What had he done to drive her away? That was the only question which now consumed King Uther, sitting watching solemnly as the guards of Camelot filed out with their torches in a bid to find Morgana: she had been missing from the castle for several hours now and though the original reaction had been to assume kidnap Uther knew in his heart that she had fled there by choice, not by force. He had made arrangements for Aldras to be released early in the morning and though he did not plan on telling Morgana, now he did not even have the chance of seeing her reaction when she learnt the news.
In the blackness of the winter's early evening the Castle had begun preparing for a good night's sleep. That was, most of the Castle, as Merlin had still been scrubbing Arthur's boots free of mud from their sparring earlier on that day and Gwen was busy preparing yet another meal for her ladyship. It was Gwen who had discovered Morgana's absence from her chambers and such a small action sent a shiver straight through her. Something was not right, and after asking many people of Morgana's whereabouts she had finally rechecked her room only to see the wardrobe empty and most of her belongings vanished. Gwen then alerted the King she was missing. Naturally the guards had been called the moment he heard and set off to search the immediate areas around the castle but now, nearing midnight in Camelot, no sign had been found. The cold temperature of the winter night was sharp and uncomfortable; Uther feared that, despite whatever her purpose had been to leave, she would not survive the frost.
Arthur's arrival in Uther's study brought the King a small ray of hope, only to have it quashed as he saw his son's face. Regretfully, Arthur brought him little news.
"We cannot find her, father. She has left no trail and nobody saw her leaving. We do not know which direction she went, and now she has a lengthy head start…"
Uther ignored him. "Find her, Arthur. I don't care if it takes you all night."
His son blinked. "Father…"
"Find her." Rather than sound concerned for Morgana's safety there was a fear in Uther's eyes which unnerved the Prince. Something else was wrong, and as Arthur dared not ask he simply nodded and exited the room.
Gwen clutched the handkerchief in her hands though she had no tears to dry on it. She was sat in Gaius' workshop, staring at the night outside in a mixture of disbelief and sadness. Merlin was there beside her, having been one of the first Gwen had asked to help whilst Gaius mulled over the situation as he continued his work. They had been told the news of Morgana's disappearance early on and the shock of her actions still had not sunk in. It was hard to believe one of their friends could suddenly just vanish into thin air. Finally Merlin decided to speak.
"Are you okay?"
Gwen gave a sigh and shook her head slowly. "I just don't know why… why did she leave? I know she and Uther never saw eye to eye but I never thought she'd leave Camelot."
Gaius saw it to try and find a possibility. "Her friend Aldras was held in the cells for helping Nimueh. Uther refused to let him out, she must not have taken it too well.."
Until now Théa had mostly kept out of the way, not having known Morgana as well as the others, but she approached the three with some little mugs full of specially brewed tea. "I thought you might want something to warm you up…" she offered, setting it down in front of them and they took it gratefully. Merlin thanked her last and after giving him a smile she retreated to the back of the room, not wanting to disturb them further. Merlin watched her go before turning back to Gwen with a sorry look.
"Arthur's out there looking for her now, if anyone can find her he can. I'm sure she'll come back, Gwen. She couldn't stay away from you for too long, and she wouldn't leave without a goodbye…"
Gwen let out a groan of disappointment. "But she didn't say goodbye… that's what confuses me more than anything else."
"Do not worry yourself too much," said Gaius. "Morgana is a strong woman. Whatever reason she had for leaving tonight I am sure she believed it was the right thing to do."
If nothing else this seemed to calm Gwen a little, and she sipped the tea Théa gave her with a resigned breath.
The fur around Morgana's shoulders did not do much to bar out the cold. Walking carefully through the forests she had made good progress from the Castle since she left, yet she could see the torches of those sent to find her moving in the distance. There was a good way between her and Uther's searching party and this pleased her as she continued up the grassy knolls, her own torch small and just enough to light the ground before her. Where she was going she did not know - all she knew was that she would find her purpose eventually, and that she could not allow herself to be taken back by Uther's guards.
She walked for several more minutes along a path she could barely see. The trees were growing denser and the undergrowth was snagging on her cloak. A twig snapped close by not broken by her own feet - whirling around to survey the trees she could not see anyone caught by the dim flashes of torchlight. Another rustled behind her and once again she turned - dressed in a long red gown, with fire-red lips, pale skin and long dark hair, the figure of Nimueh startled Morgana only because of her sudden appearance. Once over the sudden shock Morgana lowered her torch.
"You are far from your home, ward…" was Nimueh's greeting, smiling slightly.
Morgana pursed her lips. "That Castle is no longer my home."
A tilt of her head told Morgana Nimueh was intrigued. "Why would that be? Surely Uther did not send away his prize charge…"
"Not intentionally. I left out of my own choice." Nimueh's eyes flashed at this information. "I left because Uther has gone too far. He needs to be stopped."
Morgana and Nimueh considered each other for a few silent moments before the sorceress stepped forwards. "Did you come searching for me?"
Morgana suddenly found her lips were dry. "No. I came searching for an answer."
"To what question?"
"How to kill Uther."
Nimueh's smirk grew larger. "Then you have found your answer. I am in the process of doing that myself, so you need not trouble yourself with this task."
"I want to be troubled," the ward retorted, taking Nimueh by surprise. "Your targeting Uther hurts the people, and in turn Uther hurts them even more. If bringing peace to Camelot means helping your quest to kill the King then I will do it. What say you?"
Nimueh considered her request carefully before she replied in an even tone. "My quarrel has only ever been with Uther. Not his Kingdom. It just so happens Camelot is one of his many, many weaknesses…."
"But with Uther gone you would leave the city in peace?"
"With Uther gone the city would already be at peace." A few moments passed without a word. Morgana and Nimueh observed each other and yet again Nimueh was the first to break the silence. "I must warn you - your friends will not be spared simply because you are at my side. If you come with me now, commit yourself to this task, you must do whatever is necessary to complete it."
Understanding every word Morgana swallowed the lump which had gathered in her throat. The lives of her friends for the prosperity of the Kingdom? The lives of many? Morgana blinked then nodded slowly in agreement. "I want this done."
Satisfied in this answer Nimueh gestured for Morgana to follow her, turning and heading away from the approaching torches of the guards. "Come with me…"