Title: The First Sighting
Chapter Type: Plot
TV Show/Game/Movie/Anime: BBC's Merlin (TV)
Rating: T - M
Chapter Rating: T
Summary: Morgana remembers what she left behind in Camelot and though she thinks she'll never be able to return to it, her feelings for Gwen says different. Desire or Duty? Gwen or Morgause? Can she choose without losing someone she loves? M/G, A/M
Chapter Summary: Uther can remember the first time he saw Morgana after Morgause took her from him…And the first time her old maid-servant saved his life.
Genre: Angst/Romance
Uther can remember it. He can remember it well. The day to remember. The day he almost fell to the hands of his ward.
The ward he loved and cherished. Harshly. But truly. So truly, that many thought Morgana as his own. As his daughter though he had always truly loved and wanted a son. Which he had. But everyone saw it in his eyes. How much he needed Morgana…Almost as much as he needed Arthur.
"Take Guinevere with you Father…" Arthur spoke quietly to him, as if afraid of his own father that would in a heartbeat listen to him. Listen. But wouldn't always follow his every need.
He turned, a look of forlorn of his features that always seemed to form one of hope yet anxiety; a look of a broken man.
"Guinevere?" He turned back to survey the thriving kingdom that he held in his fist, eyes thinning at the crowds that seemed to be getting larger and larger each day that went by.
Guinevere. A name he had become to know. To rely on. Or so Arthur had said. Guinevere. Morgana's old maid-servant. Morgana's friend. Morgana's ally. Morgana's-
No. He refused to believe rumours. Gossip that still caused a flare of anger in him even if Morgana was long gone from Camelot. If it wasn't for Arthur then Uther would have slaughtered Guinevere where she stood. And he would have made it so painfully slow that everyone would hear the servant's pitiful cry of help and desperation. Begging for him to stop.
Guinevere. A name he had become to hate. With passion. With lust almost. The name that almost made Uther sick at the mere mention of it.
"Guinevere should be allowed to visit Morgana's father's memorial. It is the only thing she has left of Morgana. I thought it would be-" Arthur tries to explain Guinevere lightly, knowing very well how much Uther would love to rip Gwen in two if given the chance however before he himself knows it; Uther has turned on him with his words of oil and fire.
"Morgana was nothing more but her superior!" Uther spat, his eyes wide with so much anger, Arthur has to look away in fear of being scalded. "Right? She has no right Arthur. The sooner you learn that, the better."
"But father!" Arthur turns back so that his and his father's eyes entwine in one simple gaze that held nothing but hope (that word again) and plain and simple loneliness. "Surely you must accept the fact that Morgana cared for Guinevere deeply. Surely you will allow her this one moment to remember Morgana? As you do every year? Surely."
Uther's fists unclench slowly, his soulless eyes deepening in what Arthur knows as acknowledgement. With the fact that he has his father's full attention, Arthur continues.
"If you could give Guinevere this chance…Maybe you'll see her differently. Maybe you'll see Morgana differently. All I ask is for Guinevere to have some time with you at Morgana's father's memorial."
Silence follows the long seconds. Seconds turning into minutes. Minutes into harsh moments; so ruthless and callous that Arthur is afraid he has just earned Gwen a ticket to the block of stone that awaited her head.
But before Arthur can walk away, to return to Merlin and the chores that he himself must do (because a future King cannot be lazy) Uther says something that Arthur never expected he would ever say.
"For Morgana. But that is the only reason." Uther says in a low, authorised manner that clearly says Uther is not happy with the decision of Gwen coming along for his journey but has decided to put up with it anyway.
This was what told Arthur that Uther was dying. Dying gradually but unquestionably. Uther was going to die soon. Heartbreak? Perhaps.
This was what told Uther that Arthur had developed into a man. A man of principle and belief. A man. Not a boy. No…Uther had never thought of Arthur as just a boy. A solider. But no. For the first time, Uther had seen his son.
"Merlin?" Gwen's voice is tired and weary, truly exhausted thanks to training in the mud all day with Sir Leon - a nice, sensible man…Someone who Gwen should fall in love with. Someone that wasn't her. An enemy of Camelot. An enemy of them all
.
She's just a little surprised to see Merlin packing stuff in her pouches (these being food and other utensils Gwen has not seen before since she was a little child) with haste.
Arthur's man servant doesn't reply, instead he continues to push food into Gwen's pouches which just makes Gwen even more confused as the trip she will be taking to Morgana's father's memorial will at the maximum take three hours to get there and a possible three coming back.
With a sigh, Gwen strides towards the poor man, her arms already outstretched to encircle his right arm in a hug. Poor man. Poor, sweet man.
When her arms actually wrap around his arm, Merlin stiffens uncomfortably with a glaze to his eyes that show the tears that are so close to spilling over that Gwen feels like she should cry too.
Instead, she rubs his arm with such comfort that Gwen can hear Merlin's hitched breath and can feel the tears running down his cheeks, down his neck and onto her forehead. And that is all that Gwen needs for herself to start crying almost in sync with her fellow servant and loyal friend.
"It isn't your fault Merlin…" Gwen breathes out hard, the liquid spilling down her cheeks making her look pathetic even in the kindest of eyes.
"Then who's is it?" Merlin mutters under his breath, his eyes sallow and sunken as if he has not slept for days. Gwen doubts that he has. The poor man.
"Not yours." Gwen knows that doesn't help Merlin in the slightest, but what else can she say to Merlin? Who else can she blame apart from the obvious person who she has sworn not to care about...Yet here she was, preparing for a trip to that person's father's memorial. Gwen had been lying to herself. She could not live without Morgana. Without a trace of Morgana. She needed Morgana.
"I should have...I should have..." Merlin replies to Gwen in choppy words. Cavemen-like. As if Merlin has had too much ale and is now comprehended as a drunken old fool. "I should have stopped them. I should have been prepared. I should have known that Morgause would take Morgana away."
"Nobody could have known Merlin..." Gwen soothes, the tiredness that had been at the corners of her eyes before leaving her almost instantly at the look of complete pain on the man's-servant's face. "Nobody could have known at all."
"Then who is to blame for Morgana?" Merlin asks Gwen, his eyes shining so brightly that Gwen is reminded of a lost little child that had accidentally stumbled into Camelot. As if Gwen is the answer, the key to everything. Lost and found.
Gwen sighs, letting her arms fall down Merlin's to curl her dark, dainty fingers around Merlin's pale ones - hanging on so tightly that Gwen is fearful that Merlin will pull away due to her firm grip.
"There is nobody to blame for Morgana apart from herself." Gwen finds herself saying, the dry tears that had stained on her cheeks glowing brightly in the sun that beginning to fade away ever so leisurely into the darkness.
"You don't mean that Gwen." Merlin whispers, turning to the dark-skinned woman next to him with a look that could match Uther's. Ultimately crushed and defeated. With no hope.
"I do." Gwen disagrees with a nod of her head, eyes closed to trap the tears that are once more building up underneath her eyelids. "I mean it in every fibre of my heart and soul."
"But you can hardly say that about someone you love right?" And for the first time since Gwen has returned on her long trip to see her family over the mountains - for comfort more than anyone - Merlin smiled. A sad smile but a smile all the same.
Gwen smiles in return. A sad smile but a smile all the same. "You love Arthur so you can't say anything can you?"
Merlin says nothing in return.
Arthur has made sure she has the better horse, Gwen is sure of it. Most likely an escape horse just in case Uther finally lets himself go at her, Gwen thinks as an afterthought.
Two knights are with them however, making Gwen only a little bit reassured that she is indeed safe with only magical creatures to worry about and even then Gwen is sure Uther and the knights will be able to handle it in no time at all.
Closer they edge towards Morgana's father's memorial grounds, over grassy banks and streams that seem to go on and still Gwen has not seen anything she recognises, has still not seen anything that indicates Morgana has walked the same path that they were treading on; treading so lightly in the cloak of the darkness that seemed to surround the party with its black mist.
She doesn't know why she feels so disappointed, Gwen knew before they even left Camelot that Morgana would not be here, would not come to the shrine of her own father. It was no longer in her to care - or as Gwen had been told by Gaius - about anything or anyone of her past life.
As Gaius had said, Morgana had chosen her powers for the good of evil and was no longer going to come back to Gwen when she called for her, no longer going to wake Gwen up with her screams and tears, no longer going to be there to hold Gwen or for herself, Morgana, to be held.
And it hurt. Hurt a lot. So much in fact that Gwen felt her grip tighten on the leather that was her horse's reins with such ferocity it cut into her skin to leave a long print of blood across her palm which she would wash off later.
At this moment all Gwen wanted was to run and run until she could run no more, feeling the wind brush and caress her face like a mother and for the ground to grip and grind against her feet like her father's scolding's and to bathe in a water of flowers to hear Morgana's strong, sweet voice for just a moment.
She'd do anything to hear it. And now thinking about it with a shy smile on her face. Gwen realizes that she sounds like a damsel in distress, worshipping and yearning for her knight in shining armour to pick her up and dazzling her with his presence.
Sadly Gwen's knight is a woman with raven hair, willows eyes and a whole lot of evil about her that would only dazzle people at how cruel the tales of Morgana were. And that was hardly something to be proud of. Oh and maybe an evil laugh to top it all off.
"Wait here." Uther's command knocks Gwen out of her daydream, making her look down to see that Uther has dismounted and is now telling his knights the order with a look of cold viciousness.
Clearing her throat, Gwen too dismounted with unimaginable grace for someone who was only one class above those of the people who lived normally in Camelot. She of course was still one of the people of Camelot but she was now Arthur's own personal 'cook' as Uther had been made to believe; earning her the rank of one class above the normal citizens of Camelot.
The knights nod obediently, knowing very well if they dared to question Uther then they might as well be sorcerers at how much of a chance they would be given to live thanks to disobedience.
Uther turns his back on them all, striding towards the mossy forest that is so deep and wide that Gwen is surprised that Uther actually comes to the shrine every year without getting lost (or hurt) once because of how dangerous the forest actually is.
She has heard of this forest in stories that Tom (her father) used to tell her, the Forest of Nehrid apparently. Where monsters roam at night whilst men travel through it by day…Gwen just hopes that the monsters thing was just a joke and she wouldn't accidentally step on a creature's head before her leg got chewed off by said creature.
Once entering the forest, Gwen hears Uther's shallow breaths and grunts that do nothing to her wild imagination of terrifying creatures that lurk in the shadows, waiting for her to slip or fall before pouncing.
"Do not fall or slip…Or I will leave you behind." Uther says calmly (too calmly) with a cough, his hands twitching near his waist where his sword lies. Though Gwen knows what Uther means. He just doesn't say that to scare her. Uther has made a promise to leave her behind.
"Yes my king." Gwen replies subserviently, bowing her head almost on instinct even if Uther has no possibility of seeing it. "I shall not fall behind."
"Good." Uther responds impersonally, moving branches and leaves away from his path with a swift kick and a wave of his arm.
The Forest of Nehrid was not very comfortable when it came to the ground that Gwen was treading on. It was true. Nehrid had no dirt or moss or even the speckle of water that a forest was supposed to have. No in fact, everything about Nehrid was stone apart from the trees and grass that inhabited only around the edges of Nehrid - most likely tricking people into its home with the knowledge of looking like a forest where people could camp but actually being a rather hard, solid area where creatures and men could attack easily.
"I must remind you that you will not say anything at the Shrine. You are only here to observe. Not to speak." Uther reminds her, his scarred face turning to her for a moment with a look of absolute loathing by the morose darkening of his expression. "For if you do, I will cut you down where you stand."
Gwen says nothing, wondering why she doesn't fear death as she used to. Wondering why what Uther has just told her did not worry her in the slightest. Maybe it is because she has gotten used to death. Her father's and maybe even Morgana. Death is nothing but the next stage in life right? So she has nothing to fear. Death is just a stage.
Gwen follows Uther silently, sleep starting to pick up at the corners of her eyes once again.
Gwen sits by the shrine in silence as she had been commanded to do so, her brow furrowed while her hands were folded neatly in her lap - she would not risk her hands touching the precious stone of the shrine in fear of Uther's raging reaction at the touch of her grimy skin against holy rock.
Uther is kneeling next to her, his gloved hand moving against the engraved words on the stone as if it is an old friend, his face creased into a worn smile and his body slumped so far down that if Gwen did not know any better she would suspect that Uther is fast asleep. Nonetheless, no. Uther is not sleeping. On the contrary, Gwen has never seen her King so awake since Morgana had-
With a frustrated pout, Gwen glares hard at the stone words in aggravation. How many times must she tell herself that Morgana does not deserve to be in her thoughts, that Morgana is nothing to her anymore but a faded dream, a dream…That will just not seem to go away.
This is not how her life is supposed to be. This was not how Tom would want her life to be (though Gwen doubted that Tom would have wanted to fall so deeply with Morgana in the first place) and it most certainly wasn't what Gwen wanted herself.
She can't keep waiting for Morgana forever. That is, if Morgana is even alive which Gwen literally doubts. She needs to forget. Forever. She can not forgive. Oh no, Gwen can not to do that. But she must forget. For her own sanity she must. Yet every time she tries to do that very thing, to forget…Morgana appears once more, her smile bright and her skin a healthy colour of pure porcelain.
Nonetheless, there is a solution. A solution which she has asked Gaius of before yet denied it when it was ready. The remedy to get rid of Morgana from her mind for good. Yes, she would do that. And then she would go talk to Sir Leon, enchant him with her smile and brute strength of a man like himself. Then she would marry him, bare his children and then die with him, hand in hand…Anything to get rid of the stinging memories that was Morgana.
Morgana. Morgana's eyes. Morgana's nose. Morgana's long eyelashes. Morgana's white pearls. Morgana's twisted smile. Morgana's face…
Something in Gwen snaps at the thought, something inside of Gwen is going off like warning sirens, something is endangering Uther and her in addition to that…Gwen has a sinking feeling she knows what.
Grunting and hoping to god that her decision was right, Gwen threw herself at the kneeling Uther; knocking him off guard and making the King sprawl helplessly underneath her - for his body has grown weak…Or so Gwen hears.
"Arshetio thebe tienthe!" Strong and sweet. Flowers. Willow trees and the obscurity of the night. Gwen has never been so lustful to hear that voice.
Nevertheless now is not the time to feel such emotion seeming as (if her experiment is correct) the rocks that are falling and crushing the shrine - where Uther had just been kneeling - was now spitting all around her and Uther like a magpie attracted to silver.
Rolling off Uther, Gwen does one of the most bizarre (looking back on it now however, she would say the luckiest) things she has ever done in her entire twenty-four years of breathing.
She stands up, ignoring the way that Uther has drawn his sword, ignoring the way rocks and pointy stones are crumbling all around her (most likely to destroy her and Uther), ignoring the fact that her heart is beating so fast that Gwen actually thinks it might burst because all she can see, all she can see is her knight, the knight believed to be dead, only alive in tales of evil that had been spread all over Camelot.
Morgana…Oh her charming, strong, malevolent Morgana.
For all Gwen could see was Morgana though Morgana could see her not. Gwen was now hidden between falling rocks and debris that would soon pass on once Morgana had thought that the deed was done and Uther was truly dead.
Uther has now stood and Gwen wants to cry, scream at him for covering her view with his back and his sword raised high - knowing very well (or Gwen thinks seeing that the water glistening on his cheeks is of course not rain) who he is about to face.
The person who, if not for her old maid-servant, would have killed him right there without him even knowing his killer.
The debris and stone stop falling all of a sudden, giving Morgana a clear view of Uther (the Uther who is shielding Gwen from her with his back) while also making Uther again a target for Morgana to direct her magic on.
"Uther!" Morgana's cry is fierce and wild, reminding Gwen of untamed black stallions racing through the water of flowers and thousands of soldiers marching their way towards their destination. Camelot.
Gwen just feels disgusted with herself at how much it makes her want to fall to her knees at Morgana's feet in submission.
"How dare you come to this Shrine?" Morgana's voice is getting louder and higher, the voice that clearly tells many stories that Gwen does not wish to hear. "Have you no shame?"
Gwen can feel Uther's back tremble at Morgana's intonation, his shoulders tensing but his lower back shuddering terribly at the frail curses that weren't even curses at all.
And then, Uther is yelling back at his ward with so much rage that Gwen can hardly believe Uther has that much air in his lungs.
"You are the one with no shame Morgana!" Uther's voice breaks at the end of his sentence, his scarred face scrunched up in complete utter vehemence whilst his left hand is pointed in the direction of the rubble that used to be Morgana's father's shrine. "You are the one who has destroyed the last part of yourself! Of your father! Of his shrine!"
Silence and Gwen can imagine Morgana looking at the debris that is her father's shrine with vulnerable watery eyes, with eyes that reminded Gwen of when Morgana (who was slightly older than her) had been a child and had come weeping to her whenever they had finished visiting her father's memorial.
"Do you see now what you have become?" Uther steps forward, unknowingly unveiling Gwen a little for her to be seen by Morgana's eyes and unknowingly making Morgana a little unsure of herself and her motives on what she should do next.
"Who is with you Uther?" Morgana's voice penetrates through the air like a knife cutting through butter and Gwen is a little scared that Morgana sounds composed and in control instead of sounding susceptible like Gwen had guessed she would be.
Though what could Gwen expect? Morgana was not a little girl anymore and Gwen was no longer her maid that would comfort her whenever she could without touch.
"I will spare their life if they run now…" Morgana's voice has by now, dramatically changed into something Gwen doesn't think she'll forget for a while. Seductive. Smooth. Sultry. Morgana knows what she is saying and Morgana knows that she will kill Uther without no doubt in her mind.
"But yours?" Gwen pictures Morgana tilting her head to side, mocking Uther with a treacherous grin. "You may not be so lucky Uther."
"Niyeto musaire fira!" Fire surrounds both her and Uther, the tendrils of the red beast licking at her ankles and calves in such vicious intensity that Gwen can not remember a time when she has been so frightened of fire.
So frightened, that by now…Gwen side-steps away from Uther, revealing herself to Morgana in her full form.
What Gwen is wearing isn't very bright in the near-dark (because DARK green isn't very bright in the first place) but from how the fire instantly disappears, Gwen relishes in the fact that she made it her decision to expose herself to Morgana; half of her only doing so to see Morgana's face one more time before she, Gwen, must somehow try to defeat the sorceress.
Morgana's face is just as Gwen remembers it the very last time she saw Morgana…Sweet, porcelain and very, very tender-looking which just did not fit Morgana's 'new' description as being evil, wicked, cruel and many other things that Morgana was not.
What she is wearing is the same green dress that Gwen last saw her in, the emerald silk displaying more of her cleavage than it had last time Gwen had seen in and the gold patterns across the collar sparkling brightly in the night's shadow.
The only thing remotely different about Morgana is the fact that she is wearing a vermillion-coloured cloak that is covering her head (along with her neck at how large it is) with such a look of deception that Gwen cannot believe that she is looking at the same Morgana that she been gazing so longingly at three years ago.
Despite the fact that Gwen would love to look at Morgana all night, she knows it is not the time to think, to remember the past. No it is the time to act, to act against Morgana…
Easier said than done. Gwen knows that. Gwen doesn't think that. Gwen knows that. Going against Morgana is like going against an impenetrable wall. Entirely impossible to the average human being.
"Guinevere…"
Gwen's hues flicker up to meet Morgana's vibrant willows ones, startled to see that Morgana is now as stiff as a board and the confident tone she had been using vanishing before Gwen's very ears and eyes.
With only little notice Gwen sees that Morgana's left arm is outstretched, facing at Uther's chest and her eyes that had most likely been full of hate for the King has now dimmed down into something that Gwen recognizes immediately - as one would once seeing that look every time Morgana used to have nightmares - as fear and puzzlement.
But why? Why is Morgana terrified? Why is Morgana confused? Why? It doesn't make sense why Morgana should react that way towards her seeming as all Gwen can do is try her best to try and protect Uther and herself.
Without thinking properly on what she should do, Gwen does the first thing that appears in her mind…She steps forward and then to the side against so that she is now in front of the silent Uther - unusual but Gwen doubts that it is impossible.
She has no idea why she is doing this, no idea why because what has Uther done for her apart from driving Morgana and everyone else away from her and yet, Gwen is standing in front of Uther (her back to him) with a determined glare on her expression.
Gwen does not know how she keeps the shocked look off her face when Morgana's arm drops and the fearful look on her face becomes even more obvious than before, Gwen does not know why Morgana hasn't already finished both her and Uther off and Gwen unquestionably does not know why she is not running at Morgana in an attempt to wipe Morgana out of her life forever as Morgana has done to so many innocents.
Morgana was going to kill Uther. Gwen was sure of it. Morgana was going to kill Uther however when Gwen had placed herself in front of the King, Morgana had then changed her mind without a look of hesitation on her mind. Almost as if Morgana had only just decided that she would not kill Uther when Gwen had appeared right in front of her eyes.
Suddenly, before Gwen even realizes it herself, an almighty shout brings ringing to Gwen's ears, scaring her so much that Gwen takes a step back so that her back is pressed up against Uther's chest and that her heels are just carefully touching Uther's boots.
"BALZER THIEOBE THUNDA!"
Gwen flinches as a flash of lightning misses her and Uther entirely, hitting the ground about five feet away from them instead furthermore Gwen knows once more that the Morgana she is facing is the little girl that she befriended and looked after until Morgana had become twenty-two before then being taken by Morgause in front of everyone's eyes but her own.
"BALZER THIEOBE THUNDA!" This time, Morgana is screaming so loud - and bordering on desperate - that Gwen is sure that this time Morgana is on target although that thought is pushed away ultimately when thunder misses her and Uther once more and instead hit's a tree miles behind them.
Feeling her heart break a little, Gwen dares herself to look up and when she does, immediately wishes that she hadn't.
"Morgana!" Gwen screeches, hardly able to believe that she is screeching for someone who is no longer on her side, no longer on Uther's, no longer on Arthur's and certainly no longer on Merlin's. Hardly able to believe that she could love someone like her dark knight. Hardly able to believe that Morgana is running away from her.
"If anything happened to you…" Gwen cries softly, tears that aren't supposed to be there falling freely down her face, that are so subtle but noticeable that Gwen can feel Morgana's hot, heavy breathing against her lips. So hot that Gwen tilts her head away for a moment before answering. "I couldn't bear it."
Morgana has a look on her face that puzzled Gwen completely, making the maid-servant wonder if she has said too much. Too much that Morgana understands what Gwen is saying and is now fully prepared to go confront Uther about it (even if it was Uther who locked her in the dungeons in the first place).
A sigh of understanding escapes Morgana's parted lips and Gwen is immediately crushed into Morgana's body - mentally however, not physically. Never physically.
"You need to go home, Gwen. Get some rest. Please."
"Gwen? Why are you still here?"
Gwen turns, startled at Morgana's voice that she had been thinking of silently in her mind for the past hours…Anything to get rid of her father's cries for help as Uther's guards slaughtered him.
It's late. So late that Gwen would have been asleep by now if it wasn't for the fact that Tauren could be there in waiting of her and that Morgana hadn't arrived back early from visiting her father's shrine so she had decided to sit by Morgana's window until her mistress's return.
"I was waiting for you to come back." Gwen replies with a shy smile that makes Morgana smile in return at such an appealing gesture coming from her equally appealing maid.
"You didn't have to. You can go home now Gwen." Morgana turns away from her maid for a moment, unlacing the thread that is attached to her cloak before tossing said cloak in her wardrobe carelessly. She knows that Gwen would not approve of being so untidy but Morgana is so tired that she hardly cares at the moment.
"I cannot." Gwen's frail voice breaks slightly and Morgana without delay turns and wraps Gwen in her arms without even thinking about what the consequences would be if someone walked in on her and Gwen and presumed the worst.
"Shh-shh-shh." Morgana coos into her Gwen's ear, resisting the temptation to catch the lobe between her sharp canines. "It's alright Gwen…Tauren won't be able to hurt you anymore…I swear to protect you with my life."
With those memories spilling through her brain, Gwen feels her hot temper (most likely inherited from her mother; Tom had always been calm) start to flare and growl in the pit of her stomach, wriggling like a snake and snapping it's beak like a falcon ready to devour its victim.
So, before Gwen can even register it. Before Gwen can even think, talk properly to warn Uther what was happening…
Gwen was chasing her dark knight back into the Forest of Nehrid, her chocolate locks whipping at her feet, her mother's caress blowing against cheeks to egg her on and her father's scolding making her feet grind and ground into the dirt underneath her soles but what made Gwen run faster than she would normally run was the flowers she was racing through…
Gwen could swear she heard Morgana's laughter if she ran faster through the flowers of daisies and orchids…Faster through the roses and lilies that seemed to swamp her feet.
Morgana's velvet emerald cloak flickers through Gwen's eyesight for a moment before disappearing into the opening of Nehrid with such haste that Gwen only just manages to catch it flying to the left before it is gone once again from Gwen's sight.
"Don't you DARE run from me!" Gwen shrieks, jumping over logs, ducking under branches before taking a sharp left, already feeling the bandage on her hip start to unravel due to her quick movements.
"You swore!" Gwen feels her legs aching by now, the flowers that are still stuck on her dress and boots are now starting to irritate her legs and feet which slows her down almost instantly. "You swore to protect me! Don't you dare run!"
Pants are coming further in front of her, signalling to Gwen that Morgana is tiring from running and will soon (like Gwen) collapse in a heap in hope that Gwen will run past her or maybe give up.
If Gwen had enough energy she would have rolled her eyes at the thought of even giving up looking for Morgana.
"Morgana!" Despite having not enough energy to roll her eyes, Gwen has plenty to use for yelling and cursing. "Morgana! Please! Don't run from me anymore!"
The panting stops almost right after Gwen has said that nonetheless is then replaced with a severe cry echo through Nehrid that makes Gwen stop in her tracks, the shivering going up her spine enough to make her collapse motionless on the floor due to such a blood-curdling sound.
The ground underneath her is stone - surprising Gwen at how nothing seems to be broken even though the fall had enough force to put Gwen into so much damage that she would most likely be living with Merlin and Gaius for a week - so with no hesitation Gwen places her ear to the ground…Listening.
Nothing. No footsteps. Just the quiet. The quiet apart from the sound of her own beating heart.
She's pathetic. She can't even get up. Maybe it was scream that paralyzed her? Or maybe it was just her. Being pathetic. As usual.
Then before Gwen can pathetically call out to Morgana once more, a rustling sound that can only mean one thing.
Uther has caught up with her. Most likely furious at her for running off like that after a dangerous enemy of Camelot. And as corny as it sounds, a dangerous enemy of Gwen's heart…
Morgana was silent. It was not unusual for Morgana to be silent but still, Morgause could taste the uneasiness of her sister on her bittersweet tongue.
"What troubles you so?" Morgause draws her sword back into its sheath, vowing to clean the blood off it later. But for now. Morgana.
A brief smile in the candlelight. "Nothing troubles me. I am just deep within my mind."
Brushing a stray hair away from Morgana's troubled willow eyes, Morgause turns away. "If there is anything you need-"
"That won't be necessary Gw-" Morgana cuts herself off and the vase in front of her explodes into tiny shards, scattering all over the floor and the water itself flying high up in the air.
Morgause says nothing.
Yes. Uther can remember the day well. As if it happened yesterday. And this is the reason why Guinevere is now observing the landscape that the tall towers of Camelot provide with him by her side.
"You have my blessing Guinevere." Uther is cold still, cold and dark. Cold and metallic. Something that leaves a bitter aftertaste on Gwen's tongue.
"Blessing my lord?" Gwen is mystified. It has only been a few weeks since that day she had encountered Morgana. A few weeks since Uther had carried her back to Camelot by foot. A few weeks that made her heart yearn as if it had been a few years instead.
"She did not attack you. Why?" Uther asks Morgana's old maid-servant untrustingly, his hues are slits that swim with distrust and unfriendliness.
With a cough, Gwen says nothing.