Morgana stood at her window overlooking the city and sighed. They looked like ants from here in their little metal machines as they hurried about their lives. Life was so different in this place and this time than it had been when she had been born. She sighed and uncrossed her arms while she shifted her weight and turned from the scene. Her silken pajamas were comfortable but hardly decent for work and so she looked to her closet but before she could cross the threshold her phone began to vibrate on the bedside table. She took it in hand and silence the ring for a moment. Her gaze locked on the form still in deep sleep in bed. Her husband sprawled out in the black sheets with half of his body left open to the air. His curls were trimmed for now and his face relaxed in slumber and he looked no older than he had when they married. Merlin's breaths were deep and even as his chest rose and fell and she gave a small smile before she turned from her admiration and walked from their room and shut the double doors behind her.

She lifted the phone and swiped to answer. "Hello Momo."

Her daughter's disgusted sigh made her smile, "I told you to stop calling me that mom. It was cute when I was five, less so at over a thousand years."

"I know but it's so cute to hear your annoyed tone."

"Boo. You know I was thinking of changing my name."

"It's a bit late to do it now, don't you think, sweetheart?"

"Never." Her tone changed then, "Did you dream last night?"

Morgana paused before she answered since she did dream last night. An impossible dream. One so impossible it had woken her earlier than her alarm and she had passed the images over in her mind for at least an hour by now. "Yes. You must have as well if you're calling me."

"Could it really be, mom? Really be him?" Her daughter's voice carried hope within. They had waited for this for decades, centuries, and through many hibernations in Avalon when the time spent away grew too heavy to bear.

"It would seem though he is still young yet and will need guidance." She had dreamed of a boy who resembled her younger brother so completely it was as if she was a child again herself. The same eyes, smile, build, and even voice when he spoke. "Arthur."

"I knew it." Rhiannon breathed out, "He's back again."

Morgana had remembered when he died. The events replayed in nightmares drawn from the underworld though the time had long been past. She remembered that stupid beard on his ridiculous face and the way his eyes shone with love for his family even as he took his last breath. Though it was too early for him to leave them. He still had so much more to do. She remembered the prophecy spoken to her by that damned dragon who had long since died along with her Aithusa although their children's children still lived. Albion would rise again and so would Arthur all they had to do was wait. Merlin had taken such a long time to recover from his friends death though it wasn't his fault and so did Morgana. "Back, but not the same. He won't be our Arthur."

"If uncle is back then so is…" Rhiannon paused though Morgana knew what she meant.

"You need not fear him. He can't hurt you, precious girl." Morgana could see it as clear as crystal. Mordred with the dagger raised high above his head with a mad gleam in his eyes while her daughter lay helpless and tethered to the same stone where her namesake blood had been spilled. The ice cold fear which had gripped her breast and the hoarse cry of denial at the scene which had been before her. The flash of lightning and roar of thunder and the way Mordred's power had ripped through Arthur's armor as he charged forward even at the age of fifty to defend his niece or how her son had run Mordred through with the same dagger which would have taken his sister's life. Oh how she wished she could have seen it sooner instead she had been blinded by her affection for the man who had changed so drastically since he discovered his true parentage.

"I know. I know and even now I can't believe he would have done something like that." Mordred had loved Rhiannon and showed her affection at every opportunity though after his death she wondered if he had groomed her for years before the ritual. To trust him. To love him and do whatever he asked without question. So much when he had given her a potion to drink Rhiannon did so without question. He had brought her to the altar to bring his mother's plan to fruition. To place Morgause's soul into Rhiannon's body. A body ripe and full with the power of two true sorcerers and the twin bond with its own potential.

"It was his mother. She was always so persuasive." Morgana knew firsthand how manipulative Morgause could be. It wasn't until later, after her wedding when Morgause had learned the reason she had been so drawn to Mordred. He shared blood with her. Morgause had been too young to be a mother but old enough to have a child. It had been a scheme to use the blood of the young Arthur to make a doppleganger and create a child with royal blood to take the throne of Camelot. The priestesses had hoped for a girl but could not summon the power to make it so and so when the child was born male they left him to die. It was fate he had been taken in by the druids. Fate which had brought him to the crossroads where he had died.

"Are you going to tell dad?"

"Not yet. He's still sleeping."

"You should tell him."

"Your father kept enough secrets from me that he has earned the right to wait a while. It isn't as if we can kidnap the child and raise him. He has a family and we must be clever about it. Your father has a tendency to react first and think of the consequences later."

"So do you, mom."

"Hush." Morgana chided her daughter softly. "Where are you now?"

"America. It's quite a backwards place though the people certainly are interesting. Gorlois hates it here. He wants to go back home to London."

"He can always leave and do what he wishes."

"He won't. You know that."

Morgana did know and did worry that her son was far too dependent on her daughter but he adored her. "He's-."

"-Getting in the way of my relationships. Honestly you need to call him home. He's run off another boyfriend." 'Gause half growled out. Morgana well knew the issue between her twin children though he had been trained to be her Blood Knight when the Old Religion had been strong and she a Priestess. Part of the training was they would never leave one another and he would defend her to the death if need be. Though the Religion had all but died their training remained strong.

"Is he there?"

"No. He's out jogging. I don't really mean to be upset with him but he thinks they have to be perfect. I'm not looking for a husband. He would die on me quicker than anything but I do want to have some fun once in a while. Though never mind me. How's work?"

"Fine. I have a consult at noon today." Morgana worked for London's top children's hospital in pediatric oncology. It was something to pass the time and she made a difference children's lives with her power. Power which was now in finite supply. The world used to teem with it but now it whispered along the edges of the modern world and sooner rather than later they would have to go back to Avalon to recharge. She only took on the worst cases. The ones with the rarest types that defy all treatment and she heals them under the guise of placebo medication. The look on the faces of the children when she tells them they are all better is worth more to her than all the money in the world.

"Good. Go save some kids then. I'll call you later. Love you." Her daughter's voice chimed cheerily through the line.

"Love you too." A click signaled the end of the call and Morgana took the phone from her ear and held it in hand for a moment before she crossed the room and put it on the countertop. Her bare feet made no sound across the carpeted floor of her penthouse suite and though the stone of the kitchen cooled her bare soles she crossed to the refrigerator and opened it.

There would never have been such a marvel even thought of when she was still young and each innovation of the human race that took them further from the earth and toward science was both frightening and marvelous. The light flooded the still semi darkness of the morning and she looked through the food before she decided on eggs and toast.

While she waited at the stovetop and flipped the eggs with a practiced motion her mind wandered again to the lives she lived over the years. Though she now looked as she had been when she was young her hair had been golden, red, brown, and even the silver of elder age. The mortals would not understand her power and she had to especially be careful anymore with this modern age. Fingerprints, birth certificates, phones and digital cameras were something to avoid if she could as it was not as easy to hide as it once had been. She and Merlin had travelled all over the world after Arthur had died to escape the rise of Christianity and the death of the druids and Old Religion. Asia, Arabia, Australia and even through most of Europe before they descended into the tribes of Africa and learned from the shamans there. It was a simple jump to South America and the jungles there which were as another world then through Central and North America when the United States was still a dream though they did return a while when the British had been overthrown. Even to the uppermost of the Canadian wilderness a while on a trip had been exciting though cold. The years of travel had been broken up by bouts of deep sleep within the safety of the realm of the fae still strong even after the fall of magic here.

She slid the eggs from the nonstick porcelain onto a plate and carried her buttered toast and cup of tea to the island bar to eat. Morgana was so preoccupied with her thoughts she did not sense her husband until he wrapped warms arms around her middle and buried his face in her neck, "Good morning, avaleora." He mumbled into her neck and she leaned into his embrace.

"Cópenere." She returned and he lifted his head up. "I smelled breakfast."

"I didn't make you any lazybones."

"I'm wounded." He kissed her cheek, "I suppose I shall have to starve."

"So dramatic are you then? You have hands don't you?"

"No sympathy." Merlin pulled back from her and walked around the countertop to forage for his own breakfast. He seemed to settle on a bowl of cereal. Sugar with the idea of health when he poured the frosted flakes into his bowl with milk. He brought the meager meal with him and settled into the chair across from her. "You were up early."

"Astute observation as always dear husband." Her dry reply earned her a look from said husband.

"And crabby. You were never a pleasant riser."

"I couldn't sleep."

"Any reason why?"

Morgana chose not to give him an answer for now, "Just restless I think. I have an consult in a few hours."

"So do I."

"I never understood why you chose to become a lawyer this time around of all things. As if I don't get enough publicity in my practice you have to make a name for yourself as well, Mathew."

"I didn't have any other ideas, Melanie."

"Apparently neither of us did if we're going to be honest." Morgana finished the last of her meal and sighed. "I think I'm going to go for a bit of a walk and get some fresh air before I go into work."

Merlin eyed her suspiciously but didn't press though she knew he wanted to. The tentative brush of his mind to hers signaled as much. Morgana came around to give him a brief kiss and walked to the room. She donned some casual clothes and her tattoo flashed black a few times in her vision as she pulled her jacket on and set her headphones into her phone and placed the phone in her pocket. She put on some music as she crossed the room again to find Merlin on his computer doing something or other.

The elevator ride was her favorite thing about this building as it was made of glass and she could watch the ground come up beneath her. It felt like flying. Dull pain throbbed in her chest at the thought of flight. Her Aithusa had carried her above mountains when she had been full grown but now she had been dead for ages and echoes of time. Pain lessened with time but did not every leave. The air was relatively fresh as she stepped out of the building and turned her music up. Less people bothered her when she had the earphones in and so she walked in a way that she became lost though she always knew her way back to Merlin.

Her steps carried her down a path when she came to an abrupt halt for no reason she could grasp. Something tingled along the edge of her mind, of her magic and she looked around for the culprit. What she found stole her breath. On the playground in the early light of day a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes that laughed stood in front of her. Not directly but so much she could see him as he ran and jumped on the equipment with laughter. It was him. Here. Arthur. Oh how she longed to reach for him and pull him into her arms. To tell him that she loved him and she was sorry for what had happened to him. Though he was older than most he died far too soon and Gwen hadn't been the same afterward. The blacksmith's daughter never recovered from her beloved's demise so when Arthur died it was as if she lost both brother and sister in one fell swoop. Though in truth neither had Ellie or Meighan or their son Ethan. Ethan who had been such a joy to bring into the world and had such promise of his own. They all died eventually. It was possibly the only part of immortality she would never truly overcome. The loss of everyone else.

Nothing had hurt more than when she buried Ellie who had gone on to become Queen and marry the son of a far away Kingdom for duty but also in time, love. Who had two beautiful sons. It had been so hard to bury them. So much so that when Merlin had asked her to come away and forget she did. For three hundred years in Avalon she forgot about them and when she returned she hadn't found the family yet. Her family though part of her didn't wish to know about them. To find them and then lose them one by one.

But this boy. This boy who shared her brother's soul would create Albion again. Though in this place she didn't know how something of such fate and power could exist. She struggled not to run over when another boy shoved him down. He stood up and faced down the bully with eyes far older than he was. Morgana couldn't help it when her feet drew her forward. When she greeted the boy with a wave and a smile as she sat on the bench. Nor when he came over to sit by her and talk with her.

"Do I know you? I don't think I've met you before but you seem really familiar." The seven year old boy told her with blue eyes flashed in knowledge.

"I'm a doctor."

"What kind of doctor?"

"I take care of children."

"Like a GP?"

"I take care of children sick with cancer and make them better." It was a good enough explanation for a child to understand.

"Oh. That's really good then. I'm proud of you, Morgana." The tone was not one of a child when he answered her.

Morgana blinked, "What did you say?"

When he answered again the strange inflection had gone. "I said that's really good. Hey I have to go. My mum's calling me over. Nice to meet you, doctor." Morgana nodded and watched him race off to the woman who gave birth to him. It was good he had a mother this time.

Morgana sat there a while longer before her feet carried her back to her home and through the double doors.

"Hey it's nearly half past eleven. You are going to be late."

"I saw him, Emrys."

Merlin perked up then from his work and gave her a look. She used Emrys very rarely in the light of day, "Who?"

"Arthur."

Merlin's eyes widened, "Here? But he's dead. We watched him die." Emrys remembered it well and it still burned his breast when he thought of his best friend.

"He's here. In London exactly as I dreamed him to be. You must remember what that dragon of yours told you before he perished. It's been so long but not long enough to forget everything."

"Is that why you couldn't sleep?" His tone carried the weight of accusation.

"Partly. But I didn't want to tell you to get your hopes up. He's still young but he will need us."

"He's back? You're sure?"

"He's a child with only a subconscious memory of me but it's his soul which shines brightly from his eyes. I would know him anywhere."

Merlin hurried towards her and spun her around, "He's back!"

Morgana would call her children back home to them later but for now Merlin looked so happy and strangely even after all these years so was she.