Okay guys, I know you must all hate me, I haven't uploaded anything for a very long time...but, here is the next instalment, please review, if you can J

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"Arthur there have been some disturbances in the outlying villages. I think it would be beneficial for you to go out there to reassure the people." Father said, whilst looking over some papers in the council chambers.

"Yes Father. How long for?" the sun beaming in from the window behind father's chair.

"I want you back here in a week. That will do. Take a small group of knights with you too,"

"Will you need Bors, Lancelot, Owain and Leon?" I asked, desperately hoping that he didn't.

"You may take them, except Lancelot."

"My Lord?" I frowned. This was the reason that I didn't want him to stay here.

"Well Guinevere is still settling in. I think that having a familiar face around will make her more comfortable," father looked up from his papers.

"Yes father." I couldn't help but feel a little irritated. Lancelot alone with Guinevere for a whole week? I suppose Merlin could keep them from getting too involved in one another.

"Well then, do not waste time son."

There was a sharp knock at the door and we both turned around as the small woman draped in fine silks stepped into the room.

"I hope I am not disturbing you Milord's?" Guinevere asked, pausing in the doorway. Her face was placed in a false smile. The final relics of her battle seemed to have almost disappeared over the space of but four days... It was a miracle.

"Nonsense Guinevere, Arthur was just leaving," Father glared at me, taking the hint I made a small bow in his direction. Before turning around and leaving the room. Guinevere looked nervous, her hands were firmly clasped. I winked at her on my way out, I noticed her blush, and it pained me that I would now be away from her for a week...

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The disturbances had been an unnecessary hindrance from my time with Guinevere, it was merely some of Cenred's men entering our territory, I had to kill a few of them; but I no longer looked at their faces, even if it was not their fault. I had to protect Camelot, not just for my own safety but for that of the ones I cared about that were waiting at home for me.

The week dragged on for much too long, each day seemed longer than the last and I hoped that Guinevere was alright. Even with that laggard Lancelot, I knew that Merlin was keeping an eye on her but it hurt when I thought about her. How I longed to be in her presence, how her smile lit up the whole room. How her new fine dresses seemed to be made just for her. How I longed to be in her presence... Eventually we all packed up and started the long and treacherous journey back to Camelot. The long journey back seemed to take even longer for me, the horses could simply not ride fast enough for me to return as soon as I had liked; the knights did not know the reason for my eagerness to get back.

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"Do you think he has a lover?" Owain whispered to Bors, who were situated far away enough from the Prince, to not fear being overheard.

"Arthur? Have a lover? Don't be ridiculous, he hasn't been like that since he was 18. It has been too long since he has slept in a warm bed." Bors laughed softly. He glanced at the Prince, who was sleeping on a bedroll in the forest.

"I have never seen him like this before, he has changed Bors. The last couple of months and especially last week before we left Camelot. Not that I am complaining but it would be interesting to know who was gotten to him," Arthur stirred in his sleep, Leon had emerged from the woods now, he had gone to relieve himself and looked at the two knights.

"I think Arthur is just maturing he is 22 now, you can't expect him t stay the same arrogant Prince he has always been," Bors replied, Leon joined them both around the camp fire; the sounds of wolves filled the air.

"But they say the love of a woman can change even the hardest of men," Owain pointed out.

"I agree, Look at Uther before the Queen died he was not as much of a tyrant as he is now," Leon whispered.

"So you agree, you think the Prince has a lover?" Owain chuckled, pointing a stick at Leon.

"I neither agree nor disagree. The Prince is out future King, if he has a lover and kept her a secret then good on him because we all know what the castle is like. Rumours spread like wildfire in that place," Leon paused, glancing at the slumbering Prince, "If he has managed to keep her out of the public eye then let him enjoy it for a while, we all know that once he is King he won't be able to keep any woman a secret. And if he has not, then I am glad that he is proving to be a good king in the making,"

There was silence for several moments as both Owain and Bors slowly nodded their heads in agreement with Leon.

"I think we should follow the Princes suit and get some rest," Leon proposed and stood up going to set up his bedroll.

"I think we should," Bors agreed.

Little did the knights of Camelot know that the Prince was wide awake, and listening to their conversation.

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I had never been so glad to be home in my life. The white walls of the castle never seemed so welcoming since I returned from killing the Great Dragon. I glanced towards the three knights with me feeling strangely betrayed and anxious. It was true what Leon had said, it was amazing that we had kept it a secret for this long. The question was how long could it be kept for?

The hooves of Taranto echoed loudly on the cobbles of the courtyard, an on this wonderful sunny day, I looked for any sign of Guinevere, but there was none. The birds were chirping and there was a slight breeze which made the leaves on the trees dance in the wind.

"Nora!" Leon gasped as he saw his wife run down the stairs; she was with child, though only 4 months gone. She was one of the most sought after ladies in the entire royal court and Leon had managed to claim her. She had long beautiful red hair that hung down to her waist, with perfect white skin and large expressive blue eyes.

"Leon!" she said, flinging her hair over her shoulder. Leon jumped off his horse as soon as he was able and ran over to his wife. Owain and Bors looked at each other and laughed. Just because they had nobody to come home to...yet.

I waited for the servant to come and hold Taranto's reins before getting off of him. Owain and Bors waited for my command. I sighed looking over at Leon who was stroking Nora's hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I think that we should leave Leon to catch up with Nora. We shall go and brief the King on the situation in the Northern borders." I massaged my neck.

"Yes My Lord." They said, turning on their heels and walking up the steps. I stopped beside Leon.

"Spend some time with your Wife Leon," I murmured in his ear.

"Thank you Sire," He whispered back. I smiled at him half heartedly, before following after my Knights.

As I walked towards the Throne room, I kept my eyes peeled for Guinevere, Merlin or even Lancelot. But there was no sign of them. I saw many of the Servants and I even asked for Merlin once or twice, but they all said the same thing, 'He is with Sir Lancelot'. By the time I reached my father, I was very irritated; I had not seen my best friend or Guinevere.

"Was the situation in the Northern Borders resolved?" Father asked I looked quickly round the room; Guinevere, Lancelot and Merlin were not there.

"Yes father, Cenred's men trying to claim the North. They were dealt with," I explained.

"It seems that Cenred wants to start and outright war against Camelot. If that is what he wants, then that is what he shall have." Father concluded.

"I Fear that Cenred has grown complacent. We could try a treaty with them first; Wars are expensive and so soon after the Dragon attack our numbers have greatly lessened. We would need time to build up another army," I rubbed my eyes in anguish. If we lost any more men, we would not have enough to defend Camelot, let alone fight for it.

"You look weary Son. I relax you of your duties for the day. Rest and be ready tomorrow." Father smiled at me.

"Owain you are to run defences with the Knights." I yawned, before bowing to my father and retreating to my chambers.

I still had no sign of Guinevere and by the time I had change into more comfortable clothes it had been an hour since I had returned. Taking walks usually subdued my worries so yet again I made my way out of my castle and through the town.

The outskirts of Town were surrounded by fields and were usually deserted unless many had the day off because of the heat, or the villagers were having a wedding. As all weddings had to be approved by the king, for the land, the next wedding was not until Saturday, so it was usually a good place to think. Imagine my surprise, that when I walked through the trees, and peered through to the clearing, I could see a large group of people and hear several musical instruments playing. Somebody was having a party. I stuck to the shadows.

I saw that this was no ordinary party; it was a gathering of several people I recognised. The first person I recognised was Jenny, the little girl that been held by Guinevere that day in the Market, she was being held by her mother; the florist, whose name was Rebecca. There was another boy in the clearing, must not have been over 10 years old, who looked like Rebecca, so I could only assume that she was his son. Then there was the Buffon, Merlin who was holding hands with a servant girl from the kitchens, hmm. Then there were the court musicians sitting on a stand, looking more relaxed than I have ever seen them. Nora was talking to them, with Leon standing close behind her. Then my breath was taken away.

"Thank you everybody for coming." Guinevere emerged from the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. I gasped, she had her long her tied down one side of her head so that it hung completely down her left shoulder, and had a gold band tied around her forehead. Her dress was Red and had purple designs on it and it made her look ten times more beautiful. The only problem was who she emerged with. Lancelot.

"No problem Gwen," Nora laughed. "Leon can be partners with Rebecca; I cannot dance in my condition." She rubbed her stomach affectionately.

"So does everybody know what dance we are doing?" Lancelot asked, he stood too close to Guinevere for my liking.

"Yes" a bored response replied.

"Then everybody partner up." Gwen smiled.

Jenny and the little boy were the first, followed by Merlin and the Servant whose name escapes me, Rebecca and Leon then Lancelot and Guinevere. They formed a circle and the jovial music began. I couldn't take my eyes off of Guinevere, she looked completely healed, as if nothing had happened to her; there was a twinkle in her eyes and her hair seemed to have grown a lot more since last week. But something disturbed me...

The dance they were all dancing to was a wedding dance, and if I remembered correctly Guinevere and Lancelot were dancing the parts danced by the Bride and Groom...They couldn't have gotten engaged in my absence, could they. The way she looked at him, with such a light in her eyes made me feel sick. The way Lancelot twirled her around, his eyes never leaving hers. I had been gone a week and everything was falling apart.

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The cool air was a sanctuary to my flushed cheeks, the night had come and I had sent Lancelot home to get his dinner. I fear he is getting a little too optimistic with our relationship; surely he knows that I have only eyes for Arthur? I sat on the stone bench by the open window that looked over the courtyard; the servants were running home after serving their masters, citizens still building the castle to its finer glory. I used to be one of them, and now I wished for that life more than anything. Being confined in the castle was a chore; I had to sneak out to help Merlin practise the dance earlier.

I picked up the heavy leather cased book which lay at the other end of the bench. It had not been opened for many years before last week. It held dangerous secrets, secrets that I should have never found out about. And yet here I was living the life Morgana was living, if she had not been taken we could have finally been equal friends. 'Nobility Birth Records' was the title of the first page. I sighed with regret.

There was a knock at the door; I turned my head towards it. I had two guards standing outside, if it was him he would not have let them live. I shut the book quickly before hurrying over to the large oak doors. It was probably Merlin; he had proved to be a pillar or strength following Uther's revelation last week.

"My Lord?" I gasped, I had heard he was back but I had taken dinner in my chambers this evening and had not seen anybody, officially, for a few days.

"Guinevere," he smiled grimly. I knew that smile...it was not good.

"Please do come in," I opened the door more and he crossed the door. I closed it softly behind him. I gestured for Arthur to sit down at the table but he curtly refused.

"I came here to offer my congratulations," He said formally, his hands behind his back. I raised my eyebrows in suspicion.

"Congratulations Arthur? For what?" I looked at his face; he was trying hard to mask his emotions.

"Your impending marriage," He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Pardon? Is there something that I am not being told?" I didn't understand what he was saying.

"To Lancelot, do not play dumb with me, "He said harshly, a fire in his eyes.

"Lancelot?"I laughed "Don't be ridiculous Arthur, Lancelot and I are not getting married"

"Not the way it looked earlier. The way you two were dancing." He snarled, I felt uncomfortable.

"Arthur, we were dancing, we had to play the part. I was doing it to help Merlin, I was teaching him to dance," The irritation beginning to seep through my voice.

"Didn't look that way." He stared at me up and down. "If I didn't know any better I would think that you both were engaged,"

"Arthur don't be absurd, there is only one person I would marry and as it stands it is quite impossible," My temper was wearing thin.

"How do you think it made me feel Guinevere? Seeing you with him, dancing together. The way you looked at him made my blood boil," he said in a low voice, but it sounded twice as deadly.

"Well now you know what it is like. How do you think I feel every time you dance with a Princess who is everything that I could not possibly even dream to be?"

"But the difference is that I do not have any history with them. I know that you are the only person that I love and it is merely a formality. With you on the other hand..." I could see the fire in his eyes.

"I can't believe you just said that to me, "I gasped, "You know I love you don't you? I thought I would have to prove it to a lot of people, but never to you Arthur Pendragon. Lancelot and I do have history, there is no denying that fact...But he is also a dear friend Arthur. It all comes down to whether or not you trust me," He averted his gaze to the table. Not daring to look at me.

"I thought we had this conversation last week,"

"Whilst I was on my Death bed! You do trust me don't you Arthur" I walked over to him, invading his personal space.

"I am trying to," He looked into my eyes, and I could see he was telling the truth.

"I cannot believe this. I trust you with my life, my heart and my soul. You don't even trust me?" he remained silent. "Tell me, would you trust me if it transpired that I was nobility, so you do not fear for your Pendragon fortune?" I snarled.

"I love you now, it does not matter to me whether or not you are a servant or not," He suddenly sounded repentant. But he loved me but did not trust me.

"I am tired my lord, I think you should go," I announced, walking slowly towards my wardrobe. He nodded and began to turn towards the door.

"I love you Guinevere. More than you realise," He whispered, I looked at him.

"I love you too. Good night," He nodded his head and left me.

The tears in my eyes threatened to brim over as I pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment, I sunk to the stone floor with defeat. This is not how we should have been reunited. I should have told him what his father had told me...but why does he deserve to know. He would probably think I was lying anyway. I unrolled the regal looking paper as I had done so many times this past week and read the fine lettering:

On the 23rd of June, in the 8th year of the Reign of King Uther Pendragon; Lady Isabella Leodegrance of Cameliard and Lord Robert Leodegrance of Camelot bore a child, Lady Guinevere Isabella Igraine Leodegrance. Guardians King Uther Pendragon and Queen Igraine Pendragon.

I could not stop the tears from falling. My whole life had been a lie and everybody in the Kingdom knew it. Some people were saying that the King took me in as a replacement for Morgana. But it was not true. I had inherited a rather large amount of money from my Lady Isabella and Lord Robert. As I was now 25 I could have access to it. I had so looked forward to telling Arthur about it, but now I doubt he would believe me...

Wow, I hate transition chapters...more A/G/L angst to come. Reviews make my day so please do...reviewers get cookies