TITLE: The Longest Day
Author: Shabbytiger
Show: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur and Gwen
Genre: Romance
Warnings: MA for adult content later...plus set after episode 3 x 10.
Disclaimer: Characters not mine, just borrowed for naughty purposes :P
Multi Chapter and Complete.
/
Gwen closed the door, and found that her legs wouldn't carry her to the chair at the table. So she let her back slide down to the ground, and held herself tightly, the shawl she wore, thin and scratchy against her icy skin. The lower town was deserted tonight. It was so silly, she chided herself, so silly to still be scared. The adventure of sliding the key beneath Arthur's door felt like it had happened a year ago, a lifetime ago. Reaching for her throat, her fingers searched for the thong, wondering if it had been a dream. Her neckline was devoid of the thin leather strap, and her heart hiccuped. Oh lord she had done it. The hysterical giggle that burst from her lips was creepy to her own ears, and she stopped still, body on fire with exhilaration and nerves. Better that than fear she thought. Anything was better than that.
Much as she smiled, and tried to maintain her happy exterior, the past still lived in her every moment, and on nights like tonight, when the sound of her footsteps on the cobbled paths of the market square were all she could hear, it screeched beneath her skin like a living creature battling for freedom. She closed her eyes, and waited for her panic to fade, replacing memories of burly men and grubby hands with Arthur's face. She loved his face. The rare admission, even privately shared, eased her trembling form, and she began to relax. Wrapping her arms about her waist, she was infused with warmth, as a stronger memory stole her thoughts. Arthur's hugs were like being held outside of time. He was so hard and warm and quiet, when his arms enfolded her, and his chin rested on her hair, never breaking the moment with idle chatter, or murmuring words that meant nothing compared to the utter rightness of his embrace. Time stretched as she allowed the memory of his touch to envelop her.
It still surprised her, how completely Arthur had become a permanent beat in her heart. Oh he had always been handsome, brave, every inch the Prince and easy to admire on some superficial level, but now he was real. Whole. A man who lived and breathed and hurt like the rest, and who shared his doubts and asked her opinions and who loved her. Now her fingers trailed at her throat, and the knowledge spurred her from the floor. For a moment, she recalled the night she had waited for him once before, and the hurt that had splintered her in two when he had not appeared. She refused to allow such self pity again. If Arthur found her key, if he knew what she was trying to say, he would be here. If he could not make it, she would smile at him come morning, and know still, that they were united, despite the distance enforced upon them. The realisation, the confidence it inspired, soothed her nerves entirely. Lighting a candle on the table, she smiled, no longer afraid, at least, not whilst her heart distracted her so, and she lit the stove, knowing sleep was a mile away. A hot drink would calm her further she told herself, pausing at the mirror beside the back room. Where her bed now hid behind a gauzy curtain. She wasn't waiting, not at all.
Lighting another candle, so that her home was now bathed in pale gold light, and soft shadows, Gwen felt lighter than she had for days. Simply doing something had been so invigorating, and she couldn't stop grinning as she imagined Arthur finding the small key in the morning, his face making that annoyed look he seemed to wear constantly around Merlin. Much as she would prefer he find it, and in some romantic fantasy appear at her door, opening it, as a husband would after a long day, reaching for her with tight arms...well the thought of his frustration was too funny to will away.
Singing a song that her mother had taught her, long enough ago now that it just held a hint of sadness, she fussed with the tea and let her home and its familiarity ease her erratic pulse.
Which leapt wildly, causing her to spill hot water on the side when the lock in the door snapped, and the door began to creep open.
Arthur had found his way here. Oh lord.
/
Since his departure to care for his mother, Arthur had not missed, nor wished for Merlin's presence more. Still wearing the garments he had meant to sleep in, his hair dishevelled from running his hand through it constantly, the escape from the castle had been a keen test of his wits. Having Merlin act as a distraction was far easier than doubling back down hallways, and after what he was sure was his third full circuit of the entire bloody castle, he finally reached the forecourt. Doused in shadow, with the sound of music still drifting from the hall, he had been so relieved to be free, that he had almost stumbled into a pair of guards, caught in a debate by the courtyard gates.
" Lucan, no one will know we left for a little while. My Hetty is in the kitchens, saved us a plate of the good stuff she did. Lets live a little lad."
" Go if you like Sid. I won't leave my post. It's my duty tonight."
" Duty?" The older of the pair snorted, and Arthur sank back into the shadows of the wall, curious about the exchange, and half willing Lucan to give in to Sid and let him pass unhindered. " Its two bits a week and the grunt work when the glory boys are all busy that's what it is."
" You shouldn't speak like that Sid. There is no greater honour than defending your own home. If I wanted a better pay I'd have joined me da in the roofing trade."
" Then more fool you boy, cos you'll get no thanks for your dedication here. Oh the boy seems fair, if you ignore his arrogance, but Uther? He'll have any head on a pike soon as look at 'em. Man's intent on killing his own. Got no just in him."
The sound of a sword being drawn caught Arthur unaware and he backed up, thinking he had been discovered. Instead a muffled gasp escaped the older guards throat as Lucan, clutched his comrades uniform at the neck.
" That man is your King and you should address him in kind in the shadow of his own home." Arthur grew curiouser now, a sense of pride in the younger man almost forcing him out of the dark.
" Bloody hell Lucan get off." Scrambling and a grunt. " I've seen you eyeing the chain mail and shields soft lad. I know you think that by being honourable, you'll get noticed. Won't happen boy. Blood lines not talent get you a Knighthood. You're just lucky I've had a drink tonight else I'd clip ya black and blue ya sod."
" When Cenred comes, and he will, it won't matter who wields what sword or bears what title Sid. We'll all fall together. Men are all equal in death are they not?"
Arthur's fists clenched. Sid sighed, and his words only just reached Arthur as they began the walk about to check the perimeter.
" Oh aye lad, they'll really value you then. Fodder for the war machine, whilst they ride pretty horses and celebrate victory won at your expense. Stick with me son, come and get the food before the kitchen vultures snag it won't you?"
Arthur held his breath, Lucan's response mattering a great deal in the dark.
" Go on Sid. I won't tell. But I won't leave either."
Arthur slipped through the gates as the pair shook hands on the pact, and ducked into the lee of a nearby building. Lucan came to the gates and looked out, his youth stark in the moon light. Arthur felt his throat crack. Making himself a promise to recall the boy to his captain, he waited, and then began a swift jog towards Gwen's house, the key in his breast pocket, once the young guard turned away.
The lower town was eerily devoid of life as he traversed the familiar streets, and as the night air nipped his bones through his shirt, the thought of Gwen making the same journey, alone, sped his feet. It probably never occurred to Gwen to wait for the other serving girls on the walk home each night, he thought, a little irritated. Gwen hid her fear, holding her head high as she left the castle come dark, and he watched whenever possible from the window of his room. Most of the staff hung around for each other before making their way home, chatting about their day and turning the security measure into a social event. Gwen never waited. He loved that about her, yet it gnawed at him too, her constant refusal to seek out help or to appear weak. Gwen walked home alone most nights to prove to the world and perhaps herself that she still could, that fear was not her master, but he saw the way she started when approached from behind, noticed the hesitance in her gait when a noise startled her, the whitening of her knuckles clutching her shawl.
Her tight reign on her emotions stung him at times, mostly during the rare moments they were alone, and he couldn't keep his eyes or thoughts off her lips, the need to kiss her ravaging his control. She almost always stepped back, refusing to give in to the heat that sizzled between their skin. He quickened his pace, conscious of every sound, the smell of ash and cold smoke filling his lungs, as the few residents still in the lower town rather than the castle settled in for bed. Bed. He didn't mean to examine Gwen's motives for the gift she had bestowed tonight...couldn't whilst trying to function. Yet now, as her door came into sight, the small neat home he had started to view as his during a tournament held a lifetime ago, his head was full of what may await him beyond the threshold. As he slid from the shadows, searching left and right for watchful eyes, he drew in deep breaths. Placing a hand either side of the wooden barrier, the only thing that lay between him and Gwen, he leant in, his forearms flexing, the key in his palm burning his skin as the leather strip threaded through his fingers. Swallowing, he released his hands and stood upright, his thighs tight.
He didn't even consider knocking, as he looked at the key in his hand. He just slid the silver thread of metal into the lock and turned it.