Snapped

Gwen hated being watched. When Helios went away for long periods of time, he had his lackeys keep tabs on her. And now knowing that the men who had been watching her were Morgause's, Gwen snapped.

She marched across the street to the car and knocked hard on the window. The man rolled it down, nervous. "Listen here," Gwen sternly said. "Tell Morgause that I'm sick of this, and that if she wants to talk, she better show that witch face of hers and not send some messenger boy. I'm ready when she is." The man looked at her with shock. "Go!"

He started the car and sped off. Leon got out of his car and ran up to her. "What did you do? What happened?"

Gwen let out a nervous laugh. "What needed to be done?"

That didn't stop London's finest from keeping an eye on her. If anything, it made them more blatant about their task. "Ducking into a lingerie store is the last place that will deter me from tailing you," Gwaine grinned.

"Oh, I know." Gwen faced him and gestured for the retail associate to come over. "Hello, my friend needs help."

The associate beamed at Gwaine. "How may I help you, sir? What does your lucky lady prefer?"

Gwen pointed at Gwaine. "The lucky lady may want to start off with boy shorts, maybe in a green or apple red. Unless she'd prefer to dive into a thong straight away?"

Gwaine sputtered, and Gwen made her way to the exit. "Where are you going?"

"To pee," she said bluntly. "I'll be right back."

Being at the mall early in the day and in the middle of the week made for a very empty restroom, except for the one woman sitting on the plush faux leather couch.

"Morgause."

Morgause patted the spot next to her. "Have a seat, Guinevere. We have some catching up to do."

Gwen crossed her arms. "I'd rather stand."

"Oh, don't be silly. I won't bite."

"No, but you might stab me."

"Still stubborn." Morgause folded her hands in her lap. "I promise I won't."

Gwen warily took the seat. "So, how does it feel to be a prison wife?"

Morgause chuckled. "If I'm honest, it's liberating to not have Cenred breathe down my neck. The phone calls are a nightmare though. How does it feel to be a widow…and a murder?"

Gwen observed her. "Liberating," she threw Morgause's term back at her.

"Didn't think you had it in you." Morgause scooted closer to Gwen and put an arm around her shoulder. "But you made very important people very angry."

"Like you?" Gwen asked mockingly. She swallowed as she found her neck in the tight bend of Morgause's arm. If someone came in it would look like a friendly side hug and not a snake's grip.

With her other hand, Morgause pinched Gwen's cheek. "You're so cute with this new backbone you've grown."

Gwen rubbed the sore flesh. "Do you always play with your food before you go in for the kill?"

Morgause's smile was toothy and sinister. "Only when I want them to suffer." She let Gwen go and got up. "I'll send Sefa your love. She'll be coming back with me to Amsterdam. There's a growing market for the meek, virginal looking ones. I had a good laugh when she told me what you did."

Gwen leaned back when Morgause leaned down to her. The woman gripped her cheeks with her claw-like hand. "You're so adorably stupid," she said in a baby talk tone like a very horrible mother. "I'll be seeing you later."

When Gwen got back to the store she left Gwaine in, she found the officer and the associate having a lively chat. He said goodbye to her and left with Gwen.

"I should thank you for that," Gwaine said. "Got her number."

"Great…" Gwen rubbed her cheeks, preoccupied.

He frowned at her lack of response. "You were supposed to shake your head, yet admire my skill at worming my way into women's hearts no matter the situation."

"I'm going home," Gwen said. "When you see Arthur can you tell him he doesn't have to keep an eye out for Sefa."

"What happened? Is she…?"

"No. I know where she is." But now she wished she didn't. She felt guilty for thinking so, but she'd rather Sefa had turned up dead instead of in Morgause's clutches.

Gwen hadn't moved from the bed since she got home, and Tiny was curled up next to her to give her comfort. The only way she knew time had passed was because of the darkening sky. Her phone rang and Tiny made a displeased woof. Gwen blindly felt for it on the nightstand. "What?" she grumbled.

"I think you should be eating your own words about proper phone greetings," Arthur snickered.

She huffed.

"Gwaine said you know where Sefa is. I'd ask you more about it, but right now you need to turn to the news."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Gwen dragged her feet to the living room and turned on the television. Uther Pendragon was standing in front of a podium giving a report.

"…shut down several major sex and drug trafficking rings…"

"He did it…" Gwen said quietly in disbelief.

"Thanks to you." The proud tone in Arthur's voice brought a smile to her lips.

Then power went out.

She swore.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

Before she could tell him, there was a knock on the door. "Hold on, detective," Gwen said growing frustrated, her mood quickly going sour. It was probably a neighbor or the officer on watch.

She opened the door and was attacked by a flash of blonde. She fell to the floor and the phone flew from her hand. The moonlight coming through the windows showed her it was Morgause who was currently trying to choke her to death. Gwen tried to push her off but had no success.

Tiny's loud bark got Morgause's attention. When she lifted her head, the large German shepherd pounced on her, pushing her off Gwen. Freed, Gwen got up and ran to the kitchen to a knife. Tiny was mauling Morgause when she returned to the living room.

A man came through the doorway, and he paused at the sight of Tiny attacking his boss. Realizing he was with Morgause and taking advantage of the distraction, Gwen slashed him with the knife and ran out passed him. Another one was coming at her up the stairs, so she pushed him and he tumbled down. She saw the shadow of another person outside and ducked into the studio.

Instinct told her to hide in the back room, but then she saw her reflection in the mirrors. She pressed one of the panels to release it from the magnetic latch, slipped in, and pulled it back with enough force to get her hand back in and the door could latch back to the magnet. She briefly thought to get Percival to install handles on the inside for future hiding needs.

There were gunshots and thuds. Gwen held the knife close to her and prayed Tiny was okay.

Arthur heard Gwen's scream and the thud of the phone hitting the floor. "Gwen? Guinevere!" There was Tiny's barking, more screams, and a man swearing. He ran out of his office and alerted everyone. The force headed to Gwen's with Arthur leading the way.

Arthur and Merlin jumped out of their car, and the other officers exited their cruisers seconds behind them. Merlin went to check the officer on duty to watch Gwen. The window was shattered and the officer was slumped over, dead from a bullet to the head.

They found one suspect clutching his side, trying to get away. Another was dead from a broken neck at the foot of the stairs. They entered the flat with their flashlights and guns raised and ready. Tiny growled, teeth bared, blood on his muzzle.

Arthur lowered his gun and moved forward. "Easy there, boy."

Tiny made a whimper and sat.

"Arthur," Leon said, getting his attention. He pointed his flashlight on the body on the floor. Only half the woman's face was recognizable. "I think that's Morgause Essetir. She's still breathing."

"Get the EMTs up here." Arthur led Tiny downstairs by the collar. He met with Merlin at the bottom.

"There's no sign of Gwen," Merlin said sounding worried.

Tiny barked. The dog forced himself out of Arthur's hold and pawed at the studio door. They opened it and Tiny ran in. They followed as he sniffed around and barked again at the mirror panel. The door opened and they quickly pointed their guns.

Gwen appeared, knife wielded tightly in her hand. Realizing it was just them, she lowered. They lowered their weapons as well. "There's a joke here somewhere about bringing a knife to a gunfight."

Arthur sighed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Gwen let out a shaky laugh. "Where's Percival so I can thank him for his lifesaving storage idea."

The next two days were spent interrogating the surviving member of Gwen's attackers as Morgause was put into a medically induced coma. Like the men hired to watch Gwen, he was just a low-life for hire.

Arthur closed the folder and stretched. He had an hour before he had to meet his father for dinner, so he had enough time to run home and freshen up. When he opened his office door, Gaius was on the other side looking grievous.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. Your father's been found dead."

A/N: I feel like I may have over sold the Morgause drama. I thought there'd be more buuuuuuut I'm getting real anxious to start the sequel ahahaha. Technically I could've change some things but then the sequel wouldn't start the exact way I want it to. There's like 3-4 chapters left with another heart to heart and thrillerish bit on the way.

Thanks always for reading and reviewing!