Sorry this took so long. It is getting near the end of the year so that means more finals.
Please read and enjoy.
Ash
The grass was flattened where they stood waiting for their dark lady to give the order to attack the city who's walls stood tall before them. They stood out of sight. The residents of the white city had no clue what was about to happen and Morgana wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. She wanted to see the surprise on their faces when she walked into that throne room unchallenged.
A broad grin spread across her face. Morgana reveled in the idea that by the end of the day Camelot would be overrun by her troops and the demons from her past would be gone forever. She felt the power running through her vanes. It felt good. She took one last look at the city she once called home then beckoned to the small group of sorcerers to follow her.
The invasion had begun.
/
It was nice. Arthur pondered the sentence that was swirling around in his head. The sky was nice. Now why would he be thinking about that? He had seen many blue skies before in his life. What was different about this one?
Usually when you see a clear blue sky it is supposed to make you happy. This one only had a few clouds gliding across it and there was a lovely breeze coming in through the open window Arthur was standing in front of in his room. He had found himself here in this spot many a time when he needed to think. The sight of his city intact and peaceful always seemed to calm his nerves, but not today.
The quietness of the streets was eerie. Arthur frowned. Was today special in any way? Had he forgotten about something important? A shiver ran up his spine. The breeze flew through his short blonde hair. It felt dangerous. Something was wrong or it was going to be. He wracked his mind for a clue at what it might be. Or maybe he was just being jumpy.
He was about to turn away from the window when something caught his eye, something small and black falling from the sky. He looked closer. Another one appeared. Then they just kept coming, like black snowflakes. Arthur reached his hand out and caught a few. Unlike snow they did not melt. He brought them up to eye level.
Ash.
It was raining ash. The sky was dark now, clouds that had not been there before just suddenly appeared. The clouds couldn't role in that quickly. He had only looked away for a second. The blue sky he had been admiring moments before was gone. Not even an inch of its previous bright colour could be seen.
How could ash be falling from the sky? Arthur immediately ran from the room to go find his father.
Something was definitely wrong.
/
Morgana looked up at the same sky as her half brother. She felt the danger in the air but she assumed it was danger she was going to cause for the rest of her royal family. She was surprised when she too saw the ash falling.
There was something sort of beautiful about it, and tragic. The ashes drifted through the air.
The rest of the sorcerers backed away from the falling ash as if it might burn them. Their faces wore fear. It was the fear they felt in their worst nightmares. One of the women screamed and almost fainted at the sight of the ash. The ash. It was what every sorcerer feared.
Each one of them was afraid that the day might come when they would see the ash fall for them. It was their worst fear, the fear of burning. Ash was a symbol to all those who had magic. It was the symbol for death.
But the ash wasn't meant for them.
Morgana looked around to see if she could spot who had conjured this bad omen but she could not find them. If it was not one of her sorcerers then who could it have been? What did it mean?
That's when her eyes fell on Eris. She did not wear the same expression as the others. Yes, there was fear there, but it wasn't the same. Eris looked more shocked then anything. Then she lowered her head, looking away from the beautiful yet tragic sight.
She looked like she finally understood. Eris knew who the ash was for and it made her sad. Why?
Morgana walked over to her. Without thinking about it, she placed one of her hands on the other witch's shoulder. Eris looked up in surprise. Morgana too did not understand the gesture but it felt right. Their eyes met for a moment and it seemed as though Eris was trying to tell her something.
Remember, her eyes seemed to say. Something nagged at the back of her mind, something long forgotten. Morgana tried desperately to grab hold of it but it kept slipping away. It was too much. She gasped and pulled her hand away from Eris' shoulder.
Her eyes felt wet. Not the crying kind of wet but the kind you get when you are cutting a union. She shook her head to get rid of the tears and walked away from Eris who just stared after her.
Morgana returned to the front of the group she was leading to Camelot for the final invasion. She would not be bringing a bunch of fearful magic wielders to knock on the king's door. She wanted to break the door down.
"Do not fear!" She yelled to get their attention. "It will all soon be over but not for us. It is the Pendragons who will pay. This ash is for them!"
The rest of the sorcerers razed their fists in the air and yelled their approval. Morgana smiled.
"Lets move!"
/
Arthur found his father in the courtyard staring up at the ash. Knights were already filling the courtyard. Even they knew to be ready for anything. The ash wasn't normal. People closed their doors to get away from it.
"Father what is going on?" Arthur announced his presence. Uther didn't acknowledge him at first but the strong hand that grabbed his shoulder jolted him out of his thoughts.
"I'm afraid I don't know son." He looked at Arthur. "What is certain is that it must be the work of a sorcerer. Get the men ready."
Without any more words spoken, Arthur dashed back into the castle to get the rest of the men that had not yet gone to the courtyard. The sound of clumsy footsteps running behind him alerted Arthur to the presence of his manservant.
He was glad for it. He would not be able to do this alone.
/
Getting into the city was easy enough. When you have magic it is easy to go unnoticed it you have practiced. Morgana had snuck in before without alerting a soul to her arrival or her departure. Even though she did find it amusing at how simple it was, part of her hoped this would be the last time she would have to sneak around. She wanted to stop hiding.
Metal footsteps banged against the ground. The group used the shadows of an alley to hide from the soldiers. Morgana cursed. They knew something was coming. Her hopes of surprising them were destroyed. Or were they? None of the residents of Camelot knew what was coming. They suspected it but there was no way any of them knew exactly what was going to happen. They knew they were going to be attacked but they didn't know by whom.
The group made their way to the courtyard going undetected. The courtyard was filled with soldiers. They needed a distraction in order to get to the doors. Silently Morgana motioned for most of them to get their magic ready. They were going to have to split up.
She then picked two to come with her as her backup. Most of them would be the decoys while they snuck into the cast. She motioned for Eris and Roderick to follow her.
One of the other sorcerers stepped forward and whispered a few words under his breath. His eyes flashed gold and a loud explosion came from the courtyard.
/
The explosion nearly knocked Arthur off his feet. He only just managed to steady himself. They had not been wrong to be wary. They were being attacked.
Cries erupted from all around them as sorcerers appeared out the shadows casting spells this way and that. Arthur recognized a few of the faces. These were the same sorcerers he had been hunting a week ago. It seemed when he had lost them they didn't actually go that far. Had they been waiting for this moment?
Arthur called over a few of the knights. "Take my father inside. It isn't safe for him here." They nodded.
Uther argued but eventually Arthur persuaded him to take cover in the citadel. Once Arthur was sure his father was safely inside he brandished his sword. He dogged the sorcerers' smells as best he could but they were good. Arthur had fought many sorcerers but these ones were different. They were fast. Spells flew from their mouths as quickly as Arthur could swing his sword.
For a fleeting moment Arthur doubted himself, his knights, and his kingdom. Maybe this was their last battle, the one battle they could not win. But he snapped out of it quickly. He wasn't going to let it end this way. This was Camelot. He would not let it fall.
His hopes were rising when he heard a scream come from behind him. There had only been one person standing where he could not see him. That idiot. Fear overcame Arthur. The fear of what he would see when he turned around. He pivoted on his right foot.
But before he could see what had happened an explosion rocked the courtyard coming from the other direction. On instinct his eyes were drawn to the fiery explosion. It looked like no one was hurt. The explosion hadn't even gone off near anyone. That was strange.
When he finally got his thoughts back in order he remembered what he had been doing and turned around. But Merlin was there, fighting one of the sorcerers clumsily with a sword. He was fine. Arthur sighed in relief. But then who screamed?
There was no time to think about that now. Three dark figures caught his eye as they slipped into the castle. Oh, no! His father was inside. Without a word he ran after them. He didn't even have to call his manservant for him to follow. He could already hear his loyal footsteps running.
They almost lost the shadowy figures a few times as they disappeared around corners. Arthur was following them so intently that he didn't notice where they were going until they burst through the doors to the throne room.
They froze in their tracks.
"It's been a long time brother."
Alright I lied this isn't the last chapter. The next one is. I think.
Thank you for reading and please REVIEW!
The final battle has begun. Who will win?
Who do you think the ash is for?
A big twist is coming. I hope you are ready.
Nothing is as it seems.