Daylight is Mine to Protect

Morgana

"I'll do it." It's but a whisper because I can't stand the pain saying it has given me. I'm thankful Morgana doesn't make me repeat it.

In an instant, the magic holding me to the ground leaves me. I stumble to my feet. Angor Rot hands me the staff. I hold the staff in my hands. I put it in the center of the patterns.

"Plo ex effr dan Morgana." The words spring to my lips as if I had known what to say my entire life. "Kloka kwema foni xi brusen!"

A green beam of energy springs from the staff and spirals towards Morgana's crystal. I watch with fascination as it peels away at the layers of crystals. Cracks begin to appear in the crystal. Stray rocks lift from the ground. 

"OUR QUEEN IS FREE!" Isha shrieks as the cracks spread. 

The beam of green light stops. The crystal is not yet fully broken. I clutch it, watching the crystal. Had it failed?

Yellow light seeps out of the crystal and more cracks begin to appear. In a flash, Morgana breaks free from her prison, sending us all flying across the room. Stray objects become attracted to the floating Morgana as she rises in yellow light. 

Her golden armor shines with power as she rises to the heavens. Her green eyes open, and she smiles. "The Eternal Night is here!" She begins to laugh. It starts small and grows in size. I step back. Morgana turns to me. "My apprentice--" she floats over to me and picks up the staff. She admires it for a bit before turning back to me. "Thank you for freeing me. At last I shall even the scales."

I stay silent, staring at her. I feel like that little girl again, in awe at the powerful being in front of me. Morgana chuckles.

"Come, I must regain my power." She pushes me forward lightly, and I comply. I am unable to process what is in front of me. Morgana, after all these years, is free.

As Morgana passes them, Isha and Angor Rot go to their knees. As does Liazare by the door. I keep walking forward as if in a trance. 

Before us, Troll Market is laid out in a dizzying splendor of colors. As Morgana leaves the Heartstone, trolls turn to look at her. Gasps as they realize who she is.

"Trolls!" she shouts. "I have come to bring the Eternal Night! Kneel or be fuel for my ever growing power!"

"We will never kneel to you!" I hear one troll yell.

She shrugs. "So be it." She begins chanting. "Dwo Krost dan otzulak aka emp el-kloka emp bruzi!" Like a storm of bullets, yellow lights fling from her hands and strike the trolls below. Each one that is hit falls to the ground as a stone corpse. I watch in horror as the massacre happens. The worse part, the only emotion I feel is guilt: I don't feel sadness for their deaths. 

I dig my nails into my skin as I stand by the god I had released into the world. This is my doing. All these trolls gone because of me.

Those smart enough to kneel are saved by the deadly lights. Those courageous enough to stand defiant become scattered across the floor. Soon, all that are left are a few cowardly trolls, kneeling on the ground.

When she is done, Morgana smiles. "Those of you left, gather the ashes. The Eternal Night shall come!"

"You killed them." I turn to see Angor Rot looking a little shocked. Isha and Liazare only smile.

"The sacrifice of a few will bring the salvation of many, my champion," Morgana responds. She looks over to me. I am numb. "Escort my apprentice to somewhere she cannot escape until she comes to her senses," she tells Isha and Liazare.

"What do you even need me for?" I growl. "You've already used me to free you."

"Oh, my dear apprentice." Morgana puts a hand on my cheek. I flinch away. "I wasn't lying when I told you you were the only human worth saving from the Eternal Night. Why would I get rid of you now after everything we've been through?"

Some twisted sense of pride enters me at the thought that she still wants me alive. I push it down and lock it away inside me. "You're just like Merlin. You only care about yourself."

"I care about you, dear. You'll see soon enough." 

Isha and Liazare bring me to a place of hanging cages. They lock me in one. "You should be overjoyed," Isha tells me. "Queenie has left you alive and has risen to begin the Eternal Night! We are witnessing history!"

"I'd rather history stay out of it," I remark.

Isha shakes her head, tsking. "Those humans really did a number on you."

"The only one who 'did a number on me' was Morgana," I hiss.

Isha smirks. "Keep telling yourself that." And she leaves.

I am left alone with my thoughts. Now, no distractions can stop them from creeping into my mind, whispering treacherous words. 

I stand up. I can't deal with the silence right now. Not after what I just did. I summon Moonlight and smash it against the cage walls, hoping they are weaker than they appear. They're not. I can't even get my full force behind the swing since my hands are still tied. 

I growl in frustration and shove my weight against the cage. All it succeeds in doing is making my shoulder ache. I pant through my fury, putting my heating up head against the cold metal of the cage. It actually helps calm me quite a bit. 

I try to logic my way out of the situation. A thousand different scenarios rush through my mind, but the majority of them rely on me knowing a skill I don't actually have: lockpicking.

The only ideas I have not including that involve Isha or Liazare coming back into the room. Heck, even if Angor Rot came into the room, I might be able to persuade him to let me go. He had seemed shocked by the death Morgana had brought to Troll Market.

After pacing around the length of my cell-- it's larger than I thought considering it's made for trolls-- I resign myself to waiting for something to go in my favor. It's frustrating that I can't do anything to stop the Eternal Night. I just hope the Trollhunter and his friends have got it handled.