Hiding Under The Bed
Arthur shrugged off his riding jacket and collapsed on to his bed with a groan.
Riding around the villages of Camelot really takes the wind out of a man, even with Merlin to carry around all of the armour.
Rising his hands above his head and closing his eyes, Arthur let out a large sigh and let his mind wander to thoughts of his wife.
When he first met her, at the age of seven, he hated her. Arthur was accustomed to being showered in attention and rolling in praise, but as soon as this shy, nervous little girl turned up one day, everything changed.
He first set eyes on her when she was led past his room by one of the handmaids. Curious as to why there was another child in the castle, as there never had been before, Arthur had followed the two females. All Arthur could see was that the young girl was dressed in a long blue cape that trailed along the floor and had long, wavy, ebony hair flowing down her back.
The little girl was escorted into the main hall and before Arthur could reach the door to slip in, it was closed behind them. Annoyed at not having yet discovered the identity and purpose of the girl, Arthur reached up onto his tiptoes to grasp the handle and opened the door a crack. Peering through the small hole, Arthur's body started to seethe with jealousy. There, in the middle of the room, was his father, King Uther, embracing the now sobbing girl. He was running his hand through her long hair and speaking calming words into her ear, all the while holding her tightly to his chest. As Arthur continued to watch, the girl's sobs turned into small hiccups, as she buried her head into his father's torso.
"Mary, go and fetch Prince Arthur. There is someone he needs to be introduced to," Uther demanded to the servant in the room.
"Of course Your Majesty," Mary curtsied.
At this point Arthur started to panic. Where could he go to make it look as if he had not been listening at the door? There was nowhere to hide, and no time to get back to his room. After debating this point for a few seconds, Arthur decided it would be best to pretend he was walking in this direction. He quickly ran down the hall before he turned around and slowly started to make his way back to the main hall. Before he had even taken three steps forwards, Mary called out to him, "Prince Arthur, your father wishes to see you."
Arthur jogged up to her and stopped at her feet. Looking up at her, he asked, "What is it regarding?"
"There is someone he wishes you to meet Your Highness," and with that Mary led him into the hall.
This time, when he saw the girl for the third time, she was standing in front of his father, with the King's hands resting upon her shoulders. All traces of tears were gone, but her eyes were red rimmed.
"Arthur, this is Morgana. She will be staying with us from now on." Uther stated.
"Why?" Arthur questioned, looking straight into his father's eyes.
"Because her father has recently passed away," at this the girl, Morgana, sucked in a large breath, "and I promised him that if anything should happen to him, I would take Morgana as my ward. Now, make her feel welcome." Uther ordered.
Glumly, Arthur moved forward and placed his hand in front of Morgana's, waiting for her to shake it. "Hello," he said in a dull voice.
Carefully, and painfully slow, Morgana placed her hand in his. Sparks flew up his arm. Confused, Arthur quickly removed his hand and wiped it on his trouser leg. Morgana looked down to the floor and Arthur could see tears filling her eyes once more. A crimson blush filled her cheeks, and suddenly, Arthur felt guilty for what he had just done, which was an odd sensation as Arthur had never felt guilty in his life.
Uther seemed not to have noticed and continued with his speech. "I expect you to make Morgana feel welcome and include her in what you do." Arthur grunted in acknowledgement, still focusing on the blush that rested on Morgana's cheeks.
Feeling Arthur's stare, Morgana slowly raised her eyes and Arthur snapped out of his gaze. Shaking his head, he tried to clear thoughts of the girl from his mind. He couldn't find her blush cute; she was a girl for Melin's sake. Girls were annoying little creatures weren't they?
The following days confirmed his thoughts. Arthur was abandoned, in his view. He still had at least three servants at his beck and call through the day and night, yet he was not happy. Morgana was being smothered with attention. Everyone felt sorry for the young, parentless child, and it was annoying Arthur no end. He had to give up his toys, his books, and even share his playroom. Arthur was not a happy little prince and he made Morgana know it by picking on her whenever he had the chance.
Nine years later, when Arthur was sixteen and Morgana fifteen, the bond between the pair of them was strong. They still annoyed each other constantly, yet they had developed a sibling like bond, going riding together and defending the other to Uther.
One afternoon Arthur was roaming the castle, bored as he usually was when he was not with Morgana, when he saw a shadow in the garden. Leaning into the shade against the walls, Arthur focused on the shadow. After a few moments, he realised it was Morgana, and she was swinging a sword around!
Rushing outside, Arthur came up silently behind Morgana. "Morgana, what are you doing?"
Shocked, Morgana had dropped the sword. "Arthur! You scared me to death!" She chastised.
"Sorry. Are you going to tell me what you were doing?" Arthur would not be distracted.
"Ermm, n-nothing," Morgana stuttered.
Arthur's curiosity rose, Morgana had never stuttered, not in the nine years he had known her; she was always so confident and feisty.
"Morgana, tell me. I saw you swinging the sword around, I just want to know why," Arthur insisted.
Looking down at the floor, Morgana started to mumble. "What was that?" Arthur asked, "I didn't quite catch it."
Raising her head, with annoyance in her eyes, Morgana repeated, "I'm training."
This confused Arthur, "Training for what?"
"How to fight."
"Why would you need to learn how to fight? You're a girl!" Arthur questioned.
Morgana looked indignant, "So what if I'm a girl? Why shouldn't I learn how to fight? What if I need to protect myself one day? Why is it only you who is trained to fight? I'm the King's ward; I could be in danger one day too!" she yelled at him.
Arthur had never seen Morgana so passionate about anything. With determination flashing in her blue eyes, Arthur had never seen her look so beautiful. Wait. Hold on! He could NOT be having these sorts of thoughts about Morgana; she was practically his sister! Trying to snap himself out of it, he turned and started to walk into one of the out houses.
"Arthur?" Morgana called out after him, in her sweet voice. No, stop! Bad thoughts!
Ignoring her, he continued into the closest out house and started rustling around. Five minutes later he re-emerged, dressed in his armour and carrying a sword. Morgana was still standing where he had left her, looking bemused and a little upset.
"Pick up your sword," Arthur ordered her once he reached her.
"Why?" Morgana questioned; perplexed.
"You said you wanted to learn how to fight. If you do ever need to fight, which I doubt will ever happen as father has guards surrounding you every minute of every day, you need to be properly prepared. You can't learn to fight against an invisible force." Arthur explained.
"And how does that involve you?" Morgana asked, still a little confused.
Arthur sighed, "Who better to train you than the most feared of foes, the ultimate killing machine?"
Morgana had stifled what seemed to be a giggle, "And who would that be?"
"Me of course! The one who has been trained to kill since birth!" Arthur said resentfully, "Now raise your sword and copy my stance." Morgana did so, "On the count of three we will commence. One, two, three go!"
Arthur was able to disarm her in twenty three seconds.
"One, two, three go!" Thirty nine seconds.
"One, two, three go!" Fifty four seconds.
Arthur smiled slightly as he helped Morgana off the floor for the third time. You had to admire her, she would not give up. As she got into her stance again, Arthur decided to help her, "I'm finding it easy to disarm you as you are doing basic footwork and making unsurprising blows. The fighters you face will notice this and aim for your weak spots. You need to jumble it up a little."
Morgana seemed to take his words to heart as this time, she took many more complicated steps and unpredictable hits. It took Arthur over a minute to disarm her this time.
They continued for hours, with Morgana improving each time. Whenever Arthur suggested they had done enough, Morgana would swiftly shake her head and continue. As the sun was setting, Morgana and Arthur were locked in their longest battle yet. Suddenly, Morgana threw a surprise blow at Arthur and his sword went flying into the air; landing a good three feet away.
The two teenagers stared at the sword in shock.
Morgana was the first to break out of it. "I beat you?" It sounded like a question at first, "I beat you!" she cried in triumph. Arthur quickly snapped out of his daze.
"Did not! I let you win!"
"As if. You would never bruise your ego like this willingly! I beat you Arthur Pendragon!"
"Did not!" He yelled.
Morgana had ignored him and started to make her way back into the castle, yelling all the way, "I BEAT ARTHUR PENDRAGON! I BEAT ARTHUR PENDRAGON!" with Arthur following her the whole way contradicting her statement.
When Arthur was twenty one, Merlin, his manservant-turned-best friend, arrived, and with him a number of strange events. At first, Arthur had hated him, as he was the only one who confronted Arthur about the way he behaved. However, when Merlin saved him from the witch looking for revenge for her son's death, Arthur's views started to shift. Then Valiant arrived and things changed again. Valiant was an amazing fighter, he seemed unbeatable. He also seemed to have taken a liking to Morgana. For the first time in his life, Arthur felt jealously fill his body over a woman, and he had no clue as to why. To divert Morgana's attention from Valiant, Arthur became even more determined to win, so that he could escort her to the feast. When Merlin came to him claiming that Valiant was cheating, Arthur was exceedingly quick to believe him, though when the time came to prove their case, their only witness had died and it was dismissed as nonsense. Arthur took his anger out on Merlin and fired him. The day of the fight came and somehow, Valiant's shield came to life before he ordered it to and it was revealed to everyone that Valiant had been using magic to win. Arthur found much satisfaction, too much probably, telling Valiant in his last moments that it would be he, Arthur, escorting Morgana to the feast.
Then there was the case of the poisoned water, which was when Arthur had the chance to repay Merlin for saving him from the witch, he saved him from being arrested. Merlin, the idiot, claimed that it was he who had poisoned the water, all so Gwen would be saved. Arthur stepped in a squished the ridiculous claim, stating that Merlin was in love with Gwen and this was the reason he was trying to protect Gwen. Merlin tried to desperately deny the claims, yet being Prince has its advantages and King Uther believed Arthur over Merlin.
Arthur's relief at getting Merlin off the hook vanished the next day, when he went down into the water source to kill the monster and Morgana went with them. Arthur had tried to get her to turn back, saying Uther would be angry if he found out she was down there. Morgana had quickly dismissed his objections, saying that it was a good thing Uther did not know about it. When Arthur tried to convince her to leave using a different argument, stating that she could get hurt, Morgana had replied with worry in her voice that so could he. For an unknown reason, Arthur's heart had soared, until she said "If you don't get out of my way." For some irrational reason, the ridding of the belief that Morgana truly cared for his safety hurt more than any battle wound he had ever received. In the end, they had defeated the monster, and life went on as normal in the following weeks. Well as normal as it could be with a clumsy servant like Merlin around.
With the arrival of Lancelot, came the arrival of the truth. Arthur finally admitted to himself that he was attracted to Morgana. When she has walked into the feast in that stunning red dress and rubbed her lips, Arthur felt something in him shift. It was as if he and Morgana were the only two in the room, and all he wanted to do was walk across the room and capture her lips with his. He somehow found the strength to refrain himself.
A month later, Morgana had been taken mysteriously and dangerously ill. Arthur was beside himself with worry. He was praying that Gaius would be able to save her, yet nothing he tried seemed to improve her condition. If anything it worsened. When the strange man, Edwin, approached Arthur with a "Remedy to cure all ills", Arthur was desperate to try it. He begged Uther to let the man treat Morgana. Who cared if he was just trying to con them, Arthur would have given everything he owned just to see Morgana up and well again. When Morgana recovered, Arthur felt relief such as he had never felt before, and thanked whatever miracle had saved her, yet he still did not tell her how he felt.
When Arthur rescued Sophia and her father, everything changed for the worst. Arthur was put under Sophia's spell and was convinced that he loved her. He even asked permission from Uther to marry her, though luckily his father refused to grant permission. Morgana had also tried to warn him that Sophia was up to no good, yet he was so deeply under her spell that her ignored her. Luckily, Merlin had stopped him from running away by knocking him out with a lump or wood and dragging him back to Camelot. Although Arthur was tremendously embarrassed about the incident, he was extremely grateful that Merlin had stopped him from making such a dreadful mistake.
When Melin's village was attacked by bandits, he, Morgana and Gwen went out to help protect his village. When the bandits did arrive, Arthur was fighting too many at once, and the moment he was distracted, one tried to take liberty of the fact. Just as the blow was about to hit home, a sword appeared in front of Arthur's face, blocking the oncoming hit. Looking up, he saw it was Morgana. He had never been so pleased to see her! Once she had successfully crushed the bandit, Morgana turned back to Arthur and cheekily asked, "Bring back memories of when I used to beat you?" Arthur had been quick to tell her "That never happened." Once victory was theirs, the four of them returned home and Arthur swore to himself that he would soon tell Morgana how he felt.
Two months later and Arthur was yet to tell Morgana how he felt. When Arthur and Merlin came into contact with the giant scaled creature with the body of a leopard and head of a snake, Uther demanded that it be killed .Just as Arthur was setting out to leave with the army of soldiers he had gathered, Morgana came running down the steps in her nightgown, begging him not to go. Although he wanted to tell her that there was nothing more he wanted than to stay with her, he had a job to do. To try and ease her panic, he tried to tell her there was nothing to worry about, yet she would not listen to him, and kept rambling on about a dream she had had. Though it hurt him to see, Arthur ordered guards to escort her back to bed, yet as Morgana was pulled away from him, still trying to convince him not to go, he wished he could pull her into his arms and comfort her himself.
When Arthur and Merlin had located the beast's cave, they were cornered and Arthur was knocked unconscious. Arthur remembered nothing after that, but he did remember that his last thoughts while he fell were filled with his memories of Morgana.
Three days later when Arthur awoke, the first thing he saw was the tear stained face of Morgana. Once she had noticed that he was awake, she had thrown herself into his arms and began sobbing. Even though he was in a lot of pain, Arthur slowly raised his arm and ran a soothing hand through her hair, just like his father had done on her first night in the castle. He would not trade this moment for the world.
After a few minutes of just laying there, Arthur gently lifted Morgana's chin and forced her to look into his eyes. What he saw there made him the happiest Prince that had ever lived. Her eyes were filled with love, not the love one has for a sibling, but the love one has for their soul mate. Softly and ever so slowly, giving Morgana time to back away if she wished to do so, Arthur finally claimed Morgana's lips with his own and closed his eyes. Fireworks went off, his heart started pounding and he found it increasingly difficult to find his breath, yet Arthur never wanted the feeling to end. Too soon, Arthur lifted his lips from hers and opened his eyes, just in time to see Morgana open her own. She looked dazed, yet he could see her eyes were full of hunger; hunger for him.
Morgana made a move to open her mouth, but Arthur beat her to it, quickly blurting out, "I love you." Morgana looked shocked and for a second and Arthur panicked, worried that she did not feel the same, yet as soon quickly as those thoughts arrived they were gone, for a large smile lit up Morgana's face and she whispered, "I love you too."
Arthur's smile could have lit the whole castle and the entire realm of Camelot. He needed confirmation, "You do?"
"I do, Arthur Pendragon. I love you."
"Say it again." Arthur insisted.
Settling her head back down onto his chest, she repeated the greatest words Arthur had ever heard, "I love you."
"Say it again," he begged.
"Only if you say it too," Morgana bargained.
And that is how the spent the numerous following hours, whispering their love for one another and stealing kisses from the other.
Arthur opened his eyes with a large smile on his face. Whenever he thought about his wife, about the first time they had whispered their love for one another, he smiled. It was a natural reflex.
Just as Arthur was about to close his eyes again, he heard a quiet giggle.
Confused, Arthur looked around his chamber, trying to find the source of the giggle, but saw no one. Believing he had imagined it, Arthur closed his eyes but the second they closed, the giggle sounded again, a little louder this time. It seemed to be coming from beneath him.
Heaving himself off his bed, Arthur bent down to the floor, stretched his hands out under the bed and pulled out the source of the giggle.
In his arms was a small, blonde haired, blue eyed little boy, who was laughing his head off.
"James Merlin Pendragon, what are you doing under my bed?" Arthur asked the child.
"Daddy you found me," the child squealed in glee, "I was hiding and mummy was seeking."
Arthur couldn't help but smile. This little boy, his son, was the light of his life. James and his mother were the two things that gave Arthur purpose and a reason to get up in the morning.
"Well shouldn't you still be hidden? I don't see mummy anywhere." Arthur played along.
"But you was pulling me out," James explained logically.
Quickly, Arthur knelt back down on the floor and placed James back under the bed. He explained his thoughts to his son. "You stay quiet under here so that when mummy comes she won't know you're here."
James just giggled more and placed his finger to his lips, shushing his father. Laughing at his son's antics, Arthur got up and lay back on his bed.
He and Morgana had been married just six months after they had confessed their love for one another. They knew that they were soul mates and saw no point in prolonging the inevitable. It was a simple wedding, well as simple as it could be for the crowned Prince. His father was there, as were half the court and the people of Merlin's village. Morgana was wearing a simple white dress with a long veil and train that Gwen, her maid of honour, was holding up. As Morgana made her way towards him, Arthur thought she looked like and angel and had never seen anything so beautiful. He could not stop staring at her, and Merlin, his best man, had to cough to get his attention when it was time to say the vows. The service was short but nothing less than perfect.
The feast afterwards had contained the largest spread of food Arthur had ever seen. He was sure it could have fed the whole of the country! Throughout the feast, Arthur and Morgana held hands under the table and could not help but constantly steal glances at one another, smiling when they were caught. They didn't care if they were being antisocial, it was their wedding day and they were in love.
The end of the meal had come all too slowly for Arthur, and as he dragged his wife, God he loved saying that, towards their chamber, he was sure that life could never get any better.
He was wrong.
Nine months, almost to the day, after their wedding, Arthur was blessed with Morgana bringing his son into the world. He had worried the whole duration of the pregnancy for his wife's and unborn child's safety, yet when he saw his screaming newborn son he knew all of it was for nothing. Life was perfect. He had kissed Morgana passionately on the lips and thanked her over and over again for providing him with a son. Morgana was so worn out from the birth, she quickly fell asleep but Arthur refused to leave the room, holding their son while he waited for her to wake up.
Arthur found it impossible to take his eyes off his son. As the precious child sleep, Arthur soaked in the sight of him. He had straw blonde hair, cherub cheeks and a small nose, just like his mother. Arthur raised his sleeping child's hand and kissed it. The baby stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Bright blue. Arthur knew that all infants were born with blue eyes, yet he had the feeling that his son's would not change colour and he was glad. He could share the trait with his mother. At this moment, as if she could hear Arthur's thoughts drifting to her, Morgana started to stir. Instantly, Arthur was on his feet and knelt next to the bed, keeping a careful hold on his son.
"Arthur," Morgana had whispered in a soft voice.
"Yes my love?"
"Where is our son?" she questioned. Arthur gently lifted his arms and let his wife soak in the sight of the child they had made together. She held out her arms, and no words were needed as Arthur transferred his sleeping son into her arms. Morgana brought their child up to her face and kissed his forehead, as Arthur slid lightly into the bed next to her, placing his arm around her waist as he watched her interact with their son.
"James," Morgana said softly, without taking his eyes away from the child.
"James?" Arthur asked. Morgana nodded. "James." Arthur repeated with a smile on his face. Looking at his son, he couldn't think of a name that would suit him better, "James Merlin Pendragon."
Soon after this, Merlin, Gwen and Uther filled into the room, Merlin and Gwen wanting to be the first to hold their godchild while Uther wanted to hold his grandson before anyone else got near him. This was without a doubt the happiest day of Arthur's life.
Sadly, two years later, Uther had passed away peacefully in his sleep and Arthur was crowned king. Although throughout his childhood and adolescence Arthur had had a number of doubts about whether he was up to the task, he now knew that as long as her had his wife and son by his side, he would be able to achieve anything.
Just at that moment, Morgana entered the room, looking breathtaking as usual. He smiled at her and she grinned right back at him.
"Have you seen our son by any chance?" Morgana questioned, laughing a little.
Before he heard the chance to answer, a giggle was heard echoing around the room. Morgana turned her gaze towards the underneath of their bed. Lifting her finger to her lip, Morgana signalled for Arthur to stay quiet, "I wonder where James is, I've been looking for him everywhere!" she said as she slowly bent down to reach under the bed.
A few moments later, James was pulled out from under the bed for a second time, giggling once again. As Morgana reached down to pick James up, Arthur quickly jumped off the bed and placed his son in his arms, giving his wife an exasperated look.
Morgana give her husband a dirty look as she lowered herself onto the bed. "I'm not disabled Arthur! I am perfectly able to pick up our son!"
Arthur placed James on the centre of their bed before sitting back down and cuddled up to his wife. "I know that you are not disabled love, I just don't want you to take any unnecessary risks." At this he placed his hand on the swell of their second child, who was resting deep within Morgana's womb.
Morgana gently placed her own hand over his and smiled. Arthur smiled right back at her and lifted their joined hands before placing a kiss on it.
James, tired of being ignored, crawled in between his parents and laid his head on his mother's stomach, wanting to feel his sibling kick. Arthur loved watching his son act like this; he knew his son would be an amazing big brother as he already loved the baby; feeling the baby kick was one of his favourite past times.
"Baby sleeping?" James asked, looking at both his parents in turn. Morgana nodded as she ran her hands through his hair.
"Yes my little prince, the baby is sleeping. They have to sleep so that they're nice and strong when they are born." Morgana explained to her curious son.
Morgana's soothing fingers quickly caused James to fall asleep; his head still resting on his mother's stomach, with his hand sprawled out beside him. Moving down the bed, Arthur placed his head on one of the numerous pillows at the head of the bed, while Morgana rested her head on her husband's chest, falling asleep moments later.
As Arthur stared down at his family, his wife, son and unborn child all here with him, he knew that whatever came their way, the Pendragon family would be able to get through it, as all they needed was each other.