Episode: The Crystal Cave
Category: Gen
Rating/Warnings: K+
Now was the time to tell the king.
For years now, he'd known the Lady Morgana's secret. But as all guards were wont to do (at least those who valued their heads) he'd held his silence. He hadn't breathed so much as a word to anyone else, even though he'd witnessed Morgana using magic right there in the palace on more than one occasion. No, he hadn't even said anything when the king had conducted a year-long search for his beloved ward, sacrificing the lives of quite a few good men in the effort to locate a woman who would probably be executed if he knew the truth.
But the time for discretion was over. Morgana had murdered his brother.
Of course, he hadn't seen it happen, but what else was he supposed to believe when Alain had died by violent means, while she'd been skulking around the castle with a dagger at her hip and an expression of pure malevolence twisting her otherwise lovely features? Oh yes, he'd seen her only moments before the body had been discovered, though fool that he was, he'd discreetly looked the other way.
That was a regret he'd live with for the rest of his life; the best he could hope for now was that some small solace might be found in Alain's murderer receiving the justice she deserved. It was an enormous risk with little chance of success – he knew that even before he faced the king, describing everything he'd seen over the years and why he believed Morgana was to blame.
Not in the least bit surprising, he wasn't even given a chance to finish before he was dragged away in chains. But he couldn't be sorry… not even when he knew by the sound of hammering in the courtyard below that it was his own scaffold that was being constructed. Yes, he'd go to his death with dignity, resigned to the fact that he'd had no other choice.
The following morning, he stood on the platform before the waiting crowd, feeling a strange sort of relief as the rope was fitted around his neck. Was there really anything to fear anymore? After all, a swift death in the face of honesty was preferable to the lingering torture of perpetual silence.
