A/N: Well howdy! Here's chapter 13! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter; especially Azure83 for following, and casey210791! After this, and the next chapter - I haven't written anything, so posts might be a bit fragmented :)

casey210791: You didn't have an account so I couldn't reply to you in person - but thankyou! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! :D I hope you like this chapter just as much! :)

Remember to Read, Review, Follow, Favourite and Most Importantly - ENJOY! :)

XII.

Rynelle studied herself in the mirror, noting the paleness of her face, the shadows about her eyes and the stringy-yellow of her hair. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of what she was about to do. The King had sent Jols down to her that same afternoon, and the manservant had informed her that one of his knights had offered to marry her, and that the ceremony was to be conducted that night.

She shivered slightly in her dress at the thought. Somewhere else in the keep, was the man she would spend the rest of her life bound to. Briefly, Rynelle wondered who had offered to marry her. It could not have been Bors or Galahad, for obvious reasons - they already loved another, and would never dream of taking another woman. Somehow she doubted Lancelot would wish to give up his free and leisurely lifestyle to take her as a wife. That left Gawain and Tristan.

Gawain and Tristan; the lion and the hawk. Neither were fit to stoop to such a level as to take a mouse like her as a wife. Both of them good men; both light and dark; although the dark of Tristan overwhelmed her at times. She would not be able to bear it if the knight she was to marry was Gawain. The sight of him sitting with the raven-haired woman on his lap would haunt her until the end of her days. It would tear her to pieces knowing that the man she was married to, and loved, did not return her sentiments. That she had trapped him in a loveless marriage to save his King.

A knock at her door broke Rynelle from her musings, and hastily, she went to open it. Her heart pounding at the thought that it could be Jols, coming to bring her to Arthur already. She did not even know how much time had passed, or what time of day it was. Thankfully, when she opened it however, it was Kalyna that stood there, her face kind and fabric in hand.

"Oh Rynelle!" the Sarmatian woman cried, bursting into the room and crushing her in an embrace, before breaking away "I am so sorry! All will be alright, you will see." Rynelle nodded mutely, finding that once more, her voice had abandoned her, just as it had so many times before. She looked up to find the older woman's hazel eyes fixed on her face an watching her expression. "You are not going dressed like that are you?" Kalyna finally said, breaking the silence.

Rynelle looked down at her dress in confusion. It was the better of her two dresses, and she had decided it was better than wearing nothing. "Yes, I was." she replied slowly, looking up once more to find the other woman shaking her head.

"That will certainly not do!" Kalyna tsked, shaking her head and closing the door behind her, "You are getting married - at least you could TRY and look happy about it - you look like you're going to a funeral!"

Rynelle frowned and pouted, crossing her arms as she viewed the fabric Kalyna was holding out for her to take. It was a light blue, and it looked soft, clean and pretty. As she was, it made her skin crawl - she just couldn't take it off the other woman.

"I cannot wear that," she croaked, choking on the words, the guilt rising in her, "I am not fit to wear it."

Kalyna's eyes narrowed at that, "Don't you dare say that," she said, so menacingly that Rynelle's eyes widened and the younger woman took a step back, "Do not belittle yourself! You have been strong thus far and strong you shall be now! Now come, bathe yourself and then I will do your hair. You will walk into that room looking not like a frightened young girl, but as the beautiful woman you are."

Rynelle stood where she was for a moment, considering Kalyna's words. As usual, the Sarmatian woman was right. She straightened herself up a little and nodded sharply, setting her jaw in determination. She was her mothers daughter, and she would be strong.

• • •

Gawain sat in the Great Hall with Arthur and the other knights. There was food and wine on the table, but he could stomach none of it. For any moment now, Rynelle would come through that door, and Arthur would join them together as man and wife.

He had never been more terrified in all his life. Never would he admit it, but all the bloody wars on this earth paled in comparison to the task he was about to undertake. "To Gawain!" Lancelot's cheer jerked him from his anxiety. "The maidens knight!"

"To Gawain!" The other knights chorused, some more cheerfully than others. Galahad in particular did not seem pleased, but he raised his goblet all the same. Arthur watched his knights silent and solemn, none but Guinevere noticed anything out of the ordinary with him. She was the only one who could see and feel his hand clenched around hers for support beneath the table.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to one of the side doors as it creaked and opened, revealing Jols and Kalyna. Gawain noticed that Galahad lightened immediately when he saw her. The Sarmatian woman smiled at the youngest knight, and stepped aside to reveal the woman behind her.

Kalyna had given Rynelle a blue dress, not dissimilar to the one Guinevere wore at her wedding to Arthur. Dimly, he realised it was probably something to do with the Woad idea of blue representing purity. A deep emerald-green cloak rested on her shoulders, fastened in the middle by some sort of brooch or clasp, and the colour only highlighted the green of her eyes. He had never paid this much attention to what a woman wore before.

The thing that really drew him was the sadness in her eyes. Rynelle's face was pale and drawn with worry, yet the sweet lines of her lips were pressed together and she looked determined. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her head, and Kalyna had arrayed small flowers around it - he could smell the lavender from here. The effect was one of a halo and for the first time in his life, Gawain's breath caught in his throat. She looked like a fey - one of the faerie folk from the stories he had sometimes heard the Brittons tell their children; or one of the angels that Arthur spoke of. An ethereal being; and absolutely beautiful.

• • •

Rynelle stared straight ahead throughout the whole ceremony. She couldn't bear to look at the man standing beside her. It was her worst nightmare, and greatest dream rolled into the one, most significant moment in her entire life.

Gently, Gawain took her hand in his own and held it out between them towards Arthur. Rynelle hoped, more than anything else, that the blonde knight could not feel how hard her hands shook. Was she dreaming, or did he just squeeze her hand slightly?

"The latin phrase "Vitam impendere vero" means to consecrate one's life to truth, and so should truth be the meat of all your dealing within your marriage. Honesty, trust, communication, effort, understanding... all these are the building blocks of a firm marriage, and your solemn responsibility to one another." The King said, looking her straight in the eyes as he passed the cord over and between their hands. But Rynelle refused to quail under his glare and stared cooly back at him. She had already resigned herself to her fate, there was nothing he could do to stop her now. "At this moment you stand at the gateway between your old life and your new. If you, for whatever reason, feel unable to step through that portal at this time, speak now.

Again, this time she felt it for sure. Gawain's hand tightened about hers, as if afraid she would run. What need did he have to fear? Perhaps he was having second doubts. She would not judge him if he was, in fact she would understand.

Arthur sighed when neither of the pair made any move to break away from each other. Slowly, he tied the knot that bound their hands together, and took a step back. "By the power bequeathed to me by the people of Britton, and as King, I pronounce you man and wife." he said, the resignation clear in his voice, "So Mote It Be."

"So Mote It Be." the congregation of knights and women chorused in reply, and Rynelle and Gawain turned to face the others. My husband, she thought numbly, What have I done?

A/N: I've uploaded a link to a picture of what I think Rynelle's hair would look like on my profile - check it out if you have time. In fact I researched everything for a traditional Celtic/British wedding and that was how I found the picture! :P It also explains why, in the movie, when Guinevere and Arthur were married, she wore a blue dress. Blue was the colour of purity before white came into the equation :) Also it was traditional for Celtic brides to wear a green cloak or sash, and for their hair to be worn in braids as it symbolises feminine power and luck. Lavender was traditionally used because it means loyalty, luck, love and devotion

Additionally, Arthur's lines (well the large section) came from a website that gave the words to say at a traditional Celtic wedding. HERE: www. /how-to-perform-a-handfasting-ceremony-a-68. html (take away the spaces) I know that that is probably not how it was done in this period, but I found it to be quite beautiful so I decided to use it. :)