A/N: Bet you didn't think I'd update again so soon, right? I'm so close to the end now, I just can't wait to write it all. I'm a sucker for people getting the recognition they deserve, so expect Merlynn to finally receive some well earned recognition soon. Other than that, I really don't want to give any more spoilers, so I'll just say; enjoy, and please leave a review!

Chapter 23: The Witch's Quickening - part 4

I left Mordred sleeping inside of a protective barrier I'd set up. As soon as I stepped out of the circle, the only thing that alerted me that there was something there, was a faint shimmer in the air. I couldn't even smell the campfire anymore.

After that was done, I used my magic to quicken my journey back to the campsite, where I used an illusion to make myself unnoticeable. If anyone glanced my way, their eyes would just slid right off me. Only if they knew I was there, would they be able to look straight at me. So, as long as I didn't knock anything over or set any fires, I'd probably be alright.

The only problem now was how to get to Arthur. I could sneak into the camp itself instead of hanging around the edges as I was now, but I had a feeling that wouldn't go over well. Perhaps I could…

I let that train of thought go as I saw Arthur stride through the camp with a scowl on his face. I followed him to one of the night watches. Arthur was relieving the guard, and took up a watchful gaze himself.

Of course he wouldn't just be relaxing in his tent, he could probably sleep about as well as I could at the moment.

I decided that now might actually be a good time to approach him, so I positioned myself halfway behind a tree a few yards away and lifted the notice-me-not spell. Instantly, Arthur raised his crossbow, only to hesitate when he saw me.

Carefully, I stepped out from behind the tree, my hands up in a sign of surrender. For a long moment, Arthur kept his arrow aimed at my heart, before he suddenly muttered a curse and lowered it. He glanced over his shoulder and then back at me, seeming not to know what to do.

"Can we talk?" I called out just loud enough for him to hear.

Arthur was still scowling, but after another second's hesitation, strode over quickly. I led him further from the campsite, far enough that no one even at the very edge of the camp would be able to spot them, but close enough that if Arthur called out, they'd probably hear.

After a beat of silence, Arthur finally spoke. "You have magic," he spat, clearly angry.

"You already knew that," I reasoned, even though I knew it wouldn't make a difference to him.

"Not like this!" he countered.

I frowned. "How is it any different?"

"You lied to me!" he said, only barely keeping his voice at a normal volume.

"And when should I have told you?" I snapped. "When I first met you, after I'd just witnessed some poor man being executed in the central courtyard? Or when you found out I had the power to witness the deceaced's last moments? You barely accepted that, how would you have responded had I told you that I'm the most powerful sorceress alive?"

He was still scowling. "Oh, I don't know, I'm sure you could have cooked up a spell that would have made me accept it."

I couldn't conceal how much that hurt. Even though I'd seen it coming, hearing him accuse me like that… "You think I put a spell on you?"

"Did you?" he challanged.

I shook my head. "Never," I whispered.

But Arthur wouldn't listen. "My father always warned me. You people bear no mark, no sign that warns of your evil. It's no wonder I've fallen for a lowly servant like you. What was your plan? To be Queen? To rule Camelot?"

Tears blurred my vision as I saw the anger, confusion and hurt in the eyes of the man I loved. "I only ever wanted to love you," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

I wanted so badly to get angry, to point out to Arthur that when he was under Trickler or Sophia's spell, that's what it was like to be under a love spell. But I couldn't bring up the engery. All I could do was stand there and hope that he couldn't hear the sound of my heart breaking.

"You don't even know what love is," he hissed lowly, and that was the blow I couldn't take.

Tears fell freely now, and I pressed my hands against my chest, hoping it would keep my heart from hurting so much. "Whatever else you think," I managed to whisper. "I love you. I have and always will love you." And with that, I turned my back and walked away, hurt even more by the silence behind me as Arthur refused to say the words back.

It had been a mistake to come here, all I'd done was broken both our hearts. After all this, Arthur would never forgive me, and I honestly couldn't blame him. After all, I was only a filthy witch who'd done nothing but put a spell on him.

/*/

It took me a few hours to compose myself, so by the time I made it back to our camp, it nearing dawn.

I felt the hum of the magical barrier I'd put around Mordred and cancelled it with a wave of my hand. This type of magic - the one I didn't needs spells or words for - came so much easier to me. I remembered having so much trouble with the spell to kill the Griffin, and the one that awakened Circe… What I wouldn't give to have my faithful dog with me now. But she was still with my mother, though apparently getting older more quickly than I'd anticipated, according to my mother's letters.

I quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. I really didn't need anything else to feed my anxiety at the moment.

Instead, I shook Mordred's shoulder to wake him up. Time to go back to Camelot.

/*/

Morgana felt miserable.

She'd followed Alvarr out of a desire to prove - to herself? To Merlynn? - that he was a good person, and that he cared about her. But he'd been in such a bad mood since feeling their old campsite that it was proving difficult.

Alvarr had the crystal, but there was no one who could wield it. Even Morgana, who could at least feel a flicker of power while holding the crystal, couldn't seem to make it work. But ever since holding it, she had a feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong.

Morgana was laying on the ground next to a campfire, a little ways off from the rest of Alvarr's men, ostensibly to give her some privacy. But Morgana knew the truth. Even here, among people who were either magic users or sympathisers, she stood apart. She knew she was more powerful than most of these people, though her lack of training probably put her on parr with them. But they didn't see it that way. Her power, for some reason, set her apart. They didn't know what to think of her.

Unable to sleep, and unwilling to contemplate her pariah status, Morgana got up to search out the one person who'd always treated her well. Alvarr would probably know what to say. He might even speak to his men for her.

She wandered slowly to the center of the camp, where Alvarr had set up. But the closer she got, the more dread she felt. Was this because of the crystal, which still sat in Alvarr's satchel? Or was it because she had sensed something when she'd held the item in her hand? Either way, she proceeded cautiously, making sure to remain unnoticed among the sleeping men.

Alvarr was indeed sitting by his fire, but he wasn't alone. The blonde woman who seemed to be his right hand sat with him. On his lap. "When do we leave?"

"At dawn, we head for Camelot," Alvarr said. "With or without that damn crystal, we'll outnumber their precious knights once our backup arrives. It's only Uther and a handful of guards left now, the city will fall before noon," he said smugly.

The blonde smiled lazily at him. "And then it'll be ours for the taking."

He smirked at her. "Already picturing yourself on the throne, my queen?" he asked, his hands roaming from her back to her behind.

"Only with you by my side, my love," she replied, and leaned in to kiss him, her hands tangling in his hair.

Morgana stumbled back.

Merlynn was right. He'd just been using her. He didn't care about her.

So what should she do now? She wouldn't be able to find either Arthur or Merlynn in the dark, and she had no idea which way Camelot lay. Her only option was to remain, and let them lead her back to the city, hoping she could slip away and warn everyone.

How could she have been so foolish?

No, she knew how. She'd been a naive little girl, who'd let her heart rule her head simply because a handsome man had pretended to care for her. Well, no more. Alvarr would find out exactly what it meant to cross the Lady Morgana, and he'd sorely regret it. Of that, she was sure.

She lay awake for the rest of the night, and when morning came, she followed Alvarr and his men silently, obediently.

She should have known this wouldn't be so easy.

They were starting to near the city - Morgana recognized these parts of the woods - so she tried to lag behind to make her way home alone. She had just broken away from the group when Alvarr and four of his men surrounded her. "Going somewhere?" he asked coldly. This was no longer the man who needed something from her. This was the man who could dispose of her the moment she because useless to him.

"I- I just-" she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest. This was it. Alvarr was going to kill her.

"No need to be so shy, my lady," Alvarr said, throwing her a cruel smirk. "Speak your mind."

Suddenly emboldened, Morgana straightened up. She was the ward of the King, and she commanded respect! "You lied to me," she accused. "You don't want what's best for Camelot, you just want power. Like every other madman who's ever tried to take the throne."

"Like the madman that sits there now?" he threw back. "Come on, Morgana. You know as well as I do that Uther will kill you the moment he figures out that you have magic. At least with me on the throne, our people will be free again."

Morgana hesitated. He had a point. Uther, as much as she both hated and loved him, would have her executed immediately if he found out her secret.

"And then there's your 'friend'," Alvarr said derisively. "The one who's been lying to you, who let you suffer alone. Aren't you angry?"

She was. But his words did not have the desired effect. When he mentioned suffering alone, she remembered every magic lesson Merlynn had given her, every hug she'd offered after Morgana had woken from a nightmare, every time her friend had defended her, had refused to let her wallow in her fear and loneliness. Merlynn may have lied to her, but she didn't deserve whatever fate Alvarr had in store for her.

A steely resolve filled her. "Merlynn is a better person than you could ever hope to be," she hissed. "And I hope that she kicks your arse!"

Fury filled Alvarr's eyes for a second, before he managed to school his features. "Very well, if that's what you choose…" He gestured to his men, and one of them grabbed her while the other pushed a blade to her neck.

"I'm sure that the Lady here will wish to help us, won't she lads?" Alvarr said, his smirk once again firmly on his face. "Now, my dear Morgana," he said in a sick imitation of the charming voice he used to use on her. "I'm sure you know of an alternative way into Camelot?"

Morgana pressed her lips together, determined not to say anything, but then the man pressed his blade deeper into her skin, and she gasped. She could feel a drop of blood making its way down her neck. They would kill her. These men would slit her throat and leave her here to rot without a single thought. And that scared her. She wasn't ready to die.

Shame filled her as tears sprang into her eyes. "There's a side entrance," she whispered, defeated.

Alvarr grinned wider. "Perfect."

Morgana sagged into the hold of the man behind her. She'd betrayed her home, her friends, her family. If they died, it was her fault. And as Alvarr continued to smile at her misfortune, she allowed herself to cry. She'd never been this ashamed of herself, of her own weakness.

"Let's go, lads. We have a city to conquer," Alvarr said, and swiftly turned away from her, like she didn't mean a thing to him.

And Morgana hated herself for the pain that it caused.

A/N: Poor Morgana. I've really not made this easy on her, have I? And Poor Merlynn, too. Jeez, I feel so mean for hurting my two main women in this chapter so much. Oh well, it'll get better for them eventually. I'm a sucker for happy endings, remember?

Also, I managed to put in a slight reference to Circe/Terri in here! I actually had this whole storyline planned where Circe turned back into a statue, but I guess this will have to do. Also, I couldn't really bear to kill her off. She may have been a silly decision from a much younger me, but it's still one I'm a little fond of.

Okay, so I have this epic showdown planned (God, I hope I'll be able to do it justice), which I think may be able 2 chapters, and then there'll be an epilogue, so I'm officially putting it at 3 chapters to go now! I know, I know, I say that every time, but this time I'm sure, I promise!

Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought!