SAME DISCLAIMER AS IN CHAPTER 1

Hello again everyone.
For those in US, I hope everyone has had a very nice and safe Thanksgiving Holiday :-)

Another fairly long chapter ahead, which I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it ;-)

Once again, to those who always take the time to review every chapter...THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.
Your encouraging words keep the muses coming...

Let us get on with the story...


Chapter 29: Remember me?

The morning after the momentous dinner Helene hurried to her mistress' quarters feeling fairly anxious. Oddly enough, Gwynn hadn't required her services following the event, nor called upon her to converse afterward…

A trend—the maid was coming to realize—that seemed to have been developing ever since the Prince arrived in Leoness… And that was not the only strange behavior Helene had observed during the last couple of days…

Just the day before, the Princess had received her with the news of her full disclosure to the Camelot heir. Yet instead of distressed… or even a bit fretful, Gwynn had been in high spirits and relaxed.

Her mistress had argued that her good mood was only the result of the 'incredibly liberating experience of finally telling the truth', as defined by the royal herself. Helene hadn't had any other choice but to agree in view of the circumstances… Nevertheless, the sharp maid suspected that there was something else…

Then the previous night, and right before dinner, the Princess' temper had flared once more when she was again forced to wear the attire the Steward had chosen… A quite stunning and equally revealing gown, truth be told. Gwynn's demeanor had been quite bellicose after that, and the lady in waiting was worried about what might have happened.

With everything that had been going on lately, Helene was not sure of what to expect that morning, but she had certainly not been expecting the Princess to be up, brushing her hair and humming some tune. Apparently, the surprises continued…

"Helene! Good morning!" Gwynn's radiant smile lighted up the entire room.

"Good morning Gwynn… You seem really happy this morning." She commented grabbing the brush and continuing the task. "I gathered everything went well last night?"

"Actually, it went horribly. Ruther was as spiteful as ever… and for a moment there, so was Arthur."

Helene noticed the name.
I see that he is Arthur now…

"The Prince? Spiteful?" That was certainly hard to believe…

"Well… Yes. During dinner at least; but we spoke afterward…" Gwynn looked at her through the mirror, grinning. "He'd been only prodding my uncle."

The maid lifted an eyebrow.
"Had he?"

"Oh, yes. He had…" The Princess agreed meaningfully and let out a giggle. "When he told Ruther that there was no need for me to go to Camelot before the wedding, I thought my uncle was going to explode!"

The brush dropped from Helene's hand, her mouth agape.
"Are you getting married now?"

"Of course not!" Gwynn scoffed. "It was simply part of the Prince's scheme to find out what my uncle is planning…" She deliberately obviated the details to avoid worrying her maid too much. "He is simply trying to help me out of this situation."

The brushing resumed, but Helene remained pensive…
"I see…" She looked at her mistress with skeptical eyes. "Though I wonder… If you are not marrying the Prince… Why do you think he is helping you with this?"

"Well…" The embarrassed blush of the Princess proved the maid's unspoken point beyond any doubt. "He… I mean, I think…"

There was no need for Helene to utter a word, as her penetrating grey eyes were silently laughing at her mistress' sudden lack of eloquence.

"He is a good friend!" The Princess' eyes narrowed at the not-so-veiled implications of her maid's jokingly look.

Oh… Really?
"A friend you say…"

"Of course…"

Shaking her head, Helene put on her classic 'I-know-better' expression…

"All right, all right…" The Princess admitted grumpily at first, and then her besotted smile spoke clearly of where her thoughts had suddenly wandered.

"It is impossible not to love him…" Gwynn continued and sighed, lost in some tender memory. A moment later, she resumed with her previous matter-of-fact demeanor. "But just because he knows the truth now and accepts me as a friend, that does not mean he can marry me."

Cannot or will not my lady?
"And you are sure he does not want to marry you…"

"Of course I'm sure!" Gwynn frowned. "Even if for some… miracle he could overcome his own feelings towards my powers, he would never go against the rules of his King… of his own father."

Helene began to braid the auburn tresses, still unconvinced.
"I see… And you are also sure this is what you want…"

There was a momentary silence during which the Princess seemed to ponder the question attentively. At the end, she just shook her head with a sad smile.

"What I want is of not consequence here, my friend…" Gwynn turned around, serious. "I would never let him do that, Helene… I cared too much for him to allow it…"

All right, it seemed that the Princess was convinced that she had all the pieces of that puzzle put together… Helene was still thinking that it was not the case, but knew better than to argue the point at the moment.

"What are you going to do then?"

"Nothing… " Gwynn shrugged her shoulders, smiling in resignation. "As his ally and friend, I hope to be able to help him become the great King I know he will be… But there is nothing else I can do…"

Helene only nodded in pretended agreement and finished the long braid, her face revealing nothing of what she was truly thinking.

I believe you are presuming of knowing his feelings too much, my lady… And you are already making decisions for him, which are not yours to make… Not that I'd be able to make you see that right now…


The group of servants carrying food and gifts to the house of healings was in front of the stables, waiting for the debate to conclude.

The Princess was hell-bent in taking Ceara out, and—initially—Arthur had been amused at her resolve… which was only surpassed by the horse's. The stable boy had not been able to saddle the mare, and he had one of his sleeves bitten off to prove it.

The unruly mare had apparently thrown a serious fit of temper with kicks and bites, and only settled when the Princess walked into the stall to calm her down… certainly against the pleads of everyone, Arthur included…

Amazingly, however, Gwynn was able to saddle the mare. But the problems were far from over and Arthur began to regret his suggestion when, right out of the stables, the uneasy animal backed up, frightened with the boisterous morning movement.

The horse wasn't ready to be ridden inside a town with people around. That much was obvious.

The Princess, equally stubborn it seemed, tried to move Ceara into the streets, only to be almost thrown from her mount as the mare got scared once again by a noisy passing cart.

"I think you will have to give it up, Princess."

Lescaut was already upset. He knew he was able to defend his charge against everything, except perhaps… herself, as it had been proven enough times already.

And as if things were not difficult enough with Gwynn alone, this Camelot Prince—one way or another—always ended up getting her charge in dangerous situations… Like back in Eleara with the thieves, and now with the brilliant idea of taking that crazy horse for a test ride… through the Citadel no less…

"But I was looking forward to taking her out today…"

"Princess." Arthur intervened in a conciliatory tone. "I should not have made such suggestion last night. It is obvious that you may get hurt if you try to ride her through the streets. She is still quite wild… the people and the movement will upset her. You know that."

Merlin was standing in the background with Helene, observing with amused interest the spectacle. It was quite a sight to watch the strong-minded Princess trying to subdue her strong-minded horse in spite of the pleads of Arthur and Lescaut, who were visibly worried at the ongoing battle of wills between Gwynn and her mare, and trying in vain to convince the lady otherwise.

Maybe they would have better luck with the horse…

Chuckling inwardly, Merlin approached the maid—who was impassibly looking at the almost comical situation—and whispered.
"Is she always like that?"

Helene nodded imperceptibly but couldn't hide a smile… Oh yes…
"Worst…"

Arthur was trying to talk the Princess down from her horse, visibly irritated at being ignored since Gwynn's concentration was only focused Ceara, attempting to calm her. Helene asked in return.
"Is the Prince always like that?"

Merlin made a face, also grinning amused… You have no idea…
"Worst too."

The situation was becoming downright absurd. By then, it was not about the horse anymore but about who would win the discussion. Thoughtfully, Merlin crossed his arms.
"They make a good pair."

"Indeed."

Since Arthur couldn't be more enigmatic with regard to the marriage, the warlock thought this was a good opportunity to ask Helene about it… Maybe she'd know something else.
"Is your Princess still set in not marrying my Prince?"

"Yes. What about your Prince?"

"Don't know. I can't get a straight answer from him lately…"

The maid smiled knowingly and assented. It seemed that together, these two royals could put even the most patient person to a serious test of endurance.
"I know exactly what you mean…"

This time Merlin let out the laugh he'd been swallowing during the entire time and turned mischievous eyes to the witty maid next to him…
"Do you think they are aware of how obvious it is?

She laughed softly as well. At least she felt accompanied in her plight with her mistress. Prince Arthur's servant was a delightful young man to be sure.
"I do not think so…"

The warlock donned another playful face and asked with a conspiratorial tone.
"Should we tell them?"

The two royals were now heatedly arguing apart from the main group, but still within earshot of their respective servants. The Prince was saying something along the lines that he should have known better than to give her the horse since she insisted in acting like a child, to which the Princess was responding that she did not need for him to tell her what to do.

The maid shook her head slightly and arched an eyebrow.
"Do you think they'd listen?"

The warlock laughed frankly diverted. This lady was sharp, no doubt about it…
"Point taken…"

At the end, Gwynn desisted when Arthur argued that even if she was reckless about her own safety, she could end up hurting Ceara by riding her into town. That statement put an end to it—go figure—and the Princess finally acquiesced.

Though Lescaut was still fuming at his mistress stubbornness, he shot a brief look of approval to the Prince… He had to hand it to the royal… the Camelot knight was quickly learning how to deal with the obstinate Princess.

Once the dispute was settled—and a noticeably annoyed Princess changed mounts—Arthur called out Merlin, and Helene also headed back to her mistress. With a wink, the young warlock smiled.
"I'm glad we could talk."

Helene grinned back.
"Me too…"


"You have requested to see me Ruther…"

The Steward turned startled and saw the hooded figure come into the light from a dark corner of his office. His heart felt as if about to jump off his chest.

"I told you many times not to surprise me, Gurgeneu …" he hissed regaining his composure.

A disgusting chuckle reverberated throughout the walls.
"I thought you were expecting me… I sent you a message…"

Ruther was still reeling from his jolt and very crossed for it.
"Of course I did. Do you really need to kill my messengers every time I call upon you?"

The unnerving chortle continued, as the assassin walked closer to the window.
"Your concern for your men is touching… But you know my rules: no loose ends…" He turned towards the Steward. "I would think by now you'd send someone useless to do the deed."

Ruther sat down on his desk, visibly irritated.
"At this point, I cannot afford to loose anyone, even the useless ones."

Not prone to waste unnecessary time in small talk, Gurgeneu went straight to the point.
"What is it that you want this time?"

The eyes of the Steward were evasive, as if he was still unsure of what he was about to request.
"Things have become… abruptly complicated…"

"Indeed… The infamous Arthur Pendragon is your guest after all. I wouldn't have guessed you would be so bold to invite him here…"

Ruther's ire exploded but his voice only rose to a growl.
"I did not invite him!" He grunted. "I thought his father would send envoys and by now my niece would be on her way to Camelot… But the Prince showed up instead…"

"And now you need to get rid of the little witch for good…" The assassin's tone sounded frightfully pleased.

The silence from the Steward was answer enough and Gurgeneu continued with a derisively cynical inflexion in his voice.

"If you had heeded my advice, you would have gotten rid of the little witch years ago…" He sneered disdainfully. "Your stupid superstitions got you in this situation…"

Ruther looked up, insulted, and jeered through clenched teeth.
"You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Morrigans' curse, Gurgeneu … Particularly when you are reminded of it every time you look yourself in the mirror…"

It was probably a wrong thing to say because the assassin moved menacingly closer.
"I do not look myself in the mirror, Ruther…"

Lifting his hands, the Steward backed up. His temper had been hard to control ever since the Camelot Heir showed his face in Leoness, but he still knew better than to anger the assassin when they were alone. Gurgeneu knew that too and a malicious smile twisted his disfigured jaw.

"So, you want the Princess to disappear?"

"Yes. But it can't be done in Leoness' lands. I am risking already too much with this decision… These lands are protected by the Morrigans, whether you want to believe it or not." Ruther marked his next words. "You have to take her out of the Kingdom… You didn't listen to my advice the last time and not only she survived… but look where it's gotten us…"

"All right… outside Leoness' borders it will be… What about the Prince?"

"What about him?"

"Cenred will pay handsomely for his head… And I intend to collect that as well…"

The steward scoffed, shrugging his shoulders.
"It's your life you endanger against him… As long as it's out of my territories, you can do with the boy whatever you want…"

"Not in your territories again…" The assassin mocked. "What is it with you and geography anyway…"

Ruther did not appreciate the sarcastic comment.
"I don't expect you to understand my politics, Gurgeneu … I have survived in this position by my ability to act subtly. I don't care for confrontations in which I might loose…" His previously affronted inflection changed to a markedly disdainful one for his last statement. "As a matter of fact, my way of doing business has proven more than profitable to you, so perhaps you shouldn't object to it after all."

"That is true… And this one will cost you substantially more than the others, as I am sure you understand."

"Of course I know… Your price will be met…"

"How I am going to make sure that the Royal Guard will not chase me down?"

The Steward rose from his chair with an arrogant smile. Gurgeneu thought him an idiot and he did not mind it as long as the assassin held his end of the deals, which was always the case. But he was not an idiot…
"I sent Alric and his battalions away… You should surprise my niece tonight. No one will be the wiser until the morning. Search parties will be sent, but you'll probably be out of Leoness by then. After that, it's up to you…"

"And how am I going to surprise the Princess with the Camelot Prince and his men inside the palace?"

"Do not worry about that. You'll be… invisible."


The house of healing was far more than Arthur had been expecting… It was not only a place for treatment of illnesses and injuries, but is also worked as an orphanage and as a safe haven for the elderly. Somehow the Prince knew that this was a private project of the Princess—there was no way this could have been conceived by Ruther—and understood her adamant insistence the previous night.

Helene and the servants were distributing food and clothes, while Gwynn conversed with the staff, asking for needs and taking requests. It was a stark contrast to see her so… pragmatic in her royal role after the amusing display of the spoiled, mulish girl she'd put on early with her horse.

The Prince smiled inwardly. She was in fact both.
And then some
He could also clearly see how much these people loved their Princess and the already familiar warmth—which inexorably surfaced when Gwynn was concerned—hit his chest again. She would be a magnificent queen…

If only…

It was better to put his feelings on hold for now.
He just wanted… Rather needed—he corrected himself—to make sure she was safe and protected, and after last night's revelations, he was sure it was not the case.

Before his thoughts turned too dark, Gwynn walked to where he was standing with Merlin and Lescaut with a big smile. It was also obvious how much she enjoyed being there… with her people.

"Prince Arthur… Come with me… We are to visit the orphanage now. You'll enjoy it." And without further ado, she grabbed his hand and hauled him with her.

Arthur had definitely not been prepared for that and only attempted a despairing look at the other two men. Lescaut didn't move a muscle—though his eyes shone with mocking hilarity—and Merlin only shrugged his shoulders… The Prince was on his own…

The truth of the matter was that Arthur's experience with children was non-existent… The closest he'd been to youngsters were the adolescent knight candidates he received sometimes in Camelot… But he didn't even relate well with them, always assigning the young crowd to other commanders… And all that despite the fact that those recruits could at least dress and feed themselves, as it were.

Being surrounded by these little creatures that looked at him some with curiosity and some others with fearful reservation, was a completely novel occurrence for him. And he discovered he felt… intimidated.

The thought almost made him laugh out loud. He had faced all sorts of perils… fierce warriors and mystical creatures alike… Yet he didn't recall having been so… uneasy as he was feeling in front of so many curious little eyes.

It seemed that the Princess would not come to his aid either as she was engrossed cradling a baby in her arms. The sight of Gwynn sweetly singing to the baby melted something inside Arthur… But the worst came when her eyes met his with the same loving… womanly smile lighting up her face…

Whatever had melted inside of him became a torrent that flooded his veins, almost asphyxiating him. All of the sudden, he just wanted to run out of there…

"Are you a Prince?" a little voice asked, mercifully bringing him out of his shock, and Arthur looked around trying to find the source. A pull on his robe told him to look down and his eyes met a set of large, dark ones, looking at him inquisitively.

"Pardon me?"

"I asked you…" The little girl repeated, "If you are a real Prince?"

Arthur knelt in front of her, grinning. She was tiny and so beautiful… with big brown eyes that were half of her adorable face—or so he thought—and her curly blonde hair was everywhere…

He tried his most charming smile.
"Why do you ask, my lady? Are you a Princess?"

Her giggles struck something on his heart, which he didn't even know he had in there.
"No, silly… I am Marlinka…"

"Hello Marlinka. I am Arthur…"

"Arthur…" She put her hands on her tiny waist, in an overly adult fashion that was simply endearing. "Are you a Prince or not?"

"I am, my lady." He answered laughing. "Why is it that you ask?"

"Are you going to marry our Princess?"

Wow… It seemed that even in small sizes, women had a knack for asking complicated questions.

How to answer that?
Let's see
He was bigger… and a Crown Prince, he should be able to handle it…
"I do not know, Marlinka… Do you want me to marry the Princess?"

The little girl shook her head decisively in a whirlwind of golden curls.
"No."

Arthur arched his eyebrows… No? Why would she say that?
Without even noticing, he voiced his surprise.
"Why not Marlinka?

"Lilith says that when our Princess marries a Prince she will not come here anymore."

Her pout was tearing apart his insides and yet Arthur felt pathetically selfish at the relief that her innocent answer brought him.

It was only that…
"I see… That's all right." He pretended to think for a moment. "I'll make you a deal… If I marry the Princess, she will keep visiting you for as long as you want. How about it?"

That was exactly what Marlinka evidently wanted to hear, because she rounded the Prince's neck with her minuscule arms and kissed him loudly.

"Marlinka…" Gwynn's voice brought the girl and the Prince out of their fleeting romance. "Are you smothering Prince Arthur?"

"No my lady. He promised me that when he marries you, you will still come to visit me." She gave the Prince an ample, toothless smile. "He is nice. You can marry him."

Four royal eyebrows shot up in unison at the unexpected approval and the Princess asked amidst a barely contained giggle.
"Can I then?"

"Yes. Do you have my sweet?"

"Here… Lilith needs you now. Go and be a good girl, promise?"

"Promise. Good bye."

Gwynn bent to receive another loud kiss from Marlinka, and the girl went off skipping… or rather trying to.

"I see that you are already working your charm with the ladies your highness." Gwynn shook her head in jokingly admonition. "I suppose some habits die hard…"

In an attempt to hide the blush he knew it was coming, the Prince laughed looking at the retreating tiny figure of the girl. "She is quite a character."

"Yes she is…"Gwynn's gaze also turned to Marlinka. "Her village was attacked last winter by some barbarians from the north… Her mother saved her and her brother, but died from her injuries shortly after reaching the Citadel. Her baby brother died not long afterwards… She is completely alone…"

The sadness in her eyes urged Arthur to try and change topics a bit. Besides, he was genuinely curious.
"Do you know the story of all these children?"

Smiling once again the Princess nodded, looking back at him.
"All of them…" Then she remembered. "By the way, you should never promise a child something you are not sure you would be able to deliver. They do not always forget…"

Although her tone was soft and she was still smiling, Arthur felt… scolded… All the same, she was right.
"I am sorry… You are right, of course. I just didn't think about it…"

"I know… That's why I invited you here… I figure that with your duties you probably do not have much time to see up close the likes of the people you rule in Camelot… Kids are kids everywhere, and they are the future subjects of their Kingdom, no matter which Kingdom it is…" The Princess smiled again while they were making their way out. "And do not worry about Marlinka… She is only four years old and thankfully has a blissful capacity to forget…"

Arthur decided he would have to think about the real implications of what Gwynn just said. She was right again… He'd never had enough time to spend with his people… much less his 'future subjects'.

Evidently, there were many things he'd have to do and change upon his return to Camelot… Right now, however, he just wanted to straighten something up. He gently stopped the Princess grabbing her hand.

"In any case… If I were to marry you, I would uphold my word to her, Princess."

The green eyes were unreadable, and right when he thought there was a hint of regret in them, she smiled seemingly cheerful.
"I know you would… But we do not have to worry about it, do we?"

"No, we do not."

The Prince felt something odd… Disappointment was part of it, although not all. On a rational level, he understood that Gwynn's confession had lifted a heavy weight from her heart. On a more personal level, he was irked to no end that she seemed so relieved for not marrying him…

He chastised himself for his last thought… He had said to her that they were still friends and now was bothered because she was actually treating him like one.

As opposed as the rocky start of the day, the way back to the castle was a quite animated trip since Gwynn and Arthur were mercilessly teasing each other. The Princess was making fun of the mighty warrior scared of little kids… and in turn Arthur teased her about the poor example her morning tantrum would have been for those children she cared so much about.

As much as the Prince was enjoying the newly found comfort zone in his relationship with Gwynn, he had begun to fear that this… friendship status could be harder to manage than he had first thought.

Without the hindering of her secret, the Princess was back to being the delightfully spirited lady he had met in Eleara… And just like then, Arthur was finding very difficult to resist her charm…

He wondered how far the friend zone could be extended.
Could a friend kiss the other friend senseless?

Meanwhile, Merlin and Helene were riding in the back utterly entertained and exchanging knowing looks. Someone should probably knock some sense into these royals…


After supper…

Gwynn was unbraiding her hair, smiling satisfied… The visit to the healing houses always lifted her spirits. Despite the suffering of the ill and injured, she felt the love of her people and their gratitude, and her visits were always welcomed. Particularly in the orphanage.

The day had been wonderful even if she had not been able to take her beautiful horse out. She had conceded more out of fear of hurting Ceara than of herself…

She smiled again. Arthur had known exactly which buttons to push for her to desist… Apparently, he was getting to know her better than she had expected…

Trying to prevent her thoughts from wandering to the forbidden territory of her feelings towards the Prince, her attention turned back to Ceara.

That willful mare would need some serious work… The horse needed to be taught that biting the stable boys was out of the question and trained to behave with other horses and other people …

The memory of the pony her brother had given her for her fifth birthday brought another smile to her lips… That stubborn little horse had also been a handful at first… And not even she had been spared from his unpredictable moods…

She looked at the fading marks on her right hand… The pony had bitten her there… Of course, she had been smothering him with caresses apparently beyond the animal's tolerance threshold…

The bite hadn't been harsh; more like a warning of a patience growing thin… But enough to break her infantile skin and make her bleed a bit.

Aylwin had been so upset he had wanted to get rid of the horse… But she had opposed. She had promised her brother to be patient with the pony and teach him how to behave… and she had delivered…

It was the first horse she'd tamed and she'd gotten methodically better at it… Ceara would be no different…

Lost in her thoughts, she heard a noise coming from the back of the antechamber.

"Helene, is that you?"

Out of nowhere three hooded figures appeared in the mirror behind her. The Princess reacted immediately and reached for her always-at-hand stiletto from the table, but it was too late.

Two of the men grabbed her securely and covered her mouth before she could even think of crying for help. She fought fiercely but they were obviously professionals and she was gagged and her hands tied in less than a minute.

Only then the third man closed the distance to where she was being held and took off his hood. A horribly burnt and disfigured face appeared; half of it was literally gone, including his hair and one ear… The rest was barely distinguishable as human…

His deformed lips curved in a sickening evil smirk…
"Hello, little witch… Remember me?"

Gwynn's eyes widened in horror and disgust, her scream muted by the gag, and then everything went black.


Sorry for the cliffhanger... Next chapter should be up soon :-)