Pendragon's Folly, Chapter 9

[thismaz]

Title: Pendragon's Folly
Pairing: M/A, eventually.
Characters: in this chapter - Merlin, Arthur, Gaius.
Rating: PG maybe even U
Chapter Word Count: 7,500
Warnings: No sex
Summary: There's an out of work wizard, a museum, a sizeable donation that turns it into a building site, suspicious happenings and magic. A sort of 'take your fandom to

Comments

[texanfan]

Arthur really is accepting this very well. I find it interesting that Merlin hasn't revealed Arthur's own magical origins. Arthur is so beautifully savvy and naïve at the same time. He's got so much of this business end of things figured out and I'm fairly sure he's working on a manageable plan for the Folly, at the same time he thinks talking to Morgana is going to resolve the issue. I do love these two.

[thismaz]

He is, sort of. He can't help but acknowledge what's in front of his eyes, but I think he is close to the limits of his credulity. Maybe Merlin has enough sense to not push him over that point by adding Ygraine's actions into the mix? Or maybe he just hasn't thought to say anything, what with more immediate concerns?

Thank you. I like them too.

[brunettepet]

Arthur's taking Merlin being magic quite well for only having known less than 24 hours though I enjoyed his show me again need for reassurance that it is, indeed, real. Cedric working in collusion with Uther makes all kinds of awful sense. Uther bankrupted the renovation budget to get his hands on the Folly. I don't think he or his business should be rewarded for that. I hope these three come up with a plan that keeps Pendragon's from seeing any kind of profit from this.

Morgana is a wild card. She may have the museum's best interests at heart but she's being just as underhanded as Uther. At this point, who know what she's willing to do to save the place. i wonder if she wants to kill Arthur so she can take over Pendragon's and the folly. She is Uther's next of kin after his son.

I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes next.

[thismaz]

Uther did nothing illegal, though. He donated a lot of money to the Folly, out of the goodness of his heart *g*
But seriously, yes, if it came out, the publicity would definitely do huge damage to the company's reputation and possibly result in an enquiry and charges of underhand or even corrupt dealings. The problem for Arthur is that Uther's business is also Arthur's inheritance and future. Plus, the company employs a lot of people and more companies are reliant on it for their business, not just DuLac & Lott. Hmm... I'll stop talking now.

As for Morgana, yes, she's a wild card in more senses than one, since wild magic corrupts the magic user, as Miss Kay said.

Thank you for your thoughtful and, as always, though provoking comment.

[sparrow2000]

Love the way Arthur needed multiple demonstrations (as well as liquid support) - he's very much a show, not tell, kind of a guy! *g*

"I trust you to keep my secret."

"But why do you?"

"I really don't know, because you can be a real prat. But I do." And there's their relationship, right there!

Arthur's see-sawing reactions feel very right - he's incredulous, intrigued, pragmatic about needing to sleep on it, a little indignant that other people
knowing, and then just exasperated at Merlin showing off! *g*

I also really appreciated Gaius' pragmatic "Could we possibly consider the bigger picture?" . He's such a counterbalance amongst all the chaos.

I really feel for Arthur in this chapter, not only finding about magic and Morgana, but also about the deliberate mismanagement of the Folly - it's a lot crashing down on his head.

Well at least you finally got them into bed, however innocently! *g*

Lovely chunky chapter, hon. It's a real pleasure finally getting to catch up with this.

[thismaz]

I hadn't thought about him like that, but yes, Arthur is a show, not tell, kind of a guy.
But also, yes, he is a bit overwhelmed. I am wondering now whether some of his willingness to go back to Camelot for the weekend was not him grabbing onto a seemingly practical problem that he could do something about, just as a temporary escape. Thank you, I hadn't though of that, but he does tend to prefer action as a solution. He must be finding picking up the reins at the company very frustrating.
Thank you for this comment. I love that you made me see something new in one of my own characters.