Was it Worth It?

12. It Was Worth It

Sorry for the long wait, I'm a perfectionist and I needed this to be as good as I could make it. I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this story, I know I've enjoyed writing it. Thank you all so much for your support, and stay tuned for the final Authors Note. (Sorry this chapter is quite longer than I expected) ~Alexander

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The letter arrived back early the next day, and sure enough at the bottom of the page was the name Morgana written in a fancy script, the ink remained black. Arthur quickly rounded up the knights from the training yard and fetched Merlin from the armory, informing them that the time has come. Merlin looked over the letter one last time, to ensure that there were no hijinks at play, before loading up their horses and setting off for the meeting grounds.

It took them almost the entire day to get to where they were supposed to be, and there appeared to be no one there. Unsure of what to do Merlin set up a magic shield so that if someone stepped within a one mile radius of them he would know about it.

It was about an hour into Gwaine's fireside tavern stories when Merlin noticed someone stepping into the one mile radius. He immediately shushed Gwaine and looked around, trying to locate the perpetrator. Arthur was about to ask what he was doing when a twig snapped to the left of their fire. The king and his knights silently stood up and grabbed the hilts of their swords, Merlin readied himself for what was about to come.

Sending a wary look towards Merlin, Arthur called out into the darkness, "Reveal yourself!"

Slowly, Morgana stepped out of the cover of the trees into the clearing, she was followed by five burly men, three of which were carrying swords. The knights unsheathed their swords but did not advance, they were waiting to see what would happen.

"Hello brother, it's nice to see you." The witch said, smiling pleasantly. If he didn't know better he might've believed she meant it.

"Morgana." He gave a curt nod back to her, not once breaking eye contact. The air was suffocating as each side waited for the other to make the first move. Finally, one of Morgana's men flicked his wrist and a wave of energy came flying at Arthur and his men. Merlin quickly stepped in front of it and shoved it back with a push of his arms. The knights ran forward, attacking the men carrying swords, assuming that they didn't have any magic. Arthur stayed by Merlin's side, not wanting to risk leaving him alone.

Merlin focused on taking care of Morgana, making sure that she remained focused on him the whole time. It was harder to distract the other two sorcerers, but he managed to do it, taking up an ample amount of his energy. The knights had killed two of the three swordsmen, Elyan was dealing with the last one when he got hit in the head with the handle of his opponents sword. The knights quickly rushed over and stabbed the man before turning to Elyan's aid. Merlin could see the confliction written in Arthur's eyes.

"Arthur, go, I'll be fine." The warlock said between spells. Arthur nodded silently and ran to his knights, Merlin giving him cover.

The warlock had already killed off one of the sorcerers guarding Morgana, leaving her with only one man left besides herself. Merlin shot a lightning bolt at her follower, hitting him square in the chest. Enraged, Morgana screeched and thrusted her arms forward, sending a fireball straight towards him. He effortlessly dispelled it and walked towards her. One he got ten feet away he raised his hands and formed another lightning bolt, Morgana quickly followed in his footsteps creating a flaming bolt of energy, they released them at the same time, golden eyes staring daggers at the other. They fell at the same time.

Elyan had finally woken up with only a minor concussion and a bruise when they heard it. Turning towards the source of the noise they first saw Morgana lying dead in a pile of leaves, her empty eyes staring up at the night sky. They gathered around her, too astonished that she was finally dead to be paying attention to their missing friend. Arthur looked down at his sister, letting a tear roll down his cheek. For the first time in years she looked peaceful. The kings eyes were drawn to Gwaine turning furiously, trying to locate something.