Talk of Thunder

Characters: Guinevere, Elyon (Tom, Gwen's mother)

Summary: Gwen has a nightmare after her mother dies, and Elyon talks about the sky.

Rating: PG

Word Count: 1,100

Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope you like this one(: Just a cute little oneshot about little Gwen and Elyan - I couldn't resist! Tell me what you think!

"When magic through nerves and reason passes,
Imagination, force, and passion will thunder.
The portrait of the world is changed."

Dejan Stojanovic

When Guinevere was a youth, she lived with her parents and her brother in the lower town. It was a simple life but a good one. After all, they had food. They had two beds - a great luxury for a peasant family - and they had each other. The blacksmith and his wife, maidservant to the queen. Gwen's mother passed away when Gwen was only an adolescent, slipping away quietly in her sleep. It was a trying time for all of them left in the world - every room left them with the memory of her, the pillows and bedding still carrying her scent. Even Gwen's new job left her with the thought of her mother - the Lady Morgana was in want of a friend, and so the king sent a messenger to his wife's former friend who offered her daughter's services.

As much as Gwen enjoyed her time with Morgana, she also felt every moment with a sharp twang of loss, cutting into her heart as sharply as a knife. She would be so proud of you, her father would tell her with a sad smile and an affectionate ruffle. Then they would continue on, just trudging away with a hole in their home where life used to be. Gwen carried on. She had to.

But it was nights like this that made it so very hard. Nights when the silence would fill the air and scream at her, howling with her mother's voice, and the tears would replace sleep she desperately wanted but never occurred. She dreamt of darkness that devoured her life until there was nothing left and she was alone and terrified for the rest of time. Then she would wake and find that the dream hadn't been a dream at all, that the obscurity had already taken her mother away and she was one step closer to forever. In her mind, the canyon of black stretched on and on, farther than she could see. Her mother was on the other side, tears streaking her face. Gwen! she cried. Guinevere, please!

BOOM.

Gwen shot up with a loud gasp, tear tracks still fresh on her face. She looked around the dark house, the sound of her loud pants cutting through the noise of rain on the castle walls.

"Gwen?" Elyan's voice split the silence.

She struggled to make her voice as even as possible as she responded, "Yes?"

Thunder boomed from outside and rattled the windows. The sound was sudden and blaring, chopping through the still air. A small whimper escaped despite her attempts to hide it.

"Move over," the young voice said, and she complied. Within seconds, older, sturdier arms surrounded her, and she shrunk into them, shaking.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Elyan asked. Gwen nodded, not trusting herself to speak. "About what?"

She shook her head violently, and Elyan did not force the issue.

Nothing more was said for a long while. The rain continued it's relentless campaign against the walls, thunder clapping at its valiant effort. At every resounding boom, Gwen flinched. Finally, Guinevere blurted, "Are you scared?"

"Am I?" Surprised.

"Yes."

"Yes," Elyan surprised Gwen with this simplicity. "Yes, Gwen, I'm scared. Why wouldn't I be?" Thunder shook the structure again to emphasize his point. "Thunder is frightening. It's loud, it's angry, it's dark... Thunder is everything people are scared of."

"Mother wasn't scared of thunder. Mum wasn't scared of anything," Gwen declared.

Elyan shook his head. "Everyone must be scared of something. It's a scary place, our world, full of things to fear and be afraid for."

"But mum never looked scared," Gwen protested weakly. "If she was scared it would have shown, right?" Her brother didn't know how to respond to that. Another thunderous smash caused Gwen to jump back into her brother's chest.

"Don't be scared about the thunder. It can't hurt you, Gwen," Elyan said gently.

"But it can! Don't you see? It can!" Gwen cried. "I- I have dreams about it. About it coming for me, about it taking mom and then taking you and dad and I'm all alone..." she choked. The arms around her tightened protectively and comfortingly all once.

"Oh, Gwen..." He sounded so sad. Guinevere finally broke, sobs erupting like water from a fountain. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry..." she cried over and over again into his rough shirt, staining the faded fabric with tears.

"That's okay, Gwen, you're alright," his own teardrops dropped onto her hair, "Don't cry Gwen, there's no reason to cry."

"Don't be scared of the thunder, because it doesn't come alone. The lightning is there, to fight away the darkness and to always protect you, even when you're sad. Mom is in that lightning, don't you see? Mother will always be there to keep you safe, even if it's not here. She's still fighting for you, she will always fight for us." Elyan declared through wet eyes. "She's always there, Gwen. When the nights are darkest and the thunder loudest, she is protecting us against the rain. Nothing can hurt us while we have her watching over us. Remember that."

And the brother and sister sat together until the sun came up and the rain went away, watching the battle for the skies.

Eventually the serving girl did get her fairytale ending, with her prince and her crown and her ballgown. Gwen finally grew to be happy, even after losing her mother, and later her father and her brother, Elyan, who died protecting her as her mom always did. Her nightmares came back sometimes, but when she woke she would find light in the moonbeams illuminating her chambers or the reflection of fire off of her husband's hair.

The final night of Queen Guinevere's reign and life, the rain pounded against the stone of the castle, thunder booming from the world cast in darkness. But from the dark came a flash of light and four warriors against the sadness, her mother and her father and her brother and her love. When the nights are darkest and the thunder loudest... And Gwen smiled through her tears, knowing she would always be safe with her family in the sky.

Guinevere closed her eyes for the final time and dreamt of lightning.