A/N: Hello! Yes, I know, long time since the last update. Please bear with me while I try to get through life. Apologies for any grammatical errors that you may encounter. Let me know and I will try to fix them as quick as I can.
For some reason, my nose was being seriously attacked. I was pretty sure that smell had not been there when I had fallen asleep, with Arthur sitting there talking to me. After dinner, he had stayed with me, telling me about what Morgana had been doing to keep him away from my chamber while I was off cooking in the kitchen. It was quite amusing to hear some of the things she had come up with, such as how she was sure she had see someone in her chamber, or how she had him searching the castle for her missing bracelet, which was tucked safely under her pillow.
He had stayed there even while I had been falling asleep, not that I minded. He had asked me if I wanted him to go, and I remember telling him that I was just resting my eyes, and that I was still listening to him. I don't know what time he had finally left, but it must have been when I was totally asleep.
Now that I was starting to wake up properly, the smell around me was even stronger. I let out a groan as I rolled over, slowly opening my eyes and letting the morning light creep into my vision. When the blurriness from my sleep finally started to clear, I was left speechless. "What… what the hell happened in here?" I muttered to myself.
Everywhere I looked there were flowers. And I didn't just mean a small bunch here and there, I meant the whole room was filled with flowers. Anyone would think that I lived in a florist, there really were that many of them. I had no idea where they had come from, and I didn't know why they were there either.
"Why on Earth are there so many flowers?" I said to myself, dragging myself from my bed and shuffling across the room and over to the table where there was a rather large bouquet of deep, red roses. "Okay, this is seriously creepy, or seriously sweet." I didn't know what to think of it all, because I had no idea where they had come from.
I walked around the room, looking at all the flowers that were there. I had to admit, I was slightly impressed with the amount of roses there were. Not only were there red ones, there were also yellow, pink and white roses. Okay, so maybe I had a little idea of whom they could have been from, but I still didn't know why.
That was when there was a soft knocking on my door. "Isabella? Are you awake?" Arthur's voice called through the door quietly.
"Uh, yeah… yes, I'm awake. Come in." I called, getting distracted by yet another bunch of flowers. I just couldn't stop looking at them all, there were so many different arrangements, and each of them was beautiful.
The door to my chamber opened, and Arthur stepped inside, a smile on his face. "Is everything all right, Isabella?" He asked me, walking over to where I was standing, admiring the flowers still.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. It would appear that someone sneaked into my chamber while I was sleeping and filled it with flowers." I told him, before sneezing, having gotten a little too close to the flowers and breathed in some of the pollen. "I'm not sure if I should be worried that someone sneaked in here and done all this, or thanking someone for them all." When I looked at him I saw the huge grin on his face. "Or maybe I should hit them."
His grin turned into a slight frown. "Why would you hit them?"
"Hmm, let me see. First of all, they snuck into my chamber while I was sleeping. I don't think that is very nice. Secondly, there are so many in here that I can hardly move. I mean, where am I going to sit down and eat my breakfast? The table is covered with flowers." I told him, waiting to see his reaction. Judging by the way that his face was falling, it had been him who had put them all there. "Oh, and also…" I was cut off when I sneezed again. "There's that." It wasn't really that bad, it was only because I had smelled them a little too much that I sneezed.
"I… I thought…" I could see that Arthur was nervous, and his stuttering just proved that point.
All I could do was smile at him, after rolling my eyes at him. "Arthur, did you fill my room with flowers while I was sleeping?" He looked at me sheepishly, before nodding at me. I couldn't help but chuckle a little, he just kept on surprising me. "Thank you, Arthur. They really are lovely. And I am not allergic to them, it's just been a while since I've been around so many."
"Are you sure you like them?" He asked me, still nervous for some odd reason.
"Yes, Arthur, I really do like them. The last time someone gave me flowers was when someone took me on a picnic in the forest." I remembered that day, when my brother Mitch had still been there and Arthur had taken me out for the day. He had given me flowers then, only a small bunch, but he had picked them himself. "Don't tell me you went and picked all of these yourself as well?" I asked him teasingly.
"Well, no, not all of them." Arthur told me, suddenly pulling something out from behind his back. "But I did pick these ones myself, just for you." In his hand he held a dozen red roses, tied together with a red ribbon.
My hand slowly reached out and took them from him. I hadn't expected to wake up and find that Arthur had basically filled my chamber with so many flowers, and I had expected roses from him even less. "Thank you…" I muttered, still trying to get over my shock. I noticed the grin finally return to the prince's face. "When… uh, when exactly did you do all of this?" I asked him, as my fingers gently played with the petals of the roses.
"Soon after you had fallen asleep. Your little adventure in the kitchen seemed to have really exhausted you yesterday. You didn't wake up once while Merlin and I were in here." I wasn't surprised to hear the Merlin had helped him, but I was still curious as to why he had done it in the first place. "I know that I have been a little tough with you, not letting you leave your chamber. But I hope you understand that I only done it because you have been unwell."
I nodded at him, knowing full well that the prince just wanted to make sure that I took the time to get better, I could still remember how worried he was about me when I first became sick, and he had done everything he could to help me. Including spoon feeding me when I couldn't even hold a spoon. Something I was begging everyone would forget about. "I know, Arthur, and it's okay. I've just been getting a little bored in here. Lying around in bed all day and night isn't the most fun thing to do."
He smiled at me some more. "No, I'm sure it isn't. Now, you need to get dressed, and when you are ready, you can join me in my chamber for breakfast."
My eyes widened a little at his words. "You mean, you're actually allowing me to leave this room?" I was trying to contain my excitement. He had told me that we could go out, even if it was just for a walk around the castle grounds, and I was desperate to get outside.
The smile on his face grew even bigger at seeing my excitement. "Of course, Isabella. We discussed this last night. If you are well enough to make dinner for us, as well as Morgana, Gwen, Gaius, and Merlin, then I am sure you are well enough to go for a walk outside. The fresh air will do you some good."
"I wasn't actually sure if you were being serious or not when you said that." I admitted to him. It had crossed my mind that he had said it just to keep me quiet, and that it wasn't actually going to happen. It appears that I had been wrong. "I thought you might have just said it to shut me up."
Arthur frowned at me, one of his hands reaching out and touching my cheek gently. "Isabella, I know how desperate you are to get out of this room, I was completely serious when I suggested that we go for a walk today. Now, I suggest you dress, Isabella." With his hand still on my cheek, he leaded forward and pressed his lips against mine, taking me quite by surprise.
All I could manage to do was nod at him, before watching him as he left me in my own little florist. I looked down at the roses that were still in my hand, and a smile stretched across my face. No one had ever given me flowers before, well, apart from my dad and my brothers.
Once a month, my dad would always get my mum a huge bouquet of flowers, and with them he would bring in a smaller bunch for me. He used to say that he was getting pretty flowers for his pretty flower. When I was sick, my brothers would bring my some flowers, ones that they had picked from someone's garden. But no one had ever given me roses, or as many flowers as Arthur had.
I had to shake myself out of my thoughts, and go and get myself dressed. Arthur was waiting for me to have breakfast, and then he was going to be taking me out for a walk. At the realisation of that, I quickly found somewhere to put the roses, making sure they were in some water, before grabbing a dress from the wardrobe.
I think I managed to dress in record time, and I was out of my chamber door and standing before Arthur's before I even knew it. I was just about to knock on the door when it was yanked open, and Merlin stood there looking at me.
"Ah, Princess Isabella." He said, clearly surprised to see me there. "I was just about to come and get you."
"No need, I'm already here." I told him, a smile on my face. Merlin just stepped aside and allowed me to enter the prince's chamber. The prince himself was standing by the window, gazing out of it. "Seen anything interesting out there, Arthur?" I called, grasping his attention.
When he turned to look at me, there was a smile on his face. "I was just trying to decide where would be the safest place to walk with you, without you finding some trouble somewhere." He announced, finally heading over to the table where Merlin had almost finished setting up the breakfast.
"I will have you know, my dear Prince Arthur, that I do not go looking for trouble." A kept a frim look on my face as I stepped closer to the table. "Trouble comes looking for me." I said, before letting a grin spread across my face.
Arthur smiled back at me, and I was sure I could see a twinkle in his eyes as he did. "How are you feeling this morning? I know the coughing is much better, but what of the pain?" Arthur just had to ask me if I was okay. I should have known that I wasn't going to get away from him asking about it.
"The pain is minimal. I'm not going to lie and tell you that there is no pain at all, because you'd notice and have a go at me for not telling you. But it really isn't that bad." I saw him open his mouth, but I jumped in before he could say anything. "And if it does get any worse, I will tell you straight away."
He seemed happy with the comment, and quickly pulled the chair out for me to sit down. All I could do was smile up at him as I sat down, and waited for him to sit and join me. Once he was opposite me, Merlin cautiously placed a bowl of sloppy oats in front of me. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, curious as to why he seemed a little nervous. "I… uh, I didn't know if you would want this, or just an apple. Arthur said to give you this and see if you would actually eat it." He informed me, which earned him a glare from the prince.
I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Merlin, I'm not going to throw a tantrum and dump it all over you. I'll eat as much of it as I can, but I'm still going to have my apple first." I told him, taking a hold of the greenest apple I could see and taking a big bite out of it. "I do love apples."
Both of the men just smiled at me as I sat there crunching away. I was in such a good mood, and not just because Arthur was finally letting me out. The surprise of finding so many flowers in my room seemed to have really given me an excuse to be happy. It was just such a sweet thing for Arthur to have done, and I was still a little in shock that he had done it. But it just showed that he did actually care, even if he was an idiot at times.
After eating my apple, I managed to get through about half of the contents of the bowl before deciding that I was full. Arthur was still smiling at me, glad that I had eaten more than just an apple no doubt. "Are you ready to go for I walk now, Princess Isabella?" He asked me, getting out of his chair and walking around to mine.
"I do believe I am, Prince Arthur." I still had a stupid smile on my face, and no matter how much I tried to contain it, it just would not go away.
"Well then, shall we?" Arthur said, offering me his arm. I stood and took hold of it, watching him as his smile grew even bigger. It would appear that both of us were in a rather good mood, and I just hoped that it would stay that way. I didn't want there to be any trouble, I didn't want anything to ruin what could be a fantastic day.
Soon enough, we found ourselves outside. Everyone we passed had bowed to us, and bid us a good morning. One of those people just happened to be Gwen, and she just so happened to leave with a smirk on her face. I knew exactly why she was smirking, and I was going to be having words with her at a later time about it all.
"Arthur, what made you decide to fill my room with flowers this morning? And please, be honest with me." I asked him as we walked past the training grounds where several of his knights were.
He looked at me nervously, his eyes shifting and trying desperately to avoid my gaze. I gave him a little nudge and a smile, encouraging him to answer me. With a small sigh, he relented from keeping his silence on the matter. "I thought they would cheer you up. I know you miss your brothers, and the threat on your life still looms. It's been a while since I've seen you smiling."
I looked at him, and in his eyes I could see that he was telling the truth. While I had been ill, I hadn't been very good company. I didn't smile so much because of the pain I was in, or due to the fact that I was stuck in the same room every single day. I honestly had nothing to smile about. "Well, it certainly made me smile. I admit, I was a little worried at first, I mean, you know, waking up and finding the whole place to be filled with flowers. But it was really very sweet of you, Arthur. Thank you." I reached up and gave him a light peck on the cheek, which only resulted in me blushing furiously.
"I shall admit that it wasn't very easy to pull off. But the people were paid well for their work and help." That smile on his face had now turned into a very obvious grin. "It was a good job you were so exhausted and slept right through it all. I was worried that you were going to wake up at one point, and start shouting at me to get out of your chamber."
I let out a small chuckle. "I don't think anything could have woken me. I had so much sleep to catch up on, and I didn't have any nightmares either." Arthur noticed me rubbing my chest a little and gave me a concerned look. I didn't give him a chance to say anything, as I knew what he was going to say. "Can we sit for a while? My chest is hurting a little, I don't want it to get any worse."
The prince smiled at me, glad that I had told him the truth and not tried to hide the fact that I was in pain. "Of course we can, Isabella." He replied, helping me to sit down on the lush grass. The sun was shining down on us, which meant that it was rather warm outside.
"So, when are you going to let me do more than just go for a little walk?" I asked him, leaning back and putting all of my weight on my hands that were flat against the ground.
Arthur just gazed at me, pretty much laying down next to me and resting his head in his hand. "Let us get through today first. You've been stuck in that chamber for a little too long, but you still need to take it easy."
I looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "I still need to take it easy? Now, are those your words, or those of Gaius? I never knew you were so knowledgeable about illnesses and such." Yes, there was a hint of sarcasm in my voice, but I knew that Arthur would never really take offence to it. He knew when I was being serious.
He let out a sigh, his eyes never leaving mine. "Yes, I have spoken to Gaius. I have only been worried about you, Isabella. I trust in what Gaius says, and he believes that you still need to take it easy, but that you are over the worse. You need to take it easy so that you do not exhaust yourself. Like yesterday, for instance."
"Okay, fair enough. If that is what Gaius has suggested, then I will not argue. He is, of course, the court physician, and does know what he is talking about." I knew that my words were likely to annoy Arthur, and that was what I was hoping for.
"Oh, so you'll listen to Gaius, but not me?" He asked me, getting a shrug in response. "Well, that certainly is nice to know."
"Arthur, the only voice I listen to is the one inside of my head. And right now, it is telling me that we should both shut up and enjoy the day." I couldn't help but smirk at him, knowing that he was most likely going to roll his eyes at me, and call me impossible.
I watched as he done exactly as predicted. He rolled his eyes at me before letting out a short sigh. "You are absolutely impossible, Isabella."
"Yup, and don't you ever forget it, my dear Prince Arthur."
"Oh, as if you would ever let me." He told me, now sitting up a little more and gazing at me.
"Hmm, and don't you forget that either." My eyes were locked with his, and I could feel my heart pounding away in my chest. Arthur was looking at me in such an indescribable way, but it was a way that I had seen from him before.
"I would never dream of doing such a thing, Princess." His voice came out in almost a whisper, his face so close to mine now. I knew what he was about to do, and although I wanted to, we were out in the open for all to see.
Instead, I could only smirk at him, quickly sitting up properly and almost causing the prince to fall flat on his face. "Well, I would hope not." I told him, trying not to laugh at what had just happened. It was different when we were inside of the castle, I really didn't mind him kissing me so much. But out in the open? Nope, not going to happen. Ever.
I heard him let out a frustrated groan as he got himself back up. "I take it back, you're not impossible, just utterly annoying, infuriating and frustrating." It was clear to me that he was a little upset, and overreacting slightly.
"I do believe you have called me all of those things before, Prince Arthur. I hope you will discover some new insults soon. If you wish, I could share some of the insults Merlin has taught me." I knew that would wind him up even more. I really didn't care, because I was just glad to be out of the chamber, and I was going to make the most of me time outside and in the fresh air. It was always more fun to annoy Arthur when there were other people around.
"Insufferable. That's what you are Princess Isabella, insufferable." His voice had lost all humour now, and he sounded deadly serious. Straight away, the smirk fell from my face and I found myself gazing at my hands in my lap. Maybe I had actually pushed it a little too far this time, but he had never been so quick to react like that before. In fact, he had only ever reacted like that the day we had met. And after I had climbed the tree, and called him a few choice words as well.
I didn't say anything. I just kept looking down at my hands. Arthur and I usually joked around and called each other things like that, but he really hadn't sounded so serious before. It actually hurt, to have him call me those things, and not know whether he meant it or not. My vision was actually starting to cloud a little, and I realised that my eyes were filling up with tears.
It would appear that Arthur had actually noticed my sudden change in attitude. "Isabella? Is everything all right?" I just nodded my head at him, still not looking anyone but at my hands. "Are you… are you sure?" I thought that there was a little hint of concern in his voice, but I was quick to dismiss it.
"I'm fine." I whispered to him, trying not to let what Arthur said get to me. We were having such a nice day, and now it was all going down hill.
That was when I felt someone place their hand under my chin, and Arthur lifted my gaze up so that our eyes could meet. My eyes were still glazed over with a layer of tears that were ready to fall, but I was managing to hold them back, even when Arthur frowned at me. "Isabella, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong." I told him quickly and quietly, blinking rapidly. I wanted to kick myself for getting so upset over something so stupid. I had called him so many things before, arrogant, stupid, pig-headed, even a clotpole, and he had never truly taken offence to it.
"Isabella, if nothing is wrong, they why does it look as if you are about to cry?" He asked me, gently reaching up as the first tear slyly managed to escape and roll down my cheek. I pulled away from his hand and brushed the tears away furiously. Arthur just looked at me in concern. "Isabella…"
"It's fine. It's nothing." I told him once more, trying to keep it together. I just couldn't understand why what he had said had gotten to me so much. It wasn't like I hadn't been called some terrible things before in the past, especially by my uncle. He called me more than just insufferable. He also called me useless, worthless, a complete waste of space, and a murderer. He would always blame me for the death of my family, always.
I heard Arthur let out a sigh beside me. "Have I done something wrong?" There was still that little hint of concern and worry in his voice, and I hated it, because it made me feel guilty. "Did I say something to upset you?"
Part of me wanted to tell him that what he had called me had upset me, because of how serious he sounded. But another part of me knew that it was better to just forget it all. "It's nothing. Really, forget it." I insisted, hoping that he really would just drop it.
But it appeared that I was wrong, as I felt his hands cup my cheeks as he forced me to look at him. "Isabella, whatever I said, I am sorry. It was never my intention to upset you." All I did was look at him, he was stopping me from looking anywhere else by holding onto my face. "Forgive me?"
It felt like I didn't really have much of a choice but to forgive him, but then I remembered what he had done while I had been sleeping, and the amount of roses that were filling my chamber. I ended up nodded my head at him, while still trying to hold back the flood that was ready to break through. I was getting upset over nothing, I knew I was, but for some reason, it hurt when he had called me insufferable.
I wasn't going to tell him what had upset me, it just wasn't worth it. "Do you feel up to going for a walk some more?" Arthur asked me, watching me closely. Once again I just nodded at him, and let him help me to get up from where we were resting.
Now I was determined to just pull myself together. "I'm sorry for being so off, Arthur." I whispered to him as we started walking once more. "I was having one of my mood swings."
All Arthur could do was smile at me, and that just made me smile back at him. Yes I had overreacted over such a stupid little thing, it had gotten to me when it really shouldn't have, and all I could really do was blame it on hormones. He had surprised me with so many flowers in my chamber, taken me out for a walk, and he had constantly been smiling at me until that point. Arthur hadn't really done anything wrong, it was me who was making a big deal out of nothing. Now, I was going to enjoy the rest of our walk.
A/N: Well, I'm glad so many of you liked the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as well. I do have big plans, but it's currently trying to find the time to get around to writing everything. Things have been busy for me, and I have only been able to keep up with one of my stories. But never think that I have abandoned this, or any of my other stories.
A want to say thank you to everyone who has favourited/followed the story, and all of you who have stuck by me through my absence. Also, an absolutely massive thank you to all of you who have taken the time to leave me a review. It's reviews that remind me why I write in the first place!
I'm going to shut up now and get back to writing. I still have 2 more stories to update, wish me luck!
Pipppa.