Elizabeth and the Goddess of Death

Chapter Eight

A council meeting was held shortly after to decide what should be done about the information on Morgana. Elizabeth could barely stand it.

Yes, she missed Morgana. But that was the old Morgana. Why should she get a second chance after all the pain she's caused? Elyan, Launcelot, Gwaine. All dead because of her. Elizabeth decided to vocalize those concerns, causing a mournful silence to come over the crowd.

"I was under that spell myself, and...I was ashamed for so long I'd betrayed Camelot, intentional or not. But yet there was still good in me, you all saw it and risked your lives to make sure that good was brought out. Morgana shouldn't be treated differently." Guinevere says after a few moments.

"Fine. Then how do we capture her?" Elizabeth asks, raising a brow.

"You said she used magic warding cuffs on you, correct? We can use the same on her." Sir Leon suggests.

"Great! How do we make them?" Elizabeth pries, sarcasm dripping off her voice in the first word.

"There has to be something in the library on it." Arthur answers.

"So all of you are for this? Morgana's just gonna waltz back in as though she didn't take so much from us?" Elizabeth asks, anger slowly entering her voice.

"Elizabeth, I know what loss is like, I understand-" Guinevere begins gently.

"No you don't! You don't understand what it's like to be cast out at the age of ten, believing you're a monster for something you can't control and having to take care of yourself. Then finally not being alone, finally finding someone who sees you as who you are. A good person. Just to lose him to someone who took for granted everything you'd longed for. A shelter, a doting father. You don't understand, Guinevere. And I hope you never have to. So go on, save Morgana. But I want no part in it." Elizabeth snaps before storming out.

"I'll talk to her." Arthur says after a few moments, following his sister. Of course he also had questions about that reply. What did she mean cast out? She was kidnapped, wasn't she?

After a few moments he had found her seated on her bed, just numbly staring at the window with a few tears running down her cheeks.

"Elizabeth? Can I come in?" Arthur asks softly.

"Doesn't matter, you'll come in anyway." Elizabeth answers with a shrug.

"You're learning." He replies jokingly, sitting next to her. "What happened back there?" He asks more seriously.

"I'm tired, Arthur. Tired of people who think they know what I'm going through trying to compare their pain to mine. Gwaine was more than just my lover. He taught me how to trust again, how to love. Made me feel like a human, not some evil outcast. He knew of my magic and stayed. He didn't let that deter his feelings for me because he knew me. He knew I was no monster and helped me realize that too. He was my rock, my world." She explains, lip quivering.

"They just want to help you sister, everyone in that room loves you." He points out. There was that word again. Outcast. He made a mental note to get clarification later but now wasn't the time.

"What will help is this tournament. Morgana won't. I meant what I said about not helping you retrieve her, I have to train for this tournament but I can't guarantee I'd help if there wasn't one."

"Elizabeth, we're all going into this tournament with the intent to get Gwaine back. Now you know the old Morgana would be more than willing to assist us. The more of us that enter the tournament, the better the chance Gwaine has. Do it if not for Morgana, then Gwaine." Arthur reasons.

In response, Elizabeth gave nothing but silence while considering Arthur's point.

"Fine, I'll help. So we capture her, we take her to the Cauldron of Arianrhod. She has to enter the water willingly, who can convince her to do so? She hates...believes she hates us all." Elizabeth says after pondering her decision.

"Someone who's never harmed her. Someone she resonates with. Who do we know that's like that?" Arthur asks, knowing who the best candidate is.

"Of course it's me." Elizabeth sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I understand it will be no easy task. I know how much you loved Gwaine, how hard it must be to heal his killer-" Arthur begins.

"And torturer." Elizabeth cuts him off, feeling bitter once again at the mention of that painful day.

"What would Gwaine would do? Would he leave someone innocent, someone traumatized, to suffer with no hope of love or redemption?"

"I don't know, maybe I should ask him. Oh wait."

"We both know what he'd do. What he'd want you to do. We leave at dawn, are you still joining us?"

Once again Elizabeth went silent. It wasn't enough for her to simply capture the witch, but now Arthur thinks she's the only one that can cure her? This quest just kept getting harder for the poor girl yet she knew her brother was right.

"I'll see you at dawn."