Thank you so much to Arya Tindomiel and Anonymus for reviewing. Enjoy!
I got the list of peerage from Wikipedia, so if there are any mistakes, do enlighten me. Thank you!
"And when you greet a Lord or Lady with a rank higher than that of the Pendragons, you must bow Master Arthur and it must be low and- Stop pulling that ridiculous face this very instant young Pendragon! How silly of you!"
Arthur pouted and sank back into his chair, looking up pleadingly at his tutor for etiquettes, whatever that was. The young child was far too little to understand why he had to be taught such troublesome manners. "But it's so boring! I can't even remember what titles are there!"
The Pendragons were an ancient family that long had its roots in England since the reign of King Henry VIII, and one of the Pendragon ancestors had been an Earl, which led to the earldom being passed down from generation to generation, therefore making Uther an earl, as were the men before him. Even though the earldom was considered minor in the British Isles, the Pendragons were still part of Britain's nobility. As such, Uther found it necessary for Arthur, and now Morgana, to learn the rules of etiquette that he had learnt when he was a boy, and the men and women of the Pendragon house before him.
Mr. Poppycock sighed and rolled his eyes, rapping the long ruler sharply on the desk. Both Arthur and Morgana jumped at the cracking sound, and once the tutor was certain that he held the children's attention, he droned on. "Do pay more attention Master Arthur. Now, there the baronies, the Viscountcies, the Earldoms, the Marquessates and finally the dukedoms. The Pendragons are considered that of the Earldom, therefore are above the Viscounts, and yet below the Marquees and the Duke. You will refer to a Viscount, as Viscount and Viscountess, children. Now, the Marquees will be referred to as…"
Morgana snorted silently as she glanced towards her friend, who looked as though he was about to nod off any moment. Stealing a glance at the droning tutor, she tugged at his sleeve gently and nodded towards Mr. Poppycock, urging the boy to wake up before he got caught. The children barely had time to straighten themselves before the older man turned around and instructed them to read through their texts on Britain's monarchies, titles of peerage and their history.
The little girl, now aged 4, sighed as she stared at the endless words littering the entire page, with countless numbers chronicling the life of long deceased Kings and Queens as she, with perhaps all the boredom in the entire world, flicked her eyes carelessly through the passages. She looked towards Arthur again and had to stifle a giggle when she saw the 5 year old boy yawn as he valiantly struggled to do as the tutor instructed. She knew how Arthur wanted to please his father, to be the golden boy who could do no wrong in his father's eyes. But she wished that he'd understand, that no matter what Uther would always love his son unconditionally.
Morgana returned her attention to the texts, eyes glazing over occasionally as she tried to understand what Henry VIII did that was so horrible. The words 'execution', 'affair' and 'beheadings' meant nothing to her, and she made a mental note to ask Mr. Poppycock just what they meant. After all, wasn't that what tutors were supposed to do? Teach you knowledge? A year had passed now since her arrival to the Pendragon Mansion, and it was on her 4th birthday did Uther deem her old enough to attend etiquette lessons with Arthur. To her horror, part of the lessons entailed dancing. Now did she truly understand Arthur's reluctance to tell her what sort of lessons he had to endure, and she pitied the blonde for having to endure such lessons ever since he turned 3.
The minutes ticked on, and finally, the clock struck 3 and the children bit their lips to refrain from leaping out of the classroom in joy. Mr. Poppycock sighed as he packed his bags and left with stern instructions to the two to have the list of peerage and their rankings memorized by the next lesson. Arthur rolled his eyes towards his younger companion and reached out to grab her hand. "Come on! I heard Hugo say that the apples are ripe for picking now!"
Morgana grinned and allowed Arthur to pull her out into the gardens where several servants were already working to collect the ripe apples, Hugo among them. They smiled to the children and greeted them, while Hugo handed them a basket each to fill the apples with. Arthur thanked the man with an adorable smile, wondering how he always knew what the children wanted. His brows scrunched up a little as he wondered, maybe it was magic.
Hugo directed the two towards the apple trees that were certain to have ripe apples. There were many dwarf apple trees close to the ground that enabled the children to pick the ripe apples with no danger whatsoever, and Arthur seriously taught Morgana which apples to pick, how to place them carefully and so on. The little girl, in turn nodded and carefully and picked apples ranging from brilliant reds to emeralds to dull maroons and light greens. Arthur couldn't help but bite into one deliciously crisp red apple and motioned for Morgana to do the same. The little girl's eyes widened as she bit into the juicy flesh of the fruit and savoured the sweet juice running down from the flesh and into her mouth. She had never tasted an apple quite that sweet and delicious before, and Arthur beamed with pride when she told him so, glad that she enjoyed her first apple picking experience.
"But of course! We only plant the best of apples here, and the gardeners take good care of them. After all, Pendragon soil is one of the best in London!" And it was quite true, for apples grown on Pendragon soil were more often than not fresh and crisp and sweet smelling. A portion of the abundant storage of apples were actually shipped off to be sold at farms or even markets, and while it wasn't a serious endeavor of Uther's, it did bring in a small income, however it was nothing compared to Uther's real fortune, Camelot Ltd.
Arthur and Morgana continued picking the apples until their baskets were full to the brim as they passed them off to the servants with matching grins of glee at their accomplishment. Aimee, Morgana's maid who was currently helping the others, couldn't resist lightly pinching the children's flushed cheeks before shooing them off affectionately as the other servants laughed at their adorable antics.
The two younglings ambled off to a shady spot beneath a giant oak tree, an apple clutched in a hand each as they lay back against the ancient bark of the tree, munching the apples contently. Arthur sighed as he relaxed under the dim sunlight, wishing that London didn't always have to be dark and gloomy. It would be nice to have some real sunlight once in a while.
Morgana snuggled up to the older boy, rubbing her cheek drowsily against his arm like a lazy cat. Arthur giggled at the ticklish motion and adjusted himself so that she could lean against him properly. It was rare that the children had such a moment of peace and quiet, of not having to attend dance or etiquette lessons or meeting Lord this and Lady that. Not that Morgana was complaining; she was more than happy to spend time with her best friend who treated her with such kindness and love that she couldn't help but want to protect the boy, as silly as it sounded, seeing as she was younger than Arthur.
Said boy suddenly started and turned towards Morgana who sat up in alarm. "What's wrong Arthur?"
The blonde blushed slightly as he realized he made her worried. He shot her a bashful grin as he shrugged and patted her arm. "Nothing, Morgana, I'm sorry. I just remembered something. I didn't mean to scare you."
She tilted her head to the side, and Arthur was reminded of how his puppy, Cavall, looked curiously at him. "What's it then?"
He grinned at her, "Do you know how to ride?"
Morgana's brows lifted in surprise. Ride? "A horse, you mean?"
At his enthusiastic nods, she felt a wave of excitement surge over her and shook her head, black curls flying wildly about her. Aimee always despaired at how her hair seemed to escape whatever braid she managed to confine her hair in. "No! I've never even seen a horse!"
Arthur beamed proudly, "Well I can! And if father lets you, you can learn too!"
The little girl gasped and hugged her companion tightly, "For real?"
He nodded and hugged her back gently, careful not to tug sharply at any of her flyaway curls. "Yes! There's a ranch near the mansion where mother used to ride. I've been learning how to ride ever since I was 2!" He pulled back and grinned at her, "It's easy! I'll ask father as soon as he comes home! And you can even pick out your own horse to ride!"
Morgana laughed and jumped to her feet as she twirled with joy, the fallen leaves of the oak tree dancing about her. Arthur stared at her in wonder, his young mind not old enough to understand that she was beautiful, as beautiful as the sun sets between valleys of snowcapped mountains, as beautiful as a gust of gentle wind sweeping through a field as it tousles the barley and the wheat to its song. She was beautiful, and one day Arthur would understand that, and would come to treasure her beauty and strength as the most wondrous thing in his life. But today, as he joined her in the impromptu dance where the only music where the sounds of their joyous laughter and giggles, neither would understand yet, just how intertwined their destinies are, and were, and forever will be.