Chapter Twenty-Six: L'Morte de Arthur

The sun rose over the rim of the caldera, just like it did every morning. Morgana stood at her balcony, soaking in the rays and breathing deeply. She loved how much easier it was to bend when the sun came out.

Morgause stalked in not much later, all but pushing Morgana's maidservant aside. "Morgana, are you sure this is a good idea?" she demanded without preamble. "There's still time to reconsider your deal with Mab."

Morgana raised a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow. "Cheat the queen of the Spirit World?" she murmured. "I don't know what kind of death wish you think I have, Morgause, but I'm not breaking our bargain. Queen Mab has done her part."

She was glad she had never told Morgause about her deal with the Puppetmaster.

"Barely," Morgause muttered. "Her Lamia failed to kill Prince Arthur at the Water Tribe, and she almost provoked the Avatar into destroying our airfleet!"

"And yet, we have the Avatar now," Morgana pointed out, sweeping past the bloodbender into her suite. "Arthur will die today. All our plans are coming to fruition. And if Mab gets what she wants, we will have an ally with a formidable army."

"Who will she turn that army against, I wonder?" Morgause said peevishly.

Morgana, already mostly dressed in her lightest formal attire, slid a sleeveless outer coat on over her other clothes and shrugged. "Why do you think I'm sending you with her?"

Morgause froze, barely coming back to life as Morgana swept past her cringing maidservant into the corridor beyond.

"I'm sorry, what? Sending me with her?"

They passed through hallways lined with flickering torches. "Of course," Morgana said. "I should have thought it obvious. You must go with Mab to the Southern Water Tribe. That way, you can keep an eye on her and Me-the Avatar."

Morgause clenched her teeth and said nothing all the way down to the dungeons. Morgana stopped the guards at the door with a sigh.

"I thought you would have seen this as a sign of trust," the Firelord pointed out, her voice hard. "There is no one else I would rather protect the Fire Nation's interests."

Morgause scowled. "Hang the Fire Nation! I'm here to protect you! I can't very well do that from the Southern Water Tribe!"

Morgana lay a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You will be protecting me, Morgause."

She gestured for the dungeon door to be opened and strode inside. With her head held high, she was conscious of how impressive she must look: coat billowing behind her, long black hair pulled into a regal hairstyle. She knew she would need to look regal to impress Merlin. He always had gone weak in the knees for her formal attire.

Merlin sat limply in a cell at the furthest end of the dungeons. His eyes narrowed when he spied Morgana and Morgause approaching.

"Good morning, Merlin," Morgana called through the bars, delighting in seeing him crouching exhausted at her feet. "I hope you slept well. It's going to be a busy day."

He leaned forward urgently. "You haven't-the others-"

She caught onto his garbled meaning. "Your friends are still alive. Don't worry, I'll make sure you have prime seating for that."

Even behind the mask she could see his face pale.

"Now," Morgana continued, "why are we discussing them when we could be talking about your fate?"

"We have great plans for you, Merlin," Morgause purred. Morgana reflected that the bloodbender could be all kinds of contrary in private, but she always came through when the time came to present a united front. "We've spent so long looking for you."

"And yet you missed me when I was right under your noses," Merlin pointed out. He was getting over his shock and regaining his old snark. "So much time and money wasted!"

"Perhaps if you had told me in the first place, we wouldn't have had to search." Morgana's throat hurt with the effort of keeping her voice light and unaffected. "Some people might be alive still."

Merlin scoffed. "Right, because you care about the Air Nomads. Did it ever occur to you they might have admitted to lying if they hadn't been just as scared of you as they were of Uther?"

"How dare you speak to your Firelord like that!" Morgause hissed.

"If you think you were ever my Firelord," Merlin replied disdainfully, "you've got another think coming. Did you really think, after you conquered the Earth Kingdom-my home-I would be loyal to you? I've been against you since the moment I stepped foot in the Fire Nation!"

Morgana gaped at him. All those years with him as a firebender in the palace . . . all the talks they had had, the stories they had shared . . . all fake? She grabbed the bars. "You're lying!"

Merlin leaned back slightly. "For once, I am not."

Most of his face was hidden by the mask, but was that a gleam of regret in his eyes? Morgana straightened her spine. "Then you deserve everything that's coming to you."

"What do you mean?" he murmured after an eerie pause. Morgana didn't bother keeping the triumph from her voice.

"Queen Mab is going to take you away."

He didn't look particularly surprised. "Where will I be heading?"

"The Southern Water Tribe," Morgause broke in, giving Morgana a look from the corner of her eye. "To Cendred and his hospitality."

Merlin gaped. "You can't just lock me up away from the war!" He leaned forward as far as he could go. "I'll get free. I will."

"You're not going to be locked up, Merlin," Morgana snapped. "You're going with Mab to the Southern Spirit Portal."

Merlin said nothing for several moments while he processed this. "What can I do there?" he asked, his face horrified as if remembering something extremely unpleasant. "You can't get another spirit to possess me; I already have Ra-er, the Avatar Spirit."

"Did you know that Avatar Spirit was the one who blocked the Spirit Portals?" Morgana asked, trailing a finger down one of the bars. Merlin swallowed and shook his head. "And so the Avatar is the only one who can unblock them."

Merlin gasped. "You're going to bring the spirits over from the Spirit World . . . An army. A spirit army."

"Yes," Morgana said. "I'm pleased you understood that so quickly. And you, dear Merlin, are going to get us that army."

Merlin bowed his head. Morgana thought he looked defeated and regretful. Well, good; let him feel the sting of his own betrayal.

"The guards will collect you for the execution shortly," she told him, gathering her coat around her. "I expect you to stand behind me where you belong and watch these usurpers die."

Sweeping around, Morgana almost completed her grand exit when Merlin called her name. She paused, Morgause hovering impatiently at her shoulder.

"I never wanted to betray you," Merlin whispered. Even though her back was to him, she could imagine his wretched expression. "I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Me too, she thought, but only stalked away. There had been something of resignation and finality in Merlin's voice, and Morgana could not help but think, What is he planning?

"Merlin!"

Arthur woke up all at once. The cell was still mostly dark, but he could tell by the faint light from the window that it was past sunrise.

It took only a moment to see who had awoken him. Lancelot was pressed against the bars of the cell, looking farther into the dungeons. A great clanking and rustling came from where he was looking.

"Lancelot!" Arthur heard Merlin call.

"Quiet!" a guard snapped.

Arthur didn't bother being gentle as he moved Gwen off his shoulder, and she woke with a groan. "Arthur . . .?"

Arthur made it to the bars just as they brought Merlin level to the cell. "Where are you taking him?" he demanded. Merlin was loaded down by far fewer chains than he had been, with only manacles binding his hands behind his back and a chain connecting his feet. There seemed to be quite a few guards with him, way more than Arthur would have thought were needed to escort even the Avatar.

"Same place we're taking you," Thomas said. "The courtyard."

Three guards holding Merlin broke off from the rest and dragged him away. Lancelot called his name again, but he was soon out of sight.

The rest of the guards appeared to be to fetch the rest of them. One of them, Arthur could see, was the young, yellow-eyed firebender who had helped him on the airship before. The firebender gave Gwen a somewhat nervous look, and she watched him sympathetically.

Thomas unlocked the door quickly and roughly. "Time to go," he said, and guards poured in to restrain the prisoners.

One of the guards from the airship, the older one who had helped Arthur, bound the Fire Prince's hands behind his back. He gazed at Arthur regretfully, but said nothing as he pulled him from the cell.

Elyan, held securely by two guards, stood waiting from them in the corridor. He immediately turned to Gwen: "Are you alright?"

Arthur was alarmed to see Gwen looked ashen, but she answered in a steady voice. "As I can be, I suppose."

Gwaine was doing better that morning, and only swayed a little bit as the guards took him from the cells. Lancelot moved closer so Gwaine could lean on him.

Arthur felt a sense of unreality. Was this really happening? He'd always been a realistic sort of man, but this-being escorted from the cell to the courtyard to be executed-refused to click in his head.

He looked around their group as the guards marched them out of the dungeons. Gwen looked pale but calm. Elyan's head was bowed. Percival kept throwing glances over at Gwaine. Lancelot and Alator looked as they always did, if a bit scruffier.

Arthur wondered how he looked. Nervous? Worried? Ashamed? Angry? He certainly was feeling all these things at once.

The guards pulled them to a halt at an entrance to the courtyard. "There's a lot of people out there," one of the guards muttered to Thomas.

The firebender's face was impassive. "Break us a path," he commanded.

They all stood there for a moment while the guards obeyed. Arthur's heart thundered in his chest. He turned to look at Gwen beside him. She was watching him.

He took a deep, difficult breath. This was his last chance. "Gwen-"

She interrupted him, her eyebrows drawn together. "Arthur, lean down."

Arthur blinked. "What?"

Gwen fidgeted with her hands, bound behind her back, looking frustrated. "Lean down," she whispered again.

Confused, he obeyed and bent over. Was there something in his hair? This really wasn't the time!

She met him halfway, pressing her lips fiercely against his. His reflexes almost propelled him backwards again, but he managed to first hold still and then respond as best he could with hands tied behind his back.

"Ugh! Great spirits," he heard Elyan gasp from somewhere a million miles away. Gwaine said: "Thundering dragons in a thundering typhoon!" and he heard Alator sigh. "Is this really the time?"

Gwen pulled away again and smiled softly. "It's now or never," she whispered, little tears glistening on her eyelashes. Several of the guards were biting their lips to keep from smiling.

Thomas rolled his eyes so hard Arthur almost heard it, lips pressed together. "Get them out there," he muttered.

Lancelot, on Arthur's other side, bumped shoulders with him, a slight smile playing his lips. Arthur could not quite manage a smile back, but as he entered the courtyard, eyes squinting in the brilliant sunlight, he found he could breathe just a little bit easier.

The palace courtyard was indeed crowded, packed so tightly the guards had to force their way through the muttering masses, dragging Arthur and the others along between them. The morning sun beat down, setting sweat beading on Arthur's neck and upper lip. Legions of red- and black-clothed citizens watched as the Fire Prince stumbled towards the balcony. Arthur struggled to keep his head held high under the eyes of the people who had once been his people.

Morgana stood in the center of the balcony, with Morgause on her right hand and Merlin, flanked by three guards, at her left. Merlin's eyes were closed just like they had been in Arthur's dream, but when he raised his head and opened his eyes, they were the normal blue.

Arthur looked around for the chopping block, the fate of a non-bending criminal, but the crowd was so great he could see nothing.

"You have been convicted of treason," Morgana said, unsmiling. Next to her, Morgause was smirking, but the Firelord Morgana stood as cold as ice and solid as stone, just how her hated father had stood for so many executions. "There is only one sentence I can pass."

Arthur wondered if she knew how much like Uther she had become.

He kept his head up high. He would not show fear. He would not. He owed his friends that. He would make sure their last view of them was of a Fire Prince who had been proud to live with them and, now, was proud to die with them.

Morgana made a gesture with her hand, and a pair of guards dragged Arthur forward.

Towards the pool.

Arthur's heart stopped beating. Just for a second.

Of course, he thought. Poetic justice. Kill me with what I've used to kill so many others.

Behind Morgana, Merlin bowed his head, but Arthur could see he was still watching, his shoulders shaking.

On instinct, Arthur looked back at his other companions. Gwen and Percival were crying. They all watched as Arthur was taken away.

Arthur clenched his fists. His breathing quickened as he was taken towards the dark, menacing waters, but for them, he would not falter. He would not die for himself. He didn't know how to have that courage. But for his friends? He would die for them.

He closed his eyes and let himself be led forward, let the guards attach chains to his legs, let them throw him in the water.

Water filled his nose as he sank. Despite the morning heat, the water was bitingly cold, and became colder as he sank. The light faded around him. His thoughts whirled, and he struggled to hold his breath for as long as possible.

He had fought for his friends, not for himself. Now, he would die for them.

The last couple chapters should be up soon :) Thanks for reading!