Merlin doesn't belong to me.
Pretending
"Can I speak to you in private?"
Gwen pulled Gaius into the corner and after looking around to see that was no one was watching them she continued. "Gaius, there's something wrong with me."
"What do you mean?" Gaius asked her, concerned.
"I hate this Arthur Pendragon," Gwen said. "He's a despicable person, one of the worst I've ever known."
"So what is the problem?"
"Gaius, I'm falling in love with him, that's what," Gwen replied. "I know I should hate... I mean I probably hate him and I'm also falling in love with him."
Gaius looked at Gwen in shock and surprise. They were friends, she confided in him, but she was the most private person he'd ever met. They had worked together as operatives at Chapter, a secret government organisation for five years. In all that time, although Gwen was friendly and treated him better than most of the younger people in the organisation, he had yet to learn more about her than what was in her file. She was a great operative who did her job well and she was kind.
Her latest assignment was to get close to Arthur Pendragon. According to the file she had been given, Arthur Pendragon was in charge of a small group of 'rebels' who were into everything from smuggling to kidnapping of high profile government officials. The part Gwen especially disliked was where he used young children to get his work done. In fact, when the assignment was being prepped she had volunteered to be on the team to bring him down, what she hadn't counted on was being this personally involved.
A few days earlier
"Are you sure about this?" Agravaine asked Morgause.
"Of course." She smiled at him. Unlike him, Morgause always seemed sure of everything she undertook. The fact that she was usually right made her very confident and not a little formidable but Agravaine couldn't help but wonder if she hadn't gone a little too far this time.
"It's nothing either of us hasn't done before," she reminded him.
"But this is Gwen we're talking about."
"Yes, this is Gwen," Morgause agreed. "And she's the best person for the job. Even the psych evaluation showed that she was, if you needed further proof."
"I know," Agravaine nodded. "But I'd still be more confident if we were sending Morgana or even Vivian."
"No," Morgause disagreed. "Gwen is the one for this assignment."
00000
"She won't go for it," Morgana said. "Gwen's not like us, she's … different."
Morgause and Morgana were sisters and they had both grown up in Chapter, figuratively. Their grandfather and father had both been in Chapter and it had been a foregone conclusion that they would both work with the organisation as soon as they were of age. Morgause preferred to work in admin, and she was second in command, next to Agravaine, while Morgana preferred fieldwork and headed her own operations.
When the organisation had finally had Arthur Pendragon in their sights, they'd been looking for him for two years, Morgana had been the first operative that had been thought of but later she had been discarded, Morgause and Morgana had a personal relationship with Arthur that disqualified Morgana from doing this particular job, besides, Morgause had convinced Agravaine that a softer approach would be better for this job.
They were going to make Arthur Pendragon believe that he was in love with Guinevere Jameson.
"Gwen won't like this mission," Morgana said again.
"She knows that she can't pick and choose her missions," Morgause said.
"Still, she won't like it and you know how pigheaded she is," Morgana reminded her, "When she doesn't like assignments she had a tendency of bending them to suit her needs."
"I know," Morgause nodded. She recalled a recent assignment where Gwen had hidden a small boy who Morgause believed should have been put into the system. Gwen had somehow managed to get him a place to live; she had hidden him so well that no one at Chapter knew where to find him. Agravaine had wanted Gwen punished for disobeying a direct order but Morgause had been able to dissuade him, they would hold that information to keep Gwen in line.
"But," Morgause continued, "Gwen is the best and only person for this job and anyway, she won't really have any choice in the matter."
"What are you going to do?"
00000
"Here is the information you're going to need," George handed Gwen a flash disk. "Make sure you're up to speed by 7.00 am tomorrow, you're having a pre-op debrief with Morgause then."
Gwen spent most of the night reading up on Arthur Pendragon. She wasn't sure what Morgause and Agravaine expected of her exactly but she would be ready.
0000
"I don't see how you expect me to pretend that I'm falling in love with him," Gwen told Morgause.
"Don't worry, we don't," Morgause assured her.
"Okay then," Gwen replied. "I'll just bump into him at the restaurant, get him to ask me out, and see where it goes."
"That's all we expect of you."
"Okay, then."
0000
Gwen smiled at Arthur Pendragon. Why was she enjoying spending time with him? Why was she smiling with him, flirting with him? She hated men like him, yet when he took her hand in his and kissed it softly it felt right. She had even been filled with regret that she couldn't spend the afternoon with him.
What was wrong with her?
0000
"Tomorrow, when he suggests that you go away for the weekend together suggest the Palace Lake Resort."
"What? No," Gwen said instantly. "I can't go away with him for the weekend. And what makes you even think that he would ask me to, anyway?"
"Trust me." Morgause smiled that smile which Gwen had come to dread and hate.
"Am I allowed to ask why that location?"
"You may ask," Morgause replied. "But you know I cannot tell you."
"Fine."
"See you, Monday."
0000
Arthur had asked her to go away with him for the weekend, it was a family event, he'd said. And although they didn't know each other very well, and it was probably very short notice, but he really wanted her with him.
Gwen had been ready to say no, if Chapter wanted to spend the weekend with Arthur Pendragon they would do it themselves, she wanted no part of it. Arthur seemed very likable but she wouldn't let herself forget that he was a really bad man.
"Arthur, I thought that was you, I'd recognise that laugh anywhere."
Arthur and Gwen looked up to see Morgana smiling at them. Arthur stood up, smiling and hugged Morgana. "Morgana," he said in surprise, "I thought you were out of the country, Bali was it, when did you get back?"
"I got back a few weeks ago, actually," Morgana replied. "I've been meaning to look you up."
"Found me."
"And who is this lovely young lady?"
Arthur turned to Gwen, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Gwen this is Morgana, the bane of my childhood, Morgana, this is Gwen."
"So this is the person who has been occupying Arthur's thoughts and time for the past few days?"
"Occupying? What are you talking about?" Arthur asked in surprise. Gwen was just looking on in shock; she hadn't known that Morgana knew Arthur. Why weren't they using that connection instead of using her?
"You know Leon, I saw him yesterday and he told me about you and Gwen," Morgana told them. Arthur nodded; he had told his friend about Gwen, he was a bit embarrassed about how much he'd gone on about her. No wonder even Morgana already knew about it.
"So will you be at the Lake this weekend?" Arthur asked Morgana.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Morgana replied, she turned to Gwen, "I assume you'll be there as well."
"I don't think so," Gwen replied. She knew Morgana; she had seen around the Chapter office and they were sort of friends although they didn't spend a lot of time together, but she doubted that Morgana would insist on her being there, after all with Morgana there Gwen wouldn't really be needed, would she?
"Of course, you have to be there," Morgana insisted. "Arthur would like to show you off, I'm sure and it would a chance for you and I to get to know each other better, after all we both have Arthur's best interests at heart."
"And now you know why I call her the bane of my childhood," Arthur interrupted her. "Next she'll be bringing out the embarrassing photos."
"You know what?" Morgana added. "I think we'll travel together. The more the merrier."
0000
Arthur smiled at Gwen and she found herself leaning in to kiss him. There was something about him, something that was drawing her to Arthur and she couldn't understand what she was, she needed to know what it was before she went away for the weekend.
Now
"I heard about this unsanctioned tests that were run on operatives a few years ago," Gaius said. "Tests, experiments conditioning that makes people do things that they didn't exactly want to do."
"What exactly are you saying?" Gwen asked him.
"Let me run some tests on the materials you were given," Gaius told her. "I'll know more in the evening."
"That's cutting it a bit close, isn't it?" Gwen asked him. "We're leaving in the morning."
"It's the best I can do."
0000
"It is as I suspected," Gaius told Gwen.
"What?"
"You were conditioned to fall in love with Arthur Pendragon."
00000