Morgana looked around at her strange surroundings. There seemed to be a massive lake with sand at its shore. But the lake seemed endless, like it would continue forever. She wondered if it might be an ocean. She had never seen one before. The water was crystal blue and rippled back and forth. Morgana went to the edge of the water, pulling up her skirts and removing her shoes. She let the cool water flow back and forth over her feet, enjoying the freedom she had to do so.
"Hello, there!"said a voice like a bubbling stream. Morgana looked around but saw no one. "Down here!"
She looked again. "I see no one."
The water swirled around rapidly and formed the shape of a human girl, about the same age as Morgana herself. "You must be from out of the country if you couldn't see that there's several Naiads in this water. Several mermaids too, but not in this part. Are you traveling to Cair Paravel?"
"What's that?" Morgana asked, dumbfounded that water was talking to her.
"That's where the High King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy live," the Naiad said.
"Are they… are they water too?" Morgana asked hesitantly. She was also rather confused by having four kings and queen. Two couples shared power?
The Naiad giggled, sending out bubbles and said, "Don't be silly! They're Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve, of course. No others could make proper kings and queens of Narnia."
Morgana was very confused by the statement. At least she knew the name of the country she was in now. "But.. what sort of creatures are they? Not their parents' names."
"Sons of Adams and Daughters of Eve," the Naiad insisted. "You know, humans."
Morgana was still confused by the whole Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve thing, but the idea of finding humans was reassuring. She was a bit put off by the idea of talking with more water. Or another talking lion. She still wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't still dreaming.
"So, how do I get there?" she asked.
"Just keep walking along the beach that way until you see a majestic castle," the Naiad said.
"Thank you," Morgana said. She began walking slowly. Thankfully, it was a nice day out. It was warm, but there was an ocean breeze making her walk quite pleasant. She noticed trees nearby that seemed almost… alive. She shook her head, reminding herself that it must be just the wind. Thinking anything else was ridiculous.
She saw a castle in the distance ahead. Even at this great distance, it was a sight to behold. She hurried her pace, hoping there may be food there. She had been growing quite hungry. Suddenly, a hunting party came out of the forest and surrounded her.
"You are a human, are you not?" the woman at the head of party while dismounting from her horse.
"How unusual," the man who had been riding beside her said, while dismounting from his own horse. The members of their party who had been on horses dismounted as well, following their two leaders. At first Morgana thought some were resisting, before she realized that some of them were half horse, half human. In fact, the only full humans were the two leaders. Morgana looked around at all the other creatures and began feeling rather faint. Some were creatures she recognized, but not quite as she recognized them. That rat was about the same size as a small dog.
"Do you think she might be deaf?" the woman suddenly asked, sounding worried.
"I – I'm not deaf," she finally managed to say.
"Refer to the Queen as her majesty," one of the strange half-goat half-human creatures said. Morgana gasped, afraid they were going to hurt her.
"Now, now. It's quite alright. I'm sure she only made an innocent mistake," the queen said with a gentle smile.
"Yes, your majesty," Morgana said, dropping into a curtsy.
"What is your name, human?" the man asked.
"Morgana, your majesty," she answered. This man must be the lady's husband and the king of Narnia.
"Where are you from, Lady Morgana?" the king asked. "Archenland? Galma?"
"She looks more Telmarine to me," one of the horses muttered, shocking Morgana by its ability to speak.
Neither of those were names of places that Morgana recognized. She debated claiming that she was from one of those countries, but if they should ask any question, she would know nothing. "Camelot, your majesties."
The queen looked delighted, but the king's face clouded as he signaled to his soldiers. Soon two goat-humans had her arms pinned behind her back and were tying them up.
"Peter! What's going on?" the queen exclaimed.
"We can't trust her," he said coldly, "if she's from Camelot."
"All we know of Camelot is what the bards say. Before now, we didn't even know it was a real place," the queen said, seeming distressed.
"Susan, Camelot comes from a prophecy. The bards took the happier part of the prophecy for their songs. But there is a darker part. Before the savior Emrys that the bards sing of appears, the prophecy foretells the appearance of a witch from Camelot –"
"A witch!" the queen gasped, placing a hand on the king.
"A witch with a dark fate," the king continued.
Morgana gasped, memories of her dark dream flooding back.
"Look at her reaction. This must be her," some sort of beast Morgana wasn't familiar with said.
"No, please!" she cried out.
"Should we silence her?" one of the goat-men restraining her said harshly.
"No, let her speak," the king said, waving his hand.
"Your majesty, I'm not a witch. At least, not on purpose," she began.
"What do you mean?"
"I… things have happened around me. I looked at a candle by my bed and almost killed myself by accidently making the flame blow into a huge fire and making my window burst. The Druids say it's not evil, but I… I had a dream last night. While I was still in Camelot. I often have such dreams. More like prophecies really. Although one about Arthur dying did not come true. But strangely, the girl I envisioned drowning him showed up after I dreamt it, but Arthur never even came close to drowning according to Merlin," Morgana began babbling, nervous about their reaction to what she was saying. Mostly the seemed confused by her garbled explanation.
"The dream from last night?" the queen prompted.
"Oh! That… So I saw… myself. Evil. Intent on destroying everyone I love. It was horrifying. I was a murderess, a witch, pure evil! It terrified me. I was about to kill myself when a talking lion suddenly appeared in my bedchambers," she said.
"Aslan?" the queen asked eagerly.
"I – what?"
"Never mind. Please continue," she said with a regal wave of her hand.
"Y-yes your majesty," she said. "He… he said me I could avoid my fate. That I could get to… he called it the world he created… and there I could find a new destiny for me."
"But either way, you are a witch," the king said firmly. "And a danger to yourself and others."
"Peter!" the queen scolded.
"We cannot put our own subjects lives at stake for your sake," he said firmly.
"Please! I cannot let my dream come true. I will do anything for you. Make me your slave, lock me up, whatever you want. But do not send me back. I would rather die," Morgana pleaded. "I cannot let myself become the demon I am in my dreams."
"Peter, you can't just kill her," Susan whispered.
"Relax, Su," he whispered to his sister. Out loud, he said, "Lady Morgana, if what you testify is true, then you are welcome to us. We do not judge for what you cannot control and seem to fear as much as we do. Please know that we do not condone slavery in Narnia and have no desire to imprison one who has yet to commit any crime. You are welcome to stay in Narnia under our specified conditions. You also must have a guard on you at all times. If you try to leave your guards for any amount of time, we will assume you have been up to wrongdoing. Your guards will also be responsible for your wellbeing, as you testified that your uncontrollable magic is a danger to yourself. And you are to swear loyalty to us and Narnia." When he was finished, he glanced at his sister who gave him a small nod of assent.
"Gladly, your majesty," Morgana said, relieved to no longer seem to be in danger of execution. She had no idea how they disposed of witches her, but her memories of the many horrid executions she had witnessed in Camelot haunted her. And the promise of guards protecting her from her magic was comforting. Although she hardly liked the idea of having no privacy. The king gestured to the goat-men who let her hands go, although she was still surrounded by the strange creatures.
"Morgana, from your dress and your hands, I take it you are nobility?" the queen asked curiously.
"Yes, your majesty," she answered, wondering where this was going. "I was the king's ward."
"Somewhat educated then too, no doubt?"
"Yes, your majesty," she said, still not comprehending the point of this questioning.
Susan gestured for her brother to speak to her privately. The surrounding Narnians stepped back to let them speak unheard.
"Pete, Lucy and I have been having issues connecting with and blending in with the noble and royal woman of other countries. She could be an asset. And having an educated woman around could be helpful as well."
"Very well," Peter said. "But I don't want either of you alone with an uncontrollable witch. Don't dismiss her guard when with her."
"Peter," she began complaining.
"Promise me," he said sternly.
"Fine. I promise," she said shortly. "But I choose her guard."
"But –"
"I pick her guard," Susan said, mimicking Peter's earlier stern tone.
"Fine."
Peter turned back towards Morgana. "Lady Morgana, will you agree to be an attendant of and companion to my sisters?"
"Gladly!" Morgana exclaimed, glad that she was being given a position not too far beneath her. "May I ask who the princesses are?"
She was annoyed when her question was answered by laughter. "Queens, not princesses," the queen said. "Myself, and my sister."
"Oh! I assumed you… you were married," she said, embarrassed. The king's and queen's faces turned red at the thought.
"We best return to Cair Paravel now," Peter said. "We'll all walk so the lady will not be alone in walking. Unless you are too tired to walk to the castle?"
"I'll be fine," Morgana said, determined to prove herself capable. She hated when men assumed she was weak because of her gender.
"Very well," the queen said, linking her arms with Morgana. "Off we go."
The queen engaged her in conversation while they travelled to the castle. "And I'm sure you'll enjoy the feast tomorrow. A famed bard is visiting who is sure to delight."
"I will personally ask that he retell the Emrys legends. And see if he can modify it to include the part of the prophecy about the witch," the king said with a frown. Morgana shivered slightly. They might have been kind to her, but it seemed that the king at least was highly suspicious of her.
Merlin had found one portal, but had no clue where in Narnia to find the materials he needed. But they were all in Gaius' chamber back in Camelot, so he used the portal to return home quickly. He realized it was morning, but he didn't know if it was of the same day or if more time had passed. His question was quickly answered the moment he stepped into Gaius' room.
"Merlin!" Gaius exclaimed. "Where were you all day yesterday?"
Merlin quickly filled Gaius in on the details.
"Merlin, that's not good," he said.
"But this way Morgana can be alive without compromising Arthur's safety," Merlin said.
"Merlin! Listen. Uther has vowed to kill whoever took Morgana. They're rounding up every magic user they can find and are threatening to burn them one by one until Morgana is returned," Gaius said.
"Oh."
"Oh indeed. Now you need to find Morgana to bring her back! Or find some other way of stopping Uther," Gaius said.
Merlin ran to return through the portal and find Morgana, but was stopped by Arthur.
"There you are Merlin. Have you really been in the tavern all day again?" he said disapprovingly.
"What? No! Who told you that?" he protested.
"Gaius did, so don't deny it. Merlin, go get my breakfast ready. We head out right after to hunt down more sorcerers," he instructed.
"I – I can't," Merlin blurted out.
"Oh? And why not?"
"I have… I have… a bad stomachache?" he said tentatively.
"A hangover no doubt. Merlin, go get my breakfast ready," Arthur said exasperatedly.
Merlin started walking to get to the portal.
"Um, Merlin? The kitchen's that way," Arthur said, making a big deal out of showing him the direction before giving him a shove.
