Swords & Spells (Book One):The Magic of Emrys

The Witch Hunter (Morgana)

Executed at dawn.

Despite the blindfold, she knew exactly where she was; the stiff prodding of the pyre in her back and the roaring insults of the crowd serving as her reminder. She rolled her shoulders, testing the limited range of movement she was allowed with her hands being constricted from behind. A sharp pain in her upper back told her it wasn't a lot.

"I told you I would see you burn," said a man in front of her. His unrecognizable voice sent a chill down her spine, making her tremble.

She tried to speak up against his accusations, but her surveyors drowned any sound she made out. Instead, she began to wiggle, despite the pain, and pulled against her bonds. She stopped when someone suddenly struck her against her cheek. Blood boiled in her mouth as a hand clamped down on her neck and forced her head back upwards.

The blindfold was roughly snatched off of her face, the guard ripping a few flyaway hairs from her neck along with the cloth. Though the afternoon sun threatened to blind her, she forced herself to glare at the man standing in front of her.

He didn't flinch away from her gaze; in fact, the corner of his mouth twitched up in a half-smile. The man leaned forward on his cane, peering at her with his empty black eyes. He frowned for a moment when she spat her blood at his feet, but regained his composure as he turned to face the crowd.

"I give to you, the witch of Camelot: Emrys!"

A scream burst from Morgana's throat as she sat upright in her bed. Someone called her name and suddenly warm arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders, cradling her face and drawing her into the safety of the comforter's body. As the hands smoothed back the curls on her head, a voice hummed a simple lullaby until Morgana's hyperventilation slowed to soft breathing.

"Morgana, are you alright?"

She recognized the voice as her handmaiden's without looking up. Morgana sniffled and held Emrys close to her, wishing that she could stay forever in Emrys' comforting arms while she let the nightmare dwindle to a mere memory. "Oh, Emrys, I had a terrible, terrible nightmare."

Too late, she realized what she'd said aloud. While Emrys was definitely the person Morgana wanted to be around in that moment, she was also the person she wanted to see her like this the least. She laughed bitterly at fate's sense of humor and pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry, Emrys. It's normally Guinevere who has to deal with me when I'm like this."

"No, no," Emrys said soothingly. "I don't mind at all. Do you want to talk about it, princess? I don't want you to feel like you have to deal with this by yourself."

Morgana smiled and shook her head. Her handmaiden was both strong and sweet, but Emrys couldn't possibly handle the burden of Morgana's nightmares. What was worse, Morgana feared that, though Emrys might not think much of the dreams, someone else would if she spoke of them. Especially since Morgana's nightmares had a strange tendency of actually coming to pass. "I'll be fine, Emrys. You needn't worry about me."

Only a beat passed between them before Emrys said, "It's the witch hunter, isn't it? Reuben said he's supposed to arrive today."

Morgana smile fell at Emrys' mention of Reuben. In the past two weeks, she'd noticed that Reuben had become increasingly obsessed with being around Emrys. Guinevere—ever the gossip—had reported back to Morgana with news from Arthur of the possible attraction between her handmaiden and his manservant. Since then, Morgana had dedicated herself to working with Arthur to keep the two separated.

Morgana was startled by her covetous feelings toward her handmaiden, but not enough to stop what she was doing. But if Emrys caught on, Morgana was sure she'd disapprove. And so, Morgana regained her smile and said, "I'm glad you and Reuben have found time to be with each other."