~Author's Note~
Hey guys! I'm back again! I hope you all enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review! I have a big surprise for this chapter and I hope you guys all like the relationship building! There will be a side story next chapter and I am excited to see what you all think about this chapter! If you don't like it, TELL MEEEE! I won't hate you! I'll fix it! Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading!
P.S. The end is near!
Sincerely,
~Ms. AtomicBomb
Arturia walked about the small room and thought about Guinevere; her friend, her only female friend. They had shared so many great moments together, in fact, Arturia had learned many things from her. She had learned a lot on how to be a lady from her, how to tie a braid, somewhat bake and even how to put on a dress; before she knew only of armour. They exchanged knowledge and secrets and told one another of men they thought were handsome and Arturia even taught her how to put on armour herself.
Arturia thought about all the good and the bad never stopped her from caring for her friend. She loved her and her heart felt heavy at the thought of taking her life. All the times that Guinevere had smiled and the times that they laid watching the stars as Merlin made sure that no one would notice that the two were missing. It was fun to have a friend that cared for her, a friend that knew who she was and helped her with hiding things from other people.
There was a soft knock on the door and Arturia shot her head towards it before speaking, "Yes? Who is it?" She then proceeded to sit on the bed as the blond young lady she had seen entered the room silently.
"Would you like some tea? I mean, I already brought it but…" The female wandered as she looked down at the two cups of tea and the bread.
"Oh," Arturia sighed, "Thank you, erm…"
"Oh, my manners, haha," the violet eyed female knocked on her head, "I'm so silly. My name is Jeanne d'Arc. I'm from Francia and you are Arturia, yes?"
Arturia nodded slowly and gave a short smile, "Thank you, Jeanne."
"I'm guessing that you're a bit afraid, non?" Jeanne sat next to her on the bed and gave her the wooden cup of tea.
"I am not quite of what I would be afraid of," Arturia blinked as she eyed the female next to her, she had seemed a bit suspicious.
Jeanne shrugged, "I would be afraid if I had the responsibility of a King on my shoulders, and the duty to possibly take the life of a girl I considered my friend."
The Englishwoman looked over at her, turning her body and blinking a little, "In that aspect, I have a little fear."
"I guessed as much."
"And what about you, are you afraid of anything?"
Jeanne giggled and nodded slightly, "Persecution, but I'll always keep true to myself either way."
Arturia nodded, "Persecution…" she repeated, "What about death?"
"Death? It does not scare me so much. It must happen one day. Murder, on the other hand is what scares me. Killing someone too."
"You do not think it would be good for me to kill Guinevere?" Arturia leaned against the headboard of the bed and now had her less crossed. She watched as the girl before her ran her teeth over her lower lips and sighed.
"I never agree with the death of someone by another's hands. In all my campaigns I had always warned the opposing party so that they would surrender before any of their men and mine were harmed. Not many people listen to a 'little girl' and unfortunately, many died because others do not listen. Plus, the life of someone is not mine to take."
Arturia thought about the last sentence that the other girl had said and then she pondered on that. Such was the fragile life of one, it could be taken by another at any time, and Arturia knew that much more than the female before her.
"Well, in any case, Merlin told me to inform you that we will be heading for Camelot in an hour. Thus—"
"Thank you Jeanne, I think I understand more about how to rule a country." Arturia mumbled lightly, having interrupted the other female.
Jeanne gave a smile and nodded, "Well, that's what friends do."
Arturia furrowed her brows and blinked, "But we aren't exactly friends…"
"I want to be your friend, would you like to be mine?" Violet eyes smiled as the Frenchwoman extended her hand, "I promise to always be there when you are in need of me."
Arturia let a grin settle on her lips as she took her hand, "I am in need of a friend like you."
"Great, then let us go to Camelot and get your throne back." Jeanne smiled lightly and took Arturia's hands in her own, "I'm sure that we can be good friends."
Arturia and Jeanne both stood from the bed and headed out to the room, they met with Merlin who was at the dinner table speaking with Thomas and Cú Chulainn. Jeanne was unsure of where the other two males had gone but it was probably something important that Merlin had ordered of them.
Jeanne approached Cú Chulainn and smiled down at him as Arturia slowly followed behind, "Well, we are ready to head to Camelot, is everyone else ready?"
"Gilgamesh and Diarmuid were going to check on the horses and they'll be bringing them back up here." Cú Chulainn answered her question.
It had taken a while for the males to return with the horses, but upon their arrival, Thomas bid them all a farewell and they were already on their way to Camelot with his best wishes. He had given them some food for their journey and even thanked Arturia and Diarmuid for their company.
"The house was very lively, and I missed having people around." Thomas had mumbled in Arturia's ear when hugging her goodbye.
The day was warm and the sun was halfway into the sky as it wanted to set soon, but not soon enough for them to start their journey back. They traveled only for a couple of hours until they reached a forest where it seemed that many people were already setting up camp for the night.
Arturia dismounted her horse and joined Merlin as he walked past the many men and towards a main tent by a clearing. Some men had stopped chatting as the group passed by and other did not even care to look their way. The some of the rowdy men were familiar to her as others seemed to not be, she wondered if her dear friends were among the troop that was aiding them.
She looked about the gathering men before entering the big tent that Merlin had disappeared into and there she saw, in the dimly lit tent, two of her trusted friends. Arturia grinned and waved lightly upon seeing them returning the gestures.
"Gawain, Bedivere, how are you two?"
Gawain blinked at his cousin and looked her up and down before whispering over to Bedivere something. He then stood and walked towards her, taking her in his arms, "I did not believe Merlin when he said that you were alive, much less that you were female." A laugh erupted from her cousin's chest and then he pulled away from the hug, "A female! Look, you're a lady. A real lady, this is astonishing, cos."
Arturia laughed and shrugged, "Yes, it is hard to believe is not?"
Gawain gave a laugh and looked behind Arturia to notice the other men behind her and another lady. Gawain's hands dropped from Arturia's shoulders and then he stepped aside and walked towards the violet-eyed female, "Well, hello, milady." Gawain bowed slightly and too Jeanne's hand as he kissed the back of it. "What is such a beautiful lady doing in such a place?"
Jeanne smiled and slowly took her hand back, "I am here to help with the fighting."
Gawain straightened his back and winked, "Oh, a fighter too," he chuckled, "I'll be looking forward to fighting alongside you."
Cú Chulainn cleared his throat and pushed past Gawain before walking to Arturia and leading her back towards Merlin. "Well, enough with the flattering and let us finalize the plans of what we are going to do." He spoke, not exactly jealous of the attention that Gawain was giving to Jeanne but just a little bothered that the male thought it was the time to flirt during such a serious time.
Everyone gathered about the big table at the tent and Merlin began to explain the final plan. Some of the troop would be infiltrated within the castle; such as Bedivere, Gawain and other trusted knights. The remaining troop would be divided in half and one flank would attack from the north while the other came through the North-west, where the forest lay. In fact, they were already in the North-West part of the forest where they would attack from.
Everyone had been in accordance with the plan and they were all divided by Merlin to their respectful position. Gawain managed to leave the tent after kissing Jeanne's hand again and was soon followed by Bedivere who accompanied him back to the castle for the night.
After all the males had left the tent, Arturia and Jeanne remained behind in silence, "Well, your cousin seems like a ladies' man." Jeanne giggled as she turned to Arturia.
"Tell me about it," Arturia giggled lightly and watched as Jeanne leaned back on the table where the plans had been before, "That Cú Chulainn is too, as I have come to notice."
"Is he?" Jeanne tilted her head.
Arturia shrugged, "Diarmuid told me that he was a bit… well… playful, to say the least."
Jeanne frowned and sighed, "I was truly hoping he would be a gentleman, guess you cannot win them all." She laughed and Arturia joined her. "What about Diarmuid? How is he?"
Arturia blinked as she recalled how Guinevere had asked her that exact question, "I… would not really know."
"Of course you would, you have spent quite the amount of time with him." Jeanne kicked her legs as she was now sitting on the table.
Arturia shrugged, "I guess he is a gentleman. He seems to have his priorities straight. And he can cook."
"That's always good in a man," the Frenchwoman laughed, "I wish my brothers could cook. That would have made my life so much easier."
"You are correct on that one." Arturia joined and then her smile slowly faded as she thought about the battle that was soon approaching, "I do not like war…"
Jeanne threw her head back and paid close attention to the seams of the red tent as she gave a loud sigh, "As do I."
They were both silent for the majority of time but it felt like a pleasing silence; not like the silence Arturia had come to dislike. In fact, this silence was refreshing—it was one she felt comfortable in and secure.
"Arturia, what are you looking forward to the most?" Jeanne huffed as she gave her legs another swing.
"What do you mean?" Jeanne tilted her head towards the other female.
Jeanne was silent for a short while, "I mean when you get back to Camelot. What are you looking forward to the most?"
Arturia thought about it for a short while and then responded, "I'm looking forwards to letting my friend live. I'm hoping," she dropped her head to look at her feet, "that she has a reasoning behind all this so I can forgive her."
"You know," Jeanne began, "Not everyone has good reasoning. I don't want you to expect something as big as that so quickly… I've learnt that the hard way; people are cruel for their own gain. Reasoning is not always good, Arturia."
The green eyed girl gulped and rubbed her face, "We will have to see," she shrugged, "I'm simply hoping."
Merlin entered the tent again and smiled at the two females, "Well hello ladies," he greeted, "I think it is best to get in position and bid your comrades a farewell as Diarmuid and Cú Chulainn will be with the Northern squad."
Jeanne jumped off the table with a nod and a smile on her lips, "Will do, my good sir," she grinned and slowly proceeded to leave the tent.
Merlin turned around and left the tent as well, leaving Arturia all alone again, but not for long. Diarmuid stepped through the fabric and gave Arturia a bright smile, "Hello," he waved his hand.
"Diarmuid," she nodded at him.
Diarmuid scratched the back of his neck and grinned, "I know that things are a bit rough between us, but I wanted to wish you all the best. I wanted to tell you that you have my full support; no matter what decision you choose."
Arturia let a smile slip onto her lips and she sighed, "Thank you Diarmuid. It is nice to have your loyalty, as you have also been a good knight and man to me."
"It is honour to serve you still. You are truly one of the best masters that I have ever had, and I will never take back my word on that." He was blushing a little and Arturia was feeling giddy at what he had said about her.
They were silent for a while and then Diarmuid turned about to leave.
"Wait, Diarmuid." Arturia called behind him as butterflies settled in the pit of her tummy, "I want to tell you something."
Diarmuid turned about, an eyebrow raised as his beauty mark was slightly wrinkled when he narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Yes?"
She felt her heart flutter a little and she finally found the beauty mark alluring—somewhat. He truly was handsome, she thought to herself. "I wanted to wish you all the best." She smiled, "And make sure that you meet me again in one piece. No holes on you—not even scratches; got it?"
Diarmuid grinned and nodded, "Anything for milady. I also wish you all the best for tomorrow's big battle."
Arturia returned the smile and gave him a nod.
"If that will be all that milady wishes to say, I should be off." He bowed once more—a deep and respectful bow—before turned on his heel and making his way out of the tent.
He felt a grip on his wrist and he slowly turned to face the short blond female who had his hand in a grasp, "Milady?" He tilted his head.
"I was not exactly finished, Diarmuid." There seemed to be a change in atmosphere, Diarmuid noted, one he had not felt near Arturia but only once—when she had met with Lancelot.
"Forgive me." He mumbled under his breath, a little fearful.
Arturia lifted her head to meet his gaze, determination in her clear green eyes, "Diarmuid," she began.
The male gulped and nodded, she had been a little too close for him not to notice.
"I have the answer." She blinked once and he could feel her staring into his soul.
"W-what answer?" He tried to avoid her green eyes like the plague but it wasn't working for him.
The action was swift, short and a little impulsive. Her pale cream hands gripped his tunic lightly and his orange rust eyes were as wide as peaches. There was no green meadow gaze as chapped lips were gently pressed against his. His eye lids slowly fell and his hands landed on her waist as he tried to memorize the soft feeling of her lips against his. It felt like endless years but also short as milliseconds until she pulled away.
"Arturia…" Her name left his lips and it made her heart flutter a little.
Her hand flew to her mouth and it seemed like she regretted her decision as she turned around and then back to him. He was expecting her to apologize but instead she said something that caught him off guard even more, "J-just don't die, please?"