Morgain's Revenge - Laura Anne Gilman [27]
“I almost forgot,” she said. “It’s pretty, but it’s still magic. Morgain’s magic. Nothing good can come from that.” It had been nice while it lasted, that feeling of freedom—of pleasure without price—but it was a dream, and she was awake now. Something inside her protested, but the weight of her terror, and the knowledge that nobody would save her if she could not save herself, weighed down that ambition until it sank without a trace. Ailis was a practical girl. She’d always had to be: no room for dreams in the life of a servant. That was what had saved her over and over again. It would be what saved her again now, if anything did.
She thought about going back to her room and locking the door behind her, but that didn’t seem right, either. Hiding was easy, but not always practical.
“I need to find a way out of here,” she said. “I can’t stay. I can’t let the dream make me forget.” There was more at stake here than just her own comfort. Morgain had found her way into Camelot’s walls, and only Ailis knew. That meant that Camelot was in danger, terrible danger. She had to tell Merlin—or tell the king. She had to tell someone, somehow.
Sir Tawny sighed in disappointment, but otherwise remained silent.
“Wise girl,” Morgain murmured, passing her hand over her scrying mirror and making the image of the two figures disappear. “Wise, wise girl.” She did not know whether to be annoyed or amused by the witch-child, who had so far refused to succumb to her fears, despite being completely out of her element.
It was tempting to go to that floor, to walk with the witch-child and show her the wonders hidden therein; to teach her how to control the seascape room so that the shark would attack at her command; explain the proper way to make the wall-lights glow according to your mood; or shift the puzzle-floor so that the creatures depicted in the mosaic underfoot seemed to gambol and dance.
She could not let the girl go. Morgain considered that she could have easily killed Ailis the moment she realized someone had seen her in Camelot’s halls. She had in fact planned on it at first. But then Morgain recognized the face, those dark eyes filled with horror and surprise but no hatred. Something had made her take the girl instead—take her and keep her.
She supposed the thought had been there from the beginning: No child so filled with the potential for magic should be left untutored. Merlin had seen it and had clearly put his touch on her…but he had not taken her as a student, the foolish old man. So Ailis was still fair game.
Morgain didn’t want a student, herself. Too much effort, too much bother. But a hostage—one with potential to be useful in the long run…that was a different matter.
And so the girl was being treated more as an honored guest than a prisoner. No prisoner ever had such run of this place before—not even prisoners who thought they were honored guests. Morgain felt a twinge of regret at her actions, but she stifled it firmly. There were other brands in the fire, other considerations to be…considered.
There were others in residence who must be kept in mind. Others who would not be pleased to know of the girl’s existence.
And yet, how much harm could it do, to speak with the girl—to allay her fears, perhaps, and prevent any unfortunate and doomed attempt to escape? The process of winning her over, making her more pliable, more…useful had begun.
Yes, Morgain decided, reaching down to stroke the ears of the great black cat sleeping by her side. She would do just that—for the girl’s own good, and her own as well.
“Here? You intend for us to camp here?”
Gerard looked around in confusion at the knight’s outburst. Newt had chosen a good spot to make camp: a flat clearing a short distance off the wide dirt track they had been riding on. Surrounded on two sides by thick-trunked oak trees, with a small creek running along the third side, it seemed a pleasant enough place to stop. There was wood for the fire, water for cooking and drinking, grass for the horses to graze on, and it was far enough from the road