United In a Second Chance

Chapter Eleven

Fourteen years ago, within Gothel's exotic grove…

On her first night among the witches' coven, Morgause lied awake despite the lateness of the hour after Sage showed the sorceress to her room for as long as she living among them. She had much to think about, including whether or not she was willing to devote her life to Mother Gothel and the other witches, and if destroying all of humanity was a necessary evil she could believe in as much as the others did. Very few villains even, had the courage to commit such an evil act.

Morgause hated the man who murdered her son more than anything and she held no qualms in destroying him or his entire kingdom just to get to him if necessary, which she suspected Gothel saw in her. But Mordred was human and she had once fallen in love with a mortal man who possessed no magic like she did, until he died from having grown ill when her son was only still a boy. Surely not all of humanity deserved to be smitten from their world.

However, these weren't the sorceress' only thoughts which haunted her mind, as she thought about her son and her last moment with him before he left home to try to kill King Arthur, until he was killed instead. A moment as Mordred stood alone within the armory of the King's castle after he finished putting on his armor for the battle he and the Knights of the Roundtable were about to fight alongside their leader.

The sorceress walked into the room, grateful to find that her son was alone, then she examined his armor and tightened a few of the metal plates to make sure he had secured everything perfectly while she whispered to him, "I hope you know just how proud of you I really am, my son. I know that what you know you must do during this battle is a terrible burden to bear. You love Arthur and the rest of your brothers. And killing your King will make you a traitor and murderer in all of their eyes. An offense that is punishable by death."

The knight finally looked down at his mother who was nearly a foot shorter than he was and then he replied, "I don't fear death, Mother. Nor do I fear doing what's right for the good of Camelot. I only fear what might await me should I fail. And I'm afraid that I might."

"You will not fail, Mordred," Morgause assuredly responded to him, as she laid both of her hands over the sides of his face in order to get him to look into her eyes. "And you aren't alone. You have me to help you."

"You know what will happen to you if you try to interfere on my behalf, and Arthur discovers you have magic," her son worryingly answered her. "You know that he doesn't trust anyone else who possesses magic aside from the all-powerful Sorcerer trapped within that damned tree out in the courtyard. And yet he barely trusts in Merlin anymore. I don't want to see you come to harm."

She smiled up at him while she replied sincerely, "You won't. But I will defend my son as much as I can, even if that means my own death. I'm not afraid to die either. I won't be able to bear it if anything happened to you, knowing I didn't use my magic to try to save you. So… just be safe out on that battlefield, and do what you must to see that Arthur dies even if you have to run him through with your own sword. Do you hear me?"

Mordred nodded, then he responded, "I love you, Mother."

"I love you too," she tenderly answered him as she stroked his cheeks. "You certainly know how to make a mother feel proud. Now go… Be the hero Camelot sorely needs."

At last, Morgause was suddenly pulled from her thoughts as Gothel entered her room and walked over join her on the bed so they could talk, as the tree nymph had come in to check on the sorceress. Upon seeing the tears in her eyes, Gothel reached out to lay her hand over the other woman's face in comfort, then took one of her hands into her own.

"Thinking about your son again?" the nymph gently asked her, then pulled her hand away again. "As you now know, I too know how it feels to lose everyone I love. My only family. I am truly sorry, Morgause. But together we can make things right. You can make your son proud by becoming the sorceress you were born to become. However, I cannot help you with your revenge, until I know for certain you will be one of us. I have put all of our sisters through their own tests and so far, Madame Leota, Seraphina, Sage, and Hilda are all who have passed my tests. Very few witches have been willing to join our coven. However, most I've tried to bring into our fold have simply failed me outright. They didn't have the strength, or the courage to do what is needed of them to fulfill this coven's destiny. I hope you understand."

"Perhaps I might, if you would tell me what I must do to show you what you want from me instead of being so secretive," the sorceress firmly replied to her. "I want more than anything to make the kingdom of Camelot, especially its King, to suffer for all they took from me. Do you need me to show you so?"

Mother Gothel studied the determination in her eyes and then she finally responded, "I'm afraid that even if you were fully trained in your power, it would take more than just yourself to eradicate an entire kingdom full of people, especially one that is so bountiful. Their army is vast and they possess riches beyond all the kingdoms I've ever been to. However, even if it were possible, I know that you won't have any trouble with killing all of those you hold responsible for your son's death. Which is why killing Arthur or anyone else in Camelot is hardly much of a test to see if you're worthy of being one of us."

Morgause shrugged as she thought about the other woman's words, then she looked at her again and asked, "All right… so what must I do then to prove myself to you? Just tell me. I'll do anything to see that all of Camelot is destroyed and its ruler dead."

The tree nymph answered her, "In a not too distant land, there is a small village that is well protected by another witch who has refused my offer to join our coven. So long as the people of this village pay her homage with offerings which please her, she keeps their crops alive, their food well supplied, and everyone safe from intruders who wish them harm. And when they fail, she makes them suffer for it. They fear this evil witch, but do as she demands of them out of fear of death. She is quite powerful. Not as powerful as the witch who banished her from her true home in Oz, but someone I hoped to have join the coven."

"Are you saying you want me to kill this witch for you?" the sorceress questioned her in confusion. "Because I'm pretty sure I can handle one witch."

"You can leave her to me," Gothel replied. "Tomorrow, I want to see if you have the courage to kill people who have never wronged you. People who you still see to be good and innocent, even though they would kill you if given the chance upon discovering what you are. If you can do this for me, then I will help you in your own quest for vengeance and will train you to strengthen your power. What do you say, sister?"

Morgause thought for a moment and then at last she responded unwaveringly, "If losing my own humanity by killing a number of people who are innocent is the cost of getting everything I want, then so be it. Where is this village?"

The true villainess smiled cruelly and then she answered, "In a realm known as Wonderland. And while there, you might just help to rid me of someone who has grown to become a thorn in my side as well."