After a rather tense dinner, King Lester asked to meet Gwen privately and while Arthur expressed his doubts, he eventually left the hall with Merlin. The hall was large but in his thick furs and heavy chains, King Lester seemed to fill the room.
"I am sure you are aware that I made this journey here, left my kingdom without a leader for a few weeks, because I was told that you were willing to consider marriage to my son and thus, a union with my kingdom." His eyes were hard and his hands gripped the round table tightly. A muscle worked in his jaw. "And now you tell me your husband is alive? Has this been some sort of joke?"
Looking directly at King Lester, Gwen decided that, for now, an apology would be best. "I am sorry that …"
King Lester stared unflinchingly at her. "I feel humiliated. I don't like being humiliated."
"King Lester, I assure you that this was not my intention. Had Arthur returned earlier, we would have been able to send word."
"Was your Court Sorcerer mistaken?" Lester bit out, the fingers curled around the edge of the table so tightly, they were white. "Because for a man touted as the most powerful warlock in Albion, that's a very serious mistake to make."
"I –"
"Or is this Arthur something conjured up by your Court Sorcerer? I am no fool, Queen Guinevere. People don't usually come back from the dead. I don't know what game you are playing but believe me, I will find out and you will regret it."
"King Lester!" Gwen raised her voice.
At her words, Lester paused at the doors, one hand placed against them, his posture stiff.
"I heard you out. It is only right that you extend the same courtesy to me." When Lester turned, Gwen lifted her chin and her skirts, then made her way to her chair. Years of being queen had taught her to play their games, games that Arthur sometimes hated, but games that needed to be played.
So she waited on her chair until Lester stood in front of her as a subject would.
"I have no explanation for Arthur's return. And I have no idea who you have been receiving your information from but I have never considered another marriage. Perhaps –" Gwen paused, taking in the redness that slashed across Lester's cheeks with a little too much satisfaction. "Perhaps you should be more discerning about who you listen to and who you trust."
Lester pressed his lips together.
Gwen smiled. "Consider this advice from one ruler to another. Here's another piece of advice. Don't threaten the Queen of Albion's most powerful kingdom. I don't like it."
The vein in Lester's jaw throbbed. "You are very generous with your advice. Here is mine. There are servants and there are rulers and sometimes, people shouldn't pretend to be who they aren't. My lady."
His heavy coat swirled around his ankles as he turned sharply. In the empty hall, the slam of the door reverberated. Finger by finger, Gwen released her hold on the arms of the chair, then placed her hand on her stomach.
"That was an angry king," said Merlin popping his head around the door. "I guess your conversation didn't go too well."
"Eavesdropping, Merlin?"
A wry smile on his face, he walked towards her, reaching out a hand which she took, glad for the support.
"Arthur is on the training ground again. He's definitely enjoying that part of being King."
Standing, Gwen sighed as she felt a headache form. "I'm glad he does. Walk me back to my chambers?"
His hand clasping hers tightly, Merlin nodded. Along the corridors, Merlin filled her in on Arthur's progress with the knights of both kingdoms. He might no longer have his memories, but he clearly still had his sword skills and charisma.
Once the doors of her chambers closed behind them, Gwen sank onto her bed, the exhaustion and stress she was holding at bay suddenly flooding through her.
Merlin frowned, then fetched her some water. "Here. Get some rest. Arthur can entertain the guests. Tomorrow will be a tiring day, when Lord Edward and Lady Joan arrive."
She barely managed a nod before her eyelids slid close.
Later, Gwen was woken by a light touch and a kiss. Opening her eyes, she saw a smiling Arthur hovering over her.
"Hello. How are you feeling?" Slowly, Arthur sat down on the bed and with a gentle hand, pushed her hair from her face.
"Better. Had a good practice?"
"Mmm," Arthur replied, dropping another kiss on her cheek. "I'm going to need to clean up. How is little Arthur?"
Pushing herself up, Gwen laughed. "Little Gwen is doing fine. Get George to draw you a bath. You do smell a little."
That earned her a tug on her hair before Arthur shucked off his top, dropping it onto the floor. "Great. I'm thinking of not taking part in the tournament."
Her smile faded. "What?"
"I might still fight well - I did easily defeat the knights today - but I'm still rusty and it seems somewhat foolish to have me out there fighting, especially when I've just returned from the dead and especially when it seems that I shouldn't even be back."
It was an argument Gwen herself had put to Arthur several times yet she found herself saying, "You would never miss a tournament. You'd rather risk your life than let your people think you a coward."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Well, I would imagine that having died for Camelot, no one is about to think I am a coward."
"Of course," said Gwen, looking back at the papers in front of her, wondering why she felt unhappy when Arthur was finally doing something she'd been arguing for for years.
"It isn't like King Lester or Prince Reynard are participating," he continued quietly.
"Yes," she agreed.
She heard him sigh. "Gwen, surely -"
"It's fine," she said, looking up at him again. "It's just not like you."
Arthur looked at her silently. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore her irrational emotions. Arthur with nothing to prove. It was different and Gwen wasn't sure how she felt about it.
She felt him move closer to her. Then his hands were on her shoulders, kneading them. "How was the talk with King Lester?"
"In summary, he isn't happy that you're back and I'm not marrying his son."
"How angry?" The feel of Arthur's hands relaxed her slightly and she leaned back into his chest.
"Very. He feels humiliated." She yawned and her eyes fluttered close, her attention drifting. The only thing she could focus on was the movements of Arthur's fingers on her skin. "It doesn't help that instead of grovelling for his forgiveness, I told him to stop threatening me."
Arthur's hands stilled. "He threatened you?"
Shaking her head, she sighed. "In a manner of speaking. Then he suggested I was not fit to be queen."
"Bastard," breathed Arthur. "I will –"
Quickly, Gwen covered Arthur's hand with her own. "Don't. I suspect that he is having a nice, long conversation with Hector right now. Perhaps about the quality of information Hector has been passing on."
"Let's see. King Lester was hoping that with me dead, Hector would be able to pressure you into a marriage with his son and thus uniting the two kingdoms. I imagine if he thinks you so weak, he would think that you would be easy to control as well, thus passing the power to him. He is also seeking to expand his lands, hence stirring up trouble between Lady Joan and Lord Edward."
"All because he thinks I am weak," scoffed Gwen. "I might not have been born into this role but I am not his pawn."
"Then you need to show him you're not weak." Arthur moved from the bed and started pacing. "If I don't – well, you still need to rule Camelot."
Arthur's unsaid thought hung in the air and a coldness entered her heart. "Don't – I can't lose you again."
"I will do anything to stay." He stopped pacing and looked at her. "But I can't promise anything. But you, Guinevere, you are the strongest woman I know and you will survive."
"You called me Guinevere."
He smiled slightly, then sat back down on the bed, cupping her face in his hands. "It's important to you, isn't it? Merlin told me that I rarely called you Gwen."
"We'll sort out these issues, then we'll look into your return." Resting her forehead against his, she sighed. "You're not leaving me again."
"Not if I can help it."
"Hector and Lester are working together and somehow, they managed to use Lady Joan and Lord Edward as pawns, all because they want Camelot's power and Lady Joan's lands."
Arthur, Merlin, Percival and Leon stood quietly around the round table as she spoke.
Stabbing a finger on the table, she continued. "They thought that with Arthur dead, they could force me into a marriage with Prince Reynard. And then when Acerith and Camelot are joined, he was going to use the conflict between Lady Joan and Lord Edward as a reason to storm into their lands and take them. I can't believe I didn't work this out earlier." She stabbed her finger at the table again. Arthur's hand wrapped around hers, gently pulling her away from the table.
"What do you want to do?" Merlin asked.
She glanced at Arthur, who merely nodded encouragingly at her. "When Lady Joan and Lord Edward arrive later today, I'm going to meet them to renegotiate a peace agreement. That they are both willing to make the journey here suggests that they both want a solution. But we need to keep King Lester away and I doubt that Lady Joan was truly unprovoked."
Understanding dawned in Arthur's eyes. "I can keep King Lester busy. He may be suspicious of me but until he's sure of who or what I am, I think he will be wary of upsetting me."
"Good point," nodded Gwen. "And Percy and Leon, I want you to distract Hector and keep him away from King Lester as much as possible. I'm sure that project he is in charge with will suddenly need increased close supervision."
Percival and Leon nodded.
She caught Merlin's eyes. "It's important we maintain peace in Albion," she said firmly, refusing to allow the curdling fear in her to surface. Once they solved this problem, they could focus on Arthur's return.
Gwen was asleep when Leon knocked on their door to inform them of the arrival of Lady Joan and Lord Edward. For a brief moment, Arthur had wanted to let her continue sleeping but her absence would lead to more talk about her being weak, especially from King Lester and Arthur did not want that. So he leaned over and kissed her awake.
There was so much pomp and pageantry involved in being King. Flags flew high in the breeze and a row of knights were lined up to receive the two rulers. Arthur adjusted his cape and kept one hand around Gwen's waist. She looked tired and he worried that the stress of these problems and her pregnancy was taking a toll on her health. Later, he would ask Merlin to look at her, just to assure him that she was fine.
Trumpets blared and in the distance, Arthur could see the flags of Lady Joan. With Gwen by his side, he took a step down to get ready to greet her.
Lady Joan rode in on a handsome black horse and with the ease of a skilled horsewoman, dismounted. The description of her in the books he'd read was no match for the cropped hair, athletic woman who stood before him.
"King Arthur." Her eyes widened and she took an unsteady step backwards.
Instinctively, he took a step forward and reached for her.
Then he heard her whisper shakily. "It worked. The magic worked."
He dropped his hands and he felt Gwen staring at him, but he was unable to move, unable to process anything other than the realisation that it was Lady Joan who had brought him back from the dead.