4. Life for a Life
In the grey, early-morning light, the scene of the abandoned battlefield lay still and silent; a few small wisps of smoke curling up from the blackened remains of man and beast alike was all that attested to the violent and bloody events of the night before.
From the edge of the forest two hooded figures immerged from the tree-line and as they cautiously approached the centre of the field they both lowered the hoods of their cloaks, peering around for any signs of life. Long hair tumbled out behind each of them, one dead straight and raven black in colour, the other curled and blond and it was the latter that seemed to command the actions of the two.
"What happened here?" whispered Morgana, her hand covering her mouth in horror at the sight of so many faithful Knights of Camelot lying dead before her. As she looked quickly about her, she breathed a small sigh of relief that Arthur's bold, red Pendragon crest was not among the fallen.
A small smile curled at Morgause's lips as she surveyed the gory scene, "It would appear that old Kilgharrah has finally broken his bonds," she replied, unable to mask the satisfaction in her words.
"Kilgharrah?" queried Morgana, none the wiser.
The blond haired woman nodded casually, "The Great Dragon, the last of his kind in all of Albion… he has long promised to free himself from Uther's chains and seek his revenge-"
"Dragon?" exclaimed the younger woman, "Here in Camelot?"
Morgause turned to her half sister in surprise, "Why yes my dear, the Dragon has lived these past twenty years beneath your very feet in the catacombs of the castle."
Morgana's eyes flew at once to the spires of Camelot that could be seen peeking through the trees, her expression dark and unforgiving, "I wonder…" she began bitterly, "I wonder how many other secrets I was not privy to."
Placing her hand gently on the younger woman's shoulder, Morgause turned her from the castle and stared searchingly into her clear green eyes, "Come Sister… that is the very reason we have returned – for answers!"
"Sister…" breathed Morgana, repeating the word with reverence, "It still sounds strange to be so named."
The blond sorceress smiled indulgently and linked their arms together, "But Sister's we are Morgana and we shall have plenty of time to make up for the lost years that were robbed from us…" she said reassuringly, before her features hardened once more, "first however, we must find out more about that upstart of a servant – to poison you was unforgivable… but how did he know doing so would break my enchantment?"
Morgana slowed her steps, dropping her sister's arm and turning pointedly toward her, "You still have not explained why I was the source of your spell in the first place?"
The older woman smiled serenely, carefully tucking a strand of jet black hair behind the other woman's ear as she spoke, "I told you dearest, there simply was no time to explain – the magic you have within you is so strong and with my help and direction we can now draw it out together and I can guide you in the ancient arts…" Morgause took a deep breath, drawing Morgana along beside her as she began to step through the field once more, "However… at the time, the Knights of Medhir were growing restless and I had to act fast.
"There was no time to explain properly – I simply knew that you would support my actions," now Morgause stopped abruptly and turned once more to face the younger seer, placing her palm gently against her cheek, "you had already voiced your loyalty to our cause… is that not so?" she asked, her leading question forcing Morgana to drop her gaze.
"Yes sister…" she mumbled quietly in response.
"And what I do not understand," Morgause continued, her own eyes narrowing dangerously, "is why you did not slay Uther while you had the chance? All the people were asleep except you – I gave you ample opportunity to kill the King without even using the knights… why did you not act?"
The memory of standing above the slumbering form of the King flashed before Morgana's eyes. Long before Arthur and Merlin had returned she had crept into Uther's chambers and watched him gently snoring on the floor. She had taken a short sword from the scabbard of his own guard and held it to his throat, pressing the blade against his exposed skin… but still had not been able follow through with the task and had run trembling from the room, cowering like a child behind the curtains of her bedchamber.
Then, once again, when Arthur and Merlin had been trying to find a way to escape the Knights of Medhir she had been handed a sword and left alone with the King, instructed to guard him with her life. The irony of the situation was not lost on her but again did not change the fact that she had failed to carry out the assassination that she had been so adamant that she desired more than anything.
"I had no idea what was happening," she said at last, still unable to meet her sister's serious brown eyes, "I was terrified that I was going to succumb to the sickness at any moment… if you had simply explained your plan I could have been more…efficient!"
The hard look in Morgause's eye softened as she saw the despair in the younger woman's face, "Come sister," she said gently, "Let us not argue, we must find a place to shelter until night fall."
The two women continued on together through the field, Morgana turning her face from the gruesome sight of the knights as they walked, until something caught her eye which caused her stomach to clench and her heart to plummet into her knees.
"Leon!" she cried out in anguish, dropping her sister's arm and throwing herself to the ground beside his charred remains. Carefully easing the helmet from his head, she recoiled in horror at the ruined vestiges of his fire-twisted features.
"You recognise this man?" Morgause asked incredulously.
"I would know him anywhere," Morgana replied, her voice catching with emotion, "No fire can mask the cut of his jaw… and besides, the emblem of his tunic is singular only to him, he is the last surviving male of his household."
Morgause watched her half sister in fascination, her wide eyes not betraying a hint of emotion, "He meant a great deal to you?" she asked, more a statement than a question.
"He was always so kind to me growing up," she replied, her eyes staring into the middle-distance as she recalled her childhood at the castle, "He often helped me to practice my swordsmanship, even when Uther began to think it unladylike." As she spoke Morgana reached a shaking hand out toward his scorched face, her fingers hovering over the blackened sinews of his features, "Is there nothing we can do?" she asked imploringly, "Can we not restore life to him… just as you did the Knights of Medhir?"
"Impossible I'm afraid, the Knights were re-animated - their spirit was not fully restored to them. Besides," she added, almost as an afterthought, "he is only a man, what use is he to us?"
"What use?" spat Morgana in response, "Do you not care for any but those that possess magic?"
"And what of you sister?" she replied, her voice calm in the face of the outburst, "You only request back the life of this… Leon… care you not for the others?"
Morgana's words caught in her throat, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at the multitude of fallen knights, before resting her eyes on Leon once more, "There are always men that die for the sake of Camelot, it is their duty," she said, sighing heavily, "So many faceless men… yet Leon is different, he has survived so many battles with Arthur I almost thought him indestructible."
"Forgive me Morgana," said Morgause, quietly drawing her sister's eyes to her, "I do not wish to sadden you but this conflict is immaterial… there is nothing we can do here. Life is a precarious balance, to make a life a life must be given in return and that is a sacrifice that I am unwilling to make for this man."
"But this is not a new life," rejoined her sister heatedly, "I am not asking you to make a life, simply restore one! This is an old life that should never have been taken in the first place!"
Morgause inclined her head to one side, staring at Morgana thoughtfully, her words sparking an idea in her mind, "I wonder…" she muttered before standing and stepping back a few paces from Morgana and the still form of Sir Leon. Grasping hold of the necklace that hung about her neck, the blond sorceress whispered a few incomprehensible words and all of a sudden a strong wind whipped itself around her. An instant later she was gone, leaving Morgana staring open mouthed at the spot in which she had just stood.
The raven haired woman barely had time to register that she had been left all alone in the field, before a low groan reached her ears and in a flurry of wind and dust, Morgause stood before her once more. This time however she held in her hand a small heart-shaped crystal that glowed an eerie shade of blue, nestled snugly in a length of deep red velvet.
"Be careful Morgause!" cried Morgana in alarm, "The spirit of Cornelius Segan possesses that stone!"
"No my dear," replied her sister as she softly placed the crystal on the ground between them, "this is the life stone of Hepzibah de Fallum… she was a powerful sorceress, once a priestess of the isle of blessed," as she spoke, Morgause unwrapped the velvet material, careful not to touch the radiating stone itself, "As time passed she became eaten up by a need for power. The high council decreed she must be destroyed but she housed her life force inside this crystal. I discovered it many years ago while exploring the abandoned ruins."
"It looks just like Segan's crystal," affirmed Morgana in amazement, "That stone now rests in a sealed tomb beneath Camelot."
"There are many crystals like this scattered across Albion."
"But I do not understand;" queried Morgana, a puzzled expression marring her pale features, "How will that crystal save Leon? We do not want her spirit possessing him!"
"No sister – think… what is life but ones vital force, an active energy, coupled with ones own body and lifeblood," Morgause paused briefly, searching Morgana's eyes for signs of comprehension, "You spoke wisely when you said that this is no new life, if we can harness the energy inside this crystal – why should one old life not be exchanged for another? This life," she said pointing at the blue stone, "In place of your Knight friend?"
A light gleamed in Morgana's eyes as realisation dawned upon her and she gazed with renewed hope at the small blue crystal.
"A life for a life is an unequivocal balance that transcends the boundaries of flesh and blood," Morgause reiterated as she stretched out her hand toward the stone and began uttering a string of incantations, her eyes glowing a bright golden colour as she did so.
Slowly, the small heart-shaped crystal began to rise into the air, spinning lazily on its own axis. As Morgause's words reached a crescendo the stone began emitting a high pitched drone, its contours shaking and pulsing in mid-air.
The older woman crouched softly next to Morgana, placing her hand inside her sister's as she watched the crystal, her eyes bright with excitement, "See how the spirit of Hepzibah is resisting our intentions," she whispered, nodding her head toward the quaking rock.
Finally, with one last incantation tripping from Morgause's lips, the crystal jolted to a standstill, a brilliant light shining from its centre. As they watched, the light transferred itself to the body of Sir Leon, the force of it causing his blackened skeleton to jerk violently like a discarded marionette doll.
The light from the crystal began to engulf Leon's body and before their eyes they saw the black and charred remains recede and watched the sinews of his flesh wrap itself anew about his whitened bones. Layer after layer of skin enveloped his limbs and new hair began to sprout like fresh grass until Sir Leon was at last whole again, only the scorched metal of his armour a testament to the fact that he had indeed been subjected to the Dragon's flames.
With a soft thud the crystal dropped to the ground, now pure and clear as a diamond, empty of the life force of Hepzibah de Fallum. In perfect synchrony, Leon's chest heaved upward as the first gasping breaths of life shuddered into him.
Drawing Morgana to her feet, Morgause led her quietly to one side, "Come my dear," she whispered with a smile, "let us away before he fully awakes – we do not want anyone to be alerted to your presence here."
Morgana tore her eyes from the newly vitalised form of Leon, who even now was flexing his fingers as he struggled toward consciousness, "Thank you," she murmured tenderly, taking her sister's arm in her own as they melted softly into the shadows of the forest behind them.
No sooner had they disappeared from sight than Leon's eyes snapped open, his heart pounding as images of the battle flashed at speed before his eyes. Checking his body carefully for signs of the burns he could clearly remember searing into him, his eyes widened in surprise to find himself whole and unscathed.
As the brave sir knight jumped to his feet and staggered back toward the castle, he didn't notice the small heart-shaped crystal that he trod into the mud as he went… nor the pair of eyes that quietly watched him from the undergrowth of the forest…