Memories of Festivals

Merlin

Morgana asks Arthur to take her to the festival and Arthur reminds her why he will never take her to one again.

January 24, 2009

"Come on Arthur, please? Uther won't let me go otherwise." Morgana, young, beautiful and strong, pleaded with the Prince. "It's been years since I've been able to go to the festival."

"Then sneak out on your own. It won't be the first time." The young Pendragon turned away from his father's ward as he sat down by the fire. He couldn't stand looking at her disappointed face as he rejected her pleas.

"Why won't you come with me? We used to have fun going to the festivals." The young teenaged Lady moved to reenter Arthur's vision. He had a hard time composing his thoughts as he saw how the fire created sparkles over the smooth fabric of her dress.

"Because that was when we were children. It's not that simple anymore." Arthur's jaw clenched as he turned his head away from her.

Morgana knelt down by Arthur's chair, her hands on his resting arm. She did not speak, but fisted her strong slender fingers, his sleeve trapped within their grasp. Though she tried valiantly, she could not help as her bottom lip came out into a pout; disappointment clear in her eyes.

"Don't you remember what happened last time we went to a festival? You almost died!" Arthur's mood worsened as memories flickered in the back of his mind.

"If you're worried about me dying at the festival, then why are you telling me to go by myself?" Morgana's pout disappeared as she snipped out her response. Arthur clenched his eyes shut and he wrenched his body away from her, now standing by his windows where a view of the festival could be seen.

He frowned out of the window, silent to Morgana's question. Rustling filled the room for a moment as she stood; a shadow was cast towards Arthur's feet.

"Tell me. Please?" Her voice was a soft question, drastically different from her previous pleading.

"What do you remember? From the last festival we went to?" Arthur could not look at Morgana as he asked his question.

"It was the midsummer's festival. I was twelve that summer, five years ago. It was the first time Uther let us go by ourselves. We left, went to play in the lake with the other children." Morgana smiled and looked up at Arthur, happy to remember such fond memories.

"So you don't remember that you didn't want to swim?" Arthur's voice was low, his emotions masked.

"What?" Morgana approached Arthur, trapping him in a corner with her body as he tried to escape.

"You really don't remember." Arthur ran his hand through his hair as he yielded to Morgana's silent persuasions. "I pushed you into the lake even though you didn't want to get wet. Father would have known that we left the city and we would have gotten in trouble."

Morgana looked puzzled; what was said made sense. Her personality was like that back then. She waited for Arthur to continue.

"It would have been easier if you fell into deep water, but you landed in the shallows and hit your head on the rocks at the bottom. No one was close enough. When I was able to get to you," Arthur's throat choked and he took a moment to breathe. Morgana reached out to comfort him, but he flinched away. With a well controlled voice he continued. "You were face down. I couldn't wake you for an entire minute so I carried you to Gaius. I didn't say what happened. I knew Father would punish me and I wouldn't be albe to watch for you recovery.

"It was three days before you woke up. Asking if you could o to the festival again." Arthur had to stop. His voice cracked, "I nearly killed you."

"But I'm still here, Arthur. Everything is fine." Morgana reached out and rubbed her hands over Arthur's arms in hopes of comforting him. "That's why you won't take me to the festival? You blame yourself for what happened last time?"

"I don't blame myself. It is my fault." Arthur clarified or her.

"Arthur." Morgana took his face in her hands, forcing his vision on her. "You have clearly learned from that experience. I have faith in you that you wouldn't ever purposefully put me in danger. And I don't think that it is purely based upon the fact that I am your father's ward."

"You have too much faith in me. And it seems you deem yourself more important in my mind than I do myself. Curious." He said everything with a straight face, only giving a smirk as Morgana groaned in annoyance. Morgana threw her hands up in the air, spinning on her heel to take a step away from him.

"I wonder if you will ever tire of thinking me infatuated with you. What I meant, was that you are a decent person who would no consciously try to put anyone in danger. You even give your enemies a chance to speak before you attack." Morgana turned her head to speak over her shoulder. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to go tot the festival with you."

With that, she left the room, letting the door fall shut loudly behind her.

"Will her temper ever stop fluctuating like that?" Arthur shook his head in amazement as he turned to look out below his window. A minute later, Morgana appeared. She looked up at Arthur before sticking her tongue out at him and sweeping her way into the crowd on her own.

.Fin.