Hey, I'm going hiking this weekend... so I'd love some reviews to come back to. Love you all loads!
Gwen walked into the room where Morgana had spent most of the day. The fire was burning and Gwen noticed the tree and Morgana looking fabulous. "Beautiful" Gwen breathed, admiring both the tree and Morgana's blush. "Want to help?" Morgana asked, not knowing if it was about the tree or her. It was obvious that Gwen was into girls. "I'd love to" Gwen beamed, skipping over to her.
"I don't really have a lot of style in decorating" Gwen giggled. "That's okay, there's no wrong way to decorate a Christmas tree" Morgana assured. Gwen went to put a bauble on the branch, looking at Morgana for approval.
Teasingly she shook her head, wincing. "It's a shame you're not taller than me. I could have used you. You'll have to stand on the stool" Morgana teased. Gwen laughed, placing the bauble higher up on the tree. "Perfect, thank you" Morgana chuckled.
Floyd and Abigail was preparing the silver for dinner. They could hear the kids, Lady Gwen and Morgana laughing and conversing happily. "Well this is a change" Floyd noticed. "A happy one" Abigail confirmed.
"Oh, hi kids" Gwen greeted, as the kids walked in, pink cheeked from the cold. "Hey you two, how was the ponies?" Morgana smiled. "It was amazing!" Maddie breathed, causing Morgana and Gwen to chuckle.
"Wow this is the biggest tree we ever had" Milo beamed. Morgana was pleased, she had never seen Milo so relaxed. "I know, Aunt Morgana had to use her emergency credit card to buy it" Maddie announced to the room. Morgana shared a cautious glance at Gwen, she raised an eyebrow in worry. "I didn't know that one still worked" Milo scoffed.
Gwen looked down at the rest of the ornaments. "Look at that, father's favourite" Gwen sighed, thinking about the past when they actually had Christmas. "Pretty" Maddie gasped, running over to her newly discovered Aunt.
"What is this?" Uther demanded, causing everyone to jump. Morgana wrapped her arms protectively around Maddie. "It's our Christmas tree" Gwen told him, chin raised up. "I can see that, I'm not a bloody idiot. Where did it come from?" Uther snapped.
"I brought it" Morgana admitted, crossing her arms defiantly. "I expressly told you I did not want…" Uther ranted. However Maddie walked up to him, still holding the pretty oval ornament in her hands. "Here grandfather, we saved the best one for you" Maddie said quietly, holding her hands out.
Uther took the oval ornament from her hands, it wasn't anything special. It was red and white striped, but it held so many memories. "Gwen said it was your favourite" Maddie stated, a smile on her face. "Oh she did, did she?" Uther muttered quietly. Gwen looked nervously to the floor. "Do you remember it?" Maddie asked.
"Yes I remember it. My elder brother and I, we were each given one at Christmas. And I broke mine, oh how I cried. He gave me his. I thought this was lost forever" Uther breathed, chuckling slightly at the memories of his younger self. "There's a special place for it, right over here" Morgana told him, coming up behind Maddie.
"Thank you Morgana, it truly is a lovely tree" Uther complimented, handing over his ornament to her. "Your welcome, but it really was a team effort" Morgana assured. Milo shared a look with Gwen. "Come on Uther, there's still plenty left to decorate" Morgana smiled. "Oh we can leave the staff to do that" Uther shrugged. "No, it's one of the best parts about Christmas" Morgana told him. "Come and join us" Gwen encouraged. Uther nodded, coming over.
"This is amazing" Arthur breathed, watching as they decorated the tree. Especially his father. "I know, I've never seen your father or Gwen for that matter so happy" Merlin agreed, as they looked into the room. "Do you think it will last?" Arthur sighed, turning towards Merlin. "It is for now" Merlin shrugged, wrapping his arms around Arthur's waist.
"I really don't want them to go you know" Arthur chuckled. "Neither do I, they seem like good kids" Merlin nodded. "They are. I wish everything could have been different" Arthur frowned. "Hey it is what it is. Come on, we haven't tested out the new bed in your room" Merlin smirked, kissing Arthur passionately. Arthur groaned, shoving Merlin against a wall, careful to not draw the attention of his family. "You're so right" he grinned wolfishly.
"He's enjoying himself" Gwen giggled, watching her father with Maddie. "He is, isn't he?" Morgana beamed. Gwen's stomach coiled tightly. Milo got down off the ladder, barely glancing at them, he walked over to the window, staring out. "Still having a hard time?" Gwen guessed. "Yeah, I wish there was something I could do" Morgana sighed. "Leave it with me" Gwen soothed, resting a hand on Morgana's arm.
Gwen rolled her eyes as she heard her brother snoring from his room. However now wasn't the time to wake him up. It was time to get Milo. She knocked gently on the door. "I'm sleeping!" Milo groaned, as she came in. "Meet me on the lawn outside in 15 minutes" she smiled. "Is that an order?" he asked. "No, just a request" Gwen laughed, closing the door softly.
As Milo came outside in the snow, she could hear his heavy footfalls. "Great!" Milo moaned, seeing the archery board. Gwen shot a couple of times, hitting the bull's eye each time. "It's your turn" Gwen told him. Milo got the bow and half heartedly loaded it and fired, not even hitting the board.
"Which is your lead eye?" Gwen asked, trying to help him. "Don't know, don't care!" Milo snapped, loading again. Milo fired again, but it bounced off the board. "Argh! This is stupid! I'm going back to bed!" he snarled, throwing his bow down. Gwen panicked, he couldn't leave just yet. "Milo! Milo, hey! I can help you. Come pick the bow up please?" Gwen requested, stopping him in his tracks. Morgana came out to watch them, smiling as Gwen handled him perfectly. She was so good with children.
"Thanks, now what you need to do is clench it here" Gwen instructed, coming over to him. "Now your three fingers have to grab it below the place where you click it in. Don't forget to breathe. Look at the target, which is clearer?" Gwen wondered. "The right" Milo told her. "Then you're right eye dominate. I've seen a fair few of black eyes when I was your age" Gwen smiled, picking up her bow.
"Oh really?" Milo grinned, interested now. "Tricky business fighting in general. Plus I stitched your father and Arthur up a couple of times too" Gwen smiled, remembering the times. "How come they stopped?" Milo wondered. "Well, they met someone and realised that no matter how much they fought and won, they were still a loser" Gwen shrugged.
"Now, load your bow. And when you release it. Let the anger go with it, Milo" Gwen advised, shooting. It hit bull's-eye precisely. Milo released his arrow, beaming as it too hit bull's-eye. "Cool" Milo breathed. "Again?" Gwen giggled.
"Good Morning, your Highness" Paisley greeted, placing a tray on Uther's lap. "There's nothing more exciting than decorating a Christmas tree to get you into the Christmas spirit" Uther remarked. Paisley nodded, glad at the improvement in him. "Oh Paisley, how many days until Christmas?" Uther asked. "Five" Paisley replied.
"Oh, five. Well it'll be tight but we'll do it. We'll need to send out the invitations right away" Uther instructed, already planning. "Invitations, sir?" Paisley frowned. "Yes for the ball" Uther sighed, annoyed. "We're having a ball?" Paisley wondered. "Yes, we're having a Christmas ball. I've made up my mind. "Get an orchestra and tell Gwen and Arthur and Merlin to invite all their friends" Uther muttered.
"How are the children?" Uther asked. "Splendid, Gwen is giving Milo an archery lesson. While Miss Le Fay and the boys are looking for Miss Dolly Dinkle's head" Paisley informed him. "Oh good!" Uther chuckled, tucking into his breakfast.
Morgana was looking under the table, as Gwen came down the corridor. "Don't worry sweetie, we'll find him" Merlin soothed, holding the little girl. Morgana bumped her head, causing the apples to fall off onto the floor. Gwen giggled, helping her pick them up.
"Look Aunty Gwen" Arthur said, handing over a headless Dolly Dinkle. "Oh no, that's terrible" Gwen gasped, taking it from him. "It's gone" Maddie pouted. "I don't suppose you want a new one?" Gwen offered. Maddie shook her head. "Then I will make sure my best people are on it. We won't stop until we find it" Gwen assured. Merlin glanced between Morgana and Gwen. "Come on Maddie, lets go have a tea party with Abigail" Merlin suggested, dragging a moaning Arthur behind him.
"I saw you with Milo. It's nice for you to spend time with him. I hope he wasn't too rude" Morgana smiled, alone again with Gwen. "It went quite well actually. And you are next" Gwen smirked, a excited spark in her eye. "I'm not good at weaponry" Morgana laughed.
"How about waltzing? Father is throwing a ball" Gwen asked. "He is?" Morgana beamed, glad that he was changing. "Yes seems as though someone has turned him around" Gwen nodded, elbowing Morgana softly. "So come on then, I'll show you how to waltz" Gwen encouraged, taking Morgana's hand and dragging her to the ball room.
"You're too stiff" Gwen complained, trying to dance with Morgana. "I could say the same about you" Morgana smirked. "I meant your arm" Gwen blushed. "Well how is it meant to be?" Morgana smiled, enjoying the colour on Gwen. "Responsive" Gwen replied, a twinkle in her eye.
"Now you need to count. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three" Gwen chanted, moving them around. "Sorry, I'm not very musical" Morgana apologised, stepping on one of her toes. "It's alright, I am. I played the piano since I was 5" Gwen assured, leading. "You play piano?" Morgana gasped. "Yes, now focus you" Gwen smiled.
"I just find it interesting, that's all" Morgana explained. "I find it's interesting how you eat hot wings, yet know the work of Christopher Landry" Gwen retorted, spinning Morgana around. For someone so small, she sure had a lot of power to move around. Morgana giggled, enjoying the feeling of her and Gwen's hair flying around them.
"Children, it's my belief that as Pendragons, I need to expand your cultural education" Uther announced as he sat with them in the living room with the Christmas tree in. "Can't you just be off duty for the holidays" Milo groaned. "You have the choice of: literature, music, dancing or arts" Uther chuckled, relaxing back. Milo and Maddie grinned, this was perfect.
"I picked ballet" Maddie smirked, as they ran down the stairs. The ballet looked in distaste at the other man in the room. "What did you pick?" Maddie asked. "Electric guitar" Milo smirked. The punk rocker nodded, lowering his glasses at Milo.
So as Milo had classes with the rocker, and Maddie had classes with the dancer, Gwen taught Morgana how to waltz in the same room. "This is impossible" Gwen huffed, turning to look at the noise. "Come on, loosen up" Morgana ordered, ruffling Gwen's hair and undoing her cardigan. They both ignored the mixture of lust and attraction that stirred up.
"I'm not really down with that funky stuff" Gwen admitted. "Well I am, gymnastic classes at the YMCA" Morgana grinned, putting a more modern upbeat song on. Gwen started to move in time with the beat. "See! I knew you were a Princess but you've got some gangster in there somewhere" Morgana smirked. They started to grind against each other.
Suddenly the music was turned off. They turned to look as Arabella walked towards them. "Oh look who it is. The walking loud mouth" Merlin muttered, coming down the stairs to Morgana's side. "I'm sorry to interrupt your little 'ghetto dance.' But we had lunch-" Arabella, growled, glaring at Merlin. "With your parents" Gwen winced. "Yes. Excuse us!" Arabella hissed, storming past Morgana.
"Arabella, I would say it's a pleasure but I can't lie" Arthur greeted, coming down the stairs. "Arthur, and here I thought you'd be glad to see your future sister-in-law" Arabella remarked. "I would, if it wasn't you" Arthur shrugged, trying to avoid any of the places that they had already cleaned. Arabella huffed, just as Gwen came round the corner, doing her cardigan up. Arthur shook his head, leaving them alone.
"I'm sorry about lunch" Gwen apologised. "I forgive you this time, you've had quite a lot of distractions. You know Gwen, I think it's wonderful what you're trying to do with these children" Arabella smiled, grasping Gwen's hand. "They do seem to like it here" Gwen nodded. "Yes, but there lives are in Buffalo, and they'll be going home soon" Arabella reminded.
"Of course you'll see them occasionally on the holidays and graduations. But one has to be realistic, they're not like us. It's not fair of you to try and change them" Arabella sighed, leaning against Gwen. "Change them?" Gwen half frowned and half growled.
Just then Paisley came up to them. "I'm sorry sir but we're in a bit of a mess choosing the canapés for the ball" Paisley informed him. "Fire away" Gwen nodded. "Chef can't decide between shrimp quiche or salmon mousse" Paisley said. "Well I prefer the salmon. But caviar would be so amazing" Arabella breathed. Gwen quickly shook his head behind Arabella. "Perhaps I should come back later" Paisley realised.
"Miss Le Fay said it was beige" Abigail murmured, going through Morgana's wardrobe. "This must be it" Mrs Birch said, picking it out. "Not much of a ball gown" she commented. "Maybe a good pressing will help" Abigail nodded. Mrs Birch looked doubtful at her.
"How's the guest list father?" Arthur asked, coming into the study. "Fine, practically everyone has accepted" Uther confirmed. "Good" Arthur nodded, smiling as his sister entered. "Except Lord and Lady Cromwell, they're impossible to pin down" Uther chuckled.
Outside the study, Morgana came down the stairs. She noticed the clock on the table. It was beautiful. "Maybe they're out of town. I'm sure I heard they were going to Gsstad for Christmas" Gwen suggested. "Yes, that must be it. Aren't you meant to be at lunch with Arabella and her parents?" Uther frowned. Gwen sighed, crossing her arms.
"I messed up on the time" Gwen admitted. "Well that was very irresponsible, they are a good family. We don't want to run around insulting them. It would be a mistake" Uther reminded. "I'm sure it wasn't intentional father" Arthur rolled his eyes, laying a hand on Gwen's arm.
"Well no harm done. I've heard you've been spending some time with Morgana" Uther stated. "Yes I've been teaching her to Waltz for the ball" Gwen smiled. Morgana paused at her examination of the clock.
"Do we have to invite her?" Uther sighed, crossing off someone called Bunny McCracken. Morgana froze at that. "Let me guess, you don't want to invite her because she has no titles" Gwen huffed out. "Or fortune for that matter. Apart from that she's extremely crass" Uther shook his head. Morgana gasped, trying to hide her hurt. "I don't suppose we could uninvited her?" Gwen suggested. "Let's just hope she's not an embarrassment" Arthur mumbled, shaking his head.
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