Thank you for reading. As always I hope that you are enjoying the story and will like this new chapter. As I said before their will be more action in the story from now on. I am a bit worried about how I am going to write some of it, but I will give it my best try.
I wanted to say that I have a plan to up-date at least every two weeks. I understand that it is hard to get into a story if there is not a clear schedule as to up-dates. When you don't know when the next chapter will be up-dated. So I am going to make one. I will do my very best to up-date at least every two weeks. The reason for it being two weeks is that I am also writing another story at the minute. So the plan is that one week I will do a chapter for this story, then the next week I will up-date the other story. Of course if there is a lot of feedback for one story then I will up-date sooner and more often. However at the very least there will be an up-date every two weeks.
GuestWeskirk. Thank you for reading the story. I total understand where you are coming form, you have a very valid point. That in part I do agree with. It is just very hard to feel motivated to put the work in to a new chapter, when you feel that it is pointless. I know that I am over reacting, but the main point of me writing at all is to get better at it. Which is why all feedback is important to be. I also feel that asking for a little help, input is not asking for too much with all the time I have put into writing and planning the story. As you may have just read, I do have a schedule. Which I hope will make things easier for people to stay interested in the story. I hope that you will keep reading. Thank you again.
Aneena. Thank you very much. I hope that you will find this chapter as interesting.
Meri Ley. thank you so very much. I hope you will like the rest of the story. I think you are being far to kind, but I think I will have to come up with something to explain why he didn't look for Aithusa and work on her story more. cause it seems important over all. it is also to big a plot hole to leave. I think I have an idea, buy I will have to see it is works. thank you again.
It was hard to say who was offering more support to the other. Both figurers dressed in black, leaned on each other to keep them standing. They walked at a slow pace, each step was an effort. Morgana was now feeling the effects of pushing herself to do to much to soon. Two years in chains had left her weak. It had been adrenaline that had allowed her to leave the hut she woke up in and make her way to the Dochraid. Now that adrenaline was all but gone. It was anger, fury and the burning desire to get her revenge that moved her forward. That and the young dragon that walked by her side. Aithusa had recovered faster than the witch, for that she was grateful. Occasionally the dragon would falter a little and lean against Morgana's legs. On her other side the Dochraid leaned against her constantly. While she did not like to think so, she was leaning on the creature of the earth as much as she was on her.
It had been a long time, many lifetimes in fact since the Dochraid had seen sun light. Not that there was much of that now. The closer they got to the Isle of the Blessed the thicker the mist became. Not that either women minded. Neither was used to the bright light of the sun. It was harsh and brought things they did not wish to see into the light. Their dry and damaged skin, and wounds not yet healed. Not a word was spoken as they walked. There was no need for worlds, they both knew what the actions they were about to set in motion were.
Upon reaching the water's edge finally they started to follow it for a few yards till a small pier was visible through the mist. She had to conserve her energy for what was to come, but Morgana found herself having to dig deep to find the energy to walk the last few feet to the end of the pier where a small boast waited for them. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a gold coin, and handed it to the ferryman. He quickly took it from her, but did not offer to help either of the women onto the boat. Once on-board Morgana turned to Aithusa, who remained on the pier.
"I will be back soon. I promise." She reached out and stocked the dragons head. Aithusa in response rubbed her nose against Morgana's wrist, were the marks of their imprisonment remained.
As she turned away and let herself sink into a seat on the boat, she felt a lot of her energy leaving her. Subtly she felt a slight pressure being placed against her right side. Never in all of her life would the former Lady of Camelot ever have thought that she would be receiving comfort form a decrepit old hag like the Dochraid. Oh how far she had sunk. In the end she found she didn't mind. She felt comfortable with the creature at her side. More so then most people now. She understood her, which was a rare thing. Still however she retained a natural disgust for the Dochraid, so she did not allow herself to lean on her for support more than she needed to.
Leaving the boat was harder than getting into it. Once they stood on the Isle, after much effort, the boat quickly sailed away. With a deep breath to force herself forward, Morgana lightly placed her arm around the Dochraid and guided her forward into the crumbling ruins of the temple that once stood proud and strong. Her sister had taken her here once she had recovered enough form her poisoning by Merlin. That felt like an age ago, to long to remember, but she did remember and the hurt and betrayal of it stayed with her. Morgause had told her stories of the Isle of Blessed. How it had once been so alive with magic and so much potential. She had so wanted to have been able to see it like that. When her sister had described it, she had been able to picture it the way it once was. There seemed to be some remaining magic lingering in the air, now it was gone. All she could see was the cold reality of the place.
The main hall lay out in-front of them, the stone table at the centre of it. It was now the Dochraid that pushed them forward. Morgana was a little shocked by this, but she allowed herself to be moved forward.
"Do you remember what you must do." Her voice though low was shocking to Morgana coming out of the silence.
She knew that she should answer, but she could not bring the words from her mouth. She nodded instead in answer. Once at the table she helped the Dochraid to lay upon it. Not wanting to waste anytime, she unsheathed the dagger from her side. Holding it in her shacking hands she lifted it above her head. Closing her eyes she spoke words in a hushed voice. When her eyes opened her eyes flashed gold and the dagger came down.
Before she had a chance to catch her breath it was knocked out of her. She was thrown across the hall and hit the hard floor. She tried to open her eyes, but she could only keep them open for a few seconds before they closed again. Each time she tried to opened them it grow harder and harder to. It was like an extra weight was being added each time. The last thing that she clearly thought of before she could not open her eyes anymore was Aithusa. How she had left her alone.
Night had fallen over Camelot and many were making their way to their beds. As was Gwen, who after having eaten her supper with Arthur in his chambers was now making her way to hers. The past two years had fallen into a comfortable routine for her. Nothing had greatly changed. She and Arthur were still engaged, but there had been things that had required his attention and that had forced them to wait. This was not something that either of them greatly worried about. The world knew how they felt about each other, they didn't have to hide it anymore. Her status had grown, but it did not change her.
Lancelot had returned after just over a few months away and continued to make frequent trips to Nemeth. Things had been civil between them, but that was all. They both did their best to avoid each other when they could. Arthur knew nothing and Gwen wanted to keep it that way. Merlin had been distant from her for a few months after Lancelot left. She did her best to prove to him that she loved Arthur, that she had made a mistake. Thinks got better, but once Lancelot returned they went back to the cold formality they had been. It was only around six months ago that she could stand it no longer and confronted him about it. They talked, even yelled a little, but once it was all out in the open and they knew where they stood, they hugged and were friends again. It was such a great relief to Gwen. It was the only time when she felt glad that the wedding had been forced to be put back. She hated the idea of getting married when Merlin who meant so much to both her and Arthur seemed against it.
The corridor was lit on either side by torches. The night began to fully set in, the torches were very welcome. Their warmth was also welcome on the cold night. She was about to turn the corner when she felt something knock into her. It was so strong she felt that is was going to knock her shoulder out of its socket. Looking round she could see no sigh of what it could be. Her heart stated to race. Spinning round to look around again she could still see nothing. All of a sudden she was hit again and this time she was knocked into the wall. When she steadied herself to look around, all of the candles all the corridor went out, leaving her alone in darkness.
The sound of footsteps on the stone floor suddenly rang in her ear. "Hello." She called out. When there was no reply "Hello!" she yelled a little this time.
When she still did not get a reply she pulled herself to her feet and started to run and started to her chambers. She kept one hand stretched out touching the wall. The sound of another set of footsteps followed her. As she moved fasted, the footsteps did as well. She was now running so fast that she lost her bearings. She no longer knew which direction she was headed. All the corridors in the dark now looked the same. The disorientation added to the sudden panic that came over her. Something was chancing her down, something dark and dangerous. She felt tears starting to build up in her eyes.
She turned a corner quickly and ran right into something. Her knees gave out under her and she started to fall to the ground. A scream left her lips as she fell. Just before she hit the ground she felt a hand grab hold of her arm and quickly full her to her feet. Through her tear stained eyes she found she was looking up at a familiar face. Letting out a faint sob, she buried her face in their chest.
"It's okay Gwen, what's the matter. What happened." Merlin asked in as soothing a voice as he could manage, while he wrapped his arms around her.
A cold chill ran down her spin and she felt something very cold slightly touching her check. It went away just as soon as it came. When she felt the touch again she felt some comfort in it. It reminded her of the way that her sister had comforted her when she was too weak to so much as open her eyes. It was how she remembered waking after what felt like a lifetime. It also reminded her of the last thing she remembered before everything went black, black for so very long. At this memory her eyes shot open. She tried to move, to pull herself up, but she was too weak. She was only slightly able to lift up her upper body a little.
"You are right to fear me Morgana."
Her vision came to focus on a tall figure I a long black cloak, with only their face visible. She tried to push herself up fully but was blinded by a sharp pain down her right side. The force that she was hit with was stronger than she had first thought, and she was weaker then she wanted to admit. She was very sure that she had broken or at the very least bruised her ribs. Giving up on trying to stand up or even sit up a little at least at the moment, she resigned herself to being still. Turning her fall attention onto the figure that stood in-front of her.
"I am the Cailleach."
"I know who you are."
She was not looking at the Cailleach, she was instead looking at the tear in the veil behind her. It was black at first glance, but when you looked more closely it held so many colours. Colours that she had not seen in such a long time. In its own way it was strangely beautiful.
"Tearing apart the veil has created a new word."
Morgana reached down deep into herself for the very last of her receives of strength. She had to finish what she started. There was no knowing how long she had been knocked out for. With a deep breath she pushed herself to her feet. Her head started to spin form the suddenness of the actions, but she could not stop know.
"That was the plan." The hint of a smirk crossed her face.
"Here drink this." Gaius handed the glass to Gwen, who took it was shaking hands.
It had taken a great deal of coaxing from Merlin to get Gwen to come with him to see Gaius. It was not that she did not want to see Gaius, she just did not want to move. Once she was with Gaius he had to very subtly slip away so that he could go and get Arthur. When she calmed down she would want him with her. The King now sat next to his fiancé on the bench with his arm around her shoulder. She had just finished telling them what had happened. In saying it out loud she felt embarrassed that she had gotten so worked up over something that was most likely nothing. Then she meet Gaius's eyes.
"What do you think Gaius."
He looked away from her, wanting to avoid the question, but knew that he could not. "I fear that something unnatural is at hand."
"What do you mean Gaius." Arthur asked. The tone of his voice clearly showed that he was not happy that he was talking like this in-front of Gwen, who was clearly still shaken by what had just happened.
"Tonight is Samhain. The veil between our word and the next is at its thinnest tonight. I believe that it had been torn and it was the Dorocha that you felt following you." After he finished speaking he glanced towards Merlin. There was a slight fear in his eyes.
Arthur reluctantly removed is arm from Gwen and stood up. "What do we do."
"The veil must be repaired…..that requires a….."
"I understand." He didn't have to be told, he knew what was Gaius was going to say. He didn't want to hear it, didn't want Gwen to hear it. Turning back to her he gently helped her to her feet. "Who could have torn the veil." Again he did not want to really didn't want to hear wheat Gaius was going to say, but he had to hear it.
"It would take someone of great power and knowledge."
"Someone like Morgana." Gaius nodded.
Arthur did too. "We will talk more about this tomorrow." Right now his priority was Gwen. He wanted to make sure she was resting comfortably before he did anything. There was really nothing that he could do now. He would speak to Gaius at first light, then he could take action. He hated that he had to wait at times like this. His instinct was to get moving right away, but he could not afford to think like that anymore. With a gentle and comforting arm around her shoulder, he led Gwen out of the physician's chambers.
Gaius once the couple left turned to face Merlin. "If you have anything that you want to tell me, now is the time."
With her left arm crossing her chest to hold her painful right side, Morgana made her way to the stone table. It felt like an eternity till she finally reached the table. Her hands fell on the table to hold her up, and the cold stone sent a chill through her body. Tears of frustration wanted to fall from her eyes. She hated being so weak. Gripping the table she looked at the Dochraid. The trace of a smile appeared on her face as she saw the tiniest movement of the creature breathing in and out.
"Smart girl."
She heard the Cailleach speak, but she did not turn to look at her. She focused on her task. The final part of her plan. As she spoke the words that she needed to, she felt most of what energy she had left draining from her. Her eyes were closed, so she did not see the world turn black, but she felt her legs start to give out under her.
Just before they gave out fully, and she fell to the cold, hard ground and the darkness again, something strong took hold of her arm. It quickly pulled her towards the table, where she was able to steady herself and remain on her feet.
"You have done well."
The hold on her arm remained and another came to rest on her back, steadying her more. Slowly turning to face the stabilizing force she for the first time looked into the eyes of the Dochraid. They were grey, and had a deep sad, hauntedness to them. There was also a faint hint of contentment to them, which made the witch smile a little.
"You can rest soon, but there is still much for you to do." A bitter laugh would have escaped her mouth if her head was not spinning.
The Dochraid took her hand from Morgana's back and placed it on her check. The ancient creature of the earth, gifted with the seers sight as Morgana herself was, for the first time in many lifetimes, smiled a real smile. A smile of acceptance and peace. Her actions this day had been motivated by selfishness mostly, but she could see that even if it was not her intention, if nothing else came from it, it had done some good.
"Thank you." Morgana whispered.
"No, thank you. For finally giving me peace. I only hope that you are able to find some of your own, before it is too late."
Turning round, but still holding onto the stone table Morgana watched as the Dochraid walked towards the veil, with more strength and ease than she would have expected of such an ancient being. It seemed that it was not just her eyes that Morgana's healing magic had mended. The threat of tears built up again, this time out of sadness. She did not want to be alone again. The veil slowly closed around the Dochraid as she stepped through it. She turned round, looking at the world she had not seen in so long, one last time.
Merlin took a second to collect his thoughts before he explained to Gaius what had happened. "Before I bumped into Gwen….I saw something."
"Saw something."
"I was finishing my duties for the day, when I started to feel lightheaded. I stopped for a second in the corridor. I blinked and when I looked up, I saw an old women in a black cloak standing in-front of me. She didn't say anything or move. She just stood there."
"The Cailleach."
"The Cailleach, who is that."
"She is the gatekeeper for the veil between worlds."
"So the veil was torn." Gaius nodded. "Do you think it was Morgana."
"We have not heard from or seen her in almost two years. There is a chance that it could be her yes."
Merlin sighed, as he leaned back against the large table in the centre of the room. Gaius could see the confliction in the young warlock. If it was Morgana then they had a head start in being able to figure out how to stop things getting worse, however if it was her, he doubted Arthur would be able to do what maybe needed to be done. Her long silence had at first been a worry, as they grew used to it, it was clear that they all hoped that it was a sign that she, their once close friends had finally been able to find some happiness.
"I don't know if I want it to be her or not."
Gaius sighed and placed a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I don't think any of us do."
Slowly Merlin lifted his eyes to look at Gaius. "If it is her. Then this has to end. For all of us this has to end once and for all."
Adrenaline started to rush through her veins as she stared into the space where the tear in the veil had once been. It was like air was filling into her lungs after not being able to breath for an uncomfortable about of time. It was not just adrenaline that was rushing through her, it was magic. She had forgotten what it felt like to have that kind of power at her fingertips.
"You will not walk this new world alone." The Cailleach appeared in-front of her, where the veil had been. "Emrys will walk in your shadow."
"Of course he will." She smirked. "Where else would a cowered hide." Pushing off of the table she moved to leave, wanting to be reunited with Aithusa.
"You should not underestimate him."
"I Am Morgan le Fay." she shouted and spun round to face the Cailleach. "He should not underestimate me."
The Cailleach started to look less clear to Morgana's eyes. She was slowly faded away, returning to where she was pulled form. Her eyes seemed to bore into the young witch, like she was seeing right through her. For a second it made her falter, but she quickly pushed it aside. It was over she had done what she had set out to do. There was no reason to feel scared now. A cold wind rushed through the hall as the Cailleach completely faded away. A feeling of unease washed over her. She was then hit from behind with a fainter gust of wind. Turning round she saw Aithusa landing in the main hall.
She let out the breath that she was holding and walked towards the young dragon, falling a little to her knees as she did. Wrapping her arms around Aithusa's neck she held her closely for comfort and support. Which one of them was more in need of those things it was hard to say.
"It is a new world. There is nothing for us to fear now I promise. Nothing is going to hurt us again. We're home."
Thanks again for reading. I hope that you liked it. I know that I changed a few things form the show with this chapter, I hope that is still makes sense. As always, I would love to hear from you about any comments or ideas you have to make. Hope to hear from you. See you in at least two weeks.