Morgause had her mother's hair, and her mother's eyes, much to Vivienne's relief. She had her father's magic, but no one questioned magic.
Morgana had Gorlois's hair and Gorlois's eyes, and like both Gorlois and Vivienne, she hadn't the slightest bit of magic.
Uther assumed she was his, because Uther was king and had fallen into the habit of assuming everything was his, but Uther was wrong.
Morgause was interesting. Morgana admired what she'd accomplished.
She wasn't sure what to make of the bracelet though. She had occasional nightmares, true, mostly after execution, but they weren't worth using a mysterious gift from a stranger over. The attention made her uneasy, and when she pried what happened out of Arthur, she felt uneasier still.
She'd believe anything of Uther, and she looked forward to Arthur's reign - he wouldn't throw her in the dungeon when she called him out on his stupidity - but she didn't trust Morgause. Magic shouldn't be a crime, but using it like Morgause did should be.
When Morgause reached out to her, Morgana didn't reply. She was awake when the Knights of Medhir attacked. Everyone was.
She saw Arthur fight them, and she saw Merlin's eyes flash.
"It's alright," she told him, and she thought he almost trusted that.
She watched Merlin more closely after that. He made more sense now.
Not actual sense, because he was a sorcerer in Camelot and because he was Merlin, but more sense. She worried for him. It made her protective.
She liked Gwaine from the start for that alone. He protected Merlin and Arthur when he didn't have to, so she went to thank him.
He had a brilliant smile. "Always liked a hopeless fight," he said, "and keeping those two out of trouble just might be."
She smiled back. He wasn't a serious marriage prospect by any stretch, but it never hurt to flirt a bit.
"I stepped in to protect Merlin."
Morgana believed him. She wanted to challenge the knights herself for abusing their position. Merlin wouldn't have dared to use magic. He could have been seriously hurt.
Arthur spoke up for him without prompting, and for a moment she felt proud of him, but Uther's mercy was as lacking as ever.
"You can't banish him! He's done nothing wrong."
"He attacked two knights," Uther said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Morgana argued anyway. "Knights attacking someone weaker than themselves don't deserve the title."
Merlin looked offended. Morgana ignored him.
Uther shook his head. "Supposedly attacked."
"There as another witness there," Morgana pointed out. "See what Merlin has to say."
"Father, she has a point - "
"Enough!" Uther erupted. "Take him to a cell. He leaves in the morning. He is banished on pain of death."
Gwaine looked at Uther with all the contempt she felt as he was dragged away.
"Ah, justice," Morgana said bitterly.
"No more," Uther warned.
Morgana was too angry to stop. She ignored Arthur's placating hand. "Too afraid you're wrong to tolerate questions? I know you're many things, but I never took you for a coward."
The door clanged shut. Morgana pounded the bars before giving up and sliding down the wall.
"That went well," she muttered.
"What happened?" Gwaine's voice came from the next cell.
"I told Uther something he didn't want to hear," she said bitterly.
"Did steam come out of his ears?" Gwaine asked wistfully.
That startled Morgana into a laugh.
Living on the run for a week while they pulled a plan together to take Camelot back from Morgause had been trying, but they had won now, and she was in a clean dress for the first time since the initial battle.
It hadn't been all bad, though. She'd gotten to talk to Lancelot, a fellow secret keeper, properly, and Gwaine had come back. The sprig of flowers he had handed her with a wink after their victory was tucked into her braid.
She found him leaning against the battlements. She joined him.
"So how long will you be gracing us with your presence this time?"
Gwaine grinned. "Well, under the circumstances, even Uther had to admit it would be ungrateful to have Lance and I executed. We're officially pardoned. Arthur's trying to convince him to honor the knighthoods, but I'm not holding out much hope."
"Will you stay if he doesn't?"
"Might not if he does. He's gearing up to crack down on magic. I don't want any part of that."
Her disappointment was dwarfed by righteous anger. "Of course he is." Never mind that Morgause was dead. He would still want revenge.
Gwaine's jaw was clenched. He nodded. "I'm trying to talk Merlin into coming with me."
Morgana turned, startled, before the sense of it hit her.
Which meant Gwaine knew.
"I'll talk to him," she offered, "but you know what he's like."
"I know." Gwaine's mouth twitched wryly. "I might have to stick around to make sure there's someone here to break him out of jail."
"And in the meantime?" Morgana asked lightly.
He grinned at her. "Perhaps my lady could show me what the citadel is like when everyone isn't trying to kill us?"
She smiled. "I'd be delighted. Thought last bit may be overly optimistic."
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