My Own Worst Enemy [Arthur]

[mysery]

Humiliation. Utter and sheer humiliation wasn't something Morgana was accustomed to feeling. As a Lady, and, more notably though not exactly, the Lady of Camelot, Morgana was rarely somebody anyone went out of their way to humiliate or embarrass in any fashion. But it was a part of life and seemed to be something that not even she could avoid. Thus Morgana found herself sitting on her bed, crying, her legs curved up under her with the skirt of her dress splayed about and she was wringing her hands in the fabric like a nervous child.

She was neither a child, nor was she nervous. Morgana was upset and she absolutely hated it. Hated herself for feeling it, and hated just feeling it in general. So what, pray tell, had the lady so upset?

It had started a few days ago. A band of men had come to Camelot from the outer edges of the kingdom, all the noblemen's sons of course, to try their hand at becoming one of the Knights of Camelot. Morgana often went down with Gwen to see some of the training and testing Arthur put them through, and this time had been no exception.

There she had met the now knighted Sir Bowen. He'd been charming, kind, noble. Everything one would think a knight to be. Morgana had liked him from the start. Now she felt like a fool. Glancing at her vanity, Morgana felt more tears well up. Those flowers had been from Sir Bowen. Now they mocked her. Just like he had...

Down to the training ground she'd gone, sneakily, to watch, where she'd overheard Sir Bowen talking with Lord Nigan, one who hadnt suceeded in being knighted. Too.... soft was how Arthur had put it. What she'd overheard had had the Lady running back to her room, barely keeping from crying all the way.

She really was a fool for believing he could be what she thought...

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was in a rather good mood. They just recently had a new addition to the Camelot army: Sir Bowen. He had proved to be a skilled combatant, and had that classic charm that most chivalrous men possessed. Of course, he paid a little too much attention to Lady Morgana. Arthur may not be the jealous type as much anymore, but he was the very over protective type. As was his father. If Sir Bowen ever got the wrong idea, Arthur may have to have a little chat with him, well, basically say one thing to him: if he wished to keep his head, he would not pursue Morgana. But Arthur did not dwell on this for Bowen seemed to be a good, loyal and honorable man. The two had even had extensive conversations with one another, and so far, the young prince liked where his friendship with the other knight was going.

Tonight, there would be a feast in honor of the new knights, and to encourage those who had not succeeded. At least it was not a complete loss though and Arthur was fairly certain that with time, and diligent as well as intense training . . . that the men who did not pass the test of knighthood, would do so at a later time. The thought of the feast was what made Arthur head to Morgana's room. He was going to ask to be her escort -- mainly to keep her away from Sir Bowen -- but little did he know the full reason as to why it was not a good idea. If she said no to Arthur's offer, then it would probably turn into one of their classic little spats . . . which would result in glares at each other for majority of the night. Just a typical occurence between Prince Arthur and the Lady Morgana.

With his half expected reaction, he knocked on her door before just entering. He looked around the room, initially thinking she would be brushing her hair, or going through he dresses to find one for tonight. But her location was not where Arthur had expected it to be. Or maybe it was more so what she was doing that made him pause for a moment and just look at her. She was . . . crying. Yes. Unmistakably. It was not often he saw her like this, and when he did . . . it broke his heart. He loved her; he cared for her as a brother cared for his sister. So to see her in any sort of pain or distress, only made it stronger in him. Her pain was his pain and right now, he did not even want to begin to imagine what had caused her to become this upset. Was it the nightmares again? Probably not. She did not often shed tears like this because of them. But still, Arthur wouldn't know until he asked.

Finally getting through the shock, which really had only lasted a couple of seconds . . . he quickly made his way over to her. He leaned forward, not quite sitting on her bed, and gently put a hand on her shoulder. Truth be told, he was not the best at cheering people up. He had been brought up being taught to suppress his own emotions; that emotions were weaknesses; that men did not cry. So when faced with someone else's tears . . . how did one console them? Where was her maid servant? She would be far better at this. But since it was clear from the moment he had entered that Morgana was alone, well, he was not about to leave her in such a state. "Morgana," he began to say in a voice that held a softer tone than usual. "What happened?" He inquired. His question was filled with concern. He did not like seeing her in such a way; not one bit.

[mysery]

Morgana knew she had to be at the feast tonight. King Uther expected it of her. But for the life of her, she couldn't bring herself to get off her bed and dress for it. She knew he would be there and, while he had no idea she had heard him, to look the snake in the face would bring about one of two things. Either she'd stab him with a dinner knife or start crying again. Neither were particularly positive looking at that moment. All she wanted was to curl up and go to sleep, to forget.

Were the heavens laughing at her? Surely they must be, because at that very moment, her chamber doors opened and in waltzed Arthur. Of all the people... She had seen Bowen charm even Arthur in the past few days. Seemed he was slipperier than a snake. Hastily she wiped her eyes and turned her head away, but it was too late. His footsteps faltered. He'd seen her crying. Damn. Could she play it off as something else? Unlikely. A downfall to having even an adoptive brother. The bastards learned what made you tick. Arthur had to know it wasnt something petty to upset her like this.

Morgana considered, for a moment, just brushing it off but Arthur was a stubborn as her and she didnt want to fight him right now. When he asked what happened, she had to consider what to say. In no way would she lie, Bowen didnt deserve such, but she knew she'd come across a fool. It was embarrassing enough for her to know it let alone Arthur. "I feel like I've been played for a fool," was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Thank you feelings. Wiping her eyes once more, her hands settled in her lap where she looked at them. She couldnt even look Arthur in the eye.

Then her thoughts turned to horror. What if he laughed at her? She liked to think she had a thick skin when it came to barbs, one had to with Arthur around, but would he laugh at her? She prayed not. She couldnt take any more right now.

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

Ordinarily, Arthur would have dismissed her comment and made a joke. But the tears in her eyes gave him enough of an indication that something more serious was happening here. Morgana was a strong woman; the strongest woman Arthur had ever known. She was confident. Sure of herself. Kind to all. So why is it that someone had seemingly upset her? What could they have said to get to her in this way? If it was indeed a person -- and from the way Morgana phrased it, it most certainly sounded like it was -- then Arthur had an automatic dislike for them. Perhaps dislike was too strong an understatement. He despised them. Anyone who had been the cause of tears in his sister's eyes, would suffer the consequences. But, maybe he was jumping to conclusions. He did not want rage to be the most evident emotion at the moment. Right now, she needed comfort. She needed compassion. And Arthur may not be the best at speaking the words to provide this, but he would try.

Seeing her avoidance in even looking at him -- a sign of some sort of shame -- Arthur knew he would not be going anywhere anytime soon. So with that assurance, he lowered his hand from her shoulder, and sat down on the bed next to her. His body was turned towards her while his feet rested on the ground. Whether she felt like talking or not, he was not going to leave this room until he got answers. Until he got to the root of cause of what had upset it. It was not trivial, that much he was sure of. She was not a woman upset by petty things. She was not easily filled with sadness. This was something big. Something Arthur would never forgive on whoever dared do such harm to her. Maybe not in the physical sense, but clearly on an emotional level.

He moved his hand and cupped them under her chin, titling her head upwards so that she was looking at him, so that she would be forced to make eye contact. "What happened Morgana. Tell me everything." His voice held more apparent worry in it now, though he also spoke with strength to express that he was not willing to let it go. That he would sit here for hours if that was what it took for her to tell him. However long it took. However many words she used. He would remain with her, until the whole story was told. He would be able to tell when -- if -- she was lying about anything, so she would not be able to get away with just giving him half answers, or minimizing the extent of what happened.

[mysery]

She knew the moment the words had left her lips that Arthur would latch onto them and want to know the whole story. And she'd have little choice but to tell him if she didnt want the entirety of the castle to appear looking for them. Morgana felt the bed incline just a little as Arthur took a seat upon it but she stoutly kept her eyes down and looking at the sheets below her. It had been years since she'd cried like this. Since she'd been so upset by what someone had said about her, but she had honestly like Sir Bowen. And not like she had Knight Valiant that time. He had been alright, but a part of her hadnt liked him from the beginning. And he'd tried to kill Arthur, the sneaky bastard. She'd been glad when Arthur had run him through.

Morgana was brought forth from her turmoltuous thoughts when Arthur took her chin and made her look at him. So much for avoiding that little task. He once again asked what had happened and Morgana sighed. She might as well tell him. Glancing at her vanity once more, she gestured to the vase of flowers with her hand. "Sir Bowen gave them to me," she explained, her eyes tearing up a little. She hated herself even more for not being able to look at them without crying all over again. A sniffle worked its way out of her before she steeled herself and pushed on. She needed to get it all out before she broke down.

"He was nice to me, charming and sweet. He won you over," Morgana explained, her voice hurried lest tears decide to interfere."I..I liked him Arthur. From the start. He seemed like everything a knight should be. He gave me those yesterday and I thought Id go down and watch the training today so I gave Gwen the day off but when I got down there he was talking to Lord Nigen and I didnt want to interrupt so I waited outside the tent. I heard him talking to Nigen..and they were talking about me...About how they didnt think it was a woman's place to stand beside the King and Prince...."

Morgana trailed off for a moment to catch her breath before she pushed on. "Bowen told him about how he was going to charm me and prove that I was nothing more than a common wh-hore, out for all I could get. How easy it would be to bed me for the price of some scraps. They laughed Arthur. They laughed at me..." she said, looking at her brother and imploring him not to do the same before she tilted her head back to rest against the headboard of the bed.

"I feel like such a fool," escaped her lips in a whisper as she closed her eyes a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

From the moment she mentioned Sir Bowen's name, Arthur's eyes slightly narrowed. Something told him, that he was not going to like where this was going. Contrary to what some may think, he was not that stupid. He knew that Bowen's name would not just randomly come up . . . had he not had something to do with Morgana's tears right now. He already wanted to go confront him, but remained seated, waiting to hear the whole story. Bowen was a man that Arthur believed was worthy of knighthood. With becoming a fellow knight, came that automatic respect, trust, and honor to know them. But if he had been the reason that Morgana was so upset right now . . . then all these qualities that Bowen displayed were only a facade. It was only meant to what, get what he wants? Whatever that may be. Arthur lowered his hand from her chin when she began to tell him the full story . . . and he knew he would have to keep his emotions in check until then. As difficult as that may be.

Little did he realize the extent of this difficulty. It was true that he was wary of any man who paid too close attention to Morgana, but did not focus on that right now. For she liked him in return, and he knew she had good instincts. That she was not reckless. That she often held her guard up. But Bowen had managed to charm not only him and the entire court, but her too. That was quite an achievement for her to open herself up to him. Which only made the young Prince increasingly upset when she continued on. It broke his heart, to hear that she liked him . . . and that he had somehow betrayed that. Arthur did not believe that anyone would ever be good enough for Morgana, but to hear her speak and feel so fondly for someone else . . . only for them to what, use it to their advantage? Arthur practically had to brace himself to hear the rest of it.

But when he did, his emotions could no longer be kept in check.

A surge of rage filled him when he heard certain words she used, or well, that Bowen had used: whore; easy to bed for the price of scraps. These phrases struck an intense anger in Arthur. He did not tolerate anyone speaking ill of the Lady Morgana. But this was so much more infuriating than that. This was . . . he had gone too far. How dare he. HOW DARE HE! To speak of her with such disrespect, to insult her, to suggest her inadequacy, to mock and laugh her. Arthur wanted nothing more right now than to pull out his sword and strike him down. He wanted to kill him. He was going to kill him. While it was clear in the beginning that whatever upset her had not been any little matter . . . but this was far more than Arthur had imagined. To use such words to describe Morgana . . . was unacceptable, to say the very least.

Arthur had a fuse. A fuse that could only be set off if certain things were said or done. Harming anyone -- physically or emotionally -- who was very close close to him, was one of those things. It was something that often made him lash out in anger. Normally, he could compose himself, enough to at least walk away or just ignore them. But right now, the combination of what he heard and Morgana's tears . . . well, it was difficult to compose himself. He shot up from the bed and began pacing back and forth a little. There was a slight tremble in him, as if attempting to keep his raging emotions within him . . . but they were surfacing. They were going to burst out. For Bowen had crossed a line, and Arthur would not allow him to retrace his steps. He had trusted him.

He had knighted the man! He believed him to be a man worthy of respect . . . but with a few horribly spoken statements, Arthur's entire perception of him had altered . . . for the worse. With this anger, and unsure how else to express it right now -- for even in this state of irrationality he would never harm Morgana -- he reached for the vase that Bowen had apparently give her and forcefully threw it at the wall, at a safe distance from Morgana. The glass shattered into dozens of pieces and the flowers lay on the ground. He was not even sure what to say right now, for his anger was getting the better of him . . . and it showed with what he had just done. Instead, he just kept pacing, back and forth, wishing that it was Bowen that he had just thrown against the wall. "The bastard!" Arthur cursed, not in an overly loud volume but his tone was firm and still held a strong anger in it.

[mysery]

Morgana kept her eyes closed for the longest time, a small part of her fearing the look on Arthur's face and his reaction once she finished speaking. She didnt think Arthur was cruel. For all her needling, he was a good man for the most part. But Morgana had been hurt and was feeling lowly at this moment. Against her better judgement, she couldnt help worrying about how the Prince thought of her now. What made it worse was that, looking back on it, Morgana wasnt sure if she had done anything to bring this on herself. She thought she had been perfectly civil to the new Knights, but on more than one occassion she had been known to come across as abrasive. Had she done something to offend him?

As such were the troubled thoughts of an embarrassed young woman. She couldn't help it and Morgana somewhat wished she could hide away for a good deal of time right now. Would Bowen own up to it if he was called out? Or would he charm his way out of it like he had everything else?

Feeling Arhur leave his seat on her bed, Morgana realised she had been holding her breath, waiting to see what he would do. For now it seemed he was merely pacing. Arthur only did that when he was mad or thinking. Which was it now? The smashing of the vase snapped her eyes open and she jumped, startled at the shattering of the glass. Her eyes immediately glanced at the mess, then at Arthur, who was pacing once more. Anger it was then, she concluded as he cursed. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the fallen flowers before she looked away from them once more. In hindsight, she should have known Arthur would have gotten mad over this slight towards her. He, as Prince, a Knight and man, held honour in high regard and, maliciously or not, Bowen had called hers into question.

Needing to do something, Morgana slid from the bed and padded over, barefoot, to her brother. He was once more pacing, but she didnt care. She stepped right into his path and wrapped her arms around him. Perhaps it was for his comfort, perhaps it was for hers. Who knew and who cared.

She wanted a hug.

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was not a very huggy person. There were very few people that he actually did hug . . . mostly women. In fact, probably mostly Morgana. And even then, it was a rare moment between them for while they shared a close relationship, majority of it entailed teasing and bickering. They only had heart felt moments when something was seriously wrong. Just like now. The fact that she had gotten up and put her arms around him, made him just stand there numbly for a few moments. Not because he did not welcome the embrace. But because circumstances had caused her to do so . . . that another man had caused her so much pain that she wished for this intimate embrace. Arthur kept his hands by his side for a few extra moments, trying to put a handle on his emotions. He should not be expressing his angered feelings in front of her. She needed comfort right now; not him to be throwing things about.

He slowly raised his hands a bit, wrapping them around her, though he did not ease himself. He still felt stiff, he still felt angry. He just glared straight ahead of him, so that he did not have to direct this look at her. Though he doubt it would ever fully subside until Bowen paid for what he had done. For what he had said. Arthur word first console Morgana before confronting the traitorous knight. All he could think of doing right now, the most minimal action, was throwing a punch. Making him pay for inflicting emotional harm on to his adoptive sister. Men had been punished for a lot less. Still holding her as he these thoughts raced through his mind, he broke the silence. "He will not get away with this," he informed her. His voice was stern, and stubborn. It was not something that she would be able to convince him of otherwise. Even if she did not want him to pay for what he had done . . . he was going to. It was not a matter of choice.

Arthur closed his eyes for a brief moment, quietly taking a deep breath. He opened them once again as he slightly pulled away, only so that he could look at her tear stained eyes. Only so that it would add more sincerity to the words to he was about to speak. He shifted his hands to either side of her head as they rested half on her cheeks, and half on her loose hair which fell freely over her ears. "I am so sorry Morgana," he apologized. He was sorry for trusting Bowen. For being oblivious to the true nature of the man. To welcoming him with open arms . . . only to find out that he had betrayed all of that. Bowen had become one of his men, and Arthur should have realized what he was really like, so that he could have spared Morgana from all this humiliation and emotional pain.

[mysery]

For one very fear stricken moment, Morgana was afraid that Arthur was going to push her away as she stood there and hugged him and he remained almost frozen. She swallowed and blinked once, twice, and considered lowering her arms. Perhaps she had read that wrong. Anything was possible in this state. Another reason she hated being upset like this. Made her question everything. Just as she was contemplating stepping back from the half embrace, Arthur's arms wrapped around her and she let out a small sigh of relief. The tension and stiffness didnt fade from him, but Morgana concluded this had more to do with the situation than her sudden hug.

She nodded against him to his words. She herself would have gone and hurt Bowen had she not felt that crippling humiliation. When his words had sunk in, all she could think about was getting away before anyone saw her crying. Maybe she should have stayed and confronted him. Either way, it was done now.

"I should have done something myself, instead I just ran," she said softly, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as another wave of tears threatened to break free. There was some disgust in her tone at herself for just running away like that. She wanted to be stronger. Her eyes reopened when Arthur lent back to look at her face and, for all her no doubt teary appearance, she looked right back.

The feel of Arthur's hands on her face reminded Morgana of Gwen and her comfort after her nightmares. Having her maidservant there for her like that helped calm Morgana like nothing else. This was a rather different situation, but it had the desired effect. She felt better.

"He fooled everybody," she said finally. "Myself included," she added with a sigh of weariness. She liked to think she could tell when a person was lying to her face, but in this instance, she'd let her guard down. Bowen had charmed everyone, Arthur and Merlin included, and that was generally no easy feat. Perhaps she had seen this and it had added to her own idea that he was okay. Whatever the reasoning behind it, he had turned out to be slipperier than a snake. She briefly wondered what Arthur planned to do to him.

Looking up suddenly, Morgana paled. "Y-You won't tell anyone about this will you?" she asked. "I mean, me... and th-the crying will you?" Morgana wasnt vain at all, but she couldn't stand it if Bowen knew how much this had upset her. And she didnt want anyone laughing at her. She felt bad enough as it was.

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur was not surprised to hear her regret over not having done anything. But, in a way he was glad she had not. For if she had taken matters into her own hands, then perhaps he would not have found out . . . thus depriving him of the opportunity to teach Bowen a lesson. To carry out a punishment that would fit the crime he had committed. For yes, in Arthur's mind it was a crime. And he knew his father would agree. From the moment she had become a part of the Pendragon royal family, both men felt that strong, instantaneous instinct to protect her. Any sort of offensive talk against her, was not tolerated the least bit. "No," he said in disagreement over her saying she should have done something about this. "You did the right thing," he added. Even if she had not technically brought this to him -- as he had just happened to come in during the moments she was upset -- it was still better this way. Morgana could not challenge him to a fight to the death. Arthur could. He did not even know if that was what he was going to do. So many raging thoughts over possible courses of actions to take against him raced through his mind . . . he could not solely focus on one. It would just depend on what the heat of the moment over confronting Bowen would bring.

He did indeed fool everybody. And Arthur did not like that one bit. "We all clearly misjudged him. But you are not to blame for this Morgana," he told her. He was the one who had tested these men, to see if they were worthy of knighthood. He should have detected Bowen's true personality long before he was knighted. "I should not have fallen so blindly to the truth," he added. She should blame him, more than she should ever blame herself. He was a charming man, and Arthur hated to imagine how this truly affected Morgana; a woman who received so much attention from men, yet did not lower her guard often to them. The one man who she had done so far, the one man who should feel honored and blessed for having won the affection of someone as incredible as Morgana . . . instead, took advantage of her. This only continued to fuel his hatred towards Bowen. The more he thought about all of this, the more angry he became.

As Arthur was still looking at her when she asked her question, he gave her a very faint, reassuring smile. He was far from content right now, but as he knew before . . . he should not be expressing his anger towards her. He should be saving all that for Bowen. Lucky him. "You have my word, no one will know," he told her, for once, not mocking her or teasing her in any way. This was not an occasion that called for it. Quite the opposite in fact. It was situations like these that brought them closer together and truly reflected the more sensitive, deeper aspect of their relationship. "But I will not turn a blind eye to this either. As I said before, Bowen will pay for this." And this was not something she could talk him out of. Arthur prided himself on being a man of his word . . . he swore not to reveal how upset Morgana truly was about this, just as he swore to bring justice, and not let his actions go by unpunished.

[mysery]

Regardless of his words, Morgana, looking back, wished she had done something. It was rather out of character for her to run away like she had, but most people never saw this of her. She was blunt, independant and strong willed. And here she had been felled by a few words. She knew there was more to it than that, as did Arthur now, but she didnt not want others to know how vulnerable she had become over it all. Part of Morgana wished she could march down there right now and slap Bowen for all of this, or run him through with a sword. But then, that meant leaving her room in the state she was in and everyone would see. Not to mention that the rat Bowen would get to see she had been crying and thus get the satisfaction of upsetting her so. She didnt care if that had been his intention or not. She would not be seen like that by him of all people!

Morgana nodded to Arthurs words about not blaming herself. She had a little twinge of guilt inside her for what had happened, but for the life of her, couldn't think of anything she had done to incur such hostility from Sir Bowen, no. Bowen. She would not give him that title, even in her mind now. He didn't deserve it. "We were all fooled Arthur, you included. He is good at decieving obviously, and could probably fool even his own mother," Morgana cut in, her voice firm. "You are no more at fault than I am." She didnt want Arthur feeling guilt for this. How could anyone have known unless Bowen showed his true colours? She shuddered a little to think how long this charade may have continued had she not inadvertadely heard his boasting on the training field today.

The lady breathed a sigh of relief when Arthur swore he wouldn't tell anyone. She knew Arthur too well though to think he would simply leave this alone. He would deal with Bowen in one way or another. But, Morgana didnt doubt his reassurances one bit. He had given her his word and she knew Arthur didnt do that lightly. He took his position as Prince and a knight very seriously. His word was his bond and his honour demanded he uphold both. He wouldn't tell anyone unless she either did so, or asked him to do so on her behalf. She was grateful she could trust him to be there for her when she needed it the most.

"Thank you Arthur," Morgana said honestly, meaning it for everything. For comforting her, for standing up for her, for just being there when she needed somebody to. She had regretted giving Guinevère the day off so she could pursue her silly little idea, but Arthur had come through for her and she loved him all the more for it. Tomorrow they would probably be at each other's throats again, trying to draw blood with their words, but for now, she was content and felt at peace with her brother.

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur did not agree with that. He was at more fault than she was but he -- for once -- did not want to argue with her about this. There would be no point as both of them were equally stubborn and that was part of the reason they argued so much to begin with. But now was not the time for that. She needed comfort, not defiance. He wanted to be there as a brother rather than someone to give her a hard time. At least when he did, it wasn't an offense to her honor nor crude remarks. He would never stoop to Bowen's level which is why it sickened him so much that he had not seen it in the first place. He was supposed to knight men based not only on their combat skills, but the strength of their character and judgment. Arthur had fully trusted him, as this would be a man risking his love for the king and Camelot; yet if he had already said such things, it was clear that his motives were skewed and they were not ones based on honor. Whatever they were, they were revolting.

"That is not true." Well so much for not arguing. He could just not bare to see her take the blame for this. And the anger over thinking of what he had said and tried to even . . . made it even more difficult to stay silent. While Arthur was a man more of action than words, this was one time where he knew that perhaps verbal comfort -- in addition to teaching Bowen a lesson -- would be the best course of action to take to alleviate her distress. "Who I knight and the knights themselves are my responsibility. Whatever grievances they caused, is my fault alone." There were prerequisites to be a knight and any who violated the code of respect . . . were not worthy of knighthood. Yet Bowen had tricked them all int believing otherwise. "That fact that everyone else was deceived, is no excuse. For I spent the most time with him." Training him; getting to know him during the various feasts and banquets. He should have seen it coming . . . somehow.

Arthur shook his head a bit when she thanked him, finding no reason for her to be grateful when he had in fact failed her. "You don't need to thank me for anything," he informed her. As a brother to her, it was his duty to protect her and comfort her; he had not succeeded in the first, but maybe he would be of more use in the second. "Next time, any men of interest will have to go through a more severe screening process," he told her, only somewhat kiddingly. It was not often that men pursued Morgana. Not due to her lack of beauty, but because of the protection she had surrounding her: Uther and himself. And no one wanted to upset the king nor the prince of Camelot. It was of course over the line of over protectiveness, but that did not matter. He never wanted to see her hurt and seeing the tears in her eyes now, knowing it was caused by some scum of a pathetic excuse for a man, made Arthur feel even more instinctively protective towards her.

[mysery]

Morgana knew for that as long as either of them breathed, they would never concede to allowing the other to take the blame for this situation. She felt responsible, that if she hadn't been so quick to trust based on what happened around her, it wouldn't have gotten this far. And Arthur no doubt felt responsible as he had been the one to knight Bowen in the first place. It would have to be one of those cases of agreeing to disagree, not something they did often but Morgana understood they could continue for hours if they didn't. She was tempted to make a joke, but she was too highly strung right now to handle it if Arthur took it the wrong way. Or said the wrong thing.

"It is his fault and his alone," she said finally. Probably not that agreeing to disagree thing, but it wasn't fair that Bowen bore none of the responsibility for this. After all, he had known full well, and with certainty, that he was decieving them. And of what he was planning to do to her. He was not so innocent to escape blame in this. That sparked her anger. To insult her verbally was one thing, but until now, she hadn't realised the full rammifications of what he had planned. Bowen had possessed every intention of taking her to bed, not that she would have allowed him to now that she thought about it, and using that to shame her. He was going to prey upon her embarrassment to ensure he got away with his scheme.

What if Arthur had not found her? Would she have told anyone about this? Morgana honestly didn't know and that made her mad. She knew herself, she knew what she would do and she knew she was strong. How dare a man make her feel inadequate like that! Her anger dissipated though at Arthur's response to her thanks. She grinned. "And when they get through that, you are welcome to them," she said chuckling, the jibe slipping from her before she could think twice about it.

Suddenly, Morgana wondered why Arthur had come to her rooms. She had been upset and given it little thought, but now that she did, she realised how odd it was. Why had Arthur come to her chambers? He wasn't planning to search them, clearly as he was unaccompanied; not that she'd let him anyway, so what was the reason? "I fear I am being very self centered today. Was there something you needed Arthur?" she asked, frowning.

And then it hit her. The feast. She had completely forgotten about the feast tonight! The one which was being held to welcome the new additions to the knights. The one she was expected to attend and probably couldn't get out of even if she tried. The one where she would have to look Bowen the snake in the face and smile like she knew nothing. Before Arthur could reply, she spoke again. "Will you accompany me to the feast tonight?"

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur still not agree with her words to alleviate himself of blame over her tears now, and for this entire situation. But he also knew that right now, he didn't want to argue with her about it. They would never agree that they should be absolved of guilt. It would be an on going debate and at the moment, he knew she didn't need that. She needed comfort and support, not words of disagreement. But her next words caused a bit of a smile on his lips, for her mood was slowly getting better and it was quite a relief to hear her resort to jokes and teasings once more. He fought the urge to roll his eyes, though it would have been only to encourage a more light hearted conversation. "I will get to them first," he told her -- or assured her. "Then again, when my father realizes that something has happened, I doubt anyone will get past him." While Arthur would not tell anyone about this, his father was not stupid; especially when it came to the emotional state of his most beloved ward. If there was the slightest change in her, he would notice and take instant concern to it. If . . . when he found out that a man was involved this time, he probably would not even ask for the details. Only react. Something that Uther was rather well known for, only in this case, it was something that Arthur would easily support.

"I fear I am being very self centered today." Arthur gave a slight smirk, his smile turning into a more playful one. He ignored the question at first, and decided to respond to her words instead. "Today is actually the one day that you are not being self centered," he teased. Some felt their moods lift with a hug and soft words, other times, it was with a few jokes and mockery. With Morgana, he tended to do a combination of both. Anything to avoid seeing tears in her eyes, something he never wanted to lay witness to again. When her question finally entered, or registered rather in his mind, he tried to think back to what his initial purpose had been in coming to her room. He had been so distracted with his eyes had laid rest to immediately upon entering, that he could not recall the actually incentive he had for coming.

That is, until she asked him to accompany her to the fest. Ah yes! That was why he had come here! Well, no need to answer her question now, for the response he would give would answer them both. "I would be honored to," he said with strong sincerity, rather than sarcasm or exaggeration. He had planned to tease her when he first came, knowing the banter that would probably come from him trying to ask to be her escort, without giving her that pleasure of him having been the first one to ask. But not now. Now, he just wanted to protect her, to take care of her, to offer company that would make seeing Bowen slightly more bearable, should he dare to show his face at the feast. "Although, I don't think you have much of a choice," he said, still smiling. Whether she had asked him or not, he was not planning to let her out of his sight after discovering from her what had happened.

[mysery]

She knew all too well that Arthur's words had merit. The King, while not her father by blood, was as close to one as Morgana had now and she knew he took that role very seriously. His constant worry for her safety, especially after that incident when she and Arthur were sixteen, and well being was tangible even in the most harrowing times. If Arthur did not tell Uther, which she was partly hoping he would not do, the King would find out somehow, Morgana was sure. Arthur would appear merciful in comparison to the King of Camelot.

Morgana sneered at Arthur for his comment about her being self centered, but it was in jest, just as she knew his words were. This she was able to do. Teasing and poking and prodding at one another was what she and Arthur did best when it came to the other. And while it may not make sense to anyone outside of the two of them, it actually helped Morgana. It meant things hadn't changed. Arthur didn't think any less of her, and they were still capable of getting on. Well, of getting on as well as they ever did. Thankfully, he didn't meet her question with teasing. Morgana knew her pride, something she valued as a woman, had already taken a fair lashing today and another from Arthur, even unconciously, would be unbearable.

"Thank you Arthur," the lady replied, matching his sincerity. After all their time together, and the horrors they'd exposed one another too, Morgana was grateful that she could count on Arthur. He really was the brother she never had, and it made her love him all the more. She would never, never tell him that though. Their relationship was one where true feelings were best shown through their actions. A chuckle was drawn from Morgana at Arthur's addition to his answer. That was Arthur though. A pain but a reliable and trustworthy pain nonetheless.

She glanced to the side and finally realised the small mess that had previously escaped her notice. Oh she should get that cleaned up. Especially since she was barefoot in her bedroom and there were shards of vase on the floor.

"I will need to go and fetch a maid," Morgana said absently, her eyes still on the broken vase. Part of her was glad Arthur had smashed it. The horrid thing was only a reminder of her foolishness.

---------------------

Setting: Camelot Castle

Tag: Arthur Pendragon

Timeline: Mid Series 1