Change of Plans

The floor was covered in hay, the walls were caked with dirt, and the only light came from a small rectangular hole in the wall. To be sure no one could go in and out of the small hole iron bars were placed in the hole. Sounds of people walking outside echoed through the small room, and shadows of Knights doing their drills flickered past Morgana as she stood looking around her prison cell. It might as well be a cell in the dungeon Morgana thought to herself.
She made her way to the back wall and sat down against it. There was no point in trying to find a way out of the room because Uther would just find another way to trap her. He was frightened by her and Morgana knew that. She knew that since she exposed his secret Uther would work even harder to keep her under control. The fear that she might step out of line and unravel his tangled web of lies would drive him insane. Morgana smiled to herself as she imagined Uther glancing over his shoulder searching in fear for something lurking in the shadows waiting for the moment when it finally exposes itself.
At one point in her life Morgana really respected Uther and his authority. At one point she saw him as a good leader and a fair minded man. Morgana felt as though a veil had been lifted so that she could finally see Uther for who he really was. She saw the hatred and cruelty pour out of him. Morgana saw Uther as a hard headed stubborn man whose blindness and cruelty was going to be the reason behind his death.
Morgana settled herself against the wall and picked up a piece of straw. She flicked and twisted the brittle piece of straw until it snapped in half. Then she flung the two pieces across the room and fell on the floor to blend in with the rest of the hay on the ground. Morgana rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She listened to Sir Leon shot out orders to the Knights who were still doing their drills. She imagined Gwaine standing in line with the other Knights chomping away on an apple leisurely glancing around the court yard at the other servants and works buzzing around.
He had been gone a few short hours and Morgana already missed him. She craved the sound of his voice in her ear. His voice comforting her and telling her everything was going to be alright. She wanted to melt into the safety of his arms like she had done before. The more Morgana thought about it the angrier she became. If it was not for Uther, Gwaine would still be in Camelot. He would never have had to leave her. If it was not for Uther Morgana would not feel like she has to lie to everyone. She could have told Gwaine the truth about her magic. If it was not for Uther Camelot would be a much happier place. It would not feel like a prison or a land of war. People would not have to live in secret and in the shadows, where Uther cannot see them.
As Morgana’s hatred grew her eyes flashed open to see a tiny pigeon perched in the square opening in the wall. The small bird chirped at Morgana causing her to tilt her head to side as she stood up and made her way to the hole in the wall. Carefully she slid her hand in between the iron bars so she could reach the pigeon. Gently Morgana wrapped her fingers around the pigeon and pulled him pass the iron bars into the room with her. Softly caressing the bird Morgana softy hummed and made her way back to her spot against the wall. As she sank back down the floor Morgana smiled at the blue tips of the bird’s wings. Tied to the claw of the tiny pigeon was a small note. Morgause had written to Morgana and sent her note by Retrieval Pigeon. While Morgana unfolded the note from Morgause the pigeon hopped over to pile of straw and started picking at tiny pebbles on the ground. Morgana read her note aloud as she watched the pigeon.
Sweet Morgana,
I hope all is well. I am sorry I have not been able to contact you. The castle is
not safe and I could not risk coming to check on you. Please tell that we have
accomplished what we set out to do. While we were unable to put an end to Uther’s
tyranny please tell me that you and the Masked Man were able to stop that knight
from telling Uther of your power. Dear Morgana, please tell me you are safe. I will
come to you as soon as I am able. Until then promise me you will remain peaceful,
remain quite, and remain careful. I am unable to help you if Uther does learn the truth
about your power. Stay by Uther’s side and make him believe you are his loyal Lady.
Do not give him reason to doubt you. At least I know you will be safe if Uther believes
you are on his side.
Your worried friend,
Morgause
Morgause was right. It was too dangerous for her to try and visit Morgana. Uther had everyone out looking for Morgause, and if she risked coming to the castle someone would surely see her. Morgana bit her lip as she looked for a way to write back to Morgause. She held the note in her hand and smiled as she remembered one of the first spells Morgause taught her. Slowly she ran her fingers over the back side of the note and closed her eyes. A warm and tingling sensation worked its way through Morgana’s body. Once the sensation reached her finger tips Morgana felt something like pins pricking her fingers. Morgana opened her eyes and rubbed the back side of the note. The not grew warm as Morgana’s eyes flashed gold and she whispered the words to the spell. Within moments letters started to appear on the backside of the note. Morgana wrote back to Morgause and explained what happened to the Masked Man. She also explained why she did not kill Gwaine. “I was wrong. He can be trusted. More than that he has used magic! Morgause, I know I told you differently before but things are different now. I love him. For now he is safe and away from Camelot, so we no longer need to worry about him.” Morgana explained.
As soon as Morgana finished the spell and had written her note back to Morgause she tied the small piece of paper back on to the pigeon’s claw. Then she carried the pigeon back to the hole and helped him slip through the hole. She watched as the blue tips of the bird’s wings glistened in the sunlight. The tiny pigeon took off quickly and flapped his wings fiercely as he made his way to Morgause.