Slipping into the bedchamber adjoining Arthur's study, Branwen beheld a sight that would have been amusing, had she not been endured the same ordeal not very long before. Behind the gossamer bed curtains, Guenevere was lying and half groaning, half protesting at Vanora, who was tending to her and who by then was seven months along herself, and looked ready to burst. Branwen quirked a grin as she sat at the surprised Guenevere's bedside, sighing.
"Well...what a trio of impending motherhood we make, eh?"
"Oh Branwen," Vanora reached out and embraced the girl with a smile, and Guenevere suddenly found the spirits to be glad as well.
"Well, at least I won't be going through this hellish torture with only Vanora as comfort," She noted, with a strained laugh, "I think she's become completely numb to the process."
"You're right, I have." Vanora nodded proudly, "How far along are you, priestess?"
"A little more then three months," Branwen looked at Guenevere, "And the sickness has only just recently left me behind."
The young Queen groaned again, "Oh, you'd think I'd be able to handle this, after having an arrow pulled from my side as a child, and then my fingers broken by those damned Roman priests," She huffed, as another wave of nausea washed over her, "But I can't!" and as Branwen took Guenevere's hand, she found herself genuinely grinning from ear to ear for the first time in weeks, wondering how the Queen would react when Arthur told her that she was to be sent to Avalon for the remainder of her pregnancy.
All stress and worry left Branwen for a time, sitting and talking with the two women, all of them at different stages of their journey. And the priestess realized, with a start, that she finally felt at home once more...
x
x
Branwen left the room after a time, stepping out into the now familiar stone hall, and letting out a small gasp of surprise. He was waiting for her outside, halting mid-pace when she made her appearance. Gawain smiled, still trying to cover his nerves, and the priestess returned the guesture.
"Would you walk with me, Branwen?" The knight mannaged to ask. Branwen idly looked down the hall, and then nodded.
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Long ago,
Your name a shadow
In my dreams
The White Brave still searching,
Raining Winds fall apart
I believe your heart...
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Beyond the fortress dusk had fallen, the mists hanging low on the green hills that rolled on toward the walls. Branwen leaned gratefully on the arm Gawain offered her, lest she trip in the shadowy light. She felt a sense of comfort then, with him beside her, a feeling she'd always had near him, she realized.
They sat beneath one of the solitary trees that dotted the landscape here and there; it's leaves fading above them in the autumn air. Branwen pushed back her hood, and for a moment Gawain simply looked at her, before he spoke, reaching out to touch the side of her face.
"Try as I might, your face has not left my thoughts for a single moment," He murmured, setting his jaw against the strong emotions her very presence evoked, "I have missed you, Branwen."
"I have missed you as well," Branwen had to look away, as the wind tried to tug her long hair free of her cloak, and her voice trembled a bit, "In Avalon, I could not find contentment, no matter how hard I tried. And in other regards as well, life has been...difficult." She looked back at him then, her dark eyes brimming, "I am with child."
Gawain's eyes widened a bit, looking at her, as his heart jumped within him. Slowly, he smiled, before realizing that Branwen was on the verge of tears. Overcome, he reached around her shoulders and embraced her, pressing a kiss against her brow. "Lady, why does this bring you such sorrow?" He asked in a whisper, and she let out a choked sob, as for the first time in her life a man sought to comfort her. She buried her face against his chest, the leather and armor and the same burgundy cloak he'd wrapped around her after her frigid bath in the sea...
"I am a priestess of Avalon," She managed, "Every year, children are born on our Isle, children who do not remain with their mothers, children who are sent off to be fostered as soon as they are weaned. Some even before then." She swallowed a sob, "Every year, women accept this as the way things are. But I can not." She rose, as she finally admitted this aloud, looking into his blue eyes that were filled with compassion, and also pain "I can not bear the thought of giving my child away. I am not that strong...and because of that, I am a failure to the mother."
"You're no such thing," Gawain protested, in a fervent whisper, and then sighed, once again reaching out to her, to brush the russet hair back from her eyes. Guenevere's voice echoed in his thoughts then...'seek not the goddess' chosen.' But looking on her, Gawain could do nothing else. "Stay with me." He heard himself say.
Branwen's breath caught in her throat. Oh how she wished...to be there in Viroconium, spending her days with Vanora, having her child in her arms, singing the songs by the fires, and Gawain...
"Why..." She finally breathed again, "We just barely know each other, Gawain." She whispered, and he nodded, looking away. She was right, and he had probably sounded like a fool. But then, he turned back, and looked into her eyes again.
"That may be so," He replied, after a long moment, a small smile gracing his lips, "Yet my soul still seeks out yours, as yours seeks out mine. And we both know that apart, they are not complete."
And Branwen knew that he was speaking the truth. From the day she had crossed the wall at Morgaine's side, the sight had been leading her toward him, and had not stopped since. She had lost her sense of home in Avalon, and now at his side, in this place, she'd found it again. Slowly, she reached out to him, and he was quick to answer her call, kissing her softly, tenderly, as the stars stepped out of the deepening twilight above. When she pulled away, Branwen laughed a bit, even as tears came to her eyes. "You're very convincing, knight." She spoke, shakily, and Gawain grinned, reaching up to dry her eyes.
"Is that a yes?"
Branwen looked away for a moment, biting her lip, thinking of Eiluned, of Morgaine...she looked back, managing a smirk as she ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face, "Aye," She whispered, "Aye, I'll stay." Then she smiled fully, reaching up to brush aside fresh tears, "But knight, you'd better be falling in love with me, or so help me..."
"Oh, I'm already there." Gawain assured her, his tone serious then, "It's a new feeling for me...but," He kissed her again, this time resting a hand on the slight swell of her stomach, "I do love you, Branwen."
"You keep saying these things first." She whispered, voice and smile wavering, "It is new for me too...but I do believe that I am in love with you as well, Gawain."
"It's nice to have that cleared up." He noted, wrapping his arms around her, as she rested her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes. For the first time in weeks, contentment swelled within the priestess, warm, absolute contentment...
x
x
x
x
x
x
Morgaine had told me that she'd been granted the sight twice in her lifetime, during her dreams. The first was an experience she'd spoken of often since her childhood, of seeing her brother as a grown man, carrying a banner into battle, a banner of Avalon, and the people of Britain following him and calling him their king. The second was a dream she'd told me of when I completed my rites as a full priestess, of seeing her death at a great age, and myself as the Lady of The Lake, my arms raised to part the mists, carrying her body to it's sacred resting place on the Holy Isle.
As Gawain and myself walked back to the fortress in the starlight, I was given a premonition, and had to stop for a moment. Morgaine was atop the temple in Avalon, a sad kind of smile gracing her features. She let me see the third sight she'd been given, as she'd made Arthur's gift, hidden away in her rooms.
It was again of Morgaine's death, and I was in the vision, yet now as a shadow lingering just beyond sight. It was not I who parted the mists, It was a maiden, younger then I would have been, with long black curls and a powerful aura around her, much more powerful then mine. She raised lithe arms above her, and I realized with the same shock Morgaine had experienced, that it was Nimue. Nimue was the one who would follow in Morgaine's footsteps as The Lady...though I apparently would still have a part to play.
"Are you alright?" Gawain asked me, as my sight faded, and I realized that I was still standing motionless.
"Yes," I replied, suddenly overcome with a kind of peace I'd not felt in so long, and a deep abiding affection for the man who walked beside me. "I am well." A sigh, and I leaned against him for a moment, "I am where I should be."
x
x
x
x
x
x
That night, I performed my last duty as a full-fledged priestess of Avalon, standing at Eiluned's side, as Nimue carried Morgaine's gift in her arms, kneeling before Arthur's seat at the round table.
"To keep you well in battle, the King's sister sends him this mighty gift, made with her love, and the magic that dwells on the Holy Isle." I spoke, as Arthur pulled away the linen to reveal a handsome sheath, covered in markings and runes of protection. It fit Excalibur like a glove, and Arthur was most pleased, reaching out to ruffle Nimue's curls in his jovial mood.
None of us there knew that the sheath would indeed keep the King well for many years to come; it's powers only fading in the twilight of his life, when he would meet Nimue again. When she would carry him away from Britain, away from a long, fruitful rule, to his final resting place alongside his sister and his bride. But for now, Nimue was a carefree child, Arthur was on the verge of becoming one of the greatest kings the legends of the world would know, and I was filled with contentment, despite the uncertainty I still felt over the future. I would think on and cherish that time, as great trials were still ahead, for all of us gathered in that place...
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Author's Notes: Ok, that one took simply forever to write, comparitively =P I wanted it to be just right, and fluffy, yet realistic, yet romantic, all while I myself was in a horridly cynical and ill mood XD
Luckily, I felt much better this evening. I spent the whole day in my apartment sick while my parents had a party for my nephew Aiden's first birthday =( I couldn't go, couldn't risk giving germs to all those babies, but demmit it made me sad! hehe...
Anywhoo, yes, hope you're all enjoying There's still plenty of intrigue, conflict and fluff left to cover, so stick around. Things are about to get truly exciting, oooo!
huggles Gawain He makes me feel better