A/N: Hello everybody! I've got some good news and some bad news! Good news: I got a friend of mine to help me edit this story, so hopefully no more ridiculous grammar mistakes. Though that does mean chapters will come out a little slower. Please do not hesitate to give me constructive criticism. I won't take it personally if you tell my grammar sucks.

Bad news? I'm really, really, really, sorry but this is the last chapter I will be posting for a while. I'm a junior in high school right now and well, with the tests, exams, research papers, and projects I have this month, I simply will not be able to write for a while. Expect the next chapter 7 to be posted around the end of June, and once my summer vacation starts, my plan is to update once a week.

Also, I know I promised a super action filled chapter, but I needed to write this in between scene before I could get onto the action. Even though this chapter is called chapter 6, it's more like a chapter 5.5. Enjoy!

Chapter 6

There was a sharp throbbing sensation in Morgana's head, like she had been repeatedly thrown against a wall or poisoned. She cursed in a very unladylike manner and attempted to massage the knot on her head. But her hands wouldn't reach. Something harsh had her wrist secured behind her. Her legs were of no use either as both of her ankles were tied to a wooden chair. Groaning, Morgana slowly opened her eyes.

It was black as pitch and for a moment she feared that she had gone blind. When her eyes adjusted she was met with the sight of stone pillars covered in ivy and cobbled webs. There was no light. The dull luminescence of the pale grey walls reflected back at her. Morgana grit her teeth. Her bindings were too strong to break with force alone. She could burn it easily enough if it wasn't for the poison in her system that was preventing her from reaching her magic.

As she was devising a plan of escape, the sound of heels clicking against stone reached Morgana's ears. A woman? Guinevere? No, that stupid maid wasn't capable of brewing a potion to suppress her magic. Unless it was….no she wouldn't.

The heavy wooden door was flung open with a reverberating crack. Morgana flinched but quickly adopted a blank mask. A long ivy-green cloaked figure revealed herself.

"Queen Mab!" Morgana hissed. "What is the meaning of this?" Bright light flooded through the opening and Morgana was able to make out Mab's pixie-like features. The queen's platinum white-blond hair sat atop her head like a crown and she had deep forest green eyes that were highlighted by the sea blue shadows and long eye lashes. Her purplish lips stood out against her colorless skin, revealing nothing.

"That is what I should be asking you, young priestess." Mab hissed. There was simmering fury in her voice that made Morgana's soul stir. It had been a long time since Morgana truly felt a soul-rattling fear, the last time had been her encounter with Emrys. But she wasn't the same woman she was two years ago; she was stronger: a true priestess of the old religion. She wouldn't bow down to Mab so easily.

"We had a deal your highness. For what purpose are you going back on your word?" She asked bitterly.

Mab narrowed her eyes. "Caution child, for it is you who has broken our accord first." When Morgana looked confused, Mab's scowl deepened in contempt. "I gave you passage through my woods and have ensured that no beast under my command would hurt one of your precious metal rats. All I had asked for in return was a single sacrifice. But you've clearly proven yourself useless as neither of our desires has been quenched." Mab hissed in Morgana's face, taking slow menacing steps around her.

Morgana for her part rather prided herself on holding her tongue thus far. Mab's arrogance was one that rivaled her own dear brother and if her two years in confinement had taught her anything, it was the beauty of patience. So the dark priestess waited as the regal queen had all the answer she needed. Perhaps she needed a bit of prodding.

"You know as well as I do, Mab, that my plan would have succeeded had you held your end of the bargain! You let someone into the tower; you have let this person foil my plan!" Morgana snapped back. The queen's steps faltered and suddenly the temperature dropped several degrees.

"I promised that I would keep Emrys from reaching the tower young priestess. You, however, have managed to become thwarted by a mere druid child!" Mab cried, enraged. "And if you do not believe me then perhaps you should see it for yourself." A long, sinewy finger pressed itself against Morgana's brow.

She gasped as foreign images started to flow through her mind: a pale-faced child with foolish, naïve eyes awaking Guinevere, the druid girl spelling Morgana's wine as she took a sip, watching herself collapse emotionlessly, the druid girl making away with her prisoner. Morgana roared, breaking free from the memories and struggled harshly against her bindings.

"Let me go! I will kill her! I shall put that druid-girl in her place!" Morgana growled and shook her chair viciously. Her blood boiled beneath her skin, a compulsive need to claw her skin off shook Morgana's being. A druid. A mere druid child, a petty sorceress had bested her! She was a witch and a high priestess for god's sake! The humiliation was an unbearable blow to her pride. In that one instant, all the anger, all the betrayal and bitter feelings she held towards her brother dearest paled in comparison to a druid overpowering her.

"You shall not." Queen Mab responded immediately. "Though I loathe admitting it, that druid child is under the apprenticeship of the Dryads and a soon to be High Priestess of the Triple Goddess; that wretch also happens to be the guardian of the Lake Avalon." The words felt like acid to Morgana's ears and she could only imagine the how much bile the prideful queen had to swallow to admit such words.

"You know the consequences as well as I do for killing another high priestess Morgana." The queen continued, a delicate hand brushing across her restraints. "Now more than ever, it is crucial for you to win the Goddess's favor, or else all of our plans will be for naught."

Morgana seethed, having no counter for Mab's logic. The queen paced thoughtfully in front of her, a range of expressions crossing her face. Mab then pressed a palm against a pillar and whispered a spell softly. Her eyes glowed gold and the stone began to crumble away, leaving nothing but a stone staff in her arms.

"It will do for now." Mab said to herself thoughtfully.

"What are you scheming, your highness?" Morgana dared to ask. Mab looked at her with as much scorn as she could muster.

"I've made a deal with the druid child, one that I will ensure she will not fulfill." She answered. Morgana raised an eyebrow.

"What are the terms of this dealing?" It seemed to be the right question to ask. Mab's eyes burned with lust, a lust for winning, for that was her game— she lures her victims into these games, these "deals," and makes them assume that all is fair and that both sides would feel an equal burden of a loss or gain. It was all a trick of course, Morgana didn't believe that Mab wouldn't manipulate the game to her liking, but she never figured to the ancient queen to play two at once.

"It's quite simple, dearie. She keeps her precious metal rats alive and I'll put in a word for her elders. However if she fails, she will be banished from Avalon forever.

"And that is it? She walks free if she fails your provocation." Morgana deadpanned, unimpressed. Surely they wouldn't let that insolent child be vindicated from poisoning her. Mab shot her a demeaning look.

"Your ignorance astonishes me, my Lady." She sneered, Morgana growled in response. Mab adorned a more malicious countenance. "The druid child is only an apprentice. She is bound to the lake until she's been made a full High Priestess." The queen replied as if it explained everything. Morgana looked at her doubtfully. Mab scowled and deigned to elaborate.

"The child cannot be away from its water. On twilight of the seventh day, she will die."

Concept 6: A sorcerer or sorceress are ones that chose to learn magic, while a witch or warlock are born with magic. Just to clear things up a bit, Morgana, being a witch, feels superior to Freya because she's just a druid turned sorceress. But keep in mind that Freya is the Guardian of Avalon. Her true power will be revealed!

Review, review, review!

Kiki1770.