A/N: to be honest, I'm surprised at how quickly I'm writing this. Huh.
R&R!
Early the next morning, Astrid and her guests were on their way to the dungeons. Much like the rest of the castle, it was over run by plants, in the form of hanging roots, moss, and fungus. Astrid was explaining the rules to them.
"…As long as you don't mess with any of the prisoners, or interrupt my process, we'll be fine, alright?" She paused, looking back at the two with a grin.
"Yes," Morgana agreed.
"Good. I'd also like to say that the use of magic down here is only allowed if I approve," she warned, casting a narrowed glance over her shoulder. "Which I don't, for you two."
Before either of them could reply, Astrid had kicked open the dungeon door.
"I'm back~!" She sang. The two guards stumbled away in surprise. "I hope my prisoners are ready for another history lesson!"
"What history?" Arthur scoffed. "All you told us yesterday were lies and—grrk!"
"Arthur!" Merlin and the knights were at the bars in a flash, eyes glowing with anger. "Let him go!"
Astrid stared calmly into the face of the king, eyes molten as he was lifted to his toes by an invisible noose. "You are in no place to say that, Merlin, was it?"
Scoffing, she turned away from the choking captive. Arthur gasped on the ground, shaking.
"As you can all tell, I am in a foul mood." She shook her head mockingly. "My lady, Sir Knight, come and say hello to you… friends. Remember what I said."
Time seemed to slow as the frightful Morgana swept past the enchantress, kneeling before the king's cell to grab the weakened Arthur by the chin.
"Get away from him, witch!" Gwaine snarled.
"Hello, brother," she hissed, ignoring Gwaine's cry. "It's been a while."
"Not long enough," Arthur spat.
"Mm, yes," The denounced lady stood, turning to her host. "As much as I would like to stay, Camelot is weak now. Without its king, it will fall to my army in no time. Mordred, let's—"
"No."
The air shivered and froze at the girl's command, the torches dimming drastically.
"Wh-What?" Morgana asked, shocked.
"Two letters, my dear," the girl crowed as the bolt slid in place one the dungeon door. "N-O. You see, you've only heard a fraction of the story I have to tell!" She flung her arms wide with a manic grin. "There's a reason you are all here! Kindness! Loyalty! Ambition! Strength! Courage! Revenge! Betrayal! Magic. I have a story to tell. It's been in my head as long as I've had magic, and its been waiting to escape."
"How dare you—" Morgana doubled as white-hot pain spread through her veins.
"My—" Mordred befell the same fate as he tried to turn his powers on the enchantress.
"Remember dinner?" Astrid giggled at their shocked looks. "I had Cook lace your bread and tea with Primrose Dew. It's amazing how effective it is against magic. Now, either you play nice, or you'll end up in a cell like the rest of—you know what? Get in one anyway."
"Never," Morgana wheezed.
"Like you have a choice," Astrid motioned to Leo and Ayalon. "If you will. You're dismissed after that to do whatever."
"Of course." Ayalon nodded shakily as he and his partner led the former guests to their cells.
"Why are you doing this?" It was Percival, and Astrid nodded to the knight.
"Good question. As I said yesterday, and as you no doubt saw, I am messed up," She held her finger up to forestall the questions that would never come. "It's relevant, I swear. So, you remember the story I told you yesterday? Well, as it turns out, I might have… Lied. A bit. The final tenth of the excess magic wasn't made into a prophecy—that was already done long before by a group of Druid seers. That final tenth was actually divided into the Knights: Calm, Valor, Kindness, Loyalty, Ambition, and Strength. It's sad to find that Valor could not survive up to this point," She sent a mock glare to the seer. "And that Calm is busy at the castle. Oh well."
"You said…" Merlin whispered, face pale at the mention of his magical name in front of his king. "You said that you have a story to tell."
"You're right," Astrid nodded; then froze. "Darn. I went all crazy and most of you still don't know my name. Well now, I'll have to fix that. My name is Astrid. Well," she looked behind her at the dungeon door, "I guess storytelling will have to wait until tomorrow. Baa."
And she was gone, out the supposedly bolted door in a swirl of brown cloaks and reddish-brown hair, nothing but utter and confused silence in her wake.
"What…" Elyan swallowed at having to be the one to break the spell, and plunged on, "just happened?"
No answer came.
It was hours later that guards returned. However, Ayalon was missing, instead replaced by a brown-haired, green-eyed woman. She cast a sharp, suspicious eye around at the mostly sleeping prisoners; her eyes lingered on the only awake one. Leo sighed at her actions.
"At ease, Reyna," he rumbled. "Why are you always so stiff?"
"I'd rather be stiff if it means that this lot doesn't jump us," she retorted.
"…Reyna, was it?" the lanky, dark-haired boy asked. She glared at him. He flinched slightly, turning to Leo instead. "Leo, where's Ayalon?"
"Why should we—"
"The lady spooked him earlier," Leo interrupted coolly. "She decided to place the stiff here on guard instead."
The lanky boy made an understanding sound. Reyna glared at her companion. "We shouldn't be talking to the prisoners," she hissed.
"Why not?" Leo shrugged, leaning back on the dungeon wall. "It's been a while since anything interesting happened and these guys—"
"Losing Freya to that monster was interesting?" she snarled, turning away in disgust.
Leo's wild hair flattened, and he looked away, ashamed. "I said I was sorry, didn't I?"
"That doesn't mean I forgive you." Reyna stalked off to the other end of the dungeons.
"Did—Did she say Freya?" Merlin asked into the silence.
Leo perked up a bit. "You know her?"
"…" Merlin looked around at his sleeping friends. "Knew."
"Oh," Leo sighed.
Leo looked after the still-fuming Reyna, eyes narrowing minutely.
Merlin waited for him to say something, but he didn't. Yawning, he settled down to sleep. It was no use pursuing something that would turn back to bite him, after all.
Madness woke with a blood-chilling scream. She whimpered, flailing at invisible ghosts and fleeting lights. Her struggles saw her off the bed and into a corner, curling as tight as she could while still tangled in her sheets, hands clutching her head.
"No…" she whimpered. "No… I… No—!"
She collapsed into a sobbing mess. And then… she giggled. It was a small sound at first, escalating into a pitchy din that echoed around the room.
"Tomorrow, then," Madness giggled, standing to return to bed. "Tomorrow…"
The kitchens were just beginning to awaken when Astrid walked in. Stopping briefly, she inhaled the scents of herbs and baking bread. While the calmness was welcoming, she knew that if she was to get anything done for the day, she had to start as early as possible. Astrid called over Cook, a sturdy, tall woman who always had her graying red hair in a severe bun.
"Yeah?" she asked, always one to get to the point rather than beating around the bush. In her opinion, it wasted time that could better be spent doing something she actually liked. "What is it?"
Astrid smiled faintly. "I need rations for a week-long hunting trip," she explained. "Just enough for me, Leo and Tatiana."
"And what of the prisoners?" Cook asked as she went to go retrieve the rations. "Not going to do anything with them?"
"Mm, no," Astrid shook her head. "I need to plan everything out first before I do anything, and I think that this hunting trip just might do the trick."
Cook stopped, sending a suspicious eye at the girl. "Where are you really going?"
"Camelot," Astrid said lowly. "I need to see if the king's disappearance has done anything major."
"And if it has?"
Astrid winced. "Then expect for there to be a move."
There was nothing be the sounds of the kitchen as Cook prepared the rations.
"Be careful," Cook said as she handing over three bundles of dried food. "There's enough for seven days, no more, no less."
"I will," the girl assured as she took the bundles.
Gwen paced. Somewhere in the back of her head she chuckled at the act, finding it ironic that it was her husband that usually did it while she watched on placidly. She had always been good at that—staying calm. Even now, she felt perfectly at ease as she paced. Calmness washed over her, easing her worries slightly and sharpening her thoughts. But she was still worried.
The why's and who's and when's where simple: Arthur and his knights had disappeared from patrol three nights ago. But the how? That was what bothered her so. It was understandable for him, really, to disappear suddenly, but without a trace to even a little scuffle…?
Oh, how the queen worried. But like before, it was dulled by calmness and clarity. She was the ruling power, now. It would cause panic within the city for even the Nobles to see the worry in her eyes. No, she had to remain calm.
A timid knock sounded at her door, and her maid, Rachel, entered. "The counsel it waiting for you, milady…"
Gwen sighed. Life did not stop when disasters such as these struck. No, it plowed on; only pushing harder the more you wished it to stop. So Queen Guinevere of Camelot smiled at the timid girl, voicing a thank you as Rachel helped her prepare. It wouldn't do to keep the counsel waiting.
Afterwards, it was decided that, other than the doubled security and patrols, life would run on as normal in the city. Gwen sighed once more as she made her way to Gaius's quarters. She was glad that Arthur and her had been talking about disbanding his father's counsel. Really, the opinions of those men were only those of only self-respecting men that only sought to better themselves.
"Any news of them?" Gaius asked as she entered. She smiled tiredly.
"I'm afraid not, Gaius," She said sadly. "No sign of Arthur, or Merlin, or Gwaine, or…" The calmness broke under the stress of her worry, and Gwen sat heavily upon one of the benches, crying. "Oh, Gaius! I'm just so worried! What if their all—!" She stopped short, new tears bursting forth to spill over her hands, and the final word hung in the air between them.
Dead.
"My dear girl…" Gaius pulled the former maid into a hug, whispering soothing words into her ear until she calmed. "As long as we hold out hope, they still live."
"How can you be so sure?" Gwen sniffled.
"Because there is no other choice."
A/N: So you have a quick look as to what Astrid will see back in Camelot. Yay. Review?