A.N.// Welcome back ^^

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"NO, Merlin, GET DOWN!" The cat was on the loose and it was jumping all over Arthur's furniture. Arthur couldn't deny that it terrified him to see Merlin like that. First of all, he was a cat and apparently didn't have his normal conscience, secondly, he was really high up in a place where Arthur couldn't reach. Arthur pulled at his hair, when the cat jumped from his cabinet onto the nearest shelf. "Merlin, I'm serious, get down there before you break anything!"

"Meow!"

"I mean your bones! God damn it, Merlin, I'm not afraid you'll break my stuff, I just - HEY, STOP THAT!"

The cat had begun scratching at the curtains and ripping holes into it. "Meow!"

"That's not hypocritical! Merlin, I'm begging you! Come down!" Arthur nearly ripped out his hair as he saw the cat getting stuck on the fabric. "You're going to kill yourself."

To be fair, this had been going on for over an hour now, Merlin made no sign of listening to Arthur and now he was literally breaking stuff. Arthur's working table was a mess, his ink bottle had been spilled all over the peace treaty Arthur had been crying over for a month, and his ink covered paws were now covering nearly every piece of furniture in Arthur's room. Arthur was ready to cry. "Merlin, please!"

There was a knock on his door. Arthur froze.

"Arthur?" The gentle voice belonged to Guinevere who was now standing in the doorframe looking troubled. "I just ran into Gwaine and he told me that Merlin was missing." She seemed confused as she searched the room with her eyes. "I wanted to ... check on you - Is that a cat?"

Arthur felt his heart heat up with the questions. "I-" For a moment he debated whether or not to tell her the truth. It was a painful thought. Not the thought of keeping things from her but the thought of revealing to her how much he worried over Merlin, the thought of revealing Merlin's vulnerable position to her, the thought of revealing how much pain he was in. "That's Merlin." He admitted through his teeth.

Gwen blinked and the door fell shut behind her. "What?" Arthur pointed at the cat that had now stopped destroying Arthur's curtains and fixated his big eyes on Guinevere. There was a beat before Merlin's claws dug into the wood of Arthur's cabinet and he jumped down on the ground. Arthur couldn't hide his terrified scream at the sight before the cat jumped right into Guinevere's arms. She caught him with a gaping expression but didn't move as the cat snuggled into her arms and purred. "I- huh?"

Arthur felt his embarrassment worsening. "Merlin was turned into a cat." He explained quietly and stepped closer to her. The cat - Merlin - ignored him. Arthur had his hand reaching out to him but he thought better of it and put it back down. "I... I don't know what happened. But that is his neckerchief and I couldn't find Merlin anywhere. And Gwaine seemed sure that something magical was going on and I just..." Arthur felt himself tear up again. "What the hell do we do, Gwen?"

Gwen stared at the cat, then Arthur. "He's not really behaving like Merlin now, is he?"

"No, he doesn't have any memories on his human life."

Gwen narrowed her eyebrows. "And... you're sure this is Merlin?"

Arthur groaned. "Nothing else makes sense! He just appeared the same moment Merlin disappeared! What am I supposed to think?"

Gwen went on to scratch the cat's neck and under the neckerchief. "I mean, it could be that this is a stray that Merlin picked up? That neckerchief might be his but -" Gwen paused. "Oh."

"'Oh' what? What is it?" Arthur was getting anxious. He wanted to believe Gwen. He wanted to think that this wasn't Merlin, but since when was he ever this lucky?

Gwen pulled out a small card from underneath the neckerchief. Someone had bound it to the neckerchief with a small threat. Gwen ashened. "That's..." Her eyes widened. "Arthur, oh my goodness, you're right!"

Arthur clenched his fist. "What?"

"That's... that's... That's Morgana's handwriting."

Arthur stumbled forward to look at the card. Gwen was right. That was definitely Morgana's cursive handwriting. Written in green ink, there stood: "This is your reward." Arthur's hands shook. "No. No.... This can't be!" Helplessly, he stared at Gwen. "She couldn't - how did she reach him? How - Why him?"

Gwen's expression turned pale. "I think... Morgana knows what he means to you. She's always known!"

Arthur couldn't help it, he broke down.

—--------------------------------------------------

*Morgana's lair*

"No, Morgana, I've been here for way too long. I have work to do and you're running out of rewards."

"Merlin, please, just one more game!"

"Morgana, I won 116 out of 116 games. I'm done for tonight!"

Morgana clenched her fists, frustrated. "I'm BEGGING you!" She really did look desperate now. "Merlin, I NEED to know who Emrys is! He's my doom! I need to defeat him! I know you want me dead but I swear, if I killed him, I'll stop all of this! I just want to sleep!" She had tears in her eyes, so of course Merlin relented, if only just a bit.

"Morgana... you can't even defeat me at Jenga, or Uno, or scrabble, or chess, or -"

"I get it already!"

"What makes you think you could defeat Emrys?"

Morgana stopped. "I have to. How else can I ever get back home?"

Merlin paused. "Home? You want to go home? After everything you did? You think Arthur will just let you come back to Camelot?"

Morgana's fear turned to anger. "Funny that YOU say that after you poisoned me!"

Merlin startled. "You know exactly why I had to do that! I didn't have a choice! Had I not done that, Morgause would have killed everyone in Camelot and then some!"

Morgana trembled with her anger, then she took a deep breath before she sat back down and leaned against the chair. "I know already."

"Then -"

"That's exactly why I thought you of all people would understand. Morgause manipulated me, poisoned my mind! I was under her spell! I didn't have a choice but to do as she said. It only stopped after she died... My mind has cleared and all I want is... " She closed her eyes and cursed. "I want him gone from my mind. Emrys, he's... he's destined to be my doom and it is said he's in Camelot, protecting Arthur." Her eyes opened. "A sorcerer, protecting my brother! Don't you see?" Her eyes were shining from her tears. "I know Arthur. I know Uther's words blinded him, but he WILL reward anyone who risks their life for Camelot! If there is a sorcerer on his side, he might change his mind about magic! If that's... If that's going to happen..." Her voice broke. "I might finally be free!"

Merlin gaped. "Morgana -"

"I'll do anything, Merlin!"

"But you want Emrys dead." Merlin couldn't help but point that out.

Morgana looked even more troubled now. "I can protect Arthur in his stead!" Doubt clouded her eyes. "It's not fair! Finally I have a chance to finally come home, and -" She nearly broke down. "If I come home, I won't even know whom to look out for!"

Merlin gnawed on his lip. "I can't tell you who Emrys is, Morgana. I can't risk that you kill the man who is destined to protect Arthur. Not over torture and certainly not for these silly games."

Morgana looked down. "It's all I have left." Merlin scanned her expression. Morgana looked withered and cold, but the gleam of fire he had seen her express over the games had trickled down into a low warmth. "Don't make me lose that too."

It seemed, Merlin thought, like Morgana's icy hatred really had been broken. If Merlin recalled correctly, then Morgana's torture attempts on him did randomly change but that seemingly random moment coincided with Morgause's death. She was telling the truth, he was sure.

"Alright, Morgana. One more game, but if I win, you'll let me go for today. Arthur doesn't know anything about Emrys but I could talk to him about magic. If I find evidence, I could tell him about what Morgause did to you. And I'm sure the only reason why Emrys wants you dead is because you were dead set on killing Arthur. If you don't do that anymore, he won't fear you."

Morgana stared at him. "You'd do that? After everything I did?"

"You know, it's nice to have some calm game night now and then. It's different from getting tortured all the time. Plus, I keep winning stuff, so it feels like I'm getting paid for the trouble." Merlin's gaze softened a bit. "Plus, I think Arthur would be delighted."

—---------------------------------------------------

*Camelot*

"I'm going to kill Morgana!" Arthur was a frustrated mess in his room. Gwen's calming words did nothing to cease his rage.

"You don't mean that. You've been dying for a chance to get her back on our side."

"I don't care if she's my sister. She turned Merlin into a CAT! You know what happens to cats when they cross the road? They get killed by carriages!"

"It's not that bad."

"Achoo!" Arthur angrily wiped at his nose. "I'm allergic to Merlin, Gwen! I'll never be able to - He doesn't even recognise me!"

"I'm sure we'll find a way to -"

There was another knock on the door and a man stepped inside whom Arthur barely recognized. The room fell silent. They must be an odd sight. The king and a servant kneeling in the middle of the room, the maid comforting the king while he cried over the existence of a cat.

"Your highness... is this the wrong time?"

"No. No. Come in. Frank, was it?"

"Yes, my lord!" The man puffed out his chest in delight. "I'm the moneymaker. I'm here to discuss the coinage designs with you, as requested!"

Arthur looked up. Then he rose to his feet. Before he finally faced the man, he had already made up his mind. "I think I know what I want on them."

The man paused. "Sire?" The man pulled out a scroll on which he had drawn the designs. "In your letter you said you needed my help."

"And I still do. Please, sit."

"Arthur?" Gwen cleared her throat, "I mean, your highness. May I ask what this is about?"

Arthur nodded. "Of course. As he said, he's the moneymaker. Whenever a new King is put on the throne, the coin maker comes and creates a new design. The coinage represents who the King is to the people. Not all the people of my lands know their king, so naturally, they want a sign to know who their new protector is. Normally, as did my father, the Kings will put their face on the coin but I refuse. Originally, I wanted my coin to bear the Pendragon symbol on one side and my mother's on the other -" He closed his eyes and looked at the cat. "But- I wouldn't be the king I am today without ..." Arthur knew he was being emotional and he also felt like he was going to regret it, but it felt so right. It was like the idea had always been in his mind but only now did it manage to get out. "I want a Merlin on the other side."

Gwen smiled. The coin maker froze. "I beg your pardon?" He gaped. "You want your manservant to be immortalized on your coin?"

Arthur nodded seriously. "He's been my greatest supporter and friend since long before I became king. Whenever I'm at a loss at what to do, he knows exactly what to say. And I've never found a way to repay his kindness. I know I don't show it often, but I want him to know that I value his counsel."

"Er... I mean... if you're sure."

Arthur wasn't, not really. But if he was going to lose Merlin to being a cat - he didn't want the people to forget what Merlin meant and would always mean to Arthur. Cat or no cat, Merlin was his best friend and if Merlin was never going to see it, then at least his people would! "I am!"

They spend the rest of that afternoon discussing the coinage and in the end, Arthur went out of the ordeal with the feeling that his coin would be something very special. The coin maker left long before Gwen did.

In the end, Arthur sat in front of his fire, him and Merlin the cat fed and somewhat satisfied, the cat sitting on his lap. "Tomorrow, I will ask Gaius to use magic to bring you back, Merlin. I've been thinking about it all day, but I'm sure only magic can turn you back." He stared into the fire. "You might hate me for it, but I need you, Merlin."

The cat purred, ignoring him.

"I know I'm always angry at you for no reason but... you mean the world to me. I'd chase the gods and fight them just to protect you." Arthur would like to say that the soreness of his eyes had only to do with his allergy but he couldn't deny that he missed Merlin already. "I'm sorry that I thought you were at the tavern again. That I'm always so rude towards you. I just don't know how to express..." Arthur bit his lip. Before he knew it, he pressed a kiss on top of the cat's head. It didn't move or shriek away or anything. Arthur sighed, his heart beating fast. He had half hoped this would turn out to be one of those fantasy stories in which the princess kissed the frog and the frog would return back to being the beautiful prince they once were. But that kind of spell breaking required true love.

Arthur hoped that the fact that he failed to bring Merlin back had nothing to do with Merlin's lack of feelings for him. "Merlin- fuck... Just please come back to me!"

"Er-" The door fell shut behind a very familiar voice.

Arthur's eyes widened.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Arthur turned around. Then he startled to stand, the cat falling off his lap with a hiss. "MERLIN!"