Chapter 2.
How Morgana Le Fay returned to Camelot with a plan to harm King Arthur and what happened to Sir Acheron.
Meanwhile, Morgana Le Fay, pretending to be humble and sorry, returned to King Arthur's court to beg for brotherly forgiveness.
While there, she and Arthur fell into a friendly talk about Excalibur.
I'd like to take a closer look at it than I have before, Morgana said.
May I?
King Arthur walked over to Excalibur, which was resting in a place of honor in the corner.
He gathered up the sword and the case and allowed Morgana to examine them.
He reminded her, as I am reminding you, that the magical blade could cut like no other and that the sheath protected from wounds whomever was wearing it.
Oh, brother, Morgana sighed.
Excalibur is so beautiful, I cannot bear to give it back just yet.
Do you think I could take it home with me and keep it just for a little while, so that I may look at it some more?
Arthur hesitated, but he was so grateful they were friends again that he agreed.
Little did he know that the dishonest Morgana would not just take Excalibur home to look at.
Rather, she would hire goldsmiths and armorsmiths and jewelers to make an exact copy of it.
No one except her would be able to tell the difference just by looking at it.
Soon afterward, Morgana went back to the court to visit.
After greeting her warmly, Arthur asked about Excalibur.
"'No,' Morgana said.
"'I forgot to bring it because I was so excited about the other present I have for you.'
She told him about the beautiful new black horse she had waiting for him downstairs.
As Arthur had been planning to go on a hunt, this worked out perfectly.
Asking her to bring Excalibur next time, Arthur thanked his sister and set off.
The horse was so fast as it chased the hounds and the hare that it raced well ahead of everyone else's horse, but one that belonged to Arthur's friend, Sir Achelon of Gaul.
The two men soon found themselves quite alone and lost in a deep and thickly tangled part of the forest.
They decided to trust their horse's instincts to take them home, or at least to some other safe place.
Arthur's horse took the lead and the men traveled through the night.
The next morning, the horses pushed through the forest and stopped on a beach before a smooth sea.
On the horizon, a ship with colorfully stretched silk sails was moving quickly toward them.
On the deck, there stood twelve very beautiful women waving, Come aboard.
They cried, Surely you are hungry and thirsty and tired.
What do we have to lose?
King Arthur said.
Perhaps it shall be another great adventure.
Sir Akelon agreed, and the two men went aboard.
Suddenly the ship began to move out to sea.
The men were worried, but they soon became distracted and had an enjoyable evening.
At the end of the night, they allowed the women to lead them to sleeping quarters where they would spend the night.
When Arthur opened his eyes, he thought he still must be dreaming, for he found himself in a dark and gloomy dungeon made of stone.
Around him he saw many other knights, moaning and in a sorry state.
One of the knights explained that they were being held prisoner by a knight named Ser Domus.
When Sir Domus's father had died, he left everything in his large estate to Sir Domus and his brother, Sir Onslaught.
Over the years however, Sir Domus had taken almost everything from his younger brother, except for one small castle.
He wants that last castle, the knight said, but he cannot get it himself and he cannot find a knight to take up his greedy case for him.
That is why we are all here as prisoners.
All of us refused to help him.
I will help him, Arthur vowed, if only to get free, but then I will hurt him for what he has done.
A woman came into the room then.
Arthur recognized her as one of the women who had lured him and Sir Akelon onto the ship.
Did I hear you say you would defend Sir Domus's cause? she asked.
I will take on his cause on one condition, Arthur said.
You must promise to go to Camelot and ask Morgana Le Fay to send me my sword, which she is holding.
Morgana Le Fay laughed when she heard the message, for, of course, she had set up the whole thing.
She laughed even harder when she gave the woman not the real Excalibur, but the copy she had made.
Now, when Sir Aquilon opened his eyes, he was not in a dungeon.
Rather, he was in a mysterious pavilion, being watched by an ugly dwarf.
The dwarf told Akelon that the pavilion belonged to the Lady Gomeen of the Fair Hair, who invited Sir Akelon to breakfast.
Of course, the Lady Gomeen was working for Morgana Le Fay as well.
While they ate, the Lady Gomeen told Sir Akelon a sad story about a worthy knight named Sir Onslaught, who had an evil older brother.
Sir Domus has not only taken everything, but has now found himself a knight to steal Sir Onslaught's final possession.
His one remaining castle, the Lady Gomeen cried.
And Sir Onslaught cannot defend himself, for he was recently wounded in battle.
Please, sir, won't you help?
I would, Sir Akelon said, and gladly, but I have no armor.
The Lady Gomeen smiled and said she would be right back.
She returned holding something wrapped in scarlet cloth.
We have wrapped it, Sir Akelon gasped.
A lady, he cried, holding what he had no way of knowing was the real Excalibur.
This sword is identical to the sword of my friend and King Arthur.
I will do anything to have it.
And so it was agreed that Arthur and Sir Aquilon would fight each other.
Sir Aquilon with the real Excalibur and King Arthur with the fake.
As each man was wearing the armor and colors of the man for whom they were fighting, they could not see each other's faces.
Therefore, they did not realize they were fighting each other.
Vivian arrived just as the battle began.
Although her mission was to save King Arthur, she could not tell immediately which knight he was.
Very soon, however, it became clear that he must be the knight in greater trouble.
And in great trouble he was.
Arthur's fake sword barely made a dent in his opponent, while his opponent's sword cut into him deeply, and the case of Arthur's sword, which in the past had protected him from all wounds, seemed to sleep as the blood flowed freely from his body.
Sir Achelon was just about to finish King Arthur off when Vivian stepped in, casting a spell that knocked Excalibur out of his hand.
Arthur ran to pick up the other weapon, recognizing it at once as the one that was truly his.
When he picked up the case, which had also fallen, all of his wounds stopped bleeding.
Almost immediately, Sir Achelon started to bleed instead.
Before fainting from blood loss, Sir Acheron removed his helmet and saw Arthur, the face of his friend.
Arthur tried to help but had already lost a great deal of blood and was very weak.
As promised, Vivian used her magic to heal Arthur, but she refused to help Sir Acheron, who later died.
Saddened and still not quite understanding what had happened, Arthur gave all of Sir Domus's wealth, except for one small castle, to Sir Oslock and then returned home.
Some time later, Morgana Le Fay came nervously to visit, worried she had been found out.
But when she arrived, Arthur was sleeping.
Sneaking into his room, she decided she would try to take Excalibur again.
As Arthur was sleeping with the sword under his pillow.
However, the only thing she could steal was the case.
When Arthur awoke, found the case missing and learned that his sister had been there, he finally realized that she had been at the bottom of all his recent troubles.
Vivian offered to help Arthur catch Morgana Le Fay, and Arthur accepted.
But before they could catch her, Morgana took the case and threw it into the middle of a vast lake.
As she did so, a white arm covered with many gold bracelets rose up out of the lake.
The arm caught the case and drew it deep underwater, from which it would never rise again.
Sensing Vivian and Arthur behind her.
Morgana disguised herself and her court, turning them all into a bunch of rocks and stones lying upon the ground.
Arriving there, Vivian sensed magic immediately and offered to turn everyone back, if only Arthur would promise to kill Morgana as punishment.
But Arthur refused and scolded her in front of witnesses.
After all, Morgana was still his sister.
Vivian smiled, called Arthur a fool and told him gladly what had happened to his good friend Merlin.
She then left that place.
From that day forward, because he had refused her in public.
Vivian hated Arthur even more than Morgana Le Fay did.
And thus ends the story of Merlin's presence in Arthur's life.
