A different way for Arthur and Gwen to get to know eachother, I hope you like it. Unbeta'd so I appologise for any errors.
Arthur had never been one to back down from a challenge, especially not one from Morgana. "Is that all the future King of Camelot could catch on a hunting trip?" Morgana said with a twinkle in her eye, Gwen bit her lip stopping herself from smiling.
Arthur scoffed " 5 deer's" he turn to look at the animals now being dragged off into the kitchens and then back at Morgana a look of disdain on his face "You probably would not even catch one deer, the way you shoot an arrow!", Arthur crossed his arms and glared.
Gwen and Merlin smiled as Morgana now took a similar stance. "Gwen could catch more than five deer's, WITH HER EYES CLOSED"
Arthur turned slightly and saw Morgana's maid trying not to smile, he scowled at her and she immediately looked down. "HER" he snorted in disgust.
Morgana pocked his chest "YES HER, and as for ME" she poked him hard again "I could catch more than five half starved deer's in less time than you"
Arthur laughed out loud "Is that a challenge?"
Morgana bit back "YES, we leave now!" she pushed him back a little and started making her way to the castle, she heard Arthur sigh.
"Morgana, we shall leave tomorrow?" He was too tired to go again and listening to Morgana going on at him the whole journey would not help his already pounding head.
Morgana stopped at the last step, looked up to the sky which was now beginning to darken "Tomorrow it is!" she stormed off into the caslte, shortly followed by her maid.
Arthur groaned. "Why do you always take the bait?" Merlin came up to him a smile fixed on his face.
"Shut up Merlin" he hit him on the back of the head and walked into the castle, all he needed was a nice hot bath.
"You will probably lose anyway" Merlin shouted after him, Arthur turned slightly and the last words Merlin heard before Arthur continued into the castle.
"You will regret saying that...NOW MUCK OUT THE STABLES" he popped his head back out of the arch "TWICE"
Merlin groaned "Why can't I just keep my big mouth shut".
The next morning as Arthur came down into the courtyard Morgana was already on her horse, Arthur noticed her maid next to her. "YOU ARE LATE"
Arthur smirked at her "And you are impatient"
Merlin helped Arthur onto his horse just as Arthur added "Impatient to lose this silly bet"
Morgana was fired up "Oh talking of bets, after much consideration I have decided that when you lose!"
"You mean when I win" Arthur bit back.
Morgana snorted "No, when you lose. You shall personally clean my chambers for a week!" Gwen snorted and Arthur immediately turned to her.
"And when you and your maid lose you shall muck out my stables for a week" Morgana's nose crinkled.
"I look forward to how clean my chambers will be then" she kicked her horse and rode off.
Arthur shook his head and smiled "So stubborn".
Merlin and Gwen rode behind Morgana and Arthur, with two of the knights behind them.
Merlin listened to the banter between Morgana and Arthur which never seemed to stop. "I don't think I will ever tire listening to the way Morgana talks to him...someone needs to put him in his place."
Gwen's thoughts then turned to the past, to the arguments she used to witness them having and she smiled "They have always been the same"
The first sign of trouble was a flash of red seen by a tree, Arthur held his hand up to stop Morgana talking, the patrol had been attacked. Then out of nowhere a band of men came charging through both sides of the forest and there once peaceful ride became a battle field. The last thing Arthur heard before darkness took him was a scream from a women, he collapsed to the floor.
Arthur's head was pounding when he woke, he took a deep breath and the foul stench of blood and sweat hit him, he coughed and tried to open his eyes everything thing in front of him was a blur. He shook his head and opened his eyes again, gradually they came into focus. In front of him he saw a group of bloody men, none of them familiar, they all looked beaten "Where am I?" Arthur rubbed the lump on his head and tried to piece together the last few minutes before he lost consciousness.
"Shhh, you will get us all a beating" an older guy missing most of his teeth grumbled.
Arthur looked down at his wrists which were now bound together with metal. There was no way to break from these without the key. He looked around at where he was, the cage he and the men were in was moving along on a cart, slaves he thought.
"The women are in that cart" A middle aged man whispered using his head to direct Arthur behind, presuming his looking around was in search of a wife or some such acquaintance.
Arthur lifted up his body slightly to look behind him, riding along side was a cart identical to theirs, but full of women. He twisted his head further around, there was no room to stand. As he scanned the cart he saw dark hair with flowers in it "Gwen".
She didn't turn "Guinevere" he said a little louder. Gwen turned her head to see Prince Arthur there.
"Morgana, Merlin?" Arthur said a little too loud.
"SHHHHH" a few men said kicking his boot.
Guinevere's eyes were awash with tears "Morgana escaped, Merlin I...he took a blow to the head" Gwen didn't know whether Merlin was alive, she saw him take a blow to the head and tumble out of sight. Gwen had seen Morgana just as she was loaded into the cart, she had popped her head out from where she was hiding a sword in her hand. She had looked ready for a fight, but Gwen had shaken her head, she needed to go for help.
Arthur felt relieved that Morgana has survived, his thoughts turned to Merlin and he felt sick. "What about Gilad and Anthony?" He needed to know.
He saw out of the corner of his eye as Guinevere slowly shook her head. Arthur leaned back against the cart and sighed.
The journey seemed to take forever, Arthur tried to see where they were headed, but the familiar woods soon turned to a new canvas, one he had never seen before. Arthur's eyes eventually became heavy and he fell asleep. He suddenly woke as the cart went over a lump in the road.
As he looked up he saw that the sun was rising and he turned his head to see if Morgana's maid was still ok, she was although her head tilted forward slightly, he presumed she was asleep.
They rode for the rest of the day and when the sun began to set Arthur noticed in the distance what looked a like a half destroyed castle, he presumed that was their destination.
His theory was soon proved correct as the carts came to an abrupt stop outside the stone walls, as he heard the gates open. Arthur continued to look up, the castle itself was probably magnificent at one time, but now it looked like a ruin with Gargoyle's barely hanging onto the walls and large masses of stone missing from every area.
As they finally pulled up outside the main entrance, Arthur head the jeers and laughs of men "What have we hear?" A large bald man looked into the cart. "Hmm" he turned to face another man and hit him hard around the face "I told you not to damage the goods"
The other man cowered "I am sorry Jarvule, some of them put up a fight" he had the man by the collar and raised his first again and then let him let him go, he slumped to the floor.
"Next time I want them in perfect condition" they fetched less money when their faces were bloody. Jarvule slowly made his way over to the women's cart. He looked at the women and his eyes finally rested on Guinevere "Hmmm, some of these will fetch a pretty price" he smiled at Guinevere and she turned her head in disgust, he laughed. "Get them locked up for the night and then we celebrate" he walked away thinking about which one of the ladies he wanted to celebrate with.
The women were unloaded first, Guinevere was pushed forward by leering guards along with the other women, she looked to the right as she was led past where Arthur was kept, he nodded to her as she disappeared from view.
Guinevere was lead down corridors and through doorways, her wrists were sore, unlike the men they did not have metal shackles but they had rope tightly wrapped around their wrists. They eventually arrived at the dungeons and they were immediately lined against the wall, she presumed before they decided which cell to stick them in. She watched as the men talked to the guards making inappropriate jokes that made her skin crawl, as she shivered she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, where they were talking on the table she noticed a small key, it was a key for the shackles that bound Arthur. She would have bet her life on it, after all having been on the receiving end from Uther, she too had experienced them. The guards moved away from the table slightly, if she could just reach the key. The disruption came when the sounds of the chains could be heard, the men were coming down to the dungeons. The guards moved forward and Gwen grabbed the key slipping back into line, she didn't know how she was going to get this key to Arthur, she didn't even know why she was doing it. But she knew she had to try something, the way Arthur was bound he would not have a chance.
The men were lined up against the opposite wall and Arthur's eyes went straight to Guinevere. Gwen franticly thought about how to give the key to Arthur without anyone knowing, she noticed how the women were sobbing as they looked at the men, no doubt most of the men were husbands. "It will be alright" one of the men tried to whisper, the guard struck him across the face.
"NO TALKING SCUM" he sneered at him. The plan suddenly formulated in Gwen's head and she popped the key into her mouth.
As the women were pushed forward she broke across the middle and much to Arthur's shock she kissed him. In Arthur's surprise his mouth opened slightly and Gwen used her tongue to pass the key into his mouth. She was suddenly pulled back to the sounds of whistles, the guard the grabbed her and hit her hard around the face, her knees buckled and he dragged her down the corridor.
Arthur's body was tingling and his mind was doing over time as he felt the key on his tongue. She had risked her life! She had kissed him. As they got dragged along he walked in a daze, not sure if it was caused by the shock in her bravery or the feel of her lips pressed against his. He shook his head and positioned the key safely against his cheek. He needed to get out, he needed to save Guinevere and he felt a sudden urge to kill the man that had struck her.
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With all the coming and going it had taken well into the night for Arthur to even attempt to use the key. The rest of the men were sleeping and he finally positioned the key in this mouth, he leaned forward and raised his hands as high as he could...it took many attempts to get the key in, it fit so he then use his mouth to turn the key. He heard a click and he carefully freed his wrists, he then quickly released his ankles. Once he was free he quietly woke the rest of the men and freed them "We won't be able to escape" an older man whispered.
"We won't know until we try" Arthur replied getting closer to tell them his plan.
The next morning the guards opened the doors to usher them out "NOW" Arthur shouted the men stood up and fought. Arthur managed to take a few guards down and procure himself a sword. "This way" he walked along the corridor following the way he had seen Guinevere taken, he could hear the sound of footsteps coming and he used a signal to tell the men where to position themselves, they didn't move and he realised that they were not knights and had no idea was his signals meant. "Get to the right, when I signal attack" he mouthed and their confused looks turned to looks of determination.
Five men got closer and Arthur signalled, within minutes they had been over powered. Arthur made his way down the corridor and eventually found the women, he took the key he had stolen from the guard and luckily it opened the door. The men rushed in and started trying freeing the women, Arthur's eyes searched the women and found Guinevere in the corner, he moved straight to her and freed her hands, he immediately grabbed it and moved her towards the door "We have to go".
The men were still hugging the women, Arthur sighed he could not wait for them "NOW" they followed him.
The journey out of the castle hadn't been an easy one, within minutes the alarm had been raised and every corridor seemed to be filled with an obstacle to overcome. They kept moving forward, he didn't know how many men and women were now still behind him, he couldn't think on that all he knew was that he would not let go of the small hand he had in his, and he would do everything he could to escape.
Finally his luck seemed to change as he opened a large door he could see green, an entrance which was over grown. He swiped with his sword and managed to create an exit. Once through he could see ahead a forest, Arthur looked to his left and right, he could hear the sounds of shouting men and the screams of women, he made a run for it pulling Guinevere along with him.
Guinevere couldn't talk, she could hardly breathe...as she tried to keep up with Arthur who kept running deeper into the forest. She could hear the sounds of dogs and men in the distance and no matter how much every inch of her screamed to stop she would not slow him down.
Finally Arthur pulled her to the ground, his hand went to his mouth and Guinevere held her breath. They were behind a tree and she closed her eyes as she heard a few branches snap...they were close. Arthur peered around the tree his breathing heavy, he had one hand gripped tightly on his sword the other still held on to Guinevere's.
"He will kill us all if we don't find them" A large guard turned to another.
"I KNOW...so let's find them" another said. There were at least ten Guards all scattered out looking.
Two of them came nearer to where Arthur and Guinevere were hiding, her heart was beating through her chest and she hoped they could not hear that.
Arthur closed his eyes for a second and held his sword tighter, this was it, one man against ten.
A branch broke in the distance just as one of the men's boots became visible to Arthur. "Over there" the men turned and they both let out their breath.
Arthur peered around the tree to see the men running off to his right. He stood immediately pulling Guinevere up with him.
The sound of a women scream made them stop for a second, Guinevere then felt him pull her and they were off again, Arthur had no time to think of anything else but their safety.
They ran for what felt like forever, until finally Guinevere's legs collapsed, her whole body felt as it were on fire. Arthur nearly lost balance as he was pulled back. "Guinevere" her legs were bent beneath her and he finally could see the state she was in and his eyes went wide.
Her face was bloody and bruised, her dress ripped and she had a wound running across her chest. Arthur looked around, he was sure they would not be far behind them. He looked back down to Guinevere his stomach sank, she could not go anywhere. "Stay here".
Guinevere slumped at this point she wanted to say 'go save yourself' but her throat was so dry she doubted the words would come out.
Arthur returned within a few minutes and she found herself being raised from the ground, he carried her further into the forest , Guinevere's lost consciousness.
When she woke she heard the sound of running water and as her eyes came into focus she saw more green, they were still in the forest. Guinevere put her hand on the ground to try and raise herself, but a hand went to her shoulder pushing he back down "Stay" She turned just in time to see a flash of Arthur's golden hair as he disappeared out of site.
Arthur returned shortly after "Open" his hands were full of water and as she did as she was told he poured fresh cold water down her throat. She felt as if she hadn't drunk for days as the water trickled down her throat and soothed the burning fire that was one there. Her lips touched his fingers as if trying to take the final drop and she felt a blush form on her cheeks and she moved her head back "Better?"
"Thank you" her voice still sounded broken.
Arthur looked at her up and down and she turned her head from his gaze, she must have looked a sight. Arthur sighed and disappeared off again, when he next returned she noticed a piece of his tunic ripped and he was now holding it in his hand, it was dripping wet. He grabbed Guinevere's face and turned it so he could see the gash on it, it burnt as he cleaned the wound. "I can do..." She tried to say, but Arthur cut her off.
"Did they, I mean...your dress?" he hadn't been listening, his mind obviously on the state of her attire, she knew what he was asking and she felt sick at remembering how her dress ripped.
There was a silence and Arthur didn't know why he needed to know, but the thought had consumed him as he watched her. In fact for the hours he had watched her, the more he wanted to go back and kill all the men that had even touched her beaut...he stopped his thoughts and shook his head, he shouldn't think those things.
Guinevere finally answered "No", they had tried to take advantage of the women, but she had fought back, the evidence of which had been the wound across her chest and the pain on her jaw, others had not been so lucky.
"Good" Arthur let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Arthur roughly pulled her face to the other side and started cleaning it. She had thought he was probably trying to be gentle, but his big calloused hands were not used to being delicate...never the less she was grateful.
Arthur inspected her face, it looked better, well less blood anyway. Arthur started dabbing along the cut on her chest and Guinevere looked away. She should have said she could do that, but somehow she seemed unable to find the words to stop him. Arthur tried to concentrate on the wound rather than the rest of her assets in front of him, her skin was so soft. He needed to think of something else, but his mouth had other ideas. "The kiss...it was" he felt like slapping himself , 'way to go Arthur' he thought as he saw a blush form on her cheeks.
Gwen turned to look at him "I am sorry my lord...I"
"You were very brave" Gwen's mouth hung open a bit and Arthur's thoughts turned to kissing her again, he shook his head. "Stupid... but brave, you could have got yourself killed...kissing me like that" his thoughts drifted off again to the warmth of her lips.
Gwen's sighed " I am sorry my lord, I know it was inappropriate..." she went to go on about how she was just trying to help. But he held his hand up in a royal manner to stop her talking and she did closing her mouth suddenly.
Arthur looked at the bloody cloth in his hand "If you hadn't of done that we would both be in a lot of trouble...so...thank you"
She was not sure she had ever heard him say that before and it took breathe away "Your welcome, anytime"
Arthur's eyes shot back to hers and a smile formed on his lips "I didn't mean anytime, obviously I would not kiss you anytime, not at all, of course I realise that would be...very..."
Arthur smiled wider and shook his head "Gwen"
"Inappropriate...and stupid very..."
"Guinevere" she finally stopped talking and noticed Arthur smiling.
"I will keep that in mind, should I need you to kiss me again" he stood up and Gwen blushed even further.
Arthur looked around "We should find shelter for the night, can you stand?"
"Yes" Guinevere went to lift herself up but Arthur held out his hand, she thought whether to take it or not and he raised his eyebrows questioning her and pushed his hand forward again to offer.
Guinevere took it and with ease he raised her to standing. "I figure we should head this way along the river"
Arthur looked around again "We have not been followed for a while, but to be on the safe side let's stay hidden in amongst the trees"
Arthur realised he still held Guinevere's hand and let go of it taking the lead position. "Thank you"
"For what?" Arthur said as he walked forward.
"For carrying me, rescuing me" Arthur turned his head slightly to look at her and nodded.
They travelled for hours in silence, as the sun began to fade Arthur stopped and gestured for her to stay hidden. Guinevere immediately hid behind a tree as Arthur disappeared from sight. She suddently heard a few branches breaking and she clenched her fists ready to fight.
She could feel her heart beating faster as someone grabbed her by the arm she gasped, it was Arthur who smiled at her raised fist "Are you going to hit me now?"
Guinevere lowered her fist mouthing an apology "This way I think I have found us some shelter" As she followed him she saw an large entrance way into what looked like a cave; "I don't know Guinevere, with you I can't tell" He smiled to himself "Is she going to kiss me or hit me, you are very unpredictable"
She snorted with laughter realising his playful tone, this was a side of Arthur she had not yet experienced and she liked it, so she decided to play along "I like to keep you guessing" Arthur laughed as he gathered a large branch and went to rip some more of his tunic.
"Here" Gwen ripped a part of her dress at the bottom that was already coming off. Arthur smiled and took the purple material from her hand and wrapped it around the stick, he then grabbed two rocks and set fire to the material and entered the cave. Inside the cave was small with just a few burnt out branches on the ground, where someone previously had lit a fire. Arthur explored the small cave making sure of no unpleasant surprises.
He then handed Guinevere the torch "I will be back shortly".
Arthur didn't return shortly, instead he was gone for what seemed like hours. The torch had nearly gone out and the only other light to be seen was the faint moonlight from outside. She didn't know whether to go out and find Arthur or not "Arthur where are you?" she sat down on a rock feeling frustrated.
She heard a sound from outside and Guinevere immediately stood side of the entrance a rock now in her hand. She held the rock high, if it wasn't Arthur she was going to go down fighting. Arthur walked in and turned to see Guinevere standing a rock in hand "Guinevere?".
She dropped the rock to the floor and sighed in relief, Arthur looked at the dying light "Looks like I returned just in time". Gwen noticed in his hand he had dead rabbit and some twigs.
"You caught a rabbit?"
Arthur smiled "Of course" he placed the branches down and used the last of the light from the torch to create a fire. Gwen sat and watched as Arthur prepared the rabbit, she was fascinated how he managed to skin the rabbit and slice it with a large sword. He then sharpened some branches and placed the meat through it and held it above the fire to cook.
"Thank you" Guinevere said as she grabbed the hot food handed to her.
"You are welcome Guinevere" Arthur leaned back against a rock and looked at how the light made Guinevere glow. He didn't know why he liked using her name so much, but the way it rolled of his tongue made him want to say it over and over again. This whole event had made him think about all the things he hadn't noticed about her before, like how brave she was, or how soft her skin was...his mind started wandering about all the qualities of Guinevere.
"You know you are not as arrogant as people say you are" Gwen realised that her thoughts had been spoken and she covered her mouth with her hand.
Arthur nearly choked on a piece of rabbit.
"Sorry I shouldn't have said that" she stood and immediately started tidying up the small cave, by picking up twigs and placing them on the fire, she always found it calming to tidy when she was upset with herself.
"Do they really believe me to be arrogant?" Arthur didn't know why her words bothered him so much.
Guinevere stopped picking up bits of twig "I um..."
Arthur sighed "Prey tell me what else everyone thinks of me?"
She looked at Arthur and he looked hurt. "My lord...I"
"Call me Arthur" he looked around at the cave "Here we are just Arthur and Guinevere, now sit and talk to me" despite his claims of him just being Arthur, not a Prince...he still managed to sound like he was giving an order.
Guinevere sat and fiddled with her hands. "Go on Guinevere tell me of this low opinion you have of me"
Arthur tried to keep his face calm, but his insides felt as they had been attacked by an unknown battle.
"My opinion of your isn't low, of course it is not, your are the Prince..." Arthur shot her a warning look.
"Just tell me Guinevere, all of it. Out with it now, what do you think of me?" Guinevere didn't know how she had got into this and how his question had gone from the opinion of everyone to just hers and to make it worst, he looked upset.
She took a deep breath "I think you are brave, smart and slightly arrogant" she whispered the last part and he didn't hear.
"And the bits you are not telling me, the truth Guinevere. NOW" Arthur now pointed angrily and something about his look and his challenge made her snap.
He was ordering her to tell him, so she did and once she started she found all the things that had wound her up about him, that she had held in for years, came tumbling out of her mouth. She talked for 20 mins about how he came across as arrogant, the way he treated the maids and Merlin and bullied people when he was growing up.
Arthur had began pacing "The maid's love me!" Arthur tried to defend himself.
Gwen snorted "Really?" she remember comforting a crying maid recently who had been on the sharp end of one of 'Arthur's bad days'.
Arthur stopped pacing and approached her "I will have you know that the maids are always smiling at me as I walk past and some of them leave me gifts, to show how much they like me" he challenged.
Gwen scoffed "They find you attractive that's all" was he that out of touch with how he treated people.
"THAT'S ALL!...well what would you are just a servant and a Prince would not be bothered about such an opinion" He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth and he didn't know why.
"That proves my point, a true leader should treat his people..." she didn't get to finish her sentence Arthur raise his hand and she thought he would hit her, but instead he grabbed her by the neck and kissed her. He meant it to be a simple kiss to stop her talking and he felt her hand press as if to push him back, he needed her to make him stop. But instead it went up his chest and into his hair, he pushed her back against the cave wall and deepened the kiss. He had never in his life been talked to like this, her words had stung him but also had brought out feelings for her that he could not suppress.
He finally pulled back from air, they both breathed heavy...she looked so confused, he couldn't bare to look at her anymore so he walked away leaving the cave.
Gwen raised her hands up to her mouth, which still tingled. She couldn't believe it, she didn't know what had possessed her to tell the Prince of Camelot what she thought of him, especially after he had saved her life and taken care of her. She guessed it was the sudden turn in character, coupled with his challenge for her to tell him that made her so open with her words. And then the kiss, he had kissed her like she had never been kissed before ...her body still tingled and now he had left, probably out of shame of kissing just a servant.
Arthur walked down into the forest and kicked the tree "Damn it" he kicked it again then leaned his head against it. He felt so many different things that he would surely explode. He felt anger that she had spoken to like this; he felt shame of the stories she had told him of his actions and he felt something so much more tender for her. He had kissed her, he should not have done that...but he wanted to, with every word that had uttered from her lips of distain, he wanted to kiss them away as if it would somehow not make her think ill of him. He could not stand the thought of her thinking these things of him.
Guinevere sat in front of the dying fire, she wished she could take back most of the words uttered from her mouth, but she could not and now Arthur was gone. She felt a tear fall down her cheek.
This was a complete mess, she had insulted him in every way possible and then he had kissed her and she had kissed him back, she didn't know what it all meant and her head throbbed with all the thoughts swimming around.
Arthur entered the cave again and Gwen wiped the tears from her cheek. He sighed and sat opposite her. "What happened just now was unforgivable...I"
"I am sorry my lord, I should not have spoken to you in such a manner...I" Arthur shook his head and raised his hands to stop her.
"Please, your words have affected me deeply and I doubt anyone else would have delivered them so honestly" Gwen went to open her mouth and he held his hand up again "I have spent my life Guinevere with everyone telling me what I want to hear, I believe today is the first time I have heard a true opinion. I won't pretend that I liked your words, or that I am not angry about them. But I will say that I hope to improve your opinion of me in time".
He stood up again "I should not have kissed you! My actions were shameful, I hope you can forgive me" he walked towards the entrance of the cave.
"Arthur" he turned around, she had never called him by his name before. It had always been 'Sire' or 'My Lord'.
Gwen approached him "I should not have spoken to you like that, I don't know why I did" she looked down "You saved my life and I am forever in your debt" she looked back up at him. "This evening has been a difficult and I hope that you will forgive me" Arthur went to turn. "Please stay" she had reached out without knowing it and grabbed his hand.
Arthur looked down at her hand "I kissed you Guinevere"
"And I kissed you, could we not say we are even? And forget the whole thing?" She asked hopefully, all the anger she had built up inside her in the argument had gone, instead she felt sadness for what had passed.
"Please" she asked again, Arthur sighed and she lead him back into the cave.
They sat next to each other in front of the dying fire in silence.
The next morning Guinevere woke to an empty cave, she got up and immediately went outside. She didn't really know how things would be today after last night, she just wanted to get home and then Arthur would probably ignore her and they could forget this whole thing. The only problem was the thought of Arthur ignoring her hurt her deeply and she knew it should not.
It didn't take her long to find Arthur, he was sitting against a tree looking out towards to river. He stood immediately when she stepped on a branch. "Guinevere"
They looked at each other awkwardly, "Good morning...you were gone, so I thought I would"
"I didn't want to wake you" Arthur leaned against the tree "We should make a move, we have a long journey ahead"
Guinevere sighed "Arthur, I was hoping today could be a new day...to forget about last night"
Arthur gently kicked the back of his foot against the tree "I know I don't deserve forgiveness..." she continued.
"I agree today is a new day" Arthur walked up to her "I believe we both could do with a second chance"
Gwen smiled "Thank you".
The rest of the day they travelled deeper into the forest. The river had long since stopped being their guide and Guinevere prayed they were heading in the right direction. They had remained in relevant silence most of the day, only stopping briefly to catch their breath or to eat some berries that Guinevere had found.
As the sun began to set they approached the edge of the forest, Arthur pulled Guinevere down, to crouch behind a tree. In the distance Arthur saw a small dwelling "It looks deserted...stay here I will check it out".
Guinevere nodded despite the fact she had become tired of waiting behind trees for Arthur to return.
He came back about half an hour later smiling "It's all clear, we should stay here for the night"
The house was much like hers in size although the chairs had been knocked over and the place looked like it had been ransacked "What happened here?" Arthur lifted up a ripped bit of parchment.
Guinevere read it immediately, they were in King Alian's land and he had ordered the occupants to be arrested for stealing. Guinevere shivered at the thought of the fate of these poor people. They had nothing, there was one small bed in the corner and nothing of any value.
"The good thing is that King Alian is an ally of my father! They have been friends for years. We can go tomorrow and he will give us horses and an escort home!"
"We are safe Guinevere" Arthur smiled.
"Should we not go tonight?" she did not see why they should waste time.
Arthur stopped smiling "It is best if we arrive during the day...it's rude to arrive at this hour!" he didn't say anymore but Gwen knew his reason's ran deeper than that answer just given.
Gwen pottered around and managed to tidy up and find some water and food. Arthur sat down and watched as she started the stove. He didn't know what she was cooking, but to be honest he didn't care. The truth was he wanted one more night with her, a night he could remember that was not tainted with painful words.
Guinevere put a bowl of porridge down on the table for Arthur and then stood there with hers, she didn't know why she couldn't bring herself to sit opposite him, she guessed it's because the realities of being so close to going home made her remember her position.
"Sit...please" Arthur stood and pulled out the chair for her to sit down, which she did.
"Thank you"
"This is delicious" Gwen smiled, she had tasted hers and it tasted like warm muck.
"It is awful, but tomorrow your food shall taste much better" She raised another spoonful into her mouth.
Arthur frowned "It is not awful, just a bit bland!...besides I would rather eat bland food with you than a feast without you!"
Gwen blushed at his sudden confession, but managed to compose herself "Well thank you, but I would rather you eat decent food, with or without me"
Arthur smiled glad the conversation had turned to banter again "I chose with you then, what shall we have in our feast?"
"Hmmm" Gwen thought about it for a while "Ham, we should definitely have ham"
Arthur laughed "Ham it is, how about wine, cheese..." he talked for ages of all these wonderful foods Guinevere had probably never tasted; well not unless she had taken some leftovers from feasts.
"It sounds like the perfect feast, what else do we need?"
"Dancing!" Arthur said smiling "We would need music and dancing!"
Gwen couldn't help but smile at this happy image he had painted in her head. "And who will be dancing?"
"Why you and me of course, as we will be the only ones there!"
"A feast for two? that seems a bit greedy"
Arthur had thought of everything he immediately replied back "We would of course give all the leftovers to the people"
Gwen had to smile "Then it sounds perfect!"
Somehow in all the laughter they had moved closer together across the table, their faces were mere inches apart. The laughter stopped and Arthur moved his head closer "I know this is probably not appropriate, but could we share one last kiss" he looked down to the table in shame "I realise when we get back that..." Gwen didn't let him finish instead she leaned over and kissed him.
This time their kiss was tender and as they broke apart Arthur sighed, stood up as if to leave again. But instead he took her hand and she stood up. He carefully placed his hand on her cheek, she leaned into his touch. "Guinevere, these last few days have been some of the most interesting of my life"
They both laughed at this "But also they have made me open my eyes, not only to who I am now but to who I want to be in the future. You are an amazing women"
Guinevere felt the tears form in her eyes "And you will be the best King"
Arthur leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips again. And as the night drew in they lay together on the small bed, Guinevere had her head on Arthur's chest listening to his strong heart beat, thinking of the many tender kisses they had just shared.
"I wish I didn't have to go back! That I wasn't Prince Arthur"
Guinevere leaned up and looked at him "You don't mean that!"
Arthur moved a curl from her cheek and sighed "I do when you are in my arms!"
Gwen leaned once again into his touch "One day you will make a great king and you will have a great queen by your side"
Arthur pulled her back down into a hug and took her hand in his raising it to his mouth and kissing it. "You would make a great queen!"
Gwen smiled sadly "That can never be!"
Arthur sighed and held her tightly, they fell into silence. Both lost in thoughts of what could not be.
Bit of a strange place to finish but I had no idea it would be this long, sorry.