Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.


Chapter 20 – The Lesson in Vengeance


Arthur and Gwen awoke the next morning feeling no better than they had the previous day, but determined nonetheless. While it hurt to see their friends with their children while they themselves did not have theirs, they would never wish this loneliness on their friends and were happy for them. When they entered the presence chamber it was to see everyone had already beaten them there. Bors was trying to bring some semblance of order to the chaos that was the eight of this children that were present and Leon was spoon feeding his tiny daughter what looked like some mashed banana while the others were deep in discussion. The Knights stood when they noticed their monarchs, Leon nodded his head so as not to disturbed his daughter, and bid them a good morning. As they sat down for their own breakfast they listened to Merlin lead the planning of getting their family back. Arthur, who at this point would normally have interrupted his Court Mage with some form of insult and comment that Merlin could not possibly know enough about strategizing to be able to be of any use, was actually quite impressed with the warlock's plans. It seemed that Merlin was taking the attack on their family personally, for his plans were far more thought out, and ruthless, than Arthur ever thought it possible for Merlin to come up with. The plan was quite simple in theory. Merlin would use his magic on the cloth soaked in Morgana's blood to locate her and alongside Arthur and the Knights, would then storm her hideout. While it seemed simple, none of them were under any illusions that Morgana would not use every bit of her magic to protect the place, which was why Merlin would go with them, to fight magic with magic. Once everyone was fed and the children taken care of Arthur and the Knights prepared to leave. Gwen was not happy that she could not come, nor was Mithian, the two cited reasons that it was now the 21st century and women were not forbidden from the battlefield, but Arthur and Merlin won out against their wives as they countered with the girls' lack of fighting skills and magic; both women had taken martial arts lessons as children and still knew enough for self-defence, but they certainly could not fight an entire battle. Leon and Bors lessened their upset by placing the children in their care, or rather Leon handed Sara to Gwen while Bors not so subtly nudged his two youngest to distract Mithian; Vanora looking on approvingly. That done, the two stood back with their King and fellow Knights while Merlin magicked them away. They arrived in a mountainous range that looked vaguely familiar with no civilization in sight.

"We're in Saxon territory, aren't we?" Asked Percival. He recognized the mountain. It was very difficult to access, impossible by horse, he remembered, and treacherous by foot; it was unsurprising that few people had reached it even in two thousand years, so it remained relatively unchanged.

"The Saxons technically don't exist anymore," Merlin said. "It's the Scottish highlands."

"But I'm right that it used to be Saxon territory."

"Yes. In fact I think I know where Morgana's hiding, and you lot may recognize it as well, even as crumbled and decayed as I expect it to be." He mumbled. Stealthily he led them over the nearest ridge and around a corner. The ruins of a castle came into view and given the land they were in, no one had any doubt as to who's castle it used to be.

"Mordred's castle." Arthur growled. "But why would Morgana hole up here? Is this not the first place we would look?"

"Perhaps she thought that none of us would think that it still stands." Dagonet suggested. "Or knowing we would think this the obvious place she thought we would not search here, believing she'd never choose the obvious location."

"Either is plausible." Arthur allowed. "Now we have to find a way in without being seen."

"And hope we don't run into any guards she may have with her." Gwaine added.

"There are only nine people inside, one of them has a great deal of magic." Merlin said. Arthur and his Knights looked to him, seeing his eyes were closed and a look of deep concentration on his face; while they couldn't say exactly what he was doing, they assumed he was using his magic in some way to be able to tell them that.

"So Morgana and our families." Dagonet surmised.

"If you can sense them, can she not sense us?" Galahad asked, none of them wanted to alert Morgana to their presence. Merlin opened his eyes to look at the Knight, giving him a smirk.

"Oh no. I'm blocking any magic she may use to try and sense our approach."

"You can do that?" Lancelot had to ask.

"Course I can."

"You make it sound like it is an easy feat to achieve and that is takes no effort." Arthur commented.

"That's because it is easy and it doesn't take effort." Merlin shrugged.

"Are there any limits to your power Merlin?" Asked Leon

"Of course there are." The warlock shot the First Knight an incredulous look. "How could you think otherwise?"

"Oh I don't know." Arthur said as they began to make their way towards the ruins. "Maybe because you haven't shown any sign of limitations or effort in any magic you have used since we awoke. And you are the prophesized strongest sorcerer to ever exist."

"That doesn't mean that I'm all powerful."

"Then what can't you do?" It was a fair question, and one all of them wanted to know.

"I can't bring people back from the dead." He answered promptly. "If I could then I wouldn't have had to wait two thousand years for your return."

"And…?" The King prompted when Merlin went silent for too long.

"I can't go against the natural order of things…well, not entirely."

"What does that even mean?" Percival all but demanded.

"It means…" Merlin thought for a moment before answering. "It means that I can't create life. I can heal a person who is dying, but not bring them back if they're dead. I can revive flowers that have turned brown, but only so far as if there is still some life left in them. I can't stop the world from revolving around the sun, nor turn off gravity…there's lots I can't do."

"But there's lots more that you can do." Arthur murmured. Merlin merely nodded.

"Well, how about using some magic that you can use to get us into the castle undetected and our families home safe?" Tristan suggested. Merlin's smirk returned and this time it was almost feral.

"Oh Sir Tristan…I intend to do far more than that."

oo00oo00oo

Inside the ruins of the ancient Saxon castle, Morgana was pacing in front of her captives. She should have seen some sign of a rescue attempt by now. Arthur was not one to sit around and do nothing, especially while those he called friends and family were in danger. She had expected not only a rescue attempt, but also a botched one, for no doubt Arthur would rush in with his sword swinging, not having thought out any plan. That was his way, and with Mordred gone for good, he should be feeling quite unbeatable which should have made him even more reckless in his attack. It was why she had chosen now to make her move; the more reckless Arthur was, the easier it would be to defeat him once and for all. Regardless of having Emrys at his side, she was not terribly concerned that her plan could fail. Emrys was not the only one who had spent the past two thousand years gaining more power.

Once Emrys had unleashed the full force of his magic on the battlefield and killed her, for she had been undeniably dead, Morgana found that her soul remained earthbound. Upon her sister's death she was the last High Priestess of the Old Religion and although her mortal body could perish, it was far more difficult to ensure her soul moved on as well. Morgause had taken measures to prevent just such an occurrence. She had used a great deal of magic to bind Morgana's soul to the earth to ensure that even in death she had a chance to achieve their goals. It was what had allowed Morgause to be killed so easily, she was weak when they entered that battle.

With Morgause's protections in place, Morgana's soul had lingered and had found its way to the cave where the Dochraid resided. The ancient creature of the Old Religion possessed a burning hatred for Uther Pendragon as he had been the one to blind her and attempt to burn her at the stake, causing her grotesque appearance when she finally escaped from the flames and was forced into hiding. Regardless of whether or not Arthur had returned magic to Camelot and had united the people of Britain as one, her hatred of Uther ran so deep that she could not overlook the fact that he was a Pendragon. Morgana's own status as Uther's illegitimate daughter, however, could be forgiving as it was well known that she had betrayed the Pendragon dynasty and had worked tirelessly to remove Arthur from the throne. With the help of the Dochraid, Morgana spent centuries honing her power while in a world that could only be described as limbo; while her soul stayed on Earth, her consciousness could not without a body and so she remained in a world between life and death. Finally Morgana had gained enough power to create a new body for herself, though it was an exact replica of her old body. This event had taken place some thirty years ago, right before Arthur, Guinevere and their court were reborn. With her body returned, Morgana could use her magic to its full extent instead of using the vast majority of it to communicate with the Dochraid from limbo; making magic in the land of the living while you yourself did not reside there was extremely difficult, and would be impossible for many. Creating a body, a true one and not merely a shade of the dead, was also a large feat in of itself and was made that much more impossible from limbo; however, Morgana managed it, even if it took near two thousand years.

Once she regained her body she began making plans, acclimatizing to the modern world and preparing for the day that she could finally destroy Arthur and fulfill her destiny as High Queen of all Britain. She'd brought Mordred back, though he himself was a mere shade at her command, and allowed him one last attempt at Arthur, though he had failed spectacularly. She had debated with gathering more followers, though had decided against it. In the modern world she did not need soldiers to fight a war when a single flick of her wrist could have all the modern warfare she desired at her fingertips; dropping an nuclear missile on top of Camelot with Arthur inside sounded quite appealing, though she hesitated as she'd learned that such nuclear weapons could make the land inhabitable for miles and while she wanted Arthur dead, she did not wish to destroy the Britain she hoped to rule. She was prepared, however, to use her magic to get her whatever weapons and soldiers she may need in the future, she'd always been good at controlling people, and so for the time being she and her magic were the only weapons she needed; none, not even Emrys, could stand up to her.

"Perhaps if I sent a message?" She thought as she continued to pace. "A finger or toe of one of the children should do the trick." She looked to her captives, none of whom appeared terribly frightened, which irritated her to no end. Mary was clutching her young sons to her, looking weary though not scared. Alaria had a similar grasp on her children, though her expression was almost daring Morgana to try something, while Elena stood protectively at their side, offering more comfort for the children, and having a restraining hand on Roy. The former companion to The Prince had heard all about Morgana in his past life and he and William had played at war many times where they defeated her. In his young mind this meant he had nothing to fear and was convinced that he could defeat her with naught but his wooden sword if he had it, and if Elena would release him.

"Don't even think about it." Alaria hissed, seeing Morgana eyeing them up. "You have leverage only so long as we remain unharmed. You touch any one of us and there'll be hell to pay when Dagonet come for us."

"And Tristan." Mary added.

"Leon too. Not to mention The King, and the other Knights." Elena said.

"Oh I'm counting on them coming." Morgana said mockingly. "I'm counting on them running in here with their swords swinging as usual. As if a mere sword could stand up to a High Priestess of the Old Religion."

"You underestimate them." Lucan, the oldest of the children present, spoke up. "You did that before and look what happened."

"Yeah, and The King's got Excalibur!" Roy added.

"Excalibur…The Lady's power has been wasted on Arthur. Excalibur could pose a problem if in the hand of someone who knew how to truly wield its power. But as Excalibur only exists in Arthur's hands, I think I'm safe. My dear brother has never been the sharpest tool around."

"Is that truly what you think of me, Morgana?" A voice rang out, causing every head to whip around in its direction.

"Papa!" Five little voices cried as they saw their fathers standing alongside their King.

"You lot alright?" Dagonet asked for them all as he, Leon, Tristan and Bors looked their wives and children over.

"We're fine." Alaria said, unable to hide her tears as she looked on her husband for the first time in two thousand years.

"Your son, however, Bors, has given us a bit of trouble, wanting to take Morgana on all by himself." Elena complained, though half in jest, knowing from her years with Leon that distracting the enemy could be very important to a plan and that if they hadn't wanted a distraction they would have attacked instantly.

"Royston, you listen to Lady Elena and do not attempt anything!" Bors growled the order to his son, knowing Elena wasn't entirely joking and that his boy would try just that if given the chance. "You leave the assault to us."

"An assault won't be necessary." Morgana finally cut them off. "Those won't be necessary either." With a wave of her hand their drawn swords went flying from their grasp, Morgana having used their distraction against them. However, not all of them had drawn their swords just yet, and the Witch's attention was drawn to her nemesis as Excalibur shimmered to life.

"I see you've gotten smarter since we last met." She directed to Arthur, her advantage forfeit as the one blade that could kill her pointed her way. Although she had magic on her side, she had no doubt that Merlin was close by to counter any magical attack sent Arthur's way, and without a sword of her own she would not be able to parry Arthur's blade. Unfortunately for her the loss of her advantage meant the Knights were able to retrieve their weapons.

"You always have underestimated us, Morgana." He returned. "We haven't actually changed much, but for once you're not hiding away behind an army of puppets and actually have to face us yourself."

"I have never been scared of you, Arthur Pendragon." She snapped.

"Then face me on even ground. Use your skill with a sword that you always boasted was better than mine."

"Now why would I do that when I have so much more than a sword in my arsenal?" Morgana raised her hand to attack but suddenly found herself thrown back against the wall.

"Then you won't mind that Arthur uses everything in his arsenal as well." Merlin said, coming to stand beside his King.

"Even if it is not his own power, you cannot deny that I am and always have been guarding his back and been at his command." Morgana was briefly stunned and the Knights used those few moments to reach their families and begin herding them outside. They had used the short distraction when they first arrived to allow Merlin to sneak in, knowing that if Morgana saw him that she would use her magic to protect herself, and shield their families making it impossible to reach them. With her believing they were alone, however, her arrogance would allow for her to believe that she could stop any attack or rescue attempt before they could hit or reach their target.

"Emrys…" Morgana growled. Although Arthur was the one who most predominantly stood in her way to the throne of Britain, for so long as he lived she could never be Queen, Merlin had proven much more of a thorn in her side; without him she would no doubt have destroyed Arthur long before now.

"Hello Morgana."

"Your power is weak, Emrys." She taunted. "There was barely any force behind that bit of magic at all."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, Morgana, merely distract you. You'll notice that your leverage is gone." She looked to the side and noticed just that, but still she would not give up.

"Even so, do not think that you can defeat me. I have spent the last two thousand years harnessing more power, and-"

"As have I." Merlin interrupted. "I am The Immortal Mage, Morgana. The one of prophecy said to be the greatest sorcerer to ever exist. My power is now even greater than The Lady of the Lake's. Do not underestimate me or it will be the last thing you ever do." Morgana did not respond to that. She seemed to be determining if she thought what he said was true or not. "How do you think we got in here without you noticing? I've been blocking your magic, Morgana." This caused a reaction and in her anger Morgana summoned a fireball and threw it at the warlock, though short flick of his wrist saw it disappear before it could make contact.

"Regardless of how powerful you think you are, Emrys, I will have my revenge! On all of you!" She tried to attack once more but her burst of magic was batted away with barely any effort.

"Your mind truly is warped if you believe that it is you who deserves vengeance." Merlin threw his own burst of magic that was too powerful for Morgana to block. It hit its mark and once more she found herself thrown back against the wall, tiny bits of rubble crumbling from the ceiling as the ancient stone took a beating it was no longer strong enough for. "We are the ones who deserve vengeance. You sought to destroy us, you betrayed your family and friends, and you kept a war going long after it should have ended. You attacked Camelot with no warning, taking the cowards way with no formal declaration of war, and massacred thousands of people, bringing an end to an era of peace that was supposed to have been the greatest the world would ever see, long before its time. So tell me, how is it you that deserves vengeance?"

"The throne of Britain is rightfully mine! He stole it from me!" She shouted. Merlin sighed.

"We've heard all this before, and it seems nothing has changed. Not your arguments, not our response, nor you denying logic and fact when presented to you." Morgana's fury became more apparent and she looked to Arthur who merely shook his head, completely at ease in allowing Merlin to do the talking; while they had all waited two thousand years for this, Merlin had been conscious of those two millennia, living each day while the others slumbered, waiting to be needed once more.

"So what do you propose to do, Emrys?" She finally asked. So far Merlin had done little but push her back; however, she was under no illusions that that was all he intended to do, he had sworn vengeance after all.

"I am taking your High Priestesshood from you." His response was sombre with no malice nor joy.

"Impossible." Morgana breathed once she'd gotten over the shock of his words. "Only The Triple Goddess can remove High Priestesses from her order and I have been a faithful disciple of hers!"

"To the contrary. The Triple Goddess is angry, Morgana. You commit atrocities in her name and she is tired of it. The Disir have spoken, and have chosen me to carry out The Triple Goddess' will, for they cannot leave their Court to search you out."

"If The Disir wanted to see, if this was truly The Triple Goddess' will, then they would have summoned me!"

"But they can't. Have you not noticed, Morgana, that The Triple Goddess has left you? She left you some time ago while your soul lingered and absorbed vast amounts of dark magic. Before then she still had hope that you would return to the path of light and so she would not lose the last High Priestess of her order, but you have gone too far, she has lost faith in you and has abandoned you. The Disir cannot reach those whom The Triple Goddess has left, so they send me to carry out her will."

"No." Morgana denied. "The Triple Goddess would never abandon me. Everything I do is for her! All I do is to bring the Old Religion back to Britain where Uther destroyed it and Arthur did nothing to return it! The Triple Goddess would never leave one so devoted to her!"

"All you do is for you, Morgana, not for The Triple Goddess, the Old Religion, nor for anyone else!" Merlin snapped back. "Arthur may not have returned the Old Religion to Camelot and Britain by forcing it on people as the one and only acceptable religion, but he welcomed it with open arms. Those who wished to practice the Old Religion, or the New Religion, were welcome to do so as they chose. This was enough for The Triple Goddess, to allow people to worship as they chose. Regardless of whether her wrath is known to be harsh against those who cross her, she dwells within light magic and would not force those who did not believe in her to worship her. She is not a vain goddess that all must bow before her."

"Even so-"

"Enough!" Merlin was done talking. Calling on his magic he began to chant the spell The Disir had taught him. A light began to envelope Morgana, who found herself unable to move. As the power grew around her, Morgana began to feel a drain on her magic. It lasted for several moments before a small ball of light left Morgana, surrounded by Merlin's spell, which shrunk it down until it disappeared completely. Morgana felt as if a part of her was gone. She could no longer feel the magic that belonged to the High Priestesses, nor her connection to The Triple Goddess, though she was loath to admit that Merlin had been right and that particular connection had not worked properly in some time. The biggest blow, however, was the fact that The Triple Goddess had abandoned her. She did not believe Merlin capable of such a feat without The Disir's help, and so it must be the will of The Triple Goddess that she no longer be a High Priestess. Merlin was speaking to her again, though she barely registered his words, hearing enough though to understand what he was trying to say: he was sorry this had happened, and if she wanted to redeem herself in the eyes of The Triple Goddess she should abandon her current course and seek out The Disir to atone for what she had done, if it was even possible. His words brought Morgana's rage out full force once more. While she acknowledged that The Triple Goddess had left her, she refused to believe it was her fault. Merlin must have done something. He must have tricked The Disir in some way. It was all his fault.

"Emrys!" She roared at his retreating back. Merlin, Arthur, and the Knights that remained, who had been quite content to be spectators for once, turned around when they heard her scream and Merlin quickly threw up a shield to protect them from the onslaught of raw magic that assaulted them. Much like when Merlin's magic had released itself the day Camelot fell when his emotions overcame him, so too did Morgana's; though unlike when his magic was released, Morgana's could be stopped. However, while he had protected himself and his friends, Merlin's shield did nothing to protect the ruins of the Saxon castle, and Morgana's magic had hit it hard.

"Merlin lets move!" Arthur cried as he and his Knights began running for the exit as the castle began to crumble around them. They left Morgana kneeling on the floor where she had been since Merlin knocked her back the second time, but none held out any real hope that she wouldn't escape. Seeing the exit ahead of them blocked, Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he transported them outside to where the other Knights and their families had escaped to.

"Everyone alright?" Leon asked as he rushed over, seeing them appear while the castle collapsed behind them.

"We're fine." His fellow First Knight assured him.

"Merlin dealt Morgana a terrible blow though." Lancelot said.

"We suspected as much. We heard her shriek from here."

"I don't think it's over though." Tristan called, pointing behind them. They turned to see that the former Saxon stronghold was fully destroyed now, what remained of the two thousand year old castle having taken but a minute or two to collapse, and Morgana stood atop the ruins, her black hair billowing in the wind as she stared at them with pure loathing. Arthur pulled Excalibur from its sheath, preparing for battle, though Merlin stepped in front of them all, not expecting a physical attack, but a magical one. He turned out to be right. The magical attack that came their way was more powerful then the raw magic that had escaped her a few minutes before, but it was still no match Merlin; he'd had enough. Coming to face Morgana today he'd intended on carrying out The Disir's will, and taking her down a couple of pegs with the hope that if he hit her hard she wouldn't target their family again. He brushed Morgana's magic aside with little effort, glad that in her anger she was not attacking at full strength. He followed that with several volleys of magic of his own, causing her to go on the defense, though one of his volleys hit her dead on. It knocked her to the ground and Merlin was prepared to end it there if he had to.

"Stay down, Morgana, I beg of you." He called to her. "Let us leave and you will live to fight another day."

"No!" She screamed and her eyes flashed gold once more. A screech of some creature was heard and Arthur and the Knights surrounded the women and children, preparing to defend them, as they looked around for the threat.

"What was that?" Gwaine asked. His response came from Merlin who began to laugh, apparently knowing what it was.

"A Wyvern?" He asked condescendingly. "Really, Morgana? Of all the magical creatures you could summon you choose a Wyvern with a Dragonlord present?" The screech was heard again and Merlin turned in its direction as the beast appeared.

"Nun de dei gai! Sekaien kai emos epes es hepetai!" He commanded the Wyvern who stopped in mid air. Then, turning his sights on Morgana he continued. "Zendende akoule nun epello…" The Wyvern flew towards Morgana to attack at The Dragonlord's command, forcing Morgana to escape, though she did not do so without one last threat.

"This is not over! I will return, and you will perish! All of you!" She disappeared before the Wyvern could reach her and Merlin sent it off back to where it had come from.

"She's gone." Galahad spoke the obvious. "Why did we let her escape? We had her on the run!"

"Morgana was weak having her High Priestesshood taken from her, and her anger made her sloppy in her attacks. She never would have summoned a Wyvern of all things with me here had she been thinking clearly." Merlin explained. "But even so had we pushed the issue she would have cleared her mind to destroy us as we tried to destroy her and I am not strong enough right now to battle her properly. The Disir's spell took a lot out of me." Although they were not happy that Morgana would live to try and destroy them once more, they could not fault Merlin's logic; they knew they needed him to defeat her and if he said he was not strong enough at that time, then they didn't stand a chance. The men then took a moment to say hello to their family membersthat had been rescued, glad to have them back once more. Allowing his men this moment, Arthur walked away from the group, a look of deep concentration on his face, one that did not go unnoticed.

"What is it?" Merlin asked as he came up beside Arthur, some distance from the others.

"I'm not sure." The King admitted. "It's just…what Morgana said, about an assault not being necessary…they were the exact same words Morgause spoke the day Morgana betrayed us."

"You remember exact words that were said two thousand years ago?" The warlock was genuinely curious.

"I remember everything about that day. Every detail. It was the day my world nearly fell apart. Were it not for you and Guinevere, I do not think I would have survived my sister's betrayal."

"You're stronger than you think, Arthur. Being High King is not just having a title. You truly embody the High King of prophecy."

"Perhaps." Arthur muttered. "But that is not the point here."

"And the point is that Morgana seemed to…what? Channel Morgause?"

"I don't know, Merlin." He ground out. "It just caught my attention alright? Her words, the flick of her hand when she used her magic to disarm the men, her mannerism…it is exactly as I remember of Morgause from that day."

"Morgause was her sister. And they spent a great deal of time together. No doubt she picked up some of Morgause's mannerisms." Merlin reasoned.

"You're probably right."

"But you don't think I am."

"I have been trained since birth as a knight to command Camelot's army. A part of that means recognizing abnormalities, and following my instinct."

"And…?" Merlin prompted when Arthur paused too long.

"And the fact that Morgana's words and actions were exactly the same as Morgause's strikes me as odd, and my instinct is telling me something is off here. I just don't know what." Merlin studied Arthur for a moment, seeing that he was really shaken by this.

"Well your instinct has never led us wrong before." He said finally. "If you think something is off, then something is off and we'll keep an eye on it and figure it out." Merlin clasped Arthur on the shoulder, offering him a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Merlin. For believing me."

"You may be a dollop head but you're a dollop head who's brilliant with strategy and has yet to lead us wrong in this war." Merlin could not help but add in the insult. "You're also my friend and I know when you're being serious and what this means to you."

"To both of us." Arthur returned the comforting gesture and clasped a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "Morgana was a friend and sister to us both." The two then returned to the others, finding them waiting patiently.

"I know that spell took a lot out of you, Merlin. But are you strong enough to take all of us home?" Arthur asked.

"Now that I can do." With a flash of his eyes, Merlin transported them back to Camelot. Everyone was still in the presence chamber when they arrived and greetings were said all around as more members of their extended family were returned home. Leon and Elena reclaimed their daughter and sat happily together, simply glad to have their family whole. Now that the danger was passed, Dagonet and Tristan were able to have proper hellos with their wives and children while Bors was quick to swoop in and carry Roy to his mother and siblings, who welcomed their brother back.

"I am glad you have all returned safely." Gwen said, coming to stand by Arthur's side and wrapping her arms around him, holding him close. Their moment was interrupted, however, when a small hand tugged at Gwen's skirts.

"Hello Roy." Gwen said and bent to his level, giving the boy that had been her son's best friend and companion a hug. "I'm so happy to see you again."

"You as well, My Lady." He replied with a toothy grin. "And you, Sire." He said to The King.

"We are thrilled to have you safely returned to your family, and to us, Roy." Arthur said as he too bent down. "Now, what can we do for you?" Having known Roy since he was only a few months old Arthur knew that there was more to this visit then just saying hello, especially given Vanora was standing but a few steps back, having tried to stop her youngest son from interrupting the monarchs; Roy would have listened to his mother if he did not have a pressing question or concern.

"I wanted to know where William–I mean The Prince is." He said quite innocently, he could not know that Arthur and Gwen had yet to find their own children, though all the others had returned. The two shared a look, wondering how to explain this to the young boy who clearly just wanted to see his friend. Vanora, seeing their unease, stepped in.

"Come now, Roy. Don't bother Their Majesties with such questions."

"No, Vanora, it's all right." Gwen said with a small smile before taking Roy's hands and looking him in the eyes.

"William…William is not here, Roy."

"Well where is he? Can I see him? It is my duty to stay by his side, after all, I am his companion."

"And we are both happy and thankful that you take your duty so seriously." She replied. "However, William isn't just not here in this room. We don't actually know where he is. Or Eleanor."

"What do you mean?"

"What The Queen means, Roy, is that we haven't found them yet." Arthur said. While Gwen remained strong for him in the face of Morgana, he knew that he needed to remain strong for her regarding their children. They would find them. He had to believe that, and more importantly he had to convince her of that. "Just like it took some time for you to get your memories back and be reunited with your father, William and Eleanor haven't got their memories back and so we haven't been able to reunite with them yet."

"But you will, won't you? You'll find them and they'll get their memories back?" Gwen, ever the practical one, started to say that they might not, not wanting to get Roy's hopes up for nothing, but Arthur cut across her.

"Of course we will, Roy. Have no doubt that very soon William and Eleanor will be with us once more."


A/N - Uh oh, Arthur's making promises he may not be able to keep...

There will be more into what happened to Morgana in those two thousand years to come, but not for a few chapters. For now you have to deal with that brief explanation of what happened. Also yes, her High Priestesshood was taken from her on the command of The Triple Goddess. Don't know if that's actually possible in canon, but it is here so long as its the will of The Triple Goddess. It can't just be taken by anyone or without her say so.