Chapter Ten:
Immediately, she stopped laughing. Instead, she glared at Merlin, the man she trusted, the man that betrayed her. He was the reason why things ended like this. Maybe, so many lives would not have been ended while she tried to give Camelot a queen worthy of the throne. He could've just stood aside, and let her rule, but he didn't.
"Merlin, you've always been a thorn in my side. So many of my plans have been foiled by you. That won't be happening again. You'll die a painful death, like you tried to do with me!"
She was making him more and more angry. Furious, even. Why couldn't she just live in peace; leave Camelot in peace?
"I would tell you to stop living in the past, but since you've brought it up, let's talk about it. Did your sweet sister Morgause tell you that she used you like a pawn in a twisted game of chess? Did she ever tell you that she made you the vessel for the sleeping spell? That the reason I poisoned you was because if I didn't, all of Camelot would fall, and all its citizens as well?" he snapped.
"You could've told me what was happening! I only wanted Uther off the throne! I never wanted to kill everyone!"
"How would it sound Morgana? 'Hey, I know that you have magic and are really freaked out, but you're the vessel for the spell and you need to die.' Really? You would've thought I was just saying that because I thought all magic users were evil! You know what's really stupid about that? You thought it either way!
In case you forgot, I was the one that sent you to the druids for help, although that didn't end very well. I was also the one, that brought the druid boy to you, because I knew you were kind and compassionate! That's what you used to be, before you let bitterness and hate consume you. Before you turned greedy and malicious."
"How dare you? How dare you act like you cared! You never did! All the while, I did! I cared for you! I loved you! I would've gladly taken the poison if you told me! But you made me go to Morgause! You're the one that pushed me into her waiting arms!
Morgause taught me many things. She taught me how to control and use my magic. She taught me that if I wanted change, I had to make it happen. She taught me the truth about my so called friends. She explained to me how none of you cared. She was there for me when no-one else was!"
The air was charged with magic. Their hairs rose and the earth started to shake, though that went unnoticed by the two enemies. Just before Morgana absolutely lost it, Merlin decided to comment, as any sane person would.
"I've gotta say, this is kind of funny. You used a spell that, in the end, caused everyone to fall asleep, just like your sister. Here, is the very place that I poisoned you and your heart. This is the place that everything went to hell. Here is where I almost killed the woman I loved. Now, it seems that I will."
Morgana lost it. She didn't even use any spells; she just threw raw magic at Merlin. Instinctively, he absorbed the attack, gathering her power.
"You! You had magic and you never told me! I felt so alone and scared yet you never told me!?"
Even though she desperately tried to keep the hurt from entering manifesting in her voice and appearing in her face, it did. For a moment, Morgana seemed to be the same person that came running into Gaius' chambers one day, terrified out of her wits because of her magic.
But she wasn't.
Trying to ignore the guilt that rose up in him seeing her like that, he replied, "I wanted to! I doesn't help when you have your guardian and a bloody dragon breathing down your neck, telling you not to get involved."
He was too far into his rant to notice the perplexed look Morgana was giving him when he mentioned a dragon. "Maybe I would've, if you weren't already turning. You tried to assassinate the king, though you saved him, and you stole the Crystal of Neahtid. If you weren't already going against the crown, I probably would've, and we wouldn't be in this mess right now!"
Both witch and warlock had a few traitorous tears cascading down their cheeks. This had to end.
'The evil to your good.'
Morgana screamed. She screamed a scream full of anger and anguish, of happiness and bitterness, of love and hate. Just like the two of them. Her magic exploded alongside her emotions.
Merlin absorbed this magic as well, used all the power he absorbed, added a bit of his own, and threw it back at Morgana. She cast a shield to protect herself, but she was still pushed back slightly by the force. Angered, she summoned a ring of fire, circling Merlin. The flames grew higher and hotter. They started to close in around the target. As it was about to touch his skin, the warlock shot water at the fire.
The water was plentiful and strong. Easily, it extinguished the flames.
Only one person could even stand a chance against her fire.
"Emrys!" she screamed.
'The dark to your light'
A sad smile was given in return. Then, Merlin called forth the four elements, not really knowing what he was doing, but knowing how to. It was as if the Tripe Goddess herself was providing the words for him.
"Eorðe, lyft, fyr, wæter, hiersumaþ me," he could feel his power, so could Morgana. She was quite frankly confused by what her enemy was doing. He continued chanting.
"Eorðe, ðrýn hire of hê."
Vines rose from the stone, wrapping around the witch's body, forcing her to her knees. Before she could use her magic to get out, another spell was spoken.
"Lyft, d æðm to hiera of hê mûð."
Air whipped around her like a small whirlwind, causing her hair to fly in all directions, and her dark dress to start flapping. She tried yelling out a spell, but air rushed into her mouth. No sound came out. She tried the spell quietly, still, no sound came out of her mouth. Even in her mind, she couldn't hear herself incanting the spell.
"Fyr, âmerian ðone as folde ðone as wamful mægden fâg."
A fire burned low around her. It didn't burn her. It was purifying fire, consecrating the stone she kneeled on. What was he doing?
"Wæter, fulwihtnian heonone sê mânweorc rumpen drýlic besettan hiere of hê!"
A small cloud formed above her. It darkened and condensed, until it spilled water. The cloud rained holy water. Every bit of skin that was touched by the rain burned in the way the fire did not. No. He didn't have that kind of power, surely? There was no way he could get rid of her magic!
"Hiersumaþ me. Âstîgan Sîn ðrýð hinderling ðanon ðone as healm. Strîcan hire of hê strangnes âweorpan ðone as folde mid ðæge pro rumpen hit hê tôêacan and self. Man ðynhl¯æne hearra frêolslic, hwîlum whilom hit hê must hrêowian. Sê Ofergêare Crîstes ábædeþ sîn!"
The elements paused. Flames stopped dancing, air stopped whirling, rain stopped falling, and the vines stopped growing. It was as if the very world was waiting in anticipation for the last act needed to be able to complete the ritual.
A knife was in Merlin's hand. He slowly walked over to the witch, and bent down to her level. His hand raised, Morgana reflexively flinched. Unexpectedly, instead of stabbing her, Merlin dragged the knife across his left forearm, leaving a trail of red liquid in its wake. Then, he did the same to her, on the right, using the side with his blood on it. He left the ring of fire, and the elements resumed to complete the ritual.
'The hate to your love.'
Immediately, a searing pain shot through her, starting where her heart was, and spreading to the rest of her body. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, but the air forcefully caused the sound to remain trapped in her throat. It was as if her very soul was being torn apart, and in a sense it was.
A gold mist burst from the witch, barely seen beneath the black wisps shrouding it. The black and the gold were one. Her body thrashed and struggled against the vines keeping her in place, desperately calling for the magic that no longer ran through her veins; anything to be relieved of the pain.
Slowly, but all too quickly, it stopped. The pain was gone, leaving only the throbbing of her entire body to acknowledge that it was ever even there. The darkness dissipated, forsaken by the purifying flames that suddenly towered over her, and the holy water that was now positively pouring on her. The golden mist, the magic, finally cleansed of all the evil that it lived with, glowed brilliantly, purely, and dispersed.
The mist dashed away from its former mistress, sometimes landing on plants, making them flourish more than ever before. Other times landing in rivers, causing the water to run clear yet simultaneously turning it a wondrous blue; rehydrating the most dehydrated of animals with the slightest drop. And whatever else there was, caused dwindling fires to once again burn vigourously, and the air to be fresher than one could have possibly imagined.
Now, the vines retreated into the stone, leaving no indication it was ever there. The air calmed around her, allowing the witch to speak once more. The fires extinguished, leaving no scorch marks, but the stone was still warm from where it burned. The clouds raced out of the window, joining the others floating high in the sky.
Morgana let out a guttural scream. Tears streaked her face, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She felt so empty. Her magic, the very thing that made her her, was gone. Yet, she couldn't feel bitter and angry. She couldn't feel hatred. She should feel it, but she didn't. The evil now removed from her body, her mind was clear and sane, for the first time in years. And for everything she had caused, she could only feel remorse.
"Oh what have I done?" she sobbed. She had wronged so many people. Hurt those that were trying to help. Forced the man she loved to make an impossible decision, and didn't accept it when he made the right one. She betrayed everyone that cared for her. She was the hate to their love. She was the hate to Merlin's love.
And she couldn't live with that.
She grabbed the discarded knife from the ground. A sobbing Merlin had thrown it, knowing the amount of pain Morgana was in because of him, again. A little ways away, he had his hands and knees on the ground, as if begging for forgiveness from the goddesses.
Morgana went to Merlin, and lifted his head. She made him stand up, softly kissing him, and then leaning her back against him as a silent request.
He held her, crying harder than before, knowing what she was going to do; that she could not be saved, nor did she want to be.
"I'm sorry, my love," she whispered.
She plunged the knife into her chest, directly through the heart. No longer a High Priestess, she would die. And she was glad.
Now, she could be the good to his good. The light to his light. The love to his love. She would die happily. Morgana took her last ragged breath, and never let it out. Her eyes were closed, as if in eternal rest.
"I'm sorry too, my love. I'm sorry too."
Merlin stayed like that, hugging the corpse of his love and his enemy, for a long time. Or maybe it was only a few minutes. He didn't know. All he knew was that Morgana was dead.
What he didn't know, was that there was a group of knights, a king, a queen, and a physician, that witnessed the whole scene.
A/N: The spells used:
Element calling spell: Earth, air, fire, water, obey me.
Magic stripping spell: Obey Me. Return her power to the land for she twisted it for self. She wasted her privilege, now she must repent. Return her power back to the land whence it blessed the wicked witch. The old religion repels her!
Earth Spell starts with earth, and is about binding her.
Air Spell starts with air, and is about keeping air inside her mouth.
Fire Spell starts with fire, and is about purifying the ground that she (the impure maiden) was on.
Water Spell starts with water, and is about washing away her sinful and twisted magic, if I remember correctly.
If you're wondering why I don't know the correct translations, it is because I didn't write them down... Whoops! I hope this wasn't overkill. This chapter took the most amount of time to write out of any of my previous chapters! I don't know how many more chapters there are going to be, but it's probably not more than five. Probably.
Reviews are always appreciated! And if you've read all the way down here, thanks for reading!