Hello once again to you wonderful people out there. I started writing this story months ago, even before my mum got sick and passed away. I wasn't going to post it until I wrapped up at least two of my other stories…doesn't matter…I'm in the mood to do it. One thing, it's kind of a sensitive subject and you have my apologies for any offence caused. Here goes…
I do not own Merlin or the characters, but I do live on the beautiful island of Barbados. I however am not affiliated with The Sandy Lane Hotel and neither can I afford to stay there. I often pass by it though and I work pretty close to it.
For the hundredth time, Arthur Pendragon wearily asks himself,
"How did I let myself get sucked into…such…folly? Father…his incessant meddling in my life…that's how."
His internal thoughts clouds his mind as he sits quietly and pensively in the back of his chauffeur driven car, on the way to an impromptu holiday.
Beside him sits a young woman, who honestly believes that she is his future wife, but he couldn't care less. He knows that if he allows her a chance and she gets her hooks in, he will be trapped and on his way to the altar in no time.
Sneaking a quick glance, he sighs at the spoilt heiress who has a penchant for handsome men with deep pockets and wishes he were on another continent.
With his father's help, she was able to wrestle him into spending a few days away on the island of Barbados...'to relax and enjoy himself', whatever that meant, especially with someone like her for company.
He had long since tuned out her babbling, turning his thoughts to finding ways to distance himself and putting an end to things before they officially started.
He was startled from his thoughts when he felt her shaking him.
"Arthur! Arthur are you listening to me?" she whined.
"Yes Vivian," he lied, as boredom completely claimed him.
"We are going to have a wonderful time. I can't wait to wear my new swimsuits. I have one for each day that we are there. You are going to love them. I can't wait to go shopping, I hope you plan to spoil me…"
On and on she babbled, until finally Arthur couldn't take it anymore. He pulled out his phone and dialed his best friend Merlin.
"Hello, Merlin?" he asked and received a hesitant answer from his sister Morganna instead.
"Hi…um," she said, leaving Arthur a bit surprised.
He knew that Merlin was practically joined at the hip with his phone and would never leave home without it, but he also knew that he was very forgetful and have misplaced it many times, leading to panicking.
Two years ago, Arthur and his then high school girlfriend Guinevere Parks or Gwen as her friends call her, broke up after enduring the tragic loss of their child.
She was also Morganna and Merlin's best friend at the time and instead of allowing them to be there for her, she left without a returning address.
Morganna had pleaded not only with Gwen, but also with Arthur, to seek help together, they had both thought it best at the time to step away from the relationship, giving each other space to deal with their loss individually.
Needless to say, Morganna blamed Arthur and has never forgiven her brother for letting her best friend go so easily. She loved Gwen as though she were her very own sister and felt her and Arthur's loss almost as deeply as they had.
In the months that followed, her anger thawed significantly when she saw how broken her brother had become.
Her heart went out to him daily as he locked himself away from everyone who cared about him. He went about his life, doing as he was expected to, albeit in a robotic way, with a faraway look on his handsome face.
During that time, their father Uther, took advantage of his son's vulnerable existence and started throwing women at him.
This inflamed Morganna.
She knew that Uther had never believed that Gwen was good enough for his son and she also blamed him, even more than she had Arthur, for everything that had happened to her best friend. She also blamed him for the tension caused by the family's strained relationship, as it stood now.
She knew he had the resources to actively seek out her best friend's whereabouts, as did she, but hers was a bit more limited and everyone she knew, was completely loyal to Uther. They would inevitably report to him what their findings were and she'd be back at square one.
"Hi Morganna, is Merlin there and can I speak to him please?" Arthur softly and wearily asked.
The cold around Morganna's heart thawed further at the tone of her brother's voice. She could hear the weariness and tiredness, bordering on frustration and sensed that he was desperate to talk to Merlin. She answered,
"I'm sorry Arthur, but he stepped out for a few minutes. Can I…help you with anything?"
Once again Arthur was taken aback.
He stared wide-eyed ahead as he relished the caring tone of his sister. He missed her tremendously. He missed their banter, her teasing and her competitiveness, but most of all he missed being around her.
Besides Gwen and Merlin, she always had a way of making him feel good about himself, not to mention, the way she always took his side against their father.
Yes he sees her almost everyday at their father's company, but unless they have to speak about anything regarding work, there is not that much communication between them.
The fact that she actually reached out to him, made him missed her more.
"Um…I just wanted to ask him about a booking he made for me, but I can speak to him later, no rush. Thank you though," he replied.
Just then, Vivian's annoying voice broke through shouting,
"We're here my love! We're at the airport!"
Everything Morganna was feeling for her brother vanished. She heard him sigh wearily and she almost felt sorry for him…again, but the sweet kind face of her best friend Gwen, loomed in front of her, right at that moment. Coldly she said,
"Fine, I'll tell him you called." As an afterthought, she ground out,
"Have a good trip," and hung up.
Eight hours later, Arthur and Vivian arrived on the beautiful island of Barbados and checked into the prestigious Sandy Lane Hotel.
Two minutes into checking in, saw Vivian just about ready to throw a tantrum.
Merlin in all his wisdom had purposely booked separate rooms, much to Arthur's delight and Vivian's disappointment, causing her to try to persuade Arthur to give up his room and share hers, but he wouldn't budge.
Sensing what was about to happen by the look on her face, Arthur adamantly said no and proceeded to actually escort her to the room in which she had been assigned.
They silently followed the bell-hop all the way to the rooms and watched as he respectfully stood aside with their baggage in front of a door, waiting patiently for instructions.
"Here we are, Room 210 SLB," Arthur cheerfully said.
He took the key-card from Vivian's hand, opened the door and gestured for the bell-hop to enter, as he quietly guided her into the room.
Afterwards, he gave his key-card to the bell-hop and kindly asked him to place the remaining baggage in the next room and wait there for him.
Silently, Arthur passed a still-fuming Vivian and padded towards the bed, where he rested her suitcases on the bench there. He turned to her and said,
"Relax Vivian. There is no need to be this worked up. Take your time and up-pack and I'll see you in a couple of hours. I need to check in with the company and I also need to speak to Merlin about my itinerary. I'm just around the corner in Room 214 SLB…in case of emergency. Bye."
Vivian pouted, stamping her feet like a spoiled child and in a whiny annoying voice said,
"I really wanted to be with you Arthur. I bet Merlin did this on purpose and I bet your sister helped. They don't like me."
Feeling a headache coming on, Arthur raised his hands and calmly said,
"I'm going Vivian, I'm not listening to this. I'll call for you as soon as I can. In the meantime, you are free to enjoy the services which are offered here, or you could solicit a driver and have them take you around to do some shopping, or sight-seeing, whatever. It's up to you. Right now I need a rest and a chance to do what I said. Later."
In a last-ditch effort, she lunged at him, just as he turned to leave and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips.
"Bye my love," she happily said, as a stony faced Arthur marched to the door and exited.
A few angry strides later, Arthur entered his room, tipped the bell-hop and kindly dismissed him.
Afterwards, he locked the door and collapsed onto the bed. Sighing wearily, he closed his eyes, willing the impending headache to keep at bay.
He silently thanked his best friend Merlin for booking separate rooms. He knew Vivian's intentions and wanted no part of them.
To him, she wasn't repulsive, especially not in looks, far from it. She was beautiful. She had what would be considered a model's figure and movie star looks, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, yet she did nothing for him.
He had never felt any sort of attraction towards her. He'd put it down to her shallowness or her money-grabbing ways, but if he was honest, the image of someone else he loved deeply, loomed in his peripheral everyday without fail.
He sometimes found himself looking for her, or wondering where she was and if she was happy. He hoped so…even though it would kill him to know she had actually moved on with someone else.
He missed her daily and it hurt. It hurt worse than anything, even more so than the lost of their child, because he had never really grieved properly for it, he was too distraught at what was happening between him and Gwen at the time, knowing he was losing her as well and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
His thoughts drifted to when he was younger and happier.
He recalls the day they finally admitted their feelings for each other. He'd known her for about five years at the time, and they were constantly butting heads.
The simplest thing would cause an argument between the two of them and both would end up not speaking to each other for a couple of days, leaving their friends caught in the middle.
On his seventeenth birthday, his father and sister threw him a big party and invited all of their mutual friends to attend.
Morganna had somehow coerced Gwen to sing for him and he was completely blown away.
He stood alone in the middle of the room, whilst everyone else stood on the side-lines, and was mesmerized just listening to her lovely voice as she belted out "We Found Love".
In that moment the crowd, the band, everyone faded in the background, leaving just him and her, eyes locked on each other, silently communicating what everyone else was saying to them for months.
After that performance, they'd spent the remainder of the night together on his terrace, away from their friends, confessing their innermost secrets and indulging in some passionate kissing.
Presently, he opened his blue eyes and found himself swiping away tears that were slowly leaking onto the bed. He turned his face into the pillow and silently sobbed for his lost love.
"Oh Guinevere," he cried sadly, and a few seconds later, he said,
"I miss you…I need you."
Unknown to Arthur, God must have certainly favoured him, because his love, the woman that his soul desperately needs, was actually a stone's throw away.
Guinevere Parks stood on her aching feet and rubbed her tired eyes as a yawn escaped her.
She was on evening duty, having being on morning duty already.
Her kind heart and the ability to say no, had yet again saddled her with a double shift. One of her work colleagues had called in sick and she was asked to take on her tasks for the night. Management had offered her the next day off with pay, as gratitude for being a reliable employee, so she took that as something to at least look forward to.
As she maneuvered the hallways, knocking on doors, asking the occupants if they needed extra towels or anything their room didn't have, she wondered for the umpteenth time why she doesn't just give in and go back home to England.
The pay was excellent, the job wasn't that hard, only long hours, but her heart wasn't completely in it. This wasn't exactly what she wanted to be doing. This was escapism pure and simple.
She was on the island for approximately eleven months now. She fell totally in love with it and its people after coming for a visit and decided to stay for a while.
She had learned about the island after finding out that her favourite singer 'Rhianna' was born there.
After just three weeks on the island then, she knew she wanted to stay longer.
She had perused the local phone directory for listings on long stay accommodation and found exactly what she was looking for. In a place called St. James, very near to where she currently works, she leased a flat and secured a work permit to work for an indefinite period of time. The only thing asked of her, was to start her papers and letters of administration regarding permanent residence, even if she decided to change her mind afterwards and go back home.
In recent times, she had begun to miss home…and miss Arthur more each day. There wasn't a day that went by without her thoughts being drawn to him, sometimes for hours on end.
She missed his eyes, his smile, the way he looked at her, the way he always called her by her full name, and in short, everything about him. She longed to be held by him, in his strong muscular arms and often wonders if he is holding someone else.
Life had thrown them a curved ball and the only way she felt she could deal with it, was to run away.
She spent many days being angry with herself, for blaming him and his father, but after a while, she realized that no-one was to blame. Things happen and unfortunately it happened to her…to them.
She'd also spent countless times berating herself for not staying and facing down the demons together with Arthur. She knew that they were not alone, ever, because they had their own line of support, even Uther had come around and offered himself up, if at any time they wanted anything or just to talk.
Coming out of her thoughts, she found herself standing in front of Room 214 SLB with un-shed tears in her eyes. Quietly, she whispered,
"Oh Arthur I'm so sorry… I miss you…so much." After a few minutes, she composed herself, dried her eyes and knocked on the door.
Meanwhile, Vivian Middleton had finished un-packing and decided to take advantage of the free time she'd found herself with.
She wanted to catch the sunset as it was a lovely evening, so she grabbed her digital camera and made her way to the beach. She smiled to herself, thinking about the surprise she would give Arthur later.
At the moment, she knew that he wasn't in the mood for any of her shenanigans, so she decided to honour his wishes and leave him be…for now. She made her way past the reception area and scowled at the attendant there, as she recalled what had happened earlier.
On the outside, she looked around excitedly, trying to find the best vantage point to snap away at the already glorious sunset.
She spotted a short pier further down the beach and decided to go there.
On the way, she thought about the sexy lingerie that was hanging in the room closet and she smiled to herself.
"Tonight my love, you won't be able to resist me," she thought internally.
She approached the wooden pier with less caution than was expected and climbed onto it facing the sunset.
This is a new story, but pretty much an old topic. I hope it was good enough.
