AN: This is one of those ideas which walked into my head and point blank refused to leave. The more I thought about it, the more it intrigued me and I knew that I had to write at least a few chapters about it. A special shout out to Arthurlover7 who I told the idea to and who was so enthusiastic with her response and pushed me all the more to write it.
"She really is becoming too big for her boots." Morgause commented in a low mutter as she and Morgana watched Gwen cross the courtyard with a basket in her hands. They weren't stupid, they knew that Gwen would sooner die than betray Arthur and they also knew that she was convinced or at least deluded into thinking they were convinced by her actions. Whilst she was pretending to be loyal to Morgana, they knew she was planning some form of treachery against them.
"She always was too clever for her own good." Morgana added. Aside from Merlin who knew all along what she was really like since her return, it had been Gwen that Morgana took the most time and effort to convince that she was the same person she had been a year prior. For the most part Gwen seemed convinced but the cracks in the façade began to show and once Morgana started having dreams of Gwen being crowned queen, she knew it was time for her to go.
"So what do we do?" Morgana asked as Gwen glanced up at the window and bowed her head at Morgana and Morgause before walking into the castle.
"Don't worry sister, I have a plan." Morgause replied.
"Leon, Leon!" Gwen muttered as she pressed herself against the darkened wall outside Leon's cell. Leon looked up and approached the door to peer through the bars at her.
"What news?" Leon asked. Ever since Morgana had taken over and he and the knights had all been trapped in the dungeons, Gwen had been their source of any news from the outside.
"Still no sign of Arthur, Gaius or Merlin anywhere. Morgause's men are patrolling the town and forest nonstop trying to find some trace of them but they haven't found anything yet. No sign of Elyan either. If he ran for it then he would have ran with them." Gwen replied and Leon nodded. Arthur was being careful and clever. He knew the terrain better than Morgause's men and knew places to hide where they wouldn't be spotted.
"What about this morning?" Leon asked, sorrow and remorse filling him at the memory of the people who were shot at this morning due to his defiance against Morgana. how many of the people he had sworn to protect had been killed as a result of his actions.
"Nine killed, seven wounded but nothing serious." Gwen replied and looked at Leon, his expression was hard to make out but they had known each other since they were children and even then Leon had always had a strong sense of justice and doing what was right. "Leon, this wasn't your fault and we can and will put this right."
"What about you?" Leon asked.
"I'm being careful. They think I'm having lunch so I'll need to go quickly. I have managed to get this." Gwen said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the mould she had made just before she came to the dungeons. "I'll get it to you tomorrow."
"Ok, good luck and for goodness sake, be careful." Leon replied and Gwen nodded before she crept out of the dungeons and walked through the castle, turning back at every corner to ensure that she hadn't been followed.
The next day Gwen dropped and kicked the key into Leon's cell from the outside and after night had fallen, Leon met her at her house. Gwen tossed him a shirt and pair of trousers that belonged to Elyan and they draped cloaks over themselves before hurrying off into the night. As their trail was laminated by the potion Morgana had spiked Gwen's drink with earlier, Morgana and Morgause turned to each other and nodded before Morgause walked off and fetched her men to hunt them down. Morgana looked out the window and smiled coldly.
"Run while you can Gwen because when I catch you, you'll never see your precious Arthur again." Morgana vowed as a few minutes later, Morgause and her men took off into the night.
Leon and Gwen moved quickly through the forest. The moon was full and bright and laminated the ground through the branches hanging overhead allowing for areas to take cover as well as guide their path forwards. Neither of them spoke and instead focused on where Arthur could be and how they were going to get there. Leon clenched his hand repeatedly, a nervous habit he had had developed at a young age and was never able to shake off. He couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. Their escape attempt had gone off smoothly. Too smoothly. Leon turned to Gwen who seemed to have thought the same thing as he had.
"Does any of this seem amiss to you?" Leon muttered and slowly Gwen nodded.
"Morgana and Morgause have been watching me like a hawk and you were one of the most secure prisoners in the dungeons aside from the king yet we managed to escape. Nobody stopped us and nobody seen us escape even though you ran from the castle and the town is patrolled every hour of the day. This was too easy." Gwen commented and for a moment they stood in silence, both of them coming to the same conclusion. Morgana and Morgause knew they would have tried to escape and rather than stop them, they had let them go ahead. Why?
"This is a trap." Leon muttered and as they stood in silence, they could hear horses' hooves in the distance, confirming their assumption.
"Run." Gwen said and grabbing each other's hands in order not to lose the other, they sprinted off.
"This way!" Morgause ordered as she followed the trail and could hear the sound of Leon and Gwen running through the forest, the echoes of their feet hitting the ground resounded off the trees as well as the occasional thump of them jumping over tree roots and rocks.
Gwen and Leon ran as fast as they could until they reached a fork in the path. "Which way?" Gwen gasped as she tried to draw air back into her burning lungs.
Leon frowned at the paths, both led to the river where the cave was that he believed Arthur was hiding but which was the safest route. "This way." Leon said as he grabbed Gwen's hand again and they ran down the left track. As they ran, they could hear Morgause and her men gaining on them and before long they were trapped and surrounded on all sides with nowhere to turn. Both Gwen and Leon were grabbed by the immortal men and forced into kneeling positions on the ground as Morgause dismounted from her horse and studied the hostages intently.
"Did you really think you could escape from us?" Morgause asked the two standing before her.
"We're only doing what's right." Leon replied coldly.
"I wasn't speaking to you." Morgause retorted and looked at Gwen with a look of pure loathing that if she lived to be a hundred, she would never forget seeing. "You have been a thorn in our sides for far too long."
"I-" Gwen began but Morgause turned her attention to the armed men surrounding holding onto them.
"Let him go." Morgause ordered and the men obeyed. Leon's furious frown turned to one of confusion as he slowly stood and looked at Gwen who looked as baffled as he felt before looking at Morgause. "Don't say I'm not merciless Sir Leon. You will have ten minutes to get away from here before my men chase you again. If they find you this time then they will kill you. If not, then you may re-join Arthur and be killed with him whenever he tries to take back the throne."
"I'm not going anywhere without Gwen." Leon replied. He would be damned if he left Gwen to the mercy of Morgana and Morgause. She had helped and looked after him and he was going to return the favour.
"I will not make this offer again. Leave now and stand a chance of surviving or watch me kill Gwen in front of your eyes, slowly and in every excruciatingly painful way I know how and once she's dead then I'll do the same to you." Morgause threatened as she pulled a dagger out from her sleeve and twisted it slowly in her hands.
"Leon, go."
Leon turned to Gwen who was looking steadily at him, there was clear fear in her eyes but also something that looked scarily like acceptance. They knew the penalty that would await them if they were caught before they reached Arthur and the moment they knew their fate was sealed. As they looked at each other, Leon knew what she was going to do.
"Not without you." Leon replied. They both knew that Gwen would be dead the moment Morgana seen her.
"You have to go. Arthur and Camelot need you a lot more than I do. Just," Gwen paused and took a deep breath before looking back at Leon. "Tell Arthur and Elyan that I love them and that I'm sorry."
"Ok," Leon agreed and looked at Morgause. "We will stop you."
"You're wasting time Sir Leon. You have ten minutes, use them well." Morgause said and with one last look at Gwen, Leon turned and ran into the night. The moment he was out of sight and earshot, Morgause turned back to Gwen and smirked at her coldly. "I think it's time we dealt with you once and for all."
The men roughly pulled Gwen to her feet and Morgause conjured up a chain which she wrapped around Gwen's wrists and secured the other end to the reigns of her horse. The journey back to Camelot was brief but passed in total silence. the cold metal of the chains dug into her wrists and as she watched Morgause's blonde hair reflect the moonlight, Gwen couldn't help but think of Arthur and hope that Leon managed to escape the men chasing him and find Arthur. As she thought of Arthur taking back the kingdom she couldn't help but wonder where she would be when that happened. Whether she would be in the dungeons or worse. How would it happen? Would it be quick? Would it be painful? What did it feel like to die?
As they arrived back in Camelot, Gwen looked up in time to see Morgana disappear from the window and as Morgause undid the end of the chain from her horses' reigns, she tugged it sharply, causing Gwen to stumble forwards slightly before being led up the steps into the castle. When they reached the throne room Morgana was already sitting on the throne wearing the bejewelled crown she had had placed on her head the day she was declared queen and an expression of pure ice as Morgause led Gwen into the room and forced her to kneel. Once Gwen was kneeling, Morgause removed the chains from her wrists. There was nowhere for Gwen to run or hide this time. Their game of hide-and-seek had been played and they had won. Now it was time for Gwen to face her long overdue punishment.
"Why do you do these things to me Gwen? Do you enjoy tormenting me? Do you not wish to see me as Queen?" Morgana asked. In another lifetime those words would have been said in a hurt tone with tears in her eyes. Not now, now these questions were being presented with a cold fury.
"The throne rightfully belongs to the king and Arthur is the true heir. After what happened in the courtyard, I knew I had to do something. I couldn't bear to see any more innocent people be harmed like this. It was a difficult decision to make but I know I made the right one." Gwen confessed. All along she and Leon had been coming up with escape ideas and the final push they needed to put their plan into action had been the slaughter of the townspeople in the courtyard. Nine people had been killed just for being there. That was not how a kingdom should be run, with people being killed needlessly and mercilessly. They had to get Arthur back, not for themselves but for Camelot. They were willing to pay whatever price it would cost them.
"You couldn't bear to see it?" Morgana hissed, her voice almost deadly. "Imagine seeing people being slaughtered day after day for something they couldn't control. An ability they have that makes them special and important. I used to get so angry about it but then I learnt something important. That's life Gwen and life isn't fair."
"None of those people meant you any harm. They obey the laws of the kingdom and I agree that only those who commit crimes against the state and the crown deserve such a fate. They shouldn't be persecuted for something they could not control." Gwen countered. All the while, Morgause had been silent, carefully watching Gwen and assessing every move she made and every word she spoke. Gwen was observant and if she had learnt anything about Morgause in the time she'd known her was that a silent Morgause was the deadliest Morgause.
"Only those who commit crimes against the state you say," Morgause said, finally breaking her silence and stared Gwen out. "You helped a prisoner escape, you confess that you wanted to overthrow the queen. These are crimes against the state and like you said, crimes against the state should be punished. I always thought you were too nosy for your own good, sneaking around, spying on us. Well, I think we need to put an end to that."
Morgana nodded and smirked coldly at Gwen. "You made the wrong choice Gwen, now you'll never see your precious Arthur again."
Before Gwen could say or do anything, Morgause raised her left hand and the last thing Gwen could see was Morgause's eyes flashing gold and the cold, triumphant smirk on Morgana's face. The spell hit her with such force that Gwen fell backwards onto the floor, her hands began clawing at her eyes and she screamed in agony. Her eyes were burning with such intensity that it felt as though they were going to burn right out of her head. Gwen screamed and trashed around on the floor, unable to do anything as the spell did its work. There was a pain, agonising rupture of pain in her eyes before the pain vanished as quickly as it had struck. Breathing heavily with tears streaming down her face, her eyes throbbing and her throat painful from the screaming, Gwen slowly and wincing all the while pulled herself up slightly as she rubbed her eyes and opened them. Everything was dark. She closed her eyes and opened them again. It was still dark. There was nothing covering her eyes and she rubbed them repeatedly even though she knew it was pointless. The entire world was in darkness and she couldn't see anything.
She was blind.