Chapter Text
Over the following year, Merlin’s health steadily improved thanks to the efforts of Lizbeth and the other druids. He remained slightly gaunt as the Thick broth Gaius had taken to making for him could only help sustain him, not give him back the lost fat stores.
Like a trickle, Merlin’s magic came back to him. The druids had taken most of the strain of supporting the protection spell off of him, but there was still a small drain which the druids thought to be the specific protections placed on the royal couple.
Despite everyone's best efforts, Merlin remained unreachable. Arthur had even tried to establish his own mind link, using Isabella to help with the magic end, but he never got through the wall Merlin had placed to prevent communication.
Arthur and Gwen were starting to feel hopeless that Merlin would ever wake up, and afraid of something happening to him in his vulnerable state so together with the druids, Elyan and Gwen built a room attached to Arthur’s with magic. It only allowed specific people through to help take care of him and Arthur had taken to every night going in and just holding Merlin’s hand, talking about what happened that day, how they hadn’t heard from Morgana, and how much everyone missed him, begging him to wake up and call Arthur a Prat, or Dollophead, or even to scream at Arthur and tell him he’s an awful person, an awful friend... Anything as long as he would wake up and be okay.
Gwen would take her turn during the day when Arthur was off doing ‘kingly things’ as Merlin would call it. She prayed to all the gods and goddesses she ever heard mention for Merlin to please wake up. To let them show him how much he means to everyone and she promised he would be treated like the precious person he was, the wonderful man she loved… they both loved.
They had spoken with each other and agreed that they would not marry until Merlin woke up. It just didn’t feel right without him there, so Gwen did what she could without the official title of queen, she focused most of her time on the paperwork and other things she could do by Merlin’s bedside, talking with him over her thoughts and what did he think of lowering taxes, not truly expecting a reply, but always secretly hoping he would show he was awake with a quip about how Lord Bruin was so boring it would put the dead to sleep, or lady Tiffany’s voice could be mistaken for a banshee. Or even what a prat Arthur is and how he should just get rid of Lord Ryons by forcing him into early retirement. Of course, he would probably have something funnier or insightful, but she did what she could with the Merlin in her mind.
Despite not yet being married, Arthur and Gwen had taken to sharing the bed as neither one wanted to be away from Merlin. They only slept though, agreeing to wait until marriage to prevent any accidents.
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Floating around in the gold got boring quickly. Merlin wished they would just let him go, he knew he was just being a coward but he was tired . He just wanted his rest. Every once in a while he could hear what was going on in the living world, he could feel the ghost of a touch of someone holding his hand, or brushing his hair. It felt nice, but he was afraid, maybe he was just making it up, and it was in reality just the wind… or maybe it was Gaius or one of the druids, checking to see if he was still alive.. not one of love, but of duty.
Merlin felt himself sigh. He had been exploring the ley lines and that was interesting enough he guessed. He learned that each sorcerer had a connection, and depending on how powerful they were, changed how strong the line was. A regular druid for example just had a small line, almost like a fishing line, thin and almost invisible. Lizbeth’s was like twine, and had shades of green and brown, showing her nature as a shapeshifter. He wondered if she could do any spells, or if it was just nature magic… he was tempted to ask but he kept her blocked, it was easier that way. He already said his goodbyes, they just needed to let go of their sense of duty.
A cold feeling went through him when he looked over at the biggest line. He knew who that one belonged to. Morgana . Hers was bright gold but was bent and twisted… as someone had damaged it. It had been bothering him since he first noticed it. He had found some evil sorcerers already, and they had dark color to their magic strands, usually grey or dark reds and purples. But Morgana’s… hers was still bright gold.. but damaged.
He floated back over to her strand, inspecting it with his magic this time, just gently prodding to see what caused the damage.
Merlin let out a gasp of pain as a bolt of electricity shot out from Morgana's strand and into his chest at the same time a voice screamed out -
“EMRYS?!?”
What in the world?
….
That... That sounded like... Morgause? But… oh gods, what did she do to you, Morgana?
*Merlin?*
*Morgana? You can hear me?*
*What the hell? Where are you? Why are you in my head?*
*Don’t worry about it Morgana, I am so sorry for everything you had to go through, I’m going to fix it, and I will make it better.*
*What are you-?*
Merlin cut off communication to focus on Morgana’s strand, thinking hard on how it should look, strong and healthy, thinking about the woman that she once was, Stubborn and Hot-Headed, a Pendragon trait if there ever was one but Good and pure of heart before Morgouse got a hold of her and twisted her and her magic to serve a twisted fate. With everything Merlin had, all the strength he had gathered the past few months he managed to fix the damage done, Morgana’s strand once more as it should be, shining gold with wisps of light blue weaving through.
Merlin smiles at the beauty of the strand before the blackness took over his vision as he fell unconscious
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Morgana is not entirely sure what happened. One moment she is planning to send an assassin into Camelot, the next she hears Merlin's voice in her head, telling her that he was going to fix everything and then a wave of what could only be described as the feeling of a home filled her entire body and every feeling of anger and thought of revenge against Arthur she had just, diminished. She was still mad at him, angry at the way magic was still not free, but no longer did it feel like everything was his fault like he was another Uther and was out to get her. She chokes back a sob thinking about her brother's face when she betrayed him, all the times he tried to reach out to her only for her to slap his hand away.
How could she do that to him?
Morgause twisted you, my child
oh… how long had it been since she heard that voice… the voice from her dreams of the future... The voice of the triple goddess… Morgause... Her sister had silenced that voice and... Used her for her revenge… and she just let her.
You thought you had no choice. You thought you had no other family, and when you found out you did, it was too late, Morgause had already taken you from me. Emrys gave you back to me, now you must do the same for him. Help him come back to those who love him and bring him back into my light.
Morgana thought for a moment, what could she do? There’s no way that her brother would let her get near Merlin, never mind perform magic on him. She would need to be invisible… ‘ what was that spell again.. I’ll have to check the books... But that could work…’
==============
Morgana crept silently along the halls, not trusting the invisibility she had wrapped around her. She could not risk being caught before she made amends. Though she had lost her inside person when Merlin reversed the sleeping curse, killing Agravaine with the magical backlash, Morgana had scried ahead of time and found that Merlin had been moved from the physician’s chambers to his own which could only be accessed from Arthur and Gwen's chambers.
This posed a problem as it meant she not only had to sneak past the guards but sneak past the sleeping couple and the druid curled up at the foot of Merlin’s bed… a whispered sleeping spell took care of the guards and a muffling charm kept her brother from waking at the creak of the doors. She made it almost to the side of the bed and could only look down at her former enemy… her former friend… in horror at what he had become. He looked like skin and bones, chest barely moving for breath. She dropped the invisibility spell, knowing she needed her energy to be focused on the task at hand.
“Oh Merlin, I am so sorry…” she whispered before reaching into her well of magic and bringing up her second sight, the same power that allowed her to see the future allowed her to see what was preventing Merlin from waking up on his own. She gasped when she saw him for the first time with eyes unfettered. He was magic itself, the purest gold shining around his body, glowing and fading like the ocean waves and Morgana knew what to do to help him. That much power should be a steady light, not this fading in and out. It should be like staring into the sun and Morgana would make sure it was like that again.
Through the gold, Morgana could make out a gleam of silver. Focusing on that she manages to make out a thread that leads away from Merlin to the king's chambers. Almost braided around the silver was a lavender thread. Morgana gasped as she realized who the lines connected.
Careful not to walk through the thread leading to the other room Morgana made her way closer to the bed that contained her once the enemy. Taking a deep breath she places her hands over his chest, slowly streaming her magic into him filling him up with the pure magic he had returned her access to. She felt the pleasure of the goddess behind her, boosting her strength and allowing for a more steady flow into the warlock. She stayed like that so focused on her task she didn’t notice the door opening or the sound of a sword being unsheathed.
“STOP!”
Morgana takes a deep breath and slowly looks up at the doorway where Arthur now stands, Excalibur in his hands pointed directly to her chest. She lets go of the magic that she had been feeding to Merlin, the pale blue light fading.
“Haven’t you caused enough harm, Morgana? What did he ever do to you to deserve this? To deserve death?”
“Nothing. That’s why I am here. I want to undo what has been done. I want him to wake up so I can thank him properly. Arthur I…”
Arthur grimaces and strides forward until the tip of Excalibur is pressed against where Morgana’s heart lies.
“I don’t believe you”
Morgana gasped and closed her eyes. She knows she deserves death after all the hurt she caused, all the lives lost because she believed in her sister instead of the boy she grew up with. The boy who had stood up to their father when she made mistakes and took her punishment instead. The boy she loved as a brother for so long, who was her brother, who she betrayed as soon as she learned that fact.
“No, Arthur”
Arthur’s eyes widened as he spun around to look at the bed. Merlin's eyes were open, those fathomless blue eyes looking directly into his. Arthur makes note of the exhaustion still showing on his face, the dark circles, and the twitching of his muscles as he fights to stay awake.
“ Merlin… you... you’re”
“Yes. Thanks to Morgana. She gave me most of her magic so I could wake up. “
Arthur’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, glancing back to Morgana who was staring at Merlin, a relieved expression on her face even as tears welled up in her eyes. He makes note of the tremors making their way down her arms, the fast breathing he knows from childhood is from holding back sobs.
“Why?” Gwen whispered from behind Arthur, eyes wide as she stared at the Morgana and Merlin. “Why would you help him now? Why would you wake up now? Just.. why now?!?” she sobbed out the last part
“Because he saved me” was all Morgana could say, tears now streaming down her face as she looks over at Gwen.
“She.. it wasn’t her fault” Merlin whispered words echoed through the chambers
“Emrys’ if I may?” Lizbeth piped up, now in human form. She waits for Merlin’s nod of approval before speaking again.
“The Triple Goddess reached out to me while I was sleeping, my connection to Emrys was going to prevent Morgana from helping, as I was also stopping magic unknown to me from being near him. She told me what Emrys had done. And what Morgause had done to Morgana. She twisted Morgana’s magic and mind, making the fear so much worse and making her believe she could only trust her ‘real’ family, Morgause of course. In doing so she took Morgana out of the goddess's protection, turning her down the road of darkness, betrayal, and eventually the death of all she once held dear. Emrys was able to heal away the darkness in Morgana’s magic from the ley lines. Bringing her back to the goddess and into the light.”
Arthur stared at Merlin the entire time Lizbeth told her tale, seeing the truth in his eyes and knowing he had so much more to thank Merlin for than before. Merlin stared back and when the tale was done he looked pointedly over to Morgana, who was now sobbing hysterically, muttering “I'm so sorry” over and over. Arthur stared blankly at him until Merlin also mouthed “Go hug her”. Arthur dropped Excalibur and wrapped his arms around his sister.
“It’s okay Morgana, it’s not your fault. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, but I am now. It will be hard but I am so glad to call you my sister once more.”
Merlin just beamed from his bed. Gwen took the opportunity to get the first cuddle from the bedridden man, surprising him with how tight she held on.
“Never again Merlin. You must promise never to leave us again.”
“And no more sacrificing yourself! You matter too!” Arthur chimed in, still holding Morgana as she calmed down from her breakdown.
“We love you, both of you.”
==========
It took nearly a month for Merlin to build his strength back, but once he was able to move around without assistance he insisted the royals get back their space and moved back into the physician's quarters, helping mix herbs and spending time with Morgana, learning about magic together.
“You know Merlin, I saw something last night,” Morgana said out of nowhere in the middle of them reading the latest magic book, that had been found, by the fireplace in Morgana’s chambers.
“Oh?” Merlin quirked his eyebrow at her, encouraging her to continue.
“Yes. I won't tell you what, but it bodes well for the future of Albion…”
“Good, I’m glad you are only seeing good things so far. You deserve a break from bad dreams” Merlin smiled over at her and conjured a flower to float between them, a Tiger Lily, making Morgana smile even wider. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Mordred knocking on the doorway before walking in.
“Mordred! What can we do for you today?” She said sharing a conspiratorial look with the young man.
“Merlin, The King and Queen request you in their chambers.”
“Well, better go see what the prat wants, finish this tomorrow?” Merlin stood up and brushed himself off.
“We’ll see” was all she replied
Merlin just shrugged before making his way down the corridor to the king’s chambers. And walking in without knocking, as usual.
“Come here Merlin,” Gwen says as soon as he closed the doors. Merlin walks up to the bed that the royals are laying on and stops by Arthur's side looking between the two.
“Did you need something?”
Arthur reaches out to Merlin and playfully yanks him onto the bed between himself and Gwen, causing Merlin to yelp like a startled puppy. Immediately Gwen reaches over and cuddles up to him, preventing any movement from Merlin to get up from the bed.
“This, this is what we need Merlin,” Arthur says softly.
“Wha-?”
“We need to know you will be here when we wake up Merlin. This past year without you was the worst we’ve ever had. We missed you, and we love you.”
“Exactly. We want you here Merlin, Nowhere else. We want you to rule alongside us. Please.”
Merlin takes a deep breath and just sighs, every muscle relaxing. Softly he murmurs “I thought you would hate me. I kept everything hidden for so long. I don’t deserve to be here with you. I don’t deserve your love..”
Gwen sniffles at this and holds him tighter.
“Merlin, you deserve all the love in the world.”
In tandem Arthur and Gwen place their arms on Merlin's chest holding each other’s hands and lean over to kiss his cheek.
“Please, let us show you what you mean to us”
Face Reddening Merlin sighs happily and places his hands over Arthurs and Gwen’s.
“ Thank you”