Chapter 2: The Witch's Plot
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THE CASTLE, NIGHTFALL
After hours of searching outside the castle city for the witch, Lancelot and the knights return to the city, exhausted and empty handed. Frustrated, he heads for the throne room where he has to report to his king and the other knights of the round table that the witch has escaped. When he entered, Sonic, dressed in his golden armor and red cape (From the game) was sitting on the thrown looking bored while Gwaine, Perceval, Lamorak (1) and Galahad (2), were surrounding him, waiting for their fellow Knight's return.
Sonic: *Perks up and jumped off his throne to run at Lancelot's side, smiling* Lance, *Slaps his hand on Lancelot's back hard, making him huff in surprise and jerk forward a bit* Welcome back buddy, did you find Miriam?
Lancelot:*Regains his composure before facing his king with a frown* Alas no my Lord, we looked everywhere, but she escaped, i'm truly sorry.
Gwaine: *Growls Angrily* Damn it, how could you have left the witch get away Lancelot.
Percival: Indeed, with her on the loose again she could be plotting another scheme to assassinate the king.
Lancelot: *Looks down in shame...*
Galahad: *...Faces the knights with a frown* With all do respect Sir Gwaine, Lady Percival, my father did the best that he could, it was not his fault the witch Miriam turned out to be a traitor to the crown and used some kind of magic to get away.
Sonic: Galahad's right guys, cut the poor guy some slack will ya.
Both knights now lowered their heads in shame, knowing Galahad and their king was correct and apologized to Lancelot for blaming the witch's escape on him.
Lancelot: *Shakes his head* No, you are not wrong, she escaped her cell on my watch, i was ordered to recapture her, i failed on both accounts.
Galahad: *Looks sadly at at him* Father...
Sonic: *Stops Galahad with a hand gesture* It doesn't matter who's fault it is guys, she's escaped and there's nothing we can do about it but stay on are guard and hope that she'll never come back here. *Yawns* Not lets all go to bed, Lamorak and i need to get up early tomorrow for my first archery lesson.
Lamorak: After you my king.
And so everyone left the throne room for their respective chambers for the night. Galahad wished has father a good night before walking away to his own chambers and Lancelot entered his to be greeted by his beloved wife, The lady Elaine of Corbenic (3), which never failed to put a smile on his face, no matter how bad his day was. After a bath and changing into their night garments, the couple climbed into bed and were getting comfortable, when Elaine noticed her husband's still troubled look.
Elaine: *Puts her hand on his shoulder* My love, are you alright? Is the witch's escape still weighting on your mind?
Lancelot: *Looks at his wife with a small smile while gently grabing the hand on his shoulder* No my dear, its just... Oh never mind, its nothing.
Elaine: *Frowns a little* You shouldn't try to lie to me dear husband, you know me to well to believe i would buy it.
Lancelot sigh, knowing she was right. It always amazed him how Elaine could see right through his every lies, its almost like she possesses some kind of Clairvoyance that lets her know if he is lying to her. He even once asked if she had such power, her only answer was melodious laughter and a kiss on his cheek.
Lancelot: Earlier today, when the Knights and i were pursuing the witch Miriam, i crossed someone on the street. An Elven woman, probably Hyrulean judging by her clothes. I saw her very briefly, but she had several features that reminded me of... The Lady Morgan.
Elaine: *Eyes Widen* King Uther's Daughter? Are you sure?
Lancelot: Like i said, i only saw her briefly, in passing, and a few details were not quit right, but she had the same eyes and facial structure, and the way she was holding herself, posture straight and proud like royalty... Even a decade later i would recognized it as hers.
Elaine: You seem quit sure that it is her, but why would it trouble you so? I would think you'd be happy to learn she was alive and well.
Lancelot: A part of me is, but wishes she was alive and well elsewhere. If somewhere were to discover she was back in Camelot, she'll be arrested, and maybe executed for attempting a coup against the former king Arthur.
Elaine: King Sonic wouldn't arrest her for something that happened long before he took over, it doesn't concern him.
Lancelot: He might not, but the other knights would. She still tried to have a legitimately anointed king dethroned and take over the throne for herself, and if she's truly here she might try to again.
Elaine: Well the throne is hers by right of blood...
Lancelot: Which doesn't matter back then or today, Uther's Tyrannical reign forever tainted the Pendragon legacy, no one will ever want a Pendragon back on the throne, even if Morgan was nothing like her father. And even if the people didn't harbor such a grudge against the family, who do you think they would prefer as their ruler: A princess who failed to reclaim her throne and was forced into exile who knows where, or the hero who took down another Tyrannical king and has done more for are people in his 2 short years of reign than either kings before him in decades.
Elaine had to admit he was right, still before he decides what to do, he should try to locate the Hyrulean woman and confirm her identity. If it is in fact Lady Morgan in some sort of disguise, they can then try and talk her into leaving Camelot without a fuss, or report her to the King and knights if that fails. If it is not Morgan but someone that just looks like her, we will leave her be, and maybe make a friend of her in the future. Lancelot agreed, hoping that when he does find the woman again she will turn out not being Morgan as he lied down with his wife and fell asleep.
MEANWHILE, IN THE WOODS AT A GOOD DISTANCE FROM CAMELOT...
A traveling group of performers, hired by the court to entertain at the King's Birthday banquet, were making camp for the night, some were having dinner close by the fire and keeping in eye out for wield beasts and bandits while some were already asleep in their tents. But in one of them, a female monarch butterfly dressed in a dark nightgown was brushing her hair while humming a song, when she heard a strange noise outside that startled her.
Bathsheba: Hello? Who's there? *Frowns a little in anger now* Joshua i swear if this is one of your dumb pranks...
Mobian Husky: *Heard her calls and enters the tent* Joshua is in bed Miss Bathsheba, it was probably just an animal roaming the bushes.
Bathsheba: *Sighs in annoyed relief* Good to hear. Are we still far from Camelot?
Mobian Husky: We should be arriving in the afternoon, early evening at the very least, you should have plenty of time to prepare for your performance.
Bathsheba: *Smiles* That's good. Goodnight Harold.
Harold: Goodnight miss, if you need help with anything, i'll be by the campfire with the others.
Bathsheba nodded before Harold left. But as he was walking back to the campfire, he heard another noise in the bushes near the tents, louder this time. Fearing it might be a wolf or a bandit hiding nearby, he took out a knife from his belt and carefully went to investigate.
Harold: *Looks at the dark bushes* Who's there?
He got no response, he called out again, ordering who or whatever was out there to come out or face the tip of his blade, but again he got no response. Meanwhile, someone dressed in black from head to toe sneaked passed with him, or anyone else being none the wiser to its presence.
BACK IN BATHSHEBA'S TENT
The young maiden was washing her face before going to bed. Suddenly, another noise, one that sounds like a twig breaking under someone's foot, startled her into looking behind her to see someone's shadow walking by her tent to the entrance.
Bathsheba: *Walks to the entrance slowly* Harold? Is that you?
But instead of her friend Harold, the figure dressed in black stepped in. Both of them stared at each other for a while, Bathsheba in silent fear, before the figure pulled down its hood to reveal a female black and white Callico cat with shaggy hair and Heterochromic eyes, one black and one green. The face of Miriam, the treacherous maidservant and witch who tried to kill the king and failed once, but with this new plan she will not fail again, that's a promise.
Miriam: *Chants in a strange language under her breath while revealing a poppet and a knife, and stabbed the straw doll in the throat*
Bathsheba: *Gasps in great pain*
Miriam stabbed the doll repeatedly, until Bathsheba lets out one final pained gasp and drops on the floor, dead. She stared at the corpse with cold indifference for a few seconds before bending down and carelessly plucks a hair off her head, then went to sit down in front of the Maiden's mirror and took out a vial of clear liquid from under her robes, uncorks it and adds the hair while chanting more of that strange language, changing the liquid's color from clear to orange.
She took the vial and guzzled down the whole thing, then looked at herself in the mirror. Slowly but surely, her facial features changed, looking more like the woman she just killed. Her hair became straight and all black, antennas were coming out of her head and a pair of Monarch wings were growing from her back. Miriam has become Bathsheba.
Miriam/Bathsheba: *Smirks at her reflection while playing with her new hair* 'There, the perfect disguise' *Waves her hand at the mirror, and an images of Sonic appears in the reflection* 'This time, i will kill you, your majesty'.
To be continued
Sorry if this Chapter is shorter than the first, i just thought its the perfect place to end it here.
(1 & 2): For those who are not familiar with the ''Sonic and the Black Knight'' lore or just Character list, Lamorak and Galahad are the Camelot dopplegangers of Jet the Hawk and Silver the hedgehog respectively.
(3): Lady Elaine of Corbenic is the Camelot Doppleganger of Maria Robotnik, Shadow's ''First Love'', i've always thought they made a sweet couple. If anyone has a problem with human/mobian interspecies couples, stop reading this fic now.