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I do not own Merlin or the characters, neither do I own Royal Dad.
He wasn't exactly what she'd expected, Gwen thought, when the image of Prince Arthur, skimmed through her mind the next morning.
'If he even had, one iota of a sense of humor, he wouldn't be half-bad.'
She'd found the intelligence and banked emotion, in his startling blue eyes, distracting.
His gaze gave hints, that there were layers to this man.
And the notion made her curious.
She wondered, if he'd ever let down his guard.
Then, she wondered if he could.
He seemed like a man set apart, and something about that bothered her, which was silly, because Prince Arthur, wasn't her concern.
Andrew was.
Although she'd struggled with a sliver of intimidation, she'd been determined to treat Arthur, just like she treated the parents, of her other students.
His sense of honor, emanated from him, like the heat from the sun.
The strength of his character, was so rare to Gwen, it fascinated her.
And his confidence too, had emanated, with the same strength as his honor.
He seemed almost perfect.
Heaven knows, she'd had to put up with enough of that quality, from her father and older brother.
Lifting her hair in a ponytail, she pushed the complex Prince Arthur, from her thoughts.
He was a puzzle, best left in someone else's toy box.
She put a map of the palace grounds, a few cue cards and a mirror in a bucket and carried it with her, as she headed for Prince Andrew's personal classroom.
Dressed in perfectly creased slacks, a shirt with the tail, once again, hanging out and a lopsided tie, Andrew with his eyes glued to the television.
Gwen made a mental note, for her next conversation with Francis.
Andrew's television time needed to be drastically reduced.
The little prince glanced up at her, noting her casual shorts and T-shirt, with a confused expression.
Spotting the remote, Gwen turned the TV off.
"Do you have something special on your schedule today, that I don't know about?" she asked. Andrew shook his head.
"Just school with you," he said, unable to hide his lack of enthusiasm.
"Why are you dressed that way?"
"I always dress this way," he said, with just a hint of the same imperial attitude, she'd glimpsed in his father. She smiled.
"Well you need to lose the shirt and tie, and change into shorts and tennis shoes, Your Highness." He glanced at her, with a combination of curiosity and suspicion.
"What are we going to do?" She pulled out the map and pointed to an area she'd circled with a red pen.
"We're going on a quest to this pond," she told him. "We're going to try to find a frog." Andrew's eyes lit up.
"A frog?" he echoed with excitement. "I thought we were going to read and write."
"At the right time," she said.
"Good day, Miss," Francis said from the doorway. He lifted his eyebrows in disapproval at her attire.
"Good morning, Francis. I was just telling Andrew to change his clothes. We're going outside today." Francis immediately stiffened.
"Where?"
"Here," she said, pointing to the map. Francis shook his head.
"No."
"Why not? I was told I could use the palace grounds at my discretion," she said.
"That is too far," he said.
"Says who?"
"The palace policy is...Prince Andrew is not to wander more than a half mile, from the palace itself without an escort." Gwen shrugged.
"So, I'm the escort."
"An official palace escort," he said in a snooty voice, that grated on her nerves. Gwen counted to ten, then bared her teeth in a smile.
"Okay. I'll share my sandwich with you. You're welcome to come along."
"Me!" Francis exclaimed. "I am not security. I..."
"But you're official, aren't you?"
"Yes, but..."
"And you're definitely from the palace?" Francis frowned.
"Yes, but..."
"And you want Andrew to get the best possible education, don't you?" Appearing trapped, Francis narrowed his eyes at her in silence. After a long moment he sighed.
"Very well, Miss Gwen."
Gwen glanced at Andrew, who was staring at her, wide-eyed.
"Change your clothes, Prince Drew. Time's a'wasting." As soon as the boy left the room, Francis turned to her.
"In the future, it would be best to notify me in advance."
"Fair enough," she said with a nod. "I'll need someone on standby every day, for the next two weeks."
"But, mademoiselle..."
"Miss…or Gwen…you just said, you wanted notice." Francis gazed at her with an expression of disbelief and disapproval.
"But shouldn't you be teaching Prince Andrew in the classroom?"
"Later." She glanced at Francis's formal dress. "You think you might need to change clothes, too?" Francis huffed.
"Absolutely not."
"Suit yourself."
A few minutes later, Gwen and Andrew led the way to the pond, with Francis unhappily bringing up the rear.
"We're going to be looking for tadpoles and frogs," she told Andrew, as they neared the water.
They scoured the area, discussing the various plants and fish they found.
When Gwen spotted some tadpoles, she and Andrew shucked their shoes and waded into the pond, to catch them with the bucket.
"Please, remain near the edge," Francis warned her and she waved him off.
"They're little, but fast swimmers," Andrew said, staring into the bucket, a few minutes later.
"So, they won't get gobbled up that easily, by the bigger fish," Gwen said, with a smile. "We really need our frog now," she finished.
Gwen and Andrew searched and a while later, he gave a cry of delight.
"I found one!"
"Good job," she said, winding around a cluster of trees.
She noticed he didn't pick it up, so she took the frog in her hands and sat down and motioned for Andrew to join her.
"Okay, what do you notice about this guy, compared to the tadpoles?" she asked.
"He's green and he jumps instead of swims, and he's a lot bigger." The frog wriggled in her hands and made a croaking sound. Andrew laughed. "And he's noisier."
"Yes, he is," she said. "Can you make the same sound he does?" Andrew was silent for a long moment, then said,
"Ribbit, ribbit." Gwen smiled.
"Sounds close to me. The word frog starts with 'f'. What does that first sound feel like in your mouth?"
Andrew made the phonetic sound and gave a blank look.
"Make it again and think about how your teeth and tongue feel." She made the sound with him.
"I feel my teeth on my lips," he said and wrinkled his brow. "And I feel air."
"Excellent. We call that a lip cooler. That's what 'f' feels like. Frog starts with 'f' and the second letter is 'r'. What does 'r' feel like?" Andrew made the sound.
"Buzzy. Like a car engine in my mouth."
"Very good," she said, delighted and held up the mirror. "Where is your tongue?" Andrew made the 'r' sound and looked in the mirror.
"It's hard to see, but the back of it goes up."
"That's right, and that is why we call an 'r' a back lifter. What about the 'o' sound? How does it feel?" she asked. He made an 'o'.
"Open."
"Yes, and finally 'g'," she said. "Where do you feel your tongue?"
"It's touching the roof of my mouth."
"Great," she said. "We call that a tongue scraper. Make that sound one more time, and put your hand on your vocal chords like this," she said, lifting her hand to her own throat.
Andrew followed her instructions.
"Now just for grins, make a 'k' sound, but keep your hand on your vocal chords. And then make the 'g' sound again." He smiled.
"When I make the 'g' sound I feel it in my throat."
"Very good. Now, would you like to hold our new friend?"
Andrew's eyes widened, then he glanced at her cautiously. She saw more than a hint of interest on his face.
"Yes," he said, and gingerly extended his hands.
Gwen continued the combination of science and phonics lesson, until a downpour of rain drenched them.
Tossing the tadpoles into the pond, she grabbed Andrew's hand and they ran back to the palace with Francis in tow.
Just as they burst through the palace door, she and Andrew laughing, and Francis stoic, three official-looking men, rounded the corner, with Prince Arthur.
Gwen watched him pause, at the sight of them.
"Oh, Your Highness," Francis said, with abject misery, as he bowed.
Three of the men gave a nod of deference to Andrew, then turned their attention to her.
Gwen felt the weight of their gazes and was acutely aware of the trickle of water streaming down her back.
Fighting an overwhelming feeling of intimidation, she shifted her feet, her tennis shoes making a squishing sound.
She looked like a drowned rat.
The three men reminded her of a stuffy version of the Three Stooges.
"Uh...hi...Your Highness," she said, and bent her knees slightly. "We got caught in the rain."
"So I see. Gentlemen, this is Miss Guinevere James. She is tutoring Andrew his lessons outside today...I think?" he asked her, with a trace of doubt in his voice.
She felt his gaze, take in every drenched detail of her.
If she didn't know better, she would have thought his gaze actually lingered on her breasts.
But surely, that wasn't possible. He was a prince, after all. He probably only had sex, for the pure purpose of procreation.
Gwen shook off her distracting thoughts.
He'd asked about lessons.
"Yes," she said. "Science and phonics." At that moment, the frog jumped out of Andrew's pocket. Francis gasped.
"Dear God!" Gwen raced after the amphibian, before he jumped on one of the prissy men, standing next to Prince Arthur.
"He won't hurt anyone," she said. Just before she reached it, Prince Arthur's hand closed over the frog, and she slowly lifted her gaze to his.
"You brought back a visitor," he said. Gwen's breath stopped in her throat.
"Yes, but he's unarmed." Arthur's lips twitched.
"Perhaps," he said, then offered the frog to his son. "But I believe he would be happier outside of the palace."
"Yes, Father," Andrew said, and ducked his head. Arthur paused a moment and ruffled his son's damp hair.
"Change your clothes. Remember we have a fencing lesson this afternoon."
Gwen's heart tightened in her chest.
It was such a human moment.
She'd heard a combination of firm tenderness in Arthur's tone.
He glanced up at her, and she saw an odd mix of emotion in his eyes.
"We shall talk later," he said, and walked away.
As she watched Arthur leave, she heard Francis give a heavy sigh.
He muttered something under his breath and shot her a look of pity. Gwen saw the same pity on Andrew's face.
"Why are you two looking at me that way?" she asked.
"Because, my father said he would talk with you later," Andrew said glumly. "And you were such a fun tutor."
"Were! I'm still here." She chuckled. "It's not as if, he'll send me to the guillotine for getting caught in the rain."
"That's true...the guillotine hasn't been used in centuries. It's in the official museum." Francis shook his head. "But I'm afraid, Prince Andrew is correct. You will probably be deported, within a day or so. The men accompanying Prince Arthur, are his advisors, and they looked extremely displeased."
"But the prince didn't seem too upset," she said, surprised at the alarm pinching her stomach.
She suddenly wanted the opportunity, to complete her work with Andrew.
Although the royal rules and regulations got on her nerves, she wasn't ready to leave.
Francis lifted his chin.
"His Highness has been well trained to control his emotions."
'A little too well trained, in my opinion,' Gwen thought. She frowned, then felt a shift in her emotion.
"Are you saying I'm toast, because the advisors didn't like what they saw of me?" She felt a burning sensation flicker through her and went on to say,
"Well, if a little rainwater is going to get those guys' boxers in a twist, then someone needs to sit them down and talk some sense into them."
"Prince Arthur's advisors, are regarded as the most wise and intelligent men in all of Wales."
"Then it appears to me, that Wales need to import more than fuel and...tutors," she said, then turned to Andrew.
"C'mon. If you can get cleaned up quickly, I'll read a book to you." Andrew made a face.
"I don't like books."
"Bet you'll like this one," she said, taking his hand.
"Bet I won't," he said under his breath, as if he'd intended for her not to hear him.
"Bet you will," she retorted with a smile, and gently squeezed his hand, when he looked up at her in surprise.
After cleanup, a Dr. Seuss book and Andrew's fencing lesson, Gwen was summoned for tea with Prince Arthur.
When she met him in the parlour, she gave a little dip, then sat in the chair opposite him.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness. I appreciate your meeting with me, because, there is a matter with Andrew that I think needs immediate attention."
Stay safe and stay blessed.