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Here is one of my new story. Enjoy
Her palms are sweating and tiny beads of sweat manifest themselves and make her smooth skin glistens. She had not realised before how scared she was. She is dreading this meeting but it has to be done. Her aunt had done all she could to make sure she would be presented at court and before their sovereign in fashion. She needed to get the approval of the king to marry one of his knights. She does not understand why the king needs to approve matters of the heart but then others would ask what right she has to question century old traditions and practices. Gwen feels comforted that Ewan is to be by her side throughout the whole ordeal.
Her personal maid is putting finishing touches to her hair. Melena has tied her hair into a tight ban with a few wisps of hair springing from the ban seemingly in rebellion against being so tamed. Flowers have been woven into it that match the dress that she has chosen to wear, a deep lilac velvet dress that has intricate detail around the arms and shoulders. The gown has a style which shows off her milky chocolate shoulders and dips at the chest giving a hint of but without showing too much of her beautiful shaped full bosom. She has chosen to wear no jewellery except for amethyst tear drop ear rings. She gets up to look at herself in the mirror and her maid gasps in pure delight. It does a lot to boost her fast fading bravado. Who could blame her for being nervous? She was about to face one of the most powerful kings in the whole of Albion. Fingers crossed, she would not embarrass her fiancé or herself too much.
"My lady you look absolutely beautiful. You will charm every man at the banquet tonight," she smiles approvingly.
"Thank you Melena but I don't need to charm every man. Just the king so he can give his nod of approval," she remarks with a smile.
"I am sure they all won't be able to take their eyes off of you. And that includes the king." Melena says dreamingly.
Gwen knows that with any other noble woman that remark would have been highly inappropriate but Gwen has always had an unusual relationship with her maid. They literally grew up together, Melena having come into their household when she was barely ten and Gwen was eight. Now ten years later, Gwen is on the verge of getting married. Most girls her age had already married, some having babies, but she had not wanted to hurry into marriage much to the frustration of her father. He had hoped to have her married and settled by the time she was ten and six. Nonetheless, her doting father was rather indulgent when it came to her and had not forced her to choose from the many suitors she had had pursuing her. He had known that she had a level head on her shoulders and he wished that she would find the same love that he had with her mother. As fate would have it, everything had changed when her father had fallen suddenly ill.
As she swishes the dress around whilst standing in front of the mirror, Gwen has to admit to herself she looks good. She loves the feel of the fabric on her skin and the colour sets off her skin tone in a flattering way. She puts on her matching slippers and prays once more that she can pull it off. She waits for her intended to come and escort her to the throne room where she will be introduced to King Arthur for the first time.
There is gentle knock on her chamber door and Melena goes to answer it. Sir Ewan is standing outside dressed in all his finery.
"Is my lady ready, Melena", he asks politely.
"She is ready, sir." Melena replies as she steps aside to allow Sir Ewan and his servant Grenville in.
Sir Ewan reaches Gwen in three strides, kissing her hand and presenting her with a deep red rose that he had been hiding behind his back. She gasps in delight. She has always found pleasure in flowers, especially wild ones.
"A beautiful flower for a beautiful lady," he says, with something in his eyes that Gwen in her naivety does not quite understand.
"Oh my goodness, it's lovely. Thank you Ewan." She blushes and lifts up her eyes to him and turns full circle seeking his approval.
"You look so beautiful Gwen," and she can tell he means it but just to be sure…
"You really think so Ewan?" she asks uncertainly.
"No one will rival your beauty tonight." he says sincerely and Gwen looks into his eyes and believes him. It somehow settles the butterflies in her stomach a bit. "In fact, I have a mind to keep you locked away here instead," Ewan says smiling and offering Gwen his arm.
"My Lady, would you do me the honour of allowing me to escort you to the banquet tonight?
"Most certainly, my Lord, "she says taking his offer.
They leave Gwen's chamber, servants trailing behind them, and make their way to the great hall where the banquet is being held.
There are many noblemen outside the throne room waiting to be announced. At last it is their turn and the Master of Ceremony announces their entrance.
"Presenting Sir Ewan Sutton of Devon; and the Lady Guinevere Leodegrance of Kenilworth!"
A number of people turn to gaze at them and Ethan and Guinevere smile acknowledging their curiosity. Many of the nobles present already know Sir Ewan as he has been serving as a knight since he was but a boy. However, very few have met Guinevere as she has rarely visited the castle. She never really enjoyed the idleness of court life. She always enjoyed work although her station tended to limit the sort of work that she could do without raising the eyebrows of her watchful aunt and guardian and society in general. Her father had realised her love for horses earlier on in her life and had let her have freedom in that regard. She had found that she had a way with horses and could tame even the wildest of them. Now that her father had passed on, she was having problems convincing her rather conservative straight laced aunt to let her continue working with them. Her aunt seemed to think that while country gentility were not as strict as the towns people, still one ought to stick to what was considered proper by one's peers. Unfortunately, to her aunt, messing with horses was not one of those things. Sometimes her aunt made her feel suffocated as she missed the freedom that her father had brought her up with. She should be grateful that a nasty cold had prevented her aunt from coming to court with her. Since the trip could not be postponed, she had reluctantly let her niece travel with the strictest instructions to her maid to make sure Gwen behaved in an appropriate fashion.
Ewan and Guinevere move around the gathered nobles, conversing with a few and Ewan introducing Gwen to a number, most of them fellow knights and their wives. Eventually the king is announced and the company parts in the middle as they bow down and curtsey to their sovereign. Gwen does the same with everyone else until the king is seated. Once again Gwen feels her stomach knot as Ewan tugs her forward towards King Arthur and they stop at a respectful distance from the throne. They once again bow and curtsey until the king gestures with his hand to show that they could stand upright. Gwen keeps her head down terrified to look at the King.
"My Lord, may I present to you Lady Guinevere of Kenilworth. The king beckons them to approach the throne and addresses Gwen first.
"My Lady, it is a pleasure to meet you," he says smiling at Gwen and he doubts that she sees it because her head is still downcast. He notices that her skin tone is different. It looks like the sun had bestowed a sweet kiss on it. The dress lovingly shows off her curves. Curves like hers should be outlawed. They do things to a man's imagination that can get him into a load of trouble. As she curtseys, he catches a glimpse of her ample bosom and heat builds up in his loins tightening his gut. Her curly hair is struggling against being tamed, such that a few tendrils escape the ban and gently caress her beautiful neckline. He feels a sudden urge to trace the path that one is going, with his mouth. Lord have mercy! He shakes his head a little trying to get himself to focus on Ewan and not the enchanting creature before him. But again he finds he cannot focus and mentally wills her to lift up her head and it frustrates him when her eyes remain firmly fixed on a spot on the floor somewhere. What would people think if they knew their king was feeling like a randy juvenile? What is going on here?
As if in answer to his earlier prayer, Guinevere lifts up her head and he finds himself mesmerised by liquid pools of almond-brown eyes and the most enchanting face he has ever had the fortune to encounter. A beautiful but shy smile is on her lips. The king realises what a dangerous path he is treading on, but finds that for all the power he wields in this world, he has no power to stop his body from responding to another man's woman's charms.
Guinevere has her first encounter with the king. She has only come to court twice before, both times when both her parents were still alive. She never had any contact with the then prince. She realises that the reports of his good looks do very little to prepare one to meet him in the flesh. This man should not be allowed to roam around. He should be caged and labelled "dangerous". And his voice will melt snow in winter. Gwen's heart flutters like a little fledgling and her cheeks flush a bright red when she realises she is staring with her mouth slightly agape. She slams her lips shut but finds herself looking into the most intense blue eyes she has ever seen. Those eyes seem to be watching her closely with interest which does nothing to lessen her apprehension. She nervously bites her lip and realises that the king's eyes drop and fix on her mouth. It makes her throat dry and she swallows hard. She wonders later how she managed to remember to reply him at all.
"The pleasure is all mine sire", she replies, her voice huskier that normal. She wonders briefly if her face does not resemble the colour of beetroot. How she wishes the attention was not on her right now. She takes a peek at Ewan quickly and realises that he does not pick up on her discomfort and gives an inward sigh of relief. But as she glances at the king again, she quickly realises that nothing misses the attention of those blue eyes. Oh heavens let me die, now please.
"Are you any relation to Sir Thomas Leodegrance?" the king enquires of her.
"Yes my Lord, he was my father," Gwen says, her expression becoming pensive and sad.
"May I extend my condolences on the passing of your father? He was a great man and he served my father and the kingdom well. He will be greatly missed."
"Thank you sire, he will indeed".
"Sir Ewan, for what reason do you seek my audience this day."
"Sire, I have come to seek your permission, to take the Lady Guinevere as my wife," Ewan asks nervously. It is tradition to seek the permission of the king when about to marry if you are noble and although it was very rare for the king to refuse to give his permission, it is not totally unheard of.
Arthur is stunned for a minute. It suddenly occurs to him that although he has just met this woman something cringes in him at the thought of giving his permission for her to be married to another man no matter how honourable. But how does one object, even with the authority of a king? It would be hardly fair to deny them happiness with each other because the king has realised feelings of lust for the lady in question. He is not that type of man.
"You have served me faithfully Ewan and I have come to know you as a man with a good head on your shoulders. The lady's family is well known to myself and I know them to be loyal subjects of this kingdom." He pauses as he takes a quick glance at Guinevere whose eyes are now glued to the floor again.
"Very well Ewan, I think you have chosen well. I grant my blessing and wish you the very best".
"Thank you sire," Ewan replies gratefully letting out a sigh of relief.
He bows, she curtseys again and realising they have been dismissed move away from the king's seat. Gwen does not risk lifting up her eyes again and moves away with her fiancé wondering what had possessed her to behave in such a shameful manner earlier. If her aunt had been here, she would have surely got a tongue lashing. She hopes that for the rest of her visit here, she will not have to interact closely with the king.
They spend a few more moments talking to other people in the room. Gwen finds that she has very little in common with most of the ladies that are around the room. It reinforces to her why she has avoided coming to court frequently. These ladies with their delicate sensitivities, manners and soft hands would probably find her love for horses and the work she did with them something to be frowned upon. Most of them probably spend their days practising their stitches or embroidery, something Gwen always thought was too boring for words. Even as a child sitting still for any length of time made her body spasm and unfortunately little had changed with age. So here she was about to marry a man of the court and she feels like a fish out of water. Hopefully she would not embarrass him too much. She keeps casting an eye towards the throne hoping that the king will announce dinner soon so that she could find something else to occupy her mouth with and not have to pretend to be interested in idle chatter. She sighs in relief when the king gets up and announces for everyone to join him in the great hall. As he stands up, he happens to look in Gwen's direction and to her eternal embarrassment his eyes meet with hers. He offers a tentative smile and Gwen blushes as she draws her eyes from his and quickly averts her eyes. Inwardly she is groaning with mortification. How will I survive this? She wonders in despair.
Everyone files into the said hall. For Gwen, she is hoping that she will sit as far away as she can from the king. She has embarrassed herself too many times already and does not want to add any more to her growing list of regrets. Unfortunately this time the answer to prayer is definitely not what she hopes for, because as they get inside the hall, the king summons Ewan to come and sit close to him. It seems she is meant to make a complete and utter fool of herself the entire evening. She finds herself seated a seat away from the King who occupies the seat at the head of the long table. In between them sits a raven- haired porcelain skinned lady whom she assumes must be the king's intended. She feels a small twinge of something she cannot identify in the region of her chest that she quickly dismisses.
The fair skinned woman leans towards Gwen and introduces herself.
"I'm the Lady Morgana. I'm afraid I have not had the pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Lady Guinevere, at your pleasure my lady. It is my first visit in six years."
"Really? Should we be offended that you have shunned us at court for so long?"
Oh no, Gwen thinks her face flushing with a red tinge. I knew this would not go well. Ok what to say, what to say. "Um-m….."
The lady besides her bursts out laughing; which startles Gwen and it is only then she notices the impish twinkle in the lady's eyes.
"I'm sorry Lady Guinevere. I'm just jesting with you. I don't blame you. It can be rather boring here." the last part gaining her a disapproving glare from a rather matronly looking lady sitting next to Ewan.
"I must warn you, the Lady Morgana has a naughty streak in her. Watch yourself around her," the king laughs as the said lady jabs him playfully.
Two things strike Gwen; that she had not realised the king had been listening to her conversation with Lady Morgana; and that the Lady and the king seem awfully close. She feels like a knife has just gone into her heart which is ridiculous because who gets jealous of someone they hardly know, right?
"Don't listen to him. His opinion is rather biased and is of no consequence. By the way please call me Morgana. I'm not much for formality."
Gwen figures that is true seeing the way that Morgana relates with the king. The king just smiles at her indulgently and Gwen realises that they must have known each other for a very long time for them to be so comfortable in each other's company.
"Then I must insist that you call me Gwen," she says, a delighted smile on her face. At least Morgana is not stuck up like the other ladies she had met so far.
"Gwen it is then. I like you. I have a feeling that you and I are going to be good friends. You are different from all these stuffed nosed nobles around here." Morgana smiles, the last bit in a not so quiet conspirator whisper.
Gwen giggles and thinks that maybe this might not be so bad after all.
"If I were you Guinevere I would run a mile. That is surely a sign of trouble." Gwen is surprised to hear the king badging in again. Ewan and Gwen laugh at the good natured banter between the other couple.
Morgana sticks her tongue out at the king and right there Gwen realises just how different Morgana is to the people around them. In spite of her earlier feelings, she cannot help but like the other lady.
Arthur's inside warm up as he hears Gwen's tinkle of merriment. He has found it difficult to take his eyes off Guinevere all night. To distract himself, he gestures for his servant Merlin to refill his cup. Merlin ambles over and he is pouring bends over and whispers to Arthur, "You do realise how obvious you are being, don't you?" he mocks the king.
"Shut up Merlin," Arthur admonishes, casting a quick eye towards his sister and Guinevere to make sure they did not hear. He notices they did not and neither did Ewan who is now conversing with the lady next to him. Merlin laughs as he moves backwards to his original place behind the king
"So I hear that you are to be married." Morgana jumps to another topic leaving Gwen's mind reeling. My gosh! She is like a ball of fire. Gwen realises she needs to keep on her toes if she is to be friends with this one.
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A/N Please let me know what you think.
I have made up some of the places that I am using in this story. I tried to research but could not find what I wanted. Anyone who knows where I can get information on estates in Albion and wars that would have been fought during the Arthurian era, please help.