He had the dream again.
The dream that kept him from sleeping most nights. He thought it had gone away, it had gone away! Arthur thought to himself. Once Guinevere and I… Once they had what? She was hardly his. A few kisses. Some mutual glances at each other… But they could never be.
Just like before… But for different reasons. But tonight, there was no Uther controlling his fate, no Merlin cautioning his every move, nothing but freedom. And Arthur would take that freedom the second he got it.
All Arthur knew was that he needed to get out. As fast as he possibly could. He couldn't be in that palace anymore. He couldn't be Prince Arthur for now.
As Arthur snuck out of the castle, he went to the only place that he could think of. Guinevere's house.
When the dreams came, he would go there. Guinevere could not erase the dreams, but she could block them for a few minutes, hours, days… Until they came again.
"Arthur?" Guinevere's voice already began to soothe his shaking hands.
"It's the dreams again… I was just hoping that-" But Arthur didn't have to say anymore. Guinevere had already begun pulling out the mattress that had not been removed from the house from the first time he was here.
Arthur wouldn't dare attempt to take advantage of Guinevere's generosity by asking for more than this. He'd made that mistake once. Again, with different reasons.
"One of these nights Arthur, you will have to tell me what in these dreams scares you so much."
"It's not fear!" Arthur said in a sharp voice. But when he saw Gwen's hurt expression, he lowed his tone and muttered. "It's regret."
It was all that Arthur would say about the dreams.
It was all he could.
Laughter penetrated the darkness. Such sweet laughter that Arthur had never heard before. A small light grew as he heard his named called "Arthur! Come play with me!" And suddenly everything was light. The green of the meadow, the sun in his blonde hair, and her bright eyes.
"Morgana!" The small girl before him began to age. Her curls of black hair began to lengthen, her eyes became larger, her entire body matured until she was a woman of sixteen. The two stood for a drawn out moment. Inches apart until Morgana took a step toward Arthur. She stood so her face was right in front of his, her toes stretching so she was his height, and then she kissed him very lightly on the lips. So innocent. So sweet. So fleeting.
In the one moment that it took for Arthur to reopen his eyes, Morgana had vanished.
"Morgana! Where did you go? Where are you?" Arthur shouted as everything went black.
Morgana. Where did you go? Where are you?
Arthur's eyes opened in a flash as he sat up, greeted by the morning sun.
The sun!
He had to leave before it was discovered that he was missing! Arthur threw his cloak over his shoulders and ran from the house, toward the castle.
Arthur had barely reached his chambers before Merlin knocked on his doors. "Arthur!" Merlin cried.
"No need to shout Merlin, not everyone is as deaf as you." Merlin muttered something under his breath that sounded vaguely like "dollop-head," but Arthur didn't have the patience for this today. "What is it?"
"The king needs to see you." Merlin's eyes rolled over. "And now." Arthur nodded as he pushed past Merlin and walked toward the Great Hall where Uther would undoubtedly be planning some new military tactic, or some revenge plan. In truth, as much as Arthur loved his father, this was not good for the kingdom. Arthur had heard murmerings of planned uprisings against the king and if Uther had not been his father, he might have been one to support them.
Arthur pushed open the doors to the Great Hall expecting to be greeted by his father's shadowed face, lined with disappointment, but the sight he was greeted with had emerged right from his dreams.
"Morgana…"