A/N: While reading go check out the song the Shadow of Uther by Kamelot! You won't regret it!

The fact that she lived still haunted him. After every chance that there was for Morgana to die, Merlin still could not do it, despite the fact that he knew it was for the best. She was a shadow, spreading death and decay over the land. And until she was dead, Merlin knew, Arthur could not fulfill his destiny, uniting the land of Albion. She dogged his steps, and for every turn in the right direction that Arthur took, Morgana was right behind helping to ensure that chaos would reign.

And when he cursed Morgana, the Queen of Hate, Merlin also cursed Uther. She was of his making, in more ways than one. The Witch of Uther's own blood, and the evil that had formed from her upbringing, so full of fear as a result of her magic, and Uther so filled with contempt for her kind. Who else could she have become? Who else could he have molded her into, with his unwavering reign of terror and hate?

Uther's mistakes haunted Arthur's reign. Uther's failures, Uther's transgressions, they remained while Uther did not, and Arthur suffered for it, Arthur and all of Camelot.

Morgana was a Shadow, and the Shadow was Uther's. It was the Shadow of Uther that hung over Arthur, holding him back, kept him from becoming the Once and the Future.

Arthur's light must be freed, Arthur's light must be allowed to combat the shadow. And Merlin would see to it that Arthur triumphed if it was the last thing he would ever do.