THREE YEARS LATER

Aline brushed my hair forward, over my left shoulder and began to weave it into a plait. My hair was dyed an even lighter shade of blond than usual, due to the sun that had been beating down on Camelot for the past few weeks. My cheeks were powdered slightly pink, and my skin glowed with a healthy shine from my recent bath.
I had, however, turned down the eye drops. My eyes were the only thing I truly liked about my appearance, and I would not let anyone change them. I pushed down the memory of being told that they were the most beautiful emerald colour known to man. I couldn't afford to think of him tonight, Arthur was throwing this feast in honour of my twenty sixth birthday, and kings, queens, princes, and princesses from across the five kingdoms were going to be in attendance.

"M'lady?"
"Sorry?"
I hadn't been paying attention while Aline had been talking. I felt bad. Aline had become a constant companion to me, and even though I didn't particularly enjoy having someone fetch and carry for me, bathe and dress me, she was good company.
"I said," she repeated, giggling, "That you'll have a nice pick of men to choose from tonight, and I can have the rest!"
"You're too wicked," I told her, my face breaking out into a mischievous grin, "I'll need all of them anyway, I'm twenty six and not married yet, I'm practically a spinster!"
We laughed together, but it was something that had started to worry me in the past year and a half, two years. People had begun to look at me as 'on the shelf', and my best childbearing years were beginning to slip away. Once upon a time, I had thought that he and I... No. I would not let myself think of him. It would hurt too much.
"Oh, look at that dress m'lady," Aline's voice was a whisper, "You'll be so beautiful!"
The seamstress had just laid my dress for that evening out on the bed. It had a cream bodice, with sleeves that fell off my shoulders, and it tied in the back with an ebony coloured lace ribbon. The neckline dipped low in a heart shape showing enough cleavage to be daring, but not enough to make me look like a woman of the night. The bottom of the bodice cut a V shape into the top of the skirt. The skirt matched the bodice in colour, it flared slightly, subtle pleats etched into the hem. It was truly the most beautiful dress I had seen.

"And now for you Aline," I said, delighted that I didn't have to keep it a secret any more.
I ran to the wooden chest in the corner of my chambers and threw it open. I took out a cloth package, folded and tied with string.
"What about me, m'lady?" Aline asked, looking confused.
I unwrapped the package, and pulled out the dress, laying it out next to mine. It was almost identical, save for a few things. The sleeves were full length on Aline's dress, the neckline was higher, the bodice ended in a straight line, circling the waist, and her dress was a light golden colour.
"It's for you," I told her, "For tonight. I want you to be my guest at the feast, no duties, no serving, no 'm'lady'. Just you and I as friends."
She looked awed, her mouth a perfect circle, the image of surprise. She held the dress up to herself, fingers sliding along the smooth material. The colour suited her skin perfectly, making her brown eyes look wide and doe like, and her coppery hair look even more glossy and bright. The fit made her small body look fragile and dainty, her delicate features gave her the look of a faerie princess.
"I can't," she whisper, her face dropping, "It wouldn't be right to have a servant there."
"YOU are not just a servant, you are my friend," I replied angrily, "So be there to support me as I try and find true love."
She laughed at that, but still shook her head.
"Merlin will be there..." I said with a sly smile.
"Will he? I mean will he be-"
She was flustered, and a bright red blush crept across her pale face.
"He'll be there as a guest," I clarified.
"Well m'lady, he is Court Sorcerer, it is only right for him to be in attendance, and he is your friend."
"And so are you, so please, please be there," I begged, "I bet Merlin would love that dress on you. And remember, the Queen was a servant once."
"Well...," she relented, "If you're sure."
"I am! I definitely am," I shrieked, "Now come here and let me do your hair."

"You look perfect," I said softly, and she did, "Just, give me a second..."
I reached out and tucked two stray curls behind her ear. She smiled at me, and put her arms around me gently, squeezing my shoulders.
"Thank you so much," she said to me, before pulling back, and touching the tip of her index finger to my collar bone.
She hurried over to my jewelry box and taking something out.
"Here. Turn around."
She tied a necklace around my throat, and I felt a cold lump settle in the hollow at the base of my neck. I looked down, and my breathing seemed to stop. Mordred's pearl hung around my neck. I hadn't worn in it months. Wearing it again, even seeing it was enough to bring tears to the back of my eyes.
"It matches your dress," Aline's voice was sweet, and caring.
She traced my plait, tipping her fingers off of the lilac flowers she had woven into my hair.
"Lets go.

The feast was not like the feasts Arthur normally threw. People were not sitting formally, talking quietly. The food was laid out on a long rectangular table, and people wandered around the hall, eating out of their hands, talking, laughing, and in some cases, dancing. This was the condition on which I allowed Arthur to hold the feast. It had to be informal. Even so, I had spent much of the evening bored out of my mind from dancing with noblemen, kings, and princes because I knew it would be good for Arthur's relations with the other kingdoms. But my God they were boring! All they talked about was how great and honourable rulers they were, and how every woman they ever saw fell at their feet and said, ever so condescendingly, that Arthur wasn't his father but 'he was doing SUCH a good job for someone so young'.

I wandered over to Gwaine and Percival who were standing by a window, drinking ale, and stuffing roast pig into their mouths. I stopped next to them and they looked up.
"Hey birthday girl," Gwaine said, tugging gently on the end of my plait.
"Get off me," I shot back, "I had a bath especially for tonight, and you are getting greasy pig fat all over my clean hair!"
Percival laughed at Gwaine's hurt expression and offered me a tankard of ale that had been sitting on the window sill. We drank and talked, and they complimented my dress, and told me how nice it was that I had invited Aline. I felt myself getting more and more relaxed. I always felt more at ease with the knights, and Arthur and Merlin, than with any woman, save Aline and Gwen.
I could feel the women now, gossiping behind my back. I heard whispers of words like 'hussy' and 'common', and apparently it was widely thought that I was having, shall we say, intimate relations with all of the knights. I tried not to let this hurt me but Gwaine and Percival could see my discomfort.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Percival's expression was thankfully not pitying, but I could see a sort of angry hurt on my behalf.
"Just a moment," I said with a grateful smile.
I turned and scanned the room, Aline was standing by Merlin, gazing at the back of his head over the shoulder of a man who looked about two hundred years old and was probably talking about taxes, and whatnot. I flitted across the hall to Merlin and tapped his shoulder.
"Cassie!" He looked down at me, "Having fun?"
"If I hear one more story about the importance of growing crops in straight lines I will go insane," I muttered, "But it was sweet of Arthur to do this for me."
"You spent most of the night getting drunk with Gwaine and Percival," Merlin smirked.
"Shut up, and do me a favour, okay?" I punched him gently on the arm, "Go ask Aline to dance. She looks like she's going to explode with boredom."
Merlin glanced up at her, and grinned. He bowed, shooting a mocking smile at me, and walked over to Aline, taking her hand, and pulling her out to where the other couples were dancing.
I hurried to the door before I could get distracted once more. Gwaine and Percival were waiting at the heavy oak doors, and when they saw me they held them open and bundled me through without a word.

My feet were freezing. I had taken off my shoes because they were bringing up blisters, but now they were practically numb with the cold. The three of us were sneaking silently along the passage above the kitchens, scavenging for leftovers. We came to the grate they had used so many times before and looked down. The kitchens were empty, but laying across the wooden counters were scraps from the feast. We lay on our stomachs, unraveling thread and tying it to the end of a small metal hook.
"Better than the feast anyway," Gwaine said, sliding the hook through the grate, "Huh, Cassie?"
"Bloody, stuffy, arrogant, boring old noblemen," I snarled to no one in particular, "Why was it my tedious job to entertain them?"
"Having fun?"
The voice came from behind us. We whipped round in unison. A man mid to late twenties was leaning against a window sill, smiling cheekily. He had thick, chocolate brown hair that fell over his forehead, brown eyes so dark that they appeared black. His body was long and lean, muscled and powerful, he had dimples in his cheeks when he smiled and a warm brown complexion with a scattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He was beautiful.
"And who are you?" I asked, returning to my senses before the others.
"I," he said, climbing down off of the window sill and strolling towards us, "Am one of the, what was it, 'bloody, stuffy, arrogant, boring old noblemen' that it was your tedious job to entertain."