𝐂𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇ㅤㅤㅤ───ㅤㅤㅤ𝗌𝗉𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖾𝗌 𝖽𝖾𝖼𝗂𝗉𝗂𝗍.
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ㅤㅤㅤTHE NEXT DAY was more tranquil than Solamon was expecting it to be, on her way to Merlin's workshop for her magic lessons she saw Hisirdoux putting the books their master had used to do research back in place, the poor boy seemed exhausted of doing such a boring task; Sol felt bad for him, Merlin had given her much more exciting things to train and she was his apprentice for way less time than Hisirsoux was - of course, she couldn't blame herself for being born a magical creature and learning way faster, but still, the fairy couldn't help but feel bad -.

ㅤㅤㅤShe arrived to the workshop and entered without knocking - Sol had the bad habit of doing that, Merlin had scolded her multiple times for being so rude -, Sol was confused when she saw the old man talking to a younger woman while working on the amulet he had commented a few days before. The wizard seemed to finally notice the girl by the door and asked her to get closer.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Solamon, this is Morgana, she is the king's sister and one of my apprentices." he introduced the both of them, Morgana got closer to the girl and did an elongated bow, in which the fairy tried her best to replicate.

ㅤㅤㅤThey didn't say a word to each other, the woman continued to argue with Merlin about something Sol didn't understand. At some point, she was standing side by side to Morgana; the young apprentice was tense, something about that woman wasn't right and she didn't hide the fact that the princess's aura made her uncomfortable.

ㅤㅤㅤMorgana, however, seemed to admire the fairy's appearance, though she could see something inside the girl's dress that gave a weird volume to her back. She tried to ignore it, but it was hard to do so; it looked a lot like a corset, but it was too small to fit in anyone's waist. And then it moved. Slightly, but it did move, she saw it. In the end, Morgana gave in to the curiosity.

ㅤㅤㅤWithout any warning, Morgana pulled her wing protection, removing it as fast as she could to see what was hiding inside. As soon as Solamon could move her wings, she opened them to fly away from Morgana, hiding behind Merlin before putting her wings down again.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What in the world-" Morgana was in shock, she couldn't think straight for a minute.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Morgana. You cannot tell anyone what you just saw." Merlin warned, bringing Solamon's wing protection back to her with magic; the young girl hesitated, but hid her wings back inside the old corset, having some trouble trying to tie the strings back together.

ㅤㅤㅤ"By the Gods Merlin, you brought a magical creature inside the castle?! Does my brother knows about this?" she asked, worried for the fairy's safety.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Do not worry, he's the one who told me to keep her here, we need to know more about her kind, just to make sure they're not a threat to Camelot." he explained, putting a hand in Morgana's shoulders to try and calm her down.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Morgana, you have to keep her identity a secret. She will be put in great danger and the people will not trust me and your brother anymore if they know we are keeping a fairy inside the castle." Merlin continued.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Of course, I'll keep it a secret." she nodded, analyzing Solamon more carefully with her eyes.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Thank you-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"But only if I can study her." the woman crossed her arms, speaking in a confident tone.

ㅤㅤㅤ"...What?" both Merlin and Solamon asked at the same time, not so certain about her conditions.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I never met such a creature before, I need to know more about what she can do. I need to know more about her magic." Morgana approached Merlin and his prisoner, trying to reason with him.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I am no object to be studied-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Well, if that is what it takes to keep your mouth shut, so be it." Merlin agreed with her terms, earning a smile from the young lady and a frown from the non-human girl.

ㅤㅤㅤSolamon watched as the woman leaves the room before huffing in displeasure.

ㅤㅤㅤ"How dare you?! Offering me in exchange of a woman's silence as if I'm an object!" she angrily exclaimed, walking around the room to calm down a little.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Calm down Solamon." she was already starting to get calm, but that phrase alone made her furious. "She won't do anything bad to you, Morgana is a strong defender of the magical creature's rights."

ㅤㅤㅤ"That's not the point! You still see me as a subject to be studied! I am here! I have my own life! I make my own decisions! So treat me like a living being, የዐዪዪል!" she stomped her foot against the ground again and again, almost throwing a tantrum as the old man stared wide eyed at her. Merlin sighed, feeling bad for her, before he turned his head down in shame.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I'm sorry-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"I don't want you to say you're sorry, I just want you to stop doing that..." the fairy crossed her arms, the wizard did not fail to notice the sad manner she had spoke to him, as if honestly disappointed at him; somehow, that made Merlin even more sad.

ㅤㅤㅤThey stayed silent for some time before Merlin spoke again.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I know you probably don't want to do this, but Morgana is a good apprentice and I'm sure you'll learn to like her if you get to know her a little better, you two have a lot in common." Solamon hoped the aura wasn't one of the things they had in common, she truly feared that woman's aura.

ㅤㅤㅤHe waited for her response and she frowned, thinking for a long time before coming up with her final decision.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Okay. I'll try to get along with her, but I can't assure you that we will be friends by the end of the day." the non-human girl pointed at Merlin accusingly before walking to his table in order to start her lessons.

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ㅤㅤㅤLater that day, Sol found herself regretting her decisions after entering Morgana's room; it was filled with the same tension that woman gave her - the girl felt a shiver down her spine as soon as she entered the room -.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Morgana? Princess? Are you here?" she called out for the young witch after closing the door behind herself, said woman appeared from behind a wall, walking graciously in the fairy's direction; somehow, the friendly smile she had on her face made her even scarier - it was odd, to say the least -.

ㅤㅤㅤ"This is a safe place, Solamon, you can take that thing off of your wings." she said calmly to the girl, who only shrugged in response.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I think I'm going to keep it on for now." she made it clear that she did not trust Morgana.

ㅤㅤㅤ"...Well, alright then. Do you want to take a sit by the fire?" the older apprentice extended her hands to the fireplace, Solamon could see an open staff right on top of it.

ㅤㅤㅤ"No." the girl started to look around the room, Morgana frowned noticing how Sol lacked trust on her; she couldn't blame the girl, however. She tried to start a small conversation one more time; this time, Morgana told herself she would be more insistent.

ㅤㅤㅤ"They told me a lot about your kind, but I never thought I would find one here, inside the castle!" she spoke, sitting in a red armchair next to the fire before taking a tea-cup from the center table and drinking a sip of the hot chamomile tea her maids had prepared for herself a few hours before.

ㅤㅤㅤ"....They?" Sol frowned, even more suspicious of the woman.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Oh, it doesn't matter, you'll know later." Morgana shook her head, still smiling; she finally got some attention from the girl.

ㅤㅤㅤ"I plan something big, something you and your whole village can be a part of!" by that phrase, the fairy was finally sure that she didn't call her there to do research, as she told Merlin she would.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Arthur will not stop terrorising the poor magical creatures until someone forces him to, we plan to unify our forces-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Who's we?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"I... I already said who." Morgana frowned, confused by the girl's questions. "Us, magical creatures, we-"

ㅤㅤㅤ"You're not one of us." the fairy did not hold back, she said it in the most confident tone.

ㅤㅤㅤThe older apprentice seemed to be shocked by her words, she stayed silent for a second before frowning. Solamon could swear she saw the princess's shadow moving from it's place for a moment, as if it was being controlled by her emotions.

ㅤㅤㅤ"What?"

ㅤㅤㅤ"Being a defender of our rights doesn't make you part of our kind, it makes you a decent human being, that's it. You do understand that, right?" the girl questioned her, not feeling so confident anymore after seeing that Morgana's shadow had, in fact, moved from it's place.

ㅤㅤㅤThe woman was silent, stared at the fire as many expressions appeared on her face before frowning heavily.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Leave." the young woman whispered. Before Solamon could say anything else, she stood up and the shadows around the room followed her movements.

ㅤㅤㅤ"Leave this room, now." she commanded.

ㅤㅤㅤThis time Sol did not hesitate to do so, feeling lighter after leaving all the bad feeling the room brought to her behind. She knew that woman had something wrong with her.