Morgana: But what if-
Arthur: *cuts her off* No. I won’t ever let that happen. Not to us. Not ever.
She sighed, and against her better judgment, allowed herself to believe him.

Morgana: Oh, I must look a fright. We’ve been traveling 4 days now.
Arthur: You look beautiful.
Morgana: *smiling* You’re being uncharacteristically kind this morning, Arthur. Should I be concerned?
Arthur: Pay me no mind, I’m still half asleep. I don’t know what I’m saying.
Morgana: *scoff* Well, now that I know you’re alright…
She fell silent and stirred the contents of the pot, waiting for their breakfast to be ready. Arthur silently chastised himself for having blundered his way through that. Morgana deserved to know all that she was without him being too much of a coward to admit it. And yet, he wasn’t sure if he was ready.
Arthur: Any man alive would give his life to have you.
She was taken off guard by the seriousness of his tone and wrestled with speechlessness for a moment.
Morgana: Then I suppose it’s a good thing I won’t have just any man.
Arthur: From the way you talk, you seem to have someone in mind already.
Morgana: Perhaps I do.
Merlin: You know, there ARE other people sitting here!

He told his father he was going hunting. He told Merlin he wanted time alone. Both were lies. Arthur rode out that afternoon because he was following her. Last week, he had seen her riding alone, astray from her usual route and no one knew where she had gone. When pressed, Morgana feigned ignorance of having left the city at all. So the next week, around the same time, on the same day, she left once more without knowing he was right behind her.

They rode for a long time, Arthur had no idea where she was going, but took great care to ensure she would not notice him. At last, she got down from her horse, leaving it tethered to a low branch, and started walking through a ravine. Arthur managed to follow her from above. A man appeared at her side and Arthur all but leapt into the ravine to protect her, but she gave no start. It was soon apparent she knew him. Arthur was more confused than ever. The two of them walked through and further into the forest with the man leading the way. Then, all of a sudden, the man kissed her cheek and walked off ahead.

Jealousy seized him fast in a vice like hold and Arthur’s blood began to boil. What was she doing in the forest with this stranger? He wasn’t… was he?

Still in the hills, Arthur followed as she approached a makeshift campsite. Druids. Morgana was visiting the Druids? A familiar little boy came out of nowhere shouting her name exuberantly and ran straight into her arms.

Mordred: Morgana!

She laughed and embraced him tightly, not at all surprised. It gave him a strange feeling to see her so happy, smiling with such brilliance, as she held the child tenderly against her. As if he were her own.

The man came again, the one who had led her there, and Arthur had to restrain himself from barreling down there and beating his face into the ground. He brought her a mug with something to drink and the little boy ran off.

Morgana sat down on a nearby log with the mug in hand and talked quietly with the man. Arthur clenched his jaw painfully. Just how well did they know each other? What in God’s name was Morgana doing here? She was risking her life if his father ever discovered this…

Morgana and the man turned closer together and Arthur felt his stomach clench, bile rise in his throat. When the man touched her arm and leaned in, a timeless gesture Arthur knew what was to come. He could not bear the sight. Shutting his eyes, he turned his horse round and rode hard back to Camelot. Never stopping, never slowing.

In his whole life, he never knew it was possible to feel this way at the same time. Angry enough to kill. Ashamed enough to hide. Heartbroken enough to die. Perhaps they all worked together.

If he had waited just moment longer, turned away just one second later, he would have seen Morgana refuse Alvarr. She smiled and thanked him, but told him that would never be. Friendship was all she would offer him. Mordred gave her a small pink stone he had found and wanted her to have. He hugged her goodbye and made her promise to visit again. Morgana rode leisurely back to Camelot with a smile on her face, thinking about the wonderful people she left and the man she was returning to. The man who would one day be King and broach the divide, bringing them all together at last. The man she loved.

Morgana: I find something obscenely wrong with this picture, Arthur.
Arthur: *chuckles and plays innocent* What are you talking about?
Morgana: I say how nice it would be to spend some time together away from Camelot, and you take me to huddle out in the woods like vagabonds! Instead of enjoying the hospitality and many comforts of any one of our neighboring kingdoms, I’m sleeping on the ground with rocks at my back and dirt in my hair! And as if that weren’t bad enough, somehow I’m the one collecting firewood while you’re sitting on your princely arse!
Arthur: It’s good for you, Morgana. Builds character and all that. Don’t you want to reconnect with life outside of the castle walls? Partake in nature and live free from palace burdens?
Morgana: I’d like to reconnect my fist with your face.
Arthur: *stands up* You know, I don’t think you quite appreciate the effort it took to make this happen. Do you realize how hard it was to convince my father to let us out alone like this?
Morgana: *eyeroll* Something along the lines of “pretty please, Father”?
Arthur: *glare* Why you- OW!
Morgana dropped the firewood directly onto his feet and wiped off her hands with a satisfied smirk.
Morgana: There, all done! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go down to the river to bathe. It’s not like we have anything else to do in this godforsaken forest.

She walked off with Arthur staring after her, bewildered by how the conversation had gone. Was there something he was missing? She wasn’t really that upset about this, was she? He’d planned all this for them! They so rarely got to be away from Camelot and alone together. Why was she acting like this? Morgana was spoiled, of course, but she was hardly above spending a few nights on the ground. She’d never minded it before.

It wasn’t until she had almost disappeared down the hill when it finally clicked.

‘It’s not like we have anything else to do.’

Arthur: OH.

He took off at a run to join her, grinning all the while.

He didn’t make his arrival known at first, content to watch her with only the silence to endure, but it didn’t last for very long. It was as if she somehow knew he was there without ever having to lay eyes on him. Morgana turned around and spotted him up on the ridge. When she smiled, it nearly erased every bit of enmity that plagued him. Nearly.
Morgana: You’re late.
Arthur: Time you waited for once.
The joy with which she had received him in those first few moments faded away, he could see the disappointment written all over her beautiful face.
Morgana: *sullenly* Are we to argue tonight, Arthur? Again? We needn’t come all this way for that.
Arthur: Just before I left, my father was so gracious as to inform me that I will be marrying in a year’s time.
The news didn’t seem to faze her, which angered him all the more.
Morgana: To whom?
Arthur: Through the overwhelming kindness of the King, I am permitted to choose from a number of women he has already selected.
Morgana: We knew this day would come.
The fury nearly exploded from his chest.
Arthur: DAMN IT, MORGANA! At least have the decency to pretend you care!
She shook her head sadly and came towards him. He almost backed away, not being able to bear her closeness.
Morgana: *softly* From the very first time you kissed me, I have prepared myself for this moment. I knew we would never be allowed to be together, but vowed to make our time worthwhile. I cannot have you the way I want, Arthur. I will never be able to call you mine. I know this. I have always known this. Do not judge me for wanting to make the most of these last meetings together before we’re unduly parted. I don’t want to talk of Uther, or of marriage, or of Camelot. Tonight, I only want you.
An overwhelming surge of love and admiration burst through his being for the woman before him and his voice caught in his throat. Taking her hands in his, he nodded unsteadily. She would be the one to get him through this.
Arthur: No matter what happens…whoever we’re bound to in the future…know that I will always be yours. I could never be another’s.
She kissed him and he let himself fall.

Based on a challenge by firesofavalon

PART III (of III)

She lay somewhere in between. Not sleeping. Not dreaming. Not awake. His eyes followed her. Always followed her. Striking blue. Piercing her deep inside, beyond any place she ever thought could be touched. She saw him as she remembered him, not as he was now, still much too young. He whispered to her things she could not understand and yet understood all the same. Always whispering, always the eyes. She wanted to talk back, wanted to break free from the heaviness that plagued her. She could swim, but she could not walk. What was this? Captivity? What did he want? Why did he hold her here?
Have your child, Morgana, but you will not forget. I am yours as you are mine. You cannot escape what is to come. Together.
She woke with a clear mind and fresh eyes, as though she had not been sleeping at all. It followed her still, but she was confused no longer. Arthur was sitting in a chair beside the bed and his head snapped up to see her. He looked worse than she could ever remember. Bedraggled with bloodshot eyes and dark circles under them that looked like bruises. He was so pale. So sad. When he threw himself into her arms and wept, she did not need to ask why. She knew and all she wanted was to comfort him.
Morgana: I’m alright, my love.
Arthur: I thought you were-
Morgana: I’m not.
He kissed her fiercely till neither had breath left in them. His forehead pressed against hers, he ran his hands everywhere he could reach, reassuring himself of her well being. If he could feel it, then it wasn’t just a dream, was it?
Arthur: I don’t… How? You’re not even…
Morgana: It doesn’t matter right now. I want our daughter. Where is she? How is she? What does she look like?
Such guilt poured over his grief stricken face that she regretted having ever said a thing. He looked so terrified and ashamed.
Arthur: *hoarsely* I haven’t… I couldn’t.
It was all he could say to explain and so she took his face in her hands and smiled.
Morgana: Then we will meet her together.
Joy sparked in his eyes, heavy laden with relief as she knew she had given him the forgiveness he felt he needed.
Arthur: How did you know we had a daughter? They said- *he swallowed thickly and spoke with some difficulty* they said you weren’t awakeby then.
She scoffed and kissed him briefly.
Morgana: As if I would have a son.

part I part II

PART II (of III)

Arthur: You can’t do this, Morgana. After all we’ve been through together… After all you put me through… You just can’t do this. You have to fight it. Whatever’s happening to you, just fight it. You can’t leave me. I won’t… I won’t be able to… *he took a shuddering breath, holding the tears at bay* If I have ever asked you for anything in this life, I ask you this.
He would not have left her side for anything, but Gaius insisted that he would be able to tend to her better if alone. Arthur could not refuse and the old man knew it. He sat alone in the dining hall at the head of the table. Servants put food before him but he ignored it. When Gaius walked through the doors, he could not help but feel a drowning despair. He knew what was coming.
Gaius: Sire, I… there is nothing I or anyone can do. There is nothing physically wrong with her and yet her breathing slows, her pulse weakens. Her life is slipping away.  *he sighed raggedly* She will not last the night.  Arthur, I am deeply sorry.
He said nothing.
Gaius: Gwen has undertaken the care of your child for now, would you-
Arthur: Leave me.
Bowing gravely, he walked out. As soon as Arthur was alone, the walls closed in and grief threatened to swallow him whole. So this was it then. This was the kind of man he was. This was what he was meant for. He had loved only two women his whole life. And he had killed them both. He was not a man, he was a monster.

part I part III

PART I (of III)

Arthur: GAIUS! I came as quickly as I could! Where is she?! Is she alright?!
Gaius: My Lord, I’m sorry, but…
Arthur could not hear another word. He wasn’t even sure what happened after that. The next thing he knew he was standing at his wife’s bedside as she lay there pale and unearthly still. He did not even remember the servants taking his armor off.
Arthur: There must be something. Anything. You can’t tell me that she’s just…
Gaius: She lost a lot of blood, but I’m not certain that that is the cause of her condition. She’s in a coma, sire.
Arthur: You don’t even know what’s wrong with her!?
Gaius: *calmly* I do not believe this to be a result of childbirth. It is unlike anything I’ve seen.
He hesitated before gently speaking again. He knew that Arthur was not King right now, but a man about to lose his wife.
Gaius: She bore a healthy babe. A beautiful girl, Arthur. She’s as strong as any infant I’ve seen. Perhaps we should bring her in for you-
Arthur: *angry* I don’t care about the child! You need to save her! Do you understand me? I don’t care what you have to do, but you damn well better save her! *he was becoming frantic* Where’s the hell is Merlin!? Why hasn’t he done anything? Can’t he use…?
But Merlin had already tried everything he knew. All his strength, all his magic, it was all for nothing. He could not save Morgana.

part II part III

Morgana: *teasing* Who knew you would become such a serious man? Quite the change.
Arthur: I’m worried.
Morgana: You’re always worried these days.
Arthur: What if this isn’t the right choice? What if I’m making a mistake?
Morgana: Do you think it’s a mistake?
Arthur: I asked you first.
Morgana: *sigh* Why don’t you ask me what it is you really want to know?
He studied his hands for a long moment then turned his gaze to her.
Arthur: Am I a good King?
She couldn’t help but smile.
Morgana: Yes.
He sighed.
Morgana: …But only because you have me for a Queen.
Arthur: I knew that was coming.

Morgana: I can’t decide on a dress for the feast tomorrow. I want to look particularly nice for the occasion. We’re celebrating our good friend’s marriage, thought it best to put a bit of effort into it.
Arthur: *not looking up from his desk* Gwen and Lancelot are hardly going to be looking at your dress.
Morgana: I’m Queen of Camelot, Arthur. Everyone will be looking. *goes behind the partition to change* Come on, help me choose, the red or the white? Which do you like better?
Arthur: In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit busy at the moment.
Morgana: Oh, right, because the army’s inventory report of how many pairs of socks are allotted is of dire urgency.
Arthur: You’re still talking!
Morgana: Alright, alright, I’ll leave you be. Why do I bother asking anyway? You only care about how quickly you can take it off.
She came out from behind the partition with a devious grin, swinging the wine colored dress that was undoubtedly his favorite (for obvious reasons). Heat crept up his collar and he shifted in his chair.
Morgana: Yes, I think this one will do.
Arthur: I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work! This is important. *he holds up some papers*
Morgana: Really, Arthur. I was simply asking your opinion, no need to be distraught over it.
Arthur: I couldn’t care less what you wear so stop bothering me about it!
Morgana: *glare* Well, if that’s how you feel, then I just won’t wear a thing at all.
Arthur: Fine!
The dress Morgana was wearing dropped to the floor and his eyes widened. She raised her eyebrow in a challenge he so infuriatingly knew he would lose.

Arthur wasn’t going to get anymore work done today.

Arthur: Back again? You just can’t get enough of me, can you?
Morgana: Stalking a woman is hardly an acceptable form of courtship, Arthur.
Arthur: Who says I want to court you?
Morgana: Why, you do, of course. Every time I catch you staring…
Arthur: You’re unfortunately mistaken, because I can assure you, you are not the one I’m looking at.
Morgana: And I’ll have the decency to pretend to believe you. But it doesn’t matter, Arthur, because I would never give you the time of day.
Arthur: Ah, that leaves the night then. That’s alright, I prefer it that way. Will it be my chambers or yours?
Morgana: *laughs* The only time you will have me at night, dear Champion, is in your dreams.
She grins salaciously and saunters off.
Arthur: *calling after her* You can’t deny what you want, Morgana!
Morgana rejoins Gwen who was still looking at some fabrics to make a new dress for her mistress.
Gwen: Where did you run off to?
Morgana: Oh, Arthur just took me up against the wall in the alley back there. Rather quick, but no less enjoyable. I don’t look a fright, do I?
Gwen: *mouth drops open in horror*
Arthur walked by just then giving them a good once over, biting his lip suggestively, and winked before continuing on. Gwen stared at him, speechless, and then turned back to a nonchalant Morgana.
Morgana: *holds up a sheer purple gossamer* What do you think of this?
Gwen: MORGANA!
Morgana: *rolls her eyes* Oh, hush, Gwen. I’m teasing. Would I ever do such a thing? With that man, no less? Shame on you.
She shook her head reprovingly and walked off, leaving a still shell shocked Gwen behind.

Sorry, this is totally cracked out, but I had to post it anyway. lol.