I am so thankful for the reviews and love, my friends. Really. It means the world to me. :) 3 Love you all and hope you'll like this chapter !
V.
Arthur felt a shiver ran through him when she laid her hand on his.
And this was how he knew she was the one for him.
No one had ever made him feel the way that shedid.
Their eyes locked, then.
He had missed her so much.
Was it possible to miss someone that much?
Had it only been a few days?
It felt like years.
He saw Gwen studying him too with her head slightly tilted and suddenly a thought crossed his mind…
And he blamed himself for not having listen to Merlin earlier.
Without sleep in so long, he had to look awful.
(He certainly felt awful.)
Arthur felt his heart beat faster because suddenly he remembered why he was there,
He was there on a secret mission to bring her back.
And he had no time to lose.
(Because she would always come first to him, but he still had a Kingdom to run.)
He had to tell her before his courage fade away, but suddenly everything was messed up in his head.
"Speak with your heart" had said Merlin.
He could try to do that…
The problem was,
It was so messy inside of his heart he couldn't pick up the right words suddenly.
"Guinevere," he whispered. "I... You have to know...I..."
"Shh Arthur." she stopped him gently. "We will discuss whatever we need to discuss tomorrow. You have to rest, first.."
Gwen stared at him, worried.
He was so pale...
Was she the reason why?
She knew she was.
Her disappearance had hurt him even more than he already was.
She loved him so much and was only good in hurting him more and more.
What kind of a woman was she?
And the worst part was…
She would have done anything for him to be happy,
Anything.
But then she was brought back to reality, as she always was.
She had almost cheated on him with Lancelot.
She wasn't worthy of his trust.
She wasn't worthy of the unconditional love he was giving her.
She wasn't worthy of him.
Immediately, she took a step back and receded from his warm embrace and saw the look of hurt and rejection which crossed his eyes.
The King stared at her for a few long seconds.
Under the twilight, her scarf around her shoulders and curls falling wildly all around her face...
She was perfection.
She was his perfection.
A Queen in all its measures.
How could she not see that?
He walked forward again, when a voice was heard.
"Dog, DOG COME BACK HERE!"
And behind them, a big noise was heard and Arthur turned around, rolling his eyes when he saw Merlin on the ground, a dog licking his face.
"Oh for God's sakes, get up Merlin."
"As if it was my fault!" grunted his servant, trying to get up.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" said Gwen, running to him, "Trouble, leave him alone!"
The dog did what she said and she helped Merlin getting up. He smiled when he saw his friend again and hugged her tightly and Arthur couldn't help but feel jealous when she hugged back, giggling happily.
"I am so glad to see you."
"Me too, Merlin."
They receded and then he looked at the dog,
"Who's that?"
"My dog. Found him. Cured him."
"Ah!" said Merlin, "The hairs" he smiled mockingly toward Arthur,
"Shut up Merlin." the King just said.
At this moment appeared Sophia, breathless.
"Oh.. Gwen... I... I am... Oh my God," she tried to gain her breath back. "Am sorry!"
Gwen slightly laughed and walked toward the young woman before squeezing her hands in hers, "Don't worry Sophia, he can be a handful when he wants to."
Seeing Arthur and Merlin surprised stares, Gwen cleared her throat.
"Oh. Yes. I suppose I owe you two an explanation..." she took a deep breath, "Arthur, Merlin, here is Sophia, my... sister."
She didn't miss the chocked expressions on the face of the two of them.
'Your sister?" asked gently Arthur, "Are you sure?"
And he loved that about Gwen, that she was able to see people with her heart but that was also something that could put herself in danger.
"Yes," breathed Gwen, "It's my father's daughter."
"Are you sure?" he asked again and she took a deep breath,
"She looks so much like him, there is no mistaking whose family she belongs to. Mine."
A silence.
Merlin was the first to recover and he decided to talk later about it with Gwen.
"Glad to meet you."he said first, holding a hand toward her, "I'm Merlin, a friend of Gwen's. We worked together."
Sophia laughed and shook his hand, smiling.
But right away, Merlin lost his smile.
Something had just happened.
He stared Sophia in the eyes, and he saw there the same surprise before she pulled away quickly.
No one had noticed but now, Merlin was on his guard.
Something had just happened…
He was deeply shook himself and even if he had not understood it, he was decided to figured it out.
Arthur moved forward then, undecided in front of how Gwen wanted him to introduce himself.
And even if it would hurt him to hear her say he was her friend, he was ready to let her say that.
At least for now, until they could have a proper talk on where they were standing in their relationship.
"Nice to meet you Sophia, I'm Arthur-"
"Arthur's one of the persons I worked for, back in Camelot." she cut him off.
Arthur's heart fall in the bottom of his chest.
They had went from engaged to... nothing.
What...
But...
How?
Was it real?
Gwen felt guilty as hell when she saw the wheels turning in his head.
She had just seen how her sister was looking pointedly at Arthur then at her, and had wanted to escape her questions because she wasn't ready to answer them.
She had not meant hurt him more than he already was because of her.
Arthur shook her hand and slowly receded.
Why was she only good to hurt him?
Merlin, seeing his friend's misery, came to the rescue as usual.
"We don't want to be of any trouble but... wouldn't you have two available rooms for us?"
Sophia slightly laughed.
"Of course. Follow me."
They did, and when he reached Gwen's side, Arthur looked down.
He was starting to realize this was a mistake.
He came, convinced he could fight for her.
Convinced he could bring her back.
But now that he really was here with her, the same doubts came back to the surface...
Why trying to bring her back when she clearly didn't want him anymore?
Merlin helped Arthur with his stuff, he had seen the look in the young King's face and he knew exactly the reason of it.
"I'm sorry it didn't go as you planned it, Arthur."
The King didn't answer and Merlin was ready to leave when he heard him whisper, more for himself.
"Do you think this is all I am for her, now?"
"No, Arthur…" he shook his head.
"Hearing her call me a 'friend' would have hurt me badly enough but that..." he closed his mouth for a moment before he said in a broken voice. "I don't think she loves me anymore, Merlin. At best she feels affection towards me, but certainly not what I feel for her."
"Don't say that!" Merlin felt tears pricking at his eyes at his best friend's misery.
And it didn't make sense.
He couldn't understand why Gwen was acting this way.
It had to be a reason.
And he would figure out why.
"It's all right. I know it. I can see it." he took a deep breath, "But I won't leave until she tells me so face to face."
"Why?" asked Merlin, curious.
Arthur took a deep breath.
"Because even if I can see, it doesn't mean I can believe it. I don't want to believe the woman I'd lay my life for without a hesitation doesn't care about me anymore." he choked on at the end a bit before he said, "You may go now." he was about to crumble down and he didn't want his friend to see it.
Outside, Merlin saw Gwen, sat on a bench.
When she saw him leave the room, she ran toward him,
"How is he?"
"How do you think he is?" he said in a sad voice and saw the wetness in
her eyes. Merlin sighed and said, "You should go and see him."
Gwen looked at the door a few seconds before shaking her head,
But the longing in her eyes?
He knew it all too well.
Arthur had the exact same in his.
"I can't..."
"Gwen! I don't get it!" he exclaimed and she jumped, "Why are you doing this? I can see this is hurting you just as much as this is hurting him. Please talk to me. I can help you."
She opened her mouth, before closing it again.
Then she took his hand and squeezed it,
"Go to sleep Merlin, it's late. Goodnight." she kissed his cheek gently and whistled her dog before walking away.
Puzzled, Merlin sighed, running a hand through his hair, before a shiver ran through his spine.
He felt observed.
He turned around quickly and saw a shadow running away through the houses,
"EH!" he screamed, throwing himself at the pursuit of the shadow, "Wait!" but when he reached the place where he thought he had seen the human form, he found nothing, nothing but a little piece of cloth... black, patched.
He knew this cloth...
"Morgana." he whispered, looking up with alert eyes.
Gwen came home to her sister's house where she was sleeping, the time for her to find another house.
Immediately she crumbled on the bed and closed her eyes tightly, trying to forget the pain in Arthur's blue ones.
She then hit her forehead because how could have she been so stupid?
The truth was...
She freaked out.
And now, he was there for her and she knew what he was about to ask her...
But could she grant him that?
Could she come back to Camelot with him and pretend nothing had happened?
She loved him more than anything, but what would happen once there?
She could easily take a guess.
She'd woke up one day with her wonderful husband by her side, deciding that he wasn't enough anymore and kissing Lancelot in the corridors before running back to his trusting arms?
And what kind of a woman would be such a person?
She tried to regain her breath and her mind.
The strangest part was, she had not felt any pull towards Lancelot since she had left Camelot…
But still.
She refused to risk Arthur's heart.
She refused to hurt him this way.
She'd rather die than break his heart every day of his life.
She couldn't be trusted.
Her chamber's door opened and Sophia came, Gwen noticed the side of her cape was ripped but the young woman hid it right away.
"Everything's okay?"
"Yes."
"Gwen..." sighed Sophia, then she settled next to her on the bed, "I knew it the day you arrived here."
"What did you know?"
"That you were running away from a man."
"I'm not-"
"I got it." then she sighed deeply, "I know you're the fiancée who cancelled the Royal wedding."
Gwen's heart suddenly stopped,
"How would you know that?"
Sophia smiled,
"This is a small village but gossips do find their way here, you know."
Gwen sighed.
"It's not that easy..."
"You were King Arthur's fiancée," said Sophia gently. "And he came back for you."
Gwen closed her eyes, breathing heavily,
"I won't tell a soul." swore her sister.
"Thank you." breathed Gwen, stroking the ring at her neck.
She was so tired of keeping it all to herself.
"Was he hurting you?" then asked Sophia out of the blue.
Gwen's eyes widened and she couldn't help the chuckle to escape her lips.
"Arthur?" she asked, eyes wide and eyebrows lifted. "No way. It wasn't like that AT ALL. He never hurt me. Never. Quite on the contrary." her voice died down as the reality of their situation fall on her.
"Do you want to explain me, then?"
And then, exhausted, Gwen told her everything.
How Arthur and she had been in love for years. How they went through a lot of hardships, how he finally proposed to her, how she was the happier woman alive but then without any sense felt attracted to Lancelot… How she had cancelled the wedding in order to protect Arthur and how much she had wanted to kiss him earlier, when she had finally seen him.
She made her swear never to tell anyone about this.
Arthur could never find out about the Lancelot's thing.
Sophia swore and Gwen didn't see the crossed fingers behind her back.
Later in the night, checking she was not followed Sophia went to a cave a little far away in the forest.
"Morgana?"
She came in and saw the young woman there, asleep.
The witch opened her eyes and a true smile went there,
"Dear Morgaine," she got up and took her hand, squeezing it. " How about our plan?"
"Well. Gwen's in the village and as you predicted Arthur came for her. He is here with his manservant, Merlin."
"Perfect." smiled Morgana, everything was going as planned. "Is he hurt?"
"I have never seen so much pain in one man." whispered Morgaine,
Morgana chuckled madly.
"And this is only the beginning... I want him to see what it's like to be given up by all the people you care about. To feel alone when you needed them the most." she got lost in her own thoughts.
"Morgana?"
"Yes?"
"They really seem to love each other..."
Morgana let go of her hand and took a disgusted face.
"Love is a weakness."
She had learnt that lesson the hard way.
The young woman looked up at her with wide eyes,
"But, you..."
"I take care of you because you are Morgause's sister,. You are all's that left of her for me. Morgause was my sister, the only one who took care of me when everyone I called friends let me down. Arthur, Gwen, Merlin… I thought of them as my family and they all betrayed me. Arthur hurt me the most. He is the one I want to take down the most. We grew up together and he turned on me like I meant nothing to him at all." Morgana's eyes went sad suddenly, and then she got up changing the subject altogether. "Aren't you tired of this appearance?"
The young woman didn't answer,
"So?"
"Yes, a little." but it was more a whisper than anything.
Then, without a word, Morgana's eyes went amber and Morgaine felt strangely shaped. She was not going used of this feeling. When she opened her eyes, she saw Morgana smiled and she knew why.
She looked a lot like Morgause with long blond hair, brown eyes, a decided look.
As an echo to her thoughts, Morgana breathed,
"You look so much like her..."
The next morning, Gwen woke up and decided to apologize toward Arthur for her behaviour of the night before.
This was her fault.
She couldn't cry with happiness about seeing him and then reject him pretending he was just the man she worked for.
She hoped he knew he was still so much more than that and would always be.
She would remind him of that.
But...
She had thought a lot about it during the night and she wouldn't come back to Camelot with him.
Not when all she could do was hurt him more and more.
With her here, he could have a happy life and meet someone right for him.
She never was right for him.
She was lost in thoughts when she saw Paul.
"Paul!" she screamed,
The physician turned around and smiled brightly at her.
She walked toward him,
"How are you?"
"Very well, thank you. But I'm not the one who was sick so... how are you, new girl?"
"Better." she smiled, "Still some dizziness from time to time but... overall better."
"And this wrist?" he took it gently and looked at the burn, frowning again. "This is so strange..."
"What is? And what did you want to tell me last time?"
"To put cream on this burn!" he spoke louder suddenly and she jumped in surprise.
"What?" asked Gwen, puzzled, "And why on earth do you speak so loud all of the sudden?"
"I must have it inside." he said again, equally loud.
He pushed her in his house and closed the door behind them.
"Listen Gwen," he whispered and there was an urgency in his eyes she didn't understand. "I can't talk of it in bright day, it's too risky. Her spies are everywhere..."
"Spies? What spies? "
"Speak lower, please!" he begged then, "Come to my house, tonight. I will tell you everything that I know."
She slowly nodded and he opened the door to her, before he said in a loud voice again,
"You have to put it three times a day!" but there again, she saw this things in his eyes... fear.
Arthur left his room, decided to see her.
He had to tell her what was on his heart, even if she rejected him after he did so.
He sighed and started walking again, thinking.
He had never considered himself to be a coward, and yet…
Right now he certainly felt like one.
A few minutes later, he saw her leave a man's house and felt his heart stopped.
And he was such a fool,
Because Guinevere was a very beautiful woman both inside and out.
And he thought he would be the only one to notice that fact?
He walked faster.
"Guinevere?"
The young woman jumped and turned around,
"Arthur."
"We have to talk." he took a deep breath, "You know we do." She looked down, nodding. "Tonight? Would you dine with me?"
He had said that in a hesitant voice and Gwen felt herself melted.
"I... I can't tonight."
"Oh." he said again, slowly, And then his eyes got lost behind her and she turned around but saw nothing but Paul leaving it.
Oh.
Oh.
"Arthur, don't..."
He opened the mouth,
But then realized…
He had always been more of a man of action.
So he looked down a few seconds before closing the gap between them and taking her hands in his, making her lose what she was about to say.
Their eyes locked in a heated embrace.
"Come back with me." he breathed then and Gwen closed her eyes.
So much for not being blunt, he cursed himself.
"Arthur..."
"Come home with me." she opened her eyes and saw his, bright. "I would do anything you want, Guinevere, you are... you are the most important person in my life and... I need you." And there were there finally, the words from his heart falling from his lips like it was easy. "As I know you need me too. And... if this is about the wedding, I want you to know that you don't have to marry me." she looked down, frowning and he squeezed her hand making her look up. "We can make this work. I know we can. Give us a chance."
It broke her heart.
It really did.
If only he could see how much she actually loved him.
"Listen," she whispered, "If I'm doing this, it's for your own good. I have done things-" she started but he cut her off.
"I forgive you Guinevere. I forgive everything you may have done. Whatever it is."
She sighed and closed her eyes tightly, letting a tear roll down.
She couldn't take the risk of cheating on him.
She already hated herself enough as it was.
She couldn't bear to see him suffer because of her.
Even if he was visibly suffering right now, but less that if he had seen her with one of his most trusted knight after their wedding.
And she was not going to let that happen.
Even if it broke her heart.
"I can't do this." she breathed.
She pulled away from him slowly and without a word more, turned around before opening her eyes again, trying hard to repress a sob.
She heard Arthur's broken voice said again,
"If this is because your feelings changed, don't be afraid to tell me."
She stopped right away and turned around.
He was there, standing proud and tall but his blue eyes were telling her all that she needed to know.
It would be so easy to let him think that...
He would leave if she did that.
But did she really wanted him to leave?
She was so confused.
She couldn't think straight when he was near her.
"I think I know what's going on, Guinevere."
"I truly doubt that."
He tried a smile but it looked a lot like a grimace.
"Your feelings changed."
"Arthur, no-" her eyes widened.
"It's quite all right." he whispered, looking down. "I didn't realize it before, but since then I had time to think." he took a deep breath. "I... I lost you. I don't even know how or when." he choked out then and closed his eyes, making Gwen fight against every instinct that told her to throw herself at him. He opened his eyes finally and hardly looked at her.
She was absolutely frozen.
She couldn't tell him she was coming back with him – no matter how much she wanted to.
And she couldn't tell him she didn't love him anymore – because that was a blatant lie.
Then Arthur talked again, making her leave her thoughts.
"I'm not ready to give up on you quite yet, just so you know." he breathed so softly before taking her hand and kissing it reverently, her heart missed a beat and then he was gone.
Merlin was studying calmly the piece of cloth he had found behind the house the night they arrived.
He tapped his chin before getting up, a sigh of desperation taking him.
Something was wrong and he couldn'tput his finger on what.
First, Gwen and her strange behavior.
Then, this sister of hers and that feeling when he shook her hand-
Right away, he stopped.
Sophia.
He looked at his hand, remembering the strange feeling he had felt when shaking her hand.
She had magic.
But Merlin was the first to know that having magic didn't make her a criminal.
He sighed again and sprawled on his bed.
Back to square one.
Arthur was taking care of his horse when a voice made him jump,
"Are you going somewhere?"
He turned around and was facing Gwen's sister.
Bloody Hell, what was her name already?
Oh, he had it on the tip of his tongue...
"Sophia." she smiled and he blushed, caught.
"Excuse me," he told her politely, "I still have some work to do with names. And your sudden arrival in Guinevere's life is not helping."
She raised an eyebrow and he didn't look down.
Yes, he found her arrival suspicious and no, he didn't trust her.
And he was looking out for his Guinevere,
Always.
No matter what.
"And you take my sister's well being at heart, don't you?"
He froze and stopped what he was doing immediately,
"I have no idea what you are talking about." he had said this sentence so many times in their relationship.
Too many times.
He was sick of it.
Sick of lying about what she meant to him.
Sophia walked toward him and without knowing the reason, Arthur felt uncomfortable.
Nope,
He didn't trust her.
"Oh Arthur, I really don't know how to hide your feelings, do you?" he was about to call her out on her rudeness towards her King, but then she added. "You are in love with Gwen."
His gaze darkened.
"It's between her and me, I believe."
He was starting to get a little annoyed now, who did she think she was to talk to him like that?
She had only known Guinevere for two days.
Two days.
He had been in love with her for years.
He chose to get an impassive face, stroked his horse and began to leave.
"Can I tell you something?"
He slowed down a little and she saw the coldness in his eyes,
"She wants to start a new life here, with us. The best you can do is leave."
He got closer and she saw his eyes were full of an anger he was barely concealing.
So, the King did have a temper after all and Guinevere was just what it took to trigger it.
Interesting...
Even if she hated him with all her might, she had to admit...
He was attractive.
(It would appear that Pendragons siblings both were.)
Such a waste. She thought to herself.
Arthur raised a finger toward her and whispered in a harsh voice,
"Once again, what is happening between Guinevere and I is none of your concern. Stay out of it."
She raised an eyebrow,
"Gwen doesn't love you anymore Arthur."
She saw the King's stare broke for a few seconds, before he resumed and left without a word more.
Morgaine couldn't help but smiled.
Morgana wasn't going to be glad but she couldn't care less.
Because it was time to enact her own revenge.
Her revenge on them all.
They had killed her sister.
"I'm almost there Morgause..." she breathed then, angrily.
The night fall and Gwen left her house slowly, paying attention as to not wake up her sister.
She walked toward Paul's house without a noise, before knocking at the door.
In the following seconds, he opened and pulled her inside.
"I came." she breathed, then she saw the young man's bags. "Are you leaving?"
He looked down and then stared at her,
"They found out I wanted to talk to you and gently asked me to leave." he chuckled darkly.
"Whose "they"?"
She saw his eyes filled with fear again and he took her hands before whispering in a voice so fast she was not quite sure she had heard everything.
"Listen to me, you can't trust anyone here, do you understand me? No one."
"But..."
"Nobody is who they pretend to be..." he sighed again and looked at her wrist, before added, "And this," he said again, lifting her wrist so she can see it too. "I have never seen anything like this... It's not a classic burn Gwen. It's like silver burnt you. It's not normal."
"What do you mean?"
He pulled away and smiled slightly at her.
"I'm sorry, I am truly sorry..."
"Paul?"
"You need to leave, now."
"But..."
He pushed her toward the door, whispering at her ear, "I will never be far away." and then louder, "Goodbye Gwen."
And two seconds later, she was outside of his house.
She didn't understand anything of what had just happened.
She lifted her wrist in front of her eyes,
Had he really implied that...
She shook her head.
Why would he warn her to stay on her guard?
Her sister was here.
'Nobody is what they seemed to be..." this sentence was stuck in her mind.
She was still thinking about it when she went home, lost.
It was so not helping that the only person she wanted to talk about all of it with…
Was Arthur.