Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the song Flattery (Aly and AJ... or 78Violet).
Years.
Morgana had had years to prepare for this moment, yet here she was, or rather, there she was not. It was Arthur's wedding day and the only thing that was circling through her mind was that she was not the one marrying him. She had foreseen this for years, every night when she had laid in his arms, every night when she had not. She had seen who would take the title of Queen of Camelot and it was not her.
Days.
For days, Morgana had stayed hidden in her room. She had not let anyone in, least of all Gwen or Arthur. She had managed on her own, confined in her space and she had spent that time showing the emotions that she never let grace her pretty and dainty features. She would never allow herself to show the kind of emotion in front of Arthur.
Moments.
Moments passed and she could hear the cheering of the crowd as the people on the balcony next door had done it. They had tied the knot that would bind them together for their lifetimes. There was nothing she could do to change it. She felt the anger welling up inside her. She could see it so clearly: the day that he kissed her so passionately and then told her that it wasn't her. There was nothing she could do about it because it wasn't her, it was Gwen.
One Knock.
It was quiet, barely audible, yet Morgana heard it. She didn't have to turn to know who it was. She heard the door close behind him as he approached her.
"I think that went rather well," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her slender waste, pulling her towards him.
Flattery.
"Oh, don't flatter yourself Arthur," she growled but he merely chuckled. Morgana knew he wasn't intoxicated, but why would he lead her on like this? Marry her maid servant and then come back to her? She no longer hated him for breaking her heart, but she ached every night for his touch, for his lips brushing against hers.
Anger.
She could feel it as his arms tightened involuntarily.
"Why are you always so bitter?" he asked her, his voice husky as he rested his chin on hers. "Why can't you just get over it Morgana? It was nothing but a fling, nothing more than something silly between us. I'm okay now, so why couldn't you be?"
Exaggeration.
"Don't exaggerate, Arthur," she continued, prying his hands loose from around her so that she could turn and face him. But she didn't. She couldn't make herself turn to see the person that had broken her so cleaning, so quickly so that it didn't even hurt until she realized what had happened and that he was gone.
"Don't tell me you're okay. I know you're not. I know that you now believe that this was a mistake." The anger was evident in her voice and Arthur sighed as he took a seat in one of her chairs. He turned away to face the fire instead and listened to it crackle.
Harder.
"It's harder than I thought it would be," Arthur replied, breaking the silence. "And I know that you think it too." He caught her angry glare before adverting his gaze back to the flames. "It's so easy to fall apart, but I guess some of us piece ourselves back together easier than others."
Denial.
He was in denial and the words stung her so badly that she almost collapsed in tears. But no.
She wiped at the droplets of water threatening to fall from her eyes before turning to the person she loved with her very being.
"I can forgive it Arthur, but I can't forget it. You've left me here with all these scars. Memories of everything we did together, they haunt me like you have no idea. I see your death more often now that things have changed. Besides, you can't deny the hardest part."
"And what's that?" Arthur asked, rather amused by her little speech.
"I'm not in your arms."
Appearance.
They were both hurt more than they would let on. More hurt than they would appear. The silence fell upon them like a blanket and Morgana hugged it, welcomed it. Nobody else would know their secrets from their past. Nobody else would know about their lust filled nights from the past. The world would never know that the two of them had tasted each other's tears.
Kisses.
And before they knew what was happening they were in each others arms and they were kissing with such intense passion that it was a wonder that Gwen was Arthur's new queen and not Morgana. He trailed kisses along her jaw line that caused her to moan, going weak in the knees.
"Why did you pick her?" she asked weakly as his kisses trailed to her exposed shoulders. He paused there for but a moment before turning his head so that he could whisper in her ear.
"Because we were too good to be together," he replied sadly and she swore she felt something wet in the spot behind her ear.
Flattery.
Arthur made to leave and as he approached the door Morgana stopped him with her words like she had done so many years ago.
"Arthur," she said quietly. He turned to look at her and with a deep breath she spoke her final words to him. "Please. Please, don't flatter yourself."