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'Nothing brings people together like death,' mused Merlin as he viewed the collection of people gathered in his office. Dressed in somber blacks and grays, the five people currently seated, rather uncomfortably, in the room were all doing their very best not to look at each other.

Only one of them looked composed. She was seated the furthest away from everyone and also the only one who was looking straight at the young lawyer.

'She's grown thinner,' he thought as he looked at the woman. 'Much, much too thin.'

As if she knows what he is thinking, the shadow of a frown crosses her features but it is gone just as quickly as it appears, and once again, her features are serene, composed.

'Guinevere, what are you hiding?' Merlin wants to ask, but instead clears his throat to call the attention of everyone present.

"Right," Merlin says as soon as all eyes were on him. "Thank you all for clearing your schedules to attend this meeting."

He eyed each individual, noting that most of them looked like they would be anywhere but here

Except Guinevere. She looked uninterested. Not exactly bored as there was the ghost of rage in her eyes. Merlin could not blame her as he was the cause of most of her ire. But then he also knew that her rage was divided into the rest of the people in the room.

Morgana.

Agravaine.

Mithian.

And Arthur.

'Well, probably mostly Arthur,' Merlin thought grimly.

Merlin surveyed the room once again, taking in the grimness on each of the five faces in front of him and dreading the discussion that was going to happen after his announcement. He steeled himself against the inevitable and forged on. He wanted the preliminaries over and done with because he had a bigger responsibility after that was done. And he knew that no one in the room would be happy with what he was going to say. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders.

'Here goes nothing,' he told himself. He looked to his waiting audience and began to speak.

"We are all here to discuss the will left by Uther Pendragon," Merlin began. "My only request is that each of you refrains from asking question until I have finished reading the will and the conditions specified within. And should you be inclined to discuss them in private, I am willing to set aside time for you and your concerns."

He surveyed his audience once again.

"Let's begin."

Merlin tried to keep his nervousness from spiraling out of control. Morgana, Agravaine, and Mithian would be easy enough to control, but Arthur and Guinevere—especially Guinevere—would be another matter altogether.

"Note that I will be reading the will verbatim and, as per the instructions given by Uther Pendragon before his death, will not omit anything included."

Merlin noted that four heads nodded while one remained still, unmoving.

"To Morgana Louise DuBois, daughter of Gorlois and Yvette DuBois, my goddaughter and ward, I leave two townhouses in London and the sum of..."

Merlin mentioned a number that would have left any other person gasping, but Morgana's mouth merely twisted in disdain. She was not pleased with that was left to her. Merlin wanted to shake his head in disbelief, but knew that any reactions from him would have to be done later.

"To Agravaine Clarent, my brother-in-law and uncle to my son, Arthur, I leave the amount of..."

Merlin mentioned another amount that would have funded several small cities.

Agravaine's mouth compressed into a tight line. It seemed like he was unhappy with his part of the Pendragon wealth as well.

"To Mithian Rose Nemeth, daughter of Roder Nemeth, Chief Finance Officer of Pendragon Holdings, Inc., I leave 10 percent of my stocks and shares in said company."

Thankfully, Mithian's expression was passive, but there was no ignoring the spots of color that bloomed on her cheeks. Merlin had very few chances to interact with her, but even he knew that the color on her cheeks was not due to embarrassment or shame.

Merlin took a deep breath and tried to quell the panic that was slowly spreading through him. The last part of Uther's will was going to be unpleasant to disclose and he silently began to wish that he was anywhere else but here.

"To my son and heir, Arthur William Pendragon, I leave all my remaining shares and in Pendragon Holdings, Inc. and the subsequent earnings gleaned from them, the contents of my personal bank accounts, and the land and estate of Camelot."

'And now, sudden death,' Merlin thought and delivered the last condition indicated in the will.

"To Arthur William Pendragon and Guinevere Anne Leodegrance, I leave the land and estate of Tintagel."

Agravaine's loud "WHAT?" was drowned out by Morgana's screech of disbelief.

"You have to be joking!" She said before swiveling to face Arthur.

Mithian went as stiff as a statue, her expression frozen somewhere between a grimace and a sneer.

Merlin saw Arthur slowly turn to look at Guinevere. And as disappointed as Merlin was with the reactions of the other people in the room, it was the look on Guinevere's face that caused him the most grief.

Her tawny skin paled and her eyes widened. Merlin could see that she was trying hide that fact that she was beginning to tremble. In another time and in another place, Merlin would have rushed to her side and taken her to a place where she could calm down. But that time was not now and Merlin knew that she would never allow him near her again.

As the room erupted into chaos, Guinevere calmly stood up and left Merlin's office, three pairs of eyes trained on her as she went.