The chapel was dimly lit by the lights of candles placed meticulous all around the room, Morgana was standing above the throne room in a balcony, invisible. Leaning on the stone railing, a knight clad in a green armor beneath her standing straight with an axe in his hand. She smiled softly at him as her heart beat fast in pure anticipation.

The doors opened with a loud bang, a sixteen-year-old boy wet from the rain, clad in a borrowed armor stepped inside. Morgana noticed the green belt the boy had never worn before, nor had it belonged to the previous owner of the armor. Morgana stood straighter, an uncomfortable anger to set on the pit of her stomach, wondering what would possess them to allow him to go on such journey.

Gawain's steps stopped in front of the knight in the middle of the room who held an axe in between his hands. Morgana watched the scene with interest when her nephew took off his helmet and the sword out of his sheath laying them at the feet of the green knight.

"I've come to fulfill my part of the deal," Gawain knelt, hands in the air.

Morgana's heart skipped a beat when the knight rose the heavy axe above the boy's neck. His eyes were closed shut and he flinched the moment the sword brushed by his side. Morgana felt a pang of guilt in her chest.

"Are you scared young man?" The knight taunted with a deep voice. Morgana rolled her eyes, trying to make a mental note to talk with the knight about it later. Gawain shook his head and turned his lips into a line.

The axe swung again, this time falling at the other side of the boy, this time, there was barely a reaction from the boy beyond the closed shut eyes. The knight laughed again.

"I seem to have missed," there was a hint of mocked frustration in the knight's voice "Don't worry young man, it won't happen again".

"I hope not," Gawain spoke, a strange confidence in his voice, Morgana lifted an eyebrow "It would be ashamed if I had come all this way only to leave with my part unfulfilled because of your difficulty to land an effective blow,"

There was a hint of a smile on Morgana's lips she found herself unable to avoid.

The knight lifted the axe, and a single drop of blood fell to the ground. Morgana let out a breath of air when the boy's eyes opened slowly, hand moving to his neck. He looked at the knight and then back at his hand, eyebrows furrowed. He stretched his hand for the sword and tensed his fingers around its grip.

A loud laugh resonated in the room.

"Stand," the knight commanded, and so did Gawain, eyes widening when the green knight took off his helmet revealing Accolon behind it.

The boy took a step back, sword held tightly in his hand, Morgana knew he had recognized Accolon.

"How was the journey young man?" Accolon questioned. Gawain's mouth hung open. Morgana rolled her eyes, as the rest of the candles lit up one by one making everything in the room clearer than what it had been mere minutes before.

"What is this?" the boy questioned, brown eyes looking around. Morgana turned herself into a raven flying, passing close to the boy, transforming back into herself to stand next to Accolon who had a smile in his face.

"This was all her idea," Accolon pointed at Morgana who tilted her head in a slow nod.

"Aunt... aunt Morgana?" Gawain stammered. "What is happening?" Morgana approached the boy, holding his arms and touching the armor.

"How did the Bertilaks treat you? Good, I hope, Regina said they were nice to you, but she's always been one to go up on pranks," Morgana smiled softly, Gawain furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why?"

"I did not expect you to get involved," Morgana admitted, "my mistake was overestimate the courage of your uncle's right hand man, but you were far better than what I would have expected of many of those already named knights, you were brave, followed through the deal up until the very end and were honest with Bertilak about what you had received."

"I accepted some gifts," Gawain mumbled, eyes diverting to the green belt and a blush appeared in his face. "Does that mean I'm not a good knight?" Accolon's laugh resonated.

"Young man, I have travelled all over this land, and I can assure you, I have not met many knights who would exhibit the same degree of bravery and honor you have shown this entire journey."

"You should take his word for it, he's one of the few honorable ones," Morgana smiled, glancing at Accolon who winked back at her.

"Was scaring the queen part of the plan?" Gawain questioned, Morgana winked.

"Positively," Gawain stared at her with incredulity "It was just a joke, I had a good laugh watching her terrified face, did you not?"

"I admit it was a bit funny." Gawain laughed softly. "Would you have killed any of the other knights?"

"OF course not!" Morgana put a hand on her chest "It's mostly for a good scare, nothing more, nothing less, If I'm being honest, I think I was being a bit too foolishly optimistic when I thought Lancelot would sacrifice himself for a greater good," she spoke with disappointment.

"But Sir Lancelot is one of the best knights in the land, sure, he's not perfect, but none of us are." Morgana glared at Accolon who was doing his best to suppress a laugh.

"I suppose you have a point there," Morgana smiled softly, "you're a good kid Gawain, don't let anyone take that, you hear me." putting a hand on her nephew's back, she began to guide him, Accolon walking closely by her side.

"Now, you're going to spend the night here, I'm going to take you to a room for you to dry and you'll join us for dinner, alright? Regina and her family will be with us, and I think they left you some presents, Regina mentioned something about it."

Gawain nodded, smiling softly and shaking. The sound of the rain still loud outside. Then, the boy's boots stopped resonating against the stone, and he turned to Morgana.

"Wait, what about Lady Philippa?" there was a hint of alarm in his voice. Morgana furrowed her eyebrows.

At first, the name was unfamiliar to Morgana's ears until she recalled the girl who had stood next to Regina when they first arrived at the castle. She was Gawain's age and was shy and extremely polite when she was introduced to Morgana.

"Regina and Bertilak's daughter?" Morgana questioned, Gawain nodded, "What about her?"

"Was she part of...?"

Morgana's eyes opened wide, "Oh, no! I wouldn't include someone your age in this, at least not purposefully, why?"

The boy glanced down at the green belt, and turned to the other side, a new shade of red showing on his brown skin, "No reason," he hummed soft.

.-.-.-.-.-

Jonathan's name broke in Valerie's lips. Her eyes didn't leave the boy who followed the woman. Her voice moving from a plea to anger as she rushed into the water even after the boy had vanished. As she stepped closer to the water, a pair of arms surrounded her, stopping her from moving no matter how much she kicked. She only turned to see it was her aunt who was holding her tight.

"Let me go!" Valerie struggled. "I've got to... We've got to..."

She took a deep breath, feeling a lump in her throat. Morgana didn't say anything, but she didn't let go of her either. Valerie stopped kicking.

"Your highness, I get how you're feeling, but Jonathan made a decision," Merlin spoke, clearing his throat. His tone uncomfortable. Morgana was still holding Valerie although it now was from her shoulders instead of hugging her tight.

"A fucking stupid dumbass decision," Valerie glared at the lake, as if by sheer willpower Jonathan would appear again. Her eyes softened for a second, her mouth turned into a line, her mind trying to conjure any idea to get in the water

"Valerie, you won't be able to find him," Morgana tried, letting go of the girl to stand in front of her. Valerie's eyes turned to her, feeling three pairs of eyes on her back.

"What do you mean?" Valerie's voice broke, "I saw him get in there, there must be a way."

"Valerie, sweetie, listen to me." Morgana began rubbing the girl's arms, her tone reminded Valerie of the way she comforted her when she was sad, it was sweet, but the woman's eyes were sad, "That entire lake is Nimueh's domain, you won't be able see what's really underneath unless she wants you to, and I assure you, she will not want you to."

"She's right Val," Gabriel spoke before Valerie had the opportunity to answer, Valerie turned to him and noticed how he hid his and Audrey's hands together, "I couldn't see what was really under until she pulled me in." His lips turned into a line, Valerie noticed for the first time the old-fashioned shirt he was wearing. Audrey's eyebrows were knit together, her eyes moving from the lake, to Valerie, to Gabriel over and over again.

Valerie took a deep breath, tightening the sword's grip in her hands. Knitting her eyebrows together.

"Then he must be out of his fucking mind if he thought for a second I would stay still," Valerie spat, storming to the lake. A wall rose in front of her, almost causing her to tumble backwards. She turned with fury only to see her aunt's eyes shining as she stood next to Gabriel and Audrey. Valerie glared.

"I'll find a way," she sentenced, turning the sword into a bracelet, looking up the wall to see if there was a way to climb it. Merlin stepped next to her, putting a hand in her shoulder. Valerie turned to him, looking at him up and down.

"Girl, have you stopped to consider maybe he did not expect but he hoped you would stay here, where Nimueh wouldn't be an immediate threat to you?"

"He's in there with the psychopath who kidnapped Gabriel and Audrey! And you want me not to worry, as if I had not seen what she's been doing up until now," her voice broke, and she hoped it was because of anger and not because of the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

"She won't hurt him," Gabriel's voice resonated. Valerie turned to him and Audrey, her eyes softened, rushing to her friends. A pang of guilt hitting her when she realized she had ignored them after the entire time they had been out of the water.

"Gabriel's right," Audrey assured, Valerie knelt to their level, "When we were with her, she kept talking about seeing him again and some bullshit, I honestly had no idea she meant him," Gabriel nodded.

"I'm sorry," Valerie managed to mumble, "I shouldn't be ignoring you two, are you two alright?" Audrey nodded.

"As well as I can be after a madwoman kidnapped me." Gabriel rolled his eyes. A small hint of a smile in his lips.

"Did she hurt either of you?"

"Not quite," Audrey said, shifting the way she was sitting in.

"She just locked us in these capsules, the place was like a palace underwater, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it in my life, it glowed, and it was dry... anyways, I haven't eaten in days and I'm starving," Gabriel spoke, laying in the grass, stretching himself.

"I'd fucking kill to eat my mom's stew," Audrey laughed softly,

"You hate that thing," Valerie added, with knit together eyebrows, remembering the many times Audrey had asked her to pretend she had invited her to her house just so she would be able to avoid eating that. It didn't always work, but it was always worth the try.

"I know," Audrey laughed. Turning to Gabriel to hit him softly in the chest, in return, he pinched her sides. Somehow, the scene brought a smile to Valerie's face followed by a pang of guilt that forced her to look back on the lake, noticing Morgana and Merlin were talking to each other in hushed whispers.

"I was really worried about you," Valerie admitted, their eyes returned to her, "I shouldn't have left you alone that day, I should have insisted to stay with you until your mother arrived and I'm glad you two are fine, everyone's been searching for you two tirelessly,"

Audrey and Gabriel looked at each other. Valerie waited for their reactions.

"Friends?" Audrey suggested with a soft smile, Valerie looked in between her and Gabriel who looked at her with a lifted eyebrow.

"Friends," she nodded with a half-smile. Gabriel lifted his arm, Valerie scoffed before high-fiving him. "What are you wearing?"

Gabriel sighed, tugging at his shirt after he sat up, "The madwoman gave me a shirt someone had apparently forgotten there after she kidnapped me when I was in my boxers," he shrugged "I feel like prince,"

Audrey smiled softly, putting her head in his shoulder taking it away seconds later, as if she had suddenly noticed Valerie standing in front of them.

"Wait... do you mind?" Audrey asked Valerie, who tilted her head. She knit her eyebrows together, surprised at the nothingness in her chest.

"Surprisingly, not at all," Valerie shrugged, glancing at the lake, "You two have to head home, it's not safe in here."

"We know," Audrey spoke.

"I'm trying to find a plausible excuse to explain my father why I went missing for... how long has it been?"

"Five days,"

"Fuck me," Gabriel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck "Well, we all better get out of here in one piece because we have to think of a plausible story that will make sense," Valerie nodded, looking over at Merlin and Morgana.

"Did Jonathan say anything before leaving?" Audrey's careful voice brought her back to them. Valerie's heart clenched in her chest, Audrey turned to Gabriel who tugged on her shirt, "What? Maybe he had a plan or something? Is there no way to defeat her?"

"Not that I'm familiar with" Morgana shook her head, approaching the group, her lips tense in a line. Her conversation with Merlin finished as he followed closely behind her without speaking with a line forming in his forehead.

"She's a goddess," Merlin cleared, the teens looked at him with interest, "And a spiteful one at that, I'd recommend against fighting her, she's quick to hold grudges and very powerful as you could tell."

"And you dated her?" Valerie rose an eyebrow, Merlin's eyes turned to her only, "I heard what she said," she shrugged.

"That's not important at the moment," Merlin hurried, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "It's far safer the three of you leave this place and Morgana and I might be able to figure out a way to bring the boy back,"

Valerie glared at him.

"Why the three of us? I have this sword, it must count for something," Valerie spoke, they would have to drag her away if they even considered the idea that she might leave on her own accord, "You said that lake was her domain, right? What happens if I stab the lake with Excalibur."

"Stab... the water?" Audrey tried, her voice resonating with a hint of disbelief.

Valerie nodded. "Excalibur can go through and kill ghosts, right? And she never left the lake the entire time we were fighting,"

"She's connected to it," Merlin explained.

"I don't think that'll work out," Gabriel told Valerie who knit her eyebrows together.

"Gabriel is right Valerie, the lake is a part of her but not one you can hurt," Valerie scoffed, Morgana turned to Gabriel and Audrey, "Are you two certain you want to stay? Very well, Emrys..."

Merlin nodded, eyes glowing green before he disappeared. He was gone for little more than five minutes before he returned holding a sword in each hand. They had small details in the pommel and the way Morgana looked at them made Valerie wonder who did they belong to.

"This way you at least won't be left unable to defend yourselves," Morgana handed the swords to them, Gabriel jumped with excitement while Audrey looked at the one in her hands with the utmost curiosity.

"Were these also of our ancestors?" she questioned.

Morgana shook her head, "I'm afraid not, but it's what we could get."

"Is there really nothing we can do?" Valerie spoke, a half-smile in her face when she saw Gabriel comparing the swords him and Audrey were holding, "We have to find a way to get Jonathan back, She's mental and he... I can't lose him, I had enough with Audrey and Gabriel going missing for a few days and if they are right, it means she won't let go of him easily"

"He's smart Valerie." Audrey tried.

"And bit of an asshole," Gabriel added "if you're lucky enough, she will get sick of him and throw him back to us" Audrey pushed him softly.

"The deal was they'll just talk... but what if they talk and he decides to stay with her, I'm trying to wrap my head around as to why she called him Aodhan, and she acted like if she knew him" Valerie said, eyebrows knitting together.

"Maybe she did," Morgana spoke, eyes turning to her, "Or she might be confusing them with someone else, but the chances are slim, she is not much for interacting with humans."

"But she has no qualms in kidnapping them?" Gabriel lifted an eyebrow.

"Means to an end for her," Merlin mumbled

Valerie turned to him, "But, what end?" Merlin shook his head.

"How exactly are we supposed to fight her?" Gabriel intervened.

"We saw you guys and Valerie was lucky enough just to brush her,"

"And that's if she ever comes out again," Gabriel continued.

"We'll find a way," Morgana assured, a soft smile in her features, "I wouldn't like to be the one to explain to Su-Wei and Dolores why their son went missing, if it comes to worse, I'll allow Valerie to try to stab the lake."

Valerie turned Excalibur back into a sword, and stood up, extending her hand towards Audrey. The girl understood her friend's intentions signaling Gabriel to stand up as well. What little Valerie knew, she knew it from fencing, and it was far better than just throwing them blindly to fight the woman.

Their impromptu training was cut short by Merlin who rushed them believing that they had to save energy. Maybe it could be good, as Valerie spent a lot of time looking at the lake, even in the moments when she was trying to talk to any of them.

The lake suddenly began to ripple, moving restlessly after. Valerie took a step back, holding Excalibur tight in her hands.

A figure emerged from the water. Valerie took a deep breath, ready to strike.

A.N.

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, consider leaving a vote or a comment. Have a lovely day!