Another update because I was super psyched about writing this chapter, and I just couldn't help myself. Oops?

The beginning of the ride was peaceful and quiet, as they moved slowly through the forest. The only sounds were the clop of the horses' hooves, the birdsong from up above, and the wind rustling leaves through the trees. Rose found herself thinking that she could certainly get used to this, though she supposed it wasn't the horse-riding she enjoyed so much as just the calm that came to her while immersed in nature. Due to her full-time job of being a servant, she didn't have very much time to herself to come out and take a leisurely walk. It was unfortunate, but then again, absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder.

The main reason why she was enjoying this excursion, however, was of course the fact that she was so near Lady Morgana. It was kind of nerve-wracking to think that she was out in middle of the woods alone with the woman, but all had gone smoothly so far. Rose had a good head on her shoulders, she could hold herself together for one afternoon, couldn't she? Yes. No. Maybe? No matter the answer, she was perfectly content to ride alongside Morgana- it made her feel as if they were something more than just servant and master, even more than just simple friends. Just her imagination, though.

The two young women rode in silence for a while, before Morgana abruptly spoke. "When did you first come to Camelot?" She glanced over her shoulder to look at Rose briefly before her head turned back around. "I don't think I had ever seen you before that night where you came to my chambers. Or actually, a little before that, when you spilled wine in Arthur's lap." She tossed a smirk over her shoulder, her dark eyebrows slightly raised in a teasing manner.

Rose chuckled awkwardly. "I didn't make a very good first impression, did I?" She switched the reins to one hand to nervously tuck a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear. "But, um, I guess I should thank you- you know, for sticking up for me, so I didn't get fired." Imagine if she had been fired right there by the king- what would be different? Would she still have gone to Morgana's chambers in a drunken stupor? Well, she'd most likely have gotten drunk either way, but for an entirely different reason. Rose supposed she was quite lucky that things ended up as they did- with her as Morgana's servant, and now out horse riding with her.

Morgana hummed. "I forgot about that, actually. You're welcome, of course. I'm afraid the king has quite a temper- I wouldn't see you fired because of a simple mistake." She shrugged a shoulder elegantly, and Rose couldn't help but smile to herself. Can she be any more perfect? Honestly. "But, when did you first come here? Was it more recently?"

Rose released that she forgot to answer Morgana's original question, and she mentally scolded herself for getting side-tracked. "Oh, um, not really. About four years ago, I think. Actually, I-" She hesitated and licked her lips, trying to decide whether or not she should disclose the fact that she had seen Morgana sword-fighting with the prince on her first day in Camelot.

"What?"

Might as well just go for it. "I actually, um, saw you. My first day in Camelot. My parents, they, um, knew some people who got me a job as a servant. An older woman, I forget her name, was showing me around the grounds, and you were, um- fighting, with Prince Arthur. I thought it was, you know, pretty impressive, I guess. Really impressive, actually, I mean, um..." Have you ever had that feeling where you could hear yourself talking, but didn't really know what you were saying or how to stop yourself? Rose felt like that often, and this was just one of those times. "I don't mean, like, that impressive. It was a, er, medium level. Of impressiveness. I'm making it sound more impressive. I've said the word 'impressive' a lot, haven't I?"

Rose found that her rambling abruptly stopped when Morgana slowed to ride beside her. The dark-haired woman's eyebrows were quirked slightly and a smile was on her lips as she observed her servant. "I'm glad you find my sword-fighting at least mildly impressive," she teased lightly. There was something about the way that the noble was looking at Rose that made her squirm in her saddle. There was a small period of silence before Morgana admitted, "Even just four years seems like so long ago. Sometimes it feels like I've been in Camelot my whole life, but then I remember my life before. How different it had been."

Rose frowned slightly, wondering about what Morgana's life had been before she became the King's ward. She considered asking, but she didn't wish to pry. It wasn't her place, after all. Even so, she found herself unable to stay silent. "I'm sorry," Rose said weakly, not sure if that had been the right thing to say. Morgana glanced over at her and shrugged.

"It's not as if it's that bad here. I certainly keep busy. I've definitely met a lot of new people, many of which whose friendship I wouldn't trade for the world. Arthur, Gwen." The woman paused as if she was going to add something, but she obviously decided to stay quiet as her mouth closed and she looked away. There was another short period of silence before her gaze snapped to Rose, a mischievous smile slowing making it's way onto her face. Oh, no- this can't be good. "I'll race you."

Rose's eyes widened almost comically. "Horses?" she squeaked out. The question was mostly rhetorical- of course Morgana meant horses. The noble nodded and raised her eyebrows in a challenging manner. "Um," Rose started, shaking her head rapidly, "I definitely don't think that's a good idea. Not at all. I don't, um- I don't really ride horses. The only reason I really agreed to this was because you asked, um-" Why don't you just go ahead and confess your love for her again, Rose? Sober this time. "But, yeah, I can't really ride well. At all. I'm horrible, really, I'll fall off, probably break my neck, it won't be very pretty. I'll die, honestly, I can't control the horse, and-"

"Fine," Morgana said with a shrug. Rose looked over at her, stunned that she'd give in. It wasn't very Morgana-like... As soon as Rose spotted the still-existent grin on the woman's face, her heart dropped as she thought, Oh, no. "We'll stop here for a moment." Both women halted their horses, Morgana sliding off the back of Tybalt with ease. Rose glanced around her nervously, not sure quite how to go forth with getting off the horse. Morgana walked over and outstretched her hand for Rose to take. "Come on, then," she teased, wiggling her fingers slightly when Rose just stared blankly at her.

Okay, you're going to touch Morgana. Don't freak out. Don't freak out... You're freaking out, aren't you? Her face bright red, Rose took Morgana's hand and allowed the woman to pull her down from the horse. Morgana's skin was smooth and cool to the touch, and Rose never wanted to let go. She did, of course, as soon as her feet touched the ground- hastily pulling her hand away and avoiding the Lady Morgana's gaze as she blushed furiously. Of course. "So, um," Rose mumbled, looking around. "What now, exactly?"

Morgana smirked. "Well," she began, grabbing Millicent's reins and leading the horse to a nearby tree, "You said that you can't control the horse, correct?" Rose nodded her head slowly, wondering where Morgana was going with this. The woman tied the horse's reins around the tree and mounted her own horse again, which only furthered Rose's confusion. "I've been riding horses since I was a little girl. I can certainly control a horse, now can't I?" Morgana laughed when Rose finally realized what the noble was suggesting.

"M-Milady...?" Rose said uncertainly, watching terrified as Morgana outstretched a hand.

"Come on." Morgana's eyes gleamed in the kind of way that told Rose she was determined to get her way. "If you aren't comfortable going fast, well, you might as well let me take the reins. It's my duty as a noble to protect the people of Camelot, is it not?"

"But..." Rose reached for an argument to utilize against Morgana, despite the fact that her heart was urging her to accept. "What if someone saw us?" she blurted out. "You'd certainly get in trouble. The both of us would- me especially, most likely. It's... unseemly for us to be seen together, like this. I'm a servant, and you're a noble, there's nothing that can change that." No matter what I think or feel, she thought with an inward sigh.

Morgana scoffed. "No one will see us- this part of the woods, who would? Camelot patrols don't take this route, I know they don't. Come on, Rose. It'll be fun, trust me." Rose made the mistake of looking up into Morgana's gaze, and for not the first nor the last time, she cursed those bewitching eyes. I'm going to regret this, aren't I?

"...Alright, fine," Rose mumbled, running fingers through her hair briefly. Biting her lip, she glanced up at Morgana with that same "Please help" look she had flashed the stable boy earlier. "How am I going to get up?" she eventually asked, unsure on what the best method would be. She'd never done this before, she didn't know!

"Here, grab my hand-" Oh great, you get to touch her again. Even I'm not sure if that comment was sarcastic or not... "-and put your foot in the stirrup. On a count of three, I'll pull you up. Lucky for you, I'm much stronger than I look." Morgana flashed her a smile and offered Rose her hand again. Swallowing nervously and wiping the sweat on her hand on her dress, Rose took her hand firmly. "One, two... Three!" Rose lifted herself upward using the stirrup and Morgana pulled her the rest of the way up.

Rose's leg swung over the side of the horse and she fell into place behind Morgana. Her hands awkwardly clutched at the side of the saddle, trying to not touch Morgana with any part of her body. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod- Morgana twisted around slightly and raised her eyebrows. "Comfortable?" Rose laughed awkwardly- her face still resembling a tomato, of course- not sure what to say to that. No, she wasn't, but she wasn't about to say that. She was trying to stay as far away from Morgana as possible, mainly for her own sake- she feared she'd suffer a mental breakdown if she was forced to be in such close proximity with the woman she loved.

"Are you going to hold on, then? I don't bite, you know," Morgana teased gently with a small smirk. At Rose's lost, desperate look, Morgana rolled her eyes. "Here." Much to Rose's absolute horror, Morgana reached behind her, grabbed the servant's hands, and placed them on her waist. "Don't want you falling off and breaking your neck, as you so elegantly put it, now do we?" Rose released a nervous 'heh', the only sound that she was able to utter. You're very, very close to her right now. Very close. Stay calm. Seriously, Rose. Just. Stay. Calm! "Hold on tight." Clucking her tongue, Morgana dug her heels in and leaned forward to urge the horse to move forward.

In a matter of a few seconds, Morgana had the horse breaking into a full on gallop. With a surprised squeak and too terrified to think about what she was doing, Rose wrapped her arms around Morgana's waist and hung on for dear life. Squeezing her eyes shut she gently pressed her face into Morgana's shoulder, feeling rather than hearing the woman chuckle. "Open your eyes," Morgana told her over the noise of them gliding through the forest. Rose- who always did as she was told- obediently cracked open her hazel eyes. The trees whizzed by as they blazed their way through the trail, and an elated laugh escaped Morgana's lips. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked breathlessly, slowly pulling Tybalt back to a walk. Rose saw Millicent up ahead, and knew that the 'race' was over.

Now that her heart had stopped pounding as much, Rose realized how close she was to the King's ward, how her arms were wrapped around the woman's waist. It felt like her brain was shutting down- her mouth swung open and she scooted backward, retracting her arms and just staring at the back of Morgana's head. The noble must've felt Rose's gaze, as she turned slightly to meet her. They were so close- Rose felt her breathing pick up, like she was going to hyperventilate, as her eyes dropped to Morgana's lips then back again.

"Morgana," she choked out finally, struggling to regain any sense of self control. "I think- I think-"

The King's ward's eyebrows raised and she murmured, "What?" Her gaze was unflinching, and it felt like those eyes were piercing into Rose's soul. She's going to find out the truth! Rose thought frantically. That thought sent her body into panic mode. Scrambling off the horse a lot less gracefully than Morgana had, Rose brushed herself off and avoided Morgana's eyes.

"I think we should, um, return to the castle," Rose mumbled, walking unsteadily over to the chestnut-colored mare that she had first ridden. "I think it's, um... For the best." Summoning every ounce of strength in her body, Rose pulled herself up onto the saddle of the horse and used the reins to direct the horse in the direction she knew Camelot was. It's for the best.

"You're right," Morgana replied, shaking her head as if clearing thoughts. "You most likely have work to finish anyway, don't you?"

Rose nodded in response, and the two women began the ride back to the castle in silence. Rose wondered what had just happened. Just you imagining things, most likely, since you're not used to being so close in proximity to Morgana. Just a side affect of being in love with her, right? Rose reasoned with herself. Convincing herself that that was all that had happened, Rose continued on, eager for this now-awkward ride to be over.

Just as they were nearing the gates of Camelot, Morgana stopped. Glancing over at the woman, Rose frowned and asked, confusion in her voice, "M-Milady? What is it?"

Morgana smiled, and teased, "Didn't you promise me that you would pick me fresh flowers while we were out in the forest?" Rose remembered the original excuse she had used to try to get herself out of going horseback riding with the Lady Morgana. Shooting the woman an awkward smile, Rose nodded and dismounted her horse, slower this time so she didn't go stumbling off it like an idiot.

After a few minutes of rustling around, Rose managed to gather a rather beautiful bouquet of purple and white wildflowers. Perfect. Walking over to Morgana's horse, Rose offered the flowers to the woman. "Here," she said softly. A beautiful bouquet for a beautiful woman. "Um, they're not perfect like yo- um, they're not perfect, since I didn't really have time to pick the best ones, but I think these are okay for now. I can probably go out tomorrow morning for better ones, b-because Gwen pointed out to be your favorites near the gates... Actually, I should've just gotten those. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking, just ripped up these flowers without thinking, I will just-"

"Rose," Morgana interrupted firmly. She took the flowers from the blonde-haired maid carefully, and after a moment's pause, leaned down and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to the servant's cheek. "They're absolutely beautiful. Thank you." Rose froze, her eyes widening and her face flushing as a matter of instinct. Her fingers reached up to brush the spot where Morgana's lips had touched her skin. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh. My. God. Rose commanded her body to move, mounting her horse again. All the way back to the stables, Rose was inwardly freaking out. Morgana Pendragon just kissed your cheek. You are a lucky, lucky, lucky girl, Rosie.

Rose completely ignored the stable hand as he tried to help her off the horse, that same grin on his face. She had her own grin on her face- huge, pathetic, and goofy, because Oh my GOD, Morgana Pendragon just kissed your CHEEK! At that point, Rose didn't care. All she wanted to do was walk up to Morgana and kiss her properly, because her heart felt like it was going to burst with cheesy, cliche, wonderful love. The only problem was that they were in the middle of Camelot now, where there were plenty of observers and guards who would have Rose killed for such a demonstration. Plus there was the fact that Rose was an absolute coward, and even with the emotional high she was on right now, she wouldn't be able to muster up the courage. Also, there was that whole thing where Rose was nearly 89.5% positive that Morgana didn't feel the same way. Maybe just 89%, after all that had happened today on the horse ride. Those were a hell of a lot of problems.

Maybe some day, Rose amended, though she wasn't fairly positive that that 'some day' was never going to happen. Well, a girl could dream, couldn't she?