I feel terrible, it's been almost 3 WHOLE WEEKS since I last updated. I've just been so busy with school, homework, activities, and I've had to do A LOT for my school play lately, and I feel like a bad person. Whatever, please accept my apologies, again, and hopefully you'll enjoy the chapter.
It felt nice sitting on the throne again. Oh, yes it did, it suited her very well. And now her enemies were chained to the floor, forced to watch her be crowned queen, the same way she did to Uther so many years ago.
Geoffrey of Monmouth was, yet again, forced to crown her. He was standing next to her, the crown hovering in his hands over her head.
There, in front of her, held by the guards, were Merlin, Guinevere and Gaius. Those fools.
"B-by the power vested in me, I n-now pronounce you Morgana P-pendragon," Geoffrey stuttered.
Morgana glared at him. "Crown me," she said through clenched teeth, "now."
Geoffrey let out a deep breath. "Queen of Camelot."
Merlin's eyes shot daggers at Morgana. Not that Morgana cared. She was way too happy now.
Wow. Her life's goal was accomplished. Uther was dead, Arthur was dead, and she was queen, ready to return magic to Camelot.
Well, actually, she could not truly be satisfied until Merlin was dead. And he was standing in front of her right now.
She could run him through any time she wanted. But even that wasn't enough. She wouldn't get the satisfaction of hearing his dying scream.
She had everything planned out. Today she would enjoy her first day as queen, and then tomorrow she would put her laws into order. She would write that magic is legal, and she would let the druids know as well. She would also right the law that the dragons are to be treated with respect. The next day, she would examine the army of knights. One by one, she would talk with them and convince them that it would be best to serve her. She would find something to get them to follow her. Threatening usually doesn't work for long, they only just run away and betray you, so she would only threaten if necessary. She wanted the people to know they serve her willingly and not with force. And the knights would soon find she could be very persuasive. Then the next day, she would head out to the outlying villages and put magic on their crops to make them grow stronger. Maybe then they would begin to love her. When she got back to the city, she would free the people and let them back to their town. She would apologize for imprisoning them, and she would think of an idea, because they love Guinevere… Surely they would hate her for that.
Morgana looked down at a horrified Guinevere, small belly poking out just a tiny bit.
Okay… she thought. I could find a way to kill the child. Then I will let the villagers know Gwen will rule by my side… No, that's too much of a treat for her. I'll have her as a servant again, because she proved to be a good ally of mine, even though her mind was not her own.
So that was the plan. In a few days, she would bring out everyone including the kings and queens, and have them swear allegiance to her. Then there was Merlin. Unfortunately for him, he would not be given as many luxuries.
She would invite everyone in the kingdom to watch him be burned at the stake. No- that's not enough.
He would be dragged onto the wooden plank and he would hang until almost dead. Just on the brink of death, he would have his insides cut out of him, and he would watch as they burn in front of him and then she would kill him, the exact way he did her. A sword.
So yes, everyone would be watching. Better yet, everyone from the five kingdoms would be watching! She's have the king and queens get all of the people to watch, and then she'd hang Merlin's head, face frozen from screaming on the wall to remind everyone what a terrible person he was, and that his death would serve as a reminder to all people that they were on the wrong side before. He was the enemy.
Come to think of it, she should take over all the other kingdoms too. That would free magic to all of the lands, not just Camelot. It would be wonderful. So much power. And she would be free.
Perfect.
The three of the people sat there on their knees, breathing heavily. They thought that Morgana was dead, and she should not come back. Out of every one of their friends that could have, she had to be the one that came back.
Morgana got up, smiling, crown on her head. She looked down at her old friends.
"I hope you three will find my reign… enjoyable. You will see how very wrong you were. You will see that you all made the wrong decisions."
"Morgana, you cannot do this! These people are innocent!" cried Gwen.
Morgana looked down at Gwen. "Oh, I'm not going to do anything to the people. In fact, the people will live a better life with me as queen than they did with you."
She looked at the guards. "Take them away."
Then the guards dragged the prisoners away. Perfect, thought Morgana, everything is going perfect…
Gwen fell into the cell filled with all her friends, and they were all squished. She watched as they carried Merlin to the other side and heard him scream as they threw him into the cell most brutally.
Gwen put her hand to her forehead. "We can't let her do this."
Mithian swallowed. "What is she going to do to everyone?"
Gaius stood up. "My concern is what she isn't going to do to everyone. Normally she uses the people of Camelot as a source to get everyone's allegiance. But what is she doing now?"
Gwen rested her hand on her stomach, feeling a sharp pain. "That's a plus side. She won't harm the people."
Vivian picked straw out of her hair. "But she could be lying! Ew, this is disgusting."
Gaius paused, helping Gwen up. "That's right Vivian! She's probably lying, getting us to feel all the people are okay, and when we know they're fine, she'll do something terrible."
"AAAAAH!"
Everyone turned to their left. That must have been Merlin. What was going on in there?
Merlin panted, sweat dripping off his forehead. What was this that she was doing?
He fell onto the floor, hands holding his ears, eyes squinted and everything was barely visible because of the tears of pain.
He had never seen anything like this before. All the memories, all the terrible things he had done to her… She was sending them as if visions through his mind. They were so real… So vivid…
Why was she doing this to him? After dying, she should realize what wrongs she had done. She had betrayed her friends! Tried to kill her own brother! Kill her own father! Tried to kill all her friends, all for one sister, who told her what was right and wrong. She had become a monster.
And it seemed there was no saving this monster.
Morgana sat down comfortably in her throne. Ah, it felt good to be queen. The crown of jewels on her head felt heavy in the best way. Its royal look clashed with that of her dirty and torn black dress. Who cares? she thought. I'm queen now, I can do whatever I want.
It was getting late. She smiled with satisfaction at how well the day had gone. Speaking of which, where was Ragnell? Whatever, she would deal with her tomorrow.
"Where's my mother?"
Leon looked at Percival a panicked look on his face. He screamed to the cell next to them.
"Is Ragnell there with you?"
There were only a few mutters of "no's", and they called to the prison where all the villagers were kept.
She was nowhere to be seen.
Had Morgana done something to her? She barely knew Ragnell, what would she want with her? Surely she would've locked Ragnell up in the cells like everyone else.
Percival slid on the wall to a kneeled position on the ground.
"What are we going to do Leon? We can't escape, she has guards everywhere, and surely these gates are sealed with magic. I would ask Merlin for help but even he seems defenseless as well."
Leon gulped, hands on the bars and looking out. One of Morgana's guards gave him a dirty look, and Leon quickly joined Percival on the ground.
Leon let his head hang backwards. "If only Arthur were here and all of our other friends. We could work together at this."
Percival laughed. "We always had fun risking our lives!"
Leon laughed at Percival's comment. "We sure did."
And the voices and faint screams of Merlin became quieter as they drifted off into an unsteady sleep.
Morgana felt wonderful. It was Day 1 of new Camelot. Last night she enjoyed herself with some lovely food, unfortunately she didn't have any servants to bring it to her, and she was an awful cook but she had scrounged up some leftovers from the feast, and she took a walk around the castle thinking of everything new that would happen. She had no intention of changing her wardrobe- she liked her scrappy black dress just fine. Just because she was royalty that didn't mean she had to look perfect all the time, did it?
But this morning, as she stretched, she remembered what she was going to do. This was the most important thing of all.
It was time to place her laws in order.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Her teeth had gone crooked and her hair looked like its usual messy self.
She didn't have to look perfect as queen. As queen she could be herself and not live in fear of anything.
She brushed herself off and smiled. This was the first real smile she had in a long time. She was FREE!
She quickly walked to her council chambers. She wanted to get started right away. So she called every one of her followers and she even released some members of the council.
"Everyone, I have some exciting news!" Morgana smiled. "Today we are going to change the laws of Camelot. Geoffrey, come here."
Geoffrey brought many scraps of paper, hands shaking.
Morgana rolled her eyes. "Please, all of you. If you serve me you'll be fine."
She shook her head disapprovingly at their behavior, and took a look through some of the scrolls.
After Geoffrey told her most reluctantly how to put a law in, he asked, "What is it that you wish to put in?"
Morgana smiled, hardly containing herself. She took a deep breath. "I'm announcing magic is legal!"
All her followers' faces brightened up a bit, and members of the previous council looked at each other confused.
"I-I beg your pardon?" asked Geoffrey.
"I'm pretty well sure you heard what I said." Morgana smirked.
"Uh-uh, but My Lady, that is already a decree."
There was a very long silence after that.
"WHAT?"
"U-Uh, My Lady, after the king's death, the queen set the law into order, allowing the druids to live in peace as well as those with special magical abilities and just those with the magic. This includes the Dragonlords and the dragons. I think also any other magical creature, as long as they are kept controlled by the Court Sorcerer."
"THE COURT SORCERER?"
"Um, y-yes, Merlin…"
"MERLIN? THE BLOODY FOOL?"
"Y-yes My Lady, out of all the things Camelot has done to you, I thought you would see this as wonderful!"
"Wonderful? WONDERFUL? Why was I not told this? Those people know nothing of how to treat those with magic! Merlin is hardly one to be able to control magic beings he always kills them in the end anyway! Camelot needs me at the throne and to make rational decisions for us all! They know nothing of how to treat those with magic!"
Morgana ripped the paper and screamed with frustration. Those fools! They think they can "save the day" again? She got so angry she set fire to the paper that was in front of her. Everyone cried out, and backed up. She sighed and made the fire go out, and all that was left of the almost life saving papers, was a pile of ashes.
"Let me speak with Gwen."
Gwen was lying in the cell, on the cold hard floor. She hadn't slept this uncomfortably in a long time. She was actually used to the luxuries of being a queen and sleeping in a comfortable bed. It had only become lonelier these past few months because Arthur wasn't there anymore.
Yet surprisingly, she had slept okay. But that okay sleep, was ruined when she felt arms tugging her, and pulling her out of the cell.
She looked around. "Gaius? Mithian? Vivian?"
Her knees scraped on the floor. She looked up and realized it was the guards. She started to panic.
"Someone HELP!"
Gaius got up and headed after Guinevere but the metal door slammed in his face with a loud clang.
He could hear Gwen's cries as she was pulled up the stairs.
The guards surprisingly brought her to Morgana's chambers, and left her in there with Morgana. Alone.
Was this some kind of trick? So Morgana could have the pleasure and satisfaction of killing her just like that?
Gwen looked around on her knees.
"What do you want with me?" she asked darkly.
Morgana was looking out her window. She turned around, fingertips gracing the end of her chin.
"I want to talk to you about something, Guinevere. Something I feel is of great importance."
"What could you possibly want with me?" scoffed Gwen. "You're the queen now, and I'm not. I am of no use."
"Oh, but see, you still do pose a threat." Morgana looked down. "You hold it right in your belly there."
Gwen clutched her belly and glared at Morgana. "Morgana, you would harm an innocent child who isn't even born…"
"But that is not what I wanted to talk to you about," interrupted Morgana. "I wanted to talk to you about something that happened shortly after my death. Something I don't quite understand."
Morgana sat down on a chair. "You see I was informed that you had declared magic is legal. Is this true?"
"Yes, it is. Despite how evil your heart it I thought you would find this good."
Morgana smirked at Gwen. "Guinevere, tell me. Why did you do that?"
Gwen looked up at Morgana. "Why should I tell you?"
Morgana shrugged. "I want to know Guinevere. You can't have just allowed it out of the blue, could you have?"
Gwen breathed heavily. "I did it because I am not Arthur. He outlawed magic, and I had no say in that decision of his. I certainly never agreed with hunting down people like animals, but it wasn't as if I was about to risk my relationship with my husband, possibly even my life for that. It didn't mean that much to me. But now that I am- I mean I was queen, I decided, maybe it's time for a new change."
"Yet, magic has pained you, it has hurt you, it has done terrible things to you."
"I could see past that. The dark things always come out a lot stronger than good does sometimes. And I saw how magic has done this kingdom good during these past few years, and I know magic is more like a tool- it is neither good nor evil, it is how you use it, and it is only in the hearts if the people who are gifted with such powers that is good or evil, and magic is just their weapon. Merlin helped me realize that."
Morgana laughed.
Gwen flared her nostrils. "Why are you laughing?"
Morgana got up and started to pace around. "Oh, everyone thinks Merlin is the hero, don't they? For the sake of himself, he watched his kind burn and suffer in the flames, just so he could keep his little secret. And now everyone seems to think he's the good guy. The guy who saves the day, even though he went against his own kind. Do you have any idea how many sorcerers he has killed? He seemed to think revenge and standing up for what you believe in is evil. And now he's the hero!"
Morgana gave a shrilly laugh. "And I heard you made him Court Sorcerer."
Gwen panted. "Magic can get out of control. I trust Merlin to keep everyone loyal to us and calm."
Morgana sat down again. "You've always been so naïve, Gwen. I was once too, until I was exposed to the real world."
Gwen shook her head. "Now what do you want from me?"
Morgana sat in silence for a little while, she seemed to be thinking about something.
"Gwen, I don't want to hurt you. I honestly don't. I've changed my methods. Instead of scaring, I want you on my side. That's all I've ever wanted. People on my side."
Now it was Gwen's turn to laugh. "That's the last thing I would ever do, Morgana."
Morgana knew this wasn't going to be easy. It wouldn't work at the first try.
"Guinevere, I know it is. But you just need to know, I have experienced torture and death already. The last thing I want is for that to happen again. I haven't come back to be exactly how I was before. I have changed my methods, as I said. Instead of scaring you, I want you to know I had a reason for what I was doing. I know I was too violent, and I regret killing innocent people now. I realize, and I am truly sorry."
Gwen leaned back. Morgana was a very convincing actress. This could be a trick of hers. But it was as if she could see a little truth shine out from inside.
But no.
She couldn't trust Morgana. Morgana had betrayed them, and she had become a monster just for a sister who corrupted her. She had tried to kill her friends. She had done- things that were not human.
Morgana sighed. "Gwen, I was alone. I had no one to comfort me. I was terrified, knowing that my guardian would kill me if he knew who I was. I had to hide who I was every day, and it was terrifying. My dreams haunted me at night, and although you were there, I was terrified all the things I saw would come to pass. And they did. But then Morgause came and she saved me. She comforted me, she was there for me, she told me magic was not a curse and she taught me everything I knew, and she taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and not to just follow other people's orders, and be the girl they want me to be. And not only that, but Merlin poisoned me. Do you know how awful that was? I was entirely innocent I was just carrying the curse it's not like I could just make it go away, but the man I lov- thought was my friend poisoned me. Then, I knew for certain that I couldn't trust my so-called friends anymore. Morgause, like I said, saved me. And then I found out my guardian is my father and he's been lying to me for years! Can you imagine how that was for me? And then I go along and get captured for my gifts and see nothing but darkness for two years and then you know what? While I was suffering, I found out the man that betrayed me more than anyone else had was living it well and not being hunted down for his powers now known to me! Not only that, but he is the man that is supposed to be my doom! All I wanted was to be accepted, Gwen! That's all I wanted!"
By now Morgana was in tears. She put her face in her hands, her chest moving up and down rapidly from the sobs. She then picked herself up and wiped her eyes.
All Gwen could do was stare at the ground. What else was there to do? What could she say?
Morgana got up and looked at Gwen. "Think about it."
The next thing Gwen knew, was that she was being dragged back to the cells.
One day had gone by, and it was Day 2 of their imprisonment. Percival was worried. Knights had been taken out of the cell one by one, and they weren't coming back. What was going on? Eventually it was just he and Leon left in the cell.
"Leon, what's been happening to them?"
Leon shook his head. "She's probably killing them one by one."
Percival gulped. "They can't die. They're like family to us."
Leon nodded. "I know."
Speaking of family, Percival got a sudden worry of his mother.
Where was she?
Ragnell panted. These mountains were tall, and cold, very cold. She felt a twinge of regret of how she had left Percival in Camelot, but she was confident Morgana would not hurt him.
She knew Morgana was watching her, but running away wasn't really betraying, right? Technically she wasn't on the enemy's side- or, well, Morgana's enemy's side. But she couldn't be loyal to them, but she wasn't loyal to Morgana either… But she couldn't not be loyal to her, or she would be killed. Where was she running to anyway? Somewhere? Anywhere? Nowhere?
If she could survive on her own for a little while, that would be nice.
Only then did Ragnell realize how cowardly she had been. Running away, leaving everyone behind and suffering so she could get to safety.
She was a coward.
"Percival."
Percival now knew what Morgana was doing. She was interrogating each and every knight.
"What do you want Morgana?"
"I want your allegiance."
Percival snorted. "Like that's going to happen."
Morgana smiled. "Yes, Percival. It is going to happen."
Percival was amazed at how dumb Morgana was being. Did she really think she could get Percival to follow her just like that? Or was she going to enchant him?
"Percival, I'm not that stupid. I know I'm not going to get you on my side, just like that."
Wha- Did she just read his mind?
"Morgana no matter what you try, the other knights and I are loyal to the queen."
"She's not queen anymore."
"She is. You're just a pretender."
Morgana looked as if she was trying to hold back an explosion.
"Anyways, you have showed extreme loyalty to Camelot, and no matter who someone is loyal to, they should always be rewarded. I can only want loyalty myself, and that loyalty you give is exactly the loyalty I need."
What was Morgana going to do to him?
"Come now Percival," Morgana smirked. "There's no need to look so frightened. You'll be quite happy to hear what I'm about to say."
Percival gulped.
"There is a little lady out there… I believe her name to be Blanchefleur."
Percival gasped. "How do you know about Blanchefleur?"
Morgana ignored him. "She's waiting for you at the Castle of Carboneck. She wishes to see you again, after all you were supposed to be married."
Percival's jaw tightened. "What have you done with her?"
Morgana laughed. "I don't want anything with her! She's just another girl to me! But to you, she's important isn't she? She means a lot to you. That's why I have arranged for you to go and see her!"
Percival wouldn't take this nonsense anymore. "YOU'RE PULLING ME INTO A TRAP MORGANA!"
Morgana put her hands on her hips. "Okay, if you don't want to see her, then I'll inform her that you won't be coming."
"W-Wait, you're not going to make me?"
Morgana shrugged. "It's your decision. I'm not going to make you see the love of your life."
Percival furrowed his brow. Morgana was confusing him.
Morgana sighed. "I'll let you think about it like all the other knights." She looked at the guards. "Take him to the armor room."
When Percival got into the armor room, he and the other knights discussed what had happened. Morgana had surprisingly been really nice to them, and she had offered to give them loads of things, and they were all pondering at why she was offering all of these things.
Percival kept on thinking more and more about it and realized that maybe she didn't mean to harm him or Blanchefleur. Maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe he could go and see her after all.
Morgana was really tired. A whole day of pushing people, telling them what to do, giving them things they wanted, and none of it worked. None!
She knew that it would take time but… Maybe her method of threatening people was better. No, she couldn't go back to threatening, because then she might lose a chance again.
Uh oh. She had already lost two chances. Why did they do this chance thing anyways? If she had already lost two that quickly and wanted to live until she was an old lady, she probably wouldn't make it. She could probably lose a chance for the simplest thing, too, and she would have to live in extreme caution and fear, watching every move she made, making sure it was good. But she had been doing good things! Right? And she had already lost two chances! There must be something she wasn't doing right… But what?
She honestly didn't understand. She flopped down onto her bed. What was she going to do tomorrow? Oh yes, head out into the countryside and help people's crops grow. Would that really help? It hadn't worked on the knights. Well, the outlying villages weren't as loyal to Camelot as the knights would be obviously. Maybe it would work, I mean, it's not as if she was ever a threat to them in the first place, right?
She would have to see tomorrow.
The next morning, she headed out with her most trusted men. They rode out into the countryside and her first visit was slightly difficult. She had rode into the small town, and the people were laying out dead people and they all looked at her, eyes shooting daggers.
She hopped off her horse. "What's going on?"
A brave villager with blonde hair popped out of the crowd of people. "It's you that's going on!" he yelled. "Because of you, my wife is dead! Not only did you kill her, but she was going to have my child!"
Another lady cried out, "And my daughter!"
"And my mother!"
Morgana's eyes narrowed. "How is this my fault?"
The blonde haired man came up again. "So you don't know? You belong in the world of the dead! And when a person comes back from the dead, they spread a disease throughout the land!" He tried to charge at her, but two other villagers pulled him back and he struggled to get past their firm grip.
Morgana looked around she was the cause of the death of this many people, just for being there? It didn't make sense. Why would the man/woman have brought anyone back if this happens?
She bit her lip. "Everyone gather around!"
A few people reluctantly moved towards her. She sighed. Things had to be done. "I am your queen and you will come do as I ask!"
Everyone angrily looked at her and moved in.
She took a deep breath. "I am deeply sorry for your losses. Truly, I am. If I could fix this, I would. I'll tell you what, tomorrow, I'll head out, and I'll see if I can summon whoever it was that resurrected me. I will cure this disease. I was brought back to set things right, no kill people by just existing. I'm sure there has been a mistake and as your queen I will try and get a cure for this disease, because not only will effect you, but it will effect my allies as well."
Everyone looked at each other confused. They had been told Morgana was a threat, but she had never done anything to their village. Maybe she could help them after all and she could be trusted. Besides, she was the queen, and she was supposed to help them. It's not like the outlying villages really had much of a say in what the queen would do. Maybe it would be fine. As they discussed this, Morgana caught their attention again.
"Well, anyways, what I was here for, before I came upon this terrible incident, is that I wanted to help you with your crops. I think they deserve some extra growth."
The next hour or so, she helped with all the people's crops, and it was hard work, and she knew she was being overly nice even though she didn't actually mean any of it, she needed these people not only to trust her but like her. She wasn't a very likeable person, but if she became likeable, then people could be loyal to her. That's what happened with Arthur. He was so likeable, that's why everyone had loved their king. She and Arthur both fought for the causes they believed to be right, just everyone immediately felt attached to Arthur and loved him.
She worked long and hard the rest of the day, seeing more and more deaths, and being overdramatic about it, although she was still curious about why, and like she promised she would head out tomorrow to find the man/woman if she could.
It had been a long day. Oh, and when she got back she had to release the citizens of Camelot so they could all sleep comfortably in their beds tonight.
There was so much to do as queen.
While Morgana was out talking with the villagers, things were happening inside the castle.
All the knights were stuck in the armor room, and there were guards outside of the door, making sure they didn't escape.
Meanwhile, everyone else was still in the dungeons. They rustled and fidgeted and had trouble moving around. They had been in the cells for a long time now. A few days. The cramped space was getting very old and unbearable.
Yet Aithusa was free to walk around as she wished.
Even to the dungeons.
Emrys…
Merlin sat up. He was dirty, he was tired and he had a pounding headache from no sleep.
Who is this?
It is Aithusa…
Merlin jumped onto his feet. Aithusa?
I am coming to help you escape, said Aithusa. You need not do anything, just stay in the cells, and I will take care of everything.
Aithusa, are you sure? I don't want you getting hurt.
It'll be fine. Stay there.
Merlin then heard loud yells come from the end of the hall.
What was going on?
He heard feet padding on the dirt and it was coming closer. Then it stopped. He heard something that sounded like someone exhaling really loudly.
Then a door creaking open. Then some cries of joy.
Ah. She was setting them free.
Perfect.
Morgana rode back in the darkness. She couldn't help but think this was her first semi-successful day. Sadly. She had had so many plans, yet everyone remained loyal to Camelot! But the outlying villages were easy, just farther into Camelot you went the harder it became to convince them. But over one third of the villages she had talked to were willing to give into her loyalty, but she was still determined to find something for this illness. It just made no sense.
She rode into Camelot over the drawbridge. Something didn't seem right. She looked over her shoulder. The gates had slammed with a loud bang. She looked back in front of her. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged onto the ground off her horse. A hand was over her mouth making it hard to breathe. She struggled against whoever this was. Things were getting blurry. Then she felt herself being pushed into a cell.
Her vision became slightly clearer. Those ears… Those eyes… She should've known.
It was Merlin.
"How did you escape?" she shrieked. "Aithusa is the only one who knows how to get you out of the cells!"
Merlin smirked. "Exactly."
Morgana narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
She then heard a ferocious roar- a familiar one too, as it sent her hitting the back of the cell wall.
This could only have meant one thing.
One terrible, terrible thing.
An unthinkable thing.
"A-aithusa?"
And Aithusa's angry face was the last thing she saw before everything went black.
So? Good? Bad? Reviews are welcome! I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible because I have spring break and I'm going to INDIA (!) to see my best friend and I'm really excited! So, if my next chapter has an Indian influence... Please don't be surprised. Oh, and don't worry you won't have to wait as long as you just did.
