#asksgk

She is brilliant, radiant, incandescent - all the metaphors for beauty that also suggest being roasted alive, if you understand my meaning...

Little wonder that you despise her so, but I must ask.

When the Lady of the Lake was at her side, pleading for her cause, what made you turn Nimue away?

"Your fascination with prying into my innermost thoughts simultaneously amuses and annoys me." Merlina's tone was clipped, almost pouty. "You believe yourself to know all and observe all, and yet you ask me for my perspective regardless. Omnipresent but not omniscient. A child playing at God by peering in at the works of another. Curious.

"Regardless, you are right to question my choice to turn away Lady Nimue during her time of need. I assume you must know of my previous relationship with the fae maiden. A clever and powerful woman, sharp as a dagger and thrice as deadly, and yet duty bound to protect the land she oversees. I could never bring myself to hate her so long as we live." She finished thumbing through an old tome and laid it down beside her after closing it.

"But even love and respect have its limits. Lady Nimue is not blind to the world; she knows the scourge upon Camelot that her wicked sister, Morgan la Fey, is. The fog surrounding her forest is proof of the depths that whorish wench will sink to further her own agenda. For Lady Nimue to debase herself into becoming an olive branch between Morgan la Fey and I... What other choice did I have? Should I have accepted her help to search for this supposed source of corruption and allowed her to sink her fangs into Camelot once more? Should I have forsaken my duty as the Royal Wizard of Camelot and allowed it to be razed to the ground? Do you wish that I had not turned her away and therefore snuffed out whatever future Camelot had remaining?"

That you did that... in the Kings bed...

Oh, and no, your friends didn't talk. I just know things.

"..." Lancelot said nothing as he stared at the question machine, his eyes languishing between it, the floor, and the ceiling. His eyes betrayed no emotion whatsoever, empty as if he were searching for something to feel himself. Maybe if it were someone of flesh and blood, he would attempt to plead his case, beg for forgiveness, or even proclaim he did nothing wrong. But all he did was stare in utter silence.

"You weren't there... You know nothing of what you speak..." His grip on Arondight slackened in his lap. "You did not see how she trembled, how she wept, feared for herself and the kingdom. You did not witness how brilliant she was during her brightest days only to have it be snuffed out under the oppression of a loveless betrothal. How could you know? Do you even want to know?"

Any truth to this? It sounds impressive, but it does sound rather fantastical.

"To an extent, yes." Her statement was matter-of-fact. "Though, I am curious as to how you come across so many of your rumors. They are always so... embellished. Fantastical even."

"I've seen her take a nap in a river of lava once." Gawain chugged down half a mug of mead as his companion suddenly turned towards him. He didn't flinch at her glare. "She made it look quite cozy as well."

"You- You are the one spreading these rumors! Why?!"

The rest of the mug went down in one final gulp. "It boosts the court's morale. Plus it is humorous once they do find their way back to the person in question."

"What about when they reach outsiders like this? My romanticized exploits should not extend out of Camelot to this degree!"