THEY WERE FROZEN FOR several seconds, eyes wide and fixated on Morgana. Giselle's heart felt like it might burst, she nearly couldn't believe it. Kit didn't move, but she finally budged and threw herself at her friend, hugging him as best she could with the awkward position.

She heard a chain rattle and pull taut, then Morgana let out a frustrated grunt. "I can't hug you back. I bet this was Kit's idea, that asshole."

He tried the same with his other hand, but then he took notice of something far from chains.

"Is that your hand, Kit?"

Giselle pulled away, letting Morgana get a clear look at the prince, who was so frozen he must've been carved in stone. His hand was still there, holding Morgana's like a vice.

To Giselle's surprise, Morgana didn't let go, either.

"Morgana," Kit breathed.

"You sure like to say my name like that a lot for a man who puts me in chains every chance you get," Morgana murmured. His voice was dry and coarse, but he wasn't struggling to speak.

Kit finally broke away from his trance. "I'm sorry, I know, I just... I still don't know what to think of you."

At last, Morgana pulled his hand away. "You still don't trust me."

Kit was quiet. "You stabbed me, after... you know. I just... no. I don't. I'm sorry."

The Unseelie laughed, turning his head so he was looking up at the ceiling. "I took Excalibur to the heart for you and you still don't trust me."

"Morgana--"

"You're right," he said. "You shouldn't trust me. You're getting smarter, Kit, finally. Maybe now you won't do stupid things like accepting gifts from Titania."

"That was one time."

"Yeah, but then you trusted me twice and I screwed you over," Morgana told him.

"You sound like you're proud of that."

He ignored the comment. "You're right not to trust me. I do wish these chains were a little longer, though."

Kit stepped away from the bed, and Giselle happily took his place. As much as she enjoyed their banter, she'd missed Morgana too much not to be with him.

"Hi," she whispered, sitting down next to him.

He turned his head to look at her, and his eyes softened like butter. "Hey," he said back. "Did you agree to these?"

She looked at his fists, raised up as far as the chains would permit. She cast her eyes downward, and Morgana turned his head back to face the ceiling with a sharp inhale.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know what you were going to be like when you woke up, sometimes people get angry when things like this happen."

"No, it's okay." His throat bobbed, like he was holding something back. "It's not your fault you can't trust me. I know."

Giselle placed her fingertips on his cheek, turning his face back to her. He didn't resist. "I'm glad you're here. Please don't jump in front of Excalibur again, please."

Finally, she saw a real smile crack open over his face. Not a petty one, or a sad one, a real one.

"You can't tell me what to do."

She glared.

"I'm kidding, yes, fine. No more jumping in front of Excalibur. Noted." He held up a hand, and she knew right away what he wanted.

She took his hand and leaned over, placing his palm over her cheek. It felt nice to have him back like this. It was a relief to know that he still loved her, that this didn't change, even after everything.

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

They had their moment for a minute, then Morgana turned his attention back to Kit.

Giselle followed his gaze. "Kit, would you go let them know? Astyr first."

He nodded and turned for the door, heading outside to tell the others.

"Astyr?"

She looked back at Morgana with a gentle expression. "She came. She was looking for you."

Her heart dropped to her stomach then, when she remembered why Astyr was there in the first place. Morgana didn't miss the face she made.

"Giselle, what's wrong?"

She swallowed, gripping his hand before meeting his eyes. "Um. She came with news. It's--it's bad news but I can't have you panic, okay?"

"Just tell me."

After a deep breath to clear her head, she finally told him. "It's Faerie. Something's going on, they're all sick and no one knows why. But it's... it's your sick. The one you have."

"There's a remedy," Morgana said. "There's a way to help it, why can't they just do that?"

"It's killing them too fast, and there's not enough of what they need," she said. "And besides, you, me, and Astyr are the only ones who know how to make it, but your mother has no way to spread the word without me there."

Morgana looked to be on the verge of tears and tried to sit up.

"Morgana, please--"

"No, we need to go, we need to help them," he said. "I'll be fine, they need help."

"Stop," Giselle said firmly. "Stop. We're getting help from the druids and your mother, we're trying really hard to find a solution, okay? We can't go back yet, the plague is contagious."

"I'll be fine, I can't get it."

"Yeah, well I can."

That shut him up.

"Your mother can't get it, but she can't help on her own. She needs me, but I can't go to Faerie until I know we have a solution," she said. "At the very least, we need to guarantee that I can be down there safely."

He looked frustrated. "Let me help, then."

"I'll have to talk about that with the others."

Right on cue, the door swung open. Astyr was the first inside, rushing to Morgana's side and pulling him into an embrace. The others filed in after that.

Astyr pulled away and Morgana looked over the others. His eyes were searching.

"Where's Chalice? Are they late?"

Giselle's heart sank, and Kit and Eurion looked like kicked puppies.

"They're gone, Morgana," Giselle said over a breaking voice. "Titania... she brought the Summer army with her. The Princess..."

Morgana closed his eyes. "Oh," he said, barely above a whisper.

The room was silent for awhile.

"Where are we, anyway?"

"We're in Fells," Giselle told him.

"You did mention druids, I should've guessed," he said. He pulled on the chain again, then looked up at the others. "Can I get out of this awful bed, please?"

Giselle and Kit shared a look.

"He can stay chained," she said. "Just let him move around, he'll need it."

Kit seemed hesitant, but finally he gave in. "Okay, fine, you can walk around. But someone has to watch you the whole time."

"That won't be a problem," Selene chimed in, giving Morgana a hard stare, though not a cold one. "I promise."

Once it was decided, Kit pulled a key from his boot and approached Morgana. "If you take advantage of this, you're coming right back here to be miserable, do you understand?"

Morgana rolled his eyes. "Yes, Kit, I understand."

Satisfied, Kit unlocked the cuff from Morgana's nearest hand, letting it fall to the floor. With the other one, he only unlocked the cuff attaching it to the flimsy bedframe and used it to cuff his hands together. There was enough slack that he could do the basics, but not enough to get out.

It made Giselle's head spin, how quick Kit went from kissing Morgana's palm and begging him to wake up to arguing with him and giving him sharp warnings. It was a complicated relationship the two of them had, and being stubborn didn't help at all.

She helped Morgana into a sitting position, then offered him the water that was sitting there waiting for him on the nightstand. He drank it down in half a second, fast enough that he was panting when he was done.

"Someone was thirsty," she teased.

"Well yeah, I haven't had water for... how long was I out?"

"A week," she answered. "But we made sure you had water, don't worry. Your throat just hasn't been used in awhile."

He swiped his arm over his mouth to dry the excess liquid, then looked down at himself with a frown. His eyes returned to the others before him.

"I look disgusting, I can't believe I'm letting you all look at me," he said.

Giselle nodded to the others. "He'll be out in a bit, I'll help him get cleaned up. Kit, hand me the key."

The prince locked his jaw. "Why?"

"He can't change a shirt with handcuffs on, just give it to me. I'll put them back when he's done, I swear."

He wasn't happy about it, but eventually he caved, setting the key in Giselle's hand.

"Thank you," she told him. "We'll be out in a moment. You should all go eat."

The others filed out, leaving Giselle and Morgana alone.

There was a change of clothes on the ground in a bag, including Morgana's freshly washed cloak. She emptied the bag at his feet.

"There," she said. Her eyes were serious when she looked at him. "Can you promise me you'll behave when I take these off? It won't happen again if you try anything."

"I promise." He didn't seem too enthused about it, but when she unlocked the cuffs, he didn't try anything. He let her help him into better clothes, covering up his chest with a better tunic this time, but the burns on his neck remained visible.

She picked up the chain again, but before she could put them back on, Morgana pulled her into a proper embrace. It took her by surprise, but she couldn't complain when his arms held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. He held her like that for a long time, and though he didn't speak a word to her, she knew everything he was trying to say.

Finally, he pulled away, then offered up his wrists in submission.

"Is there food outside?" he asked, watching Giselle lock the chains.

"There should be," she said. "When I woke up, I saw someone getting ready to cook."

"Can we go out?" he asked. "My legs are restless."

She nodded and rose, helping Morgana swing his feet over the edge and stand. He wobbled a bit, but he caught his footing with Giselle's help. She helped him to the door and swung it open, and Morgana stepped outside.

Kit was right outside the door, and she wished she was surprised.

She dropped the key into his hand. "You can calm down a little, the man just woke up from a coma."

"He's done a lot at his worst."

Morgana heard every word. "Do I make you afraid, Kit?"

"No," Kit growled. It was a lie, obviously, but he had too much pride to tell the truth.

"It's alright, sweetheart, I can't be bothered to escape anyway," he told him, startling Kit with the pet name. "I wouldn't be able to make it far enough to cause trouble like this."

The prince watched him for an uncomfortable period of time before he let out a huff. "Whatever. But I'm not taking any chances." He looked to Giselle then. "There's faery-friendly food over there."

"Thank you, Kit," she said. With that, she pulled Morgana along until they reached the center of the village, where the others and most of the druids were.

Several people stood when they noticed Morgana, but Giselle held up a hand.

"Don't make a big deal," she said. She knew Morgana didn't much like having all the attention on him, and stopped it before it started.

The others let their shock settle in before getting back to their meals.

"Thank you," Morgana murmured.

Giselle led him to get a dish, a mix of berries and vegetables and bread. "Of course. The druids here are wonderful, but they're all a big family and they can get... a bit much. It's only because they care, though. We are--"

She stopped, choking on her words before she continued.

"We were... Chalice's family. So they only want to help."

"Even me?"

She looked at him. "Especially you." He took the plate she offered with a furrowed brow. "They spent a lot of time and resources to keep you alive and help you get better. Even your mother and I wouldn't have succeeded if they didn't help us."

His face was etched with too many emotions for Giselle to name just one. "I guess I owe them, then."

"I'm sure it won't take you much to repay it. Something that's little to you might be a lot to them," she told him.

They ate away from everyone else. Selene gave her a nod from across the circle, showing her that she understood, and returned to her passionate conversation with an older druid.

It was silent for awhile. Giselle had so much to say, but she didn't know what was most important. She settled for the hardest one.

She took a breath. "I just need to know... whose side you're on."

Morgana stared down at his food, which he'd barely touched despite going so long without it.

"I'm on the side of Faerie," he told her. "Wherever that takes me."