Morgana

The walls of Camelot were so thick on this side that passing beneath them was like passing through a stone tunnel. Morgana blinked as she passed from the darkness of the Nightroad tunnel into the sunlight beyond. She looked around her at the well worn road and breathed in the scents of the merchant stalls clustered around the gate. 

She saw the stables, the graveyards, and the stone walls. She saw the people moving about and the great towers of Camelot growing before her. Morgana was home. It had been over a year since she had been here.

Morgana had arrived in the middle of the afternoon. The streets were still busy and filled with the familiar sounds of trade. She would be expected to appear at the evening meal, but she was in no mood to do so. The last thing she wanted to do was to see Arthur, who had been so furious with her. Instead, she moved among the merchant stalls noticing that there were merchants selling food here, something she knew had not been here before. She smiled again, a real smile this time, and realized how much she had missed this place.

She turned behind her and realized her traveling companion was nowhere to be seen. She looked back and forth among the stalls and could see no trace of him. He had disappeared into the crowd without a word.

Despite the changes she was sure that she still knew the quickest way to get to the castle, but was in no rush to do so. She kept her head down, and she did her best to ignore the stares of the merchants as she walked past. Her face was covered by the hood on her cloak, but that did not stop the merchants and their wives from whispering as she passed.

Morgana slipped down an alleyway. Not worried of their reactions but cognizant of them and not wanting to cause a greater stir than necessary. She stepped around a puddle of water near a fishmonger's shop and when she glanced back up, heard a quiet voice from beside her.

"You shouldn't be in this part of the city alone." A dirty blonde girl just on the cusp of womanhood glared at her from the doorway.

"Aye," she replied, "but there is someone waiting for me."

"Who would that be?"

"What's your name?"

"They call me Nit," she said.

"If you were to see a man enter the town alone, would you know him again?" Morgana asked.

"I think so," Nit replied.

"If you were to see him again, might you tell me?"

"I will if I can, Lady," the girl replied.

Morgana smiled again. "A bluff, older man. A noble. Dark hair and beard, but turning to grey. You'll notice his eyes. Cold and steel grey. He just returned to the city today."

Nit watched her attentively, eyes narrowed, then held out her hand.

"Well, then. I thank you for your help, Nit, and I'm certain I'll see you again." She tossed a coin up into the air. Nit's eyes went wide and she reached out, but the coin fell between them. Morgana smiled and gave a little wave as she turned away.

Morgana turned and walked away, but watched her from the corner of her eye as she continued down the alley. The girl disappeared from view. Morgana slipped back into the crowd. She got a few more stares from a few more merchants, but she walked on. She did her best to follow the route she had taken the last time she was here, though she had to change course a few times when the street changed. She finally came near the castle and began to move slower.

There was a small smithy on one of the side streets. She made her way toward it, and she found the man working there. She knew he would not recognize her face, but she had hoped he might remember her voice. She watched him for a moment through the window, then entered.

"Sten," Morgana said.

The stocky smith looked up from his work, and he froze for a moment. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. He stared at her for a moment longer, then did a double take. He gasped and he dropped the hammer in his hand. It fell with a great clang, and then he turned and sprinted from the shop.

Morgana frowned and shook her head. She turned and walked out into the street. She then slipped down the first alley and walked down it until she turned a corner.

She was about to turn the corner when she heard a sound. It was footsteps running. She turned and saw Sten round the corner, looking left and right, trying to locate her. She ducked back around the corner, and then she took off in the opposite direction, moving back the way she had come. She rounded another corner and darted across the street, then ran down a few side streets until she reached a little tavern. She slipped inside.

She entered a small common room. A jovial looking woman in her late forties came over to her.

"Lady Morgana! My, but it has been an age. Welcome back to Camelot."

"Thank you, Moira," she responded. "It seems that I've returned here on business for the king."

"Well, the king's business is always welcome. You'll have the same room you always have?"

"That would be fine."

Moira nodded and led her to the back of the building. She walked through a door, and then she followed her up a set of stairs and down a passage. Moira stopped outside a door, and she opened it. She handed Morgana the key.

"Will you be eating, Lady?"

"No, thank you. I'll be down later."

Moira nodded and moved away. Morgana slipped through the door and closed it behind her. She locked it and set the latch. She then moved over to the window and pushed the curtains aside. She looked out over the street, but saw nothing. She turned her attention back to the room. It was small and sparsely furnished. She pulled the stopper on a skin of wine left on the table then moved across the room. She slipped the latch on the door, and as she turned back, she heard the door open. She turned with a start, then looked back at the door.

"You're a long way from home, Lady Morgana." Sten huffed as he caught his breath.

Morgana took a deep breath, and then she slapped Sten as hard as she could. The smith fell against the wall, and he stared in shock at Morgana.

"What the hell was that for?!" Sten shouted.

"Don't come into my room without knocking!"

"How was I supposed to know that you were here?" he shouted back. "You've been gone for a year! What the hell are you doing back here?"

"I'm here on the business of the king," she replied.

Sten became still. His face drained of color. His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard. "What? What happened? Where have you been?"

Morgana ignored the question. "Where is Accolon?"

Sten was silent for a moment. "What happened?"

Morgana sighed. "I was betrayed."

Sten swallowed hard. "Betrayed? By who?"

"I don't know."

"Damn it, Morgana. You were gone for a year. Are you serious? A year?"

"I'm sorry. Where is he?"

"He's at the castle."

Her expression hardened. "What is he doing?"

"He's been in his room, I think. I haven't seen him since first thing this morning. If you want my advice, I'd steer clear until tomorrow morning."

"Too late. I'm expected at the keep this evening." she said.

Sten frowned and wiped a hand across his sweaty brow. "What do you need me to do?"

Morgana smiled. "The same thing we were going to do the last time I was here."

Sten nodded grimly. "I'll see what I can do."

"And Sten..."

"What?"

"Tell no one, you hear me? Not a word about what I've said."

He nodded once, and then he disappeared from the room. Morgana turned from the window and then she walked over to the table. She grabbed the wineskin and then she put it to her lips. She tilted her head back and she took a drink, then left the room and locked it behind her.

Once on the dusty street again, she she turned back to the main thoroughfare, a lane called The Ploughman's Way, heavy rutted from the cartwheels of various traders, farmers, and merchants. She sighed and started up toward the castle.

King's Keep, they called it. The castle was built into a hill. A massive grey stone wall cut off the top of the hill, enclosing it within the city. Its gates were guarded by sculpted stone giants, twice the size of a man, with faces that looked almost like tree bark. However, the castle itself was a structure of wood and stone, and the top of the wall was lined with soldiers. The gates to the castle were open, but she could see archers standing on the top of the wall. She paused and watched as a party of men came riding down the road out of the castle. They were bearing banners she couldn't quite place, but she was certain it was an emblem of the Sunlit Lands in the East.

She watched as the entire party of men passed through the outer gates and then down along the Summersway on their ride out of the city. She could see the men on the wall watching them as they passed, and they only seemed to relax once the company was out of sight.

She was almost to the keep proper, when she heard a young man's voice.

"Lady Morgana."

She turned, and smiled when she saw Kay walking in her direction. He was dressed in his uniform, but he looked dirty and tired. She made note of the limp in his step. It seemed that his injuries from Saltford had never fully healed.

"Kay," she said, and she took a step toward him.

He nodded and his expression looked more a grimace than a smile.

"Morgana," he said, and he looked either tired or preoccupied. She couldn't quite tell which. There was something about the way he looked at her that was almost accusatory.

She frowned. "What is it?"

"I have been sent to show you to your rooms," he said. "The king is waiting for you."