His Majesty and His Knights

I Decided to Name Merlin's Kingdom Myrddia.

Images flashed.

A little boy with black hair and blue eyes that turned gold.

Two brown haired boys waking up the black haired boy.

The trio running through a forest.

A village.

The two boys fighting bandits. 

One boy passed out and bleeding, the other in a cage.

Morgana opened her eyes with a gasp. She found herself in a bed. She sat up, noticing that she was no longer in her coronation dress, but a silk nightgown. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and a girl peeked her head in.

"Lady Morgana!" She exclaimed. "You're awake."

"Who are you? Where am I? Where is my sister?" Morgana demanded.

"My name is Elizabeth, my lady, but you can call he Eliza if you wish." The girl moved a strand of her long brown hair out of her eyes. Then, she walked over to the closet. "You are in the kingdom of Myrddia. The guards found you and your sister right outside the castle walls. They recognized you and your sister immediately and brought  you here." The girl pulled out a plain, light blue tank-top dress. "Yes, this will do lovely. Here, put this on." 

Morgana took the dress and went behind the screen to change into it. As she did so, Elizabeth continued her explanation.

"Your sister, informed us of you a long time ago. We've been preparing this room for you for months."

Morgana stepped out from behind the screen to see Elizabeth holding a darker blue overdress. She helped Morgana put it on and laced it up in the front. Then, she brought Morgana over to the mirror. The dress was beautiful. The sleeves over the overdress flowed down like a waterfall and the bottom trailed behind her. There was golden embroidery all along the edges. 

"It looks lovely, Eliza," Morgana said.

"Thank you, my lady." Elizabeth curtsied, then led Morgana to a chair in front of a small table with a mirror and motioned for her to sit. Elizabeth began gently brushing Morgana's hair.

"Tell me, how old are you?"

"I am sixteen, my lady." She pulled the front sections of Morgana's hair and pinned it away from her face.

"How long have you been working here?"

"Since I was nine. I was born here, but when Queen Morgause came into rule, my father was imprisoned. After a few years, my mother could no longer support our family, so I got a job in the palace."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize, Lady Morgana." Elizabeth moved in front of Morgana and began applying some light make-up. When she was finished, she stepped back and surveyed her work with a proud smile.

Morgana looked in the mirror. "You've done very well, Elizabeth."

"Thank you, my lady. Would you like to go see your sister? She is resting in her room."

"Yes, please."

Morgana walked side-by-side with Elizabeth down the carpeted hallway. It was so similar to Camelot, yet so different. On the way, they passed many servants and knights who bowed or nodded their head to Morgana.

After a few minutes of walking, they came up to a set of golden double doors with two guards standing in front. "This is the queen's sister, Lady Morgana," Elizabeth told the guards. They bowed and opened the doors to the room. It was easily twice the size of Arthur's. Morgana did not spend much time observing the room, however, as she immediately ran to her sister's side.

"Morgause," she whispered, blinking back tears. Morgana reached for Morgause's hand and held it between two of her own.

"Sister," Morgause breathed, eyes still closed.

"I'm here."

"You have done well. Soon Camelot will be yours." Morgause opened her eyes and turned towards Morgana. "I am proud of you, sister. You saved us."

"I thought you were dead," Morgana cried.

"It will take time, but I will heal. Worry not."

"Who did this to you?"

"It was... that meddling boy. The one who poisoned you."

"Merlin," Morgana growled. She saw Elizabeth, who was cleaning up a few things around the room, stiffen, but payed her no attention. She made a mental note to ask her what she knew. "But how?"

"He used magic."

Morgana gasped. That wasn't possible. "Merlin? You must be mistaken."

"I am not. He is a traitor to our kind and will perish with all else who resist."

Morgana smirked, but it was only half-hearted. "Yes, sister. He will." Her smirk fell and a compassionate look replaced it. "You must be tired. I will leave you to rest for a while, but I will return later," Morgana promised.

"I look forward to it." Morgause closed her eyes and returned to her restful state. Morgana and Elizabeth silently exited the room.

"Where would you like to go, my lady?" Elizabeth asked as soon as the doors closed.

"Let us return to my chambers. I would like to get to know you." Morgana had two reasons for this. The first was that she wanted to know why Elizabeth reacted to Merlin's name. Perhaps she knew him and could provide some answers. The second was that she and Guinevere had been good friends and she missed her companionship and hoped to gain friendship with the girl.

Once they were back in Morgana's chambers, Morgana moved to sit at the head of a small table, then motioned for Elizabeth to sit on the closest chair to the left of her. Elizabeth bowed her head politely and took a seat.

"So, Eliza," Morgana said, with a smile, feeling like her old self, "what do you enjoy doing?"

"I... I like to walk just outside of the castle walls where the grass is soft and green, and there are flowers of every color."

"That sounds lovely. Perhaps I could accompany you sometime?"

"Oh, yes! That would be wonderful, my lady."

"You told me a bit about your parents earlier, but do you have any siblings?"

"Yes , my lady. I have a younger brother. He's an errand boy for the palace. Perhaps we will see him sometime."

"Yes, perhaps." Morgana's expression then turned serious. "Elizabeth, I need you to answer this honestly. Do you know anyone by the name of Merlin?"

Elizabeth bit her lip, thinking. "A long time ago, yes. We were children together, me and Merlin, but one day he disappeared and never returned." (A/N: I am well aware that the proper grammar would be "Merlin and I," but because it is in a dialogue, it's fine. I'm only saying this because I'm a grammar police.)

Morgana nodded. "This Merlin, did he have black hair, blue eyes and overly large ears?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Yes, my lady."

"I'm afraid time has changed him, Elizabeth. He betrayed me. He's a servant at Prince Arthur's side."

"I'm sorry."

"Merlin's actions are not your fault, Eliza. You need not worry."

"Yes, my lady."