"And that concludes my report, Your Majesty." Ana, one of the former widows, said as she took a respectful step back.
"You hear that, Father? We gotta act now!" Mordred practically hung over my shoulders as she spoke, her behavior so different from Ana's. Well, in all of Albion, the number of people who dared act like Mordred couldn't be counted on one hand with fingers to spare.
Pretty much only she and Sprite were that down-to-earth around me.
Those two got along swimmingly, in their own way. Always bickering, fighting, though only with words, Sprite was skilled at her illusions, more so than even Loki, but against Mordred? She was smart enough to avoid getting her new face beat in.
Both Sersi and Sprite stuck around in Camelot; the same went for most of the others. They did so for one reason or another. But largely due to them enjoying the fact that they could live here without fully hiding their identity.
Sure, the word Eternal wasn't thrown around, but Camelot was home to many people with powers, mostly magical users and a few scattered mutants, so the Eternals didn't have to worry too much.
The fact that not only could they live more openly here, but also that they could stay together for a bit, was the reason they stuck around, something Sprite in particular was happy about.
Since getting her wish fulfilled, her body reformed into an older, more mature version, she had taken to enjoying everything that brought her.
She would spend her nights in nightclubs, drinking in bars, dancing, everything she hadn't been able to do for the last few decades, and everything she had been dreaming about for thousands of years.
Which naturally included her love for Ikaris.
That was an old love, one she had carried for countless years, but never able to fulfil. It was a tragic story. She had watched from the sidelines as Ikaris and Sersi were together, cheering for her best friend, yet no doubt hurting on the inside.
Ikaris had never shown any return of her feelings, but Sprite wasn't very forthcoming with them, knowing it wasn't likely to happen due to her body. Ikaris, too, had his issues, which led him to parting ways with Sersi.
All around, it was a mess, and Sprite only made it far more so now in her new form.
Poor Ikaris wasn't given much time to get used to the new situation, as Sprite pretty much threw herself at him.
He had not been able to turn her down, and now… well, their dating life was a total mess, something Sprite still seemed to rub in Mordred's face all the time.
Honestly, Sprite had been cuter in her child form; these days, she still acted like that in front of me, like a child, but while Mordred still somewhat looked like one, Sprite didn't.
"I heard her perfectly well, Mordred, but that doesn't mean we can just march off to war." I said after Mordred's constant whining brought me back to reality.
Mordred rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over the back of my chair, half-draped like an impatient child waiting for dessert. "But why not? We all agree we have to stop that witch, so why not just go do it?"
"Because if I were to take my army and march into France, the entire world would unite against me, and that would just benefit our enemy," I replied, keeping my tone calm.
"But father!" She insisted. "You heard Ana, that evil witch is growing her influence. If we wait too long, she'll become a real threat. You know how fast these things spiral."
She wasn't wrong, I knew that. If the report was to be believed, it was clear that Morgana was collecting power, and that power of life force. A large number of people were going missing or dying.
A clear sign that the witch was no doubt preparing for something big soon. I didn't know what, but I also knew that I didn't want to know what it was.
Still, that didn't mean I wasn't wrong either. Attacking her wouldn't be easy. France is a big place, and someone like Morgana wasn't someone you just find.
Even the Ancient One couldn't find where Morgana was hiding, so what chance did I have?
Finding someone else wouldn't be hard, but someone of her skill? Impossible, even from my tower, I couldn't just see her.
Which meant a surgical strike was nearly impossible, we would need a large army, and I had one, I could make one. It wasn't an issue.
No, the issue was still the world being on guard against me; it was fine as long as I didn't do anything, but if I did? All hell would break loose.
I let out a quiet sigh, rubbing my temple. "It's not that I don't want to act. It's that I have to act carefully."
Mordred huffed, turning away with a dramatic swirl of her jacket. "Fine. Then let's not bring an army. Just bring me. You, me, and someone else. Someone discreet. Like Ana here, or even Jessica, she is bored as well, just drinking and playing all day."
I offered Mordred a sidelong glance. "As far as I know, Jessica is loving being able to drink, sleep, and play all day. You are the one who is bored, Mordred."
She didn't deny it.
Instead, Mordred grinned, the kind of mischievous grin that always meant trouble was coming — usually in the form of explosions, sword fights, or both. "Guilty," she said, flopping down into the nearest chair like a cat who knew it owned the room. "But that's all the more reason you should take me. I need a break from staring at stone walls and listening to Sprite rant about boys."
I raised a brow. "You are free to educate yourself, maybe sit in on a few classes on statecraft at a university would be good for your future role as king?"
Mordred looked like she bit into a lemon. "No way! I want something fun to do! Not classes!"
I couldn't help the slight smirk tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Being king isn't always fun, Mordred. You might want to start getting used to that idea."
She groaned loudly, throwing her head back in mock despair. "You sound like Agravain. Next, you'll be telling me to review tax policy or write thank-you letters to visiting diplomats."
"Actually—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence."
I let the silence linger for a heartbeat, enjoying her exasperation. "Then perhaps you should go and find something else to do, because I still have plenty of work to do."
Mordred groaned but finally left, all while cursing under her breath the entire way out of my office.
"She sure is spirited," Ana said once Mordred was gone. She was smart enough to try to blend into the background while she looked for entertainment.
"That she is," I agreed. "Maybe a bit too much so… what do you say? How should we deal with this dark witch?"
Ana didn't answer right away. She folded her hands in front of her, her eyes drifting briefly to the grand windows where the midday sun poured in over Camelot's stonework like divine approval.
"Well, if it were me, I would naturally go with an assassination. Find the target, then eliminate them." She said at last. "It would take time, but given her actions, it should be possible to find her. Once found, she would be easy to take out, for you at least, I would still be doomed against her."
Ana had seen the way the witch had tanked one of Mordred's hits, and that was a fully serious hit with her sword; even a tank would be cut in half by that, so the fact that the witch had tanked it meant that anything Ana tried to throw at her would be meaningless.
I sighed at her words, because it was indeed the best bet, just like how I once tried to deal with the Hand. Mordred and I, a small team of overwhelming power, would sneak in and take them down.
The Hand had been allowed to survive because I wanted the dragon bones they were digging after, and I didn't want to do the digging myself, so better to let them do the hard work for me.
And while it was entirely possible some innocent people would suffer under them while I waited, I couldn't save everyone. At most, I would avenge them.
But this wasn't like the Hand. Morgana was more difficult to track down; it would require a long time. And as ruler of a nation, I was busy; to step away for months would be difficult.
Yet, while I could leave the Hand to mostly mortal forces such as Jessica and Daredevil, the same couldn't be said for Morgana. There, even sending my Knights of the Round Table might not be enough.
Sure, Morgana wouldn't be able to kill them, of that I was confident, well, maybe some of the weaker ones, but Mordred? Lancelot? Gawain? Or anyone else at that level? She couldn't deal with them
No, the problem was that they also might not be able to stop her from fleeing, since we didn't have anyone able to do magic, so we couldn't stop her from using it to flee.
Which meant only I could do it.
So, to deal with her, I would have to be there, and well… it just wasn't something I felt was right… even if I too wished to go and stretch my legs for a bit.
Ana must have seen the tension behind my eyes, the unspoken weight coiled around my decision like chains. She tilted her head, folding her arms.
"You don't want to go," she said, not accusingly, just with that quiet, level understanding of someone who had served long enough to read between royal lines.
I exhaled. "It's not that I don't want to. It's that I do—and that's the problem."
She gave a small, dry laugh. "Because if you want something, it must be selfish."
"Exactly." I paced away from the table, toward the window overlooking the western edge of Camelot, where the forests stretched toward the unseen coast. "A king doesn't get to want. He acts. He chooses based on what the realm needs. And Camelot needs a ruler. Not a warhound."
"And yet sometimes, Your Majesty," Ana said gently, "it needs both."
I didn't respond, but I didn't argue either. She wasn't wrong. As much as I tried to separate the crown from the sword, the two had always been intertwined. One forged the other.
I knew now that as king, it was fine to be a little selfish; I had been plenty of times, though each time, it was always because I believed that it was the best for the people.
This time just felt different, it wasn't like when I went to America last time, back then I spent more time than needed, even went to the beach with Mordred. But in the end, the trip there was because Albion needed something, and I had to get it.
The selfish part was just a few days of something else; this time, the entire trip just felt more selfish.
"She's too slippery," I muttered. "Too elusive. Even if I send scouts, even if I track her power and trace the rituals, there's always a chance she'll flee the moment we close in. It would all be for nothing."
"That's why a strike team is needed, one that can both eliminate her in one shot, but also draw her out. "Ana said.
I turned, my gaze locking with Ana's. "You think I should bait her."
"I think you already are bait to her," she replied without hesitation. "Why is she so focused on Albion? Because she wants it, as long as you live, she can't get it, but she can't beat you, she knows that, so she wants others to fight you, to deal with you, or to find objects of power."
There was a logic to it. Morgana was after my throne, as for why? I didn't know, I didn't understand. She had been around for so long, she could have built a kingdom long ago, or taken one over from the shadows.
So why act now? I didn't know, but indeed, she would want power… maybe I could use that?
"Ana, be a dear and prepare me a few things."