A/N: This idea wouldn't leave me alone. After Arthur and Gwen, Gwaine and Gwen are my favorite duo. DCD (Decisions, Choices, and Destiny) was my first fic ever. I would never change it for that reason. But I will say that there will be some similar themes. This fic will be a bit darker. I hope you enjoy, and reviews are always appreciated.

I

Crouching low in the bushes had become a part of her new life now. She knew she had to stay to the shadows and remain as invisible as possible. It was what kept her safe. Whenever she heard voices, she hid. Life had not been easy once word of her banishment got out. People talked behind their hands and pointed. No one spoke to her, and every eye she met was filled with scorn. It was easier to avoid everyone, which was hard for her because she loved being around people.

She had hoped going to the outlying villages would be better, but news traveled fast. Once folk figured out who she was, they shunned her. She was an outcast. Now she lived on very little, only eating when she was extremely hungry. Gwen didn't have much of an appetite these days anyway as her sorrow was consuming her.

How could she?

She loved Arthur. The night he proposed was so beautiful, and now it seemed like a lifetime ago. The soft crunching of leaves beneath her feet reminded her that she needed to remain quiet. Settling herself, she hoped they wouldn't be here long as she waited for their conversation to end. It was quite easy for her to hear them.

"I do say, my lady, that bringing him back from the grave was most advantageous, indeed," the male voice said.

Her eyes widened at his words. They were still in the borders of Camelot, where the practice of sorcery was still a crime punishable by death. Frowning at this, she tried to remember where she heard his voice before. Shifting her stance as quietly as possible, she looked through an opening in the brush. The sight before her made her gasp, but she quickly shut her hand over her mouth to prevent any noise from escaping her.

If they were to find her right now, her life would be forfeit.

The woman's voice sounded as if she were only a few feet away.

"Camelot's most noble knight was quite useful, wasn't he? That and the bracelet I made especially for her worked quite well. Now my former handmaiden is banished and will never be Queen." The woman's spiteful laugh caused her stomach to churn. Looking upward as she silently twisted her body, she craned her neck to see the owner of the voice.

Why did Morgana hate her so? It was something that she would never understand.

"I have changed our destinies Agravaine." Her voice was gleeful. "When the time is right, I will take the throne. But let my insipid brother be king for a while. Besides, I hear that congratulations are in order for him."

Her brow furrowed. Congratulations for what?

"Yes, Arthur and the Princess Mithian will wed in two days," Arthur's uncle said.

Her strength left her as she heard his words. Numbly she sank to the damp ground and wrapped her arms around herself, feeling her heart tear completely apart. Was this how he felt when he saw them? Agony ripped through her as she heard his words again and again in her mind.

Arthur was getting married to another. She hadn't even been gone three months.

"Has anyone seen her?" Gwen heard Morgana ask. She shook herself briefly from her grief to hear his answer.

"No one has seen Guinevere for months now," Agravaine replied.

She watched her former mistress nod thoughtfully.

"You know what to do if you see her," Morgana said.

She watched Agravaine nod as his hand reached for the knife in his belt. He patted the handle, the action confirming what Gwen knew in her heart.

He must never, ever find her.

"I must go," Agravaine said. "No one suspects me and it must remain that way in order for us to succeed." Turning, he climbed upon his horse. Morgana did the same, saying "I will call for you when I need to see you again, Agravaine."

The two horses then left in opposite directions.

Gwen remained, her mind reeling with what she'd heard.

Lancelot was brought back from the dead? Morgana enchanted her with that bracelet?

And Arthur…he was marrying.

She felt the water from her eyes wet her cheeks. Despite the horror of Morgana's words, there was a heavy burden that had been lifted from her heart after hearing their conversation.

"I'm not an adulteress. I'm not an adulteress. I'm not an adulteress. " she whispered to herself. Hearing the words gave her the strength she needed to stand. She looked in the direction of her home. Camelot was only half a day's ride away, but Gwen was walking and she had to make sure she remained unseen. Turning, she began slowly walking back, not even knowing what she would do once she arrived.

She could only hope she made it in time.

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The knight looked at his still full mug of mead. He took a sip as he observed the scene from the back of the tavern. He saw men laughing with one another, and enjoying themselves. There was another group of men playing cards. Normally, he would have loved to join them, but tonight he didn't feel like it.

He was feeling a bit let down. His sovereign, his king, Arthur Pendragon was marrying tomorrow. While he pledged fealty to Camelot, Gwaine wasn't pleased at this outcome.

Why couldn't anyone else see it?

Arthur was making a huge mistake.

Gwen wasn't that kind of woman, he'd bet his life on it. Something had to have happened to her. Unfortunately, he couldn't prove it, and her name was forbidden to pass anyone's lips. Merlin tried time and again to make the king see reason, but the subject was closed.

She was a good friend, to him and everyone. Not for the first time, he wondered where she was now and how she was faring. Guilt rose in him for not making sure she had everything she needed before leaving. He should have done something for her….he just didn't know what.

Taking another sip, he set the tankard on the table and began twirling the handle with his fingers.

"Your father used to do that when something weighed heavily on his mind," a voice said. Gwaine stiffened at the use of the word father. No one ever mentioned him, and he was certain he was in a place where no one knew who his father was.

No one here knew who he was.

Slowly, Gwaine turned to his right, where the voice came from. An older man pulled up a chair next to him, his keen gray eyes upon the knight. Gwaine could tell the man was quite fit, though he appeared to be in his fifties. His short black hair was streaked with gray, as well as his beard. There was something familiar about this man, Gwaine thought as the two men eyed each other. In a voice low enough for the man to hear, he said the first thought that came to mind.

"I have no father. He has been dead many years."

"We all have a father, my lord, and yours was a great man."

The use of a title caused the man to stiffen even more. No one in Camelot knew of his origins. He made sure of that.

Who was this man?

"State your business," Gwaine said, his voice flat.

"You don't remember me my lord?" The man asked.

Gwaine was silent.

"No matter, I remember you, Lord Gwaine of Dacia. We've been searching a long time for you. It's time for you to come as take your place as heir of Valcolor, your family's home."

Gwaine laughed, the noise sounding bitter to his ears. "You are surely mistaken, sir. There is no inheritance for me in Dacia."

"How can you say that when your father's seal graces your neck? You wearing it is proof you are truly the heir of Valcolor."

Gwaine's eyes narrowed at the man's words. No one knew what the two objects on his necklace meant. The flat pendant was the seal of Valcolor. It was forged in the shape of a curved upside down 'V'. The ring next to it was plain, but the inside had an engraving of his family's crest.

"I am Edwin, your father's valet. I served him until his death and then I served your brother, Gariens. Gariens had retaken the keep from your uncle Abadan, who had murdered your father and sent you all fleeing into the night so many years ago. We separated somehow, and we couldn't find you or your mother. What happened?

Unbidden memories came then, swirling in the man's eyes. Abadan killed his father Lanval, and tried to attack Helaine, his mother. They fled one night, but Abadan's men found them. They separated with plans to meet later, but it fell through. Desperate, his mother went before the king to seek help. The king, Salatre, who actually assisted Abadan in his takeover, refused to help her. Gwaine would never forget the broken look in his mother's eyes. All the hope left her that day, and she died a few years later in a small village. Gwaine a youth, then lived the life of a wanderer, never staying in one place too long, ensuring that he wouldn't be recognized. Camelot was far away from Dacia, he thought when he first settled in the foreign kingdom. Surely he wouldn't be found here.

He was wrong. Once Edwin introduced himself, he remembered this man with his father.

"How did you know who I was?"

"You are the very image of your father. Even without your seal, I would have recognized you." Again, the man turned serious eyes on the knight.

"It is time for you to return, Lord Gwaine. You are the only living heir and Valcolor will be lost if you do not claim it."

Gwaine was stunned at the news he was getting.

"Gariens left no heirs?" His brother was nearly eighteen years older and they were not close when he was a child.

Edwin shook his head, standing.

"My lord, is there somewhere we can talk privately? We have much to discuss."

Nodding, the knight stood, and the two left the tavern and stepped into the night.

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Gwen watched from the shadows as Camelot's king and queen kissed in from the castle's balcony in front of the cheering crowd. Hot, bitter tears choked her as she pulled the blue velvet cape over her face, hiding her from view.

She was too late.

She traveled as fast as she could, moving mainly at night, sleeping only a few hours in the daylight, before she set off again. Gwen had to stop and hide from slavers, bandits, and the knight's patrols. Each delay cost her precious minutes and as she watched the couple furtively from her darkened corner, it was all for nothing.

Nausea welled within her as her thoughts traveled ahead to the evening. Arthur would…unable to control the rising bile moving upwards, she emptied the meager contents of her stomach into a bucket she spied nearby. She weakly fell to her knees as a fine sheen of sweat began to cover her forehead. She was suddenly hot, and while she wanted to remove the heavy cape, she had to keep it on while she was in the citadel. Slowly standing, she leaned her forehead against the stone wall of the alley, hoping its coolness would help her somewhat.

She had been nauseous for several days now, and she thought that it was from the stress of what she was going through. Again, she watched the new royal couple, her eyes widening as she realized she'd had no monthly flow since…

Oh no.

This couldn't be. She shook her head in denial even as the reality of the night of his proposal crashed upon her.

When he led her into her candle lit home and proposed, she flew into his arms with happy tears falling from her eyes. Their mouths met, and the restraints they were so careful to use flew from their minds. They didn't stop themselves. Arthur carried her to bed and they loved each other there.

Clutching her abdomen, Gwen stayed to the shadows and snuck out of the citadel. Once in the woods, she found a tree and leaned against it a moment, searching for the strength to carry on.

After that night, Lancelot visited the next day and gave her that bracelet. She felt unclear, as if there were mists swirling around her mind while she wore it.

Why didn't she question that?

And why didn't Arthur look deeper? She had given all of herself to him, only him. Didn't he know her well enough to know something was amiss? She had been untouched before him. It was not like her to love a man so completely and then kiss another. It was an empty comfort to know that she was innocent in all of this. Everything she loved and desired had been snatched from her fingers by the cruel actions of a woman she at one time considered a friend.

Gingerly, her fingers trailed over her abdomen as she wondered what she was going to do. With no clear decision in mind, Gwen started walking again, this time away from the only home she'd ever known.