Hi friends! So here is the "day off" chapter. I hope you all like it. Please review. ALSO! Please leave comments and or PM me if you have an idea for a…. wait for it….. Baby Pendragon. Yes, a little baby will soon be gracing the story with its presence. But! I need some ideas on what to name….. A tradition Arthurian legend name? Anyhow please let me know!
Gwen walked up the stairs to the citadel. She walked through the palace navigating flawlessly. She had worked here for so long, now this was her home. She smiled as she thought of how blessed she was to live the life she has now. She continued to walk to her chamber.
She opened the heavy oak door and saw a few servants carrying a few bags out of the room. She thanked them. She walked to a wardrobe and put something in a small trunk that she was taking with her on their little outing. They were going to a cottage in the mountains, only an hour's ride from Camelot. She smiles. Hoping that all that has happened recently will calm down and all with be well again.
She was in a simple traveling top and bottoms. Nothing too fancy for a day in the country. She made sure all was good before she headed out of the chamber.
"Hello Gwen." Merlin said cheekily.
"Merlin," She smiled at him. "Where is Arthur is he ready?"
"He is with the horses. Do you need anything from me?"
"Um.." She thinks. "Can you make sure that there is some water and maybe something to eat ready when we come back I am sure we will be quite tired."
"Of course. And Roderin will be in good hands, we will be questioning his throughout the day. He will always be watched."
Gwen hugs merlin tightly, "You are so good to us Merlin, Thank you." She says softly.
"It's my destiny."
Arthur pats the horse on its neck after he had checked the saddle. He too is wearing simply cloths, his blue tunic and his red jacket with black trousers and boots. He looks when he hears footsteps coming from the entrance.
"Are we ready, love?" Gwen's voice comes to his ears and he smiles as he looks at her.
"Yes, my queen, I believe that we are." He takes her hand and walks her to the horse waiting. She climbs on and he follows suit on his own horse. Morgana and Merlin step outside to bid them farewell.
"Have fun." Morgana says, smiling and waving.
The wave and nod and away they go.
After 30 minutes of riding they slow down a bit. They can see the ridge where the old cottage is. They trot next to each other talking and looking around the forest.
"I can't believe how much has happened lately." Gwen says. "the tournament with the strange night, all the battles, all the dreams, Lila, Roderin…" She shook her head, "I can't keep track."
"I know the feeling. Unfortunately that's what we will cross. Unending events that take us through a whirlwind if surprises. " Arthur confronts plainly.
Gwen looks down, blushing. Arthur glances at her and smiles. "What is it?"
"Gwen shakes her head and giggles. "I just can't believe how our life turned out. Somedays it seems unreal."
Arthur smiles his wide grin, "It's real my love."
Gwen laughs. "It's just so crazy. My dreams and then the events that follow. It is almost alarming." She says thoughtfully.
"We'll figure it out someday. Everything will come out in the end."
"I know it will." She smiles at him.
The cottage is nice and cool, in the summer it's sometimes hard to find places like this. Gwen and Arthur has arrived at almost noon. They had decided to just roam a little bit. Just because they could.
They had decided to just sit in the cool in the small library that was in the house. They each picked a book and were content to just relax in the quiet, not a city sound or call to be heard. Arthur sat on a bench that was covered in padded linen and had plush pillows on it. Gwen sat in a large arm chair also padded and plush.
"Arthur, are you hungry?"
"Did you bring some snacks?"
"Of course I did." Although she knew that was 'yes please'.
She pulled out some cheese, bread, meat, and fruit. "Here you go, love." She said handing his a small plate with the snacks.
"Thank you." He said cheekily.
She sat down next to him, instead of taking her place in the chair she had originally been sitting in.
"Hello." He said looking at her and smiling.
"This is nice." She says eating her little lunch.
"Indeed."
After they had eaten and read some more they sat in companionable silence.
"Oh." Gwen stood and retrieved something from her bag. "I almost forgot." She sat back down on the bench. "I brought this for you. I found it and it somehow seemed like a good time to give it to you."
She handed him a piece of cloth, it was wrapped around something a little heavy. He looked at her, almost puzzled for a moment. He then proceeded to open it. It was a round, golden box. When Arthur opened it he found a small wooden statue painted to be a knight, a small wooden sword, a wooded horse and a miniature lance.
He smiled "Where did you find this?"
"It was in one of the storage chambers. I was looking around just to see what was there and I found this. Morgana said that it had been a birthday present many years ago."
"It was. I played with these for many hours. Thank you for finding them." He smiled. "Someday maybe they will be in use again." He winked, only slightly insinuating.
Gwen smiled at him, thinking in the secret parts of her mind about a little boy, with sandy blonde, curly hair and light Carmel skin. She reached back to touch Arthur's neck.
"Someday."
He looked at her, thinking about a son or daughter. He kissed her sweetly and she met him with the same calmness and sweetness.
It wasn't long after that they had gone outside to walk in the wood a bit. There was a path that had been forged to lead to a small brook. They walked slowly along the path, taking in the summer breeze and the smells of the forest.
"Arthur," Gwen squeezed his hand a bit, "Look at that bird." She smiled and pointed to a large, white bird high in a tree, hiding in its huge nest.
Arthur looked too and smiled. "That's an old Meadowlark." He looks it over, as much as he can from where he is stationed.
"Isn't that a bit large for a meadowlark?" Gwen asks slightly puzzled.
"It's a special kind of meadowlark." He smiled, flashing his boyish grin.
"Oh, really?" She asks not unkindly.
"Yes," He nods and looks at the bird again "there are only a handful of those birds on the planet, most of the time they're hiding from dragons and wivins. When they fly, it's like they are made of silver. The sun just… makes them sparkle." He looks at her. "They were my mother's favorite. Or so I am told. There was one that used to live in the woods here, maybe it's the same one, but she used to watch it fly when she would come to the cottage."
"Did your father tell you that?" Gwen asks gently, getting a little closer to him.
"He did." He looks at her. "He always talked about her when we came here. Like all the memories of her came flooding back to him at this spot."
"It must have been very precious to him." She says quietly, knowing good and well that Arthur still has a hard time when talking about his father.
"It was." Looks at the bird again and then turns to keep walking, still holding Gwen's hand.
They come to the brook, just a small very shallow body of water flowing ever so peacefully. They walk along it until they are close to the house again. Gwen hears a squawk and sees the meadowlark sweeping gracefully through the air. She gasps a little. It truly is a beautiful creature.
"See how beautiful it is?" Arthur says watching with the same adoration.
"She's beautiful." Gwen looks at Arthur. He watches the bird, almost like he can see his mother watching her too.
Gwen simply takes his hand and leans her head on his shoulder.
"She is watching me, Guinevere, watching us." Arthur says. And she knows he refers to his mother.
"She always will be."
They had been walking around for some time when they headed for the house. Only to see some summer rainstorm clouds in the distance. Arthur suggested that maybe they should head back, just to be safe.
When they arrived it was almost black outside. Not so much do to the time but to the storm, it was still evening. They knew that no one would disturb them, or that person would face Merlin and Morgana.
Instead of making a big entrance they just put the horses away and took the few items they had taken and put them away. They walked hand in hand through the palace. Purposefully going through the less travel corridors, to make sure they were not stopped for any reason.
They turned down the hallway that led to their chamber, the alcoves were dark and the walk was silent. Gwen leaned a little closer to Arthur, and he sighed contently. He bit his lower lip and smiled at his sudden thought. Soon, Gwen was pulled into an alcove, with a small gasp. Arthur stood before her smiling down at her. She smiled up at him too. As if they were thinking the same thing (and they were) Gwen laced her hand around his neck and he dipped in at the same time. Their lips met with sweet longing laced with their red-hot passion.
Arthur pulled away and smiled at Gwen who was also smiling. Then Gwen giggled.
"What's funny?" He asked starting to chuckle
"I feel like just yesterday we were standing in this alcove talking because this was the only place it wasn't improper for us to do so." She smiles.
"I for one am glad those days are over." He smiles at her.
"I am sure you are… that was when merlin would make fun of you, when you were prince dollop head." She chides.
He rolls his eyes. "He has corrupted you."
"Oh! No, my love." She coos. "It's just a fun game that we play."
Arthur guffaws a little. Gwen laughs.
"Common King Arthur. Let's get you to bed." Gwen says pulling him the rest of the way down the hall.
"But that means that tomorrow we have to do our actual duties." He complains.
"It's not that bad." Gwen says sympathetically.
"You're right, not with you here." He grabs her waist and pulls her close. She sighs and smiles, turning around to hug him.
"I love you, Arthur." She says into his ear.
"I love you Guinevere." He says smiling down at her, nuzzling her neck with his.
They enjoy the rest of their day off, just sitting in their chamber, talking and enjoying each other's company.
Gwen lay in bed. She sighs contently, as she feels a small, featherlike kiss on her neck. She then feels an arm wrap around her middle and tighten ever so slightly.
"Arthur?" She asks quietly.
"Yes?" He says in a small voice.
"Are you alright, Love?" She asks.
"Don't ever leave me."
"Arthur?" She asks, not sure what he is saying.
"Don't leave me alone." He says, now she understands; the bird, the cottage, his parents, and her.
She turns around and snuggles close to him.
"I will always be right here. "
He kisses the top of her head and they fall into a deep slumber. They needed that day off, more than anyone realized it.
Thanks for reading! Arthur and Gwen are about to face some real difficulties so I am just having them become stronger. If you have ever been in love or in a situation where you lost someone special to you…. You sometimes just need to know that the next one isn't going to leave you. In this case Arthur saw Uther live without love. Please don't mind the dramatics, but it really happens. Trust me… I know! Please review!