A wooden log sits upon a bed of golden flames. It rustles in agony, slowly being consumed into nothingness by the growing heat. The scarce light of a rainy autumn day filters through pale stained glass. Outside, daily showers pound down on the castle. This relentless sound is the only thing that can be heard throughout the throne room. This room engulfed in darkness is the centre of a citadel, the heart of a kingdom. This is the Tintagel Castle.
In front of the burning fireplace stands a woman. She's tall and slender, with mist in her skin and midnight in her hair, carefully braided by the skilful hands of one of her maidens. Her black eyes are void of all light, as if they fed on the golden flames rustling before her. Although she has the mannerisms and build of the finest royalty, a stranger might've seen in the woman no more than a vile witch. This is Morgana Le Fey - no, this is Morgana Pendragon. Heir of Uther Pendragon and ruler of Britain.

She smiles at the fire.
Yes, the rightful ruler of Britain.

"Your majesty," a voice calls from the doorway. "Did you request my presence?"
The queen's smile contorts into a wicked grin.
"Ah, Sir Arthur, yes, come in, come closer."

She turns around, giving her back to the fire. Before her stands a knight wearing a worn silver armour. His boots are brown from the dry mud upon them. Strands of pale golden locks litter disorderly from their tie. He looks at the queen with piercing emerald eyes.
She despises those eyes. She loathes them.

"I apologize your majesty, but is there any reason to interrupt the training of young squires?"
He is surprisingly shorter than the queen, but stands with as much pride as the woman - if not with more.
Morgana scorns at his defiance, glaring at him with hatred.
"Is there a reason for me not to request the presence of my best knight?" She says, pauses, then lets off a tiny laughter, "'Knight' such a fancy word for someone of your condition."
Arthur frowns, "Is there a reason to doubt my knighthood, your majesty? If there is, I would like to know, then I will be able to prove so otherwise"
With a graceful movement, she moves from the side of the large room, toward her throne. She caresses the arms of the seat with care, longing. Without looking at Arthur, she speaks once more.

"It is simple, a matter of names, really."
"Oh?"
"Yes, it's funny how just a couple letters can make such a difference." She turns to her knight, "Isn't it, Arturia Pendragon?"
The name seems to cause immense fear upon the knight. His eyes widen, looking at the queen of darkness with terror.
"Aren't you going to follow through with your defiance?" She grins once more, pleased, "Won't you pull your pants down and prove otherwise?"
The knight remains silent, averting his -no, her gaze from her.
Morgana's laugh grows, echoing through the throne room once more.

"You're not only a woman. But a traitor. A bastard hiding under a manly facade. Merely a pawn of a delirious wizard for him to claim the throne. Pitiful, really."
"That's not-"
Arturia's voice gets lost in the greatness of the room.

Morgana sits down. She rests her chin upon her hand, eyeing the cross dressing girl before her, her eyes full of amusement.

"A pitiful bastard girl would try to steal the throne from me, by dressing up as a man no less!" she pauses, "however, you are impressive. To have risen like you have among the knights of Britannia, to have excelled in so many battles. Perhaps there might be some hope for you."

The queen's expression softens.

"Killing you would certainly bring trouble, as many members of this court love you as much as they fear me. Killing off the subject of their admiration would only evoke hatred towards me. They might revolt even. No, that's no good. This is why I'll have you prove your worth to me, Arturia."

The knight raises her head once more, although rage fuels her thoughts, she cannot help but be curious.

"Beyond our seas far from our coasts and woods lie many other kingdoms." she begins, "There is a certain one which has caught my attention. I trust you are familiar with Uruk?"

Arturia nods, "A kingdom in the desert. The Fertile Crescent. Strong, fruitful, wealthy."
"A strong king. Great military power."
"Do you wish to ally Britannia with Uruk?"
"Heavens no, no. I mean to destroy that kingdom."

The knight kinks an eyebrow and looks at the eyes of the queen.
"If you wish, I shall engage in battle with the other knights. It might be hard, but if we gather enough information on them we-"

"No." Morgana cuts her off, shaking her head, "I am not interested in openly declaring war to Uruk. That'd be a terrible decision."
"Then what do you mean to do."
"I want you to go to Uruk's court and murder the king, Gilgamesh. He has weakened after the death of his most trusted advisor, it is a good time to strike against him."
"They would recognize me as a British knight and probably declare war if that were to happen-"
"Here's the thing. You aren't to go to Uruk as Arthur, no, you will enter Uruk as Arturia, a maiden given as a gift from Britannia to Gilgamesh's harem."

Rage rose in the knight once more. Her face reddened with anger, contorting into the foulest scowl.

"I am not a maiden, a lady, nor an assassin. Such an action would be an insult against chivalry. I cannot do this job. I will not do this job!"

The words came out louder than she had planned to. Her voice resounded through the room, clearly shocking and displeasing the queen. The dark woman stood up slowly, not breaking eye contact with the girl.

"Oh, but Arturia, you have no choice."
"If I am to endure a death sentence then so be it, I will not betray my ideals. They are far more important than my life."
"See, it is not your life that comes into play here."
"What?"
"If you refuse this kind offer of mine, I will not order your execution. Instead, I will take the life of all those knights and squires under your command. I will make sure they are tortured, broken. I will make sure they experience the darkest of magic if necessary. They will be destroyed. Cursing your existence in their last moments. I will make sure they know their suffering is yours to take the blame. Their spirits will haunt you as their souls burn in hell. As for you, I will have you defiled by every man in the court. In the kingdom, if necessary. I won't stop there, oh no. Have you ever wondered how it would be like to bear a pig's or a horse's child? Oh, I've definitely wanted to know how that child would look like. Probably much like you do either way. I will destroy your loved ones, starting with that wizard of yours. I will erase any sense of honour in your name. They will despise you."

Morgana spoke with venom in her words and fire in her eyes. If a fiend was to stand next to her, a human being wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. She smiled maniacally, her teeth much like a snake's. In Arturia's eyes, this queen of darkness was possessed.

But even the greatest knight was afraid.

The queen sat down and smiled a kind smile once more.

"So, when shall you depart?"