A/N: Hello everyone! I'm really excited for this story and have been planning it for a while actually! This story starts during... that one episode where Morgana sets the curtains on fire. It's somewhere in Season 2. In any case, enjoy!

Merlin looked up in surprise as Morgana burst into the room. She was still in her night dress and was paler than normal. Merlin noticed she was shaking.

"Is Gaius here?"

"Um, no, sorry."

"I need to speak to him. Where is he?"

"He's talking to the king." Morgana's face fell and she looked around worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Merlin dared to ask.

She looked at the floor.

"You can trust me Morgana, you know you can." Her eyes met his and he could she had been crying.

"I'm scared," she whimpered. "Nothing makes sense anymore." Taking a risk, Merlin extended his arms and Morgana took the invitation, burying herself in his arms.

"It's magic, Merlin," she whispered quietly.

"Magic?" Merlin asked slightly breathless.

"Yes. I-I have it. You know I wouldn't make this up." Merlin's mind raced. He wanted to tell her, help her so badly, but Gaius' warning kept running through his mind. But then Morgana's breath hitched and his resolve hardened. He knew what she was dealing with and there was no way he was going to let her go through that alone.

"I understand."

"How can you possible know what I'm going through?" she asked, voice full of derision and doubt and sorrow.

"Because I have magic too." Morgana pulled away from him and looked at him with pure shock, that gradually turned into a smile.

"Really?" Merlin nodded in response, a smile of his own beginning to form. For as scared as she had been before, Morgana looked positively gleeful now.

"I'm not alone," she whispered. "Tell me about it!" she said. "When did you discover it? How do you control it? Who else knows?" Merlin couldn't help but laugh and gestured to the table. They sat down and he began to tell her.

"I was born with it."

"But that's-"
"Very rare. Yes. Honestly, I'd have to guess the same about you, it just manifested itself later. I use it more than I probably should, but it's quite useful for protecting Arthur. Stupid prat always getting into danger… And as for who knows, you, my mother, my friend Will, and Gaius."

"So Arthur doesn't know?" she asked.

"If he did, would I still be alive?" Merlin said this as a worm of doubt entered his mind; maybe Arthur would accept him someday. Morgana just nodded.

"Of course." She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Can you control it?"

"Mostly, yes. I'm still learning though."
"Could you teach me?" she asked hopefully. Merlin smiled, absolutely thrilled at the prospect.

"I'd love to."

::::

They set up a schedule for practices. Every evening while Gaius was making his rounds, she and Merlin would practice in the physician's workshop. They decided it was for the best not to tell anyone about these meetings, lest rumors start to flourish and worried friends come to call.

Morgana was a fast learner. They tore through Merlin's spell book and quickly turned to Gaius' vast library for more. Once she got the basics of controlling magic down, all she needed was practice. However, evening sessions seemed shorter as the spells became harder.

"And it's been a mild year for illness, so Gaius isn't nearly as busy either," Morgana said, absentmindedly levitating a spoon.

"What if we met at night?" Merlin suggested. Morgana quirked an eyebrow and smirked.

"At night?" Merlin blushed and she laughed. "I'm teasing. That might work. But where and when?"

"We'd have to cut down on how many days, but we'd be able to have longer sessions. And of course there's personal practice."

"Right. How about Saturday nights for a couple of hours?"

"We could probably slip another one in there somewhere. Wednesdays?"

"It's a plan." Suddenly the door opened and Gaius entered the room. The spoon clattered to the table and he looked at his two charges suspiciously.

"What were you two doing?" he asked. Morgana began to speak before Merlin could open his mouth.

"Merlin was giving me some headache medication and we got talking. I should be going. Good night Gaius. Merlin." The princess rose gracefully and left, giving Gaius the opportunity to turn the eyebrow of doom on Merlin.

"This isn't the first time you two have been here when I've gotten back. I don't know what you're up to, and I don't want to know, but for heaven's sake, be careful!"

That Wednesday night, Morgana snuck out of her chambers and met Merlin in front of Gaius' workshop.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I assume you have a place in mind?" Morgana asked him. He grinned broadly, white teeth shining in the dark. He gestured down the hallway.

"After you m'lady."

They wound their way through the castle, avoiding guards and ducking into alcoves when the need arose. Merlin led them up staircases and around corners before ascending one final spiral staircase. At the top was a door which he unlocked with a whispered word. He held the door open for Morgana. She entered and sized up the room.

It was a fairly large, circular room. There was a shuttered window facing the north and a table, a bookshelf, and some boxes stacked up against the opposite wall.

"What do you think?" Merlin asked.

"A bit dusty, but I think it'll do nicely."

"No one ever comes up here, especially not at this time of night. And I figure we can put a spell on the door so no one can come in without us letting them."

"Brilliant. What should we work on tonight?" the young witch asked excitedly, rubbing her hands together.

"I was thinking endurance," Merlin said. He quickly explained the exercise. Because of these lessons, they were both learning new things about themselves, their magic, and each other. It quickly became apparent that Morgana's magic was the more chaotic one and had to be carefully and willfully controlled. Merlin's on the other hand was more gentle, but also more powerful.

"Ready?" Morgana asked him. He nodded. As Morgana shoved a wave of force at him he lifted his hands to create a shield and held them there. Morgana continued to assault him with every spell she knew and even just raw magic. Nothing she did could break Merlin's shield and barely even dimmed it. Just as Merlin's arms were beginning to shake, she finally collapsed against the wall and groaned.

"How did you do that?" she breathed tiredly. Merlin dissipated the shield and sat down next to her. He was breathing a little heavier, but was obviously in a better condition than his friend.

"You lasted a long time yourself. That was powerful stuff." She grinned beside him.

"All thanks to a great teacher." These sessions had become the highlight of her life. It felt fantastic to embrace who she was, even if it wasn't that often.

Merlin walked her back to her chambers and bid her farewell, already looking forward to the next session, and already dreading waking up tomorrow.