It was amazing what a few short days had done. Gwaine felt he had achieved friendship, people to rely on who he knew would ask for nothing in return should he need them, as merlin, Gaius and now Arthur had stood in his corner prepared to defy a king for him. It had been years since he had felt that kind of kinship and trust, which made the idea of leaving this place both harder and easier to leave, as he would not feel so alone anymore.

But there was someone else who he had met when he had least expected it. A woman who was like him in feeling isolated and purposely separated herself from others, as if that were the better thing to do in an effort to avoid being hurt, only in doing so it created its own pain. His determination to save her from that fate had also led Gwaine back to himself, who he had lost for a while without his mother and he was glad that the Elaina he saw waiting for him in the corridor, was not the same noblewoman who had hid in the shadows before.

"it's strange…" she started, savouring these final moments she was with someone who truly understood her and if struggled to get inside her head, granted her the decency in asking or waiting until she was ready to tell him her secrets. "Three days? And the castle won't feel the same without you. I'm sorry you have to go."

There wasn't much to mark his life in the sense of belongings. Everything Gwaine had, he carried in his one rucksack, but as he was faced with the prospect of banishment, the feeling that he was leaving something behind here in Camelot was great indeed as he relished in those green eyes for the last time.

"are you now? I have to say being back out in the wide-open world will have its changes now too. What could make them for the better, is if you were there with me."

Elaina sighed, transported to a field in full bloom with wildflowers when another man had offered her the chance to run far from her troubles, asking that he may be enough for her, so that she would be willing to throw aside her quest for Albion. With the Same opportunity presenting itself again, she was far more reluctant to refuse Gwaine and remained silent.

The cast of her lashes down on her cheek had darkened the colouring more and for the king to go at such lengths to keep Elaina in check, Gwaine was scared to leave her here. She might have her circle of friends around her, but Gwaine didn't think that was enough to protect his lady, as it hadn't been so far and the only freedom she would get was with him and he was desperate to liberate her.

Gwaine seized her hands and drew Elaina in close, in part for his own want and need when he asked, "why do you stay here Elaina?"

She inhaled his scent and from when Edwin had wanted to know the same, her reply had not changed, but she did feel less like the weight of Albion resided on her shoulders, knowing that as desperate as she was for it to be realised, it was for Arthur and merlin to create and she trusted that they would achieve their destiny. She just was not ready to let go of some of the responsibility yet, after promising Edwin she would make the world better than the one he left behind.

"some habits are harder to shake. Maybe…maybe one day I will leave this place. It just can't be now. Arthur, merlin, Gaius, Gwen; they need me and I need them if we are going to make Camelot worthy of story books."

He held her closer, remembering her laughter in the river and the tavern as they played; he didn't want her to resort back to who she had been before he arrived. After Gaius and merlin had acted strangely, Gwaine had asked them to spit out what was bothering them and finally merlin revealed the sinister truth in nature of morgana when he saw she and Elaina embracing. They told him that they feared without Gwaine, it might leave Elaina vulnerable to being manipulated by her sister, especially after what Uther had done to her. The pair had passed on that same fear to him, but he wasunable to process the possibility that Elaina could ever succumb to her sister's intentions and be an equal match to her cruelty.

But for the sake of not feeling alone and seek vengeance for the pain she has felt, it was the making of villains, which he had seen many times before only he believed in what he said to merlin and Gaius, which was that Elaina was stronger than that and the only reason she had reached this point in the first place, is because she cared so much for others. Her whole existence was dedicated to healing and loving the lost and forgotten and eventually, that would include herself.

In her ear, Gwaine whispered, "just don't let the endeavour destroy you… no kingdom is worth losing your soul over Elaina. You have to live for yourself as well."

She chuckled, wondering if he was going to tire from wanting to help her as he had done since the moment they met, "are you going to stop trying to fix me?"

He smiled, having allowed her to hide long enough and drew Elaina back to meet his stare, since she was all that existed when he was with her, "everyone is broken in some way. I can' undo what has hurt you, but if I can find some way to fill in the cracks with my charms, as you have with me, then indulge me on it will you princess."

Elaina rolled her eyes and pushed his chest but as his hands were locked around the small of her back, he didn't go anywhere and she remained fixed to him, "I am not a princess."

"ah, but you are to me. as well as being A stubborn, sometimes snobby, competitive pain the butt."

Her heart was beating wildly, even with his insufferable teasing, "is that your charms, you were on about?"

He didn't confirm or deny it, but what she would not mistake as his affection for her was the kiss he lay on her forehead, her flesh sweet against his lips. Elaina savoured it as she would if it were against her own mouth, though she was not disappointed that he chose to plant his kiss there, for it was still filled with tenderness that left her breathless.

He lingered his lips above her skin, intoxicated by the smell of roses and lavender emanating from her to revisit in his dreams if he couldn't be with the real thing.

Gwaine slipped a letter out his jacket while he still remembered, "here, I wrote you this. open it when I'm gone."

She shook as she accepted it and would do as he asked, then she recalled the ribbons in her hair and pulled one out and wrapped it around his wrist. Her gallant nobleman now has the favour of a lady and she stroked where it lay on his wrist, so that it would be a part of her with him.

"farewell Gwaine the bold."

"…and you my lady."

Elaina couldn't say how long she spent standing in that spot after watching Gwaine leave. She had become part of the décor, like a sculpture carved from stone, until she finally found the willpower to retreat into her chambers where she could open Gwaine's letter in private.

There he had scribbled the message:

'remember, a smile suits you and life is for living. Don't dwell on those we have lost; be thankful we knew them at all. They gave you a gift, to enjoy the time available to you. Make every second count. I'm sure they are watching and I want to hear all about your adventures, as I will share with you mine. There is an address to a tavern on the back, write to me as I will you, until we meet again.'

Even in ink, he had caused her to smile brightly and she clutched the letter to her chest, "until we meet again..."