Disclaimer: I own nothing, I just write for my own enjoyment :)
When Prince Arthur was a small boy of 9, the King took him into Camelot. Until this point in the Prince's life time, he had been imprisoned in the castle, confined to the gardens and the courtyard – never venturing beyond the gates.
The young boy had spent hours gazing out of his window, watching the hustle and bustle of city life, desperately curious, wondering what it would be like to join the children running around the streets laughing and playing. Arthur had never had any friends of his own, of course he had been encouraged to socialise with the noblemen's sons, but there were few of his age, and ones that were had always been to snobbish and boring for his liking.
Just the other day his father had informed him that Gorlois, the Duke of Cornwall, had passed away, and his daughter Morgana would be arriving to live with them shortly. Arthur had been excited at the news, Morgana was little more than a year older than the Prince, and although he would never admit it, he had always wanted a sibling. He couldn't wait to have another child in the castle to play with, but he didn't get his hopes up to high, after all she was girl, and Arthur did not like girls. All the noblemen's daughters he had met previously had given him a headache with their screeching and constant moaning when they got the slightest bit muddy (well it was hardly his fault they had neglected to move when he thrown a handful of mud in their general direction, on several occasions.)
And this was the exact reason he was dreading the task at hand. In the wake of Morgana's arrival, Uther had decided that she would need a handmaiden – a servant of her own age – to help her feel welcome in Camelot. The handmaiden would obviously have to be a girl, and Arthur had to help choose her. Uther was determined to ensure the girl would meet his demanding standards, and after Arthur's many requests to be allowed out of the castle, the King had decreed that the young Prince must assist in the selection process. Despite the boorish nature of the task at hand, Arthur could not complain, because he was fulfilling his dream to venture into the city that would one day be his.
A part of him wondered why his father was taking such a personal interest in the choosing of a servant, in fact, Uther had been acting extremely out of character while preparing for Morgana's arrival – having the best and warmest chambers cleaned several times; demanding new furnishings; ordering dozens of new garments; and requesting that the court physician, Gaius, research treatment for nightmares, as apparently the young Duchess suffered terribly. When he questioned his father on the subject he had simply replied that Morgana would soon be Camelot's first lady – but to Arthur it appeared his father felt guilty about something – though he had no idea what.
As father and son walked through the town, surrounded by a large group of guards, complete with a few knights, they took care to look out for any families with young daughters, who could possibly be the new employee they were searching for. Or rather Uther kept an eye out and kept warning Arthur to pay attention.
Uther had several interviews with parents desperate to offer their daughter for this privileged position, after all the lower class were very lucky indeed to become personal servants to the nobility – the pay was good, and the job could last for the majority of the girls life – stability was hard to come by in this part of the city.
After several of these boring, unsuccessful interviews, Uther had allowed Arthur to remain outside with Sir Ector and two guards while he spoke to Fredric the baker about the possibility of his 11 year old daughter filling the position - Arthur hoped not, the girl was rude, bossy and irritating, plus all he'd heard her do was whinge.
Wanting to do something to relieve his boredom, under the watchful eyes of his guards, the young Prince wandered over to a boy lingering outside the house opposite. The young boy was younger than Arthur, small and timid looking.
"Fight me" demanded the young Prince, picking up two swords from the blacksmith's next door, and hurling one at the terrified looking boy, who clumsily missed catching it.
"I don't know how… Sire" the boy said apologetically, looking scared, as though he thought Arthur would hit him.
"Of course you do, every boy knows how to fight, don't be such a baby!" Arthur shouted. He did not mean too scare the child, but Arthur had been raised to believe sparring was a normal thing to do, and wanted a friend to play with for once. He was surprised, and hurt, when the boy ran away crying, disappearing into the crowd, leaving the sword behind.
"Pick on someone your own size! You…you…you big bully!" Yelled a shrill voice from behind him.
Arthur spun around to see a young girl, about his age, with curly brown hair, tanned skin, and deep brown eyes. She wore a simple lilac dress, which was stained with dirt and coal, her hands clenched in fists on her hips, a frown on her face. All in all he thought she looked quite adorable. Adorable? No! Never, Arthur Pendragon did not find small, angry girls adorable.
"Who are you?" he questioned, and not bothering to wait for an answer continued, "I'm Prince Arthur, your future King" he added the last part rather smugly.
She gulped slightly, but did not back down "I know who you are, my lord,but I don't care, you shouldn't go around scaring young children like that, it's not nice!" Arthur thought the way she said his title sounded a little sarcastic, but he said nothing of it.
"… And those swords belong to my father!" she continued angrily.
"Sorry, I only wanted to play" He muttered sulkily, gesturing with the sword. He had wanted to come into the town to meet other children, and all he had achieved was to have this small peasant girl shout at him. If he hadn't had his pride, the prince would have cried.
"Well maybe you shouldn't be so arrogant, and maybe people would play with you." She still sounded angry, but her voice had softened slightly, perhaps sensing he was upset.
"I didn't realise I would upset him, it's just, I've never had any real friends before," admitted the Prince, slightly ashamed, and a tear fell from his eye.
"Oh, I'm sorry, don't cry." The girl took a cautious step towards him, and handed over a small handkerchief. He noticed she looked truly sorry to have upset him.
"Thank you" Arthur wiped his eyes and looked up at the girl again. "What's your name?"
"Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen."
"Guinevere, that's a very pretty name." He said unthinkingly, and they both flushed red in embarrassment.
"uh…Thank you." She stood for a moment, looking down at her feet, before glancing up shyly, saying hesitantly, "I could spar with you, if you want?"
"Can you fight; I wouldn't want to hurt you…" Arthur said, silently praying she wouldn't retract her offer.
"Of course I can, I'm the blacksmith's daughter" she said smiling, and without further ado she picked up the spare sword the young boy had dropped. She turned to face him, positioning herself, ready to strike. Arthur grinned widely and mirrored her actions.
On three they attacked, twirling around each other, swinging their swords around, laughing the whole time, almost dancing. She was a surprisingly good fighter - Arthur was cautious at first, not wanting to hurt the delicate looking girl – but he soon got into the fight, both attacking with vigour, though not maliciously. Guinevere somehow managed to pin him down on the floor and the fight ended, both giggling hysterically. Arthur found, curiously, that he did not mind being beaten by a girl.
As she helped him too his feet, curls bouncing wildly, a sudden though occurred to him,
"How would you like to be maidservant to the new lady of Camelot?" he said hurriedly, she looked at him as if he were mad.
"Arthur – what are you talking about, you cannot just appoint me – you're not King yet!" she laughed.
"No, but my father is, and he wanted my help in choosing someone, that's why I'm here! Look, how old are you?"
"9" she said dubiously
"Same age as me, only a year younger than Morgana. You can protect yourself, apparently she likes sword fighting too, and you are a nice person, unlike all the other girls I've had too speak too this morning! Please, just say yes, and I'll ask my father. It'll be a great job, the pay is good, I'm sure you're parents could use the money…" At her frown he assured her "No offence, I just meant, the more money the better right?" She smiled slightly and he decided it was safe to continue. "…And as personal servant to a royal you will get privileges above other servants. Please Guinevere! You'd be perfect! It's not like I'm asking you to marry me or anything…" He stopped suddenly.
She looked at him, mouth open, and suddenly grinned "Okay!"
"Huh?!"
"I mean, could you ask you're father if I can be the Lady Morgana's maidservant – not marry you! Of course not. No. I mean, not that there would be anything wrong with marrying you…" Her cheeks flushed crimson as she continued her rant.
Arthur thought she looked rather sweet when she was embarrassed and laughed softly; trying to ignore the little voice in his mind asking what it would be like being married to the small girl in front of him.
"Guinevere" He said, putting a strange emphasis on her name, which made her shut up immediately. "Be quiet, it's okay, of course I'll ask my father." They smiled happily at each other.
Suddenly Uther appeared from behind them, in a bad mood because the interview with the baker's daughter had gone badly. Arthur ran over yelling happily "Father, Father, I have the perfect maidservant for Morgana!"
At Arthur's suggestion, and deciding these interviews couldn't get any worse, Uther agreed to speak to Tom the blacksmith, Gwen's father, and later with Gwen herself. He decided Arthur was right, she was perfect. The girl was well dressed, but the stains showed she was a hard worker, she appeared polite and kind – important if he wanted his new ward to feel welcome, and most of all she seemed willing to serve without question, showing respect to her King unlike a certain baker's daughter.
Guinevere was awarded the position of the Lady Morgana's maidservant, and given instructions to arrive early at the castle early Monday morning. Arthur thought she appeared nervous but happy.
As his father started back towards the castle, he hung behind, wanting to speak to Guinevere.
"Congratulations! I told you you were perfect!"
She blushed prettily, and he realised what he had said, and considered adding "for the job" to the end of his sentence, but decided his original sentence was truthful enough – she was perfect… at least from what he'd seen. He found himself blushing too, but smiled happily along with her.
"I suppose I'll be seeing more of you now then" he said.
"I hope so" she replied grinning shyly. Suddenly he realised he still had her handkerchief in his pocket. He pulled out the cloth, and held it out too her, but she shook her head and told him too keep it,
"For luck" she said, "With your new foster sister".
"Thank You", he smiled, and before he could think any more of it, stepped forward to hug her. She squealed in surprise, but then laughed and hugged him back, saying "What was that for?"
"For being my first, and best friend – If you'd like?" he added hesitantly.
"I'd love to be your best friend" her smile was the warmest he had ever seen, and he was so happy – he had a true friend! – that he didn't know what too say. But he knew his father must be waiting.
So he simply bowed to her, realising too late that it was improper, and not really caring.
"Goodbye Guinevere, see you on Monday."
She curtsied gracefully "Goodbye Arthur." She smiled at him once more before running back inside her house. He watched her go in a flash of lavender, before racing to join his father, happier than he had been in years.
A/N: Reviews are most welcome :)