She was expecting that glimmer of recognition on Helen's face and was not disappointed. So the stories did still manage to spread around, despite the passing of Arthur's court.

"You were expecting a crone," Morgan stated. It wasn't a question. Those who had faced the darker side of her magic often liked to paint her in the harshest light possible. "A withered, hunched old woman with a wart-covered hooked nose was much harder to trust than a gleaming, beautiful young woman with a wicked gleam in her unnatural eyes." She batted her eyelashes for greater effect.

The crone had her uses, of course, much as the raven or snake or Morrigan. Morgan simply found her own form the most comfortable to wear for long periods. It was much more familiar.