Disclaimer: All of the 'King Arthur' characters belong to Touchstone Pictures. The song is "If it Ain't you Baby" which belongs to Alicia Keyes.
Guinevere sat down in her favorite spot in the garden. It was a stone bench underneath an arch surrounded by bushes. She gave a small shiver. Damn, why didn't I bring a cloak? She cursed herself. Galahad, get here quick, before I freeze to death. As if Galahad heard her thoughts, two men walked through the bushes. "My lady, your knight has come!" Galahad whispered. Guinevere rolled her eyes at him. "I have to go back now. Arthur wants me to help him with something." Galahad said.
"What about Lancelot?" The other knight was hiding in the shadows behind Galahad. At the queen's question, Galahad burst into a fit of laughter. Of course, Guinevere didn't know about Lancelot's "lover." "Don't worry, milady." And with that, he disappeared.
When Lancelot saw his Queen sitting under the arch, his stomach gave a small dip and his heart skipped a beat. Guinevere looked so lovely, like a fairy queen in the stories his mother told him and his sister. "There she is, Lance, your lover, your passion, your fire!" Galahad whispered.
"Galahad, I'm not a woman. I don't want poetry."
"Aye, I'll agree that you're no woman. They smell better. But what I said is true, isn't it?"
Lancelot knew it was true. All of it. He slept with many women, but Guinevere was so… unique. She was like Arthur's sister, Morgaine. Morgaine was different, but in a good way. Guinevere was the same. All the barmaids were common and dull compared to her.
Lancelot stayed half hidden in the shadows while Galahad talked with Guinevere. As the younger man walked away, he whispered, "Good luck, Lancelot." And Lancelot was left alone with Guinevere. It would have been so much easier if he knew that she felt the same way about him. He stood there for a moment staring at her. He was lost in her eyes.
Guinevere waited patiently for him to say something. She smiled at him, and for some reason, he blushed. She frowned, puzzled. "Lancelot?" She asked, quietly.
He jumped a little and shook his head. "Sorry," he said, and grinned. "Would you like to walk now?"
She smiled a little. "I would like that very much."
They wandered around the courtyard together, talking about everything. Every now and then, Lancelot saw Guinevere shiver. "Milady… do you want my jacket?" He pulled it off. Hesitantly, she reached out and took it.
"Are you sure, Lancelot?" He chuckled.
"Yes. I have other garments." And indeed he did. He had a leather shirt, along with his armor. Guinevere pulled the jacket on. It was long, black and warm. She inhaled. It smelled like hay and horses. It smelled good. She sighed. Lancelot…
She's wearing your jacket. She's wearing your bloody jacket! The thought swirled around in his mind as he stared at Guinevere. He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms. He wanted to touch her hair; it looked so soft. He wanted to kiss her and hold her and love her.
Slowly, the two made it back to the bench where Guinevere had waited for them. After sitting down, Lancelot spoke. "My lady, if you don't mind me asking, where is your family."
She looked up at him. "I'm… not really sure, actually." She sighed, "Well I know where some of them are."
He frowned. "I… I don't understand. What do you mean, 'where some of them are?'?"
"I was the second oldest of nine, including myself." She began. "My father was a warrior. Since my mother had so many children to take care of, and because I was one of the oldest, I hardly saw her. I had to keep out of the house because I was 'underfoot'
"My older brother, William, and I were always gone. Most of the time, he was teaching me how to fight. We only went back home when my father returned from war. He always brought tales of Arthur. He said though he was the enemy, he was an honorable man.
"When I was twelve, we found out that my father died. My mother went mad with grief. She died two years later. In the end, William and I had to give our youngest siblings to other families. After mother died, there were too many to take care of. Soon, it was just Will, Alicia and me. Alicia was fourteen, Will was sixteen and I was fifteen.
"When I was seventeen, the Saxons raided our village. Both Will and Alicia died; I barely survived. I wandered around for several years, before Marcus Honorius captured me. I guess you know everything else." She gave a small sigh. "I miss them. At least I know mother, father, Will and Alicia are safe."
Lancelot felt terrible. "Milady, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you."
Guinevere smiled at him. "Lancelot, you did nothing wrong. I'm not going to penalize our best fighter for being curious." She gave a soft laugh.
In the darkness, Lancelot blushed. "Do you honestly think I am the best fighter?"
"Yes Lancelot. You are the bravest man I have ever met." He could hear her voice, laced with emotion. She moved closer to him, filling in the gap of one foot. He turned his face to her and for several moments, they stared into each other's eyes. Their faces kept moving closer and closer to the other until the lips met. For a few moments, both of them were together, they had what they always wanted. Lancelot took her hand and she ran her fingers through his dark, curly hair. They were both completely happy, just with each other.
Guinevere broke away first. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "Milady, I am so sorry. I-I don't know what came over me…" he trailed off.
"No, no Lancelot… It was my fault…" She stood and gave him his jacket. "I'd better go now." Before he could say anything, Guinevere was already running inside, leaving Lancelot confused. He raised a hand to his lips. It was strange to think that a mere moment ago, Guinevere had her lips on his.
All night Guinevere was awake. She lay in the bed with Arthur, but her mind was not on the man beside her. Why did I run away? Was I afraid? Yes, I was afraid. Not of Lancelot, no. I was afraid of breaking my duty as the queen. Then why did I go out there in the first place? Then she sighed. I went because of him… Lancelot. Slowly, she drifted to sleep.
The following morning, Guinevere awoke to find Arthur gone. Must have gone to have some meeting. She stood up and grabbed her dressing gown. After pulling it on, she went to the door. Just as she opened it, she came face to face with…
"Lancelot?" The knight stood in the doorway with his hand raised to knock.
"My lady? I was, uh, seeing if, er, Arthur was in. Is he?"
"No, he probably went to a meeting or something like that. May I help you with something?"
"Oh, no thank you, my lady." He began to walk away.
"Lancelot, I just wanted to say that I am sorry for running away last night. Let's just forget about it."
He stared at her. "Yes. It was nothing." However, one look in her eyes told him that it was more than nothing. Her eyes held caring and tenderness. His were passion-filled and wanting. The thing both of their eyes held was love. Love for the other.
They stood for a moment, with their faces bare millimeters apart. She leaned in to kiss him; she felt so hopeful. But he took her hand and raised it to his lips. "I'm sorry, Guinevere. It was nothing." And he turned and left her feeling crushed and confused. It took her several moments to realize that he called her Guinevere.
The moment Lancelot returned to his room, he nearly began to cry. He hated hurting her, but this was the only way he could protect her. He knew that if she did fall in love with him, someone was bound to find out and both of them would be in serious trouble. They would be executed, most likely. Oh, Guinevere, I am so sorry. But this was the only way…
The rest of the day found both knight and queen in deep depression. They both were wishing that she wasn't High Queen and he wasn't such a coward. But mostly they were wishing she would have followed her heart and not married Arthur. I would give up everything to be with him. It means nothing without him.
Some people want it all
But I don't want nothing at all
If it ain't you baby
If I ain't got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain't got you