Warriors of Camelot

Chapter 8: Trouble In Camelot

Light!

Morgana stirred slightly and groaned.  In falling backwards, she'd whacked her head on the floor and  pain was still surging through her head. As a result, It took a few minutes for Morgana to gather her bearings. 

Still feeling rather disorientated, Morgana heaved herself into a seated position, shielding her eyes from the glare. Once she'd fully come round, she realised that sunlight was blazing in through her window. 

   Then she found herself blinking in surprise. 

As if by magic, the storm had blown itself out. 

For a moment, all that Morgana could do was stare. As she watched,  a beam of light danced in   through her window, illuminating her bedside table like a spotlight. 

Morgana followed it with her eyes. Then, with a loud gasp, she leapt to her feet. 

Was she imagining it, or was her bedside mirror...glowing? 

Yes! It was illuminated in the  sunlight like a gold piece. 

 Morgana found herself stumbling over her long skirts as she staggered over to her dressing table. Here, her face was bathed in what could only be described as a magical radiance- and there, lying directly beneath the mirror, was a beautiful, long, golden feather. 

Morgana reached out a shaking hand to pick it up. She cupped the feather in her hands and  stroked her fingers gently over it, enjoying  the unusual texture. How it got there, she couldn't say. After all, she'd only been at her dressing table- was it- moments ago and who else would have been in her room between now and then?

Voices. Angry voices from outside her chambers brought Morgana back to the present moment. Only then did she remember what she'd been doing before the storm had knocked her out. Making up her mind, she slipped the feather into a handy pocket and headed for the door. 

A knock  at  the door stopped Morgana in her tracks. 

Though initially stunned, she successfully concealed her emotions. "Who is it?" she called  with confidence and clarity. 

Morgana was answered by a very familiar voice. "My lady?"

Seconds later, the door slid back, revealing the face of a young girl with brown curls. 

"Gwen!"

Relief rushed through Morgana's voice like a soft breeze. Moments later, mistress and maidservant embraced. 

"Thank goodness you're all right!" Morgana exclaimed. "I saw the storm and I thought that you might need help," she added hastily as they broke away. 

"I'm fine," Gwen replied brightly. "I took shelter in a nearby cottage until it had passed." 

Morgana returned Gwen's sweet smile, but her happiness was short-lived. Only seconds later, a  great rumpus from right outside the chambers shattered the peace.

Shock hit Morgana just as though she'd been stabbed. Instinctively, Gwen moved protectively over to her mistress, but with a few steady breaths, Morgana managed to calm her own frantic heart. 

Having regained her composure , Morgana turned back to her maid. 

"See who it is, Gwen."

Nodding obediently in reply, Gwen gently pushed the door open and peered cautiously around the corner. Almost immediately, she found herself narrowly miss being knocked over by a large group of guards  as they marched past.  Gwen didn't think much of this, until she spotted two more guards further down the corridor who were heading in the same direction .