Chapter Seven: Speaking to Her Reflection

Gwen stared, on the verge of tears yet again, at her reflection in the mirror of her vanity table. She dabbed fruitlessly at her cheeks. It wouldn't do for Arthur to walk in on her like this.

Arthur, who barely looked at her. Arthur, who hadn't touched her in the weeks since Merlin had disappeared. Arthur, who was slowly, steadily becoming more obsessed with destroying all magic than his father ever had been.

She stared at herself in the mirror, silently willing the tears to stop. She loved Arthur. This was supposed to be a happy time. Finally all the mood swings and nausea over the past month made sense. She was probably two months along, by her estimation. And now Arthur was turning out to be the prat Merlin had always said he was.

She missed Merlin. She missed Gwaine. She missed Arthur, the old Arthur who professed his undying love and brought her flowers and held tournaments in her honor. She missed Lancelot.

She quickly banished that thought from her mind. You do not miss Lancelot, she told her reflection sternly. It was a forbidden thought.

Oh, this was all Arthur's fault. She dashed the tears from her cheeks and tried to pull herself together. How was she going to tell her husband that she was pregnant? Getting him to stay in the same room as her for more than few seconds would be a start. The King didn't listen to her anymore. Ever since… the memory flashed through her head.

Arthur leaned over a map of Camelot, which was decorated with a multitude of little red pins. An uncomfortable Sir Leon stood beside him.

"Sire, don't you think that's a bit drastic? The Druids have always been a peaceful people. Even your father…"

Arthur cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Druids have magic, Leon. Magic is evil."

Gwen let the door swing closed behind her with a sharp snap. Arthur spun around at the sound.

"Guinevere! Didn't you ever learn to knock?"

She stared at him, surprised at his sharp tone. "I'm your wife, Arthur. These are my chambers as much as they are yours," she stated slowly. "I shouldn't have to knock."

"This doesn't concern you." Arthur dismissed her. Arthur dismissed her!

Gwen placed her hands on her hips and glared at her husband. "I'm the Queen of Camelot just as much as you are King, Arthur. If it concerns Camelot, it concerns me!"

Leon looked like he wanted to run away. Gwen didn't blame him. Who would want to listen to the royal pair arguing?

Arthur turned, ever so slowly, to face her. His face was red with supressed rage.

"You are only Queen by marriage, Guinevere," he spat. "And I can change that if I so wish."

The tears were back. Arthur wasn't the man she'd married. The Arthur she'd married would never have ignored her counsel or kept her from advising him in decisions concerning the welfare of their country. That Arthur would never have treated her as if she was nothing. That Arthur would never start a war with the peaceful Druids.

And that's what he was doing, slowly narrowing down the places where the Druid people might be camped, with the intention to hunt them down and drive them from Camelot, or kill them if they refused to.

Guinevere desperately hoped that Merlin was anywhere except with the Druid people. If they tried to protect him, Arthur would only be harsher towards them. She was beginning to think that Arthur had turned into Uther, with his hatred of magic and inability to listen to any advice.

The Knights had even come to her, worried for their King. She had been forced to order Elyan to obey orders from Arthur. Her brother was horrified at the way her husband had been treating her. He would have been quite glad to throw the King of Camelot into a pit in the forest until he apologized, but she didn't want her brother to get into trouble. Even Percival, who was usually on Arthur's side, was unhappy with the orders he was being forced to follow. The loyalty of the Knights of the Round Table was being undermined, and Gwaine's disappearance had only contributed to the effect. The Knights were disheartened. They looked to their Queen and began to resent their King, who had ordered the arrest of many supposed sorcerers.

Even as they tried to avoid these orders, the dungeons were full of women and men, even children, who had been rumoured to have magic. Many of them, Gwen was sure, had never done anything to harm anyone in their entire lives.

Her tears were beginning to dry. She needed to be strong, so she could attempt to hold together a Kingdom that Arthur was slowly destroying with his anger. At least one of the royals needed to be wise and keep the loyalty of the Knights.

A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts, and she quickly dashed the tears from her cheeks. Her eyes were red, but there was nothing she could do about that.

"Come in," she said, proud of how steady her voice was.

Elyan entered her chambers. "Gwen?"

She tried to smile at her brother, but her lips curved downward and she felt the tears starting again. She covered her face with her hands.

"Gwen?" Elyan was across the room in a heartbeat. He took her hands in his own. "What's wrong? What is it?"

She started sobbing for real, and her brother pulled her gently into his arms, stroking her hair comfortingly. "Shh," he soothed. "What's wrong? What has Arthur done now?" His eyes were dark, his tone angry.

"He doesn't love me anymore, Elyan. Ever since Merlin left…"

Her brother took a step back to look her in the eye. "He does love you, Gwen. He's just… forgotten. He'll remember again soon enough. He has to realize eventually that Merlin having magic is the reason he's survived for so long. Merlin's been protecting him the entire time and none of us were observant enough to notice. I always thought we were just lucky, but now I don't think so, and without Merlin, there's no way we can stay unharmed for much longer. It was him who knocked over the cup of life, him who got Arthur to leave Camelot so he wouldn't die, him who collapsed the tower with the dragon egg, and so many other things. If Morgana attacks us again…"

He reached over and wiped the tears from his sister's cheeks. "He'll see soon enough, and then things will be as they were. The Druids have magic. All we have is strength and courage. Arthur will lose this fight, and Merlin will have to save him, and maybe he'll realize how much of a prat he is. Merlin was definitely right about that."

Gwen made a sound that was half-sob, half-laugh.

"Don't worry, Gwen. It'll be alright." He smiled encouragingly.

She burst into tears again. "No, it won't. I'm pregnant, and I can't even tell him because he won't talk to me."

Elyan stared at her. "You're… what?"

"I'm carrying Arthur's child," she sobbed.

Her brother looked like he couldn't decide whether to congratulate her or kill Arthur for putting her in this position. "Well," he managed, "At least if Arthur gets himself killed being an idiot, he'll have an heir to the throne."

Gwen didn't really hear him, distracted by the sobs shaking her frame.

"Let's get you to Gaius, shall we?" He wrapped a comforting arm around his sister's waist and guided her towards the door.

Disclaimer: Nope, Merlin doesn't belong to me, or either of these lovely siblings, or Arthur, the jerk that he is at the moment.

Would've had this chapter finished earlier, but my sister and her boyfriend distracted me by watching Merlin (that double-episode with the Troll really is one of my favourites!) and then the third Lord of the Rings. Can't resist either of those! I have a crush on Aragorn that's nearly as strong as my one of Merlin. Anyways, please review, my lovelies, and you shall get another chapter soon. :)