Chapter Two – A Different Type of Tournament
(Part 1)
It was a few weeks after Morgana had saved Arthur from the griffin and she was dining with Uther and Arthur. She had not yet forgiven him for not having thanked her for saving his life, but above all for taking the credit for what she had done without thinking twice! Yes, she was going to get revenge; and a plan was starting to form in her mind.
"Gwen," called Morgana, back in her chambers.
"Yes, my lady," replied Gwen, dumping her basket on the floor.
"I know exactly how to teach Arthur some humility," stated Morgana, smirking.
"How?" asked Gwen.
"Well, Arthur is so confident that he's going to win the upcoming tournament, so why not get somebody to beat him," explained Morgana.
"But who can beat Arthur?" questioned Gwen.
"Me," replied Morgana, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"The king will never let you compete," said Gwen.
"Uther won't know," continued Morgana.
"But you're not a knight, Morgana," said Gwen "And better than over half of them."
"No, that's only because I'm a woman. But I'm more than a match for any man," replied Morgana.
"But you can't just turn up and compete," pointed out Gwen.
"Ah-ha," said Morgana.
She quickly went over to her bed and knelt on the floor. After rummaging around under there, she produced the seal and flag of Cornwall.
"My father left me these when he died," she told Gwen.
Gwen was furiously trying to think of a flaw in the plan. Despite what Morgana said, the knights that competed had trained all their lives, and one of them could easily land her a fatal blow.
"Uther always expects you to watch tournaments with him. This time won't be any different," she said, after a few minutes.
"I thought of that, too," answered Morgana, much to Gwen's dismay "I can forge a letter from my cousin Elaine, asking me to visit during the tournament. Uther has met her before; she's married to King Nontres of Garlot. He'll let me ride out to meet them alone since they have guards."
"But where will you stay?" enquired Gwen.
"I'll book into the inn like all the other competing knights. As far as anyone knows, I am Sir Cador of Cornwall. No-one will have any reason to suspect otherwise," responded Morgana.
"But how will you disguise yourself?" probed Gwen further, hoping to catch Morgana out.
"I was hoping you could get me some armour and a sword," replied Morgana, looking hopefully at Gwen "And the helmet will disguise my face."
"I'll get you some armour and a sword," said Gwen "But if you do win, you'll be expected to reveal yourself."
"I know. I will reveal my true identity when I win. Arthur will not only have lost the tournament for the first time; but he will have lost to a girl," answered Morgana, smugly "I told him I would beat him, and I will. He does not get away with taking the credit for something that I done."
"Uther will not be pleased that you've fought and beaten the First Knight of Camelot," said Gwen, in a last ditch attempt to change Morgana's mind.
"Oh, well," finished Morgana "It'll be worth it to see Arthur's face; and everyone else's. Not only will Arthur learn some humility, but I will prove to Uther that I am just as skilled as any knight. Maybe then he won't insist on me being escorted everywhere by guards who are completely useless if anything does happen."
Gwen gave up. The plan had been well-thought over and it was good. Morgana was an excellent swordswoman. She just hoped Uther wouldn't be too mad at her.
The next morning, Gwen entered Morgana's chambers to find her already up and dressed in her emerald green dress. She was sitting at her table, her head bowed over something.
"Good morning, Gwen," said Morgana, brightly.
"You're up early this morning, Morgana," continued Gwen, moving over to straighten the bed sheets.
"I know. I was writing the letter to get me out of Camelot during the tournament," explained Morgana "Come and have a look."
Abandoning her task, Gwen went to Morgana's side and looked over her shoulder.
Dear King Uther of Camelot,
I would be most honoured if my cousin, Morgana would visit Garlot and attend my son, Prince Galeschin's birthday feast. I am aware that your annual tournament takes place at this time but I assure you that Morgana will be accompanied back to Camelot in time for the banquet. If you choose to accept our offer, I will have our finest guards meet her on the outskirts of the forest and escort her to our castle in seven days at sunrise.
Yours truly,
Queen Elaine of Garlot
"I certainly don't think the king will suspect you of writing it," said Gwen, after reading through the letter.
"As children, Elaine and I used to write to each other regularly. I know her handwriting almost as well as my own," replied Morgana.
"Do you think the king will believe it? I mean, does he not know the date of the prince's birthday?" asked Gwen.
"Galeschin's birthday is in a few weeks anyway. I am almost completely certain that Uther won't think twice about it," answered Morgana.
"So how are you going to get it to the king?" Gwen questioned.
"I'll use a pigeon," said Morgana.
Once they'd established that, Gwen neatly braided Morgana's hair for the day.
Before she left to eat breakfast with Uther, Morgana carefully rolled the letter and then placed it in her drawer, out of sight.
After a particularly tiresome breakfast with Uther and Arthur discussing the tournament as if she wasn't there, Morgana excused herself by saying that she had a slight headache and needed some fresh air.
It hadn't been a complete lie. She went back to her chambers and retrieved the sword that she had hid under the loose flagstones when Uther had unfairly stopped her training sessions.
Pulling on her cloak and concealing the sword as best she could, Morgana headed outside. Being used to it, Morgana managed to sneak out to the forest relatively easily.
Once in the clearing where she was sure no-one would see her, Morgana began to practice her sword skills. After all, she needed to be in top form to beat Arthur and wipe that smug smile off of his smug face.
"Morgana," said Uther, at dinner than night.
"Yes, my lord?" asked Morgana.
"I received a letter from Garlot today. Queen Elaine has asked if you could attend Prince Galeschin's birthday feast," replied Uther.
"I would love to visit," said Morgana.
"As you know, next week is the tournament. So you will be required to return and escort the champion to the banquet," explained Uther.
"Of course, my lord," responded Morgana.
"Well, I just need to write our reply," said Uther.
"I can do that, my lord. And I'll send it as well," Morgana said quickly.
"Well, now that that's sorted; let's eat," finished Uther.
Morgana swiftly brought her goblet to her lips to hide her smirk of satisfaction.
The next couple of days went past in a blur. Morgana spent the days practicing her sword skills with the armour Gwen had given her. It was awkward and uncomfortable, but she was able to fight just as well after a few practice sessions. The helmet was a complete hindrance though; however, it was required to hide her true identity. She wondered why knights insisted on wearing full armour for tournaments. But this was her last practice session and she had to perfect her skills.