"How the hell did Morgana pull this off?" A young man with raven-black hair whistled at the energetic sight of people dancing to beating loud music under beams of light and color.
"I have no idea," the blonde man that stood next to him replied honestly while shaking his head. "But she better clean this place out when this party's done because I am not getting blamed for her mess again."
Sure, the Pendragon's celebrated with a small, private party within the dining room once in awhile, but Arthur believed this was too much. Silver streamers created various paths from one side of the room to the other; food tables lined up side-by-side in rows were stacked high with delicate chinaware. Balloons made of thin, golden layers floated gracefully with only a single thread keeping them from defying gravity.
Above the two young men, one of the golden balloons hovered near a glass window, it's glimmering brilliance silhouetted by the dimming blue sky.
"Merlin, I will have you bring that balloon down when this party is over."
"I thought you would say that," Merlin replied thoughtfully as he followed Arthur's gaze.
Arthur glanced back down at the swarm of people socializing and dancing, laughing and clapping to the beat of the music. Though the party was formal, Arthur wished he could have played his heavy metal rather than Morgana's pop. Who would want to listen to that anyway? Apperently the three hundred people in the room.
Why was Arthur forced to be here? He knew very well that it was Morgana's 19th birthday, but they already celebrated the day before, and you'd think that a birthday breakfast that could feed over fifty guests would be enough for anyone. There was no point to celebrating your sister's birthday more than once.
And how big does one party really have to be? Arthur never understood why Morgana would want so many people stuffed in one room. Then again, she had always been a socialite. And it was her birthday. But still, three hundred people was a little overboard.
From a distance, Arthur heard high-pitched giggling. He glanced over to the source of the noise and found a group of girls muttering to themselves and staring at him. When they realized that Arthur was looking at them, they quickly avoided eye contact and continued to twitter with one another.
Great, and now he had another bunch of fangirls to worry about.
"I can't take this. Merlin, we're going."
"But what if your father doesn't see you here?"
"Then I will explain to him what freedom of choice is."
He began striding in the opposite direction as Merlin tried to tail behind him. Arthur wanted nothing more than to listen to his own music and maybe spend a few hours on the treadmill or lifting weights. He was never one to like parties anyway, so why bother staying?
As Arthur was about to make his way to the exit, someone rose from their seat and began ringing a small bell. Arthur could tell it was one of the house cleaners because of the funny red and yellow outfit he was wearing.
"The Lady Morgana has arrived," he announced.
Everyone turned as Morgana entered the ballroom. As always, she went all out. She had on a silky red dress sown with rubies so that she glowed at every angle.
The annoying part was that she looked great in it.
Arthur was surprised to find another young woman standing next to Morgana. When the woman came closer, Arthur drew in a quick breathe.
She was beautiful, more beautiful than any girl Arthur had seen . The pink dress she wore blended well with her smooth, tan skin. Her brown eyes glittered as brightly as the pearl necklace that sat on her rich chocolate curls.
"Merlin?"
"Yes?"
"Who is that?"
Merlin took a glance at the stunning woman that walked next to Morgana.
"I don't know."
Arthur couldn't keep his attention elsewhere. He wanted to see her closer. Talk to her, at the least.
He made his way through the crowd of people until he found Morgana and her friend talking to a couple of people.
"Morgana!"
Morgana whipped her head around to meet Arthur's eyes. She dismissed the other two people as she faced Arthur completely.
Slowly, the other lady turned around to see who had spoken. Arthur glanced at her before turning his attention back to Morgana.
"I just wanted to say what a . . . great party you've arranged."
Morgana raised an eyebrow.
"Who are you and what have you done with Arthur?"
"Can't you just accept a compliment for once?"
"Problem is that the brother I know doesn't give compliments. Especially about my parties." She crossed her arms. "What's going on?"
"Nothing!" Arthur realized he was glancing over at Morgana's companion and turned his gaze back to his sister's suspicious glare. "I guess I never truly realized how fun these could be."
Morgana opened her mouth to reply, but Merlin, the ever reliable wing-man, quickly caught her in a conversation. As usual, they fell into a heated argument, and Arthur blocked them out, turning to the beautiful woman in front of him. She smiled softly.
"Ah, and you must be?"
"Gwen," she responded quietly.
"Gwen?" He scooped her hand and placed a gently kiss onto it. When Arthur looked back up, he saw Gwen lightly blushing from underneath her dark skin.
"Arthur, is it really necessary to flirt?"
Both Arthur and Gwen blushed a deep red, and Arthur glared at his sister and his friend, who both grinned maliciously back. "I was just introducing myself, dearest sister."
"Why of course you were. Now if you excuse us, we have some people we should be seeing."
Morgana stuck her tongue out at Merlin and took Gwen's wrist, pulling her towards the flock of people ahead. Gwen gave Arthur a small smile before she was engulfed by bodies.
"Seriously, flirting with Morgana's friend?" Arthur rolled his eyes at Merlin's tone.
"She's not like the others."
"That's great, Arthur. I thought you wanted to leave."
"No, I'm fine. I can stay."
Merlin shot him a suspicious look.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Of course I am." And soon enough, he was trying to make his way to Gwen once again.
A/N: I must thank MagicGirl41 for beta'ing, editing, supporting, and inspiring me with her beautiful graphic. Honestly, I can tell you that 1/5 of this is actually her writing, and plus she gave me some great writing and Modern AU Merlin tips. Seriously, how awesome can one human being be.