The winters in Camelot were known for being particularly fierce at its peak. And no man, woman or child could escape from it...unless of course you were rich or royal. But for the citizens of Camelot had not got the resources to keep themselves warm. People huddled together in their homes that were so cold and used blankets and sheets and even pieces of straw to keep themselves warm from Mother Nature.
One woman; who was one of the kindest women you were likely to ever meet had given up her entire stock of wood to another family that had baby boys who were only a few weeks old.
But at her own cost.
She was freezing!
She had doubled up on everything. She wore her nightdress, day dress, two corsets, two cloaks, three pairs of gloves, three scarves, her father's old pair of trousers and to top it all off she had but one candle to keep her warm. Her blankets were thin, nothing compared to the fine duvets the nobles in the castle had. She could not help feeling a little jealous of them at this moment in time. Something she swore to never do.
Crouching over the candle, willing her cheeks to burn from the flame, there was a firm knock at the door. She slowly turned to face the front door, her body still stiff from the stillness she had been keeping in hopes of keeping warm. The knock continued. She sighed, getting up. Her feet were freezing as she owned no socks and was wearing a pair of cold boots.
"Who is it?" She whispered, her breath made steam in the air.
"Open the door Guinevere, it's freezing out here." The voice ordered. Guinevere rolled her eyes and quickly went to open the door. The snow was gently falling over the streets and as it was the first snow of the season little preparations had been made.
"W-W-What d-d-o you wa-ant sire?" She stuttered, her teeth chattering. The Prince himself looked warm. His cheeks were red, he was wearing a thick winter cloak; several by the looks of things, a pair of warm leather gloves and are large red scarf.
"Why haven't you got a fire?" he pointed to the empty grate.
"Some people need warmth more than I do. I shall be fine M-M-Milord," She returned to her candle again, not caring her appearance made her look rather foolish. It kept her somewhat warm.
"Your lips are blue," He gasped, shock appearing on his face. He had never had to experience a cold winter.
"What's your point? Is there a reason you are here?" Guinevere was growing impatient now. Her candle had almost burned out completely.
"Yes. You are coming back up to the castle." He ordered.
"W-W-Why?" She got up, moving towards her front door.
"Because I can't stand seeing you like this," And with that, Arthur Pendragon swooped Guinevere up into his arms and closed the door behind them. At First Guinevere didn't realise what was going on. Then she started to fight back.
"Put me down Arthur. I am not in the mood to play your games." She elbowed him in the ribs but e didn't even flinch. Nobody seemed to care that the Prince was carrying a commoner to the castle. Everybody was huddled up in their homes of crouching over large communal fires.
"Guinevere, there is a room already set up for you. You are staying there until further notice. I do not care what you say." They were ascending the stairs now, entering the castle. A wave of warmth met her and she shuddered in pleasure. She already felt warmer.
"People will talk," She pointed out; she noticed they were headed towards the chambers Lady Vivian had stayed in during her visit. Guinevere recalled how warm it could get in there and smiled.
"Let them. If you freeze to death then I don't care what people think. You will never be cold again, if I had my way," he opened the door with one hand. It was impressive that he could hold her with one hand.
"Fine but only because I am too cold to care."She buried her head in the large winter cloak. She felt him laugh as he pulled the duvets back and unlaced her two cloaks. Gwen smiled as they came loose and Arthur tucked her into the nice comfortable bed. Guinevere didn't bother to take off anything else. When it would get too hot she would just take it off.
"Sleep well Guinevere." He stroked a stray curl away from Guinevere's face. She looked at him.
"Night." She took his hand in her own.
"Your lips aren't blue anymore," He noticed. Gwen laughed.
"You want to warm them up?" He leaned down, and tipped her chin upwards.
"Hmm. Alright then Arthur," She smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck and felt his lips lightly press against her own.
She knotted her fingers through his hair and felt him fall down on top of her and wrap his arms around Gwen's waist.
Gwen supposed there are some benefits of the cold. Having a hot man on top of her was certainly one. It didn't hurt that she loved him or the fact that she was often lonely. He was there to keep her warm when everything around her was freezing cold.