She moved slightly to the right but whatever it was that was poking her in her back was still there. Sighing, Gwen sat up and rubbed her face. The moon was high in the sky and for a while, Gwen sat, listening to the sounds the forest made at night - the whine of the insects, the distant rush of water from a nearby stream, the occasional cry of a bird. It had been 2 days since they left Helb but with Amber around and a suspicious Merlin, Gwen had little opportunity to spend with Arthur.

Arthur sat in front of the burning campfire and Gwen allowed herself the moment to stare at his familiar profile. His hair glowed in the firelight and from the way he slumped against the tree, his hands playing with his sword, she knew he was worrying.

The wet leaves and mud made little noise as she padded towards the fire, but a twig snapping gave her away. Arthur turned around immediately, his hand going to his sword. She knew the moment he spotted her. His body relaxed and she thought she could see a smile on his face. She definitely saw the little tilt of his head, beckoning her to him.

"Hey," he whispered. His breath stirred against her hair and cheek, sending shivers down her spine. They weren't touching but Gwen swore she could feel his skin against hers. He patted the ground next to him and she sat.

She studied him blatantly as he watched the fire. The familiar curve of his lips, the way his eyelashes swept down when he blinked, the almost invisible scar near his ear. She ached to touch him, but didn't dare.

"I should be allowed to stare at you too."

It wasn't her nearness to the fire that heated her cheeks. Quickly, she looked down at the ground, the leaves and mud a sudden fascination. A finger lifted her chin and she found herself staring into Arthur's blue eyes. The sounds of the forest retreated and all Gwen could hear was the pounding of hearts. Her mouth opened, wanting to say something to break the tension, but her throat was too dry and nothing would come out. Instead, Arthur's thumb dragged across her bottom lip.

"I'm going to kiss you," he said.

"Yes." It was the only answer to give.

It started out gently, his lips brushing once, twice across hers then his teeth nipping. She must have groaned because she was being pressed against the tree, its rough bark no more comfortable than the ground she'd left but this time it didn't matter because all her senses was focused only on one man. His hands cupped her face, creating a little cocoon around them.

Somehow, his shirt was rucked up and her hand slid slowly up his bare skin. He was warm and she wondered if it was from the fire or from her. She was burning with need and it had nothing to do with the fire blazing next to them. He shuddered under her touch, sucking in a breath when her fingernail scrapped across his nipple, causing her to smile against his lips. The confirmation that Arthur still desired her lifted her heart.

She stilled when her fingers ran across a slightly raised line of skin. Contact between their lips broke and she looked down at where she was touching.

"This scar," she whispered as the haze of desire in her mind cleared and was replaced by memories of her tending to the wound that caused the scar. "You got it during one of those battles with Morgana. I remember dressing it." The breath she sucked in was a shuddery one. "You were hiding in Ealdor."

"It doesn't seem like a bad scar. I probably wasn't in danger of dying." He closed one hand over her fingers.

"It's not the scar." She looked up at him, the tears in her eyes reflecting the campfire. "I don't want to lose you again Arthur."

Her heart dipped when Arthur moved away, breaking the spell that had enchanted them just moments ago. But his hand still held hers. She swiped one arm across her face, then smiled tentatively. "At least the physical attraction is still there," she said.

"The physical attraction has been there the first time I saw you," said Arthur.

"It wasn't like this in the beginning. I don't even think you knew who I was." She stretched out her legs and wriggled her toes at the fire.

"I must have been blind."

"Or you were a prince and I was one of the many servants running around. No one special."

"You are clearly special to me. I can't believe marrying a servant was an easy decision."

Gwen shook her head. "Neither was the decision to be Queen."

"Do you regret it?" Arthur asked.

"I wonder, sometimes. But no, I wouldn't have wanted to marry anybody else."

"You really loved me," he said, a hint of amazement in his voice. "I heard rumours that you married me for the throne."

Arthur didn't know her, Gwen reminded herself and yet his words cut deeply. "I love you more than anything."

Silence fell between them. Her head dropped to his shoulder and he shifted slightly so she was comfortable. His steady breath puffed against her ear as her eyes closed.

"Don't you ever wonder what your life was like?" Gwen asked after some time.

He moved and pulled her closer to him, releasing her hand but draping one arm across her shoulders. "I do. I wondered if I had a family, a business. Then when it seemed no one knew who I was, I wondered if I had been a traveller or some sort or a bandit. It's strange not knowing anything, like there's a gaping hole in my head, but it's been four months now and I've gotten used to it."

"Come to Camelot," she urged. "You deserve to fill that hole. Your whole life was Camelot. Who's to say you won't get back your memory when you are there?"

"I have been thinking about it," he said after a while.

"You don't have to be King. You could be in disguise and the castle is so big that it's easy to hide." The more Gwen thought about it, the more excited she got. "You could come to Camelot, stay a while, see if you remember anything -"

"Gwen," he said. "Gwen."

She stopped, her heart pounding, she wasn't sure with excitement or with nerves.

"I'll go to Camelot."

Tilting her face up, she pressed her lips against his.

"I can see the castle!" Amber squealed, then twisted dangerously to look at Arthur. "Look!"

Quickly tightening his hold on her so she didn't fall off the horse in her excitement, Arthur grinned down at her. "It's beautiful."

"That's going to be my new home!"

"Mmm." Tall white towers loomed in front of them and from them, bright red flags fluttered in the wind. It looked every bit a kingdom that was strong and confident, thanks, Arthur suspected, in no small part to Gwen. As the flags danced, framed by the warm sun, for the first time since the revelation that he was King of Camelot, Arthur felt something. He couldn't quite describe the strange twisting in his heart as he gazed upon what was supposedly his kingdom.

He turned his head, catching the eyes of Gwen who was staring at him.

"Camelot is beautiful," he repeated, letting himself relax into a smile.

Gwen's troubled eyes cleared and she smiled back. "She's all yours."

And even as the knot of anxiety tightened at her words, as he wondered if he was going to let everyone in Camelot down, Arthur kept the smile on his face. He could do this. He could return to Camelot. Play at being King.

For Gwen.

"Here. If you wear this, we can enter the castle without you being detected."

Arthur took the blue cloak from Merlin with a frown.

Arthur could feel Gwen's eyes on him as he tugged the cloak around him.

"I want a cloak too," said Amber. "Why does Kay get a cloak?"

"I'll get you a lovely red cloak when we get to the castle," said Gwen as she ran a hand across Amber's hair. "You'll look beautiful in it."

"I'm scared."

Arthur watched as Gwen kneeled down and cupped Amber's face in her hands. "You've been so brave this whole journey. Remember the strange noises at night? And the rain? The castle is going to be nothing compared to that."

When Amber put her hand in Gwen's and squeezed, Arthur felt his own heart squeeze. Every moment with Gwen, he knew he was falling deeper and deeper. It was so easy that even with Merlin's doubts, Arthur was sure that he was Gwen's husband.

"You used to dress this way when you wanted to walk through the town unrecognised," Gwen said as she adjusted his cloak after Merlin led Amber away, giving them a little privacy.

"Did it work?" She was so close now, he could kiss her, but not in front of Amber.

"I think it did." She ran her hand gently down his chest.

He smiled at that, trapping her hand under his. "That's good."

"I don't know how long we can keep you hidden," she said quickly, pulling her hand away. "We have to tell Leon and Percy but if you don't move around too much in the castle, then I think -"

Wanting to ease her nerves, he cupped her face. When his thumb rubbed her bottom lip, she sucked in a breath and held it, her eyes darkening with the same desire that had been building in him since she laid her hand on his chest.

"It'll be fine, Gwen."

"Are you sure?"

He sucked in a breath. "I'm sure. I was scared before and I let it affect my decisions. I want to get my memories and my past back. And," he paused, tilting her head up to his, "I want to be with you."

"I come with the kingdom," she said.

He didn't know what to say to that. He wanted to tell her what she wanted to hear – that he would be King, but Merlin's warnings and his own inability to remember or even feel the royal part of him, made him cautious. So many things could go wrong and if they did, Gwen would bear the brunt.

AN: Firstly, thank you for the comments. Secondly, this fic is becoming a lot more complicated than I imagined. Oops.