Stab the Flesh, Stab the Heart
By SilverHeart09
I would just like to warn everyone that my spell-check isn't working, so all mistakes are mine, all mine and no you can't have any. Please review and let me know what you think!
It was cold outside and dark, very dark.
Morgana Pendragon felt her way along the castle wall, hiding in the darkness so as to escape detection from the guards on the turrets. Not that they'd ever noticed her before, and that was with heels and a bright red cloak.
The wind whipped around her and Morgana pulled her cloak a little tighter around her, hiding in the shadows and moving towards the gates, her sword hidden in the sheath at her waist. She stopped just before the gates, pressing her body into the cold stone turret, shadows hiding her from the guards at the gate.
Morgause had shown her how to cast a spell that made people's eyes slide off you, allowing a person to walk un-noticed. Morgana whispered this spell now: 'Folaighmo chorpagus motorainn.' Morgana felt the magic well up inside her and for a few moments the coldness of the night was replaced by a warmth seeping through her body, she felt her eyes glow for a second and knew the spell had worked.
Morgana strode purposely out from her hiding place and towards the gates of Camelot. As she passed through, the guards paid no attention to her and Morgana smirked.
Tonight was the night her brother would get what he deserved.
XxXxXxX
The corridors of the castle were deserted and Morgana was able to make her way undisturbed towards Prince Arthur's chambers. Morgause had warned her that although the spell would prevent anyone from noticing her from a few steps away, close up they may feel that there was someone with them and the corridors were quite narrow.
Morgana gently stroked the wood of Arthur's chamber doors. She remembered happier times as children, racing down the corridors with Arthur, playing hide and seek behind the tapestries, hiding from Uther when he was in a bad mood.
Uther...
Morgana brushed away the previous happy memories of her childhood with Arthur and remembered what Uther had done to her. He'd made her hate who she was, he'd lied to her, made her live in fear. Morgana hated Uther and longed to see him dead, but first she wanted him to really suffer, she wanted him to watch his only son fall to pieces, to scream at unseen terrors, to collapse at unsuspecting moments. Morgana smirked. Oh yes, she wanted Uther to suffer.
Morgana opened the door slowly and carefully. The spell only hid noises made by her like the sound of her breathing, not the noises of things she touched. Arthur lay asleep in his bed, blankets pulled up to his chin to protect him from the chilly night, snoring softly. Morgana approached him, looking around her to check that no-one was there, not that they'd be able to see her of course but Morgana knew better than to be over-confident.
Morgana stepped forward towards her brother and held out her hand over his head, 'codladh.' Arthur swifted and his breathing levelled out. If he hadn't been asleep before, he was now.
Morgana reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a small pair of scissors and a glass vial. She reached down and laid her hand onto Arthur's hair, using the scissors to snip a few strands away from his head, placing them into the glass vial.
Morgana drew back and smirked at her brother.
'Sweet dreams, Arthur.'
Then she was gone.
XxXxXxX
'MORNING!'
Arthur twitched and groaned and his mind forced him awake. How that servant could be so chiper in the morning escaped him. It was almost as if he enjoyed waking him up.
'Now come on, Arthur. Your father wants to see you in the council chambers and I have a surprise for you.'
Arthur sat up, blinking blearily at Merlin who was stood at the end of the bed, positively beaming.
'Surprise?'
'Yep, you'll love it.'
Arthur raised an eyebrow and Merlin lifted up his breakfast plate.
He'd arranged the food into a smiley face.
Arthur gaped at him. 'That is supposed to be a surprise?'
Merlin's face fell slightly, making Arthur feel slightly guilty. 'I heard your father yelling at you last night, I just wanted to put you into a good mood before you have to stand in front of him again.'
Arthur smiled despite himself and Merlin relaxed. 'Merlin, I swear, there is something odd about you.'
'So... you like the surprise?'
'Yes, Merlin. I like the surprise.'
Merlin grinned. 'Thought so!' He left the food at the end of the bed and left Arthur to eat it while he started laying out clothes. 'Also, in case you're nervous, I heard the servants talking in the kitchen this morning. The King has cooled down slightly, you shouldn't worry.'
Arthur sighed. 'I just can't see why he wants me to go after Morgana! She tried to kill all of us, she betrayed us.'
Merlin could see the hurt in his master's eyes whenever he spoke of Morgana. He and the knights knew better than to mention her and Guinevere never spoke of her either, or stepped into her chambers. 'Well you haven't got to worry about that this morning, there's a creature that's been spotted in the forest, I think that is what your father wants to talk to you about.'
Arthur brightened considerably. 'Now that I can handle no problem.' Arthur finished eating and stepped behind the screen, stripping out of the shirt and trousers he wore to bed and pulling on the clothes that Merlin had laid out ready.
Gwaine wandered in just as Arthur was attaching his sword to his waist. 'Morning, Princess. Hey, Merlin.'
'Hey Gwaine,' Merlin said as he finished making Arthur's bed. Arthur simply rolled his eyes at Gwaine and marched out of the room, heading towards the council chambers.
'He really doesn't like me calling him "Princess", does he?'
Merlin grinned. 'Just make sure you don't do it in front of the nobles.'
Gwaine laughed. 'You should not have put that idea in my head, Merlin my friend.'
XxXxXxX
'Good morning, Sire,' Arthur said, standing before King Uther and the council.
'Ah, Arthur, there is something I would like you to address.' Uther said, turning round to face his son. Arthur always had to hide his worry whenever he was in front of his father. Ever since Morgana had taken control of Camelot and locked him in a cell his mind hadn't been the same. The slightest noise made him jump, he was constantly paranoid and more convinced than ever that sorcerer's were out to get him. Arthur shook his head clear of doubts. No matter what he believed, Uther was still the King.
'A creature was spotted in the woods this morning, Gaius is trying to identify it now.'
Merlin went to stand next to Gaius, who was looking through some old books on mythical creatures. A woman stood next to him, tall, skinny and shaking slightly.
'It was like nothing I've ever seen, Sire,' she said, addressing Arthur. 'A ferocious creature, I tell you now, Sire- I feared for my life.'
'You have no need to fear now,' Arthur replied with the tone of voice he used when reminding people that not only was he the heir to the throne, he was also a very skilled and experienced hunter. 'What did the creature look like?'
The woman shuddered. 'I'll never forget it, Sire, not for as long as I live. It had the body of a goat, and the head of lion and its tail... a serpant's, my lord. Its tail was a serpant and the lion head breathed fire, my lord.'
'Fire?'
'Yes, Sire, great balls of fire.'
Arthur turned to Gaius and Merlin. 'Anything?'
'Ah-ha!' Gaius exclaimed, pointing to a certain page. 'I believe the creature to be a Chimera, Sire.'
'A Chimera?'
'Yes, my lord, it is just as this lady described it.'
The woman blushed slightly, not used to being called a 'lady.'
'How can it be killed?' Gwaine asked, stepping forward to stand by Arthur.
'There is only one way,' Gaius said. 'The beast can only be killed by a spear to its throat.'
'That's it?' Arthur looked incredulous. 'That doesn't sound too difficult, the knights of Camelot are skilled in precision and we practise using spears on moving targets every day.
The knights, who were assembled round the edges of the room, beamed with pride at their master's compliment. Merlin, on the other hand, made a noise which was somewhere between a laugh and a snort. After all, he was usually the target.
'You must remember, Sire, that this beast has two heads and if you concentrate too much on the front part, the back part will kill you. One drop of venom from the snake's bite and you die. There is no cure.'
'I've heard that before, Gaius,' Uther said. 'When Arthur was bitten by the Questing Beast. He survived that.'
'He was lucky, my lord,' Gaius said with a glance at Merlin. After all, Merlin was the reason Arthur had survived. 'Very very lucky.'
'Well this time I will do my best not to get bitten by a grumpy snake who's stuck on the back end of a goat,' Arthur said, smirking and causing a ripple of laughter to flow through the council.
'You will ride immediatly, Arthur,' Uther said, dismissing his son with a wave of his hand.
'Yes, father.'
XxXxXxX
Morgana made her way back into the Castle of Fyrien. Or the castle of Morgause as it now was after Cenred's demise.
Morgana found her sister sitting up in a chair by the fire, looking bored and put out.
'Sister,' she said, smiling up at Morgana as she entered. Ever since Merlin had thrown her into the wall her body had not been the same. She often suffered from severe back pains and had difficulty walking.
'Morgause.'
Morgana smiled and hugged her sister. 'How are you today?'
'The same, my legs are stiff as usual, I hope you have brought me some entertainment, Morgana?'
Morgana smirked. 'Everything went according to plan, sister.'
'The spell worked?'
'Like a charm. Although to be honest the guards are so useless I wouldn't have expected them to notice me if I walked into Camelot wearing a bright yellow dress and the tallest heels.'
Morgause laughed. 'Indeed, sister. I guess we shall never know if the spell worked or not then.'
The two witches shared a laugh and Morgana produced the vial containing Arthur's hair from her pocket, handing it to her sister.
Morgause produced a small straw puppet from her robes and removed the hair from the vial, twisting it around the doll. Morgause lifted the doll to her face and her eyes gleamed gold as she chanted the words of the spell. 'Ceangal aran ghruaigar ArthurPendragon. Draíocht ara aigneagusa anamceangalleis anpuipéadmar sinní mór dóa dhéanamhar mobheidh.' The hair seemed to glow around the doll and Morgause placed the doll in her lap, raising her hand and addressing the air. 'Bendan t-aera dhéanamh ar mobheidh, a thaispeáint domArthurPendragon.' The air shimmered and an image of Prince Arthur appeared riding through a forest flanked by Merlin and a dozen of his knights. Morgause turned to her sister and withdrew a pin from her clothing.
'Ready to test it, Morgana?'
Morgana smirked.
XxXxXxX
'WHY is it always raining?' Merlin complained from his horse.
'Aw, are you afraid of getting wet?' Arthur chided him lightheartedly.
'It's a bad omen, that's all.'
'You're not afraid of omens surely, Merlin?' Elyan said from his horse behind Merlin.
'Whenever it rains, something bad happens.'
'Yes, it does, we get wet,' Gwaine said, a friendly smirk on his face. 'It takes a while for my hair to get to this level of awesomeness.'
There was a general chuckle at that until Lancelot shushed everyone. Arthur held up his hand, a signal for the knights to stop their horses and for a few moments it was silence.
Then the Chimera burst out of nowhere.
The horses reared up and their masters were thrown to the ground except those who clung to the reigns. Arthur jumped off his horse and pulled out his sword, his knights surrounding him and raising their weapons.
'For the love of Camelot!'
The knights repeated the battlecry and charged the beast.
Elyan and Lancelot took the left side, swishing at the snake's head when it got too close while the lion roared and blew massive jets of flame into the air. Arthur, Gwaine and Leon took the right side and Percival and the rest of the knights divided themseleves up between the front and the back.
Gwaine slashed at the beast's side but his sword made no marks in its skin. With one well aimed blow Elyan managed to swipe off the snake's head, a victory which was short lived when the snake then regrew its body and began to slither towards him. Arthur pulled a spear from the horse's saddle and aimed it at the Chimera's neck while Percival did his best to distract it and keep the head away from Arthur. Merlin grabbed a sword from a fallen knight and used it to help defend Elyan from the snake, which lunged out at him, determined to bite the knight.
'You must smell good,' Gwaine said grinning.
The lion roared fire and two knights were thrown backwards, Leon grabbed their arms and pulled them out of the way. Gwaine used a shield to protect himself from the lion's fire and waved his sword at its face, determined to draw its attention away from the Prince, Percival even yelled offensive names at it.
Finally, Arthur had a clear shot of its neck, he raised his spear and…
XxXxXxX
'Now, sister!' Morgana cried. 'Do it now!'
Morgause jabbed the pin into the doll's chest forcefully and Morgana laughed.
XxXxXxX
Arthur felt a sudden stabbing pain in his chest, he felt the spear fall from his hand and vaguely heard someone shout his name as blackness took over and he fell to the ground.
The Chimera blew fire at Gwaine and Percival, forcing them to stand away and turned back to the Prince, who was lying on the ground infront of it.
The Chimera opened its jaws.
Love it? Hate it? Want a fast update? Let me know and I shall grant you the ultimate prize- VIRTUAL COOKIES! YAY! :D
Here's Morgana and Morgause's spells. I basically just used Google translate from English to Irish, it looked about right and I can't pronounce it.
Folaigh mo chorp agus mo torainn- Hide my body and my noise.
Codladh- Sleep
Ceangal ar an ghruaig ar Arthur Pendragon. Draíocht ar a aigne agus a anam ceangal leis an puipéad mar sin ní mór dó a dhéanamh ar mo bheidh- Bind the hair of Arthur Pendragon. Enchant his mind and bind his soul to the puppet so he must do my will.
Bend an t-aer a dhéanamh ar mo bheidh, a thaispeáint dom Arthur Pendragon- Bend the air to do my will, show me Arthur Pendragon.
