Chapter 14
Previously:
It seemed like the more I found out the less it made sense. But one thing was for sure, I was going to find out!
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"Those days are far behind me." He replied in defense.
"Ha!" D'Artagnan mocked. The man punched his shoulder. They both laughed. I made my way down the stairs slowly. "You should go before you're missed." The man said.
"Little too late for that." I spoke determinately.
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Earlier that night...
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A dark hooded figure crept along the tall concrete walls of Camelot. He came up to a grated window. "Derherum." The gate flew open with a burst of sparks. He walked down the hallway and with a wave of his hand and swift word, "byrnlae" the torches burst with flames. He passed many stairs cases and hallways until he reached his destination. He slipped into the room of his desire without making a sound. As he approached the bed, he looked upon the sleeping figure of the Lady Morgana.
"Morgana... Morgana." He said. Another word of magic and the candles flickered to life. Morgana awoke from the light. She opened her eyes and was startled to see Mordred.
"Mordred. What are you doing here?" She got out of bed and slipped into a night drape.
"I needed to speak with you."
"Of course. Here, come and sit." They say at the table in her room. "We are ready to commence the next step in our plan." said Mordred.
"What next step?" Morgana asked.
"To rid of Merlin and his precious girlfriend."
"But how? I've tried so many times to rid that thorn in my side but Merlin continues to constantly foil every single one of my plans." Morgana said regretfully.
"That is because you underestimate him."
"But surely if you and I combine our magic, we could take out Merlin easily."
"He has great power. And you'd be a fool to deny it."
"What power could a mere servant have?" Morgana clearly confused.
"You would be surprised." Mordred answered. "Then how?" asked Morgana.
"We have tried using our minds against him. We've even tried to use magic. None so far have worked." Mordred replied. "But this time, we will use his heart against him. For the heart is the key to the soul. We simply crush his heart, and when he's weak, we rip it out of him."
"I am not so sure about this, Mordred."
"Once Merlin is out of the way," He got up from his seat and began to talk into her ear. "no one will be able to stop you." He said in one ear. "That is what you want?" He whispered in the other. "The throne of Camelot... all to yourself?"
Morgana smiled her evil grin. Mordred explained the rest of his plans. Or at least the parts he wanted her to think were his plans. He explained what he wanted her to do.
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Mordred snuck out of the Castle, down the secret passage ways and into the underground tunnels. He took out a small metal sphere. He opened his mind and the sphere activated.
"Jarvis!"
"Yes, my master?" The creepy servant's image appeared on the metal sphere.
"I've spoken with Morgana. She is, of course willing." Mordred spoke confidently.
"How did you coerce her?"
"I simply said what she wanted to hear. She would do just about anything to get her hands on the throne." He said with an devilish grin. "The next stage of my plan is coming into fold."
"Does the girl suspect anything?"
"Not a thing. For all she knows, she escaped from the dungeons all on her own. She's told me everything I need to know. Once I get Merlin out of the way, I can kill Angela and finally get my hands on her necklace. The Knowledge and all the power of the Ancients will be mine." Mordred turned off the sphere and made his way to begin the next stage.
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Merlin
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Merlin had just finished all of his chores. The boot shining, washing the floors, polishing Arthur's armor. All of it was finished. Arthur was already sleeping. What a surprise. Merlin was so tired. He couldn't wait to just lay down and rest. It was pretty late. About an hour after dark. When he was walking back to his house, he heard someone. He whipped around. "Gwen. You scared me."
"I'm sorry, Melrin. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm glad I found you though. I need to show you something." said Gwen.
"Gwen it's the middle of the night. Couldn't it wait till the morning?"
"No. This is very important. You will know why soon enough." She led him into a very old section of the town library. "I woke up about an hour ago from a very strange dream. I know this is going to sound crazy but when I did, something told me I should come here and search the history records. I was reading about historical tragedies." She brought him to a table with several opened books.
"Here it is. The Siege of Maastricht. It talks about a man from a town called Maastricht. He was dying of an incurable disease. In his last attempt to save himself, he turned to dark magic. He found a way of cheating death. By conjuring up Black magic, he consumed the soul of another living being. This gave him extended life. He thought he had found immortality until he started dying again. The effect was only temporary. So he began to kill more and more people. He massacred thousands in his town. It even says he killed his own wife and children. When he killed another one of his victims, it had a much stronger and more long lasting effect. He found out his victim was a sorcerer and that a soul with magic was more powerful. So he began to search for witches and sorcerers to extend his life. He killed countless people who all had magic. The story says that no one ever caught him."
"Gwen, why are you telling me this?" Merlin asked sluggishly while yawning.
"Because Merlin, look at his name." Gwen showed him the book. Merlin read it. "D'Artagnan"
"So they have the same name. That doesn't prove anything." replied Merlin. "Gwen how could you say something like that?"
"Think about it. How much do you really know about him? He just appeared out of no where. And you know Camelot. A lot of magic and sorcery has been known to originate here. If there is a possibility that this man is D'Artagnan, he needs to be stopped. This man is killing people with magic. Sorcerer or not, killing is wrong." said Gwen. "But there's something else. Anytime his appearance was recorded, it said he had a womanly companion with him, a lover."
"Gwen I think your being a little delusional."
"How much do you really know about him? You never know with people. Especially sorcerers. You can't trust them. Look at Morgana." Gwen said. This hurt Merlin. The fact that she hated people with magic. "The last person you ever thought, could be the one to betray you."
"I should go." Melrin answered.
"All I'm saying is... just be careful around him, Merlin."
Merlin left the library. It was absurd what Gwen said. Merlin couldn't even think about it, it was so ridiculous. Where would Gwen get such an idea?
But then... when Merlin thought about it, he didn't really know much about D'Artagnan. Where he was from, why he came to help him and Angela, how he knew about his destiny.
"Your being stupid Merlin." He said to himself. He continued to walk in the direction to his quarters. When he turned down the street he saw two hooded figures. Merlin crept quietly behind a barrel and hid. The two figures came closer into view. Merlin recognized them at once. It was Angela and D'Artagnan. "We need to hurry and get back before Merlin gets home." D'Artagnan whispered. Merlin saw Angela stop to give him an affectionate kiss on the cheek. Merlin feel a prick of jealousy.
"What was that for?" D'Artagnan asked.
"For you... For everything you've done for me." Angela replied. She looked around and Merlin ducked behind the barrel. "We can't let Merlin find out about this." He heard D'Artagnan's voice. He heard them go into the house.
Merlin didn't know what to think about what just happened only that they were hiding something from him. It made him suspicious of D'Artagnan. Maybe he wasn't to be trusted. He was also hurt that Angela would be involved or keep something from him. Gwen's words came to him. The last person you ever thought, could be the one to betray you.
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Angela
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"Those days are far behind me." He replied in defense.
"Ha!" D'Artagnan mocked. The man punched his shoulder. They both laughed. I made my way down the stairs slowly. "You should go before you're missed." The man said.
"Little too late for that." I spoke determinately.
The man who was talking with D'Artagnan disappeared into the dark. I knew he would but D'Artagnan, on the other hand, was stuck with me. He was going to give me answers even I had to beat it out of him. But I would save that for a last resort. I looked at him with an accusing glare. "You better do some serious explaining. Who was that?" I gestured in the direction the man escaped.
"He was just a friend." He answered.
"How do you know why I'm getting these visions?"
"I can't... tell you."
"You can't? Hmm well you know, I think Merlin would love to know all about this little conversation between you and whoever that man was and maybe about that sorcerer healing me in the forest too?"
"You can't tell him."
"Why not?"
"...I can't say." He hesitated.
"Fine. I hope you have a good explanation for Merlin." I took a step back up the stairs.
"No you can't!" I stopped and came back down.
"WHY. NOT?" I yelled.
"Because..."
"Because why?" I asked.
I heard the voice of the mystery man. "Because of me." I turned to my left to see a figure standing in the dark hallway. The man walked out of the shadows slowly. As the light hit his skin and revealed the face of this mystery man, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Merlin?"
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Cliffhanger! So what do you think? Come on TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS PEOPLE!