After spending the past couple of days stuck in bed, Isabella finally rebelled and had gotten herself bathed and dressed in a dark green gown with long sleeves - she could no longer stand being in bed and doing nothing other than dwelling on what Caerleon would want, he would never make a proposition that didn't benefit him in some way, and the mere thought of it made her swallow. Would he demand that she go back to his kingdom with him? She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of a knock on the door and cleared her throated before calling a quiet 'come in' as she pulled a brush through her long blonde curls. "Good, your up. You slept most of the day though, it's almost dark. He'll be here soon." Arthur stated as he came to stand behind her where she currently sat at the small dressing table to the right of her bed. Isabella glanced at him in his reflection in the mirrror and gave a small, false cough. "You know, I'm not feeling too well, maybe it's best if I dont.." She started but trailed off at the look of amusement that now crowded her father's face. "Your not getting out of it, that easy I'm afraid. He's here for you more than me." He murmered, causing the princess to roll her eyes slightly, a trait that she realized she seemed to do an awful lot. Isabella parted her lips to speak but was cut off by the sound of a horn, which meant that people were approaching the gates, and then he sounds of hoofs and the wheels of a carriage. Inwardly sighing, Isabella stood, letting Arthur take her by the arm as the two of them headed down into the courtyard. She could tell that his head was buzzing with questions too by the way that his gaze seemed to drift off from the present time. Thankfully, he snapped back to the present just in time to greet Caerleon, where Isabella lagged behind slightly, she didn't want to greet him, she didn't want him here, why was he here?! When it eventually came to her turn she simply bowed slightly and murmered a quick 'Your highness'. She noticed the odd look that Arthur sent her way with a raised eyebrow before he clapped Caerleon on the back. "Your just in time for dinner!" Arthur announced to which Caerleon seemed rather pleased with. "Lead the way!" He bellowed with a smirk.

Dinner was a fancier affair than normal, and Isabella hated it. Arthur sat at the head of the table, as usual, Guinevere was on his right, Caerleon on the left, and Isabella was sat next to Guinevere, facing Gwaine, whilst the rest of the knights were scattered down the table. Whose idea had that been? He flashed her a smirk as he dug into a chicken leg, and Isabella simply kept her gaze on her food, occasionally pushing some peas around her plate. She wasn't hungry, she was too nervsous and she knew that if she ate anything, it would no doubt be brought back up at some point. Once both of the kings had seemed to eat their fill, the plates were cleared, and Caerleon finally spoke loud enough for the whole table to hear. Isabella swallowed back a lump that had formed in her throat and took a sip of the wine in front of her. "No doubt you all want to know why I have journeyed here.." He started, his gaze flickering around the table, although Isabella noticed how they lingered on her a moment longer than anyone else. Gwaine seemed to have noticed too by the way that his face tensed slightly. "..I won't beat around the bush. I've come to ask for Isabella's hand in marriage. I need an heir it seems, and a young women like your daughter will no doubt be fertile enough to give me sons." He finished, looking rather pleased with himself. The silence in the room was eerie, and Isabella was thankful that she had put her wine glass back on the table or else she would have dropped it, much like her stomach had dropped. Her eyes immediatly flickered towards Arthur who looked as stricken as she was - was there any way of getting out of this without offending anyone and bringing war upon them? "May I be excused?" Isabella murmered after a few moments, although she was unsure how she even got herself to speak. Arthur simply nodded, and before anyone else could object, Isabella stood from her chair and sped out of the room and into the courtyard, where she sat herself down on the middle steps, relishing in how the cold air whipped her face, and breathed some kind of feeling back into her body.

That was how Arthur found her an hour later, curled up on the steps, her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting upon said knees. He didn't say anything for a while, he simply curled an arm around her and pulled her into his chest. One thing that she liked most about Arthur was how he didn't feel the need to speak all the time. "Me and your mother were arranged to be married at one point." He murmered into her hair after what felt like an eternity of just sitting in silence. "Why didn't you?" She asked, as she tilted her head up to see his face. "She didn't want you to grow up in a royal household, funnily enough, she didn't want to have you pawned off to someone that would make it easier for the realms, she wanted you to experiance love for yourself. She wanted you to be your own person instead of being what people told you to be, and you know what I think? She would be so proud of the person that you have become. Don't think that you have to do this, you do what you want to do and what you think is right." He answered with a small smile. Isabella shifted slightly so that she was sitting next to him but he still had his arm around her. "Caerleon isn't the first person to ask for your hand in marriage, you know." Arthur added, his smile turning into a soft smirk. Isabella's gaze whipped around to his face, a confused frown playing upon her lips. "There seems to be a certain knight that is infatuated with you." Arthur answered the look upon her face, the two were a good match for each other, both stubborn, yet they both cared about each other that was easy to see. "Gwaine." Isabella murmered as she rolled her eyes slightly, yet she couldn't deny she was touched by the fact that he had asked her father for permisson, not like he had when they were sixteen, who had they been kidding at the time? After a few moments, the two rose from the steps and headed inside, arm in arm, as he lead her towards her chambers. Once outside, Arthur pressed his lips to the top of her head. "There's always a choice, Bella." He whispered with a soft smile before he headed back the way that they had came. Sighing quietly. Isabella pushed open the door of her chambers to be met by a rather large bouquet of roses resting on top of her table. Closing the door behind her, Isabella headed towards them and picked up the small note that led next to them.

'You always said that you believed in second chances. I'll be here whatever happens. G.'