So...

Still trying to keep up.

Firstly I would like to say that I hope that you are enjoying the first couple of days of 2018. For me, I have decided that I will do more for myself and just have a 'why not?' attitude to things. I just feel like I am stuck in some sort of cycle and I want to break from it. I want to do things that excite me, like writing fanfiction and just doing things that doesn't require me just to go to work. Still working on the hours thing.

Secondly, I am quite glad that I don't have many chapters left of this story left to write. Just means that I will start to write another story soon, which I will leave a gap so that I can get ahead of myself and not feel like I am delaying the story in any way.

Please enjoy this chapter (most of it I wrote at work anyway).


Chapter 16

His feet hit hard on the floor as he ran down the corridor. It seemed to last forever as he tried to get away from whatever the darkness held. He could feel it breathing down his neck, not being able to escape it. The creature had spent the whole time being close but never being close enough.

Arthur knew that he was slowing down. He was starting to feel the weight of his armour and the lack of training since he had become King was clear.

He smacked into the wall as the creature finally attacked, barely missing Arthur. Even though he was tiring, it gave him the energy to push on. The creature had obviously noticed that he had begun to tire as well.

He wished for a side corridor to open up and close the creature off from him like it had done with the first creature. Or was this the same one?

Arthur didn't care as it struck again. It took all of his strength not to hit the floor as well as the wall. He stumbled as he regained his footing. He was still glad that he managed to hold onto his sword. He would be lost without it. He thought about turning around a swiping at the creature but knew that the corridor was too narrow for that.

There must have been a plan because when the creature struck for the third time and caused Arthur to lose his balance, a wall came down and the first bit of light that Arthur had seen since he entered the maze transformed the place.

It took Arthur a while to get used to it, so much that he didn't even attempt to open his eyes for a good few minutes. Once he did, he grabbed his sword and stood up into a defensive stance.

"Don't worry Arthur, I am not going to hurt you," Nimueh said.

He didn't lower the sword because of her words but more of the fact that he felt ridiculous. She had magic and if she wanted to attack him, he wouldn't be able to stop her with a sword. With a flick of her wrist, a table with two chairs appeared. As she sat down, a jug and goblet appeared on the table. He waited for her to tell him to sit down but after the run from that creature, sitting down was the first thing that he wanted to do, even if it meant sitting with her. A goblet appeared as he took the chair.

"I was about to ask whether you preferred the company of that creature I saved you from. Although I shouldn't have. It is the last of it's kind because of your father."

"Does the sins carry down to the son from the father?" Arthur asked. "Because I want to put a few of my father's wrongs right. I know I can't do a lot. I can't bring people back from the dead but I want to do right by the magical communities in Camelot that have had to hide for so long."

He smiled when she stayed quiet for a while. She obviously wasn't expecting that from him. He was glad that he could maybe stop this madness. He doubted it but her silence gave him hope.

"You must be thirsty after all that running? Here." She said as she filled his goblet.

He only took a sip when she did. He really didn't trust her.

"So you have been thinking over a few things?"

"Magic isn't bad. Balinor and Merlin taught me that. It is just the person using it."

"Have you ever considered why Uther was so adamant about going to war?"

"Yes and no."

"Why no?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Because I think my own father gave me the answer."

"And that was?"

"That Morgana is his daughter, making her my half-sister."

"Didn't you think he was lying?"

Arthur smiled. "No, because I have been thinking about it. She is rather like him. It was the times that they used to argue that I could see the similarities between them. I just thought it was because she had lived with us for so long, that my father had rubbed off on her. But … I didn't want to believe my father when he said that Balinor shouldn't have kidnapped his daughter."

"Uther said he loved your mother, but I could always see that his eye would turn towards Vivienne. She was beautiful but I would have chosen your mother over her any day. Your father knew what he had but he was greedy. It would be like you and Morgana was talking and you look over to see that Merlin was talking to Gwen. You would probably smile and think that it was great but what you wouldn't know that Merlin's hand was … let's just say a bit too high up her leg for what would be acceptable, in front of the whole court."

Arthur didn't know why he balled his hand into a fist. He knew that Merlin wouldn't do something like that to him. He knew that Merlin loved Morgana with all his heart.

"But that is why Morgana is Uther's daughter. Gorlois never bothered to add up the dates. He was gone for nearly four months. If Morgana was conceived when he got back, she would have been at least three months premature. A baby that premature wouldn't have survived. I suppose Gorlois was just glad that he could actually hold a baby in his arms. Even if it wasn't his."

"Morgause," Arthur whispered.

"Her story will be for another time."

"No. Why was she abandoned while Morgana wasn't? She said she grew up on the Isle. Why was she given over to the High Priestess? She must be older than me. She must have been born before the purge. Why was sent away? Tell me. Make me understand."

The room and light disappeared in front of him, leaving him in darkness. So she had managed to confirm that Morgana was his half-sister and what had happened, but it still left him with questions. The main one being why was Morgause given up?

Arthur just sighed as he drew his sword and carried on his search. He just didn't know what to take from his talk with Nimueh.