pay attention to him.
Some
of the others must have seen it too – no one stopped the child from reaching
forward and putting a hand on Excalibur’s hilt.
The
hand tightened around the sword and pulled, the blade becoming visible in its
entirety, leaving those gathered speechless.
The
child thrust the sword upwards and Excalibur shone gold, so bright the men
gathered had to close their eyes. They fell to their knees, knowing they had
found their king.
The
light washed over them and they opened their eyes, their sight fixed on the
figure holding Excalibur. And yet, despite all that attention, only two men
realized a truth about their new leader.
Merlin
exchanged a look with King Uther, and the other man nodded.
They’re
new king – the prophesized ruler of Britain – was a girl.
Chapter 1
Morgana
hated Arthur.
She
had always hated the other woman, ever since they were children and Morgana’s
father – Uther Pendragon – told her Arthur would one day be her husband and
become the King of all Britain.
The
then eleven years old Morgana had turned to her father and asked, confused,
about how two girls could marry each other.
Her
father had exchanged a look with Merlin and then they whisked her away;
imprisoning Morgana in her quarters until they told her what had happened and
made sure she understood her role in the events to come.
At
first she screamed and refused them, but as the weeks went by and Uther didn’t
relent, she surrendered and accepted her fate. Her betrothal was announced that
same day and her hate became set in stone.
Few
knew that Arthur was a girl.
The
older girl was an extremely androgynous child and Uther lied about it, knowing
a female ruler wouldn’t be well accepted. He went as far as making his daughter
Arthur’s bride so that there could be no doubt.
Merlin
strengthened that deception with his spells, masking Arthur’s true figure – all
for the good of Britain.
Those
spells hadn’t been powerful enough to fool Morgana who had some innate magic of
her own. She had seen right through them the first time she saw Arthur.
Merlin
told her afterwards that she had the potential to become a powerful witch or sorceress
and, for some moments, Morgana dreamt she would be able to use those arcane
powers, learn enough magic that she wouldn’t have to obey her father and marry
Arthur.
Her
hopes were dashed the moment her father refused to consider the matter, forbidding
the wise wizard from teaching her.
Uther
knew her well, knew what she would do if she could.
Morgana
hated her father for it.
Uther
was ready to sacrifice everything – his lineage, his kingdom andhis daughter – for the dream of a United Britain, something he believed only
Arthur could provide.
A
marriage between Arthur and Morgana would be one more layer to the deception
Uther and Merlin had weaved, a way to both legitimate Arthur as the ruler of
Camelot and strengthen the blonde’s position.
The
only one that would suffer for it would be Morgana, who would be forced into a
marriage where she would be left loveless and childless, unable to continue the
Pendragon line and living a lie for the rest of her life.
It
might have worked out if not for Arthur’s enemies.
Arthur’s
reveal as the chosen one had given her lots of enemies, especially from those
that would lose the most with her new kingdom. Petty kings and nobles figured
extensively in that list, and not even Camelot’s protection was enough to dissuade
them from trying to attack Arthur.
There
were several attempts on the blonde’s life during years, usually foiled by
Merlin or by Excalibur’s power, and as time went on they became scarcer, less
frequent due to Camelot’s increased power and Arthur’s soaring popularity.
Those
enemies decided to wait for the right moment to strike a decisive blow – they
waited for the day of Morgana’s marriage to the blonde.
It
was an attack that was doomed from the start.
Merlin
was too powerful,
Some
of the others must have seen it too – no one stopped the child from reaching
forward and putting a hand on Excalibur’s hilt.
The
hand tightened around the sword and pulled, the blade becoming visible in its
entirety, leaving those gathered speechless.
The
child thrust the sword upwards and Excalibur shone gold, so bright the men
gathered had to close their eyes. They fell to their knees, knowing they had
found their king.
The
light washed over them and they opened their eyes, their sight fixed on the
figure holding Excalibur. And yet, despite all that attention, only two men
realized a truth about their new leader.
Merlin
exchanged a look with King Uther, and the other man nodded.
They’re
new king – the prophesized ruler of Britain – was a girl.
Chapter 1
Morgana
hated Arthur.
She
had always hated the other woman, ever since they were children and Morgana’s
father – Uther Pendragon – told her Arthur would one day be her husband and
become the King of all Britain.
The
then eleven years old Morgana had turned to her father and asked, confused,
about how two girls could marry each other.
Her
father had exchanged a look with Merlin and then they whisked her away;
imprisoning Morgana in her quarters until they told her what had happened and
made sure she understood her role in the events to come.
At
first she screamed and refused them, but as the weeks went by and Uther didn’t
relent, she surrendered and accepted her fate. Her betrothal was announced that
same day and her hate became set in stone.
Few
knew that Arthur was a girl.
The
older girl was an extremely androgynous child and Uther lied about it, knowing
a female ruler wouldn’t be well accepted. He went as far as making his daughter
Arthur’s bride so that there could be no doubt.
Merlin
strengthened that deception with his spells, masking Arthur’s true figure – all
for the good of Britain.
Those
spells hadn’t been powerful enough to fool Morgana who had some innate magic of
her own. She had seen right through them the first time she saw Arthur.
Merlin
told her afterwards that she had the potential to become a powerful witch or sorceress
and, for some moments, Morgana dreamt she would be able to use those arcane
powers, learn enough magic that she wouldn’t have to obey her father and marry
Arthur.
Her
hopes were dashed the moment her father refused to consider the matter, forbidding
the wise wizard from teaching her.
Uther
knew her well, knew what she would do if she could.
Morgana
hated her father for it.
Uther
was ready to sacrifice everything – his lineage, his kingdom andhis daughter – for the dream of a United Britain, something he believed only
Arthur could provide.
A
marriage between Arthur and Morgana would be one more layer to the deception
Uther and Merlin had weaved, a way to both legitimate Arthur as the ruler of
Camelot and strengthen the blonde’s position.
The
only one that would suffer for it would be Morgana, who would be forced into a
marriage where she would be left loveless and childless, unable to continue the
Pendragon line and living a lie for the rest of her life.
It
might have worked out if not for Arthur’s enemies.
Arthur’s
reveal as the chosen one had given her lots of enemies, especially from those
that would lose the most with her new kingdom. Petty kings and nobles figured
extensively in that list, and not even Camelot’s protection was enough to dissuade
them from trying to attack Arthur.
There
were several attempts on the blonde’s life during years, usually foiled by
Merlin or by Excalibur’s power, and as time went on they became scarcer, less
frequent due to Camelot’s increased power and Arthur’s soaring popularity.
Those
enemies decided to wait for the right moment to strike a decisive blow – they
waited for the day of Morgana’s marriage to the blonde.
It
was an attack that was doomed from the start.
Merlin
was too powerful,
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