Cinder

AN: AU! Hi guys! Okay so, this fic is inspired by two amazing actresses and two very different projects. One is a TV series and the other is a movie. The timelines are a complete mess so there is nothing real in this fic, it starts where 300 rise of an Empire ends and before Morgana and Arthur's final battle. I realize some of you won't like it, so please don't be offended by this it's just an idea that came to me and I apologize for any grammar mistakes you might find along the story. For those of you who do like it, I am thinking of writing a few more chapters. Usually I'm a huge fan of the good Morgana and she did deserve better, but just for fun I decided to try something new now. Rated M for future chapters. The characters are not mine and I don't mean any interference with the canon projects, as I said, this is just for fun. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to comment, leave kudos or share or just enjoy reading it.

AN1: Oh and this soundtrack is good for listening while reading the story: watch?v=tp3pWCzh1hw

Summary:

What happens when two powerful warriors meet? One is a druid, born with magic greater than any king's arrogance and the other is a favorite of the gods. One desires a throne that is rightfully hers and the other wants nothing to do with royal affairs. Kingdoms crumble, Empires rise, Heroes are born and Champions fall…

Chapter I: Steel and flesh... life and death... war…

The voice whispered in her ear, the voice of a woman filled with cold determination, pain, and what terrified her most was the lust for vengeance she could feel creeping slowly through her entire body. Sensing every fiber of her being tingle with decisiveness to kill or be killed, a fierce look in those azure eyes and an even more ferocious grip on the swords she could feel in the palm of her hands. One sword down, ready to attack, the other up to defend… For a heartbeat, Morgana could see a reflection from the sword, a pair of blue eyes looking straight at her soul. Her ferocity bested only by her beauty… A pale face and a smirk so familiar that it both excited and scared her in equal measure. This woman's hair was so black and beautiful that even the ravens were envious, wearing an obsidian armor with a golden plackart that protected her, but also accentuated her figure strikingly.

Morgana turned and trashed around in her bed, the sheets were long since discarded on the stone floor. Her nightgown was rumpled all the way up to her waist and small droplets of sweat made their way from her temple, down the side of her face, caressing those sharp cheekbones, it moves through her hair as gently as a lover's hand.

"Steel and flesh... life and death…" – This time those words echoed not through her mind, but through her room, the previous whisper of an unknown female voice, was transformed into a barely understandable mumbling for a sleeping queen.

"WAR!" – Was the deafening shout that made Morgana jump awake in her bed.

Seeing the room around her she quickly remembered that it was just a nightmare, but then she closed her eyes to take a long breath and relax, what a mistake that was.

Suddenly she could smell the smoke from fires that she had never seen; she could smell the burning flesh of both animals and people mixed with the ashes of a fallen city, a great city she had never gazed upon, not once in her life. For that single second, that split moment in time, she could hear the agonizing screams of the fallen and taste the briny tears of the wounded… men, women, children… the horror was for all, equally for the guilty as for the innocent.

When the sensations became too much, when all that overwhelmed her, the only thing Morgana could do was quickly turn to the side and empty the content of her stomach on the stone cold floor. She could still sense the itching taste of her nightmare in the back of her throat.

As if it wasn't enough that she had her brother on her mind and how to win this war against him, now she also had to deal with these nightmares, these memories? These glimpses of the future? These sudden consciousness crises? These… whatever these experiences were now was not the time for them.

After a couple of moments when her heart regained its normal beating rhythm and her stomach felt lighter, she quickly stood up and began dressing and attached her sword on her belt. It was obvious she would not go back to sleep even if the stars were still shining brightly in the sky, she might as well do something useful. Therefore, with long, confident steps, Morgana made her way to the roof of her castle, where no man ever bothered her.

Step to the left, block, kick, block, step forward, block and attack… she repeated these patterns so many times that she lost count, for once her mind was blank and she just let the blade move on its own accord. Knowing her muscles will complete the movements her head refused to imagine at this very moment. These movements were etched into her essence, ever since she was a child and practicing only made her better with time.

Kick, block, step forward, block and attack… The young warrior only stopped when she sensed the ground beneath her feet shake and momentarily turned around. Her visitor did not surprise her, but in her state of concentration, she had been completely oblivious of the few times Aithusa had circled, flying around her.

No man ever dared to disturb her there, but Aithusa was always welcome, the white dragon was her tether to reality and they shared a bond of great devotion to one another and usually a look was enough for them to communicate. Aithusa was still young and she could not speak yet, but they didn't really needed her to anyway.

Morgana stopped her training and discarded her armor, putting her sword down, gently, the creature was still a little jumpy around weapons and the sorcerous had no intention in causing her friend any discomfort.

"No need to give me that look, my friend, I just couldn't sleep." – Morgana laughed it away, knowing Aithusa sensed the lie. Sometimes the dragon's intuition baffled her, she could not understand how a creature who could not speak and probably does not understand her language anyway, could understand her feelings so effortlessly.

When Aithusa lowered her head and nudged Morgana on her shoulder, the young woman understood that her training time was over. They had this routine, Aithusa and she, whenever one was distressed, the other could feel it and without words, Aithusa settled down, making a ball with her body so Morgana could just lie there for a while, or if she was lucky until the sun came up completely.

Dragons had much more heightened senses than humans did or even dogs, they could sense trouble and that is why Morgana let herself sleep for a little while, for the only way she could relax and allow her mind to drown in white noise was when Aithusa was with her. And that's how the sun found them…

Morgana woke up from her slumber, relaxed and ready for a new day of planning strategies for the upcoming war with Arthur. Part of her hated this whole situation, loathed the fact that her own friends and family betrayed her. Both sides hag hurt each other so much over the last couple of years…too much for it all to be forgiven or forgotten. They had passed the point of no return a long time ago, now, the only way out of this; the only possible solution to the conflict was war.

Morgana began feeling sick again, she had no desire of a repeat of last night's events, so she decided to go for a walk on the beach. The water always soothed her anxiety and now was one of the best moments to take advantage of the irritable waves the sea greeted her with this morning, the water was full with seaweed and it was muddier than normal. There must have been a storm somewhere out there because the seashore was capped with clam's shells and more seaweed.

There was a light breeze coming from the sea and Morgana took a deep breath, but then her eyes noticed something in the distance, something much bigger than seaweed and much darker too.

Now that she took a few steps more, she could make out clearly the silhouette of a person, a woman with dirty and torn apart clothes and a cut on her stomach. She looked like dead, but when Morgana looked a little closer, she saw the almost unperceivable movement of her upper body, her lungs fighting for air and suddenly her eyes! Those azure blues that seemed so familiar that Morgana's breathing seized for a moment. It was her… but how and why?

TBC (?)