Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 38: Chapter 38

THE MORNING GREETED KIT with a bright beam of light shining into his eyes, and he sat up from his bed with a groan. He could hear a commotion through the thin walls, and he deduced that he was the last one awake, as usual. He was so exhausted, but he always felt surprised when he wasn't the first to wake up.
Perhaps it was because his new companions let him rest. Unless it was urgent, they didn't wake him up until they had to, meanwhile at the castle servants pounded at the door until he rolled out of bed with bloodshot eyes. He had to admit, being able to sleep felt nice.
If it were anyone else watching Morgana last night, he might've went right down to the dungeons to check on him before he did anything else. But Chalice was his most trustworthy companion, he knew they wouldn't let him down.
So he took his time, soaking his aching muscles and dressing himself, shaving his ever-growing stubble and finding something to eat. They shared with the servants this time, but the meal was just as filling as it had been at dinner. It was the best morning he'd had in weeks.
Finally, he made his way down to the dungeon, greeted by the sight of a well-rested Chalice reading a book, and a very bored Morgana pacing his cell with a red apple in his hand.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Morgana crowed, giving him a smug look. "Sleep well?"
"I slept fine."
"Come on, now, just fine? Surely you had good dreams, this is the Vernal Court. Had to be the best dream of your life, I'm sure." He seemed persistent, like he was hoping for something.
"I don't remember my dreams well," Kit replied. "What, were you messing with my dreams?"
"Why would I want to do that?"
"I have no idea, that's why I'm asking."
"We should start getting ready," Chalice chimed in. "Morgana, eat. I'll be back with the guards meant to escort you."
The druid left the two alone then.
"You really don't remember your dreams?"
"Not well, unless they really shake me up, why do you care?"
Morgana scoffed. "I don't know, thought you might've dreamt about your undying love for me or something. Why else would you be so obsessed with visiting me?"
"Because I don't trust you," Kit hissed. "Whatever pleasant feelings I may have had for you before are gone now. All I see when I look at you now is a traitor."
"So you admit it," Morgana mused. "You had pleasant feelings for me."
"Strictly platonic, you obnoxious bastard," he gritted. "And it doesn't matter anyways, I don't feel it anymore. We're right back to square one where I hate your irredeemable guts."
"Hate is a strong emotion, why waste it on someone you don't care about?"
Kit clenched his jaw, frozen in his place. He didn't know what he could say that Morgana wouldn't twist to be what he wanted to hear, so he opted for silence. Morgana was still Morgana, though, and he couldn't escape his mockery no matter what.
"See, you can't even convince yourself. You still care about my wellbeing, as much as you wish you didn't."
"Why does that matter so much to you?"
"Because if you care so much then why are you still doing this?" Morgana cried, mischievous exterior cracking like the skin on his cheek, giving way to the face of a terrified man. "Why are you still trying to bring back Excalibur when you know my people could get hurt?"
Kit stood still and did his best to keep his voice level. "Because they're not going to get hurt, Morgana. I wouldn't do something if I wasn't sure that everything would be okay."
"You weren't sure about going to the castle and you still got half a village and your own ex lover killed doing it, nearly got your friends killed, don't lie to me."
"I did it because I thought you would still be on our side!" Kit shouted, voice cracking as it exploded from his chest. "I trusted you, Morgana, I thought you could help us. We could've done it if you didn't betray us. And now it won't only be your people getting hurt by the dozen, it will be mine."
Morgana swallowed a lump in his throat. "For all you knew, I was dead in that cell. Cut the bullshit, you thought I was useless."
"I never once thought you were useless," Kit snapped. "Even if you were a breath away from dying I would've still had faith in you. But now I know what a fool I was. The Seelie Queen wasn't the first faery I was wrong to trust, Morgana, and you'll never get that trust back."
There was something unreadable in Morgana's foggy eyes, but before either of them could get another word out, the door swung open behind them. Chalice was back with two guards, one burlier than the other. The thinner of the two was tall and intense, with long, yellow hair and sharp cheeks and blue eyes that pierced through everyone they looked at.
"Morgana of the Winter Court," they greeted, voice as sharp as the rest of them.
"Rowynn of the Vernal Court, it's a pleasure as always," Morgana sneered back.
Rowynn grunted, then turned to Kit with a short bow. "Good morning, Your Highness. My name is Rowynn, this is my companion, Borr. It's a pleasure."
Kit smiled tightly in return, but it didn't reach his eyes. He watched as Borr pulled open the iron bars of the cell, clasping chains around Morgana's hands.
"They're enchanted iron," said Rowynn. "Don't try to get out of them or you will be burned, you understand?"
Morgana held up his wrists. "How the hell am I supposed to venture into the Winter Kingdom with these things?"
"We'll keep you safe," Rowynn said sternly. "Princess's orders."
Kit was glad for the help, but Morgana wasn't the only one giving them the side eye. He didn't fully trust the two, either, but he wasn't inclined to trust a faerie other than Giselle anymore. Giselle was only safe because Selene trusted her, and Selene was the last person whose judgment he'd dare to question.
He glanced over at Chalice, but he couldn't read their face. They were staring at Morgana, but he couldn't tell what they were looking for.
"Is everyone else ready to go?" he asked them, and they finally looked up.
"I believe so, yes. They're waiting by the drawbridge last I checked."
"Right, then," Kit said, adjusting his chestplate. The faerie armor was a bit tighter in some places than he was used to, but there weren't very many sizes in the type of armor he requested, so he put up with it. "Chalice, lead the way."
The others marched on up the stairs and Kit took up the rear, keeping an eye on the strangers before him. He had no doubt in their abilities, but that didn't make him any less wary. In fact, it made him more worried about them. Fighting against a faery was dangerous enough, but two faeries trained for the job felt deadly.
Sure enough, the others were waiting at the drawbridge. Giselle was still dressed like a princess, but her chest and shoulders were protected with metal armor, and Selene wore the same thing Kit was in. Everyone else was protected also, Eurion clad in something similar to their clothing for the ball.
"I suppose this means we're ready," said Giselle, eyes briefly scanning Morgana, who looked at her with more longing than anything else.
It must've been hard, watching Giselle stay loyal to the quest when he was so sure getting Excalibur back would mean her painful death. When Morgana had an idea about something, the idea wouldn't leave his mind until something else forced him violently onto another path. Kit could only wonder what he saw back at the castle.
He stayed in the back like before, Selene and Giselle leading the way, Morgana and the guards just behind them, and all the others right in front of him. This way, he could watch their backs, keep a strong eye on Morgana and the other faeries he didn't trust.
They were back on their feet again, walking right into the face of danger with a cannon in the center of them, threatening to blow the moment they gave him the chance. It almost felt normal now, and Kit didn't know what he'd do with himself in the distant future when he didn't have anything to do that wasn't at least a little bit life-threatening.
The journey was quiet but for the clanging of Morgana's chains, the ever-present rhythm of a prisoner that could very well be in control of everything they were doing, they just had to walk right into his trap. So Kit stayed on his toes, watching closely, overanalyzing everything that stretched out before him. He wouldn't let him get the chance.
The sky darkened quicker than Kit expected it to. By the time night had fallen, they were still in the Vernal Kingdom, but Kit could feel a cool breeze coming in from the north. They were getting close.
They took a rest in an inn at the edge of a small village. The faeries didn't need to sleep like the humans did, but Morgana took a bed because he could. Chalice finally got to rest, at least.
Giselle promised to keep a close eye on Morgana, but Kit still slept light. He couldn't risk it.
He had a mess of dreams, but he forgot them by the morning, though he couldn't let go of the feeling that he was forgetting something important. Chalice looked just as disoriented as he did, but he didn't dare to ask them about it. He didn't want to seem nosy.
They ate another filling meal and took some for the road, but Morgana insisted on going hungry. No one could stop him and frankly, Kit couldn't care less.
"He's trying not to be useful, that's why he's starving himself. The worse off he is, the less we can make him do," Eurion observed as they got back to walking. She stuck in the back with Kit this time, letting Chalice talk to Lionel about druid things.
He still didn't know the extent of Lionel's abilities, if the shard was the reason he could do what Chalice could do or if he was born with it. His mother was clearly not normal, and she came from Fells. It only made sense that he was more than just the shard, but he was sure of nothing.
"I know that," Kit told her with a sigh. She was already fine with him again, and he tried to take some semblance of comfort in that. Eurion wasn't the type for grudges, fortunately. "He's clever. But if there's one feeling I have about him that hasn't changed, it's that there's more to him than he lets on. He could be a breath away from death and he's still strong."
Surely Eurion noticed the glassy look in his eyes. He didn't realize he was trying not to cry until she took his hand.
"It used to be comforting," Kit said, "how powerful he is. But I realize now I should've been terrified."
"You didn't know."
"I should have," he bit back, but this conversation felt familiar. He didn't want to go down that road again, not when he just got her back. "I... it's fine. It's in the past. Thank you."
Eurion could see his efforts, and gave him a soft smile. "Of course, Kit."
They didn't go back to silence after that, but their conversation was now filled with cheerful stories. Kit learned more about Eurion in one walk than he learned in all this time. She was born in the deserts, orphaned, and stole to stay alive until they realized they enjoyed it. It was with the man they stole the first shard from that she sailed to Avalon and became a wanted thief.
"Being King Wylan's biggest nuisance is my greatest accomplishment," she said proudly.
"You're telling that to me, Eurion, I don't think there's a competition here," Kit told her.
"I said nuisance, Kristofer, not enemy." Her eyes widened right after she said it, and she tried to take it back, but Kit laughed and eased her panic.
"It's fine, Eurion, it's funny," he assured her. "And I... suppose it's also true, isn't it? He went without a real conflict other than the Fair Folk for years, and then here comes his own wife's bastard to ruin all his evil tyrannical plans."
Eurion laughed. "And together, you, me, and a couple of faeries make the greatest pain in the ass he's ever had to deal with."
"Truer words have never been said, my friend."
Their playful banter was pulled to a halt when they were struck with a sudden chill and a thick wall of fir trees. There was no snow yet, but Kit could feel it in the cold air, see it in the way Morgana breathed in like he did when he took his power that night in the garden.
They were here. The Winter Kingdom.