A/N: Hello my wonderful readers! Thanks so much for the reviews and favorites last chapter! I am so excited for this fanfiction. It has so much more meat to it than others that I have done. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please review, it makes me so incredibly happy.
Larsmith: Indeed! Thanks for the review! I hope to answer at least one of your previous questions with this chapter and feature some good ol' ARWEN. Hope you enjoy!
Guest: *rubs hands together in glee* You'll just have to keep reading to find out! I hope you'll stick with me to the end, and I don't think you'll be too disappointed with where I'm taking this.
JCR: Thank you, thank you! *bows and crosses fingers that you will like this chapter too*.
Gwen groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open. The light barely filtered in through the heavy curtains, but her internal clock told her it was just past dawn. Years of waking up early as a servant rarely allowed her the luxury of sleeping in permitted her as queen. She stretched, yawning. Her arm fell on top of a blond head buried deep into the pillows next to her. She smiled, running her fingers through the blond locks. She turned under the arm stretched across her stomach to face her sleeping husband. She smiled tenderly at him. In sleep, the lines of the worry and weight of his kingdom slipped off his face, and the clock turned back until he looked like no more than a little boy. She cuddled closer to him, placing a kiss on his nose. He stirred slightly, his grip on her waist tightening. She continued to run her fingers through his hair, reaching up with her other arm to rub his shoulder. He shifted again. She smiled, placing a feather-light kiss on his lips.
"Arthur," she whispered. He didn't move. She grinned, playfully kissing his nose again.
"Arthur." A kiss to his cheek. "Arthur." Another to his brow. "Arthur." His nose. "Arthur." His closed eyelids. "Arthur." His lips. "Arthur." His lips. "Arthur." His lips. "Arthur!"
"If you're going to keep kissing me like that, I'm not waking up anytime soon," he muttered, a small smile playing on his lips. She laughed softly.
"Do you know what today is?" she asked.
"The day I abdicate the throne and run to the hills?"
"No."
"The day I get rid of the entire council and do whatever I want?"
"No."
"The day I hide away from the world in bed with you all day?"
"No, though that sounds very nice. Think harder."
"The day that twelve years ago I married the most beautiful angel to ever grace the mortal realm?"
"There you go." Arthur smiled, his eyes finally opening to meet the sparkling ones of his queen.
"I love you," he murmured.
"I love you too," Gwen laid a hand on his cheek. "So very, very much."
"Never had second thoughts?"
"Never, ever, for a single moment. Not a single doubt or regret has ever crossed my mind that has been my own," Gwen promised him, laying her head against his.
"Glad to hear it."
"And you?"
"Why would I ever regret marrying a woman who is the most beautiful, wise, kind, just, strong, and utterly incredible creature I have ever met?" Gwen's only response was a long and grateful kiss.
"So, are we laying in bed all day today to celebrate our anniversary?" Arthur's tone had just a little bit of a pleading note to it. He leaned on his elbow to look down at his wife, his hand tracing her jawline.
"Well, I did tell Hilda and George not to wake us up this morning or disturb us for any reason other than war, pestilence, famine, or some other death inducing problem. And Poppy is under order to at least keep the children out for the morning, unless there is an emergency. I thought we could use a morning just for...us," Gwen smiled.
"Sounds like a wonderful plan to me," Arthur leaned down and kissed her. She sighed against his mouth.
"What about this afternoon?" Arthur asked.
"I thought we would go on a picnic. Just you, me, and the twins. And Merlin of course."
"Of course."
"It'd be nice to have some time with just us, as a family. Between you and Merlin I'd say we'd be perfectly safe."
"That sounds wonderful."
"And then we have council meetings." Here Arthur groaned.
"Unavoidable, I'm afraid," Gwen apologized.
"And then I'm told there is a feast planned in celebration tonight?"
"It's expected. Though I would prefer just a candlelit dinner in our chambers, the two of us. Perhaps tomorrow."
"We should have eloped the day before our wedding, so we could celebrate in peace by ourselves, while the kingdom celebrated the official ceremony."
"That would have been brilliant. Too bad neither of us thought of that twelve years ago."
"Twelve years. Twelve years with you by my side, and seven with the most beautiful and wonderful children I could ask for. Destiny is smiling on me." Gwen hummed, reaching up to wrap her hands around his neck. She pulled him down to her and kissed him.
"Destiny is smiling on us both."
Arthur laughed as Rowan and Pippa sparred each other with the wooden swords they had brought along to the picnic. Rowan clearly had the upper hand in sword skill, but Pippa was supplementing her sparring with her magic. Rowan inexplicably tripped and Pippa pointed her sword at his throat only to have him roll away and leap to his feet.
"Good move, Rowan!" Arthur called approvingly. Rowan flashed him a smile, but Pippa took advantage of his distraction to tug at his sword with her magic. Rowan held on, but just barely. Suddenly, Pippa flew backwards with a cry. She landed on her backside and Rowan easily knocked away her sword.
"Uncle Merlin!" Pippa exclaimed petulantly.
"Yield, sister," Rowan ordered, panting.
"Fine!" Pippa huffed. She stood and walked back to where Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin sat on the large picnic blanket watching them.
"That wasn't fair, uncle, you weren't supposed to help him," Pippa complained.
"And you weren't supposed to use magic," Merlin pointed out. "I thought I would make it a fair fight on both sides."
"Thanks uncle," Rowan grinned.
"You're welcome, little dragon."
"But I wouldn't have won otherwise, he's better than me! He's been training longer than me. I only did what you taught me," Pippa refuted.
"You taught her to cheat, Merlin? Sounds like you," Arthur asked.
"I didn't cheat!" Pippa protested.
"You did agree to no magic, Pippa," Gwen told her.
"But he was beating me!"
"And that's okay. He should be more proficient with a sword than you. Just as you should be more proficient with magic than him. But in case one day you can't use magic, you need to be able to defend yourself with a sword at least some, as I'm sure your uncle will tell you. Besides, it was only a game Pippa," Arthur tried to placate her.
"I know," Pippa sighed.
"At least you can learn to use a sword," Rowan pointed out. "It's not like I can learn how to use magic."
"You can learn the language of magic, however," Merlin interjected. "Your father and mother did. That way if and when you and Pippa ever have to fight side by side, you'll be able to understand her spells and know how to fight alongside her better."
"That's what your uncle and I do," Arthur agreed.
"Really? I can learn the language?" Rowan asked excitedly.
"Sure. You can start joining Pippa and me for language lessons," Merlin smiled.
"And you can start joining Rowan more for sword lessons," Gwen pulled her daughter to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Really?" Pippa's face lit up
"Really," Arthur nodded. "We had talked about that a few weeks ago. About both of you." The twins smiled.
"Can you show us some magic, Uncle Merlin? Please?" Rowan asked his uncle. Merlin smiled.
"Hmm," he mused. "I don't know…"
"Come on, Merlin, you know you can't resist putting on a show," Arthur scoffed. Merlin grinned. He held up his palms and several colored orbs rose from his outstretched hands. They were no bigger than apples and flickered softly in the afternoon light. They floated inches from the faces of the gathered party and suddenly Rowan gasped.
"Look! It's mom!" Sure enough, an image of Gwen flickered in a rose colored orb. Gwen was sitting on a horse, dressed in simple blue peasant dress, smiling softly. The image changed and came to life. Suddenly it moved, showing the horse moving forward and a younger Arthur helping her from her horse, sweeping her into his arms, and kissing her. Gwen's jaw dropped in astonishment as she watched the image, while Arthur merely shook his head in amazement.
"Hey, look at that one!" Pippa pointed to a fiery red orb, where a toddling baby girl took slow, shaky steps from Gwen's steadying hands to Arthur's outstretched ones.
"There's Rowan," Arthur gestured to cool blue orb. Rowan looked to about three years old, laughing gleefully as he rode in front of his father on a horse for the first time.
"My coronation," Gwen murmured. A bright gold orb showed Arthur placing a crown on Gwen's head.
"Gwen," Arthur swallowed hard. Gwen followed his eyes to a soft green orb where a sweaty, dishevelled Gwen lay in bed, holding a crying baby boy while Arthur perched on the bed's side, holding a baby girl. The image Arthur had tears in his eyes and he leaned over and placed a tender kiss on Gwen's head. Tears rose to Gwen's eyes as she saw the familiar scene and she pressed a shaking hand against her mouth. Another rose colored orb showed their wedding, another the kiss in the tent outside the tournament grounds when Arthur was enchanted. Yet another showed their kiss when Gwen was being pulled away, accused of enchanting Arthur. A gold orb showed Pippa and Rowan's christening. A blue orb showed Arthur sparring with Rowan. A red orb showed Gwen teaching Pippa to needlepoint. A green orb showed the entire family eating dinner. Arthur slipped his arm around Gwen, fighting back tears. A choked sob escaped Gwen, and the orbs abruptly flickered out.
"Oh no, I didn't mean to make you cry!" Merlin exclaimed in horror.
"No, no. No, Merlin, it was beautiful," Gwen gasped out. "That was a wonderful anniversary present, thank you. Thank you." Merlin smiled, ducking his head. Arthur didn't say anything, just reached out and gripped his brother's shoulder for a moment.
"Why weren't you in any of them, uncle?" Rowan asked.
"Because they were seen from my point of view," Merlin explained, "and you don't see yourself." Rowan nodded.
"Can you show me that spell, uncle?" Pippa asked quietly.
"One day, carissima," Merlin smiled. "Why don't you show your parents the new spell you learned?" Pippa's face brightened. She immediately scrambled up and Merlin pulled a candlestick from his pocket. He lit it with a flash of his eyes. Pippa frowned and murmured a spell. The light from the candle floated up slowly, flickering like a tiny star.
"That's beautiful, princess," Arthur smiled. "You've come a long way." Pippa grinned. The group spent the afternoon happily in the meadow before they had to return to Camelot for the feast. But Arthur and Gwen, instead of dreading the coming feast, were too busy reflecting on the memories of love and joy they had seen reflected in Merlin's orb.
As it turned out, the feast was quite pleasant. And Arthur and Gwen even managed to slip out just a bit early to still enjoy their evening together. They saw two very tired, very full children to bed, knowing the two would be grumpy tomorrow after the late night revelry. Then Arthur led his wife into their chambers, smiling at her.
"What's that look for?" Gwen asked suspiciously. Arthur smiled and slipped to one knee.
"My queen," he began, holding her hands in his. "My wife, my love, my light. My strong support, my unending joy, my everlasting love. You have given me so much. Not only have you given me your heart, but you have given me your support and your encouragement and your wisdom in ruling our kingdom. And the most treasured thing you have given me is a beautiful daughter and a strong son, whom I love with all my heart. To have you be the mother of my children brings me more joy than you can possibly imagine. And so, today, on the anniversary of our wedding, in celebration of twelve years together -years fraught with hardship, but hardship we have always weathered and come through the stronger for it- I celebrate more you, my Guinevere. And in a small token of my love, a reminder of our love that has born up through so much that tried to tear us apart, I would like to give you this." He rose slowly, and held up a slender gold chain. A simple heart shaped pendant swung from the chain, studded with a brilliant ruby in the center.
"Arthur," Gwen murmured, tears in her eyes.
"Look on the back," Arthur instructed. Gwen took the necklace and turned it over. 'With all my heart,' was engraved in curling script on the back of the pendant. Gwen bit her lip.
"Thank you, thank you my love," she stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips. He smiled and took the necklace, slipping the chain over her head so that it lay on her bosom.
"I love you," he murmured.
"And I love you," she whispered. "I'm afraid my gift...is not yet completed." Arthur frowned.
"I need no gift," he said.
"Nonsense," Gwen scoffed. "Besides, this is a gift to both of us. It's a tapestry. I have begun weaving and embroidering it myself. It's an image of the twins, below a Pendragon crest. Pippa is stitching the border. We've been working on it in secret for months, but it still has a long…" she trailed off as Arthur kissed her again. He swept her off her feet and into his arms. He carried her over to their bed bridal style and lay her down on the soft comforter.
"You, my dearest, are incredible."
"Well, I suppose it is only fair, seeing as you are too."
A/N: Look at that! I wrote an Arwen chapter and loved it. I hope it wasn't too bad. As always, please review! I had wanted to put a little bit more on this chapter, but it didn't fit. So that will be waiting until next chapter, when I will be getting a bit deeper into this story/series of oneshots/wonderfulness that I wished happened in the show. Hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you on the flipside!