AN: I left that chapter on a cliff-hanger didn't I? The majority of this chapter will be flashbacks but it'll hopefully explain everything. Also spot the reference to Disney's Hercules.
There was a moment of stunned silence after Gwen's revelation as the council and Bayard absorbed what Gwen had informed them. She and Arthur had married before his death. But how? There was no wedding? No proof of any marriage and why on earth would she not have said something beforehand? Eventually the silence was broken by Agravaine, who managed to fix his slacken jaw and instead fixed Gwen with a hard stare.
"I don't believe it." Agravaine said and Gwen offered him a steady stare in return and kept his gaze as she slipped the two rings that rested on the ring finger of her right hand and instead placed them onto her left, where they truly belonged. Gwen didn't miss the flash of hatred in his eyes at the sight of his sister's engagement and wedding rings sitting on her finger. However Gwen didn't have to break the silence in the room.
"It's true. Prince Arthur and Princess Guinevere's marriage was legal and binding." Geoffrey spoke up and everyone's heads turned to look at him as the man inclined his head and explained. "To make the marriage legal and binding a marriage ceremony is the binding of two people, the joining of hands and exchanging of vows in front of at least one witness."
"Thank you Geoffrey, if you will allow me the opportunity to explain then I will. However I must insist that any questions you may have should be asked when I have finished telling you the truth about what had happened." Gwen said as she sat back down and allowed her mind to cast itself back to that day four months beforehand.
Gwen yawned wearily as she restocked the fireplace in Uther's chambers. She had gotten little sleep the past few nights, as had everyone with the Dorrocha attacking and she could only hope that the attacks would end soon. Gwen straightened up and stretched her tired limbs before jumping as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her waist. Gwen turned and looked at Arthur who was standing just behind her, hugging her tightly.
"Arthur, you scared me." Gwen scolded with a small smile as Arthur looked at her with an excited yet nervous look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry but I have something I need to ask you." Arthur said and Gwen smiled at him.
"What is it?" Gwen asked. Arthur took a deep breath and stepped back from Gwen before taking both her hands in his own.
"I didn't really have it planned out but it feels right to do it now." Arthur said and before Gwen could ask what he meant; Arthur had sunk down onto one knee. "Guinevere, I love you, will you make me the happiest man alive and become my wife?" Arthur asked and tears sprang into Gwen's eyes as she nodded.
"Yes," Gwen whispered and Arthur embraced her again and kissed her. As they broke apart Gwen beamed at Arthur, her future husband. "I love you Arthur Pendragon, with all my heart."
Arthur kissed her again and clutched onto her hand tightly. "What are we waiting for then? Let's get married!"
"Right now?" Gwen asked, shocked. What was the hurry? Arthur nodded and beamed at her.
"Well there's no time like the present. All we need to do is speak to Geoffrey and he can do the vows and everything's fine. I don't even have a ring but we can make do. I can give you my mother's afterwards; they just need to be fetched from the vaults. It won't even take long; we could be married within the hour." Arthur explained hurriedly and Gwen held up a hand to stop him.
"Arthur, this is a bit forward. I mean weddings need time to be organised don't they? Especially royal ones. Why do we need to hurry?" Gwen asked and Arthur looked at her intently and stepped closer to her once more so that they were mere inches apart.
"Do you love me Guinevere? Do you want to marry me? Not have a wedding but marry me?" Arthur asked and Gwen nodded.
"Of course I do," Gwen replied.
"All a wedding ceremony is a crowd of people watching two people recite vows and join hands. A marriage ceremony is two people declaring their love for one another. There is a difference. If you want we can have the proper ceremony when this is all over; allow the people to have something to look forward to but I want us to be married now. Today." Arthur explained and Gwen looked at him; if she was being honest, when it came to daydreams about marriage and her wedding day, Gwen never had been one for the big crowded ceremonies and celebrations. Personally she had always thought the idea of a secret wedding or an elopement was far more romantic. Especially the idea of eloping with Arthur.
Gwen smiled at Arthur, it was one of the craziest things they would have done but then again, people always did do crazy things when they were in love. "Let's do it."
"Brilliant!" Arthur exclaimed as he kissed her again. "Come on, let's go."
The two of them linked hands and ran out of the room and through the castle until they reached the library where Geoffrey of Monmouth spent his time. As they stood outside the door, gathering their courage to go in and ask Geoffrey to perform the ceremony, Gwen had a sudden thought.
"Arthur, does anyone know? Merlin or Elyan or anyone?" Gwen asked and Arthur looked slightly shifty.
"I may have dropped a hint to Elyan that I was considering proposing to you. I asked him that if I ever did, would he have a problem but he told me and I quote; 'I would have no problem Sire but bear in mind if you ever made her unhappy as your wife, you would have to deal with me'. As for Merlin, he never has any clue about anything." Arthur replied as he pushed open the library door and they walked inside.
"Why was Arthur so eager to perform the marriage so soon and so secretively?" Bayard asked as Gwen paused in her story. Gwen looked at Bayard sadly.
"Because the next day, he, Merlin and the knights were due to leave for the Isle of the Blessed to try and close the Veil. Arthur knew then that he wouldn't come back again." Gwen explained, she had had a lot of time to think about it and she knew that was why Arthur had wanted them to marry. He knew that by naming her heir, people would question it however if she were his widow and a princess; then she was more of a legitimate heir than Morgana. When it came to devising any sort of plan, Arthur always had ensured that every aspect of the plan was covered.
"Why the secrecy, I don't understand that?" Bayard asked.
"With Morgana out there, we can't afford to be too careful with anything anymore. That's why I am only telling you all of this now. To be honest, I'm surprised it has taken this long for anyone to question it." Gwen replied and Bayard nodded and gestured to her stomach.
"And the child?" Bayard asked.
"It only happened once," Gwen replied. It was true; she and Arthur had only lain together once. Their supposed wedding night had been a night of patrolling and preparation for Arthur and a night of standing guard by a fire for Gwen. It wasn't exactly the most romantic of wedding nights.
"So what happened when you entered the library?" Bayard asked and Gwen smiled down the table at Geoffrey before continuing.
"You would like me to do what?" Geoffrey asked as he looked at Arthur and Gwen who were clutching each other's hands and looking at him both excitedly and nervously.
"Marry us," Arthur replied.
"Right now," Gwen added and Geoffrey looked at the young adults, slightly stunned. He had performed many marriages in his time but never had he had to do one so quickly. Most people who wanted to marry in a hurry tended to elope.
"Are you both sure, weddings are important procedures and I am not sure whether this would be a good time." Geoffrey replied, they were surrounded by yet more death and destruction, surely there would be any better time for two people to wed.
"We're positive. We don't need the lavish ceremony; we just need you to perform the vows that would make us husband and wife. The proper wedding can come later but the important part happens now." Arthur said in an authoritative tone and Geoffrey sighed and turned and walked towards the many shelves in the library. A few moments later he returned with a book that was slightly worn and he opened it before looking at Arthur and Gwen.
"You must be aware that for a royal wedding to be legalised, if it is the prince or princess marrying then the ruling king or queen must be present. It's an old law but one that must be put into place, even if the king is… indisposed." Geoffrey said and Arthur and Gwen looked at one another. Uther wasn't in the best of moods today but if they wanted to be married then all they needed was for him to be there.
"That won't be a problem." Arthur replied and the three of them left the library and returned to Uther's quarters. Uther was sitting in his chair and Arthur approached his father and sat down beside him.
"Father, Father, I need to talk to you about something important." Arthur said and Uther gave no sign of response and Arthur continued quickly. "I wish to marry Father."
Uther slowly turned his head and looked at his son. "Marry? Whom?"
"Lady Guinevere," Arthur replied as Gwen walked over to them and crouched down to be eye-level with Uther who's eyes widened with some recognition.
"She is a servant." Uther commented.
"Guinevere is the sister of a knight but I don't care about her station. I love her and she loves me and all we want to do is marry and be happy." Arthur explained as he hugged Gwen to him and Uther looked at them and nodded. He was aware that Gwen was the servant who tended to him, she was kind and he could tell they truly loved one another.
"Your mother would have liked her." Uther commented sadly and Arthur blinked at the unexpected mention of Ygraine and smiled at Uther and Gwen.
"I think so too." Arthur said as he and Gwen stood up and took each other's hands. Geoffrey walked over to them and the three of them stood in front of Uther.
"We'll need some sort of fabric to tie around your hands." Geoffrey said and Gwen reached for the end of her braid and undid her hair to remove the ribbon which she had woven into her plait that morning. Gwen handed the ribbon to Geoffrey and retook Arthur's hands as he wrapped it around their joined hands.
"Before we begin, I must ask if you both are hereof your own free will and consent." Geoffrey said.
"I am," Arthur replied.
"I am," Gwen nodded.
"In this tradition of hand fasting, we join this man and woman in lifelong matrimony," Geoffrey said and he turned to Arthur. "Prince Arthur, do you take Lady Guinevere to be your lawful wedded wife for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do," Arthur said, beaming at Gwen as Geoffrey turned to her.
"Lady Guinevere, do you take Prince Arthur to be your lawful wedded husband for as long as you both shall live?" Geoffrey asked and Gwen smiled widely at Arthur as she nodded her head.
"I do," Gwen replied and Geoffrey smiled at them.
"Since there are no objections then with the power vested in me, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Geoffrey smiled as Arthur and Gwen kissed one another.
"So the marriage is legally binding?" Bayard asked and Gwen nodded as Geoffrey handed the king the legal documents which both Arthur and Gwen had signed that were dated the day they had married, four months prior. They had married of their own accord in front of the king who served as witness and therefore their marriage was legal and binding. Gwen had been Arthur's wife and was therefore a princess in her own right.
"Yes it is," Gwen replied and Bayard looked at the knights, Merlin and Gaius who had been watching Gwen tell her story as well as the king and councilmen's reactions with a sort of knowing interest, as though their mean focus was the men's reactions and not Gwen's story.
"Who else was aware of this before now?" Bayard asked and Gwen turned to smile over at Merlin, Gaius and the knights.
"I was only able to inform my brother, Sir Elyan, our court physician Gaius and mine and Arthur's closest friends whenever I discovered that I was pregnant. Beforehand it had been hard to find the right moment to inform them that Arthur and I had secretly married before his death however it wasn't hard for them to work out that Arthur was the father and then I explained what we had done." Gwen explained and looked at Bayard who nodded understandingly. The loss of their prince, comrade and friend must have been extremely difficult for the men and it was clear that Princess Guinevere was dealing with her own bereavement and therefore unable to explain that she and Arthur had been married.
"I hope you understand why I was unable to inform anyone beforehand. We believe there may be a traitor within Camelot and I was fearful for my child's life. Morgana has already tried to kill me and my child because she believes she has more of a claim to the throne and that my baby is a bastard. However as you can see, that is not the case." Gwen explained and Bayard handed the document back to Geoffrey and stood up to walk over to Gwen.
"I understand now Your Highness and I apologise greatly for my actions. However I would advise you to ensure the other kingdoms are aware that you and Arthur had married just in case some of them get the wrong ideas in their mind." Bayard said cryptically and Gwen nodded, understanding what he was implying.
"I understand, thank you Your Majesty and I would just like to say that I always regarded you as someone who followed his own initiatives and ideas rather than that of others. I don't mean to be rude or cause offense." Gwen said, Bayard had all but told her that Morgana had put him up to this but now he knew that there was no challenge for the throne and therefore Morgana's plan had failed already before it started.
"None taken Your Highness, perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement between our lands without any bloodshed." Bayard suggested and Gwen offered the aging king a smile.
"That was all I wished for in the first place." Gwen replied. "You know now that there is no problem with the lineage of the Pendragon name, therefore you can tell your men not to worry. Camelot is not seeking a war with any kingdoms and we do not wish to start one."
"Nor do we in Mercia." Bayard stated. "This has all been a terrible misunderstanding and I do apologise for putting you into such a predicament, especially given your condition."
"It's forgiven. You are more than welcome to stay the night and return home to Mercia tomorrow to inform that there will be no need for any sort of battle or invasion." Gwen replied as she got to her feet. "I'm afraid I must speak with the court physician now. Meeting adjourned."
The men got to their feet and bowed to their princess who crossed the room to where Gaius and the knights offered her reassuring smiles and Elyan offered Gwen his arm as they left the room. As soon as they were out in the corridor, Elyan grinned at Gwen and clapped her on the back.
"You were brilliant." Elyan commented as Gwen let out a deep breath and smiled at the men.
"Thanks, I was so nervous but at least he understood." Gwen replied. They had dodged another blow once more but they were all aware that when Morgana discovered that not only did Gwen now out-rank her but the baby was also legitimate, this victory would be one that would be extremely short-lived.
"Yeah that was close. Morgana is going to be furious when she finds out." Merlin commented as they walked to Gaius' quarters which ever since the battle against Morgana and Morgause had served as a sort of base for them to meet, convene and discuss various threats against them and Camelot.
"Speaking of which, I think the traitor gave himself away in there." Gwaine added in a low voice as they entered Gaius' quarters and locked the door behind them. They had all had their suspicions for some time and now given Gwen's revelations, the traitor had finally confirmed their suspicions at last.
"Agravaine." Merlin confirmed and the group looked at one another.
"So what do we do?" Leon asked. "Arrest him?"
"I don't think we should yet. Agravaine doesn't know that we know he's a traitor. I think we should keep a closer watch on him and let him lead us to Morgana first. That way we can kill two birds with one stone." Merlin suggested.
"I think we should," Gwen replied and she looked down at her bump and smiled as the baby kicked once again. "Hello again,"
"Has the baby started kicking?" Gaius asked and Gwen nodded.
"Today," Gwen replied. "It feels so strange."
"You'll get used to it in time. At least we know the baby is thriving and developing healthily." Gaius said and Gwen nodded.
"Back to the matter at hand, I think Merlin's right and we wait and see what Morgana and Agravaine do next and then we make our move." Gwen replied and the men shared looks before nodding in agreement. The only evidence they had were their suspicions therefore they would need to wait before Agravaine slipped up and then they could charge him with treason.
Agravaine paced around his chambers, pure rage was coursing throughout his body as he thought about what had happened. Arthur had married the whore who had had the nerve to look him in the eye and pace Ygraine's rings on her finger. That… that servant was the princess of Camelot and had been for months! Four months, having married the day before Arthur had left. Agravaine thought about the time she had defied and ridiculed him in front of the entire council; challenging his decision to shut the city gates and how Geoffrey had supported her argument. It made sense to him now. She had not been speaking like a stubborn commoner; she had been addressing him as a princess and his superior.
His superior. That was a thought that sickened him to his stomach. A mere serving girl was now of higher rank than anyone else in Camelot save for the king. This would destroy everything they had worked so hard for. This usurper had not only managed to go behind their backs but also was able to keep the fact that Arthur had married her secret for months. What was worse was that that meant her brat was legitimate. It wasn't even born yet it had more right to the throne than Morgana. Morgana… she would need to be informed of this news straight away.
Agravaine stopped pacing and thought. There were no two ways about it. It wouldn't be enough for Morgana to simply regain the throne. The whore and her brat had to die and the more he thought about it; the more he welcomed and anticipated their deaths. In fact, he was determined that he would definitely strike the fatal blow and with great pleasure.
It would only be a matter of time.