Chapter Six
No one seemed terribly saddened at Lord Owen's funeral. In fact, Alys slept through it on my shoulder. Once it was over, we walked back to the chapel, where Leon took his lordly oaths, swearing to uphold his king's will, protect his people, and do right by them. "Now, if only more of the nobles actually did what they swore to do," Gwaine murmured in my ear.
"If they did, you'd be out of a job, Sir," I whispered back. He simply grinned back at me.
The villagers had a feast that night. It was apparently tradition, to celebrate a new lord, though I had a sneaking suspicion that the one for Owen had not been nearly as large, nor as jubilant. It seemed as if the entire village had to press their lips to Leon's hand, some of them multiple times. There were even a few young women, and one or two not so young women, who tried to impress him, but he didn't seem to notice them. Though, Gwaine and even Elyan were quick to comfort the pour lambs, so I was fairly certain they weren't permanently crushed. But no, the only females Leon seemed interested in were his three nieces, who continued to be charming and utterly adorable. In fact, they even gave Leon an excuse to leave the festivities early. Alys quite literally fell asleep into her tiny bowl of pudding, despite her most valiant efforts to stay awake. "And I think that's my cue to excuse myself and my family," Leon laughed. "I thank you all for your warm welcome, and once again, I swear to you all that I will do my utmost to protect, provide, and defend this beautiful piece of the kingdom I'm rather pleased to call home."
That earned a roar of satisfaction to rip through the crowd. Leon smiled, collected his girls, and headed back to the manor house with a wave. Hunith went with, as she'd taken over the role of nursemaid until Leon could find a suitable one. And Gwen and Arthur followed a little while later, as Gwen said she was rather tired. That left me with four gentlemen, and a few of the villagers had started some music. "You know, Arthur's knights are supposed to be these paragons of genteel manners, and yet, here I sit, a poor lady with not a soul to dance with," I sighed dramatically.
I garnered laughter from my friends, just as I'd aimed for, and Merlin jumped up. "My lady," he said, bowing so lowly it would have put Lord Godwin to shame. "Would you do me the great honor, nay, the great pleasure of dancing with me?"
"I would be most delighted, My Lord Grand Sorcerer," I said, with every ounce of nobility I'd ever had channeled into the words. I took his hand and stood, and we both instantly burst into laughter.
I did manage to get all of my friends to dance. After all, there were plenty of pretty girls in the village, and they were all terribly keen on the attractive knights. And several of the men asked me to dance with them. As it was country dancing, it was far less refined than that of the court, and far more entertaining. After being tossed around exuberantly by the butcher, a massive man larger than even Percival, I breathlessly sat for a much-needed respite.
"It must be so tough being the belle of the ball." Gwaine's teasing voice in my ear caused a smile to creep onto my face, even as I turned to face him.
"You would know," I teased back. "After all, I've seen you receiving your share of batted eyelashes."
"That would be what I'm trying to avoid. A few of them have a bit more than a nice night of flirtation on their minds," he replied, shuddering a bit.
"It's so difficult to have a pretty face." I managed to say it with a straight face, but his cocky posturing made me break.
Gwaine continued, sweeping his hair dramatically away from his face. "It is difficult. Finally, someone actually understands me!" His theatrics continued, soon drawing Merlin over.
"Is this dollop head bothering you, Anna?" Merlin asked, slipping his arm protectively around my shoulders, all the while frowning comically at Gwaine.
I smiled mischievously up at him. "Gwaine is always bothering me, but we must be kind to the simple ones."
Merlin's laughter nearly drowned out Gwaine's offended "Oi!" But it wasn't long before he, too, was laughing. "Did I tell you about the time when I bewitched Arthur? Well, it wasn't the first time, certainly wasn't the last, but I had to use magic on him to get him to leave Camelot. It was when Agravaine betrayed him to Morgana, and they overtook the city. I had to use a spell that temporarily made him forget who he was. It also made him forget quite a lot of other things. We met some smugglers who helped us, and they were utterly convinced that Arthur was rather touched. It took far too much effort for me not to laugh at nearly everything he did while the spell lasted."
I was nearly in tears by the end of his story. "Do tell more," I begged. "I love your stories!" And so, we spent the rest of the evening by the fire, with Merlin, and then Gwaine, regaling me with some of their more entertaining antics. They tried to outdo each other with more outrageous stories, usually showing the other in a rather ridiculous light. Percival and Elyan eventually joined us, often correcting the stories when they got a bit too fantastical.
As the stories were fat too entertaining, it was quite late when we all headed back to Leon's home and then on to bed. And it was far too early when Hunith shook me awake the next morning. "It's time to be up, my darling," she sang, then unleashed three giggling girls into my room. It was truly a devious plan, as there was no way I'd be able to resist, or to be upset for any real length of time.
Leon left Martin as his steward, allowing him to continue in the everyday management of the manor and lands. "But if you need anything, I'll come as quickly as I can," he assured the entire household.
"Just take care o' yerself an' those little 'uns," the cook, who looked to be older than Gaius, told him with a grin. "We'll take care o' the rest."
As Godiva and Boudicca hadn't yet had much experience riding, and Alys was yet far too little, the girls rode double. Hunith made a snug little pouch to hold Alys, who snuggled in and immediately fell asleep against her chest. And Gwen and I claimed the two older girls immediately. "We're far smaller than you men, and it will tire our horses far less to have added weight," Gwen reasoned regally.
"And I adore them both," I added with a grin.
Leon shook his head and helped me on my horse, handing me Boudicca after I was settled. "You be good for Lady Anna," he gently told his niece. "Listen to what she says, alright?"
"A course, Unca Lion. I'm a good girl," she said, defiant scolding in her tone.
It was very good that she couldn't see my face, as her words instantly brought a grin to it. "Yes, Unca Lion, she is a very good girl," I teased him, all the while hugging the adorable girl tighter to me.
He simply shook his head, kissed her gently, then headed to his own horse. "Now, Boudicca, would you like to learn how to ride a horse?" I asked her quietly. "I mean, to be able to tell it what you want it to do? Daffodil is an excellent horse to learn on."
So, for most of the ride back to Camelot, I instructed her on how to hold the reins, firmly but not too tightly so as to avoid hurting the horse's mouth. Gwen did the same for Godiva. "We'll have to talk to your uncle about finding your girls ponies to practice on," I told them. "You're both doing magnificently!"
Gwen agreed. "I think you are both born horsewomen."
"I not a horsewoman!" Boudicca argued. "I jus' a girl, not a horse!"
Gwen and I both laughed for a good long while before we could explain what it meant. But once she understood, Boudicca nodded. "Unca Lion! I a horsewoman!"
That caused our entire party to smile. "That you are, my darling," Leon agreed readily.
Once back at Camelot, we easily fell into a new routine that included the girls. In fact, it seemed more that the girls fit themselves into our already established routines with hardly any changes needed. Gwen, Hunith, and I claimed the girls for much of the day, in what Godiva called "Lady Lessons". We taught them to read and write, as well as sewing, riding, and dancing, as age appropriate, of course. They even charmed Gaius, who began to teach them simple medicine, herbs, and magic. And I began to teach Godiva to play the flute, with the promise that once she mastered the basics of playing, I would add in magic.
Most evenings were spent either in Gwen's sitting room or Arthur's study, with all of us gathered together for supper. Leon would listen with rapt attention as his girls told him all about their day, then they would pester him for stories about his day with the knights. Percival showed a surprising talent for storytelling, that Merlin would embellish with his magic. It was idyllic. A part of me had been broken at Father's death and being forced out of our home. It had further broken with Will's death, then Mother's, even with Merlin leaving Ealdor. But I realized, as I sat with a sleeping Alys in my arms, watching Godiva and Boudicca reenacting some amusing part of their day for the men who'd missed it, I felt more whole than I had in years.
"What's wrong?"
Gwaine's whispered words at my shoulder pulled me from my introspection. My brow furrowed in confusion, and he answered my wordlessly asked question. "You're crying," he said, gently brushing tears I hadn't even known I'd shed from my cheeks.
"Nothing is wrong," I assured him, smiling to keep further tears from spilling. "I'm happy. Far happier than I can remember being in a very long time."
Understanding dawned. "Having a home, a family, is rather nice," he agreed.
I nodded. "I can't help but feel that this was always supposed to be. As if destiny knew exactly what we would all go through, so she gave us each other to help soothe the aches she would also give us."
Slowly, Gwaine smiled. "I like that, very much," he murmured. Then, his smile became more of a smirk. "And of course, destiny would have to be a woman. No man could ever be that capricious."
My short laugh startled Alys, causing her to stir before settling back down. "You be quiet, Sir Gwaine, otherwise I will deposit a very cranky lady on your lap."
"I could think of worse things than having a beautiful lady in my lap," he said, gaze suddenly intense on me.
It became very difficult for me to breathe all at once. My stomach twisted and flopped, and my heart pounded along with it. Gwaine was always flirtatious, but it had never caused quite this reaction from me before. I didn't quite know what it meant.
"Leon wants to put Alys down now." Merlin's sudden appearance was a rather welcome distraction, one that I took with gladness.
"Then I should take her to him," I said, standing up quickly, but careful not to wake the tiny girl in my arms.
I transferred Alys to her uncle, who seemed slightly confused, then I allowed Boudicca to climb into my lap as she demanded I braid her hair, which I did, over and over again happily, if it meant I was able to ignore Gwaine for the rest of the evening.
AN: Ugh. I apologize for not updating for so long. November had me crazy busy with NaNo, and then once December hit, I couldn't stand the thought of writing for far too long. Even with just needing to edit, I still couldn't do it. So sorry, my lovelies! But here's a Christmas present for you, and I hope the girls being adorable is enough to make it up to you! Thanks to all of you who follow and favorite, and a big thanks to KayJane16 for your lovely review!