Midnight for Morgana (10 page)

“Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?” He tried to lace his words with conviction, but his throat clotted with unshed tears. Morgana, what has happened to you?

Throughout the long night, Keir slept restlessly, continually touching the sword, hoping with all his heart that it would turn warm. Despite his shock at the woman’s bold advances and his puzzlement about her identity, he lamented: if she wasn’t his wife, where was Morgana? What had happened to her? Anxiety gnawed at his heart and mind all night long, a relentless torment. 

Wide awake as the sky changed from gray to rosy-crimson, and pale sunshine lit the room, he touched the sword. The weapon had remained cold. Maddened beyond coherent thought, worried out of his mind about his wife, he shook the woman awake. He wanted to choke her to death, but he must discover the truth.

“My wife, where is she?” He sprang from the bed and faced her. His heart beat wildly with fear.

Stretching and yawning, she slipped out of bed, her naked body filling him with disgust. “Oh, Keir,” she laughed, “don’t tell me you believe that silly nonsense about the sword. Look at me! I am your wife!”

“Liar!” Tempted to slap her across the face, Keir forced himself to remain calm. “Tell me the truth, and I will go easy on you, that is, unless you have harmed my wife. And if you have hurt Morgana, I vow you’ll be sorry you were ever born.”

She gave him a hard, cunning look. “She’s where you’ll never see her again.”

* * *

That same morning, Ferris walked along the cliffs overlooking the ocean, sharing his master’s misery over the princess’s disappearance. From his own bedchamber earlier, he’d heard Prince Keir’s angry shouting and had assumed that the prince’s wife was the recipient of his fury. Later, he’d learned that something dreadful had happened to Princess Morgana. What had her sister done? Had she actually murdered his master’s wife? Gods, that calamity didn’t bear consideration. While the prince pleaded and threatened the evil deceiver, Ferris had headed for the cliffs, needing to think through his anxiety, hoping to gain insight.

Possibly the prince’s anger was misplaced. If Princess Morgana was truly dead–gods! don’t let it be so–her death may have been accidental. But if that were so, why hadn’t her sister said something? Maybe Princess Morgana had lost her step and had plunged over the cliff. Even now she might be drowned and washed up on the shore. As the wind cooled his body and fluttered his hair, Ferris peered over the rocky cliffs, his gaze searching the coastline. Yet he saw nothing but the waves crashing against the rocks and seagulls soaring overhead. Out on the ocean, he saw the whale that often frequented these waters.

So intent was he in his search, he didn’t at first see an old woman, nearly bumping into her as he turned to the side. It seemed as if she had materialized out of thin air. Clad in a black dress, a black shawl hugging her shoulders, she wore her gray hair in a tight bun. Wrinkles stalked her face, her skin spotted with age.

“Hello, my name is Gwenith,” she said without preamble.

Despite his surprise, Ferris remembered his manners and made a slight bow. “I am Ferris, Prince Keir’s servant.”

“I know who you are,” she said, increasing his surprise. “Tell me something, do you truly love your mistress?”

He nodded eagerly. “Of course. I love her as a servant loves his mistress.” Burdened with anguish, he raked his fingers through his hair and fought his tears. “But where is she? Gods! I fear something terrible has happened to her.”

“Something terrible, yes, but she can still be saved. Quickly now, return to the lodge and tell the prince that Nola pushed her sister over the cliff yesterday. She fell into the mouth of a great whale, the same one that swims along the coastline. Prince Keir must fetch a small boat and his javelin. He will see a red spot on the breast of the whale. That is where he must strike. Only then can he rescue the princess from the creature’s stomach.”

Bewildered by her words but overjoyed to learn that the princess could yet be saved, Ferris spun around to rush back to the lodge. Suddenly mindful that he’d forgotten to thank the woman, he turned around to rectify his mistake. But she was gone. How could she vanish, just like that? Surely she was a witch, but he dared not dismiss her pronouncement. 

Driven by desperation, he raced back to the lodge, his booted feet scattering stones in all directions. He ran as if he had wings, as though all the hounds of hell were after him. Or perhaps the spirits of the Otherworld had lent him speed. He reached the lodge moments later and jerked at the door handle. He banged the door back and burst into the room.

Prince Keir jerked his head around, his face red with anger and weeping. The sister sat on the sofa, arms folded across her chest, a defiant expression on her face.

“Prince Keir!” Ferris stopped before his master. “I know what has happened to Princess Morgana!”

Chapter Seven

“No time to lose!” After hearing about his wife’s fate, Keir paced back and forth across the parlor. He stopped and looked at Ferris. “A boat, you say? I’ve seen a number of them farther down the shoreline where the cliff ends and the waves meet the shore. Thank the gods I have my javelin with me!” He wondered how the woman Ferris had spoken to knew of Morgana and the whale, but would leave that question for later.

He gave Nola a hard look. Anger burned deep within him. His stomach churned; his head pounded, and he had to clench his hands to keep from striking her. “First,” he said to Ferris, “we must deal with this evil deceiver.” He grabbed Nola’s arms and hauled her to her feet. “You will stay in your room. After I rescue the princess, I shall deal with you.”

Nola fought him, kicking, screaming obscenities the entire length of the hallway. His hands tightened around her upper arms as he held her at arms’ length and shoved her ahead of him. What a bitch! He wanted to kill her now. Another question stabbed him in the gut.

“Alana, what about her?”

She turned, her face red with rebellion. “You’ll never see her again, either. But her death was a mistake. I thought she was Morgana!”

Gods! He found it difficult to believe that this woman had emerged from the same mother as Morgana, his sweet, innocent wife who wouldn’t harm any creature.

Wiping her hands on her apron, Brigid stuck her head out from the kitchen but said nothing, for Ferris had already apprized her that her mistress was missing, and she knew better than to ask questions.

Keir pushed Nola into her bedchamber, shut the door and locked it, then pocketed the key. She yelled, banging and kicking the door. Gods! His fingers itched to wring her neck. The only bright spot in this sorry episode was that the middle bedchamber had no window and thus no chance for her to escape. 

Keir poked his head in the kitchen and handed Brigid the key. “After we leave, tell your husband to tie a cloth around her mouth and tie her to a chair. I will not have her making a racket in my wife’s house.”

“Yes, sir.” Brigid’s face was full of sympathy. “And sir, I pray that you will find the mistress, safe and sound.” Tears trickled down her cheek. “The dear lady!”

“Oh, we will save her!” Keir dared not express his worst fears, that they would not find the whale, or that it had already consumed Morgana. Terror taunted him, his heart beating fast, like a drum inside his chest.

“Sir, I’ll fetch your javelin.” The perfect servant, Ferris said not a word about Nola, only his face revealing disgust with his mistress’s sister.

“Yes!” Keir answered as the screaming went on and on.

Shortly after, Ferris joined him and handed him the javelin.

“Let’s go!” Keir motioned to Ferris, and they left the lodge, heading straight for the shore. No point in taking horses. In the time it took Irvyn to saddle and bridle their mounts, they would reach their destination. “We must hurry! Farther down from the cliff, we are bound to find a boat.” Booted footsteps thudding on the walkway, they raced to the rocky path. Are we too late? Keir agonized the whole way. He had to save his dear wife, had to! In only the short time he’d known his wife, he had learned to love her, a rare treasure, dearer than life. His friend Malcolm was right; he was much too arrogant. When he had first captured Morgana’s slipper at the fair, he had believed that only a princess would do for him. Gods, he knew now he loved Morgana very much, and it wouldn’t have mattered if she were the lowliest scullery maid in the kingdom. He had learned much in only a few short days. Most of all, he’d learned that one’s station in life had nothing to do with kindness or a generous spirit, and those qualities mattered more than wealth or position. Gods, please help me save my wife!

Within minutes that seemed like hours, they came to spot where the ground leveled off, the waves lapping upon the shore. They scrambled down the grassy slope and rushed along the sandy shoreline. Their booted feet sank into the wet sand, hindering their progress. A few yards ahead, a boat with oars waited on the shore, as if left there for their use. Both men shoved the boat out into the water. While Ferris held the boat, Keir scrambled aboard. The vessel bobbed in the water, and he fought to keep it steady as Ferris climbed aboard. Both men grabbed the oars and rowed. All was quiet except the splash of the oars, not even a sea gull to be seen or heard. Keir’s muscles moved in tandem with Ferris’s, as though they had rowed together many times, instead of this, their first time.  His gaze raked the glittering blue waters as he prayed to all the gods that the whale would soon appear. He had to save Morgana. He couldn’t live without her.

“There! I see it!” He pointed out to sea, the whale’s dorsal fin clearly visible, the animal skimming the waters. Keir reached for his javelin. Ferris rowed furiously, bringing them closer, closer, until the boat stopped but a few yards from the whale.

The whale caught their approach and turned to the attack, speeding toward them, its fin slicing through the waters. Struggling for balance, Keir stood with his weapon poised, nearly tipping the boat over. He braced himself and concentrated on hitting the whale.

A monstrous creature, the whale reared up in front of them. Its wide-set eyes flashed in the sunlight, its sharp teeth gnashing. Its flippers moved frantically, as if to grab them.

“There it is! The red spot!” Legs spread apart, Keir aimed the javelin and hurled. The

 weapon hit the mark, and the creature leaped with pain, thrashing in water that soon turned red with blood. Screaming in agony, the whale opened its mouth and spat out Morgana, straight into the bottom of the boat.  The boat rocked, nearly tipping over, and Keir quickly sat down, his only thought for his wife.

“My darling!” A fierce burst of happiness erupted inside him as he gazed down at his wife’s dear face. His joy changed to dread, for her face was pale, her body lifeless. Gods! Don’t let me lose her now!

She coughed, the most beautiful sound, lovelier than the finest music. Her clothes were wet and slimy, her hair plastered to her face. Hampered by the rocking boat, he inched closer and took her hand. From her position at the bottom of the boat, she raised her head and looked around, a dazed expression on her face.

“Wh–what happened?”

With little room for maneuvering, he bent over and eased her wet hair from her face. “Sweetheart, the whale swallowed you, but you are safe with me now, the man who loves you more than life.”

While Ferris turned the boat around, Keir held her hand as they headed for shore. He lifted her and drew her onto the seat beside him, his gaze continually checking that the boat didn’t keel over. It was but a short distance to the shore, Ferris’s rowing swift and sure, yet it seemed like forever before they neared the shoreline.

Morgana coughed again. “The last thing I remember, I was picking flowers along the cliff. Nola was with me–“ A shocked look seized her face. “Nola! She pushed me! I saw her behind me, too late!” She raised her hands to her face and sobbed. “Oh, that my sister could hate me so much that she would want to kill me!”

* * *

Keir held her close, the boat rocking, the waters lashing over the top. What if the boat tipped over? Morgana worried. A myriad of emotions clashed inside her head as she fought for composure. Relieved beyond all thought to be safe with Keir again, nevertheless, sorrow bore her down, the realization that her own sister had tried to kill her–and had almost succeeded! She turned a wary eye from side to side, the water licking at her stockinged feet, for she had lost her shoes inside the whale. The whale!, an experience she would never forget, an agony of endurance, a terrible fear that she would die inside the whale’s stomach, never to see Keir again. It was only a miracle that he had saved her.