Magic in Camelot

The Witch's Quickening

Merlynn woke up in a cold sweat, Mordred's voice ringing in her ears. She sat up in bed and tried to focus on what he was saying and why she could hear it. After a minute or so, it was clear that Mordred was giving instructions to someone who was not her. She felt a spark of magic form inside the castle and was unfamiliar with the signature, so she jumped out of bed, throwing a jacket over her nightgown. She made her way through the castle to the spot where she felt magic and tried to follow after them. When she heard Mordred say Morgana's name, she turned around and headed straight there. Magic flared near her room and she started running through the corridors.

She had the small misfortune of running into Arthur, who grabbed her collar and pushed her up against a nearby wall.

"Merlynn?" Arthur asked, confused. He let go of her collar and she stepped away from the wall. "Sorry."

"I saw them, they were heading down the corridor towards Morgana's chambers, I tried to follow them, but they had magic."

Arthur's eyes went wide and he raced towards Morgana's chambers.

Merlynn wasn't sure why Mordred was leading someone towards Morgana, she wasn't sure if he was bringing someone dangerous or not. After everything, she didn't think he'd ever hurt her, but the Dragon's warning lingered in the back of her mind and she really didn't want to take that risk.

As they made their way down the corridor, Arthur started asking her questions. "Are you sure they were headed this way?"

"Yes, I don't know for sure if they were headed for Morgana or just going down this corridor, but they definitely went this way."

"What were you doing down there?"

"I heard voices in my chambers and thought I should investigate."

"What were they doing all the way up there?"

"I don't know, Arthur, maybe they got lost. When they left, I followed them, that's all I know."

"Alright." Arthur turned back towards the guards that followed him. "You continue down the corridor while I check Morgana's chambers. If they continued on, maybe we can catch up with them." The lead guard nodded and split off from Arthur and Merlynn.

Arthur quietly put his ear against her door, listening. When he couldn't hear anything, he stepped back and kicked open her door, rushing in with his sword drawn.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" Morgana shouted at him.

Arthur stopped and looked around the room. "There's intruders in the castle and they were seen heading this way. I wanted to make sure they hadn't come here."

"Right now, Arthur, the only intruder is you."

"Camelot has been infiltrated, didn't you hear the warning bell?"

"Of course I did. I was hoping I'd be safe in my chambers."

"Well, if you'll permit me to search your room..."

"You'll do no such thing." Morgana shouted at him again. "Do you really think that if there was someone in my room I wouldn't know about it?"

Arthur stared at her for a moment. "Please accept my apologies."

Merlynn glanced at Morgana. 'Are you being threatened?'

Morgana looked back at Merlynn. 'No. It's Mordred and he's come to ask for help.'

Merlynn turned to follow Arthur out of the room. 'Okay. When he needs passage out of Camelot let me know. I'll keep Arthur and the guards out of the way. I trust you, Morgana.'