A/N- Thank you to all my reviewers who answered my pole... many of you guessed A: Duel to the death. Read on to find out if you were right...
Queen of the Wild Magic—Chapter 5
"You can't be serious!" Addy choked. "Morgana? Why in the world would I ever want to bring that...that witch back from the dead? She tried to kill me! And Arthur! And Merlin! Who knows what she'll do to them if I bring her to life?" She crossed her arms and glared at the unshakably calm fairy.
"I know how you must feel. These were my fears as well, My Lady." He sighed heavily. "But we can find no other way to guide you in the control of your powers. The only other path for you to choose is to stay here forever." His ebony eyes dimmed.
Stay here forever? They really had some nerve to think she would just stay here for the rest of her now very, very long life. "Look, I'm sure I can find some way to figure out this magic stuff on my own. Then I can go back and everything will be fine. You'll see."
He paused at her doorway, his luminous skin lighting the shadows. "I would like to show you something, My Lady. After you've dressed and had a meal, please meet me upon the main stair." Then, with an uncharacteristic air of solemness, he left her to her thoughts.
Morgana? They really think the only answer is to have Morgana teach her? And why would she? There's nothing in it for her. She paced her chambers, wearing a dirt trail in the carpet of grass. She was startled from her inner-debate from a knock upon her door.
"My Lady?" Came a sweet, gentle voice. A blonde head peered around the side of the door.
"Come in, Imeria." Addy said. She bowed and entered the room, followed by Rowaine. In her arms was bundle of fabric.
She laid them upon the bed. "We have brought you a gift. A dress made by our most skilled tailors and weavers." Addy caressed the softly glimmering material. It was like the clothing that the fairies themselves wore, but far more intricate and detailed. It felt watery smooth, finer than any silk she had ever felt.
"What do you make you clothes from? I can't figure it out." She asked, admiring the fine embroidery and the small gemstones sewn into the skirting.
"We gather our threads from the Quartz spiders who live in the forest." Rowaine said, helping Addy into the dress.
Imeria began combing and plaiting Addy's hair with her long fingers in nimble, practiced movements.
"The dress is made from spider silk?" She asked rhetorically. It was an indication of just how much magical strangeness she had been exposed to that she didn't freak out over wearing a dress spun by spiders.
"All finished, My Lady." Rowaine said, fastening the last tiny button and spinning her towards a large, bronzed looking glass.
Addy barely recognized herself in the mirror. Her dark, cocoa hair was immaculately put up into tiny braids that cascaded down her back. The dress accentuated parts of her she didn't even know she had. Not only that, but it was surprisingly light and comfortable. The fairy food must have been having some effect on her as well. Her skin glowed with a healthy pink flush. She no longer looked like a casual girl-next-door type. Now I really do look like a Queen, she thought. If this is how they want to buy me off, it's sort of working.
"Do you approve?" Imeria asked hopefully.
"Oh, yes. I approve. Thank you. It's lovely." She twirled around in front of the mirror, admiring herself from all angles. If only Merlin could see her now.
She stopped her twirling. She had a job to do, and she couldn't afford to become side-tracked. She had to get home. If she knew Merlin half as well as she believed she did, he would be desperately trying anything to get back to her.
Steadying herself, she thanked the Sídhe ladies and ran out to look for Theosfain.
-(0)—(0)-(0)-
"Where are you taking me?" She asked, struggling to keep up with Theosfain's quick walking pace on the uphill terrain. They had been walking for a little while away from the city of Tír na nÓg and he had yet to tell her why.
"It is only a little farther, just past that ridge there, My Lady." He pointed. Up ahead was a hill line broken only by the worn stone path they were on. Small ash trees stood guard on the horizon in rows. It was like they were sentry soldiers, guarding the land beyond. The only sound besides their footsteps was the hum of thousands of insects buzzing about the field. It had a sort of ominous, unwelcome feel that made Addy nervous.
"I've got to tell you, Theo, this place creeps me out a little," she commented.
"We're here." He stated flatly. Neither his tone nor his mood had changed since earlier that day.
She had just climbed to the top of the ridge line and now she could see what was below. It was not what she had expected. It looked like a nuclear bomb had exploded. There was a large, barren circle in the middle of a lush, vibrant valley. At the center of the desolate, arid land, was a small festering pool of water. It seemed so wrong to see something like this in a place this beautiful.
"What is this place?" She said in horror.
Theosfain sighed, and wearily replied, "This is the Barrens. It used to be a swamp land, teeming with raw, primitive life. It was home to the Wild Magic here in the Otherworld, where life could grow unchecked and unchained. We merely maintained the border." She noticed the circular perimeter around the tepid pool where the desert ended and the prairie began. "We were curious, so we let the Wild Magic take its own course. And this is what happened." He waved a twinkling hand in the air and the desert below shimmered to reveal an image from long ago. The cesspool pond was now a heady swamp, ripe with life of all sorts. Giant lilies blanketed the water while ancient willows waved above. Animals hunted and frolicked in the boggy grass. The image shifted to the pond itself. Now she was seeing underwater, how the fish and marine creature were so thick they could barely swim. The images began to speed up. Bigger fish were eating the little ones with no regard of age or ability. Large creatures sprang up to devour them, and so on and so forth until there was nothing left by a few mammoth reptiles. And above the water, life went on the same. It was a brutal, cruel, and savage game, where only the strongest could survive. But in this swamp, not even the fittest were surviving. The plants mutated and spread, eating anything in their path. Addy was pretty sure that if the magical barrier had not been in place, the trees and weeds would have cannibalized the entire fairy realm. And after the vegetation had killed off the last of the mammals, it had nothing left to eat, and it too died. Everything died in the end, leaving only the wasteland that was now before her.
Her mouth felt dry, her fingers numb. "Why have you shown me this?"
Darkly, her replied, "This is what would happen if Wild Magic ruled the world. You see now why we cannot allow that. Long ago, even nature herself recognized that. So it created the magic of the Old Religion. It was a magic of harmony, of order. It held the chaos and destruction in check and used the power of life to populate the earth." He stared at her, grasping her hand tightly. "That is why Merlin is so important to you. He is your balance. He was born of the Old Religion, the culmination of all its power, poured into the lifeblood of a singular person. He was its hope and savior!"
"Wait a minute," she said. "What do you mean 'was'?"
"He was destined to protect Arthur, because with Arthur, he could have united the world of magic and nonmagic and made a sort of paradise on earth. But he failed! He was warned, over and over, about Arthur's death, and he still could not prevent it. Thus, magic was lost to your world."
"Albion was saved, wasn't it? Magic wasn't lost. I know there still has to be magic somewhere." Addy argued.
"Think about it, My Lady. Has Albion really been saved? Is your world really all that great? Wars, disease, unimaginable cruelty. And no one believes in magic in your world, no one follows the old ways. The machinations of men have taken over the wild and have choked the life from it. Yes, there are a few pockets of magic left, but they are dwindling and soon will be extinct. Your world is no better than the swamp, destroying itself from within." Theosfain cried. His black eyes were aflame and he spoke with great passion.
She reflected upon all that he had told her, and asked, "What about me, then? Where do I fit into this?"
Theosfain calmed himself from his brief emotional moment. "Just as the Old Religion created Merlin, so were you created by the Wild Magic. You and he must find a way to restore magic to the world, or else all is lost. What you have unleashed there with your powers is but a foretaste of what is to come if balance cannot be achieved. The Wild Magic will fight to keep a place in the world, and in so doing, will destroy it." Theosfain paused and looked at Addy with sadness. "You must learn to control the Wild Magic, no matter the cost. You must awaken Morgana, or all is doomed."
The burden placed before her was unimaginable. She was responsible for the fate of the world. Her. Plain old Addy Singleton, secretary, city girl, everyday human being. It was all on her. She suddenly had new found respect for the terrible burden Merlin had faced trying to fulfill his destiny.
"Okay. I'll do it." She yielded.
"Do you think you can remember how?" Theosfain asked.
She thought about how she had felt when Merlin had died. It was now etched clearly in her mind. And here, in this fairy realm, she sensed the lifepulse of the earth even stronger than above. "Yes, I'm pretty sure I can."
Theosfain led her down the ridge, away from the awful reminder of the destructive force that lie in tandem with the creation of life. There, among the fields of blue and yellow daisies, she did what shad to. She called upon Morgana.
Thrusting her hands deep into the soil, she closed her eyes and concentrated. The heart of the earth throbbed under her fingertips. She let it rise up her arms, into her chest, and strike at her own heart, until it seemed as though they beat as one. "MORGANA!" She demanded. "COME FORTH!"
In front of them a huge black shape appeared in the air. A tear, a rip, in the veil between worlds. And through the great blackness a figure emerged. She walked forward, away from the black shadow that was even now closing upon itself behind her.
The recognition was instant. Addy could see that she looked the same as she remembered her. Beautiful and imposing. Head-to-toe black, with dark, twisted curls rolling down her back. Her lips the color of fresh blood. And her eyes, blue-green and dark. But there was something very different about this Morgana. Her face was frightened, but not angry. Confused, but not evil. If Addy hadn't known better, she would have thought her to be, well, normal.
The witch stepped forward into the grass, staring hard at the glowing fairy next to Addy. "Did you bring me back?" She asked him. Her voice was soft, her tone genuine.
Theosfain shook his head. "No, M'Lady. I did not. It was The Lady Addy, our Queen." He motioned to Addy, who was still kneeling in the dirt. She stood up, tense and ready to fight. She wondered just how Morgana would react when she remembered who Addy was.
Coming closer, she stared hard at Addy. "You are their Queen?" She said.
Addy shrugged, still not breaking her defensive posture. "That is what they call me. You can just call me Addy."
The Lady Morgana smiled, her eyes softening. "I remember you. You were the strange girl in the cave with Merlin. You said some cruel things to me." So why did she seem so happy about it? Addy thought. She tried to kill me. The priestess sighed. "I am so sorry for what I did to you."
What? Did she really just apologize? No, she had to have heard wrong, Addy reasoned.
Then, Morgana did something Addy would never have believed in a million years. Still smiling, she came forward, grabbed Addy in her arms and hugged her. And she was crying. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing me back. For giving me this chance. I've spent so long, alone with my thoughts in that...place. I've seen how I hurt people. How I was so driven by hate that I lost everything. All I've wanted was a chance to say I'm sorry. And now I have it."
Addy stood rigidly, frightened for her life in the arms of the woman who had once tried to kill her. This must be a dream. There is no possible way that just happened.
Pulling back, she wiped off her cheeks and said, "You must have returned me to life for a reason. The power over life and death is no small matter. What is it that you want from me?"
Theosfain interrupted, "M'Lady, we need you to help our Queen learn to use and control her abilities. It is of the utmost importance. The future of the human race is at stake!"
Morgana gasped sincerely. "What? How can that be?"
"I have Wild Magic." Addy growled.
Morgana gasped. "Wild Magic? I have only heard rumors...I don't know what I can do for you, but if I can help in any way, I will. It is but the least I can do."
Her eyes showed no trace of the old Morgana. Not even the smallest glimmer of scheming or malice. Everything about her was sincere. Yet, Addy knew far better than to trust her.
Holding up a 'just hold on a minute' finger, she turned to Theosfain. With the slightest breath, she whispered. "Don't you dare leave me alone with her for one second! I don't care what she says, I don't trust her."
His black eyes betrayed nothing but he nodded his agreement. "My lady, I have seen no lie in her. I know it is hard to believe, but time and death have a way of putting one's life into perspective. But never fear, I will not leave you." He crossed his long, lean arms and spoke to Morgana.
"I welcome you, Lady Morgana to the Otherworld. My name is Theosfain, and I will take you to our Royal City and see that your needs are met. Then, we should begin Her Majesty's training. Time is running short and there is much work to be done." He bowed, and motioned for them to follow him.
Morgana replied. "Then I will waste none of it. Lead me to your palace, Theosfain."
Far behind, Addy walked, watching Morgana with growing concern. How could she afford to trust this woman? And yet, how could she afford not to? All she could do was to pray that Merlin would come for her soon.
Author's Note-
So, I guess I'm doing a good job as a writer. I know the "good" Morgana is not what you expected, but there's a lot more story to come, so who knows what might happen? ;)
Next up: Merlin has women problems. Specifically, how does he tell his ex that he needs her help to rescue his current girlfriend?
Keep the reviews coming!