Genevieve and her company pushed hard to get to Camelot as quickly as possible, all fearing the worst. Genevieve was out of her mind with worry, working herself into a tizzy, so much so that the group had to stop early, finding an inn where they could rest, and allow the Princess to recover from the illness that had overcome her. She was laying up in the room, buried beneath as many blankets as possible. Gwaine had been sitting with her, but had decided to go get a drink. Little did the small party know that just outside, coming in from a hunt, was the person they were all worried about.
"You know what you need after a hard day's hunt?" Arthur asked his servant who was sitting on the horse beside him.
"Sleep," was his response. Merlin hated how Arthur always dragged him along on these hunts but allowed his sister to stay behind. Isabel had the lovely job of taking care of the chores back in the castle while he had to bumble his way through forests, helping the prince hunt innocent creatures.
Arthur looked over at his servant before scoffing. "A mice cold tankard of mead." He looked so pleased with himself. Their hunt had gone well, despite Merlin attempting to scare off every animal in the area. Then again, if Isabel had come along, there would have been no hunting. It seemed like she was clumsier than her brother, if that was even possible.
"Mead?" Merlin questioned, unimpressed with the young man riding in front of him now. Despite the fact that only a month earlier the prince had almost died, he decided that now was the perfect time to hunt, and thanks to an overgrown lizard, Merlin had to follow Arthur and protect him.
They had stumbled on a small village that had a tavern in it, so Arthur all but marched to the tavern, looking forward to a drink. "No better place to measure the mood of your people than the local tavern," he told Merlin with a grin, dismounting his horse.
"This is one of those moments where I tell you something isn't a good idea and you ignore me, isn't it?" Merlin questioned as he dismounted his own horse and followed Arthur.
"You're learning, Merlin. Slowly, but you're learning. Now, remember, in here, you're not my servant, I'm just a simple peasant like everyone else." The pointed look to Merlin left no question that Arthur truly believed that he could pass as a normal peasant.
"Simple part's right," Merlin muttered under his breath. Arthur couldn't understand what had been said, but assumed that it had been derogatory in nature.
"What?" Came the imperious demand.
"I said the sun is very bright," Merlin covered quickly.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is." Arthur didn't believe his servant, but he really wanted that mead, so he chose to ignore whatever it had been that his servant had uttered and make his way into the tavern. Both were completely oblivious to the carriage parked to the side of the tavern, and the amount of horses.
Inside the tavern and inn, Genevieve woke up suddenly, sensing a powerful magical being approaching. Ignoring how she felt, she cautiously made her way downstairs, dressed appropriately for a Princess for once.
Arthur and Merlin seated themselves at the only wooden table available, with Arthur looking around at the people inside. The owner of the tavern approached the two men. "Afternoon," she cheerfully greeted. "What'll it be?"
"Er..." Arthur responded, not sure how to react to this woman.
"Mmm... You're a handsome fellow," she said, looking at Merlin.
"Well, you wouldn't be the first to say it," Arthur arrogantly told her, always assuming that any compliments were directed towards him.
"Oh, no, sorry. I was talking about your friend here." That response deflated the prince, who sat stunned, looking at the woman in front of them.
"Him?!"
"Thank you!" Came Merlin's pleases response. He too was used to Arthur being the one to receive the compliments between the two of them. However, Merlin also knew that most of those compliments were due to Arthur being the prince.
"Two tankards of mead, please!" Arthur finally ordered, still flustered at what was occurring. As the woman bustled off to fill the order, Merlin looked at Arthur.
"I was wrong, coming here was a great idea!" Merlin stated, still pleased with the turn of events.
The door to the tavern swung open with a loud bang, startling all within. Genevieve had finally finished descending the staircase and stood in silence as she saw the burly man stalk in, throwing dishes that a waitress had been holding. "Afternoon, Mary," he sneered at the keeper, a nice woman who had been helping Gwaine take care of the Princess. "Business looks good," he said with a glance around the crowded room, his eyes briefly stopping on Genevieve, calculating her worth based on how she was dressed, assuming that she was there to have her time bought.
"We have our better days," Mary responded neutrally.
"I don't suppose you'd begrudge me my share, then." Mary threw a handful of coins his way, disgust written in her body language. "And the rest?" He demanded?
"That's all we got," she bravely replied. Genevieve began to slowly look around the room, trying to find Gwaine, when her eyes found a familiar head of blond hair. She slowly and cautiously moved to get a better look and see if it really was Arthur.
However, before she could move far, the burly man grabbed Mary by her dress and pulled her close, a small dagger pointed to her chest. "I'll not ask again!" He growled.
The familiar mop of hair stood up and faced the man. "Take your hands off her," Arthur demanded, unaware that his sister was nearby. The sound of his voice brought both relief and concern to Genevieve as she realized Arthus was indeed there.
Quickly, the man attacked Arthur. Arthur threw him into a shelf, angering the man. "I'm gonna make you pay for that.
Merlin, whom Genevieve didn't recognize for obvious reasons, smartly told the man, "I'd like to see you try."
The man whistled, and a large group of threateningly large men entered the tavern.
"You had to open your big mouth, didn't you, Merlin?" Arthur questioned his servant.
Gwaine approached the two men, much to Genevieve's delight. "You two have got yourselves in a bit of a pickle, haven't you?" He joyously asked. He was comforted with the fact that Genevieve was upstairs, away from the violence about to take place. Genevieve noticed that he had a drink in his hand and couldn't help but shake her head as she smiled at the situation. Between her brother and her love, these men didn't stand a chance.
"You should get out of here while you have the chance," Arthur advised the stranger in front of him, his sense of nobility saying that he should protect as many people as possible.
"You're probably right," Gwaine agreed before taking a swig of his drink. He handed the drink to the leader of the gang with a smirk before punching him, ensuring that a brawl started.
Arthur and Gwaine were very skilled, and both seemed to be enjoying the fight. Arthur was focused enough on his servant that he was able to shout a warning to Merlin as a man threw a chair at the unsuspecting young man. It was with this unhonorable move that Genevieve decided to enter the fray. Before she could fully enter the room, she saw Merlin mutter something, his eyes glow gold, and a bench smash into two of the larger men. Mary was rushing around, attempting to save her property while Merlin made his way to the counter, hiding with Mary behind it and both attacking anyone who came to close. Gwaine, a man trapped in a headlock, approached the counter, much to the obvious delight of both people hiding behind it. He knocked out the man and looked behind the counter. "Pass the jug, eh?" He questioned. Merlin passed the jug of mead to Gwaine, who took a swig before punching the attacker attempting to sneak up behind him. "What do they call you, then?" He asked, a smile plastered on his face. Fighting was his passion, and this fight helped him feel like he was protecting Genevieve, still unaware that she was in the room.
"Merlin," came the reply, a grin matching Gwaine's own.
"Gwaine. Pleasure to meet you." Gwaine smashed the jug on the head of another attacker, knocking the man out. "Such a waste, eh?"
Arthur was fighting the leader. The leader pulled out a knife and attempted to stab Arthur. Gwaine lunged at the man, attempting to wrestle the knife away, but took it to the thigh instead. Genevieve screamed as Gwaine tried to get back up, only to fall and knock himself out. Merlin quickly moved to examine Gwaine as Genevieve shoved her way through the crowd. Her guards, who had also gotten involved in the brawl, flanked her, worried about what was about to occur.
"How is he?" Arthur questioned as he looked around for the source of the cry. Merlin continued to bandage Gwaine's leg. Genevieve finally pushed her way to where Gwaine was laying and dropped to her knees.
"Genevieve?" Arthur asked in disbelief. What was his sister doing in a place like this? Genevieve ignored her brother, keeping all her attention on the man who had stolen her heart.
"Arthur, he isn't doing well. He's losing a lot of blood." Arthur bent down and picked up the man that had helped him and Merlin, and that his sister was oddly crying over.
Merlin moved to comfort the crying girl, having heard Arthur say her name, but not paying enough attention to what he said to know who it was that he was comforting. He did, however, finally notice the guards wearing the colors of the Knights of Camelot.
The smallish group made their way outside, the Knights dragging out members of the gang. They locked up the leader in make shift stocks as the villagers threw rotten fruit at the man. Arthur had attempted to throw Gwaine over his horse, until Genevieve started throwing a fit and insisted that he be put in her carriage. He had placed him, not so gently he would admit later, in the carriage and saw his sister enter in quickly. He turned his focus onto the village in front of him, trying to ignore his sister and the strange man. "If this man ever troubles you again, word is to be sent to Camelot. Soldiers will be here within a day."
"How can you make a promise like that?" Mary questioned as she paused in her fruit throwing.
"Because I'm the King's son, Prince Arthur," he declared before signaling to the grown group to depart and follow him back to Camelot.
Genevieve sat in her carriage, worrying over Gwaine as his left continued to bleed through the makeshift bandage. She sent up a silent prayer, knowing that she couldn't use her magic in this situation.
They made it back to Camelot by nightfall. Merlin and Arthur moved Gwaine to Merlin's bedroom in Gaius's quarters, with Genevieve following close behind. Gaius immediately began to order Merlin around, which allowed Genevieve to learn the name of her brother's servant as she sat by one of the beds in the small chamber. "Merlin, fetch me some fresh water, towels, a needle, and silk thread."
"And honey?" A feminine voice asked from the doorway.
"Yes, Isabel. You're learning," came Gaius's gentle encouragement. Arthur looked at Gaius for explanation. "Helps fight the infection." Arthur nodded, focusing on his sister and how she was acting around this man.
"Will he be alright?" He whispered to the physician, not wanting to disturb his sister, who he now noticed wasn't looking well herself.
"Providing he's strong," came Gaius's response, following the prince's lead to whisper. He had noticed how worn the princess seemed, but the young man who was unconscious and bleeding out needed his immediate attention.
"He's that, alright. The man saved my life, Gaius. He has attracted the attention of my sister somehow. He's to be given anything he needs." Gaius nodded his understanding.
As Arthur turned to leave the room, Gaius softly called out to the prince. "Can you please take your sister to somewhere else? I'm worried about how she looks, but I need to stop his bleeding first."
"Sure, Gaius." Arthur walked over to where his sister was sitting, her head down on the mattress. He discovered that she was asleep, so he gently picked up his sister and carried her to his chambers, assuming that her chambers weren't quite ready for her.
He ran into Isabel in Gaius's main room and requested that she follow him and aid his sister. They quickly, and quietly, made their way through the castle. It was to their supreme fortune, or misfortune depending on who you asked, that the small group ran into Uther. He took one look at the body in his sons arms. He quickly realized that his daughter had returned to Camelot. With speed that belied his age, he took his daughter's unconscious body from his son's arms and moved to her chambers, having already ordered the servants to make sure it was ready for her return.
"You, girl!" He called out to Isabel, who quickly followed the king, stumbling only slightly as she followed the three royals into the room. "I am reassigning you to serve the Princess now. I want you to go get Gaius so he can look over her, now!" He was almost yelling at the girl by the end, but made sure not to get too loud to disturb his sleeping daughter. As the girl left, he turned to his son. "Why was she not immediately taken to Gaius on her return?" He demanded of his son. Arthur breifly explained, leaving out some details that he himself wasn't sure about, how he and Merlin had stumbled upon Genevieve while out hunting but how she had insisted (which wasn't too far from the truth) that Gaius look over a gentlemen who had come to her rescue. Uther accepted this explanation with no argument, mainly because he was too focused on his daughter. He swept a hand across her face, and noticed that she was running a fever. Fear filled him. His daughter couldn't die before he made amends.
Gaius quickly arrived, taking one look at the sleeping girl and quickly becoming concerned. She was doing worse than he had realized. He immediately began examining the girl he had known since her birth. He was confident that Merlin could take care of the young man laying up in his chambers for the night, his main concern was now the princess.
Gaius stayed with the princess all night, working on bringing her fever down. Uther stayed as well, concern over his daughter.
Morning broke over Camelot. Merlin was on his way back to the room he shared with his sister, a tray of food in hand. When he opened the door, he saw that Gwaine was awake, and looking around confused. "What am I doing in this bed?" He questioned.
"You were wounded. Arthur wanted to make sure you were treated by his physician," Merlin told him.
"Arthur? As in Arthur Pendragon?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"My fiancée and I were coming here to look for him," Gwaine answered truthfully, a silly grin coming across his face as he thought about Genevieve. Then he grew concerned. Had she been left at the inn?
"And who is your fiancée?" Merlin questioned, a knowing look already on his face.
"Genevieve," came the simple, hurried reply as Gwaine attempted to get out of the bed quickly, worry clouding his brain.
"Speaking of Genevieve, the King wants to thank you," Merlin stated from where he was leaning against the wall.
"Please, no. I've met a few kings. Once you've met one, you've... you've met them all." It wasn't just Uther and what he had done to Genevieve that angered him, it was what his own former king had done to his family following the death of his own father.
"He'll probably give you a reward," Merlin wheedled, knowing that if Uther heard what Gwaine had said about him and Genevieve, then the king would be more likely behead then man.
"I'm not interested. Besides, I've got everything I need here in the castle already. I just have to go find Genevieve. Make sure she is okay.
"So, why bother helping us, if you don't like kings?"
"You're chances looked between slim and none. I, er... I guess I just kind of like the look of those odds. Plus, Gen was in that inn. I had to protect her."
Merlin nodded his head, smiling to himself as he listened to the brave man standing before him. He told Gwaine how to find Genevieve's room, and warned him that she might still be asleep. Upon hearing this, Gwaine hurried from the room, muttering about how he should have made sure she got more rest, or something like that.
Arthur was pacing around his room, thinking about his sister and Gwaine, and how they were at the inn together. "How's Gwaine?" He asked Merlin, knowing that his servant had an uncanny ability of getting information, and didn't have the ability of keeping what he learned a secret, the poor boy.
"Recovering," Merlin managed to say without revealing anything else. He glanced out the window and noticed a growing number of people in the square, all who seemed to be focusing on a man on a majestic horse. "Who's that?" He asked Arthur.
Arthur walked over to the window, glad for the distraction that his servant was providing. "Ah, Sir Darien. He's here for the melee," he informed his servant. He had been looking forward to the melee until he had found his sister, and discovered that she was in terrible condition. She was so sick, even Gaius was concerned.
"Oh, yeah. The tournament where the knights ride around hitting each other with blunt weapons for no good reason," Merlin derisively stated.
"A little bit more to it than that," Arthur defended.
"Really? All I've ever seen is people getting the seven bells knocked out of the so that the last man standing can be called the winner."
"The melee is the ultimate test of strength and courage," Arthur said proudly, but Merlin could still tell that he was distracted.
"Are you sure we're talking about the same thing?" Merlin teased.
"Well, I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're not a knight."
"Oh, well if it means I don't get clobbered 'round the head, I'm glad of it," Merlin proudly stated.
"I'm afraid it doesn't," Arthur mockingly said. He picked up a cup from his table and threw it at the back of Merlin's head while Merlin was distracted. Merlin cried out in pain as the cup hit where it was intended to and turned around to face Arthur again, a bit peeved at how the prince was acting. Arthur simply nodded to his armour sitting on the table. "I need that lot cleaned by noon. Oh, and Isabel can't help you. She's been reassigned to my sister," was the explanation that came tumbling from Arthur's lips. Merlin rubbed his neck before groaning, gathering up the armour to go clean it. Arthur waited until Merlin left the room before allowing himself to relax. He didn't relax long before leaving his room and making his way down the hall to where his sister was laying silently.
He entered into the darkened room and saw Gwaine sitting almost exactly like his sister had the night before, clutching her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. Arthur stood in the doorway, watching for a while, as Gwaine was whispering something to his sister. "So, Gwaine," he said suddenly, causing the other man to jump. "What's the story with you and my sister?" He asked gently as he moved to where they were.
"I rescued her, three years ago in a forest. She appointed me her official bodyguard and had me travel with her as she went around the lands, doing what your father wanted her to do. We got to know each other very well. So, when we returned to that same forest a month ago, I asked her to marry me. And she accepted. She knows my past and all my secrets, and I know her past and her secrets. I can't imagine what my life would be if she wasn't in it. I love her."
They sat in companionable silence for a while, both thinking about what had been shared. Genevieve began to wake up, the fever having finally broken at some point in the night. She could see two blurry figures sitting near her bed. Instead of alerting them to the fact that she was awake, she sat there, waiting to see what would be said.
"She had a rough childhood, one that I wasn't even aware of completely. But, I'm sure that she wouldn't change it for the world, especially if she feels the same way about you that you feel about her. If our father knew that she still has... special abilities, I worry that he would kill her with his anger," Arthur confided. He knew that his sister wouldn't have agreed to marrying this man unless he knew about her magic. Still, voicing such things were still dangerous. Gwaine looked at Arthur in surprise, realizing that Arthur knew about Genevieve's magic, which helped allay his fears that Arthur would become a king much like his father.
Isabel entered the room, Merlin on her heels. They both seemed surprised to see the two men sitting there and quickly closed the doors. Merlin moved over to where Arthur was sitting, hesitant to mention what he was about to share. "Sire, there is a druid asking to see your sister?" He both told and questioned. Arthur nodded his understanding and started to get up until a voice stopped him.
"Arthur, stop. I will go see them myself," Genevieve stated as she sat up, throwing back the blanket and moving her legs to the floor. Everyone began to rush to her side to help her, until they were all pushed back by her magic reacting. Genevieve, Arthur, and Gwaine were immediately filled with fear as they thought that the two servants standing in the room would immediately run to the king, crying magic!
Merlin and Isabel exchanged looks before laughing in relief. Each reached out a hand, focusing their energy, and demonstrated that they both had magic. Genevieve felt the power from them and realized that she was in the presence of the warlock, Emrys, and witch, Iona, that the druids had talked about, and she was in awe. She immediately motioned for the two siblings over. "Thank you, for protecting my brother while I've been gone."
"Well, a big overgrown lizard insisted that it was our destiny to protect him," Isabel responded aloud.
And that Isabel is supposed to marry your brother Merlin told her mentally, a smirk painting his face.
Genevieve laughed. "Well, since we are almost all gathered here," before she could continue, someone began to knock rapidly at the door. Genevieve quickly threw the blankets over her again, and took Gwaine's hand in hers, trusting the blanket to be able to hide it. Isabel opened the door and was greeted by Morgana and Gwen, who both hurried into the room, concerned by what they had heard about the Princess, but glad to hear that she had finally returned to Camelot. Before the women could gush over the princess, she shut the door with a flick of her wrist and calmly greeted the two woman she had come to consider her sisters. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Gwaine, the man I'm going to marry," she told them all with the biggest of grins on her face.
A/N: Thank you for reading, and to all those who have added this story to their alerts. I would love to get reviews and see what y'all are thinking about this story.
Now, as you may have noticed, this chapter doesn't exactly fit in with the series time line, but I didn't want to send Gwaine away after the promises he made to Genevieve, so I just moved up the episode to take place in between season one and two. I hope you enjoy the first part of the episode, because I really enjoyed writing it.