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Leon had known Morgana since they were both kids. It was hard not to know her since she was the King's ward. Everyone knew who she was. Though, he knew her before she had become the King's ward, when her father was still alive. That was only because his father was a knight and had fought with Morgana's father a few times.
He never spoke to her much growing up as she normally played with Arthur or other royal children that visited Camelot and he was normally with Gwen and Elyan. But they had a few encounters and from the moment they first met, Leon found her to be beautiful.
It had started out as a simple crush that he told no one about. He kept it to himself and thought it would pass in a few weeks. But, it didn't. The older they got, the stronger his feelings for her got. At first he just said it wasn't real love, it was the same as everyone in the kingdom felt because it was hard not to love Morgana. She was kind and loving to everyone.
But when Leon turned sixteen, he realized, he was truly in love with Morgana Pendragon.
He never acted on his feelings, usually worried that Uther would run him through if he ever did. Of course, numerous people had fallen for Morgana but few ever really showed their love. He could only recall two people letting their interests known, Arthur and the knight Valiant.
Valiant had died during his fight with Arthur and after that fight, Arthur suddenly, no longer had feelings for Morgana (Which he later found out from Merlin, was because Morgana claimed she saved his life and Arthur refused to admit he had been saved by a girl).
Though Uther hadn't ran either of those two through, he still kept his feelings to himself. She had never shown any interest in him either but he wondered if that was because he had never made his feelings known.
Even after her betrayal and death, he still often wondered if things would have gone differently if he had told Morgana he was in love with her. If they had started seeing each other would she have come to him with how she felt about certain things? Would he had been able to stop her from betraying Camelot? Or, would she have convinced him to join her in her betrayal?
He likes to think he never would have betrayed Camelot, no matter how much he loved Morgana but, he was lying to himself. He knows if Morgana would've come to him and asked him to join her in her betrayal, he wouldn't have given it a second thought. He would've joined her.
He would've done anything to make her happy.
After she betrayed Camelot she did come to him and try to convince him to pledge his allegiance to her but he refused and stayed loyal to Uther and Arthur. But, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it. He was still in love with her and had been so tempted to join her just so he could see her happy but, he didn't. In the end he choose his King.
He had watched innocent people die because of his choice and to this day, he still has nightmares about it. He knows even if he had accepted her as his queen, people still would've died. Because Morgana was ruthless, just like Uther.
He had been hurt by her actions, he had felt as though his heart had been ripped from his chest and shredded. He was probably the most hurt by her betrayal, he just hid it well. He still loved her though, even though his heart had been broken, his love never died.
He remembered feeling so bad for her when he found out Uther was her real father. A secret that only two people knew until Morgana found out. He could understand why she did all she did, even though Morgana could do no wrong in Uther's eyes, he knew that the former king would've killed her if he had found out about her magic.
He never told anyone about his feelings for Morgana, he kept them to himself, especially after her betrayal. All those years he kept hoping, praying, that Morgana would realize what she was doing was wrong and come back to Camelot to seek forgiveness.
Almost everyone would've wanted her dead, only a few people, himself included, would've let her earn forgiveness. She probably wouldn't have been able to leave the citadel, people would've tried killing her for everything she did and she would need constant protection. He probably would've been the only knight that would've wanted to keep her safe.
He would've walked by her side anywhere to make sure she was safe. He wouldn't have cared if he had to be with her all day and night, he would've done anything to make sure she was safe and make sure she knew, not everyone hated her.
That never happened though, her mind had been corrupted and there was no good left inside her. Despite that, he never stopped loving her. Even though she's dead, killed by Merlin, he still loved her.
When he found out about her death, he mourned. While everyone else in Camelot had celebrated, he couldn't bring himself to be happy about her death. He wasn't mad that the people of Camelot had celebrated, he understood why.
She had killed and hurt so many for so long, now that she was dead, they didn't have to worry about that constant fear they had. They didn't have to worry about when she would attack next or who would die next by her hand. Her reign of terror was over.
He was still sad though and had mourned for a few weeks. To this day he still glances around the training field as he trains the knights, looking for her. Almost expecting her to be sitting under a tree watching them train, with a smile on her face.
Maybe one day he'd look and see her spirit, standing next to Arthur's, watching him train the knights. He could almost hear them bickering with each other. Arthur making a comment about him being too easy on the knights while Morgana would chuckle and make a rude comment about how Arthur used to train the knights.
He likes to believe that when she died, her soul was purified and she would return to the world one day, back to her old self, happy and kind, helping those less fortunate. He hoped, one day, they would meet again in another life, whether it be in the afterlife or a new life a thousand years from now.
In his heart, he knew, they would meet again and this time, he wouldn't sit back and keep his feelings secret. He would tell her how much he loves her and how he would never stop loving her. He prayed that one day, they could be together as a couple. They would be happy and surrounded by the people they care about.
Such was his love for her.