-29-
"How long have you known my sister?"
Elyan was sitting with Morgana at his modest dining table, the remains of breakfast still on the surface.
He looked at Morgana as she tilted her head and tried to avoid his gaze. Elyan's guard was up; he felt the tension between her and Gwen the minute they were in the same room.
"We...met a long time ago," Morgana said as she moved to tuck a long strand of dark hair behind her ear.
"From University?" He took a sip from his cup of tea and waited for Morgana to answer.
"Not from University."
Elyan could see the discomfort in the woman in front of him. He was smitten with Morgana, that was evident, but something about her manner was off every time he spoke about his family or whenever he would ask about her position in the Pendragon heirarchy.
Morgana fell quiet and Elyan sighed. She wasn't going to give the answers he wanted to hear, but he would be damned if he was not going to protect his sister.
"What happened between you and Guinevere, Morgana?"
"What do you mean?"
Morgana asked the question haltingly, making Elyan narrow his eyes in suspicion.
What was she hiding?
"Morgana," Elyan began and rubbed the back of his neck. "You're tense. You've been this way since Guinevere walked through the door."
He reached across the table and took her hand in his, how it trembled and he held it wasn't lost on him.
"Gwen is the most...serene person I know. Nothing fazes her—nothing. So, tell me why she walks on eggshells when she is around you and why are you so afraid of her?"
He raised Morgana's hands to his lips and pressed her palm to his face as he gazed into her eyes.
"Why are you so sad, Morgana?" He asked calmly. "And how can I save you from your sadness?"
A sob broke from Morgana's lips as she stood from her seat, walked around the table, and sat in Elyan's lap. That he offered no protest as she did so must have eased her emotions because she melted into him, burying her face in his neck as he held her and rubbed circles into her back.
It took a while for Morgana to calm down and Elyan patiently waited for her breathing to even; until her slim frame ceased its trembling.
When she finally raised her head to look at him, her eyes were red and he saw the traces of tears that stained her cheeks. She may not have spoken a word, but it was clear to Elyan that what happened, or may still be happening, between the two women was neither simple nor new. He understood that much.
"Guinevere," Morgana's voice trembled as she spoke the name. "Guinevere and I have a history."
She pushed her hair out of her face and looked squarely at Elyan, as if she wanted to see how he would react to her confession.
"I wasn't the kindest person to her," Morgana continued. "My actions...they were quite cruel."
Elyan's expression tightened. He was not altogether sure that he wanted to hear whatever Morgana was about to disclose.
"And she has never forgiven you." Elyan finished Morgana's confession.
She nodded and Elyan felt himself at a loss.
"Should she?" It was a question he made out of fear.
A pause.
"I don't know," Morgana answered.
Elyan knew that schoolyard hurts were sometimes carried over to adulthood but his senses told him that whatever happened between Gwen and Morgana were beyond pulled pigtails and skinned knees.
Elyan took Morgana's hands in his once again and looked into her eyes.
"Don't be afraid of me, Morgana," he says softly. "I asked you a question and you answered truthfully. What you told me does little to ease my mind, but I can feel how difficult it was for you to even acknowledge what you feel."
He framed Morgana's face in his hands and brushed at the tears that still lingered in the corners of her eyes.
"I love you," he said and he saw Morgana's lips tremble. "And I will not see you hurt."
He put his lips on hers softly, slowly, wanting to comfort the woman in his arms. She all but melted into his kiss. For all her bravado and icy exterior, Morgana was more vulnerable than anyone he had ever met.
Elyan drew slowly away from the kiss, loving how Morgana protested their separation. But there was another thing to discuss, and it had to be done before anything more was to happen between them.
"I love you, but I love my sister, too," Elyan's voice was firm, serious, letting Morgana know that he took his vow to protect his younger sibling with death seriousness.
"And her safety is foremost to me."
Silence stretched between them, and an unspoken understanding was forged: Guinevere trumps everyone else.
"As it should be," Morgana said softly.
Elyan was surprised, but he saw the smile that bowed Morgana's lips and somehow, he could not explain it, his heart calmed.
"Gwen is the kindest person I know," he spoke again. "I do not know what...hurt you dealt her, but I know that she will want the best for you, too."
He smoothed Morgana's hair away from her face and leaned in to kiss her softly again.
"Have faith, Morgana," he whispered against her lips. "And do not give up on her."
Unbeknownst to Elyan, Morgana's heart sang at his words. She knew of Guinevere's capacity to love and forgive. And no matter how long it took, and no matter what it cost her, she would work to win her Queen's favor once again.
The dragon had explained what she had to forfeit to pay for her redemption, and Morgana had agreed a long time ago that it was worth it.
Powerless and with no memory of her past, Morgana would be human.
To any magical being, that would be a fate worse than death, but to Morgana, it would be more than life. It would be more than peace. It would be salvation.
