Obligatory disclaimer:Merlin and all associated creative properties belong to BBC. I don't claim any said property as my own, and I make no monetary profit from this fan-made story. All creative property not associated with said channel belong to me, and their use is limited to my express permission. Thank you.
As usual this is not edited.
A BAD DAY
Morgana was having a bad day. Surprisingly, it was only 11 in the morning.
It started with her waking up late. Then her car broke down and when she decided to call Arthur to pick her up, she realized that in her hurry to leave, she had forgotten her phone. So she had to take a taxi which wasn't easy to hail.
In the end, she arrived 45 minutes late for the most important meeting of her career and if that wasn't enough, she ruined the entire presentation.
Of course, Uther couldn't let it slide and he reprimanded her for it. The entire lecture lasted longer than the meeting itself. In addition, by the time Uther ordered her out of his sight and his company-he didn't fire her, he just ordered to go home- all she wanted to do was to get drunk. Or put some food in her belly then she could get drunk until she stopped feeling sorry for herself.
And after what had happened in the morning, Morgana thought that there was no chance for it to get any worse.
Boy, she was wrong.
…
She had just left Uther's office, the corner of her eyes were welled with tears but she knew that she couldn't afford to cry.
She was trying to prove herself to her father. If she was going to start crying her eyes out after her first slip up, well, that certainly was not a quality that could be attributed to a leader.
Still, she was angry…no fuming. Yes, she had made a mistake, but he didn't have to treat her like that. Thus, she mustered enough strength to hold the tears back and marched, head held high back to her office.
"Excuse me?" She heard someone say from behind her. Morgana turned around to find herself face to face with a man she had never seen before.
Had she not been busy being angry with both herself and Uther, Morgana might have noticed how handsome he was, but the man's lips started to move and what he said, made her snap.
"Where's the office of Arthur Pendragon?"
What did he think she was? A bloody secretary.
Clenching her jaw, she pointed toward a corridor behind them. "Walk straight down there and then turn left. Find the office with a sign 'the son of the jerk: the jerk'. Go inside and that's where you'll find him." She said icily.
"The jerk?" the raven-haired man asked with a sly grin.
Since she was not in a good mood, Morgana ignored him and resumed her retreat. Once she was in her office, she gathered her things, shoved them into her purse, and just before she left, she asked for George- the company driver- to wait for her so he could take her back to her flat.
Morgana stood before the lift, waiting for it to arrive. Seconds later, the man from before came to stop beside her.
"Hey, again." He said, clearly amused.
Heaving a sigh, Morgana didn't acknowledge him. When the doors opened, he let her step inside first. She pressed the lobby button, and then she rested her back against the metal wall, leaning her head back.
The journey down began smoothly.
Morgana closed her eyes.
Minutes later, the elevator jerked unnaturally then it stopped.
"This can't be good." The man next to her muttered which prompted her to open her eyes. The lights were off. She quickly checked the digital indicator. It said 5. So, they had stopped at the fifth floor.
The man pressed the button to the lobby repeatedly. But the lift didn't budge. He then inhaled, turned to look at her, the corners of his lips quirked upward, "Looks like we'll be trapped for a while…"
She had feeling what the problem was, but amidst all that had happened earlier that day; her luck couldn't be that bad that she'd be stuck in such situation.
Because what were the odds, right?
Grunting in frustration, Morgana slid down. Accepting that she'd be there for a while, she wrapped her arms her knees and rested her head on them. At least, she'd be able to get some sleep.
"Are you okay?"
She looked up, half-tempted to taunt him for the stupid question. However, Morgana saw a serious look on his face and she knew that he was actually worried, "I'm fine. I'm just having the worst day ever."
Smiling warmly at her, the cheeky man, gestured to the empty space next to her, "Can I sit?"
"Sure."
He shrugged off his back-bag and swiftly sat next to her. He made sure to leave enough space between them. "It could be a lot worse…"
Morgana watched, finally taking a good look at him for the first time. She'd been so distracted with starting at him that she assumed that she must have missed the first part of his statement. "Sorry?"
"Your day? It could have been a lot worse." He explained, he mirrored her posture with the knees brought to the chest and all. "I mean what if the lift broke down and you were pregnant and in labour? Or what if you got stuck with a murderer?"
The first hypothesis was plain silly because why would she be in the office if she were so close to giving birth. The second one however, was a possibility. Morgana didn't know why but she had to be sure that the chances of her getting killed that very day were slim. "Are you a murderer?"
His face broke into a giant grin. His blue eyes displayed mirth at her question. "Don't worry, you're safe. I'm a doctor. I don't take lives; I do the opposite of that."
"I'm relieved." And she really was. Still, she wanted to ask him if he could prove that but she thought that, there was no reason for him to lie about that. In addition, if he were really planning to kill her, he wouldn't do it in the lift.
With a nod, he said, "I'm glad you feel that way."
Silence filled the small space after that. Moments passed and neither of them said anything or at least Morgana didn't feel like starting a conversation to kill the time. Well that lasted until her stomach growled reminding her that she was about to miss another meal.
Heat rushed to her cheeks as she looked away to hide her embarrassment. She sent an unspoken prayer that he didn't hear that.
No such luck. Morgana realized when he ask, "Hungry?"
She closed her eyes, counted to three willing the redness to diminish. "I skipped breakfast and by the looks of it, lunch is next." She sighed, "If only I knew the day is going to be like this…"
"I have food if you want. We can share." He said, hesitant as he reached his hand for the bag. He opened it. First, he extracted a bottle of water then he took a carton bag.
If she didn't know any better she'd say that he was her knight in shining armour.
All of the sudden, it seemed like her luck was starting to shift, but didn't stop her from wondering how odd it was. "Do you usually go around carrying food in your bag or it is just a simply coincidence?"
He didn't seem to notice her scepticism. "I was on my way home when my uncle Gaius…I don't know if you know him he works…."
Of course, she knew the man. She'd known him ever since she was a little girl. He was her parents' lawyer after all as well as Uther's. "I do…I do know him."
He carried on after, "He called me and asked me to come over."
"So, you don't work here?"
"I'm a doctor remember?" he reminded her, "I've moved to London recently and I've been living with my uncle. I think he got bored of me, because when I got here he said that he had found me a potential flatmate." He shrugged before adding, "I'm guessing you work here."
"That obvious, huh?"
"A bit, yeah." He paused, hands still grasping the carton bag. "I really don't mind sharing."
Morgana thought of it for a moment. Any other day, she'd formulated a polite decline but she was very hungry. "If there's enough for the both of us."
The man seemed pleased with her answer. "There is."
"You have two?" she raised an eyebrow when he pulled two sandwiches and handed one to her.
"I'm a big boy," He said casually, still there was a hint of amusement in his tone.
"I've noticed."
Her statement took him completely by surprise. It was obvious in the way his eyes widened slightly. Still, he recovered quickly. "I'm Merlin, by the way." He outreached his free hand.
She took his hand and shook it. "Morgana."
"So, aside from our predicament, why do you think you're having the worst day ever?"
She summarized what had occurred to her earlier that day.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'll live." She said with a shrug.
Silence was back. But at least this time, it wasn't as awkward as is it was the first time. Each of them was busy biting and chewing on their food.
While she had no idea what was going on Merlin's mind, hers was churning. She had to figure out a way to solve the problem that she had created, preferably before Uther took an action.
Suddenly, next to her, Merlin began to cough. Her head shut his direction, only to find him red-faced. His sandwich set aside as he reached for the water bottle.
Despite her slight concern, she didn't say anything. Morgana waited until he regained his breathing and the coughing ceased. She took a bite from her sandwich. "As a doctor, you should already know that you're not supposed to swallow before chewing."
He rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the advice."
"You're welcome," she smiled sweetly, she still had food in her mouth. "A doctor told it to me."
"Did this good doctor tell not to talk while chewing too?" Merlin countered, and Morgana couldn't help but smile wider.
"How long do you think we'd stay here?" she deflected easily. The small banter clearly ended.
He was serious as he replied, "It depends, really. Maybe…" He checked his watch. "An hour or less."
Morgana fought the urge to groan. She had to endure another hour of this torture.
"We can try and talk…" he started and then trailed off, as though he wasn't expecting the words to leave his mouth. "…to pass the time."
Regardless, Morgana would welcome anything that might help get her mind off her entire day. "Alright, and we can pretend that this…" She leaned forward and took the water from him, "…is vodka."
He seemed to like her idea. "I'll go first." He took a small slip. He squinted acting as if the liquid actually burned. "Family? Love life? Or hobbies? What should we talk about first?"
A/N: Expect a second chapter maybe in next few days. It'll be a funny story. I hope you'll leave a review.
