It wouldn't be until Wednesday the week after that Uther would return, but not alone. Catrina, who worked frequently with the scouts (being a guide leader), was to be their guest, along with a young lady called Vivian. Arthur nor Morgana had ever met this Vivian, but according to Uther, she was the daughter of one of his most trusted business partners, and thought that not only would this make a great match for Arthur, who was supposedly heir to his business, but also help financially for himself, keeping the Pendragon name intact.
Turning up in his sleek Jaguar, Uther hopped out of the car to find Morgana and Arthur waiting on the doorstep. Uther, even though it being the middle of summer, was in a black suit, which meant with the current temperatures, he must be cooking in that thing. In the back was a young blonde figure. This must be Vivian.
"Arthur, let me introduce to Vivian Essington, she's the daughter to our good friend Mr. Rupert Essington. She'll be staying with us for the next few days. She's also a girl guide, so I thought maybe she could come along on the trip with us."
Arthur was not a fool though, and knew exactly why she was here, and of course Mr. Pendragon Jr. was not the least pleased. The blond stepped forward to shake hands with the female, and all went inside, Uther left to carry in her luggage.
"A pleasure to meet you Arthur. I heard that you're aiming to go to Cambridge once you've completed your A-Levels?" Vivian began the conversation. What did Uther think he was doing? Arthur had no intention of even applying for university. Come to think of it, Arthur had no clue what he was doing after college. Was Uther lying about his son just for his own benefit? This must be Uther's idea to impress Vivian over Arthur.
Unashamed, Arthur replied with. "I'm still browsing other options. At the moment, all doors are open for me."
Uther gave Arthur a glare, and suggested that he and Vivian should take a trip out to Camelot, so that Vivian could learn the surroundings, and of course not mentioning, although intentionally for Vivian and Arthur to get to know each other more. Morgana knew by Arthur's expression that Arthur did not want to go through this, and later on, either later that night or tomorrow at the very latest, there would be arguments.
Later on that evening, Arthur and Vivian returned from their shopping trip, Vivian clearly a shopaholic. Did women need loads of stuff? Morgana had noticed that Arthur had left his phone in the house, and sent a text to Merlin that Arthur might not be on his best terms for the next few days, telling him why. Vivian intended to stay until Saturday, where her father would pick her up for 9am.
Vivian Essington, as you've probably guessed, was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She was born into an estate in Winchester to millionaires, her father was a business tycoon associated with sorcery, and her mother was one of the 100 leading ladies of Britain. Named Britain's golden girl of 2007 and 2009, Vivian completes her studies at Wycombe Abbey School in Buckinghamshire. Rupert had known Uther for quite some time, starting up business prospects back in the early 1990s, not long before both Vivian and Arthur were born, and over the years, were trusted business partners. Both thought that if Rupert's only daughter, and Uther's only son, were bounded together, their business could continue, planting their name into the history books.
Although Arthur thought indeed that Vivian was certainly a very beautiful lady, Arthur just wasn't attracted to her, whether he'd have Merlin or not. Vivian was also all money, meaning that because she had money, she took it upon herself to act like a total toffee-nosed git, quite like her mother Una, but as they say, like mother - like daughter. Arthur couldn't stand those who thought the Earth revolved around them. Sophia was bad enough, but she weren't made of money, so in Arthur's opinion, this was a bad choice. "Good evening Uther," Vivian stated as Arthur dropped the bags at the stairs.
"Good evening Vivian, and how was your shopping trip?"
"Marvelous thank you. Arthur wanted to go into the game shop of course, but declined and came with me around the fashion stores. You've raised your son splendidly, and I'm sure you've done the same with Miss Morgana over here as well." That wasn't the only problem. Vivian was obsessed with Arthur, almost to a stalker-type obsession. Arthur wanted as much out of the shopping trip as Vivian did, meaning he wanted his fair share of running around the town with things on sale, but everytime Arthur would walk in his own direction, Vivian would follow him around like a lost child. Of course, Arthur didn't know how to tell Vivian that he was already with someone.
"That's very nice of you Arthur, now don't be such a burden and carry the bags up for Vivian to her room."
"Of course father, but may I talk with you... alone?"
Uther looked displeased at Arthur's expression, but to show pride in who he was, he kindly accepted Arthur's request. Running up with the bags, Arthur quickly dropped the bags in the guest room, before hopping back down the stairs and into the front room, where the remainder of the house were. "Father?"
"Of course Arthur. Shall we retreat to the study?"
Of course only Arthur Pendragon would have a study in the house. With the riches of the house, such as being detached, having four bedrooms and an outdoor pool, of course a study would be included in the rooms. The study was rather simple to be fair. This is where all the books were kept, with two computers, a printer and scanner, and a telescope near the window. Just about enough room was allocated to move about between the stationery objects.
Arthur flung open the door, Uther following merely behind. "Arthur, do try to be calm!"
Uther gently closed the door behind Arthur, sliding the lock on the door. Arthur would try and handle this as calmly as possible, but none were to be sorry if things didn't go according to plan. "Dad. Why are you doing this?"
"I'm trying to help you Arthur." Uther took a seat at one of the desks where the computer's sat. Arthur grabbed the other office chair and rolled it near the other, keeping a clear enough distance between the two.
"No you're not. You lied about me and my future options!" Arthur took a long breath and continued. "There's something else in this. You're doing this because of your business! Why must you be the head of the most ridiculous gadgets in the world?"
"So this is what earlier's attitude was all about!"
"Dad! You can't expect me to fall in love with someone that I don't love!"
"You're marrying her Arthur! We've arranged it."
"And when we're you going to allow me to have any say in this? How do you know I'm not seeing someone as it is?"
"Because you'd of brought her home by now!"
"What makes you think it would be a girl?"
"Really Arthur, don't be so absurd!"
"For all you know, I could be going out with a guy! I'm not marrying her, and that's final. It wouldn't be so bad if she weren't such a stuck-up cow!"
"You will do as you are told! And you better be on your best behavior tomorrow!"
"WHY?"
"Becuase Catrina's daughter Rosie is coming over tomorrow." Arthur shoved past Uther, and went straight to his room, slamming the door behind.
Fishing out his phone from his jacket pocket, which somehow Morgana managed to sneak it back in after calling Merlin earlier, Arthur looked for the one place of comfort. To avoid overhearing, Arthur huddled into his closet, where he phoned Merlin.
"Hello?"
"Merlin. You've got to help me! I need help!"
"Arthur, what's wrong?"
"It's my dad. He's trying to make me get off with some young woman who's a stuck-up, toffee-nosed git and I'm not interested. It's been arranged for me to marry her. I need to get out of here!"
"Arthur, you can come and stop at mine. You're always welcome!"
"Like I can actually escape the house without myself being caught."
"Why don't you ask Morgana? You both know each other well and I'm sure she won't drop the bag. I'll meet you in the second field in about half-an-hour."
Arthur ended the call and found a bag, packing essentials such as a change of clothing, a comb and toothbrush. Creeping out into the bathroom, Arthur caught Morgana nearby, and asked for her assistance. Thankfully, it was still light outside, but late enough to leave. Leaving around seven o' clock is rather a dumb time to escape when you sit down for dinner at half-past-six. So, checking his phone and being half-past-eight, this was a perfect excuse to leave.
"Morgana, I need your help."
"Doing what?"
"Sneaking out. I'm off to Merlin's."
"Oooh."
"Shut up Morgana! I've only known her less than 12 hours and I can't stand her!"
"I don't blame you for sneaking out, and if I had the chance then I would, but someone has to back you up. Earlier on whilst you and dad were talking, Vivian tutted at me for not even making the list of the 100 golden girls of Britain, like I even care about that, and so I told her as I trying to work on my piano skills that I don't give a bloody crap. She gasped at my swearing, saying I'm rude. I told her bloody is in the bible so I can say it as much as I wish, and then she was trying to teach me how to be proper." Morgana imitated the last word, taking the mickey out of Vivian, which both silently giggled over, as they could hear Vivian's voice again. The girl could never shut up.
Arthur raised a finger and whispered to Morgana in his most serious tone, pointing the finger at the raven-haired Pendragon. "Don't you dare tell dad where I am."
"How are you getting there?"
"Through the back gate, down the alley towards the houses behind us, and then take the road down to where the fields emerge. Cross the border along the fields, meet Merlin part of the way there, and then back to Ealdor."
"Sounds a good plan. I've got an idea, but I suggest taking your trainers off. Follow my lead."
Vivian, Catrina - who had just arrived to see Uther - and said person himself, were all cooped in the front room watching soaps - uggh, how dull, the Pendragon children viewed, and they crept downstairs. Arthur carried his shoes as he hopped down the stairs, holding the bag to keep the obvious unaware, and followed Morgana into the kitchen, where she held in possession her set of keys, and undone the back door. Checking to make sure the blinds had been closed where the sliding doors lay, Morgana tiptoed out of the door, Arthur following, and opened the gate, handing her set of keys to Arthur.
"Morgana, you are a life-saver."
"Thought you might need them."
"Thank you."
"Now go before he sees you! I'll deal with the rest." Morgana then threw a smirk and quoted as she took hold of the gate. "Have fun with Merlin, and you better tell me all the juicy bits when you get back!"
"Shut up Morgana!" Arthur grinned as he made his way down the alley.
Morgana made the final preparations by re-locking the door with Arthur's keys, making two cups of hot chocolate, one for herself, and one for supposedly Arthur, where she took it upstairs to his room, placing her's in her own room. She shut the curtains and made all obvious items magically vanish - not literally though. She washed and changed into nightwear, and then went downstairs to join the others.
"Where's Arthur?" Catrina asked, as she had not seen the blond since their trip to Glastonbury.
"He's in his room," Morgana lied.
This sparked attention from Vivian, who was still bending over backwards for him. "Oh, do tell me, is he available by any chance?"
"No, he's sleeping. I suppose that's a way of calming down. I just took him a drink up, just in case he gets thirsty during the night."
"That's very kind of you Morgana," Catrina muttered. Arthur was not a fan of Catrina; however, Catrina's charm managed to appeal to Morgana, and both had formed a bond over the period that Uther had known her.
"Anyway, I'm going to turn in. I'd like to say a few prayers before hitting the sheets. Goodnight!" Intially, Morgana wasn't going to sleep, but going to bed. She took hold of Arthur's keys and placed them in her jewellery box, where no one ever looked, so that, if they were searching for his keys and couldn't find them, at least then it made it clear that Arthur had left. She turned to Arthur's room, and went for the mug that was in there. She drank around half of the cup, to illustrate that Arthur had supposedly been sleeping, and continued adding the finishing touches to the crime scene, such as adding a night shirt in it's place, creasing up pillows and the duvet. She then retreated to her own room where she texted Arthur that all was complete, and then found a communication line with Gwen, before saying her prayers for the night.