Just a little background on this universe & how things got to where they are. Let me know what you think!
Chapter IV An Ally
"Put her over there." The self-proclaimed queen ordered the man who had a barely conscious Morgana slung over his shoulder. The guard dropped Morgana onto the mattress unceremoniously and quickly returned to Morgause's side.
"Morgana!" A man's voice cried at seeing her bloody body being dropped into his chambers. Gaius hurried to the woman's side and stroked the hair out of her face. The guard at least had the decency to place the woman on her stomach so as not to further aggravate the wounds on her back. Gaius had heard of what happened in the square this morning but refused to see it, as did many residents of Camelot. He had known Morgana since she was a child and seeing her hurt in this way was more than he could bear. "What have you done to her?!"
"I taught her a lesson, physician. Now, fix her." The blonde commanded.
"You have magic. You could help her." The old man nearly pleaded with the sorceress. She simply laughed.
"What kind of lesson would that be? We wouldn't want our dear Morgana believing that everything can be solved with magic now, would we?" Morgause sneered.
"Please, Morgause. She is your sister and she is in excruciating pain." Gaius begged. "You could make it go away."
"I could…but I won't. Morgana deserves what-"
"Don't you dare stand in my house and tell me that she deserves the cruelty you've inflicted upon her! I have cared for Morgana since she was a toddler and I will not have someone like you come in here and pretend like she has done something to deserve this!" Gaius shouted at the woman in red.
"Take care, physician." She eased closer to him. "It would be a tragedy if some accident were to befall you and there were no one to care for the beloved daughter of Camelot, wouldn't it?" Before Gaius had the chance to reply, Morgana groaned and shifted in the bed.
"Get out." Gaius said coldly. "I have work to do." He gazed down at Morgana's shredded back and fought the urge to cry. Thank the spirits Merlin isn't here to see this.
"As you wish, Gaius." Morgause smiled and left. Gaius hurried to get the supplies he needed and was back at Morgana's side within seconds.
"Gaius?" she managed, clearly confused by her surroundings.
"It's me dear one. Don't worry; I'm going to help you." Gaius promised the woman. Morgana struggled to draw a breath, her eyes filled with tears that fell without delay. She was with Gaius; she knew it was safe to cry.
"Hurts." She mumbled quietly. Gaius took the cloth he had wet and dabbed Morgana's forehead, wiping away the tears that had fallen.
"I know, my dear. I know." He blinked away his own tears at the sight of such a strong woman in pain. Forcing himself to look, he examined her back and after wiping away the large amount of blood and covering her with a blanket, he bent over and said,
"Morgana…this is going to hurt but I promise when it's over, you'll feel so much better." A whimper escaped her lips as she shook her head.
"Please." She paused to take a breath. "Can't."
"Yes, you can…I know you can." Gaius thought quickly. "Just think: after all of this is over you can see Merlin again. And Arthur."
"Merlin?" Morgana's eyes opened a little bit further at the sound of his name. Gaius prepared the ointment that he had to apply to Morgana's back.
"That's right. I bet he's looking for you." He continued to talk to the woman, hoping to distract her from the pain she was about to experience. "As a matter of fact, I'm sure he is. With Arthur, they're going to find you and make all of this go away." Gaius slowly began applying the salve and desperately tried to drown out Morgana's screams. "I promise, this won't last long. Merlin and Arthur are right outside the gates, just waiting for the perfect time to come in and rescue us. You'll see." The cries got worse as Gaius continued covering Morgana's back with the paste and soon enough he ran out of comforting scenarios and resorted to the typical 'it's alright' and 'it's almost over'. By the time he had finished, Morgana's voice had grown hoarse and her eyes had gone dark. Gaius deduced that she wasn't really there anymore and continued to treat her in silence. When he was done, he realized that Morgana had lost consciousness and the tears on her cheeks had dried. Instead of doing nothing, he decided to wash and comb Morgana's hair for her. At least she could feel semi clean when she awoke. After he was done, Gaius simply sat next to the woman for what felt like hours, feeling completely helpless and depressed.
"Merlin, where are you?" he asked the empty room.
"Gaius?" a voice croaked out, startling the old man from his restless sleep. He rose quickly, ignored the aching in his bones, and strode to Morgana's side.
"Good morning. How are you feeling?" he asked the woman. She simply shook her head as much as she could. "Here, I made this last night." He showed her a tincture and proceeded to lift her head and help her swallow it.
"Water?" she asked and Gaius rushed to retrieve some. He realized that Morgana had not spoken more than one-word sentences since she had arrived. He didn't know why, but this worried him. She had spent over a year under the mistreatment of Morgause, who knew what her mental state was? After he had helped her down almost an entire gallon of water, Gaius adjusted himself and waited for her to initiate conversation. When she didn't, he took the initiative.
"Talk to me Morgana. What happened?" he pressed. She simply shut her eyes and averted his gaze completely. "Morgana?"
"I don't know." She admitted in a small voice. Confused, Gaius eased closer.
"What do you mean?"
"One day, she was fine then the next, she…she started hurting me." Morgana shuddered at the memory.
"Do you know why she took you?" Gaius asked her.
"She just wanted a friend…someone to be with her, to love her. And I tried, Gaius, I swear I tried!" Morgana winced as she finished her sentence.
"It's alright dear one, I believe you." He assured her. "What went wrong?"
"Cendred."
"King Cendred?" Gaius asked and Morgana nodded.
"They were…together and one day he suggested that they take over Camelot." Morgana sighed and immediately regretted it. "At first, she thought he was kidding but slowly, slowly, she agreed to it."
"Where's Cendred now?"
"Dead. She killed him before the invasion." Morgana informed the man. "Gaius, she's insane. You don't know…you don't know the things she's capable of."
"It's alright, Morgana. It'll be over soon, you'll see." Gaius told her as he pushed strands of hair out of her face. "They'll come."
"I hope you're right." Morgana's eyes started to close and Gaius let her fall asleep so he could change her dressings without hurting her.
"So do I, my dear." Gaius sighed. "So do I."
I'm really excited to share this story with you guys :) Please review & tell me what you'd like to see!
