CHAPTER THREE: His Queen and her Heart

Princess Rosaline wasn't hated. As far as her reputation went, she wasn't much of anything. The shrouded princess of a far away realm, pretty, kind, subdued. She spent her childhood dancing in-between apple trees and her adult life in the library, pouring over tales of love and adventure. She didn't have any friends to occupy her time - her handful of ladies-in-waiting were all older than her. Her mother was more than willing to give up her time for her daughter, but she disapproved of the princess's affection for books, adamant they were giving her ideas.

So when she heard she was going to Camelot, it finally seemed like her destiny had come for her. Camelot was everything her realm wasn't; a place of adventure, war and power. Of heroic knights and damsels in distress, of magic and princes and love.

Love. She had read enough about it to believe she knew it at first sight.

And here she was, staring at the very definition of the word. Prince Arthur was charming, handsome and genuine. He would have seemed almost too perfect if it weren't for his reputation of being a bit full of himself. But it seemed to Rosaline he was perfectly just to have it, basking in a life of slaying dragons and evil doers.

She laughed at something he says. What it was, she didn't know, too distracted by watching him talk. That was a bit embarrassing, she realised, so she shifted in her overstuffed arm chair and looked somewhere in the room other than the golden prince's face.

The royals were seated in a plush little side chamber. It was a small room by any means, but it was decorated as elaborately as the rest of the castle. It had wooden panelling on the walls with intricate flora carved into its oak arms and there were flickering lamps pooling out small circles of light. It was probably supposed to be comforting and friendly, but she couldn't help but feel it was a ruse. The chairs were hard and the cushions squashy; the kind that you eventually sink into if you sit too long.

Suddenly everyone was shifting and it occurred to her it was night-time already. The two kings had been drinking heavily and suddenly seemed to be on really good terms and her mother looked deeply embarrassed as she led her husband out. Arthur sighed and Rosaline stared, fascinated, as he raked a hand through his overgrown blonde hair and ordered the servants to see his father back to the kings' chambers. It came so naturally to him, yet somehow he didn't sound over demanding.

"Milady," He turned to her and she gasped "Your maid-servant will show you to your chambers. Good night." And with that, he stalked out.

She stood for a while, slightly stunned. He had seemed so… cold. "Milady?" She started, looking down and realising a maid was talking her about chambers. She frowned, but let herself be lead away. It felt so odd… shouldn't he be standing around making small talk until they fell naturally into a long, deep conversation and talked all night about his adventures… then they would be so close and their engagement would be announced and she would never be bored again… she sighed dreamily, and dismissed the maid as soon as she was dressed for bed.

Rosaline trailed over to the window and gazed out over the beautiful city, trying to dismiss her slight feeling of hurt. That was when she noticed someone sneaking out of the castle. She peered down, vaguely making out the figure crossing the courtyard. Arthur. Without a second thought, she grabbed her cloak and rushed out to follow him.

~o~

"So, when's the wedding day?" Merlin quipped, running to catch up to Arthur.

"Shut up Merlin." He growled, driving forward through the silent castle.

"I was just saying," Merlin grinned at the Prince's scowl "She was so taken to you, I'm not sure she heard a word anyone was saying!"

Arthur halted and Merlin walked straight into him. "Err, ow?" The boy added, rubbing his head. Arthur rolled his eyes and pushed into his chambers. He seized his crown and dumped it onto the side, followed shortly by his thick cloak and Merlin, who set about putting them in the right places.

"She's quite pretty actually, maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world if you two were engaged." Merlin pondered, his eyes filled with hidden laughter. "Of course, you most likely will be this time tomorrow if your father keeps being all chummy with Carmen."

"MERLIN!" Arthur whipped round, eyes ablaze. "Will you just SHUT UP?!"

"okay, okay," Merlin raised his hands in defeat "I was just saying." Arthur held his glare for a little longer, testing him. Merlin raised his eyebrows in response, then pressed his lips together firmly to further accentuate his silence.

"Hand me my cloak." Arthur barked instead, pacing to the table and seizing his sword.

"Why?" Merlin narrowed his eyes, drawing out the word. He slowly made his way over to the wardrobe, picking out the travelling cloak.

Arthur ignored him, sheathing the sword and now looking around, his mind whirring. Next thing and he was on the opposite side of the room, clasping the bunch of flowers from his windowsill.

"I'm going to see Guinevere." He announced grandly, thrusting the flowers into the air. Merlin dropped the cloak. Arthur glowered at him.

"What? Why?" Merlin bumbled, clutching at the velvet hem and hastily dusting the fabric off.

Arthur frowned. "I haven't seen her all day!"

The other boy looked somewhat scared. "It might not be a good idea, Arthur, she's been working all day -" Arthur gave him a pointed look "- and she needs her sleep. Perhaps you should visit her in the morning."

His pleas fell on deaf ears as the prince grabbed his cloak and in one swift motion, he had fastened the cloak and was out of the door. Merlin clenched his teeth and raised his eyebrows, his hands still positioned as if he were holding the velvet. "Or, you could just go anyway despite everything I've just said"

~o~

Guinevere lay in her small, cramped bed, trying and failing to fall asleep. She suspected she dozed off not long after she had staggered home from the welcoming ceremony, but either way it was the middle of the night and she was awake. She sighed deeply, her mind buzzing, occupied in an argument with herself. She moaned, distressed, as a particularly negative thought popped into her head.

There was a knock. She sat up, startled.

"Guinevere?" Was that…? Was that Arthur whispering through her door?

He knocked again, and she became conscious that she was still sitting while the Prince of Camelot stood at her door. She rose and made her way over quickly.

"Arthur?" She stared, registering his tousled hair and the grey shadows on his face. He slipped into her house and closed the door. "What are you doing here?"

He shuffled, looking nervously down at his feet. "I… I just thought umm," he drew his hands out of his cloak and a bouquet of flowers emerged "you might like these? But I mean," He pushed them towards her "I'm sure you'd much rather have your sleep and I'm sorry for disturbing you…" to her alarm, he turned to leave, placing the flowers on the table.

"Arthur," she smiled, plucking up the flowers and cradling them. They were the same ones she had picked for his chambers that morning but it's the thought that counts… "I missed you too."

His back straightened and he turned round slowly. She rose up on her toes and kissed him sweetly. Holding the kiss, he picked the flowers out of her arms and took their place, slowly moving his arms around her. She broke this kiss first, blushing furiously and staring into his chest.

He inhaled her perfume and smiled at the sudden feeling of content that passed through him, happy just to hold her small frame. He lifted a hand and raised her face to his again, brushing a finger over her flushed cheeks. "You okay?" he found himself saying, watching her eyes.

She looked away and distances herself, trying to ignore this drowning sensation "I'm just a bit tired. I was up long before dawn today." He nods, loosening his hold.

"I should leave you to sleep then." He resigns, but doesn't move from his spot.

Gwen sighs, looking into the floor, anywhere but her face. If she looked up at his face again, she might kiss him again. "Do you like Princess Rosaline?" the words tumbled out of her mouth and she regretted them immediately. She feels him stiffen and his arms go to his side.

"What?" he said stupidly, wondering if he missed a chunk of the conversation.

"Someday you're going to marry a princess and you'll have to forget all about me." She realised she was crying now, staring into his startled face. "We can't pretend that won't happen."

"Guinevere…" he started, encasing her in another hug, holding her as her body couldn't "I will never forget about you. I couldn't forget about you."

She wept into his shoulder, feeling more and more like she had betrayed herself by revealing this to him. He stroked her hair soothingly and picked up off the floor. He carried her easily to her bed, placing her down on the hard mattress and kneeling next to her.

"I don't want to marry a Princess, I want to -" He stopped suddenly, peeling a curl off her face and gazing into her eyes. "I want to marry you."

She chokes "It's not up to you who you marry; it's up to your father. You can't marry a servant, Arthur."

He looks at her, somewhat piteously.

"Just forget about me." She whispered.

"Never." He breaths, coming up on the bed next to her and he held her as she cried into him.

~o~

Rosaline crouches in a bush nearby, emotions swirling within her. Pity for this Guinevere character, awe at this straight-out-of the fairy tales scene and resentment. Deep, deep resentment. Her Arthur held Guinevere until she fell asleep, stroking her hair and whispering sweet nothings. Her blood boiled.

She watched as he slowly climbed out of the bed, placing her like she was a fine ornament. She watched as he wrote a note for her and left it on her pillow. She watched as he kissed her forehead and slid out the door.

He walked right past the Princess, oblivious to her presence. She growled, and some force within her bubbled to the surface. "LACUNAR AMORAY!" she must have yelled, her eyes flashing gold as Prince Arthur looked to the sound of her voice. Her hand shook as she slowly lowered it and tears prickled at her eyes. She sprinted out of the bush towards the castle.

Arthur stood for a moment. He was sure he had heard something. He shook his head and walked back to the castle in a daze.


*nervous grin* lovely load of dramatic irony there and finally, the story starts!

Thankyou for reading, favouriting and watching this story, I really appriciate it!

And to my good friend, Nonfelonious, who kept my tenses in check for this chapter :)