"Treason in the Highest Degree" Guide

Chapter one- Morgana can be directly translated into "lover of the sea," which i didn't find out until around chapter four or five.
William means "protector," ironically his exact role.

Chapter four- The fish shack- Morgana spoke about how much she didn't want to leave the ocean. Guess she didn't realize it was an all or nothing deal.
Also, Morgana is repeatedly called princess, her captor not realizing just how close to the truth he is.

Chapter five- It isn't until after Morgana is hurt by the knife that has been prodding her forward that she has any hope of escape.
Even though she hinted earlier about her affections for William, she takes time to note she didn't think of him.

Chapter six- Grimaldo can be translated into "powerful protector."
Chris goes between obscure pet names for Morgana, and saying they "don't need another stiff," and then moments later trying to kiss her, and finally threatening her with the title "devil's mistress." confusing us as to what exactly his affections are, and whether they're controlled by that "spark of insanity."

Chapter eight- we find out that Morgana's parents have been killed by the guillotine, a practice abolished from society years ago, but as the story is laid in the future, it appears society has moved backwards... Also, Chis turns out to be more than the street urchin met in chapter two, and is in fact, a surrogate king of the underlings.

Chapter nine- when the various men say Morgana looks familiar, they are remembering her mom. One in particular, Hadwin, is mentioned. His name translates to "friend in war." Although Morgana makes is blatantly obvious she feels nothing for Chris, she feels a bit of jealously at the harlot.

Chapter ten- Morgana is once again associated with the ocean, via her tears.

Chapter eleven- In their discussion, Morgana and Chris make it abundantly clear how they feel about one another, but both are holding back a bit, not willing to take a leap of faith, Morgana because of the dregs of her feeling for Will she still clings to, Chris because he views himself as more of a player than a lover. That’s why he enjoys her in the first place; she said no to him. However, we get the idea though that there may be honest to goodness feeling there, from their remarks about her place on the hypothetical battlefield. The key is also worth remembering.

Chapter twelve- With Chris' comments on "The saddest song" and "diamond in the rough," it is not clear exactly what he is talking about, but it highly likely to be a) their current situation as The Movement in particular, b) the current situation as the human race in general, c) Morgana's situation, or d) himself. Morgana muses for a moment the “moving of the memory of one touch seeping into another," referring to the way the memory of Chris almost kissing her overpowers the memory of William's hand by the seashore. They end with a conversation on the balance of morality and livelihood; comparing their two situations; him a liar by choice, but honest about being a liar (as he is the leader of an illegal band of revolutionaries) and her being dishonest about being dishonest (pretending she isn't a countess). They end comforted with having a partner in immorality, as Chris sort of replaces Will as Morgana's companion in lies.

Chapter thirteen- When Morgana wakes up, she is elated at the thought of Will, only to transition into the thought of Chris, an inseperatable pair in her mind at the moment, laced with fear, regret, guilt, and above all, passion. The way she describes the sleeping Chris leads us to believe once again in her feeling for him, but she describes leaving the room as a "walk of shame." The hall of mirror is literally and symbolically a reflection on Morgana. She's made up of itty bitty pieces, put together best as she can, but the cracks still show. She has been broken many times, and doesn't quite fit in, as she was born a piece of something bigger than a peasant girl. However, she is still more than capable of not only reflecting the light, but multiplying is a-thousand-fold. It's not until Morgana is immersed within herself that she can find her roots, and form a plan.

Chapter fourteen- Damon accuses Morgana of not understanding high society, not knowing that she IS high society. Playing off of Damon's remark about high society being a devil, Morgana states the only way through is the mistress, calling back up Chris' earlier comment about her being more than "another devil's mistress."

Chapter fifteen- Morgana has twisted Chris' concept of a "devil's mistress," forming it into a plan to pose as a lover to Karalius in order to infiltrate the system, a role no one would suspect as being a threat. The connection between the Chris and Morgana is once again stresses, being elevated to the use of the word "sanctity" this time. Later, Chris and Morgana find themselves in the hall of mirrors together. At one point, Chris states that not everything has to be a fight. It isn't until after he tries to kiss her that she replies that "everything is a fight." it isn't made clear if they're talking about their relationship, or the political situation. In any case, Morgana hits the nail on the head by saying the fact that Chris can't understand her is what makes her so intriguing to him. at the end, Morgana narrates "We stand still, our guilty hearts reflected by a million cracked mirrors; afraid that anything else would shatter them altogether." it is not made clear if she means "afraid that anything else would shatter them (our hearts) altogether," or "afraid that anything else would shatter them (the mirrors) altogether." but as the mirrors are used mainly as a physical symbol of Morgana's emotions, it matters little which one is used, both give the same effect of desperation.

Chapter sixteen- Morgana muses about the dull existence of a heart, forever working just to keep blood flowing, not realizing that is exactly what she is doing in a very different way. Later, Chris refers to her as "Kitten," letting slip a small show of affection. While examining the key necklace Chris (accidentally??) runs his finger across her collarbone, and she sits in wait, hoping against hope for him to try to kiss her, which he doesn't, for the first time. She later remarks upon the "eloquent conversing" of their silences, but since we know nothing about their feelings during those particular moments, it is up to speculation just what is meant.

Chapter seventeen- In the beginning when talking about the outside world, all Morgana can think about is the heat, only to have the outside world be cold and dark when she finally does emerge. Similar, in the beginning she associates Chris to “a certain warmth” rising within her, only to have the actual Chris be distant and rather hostile towards her.

Chapter eighteen- Morgana continually compares the "escape" outside to being eaten/swollowed alive, which just gives a taste of how afraid she must really be. It;s not until after they step into the moonlight and she remembers William that she begins to feel okay. Also, the story of the Minotaur is referenced, a reliable account of which can be found at this link- http://storynory.com/2008/06/09/the-minotaur/
You don't have to start reading until about six paragraphs down (it's a tad long if you read all the background info, but if you like stuff like that, then knock yourself out.) But it's a pretty intense story, and if you know it, it draws further parallels to Morgana's feelings of abandonment, fear, and of being lost.

Chapter ninteen- Obvious from the title, the main symbol in this chapter is the color red. It's used first in the lettering for "The Reform" (as mentioned in what I think was chapter 2) and the description of the project on the board, talking about how they're tearing down the beautiful field to replace it with instituational factories, parallel to what they did to Morgana's life. Red is also used when she speculates that the red dye was taken straight from her veins. Also, the reader is often reminded about just how much of an irritant the sun (sym. for above ground world) is after she has lived underground (sym. for The Movement) and is described as red as well, with her even going as far as to refer to it as "the red rays of hell."

Chapter twenty- Not much symbolic stuff in this one, just interesting details. I derrived the name "Askar-darah" from the Malay language's words for "Soldiers of blood," which is exactly what they are. The Askar-darah would be the first soldiers to wield the ax, and the last to show mercy. It's suggested several times in Chris' story that the soldiers attacked his mother, with plans to beat or rape her, only to put her to the guillotine once they got bored. Ironically, the guillotine was also the form of execution used for Morgana's parents, which is the underlying message in part of their conversation towards the end.

Chapter twenty-one- Chris and Morgana's initial conversation at the beginning is two sided- he thinks they're talking about her being a lady- a gentle woman, proper and refined. She's talking about being a Lady- a Countess, a Noble.
The imagry of the sun is also used again, when she talks about how even after she closes her eyes it "still burns behind her eyelids." By saying this, it's saying that even if for a second they do forget about their fears, they're always be there, no matter what.
In the first chapter, Morgana details just how important the stars are to her and why. They're a symbol for hope and freedom to her; the "one thing the government can't control." And the Story Chris tells her is an adapted Chinese folk tale- obviously meant to symbolize her with the princess and questionable who or what the role of the huntsman and the bridge are meant for.