CHAPTER 7.

A few days after.

Back at Camelot, Queen Vortigern stood in a hollow room, within the tower of power, it was empty and coated with dust. One that the famous Merlin mended the King's sword, the sword of legend. She stood in front of a slender and tall mirror. The brown paint was warped and old. It hardly held onto the mirror. Queen Vortigern stood alone and stared into the mirror of truth.

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who will kill us all?" the Queen carelessly questioned. The mirror rippled and showed a vision of the Queen's fate. A woman striking her down from her throne with the sword of Legend as it seemed. The Queen furrowed her brows, the women looked similar to the fighter she sent to cleave the ones responsible for the prophecy.

Her eyes were soulless and dark, confused if the mirror was mistaken or whether this was a part of her future. She watched as her head rolled down the steps of the throne and onto the throne room's flooring.

She grided her teeth in frustration. She kept her composure and kept her thoughts concealed. She prepared herself for Axel's return and expected it to be a few days from now. She held only high expectations for the best of the best. And if they didn't 't return or finish the task, great punishments were prepared for their failure.

"Has my army been created?" she whispered to the mirror.

"Yes, my Queen. And they march from the North. You have no need for me now, you will be the strongest of the land and will be feared by many. The wind will whisper your name and many will tremble under fear." the mirror replied with a grim whisper.

The Queen smiled to herself and liked the sound of her future. Though it wasn't determined whether Axel would kill the Queen.

"Fear, an emotion Humanity posses is the most...intoxicating feeling any person of power could possess." Queen Vortigern replied to the mirror.

"Aye, I agree with that Milady. But you still don't have the sword."

A small and startling growl came from her throat, Vortigern wasn't pleased. She was careless to ever consider where her brother laid to rest. And she considered the possibility that the sword could be anywhere within the country. Any man, woman, or child could have buried it or hid it.

"But I've kept my word! By spilling the blood of a nobleman within the Avagan forest, summoning creatures that aren't from this world." Queen Vortigern argued with her reflection as it seemed.

"No, the creatures were meant to kill Uther's last remaining heir-"

"Heir?! What heir?!" the Queen exclaimed and her heart refused to calm down. Her palms started to sweat and rolled into tight fists.

The mirror changed again, rippling a scene into its reflection, exactly like looking at the reflection of a small body of water.

The scene was out of focus and showed Axel Embers, the same scene she fought the beast on the edge of the cliff.

Her face scrunched up like tissue paper before speaking, "Axel Embers is the bastard daughter of a baker. The most she's royal by blood is probably as much as a woman that works on a farm.

"But she doesn't know that she's related to your brother. She's still convinced she is the bastard daughter of a Baker. Kill her and redeem your prize. As long as she doesn't know about her destiny-"

"I won't allow it to be fulfilled!" Vortigern snapped, calling the nearby guard. The metal of his boots crunched against the stone floor, as he made his way to the Queen. Alexander was the Queen's guard, one of the best of Londinium. He stood 6'2ft tall, and he was concealed underneath thick armour, it was difficult to determine his appearance.

"Prepare a bounty on her head, forty-thousand coffers to bring her in alive. We'll show Camelot and Londinium who the false Queen is. Then we'll give Londinium and Camelot an execution of this born Queen." she gave a shallow and slow chuckle. The guard gave a simple nod.

"Lure the wolf by a hen," Vortigern muttered, her lips curled into a devious smirk. As she started to make her way to the door, she started to think about how prosperous her plan was. Maybe it would even stop the rebels from continuing the prophecy. But what Vortigern realized was she meant to lie to Camelot and Londinium about the prophecy. Just to keep everyone in line from rebelling. The game she played was a dangerous one, the mirror lied to her and asked Axel to break the mirror of truth. Even though Vortigern believed her unstoppable army would follow orders under the crown, it was far from it.

The Blackguards were an ancient species that was counterfeit by the mirror of truth. Spilling blood into Avagan forest was a start to getting rid of Axel. But earlier the mirror spoke about summoning beings from another world but didn't explain until now, that the beasts that are summoned were meant to kill the heir of Uther Pendragon.

Axel's mother was someone the King admired from day one before he married. Due to status, they couldn't be together. At first, Axel's mother did not know that she was carrying a child. Until a few months passed, she kept this discrete and never told Uther.

But the day the streets of Camelot bled, was the day Uther happen to recognize the features that Axel inherited, just by appearance. Surely, Vortigern had no knowledge of her existence at the time of Axel being her brother's heir. But the sound of someone like Axel taking the Queen's position of power was infuriating to Vortigern.

The mirror Vortigern stood upon was the second copy of the original. This mirror she turned her back on had barely any power. Just like Pandora's box, the mirror was meant to be destroyed in a specific way, but if done wrong? Something will come back from the mirror.

And that's exactly how the mirror wanted the heir to do.

*****

Axel stared up at the ceiling, it was the third day she's stayed in the company of Magnus. Other than that half the time he would leave to continue training in case of the war was true. He barely had the knowledge of how strong the army from the North was.

He was overconfident, believing he could take on the Blackguards all by himself. After earning the title of Prince and what most folks call him 'Warrior of the West', it made him underestimate many of his opponents.

The fire continued to crackle and she wondered how long it's been since Gavin has been out there? This made her anxious and determined to escape the camp. Earlier she met the Mage, she was kind and very organized. 

*Creak*

The floorboards creaked in the direction of the doorway. Axel snapped out of her thoughts and saw the Mage entered, unannounced. She was thin and shorter than Axel. She held a confident expression on her face. Her dark and sunset-coloured strands of hair hung past her shoulders. She held a piece of oak, forged into a very detailed staff. Anna was the daughter of the great Wizard, Merlin. She inherited her father's profession and intelligence making herself a very valuable asset to anyone's company, especially the Vikings.

"How are you feeling, Axel?" Anna questioned.

"Better, I'm able to finally stand. Though I cannot complain about the process and nature of healing." Axel admitted, propping herself up with her elbows to sit up.

"That's exceptional and I can understand." Anna approached Axel by her bedside.

"Don't be alarmed, I only want to check how the healing is going," Anna said before reaching for the bandages on Axel's gut. Axel's muscles relaxed when Anna motioned her to sit up. The gash on her stomach was still a dark purple and enclosed by the stitches and a small clot of blood.

Anna clicked her tongue, "No infections, everything seems to be on track." Anna diagnosed like she was a medic.

"Can you speed up the process?" Axel questioned impatiently, knowing that she was a Mage. But the one thing she always mixed up was; Anna wasn't a Witch, she was a Mage that had lots of practice in aiding people.

"Apologies, Axel. Apparently, you have mistaken me for a Witch." Anna corrected Axel. Anna continued to change Axel's bandage Axel's but Axel couldn't help but think about Marcus and Gavin. Where they were or whether they were alive.

A small frown formed on Axel's face, she broke eye contact with the Mage and stayed silent.

Did they forget about her? Being forgotten was Axel's biggest fear. But it seemed as Axel cheated death due to Magnus aiding her in her rescue.

"Could you accompany me outside? Or am I not allowed to move?" Axel questioned, firmly. She possessed a plan, concealed by a calm expression.

Anna licked her chapped lips before speaking, "I'm not Magnus, so of course, I can accompany you for fresh air." Anna answered, with kindness that seethed through her voice, like a mother speaking to her own.

"Great!" Axel replied with a thrilling voice.

Axel stood up, balancing herself with the bedpost. She re-advised her thoughts about her health, instead of pushing herself, to the point she would have to stay here longer. She wasn't looking forward to that idea.

She wanted to be healthy as soon as possible.

Anna ghosted Axel's back with her arm.

"I'm fine," Axel commented firmly. She felt pathetic and weak one of the most frustrating feelings for her. Anna stood awkwardly in silence, measuring how far Axel would make it to the door.

Axel hobbled over to the end of the bed. The movement was manageable enough, where she wasn't damaging her stitches or hurting herself. The Mage wandered to where a spare Viking made coat. The type of coat that wasn't shaggy, but maintained. The coat carelessly lay on the floor next to the opposite side of the bed. It was white and grey, but the contrast of the coat's colours was more vivid than the one Marcus gave her.

Gently, Anna knelt and picked up the fur coat. Axel rounded the end of the bed and followed over to Anna. Anna handed her the coat, thoughtfully.

"What's this for?" Axel questioned.

"It's almost the dawn of winter and you don't have a shirt. With respect, it's something you can wear. I am sure Magnus wouldn't mind. Besides, he spends his coffers too much on meed and swords. It seems almost as if most things don't satisfy him." Anna admitted, almost as if she worried for him.

Axel fitted the coat around her and her eyes softened, "Why is that?" Axel questioned, wanting further detail.

"He thinks the gods cursed him, just like his cousin. He believes the gods stole his girl away from him when we were travelling overseas. This was the time that they were shipwrecked, and half survived. The woman he loved was around your age, had dark brown hair, and had a thirst for blood when it came down to the enemy..." Anna paused. Thinking about further information to keep concealed. After all, this was Magnus she spoke about. Anna was careless to consider that she barely knew Axel in the first place.

For that, maybe Axel deserved a chance. Even when trust was hard to earn.

"Promise me you won't run," Anna added, pleading that she wouldn't have to go after her.

But of course, that wasn't a problem, it was more of a warning.

"I give you my word." Axel gave Anna her word and followed the Mage to the doorway. A strong chill brushed across Axel's face. She felt the calling of her own heart, a humble gift of her soul. Her eyes traced the small village near the bay. She watched as men, women, and children training. Below her was a small flight of wooden stairs, that reached the small square of the village.

Axel was in awe, the north wind dusted a reminiscence of dead leaves across the pathways. Four homes stood on each side of the pathway.

"I'm impressed." Axel crossed her arms, along with a smug smile that spread across her face. She curled her fingers around the wooden railing and looked out to the horizon.

"Shall we?" Anna pointed towards the village. Showing Axel the village where many trained. They descended down the staircase. 

A sharp screeching sound came from the nearby blacksmith. Small sparks winged off from the grindstone. Small children ran past her holding small wooden swords, trapped in their small little fantasy. Both Shieldmaidens and the Vikings spoke into a deep conversation. The women here made Axel look hardly skilled in combat. Some of their arms were etched with deep and fresh scars.

Axel kept her gaze traced of what was ahead of her.

"So, how long have you guys held up here for?" Axel questioned, shifting the depth of the silence between the two.

"Judging how much progress we've made, I'd say at least a couple of years. Though I can say I haven't been here too long to judge." Anna answered Axel truthfully. Axel's forehead crinkled and her brows furrowed.

"How come? I expected that you've been here with them since the very start."

"The war of the Mages, Witches, and Wizards forced us into hiding. It was beneficial to help the Vikings, practicing my father's magic on their wounds. Something that's a difficult topic to discuss. After all, your Queen started to burn our kind, chain their ankles and pushed them to the depth of a lake. Your kind expected us to float..." Anna's voice held so much emotion, Axel could feel it. Almost as she spoke on their behalf.

Axel started to recall a moment she was present during the execution of the supernatural. She felt a deep pit form at the bottom of her stomach. She swallowed thickly. Axel recalled she was twelve during the beginning of the extermination of Witches and Mages. Axel looked back on how abhorrent memory. 

Recalling how the world viewed the supernatural, with such a prejudiced view of them. Just picturing the scene brought an awful feeling that hid beneath her skin. The crowds of people cheering, while someone was about to die. Alaric was present and he gave her and Marcus the cue to not watch. The screams of a banshee left the woman before she passed on. It angered Axel deep inside. She turned her head to Anna as they walked in silence.

"Not all love to watch death crawl among the streets. I certainly don't, especially for those that are innocent or possibly accused. Then they get foully punished for their rare gifts," Axel replied sincerely.

"And I wish I could do so much more."