A/N: Heey guys! Since I received so many lovely reviews I decided I would speed up the process of updating, as promised =) I would like to thank you all for reviewing and following this story! One of you suggested I should have named Lancelot "Du Lac" instead of "Reed", which I consider to be a genius idea. So kudos to you, my dear! Too bad I already named him Reed, haha. Maybe next time, huh? =) Anyway, chapter two is a little introduction to how the Games came to be and also it's about the tributes. We'll get to see who else, aside from Morgana and Lancelot, are going to compete in the arena. I hope you like it! Oh and you do wanna read the A/N at the end of the chapter, just sayin' *wink*
Enjoy!
Chapter Two: Uprising
I've lost track of the time I've spent looking outside the window, trying to carve into my mind all those little things that make Cornwall home.
After the reaping, I was separated from the other tribute and brought into this cold and empty room. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here. No one has come in or out and no one has certainly found the time to explain anything to me. It's not like I care, though. All that I care about is right outside this window.
I bring a hand to rest on the glass and press my forehead against it. I wish this was just a dream.
Suddenly, the door bursts open, startling me. I barely have time to see who's come in when my body is crashed into a fierce embrace.
I don't need to gaze down to know who it is I'm being hugged by.
"Hey there" I whisper, trying to hide the fragility in my voice "I wasn't expecting to see you" I say, caressing the back of Morgause's head "Neither of you" Vivienne is here too, though she's still standing underneath the threshold.
I'm looking at my mother's blue eyes, waiting for her to say something in return. She doesn't.
It's my little sister who breaks the tense silence that has quickly built into the room "You have to win" She tells me, tears rolling down her cheeks.
I brush each and every tear in her pale cheeks away with my fingers. My heart is being torn apart at the thought of leaving her, but my mind won't dare thinking the worse… that this might be indeed the last time I'll ever hold my sister again.
"Please, 'Gana…" She pleads in a tiny voice and it's taking all my will force not to crumple to the floor and cry my heart out right there "…for me"
I look at her puffy green eyes and I know, right there, that there's nothing in the world I wouldn't do for her. So, if I can't win the Games the least I can do is just try. For her.
"For you" I tell her and pull her tightly against me just as two knights burst into the room.
One of them grabs Vivienne by the arm and pulls her roughly out of the room.
"I love you, mother!" I manage to scream in between sobs as they take her away.
The other knight aims for my baby sister. He tries to separate us but neither of us lets go, so he grabs Morgause by the waist and sweeps her into his arms. The knight pushes backwards with all his might, breaking my little sister out of my embrace.
"NO!"
She screams and kicks savagely. Her arms stretch toward me, trying to get a hold of me again. I manage to grace her tiny hand before she's roughly shoved outside the room.
"GANA!"
And the door is shut tight, separating the two people I love most in the world from me, forever.
I
The next time the door opens I'm sitting by the window's sill. Though, I'm not even looking outside anymore. I'm merely there, thinking.
I'm halfway expecting the knights to come in and take me. After all, it must be time to depart already.
So, when Merlin emerges into the room my heart skips a beat. I run to where he's standing and I jump into his waiting arms. He hugs me so tightly that I can hardly breathe, but I don't care. I'm just so incredibly relieved that he's here, that I get to be with him for just one last time.
Merlin breaks the contact with me and searches my face with worry.
"Morgana" he says.
Damn you, Merlin. I know what he's doing. He's trying to understand why I did it, why I volunteered.
"Please, Merlin. Don't make this harder than it already is" I say, not daring to meet his eyes "You would have done the same if it had been you" And he knows I'm right for he doesn't say anything else.
"You'll make it" He whispers after a moment "I know you will"
I shoot daggers at him for being so naïve, for having faith in me when we both know that it's impossible.
"You can hunt, Morgana" He adds, as if knowing that his statement is too poor to be considered true "That's more than what any other village girl can do. Besides, you are determinate. You can achieve anything you set out to do, if you only will it hard enough"
"There are twenty-four of us, Merlin. And only one comes out" I say, defeated.
He cups my face in his hands and forces me to meet his fierce blue eyes.
"You have magic" He says matter of factly and I smile at his vain attempt at comforting me.
We both know magic's not allowed in the arena. It's not a fair game, it never has been. The hunters always win. Why should it be any different this time?
"Morgana" He calls my name, breaking me out of my absorption "Don't you dare going down without a fight"
I gaze at the fire burning in his eyes intently. If I die at the arena without giving my best I'm sure Merlin would bring me back to life just so that he could kill me with his bare hands.
"Never" I vow, and in that precise moment the door is opened again and one of the knights indicates Merlin that is time for him to leave the room.
He nods his head to the knight, acknowledging him, and then pulls me into a fierce embrace.
"Don't let them starve, Merlin" I whisper pleadingly in his ear. I know it's foolish of me to even say it out loud. Merlin will look after my mother and sister as if they were his own family.
"You just worry about yourself" He whispers back, lifting a huge weight off my shoulders. He knows I need to hear that my family will be safe whilst I'm absent, and I silently thank him for that.
The knight makes an impatient sound from the door, forcing us to break the contact.
I mouth a "goodbye" before he turns around and leaves the room.
When the door is closed I let myself fall into a heap on the floor.
II
Watching Cornwall slowly turn into a thin line in the horizon was hard, almost the hardest thing I had to watch after my father's death. That year had been the toughest of my life, but I was sure nothing could compare to what I was about to face.
I was twelve years old when my father, Gorlois, decided it was about time to show the Six Kingdoms that they didn't own us. He gathered the men from every village from Cornwall to Mercia and formed an army of sorceresses so big that the elders spoke of it as the greatest army in history since the uprising.
Gorlois and his men marched to Camelot where war began. The fight for supremacy lasted five months but, in the end, the second uprising resulted in the same fate as the first one: Camelot won and the five kingdoms that fought alongside Uther, pledged their alliegence to Camelot, forming the Six Kingdoms.
Four years passed from that and now I know the cruel reality… that the second uprising only served to fuel Uther's hatred to magic and become even more obsessed with the Magic Games. Now, he's even made sure that the tributes can't use magic in the arena, so that the hunters can have an even more pronounced advantage over the magicians.
Sometimes, I wonder what things would be like if my father had just let Uther keep on having his way with us. Maybe, I would at least have a chance at winning this thing.
"Missing home already?" The other tribute's voice breaks the silence that was engulfing me.
He must have entered the room while I was deep in thought because I never heard him coming in, not even getting close to me.
"Yes" I reply, somewhat a little annoyed by his presence.
The boy simply smiles at me and takes a sit next to the fireplace. For some reason I just want to send him on his way, but I keep silent.
"You're Morgana" He states. Apparently, he knows me and that sparks some curiosity in me "I've watched you…" He trails off as if suddenly regretting having spoken at all, but it's a little too late to backtrack now and he seems to know it "…you and your friend, Merlin, trade game with my mother. She gives you bread and cheese instead"
Yes. I know who he is now. His mother is an old lady that lives by a lake. She never leaves her home. At least I've never seen her but it is said that she spends all day long baking and making cheese. That's why Merlin and I came to trade game with her.
"You're the lady of the lake's boy" I say, catching him off guard.
He blushes and extends his hand to me "I'm Lancelot"
I stare at his outstretched hand for a long moment. He keeps on waiting for me to take it but I don't move.
After a while, he lets his hand drop to his side and a frown finds its way to his temple.
"If we're representing Cornwall at the Games, we might as well be friends. I bet we could use a little help from each other"
He's trying his best to be friendly, polite even. I can see that and I understand it, but I don't share it. He seems to be quite the innocent boy. I can tell he still has hopes of making it back home to his mother.
I can't accept his friendship. Not when we'll both have to kill each other at some point in the arena. Maybe it won't be me who'll have to do it; maybe it won't be him either. But some tribute will. We'll both die at the arena, so what's the point? We'd be just making it even harder than it already is.
"I'm sorry" I say and slowly walk out of the compartment.
III
I'm in a forest. There are trees surrounding me, they are closing in on me. I run as fast as I can but it's not fast enough, for soon the trees turn into grassy walls, and those walls grow mountain high. Something hurts in my shoulder. I can't see what it is but when I retrieve my hand I can see it's drenched in my own blood. Suddenly, I see a blur of golden mane. I hear laughter echoing and I begin to suffocate. I take my hand to my chest as I gasp for air but it's already too late… I fall to the floor, helpless, and the cannon goes off.
I wake up with a scream. I notice that my voice is hoarse. I must have been screaming for a long while during my sleep.
I take a look around me. I'm in one of the compartments of the train, sitting in my provisionary bed.
The sun is about to rise, though it's still dark inside the room. For a moment, I'm tempted to gaze below my bed because I know that back home Morgause would be sleeping underneath me. But I stop myself before I can give in to the feeling, it would be absurd. Morgause is not here, no one's here.
If they heard me cry out, they obviously chose to ignore it. Maybe they're used to tributes being scared to death so they don't bother in checking in on them anymore. Maybe they know I won't last a second so they don't find a point in making sure I'm alright.
Loneliness has never been an issue for me before, but being away from the people I love has certainly taken its toll on me. In this short while that I've been separated from them I've changed. I know I'm acting purely on instinct, based in the knowledge that I rely solely on myself for my survival, but it still surprises me. I wonder how much the Games are going to shape me.
A shiver runs down my spine.
IV
I'm awakened again by an incessant knocking on my door. Three hours must have passed since I first woke up, maybe even less, and I feel like I haven't rested at all.
"I'm coming!" I jump to my feet and run to the door, where the knocking persists. I open the door partially. An old man with white hair is at the other side and he looks irritated "I heard you the first time"
He locks eyes with me, as if trying to size me up. Then, he forces a smile to his lips. He seems somewhat pleased by what he sees "Get dressed. We're here" the old man shuts the door on my face and leaves me paralyzed on the other side.
Get dressed. We're here.
We're here. We're in Camelot.
It takes me about ten minutes to get ready and give one last glance at the room. There's no turning back now. I run through the hallways, passing door after door, until I reach the exit. I can see that the old man that came to fetch me is standing there, at Lancelot's right. The woman from the reaping is there too.
When I reach them, Lancelot smiles timidly at me and the old man turns to look at me.
"We were waiting for you. Punctuality is a trait I see you have not been gifted with" I'm about to retort something that might hurt his ego when he pushes the exit door open and a searing white light forces me to cover my eyes "Alright, everybody. It's show time"
Before I have time to register anything, I'm pushed to the other side, where a massive crowd is applauding and cheering excitedly. Lancelot comes to stand beside me, neither of us daring to take a step. The crowd seems so thrilled that it's almost scaring.
We have never seen such a large crowd before. Cornwall is a small village and we're used to seeing the same people over and over again on a daily basis. So, standing before this foreign people is odd and disconcerting.
The old man with the white hair gesticulates frantically with his hands. He wants us to walk through the pathway that the crowd has left open for us.
Lancelot takes my hand in his and gently squeezes it. That little encouragement is all I need to give the first step forward, and then the second, until I notice that my feet are moving almost on their own accord and that I'm even flashing smiles to the people, which only seems to excite them all the more.
We're told to wait in front of a big wooden door. At this point I've given up in trying to find out what's going to happen next. None of these people ever seem to stop to explain anything, but it's not like it matters much either. I'm about to find out anyway.
"Ok, when the next horn sounds you two enter" The old man says and, suddenly, I don't feel too ready at all.
I'm shaking from head to toes and I can feel my heart beating frantically in my chest.
The horn sounds.
Oh god.
The wooden door is opened and Lancelot and I walk into a sand field. I can't help but marvel at the sight. Even Lancelot gasps in surprise next to me.
The sand field we're walking on turns out to be part of a scenario of circular shape. There are terraces surrounding it and there's not a single available spot left. It seems that the whole of Camelot's population is right here on the stands, cheering and screaming. Their sounds of joy muffle everything else and it amplifies the feeling of caging.
I look at the centre of the field. All the twenty-two other tributes are already here, standing in a horizontal line across the field.
Lancelot and I walk to the ending of the line and we stand alongside the rest of the tributes. It doesn't pass me by unnoticed that they are all slightly divided in twos, leaving an empty space in between.
When we stop, the crowd goes silent and all the attention is drawn to the centre of the stands where a young man is standing alone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present Uther Pendragon, High King of the Six Kingdoms and Head of the Magic Games!"
The crowd burst into cries of joy and excitement. The young man leaves way to Uther himself, who stands on a balcony, right in the middle of the stands. He's facing us upfront but he's also addressing the audience.
"Kings and Queens of the Six Kingdoms, Round Table of the Magic Games, Knights of the Holy Guard, Citizens of Camelot and tributes. Welcome to the fifty-second annual Magic Games!" The crowd springs to their feet and cheers frantically "Before we announce the tributes I'd like to remind us all why we're standing here today. Let us be reminded of the reason why each year Camelot is host of the Magic Games" Uther pauses for a second to gaze upon the crowd in the stands "there was a time when magic and non magic wielders lived together in peace. That was when my father, who was King before me, ruled upon these lands. However, magicians thought to be better than us. They began to show off their abilities, ridicule us even! Coexistence became harsh. Magicians thought themselves superior to us just because they could light up a fire with a snap of their fingers. They thought they could deprive us of our religion!" The crowd booed at that "They thought they could take our women and kidnap our children! But they thought wrong!" The crowd was going wild in the stands "The people, common people, non-magic wielders, united themselves. They formed an army of nearly thirty thousand villagers and knights and revolted against the oppressors" The people in the stands jumps up in joy. Some throw their glasses full with wine into the air. Others pull on their shirts until the fabric gives away "And so the first uprising began. War lasted almost a year, but we showed those abominations that when united there's no magic that can break us down. After the uprising, The Magic Games were born as a form to remind the magicians that they are no better than those who cannot wield magic. Even more so, in the arena they always end up discovering that when they are deprived of their magic, and things are even for both sides, they are nothing at all!" The crowd in the stands goes wild one last time and then Uther silences them with a shake of his hand "And now, let me introduce you to the tributes!"
The young man that had introduced Uther before takes a step forward, next to his King and, to my own dismay, performs magic right in front of everybody. Apparently, everyone was expecting him to because no one else aside from Lancelot and I gasped in surprise.
The young sorcerer makes a gigantic screen appear in the middle of the air. In that screen the tributes faces are projected so that the crowd can see who they are individually.
"From the Kingdom of Lot… Leon and Arabella!" The crowd jumps to their feet, applauding and cheering excitedly "From the beautiful lands of Penthos, Gwaine and Sophia! From Acestir, Percival and Elena! From the labyrinthine lands of Gedref, Anhora and Isolde! From the house of Tregor, the heir to the throne Catrina and his partner Bayard!" Uther makes a pause to allow the crowd to settle a little. Then he continues with much more enthusiasm than before "And Representing Camelot… Guinevere and my son, Arthur, the greatest pride of the Realm and defender of the Title!" The people in the stands explode in cheers and screams but my eyes lock in the image on the screen, ignoring everything going on around me completely.
A young boy with sea blue eyes and golden hair flashes a smile to his people. I bring a hand to my chest, where my heart has started beating frantically. I feel a strange sensation gnawing on my insides and, for a moment, I fear I might pass out.
"Are you alright?" Lancelot whispers next to me "You're as pale as a ghost"
I force myself to tear my eyes away from Uther's son and look at Lancelot "Yes, I'm fine. Don't worry" But even though Lancelot nods his head accepting my words I'm sure he doesn't buy them, because I don't even buy them myself.
"…and Freya! " Uther continues listing the tributes and I'm positive I missed a name. I shake my head to clear my thoughts "From the northern village of Mercia… Valiant and Vivian! From Ealdor William and Daria! From the Island of the Blessed Tauren and Nimueh! From the Tombs of Ashkanar Julius and Helen! And finally, from Cornwall, Lancelot and Morgana!" The crowd cheers some more and then they're silenced by Uther again "Here are the twenty-four tributes that will fight in the arena this year. I wish you all good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!"After that, Uther turns around and leaves the balcony.
The welcoming ceremony is officially over.
I follow the other tributes outside the premises in silence. I can't stop thinking about Uther's son, Arthur. Why did my heart start beating like that when I saw him? I can't help the feeling that raises within me… a warning, that I've seen this boy somewhere before.
I can feel my heart fluttering against my chest again and this time I know for sure that it's only a matter of time before we meet again.
A/N: So, we reached the end of this chapter but fear not! Chapter three will be up soon if you lovely people press that tiny blue button and give me some nice reviews! =) Seriously, they make me very happy =)
About this chapter, I hope you could all kind of see why the Games exist and why they are the way they are. If not, well… I could always explain further in the comments or something haha. But the main concept is actually very easy. Here, the explanation is told by Uther's perspective. So you should all bear in mind that the events are actually shaped according to what he* experienced but that doesn't really mean it actually happened exactly how he said it did. The magicians have a different version of the events, of course. So we still have to learn their side of the story but it's really your choice how you want to see it. It depends on which side you want to stand on. You could side with Morgana and the magicians or you could side with Arthur and the non-magic wielders. It's very subjective =) Also, Morgana missed a name when Uther was listing the tributes and, believe me when I say, that name is gonna break havoc hahah. Keep a heads up for that! Lastly, what do you think happened when Morgana saw Arthur from the first time in that screen? It's also another crucial part of the story. Does anyone dare to guess? *wink* Ok, Author rant over! See you guys next time =)