Morgana was savage that her plans had been thwarted yet again, it was as if Merlin had a secret guardian, no one could be that lucky! She considered the woman to be not only somewhat gauche but not at all the type of person to hold the position she was. Determined to remove Merlin once and for all, whilst at the same time keeping herself out of the firing line she sent a message off to Morgause. Uther worried Morgana he was getting to close to Merlin and to suspicious of her own role in what was happening. It was time to allow her husband to be useful for once. Morgana had never loved her husband he had been a means to an end. The only good thing he had ever done for her was give her Mordred. But even in that Morgana felt cheated. Her son seemed to lack the necessary ambition to see how he could better himself. But he would see eventually and if not she wouldn't let that stop her she could rule as power behind the throne if all else failed. Morgana waited until the castle was quiet and everyone was asleep before making her way down the servants corridors and out into the lower town and into the wood beyond.
Meeting up with Morgause they talked before Morgana made her way back to the castle. After going to her own rooms and settled down to sleep. The next morning Morgana made her way down to see her father. On entering the family dining room she curtsied to her father
"Sire I thought I would break my fast with you this morning if I may. We have been at loggerheads recently and I would like to repair our relationship. You are right I have been unreasonable and I am sorry" Morgana forced a contrite expression on her face.
Uther looked at his daughter and smiled, pleased that perhaps he had also been harsh on his daughter. "Please sit my dear, I am pleased that you recognise that you have been hot headed. I suppose in that you take after your mother"
The couple sat and talked for well over an hour. Just s Uther was leaving to attend a council meeting the alarm bells started to ring and a guard came in. "Word from the dungeons Sire My Lord Agravaine appears to have tried to kill himself"
The guard saw Morgana at this point and bowed to her saying "I am sorry Princess"
Morgana had her hand to her mouth and she looked faint "My husband"
Uther looked at her then turning to the guard "Call the Princess's maidservant."
With that he left the room and headed for the cells. He was greeted by Arthur as he reached the cells. His son was kneeling by Agravaine's body Uther looked at his son "Well!" he demanded
"The guard went in with his food and found Agravaine on the floor in a pool of blood, he is alive but only just. Whatever happen it wasn't long before or he would be dead. I have sent for Gaius" Arthur was clearly trying to stop the bleeding from a large wound on Agravaine's wrist.
"Is he conscious? Has he said anything?" Uther demanded
"Nothing Sire, just that" Arthur pointed to an area on the floor when a crude Mo had been written in blood with the rest of the word lost in the pool of blood that had spread across the floor. "What he was trying to write we will never know" Arthur out the wrist down and looked at his father "He's dead"
Gaius had just arrived and knelt down and checked the body "The Prince is correct Sire"
Uther looked at the body dispassionately "Suicide?"
Arthur looked at his father "There is a knife here, a small one but shape enough, but why start to write once it was too late?"
"Something for his wife perhaps?" Gaius said pointing at the writing.
"Then why not write it before? He could have scratched something on the table" Arthur pointed out, as Agravaine had been a Royal his cell had had a chair table and small bed. With the knife he could have easily scratched into the surface of the table "And even if he thought of it after why start with her name? He must have known he was dying." Arthur hesitated "Was he trying to say who killed him"
Uther looked at his son "Morgana has been with me for the past hour. She had breakfast with me after apologising. I must admit I was surprised so it wasn't her, anyway why would she kill her own husband?"
"I will get my men to make enquiries and see who else it could have been, that's if it was a name" Arthur said clearly puzzled "If it was suicide how did he get the knife? I assume he was searched"
"He was searched by Sir Leon and Sir Kay" Uther said "It wouldn't have done to let the guards do it"
Arthur snorted, how like his father the accused was a member of the Royal family so protocols must be adhered to. But at least Leon and Kay would have been thorough "I will speak to them"
"Leave the body here until everything has been looked at" The King told his son "Gaius it was the wound that killed him? he wasn't already dead?"
"It was the wound Sire, if he had already been dead he wouldn't have bled so much" Gaius explained.
"Lock the cell when you leave Arthur and don't let the key out of sight until you have investigated everything. Then move the body to the crypt ready for burial." Uther waked away. Clearly as puzzled as his son.