hey everyone!

here is the next chapter in which we find out why the cup of life was stolen and who stole it...

and Helena seems to be hiding something...

oh and to fans of the Morgause/Lancelot relationship i think you will like this chapter

so one again read and enjoy!


Chapter 7 ~ A Hard Decision

'I can't believe we fell for that!' cried Merlin in frustration slamming his hand on the support beam of Arthur's four-poster bed. He, Morgana, Morgause and Lancelot had been invited to join Arthur in his room for a conference, Gawain and the other knights had gone to see if the gargoyles had done any other damage and Helena had left with the explanation that she needed to check something.

Arthur sighed 'what else could we do? If we had ignored those things then they would of rampaged though the streets probably killing many people'

Morgause shook her head slowly 'what I don't understand is why does Nimueh need the cup of life? She already has enough energy to create a body'

Merlin shrugged 'maybe she wants to create some sort of immortal army?'

'Great that's just what we need; an immortal army controlled by one of Camelot's greatest foes'

'What do we do?' asked Morgana quietly

Lancelot turned to Morgana, Merlin and Morgause 'can the three of you put some sort of wards around Camelot?'

Merlin shook his head 'I haven't got that far yet' he glanced at Morgana and raised his eyebrows

Morgana shook her head and turned to her sister who hesitated 'I can put a ward around Camelot that will warn us of impending danger and I can put several traps around the border that will be set off only by certain people… but I can't put a protective wall around'

Arthur nodded 'that's a good idea; Camelot needs all the help it can get against Nimueh. Do you think Helena could place a protective wall around?'

'Probably, she knows a lot more then we do' stated Morgause.

Arthur nodded 'can you and Helena put those wards around us when she gets back?' when Morgause nodded he said 'right I'm going to have a talk with Gaius; I'll see if he has any idea what Nimueh is going to do. Then I need to talk to the guard'. The group split up; Morgana and Merlin going to the library to see what they could find and Morgause and Lancelot leaving to see if they could find Helena.

Lancelot and Morgause walked around the castle checking all the rooms that they guessed Helena could be. Suddenly Morgause stopped and turned to look at Lancelot and asked 'why did you distract that gargoyle Lancelot?'

Lancelot turned to look at her in surprise 'it could have killed you'. Though it was a simple reason both felt that there was more behind it.

Morgause shook her head 'I could have dealt with it and you could have died, why risk it?' she persisted

Lancelot folded his arms 'it would have crushed you before you could do anything, besides why did you jump on its back?'

Morgause blinked then sat down on one of the castles privet window seats 'if I had hit it with a spell it could have toppled forwards and crushed you. Your still not answering my question'

Lancelot sighed and sat down beside her 'fine I'll tell you; I thought that it was going to kill you and I didn't want that to happen…I like you Morgause. Why didn't you just hit it with magic?' he turned intense eyes on her wondering what her answer would be.

Morgause stared at him in surprise unsure exactly what to say. Why hadn't she just hit it with magic? Why did she care about Lancelot? Care… Morgause blinked then looked up at Lancelot again and said 'I care about you Lancelot' and as soon as the words escaped her mouth she knew that they where true.

Lancelot stared at her in shock completely surprised that she felt the same way he did. He leaned forward slowly and raised a hand to her cheek, then closed the distance between them and kissed her. It was like receiving an electric shock; warmth suddenly blossomed in his stomach spreading up to his heart and all around his body. He felt Morgause's lips curl in a smile as she kissed him softly back. Slowly they drew apart and looked into each other's eyes. Lancelot saw slight surprise reflected back at him in Morgause's eyes and he smiled; he could still feel the warmth tingling in his fingers and chest. Morgause put her hand up around his neck and kissed him softly again, her mouth gently caressing his. Lost in that moment it was hard for either of them to believe that there was a looming danger hanging over Camelot that sought to destroy them all.

Morgana slammed the book shut with enough force to shake the table 'there is nothing here! What are we even looking for?'

Merlin sighed and shut his own book 'I don't know. Look I don't mean to open old wounds but how exactly did you and Morgause create that immortal army?'

Morgana sighed 'we put a drop of each of the soldiers blood into the cup and Morgause did something, some sort of spell that put them all under her control…but' she frowned 'if Nimueh planned to do the same thing she would need soldiers and as far as we know she doesn't have any friends' she stopped staring at Merlin 'what?'

Merlin was rapidly turning the rough of the book in front of him he stopped at a page and pointed 'what if she didn't need living soldiers? She is one of the most powerful priestesses of the old religion what if she wanted to raise the dead?' there was a picture of man walking across a grassy hill and his head was bent at an odd angle; he was quite clearly dead.

Morgana opened her mouth in horror 'but…that's what we did with the skeletons'

Merlin shook his head 'but you didn't have full control over them you just animated them. If Nimueh had full control them she could do any thing'

'What can we do?' asked Morgana shaking her head

Merlin sighed 'nothing, we need to talk to Helena she might be able to find Nimueh or something.'

Morgana frowned 'where is Helena anyway?'

'Right here' said Helena appearing next to the table.

Morgana grinned as Merlin flinched slightly then turned to Helena and frowned slightly 'where were you?'

'I wanted to see if I could find out who took the cup' replied Helena

'Isn't it kinda obvious who took it?' asked Merlin raising his eyebrows 'or is it some new enemy we should be worried about'

Helena smiled slightly 'its wasn't Nimueh who took it but the person who did is working for her'

Merlin and Morgana frowned 'who?'

Helena sighed 'the druid boy; Mordred'

Morgana gasped 'no! Mordred would never work for Nimueh!' she turned to look at Merlin 'right?'

Merlin sighed and glanced at Helena 'Morgana…look' he turned to Helena 'could you explain?'

Helena sat down beside Morgana and began 'Morgana, Mordred has a destiny…' she paused

Morgana turned her body to face Helena 'what kind of destiny?'

Helena sighed 'Mordred has a destiny to kill Arthur'

'And he knows it' added Merlin

Morgana stared at them shock resisted all over her face 'no' she said quietly 'surely he would of done something to stop it happening if he knew about it'

Helena shook her head 'Mordred knows and he well…lets just say that though he was raised with druids who tried to help him it seems that he doesn't want to change it'

Morgana was silent for a minute then said quietly 'do you mean that I have to choose between Arthur and Mordred?'

Helena sighed 'Nimueh knows how much you care for Mordred and she will play to that weakness. So in a way you do have to choose; between having a family and a life with people you care about or between helping a boy that will kill Arthur'

Morgana smiled tightly 'well I don't really have much choice then do I?'

Helena smiled 'there is always a choice Morgana, no one can make you choose' Helena stood up and smiled down at them both 'if you would excuse me there is something I need to do' with that she exited sharply before either could say anything

Morgana turned to frown at Merlin 'something's bothering her'

Merlin raised his eyebrows 'and it couldn't possibly be that there is a sorceress allied with a boy with a dark destiny trying to kill us all?'

Morgana laughed at him and chucked a quill at his head before suddenly turning serious 'you know something; we don't actually know that much about Helena. I mean she's, what, twenty-nine? What's she been doing for the last few years? I mean its not like she just popped into existence the moment we needed her; she obviously has a life'

Merlin frowned slightly 'you know your right, we all just sort of took it for granted that she would be here all the time and now that you come to mention it I have noticed that she is never around for the whole day. Maybe we should ask her?'

Morgana nodded 'I will' she paused then said 'Merlin I want you to know that I will never betray any of you to Mordred. I promise.'

Merlin reached out and took her hand 'I believe you Morgana'

It was several weeks later that the sun rose over Camelot on a cold morning to find that not everyone was happy. Morgause stood on the balcony that over looked the whole city, her back to the sunset and frowned. A lot had happened in the past two weeks; Camelot had celebrated two weddings, that of King Arthur to Gwen and of Merlin the adviser to the Lady Morgana. It had been a shock to a lot of people to here the announcements but the celebrations had been even more enthusiastic then any other recorded in the past few decades. Morgause smiled as she remembered the feasts, dances, songs and the magical firework display that Helena had provided. Then her smile slowly faded as she recounted the events of the past few days. As Helena had predicted Uther Pendragon had died no less then two days after his sons wedding and Morgause and Morgana had found that their hate had died with him. It angered Morgause to hear the rumours spreading quickly though Camelot that the news of his son's engagement to a serving girl had caused his speedy death; Morgause knew that it hurt Arthur deeply every time he heard that rumour. Then there was Nimueh; nothing had been heard of her in the last two weeks and in Morgause's opinion that was even worse then full scale attacks; the constant strain was beginning to show in everyone's eyes, when they woke up in the morning they would immediately look around expecting to see a horror at their window sill. In Morgause's opinion that was exactly what Nimueh wanted. Then there was also that thought that had been growing in the edge of Morgause's consciousness, something that she hadn't wanted to think about less it spoil every thing. She had never been so happy in her entire life, she had Morgana, Helena, Arthur and Lancelot… and even Merlin. Morgause watched out of the corner of her eye as her sister approached, stopping beside her and leaning over the balcony to watch as the suns rays touched the remains of the cold grey night.

Morgana turned to look up at her sister and frowned 'what's wrong?'

Morgause sighed; Morgana could always tell when she was up set 'I'm worried about Helena'

Morgana raised an eyebrow 'your worried about Helena?' she smiled 'if anyone can take care of her self its Helena' she glanced at Morgause again and frowned 'that's not what you mean is it?'

Morgause sighed 'I know that Helena doesn't spend all her days here but lately she's been looking worried; when people talk to her its like she doesn't hear them and she barely sticks around for more then an hour these days'

Morgana frowned 'you know she does look more strained then the rest of us'

'Maybe its because she's spending half her time trying to find out what Nimueh's up too' said Lancelot coming to stand beside Morgause and putting an arm around her waist.

Morgana couldn't help smiling; it had come as something of a shock to her when she had found out about Lancelot and Morgause's relationship but she had concluded that it had only been because she had been so wrapped up in her own relationship with Merlin. Morgana's smile turned suddenly to a worried frown and she turned to stare at the horizon 'what if Helena already found something?'

Lancelot and Morgause turned to look at her 'she would've told us wouldn't she?' said Lancelot frowning

'Not necessarily' said Merlin coming to stand close to Morgana and putting his arm around her shoulders 'we've all been pretty wrapped up in our own things, she might not have wanted us to worry'

Arthur and Gwen joined them and Gwen said 'how can we not worry? Nimueh and Mordred are out there somewhere and we have no idea what they are doing'

Morgana glanced at Gwen. She still marvelled at how much Gwen had changed since she had married Arthur; she now wore expensive clothes and a small golden crown was nestled in her curly brown hair. With the addition of these clothes and Arthur's support Gwen's confidence had grown though she still walked around with her head slightly bowed.

'Look there she is' said Arthur leaning forward over the edge to point. The others followed his hand and saw Helena standing next to a travelling sales man in deep conversation with him.

'Why don't we just ask her?' asked Morgause suddenly 'if we all confront her about it she can hardly refuse to tell us'

Gwen snorted but quietly enough so that it wasn't heard by anyone else; she was the only person out of the group who hadn't warmed up to Morgause, maybe it was partly because she still hadn't forgiven her for her past crimes but it might of also been that she was slightly jealous of Morgause's and Lancelot's relationship a feeling that annoyed her because she had no reason to be jealous of Morgause.

'All right that settles it; we ask Helena when she meets us in Arthur's study agreed?' asked Merlin to which there was a rumble of assent.

Helena opened the heavy wooden door to Arthur's study, shut it then paused when she saw the six of them gathered in the room. She raised her eyebrows then walked over to Arthur's bed and faced them 'have I done something wrong' she asked with a slightly sarcastic tone.

The six of them hastily rearranged their expressions realising that they'd been staring at Helena intently analysing her to see if she looked any different. It was Morgause who answered her question 'no. We just wanted to ask you something' she paused and glanced at Merlin.

Helena frowned 'go ahead I'm all ears'

Merlin cleared his throat 'err, well we err…' Merlin looked at the others for support.

Arthur moved forward 'we wanted to know whether you've found something out about Nimueh…we noticed that you've been looking really worried and preoccupied lately'.

Helena raised an eyebrow 'aren't we all worried at the moment?' there was a cold tone to her voice. There was an uneasy silence for a moment then Helena suddenly sighed and sat down suddenly on Arthur's bed. All of them stared at her in surprise; she suddenly looked exhausted, there where bags under her eyes and her eyes where slightly blood shot. She looked up at them and smiled slightly 'in answer to your question; yes I have found something out…I just haven't wanted to tell you…didn't want to spoil your happiness' she looked at them all.

'We all new that something had to come up sooner or later, you're not to blame' said Morgause gently 'what have you found?'

Helena hesitated for a moment then said 'I made contact with the druids that Mordred was living with' she sighed 'I take it that you all know that he was the one who took the cup while those gargoyles where distracting us?' when they nodded she continued 'well about a week ago Mordred disappeared with out a trace or warning. From what I can gather a few days before Mordred was seen talking to a woman on the outskirts of their camp; that woman was Nimueh. From what I've been able to find out Mordred is now openly working with Nimueh'.

There was a slight pause as they all allowed this to sink in then Lancelot said abruptly 'that's not all is it?'

Helena shook her head slightly 'no its not. A few days ago I talked to several of the Priestesses of the Old Religion and they told me that Nimueh is using the Cup of Life to create an army'

Arthur sighed 'I take it that it's not an ordinary army?'

Helena gave him a wry smile 'Nimueh's army is not fully alive and its not completely dead. She has created an inner army and an outer army; the outer army consists of about a hundred and fifty while the inner army is only about seventy'

Gwen interrupted her 'there must be some kind of complication right? Other wise there wouldn't be so few of them'

Helena nodded 'Nimueh has complete control over both armies, as a result though them she can use her powers; a short way of saying it would be that all two hundred and twenty have magic' she hesitated then continued 'the outer army can be killed by anyone but Nimueh has placed a certain ward on the inner army that means that those things-I suppose you could call them zombies- can only be killed by people who have magic'

Arthur and Lancelot stared at her both slowly realising what that meant, Arthur opened his mouth to protest but Helena held up her hand 'there is one thing though; these zombies can only see people that are a threat to them, its to do with some mistake Nimueh made when she was creating them, so they can't see children or someone who's to injured to hurt them. Consequently this also means that they cant see people who are unconscious or asleep'

'How do we fight the inner army then?' asked Lancelot.

Helena sighed 'you don't, they can only be killed by someone who has magic'

'What! You cant expect us to just sit by and let the people we love go and fight!' yelled Arthur

Helena sighed 'there is no need to shout Arthur I can hear you perfectly well' she stood up 'can I talk to you both?'

Lancelot and Arthur followed her out into the hall then into an empty room opposite. Once the door was closed Helena turned to them and said 'you can fight but not the inner army'

Lancelot shook his head 'what do you expect us to do? Walk away? We can't just fight then turn around and leave; how can you expect us to do that!'

Helena sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples 'please Lancelot don't make this any harder'

Arthur frowned 'so are you saying that I get my knights together and that we meat these things out on the battle field then once we've killed the outer army we all turn and come back to Camelot leaving you, Merlin, Morgana and Morgause to fight?'

Helena sighed 'I don't like it either Arthur…'

'There must be some other way!' cried Lancelot in desperation. He couldn't just walk away, he couldn't leave Morgause and the people who where beginning to feel like his family.

Helena shook her head 'trust me I've been spending hours thinking it over and there isn't any other way, unless you want to die you have to leave'

Arthur and Lancelot looked at each other then nodded 'we're going to fight even if it means that we'll die'

Helena shook her head again 'listen to me, both of you, you can't fight'

'Yes we can, we might not be able to kill them but we can injure them' said Arthur firmly

'And what do you think it will do to Morgause, Merlin and Morgana watching to two of you die?' asked Helena dryly

There was a pause as Lancelot and Arthur stared at her. Helena sighed and said 'its going to be hard enough for them realising that they probably won't come out of this alive, its going to be hard enough for them having to face those monsters. They won't be able to do it if you both end up dying. If you want to help them, want to give them a chance to survive then you have to let them fight alone'

There was a silence that seemed to press on all of their ears, Lancelot and Arthur looked at each other both slowly comprehending that they didn't really have a choice, they had to do what Helena was asking them to do, they had to leave. Arthur looked at Helena, their eyes meeting and he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Helena looked relived that they had agreed and said 'good, look I need to have a word with Morgana and Morgause do you think you could fetch them for me?' Lancelot and Arthur nodded and left both feeling slightly numb.

Left alone for a few minutes Helena pressed her fingers to her temples again and muttered in her head 'this is harder than I thought it would be'

A voice replied, a masculine voice that had a strong current of laughter running though it 'well you didn't expect it to be easy did you?' the voice sounded slightly amused

'No but, oh…. There are just too many complications and I'm worried that Lancelot and Arthur won't leave when its time to'

'What do you think Morgause and Morgana will do?' asked the voice

'I don't know they have a right to know but god I hope that they still want to fight, Merlin and I definitely can't fight that army on our own'

'Will you tell them about the prophecy?' asked the voice

'Yes. Speaking of which have you found out anything about that?'

'No because of Uther's meddling many artefacts of the old religion have been lost, and none now live who remember the whole prophecy… I was thinking about visiting the Isle of the Blessed there might be something there' the voice paused then said quietly 'I wish I could help you' there was a tender note to the voice now

Helena sighed 'you are helping me…'

'You know that's not what I meant'

'I know… how is she?' asked Helena

'She misses you, the short times you spend here aren't enough'

'I know, I know but can't you wait until this is over?'

'Of course I can wait. I'm just saying… be careful. She isn't the only one who wont recover if something happens to you'

'I know' Helena didn't realise she had spoken these words aloud until she heard a voice say 'Helena?'

Helena opened her eyes; without her hearing them Morgana and Morgause had entered the room blinking she smiled at them 'sorry I was just thinking, now I wanted to know whether you two were sure you wanted to fight'

Morgause and Morgana stared at her 'of course we want to fight how could we not?' asked Morgana in surprise

Helena hesitated then said 'do they know?'

Morgause frowned at her 'do who know?' why was Helena acting so strangely?

Helena hesitated again before continuing 'Lancelot and Merlin, do they know?'

Morgana frowned and said with a hint of annoyance in her voice 'do they know what?'

Helena took a deep breath and said 'that you're both pregnant'


ha! should i leave it there? sorry to those who think this part is a bit cheesy but i couldnt resist.

so do you like Morgause and Lancelot's first kiss? :D

oh and who do you think Helena is talking to?

by the way the part where Morgause is thinking about the firework display Helena gave at the weddings is inspired by Gandalf's fire works (Lord of the Rings)

sorry to all Uther fans but i couldnt think of a way for him to die with out it being a murder or something :)

next chapter will be up soon...

Please review!