Making Amends
Marayna sighed as she made her way around Arthur's room, just trying to straighten it up. It was, surprisingly, rather clean compared to the horrendous mess Arthur had usually left it as when she'd first met him...and for her, one half of the two messiest villagers in Ealdor, to complain that it was a mess, well, it was that bad. She looked up from her tidying when Gwen came in carrying Arthur's red jacket that he'd put on just that morning.
"I passed Arthur in the hall," she explained, "He said it was too warm and requested I bring this back here."
Marayna smiled and nodded, returning to her work, which did give Gwen pause as the girl was usually one to give a verbal thanks instead of just a nod. Merlin was running errands for Gaius and Arthur had training with the knights today so Marayna felt she ought to make herself useful and get ahead of her chores, maybe end up with some spare time later to study more of the magic book. She'd noticed a distinct difference in the types of spells she was starting to read on and the ones Merlin found interesting. They each marked the pages of spells they thought were interesting or useful, hers were a small fold on the bottom corner while his were on the top corner. She'd found, through skimming through the book, that Merlin tended to mark the ones that were more shielding and protective, guiding lights and stopping attacks. Hers, on the other hand, were more like attacks, sending out pulses of wind, making fireballs, summoning lightning, more the ones to counterattack. It was interesting how different they were for being so close, but it was understandable as well, she had always been the one more likely to fight back while Merlin was the one who tried to make peace and avoid the fighting.
Gwen laughed though, "Taking a leaf out of Merlin's book?" she asked, nodding to Marayna's neck.
Marayna reached up to finger the cloth she had wrapped around her neck, it was like her brother's neckerchief, only much larger, like a small blanket that was draped over her shoulders and tossed up over them to cover her neck, from near beneath her chin to just over her chest, "I suppose," she croaked, wincing as she cleared her throat at the sound of it.
Gwen's expression fell into a concerned frown, "Are you alright?" she took a step towards her friend, "You sound ill."
Marayna turned her head from Gwen, silently cursing herself for forgetting to take the draught Gaius had left for her that morning to soothe her throat, "I'm fine," she rasped, turning back to smile reassuringly at Gwen, "Just a sore throat is all."
Gwen didn't look like she believed her, "If you're sure..." she eyed Marayna as the girl swallowed hard, still fingering her own oversized neckerchief, tugging it up, before nodding. Gwen sighed, "I'd best be off to check on my Lady."
Gwen turned and left the room, Marayna calmly making her way to the door moments later and peeking out around it till she saw Gwen disappear around the corner. She waited a few more moments, listening to her footsteps get farther away until they disappeared before sighing and closing the door.
~8~
Gwen hurried around the corner and made her way purposefully towards a red and gold tapestry of the Pendragon crest hanging from the wall. She glanced around her, making sure no one was there to see her, before sliding behind it, feeling for a crease in the wall. She shoved against the wall, feeling it give way under her and squeezed into the small passage behind it. Not many servants knew of the 'secret passages' as Morgana had loved to call them as children. They weren't really secret passages though, it was more like a door to some old disused hallway that had once been used for storage but that no one had interest in any longer, so tapestries and the like were placed before it to keep others from venturing in. She was one of the few who knew of them, having explored the castle quite a bit with Morgana when they were younger, around the time Morgana had come to stay at Camelot when she'd been a little girl. She quickly slid down the narrow passage until she came to a stop where there was a small hole of light in the darkness. She pressed herself up against it, standing on the tips of her toes until she could see through the hole...and into Arthur's room. It wasn't a peeping hole, or it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't even really a hole per say, more like a crack in the stone that one could vaguely see the next room over through. Since the room was naturally dark, with no windows or sconces, the crack couldn't be seen from Arthur's room as no light filtered through it.
She watched as Marayna leaned out the door, listening for her footsteps that had long since disappeared before returning to the room and shutting the door behind her. She watched as the girl stood in the center of the room, just looking around at it a moment. Gwen frowned, Marayna seemed pale and weary about something. She wasn't standing like her normal, easy, confident self but seemed to sag a bit. She saw the girl sigh before turning to face a small mirror that Arthur had set up in the corner of the room. Hesitantly Marayna reached up to the corner of her blue neckerchief and began to pull it away from her till it fell away.
Gwen only barely managed to stifle her gasp at the sight of what had laid hidden behind the cloth. Dark brown spots and purple bruises were scattered across Marayna's neck! They seemed very painful, something she judge by how, as Marayna reached up to brush a finger against one in examination, she flinched.
It wasn't a sore throat or an illness that had her talking so funny at all! It was the strain that whatever made those bruises on her throat and she frowned as she realized just what those bruises were caused by. Someone had tried to strangle her, she was sure of it. But who? When?
The only people around her were Merlin, who wound never ever do anything to harm his sister, herself, Morgana, neither of whom had touched the girl, Gaius thought of her as a daughter and would never hurt her like that. Uther had had her thrown in the stocks, but the stocks didn't make bruises like that. That only left Arthur and…
Wait! Her mind spun quickly as she realized, there had been someone here a day or so ago, Sophia and Aulfric! Had Aulfric done that to her? He seemed the sort of man to hurt others, but she also wouldn't put it past Sophia to try and hurt the girl either. That had to be it. Aulfric had tried to strangle her. Had it been when she and Merlin went to return the prince to Camelot? It would make sense, but Merlin would have said something about it wouldn't he?
Perhaps it had been before that then? Morgana had mentioned that, when she'd gone to Gaius to alert him to the fact that Arthur had run off, Merlin ran out of the room. She'd always assumed that Merlin had run out after Arthur…but rarely were Merlin and Marayna separate…maybe he had run out to check on his sister? That would make sense as well.
She sighed, frowning miserably as she watched her friend cover up her bruises again and continue on about her chores. She pushed away from the wall, making her way back to the hallway, and striding to her Lady's room. If there was anyone who could find out what happened, it was Morgana.
~8~
Marayna sighed as she collected some water for her uncle, the last few days were starting to get to her. She hadn't wanted to worry her brother about her bruises, she knew he'd try to kill Arthur and then where would their destinies be? But the strain of keeping the secret…it was hard. She had lied to her brother before and she had kept secrets from him, sure, but they were all VERY small matters and he always found out the truth soon enough. She didn't like keeping secrets from him, they didn't often, unless it was truly necessary...like if they were planning a surprise or trying to protect each other. But this? This was something serious and he had already demanded if anything was wrong again, she tell him.
Gaius knew.
He had noticed the bruising starting the moment he and Merlin found her unconscious in Arthur's rooms. He would apply healing salves at night for her and have a fresh potion ready in the morning for her to take to soothe her throat enough where the rasping wasn't very noticeable. She'd slipped today with Gwen, she could tell the girl was suspicious. It would only be a matter of time before she told her worries to Morgana, who would tell Merlin, who would be after her for answers and then it would take only moments before Arthur found out...when Merlin attempted to murder him.
The prince's memories of the other day were fuzzy at best after he'd gone on the first ride with Sophia to the forest. He remembered there was a girl, Sophia, and that he wanted to marry her for some reason and he'd yelled at his father and shirked duties. But besides that, he wasn't really too aware of anything else. Especially not what happened after he'd fallen completely under the enchantment.
She was thankful for that. She knew Arthur would beat himself up over what he'd done to her and, as much as she always wanted to cause those who hurt her equal pain and double the pain should they harm someone she loved (she really did need to work on her ability to forgive and not leap to revenge), this time...she just...couldn't. She had never been able to do that to Merlin, or to the people she cared about, and now...not with Arthur. She set the bucket of water down and plopped onto the wall beside her, just...needing a moment to collect her thoughts as one very strong and almost slightly unwelcome one hit her.
She was in love, wasn't she?
It would explain everything. Why she'd wanted to claw Sophia's eyes out when Arthur first smiled at her. Why she felt so hurt at Arthur's declaration of love to Sophia. The pain she felt at having Arthur turn on her like that and refuse to believe her, even if both instances were a result of an enchantment. It made sense, the utter relief and joy she had felt at seeing Arthur alive and alright when Merlin surfaced in the lake. Even more, it would explain the desperation and determination that had slowly been building in her that Arthur never come to harm or experience pain, especially not pain she caused him. She didn't want to hurt him, ever. So...she would keep her mouth shut and wait for the bruises to fade.
She hated that she loved him though, and that was the unwelcome part, to realize she loved someone that was so...she couldn't think of the word but she knew she was all wrong for him. For as confident as she usually was...and this was the weird part because she usually was confident (well, not really confident, it was more like her attitude of not caring what she did or said around anyone came across as that)...she just, there were times she could admit that she felt inadequate. It was really all the time though, and maybe that was where her 'confidence' stemmed from.
She wasn't noble, she wasn't beautiful, she wasn't well-read, or educated or anything. She was plain and basic, common. She was lucky she could read and write and that she knew how to barely handle sais. A good lot that did her, that was the only weapon she could use and not many people carried them around nowadays nor was she able to practice what the knights had shown her often. Merlin, he could just grab a long stick and he usually had, twigs or two sticks for her weren't the same as a sai hilt. She wasn't polite or well-mannered, she had little use of etiquette and never knew when to shut her mouth or keep silent, that was one of her biggest faults. She was sarcastic and rude, often times crude or even vulgar, sometimes conniving and deceptive when need be.
And that was nothing a queen should be, nothing she knew SHE could be because that wasn't her. She wasn't a queen or queen-like at all. Queens were graceful where she was clumsy, they were soft-spoken where she could call someone a 'rat bastard swine rolling in feces' and not give a second thought about it. Queens were diplomatic where her attitude would likely cause a war, they were peaceful and peacekeepers where she would be more than willing to slap someone. They were meant to care for an entire kingdom when the king was away, to help it prosper...she hadn't been able to keep a small plant that they'd tried to grow in a pot alive once. If left to her, Camelot would fall to ruin she was sure of it.
She'd given herself over to the utter failure of herself a long time ago and just...didn't care after that. She didn't care how others perceived her or if she wasn't the best at something, because she'd never been the best at anything to begin with. There was nothing to love about her, but everything to love about Arthur. She didn't even know when she began to feel this way about him, when she'd first started to feel like he might be someone worth keeping around. Maybe it was when he'd finally helped the orphans, or maybe it was before that when he'd made her so angry she'd punched him. She laughed to herself, it was probably even before that, when she'd first seen him doing that amusing impersonation of a fish after she brought up incest.
What a first impression that must have been.
She mentally hit herself, even then she was proving herself ill-suited to be a queen. The Dragon was wrong. He had to be. There was no way Arthur would love her and even if he did one day, there was no way she could let him make her the queen. She'd be terrible and she would hate herself forever if she did anything that hurt Camelot or embarrassed Arthur. That was probably why she'd been avoiding him and keeping from making eye contact. She was pushing herself away from him, distancing herself, in the only way she knew how. She would be cold to him, avoid him, glare at him if necessary, until the point where he assumed she hated him and would come to hate her as well. Better he hate her now than hate her later after she was married to him and he was stuck with her.
And maybe it had a bit to do with the utter fury she felt whenever the bruises made themselves known to her. Enchantment or not, how could Arthur do that to anyone!? For all his claims of being so strong and such a fighter he was rubbish at warding off enchantments wasn't he? At fighting against them?
And even then, she was happy it had been her and not her brother who had been attacked. There was something seriously wrong with her if she was both angry and happy she'd been strangled. She was more angry at the thought that it could have been someone else suffering instead of her and she'd rather it be her to take the brunt of an attack than anyone else. She shook her head to clear away her turmoil thoughts, before standing and lifting the pail, carrying it back to Gaius. It was just better she not think of anything involving Sophia and Arthur for a while as it either upset her or infuriated her.
Maybe she would actually read some of her uncle's science books.
~8~
"Gwen?" Morgana called, noticing her maidservant's daze. She'd been polishing the same candle stick holder for the last ten minutes. Gwen appeared not to have heard her and continued scrubbing the same spot with a slight frown on her face, "Gwen?" she tried again, before sighing and rising from her seat to make her way over to her friend. She reached out and took the girl's hands in her own, gently removing the candlestick holder from her grasp, snapping the maidservant out of her thoughts.
"My Lady?" she shook her head, not understanding why she'd been stopped.
Morgana smiled gently, "What's wrong?"
Gwen sighed before speaking, all in one breath, "I'm not sure. I went to see Rayna and she seemed a bit off and when I asked she wouldn't answer and her throat sounded raw and then I left and used that one passage where you can see Arthur's room through the crack and looked and saw bruises on her neck and I don't know where they came from! Do you think it was Aulfric?"
Morgana stared at her a moment, all she had managed to catch out of that was Aulfric. She softly requested her maid to repeat what she'd said again, but slower but when that was done, Morgana found herself falling onto the trunk at her bed in shock, horrified at what could be assumed happened to the girl, "There were bruises on her neck?"
Gwen nodded, sitting down beside her Lady, "They were shaped like finger tips," she explained, shivering at the memory, "The only person I could think who might do that would be Aulfric."
Morgana suddenly became very tense, her eyes narrowing, "I know one other person," she muttered, before standing up and storming out of the room.
~8~
"How could you Arthur!?" Morgana nearly screeched as she cantered into the prince's room, slamming the door shut behind her. She walked over to the prince, who was lying on his bed, reading a book and promptly began to smack any part of him she could reach.
"Ow. Ow! OW!" Arthur cried, raising his arms to defend himself only to end up rolling to the side and off the other side of the bed. He quickly shot up and braced his hands on the edge of the bed as Morgana mirrored him across the bed, "What was the purpose of that?!"
She shot him a glare ten times colder than their bitterest winters, "How could you do that to Rayna? What is the matter with you?! Of all people I never…"
"What on earth are you going on about?" he interrupted.
"Like you don't know," she nearly spat.
"Clearly I don't," he answered with raised eyebrows. Something he had done had clearly upset the woman before him and he'd been on the receiving end of her rage far often enough to know it was not a position anyone wanted to be in.
"Before you left with Sophia, what happened?" she countered, her hands clenching into fists on the bed.
Arthur shook his head, straightening, "I, uh, I packed and…Mara came to speak to me," he shook his head again, "I didn't listen, and...we left."
"Simple as that?" Morgana nearly laughed sarcastically.
"What do you want me to say Morgana?" he shot back, rolling his eyes, "You already know I don't remember much of that."
"What did Rayna say?"
He sighed, "Uh, something about…something about me being enchanted or…or under a spell or something," he laughed softly, recalling when Morgana had come to try and talk him out of a thing or two in the past, "She sounded just like you prattling on in my chambers."
"And what did you do?"
"I didn't believe her. If Sophia was a sorceress, father would have had her executed."
"He nearly did, remember?"
"For an entirely different reason than sorcery," Arthur shook his head, recalling what Gaius and his servants had told him of that time. He hadn't told them but...it was slowly coming back to him the last day or so, bits and pieces of it, "Are you going to get to the point any time soon? Or am I going to have to answer more of your silly questions?"
"A few more. And after, she said you were enchanted, what then?"
"Sophia came it," Arthur scrunched his face as though trying to pull the answer from a long distant memory, "She wanted to leave…Mara tried to get me to stay…"
"And?" Morgana drew out.
"And I wanted to leave," Arthur frowned, "I was going to but…Mara stopped me…she…she said Sophia wanted to kill me…but I wouldn't listen, I was…angry…"
Morgana was silent, seeing that Arthur was finally understanding the severity of her question.
"She accused Sophia and her father of…of magic and…I didn't like it…I…" he sopped, his eyes widening in shock, his face paling as a realization hit him so powerfully in his gut that he felt like he was going to be sick.
"You?" Morgana breathed out, seeing that he had remembered something terrible. She had been hoping she was wrong in her assumption of what happened. She knew Arthur was quite taken with Sophia and was already angry at his father for refusing their marriage, if Marayna had gone to him to talk, she feared what had happened.
"I tried to choke her," he whispered, his entire spirit broken by those five words as he fell back into a chair, "I did choke her," he stared down at his hands as though they had blood on them, not even noticing when Morgana crouched before him and laid her hands over his, "I…I grabbed her neck and squeezed and s-she…" he shuddered, tears coming to his eyes that he refused to let fall, "She begged me to stop…and I didn't! I didn't until she'd passed out. Oh god," he let out a strangled cry, shaking his head as he hunched over, his head in his hands, "What have I done?"
Morgana who, in her entire life, had never seen Arthur in such a state, could only stand and move beside him, rubbing his back as he actually cried…though he would never admit it to anyone when he'd finished.
~8~
"Why didn't she say anything to me?" Arthur asked softly as he stat staring into his fire, Morgana sitting in the chair across from him, "How could she stand being around me after what I did to her? And pretend like it didn't happen?"
How could she stand being around him for what he'd done even before that. He had worked out now from his memories that he HAD been enchanted. He couldn't really remember what happened after he'd left Marayna lying on his floor and gone with Sophia, that was still blank, but everything else...he remembered it now. But more so, he remembered how blurry those memories had been, everything starting after he'd gone out to ride with Sophia the first time. He could remember clearly how he acted before that moment, which he took to mean the enchantment hadn't started yet. And THAT bothered him.
Marayna had been far too accommodating to his 'interest' in Sophia.
Interest was a rather strong word though, he honestly...he hadn't cared that much for the woman but...Marayna was driving him mad! All her teasing since Richard left, all the positions she put him in, how close she got, the sound of her voice, her smirk...it had been getting to him. It had been making him...think things, feel things, feel them all stronger than he had before. Even just before they'd found Sophia they'd been in a similar situation, a compromising position, her too close to him to focus. He'd needed a distraction, badly. Because he was losing control of the little self restraint he had left not to just kiss her when they were in positions like that, when she was close enough for him to reach out and grab her and just...kiss her.
If he did that, Uther would have her executed, he was sure of it.
So he'd looked at Sophia, a noblewoman his father wouldn't have a qualm with him spending time with or focusing on. He'd tried his hardest to make himself like her, or at least try to be fond of her. He tried, he really had. It sort of got a bit mixed up, his intentions and what he ended up hoping to use Sophia for. He had started hoping that Sophia would prove a distraction from Marayna, help him take his mind off the tempting servant of his, that he'd be able to force some sort of interest in her...somewhere between that and deciding where he ought to place her rooms it had ended up more like him trying to use her to make Marayna jealous, to see if she might possibly feel something for him and show it when he expressed an interest in another woman.
And against all his expectations, she'd only stepped aside to let him have access to Sophia.
He should have expected it though, she never did anything he expected her to do. He...he was almost certain that Marayna DID feel something for him, but it seemed she'd realized the same thing he had. A relationship between them was dangerous, and (he hoped) she had been stepping aside as a way to return him to his original plans, to be distracted, even if for a day or so, by Sophia, to gather himself again. He truly hoped she hadn't stepped aside because she felt nothing for him, he doubted that was the case though. He just...he couldn't understand it. He couldn't understand how he'd gone from needing a distraction to using Sophia to gain attention from Marayna. It seemed that his mind had wandered and, before he knew it, he'd been trying to make her jealous instead of focusing on Sophia himself as he'd planned to.
He'd really just...he'd wanted some sort of distraction at one point, and then a bit of jealous-making at another, and ended up following Sophia like a puppy...though he blamed the enchantment for the last one.
Morgana could only shrug, "Perhaps she believes it wasn't really you who did it. If she was right and Sophia had enchanted you, it was really Sophia making you do it, not you yourself."
Arthur gave a hollow laugh at that, "That made no sense."
She smiled softly at him, "She doesn't blame you," she said as simply as she could, "It was the enchantment and she knows it."
He shook his head, sighing, "That still doesn't excuse anything."
Morgana eyed him for that. She'd never seen him beat himself up over anything the way he was doing at that moment, usually he would take the first offer of some sort of forgiveness, the moment someone waved off something he might have done bad or tried to downplay it he would leap at the chance to go along with it and forget about it. But now...he wasn't letting this go. He understood that he hadn't willingly hurt Marayna, that he wasn't in control, that he was BEING controlled, but for all that it mattered, it was still him who had hurt her and for that fact alone he wouldn't be forgiving himself anything soon.
"Then apologize," she shrugged as Arthur looked up at her, "Let her know you didn't mean it and that you're sorry."
"She…"
"We've both established that she's already forgiven you Arthur," Morgana rolled her eyes, cutting him off, "She understands. But the only way YOU are ever going to have a chance at redeeming yourself and being able to face her is to apologize and do whatever you can to make it up to her," but Arthur merely looked down, contemplating it, and she sighed, sometimes it was just SO hard to get through to him, "You could always hire another maidserv…"
"No!" Arthur nearly shouted, nearly, looking at her with wide eyes.
She nearly jumped at the volume and tone of his shout, there was something in his voice she'd never heard before. A fear. She had to smile softly when she realized he was scared of losing her, understanding the feeling all too well, "Then you've got to face her Arthur. You're going to be seeing her every day, if you can't look at her it'll just drive her away from you."
He eyed her a moment before sighing and nodding.
Morgana gave him a short nod, her work done, and stood up, walking out of the room to leave him to his thoughts and plans.
~8~
Marayna sat in hers and Merlin's bedroom, the spell book on her lap, absently looking at it, flipping through the pages, unseeing of the words written on it. She'd come there to try and see if she could find a spell to heal bruises. Merlin was becoming suspicious of her own neckerchief given how much she had teased him about his own when they were growing up. He knew it was unlike her to want to wear one. Sooner or later he would work out that she was hiding something and try to snatch it from her. If she couldn't get rid of the bruises before then…
She rubbed her neck gently, her cloth gone, exposing the bruises, as she swallowed hard. She'd managed to sort her thoughts on the subject over the last few hours and had come to two conclusions. The first was, obviously, she wasn't good enough for Arthur. How could se be? She was literally a servant in the castle and, while she was not happy about the laws regarding them, servants were the property of their masters, men and women who, for all intents and purposes, could do whatever they want to their servants for punishment. No one would defend her because of her bruises especially when learning that Arthur had inflicted them. It was made even worse by the fact she was a woman, many women better than her in the past had suffered worse. Honestly had it not been for Aurora being involved in the Urry debacle she doubted anything would have been done about that either.
She also knew that Arthur was under a spell, that he would never have done that to her of his own free will and that, once he remembered, if he ever did, he would probably come storming down there and try to apologize. And while she understood he'd been controlled, and while she knew that she did care about him very much, she was still angry that she'd been hurt. Causing him just a bit of pain at having strangled her wouldn't cause her heart any undue harm.
She had seen a change in Arthur since she'd been there and from the stories Merlin had told her. He was changing, she hoped for the better. He was more considerate, more understanding, even more compassionate she liked to think. He was slowly becoming the great king the Dragon had talked of often when she visited him. And she liked to think she and Merlin had a hand in that. If her actions and the way she handled him were in any way a help towards shaping this king, she would continue to do what she was, handle situations the way she always did. With slaps and shouts and turning on her heel and sarcasm.
Enchantment or not, Arthur would learn and grow from this experience if she had anything to say about it.
Her thoughts were suddenly cut off when the door to the room flew open, making her quickly hide the book beside her...only to see Merlin stood there, beaming at her, with a small bowl of fruit he'd nicked from the kitchens in hand. Her eyes widened as his own narrowed, honing in on her neck.
"What the hell happened?!" he shouted, running forward, setting the bowl down on a small bedside table as he knelt by the bed, reaching out to gently poke and prod her bruises.
She hissed in pain and slapped his hands away, "Nothing."
"Marayna," he gave her a warning look.
She sighed, she'd promised to tell him when things were wrong and now he was confronting her about it, "Arthur didn't react very well to me trying to stop him leaving with Sophia and Aulfric."
He frowned, puzzled for a moment, before it clicked in his mind, "Arthur tried to strangle you?!" he raged, seeing red, "I'll kill him!" he jumped up, heading for the door.
But the door slammed shut on its own and he turned to see Marayna's eyes dimming from their golden haze. She sighed and shook her head, "Sit down Merlin, you can't kill him."
"But Aya," he looked at her desperately, "Look what he did to you!"
"If you kill him, these bruises will be for nothing. We didn't risk our lives repeatedly to save him, only for you to kill him. Everything we've been through and suffered would be wasted if the prat dies now."
Merlin stood there, stunned at how calm she was being. He eyed her closely, the bruises were already turning yellow as they healed. Clearly she'd had known about them longer than he had and gotten over it somehow. Knowing her, she had some sort of revenge in mind or at least some lesson to teach Arthur. He bit his lip recalling that she would one day be Arthur's wife if the Dragon was to be believed, she would need to be able to handle him without her brother coming to her aid.
He sighed, he trusted her, he had to know that if she wasn't angry and trying to kill Arthur herself, it was for a good reason, "Let me get some of Gaius's salve," he offered quietly, turning to head out.
"Merlin," Marayna called and he paused, "Thank you for trusting me."
He couldn't help the small smile that made its way onto his face. He looked over his shoulder at his sister, his baby sister, and, really...for the first time he could see it, she really was all grown up now wasn't she? Mature and ready to take on the world herself, but...he knew she'd never forget about him, he was her big brother and he would always be there to help her when she needed it. But clearly, she didn't need it just at that moment.
~8~
"Merlin!"
He flinched, hearing Arthur behind him as he stood in the stables, mucking them out. He'd managed to avoid the prince the whole day after getting the chores when they woke the prat that morning. But it seemed like his luck had run out, "Yes sire?" he asked, a small bite in his voice as he turned to look at the prince, "Something I can help you with?"
Arthur eyed him a moment, sensing his hostility, "Has…has Mara…said anything to you?"
"Oh, you mean about how you tried to strangle her?" he glared, pleased when Arthur flinched, "Yes, now that you mention it, she did say something about that as I was helping her put a salve on the bruises."
Arthur swallowed hard at that, "…there are bruises?" his voice was quiet, guilty.
Merlin glared at him a moment longer before sighing. He could see it even now, how wretched Arthur felt about what had happened, "All across her neck," he nodded, his voice quiet as well before he shook his head, "Why did you do it Arthur?"
If Arthur noticed the lack of titles he didn't say anything, honestly he was getting so used to his servants addressing him as 'Arthur' that he almost missed when others spoke to him if they addressed him as 'sire' or other titles, "I don't know," he admitted, "I…all I remember was feeling so angry and betrayed and wanting to be with Sophia and Mara telling me to stay away from her..." he shook his head, "I…I truly don't know why I did it Merlin. But I am so, so sorry that I did. And I know that nothing I say can make up for that," Merlin nodded in agreement to that, "And I know I don't deserve her forgiveness…"
Merlin snorted, "No, you don't."
"And I never will. But…I'd like the chance to apologize properly to her."
"And what?" Merlin nearly laughed, "You want me to help you swindle my sister into forgiving you?" she already had, she'd told him as much, citing it was the enchantment and Sophia that made him do it, not something Arthur would ever want to do, but he wasn't going to let Arthur off that easily if he could help it.
No, he'd make him squirm first.
"Merlin please…" Arthur actually seemed to almost sort of beg, making Merlin pause in his thoughts, "Help me."
Merlin let out a breath and eyed him, "I'm not sure I can. Marayna can really hold a grudge."
"It can't be for that long though, right?" Arthur asked hopefully.
Merlin shrugged, crossing his arms, "She hasn't forgiven my friend Will for a trick he played on her once."
Arthur started to frown, not sure how he like the sound of that, "How long ago was that?"
"Oh…" Merlin trailed as though in thought even though he knew full well how long it had been, "Going on 13 years now…"
"Wonderful," Arthur breathed, sitting heavily down on a barrel and putting his head in his hands. He didn't understand why it meant so much to him that Marayna forgive him, that she know how much he truly cared for her. His father would think him mad if he found he was like this all over a servant though he might have possibly noticed a very small, nearly miniscule soft spot that his father might have for Marayna. And frankly he didn't care what his father thought. He honestly didn't care why he felt this way either, why he was obsessing so much over the thought of Marayna being cross with him. All he knew was that...the thought of her being in pain because of him, being angry with him, hating him…made his stomach twist and his heart clench painfully.
Merlin was quiet, eyeing the prince a long moment, "You really are sorry aren't you?" Arthur said nothing, but it was obvious he was, "Alright, I'll help you…" Arthur's head shot up, "On one condition."
"Anything," Arthur nodded.
"I want your agreement," Merlin began, more serious than Arthur had ever heard him, "That if you do anything like this to my sister again, I have your royal pardon to kill you."
Arthur stared Merlin straight in the eye, "Merlin…you'd have to get in line because I'm fairly certain I'd do myself in before I hurt her again…" Merlin nodded his acceptance at that, "And then there's Morgana at the head of the line…"
Merlin laughed, earning a small smile from Arthur before he walked over and sat before the noble on a crate, both of them getting to work on what he could do to make it up to Marayna.
~8~
Marayna was quiet as she swept the floor of Arthur's chambers. She'd caught Morgana eyeing her earlier and realized that Merlin had probably told Gwen who told her about the bruising. Which meant that she couldn't magically heal them anymore, because if Morgana and Gwen knew then Arthur might and if he asked to see them and they were magically gone, then she'd have some explaining to do. So she had to suffer through the tenderness a while longer. Thankfully though the tonic Gaius had provided when she'd returned the water had soothed her throat enough where she didn't sound like an old woman eating a frog when she tried to speak.
She heard the door to the room open and ignored it, continuing to sweep, "Mara?" a unnaturally timid voice called.
She only paused a moment in her sweeping at the thought that she'd never have believed Prince Arthur himself could ever sound quite that timid before she resumed her work, "Yes My Lord?" she smirked to herself when she saw Arthur flinch out of the corner of her eye. She knew the way she often said 'My Lord' to him, especially when he was being a ridiculous prat, made him uncomfortable. Perhaps it would one day teach him to earn the respect the title entailed.
"Marayna…" he began again, but she didn't stop.
So he walked over to her and put a hand on the broom handle, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't flinch away from him. He'd actually had nightmarish daydreams about her, morphing into Aurora and shying away from his touch, fearful of his very presence. He couldn't begin to describe how it lightened his hearts to see her not outwardly reacting badly to his actions. He gently pulled the broom away, setting it against the wall. He turned back to her, to see her crossing her arms as she stood before him, looking for all the world like she was irritated with being unable to complete her chores. But he could see it, she was irritated with him.
He took a breath, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" he gaped at her a moment, but she simply lifted a delicate eyebrow. He swallowed hard, oh dear lord, she was going to make him say it, "For what My Lord?" she repeated
He winced again before taking a breath, "I'm sorry for my actions the other day. They were hardly proper and unbefitting a noble."
"And?"
He frowned at that, "And for ignoring the words of warning you and Merlin tried to bestow upon me."
"And?"
His eyes started to narrow, "And for…for harming you in the process, both emotionally and physically."
"And?"
This time his jaw clenched, just how many things were there? "And I'm sorry for trying to…strangle you."
She grinned, "And?"
He let out a frustrated growl and threw his hands out to the sides, "And what? What else do you want me to say Mara? I'm sorry that I didn't listen to the fine words of wisdom from my two idiot servants who have done nothing but throw my life into chaos from the moment I met them! I'm sorry I even attempted being kind to another woman, for even looking at one, when I have you and your oh-so devastating beauty before me! I'm sorry that I moved to choke the life out of your infuriatingly small neck!"
Marayna started to laugh at how sarcastic he was when he reached his breaking point of irritation, "Apology accepted," she smirked, seeing him gape at her, eyes wide, breathing heavy from his rant, "And for your peace of mind, I was merely trying to see how much I could get you and your almighty ego to apologize for. I do applaud your use of sarcasm though, much improved since last time."
He let out a little huff of air in disbelief. His words came back to him and he nearly smacked himself. He'd come back to his rooms, knowing she'd be there, to apologize and ended up basically shouting at her and she just stood there smirking at him? Maybe it wasn't Merlin that had the mental affliction. He shook his head, no, that wasn't what needed to be looked into. What he really needed to find out...was how she did that. How did she managed to deflate him so well, remain so calm when he was within an inch of firing her and get him to lose his tongue?
"Now, if you shall excuse me," she turned and picked up the broom once more, "I am nearly finished with my chores for the day…"
He watched as she began to sweep once more, turning in a small circle with her back to him as she continued. He shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the second part of his apology. Whatever she might say or think, he didn't feel like he had truly made amends just yet, despite her acceptance of his apology.
"Mara," he called. She turned around to see him standing there with a small strip of fabric in his hands, a blindfold, "Trust me?" he held it up, sounding more like a question than a request.
She eyed the fabric and then him a moment, searching his eyes for his intent. It was something she never had done before and it killed him to know that she didn't automatically trust herself with him as she had done before. It was all the more reason to believe that, contrary to her words, she didn't TRULY forgive him yet. Or perhaps, she had forgiven him, but he doubted she would ever forget what he'd done to her.
"Ok," she shrugged, surprising him. After everything he'd done to her, he hadn't expected her to be willing to leave herself at his mercy. Perhaps Morgana was right and she really did believe that it was just the enchantment…
His thoughts were cut off as she turned around, waiting for him to tie the fabric around her eyes. He made quick work of it, not wanting her to change her mind and run off. He tied the last knot and slowly reached out to take her hand. She didn't flinch like he expected which he took to be a good sign and slowly led her out of the room.
He smiled as they reached the doors to the castle uninterrupted or seen, it was still fairly warm out even in the dark of night so he needn't worry about a cloak. With her and her brother's luck she'd end up tripping on the hem, he'd actually had to get the dresses he'd bought her altered for her duties to make the hem just an inch shorter to avoid that, and that would do little to help rebuild her trust in him. On that note, he carefully led her to the stables, to his own private stables.
He opened the door, watching her face as she frowned a bit, sniffing a little, working out where she was. He couldn't help but smile at that, at her using her senses to place herself, she was rather clever for how much she and her brother pretended to be idiots. He stepped forward, gently untying the cloth, making sure not to snag her hair as he did so.
She blinked a few times, getting used to the soft glow of torches that were lighting up of the stables and looked around. There was a soft neigh before her and she turned her head to see a large chestnut colored horse with a long, frizzy, black mane before her, very large but she could tell he was just a sweetheart by how he was nudging his head for her to pet him. She laughed, reaching up to him as he snorted in her hand before she began to stroke his mane.
"Any particular reason you brought me here?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at Arthur, seeing him beaming at how the horse was reacting to her.
"Yes actually," he nodded, "I thought you should get to know your horse."
Her hand froze as she stared at him in shock, until the horse began to nudge her hand again, eager for a pet, "You…you bought me a horse?" she blinked, stunned. Not what she was expecting, especially since she'd told him ages ago she and her temperament couldn't be bought with gifts. She shook her head, "I can't accept him Arthur, it's too mu…"
"I didn't really buy you one," he corrected lightly, not to mention the horse would still have to remain in his stables, despite doing this if his father found out he'd given the horse to his servant he'd probably be locked in the dungeons or something, "As prince I have a fair amount of horses at my disposal and…I know Bartok is a bit old but he's kind and gentle and…"
Marayna blinked at the name though, "He's the horse you told me of, the one you've had since you're a boy."
"Yes."
She shook her head, "Arthur then I really can't accept him, he means too much to you and…"
"You mean much to me," he cut in quietly, "I know this can scarcely make up for what I did to you Mara, and I will never forgive myself as it is. I just…he is one of the things I treasure most and I want you to know that I truly do value you," he needed her to know that, this was his way of showing her how much he really DID value her, to give her something so dear to him, it was the only way he could think to show her that he...he treasured her more, "Please think of him as..."
He was cut off this time, but instead of words, it was by Marayna's lips on his. His eyes widened for a moment in shock before they began to close, just about to respond to the kiss...when she pulled back with a gasp, a hand to her mouth, her eyes as wide as his had been completely shocked at what she'd just done.
But, in true Marayna fashion, she didn't apologize for what had happened, despite how clearly embarrassed she was about it judging by the red currently flushing her cheeks, "Thank you," she murmured, moving her hand from her mouth, "For you to willingly give up something of yours, to a servant no less, especially something you're fond of and that you clearly treasure...it means a lot to me. And I will treasure him as well."
He started to smile, "Think nothing of it."
He DID recall her response to him offering her gold coins their first trip into the market. She didn't like being just paid off or given nice things, Merlin had emphasized that. Whatever he wished to gift her with to prove his guilt and apologies, it had to be something from the heart, not something sparkly. It had to MEAN something.
She took a breath, the red fading from her cheeks when she saw he wasn't going to tease her for her actions, "I um," she cleared her throat, "I feel I should warn you Arthur…I shall be inclined in the future to dislike any girl, besides Morgana and Gwen, who comes into contact with you."
He laughed, "And why is that?"
She just stepped closer to him, his laughter dying down as she moved even closer, so close he could feel her soft breath on his cheeks, her lips nearly ghosting over his own as she looked into his eyes, "You are MY master," she reminded him, nearly mimicking words he'd said to her not long ago, "You belong to me."
And with that, she stepped back, turning at the same time, and sauntered out of the stables with a smirk, leaving him standing there like an idiot and staring at the spot she'd just been standing in with wide eyes.
Bartok eyed his former master a moment, waiting for the man to move to pet him, before he grew impatient and nudged him.
Arthur shook his head, snapping out of his daze and looked at Bartok, reaching out a hand to absently pet him, "How does she DO that?" he asked the horse, as though he might have the answer.
All he received was a snort into his hand and a shake of the head.
~8~
Morgana sat at her vanity, watching as Merlin paced back and forth in her chambers. He claimed to have stopped by to give her the draught as he always did just before Gwen left for the night. And, as always, she'd come up with some excuse to keep him longer while Gwen left so her maid would not be even more suspicious of his late night visits. While she shared many things with Gwen, her time with Merlin was something she wanted to keep to herself for the moment.
That had been near a half hour ago and he'd done nothing but pace, mumbling to himself, she was honestly starting to grow concerned. He'd mentioned that 'they needed to talk' before he grew agitated and started his walking.
She knew enough from the courts to know what those words could mean. But for the life of her she truly didn't believe that Merlin was about to leave her, not that there was anything to leave from…she…she loved him, terribly at times. She could admit it, she did. It happened so suddenly, even if it took her a while to realize it, that she knew she should have been frightened of it, but…there was just something so familiar about him, so comforting, so protective that she couldn't help but feel safe and drawn to him. She had a vague suspicion that she might have been dreaming of him all her life, but not remembered upon waking as had often happened in the past.
But, they hadn't openly expressed their feelings nor had they discussed exactly what they were at the moment. And that was enough to give her pause, "Merlin," she called after another few minutes and he paused in his pacing, his back to her, "Are you alright?" she watched as he tensed before letting out a breath and turning to her with such a fearful, almost regretful look on his face that she couldn't help but get up and move towards him. She took his hands in her own, "What's wrong?"
He took a breath and led her to her bed, sitting down, moving for her to sit beside him. She took the fact he'd yet to let go of her hands as a good sign for whatever was coming. He looked at her, opening his mouth, before shutting it, clearly fighting with what he had to say and whether to say it.
Morgana reached up and cupped his cheek, making him stop and look at her, "Merlin," she whispered, just a hint of desperation and fear in her voice, "Please, tell me."
He looked into her eyes and she couldn't help but feel he was looking into her soul with his deep blue eyes, the ones she'd so often gotten lost in herself. She never could look away when he looked at her like that.
"I…" he swallowed hard, she squeezed his hands in support, "I have magic."
She blinked, at first not sure if he'd said what she thought he had, "What?" she breathed.
"I have magic," he repeated, squeezing her hand this time.
"You need to go," she said quickly, standing up.
"No!" he shouted, his eyes wide as he leapt to his feet, "No, Morgana…"
"You have to hurry," she quickly ran over to a small cupboard, rifling through it, "Go to Gaius, pack everything you can, get some food from the kitchens, and I'll…"
"Morgana," he ran over to her, reaching out to turn her around, "Please, I'm not evil," he told her desperately, "I swear, I've only ever used my magic for good, to help, to protect…to…"
"Save Arthur," she finished.
"Save Arthur," he nodded, before realizing what she'd said and looking at her, dumbstruck.
"I know you aren't evil Merlin," she whispered, "You couldn't be even if you tried," she smiled at him with tears in her eyes, "It's one of the reasons I love you…"
He blinked, tears in his eyes at her words as he felt the breath leave him, "You...love me?"
She nodded, "More than anything."
"Then you know I cannot leave you," he whispered, reaching up to touch her face, gently stroking her cheek, "Please Morgana, don't send me away."
She smiled, "I wasn't sending you away."
He frowned, confused, "But…"
She held up one of her hands revealing a travelling sack she'd pulled from the cupboard, "It seems...I can't leave you either."
He looked at it, stunned, then back at her, then the bag, and her once more, "You were going to leave with me?"
"I don't care if you have magic Merlin, or why you wanted to learn it…"
"I was born with it," he cut in gently, just wanting to get that out in the open, wanting her to know the lack of choice he'd had in it.
She laughed just a bit, of course her Merlin, her wonderfully unique Merlin, would have such a gift, "It doesn't matter to me. How did you put it to Rayna…where you go, I go?"
He couldn't help but laugh and pull her into his arms, "You would give up all this for me?" he still couldn't quite believe it.
"I would never give up you," she answered.
"Nor I you," he replied, hugging her tighter, "I love you as well Gana."
She couldn't help but smile at the nickname he'd bestowed upon her, a name she'd so often hated when Arthur called her it (hated it so much she'd hit him till he stopped) but one that felt so...natural coming from Merlin, and the words that preceded it as she snuggled more into his embrace, feeling safer than ever. She took a moment to savor it all, before forcing herself to pull away, reminded of the danger at hand, "We need to go though."
"Gan…"
"It isn't safe in Camelot," she cut in, "Uther will have you killed if he even gets a hint of what you can do. Merlin...I couldn't bear that."
"That will never happen," Merlin told her, putting his hands on her shoulder to look at her, "Aya and I have a lifetime of keeping our magic secret."
"Rayna has magic too?"
"We were both born with it," he explained, before hesitating, knowing what the consequence of what his next words could be but...she deserved to know she wasn't alone, "Like…you."
Her eyes widened, "Me?" she swallowed hard.
He nodded, "Your dreams…"
"Are just dreams," she shook her head, pulling away from him, trying to convince herself that she was right and he was wrong, "That's all they are, just dreams."
"Which have come true," Merlin reminded her.
"Coincidence."
"There are no coincidences in magic."
"It's not magic!"
He frowned at how adamantly she was denying it, "Why don't you believe so?"
"Because…" she took a breath as her voice trembled, "Because…magic is evil."
He shook his head, "But you just said I wasn't e…"
"I know what I said about YOU," she stressed, sitting down on the end of her bed once more, "You can't be evil Merlin, you or Rayna, you're too good to ever be corrupted by magic but…" she looked away, tears in her eyes, not even wanting to finish that thought.
"But you think you will be," he pieced together, moving to kneel before her, taking her hands, "Gana that's absurd!"
She shook her head miserably, "It is not. You…you don't know me Merlin," she murmured quietly, "You don't know that things I think sometimes, the way I wish Uther was gone, the things I wish I could do to him sometimes…there are times where I truly hate him. Where I hate him more than anyone and…I don't know what I'd do if I had magic at my disposal to…" she couldn't speak more, the tears starting to fall.
"Gana," he moved beside her, pulling her into his arms, "If you had magic at your disposal, you'd use it for good."
"No I wouldn't."
"You would, I know it."
"How?"
"Because I DO know you," he insisted, "I know how much you care about people, not just those accused of magic. You care about Gwen, and Aya, and...and me, and we're just servants to everyone else. You care about the people and yeah, you have a temper, but you're so unafraid, you're not going to sit back and watch injustice happen. I don't like what Uther does, I hate it too, but you..." he shook his head, smiling at her, "You have a courage I could never have, facing him, telling him what you think, despite knowing you'll end up in the dungeons or something. You helped us trick Arthur into doing the right thing with the Afanc. You were willing to give up all this for me. A selfish, evil, person would never do what you've done."
Morgana looked at him, a small smile on her face at his words, but more so at his belief in her goodness. It was, most likely, the longest he'd ever spoken in her presence, but his words touched her deeply. She did have a lot of redeeming qualities, didn't she? Good qualities, ones that made her a good person at heart. She might be rough around the edges, but…her heart was golden. And she knew, no matter how much she hated Uther at times, she could never kill him, she could never hurt Arthur that way…
"Thank you Merlin," she whispered, sometimes she just needed to be reminded of that. Merlin was all the proof she needed to know magic COULD be good, and if it could be...then she could be good to. She didn't have to be evil. It was a choice.
He just lifted one of her hands and kissed it, his eyes locked on hers the entire time, watching as her expression lit up at the action, "We can't leave Camelot," he told her softly, continuing quickly when he saw the fear return in her eyes, "Aya and I, we've discovered our destiny not long ago…to protect Arthur."
Morgana let out a most unladylike snort at that, "Good luck! He's an idiot!"
Merlin laughed heartily, "That's exactly what the both of us told the Dragon."
Her eyes widened, "There's a dragon?"
He nodded, smiling, "Beneath this very castle, I…I can introduce you one day?" she nodded, eager to meet such a creature and surprised she hadn't discovered it during her explorations of the castle as a girl, "So you see, we can't leave till Arthur is king. And…quite a lot of people we care about are here, you, Gwen, Gaius, even Arthur."
She nodded, she wouldn't want to leave Arthur or Gwen unprotected, "But what about my dreams? My…my magic?" that would take a bit of doing getting used to that, to the idea that magic wasn't truly evil, or good, but the choice of the person who used it.
"Gaius thinks that your dreams are visions, that you're a Seer," he explained, "And the Dragon agrees. It means that you might develop some magical abilities later on, but don't worry," he squeezed her hands in reassurance, "Aya and I will help teach you to control it. Aya's even got a few ideas of how to help you control your visions so you might be able to sleep better and…" he trailed off, seeing her yawn despite her valiant fight against it, "And speaking of sleep…"
"Sorry," she murmured, blinking as she tried to remain awake.
He gave a small chuckle, just pleased she didn't need the draught tonight, "No need for those," he stood, "You need your rest," he told her as she nodded, moving to help pull the covers over her, "Sleep," he whispered, kneeling at her bedside, taking her hand in his own as she turned to look at him, "We can talk more later."
"You'll stay?" she asked, her eyes already drooping in sleep.
He smiled, thinking of how not long ago she'd been demanding he leave, "Always," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, her eyes fluttering closed as she fell asleep, knowing Merlin would keep her dreams safe.
A/N: Awww :) We got a kiss from Arthur and Marayna and 'I love you's from Merlin and Morgana ^-^ I can say we'll see another kiss coming up fairly soon ;) I know it's a change from the show to have Morgana learn about her magic now, but with the relationship she and Merlin have developed and him seeing how she's suffering with her visions, I feel like he'd want her to know and not feel alone twice as much as in the show. It'll definitely shake things up ;)
Quick note, I'm debating having a poll about a pairing name for Marayna/Arthur :) So, if you'd like, for the next few days (let's say...with the 19th being the last day) drop a review with a pairing name and I'll put a poll up on the 20th for it and announce the winner in the last chapter of this story on the 27th :)
Also, (more to do with Doctor Who than Merlin) a review was left on one of my DW stories about a potential plagiarism, it was left by a 'guest' so I couldn't respond back with the answer nor could I post a new chapter of that story to respond (it being against site rules to post notes as chapters), so I'm putting it here in the hopes the reviewer will see that I saw it and am responding :) I am always very grateful for any concerns about others that might be plagiarizing me and I take every instance very seriously. I know that a few people have started stories that were inspired by my own (you all are awesome and I wish you luck on your stories!) so I understand similarities popping up, because of that I try to classify plagiarism as literal copy/paste/replace the OC name or, in rare cases, very blatant paraphrasing. Every time I receive notice about something like that, I check myself before I bring it to the attention of the readers as to whether it was plagiarism or not and contact the author about the same. Checking this story I can ensure that there was NO plagiarism that I could see, either in copy/pasting or in paraphrasing and reassured the author of that. The closest similarity I could spot was our titles, (mine is Hearts to Hearts, EarthandNadia's is Hearts to Heart, which is understandable as 'heart to heart' is a common phrase) and that was all :) I know how serious an accusation of plagiarism can be and so I wanted to put this here to clear the air so to speak. I do thank the reviewer for their concern, I am always very touched and thankful that readers are watching out for me with how often I was plagiarized last year :') I can confirm though that the story is free of that sort of plagiarism from what I've seen. I wish the author the best with her story :)
Last note, more a general statement, I want to apologize to anyone who's sent me PMs recently. January means year-end scrambling at my job (941s, 940s, W2s, 1099s, and even more forms than I ever wanted to know about...) to get 2013 closed for clients. It's been hectic there and I've had to stay later the last week or so (and am probably going to be stuck staying the next couple weeks too -sigh-), and I've been focusing on trying to finish editing Leena for my Sherlock series (and finish writing His Last Vow) to get her all ready to go for this Sunday ;) So I haven't had a lot of time to sort through my PMs. To anyone who's sent me them, I will be responding most likely on the 19th/20th once I've gotten Leena completely finished and have more time :) I'm SO sorry to anyone still waiting for a reply, I WILL respond as soon as I can :)
Some notes on reviews...
We'll definitely see minor changes in Arthur because of him knowing Marayna yup, we may see a tiny bit more of 'defiant' Arthur because of her ;) I don't want to spoil whether Morgana will be good or evil, but I can say the start of Series 3 will clear that up ;) I think Merlin will try very hard (like in this chapter) to help her stay good, we'll have to wait and see if he succeeds }:)
I was sad Marayna was hurt too :( She definitely has no luck in not getting hurt does she? Lol :) I think she needed a bit of time to process her feelings about Arthur and Sophia, but I think she's also a little more secure in her feelings and Arthur's feelings for her now...so we just might see more of a jealous Marayna in the future than a disheartened one ;)
I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far :) I try to update daily between 6:30-6:50am EST ;)