Cornwall
A/N: Set early season 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin
Morgana glanced at Arthur as a nobleman listed complaints against his neighbor. The neighbor appeared to have done nothing wrong. He simply wanted the other mans lands. No matter how many pretty words he used to cover up his intent, it was obvious even to the Prince. Arthur looked bemused and disgusted, opening his mouth to interrupt several times. He was hushed with a gesture from his father every time.
Uther lounged on his throne looking at ease, but attentive. Despite being a man of action and swift judgment, he could be incredibly patient when it suited him. The mans incessant whining was abruptly ended as the doors burst open and Leon marched through them followed by an out of breath messenger.
"Please forgive me, my lord, for my interruption from your honorable work. I have a messenger here with me, from Cornwall. I was going to have him wait until your meeting was over, but he mentioned that his news might affect the Lady Morgana."
"Thank you sir Leon. Lord Berec, I must postpone this meeting, but I think I will have a solution for you when next we speak."
Arthur looked relieved, and Lord Berec disgruntled, but simpering as always. Leon nodded respectfully as the man left, then he motioned the messenger forward. Morgana tilted her head to the side curiously. It was rare that she heard from her childhood home, and she wondered why they would seek her out now.
Sure she was technically the Duchess of Cornwall, but a cousin of her fathers had been named regent after his death. Morgana could have gone back and ruled from Tintagel at any point after she had come of age, but she was used to living in Camelot, and she was used to Uther and Arthur as well. Though she would rather undergo torture than admit to any small amount of genuine affection for either of them.
"What news do you bring of Cornwall?" Uther's brow was furrowed as though he was expecting bad news. Then again he generally was. Which wasn't all that surprising taking into the amount of horrible or bizarre incidents that took place in his kingdom. Most of them were the result of his own actions, so that might just be a vicious cycle at work.
"Duke Marcus passed away. He was out on his daily ride, and was thrown from his horse. He landed on his neck, the physician says that he didn't suffer."
The messenger looked at Morgana compassionately as he spoke. He apparently expected Morgana to be deeply grieved by the death of her cousin, despite the fact that she hadn't even seen Marcus more than a handful of times. He frowned disapprovingly at her lack of reaction before turning back to the king expectantly.
Uther nodded thoughtfully and spoke sharply.
"Who has temporarily taken control of Tintagel?"
"The son of Duke Marcus, My Lord, Duke Cador."
"Did he send along a message?"
"He only asked that he be allowed to continue his fathers work, as the ruler of Cornwall."
"His father wasn't the ruler, he was the regent for Morgana." Arthur broke in loudly, and protectively.
The messenger sifted nervously, but his words came out evenly nonetheless.
"I'm sure my lord meant no disrespect. It's just that the Lady Morgana hasn't been to Tintagel since she was very young, most people assume that my lord owns Cornwall. It is easy to forget that the Lady Morgana is the ruler."
"Well, I suppose we will just have to remind them." Uther now looked as displeased as Arthur. He motioned Leon forward with the wave a hand. Somehow he made even that look ominous. Morgana wondered if she ever looked that, then dismissed the thought. She was nothing like Uther.
"Find our guest a place to stay, and send me Gaius."
Sir Leon bowed and left with the messenger in tow. It was quiet in the throne room once the Pendragons were alone. Morgana wasn't sure how to feel. She was angry about being usurped, or almost potentially usurped really, but she also realized that that Cador had lived in Cornwall his whole life. He probably felt a deep bond to the dukedom. The only interaction Morgana bothered with in regards to her old home was collecting revenue. She hadn't even participated in that until a few years ago, Uther had managed all her money and lands when she was a child. He still did often look over anything she wasn't completely sure of.
Duke Marcus was the one who had efficiently run Cornwall for fourteen and a half years, and as the oldest living male from the house of Gorlois he might have been given ownership of Cornwall if Gorlois hadn't loudly proclaimed Morgana his heir. He even had legal papers drawn up by Geoffrey of Monmouth, which were witnessed by Uther himself. Morgana was sometimes ironically amused when she thought about the fact that her father probably wouldn't have had to go through half so much trouble if he had had a son instead.
Now the son of Marcus was taking the reigns of Cornwall, and with the aforementioned knowledge in mind, it made sense that Cador might feel some claim over the lands. Still, she couldn't help but feel a territorial protectiveness that screamed out against a great injustice done to her. She had to bite her tongue to combat the overwhelming urge to say 'mine' aloud.
Gauis walked through the door with Merlin behind him. Arthur looked like he wanted to say something rude about how his servant should by doing some onerous task, but apparently was in too sour a mood. Uther looked mildly surprised by the unasked for manservant's attendance, but apparently didn't see any harm in his presence, and probably forgot the boy was even in the room moments later.
Uthers jaw suddenly clenched, and he stalked to the window with long, harsh strides. And clasped his hands behind his back. Merlin looked as eager and inquisitive as always, and took a moment to study each noble individually. Whatever he saw made his eyes turn serious. Morgana didn't find that overly unusual. While it wasn't atypical for one or two of the Pendragons to be petulant or bad-tempered at a time, it was strange to find them all so at once. Morgana reluctantly acknowledged that it probably didn't look like a pleasant situation to be involved in if not even one of them appeared slightly overconfident. Usually Arthur or his father.
After a few more moments of tense silence, as everyone waited for Uther to speak, Gauis stepped forward, a concerned eyebrow disappeared into his hair.
"Sire, is there something you required?"
"Morgana, and therefore I, may have a problem soon. At the moment it may be minor, possibly even nonexistent, but if not handled properly, has the potential to be…difficult."
"What problem would that be? Is it health related?"
Uther finally turned to from the window to speak to Gauis directly.
"No, no, nothing like that. We received word that the regent of Cornwall died. A fair man, his death is most unfortunate. His son, Duke Cador is in command at the moment. He wishes to take up his fathers post. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem. I would send out someone to make sure he was up to the task, and loyal to the crown and that would be that. This is different though, this is Morgana's inheritance, and she hasn't been to Cornwall since she was ten. It wouldn't be hard for someone else to take control, especially being that most of the people may not even know that she is the Duchess."
The king turned away from the rooms other occupants as he continued.
"It's not unlikely that our fears are unfounded, I haven't even met the young man, if he is anything like his father then we should have little to worry about. Still it concerns me. Cornwall is powerful, and Tintagel is near impenetrable, Camelot could defeat them, but I would rather not wage war against Morgana's kinsmen. Not to mention the number of casualties it would take on both sides. And the number of men it would take to siege Tintagel would leave Camelot weakened."
Morgana had noticed that Arthur had a similar way of asking for advice without really have to ask. Arthur himself had gone from looking defiant, and ready for a fight, to worried as his father spoke. While he had fully supported the idea of quarreling with someone trying to steal from her, he had gone pale at the mention of casualties, and nearly transparent when a weakened Camelot was discussed. When he glanced at Morgana, she did her best to keep her expression unreadable, and her muscles relaxed.
"Well, does Morgana actually want Cornwall? You already take care of most of her expenses, and I haven't heard her say anything about wanting to return to Cornwall since she was eleven years old."
Uther was shaking his head before Gaius finished.
"Whether she wants it or not isn't the issue, it belongs to her. If she decides that she doesn't want it anymore one day, for whatever reason, then she can do what she will. I don't she has any intention of giving it up purely because doesn't want to make trouble with a presuming relative."
Uther gave her a fond glance, but she saw Merlin and Arthur studying her hopefully. She felt like she was being tested, yet she didn't know what they wanted from her. Were they expecting her to drop this? If that's what they were trying to wordlessly ask her then they would have to live with a bit of disappointment.
What were they so worried about anyway? It probably wouldn't come to war, and even if it did, what does that have to do with either of them? Sure Arthur had often led his men into battle in the past, but it was unlikely that Uther would send his son, the Prince, so far away for an undetermined length of time. He wasn't at risk, so why did he look as though it would be his life she was gambling with if asserted her claim over her property?
"I could care less about what my cousin might want. I will do everything I can to keep Cornwall. It's the greatest reminder I have of my father. The cost, whatever it may be, will be worth it in the end."
"To who? You and my father maybe, but the people who will be dying for it will probably have a difference of opinion!" Arthur burst out heatedly.
Morgana and Uther frowned identically, but Morgana beat the king to a cool condescending response.
"You should be used to this sort of thing by now, Arthur. How many of those men you lead into battle do you really think are so eager to fight for you? You think they would simply volunteer to follow you to certain death because they love you so much. They have orders. That is why they follow you. Believe me, a good portion of the people won't even know you've taken the throne until years after the death of your father," with a quick glance to Uther, "may that be many years from now."
Uther looked a bit conflicted. While he supported Morgana, it was uncomfortable to see his son near devastated. He wasn't sure how to make Arthur feel better, or if he should even try, since the boy was being insensible, so he tried to gently share his wisdom.
"Sometimes sacrifices must be made."
"There has to be some way to resolve this without the people of Camelot being the ones to suffer." Arthur insisted.
"Of course, son, haven't you been listening? Morgana and I aren't seeking a fight, we were just contemplating the worst case scenario, you'd be a fool to tae a course of action without considering the consequences. I'm sure we would all prefer a diplomatic solution, though, I admit, I'm surprised that you would so strongly support a peaceful solution. It shows maturity, I'm impressed, but remember moderation. There won't always be a peaceful answer, sometimes actions speak louder than words, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't always try to avoid a fight if you can honorably. Unless, of course, if it's magic related."
Morgana turned away nervously. There was an awkward silence as Uther applauded his parental lecture, Arthur sat abashed, and Merlin, Morgana, and Gauis tried not to obviously react. Gauis did the best job, not that it really mattered as the Pendragons tended not to be observant when the subject of magic came up.
"Sire, it seems to me that you should send someone to investigate this Duke Cador before any hasty decisions are made." Gauis said.
"Yes, Arthur will leave with a handful of men as soon as Geoffrey writes up the documents to give Cador the regency, and to pledge his loyalty to me and Morgana. It shouldn't take him long, you should expect to leave by tomorrow morning."
"I will?" Arthur asked.
"Who better?"
"Me, for one. I am overdue a trip to Cornwall anyway." Morgana answered.
"It might be dangerous." Uther appeared ambivalent. On one hand the trip may prove to be harmless, and even beneficial, if Morgana could charm the people it would greatly reduce the chances of them revolting against her in favor of Cador. It shouldn't be a difficult thing for her to do, Morgana could be very charismatic when she choose to be. He couldn't send her alone she would be defenseless against her relatives and their men at arms.
"Arthur will go with you. Send the messenger ahead with word of your visit."
A/N: So what do you guys think? Good so far or should I give up now? I going to go ahead and tell everyone that romance will not be a big part of this story. Mordred and Morgause are planned to be making appearances, and will almost certainly be major characters. I don't intend for Morgana to turn out completely evil, but I do prefer to read and write about her with a grey morality. Any questions anyone has will be answered to the best of my ability if I wasn't clear on anything.