Hi! Thank you for the support for this fic! I really appreciate it, especially for such a rare pair!

If you'd like to talk to me about this ship or anything fate related you can find me on tumblr under the name Akilice!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

There used to be a time when the king was just a child, still in touch with her feelings, still reachable.

There used to be a time where the lonely queen used to be more open, so full of life and excitement.

This is the tale of how King Arthur and Queen Guinevere met.

And that tale starts with princess Guinevere getting scolded by her father.

King Leodegrance was a patient man, really, he tried to keep his anger and disappointment in his youngest daughter in check.

But Guinevere was a mess compared to Gwenhwyfach. The latter excelled in her studies and etiquettes. She was a natural queen in the making.

Guinevere? She would come home covered in mud, or she would accidently set something on fire.

She was wild, clumsy and anything but a lady.

All the traits that men find unappealing.

"Father, all I have done is take the bird back to his nest! The poor thing can't fly on his own!" The princess tried to defend herself, but he raised his hand and sighed.

"Your charity is admirable, however, you have ruined your dress! You must make yourself presentable today!"

"Why?" She asked, wiping the mud off her face.

He wanted to jump out the window.

"The boy king you dream so much of is visiting our castle." Gwenhwyfach whispered with a smirk. Guinevere looked confused. "King arthur? The one you have been fawning over ever since the stories of his achievements reached the castle?"

"No way!"

"He will arrive in no time, and knowing you, you will make a mess trying to prepare." Leodegrance rolled his eyes. "Go stay in your room and don't come out. I will call you once I am sure you will behave."

"But Father, I am always on my best behavior!"

Her father and sister stared at her, judging her.

"...Fine. I will start by bathing myself and making myself presentable, then I will memorize all of my boring lessons until you call me." Guinevere sighed in defeat. "Is he handsome like the stories say?"

Her father facepalmed.

"I hear he is tall and charming." Gwenhwyfach whispered. "You don't have a chance."

"A chance at what?"

"Obviously he will fall in love with me at first sight, and I will be the bride of the chosen and charismatic king."

Guinevere stuck out her tongue.

"Go marry him so I don't see you again, ugly."

"Bold words from someone who currently smells like a rat."

Guinevere continued to stick out her tongue as she left to her room, never breaking eye contact.

Being a princess had its perks, sure, and she was not going to complain. She loved being a princess, she really did.

Guinevere however, hated being compared to her perfect sister.

So what if she skipped her lessons? What if she continued to sneak outside and explore?

She was just as smart, if not more.

She did not like what her father wished for her to learn. Guinevere did not fancy the idea of being a passive woman, only doing what her husband wished of her.

She also did not enjoy the idea of being a trophy wife.

Gwenhwyfach can be as perfect and ladylike as she wants when she marries some 60 year old man and has like ten ugly children.

Alright, she was being petty, but at least she didn't call her sister a rat!

Guinevere finished bathing and sank into her bed. What was she supposed to do until her father called for her?

Study? No way.

Prepare herself into the role of the perfect daughter so she would not be an embarrassment? Absolutely not.

Sneak out the window to take a peek at King Arthur? Of course.

Not only did she admire him from the stories she heard, but she also heard that Arthur was tall and strong.

She heard that Arthur was shredded and had eight packs.

She opened the window, and reached for the tree. She has done this so many times she became an expert.

Guinevere's plan fell apart, literally. The branch broke and she found herself falling, and crashing into someone.

"Ow..." She groaned, and realized that she was on top of someone. She pushed herself up, and was met with a pair of green eyes staring back at her in surprise.

The knight she fell on was handsome, and his blonde hair was striking, not too long, but long enough to be tied in a ponytail.

"... are you okay?" The boy asked, and she quickly sat up, muttering a flustered apology. The boy chuckled. "That was quite the leap. I don't think I'd be brave enough to climb that tree."

Guinevere blushed.

"Oh I am so sorry I'm princess Guinevere, I apologize for my rudeness. Are you okay?"

"Ah, so you are Guinevere. It's a pleasure to meet you." The boy took her hand, and planted a kiss on it, like any knight would to a lady. "I am Arthur Pendragon."

Wait...

Wait, did he just say Arthur... did she just fall on Britain's king?

Oh she was an idiot.

"King Arthur..." She stared at him in wonder, and suddenly, so many thoughts and words came to mind, and yet all she could ask was… "Why are you short?"

"I...I'm sorry?"

"I heard that Arthur Penragon was tall! I also heard that he was super muscular!" Guinevere squinted. "Are you lying?"

Arthur blinked a few times, then looked down.

"Why is everyone so disappointed whenever they see me…?" He muttered to himself and sighed.

"Oh! I'm sorry I uh…" Guinevere immediately felt guilty for hurting his feelings, but she was genuinely surprised. She held out her hand to help him, and he took it, only to fall over again, groaning in pain. "Hey! Are you okay?"

"Yes, please do not worry about me." He said, and tried to get up again, this time Guinevere supported him before he would fall once more. Arthur winced, and let out a pained sigh. "I may be in need of some assistance."

And that was how princess Guinevere broke king Arthur's ribs.

It was not her brightest moment.

"Oh, King Arthur I apologize for my daughter's actions. I promise you she will not come your way again!" Leodegrance continued to apologize to Arthur who was now resting in the guest room.

Merlin stood next to his king's bed, amused.

"There is no need to worry, my king is built like iron, and so a few broken ribs won't bother him." Merlin snickered, while Arthur ignored him.

"Please do not be so harsh on your daughter, it was an accident." Arthur smiled, a little uncomfortable with the man's continuous bowing. "I am sure she is wonderful, we simply met under the wrong circumstances."

"You are far too kind." Leo sighed. "Please take all the time you need to recover, and do not hesitate to ask for anything. You are our guest after all."

The king excused himself and was met with Guinevere, who has been anxiously waiting outside the door.

"Father I am so sorry it was an acci-"Leo took her by the arm and gave her sign not to speak further. Once they were out of the young king's reach, Leodegrance placed his arms on top of her shoulders, and smiled proudly. "Great thinking!"

"Uh… What?" Guinevere squinted.

"Your little accident will force him to stay here longer! This is the perfect opportunity to marry off your sister to the king! I am so proud of you!"

"Father! I broke his ribs!"

"It's fine, you heard the stick wizard! He is built different!"

"No, wait no you are missing the point."

Her father dismissed it and continued to happily shake her.

"Wait, how come you only ever mention my sister for marriage?" Guinevere stopped him, and his expression changed from one of euphoria to one of pity. "FATHER!"

"I am just messing with you… well, you can try to win over Arthur's heart, but you are a little…"

"Father."

"…Problematic?" He winced, tried to be as nice as possible. "This is a king, they are stricter about who they choose to marry." He regretted his words when he saw the disappointed look she gave him. "Okay, listen, if it doesn't work out, that is fine. You are lovely the way you are, and someday, you will marry the right man who sees you for who you are, and not as an ideal of what a perfect women should act like."

"You know what? Men are dumb anyway, not you father." She quickly added. "My perfect stuck up sister can marry him, I have other plans."

"…What plans?"

"You will find out." She winked, and ran off.

Her father just sighed and waved at her.

Hopefully, it won't be a fire this time.

-Back to zero-

"Well, this was an eventful first day." Merlin laughed as he used his magic to accelerate the wound's healing. Artoria simply glared at him the entire time. "It's your first day and you already have girls falling on you! I taught you well. Children grow up so fast." He mockingly wiped a tear away.

"If you're going to annoy me the entire time, then leave." Artoria sighed, ignoring the slight pain from her ribs. It was a small price to pay.

That girl could have broken her leg or worse, if Artoria did not take the fall.

"Well then, if you don't need me, then I will go to town, find some lovely ladies to spend the night with!" The wizard playfully poked her injured ribs, but she gave him no reaction. "You know, tolerance helps greatly with the ladies, you better behave yourself while I'm gone."

"Merlin."

"Yes?"

"Leave."

Merlin chuckled, and left her room. She lied on the bed, and let out a long sight of relief.

She was not fond of the idea of getting rest, not when there were more pressing matters to attend to, but it would be night soon, so she had no other choice.

It was not as if she could go around doing anything while she was a guest.

Therefore, Artoria surrounded herself to sleep… that was until she heard a rustling outside her window.

She slowly sat up, and rubbed her temples as her visitor continued to struggle.

Eventually, Guinevere reached her window and got in, falling on the floor in the process.

She got up and smiled awkwardly. Artoria just stared for a long while.

"Hello…" Guinevere chuckled, as she tugged her hair away from her face. "I wanted to say I'm sorry, for breaking your ribs."

"Apology accepted." Arthur smiled back. "Please refrain from doing something so dangerous, the fall could have been worse."

"I will be careful next time!" Guinevere's answer only made him more anxious. "I brought you something, as an apology."

"There is no need for that, I am just glad you are safe." Arthur protested, but the girl made her way towards his bed anyway.

Guinevere took his hand, and placed a blue ribbon in it.

He gave a questioning look.

"I have seen some knights use ribbons to tie their hair, and I thought this one fits you, with the blur armor and all!" She explained, a little nervous over how silly her gift was, but Arthur smiled.

"Thank you, I will take good care of it."

Guinevere chuckled, and then gave him a look of concern. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

The two looked at each other for a moment, before Arthur spoke again.

"I know you came to my room with good intentions, but you should probably leave." Arthur ran a hand through his loose hair, feeling nervous. "It would be troublesome if anyone saw you here."

"Well, it is a guest room in my castle." Guinevere shrugged, and Arthur's eyebrow twitched.

"But the guest room is occupied by a boy, someone will get the wrong idea if they see you." Arthur tried to explain, but much to his dismay, the princess was oblivious.

"What wrong idea?"

"Do you not..." Arthur paused. A girl her age would probably be married off soon, did she not know of something as essential as- no, no Arthur was NOT going to be the one to give her THAT talk. "Princess."

"King Arthur."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

"I am fine, so there is no need for you to worry." Arthur gave her a polite smile, hoping she would get the hint and leave before they both get into trouble.

"Still, you got hurt because of me, so I have to apologize properly." Guinevere crossed her arms.

"You already did though."

"Hush, Arthur. You may be king, but you got bested by me! You must listen to the person who defeated you."

"No... you fell on me out of nowhere-" Arthur paused. "How did you go from apologizing to insulting me?!"

Guinevere stuck out her tongue mockingly, before running to the window.

"I know what to do tomorrow! I will come and get you!" Guinevere waved, before jumping out the window, and Arthur heard a faint 'ow' in the distance.

Arthur... no, Artoria sighed.

"I want to go home..." She landed against the bed. "Kay was right... women are weird."

She leaned back against the pillow, and stared at the blue ribbon in her hand.

She smiled.

The next morning, Artoria became Arthur again, hiding her identity behind a mask like always.

Artoria would join the family with their breakfast, due to Leodegrance's insistence and the fact her body was healing at a fast rate.

It still hurts like hell though.

"Good morning, King Arthur." Gwenhwyfach was the first to greet him as he made his way to the table.

"You can just call me Arthur."

Gwenhwyfach smiled. "You seem to be well. I am glad. Please take this seat."

He nodded and followed her.

Gwenhwyfach and Guinevere looked almost identical, but Artoria was perceptive. While Guinevere's hair was a darker shade and mostly loose, the older sister kept her hair in braids.

Even the way they walked and behaved was different.

Artoria's seat was next to Gwenhwyfach, but she gave it no notice.

Instead, she noticed Guinevere on the seat before her.

The princess smiled when she noticed the ribbon in her hair.

After that, the older sister continued to show her around the castle.

"You may lean of me, if you feel tired." The princess leaned close at times, inviting 'him'. It was rather uncomfortable. "You are still recovering."

"Thank you, I am fine." He dismissed her request, as his attention wandered to a separate garden, locked away. "Why is that garden separated from the rest?"

"Oh. That used to be our mother's before she passed away. She loved flowers." The princess explained, folding her dress as a distraction. "Father did not want anyone to touch it, but someone has to take care of them, so Guinevere insisted on doing it."

"I am sorry."

"It was a long time ago." Gwenhwyfach shook her head. "Would you like to see it?"

"Isn't that too private?"

"Nonesense." She took him by the hand and led him to the garden.

She pushed the door open, and he was in awe of all the flowers, looking vibrant and filling his nose with the sweetest of smells.

It was beautiful.

He smiled, as he looked around.

"Oh, when did you two get here?" Guinevere looked up from watering the flowers and smiled. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is." Arthur sighed, feeling blessed to be surrounded by something so beautiful.

The flowers felt nostalgic.

"Aren't you supposed to be at your lessons?" Gwenhwyfach frowned. She wished for an alone moment with Arthur, the perfect opportunity to make him fall for her.

"No." Guinevere deadpanned, and put away the watering can. "Alright, you two come with me!"

"No." "Where?" They both responded.

Guinevere simply dragged them both by the arms.

Five minutes later and they were at the stable.

"Oh dear lord, Guinevere." Her sister shook her head. "You brought us here... to show off your horse?"

"Yes." Said Guinevere, who stared blankly back at her sister, while hugging a black horse. "Be nice to Arthur!"

The three stayed quiet for a moment.

"Arthur?" King Arthur stared back at Horse Arthur.

"Oh." Guinevere blushed and looked away. "Forget I said that!"

"She named her horse after you."

"FORGET I SAID THAT."

"Why me?" Arthur blinked.

"She admires you from all the stories. You are quite extraordinary." Gwenhwyfach explained. "And she is just weird, actually."

Guinevere stomped on her foot.

"Ow!"

"There is nothing wrong with naming my horse after my hero!"

Arthur laughed, softly.

"I'm your hero?"

Guinevere's blush darkened.

"Nevermind that! Do you like horses!"

"I love horses!" Arthur answered with childlike wonder.

"Then if you feel well enough... how about one race?"