Title: Rewind and Rewrite

Author: LM_Quin

"…And so Mordred picked up Excalibur from the ground and raised it up to the skies above. The courageous King Arthur could do nothing more than to stare into his eyes as the sword came rushing down toward him. A woman's cry pierced the night sky and the King Arthur fell lifeless to the ground. The last thing King Arthur's blue eyes saw were those of his sister, Morgana. Pain and sorrow were written on her features as she held onto his brother's limp body, for all she had accomplished was chaos and destruction…"

"I don't like this story, Ma" Her little girl interrupted.

"Why not, sweetie? I thought you liked listening about King Arthur's adventures"

"I do but this one is so sad. I like it when you tell me about his goofy manservant and of his bickering with the Lady Morgana!" The child pouted and her mother closed the large book she had on her lap.

"Alright, baby girl. Would you like to hear the real story of King Arthur and the Lady Morgana?"

"YES!" The little girl jumped up and down in excitement as her mother went to fetch an even larger book from the shelf.

The woman sat on the edge of the bed again and scooted the child closer to her. When they were finally settled comfortably against one another, the woman began to tell the story.

It was a cold winter morning. The knights were training on the field below as a woman watched from the highest tower on the castle. One of the knights suddenly stilled and turned his head upward, piercing his blue eyes right into her green ones. That gaze sent shivers up Morgana's spine.

Their relationship had been like that for as long as she could remember. Secret gazes, heated looks and stolen kisses, but never beyond. Both of them knew there was a thin line they could never cross and things didn't get any better when Morgana had her first prophetic dream.

She saw Arthur dying at the hands of the Questing Beast. She saw his lifeless body wounded and scarred on the ground and she screamed. When Gwen awoke her, she was scared beyond sanity and it took a long while for her to stop shaking. She tried to warn Arthur of his imminent death, Lord knows she did, but he simply waved her off as if she was crazy. It broke her heart to know that he didn't believe her and, when her dream came true, it was more than what she could possibly bear.

That same night, as Arthur lied feverish and gravely wounded on his bed, Morgana went to visit him. She sat beside him and used a wet rag on his forehead to cool his temperature off. She prayed to the spirits for his life until dawn came and It was time for her to leave to her chambers and pretend she had actually slept in them.

Miraculously, Arthur didn't die that day and Morgana couldn't thank enough to whoever had heard her prayers. Of course, she never mentioned her late visit to Arthur and he never mentioned having felt her presence with him the whole time either. It was like that with them, too proud to ever admit they cared.

After that incident with the beast, Morgana's dreams began to come more regularly. Sometimes, they would happen so often that she'd wake up not being able to distinguish the dream from reality.

She would never admit this, but all of her dreams were centered on Arthur and his death. It was as if she was his secret guardian angel, receiving the calls but having to get somebody else to do the actual saving. She knew all along she was doomed to watch and protect him from afar.

And so, Morgana decided it was best to just let go and try to forget about Arthur. There was no way that he would ever accept her if he knew she was a Seer but at least, if she managed to keep her secret hidden, she could use her gift to keep Arthur from harm. It wasn't half as good as she would have liked things to be but at least it gave her a purpose and a reason to stay close to him.

Or at least that's what she had intended on doing…

One night she had a particularly vivid dream involving Arthur's violent death and the people of Camelot's slaughter. She was so frightened and her senses so heightened that she could no longer control her powers in her sleep, so she ended up setting her room on fire. After that, she decided she could no longer keep her powers a secret and went to the only person she thought could trust: Merlin.

However, she was wrong. When she told Merlin about her suspicion of having magic he just shut her out. Magic or not, Morgana was no fool and she could easily tell when someone was lying to her. What she saw in Merlin's face torn her apart. Another person had just sent her away, as if she was a stranger in their eyes.

But Merlin did try to help, in his own way at least. He sent her to find the druids, claiming that they'd be able to help her. And so Morgana left Camelot forever in pursuit of the only people amongst she would ever feel accepted.

Her stay with the druids was dream-like. They took her in immediately, as if she had actually born a druid. They taught her of their ways and, more importantly, they taught her that magic was a gift not to be feared.

Unfortunately, her stay with the druids was cut off short when Arthur and his men went looking for her. Apparently, word had spread that the King's loving ward had been kidnapped, so he sent his son to find her and bring her back home.

When Arthur found her, Morgana had lost consciousness and was lying against a big rock. Leon moved toward her but Arthur stopped him in mid track and lifted Morgana off the ground himself. He cradled her in his arms and carried her to his horse. With Leon's help, Morgana was settled carefully atop Arthur's stallion and the rest of the knights readied themselves to head back to Camelot.

Arthur allowed his men to get ahead of him, saying he needed a moment to rest and, when they got lost in the horizon, he caressed Morgana's pale cheek and kissed her forehead tenderly.

Some weeks after that, Morgana got involved in a similar incident. She and her party went with their horses into the woods and ran into some warlock that captured her and Gwen, so that he could sell her off to the best buyer.

Arthur went to her rescue, just like he always did. But this time was different. When Arthur found her, injured and bruised, he did not show as much concern for her as he did for her maidservant. it was little what Morgana could do to know show how hurt she felt. Things had changed abruptly between them and Morgana felt more confused than ever before.

Not long after that, Morgause entered their lives only to change them forever. And especially that of Morgana's.

Under Morgause's strong influence, Morgana fell into a trap. She agreed to an evil plan that would alter her path dramatically. The whole of Camelot fell into a fitful sleep and Morgause led her army of immortal knights to siege the castle.

The only people who remained awake were Merlin, Arthur and Morgana (The latter because she was the vessel of the curse that kept the people asleep).

When Merlin discovered that Morgana was the source of the spell, he poisoned her in order to end with the curse. Morgana battled in his arms as her life was deprived from her and the air quickly ran out of her lungs.

When Arthur entered the room and screamed her name, Morgana could hardly feel a thing anymore. The poison had a powerful grip on her. She desperately tried to scream back, to reach for Arthur but she was helpless.

After that, Morgana became the second most powerful sorcerer in Albion. Aided first by Morgause and later by Mordred, she carried out her revenge on everyone she had once loved and cared about. Her reign of terror lasted a little more than three years. It was a dark time for Camelot. Many people died and many more ran away, too fearful of staying. Morgana had become too dangerous and, with Mordred's help, she soon raised an army that had no precedents.

King Arthur's forces and Morgana's clashed in the fight for Albion. Many brave soldiers fell: Leon, Percival… even the King himself. Mordred raised Excalibur to the sky and, as Morgana screamed, he plunged it deep into Arthur's gut. The young King fell lifeless to the ground and the last thing he saw where his sister's eyes filled with sorrow and regret.

When Morgana was awakened that night and saw a pair of baby blue eyes piercing her green ones, she burst into tears and jumped into Arthur's arms. Both Merlin and Arthur himself were extremely confused about the Lady Morgana's sudden outburst but none of them said a word about it. Instead, Arthur hugged her close to his chest and soothed her until Morgana stopped crying.

Neither of the three could actually believe what they were hearing from the other as they exchanged stories. Arthur explained, very briefly, that Camelot had fallen into a fitful sleep and that they were the only three people who were still awake. Morgana, in exchange, told them about being able to dream of the future and that she knew exactly what was to come. Arthur didn't believe her, the prat had a head as thick as his father's, but Merlin did.

And so they came up with a plan to end the curse. Both Merlin and Morgana waited until Arthur left them to fight the knights to carry it out without him interfering. Morgana didn't dare to tell him what they were about to do. She feared he would oppose and that Camelot would pay the price of his foolishness.

Morgana took in her hands the wineskin that Merlin handed her and locked eyes with him. Those weren't the baby blue ones she was expecting but it would have to be enough. Breaking the gaze, she took a sip and then a longer one.

The wineskin fell from her hands and the poison began to pour out of it. Merlin was quick to take her into his arms this time; at least he was quicker than he was in her vision.

The air began to run short and her gasps louder. She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be poisoned, to literally feel your life slowly slipping away.

Morgause burst the door opened and came barging in. She tried to take her from Merlin's arms but the young warlock simply raised his hand and sent her flying backwards and colliding against a pillar. "Not this time" Morgana heard Merlin say, though she couldn't be sure anymore.

Arthur didn't take long to appear, once the knights fell lifeless to the floor along with Morgause. Morgana could swear she heard him screaming her name, not once as she had in her vision, but thrice and every time it sounded closer to her. So close that she could have sworn that the third time her name escaped Arthur's lips it was he who was holding her against his chest, instead of Merlin.

Morgana didn't remember much from then on, but she did remember waking up in a king sized bed… though not her own. When she awoke, the morning light was bathing the room in an almost ethereal way. It was possibly one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. That was until she saw Arthur's blue eyes boring into hers ever so deeply. He had just entered the room, his room, and was holding a bouquet of flowers. Forget Me Not's. They were Forget Me Not's.

It would have appeared that Arthur wasn't expecting to find her awake because he blushed at the sight of her and almost dropped the flowers. Morgana laughed at his reaction and he joined her, feeling as light and carefree as he had ever felt before.

When the laughter subsided, Arthur sat beside Morgana on the bed and told her everything that had happened. He told her how he found her, almost dead in Merlin's arms. How he found out about Merlin and his magic when he finished Morgause off and how he was able to cure her just in time to save her life.

Morgana was incredibly grateful for how things had turned out (after all, she had willingly decided to give up on her life to save Camelot and all those whom she loved) but she couldn't still bask on that happiness. There was something clutching at her heart, painfully. Arthur must have sensed it because he too fell silent.

After a long time in which they remained solely to themselves, Arthur called her name and Morgana raised her head to look at him. He seemed so serene yet so scared, as if he feared her. Morgana readied herself for rejection, after all she had magic and had kept it a secret from him, but when Arthur took her small hand in his and pierced her with his beautiful eyes she lost her resolution and found herself at his mercy.

Arthur brought her hand to his lips and kissed every tip of her fingers tenderly. So tenderly that Morgana could feel hot tears beginning to spring from her eyes. He then caressed her cheek and closed the distance between them to press his lips against her forehead.

Morgana could not stop the tears from falling any longer and burst into tears. Arthur embraced her and whispered words of reassurance in her ear.

They were proud like no other, they were stubborn and thick minded but they also knew each other so well that they needed to exchange no words in order to know what was going on inside each other's head. Arthur could feel Morgana's sorrow through her tears, he could sense just how distressed she was at the prospect of becoming evil and damaging everyone she knew, just like Morgana instantly knew Arthur understood her and, most importantly, forgave her.

The King, Uther, passed away a few months after that and Arthur became the newly crowned King of Camelot. His coronation was beyond beautiful. Camelot was thriving and it was even a time of peace. The dragon, Kilgarrah, was already claiming that the prophesy regarding Arthur and Albion's union under his reign was coming true. Nothing could have been better… except maybe one thing.

Arthur found her one morning, sitting on the window's sill and staring at the horizon. She looked so at peace with herself that, for a moment, Arthur thought of not disturbing her at all. But what he had to tell her could not wait any further, so he stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder to gently stir her from her absorption.

Morgana looked at him confused but her doubts were cleared a moment after, when Arthur took out a red leather pouch from his pocket and withdrew a delicate golden ring from it. Morgana's green eyes widened in surprise and she couldn't help but gasp when she heard him ask her "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Suddenly, the door of the room was opened and both the woman and child looked up from the book.

"Daddy!" The little girl screamed and jumped right into her father's arms.

"Hey there, princess. I was looking for you"

"Mamma was telling me a story" The little girl replied as her father sat on the mattress with the child in his lap.

"Was she?" The man asked, a grin spreading in his beautiful features "Let me guess… by the looks of this book I dare say she was telling you a story about King Arthur and the Lady Morgana"

The woman chuckled as her husband stared deeply into her green eyes but the spell was broken when their daughter gasped in surprise "How did you know, daddy?"

"Because it's the only story your mother has ever told me that I like" He replied, causing his wife to grin at him.

"Yes well, your father arrived just in time to hear the ending" The woman said but her husband waved her off dismissively, which caused his wife to snap her tongue "Alright. Care to tell us the ending yourself, then?"

"It would be my pleasure, my Lady"

The little girl smiled in content and huddled against her father's chest.

"So, my princess. The story of the Lady Morgana and King Arthur ends like this" The man cleared his throat and the child giggled "The Lady Morgana could not resist King Arthur's charms and accepted his proposal right away. They got married the next week in a beautiful ceremony which was spoken of for the years to come. Under their rule and under Merlin's counsel, Camelot thrived and began to walk down a path of peace and prosperity. The law that banned magic was lifted thanks to Morgana and the druids were accepted into the kingdom again. The end"

"Your summarizing skills never cease to amaze me" The woman mocked and then laughed when their child looked at them rather disappointed at

such short ending.

"Oh! I forgot to say that the Lady Morgana also apologized for being a royal pain in the King's…"

"Arthur! Do not say that kind of words in front of Avalon"

"Sorry, princess" Arthur apologized when his little girl pinched his arm as a reprimand "As I was saying… The Lady Morgana apologized for having been a royal suffering to poor King Arthur all those years and they lived happily ever after. The end"

"Very funny, Arthur" The woman mocked "But aren't you forgetting a small detail in the story?" She asked as she reached for the small girl in Arthur's lap.

Arthur's ashen expression caused the woman to bite the inside of her cheek in pure satisfaction.

"What was it, ma?" Avalon asked.

"Well, baby girl. A few moons after their wedding the Queen Morgana announced her husband and King that they were expecting a baby. And, nine months after that, a beautiful and tiny baby princess was born"

Avalon smiled and placed a hand on top of her mother's belly.

"A baby princess was born just like my baby brother is going to be born?"

Arthur grimaced as if he had just received another pinch from his tiny daughter but managed to keep his bearings.

"Yes, sweetie. Mommy is going to have another baby just like you and all thanks to your father. If he could only keep his hands and other parts of his body away from mommy's then…!"

"Alright!" Arthur promptly interrupted by standing up and silencing his wife in the middle of a life threatening sentence "Time to go to bed!" He picked up Avalon from his wife's arms and exited the room with her.

A few minutes later he returned, this time alone. Arthur closed the wooden door behind him and crossed the distance between him and his wife.

"How's that about keeping my hands and other body parts away from yours?" he asked as he straddled her.

She was about to reply when he silenced her with a kiss.

"Are you sure you want me to do that, Morgana?" he asked in between heated kisses.

"Argh! Just shut up, Arthur, and kiss me" The young King could do little more than to comply with his Queen's wishes "Wait, wait" Morgana stopped her husband's advances and sat upright on the bed "Do you think she suspects anything?"

"Who, Avalon?"

"Yes, you dollop head!" Morgana punched him on the chest "Who else?"

"Nah. Not a clue" He replied and reassumed ravaging his beautiful Queen.

As the couple fell into an oblivious haze, the large and dusty book fell from the royal bed and onto the floor, all kind of stories and legends soon forgotten.

FIN

Gawd, it's been so long since I've written anything. Life kept me completely from it. But today is my birthday and I could think of no better way to celebrate it than with these two and their loveliness. Hope you liked this and give me a nice welcome back?