Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites, Azar443 and her amazing self and especially AndyAiden for all her help!
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
To Kill a King
Morgana is roaming the halls of the castle in the night. She finds that this is most comforting and helps her to think. Gradually, she's put her memories of magic back into place. All the times she learned about magic, all the times she used her magic, her Le Fay family history – everything her mother blocked and kept away in her mind. And then when she recalled them for a time so that she could help save Arthur from Sophia, but only to have them put away again. But at that time she was not concerned with her memories or magic, it was Arthur's life.
What frustrates her most is the one thing she cannot remember… or perhaps she does not know: why Vivienne had done this. Why had her mother seen fit to trap away her memories and not Estella's? They are both the same, what makes her so different from her cousin that she had to grow up not knowing what she is? At present, she has not a single idea for her mother's reason. Morgana has not tried to contact her mother, aunt, or cousin, and they have done the same to her (they are waiting for her to be ready to talk).
The Lady's feelings towards her mother are that of anger and resentment because of what she has done. She is indifferent to her aunt for as far as she knows, Valeria was not involved in this, but to her cousin… she cannot bring herself to blame her. Not because of her mother's words, but rather the history she shares with her cousin. Estella never faulted Morgana for anything no matter what she did and she had always returned the favor to her elder cousin, this time is no different, in spite of the circumstances.
Suddenly, she feels a rush of energy. Morgana knows now what she's felt every time she gets this feeling: magic. The presence of it nearby always sets off her senses. However, there are few who could sense her unless she wants them to or her magic is out of her control. This is due to the rune burned beneath her skin that every Le Fay bears and can give, but only to those worthy.
Hearing heavy footsteps, she hides within an alcove. The Lady sees guards leading Tom the blacksmith to the dungeons. She catches sight of Arthur and, putting her own problems aside, decides to follow him to see the king.
Neither of the two, nor the guards notices the newest guest in Camelot in the shadows, looking pleased at the sight of the arrest.
...
Morgana cannot believes what she's hearing, "Treason?!"
"Yes, treason, the blacksmith was consorting with a known enemy." Uther informs her.
"What enemy?" she demands.
"Tauren," Arthur answers, "The leader of a band of renegade sorcerers sworn to bring down the king."
"And where is this Tauren now?" She questions.
The prince hangs his head at the look his father gives him, "He escaped."
The Lady walks over to Arthur, "Well, then how can you be sure?"
"Because Arthur saw him with his own eyes," the king immediately intervenes.
"Well, even if the man is who you say he is, you can't sentence Tom to death for just being seen with him!?" the Lady enounces.
The king looks at his ward sternly, "We have reason to believe he was forging weapons for Tauren."
"He would never do such a thing," Morgana defends.
"Every man has a price." Uther glances at his son.
Arthur slides a lump of gold across the table toward Morgana, "Found this on the blacksmith."
"So he was paid! He's a blacksmith. He could've been paid for shoeing Tauren's horse!" The king is still not swayed, so Morgana turns to Arthur.
"Arthur have nothing to say?" her sea green eyes pleading him.
The prince hesitates, but then speaks. "Father, the blacksmith committed a crime, but we don't know for certain he meant treason."
"You're right. Nothing's certain." Uther then turns back to his son and ward, "Save one thing. The law stands or this kingdom falls."
"But the law must give him a fair trial." the Lady reasons.
"He'll get a fair trial, and he'll be found guilty, because that's what he is." The king declares to her.
Morgana tries to calm her temper, but all the anger she has stored, because of her mother and now Uther, is threatening to break free. With finality, she proclaims, "You execute Gwen's father, and I will never forgive you." And she storms out of the room, not seeing Arthur staring after her with worry.
The next morning, Morgana wakes early to go to visit Gwen at her home. She can only imagine what her friend is going through. However, on her way down, a loud screech echoes through the corridors.
She rolls her eyes, knowing that it is Lady Elaine, Lord Agravaine's ward, come from Caerleon about three weeks ago for a visit. And every time she comes, all the servants stay on their toes, knowing full well how demanding the woman is.
Ignoring the other Lady, Morgana continues on her way. But when she reaches the house, no one is there. So, she then goes to check Tom's forge for her friend.
As the ward looks around, Morgana sees a leather bag on the floor of the forge. She picks it up and pulls out a stone with silver claws around it, it starts glow in her hands. The magical essence, she recognizes from the night before.
Quickly, she leaves the forge and Morgana takes the stone to her chambers to hide away. She then goes to see Merlin, suspecting that Gwen would be with him.
The Lady opens the door to see Arthur's servant standing over hers with a perplexed expression on his face as he gently strokes the dark-skinned girl's hair, "Merlin."
He immediately jumps back with reddened cheek, "Morgana?"
She offers him a soft smile as she asks with concern, "How is she?"
The dark-haired boy replies, "She's doing okay."
Morgana goes over to her maid and gently places her hand on her shoulder. Without looking at Merlin, she tells him, "Take care of her."
The warlock nods while watching Gwen sleep, "Of course."
The Lady then quickly leaves before Merlin can ask about Uther.
Morgana damns her misfortune. She had hoped to sneak into Arthur's chambers, find the key to Tom's cell, and get it to him. However, while she achieved the first task, the last two could not be done. She could not find any of the keys to the dungeon. She suspects that the prince is keeping them all with him.
It's late in the night, approaching morning, but she cannot sleep, so she decided to leave the city for a few hours. Estella has always said that it is calming to walk about aimlessly amidst the trees.
Now, she is settled on a boulder by a small stream, listening to the water flow over rock and thinking over everything: Gwen, Tom, Uther, her visions, her magic, her mother… all of this is hard for her to handle, especially since she is by herself. If Estella were here, she would have someone to help her. She does not want her mother or her aunt; even though she can feel that they are close.
It is a blessing at least, that her magic is remaining dormant (for now). Her memory was blocked through Valeria's spell that fed off of Morgana's own magic to keep it at bay. Now, the memories are back and the magic that is ever present is slowly tormenting her to use it. But she cannot use it, she is in a land where being what she is, is a crime in itself.
Rubbing her fingers against her temples, Morgana contemplates whether she should call for Estella. The sound of the warning bells breaks the thought. She panics, thinking that Arthur or someone else discovered her missing and decided to start a search.
She rushes back to Camelot, but before she gets there, the bells stop and she dismisses the thought of the prince or anyone learning that she was gone. Creeping at the side of the palace, she hears wails of grief.
The Lady sees Gwen crying out for her father as the guards take his body away on a cart. She puts the pieces together: somehow, Tom tried to escape in the night, but was caught and killed on sight. Aside from the empathy she feels for her maid, her anger is rising again; she enters the castle and goes to Uther.
...
The king calls for the guards and they grab Morgana and drag her to the dungeons. She struggles against them, but in physical strength, they are stronger than her. On their way down the stairs, she sees Lady Elaine; the older woman smiles darkly at Morgana, while mockingly waving to her. The guards force the ward into a large prison cell and chain her to the wall.
Uther stands at the door, "And you will remain here until you learn your lesson."
The young woman struggles against her restraints, "Then release me because I've learned it already! That you care not for me, or anyone but yourself! That you're driven mad with power! That you're a tyrant!"
The king narrows his eyes as the guards back away and leave, their king following them, locking the door behind him while Morgana continues to struggle, trying to free herself. Her mind unconsciously calls out for Estella and while she can feel her younger cousin's distress, the duchess is too far away to hear her and she cannot leave her duchy to help Morgana.
Lancelot examines his reflection in Estella's mirror. "Is this still necessary, my Lady? Elaine is in Camelot…"
The duchess does not look up from her desk as she reviews the pieces of parchment before her while her knee is shaking and she twirls a dagger in her hand. "When she catches a whiff of our ruse – which she will no matter where so she is – then she'll immediately come after you."
There is a knock at the door which Hefina answers and invites Sir Ethan in. The flaxen-haired man smiles at his lover and then bows to the duchess, "my Lady."
She still doesn't look up, "Ethan."
The knight puts down a piece of parchment on the corner of her desk, "A letter from Camelot."
Ethan then moves back to Hefina's side where she stands at Estella's shelves.
"I thought we established no canoodling in my chambers," the raven-haired woman says bluntly with a hint of irritation.
Lancelot turns around from the dining table to see Hefina looking down with a red face. Ethan has his arms behind his back and his flushed face turned away from the fair-haired girl. The dark-haired knight looks to the duchess to see her gray eyes stormily set downward.
"And do not apologize, just don't let it happen again," she adds.
The maid then signals for Ethan to leave and he hastily does so. Ignoring Lancelot, who wondering if his mistress is alright.
"What is it, my Lady?" the maid asks.
The duchess roughly puts down her dagger. She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs heavily. She needs to get to Camelot – she needs to get to Morgana. Not only are her memories back, but her magic is steadily growing and eventually it will be too much for her to handle without the proper guidance and training. And now, Morgana stays trapped and chained in the dungeons while she cannot reach her. Agravaine would retaliate on her sudden departure, so all she can do is sit and hope that Arthur will secure Morgana's freedom.
"Nothing you need concern yourself with." Estella responds tiredly.
The servant dares to broach this subject, "Is it Gwaine?"
Her mistress cringes, "I thought we agreed never to speak that name again." The fair-haired girl stiffens at the venomous tone. "It is late; the both of you need your sleep."
Lancelot and Hefina bow to Estella and quickly leave her while her eyes glare at the hidden compartment of her desk, the one secret he didn't know about, because it held everything that is his in it.
Arthur and Merlin walk down the corridor from the prince's chambers. It is quiet and the atmosphere is somber. Merlin is not one for silence and he does have a question to ask, so he speaks up, "Will you need anything else this morning, Sire?"
The golden-haired man turns to his servant, "No, why?"
"I need to go see Guinevere, she's waiting for me in my room," he answers after a moment.
Arthur stops and then nods, "Of course, let her know that her job is secure and her house is hers. I have to go see Morgana." She has been distant lately, ever since they came back from burying the unicorn's horn and Elaine's arrival.
Merlin then smiles slightly, "I'm sure."
The prince, seeing the gleam in the younger boy's eyes, punches his shoulder, "Stop smiling."
Sniveling laughter interrupts Merlin's response. Elaine walks down the corridor, in an extravagant golden gown that is almost blinding. Her demeanor is completely opposite to that of everyone else.
"Quite cheerful, in this dark time, aren't we?" Arthur (disapprovingly) questions the woman.
She smiles coyly at the time. "The sun is shining brilliantly and there is no sigh of rain, so pray tell, how is it dark?"
Merlin narrows his eyes at the woman, but says nothing. "There was recently a death, Elaine," Arthur replies.
The woman shrugs, "He was no one to me as he was no one to you, Arthur."
"It does not mean you shouldn't give respect to those he was important and who are grieving for him."
She is still unimpressed and uninterested in the talk of the blacksmith. But her eyes twinkle in that predatory way that should signal for one to flee (and Arthur has gotten this look from her many times). "Do you know the best way to handle grief?" she prepares herself to pounce on him, but he dodges her.
"I'm sure you have your ways, but I have mine, if you will excuse, I have to go see the Lady Morgana." He turns toward the direction of her chambers.
In outrage, she spits out, "Well, you are going the wrong way, then."
Arthur turns around, "Pardon?"
"She's in the dungeons," Elaine says casually while shrugging.
The prince stares at the Lady, "Why?"
"Well, the king put her there, of course. I suspect that that mouth of hers has gotten her in trouble again." The woman sounds almost pleased.
A quick glance at his servant and then Arthur is striding purposefully to his father.
The older woman gives his back a sour look. "For the life of me, I will never understand the appeal of Morgana... and Estella for that matter, there is truly nothing special about them."
Merlin gives Elaine a look. He would refute that comment, but Gwen has warned him to stay away from the ward of Lord Agravaine. Really, Morgana and must be women coveted by just about every man in the land. With regard to Morgana, Merlin himself was one of them. Until he realized that someone else harbored greater feelings for the noblewoman and he held truer feelings for another, as well. And there was also Estella and her confrontations about Merlin, his magic, his knowledge of her own and Morgana's, his feelings for Gwen, and Arthur and Morgana. Estella herself... well, she is simply too much for him to handle. Besides, she is quite... intimidating.
The young man is snapped out of his thoughts. "What is your name, boy?" Elaine is giving him that look that she had given Arthur. "I do not recall anyone telling me it."
Merlin flushes slightly and backs away. "It's Merlin, my Lady, if you will excuse me, Gaius needs me." And quickly he runs away, too.
While Elaine is left angry and her good mood spoiled.
...
Morgana is now sitting on the floor of her cell. Her feet had begun to hurt from her shoes and the manacles on her wrists chafe her skin. All her resentment is boiling in her. She is partially surprised that her magic has not surged out and broken her restraints. Her magic is connected to her emotions and they are storming now, but she reasons that it is still weak.
The door is unlocked and opened. The Lady looks up to see Arthur entering the cell.
She scoffs, "You, how proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him." The prince stands a few feet from her, his lips tightly pressed together, his back stiffly straight. Though Morgana is annoyed by Arthur's constant ramblings, she hates his silence even more. "Does the king's little helper bring a message? Or have you just come to gloat?"
His lip twitches, his mind questioning if she truly think so lowly of him? He slowly approaches her and she gets up, backing away. The prince does not hesitate as he comes to her and removes her shackles. He does not allow her to leave right away, though. Staring at her face he tells her, "I swore to him you'd never challenge his authority again. I swore that you'd learned your lesson. Tread carefully. Next time, I may not be able to help you."
Morgana keeps her eyes cast down. "Thank you. You're a better man than your father. Always were."
He looks at her wrists and tries to touch them, but she quickly moves past him and walks out of the cell. Arthur sighs and runs his fingers through his hair in frustration.
...
Gwen had entered Morgana's chambers to find her missing. The bed is still made, so she obviously has not slept in it. The maid starts contemplating where her mistress could be when she suddenly walks into the room.
"My Lady," she says in relief, she almost considered the worse.
"Gwen," the raven-haired woman says in surprise, "I didn't expect to see you here."
The dark-skinned woman takes in her friend's appearance: all the dirt and dust in her hair, covering her cheeks, on her clothes and the tears in them, "What happened to you?!"
"Nothing," Gwen is still skeptical, "Well, nothing a hot bath wouldn't fix." Her maid then sees the sores on Morgana's wrists where the manacles rubbed them. Her light brown eyes widen as she looks at Morgana. The older woman sighs and nods, "I spent the night in the dungeon."
Gwen shakes her, "Uther." But another realization comes to her, "It wasn't about my father, was it?"
Morgana hesitates; she does not want her friend distressed over her. "You have enough to deal with without worrying about such things."
The younger woman shakes her head again, "You shouldn't have done that! Not on my behalf. If anything happened to you, I couldn't bear it."
The Lady then asserts, "You need to go home, Gwen. Get some rest, please."
"I'm fine, my Lady." She says.
Morgana's brow furrows, "I insist." Gwen walks past her with her head bowed, picking up a hair brush. With her back to Morgana, she tries to keep from crying.
"I can't go home! Tauren..." Gwen trails off.
The Lady's eyes widen, "Tauren?!"
The younger woman takes a deep breath. "He attacked me. He threatened me. He was looking for some kind of stone. He said if I didn't bring it to him, he'd kill me. He's waiting for me in the Darkling Woods. I have to do something. If I don't get this stone to him by dawn tomorrow..." Morgana cannot stand to see her friend in such a state. She then begins walking off purposefully. "What are you going to do?" Gwen asks with worry.
Morgana quickly thinks up a lie. "I'm going to send the guards, of course. It won't be you that Tauren meets. It'll be the Knights of Camelot." She leaves Gwen to ponder over the situation alone.
The Lady stops in her tracks as Tauren and his men surround her with swords.
"Where's your maid?" the sorcerer asks.
"I've come in her place," Morgana replies, a tremor in her voice she wishes was not there.
"Kill her," Tauren commands his men.
She holds out her hand with the stone in it. "Aren't you looking for this?"
The sorcerer holds up his hand and the swords are pulled back, he takes the Mage's Stone and tells the woman, "You were foolish to come here. I had no quarrel with your maid. But you, my Lady Morgana, you are Uther's ward." He draws his sword and puts it to her stomach.
The Lady holds her ground, "And in spite of that, I want Uther dead, too."
"You, an enemy of the king," Tauren scoffs, "I'm to believe that?"
Morgana inhales, "Whether you believe it or not, but as someone close to him, I am his enemies' best weapon against him and I am willing to be that weapon."
After a bit more persuasion Tauren (finally accepting that she comes for her own reasons) pulls back his sword and sheaths it. He then moves to hear the Lady's plan to kill the king. Little do they know, there are three spies watching them.
Over the next few days, Morgana carries out her part of the plan: apologizing to Uther, bringing up her father, baiting the king's guilt. When she is not doing this, she stays with Gwen, comforting her and keeping her company, while avoiding Arthur entirely. With all this going on, her renewed memories and growing magic is put to the back of her mind on her own accord.
The prince is none too pleased with distance, but he allows it for now. He reasons that Morgana is just busy with attending to her maid and dissipating her anger towards his father. But then there is also his own problem.
Arthur has been having some strange dream every night for the past week. The images are blurred, but he can decipher a small boy with golden hair and two young girls with raven hair. The three are playing in tall grass somewhere. One girl is twirling about as flower petals dance around her as if by magic. No matter how many times these opaque images come to mind, he ignores them, not understanding what they mean at all.
Merlin, on the other hand, is struggling with what to do. He had witnessed what Morgana and Tauren discussed and now he is trying to decide what the best course of action is. He cannot confront the Lady, knowing full well that she has justification for wanting Uther dead. The dragon himself even said for him to do nothing, so that Arthur may ascend the throne. But then there is Gaius. Merlin has always strived to listen and obey his guardian as best as he can, but the elder man's loyalty to the tyrant they call king is something the young warlock cannot understand. The day for Uther's planned death is drawing and Merlin still does not know what to do.
Tauren has just affirmed plans with the king's ward about the king being at the Old Cairn on the hill. He is about to walk back to the woods to inform his men when is met by another woman.
"Are you a complete imbecile?" the woman demands.
The sorcerer mockingly bows, "Always a pleasure to see you, Lady Elaine."
"You cannot trust, Morgana." The woman chides him, "Do you even know who she is?"
"Everyone knows that she is Uther's ward, but even she can see that he is a tyrant-" Elaine laughs mockingly. "Is there something amusing?"
"You, you idiot, you don't know." She screeches, "She is the maternal cousin of Estella de Bois, one of the Le Fays. And you know what is said about the Le Fays. They put family before any others of their own kind and Estella is the crown prince's cousin, as well. She will not let any harm come to the Pendragons and Morgana knows this. She despairs to ever hurt her cousin and that soft heart of hers will not be able to see Uther killed."
Tauren rolls his eyes although he did not know this, he cannot see its significance, "What is this about witch? Is this because you want to kill Uther yourself?"
"Wouldn't I?" She glares at the man. "He has committed heinous crimes not only to those of our kind, Tauren, but worse of all to my mother. I will not let any injustice involving her go unanswered."
"Well, they will not. Uther Pendragon dies tomorrow."
Elaine glares fiercely at the sorcerer, "You better make sure of it."
It is Gwen – good and sweet Gwen – who helps Merlin decide what he must do. Even with the king's faults, the warlock cannot bring himself to let him die when he can be saved. The warlock races through the forest with the Sidhe staff gripped in his hand.
When he arrives at the location of the impending murder, he sees Morgana and Uther making their way to the grave site. The warlock approaches the horses and finds the Camelot guards dead. But Tauren's men are, as well. While he looks around in confusion, suddenly he is grabbed from behind and pushed roughly against a tree.
"Don't even think of interfering, Emrys."
Merlin stiffens when he sees the familiar face before him. He, however, struggles against her, "Uh, Lady Vivienne, I must-"
The raven-haired woman laughs, the young man freezes in confusion. "Wrong sister, warlock, I am Valeria. And you need not do a thing."
"You would let the king die?" he asks with incredulity.
Her emerald eyes are fierce and Merlin can see how much Estella resembles her mother. "If he meant to die today, then he will. As I said, do not interfere." The woman then shoves him toward the direction he came. "Go home," she commands.
"But-" he protests.
"Now, sister," Vivienne appears at her twin's side. "Do not be so cross. He will not intervene as long as we are here, besides, he can at least observe."
The Le Fays stay hidden behind the trees as they see Morgana kneeling at her father's gravestone with Uther standing at her side. Merlin cautiously stands behind the two identical women.
...
"Your father was the greatest man I've ever known. He stood for everything this kingdom represents: truth, justice, valor. A hundred times he saved my life on the battlefield. His courage and his honor were without equal." Uther then kneels and kisses gravestone as Morgana sits in silence and anger and a tinge of apprehension. "When Gorlois died," Uther continues, "I lost the truest friend I ever had – for he was as fearless in questioning my judgment as he was in defending my kingdom. That's the mark of a true friend."
Morgana nods solemnly, "I know how he respected you, my Lord. But I don't share these memories." Uther bows his head. "How can I? I was ten years old. I only know I loved him and he was taken from me."Her throat tightens and she tries to hold back her tears.
The older man sighs and puts his hand on her shoulder. "When he died, and I took you into my care as he asked me to, you fought me from the beginning. Your will is as strong as his was and my own. You challenge me as a friend must – as your father did in his time."
She then meets his eye and says bitter, "And when I do, you clap me in irons."
The king looks down in shame. "I know I'm not an easy man. My temper blinds me sometimes. There are many things that I regret."
The Lady narrows her eyes and dares to question, "Gwen's father?"
"Yes," he admits while Morgana looks at Uther, completely surprised at the admission.
"Are you saying you were wrong to have Tom killed?" Again he affirms this and the Lady finds herself conflicted.
They are silent for a moment, until Uther speaks again, "I will strive to listen to you more and quarrel with you less."He moves his hand to the side of her face. "You've been a blessing to me, Morgana. Alongside Estella, you are the daughter I never had. Your counsel is invaluable, as is your friendship and your love. Without you, I cannot and could not hope to be the king this land deserves nor could my son." The Lady is speechless at what tells her. Never before has he ever said these things to her. And despite the king's usual cruelty, she can see the truth and heart of in eyes as he said these words. "Please forgive me, Morgana."
She sees Tauren sneaking up behind the king with a raised sword and she screams, "No! No!"
Uther turns around to block the blow and wrestles with Tauren. The sorcerer pins Uther down and draws a dagger, which Uther tries to block.
Morgana stands frozen for a moment. The king has never been a soft-hearted man to her and yet today she has seen that side of him – the one who did know to bow down to others and admit his faults. Besides, too many fathers have been lost: hers, Gwen's, even Estella's, and she cannot bear to let Arthur suffer because of this too. She unsheathes the blade hidden at her waist in her cloak and stabs Tauren in the back.
Uther pushes him off and Morgana drops the dagger while the tightness in her throat loosens. Uther looks at her with gratitude and fatherly affection. He walks to her and embraces her. She settles into his embrace. It almost feels like she's in her father's arms again.
...
Merlin looks on at the sight of the king hugging his ward. "Did you know this would happen?"
Vivienne glances at the young man. "No, but we hoped." Without another word, she grasps her sister's hand and the two then are swept away with in the wind.
The dark-haired boy then decides to go back to Camelot.
Morgana jumps when she feels a hand on her shoulder. Looking away from the window, she turns to see Arthur beside. "Arthur," she says a little breathless.
He puts down his hand. "Sorry, I did knock. Gwen let me."
She nods, "Of course."
The prince hesitates before saying, "I wanted to thank you, for saving my father."
The Lady shrugs, "He is the king."
"Even so, you had just reasons for wanting him dead." It hurts Arthur to say this, but he cannot deny that it is true.
She shakes her head, solemnly, "But I could not another father die. No matter what he has done and will do, he is still your father and you love him as he loves you. Besides, you would have more to contend besides your grief and I couldn't let you go through that."
They are quiet for a time until the prince mutters, "You've been distant."
"Have I?" she asks innocently looking back out the window.
"Morgana…" he waits for her to look at him. When she does he continues, "What is it? And do not say nothing or anything close to that."
She sighs, "You needn't worry about it, Arthur."
"Morgana, whatever it is-"
"Arthur…" she has contemplated on whether she should tell him or not. Of course the risk is great, no matter what, he is Uther's son, brought up to hate magic, but on the other hand, he is Arthur. However, the raven-haired woman cannot bring herself to speak out her inner turmoil. "I may yet one day tell you, but not today."
The prince then sighs. He reasons that this fair though, he has no intentions of telling her about his dream, not yet, so he can wait for her, too. He puts his arm around her shoulders and strokes her pale cheek with his other hand. After kissing her hair, he whispers, "Whenever you're ready."
Morgana leans into his chest as she nods. They stay like this until Arthur leaves and though he is reluctant to part with her, he has his duties to attend to and she her thoughts.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and please review. Btw, the next chapter is already written and waiting ;).