CHAPTER 26

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THE LADY OF THE LAKE

Arthur and Morgause finally rode out of Camelot as husband and wife after an elaborate ceremony had been held that everyone in the kingdom had attended. Morgause was now the Queen of Camelot since Arthur still hadn't stepped down as King yet, and she was shell shocked by the whole experience.

She remained silent as she and Arthur rode along side by side so Arthur knew that something was wrong. He just couldn't quite figure out what.

"Morgause, are you angry with me because I'm still not sure about whether I'll stay on the throne or not?" Arthur finally asked after they rode in silence for almost half an hour.

Morgause blinked and finally came out of her thoughts where she had been lost all of that time as she said, "No, I don't particularly like the idea of your abandoning the throne, but I'm not angry at you about it either. I'm just . . . I just can't get over being the Queen. All of your people are my people too now, and they all looked at me with such respect and love when we rode out. It's so strange, Arthur. I first came to Camelot to destroy it, and now I'm its Queen. It still doesn't feel real somehow. I feel like a phony somehow and that sooner or later everyone's going to know it."

"That's ridiculous, Morgause. You're more than qualified to be the Queen if I decide to stay on the throne. I couldn't think of anyone better to be Queen than you except for maybe Morgana. In fact, maybe that's what I'll do if I decide I don't want to be King and Morgana still doesn't want it. I'll make you the Queen and hand over the throne to you," Arthur said.

Morgause suddenly brought her horse to a complete stop and then so did Arthur as a result as he realized that she was not too pleased at his idea. He had definitely made her angry now.

"Arthur Pendragon, there is no way, no way, that I am becoming the Queen all by myself. If you dare to do that to me, my first act as Queen will be to lock you in the dungeon for the rest of your life! Got it?" Morgause said in a furious voice.

"Why not? You'd make a good ruler. Camelot would be safe with you, and I could rest easy with it in your hands," Arthur protested.

Morgause smiled as she said, "I love that you feel that way about me, and I know that it shows just how much that you trust me that you would be willing to give your kingdom to me. I know exactly how much that both it and its people mean to you. I can't rule in your place though. Camelot doesn't belong to me. It belongs to you. It's rightfully yours to rule not mine. I'll gladly help you rule as your Queen but not as the sole ruler. I don't want to have all of that responsibility on my shoulders. You're just going to have to get over all of this guilt that you're carrying around and get back on the throne whether you like it or not. No one and I mean no one is going to do this job better than you."

"I'm just not so sure about that anymore," Arthur said in a sad voice.

"Well, get sure about it. Where is it that we're going anyway? What was all of that about going off to clear your head?" Morgause asked.

"I thought that we could go to the Lake of Avalon and spend our honeymoon there alone under the stars for a few days. What do you think?" Arthur asked.

Morgause gave him a soft smile as she said, "You want to go there to talk to Gwen don't you?"

"I just thought that I'd feel closer to her there and maybe I could tell her that I'm sorry," Arthur said.

"I'm sure that wherever she is that she knows that and that she doesn't blame you in the slightest. She chose to sacrifice herself for you of her own free will, Arthur. You have nothing to feel sorry about. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to sound like I don't care. I am sad that she's gone, and I didn't even know her half as well as you did," Morgause said.

"I'd just like to see her one last time," Arthur said.

Then he looked at Morgause with an apologetic look on his face as he said, "I'm sorry. I'm sure the last thing that you want to hear about on our honeymoon is about another woman who admitted at the end that she loved me. It's just that she really was a good friend of mine, and I didn't even know that she felt that way. Am I really that thick?"

"Usually. I've learned to look past it though," Morgause joked.

"It just convinces me even more that I wouldn't make a good king. I don't even notice when someone is in love with me. I'm completely self-absorbed and lost in my own little world where my every want and need is provided for. How am I ever supposed to know what's good for my people when I have absolutely no idea what it's like to be one of them?" Arthur said in disgust.

"At least you care. Most kings wouldn't. All of what you just said is true but that doesn't make you a bad king, Arthur. You seem to be under some mistaken impression that being the king means that you have to be perfect. If that were the case, no one would have a throne. The fact that you want to do the right thing for your people is all that you need to be a good king in my opinion. That and you need to listen to your emotions less and actually think before you act from now on. If you're still not sure what to do, then just listen to me. I'll gladly tell you what to do," Morgause said.

"I get the feeling that's going to be happening a lot," Arthur said as he tried not to smile.

"Oh, yes. You'd better believe that, Pendragon. You may be the king, but I'm the one who's really in charge from now on," Morgause said proudly.

Arthur smiled half-heartedly and then started to ride on as Morgause followed him. She sighed as she realized just how upset that he really was if he didn't even have the heart to argue with her about who was the boss in the family.

As soon as they were at the lake, it seemed as if trouble started automatically. As soon as Arthur and Morgause arrived, they found a woman being prepared to be burned at the stake.

Arthur immediately shouted, "Stop this at once! By whose order are you doing this?"

One of the men who had been standing around the woman ready to watch her burn said, "By no one's order. She's a witch and she killed several people in a nearby village by putting a spell on them to suck the life from them just in order to preserve her youthful appearance. We have to burn her or she'll kill us all!"

"Do you have any proof of this?" Arthur asked.

He didn't want to make the same mistake that he had with Fiona again. This time he was going to listen to both sides of the story and try to make a wise decision with no bias whatsoever if he could help it.

"We know that it was her. We caught her at the scene with the latest victim, and her eyes were glowing with magic," The man said.

"I was trying to save him with a healing spell but I couldn't. He was already dead. I didn't kill anyone. I swear. Please let me go," The woman at the stake pleaded.

"She could be telling the truth. She deserves to have a fair trial to find out for sure. I order you to release her and take her back to Camelot. I'll decide if she's guilty or not, and this time I'll do a much better job of it," Arthur said.

"Who are you to decide anything?" The man that Arthur had been talking to said indignantly.

"I am King Arthur," Arthur said.

The man looked uncertain now and then another man said, "I thought that it was you, but I wasn't sure. It will be done at once, your highness. We'll make sure that she gets to Camelot safely."

"Good. If I hear otherwise, I will not be pleased," Arthur said firmly.

As the men went to untie the woman, she looked at Arthur with gratitude as she said, "Oh, thank you so much, Sire."

Then her eyes glowed with energy as she killed both of the men nearest to her.

"They were telling the truth though I'm afraid," The woman said as she continued to kill every man around her.

Arthur pulled out his sword and Morgause's hands glowed with energy as they both charged towards her. The woman grinned with anticipation as she unleashed a massive lightning attack from her fingers against Morgause and sent her flying several feet away where she hit the ground instantly knocked out cold.

"Morgause!" Arthur screamed in fear.

"You're so gullible! All I had to do was act all innocent and afraid, and you ate my story up hook, line, and sinker. With leadership like yours, it's a wonder that Camelot has lasted as long as it has. Then again you do have the help of most of the local sorcerers so that makes up for your natural stupidity I suppose," The woman said as she continued to kill all of the men who had tried to burn her.

"Take me on, witch, and leave them alone," Arthur challenged her.

"Oh, I will. I assure you that I will. I'm saving you for last though. I'm going to kill the men who tried to burn me first. That's much more fun," The woman said as she continued to attack everyone but Arthur.

Arthur rushed forward as he attempted to stab her through the heart and put a stop to her once and for all, but he was instantly thrown into the lake with a telekinetic push by the woman. Arthur quickly sank to the bottom of the lake as he was weighed down by his heavy armor. He was now left struggling to take off his armor before he was drowned when the small breath of air that he had managed to grab just before he hit the water ran out.

Somehow he managed to shed all of the armor just in time before the air in his lungs ran out, and he quickly broke through to the surface to see that the woman had killed everyone that had tied her up now. She was now walking toward the still unconscious Morgause as Arthur swam towards shore faster than he ever had in his life before.

Arthur somehow made it to land before the woman could reach Morgause and hurled his sword straight into her chest before she even realized that he had returned. She screamed in agony as she hit the ground with the sword embedded in her heart.

Arthur quickly made sure that the woman was really dead and then checked Morgause as she lay there unmoving. He sighed in relief as he realized that she was still breathing and had no visible wounds or signs of bleeding. He was still worried though. He was no physician. What if Morgause had injuries that he couldn't see? What if the baby had been affected?

"I've done it again. I tried not to rush to judgment of an accused witch and wound up making an all new mistake as a result. Now all of those men are dead because of me. I just can't win. I can't do anything right. That's it! I've made my decision. I'm giving up the throne as soon as I get back," Arthur said to himself in anguish.

The two remaining members of the Triple Goddess watched from their dimension with glee as their plan seemed to have worked perfectly. They had had to sacrifice one of their most powerful servants, but they had finally pushed Arthur over the edge at last. He was finally going to give up!

Arthur now stood next to the still unconscious body of his wife and wasn't sure what to do. Should he attempt to move her and take her back to Camelot or leave her here and go back for Gaius? He was afraid to move her because Gaius had once told him that it was a bad idea to move someone if you didn't know if they had internal injuries or not. He also wasn't a huge fan of leaving his pregnant wife lying all alone in the middle of nowhere. He stood there in indecision as for the first time in his life he completely questioned his own judgment.

"We've done it! He'll never be king again!" The Old Woman said with triumph as she watched Arthur standing there in indecision from the safety of her own dimension.

Meanwhile at around this same time Morgana was about to face a challenge of her own as Lancelot returned from spying in Cenred's land where he had chosen to go in order to bury himself in work after Gwen's death. Lancelot quickly ran into the throne room and kneeled before a visibly uncomfortable Morgana as he brought her some very important news that he had just overheard.

"You don't have to do that, Lancelot. I'm not really the Queen," Morgana said.

"You are still the Princess and therefore I must bow to show my respect to you," Lancelot protested.

"I really wish that you wouldn't. We're friends, Lancelot. We don't need all of that formality between us. Let's just talk as equals, shall we?" Morgana said.

Lancelot smiled as he thought of how Morgana despite her upbringing was in no way a snob or pretentious in the slightest. He could see why Gwen had always liked her so even though he didn't know her that well himself. Thinking of Gwen immediately made his smile fade as a fresh wave of anguish made its way through his heart.

Morgana read his thoughts from his expression as she said in a gentle voice, "I am so sorry, Lancelot. I miss her as well. She was my best friend, and I'll always have a special place for her in my heart."

Lancelot struggled to regain his composure as he delivered his report to her. He somehow maintained an emotionless voice despite the turmoil that he was going through at the moment as he said, "After less than a day in Cenred's kingdom I heard rumors that he is planning to attack Camelot at nightfall. He has heard that Arthur is gone and thinks that the kingdom will be in a defenseless state with you in charge. This has made him think that now is the perfect time to strike as a result."

"He thinks that my inexperience will lead to Camelot's undoing and he may be right," Morgana admitted.

"No, he is wrong, my lady. You will be more than a match for him especially when I tell you exactly what he is planning on doing. He is going to attack Camelot from behind as soon as night falls and try to come in through the back of the castle before anyone realizes that he is there," Lancelot said.

"Are you sure about this?" Morgana asked.

"Yes, my lady, why wouldn't I be? I heard it with my own ears," Lancelot said looking at her in confusion.

"It's not that I don't believe you. It's just that I've received a different story from another source," Morgana said.

She gestured to Elyan, Gwen's brother who was also deep in sorrow and drowning that pain in his work, to come forward. He now stood next to Lancelot and kneeled before Morgana who groaned causing Lancelot to smile.

"Tell him what you've told me, Elyan," Morgana said.

"I heard rumors as well while I was in the tavern that someone from Cenred's kingdom was telling everyone. He was there to warn us all he said that Cenred was going to attack the outlying villages on the border of his kingdom and Camelot and annex them to his kingdom. He thinks that he can just take them easily now that you're on the throne. He doesn't consider you to be any threat at all to him. He thinks that you'll be too afraid to fight him for them. I'm sorry, my lady. Those were Cenred's words not mine. I think that you're more than a match for him," Elyan said uneasily.

"I know. Don't worry, Elyan," Morgana said smiling at him.

"A completely different story," Lancelot said in disbelief.

"So you see my dilemma. Which if either story should I believe? Is either true?" Morgana asked in frustration.

"The man in the bar may have been spreading misinformation so that we'd send the knights away from the kingdom so that there would be no one here to defend it when he attacked," Lancelot proposed.

"That's true but what you heard might be misinformation too to make us keep all of our armies here so that Cenred could just roll on through every village on the border with no one to stop him," Elyan suggested.

"Or they could both be lies to keep you from guessing his real plan," Nimueh said as she suddenly appeared in the throne room.

"Have you seen something in a vision, Mother?" Morgana asked.

"No, but I know that Cenred is very tricky and could be planning anything. You have to be prepared from an attack from an entirely different direction than either of those two stories would suggest," Nimueh said.

"What do I do? I don't know anything about warfare or strategy. Why did Arthur have to leave now of all times?" Morgana said in despair.

"Well, he did leave so get over it, Morgana! Be an adult and make a decision why don't you? You don't need your brother here to hold your hand for you. You can do this yourself. Stop complaining about how unfair it is and just do it!" Nimueh said as she exploded in anger.

Morgana and the two knights looked at her in horror while Nimueh immediately looked apologetic and said in a voice filled with sorrow, "I'm sorry, Morgana. I didn't mean it. I'm just . . . so angry about what happened to Gwen. I'm the one who should be dead not her. She never did anything to deserve what happened to her. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

Morgana's shock and anger at her outburst immediately dissolved as she said, "You don't deserve to die either, Mother. You're a good person deep down. I know you are because Cara was the kindest person that I ever knew, and she came from you."

"I wish I was her again. She would never have yelled at you like that. Everyone liked and trusted her unlike me. I'm more powerful and confident as Nimueh, but I'm also more miserable. I wish that I could be her again so much. I'm sorry, Morgana," Nimueh said as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"I love you no matter who you are, and don't worry about what just happened. I've already forgiven you," Morgana reassured her.

"This is not working, Morgana. I can't be Nimueh anymore. Cara has to return no matter what the cost," Nimueh said as she left the room in tears.

"Wait," Morgana said in a low voice but she already knew that it was too late to stop her.

"So what do we do?" Lancelot asked after a moment of awkward silence.

Morgana finally took a deep breath and made a decision that she hoped was the right one.

Nimueh meanwhile rode out of the castle and went to the magic school where she found Merlin teaching a class on herbs and their many uses in magic. As soon as she entered the classroom all of the students froze in fear of her, and this only cemented the decision that she had just come to.

"Nimueh, what is it? Are you alright?" Merlin asked.

"No, I'm not. I'm never going to be alright again while I'm Nimueh. I have to change back, Merlin. I have to become Cara again," Nimueh said.

Merlin looked at her in disbelief as he said, "How? Cara was only created because you lost your memory. What do you want to do? Take away your memory again and hope that you become her again somehow?"

"Yes. Merlin, I want you to find a way to remove my memory of ever being Nimueh so that I can become Cara again," Nimueh said.

"How am I supposed to do that? How do you even know that it'll work even if I do?" Merlin asked in irritation.

"I have to try. I need to be Cara again. I'm miserable like this, Merlin. I want to be who I was before back when I still had a heart," Nimueh said.

"You seem like you have a heart to me, Nimueh. Why else would you be so upset?" Merlin pointed out.

"I'm not always like this though. My normal personality is to be rude and angry all the time, Merlin. I don't want to be that way anymore. I want to change," Nimueh protested.

"Then just change yourself if you want to that badly. You don't need magic to do that. Cara had to come from somewhere. I think if you really want to that you can find her again without having to lose your memory," Merlin said.

Nimueh calmed down somewhat as she nodded and said, "You're right. I can change. It might be hard at first, but I can make myself nicer and less angry all the time. I know I can."

Catherine was so nervous around Nimueh that she dropped one of her books off of her desk, and Nimueh immediately turned to her in anger and started to snap at her. As Catherine cowered back in her desk in fear, Nimueh caught herself just in time before she said anything.

Nimueh picked up the book and handed it back to the girl as she said, "I'm sorry if I made you nervous. You don't have to worry about me I promise."

Catherine smiled as she said, "It's okay, Miss Nimueh."

Nimueh smiled back at her and left the classroom thinking that maybe she would slowly find her way back to being Cara again after all despite not having a quick magic solution to the problem.

Alice watched Nimueh as she left the school with a renewed sense of purpose and said, "Good for you, Nimueh. I'm glad that I didn't completely wreck your life. That doesn't make me feel any better about Gwen though. I . . ."

She stopped as she received a vision showing her Arthur and Morgause in trouble. She had been keeping an eye out for them ever since they left knowing that one or both of the other goddesses would be after them sooner or later. It seemed that now was that time. She immediately teleported to the Lake of Avalon and hoped that she wasn't already too late.

Arthur meanwhile after a long period of indecision had finally decided to put the still unconscious Morgause on the back of his horse and ride back to Camelot with her. It was already too late though. Cenred's men had already found them. Cenred himself was leading them and smiled as his men completely surrounded Arthur cutting off all avenues of escape for him.

"Well, well. I'd heard that you were off on your honeymoon, but I'd never expected to actually run across you. It seems like fortune really has smiled on me today, Arthur. What happened to your beautiful bride? Did you put her to sleep with one too many stories about yourself?" Cenred said with an evil grin.

"Let Morgause go, Cenred. She's been attacked and needs a physician. I'll come willingly if you have someone help her and then let her go back to Camelot," Arthur said.

Cenred looked at Morgause with what Arthur swore was a look of tenderness as he said, "I'll have someone look at her right away. I think I'll just hold onto her after that though. Camelot's not going to be standing for much longer anyway. I'm about to hit it with a two-pronged attack. One army will hit the villages on the border and move in from there, and another will attack the castle itself from the back. Morgana might be able to defend against one of those attacks, but never both of them at once. Either I'll take all of the land surrounding the castle and put it under siege or I'll take the castle even before I take the rest of the land and have an instant win. Either way your kingdom's time has come, Arthur. The best thing about it is that Morgana won't even know that it's coming, and even if she did she wouldn't have the necessary skill to stop it. I never would have tried this if you hadn't decided to leave because your father spent years training you in the strategies of war and combat. Morgana knows none of this. I can't possibly lose against her."

Arthur desperately hoped that he was wrong even as he said, "I don't think so. Camelot's not going to fall today and neither am I. I'll defeat you all by myself if I have to."

Arthur unsheathed his sword and stood ready for battle as he said, "Come on then. I haven't got all day."

He had to get himself and Morgause out of here and warn Morgana before it was too late. He realized now that he had made a huge mistake by leaving, and he couldn't let Camelot pay for it.

Cenred shook his head and said, "If he wants to die a hero's death then let him. Don't hurt Morgause though or I'll have all of your heads."

Arthur's eyebrows went up at that as he now knew for sure that Cenred cared about Morgause. He wondered if the two of them had ever been close back when she was still an enemy of Camelot's. He hoped that they both lived long enough for him to ask her about that as he began to try to fight a swath through Cenred's men so that he could escape and reach Morgana to warn her in time.

Unfortunately he was way too outnumbered. Cenred's men were far too overwhelming, and it was all that he could do just to keep them from killing him much less to be able to escape from them. He knew that sooner or later that he would fall, but he had to keep trying to get himself and Morgause to safety while he still had life left in him.

He could never give up while he still lived.

Alice meanwhile appeared just in time to see Arthur fighting for his life against a small army of Cenred's men. She immediately went to help him only to be stopped by the other two goddesses as they blocked her way.

"No, 'Alice', you can't interfere. This is turning out even better than we had hoped. We'll let Cenred do the job for us. First he'll kill Arthur and then march on Camelot itself. If Camelot falls, then that's all the better for us. Even if he doesn't, Arthur will still be dead and Morgana will be on the throne and have scored a major success against him that will make her people automatically accept her as their new ruler. This time we can't lose, and we're not about to let you stop us this time," The Old Woman said.

"It's not too late. You could still come back to us," The Mother Goddess said in a kinder voice.

"No, I'm sorry but I can't. I can't let you hurt these people anymore. For better or worse from now on I'm siding with them over you," Alice said.

"So be it then," The Old Woman said as both goddesses attacked Alice at once with mystic blasts of energy.

As Alice struggled to fight both of them at once, she knew that she would never be able to help Arthur now. She could only hope that he could still escape by himself or he was doomed. As the other two goddesses' attacks grew stronger and stronger by the moment, she was beginning to wonder if she was about to join him.

Arthur finally fell as Alice watched helplessly and couldn't go to his aide. She was about to lower her defenses and teleport Arthur and Morgause to safety knowing that she would die immediately afterwards when something incredible happened.

A woman floated out of the lake and hovered over its surface with a mystic glow surrounding her. Cenred's men suddenly all stopped in their tracks before Arthur could be finished off and stood staring at her in absolute fear. The woman floated across the waters and finally had her feet touch the ground once she reached the shore. She finally stood in front of the soldiers with a furious expression on her face as she flung them all away from Arthur and Morgause at once with a single gesture.

Cenred's men now began to break ranks and ran in terror followed by Cenred himself as he continued to look behind him in disbelief. Who was this woman and how did she have so much power?

The Old Woman and the Mother Goddess were also looking at the Lady of the Lake in disbelief as she now slowly walked toward them with a grim expression on her face. They could feel her power even from several feet away and couldn't believe what was happening.

Alice meanwhile was smiling in triumph. She didn't know what was going on either, but she definitely liked it.

"Leave. Now," the Lady of the Lake said to the two goddesses in a stern voice as her hands glowed with energy.

"You can't tell us what to do, girl! Who do you think that you are?" The Old Woman asked in indignation.

"Your doom if you don't leave right now. I am Camelot's protector now, and I will not allow you to interfere with its destiny any longer," The Lady of the Lake said.

"It's destiny is to be destroyed at our hands," The Mother Goddess said.

"No. It's destiny is to unite Albion in a new golden age of peace and prosperity for everyone. It's a destiny that doesn't include the two of you. At the moment I am feeling merciful, but if you don't go right now I won't hesitate to destroy you," The Lady said.

"No! We won't listen to an upstart like you! You're nothing! We will kill you again right here and now!" The Old Woman shouted.

She began to attack the Lady of the Lake without mercy now with an enormous blast of mystic energy that would have incinerated an entire forest easily. The Lady shrugged it off as if it was nothing and then incinerated the Old Woman with a single gesture.

The Mother Goddess shook in fear as the Old Woman turned to ashes right in front of her and said, "Please. Just let me go. I won't bother Camelot anymore."

The Lady of the Lake smiled and nodded as she said, "Go then. I want you to know this though. Camelot and all of its people, especially Arthur Pendragon, are under my protection now. If you ever try to interfere again, I'll do the same thing to you that I did to the Old Woman."

The Mother Goddess immediately teleported back to her home dimension without saying another word. What was going on here? How could that girl have so much power?

The Lady now faced Alice who smiled hesitantly at her as she said, "I hope that you're not about to attack me too. I really am on Arthur's side now. Then again you already know that don't you, Gwen?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you for trying to help him," Gwen said as she embraced Alice.

"You do know that the Old Woman isn't dead for good, don't you? The Triple Goddess can never really die for good. She'll reform sooner or later and be back for revenge," Alice warned.

"I know but she'll find that I'm more than ready for her when she does. I can handle her don't worry," Gwen said.

"How can you handle her though? How are you even back anyway? Not that I'm complaining. I'm so glad that you are," Alice said with a huge smile on her face.

Gwen said nothing. She merely smiled as Arthur recovered from unconsciousness and noticed her for the first time now.

"Gwen! How? I thought that you were dead," Arthur said as he walked toward her slowly in disbelief.

"So did I. Then I found myself suddenly coming out of the lake alive and well. I don't know what happened. Maybe the Cailleach decided to bring me back for some reason. Does it really matter?" Gwen asked as she smiled at him.

"No, it doesn't. As long as you're okay, I don't care what the reason for it is," Arthur said as he ran forward and hugged her tightly.

"Arthur, I don't know what you're doing over there, but if you're already cheating on me this early I'm going to roast you alive," A still woozy Morgause said as she struggled to get on her feet.

"Morgause!" Arthur said as he momentarily forgot about Gwen and raced to his wife's side.

Morgause looked at Gwen in disbelief as she said, "What? How? Am I still asleep?"

"No, sweetheart, she's real. She's back! Isn't it wonderful? She's back!" Arthur said as he kissed Morgause with joy.

"I'm glad about that. I really am. What about me though? I'm the one who got badly hurt. Aren't you the least bit worried about me?" Morgause said as she tried not to smile.

"Of course I am. I've been worried about you non-stop since you fell. You must be feeling alright though if you're already complaining," Arthur said in a hopeful tone.

"I think I'm okay. I wouldn't mind going back to be checked on by Gaius though," Morgause said.

Arthur's eyes widened as he said, "I almost forgot. Camelot's in danger. I have to go warn them."

"Oh, so now you've finally decided to be the king?" Gwen asked.

"I'm not sure yet. All I know is that I have to save my people," Arthur said.

"They wouldn't need saving at all if you hadn't left or do you think that it was a coincidence that Cenred attacked when he did?" Gwen pointed out.

Arthur looked shamed as he said, "I know. He said as much to me."

"See? Camelot needs you even if you do sometimes make mistakes. It's only by making mistakes that we learn after all, isn't it?" Gwen said as though she were a teacher and he the student.

"I should be the greatest king of all time by the time that I'm through then because I keep making one huge one after another," Arthur said.

"Don't worry. You will be," Gwen said.

"You say that like you're certain of it," Arthur noted.

"Do I? I guess it's just because I believe in you so much, and I know just how great of a man that you can become if you just give yourself a chance," Gwen said with a small smile.

"Well, let's not waste any more time talking then. It's time that I proved you right about how great that I am. We need to go. Camelot's in danger," Arthur said as he smiled back at her as he could feel his old confidence coming back to him once again.

"Let's go then. I can take us there in moments," Alice offered because she had already realized that Gwen was trying to hide her powers for some reason.

She was definitely going to ask her more about the reasons for that later.

"I'm definitely glad that you're on my side now," Arthur said as he and the others all linked hands together to form a circle.

"I'm glad that you and everyone else have finally realized that," Alice said as she teleported them all to Camelot immediately.

They arrived there to find that the forces of Cenred had already gotten there and were now being beaten back by the united strength of the students of the magic school. Cenred's men were being basically manhandled while Arthur watched in disbelief.

"I didn't know that they were already that good," Arthur said.

"Merlin, Nimueh, and Fiona have been working extra hard together to get them whipped into shape because we were afraid of something like this happening when you decided to pull a bonehead move by leaving Camelot," Alice said.

Arthur looked at Alice in disbelief as he said, "I can tell that you've been around Merlin too much. You're already starting to talk like him. I really hoped that you'd be smarter than that and model yourself after me instead."

"Clotpole," Alice said under her breath.

Morgause couldn't help but smile even as Arthur said, "I'll pretend to ignore that."

"I don't care if you do or not," Alice said with a nonchalant attitude.

Suddenly Morgana was riding out at the head of the students along with Merlin as both of them combined their powers in a massive attack that finally knocked several of Cenred's men out with a single blast of mystic energy and sent the rest of them running in terror. Morgana stood there smiling as she hugged Merlin and shouted, "We did it!"

Suddenly Nimueh teleported in and said, "Good, they 've retreated here too. The knights also drove back the men on the border as well."

"So my hunch was right. They really were attacking both places at once, and Cenred was trying to make us think that it was only one by spreading two separate rumors at the same time. I'm so glad that I went with my instincts and sent the knights to the border and had the magic school students wait in ambush inside the castle," Morgana said with a huge smile on her face.

"You were brilliant, Morgana. I'm so proud of you," Nimueh said as she hugged Morgana.

"You're changing already," Morgana said in surprise.

"I'm trying to. I'll still keep the bad attitude against my enemies of course. I can't go completely soft after all," Nimueh said.

"I hope not. I like that side of you. I like Cara too but I also like Nimueh," Merlin said.

"So you want me to be both nice and nasty to you at once," Nimueh asked as she smiled at Merlin.

"You could alternate it, couldn't you? It would spice things up a little" Merlin said with a grin.

"You're crazy, do you know that? I guess that's why we get along so well with each other, isn't it?" Nimueh said as she kissed Merlin affectionately.

Merlin kissed her back as he realized that she was already becoming more like Cara once more. It was as if her two personalities were slowly integrating together into a brand new one that was part Cara and part Nimueh. He was getting the best of both worlds.

"I love you, Merlin. I don't think that I've said that since I became Nimueh again, and it's long past time that I did," Nimueh said.

"I love you too," Merlin said as he kissed her.

"I knew that you'd eventually be yourself again," Gwen said causing everyone to look at her in shock.

They hadn't noticed her until she had spoken because she was partially hidden by Alice. Now they all gawked at her in disbelief as she repeated the same story that she had told Arthur. They all accepted it without question instantly because they were so glad to have her back.

Or so it appeared anyway. Sophia looked at Gwen suspiciously even as she welcomed her back. Alice couldn't help but wonder what if anything that she knew and how would Gwen react to that?

Arthur meanwhile took Morgause into the castle and had Gaius look at her. Luckily he told Arthur that both she and the baby were doing well.

"It's amazing, Arthur. The attack that you described should have seriously injured Morgause, but she was only temporarily stunned with barely a scratch on her. I can't explain it," Gaius said.

Morgause looked thoughtful as she said, "Do you think that it was the baby? Could he have protected me? Could he already be that powerful?"

Gaius looked at her with a surprised expression and then nodded as he said, "It's possible. It's very possible. You have incredible power and so do your mother and sister. It seems to run in your family. In fact it seems to get more powerful with each new generation. I've noticed that Morgana seems to be well on her way to matching even Merlin in power. Your son could possibly be even more powerful than her. He may wind up being more powerful than we could possibly imagine."

"My son is a warlock?" Arthur asked in surprise.

"Does that bother you?" Morgause asked.

"No. It doesn't. I'll love him no matter what he is. I just wasn't expecting that. Father should be rolling over in his grave right now though," Arthur said grinning.

"I expect so. Then again maybe he's finally grown to accept magic too. Anything's possible I suppose. Gwen suddenly returning from the dead is certainly proof of that," Morgause said looking troubled.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"She told you that she loved you and now she's back. How do you feel about that?" Morgause suddenly asked bluntly.

"Morgause, I love you. You and only you. I do care about Gwen but only as a good friend. I'm not in love with her. I promise," Arthur said.

Morgause nodded but still looked unsure of that so Arthur gave her a passionate kiss. Gaius meanwhile turned away and started to leave the room to give them some privacy.

He ran right into Sophia who dragged him aside and out of earshot of the others as she said, "Gaius, I need to talk to you now. Gwen is lying to all of you. She isn't the same as she was before. You can't tell because you're all only human, but she can't fool me. I'm a Sidhe after all, and I can see higher powers even when they try to conceal themselves from me."

"What are you talking about?" Gaius asked.

"Yes, what are you talking about?" Merlin asked as he noticed them both huddled together conspiratorially in the corner.

"I'm talking about Gwen not being the same person as she was anymore, little brother. That's what I'm talking about. She came back from the afterlife changed. She's not human anymore despite what she wants us all to think," Sophia said.

"What are you babbling about?" Merlin asked in disbelief.

"I believe she's talking about the fact that Gwen is now a goddess more or less just like I am. She's the long awaited Lady of the Lake that I and the other goddesses foresaw long ago although we never thought that it would be Gwen. I always thought that it would be Freya actually since she has control over the water, but that's just another thing that was changed apparently by the altering of your destiny, Emrys. She doesn't seem to want any of you to know any of this though," Alice said.

"Why? Why would she want to keep it all a secret for?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know but I intend on finding out. I'm sure that it's not for a malevolent reason though. She did save Arthur's life after all. Maybe she just wants to operate in secret for whatever reason just like you did once, Merlin," Alice suggested.

"I don't think that Gwen is suddenly evil. I never said that. I'd just like to know what's going on and why she's keeping things from us," Merlin said.

"I plan on finding that out very soon now," Nimueh said as she suddenly joined them.

"So you figured it out too?" Sophia asked.

"Of course. I felt her power the minute that I looked at her. She can hide it from most people, but I've been around way too long to be fooled that way," Nimueh said.

"I say that we ask her and find out what we want to know," Merlin said.

"We should leave her alone and let her come to us about it in her own time. Maybe she has her reasons for not telling us," Gaius said.

"Nonsense. We're her best friends. She can always tell us anything," Sophia said.

"What if she doesn't want to tell us though?" Merlin asked.

"Then we'll just have to beat it out of her won't we?" Nimueh said.

They all looked at her in disbelief as Nimueh smiled and said, "I'm joking. Get a sense of humor, will you?"

"Since when did you get one again? Did you change your personality again without telling me?" Sophia asked in disbelief.

"Of course she did. It's Monday. Everybody knows that she switches personalities at least once a week," Alice said grinning.

"Very funny, Alice. It's funny but oh so true. When did she become one of us?" Sophia asked Merlin in surprise.

"I don't know. It just sort of happened. Now it feels like she's a regular part of the group," Merlin admitted.

"Thank you. You don't know just how much I appreciate that," Alice said.

"I just wanted to say that I was wrong about you, Alice. For once, I'm glad that I was too," Nimueh said.

"Did you ever think that there would ever come a day where we would think of Alice as a friend and be suspicious of Gwen?" Sophia asked in disbelief.

"Gwen is still our friend no matter what her reasons for not telling us about her new self are," Gaius said.

"I agree. I'd just like to know what's going on. I think that we all would," Merlin said.

"For once I agree with you, Merlin, and that scares me. I have a right to know what's going on though as the king," Arthur said.

Merlin turned to see that Arthur and Morgause had been listening to them. Apparently Arthur knew as well now.

"So you're decided to stay the king then?" Merlin asked.

"Yes. Gwen talked me into it. Morgana did an excellent job, but she doesn't want to be the Queen so I guess I'll have to do it," Arthur said.

"Be the Queen?" Merlin joked.

Arthur looked flustered as he said, "Shut up, Merlin. That's not what I meant and you know it."

Gaius laughed as he said, "It's nice to see that some things at least have gone back to normal."

Next: Merlin and the others confront Gwen about what happened to her and the secrets that she's hiding from them. What will she tell them if anything? Why has she returned anyway and what is her new purpose?