AN: I swear I'm working on 'Becoming a Queen' but I'm having real trouble writing the show-down between Gwen and Morgana. I'll get it done I promise. This is set after series 3 but Uther won't be totally apathetic and Agravaine will be there being the sneaky little sneak that he usually is. Arthur/Gwen. Tregor is listed on the Merlin Wikipedia page as one of the Albion kingdoms.
The kingdom of Tregor was burning.
The battle had been raging for almost a week and dozens of people had been killed. Many more were injured and homeless as fires raged and the invading army showed no mercy. The winter snow had turned scarlet with innocent people's blood. Inside the castle, anyone who could; the guards, servants and kitchen staff were arming themselves; ready to defend their home or die trying. In the main hall of the castle, the king and his sons were facing their opponents head on. None of the boys were older than thirteen yet they were ready to fight. One by one the princes were slain as was the king. The leader of the rebellion, Lord Matthias, led the way through the castle; he may have killed the royal men but the queen was a threat that also had to be dealt with.
In her private chambers; the queen was pacing backwards and forwards as she nursed her baby in her arms. Princess Khione was only two weeks old and was blissfully unaware of what was happening. The queen pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead and turned to the only other person in the room.
"You are sure about this my lady?" the man asked.
"Yes, I could not save my husband or sons but I can save her. You must take her and keep her safe. Take her, take her," the queen looked around the room and spotted the map that lay on her husband's desk. It was a map of Albion and her gaze fell on one of the kingdoms. "Take her to Camelot."
"Camelot? Are you sure?" the man asked.
"Yes, he is a sorcerer. Camelot is purging anyone who they even think is a sorcerer so he'll not even dream of attacking it. She'll be safe there." The queen replied as she handed over the baby and slipped the bracelet off her wrist and placed it into her daughter's blankets. "So you'll have part of us with you Khione. We love you, our little snow princess. Never forget that you're loved."
The baby princess looked up at her mother, unaware that this would be the last time she would lay eyes on her. The man took Khione, wrapped her tightly in a blanket and slipped out of the room. The queen fixed her crown and took deep breaths. Death was coming for her and she would greet it with dignity and grace; the way a queen should. She was terrified but she knew that she had managed to save her daughter. That thought was comfort alone as Lord Matthias burst into the room with his men.
"Where is the child?" he demanded.
"I will never tell." The queen replied, holding her head high.
"Tell me and I might let you live," Lord Matthias warned.
"You may as well kill me. We both know you would either way." The queen said, regarding the traitor to Tregor with disgust.
Lord Matthias gave an evil smile. "You are right."
He stuck his sword into the queen's chest directly over her heart. The queen was dead before she fell to the floor. With the king and queen dead; Lord Matthias took over as the new king. However the king occasionally wondered about the infant princess who had been smuggled out of the kingdom as it burnt. He sent his men to search the surrounding lands and towns but there was never any trace to be found. After a while King Matthias gave up the search and only his council knew that the princess had survived. Everyone else was led to believe that she had been killed along with her parents and brothers. Only one member of the council knew where the princess was; it was the very man who had smuggled the child to Camelot and he alone knew where she was being hidden.
A week after fleeing, the man managed to arrive in Camelot. He sought out an old friend whom he knew was working in Camelot as a physician. Hurrying through the castle with the baby princess in his arms, he reached the physician's rooms.
"Oliver, is that you?" Gaius asked as his friend entered the room and tore off his hood.
"Gaius old friend, I require your help." Oliver replied, gesturing to the bundle in his arms. "Before her death; Queen Roseanne asked me to take the princess to Camelot. I need you to ensure she is looked after."
Gaius took the infant from Oliver's arms and nodded. Word had reached Camelot that Tregor had fallen and the royal family had been assassinated. It had been assumed that the princess had also been slain with her family. The physician's mind was rushing with what to do. He could tell Uther the truth about the princess but that could put her life in danger if word reached Tregor that she had survived. He would need to find somewhere where she could be raised safely until she was old enough to understand.
"What should I do?" Gaius asked.
"You're a far smarter man than I am Gaius. I was simply ordered to deliver her here. I must be getting back to Tregor. Just promise me you'll ensure she's looked after." Oliver said.
"You have my word." Gaius promised. Oliver promised that someday the people of Tregor would return for their princess and stroked the baby's head before leaving to return to his home. Gaius studied the child in his arms. She would not even be a month old yet. However she was small for her age. Prince Arthur was only four months old himself. Four months since Ygraine had died and the Purge had begun. Everyday brought more arrests and more executions. It was a rough time to be living in but what the baby had gone through in her short life was just as awful. She'd lost her home and her family and had no idea of what had happened. Gaius was jolted from his thoughts as running footsteps sounded and a man and woman sprinted into the room. The woman was holding a bundle and tears were running down their faces.
"What is the matter?" Gaius asked as he placed the baby onto his bed.
"It's Guinevere, she's not breathing." Thomas replied. Gaius took the baby but knew there was nothing he could do. The baby was dead. There seemed to have been no signs of illness, nothing that could have been cured or prevented. Fate was cruel in ways such as this. Gaius shook his head and Mariam began sobbing harder. Thomas held his wife as he wept too. Their daughter was only two weeks old but it seemed that Heaven couldn't bear to have been parted with her for that long and stole her back. Gaius covered the baby in the shroud and as he did so; the baby princess began crying. The three of them looked at the crying baby and Mariam walked over to the child and stared at her.
"Tom, look at her." Mariam said. Tom stood by his wife and stared at the crying child.
It was eerie but she looked exactly like their little Guinevere. The same dark skin and wisps of dark curly hair and by instinct Mariam picked up the child and began soothing her cries. Gaius looked at the couple holding the child and knew what he had to do.
"Tom, Mariam, there is something I need you to do for me." Gaius said.
For an hour Gaius explained who the baby was and what he required them to do. Obviously their initial reaction was to refuse but Gaius placated them by explaining that they were not replacing their Guinevere; they were simply adopting a baby as their own. However they understood that the baby was clearly destined for great things and agreed to adopt her. Tom and Mariam also understood that it was important that nobody except for the three of them knew who she really was and that their real Guinevere had passed away. In the middle of the night; at the bottom of a tall oak tree, the three of them buried little Guinevere and made a silent pact to only tell Khione/Guinevere who she really was after Matthias' death and if she was old enough to understand. Gaius walked back to the castle and Tom and Mariam returned home to where their neighbour had been watching eighteen-month-old Elyan for them.
"Is everything alright with Guinevere?" Ivy asked. Tom and Mariam looked at each other and to their new daughter who was sleeping in Tom's arms.
"Everything's fine, she's… safe." Mariam replied.
Nearly twenty four years later
King Matthias was dying. It was no great tragedy to the people of Tregor. He had been despised by his people from the day he took power. His brutal takeover was followed by a brutal regime. If one disagreed with anything the king said or did then that person was executed. No trail, no appeals, they were simply killed. There had been a few attempted uprisings but nothing could remove the king from power.
Nothing except Death itself and Death did take him on a dark night.
The physician had delivered the news to the council. Many of them had been forced to be part of his council for most of Matthias' men were simply thugs. While the people of Tregor rejoiced and celebrated their freedom; the council had bigger things to worry about. Matthias' death meant that the only heir to the throne was Princess Khione; someone who nearly everyone believed was dead. Oliver looked at his council members. It was time; time to reveal the exact location of the princess.
"She is in Camelot and alive and well. My friend in Camelot, whom I entrusted her to, writes to me every six months to keep me informed about her. She is unmarried and worked as a servant for Lady Morgana until, well, recent events." Oliver explained. The men nodded; everyone in Albion had heard of what the Lady Morgana had done to Camelot mere weeks ago. The news of what Uther's daughter had done to her own kingdom had stirred up many a painful memory for the people of Tregor. It was partly why the people celebrated all the more for the end of their tyranny.
"Does she know who she is?" one of the men, Simon, asked.
"No; it's up to us to reveal the truth." Oliver replied. The council looked at one another and decided that Oliver and two others; Simon and Edwin would travel to Camelot with some of the knights and guards to find the princess and bring her home. That night the men and their families joined the celebrations in Tregor and early the next morning set off to Camelot to find their princess.
AN: Who seen episode 11? It was brilliant and what Morgana did to Gwen was beyond twisted. Cannot wait for episode 12, it looks amazing!
