Love's Spell, ch. 4
Merlin sighed. After Morgana had left, he’d glanced out the window to see Arthur marching into the courtyard from the training yard. He began whispering a few well-known words to the room. The scattered clothes flung themselves into the laundry basket. The bed made itself. Uneaten food flew onto the plates, which stacked themselves onto the trays that had also stacked themselves. The dirt on the floor swept into a pile; he banished it to a random spot in the forest.
When Arthur had opened the door, Merlin was at the table, wiping it off. The Prince had promptly told him off for not coming down to the training yard. He was told to clean and polish the armor and sword before lunch. So after he’d taken the breakfast remnants back to the kitchen, he took the armor and sword to the armory, took care of them, then fetched lunch. Now he was on his way back to Gaius’s for his own lunch.
The outer chamber was empty. It was a bit later than when he usually showed up for lunch, so naturally Gaius was gone. But there was a plate of bread and cheese set out on the table. He picked it up and made to go back to his room. He wanted to check his magic book for a spell to clean a fireplace with.
He opened his door and his attention was immediately drawn to his bed. He sat his plate down on the bed to pick up the bundle of red roses bound by ribbon. There was no mistaking this message or whom it was from. Apparently Morgana was still not free from the love spell. This thought was confirmed from behind him when he heard a squeal and a high-pitched voice say, “Surprise!”
Morgana came running from behind his door and he barely turned around in time to stop her from tackling him to the floor. She threw her arms around him and squeezed so tightly he could barely breathe. “Morgana!” he gasped.
“Oh, sorry,” she replied, and loosened her hold a bit. She looked into his face and said, “Were you surprised?”
“Definitely. The roses are beautiful, thank you.”
“I was just going to leave them, but I thought I’d stay to surprise you.”
He thought for a moment. “How long were you waiting here?”
“Mmm. Two or three hours? But it was nothing compared to the joy of seeing you.” Yep, definitely still under the spell.
“Wow, that’s really, um, sweet of you.”
“Anytime. Now come here.” She pulled his head down so their lips could meet. This time she was insistent, almost hungry. She ran her the tip of her tongue along his bottom lip, and he opened his mouth in surprise. Her tongue slipped inside and his knees went weak at the sensation. His hands went to her waist for a few moments, until the door to the outer chamber opened. He stumbled backwards and sat down hard on the bed.
Morgana smirked at him while Gaius’s voice called out, “Merlin are you-oh, My Lady. Hello.”
Gaius stepped up into the room. He looked between Morgana and his ward. Morgana looked extremely pleased by something while Merlin looked shocked. “Good afternoon Gaius, I came to ask you for another sleeping draught. Merlin, please bring it to me later tonight.” With that, she turned on her heel and sashayed out of the room.
The old physician looked down at Merlin, who was still sitting on the bed. “Do I even want to know what that was all about?”
Merlin shook his head to clear it. “Probably not. All I know is that’s the third time she’s kissed me and the spell’s still not broken.”
Gaius looked a little surprised at this. “Well hmm. You clearly have some work to do.”
“Me? What do I need to do?”
His mentor gently whacked him upside the head. “’True love’s kiss’ means both parties have to feel true love for the other. Clearly you’re not there yet. How you could miss that after what Arthur went through is a mystery to me.”
“So how do I make myself fall for her?”
Gaius smiled. “Just think back. I know you were infatuated with her before. I’m willing to bet that feeling hasn’t changed all that much.”
“Gaius!” Merlin yelped as he flushed.
“Just get to work. And eat your lunch while you’re at it.”
xxxXxxx
Merlin did eat his lunch. Then he took Arthur his and did his afternoon chores. Morgana did surprise him a couple of times though, even checking on him in the stables. He normally never saw her there, but there she was in her gorgeous green frock. Unfortunately he’d stripped off his shirt for the task and the only way to get her to leave was to put it back on.
By bedtime he was worn out and didn’t really want to be cornered by Morgana in her chambers again, but go he did. Sure enough, she was ready for him in a lighter nightgown that made him blush. She barely glanced at the vial he gave her before setting it down and backing Merlin up against the wall.
“Morgana!” he squeaked, right before her lips made contact with his. Then she started kissing all over his face while he sighed internally. “Morgana,” he tried again.
“What is it?” she asked between kisses.
“Don’t you think we should talk about this?”
“Talk about what?” Her hands started drifting down his back.
“Us.”
“What’s there to talk about? I love you and you love me,” she paused and took a step back, “don’t you?”
He looked down into her suddenly anxious face. “I-I care about you a lot.” Because he wasn’t sure. But he knew that much and it wasn’t enough.
Fortunately it worked. She smiled and said, “I knew it.” Then she threw her arms around him and pulled him close.
He put his arms around her and for a moment he forgot his protests, the reasons why this was a bad idea. He held her closely and breathed in her scent-roses, like she’d left him earlier. So when she tipped her head up to press their lips together again, he kissed her back.
A shiver slid down his spine. The way she clung to him filled him with unexpected warmth. She was soft but her lips were firm, and now she was teasing him, feathering light kisses over his mouth. His hands slid down to her waist and held her there while taking control of the kiss. He brought up a hand to cradle her face and keep her there. He thought he could get used to this just before he remembered what they were doing, and broke away.
She looked up at him with a question on her face. “I’ve got to go,” he lied, “Gaius needs me.”
“Oh, all right.” She nodded.
“But I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”
“Definitely.” She pulled him in for a quick embrace then let him go. “Until tomorrow then.”
“Good night, Morgana.”
“Good night, Merlin.” She blew him a kiss as he left the room.
He nearly ran all the way back to Gaius’s chambers. Once inside, he shut the door behind him and stared at his mentor. “We need to talk.”
“Merlin, you look flushed. Either you ran all the way back here or something else happened,” Gaius replied.
Merlin walked to a bench and plopped himself on it. “Both, actually.”
“What’s going on?”
“Morgana did it again. She trapped me and . . .”
“Kissed you.”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t help it this time. I kissed her back. And it felt . . .”
“I can guess.” Gaius took off his glasses. “Normally I’d never say this, Merlin, but for her sake, you’ve got to spend more time with her.”
“You’re right. But what if we’re discovered together? She might get off with a lecture, but me-I’d probably lose my head.”
“You will just have to be careful. Very careful.”
“Of course, Gaius, when have I been otherwise?”
Gaius gave him The Eyebrow and Merlin grinned. Spending more time with Morgana was a great idea, now that he thought about it. And he wasvery careful. He had to be every day here just to survive. This was just another added layer of risk.
Fortunately he’d get a chance to be around her a lot in two days. She was off to visit her father’s grave again, and considering what happened last time, Uther was taking no risks. Five knights, plus Arthur, would be accompanying her and Gwen on their journey. Arthur’s inclusion automatically included Merlin’s. And now he looked forward to it.
xxxXxxx
The next two days seemed to pass quickly for Merlin. In between his usual chores for Arthur and Gaius, Merlin saw Morgana frequently. She’d smile when they passed in the corridor. He took her sleeping drafts and stayed a few extra moments to talk and kiss. Once she even pulled him into an alcove and surprised him with an immediate liplock that grew heated rather quickly. He’d enjoyed that but reminded her they had to be careful. She’d nodded like she understood, but it hadn’t kept her from her usual shenanigans that night.
The morning of the pilgrimage arrived, and for once Merlin woke up Arthur at the appointed time. Everything they needed was packed and ready for the day trip and nothing was going to stop them.
Except maybe Morgana. She’d apparently had a terrible nightmare and needed a little extra time to make herself ready. Merlin wanted to go to her to comfort her, but refrained. It wouldn’t be good for either of them if he did so.
Finally Morgana had pulled herself together enough to be able to leave. Merlin and all the knights stood waiting with their horses in the courtyard when Morgana and Uther appeared with Gwen behind them. The King embraced his ward and she came down the steps looking as beautiful as if she hadn’t had a rough night. Merlin smiled up at her and she smiled back, showing her confidence in herself.
Merlin helped her up on her horse and whispered, “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a bright smile. He then turned away to mount his own horse and soon they were off.
The trip to Gorlois’s grave passed without incident. Merlin noticed how Morgana grew more and more at ease as the day went by and wondered if her vision had something to do with this trip. He decided to keep an eye out, just in case.
The group lunched at the gravesite then packed up to leave. Morgana smiled and laughed as if nothing had ever disturbed her, and Merlin was glad to see it. He felt light and fluttery as he watched her with fondness. Was this what love felt like? If so, he now knew he was in the midst of it and wondered what their next kiss would bring.
The first couple of hours of the return trip were filled with laughing and joking among the whole group. But suddenly Merlin had an odd feeling, and before he could say anything, men charged out from the woods. At least twelve fierce-looking bandits now surrounded them. They yelled and rushed at the knights.
From somewhere ahead of him, Merlin heard Arthur yell, “Merlin! Get the ladies into the trees!” He jumped off his horse to help Gwen and Morgana off of theirs.
“No, I want to help!” Morgana said, reaching back toward her horse.
“Morgana, no,” Gwen said, tugging on her lady’s arm.
Yells and the clashing of sword on sword surrounded them as Merlin faced his love. “Morgana, please. We’ve got to hide.”
“But-”
“For me, Morgana.” He looked into her eyes, seeing her at war with herself.
“All right.” But she drew the sword from her saddle and handed it to him. “Just in case.”
Merlin followed behind the women as they dashed off to find cover behind a clump of trees. They crouched down and Merlin watched the fight. He stopped a sword from striking Sir Leon and caused a bandit to trip in front of Arthur. And every time Morgana or Gwen tried to look around him, he pushed them back down.
He’d turned his back for just a moment to tell Morgana to sit when a bandit came running at them. Acting instinctually, Merlin forgot the sword in his hand and raised his other to send the man flying a short distance. Merlin gasped at his stupidity and checked to make sure no one had noticed. The knights were all engaged in their own battles, so he turned to look around.
Morgana stood next to him, her body frozen in shock. Her face had gone pale. “Morgana,” he said.
Her eyes turned toward him and her lips moved, but no sound came from them. A loud shout behind them brought the fight back to mind and he grabbed Morgana’s arm to pull her back behind the trees with Gwen, who looked concerned. “Are you two all right?”
“Yeah,” Merlin answered, “a bandit came toward us but Leon got him.”
“Oh good.” She looked relieved.
Merlin turned back toward Morgana, who was still muttering under her breath. “Morgana?”
“You saved me,” she whispered.
“What was that?” He pretended to not have heard.
“You saved me,” she paused, “with magic.”
“Morgana-”
She seized his face between her hands. “Merlin, you have m-”
“Shhh.” He covered her mouth. “We’ll talk about this later, all right?” He pulled his hand away slowly.
She nodded and gave him a tentative smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
They sat there in silence until sounds of the fight stopped and Arthur called out to them. Merlin stood and pulled up Morgana and Gwen. Arthur came over to them and asked, “All right there?”
Morgana answered, “We’re fine. Is it all over then?”
“See for yourself.”
Morgana, Gwen and Merlin looked around the small clearing and saw the ground littered with bandit bodies. The knights were checking each other for injuries and cleaning their swords. All still lived.
“Well that’s a relief,” Merlin commented.
“No thanks to you, Merlin,” Arthur shot back.
Merlin rolled his eyes and glanced at Morgana, who tried to cover her nervous giggle. He smiled and nodded at her. The horses waited patiently for them as Merlin led the women over to them and helped them mount.
Soon enough the whole group was ready to go. “Let’s get out of here,” Arthur said. He nudged his horse and they all fell into line again, heading back home.