana shouted angrily. She calmed herself before she spoke again. "Do you know what it is like to lose who you are, Merlin? To feel like you no longer belong to yourself? That you are just a puppet in someone else's game?" Morgana gazed at him icily, waiting for his response.

"You'd be surprised," Merlin said quietly.

"You don't understand!" Morgana cried. "No one can understand! To be shunned by the only people I ever cared about, for developing something that I have no control over!" Morgana shuddered and hugged her arms limply about herself. "You don't know what that's like, Merlin. No one does. No one but me."

"Morgana." Merlin stepped towards her, his heart wrenching at each word she spoke. "I understand better than you think," he said carefully. "You're not alone, Morgana."

Her eyes stared into his with a painful intensity.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He didn't answer. He couldn't answer. "I said, what do you mean?"

Now it was Morgana's turn to advance on Merlin. She stepped hastily across the small room and waited. She wanted to punch him. Hard. Somewhere it would hurt. A lot.

Merlin stared down at Morgana. She was seething all of a sudden. But that wasn't what Merlin was thinking about. He actually couldn't stop from focussing on the fact that she was only a few mere inches away from him. If he took half a step, they would be chest to chest.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Morgana shouted. Clearly, she still thought she was the master and he was the servant. He could prove her wrong so easily. He wanted to prove her wrong.

"Morgana, why do you want to be queen?"

Silence.

"I told you! It is my right! That's why!"

"But do you really want to be queen?"

Morgana's brow wrinkled while she thought. Her expression softened.

"No," she whispered. "Not now. Not after how it was. I don't know why they hate me so much. I didn't want to have to hurt them like that, but they left me with no choice!"

She was referring to all of Camelot. They would never accept anyone as their ruler but Arthur. Morgana had tried to force them into submission; to scare them into acceptance. It hadn't worked, and it never would.

"Morgana," Merlin murmured to her gently, "There is always a choice."

Why did he have to look at her like that? Like she was everything. Like she was all that mattered. Why did he have to be so nice? Why was her heart beating so fast? Why did she feel so dizzy? Was he this close before?

"I think you should leave," Morgana managed to say to him.

Merlin lifted his hand and touched her cheek. Her eyes widened and she jerked out of his reach.

"L-leave," she stuttered. "Go on. Hurry back to your king."

"Not yet," Merlin said, but it was almost a question.

Carefully, he brought his arms around her, pulling her closer. She struggled for a moment before realising how natural it felt, and how good. Her head fell forward and her forehead brushed his collar. She let her hands move to his chest and rest there. She remembered when she had still lived in Camelot, in the castle. She remembered imagining him holding her then, and how much she had wished he would. Just once. Or twice. Just to see how he could make her feel.

It was strange, to realise she still liked him, after everything they had both done. How many times had they almost killed the other?

"Merlin…"

He smiled into her hair. Her voice was so quiet and unsure. She sounded like the old Morgana. The one he had come close to loving. It had been surprisingly easy for that love to transform into hate. But it hadn't been real hate, because he had hated the idea of what she had become, not what she actually was. He truly believed there was something good left in her. She was so empty and defeated. He would have pitied her, but it didn't feel right. Comforting seemed more appropriate.

Morgana lifted her chin and discovered Merlin's face to be very near. He looked handsome in the light of the flame and she was drawn to him. She stood straight and reached her lips to him.

Neither of them had known what to expect, but it wasn't the fire that burned out from the touch and resounded through their bodies. Morgana started to draw back, but Merlin tightened his hold, pressing her against him. He leaned down and kissed her again. The fire exploded out through their bodies like lava and she was shaking. Why was she shaking?

Merlin refused to let her go. He hadn't known that kissing her would be like this. Morgana pressed closer and the kiss deepened. All that time they had spent together and they had never known how it would feel. The time felt so wasted now.

Morgana pulled away just enough to smile at Merlin. He grinned at her in return. Then the events of the past couple of minutes caught up with them and they broke apart. Morgana scurried backwards the second his arms dropped.

"What was that?" she asked, her magic boiling in her chest, begging her to touch him again. The feeling made her breathless.

Merlin shook his head.

"I'm not sure," he replied, equally breathless.

Morgana leant against the cave's wall and thought. She thought about everything. She thought about every moment she had heard Merlin's name, or caught a glimpse of him in the hall. She studied him now. It all made sense.

"You have a secret, Merlin," she said, and Merlin's wild expression confirmed her accusation. "You share my gift. You could have told me. Maybe—"

"You wouldn't have felt so much like an outsider and turned to…" Merlin struggled for the words to use to describe them. The ones who had given Morgana an escape route from her life and led her down the path of evil.

"It's okay," Morgana interrupted. "I know what you mean."

They both stared at the other.

"What now?"