In answer to Word-Stringer's question. No I didn't know, but odd that I was writing this at the time you told me. It's been stewing in my mind for a while...

"Don't!" Gwen warned stepping ahead of Arthur as they reached the corridor to the King's chambers. "Leave it to me, I'll talk to him."

Arthur frowned. There was an awful lot of crashing and banging going on in his father's rooms. If nothing else, Arthur wanted to make sure that Uther wasn't doing anything to hurt himself.

"Are you sure?"

"Just don't get in involved," Gwen warned him before walking off down the corridor towards the sound of the ruckus. Lucian and Arran, who seemed to have an amazing ability to be around when these things happened, were hanging at the door, not daring to go in, but thinking they should. Both of them relaxed as they saw Gwen.

"He came up looking furious," Lucian warned her. "Will you be all right?"

"Yes," Gwen said firmly, opening the door and shutting it behind all the men in her life that were sometimes hard to deal with. Uther never was, but then again, this was a very new situation.

"What are you doing?" Gwen yelled as she looked at the overturned table, the scattered flowers, broken vases and the destruction that a whirlwind of Uther's anger had created. He turned to glare at her and for a moment her heart quailed as she looked into a set of very cold eyes.

"When were you planning on telling me?" Uther demanded. "When was Arthur? Everyone else doesn't seem very surprised."

"Some people know, you had enough to worry about."

"How long has it been going on?"

Gwen paused. "A while, we knew we have had feeling for each other for two or so years now."

"And now you think you can get your claws into him!" Uther snarled, sounding angry and hateful.

Gwen's reaction was instantaneous. She didn't even think about what she was doing, other than to avenge the maliciousness that went into that comment, because of what Uther might think of her. After everything now, that he could think that was the purpose behind everything she had done.

The crack of her hand connecting with his face was shockingly loud. She hit him with everything she had, catching him directly on his left cheek and pushing him sideways, just a little, with the force she used. Uther's eyes widened, staring at her with shock, and for a moment Gwen felt a momentary flicker of fear. To attack the king, however mildly, was a serious thing. She could be executed for such an action. Before Morgana's destruction of him Uther probably wouldn't have even hesitated.

He blinked, his jaw dropped, mouth gaping and he brought his hand to his cheek. Gwen rubbed her palm and wrist. The force of it made her hand burn and the power she had used had twisted her wrist slightly. For a moment she didn't know what to do, she just rubbed her hand and wrist, which Uther noticed and he stepped towards her.

"You hurt your hand?" he asked in utter concern. And again the flicker of change happened in him and the frightened, hurt individual that had lived underneath his hardened façade regained its current dominance. Arthur and Morgana's actions had battered down those walls, and Uther couldn't seem to rebuild them, they never held. Gwen knew that.

"I'm fine," Gwen said as he rushed forward to take her hand in his. She reached up her now free hand to touch his cheek. Uther gave a slight wince. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. We need to get something to calm that."

As Gwen took over again, Uther let her. She pulled out a chair and sat him down, extracting herself from his grip and she went to the door, aware of his distressed eyes on her. She opened the door and looked at Lucian.

"Could you get some water from the well, just a little," she asked, handing him a bowl. He took it, looking confused.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes, I just need some cold water, and don't let anyone come up here."

That 'anyone' referred to Arthur but Lucian just nodded.

"Yes, My Lady."

He went running off and Gwen closed the door again. She walked back and sat in the chair nearest Uther's, the table still on its side, and neither of them noticing. She reached out to take his hand, and stroke his burning cheek. He looked rather sorrowful now.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't Arthur?"

"We haven't 'told' anyone," Gwen said. "Some people just know."

"Not me."

"You've had enough to worry about," Gwen said gently. Uther frowned at her.

"Why would I worry?"

"You always worry about Arthur, I don't think you'd approve of anyone he wanted."

"I approved of Elena," Uther said. "Oh, Arthur didn't want her."

"It wasn't that," Gwen said. "Did you marry Arthur's mother for strategic purposes?"

Gwen didn't say her name. Uther didn't really like that, hearing other people talk about her. People that didn't know her. It seemed a bit degrading to her memory to do so but Uther seemed to want it all to himself.

"No, she was just so beautiful, and delicate, and graceful. I just had to marry her, I couldn't be without her," Uther said, almost dreamily. Then he returned to reality.

"You're beautiful too."

Gwen smiled, not entirely sure she was in the same league as Igraine but she was saved from commenting by a knock at the door.

"Gwen, I've got the water," Lucian said.

She extracted herself from Uther's grip to open the door and took the bowl of water, shutting the door in Lucian's face before he could say or ask anything further. She found a cloth and came back to the chairs by the side-on table. She sat down and placed the damp, cool material to Uther's cheek, bathing lightly. Uther did nothing to stop her. He just stared at her.

"When were you going to tell me?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter now."

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I do, and Arthur loves me," Gwen said. "We need to put something on this, to bring out the bruise. It won't look very good if you have a bruise on your face."

"It doesn't matter, no one cares about me."

"Now that's an awful thing to say. Of course people do, everyone in this kingdom does."

"They have Arthur now."

"Arthur cares about you, and so do I, and Gaius, and the knights, and Merlin, although whether you believe that or not is entirely up to you," Gwen announced still gently bathing, even though her words sounded indignant.

"And I admit; we were a little worried about what you might think. It's all very well telling everyone I am a Lady of the Court, and your companion, but a relationship with Arthur is an entirely different thing."

"He's been a gentleman hadn't he?" Uther demanded, sounding outraged.

"Yes, of course," Gwen said.

"I feel silly," Uther said.

"Why?"

"I kept suggesting eligible men for you, and you were in love with Arthur, and you laughed at me."

"No, I didn't, and we're hardly close to thinking about marriage, there are just too many things going on," Gwen said, practicality suddenly rising to the forefront of her mind.

"But you didn't tell me."

"I'm sorry, I should have."

She probably should, Gwen thought. Over the last few months, almost a year now, she had built up a trusting relationship with the King of Camelot. She had seen him at his very worst, comforting him when the nightmares threatened, indulging him, dressing and feeding him, and she hadn't trusted him with this. Although, no one knew how he would react to the news. The inner circle of knights had known about the relationship and it had been seen around the court, and town, just what they felt for each other. Uther had reminded oblivious. That had to be a bit of a blow, or one hell of one, she thought as she brought the cloth away and eyed the bright red mark on Uther's cheek.

"Will we still go for picnics?" Uther asked her. "You'll stay with me won't you?"

It was like a bolt out of the blue as Gwen realised what the issue really was. She found the root of it. Uther had been hinting at a marriage for her for months, because it would cement her status as a Lady, if she married a knight. The ones he had considered for her were quite low in their own status, younger ones in their families that wouldn't inherit much, but still were accepted as knights, and warriors of Camelot.

They were not chosen because he saw Gwen in a similar low status. As she looked at him now, she realised, as much as he wanted her to be happy, and secure, Uther wanted no one to challenge Gwen's status with him. All of the knights he had hinted at would not, could not, challenge the king for her attention. They would defer to him, and he wouldn't lose her.

In that respect Arthur was a different matter. If she married him, she would become queen, eventually. She wasn't entirely sure if she married a Prince Regent, what she would be. A princess she supposed, and also, she added, the king's daughter-in-law. She blinked as she looked at him and it was as if he was just realising the same thing as well.

"Yes," Gwen said. "We'll still have picnics."