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Morgana's Truth Chapter 6, Chronicle I By William Black The day was warm with a slight breeze that helped to keep the travellers comfortable. William didn’t feel comfortable though. The Druid knight thought of the past few days, and wondered if he should give up adventuring. Why not settle down with someone he knew loved him and would not lie to him? He rode in silence while Morgana tried to engage him in conversation. "You know Will, you really did well back there. Your swordplay has improved remarkably well since we last met. By the way, I am much better also. Would you care to have a little competition?" She leaned into him to bring her face close to his, her smile seductive. Will turned his head slightly to view her out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe," he answered simply raising an eyebrow at her. "How long will you stay angry at me?" Morgana said with a heart-felt pout. "I did try to explain." "And I accepted your explanation and apology. You’re forgiven. But I don’t like being denied. I thought you lo...". Will paused before the word was fully formed, then said with sadness, "oh, forget it. It doesn’t matter." He spurred Willow on a bit faster trying to escape the pain he felt. This threw Morgana off balance. The knight smiled to himself while she tightened her grip around his waste. "Oh, Will!" She purred. "You do have a way of bringing us together." She giggled as she explored him with her hands. "Stop that now, or you can walk the rest of the way!" But Will did enjoy her explorations. He would have to allow it one day. But then he thought of Catherine, her face serene and loving. She cared for him as no other ever had. She understood him. Though she was not perfect, she was his heart’s delight and desire. No, he would not deny her as Morgana had denied him. Will continued, "I suggest we leave the recent past behind us." William looked ahead into the green plain, but his mind was two places at once. He thought of Morgana and Catherine. How alike they were in many ways. How deeply he loved both. His heart was in conflict, but what else was new? He had a conflict between his Druid past and his Christian present. He accepted both; the one fulfilled in the other. Yet the use of magick disturbed him. He let his thoughts fade as he concentrated on the fertile plain before him. "Will, they will ask," Morgana brought his thoughts back to her, "Morion especially will want to know what happened. Please don’t reveal too much. I did help you, you know." With this statement the Druid knight’s anger rekindled, but he kept his voice calm. "Don’t worry, Morgana. I won’t ruin your ‘spotless’ reputation." The sarcasm in his voice was white hot. "I didn’t mean that! I meant... oh!" Her words spewed out a torrent of Druid expletives. "Your mind is already closed concerning me. You really don’t give anyone the benefit of the doubt, do you? You know of my past, but not of my present. I came to you as a friend of Morion. If you only knew what and who I really was, it might surprise you! God forgive me for loving you! I shan’t make that mistake again." With this her grip loosened around his waist, and she fell silent. William thought of his attitude; both heart and mind. Though he had the wisdom of the Druids and the title to go along with it, he was not infallible. In fact, he was very "fallible" and getting more and more so as days went by. What had happened to him? He had always been so sure of himself and his mission in life. Then it struck him. What had happened is that two woman entered his life; two whom he loved so very much. "Would to God they were one!" "Stop shouting at me!" Morgana whacked Will on the back. "And what do you mean anyway?" With this the knight brought Willow to an abrupt halt. The horse whinnied in protest. "Morgana, we make camp here tonight." William dismounted and unloaded his camping gear. He then left Morgana to search for firewood. Morgana, her face emotionless, watched him go. What was to prevent her from borrowing Willow and going on alone? She knew the Druid could take care of himself. No, she would endure his anger and petulance’s. Soon she would be free of his company. But did she really want freedom from it, she asked herself. She was not so sure. There was something special about this Druid. She hated to admit it, but she really did love him. No, she would stay, but maybe she should clear her thoughts before he returned. When he got back Morgana was no where to be found. Instead of trying to find her, he built a fire, and then went to search for some wild plants and roots to eat. He found enough to feed both himself and Morgana (in case she should come back). He also found a spring to replenish his wine flask. As the day waxed into night, the knight thought of his attitude again as he sat warming himself by the fire. He had a lot of struggles to go through, so why did he have to endure this one with Morgana? "Lord, why this trial?" He looked up to the silent stars, but they only blinked benignly back at him. Then the voice came to him, soft and lovely, but full of confidence and truth, "Because we love each other." Morgana appeared out of the shadows to stand in front of the knight. "Will," she took his hand and brought him to stand before her, "let’s have one night of peace together. Is that so much to ask?" Her face drew close to the knight’s and lightly kissed him. Will wondered what she would think if he took her to himself now. He returned her kiss with passion. She did not draw away but moved closer; their desire part of the night’s sounds. Yet later Morgana seemed to sense the conflict in the Druid. "My beloved, we need to have a very serious talk in the morning." With that she climbed into the bedroll and turned away from the knight. She was asleep almost immediately. Will lay down next to her, but on his back and looked up at the stars; their fiery faces now accusatorial. With each flicker of a star the knight’s guilt grew. He finally used a Druid trick to fall fast and dreamlessly asleep. The morning brought blue skies and a cool breeze. William woke with the sun just coming over the eastern plain. Morgana was at the fire cooking something unknown, but it smelled delicious. Will dressed and walked to her, but she did not look up. "Good morning. I thought you would never arise." There was humour in her voice, but also sadness. She did not look at him. "Here," she scooped some hot cereal onto a plate and handed it to Will. "This will give us a good start on our day" She dished some up for herself as well. "Thank you." Will knelt down to her and tried to get her to look at him. She just turned her head. "About last night..." Morgana looked sharply at the knight. "There was no ‘last night’. What we did was a mistake and I for one won’t even remember it a week from now. So you should forget it too. Now eat your cereal and let’s go." "You mentioned last night that you wanted to have a serious conversation with me. I’m listening." "OH! So NOW you’ll listen. How kind of you, most noble knight. How utterly generous of you! I am so honoured to be in such a nobleman’s presence." Her vehemence was so hot that Will stood up and away from her. His mind racing for answers that were too ludicrous to imagine. "You idiot! You self-righteous, egomaniac, bloody little fool! How in heaven’s name did I ever fall in love with you! May the gods forgive my stupidity!" "WAIT! You are the one who wanted to talk! So, talk! What has gotten into you!" "Besides you?" Morgana’s irony was like a whip. "Well, I have a bit of news for you! Watch!" With this the sky grew dark and storm clouds rolled over the plain. Flashes of lightening and peels of thunder were heard coming down out of the Hound’s Tooth Mountain range in the west. Suddenly the images of Morgana and Catherine were superimposed on one another and the two became one. The enchantress that stood before the Druid knight was at once Morgana and Catherine. The loving and haunting, mystical and serene, volatile and controlled, and a thousand other paradoxes melded into one being of extreme beauty and power. "Yes, Will. It is I. I have been to you both Catherine and Morgana. Never able to be myself for fear of your rejection. But wanting more than anything to be a part of your life. You wouldn’t let me into every facet of it any other way. Don’t deny it. You wouldn’t have. You thought you needed to ‘protect’ Catherine, so I let you believe she needed your protection. At times maybe she did. It is true I enjoyed and still enjoy relying on you. But I am strong, Will. I can handle things (most things) on my own. Yet I liked you being there for me. You also thought my Morgana image was too ‘wild and wicked’, but you still were attracted to it, even loving it. And ‘yes’, I want power, but not to use as you so foolishly believe. I am not as "wicked" as you would make me out." The Druid knight stood dumb struck, yet believed every word of this woman who now stood before him. He could feel the truth of her words. He actually wanted them to be true, but didn’t want to confess it to her quite yet. She continued, "I hold my own council! Sort of like someone else I know." With this see looked deeply into the Druid’s eyes. "You and I are not that much different you know." "Well, that’s my confession. Take it or leave it. I don’t really care. In fact, I don’t care about you at all anymore. From here on out, we are on a formal relationship only. I won’t disturb you any longer. You have enough to think about without conflicts of the heart!" Tears were in her eyes, though she controlled her expression and kept it passive. "Morgana, Catherine, or whoever you are... has anyone ever told you, you have a big mouth and an ego to go with it? Okay, what you say is true to a point. I do have some old fashioned ideas, but part of being a Druid is flexibility. You never even gave me a bloody chance! Why didn’t you just approach me as you were. I guarantee you that my love would be just as great, and my respect a heck of a lot more solid than it is right now!" Morgana looked away. She also knew that William’s statements were true. They both had deceived one another and mistrusted the other. The question was, could the damage be repaired? "Let’s go." Will gathered up the camping gear and made Willow ready for the journey. Morgana put the fire out and helped with the remaining items. Soon they were travelling again and in silence. By noon they tired of riding and grew a bit hungry, so they dismounted and searched for some wild plants to eat. A cloud of dust coming out of the east disturbed their foraging for food. Riders. William Black © Continues... Chronicle I, Main page |