THANKS for reading and reviewing.

THANK YOU….

000

Arthur stared at the pages of the book. He was probably over thinking things. Just because someone wrote down a word in their book didn't mean that it meant anything …more to them. Or did it? Should he ask Gwen outright? Ask her to explain why she had written the word Phoenix over and over in her book? But then she would ask, and rightly so, why he had been going through her book.

Gwen stood in the kitchen still trying to decide whether or not to offer Arthur a drink. He was probably wondering what had happened to her. He was probably wondering if she had gone to the kitchen to hide from him.

Taking a deep breath, Gwen picked up a jug filled it with water, took a goblet and put the items on a tray and went back to rejoin her guest.

The sight of Arthur sitting with her notebook in his hands, open, stopped her short. He must have seen her scribblings; she hoped she hadn't written the word Phoenix anywhere in the notebook. But then who was she kidding, she'd probably written it on every page. But if she lucky, really lucky, Arthur may not have noticed it.

Arthur's look when he saw her in the room told her otherwise. He'd obviously seen the word but that didn't mean that he'd figured out that she was Aqua.

Arthur looked at Gwen and all his plans and ideas to lead up to it slowly flew out of his head. He wanted, no needed, to know if…scratch that, Guinevere had better be Aqua or else.

He stood up and walked towards her with the notebook open to one of the pages where'd scribbled and showed it to her. Gwen looked at it and then at it and waited, if he wanted to know then he needed to ask the question.

"Does this mean what I think it means?"

"That depends," Gwen replied, "what you think it means?"

Arthur shook his head, he had hoped she'd make it easy but apparently she wasn't.

"What the word Phoenix mean anything to you?"

Gwen sighed and decided to take pity on him. "Arthur," she asked him. "What exactly are you asking?"

Arthur took a deep breath and asked tentatively, "Aqua?"

"Phoenix," Guinevere said softly in reply.

Arthur couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that he had been writing to Guinevere all this time without knowing it. "You're Aqua," he said again, "really Aqua." He remembered how he'd wondered why their mails had those time lags, like when they'd been in Ealdor, how the advice Aqua had given him always sounded like Guinevere was speaking to him.

Arthur noticed that Guinevere wasn't as surprised as he was. "When did find out?" he asked her.

"I had my suspicions, the absences from Camelot were too related to the lack of email to be just a coincidence," Gwen told him, "your behaviour when my father was killed and then your accident with the Questing beast," she shrugged. "Everything just clicked into place."

"So you've known, well suspected, for weeks," Arthur said, understanding suddenly dawning, "that 's why you stopped writing to me. Isn't it?"

"I was sure that you wouldn't want to be writing to me," Gwen told him.

"Why not?" Arthur asked. "You're about the only friend I have, you and Merlin."

"I thought it would awkward," Gwen replied. "You're the Crown Prince and I'm just a servant."

"You know I don't care about that," Arthur said.

"You may not," Gwen assured him, "but others might, your father for one."

"My father doesn't know who I write to," Arthur told her. "And more to the point he doesn't care."

"I should hope so."

"But I know that that's not what you meant," Arthur said. Gwen wanted to interrupt him but he shushed her. "There's something I have to tell you, I want you to know Guinevere that although it may not always seem like it I am and I'll always be your friend."

"Okay."

They were still standing in the middle of the room looking at each other. Arthur wanted to touch Guinevere but he stopped himself, instead he contented himself with saying her name. Guinevere just continued staring at him.

"Actually that isn't what I really wanted to say," Arthur said.

"What did you want to say?"

"Guinevere, I have …feelings for you," Arthur said. "I mean I really, really like you…and I was beginning to fall in love with Aqua."

Gwen looked at Arthur, "you're always surprising me."

"In a good way, I hope."

"Definitely."

"So…?"

Instead of replying, Gwen grabbed ahold of his shirt, pulled him down by the lapel and kissed him.

Arthur reached out his hand and touched her cheek slowly; she brought her hand up to cover his. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Me neither."

"So what happens next?" Arthur asked.

"We take things slow," Gwen told him, "try and figure us out, work out the whole Prince and servant thing."

"I can live with that," Arthur said. The sound of the door opening made them step back from each other and saw Merlin rush into the room.

"Ah, sorry, to uh…" he mumbled. "Arthur, your father needs you urgently."

"I have to go," Arthur told Gwen apologetically.

"It's okay," Gwen smiled. "I'll see you when I see you."

000

"So, is she Aqua then?"

Arthur tried to glare at his servant…friend and although he wanted to deny to it, he couldn't, not when it filled him with such joy. "I won't even bother to ask you how you even knew about that."

"What made you choose a name like Phoenix, anyway?"

"Do I really have to say it, Merlin?"

"Nope, I'm shutting up now."

000

Arthur logged onto his computer and checked for messages, although he figured that Guinevere would not be writing to him, not as Aqua. He was pleasantly surprised.

'Dear Phoenix,' he read,

'You'll never believe what happened to me today. I would make you guess that would require me writing another mail on this subject so I'll have pity on you and tell you.

You remember how we were talking about misjudging people, well it turns out I was wrong about the 'prat', he's actually not so prattish after all. I mean he is, but I think it suits him very well. I would say more on that subject but I wouldn't want to make you jealous, what I would like to do though is to say thank you for being such a great friend.

Your Aqua,

P.S. I do expect a reply and soon.'

Arthur laughed and began to compose a reply immediately.

000