Thank you for the reviews.
I am sorry this is a little late. Things just got a little hectic before Christmas. I hope that you all had a good Christmas.
We will see how things go. If I still feel like I did on Christmas Eve morning, I want to quit my job like next month. Whether I will or not, I don't know yet. But if I do, I am going to treat myself by doing the things that I want to do. Like write fanfiction. I may have realised that I put quite a bit of pressure on myself each week to get a lot down. Oh well, I don't do it now when I am young I will never do it.
Chapter 15
The more Morgana walked, the more she thought about what Nimueh had told her. She believed that Arthur shouldn't know what had happened, but he should really. The poor boy had grown up motherless and it was his father's own fault. Arthur should know about the circumstance of his birth. She knew that he would be angry about it but he couldn't do anything stupid, like kill his own father. She knew that Merlin would help him come to terms with it and she would be there as well.
There was a part of her that doubted the story. She knew that Uther was a tyrant and thought with his head and what was right for the kingdom rather than with his heart and what was best for Arthur, but she never had him down as a hypocrite, definitely not when it came to magic. He had always spoken about magic like it was chaos and corrupted, even before the purge. She had got the impression that he had always hated it.
So why would he use it?
That was the part that confused her. Why would you use something that you hated, unless at one point you didn't hate it? She didn't put it passed Uther to use magic because it fulfilled a purpose and benefit to him.
If anything, she felt like she understood Uther more. It was true what Nimueh had said. What Uther did could be seen as an act of love rather than greed. He may have wanted an heir to his throne but he also wished to make his wife happy. She obviously made him happy and to have that ripped away from you must be hard. It would definitely make you feel guilty. It was the guilt that Uther had because of what he had done was expressed through his hatred of magic and once he walked that path, he had to want it. It was just the grief that made it worse than it could be.
It didn't make her hate him any less but the events after Arthur's birth was now more clear to her. Countless innocent lives were lost because of love and greed and grief. She knew that she had the power to destroy things and the recent events had shown her that she could act on instinct. What if the same happened to Merlin? Would she react in the same way? Would she stop at nothing to destroy those who had caused her pain?
She did understand Uther more. And maybe she was starting to see the similarities between them.
Gwaine tugged at the grass on the floor while Lancelot sat quietly next to him. He could see Gwen pace out of the corner of his eye, chewing on the skin around her thumb. He couldn't see Morgause but he hoped that she was trying to find some sort of a solution to the problem they had. Part of him felt helpless as his friend and king disappeared through the door. He should have known that Merlin would do something irrational like that. It was just a Merlin thing to do.
"Where do you think they are?" Lancelot answered.
Gwaine looked up at him, wondering whether the silence was better.
"They are more than likely underneath the Isle," Morgause replied.
"What is below the Isle?"
Gwaine slightly wished for the talking to end. It wasn't like him to be silent but in that moment, he just wanted silence so Morgause could think about the Isle and how they were going to get to Merlin, Morgana and Arthur.
"There is a maze, filled with magical creatures that were saved during the purge. The route was made so that when Uther and his forces descended onto the Isle of the Blessed, the High Priestesses and all of the children had a safe route out. The creatures would only attack anyone that … wasn't a High Priestess." Morgause trailed off.
Gwen had stopped pacing at that point and both Gwaine and Lancelot stood up to look at her.
"What?" They all said at the same time.
"I couldn't understand why Nimueh was using it, but I do now. Morgana isn't a High Priestess of the Old Religion, well not yet of course. Merlin possesses magic but that wouldn't save him and Arthur. Well, Arthur doesn't have any hope. He has Uther's blood running through his veins. Nimueh is using it as some sort of torture chamber. Making them go mad or just allowing the creatures to destroy them. Whatever her plan is, it is dangerous. While we are up here, they are walking around in the dark. The maze is surrounded in strong magic and I don't even think that the strong Emrys will be able to overcome some of the magic the closer he gets to the centre."
"I have a feeling I am going to regret this, but what is in the centre of the maze?" Gwaine asked.
"The exit."
"For the High Priestess. What for any luck soul that managed to get through the maze?"
Morgause hesitated.
"It's bad?"
"The maze was made so that anyone who enters it would never exit it."
"I would ask if you were joking but I don't think you are." Gwaine said. "I am glad that you are a High Priestess. So how do we enter this maze?"
"I don't know if just being with a High Priestess will mean that you will have protection," Morgause argued.
"Ah, don't worry about us. Lancelot and I are used to a few magical creatures or two and I am sure Gwen can look after herself. Plus we need to really think about getting them out of their rather than just standing here chatting about how much trouble they are in. And Lancelot will tell you that I love a good chat."
"He does," Lancelot confirmed, even though he knew that he didn't have to contribute.
"So shall we go and save them or not?" Gwaine said, finishing up.
"Follow me. I think that there is an entrance over here. I would draw your swords now. We never know when something may attack."
The boys did as they were told as they follow Morgause. A doorway opened and they all stepped through. They may not have been the main players, but they too had now joined into the game.
