Chapter 32: A/N I do not own Merlin, there will be various POVs so I'm just going to jump around, and when I get to one that's kind of obscure, I'll let you know. Should stay with 3rd person omniscient though, gotta love those english classes! Morgana and Cassie don't get their own POV because their reactions are pretty predictable (or so I would think).
When the three girls had finished with their preparations, they lounged around, waiting to be 'fashionably late'- in Morgana's words- but arrive before the King. When the three women walked in, they each had their own triumphant smiles on their faces: Cassie only had eyes for Owaine, and the way he looked at her at that moment made her want to ignore etiquette and run into his arms and kiss him in front of everyone.
Gwen saw Merlin staring at the three of them, open-mouthed until Gaius elbowed him, and couldn't help the blush that was threatening to appear on her face. She moved off to the side and collected her tray and pitcher to begin her work. She could feel the eyes of the men follow her as she broke off from the other two.
Morgana was basking in the attention, sending flirtatious glances wherever she met a pair of eyes, and demanding those who hadn't yet to look at her. She looked absolutely stunning. Cassie broke off to speak with Owaine while Morgana continued toward the center, going to talk with Lady Caelia. Arthur approached her and they began their conversation on some inane topic. Feast pleasantries, as they've always called it. Until he behaved exactly like the prat he usually was- and that would forever be his nickname, coined by Gaius' nephew.
Arthur's POV (Mainly)
The feast was dull, at best. 'At least I can enjoy the entertainment.' he thoughtHe was mingling with some of his knights. 'Bootlickers is more like it.' he thought ruefully, 'At least they're funny'. He was reenacting some fight he had-and won- when Morgana walked in with her maid and Cassie trailing behind her. They looked stunning. He never noticed how pretty Morgana's maid was before, but he couldn't believe just how pretty she really was. 'If she had the title, she would have as many suitors as Morgana' he thought. Cassie looked outright beautiful, and Morgana, a vision in red.
"God have mercy!" he breathed, staring at the beauty of them with a stunned expression. The moment Gwen broke off, it was like his attention was warring with him. He wanted to look at her, but the sight of the other two was overpowering. He remembered himself enough to close his mouth, unlike the oaf who was openly staring at them, and made his way over to speak with Morgana once Cassie had left to speak with Owaine.
"Morgana, you look well." he greeted with a nod
"Arthur. Bored of your shadows already?"
"Traded them in for a prettier view." he jested. "I see you've got your friends new dresses." he commented, glancing over at Gwen speaking with the idiot who almost beat him yesterday. 'Can't believe I didn't pay close enough attention and let the idiot corner me!'
"That was Owaine's doing. He bought the dresses off some merchant and gave them to Cassie. The purple one was long on her, so she gifted it to Gwen."
"He has good taste, I'll give him that." he said, eyeing the knight speaking with his betrothed on the other side of the room.
"For dresses, or women?" Morgana teased, seeing him looking towards Cassie.
"Both." he said absentmindedly.
"She is taken, you know." Morgana said, a flare of jealousy igniting.
"My, my, Morgana. Are you jealous?!" Arthur teased, bringing his attention back to her, knowing he'd get to her if he kept on like this.
Morgana was about to respond when the trumpets announcing the King's entrance sounded.
"Seems you've been saved by the bell, Arthur." Morgana replied flippantly as they both broke away and went to their respective places.
Owaine's POV (Mainly)
Owaine was standing in the corner speaking with Sirs Leon, Pellinore and Bruin when Lady Morgana, Gwen and Cassie walked in. He could tell the eye of every man went to the entrance. Gwen and Morgana both looked beautiful, but his eyes remained glued to the vision in white. The dress was certainly beautiful, and hugged her every curve.
"She looks exquisite!" Leon whispered after an intake of breath. Owaine didn't care who Leon was talking about, he only cared about looking at the girl he was going to marry. His eyes followed hers as she crossed the room and greeted the knights with a dazzling smile.
"Are you guys trying to catch flies?" she asked in order to break the tension.
"You look stunning, Cassie, truly. It seems that my brother's the envy of every man here." Pellinore said, kissing her hand.
"Careful now, Pell. Ellie might get the wrong impression." Cassie said, mockingly scandalized.
"Forget Lady Eleanor, look at Owaine's face!" Bruin said, laughing at the poorly hidden jealousy.
"Hush, Bruin, I saw you looking as well. You two might want to look at your wives sometime soon. They look like they are about to pop a vein!" Cassie said, much to Leon and Owaine's amusement.
"Bye, Cassie!" The two said simultaneously, going over to their wives and telling them how beautiful they are.
"Did that sleeping draught work, Leon?" Cassie asked, making conversation.
"Very well, thank you. Better than I had thought. I slept until after lunch today. Haven't slept for that long since before I was a squire!" he said, smiling at the girl.
"Do you really make squires run fifty lengths of the training fields?" Cassie asked, remembering the poor squire from this morning.
"That's only the warm up. I had to run fifty lengths in the morning and after training was over, and there were the constant crunches." Leon answered.
"The damn push ups! Hated them, still do." Owaine supplied.
"The parries and thrusts, while important, are horrible. Especially when they make you train with longswords."
"Why, are they heavier?" she asked with a furrowed brow.
"Much." the two men said in unison.
"Good to know." she commented idly.
"If anything, Owaine was going easy on him all afternoon, today. I can see, now, why. He couldn't wait to see you tonight." Leon said complimenting her.
"It's all Morgana's and Gwen's doing." Cassie replied shyly, a blush spreading along her cheeks at the knight's praise.
"And the dress. I've never seen anything like it."
"I bought it off a Pict merchant."
"The one Guinevere's wearing as well, I assume." Leon said.
"Yes, it was rather long on me, and Gwen's taller than I, so I gifted it to her. You don't mind, do you?" she asked, holding his hand with both of hers and giving him the best puppy dog look she could muster.
"No, I don't mind." Owaine relented, following her lead. 'Cassie must have gotten that dress from that trunk of hers.'
Cassie smiled widely and placed a kiss on his cheek. At that moment the fanfare sounded, heralding the King's entrance.
Leon's POV
Leon weaved his way through the guests to where he would be seated during the feast tonight. Personally, he thought it was in poor taste to declare a feast on the same day that someone had been killed, but he wasn't the King. and it wasn't his place to give such opinions. Not if he ever wanted to make First Knight. Discipline, following orders, and training hard. That was the way to become First Knight.
He quickly spotted Sirs Pellinore and Bruin and walked over to greet them.
"Pellinore. Bruin. Owaine." he greeted with a nod and a friendly smile. He considered them brothers as much as he did friends.
"Leon!" Pellinore cried gaily, "Come, join the celebrations!"
"What are we celebrating?"
"Caelia's pregnant!" Bruin whispered excitedly. She didn't want to say anything to too many people just yet, but Leon was a close friend of theirs. They were practically neighbors, Caelia and Leon. Their lands were next to each other.
"Ha, Ha! Congratulations! Are you hoping for a boy or girl?" Leaon said with a broad smile.
"I want a boy. Or a girl. Although, I wouldn't know the first thing about raising a girl." Bruin said, grimacing sheepishly.
"I imagi- Wow!" Leon said, his attention grabbed by the three beautiful maidens who walked into the great hall.
"What are you looking at?" Bruin asked, turning to look.
The three men, along with every other man in the hall, turned their eyes on the women. The raven-haired beauty in red was leading the three, and Leon couldn't believe how beautiful they looked. He could practically hear the other men in the hall drooling. He actually saw the servant by Gaius watch open-mouthed. And the girl he'd known practically his whole life looked so different. She looked almost regal, in the light purple dress. But Cassie. She looked like the Greek goddess, Aphrodite. In a whitish dress with beads that sparkled in the candlelight, she looked positively gorgeous.
"She looks exquisite!" he breathed, looking directly at Cassie.
But she only had eyes for one man, his friend. Owaine. Immediately, Leon felt terrible, thinking of his friend's betrothed. 'I can't think of her that way. She's like my sister. Yes, sister, that should work' he thought, but he doubted he would ever really see her as such.
That day a few months ago when she'd ridden with him back to Camelot, snuggled against his chest came back to the forefront with a vengeance. He could only stare at her, mesmerized by her beauty.
"Are you guys trying to catch flies?" she joked with a dazzling smile.
"You look stunning, Cassie, truly. It seems that my brother is the envy of every man here." Pellinore said, kissing her hand. Owaine wasn't the only one feeling jealous at that moment, Leon was just much better at hiding it.
"Careful no, Pell. Ellie might just get the wrong impression." she said, pulling a scandalized face at him in jest.
"Forget Lady Elleanor! Look at Owaine's face!" Bruin said, cracking up at the jealousy contorting Owaine's face.
"Hush, Bruin. I saw you looking as well. You might want to look at your wives sometime soon. They look like they're about to pop a vein!" Cassie admonished, Leon and Owaine grinning at the look that came across the married men's faces.
"Bye Cassie!" they cried in unison, running over to their wives.
"Did the sleeping draught work, Leon?" Cassie asked, causing Leon to remember just how he had felt last night. Jealous.
"Very well, thank you. Better than I had thought. I slept until after lunch today. Haven't slept for that long since before I was a squire!" He couldn't help but smile at the girl.
"Do you really make squires run fifty lengths of the training fields?" Cassie asked, remembering the poor squire from this morning.
"That's only the warm up. I had to run fifty lengths in the morning and after training was over, and there were the constant crunches." Leon answered, his abdomen hurting from the memory.
"The damn push ups! Hated them, still do." Owaine supplied.
"The parries and thrusts, while important, are horrible. Especially when they make you train with longswords." he said, hating whenever he had to train with those damn swords, but recognising them as a necessary evil.
"Why, are they heavier?" she asked with a furrowed brow.
"Much." the two men said in unison.
"Good to know." she commented idly.
"If anything, Owaine was going easy on him all afternoon, today. I can see, now, why. He couldn't wait to see you tonight." Leon said, barely hiding his compliment on her unrivaled beauty.
"It's all Morgana's and Gwen's doing." Cassie replied demurely, blushing.
"And the dress. I've never seen anything like it." he said, trying to distract from his obvious admiration of her.
"I bought it off a Pict merchant." Owaine responded, 'hopefully he's clueless of what I'm thinking.' Leon thought desperately.
"The one Guinevere's wearing as well, I assume." Leon said, looking in the direction of the pretty brunette speaking with the same servant who was staring open-mouthed at them entering.
"Yes, it was rather long on me, and Gwen's taller than I, so I gifted it to her. You don't mind, do you?" she asked,taking his hand in both of hers and pouting her lip in a very attractive way and looking up at him through her lashes.
"No, I don't mind." Owaine relented. Leon couldn't blame him, no one could deny that look.
Cassie smiled widely and placed a kiss on his cheek, the jealousy flaring up. At that moment the fanfare sounded, heralding the King's entrance. 'I need to take more patrols and missions. The jealousy will seriously hurt my friendship with Owaine.' Leon thought regrettably.
Merlin's POV and Gwen's POV (alternating)
Gwen couldn't help but smile shyly. She'd never gone to feast dressed so beautifully. She really couldn't wait to see Merlin's reaction. It was the only reason she agreed to wear it tonight. The dress was rather loose below her waist, but it was so fine and beautiful. And she had been taught never to look a gift horse in the mouth. The moment she walked through the door, she could practically feel everyone staring at them.'It's Morgana and Cassie they're looking at. They both look like princesses.' she thought enviously. She saw Merlin staring after them when they entered, and stifled her giggle when she saw Gaius elbow him to close his mouth. She moved off to gather her tray and pitcher as she was working at the feast and went over to talk to Merlin.
"She looks great, doesn't she?" Gwen asked smiling, hoping he would say something about her.
"Yeah." Merlin said, still looking at the King's ward, making her just a little bit jealous.
"Some people are just born to be Queen." she said, smiling through the envy she felt at Merlin's attention on Morgana.
"No!" Merlin said, obviously shocked.
"I hope so. One day." Gwen said with a fake smile "Not that I'd want to be her. Who'd want to marry Arthur?" She said derisively, looking down.
"Oh, come on Gwen," Merlin chuckled, "I thought you liked those real rough, tough save the word kind of men." he said, using her exact words.
"No, I like much more ordinary men like you." Gwen said quickly, without thinking.
"Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary." Merlin said really looking at the woman beside him. She was only slightly older than him, with creamy white skin and beautiful light green eyes. 'She's definitely beautiful, even without the fancy dresses you can see that.' he thought.
Realizing her mistake she quickly backtracked, hating the blush she felt on her cheeks.
"No, I didn't mean you, obviously. Not you. But just, you know, I like much more ordinary men like you." she said, cursing herself 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'
"Thanks." Merlin said, not knowing how to reply, but hiding his hurt behind a blank expression. The two turned around awkwardly facing away from each other and getting on with their jobs.
A bit later, the trumpets sounded, announcing the King's arrival.
Post chapter A/N I hope you can guess at how Morgana and Cassie would react. If not, then I'm a horrible writer and I thank you for reading this long. I think you all know what will happen next chapter! ;D You've read, now review, tell me if you liked or hated, and what so I can do better!