The eventide church bells rang out, sounding oddly hollow and forlorn from within the stone walls of the castle. Guinevere, waiting in an antechamber, bowed her head in the silence that followed. Within the great cathedral, where the bodies of the wounded and dying still lay, the canons would be chanting hymns for the Holy Virgin.

Magnificat anima mea Dominum
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae...

My soul doth magnify the Lord
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my saviour
For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden...

And He did, indeed, watch over the lowliest of His servants, as Guinevere's mother Beca had always believed. After Beca's marriage to Tom Smith, Tom had made a name for himself as the finest metalworker in the city, and had risen to prominence in his tradesman's guild. For a time, Guinevere's family had lived comfortably, in a better position than many others. But the king's wars with sorcerers and the neighbouring kingdoms had led to steep rises in taxes, year after year, and their landlord had never stopped increasing their rent. Eventually there came lean winters, and nights where Guinevere's parents went hungry, so she and her brother could have bread.

Their faith had been rewarded when Sir Leon's mother, Lady Lucette of House Felix, had seen a wall hanging embroidered by Beca, and had made enquiries about the woman who had stitched it. Impressed with Beca's skill and work ethic, Lady Lucette had taken the woman in as one of her handmaids. That regular income had allowed Gwen's family to prosper again for a while.

And then God taken Beca away with the sweating sickness, and Elyan had changed, becoming sullen and withdrawn. Not long after, he had run away from Camelot, leaving Tom and Guinevere with two fewer mouths to feed, but two fewer incomes as well. Leon and his mother had put in a good word for Guinevere, and Gwen had become a scullery maid in the royal household, and then she had caught the eye of Lady Morgana. Gwen had begun to breathe again for a while.

And then the king had killed Guinevere's father, and then Lady Morgana had decided to torment her former maidservant for reasons that were still unclear...

Guinevere wondered, sometimes, what she had done to merit the evil that had befallen her. She worried that, deep down, she had committed the sin of pride. The Sisters Religious had taught her that pride was the queen of the vices, and mother to all the others. Gwen had never asked for more than she needed to survive. But hadn't she, after all, felt a glimmer of pride that the Lady Morgana had requested her services personally, and that the Prince of Camelot himself had romanced her? Hadn't she done wrong to rebuke the prince for his arrogance, and then to welcome his advances, and to speak up, time and time again, before the nobles? She ought to have known her place better.

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall...

A waiting-maid appeared, then, and showed Guinevere into the chamber proper. Lady Agnes and the women of the household were arrayed to receive her. Upon entering the room, Guinevere bowed her head, spread her skirts, and sank to her knees, as she knew she must do before these women who were far superior to her in rank and age.

Lady Agnes allowed Guinevere to remain bent in this humble posture for longer than was necessary. Eventually, the lady said, "Rise," and Guinevere did so. She found the lady's bright, sea-green eyes examining her minutely, as though she were a new consignment of carpets of dubious quality.

"Be seated, my dear," said Lady Agnes eventually, and Guinevere perched herself on a chair in the centre of the room. "I wonder if you remember me. It has been some time."

Guinevere did remember the cold, haughty Lady Agnes. Her hair was whiter - at least what Guinevere could see of it, beneath the black mourning veil - and her face was more lined, but she was otherwise unchanged. Her proud, stiff-backed carriage and penetrating eye gave her the air of a cat among field-mice. Guinevere had been frightened of her as a girl. That feeling had not changed over the years, she reflected.

"Of course she remembers us," said a woman seated on Lady Agnes' left, whom Guinevere recognised as Sir Leon's mother, Lucette. "Dear little Gwen would spend many a day here, when darling Beca was alive." Lady Lucette dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "Ah, my dear! You knew loss at such a young age! And I knew loss then, too! Your mother was one of the best servants I've ever had. It is so difficult to find good help these days. Do you know, my last chambermaid disappeared without giving me any notice, and her brother later told me she had died of dysentery, but I am not sure that was quite true, for afterwards I discovered that my best linen and six silver teaspoons were missing. And my washerwomen keep complaining the laundry is too damp, and subsequently developing the hacking cough, and then having to go take the country air to recover. I think it is all a conspiracy to allow them to visit their relatives. In any case, it is most inconsiderate..."

"Stop prattling, Lucette," said Lady Agnes, and her daughter-in-law subsided.

"So," Lady Agnes continued. "This is the girl in whom His Majesty has taken such an interest." She did not sound impressed.

"We owe you our thanks," Lady Lucette interrupted tearfully. "Leon is always singing your praises - he is good like that, he always likes to take notice of the efforts people make for him, no matter how humble they are - and I do think it shows the breeding of a knight, to always treat women with respect, even if they are not highborn. And he says you were most courageous when King Cenred invaded our kingdom, and you risked your life to smuggle him out of the dungeons. He did mention that you dressed him up as a woman to do so, and I'm not sure that was entirely proper, my dear. I don't mean to criticise you, and you did have to think on your feet, but I'd like to hope that if I ever had to break a knight out of a dungeon, I would have some regard for his birth and reputation, and put him in a costume that allowed him to hold his head up among respectable people afterwards. I'm sure it doesn't matter what people say, only Leon and the king are so close, and the king has never married, and people say Arthur's manservant is very close to him also, and I would prefer there to be no doubts whatsoever about Leon's manliness."

"Lucette!" said Lady Agnes. "I am speaking!"

"I am sorry, my lady," said Lady Lucette, "only I never got to thank Guinevere for saving Leon's life, and it is because of her that I have one son - one son yet living!" The woman sobbed into her handkerchief.

"Lucette!" said Lady Agnes again. "Leopold has laid down his life in accordance with the Knight's Code, for the glory of his king and country! He has gone to everlasting fame in the Kingdom of Heaven! We should honour his sacrifice by bearing our loss with courage and steadfastness! Stop bawling like an unlettered fisherwoman, you silly girl, and master yourself, or retire to your chambers!"

Lady Lucette stifled her sobs, and from within her handkerchief came a wet-sounding promise to improve her conduct.

Lady Agnes turned back to Guinevere. "So, my dear. It is time to decide what to do with you. You are no longer Lady Morgana's servant, that much is obvious. She turned witch and traitoress, and left us behind long ago. As for your new role at court, His Majesty has left it terribly uncertain. Just like a man, he has no idea how to order a household, and he is too proud and stubborn to ask for help. His father was the same. Young King Arthur put his trust in that slimy toad Agravaine, above those of us who have been part of the nobility of this city for generations. And why, I ask you? Because Agravaine knew how to swing a sword, and not even well. The man wasn't a warrior. He was barely a man to begin with. I knew him when he was a boy. He had the dead eyes of a toad even then. Had he been mine, I would have dropped him down a well."

"Grandmama!" exclaimed one of the young ladies seated to Lady Agnes' right, a handsome damoiselle with wavy gold-brown hair.

"Hush, Cordelia," said the old woman, "you survived, didn't you? Now hold your tongue." Her gaze returned to Guinevere. "What does the king mean to do with you? He has made advances towards you, has he not? And yet there is no formal proposal. You have not been ennobled. I presume you are a virgin?"

The colour rose in Guinevere's cheeks. "I beg your pardon, my lady?"

"Come, come, my dear. Don't be coy. We are all women here. The king can hardly ask you himself, can he? There is a certain propriety he must observe with the fairer sex. And he has no mother, or female relations, and so I must ask in their place. I know what lax morals you women of the lower town have. Is your maidenhead intact? It is an essential quality in a king's bride."

Hot blood was rushing into Guinevere's face. She did not know if it was due to embarrassment, or anger, or shame. She wanted to disappear. Yet she could show no untoward emotion in front of this highborn lady.

She managed to grate out, "I do not know what tales you have heard of the lower town, my lady. But I assure you that I am waiting for the right man to take my hand in marriage. As did my mother. And every woman I know."

"Really? How extraordinary." Lady Agnes sounded sceptical. "But think hard, my dear. Was there no childhood sweetheart? No drunken fumblings in an alleyway, no barnyard foolings on a lazy summer night? No offers of a warm bed in the cold wintertime? I ask only for your benefit. It is treason for a soiled woman to go to a king's bed, having misrepresented herself."

"No."

"Very well. You know your own mind best, I'm sure. I have reports that you were very familiar with Sir Gawaine. Others have seen you being intimate with Sir Lancelot. Yet others swear that you are very close to the king's manservant, Merlin. If you would be a lady of the court, you must be beyond reproach. The king's honour depends upon your conduct. See to it that you are more careful."

Guinevere wanted to scream. Lady Agnes was making it sound like she was some kind of brood mare, being passed around by the knights of the realm, one by one. Why is she doing this?

But even as the question arose, Gwen knew. If she were out of the way, Arthur would be free to make an alliance with any of the daughters of these powerful Houses, or even those of the neighbouring kingdoms. As Gwen cast a glance at the young ladies seated to Lady Agnes' right, she knew she was correct. There was no malice in Cordelia's face, but the other three damsels were looking at Guinevere with something like loathing.

When Arthur favoured me, Gwen thought, he made every highborn woman in this city resent me. Any one of these noble families would be well served by eliminating me. When she thought of how powerful the lords and ladies were, and how far their reach extended, she shivered inwardly.

She still lived in the lower town, by herself. She travelled those streets at odd hours, sometimes very late after finishing work in the castle. Any faceless man in the crowd could be in the employ of House Felix.

She could ask Elyan or the king to give her a room in the castle. But she would not be safe from the reach of the nobles there. She would not be safe anywhere.

Pride goeth before destruction….

"There is one more thing I must ask you, my dear," said Lady Agnes. "You are quite certain you have never practiced witchcraft or enchantments?"

Guinevere said, "My lady, if the king has been satisfied of my innocence, surely that should be enough for everyone else."

"Well, my dear, sometimes the shadow of an accusation haunts us for a long time. It is curious that you have been accused of sorcery twice - almost burned for it, I believe - but, as you say, it was fortunate your name was cleared. I suppose your father was less fortunate. In any case, please be more mindful of the situations you find yourself in. And how lucky you are to have such a good friend in the king's manservant. I have heard whispers that Merlin was instrumental in advising the king to reject all the other brides selected for Arthur. He seems to favour you instead. The amount of influence that the two of you have on the king, despite being baseborn, seems extraordinary. Some might even call it supernatural… "

"In any case, your brother is a knight, and the king would seem to favour you. I have suggested to His Majesty, and he agrees, that you are to assume a more prominent position at court. In order to do so, however, you will have to learn certain customs. The king is pleased for the ladies of our House to take you under our wing to prepare you for the difficult tasks that await you."

Now Guinevere saw. She wants to use me, she thought, if she can't get rid of me. Her grandson is already one of the king's trusted knights. She wished a granddaughter to be queen, but if Arthur marries me, she would have me under her thumb instead. I am a nobody. She is offering me the backing of a noble house, powerful connections, in exchange for… what? Obedience? This is her calling in my debt. Leon put me as a scullery maid in the royal household. Now that the pawn will be exchanged for a queen, their family would take me back. And if I resist? Those rumours… adultery, sorcery… she has a long reach...

"You are too kind to me, lady," Guinevere said, forcing a smile.

Later that night, when Lady Agnes finally let her go, she pulled her hood up and hurried home, keeping to crowded lanes as much as she could. Every nook seemed to harbour some hidden danger, every strange man seemed to follow her with his eyes. The shadows of gargoyles made her start.

The Lord is my shepherd, she said silently, as she almost ran. I shall not want. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.