Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Gwen
Spoilers: None. I think. Well, except for that trailer in the Christmas thingy because this was the result of one of the particular scenes there.
Disclaimer: Even though it breaks my heart, I own none of them. Do you hear that BBC? You. Can't. Sue. Me.
Summary: Even if it was just for a fraction of a moment, Arthur lost Guinevere.
Author's notes: I am so lame because this fic is every single kind of UN. This is un-betaed. Un-Brit picked. Un-reread [not a word, I know and it's not even grammatically correct but let's keep up with the UN parallelism.] Un-thought over properly. [Another grammatically incorrect word/phrase]. So there WILL be lots of grammatical errors, punctuation errors, language errors even [*gasp*] spelling errors. There will be incidents where Arthur will be a "she" and Guinevere will be a "he". This is just the result of a terribly sleepy fourteen year old girl who just got her computer back and finds out that she lost her Sony Vegas and her Adobe Photoshop. Both of which give her EXTREME happiness. And she just realizes that she needs to type her Arabella-centric story soon or she will be stuck with dreams full of ideas that she is going to forget soon-after.
"GUINEVERE!"
Arthur was panicking. Why couldn't he find her? Where was she? Was she alright? Was she alive? Arthur took a deep breath. He refused to go to that territory. Gwen was a fighter. She wouldn't die that easily. She would be fine. He knew she would. He didn't know what he'd do if she wasn't.
"Arthur!"
Arthur didn't know which way to turn. It seemed like, to him, her voice was coming from different directions. Left and right. North and south. Everywhere. He didn't know which way to turn. He couldn't see her. All he could see was the chaos. People were pushing him around in panic, disregarding the fact that he was the prince. He clutched his sword tightly, ready to defend himself if necessary. Of course, he couldn't ignore the thousands of dead bodies around him and the smell of fire. Where was she?
Gwen.
The thought of her name made the bottom of his stomach clench uncomfortably. Why did he feel like something bad happened to her? No. Why did he feel like he already lost her?
Beads of sweat trickled down his temple. He heard the voice again.
"ARTHUR!"
It was then followed by a cough. The voice sounded hoarser than the first time. It was like she was struggling to stay awake. To keep herself alive. Where was that voice coming from?
"ARTHUR PENDRAGON, BEHIND YOU!"
He turned around in instinct. He raised his sword just in time to block the one blade that was coming his way. He pushed it with all his might until his foe staggered backward, leaving him unguarded. He seized the moment and thrust his sword in his unguarded stomach. The man merely looked at him, fell to his knees and dropped dead on the ground. Arthur raised his eyes just to see Gwen in the arms of another man.
And not in a way that would have broken his heart.
It was in a way that would have killed him.
With one arm keeping Guinevere's arms behind her back, the hooded figure pushed the dagger further into her throat. Guinevere whimpered as a line of blood trickled down her throat.
"You should have saved her first."
With those words said, and with a smile thrown in his direction, he slashed Gwen's throat open. Arthur watched in horror as, much like the man he had slain earlier, Guinevere dropped onto her knees and fell to the ground. He rushed to her, cradling her nearly lifeless figure. He shook her helplessly, trying to keep her awake. She merely smiled at him and raised a hand to stroke his cheek tenderly. It was a struggle to speak, and it was nearly unintelligible, but she breathed out those three words.
"I love you."
With that, her hand dropped to her side and for one last time her eyes shut close.
"GUINEVERE!"
He jolted awake as shivers ran down his spine. He blinked helplessly as he wiped the sweat from his brow. It was then that he noticed that a certain handmaiden was staring at him in horror and worry from the foot of his bed.
"My lord?" she asked with a trembling voice. She rushed to his side, trying to see if he was alright.
"Guinevere," he breathed out as he reached out to her. He pulled her in his arms, receiving a slight squeak of surprise from her. But when she noticed that he was trembling, she merely gave in to the embrace. Arthur didn't even ask her what she was doing in his room in the middle of the night-- he just needed to feel that she was alive. "You're alive. You're breathing."
"Arthur, what's wrong?" she asked with an edge of worry in her voice as she pulled away. She brushed his fringe away from his eyes. He was still holding on to her, as if he was so afraid that she would disappear. "I'm here. I am not going to disappear. Now, please tell me, what's the matter?"
"I dreamt I lost y-you," Arthur said as his voice broke at the last word. It was true. Because even if it was just for a fraction of a moment, he lost her.
Guinevere was surprised at that. "You are not going to lose me, Arthur. I am not going anywhere."
"Will you stay, just this one night?"
Guinevere just stared at him and nodded. After all, how could she refuse after seeing him so shaken like that? So she just helped him lay down on the bed, with her arms securely around his muscular build and his around her waist. It was not a struggle to find a comfortable place because they just seem to fit together.
Guinevere watched him close his eyes. She will not feel contented until she could hear his soft breathing – until she's sure he's asleep. She freed her one hand and stroked his face. His arms were tight around her, as if making sure that she was not going anywhere. Guinevere couldn't help but smile at that.
"I'm not going anywhere, Arthur. I am always going to be here, whenever you need me. And even if you don't need it, I'm always going to be here. I know I'm only a servant but at times, you make me feel more than that. You make me feel like a lady who deserves to be respected. A lady who deserves to be listened to. I will watch you be a great king to Camelot. And if takes death for you to achieve that, then so be it. I will die for you. Because there's this ache in my heart whenever I see you so troubled or so torn – especially with your father. I would never want to see a single tear in your eyes, or a trace of worry in your eyebrows, even a scrunch of your forehead."
"Guinevere."
"Hush. I'm here. I'm always going to be here because I love you, Arthur. I am never going to leave you."
"Don't leave, Guinevere." She turned to look at him in alarm, thinking he was waking. Instead, he just wrapped his arms tighter. "I love you too."