Hey, guys!

Thanks for all the reviews thus far. It's especially nice to see some familiar screen-names from people who have read my previous Arthur and Gwen stories. Thanks for reading this one, your support means so much to me.

Disclaimer: don't own Merlin. If I did, well, season five would've gone way differently, let's just say that.

Arthur and Guinevere: Missing Moments

Chapter 3

"Arthur, you can't do that," Gwen says during a routine council meeting to prepare for a trip away from Camelot.

"Guinevere, I love you, but could you act a bit more like a queen right now rather than a wife, please?"As if on cue, in unison both Merlin and Gwen, standing on either side of him, swat the King on either shoulder for his comment. The Knights around the table fight back smiles at their actions.

"OK, one)," Gwen starts to say, "I'll always be a wife AND a queen, Arthur Pendragon, that kind of happened the day you married me, and two) I didn't even mean it in the worried-wife-way you think I usually mean things like that. What I meant was, you can't do that because you literally cannot go that way; the passage is blocked."

"And what do you suggest instead?" Arthur asks, and Merlin feels like they could easily be in their chambers discussing some other issue rather than in the middle of a formal council meeting.

"Hmm. Give me a second to think," Gwen says, and she turns away from the table with the map, her one arm folded across her chest, the other one resting on it, her forearm extended up so her hand rests on her chin while she thinks. Leon studies the map too.

"ColdFire Cave," Gwen and Leon say in unison. They glance at each other in surprise.

"What?" Arthur says.

"You've never heard of it?" Gwen asks, genuinely surprised. Arthur shakes his head.

"Explain it to me," Arthur says, squeezing her hand.

"It's a little hidden underground pathway," Gwen says.

"You find it by looking for a small mound of sod north of the east mountains, kick it in, and there it is, a pathway," Leon elaborates. Arthur nods, considering all of this.

"We used to go there all the time as children," Gwen says. "Remember, Leon?" The Knight nods.

"We used to go camping there, swimming there. We were there many many times."

"Remember that one time?"

"The time we accidentally fell in the water-

"And got dragged by the current miles down the river? I'll never forget that as long as I live," Gwen says.

"How old were you?" Merlin asks.

"I don't know," Gwen says thoughtfully, thinking about it. "Maybe eight years old? Wouldn't you say, Leon?"

"Yes, eight or nine. Somewhere near there."

"What did you do?" Gwaine asks. "How'd you get out of the river?"

"Leon found this big piece of driftwood and we both laid on it and just sort of held onto it with our lives and tried to navigate the current," Gwen answers.

"I remember your father-Gwen, do you remember this?-he ran along the bank, trying to find a safe place to reach out and save us."

"I can still hear his voice, clear as day," Gwen says wistfully. Arthur puts a hand on her shoulder. "Calling our names. Shouting at us to be heard over the roar of the water, telling us it would all be OK."

"And it was," Leon says. "Because when we finally got to a more shallow, more calm part of the river, your father lifted us both out with one hand. One hand," Leon says with admiration, looking around the group of men. Gwen is the only female among them. "He was so strong-he had to be, working with and pounding metal for his job as the blacksmith."

"He swung us into his arms and kissed us on our heads," Gwen continues. "When he held me close to him, I could feel him shaking; I knew we'd scared him, even if he hadn't showed it."

"And our mothers didn't let us out of their sight for two weeks, after. Remember?" At Leon's statement, Gwen laughs quietly.

"I do remember, now that you say that. We had really frightened them too. I recall-

And all of the sudden, Colette-one of the couple's most trusted maids, save for Kate-comes running into the council chambers. "My Lady," she says, slightly out of breath from all the running. "Shayla threw her blanket out the window-

"Oh, God, not her blanket," Gwen exclaims. "Listen, you stay with Shayla and Kate, I'll get the blanket, and we'll meet back in the Royal Chambers. Deal?"

"Deal," Colette says, looking hugely relieved. "How do you always know what to do, Gwen?"

"Experience," Gwen answers with a smile. "I'm sorry, Arthur," she says in urgency.

Arthur waves her off nicely. "Do you need me?" is all he asks.

"No," Gwen says, shaking her head. "We'll be OK. I think. Maybe. This is the terrible twos, though, so you never know. I'll send for you if need be," Gwen calls on her way out the door, Colette behind her. Arthur smiles after his wife, watching her go, and his smile continues when he glances down at the map again. Then he clears his throat, and gets back to business.

"Leon, you really think this ColdFire Cave is the way to proceed?"

"Yes, sire, I do," the Knight says. "Gwen's right: you can't go the other way; the cave's the best alternative."

"Then that's what we'll do," Arthur says confidently. "Meeting adjourned."

A/G * A/G * A/G

A few days later, having reached ColdFire Cave with his men, Arthur eyes the river running along next to it, water rushing by much too quickly, looking dark and ominous when it usually appeared to him as a place of peace. Leon sees him standing there by himself, and walks over to join him. "So, that's it?" The King asks. "That's the river you and Guinevere fell into?"

"The one and only," Leon says with a smile.

"It's a miracle you both survived that," Arthur says, admiration in his voice.

"Indeed, sire, it really was. We were lucky." Leon is silent, looks out at the river and back to Arthur again. "What I remember most-besides her father pulling us both out of the water with one hand; I was hugely impressed with that as a child-is how calm she was."

"Guinevere, you mean?" Arthur asks. Leon nods.

"She didn't cry once. Not even when I wanted to-we were only eight here, remember. Not even when the current tried to suck her under. She was just a little thing at that age-she takes after her mother, her father always used to say with a smile. The water tried to toss her around, but she kept hanging onto that driftwood-

"That you found," Arthur reminds him.

"And thank God I did. If I haven't, we'd surely have been crushed by the pressure of the water against the rocks."

"I cannot think about that," Arthur admits.

"I know," Leon says kindly, putting a hand on the King's shoulder for a second or two, knowing he's thinking of Gwen. "Thank God you don't have to," the Knight says, and patting the King's shoulder quickly in brotherly affection, they walk away from the river and back to the group.