Author's Note: I'm back!
Chapter 13: Talks
Arthur sat alone at the breakfast table. Mithian chose to have a small, early breakfast in her room before she left for her father's for a few days. She didn't need a reason why, the awkward silence said it all. Uther had also left very early claiming he had errands to run.
With very little appetite, Arthur pushed the eggs around his plate. The high pitched squeaking sound of the fork on porcelain carried across the room. Merlin flinched. "Not enjoying your breakfast, my lord?"
Squeak, squeak, sque! Arthur paid no mind to his valet, and he missed his sister entering the room and fixing herself a plate.
"Jesus, Arthur. Give it a rest." Morgana plopped into the chair with a scowl. She took a seemingly aggressive bite out of her toast. She looked up to see Arthur glaring at her. "What?"
"Are we going to act like last night didn't happen?" Instead of answering, Morgana took another bite of her toast. "Honestly," Arthur muttered. He got up and made his way to the door, and Merlin moved to remove the plate.
Morgana snickered. "Honestly," she repeated. "Do you honestly believe that I want to go to a wedding where not only are the bride and groom miserable, but my best friend as well?"
Arthur kept his back turned.
"And as you're standing at the altar, how many times do you think your eyes will wander over to Gwen, hmm? And when Father Alator asks for anyone to voice their objection to your union, what do you think Gwen will do?"
Arthur balled his hands into fists and squeezed.
"She won't say anything, of course. She's not one to cause commotion, nor would she want to embarrass you and Mithian. And don't get me started on poor, poor, Mithian." Arthur heard Morgana pause then make a satisfied sound. "This orange juice is delicious," she said.
Looking back over his shoulder, he glared at his sister who raised her glass to him. Behind her, Merlin looked at him with sympathy. Arthur turned back to the door and exited, seeking quiet to gather his thoughts, but Morgana's words would follow him wherever he went.
Gwen returned a few days later. She had Annis' driver pull into the back by the servants' entrance because walking through the front door still gave her weird feelings. It was eerily quiet downstairs. She silently slipped down the hall, peeking in each room she passed looking for some kind of activity. Maybe she should've phoned ahead, she thought. Finally, she heard voices coming from the dining room.
"The school year has started, right?" she heard Sefa ask. "That means Gwen will be back soon?"
"I believe she will," Gwen said, popping out from behind the doorway. She put down her luggage and rested her hands on her waist. "So, what have I missed?" she asked with a broad smile, excited to catch up on the household gossip. But what she got were nervous frowns, and Sefa, Freya, Merlin, and Percival darting looks at each other. Gwen dropped her arms and slouched. She groaned. "What happened now?"
Percival had been eavesdropping. There was no shame in it. Nearly all the staff did it, even George. Their old housekeeper, Alice, before she married Gaius, once said: "What? I'm the housekeeper. How am I supposed to do my job if I don't keep up with matters of the house?" the first time they caught her listening in on dinner conversation.
They told Gwen of the conversation at the table: Gwen and Arthur as godparents, the mention of Morgana's mother and Uther's discomfort, and Morgana's threat to leave.
Gwen sank down in her chair. It made sense to not stay for the wedding. Perfect sense. What would she get out of watching the man she loves marry someone else? "I should talk to…" Talk to whom? Arthur? Morgana? Who first? "I should get to unpacking," she decided instead.
She grabbed her bag and made her way upstairs. On the way she ran into Lace who offered to carry her bag the rest of the way. They were making small conversation while standing outside her room, but stopped when they saw Arthur coming down the hall.
"Oh, you're back already," Arthur said. He looked between the governess and the footman, then down at Gwen's bag in Lance's hands. "I'll just leave you to your unpacking." There was a heavy silence. Arthur sighed. "You didn't happen to see Morgana on your way up, did you?"
"I haven't," Gwen said while Lance shook his head no.
"Good—I'll just," Arthur pointed down the hall, "go."
Gwen watched Arthur as he walked by them. Should she either bother unpacking?
After dinner, Freya came downstairs with the platter of dishes from the dining room. She sighed as she washed them. "It's so gloomy upstairs," she muttered as she scrubbed. Only Arthur and Uther had attended. The dinnerware was sparse and on opposite ends of the table. "I wish they would all make up."
Gwen watched Merlin as he watched Freya. She nudged him. "Be a gentleman and help her."
Merlin almost knocked over his chair from getting up so quickly. Blushing, offered to wash while Freya dried. "At least Mithian doesn't throw stuff at you," Merlin chuckled.
The little activity in the house allowed the staff to relax. They gossiped and played cards, and George even sat in on a round.
On the other side of Gwen, Gwaine looked at the clock. "I have to get going."
"At this hour?" Gwen asked. "Where?"
Gwaine tapped a finger to his chin. "Well, I'm not supposed to say. Or am I just not supposed to say to Arthur?" He gave in when Gwen's eyes narrowed at him. "I have to pick up Morgana at the Dorchester."
"She got a room only for the day?
Gwaine shrugged. "I guess so. She had me bring her after breakfast and said to get her at eleven."
"I'm coming with you," Gwen said in a tone that the driver wouldn't dare argue with.
When they arrived at the hotel, Gwaine parked the car and Gwen said she'd be out with Morgana as soon as possible. She went to the front desk and asked for Morgana Pendragon. The clerk told her she checked out but could still be found at the bar.
Morgana was being chatted up by a finely dressed man at the bar. He had just said something that caused Morgana to throw her head back in laughter. One hand rested on her chest as she tried to catch her breath, and the other rested on the man's forearm for support. The man signaled the bartender for two more drinks.
That's when Gwen chose to intervene. "Morgana," she gently said, coming up beside her. Morgana turned towards Gwen, and up close Gwen could see that Morgana's cheeks were rosy and her eyes glossy with drunkenness.
"Oh, Gwen! What're you doing here, my darling?"
"It's time to go home, my lady." Gwen pulled Morgana's hand from the male companion.
"Why don't you stay," Morgana's new fiend said. "Have a drink with us." Up close he was a bit skeevy.
The bartender placed the two drinks down and before Morgana could reach for her glass, Gwen took it and downed it in seconds. She shuddered at the sudden burn of the alcohol down her throat. "There. Thank you, sir. It's time to go. Now." She pulled a stumbling Morgana away.
On their way out, they heard the familiar trollish laughter of Lady Catrina Tregor, and saw her and Uther canoodling in the corner of the bar. As Morgana made to move towards them, Gwen pulled her back. "Not the time or place," Gwen said, ushering Morgana along.
Gwaine greeted them at the car. "Gwaine!" Morgana said with her arms spread wide. "Gwaine, Gwaine, Gwaine. Handsome in the day, devilishly handsome at night." She winked.
Gwaine put on his most charming smile. "Thank you m'lady."
In the back of the car, Morgana rested her head on Gwen's shoulder, grumbling. Gwen leaned her head agaInst Morgana's and brought her hand up to pat her friend's cheek. "I should've phoned ahead to say I was coming home. Then we could've spent a night on the town together."
Morgana made a mumbling noise before she got actual words out. "We should do a—what do they call it, Gwaine—pub crawl?"
"Yes, m'lady. Though, I don't think it'd be appropriate. Maybe a five-star-hotel-bar-crawl… Well, maybe a word more fancy than crawl," Gwaine mused. He peeked at them through the rear-view mirror and caught Gwen rolling her eyes at him. "But it still wouldn't be very safe for a lady and her companion to do such a thing by themselves."
"Gwaine does have a point," Gwen said nodding back at him.
Morgana snorted and settled into a nap.
When they pulled up to the estate, Gwaine helped Gwen bring Morgana inside before bringing the car back into the garage. The cool night air had helped wake Morgana a bit, but it did nothing for her balance. The ladies groaned in unison when they reached the stairs. "Okay," Gwen sighed. "One step at a time."
They almost made it to the top in complete silence when it was Gwen who tripped on her skirt, causing Morgana to giggle. Gwen slapped her hand over Morgana's mouth while trying to suppress a giggle of her own. They composed themselves and listened for any sounds before continuing to Morgana's room. They managed to make it without waking the house, and Gwen helped Morgana change into her nightdress and settle into bed.
Morgana pulled the sheet over her shoulders and turned her back to Gwen. Thinking it was a cue to leave, Gwen headed for the door. "Goodni—"
"My mother killed herself."
Gwen walked quietly back over to Morgana. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on Morgana's shoulder.
"Her symptoms became more frequent," Morgana spoke flatly. "We had to put her in an asylum."
"We?"
"I have a sister. Morgause. My mother was with another man before Gorlois. I remember her episodes when I was a child. Father couldn't take it, that's why he divorced her. I found them in New York where Morgause was taking care of her." Morgana squirmed deeper into the covers. "She was still rotten to us, even in her suicide note," she mumbled before nodding off.
Gwen's first instinct was to shake her mistress awake and beg her to tell her more, but instead she stayed quiet by Morgana's side well through the night.
A/N: So yeah, some insight to what Morgana's been up to in this Morgana-heavy chapter. I wish I had some sappy arwen to give you as a gift after all these months buuuuuuut XD
Thanks for sticking around though. And thanks always for reading and reviewing!