"There received him three queens with great mourning; and so they set them down, and in one of their one of their laps King Arthur laid his head. And then that queen said: 'Ah, dear brother, why have ye tarried so long from me? Alas, this wound on your head hath caught over-much cold….Thus he was led away in a ship wherein were three queens; that one was King Arthur's sister, Queen Morgan le Fay."

~Sir Thomas Malory

Morgana held her brother's head in her laps, not caring about the blood oozing out onto her emerald dress. Stroking the fading old man's face, his blue eyes flutter open.

Looking up, the fallen King sees his sister, her once jet black hair streaked with gray, her pale skin scrunched with wrinkles. Her eyes are the same, though. The same lovely shade of green.

King Arthur remembered seeing those eyes in different lights over the years. There were times when they held joy, trickery, and gleams of love. Then those eyes turned fearful, pleading, searching for help. The last time he had seen them they held nothing but betrayal, anger, and hatred.

Now those eyes stared down at him with care, love, and regret. Pressing her slim hand against his bloody face, Morgana gives her brother a sad smile, "Hello, Arthur."

Closing his eyes for a moment, the king sighs, "Morgana." If he were in a situation that he was feeling up to par, Arthur would be sure to have made some snide comment like, "You here to finish me off? Go ahead then."

But King Arthur was old and had lost much over the years. The first was Morgana and then his father. Years would pass before he would lose Merlin and finally his beloved Guinevere. Days of his youth were gone, finally leading up to his final moments.

"I'm so sorry Arthur…for what's happened to you." There was a time when Morgana would have rejoiced in this moment, preparing to dance on Arthur's grave with a heavy crown on her head. But so many years had passed then, so many years of separation. Plans for revenge and monarchy faded with time as Morgause became bored with their failed attempts, deciding Mordred would be better suited for the throne.

Originally Morgana did try to help, but Mordred wasn't just the same little boy he used to be. He craved death; he fed off it. Throughout the time Morgana spent with Mordred and Morgause, she found herself missing the life she used to have. The people she used to spend time with.

Her father had died long ago, and Merlin eventually disappeared, leaving Arthur without any guidance. Gwen had moved on, leaving Arthur for another knight. To Morgana, her brother was all she had left.

And his hourglass was almost out of sand.

The King gives her a halfhearted smile through the pain, "It's alright, Morgana. I've led a good life, spent it with many good people," his fingers brushed a lock of her hair, "Including you."

Morgan le Fay shakes her head, "I betrayed you."

"Many people have, but I've learned to forgive them." Their eyes lock, sharing a deep look. Everything thing ever left unsaid is said between them as Arthur's strength quickly fades.

Morgana's face becomes blurry to Arthur as she whispers to him, "I'm so sorry Arthur."

Giving a soft smile, the greatest king Camelot has ever known squeezes his sister's hand, "I forgive you, Morgana."

Blackness swarms in front of him, but not before he catches a glimpse of immense relief with slight happiness mixed into her old features. The great man's lungs begin to tighten, his diaphragm no longer flexing, and his heart gives two more slight beats before it will still for all eternity.

The Great King of Camelot welcomes death like a light in the dark.

Somewhere, trapped in a hidden cave never to be discovered in future generations, an old man smiles, knowing that forgiveness has been granted. Facing the knowledge that his destiny is complete, he fades into darkness as well, leaving behind a body that fed one of the most well-know Kings rat stew.

As for Morgan le Fay, she buried Arthur in the Isle of the Blessed, and where she guards his body to this day. She stands at the edge of the isle, waiting. For what? Who knows. Some say she's waiting for the death she so desperately wants, but will not be granted until she has atoned for all her sins. Others say she waits for the return of her beloved brother and his clumsy manservant.

Perhaps one day they will return. Who's to say they won't? Maybe they'll return tommorow or maybe not for a few more centuries. But, the world can be assured that when they do return, there will never be another boring day just how it was many years ago in the legendary kingdom of Camelot.

But until then, we wait.

"For that time it was his destiny to die, or, as some say, to be carried off to Avillon, where he could wait for better days. For that time it was Lancelot's fate and Guenever's to take the tonsure and the veil, while Mordred must be slain. The fact of this man or that man was less than a drop, although it was a sparkling one, in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea."

~T.H. White

~Fin. Review?