Chapter 2

Lady Morgaïne had foreseen that a messenger would come to Ivren Castle, just as she had foreseen that he would come for her. Therefore, she was not surprised when the man actually arrived, exactly on the day she had expected him to come. This vision had turned out to be very definite and unambiguous, quite unlike most of the others. The Lord of the Castle, however, was quite surprised by his arrival, for he had in no way expected someone to come from so far north, from beyond the Channel. He was also surprised by this because the lady never shared any of her visions with her grandfather. The latter would not thank her for it either, for he was a devout Christian and anything that even looked like magic in any way was more than repugnant to him. When he was younger, he had handed over several people to the jurisdiction of the church, whom he was convinced to be witches. And unlike some others, he had not profited from their deaths. It was only his faith that had driven him to act that way. And although he loved his granddaughter more than anything, he would not make an exception in her case either. It was therefore not surprising that she shared her knowledge only with her confidants, with those she was sure would never betray her.

Although she had known the man would come for her, she still did not know the reason for it. She had not been able to tell from her vision who had sent him or what was in the message. Obviously, she was not supposed to gain this knowledge in advance, and she was not even annoyed that it had been kept from her. After all, there was always the danger that she might be betraying herself by something. It would be dangerous if someone suspected that she already knew what it was all about. Even if no one would directly consider magic, even the accusation of normal conspiracy could lead to unpleasant consequences. So, it was better if she did not get into such a situation in the first place. Besides, she assumed that the message would tell her what had been going on, but she also expected it to give her a clue as to how to proceed. That much she had been able to glean from the vision that had come to her during the last ritual. Perhaps she would seek another vision after she knew what was in the message.

When she was a little girl, she had first seen something that had not yet happened. Fortunately, only her mother had heard about it and she had made sure that it remained a secret between her and her little daughter. Only later had Morgaïne understood that this had nothing to do with luck, but that her mother had been waiting for something like this to happen. After that, she began to teach her daughter about magic. Of course, in secret, for this was absolutely nothing with which Christians should and were allowed to concern themselves. Morgaïne was not sure if this was related to her magical abilities, but even then, when she was very young, she knew that she could only learn in secret. Her mother didn't have to tell her to be careful and attentive, though of course she did anyway. She was also aware that this was a secret that would cost her her life if it ever became known. But since she had her mother at her side, it didn't bother the girl that she couldn't tell anyone about her progress and successes. These were very happy years for Morgaïne, but when she was twelve years old, she lost her only confidante and this represented a bitter loss for her. However, by that time she had learned enough to be able to carry on on her own. Nevertheless, she was pleased when, over the next few years, she managed to attach people to her who shared her inclinations. And then she realized that she shared more with these people than magic. This was then the moment when she considered herself an adult. This was also the point when she realized her future did not await her in Ivren, but nothing more had been revealed to her at that time.

Ten years after her mother's death, she was still living in her grandfather's household. This was amazing in that other young ladies her age had been married for a long time. However, this was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, and so she had used her occult powers to influence the Baron de Ivren in this regard. The old man, of course, was convinced it was his decision to keep his granddaughter by his side instead of giving her to a husband, even though he could have made an alliance with another noble house in this manner. But he had a perfectly plausible explanation for his behavior, for she had always been his favorite as she reminded him of his son, who had now been dead for fifteen years. Therefore, it was no surprise to anyone that he kept the girl with him and had no intention of giving her to anyone else before his own death.

Morgaïne had never intended to leave her home until she herself was ready to do so, therefore she had begun to influence the Lord of Ivren early on. On the other hand, she had also long been aware that she would eventually depart. This was also due to the fact that she could not inherit the estate; after all, there was her older half-brother. If she were the only surviving child, it would be different, but since she knew she would leave Ivren one day, the death of her brother would only be a burden to her. And she could do without that. Besides, he was not a wicked man and did not really stand in her way. If he were to enjoy his inheritance, she would not be bothered by it.

On the other hand, Ivren Castle still offered her too many advantages to simply give up staying here. After all, she was aware that it would take time to influence a possible husband in such a manner that she would be able to perform her occult rites in her new home as well. It was much easier to stay in her old home. After all, she had already gathered around her the people she could trust. She had been shown many years ago that these people would not betray her. She knew they would become an important part of her future life. One by one, these people had then come into her life, and now only one person was still missing to complete her circle of friends and confidants. She knew, however, that their paths would cross at some point. Nevertheless, she also knew she couldn't just lay back and leave everything to fate, even if it had been predicted to her. If she didn't get involved herself, then it was quite possible that the future would be altered. Under no circumstances, however, did she want to allow that to happen.

Since Lady Morgaïne already knew what this day would bring, she and the other three women in her own household were ready when Garin, her servant, appeared in her solar to deliver the Baron's summons to join him in the Great Hall. Her grandfather, of course, was unaware that she considered the people she had gathered around her to be her own household; after all, he regarded everything and everyone in Ivren Castle as his property. But what he did not know - and this was quite a lot - could not upset him either. Therefore, like everyone else who lived in her grandfather's castle, he assumed that Zinat, Zoraya and Mélie were her maids and companions, and in public the three of them acted as such. In reality, however, their duties were entirely different. The same was true of Sir Daví, the knight who pretended to be her champion, adored her chastely, and saw to it that her honor was not sullied. Yazid and Garin also behaved no differently in public than was expected of them as servants. It was not unusual for former soldiers to take on new duties. However, even these three men actually had quite different duties in the secret household.

"My Lady", Garin greeted her with the deference due to her standing in the castle. "The baron desires your presence in the Great Hall. And he wishes to see you right away."

"If my grandfather so desires, then of course I will not keep him waiting", she replied and rose, smoothing the fabric of her gray dress with her hands. The gesture seemed as if she was not aware of it at all, but in reality, she used it carefully and quite deliberately. It was meant to support the impression she wanted to make on others - those not in the know. After all, an impression of shyness and restraint was befitting for a well-bred lady.

Garin bowed briefly as he held the door open for her and her maids, then joined them on their way to the Great Hall, much as if he were guarding them from behind. The four women dressed in gray - gray was Morgaïne's preferred color and so her ladies had to wear it as well - strode through the hallway with measured steps, ignoring the servants who encountered them - and who, of course, immediately made way for them. Garin, on the other hand, did not hold back, and he gave his smile to the younger maidservants in particular. He was very popular with them, and not without reason.

When the young lady entered the Great Hall, she looked neither to the right nor to the left, but took the shortest way towards her grandfather, but then stopped two meters in front of him to greet him with a curtsy. In doing so, she paid no attention to the only stranger in the hall. She was good at pretending she thought it beneath her to pay attention to folks who hadn't managed to be on the same social level as herself. But after all, this hierarchy was God-given, as the Church never tired of pointing out. But just like her shyness, her arrogance was only feigned. She was indeed convinced that she was someone special, but that didn't stop her from always being aware of what was going on around her.

As soon as the baron caught sight of her, a smile showed on his face. He was very fond of his granddaughter and was not afraid to express this. "Dear, why don't you join me?"

Morgaïne smiled back and immediately went to his side. Her three companions, who had curtsied much more deeply than the young lady, then stepped to the side of the hall and mingled with the other people standing there.

With his hand, the elder pointed to the stranger and Morgaïne looked at him openly for the first time, feigning surprise at his tired impression and soiled appearance, although she had noticed before that he had obviously had a long and arduous journey, during which he did not seem to have taken many stops. So, he was on an urgent mission.

"This man is from Wales and he has a message for you. Apparently, you have kin in this godforsaken land, but that's all I can tell you. I didn't want to get ahead of you, my Dear, so I waited for you. He shall deliver the message to you personally."

The baron turned to the stranger. "This is Lady Morgaïne, my granddaughter. You had asked for her. Now give her the message!"

The courier now turned his attention to the young woman. For a long moment he eyed her rather blatantly before bowing to her and at the same time extending his hand to her, in which he held a roll of parchment. He remained in this position until Garin took the scroll from him. While Garin passed the parchment to his mistress, the messenger straightened up and took a few steps back, but kept his eyes on Lady Morgaïne. She, however, did not seem to want to pay any further attention to him, but looked at the message for a long time.

The young woman, however, made no effort to look at the delivered message immediately, for she had gained the impression that the courier was too interested in its contents. Perhaps he had been paid not only to deliver it, but also to find out what it said. And maybe he had not been able to read the message on his journey without fearing that this would be noticed later. For this reason, she now turned to the baron. "My Lord, the man looks tired. We should give him a chance to clean up, eat something and rest. I'm sure there's still a place for him to stay with the servants." Out of the corner of her eye, she caught how the stranger grimaced at her words. He obviously did not like being put on the same level as the servants.

Baron Wilfried nodded. "You're absolutely right, Dear." He smiled at her with pride, then turned to her servant, whom, after all, he considered one of his own. "Garin, please take care of him."

The young servant bowed to the baron before turning to the stranger. Politely, he asked him to follow him and then made his way out of the hall. He did not turn around to see if the other was indeed trailing him. The courier frowned again for a moment, but then he probably realized he had no choice, for he also bowed to the baron and his granddaughter, turned and walked after Garin.

The young woman in the elegant gray dress turned to her grandfather. "My Lord, would you read this message with me? In private?"

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Morgaïne had finally taken leave of her grandfather after they had studied the parchment together. Afterwards, the baron had felt obliged to enlighten his granddaughter about some issues he thought important and, of course, he gave her quite a bit of advice. She had listened to him patiently, although he could tell her nothing that was new. They sat together for some time until she finally told him that she felt an urgent need to reflect deeply on the meaning of the message. Very politely, as was her way when dealing with him, she also explained to him that she would have to do so in the seclusion of her own solar without being disturbed. It was not surprising that Baron Wilfried complied with her request without delay, for this was not the first time she had proceeded in this manner.

With full intention, the young woman had already cultivated this manner of acting for quite a few years and had often influenced her grandfather in this respect, since it naturally suited her very well to be able to retreat to her chambers without being disturbed, accompanied only by her maids, her servants and her protector. While this option did not mean that she was careless enough to perform magical rites in her solar, she was at least able to confer with her confidants in privacy. That was exactly what she intended to do on this day.

Thus, she finally met in her bedchamber with the six persons who belonged to the circle of her confidants. This was the most protected chamber, but also the one in which she could least expect to be surprised by someone. It was located deep in her solar, and anyone would have to pass through several other rooms to get to it. It was also high enough above the ground, or rather, above the moat that surrounded the castle, so it would be very difficult to get into it through the windows.

She had settled down in her usual place, on a comfortable armchair in front of the fireplace, next to her a small table on which, besides a wine goblet, was also the parchment that the messenger had delivered to her.

The three women, whom everyone assumed to be her maids, had made themselves comfortable on the large bed that dominated this room. Each of them also held a wine goblet in her hands. In front of them, on the floor of the chamber, was a large jug, still more than half full with the dark wine that was so popular in the area around Ivren Castle.

Garin had settled on the floor in front of the bed and was leaning against the bedpost, right next to Mélie's legs. Absentmindedly, the young woman played with the blond strands of his long hair using her free hand. At the same time, she occasionally threw him an enamored glance. She was not, however, one of the crowd of young maidservants who had succumbed to his charm and who liked to tell him about their worries or pass on the gossip they had heard. Mélie knew that he returned her affections and that everything else served only to gain information. She was not jealous.

Yazid had taken up position next to the door. Although he, like the others, was focused on Lady Morgaïne, he gave some of his attention to the room beyond the door. Just because everyone else in the castle had been told not to disturb the baron's granddaughter did not mean that everyone actually complied. There were always curious people, but most importantly, there were always people who were paid by someone to spy on the secrets of others.

Sir Daví was standing on the other side of the fireplace, next to the bed, but also next to Zoraya who was sitting on that side of the bed. Anyone who happened to see the two of them at that moment would realize at once that they were a couple. But outside of this chamber, this was not known to anyone, for if they were not among themselves, then they never showed that they were devoted to each other. This was not only to ensure that no one doubted the honor of the dark-haired young woman might have been besmirched.

For a long time, the seven people remained silent, seemingly absorbed in their own thoughts, as if they were already mulling over what they had just heard. In truth, however, Lady Morgaïne had not yet spoken to them at all about the contents of the message, for she had to make up her own mind about its importance before discussing it with her coven.

Daví cleared his throat and pulled the young lady out of her thoughts. She smiled apologetically at him, having forgotten for a moment that she was not alone, even though she had asked the others to join her.

"What is written on this parchment now?" the dark-haired knight wanted to know. The tone of voice he used contradicted the appearance that here was a subordinate speaking to his mistress, for it sounded more as if he were urging somebody who was his equal to finally speak up. This was also true, for the magic they practiced in their coven had made them equals. The two of them, Morgaïne and Daví, presided over the other five, although he himself had no magical abilities. But it had turned out that he was indispensable to the rituals she performed, more than any of the others. Thus, he had earned his place.

His question had reminded the young sorceress why they had come together here, and made her finally tell them what was actually going on. "A kinswoman of mine, a sister of my mother's mother, has left me something. But in order to enforce my claim to it, I have to travel to England, because it's a castle on the border to Wales. Apparently, there is a lack of male heirs in the family that has held sway over this place, and so now, through my kin, the inheritance has come to me. However, I cannot take it up without the consent of the English king."

"Does that mean you want to go to England? Immediately?" The question came from Yazid.

"Unless I receive further information, it seems to me the most sensible thing to do." Morgaïne paused for a moment before continuing. " Before doing so, however, I must ascertain whether something else is not revealed to me in a vision. I should also do this as soon as possible."

"We won't have time for that today", Zinat interjected. "The day is already too far advanced."

"I know that too", sighed the young lady. "While my grandfather would not forbid me to take another ride, it would be so unusual that others might become suspicious. In that case, we would have to assume that someone is following us. And I don't want to waste my strength on sending those people away."

"There are other ways to keep them from spying on us", the knight suggested, but Morgaïne shook her head.

"I'd like to save that for an emergency. We can't be sure that no one will stumble upon their corpses. That's too dangerous."

Daví shrugged, but since he wasn't thrilled about making the dead vanish either, he immediately dropped his suggestion.

"People won't think it odd if you ride out for several hours once they learn you're contemplating leaving Ivren. We should just make sure they also get to hear how reluctant you are to depart your home, but you don't want to shirk the duty your kinswoman has imposed on you."

The young lady looked thoughtfully at Mélie de Boivin, but then a smile crept onto her face. "Once again you have put it exquisitely. The best thing you can do is get straight to work on spreading this story. Then perhaps we can actually ride into the forest tomorrow and perform the necessary ritual."

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The baron was not at all enthusiastic about the idea of letting his beloved granddaughter travel, and then also across the Channel to England. Of course, the young woman could have persuaded her grandfather to let her leave immediately, but she had refrained from doing so. It would be more than just odd for him to let her go so quickly now, after he had kept her by his side for so long - against all conventions. Other people - and not only those who lived in Ivren Castle - would not have been able to understand that, and what they could not understand would have made them suspicious. She could not allow herself to do that, after all, no one was allowed to get the idea that there was something wrong with her departure.

Almost two weeks after the messenger had brought Lady Morgaïne the news of her inheritance, her grandfather finally gave her his official consent. He allowed his granddaughter to travel to England, under the protection of the knight who had sworn to always protect her and with the support of her maids and servants. The baron would have liked to give her more people, but she knew how to convince him that too large a traveling party would attract too much attention. Under her influence, he naturally agreed with her on this point.

On a cool but sunny winter day, the lady and her six confidants finally rode away from Ivren Castle, after assuring Baron Wilfried once again in front of the assembled inhabitants of Ivren to be careful and to write to him in any case. The castle had not yet completely disappeared from her sight, however, when she had already put her old home out of her mind, and her grandfather and everyone else who lived there with it. She was in very high spirits, for she had never felt so alive. At last, the life that was destined for her was beginning. At last she would be the one who gave the orders, even in public, and no longer had to pretend. And once she had her inheritance, she would finally be in possession of a place where she could practice her magic undisturbed.

"Free!" the young sorceress declared with a broad smile, but she was careful not to speak too loudly. After all, they hadn't gone very far from Ivren yet, and they still had to expect to run into someone who recognized them.

Sir Daví returned her smile. "How does it make you feel?" he wanted to know from her inquisitively.

She frowned at him. "What do you mean?" She didn't immediately know what he was aiming at with his question.

"You're on your own now. No one to tell you what to do. No one you have to pretend to, at least not until we reach the court of the English king. But also no one who can come to our aid if we get into trouble."

"Oh that!" She shrugged. "That's just wonderful. I feel just marvelous. And why do we need someone to come to our aid? We're not going to get into any trouble." The very moment these words left her lips, she already knew that this wasn't true, nevertheless, she didn't want to let that dampen her good mood.

The knight obviously saw it differently and now it was his turn to frown. "You saw in your vision that someone was coming to our aid, didn't you?"

The smile vanished from Morgaïne's face as quickly as it had appeared when her companion reminded her relentlessly of what she had been shown. And she had to remember what she hadn't seen, too.

"I wouldn't say that's exactly what I saw. It was more like a hunch that I interpreted in that direction, because I've experienced something like that before. And in each of those cases, it turned out after the fact that we needed help."

"But then what did you see? What makes you so sure that the English king will let you have your inheritance? Even we here in the south have noticed that he charges a high price for letting you have what is rightfully yours." Zinat sounded concerned.

"If I have to bribe the English king, that won't be a problem. Grandfather has given me letters of credit from the Templars. But I'm not sure that will even be necessary, after all, England has recently had a new king." For Morgaïne, in fact, the whole matter did not seem to be problematic. But contrary to the impression she had just given with her words, she did not approach the whole matter lightly. And her companions knew that, too. But that didn't stop them from expressing their opinion.

Garin laughed out, short and hard. "This king wouldn't worry me either. But the men who control the kingdom for him are of a different breed altogether."

"As I said, money is not a problem", Morgaïne repeated. "And as for your question, Zinat, what I actually saw, there was the castle, which I know is our ultimate destination. I also saw a man who I know will be one of us at some point in the future, but not when that will happen. There were also other sites that were shown to me, several castles, a town, an impenetrable forest. I also caught sight of a stag with stately antlers. Maybe it belongs to that forest."

"But you are sure that the English king will confirm your inheritance?" Zinat obviously wanted confirmation that their journey would not be in vain.

"Yes, I am", the young lady assured her. "We will reach our destination and receive our reward. This journey, as arduous as it will be and as long as it will last, we are not undertaking for nothing. I have seen that quite clearly, even if other things have remained hidden from me. But this is nothing new. We've been through this before."

Yazid nodded in agreement, as did Garin. Both could recall a number of visions that had seemed quite confusing to them at first. So far, everything always resolved itself, even if it took quite a bit of effort. And the more important the matter had turned out to be to them, the more they had had to work for it. But they had all known for a long time that - even with the support of magic - no reward would just drop into their laps like that. If they wanted to get or achieve something, they had to work hard for it.

Still, the young servant felt the need to speak up as well. "That's true, my Lady, but never before has there been so much at stake as this time. So, it's only natural to want to approach everything more cautiously. At least that's how I feel, and I can't imagine it's any different for you. I don't want to make a mistake and I don't want to take any risks. Not with this kind of price."

Morgaïne laughed softly. "I can understand you, Garin. But I guess we won't be able to avoid taking risks if we want to succeed. And as much as I'd like to, we're bound to make mistakes. As long as we learn from them and don't repeat them, we'll still achieve our goal."

Her words had silenced the others, as they reminded them of everything they had been through together so far, but also what they had accomplished. And they also realized that she was absolutely right. They would make mistakes, they would learn from them, and they would reach their destination and receive their reward. United they were strong and when they finally met the man who would complete their coven, they would be even stronger than ever before. Then they would definitely no longer need any help.