I couldn't get this out of my head . . . so I wrote it down. Some of this is pure conjecture, like Morgana's age. If you know it differently, do tell, I like to get my facts straight. But seriously, this has been bothering me for a while now.

Disclaimer: Own Merlin, I do not.

The look on Gwaine's face immediately warned Arthur of danger. The knight's eyebrows were drawn together, his lips were pursed, and his eyes were contemplative.

"Sir Gwaine," Arthur said, managing to sound both curious and guarded at the same time. "To what do I owe this great pleasure?"

"I've been thinking, Arthur," Gwaine said (he had yet to call Arthur 'sire', probably due to the fact that he hadn't mastered Merlin's 'I'm-being-disrespectful-but-you-can't-do-anything-about-it-because-I-sound-respectful tone), "and I have a few questions."

Danger, indeed. "Ask away," the king replied, feeling fervently that he might not live to regret this.

"How old is Morgana?"

Arthur blinked. "What?"

"Morgana. How old is she? Older or younger than you?"

"Younger. Why do you ask?"

Gwaine disregarded this query and continued. "And her parents - being your father and her mother - weren't married, were they?"

" . . . No . . . "

"I see. And you were Crown Prince, weren't you? I mean, before you were king, your father acknowledged you as his heir, in public, and crowned you prince of Camelot, and his successor?"

Arthur had no idea where this was going. "Yes, on my twenty-first birthday. Gwaine, wh-"

"Wait just a second." The knight stroked his mustache, thinking. "Alright, let me get this straight: not only is she illegitimate (which would automatically disqualify her for queenship in many people's eyes), she's also younger than you, and not only is she younger than you, she was never acknowledged as your father's daughter, and you were crowned as the heir, not her, which would have made it so, even if she was older than you, and acknowledged, and legitimately born, you would still have become king, because you are the heir and she is not. Am I getting this right?"

There was a moment of silence.

" . . . yes." Arthur replied, finally.

Gwaine's eyebrows went up skeptically. "Alright then. Let me ask again: What claim does Morgana have on the throne?"

I suppose if we couldn't laugh at the things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life."

— Bill Watterson

Please tell me what you think, any comments, questions, or concerns. It's not beta-ed, so I could use a little help in that department. And if you think I'm wrong, remember what I said before: I like my facts in neat little rows;)