here we go. I don't own!
It was finally time. Morgana took her place next to Arthur and schooled her features into a polite smile.
"The sooner they get here, the sooner they'll leave." Morgana reminded herself. She glared at the envoy in the distance.
"I've heard Prince Lewis is a legendary swordsman." Arthur mentioned.
"That makes everything so much better. Could you imagine if I challenged him to a duel? Uther would have my head." Morgana mused in response.
"Could you imagine if you beat him?"Arthur added. Morgana turned to him. Arthur cleared his throat.
"Not that you really could, of course. But the reaction would be amusing."Arthur hastened to add.
"Oh, Artie! You think I'm a good swordswoman! That's so sweet!" Morgana teased him.
"I hope this is the two of you getting the last of your tetchiness out before our guests arrive."Uther said warningly, taking his place ahead of both of them.
"Of course Milord." Morgana said with as much respect as she could muster. She elbowed Arthur, who was shaking slightly, trying to suppress his laughter over Morgana duelling with Prince Lewis.
"You must be thrilled you get to share your destiny with that blithering idiot." Morgana muttered to Merlin.
"Some days I question whether or not I have the right Arthur." Merlin replied mentally. The herald of the envoy came forward.
"King Uther, I present to you, The King of Anglia, his royal Highness King Theomer, and his son, Crown Prince Lewis."He announced. Morgana's dreams had hidden nothing. There was nothing particularly distinguishing about the king, but Prince Lewis was every bit as toadlike as her visions had suggested.
"It is truly an honour to meet you My Lady."He addressed Morgana. She did her best to keep her eyes off his crooked yellow teeth that were in desperate need of a good clean. She frowned slightly when he didn't release her hand.
"I'm going to need that back."She whispered pointedly, nodding towards her hand. He released it as the royal party began to walk towards the throne room for a meal.
"I think somebody has a crush."Arthur teased her under his breath.
"Keep talking and you'll wake up minus your eyebrows. Don't think I won't." Morgana said through her teeth.
"I'm very sorry Morgana." Arthur said.
"Thank you. Now be a good brother and escort me." She instructed primly, holding her arm out.
"Lady Vivian was right. The man is a toad. He just has no colour about him." Morgana complained from her bathtub.
"I'm not saying a word." Gwen replied from the next room.
"Honestly. The man admits that he takes pleasure in spending his time preparing delicate compliments for the pleasure of the ladies in his aquaintance. It's a wonder he isn't a character in a book!" Morgana vented. Gwen re-entered with a towel.
"Come on. Out you get before you shrivel up like a prune." Gwen ordered. Morgana complied, and within minutes, she was dry and dressed in a nightgown. Morgana sat at her vanity and began to brush her hair.
"I think that's everything for tonight Gwen. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Morgana said.
"Good night Morgana." Gwen said, before leaving. Morgana continued to brush her hair, and jumped when she heard a rather impatient knock at her door. Assuming it was Merlin, she called out for the knocker to enter.
"Prince Lewis, what are you doing here?" Morgana asked. She cursed under her breath when she realised that Gwen had given her one of her less modest nightgowns. She noticed the door swing ajar.
"My lady, I simply couldn't help it. I had to see you again." Prince Lewis simpered.
"Well, you've seen me, so now I think it's best you leave." Morgana said firmly.
"Oh, but my love, you have inspired me to write a line of poetry. You'll hear it and be mine." He declared. Morgana crossed her arms tightly over her chest.
"And I would be more inclined to hear it at a more appropriate time. I really must insist you leave." Morgana stressed. Why had her Sight not prepared her for this particular aspect of the prince's personality?
"I can see what you're doing, Milady. It is a clever ploy. You wish to increase my affection by spurning me. there is no need for false modesty my little love sparrow. We will be one, no matter what." He said slimily.
"Prince Lewis, if you do not leave my chambers immediately, I will be forced to call on the palace guard." Morgana tried again. This had gone beyond strange and was swiftly moving into the realm of stalker-esque. Morgana really just wanted him to leave.
"You won't be calling anybody, and I'm not going anywhere. You will sit here, and listen to my poetry. After you hear it, there will be no doubt that you're mine. Our connection is almost magical." He snarled, pushing her into her chaise lounge, which of course, was nowhere near the bell for the guard in her room. Morgana itched to use some of the more aggressive magic in her repertoire, but she knew to try and use it against one of Uther's guests would grant her only a one-way ticket to the pyres. There was a knock at her door.
"Is everything alright in here?" Merlin asked.
"Oh yes. Prince Lewis was just bidding me goodnight." Morgana said tensely.
"Help me! He came in here uninvited and now he won't leave!" Morgana yelped. Merlin nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Well, My Lady, I have your evening sleeping draught. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave Sire, so that I can give Lady Morgana the care she requires." Merlin insisted.
"Very well my love, I bid you adieu. I shall dream of you all night, and when you hear the poetry inspired by you, you will be mine." Lewis said. Morgana shuddered at the dark undertones to Lewis's words. He blew several kisses to her until he was out the door.
"He's not really your type." Merlin commented.
"Do I have a sign on my forehead that suggests I have an interest in completely insane and inappropriate men?" Morgana groaned. She recounted the story to Merlin.
"Would you like me to do something to your door so he can't come back in here?" Merlin asked.
"Could you?" She asked. She sat on the floor in front of the fire and picked her hairbrush up again.
"I need you to tell me the truth about something." Morgana prefaced her question. Merlin sat on one of the couches near the hearth.
"Is it too much for me to expect somebody to love me for exactly who I am?" She asked.
"Well, I hope not, because you deserve no less." Merlin told her.
"I cannot marry somebody purely because it is expected of my rank. I'm tired of being a pretty face to decorate somebody's court. I want simply to be Morgana, and I want that to be enough." Morgana said wistfully.
"You've always been enough for me." Merlin said. Morgana looked up at him.
"I don't need to dream to see your fate. You'll help Arthur reunite Albion, and you'll be Camelot's most eligible and sought after bachelor. Women will simply fall over their feet for you, and you'll forget all about me. All I'll have are my thirty cats and the knowledge that I was your friend when you were just Arthur's bootlicker." Morgana teased.
"I actually wish just one girl would notice me. Hoardes of admirers seem overrated." Merlin said.
"Well, if she doesn't see you, she's a fool." Morgana decided. Merlin smiled crookedly at her.
"I assume you don't want your sleeping draught?" Merlin asked. Morgana wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"Thank you for bringing it though." She said.
"It's the best part of my day." Merlin replied. Morgana blushed and looked away, determined not to read anything into his statement.
"Do you want the enchantment?" He asked.
"If Prince Lewis has any more tricks up his sleeve, I'd like to See them coming if I'm able to." Morgana answered.
"Very well then. I think I'd best take my leave." Merlin said. he bade her goodnight and exited the room. Morgana shivered, her room suddenly less cosy than it had been a moment ago.
The ball celebrating the Anglican visit to Camelot was going horrendously, to say the very least. Morgana was doing her best to avoid Lewis, but he continually asked her to dance, and from the way Uther was eyeballing her, she simply couldn't refuse. Her feet would never be the same again. After the third time removing the Prince's hand from her rear end, Morgana knew she had to take action.
She feigned a headache to Uther, and after a few well-placed pouts, was given permission to leave early. She slipped out of the ballroom after insisting that Gwen stay and enjoy the festivities. She began to move for her chambers, stopping and sitting at the base of stairs for a moment to remove her shoes, which were already giving her blisters.
"I told you that you would be mine, and you will be, even if I have to force you." Prince Lewis said from the shadows. Morgana didn't have time to react. Lewis had her up against a wall, kissing and nipping at her skin. Morgana began to scream in earnest.
"Merlin! Please, help me! I'm on the main stairs! Quickly!" Morgana begged in her mind. Her screams became louder still when she felt the bodice of her dress tear. She gasped with relief when Arthur pulled Lewis off her, and she turned tail and ran to her chambers in a flurry of silks.
"Morgana!" Merlin called out after her. She didn't answer.
"I'm sorry My Lord, but she doesn't wish to see anyone. She asks that she be excused from her duties to our guests tomorrow, and that a sleeping draught be delivered to her." Gwen told the king apologetically.
"Gaius should examine her for injury." Uther insisted.
"I helped prepare her for bed My Lord. She might have some bumps and bruises in the morning, but I believe the biggest wound has been to her pride. She's rather humiliated, Sire." Gwen explained.
"Very well Guinevere. I'm sure that Morgana will appreciate discretion in your services tomorrow morning." Uther suggested. Gwen nodded.
"Merlin will bring her the sleeping draught the moment it is prepared. Sire, I think it best that you tend to Arthur and ensure he has not killed the Prince." Gaius suggested.
Merlin began his walk up to Morgana's chambers. Gaius had prepared several tonics for the lady, and Merlin had memorised several spells that he thought might be useful.
"Morgana, I'm outside your door." Merlin said tentatively in his mind. A second later, the door was open a crack. Morgana took a look at Merlin, and then pulled him into the room. She cast several protective enchantments over the door before placing her sword back in its sheath.
Merlin observed Morgana. Her movements were skittish, and she was clad in a full-length dressing gown with a dangerously high neck (Merlin privately wondered how she wasn't choking). It was clear she was trying to make herself appear as unattractive as possible, her long tresses scraped back into a tight, rope like braid.
"What's burning?" Merlin asked. Morgana looked at him.
"My dress." She answered.
"Morgana, I am so sorry." Merlin said. Morgana locked eyes with him, and the depth of compassion in Merlin's gaze made her look away.
"Don't be ridiculous Merlin. It wasn't your fault." Morgana said, voice strangled. She began to wring her hands. Merlin walked over to her and placed his hands over her, long fingers stilling her movement.
"It isn't my fault, Morgana, but more importantly, it isn't yours either. Your affections, your kisses and touches are your gifts to bestow on those whom you deem worthy. You have been robbed, but it would be wrong to blame yourself for the theft." Merlin told her urgently. Morgana pulled away from him and sat down in front of the fire, eyes trained on the burning lilac fabric.
"I don't think my gifts will ever be bestowed anywhere. How can I ever want that, when my experiences of such intimacy are marred by such brutality?" Morgana questioned, distressed.
"I suppose all you can do I make new memories. Create favourable impressions of freely bestowing gifts." Merlin suggested meekly. Morgana looked at him, wide eyed.
"The only person I can ever imagine trusting enough to even try is you. I can't expect to abuse our friendship for the sake of my hurt feelings." Morgana said.
"Can I be entirely bold?" He asked, sitting down a respectable distance away from her. Morgana nodded.
"It would be my honour." He told her.
"Morgana, I love our friendship. The evenings I spend in here are the highlights of my day." Merlin shot her a grin.
"I'm tired of pretending. You enchant me. Your courage, your unrestrained sense of justice, and even your stubborn pigheadeness." Morgana nudged his knee with her toe lightly.
"I will not allow that swine to turn you into the shadow of the Morgana I adore. So it would be my honour to do this for you My Lady." Merlin concluded ardently.
"You adore me?" Morgana asked meekly. Merlin broke into a wide grin.
"Only since the day I arrived in Camelot." He admitted. Morgana reached out and touched his hand.
"Does this mean I can stop convincing myself that my feelings are entirely one sided?" Morgana enquired.
"Please do." Merlin answered, resting his forehead against hers.
"Show me what he did to you." Merlin whispered. Morgana bit her lip and nodded.
"He touched my hair." She admitted in a whisper. Merlin gently untied the ribbon constricting her tight braid. Slowly and gently, he unbound her waves, and began to massage her scalp, elegant fingers running down the length of her hair. Morgana's head dropped back into the palm of his hand. Having her hair played with was her weakness; her father's childhood nickname for her had been kitten because of it.
"Tell me if you want me to stop." Merlin whispered. Morgana nodded and slowly stripped off her dressing gown. The first thing Merlin noticed was the rising purple marks, about the size of a man's fingers on Morgana's arms. He gently ran his hand across the bruises.
"This is the only way a man should ever touch you." He said quietly. Morgana squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth.
"I'll stop." Merlin said quickly, withdrawing his hands and sliding away from her.
"No." Morgana said. She fixed her gaze on him.
"His mouth was here." She volunteered, fingers brushing along the column of her throat and across her décolletage. Merlin moved close to her, and observed the red-purple blotches against milky flesh.
"Are you sure?" He asked her.
"You make me feel whole." She answered. Merlin drew her into his embrace, and took his time moving his head to her neck. He slowly nuzzled at her flesh, his attentions cancelling out, at least in Morgana's mind, any claims Lewis had made on her body. She let out a soft sigh of pleasure and guided Merlin's hand to her thigh. He pulled away.
"He was touching me here when he was doing that." She told him timidly. She gave him a small nod, and he continued his ministrations, fingers tracing a pattern on her leg, and gently kissing at her neck and collarbone. When he felt he'd nullified Lewis's affects, he drew back and cupped her face with his hands.
"Please kiss me." Morgana begged.
"I don't want to take anything from you." Merlin replied.
"It is my gift to you Merlin." Morgana implored.
"It would be my pleasure." He told her. With one hand still on her cheek, Merlin pressed a soft kiss on her full lips. Morgana responded, twining her fingers into his hair and pulling him close for more. She let out a sigh of delight when he ran his tongue over her lower lip and drew it gently into his mouth. Eventually, they broke apart. Morgana gratefully coiled herself into Merlin's arms.
"I can hear your heartbeat." She whispered. He kissed her hair.
"Good to hear it hasn't given out on me." He answered. Morgana yawned.
"You need rest My Lady." He informed her.
"Morgana," she reminded him sleepily.
"My darling." He tested.
"I like that." She mumbled, snuggling closer to him.
"You need to go to bed." He attempted to speak firmly.
"I'm quite comfortable where I am." She said, her arms coming around him a little tighter.
"Come on darling. The bed." He said, picking her up and carrying her across the room.
"Stay with me?" she asked him, green eyes wide with vulnerability. He pondered her request.
"Alright." He answered finally. Morgana rolled over and made room for him on the bed.
"I'll sleep on your chaise." He told her. She frowned.
"But I want you here." She pouted stubbornly.
"I shouldn't be in your chambers at all." He countered.
"But you are. Throw some caution into the wind." She suggested. She saw his expression.
"fine." She gave in.
"At least stay with me until I fall asleep?" She asked.
"Now that I can do." He said. He removed his boots and neckerchief.
"I don't want the spell." She said.
"I assumer Uther and Theomer are in a war council of sorts. I will not miss them announcing Lewis's fate." She decided.
"As you wish." He said, crawling into the bed next to her.
"Will you play with my hair?" She asked him.
"Of course." He responded, kissing her forehead and tangling his fingers in her hair
ok, so this is a little bit darker than what i normally write... reviews?