Chapter 18: Footprints in a Library

"For pity's sake, Morgana, I thought you were supposed to be the devious one. No, don't, no, off to the... no. Morgana! It's right in front of you. Honestly, can I make it any clearer?"

Arthur's furious whispers floated down the corridor behind her, loud in the stillness of the shuttered room.

"I'm sorry Arthur but strangely enough breaking and entering is not something I've ever had to do before," she snapped back at him.

"Oh, so just sneaking and eavesdropping, then."

"Honestly, if this is the way you speak to your Knights then I don't understand how you can command their loyalty."

"I have a Kingdom to defend, Morgana. I can't afford incompetence."

"Well, I have a magical stone to find and I can't afford this. Argh...got it! Come on, we've got work to do."

The latch tripped finally and Arthur and Morgana crept into the darkened and deserted storage room underneath the library. They had sat and discussed their options and had very soon realised that walking into the building and asking Geoffrey for his secret texts on illicit magical items was unlikely to bear fruit. They had already searched every book in Gaius' chambers under the pretext of looking for a heretofore-unknown cure and Gaius had good-naturedly humoured them. Gwen and Hunith had helped, without of course knowing exactly what it was they were looking for.

"So, how did you find out about this cure, anyway?" asked Arthur.

"Sneaking and eavesdropping," replied Morgana.

"That's not an answer, Morgana. Eavesdropping on whom?"

"If anybody found out who they were, they would be executed without trial. I'd rather not tell you."

"Fair enough," said Arthur resignedly, "but I could note that it won't just be their head on the chopping block if we're discovered."

"You're Uther's only son; he would never kill you."

"What about you?"

She paused for a moment, unsure if she wanted to let him know the depth of her feelings on the subject. In the end, she decided to trust him.

"If I died trying to save Merlin, it would be worth it," she said softly.

"I understand you're grateful to him for what he did for you but... I've never seen you like this before," he said. "Even with Gwen's father, even with that Druid boy, you seemed as though you felt what was happening was some kind of personal affront, as though it was you that was being injured. Now you seem... different."

"I feel different," was all she said. "Come on, we need to find this book."

They surveyed the room with a sinking feeling. It had taken them nearly an entire day just to peruse the books in Gaius' library. When night had fallen they'd realised it was the perfect cover for their crime and gone to the library without resting. The storage room was twice as large as the physician's and filled with books from the floor to the ceiling. It was obvious people came here rarely, although Morgana smiled when she saw the long, skinny footprints in the dust leading to a shelf where a number of books were obviously missing from their previous resting place.

"You're smiling. This is going to take us all tonight, tomorrow night and the next. And you're smiling. What on Earth are you smiling at?"

"Nothing," she said. "Come on, we'd better get on with it."

They each picked a book at random, starting with the contents, introductions and index; cursing as they found volume upon volume without any of these. Two hours went by and, if anything, the pile of books in front of them seemed larger. Morgana stood and stretched, assessing the room for a minute and trying to think of anything that would help their search go faster.

"Arthur," she said suddenly.

"Yes," he said distractedly.

"Those footprints over there are Merlin's."

"Ignoring the terrifying fact that you recognise his footprints, I'm not entirely sure why that is important."

"Geoffrey lets him in here to find books. He lets him take them home."

"Why on Earth would Merlin want books from a library?"

"For his studies."

"His...what... how do you know this?"

"That's not important, Arthur. What's important is... we ignored the main room of the library because the information we want is forbidden knowledge. Geoffrey wouldn't leave it lying around for anyone to find. Why would he let Merlin in here if he knew he could find something that could get him beheaded?"

"Oh Gods," he said, throwing his half-read copy of Methodes for the Dissection and Preparation of Animales for Education and Gastronimation* vol. III-VI, "we're wasting our time, aren't we? It's not here."

"No. My source was good and he tol... I heard him say that it was here. Geoffrey wouldn't keep it on him, it's too dangerous. It has to be here. Look for a fake wall or a secret passage or..."

"This is not some romance novel, Morgana. You're not trying to sneak out to see your lover."

"Arthur!"

"Fine."

They began tapping along the walls, looking for levers or secret storage places or a hollow sound. The room was rectangular with large bookcases covering two walls. As they finished their inspection of the two that were clear, they looked at the cases with trepidation.

"It's behind there somewhere," said Arthur, "isn't it?"

"I suppose it must be."

"Brilliant."

The next hour was spent divesting the bookcases of their books and then moving the cases away from the walls. Although this hadn't been what Morgana was expecting Arthur to be doing on their "quest", she was nonetheless glad he was there.

As they pulled the second bookcase to the side and set it down with a thump, there was a hollow noise from the cold stone floor. Arthur looked at the floor contemplatively, moved the case off it and then tapped it with the heaviest volume he could find. It echoed and he and Morgana looked at each other in frustration. It had never occurred to them to check the floor.

"Look, the mortar around the paving is filed away," said Arthur. He looked around for a moment, then took out his dagger and pried away the piece of stone. Below the floor was a hole in which lay a large rectangular box. He pulled it out and handed it to Morgana.

She opened it eagerly and suppressed a cry of excitement when she saw it contained a book. Oh Gods, she thought, let this be it. She pulled the book out and with it came a small innocuous brown bag. It dropped onto the floor with a loud thud and her heart began pounding furiously. No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't be. It couldn't be that easy.

With trembling fingers, she picked up the bag from the floor and slowly opened the fastenings. Oh Gods, please. Just give me this. Please. Please. She upturned the bag and a smooth grey stone fell onto her palm. The Sangreal.

"I have to go," she said to Arthur vaguely, but even as her feet tried to carry her out the door and to the dragon, he grabbed her and spun her around to face him.

"Morgana, I don't know what you overheard about this cure but all we have right now is a stone and a book. Don't you think we should read the book?"

"I... I...."

"Yes?"

"I suppose you're right," she said, realising it was either agree with him or explain everything. Oh, and by the way, Arthur, I am a seer with magical powers and your servant was appointed by a dragon chained underneath Camelot to be your protector until you unite all of Albion. No, it was probably best to humour him and find a way to slip away later.

They both sat down on the floor and opened the slim volume, noting with relief that the writing was not that large. It turned out to be a journal written by Geoffrey of Monmouth about a great quest undertaken by a mysterious knight to find the Sangreal. After the knight had been killed, Geoffrey had taken the journal and the Sangreal back to Camelot and hidden it for safe keeping.

The journal was thankfully not long and scattered throughout were learnings Geoffrey had obtained on his journey; things he'd discovered about what the Sangreal could do and how to make it work. And there, right in front of her was the knowledge the dragon had been going to impart to her. The one thing that made her the right person to wield the stone to heal Merlin. The one thing he thought she may not be able to give.

"Oh," she said.

*Yes, I am aware that gastronimation is not a word. Just a disclaimer in case you wanted to point it out.