Wrath, Love, and Redemption

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I was a small girl when my mother died. It was snowing that day, and my father held me in his arms. I watched as they lowered the body of my mother into the frozen ground, and my heart was broken. Since I could remember, my mother had been my mentor, my life. She had taught me to sew, to cook, to gather eggs, and, believe it or not, to be a lady.

My father was the Warden of the Skara woods. His name was Greyson LeFay, but the local people all called him TideHawke. He was a ranger, a man of the forest. He had the skills of a great hunter, but he also knew the woods themselves. He was the kind of man that knew when a tree was in need, or knew when the beavers had built a dam that was going to fail. The Skara forest was his, and he belonged to the forest.

My mother a was joyful women, and she would often regale me with the tale of how she had met my father.

Sosaria was entirely different back then, and the world was simple...and pure. The people worked hard, and they tilled the land and raised crops, or they herded flocks, on the moors. And my mother was no different.

She was born to a highland clan, a clan that relied heavily on the herds of sheep that would graze the hillsides near what was then called Unter Brae. When she was young, only 14 or 15, she was told by her father that they were to attend the Unter Brae Fair. It was the social event of the year, and the one time that the simple folk of Unter Brae would mingle with the town folk of Skara.

My mother was thrilled, for it was the first time that she had been allowed to attend the fair. She prepared for it all week, and told all of her friends that she was to attend the Unter Brae Fair. She prepared her dress, which I had for sometime, until events parted me from it. It was a lovely white dress, and she wore a garland of freshly picked highland flowers. I could only imagine how beautiful she looked that day, and later, I would one day hope to wear that same dress on the day of my wedding...a day that has yet to come, and I know that most of that was my fault.

At the Unter Brae Fair, my mother saw and heard sites that she had only dreamed of. There were minstrels, and exotic foods from as far away as Yew. My mother was so excited, that she could barely remember the real reason that she was there...to help her father with the prize livestock they had brought to sell.

Soon, they arrived at their stall in the stables, and my grandfather instructed her to bring in the livestock. With them, they had brought 20 head of sheep...the finest in the land, and 10 head of goat, and 20 head of cattle...all the finest you could ever see! And if they did not sell these animals, then the winter would be very harsh.

She herded the cattle to the back of the stall, and they obeyed. And she herded the goats in next, and they also obeyed, and finally...the sheep, and they also obeyed her. My mother was born with an inate sense of animal control, and so was I.

The day went on, and many Sosarians purchased the livestock from my grandfather...but my mother's interest in this really begin when she met him.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

He was a young man, only about 16 or 17, and he was born into the local gentry of Skara Brae. He was confident, yet refined. He strode through the stalls at the fair as if he were the king himself...and according to my mother, he should have been. His father was a descendant of some great line that had inherited a large tract of land in Skara Brae. They were more or less aristocrats, in an area that had very few.

And, according to my mother, he was the most handsom man that had ever graced the land, and as I remember him...she was correct.

He and his father had wandered up to the stall my mother was working at, and they were interested in purchasing a couple of ewe. Of course, these were sold immediately, but my mother had caught his eye. She was bashful, and coy...but he was so comely, that my mother could not help but fall victim to his charm.

And he asked her father if he could escort her to the dance that evening.

Now, my mother's father was no fool...he recognized a chance to have his daughter courted by a local aristocrat, so of course he agreed.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

As the night fell, they would dance, and listen to the minstrels that had come from Yew and Minoc, and even Trinsic. They danced, and they enjoyed the revelry. The music, the food, the cider, and the wine. It was unimaginable for a young highland girl like my mother.

She was a striking beauty...and I mean she was completely amazing. She had long black hair, down to about the middle of her back, and she had the bluest eyes...like the sea in the Tropical Regions. These were traits I would inherit from her...but all of that is for later.

They danced into the late hours, and her father came to her, and told her it was time to go. My father was so smitten with this woman, that he gave her something valuable...a ring that had been handed down in his family for many generations.

This was something else that would eventually come to me, but that I no longer possess...but that will all come later in the tale.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

As time went on, he would come to court my mother. Of course, my mother's father was entirely supportive of this...after all, young Greyson LeFay was going to be anointed by the king himself one day, as the Governor of Skara Brae...at least that is what was being whispered.

And so they consorted for a time. And eventually he asked my mother's father for her hand in marriage.

A great party was thrown in the clan. And they gave my mother the biggest send off the highlands had ever seen...and she left for Skara Brae...to be married.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

And a grand wedding it was.

They were married just outside the town itself, and the flowers were brought from the exoctic areas of the lands, like Jhelom and Magincia. My father's father spared no expense. There were rare foods, wines, and minstrels. It was a celebration to put the Unter Brae Fair to shame!

Hundreds of the local citizens turned out. And the newly wed couple were in complete bliss.

The wedding party would later throw an after wedding bash, as was the custom at the time, that would still be discussed until the Great Renaissance in the lands around Skara.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

They made a home just outside Skara, near the forest that the town was named for. And no two people had ever been closer.

Greyson was a strapping young man, and he often was called into Skara Brae on his father's business. My mother busied herself with wifely duties, mending clothing, and tending to the sheep.

These really were the glorious days of Sosaria. Family was important, and there were few threats to that. But all of that would change...

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

There was some cosmic event, and later I would know of it...but of course, I was as of yet unborn then...and the world changed.

My father was called to Skara Brae.

There was evil in the land. Lizard men, Orcs, Trolls, Ettins, and even ancient Dragons were reported to be inhabiting the land.

Lord British, the king himself, was present at the meeting. There was much concern. And so Lord British declared martial law throughout the land. He appointed a division of Royal Guards to every town...and in the out lying areas, he appointed Wardens.

My father was appointed the Warden of the Skara Forest.

This was a far cry from the Governorship that it was rumored that he would hold...but he was honored nontheless at the responsibility.

He moved with his young bride into the forest itself, into a cabin...the place that I was born.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

My first memories were of the warm cabin the woods.

I remember my father coming home to my mother, with some freshly slain game, and he would kiss her, and they would talk about the day. She would prepare the meal, while my father would spend time with me, telling me stories, or playing make-believe with me.

I was the Princess, and he was the Dark King that had trapped me in the tower. Patches, the family cat was the rogue traveller that had come to save me!

I was delighted! And soon we would eat.

Meal time was always especially pleasant. My mother and father, being somewhat aristocratic, would always use proper table manners...and from a young age, I was taught where my forks went, which side of my plate my gobblet was to sit, and how to place my napkin on my lap.

I felt like a princess.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I loved the snow.

I was about 7 years old, and my father took me into the forest for the first time. We were hunting the Great Harts that roamed the forest.

We had to be cautious, because they were prolific, but we could not hunt too many...for they were like any other creature...if you hunt them too much, they become extinct.

This was one of the most important lessons I ever learned back then.



We had tracked a large Hart, and my father did something I will never forget...he handed me a bow.

I had never been much of an outdoors person, but I was always happy to spend time with my father. As he handed me the bow, I sensed that there was more to this than him wanting me to slay a Hart. He wanted to teach me how to be independant.

I loosed an arrow...and it hit the Hart in the side. We ran to the body, but found it still living. My father drew his blade, and slit the throat of the Hart. For some reason, I felt badly...and my father dragged the carcass back to the cabin, in the snow...he said nothing.

Once we were home, my mother began to dress the carcass, and my father picked me up and said... "What went wrong?"

To me, as far as I could tell, nothing went wrong...the Hart was dead, and we would have meat for weeks.

I considered it, and I spoke... "Nothing father".

He looked into my eyes and said something I have never forgotten...

"One shot, one kill. The arrow is an extension of the hunter, and prey is also an extension. If you do not kill on the first shot, you are likely to be killed yourself."

With that, he kissed my head, and sent me off to clean up for bed.

That night, I dreamed of killing Harts with one shot...and I was good at it!

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I spent a great deal of time with my mother in those days. My father was always off on the King's business.

My mother was planning something for my father's birthday...a surprise. She would not tell me what it was, because she knew that I was a hopeless blabber mouth.

She was still a beautiful young woman, but I had noticed that she was getting a little heavy!

A few days later, we were at dinner, and she announced that she was pregnant, and soon, there would be a new baby in the house!

I was ecstatic!!

My father got up from the table, and walked into another room. My mother calmly put her napkin on the table, and she followed him.

This was the first time I had heard my parents fight...and I was not enjoying it at all.

I went outside.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I went out into the woods. There was snow all around, and the night air was a shock to my warm body. I loved the snow...and I also loved the forest.

I grabbed a stick from the wood pile (my sword), and I wandered into the forest. The moonlight was glistening off the snow, and all around I could hear branches snapping and falling off the trees from the weight of the snow and ice.

I was Morgana LeFay...the Warden of the Woods...and nothing would stand in my way.

I was having a grand adventure...fighting imaginary trolls, and even a dragon...a frost dragon!!

I suppose I heard my father calling, but I was locked in combat with my imaginary foes...and suddenly, I was knocked unconscious.

This foe was not imaginary...it was real. It was an Orc...but I never saw it.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I woke up the next morning in my bed with a remarkable headache. My mother was sitting on the side my bed, applying a compress to my wound. She was so upset.

When she noticed I was awake, she said "What were ya thinkin' dear? The woods are no place fer lil girls at night".

I only replied..."Yes ma'am".

But I was secretly not sorry. I wanted to go back into those woods and find the thing that had hit me so badly...

In my mind, it was a great Frost Giant...or some Ice Demon from another world!

I would have my revenge!

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

Im really loving all the immersion being placed on this board. are you all copying this stuff into books? Keep it coming please.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

The days that led up to the death of my mother were joyous ones...and I cherish them like I cherish nothing else.

At that time in Sosaria, there was only life and death. If you died, you passed into the afterlife. If you were only injured, the healers could help you. As with any skill or power, I suppose it takes time to truly master the art.

It had been months since my mother's announcement, and I could see a difference in my father. He had become more diligent, and often...at night, he would tell me that duty was the highest honor. He would tell me about the Virtures...and the Three Principles. He would tell me about Lord British...and Lord Blackthorn. He would tell me about the things that roamed the forest...and the things he was seeing everyday.

Something had changed in the world...and I did not understand it then, for I was just a child, but Sosaria was never to be the same.

I was awakened by my mother screaming.

I ran in, to see what was wrong, but my father told me to go and get our neighbor...Methodiya.

So I did.

Methodiya was an older lady. She had lived in that forest since she was a small girl, no bigger than I was. I knocked on her door, and she came out.

"Lil' Missy, what is it you be wantin' this time o' evenin'?" she asked...and I explained about my mother.

"Gods be!" is all she said, she went inside and gathered some things...and then we were off to our house.

When we arrived, my mother was screaming, loudly! I decided it was best if I waited outside. I was never able to handle screaming.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

That night, my mother passed into the afterlife...and my sister Abigail was born.

I was old enough to understand what happened...and my heart was shattered. When my father told me, I ran into the forest. Sobbing. I ran. And I ran. And I ran. Until I was stopped.

I had never seen a Lizard Man before...and when I ran into him, it was like hitting a brick wall. I looked up and saw his scaly face, and that tounge...I will never forget that tounge!

He swung at me, and barely missed with his mace. I screamed for my father. But inside of me, I knew he was too far away to hear me. The Lizard Man let out some kind of hissing sound, and swung again. This time, I was not so lucky...he bashed my leg...and it was really painful. I screamed again.

I never heard anyone approach, because I was too busy screaming...but I looked up at the Lizard Man, as he raised that mace...and before he could deliver the killing blow...an arrow pierced his chest from behind...and he fell.

I just knew my father had come to save me, but I was wrong. It was someone that I would later know well...a young woodsman named Robin. He helped me to my father's cabin.

There were many people around, including a member of the Britain Mage Council, named Magnus. He healed my wounds, and chided me for running off.

My father came to me, and held me tightly in his arms...and together we cried.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

As I said before...my mother's funneral was an occassion worse than almost anything I remember.

It was cold. It was snowy. And I wanted to just crawl into that grave with her as they lowered her into it.

I am going to move on in the tale...because if I do not, I fear I may not be able to finish it.

Months passed, and my young sister Abigail was a joy. What a bright child! She was so cute, and so quick to discover new things! She was the apple of my father's eye...or at least, that is what I thought at the time.

I was not jealous. I mean it.

As the years passed, my father taught us both the ways of the forest. To live off the land itself, and a respect for all the creatures that dwelled therein.

He taught us to track game, to hunt, to fish, to tame the animals of the forest.

One day, I was out hunting hinds, and I came across a great steed. I had never seen a horse like this, and he was as wild as a great storm. I approached him, and he charged me, knocking me to the ground...I knew this horse had to be mine!

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I attempted to tame this beast, but he was having none of it.

We circled one another for a long while, and I drew my bow (I would have never killed such a magnificent animal...but I knew I had to show him stregth).

We stared at one another for several minutes...and I coaxed him, and I coaxed him...but to no avail. Finally, I remembered I had an apple in my back pack, and I offered it to him.

This seemed to partly do the trick, and with some reassurance, he allowed me to pet him. From here, a friendship like no other was formed. I named him Rayder...and we went to my father's cabin together.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

My father was impressed, for he had attempted to tame that same steed many times.

Tidehawke LeFay knew every creature in the forest of Skara. The ones you approached, the ones you left alone, and the ones you killed. This particular steed was one that my father had left alone...because he was not tamable...yet I, a 12 year old girl had managed to tame him.

I am not sounding my own horn here mind you. I really think that Rayder was born into Sosaria as a kindred spirit to me...and nothing anyone ever says will convince me otherwise.

To this very day, Rayder is my companion, though we both suffered death...permanent death...but I will explain all of that later.

Everyday, I would ride Rayder into the forest. I was becoming quite the ranger, and quite the archer. My father had, at first, tried to stop me from entering the forest alone, but eventually, he knew that I was not going to listen, and that I was safe there.

The forest had become like my home. I would explore, and I would commune with the creatures there. If I came to the home of the beavers, they would not flee. If I came to the great bears, they would allow me to pet their fur. The creatures of Skara forest were my friends, and I was theirs.

And later, they would save my very life.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Abigail was only 9 years old when my father died...and I was only 16.

The three of us were hunting in the forest...but not for game. Poachers had been spotted, and they were killing the animals of Skara for their hides.

Of course, my father realized that hide gathering was necessary...but these poachers had no permission to hunt this forest, and they were doing so with no regard to the rate at which they were killing.

My father, and his ward, Robin...had ridden to the east...furtherest away from Skara Brae. This area of the Skara forest was highly contested in those days, as outlaws from Britain frequently found their way there.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw something worse than poaching...a pack of three murderers had slain a man for his valuables, and were robbing the corpse.

My father ordered them to stop in the name of the King.

They laughed, and one of them cast a spell upon my father, it paralyzed him, and he was unable to fight back as the others approached with their weapons.

On that day, the murderer known as Dr Deth would slay his very first victim...and history would record his actions...and a hatred deeper than the Abyss that I would eventually know as home was forged.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Abi and I were playing dolls in the yard in front of the house when the messenger arrived.

I was too old to really enjoy dolls, but Abigail was so adorable, I could not resist.

The game that day was Lord British marries Morgana LeFay. I was Abigail's idol back then, and she just knew in her heart that some day the king would come and marry me.

It was something that I, back then, have to admit...fantisized about.

Princess Morgana LeFay...Lady of Britain.

What a joke!

Our little game of make believe was disturbed as the riders approached our home.

The Royal Guards dismounted and delivered the news, in their usual monotonous fashion.

I gathered Abi to my side, and I embraced her.

My father was dead.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

My father's body was taken to Britain, where Lord British himself presided over the funneral.

Unlike the funneral for my mother, this was more of a political, or social event.

The high society of Britain had turned out to pay their respects to someone they didn't know. They came, dressed in the finest clothes...they came, from far off lands...like Serpent's Hold. They consorted with one another...and they consoled Lord British...and Lord Blackthrone, and the other society types...but not one came to me, or to Abi...and expressed one shred of grief.

It was a show that I would not forget...because it showed me just where I stood in the world.

I knew that day that Abi was all I had left...and then the King's aides took her away from me.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Abigail was a child prodigy. And she was taken to study in Britain, under the King's care. He took her into his castle, and made many appearances with her.

She was to be the King's ward...and she was to become the next ruler of Britania...according to Lord British. She was the next in line, "the future of Sosaria" is how I remember him saying it.

I could not even see her. I was blocked access to my own little sister.

And so that day, I rode south from Britain, to Trinsic...

I had nowhere else to go.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

The road to Trinsic was a perilous journey back then.

I arrived at the bridge, and saw 4 murderers there...I did not know their names, and I never would. I paused...but then just rode up like I owned the bridge.

I tossed my hair to one side, and greeted them...

..."Hi there! What you are you big strong men doing this day?" I said, in the tartiest voice I could muster.

"Oh, well, nothin' ma'am" one of them replied.

"My, there sure are a lot of bodies and stuff here" I giggled.

"Well, these were thieves ma'am" one of them said.

I replied "Oh, Goodness..."

They moved aside, and let me through.

Later I would come back with my bow and kill them all...and they never suspected a thing.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I had never been to Trinsic before...but my father had told me that it was a city of Virtue.

I entered her gates, and I did not find Virtue.

It was a hive of scum and murderers.

I carefully rode Rayder to the bank.

Here I met a man named Hawthorne. He was complaining about being attacked near the dungeon Deceit. I approached him, and asked him how I could help. He told me that he needed people to ride with him to retrive his lost goods.

I thought about it for a moment. I had 4 arrows, and some old hand-me-down armor from my father...that barely fit. I asked him if he would wait for me, and he recalled away.

I sighed, and rode toward the Warriors Guild there. Here there were people practicing their skills with swords and maces using the training dummies that are there.

I waited for a while, until a dummy became available...I had never worked with one of these. I hit it with my practice sword and some straw flew out of it.

This was fun!

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I whacked away at the dummy. And soon I was tired. There had to be an inn in this town...

I rode Rayder to the stables, and turned him over to the Stablemaster there...and then I walked to an inn.


Once inside, I noticed a staircase going to the second floor. I could not resist, I had to see what was there.

I crept up the stairs, and there was a man...NAKED!!

And he was pacing back and forth in front of a trunk...NAKED!

I turned my eyes away...and I yelled out "Hail good Sir!"

I heard some noises, and then a reply "..um, Hail! Who goes there?"

I popped my head back up in time to see him slide his pants back on. I was puzzled, and somewhat amused.

He did not seem to be amused, more embarassed. I called to him..."What are you doing?"

And then he explained...he was stealing items that were locked in the community trunks. I was sort of appalled, and sort of ... well, attracted.

He was a musclebound young man, probaly about 20 years old, and let's just say...the gods had been kind to him.

I told him my name, and he gave me his...Coudrac...and then he told me to leave!

I went downstairs, and I got a room for the night.

I liked Trinsic so far, and I was curious what would happen next!

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I awoke the next morning to a racket. I looked out of my room...and I could see the guards gathered. They had killed some thief.

I crawled back into bed...but I could not sleep any more.


I washed up at the basin, then dressed. I was wearing some leather armor that my father had owned...it looked like a dress on me.

I went out of my room, and I heard a man arguing with the innkeeper. Apparently, someone had stolen something he had in the middle of the night. This man would become one of the greatest friends I have ever known...as he stormed off in some sort of hissy-fit...I followed him.

I stopped him, and asked if I could help.

With his hands on his hips, and a snappy attitude, he said "Not if you don't have any steer hides sweetheart!!"

I was a little taken aback. In fact, I took 3 steps back.

He apologized, and his demeanor changed entirely. He asked me my name and I gave it to him.

He introduced himself to me as Bill Blas.

I was shocked...what girl back then had not heard of Bill Blas???

As if?

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I asked Bill what he was doing in Trinsic...and he replied...

"Well, some of my designs were to be shown here, buy apparently this little town has other things to worry about."

At that point, I considered him a narcissistic *******...and I went to the stables.

And he was a narcissistic *******, but he turned out to be one of the greatest friends I would ever know.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I had been practicing with my sword at the Warriors Guild when a man came in and said that he had seen a miracle!

Someone had died on the road to Britain, and a healer had managed to bring him back to life. This was the very first time I had ever heard of such a thing, and I was skeptical. But it would turn out to be true, and shortly after that, it became a common practice. Mages and healers had learned to revive the dead, as long as they did so quickly, before the spirit passed into the afterlife.

A New Age had come, and Lord British was to give a speech in Britain.

I decided that I would attend, as it might give me a chance to see Abigail.

What happened that day would live in infamy.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I arrived at Lord British's castle, and rode to the area where he was to speak. I looked around for Abigail, but I could not find her. The King's guards were everywhere. He came out to the sound of great applause, and there were dignitaries there, that he spoke to as he approached the stage. He ascended the stage, and began to speak.

I do not even recall what he was saying because of the chaos that ensued later...but I still remember this clearly:

Someone in the crowd, a young mage, cast a spell of fire on the stage...and Lord British was killed.

No one moved for several seconds, and then Lord Blackthrone and the Archmage Magnus unleashed a horde of demons to find the killer.

This was not a good idea. They had no control over these beasts from the depths of hell, and they went on a rampage, killing everyone in sight.

I gave Rayder a kick, and we were off as fast as we could go...but a demon pursued us. Rayder was fast, and we made for the Skara forest.

The demon was behind us, howling some ancient curse...and we entered the forest. Before I knew what was happening, I was knocked from Rayder by a spell, and fell to the ground.

I rolled over, and looked up to see this monsterous demon coming at me...I knew I was done for, I covered my eyes and waited for him to kill me...but I suddenly heard a loud racket, and I looked up to see a pack of wolves attacking the demon...and then a couple of grizzlies.

The animals of Skara had come to my aid.

I got up from the ground, and pulled my bow. This demon was going back to hell.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I was going to head back to Trinsic, but I decided that I needed better fitting armor than what I currently had...so I rode into Skara Brae.

The shops in Skara were often filled with craftsmen that would sell their goods to the shopkeepers then...and often, if an item was not made as well as the shopkeepers would like, it would be discarded.

I saw a young man throw a leather bustier on the ground...and I asked him why he did. He told me that the shopkeeper would not purchase it, because they had too many as it were. So I asked him if I could take it. He said he had no use for it, so I picked it up. He looked at me for a moment, and he recongnized me. He had known my father, and he offered to craft me a suit of armor, one that was especially made for me.

I was flattered...and of course I agreed.

That day, as I rode toward Trinsic, I felt like I could conquer the entire world.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I had just gotten to the road, and I saw a young man running through the woods on the other side. He was a dark fellow...bald, with a muscular build. He had a big grin on his face...like he had done something and gotten away with it. I pursued him.

Being that I was on horseback, and he was on foot, I caught up to him quickly.

I asked him what he was doing. He told me he was just exploring, that he was new in the area. I introduced myself, and he told me his name.

He had a funny accent...so to me, it sounded like he said his name was Clean.

He asked me where I was off to, and I told him that I was headed to Trinsic. He said that he had never been to Trinsic, so I invited him to come along. He said that he needed grab some supplies, and that he would meet me there later.

I figured he was giving me the brush off. So I went on my way.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

In those days, the roads had started to become unsafe, so I would try to stick to the woodland trails. The woods between Skara and Trinsic were often filled with ogres, trolls, and other creatures...but they were usually safer than dealing with the robbers and killers that had taken to roaming the roads.

I was almost to the gates of Trinsic when I heard a strange sound. I looked behind me, and I saw something frightful...a huge spider, as big as a cow! I gave Rayder a nudge, but he was not so quick moving through the overgrowth. The spider was fast, and it was upon us before I could even pull my bow. I was knocked to the ground, and I felt the fangs as they pierced my shoulder. I don't remember much else...but this would be the first of many times I entered into the ethereal plane that lies between life and true death.

This was a frighening experience. I did not know what to do. The world looks very different from the ethereal plane...but I could see that Rayder had gotten free of the overgrowth and was running from the spider.

The spider paid Rayder no mind, and proceeded to web up my body.

Watching my own body from outside of it was a very strange experience...but it was an experience that I would eventually know all too well.

I was in a panic. What did I do? Did I stay here? I remembered that someone had said that the healers had managed to resurrect someone, but I had no idea how that worked.

So I went off to find one.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I saw a man in a robe walking through the forest near the road. As I approached him, he spoke to me using the language of the spirits...Spirit Speak.

I asked him if he could help me, and he told me to remain calm...and he began to cast a spell. It was a spell I would later cast more times than I can count.

With a rush of energy, and very bright light, I was back in the land of the living. I felt weak, and I had no idea where my old body was...I decided to look around for Rayder. I was walking around calling for him, and then I felt an arrow in my back, and then another.

I was back in the ethers. This time, I wasn't so scared...I just found the healer again.

I eventually found Rayder, but I never found my body.

I went to Trinsic as fast as I could...I was tired of dying.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Once I was in Trinsic, some skinny woman came up to me. She was just a nasty little thing. Dressed like a harlotte, and looking like was in good need of a bath, she started walking directly beside Rayder and I. She asked me where I was off to.

I told her I was going to the inn.

It was about that time I noticed a slight movement from behind me, and I turned around to see this scummy looking man with a scar over one eye rummaging through my saddle bag. I didn't have a weapon...so I just screamed for the guards.

It was a sight I had not seen before. The Royal Guards could teleport, and they carried Halberds. In those days, their orders were to kill first and ask questions later. Many a thief would fall in this same manner...and as many times as I saw it happen, sometimes immediately next to me, like this time...I never failed to jump.

With the thief down, the other one...the decoy...ran away. This got me thinking, thinking about my father, and the things he had told me when I was young...about duty, and honor.

None of these thieves had any honor at all.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I rode over to the armourer. I didn't have any money, so I was hoping to pick up something that someone had dropped.

When I arrived, there was a young man there working at the forge. He had crafted several items, some he had in a basket, and others he had in a heep on the floor. I asked him if he was going to sell the items, and he said that he was selling the stuff in the basket, and that if I wanted to buy any of them, that I could have a look.

He had some fine goods. Platemail, chainmail, and several types of sheilds.

I told him I didn't have any gold.

He looked at me, with sweat dripping from his brow...and handed me a platemail gorget. I thanked him!

I rode to the provisioner where I sold the gorget for enough money to purchase a new bow, some arrows, a quiver, and some light leather armor. The armor was not as nice as what I had lost in the forest...but it was better than riding around in my death shroud.

I was approaching the inn, when I heard that sound...sort of a whoosh...followed by WHAM! A guard had just killed a thief. I turned the corner, and I saw the body lying there, with a sack full of items. No one was around, so I picked up the sack and hurried to the inn. I gave Rayder to the stable master and went into the inn, where I would use the last of the gold I had to pay for my room. I dragged the sack into the room, and opened it up. There were leather gloves, gorgets, a katana sword, magic reagents, and various other items. I wasn't sure what to do with it all, so I figured I would take what I needed and sell the rest.

I put together a suit of leather armor that was acceptable, and there was still a great deal left...so I set out for the provisioner.

I reached the provisioner, but I was only able to sell five things. I had a nice little sack of gold, and still had many items...so I rode to the bank.

In those days, the bank would not store goods for you. The would only accept gold. So I turned my gold over to the banker, and was about to go to the armourer's shop to see if I could sell anything else...

...and I saw the bald man I had met on the road, Mr. Clean.

He hadn't given me the brush off after all.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I greeted him, and he smiled at me and came over.

I allowed him to take anything he wanted from the bag, and he asked me where I got all that stuff. I told him, that there were people around that would kill, cheat, and steal from him...and that I had take these items off of one of those persons. He seemed to think that was the greatest thing ever!

I rarely saw him in those days without a smile on his face. He had a zest for life like no one I had ever met. He was so eager to explore...he reminded me of Abigail when she was just learning to walk!! It was so cute...and also, there was something about that zeal that made want to be involved. I cannot explain it...it was like when I was a little girl, fighting imaginary Ice Giants all over again!!

We set out for Britain. I wanted to see if I could visit with Abigail.

As we approached the stone structure near Trinsic, we saw some wandering healers. One of them looked really familiar to me. I told Clean that we should go over there...and my suspicions were confimed. It was that naked thief from Trinsic! Coudrac.

I wasn't sure if he recognized me...but when he saw us approach, he knew that his little scam was busted. Basically, he would dress as the wandering healers did, and spoke like they spoke...and when unsuspecting citizens would stop to visit the stone structure, he would rob them blind without them knowing it.

In addition to that, he was lockpicking the trunks in the stone structure and stealing the items that the healers would store there. He admitted what he was up to, and took us just a short way north in the woods, where he had made a cache of stolen goods. He had everything. It was like shopkeepers paradise!

He gave us full suits of armor, weapons, reagents...you name it! We thanked him, and I could tell by the look he gave me that we would see more of one another...and we would.

As we made our way toward the bridge, I knew what lay ahead...so I was ready. Sure enough, the murderers that I had talked my way past were out there, killing. I immediately attacked...killing one of them.

I thought Clean was going to do the same, but he hesitated...and it got him paralyzed. I shot one of the others...and the words of my father came back to me in my head "One shot, one kill. If you do not kill on the first shot, you may end up dead yourself".

I looked over, and the other two had killed Clean, so I decided to fall back. We were out in the open here, and I wanted to get some cover for a better shot.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

As I was moving away from where Clean had fallen, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat at first...there were more people headed right at me. I figured I was dead, and was about to stop and just fire on the two that were chasing me, but I recognized Coudrac...and I called out to him.

He was travelling with two warriors, and when they saw the two on my tail they drew their weapons. I stopped dead, and turned and fired.

Another of them fell...and the other one decided to turn tail and run. I don't like shooting people in the back, but this guy had some of Clean's stuff...and he had pissed me off. So I dropped him as well.

Coudrac commended me on the shot...and the others seemed impressed as well. I was introduced to Silverthorne...and to Hawthorne, whom I had briefly met, although he did not remember me.

About that time, Clean came running up in his death shroud. He was a funny sight with that bald head of his in that robe! He made everyone chuckle, and, as always, he had that grin on his face.

Death or no death, I could tell he was loving every minute!

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Now, I realize that Mr Clean has already been through some of this, so I am going to try to concentrate on the things he didn't tell you, rather than what he did tell you...but, there were milestone events, like the formation of the Regulators there on the road that day, that I feel bear mentioning again.

Coudrac was quite the scoundrel. He was a roguish man, with chiseled good looks. He always had a smug look about him...unless he was stealing. Then, he was all business. I would develop a crush on this him, as he was something I was certainly not used to. I had a thing for bad boys I guess...and eventually, that very quirk would be my undoing.

Hawthorne was the kind of man that considered himself slightly superior to those around him. He wasn't what I would call arrogant per se, more...aloof. Some of the men my father had dealt with often had that same aire about them. Most of them were as useless as a dull war fork when it came to real life. Now, I am not saying that was the case with Hawthorne, but I did feel that he accepted Clean and I out of obligation to Coudrac, rather than out of any real desire to associate himself with us.

Silverthorne was a diplomat. He had once served on the Britain Mage Council (later to be known as the Council of Mages)...and was an advisor to Lord Magnus, and even Lord Blackthorne. Silverthorne would eventually become one of the Blue Servants of the gods...and would act as a liason between man and god. He was a kind and gentle man, and wise beyond his years. Eventually, Silverthorne would become a great friend, a mentor, a neighbor, and a guildmate.

So there on the road, it was decided, we would ride together...we were to be called the Regulators.

Being that there were only a handful of us, I thought that the guild would be more of a loose democracy. It wasn't. Hawthorne made it very clear from day 1 that he was in charge. I didn't have any problem with that, but I knew that this alliance between Hawthorne and Coudrac would not last long...as Coudrac was a man that followed no one.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

We would often gather in Britain. I knew that Clean hated going to Britain, and I could understand why, but in those days...Lord British had gotten his use out of my sister, and the public relations boost he got from posing and making speeches with this poor orphaned prodigy was over. So she was sent to the Music Conservatory to learn music. This was done, of course...because she needed to expand her 'cultural refinement'. Right. This was done because Lord British didn't want to be bothered with her, and he had some new pet project he was working on...something with the Mages.

So once Abigail was no longer in Lord British's castle, I could pretty much see her whenever I wanted, assuming she was not having a lesson or a recital.

She was becoming an incredible musician...and she was starting to grow into a young lady.

I remember a day in particular that Coudrac and I had dropped by the Conservatory on the way to Britain Bank to meet the others. Abigail was outside with us, and I noticed...she was checking Coudrac out! She was starting to take an interest in boys. It was so cute!!

I would check in on her regularly, and made sure that she had everything she needed.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Hawthorne was becoming frustrated. The Regulators were finding themselves pitted against outlaws, murderers, and robbers more and more, and Hawthorne was not happy at the fact that Lord British had no control over the roads.

This was sort of what I thought we were supposed to be doing. I mean, my father was a Warden...and I was raised to believe in the same principles he followed. So as more and more killers and robbers appeared in our lands, I felt it was my duty more and more to be an agent of the King, and to stop them...even if I was not commissioned to do so.

We never really discussed it. As the Regulators found themselves attacked, and taking vengence for the attacks leveled against us, so we just sort of ended up on "that side" of things by default. That was fine with me...because it is what I would have done anyway.

So when Hawthorne recruited Sturmfurher into the guild, it was the begining of the end.

Sturmfurher was a violent man...and he took genuine pleasure in killing. I really didn't have much to do with him, he sort of gave me the creeps.

When Hawthorne and Sturmfurher began killing innocent people, Coudrac left the guild...and Clean and I did as well.

But it was on that day that I would come face to face with my father's killer...even though I would not know it then.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

We where in a hurry, because we had heard that Coudrac had left the Guild...and we were on our way to Trinsic to find out why.

As we approached the bridge, I thought I saw some movement up ahead, but I could not be sure. As we actually crossed the bridge, I knew something was not right.

Perhaps I should explain a little here. It is not like had some great 'battle senses' or anything...it was just that the bridge between Trinsic and Britain had become a very popular spot for murderers and robbers to lay ambushes for their victims. Another really popular spot was what is known as the Crossroads...and I have a story about that spot as well...but I will get to that.

Sure enough, it was an ambush...but we were ready.

Clean and I had been studying magic with an elderly lady that lived in Trinsic for a little while now...and he had learned the spell of Magic Reflection. In those days, the Magic Reflection spell did exactly what you would think it would do...whatever spell was cast on you, reflected back on the caster.

The murderers attacked, and as always, their mage threw a paralyze spell on the first person in the walking order...Clean. He was paralyzed, leaving us to deal with his mates. Once one was dead, the other made haste, and we killed the murderer that I would later discover to be Dr Deth...the murderer that had killed my father.

We made our way to Trinsic after that...and discovered from Coudrac that Hawthorne and Sturmfurher had been killing innocents.

I wasn't sure if I believed it, and I looked at Clean, to try to get a read from him...and I was pretty sure he doubted this.

Well, we found Hawthorne, and sure enough...they had become murderers, so we resigned from the Regulators...and left for Britain.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

This was an interesting time for me, because we were no longer in the Regulators, and Abigail was still in Britain, so I spent a lot of time there.

Britain was the capital city...and there was much to do there. I was riding from the Conservatory to the Provisioner one day, and I heard a somewhat familiar voice behind me...

He said "So, little miss LeFay...do you have my hides yet?" in a sarcastic way.

It was Bill Blas...the tailor!

Now, Bill was a unique man. He had achieved some fame early in his career because his designs were chosen to be used for the robes of the Mages Council...and rumor had it, that even the crest that Lord British wore on his tunic was hand sewn by Blas. I don't know if there was truth to that...it was something Bill would never confirm or deny. He liked to be sort of mysterious. He could come across as being a bit, well, feminine. Like a lot of creative people, he had a certain...flair...about it him, if you take my meaning. Actually, this may have been why I felt so safe around him. He was older than I was, by a good bit...and he was always like that weird uncle that would wear a purple tunic and white sandals to a family function...and everyone would gossip about it for months after, but you could not help but love him. Down deep, he was perhaps the kindest man that I have ever known. I think because he was a little different, and because he was a little famous, that he hid that fact.

One thing I learned quickly about Blas, was that he was a highly skilled mace fighter. This surprised a lot of people when they first found out. Its not like he was a fencer...that would have been expected. No, he was macer, and he had the stregth to shatter a skull with one blow from the war mace he carried. I asked him how he had learned to be such a good mace fighter, and at first he gave me one of those answers that he always gave...he told me that he had gotten so good at mace fighting by beating the ladies off of him when he would reveal a new design. But later, he would give me the real reason...and that was because he spent a lot of time gathering hides to make leather goods, so he had developed the rudiments doing that...and later, he would train with a pit fighter in Jehlom...because he wanted to master the skill for protection.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Blas was a great friend, and a good teacher. Soon, he had me making basic itmes for him...and he paid me well. We would go out, and gather hides, and then he would make armor, thigh boots, leather caps, and such and sold them in the shops in Britain. He even had opened his own small shop just North and West of Britain, and it would remain in business until the Great Renaissance.

He crafted armor for Clean and I, and when we would ride through Britain, we would draw some looks...for not everyone could afford a full suit of Blas originals. Now days, there is much competition in the land...but if you see a Bill Blas original...I recommend it (shameless plug! I promised I would do it! )

Soon, I had saved up a rather large sum of gold, or what was considered large in those days.

I was visiting with Silverthorne one day, and he told me that he and his new wife Gwendamere had constructed a house near Trinsic. I had never really thought about buying a house. I generally lived in town...at the inn, or on occassion, when money was tight, Abigail would sneak me into the dormatory at the Conservatory. But I started to think this was a good idea.

I mentioned it to Clean, and he thought the idea was a really good one, so I got him a job with Blas as well...and we started saving money.

We still found time to do what Clean called "adventure"...I swore back then that he was a big kid! We would visit the dungeons of the land, and the caves, and the wild areas. But nothing we found in any of these places was as deadly and the murderers you would meet on the roads.

This went on for several months, and I was growing quite skilled at tailoring. My mother had taught me to sew, but she would have been proud of my work. I even managed to design a few pieces of my own. These are a very rare find if you ever come across one at a vendor shop...for it was many, many years ago, and I have since given up tailoring altogether. But for a short time, and I mean a very short time...I actually considered becoming a full time seamstress.

In spite of everything that later happened to me...I don't know what would be worse, spending 140 years in the Abyss, or spending 4 years tailoring. It really is a toss up.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Clean and I build houses on the cutest beach in the land. Now, I am biased, because for me...that place was and always will be home, even though I never visit that place anymore.

Perhaps once I have all of this story written out, and I fully come to terms with everything I did, and all that happened...I might return there and attempt to purchase the property from its owner. Who knows?

Our houses were simple...just one room affairs, just cottages really. Silverthorne and Gwendamere had build their house slightly to the north, and then later, a second immediately next to it to use for Gwendamere's Veterinary Hospital. I had a house there, and Clean did as well...and so did someone I would meet later that would become a large part of my life.

Evets Namrezy.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Have you ever met someone that the first time you laid eyes on them, you had a crush on them?

This was how I was with Evets.

He was a laid back man, with long blonde hair. He was tanned, not as dark as Clean, but tanned. He was slim, but muscular. He did a lot of manual labor. He was a bit of a naturalist...like my father, but he seemed to really embrace the lifestyle. He had built his house with his own two hands. He was a skilled carpenter, and he could do things with wood that would astound most people. He was also an excellent lute player...and sometimes, at night, he would sit out on his back step, playing his lute...and if the surf was calm, I could hear him playing. It was almost as lovely to fall asleep to as the sound of the waves were.

The beach there was so different for me. I had grown up in an area where there was much snow and ice...and since I had left Skara, I had not seen much of it. I missed it greatly. The snow in Britain was just not the same, as it quickly became dirty, and turned yellow. But when we moved to the beach, I never really missed the snow anymore. It is hard to explain, but for me, that little beach between Britain and Trinsic was like heaven.

We spent a lot of time there. And one morning, I had gotten up early to hunt some game...and I got a wonderous surprise. Right outside my house, just off my back step...were dolphins! Two of them! I had never seen a dolphin before...and I was elated! As I mentioned before, I have always been really good with animals...but I had never attempted to tame a creature of the sea.

Well, I could not tame them...but they would come to me when I approached, and they would let me pet them, and I would feed them the fish we would catch in the surf.

The moons Felucca and Trammel would shine brightly on that beach when they were in the sky at the same time...and neither was new. And on those nights, I would stay out all night...just listening to the waves, and enjoying wines or ales with Clean, and Evets, and Silverthorne, and Gwendamere. Occassionally, Bill would come around with something he had bought in the far away parts of the land.

It was an amazing time...and besides when I was a little girl, I do not ever remember being so happy.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I was standing out on my back step when I heard Clean slam his door next door. I went over to see what the matter was, and he was in a death shroud. I knew that he had been slain, and I knew he would be angry. He told me that he had encountered a new murderer in the area around the point.

Some raven haired witch. And he went on and on about how beautiful she was.

I could not explain it at the time, but that did not sit well with me. He was practically gushing. He said that she was with Vader and his gang. And he went back to the part about her being so beautiful.

Well, I don't know why, but I just stormed off and went home. That really was the first time that I knew that there was something more between Clean and I beyond friendship. I wish I had figured everything out back then, before I made a complete mess of everything and ruined so many lifes.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

We were helping Blas deliver some goods to Minoc...and it was a day I will never forget.

We had arrived in Minoc, and Clean and Evets were helping Blas unload the armor. I had only been to Minoc a few times at that point, and I decided to have a look around. Back then, the town officials in most of the towns would post a bulletin board by the bank that listed the names of those that were wanted for crimes.The usual names were on the boards in most of the towns...but Minoc was sort of slow to keep things up to date. Minoc was a mining town, and besides ore thieves, there wasn't that much crime...not like in some of the other towns.

I was poking around, the Minoc shops had little of interest, but Rayder did need new shoes...so I had gone to the bank to retrive the necessary gold to pay the smith, and while I was waiting for the banker to bring my gold I started reading their wanted board. I saw the usual names, Vader, Brolly, Zodiac...but one name caught my eye...because it read:

Wanted for the Murder of the Warden of the Skara Forest

Dr Deth

Reward offered by the King


I just stood there. I had to read it twice. This was the man that had killed my father, I now had a name.

I ripped down the posting, and I made haste back to Clean and Evets and Bill.

I told them what I had discovered...and Clean said to me "Dr Deth? Isn't he one of those punks that runs the ambush at the bridge between Trinsic and Britain?"

Evets nodded.

I had never really bothered to learn the names of many of the murderers that had killed me, or that I had killed...to me, they were all the same.

I would end that practice as of that day...from then on, at least until my time in the Abyss, I kept a diary of all murderers I encountered.

I wanted to find this Dr. Deth...and I was going to kill him.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I would eventually find Dr Deth, and his crew...and I would kill him...but at that time, with ressurections becoming so comonplace, death was more of an inconvenience. Yes, the actual death itself could be rather painful, but it wasn't like you could not be ressurected.

Over the years, I would develop a special hatred for Dr Deth, and his eventual fate would be unknown to me, but at some point...he left Sosaria...either through permanent death, or bannishment.

Either leads to an almost equally horrible place...as I would learn.

No matter what he did...if he wound up where I think he did, he didn't deserve that fate, no one does. No one.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I suppose I have put this part of the story off for long enough, so I will just present it here, and move on.

Her name was MoonlightMyst. And she would betray me in a way that no other ever had...not even Dr Deth, for he had no idea what he was doing. He was just a thug. She was much worse...

A group of murderers had taken to killing adventurers and travellers to the south of Trinsic, and the surrounding areas. They were led by a powerful mage called Vader. He was a dark, and evil man...and I have theories as to why he was such, but I have no proof of what I suspect, so I will keep it to myself.

I met MoonlightMyst for the first time when we rode south in search of Vader's group...to exact revenge upon them for killing Clean. We saw them ahead of us, sorting through the bodies of their victims, and I gave Rayder a nudge...we rushed forward.

Clean had his sword drawn, and took a swipe at one of Vader's men...he was successful in killing him. And that left only 3 of them...Vader, a Warrior named Burr, and a woman...MoonlightMyst.

She was good...very skilled in the art of combat. As I loosed my first arrow at her lovely head, she teleported behind me...and hit me with a fireball. It almost knocked me off of Rayder. I turned to face her, and she flashed me a very disturbing smile. And from behind me, I heard the words Kal Vas Flam, and I was engulfed in magical fire. This nearly killed me...and it would have, if Evets had not healed me at the last second.

Evets was a great carpenter, a good musician...but his true talent lied in magery.

He returned Vader's flamestrike...and I fired my bow into his heart...and he fell.

Clean had dispatched Burr, and was coming around to attack Moon. She simply made herself invisible, and then teleported behind him. She was an elusive target. Evets had an idea...and this would later become a common tactic we used. He put up a paralyze field on one side of her, and I put one up on the other, creating a corridor of sorts, with us on one end, Clean on the other, and her right in the middle.

She had no where to go.

So we approached her slowly...and I drew my bow.

And just before I loosed the arrow to put her down...she spoke "Go ahead beautiful...if you think you have what it takes." I let go of the arrow, and with that, she was gone. Recalled...the only thing that remained was her laughter.

I stood there for a moment, and realized...she really made us look bad. We needed to improve our tactics...if we were to face foes like this. We gathered up the belongings of Burr and Vader...and we rode back to Trinsic.


A few days later, I would run into her in Trinsic. It shocked me that she just walked up, like nothing had happened, and said "Hiya doll. That was some fight you put up the other day. You ever consider what someone like you and someone like I could do together?" I could have just walked away, I should have just walked away...so much would have been different, but it was the same thing that initially drawn me to Coudrac. And just said "I imagine we could do all kinds of things together...and some of them might be very, very, interesting". I was actually flirting with her. This killer. This evil witch...but I have to admit, Clean was right. She was the kind of beautiful that you cannot help but stare at. I have been told that I am as beautiful as she was, but if I looked into a mirror, I never saw it.

I think it was those eyes...those deep brown eyes...you could lose yourself in them...and that is eventually exactly what I did.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

We would meet, in secret. Just she and I. We would talk for hours. She was an amazing woman. And she had endured so much in her life, that I felt sorry for her. Maybe that was part of the reason that I felt so strongly for her...I don't know.

As a child, she had been abandoned by her mother, and left with a drunken father that was probably the most worthless human being Sosaria had ever known. He had done things to her, from as early as she could remember...and what is worse, as she got older, he allowed some of his friends to do the same to her.

When she was 13, she slit his throat in his sleep, and she fled home...and became a street person. She eventually wound up in Buc's Den...where she would pick pocket, and even provide favors to the sailors there for gold. She had met Vader, and he had promised her a better way of life...but she knew that he wanted more from her than he let on.

She confided in me that she no longer could stand the thought of being with a man, in that way. Personally I had never been attracted to women before, but there was something about this woman that pulled me to her like a moth to a flame.

We had to keep our special friendship a secret. Vader would not stand for her associating with someone like me, and I wasn't sure how the newly formed Protectors of Virtue would feel about me associating with someone like her...so in front of the guild, or her group...we were mortal enemies. But in private, we had begun to fall deeply in love with one another.

I would make excuses for reasons to go off alone, and we would meet up...and steal away to an out of the way inn, or just ride our horses and talk. I wanted so much for her to become a part of the PoV...to see the dolphins, to know the friendships I had in Evets, and Clean...and Blas and Abi. But this would not be possible...and I am not sure she would have even appreciated any of it, although...I think she would have under other circumstances.

I thought I was being really careful with this thing...and I was returning to the beach house one night, and Abigail stepped out of the shadows in front of me on the path.

She didn't have to say a word...I knew that she knew everything.