It didn't take long for the council to make short work of the rogue mages that had lived under Jonathan's roof. Those mages' youthful enthusiasm for the so called "cause" was far greater than any actual talent they possessed. Jonathan and Steffan had been the real danger, stirring their discontent into something far worse.

The news of Steffan's confirmed betrayal had spread fast. Already, the entire council was abuzz with the news, and urgent magically empowered telegrams had already been sent to all the major magical centers throughout all the United Kingdom and to their Irish allies as well. The next morning, the Council met again, this time to determine the fates of everyone involved in the affair. It was a long, dark affair, and many of those they had rounded up were stripped of their magic and sent home to their families. The rest were put in probation and the names of those that had been depowered were carefully documented, in case they tried to make trouble in other ways.

Jonathan was a more difficult problem. The man kept cycling between rage, pleading, and depression in front of anyone that would listen. It shortly became clear that he really did believe that he was the reincarnation of Myrddin, and he refused to be addressed by any other name. The Council questioned him at length about his activities, trying to determine how much of what he claimed to have done actually happened. It seemed that Steffan had exaggerated Jonathan's misdeeds, inventing some of them out of whole cloth. After some thought and deliberation, the Council stripped him of his magic until such time as he was sane enough not to cause harm to himself or others. His wife, far from being horribly maimed or dead, was alive and well and living at one of their many properties. She had divorced him not long after the death of their son, but when she heard about what had happened, she agreed to find Jonathan some professional help.

Now it was late afternoon, and the Council had one more case to hear, that of Steffan Rhys. This was a man that had lied to them, worked to overpower them in secret, and had taken advantage of one of their most respected former members in his moment of weakness. The Council called Morgan and Arthur as witnesses, along with the council member that had followed them into the woods, a young man named Paul Gilcrest. At first, Steffan was careful to maintain his composure, as if radiating good intentions would somehow sway the Council to dismiss the charges. When he heard of how Morgan and Arthur had actually brought about his downfall, making the call to Gwen and Llywelyn to bring in the Council and again later, to request that a Council member act as a witness to their confrontation with Steffan and Jonathan in the woods, Steffan exploded. He shouted obscenities at Morgan, and when she didn't react, he did the same to Arthur and the others sitting quietly at the back of the room. It didn't take long to reach a decision. Crazy, yes, but still competent enough to know that what he had done was wrong. Steffan Rhys had the rare distinction of being the first magician in over a century to be sentenced to living the rest of his days in limbo.

The biggest concern throughout the trials had been that Steffan might have had hidden accomplices in the council. As it turned out, he had been too paranoid to trust anyone that far, so Sebastian was off the hook. Sebastian's attack had been motivated by jealousy and hurt pride alone. Only time would tell if anyone else would try what Jonathan had done, but it seemed unlikely to happen anytime soon, due to the harsh punishments that the Council had handed down.

After that, everyone picked up where they had left off. The Council had moved onto other problems. There was a war to consider, after all, and the usual diplomatic dance that came with their neutrality. Morgan and her friends returned home, to enjoy a much deserved chance to catch their breath and enjoy the rest of the summer in peace. The weeks passed quickly, and Morgan and Arthur found new ways to help out with their friend's chores so that they all had more time to enjoy themselves. The two of them knew it wouldn't last forever, but there was no point in spoiling what they had.

"So what next?" Llywelyn asked. All of them were up in the meadow again, enjoying their last few weeks before the school year started up again. Gwen was moving forward with her plan to attend the university, and Llywelyn had arranged it so that he'd get his magic lessons nearby. Mari and Dylan still had high school to finish. They had confided in Morgan that their bond was getting stronger. Just the other day, they had actually talked to each other mind to mind. Tristan had decided to continue his education after all. Well, after taking off a year to help his father and raise the money for tuition. He readily admitted that he didn't have the smarts that Gwen did, not the kind that got you a free ride, but the events of that summer had found him wanting to know more about the world around him. That left Morgan and Arthur.

"I hadn't really thought about it," Morgan admitted. "I just sort of assumed the summer would last forever. The Council offered me a job, and at least one of the professors said he could pull some strings and get me a late admission." She turned her head to look at Arthur, sitting peacefully nearby. "That goes for you too, Arthur. Of course, we'll have our hands full getting your paperwork lined up."

Arthur smiled back. "I have some catching up to do before I sit in a classroom. I still don't know how to read, you know."

"That's a poor excuse and you know it," Morgan retorted.

"So what about your mother?" Gwen asked softly.

"Oh, she's staying. She hasn't told me anything yet, mind you, but I think I know her well enough to see where it's going," Morgan said with a sigh. "You know, at first I was really angry at her, but I love her too much to stay that way. No, as much as she's my mother, I guess you could say that she's still my daughter too."

For the first time in a while, they chatted easily amongst themselves of sillier things, of what it was like to be Welsh, or American, of what it meant to be a teenager with your whole life in front of you, with hopes and dreams. They broke apart easily when evening came, going their separate ways. Morgan stood in her aunt's front yard, smiling and waving at them until they were out of sight. She knew what she had to do.

She walked in the door and found her mother sitting alone in the kitchen.

"You want to talk to me about something, but you're having some trouble. I'll make it easy for you. I'm staying here," Morgan told her. She pulled up a stool and sat on it so that she could face her mother directly. Arthur came up behind her and did the same.

"You are? But what what about the school you wanted to go to? And your friends?" her mother asked anxiously.

"It'll be hard to say goodbye, but there are some things that are more important. You don't have to break up with him over me."

Her mother was clearly startled. "You knew?"

"Of course I knew. You seem to have forgotten just how small this place is. I was...a bit annoyed when you didn't trust me with it, but I'll get over that part. So, do I get to meet him? What's he like?"

"I don't even know where to start," her mother admitted. Her gaze drifted over to rest on Arthur. It seemed that she really noticed him for the first time, for she sat up straighter and froze in shock.

"This isn't just any random stranger, is it?" her mother asked. "You could be twins."

"It's a long story," Morgan admitted. "Would you like to hear it? It begins before I was born, with the first Morgan and her brother Arthur..."