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But Agatha had no plan.
She had no allies.
Credit: HarperCollins
She had no place to hide.
She couldnt think about a plan or shelter.
She couldnt think about the present at all.
HarperCollins
Wasnt Gillikin the kingdom with the pink fog?
Hadnt Yuba the Gnome taught them that at school?
But shed left Gillikin hours ago.
How could she be thereagain?
Somehow shed ended up in the Stymph Forest, with no trace of a path.
A storm swept in, slinging lightning through trees.
She cowered under an overgrown toadstool.
Where should she go?
Who could help her when everyone she trusted was locked in a dungeon?
Shed always relied on her intuition, her ability to make a plan on the spot.
But how could she think of a plan when she didnt even know who she was fighting?
I saw the Snake dead.
But then he wasnt…
And Rhian was still onstage…
So Rhian cant be the Snake.
The Snake is someone else.
The Lion and the Snake.
She thought of Sophie, whod giddily accepted Rhians ring, thinking she was marrying Tedros knight.
At least Rhian wouldnt hurt Sophie.
What for, Agatha didnt know.
But Rhian would hurt Tedros.
Tedros, whod heard Agatha tell Sophie last night that hed been a failure as king.
Tedros, who now doubted whether his own princess believed in him.
An enemy who now claimed to be his brother.
She needed to hold Tedros in her arms and tell him that she loved him.
That she would never doubt him again.
That she would trade her life for his if she could.
Ill save you,Agatha thought desperately.Even if I have no plan or no one on my side.
Until then, Tedros had to stay strong, no matter what Rhian and his men did to him.
Tedros had to find a way to stay alive.If he wasnt dead already.
Doveys crystal ball weighed her down, pounding the same bruise in her flank again and again.
Thats why hes king.
The Lady of the Lake told Sophie that the Snake was king.
But Excalibur thought Rhian was king.
And Arthur told Tedros that Tedros was king.
Agatha held her breath, lost in a maze of thoughts.
In her sleepless haze, she wondered if shed run through months and seasons…
But now she could see the shadow of a castle in the distance, spires slicing through low-flying clouds.
After all this, instead of finding someone who could help her, had she run back to danger?
Had she wasted all this time?
Tears rising, she backed away, turning to sprint again
But she couldnt run anymore.
Sleep came as hard and swift as a hammer.
She dreamed of a leaning tower stretched high into the clouds, built out of a thousand gold cages.
One by one, it threw cages off the tower.
Agatha woke with a start, sopped in sweat despite the snow.
Raising her head, she saw the storm had passed, the castle ahead now clear in morning sun.
Something inside her had steered her here.
To the one person who could give her answers.
Something inside her had a plan all along.
Hello?
Agatha called out to the still waters.
Lady of the Lake?
Not even a ripple.
Edginess fluttered in her chest.
Once upon a time, the Lady of the Lake had been Goods greatest ally.
Thats why Agathas soul had brought her here.
But Chaddick had come to the Lady of the Lake for help too.
Hed ended up dead.
Agatha looked up at the zigzagging staircase that ascended towards the circle of white towers.
The last time shed come to these shores, shed been with Sophie, searching for Chaddicks body.
Agatha had never seen the Snakes face.
But the Lady of the Lake had seen it when shed kissed him.
A kiss that had leeched the Ladys powers and betrayed King Tedros.
A kiss that had helped the Snake put a traitor on Tedros throne.
Because thats what Rhian was.
Agatha turned back to the water.
The Lady of the Lake had protected that Snake.
And not just protected him: shed fallen inlovewith him and lost her powers because of it.
Shed thrown away a lifetime of duty.
A sick feeling slid up Agathas spine.
The Lady of the Lake should have been immune to Evils charms.
But instead, she could no longer be trusted.
I shouldnt be here,she thought.
And yet… there was no one else to turn to.
She had to take a chance.
Its me, Agatha!
He needs your help!
Her voice echoed across the shore.
Then the lake shuddered.
She saw nothing except her own reflection in the silvery surface.
But then, her face in the water began to change.
Her voice carried through the water, low and distorted
We made adeal.
IansweredMerlins question, the Lady of the Lake seethed.
I let him ask me one thing onething and in return, he would never come again.
So now he tries to weasel out of our deal by sendingyou?
Youre not welcome here.
He didnt send me!
And Merlins been hurt!
Hell die if I dont save him!
There was no alarm or horror or even sympathy in the Ladys face.
There was… nothing.
Didnt you hear me?
You have to help them!
You swore to protect the King
And Ididprotect him, the Lady retorted.
I told you when you came here last.
The green-masked boy had the blood of Arthur in his veins.
And not just the blood of Arthurs son.
The blood of Arthurs eldest son.
I could smell it when I had my powers.
I knew the blood of the one true king.
She paused, her face clouding.
He had powers too, this boy.
He knew that I would trade my magic for love if only someone gave me the chance.
And he was offering me that chance.
A chance Arthur never gave me.
For a single kiss, the boy promised I could be free of this life…
I could go with him to Camelot.
I could have love.
I didnt know that giving up my powers would meanthis.
That Id end an old crone, more alone than before.
I didnt know his promise meant nothing.
Her eyes sealed over.
But that is his right, of course.
He is the king.
And I serve the king.
Except the kingisntthe boy you kissed!Rhianis king!
The boy theyre calling the Lion, Agatha insisted.
That wasnt the boy who came here!
The boy you kissed was theSnake.
He kissed you to strip your magic and rob Good of your power.
He kissed you to help theLionbecome King.
And now I need to know who that Snake is.
Because if you could be tricked, so can Excalibur!
No one tricked me.
The boy I kissed had Arthurs blood.
The boy I kissed was theking.
But the Snake didnt pull Excalibur!
Thats what Im trying to tell you!
And I saw the Snakethere!
Theyre working together to con the people of the Woods.
Thats how they duped you and the sword
The Lady tore through the water.
I smelled his blood.
I smelled aking, her voice resounded like thunder.
And even if I can be duped, as you so boldly claim, Excaliburcannot.
No one can outwit Goods most powerful weapon.
Whoever pulled Excalibur from the stone is Arthurs blood-heir.
It was the same boy I protected.Heis the rightful king… not the one you and Merlin defend.
She began to sink into the water.
You cant go, Agatha gasped.
You cant let them die.
The Lady of the Lake paused, her skull shining underwater like a pearl.
This time, when she looked up, the ice in her eyes had thawed.
All Agatha saw was sadness.
Whatever trouble Merlin and your friends have gotten into is their own doing.
Their fates are in the hands of the Storian now, the Lady said softly.
I buried that boy Chaddick as you asked.
I helped Merlin like he wanted.
I have nothing left.
So like… just go.
I cant help you.
Yes, you could, Agatha pleaded.
Youre the only one whos seen the Snakes face.
Youre the only one who knows who he is.
I can prove to the people that theyre liars!
My loyalty is to the King.
She sank deeper
Would the true King hurt Merlin?
Would Arthurs heir break his promise to you and leave you likethis?
You say Excalibur makes no mistakes, butyoumade Excalibur andyoumade a mistake.
You know you did.
Truth has become Lies and Lies the Truth.
Good and Evil have become one and the same.
A Lion and a Snake worked together to steal the crown.
Even your sword cant tell what makes a king anymore.
Somewhere inside you, you know I speak the Truth.
All Im asking for is the Snakes face.
Tell me what the boy you kissed looks like.
Give me the answer to my question and Ill never return.
The same deal you made with Merlin.
And I swear to you: this deal will be kept.
The Lady of the Lake locked eyes with Agatha.
Deep in the water, the nymph treaded silently, tattered robes splayed like a dead jellyfish.
Then she faded down into its depths and disappeared.
No, Agatha whispered.
She dropped to her knees in the snow and put her face in her hands.
She had no wizard, no Deans, no prince, no friends to rely on.
She had nowhere to go.
No one to turn to.
And now Goods greatest force had deserted her.
She peeked through her fingers to see a scroll of parchment floating towards her.
Heart throttling, Agatha snatched the scroll and pulled it open.
The Lady had given her an answer.
But… but this isimpossible… she blurted, looking back at the lake.
The silence only thickened.
She blinked back at the wet scroll: a bold, inked painting of a beautiful boy.
A boy Agatha knew.
She shook her head, baffled.
Because Agatha had asked the Lady of the Lake to draw the Snakes face.
The Snake whod kissed the Lady and left her to rot.
The Snake whod killed Agathas friends and hidden behind a mask.
The Snake whod joined forces with Rhian and made him king.
Only the Lady of the Lake hadnt drawn the Snakes face at all.
