Here is the next chapter.
Sorry it took so long.
Morgana
Morgana swept into the fugitives' camp unannounced, but that was usually her style wasn't it, to come out of the dark unexpected. In the beginning it was only prophesy that new of her coming, but she didn't come out of the dark. No, she melted into it, becoming one with it, and she liked it.
The inhabitants were quite startled by her sudden appearance. The Great Witch was paying them a surprise visit. A few of them stood up too quickly and were forced to clutch their heads in order to not give into the dizziness that overcame them. They were still a little hung over from the night before.
Morgana looked on them in disgust. How could they have been drinking at a time like this? Her plans were finally coming together and the end of Camelot was just over the horizon.
One of the sorcerers stumbled towards her mumbling some kind of plea for forgiveness. An older man pushed past the young sorcerer, urging him to get up and to go clean himself so that he could be presentable.
"Sorry me lady." He bowed deeply.
"Ah finally someone I can talk to who can hold their liquor. It is nice to see you Captain." The old Captain beckoned her to follow him to a place where they could talk.
He held open the flap of his own tent for her to step inside. It was surprisingly neat inside. The old Captain pulled out a nice cushion for her to sit on but she waved it away, preferring to stand.
Another dark form entered the tent unannounced. Morgana nodded her head in acknowledgment as Eris joined them. Eris bowed slightly in return.
"To what do we owe the pleasure my dark lady?" The old Captain got right down to business.
"I am calling in a debt you all owe me." Morgana's voice gave off the impression of someone who was not to be trifled with.
"Which debt was this?" Eris joked.
"I have helped you on several occasions to avoid being caught by the knights of Camelot." Morgana smirked.
"You failed to aid us this time." Eris mocked.
"And yet you are all still alive and well." Morgana countered.
"Well aren't we just the luckiest people." They stared at each other for a long moment.
The old Captain fidgeted nervously, he could feel the tension growing in the small space of the tent. He did not like being in the middle every time these two clashed swords. They never seemed to be able to get along, not fully. What had happened that had caused this feud?
"Anyway, why don't we get back to the matter at hand." He said, clapping his hands together. "What can we do for you Morgana? You have come quite a ways just to see us."
"I am in need of your assistance." Morgana broke eye contact with Eris.
"I would have thought that was obvious. For what other reason could you possibly be here other then to get something from us." Morgana glared at Eris' words once more before looking away and continuing.
"My plan to take Camelot is almost at its climax and I need you all for the finale. You are the best group of sorcerers I could think of to help me take Camelot. What say you?"
There was a few moments of silence as everyone in the tent thought about the offer. They did not worry about the problem of taking Camelot, it was the keeping it that always seemed to be the problem. Morgana had taken the kingdom before easily, but she had lost it just as quickly. It only took one mistake for all of this to come crashing down on them. If they were on the wrong side things could get sticky really fast.
The knights of Camelot were not to be thought of lightly. Each one would die for their kingdom willingly, no doubt a noble quality. The sorcerers that had taken refuge together in this small camp could never hope to be as noble as the knights of Camelot. Each one of them dreamed of the day when they too could have such a cause that they would die for, unfortunately that time may come sooner then they had thought. If this didn't go as planned the day may never come when they would be free, and they might be forced to live this way, on the run, forever.
Morgana had gone against Camelot with a giant army, which could not be killed, before and had not managed to defeat Camelot. Perhaps now she was beginning to come to her senses. An army may not have worked, but what about a small group of skilled sorcerers who could easily slip in without detection.
"How exactly are you planning to do this?" The old Captain questioned.
"As you may have already guessed, with this small group we could get inside and destroy them from within. Then we will signal to my army to storm the castle." Ok, maybe she hadn't given up on the whole army thing after all.
"Where would we strike first?"
"The heart of course. We must destroy the King, then the Prince. Then the dominoes will fall." Morgana smiled with glee. "Without their leaders the knights will become disoriented and fight only with anger. Their anger will make their actions sloppy."
"How are we going to slip in, through the front gate?"
"No of course not. We can easily cut a hole in the wall and slip in through the servants doors at the back of the castle."
"Not bad but what about Emrys?" Eris spoke up.
"Already thought of." Morgana spoke in triumph. "I am sending in one of my stealthiest assassins to plant a few of these leaves under the Prince's and the King's pillows." She held up a handful of dark purple leaves.
"Are those?" The old Captain's eyes widened at the sight of them.
"Yes, they are the leaves from a poisonous bush with deadly berries. The very one I am sure you are thinking about. With the proper spell the leaves will drain the energy from who ever is near them when they are activated, and over the course of about a week they will slowly weaken more and more. Then they will die." Morgana was becoming very excited as she explained her plan. She spoke of death with such joy. "So when they sleep tonight the leaves will take their effect and they will be weakened. Emrys will be so occupied with trying to reverse the effects that he won't see us coming until it is too late. We will kill them in their sleep."
"It seems you have thought of everything." He complimented. "So, when do we strike?"
"In a weeks time, so the leaves will have time to take their affect." She explained. "My assassin will slip in tonight, while they are all at the feast, and plant the leaves. By morning everyone will be fretting over that little spell which there is no cure for, I checked. So when the time comes we will have no problems going unnoticed." Morgana was thrilled with her plan. No one would be able to stop her, not this time. Camelot would be hers. "They will not have the courage to reclaim the city. With me as the only living heir to the throne they will be forced to bow down to their new Queen."
"Well I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we're in." The old Captain said with finality. "What say you Eris? You have been awfully quiet."
Eris was still standing near the doorway, deep in thought, but she looked up when he addressed her. "Well its as you say Morgana. This will all be over soon."
"So I take it you agree to this plan?" Morgana pushed.
"Yes." Eris responded simply, her expression remained emotionless.
"Well now that that's all settled, I best be going now so that I can make the final preparations." Morgana made her way to the door. "I hope you won't disappoint me Eris." She spoke slyly into Eris' ear as she passed her. "We don't want any mistakes."
Eris glared at Morgana, giving her a look to kill, but Morgana merely laughed it off. She went to leave but Eris caught her arm, halting her movement.
"Be careful Morgana, you never now who might be waiting for you." A wicked smile wormed its way onto Eris' face. The smile Morgana had been sporting quickly vanished.
She knew from experience not to go too far with this Witch. Eris was still a mystery, along with her past. She still didn't know what she was capable of.
Eris had appeared out of the blue one day, offering her services. She demonstrated quite a bit of skill with the dark arts, so of course Morgana was thrilled to add her to her group of sorcerers. Though she did suspect that there was something more to Eris then she first thought. She was keeping something from her, something important. She had an air of danger about her, and mystery. She mostly kept to herself.
If she was giving Morgana a warning it was not to be taken lightly. Everything she said had a hidden meaning. She would have to keep Eris close when they stormed the castle. Morgana wasn't going to let her out of her sight.
She pulled her arm from Eris' viper grip and stormed out. Morgana reached the edge of the camp and mounted her horse, disappearing into the forest.
Eris watched her go, the dark smile still stuck to her face. She always loved to keep secrets and watch others squirm when she hinted at what they might be.
Morgana's plan was not going to work the way she thought it was. Of that much Eris could be certain. In what way she was not sure yet, but she sensed it. Eris laughed softly to herself. Something was going to go wrong for the Witch and she would never see it coming. Eris was going to enjoy this.
Eris had to compliment Morgana at her attempts but apparently she hadn't heard the prophecies about Albion, and Eris didn't tell her. She didn't feel like it was her place to say; she was going to have to find out on her own.
Eris' frown deepened as she remembered her disappointment when the Witch had not recognized her. Yes the Morgana she had first met had been quite different but that couldn't explain why she had forgotten both Gaia and Eris. Eris didn't think they had changed that much, had they? But that is a story for another time. For now Eris made her way back to her own tent to prepare for the next days events.
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Sorry If this one was a little shorter then the others.