Title: Nothing I'm Not Worthy Of
Rating: PG
Pairing/s: background Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Morgana, Arthur, Merlin
Summary: She had learned well in her exile: the measure of her magic and worth both. She would not be cowed by a father who had betrayed and belittled her. The crown was her birthright and she would take it from him as he had tried to take everything from her.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 457
Prompt: #308: Song Prompt 6 (This is Me)
Author's Notes:
Head high, Morgana strode through the doors to Camelot’s throne room. They were open before her and the guards stood aside to let her pass. As had all of Uther’s armies as she swept through his kingdom, the combined might of the druids and Morgause’s forces behind her.
The lack of resistance at the border had surprised her, but could be excused; the cowardice of small garrisons facing an army of magic, the indifference of outlying villages who cared little about which monarch ruled them from afar. But even when they neared the seat of Uther’s throne, men bearing swords and armor stamped with the Pendragon crest watched them pass without engaging.
If it was a trap, it was a poor one. She had left Camelot in darkness, fearful and ashamed and powerless, but she returned in the light,powerful enough to raze any obstacle set in her path. Uther saving all his tricks for the last moment meant she could be rid of them all at once; that was the only difference it made.
She had learned well in her exile: the measure of her magic and worth both. She would not be cowed by a father who had betrayed and belittled her. The crown was her birthright and she would take it from him as he had tried to take everything from her.
But at the ultimate goal of her journey, she was given her first reason to pause: Uther, cold and condemning on his high throne, did not await her. Instead there were two chairs at equal level on the dais. In one sat Arthur, their father’s crown upon his head, and in the other—
“Morgana,” Merlin greeted her, speaking both aloud and silently. A servant in a crown to match Arthur’s, a king’s crown, and his eyes glowed gold. He was in full view of the assembled court, knights and all, but none moved to stop him.
And Morgana, who had been ready to crumble the walls of Camelot to dust, to flood the whole kingdom if that’s what it took... faltered. Only a single step, then she was back to her mission. She didn’t know what had happened to Camelot in her absence, but whether it changed nothing or everything remained to be seen.
“My people have been mistreated,” she told Arthur, and he agreed: “You have been.”
“We will not hide any longer,” she said, and he: “You will not need to.”
She considered them, her brother the king and his warlock consort, and decided to give them a chance to prove they could be better. They had welcomed her in, after all, and she was already a queen in her own right.
But only one chance. She knew her worth.