The Royal Scandal *Book One*

Scares in the Dark S1 E12

I'm not sure how long Morgana and I had been down here, but it felt like at least a few hours. The room down here was beginning to get cold and the sun was sinking below the horizon line.  The only thing that either of us could keep ourselves warm with was the thin cloaks we had both stupidly decided to wear.

"What's the longest he has left you in here for?" Morgana muttered sleepily.

"Just over a week," I replied, just as tired.

We fell back into silence and curled up on the floor to try and sleep.

"Are there really rats down here?" Morgana asked nervously.

"Yeah, but they won't come near you," I assured her.

"How can you be so sure?" Morgana replied.

"I can't, but they've never come near me in my three previous times down here," I muttered.

With those last words, I dozed off into a sleep that I wish I hadn't.

I was running through the woods and trying to get back to the castle. My hair was sticking up all over the place and I could feel the blood rushing to my face. My dress was ripped in several different places as I tried to get away from whoever was chasing me. Despite the stitch I had in my side and the ache in my legs, I kept on running.

The castle lights shone just ahead of me, I could make it. I was going to make it. No I wasn't. My right foot got caught in a rabbit hole and I felt it twist awkwardly. Carefully, I pulled it out and saw it was pointing at a strange angle; the sight of it making me feel nauseated. I could now only limp away, closer and closer to the castle.

After a few steps a pair of hands pushed into my back and caused me to fall to the ground, hitting my head on a branch in the process. Specks of blood began to cloud my eyes as I felt my consciousness slowly slip away. Despite this, I could still see the figure of the person who was after me.

Strangely it was a woman, not a man. She had dark hair and looked oddly familiar. The woman bent in closer and I could now see clearly who it was: Morgana. I thought that maybe she would help me up so I moved closer to her.

"Morgana, please," I whispered.

"You really are a fool, aren't you?" She laughed, pushing me back down.

"What?" I gasped out.

"You took everything from me and now you're going to pay for that with your life," She smirked, just as I felt more pain in my side.

I cautiously looked down and saw a dagger sticking into my stomach.

"You don't have to do this," I begged.

"Oh, but I do," She smiled sweetly. "Imagine how Prince Arthur and your darling Merlin will react to this. Let's be honest though, it will be a relief to Uther to hear that you're dead. Maybe if I told him it was me, he'll reward me," Morgana plotted.

"No," I whispered.

"Yes," Morgana countered, bending down next to me.

She then dug the dagger further into me, laughing the whole time.

"Now who shall I kill next? I know, how about you choose. Merlin or Arthur? Boyfriend or Brother? " Morgana asked.

"Leave them alone," I muttered.

"I wish I could but I don't want to. You all must pay for what you've done to me," Morgana snarled.

I then heard Arthur calling my name out in the distance.