Merlin, Arthur and Balinor left just before dawn, and Morgana and Gwen resumed their royal duties, which included a very long day at Court.
"So, then Bronson told my wife that the cow was barren and that she wouldn't produce any calves, and I said…" the farmer droned on.
Morgana glanced at Gwen and sighed unhappily. She was going to get even with Arthur for this.
Finally, the day came to an end, and Morgana went to check on Kara, who was assisting Gaius.
"I see you've replaced me already, Gaius," Morgana said, as she spied Gaius teaching Kara how to measure ingredients for potions.
"You are irreplaceable, my dear," Gaius said. "But young Kara here shows real potential."
"Perhaps you should take her on as a pupil. If she's interested, of course," Morgana suggested, pulling on an apron, and jumping in to work on a potion.
"Could I, Gaius?" Kara asked, her expression full of hopefulness.
"I don't see why not. Although, I thought you wanted to return to the Druids?"
"I do, but…" she frowned. "What if they don't want me back? What happens to me then?"
Morgana and Gaius exchanged a look. "Then they wouldn't be very good people and I wouldn't let you go with them anyway, you would just have to stay here," Morgana said, firmly. "But, Kara, I don't think that would happen. The Druids are a welcoming people, and they would be glad to have you returned to them."
She nodded.
"In the meantime, you are welcome to study with me," Gaius said.
"Please join Gwen and I for supper this evening," Morgana said. "Sefa has placed some appropriate gowns in your chambers, and she'll help you dress."
"Thank you, My Lady," she said, giving a curtsy.
. . .
"I just don't think it's a good idea to confront her, Morgana, at least not without Merlin there," Gwen said, frowning, as she placed her napkin in her lap. "I don't think she has your best interests at heart."
"I took the bracelet off last night and had Sefa take it to the vault. I had no visions. It will be fine, Gwen, I promise," Morgana said.
She nodded, as Sefa refilled her cup.
Kara entered the dining hall, tugging awkwardly at her gown.
Gwen smiled at her. "It takes some getting used to, these fancy frocks."
Kara nodded, taking her seat, hands in her lap and staring at her plate.
"And don't worry about offending us if your table manners aren't perfect, we regularly eat with Arthur after all," Morgana said seriously.
Gwen laughed, and Kara gave a shy smile.
"How are you enjoying spending time in Gaius's laboratory?" Gwen asked.
"I'm enjoying it very much, My Lady," Kara said, carefully picking up her fork and knife and trying to mimic the other women at the table.
"Morgana said it may take a long while until you find your people," Gwen said. "In the meantime, it's lovely to have another girl about the castle."
"Yes, the overly masculine atmosphere here gets quite tiresome," Morgana sighed.
"You aren't still cross they left you behind on their quest?" Gwen asked.
"Only a little. I know Merlin wants this time to bond with his father, and continue to repair his friendship with Arthur," Morgana said. "But…"
"The work," Gwen finished. "Yes, they certainly do have a way of getting out of doing work, don't they?"
"Indeed. And Gaius needs assistance at the week's end to again inspect and isolate the cattle infections. So much for a day of rest," Morgana said.
"I'll be happy to help, My Lady," Kara offered.
"I'll help as well," Gwen said.
"Thank you, that's generous," Morgana said. "We can't let this infection overtake the herds, or we'll have meat and cheese shortages over the winter, I'm afraid."
She explained the process they would need to go through to diagnose and isolate the infected cows.
"You mean you also help with the cows, My Lady? But you're a princess!" Kara said, surprised.
"I'm also a trained physician, and this is what I trained for, in order to better serve Camelot," Morgana said. "Being royalty is more than power, it is also immense responsibility. And that is what I never want to be blind to: what is best for the kingdom, what is best for the people. Because truly, in order to be a great monarch, one must be a great servant of the people."
Gwen smiled. "And the same goes for supporting Arthur. While being part of Arthur's Court usually means wearing lovely gowns and listening to grievances, on occasion, it means putting on a pair of trousers and examining cow hooves."
"On occasion it's curing sick boys, and saving Druid girls from execution?" Kara offered.
"That's part of it too. Arthur and I owe a great debt to Camelot to undo the harm our father caused," Morgana said grimly.
Kara looked down at her hands, and Morgana knew she must be thinking of her parents. Possibly even wondering if, had Morgana and Arthur overthrown their father, would her parents still be alive.
"Kara, I know it seems strange, but years ago, I had a prophetic vision of what my life would be like if I did not seek to change my future. It was a terrible future, full of darkness and rage. I lost everything I held dear and lost myself to a blind ambition to rule, to take Uther's throne, and then Arthur's, to punish those who had wronged me, to bring magic to a place of dominance, no matter the cost."
Kara frowned. "I don't see how taking Uther's throne from him would have been a bad thing."
"I know too well the pain you feel. I also lost my parents, and Uther was as much to blame for my father's death as he was Gwen's. I spent the rest of my childhood here, and when my magic emerged, I was terrified and angry and alone. I would have betrayed everyone and everything I was in order to overthrow him. But only seeing how it would play out did I realize it was the wrong path. I needed to follow Gwen's example and learn to forgive him. It was incredibly difficult. But I did. And instead of seeking the crown for myself, I built a relationship with my brother, supported him so that he should rule, and by his side, we would bring magic back to Camelot together."
Morgana frowned, thinking of the young Druid boy she had saved but would later help corrupt to die on a battlefield. She shook herself, and continued. "Kara, changing my future meant changing yours too. You now have a chance you otherwise wouldn't have if I had waged my war. You have a chance to live a life out of the shadows."
"You dreamed of me?" Kara asked her, surprised.
She hesitated. "Not directly. But you would have been just another casualty of my endless campaigns for the crown, that made magic more feared and reinforced Arthur's prejudice. Instead, now there are choices ahead of you, and for others like you, like us. And I know that you will make good choices, and have a wonderful future."
Kara nodded. Although Morgana knew she couldn't possibly understand the gravity of the situation. Kara couldn't understand how she was the lynchpin in Arthur's downfall in Morgana's original vision.
Sefa brought them dessert, and Morgana was grateful for a sweet distraction from their serious discussion. When they finished, Kara began to yawn.
"Come, Kara, it's late, and you have lessons tomorrow," Gwen said, standing up. "I'm quite tired myself."
"Good night, Kara," Morgana said. "Goodnight, Gwen."
"Good night, My Lady," Kara said, giving a curtsy.
Gwen gave Morgana a concerned look, but followed Kara from the dining room. Morgana knew Gwen hoped she'd change her mind, but she needed answers.
. . .
Morgana returned to her chambers to change. She had sent word to her sister to meet. She knew Arthur would be furious if he knew, and Merlin as well, but she knew her sister wouldn't harm her, at least not intentionally. She needed to know, however, whether she was a threat to Arthur.
She saddled her horse, gave the guard instructions and rode out to meet Morgause.
Morgause embraced her when she saw her.
"Sister, I did not expect you so soon. How was your journey to heal the sick boy?"
"Better than you would have liked, I'm afraid," Morgana said.
"I don't understand," Morgause said evenly.
Morgana pulled out the amulet. "Look familiar? I do believe it's yours."
Morgause shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. This amulet belongs to you, and it's cursed. You knew I was going to heal Lord Ackerly, and you wanted to make sure the boy died. Why?"
"That's ridiculous. Why would I want to kill a child?" she asked, confused.
"Was it to show me that they would turn on me? They would try to stone me to death, execute me for my magic, when the spell backfired and killed the boy? To show the division between those with magic and those without, and how only through your takeover of Camelot will we ever be truly safe? Does that sound accurate? If not for a simple mistake, I would have been wearing the bracelet you gave me and I never would have seen it coming."
Morgause frowned. "I gave you that bracelet because it was our mother's. It has healing qualities. She too was overcome by her visions."
"But it's more than that, isn't it? You enchanted it to suppress my visions entirely, and then you didn't tell me what it would do. You gave it to me right before Uther died. You knew, didn't you? You knew Odin was sending an assassin, and you needed to make sure I wouldn't foresee it."
She hesitated. "I'll admit I knew about the assassination attempt, but I was not involved, and I did not interfere in either his death nor the life of this child."
"I don't believe you," Morgana said bitingly.
Morgause's face flashed with anger. "Are you really complaining about Uther being dead? He was a tyrant," she hissed.
Morgana shook her head. "That's what you would have me be, a tyrant. I had hoped we could continue to be allies, as we've been in keeping the Druids and other magic users safe, that you would support a united Albion under Arthur. Perhaps that was foolish. You will never put aside your hatred of my family to serve my brother, our rightful King."
"Your family?" Morgause raged. "I am your family, your only true family. Arthur is nothing, he is insignificant. You don't understand the damage he will cause! He will destroy magic!"
"We're done here. I'm done with you," Morgana said, tears in her eyes.
Morgana stormed out, the tears streaming down her face. She'd wanted so desperately to have her sister by her side, but now she realized that would be impossible. She stood beside her horse for a few moments to compose herself before she mounted her. However, as she placed her left foot in the stirrup, her vision went black as she collapsed to the ground.
. . .
"You had no right!" Morgause seethed, looking down at her sister lying unconscious on the bare cot.
"I had to protect the Order and our mission," a cloaked man answered evenly, as he affixed mandrake roots to the ceiling by strands of rope. "If the Princess cannot be persuaded with your words to our cause, she will be persuaded with my magic."
"Brother Ruadan, I will not see my sister lose her mind," she warned.
"Her mind will not be lost, only her will," he reassured her.
"I hardly see the difference," she said stiffly.
"She will serve our cause," he said firmly, as he hung the final mandrake root, its doll-like visage swinging gently overhead. "You may be a High Priestess of the Old Religion, but the Council of the Order will see this done. You can see to her health while the ritual is completed, or you can leave. The choice is yours."
She faltered.
"Morgause," he said more gently. "You've seen the prophecies, the world that Arthur will usher in may be friendlier to magic now, and you may be tempted to enjoy the offered place in his Court alongside your sister. But in the future, magic will be entirely extinguished and the horrors our people suffered under Uther will be nothing compared to future generations. Morgana may be a powerful seer, but she isn't divine. She doesn't know what's coming beyond her lifetime, only we do, only we have been given this instruction by the Triple Goddess. Arthur will usher in an era of the new religion, seeking its relics, and his legend will be the foundation for centuries of glorification of war on behalf of the new religion. He will be its champion. We must put an early end to the man, or else the future is lost."
She nodded, defeated. "I know what's at stake. You're right. Morgana won't be persuaded to overthrow her brother. We'll have to do the ritual."
She walked over to her sleeping sister, and brushed the hair away from her forehead with a sigh. The last thing she wanted was to take away Morgana's will, but she doesn't even trust her now and her allegiance to her brother is stronger than ever. If only there was another way. But if they simply conquered Camelot, Albion would erupt into chaos. They needed Morgana to rule; she was his heir, but their assassination attempts had been continuously thwarted. This seemed to be their last chance, without igniting a war and enduring mass bloodshed. Without making an alliance with the Saxons they may not be able to control.
Morgause's eyes stung with tears. Her dear sister, from whom she'd spent a lonely lifetime apart. She would lay awake at night as a little girl, wondering where her sister was, and if she ever thought of her too, if she even knew of her existence. She grew up not knowing her family, raised in exile to become a High Priestess. But all these years, all she really wanted was the chance to know her sister. Now she never would.