With All My Heart
Summary: "I will not let you die." She breathed. "Not again.." – Time Travel, Arthur/Guinevere.
...WAMH...
'Gwen'
Guinevere turned around, observing her surroundings. She can see nothing but darkness.
'Gwen'
"Who's there?" breathed Guinevere, turning around once more, hoping to catch sight of whoever called her.
'Guinevere'
No
no
It cannot be
Guinevere desperately looked around. That voice, she can never forget that voice. No matter how long it was the last time she heard her name uttered beyond those lips - she can never, and she will never, forget that voice.
Feeling her eyes burn with tears that she frantically held at bay, she choked out to the darkness beyond her,
"Arthur?"
'Guinevere'
"Arthur!" she called out, tears running down her face.
'Let me go.'
"No, no," sobbing, she desperately searched for the man who will always hold her heart. "Arthur please."
'Live, Guinevere'
"Please Arthur!" she called out. Her heart thumping hard against her chest. "Please, please come back."
'I love you'
"I love you too, A-arthur!" she felt herself choke, her heart caught in her throat. "It has never changed, it will never."
'You have to let me go Gwen, live'
"No! no, please!"
'I will always love you'
"Arthur, p-please come back," she begged. "I can't, I n-need y-you."
'Always'
A gentle wind suddenly caressed her cheek.
'-and Forever'
She heard the voice started to fade.
"No! please don't leave me!"
'live-'
She frantically looked around, her tears blurring her vision.
"Arthur! Come back!" crying out, she started to run through the darkness. "P-please, don't leave me."
'-ive'
"No!"
'-ve'
"Arthur!"
She stumbled down the floor, grief consumed her whole being.
'-ady'
"No!"
'-ilady'
"Don't leave me!"
"Milady!"
"Arthur!"
Guinevere suddenly sat up on her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried out for her lost love.
"Milady" her handmaiden, Edith, cannot do anything but watch as her poor Queen broke down in grief, still crying out for her lost King.
…WAMH…
Guinevere observed from the windows of her chamber as the Knights of Camelot got ready for another patrol around the border. There had been reports of bandits terrorizing small villages inside the lands of Camelot. People from said villages came looking for help and the Knights had quickly acted upon it. Needless to say, justice had been handed swiftly.
Years after the Battle of Camlann, peace had been restored in the lands of Camelot once more. The Kingdom flourished under her reign, though that was not to say that there have not been difficulties. At first, her rule had been shaky at best as not all nobles that were part of the council were in favor to her becoming the reigning monarch of the Kingdom. She, a blacksmith's daughter, and a female to boot, become the leader of Camelot?
Nevertheless, Guinevere continued on and did her best for the betterment of her people. She will forever be thankful to those who had supported her during those difficult times. Gaius, the Court Physician and her old friend, would often help and advise her to the best of his abilities. He was there whenever she needed her, be it for advice in whatever rule that some stuck-up noble had come up with or just a listening ear to talk to. Over the years, Gwen had come to consider him as a father figure in her life.
Leon, now the Captain of the Knights, had shouldered the responsibility of every activity done by the Knights of Camelot in order to ease some burdens off of her, and she was thankful for that because while she had experienced some dangerous adventures in the past, she was certainly no Knight. Leon, together with Percival, had made it their duty to always support and protect her.
And Merlin, dear sweet Merlin, he had been there when she needed him most. It didn't matter to her that he has magic, he was her friend and that is that. Gwen felt closest to him as he had been the one to support her when she was lost in grief at the news of Arthur's death. She couldn't even fathom how he did that since he was also grieving the death of his best friend. They had consoled each other during those dark times.
Together with Merlin, and the support of countless others, she had abolished the ban on Magic. No longer were people persecuted due to the use of magic. Of course, if magic was used to do harm then people will still be sentenced depending on the severity of the act. There were some who opposed when the act was passed but Guinevere ruled with an iron fist. She would not stand for such injustice any longer.
Merlin was currently traveling in distant lands to learn new aspects of magic, and especially to get away from Camelot for awhile. He admitted that he still felt guilty over Arthur's death. Guinevere chided him that he was not, in anyway, responsible for the death of her husband. Still, he cannot bear the thought of it and left, but he had promised that he will return again. She wished that she had that privilege, because every place in Camelot had painfully reminded her of the beautiful memories that she had shared with her husband.
Even after all this time, there has not been a day where Guinevere didn't think of Arthur. Every decision that she made in court, she always thought of the ones that Arthur would approve of. Thinking back on her dream earlier, she can't stop her eyes burn with tears.
She needed a distraction.
"Edith."
"Yes, milady?" her handmaiden curtsied.
"Ready my horse, I would like to join the patrol today."
…WAMH…
It was supposed to be just a boring routine patrol to the borders of Camelot. They would even be back before sunset. That was the only reason Leon had agreed with the Queen's request to accompany them in their patrol with only a group of eight knights.
They were just winding down the path back to Camelot when they were suddenly ambushed by a dozen or so armed men.
"Protect the Queen!"
The Knights had engaged the bandits head on. They were not allowing these ruffians to get past their defenses.
Then things had quickly gone to hell.
Leon had just taken down two bandits when he was suddenly pulled from his horse. He elbowed the bandit in the face, knocking him unconscious. He ducked just in time to avoid the swing of a mace from another bandit; he quickly grabbed his sword and slashed it through the chest of his enemy.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see that more bandits were emerging from the tree lines.
"Milady!" he called to Guinevere. "Run! We will hold back these bandits, hide in a safe place. We will get to you when we finished disposing these ruffians."
"But-" indecision clear in her eyes.
"Run now!" Leon bellowed, as he engaged the oncoming bandits in combat.
"Protect the Queen!"
Guinevere loathed leaving while her knights were currently engaged in a life or death situation. But Leon was right, she would only get in the way in this battle, the rest of the Knights would just be distracted by protecting her.
She quickly grabbed the reigns of her horse and quickly galloped away from the battle.
She led the horse into the forest, avoiding trees and bushes. Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound and not a second later; her horse reared back throwing her to the ground.
Her breath was knocked out of her chest. Breathlessly, she glanced back to her horse and saw that an arrow was sticking out on its side.
Guinevere could hear rapidly approaching footsteps not far from her. She hurriedly got back to her feet despite of the sharp pain on her left foot, which got sprained from her fall.
She hurriedly hobbled through a thicket of bushes. What she didn't expect was that the bush she went through was beside a cliff. She felt herself falling, but she managed to slow down her fall by grabbing to various tree roots that were protruding from the cliff. Fortunately for her, it was a short descent.
"Where is she?!"
"She can't be far."
"Then hurry and search for her, you idiot!"
Controlling her breath so as not to make too much noise, she listened as the bandits scoured their surroundings. She needed to get out of here, and fast.
Looking around, she saw what appears to be a cave in the distance. She quietly made her way to the cave careful on not making too much sound.
She was near the cave when she suddenly slipped with her bad foot, bringing sharp pain coursing through her body. She tried to regain her balance but in doing so she stepped foot on a branch.
Crack!
"There!"
"Don't let her get away!"
Ignoring the pain on her left foot, she entered the cave and kept on going forward, giving no mind to the dark surroundings. She slipped a couple of times bringing more scratches on her person.
Guinevere was so focused on getting away from her soon-to-be captors, or even murderers, that she did not notice the odd looking designs hanging from the ceiling of the cave.
She suddenly found herself in a large circular opening inside the cave. A dead end.
"Well, well, tired of running are yeh?" A stocky man said cockily, caressing a dagger in his hands.
Guinevere gasped, heart beating fast through her chest. She slowly backed away from the two men who eyed her menacingly.
"Nowhere to hide now, your majesty." A bald man snarked, showing off his rotting teeth and bowing mockingly to her.
"What do you want?"
"Why you of course," chortling, the stocky man twirled his dagger in his fingers. "After all, a Queen could fetch a hefty sum, aye?"
"Fuckin' idiot!" barked the bald man, sneering at his companion. "Get on with it, we haven't got all day."
Guinevere proceeded to back away, she hated that she can't stop trembling.
"Get back!" she shouted, defiantly.
"Or what Queeny?" taunted the bald man, all the while smiling maliciously.
She could only watch as the men slowly advanced towards her.
"Such insolence!"
What?
The one who spoke was not the men in front of her. No, definitely not, for the one whom spoke was in the voice of an elderly woman.
"You dare come here with such malicious intent."
"Weapons drawn in a sacred place!"
The voices were coming from behind her, yet she did not dare turn her back on the men in front of her.
The men were warily looking at what she presumed were the three elderly women standing behind her.
"What the?" the stocky man mouthed, mouth hanging open.
"Get back you hags," the bald man threatened, drawing his sword which was hanging from his belt.
"Leave this place now if you value your lives." One of the women behind her commanded.
"We gave you a chance old hag, guess you really wanna fuckin' die eh?" sneered the bald man, pointing his sword to the women. "Get them!"
Both men charged, weapons raised.
Suddenly, the two men were lifted off their feet and slammed harshly into the walls behind them. They crumpled on the ground, never to move again.
Guinevere stiffened.
Magic
She had no qualms about magic, she had helped abolished the ban of it in Camelot after all. But killing in any form, be it physically or magically, really gets to her.
She slowly turned around to her unexpected, and unintentional, saviors.
She saw three elderly women in hooded black cloaks, only the lower half of their faces were shown to her, the rest were hidden by the cloak.
"I-I, thank you," she stumbled over her words, still perturbed by the deaths of those men.
The woman in the middle spoke.
"You need not thank us Queen Guinevere-"
"-They were desecrating this holy place by their presence alone-" Stated the woman on the left.
"-They should have known better, they have paid the price." Said the woman on the right.
"You know of me?" Guinevere gasped, unconsciously taking a step backwards.
"You have always been known Queen Guinevere-"
"You, who have brought peace and prosperity to the land of Albion-"
"You, who have brought magic to be free in these lands once again."
Guinevere reeled with all three women almost talking at once. But one thought stuck to her.
"What do you mean by that I have always been known?" she questioned "And, just, who are you?"
"We are the Disir-"
"-We represent the highest court of the Old Religion-"
"-The chosen prophets of the Triple Goddess."
"You have always been known Queen Guinevere-"
"-As we see all that it was-"
"-All that it is-"
"-And all that will be-"
"-As such, we have been expecting you."
"What?" Guinevere questioned, in shock. "What do you mean you have been expecting me?"
"The Triple Goddess has decided to grant you a gift-"
"-A gift for your deeds in letting magic roam once again-"
"-Though it is your choice to take this gift or not-"
"-For it poses a great threat if used unwisely."
"A gift?" Guinevere asked, confused. "I have only done what I believe was right. Magic alone is not evil, as it all depends on the intention of those who wield it."
The elderly woman in the middle seemed to smile slightly to her words.
"And that is why the Triple Goddess had decided to grant you this gift."
"What gift are you talking about?"
"'Tis is a gift of a second chance-"
"-A chance to put things right-"
"-Though it will come with a price."
Guinevere swore that she could hear her heart beat as if it was right beside her ear.
A second chance?
"A second chance of what?" she asked, though she did not dare hope, fearing that it would only be crushed.
It seems that magic knows no bounds.
"'Tis a second chance to live your life again-"
"-A chance to change what has happened-"
"-A chance to change what will happen."
Guinevere felt faint; she simply could not believe what she was hearing. These women were offering her a second chance at life, a chance to do things right. It was so incredulous that it will not surprise her in the least if she were to wake up a moment later and find out that this was all a dream.
"You mean you will send me back?" she said, daring to hope. "Back to where it all started?"
"Though for a price."
"For every life you take-"
"-Is every life repaid."
"A life for a life."
Foreboding fell upon her. Her hands shook at the implication of the words that the Disir had said.
A life for a life
As if hearing her thoughts, the woman in the middle proceeded to take something from inside her cloak. When her hand emerged, it was holding something that most likely made Guinevere's heart stop beating for a minute.
On the woman's hand was a beautiful dagger.
From its golden hilt which held intricate strange symbols up to its wave like blade that could probably cut down anything in its path, the blade was simply magnificent. Beautiful yet deadly.
Understanding had dawned on her.
No more words were needed to be said.
Now, it is her choice on whether to take this gift of the Triple Goddess or not.
So many have died
so many unnecessary sacrifices had been made
..
No more words were needed to be said.
..
Yet
I could change it all
..
No more words were needed to be said.
..
Guinevere took the dagger on the woman's hand..
..then proceeded to stab it at her own heart..
..
No more words were needed to be said.
..
Darkness had swallowed her…
…
A/N: Well, that's the first chapter; I hope you all enjoyed it. This just came to me last night (about 11pm to be exact), and now it's 8am, so you guessed it. I haven't slept a wink! :D
Wow, I'm getting quite dizzy now, but I just can't sleep with this plot bugging me all night so I was like 'Aw, to hell with it!' then WAMH! (pun intended) Chapter 1 was officially created.
I would like to hear (or read) your thoughts about this fic, any kind of response will do, so that I will know if this story is worth continuing or not, thanks guys.
~ Gasanechi