Here is the next chapter to Nobility Defined. Please, please review and give me some pointers on what you think could be better or what you like. I am new to writing anything and could use some help. Thanks again for reading this and hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Chapter 7
Though the Knights of the Round Table had only known Amora for a short time, they all had grown quite attached to her. She was feisty, spirited, beautiful, elegant, and a hell of a fighter. Gwaine had become a good friend to all of them. While he would drive them all crazy when he came back from the tavern, they all knew how fiercely loyal he was to all of them. For them to see him so worried and serious was making them all feel worried for Amora.
With the exception of Percival, none of them had met a set of twins. They were all equally shocked to see how close these two were not only in appearance, but how close they were to each other. Gwaine had told them about the connection they have and it amazed them. Two people who were so close that they could feel the others emotions and pains. It was for this reason that when Gwaine, one of the fiercest men in Camelot, began to seem weak and strained they feared for how his twin was doing.
While they all sat in the hallway outside of Gaius's chambers, the trio inside was rushing around grabbing potions, bandages, and other supplies.
"Merlin, I need honey." Gaius said. He had cleaned the wound and had stitched it up quite nicely, he doubted there would even be much of a scar.
"Got it." Merlin handed Gaius the small jar and stood by.
He desperately wanted to heal her, but he knew that not only would Gaius strongly oppose this, but he could do nothing with Gwen in the room. He looked over to where she was, she was sitting on Amora's left and was gently dabbing her brow with a cool cloth. He gave a small smile, she will make a great queen one day. She was so compassionate about everyone and she didn't fear speaking her mind when it was necessary.
His thoughts were disrupted when he heard a small moan from the table. Amora had lost a great deal of blood and this caused her to look deathly pale; a far cry from her usual tanned skin. Her trembling had stopped once she was in the room, the fire seemed to help with this.
"Will she be alright Gaius?" Gwen asked.
"I think so. She seems to have bleed out most of the infection. She lost quite a bit of blood, but I think that in a few days time she will be fully recovered." Gaius had finished applying honey to the wound and was bandaging up her arm.
Merlin let out a small sigh of relieve, "That's good, I don't think Gwaine could manage to lose her now that he just found her again."
Gwen looked at Merlin, "What do you mean?"
"They were separated by bandits years ago, Gwaine has been searching for her ever since. She had thought Gwaine was dead. She was found by a patrol of Carleons men in Mercia and has been there ever since." He said.
"How awful. They look a great deal alike." She said.
"Yea, except their eyes. Everything else about them is the same, even how they handle a sword." He grinned as he remembered the mock fight they all witnessed in the woods.
"Gwen, Lancelot brought in a satchel that was on her horse, see if she has a nightgown or another dress to change into. I fear this one is ruined." Gaius noticed how a good portion of the right side of her dress was covered in blood, and not to mention that he had to rip the sleeve even further to tend to her wound.
Gwen went over to the stood where the satchel was, she looked through and found a cream colored satin gown that she assumed was her nightdress. She walked back over to Gaius and set it on the table.
"Help me sit her up." She asked. Gaius and Merlin both gently set her up, her head was resting on Merlin's shoulder.
As Gwen undid the ties on her dress she let out a small gasp. Gaius and Merlin both looked over her shoulders to see why Gwen had reacted as she did. They saw why immediately, Amora had scars covering her back. As Gwen began to remove the dress off her shoulders she discovered more, she had a long scar on her left arm and a scar on her right shoulder.
"Gaius, what could have caused these?" She asked, fearful for his reply.
"I can't say for sure, but the scars on her back look like marks from a whip, the rest I'm uncertain."
Gaius was shocked, he had seen these marks before, but on warriors. Men who were built to obtain such scars, to see them on a young lady was troublesome to the old physician.
Once Gwen had changed her into the clean gown Merlin scooped Amora up in his arms, and carried her to his room. Gaius felt that would be the best place for her to stay until she was well enough to move to better chambers. Gwen followed him to help settle her into the bed while Gaius went out the hallway. He was surprised to see that every knight was waiting with Gwaine.
As soon as the door opened Gwaine jumped up, he was to afraid to speak though. He just looked at Gaius, waiting to hear the worst.
Arthur was the one to ask the question that Gwaine could not, "How is she?"
"She has lost quite a bit of blood, but I think that she has bleed out most of the infection. She will be recovered in a few days." He gave Gwaine a smile.
Gwaine let out a huge sigh of relief, it seemed like he had been holding his breath all this time. The rest of them were all relieved as well, they were glad for their friend.
"Thank you Gaius, I can never repay you." Gwaine smiled at him.
"Of course, I am curious though. Do you know how she acquired so many scars?" Gaius asked, thinking surely he would know.
"Scars? What scars?" Gwaine had never know her to have any scars, other then the one on her knee from when she fell in the brook.
"She has scars covering her back, and several others." Gaius said.
"What kind of scars?" Gwaine was confused, why would she have scars?
"I can't say for sure." Gaius tried to cover the fact that he knew most likely what had caused the scars on her back. He didn't know how Gwaine would react to the news that his sister had been whipped.
"Gaius, please. What happened." Gwaine asked him. He could tell that Gaius was trying to hide something.
Gaius looked down at the floor before meeting Gwaine's gaze. "They appear to be from, a whip." He said slowly.
A flash of anger went through Gwaine's face, somehow his sister had been whipped. He pushed his feelings aside for the moment, he just wanted to see her now.
"I can see her now?" He asked.
"Of course, she is in Merlin's room." Gaius watched as Gwaine walked to the small room in the back.
Arthur turned to Gaius, "How could she have been whipped?"
"I don't know, Sire. The scars on her back appear to be a few years old, the other scars seem to be more recent." He answered.
"She's been whipped numerous times?" Percival asked, horror covered his face.
"No, it appears she was only whipped once, the other scars seem to be more like battle wounds." Gaius replied. "I need to go collect a few supplies. I think you should all go get some rest, you have had quite a journey." Gaius walked down the stairs and into the courtyard.
The knights too began to disperse. Each wondering what could have happened to their friend to have caused such marks. Arthur however, went into the physicians chambers. Gwen was inside, she was cleaning up the mess that they had created. He went over to her and placed a small kiss on her head.
She turned to him and he noticed she was blushing, even after they had become open with their relationship she still blushed when he kissed her.
"How is she doing?" He asked her.
"She still has a fever, but Gaius thinks that she will recover."
"She will, she has Gwaine's stubbornness." Arthur replied with a small smile.
"I've never seen him so serious before, it's so, unusual." She said looking back to where Gwaine could be seen sitting by his sister.
"I know." He looked to where his friend was sitting in a small chair beside his sister. He looked so unlike his usual self. He was leaning back in the chair, his arms across his chest. He was just starring at Amora, no hint of his usual confidence was on his face. It had been replaced by the worry of a brother. It was this that made Arthur go into the small room. Merlin was tidying up the room, he never really had people in his room so it was very unclean. Arthur walked past him and went to where Gwaine was sitting.
"You should go get some rest." He told him.
"No thanks." Gwaine's voice was just above a whisper, he was tired but he didn't want to leave.
"I can stay with her. You should get some sleep." Arthur tried again.
"Thanks but no, I'm not leaving until she wakes up. I'll sleep right here." Gwaine looked at him, he was no longer angry, he was just worried that something would happen if he left.
"Alright." Arthur turned to leave, he gave Merlin a look and nodded his head toward the door.
Merlin took a look at Gwaine, "Do you need anything?" He asked.
"No." Gwaine replied, he was still looking at Amora.
Merlin turned to go out the door when Gwaine called to him.
"Merlin?" He asked.
Merlin turned back to his friend. "Thank you." Gwaine gave him a small smile.
Merlin smiled back at him and gave him a nod. He turned and closed the door.
Gwaine stayed in his chair for a while, occasionally he would reach forward and stroke his sisters hand. Sometimes he would get up and just walk around the room, trying to get his mind off things. Night came and the city began to sleep, Amora had been unconscious for almost a day now, and Gwaine was getting more worried. He went back to the chair, he leaned forward and held her hand.
"Rora, you need to recover." He gave a sad look at her still face, he just needed to see her open her eyes. He stayed like this for a while, then after a few hours he settled back into the chair and fell asleep.
The sun was rising in Camelot as Gwen came into Gaius's chambers. Even though she was titled now as she did not mind taking care of others. She had been caring for Uther since Morgana, she did it not for herself but because she loved Arthur and she wanted him to know that his father was in good hands. She wore a simple but beautiful dress, it had long cream colored sleeves with a teal colored overlay to it, she wore this with a simple brown tie around the waist that fell down the front of the dress. It was perfect for her, she had grown up a servant and while she was a lady now, she just couldn't bring herself to wear the fancy kinds of dresses like Morgana used to wear.
She was carrying a thick blanket that was from Arthur's chambers, it was a large fur cover, he thought that it would be best used keeping Amora warm. She also had a tray with her, on it was a plate with some cheese, bread and some meats. There was a small bowl of cream soup and a glass of water. She set the tray down on Gaius's table and took the blanket up to the room.
She opened the door slowly and gave a small smile at the sight before her. Amora was still sleeping, though she did have more color to her than the day before. Her injured arm was draped across her stomach, her left hand however was covered by Gwaine's. He had fallen asleep on the bed, his head down by her side. Gwen walked quietly toward the siblings and lightly touched Gwaine's shoulder, he looked up and noticed that Amora was still not awake. He turned as he noticed the was a small hand on his shoulder, he saw that Gwen was behind him.
"Morning, my lady." He said, he leaned back into the chair and ran his hands through his hair.
Gwen sighed, "You don't have to call me that." She began to unfold the fur and draped it over Amora.
"I know, but I like it. It suits you."He gave her a smile.
Gwen blushed as she smoothed the fur over Amora, making sure she would be comfortable. She finished and walked back over to Gwaine.
"I brought you some food, I though you could use something to eat." She said.
"Thanks but I'm not hungry." He replied, he really was, he just didn't want to do anything except concentrate on her getting better.
"Gwaine, you need to eat. You haven't left this room since yesterday. I have the food just outside the door, you will still be here." She was speaking to him in such a calm and soothing manner that he finally gave in.
"Alright." He got up and followed Gwen to the table. He started to eat and realized just how hungry he really was. They sat in silence for a few moments.
"Arthur told me everything. I can't even begin to understand what the past few years must have been like for both of you." She said.
"You're not upset about the whole noble thing?" He looked at her and waited for her reply.
She gave a smile, "No, to be honest I would have been more shocked if you had been a noble this whole time, your not exactly like the rest of them."
Gwaine gave a small laugh. "I never thought that I'd become a knight, or that Amora would become a lady. I guess fate has a different idea in mind for us."
"You two are very close, aren't you." Even at their best her and Elyan had never been half as close as Gwaine and Amora. She hoped that one day they would be, but only time would tell.
"Well, when you spend months in the womb together you have to be close." He said.
They both began to laugh. Gwen was beginning to see him relax a bit more and become his usual self.
They sat talking for about an hour, Gwen would ask him some questions about his past, Gwaine would ask her about Arthur and how she was settling into her new role. They were laughing and enjoying each others company when they heard something.
"Gwaine." Amora said softly.
He shot up and ran back to the room and sat on the bed. She looked like she was starting to wake up, she was breathing deeper and was moving around a little.
"Rora?" He anxiously waited for her to open her eyes, then finally after what seemed like hours her eyes began to slowly open.
She took in a deep breath and looked around the room. Her eyes finally landed on her brother and she gave him a small smile. "Why do you look like hell?" She asked.
Gwaine began to laugh, she was going to be alright, if she could make jokes about his haggard appearance then he would allow himself to finally relax.
"You nearly died, so yea, I look like hell." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. When he finally pulled back she tried to sit up only to realize that her arm was still very sore.
"Ah!" She gasped as pain shot up her arm.
"Careful; you've got quite a scratch on your arm, sis." He added a strong emphasis on scratch and she noticed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be this bad." He helped her sit up so her back was resting against the wall behind her.
Amora then noticed the beautiful woman smiling in the doorway. She brought her a glass of water; Amora took it with her uninjured arm and drank nearly all of it.
"Thank you." She looked at Gwen and smiled.
"Rora, this is the Lady Guinevere." Gwaine said
"It's nice to see you feeling better, and please call me Gwen." She shot Gwaine a glance of annoyance at her full title.
"Thank you, please call me Amora, he doesn't like to use my full name." She replied.
Gwen looked at him "I'll go fetch Gaius." She started to walk out of the room.
"Gwen, thank you." Gwaine said. She smiled at him and walked out to find the physician.
"She seems nice." Amora teased to her brother.
"She is, but she's in love with Arthur. She didn't fall for my charm." He said with a grin.
"Well, she's the first." Amora teased. They both began to laugh. When they settled down Gwaine gave her a serious look.
"Amora, how did you get so many scars?" He asked.
The smile fell from her face, she had hoped that he would never find out about them. "How do you know." She suddenly found the fur on her lap very interesting.
"They found them when they were changing your dress." He said.
"Who's they?"
"Gwen, Merlin, and Gaius, the court physician." He replied.
"I don't want to talk about that right now." She said.
"Rora, you can tell me." He had never known her to keep things from him.
"Gwaine, please. Not right now." She gave him a pleading look. She was saved by Gaius and Merlin walking into the room.
"Lady Amora, I'm glad to see that you are doing better. I'm Gaius." He walked over to her and gave her a warm smile.
"Thank you. Merlin, I should have told you, I'm sorry." She said.
"I should have know that you were keeping something, Gwaine does the same thing." He gave her a reassuring smile.
Gaius checked her wound, it was healing nicely, the swelling and redness had gone down and her fever was gone.
"You are doing much better my dear, you gave us quite a scare." He patted her leg and got up from the bed.
"What do you mean?" She asked him.
"You came in trembling, unconscious, bleeding, and you had a high fever. You've been unconscious for more than a day now." He told her.
She looked at Gwaine, if she was that bad then he must have been affected. "Were you alright Gwaine?"
"I was pretty dizzy and out of it until Gaius gave me something." He said.
Gaius looked at them "The connection you two share is quite rare, I have never encountered twins with such a deep bond. You best get some more rest my dear, you lost quite a bit of blood and will be weak for the next couple of days." He said.
"Thank you Gaius, Merlin." She said.
Gwaine helped her settle back down into the bed and she fell into a restful sleep. Unaware of the darkness that would come her way shortly.
I'm sorry this has taken me a while to upload, I was having some major writers block :-) You know the drill, please review. Let me know if you want to see something specific happen and I will try to put it in, I'm open to ideas.
