Chapter 2

The Curse

"Morgana?"

Merlin fixed into her eyes as he knelt down beside the little cot that had been moved into the prison for her. Morgana's eyes rapidly scanned her surroundings. Merlin could have sworn she actually appeared afraid.

"It's okay, Morgana," Merlin said even though he was not entirely sure why he was comforting her. "You are safe now, or… well, you are actually in prison but that is probably a lot safer than wherever you were before."

"Merlin," Gaius's voice came from behind him. "Remember, Arthur ordered that he be alerted the moment she wakes up."

"Right," Merlin muttered, once again looking into Morgana's eyes to see if she would say anything. She remained silent, her own eyes firmly pointed to the ground. By the expression on her face, Merlin could not tell if she were angry or holding back tears. It looked as though Morgana actually appeared traumatized. She He hoped soon they would find out just what happened to her.

Gaius and Merlin rushed to the main throne room where Arthur sat by his newly wedded wife, Gwen.

"Sir…" Merlin began unsure of just how he wanted to say this.

"What is it, Merlin?" Arthur demanded with a huff of impatience.

"Morgana is awake," Merlin muttered, looking down.

Without much enthusiasm, Arthur nodded, looking to the guards. "Have her brought to me."

As they waited, Merlin gazed up at his king. He could not place his finger on it, but somehow, Arthur seemed different, not himself. For now, he merely shrugged it off. It must just be his imagination.

The doors opened and Morgana was led in, a guard holding each of her arms. They led her to the front of Arthur's throne and let go. Without the strength to stand, Morgana fell to the ground. Merlin noticed Gwen's conflicted expression upon seeing her former friend. He recalled a long time ago when Morgana would have done anything for Gwen. That Lady Morgana seemed like a distant dream now.

Whatever Arthur felt at the sight of his half sister was unknown for he concealed it well. Keeping a straight expression, he rose, stepping closer to Morgana.

"Morgana," Arthur began in a tone that reminded Merlin of Uther. "You were found in the woods beaten and left to die by my men. What I need to know is who did this to you."

He looked at Morgana sharply, but she kept her eyes stubbornly pointed at the ground, refusing to utter a word.

"Morgana?" Arthur tried again, his tone harsher than Merlin ever recalled. "For the sake of Camelot I need to know. I am giving you a chance to do this the simple way, but if you refuse to answer I will resort to an alternative method. Now, who did this to you?"

Morgana, this time, took in a deep breath but still, no words escaped.

"Morgana!" Arthur raged, making the whole room shiver.

Gwen then rose and spoke calmly, "My Lord, perhaps she does not remember."

"She remembers," Arthur concluded, firmly. "I can see it in her eyes." He looked back down to Morgana. "I will give you one last chance. Who did this to you?"

When she stilled refused to answer, the king sighed and motioned his hand. "Very well. Return her to the dungeon. Tomorrow, we will use torture to get the information out of her."

There were gasps all throughout the courtroom. No one appeared more startled or taken back then than Arthur's wife. Now, Merlin knew for a fact, something was wrong with the king.

"Arthur," Gwen said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Surely, you can not mean for that. She is already severely injured. Torturing her would be inhumane!"

"She would do worse to us if it were the other way around!" Arthur snapped back, pulling away in fury.

"And we are to sink to her level?" Gwen demanded.

"We need the truth, Gwen!" Arthur fumed. "Camelot could be under threat and it is my job to protect the people. I will not hold back for her sake!"

With that, the king stormed off. Gwen began to follow, but Merlin grabbed her arm.

Gwen's eyes remained pointed in the direction her husband left in. "Let me go, Merlin. I have to try to reason with him."

"I do not think that will do any good," Merlin said in a hushed voice. "I think he may be under some sort of enchantment."

Gwen turned her head to face him. "You believe magic is behind Arthur's behavior."

Merlin nodded. "We both know the real Arthur is a noble man. He would never resort to anything like this, no matter who it was."

Gwen took in a sharp breath. "What do we do?"

"Gaius and I will try to figure out just what kind of magic spell Arthur is under so we can find a way to save him."

"You will find a way, Merlin," Gwen said firmly. "I believe in you."

xXx

That night, Gaius and Merlin spent hours rummaging through books in hopes of finding what kind of spell Arthur is under.

Merlin let out a huff and looked to his mentor. "Any luck?"

Gaius sighed as he shook his head. "When did you say Arthur's strange behavior began?"

"This afternoon in the woods." Merlin closed his eyes to picture the scene better. "It was when he touched Morgana's arm."

"Let's see," Gaius muttered as he brushed through more pages. "I wonder if Morgana had something to do with it."

"If she did it is not working out so well for her," Merlin mumbled, thinking of her torturing that was to begin the next day.

"Here's something!" Gaius slammed his finger on one of the pages. "It looks like a vengeance curse that is triggered by touch."

Merlin leaned forward to look at the book. "So when Arthur touched Morgana's arm, he triggered the spell?"

Gaius nodded and continued, "The desire for revenge will slowly creep up on the spell's victim, eventually driving them mad."

"So this is Morgana's new plan?" Merlin asked, his heart sinking. "To drive Arthur to madness so she could take the throne."

"I would have assumed that, but it says here in order for this curse to be completed the trigger would have to die, meaning Morgana would have to die."

Merlin took in a dreadful inhale. "What exactly would happen if Arthur if he were to kill Morgana?"

Gaius shook his head. "Nothing good. If he gives in to the vengeance it will likely lead him to be forever trapped in his own madness, perhaps even kill him."

Merlin pounded his fist on the table. "Who would do this?"

"Likely someone who desires both Arthur and Morgana dead," Gaius whispered. "Someone who wants to wipe out the Pendragon line completely. My best guess would be whoever beat Morgana and left her in the woods."

"We can't let this happen," Merlin concluded. "We have to get Morgana out of Camelot, for Arthur's sake."

xXx

In the middle of the night, at the full moon's highest, Merlin snuck into the dungeon. He whispered an enchantment, putting the night guards to sleep. When he approached Morgana's cell, he found her sleeping on her side, facing the wall.

"Morgana?"

When she did not respond, he muttered a spell, unlocking her cell, and uttered with more volume, "Morgana, wake up."

She slowly turned her body to face him, looking confused by his presence.

Merlin held out his hand. "We have to go, Morgana. Now."

Morgana moved back on her tiny bed. Merlin noticed parts of the blankets were stained in blood.

"Morgana," Merlin persisted. "If we don't leave now, Arthur will have you tortured in the morning. With your injuries now, you could die from it."

"Why are you doing this, Merlin?" She asked in a tone, barely above a whisper.

With his hand still out, Merlin froze. This was the first time he heard Morgana speak since they found her. After a few moments passed, he gathered his thoughts and replied, "I will explain later. Right now, we have to go." He pushed his hand closer to her. "Come on, Morgana. What other choice do you have?"

Morgana appeared reluctant, but nevertheless, she accepted his hand and Merlin began to lead her out. They did not make it far before the first group of guards caught sight of them.

"Prisoner escaping!" once bellowed and the next thing they knew, the bells were ringing.

"Come on!" Merlin grabbed Morgana's hand tighter, quickening his pace to the best she could keep up with.

Just as the two almost made it outside, two guards blocked their path. As they turned, they found themselves surrounded. There was no way out.

"Uh… Morgana?" Merlin muttered, barely turning his head. "Perhaps, now might be the time for a magical solution."

"I cannot," she breathed. "My powers have not be working properly since…"

Her voice trailed off as the guards made way for their king. Merlin saw that behind Arthur stood his most trusted knights, Merlin's friends.

"Merlin?" Arthur gaped at his trusted servant and friend in pure and utter shock. "What in Heaven's name do you think you are doing?"

"I know it may not seem this way, Arthur, but I am doing this for you," Merlin defended truthfully.

Arthur shook his head in fury. "You are a traitor, Merlin!" He turned to the guards and ordered, "I want them both locked up and closely monitored the rest of the night. First thing in the morning, the witch will be burned and Merlin put on trial."

There it was, the curse reaching its peak. Merlin could see it in his king's eyes. The real Arthur would have considered the aspect of Morgana placing an enchantment on Merlin before drawing conclusions and he would not put her to death, or anyone for that matter, without a fair trial first. Even Uther would not have sunk so low. Merlin could not let this happen, but he could only think of one way out, a way that would only increase Arthur's rage but he had no choice. It seemed the time has finally arrived. Merlin closed his eyes and lifted his hand towards Arthur, prepared to utter a spell.