Teach Me

Chapter 16

"It's ok, Morgana, you just have to concentrate," Merlin tried to comfort her after her tenth attempt to try a spell. "If you let your emotions get in the way, the spell won't work. You have to completely clear your mind."

Morgana nodded and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose. She whispered the first spell in the book and a tiny spark flew from her hand. She looked up at Merlin, eyes wide, "I did it! Well... sort of..."

Merlin smiled at her, "you did it! Now you just have to practice."

She pursed her lips, "hmm... okay," she said with a tiny smirk after a moment.

She looked back in the spell book Merlin had brought for her and she looked for the next spell. After a few seconds she turned back to Merlin, "can you teach me the one you do with the flower?"

Merlin smiled and nodded, "what color do you want to make the flower?"

She thought for a moment, "red."

Merlin nodded and whispered, "ruin tuilë." Almost instantly, a beautiful blood-red rose appeared in his hand and he handed it to her. She accepted it with a smile, hoping to hide her faint blush. Merlin smiled at her, "just repeat the words I said and clear your mind."

She nodded and closed her eyes, the easiest way to clear her mind when the person controlling most of her emotions was sitting in front of her, and whispered the words. When nothing happened, she sighed and tried again until she got it. When the rose appeared in her hand she laughed and looked up at Merlin, "I did it!"

Merlin nodded at her, "yes you did. You know, you can make them any color you want." He whispered, "celeb tuilë," and a sparkling silver rose appeared in his hand. He handed this one to her as well and they spent the better half of the afternoon trying to produce multi-colored flowers.

* * *

Morgana awoke the next morning to Merlin, once again making breakfast. Once she made sure that she was decently dressed, she walked out to the kitchen and smiled, "you know, I can cook us breakfast as well."

Merlin chuckled, "Lady Morgana cooking breakfast for a servant? What would the king think?"

She waved her hand and sat down at the chair by their small table, "I really don't care what Uther thinks." She accepted the food with a smile and continued, "he thinks magic is evil and clearly we're not, and that's just one of the many things we disagree on. And besides, I'm not his daughter, so I technically don't have to worry about what he thinks."

Merlin shrugged as he started to eat his breakfast. Morgana decided to break the amiable silence that had settled around them after a little while, "do you think we could go see the Druids? They might be able to give us both tips on controlling out magic."

Merlin nodded and smiled, "whatever the lady wants."

She smiled, "thank you, Merlin."

He nodded as they both got up to go to their separate rooms and get dressed for the day. Morgana put on one of the dresses that looked like Gwen's dresses and the shoes that Gwen had brought for her. Merlin threw on his typical everyday outfit, complete with the red shirt and blue neckerchief. He walked outside his door and stood in the kitchen, waiting for Morgana. She walked out to meet him just moment later, with a simple braid in her hair. She gladly took his hand and he instantly transported both of them back to the Druid campsite.

"Morgana! Merlin!" Mordred shouted happily as he ran to them. He grabbed each of their legs and hugged them tightly. They both chuckled as he looked up and smiled at them, "I'm glad you're back!" He took a step back and raised an eyebrow, "why are you back?"

Morgana smiled, "we were hoping that someone here could teach us to control our magic."

Mordred nodded in understanding, "controlling your magic is difficult, but we have some of the best teachers."

"Yeah," Morgana whispered, mostly to herself but Merlin's pale blush that faintly covered his cheeks revealed he had heard her as well, "so do I."

"This way," Mordred said as he tugged on their hands, leading them to the elders.

Mordred brushed past the cloth doorway and into the tent, "they're here to learn magic."

The old Druid man opened his eyes and smiled at them, "Morgana, Merlin, lovely to see you again."

They both smiled, "and you as well."

The old man smiled at Morgana, "I take it that you've since discovered your magic?"

She nodded and then paused, "wait, you knew I had magic?"

The man chuckled, "everyone here could sense it."

"And you didn't tell me earlier?" she frowned.

The man shook his head and sighed, "it's best for an individual to learn about their magic the natural way instead of having someone tell them about it. If they learn beforehand, they'll try to force the magic and the effects could be harmful."

Morgana nodded slowly in understanding, "I guess that makes sense."