Note: so here it is, the happy ending. Enjoy :D
Ending 2
He had been so sure, so confident that she would leave without a second thought. Given the state of their marriage, it was hard to believe that she would do anything else. It had been a shock when she told him that no, she would not be going with him, that she loved her husband too much.
In the years since he had left her in that forest, he had not stopped thinking of her. He had regretted his departure almost as soon he had done it but he had made the honourable choice.
He could not believe that his travels would lead him back to Camelot and to Gwen. It had to be a sign. This time he vowed, he would make her his. It was no surprise to see the banners that declared the kingdom under the rule of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere and it was no surprise to find that they were well-loved by the people. However, this time he would not be swayed from his intent.
When he had presented himself at the castle, he could see that the pleasure she showed at seeing him was genuine, the pleasure from Arthur was slightly less so. He hadn't immediately seen the cracks between the royal couple, it had taken a little while before he realised that the slight strain they showed was not from the pressures of ruling the kingdom but from something far deeper.
He had taken heart from her confidences in him. He was careful not to press his attentions too quickly, the sweet glances she gave him told him that she was wavering and he didn't want to risk Arthur wielding a sword in his direction, at least, not before he was certain that Gwen was by his side.
"Come away with me, Gwen." Lancelot had said it so earnestly and it would be so easy to take his hand once more and fly from here. He told her he would wait until she was ready. He told her she was the only woman he had truly loved. He had pulled her close to him during their dance at the feast a few nights ago and whispered those words in her ear.
She had drawn away from him a little then, a subtle move but not before Arthur had noticed the movement of Lancelot's lips and the widening of her dark eyes. He also didn't miss the way the knight's arm had tightened just a little more around her waist until she stepped away from him.
She looked around the chambers that she still shared with her husband. In spite of all their differences, all their arguing, they had never thought to move to separate quarters. She ran a hand over the red tunic emblazoned with the golden dragon of Camelot which had been flung carelessly over the back of a chair. Still the same, Arthur had never really learnt to tidy up after himself. Clothes lay strewn over various pieces of furniture and Gwen did the same as she did each morning – she sorted the discarded clothing and neatly folded away the clean items and bundled the dirty ones for washing.
Upon becoming queen, she had made the conscious decision to not have any personal servants of her own. Having been a maid herself, she had loved her mistress and Lady Morgana had been a dear friend as well as a good employer. However, she had been brought up to be self-reliant, to fend for herself as much as possible and it was not in her nature to feel comfortable as someone else cleaned her mess when she could easily do it herself.
Arthur had been sweet, trying to talk her into having a servant as he no longer wanted her to have to do menial tasks as she had spent so long running after other people. She had protested that she would not be so messy as to require a servant to attend her and she reminded him that she felt no shame at having previously done those same menial tasks. He accepted that while her position in life might have changed, the person she was had not and that was who he had fallen in love with.
She held a shirt to her nose, inhaling the faint muskiness of his scent. It was a smell that always comforted her and whenever his duty as king had required him to spend time away from the castle, she would wear one of his shirts to bed. She would sleep better knowing there was something of his so close to her until he returned in person.
Camelot was all she had ever really known and it was an integral part of her being. She loved its land and its people. She loved its king. They had gone through so much together along with Merlin and Morgana (until her sudden and shocking change of fortune) and they were bonded as surely as the roots of the 500 year-old oaks were bonded and entwined with the earth.
That was how Arthur found Guinevere, her nose buried in what he was sure was a discarded shirt and his own nose wrinkled as he recalled that he had worn it for a heavy practise session yesterday. It was clearly a private moment for his wife and she looked so vulnerable just then, her eyes shut against the cares of the world with her only protection being a sweaty old shirt. He had not seen such tenderness from her in some time. Just like him, she had grown a hard shell to deflect the hurts of the cross words that had somehow become commonplace between them.
He dithered for a second as he tried to decide whether to leave her in peace or face the possibility of yet another pointless argument. His decision was made for him when he accidentally knocked his sword against the door as he began to turn to leave.
Startled by the unexpected noise, she looked up to find her husband clumsily trying to back out of their room.
"Arthur?"
"I'm sorry, Guinevere, I didn't mean to disturb you. I shall come back later." He apologised stiffly, slightly embarrassed.
She stared at him for a second, wondering when it had become normal for them to treat each other as strangers, to speak to each other as if they had barely laid eyes on each other before.
"Arthur, wait. Don't go." Gwen's voice was softly neutral but her eyes betrayed the plea behind her words.
He stopped his movement towards the door and turned to face her. Slowly, hesitantly, he made his way to stand beside her.
She sat on the edge of their bed and looked up at him uncertainly. "What's happened to us?" She said aloud the question that they had both been asking themselves.
"I don't know," he admitted. He sat next to her, afraid to ask her the question he truly wanted the answer to.
"Can we fix it? Can we fix us?"
"I think so…I hope so." They avoided looking at each other, unspoken words hung heavy in the air. Finally, he turned to her, eyes holding hers in a deep gaze. He had to know. "Are you going to leave? With him?" There, he had said it.
Gwen's jaw dropped open. "You knew?"
"I suspected." His voice was quiet as he asked again, "So are you?"
She had been mulling over her predicament for a time but she had made up her mind long before this moment had arrived. It wasn't fair to keep Arthur hanging on, especially if he already knew of Lancelot's intentions.
"No, Arthur, I'm not leaving." She reached slowly for his hand. She had missed his touch.
His hand closed over hers. "You mean it?" He could hardly believe it. He would have sworn that she would be packing her things by now.
"Not unless you want me to," she smiled gently, a hint of the old teasing that used to be so much a part of their conversation.
"No, no," he replied hurriedly, "I just thought…"
"You thought wrong," she interjected. "Believe me, I did think about it but it wasn't for that long." Gwen lifted her hand to stroke his cheek. "I still love you Arthur. I never stopped." She could feel the tears beginning to well up as the emotions that had been held back for such a long time were finally able to be released.
Arthur used his thumb to wipe away the first tear. "Me either. I love you more than anything in the world." He really did not know what he would have done if she had left him.
"So what happens now? We can't go on like we have been."
"You're right, we can't and we won't." He smiled at her. "How about we go away somewhere quiet and peaceful for a while, perhaps by a lake somewhere? Just you and me."
"That sounds wonderful." A worried frown appeared. "What about the town, the people?"
"Oh, I think Camelot can stand to be left in Merlin's charge for a bit and I know Sir Leon's been itching to have a break from the new recruits." His expression became serious. "I meant it, you know. You do mean everything to me."
Gwen could wait no longer. She leaned forward to kiss him with all the passion she had for him and that kiss told him better than words that she was and always would be his. When they finally broke apart, Gwen's lips curved and a wicked glint entered her eye as she rose to close the door and lock it.
She started to untie her corset with deliberate slowness as she approached her husband. "I think you're going to be late for the training field."
His strong arms came up to encircle her waist. "I'm sure they'll cope."
Gwen let out a giggle as Arthur abruptly pulled her down to the bed with him.
So that's the happy version, perhaps a bit heavy on the slush :p Hope u liked it though. oh, yes, i also kept Sir Leon alive. i was a bit upset that they fried him and other knights at the end of series 2 :(
thanks to everyone who has followed this fic x