This will take place in season four, but won't strictly adhere to events (some will happen, but time periods may be stretched or sped up...working within story lines makes me too nervous). So, some spoilers, be warned!
Antoinette checked and re-checked her things, watching the window. She didn't often have a day entirely to herself, and the anticipation made her toes bounce. She fluttered around her small kitchen, her eyes flicking back outside as she tidied things that didn't need it and twirled her hair.
Finally, after straightening the labels on her jars for the second time, she noticed the familiar outline of her friend. They hardly saw each other lately, and Antoinette missed talking to someone who was not related to her or talking about swords and tournaments.
"Gwen!" she greeted, as the tell-tale creak of her door sounded. She'd been asking Tristan to get oil for it for weeks. It woke her every time the boys came in late.
"How are you Nette?" Gwen asked, walking in to the house, smiling sheepishly.
"Great!" She picked her basket up off the table. "Are you about ready to go? We should get to the spot so we can enjoy this weather. I even pulled Mrs. Mortimer's arm for a piece of her husband's freshest bread. I have everything prepared and you're..." she trailed off when she saw Gwen's expression. "Not coming."
"I am so sorry," Gwen said, her eyes filled with guilt.
"Obligations?" Antoinette asked sourly, putting her basket back on the table.
"There is just so much to do, you wouldn't believe," Gwen said apologetically. "But Arthur suggested you come for dinner one night. You can help me with some of the wedding plans."
"Yes...yes, that'd be lovely."
"Please don't be mad."
"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the situation. A perfect day wasted!" she turned to Gwen with a small smile. "And to be honest, I'm a little mad at you."
"Well don't hold back! Please, please promise to come visit me soon."
"Can't you declare a holiday or something? You can do that now, can't you?" Antoinette joked.
"Not quite," Gwen laughed, shaking her head. "But once the wedding is over with, I'll definitely have more free time."
"I'm holding you to that."
"Why don't you have lunch with Tristan and Alynor? I saw them heading to the forest anyway."
"I suppose they would be my second choice," she said, sighing. "Out of two."
"Oh stop it, you three are great friends," Gwen said, touching her shoulder. "Don't forget your third option-Sam."
"He would be my last choice out of...everybody," Antoinette said, shivering as she thought of the twitchy son of the butcher. "My brothers it is."
Gwen laughed again, leaning down to give Antoinette a hug.
"Sorry again, Nette. I'll get word to you about that dinner."
Antoinette returned the hug and silently willed Gwen to stay. She didn't have many female friends that she actually got along with, but Gwen actually laughed at her sense of humor instead of sticking her nose up at her.
"Stop breaking my heart, Gwen," she said, waving her hand. "Just go!"
"I will see you soon!"
Gwen smiled one more time before shutting the door behind her. Antoinette sighed. She had a perfectly good basket of food, and a perfectly good day of sunshine, so she supposed she ought to take Gwen's advice and look for her brothers.
She heard the clash of metal before her brother's voices, but she knew it was them. Alynor had been teaching Tristan to use a sword every weekend for as long as she could remember. He didn't have much to teach him anymore, but they still went and always came back sweating and smiling.
Antoinette tried to hold the basket and her skirts off the ground for about five minutes before giving up and letting her dress fall. It was already slightly dirty at the bottom, but she was just seeing her brothers, and they wouldn't notice if she was wearing a burlap sack unless she danced and shouted around them.
They never went too far from their house, and she spotted their two dark heads right before almost tripping over a root. She steadied herself just as Tristan noticed her.
"Netty has brought us a feast!"
"Who says it's for you?" she said, putting the basket on a patch of grass.
"Well I hope you wouldn't come all this way just to eat in front of us," Alynor said, grinning and shoving his sword into the ground. "Now what are we having?"
She rolled her eyes. If there was anything she could count on, it was that her brother's would always be hungry. She supposed it stemmed from their childhood, when food had been scarce. They'd been making do lately, but the habit of eating quickly and eagerly lingered.
"Bread, cheese, and a little fruit," she replied, spreading out the blanket she'd taken along. She settled herself down while Tristan and Alynor tumbled down to the ground.
"I call half," Tristan said, reaching for the bread.
"You cannot call half, you're lucky to get any," Antoinette said, smacking Tristan's hand away. "This was for me and Gwen."
"Where is she?" Alynor asked, ripping the bread in three even pieces. Always the peace maker between them, he did things almost automatically.
"She had more important matters to deal with," Antoinette's face turned to a deep frown. "Which I suppose will only happen more and more."
"Well she's always given us good advice," Alynor said, leaning back to look up at the treetops. "Now we just have to share her."
"Maybe she'll give us some gold or jewels...for you know, supporting her before she made the leap up," Tristan said somewhat garbled, his mouth already full of bread.
Maybe she'll give you a new brain, Antoinette thought, pushing it down in an effort to maintain peace.
"She doesn't owe us anything," she said instead, "She's been a great friend."
"Alright, not riches. Maybe just some new armor. And a good sword."
Antoinette softened, looking at her brother's ratty clothes. They'd made a lot of sacrifices for her, taking jobs where they'd worked their fingers to the bone. They did deserve a few nice things. Maybe she could set something up with Gwen, if she could do some labor for the wedding or something else useful...
"Wait a second, Trist...didn't you lose your sword?" Antoinette asked, looking where he'd stuck his beside Alynor's. It was definitely of a better quality than Alynor's, although she didn't know why. She had no knowledge of swords, but it seemed to be newer and have a bigger handle.
"Well...yes."
Tristan shifted uncomfortably and Antoinette's previous guilt faded away.
"Where did you get that sword?" she asked.
"I borrowed it?"
"From who?" she and Alynor echoed at the same time.
"From me."
They all jerked to their right, where the voice had come from. Antoinette felt fear rise in her stomach. She recognized the knight from brief ventures to the castle. He didn't look like he wanted to harm them, but he most certainly could get Tristan in a lot of trouble if he wanted to.
"Well not me specifically, but the training grounds the knights use," the knight corrected, his red cloak moving around his legs as he walked forward. "I followed you here...sorry I didn't make myself known sooner but I couldn't help but...overhear."
They all watched him in silence, and he raised his hands, grinning. It made him even handsomer, and it made Antoinette blush against her will.
"Alright you got me, I was eavesdropping!"
He looked like he was joking, but Antoinette wasn't sure if he was being humorous or playing games with them. She hoped for the former.
"I am very sorry, Sir, my brother is not quite right in the head," Alynor apologized, his glare at Tristan as sharp as the stolen sword.
"Well that's a shame, because I was going to ask you if you ever considered being knights. Well you two, although I haven't seen the lady with a blade yet."
He winked, further confusing Antoinette. She watched him grin even more at her expression. Now that she was getting more time to look at him, she remembered rumors of him being a notorious flirt. She didn't want to swoon like all the empty headed ladies, but she couldn't control her impulses. Instead, she just hoped her cheeks weren't betraying her.
She felt the heat from her skin fade as the knight turned his attention to her brothers. She waited for their refusal to come...but it didn't.
"You really think so?" Tristan asked, his eyes wide and bright.
"I never thought about it," Alynor said his eyes going distant.
"We are pretty good," Tristan said, elbowing his brother in the stomach.
"Please Sir, their heads are already so big they can't hold them up."
The words slipped from Antoinette's mouth before she really thought about them, and her eyes widened, but the knight let out a short but loud laugh.
"I'm sorry...?
"Antoinette," she supplied, wondering when her name started sounding so stupid. "And this is Tristan and Alynor."
"I'm Gwaine. And you two would have to work on you know, not stealing things, but you're obviously brave and both skilled with a blade. We've been looking for new recruits."
Antoinette thanked her stars that this knight was so peculiar. She expected them to leave in shackles, not chat like friends.
"Shouldn't you be...angry?" Antoinette asked, her voice once again slipping out despite her embarrassment.
"Do you want me to be angry?" Gwaine asked, his eyes twinkling in a way that she could see from where she stood.
"No, but it would certainly make more sense."
"Well let's just say someone once gave me a second chance. And I have a soft-spot for someone who doesn't always adhere entirely to the rules."
"Well...thank you," Alynor said, his spine straightening.
"Please...let me do something. To amend my actions," Tristan added.
Antoinette looked in disbelief at her brother, who'd never offered to amend anything in his life. Then again, this was a surprising day if she'd ever had one.
"Just come down next week. I can't guarantee you'll become a knight. The training is hard. But it's worth a try."
"We'll be there," Tristan said firmly, nodding his head.
"Oh, and one more thing?" Gwaine asked, grinning widely.
"Yes?"
"Give me my sword back."
I'm going through Merlin withdrawals, so voila! I can't decide if this will be a short story or regular, so let me know if you like it!