A/N
Ok, so if you remember in the first book (as I wrote it when I hadn't watched season two yet), I wrote that Arthur and Chelsea's mother died when they were small children but I know now that in canon she actually died when they were babes. I won't change what I've written before and instead I will just continue it on as though they have a few memories of her but they don't really remember. Also, to clear something else up.
As you know, Ygraine died so that Arthur could live in the show. In this case, as Uther used magic so he could have an heir, though the character will probably be irrelevant, I have decided that Ygraine had a sister (who doesn't exist in the show) and wanting a daughter to marry off to another kingdom to strengthen Camelot, Uther sacrificed the sister's life as well. Then rather than dying straight away like in the show, Ygraine and the sister would have been weakened and fallen ill after their births but Gaius was able to treat them for a few years before he no longer could.
I hope that makes sense. So back to the story...
As the sun began to set around us, we found a small hidden clearing that was covered over the top by many trees. There was no point trying to continue through the night as we wouldn't be able to see a thing even with Cinnamon leading the way. And anyway, if we were going to be ambushed again, it would be in the dark, I wouldn't put it past Odin to have men surrounding his forests at every hour of the day and night.
So while Merlin tended to the horses, and Arthur collected some firewood, I went down to a nearby river and got up some water. I'd managed to carry down a few jugs that we had brought with us, not thinking about how I was gonna get them back up to our camp without spilling the water.
In the end, I attempted to slowly walk back up the hill, holding a jug in each hand, balancing the other two in the creases of my arms. There were several times when I had to stop and take a breather before pushing onwards to get back to the others. After a while, I found a roaring fire with Merlin and Arthur sitting around it, cooking some of the food we'd brought with them.
As I approached them, I stepped on a twig, getting their attention, though Arthur had instinctively held up his sword in my direction.
"Just me," I panted, walking even closer to the fire.
Seeing how I was struggling, Merlin got to his feet and came over to me, taking a couple of the jugs.
"Thanks," I gave him a smile as a large weight was lifted off my arms.
"What took you so long?" Arthur asked, prodding the fire.
"What do you mean 'what took you so long'? Need I remind you that I only have two hands and I just had to carry four jugs filled with water up a steep hill," I said, placing the jugs down on the ground.
"Wasn't that far," Arthur countered.
"It was far enough," I replied, falling into a patch of moss on the ground.
As I laid back onto the ground, leaning up on my elbows, staring into the fire, I noticed Arthur take an arrow from my quiver and start picking at it but I didn't have the energy to tell him to stop.
"What was your mother like?" Merlin suddenly asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over us.
"I don't remember really," I answered. "I have a few memories of her but they're just so vague and I don't think we ever really got to know her."
"From what I've heard from Gaius she was like you, Chels. But you're lucky, I remember nothing of her, no memories, nothing," Arthur muttered.
"I'm sorry," Merlin said sadly, subtly grabbing onto my hand that was out of Arthur's sight.
"We barely know anything about her," Arthur said.
"Can't you ask your father?" Merlin asked, rubbing circles into the back of my hand with his thumb.
"He refuses to talk of her," I answered.
"Must be too painful for him," Arthur added.
"Sometimes it's as if she never even existed," I told Merlin with a sad smile. "But we still have a sense of her, almost as though she's a part of us."
"That's the same with my father," Merlin said, making me look up at him. He'd never spoken of his father before. "I never knew him. And my mother's barely spoken of him. I've got this vague memory." Even Arthur was watching Merlin with a look of sympathy as Merlin gave a sad chuckle. "It's probably just my imagination."
"I'm sorry about you father," I said, giving Merlin's hand a tight squeeze, to which he responded with a small smile.
"I'd do anything for even the vaguest memory," Arthur continued.
"Is that why you're so determined to find Morgause? To see what she knows about your mother?" Merlin asked.
"Is that so wrong?" Arthur muttered.
"No," Merlin shook his head, making Arthur look away from the fire and back at Merlin.
"We should all get some rest," Arthur said, getting to his feet.
And just like that, as his wall was being broken down, it was rebuilt and he was once again, he shut himself off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, as soon as the sun began to rise, we all grabbed our things and continued our journey to wherever Morgause was. As we had done before, we just followed Cinnamon's directions until we reached a large lake with a beautiful waterfall on the other side.
"Seems your horse has brought us to a dead end," Arthur commented.
As he said that, Cinnamon set off again in the direction of the lake.
"Now where's she going?" I muttered.
By now Cinnamon had reached the end of the lake and showed no signs of stopping.
"I think you're going to get wet," Merlin said, making me turn and glare at him as Cinnamon continued walking into the water.
"You don't say," I replied sarcastically, my feet and ankles now covered by the surface of the lake.
I couldn't hear the others following but that could have been because of all the noise the water around me was making. Cinnamon now had her head raised above the water as my waist was submerged in the water.
"Fantastic," I groaned.
Cinnamon continued contently trotting through the water until we reached the other side. Just as I was about to sigh in relief that I could now dry off, Cinnamon decided it would be a good idea to walk under the waterfall to get to the other side.
"Are you kidding me?!" I exclaimed, as I got covered in water.
My hair was now stuck to either side of my face and all my clothes were now sticking to my skin tightly. I probably looked a right mess.
But my attention was then grabbed by the large castle in front of me. Half of it seemed abandoned and destroyed so it was definitely the place we were looking for. I continued to stare at it as two more pairs of hooves trotted up beside me.
"I think your hair's a bit wet," Arthur commented.
"You two really are on top form today, aren't you?" I replied, still not looking over at him.
"Where are we?" Merlin asked.
"I don't know," Arthur answered this time before we began trotting around the castle to the side.
"If we weren't sure Morgause was a sorcerer before, we can be certain of it now," Merlin said, making me share a glance with him.
"That must have been how she defeated me. She was using magic," Arthur said, but I couldn't help the small scoff that escaped my lips.
"Mm, it didn't look like she was using magic, did it, Merlin?" I asked.
"Oh, no definitely not," Merlin agreed.
"And what would you two know about magic?" Arthur asked, turning to look at us.
"Nothing," Merlin replied, sending me a smile when Arthur had turned away.
By now we'd found some sort of side entrance to the castle so we all got off our horses and followed Arthur into the entrance. Arthur took out his sword while I grabbed onto my bow, just as a precaution.
When we walked into the entrance, I was surprised to see it was an open rom and hand no roof so the morning sun was still shinning down on us. In the centre of the area, a tree stump was stood there, a sharpened axe stuck in the middle of it.
"What do we do next?" Arthur pondered.
"I don't know. Maybe we should ask Chelsea's horse," Merlin shrugged, making me laugh, though we all quickly fell back into a tense silence.
Considering how tense everyone was, I decided to put my bow away and go over to the stump and take out the axe, holding it firmly in my hands.
"I, Princess Chelsea of Camelot, find you, Prince Arthur of Camelot, guilty of being a clotpole. Your punishment, death by beheading," I announced, making Arthur roll his eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for? Head on the block."
"Chelsea..." Arthur groaned.
"Excuse you, that is Princess Chelsea to you," I mocked with a smirk.
"You kept your promise," a familiar voice said from behind us, making me jump and drop the axe, missing my toes by a couple of inches.
I picked up the axe before I turned back around and saw Morgause walking down a small set of stairs, coming towards us. She was wearing a beautiful red dress that had one of its arms made of lace and sequins and the other had a red ribbon wrapped around it. Her hair was now neatly pinned behind back and also had a few sequins tied into it.
"What is the nature of the challenged you wish to set me?" Arthur asked, as Morgause stopped in front of him.
"Place your head on the block," Morgause instructed, making Arthur look over at me in wide eyes as I held onto the axe. "You gave me your word that you would do anything I asked."
"Arthur, don't," I said.
With a few seconds of hesitation, Arthur got onto his knees and rested his neck on the block. Morgause then walked over to me.
"You know what to do next," Morgause said to me.
"I am not going to kill my brother," I told her straight away.
"You gave me your word," Morgause replied.
"Chels, just do it," Arthur said.
"No!" I fought back. "I gave you my word that I would get Arthur here no matter what it took, not my word that I would do what you said."
Morgause paused for a moment before she smiled and took the axe from my hands. I went to grab it back from her but her magic was a lot stronger than mine so she easily pushed me back against a wall, pushing the axe against my own throat.
"Kill your brother or I will kill you right here and now," Morgause threatened.
"No!" Merlin and Arthur exclaimed at the same time, but she pushed Merlin back and turned her head to look at Arthur.
"Stay there," She warned before turning back to me. "So, are you going to do it?"
"You'll have to kill me first," I told her firmly, flinching as she pressed the axe deeper against my throat.
"Oh, I will kill you, my dear. But first..." Morgause trailed off, letting go of me and walking over to Arthur.
She raised the axe, giving the impression that she was going to kill him but before she reached his neck, she retracked her arm and put down the axe.
"You have shown that you are truly a man of your word, Arthur Pendragon," Morgause commented, as Arthur got to his feet. "Your sister shows great loyalty to you. I respect that." Merlin had rushed over to me and helped me back onto my feet as I rubbed my throat where the axe had been. "I'm sorry if I caused any damage to you, Princess. But for your loyalty and seeing as your brother kept his word, I will grant you both one wish. Tell me what it is that your heart most desires."
"You said you knew our mother," Arthur said, approaching Morgause. "Tell us all that you know about her."
"Perhaps you would like to see her," Morgause countered, making Arthur look over at me.
"I want that more than anything," Arthur replied.
"As you wish," Morgause said.
Arthur immediately followed after and after a moment of hesitation, I followed too, Merlin not far behind me.
Morgause led us into a smaller room that was covered from top to bottom in vines and crumbling bricks. In the centre, she began lighting a circle of candles.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Merlin asked me and Arthur.
"If you were granted the same opportunity, would you not want to meet your father?" Arthur asked.
"Uther won't forgive you if he finds out you've collaborated with a sorcerer," Merlin insisted.
"What if my father's attitude toward magic is wrong?" Arthur asked, making Merlin and I both quickly look over at him.
"You really think that?" I asked.
"I know that's what you believe so perhaps it's not as simple as he would have us believe," Arthur replied. "Morgause is a sorcerer. She has caused us no proper harm. Surely not everyone who practices magic can be evil."
"We don't actually know why she's doing this," Merlin reminded us.
"It is time," Morgause said to us.
She then held out a hand for Arthur and me to take. But the thought of seeing my mother again made my heart practically beat out of my chest so Arthur grabbed onto my hand before leading us over to Morgause.
"Close your eyes," Morgause instructed.
With a deep breath, Arthur, and I both shut our eyes.
"Aris mid min miclan mihte thin suna to helpe. Hider eft funda... the n thyssum laenum life the gehldost waes," Morgause muttered beside us.
All around us, everything was silent and still. Even the wind seemed to have stopped.
"Chelsea. Arthur," a voice I hadn't heard in over a decade said. I opened my eyes and saw our mother standing in front of us.
"Mother," I muttered.
"My children," mother sighed happily, picking up the edge of her dress and rushing over to us.
When she got to us, we were immediately brought into a warm embrace. The familiarity of it and seeing my mum standing in front of us, embracing us tightly was enough for my eyes to start welling up.
"When I last held you, you were just little children. I remember your eyes," mother said, pulling back and placing a hand on each of our cheeks. "You were staring up at me. Every second that I spent with you both were the most precious of my life."
"I'm so sorry," Arthur whispered, his voice breaking.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Mother replied as a tear trickled down her cheek.
"It was our birth that made you ill and that made you die," Arthur said.
"No, you are not to blame, neither of you are," Mother countered, wiping away my tears.
"I cannot bear the thought that you died because of us," Arthur insisted.
"Do not think that," Mother said, bringing us into another hug. "It is your father who should carry the guilt for what happened."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"It is not important. What matters is that you lived," Mother replied, running a hand through my hair.
"Why should our father feel guilty?" Arthur asked, pulling away from Mother, who continued to run a soothing hand through my hair.
"It is better left in the past," Mother shook her head.
"You cannot leave us with more questions, please," I said.
"Your father..." Mother began after some hesitation. "He was desperate for an heir. Without a son, the Pendragon dynasty would come to an end. But I could not conceive."
"Then how were we born?" Arthur asked. "Tell us."
"Your father betrayed me. He went to the sorceress Nimueh and asked for her help in conceiving a child. You were both born of magic."
"That's not true," Arthur shook his head, while I pondered it in my head.
It made so much sense. Maybe the psycho, Sigan was telling the truth, that my magic had always been inside of me but I just hadn't found it. That must be why... because I was born from magic.
"I'm sorry, my babies. Your father has deceived you both as he deceived me. To create a life, a life must be taken," Mother said, something which gained my attention.
"Wait, but there's two of us," I said. "Two lives must have been lost." Mother gave me and Arthur a knowing look before I realised. "Aunt Priya."
"Yes," Mother nodded, making me gasp in realisation. "Your father sacrificed not just my life, but my sister's too. Your father knew exactly what he was doing. He did it so the Pendragon dynasty could continue. Not just through your life, Arthur, but with you, Chelsea. He wanted to have a girl as well so he could marry you to another Prince and make the house of Pendragon even stronger. He wanted you to create an ally with another family."
"Oh, my god," I gasped out, taking a few steps back, shaking my head, tears now flowing down my cheeks. "I was born just so I could be married off?"
"I'm so sorry, my darling," Mother replied, taking my hand in hers. "But none of this makes you two no less my son or daughter nor me any less proud of you. Now I see you, and I'm sure Priya would have agreed, I would have given my life willingly. Do not let this knowledge change you."
The wind around us started to blow stronger, making me look up at the sky but when I looked back down, she was gone.
"No! Bring her back!" I ordered Morgause frantically.
"I cannot. Once the doorway is closed, it is closed forever," Morgause told us, as I turned back to where my mother had stood mere seconds ago. "I am truly sorry that you learned of your mother's fate in this way. I can only imagine how it must feel to discover your father is responsible for her death. It is an unforgivable betrayal."
Morgause then walked away, leaving us alone.
"Are you alright?" Merlin asked.
For once, not being able to use my voice, I quickly turned and ran into Merlin's arms. He immediately, held onto me tightly, resting his cheek on the side of my head.
"After all of the innocent sorcerers he has slaughtered for harmless magic, he himself used the darkest kind of magic there is," I whispered into Merlin's chest, as he stroked my hair. "He's a damn hypocrite."
"I know he is, but don't do anything you'll regret," Merlin muttered against my head.
Though I didn't reply to what he said, I had the feeling I wasn't going to be the only one who was mad at our tyrant of a father.
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