The Girl That The Kingdom Forgot

Summary : Every thing is perfectly fine in the Camelot citadel until something startling occurs. Morgana Le Faye disappears, leaving a blonde woman in her place. Arthur and Merlin are set in a race against time to save the girl that the world forgot. But will they switch mother and daughter back in time? Set sometime in after the ninth episode of series one.

Disclaimer : Everything belongs to the BBC/Arthurian legend. Story belongs to me.

Chapter One-Prologue

Eleven years earlier

Arthur and Uther were riding at lightning speed towards Willowdale village, which was on the furthest outskirts of the kingdom and was the first place that Cenred would go to during his threatened attacks, as it was right on the borderline between Camelot and Escitir. It was also the place where Arthur's maternal aunt and uncle lived, along with their young daughter, Morgana.

As they approached it, they noticed that they air had turned warm, yet it still had a cold feel about it. They saw a large group of people running screaming from the village, carrying their children and as many possessions as they could carry. Uther managed to stop one lone man as he was running.

"Excuse me, what has happened? Why is everyone running away?"

"There's a fire. Cenred's sent his troops to burn down the village. They got the Manor House and it spread through the village. Everyone's tryin' to get out before they get trapped, sire."

"Was anyone at the Manor House when it burnt down?"

"Lady Vivienne gave all the servants the day off. Sir Gorlois went out earlier and we haven't seen him come back, sire."

"Did Lady Vivienne leave the house herself?"

"I don't think so. But Lady Morgana went out a little earlier, to go riding. I don't know if she came back or not. Sorry, I can't be of more help, sire."

"Thank you very much." replied Uther hurriedly, before riding off in the direction of the burning village, Arthur hot on his heels. As they rode, the slight orange glow became vivid and bright and the warm air became scorching hot, the intensity of the surroundings increasing their worry.

At last, the trees parted, relieving the royals. But the relief was shortlived as they saw the village itself. The cottages had been scorched until they were black. But the real shock was the Manor House, which was still ablaze. They recognised three of the people outside of it as Gorlois, Vivienne and Vivienne's elder brother, Sir Agravaine. Agravaine was holding Vivienne back to his chest, muffling her cries, while Gorlois had his arm around her shoulder.

"Gorlois, what's happened?"

"Cenred. He reached Willowdale first and targeted the Manor House. There was nothing we could do."

"Where's Morgana?" asked Arthur worriedly.

"She's gone riding, Arthur. She'll be back soon." replied Agravaine, giving his nephew a reassuring smile."Though I have to admit that she is a little late back. She should have returned by dusk." chipped in Gorlois worriedly, the lot of them beginning to hurry from the burning house. As they reached the trees, Vivienne suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Vivienne? Vivienne, darling, what is it?"

"SHE'S IN THE HOUSE! GORLOIS, SHE'S STILL IN THE HOUSE!"

"Who is, Vivienne? Who?"

"Morgana!"

They all turned to the house in terror to see a small girl desperately trying to break the glass doors leading to the balcony. Her screams were muffled, but they were so loud that they could hear them anyway.

"Help me! Please help me, please! Mummy, Daddy, help! Arthur, help-"

Her cries were cut off as the smoke closed in on her and she began to slide down the window, the effort to stay upright beyond her. Without warning, Vivienne wrenched herself from her elder brother's arms and bolted for the house.

"VIVIENNE!" screamed Gorlois, making to run, but being held back by both his own and his wife's brother-in-law.

"Gorlois, you cannot go into that house, it could collapse at any moment!"

"Uther, that is my wife and daughter, they are all I have, I will not let them die!"

"You go into that house, you will die!" countered Uther, refusing to loosen his grip on the man's arms.

Vivienne was hurtling her way through the half collapsed house, dodging out of the way of burning debris and screaming for her daughter.

She burst through the door of the small balcony hall and awkwardly whisked Morgana out of the way of the flames. She took her daughter's hand and began to run, taking care where to step because the house's supports were all but gone. They reached a small gap in the collapsed beams and it suddenly struck Vivienne. Only one of them could possibly get out of that house alive, and it didn't even take the woman a second to decide which of them it would be.

"Morgana, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I am going to lift up that beam and you have to climb through the hole, jump down through the floor and run to the door and away from the house as fast as you can, do you understand?"

"Yes, Mummy." replied the unnaturally timid young girl.

"Good girl. I love you, Morgana." cried Vivienne, pulling her daughter close.

"Now. Run." yelled Vivienne as she lifted the beam. Morgana took one last look at her mother, then climbed through the gap and jumped into the darkness. Vivienne dropped the beam and the house tumbled to the ground.

As the beams collapsed, Gorlois screamed in anguish and Arthur buried his head in his uncle's side. They all turned away in despair from the collapsed house, the wreckage that marked the death of Vivienne Le Faye and her five-year-old daughter. Just as they walked away, they heard a yell come from behind them. They all turned and there wasn't one person who was not ecstatic with what they saw.

The girl wasn't close enough for her face to be seen, but her singed raven locks made her instantly recognisable.

"MORGANA!" screamed Gorlois, running towards the girl and sweeping her into his arms, holding her slight body close against his chest, his tears wetting her charred raven hair. The others all gathered around the pair, relieved smiles lighting up their faces, as well as a touch of disbelief. They all took a moment to wonder whether another person would come hurtling from the house, but after it's collapse, that was utterly impossible. They had Morgana, their hope for the future, but at a terrible loss.

Vivienne Annetta Le Faye was dead.