Number 11: Dresses

"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed. Gwen turned with a raised eyebrow. He sighed, "Oh for goodness sake! Must you dress like your brother?"

Arthur had meant for his question to be rhetorical, but wasn't surprised when Gwen cheerfully answered, walking along side him, "Yes actually,"

He resisted the urge to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose, before prompting her to continue, "Why?"

Gwen shrugged, skipping a few steps before walking again, "For starters I come from a place where skirts hinder you." She shoved her hands into her pockets, "And I'm not girly."

"Daniela wears a dress," Arthur pointed out as they turned a corner. Arthur knew Gwen was using him as entertainment for boredom. But when he glanced at her, she looked slightly uncomfortable.

"She has the material. I don't," Gwen was looking at her feet.

Arthur stopped, and said one of his least eloquent sentences to date, "What?"

Gwen blushed furiously, refusing to meet his eyes, "I don't own any dresses. These are 'hand-me-down's' from when Merlin was younger,"

Arthur was saved answering in the awkward silence that followed as Morgana suddenly appeared and rushed to Gwen, nattering on about some horrible visitor and how she had been cooped up with them for over an hour.

Gwen shot Arthur a smile of goodbye as she was dragged down the next corridor with Morgana.

Gwen was exhausted when she came back home. Between avoiding Lancelot and Arthur and doing her duties, she had taken three different routes through the castle, gotten lost five times, and had to double back twice. All in all, she felt a little fitter at least. She opened the door and sighed as she walked into the room. Merlin and Danni looked up from the spell book, practicing incantations to control fire that Gwen had been able to do since she could walk.

Merlin was telekinetic and able to control time to a certain degree but had a natural talent that could be worked on for other elements of magic, whereas Danni's (taught) talents lay in healing, and Gwen's in future telling and Fire.

At the moment, Danni and Merlin had both been working on holding their fire in the air, creating a ball that would hover. Danni's was sputtering little, then Gwen called it to her, making it hover just in front of her as she moulded it into the shape of a dragon, her hands pushing and teasing it. Merlin's was slightly stronger, but still floated over to join Danni's where it became a shape of a human. Merlin was not amused.

"I'll take you to see Killagrah soon," he muttered, rolling his eyes, "Trust me, he wants to meet you too,"

"Of course he does," Gwen beamed cheekily, "I can control fire better than you,"

Merlin threw a candle at her. She ducked and it thudded off the door harmlessly.

"Guinevere," Giaus beckoned to the youngest of the three teenagers taking residence in his home. Gwen answered with a grin, skipping over to her guardian. He deposited a small, wrapped package into her hands. It was covered by a rough, thick cloth. She looked quizzically at Giaus who simply looked at her over the top of his glasses, "It was brought here by a servant of the castle. And he said it was for you,"

Gwen shrugged, "I don't think anyone gave me anything,"

But she sat down, and untied the soft silky ribbon that tied the otherwise coarse coverings together. Her eyes came to rest upon a silky, but strong material, in a blue shade. A shade very close to her eyes.

She began to pull it out and hold it up against herself as Danni gasped, "Oh, Gwen, its gorgeous!" Danni clasped her hands to her chest, "You certainly have an admirer!"

Gwen just smiled as she held up the dress.

Not an admirer really. Just a good friend. Or what was turning out to be.

"Gosh Lancelot must be absolutely head over heels for you," Danni said dreamily, resting her chin on her hands, elbows on the table, "That's so sweet,"

Gwen fought back her urge to tell the truth. Danni couldn't know. And the future could change, right? Like when she saw herself marrying Will for one. Or…like when she saw Merlin marrying Freya. Things changed. They had to.

"Yeah," Gwen's smile was forced, but no-one seemed to notice, "Like Arthur will be for you soon,"

Arthur barked out another order to the training knights, a flash of blue catching his eye. He turned, in innocent confusion, to see Gwen walking across the training grounds with a pile of clothing in her hands. And Arthur couldn't take his eyes off her.

A shape that had only been hinted at with her rough, baggy clothing was now revealed through a soft, silky blue that covered Gwen's light shoulders, fitted at the bust, and continuing in a floating skirt from her waist. Her sleeves were baggy but secured at the cuffs, a see through material unlike the rest of the dress.

She looked beautiful.

The he really looked.

Arthur started to laugh, and Gwen's head turned towards him in a smirk. On her feet where the black boots she always wore, sticking out from the bottom of her dress, and that infuriating scrap of material she wore around her neck was now in her hair, holding back the dark locks.

Arthur stopped laughing when Gwaine caught him with the flat of his sword. He heard Gwen laugh as she started to run, smirking away on her pretty face.

"Hey, Princess," Gwaine said with a grin, "If I'm not allowed to look then neither are you,"

Arthur couldn't argue with that.

"Arthur was watching me!" were the first words out of her excited friend's mouth.

Gwen stared at her friend, turning away from the window where she had been watching the actions of the future in her head. Nothing drastic was going to happen, and she knew what she was going to get Merlin for his birthday, "What?"

"Today," Danni gushed, "He was grinning at me, whilst I was in the window!" she nearly swooned, grabbing Gwen's arm and hauling her out of the window, "Honestly, it's just like you said, he really is falling for me,"

Gwen swallowed, unable to tell her friend the truth, giving her what she hoped was a happy smile, and considered maybe dating Lancelot.

The future had to change after all; she had seen Arthur and Danni together. So how could he and Gwen marry if that was going to happen?

Gwen took a deep breath in through her nose. No, she would not fall in love with the man that murdered her soul mate.

At least…she was trying not to.

Okay, I've emailed the winners (well done to you all, and i will be putting up the oneshots within a few days. Strawberry shortcake you are to leave a review, and i'll get back to you)

Thank you all for the reviews!