The sound of her footsteps bounced off the stone walls. It was midday but the hallway was dark, dimly lit by only a few torches
"firgenholt" she whispered, and several more torches roared with life.
She made a note to remember to hire more servants; the queen's corridor could not be left so dark at any hour, least of all in the middle of the day.
It was odd to refer to her old friend as queen, odd but fitting. Morgana and Guinevere had been through much together and not all of it good.
She loved Gwen, even in those dark days when she tried to hate her; she knew deep down that she could not, and she conceded that Gwen made a much better queen than she ever could. She enjoyed her role as high priestess, traveling to different dimensions for days; getting lost in a trance, working on spells and potions, calling out nymphs and faeries in the middle of the night, as queen she would not be given so much freedom. A queen had responsibilities that did not befit a sorceress. She loved riding from village to village, healing and protecting. There were several Druid encampments throughout Essetir; they traded with her knowledge and wisdom as old as the mountains. That was her true purpose.
Entertaining kings, resolving land disputes, collecting taxes, training the army, that was not the life for her. Her life was magic and this life was her second chance, her chance to repay all those she hurt, and that included Guinevere. Morgana entered into a blood pact with the queen and Essetir, Gwen, resisted at first but she wanted to show her how serious she was about the oaths she was taking. "I swore to always be loyal to the queen and her kingdom." And she meant to keep that promise, even on pain of death.

Morgana paused and then lightly tapped on the queen's door. She heard "come in," from the other side. She found Guinevere sitting at her desk, reading over a scroll.

"Morgana! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Morgana smiled "You do realise your entire hallway's is as dark as a cave?"
"Is it? Well I suppose I better fetch someone to light them."

"There's no need, I took care of it, but I have noticed we do need a few more servants for the upkeep of the castle."

"Yes, I know. I guess we've been too absorbed by more pressing matters. I'll talk to Mary about it at the next council meeting."

"Now that we have extinguished torches out of the way, I have come to speak with you about other matters."

"Of course Morgana, come, sit."

The queen cleared a place beside her.

Morgana sat down and smoothed out her gown, "I respect your decision, to let the knights go, and on some level I agree with you."

"But?"

"But I am worried about Arthur's reaction. I know it has crossed your mind that he will not be too pleased about your rule and my service in Essetir. And we both know how rash he can be."

"I can't deny that I have been on edge since the knights left our kingdom but we can only wait until King Arthur gives word, one way or another."

"What if we don't have to wait to see his reaction?"

Guinevere looked at her puzzled, "Why, don't I like the sound of that?"

"I can consult the oracle. We can ask her to show us Arthur's reaction; it would be just like standing in the throne room."

The queen bit her lip.

"Morgana you know I respect your magic, and it is truly a gift to this kingdom but you possess great power, and we both know what can happen when that power is abused."

She lowered her eyes, the queen may have forgiven her crimes but she did not forget them.

Guinevere reached for her hand.

"I don't just mean magic; we've both suffered at the hands of kings, kings who had the ultimate power, hurting those weaker than them. We need to learn from their mistakes. As tempting as your offer is- I just want us to use magic when we need to."

"I understand," replied Morgana, "The oracle is a source of great knowledge and that is a power that should not be used on a whim, you are quite right but if there are any other matters that are troubling you, I can certainly, if you wish, consult her."

"Alright Morgana, out with it, there's no need to spin words with me."

"It's about Lord Tommen."

"Oh Morgana-"

"How much do we really know about him? He washes up on our shores, a hand missing and yet he possesses the skill of a knight which I have never seen before! His smooth words give off the air of nobility, royalty even."

"I know you and Lord Tommen aren't exactly, friends."

"I just don't think he is who he says he is. He is keeping something from you, I know he is."
"He has kept his past to himself and has mentioned almost nothing to me about where he came from but I do know that he is a good man. I'm not interested in the past crimes he's committed, as long as he serves Essetir and I, well, that is all I care to know! I think we both realise the value of starting anew."

"Yes, we are all starting anew here, aren't we?" Morgana paused, "I just want to protect you and the kingdom that is all."

The queen smiled, "I know, and I appreciate your intentions, Lord Tommen is not our enemy, you two may butt heads at our council meetings but he is our friend."

"Yes, I suppose he is."

The queen leaned back in her chair, staring at her.

"Morgana I must ask you a favour"

"Of course. Anything."

"Tomorrow I want you to take the day off."

"Gwen?"

"Do whatever you want to do that doesn't involve you working. Go for a ride, visit one of the druid villages, lock yourself in your chambers all day, I don't care, as long as it's not work."

"But what about Arthur-"

"That is a command from your queen!"

"That is so unfair. You know what will happen to me if I disobey."

"Exactly," the queen smiled

"Maybe I need to protect Lord Tommen from you," she laughed.

"Morgana I know you need this. Enjoy! Have fun. The kingdom will not burn down if you're away for one day."

She nodded, "As you wish, my queen but I will have Aithusa on guard in my absence."

Morgana walked back down the hallway, happy to see the torches were still burning. "I will do something fun," she thought, "Looking into Lord Tommen's past will most certainly be fun. I'm sure there will be a lot of balls and brothels to visit."

Guinevere may trust Tommen but she wasn't convinced; this golden, one handed knight had a dark past, and she was going to discover it.

This is my favourite chapter so far. I hope you are enjoying the story; your reviews are greatly appreciated! Thank you for reading