Monday morning couldn't come too early for Gwen. She was awake before the sun cast its gaze through the window in her small home; she dashed about, keeping as quiet as possible so as not to wake her father. Gwen knew that her new position was quite honourable and important, and could not understand how she had got the job – she could only assume that it was something to do with Arthur. She was filled with nerves at the prospect as meeting Lady Morgana, her new mistress, but could not wait to see Arthur again. The nine year old blushed at the thought. Despite his initial arrogance, the Prince had been nothing but kind too her a few days ago, in fact, he had been much kinder than some of the children she usually met in the town. She wondered, would he be as kind to her when he was around other royalty?

She pulled on her best, cleanest, saffron dress and fixed her dark, curly hair into a tight bun; like she had seen some of the other servants wear on their trips to pick up swords from her father, the blacksmith. Although Tom was not the royal blacksmith, his work had no equal, and many of the nobles paid him to do their work. Gwen would often sit quietly in the forge, watching her father work, and so had developed an eye for well made armour and weaponry. She was very close to her father, he was the only parent she'd known since her mother had died when Gwen was very young, and Gwen did not know what she would do should any tragedy befall Tom. This was another reason Tom had agreed to let his daughter take the position in the castle. If he should die, Gwen would still have a job and some means of providing for herself, seeing that if all should go well her position as the Lady's maidservant would last either until the Lady married or died, if either of these occurred then Gwen would still have a job as a regular servant in the castle. Tom had not told Gwen this, but unbeknownst to both Tom and King Uther, Arthur and Gwen had been listening in on their conversation through the window.

At sunrise Gwen gently woke her father with a smile. He stood and helped her fix a red cloak around her neck, grinning proudly at her.

"You'll do brilliantly Gwen, good luck." He kissed her softly on the forehead, and then ushered her out the door, reminding her not to be nervous.

Gwen made her way to the kitchen, where she had been told she would meet Hilda, one of the older maids who acted as a supervisor, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Hilda informed Gwen that she was early, (which was good, Hilda gently assured her when Gwen looked worried about causing trouble); Gwen was to head up to the throne room when summoned for, as she was to be among the party meeting the young Morgana, but in meantime she was to wait in the kitchens with Hilda. The older woman took the time to gently explain Gwen's duties to her – help the Lady dress, run her baths, fetch her meals, and basically care for her every whim. When Gwen was not needed by the Lady, unless specifically given time to herself, she was to assist the other servants in any way she could. Gwen took all of this on board; she was prepared to work hard, and didn't expect it to be easy.

Soon the two were sat in silence, Hilda sewing up a ripped tunic with great care, and Gwen twiddling her thumbs, nervous. The woman smiled at her, assuring the girl that everything would be fine.

Suddenly the door slammed against its hinges as a small blond whirlwind came flying through the door.

"My Lord!" exclaimed Hilda, dropping into a low curtsey, wondering why the young Prince had appeared in the kitchens. Officially, He'd only been here once, when he had been scolded by Cook for stealing food from the cupboards, though Hilda suspected he'd been here several other times, when desserts, and on one memorable occasion a whole chicken, had disappeared during the night. Several times she had wondered why they taught children to be stealthy – it just encouraged crime!

Meanwhile Arthur was grinning madly, looking at her latest recruit "Hello Guinevere!" he said joyfully.

The girl's smile was just as wide "Arthur!" Then she glanced at Hilda's raised eyebrows and quickly curtsied "I mean…My Lord."

Still, Hilda glanced between the two, and couldn't help but wonder… oh this was going to be trouble.

"I've come to escort Guinevere to meet her new mistress; the Lady Morgana has just arrived."

"Of course sire, if you don't mind my asking, I was expecting one of the guards to come and escort the girl, not your royal highness?"

"Father wanted Morgana to meet the two people she will be spending most time with together, so that she feels welcome and comfortable in Camelot." Though the older woman did not miss the slight blush which crept up his cheeks, and wondered if this was entirely the King's idea. "Are you ready, Guinevere?" he asked the shy girl beside her.

"Yes, let's go." She smiled widely at the Prince.

Oh yes, definitely going to be trouble thought Hilda.

Gwen never though she could be so pleased to see a person when she saw Arthur come shooting through the door. She had been terrified of having to walk with the palace guards all the way up to the throne room, but now Arthur had rescued her, he was like her knight in shining armour… she giggled at the thought, and quickly hid it as Arthur began to leave the kitchen, her hot on his heels.

They walked slowly along the corridor, and as soon as they were out of earshot of the kitchens, she turned to him.

"Thank you for coming to get me, My Lord." She added the title as an afterthought, having to remember that he was Prince of Camelot, not just her friend.

"Call me Arthur Guinevere, its fine – I though you might be nervous, and I doubt two huge guards would calm you." He smiled down at her.

"And you think you can?" She said, eyebrows raised.

He stopped and frowned, "Well, yes. I'm your friend aren't I?" He looked so naïve and sure of himself that she couldn't help but smile.

"Still arrogant then?" She laughed, though it was more of a joke than an insult, she knew he meant well.

"It's not arrogance!" He exclaimed loudly as they began walking again, though he was smiling too, "its self belief, and father says that's a good thing."

"As long as you don't get to big headed." She paused for a second, "Thank you for getting me this job."

"My pleasure Guinevere."

They turned a corner, and were on the corridor which held the great doors which opened into the throne room. Suddenly she felt him grab her arm and pull her into the darkness of an alcove, "You're not too nervous are you?" he said softly.

"Just a bit, what if she doesn't like me?" She spoke quietly, ashamed to admit her fear.

"Don't be ridiculous, how could anyone not like you?" He smiled down at her as she blushed prettily, but did not look convinced.

"Aren't you nervous, about meeting her, she will be your foster sister?" Gwen questioned him.

"Of course I am, I've never really spoke to many children my own age, other than you. And all the other noble children I've spoke too seemed really arrogant and prattish."

Thinking back on how he'd behaved only a few days ago, Gwen could not help but giggle at his hypocrisy. Unaware of the source of her amusement, but pleased that she was smiling again, Arthur continued, "And she has reason to not like me!"

"Of course she doesn't! You're a lovely boy!" At this Guinevere flushed furiously, realising what she had just said, but continued any way "You'll be fine."

He smiled at her "We both will." Suddenly, struck with inspiration, he shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out the handerchief she had given him "For luck".

"Take it, for luck taking care of Lady Morgana, it will make it you feel better." He looked at her hopefully, praying he could make her feel better.

"No, I gave you that for luck with meeting Morgana."

"I know, and I want to keep it, but we both need it, and we can't both hold it… so you take it."

She shook her head and stepped around him, walking hastily towards the large oak doors.

"We should be getting in there."

Arthur laughed and ran to catch up with her, stopping beside her right next to the door. He noticed now that she was shaking with nerves, and had an instant urge to protect her, though he couldn't imagine why.

Suddenly he took her hand and looked down at her sternly, "Guinevere, I promise you, everything will be fine." Though he could not manage to convince himself – what he had said to Guinevere was truthful – he was afraid his new foster sister would not like him, how would he survive then? What if his father liked Morgana better than him? Still, looking into Guinevere's shining brown eyes; he knew he had to do this, for her.

He squeezed her hand again, pressing something into her palm.

Gwen watched as Arthur squeezed her hand tightly and shot her his most charming smile, before whispering "For Luck."

Then he pushed the doors open and walked inside, with all the grandeur and confidence of a King. Gwen glanced down at her hand, seeing the lucky handerchief sat in her palm, before hurrying in after him.

Arthur was terrified. He was stood between his father and Guinevere. The King did not want to scare Morgana, so for today she would only be formally introduced to the three of them, and Gaius the court physician, who would be treating her nightmares. All other introductions would be saved for a week or so until she was settled in. On one hand he wanted to like the girl, it would be nice to have a sister; on the other hand he didn't want people to like her more than him. One of the guards stuck his head around the door, announcing that the Lady had arrived outside the hall. Arthur tried to still his shaking hands, clutching them behind his back but it did no good. Suddenly he felt a small, warm hand press against his own, handing him something. Though he could not turn, for fear of alerting his father, he knew Guinevere was passing him the handerchief. So he lowered his hand to his side, and shuffled slightly closer to her. With all eyes focused on the doors, in this position no one could see Arthur and Guinevere's hands clutched together, behind their backs, holding the good luck token between them. A comfort to them both, though Arthur could not decide where the comfort came from – the handerchief, or the girl who had given it, his best friend.

Or so he thought. After the ceremony Gwen had escorted Morgana to her new chambers, pressing the handkerchief into his hand, leaving him with her continued support. He had decided to go and see how they were both getting on that evening, and lifted his hand to knock on Morgana's door. Then he heard the tail end of their conversation:

"My Lady… uh…Morgie" Morgie! Arthur had to stifle a laugh, Morgana had requested he use the same name, but he had refused, claiming it was undignified. He listened as Gwen continued "Here's your sleeping draught, is there anything else you need?"

"No that's all, you can go home. But thank you for today Gwennie, I hope we will be the best of friends."

"Of course, goodnight…Morgie"

Gwennie?! What a way to ruin a perfectly good name – hang on – did she just say they'll be best friends? Well Guinevere is my best friend, I knew Morgana would come and try to ruin everything!

Arthur was just about the barge into the room, demanding that Morgie leave his best friend alone, when Guinevere came out of the door.

"Arthur?!" She seemed pleased to see him, grinning widely. "So what do you think of you new foster sister?"

"You're MY best friend!" He said hotly, frowning at the confusion which came over her face. "Why did you tell her that you'd be her best friend?"

"Arthur, I… I couldn't very well say no could I, we're supposed to be making her feel welcome. Besides why were you listening in on our conversation?" She sounded angry now, and her hands had gone to her hips, her eyes had darkened, glaring at him accusingly.

"I came to see how you both were! And I am trying to make her feel welcome, but… you're my first proper friend and now she's trying to take that away!"

He honestly looked upset at the thought at the thought of losing her, and she didn't know what to say, so she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh Arthur, I am your best friend, but Morgana needs a best friend too. She has just lost her father. She needs her brother as well; please don't push her away because you're jealous. Don't be selfish!" Her words were harsh, but her tone was gentle, comforting, and the hug further confirmed this notion.

He understood now, she had to pretend to be Morgana's best friend, to make her feel welcome, it was her job. But she wasn't supposed to be friends with the Prince; his father had made that very clear after the young Prince had talked of nothing but Guinevere for 3 hours the previous week. He was struck with inspiration. He pulled back to look in her eyes and said quickly:

"We won't always be able to act like friends, but we will always be best friends in here won't we?" He took her hand and brought it to rest directly on his heart.

"Of course we will Arthur, I promise." She smiled warmly up at him.

"I promise too." He just gazed down at her for a moment before saying "How was your day?"

"Hard work. But I don't mind, I'll get used to it." She yawned, and stretched her arms out gracefully, like a cat.

He smiled "I think you'll sleep tonight Guinevere. Come on, I'll walk you to the main doors." They set off, talking companionably, laughing when Gwen mentioned how awkward she felt calling her mistress Morgie. But both feeling sorry for the girl, having grew up with a missing parent themselves – neither could imagine what they would do if their fathers died. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading out into the courtyard. She groaned at the distance she had still to walk after a hard days work.

"You're going to be making this walk every day now" he told her, trying not to laugh too much at her frown. Then he yet again pulled the handkerchief from his pocket, and pressed it into her hand.

"Take this, for luck." He said grinning.

"With what, walking?" She laughed mockingly.

"With looking after Morgie." Their laughter rang through the courtyard, like wedding bells chiming, alerting the entire city to their joy.

"Okay, thank you Arthur."

"No, thank you. Now get some sleep you look shattered." He said pushing her towards the gate. "Goodnight Guinevere."

"Goodnight Arthur."