Ch. 11 Silent Foreboding
From: Libitine
To: Arwen17
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2007 8:52 pm
That evening, Frik came running into Queen Mab's chambers. "Q-Queen Mab!" he gasped as his Queen rose slowly from her throne. Mab had been in a trance of some sort, dragging the power from a particularly large crystal. When Frik burst in, she lost that concentration and the crystal she held so dear shattered, wasting its precious power. She dropped the pieces on the floor around her and slowly opened her eyes.
"You are not suppose to bother me Frik." she growled, pacing slowly in front of him. She looked like a wildcat waiting to pounce on prey. "Do you know what you just cost me?" Frik was frozen in terror, realizing he may have made a fatal mistake.
"It's Moira." he managed to gasp as Mab noticed his panic-stricken face. Mab's own face fell. "She is - well. . . the baby . . . " he began, his voice slowly trailing off as he tried to catch his breath. Mab's face reflected worry, pain, and even a trace of fear. She sighed, as if silently bracing herself. "Well take me to her." she whispered. "Y-Yes Madame." Frik said and led her out of the room.
The minute Queen Mab heard the baby's first cry, she silently built her strength. She would do one of two things when Idath arrived, quickly hand the infant to him, or fight for it. At the moment, she was unsure of which one.
One of the fae midwives handed the baby to Frik and whispered something to him. He nodded and looked down at the baby, his eyes widening in surprise. He crossed the room and placed the baby in Mab's arms. "It is a girl." he said softly with a small bow to his Queen.
Mab looked down at the tiny baby. It grunted and wiggled in it's blanket, struggling to be free. Mab contained herself for only a moment. "How could this be?" she whispered to herself. "E-Excuse me, Madame?" Frik said in reply.
There was a flourish of shadows as Lord Idath appeared in the room. "Well, well, well," he scoffed and gestured towards the newborn in Mab's arms. "Is that little thing my knight?" Mab's face was set in a morbid expression. She stood up with the baby in her arms, but said nothing.
"Oh, I suppose size does not matter for now." Idath teased. "I see a good future for this one, Mab. He will grow to be big and strong and he will do great things." As Idath said this, Mab seemed to grow a bit taller in her confidence. "So," Idath said impatiently. "Give me the child." A malevolent grin spread across Queen Mab's face. "What?" Idath barked. "This child does not belong to you my Lord." Mab said. "Need I remind you, Mab," Idath said, his face reddening in anger. "We had a deal." Mab nodded. "I know." she said. "Moira's baby boy for my Prince Mordred."
"Then it is clear. Hand him to me!" Idath demanded. Mab laughed. "This baby is not your knight, Lord Idath. This baby is a girl." she sneered.
Idath felt like he had suffered a blow. "W-What?" he stammered. "I don't believe you!" he yelled. The baby wailed. Mab set the baby down in her cradle and gently removed the blanket, using the very tips of her fingers to do so. "Come and see." she said to Idath, gesturing to the naked babe. Idath crossed the room to the cradle and peered at the baby. What he saw left him breathless. "You tricked me, Mab." he said shakily, slowly backing away from the cradle. Mab shrugged dismissively. "I am the Mistress of Magic, Lord Idath, that is my business." she hissed. Frik shuddered at those familiar words.
Idath shook his head. "We are not finished here, Mab!" he yelled. "You may not be," she growled. "But I am. Now get the hell out of here." Idath opened his mouth to protest, but he could not find anything else to say. "Damn you, Mab." he whispered and disappeared.
(Twenty Years Prior)
Queen Mab walked through the doors of Tintagle castle, Frik following close behind her. The gnome pushed a baby carriage, the infant Moira squirming inside. The carriage was carved out of graphite and black diamonds making it sparkle with a radiance unknown to man. Lady Morgan Le Faye glanced up from her son's cradle. "Queen Mab," she said in a whisper. "I just got him to sleep." Mab smirked at Morgan and walked over to see baby Mordred. "Don't wake him, Mab." Morgan commanded and walked over to Frik, who hugged her in a tight embrace.
Mab, ignoring Morgan's wishes, reached into Mordred's crib and picked him up. He opened his eyes, and took a deep breath to begin his wailing, but when he saw just who it was that was holding him, he stopped and gave Mab a toothless smile. Mab smiled back and carried him over to the window, showing him the outside.
"Prince Mordred." Mab whispered to the baby. "Do you see the land, my sweet? This land, all the way to the mountains, will be yours one day. You will rule one day. You will be my king." Mordred looked outside, his tiny eyes very wide. He watched birds fly from the sea, and horses gallop across the green fields. He watched butterflies flutter in the air and he watched drops of rain fall across Britain.
Mordred was barely six months old, so he knew nothing of what he saw, or what his Auntie Mab say, but her voice made him happy. He kicked his feet and squealed in glee. Mab kissed his forehead. "That is a good boy, Mordred, my darling." she cooed and hugged him close.
Only a gnome was in Moira's room when she woke. "Do not fret about your baby, Princess." she whispered, giving Moira a spoonful of some sort of thick medicine and tucking her tighter into bed. "Her Majesty has got her safe in her keep. She is all right." The old gnome smiled warmly and gently washed Moira's face with a cool cloth. "You have had a hard day, duckie. You need to just keep resting. Her Majesty insists upon it, I am afraid." She put the cloth in the bowl and walked toward the door. "Sweet dreams, Princessa." she said with a bow, shutting the heavy wooden door behind her.
Mordred paced in the library. He had been pacing since his sword lesson with Frik had been interrupted by some frantic servant yelling about his cousin. Frik had dropped his sword and fled to Auntie Mab, as if the lesson was of no importance. He had barely seen Frik and had not seen his Auntie Mab since. Fear was stirring inside him. The fear that this baby would steal his Auntie Mab, and her affections, away from him. He crossed his arms. Mordred knew he had to sleep at some point, but knowing Mab was hidden away with Moira's bastard child, just made the notion of sleep impossible.
Queen Mab sat in her throne in her darkened crystal chamber staring at the cradle across the room. A deep sigh escaped her throat and seemed to echo in the room, playing off the crystals that surrounded her.
Mab had sat there in silence while the baby slept for hours and hours. She was pondering Lord Idath's visit, and what he had said. Mab had always dismissed whatever anyone had said about her, but Idath was different. It was different, because she had loved him. She had loved him so much, that it would have hurt to love him any more than she already. Somehow, Mab knew that Idath felt the same way.
But her greatest pain, had been turning Idath away, and choosing power and prospect over her humble life with him. Mab also knew how much it had hurt him, and how much he still hurt. She, however, had suppressed that pain, and she had done a damn good job. Now, the pain was becoming more and more evident, because Mab no longer had things to distract herself, and Idath had very much become a part of her life. She wanted to see him. She longed for him.
Mordred sulked in one corner of his room as Queen Mab pulled his suitcase out from under his bed the next morning. She opened it and took some of Mordred's things from Frik to pack. The gnome bustled around Mordred's bedroom gathering his things to give to Mab as she packed them up. Mordred let out a sigh, causing Mab to remember him again. She turned to him and cocked her head in a bird-like fashion. "Mordred, my sweet," she purred. "Why do you look so sad?"
Mordred shrugged. "I do not want to leave you, Auntie Mab." he complained. "Oh hush." Mab scolded and waltzed over to him, extending her hand. "You want to be King, do you not?" she said and Mordred took her hand. "Well, I do Auntie Mab, but..." Mordred began, but stopped talking. Mab sat down and motioned for Mordred to sit too. Since Mab had occupied the only chair, Mordred sat down on the arm of hers, and put his arm around her. "I only want you to be happy darling." She said with a fond smile, her eyes sparkling like violet diamonds. "I will not disappoint you." Mordred said. "But I will miss you." Mab's smile widened. "Oh Mordred." she cooed and kissed him gently on the cheek. "You could never disappoint me." Mordred smiled. "You are too good to me, Auntie." he said and left her to finish his packing.
Mordred claimed Camelot with such ease, that for a moment, he doubted he was actually king. Fortunately for Mab, it was nothing but the truth, and Mordred and his followers turned Camelot into their own domain, carelessly dreaming up monsters and turning them to the streets. Mordred was careful, though, not wanting to loose his people, but that quickly became the very least of his worries. The people of Camelot were so desperate for any king, that they blindly welcomed Mordred and his men with arms open wide, therefore accepting Mab.
The great golden city of Camelot, noble city of Christians, had been turned over to the dark side with Mordred's monsters, and Mab's pagans running wild. Queen Mab flaunted her welcome in Mordred's kingdom, appearing and disappearing as she pleased. Mordred never cared.
Why would he? His Auntie Mab had given him everything. His life and his crown were her creation, so what would he challenge her for. He loved her - and he believed that on some level, she just may love him back.
From: Arwen17
To: Libitine
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 7:24 am
Moira sat quietly next to the Enchanted Lake nursing her baby. The water of the lake lapped softly near her toes and her baby took the moment to clamp down hard on her breast. "Ow!" surprised out of her reverie. "You're supposed to drink from it, not bite it off." Moira reprimanded. The baby girl blinked innocently up at her.
It had been a few days since the delivery of Leah and Moira was still pretty sore. One didn't just get up and prance around after giving birth. Moira began to hum hoping to lull Leah to sleep so that she could take a break.
Her mother was in a very good mood recently all because of Mordred being on the throne. "The Old Ways are being revived." her mother had told Moira gleefully. Moira sighed at the memory. She was surprised her mother had managed to return at all and Moira still felt a deep sense of foreboding. Everyone was acting like everything was going to fall into place neatly, but Moira just couldn't shake the dark feeling off that something was going to happen. Moira knew she should listen to her feelings because they had been accurate in the past, but she didn't want to be the lathspell or stormcrow of ill news and shatter everyone's hopes.
Moira took a deep breathe to steady her nerves and stood up carefully, heading back to the palace.
In the baby's room she carefully laid a sleeping Leah in her crib and slowly...slowly closed the door to not wake Leah. She walked through the chilly halls and bumped into Frik. Frik began stuttering, "Madame is..."
"Somebody's coming." Moira interrupted, her clairvoyance kicking in.
"Who?" asked Frik, surprised.
Moira shook in her head and headed off in the direction she felt it from with Frik in tow. When she arrived her mother was already there disdainfully eyeing the male visitor up and down.