A/N: Hey Guys! Presenting chapter 2. Hope you guys like it and please review!
Everybody stared at Arthur sadly, not being able to decide on what to tell him.
"Come on… we should tell him, I mean there's no point in hiding it anyway." Merlin shrugged, knowing that Arthur's misery won't do anything to bring Gwen back in London.
They all sighed and Morgana decides that she should be the one telling him since everyone else is staring at her.
Morgana turned to Arthur "Alright… I shouldn't keep you waiting any longer…" she stared at him deeply "The reason why this is so hard to tell you is that we knew that you would get hurt… so much. We even promised Gwen that we wouldn't tell you where she was but here we are, telling you anyway because we care about you."
Morgana sighed again, deeply this time and turned to the guys again before turning to Arthur.
"Gwen… left for New York yesterday." she finally said out loud, looking at how shocked Arthur is by the news.
"What?... she left the country without saying goodbye?" he asked softly, eyes about to burst into tears, not wanting to believe what he just heard.
Morgana suddenly felt a little bit of annoyance to Arthur but again, she lets the feeling pass by.
"She said her goodbyes to us- umm… I'm sorry, that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that... it's more than just a simple goodbye… she said that she's not coming back. It's goodbye… for good." Morgana said, a little relieved that Arthur now knew where her best friend was, knowing this could crush him… inside and out.
Arthur was speechless with Morgana's last phrase. It kept repeating in his mind, realizing that fact that he might be so lost without Gwen by his side, realizing how much of an idiot he had been to let her go. After a thoughtful moment, he was brought back by Merlin's voice.
"Arthur." Merlin called.
Arthur looked at him.
"Are you alright?" Merlin asked and clapped his back.
Arthur just stared at Merlin, not saying anything, still taking in Morgana's words a while ago. He then suddenly turned to her and spoke.
"For good? Are you sure? She has no plan of coming back?" he looked at all of them, who didn't answer him. They just stared at him back.
Leon shrugged and answered him after a moment.
"She said she wasn't sure if it's for good but, she did say that she was going to stay there for a long time. So, for all we know, we just have to wish the best for her… on whatever she decides." He said casually.
Gwaine was the next one who spoke "He's right. We all know that Gwen is a very important person in our lives because of all the things she's done for us… I think it's time to let her choose what she thinks is best for herself." he said sadly, feeling a little guilty.
Everybody knew that Gwen was a kind and gentle person. Anyone can't help liking her when he/she gets to know her. she had the tendency of thinking of others before herself. She always helped people, but she never got to help herself. She thought of what's best for other people but, she never had the chance to think of herself.
Arthur closed his eyes, slowly letting tears fall from his eyes, but making the effort to wipe them off his face.
"I know I don't deserve to say this… but… I can't accept that I may never see her again." Arthur said as more tears trickle down his face.
"Well it is your fault." Morgana said casually and shrugged as if it was no big deal.
She noticed that everyone stared at her. At this point, she once again felt the urge to lecture Arthur.
"What? It's true. Look… I am truly sorry, but I have to say this out loud… if it wasn't for Arthur here, Gwen would still be here. She wouldn't be a thousand miles away from us right now." Morgana pointed out annoyingly, realizing that she can no longer control her outburst towards Arthur.
She looks at him and starts rambling at him.
"Because of you, not only did I lose a fashion designer by my side, but I lost a sister and a best friend. Now, could you tell me what she did to deserve this? Gwen is the most kind and loyal person that you'd ever meet and she was more than a friend to all of us. And you would leave her at the mercy of her own misery. You knew that we were the only family she had aside from her father… since we were kids. We've known her all our lives and we all accepted your relationship as a couple… but then you break up with her and you hurt her like this. She's been through a lot of pain by the loss of Aunt Anna and Elyan. And instead of being there for her, you've just become an addition to her pain. Strangely enough I was relieved that she chose you, because I thought you cared so much about her that you could never find it in yourself to hurt her and say to her face that you never loved her but then, you did it anyway!... You're just lucky Tom and Uther helped her to get away while she had the chance ." she rambled disappointingly and annoyingly and breathed deeply.
"Father? He helped her to leave the country?" Arthur asked, very shocked to know that even his father helped Gwen to get away.
"Of course he did! He couldn't deny Gwen anything. He treated her like me, like his own daughter, why shouldn't he help her? No father wants to see his daughter hurt this way because of a man she loved with all her heart… unfortunately, that man had to be you!" Morgana spat out fiercely.
Arthur looked down again and fell quiet, realizing that he had no right to complain about how his father helped Gwen.
Gwen took up fashion designing at University. She never felt alone because she always had a family. She had Morgana and other people who supported her. And she had Arthur to be her inspiration. Everything was falling into place for Gwen but, behind all these wonderful things, meant a great pain for her in return. It always fell back to her and her father. Gwen's mother, Anna and her brother, Elyan suffered from a plane crash on their way home to London when she was five years old.
For her, even if it was just her and Thomas or "Tom" as people like to call him, she had another family to hang on to. She has Uther to treat like her second father and everyone else around her. but now, she felt the same kind of pain when Arthur broke her heart.
Morgana sighed again deeply and looked into her brother's eyes, slowly trying to calm herself down.
"Look, we all know that you've been with Gwen for quite some time but, I just have to ask… Did you really love her?" she asked with a hint of a suspicious tone.
It was Arthur's turn to be shocked as all eyes turn to him.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I loved her." he looked into the distance and continued
"As a matter of fact, I loved her too much that it hurt us both. I never stopped loving her, I still do and I always will. I love her... so much. And it hurts… to know that she left because of me. I don't even know why I said I never loved her. All I know is that I hurt her and I didn't have the chance to apologize. I might never have the chance because I don't know when she'll come back. Or if she'll come back. " Arthur said softly and looked down on his feet, wiping the tears that appeared on his face.
By this time, Morgana has calmed down, finished with lecturing Arthur how he was wrong to hurt Gwen, now feeling sorry for her brother. Even if he was an arrogant prat, she loved him dearly and she hates seeing him hurt like this, even if it was his own fault.
She sighed deeply, sat beside Arthur and hugged him, slowly rubbing his back, trying to make him feel better… somehow. After a while, she pulled away and looked at him, holding his shoulders.
"Arthur… we know that this is very hard for you to accept but still, you have to realize that she did this because of you. She wanted to get away from all the hurt she's been through. Now, whether you decide to wait for her or just move on, we'll still be here for you. It's your choice, because it's what we did with Gwen. We tried to stop her but, she wouldn't hear any of it. So we decided to support her in her choice to leave… because she thinks that it's for the best." she soothed Arthur's arms and continued "Whatever you decide, we'll be here for you. Never forget that." she finishes her statement with a smile at his brother and a hug before she pulls away and goes back to her seat.
They all stay quiet for a while, thinking about what Arthur would do now that Gwen left the country. Merlin then spoke up to take away some tension in the room.
"So… what are you going to do?" he asked, looking at Arthur intently.
Arthur looked at him quickly then turned away "I don't know." he said as he put his head in his hands, elbows leaning on his knees.
"Don't worry… You'll figure it out." Percival spoke up and offered him a small smile.
"I know I will… I just don't know when I'll be able to figure it out." Arthur said as he looked into the distance, thinking if he'll ever get over the love of his life.