This Is Not That Way, Right? Chapter 2: Blossoming, a merlin fanfic

AN : Fhewww~~ This was a hard one to do. And sorry for the late update. I should have told y'all that my update schedule is... who am I kidding, there is no schedule. I tried hard, really hard to make it full with emotions, and I hope my objective will be fullfilled. Well... what can I say? I suck. Metaphorically, mind you.

Disclaimer : See the first chapter. Ciao folks.

A year later after Morgana moved in, the household was finally getting used to their new member. Vivienne was the first, of course; since she had neither muss nor fuss with her own daughter. The feeling of guilt that made her took her youngest daughter back from Uther had turned into pure love, during her daughter's attempts at making her a hot cocoa when she was down with a cold. That's right, 'attempts'.

-ooooooo-

Her youngest visited her bedroom while she was resting; asking her if there's anything she could do for her. Vivienne smiled at this, because it felt nice to know that someone cared.

Not that her husband and her oldest daughter did not, mind you.

Shaking her head slightly; the mother of two declined, saying that she only needed some rest and the cold will go away by itself, and also that Morgana shouldn't worry too much about her. The young one protested, insisting that there must be something that she could do. The glint of stubbornness in that emerald eyes reminded Vivienne of someone she used to share her affections with, and she softly sighed at those memories. Because knowing that glint, she knows that her daughter won't back down until she told her something that she wants.

So she relented and said that she wanted a hot cocoa for a drink. As a 7 years-old girl who was definitely too young to know all types of drinks, it was plain to see that the youngster didn't know anything about what kind of drink is that; although Morgana pursed her lips for a few seconds before she cluelessly nod her head and dashed out from the master bedroom. Seeing the retreating form of her child- full of determination and recklessness, somehow made Vivienne wondered; what if she had never given up her youngest child in the first place? Reprimanding herself for her mistakes while closing her eyes to rest for a bit, the mother didn't realize that she had shed a tear.

Few hours later- in which seemed to be too short for Vivienne, she had woken up to the sound of the door creaking open. Blinking her eyes to clear her line of view, she saw her youngest child peeking inside while holding a mug. A smile quickly made its appearance on her face; but it only lasted for two seconds before it turned into a frown. As soon as she examined Morgana's figure, she saw her daughter's eyes were puffy, as if she was crying before. Not to mention the cute white dress that she bought for her child to wear was also stained by chocolate and other stuff that she didn't quite recognize. Her hair was a mess, and there's a small bandage plastered on her left arm.

Noticing all this, Vivienne quickly got up and ran to Morgana, momentarily getting a head rush from the sudden movement before asking what had happened and did her daughter feel hurt somewhere. Instead, the young girl just giggled and handed her the mug. She wanted to put the mug aside and inquire more from the small brunette, but Morgana beat her through it and told her how she made the hot cocoa.

"I don't know how to make one Momma, but then I always saw the maids do it for you, so I thought they can teach me. When I went to them and told them that you wanted a hot cocoa to drink, they only smiled and said that they will send it to you soon. But Momma, I wanted to make it for you by myself. So I told them that and ask them to teach me. But they won't let me Momma, saying that it's their job and they will do it; and I…" The young girl timidly gazed downwards, avoiding her mother's eye contact.

Vivienne knows that her daughter is probably feeling embarrassed, so she waited patiently for her to continue.

"...I cried."

"Ohhh, honey. It's okay." Vivienne cooed, thinking that this was one of the moments where she found that having little children in her home was so adorable.

"They asked me to not cry, but I couldn't stop the hiccups. Just before I wanted to go to you and tell you that I cannot do it for you, I saw... Mm-Mor-"

"Morgause? Your older sister?" And this was one of the moments where Vivienne found it was difficult to have another little child in her home. Both of her daughters seemed always wanted to avoid each other in any turn.

"…yes."

"And…?"

"And I turned away from her because I don't want her to see me cry, so I ran to my room. I was planning to hide in there until I don't cry anymore, but soon after that one of the maids came. The kind one, not the scary one. She told me that she could teach me how to make a hot cocoa for you. And here it is Momma!"

After listening to her daughter's story, the mother was so touched by her child's kindness and thoughtfulness towards her that her tears fell. She felt as though she did not deserved this degree of compassion, after all that she had done. Vivienne hugged the small brunette tightly, muttering her appreciation while the sweet child happily returning the hug; feeling proud and elated that her mother was pleased with her actions.

Moments later, the little one broke the hug by enthusiastically pointing towards the drink that she made, while urging her mother to taste it. Wiping her tears away, Vivienne beamed at her child and took a sip from the said cup. Well, it's not a good taste in general, but it's not bad for a child's first try.

"Emm! It's delicious!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Really, really?"

Chuckling at her daughter's antics, Vivienne nods her head- matching the enthusiastic nods from her daughter to convince the young girl. "Really, really!"

In Gorlois case, he took a little while to get along with the small brunette. It's not that he despised the child, but whenever he saw the little girl's face, he was instantly reminded of his so-called best friend; the one who was sleeping with his wife. And that painful remembrance was brought in by his own wife into his house, which would remind him again and again and again- that he was betrayed by the two people he trusted the most.

That had hurt him in every possible way, his manliness, his capabilities, his ego, his heart and few other things unsaid. Suffice to say that Gorlois couldn't forget about it. He could forgive- barely, but he could never forget.

Not when the very result of it was living in the same house as he is.

There was one time, where he bought a bicycle for Morgana; in attempt to bond with the little girl. He was still communicating awkwardly with the said child, but after being urged by his wife; he couldn't deny that it didn't hurt to try.

Only, it did hurt in the process of trying.

-ooooooo-

After losing the debate to her wife that he should not be the one to taught Morgana on how to ride the bicycle- which he gave many excuses to not to; he awkwardly called the young girl downstairs and led her to the back yard while bringing the said bicycle. Both say nothing, the only noises heard was their footsteps and the bicycle rattling.

The tension was too great to handle, so Gorlois tried to start a conversation- anything that he could think of at the moment.

"Uh, Morgana?"

The reply was quick, too quick that Gorlois knew right away that the young girl was scared of him. And knowing that all of it was his fault in the first place, it stung him right in the heart. "Yes, sir?"

Another painful thing was, the little girl called him 'sir'. Not 'dad', 'father', 'daddy', 'papa' or any other nicknames that a common little girl should call a person who was supposed to be her father.

And maybe that was the problem; he never tried to be her father.

Of course he was not her real father so to speak, but still. He should give her a chance. Besides, the ones that was at fault were Uther and Vivienne, and certainly not this sweet little girl- Morgana.

After having his own personal argument; Gorlois finally relented and took a few deep breaths before facing the girl behind her.

Trying his best to muster up a genuine smile, he placed the bicycle on the ground before motioning for the small brunette to hold and get on it. Morgana cautiously stepped up, scared to make any mistake in front of this man.

She didn't know how she knows this, but she did know that this man in front of her was not fond of her- even though he tried his best to show her otherwise. Besides, her mother had come to her firsthand- and yes, Vivienne had planned for this all along in attempt to make things better, she said- telling her that she needs to be a good girl for her stepfather and listens to what he said. That was why Morgana agreed to spend time with the master of the house, or else she would have gone back running inside and locked herself in her room.

Also, she really wanted to know if this man did not like her truly. Because then she would know what to do- which was stay out of his way every time he's there.

After the small brunette got on the bicycle, the bronze-haired man told her about all the fundamentals; in a simpler way so that a little girl could understand him, of course. And for that moment, Morgana forgets about everything else since she was very excited to learn to ride a bicycle.

"So, are you ready to try?"

The girl nodded even before Gorlois finished his words, and that amused the man because somehow this small brunette reacted the same way Morgause was- when he taught her on how to ride her first bicycle too.

The father unconsciously felt worry towards the child, thus asking for her confirmation, "Are you sure, Morgana? You can still ride the bicycle for a few minutes while I'm holding it, just to practice…?"

"It's okay. I think I got this. Can we start now, pleaseee?"

And there's the look that the young girl inherited from her beautiful mother. How can the bronze-haired man say no?

Shaking his head in amusement, Gorlois put both of his hands on the bicycle to stabilize it before he lets go; "Okay, ready?" The girl nodded. "One," Morgana frowned in concentration, focusing her eyes on the lane in front of her. "Two," Feeling confident of herself, the child lets out a puff of air before turning to Gorlois and beamed at him briefly.

And that was when Gorlois lets go of the bicycle without even counting a 'three'. The girl's smile resembled her biological father so much, that Gorlois was instantly reminded of all the things he prayed every day to forget, and on that moment he dropped his hands; letting the bicycle lurched forward without the rider being fully ready and finally stopped in its track after it clashed with a small rock, taking the bicycle down along with its rider.

Watching the scene happening so fast in front of him, Gorlois hurriedly ran forward to check on Morgana; scared that he had hurt the girl somewhere and also scared that she might hate him for it.

"Morgana! Are you alright?"

The young girl couldn't answer anything without her sobs getting in the way. So she just wiped her tears using both of her now injured arms, blood and dirt mixing together on her clothes. Her previous cute face was now smeared by dirt, and that did not make Gorlois felt any less than a jerk.

"I am so sorry, Morgana. I was-" His attempts at saying sorry was cut short when Vivienne's voice meddled through and she instantly arrived at her daughter's side.

-ooooooo-

"There, all cleaned and bandaged."

"Thank you, Momma."

"Oh sweetheart, come here." The mother scooted closer to snuggle her daughter, while being careful not to accidentally press on her daughter's wound. It's not too serious nor the brunette was going to have a scar, but a child's pain threshold was lower than an adult, so.

"Your father is very sorry about the accident just now, you know? Perhaps he's got a lot going on in his mind."

"Okay."

Feeling very unsettled by her daughter's quick and little response, Vivienne tried to gauge more response the small brunette. "Are you angry at him?"

The young girl just kept her silence and snuggled closer into her mother.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Gorlois was eavesdropping from outside the door of Morgana's bedroom, just to check on the little girl. Feeling extremely guilty for not being able to help even though he was the one to cause harm on the young girl, the bronze-haired man decided to at least apologize to the little one.

Knocking lightly on the door frame, he opened it slowly. When he looked inside, he saw his wife's face worried expression.

And when he switched his gaze towards Morgana, the sight broke his heart.

The little girl instantly lets go of her mother and sat up straight, with her eyes brimming red and trying so hard to hold her sniffles back. She looked anywhere but him, while her petite hands were shaking.

She was scared of him, yet at the same time didn't want to show him any disrespect.

And this made the man wondered in agony; did he really have showed her that much hatred until the little girl was so terrified at him?

"Gorlois…"

"Vivienne, can I speak to Morgana alone?" He requested while looking apologetically at the said girl, wanted to make it clear that he didn't mean any harm to her.

Unsure of what to do, Vivienne kept on glancing between her daughter and her husband while contemplating whether it was a good idea or not. But when Morgana showed no signs of disagreement, the mother nodded and standing up from the small brunette's bed slowly; waiting if the young girl changed her mind and wanted her to stay- but surprisingly she didn't.

Giving another glance towards the two of them before Vivienne stepped out from Morgana's room, the mother laid her hand softly on her husband's shoulder for a second- as a reminder for him to be patient and gentle, since the girl was still scared of him.

Nodding softly, Gorlois stepped into the room. Two nervous pairs of eyes glanced at each other, until the older one spoke, "Can I sit with you?"

The little child only response was a quick nod.

With heavy steps towards the little girl, the ache in Gorlois' heart worsened. The mattress dipped when the man of the house sat down, but unable to look at the girl beside him. It's not because of anger or disappointment, no; but because he was ashamed.

Ashamed of himself. Of how he had acted.

Clearing his throat softly to not startle the child, he slowly moved his hand towards Morgana's injured arm- but not before asking; "Can I see your arm?"

He could felt her nodding slightly.

Taking that as a yes, Gorlois gently examined the wound. It didn't look so bad now that it had been bandaged, but when the little girl jerked every time he touched her arm; the ache in his heart became unbearable.

Few droplets of tears fell from his eyes, and he did not even have the heart to wipe them away. He was so angry with himself, so heartbroken by what he had done; and still he could not find in his soul to let it go.

Until a small hand touched his right cheek.

Startled, Gorlois brought his face up to look at the small girl; and saw the little one cried too.

"Don't-*hic*-I'm sor-*hic*-" The sniffles and hiccups that got to Morgana made her unable to speak coherently, but the man perfectly understood what she wanted to say.

She wanted him to know that she doesn't want him to cry. And he was ashamed for that- a little girl was comforting an adult who had treated her unjustly.

She also wanted him to know that she was sorry. And he could not bear at that thought- because the girl had nothing to be sorry for; he was the one to blame for harboring all of his dissatisfaction and releasing them towards the innocent girl.

And still he could see it in her emerald eyes, that she was scared of him.

Good God, how could he be this type of man; this type of father?

Quickly, he enveloped her in his hug, a fatherly hug that startled the young one at first; but after a few seconds, she clutched to the man's shirt tightly before sobbing harder than before.

Outside the room where the Lady of the house was still peeking, she couldn't help but shed her own tears in happiness after seeing how the two important people in her life reconciled.

From that moment on, Vivienne realized that their family could finally turn out just like what she had hoped for it to be.

And how Morgause warmed up to her half-sister, you would ask?

Well, there was no explanation to it, really. Because it just happened naturally.

Her parents did not realize at first, but she had always been there from the beginning. Watching them, observing, and just… doing her part.

Back when Morgana wanted to make the drink for Vivienne, Morgause was the one who convinced the maid to help out her sister- although it might have seemed trivial at the time.

"They asked me to not cry, but I couldn't stop my hiccups. Just before I wanted to go to you and tell you that I can't do it for you, I saw... Mm-Mor-"

"Uhm… yes."

"And…?"

And when the accident with the bicycle happened, Morgause saw it all from the balcony- and she was the one who dashed to her mother quickly to tell her that Morgana fell from the bicycle and she needed help.

"I am so sorry, Morgana. I was-" His attempts at saying sorry was cut short when Vivienne's voice meddled through and she instantly arrived at her daughter's side.

Yes, she saw through all of these and had helped with her own way.

Suffice to say that Morgause probably never hated the younger girl, at all. A bit jealous in the beginning, yes; but the feeling of relief that she felt when she saw the ebony-haired girl smiled, it was enough to make her beam on her own.

It got her thinking that being a big sister maybe wasn't that bad at all.

-ooooooo-

The ebony-haired girl was playing alone in her room with her doll-house that Gorlois bought for her as a present for her sixth birthday. She was starting to warm up to her stepfather, but she would always be quiet whenever her half-sister was in a same room with her.

And yes, they had never conversed with each other.

Morgause was not so big on words, while Morgana was too timid or too uncomfortable to try; so there was really no helping it.

But that day, the blonde girl suddenly got the instinct to come over to her sister's bedroom.

Well, she didn't come in per se- but she watched the younger girl play with her doll-house from outside the small creak of the bedroom's door, not daring to interrupt.

The older girl's face was emotionless while she just stood silently outside; watching over her little sister.

But after a few moment passed by, unbeknownst to why- Morgana finally looked at her way.

Since they have never talked to each other, both girls just stayed frozen; didn't move nor speak- just staring blankly at one another.

After a minute of staring contest, for an indescribable reason; Morgana frowned sadly and then extends her right hand towards her half-sister's direction- as if she was calling to her.

Surprised at her sudden action, Morgause raised her eyebrows; while the younger girl probably felt relief after getting some kind of response from the other, hence now the shy smile on her face.

With that innocent face, the older sibling couldn't help but reply with a genuine smile of her own, and slowly approaching Morgana's room.

It was then she felt the true feeling of joy when she heard the little girl called out to her;

"Sister."