I waited down the hall and watched as Morgana stepped up to the door of the meeting room. She lifted her head and stood proudly as the guards hurried to open the door for her, not wanting to keep the king's ward waiting. I heard the discussion coming from inside the room and also heard it cut off as soon as Morgana made her appearance. Not even the news of a sorceress in the castle was enough to stop them dead at her beauty. The doors slammed shut behind her and I stepped out from the corner and rushed up to the guards.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be late, but I had to finish this job for Arthur, and then I had to find some herbs for Gauis, and-" I said quickly, pretending that I had just run all the way from the physicians chambers, although I had really been less than twenty feet away for the last ten minutes. One of the guards held up a hand to stop the chatter and pointed down the hall.
"You can't go through this door now Merlin, the meeting has already started. You'll have to go through the servants entrance." He said apologetically, as if I was not a servant anyway.
"Of course. Thank you, I just thought I would apologise." I started before the guard cut me off again.
"It's fine. Now get in there before Arthur punishes you." He said with a grin. Everyone knew of Arthur's tendency to give Merlin more jobs whenever he was late, which was often. I grinned and jogged down the hall before slipping in silently through the servant's door. I had to make sure Morgana saw me in the hall so she wouldn't come looking for me. I grabbed a pitcher of water from a side table and stood behind Arthur impatiently. His expression was serious and he turned to look behind him, jumping slightly when he saw me standing behind him. There were a few hidden grins in the watching council members before they regained their composure and focused on the meeting again. Arthur grabbed the front of my tunic and pulled my head down.
"It's about time you got here. I'm dying of thirst and the council is looking for a way out of this mess. How can I show confidence if not even my servant can turn up on time." He hissed in my ear. I bit back a laugh.
"Luck I guess." I said and pulled myself out of his grip to pour water into his goblet.
"That's better." He muttered before picking up the goblet.
I stepped back and sighed. As much as Arthur acted like a prat, I knew he was going to be sad and hurt when I died, although I knew I had to do it to save Morgana, as well as the rest of Camelot. My eyes started to sting and I quickly slipped behind a pillar before the tears started to fall. I rested my head against the stone, and shut my eyes tightly and thought about everything I would lose. Arthur would have to protect himself from all the danger that plagued him, and Gauis would be alone. Gwen would be shattered, despite the newfound knowledge of my magic. These things weren't even the worst of it either. I finally got the girl I loved and now I would have to lose her. Life had never been fair. Morgana would be devastated and so badly hurt that I would do this to her, even though she was planning to sacrifice herself anyway. Hopefully she would be happy again one day. Hopefully she would find someone else to love and have a family and be happy. Although the thought filled me with agony, I could not wish a pain filled life on her so that she would mourn me forever.
I brushed my tears away roughly and stepped out from behind the pillar, before moving into Morgana's sight, as she looked ready to leave as it was. When she saw me there, she breathed in relief but instantly averted her eyes, knowing that any contact with me could get me killed. As soon as she looked away, I slowly started to back into the corner of the room where the servant's entrance was. If I didn't leave now, I wouldn't have enough time to destroy the box before someone came looking for me.
I looked at Morgana once last time, before leaving her forever.
Don't hate me guys! Not to be a spoiler but you have to keep reading, trust me! Sorry it's been so long too, I have lost most of my motivation to write. =( Hoping to get it back