Dinner, while tense, passed without major incident. Morgana's heart broke, however, for Merlin and Arthur. Uther had decided the seats, so Uther was at the head of the table, Arthur sat to Uther's right, and Morgana to Uther's left. Balinor and Hunith sat to Arthur's right, and Mordred sat to Morgana's left, with Merlin on Mordred's left, and Gaius at the foot of the table. Merlin and Arthur were seated as far away from each other as physically possible. Morgana had figured that Arthur and Merlin would sit together across from Hunith and Balinor, being the couples, and then Gaius would sit next to Balinor and Hunith, while Mordred would sit to his father's right, and Morgana would take the foot of the table. This was the arrangement that made the most sense in her mind, at any rate. But Uther had other plans. It was clear that he didn't approve of Merlin and Arthur like he had claimed when they got engaged. When Arthur showed Uther the gold band he wore, Morgana could clearly see the thinly veiled distaste in his expression. Arthur's face fell, slightly, before plastering a fake smile on his face when he caught Mordred and Merlin looking at him with worry.
Morgana groaned inwardly. Is this how it's going to be every Sunday night? At least, for the following weeks, Hunith and Balinor and Gaius wouldn't be there. Not to say that Morgana wasn't grateful to them, she was glad to see them, truly. But, at least, if they weren't there, Merlin would be able to sit next to Arthur during the weekly dinners, since there was not a snowball's chance in hell that Uther was separating Morgana from her son, no way.
Morgana didn't speak during the dinner unless spoken to, and even then, she relegated her responses to just one or two polite sentences. She was desperately trying to keep in control. She considered cutting herself off from the wine to help with the control, but, frankly, it was her only solace other than Mordred. Besides, she made sure she wasn't drunk, just buzzed enough to smile through Uther's bullshit and not strangle him with her bare hands. Morgana kept her hands in her lap, wringing them from time to time, only stopping to take a bite of her food or to comb her fingers through Mordred's hair affectionately, giving him reassuring smiles as she did so.
When everyone was finished, Uther snapped his fingers, and the staff, who were waiting silently on the outskirts of the room, rushed forward to replace their dinner dishes with crystal bowls filled with chocolate pudding with a dollop of cream on top of each. All except Morgana, whose crystal bowl instead contained mint ice cream. Ruth gave her a conspiratorial wink, and Morgana grinned back. She couldn't believe Ruth remembered. Then again, she had spent more time with Morgana and Arthur than Uther himself had.
Uther clearly noticed, giving Ruth a brief glare, though not nearly as powerful as the ones he usually threw Morgana's way. Morgana wasn't worried for Ruth's job, though. Uther gave her a hard time, but everyone knew that he couldn't run the household if it weren't for her. No one knew the ins and outs of the manor like Ruth did, and she was excellent at managing the rest of the staff. Though she had been just a maid when Morgana lived there, Ruth had sent her letters informing her of Arthur's well-being, as well as the goings-on in the house, as she knew that Morgana had likely (definitely) isolated herself after she moved away, and figured she could use some kind of company, even if Ruth couldn't actually be there for her. What she lacked in physical presence she made up in spirit. After Arthur moved out and went to college, Morgana and Ruth lost touch, though Morgana knew that she had gotten married to the brother of the head butler and had a child. She had her own life, and though they were no longer close, Morgana was happy for her. And she was definitely happy for her favorite ice cream.
If anyone else at the table noticed the exchange between Morgana, Ruth, and Uther, they pretended otherwise. No one even commented on Morgana's dessert being different, choosing instead to mind their own business instead of getting involved in "more Pendragon drama", as Balinor often called it outside of Uther's presence. Even Arthur agreed, as he had drifted from his father since starting college, and especially since he started dating Merlin. They had been close, and sometimes Arthur missed that, but he knew that it couldn't last forever. He and his father had become diametrically opposed over the years, as evidenced by Uther's struggle to accept Arthur's sexuality. It was times like this that he longed to have known his mother. Everyone who had known Ygraine told him that she was the most kind, compassionate, and understanding person they had ever known. If only he had gotten the opportunity to know her and grow up with her, he wouldn't've taken so long to admit his feelings, wouldn't've had to watch Morgana leave, wouldn't have the strained relationship with his father that he currently was struggling with. Morgana saw all of this reflected in his eyes as he morosely ate his pudding, trying to hide his feelings from the rest of the table. But Morgana saw right through it. They may technically be cousins, but Arthur was her brother in all but blood.
He caught her staring, and made eye contact with her. She nodded, giving him a pitying look that was really more compassion than pity, trying to communicate with her eyes that, at least we still have each other. Arthur nodded back, seemingly understanding.
No one spoke much through desert, it already being tense. Once everyone was finished, Uther stood. "If you would like to leave, you are free to. Except Morgana; I need to have a word with you, in private."
Morgana groaned inwardly. Merlin caught this, and spoke up. "Sir, I'm sorry, but we all drove together, so if we leave, Morgana has no way home. And we do need to get going, as it is almost Mordred's bedtime…"
Uther held up a hand, commanding attention of the room. "Then please, wait in the hall while I speak to her. She won't be long."
Merlin gave Morgana a look of pity and a subtle shrug as he took Mordred by the hand and led him out of the room. Arthur gave Uther a look of confusion, and it looked like he wanted to say something, but he thought better and followed Merlin to the exit, closing the door behind him. Morgana took in a long bracing breath before turning to face Uther.
They stood in terse silence for a moment. Morgana was the first to speak. "So, are you going to tell me why I'm not going home to tuck my son in right now?" she said bitterly. She hadn't meant to sound so confrontational, but she was tired and tipsy and more than a little pissed off, and her tone reflected the latter heavily.
"Young lady, I taught you better than that. You know -"
"No, I don't 'know', considering that you left me to my own devices my whole life. My parents died, and they trusted you to raise me! I was alone, scared, vulnerable, and you did nothing! You were the closest thing I had left to family and you pushed me away; you were cold and distant and seemed to want nothing to do with me. And then, when I got pregnant and was the most scared I'd been since my parents died, you kicked me out! And then I was truly alone, wasn't I? Did you ever care? Did you ever wonder what became of me before I reached out to Arthur for a job? Or were you content to ignore your promise to your best friend and brother of your wife, by throwing his only child to the proverbial wolves?" Morgana's words burst out, the pressure in her chest building and building until, with the dying echo of her voice in the dining room, it left her body in a woosh of air.
Uther stood, stunned. He had expected to be the one yelling, but the tables had been turned on him. All of this made him angrier, his blood beginning to boil, his face going purple with rage. His voice boomed, "I don't have to explain myself to you! If you had only agreed to my demands, you could have come home! Your parents would have turned in their graves seeing you pregnant! How could you dishonor their memory like that?!"
"I was a child, I didn't know better. Perhaps if someone had been there to guide me, teach me more about my family, and help me through the worst days of my life, everything would have been fine!" Morgana roared back. She took a deep breath, and then slowly, tone steady, "But you know what? I'm glad I did it. I have a wonderful, beautiful son, who I love more than anything in this world. And finally, after a long time of hardship, isolation, and self-loathing, I'm in a good place. I have a job that I love, a child that I love, friends that I love, and a family that I love. And you are in no way a part of it." In her mind, Morgana dropped a microphone with a smug smile. She turned on her heel, ready to walk out of the room, get in the car, and never come back.
Uther stopped her. "Well I'm going to be a part of it, otherwise you'll never find out what happened to your parents that night."
Morgana stopped cold in her tracks, turning to Uther with a wild look of pure rage in her eyes. She closed them, counted to ten, remembering her coping mechanisms from therapy, before she opened her eyes and said with deadly ice lacing her voice, "You. Bastard. You've known what happened this whole time? And you kept this from me?"
"Yes. And I will continue to keep it from you until I think you've earned it. Until then, you will be here every Sunday evening for dinner. You may bring Merlin, Arthur, and your son, but no one else. You will sit in your seat, make polite and friendly conversation, and be the perfect guest. Additionally, you will teach your son some better manners, and encourage him to get to know me."
"Why? You didn't even want him born in the first place. Why are you so eager to know him now?"
"Because my son is marrying his father, and I need to make sure that you and your offspring will not be a problem for Arthur. He carries the Pendragon legacy, and you and your precious little 'family', as you refer to them as, will not get in the way of his success. I clearly have to keep a closer eye on you, and if this is how it must be done, so be it." An air of finality accompanied Uther's words, as his tone was dangerously serious.
Morgana glared back, her lips curling into a snarl. "I guess I'll see you next week then." Her speech was calculated, forced, and barely contained the civility demanded of her by her uncle.
He gave her a cruel sneer. "And next time, you will look more presentable."
Morgana seethed as she strode out of the room. Merlin and Arthur clearly saw the unbridled fury in her eyes. Luckily, Mordred was too tired to notice, as he was slumped against Arthur's shoulder (Arthur had picked him up while they waited in the foyer, noticing his exhaustion). Merlin and Arthur gave her questioning looks, which she responded with a tired shake of her head. She couldn't deal with any more drama tonight; she'd tell them over the next few days.
"Let's go home."