This chapter runs a bit parallel with the action of the last chapter, picking up in the second half.
Chapter 6: Love and Loathing
Gwen watched as Uther led the visitors from Nemeth inside, Lord Gaheris practically on his heels. As Arthur followed behind with Princess Mithian, he caught Gwen's eye and gave her an incredulous look that clearly said, "Can you believe him?"
Gwen stifled a laugh that she quickly covered with a cough.
Merlin turned to her, "Gwen, do you think you can take the lead on helping them settle in? I still have a ton more herbs I need to pick for Gaius."
"Of course, Merlin. I'll see you at the banquet later." Gwen said. she hoped he was alright, his mind seemed like a million miles away ever since he got back.
"Thank you so much, I'll see you then." And he was off without so much as a backward glance.
"Come on Sefa," she said to the new maid, "let's get to work."
Thankfully, the l princess brought an adequate number of servants with her, so mostly, Gwen assisted in unpacking Mithian's massive wardrobe. It seemed like the princess had packed for a months-long visit, Gwen thought, unfurling another ballgown from the trunk. The owner of the dress was nowhere in sight, currently on a tour of the castle gardens.
A loud stomping into the room announced the arrival of Lord Gaheris.
"Ah!" He exclaimed, "I see everyone is so preoccupied with my cousin's clothes none of you have time to spare for the actual heir to the throne. You." He pointed to Sefa, who jumped, startled at being directly addressed. "Come here, I need my trunk unpacked."
Sefa bowed hastily and quickly went to do as told, giving a terrified look to Gwen as she passed her. Poor girl had never been addressed by nobility before. Gwen put Princess Mithian's dress down and went to follow the girl, but Gaheris held up his hand. "By all means, stay and help my cousin with her things, I just need the one. I didn't pack everything I own."
Gwen caught Sefa's eye as she left out the door and mouthed to her: You'll do great! With a large grin. Sefa responded with a small, hesitant smile of her own.
The rest of the unpacking went by smoothly, and, that out of the way, Gwen went back down to the kitchens to assist in the preparation of the banquet that was to be held that night.
"Gwen, there you are, the banquet hall needs more candlesticks." Mary, another maid, told her in passing while carrying a load of clothes to the laundry room, "Would you-?"
"Already on it!" Gwen said with a smile.
Opening the supply room door where the candlesticks were held, she found Sefa, polishing silverware with her back to Gwen.
"Sefa, there you are- I was wondering where you went off to after helping Lord Gaheris. How did it go?"
"Fine." The girl said, her voice sounding stuffy.
"Sefa? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Sefe sniffled.
Gwen walked up to her and turned the other girl to face her. Her eyes were red and her face blotchy from crying. "You are clearly not fine. What's wrong, what happened?"
"Nothing. Gwen, I'm fine, really. I'm just...homesick. That's all."
"I don't think that's all. What happened after you left to assist Lord Gaheris? Did he say something unkind?"
New tears threatened to spill over in her eyes as Sefa wiped at them furiously, shaking her head. Gwen's eyes widened.
"Sefa, did he hurt you, or cause you any dishonor?"
The girl shook her head, her sentences coming out in a rush. "He made...certain advances. He grabbed me all the while saying such things, how he was the heir to a throne and I had to do whatever he wanted because it was his right. I broke free and I just ran all the way here and I've been here ever since."
Gwen pulled Sefa into a hug, who held on tight. After a while, Gwen pulled away, and looked her in the eyes. "We have to tell someone." She said. "He might try again with another girl, and she might not be able to get away."
"But who can we tell?" Sefa exclaimed, "He's the heir to the throne of Nemeth, he's above reproach."
"Then we have to find someone who's higher ranked than him." Gwen said, a plan forming.
"But that's only the king and-"
"Prince Arthur." Gwen finished for her. "We tell him."
"He won't listen to us; we're servants, he's the crown prince! I'll lose my job, I can't lose my job, Gwen." Sefa's voice was desperate as she grabbed at Gwen's hands, pleading.
"Trust me." Gwen reassured, "Prince Arthur is a good man, he will hear us out."
Arthur sat back in his chair as he finished reading a report given to him earlier by Sir Leon. There had been unusual activity seen in Essetir recently, with Cenred's troop movements making little to no sense. It seemed he was taking the majority of toops off the borders and were moving them inland, toward the center of the kingdom. Arthur didn't know what that could mean, but he knew it couldn't be innocent.
Across the room out the open window, he could hear the sound of swords clashing in the practice field. Lord Gaheris, Arthur presumed, who had made a big deal of "wanting to get a few rounds in" with the men he had brought with him earlier. Not the knights of Camelot though, of course: they wouldn't let him win.
There was a knock at the door. For a second, he thought it was Merlin, coming to apologize for disappearing so suddenly after Gaheris and Princess Mithian arrived, but of course it couldn't be Merlin- Merlin never knocked.
"Come in." Arthur called, setting the report down. The door opened. "Guinevere!" He quickly jumped to his feet. Then, seeing she had another maid he hadn't seen before in tow, he quickly made his voice more neutral. "What can I help you with?"
Guinevere curtsied, more for the other maid's benefit than anything, who quickly followed. The girl looked like she was positively quaking in her shoes, Arthur remarked. "Sire," Guinevere said, turning towards the girl and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is Sefa, today is her first day working in the castle. There was an incident earlier, and we thought it important for you to know about."
Arthur nodded, and looked to the girl, Sefa, who had turned as white as a sheet. "It-it's not tha- that big of a deal, Sire." She stammered. "I-I would hate to- to waste your ti- time."
"If Guinevere thinks it's important for me to know, it's worth my time. Now-" Arthur walked over and pulled out a chair from the table behind her. "Please, sit down, and tell me what you told her."
Sefa gratefully sat down and took a deep breath, looking to Guinevere, who gave her an encouraging nod. Arthur sat back down in his chair.
"It- it's about Lord Gaheris, Sire. I was helping unpack Princess Mithian's things and he requested I unpack his things. By myself."
Arthur's brow furled, "Where was George?" he asked.
"George, Sire?"
"George, he's another servant, a little scrawny-looking but weirdly effective. I sent him to assist Lord Gaheris after Merlin ran off."
"I- I didn't see him, Sire." Sefa explained. "Lord Gaheris said no one had come to help him."
"Hm." Arthur said, thinking. He had seen George follow Gaheris to his rooms, and he knew that not even wild horses could keep the servant from doing his job. Gaheris must have sent him away. "Continue."
"I did what he said, I started unpacking his things, and then he- he started to say such horrible things, how I had to-" the girl turned red and her words rushed out "to take off my clothes and to get on the- on the bed and when I said, 'My lord I don't think that's appropriate' he went to grab me and- and told me I had to do what he said because he was going to be a king one day and-" she stopped, taking a large, shaky breath "and then I broke free and ran to the kitchens were Gwen found me. Sire."
Arthur nodded. "Thank you, for entrusting me with this information." He said, keeping his voice calm as he stood from his chair. Inside, he was fuming. The gall and utter nerve this man had. He had instantly disliked Lord Gaheris as soon as he arrived, and clearly Arthur's first impression of him as a self-entitled, arrogant ass was correct.
"You- you believe me, Sire?" Sefa asked.
"I do. What Lord Gaheris has done is unacceptable, it doesn't matter who he is." Arthur paused. "Unfortunately, my father won't see this the same way, and is unlikely to bring any official charges against him."
"Of course, Sire, I wasn't expecting much. I just- I don't want him to harm another girl."
"Neither do I, which is why-" Arthur crossed the room and picked up his sword from the table, "his punishment has to remain unofficial."
As he strode out of his rooms, he heard Guinevere call out "Arthur!" and the scramble as both women followed to see just what Arthur would do.
Sure enough, Gaheris was in the practice field with his men, trading blows, while a few knights of Camelot watched on. Arthur could tell even as he approached that while Gaheris certainly had put a lot of effort in looking like a good swordsman, he lacked any skill or substance to actually back it up.
"Lord Gaheris!" Arthur called out, unsheathing his sword and jumping over the fence, "Fancy footwork. Perhaps you'd like a challenge."
The man Gaheris was dueling with dropped back with a bow as Gaheris turned to Arthur in surprise. "Oh, that's quite all right, Prince Arthur, I was just finishing up here."
"Too bad." Arthur stated. "I was just getting started." He swung his sword at Gaheris, who jumped but blocked the swing.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, "What the-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because Arthur stepped in and struck closer. Gaheris blocked again, but he wasn't prepared for Arthur to use his close proximity to kick his legs out from under him. The lord fell to the ground with a surprised shout.
Arthur kicked Gaheris's sword from his reach and crouched down near him. "Let me make one thing clear," Arthur spat, "You might be able to get away with your despicable behavior on your lands with servants under your roof by the virtue of who your uncle is, but that is not the case here. I will not allow you to raise a hand against any citizen of my kingdom no matter their station. If I hear so much as a whisper of any impropriety on your behalf, you'll have more to worry about than a bruise and some hurt pride." He straightened up, glaring down at the lord. "Enjoy the banquet tonight." He said, before turning on his heel and walking away, leaving Gaheris to be assisted up by his own men.
As he walked back to the castle, he passed Guinevere and the new maid, Sefa. The latter of whom stood with her mouth agape and wide-eyed. Arthur gave her a nod and said. "He won't bother you or any other women, but if he does, I want to know about it."
Sefa nodded rapidly in understanding.
Arthur nodded again and caught Guinivere's eye. She gave him a smile and he lit up at the pride in her eyes. He nodded again and continued back to the castle.
Once back inside and in his chambers, it didn't take long for another knock at the door. Arthur opened it to reveal Guinevere, this time alone. He let her in and she closed the door behind her.
"How's Sefa?" He asked.
"She's alright." Guinevere said, "A little shocked, but she's fine. She asked me if you were always so chivalrous." She emphasized the last word, drawing it out with a raise of her eyebrows.
Arthur feigned annoyance at her teasing. "And what did you say?"
Guinevere turned serious, looking at him she said, "I said that you never hesitate to help one of your own, and would have done the same for any servant."
Arthur nodded. "You're right. Partially."
Guinevere tilted her head.
Arthur continued. "If it were you I would have done a lot worse than embarrass him and give him a bruise on the backside."
"Arthur-"
"I know." He said. "I know what I'm supposed to feel, and I know my father would think if he ever knew." Arthur shook his head. "But I don't care. I think about you all the time and-"
Guinevere closed the distance between them and kissed him. After a moment, Arthur returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and savoring the feel of her so close to him.
When they broke away, Arthur stated; "I do recognize that, considering the circumstances of today that this might not be entirely appropriate."
Guinevere laughed, still holding onto him. "If I told you to unhand me and never speak to me again, would you?"
"I would."
"Good." She kissed him again briefly. "I don't want you to though."
Next Chapter: Spy's Interlude (coming 4/17)
OK, I'm gonna be real with y'all-I've been doing like RESEARCH-RESEARCH into Arthurian legends and 5th century Britain, (because even though I was a Literature major for my undergrad I focused mainly on the Renaissance. Oops.) and I've elected to ignore most of it. Mostly because it would call attention to even more inaccuracies in the show. So if something doesn't seem historically accurate, I probably know it isn't.
On the subject of religion, despite (if I'm remembering this right) a few instances of characters saying "God" in casual passing (like "My God" "I swear to God'' etc.) and it being historically accurate that King Arthur, if he were real, would be a Christain based on the timeframe of Christanity being the dominant religion in Britain by the 3rd century, I don't think the BBC Merlin writers actually did that research bc then why is Arthur messing around with Old Religion gods, the spirit world, and celebrating Beltane and Samhain? Did Uther follow the Old Religion before the Purge? But canonically, Christanity should have existed in Britain as the major religion for about 200 years by now...
Anyways, I'm the author now, so in this story, after banning the Old Religion, Uther still kept some aspects (like how some atheists still celebrate Christmas) and ignores/bans most of it. Christianity hasn't come to the land yet, because, COME ON, you KNOW if Christianity existed in the BBC Merlin universe Uther would be ALL OVER IT and instead of Witchhunters we would have had priests and I for one would have found that SO INTERESTING like COME ON!
So sorry this author's note is over 300 words I just had a lot to say on this topic. It probably won't be the last time.
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