A/N:

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There was no response from anyone in the room. Gwen's face was littered with concern, and Merlin just looked completely frazzled. But neither of them motioned to speak, and the silence was getting to Morgana. She dropped the tunic on the bed and looked expectantly at her friends. "Well? What do you think?"

"Think?!" Gwen suddenly rushed to her side, "You're mad! Competing in a tournament with all those trained knights…you could be killed!"

Morgana's face became serious at her concern, "I'm trained with a sword, Gwen."

"But what if that's not enough?" Gwen's expression fell, seeing Morgana could not be persuaded. "…You'll need help then, won't you?" The girl started to pace around the bedroom, "I can get some armor and a suitable sword for you…but it'll be hard to hide your appearance. And you can't just pretend to be a knight from Cornwall. You'll need a seal and a flag…"

"I can do that." Merlin suddenly spoke, glad to offer some assistance. He made a slight cough, seeing Gwen give him a disappointing glance, "I mean…if you're sure you want to go through with this, Morgana?"

She nodded and moved towards the large circular window hanging at the edge of her bedroom. Her pale hands swept through her hair, pulling it back and away from her face. But even with the hair aside, her face didn't appear the least masculine. "I am sure." There are helmets for that. Morgana turned back to her friends, "You are sure you can get the armor and weaponry, Gwen? The first contest starts early…"

"Positive, my lady."

She smiled at the response, "And Merlin…you can somehow conjure the Cornwall seal and flag?"

The young man seemed to flinch at the word conjure, but Morgana paid it no notice, "Yes. I can get it done before the tournament." He turned back to Gwen and grabbed her hand tightly, "I'll look out for her, don't worry."

"Thank you, Merlin…it all just seems so silly." Gwen turned to her, in one last attempt to convince her, "You're really just doing this to teach Arthur a lesson?"

Morgana hesitated, that weird knot in her stomach suddenly returning. No, no. Of course I am. What other reason would there be? "Yes. And it should be more fun than just watching from the stands."

"…won't they notice you're gone?" Merlin asked. "Doesn't Uther always expect you to watch the challenges?"

The lady froze, not seeing this slight hole in her plan. What can I do? She thumbed the soft, grey tunic gently between her fingers, letting the twisted cotton rub against her skin, "…I'll be sure to think of something. But if you two will excuse me for a second, I want to look for some more suitable clothes." She placed the shirt back on the bed and headed towards her other clothes.

The two servants nodded and edged their way to the door, "We'll prepare for tomorrow then, my lady." Gwen gave Morgana a feigned smile, and she and Merlin left the room.

She returned to her armoire, but it seemed useless. It was richly filled with billowing gowns and embroidered bodices with the finest detail, but there was no sign of anything practical for tomorrow's event. The only thing faintly resembling a man's clothes were a pair of riding breeches from 10 years ago. "Doubt those still fit…" She huffed silently in frustration, "But where can I get…"

"Get? Get what?"

Morgana whipped around in surprise. Who would just walk into a bedroom before knocking? She rolled her eyes at the sight, "Arthur? What are you doing?"

"Checking in on you, Morgana." He eyed her carefully, "You just seem to be getting more and more defensive, don't you?"

Her black hair flew around as she turned her back towards him, "I'm not. You should know better than to just come into my room. What if I was changing?"

There was a moment of silence from the blond behind her, causing Morgana to turn back around. She was only greeted with a sly smile. "Well I would have most likely thrown up at the sight." The grin only grew seeing her face twist into a scowl. "But seriously now, I was just seeing if you weren't too…offended at what I said before."

"Offended?" Morgana walked up to him, "Now why would you think that? Usually telling a girl she was going to grow up to be a decrepit hag is just a confidence booster." She felt her chest deflate at the realization. Her hands fell loosely at her sides, becoming calm. He came here to apologize…that's…so…

"Father was right then…you are upset with me."

She blinked, "Father?" Her frustration was swift to return. "Did you only come here because Uther told you to?" Morgana moved away from Arthur, sitting on her bed instead of facing him directly. She felt her face become red…though it didn't feel like it was from anger.

"He was concerned."

Of course.

Arthur isn't concerned about me; why would he be? "I'm fine, Arthur. This isn't the first time you've berated me, is it?"

The prince looked down when she said that, blue eyes seeming dull even in the daylight, "Morgana…I don't really…" His voice suddenly fell. Arthur's head popped up, attention straying to the bed where Morgana sat. There was a sudden thrust of movement in her chest. She could feel the sudden panging of her heart hit the surface of her skin, accelerating significantly as he approached her. Morgana tilted her head to the side, hiding her flushing cheeks, as he reached forward. "…Morgana?"

She couldn't help but look up at his voice, all embarrassment seeming to vanish at the sound of her name.

But his hand veered away from her body and grabbed something to her side, "Is this my shirt?"

The movement in her chest immediately slowed when she looked at Arthur's confused expression at the grey tunic. She shook her head immediately, "No."

"No?" Arthur picked it up and held it against his chest. She half hoped he would just try it on, but knew that thought was absolutely ridiculous. "It appears to be my size…and I do remember losing a grey tunic about a month ago."

"No, no." She was beginning to convince herself, "Why would I have your shirt?"

He cocked an eyebrow, "You tell me."

"It's not yours!" Morgana grabbed the shirt out of his hand only to place it back haphazardly on the bed.

Arthur eyed her curiously, "That still doesn't explain why you have a man's shirt in your bedroom." The tone in his voice had changed. It sounded deeper…and dare she think jealous?

"It's a gift." She was relieved at how easy this lie was forming.

"A gift?" He wouldn't let up, "For who?"

Morgana paused. She didn't really know any men…especially ones that she would be buying presents for, "…For Merlin."

"Merlin?" There was a strange mixture of confusion and humor in his voice. Arthur looked hesitantly at the shirt, "And why would you be getting Merlin a shirt?"

She shrugged and folded the grey tunic, smoothing out the creases and smiling at it admiringly. "Why not?"

Arthur's voice became harsher, "It's inappropriate first of all."

Inappropriate? Morgana inwardly laughed. "I don't think so."

"He's a servant!"

Her smile faded into a frown at his scornful voice, "Are you that much of a snob, Arthur?"

"No...No!" His confidence was failing, something rare for Arthur. Morgana noticed his stutter, and there was a vague shade of red present on his cheeks. …That's strange. "I…I just think that you could do better."

Better? "Before no one would be my suitor. Now you're saying I find someone better than Merlin?"

He gave a quick nod, "Yes." Arthur's blue eyes dashed to the ground, suddenly unable to face her directly. "I believe so."

It was so tempting to just say it, just to see what would happen. Maybe he'll… She walked closer to Arthur, causing him to lift his head in slight surprise, "Like who?"

"Like…"

The loud knock on the door pulled both of their attention away from each other. Morgana paused, waiting for Arthur to continue, but the prince was fully focused on the new guest. She inwardly sighed and opened the door to her room, only to reveal a smiling Merlin, "Lady Morgana!"

"Merlin!" She grinned easily, hearing a slight sigh from the prince behind her.

Arthur walked up to his servant, "And what are you doing here, Merlin?"

"Err…" His hands suddenly went behind his back, clumsily trying to conceal something, "Just…ummm dropping by to say hello."

"Oh, how kind of you." Morgana went behind Merlin and pushed him in her room, advertently covering whatever he was hiding behind his back. "I really do appreciate the caring and thoughtful person you are. It's just…" She glared slightly at the prince, "…such a nice change from what I'm used to."

There was a loud cough from Arthur, who was suddenly making a dash towards the exit. "Well, I think we should be leaving. Shouldn't we, Merlin?" The question sounded more like a command.

"…Umm…well, I think I'll just stay here a little longer, sire. I need to discuss something with Morgana."

Arthur face reddened, "Lady Morgana."

"Morgana is good enough." She smiled and touched Merlin's shoulder, offering him a sweet smile, "Don't listen to him."

"Fine. Suit yourself, but I'm leaving." The prince's voice sounded gritty. He bit the bottom of his lip, suppressing any sort of outburst. His boots loudly pounded on the floor as he walked out of the room. "Oh and Merlin," He turned around, standing under the doorframe. "When you get back, my room needs to be cleaned. Oh and my armor needs to be repaired and polished for tomorrow's tournament. And make sure to muck out the whole stable for all of the knights' horses."

Merlin blinked, "My lord, you said I could have the rest of the day off…"

"Hmm," Arthur smirked, "I guess I changed my mind." His gaze shifted from Merlin to Morgana for a brief moment, "I suppose you can't stay here too long then." Arthur gave a slight wave and grabbed the door, slamming it as he left.


A/N:

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