Worse Than Death

Memoirs of a Kitsune

Note: Anyone who is actually a scholar of Arthurian legend, I crave your indulgence and beg your forgiveness. I am not, I’m only skimming surface knowledge and bouncing ideas off fellow Tumblr user Solitaria-fantasma. Thank you so much by the way!

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            “So what was this Morgause like?” Arthur sipped his mug of cocoa. Mystery had been unable to find any tea in Arthur’s kitchen, and had settled for what was in the cupboard. “What was her thing against King Arthur?"

            Mystery lapped at his cocoa lightly, licking the foam off his lips. He eyed the lone Deadbeat that remained in the room, listening on Lewis’ behalf. “It’s complicated. She was never a very happy woman. She and her two sisters were born to Arthur’s mother and another man. They began magic studies, but were unable to complete them. When their father died, their mother was married to Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur.”

            “So this Morgause is like my great great great times infinity a-aunt? I guess family’s not that important to her.” He paused. “Wait, that makes Vivi like… my cousin, super-removed.”

            Mystery hesitated. “It’s… more complex than that. See, Uther married the three sisters off to help his own alliances. Morgause ended up married to King Lot.” His eyes glowed briefly. “You’ll forgive that I don’t have many kind words for him, he joined the rebellion against King Arthur.” He sighed. “The rebellion that I had planted the seeds for already, and could no longer reverse at that point.”

            Arthur patted Mystery’s shoulder. “That’s b-behind. Continue.”

            Mystery inclined his head and did so. “I was… not available for the particulars of what happened with Arthur the night King Lot was imprisoned. I sensed trouble elsewhere in the castle, and went to stop it. Someone was trying to free King Lot from the dungeons and arm him to kill Arthur. I returned King Lot to the dungeons and imprisoned the mutineer, and when I came back, ah…” He put the tips of his fingers together, as if unsure how to phrase it. “I could… scent… that a woman had been in his bedchambers.” He sighed. “At this point, Arthur heavily suspected his bride, Guinevere, of adultery. He’d taken to sleeping alone, he would often rant to me in the evenings. He felt utterly betrayed on all sides.” Shame crept into his tone. “I was not surprised to find the scent of another woman there, it is human nature to lash out in return for pain. But he made a dreadful mistake. I traced the scent back to the woman, to find out who it was, and it was Morgause.”

            Arthur looked sick. “He…”

            “He had no idea.” Mystery shook his head. “But he sired a child on his half-sister, and the child was Mordred.”

            “I’ve heard of Mordred, I think.” Arthur frowned. “There are so many names in that legend. Why do all the dark names start with ‘Mor-’?”

            Mystery ignored him. “I kept an eye on Mordred, because she was also of Arthur’s line.”

            “WHOAH wait,” Arthur interrupted. “I don’t know a lot about Mordred, but he was definitely a dude!”

            “Arthur, if you knew the sheer number of human females who passed themselves as male in order to do what they were not allowed to do, your histories and legends would look very different.” Mystery lapped a bit more at his cocoa. “Mordred was set on becoming a knight under King Arthur. She had no knowledge of her real father. But her mother’s mind was beginning to splinter, and she fell back on her childhood learning of the dark arts, collecting more knowledge. When Morgause’s husband was killed, she came loose from all her moorings. She began seducing various lovers, including one of Arthur’s best knights. But one of her sons found them out in the act, and beheaded her.”