Comments: Sorry about this one, but any excuse for a bit of jealousy and kissing :0) hope you like it
Arthur struggled to keep his eyes open at the Council meeting, he wondered how they managed to make these meetings so boring. His mind turned to his Guinevere and a smile crossed his face; since the dragon, he had not had many opportunities to talk to her, he had been too busy training the knights and overseeing the re-building of Camelot. He closed his eyes for a second and he could see her perfect face appear in his mind, her deep brown eyes, her soft skin, her perfect lips....her perfect...
"The Maid Gwen" at the mention of her name, he opened his eyes.
"Yes My Lord, since the dragon attack we have suffered a great many injuries and my resources are thin, I am hoping to be able to offer Gwen a full time position as my assistant" Gauis felt a little nervous, Gwen had been working in the kitchens to earn money and late into the night with Gauis to help him with the patients, he wanted her to work with him full time, and to be able to pay her as such.
Uther looked at him like he was mad "Gauis....are you suggesting a maid become our next physician?" the old men in the council laughed and Uther joined in. The only straight faces were Arthur's, who was now listening intently and Gauis's.
"Yes my lord, Gwen has helped me out a lot over the years and I believe in time, she could replace me as court physician"
Uther stopped laughing "Come now Gauis, would you have a women looking after men" the council roared in laughter again.
And Arthur felt like striking them all for being so narrow minded about Guinevere.
"Women or not sire, her skills in healing are second to none" he tried to remain calm and he held onto his hands for support, Uther was the most stubborn and narrow minded man he knew.
"Gauis, if you need help we could send to Mercer I believe they have a physician who is meant to be good!" he took a few drinks of his goblet.
"Percius from Mercer, he would cause more injury than cure!...I have known him many years sire" he could not believe he suggested that bumbling old fool.
"Well there must be someone else other than her?" he said with distain thick in his voice.
That was it, the scraping of Arthur's chair as he stood up stopped them all in their tracks. "Sire, my life has been saved by this maid more times than I can remember and that of my Knights...so I would wholeheartedly agree with Gauis's suggestion"
Gauis stood there with his mouth open, so did the rest of the council members. Arthur was not normally so forth coming in these meetings.
Uther just eyed him up "Arthur, we have never given a women such a position!"
Arthur crossed his arms "Then we should start now...she will be an asset to Camelot".
Arthur knew he was treading a fine line, but Guinevere deserved to be given this promotion and she would make an excellent physician for now . In the future when he was King, they would of course marry and then find someone else, plus it meant he would know where she was and he could see her more easily.
"You would allow a women to become Gauis's assistant?" he repeated, completely surprised by Arthur's views in this matter.
Arthur's stomach jumped around "I would father, I believe Gauis needs help... there is a line outside his door most days and many of my knights are not seeking treatment. By not allowing him this help you are weakening the walls of Camelot" he knew he laid it on a bit thick, but his father was so stubborn.
Uther closed his eyes for a minute to think, should he allow a maid to hold such a position? Arthur will become King one day and with his aching bones, maybe a little sooner than he wished. But would he want her treating him....no. But Arthur and his Knights would. If he remembered the girl he was talking about, it was Morgana's old maid, he imagined if Morgana was here, she would be fighting for her right now....his heart ached at that thought.
He opened his eyes "I will not make it an official position, but I will assign her as a maid to the Knights of Camelot and Arthur! She will be under your care Gauis, this means that you will train her and her sole responsibility will be to ensure the Knights of Camelot receive care constantly. I will not allow our walls to become weak, so if I hear of any failure or displeasure of her treatment you will both face the consequences"
The old men around the table grumbled at his decision, but one stare from Uther shut them up.
Arthur tried not to smile, Guinevere working for the knights, he would make sure only glowing reports would get back and he could see her everyday if he wanted now.
"Agreed Sire" Gauis nodded and a smile crept across his face, not exactly what he wanted, but a big step ahead for Gwen and by the looks of Arthur for their relationship!
Arthur sat back down and the rest of the meeting went without fault. He thought of how easy it would be to see her now, and as he left the council room a smile finally crept across his face.
"Arthur" Gauis stopped him before he walked away.
He turned to look at him "Thank you, I know Gwen will be very happy"
Arthur nodded and Gauis walked away.
"Soooo your beloved is going to be working with you" Merlin teased as he picked up Arthur's clothes off the floor.
"Shut up Merlin" he tried to act seriously, but a smile refused to leave from his face. Today hard turned out very well indeed.
Gwen stood there open mouthed, trying to digest what Gauis had just told her.
"I am going to be working for Arthur and the Knights?" Gwen could not believe Arthur had stood up for her, normally around his father he did not speak up about her.
"Yes...I know it doesn't hold the title of Physician Assistant...but your wage will reflect the position, and it means I will be able to train you in healing" Gauis smiled and hoped Gwen would accept it.
She thought about her new position, a few months ago she would have refused, purely because she believed spending too much time around Arthur would only make it a harder fall when he met his Queen. Since the dragon attack, Gwen had realised that life was precious and even if a few moments with him was all she could allow herself, then she would take it. A smile now crossed her face, she had the best of both worlds now, she could be trained in healing and she could see him daily. "Thank you Gauis"
He pulled her into a hug "Excellent" he pulled away from her, her smile still lighting up her face "Now we have work to do!"
Sleep had not been a friend to Gwen last night and her thoughts had turned into fantasies that involved Arthur and her in training!!
She looked in the mirror, she had put a new dress on today, it was pale blue with delicate purple flowers around the middle of it. Her hair, she wore it half up and down with a few white flowers positioned in it. "This is work Gwen" she said to herself. "No funny business" her mind instantly turned back to her dream of Arthur's hands all over her and her face flushed red; "OH, grow up Gwen" she turned away from the mirror and picked up her basket; which was full of cloths, needles, ointment, anything needed to help with injuries and a few other little treats to help them train and made her way out to the fresh air.
Her job was to consist of half of her day with the knights and the other half helping Gauis and training.
She took a few deep breaths as she could see the training ground ahead, full of handsome Knights and talking to them her very own Prince.
As she approached the group of men, they all seemed to whisper and laugh and Arthur broke away from the crowd and came up to her.
"Good morning Guinevere"
Her mouth dropped open, had he possibly got even better looking since she last laid eyes on him. His hair was longer and covered most of his eyes, his tunic hugged his perfectly formed muscles. 'stop it Gwen' she closed her mouth and composed herself.
"Good morning My Lord" he shook his head, he hated it when she called him that.
"You mean Arthur"
"Thank you Arthur, for helping me with this position" she tried to look just past his head, so as not to look in his perfect blue eyes. If she did that would be it, a blush would creep onto her face and then she would make a fool of herself.
"Think nothing of it" he wanted to say that he probably got more benefit from this new role than her, knowing he would see her every day made life much more exciting.
"Well...it means a lot, so thank you" she curtsied out of habit.
He leaned in a bit so she would only be able to hear him "You look beautiful today" she blushed bright red, he smiled and walked away. "LETS BEGIN" he shouted at the knights.
Gwen stood there mouth open staring. "Staring Gwen" Merlin snapped her out of it and she went redder.
"Good Morning Merlin" she grumbled, he laughed at her and led her to the side, to watch training.
The training session produced several injuries, but no one would let her treat them, they all pushed the injuries off as mere scratches or bruises and basically ignored her.
The next day was the same and the day after, she felt like a failure, what was the point of being here if they would not allow her to treat them.
One day, as the knights began to leave training, Arthur noticed Gwen's wrinkled brow as she tidied up.
"Went well today?" he offered and picked up a goblet handing it to her. He heard her sigh and she turned to face him.
"Well, if you call five men injured and not wanting treatment well?" she closed her mouth to stop her rambling.
Arthur laughed "Guinevere, you just need to be firm!"
"Firm?" she could not force them to take her care, if they did not feel comfortable in her hands.
Arthur smiled at her confused look "Like you are with me"
Her mouth dropped open, did the prince think her too firm with him, she knew she had said a few words out of place but surely.
Sir Leon called out to Arthur and he looked over to him "I better go, see you tomorrow Guinevere"
She couldn't reply she was still upset about how badly today went, "Firm!" she repeated watching his retreating form.
"Well that was interesting" Merlin smiled goofily at her.
"OH Merlin they hate me and Arthur thinks I am firm" she sat back down, her hands on her face.
"They don't hate you, the first few days I came here they threw knives at me!...you are firm with Arthur but he needs that" he patted her on the back trying to soothe her.
"Tomorrow will be better" he offered and her stomach churned
'tomorrow!'
The next morning she woke up determined to not let Gauis or Arthur down, she would treat them even if she had to force them.
She took a few deep breaths and walked towards the training ground.
"Good Morning" Merlin came up to her. "You look like you are ready for a battle"
She fixed her jaw "If need be" if they wanted to act like children she would treat them as such.
The first to be injured was Sir Christopher, she rushed to his side and he tried to stop her "It is just a scratch" the gash from his chest bleeding.
Arthur watched from the sidelines, Gwen gave him a look that even scared Arthur. "Scratch or not I will be treating it"
Christopher stared at her and she matched it, her arms crossed "SIT" she pointed to a bench.
He looked taken a back, Gwen's stomach churned and her heart beat faster.
He sighed at sat down, she nearly smiled but kept a firm face whilst taking his armour off.
The other knights laughed and she turned to glare at them causing them to shut up immediately.
Arthur smiled proudly at her.
"You know you are quite scary...Guinevere is it?" he asked as she sewed up the gash on his chest.
"It's Gwen!" Guinevere was saved for Arthur only.
"Thank you Gwen" he said as she helped him dress, his injury sealed.
She still stood firm "Of course" when they returned to training a smile finally crossed her face.
One by one over the next few weeks Gwen turned them around and finally it got to the stage of them seeking treatment from her, and even to discussing other ailments they had never sought treatment for. Sir Leon suffered from stomach problems, Sir Alan suffered a bad knee...all in all it was going well.
Arthur watched from the sidelines as another Knight hugged her and made her laugh. That seemed to be happening a lot lately and not just here. It was making him annoyed, he had not spoken to her much lately and it seemed a lot better when the knights refused her treatment. Now, she was never alone...and the laughing, the touching....he took a few deep breaths, reminding himself that she was just doing her job. He watched as she laughed again at Sir Leon's joke.
"LETS TRAIN" he spat with jealousy and the knights turned around and immediately obeyed his orders.
The next morning he woke early determined to go and speak to Guinevere, so she could settle his suspicions.
As he approached her house the door opened and out came Sir Leon, he watched as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the ground.
Arthur tensed his jaw ready to go and kill Leon when a few other knights approached him and started talking; He couldn't hear them, his eyes were focused on the retreating Leon and the smiling Guinevere.
"Arthur" one of the knights tried to snap him out of his distant stare.
Arthur watched as Guinevere now walked towards training her basket in hand "ARTHUR" Merlin finally snapped him out of his stare.
"WHAT?" he turned around so angry that they all took a couple of steps back.
"Training" Merlin spoke quietly, he was in a foul mood today...there was definitely no room for jokes.
He walked past them and straight to training....when he arrived he found Guinevere being hugged by Sir Christopher now and then that laughing again!
"Arthur" Merlin spoke.
He didn't reply he just looked at him "You are staring at Gwen...maybe not such a good idea"
"Shut up Merlin"
The fighting was brutal, Arthur was particularly hard on Sir Leon and Sir Christopher and both took the rest of the session being treated by Guinevere.
At the end of training Arthur threw his armour at Merlin, nearly crushing him and stormed off away from the castle.
"What was that about?" Gwen could hear all the knights asking as they limped back to the castle.
Gwen helped Merlin tidy up and when there were no knights to hear her words she spoke "Arthur...he seems upset today, any reason?" she picked up the goblets and placed them in the basket.
Merlin groaned "I don't know but I bet it has something to do with you?" Arthur was last like this after the whole Lancelot fiasco.
"Me, what have I done?" she tried to think back to any reason, she would have upset him.
"I don't know but perhaps you could find out, before he makes my life hell!!" He picked up the last piece of armour and looked at Gwen's confused expression. "He will go to the East Lake"
Gwen sighed and went off in that direction, not sure of what she would be apologising for.
She found him sitting by the lake, his boots were off and his feet dangled in the cold water.
She heard him sigh and she knew he could sense her presence. "Arthur" her voice timid.
"Guinevere" he didn't look at her he just looked across the lake.
She walked up to him, her heart beating faster and sat next to him.
"Have I done something to upset you?" she couldn't stand the thought of hurting him in any way, she knew she had done enough of that with Lancelot.
He threw a stone into the water "Why would you think that?" another stone splashed heavily into the water.
Now she felt awkward, should she land Merlin in it, by saying he told her she was the cause, or should she just go in softer. "Arthur...please what is troubling you?"
She wanted to reach out and touch his hand that rested near hers.
He sighed again and threw another stone in the water ...should he tell her, should he say that he thought she might not be as virtuous as he hoped. Should he speak of the jealousy that ran through his veins?
"Please" she asked again "If I have upset you in any way, please let me make amends" although she did not know what for.
He turned to face her, her eyes were full of concern "Sir Leon, Sir Christoper, Sir Aran?" he turned away from her again and threw another stone in the water.
"What about them?" she wondered if there was something she missed in her treatments.
"You tell me?" his voice went higher and she saw his knuckles went white whilst holding the next rock to lay victim to the water.
'Splash'
She thought about the three men, Sir Leon had thanked her this morning, a little too enthusiastically....as yesterday was the first full day he had not suffered with stomach ache. Sir Christopher, his knee was fine now and he had hugged her and Sir Aran, his sleepless nights. OH! realisation dawned on her....he was jealous, he thought more to an embrace that was meant for friendship.
"You think we are..." she couldn't find the words.
"Aren't you?" he huffed, she looked at him sulking his golden hair covering his eyes, his hands balled into fists and the little heavy breaths he kept letting out. He looked absolutely hot!
A laugh then escaped from her lips and he turned around and scowled at her. "Sorry...that is ridiculous"
"Ridiculous, I hardly think what I witnessed was ridiculous!!" he turned back away from her, she was a little...
"Yes...Sir Leon has a stomach complaint and he thanked me for curing it. Sir Christopher had a problem with his knee which now no longer bothers him and they were thanking me" she started to laugh again and she had to bite her lip to stop it.
He looked at her "So you are not?" he gestured widely with his hands.
She laughed "No...not with them"
He looked so hot, all confused and hurt "With whom are you then?" an image of Lancelot popping into his head.
She leaned in a bit "Well there is this man I like....he is stubborn, jealous...and a royal pain" he leaned into her, a smile forming on his lips "But I like him"
"Stubborn?" he tried to act upset but his lips got closer to hers.
"Very" she licked her lips and leaned into him, her breath tickled his.
"Kiss me Guinevere" he begged and she complied.
Her hand laced through his hair and the force of her mouth pushed him back onto the ground, his wet feet now entangled with hers. There was nothing simple about this kiss, like the two they shared before, this was an embrace full of passion, need and gratitude for having each other.
When they eventually broke apart, she leaned up, her hands using his hard chest for leverage. "Next time, just remember this kiss...when your mind plays tricks on you"
"How about you stop hugging other men" he pulled her down into his arms.
She had to laugh "No...I will never refuse a hug" he rolled her over so he pinned her down.
"Are you sure about that?" he held her tiny hands above her head and she flushed red, thinking of her one of her previous dreams.
"Yes...what are you going to do?" she bit her lip to stop herself laughing.
"Well..." his hands traced up the side of her body, causing her to laugh and blush even further. Her body tingled all over, the weight of his perfect body on top of hers and his hands....have mercy.
"If this is my punishment, I shall hug half of Camelot?" she laughed as his hands went past a particularly ticklish spot.
He had to laugh too, she liked being pinned down by him "You would not!"
"I .........." he leaned down and his perfect lips stopped her from finishing her sentence.
When he finally allowed her to breathe "I care a lot for you Arthur", it was not exactly confessions of Love, but for Guinevere it was pretty close.
"I care about you too my Guinevere" She loved how possessive he was over her and she grabbed him around the neck and pulled him back to her hungry lips.
Eventually they had to go back to reality, Gauis was waiting for her and the council meeting would have started.
"Perhaps we could do this again?" he asked hopefully as they walked back to Camelot.
"My door is always open" he smiled.... perhaps life was definitely looking up.