Queen Guinevere thanked the maid who had helped with her skirts; she was so unaccustomed to having maids, and tended to forget and do things by herself. However, she almost preferred it that way. Gwen dismissed the girl, and dressed herself in the clothing of men. Not exactly suitable clothing for the Queen, but she and Arthur were riding for many hours, and she refused to be weighed down with heavy skirts. She had on thick furs, against the chills of winter, and warm boots and then she was dressed. She left her chambers, and went to find Arthur. He was ready by the time she found him, and she smiled, "You look worried." She said, stroking a finger down his cheek, "You have no reason to be. This treaty will be successful, and we will restore peace."
A chill ran down Arthur's shoulders, but he shook himself out of it, and bent down to give Guinevere a kiss.
"Thank you, my love. I could never do this without you."
He pulled her into a tight embrace, possibly tighter than usual, convinced that somehow it could help him gain his moral back up to par. A little smile lit in his eyes, even though it didn't have the courage to take the king's lips.
"I love you, my wife."
"And I you, my King." Gwen replied. Again, she was unaccustomed to this. They had hidden their love so long; it seemed strange to display it. But they were married now. She bored his ring, and he held her heart. This diplomatic mission was only one of many that were going to follow. But it was Gwen's first. Despite her nerves, she knew that Arthur needed her more than anything else. And so she would be there.
Arthur took her hand as they walked down to the horses that Merlin had waiting for them, then gently helped her up, looking up with a warmth that lit the unusually cold January morning.
"It seems like it's going to snow." Merlin said, holding Arthur's horse in place.
Gwen glared at Merlin. It was just another reason for Arthur to be nervous. Excellent.
"Merlin. I already know that." He said quietly. "We need to go." Arthur motioned the guard squadron forward, and they went on, quickly leaving the courtyard.
"It won't snow." Gwen said with a smile in Arthur's direction.
She could not have been more wrong. They had only been riding for an hour or snow when the snow started to fall. Half an hour later several inches covered the ground, making it hard to see. Gwen squinted and shivered, glad for her heavy furs.
As the snow came down faster, and the wind grew bitter, Arthur nudged his horse closer to Gwen's, and took control of her reigns, without permission.
Then, with a darting glance behind him, he could see that the guards were gone. Lost, in the storm.
The all too familiar chill rushed down his spine, and it wasn't from cold, although that was beginning to get to him.
"What is it?" Gwen asked, noticing his odd behavior. Arthur rarely acted like this. Something must be wrong, and he wasn't telling her.
"Nothing." Arthur shielded his eyes with his hand as the flurries came down more quickly. "But we have to stop and find shelter. I have no idea'r where we are!"
"I know!" Gwen called back through the snow. It was making it hard to hear, and she could barely see a few inches in front of her face. "And it's freezing."
Arthur jumped off of the horse, and led them instead, barely able to walk against the wind, and noticing that the horses weren't doing much better. Gwen's brown mare dropped on a knee, unable to continue.
"It's useless, Gwen. I can't see two feet in front of me, and the horses are helpless."
Arthur offered Gwen his gloved hand, offering to help her off the horse.
Gwen took Arthur's hand, sliding off her horse and landing knee deep in the snow. "We have to get out of this!"
Even through the gloves, he could tell her hands were an icy cold.
"You're freezing!" Arthur helped her out of the snow mound.
"So are you!" Gwen called back, keeping herself close to Arthur. She looked around, her body shivering against his. She could see what looked like an outcropping of rock in the distance, "Caves?" She asked, pointing.
"Caves. Thank you." Arthur took her up, sweeping her under the legs to be carried. The horses quickly ran off, leaving them completely stranded, and without the supplies that had been strapped to their backs.
Gwen shivered again, clinging to Arthur as they battled their way through the snow towards the caves. Her lips were slowly turning blue, and he didn't look much better. They had to get out of the cold.
"Guinevere." Arthur finally reached the dark formation, and found an entrance, cautiously going in. "You can't go to sleep. Going to sleep...is bad." That was all the words he had to explain that if she went to sleep in such temperatures, she would have a very, very hard time waking up.
"Stay awake, Gwen."
"I am awake." Was the mumbled reply that came from Gwen. Her eyes were open but her mind was fuzzy. She forced her eyes open wider, trying to stay awake, "And the same goes for you."
Arthur lay her down, and whipping off his cloak wrapped it around her shoulders.
"I am far better off than you are. You're smaller than I am, more likely to get hurt-" His voice broke.
"Arthur I'm fine." Gwen insisted, "You have to stay warm as much as I do." Now that they were out of the wind Gwen looked more alert, if only slightly.
"I wish we had a fire." He sighed. "But obviously without wood, or the supplies that isn't happening..." His voice trailed off this time. "Guinevere, I'm sorry. I should not have made you come. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for my weakness."
"You did not force me." Gwen said, "I may be your wife but I am not your servant. I chose to come, every bit as much as you did. Do not blame yourself for this."
"I cannot stop blaming myself!" Arthur's breath was shuddering. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be here."
"I should be here every bit as much as you should." Gwen replied. She moved next to his, their combined body heat helping her shivers, "I do not blame you."
Arthur pulled her closet to him, taking comfort in her presence. "Where do you think we are?"
"We must be out of Camelot's boundries." Gwen said, "Judging by the time we were travelling.
Arthur honestly, could not think. He was freezing, that was all that seemed to matter.
"We can figure it out tomorrow." Gwen whispered. Her eyes were closing, as she slowly fell asleep. "When the snow is gone."
"No, Gwen, don't go to sleep." Arthur warned her.
He tried shaking her, gently, and then harder but she didn't seem to respond.
"Guinevere! Guinevere Pendragon."
Gwen was so exhausted her brain seemed to shut down. She was still clearly breathing, her body working perfectly, she was just unconscious.
"Ugh!" Arthur stood up, kicking the cave wall. He was clearly more used to such situations than his new queen. Arthur felt his heart sink in his chest, and he knelt back down beside her. "Gwen, please. You have to wake up."
A small smile filled Gwen's lips at the sound of Arthur's voice. She woke slowly, "Arthur, I'm trying to sleep." She whispered, her voice filled with exhaustion.
"No. You can't sleep." Arthur provided the voice of common sense. "Wake up."
For some reason it appeared she thought they were all snuggly and warm in bed, like most mornings.
"Gwen!" His voice rose in intensity. "You are not in bed. You are in a cave. It's cold, if you sleep, you won't wake up again for a very long time. Fight it Gwen."
"I know." Gwen whispered. Her eyes were awake, looking into his. It felt as though she couldn't fight it, but for Arthur she had been willing to risk her life. Surely she could stay awake for him. "I am awake."
A deep sense of relief flooded him, and the moment her eyes opened, he gave her a big kiss on the lips.
"Thank God."
"You worry too much." Gwen said. She sat up straight, in an attempt to keep herself more alert.
"No, I worry for both of us." Arthur noted, shaking the sleep out of his own eyes, and shivering.
"You don't seem to realize that I worry too." Gwen said, "I am just not as open with my feelings." She felt she could say these things to him. They were, after all, married.
"You don't need to be afraid of expressing yourself to me, my love." Arthur murmured, pressing her head to his chest, which was still warm, underneath the layers he wore
"And, if I may say so, you are still absolutely freezing."
"Not as much so as I was." Gwen replied. She pulled the cloak he had given her more tightly around her, "You help."
A slight smile tilted at his lips. "That's what I'm here for."
"Oh?" Gwen asked, "And here I thought you were simply the King of Camelot."
"No. I am here for you. For my people, the people that I love."
Arthur looked at Gwen, a bit of confusion expressed on his face.
"I was joking." Gwen replied, "Though exhaustion may be clouding my judgement of humor."
"You'll be fine." Arthur's arms were around her shoulders in a heartbeat. "We'll be fine."
Gwen's head pressed against his chest, she could hear the beat of his heart, and it made her smile, "I know." Gwen whispered, "We just have to wait till morning."
"Just till morning." Arthur blinked hard, trying to keep his eyes from closing. "And...how-much longer...is th...at?"
"Arthur!" Gwen exclaimed, shaking him, "If I am not to sleep then nor are you. Stop it!"
"What? I'm not asleep." He protested weakly. "I'm not...stop, shaking me."
Arthur yawned.
"Stop closing your eyes. Stop yawning. I won't allow it." Gwen sounded like a stern mother disciplining her children but she didn't know what else to do. He was scaring her.
"My eyes aren't closed!" Arthur protested once again, struggling to blink them open.
"I'm still awake, Guinevere."
"They are closing and you know it." Gwen replied, keeping her voice level but loud. A quiet voice could be dangerous, "Focus on me. Focus on my eyes."
Arthur looked into Gwen's eyes, his head swirling. "You have...beautiful, eyes." He said with effort.
"I said focus, not fall." Gwen said. If he fell asleep, and she couldn't wake him, she would be lost and alone. That was the last thing she wanted to happen, and the fear was keeping her awake.
"Fall where?" His mind was befuddled with sleep. "We're sitting down..."
"Arthur!" Gwen exclaimed. She did the only thing she could think of. She slapped him across the face.
"Ouch!" Arthur snapped out of his pretense, and looked at his small, fiesty wife with shocked eyes. "What was that for? Gwen! Explain yourself, please."
"Because if you fell asleep, where would I be?" Gwen exclaimed, looking horrified by what she'd done.
"And you *had* to slap me?" Arthur tenderly rubbed his now red cheek bone. "Oww..."
"You weren't listening to me!" Gwen exclaimed. Her cheeks were flushed as shivers ran through her body.
Arthur did the unthinkable, and feeling quite lonely, stood up, and sat at the other end of the cave. He didn't feel like talking, to anyone.
Gwen sat huddled, shivering against the wall as watched Arthur walk away. Well, that was fine. She wasn't apologizing to him, she had done it for his own good.
Quiet, even sullen he stared at the wall until his head began to drop again.
But he looked up at her, and with a slow shake of his head came back.
Arthur needed her, and he knew she needed him.
He pulled the gloves off of his fingers, and put them on her small hands.
"Keep yourself warm. We don't know how long we'll be here."
Gwen reached and took her hands in his. "Do not act as though you are invincible." She whispered, her voice shaking as her body was wracked with more shivers, "You are just as important as everyone else, do not act as though it were otherwise. And Arthur. You are more important to me than anything else."
"I am not invincible, but I care more about you than I care about myself." Arthur looked deeply into her eyes, his once pale cheeks turning a husky red with frost.
Gwen didn't hesitate and moving herself forwards to wrap her small arms tightly around him. "Conserve body heat." She said, "The two of us can generate more."
Arthur smiled a little. "Thanks Gwen." But inside, he was beginning to wonder if there was any hope at all. "Are you certain you're alright?"
"Of course I am." Gwen said, though her shivers betrayed her. Yet she kept her body close to Arthur's, and felt the warmth start to spread through her.
'I'm not so sure about that.' Arthur thought, a small sigh escaping him, as he pulled her to the back of the cave, furthest from the wind.
Gwen wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep against his warm chest, but the last things he wanted was another yelling match.
He hated that he had even thought of leaving her sitting alone because of his own self pity. 'Surely, Arthur, she means more to you than that.' The King chided himself. 'She was only trying to help.'
"Stop thinking." Gwen mumbled, "I can practically hear you blaming yourself from here."
"What?" Arthur sighed, a slight but sheepish smile appearing again. "I wasn't..."
"Yes you were." Gwen said through a smile, "I know you were, don't lie to me."
"Alright. I...was. But just a little." Arthur sat down, and pulled her into a tight hug. He had no idea why he was still warm, and she was freezing.
Gwen laughed, her body shaking against his. "I always know when you're lying to me." She said, "I don't know why you still think you can."
"I grew up that way. I never could tell anyone what I thought, but was expected to tell people something. I forget you are different." Arthur replied.
Gwen smiled, "Maybe it's because I watched you for so long." She realized what she'd said and blushed, glad her face was buried so he couldn't see the redness. "That came out wrong."
"Guinevere." He chastised lightly, lifting her chin. "Don't you know I did the same?"
Gwen shook her head, "I never would have imagined. Why would I have ever thought that? You were a prince. I was a serving girl."
"Because you were different, in a way that stood out to me." Arthur's blue eyes softened.
Gwen smiled, her shivers subsiding slightly, "No one has ever spoken to me like you do."
Arthur looked adoringly down at her. "What makes you different...makes you so beautiful. You always stuck out to me."
Gwen smiled, her arms tight around him, "I love you."
"I love you more." Arthur said in complete truth, the one moment erasing everything.
"And I need you."
"No more than I need you." Gwen whispered in reply. How was it that his touch could erase everything that was wrong, and make all her fears disappear?
Arthur just nodded, not saying anything for a few moments. But the wind howled loudly, and a blast of it swept into the shelter.
"Ugh!"
"Ah!" Gwen let out a minor scream, turning her head away from the wind that ripped around their cave.
Arthur lightly pulled the vest he was wearing off, and placed it on her shoulders.
"This is for your own good."
"If you freeze, I will kill you." Gwen said, taking the vest reluctantly.
"I won't. I'd rather freeze than let you."
Arthur said stubbornly, watching the cave entrance. The light mist began to clear a little to see that it was solidly dark outside, and he could barely see her face now.
"You're more stubborn than a mule." Gwen muttered.
Arthur dared to laugh at the comment, but started coughing because of the snow flying into his face.
"That-wouldn't-be..the first—time someone's said so."
Gwen looked at him, alarmed by the coughing as she tried to raise her arms to block the snow from his face.
"I'm fine." He protested.
"Just cold."
"That might be because you've given me half your warm clothes." Gwen replied, trying to give them back.
"No. Keep them."
Her husband protested, still shivering.
"I don't want you to freeze." Gwen replied, still trying to give the clothes back.
"Guinevere Pendragon. You will keep those on."
Arthur demanded, not regretting it at all. His first priority was to protect her.
"Keep my clothes on." Gwen muttered, "That's a change for once." She said, giggling as she said it.
He rolled his eyes. "Just do it."
"Am I allowed to sleep now?" Gwen asked, "Or is that still forbidden?"
Arthur sighed. "Just...be safe." He sounded rather sleepy himself as he rested his head on hers.
Gwen's eyes were already closing. She knew they would be safe. Well.../knew/. Yeah.
Arthur struggled to keep his eyes open. 'Do it for Guinevere.' He kept repeating in his head, and soon enough it seemed like some light was streaming through the snow, even though it was just as much of a blizzard.
Gwen was already asleep, warm in Arthur's arms. There was just a small, nagging thought in her mind. What if Arthur was cold?
"Gwen." Arthur nudged his wife, about four hours later, when the sun was streaming thoroughly through the cave's opening. "Gwen wake up."
Gwen woke up, though exhaustion was still evident in her eyes. "Morning." She whispered, her voice hoarse.
Relief was evident in his eyes as she did wake up, and didn't sleep on through his urges.
"Goodmorning, beautiful."
"And did you sleep at all?" Gwen asked. She glanced outside the cave to the /delightful/ sight of snow. Everywhere. It was going to be a long walk. At least it wasn't still snowing.
"No." He yawned deeply, his eyes slightly red-shot from the lack of it.
"I had to make sure you were alright."
Gwen groaned in frustration, "Well, if you pass out I am going to drag you through the snow and any resulting injuries are not my fault."
"I won't." He laughed. "I am perfectly fine." Arthur stood, trying to demonstrate his point, but ended up leaning against the fridgid cave wall. It being freezing, he yelped, and was thoroughly awake. "S-see?"
"No!" Gwen replied, standing up. Her legs promptly gave out and she had to shake them for a few moments to wake them up before she could stand properly. "Here." Gwen said. She took off a few of the layers he had given her and handed them back, "I'm warm enough now, and don't even think of protesting."
Arthur sighed softly, and took only one the cloak back before refusing. "You need them. I won't let you freeze to death. I care about you to much."
"We are never going to agree on anything." Gwen replied with a sigh.
Arthur frowned, then cleared his throat, saying he needed to go investigate their surroundings.
"And you think I'm going to stay here by myself?" Gwen asked, "I don't believe so."
"No. You aren't coming out there in the freezing cold. There's probably ice. You could trip and hurt yourself."
The king stubbornly blocked the exit, with no intention of letting her though into the bitter weather.
"Please, Guinevere," He softened a little, touching her forearm. "Just trust me."
"You!" Gwen exclaimed, pointing, "Are so frustrating that I want to scream sometimes." She pulled off the gloves and handed them to him. "If you're going outside, wear these." Then she wrapped her arms around his neck, rising onto her toes, "And be careful."
"I...really don't get you." Arthur reluctantly took the gloves, pulling them onto his fingers. "But I certainly thought I did."
Then he marched out of the cave, looking back once.
"And stay here."
"Of course." Gwen replied. As soon as he was gone, she was pacing.
It was his kind of luck that as soon as he had gone thirty paces, it began snowing again.
He could barely see past the tall rocks, and basically bare terrain.
The snow started coming harder, and faster, and Arthur knew he had to turn back. But he still couldn't see, at all, and could only guess in the basic direction in which he had come from.
Eventually, he stumbled and fell to his knees in the snow, completely freezing, and utterly exhausted. However, Arthur's senses were alert to the bare enough sense that he noticed he had fallen onto a pile of wood, not rock.
The King sorted through it, choosing the driest pieces, and began walking again, his legs protesting.
When he thought he was completely lost, he saw the entrance of the cave, and fell back inside.
"It is cold." Arthur pointed out the obvious as he found his way back to Gwen. "Very cold.
"Oh goodness." Gwen exclaimed. Without a thought she wrapped her arms around Arthur in an awkward hug. Her own hands were once again warm from being kept in her sleeves, but he was completely frozen. "Don't go out there I say." She muttered, "Don't be stupid I say. But do you ever listen to me?"
"I'm fine." Arthur shrugged it off, shaking the snow from the red cloak. "Perfectly fine. But I cannot see two feet ahead of myself out there."
"Guinevere, I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this." He sighed.
"Stop apologizing." Gwen replied, "I just don't want you to be cold." She still had her arms wrapped tightly around him, and the cold was seeping into her bones, or it seemed like it. "Come on, give me the wood, I'll make a fire."
Arthur complied, his hands getting numb. "It has to be below freezing out there."
He began starting a fire.
"Did you not hear me?" Gwen asked, "I said /I'll/ make a fire." She laughed, taking the wood and setting into a tent like shape. She pulled a piece of flint from her pocket, which she always kept on her, and used a rock to get it started. Seconds later a fire was lit.
"I was going to do that." Arthur said quietly.
"I know you were. But I did it." Gwen said, turning to look at him, "Arthur you just went out in the freezing cold and will hardly let me do anything. I'm not incapable."
"No. But you are my wife, and it is my duty to protect and look after you. Until death." His eyes glanced up from the fire, and into hers.
"And did I not make the same vow?" Gwen asked, "And yet you seem unwilling to allow me to act on it." Gwen did not like to be protected like a child. Even if she needed it sometimes.
"You did." He admitted. "But I would give my life for you, many times over before I'd live knowing that something I hadn't taken care of had killed you."
"But I am perfectly capable of making a fire." Gwen said, turning to look at it, "I have done so for many years."
"I know." Arthur looked into it, almost wishing to get lost in it's deep warmth.
"The cold is making us irritable." Gwen said, "And the fact that we both haven't eaten in hours."
Arthur nodded and looked away quietly.
Gwen crouched in front of the fire, watching the flames and letting the warmth wash over her. She didn't like fighting with Arthur.
It made him feel so guilty inside, and it was a feeling he couldn't escape. Maybe he couldn't stop saying he was sorry, because inside he wasn't really.
His pride got in the way of that.
Eventually, Gwen sighed, "I'm sorry." She said, "Sometimes it feels as though I'm useless, and I have to do something. I know you only want to protect me."
"You do many things for me Guinevere, the least being comforting me." Arthur encouraged, a soft smile touching his lips again.
"I am glad we're here together. I wouldn't choose anyone else."
"Not even Merlin?" Gwen teased gently, "I'm sure he would be better at warming the air. With his talking, the air would be warm within moments."
"Merlin is not my wife." He laughed, and then made a face.
"You are."
Gwen started laughing then, giggling almost ridiculously, "Merlin in a wedding dress!" She exclaimed. Exhaustion, cold and hunger were making her giddy.
"Gwen, don't even go there." Arthur laughed himeslf.
"With a long white train!" Gwen said, still giggling.
"I could have chosen anyone. And there is a reason you are here with me today, Guinevere."
Arthur intended to keep the mood serious.
"I need you."
"Always did."
A few more moments of silence passed, and Arthur took a moment to look up into her deep brown eyes.
"May I ask you something?"
"Of course my lord." Gwen replied, teasing him by saying 'my lord', "Anything."
"May I kiss you?"
"You know you do not have to ask." Gwen replied.
Arthur leaned forward, pressing his lips into hers.
"I love you."
Gwen smiled, and tears, a mixture of frustration, exhaustion, and happiness leaked from her eyes.
Arthur didn't know what it was, maybe that he was finally truly sorry for being such a boss that he kissed her once again, relishing it.
Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close, "Everything." She whispered, "You are my everything."
Arthur just held her, wondering why he hadn't done it before. They had needed one another, and all they had done was fight.
"I'll always be here."
"Thank you." Gwen whispered. She was still crying, but this time it was definitely from happiness.
A light touch with the back of his hand brushed some of the tears from her golden skin.
"Don't cry. We'll get out of this, Guinevere."
Gwen laughed, "I'm happy." She said, "Happy that you're okay, and that I'm okay, and that everything is going to be alright."
Arthur looked up, his famous half smile darting her way as he looked out the cave's entrance.
Suddenly, he tilted his head. Was that...footsteps?
"What is it?" Gwen whispered, looking up. She moved, so that she was in a position to defend herself.
"I don't know." Arthur drew his sword, and walked forward cautiously.
Then, almost out of the blue, a squadron of guards appeared.
Gwen stayed back, still on her guard. From here, she couldn't tell if they were Camelot's guards or not.
"Leon! Percival. Thank God!" Arthur's laugh was loud enough to be heard inside.
Gwen let out a sigh of relief, replacing the dagger she had pulled from the folds of her coat.
"Lancelot. How did you find us?"
Arthur and his knights walked into the caves, and the king took his wife's hand.
Gwen clutched Arthur's hand, but had to release it when she saw her brother. "Thank God." She heard him say, before they were hugging. They rarely showed affection towards each other, so clearly he had been worried.
Arthur smiled at Eliyan, giving his knight a polite nod.
"We're brought horses." Leon said quickly. "But we need to get you home, my lord...my lady, we are in enemy territory."
Arthur nodded.
"Right. Guinevere? We may have to wait for spring."
Gwen nodded, "I just want to get out of the cold." She said. She was standing in between Eliyan and Arthur, avoiding Lancelot's gaze. "Merlin didn't come?" She asked, looking around.
Her husband noticed her sudden recluse, and gently squeezed her hand, offering support.
Lancelot, quietly resigned, stood towards the back of the troop, but remained trying to catch Gwen's eyes.
As Arthur, Leon, Eliyan, and Percival went to asses the road home, Lancelot stayed behind.
Gwen looked at Lancelot, nodding her head slightly, "Lancelot." She said, her voice reserved, "Thank you for coming."
"It was my duty, my..queen. To do anything else would have been forsaking the knight's code."
Lancelot bowed stiffly.
"Of course." Gwen said, curtsying slightly. There was an awkward silence between them before she said, "I should go to Arthur." Although Gwen no longer had feelings for Lancelot, she felt odd being around him.
"Of course." Lancelot nodded. "I should go to the knights." He then cringed, realising that made their destinations the same place.
Gwen bit her lip before quickly hurry out towards Arthur. The wind bit at her exposed skin and whipped her hair around her face, but it no longer carried snow with it.
Arthur gently helped her up onto a horse, quickly noticing the shadow that seemed to have fallen over her eyes.
"What has happened, my love?"
Gwen shook her head, "Nothing." She said, "Just...tired of the cold."
Arthur clearly didn't believe her, but simply mounted behind his queen, and urged the horse onward.
The party arrived at the gates of Camelot in a few hours more, just as the sun was getting high in the sky.
Gwen had been drifting in and out of sleep, even on horseback, and had almost fallen off more than once. When Camelot was in sight relief settled over her and she smiled widely.
"Home." Arthur sighed deeply, and helped her up the stairs and to their room.
"Settle into bed and get some rest, I'll bring you some food."
Gwen did not change before falling onto the bed on her back, arms open. "Oh thank goodness."
Then she propped herself up on her elbow, "No!" She called, "You need rest. Back here."
Arthur ran down to the palace kitchens before he could hear her, and came back ten minutes later with a wide selection of her favorite foods on a platter.
Gwen was already asleep, curled in a ball in the middle of the huge bed they shared. She looked small, childlike when she was asleep.
He lay down next to her, careful not to disturb, and kissed her cheek.
"Sweet dreams, Guinevere."
Gwen smiled in her sleep. She was so thankful for everything. For Arthur, and for everything he had done for her. And when she was no longer exhausted, she would tell him so. But for now they lay curled together, sleeping. Which was how Merlin found them several hours later.