Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, BBC does.
Dangerous Love
Chapter 12
Torture. That was the only way Morgana could describe dress shopping, pure and complete torture. She really didn't know why she couldn't just point to a picture in a catalog and be done with it, but of course she wasn't going to have her way. Morgana really loved Gwen like the sister she now was, but there were times when Arthur's wife could be a little too optimistic and cheerful for her tastes. Merlin's mother Hunith though was quiet at times, but was always polite and friendly. She really seemed sincere and Morgana felt that this woman would make a truly wonderful mother-in-law.
Once leaving Camelot Castle it became clear right away that the paparazzi were very aware of her plans for the day because there were photographers already in place once she arrived at the very first shop of the day. It was here that the torture really started, because waiting to meet them at the shop was Morgana's wedding planner, Vivian.
Never in her life had she met such a critical, overbearing woman in all her life. From the moment they met Vivian criticized Morgana's walk, hair, weight, nails, makeup, everything. Anything she could nitpick, she would. Gwen had assured Morgana that Vivian was the best in the business but Morgana didn't care, she would've fired the girl in a heartbeat if she could've. And Morgana didn't usually like to throw her title around in a threatening manner, but she was close to this time.
"Princess, you really must do as I say," Vivian said. "If you do, then your new husband will love you forever!"
Morgana snorted in derision.
"And THAT," Vivian said. "Is one thing I will not tolerate at your wedding!"
"It is MY wedding, I can do what I want," Morgana pointed out.
Vivian ignored her and pulled out her phone, texting furiously.
"This is beautiful," Gwen said holding up a simple gown, showing it to Morgana.
"Yes it is," Morgana started to say.
"Oh that is ALL wrong, you don't want to wear that rag Princess," Vivian interrupted, rudely taking the dress right out of Gwen's hand and burying it on the rack.
Morgana was furious. Nobody was mean to Gwen in front of her, that was just wrong! She opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by a warning glance from Gwen.
"Try this on Princess," Vivian said, holding up the gaudiest dress in the store. It had ruffles, LOTS of ruffles and an enormous bow right on the front.
"No way," Morgana refused. "I will NOT wear that hideous thing." And to stop Vivian from complaining, she quickly dug out the gown that Gwen had suggested and pulled it out and ducked into the dressing room.
Morgana took a deep breath and shrugged on the gown. It certainly fit her, though Morgana didn't quite think it was her style. Then she looked up and saw a short red dress hanging by the mirror. It have a deep v neck cut and was covered with ruby sequins. She grinned and snapped a picture of it with her phone. Then she typed out a short text: I'm going to get married in this, what do you think? Then she sent it to her father.
Uther's text came quickly: I forbid you to wear that, do you want to make a mockery of the Pendragon name? Get a regular wedding dress, a WHITE one!
Morgana texted furiously: Why should I worry about mocking the Pendragon name? Seeing as I'm going to be an Emrys next week…
Uther's reply came back in less than a minute: Do what I say or else!
Morgana was having far too much fun with this. She really wasn't serious about getting the red dress, but it was far too much fun to mess with her father. She was about to text him back when she heard Gwen's voice.
She ducked out of the stall, and showed Gwen the gown. "What do you think?"
"Lovely," Gwen said.
Hunith smiled from where she was standing. "You look very nice."
"Thank you both," Morgana replied.
"Oh that is wrong Princess, completely doesn't match your figure!" Vivian wailed. "These are far more suitable." She said handing Morgana a stack of gowns.
That seemed to be the way things went for the rest of the day. They were stalked by the press and fans between each shop and at every shop all of Gwen or Hunith's suggestions were shot down by Vivian who pulled out one horrible dress after another. Morgana's frustration level reached an all time high, but of course she had to keep her emotions at bay, her father would be furious if she didn't. All she knew was that needed to find a dress she liked soon, otherwise she would be stuck doing this every day until the wedding.
Morgana really studied the wedding gowns and nothing really caught her eye. She would only get married once, and she had very little control over anything, but she would over the decision of her dress. She thought back to the morning, of how she had completely shocked Merlin into speechlessness. Morgana knew it had been unfair to him, especially because Arthur was surely going to be annoyed. But for some reason she didn't regret it at all.
Suddenly Hunith was at Morgana's side, holding up a dress. "Do you like this?" she asked.
Morgana took one look at the gown and completely fell in love with it. It was strapless and had a belt and a corset back, but it was the bottom of the dress that Morgana loved. It had some of the most gorgeous embroidery she had ever seen. This was her dress, she thought. This had to be her dress.
"I love it," Morgana breathed. And she walked right past Vivian, who had her arms full of a new selection of gowns, right to the dressing room.
The dress fit her like a glove, and Morgana felt that she loved the dress even more now than when she first saw it. If she had to be married, at least she would be beautiful doing it. She stepped out of the stall and Gwen, Vivian and Hunith were standing there waiting.
"It's beautiful," Gwen said happily.
"And it fits you so well," Hunith said with a small satisfied smile.
"It is ALL wrong! That dress is far too simple for a princess!" Vivian commented. "Why don't you try one of these, they will suit you much better."
Morgana glared at her. "This IS my dress," she said. "We are done shopping."
"But you need accessories!" Vivian wailed.
"I have enough jewelry," Morgana said. "And I already have a veil."
"But!" Vivian protested.
"See you the day of the wedding," Morgana said. "Until then, bye."
And Morgana paid for her gown and returned home, completely satisfied.
AN: I'm so sorry that it has taken so long for this chapter to come out. I just started school again last week and I was drowning in homework, and after that I had no internet connection for three days. Thanks to all you awesome people who have been so encouraging with this story. I think there will be about 2-3 more chapters before the wedding, but I haven't decided yet. In the next chapter there will be another Mergana moment. And as always I'm grateful for any reviews!
And here are the links to the two dresses…
Make sure you delete the word dot, takes out the spaces and add a period to make the links work. These links have also been placed on my profile page!
Red Dress: http:/www dot promgirl dot com/shop/dresses/viewitem-PD552514
Wedding Gown: http:/www dot romanticgowns dot com/collection/product-page dot asp?SKU=Ava
