Chapter 8

Gwen hurried through the busy streets of Camelot. She had just finished her errand and now she needed to get to work on some of her chores. It was getting well into the afternoon and she had a lot to accomplish.

As she entered the castle, the halls seemed unusually empty. Where is everyone, she wondered. As she approached the throne room she heard voices raised as if in an argument.

"...will take place tomorrow morning, and that is final!" Gwen recognized the king's voice. She knew she should be moving on, but her curiosity got the better of her and she stayed where she was.

"No, it is not." Arthur? Gwen peaked inside the room, and sure enough saw him in the room glaring at this father. What's going on?

"You can't execute someone," Arthur continued coldly, "without proof." Execute? What on earth is going on?

Gwen could see Uther rise from his throne. "Proof!?" he shouted. "She was seen with an enemy of Camelot. How much more proof do we need?"

"At least put her on trial, Father, and hear what she has to say. Please!" The last word was said in different tone of voice, almost pleadingly.

Gwen didn't hear Uther's response. Someone just laid a hand on her shoulder, and Gwen whirled in surprise. "Merlin!"

Her friend stared at her, in his eyes she could read...what? Compassion. For what? "What's going on, Merlin?"

He took a deep breath, afraid to answer. After a long moment of silence all he said was, "Come with me." He turned and she followed him.

"Where to?"

"The dungeons. There's someone I think you should see."

The last thing Naomi expected was to have visitors, especially her daughter and the servant boy Merlin. Naomi stared at them in surprise when she saw them. She had been sitting on the cold floor, but immediately stood.

She wasn't quite sure what to say to them, but Merlin spoke first. "I have a confession to make." Both Naomi and Gwen looked at him in puzzlement. "I followed you last night."

Naomi's eyes widened. She wasn't angry, just surprised. "Why? What did you hear?" Gwen looked back and forth between the two of them. What was going on?

"I followed you," said Merlin, "because I thought there was more to you then you made your self out to be. It turns out I was right. I heard what the two of you said."

Naomi nodded in Gwen's direction. "Does she know?" Merlin shook his head. "No. I haven't told her. I thought she should hear the truth from you."

What were they talking about? This whole conversation was unsettling, and Gwen wondered what she had to do with anything. Much to her dismay, Merlin said he should leave the two of them alone and left.

"Gwen," began Naomi, but then she corrected herself, "Guinevere." Gwen turned toward the older woman and smiled, trying to hide her anxiety. She waited patiently for whatever it was she was going to tell her.

"My name is not Jasmina. That was a name I chose for my own protection. My real name is Naomi, and I...I am..your mother."

Gwen nearly collapsed. Her mother? But how...? "I don't understand."

Naomi nodded. "I know this isn't easy. When you were only a small child I was kidnapped by a sorcerer by the name of Darlon. For ten years, I was his slave. Then one day, a man by the name of Alvarr killed him. At first, Alvarr was kind, but I soon saw how cruel and ambitious he was. I ran away. I wondered for years always trying to find my way home to you and your father. At last I have succeeded. But it is too late."

Gwen had remained silent through out her mother's narrative and it never once occurred to her to doubt her mother's word. "What do you mean?"

Naomi sighed. "Last night, I was on my way to see you, but Alvarr found me. He was here in Camelot. Unfortunately, Merlin was not the only one to have seen me with him. The king now believes I am a traitor and I am to be executed at dawn."

Gwen gasped. To be reunited with her mother after all this time, only to have her killed, was Fate really this cruel? She had already lost her father. "No." Gwen then broke into tears.

Naomi longed to hold her daughter, her only child, her in arms and comfort her, but that was impossible. "I know. It is hard on both of us, but I am glad that I found you. That in and of itself, is greater than any treasure."

After what seemed an eternity of arguing with his father, Arthur emerged from the throne room. After all he had said, Uther had refused to change his mind. Arthur had been angry with his father before, but not like this. This went beyond anger, this was rage.

He decided go see the prisoner for himself, to see if there was anything else he could learn from her that might save her. He was on his way to the dungeons when he spotted Merlin standing there, as if waiting for something.

"Merlin? What are..." he didn't finish what he was saying, for at that moment Gwen appeared. She had just left the dungeons and Arthur knew at once why she had been there.

There were tears in her eyes, and the sight of this, only added to the rage Arthur already felt.

When she saw Arthur, she understood what it was that he and his father had been arguing about earlier. She understood perfectly well that Arthur had been trying to save her mother's life and that he knew the truth.

She tried to smile at him as a way of saying thank you, but she only burst into tears again. Arthur put his arms around her in an embrace. Merlin discreetly left them alone.

"I am so sorry, Guinevere." Arthur's voice was gentle and so full of tenderness. "I promise I will do everything I can to save her."