Merlyn's Only Hope

To Kill the King P2

To say that Morgana was pissed would be an understatement. Merlyn had wanted to confront her about Tom's escape, fairly certain that she had something to do with it, but when she'd seen her friend leaving her chambers, tears streaking down her face, she decided to follow her. Morgana had clearly punished herself enough, which meant that it was time for her to turn her anger onto someone else, namely, the king.

He was in his own rooms, reading through a report on some mysterious disappearances in one of the outermost villages, when his ward stormed in, devastatingly beautiful in her blue gown. Merlyn followed her carefully, ducking out of sight just before she got to the doorway. It was probably some kind of treason to eavesdrop the king's relatively private conversations.

"You have blood on your hands, Uther Pendragon, blood that will never wash off!" Morgaba snarled, speaking loud enough for Merlyn to hear from the secret passageway running along the king's quarters. Arthur had mentioned it briefly; it was part of an escape route for the king if the citadel ever fell under attack.

"May I remind you that you're speaking to your king?" Uther sounded angry, but not surprised, likely expecting the conversation.

"May I remind you that a king is wise and just. You are neither. You rule only with the sword." Morgana said coldly, sending a chill up Merlyn's spine. She'd forgotten how the ward's temper, when triggered, could rival, or perhaps surpass, Uther's bitterness.

"You know nothing of what it means to be king. The fate of Camelot rests in my hands. It's my responsibility to protect the people of this land from its enemies." Merlyn could see where Arthur got some of his rubbish from. She'd grown increasingly frustrated with his need to please his father, especially when she could see that he thought Uther wrong. The king was meant to rule with a steady hand, not an iron fist.

"Then the kingdom is doomed. For one by one, you make enemies of us all." Morgana let her voice tremble, her vulnerability a courage Merlin doubted her prince would ever possess.

"You speak treason Morgana."

"Only a madman hears truth and calls it treason." she spat, abandoning any thought of the care she once felt for the king.

"Take care, child, or I'll have you restrained." Uther threatened, anger simmering dangerously in his tone.

"You just try." Morgana sneered. Merlyn heard footsteps, loud clatters, as if her friend had tried to fight, but by the receding shrieking, the servant knew that the ward had been taken away, probably thrown into some dingy cell. She had a split second to choose between going to Arthur, or dealing with the situation herself; she'd been trying to avoid the prince, and quite frankly, wasn't sure if he'd do anything, not, at least straight away. After collecting a few useful items from her chambers and asking a couple of guards rather nicely where the lady was being held, giving them a pitcher of spiked wine for their troubles, she stole a ring of keys from the sleeping guards. She unlocked Morgana's cell, beaming as she found an inconvenienced Morgana sitting behind it.

"Merlyn?" she asked as her friend took another key from the ring and unlocked her shackles. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," the servant smiled sheepishly. "I heard that you were being taken down to the dungeons, so I thought I'd make your stay a little more comfortable."

She handed her friend a couple of blankets, a few books and a candle with some matches. "You might need to hide some of these when the guards come in, but otherwise, you can probably do as you please, around this cell anyway."

"Why can't I leave?" Morgana pouted, leaning back against the wall.

"Because I don't really want the guards outside to get in trouble. Besides, this is meant to be your punishment; Uther will just throw you back in here until you agree with him."