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I do not own Merlin or the characters, neither do I own Truce: The Historic Neighbor from Hell.
Just one more chapter (Epilogue)
Four and a half years later….
"Did you bring it?" Arthur demanded, as soon as the coach door opened.
Henry chuckled as he stepped out, his eyes dancing with amusement, as he held up a dark grey rock.
"You mean this rock that you so kindly asked for? The one that I had to travel to London for in the middle of the night and search the park for six hours in the freezing rain, because it was a matter of life and death?" he asked dryly, as he tossed the rock to Arthur.
"Thank God!" Arthur said, catching the rock and barely sparing his brother a glance, as he headed for his shop.
"What? No, thank you, Henry? I missed you, Henry?" Henry asked, veering off to go greet Gwen and the children, who were playing by the garden.
"Keep Guinevere busy for an hour or two," was all Arthur said, as he pulled his shop door closed behind him, praying that he didn't accidentally break this one as well.
Gwen released a sigh, as she leaned against the tree and watched as Henry played with her babies.
He was such a wonderful uncle and from what she'd heard from the rest of the family, a wonderful father as well.
'He's so kind and sweet,' she thought, smiling, when the twins tackled him to the ground, so that they could show him how to give a proper bear hug.
Her lips twitched with amusement, when he however, pretended to turn into a bear and chased the twins, all the while cradling her youngest giggling son carefully in his arms.
But her smile turned watery, as she looked down at the folded parchment in her hands.
Henry had turned her dreams into a reality.
About a year ago, he'd been looking through the estates' old ledgers and had come across her plans.
Not sure what to make of them at first, he'd questioned Evangeline and Leon, who were only too happy to finally tell him, what they thought about Victoria burning through the fortune, that was meant to help the poor.
Shocked, he'd taken another look at Gwen's plans. Then, he'd taken a look at his wife's outrageous spending and what he saw, had him finally putting his foot down and limiting her spending to a modest monthly allowance.
As a result, Victoria was no longer speaking to him, but he didn't seem to care.
And Gwen suspected, that when her sister discovered, that he had taken half of her inheritance and created a charity with it, she would probably never speak to him again.
Then again, that would probably make Henry the happiest man alive.
Gwen wished that he'd reconsider and move to America. She knew that he would love it here.
He probably would have made the move years ago, if it hadn't been for Victoria. Her sister refused to even consider it, never mind visit, which meant that Henry visited once a year, just to get a break from her.
Next year, he was bringing his girls along, with his parents and hers for a visit, whether Victoria liked it or not.
To which Gwen suspected, that she probably wouldn't like it one bit.
"It's good to see him," the deep voice that Gwen adored said, as a strong arm was carefully wrapped around her waist and she was pulled back against the man she loved more than anything.
"It is," she murmured her agreement, as she turned herself in Arthur's arms, so that she could wrap her arms around his shoulders, "But it's even better to see you."
"Missed me?" he teased, as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers.
"Terribly," she said, smiling against his lips. "When I came back from feeding the baby, you were already gone."
"I'm sorry, my love. I had some work that I needed to finish, so that I could spend tonight focusing on you," he said, kissing her again.
"I have you for the whole night?" she asked.
"The whole night," he promised, as he leaned in to kiss her.
"What about Henry?" she asked, feeling bad that he'd traveled all the way from England to visit and they were abandoning him on his first night.
"He can entertain himself for one night," Arthur said, brushing his lips against hers one last time, before he stepped away.
"This is for you," he said, as he held out a small beautifully carved box.
Gwen didn't have to ask him, to know that he'd made the box himself. It was absolutely beautiful and something that he would no doubt, be able to get some of the merchants in town to buy.
He could probably have a very lucrative business, if he focused on making furniture and trinkets, but that would mean spending long hours away from her and the children and she knew that he didn't want that.
Instead, he settled for making the things that he loved in his spare time and focused on supporting them, by building and fixing homes.
He was very good at what he did and was in high demand.
They might never be rich, but as long as they were able to keep their children safe and happy, both of them were more than happy about that.
"Happy anniversary, Guinevere," Arthur said, as she opened the box and saw...
A necklace made out of stones?
Whatever it was, it was beautiful and she loved it, because he made it for her.
With a smile, she leaned up to kiss him, then he stepped back and focused his attention on the necklace.
"This white bead is from the old barn, where you covered me in honey and feathers," he said, drawing her attention back to the necklace. "This bead," he said, pointing out a grey stone bead next, "Is from the tree where I cut your hair off. This bead is from..."
He went on explaining where every stone had come from, pausing every now and then to smile, laugh or to reminisce, about tales from their childhood.
And Gwen listened as he went through each bead, growing more amazed by the minute.
When he pointed out the bead from the orangery, she felt her bottom lip tremble. And as he finished with the stone that he'd picked up outside their bedroom window, on the night that she'd given birth to Thaddeus...their youngest, she found herself falling in love with her husband all over again.
"I love it," she said, which was an understatement, because it was the most beautiful, thoughtful gift that anyone had ever given her.
It also made her realize, just how much she meant to Arthur.
"I'm glad," he said, leaning in to kiss her, only this time she didn't let him go.
"Now, it's my turn to give you your anniversary gift, Mr. Pendragon."
Arthur was dying.
There was no other explanation for it.
His limbs weakly trembled, as he dragged himself across the room.
He couldn't think of a time, when he'd been so thirsty or hungry in his life.
Several times over the last twenty-four hours, he's considered yelling for help, but he was beyond help.
He knew that.
The cause of his destruction stirred behind him.
He picked up the pitcher of water and chugged the lukewarm liquid, but it did nothing to quench his thirst or ease his empty stomach.
"I think I'm dying," he mumbled.
A weak laugh came from the bed.
"I know I am," Gwen said. "We have to stop...we have to...I need food...and water...the baby, Arthur...think of the baby," she implored weakly.
Arthur took a deep breath.
The baby needed food.
His baby.
He couldn't help grinning.
His minx was making him a father again, hopefully giving him a little girl to spoil this time.
He hugged the pitcher to his chest and brought it over to her.
"Here. Drink this and I'll get dressed and have Mrs. Barker send some food up." He frowned as he looked at the door. "I wonder why they haven't checked on us by now."
"Probably because we scared them away," Gwen said, as she took the pitcher from him.
But she almost dropped it.
Her arms were so weak, and she couldn't drink lying back this way. So she got up on her knees with great difficulty.
The only thing that mattered was the water.
She didn't care about being ladylike or anything else.
She drank greedily, not caring about the water that spilled down her chin and down her chest and stomach.
She was so thirsty.
When she had her fill, she placed the now empty pitcher on the bed.
Then, her eyes met Arthur's intense gaze and she knew that things were about to take a turn for the worse.
"Oh no!" she whimpered.
Arthur stared at the water dripping down his wife's breasts.
He licked his lips, as every part of him, save one, protested at the sight.
Holding her gaze, he followed her frightened eyes down his rigid body. He was more than ready to go again.
In fact, it felt like he hadn't had her in years, instead of minutes.
Gwen threw a pillow at her husband, so she could scramble off the bed, desperate to make an escape.
It was as if, a certain piece of his anatomy was in charge of him.
He crawled after her.
And she didn't bother with a nightgown or a wrap, as she ran to the door and started pounding on it.
"Mrs. Barker!"
"Oh, thank the lord!" came Mrs. Barker's worried voice from behind the door. "We were afraid you'd both perished."
Gwen looked back, to see her husband trying to escape from the tangled sheets his foot got caught in.
"We will if you don't help," Gwen said. "Mrs. Barker, listen, I haven't much time. Can you arrange for a large tray of food and drink to be delivered?"
She looked over her shoulder, to discover that Arthur was close to getting free.
"And water for a bath as well. Please!" she added.
"Certainly," Mrs. Barker said, sounding amused.
"Arthur?" Henry suddenly said, as he joined Mrs. Barker in the hall.
A soft growl behind Gwen was the only answer.
She slowly turned around, plastering her back against the door, just as Henry knocked on it.
"Arthur! Come down with me to the tavern, I'm bored. Arthur?"
"I'm busy," Arthur answered, in what sounded mostly like a snarl.
Henry's answer was a pained sigh.
"Come on, you've done your duty. Let's go."
A loud whimper escaped Gwen, as her husband pounced on her.
He was handsome, wicked, and all hers.
And no matter how tired, weak or sore she was at the moment, he still had this strange affect on her body after all these years.
And in that moment, she wanted him more than anything.
"Arthur?" Henry called, sounding a bit unsure.
But his brother couldn't answer at the moment. He was busy licking the water from Gwen's skin, who was pinned tightly against the wall, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.
In one quick move, he entered her.
Then, he wrapped his arms around her, protecting her from the door, as he thrust inside her.
The door groaned its protests, as its hinges and frame were put to the test.
If the position hurt, Gwen wasn't saying.
Just the opposite, in fact.
Because she demanded Arthur to move harder and faster. And he complied, because at that moment, he didn't care that his brother and Mrs. Barker were standing outside the door, or that he was on the verge of starvation.
He only cared about his wife...his minx.
He slammed into her, over and over, doing his best, not to give into the urge to let go.
Alas, his controlled snapped, and his hips went into overdrive.
Finally, he slammed into her once, twice, three times and then she began screaming his name, as she did her best to milk him dry.
"Lucky bastard!" he thought he heard his brother mutter, but he didn't really care, as he lost himself in the woman he was deeply in love with.
"Happy anniversary, Mr. Pendragon!" Gwen said minutes later, as she pushed Arthur to the floor, to give him his gift all over again, making him wonder, if he should call another truce, before they ended up killing each other.
Oh my...these two are going at it like rabbits!
Stay safe!
