Arthur stared out over the castle grounds, remembering what happen the day before. His lower leg swung over the wall as he sat on the edge of the wall. He couldn’t believe his father was dying and his own future was uncertain. He watched with a disinterested eye as the villagers slowly filled the roads. Merchants opened their stores and wagons. Kids helped their parents with the morning chores before they would rush off to play. Street rats darted in and out of the crowd before disappearing down alleyways. The noise rose up to meet his ears.
This was something he wouldn’t be able to do soon. In the past, he came up to the second highest tower and sit on the edge, watching the village, eventually becoming lost in his thoughts. He was losing his father. Not to mention, how the Holy Sword worked, he was not for sure how long he would remain royalty. Perhaps in the coming days, he would be forced to leave all what he knew behind and forced to work as a castle guard or something equal to that. Maybe he would be lucky and become a Knight. He let out a sigh. He wished he had more time, but the way his father was looking like and the news that Merlin gave him last night…he would know in less than a week if he will remain a Prince or be forced to figure out how to support his family.
Arthur lend forward, placing his elbows on his knees. He knew his cousin, James Black, would help him out once James was informed of what was going on. It won’t be long before word goes out about the King’s health. James would be heading here to support his Great Aunt Bella and Arthur.
Grandma Clarine could possible head to Aunt Elizabeth’s and stay with her. However, he would have to find out that if his aunt was still alive or not. If something had happened to her, Arthur would personally see that his aunt was avenged.
Kalliope, if she wasn’t forced into marrying the new King, could possible return to her family’s estate and live out her days, peacefully. If his step-mom had to marry the new King, the prince would fight on her behalf. He believed that she should have the freedom to choose her new husband, as the final act of High Queen.
He already received word that few of the Knights already left Camelot when he woke that morning. Only one, Sir Bardock, had claimed it was a family issue that came up and he and his twin sons needed to handle it. The Prince had thought General Genesis did until he spotted the General doing drills his men. Some part of Arthur was glad the General didn’t leave, but he knew if it was a family issue, Genesis would have wanted to go, but that would have left the military shorthanded. The trio of Generals have been petitioning his father for the past few months about getting new generals appointed, but with the developing situation, Arthur knew the trio would have to wait and petition himself or the new King to appoint new Generals.
Arthur swung his leg over the edge of the wall and slowly stood up. He needed to get back down into the castle before someone came looking for him. He thought about what he needed to do: Visit his father, Discuss with the Magi the possibility of him becoming King, and if he didn’t become King, if there was a way to protect the women in the family from being tossed into poverty or in the worst case scenario -- killed. However, he knew Nana Bella would prefer to be killed then tossed into poverty, but Nana Bella, Grandma Vivi, Grandma Clarine, and Kalliope did not deserve either option. However, that all need to wait until after his morning lesson. The royal lessons were the only thing Arthur was certain of, right now. Maybe there was something with in the history books about what was going on.
“Again!” Genesis barked at the squad of castle guards. His eyes were cold as he studied the squad. He remembered the conversation from the night before and knew he had to tough up the castle guards in case the worst did happen - invasion from one of Camelot’s enemies. “Good! Keep it up, guards!”
He watched as a couple of the guards stumbled and turned to those guards before he yelled, “You two!” He pointed a gloved hand at the guards. Their heads snapped up, looking at Genesis as they froze. “Take a break. You are no good to Camelot if you are dead.” The two guards gapped at him. Their eyes widened. Genesis felt his patience snap and he raised an eyebrow as he growled, “What the hell are you waiting for?” The guards jerked back like they were struck and jumped to their feet.
“Thank you for the break, General, sir,” they chorused before they hurried away to a series of nearby benches. Two more guards left the benches, already warmed up for their morning training. Genesis nodded at them as they approached and stated, “Get to work.”
He turned, viewing the rest of the guards. He knew these guards were scheduled for morning training then worked in the afternoon and didn’t have to train again for another week. However, there was no afternoon training for any of the Castle guards or the members of the Military. He needed to talk to the other two Generals about that. They needed to be prepared for the worst. They had to change the training schedules and keep the guards trained.
Merlin stared down at the notes he received early that morning from the Gate Guards. He sighed. He knew Tristan would have left, but he was not expecting Draco, Bardock and his twins would leave as well. They were down three Knights. More thought about leaving. He eyed the potion brewing nearby. He waved his hand and the potion disappeared from his table. It was too late for the potion to work anyway. It pained him to cast away the potion, but there was no way for it to last another 10 years and be effective for the next King. That with the assumption that nothing happen to the next king for him to live the entire 10 years.
Morgana walked through the door of the King’s Chambers and spotted Queen Kalliope fluffing King Uther’s pillow. She smiled, small and softly at the interaction. She remembered how the High Queen and the King meet. Kalliope had come to court in order to find a husband and tried to gain support for her mother’s position as a sole ruler of an estate. However, it was sometime during the late summer, early fall when Prince Uther had returned from the Battlefield and found Kalliope playing with young Arthur. It was not long after that Uther had approached Kalliope, intending to gain her hand in marriage.
Their union had brought a ray of sunshine to the darken atmosphere. Uther managed to stay the castle for a week before he went back to the battlefield.
The Black Mage cleared her throat. She waited until the young Queen turned to her before she walked forward, asking, “How is he doing?”
Kalliope let a sigh out as she looked down at the carpet floor. Sadness colored her face as she looked up, speaking, “Not good, Morgana. He fell asleep late last night and has not woke yet.”
Morgana frowned as she turned her attention to the King. Uther looked peaceful as he rested, but there was a greyness in his complexion. She watched as his chest barely moved the blankets up and down, breathing and before a rattle echoed up from the bed. Morgana’s eyes widened in horror. Another rattle sounded. No. It echoed in the large room. Morgana shook her head as she recognized that breath-like rattle.
“What is that?” Kalliope asked. She had gone pale and her eyes widened in shock, horror as she turned to Morgana.
The Mage spun on her heel, running back to the door. She threw opened the door and saw a group of four guards walking up the hallway. She stopped right in front of them and ordered, “You -” She pointed to the guard on the far right. He jumped in surprise. His eyes went widen. “Go get Merlin. He should be in his study. Tell him it is nearly time and he is needed in the King’s Chambers, now!” He nodded before he spirited down the hall, his armor clambered together, loudly in the hall. Morgana turned to the next guard in line, “You - Find Prince Arthur! Tell him, it is his father!” She waved him to leave. The guard quickly disappeared after the first one. She turned to the third guard, “You - Find the rest of the Queens! Kalliope is already here. Tell them, it is getting close to the end! Get going! We don’t have the time for you to stand around, Guard!” The guard didn’t bother saluting before he ran to the Queen’s Tower where he hoped to find the Queens.
“And You!” She pointed at the last guard; her voice held a threatening note. Eyes widening, he snapped to attention and waited for Morgana’s orders. “Find one of the General and get a total of four groups of guards to seal off this hallway. No one outside the Ruling Family, Merlin, or myself is allowed in this hallway until the order is revoked or gained permission from the people allowed in this hallway. If this order is broke, I will be using the person who broke it as a trust subject. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the guard managed to say before he broke out into a run like the devil himself was on his heels. The door slammed shut behind him.
“General! Sir!” Genesis heard the castle guard yell across the training field and turned to the guard as he approached. His eyes were wild and wide like he had some bad news to tell Genesis. The General secretly hoped it was not bad news, even though his gut tighten at the sight of the running guard. “Sir!”
“Yes, Guard,” Genesis replied as the guard came a stop in front of him, panting hard. Genesis ran an eye over the guard. Was he one of the guards supposed to patrolling the Royal Wing? “Why aren’t you at your post, Guard?”
“Lady Morgana sent me….to inform you….she needs the Royal Corridor….blocked off…immediately, sir,” the guard explained between pants. “Something is wrong with the King.”
Genesis’ mind went through the possibilities and settled on the conversation he and the other general took part in the night before with Merlin. That was the only reason why the Royal Corridor would be off-limits…well, to anyone not a part of the Ruling Family and possible the Magi.
Genesis finally nodded and placed a hand on the guard’s shoulder, “Thank you. Go man the Wall.” He turned to the training guards paused, looking at him, “Training is over. Go to your stations.” He turned to the guards who were waiting their turn at training. “You two -” He pointed at the two closest to him, “Go inform General Bartholomew and General Honor to meet me at the Royal Corridor, immediately. If they ask, tell them it’s about the King.”
They snapped to attention and saluted with a “Yes, Sir,” before they hurried off.
“The rest of you, go man the wall,” Genesis ordered. He walked off at a brisk pace. He didn’t speak to anyone until he reached the Royal Wing. He approached the door to the King Chambers. He paused when he heard running footsteps behind him. He slowly turned half way around and stared up the hallway, waiting to see who would come running down the hall.
Arthur roamed through the halls of the castle. He sighed. He needed to start on his daily rounds as Prince, but he was not feeling up to it. His mind kept drifting back to the fact the Holy Sword chooses the next King. He knew there were somethings that Arthur need to improve on, but hopefully, he will improve on those things when - if, his mind corrected him - he was King.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
However, his musings about the future ended suddenly when a castle guard ran around the corner and straight into him. He stumbled back in shock and the guard fell to the ground with a clatter.
“I’m sorry, my lord,” the guard immediately rose to his feet, “I did not see you there. Have you seen Prince Arthur around, sir? I need to find him!” The guard asked, a panicked tone in his voice.
Arthur immediately knew this guard was one of the incoming guardsmen that managed to pass General Honor’s training program. He raised an eyebrow at the guard and asked, “Why are you looking for the Prince?”
“The Lady Morgana sent me to find him, sir,” the guard explained, “Something about his father.”
Arthur’s heart stopped in his chest. His father? He grabbed the guard by the shoulder, asking, “What about my - the King?”
“I don’t know, sir,” the guard explained, “The Lady didn’t tell me. I just know she came out of the King’s Chambers like a bat out of hell with a panicked expression.”
Something heavy landed in his stomach, drop to the floor. Morgana never acted like that in recent memory. “Thank you, guard, for informing your prince,” he stated before he broke out into a spirit.
Nana Bella’s voice rang through his head, scolding him for running like a buffoon on the castle grounds, ‘Royalty never runs to their destination. They walk.’ He ignored the voice. He didn’t care about how he looked. He needed to get to his father. He noticed two of the Generals joined him in his mad dash across the grounds. He glanced over to them and asked, “So, you two have heard what is going on?”
“Yes, my prince,” General Bartholomew replied, “The Mage Merlin informed us of what was going on last night.”
Arthur nodded as he reached the hallway where the King’s Chamber was located. He spotted the red head general close to the doors leading to his father’s rooms. He brought up an arm and pushed by General Genesis out of his way before he threw open the door to his father’s room. He heard the familiar sound of approaching death. His blood ran cold.
Queen Belladonna stared at the letter in her hands. Her great nephew, James Black, was coming to Camelot. She had written to him a few days ago about a possible visit, but right now, he will be a welcome sight…especially if Arthur couldn’t pull the Holy Sword of the sheath. If James managed to pull the sword out of the sheath and become King, Belladonna will be able to make sure traditions will be upheld and she would have no worry about the future of the throne.
However, a frantic pounding echoed from the door to her rooms. Belladonna jerked up in surprise and saw the door open to reveal Queen Vivien. Belladonna took one glance at the older queen - her face was pale, tears welled up in her wide, wild eyes, and she trembled with suppressed emotion.
“Is it Uther?” Belladonna asked. Vivien nodded as her lower lip wobbled. Belladonna’s heart stopped as she realized what was going on. Uther, her precious grandbaby, was creeping closer to death. She hardened her heart, and she hurried over the space between her table and the door. “Come on, Uther needs us,” She whispered to Vivien.
Arthur stepped into the King Chambers. His eyes ran over the form on the bed as a loud rattling sound echoed. That sound was familiar. Arthur frowned as he stepped, unknowing leading the three Generals into the room. He remembered the first time he had heard that sound. It was an ambush by one of Camelot’s enemies and he only killed his first man, but held one of the dying guards with that same sound that came from his father. He stumbled forward a step before he darted the rest of the way to the bed and fell to the side of it.
Arthur didn’t understand why he couldn’t see straight. Everything appeared to be blurry. He blinked as he reached out for his father’s hand. He slowly became aware of hot trails on his cheeks as he held his father’s hand. It seemed too cool in Arthur’s warm hands. The truth hit him. He was going to lose his father before he was ready to be King. Arthur wanted his old man there as he took the crown, looking at him for once with pride, to be there when Arthur took a wife, and greet Arthur’s children.
“Father, please,” Arthur muttered to the covers, “don’t leave me.” He heard his voice break. “Who else I am supposed to go to for advice when -if- I become King? Please, daddy, don’t leave.” His shoulders shook as he buried his face into the covers.
He felt a hand land on his shoulder. He slowly looked up to see his step-mother, Kalliope, looking down at him with a watery expression. She knelt down beside him.
“I know, Artie,” Kalliope whispered, “I know it hurts, but your father is in more pain.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him to her. She held his head close to her chest. “Allowing him to go…” Her voice cracked with emotion as she tried to get the words out they both knew were hard to say, “Would be…the best…thing for…him.”
Arthur let go of his father’s hand and wrapped his arms around Kalliope, hugging her tight to him as he sobbed. He felt Kalliope running a hand through his hair.
Merlin cursed under his breath as he scanned another page. He had hope to find a clue to figure out a way to cure the King from the curse, but so far, no matter how many books he looked through, he couldn’t find a possible counter curse. He still didn’t know how Rowena did it. He frowned as his eyes drifted up from the book about ancient curses from the Sands of the Pharaohs. He growled under his breath in frustration. He needed Rowena’s notes. He knew she had taken notes over the curse, but when he and Morgana had tried to retrace her steps over the years from the time she had parted from the Kingdom, shortly after Arthur the First withdrew the Sword to Arthur’s Final Stand against her, they didn’t get any where.
He remembered Rowena did have a strong interest in ancient dark and death curses. He lend back in his chair. He never encouraged that interest or discouraged for the plain fact he believed that magic was neutral and it depended on the will of the caster how the spell went.
Maybe Rowena used a spell that original only meant to kill the person it was cast upon, but through her will, it darkened to a curse that lasted through the numerous generations of Kings, killing them every 10 years. It, in a way, counter acted Merlin’s spell of choosing…or his spell counter acted the curse…or something like that, Merlin mused. One would think, after the years he had lived, he should really have a much better understanding of how magic worked overall.
Merlin chewed on his bottom lip, thinking, “Maybe it was her will that change the original spell from a simple killing spell to a generational killing curse….” He trailed off. If he went down that line of thought - Rowena’s will changed the curse, maybe he could find a spell that counter acted the curse.
A loud pounding on his door knocked Merlin out of his train of thought and he jerked in surprise. The book he held in his lap fell to the ground. He looked up at the door and called out, “Come in!” A guard appeared around the edge of the opened door, panting. “Catch your breath, guard.” Merlin commented and scouted the chair out before he bent over to retrieve the book. He glanced at the page. It was about a spell about a counter curse.
“Lord Mage…” the guard panted, “It is the King…”
Merlin tried to sit back up, but a hard pain rippled through the back of his head as he hit his head on the bottom side of the desk. He muttered a ‘ow’ and a curse before he managed to sit up straight. The guard went on, “The Lady Morgana sent me to find you…Something is wrong with the King, my lord.”
Merlin blinked at the guard. He knew that Morgana went to visit the King. However, the rest of what the guard said register in his mind. His thoughts immediately flew to the fact the King was dying from the curse, but to summon him - it meant the curse had progress further then they thought.
“Thank you, guard, you may report to your post,” Merlin waved him off. The Battle mage stood up, the book opened on its spine and didn’t brother grabbing anything as he moved into a run as he left his study. He dashed through the tree grove behind the castle, went through the back door of the kitchens, and made his way to the King’s chambers. He spotted two of the Generals standing guard at the entrance of the Royal Corridor. He slowed to a walk, eying them.
General Honor stepped aside, allowing the mage to pass, and started, “I wish I could say it is good to see you this afternoon.”
“I know,” Merlin said, grimly. “Has the others arrived, yet?”
“You are the last one,” the General replied, “Genesis, Bartholomew, and I perform our last duty to King Uther and will stand guard over the family and the King until he passes.”
Merlin nodded. He reached the door for the King’s Chambers and stepped through. He ran his eyes over the Ruling Family. Arthur laid on the floor beside the King’s bed with Kalliope holding him. Belladonna sat at the writing table where so many Kings before wrote their letters and speeches. The Warrior Queen looked up as he entered and gave him a death glare. Vivien sat at the foot of the bed, tears running down her face while Clarine sobbed into Vivien’s skirts. Uther exhaled the too familiar rattle of death fast approaching. Morgana, on the other hand, sat as far as she could away from the Ruling Family, settling down on the window seat. She stared into the fireplace with somber expression.
It didn’t take a genius like Merlin to know Morgana was reliving her own Arthur’s passing and how it felt during that time. She got this every time. He walked over to Morgana. He knew he would not be welcome with the Ruling Family right now. Belladonna’s death glare informed him of that. He settled down behind the Black Mage, allowing her to lend against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her in comfort.
Morgana knew it was Merlin when he approached and lend forward. He settled down behind her, wrapping an arm around her middle in comfort. She glanced up toward the fire and saw the flames dancing, forming the familiar broke hearted figure with the sad green and flaming red hair. The image of the female was clearer then the other times Morgana had seen her as the vision swept the She-Mage up and carried her away to a near future from the clarity of it.
The female ran through the trees with a wild lost, fearful look in her eyes. She glanced over her shoulder and twisted out of the way as a kunai flew over her shoulder. She sucked in a breath before she spirited onward. Morgana felt her own heart skip a beat as another kunai flew and landed in the female’s bag and wonder why a ninja would attack the female. The Female immediately weaved through the trees. The mage recognized the area the female was in. She was in the far edge of the Dead End Forest.
The Female twisted her head around, obviously seeing a way to get to safety. She leaped over fallen trees or rolled over the fallen trees using her bag as a back brace before she soared to increase the distance between herself and the ninja. Morgana looked ahead as she floated near the female and saw in the first time in 1000 years the Tree Barrier separating the outside world from the World of the United Kingdoms of Camelot. She turned her blue eyes back to the Female as she headed to the barrier, legs pumping in a circle as her arms swung, cutting through the air, her bag bouncing against her lower back, the sound of clattering arrows rattling in their quiver. The Female reached the barrier and disappeared from the outside world as Morgana’s vision faded to black.
However, Morgana’s vision gained color as the Female ran into the World of the United Kingdoms of Camelot and tripped over a rock covered in mud. Lightening flashed, brightening up the Dead End Forest followed by a loud clap of thunder. The Female recovered quickly and darted forward, trying to increase the distance, but a roaring sound echoed through the forest. The female twisted around and her eyes widened as Morgana peered in the same direction to see a wave of muddy water moving its way through the trees. The Female cursed before she changed directions and leaped on a large fallen tree branch before she hurried her way up it, putting one foot in front of the other. She reached the end of the tree branch and jumped as high as she could, grabbing a hold of a low hanging branch and pulled herself up. She swung a leg over it before she moved into a crunch position and twisted around to face the tree and tried to climb higher. The muddy water moved faster then the female thought and slammed into the tree. The tree shook violently as the female held on to the branch she managed to reach. Another wave hit the tree and the female figure fell backwards into the wave, disappearing beneath the muddy current as a bell trolled out the hunting melody of ‘Long Live the King’.
Morgana blinked, rapidly, as the vision faded away. She laid her head against Merlin’s shoulder, starting out the window as questions darted through her mind. In the distance, she saw a storm moving in from the south, pouring rain over the Dead End Forest. She saw the lightening flashing toward the forest. She frowned, thinking. Why did she keep having vision of this female? What did she represent for the future? How did she get involved with a ninja? Why did she crossed the barrier between the Worlds?
Merlin shifted slightly before he asked in a low tone, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Morgana shook her head, slowly. She knew Merlin would try to help her to figure out the puzzle of her visions about the red head woman, but right now, it was not a good time. The Ruling Family needed them to be there for them - to give advice, to give support, and to give their opinions on what direction to take in the coming days. There would be time to figure out the visions meant after the new King was chosen.
Merlin watched silently as the Ruling Family grieved. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his former student, staring out through the window, at the Dead End Forest. Morgana was trapped in a vision of the future. He recognized the signs of the visions.
He remembered it was the reason why her father, Uther the First, had allowed him to stay in Camelot while the laws about limiting magic were being put in place. Morgana was almost driven insane by the visions. He had witness a few of them himself while helping her build the walls to protect her mind from the everyday visions, but allowed the true visions to get through.
Morgana had visions of the Fall of Atlantis; the Crown of Camelot being pass on and on and on with no end in sight; when rain fell and when it didn’t; which kingdom went to war and who will be victorious….it didn’t matter what was going on or the near future… Morgana had a vision about anything and everything.
However, with Merlin’s help, Morgana had built a wall to control her visions and now a true vision would only come to her whenever she gazed deep into a open flame. There were times a true vision broke through the barrier and suck the she-magi into the events of the future without warning.
Morgana finally blinked after nearly ten minutes. He waited a couple more as he ran his gaze over the Ruling Family. Uther was fading faster then they had expected. Merlin didn’t know when Uther started to feel the effects of the curse so he could not say how much longer the family had with the man, but that was until the death rattle started, then Uther’s time was limited to hours instead of days.
Kalliope had Arthur wrapped in an embrace, the image of a calm queen. Arthur’s shoulders shook as he sobbed into her shoulder. On the far side of the bed, Clarine knelt on the stone floor. Her hands covered her face as she let out the heart breaking sobs of a mother. Vivien sat in one of the high back plush chair. She watched Uther’s face, tears slipping down her face. Belladonna sat in a nearby chair, her head bent down, bending over her lap. Merlin didn’t know if the warrior queen was crying or not.
“Do you want to talk about it,” Merlin turned back to Morgana and asked softly. He didn’t pressed her when she shook her head no. He turned back to the room and settled down for a long night, watching over the Ruling Family.