Arturia's heels clicked against the stone walkway of the gardens, muffled slightly by the sound of the nearby marble fountain that spewed clear glistening water. Since the days were warm, flowers of all shapes and colours had blossomed to life, filling the gardens with the essence of life. After Arturia's parents had arrived, everyone headed inside for refreshments before her father had asked her to walk through the gardens with him. She was thankful he did so discreetly and not in front of their guest.
Arturia's small rough fingers played with a crystal ring she had slipped on earlier that day as she walked through the lush gardens with her father by her side. She wouldn't exactly say she was nervous of whatever her father had to say to her, more so weary. Her dress swung with every step, sparkling under the warm sunlight.
Uther's footsteps were sturdy and determined, much like he was. He turned to his daughter and she returned the gesture. "Diarmuid seems like an interesting individual," he spoke matter-of-factly.
Arturia nodded as her eyes landed on a wall of roses to her left. The gardens had always been her favourite part of the estate, well that and the tennis court. "Yes, he is."
Uther held his hands behind his back and stared ahead of himself. "I have a strange feeling that the security issue had to do something with him, of course, I may be wrong on this," he expressed with little to no emotion.
Arturia sighed in defeat, knowing much too well that her father wouldn't be convinced otherwise. She stopped playing with her ring and took a deep breath. "If you must know, yes, it was something that involved him. He, however, had nothing to do with it, father."
Uther slowly nodded, his gaze falling back to Arturia. "Are you seeing him?"
Arturia coughed as she abruptly stopped in her tracks. "Father!" She shrieked. "Why would you even suggest that?"
Uther stopped a few steps ahead of her before he turned to her and raised an eyebrow, the harsh light of the sun burning his right cheek. "You've brought him home with you, does that not mean you're involved?" Perplexed, he questioned.
"Father," she breathed, her eyes wide. "Goodness, no! He's simply my employee who I feel responsible for," flabergasted, she defended. She had drawn her hand to her chest, as if being accused of a grave sin.
With skepticism her father nodded slowly. "Right…" He faced the path and continued walking, soon enough hearing the clack-clack-clack of Arturia's heels behind him. "And here I thought I could finally start seeing another man around, other than Gawain."
Arturia rolled her eyes. "Was this all you wanted to talk about?" she wondered. "Because if it is, I'm sorry to say this conversation was a waste of time." Her eyes held irritation and impatience with her father. Uther would continually tease her whenever she had so much as a second of contact with a man, and she was definitely not having it that day.
"No," Uther demurred, "of course that wasn't all. I merely wished to start on lighter terms. I did want to speak about your approach to running the agency."
A coil of dread wrang in Arturia's core and she gulped, she felt her body become colder, it didn't matter that the sun was intense, she got shivers. "Is there an issue with how I run the company?" She wanted to stop walking again, with the serious topic, she'd rather not balance on cobbled bricks while trying to catch up to her father's large steps.
"Arturia." Uther stopped in front of a stone bench that was surrounded by red and orange marigolds. "Sit," he instructed, much to Arturia's relief.
After Arturia had taken her seat at one end of the warm marble bench, Uther sat next to her, rotating his body towards her. The buzz of a bee was heard for a moment as he looked at her with grave eyes. "Daughter..." He only ever addressed her as such when he was deathly serious.
Arturia crossed her arms over her puffy dress. She prayed he wouldn't take the company back, not after he'd made such a big deal of passing it down to her. "If this is about Emiya's transfer to Tohsaka Group, Father I can explain," she insisted.
"It isn't just him. Arturia, this is the fourth high profile model that leaves the company under your leadership." He shook his head. "I overlooked the first two, but Gilgamesh and Emiya were too much of a disappointment, you are well aware of how long it took us to acquire them. I've been thinking endlessly of what needs to be changed," he maintained, not paying much attention to Arturia's cynical expression.
"You can't possibly say this is my fault," she defended. "I can't force the models to stay contracted to me, they have free will to go where they please once our contract expires. You also know that I am forced through the contract to remove them if they are in breach of it. I didn't do anything that wasn't warranted," she explained, offended that her father would suggest she was scheming this all. "Emiya broke the contract and left, I can't just take him hostage. And Gilgamesh had made one too many advances towards me, I couldn't simply rehire him."
Uther tilted his head forward, giving his daughter a disapproving look. "Arturia, I understand your position, however, some of the executives have brought up some interesting points nonetheless."
A sarcastic half laugh came from Arturia's open mouth. "They go running to you when they could've brought these concerns to me?" Arturia scoffed. "How cowardly of them." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Arturia," Uther warned, "I will not allow you to speak ill of my executives." He straightened his back, looking down at her.
Arturia bolted from her seat, too riled up to stay seated. "Your executives, father?" she challenged. "With all due respect, I am still the president of Pendragon Agency."
Uther lifted his hand as if to calm Arturia down. "I don't mean to offend you," he reasoned, "but I think that the executives have brought up great points. After these losses, the stocks have steadily been declining and sometimes I feel I made a mistake giving you the company so early. Now, with this security issue… I'm starting to think maybe you're just not ready." His green eyes were fixed on Arturia. He could already see the anger simmering behind her meadow glare.
Arturia threw her hands in exasperation. "Are you saying you're taking the company away from me?" Her voice wavered slightly, but it went unnoticed by her father. "I've worked so hard these past three years, father. I started as a model's manager at your request and earned my right to be president. Have you forgotten how much I sacrificed for this company?" Her voice was becoming unsteady as the anger bubbled within her. She was starting to see red and unless her father would assure her that she would keep the company, it wouldn't fade.
There was deafening silence as Arturia awaited to hear her father's response. His face had always been able to mask his emotions, but after all the time she'd spent with him (specially shadowing him in her early university years) she'd come to know his tells and one of them was that he would cross his arms over his chest and give a deep sigh-he did just that.
Arturia pressed her hands together as if in prayer. "Father, please don't do this," she pleaded, her eyes glazed with anger, "Pendragon Agency will thrive under my leadership, just trust me." Arturia was never one to beg, in fact she had never asked anything of her father before this moment, and she never would again. She had not even suggested what she'd liked for her birthday ever in her life, in that way, Arturia was a proud woman.
"Daughter, the decision has been made. I've settled that Morgana will take care of the company—"
"Morgana?!" Arturia exploded. "I have been nothing but obedient to you all my life! And the only thing I've ever wanted was to earn the title of president and you would take that from me?! Morgana won't agree to taking the company from me."
"Calm down!" Her father demanded, his voice as sharp as a knife. "You're not a child."
Arturia bit back a reply. Resembling an angry chihuahua about to bark.
"In any case, Morgana has already agreed," he added. "Prepare for her takeover by the end of the month."
The rage bubbled over and her eyes watered through the wrath that shook her very core. "How could you?!" She seethed, her voice laced with poison. She turned around and stalked back into the house, Uther could see the flames of anger forming around her. She was livid, and God have mercy on whatever poor soul crossed paths with her.
Precisely, as Arturia stomped back to the house, Morgana had come out to greet her. Morgana would have been an idiot if she had not realized Arturia's red eyes and scowl that had contorted her face. Morgana tilted her head and furrowed her brows. "What's wrong?" she asked, reaching out for her younger sister.
Arturia slapped her hand away. "Why didn't you tell me?" She fumed.
Morgana was taken aback. Slowly she retracted her hand, lips turning downwards and her previous compassionate expression moving aside as she became puzzled. "Uhm, tell you what?" Her eyebrow rose.
"That Father's giving you the company by the end of the month?" Arturia seethed, the anger oozing from every word. "Or is there something else you didn't tell me?"
Morgana averted her gaze, not daring to look her sister in the eyes. She sighed as she ran a hand through her dark hair. "It's not what you think, Artie. I didn't know how to bring it up..."
"It isn't? Really? I think that you left me out of it. I think that you didn't fight for me. I think that you wanted the company for yourself." Arturia bitterly chuckled, "Are you not happy with your restaurant? Did you get bored of being a chef and now want to try something different?"
"Arturia!" Morgana gasped. "Taking a break from the restaurant was a decision I'd made long before Father even brought this up."
"Didn't you fight Father for The Round Table? Once you're not happy you take the company from me? You've always wanted everything I've had."
Morgana rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Arturia." She glared. "I don't have a want or need for the company, okay?"
"Then why did Father give it to you?" Arturia huffed.
Morgana rubbed her cheeks. "He wanted to take it back, I suggested I could take it, only because he had settled his mind on having you removed from your position. The only reason I had for becoming president was so that you could still have control over the company while I pretended to be in charge."
Arturia raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, leaning back and giving her a cynical look. "Is that so?" she deadpanned.
Morgana nodded as she leaned back on the door frame. "Do I look like someone who wants to be in charge of a company? You must think I'm too ambitious," she laughed.
Still upset over the matter and quite angry with both her father and half-sister, Arturia shook her head. "I don't need your pity. If Father thinks you can do a better job, then let him either be proven wrong or right. I won't help you look better in his eyes," she hissed before pushing past her sister and storming into the house.
