Destiny
1. Words From a Witch
By WrittinInStone
The evening was dark, the air, cool, biting them through their thin cloaks. Despite that, it was a beautiful night to the five women standing in the cold, because after months of searching, they had finally found her.
The sisters stood warily in front of the door of the rundown shack, marveling at the turn of fate that would bring one such as her to a place such as this. But fate had not proven kind to any of them, indeed, to any magic user, so, why should she be different?
They all started at the eerie hoot of an owl, instinctively moving closer to one another for safety. It was a dangerous area to be in, made even more so by the lateness of the hour, yet those things were trivial in the face of what they were about to do.
To approach anyone with magic as strong as this woman's was asking for trouble, but they had come this far; they couldn't stop now. They had called in many favors to find the witch and much of their plan depended on what she could tell them.
Taking a deep breath, Willow turned to her sisters. She paused and took a moment to study each of their beloved faces.
First there was Aspen, the second oldest. Short with dark skin, Aspen was the fiercest of the group, the most intelligent and the most bitter. She had pushed for this, had convinced Willow to take the final steps, indeed had come up with the 'how' of their little plan. But now that they had actually followed through with it, Willow did not know whether to thank her or castigate her.
Next was Catalpa, tall and sturdy with blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She was the most gentle member of their family, the one who had protested this the most. Yet in the end, she had chosen her sisters over her heart, just as Willow had known she would. Yet, as the eldest studied her, she could not help but wonder if that would always be so, or if Catalpa would one day find the courage to follow her heart and leave them all behind.
Gingko came next. She was beautiful with her long dark hair and eyes. Of all of them, she had lost the most to the Pendragons and was more than willing to follow this plan, although doing so would probably take at least one of their lives. Willow knew that Gingko would not be adverse to that life being hers.
Then there was the youngest: Ash. If Aspen was the brain of the family, then Ash was its heart. The youngest at a mere thirteen years, Ash was kind with a heart like spun gold. She would have made an excellent High Priestess, blessing and enriching every life she came into contact with. But if the Pendragons had their way, Ash and those like her would not live to see their next birthdays. That fact had solidified it for Willow, for even more than getting revenge on the Pendragons or securing their own futures, they did this for Ash; so that she could live without fear.
That was why they would face the witch, why they would take this risk no matter the cost to themselves.
It was then that Willow turned to her sisters. "When we enter here, Aspen and I shall speak only. Catalpa, Gingko, Ash; you must remain silent." It was a testament to the seriousness of the situation that the younger sisters did not protest. One followed orders in situations such as these.
Nodding to them, Willow turned to the door of the shack, pulling her dark cloak over her head, cognizant of her sisters mirroring the action.
Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open, refusing to wince at the echoing creak it made.
She immediately straightened as her bright green eyes fell on the dark, still form in front of them. The witch did not move at their entrance, merely continued to stare at the flames that roared in the blackened fireplace in front of her, her back to them.
"We come seeking help," Willow spoke into the dense silence as they all bowed to the witch, their eyes never leaving her still form. "We wish to kill Arthur Pendragon."
Willow's words twisted into the air like a live snake, resting heavily on everyone's ears. For a long moment, there was nothing but silence. Finally, the witch spoke, bitterness in her voice, "And why should you seek counsel from me? I have tried to do so and have failed at every attempt."
"That is why we wish for your help," Aspen countered softly, rising and stepping forward. "You have failed where you should have succeeded. Tell us why."
Gingko glared at Aspen for her demanding tone, but Aspen merely returned it, unintimidated.
Willow gave her sisters a warning look, brushing her red hair out of her face "Please, milady. Help us. We seek to end the rule of Arthur Pendragon for he has proven himself his father's son."
"And what shall I get in return for helping you?" Morgana Pendragon asked after a long silence, finally turning to face them.
Willow blinked at she gazed upon Morgana's form for the first time. Truly the High Priestess of the Triple Goddess cut an impressive figure. Even with her ragged clothes and the dark circles under her eyes, no one with magic could mistake that the woman in front of them was dangerous, ruthless and not to be trifled with. A being of such power would only respect a group of equal strength, if not in magic then in fortitude. Willow meant to show Morgana such.
"You shall have what you always wanted," Aspen replied, staring at the female Pendragon with dark, burning eyes. "A land where magic can flourish once more."
Morgana shook her head, an unkind smile gracing her bloodless lips. "That is not all I want."
"But that is all we can give," Aspen replied, meeting the witch's eyes unflinchingly and not for the first time, Willow thanked the Old Religion for Aspen's fearless. Her mettle had seen the sisters through many trials and it looked as though it would see them through this one as well.
Morgana fell silent as locked eyes with Aspen before moving her gaze to survey the rest of the sisters. When her gaze landed on Catalpa, she stopped. Morgana stilled nearly imperceptibly as she studied the lithe figure. The blonde reminded her so much of Morgause …
Arthur and the others had never really understood her sister, had not realized that it had been Uther and his crimes that had made Morgause the woman that she was. These women sought to kill her treacherous brother, to restore magic back to the land. Would she allow her wants to go before those of her people, before the wishes of her beloved, departed sister? It was a hard choice. Her sister, though much beloved, was now gone. Morgana was alone … But perhaps, these sisters were a gift sent by the Triple Goddess, perhaps …
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
"Kill the manservant," the witch, Morgana, spoke abruptly, a slight frown on her face as she once again turned away from them.
The sisters paused at the words.
"What?" Willow responded with a frown, peering intensely at Morgana's face.
"If you want to kill Arthur Pendragon, you must first kill his manservant. If you do not, you will fail."
The witch fell silent and it was obvious that she had said all that she would.
"Thank you, milady," Willow said carefully.
With a small bow, they swept out of the shack, all of them breathing a collective sigh of relief when they were well away from the place.
"We have the information we need," Willow said after a moment. "Tomorrow, we ride for Camelot."
Her sisters nodded, each of their minds filled with thoughts of what the future would bring.
In the darkness of her shack, Morgana considered her visitors. This will prove most interesting, she thought, moving to a round bowl sitting on a small table in the far corner, and perhaps fortuitous. With a practiced motion, she picked up the pitcher sitting nearby and poured water into the bowl. Quietly, she murmured, "Geondlihte gesweorc min."
Releasing a soft breath as she felt power rush out of her, Morgana gazed into the water of the scrying bowl as it shimmered silver before showing her the sisters walking cautiously through the woods away from her shack.
The words to kill Merlin had seemed to come from her soul and was a revelation that she had only just received. It made her wonder: How big a factor had Merlin really been in her defeat? The more that she thought about it, the more she realized that the one constant in her defeats were the king's manservant. He always poked his nose in the business of his betters, in things that were none of his affair.
Even more preoccupying: If she had killed Merlin before, might she be queen of Camelot even now? It was a thought to ponder, a thought that made the ever present fury at the manservant flare.
She had given them good advice, advice that might just help their plan succeed. And even should they fail to kill Arthur, Morgana thought as she watched the sisters, if they could just kill Merlin, none of this would be in vain. I would have another chance to reclaim Camelot.
Morgana blinked at the unexpected pang she felt as the thought of Merlin's death before ruthlessly pushing it away. Merlin had made his choice when he poisoned her, when he had killed her sister; there could be no reconciliation between them, no friendship.
No Merlin was her enemy and the reign of Arthur Pendragon had to end. If that meant the sisters killed of Merlin of Ealdor, then that would be one less thing that she herself had to do.
And Morgana continued to watch the progress of the sisters until the light from the fireplace burned out.
End of Chapter 1: Please review.
Chapter 2: Murmurs of Discontent: Growth is change.
A/N: So, I've had the first few chapters of this story on my computer forever and I'm finally posting it. If you like, please let me know. This is the first part in a two part series.