"Well, well, Arthur Pendragon. How kind of you to pay me a visit." Morgana knelt on the floor where she'd been roughly shoved, watching as King Cenred advanced on Arthur. "And look, you brought some friends with you!" Cenred pointed out with mock delight in his deep voice. The man, dressed from neck to foot in leather, bypassed Gwen and Merlin who were also on the floor to Morgana's right and looked at her.
"Oh! The Lady Morgana, no less," he remarked, kneeling down in front on her and reaching out a hand to touch her face. Play your part, she reminded herself silently.
She recoiled from his hand, glaring at him with open disgust. "Don't so much as breathe on me, you pig."
He smirked, clearly enjoying the reactions he was getting from his audience. Morgana looked up, hoping that Morgause could see her annoyed expression. She didn't understand why she had to put up with this nonsense. Morgana was Morgause's own flesh and blood; it didn't seem very fair that she had to endure the same treatment as Arthur and two servants. After all, had it not been for her actions, Arthur would not have been at Cenred's mercy in the first place.
"The more the merrier I say!" Cenred declared gleefully.
"I'm the one you want, Cenred, let them go," Arthur piped up. Morgana couldn't help but roll her eyes. He always had to play the martyr!
"You're right, that would only be fair," he considered carefully, pacing up and down in front of his four prisoners before rounding on Arthur. "But fair's for fools, take them away!" he shouted, still smirking. Morgana panicked inwardly; surely she wouldn't be thrown in the dungeons with the rest of the group?
"I won't let you harm them!" Arthur exclaimed, clambering to his feet and trying as best as he could to launch himself at Cenred. "They're innocent!"
The smirk dropped from Cenred's face. "Innocent?" He questioned, rounding on the prince. "No friend of Camelot is innocent."
Morgana didn't hear the rest of the conversation, having been dragged rather unceremoniously from the hall. She continued to struggle as the burly guards dragged her towards an empty cell; she had to keep up appearances after all.
She watched as Gwen and Elyan were dragged away, yelling and trying their best to fight off the guards. As soon as they had rounded the corner, she turned on the guard holding her. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded indignantly. "Have you no idea who I am? Let me go!"
"Calm down, My Lady," he pleaded, releasing his grip on her upper arms slightly. "It's just until the others are imprisoned." Morgana huffed, still not entirely happy with the situation, but she could see the sense in it.
"I will kill you for this!" the pair suddenly heard Arthur yell.
"In there," the guard said, pointing at a doorway not far from them. She rushed over to it and hurried inside, leaving the door ajar so she could watch Arthur being dragged off, presumably to be put in a cell. Once he had passed, she marched out of the room with her head held high.
"Take me to my sister," she demanded.
"All in good time," a familiar deep voice answered.
Morgana narrowed her pale eyes at her unwelcome visitor. "I want to see my sister, Cenred. Let me see her, now."
Cenred laughed, looking pointedly at the guard to silently suggest he wished to be left alone with his 'guest'.
As soon as they were alone, the King of Essitir smiled. The expression was far more natural than it had been when she had seen it earlier in the throne room. "My lady, I trust you were treated well by my men?"
"No. Your men are thugs," she spat stepping backwards before he had the chance to retaliate.
"We had to keep up appearances, Morgana," he countered, taking a step towards her, closing the gap she'd just put between them; he was close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her face. She looked up into his face, noting as she did that he had very nice brown eyes. She did not notice him raise his hand and so jumped when the back of it lightly brushed her hair.
"You're very beautiful, My Lady," he whispered.
A smile began to play on Morgana's lips but then she stopped herself. "Cenred, do not try and get around me with flattery. You are courting my sister."
"Courting is a relative term, My Lady," Cenred replied slowly, continuing to stroke her hair. "I admit, your sister is also a very attractive woman and she has had my affections for some time now. Unfortunately, I find myself in a predicament now that I've met you."
Morgana scowled at him. "Men! You're all the same; dangle a shiny new toy in front of them and they have to have it!"
"Are you really any different, Lady Morgana?" He asked, beginning move around her slowly, growing closer with every circle.
"What are you talking about? I am nothing like you," Morgana replied, hoping to sound disgusted at the very suggestion. However, as hard as she tried, inside she couldn't truly feel disgusted at his words. Not when she knew that, yes, she was the same. When she wanted something, she had to have it; that's how it had always been. Maybe she was spoilt but she was used to it now.
"I think you are," he murmured down her left ear, his breath tickling her thin neck. She resisted the awful urge to lean into him.
"I'm not," she protested, trying with all her might to make her body move away from him. She couldn't possibly want this – him – it was wrong.
"Are you honestly trying to tell me you're not enjoying this?"
"Enjoying what?" Morgana snapped, confused by his words. He couldn't be talking about his mere presence. Even Cenred couldn't be that vain. If he wasn't talking about his proximity what was he talking about?
"How close I am to you, Morgana. I think you're lying to yourself," Cenred answered simply. If she could have seen his face she was sure he would have been grinning at his 'cleverness'.
His words startled her back into her senses. She wrenched herself away from him as fast as she could and furiously spun around to face him.
"Stop it!" Morgana screeched at him wildly. "Just stop it!" His response was to snigger at her which served only to infuriate the woman further. "Mark my words, I'll tell my sister about this," she warned him in a hiss. Cenred scoffed at the idea, clearly unafraid of Morgana informing her sister of his flirting.
"Sister!" came Morgause's silky voice from the doorway. "Warn me about what?"
"That Arthur has a habit of escaping imprisonment," she lied quickly. Wait, what? Why was she lying for Cenred? She didn't need to turn around to know Cenred was smiling and nodding in agreement. She also didn't need to turn around to know he was now feeling extremely arrogant in the knowledge she'd lied to save his skin.
"Arthur is not going to escape these cells," Morgause said assuredly, smiling smugly at Cenred.
"Why not just kill him now?" Morgana asked; knowing Arthur better than either Morgause or Cenred she did not share in their certainty.
Cenred chuckled darkly moving to her side so that she could see him. "How cold-hearted you've become!"
Morgana relaxed slightly, realising she had been tense since her sister had entered the room. Now that Cenred was being watched by Morgause he wasn't going to try anything with her. She tried to ignore the part of her that wondered exactly what Cenred had been planning for her, for part of her wished hard for him to have been able to continue. No! He was with her sister! She shouldn't be thinking like this! But then he was very… Stop it! She needed to get a grip.
"He still has his uses," Morgause explained, distracting Morgana from her thoughts. "He knows more about Camelot's defences than anyone." He also knows me better than anyone so it won't take him long to figure out it was me who betrayed him, Morgana thought. She took hold of her sister's hands in an attempt to plead with her. All thoughts of Cenred gone from her mind now, Arthur had to be killed.
"Arthur will never tell you anything," she tried, desperately.
"Cenred has his methods," Morgause revealed turning away from her sister to look at the king who was now sitting in a chair a little way away from the sisters.
Morgana followed her sister's line of sight, catching Cenred's eyes as he smiled at Morgause's words, clearly taking them as a compliment. "Whatever your methods, Arthur is too loyal to his father and his kingdom. He would rather die."
The others ignored her warnings, instead beginning to discuss what they would do with the information Arthur was sure to reveal. She found herself beginning to stare at Cenred. What was his game? Did he want to kill Arthur for his own ends or was he just trying to please her sister? If the latter was true, then why was he flirting with her? More than flirting with her… But she had liked it. She couldn't exactly deny it to herself; things just didn't work like that, did they? Because no matter how much one tries to lie to themselves, deep down, they know the truth.
Cenred wasn't by any means an ugly man and she had very much enjoyed his attention and flattery, no matter how much she shouldn't have.
"Sister?" Morgana came sharply out of her thoughts to see Morgause gazing at her with a concerned expression upon her face.
"Sorry, what?" she asked, shaking her head as though it would rid it of all her unwanted thoughts.
"What are you thinking?"
Morgana thought for a moment before returning her attention to her waiting sister. "Whatever your plans for Arthur, I suggest they are carried out sooner rather than later. Arthur's not the kind of man to simply sit and wait to be tortured or worse."
As soon as the words had left Morgana's mouth loud warning bells began to sound out.
"Arthur," Cenred growled, standing up and advancing towards the door.
"You should've killed him when you had the chance!" Morgana shouted at Cenred's back, panicked at the thought of this opportunity going amiss. She did not want Arthur returning to Camelot alive and well.
"He won't get far, my men will deal with him easily enough," Cenred stated confidently.
Morgana stared incredulously at the man; surely he should be more concerned about Arthur's imminent escape. "Cenred if he escapes-"
She wasn't given the chance to finish her sentence. Cenred had grabbed her rather harshly, forcing her out of the room and towards the throne room she had originally been thrown into with Arthur, Gwen and Merlin. "Where are you taking me?" She demanded, struggling against his tight grip.
"We have to make this believable, My Lady," he answered simply, continuing to tug at her arm. "You must play your part well."
"When have I not?" she asked rhetorically with a mischievous grin on her face.
He continued to pull her back towards the throne room, his grip moving from her upper arms to her waist, making her think he was being more seductive than threatening. Again, she couldn't help but admitting to herself that she liked the way his hands felt on her body.
"Cenred, I—" Morgana wasn't entirely sure what she was planning on saying to her 'captor' but he suddenly whirled around and smashed his lips into hers, stopping her saying anything at all. Her first instinct should have been to fight him, to push him off, but she didn't. Instead, she stood still in his arms and allowed his mouth to work on hers.
It felt far better than it should have. Much as Morgana hated to admit it, Cenred was a very skilled kisser. His hands were very adventurous, roaming her curves. She began to realise that much as she was enjoying the kiss it was hardly appropriate given their current circumstances. With a great deal of reluctance she began to pull away, pushing against Cenred's muscular shoulders with as much force as she could muster.
"We can't."
Cenred sighed, clearly disappointed by her response. Not that she cared; it wasn't as if she was going to encourage him to try again. "Oh really?"
She nodded, trying to move away.
"You kissed back."
"I shouldn't have," she told him, looking anywhere other than his deep, intense eyes.
"But you did and that means you wanted to. You want me, Morgana, just as much as I want you."
Any desires Morgana had held about him just evaporated on the spot. How could he be so arrogant? Okay, so maybe she had wanted him, but for him to come out and say it so boldly? That was not on.
"I do not want you, Cenred," she snarled, narrowing her eyes at him. They both frowned as they heard some sort of commotion outside; Arthur was here.
"Fine," Cenred muttered coldly, all passion in his eyes vanishing, "Have it your way." Before she could ask what he meant, he lunged forward, grabbed her wrist and spun her around so she had her back pressed into his front. His swords were already drawn and he placed one of them firmly to her neck.
The door flew open seconds later as Arthur burst into view. His eyes darted around the room before finally settling on the scene before him.
"That's close enough," Cenred ordered his voice dangerous. Morgana shuddered as she felt the vibrations of his voice against her back.
"Please don't hurt me," she begged, flinching as the sword moved closer to her throat. She hadn't been particularly worried about acting afraid before. Now she was beginning to truly fear for her life. Perhaps rejecting the man just before he pressed a sword to her throat had not been Morgana's best idea.
Clearly unafraid of Cenred and his threats, Arthur continued to progress towards the entwined pair, tightening his grip on his sword.
"One more step and she dies," Cenred warned the prince. However much she'd not wanted Arthur to survive this journey, a small part of her really appreciated the lengths he'd go to for her.
"You're a coward, Cenred," Arthur said, stepping backwards. Morgana cursed him for goading the king whilst he was holding his sharp sword to her throat. "You always were." The two men started to awkwardly circle each other, with Morgana still being held by Cenred in the middle. Cenred sneered, pushing his sword closer to Morgana's vulnerable throat.
"It's cowards who survive Arthur," he growled. Well, he probably had a point. "Now put down your sword." When Arthur did not do as requested of him, Cenred tightened his grip once more.
Morgana grimaced, trying her best to convey to her half-brother how scared she was.
"Do as he says," a voice demanded. Morgana watched as Arthur's focus moved from Cenred to the speaker.
Cenred turned sharply in the Morgause's direction, clearly unsure of how much she had seen. Morgana could feel his warm cheek pressed against her hair and his heartbeat speed up significantly. She did her best to look at her sister but was rather restricted by the sword that Cenred had yet to move from her exposed skin.
"You seem surprised," Morgause observed, coming further forward to stand just in front of Cenred and his captive.
"Hardly," Arthur retorted, swinging his sword in preparation as Cenred began to retreat further back to allow Morgause to take centre stage. Arthur really was right; Cenred was one of the biggest cowards Morgana had ever known. "I know what you're capable of."
"Oh, you have no idea," Morgause corrected assuredly. Before Arthur could begin to comprehend her sister's words, Morgana watched as Morgause produced what she could only describe as a tornado of fire.
Cenred slowly relaxed his grip on her. She put some distance between herself and Cenred, still worried he might try and attack her and Morgana watched as her sister controlled the rising, spiralling flames. She had concede she was more than a little impressed, but she had no time to dwell any more on the matter because she, along with her companions, were sent flying backwards with no warning.
Morgana woke to find herself side-by-side with Cenred and Morgause lying unconscious a little way off. She sat up groggily, trying to figure out what had just happened but all she knew for certain was that her head hurt and the majority of the ceiling was lying in bits on the floor.
Arthur ran straight to her and helped her to her feet. No! This wasn't supposed to happen! He was supposed to be begging for her mercy – which she had no intention of giving – not helping her!
"Are you alright?" he asked, but continued before she had a chance to reply. "Come on!" She stood up, still holding onto his hand, and reluctantly allowed him to pull her away from an awakening Cenred.
Merlin walked slowly into the room, clearly unwelcome by Arthur who began yelling almost immediately after he noticed the servant. Morgana did her best to tune out the petty argument, watching Morgause's limp body in the desperate hope that she would soon show signs of life. She fought the urge to gasp as Morgause's head slowly began to move. She had no opportunity to check her sister was well as she was hastily dragged from the room by a clearly impatient Merlin. The last thing she saw before she was completely clear of the room was Cenred sitting up to glare at her. The image of which haunted her during the entire journey back to Camelot.
A/N … Hi there! It's been a while, we know, for which we apologise profoundly (please don't hate us!) The idea came to us after re-watching a few episodes of Series 3 and deciding (again) that Tom Ellis is an extremely attractive example of a man… After our exams (in a few weeks) we have plans of turning this into a full length fic, so keep checking up on it and, er, let us know what you think? We'd love you too!
~ Emily and Kim ~