Hello my dear readers :D

Alright, so we've finally reached the end of the line, the final showdown between Merlin and Morgana! =) Thank you to all those of you who've been reading faithfully throughout the past 2-3 months and and extra big thank you to all those of you who have taken the time to leave comments! I REALLY appreciate them and I love you for it :D

That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter :3 And I bid you all adieu (omg. This actually feels a little sad D:...) *waves arms around in an epic virtual group-hug for all my readers*

... Wow, I really am creepy.

Anyway! XD Without further ado, I present you with...

Queen of Shadows

Merlin had imagined this moment for years. Hoped for it on some days when the burden of his secret was growing too heavy, feared it on others when he was grimly aware of the repercussions such a revelation would have. He'd often imagined her reaction, pictured the betrayed look in her eyes, that one exactly like her, her own kin, had let her suffer alone when he understood better than anyone else. When he could have guided her. He shuts his eyes now, cursing himself repeatedly for not being more careful, for letting his anger cloud his reason and revealing his nature to her. He fears the look of betrayal, the expression of disgust…

And yet just as he summons the will to open his eyes, he hears her laughter.

His eyes fly open and he stares at her as she throws her head back and laughs, the shadows cast from the light of the moon flickering over her exposed throat.

"That's it, isn't it? How you escaped the Serkets' nest… How Arthur survived so many of his damned 'adventures', how the undead army was so suddenly annihilated… You have magic!"

Such knowledge was power, but in her hands, it was deadly. He mentally smacks himself.

Suddenly she pauses and cocks her head, peering at him intently. A slow smile creeps over her lips. "You healed me… Didn't you?" she asks, the obvious answer dawning on her and hanging in the air between them.

"No…." He blurts out desperately, hating how obvious it sounds. She laughs again and he hates her for it, hates himself because she's right. Of course she's right and she knows it too.

"Why?" She asks, forcefully now, as her fingers curl over his upper arms, demanding an answer.

He shakes his head, letting out a short, caustic laugh. As if he could answer that…

Suddenly her arm snakes around his neck and she pulls him down, lips crashing against his. All coherent thought flees his mind as she invades his senses. Her scent, her proximity, her mouth – He wants to pull her closer, force her back…

And then, just as quickly as it started, she pushes him away, touching a finger to her lips. He stumbles back, dizzy, his heart drumming, mind reeling. Now it was his turn to croak out

"Why?"

She shrugs, staring at him as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"What do you want from me, Morgana?" he demands, breathing still labored from their kiss.

… If you could call it that.

She looks at him with a smile that is almost mocking. As though she knows his weakness; her effect on him.

"I want everything from you, Merlin. Everything and nothing. But surely you know that already?" she asks tauntingly.

He shakes his head. "Don't Morgana…."

She reaches out to grab his wrist and speaks before he gets the chance to react; "Join me."

His mouth drops, the suggestion sending a shiver down his spine. The same suggestion she gives him in his dreams, in his nightmares, the same proposal he finds himself yearning for and fearing in equal measures….

"You're insane…." He whispers, searching for a reason, hoping its sheer madness on her part, or a cruel joke, something, anything to imply she doesn't mean it.

"Think of it, Merlin. You're of magic, as am I. Who else is there to better understand you? Especially in Camelot?" she scoffs, her grip tightening on his arm.

She's right, of course she's right and no one knows his secret, his burden, his magic, hers- His mind is on overdrive- he could justify it in a million ways, but-

...

This is darkness.

"NO." He replies shaking his arm free of her wrist.

Morgana pauses, looking into his eyes as though trying to force out every thought, anything to use against him. "Arthur doesn't even know, does he?" she says, clucking her tongue in a pitying way as she shakes her head. "All that time protecting him, saving him…"

Merlin remains rigid though his throat tightens painfully at the truth she presents. They both know it.

"You'll never get the acknowledgement you deserve, Merlin, why not join me?" she asks, tilting her head and holding his gaze.

Merlin snorted. "Oh what, and you'll give me all I deserve?"

She smiles as if amused, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "No…" she walks closer languidly, "But I'm sure I can find some way to make it worth your while…" she finishes, reaching up to touch the neckerchief around his throat.

He stares at her hard. The more his frown deepens, the more dazzling her smile becomes.

Ever the manipulator.

He looks down at her fingers, slipping through the fabric of his scarf.

Ever the temptress.

He pulls away sharply, distancing himself from her beguiling proximity. Dangerous, he reminds himself, tying to clear the haze of lust that clouds his thoughts.

"No, Morgana." He says firmly, "I'll never join you. Not like this."

Some emotion flickers in her eyes but she covers it quickly, re-schooling her features into an inscrutable gaze. "Are you certain of that, Merlin?" she asks, her voice unusually soft.

"Yes." He says quickly, before he has the chance to reconsider. He stares at her, before forcing himself to look away and convincing his body to turn away from her.

He has to go.

He begins to walk back towards the forest, the crunch of grass under his shoes, the only sound in the stillness of the evening. She calls out to him, her voice so quiet he nearly misses it.

"You did heal me, didn't you?"

He pauses, staring at an oak tree some feet away from him, watching its leaves rustling slightly in the night-time breeze. "Yes…" The silence that follows feels suffocating.

"I won't forget it, Merlin…"

He waits.

"Maybe you're way is right, I don't know." She says, voice faltering. "But I make no promises." She adds forcefully, reverting back to a state which she better understands.

He exhales, not even having noticed that he was holding his breath and turns around to see her, to speak, to-

… But she's gone.

And the last he sees is the hem of her black skirts swirling around her legs as her magic picks up around her, taking her away, away from him.

Instantly her absence strikes something in him. The same hollowness he felt before finding her here. Maybe he had talked some sense into her, it was all he could hope for after the deadly risk he had taken in bringing her back – a risk, he reminds himself, that he took because of his own weakness. Not because he had some noble intent to change her. And he would have to live with the consequences no matter what happened from here, whether he had brought a glimmer of hope or cataclysm of destruction.

He begins to walk again, towards the castle and the kingdom he should call home. Fighting the emptiness.

He remembers.

Remembers the image in his mind so well… The image of Morgana . An image of bitterness, hatred and love.

Yes, love.

Because he still loved her.

~ Fin ~