Characters: Arthur/Gwen
Rating: G
Summary: Arthur makes a vow
Word Count: 766
Prompt: Fail
Never Her
As Arthur glanced back over his shoulder at Gwen as he followed Uther. He realized that Gwen had changed him. She had made him better in the few short days he stayed at her home in the lower town.
He knew in his heart he would never again be the same man that he was before the jousting tournament. He would know how to be humble. He would know how to respect all his people. She had taught him the importance of those things.
He made a vow to himself that he would remember the things that Gwen had taught him. His goal now was not to let her down. To do so would be to fail the one person with whom he wanted to please. He didn't understand why that was so important to him.
Gwen walked away from the Prince and wondered if she had made any impression on him. She hoped she did. She learned something about the arrogant prince as he stayed at her home. She learned that he could care more than he would care to admit.
She thought of the kiss he had given her. She knew she would never have another. It was a momentary lapse on his part. He needed a princess not a peasant to be his future queen. She shook the dreams out of her head as she shook her curls. It did no good to dwell on those things that cannot be.
Time passed…..
It wasn't until Arthur was searching for Gwen when he realized why it was so important not to fail her. He realized that he was in love with her. He was in love with a handmaiden.
When she was found and he realized that he still couldn't tell her how he felt because to do so would only give her hopes he may never be able to fulfil. He couldn't be the one to disappoint her with false hope.
It wasn't Arthur that disappointed Gwen that day but she still felt let down by him. She couldn't be free and she couldn't be his. She was stuck in the middle.
She put her head down and tried to move on but she knew that she couldn't. How do you move on from the man you love with all your heart?
Sometime later when Merlin came to her to save Arthur, she thought it was a joke. She didn't realize that Merlin knew how Arthur felt about her. How would she save the Prince with a kiss? A kiss from her would definitely not be true love's kiss. It couldn't be. She wasn't a princess.
She entered the tent and looked at Arthur. He seemed normal enough. He was definitely arrogant. She took a deep breath pushed him against the tent support and kissed him. She kissed him with all of her heart. He responded and strangely enough it worked. The spell broke as she held him in her arms.
Arthur stared at Gwen in confusion until the pain hit him. He couldn't remember the last few days. All he knew was from the look on her face, he had failed Gwen somehow and he would have to work hard to repair what he had broken.
Arthur brought her a rose but he knew she was still angry at him when she lowered her head like the servant that he had forgotten she was. It hurt him that he had failed her of all people even though it was an enchantment.
Time passed and they grew closer. Each one never admitting that they loved the other. To do so would mean facing that truth that they could never be together.
When Arthur refused to marry Princess Elena they both realized that their love was something they both could no longer ignore. It was more than either of them expected and more than they could control.
But Arthur's fear of failing her persisted even when he knew that her heart was his. He kept pushing himself to be the man she saw inside him. The man and king he chose to be because of her.
She never believed that she would be his queen. It wasn't until the day he placed the crown on her head and kissed her that she believed it possible. All of her struggles and all of the obstacles that had been put in front of them were finally gone.
On that day he presented his queen to the Court. He had kept his vow to the one woman that he could never fail unless he could help it.