A/N: Why is this story so loooooong?

I can't believe I just posted chapter 53. That's insane. And all of you sticking with me through this crazy adventure is even more insane. Thank you all so much! Enjoy!

C53: Mending Connections

Morgana sat with her back straight at her vanity, every bit the Lady of the court she had been raised to be. Inside, on the other hand, she was in turmoil. Merlynn stood in the doorway, looking more uncertain than Morgana had ever seen her oldest friend.

"May I come in?" Merlynn asked. She might have looked uncertain, but there was still a steel to her posture that Morgana had always envied.

"That depends," Morgana replied, choosing to remain seated. "Have you come to deny the charge against you?"

Merlynn sighed and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "No, Morgana. I've come for two things: first and foremost, to apologise. And second, to make a vow."

Confused, Morgana stayed silent. She had been sure that Merlynn would only come with excuses or denials. This was unexpected.

"I lied to you," Merlynn went on, oblivious to Morgana's confusion, "and I shouldn't have. I could say that I have a good excuse, but I don't. I was simply scared."

Almost against her will, Merlynn's words resonated with Morgana. After all, how many times had she been frightened, not just of Uther, but of herself, of the reactions of her friends...

"I was scared you'd look at me differently, or that you'd get in trouble if I were to be found out. Stupid, I know… we've known each other since we were children, you're like a sister to me," Merlynn said, her demeanor looking more and more anguished. "Morgana, I am so sorry that I didn't tell you. I should have done so the moment I realized your own secret. I was a terrible friend, and I apologise."

Despite her discomposure, Merlynn stood tall. She looked tense, her hands clasped together tightly, and her shoulders pushed back. For a moment, Morgana didn't respond. Merlynn truly was her best friend, and she understood her reasons. More than that, seeing Merlynn's regret, her guilt, reflected in unshed tears, made her decision. She believed her.

"And the vow?" Morgana asked, needing to be sure.

"To never lie to you again. Not unless it's life or death, or not my secret to tell."

She believed her, and she could now see that she'd overreacted. But the hurt was still there. She couldn't help herself. Equal parts of her wanted to hug her friend and turn her away forever. It didn't help that her m- magic was now closer to the surface than ever. She had never felt so out of control.

"I believe you," she said finally. "And you're still my friend. But I need time." Merlynn looked both hopeful and saddened. "I need to think, and to put this behind me."

The Princess nodded, and turned to leave, before pausing at the door. "I'd understand if you never want to speak to me again, but if there's anything you want to know, about me, or about magic in general… I did swear never to lie to you again…"

Morgana contemplated this. There were so many things she wanted to know, countless questions at the tip of her tongue. She pushed them down resolutely. "I'd like that. In a few days maybe?"

Merlynn smiled. "You know where to find me. I'll be waiting."

And with that, the other woman went through the door, leaving Morgana once again alone.

Morgana's mind drifted to Nimueh's plan - not that she knew much about it. She had been assured that Arthur and Merlynn would remain unharmed. If they were to succeed, a new golden age could begin, with magic users and those without the gift living together in peace. Merlynn would be able to marry Arthur without fear of prosecution for her talents. And Morgana could finally be free.

/*/

Far away, the sorceress in question stood before her most trusted lieutenant. Tauren was looking over maps and supply lists. But Nimueh herself was more interested in something else.

"It seems our little sorceress is no longer afraid of the King," she commented, as she waved her hand over her scrying bowl to banish the image of the young Princess confronting Uther.

Tauren looked up and grinned. "I've heard that the famine weakened the King, that he is plagued by fevers and delusions. He is weak."

"Your spies have done well, Tauren. But poison is not the way for Uther Pendragon to go." Her hands clenched around the scrying bowl, the surface of the liquid shaking from her unreleased magic. "I want him to suffer as we did."

"That will be difficult with the Prince in charge. I hate to say it of Uther's spawn, but he is capable, and his men follow him loyally," Tauren responded, turning his eyes back to the papers in front of him.

"Then we shall have to get rid of the Prince. Which, in turn, should provide us some breathing room with regards to the Princess." Though there was no more image, Nimueh kept her eyes on the bowl in front of her. She had hated Uther for decades, but he was only a man. This Princess, this Merlynn, invoked far greater hatred in her heart. She had everything: powerful magic, a family, a man who loved her… yet she turned away from her kin. Merlynn, if she so chose, could rule Camelot, perhaps even all of Albion, with her magic and political ties. Instead, the little Princess chose to dutifully do what she was told, and live in hiding, fearful of her magic instead of basking in it.

Tauren drew her attention back when he grabbed one of the papers from the table and grinned triumphantly. "I may have a way to rid yourself of the lot of them."

Interested, Nimueh walked over, holding out her hand for the parchment. On it, a drawing of a horn preceded a rather lengthy letter. She didn't need to ask what was in the letter, for she recognised the horn. "The horn of Cathbad," she whispered, her fingers trailing over the detailed sketch. "I thought it had been lost when Uther attacked the Isle of the Blessed."

"Evidently, one of your young apprentices smuggled it out. She heard of your return and wanted to gift it to its rightful owner."

"I am overjoyed to see its return. I do not, however, see how this helps me rid myself of either the Princess or Prince. The only one they might be tempted to contact is the whelp-Prince's mother, and she was not a vengeful woman." In fact, the late Queen had commanded both love and respect, even from Nimueh herself.

"It is not the horn itself which will be their downfall, my lady," Tauren said, "but rather the idea it has given me. There is a spell we might use to trick Arthur. So long as the apparition we summon does not speak any untruths, it should prove quite convincing. What better way to enact our revenge than to let the Prince kill his father."

Nimueh pursed her lips as she considered the plan. "He might not go so far. By all accounts, the Prince loves his tyrant of a father."

"Even so, it would drive a wedge between them. It is only one of many ways we may take out our adversaries."

"I had thought of using a wraith, myself," Nimueh admitted. "Sir Tristan's vow to avenge his sister would work quite nicely."

Before he could respond, someone cleared their throat outside the tent they'd been gathered in. It was spelled against eavesdropping, so Nimueh wasn't concerned they'd heard anything. "Take care of it," she said, indicating the letter Tauren still held. Then, she nodded for Tauren to open the tent flap.

"My lady, my lord," the messenger greeted. "A man named Aodh has come to speak to Lord Tauren."

Tauren turned to Nimueh. "He is a warlock I came across in Camelot. He pretended to be less than he was, but I could sense his power. If he is willing to help, he could be a great asset."

"Interesting." Then, she turned to the messenger. "Bring him in." As they waited, Tauren went over some more papers. "Aodh you said… it means fire in the language of the Old Religion, it was the name of a powerful dragonlord centuries ago. It can't be…" The only dragonlord still in existence…

The man was led into the tent and, while it had been decades since she'd laid eyes on him, she knew him for who he was. As did he. Balinor's eyes widened as he noticed her.

Rage fanned up inside her, but she maintained her calm exterior carefully. This man had turned her down for a powerless peasant, and had lived in the wilds instead of giving in to her. Even after Uther had hunted him, he had never tried to return to her side. But now she knew his secret. He loved another, and his daughter was the biggest thorn in her side. He would know what it felt like to lose everything. She'd make sure of it.

"I hear you call yourself Aodh now."

Balinor bowed his head. "It is… safer. There are few now who know the story of my ancestor. I was not expecting you, Nimueh."

Tauren, probably sensing that this was something that had nothing to do with him, bowed to Nimueh. "I'll see to your plans, my lady." Nimueh barely acknowledged when he left. They were alone. She wanted to claw his eyes out.

"I'm only here to do what is necessary, Balinor. To rid the world of the taint that is the Pendragon bloodline. To bring peace to our people," she said, outwardly perfectly composed.

Still, he did not look convinced. "What exactly are your plans?" he asked.

She smirked at him and sat down in a chair. "If you're worried about your little bird, Merlynn, rest assured… she has no bearing on my plans," she lied.

To his credit, he didn't flinch. "You didn't answer my question."

Leaning back, Nimueh studied him. She hated him with a passion, but at the same time… she still wanted him. Perhaps when she'd broken him by taking those he loved, she could rebuild him into something more palatable for herself. "You want to be in my inner circle, Balinor? You want me to trust you?"

"Have I ever given you reason not to? Have I not always been truthful, even when the truth was painful?" he countered.

That, she could not deny. He had broken her heart, but he had never directly lied about it. Carefully keeping her smirk on her face, she nodded in acknowledgement. "Fair enough. For the moment, I'm throwing mere distractions at Camelot, testing their resolve as well as their defences. I need a few more things to fall into place before I can go after that which I truly desire." Balinor frowned. "Let's say it's a matter of life and death," she teased, enjoying his confusion.

"You're after the Cup? But you never had access to it, your aunt placed it under the most powerful protections possible."

She made a face. "I may not have had access to it, but I knew what the protections entailed," she admitted. "As I said, I need only a few more things to fall into place. In the meantime, Uther and his son need to be distracted. And King Olaf needs to be… persuaded."

"To do what?"

"Why, to go to war, of course."

/*/

"You are, of course, free to go," Uther said grudgingly.

He sat on his throne, while Merlynn stood by Arthur's side before him. Gaius was off to the side, ready to offer advice if needed. Morgana stood next to him, her eyes cast down and standing silently.

She knew she was glaring at the King, and that there were tears in her eyes, but she didn't bother hiding it. He didn't scare her anymore.

Merlynn raised her eyebrows. "Do you honestly think my father will care? You almost let me die, once, a madman you had invited nearly killed me, and now you've sentenced me to death. There is a limit to how much insult a father can take, and you crossed that line months ago. Even I cannot stop him from going to war now."

"There has to be something we can do?" Arthur pleaded, his eyes straying towards the windows. Below, the townsfolk would be preparing for another day, clueless as to the danger they were in.

"I'm not sure there is. I persuaded him away from this course once, but he will not allow me to do it again. I believe he may even have been preparing for war all this time. He knew something would happen and he would not let himself be talked down again. And Camelot is in no shape to respond to such a threat, not with the disasters that have struck the kingdom of late."

Uther was pale as he sat on his throne, for the first time seeming small to Merlynn's eyes. She'd always been afraid of him… but he was just a man, nothing more.

Shaking his head, Arthur started to pace. "No, there has to be something. I could go to your father."

"He would take you prisoner and use you against your own people," Merlynn said resolutely. "He likes you, so I don't believe he'd kill you, but he would never let you go. Camelot would lose its ruler." There was, of course, one thing they could do. Something that had held off war many times in the past. But to mention it now…

"Merlynn?" Gaius said, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

Arthur looked up from his pacing. "Merlynn? Have you thought of something?"

She could hardly keep quiet now. "Perhaps. I haven't mentioned it before, because… there are so many things that can go wrong…"

"It isn't as though we have other options," Morgana said quietly, speaking up for the first time.

The two women made eye contact. They hadn't spoken since that morning, but there was guilt and grief in Morgana's eyes now, over a friendship now lost. But Merlynn wasn't one to give up that easily. Perhaps their bond was only damaged, not broken. And broken things could be mended.

She offered a small smile. "I do have a plan, but it is risky, and… not everyone will be as happy with the outcome."

A tense silence followed her words. "Is it… what you mentioned to me before?" Morgana asked quietly. Merlynn had almost forgotten that she'd mentioned it to her. It had seemed like a lifetime ago.

Arthur took Merlynn's hand, seemingly unafraid of his father's gaze. Perhaps he'd shed his fear of his father, too. "What must we do?"

"First, I must send a messenger to Galdara. My cousin Ellyn and Arrin must be brought to Camelot in all secrecy," Merlynn started, going over her plans in her head.

Realization dawned in Arthur's eyes. "Which brings me to the next part of my plan." She glanced around. Uther was fuming on his throne, but there was nothing he could say. He was willing to sacrifice a lot for his pride, but his entire kingdom was not one of them. Merlynn was just grateful that he was lucid enough to realize that he could not win against Galdara's forces. Still, she would have preferred that he hadn't been here. "I know you've asked me this before, but…" she trailed off, looking at Arthur again, and taking both of his hands in hers. "Arthur, I love you. I think I've loved you for years, I was just too stubborn to realize it."

"I love you, too," he whispered, seemingly having forgotten about the other people in the room. He smiled at her, probably knowing what she was about to ask. It felt ridiculous to ask this when they had already agreed, but… they needed witnesses.

She smiled broadly at him. "Then I have a question for you," she said, gripping his hands firmly to stop herself from shaking. "Arthur Pendragon. Would you accept my hand in marriage?"

A/N: Some much needed reconcilliation with Morgana, and more of Nimueh's plans! I haven't actually fully formed said plans in my head, but I'm trusting Nimueh to forge ahead :p

I really, really hope to finish this story by chapter 62 or 65. But, because I am a seat-of-my-pantser and not a planner, I can't say for sure. Either way, we're in the home stretch! There will be fluff! There will be heartbreak! There will be villainous plans! There will be a happy ending! Because let's face it, I'm a big softie. Anyway, let me know your thoughts!