Chapter Sixteen
Merlin was quick to mend my poor broken hand, but not without rather a lot of laughs at my expense. And Gwaine was torn between pride that I'd still managed to knock Laudine out, and far too much amusement at my poor technique. Though he did promise to show me to how throw a proper punch, once we had some time to ourselves. Gwen shot me a questioning look at that, to which Gwaine proudly responded, "We're getting married."
"It's about time," she replied, hugging me quickly. "And Arthur owes me a new horse. Once I feel less the size of one," she added, rubbing her belly with a laugh.
"You really were all betting on us," I said in surprise, while trying to fight the blush creeping up my cheeks again.
"We all knew you two are in love," she told me, leading the way to Arthur's study again. "I just had to get Merlin out of the way first."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Merlin questioned with a laugh, still carrying the unconscious Laudine like she weighed no more than a handkerchief.
"Why do you think I told you what 'everyone' was saying around the castle about you two last summer?" Gwen asked back, a mischievous smile on her face. "Absolutely no one was talking about you two, at least not in the way I implied. But I figured it would be the best way to get you and Anna to realize that you do love each other, just as siblings, and then Anna could finally realize that she's in love with Gwaine. I just wasn't planning on both of them being stubborn mules and taking months still."
"You knew I was in love with Gwaine all the way back then?" I couldn't believe it. But then, Gwen was usually very perceptive. "I didn't even know I was in love with him."
"I knew I was in love with you," Gwaine announced, very pleased with himself, as he kissed my now healed hand in his.
"And I knew that," Gwen declared. "I was fairly sure Anna had feelings for you, at least since the forest in Caerleon."
I was about to reply that, yes, that's when I realized it, when we stopped in front of Arthur's study. The light moment fled as we all remembered what we were there for. But, just as Gwen reached to knock, the door opened, revealing a very rumpled Arthur. "Gwen!" he sighed, looking incredibly relieved as he wrapped his wife in his arms. "I'm not sure what happened, but I'm so glad to see you, my love."
"And I you, my darling," she replied, cupping his cheeks with her tiny hands. "I've missed you."
They kissed for a moment, and then the moment passed, but they were still kissing. "They forgot about us again," Merlin stage-whispered, pulling a nervous giggle from Blanchefleur.
The royals pulled apart, and Arthur glowered at Merlin, though I could see his heart wasn't in it. "I see you're back," he groused at his best friend. "I should have known you'd be responsible for this mess. Why are you carrying a girl on your shoulder?"
"Because Anna knocked her out," Gwaine said proudly, a huge smile lighting his face.
Arthur looked from Laudine to Blanchefleur to me to Gwaine and shook his head with a sigh. "You lot'd better come in and explain."
…
It took a bit to explain everything, especially since we were interrupted three different times and had to start again each time from the beginning. Elyan, Percival and Gaius, and Leon and Hunith all joined us, with comments on how they each felt as if they were waking from a long sleep. (In Percival and Gaius's case, they each seemed as if they were actually waking, since they both smelt like they'd spent the entirety of the past two months living in the tavern.)
"Let me make sure I understand," Arthur started, then glared at Merlin, who looked as if he was about to say something cheeky. "Laudine came here to take Anna back to Lot. She's been using magic to keep Blanchefleur asleep, taking Gwen's place as queen and making Gwen look like her, and causing us all to behave in ways that are completely out of character for us. Other than taking Anna back to Lot, what could she possibly hope to gain from the rest of this? It wouldn't even really help her kidnap Anna, other than possibly not noticing what was going on until it was too late."
He hadn't directed the question to anyone in particular, but everyone's gazes eventually fell to Blanchefleur. "I- I don't know," she started, looking a bit uncomfortable with the attention. "It's not a terribly well-kept secret that Lot covets Camelot, so perhaps she was merely trying to stir up trouble while here. Make it easier for a later assault, possibly. I don't really know."
A sharp knock on the door stopped any reply, other than Arthur's "Enter."
Lyonesse and Lynette came in the room, though Lynette was much more hesitant than her younger sister. Both seemed a bit surprised to see all of us in the room, but Lyonesse shook it off and handed something to Arthur. "We've been worried, Sire," she began, hands twisting in her skirts the only evidence that she wasn't nearly as confident as she was seeming. "Ev- Well, everyone- That is-"
"You've all been acting very strangely lately," Lynette said quickly, then covered her mouth like she'd surprised herself. "But you have," she added, clutching her sister's arm.
"You have, Sire, and my Queen, you haven't been yourself," Lyonesse said, turning to Gwen. "You've been nothing but kind to me and Lynette from the day we met, but now you act like we're not even there anymore! And Anna, you never leave- When did Blanchefleur wake?"
It seemed as if she'd just caught sight of the girl who'd previously been sleeping, and now sat next to me. "We'll tell you everything we know," Merlin promised the two newcomers, "if you'll tell us what brought you here."
As the newcomers told us their story, it became clear that Laudine had apparently thought the other set of sisters to be inconsequential to her plan, and subsequently hadn't spelled them in any way. As such, they saw the subtle changes that had taken over the rest of us, and Lyonesse had gotten suspicious. Well, both had, but Lyonesse was the one willing to look in Gwen's chambers after we'd broken in. "And I found that," she told Arthur, pointing to the small doll-like thing she'd handed him, "under the bed. It has to be something magical, right?"
At that, Arthur scooted the doll to Merlin using his knife, not willing to again touch it himself. "Yes, it does have a magical residue," Merlin murmured, inspecting it closely, then passed it to Gaius. "I can't say for sure without some tests, but I think it was to help enhance Laudine's glamour, make it last longer."
"Glamour?" Lynette asked, then blushed once we all looked to her again.
"She's able to take on the appearance of others," Merlin explained with a smile, which made her blush more. He then explained what we'd been discussing, and finally it seemed that everyone was caught up.
"Just how hard did you punch her?" Elyan asked me, pointing at Laudine who was still unconscious.
"Oh, I turned her own sleeping spell on her," Merlin answered before I could even open my mouth. "Anna didn't actually hit her hard enough to do any real damage."
My jaw dropped, and Gwaine hastily coughed to cover the laugh I knew he wanted to release. "You mean to tell me that I broke my hand hitting her, and it didn't do any good whatsoever?" I may have screeched a bit, but I was incensed. And of course, Gwaine only coughed harder.
Merlin, at least, had the decency to look a bit ashamed, while everyone else was looking far too amused. "Well, she does already have a remarkable black eye," he placated, well, he tried, but I refused to be placated.
"Gwaine, you're teaching me how to throw a punch as soon as we're done here," I ordered my betrothed, who took my hand in his.
"Of course, love."
"And how to use a sword. Or at least a knife. A lady's got to be able to defend herself."
"As you wish, my love."
"Is there something you two want to share with the rest of us?" Leon asked, looking from Gwaine to me and back again with the beginnings of a smile.
"We're getting married," Gwaine proudly said again, and his obvious pride made me blush a bit.
The room exploded with shouts of "You owe me!" and "Couldn't you have waited two weeks? Just two weeks!" and "I don't know what she sees in you, mate, but congratulations."
A few minutes of chaos, and then Arthur knocked on the table sharply and stood. Once everyone quieted down, he shot Gwaine and me a quick grin. "Yes, congratulations to you two. I have no idea what you see in the oaf, Anna, but maybe you'll be able to keep him in line." We all laughed at the jokingly offended look on Gwaine's face. "But we do still have something more serious at hand. We'll have to have a trial for Laudine, of course, and hopefully we'll be able to get more out of her at that time. But we have to consider this yet another act of war on Lot's part. He sent a spy into our courts to capture one of our own and to sew discord. We cannot let this stand. In four weeks, we will take the war to him. This has gone on long enough, and we will end it, with either Lot's surrender or his death."
Each knight and Merlin stood as one, hand on their swords. "Lot's surrender or his death," they echoed, and each one's eyes glowed gold.
AN: It's been a while, I know, but I think I've finally wrangled my muse for a bit. And, to make up for the appalling amount of time it's been since I've started this story, I'll post several chapters for you at once! We're nearing the end now, so thanks to all who've read this far, and a big thanks to those of you who review. Reviews make me happy! And kudos to anyone who catches the tiny Princess Bride reference!