"I am so excited for the wedding, I think my gown will only be second to the Queen's."
"I look forward to seeing it," Gwaine offered half-heartedly. His attention was waning, and he knew it was evident in his slouched posture. While he had once gone looking for an opportunity to talk to Lady Eleanor, once you got past appearance she didn't have much to offer except mindless chatter.
"Yes, it has gold trimmings, and I managed to push mother to get the neckline lowered just a little," she paused, knowing she had spoken without thinking. "Still modest, but more flattering. But I suppose I shouldn't be telling you," she amended, giving him a sly smile.
"I suppose you shouldn't," Gwaine replied, his knee jerk reaction to grin.
She grinned in return, but Gwaine was already regretting walking up to her in the first place, and for exchanging these pleasantries.
"You never have to worry, being a Knight. You all always look put together."
"The uniform was one reason I chose the profession," Gwaine joked. "But I'm most excited for the feast," he admitted, knowing most girls wouldn't dream about that part like he did.
"Oh yes...it should be grand," she mused. "Especially the dancing afterward."
"I was thinking more of the food," Gwaine joked. "I plan to stuff myself until I can't move, let alone dance."
Lady Eleanor was polite enough to smile, but he could see the disappointment in her eyes. She fidgeted with a piece of hair falling around her ear, the blonde curling into a ringlet.
"My brothers always look forward to dancing. And I know the ladies love being asked by them."
"Oh yes," Gwaine said, his eyes moving away from her to follow a bird eating something off the cobblestones. "Dancing has its merits."
Just as he looked away from the bird, Gwaine saw Antoinette walking by with a crate poised on her hip. Her hair was down, tousled by the wind as she walked forward. He noticed that she always looked like she had purpose.
His eyes flitted back to Lady Eleanor. She didn't do much with purpose, except gossip and search for a husband. Gwaine was suddenly very aware of the fact that he did not wish to do either of these things.
"Perhaps you'll save me a dance," Lady Eleanor said, trying to draw back his attention.
"I shall," he confirmed, his eyes briefly catching hers before looking to his left. He caught a glimpse of red come around the corner, followed by a flash of chain mail. He'd never been more happy to see a fellow knight.
He gave Leon his most desperate look, hoping Eleanor didn't notice. He reached them in a few broad steps, changing his pace from relaxed to quick. Gwaine almost smiled but tried to appear curious.
"Sorry to interrupt, Lady Eleanor," Leon said, giving her a polite smile. "But may I borrow Gwaine for our training?"
"Do you have the pepper?"
"Of course. Next to the salt," Antoinette said, pointing to the jar.
"And the garlic?"
"Right in the back."
"And just a bit of coriander?"
"As requested," Antoinette confirmed.
Hilda peered into the crate one more time. Her nose had a sharp hook that was more prominent from this angle, and probably why Antoinette had always thought her features were thin and bird-like.
"Have I forgotten anything yet?" Antoinette asked. "It's time you've started trusting me, Hilda."
Hilda narrowed her eyes and reached into her apron. She withdrew a black pouch and handed it to Antoinette, always begrudgingly, as if she was paying out of her own pocket rather than the King's.
"If I have any problems..."
"You know where to find me," Antoinette finished with a smile. Hilda always gave her a hard time, but she always referred Antoinette to other people. They never spoke of this fact, but it made Antoinette look on the chastising old lady with fondness...even if she was glaring at her.
"And—"
Hilda was cut off by a crash. They both turned around to see Arthur's servant Merlin standing in front of a shattered mug, his mouth twisted into an expression of surprise. The kitchen's buzz of chatter and mixing paused for a moment, as if waiting for a reaction.
"I'm sorry," Merlin said, scooping down to pick up the fragments. He avoided Hilda's eyes but Antoinette could see his face scrunch in anticipation of a reprimand.
"You stupid boy!" Hilda said, her voice only a little louder than usual. "Always barging in here, making a mess!"
"I'm sorry, I was reaching for something..."
"Keep your eyes open! What do you need anyway? You should ask me before you go nosing around," Hilda said forcefully. Antoinette mused that if a statue was ever made of her, her hands would be forever on her hips.
"The King asked me to bring the knights some water for their break," Merlin said, bundling up the broken pieces in a nearby cloth. Antoinette imagined that years of Arthur's teasing had forced him into calmness. She wouldn't have been able to handle Hilda so nonchalantly.
"Well hurry up about it, before you break something else!"
Hilda brushed past him, leaving an imagined trail of fire in her wake. Antoinette smiled, feeling partly sorry for Merlin, and partly grateful that he got Hilda to walk away from her.
She put her crate beside her and bent to help Merlin pick up the few remaining parts. For a small cup, it had broken into quite a few pieces.
"Thank you, Antoinette," he said with a smile, tying the cloth into a bundle.
"No problem at all," she replied, wiping off her dress as she stood. "For once, I wasn't Hilda's least favorite person in the room."
Merlin laughed, shaking his head.
"No, I always manage to be that person, I'm afraid."
"You're going to training?" Antoinette asked as they rose to their feet.
Her mind was already churning. She had been dying to see her brothers in action, see for herself how they stood up against the knights. See if she thought they'd really be joining their ranks. And Mrs. Mortimer didn't expect her back until later...
"I'm walking that way, and I'm kind of curious to see what it's all about," Antoinette added, watching Merlin grab a huge pitcher to fill.
"You can come along if you'd like. The boys like to show off when someone's watching, though, I'll have to warn you," he said with a smile.
"I'm used to it, unfortunately," Antoinette sighed, thinking of how many times Tristan had hurt himself trying to impress somebody.
They were walking toward the door when Hilda suddenly blocked their path.
"Tell Mrs. Mortimer the same order for next time," she said, nodding at Antoinette before turning back to the kitchen staff.
"So what did you do to Hilda?" Merlin whispered as they both grinned and ducked through the doorway around an incoming servant.
"I spilled pepper here on my first delivery," Antoinette sighed. "People's eyes were watering for hours. You?"
They were nearing the outside, and Antoinette could feel the warmth of the sun as the morning stretched into afternoon.
"I stole one roll..." Merlin said, looking behind him. With a smile, he delved into his pocket and withdrew a roll. "And then another," he added, pulling out one more and handing it to her.
She tilted her head back and laughed, accepting it with a smile.
"I did mean what you did before today," Antoinette said, balancing the crate in one arm to hold the roll in the other.
"How much time do you have?"
Tristan was fighting Arthur when Antoinette and Merlin approached the knights. His hair was pasted to his forehead and his neck with sweat, but his eyes were bright with energy. The grass they were on was worn down with footsteps of fighters, but the surrounding area was green and vibrant.
Tristan aimed a hit to Arthur's left arm that he blocked, steel singing in the air as their swords collided. The other men were cheering them on, and she wondered how they garnered such enthusiasm to do this day after day.
Arthur now took his turn on Tristan, who managed to block a hit in his stomach region by twisting uncomfortably out of the way.
"Who do you think will win?"
Antoinette smiled as she heard Leon's voice beside her. His own hair was slick with sweat and she supposed he had just recovered from a spar.
"Am I allowed to bet against my own blood?" she asked, looking back to her brother.
"I won't tell."
Just as she was about to answer, Tristan moved again, but this time his jerk had made him off balance. Arthur noticed the weakness, and with a hard hit knocked Tristan's sword from his hand. Tristan's chest heaved as he stared at his sword and Arthur held his own blade to Tristan's body.
"I yield," Tristan said dejectedly.
"A good fight. You almost had me a few times," Arthur said, lowering his sword and patting him on the back. "You've come a long way."
Tristan beamed at Arthur, which made Antoinette smile. Tristan was always the one who wanted to appear cool and calm, and seeing him admire someone else so much reminded her of how vulnerable he was.
Antoinette now caught Alynor's eye, and he gave her a look of mixed confusion while he waved.
"Merlin!" Arthur called. "You've got the water?"
Antoinette stepped back as the knights all surrounded Merlin, most of them taking notice of her but not commenting on it. She supposed they were too thirsty from all the training to really want to address her.
"Antoinette!" Alynor called, pushing past the knights. "What are you doing here?"
She noticed Tristan and Gwaine turn to her as well, and she nodded slightly as them.
"I was just delivering some spices for the wedding."
"Oh...the wedding," Gwaine grunted, rubbing his face.
"Yes," Antoinette answered slowly. "Is that a problem, Sir Gwaine?"
"No, but I am all full up on wedding talk," Gwaine explained, his mind flickering back to Lady Eleanor. Antoinette was so concerned with her gown for their dinner, he wondered if she would have Lady Eleanor's concerns. "Do you know what you're going to wear?" he teased, tilting forward with a grin.
Gwaine watched Antoinette's face turn to confusion.
"No...but no one will be looking at me that day. I'm sure Gwen's gown will be perfect. And she will be so happy that she'll look even better."
Gwaine's next comment dropped from his mouth for a moment as he thought of how startling opposite his two conversations had been.
"And the feast?" Gwaine asked slowly to test his theory.
"It is going to be the highlight of the night," Antoinette said adamantly. "I made sure to put extra salt in the crate since the cook usually doesn't use that much. She doesn't like me so she doesn't listen when I say everything tastes better with more salt...but I think she'll heed me this time."
Gwaine felt his eyes fix on her, and his mouth twist into a half smile, but he almost didn't register it because of the short flare he felt in his stomach. As the other knights began to talk to each other and leave their conversation, and Antoinette began to blush, and he filtered back into reality.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, her eyelids lowering so she was practically looking through her eyelashes.
"Oh," he said, looking away, "No reason."
Gwaine wasn't sure why he was staring. Or what he was feeling. All he knew was that he liked that she changed the conversation to someone else's happiness. And that she had more cares in the world than her clothes. And there was a spot, just above her cheekbones that flared apple red when she blushed.
Sorry for the wait on this one! Review if you like it. ;)