Author's note: Sorry for the wait. This is the first chapter of the fourth and final arc. Seven more chapters at most. And this story will finish. I am going for the final push. Enjoy the story.

Chapter 44

Envoy from the south

" Why are you up so late, your highness? " She asked.

" I don't have to answer that to you. " The de facto queen answered.

Heaving a sigh, she said, " You still don't trust me, do you? "

" I find it hard to trust someone who has invaded my land in the past and imprisoned my father. "

" But I told you; I am not the same person that I once was. I have changed like all people who change through time. "

The queen smirked and said, " Tell that to Alined and Odin. I have news that they have already joined forces with these beastly scourge that you've brought from across the sea. "

" What? No! We haven't brought this undead army with me. We haven't known anything about them. And you've seen how Max fought against those monsters. If it wasn't for Max and the army of five thousand that princess Erina sent, you wouldn't be standing here speaking with me. "

" Ah. But you misunderstood. I am not talking about Prince Maxmillian Nassau. His motives for being here is honest and valid. He and his army saved our life and I thank him for that. Whom I don't trust is you and only you. You are only using Max just like you've used Odin, just like your sister have used Cenred.

You go to Cologne and a few years later, the king of Saxony, empereor of east europe dies. Immediately after that, an army of undead rises and invades Albion.

You want me to believe that you don't know anything about this. You have to do better than that, Lady Morgana. "

" I said I am innocent. " Morgana said loudly.

A shockwave hit the Nemethian royal and unhorsed her.

Morgana quickly got off her horse and went near her. " Your highness, I am sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just lost control. I swear I mean no harm. " She said in one breath.

" Yes, yes. of course. " Mithian said in a bored tone while getting up.

The queen regnant of Nemeth looked Morgana in the eye and said, " It's for people like you that magic gets a bad name, Morgana. People like King Merlin always tries to free magic but then, monsters like you show up and people begin to fear magic again. "

Saying this, Queen Mithian left and went back to the encampment.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After the one month occupation of Nemeth, king Rodor was restored to the throne of Nemeth but the ordeal had taken it's toll on him. Within a year, he fell ill and his daughter, Mithian Durenheim became the proxy of king. There were many who were against the idea.

But as the only living heir of the royal family, she was the only choice. In time, she had proven herself quite a competent ruler. After successfully repelling the Saxon invaders from the southern coastline, king Rodor bestowed all royal power to Mithian and proclaimed her as the queen regnent of Nemeth.

King Rodor had remained king only in name.

Unfortunately, in this recent unforeseen invasion of undead, Rodor had lost his life. And Morgana could clearly see that Mithian was grieving and she took it all out on that didn't mean it didn't hurt to hear all those accusations.

Monster.

She had called her.

That's the word that she had feared and thought about herself when she had first found out about her magic.

She knew even her followers had thought of her like that in the past. But in Saxony, it had all been different.

She had been treated there as a talented witch not as a monster. She was the shield maiden of Saxony. A heroine to the people. Children greeted her with smile not ran away in fear. Men bowed at her with respect not despise.

Now after coming to her homeland and seeing the once familiar fear in the eyes of her countrymen made her suddenly realise one thing. Albion wasn't her home. It had stopped being such a long time ago. It was Cologne. The recently proclaimed capital of the Holy German Empire.

It was that metropolis which she could call her real home. Where she had friends. Friends that she had refused to acknowledge. Now after coming here, she was craving their companionship.

For they didn't judge her for what she was. They were just like her. Her kin. And there was another one. The imperial prince.

Prince Maxmillian.

Or should she call him Emperor now?

On that night, when she was attacked by that strange person, the blue glowing eagle brought the news from Cologne. From Imperial princess Erina.

King Ludwig was dead. Erina realised it when the king's glowing name on the family tree of Nassau line became black.

Max hadn't talked much about it and Morgana didn't question him. One thing astounded her that how calm Max looked. He behaved as if nothing happened. But Morgana knew the prince was suffering. On the walls of Nemethian capital, in the beach of Nemeth, he had fought like a demon. Transforming his grief into raze.

Morgana realised he was a lot stronger than she ever could be and she was not talking about physical strength.

And that day, he had said something that she had never expected.

A proposal of marraige.

If it was given two years ago, she would've brushed it off or thrown a temper tantrum. But now, she wasn't sure. Max was her adversary in the game of politics. At first, she had despised him for beating her everytime in the games of intrigue and statecraft. In time however, she came to respect him and admit his competence as a statesman and a warrior. He was the perfect prince and people loved him so much.

If she said yes now, she would become empress of the Holy German Empire. A position that she had never even dreamt of. She would even outrank the imperial princess.

But did she want to be empress?

She had always thought that if she ever married someone it would be out of love not political reason. That's why she had refused one proposal after another when she had been the ward of Camelot.

Did she love Max?

Now that was a complicated question.

And did Max love her?

Well, that was also complicated.

She would've said no to both of the questions a year ago.

But now she knew at least one of the answers.

Max loved her. She had seen it in his eyes.

After proposing, Max had apologised and said,

" I know you hate me but I have fallen for you, Morgana. I'll wait for you and even if you never love me and I have to marry someone else as my duty demands, you'll always be in my heart. "

Morgana didn't know why but those words have incited jelousy in her mind. Thinking that someone else might be with him made her feel angry. Does that mean she was in love too?

That question was not important at this moment. Well, at least not to her. What important was to know why Max liked her. She couldn't understand it. She couldn't even love herself. So, why a prince who had everything in his life, who had every lady of Europa fawning over him chose to fall for her? Not to mention for someone who had tried to murder him on several accounts.

Then, why?

Why did he say he loved her? Was he decieving her just like Merlin had decieved her? She must be careful. She wouldn't be careless to give her heart away just like she had done with Merlin. Her heart was broken once but it woldn't be broken twice.

With all those things in her mind, she rode on her warhorse and galloped towards to the encampment where all the Nemethian refugees and the saxon army were.

The full moon was glowing brightly and it showed her the way towards the right destination.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After two days, the large group of fifteen thousand Nemethian refugees and the remnant of the Nemethian army along with their queen reached Camelot. The Saxon army was also accompanying them. Prince Max wanted to make a stand against the undead army with the rest of the Albion. For he believed if Albion fell, then Saxony would be next. And if the rumours were true, even Morgana didn't want to give the abomination a chance to lay waste to the Holy German Empire like it had done to the kingdom of Franks, like Nemeth.

But no one was sure if they would be successful. For one thing was sure almost half of the southern Albion was already lost. Nemeth had fallen overnight. The Saxon and the Nemethian soldiers were only able to hold them back until the citizens could leave.

Alined and Odin had opened their gates hoping that they would be able to strike an alliance with the leader of the undead and join them in pillaging. But Mithian's spies had brought news that both of the kingdoms had been razed to the ground. And the smokes could be seen from ten leagues away.

Other kingdoms weren't faring well also. Kent had fallen at the same night with Nemeth at the hand of another army of undead. That army was now marching north-eastward. Their target was Tir-Moor and Anglia. At the same time, the army that destroyed Alined and Odin's land were now besieging Gawnt, Queen Elena's kingdom.

Whole of Albion were in panic and these news brought by the Nemethian and Camelotian spies hadn't helped a bit to calm the people. Morgana wondered if this was the end of time. If this would be her end too. She wasn't the pessimestic type but the recent news couldn't help her to be optimistic. All of the southern kingdoms were either besieged or destroyed. Only the kingdoms of Essetir and Camelot were left untouched as if the undeads were leaving the best meal for the last.

The only chance Albion had if magic intervened. Mundane weapons wouldn't be able to kill the undeads and alll of the southerners know it. But the fear for magic was too great in the hearts of the southerners. Morgana didn't know if they would agree to recieve help from the alliance of the magical kingdoms up in north.

Hell! When the Camelotians saw her, they were behaving like they had seen some kind of animal who was only good for burning at the stake. Even Leon, who was regent of the city looked at her like a hunter. If Max and his army hadn't been there and if the people of Albion hadn't been too afraid to invoke the wrath of the empire, Morgana would've been burnt at the stake already.

With that kind of attitude, Morgana didn't know they would have a chance. The only chance they would have against this army of darkness would be if they stood together. But there was no sign of unity among them. Presence of a single known sorceress among the German army had made them hostile.

What would happen if armies of thousand sorcerers came down from the north?

Would the northerners and the southerners stand together or would they start a civil war?

But there was hope. It seemed Arthur wasn't like his father after all. He had swallowed his pride and went north in search of an alliance. Leon had assured that help would come from north.

During their official meeting with Leon, he had said something.

And that something provoked Morgana to open her mouth in front of the court of Camelot for the first time in five years. That something was also said by Mithian but she had forgotten it.

Now, she asked it loud.

" Just how the hell Merlin had become a king? "

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I'm not satisfied with the chapter. It was short and the writing seemed sloppy to me. But I'm too tired to rewrite it again. Hopefully the next chapter will be much better. Have a good day. Be safe and happy reading.

Adios.

- Assassin of Syria.