To Melt a Frozen Heart

Of course he had been drawn to her. Her porcelain skin, flawless as fresh fallen Winter snow. Her raven curls that fell so elegantly. He might have even said he was attracted to her, a phenomena that surprised him. He had trained himself long ago to control these feelings of his. Attraction led to emotional involvement, a heavy restriction in his work. But she was the Ward of King Uther, the famed beauty of Camelot, how could anyone who laid eyes on the Lady Morgana resist her?

Aredian had a job to do, and yet, he could not rid himself of the regal beauty that haunted his thoughts. The way she stood as though Uther's daughter rather than merely his Ward. She was sure to have inherited his mind-set too; his rightful distrust of the Old Religion, its malicious followers aiming to corrupt all with their dirty tricks. The way magic could poison whole kingdoms, stealing souls as well as lives in its tyrannical quest for dominance. The unnatural cult if the Druids. No, Morgana would detest the evil of sorcery, as all virtuous beings should. In fact, she would no doubt be a valued ally. Yes, Aredian's lips curled at the very thought, she could truly be a valuable asset. Him, the greatest Witch-finder in all of the Five Kingdoms, and the beautiful Lady Morgana, with all the strength of Camelot at her fingertips. Together, they would be unbeatable.

Which is why he felt his heart skip a beat when Gaius mentioned her as those he provided his wicked potions to. She could not be involved. When looking upon her meant seeing only virtue, how could she be involved in such unnatural and corrupting business? Even when he spoke to her, if only to have hard evidence to implement the physician, she spoke so soft and gently, her eyes downcast as though fearful. For who would not fear such evil as sorcery, to think she may have been poisoned by the physician she had trusted for years, and his foolish apprentice boy. Though, part of him hoped she held her eyes down deliberately, scared if she met his eyes she would give her own feelings away.

'You have a magnificent Kingdom, my Lord.' Aredian said, as he sat down to private dinner with the King that evening. Compliments were rare for him, yet he had to praise a man who had given him such work, as false as the words felt in his mouth. 'They fear sorcery just as the virtuous should.'

'Yes, but how can such a force be looked on with anything except fear?' Uther nodded, as he ripped a strip of meat off the bone he was holding, a move that made him appear no more regal than one of the drunks in the local tavern. Still, Aredian could say nothing, he was merely Uther's employee, despite the great service he was doing for him.

'Your son does you especially proud. The Lady Morgana also.'

'Yes, Arthur is everything that could be asked for in a son. He has taken the fight against magic to his heart; he sees its corruption just as strongly as I do.' Uther smiled fondly before looking away momentarily. 'Though with his mother so cruelly snatched away by magic, you could expect nothing else. Morgana, however, she is too stubborn for her own good. She takes it from her father. She fights for those with magic, defends them, and no matter how hard I am on her, she will not change. She detested the thought of bringing you in, but she is no ruler, she cannot even begin to understand the threat. One day, Morgana will see the true evil of magic and she will see that everything I do is for love.'

She fights for magic? Detests the thought of him? Aredian sat up late that night on the bed that was too soft for him, he who had been born into peasantry before rising himself, and felt Uther's words blazing in his mind. Part of his mind seem to hiss like a snake, reminding him of why he lived in iced emotion, of what it felt like to be rejected once more, and he felt himself snarl as if to chase such thoughts away. He was not that young boy anymore, thrown from his home when he failed to show the gifts he should have inherited, that males from his family had inherited for generations. They had regretted it later though, Aredian thought as a cruel smile graced his lips, when he had brought the soldiers in to burn them. They had screamed for forgiveness then, begged for mercy. Yet, when he needed them, they turned from him. How could they expect him to do anything less?

But now Morgana? His great plans were crumbling, the stirring he felt within him when he thought of her now turned to whirling rage. She ought to be at his feet, begging for her life, he had as much reason to burn her as he did Gaius. Well, then, why not? The potions Gaius gave her had no doubt corrupted her beyond reason now, what was her life worth? He could burn her. Uther would thank him, a threat so close to his throne. Maybe even reward him. Aredian smiled icily as he felt his heart freeze over once more. No-one would thaw him, nobody could.

Thank you.