Disclaimer: see the first chapter. I don't own anything
Chapter three (and the possibly final chapter)
Guinevere opened the door. Her shock at Arthur's appearance was written on her face. Arthur's heart jumped at the sight of her.
For a solid ten minutes the pair stood there simply staring at each other. Fortunately for the pair they were still insight of the Arthur's knights. Seeing no movement from either party; Gwaine and Elyan looked at each other and let out a yell, effectively startling the couple into movement.
"Well I'm starting to think bringing them with me wasn't the wisest idea" Arthur muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"I think they mean well" Guinevere responded softly. "Come in please" she added stepping aside to allow him to enter the little shack. Arthur nodded and followed her movements.
Closing the door after him, Guinevere took the time to look at him as he studied her little home. To her he looked tired and thin. He had dark circles under his eyes. Her heart broke to see him looking so tired and pale.
Arthur turned slowly in a circle taking in his surroundings. The little house was adequately furnished; No doubt a result of Elyan and Merlin bringing her things. Despite the level of furnishings and the food on the cupboards, Arthur didn't like the conditions in which she was living in and he knew it was his fault that she was living here. Arthur had not even liked that she had that she had kept her little house after they had become engaged. He felt that as the future Queen of Camelot she should be residing in rooms in the castle.
When he came full circle he found Guinevere standing there watching him. She fiddled with her fingers and chewed her lip in the nervous manner that was uniquely her. She was studying him as he had studied her house.
"I suppose you are wondering what I am doing here?" Arthur started. Running his hands through his hair, he moved around the little house.
"I am considering you told me you never wanted to see me again" Guinevere said softly, her voice hitching as she did so. Arthur stopped when she said this; he could see the pain in her eyes.
"I am sorry for reacting so poorly. I was hurting, I had just seen my worst nightmare come to life and I reacted badly" Arthur admitted. Guinevere moved silently to the chairs and sat and listened to him. She looked down at her hands in her lap, regardless of whether she had been in control of her feelings or not she was ashamed of her behaviour.
"Guinevere, Elyan told me what you told him, but I want you to tell me what happened?" Arthur asked sitting down opposite her in the little chairs.
Guinevere looked at him, stunned though she should have realised that Elyan would eventually speak up to Arthur. Her brother was loyal to Arthur but even more loyal and protective to Guinevere. Taking a deep breath Guinevere told Arthur what she had told her brother.
"I don't know where to begin but that entire day is very fuzzy in my memories and it's not because I don't want to remember, I have tried. I have gone through the events of that day over and over again but they are still fuzzy. It was as though I was watching the events through another's eyes. It was as though I was drawn to the room, to Lancelot. When I was in his arms and kissing him, it felt wrong but I couldn't get my body to listen and move away or react in anyway. It was terrifying not being in control" Guinevere started. Arthur waited silently, he watched her as she spoke. He knew it would be best to let her talk rather than interrupting her.
"When Lancelot was ripped away from me and I saw your face it was like someone poured cold water over me. My heart broke at the sight of your face and the pain I saw there. My heart broke because I knew that I had caused you pain" Guinevere said. She stopped to gather herself and stop herself from breaking down into tears. She was thankful that again Arthur chose to remain silent.
"From that moment on, I was just numb, it was like I could do nothing and say nothing" Guinevere finished.
The entire time she was revealing what she had been through in that last few days that she was in Camelot, she struggled to keep the tears under control. Arthur sat silently and listened to her, he could see that she was in pain as well. He hated that magic had been capable of coming between them. When he found out who had used that magic, he would kill them. Anger rose in him as he thought of how someone had used magic to attack his home and almost cost him the love of his life.
Guinevere watched Arthur as she spoke. She noticed the anger as it rose inside him and instantly thought that he was thinking that she was lying. Guinevere feared what he would say when she stopped speaking. She didn't think she could handle it if he told her he hated her again or even if he looked at her like that. Her heart broke when he looked at her like that. Seeing his anger Guinevere fidgeted more with the hem of her apron.
"Guinevere are you all right?" Arthur asked noticing the increase in her fidgeting. Guinevere looked up at him and he saw the tears that threatened to fall.
"You're angry, I don't like it when you're angry, I don't want to make you angry, I love you" Guinevere stammered avoiding his eyes. Hearing her confession, Arthur's heart dropped, he hadn't realised his anger was showing. Or that she would think his anger was in any way directed at her. Looking at her, he saw that she actually thought he was still angry at her. Falling to his knees in front of her, Arthur reached to take both of her hands in his.
"I am not angry at you Guinevere, now that I have heard your side of things, I am not angry with you" Arthur said looking up at her.
"I am however angry at whoever tried to use magic to ruin our relationship and attack our home" he added softly.
"I'm sorry for everything that has happened, if I could change it I would" Guinevere said, tears flowing softly down her cheeks.
"I know Guinevere, I know and if I could go back and change things I would as well but we cannot. What we have to do is move forward" Arthur said softly.
"What happens now?" Guinevere asked shyly.
Before Arthur could answer a loud crack of thunder sounded overhead, making both jump in surprise. Arthur got up and moved to the door, opening it he was greeted with a view of a clear sky with no indication of an approaching storm. In front of him though he noticed his knights approaching.
"Sire, there is a storm approaching from the north" Leon informs him.
"There is lots of light flashing just over the ridge, it looks to be moving our way fast" Merlin added nervously.
"Sire I think we should pack Gwen up and head back to the castle" Elyan suggested shifting nervously and looking up at the sky.
"Very well, we'll start packing her essentials, prepare the horses" Arthur ordered and turned around and shut the door. Turning back to Guinevere, he sat down opposite her.
"I take it there is a storm coming?" Guinevere asked looking up at him.
"There is, I want you to come home and this time I want you to live in the castle" Arthur stated looking at her. As he spoke he saw something change in her eyes. He wasn't certain if the change was good or not, there was something inside him that said it was not good.
"You want me to live in the palace with you under guard" Guinevere said, more to herself then to Arthur. She was realising that although he had apologised for how he reacted, they had not actually discussed the fact that he had suspected of her betraying him so easily. She knew he had witnessed the kiss but surely he knew her well enough to know she would betray him willingly. It was occurring to her that he may not in fact trust her completely from now on. To her trust was important, she knew it would be something that they would have to work at when she returned to Camelot.
"Guinevere we should start packing your things" Arthur said motioning that they start moving. He looked around and spotted a small trunk. Arthur moved to collect the trunk and found that it was already full of her clothes. Thinking to himself that that would make things easier, he started to shift the trunk towards the door.
"Just leave that for a moment Arthur" Guinevere requested breaking into Arthur's train of thought on how to pack the little shack quickly. Turning to face to her, Arthur found that she had not yet moved from where she sat.
"Guinevere what's wrong?" Arthur asked moving to sit in front of her again. Before she could respond however, Elyan opened the door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt but it's starting to rain" he announced.
"Alright" Arthur started to say but was cut off by Guinevere asking him give them a few moments alone. Elyan nodded and back out the door way, shutting the door behind him.
"Arthur there is much we need to discuss but I need to know why you were so quick to believe that I would betray you? Did you honestly think I would do that to you? I have told you for many years that I love you and only you and yet you believed I would betray you so quickly, without stopping to think whether I would do this willingly" Guinevere asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She hadn't realised how much his lack of trust had heart her until now.
Arthur could clearly see the pain in her eyes; he had known when he came out here that things would be fixed quickly. Guinevere's independence was one of the things that he loved about her. Her ability to stand up to him and tell him the truth was what had drawn him to her and had him going to her for guidance. Although the past few days he had focused on the hurt he had felt he had not stopped to think about the pain she had experienced by his quick dismissal. The full realisation of what she had gone through was starting to dawn on him and he did not like what he was realising.
"Guinevere, I love you with all my heart and I do trust you; These events have finally taught me what you've been trying to teach me for years now; and that is to stop and think before I act. Had I stopped and been able to see past the image of you in his arms I would have realised that something was wrong" Arthur admitted moving kneel in front of her.
"I told you earlier, seeing you in his arms was my worst nightmare coming true, I panicked and I apologise for that, I apologise for not reacting better but I love you and I do trust you" Arthur added taking her hands in his.
"Then you wish me to live in the palace because?" Guinevere asked looking him in the eye.
"I want you to live there because I want you to be my queen and a palace is where a queen lives" he started.
"Also if you are in the palace we can spend more time together and then there is also the opportunity for you to gradually work your way into the duties of the queen, I know you have been nervous and unsettled about your position and this might help that" Arthur added.
"So you don't want me there because you don't trust me?" Guinevere asked studying his features.
Arthur was silent for a moment, "I trust you, but I would be lying if security wasn't another reason for wanting you in the castle. Someone managed to get to you and enchant you and it almost ruined everything. People know how important you are to me, it was only a matter of time before they tried to use you to hurt me, so I'm sorry if it sounds like I don't trust you but I do, I just want to keep you safe" he answered.
Guinevere thought for a moment, what he was saying made sense. His enemies couldn't strike directly at him due to his skill and Camelot's impenetrable layout, so it would make sense to strike at those that his enemies could get to.
"Guinevere that storm is coming quickly, can we please finish this discussion inside the castle" Arthur pleaded as a second loud clap of thunder sounded overhead. Guinevere looked at Arthur, she loved him with all her heart but she was still scared that he didn't believe her. Regardless of her fears she knew that this storm could destroy her house, and she didn't want to be there if it did.
"Very well I will come with you but we will discuss this further Arthur, if we are to marry then it will only be because our relationship is strong and we are trust each other" Guinevere said.
Arthur nodded and said "Of course, first we get you inside the castle and then we talk". With that Arthur opened the door and gave the knights the order to start packing Guinevere's belongings. Within the hour her little house was packed and the group were preparing to leave. The group mounted their horses with Merlin giving up his horse for Guinevere and set off for the short ride to Camelot. They were all thankful that the sky had decided to delay opening on them.
Re-entering Camelot, the group received a lot of stares. Most were surprised to see Guinevere riding in with their king. The surprise was increased when Arthur extended a hand to Guinevere, so that they would ride hand in hand. Once the surprise subsided however, many of the citizens started to clap and cheer for the group.
Note: Not sure whether to keep going with this one or not. Let me know what you think.