So sorry that I have been absent. Life got crazy with school and other things. Here's the next chapter, and hopefully I should be able to keep up with a schedule.
Eight weeks had passed since Genevieve and Gwaine's wedding, and they were still deep in wedding bliss. Uther had even begun to accept Gwaine, and even had a small coronation ceremony, making him an official Prince of Camelot. Genevieve may have threatened Uther some, but unbeknownst to her, Uther had already been considering it.
Uther was a lover of tournaments. He had an annual tournament that he had once participated in, but now left the competing to Arthur, who was the current champion of this particular tournament and Uther was excited to see him maintain that title. He enjoyed watching his son practice and would have gladly spent the days leading up to the tournament watching his son practice and offer his advice on what Arthur could do better.
Genevieve, Merlin, and Isabel, however, were all out at the tournament field, watching as the Knights of Camelot practiced for the tournament. Well, Genevieve and Isabel were watching. Merlin was forced to run after Arthur, doing whatever the Prince told him to.
Gwaine unhorsed the knight he was practicing against with ease and heard the satisfying thud as his body hit the dirt of the tilt. He immediately turned his horse around to make sure that he was alright. He was pleased to see that the other man was already getting back to his feet and didn't seem to have any obvious serious injuries. He adjusted his horse's path and went over to the fence, where his lovely bride was waiting. He gave a smile to Isabel, who returned it before focusing on the next set of jousters, Arthur and Sir Leon.
Both riders, and Genevieve, had grown up together, running around the castle and enjoying the fleeting moments of childhood. They were used to each other, knew each other's fighting style. They often practiced with each other.
Genevieve was watching her brother, worried that something bad was about to happen. She watched as they squared off with together. They began their charges, both very intense, then, a reflection of light hit Arthur in his eyes, distracting him from the charge. Leon, rather than press his advantage, pulled out of the advance, not wanting to harm the Crown Prince.
Arthur saw him pull back and became infuriated. While they may be practicing for a tournament, these were still skills that would be used in battle. If anyone practiced not taking the advantages given to them, then they would get in the habit of doing the same in battle. Arthur quickly turned his horse to face his fellow knight. "Why did you pull out? I was wide open. You could have unhorsed me!" His shouting attracted the attention of everyone in the area who wasn't already focused on the practice.
"I was fearful I might injure you, Sire," Leon responded. While it was true that he was scared of harming Arthur, he was more scared of having to face Uther if he harmed the Crown Prince.
"You had the advantage. You can't afford to hesitate!"
"I wouldn't have done so if I were facing a different opponent. You are the future King, My Lord."
This statement unsettled Arthur. "You jousted against me in the tournament last year. Are you saying you let me win?" He was angry. He had always seen himself as the best warrior in the kingdom, but if Leon was letting him won, was he really as good as he thought?
"No, My Lord," Leon protested, looking around for someone to help him. He made eye contact with the Princess, who realized that he needed help, so she began to make her way over to her very angry brother.
"It doesn't matter who I am! I do not expect any special treatment from you, from any of you! Is that understood?" He looked at each of the knights in turn as they nodded their understanding, with the exception of Gwaine. Arthur glared at his brother-in-law who simply shrugged his shoulders.
Genevieve spoke up at this point. "I think that's enough practice for today. Go, and prepare for the tournament tomorrow." Each knight gave a grateful smile to the Princess, and quickly made their escape from the glaring Prince.
Arthur glared at his sister for dismissing the knights when all he wanted to do was take his anger out on them. She returned his glare, unfazed by his glare, having lived with their father glaring at her at every opportunity. "If you're going to yell at me, then do it in your room," she informed him before gracefully turning around and walking to the castle, Isabel and Gwaine following her, laughing at Arthur's reaction. Merlin glanced at Arthur before motioning, questionably, to the retreating figures of their sisters and Genevieve.
Everyone was gathered in Arthur's chambers, including Morgana and Gwen, who had been invited by Genevieve. Arthur was pacing the room, still angry about what Leon had revealed, his annoyance at Genevieve dismissing the knights forgotten. "How am I going to prove myself if my opponents aren't trying their hardest?" He asked the others in the room, not really wanting an answer.
Merlin, however, wanted to reassure the Prince purely for selfish reasons. "I'm sure it's not happening all of the time," he said. Genevieve winced from her perch on her brother's bed at Merlin's word choice.
"So, it's happening some of the time?" Arthur demanded of his magical servant.
"No, I'm certain it isn't," Merlin responded, slightly panicked by Arthur's anger.
"Now you're doing it! You're telling me exactly what you think I want to hear!"
"He's telling you what you want to hear because you won't listen to anything else, Arthur," Genevieve spoke out. "When has Merlin ever truly said what you wanted to hear?" She questioned. Arthur just ignored her.
"That just proves it. All my life I've been treated as if I'm special. I just want to be treated just like everyone else!" He complained. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, asking nonverbally who would address this.
"Of course you are treated as if you are special. You were born a prince! Your mother died giving birth to you and Genevieve! Your father values your life above everyone else's, including your sister! Everyone is scared of hurting you because of what your father would do to them!" Everyone in the room was shocked as Isabel, sweet, quiet Isabel, was yelling at Arthur. "You've never been treated normally because you aren't normal! You wouldn't last one day living life as a peasant!" She ended her rant on that note before quickly retreating from the room, cheeks flaming from yelling at Arthur.
"She's right, Arthur," Morgana said when the door closed. "You wouldn't last one day if you had to live as a peasant."
"That is simply untrue. Being a peasant can't be too hard."
Genevieve looked up from whispering in Gwaine's ear when she heard her brother's statement. "Would you like to wager on that, brother?" Gwaine, at this time, took his leave of the group, seeking Isabel to make sure she was okay. Arthur didn't notice Gwaine leaving, instead choosing to focus on Genevieve. He nodded, agreeing to the wager, confident that he could win. "As an added bonus, this will also answer your previous concern about your fighting abilities. Gwen," she addressed her friend, "would it be alright if Arthur stayed with you for the duration of the tournament?" Gwen nodded, waiting to see what else her friend was going to say. "Arthur, you'll stay with Gwen during the tournament, helping her and living the life as a peasant would. You'll fight in the tournament under a different name. Merlin will find someone to play the public face of your knight, thus ensuring that no one, outside of this room, will know that it's you fighting." The grins around the room confirmed that this was a good plan, which Arthur quickly agreed to, still confident that he would win the wager.
"And when I win the wager, sister?"
"I'll buy you a new sword, with my magic to protect you in battle. But, if I win, you have to give Merlin a week off and do all of your own chores," she told him. They shook on the wager, both confident that they would win.
"Wait. What am I going to tell father?"
"Oh, you'll think of something, Arthur. You always do." Genevieve left her brother's room, feeling sick to her stomach. She swallowed, trying to ignore her stomach, but smelled something within the corridor that sent her running for the nearest chamber pot, where she emptied her stomach. Thankfully, the chamber pot was freshly washed. However, it was now filled with the contents of Genevieve's stomach. She stood up, telling herself she just had to make it through the next few days and all would be well.
She made it to her chambers without another accident and began to get ready for dinner with her father, thankful that Arthur and Gwaine would be there as well.
Genevieve didn't see Gwaine again until dinner that evening, which was solely a family affair. Only the Pendragons and Gwaine were eating at this time. Uther, for some reason, began insisting on having a dinner with his children at least once a month. This just happened to be the second such dinner.
Genevieve was seated to the right of her father with Gwaine providing support to her right. Arthur was seated across from her, quickly eating. Uther was lost in thought, thinking of the upcoming tournament and how excited he was that Arthur would be defending his title.
When everyone was almost done, Arthur cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone. "We've received reports that a beast has been sighted roaming the forest near the northern borders."
Uther looked up from his meal to his favored child. "What's the nature of this beast?"
Arthur gave a significant look to his sister, silently begging that she not give away his lie. "It is said to have the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the..." here he hesitated, having not fully thought through this lie.
"The face of a bear, Father," Genevieve supplied for her brother, choosing to take pity on him for once, but promising to tease him for it later.
"Right, thank you, Sister." He turned back to their father, drawing the attention back to him. "I believe it to be conjured by sorcery." Merlin and Isabel were now struggling not to laugh at the Prince. Gwaine gave a small smile, also struggling not to laugh but still showing his amusement.
As predicted, Uther immediately began focusing on what Arthur had said. "Then we must destroy it."
"I'll leave for the northern borders in the morning," Arthur informed the King.
"But you'll miss the tournament," Uther's enthusiasm was immediately lost. He wanted Arthur to continue carrying on the title, but Arthur couldn't do that if he was away, hunting a magical creature.
"As much as I want to compete, my duty to Camelot comes first." Arthur had apparently gotten much better at lying in the few minutes it had been since he first tried.
"Your are right, of course." Uther sat in silence for a minute, pondering how the Pendragon name could still win the title of tournament champion. "Genevieve, you are competing tomorrow, correct?" Those seated at the table stared at the king, wondering what could possibly have gone through the King's mind for him to suggest Genevieve competing in the tournament.
"Actually, Father, I won't be competing in any tournaments for some time," she hesitantly stated. She wished she could of had some alone time with Gwaine at some point this afternoon, but since that didn't happen, and her father was expecting her to compete.
"Why ever not?" He demanded, growing angry at her for refusing to compete when he was actually asking her to.
"Well... It's because..." She looked over to Gwaine, taking her eyes off her father and brother. "I'm pregnant."
The response was mutual around the room. Everyone was ecstatic, even Uther. The promise of a new baby was what was needed to begin resolving relations between Genevieve and Uther. There was hope that it would succeed, but Genevieve wasn't holding her breath. Instead, she chose to focus on the love radiating from her husband's eyes.
Arthur was appreciative of his sister's announcement for multiple reasons. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her and Gwaine, but it also provided the perfect distraction that would allow him to "miss" the tournament. He shared in their joy about a new child, and already began to promise that if the child possessed magical abilities like his sister did, then he would do anything to protect the child.
Dinner didn't last much longer after the announcement, and everyone quickly made their way to their respective chambers for the night, Gwaine and Genevieve having their own, private celebration.
Morning came quickly for the residents of Camelot. Merlin and Isabel rose before the sun did, having chores that must be completed, and being told by their uncle that the floors to his chambers must be cleaned thoroughly. Genevieve had given Isabel a few days off because of the tournament. Merlin, however, was not expecting to have any time off, thanks to Arthur insisting that he would need help getting ready for the tournament. Gaius, believing as the rest of the population did that Arthur was missing the tournament, was excited to have his niece and nephew at his disposal for the next few days, more specifically Merlin, as Isabel always went out of her way to help Gaius since she did not have as much to do as Merlin did, despite serving two people. Granted, Gwaine and Genevieve often went out of their ways to make her life easier as a servant.
Genevieve watched her brother leave Camelot with his selected knights to go "fight" the "magical beast terrorizing the towns surrounding Camelot," knowing that she would be seeing him later at Gwen's house. And speaking of Gwen, she had yet to break the news the Morgana and Gwen and knew she should do it before Uther had a chance to announce it to the entire kingdom, otherwise she would have to deal with an angry Morgana.
She quickly made her way through the castle, in search of the women she had grown to call her sisters. She unsurprisingly found them in Morgana's room, gossiping about the upcoming tournament and Arthur's plan. She happened to enter the room just as they burst into a fit of laughter.. "Well, ladies, what is the joke?" She asked of her close friends. Instead of answering, the girls just continued laughing, eventually causing Genevieve to break down in giggles.
When they had finally all finished giggling, after many rounds of one of them finally stopping giggling only to start again due to the others, Morgana turned to her friend. "So, Genevieve, to what do we owe the pleasure? I was certain that you would be preparing for the tournament, to best Arthur when he tries to prove that he really is the best." Morgana was seated in front of her mirror, attending to her hair with the help of Gwen. Genevieve was visible to both of them from the mirror, as she was seated at Morgana's table, as graceful as a princess could be.
"Well, as I told Father last night at dinner, I won't be competing in any tournaments for a while." Both women rapidly turned their heads to properly face their friend, concern written all over their faces. Before they could ask why, Genevieve told them her good news. The two women broke out into excited screams, celebrating their friend's joyous news. The pounding at the door, however, quickly ended their screaming. Before Gwen could even move to the door, it came crashing in as a whole group of Camelot knights came rushing in, swords drawn, and shields held at the ready, with Sir Leon leading the charge. "Leon!" Genevieve exclaimed loudly.
"We heard screaming, Princess."
"Leon, they were screams of joy, not terror," she gave him a small smile, signaling that she was expecting him to leave, and leave quickly. He saw the look, and rushed out the small contingent from Morgana's room, quickly followed by Gwen, who was going to wait for Arthur at her small house. Morgana continued to look at Genevieve in awe, excited for her and Gwaine, but worried at the same time that the child would be born with magic like Genevieve was, which would cause Uther to do anything to get rid of the child.
Genevieve could see the worry on Morgana's face, and instead of rushing to fill her with false hope, left the room, worrying settling into the pit of her stomach, and she began looking for Gwaine, hoping for the comfort that he would provide.
She found her husband predictably practicing in the tilt, trying to get that last bit of practice. Uther had cornered him earlier that day, saying that he was the only person available to uphold the Pendragon family honor in this tournament, and if he failed, Uther would make his life a living hell. Gwaine knew if he tried to do this, Genevieve would not hesitate to punish her father in a similar way, but he still wanted to do his best in this tournament. He did not notice that Genevieve had walked up and was watching him, instead focusing on familiarizing his horse with the terrain of the tilt.
Genevieve continued watching her love as he ran the tilt over and over again, until the muffled sounds of running footsteps alerted her that someone was coming up behind her. She sent a small jolt of magic to Gwaine to get his attention before turning around to confront to quickly approaching person. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Sir Leon, again. She opened her mouth to greet him before she was interrupted with him gruffly informing her that the king requested her presence. She shot a look over to Gwaine and saw that he was already handing his horse off to a stable boy and making his way over to her. When he was next to her, they began to follow Sir Leon as he lead them to the council chamber, where it seemed like Uther had called for the entire council. A strange man was standing in the center of the room, and it appeared as if everyone were waiting for the princess. She quickly made her way to her awaiting throne, seated at the right hand side of her father. Gwaine joined the other Knights of Camelot.
"May I present my daughter, Genevieve, Princess of Camelot. Genevieve, this is Kelda, from Odin's kingdom. He says that he brings important news regarding Odin."
"I was there in person. Odin placed a price on Prince Arthur's head," Kelda stressed.
"Surely he wouldn't dare," Uther all but yelled. Even the possibility of a threat to Arthur caused him to grow angry and tense.
"He's blinded by grief, My Lord. The assassin Myror has accepted the bounty."
"I've heard of this Myror," Uther mused. Genevieve leaned forward in her throne. She recalled hearing this name during her travels, specifically when an royal died due to assassination. If this man was going after her brother, there was trouble. Hopefully, this assassin would be fooled enough to avoid Camelot, and follow "Arthur" to the northern borders.
"I believe he's heading for Camelot as we speak. I bring you this information at great risk to myself." Uther threw a bag of coins at Kelda's feet. Kelda quickly exited from the room, not wanting to risk any more exposure in Camelot.
"Double the guards. I want this assassin intercepted before he reaches Camelot." Uther turned to face Genevieve. "I also want you under round the clock guard. Just because only Arthur's name was brought up doesn't mean that you aren't a target as well."
Genevieve could feel herself growing paler. The room was growing dimmer and her head felt very light. She could hear Uther speaking to Gwaine about something but couldn't make out what was being said. She heard someone scream, but couldn't make out who was screaming, or why they would be screaming, as the room was finally swallowed by blackness.
It was Morgana who screamed from her smaller throne to the left of Uther. She had noticed that Genevieve had grown strangely quiet and had looked over to make sure she was okay and witnessed her collapsing in a heap to the floor, falling from the throne. Gwaine was already rushing over to his collapsing wife as Morgana began her scream. The combination of Gwaine rushing to the dais and Morgana's scream caught the attention of all in the room. Uther immediately ordered all but Gaius and his niece to leave the room. All left, with the exception of Gwaine and Morgana, who were tending to the collapsed princess.
"Gaius, what's wrong with her?" Uther asked worriedly, thinking back to his wife and her deadly pregnancy.
"I'm not sure, Sire. I need to examine her. Gwaine, take her to your chambers. It will be easier to examine her there." Gwaine nodded as he gently scooped up his wife and carried her to their chambers. everyone following close behind.
Gaius began whispering to his niece, telling her what herbs to grab from the physicians chambers as quickly as possible. Isabel quickly broke off from the rest of the group to go and gather what her uncle had asked for.
Everyone quickly gathered in the newlyweds chambers, as Gaius began his examination of the still unconscious princess. Everyone was somber, impatiently waiting for Gaius's report. Finally, he stood up, and looked over at the gathered nobility. "She's fine. She just got a little excited, which put a strain on her body."
"And the baby?" Gwaine inquired, leaning forward almost imperceptibly.
"The baby is also fine, but I will want to check again in a few hours, just to make sure. Someone will need to stay here with her. If she doesn't wake up soon, I will need to know."
"I'll stay with her," Morgana volunteered before anyone else could. Gaius nodded to the king's ward and ushered the men out of the room. Isabel remained, wishing to be near by if something were to happen, so she could use her magic if necessary.
The two women sat in silence as they watched over the sleeping princess. She awoke shortly thereafter and seemed very confused on why she was in her bed. Morgana gently dismissed Isabel, telling her that she could handle this now.
Isabel made her way through the castle, lost in thought. There was an assassin headed this way to kill Arthur, and if he came to Camelot, he would most assuredly find Arthur, if nothing else then because of the tournament that was to start in the morning. She wandered throughout the day, eventually leaving the castle and walking through the town. She eventually found herself in front of Gwen's door, with the sun quickly setting. She gently knocked on the door and was greeted by the troubled face of Arthur. As she sat there, admiring him, he quickly began to smile, lost in his own thoughts about the young woman standing in front of him.
"Arthur? Who is it?" Gwen asked from just inside the small house. Arthur was jostled out of his thoughts and ushered the young servant into the house. "Izzie! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here?" Gwen asked, quickly motioning to a stool for Isabel to sit on.
Isabel gladly sat, her feet tired from the constant walking that she had done today, far more than her usual amount. Arthur was still staring at her, while trying to make it seem like he wasn't staring. In this regard, he was failing spectacularly. Gwen was more successful in hiding her giggles at the face of the Prince as he studied the servant sitting near him. "There is an assassin looking for Arthur."
Silence reigned in the small hut. Arthur stared incredulously at the small maid servant that brought this tremendous news like she was talking about the weather. "There's an assassin coming for Arthur?" Gwen asked for clarification purposes. Isabel just nodded. There was nothing else she could say about the matter. It was what it was.
"And what of Genevieve? Is she in danger?" Arthur asked. He was always more concerned with his sister than himself, in part due to the childhood horrors that his sister suffered and his lack of being able to protect her.
"The King has guards around her constantly until the assassin can be found. He doesn't want to take any chances with the baby. Gaius has also placed her on bed rest for the day. She's fine, he was just concerned," she assured the near panicking royal, and Gwen, who was also concerned but not to the point of panicking.
"Who's with her right now, Isabel?" Arthur demanded, rising to his feet to approach the young woman.
"Gwaine and Morgana, Sire." Arthur took a step back. He thought he had finally been able to convince the girl to call him by his name, but here she was, calling him Sire again. Things must be bad for her to do so, he thought to himself. "I should be getting back. It's past sunset, and Gaius probably needs my help," she offered as she quickly made her exit. Before Arthur could fully process what she had said and stop her, she was gone.
Arthur and Gwen exchanged looks with each other. "Maybe you shouldn't compete this year, Sire," Gwen hesitantly said. "I'm sure Genevieve would let you out of the bet considering the circumstances."
"This isn't just for her, Gwen. This is also for me. I will continue in the tournament. Besides, we wouldn't want all of our hard work to go to waste with 'Sir William' now would we?" With that, Arthur made his way to the only bed in the hut, not even thinking about how he hadn't seen another bed and assuming that it was his for the taking. He was supremely uncomfortable on the hard bed and didn't sleep well that night at all. Poor Gwen was resigned to the floor, where she was certainly more uncomfortable than the sleeping Prince.
All was quiet as everyone slept. Guards patrolled the castle, seemingly on high alert for a potential assassin, but not anticipating that the assassin would make his way here. After all, Arthur wasn't in Camelot, and if the assassin were to go after the princess, they would have to deal with her angry, and aggressive fighter, husband who would kill anyone who even thought of harming the princess. One of the guards was patrolling along the corridor that night. All was peaceful. He was feeling a bit tired and was hoping that his relief was coming soon so he could go sleep, so as to better enjoy the tournament the following day. He was thus surprised when he saw someone wandering in this corridor. "Halt!" He called out. "Show yourself." The shadow of a person stopped and turned to face the guard. "What business do you have in the King's palace?" He questioned forcefully.
"I came to seek an audience with, er..." He hesitated, should he ask for the Prince, or the Princess? Which would be less suspicious... "with Prince Arthur."
"What's your name?" The guard was suspicious, as he should be. It was still his first week of guard duty, but he was pretty certain that if someone was seeking an audience with someone in the royal family, they would come during the day. Before he could even react, the person stabbed the guard, covering his mouth to disguise any noise that the guard would make as he died.
"My name is Myror," he said subconsciously. He continued stalking through the castle, in search of one specific guard, which he found quickly. He grabbed him quickly, covering his mouth to stop the noise of surprise that would alert any one else in the vicinity of his presence. When he finally released Fyren, Fyren was pissed.
"Why are you here?" He questioned.
"Your information was wrong. Prince Arthur is not among the party travelling to the northern borders."
"The Prince lest with them yesterday."
"Then they must have separated. Perhaps he has returned to Camelot," he mused.
"Not that I've heard. His return would've been announced at court."
"It would seem the Prince does not want to be found. Hmmm."
Unbeknownst to the two speaking, Isabel was in the corridor, listening to all that had been said. As quickly and quietly as she could, she made her way to Genevieve and Gwaine's chamber. Thankfully, neither of the men noticed her leaving. She burst into the room, waking Gwaine, who had his sword nearby and was going to grab it when Isabel used her magic to move it out of the way. "The assassin's here!" She yelled in a hushed whisper so as not to wake the sleeping princess. She relayed everything that she heard to Gwaine, who sat, listening in deep thought.
"The only thing we can do is watch Arthur during the tournament and protect him as best as we can. But, I don't think Genevieve and I will be there tomorrow. Is, you have to protect him using any means possible." She nodded her head, promising she would rather die than let Arthur die.
Isabel made her way back to her shared room with Merlin, deep in thought about what all she had seen and heard that day.