Title: He Is Mine
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Chapter Two:
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When Morgana enters the Great Hall, she finds everyone already seated there. Arthur is seated next to his father, and she notices Merlin's absence. Uther looks up and immediately gives her a warning look as if to tell her not to fight him on whatever's about to be discussed. Well he's about to be severely disappointed.
"Lady Morgana," Uther flashes one of his fake smiles. "You certainly took your time."
Morgana resists the urge to roll her eyes and glances towards King Athrwys and Princess Ophelia. "Well this was most unexpected, sire." She bows her head and says, "My apologies."
Uther nods and gestures for her to come forward. She does so, glancing yet again at the Princess of Ergyng.
"It has been brought to my attention by the lovely Princess Ophelia, that her chambers are a bit too... quiet for her liking..." Uther trails off and smiles at the Princess. "She wants to share your chambers for the duration of their stay here."
Morgana's jaw unhinges and drops open as she stares at Uther. "Seriously?" She asks incredulously.
"Morgana." Uther says warningly, his eyes conveying his rapidly rising anger. "It is our job to make sure that our guests are comfortable in their stay here."
"What about my comfort?" Morgana asks in exasperation.
"It is just for two weeks." Uther says through gritted teeth.
"Surely we can figure something else out, Sire." She protests.
"Princess Ophelia specifically requested to share chambers with you. She wants to bond with you." He says simply.
His ward's eye twitches in fury, "Bond?" She asks incredulously and then looks towards the Princess again. "You want to bond?"
Princess Ophelia smiles so sweetly, it could've given the whole Kingdom a toothache. "Yes... I've always wanted a sister, and I thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to finally experience something similar to having one... unless you're not okay with that." She adds innocently.
Morgana narrows her eyes, "Oh that is just bloody-"
"Morgana!" Uther interjects sternly. "My decision is final. Princess Ophelia's possessions will be moved into your chambers tonight."
Morgana fumes silently and bites her tongue. Clenching her fists, she glares openly at the Princess before turning her glare to Uther. "It looks like I don't have a choice, so I don't know why you bothered calling me here." She bows her head and backs away. "I'll take my leave now, Sire." With that, she turns and hurries from the hall.
The moment she walks through her chamber doors, she screams in anger. A crash startles her and she jumps, turning with narrowed eyes to find Merlin staring wide eyed at her light a deer caught in a crossfire. "Merlin!" She sighs heavily and grasps her chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Merlin blinks, "I believe you nearly gave me a heart attack first, Milady." He then bows and gives her a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you."
Morgana stares as she lowers her hands back to her sides. "What are you..." she trails off, noticing the new vanity mirror, wooden chest, and books on her table. "What are these?" She asks, though she already kind of knows the answer to that.
Merlin looks down at the wooden chest and then back up at her. "They're Princess Ophelia's things, Milady."
Morgana inhales slowly, trying to keep her anger in check. "Right." She nods, looking at the wooden chest. She then realizes something and looks curiously at Merlin. "You're moving her things?"
Merlin nods and scratches the back of his head. "Yes, Milady... Errr, she requested that I move her things for her."
"That's how you knew that she was going to move here." Merlin looks questioningly at her and she shrugs, "Gwen mentioned it earlier."
The manservant nods and looks around. "Yes... Princess Ophelia was up quite early this morning, knocking on my door to ask me to help her pack her things up."
Morgana's eyes widen at him, "She came to your room?"
Merlin nods, "Yes, Milady."
Morgana bites her lip as she narrows her eyes. That conniving little-
"Milady, if you don't mind, I still have to move a few things up here." Merlin says softly.
Morgana nods and takes a few steps away from the door. "Of course, Merlin." She watches silently as he bows once more before walking out of her chambers.
She spends the next few minutes, deep in thought as she stares at her door. It isn't until Gwen enters that she finally moves from the spot where she'd been standing since Merlin left.
She has her maid prepare her to go out for a ride. She needs some fresh air and some time to think and compose herself before she has to face Princess Ophelia again. She intends on finding out the real reason why the Princess wants to share her chambers with her.
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Riding turns out to be exactly what Morgana needed to clear her head. She comes back with a smile on her face and a renewed outlook on her current situation with Princess Ophelia. That is, until she finds the Princess alone with Merlin inside her chambers, laughing about something. They don't notice her enter because they seem to be completely immersed in their conversation. But the two turn silent when Morgana clears her throat loudly in annoyance.
"What's going on?" Morgana asks sweetly, trying to keep her anger in check.
Merlin scratches his head as Princess Ophelia answers for the both of them. "I was just asking Merlin here," she begins, laying her hand on the manservants arm, "about his duties as a servant."
Morgana narrows her eyes skeptically, "Why?"
The Princess shrugs as she lets go of Merlin's arm, "As you probably know, our kingdom does not have servants... I was just curious about what a servants job entails."
Merlin looks curiously at Morgana. He's not used to see her face scrunched up like that.
Morgana nods slowly and looks around her chambers. Her things have been moved around so the Princesses things could fit. And it makes her blood boil.
Merlin feels a bit self conscious as Morgana glances at him, making Ophelia look at him as well. "Errr," he looks sheepishly between the two. "I should probably go... Arthur is probably looking for me." He moves to leave, but Ophelia suddenly grabs his arm again. He stops and looks questioningly at her.
"I'll see you tonight?"
Merlin blushes a deep red as he glances quickly at Morgana before nodding to the Princess. "Of course, your grace." He says with a bow of his head.
Ophelia huffs and glares playfully at him. "I told you to call me by my name, Merlin."
Merlin smiles and nods quickly. "Yes, your- Ophelia."
Morgana inhales deeply, trying not to say or do anything irrational. Instead, she looks at Merlin and says, "Yes, you should probably go see what Arthur needs, Merlin." Try as she might, she couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice.
The Princess finally lets go of the manservant and smiles as Merlin bows towards her, then to the Lady Morgana, and hurriedly leaves the room.
Morgana waits a few moments before turning to the Princess. "Why are you seeing Merlin tonight?" She asks, trying hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice this time. She fails.
The Princess smiles maliciously, "Not that it's any of your business, but I invited Merlin to go for a ride with me."
"At night?" Morgana asks incredulously.
Ophelia nods with a wide smile, obviously enjoying Morgana's displeasure. "My father's guards will accompany us, of course. So you need not worry for my safety."
Morgana wanted to laugh at that. Her safety? She thinks I'm worried about her? Well that's just hilarious! "Well I hope you do enjoy your ride then, your grace." she says with a perfect fake smile.
"Thank you… now is there anything else you wanted to ask me before I get changed for my night out with Merlin?"
Morgana could hear the taunting undertones in her voice. She steps in closer, holding her head high as she nods. "What exactly are you doing?"
The Princess looks questioningly at her, though her smile says she knows exactly what Morgana is referring to. "I have not the slightest idea what you're talking about, Lady Morgana."
"Moving into my chambers, getting close to Merlin? What are you doing?"
Princess Ophelia quirks an eyebrow at her, "As I've said, I've always wanted a sister—,"
"Let's not pretend like you actually like me, Princess." Morgana cuts in, her nostrils flaring at the insulting way with which the spoiled Princess speaks to her as if she were born yesterday. "And the feeling is mutual." she adds with a sneer. "We both know you have ulterior motives in this."
At that, the Princess' smile slides right off her face like candle wax over an open flame. "Fine… I asked around about Merlin, and from what I gathered, his usual night job, is to deliver you your sleeping draught. I hear you have terrible nightmares." she smirks at having known that about the Lady Morgana.
Morgana doesn't miss a beat as she returns maliciously, "That's none of your business… what does Merlin have to do with anything?"
Princess Ophelia shrugs and smiles to herself. "He's charming, sweet, and too adorable to ignore."
Morgana's jaw clenched as she glares openly. "He's a servant."
"Not to me." Ophelia says sternly. "As you probably already know, my kingdom does not have servants."
Morgana is speechless. What could she possibly say to that? Other than, "He's a royal servant."
Ophelia scoffs, "You say this as if he would rather be a servant than a future king."
"Future King?" Morgana asks confusedly. Realization dawns quickly on her and she narrows her eyes. "You're considering him as a husband?"
Princess Ophelia nods and raises a single eyebrow as if to dare her to disagree. "He's handsome, loyal, kind, polite, sweet-"
"Yes I know about these things already!" Morgana snaps. "I've known Merlin for 2 years, your grace. I don't need you to tell me what I already know." She turns to go to her changing screen.
Princess Ophelia cocks her head to the side and regards Morgana with a curious look. "You seem displeased."
Morgana freezes at that. She shouldn't be, but the Princess is right. She's more than a little displeased though. She's... she's... she doesn't know what she is right then, but it's not a feeling she's accustomed to. It's unfamiliar and she doesn't like it. It's bitter and she hates it. Turning to the Princess, she holds her head high as she finally speaks. "Merlin is a friend of mine... I'm sure you understand the importance of friendship?"
"I do." Ophelia nods.
"Then you know that I only want him to be happy... and I barely know you, so-"
"That's part of the reason why I wanted to move in here." Ophelia cuts in. "So we could get to know each other better and I hopefully get your approval. I'm sure King Uther will have no qualms with me going after Merlin. Arthur more or less agreed that Merlin would-"
"Arthur agreed?"
Ophelia shrugs, "More or less. He didn't come outright and say it, but he did speak well on Merlin's behalf when I asked what his thoughts are on his manservant. If he'd had a problem with me asking, he would've said so... either that, or he's as oblivious as a rock... as for you, I haven't even voiced my thoughts on Merlin and I can already detect your great dislike for me."
"And your father?" Morgana asks suspiciously. "If you marry Merlin, your Kingdom has nothing to gain... what does your father think of all this?"
Princess Ophelia simply shrugs, "My kingdom is not the one who needs this alliance, Lady Morgana. King Uther is the one who requested us here. My father simply wants me to be happy... and I believe Merlin is the only one who can give me that. He makes me smile just by being around me." She then grins, "So my father will not have a problem with any man I choose. Everything else I do, is his choice... and Merlin will be mine."
The Lady Morgana is at a loss for words. All of this is insane! The Princess wants to take Merlin back to her Kingdom with her? And marry him? She looks at the Princess with narrowed eyes. "And what does Merlin think of all this?"
The Princess bites her lip. "I haven't asked him yet... as of right now, Merlin has no clue that I want him to be my future King. But that should change soon."
"And if he disagrees?" Morgana asks with bated breath.
The Princess is silent for a moment... "Then I plan on changing his mind. It shouldn't take much." She turns her back to Morgana and goes through some of her things, marking the end of their conversation.
Morgana swallows hard and turns to the door, making her way outside. She needs to find Arthur and demand that he fight for Merlin. He's the only one who has some say over Merlin. And if he fails, she's stepping in… and if or when she does, this will officially be war.
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A/N: Ugh… I don't even know what I think about this chapter. The plot was so clear in my head, and when I wrote this chapter, it just sort of shriveled up like a dead flower petal. But there is a slightly bigger story behind this than just Ophelia wanting to marry Merlin, so no worries if this all seems so unrealistic. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!
Also, check out my new multi-chapter Mergana fic if your'e interested. Its called, "Servant in Shining Armor", and it's kind of a cross between Cinderella and A Knights Tale (movie). Let me know what you think of that. Also, I'm not sure what fic I want to update first, so help me out with that, will ya?
Should I update "The Thief", or "Servant in Shining Armor" first?
Thanks a ton, and leave a review please?
-McDiggin'It