CHAPTER 1 : BEGIN THE BEGUINE
Guinevere Leodegrance readjusted for the fifth time in less than 3 minutes the straps of the bags on her shoulder. A piece of paper in her hand.
Ok… my room should be in this building… On the second floor, room number two.
She was about to start her second year in Cambridge University.
When she spotted room 2x02 she hastened her walking speed and immediately turned the knob: a lovely room presented before her, filled with elegant furnitures.
She entered and drops her bags. "Hello…" she said melodiously. Her flatmates should've arrived days ago before her.
One of the apartment's door opened and a blonde girl in blue tracksuit came in view.
"Gwen!" the girl neared the other one and hugged her tightly. "How was summer break?"
"Hi Elena! It was… okay. Passed it mostly working." she admitted with a bit of sheepish smile. Elena was one of her flatmates. She was a very kind girl who loves sports very much. She was also an activist and had never discriminated any causes. Just call her and she will be there rallying.
"I knew it! How's your family back home?" she asked Gwen who in the meanwhile entered her room to settle herself.
"They're all good! And they all send their regards."
"Make sure to return them, please."
"I will… Where's Viv?"
Before Elena could reply, someone knocked and the main door swiftly opened. A boy with black hair and a bright smile came out of the door "Gwen!"
"Merlin! Hey! Great to see you!" They hugged.
Merlin. One of her closest friend. She and him met sometime last year. Both lost in the immense college. When they met they immediately clicked and became fast friends.
"How was summer?"
"Well.. pass it mostly with a wonderful brunette who cooks heavenly and an old man with striking eyebrows."
Gwen smiles "How are Hunith and Gaius?"
"The same. Mom's still unwilling to move in London with uncle Gaius and Uncle Gaius still makes me work like there's no tomorrow every hour of every second of every day."
"Oh Merlin…"
"How was yours? Nope, don't tell me, i can figure it out myself." One look at his friend and Merlin could tell he was right. "Gwen you should relax more! Enjoy life from time to time. What did I wrote in my emails this summer to you?"
"I did rest… uhm, hey what about we all catch up in front of a nice fuming cup of tea?"
"I'm in!"
"I'll pass today guys, I'm going for a run… I'll make it up to you next time.." and with a smile she exits their shared apartment.
G
"Arnold definitely missed us!" Merlin exclaimed, a paper cup of coffee in his left hand.
"Of course he did. We're his friends!" she affirmed while sipping her fuming tea.
"And best clients!"
"It was very kind of him to offer us our first beverage of this school year."
"Indeed."
"Gweeen!" A girly voice reached in their ears.
They both look towards the source of the shrilling voice and saw a beautiful girl with blonde curly hair. "Vivian!"
They hugged "I ran across Elena jogging around the campus, and informed me you finally arrived! I knew I would find you either in "Arnold coffee" or somewhere near the place. Oh, hello gangly boy."
"Hello blondie."
"I see your mother already made a visit to our apartment… Thank her for furnishing our apartment with those elegant furnitures. Like last year."
"Yeah… you know her, she's actually only bored. Maybe she is at odds again with Gustavo, her fourth husband. She wouldn't do anything nice for any other reasons. And it's something also useless. It was already fully furnished. But anyway, Gwen, i have to run, I've got a date with François tonight and I still have no idea what to wear."
"François? What happened with Etienne?"
"Etienne? Oh well we broke up. He wasn't that thrilling like I described him at my emails to you. And FYI there are other two french guys in between François and Etienne. There was Pierre, but we lasted only a week and then there was Philippe: a painter. We lasted just a couple of days, you know all he wanted to do was paint me. Mon dieu I'm here, we could body paint each other you know!"
Gwen laughed "But Oh, Gwen! François' accent! You should hear it! It's so romantic. It's particular, He comes from the north of France.. I really love France, French men and everything that is French! See you later!
"Seriously, every time I encounter Vivian I always ask myself how you two can be friends..."
"Hey! You already admitted last semester that she's not that bad as you thought her to be! I remember that! and besides, you know she's a very good person deep inside. And the best of friend, I know for a fact she will always be there whenever I need her… She just don't show her tender side a lot and only to few people."
"Well, I think that-" A radio-controlled aeroplane hit the young man's head making him spill a bit of his coffee on his shirt.
"Hey watch out, loser!" An angry voice shouted.
"Uhh, sorry?"
"Honestly, can't you pay attention? couldn't you avoid it?"
Before Merlin could reply, a handsome blonde young man catch up with the shouting boy. In tow another man and a couple of girls.
"Hey Dante! Aren't we supposed to be at the pub already? The others are— His eyes laid upon Merlin "Merlin!"
"Arthur"
"Hey, right, it's your servant!" the man named Dante stated. "Let's take him with us, my apartment could use a little swipe." they all snickered.
"Your friend must understand that on the contrary of what he thinks, not everyone's staring at him.. and the word sorry is not that hard to say in this case. Anyway, aren't you all supposed to be still in Messico?".
"The lads wanted to welcome me in person here at the campus." A man with black and… swishing…? hair exclaimed behind the two men. "They heard I enrolled to continue my studies here. I'm Gwaine by the way." the man smiled at the two friends.
"Hi Gwaine, and this is my friend Gwen. " Merlin gestured presentations and they shook hands.
"Hi." the blonde said curtly in Gwen's direction with nonchalance, barely looking at the girl's direction, interrupting the presentations. "So Merlin. Don't forget, and most of all don't be late tomorrow. Enjoy your last free day. Come on guys." and with those words, the blue eyed boy moved on with the others in tow.
When they were in a considerable distance, Merlin simply muttered. "Those are the people I would like to avoid and hate."
"Same."
They walked in silence for a while and when they spotted a free bench to sit on, Gwen decide to break it. "So… why did they label you as Arthur's servant?"
"You know my part time job to serve or to bartend at parties right?" the girl nodded. "Well, most of the parties I work on are thrown by non other than Arthur. And you know how rough these parties can get, and when it reaches those limits who do you think Arthur orders to clean the vomit of his guests? Thus my label.
If only i could actually avoid them. But money needs make me tolerate them. Arthur pays high you know."
"I can imagine." Remembering the fancy appearance of the handsome young man. She can bet the jacket he has on costs more than all her clothes together. "He's kinda… attractive." Gwen said behind her tea cup.
"He's very popular to female population, yes." Then he looked at Gwen. "You like him!" he points his index finger to the petite girl.
"What? No!" The girl said.
"I never, and I repeat, never ever, heard you vocal appreciation towards men in a totally aesthetic point of view."
"Don't be ridiculus Merlin! I told you about the man of my dreams!" Actually men of my dreams.
"Pu-lease. People who don't even know you exist and you can only see through a screen don't count. Besides, you've got a rather fickle heart you know. I can never understand who you want to marry and have lots of babies with: Richard Maden? but this one you have to fight with Jenna-Louise Coleman, and you know she knows the doctor. So you'll never win. Jonathan Rhys Meyers? Benedict Cumberbatch? Matt Smith? Henry Cavill? Tell me!" he joked.
"Don't let me choose just yet, I need more time." she giggled. "I'm just saying, from a total aesthetic point of view. He's pretty good-looking. Period. I'm not going to have fantasies with him, and it's sure as hell he'll never have a place beside 'my men'. And besides, i don't like him. He's quite rude.