I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for this outrageously long wait! There is no good excuse for this obscenity! So, without further ado, I present to you the 10th chapter!
Morgana went storming through the servants passages, barely noticing the other servants making double takes when they saw her bright red cheek that was already beginning to bruise. Reaching the door to Gwen's chamber, she was about to throw open the door when she heard Arthur's voice from inside. Realizing she needed to keep him out of this situation for fear of what he would do to Lady Arabella that would make the situation only worse for Gwen, she took her hair down and hid her cheek as best she could, planning to keep it turned form his view as much as possible. Satisfied that her cheek was covered as well as it possibly could be, she quietly opened the door.
She found Guinevere sitting at the table talking with Arthur. They were, of course, holding hands and sharing loving, tender looks as they spoke quietly with each other.
"Arthur, leave us. I need to start preparing Guinivere for the ball this evening." She said, probably a bit too adamantly.
Arthur gave Gwen a mischievous look as he released her hand and leaned back in his chair, staring at Morgana with that smug look of his.
"Morgana, how dare you order your future king around in such a way! You are but a mere serving girl! I will leave this room when Guinevere and I are through." He admonished in his most regal tone, his blue eyes twinkling with laughter. It was all he could do to keep himself from outright laughing at Morgana in her plain dress and apron. Unfortunately, Morgana no longer found the situation even relatively comedic. She was about to lose it.
"Arthur, please," she pleaded, her voice cracking, dropping to just above a whisper, "Please, just let me talk to Gwen alone."
Immediately, the laughter vanished from his eyes. He sat up in his chair and looked at Morgana with concern. Gwen, too, fixed her gaze intently on Morgana in hopes of deciphering her strange behavior.
"Morgana," Arthur began tentatively, knowing her to be explosive when she sounded like this, "Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine," she told him, trying to keep her voice strong and level, aware that she had fallen under his intense scrutiny. Arthur didn't buy it for a second.
"Morgana, I – " Arthur began, but Gwen interrupted, having caught a glimpse of the darkening bruise on Morgana's face.
"Arthur, Morgana is right. I do need to begin preparations for the ball," she said rather firmly, raising her eyebrows at him, all but kicking him out. For once, he took a hint. He said his goodbyes and exited without another word.
Once he was out, Gwen immediately turned her attention back to Morgana, who had sunk into the chair on the other side Gwen.
"I am so sorry," said Gwen, gingerly brushing Morgana's hair away from her face and lightly tracing the bruise with her fingers. Morgana turned away as a tear slipped down her cheek.
"How long?" she asked.
"Around a year," said Gwen quietly. At first, Morgana said nothing. The empty silence tore at both of their hearts, the unspoken pain between them screaming to be released into the open. Finally, Morgana turned back to Gwen and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close.
"Is it normally this bad?" Morgana asked, releasing Gwen and pulling back from the hug, motioning to her purpling bruise.
"Sometimes, although it's never as noticeable as yours is because I'm not nearly as pale as you."
"What do you do?" Morgana asked, trying to temper the fury building up in her chest.
"What do you mean?" asked Gwen, not really wanting to get into this with her.
"How do you respond?" she clarified firmly, letting Gwen no there was no avoiding this question.
"I do my best to meet her demands," Gwen stated, staring transfixed at her fingers as they fingered the lush fabric of her dress.
"Gwen!" cried Morgana in dismay.
"What do you expect me to do, Morgana!?" Shouted Gwen, tears springing unchecked from her eyes. "Please, enlighten me, Morgana! What did you do when she hit you!?"
Morgana was stunned at this sudden outburst from Gwen – the anger, the pain. She was about to say something, but Gwen began to speak again.
"I've never let her see me cry. She has hit me, tripped me, insulted me, yanked my hair, dragged me about; she's even kicked me once or twice. She has never seen me cry, though. One time, after the last ball, she caught me leaving the castle on my way home. She grabbed my arm and dragged me back inside, pulling me into an empty corridor. Earlier that night, she, along with Ladies Katherine and Elizabeth, had ordered me to wash their gowns and mend their shoes before the ball. I also had to wash your gown for the ball as well. I wouldn't have had time to get it all done, but perhaps some of it. But none of it got done due to Arthur constantly getting in my way and flirting with me, Merlin needing assistance with Arthur's chainmail, and you." At Morgana's confused expression, Gwen expanded on that last statement. "You meaning my friend. You're like family. I care about you, and you come before everyone else. You had an emotional meltdown that night. You'd had terrible nightmares the entire week and were exhausted and volatile. You were in desperate need of support and love. I don't regret staying there with you until the ball."
"Oh Gwen," breathed Morgana, awed by the sacrifices her maid, her friend, her 'sister', made for her as well as for Arthur and Merlin.
"Anyway," Gwen continued, fighting back tears, "Lady Arabella dragged me into an empty corridor and forced me into a corner. She slapped me a few times, knocking me down, then grabbed my chin and forced me to look at her, demanding me to give her an explanation as to why I didn't get her, Lady Katherine's, and Lady Elizabeth's gowns and shoes prepared for the ball. I told her it was because you, Arthur, and his serving boy needed my assistance. She kicked me in the stomach for that. She grabbed my hair and raised me up a bit, forcing my head back, eliciting a cry from me. She yelled at me, telling me you aren't my friends, that I'm nothing more than a servant to you, that Arthur barely knows me, etc., etc. She went on like that, occasionally kneeing me in the stomach and hitting me. Finally, at the height of this incident, she got right up in my face and shouted that Arthur was hers and that I embarrassed him, but that he pitied me and that's why he acted like he cared. She emphasized that with a knee in my stomach while simultaneously backhanding me and leaving me lying in the corridor. I went home, and saw that my face was bruised and that my lip was bleeding as well as a cut on my cheek. My stomach and ribs were bruised, too." She stopped talking, overcome by sobs that wracked her body. Morgana enveloped her in a hug, stroking her hair and back like she had always done for her when she awoke from a nightmare, terrified, alone, and sobbing. Once Gwen had calmed down some, Morgana quietly asked one last question,
"Gwen, what started this all?"
"You defended me against the king. You were ready to risk your own comfort for me. You got yourself locked up in the dungeon for me, for my father, and that didn't even break you. They saw your loyalty to me, and mine to you. They also saw how Arthur responded to you being locked up. They want Arthur, and you and I stand in their way. Actualy, you do for the most part because I am your maid and you are his brother. But they can only take it out on me. So, really, its loyalty. It's kindness. It's love. That's what started it all." Silent tears streamed down Morgana's face. She never knew. She never even knew.
Hi guys! Please review! :) I promise to be better about updating at least this story! That leads me to my question I pose to you all: Should I continue with this Gwen/Morgana line until its all done and resolved completely, or should I just leave it and move on to a new truth or dare? I could even potentially continue this plotline in a new fic...let me know! Thanks!
A HUGE MASSIVE GINORMOUS AND ALL OTHER SYNONYMNS THANKS TO THELADYOFICE FOR PUSHING ME TO UPDATE THIS! 3