Chapter 10: "A Shattered Life"
The rushing footsteps and shouts echoing throughout the corridors is what awoke Anakin and Arthur from their sleep, confused and wondering what was going on, and fearing something had gone wrong with the knights or worst, their father. Anakin leapt out of his bed and towards his doors, only to find them locked, Arthur's as well. It seems that Uther had learnt from last time and ensured that Anakin and Arthur were kept out of the chaos,
Anakin then rushed over towards his window, looking down into the courtyard to see guards, servants and his father running around over towards Gaius and Obi Wan, Anakin watched through his window, hoping all this chaos wasn't about the knights although deep down he had a bad feeling about what was happening.
Down in the courtyard, guards were rushing around, as servants quickly hurried to move the horses away which had been carrying wounded soldiers back from the battle, Obi Wan was helping two more guards attend to two more wounded knights when Gaius approached him,
"Have you seen Uther?" he asked him seeing his friend shake his head
"No, what's wrong? Have you found Gorlois yet?" he asked seeing Gaius go silent, giving a small nod, Obi Wan sensed his friend's sadness as he realized what had happened, he lowered his voice so that the two guards wouldn't hear him "Is he dead?" he asked
Gaius looked up at him with a somber look, "I'm afraid so" he admitted. Obi Wan stared back at him stunned, unable to react, he moved back over to the two guards who were attending to another two wounded knights,
"I should take these men up to your chambers" he only replied "Go find Uther" he simply told him lifting one of the knight's arms over his shoulder and leading him up towards the castle leaving Gaius to continue tending to the wounded and finding Uther.
Morgana had been awakened by her mother almost 30 minutes ago, instructing her to stay at home until she found out what was going on. She could hear shouting and yelling outside and she only hoped her father was alright. She couldn't stand waiting around and decided to head out and up to the castle, perhaps she was with Gaius.
She soon found herself in the courtyard surrounded by guards, servants, horses and wounded knights, eyes scanning each wounded knight, looking for her father, she felt fear running through her-why couldn't she see him? Was he dead? Is that why her mother hadn't come back for her? She also couldn't see Anakin or Arthur around but suspected that Uther had them locked in their rooms in case this was leading to another attack.
She was startled once more when she heard her name being called, "Morgana!" they cried as she turned towards the steps to the castle, and saw Obi Wan moving towards her, she hurried over towards him, wrapping her arms around him, "Obi Wan!" she exclaimed gripping his arms "What's happened, is my father alright?" she asked panic in her voice as Obi Wan held her close, he didn't know how to answer her quite yet and instead he simply replied
"I'll take you to your mother" wrapping an arm around her, he led her through the crowds towards the castle which would lead to the hospital wing where he had last seen her mother.
Meanwhile, still kept locked in his room, Anakin remained by his window watching the commotion continuing down in the courtyard below, he had already spotted his father and just minutes ago seen Obi Wan with Morgana as horses continued to bring back wounded knights which would only have made his friend worry for her father and that had him blaming himself because he still wasn't strong enough to stand up to his father,
He could still see her, gripping his arms, in a panic and concern over her dream-they seem to be getting more and more frequent, he didn't know why her parents or Gaius kept dismissing them but then again, what else could they say, magic was banned and if Morgana was suspected of having anything to do with magic, she'd be killed and he couldn't see that happen to his friend,
He listened for the rushing sound of more footsteps outside of his room before he heard a voice behind him, "Any news on what's happened?" Arthur asked as he emerged from the secret passage way they had created which connected their rooms shortly after they had returned home from being rescued three years ago
Flashback
Smirking at his handy work, Anakin turned back to his young brother who was sitting up on his brother's bed looking over at the small tunnel like hole beside his wardrobe,
"There" he starts wiping the dust off his head; "Now if you feel scared, you can come through this passage, without father knowing" he cheekily pointed out as Arthur had a thought
"And father won't be angry that you've made a hole in the wall?" he asked as Anakin shrugged,
"Father won't know about it because it will covered so he'll never see it" he assured him taking Arthur's hand,
"Now come on, let's test out this passage" he suggested leading him through newly constructed passage way.
End of flashback
Arthur noticed how Anakin hadn't moved from his spot, still looking out the window so he spoke again "Can you see Morgana?" he asked moving towards him as Anakin gave a small nod, "A few minutes ago, until Obi Wan found her and lead her away, looked they were coming towards the castle" he replied as Arthur stopped beside his brother,
"I hope nothing's wrong. We should be down there or at least with Morgana" he admitted as Anakin sighed,
"We don't know what's happened and father's only ensuring we remain safe in case it is an attack" he explained before he went on "I just hope that nothing has happened to her father" he confessed, "I was seeing horses coming into the courtyard with wounded knights, and only hope her father isn't one of them" he added as Arthur sighed
"Or he's dead" he spoke out as Anakin said nothing and instead both brothers moved over towards the bed, taking a seat, all they could do was wait till their father came for them.
Whilst in another area of the castle, Obi Wan had led Morgana up the stairs towards Gaius's chambers and the hospital wing. Obi Wan spotted his friend tended to a wounded knight nearby as they entered the hospital wing, "Gaius!" he called out seeing his friend look over at them, before Obi Wan led Morgana towards the physician,
"Gaius, is Vivien here?" he asked seeing Gaius shake his head,
"She was, but a few minutes ago, she left saying she was going to go collect Morgana" he replied seeing Morgana standing beside Obi Wan. Gaius then added "Did you see her out in the courtyard when you found Morgana?" he asked; now it was Obi Wan's turn to shake his head
"No, Morgana was on her own and she was in a panic for her father" he replied before both men heard Morgana speak up,
"Gaius, where is my…" her voice trailed off when she spotted her father lying on a stretcher nearby and moved towards it. Obi Wan and Gaius silently watched the young girl walking towards her father before Obi Wan spoke
"Has Uther been notified?" as Gaius nodded, "About half an hour ago, he should be on his way here now" he replied still watching Morgana approach her father's stretcher,
"Father?" she spoke placing one hand on his, noticing that he didn't respond to her touch and he felt cold, "Father!" she cried once more shaking his hand slightly, her eyes filling with tears, she turned back around to Gaius and Obi Wan, who had now moved closer towards her, Obi Wan placed one hand on her shoulder as Gaius placed a hand on her other shoulder
"I'm sorry Morgana" he spoke, voice soft and tinged with sadness seeing her shake her head looking back down at her father,
"No" she cried, throwing her arms over his body "No!" she cried shaking her head just as they heard more footsteps coming towards the wing, and Gaius and Obi Wan looked to see more guards, Uther, Anakin and Arthur rushing into the ward,
"Gaius!" Uther exclaimed looking around the ward at the wounded soldiers, "Please tell me…" his voice trailed off as he noticed Morgana crying over the still body of Gorlois. Anakin and Arthur both started to move towards their friend, only to be pulled back by their father,
"Is he the only one?" he asked as Gaius shook his head,
"There were four other knights who lost their lives along with Gorlois" he explained, "However there is more news to report" he told him seeing Uther look straight back at him, confused, so he went on "Gorlois's wife Vivien has appeared to have gone missing" he informed him keeping his voice low so Morgana couldn't hear.
Uther then turned back around to his guards, "Search the city, find her!" he instructed seeing the guards rush from the room not seeing Anakin and Arthur slip by him and over towards their broken friend who was still sobbing over her father's body.
Anakin placed one arm around his friend as Arthur rubbed her back gently, looking over at their father who was speaking in low voices with Obi Wan and Gaius, no doubt it had something to do with Morgana and her mother's disappearance. They couldn't understand how Morgana's mother could just run away and leave their friend alone?
Two hours had passed and still no sign of Morgana's mother. The lower town and the forest had been searched but she was nowhere to be found. Morgana, still distraught of her father's death, hadn't fully realized that her mother had disappeared. Anakin and Arthur had remained by her side even as they had lead her to the council chambers, along with Obi Wan, Gaius and fellow council members,
They all assumed that Uther had summoned them to the chamber to inform them of what had happened to the knights but they had no idea what else had would announce, a promise. A promise he had made to Gorlois years ago, one had never wanted to fulfill.
The council members stood on either sides of the chamber, whilst Obi Wan and Gaius stood beside each other close to the front and Anakin and Arthur, with Morgana walking in the middle of them, moved up to the front beside the throne ahead of Uther entering the room, a somber look on his face. Morgana didn't even raise her head as he approached or even as he began to speak,
"Tonight, we lost five brave, strong knights of Camelot, who died for their kingdom. Their deaths came as a shock but they died protecting the kingdom, the people they swore to protect the people and their king bravely. We will mourn them alongside their families remembering how loyal they were to the kingdom" he informed as Morgana felt Anakin squeeze her hand while Arthur gave her a soft comforting smile before he heard Uther continue
"Amongst the casualties and dead knights, Gorlois's daughter Morgana has been left on her on, her mother cannot be found" he informed the court not seeing Morgana slip to the floor, Anakin and Arthur's arms around her as she began to cry while Uther then moved closer towards his sons and Morgana,
"So I have decided to take responsibility of Morgana, becoming her guardian making her my ward giving her the title of Lady Morgana" he explained, Morgana, eyes red, tears falling down her cheeks, looked up at Uther, in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard, Uther then went on
"The council is dismissed, tomorrow, we will hold the funeral for the five knights" he informed them watching the council exit the chamber leaving Uther, Anakin, Arthur, Morgana, Obi Wan and Gaius behind.
Obi Wan and Gaius moved towards Uther who had moved over to his sons, he looked over at them as they approached,
"Any news on Vivien's whereabouts?" he asked keeping a low voice as Obi Wan shook his head,
"No, the entire lower town has been searched as well as the forest, no one has seen her. The guards say she may have crossed the border into the next kingdom" he explained as Uther sighed,
"I can't understand why she would run away and leave Morgana alone?" he asked although he thought back to when he lost Ygraine and then when Obi Wan told him Shmi was dead. He was crushed, but he knew that his sons would need him and Morgana needed her mother at this time,
Uther then placed a hand on Morgana's shoulder as Anakin and Arthur looked up at their father, "Morgana is a part of our family now" he stated before Morgana stared up at him, her tears gone instead anger in her eyes
"I wouldn't have to be, if you had just sent more knights to aid my father!" she snapped angrily at him taking Anakin and Arthur by surprise however Obi Wan only exchanged glances with each other before Morgana stormed angrily from the chambers in anger and frustration.
Her life was shattered and despite Uther's kindness in taking her in and becoming her guardian, she only wanted her family back and now she didn't have her father or her mother, and despite Anakin and Arthur being by her side, she felt alone.