Midnight Dinner for Two

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was not tired. Even though it had been a long day, and a long journey, he was not the least bit tired. He was just leaving from Gaius' chambers to check on Merlin, and after seeing that he was as healthy as could be . . . Arthur was satisfied. He ignored his father's constant reminders that Merlin was in fact just a servant. Arthur could not share his father's disregards for those who he considered to be inferior to them . . . and Arthur refused to be responsible for the death of someone he was really beginning to trust, especially after demonstrating his loyalty by drinking from the cup. All this could be put behind them though. Merlin was alive. Arthur was safe . . . thanks to that bizarre ball of light, or whatever it was, that guided him. Perhaps that was what made him wide awake right now. Arthur did not like gaps and holes in things . . . he was determined to get to the bottom of this no matter how long it took . . . well, that may be overstating it. If he didn't get any closer tonight, then he may have to eventually let it go.

He made his way to the dining hall, even though no one was there. Actually, maybe that was why he had chosen this room in particular. He did not feel like socializing with the guards, or going out for a midnight ride, or anything like that. He took a seat on a chair at the table, the very large . . . very empty table. He suddenly felt hungry. He stood back up and told one of the guards to tell the cook to prepare something to eat for him. He left the door open and took a seat at the head of the table once again. Since most people had retired to their chambers, he knew he did not have to worry about explaining why he was wandering around the castle at this time.

When he heard footsteps, assuming it was the cook, he turned his head, only to see someone else that he had not quite expected to see, those who's company he was not trying to avoid either. "Ahh, Morgana," he greeted before turning away from back, looking at the empty table. "Care to join me for a little midnight snack?" He asked, gesturing towards one of the chairs, wondering if she would accept. He had only briefly spoken to her upon his return . . . some more time talking with her certainly wasn't unwelcome. He knew she suffered from sleepless nights, as he nightmares were enough to keep her awake. . . something that Arthur wished he could help her with, but knew he had no power or control over that. All he could do was hope that Gaius' sleeping drafts helped her, even in the slightest.


_{Setting: Dining Hall in Camelot Castle
Time of Day: Late at night, around midnight
Timeline: Shortly after Arthur returned in The Poisoned Chalice
Tag: Morgana}

[morganlefay]

"You. How proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the king's little helper bring a message or have you just come to gloat?"

"Of course! I have nothing better to do after all." She teased. She then began to pace, not taking a seat. "Although I would prefer to sleep then have a snack." She smirked at him, then began to play with her hair.."Never the less, I wouldn't mind a midnight snack, with my least favorite prince." Her purple, silk robes flowing behind her as she paced the length of the table.

" I haven't been able to sleep at all tonight, I just went for a walk, to clear my mind, I didn't think that you'd be up, after everything that happened, I thought that you might like to take nice long nap!" She sat down swiftly and whipped her hair behind her shoulder. Foot steps sounded from behind her, the cook, who was startled and went to get more food. Morgana laughed. "Why are you up?" She asked sweetly, crossing her hand and placing them on her lap. Always, finding ways to break the laws, or rules, going against his father. Not that I am one to talk. She thought. Although, I have been wondering how Merlin has been doing...

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur rolled his eyes are her teasing remarks. Though, it never bothered him to the point of ever rejecting her company, or wanting her to leave from his presence. "Well, I am glad to hear that you do not lose your wit in the middle of the night. How lucky I am," he added, sarcastically. He watched her take a seat, seeing how gracefully she moved. And then concern grew in him for her well being. They had grown up together; he deeply cared for her, and so hearing she was troubled in any way was not easy . . . even despite their fun, teasing remarks to one another that seemed to disregard any concern for their well being.

"Is it the nightmares again? Have the sleep drafts Gaius' is prescribing not been effective?" He asked curiously. "Perhaps he should give you something stronger then. We can't have you wandering around the castle at late hours . . . who knows what kind of mischief you would be up to when nearly everyone is resting." He watched the cook arrive once again, this time, with more food than initially planned. Arthur waited for him to leave, and waited until they were in complete privacy. He always was able to talk more openly when there weren't guards lingering around.

"Apart from gracing you with my lovely company?" He answered with a cocky smile, proudly taking a bite from a piece of bread. "I could not sleep either. My stomach would not let me rest." It was not quite his stomach keeping him up, but that was easier to say than go deep within the complexities of his real reason for not finding sleep easily. Then again, perhaps he would in due time.

[morganlefay]

"You. How proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the king's little helper bring a message or have you just come to gloat?"

She smiled at him reaching for her own bread. "Yes, it's the nightmares. I think that the sleep drafts aren't working anymore...but what am I to judge. Furthermore I don't think that your father would be to happy with you wandering the castle hall ways alone either." She added just before closing her eyes and relaxing. "I wish at times that these nightmares would stop...endless nights lay before me Arthur. They are becoming more real, and more frequent..." She murmured trustingly, while rubbing her temples. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, then looked at the floor, not wanting him to see her in pain. She pressed her hands to her head.

"Or," She said towards the floor then she looked back at Arthur,"That I could at least understand what they mean. Either way, it would be nice. Like having clean chambers, right Arthur, but I don't have to wish for that!" She added laughing, while getting up and dropping the hardly eaten piece of bread. " I'm thinking I might try to go back to bed, not that it would help, much." She yawned. "Oh, my, pardoned me." Her purple robes still fluttering around her as she walked towards the doors. "By chance you'd like to walk me to my chambers, to see what a clean room looks like?" She smiled at him mockingly.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur truly wished he could do something to help her. He hated seeing her so distressed and from how tired he saw her . . . not just now, but practically every day . . . it just made it even worse. Especially since Gaius' remedies were proving to be useless. "Well the difference between me wandering around the castle and you is that I can take care of myself. You on the other hand . . . if danger were to befall you, you would be a damsel in distress. I really can't help you all the time Morgana," he told her teasingly, mocking her 'inability' to handle a sword, though he knew otherwise . . . deep down, he knew otherwise. "What dream did you have that kept you up tonight? Though he was the last person who could understand her dreams, maybe if she talked about it . . . it would help? Arthur did not know. He just knew that he had to do something to help . . . anything.

He paused in a contemplative silence when she told him how much she wished the dreams would stop. He sympathized . . . truly. "They will. Surely they have to end at some point. They can not go on forever. We will find a remedy for them Morgana, I promise." His words were sincere as he knew that her health was no joking matter. It was something he greatly prioritized. He watched her stand up, getting ready to go back to her room. "Morgana, are you inviting be back to your bedroom?" He asked in a flirtatious and teasing manner, as he grinned at her. "You really do not have to make up excuses of a clean room . . . if you want me to come with you, all you have to do is say so," He held his piece of bread in his hand, already getting up from his chair and opening the door for her.

[morganlefay]

"You. How proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the king's little helper bring a message or have you just come to gloat?"

"I wasn't inviting you back to my bedroom, but since you seem to be worried about me wandering around, I thought that you would like to make sure I wouldn't get hurt on my way back." She smiled at him as she walked through the opened door. "It's the same nightmare, but I never remember it in full...always the same part over and over again..." She shivered at the thought. "And for the record Arthur, I wouldn't be a damsel in distress and are you bringing your snack back to bed with you?"

She couldn't help but think about his promise;They can not go on forever. We will find a remedy for them Morgana, I promise. "Do you really think that they will stop?" Her feet slowly hitting the stone flooring. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared at him. There was an awkward silence. " Well do you? Do you even understand!" Her voice was a little loud and full of emotion. She was letting the better of her take over. She knew that Arthur tried to understand, and wanted to understand, as well as she trusted him more then anyone, but she couldn't let this pass, she was over mocking him tonight, over laughing and she just wanted some sleep, but couldn't with everything on her mind. She planted her head in her hands. She looked back up at him with tears in her eyes. "I've been rambling on about my problems, and haven't even thought about yours..."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur let out an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose I could ensure you reach your room safely. God knows my father would never forgive if me I let you wander about." While Arthur passed it off as a duty, it was something he really did want to do. "Really though, what would you do without me?" He asked, once again, teasing her. He followed her out, quickly telling one of the guards to take the food to his chambers, for he would eat it there. No sense in letting the whole thing go to waste. He would also ignore the eye rolling he saw one of the servants do. "I will eat it later," he explained to her, turning his attention back to his discomfort due to her dreams. He listened attentively as she generally described them. "Well if it is enough to keep you up tonight, surely it is nothing good. I am not sure if it can be considered a good or bad thing that you can not remember it." What would be more stressful . . . remembering the vivid images, or being disturbed by an unknown source?

Arthur had to believe that she would soon be rid of this terrible repeated occurrence. "There must be Morgana. In all the world, there has to be something to help you." He looked at her when she stopped, speaking each word with sincerity and genuine concern, even though she was questioning his ability to comprehend the full magnitude of the situation. He couldn't . . . which made him feel even more helpless. He hated seeing her upset . . . he hated seeing anything that made her cry. "No," he admitted in a defeated voice. "I could never possibly understand what you are going through with these . . . dreams. But Morgana, if I could, I would take this burden from you and endure it myself." But he couldn't. "I would do that in a heart beat, without an ounce of hesitation. But since I can not, all I can do is devote my time in finding a way to get rid of it, so that you can have a restful night."He gave a small smile. "I would not give you false hope like this, I am not that that cruel."

[morganlefay]

"You. How proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the king's little helper bring a message or have you just come to gloat?"

She had taken a step back while listening to Arthur speak the truth, the reason she trusted him so much. A guard was looking at her in awe. She turned to walk on to her room. Wanting to change the hard subject, she held back her tears to speak. "Why can you truly not sleep Arthur?" She asked know very well that a stomach ache wouldn't stop him from sleeping the day away. She walked not looking back, not making eye contact with anyone, but the floor. "I know a stomach ache wouldn't bother you from sleeping." She smiled slightly. "Nor would anything else." She let out a small laugh. For some reason, being with Arthur, no matter how annoying he could be, made her happy, comfortable. She snorted. Then launched into an uncontrollable laughing fit.


She felt Arthur's eyes staring into her side, but this just made her laugh even more. She knew if she didn't stop she would wake everyone in the castle, but she didn't want to stop, this was the happiest she had ever felt in a long time. She suddenly stopped hearing foot steps, only to see it was a guard doing his runs. Once he had left, she began to laugh again. "Catch me if you can!" She laughed loudly and ran off.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Morgana knew him well. "I am just having thoughts about recent events . . .about what almost happened to Merlin, and about that strange light that guided me to safety. It was just . . . bizarre." Of course, it was nothing in comparison to her daily insomnia, but she asked, and maybe taking her mind off of it would help. He then looked at her, puzzled when she suddenly started laughing. It was nice to see her smiling, rather than crying . . . but the spontaneity of it slightly confused Arthur. Oh well. She was happy . . . or at least appeared to be. "Morgana, I do believe the sleep deprivation is getting to you," he said, mocking her. "Perhaps Gaius should just give you a sedative to put you in an automatic and deep sleep . . . for the sake of your sanity," he said, still joking around with her.

He then watched her run off and let out a groan. He was too lazy to run after her, but he did in fact follow her. "Mor-" he paused before finishing her name, for he was speaking in a loud tone. He quickly softened it and looked around. "Morgana, come on now. This was fun when we were children . . . and while your maturity seems to be the same . . . mine is not." Still, he was teasing her, just as always. Truthfully, he probably acted far more immature than she did. He continued to follow her, quickening his pace, but dragging his feet at the same time. "This really isn't funny!" He sounded much like a spoiled child, not wanting to do something he was told to. Then again, that was what Arthur tended to be like sometimes. "If a rat comes out and bites you, don't come crying to me!"

[morganlefay]

"You. How proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the king's little helper bring a message or have you just come to gloat?"

"Oh come on you big baby! Have some fun!" She yelled spinning rounding hitting a wall. " Ow...Oh well!" She laughed. " I bet you still can't catch me, remember when we were, younger? I always won!" She spun into someone. " Opps! Sorry!" She exhaled in disappointment becoming sad. "Come on Arthur! Don't be a-a-A Spoiled prince!" She turned back around and looked at him,waiting for an answer. " Well, are you going to let me tell everyone that I won a running contest against you?" She put her hands on her hips and had a smirked across her face. By The look on his face that would be a no.

She dashed off letting her hair whipped behind her, she rounded a corner only to hit right into someone. " Ah..." She muttered rubbing her head sitting on the floor.



TAGGEDl Merlin & Gwen
Locatonl The floor/hallway

[dusty]

LATE NIGHT STROLL BUMPING INTO FRIENDS

It was quite last into the hour of the night and Merlin was still resting. He had made a complete recovery from drinking the almost fatal poison but Gaius said he still had to rest just to make sure everything was alright. He could understand why Gaius was doing this, he was worried for his nephew and it was only natural that he would be concerned for him. Because as far as Merlin knew Gaius didn't seem to have a lot of him family left, so he was guessing he didn't want to lose another member of it making it even smaller than it already was. He also knew that he had been though some rough times lately especially with the near death scare Merlin he given him, he could understand his over concern for his health.

But he had been rest for a quite a while now so opening his eyes he stared at the ceiling of his small room in the physician's quarters. He thought it was good of Gaius to let him stay with him as he could have easily made him live out in the city. But Merlin supposed that with his magical talent Gaius kept him close by, as he probably wanted to keep a closer eye on him. Sitting up Merlin glanced out of the small window in his room to see that the evening had gone past and that it was in fact quite late a night. But all was not quite a could still hear Gaius shuffling around and somewhere in the distance he could hear laughter. Sighing Merlin got up out of his bed to go see what Gaius was doing, but first of all he changed into some clean clothing as what e was wearing had a rather odd smell to it.

Leaving his chambers Merlin wondered into the main rooms of the physicians quarters to find Gaius hunched over a cruet crushing something. "I see you havn't gone to bed yet" Merlin said a slight smile one his face. Gaius turned around to face him leaving the cruet alone. "You should still be resting just in case. He told him a stern look on his face. "You know, Arthur was in here not long ago, I suggested next time you see him to thank him for saving your life for once." Gaius said before shuffling over to the table. "Gaius I'm perfectly fine there's no need to be worrying yourself, after all you did say Arthur saved my life." Gosh did that sound weird to Merlin as it was usually the opposite way round, him saving Arthur from near certain death.

Moving around Gaius Merlin made his way over to the door."Where do you think your going at this hour, Merlin." Gaius said from behind him. Turning to face the old man Merlin gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm just off for a stroll, get a it of fresh air. Don't worry I promise I wont go outside the castle." Merlin said then disappeared out of the door before Gaius had the chance to say another word to stop him. Heading out into the courtyard Merlin began his stroll under the starlit night sky. It was truly wondrous how beautiful the castle looked in the gaze of the moonlight as that alone was a magical site.

But then he heard footsteps coming from a near by corridor so he decided to see who was roaming around the castle at this time of night. As he got closer the footsteps quickened into a running pace and he could hear small voice but he couldn't fathom who they belonged to. Soon he came to a corner and just as be was about to round a corner when the person who the footsteps belonged to ran straight into him. Merlin stumbled backwards suppressing a grown of surprise before looking at the person who had crashed into him. It was that of the Lady Morgana who was now rubbing her head while she sat on the floor. "Oh I'm sorry Morgana... I mean my Lady." Merlin babbled as he tired to help her up. Glancing down the hall he saw Arthur had been following her, maybe now might be the time to thank him, Or possibly not.

[Deleted]

¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾

[/color]

Being a servant had its small perks. And obviously it’s major downfalls. But what it also had was the sense of companionship that one formed with the one they served after a period of time. Well that’s how it worked for Gwen anyway. Which was why Gwen was wondering the castle at such late hours, as she went to check on Morgana. Many would probably be stunned by how much affection Gwen felt toward the girl, they were the same age and had known each other since childhood. Morgana was a kind person and Gwen saw her as a best friend as such, even if that was frowned upon by others.

Gwen heard voices and the sounds of footsteps and decided to investigate as she changed course, heading toward the corridor. She didn’t quite know what she’d been expecting to find, but Morgana and Merlin probably weren’t near the top of the list of things none the less. Gwen hurried over wearing a look of concern, hoping that Morgana wasn’t hurt. Gwen glanced at Merlin. “What are you doing here Merlin?” She asked curiously, not sounding at all accusing as he was kind of in a really suspicious place and Morgana was hurt. Gwen knew though that Merlin wouldn’t hurt a fly if he could help it.

“I was just coming to check on you.” Gwen said turning back to Morgana. “It is lucky that I did by the looks of it. What are you doing up? Did I forget to bring you something?” Gwen asked worriedly, hoping she hadn’t forgotten something. She didn’t like disappointing people, especially not Morgana.

¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾ ¢¾

Tag: Arthur Pendragon, Morgana, Merlin
Outfit: White nightgown covered with a dark brown cloak.
Words: 270
Notes: Meh...
Credit: Made By Janella =)

[/color][/right]

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was still straggling behind, not making much of an effort to catch up. He would . . . eventually. Good lord, it amazed him how much energy Morgana had. After all her lack of sleep, he would think she wouldn't be in the mood for games. Of course, it was better than the less jovial moods she experienced. Arthur tended to complain for just about any reason. He continued walking until he heard someone fall. "Morgana?!" He called, wondering if he tripped and hurt herself. But wait . . . there was more! He heard more than one voice, and the other voice was deeper than a woman's, it had to belong to a man! Arthur pulled out his sword and ran to the source of it.

When he got there, he saw not one surprise, but two. Merlin and Gwen. He slowly lowered his sword as he had it placed in a defensive position, ready for combat. He looked at the three curiously. He saw Morgana on the floor, Merlin scrambling to help her out, and Gwen on the side. What was going on?! "Merlin! What the hell are you doing?" He asked in a demanding voice. Yes. He always took it out on Merlin. "It is the middle of the night! Shouldn't you be in bed, and not running around the castle knocking people over!" Arthur was not certain if that was what happened, but he blamed Merlin anyway and would not be surprised if the collision was his fault. He went to Morgana's side, making sure she was okay, before he looked back at Merlin . . . and Gwen. It made more sense of Morgana's maid servant to be here . . . or, perhaps not since it was rather late.

"Why are you all up . . . and here?" He asked, his tone softening a bit since he was addressing all three of them, and not just Merlin anymore. "Isn't it a little late for everyone to be playing games." Arthur wasn't sure if Morgana told them to join in on the fun, or if this was purely coincidental.

[Okay so for posting order, how does this sound: Morgana, Merlin, Guinevère, Arthur . . .does that work?

[morganlefay]

"You. How proud you must be, son of the mighty Uther. How you must look up to him. Does the king's little helper bring a message or have you just come to gloat?"

"Maybe you are right Arthur, maybe it is the sleep deprivation, or maybe I would have heard him!" She laughed, while getting up with Merlin's help. She yawned.
" Um...how far away from my room am I?" She asked out loud mainly to herself. "I want to go to bed now… and no Gwen you didn’t forget anything.” She let go of Merlin’s arms, that were keeping her standing, she almost fell over but hit the wall. "I woke up because of a nightmare, I decided to go for a walk to clear my mind, but found him instead," She looked at Arthur, " Sitting, waiting for something to eat!" She laughed. "He asked me to join him..." She giggled. "Then we had a running contest! I won! After that I hit Merlin and fell over, now I'm here!" She sighed happily and fell over onto the floor.

She laid there almost unmoving all you could see was her breathing become more and more shallow. Morgana had fallen face first onto the rock floor, blood was pooling around her, from a broken nose. Her silk robes becoming a dark red. She stopped breathing, but all this while her mind has been wandering.

My Head is spinning not to mention throbbing... why is everything dark... OW! what did I hit...

((OOC: I know this could be longer it will be I'll put in more description later! But this is the basics!))

[dusty]

TROUBLE WILL ALWAYS FIND ME!

As Merlin struggled to help Morgana to her feet Merlin suddenly froze as he heard a voice behind him. At first he was dreading that the voice belonged to Arthur and that he was about to tell him off for something he hadn’t even done on purpose. But then he realised that the voice was his, as even though Merlin sometimes thought Arthur was a girl because of the amount he complained he was sure that this wasn’t him. The voice was too soft and gentle for it to ever belong to Arthur. “What are you doing here Merlin?” He knew the voice and that it belong to a friend of his, Gwen. Still trying to help Morgana Merlin looked at Gwen and he could see she was concerned for her. But by the tone of her voice when she addressed him she could tell that she was curious to why of all people it was him her with the Lady Morgana.

"Well... I was just talking a walk as Gaius room’s can get a bit stuffy and ...” Merlin stopped mid sentence as the voice he thought he had heard earlier was now present. And by the sound of it Arthur didn’t seem too happy. "Merlin! What the hell are you doing?" Arthur said rather demanding. Glancing in his direction he saw that his sword was drawn which didn’t make Merlin feel any better. ”It is the middle of the night! Shouldn't you be in bed, and not running around the castle knocking people over!" Now Merlin knew Arthur wasn’t happy at all. And once again it seemed Merlin was going to be the one to get the blame for what had happened, even though had had never even meant to encounter anyone on his short walk. But when did Merlin ever get a break from trouble, he could almost smell the putrid smell of rotting vegetables as he once again stood in the stocks.

"Why are you all up . . . and here?" Arthur’s tone had now softened but Merlin only believe it was because he was talking to Gwen too. Otherwise Arthur would probably have him by the throat already. "Well... err... I was just taking a walk to get a fresh air when I bumped into Morgana.” Merlin said though he knew Arthur probably wasn’t listening to what he said even though he had asked. It was then that Morgana began to talk mainly to Arthur and Gwen so hoping to use this as a distraction to get away Merlin let go of Morgana as she looked steady. But she was far from it as went he let go she toppled into the wall which stopped her from crashing to the ground. But still she kept on talking to them. She even giggle which seemed a strange thing to do especially at this time of night when most people just want to sleep.

Then after she finished she fell from her kind of leaning position against the wall till she hit the floor where she laid unmoving. Merlin was hoping she was just slightly dazed but she didn’t move at all. Even her breathing was shallow and he noticed that blood was beginning to pool from her nose. Then her shallow breathing stopped as if she was dead. This man Merlin panic as he was quite sure he would get the blame for this and the punishment he was sure would be worse than the stocks. "We have to get her to Gaius and quick.” Merlin said as he once again tried to help her up which was a lot more difficult since she was unconscious if not worse.

Words:614
Tag:Gwen,Arthur,Morgana
Outfit:Click
Notes:Why do I always get the blame!