Gwen sat in front of the fire, a cluster of candles also lighting her while she worked. It was late, but she didn't feel tired, and she wanted to finish sewing the seam she was working on before she went to bed. She was starting to feel a little bit more anticipation rather than apprehension as she got further along with the dress she would wear on the day of the feast.

Eylan had bought her the cloth, handing it to her as she walked past the training ground a week or so back. She had been out gathering flowers for Morgana, and now Uther, who had seemed to have taken a liking to flowers in his room. Gwen could tell that Arthur was sometimes baffled, if not disturbed, by his father's behaviour. It never worried Gwen though. Uther was getting better, if he picked up a few odd little quirks on the way then so be it. She didn't think a vase of flowers on the table made for much of a scandal.

The material was silk, and rust coloured. Gwen liked it. She had when Elyan had first handed it to her.

"What's this for?" she had asked him.

"Am I not allowed to buy my sister a present?" he asked. She leant forward to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you, what have I done to deserve it?"

"So you can make a dress, for the feast, when the kings arrive for the renewal of the treaty."

"I don't think I should be wearing something like this when I'm serving."

Elyan had frowned. "You won't be serving, you'll be at the feast."

Gwen had looked up from the contemplation of the material. "What?"

Her brother had looked at her with an overwhelming amount of patience. "You are the sister of a knight, who is also a member of the Prince Regent's personal guard. I'm escorting you to the feast."

"And I'll help," Gwaine announced from where he was sprawled on the grass a short distance away from them, and blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation. Elyan had rolled his eyes and Gwen had laughed. Arthur who was some distance away, but heard her turned to look. The expression on Arthur's face made her wonder if the two knights were deliberately engineering something.

Either way, it would be nice to go to the feast and be waited on a little bit. Some of the other servants in the castle were a bit resentful towards her, but Gwen just carried on being her usual self, which seemed to ease most of their troubled feelings.

It probably hadn't helped that recently she had closed up the little cottage that had been her home for so long, and moved into the castle. She told herself it was only temporary, but Uther was something of a full time job for her. In the corridor where the king's chambers were, the queen's lay opposite, and for some reason, had much more space and rooms. Down the corridor from the queen's chambers were the rooms set aside for her ladies-in-waiting. Gwen had taken two of them, one as a little sitting room, where she was now, and the other as her bedchamber. Whatever rumours that might have started from such a move were easily quashed, by Uther's guards, who knew nothing untoward was going on.

Gwen was on the last few stitches when there was a light knock on the door. She frowned, it wasn't likely to be Merlin, or Arthur, not at this time of night.

"Come in," she called, while starting to put the sewing aside. She wasn't surprised when one of the guards on duty that night, Arran, put his head around the door.

"Sorry, Gwen, but I think he's having a nightmare or something."

She nodded, getting up. It was one reason the guards defended her against anything they heard. They were grateful for her presence, because she was the one that dealt with Uther. None of them felt comfortable handling the king's emotional turmoil. Nobody wanted to see him looking so defeated, and sometimes childlike. He had been so strong for so long his complete disintegration was a worry for them. At least Arthur's presence meant they had a leader to turn to and things ran as normal.

Arran stepped back to let her pass through the door and they both walked swiftly down the corridor to the king's door. Lucien, the other guard who was on duty had opened the door a little, presumably when they had first heard Uther's cries. Now Gwen heard him yelp and she jogged the last few steps, pushing the door open so she could slide around it.

The moonlight gave her a clear enough view of the man on the bed. His face was pressed into the pillows, hands clenched around the covers and he twisted and writhed on the bed, sheets tangling around his legs so he was unable to free himself, which appeared to be adding to his distress. Gwen carefully closed the door behind her. It was another thing that was probably inappropriate. A serving girl alone in the king's bedchamber, but Gwen didn't care. Neither did Arran or Lucian. They needed her to do this.

Gwen went to the bed and put her hand on Uther's shoulder. He flinched away from her, still sobbing and struggling. She sat herself down on the side of the bed, and reached for Uther. She gripped his wrist, and ran her other hand over his back.

"It's all right, wake up now," she told him in a gentle tone. He stopped trying to pull away and she felt the tension in his arm ease. She shuffled a little further onto the bed, so she was in no danger of falling off, and she pulled Uther closer, encouraging him to turn over. As he rolled in his sleep he suddenly jumped, snapping awake and sitting up, tension rippling through him again. Gwen didn't move for a moment, Uther sometimes reacted violently if he was startled. He had never hurt her but he was physically strong, and she felt aware of the fact he might not entirely be in control just yet. A few seconds passed and she rubbed a hand up and down his back.

"It was just a nightmare, it's over now."

Gwen put an arm around him as he gave another sob. He may still push her away, not wanting her comfort. Sometimes the arrogance came back, and she was sternly reminded of the personality he had once had. Uther never said anything, instead it was just there in his eyes for her to see.

This time his head rested down on her shoulder and Gwen got her arm around his back, settling him against her. He shifted compliantly as she moved, reaching back to push the pillow up against the bed frame so she could lean against it. Uther was heavy and she needed the support. She kept her arm around him and ran her hand over his head, as if that could erase whatever had been disturbing him. Uther shuddered as he continued to sob. It must have been a seriously bad nightmare, she concluded. She shushed him like he was a child.

"It's all gone now, its okay."

There were moments when her job felt utterly surreal to her. She was rocking the king of Camelot as if he was a frightened child, when quite frankly he was supposed to be what you were frightened of. Uther wrapped his arms around her, clinging on. Gwen carried on soothing him until his cries died down. She went on a little beyond that, holding the defeated man in her arms. His breath hitched on occasion, but it seemed his tears were over for a moment.

"It's okay, it's all right," Gwen murmured, every time his breath shuddered. It became less and less frequent, but he made no attempt to pull away from her. Uther kept his head down on her shoulder, and tightened his grip on her. For a moment her heart fluttered in panic. She was alone in the room with him. Although Arran and Lucian waiting outside would come rushing in if she called. She was perfectly safe.

Logic told her Uther wouldn't do anything. He was not of a state of mind to really do so, nor had he ever shown any interest in any of the female servants, or members of the court in such a manner. There had just been his marriage to Lady Catrina, which had been a bit of a disaster and Uther's feelings mainly an enchantment. Gwen privately wondered, as she held onto him now, if Uther wasn't still deeply in love with the wife he lost a little over two decades ago.

"Okay?" Gwen asked him, trying to extract herself. Uther didn't let her, he clung on. She jumped a little as he suddenly spoke to her.

"Morgana was there," Uther suddenly said, making her jump, and also ask.

"Where?"

"In my dream," Uther said, with mild irritation. It damped the fear for a moment before Uther huddled against her. "She was hurting Arthur."

"It was just a dream My Lord," Gwen said soothingly.

"What if it happens?" Uther said.

"It won't Arthur will be fine," Gwen said in the same gentle tone, while her mind ticked over. Morgana had got to Uther mentally once before, she'd have to ask Merlin if it was possible for her to still be doing something. It appeared to be crossing Uther's mind as well as he suddenly asked.

"Do you think she dreams too?"

Gwen paused, in all honesty she didn't know and hadn't really thought about it. All the tidying and cleaning hadn't been for Morgana particularly, it had been for Gwen herself, to make her feel as if she was doing something useful for Morgana, even if she wasn't aware of it.

However, Uther was not someone who dealt in uncertainty. He wanted to know the answer. Gwen decided it was better for her to act decisively.

"No, no she doesn't," Gwen said. "She's too deeply asleep for that, and she has her bracelet."

"Will Arthur keep her like that forever?"

Again it was a question didn't really know the answer to. No one had really broached the subject of it. Gwen didn't know if Arthur and Merlin had talked it over. But she had her own feelings on the subject.

"I hope not."

Uther gave another sniffle and Gwen hugged him tighter, going into another round of soothing murmurs and reassurances. She waited until he relaxed and was almost dozing before she encouraged him back down onto the bed, pulling the covers straight and shifting the pillows. Uther settled without a word, but a concerned flash of his eyes in her direction made her stay, perched on the bed until he fell back to sleep. She massaged the small of her back where it was aching, after bracing herself to hold him, and she waited with him.

As she crept out again, with a brief smile at the guards to reassure them everything was all right, and now feeling utterly exhausted herself she made a mental note that in the morning, she needed to ask Gaius about sleeping tonics.