A/N:
Hey it's Honey! But guess what....this isn't my story for once :D Cheerios decided to give this writing thing a try, taking a break from her normal publicity role. I hope you enjoy her story! There will be more to come!
Disclaimer: Nope. Do not own.
"This is completely justified," Arthur murmured to himself, "no reason to feel like the largest creep in the whole kingdom of Camelot. None at all." Just because he was stalking, err… investigating, Morgana did not mean he should be thrown in the dungeons like the actual perverts.
After all, he was crowned prince of Camelot, and he was merely following Morgana to ensure she didn't do anything stupid. He knew he was overly protective of the King's ward, but he attributed this to be a result of growing up with the girl, or rather more of a woman now. A lovely woman…, Arthur began to let his mind wander but quickly reined in his thoughts. She's practically my sister! He shook his head and scolded himself, focus.
Flicking his ice blue eyes up to his target ahead, Arthur slowed his pace to stay concealed. If Morgana hadn't been acting a touch more jumpy than usual, he'd be fast asleep in his warm, comfortable bed.
He knew the changes in her actions were minor, so minor that he felt rather embarrassed for watching her so closely to notice such details. After all, did the King notice that Morgana's face had turned even paler than her normal ivory when he casually asked if she had slept well? Did anyone notice that she had a barely visible scrape on the palm of her right hand?
He sighed, exhaling a combination of annoyance and confusion. After all, he was trained to be observant; it could mean the difference between life and death. But there was no reason to be so observant of her; surely her actions wouldn't directly cause him harm.
But if anything harmed her... Arthur shuddered to think of what he would do to the beast. He felt a rising wave of rage and anguish at the thought of Morgana cold and still. Arthur kept a close watch on Morgana and noted that her day was normal, even rather boring. Knowing better than to give up his investigation at night, Arthur watched the only exit from Morgana's chambers, hidden from site.
As the moon rose, Arthur's eyes began to feel weighted with the lack of sleep. When he saw a willowy, cloaked figure hurry through the large doorway his eyes flew open as he rushed to follow the figure. Curiosity fueled his alertness. He had to know where Morgana stole away to in the middle of the night.
Tugging the hood of his silver cloak over his golden hair, Arthur silently followed far behind the rushing figure. Out of the courtyard, out of the castle walls, and into the forest. Was Morgana mad!? Heating up with fury, Arthur considered how easily some monster, whether creature or man, could steal the light from behind her bright, silvery-blue eyes.
Quickening his pace, the prince nearly stopped Morgana before she reached the woods. Arthur knew from her movements that she had done this before, and his interest stopped him from interfering. What could possibly draw Morgana into the woods at this hour?
She moved deeper into the forest until Arthur could no longer see stone walls of the castle behind him, only brush, trees, and darkness. Arthur was thankful that Morgana had brought a lantern with her; the light from it shone enough for him to follow.
Finally, the light stopped moving. Morgana must have found the place she needed. The prince's eyes flashed around where the lady was standing and saw it was a small clearing – free of most brush.
His eyes found no gleaming swords lurking at the edge of the clearing, and he instinctively knew that Morgana was not in immediate danger. Relaxing slightly, Arthur silently inched closer to see what she was hunched over.
A candle? Arthur was at a loss for an explanation – she already had a lantern. He watched as Morgana sat on the ground and starred at the candle, as if she expected something to happen to it at any moment. She heaved a large sigh of frustration and closed her eyes. The prince craved to know what worry plagued her mind, wishing he could dispel it for her.
Her eyes flashed open and Arthur's stomach heaved, fearing she sensed his presence. Instead, she was focused again on the candle and this time the wick caught fire, seeming to do so out of its own will.
Unable to hold his mouth close, the prince felt his jaw go slack and was nearly sure he was so exhausted that he was hallucinating. After Morgana began to beam at the candle Arthur knew he was not hallucinating, but sincerely wished he was.
His throat tightened and his thoughts flew around until he was dizzy. Morgana?
Morgana had been practicing almost every night; she was beyond thrilled that she had finally managed to voluntarily use magic. Illuminating a candle, and not accidentally, gave her hope. I can control this; I will never need to fear myself again.
She felt her pursed lips give way to a large grin. Before she could attempt the feat again, Morgana heard a foot crunch a leaf behind her. Swiftly, Morgana pulled a dagger from her inner sleeve and whipped around to face her attacker. Morgana recognized the voice before she looked up to see the face. His face.
"Damn it, Morgana! It's me, Arthur!"
Her mind raced. What have I done? What has he seen? Realizing that she had slashed Arthur's outstretched arm when she had turned around, Morgana immediately began to assess his wound. She sighed with relief. The wound is shallow.
"Arthur! I'm so sorry, but what are you doing sneaking up on someone in the middle of the night out here? " She hoped her voice was as casual as it could possibly be given the situation. Maybe he didn't see anything.
Avoiding his eyes, she began to tear her handkerchief apart and loosely wrap it around his arm to help stem the bleeding. Please, please say you haven't seen anything.
"Your arm should be fine but I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to react so quickly"
"Morgana, look at me," he quietly murmured, ignoring his arm. Nervously, Morgana lifted her head, barely able to meet his intense gaze. Oh, no. "What did I see?"
He seemed to be pleading with her, as if asking her to convince him he didn't see anything unordinary. As if she had some logical, safe explanation for being in the woods and lighting a candle just by staring at it. She lowered her gaze to the bandage she was tying.
"The candle? " Morgana flipped through scenarios…she was praying for her father, she was praying for herself, she was reflecting upon her life, she was doing anything but practicing witchcraft.
She made the mistake of glancing back into his blue eyes. His expression looked pained, and she knew it was not from her dagger. It was almost as if he had expected her to tell him. There was no fear in his face and in that moment she forgot all of her lies.
"I've been practicing to control that. I don't use spells or anything, it's just something my mind is able to do."
For once in his life Arthur Pendragon simply looked at Morgana. She feared it was because he detested what she was. She imagined Arthur handing her over the King to be executed.
"Arthur, please just say something," she begged, anxious to know his verdict.
"Morgana… how long," the prince cleared his throat and tried again, "how long have you been…. able to do things like that?"
She couldn't seem to stop herself from being honest. "It seem to began when I inadvertently started that fire in my chamber. Although, my dreams have been prophetic for awhile." Upon seeing his shocked expression, she quickly began to try to convince him she was still the same Morgana.
"I swear I mean no harm. I'm terrified of hurting anyone, even more terrified than I am of anyone knowing what I am." She began to back away from Arthur, lowering her eyes and wringing her hands as if they were the source of her problems.
Arthur stepped forward. "I won't say anything. You know I'd never let any harm come to you."
Her eyes hopefully flicked up from the ground. Scrutinizing his expression, she decided he looked protective if anything and she sighed. Is this possible? Could Arthur really be this compassionate? She felt weightless at the though of Arthur knowing and accepting everything about her. She met his eyes and instinctively took a step towards him.
"After all, you're like a sister to me."
She felt the weight return to her chest so rapidly that she thought she heard the bones above her lungs crack. A sister… Scolding herself for being foolish, she realized she should be rejoicing that she he wasn't going to have her executed for practicing magic. Ridiculous! My life is more important than his feelings for me.
Morgana desperately wished her emotions matched her reasoning.
A/N:
Thanks for reading! Reviews would be awesome :D and I'll (Honey) get started on the next chapter for ultimate prize while Cheerios will work on this! Thanks again!
~Honey and Cheerios
