The Curse

The Curse

A/N: Morgana, and Merlin Belong to the BBC, and the Other Characters, (including Ashley) whilst are actors, have all been created by me and belong to me.

Thanks go to Aithion, and to YHLH for the Beta reading I have made changes since they read this so any other errors are all mine.

Chapter 20

The sun was high in the sky; it shone down on the thick medieval forest, and all its creatures. Birds sang; deer ran through the tall green trees, rabbits hopped about, hiding in the greenery, and squirrels scampered through the branches of the fruit laden trees. The creatures went about their business as usual, and no-one spared a thought of the lady trapped in the tower which stood along the coastline, surrounded by the woodland.

Looking out she scanned the undulating valley whilst she brushed her hair, she didn't know of the cave which had been Ashley's home for the last few months, but she knew of the villages which scattered the region. Mo sighed; she loved this view of the country. At this height she could see for miles across the lush green landscape, and she admired its beauty. The opposite side looked out across the ocean and she could see was miles and miles of coastline along with the sea.

"Seeing you like that, reminds me of a fairy story, never thought about it before, but you look like Rupunzel." Ashley thought, knowing that she could hear his thoughts.

"My hair's not that long! It's up to my waist. I can't sit on it yet, but maybe one day. Why...? Do you like my hair like this?" She smiled.

It had not been the first time that she stared out admiring the view, but for the first time in years she had someone to converse with, albeit talking strangely, hearing Ash's replies in her head almost as if she imagined them, she wondered if he would ever be able to hear her thoughts, and questioned him about it.

Ashley was a little embarrassed, he didn't want her to know just yet that they would have to make love for him to be able to read her mind and he was glad she could not see the redness in his cheeks, and was pretty sure he was blushing. He told her how the first time that they had kissed had opened this unusual one-way link between them, and, keeping his thoughts clean, he told her that, one day, he would be able to hear her thoughts too. Mo smiled, although Ashley didn't go into details she was happy with his explanation and did not question him further. She did not feel lonely any more, but hoped that Ash's friends would return soon.

Mo found it hard to understand why the only way she could converse with Ashley was a weird one-way telepathic communication, but they more they spoke; the more she began to accept this as a weird quirk of what was happening to her, it was just like the time when she discovered her strange abilities.

The fact that she was Ashley's key did not sound odd to her at all. She had liked Ash since they had been at school together, and she felt happy at having him for her partner. She had fallen in love with him at school, and could not wait for the spell to be broken, so that she could hold him properly, and kiss him.

Mo knew she could perform magic, but the strange abilities had not manifested until her kidnap, then the witch Christina had imprisoned her and cast a spell on her preventing her from being able to any complex spells which could set her free. The strange and perverse man who visited her had told her about the quest which Ashley needed to complete, and Mo understood that she had been imprisoned and was being punished to prevent its completion.

She chatted amiably with Ashley, happy he was there, but longed to hold him properly, to rest her head against his chest and feel his arms around her. She walked up to his statue and ran her fingertips across his face and chin. Through two whole months of not shaving, he had acquired a small beard, but all Mo could feel was smooth and cold stone.

"Please don't..." Ashley thought, the only way of being able to converse with her. Even though he was stone, he could still feel her, her hands were as soft as he remembered and he ached to hold her.

The morning after the full moon Ash had felt weird, a strange ache shook his bones, he may have been turned into stone, but he could still experience pain – most probably coming from Connor, and he knew that where ever his brother was, he was hurt, that something had happened to his twin to make his heart ache in such a way that making him feel so weak and helpless. He didn't know yet that Abby had nearly died that night, and that the emotions he experienced were Connor's.

One afternoon, Mo and Ashley were chatting when Mo heard footsteps against the tower wall. Assuming that it was Ash's friends, she rushed past Ash to the window, to greet them.

Suddenly Ash heard movement behind him, but could not turn around to see the person who had arrived.

She gasped in terror when she realised who her guest was, she backed away from the window, a look of horror etched on her beautiful features.

"What is it Mo? Who is it?" Ash questioned, unable to turn and look.

"Ahh...! I see we've acquired a new guest...!" A smooth clipped, polite male voice sneered at Ashley's frozen form.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ash noticed a tall, bearded, dark haired man come into view, it was the same slim man, Ashley had seen visiting Mo before, and couldn't understand why Mo backed away from him.

The tall man wore a tunic suited to the era, his trousers could also be from the same period, but the man's shoes gave him away.

There was no way trainers had even been invented yet, and Ash wondered how the man had come upon them. Even though most of his clothes came from this era, something did not fit; maybe it was the neat hair, the clipped beard, or maybe his clear English accent.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't one of the Cuttershall descendants?" The tall man smirked at Ashley and his predicament.

It became clear that he could not only see Mohini's true form, but touch her without turning to stone too. It was the unnatural predatory gleam in his eye that gave him away.

Ashley wondered who this man was and what he was doing here, and he wished he could do something, Mo's reaction unnerved him, the way she paled, and seemed to distance herself from this stranger, and he didn't like this, not one bit. He heard the man utter a spell under his breath, a spell which caused chains to appear and wrap around Mohini's feet. She tumbled and fell, but managed to drag herself away to a side room.

All he could do was watch as Mo disappeared, fear and hurt showed upon her face. He couldn't do anything as the man's eyes twinkled maniacally and he went after her.

"MO!" He called telepathically.

"MO!" He called again, wanting to protect her, he knew she was in trouble and could do nothing to help her.

"MO!" He called again, and this time his heart broke, as all he could hear was the love of his life, screaming.

Suddenly Ashley heard commotion behind him, and once more he wished he could see what was happening, to rescue his lady love. All he could hear besides Mo's screams, we're the hushed tones of someone arriving.

"Somebody...! Anybody! Help her!" He thought to himself, Mo was obviously too far away to hear him and the others just would not hear his thoughts.

It seemed as if his prayers had been answered, for there behind him were Becker, Jess, Pete, Morgana, Connor and Abby. Becker scouted the room looking for anybody else that could be lurking, whilst the others ran to his side. Checking on him briefly, they ran towards the side room, Abby having got there first.

"OH NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH IT THIS TIME ...!" Abby shouted as she rushed to the woman's aid. She remembered what he had put her through, and was determined not to let anyone else suffer at his hands.

The man was standing in front of Mohini, who was kneeling, his hands either side of her temples, he seemed to muttering something under his breath.

Standing at the door Abby reached out magically, muttered an incantation, and with both hands, pulled the older man magically away from Mo, with fury coursing through her veins, and flung him against the wall.

Morgana, rushed past her and pulling out a vial from her robes, carefully passed it to the young witch, ensuring that their hands did not touch.

"Quick! Drink this!" She urged the witch, who appeared to her as a battered and bleeding old woman.

The older dark haired man was dazed for a moment, but he got up and swayed towards the door.

Connor was furious, having read Abby's mind from outside the tower, he had seen the dark haired man enter the building and it was quite clear that Abby knew the man, and via the telepathic connection that they shared, he now knew the identity of this villain too and the knowledge of his offences made his blood boil.

He tried to channel his anger into something more constructive, but his hatred for the man he had never even met had grown to an impossible size, and he transformed into a ferocious wolf!

He snarled at the man he had once admired, a man he knew was a great inventor, the man he knew as Philip Burton and chased him across the hall to an open window. He jumped onto the windowsill as Burton jumped out, and followed him down to the ground and into the forest.

Becker watched as the dark haired man leapt from the window and checked to see if he could stop him with his gun. He noticed how the man supported his arm and knew instantly that he had dislocated his shoulder. He took aim with his rifle, but Connor in his animal form landed nimbly on his paws, and unfortunately he got in the way, preventing the soldier from shooting the man. He tried to fire a round of bullets but before he could do so, both Connor and the strange man had disappeared into the forest.

Abby and Morgana had seen the woman's transformation from an old hag into a beautiful young woman, more suited to being Ash's partner, than the old woman they had seen, and now they helped her by fixing her ripped and torn clothes making her look decent; nevertheless Mohini's face was covered with blood. There were tiny cuts either side of her temples and Morgana quickly prepared a healing potion to make her better. Morgana told Mohini that when they returned to present time that she could have a doctor look at her injury.

The unicorn tears began to take effect, and not only Ashley but all the statues surrounding him came to life. He collapsed into Pete's arms, his energy zapped from being a statue and the inability to help Mo, and finally finding his voice, he shouted to his partner.

Pete recognised some of the people who had been frozen in stone like Ashley, he knew that at some point during this quest, Nick Cutter had sent them, to try and protect the young lady called Mohini.

It took a moment, but Ashley finally found the strength to move and he staggered over to the room where he had seen Mohini disappear. He gasped for breath and called out her name.

Mo looked up and saw Ashley properly, saw the tormented look on his face. She stood somewhat awkwardly, her clothes were now fixed and she was decent enough to approach him, but her strength had diminished and she hobbled, the distress in her heart was too much for her to bear on her own, and she stumbled into his arms.

The embrace they shared was long and sweet. It seemed to wash away the years of pain, the separation and loneliness that they had endured during this time. Mo wept, tears of joy, because she could finally hold the man she wanted to be her lover, wept because she had missed him, wept because she had been kidnapped and forced into helping Christina and her minions, helping them create gruesome predators which would eventually ruin the world. She knew that these hideous killing creatures would take over the world, and there was no way to stop them.

Mohini's strength had disappeared altogether and she lay limply in Ash's arms as he carried her over. He introduced her to the others and to his father.

Pete smiled. "Are you sure she's your key?"

Ashley nodded. "She can already hear my thoughts!"

"How...? You've only just been re-united...? Unless...?" He paused for a moment. "You sneaky little ..." he smirked, knowing what had transpired between them to bring about the telepathic connection.

Pete looked at the young girl his son had chosen; she was pretty, with long dark hair, and pretty grey-blue eyes.

Mo came round briefly and smiled at Ash, she was pleased he had come for her, his friends had returned with the unicorn tears, her lover was no longer a statue made of stone, and now that the enchantment was broken, she was free to leave the tower, for good.

With the knowledge that she was safe, she lost consciousness once more.

"Dychwelyd i'ch cartref."

Abby listened to Jess as she wondered around the tower tapping each person on the shoulder, sending them back to the appropriate time and place from whence they came. A white puff of smoke enveloped each person and they disappeared.

There was one woman who waited, she refused to be sent home and wanted to speak to them before leaving. Her name was Kendra. She was not very tall, roughly the same height as Abby, she had short spiky hair, and a straight yet turned up nose. Abby smirked, she reminded her of the woman who played Madam Hooch in the Harry Potter films.

She insisted on speaking to the young blonde. "Faye...!" she called, and then she ventured forward towards Abby. "Faye...!" She called again.

This time she approached Abby, a contented look on her face. "It is you."

"I beg your pardon?" Abby questioned, becoming quite serious as she realised the woman was speaking to her.

"Years ago, the witch Christina stole several children, including my baby, I knew that my daughter was destined to do great things, she had a connection to the Cuttershall Family and would bear their heir. I called her Faye, because I knew she was magical and had inherited my powers. Christina took her from me, and I didn't know where to look for her. I know without a doubt, that it is you."

"How...?" Abby questioned; could this weird blonde haired woman, dressed as a twenty-first century soldier, be her mother? Abby's hair had grown and it became clear that her hair was a dark brown, but their eyes were the same colour, shade, and shape. Could it be possible that this woman was indeed her mother?

"My daughter has a birth-mark on her back, just under her left shoulder-blade; it is a heart shaped mark." The woman called Kendra told her.

Abby looked at Morgana and then at Pete who stood close by. Slowly Abby raised her tunic, whilst Morgana peered closely at her back. Morgana nodded, there was indeed a mark matching that description, underneath her clavicle.

"Mum ...?" Abby gasped, she had no memory of her mother, and this woman had accurately described a mark on her body, one that even she did not know about. It had to be someone very close to her. Looking into her matching blue eyes she held out her hand. The touch felt warm, felt right, and the magnetic tingle between them seemed to pull them together. Abby then realised the truth: that her mum had spent years looking for her and eventually had succumbed to the same spell which had turned Ash into stone. They gazed at each other for a long moment before embracing.

Pete approached the woman called Kendra. He knew that Kendra had known of Christina and her exploits in the past and maybe she could shed some light on the matter.

"Do you know anything about Steven's son?" Pausing for a moment he explained how the good Fairy Jessica had been mumbling in her delirium.

Kendra shook her head. "I don't know. All I know is that Stephenson is Lord Cuttershall's most trusted aide and companion..."

Mo, still with eyes closed began to speak; her voice was different, robotic, slow, low and almost seemed as if it was not her who was talking at all. "Do Not Trust Stephenson..." She murmured unconsciously." She opened her eyes and Ash was astonished to see that her irises had changed, they were almost black, and it was if she could not see him or her surroundings at all. "Do not trust Stephenson... The butler did it! Stephenson is a traitor! He is in league with Madam Christina!"

Pete was horrified, as she repeated herself – That Stephen was a traitor and could not be trusted, as were all the others, but even more so were Abby and Connor. They had worked closely with Stephen in the past and this was a huge blow to them, they could not believe that such a trusted man could turn out to be so devious.

"But it is entirely possible that she meant Stephenson's son," Kendra interrupted. "Stephenson, Nicholas Cuttershall's butler, does indeed have a son! When his son was kidnapped, the boy grabbed a necklace from around his mother's neck; it was his mother's personal named necklace. His mother was called Jacqueline. "

"Jacqueline?" The group wondered how this was important.

"Do you know what happened to this boy?" Morgana asked.

"Yes, he was adopted by a family, a family by the name of Maitland."

Abby gasped, could she be talking about her brother Jack? Was it true? That Jack was Stephenson's son? That he too was not to be trusted?

"If Jack's father is Stephenson, is he my father too?" Abby questioned eagerly.

"No, Not at all... Your father is James Lester. His grandmother old Mrs Ryan; knew that he would be instrumental in organising the ARC. I don't know if your father has been looking for you, but I have been searching for you for years!"

"Why? Why did you abandon me?" She asked; she felt rawness in her chest that she couldn't explain.

"We didn't abandon you... You were kidnapped, taken away from us by that horrid witch Christina. She took you far away, not just away from us, but out of time too!" Kendra blinked, her eyes began to brim, and she could tell that Abby was hurting, but she needed to be told the truth. "I looked for you, spent years searching, and eventually when I did find you, you had suffered at the hands of the Burtons... It was hard, having to watch you going through all that pain, but I had to... You see, certain events in time, are fixed, they have to happen, they are out of our control. Your ... Torment... was one such event. I knew... Merlin knew, he knew how distraught you were going to be, and so he sent Rex the little elf in disguise, he sent him as a little bird, a bird that kept you happy for a long time."

Kendra reached out and put her hand gently on Abby's shoulder, "It was at that time Merlin decided to send you to Mrs Ryan, your great-grandmother."

Abby listened intently, trying to absorb everything, understand who she was, and tried to understand that they had tried to save her, but hadn't been able.

Abby found herself smiling, James Lester was her father! He had been guiding the whole team when the ARC was being established. Her foster mother, old Mrs Ryan was her great-grandmother, and had looked after her in her greatest moment of need. She had thought that she had been abandoned at birth, but this was clearly not the case. They had been there for her, whenever they could, watching her from a distance, keeping her at arms' length, waiting for the right moment.

There was a scrambling sound at the window and moments later Becker pulled Connor back into the room.

Connor was back in his human form and this time he had not lost his clothes. He gasped for breath as he tottered towards them.

"I wish I could say I've sorted him out for you Abby, but he got away, he had this weird device in his hands and he opened an anomaly and went through before I got there. Sorry." He panted trying to get his breath back. "One good thing though, he landed badly, I think his arm's dislocated if not broken."

"It's alright Conn, what happened, happened a very long time ago. Forgive and forget Connor, he has already paid with a jail term for what he did to me. He can't hurt me anymore... can't hurt any of us anymore."

"But..." Connor began, but was hushed with a finger to his lips.

Abby shook her head, there had been a time in her life, when she would have wanted this man dead for what he did to her, but maybe the meeting and telling her story to a unicorn had softened her, maybe it was something else, but she no longer felt anything for the man who had once abused her.

Instead she was happy. She had discovered her mother, and her father and it seemed that whenever she had needed them desperately, they had been there for her. She introduced Connor to her mother and looked forward to meeting her father.

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-o-o-o-

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Christina was in her office trying to work. She knew all she had to do was click her fingers and the paperwork would be done, nevertheless each report had to be read before she could work her magic.

She heard a noise at the window; she turned to see a raven, with its beak it was gently tapping on the glass, the sound reverberating around her office.

Ensuring no one was around she opened the window to let the bird in.

She was annoyed that this minion has chosen to disrupt her work and, if the information that it brought, was not good enough, there would be torture in store for the unfortunate messenger.

She watched for a moment while the bird hopped onto the floor of her office. Then she muttered a spell under her breath, causing the black feathered bird begin to grow and change.

"This had better be good Wilkes! You know how I hate interruptions." Christina scolded, a frown marred her features.

"Miss, I beg your pardon and apologise for disturbing you. Pete Armstrong and his sons have managed to procure the unicorn tears; they have managed to release the young witch Mohini." The South African soldier spoke clearly; he knew he would not be lambasted for this piece of news.

"Oh! That certainly is news!" Christina blanched, horrified by the revelation. Quickly she picked up her phone and spoke to her secretary.

"Cancel all my appointments this afternoon ... I don't care if they are with the Minister!"

Then she turned to the soldier in front of her. "Come with me,"
Magically she gathered all her things and plopped all her paperwork into her briefcase. She hated news like this, but it was important enough to warrant leaving everything to sort it out.

Outside her office her secretary watched her boss leave with a young man in uniform behind her. She had been sitting outside, meticulously guarding her boss's office, her orders of 'Do Not Disturb' still ringing in her ears, whilst she sifted through paperwork. She scratched her head wondering just when had the young man entered her boss's office, and hoped she would not be punished for not seeing this young soldier not only slip past her, but gain entry to the Christine's Office.

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-o-o-o-

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