Chapter 3 - Hope you enjoy!

They woke up the next morning to Merlin gasping loudly. Arthur threw a pillow at him,

"Nothing happened you idiot, we just need somewhere to sleep before fighting the griffin today."

"Sorry for disturbing you, Gwen would you like some breakfast?" Merlin asked, frantically trying to recover his composure.

"No thank you Merlin, I've got to go", Gwen squealed in an unusually high pitched voice. Her face had gone bright red and the look of horror in her eyes was enough to make Merlin crack up with laughter. She got out of bed and half walked/half ran to the door, almost knocking Merlin over in a desperate attempt to escape the painfully embarrassing situation.

Arthur missed her the minute she walked out the door. And that irritated him. He was not going to become that guy. He would not be some sappy idiot always thinking about a girl, especially a girl who appeared to like another anyway.

During their conversations the previous night Arthur never plucked up the courage to ask her about Lancelot or to tell that he had feelings for her. From her reaction this morning she would not be letting them have another opportunity to be so intimate again anytime soon and Arthur wondered if had let his chance pass him by. He dwelled on this thought until Merlin returned with breakfast.

Gwen was mortified. She knew she had not done anything wrong but still what was she thinking? Putting herself in such a compromising position with a man. And not just any man, Prince Arthur. HER BOSS! How could she have been so stupid? Mental note for the future, don't spend the night in a man's bed. Good plan.

She was not worried that Merlin would tell anyone, apart from maybe Gaius. O my gosh Gaius! He must have been so worried about her. And with that thought she quicken her pace and ran down the stairs and to the back of the castle. As she carefully opened the door to Gaius's chambers, praying she would not wake him, she found him already sat up and working at this desk. From the sight of him he hadn't been to bed yet.

"I'm so sorry Gaius, I was with Arthur and we got talking and I fell asleep and then Merlin came in…" Gwen voice trialled off as she realised Gaius didn't look mad. Just very tired.

Gaius signed wearily, "It's okay Gwen, but in future if you could let me know…"

Gwen interrupted him, "Of course Gaius, I would never dream of doing such of thing, not that it will ever happen again…" she started to mutter. Gaius just looked at her sleepily.

"It's fine Gwen. I'm just glad your home safe", he gave her a warm smile. "Now I must be off on my rounds, I will see you later, and Gwen…"

"Yes Gaius?" Gwen queried,

"Please keep safe today", his eyes were filled with worry.

"Of course I will, I'll see you later", Gwen hugged him.

After saying goodbye to Gaius, she went and got ready for battle. 'It would be so much easier if I had someone like Merlin to help out with this' Gwen thought to herself as she struggled getting the heavy armour over her head. Once dressed, she checked her reflection in the mirror. She almost didn't recognise herself. The girl in the mirror looked older, tired and anxious but also brave and strong. Gwen was terrified about her plan to defeat the griffin. She knew if she failed the knights, her friends, would die.

Gwen was the last one to arrive as the knights were grouping outside in the courtyard. As she joined the rest of the knights, Lancelot came over to greet Gwen and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She gave him a small smile and Arthur had to suppress the urge to punch Lancelot in the face.

"Lancelot, if you would mind not fraternising with your fellow knights as we prepare to face potential death, I would appreciate it", Arthur said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, causing the other knights to laugh which quickly died down with a glare from the prince.

"Sorry sire", Lancelot apologised sheepishly. Gwen on the other hand scowled at Arthur and went and held Lancelot's hand.

He has no reason to treat Lancelot like that. Lancelot had been a perfect gentleman the night before and all they had done was dance. Gwen was furious at Arthur for being petty about Lancelot and belittling him in front of the knights. But if she was being completely honest, she was annoyed at Lancelot as well for kissing her in front of the men. How was she meant to be taken seriously with that behaviour? She had not made her mind about Lancelot, and had not got any idea how she felt about Arthur. What she did know was that her first priority was to be the greatest knight she could be and as Arthur looked away she dropped Lancelot's hand.

Arthur ignored them both and launched into the plan to defeat the griffin. The knights got on their horses and rode off to the forest. It was not a long ride and they soon arrived in the clearing before the woods. As they entered into the mass of trees and bushes, the blackness seemed endless and the tension grew. They waited in the dark forest for hours, growing weary and hungry when eventually they saw the beast flying high above them. With a well-placed arrow, Arthur managed to get the griffin's attention. It came hurtling towards them but stopped as it came to trees and flew around trying to find an entrance into the forest path.

"Get ready! Aim, FIRE!"

Gwen had already realised it would take more the strength alone to defeat the griffin and as the arrows flew towards the beast, she cast a spell on each of them which allowed them to pierce its skin. Quietly muttering under her breath she cast the powerful spell and watched the arrows tips flash blue. As her eyes returned to their normal colour she observed the beast stumble and crash into some trees as it ran towards them. Her spell had not been strong enough to take down the creature. The arrows had punctured the skin but they had not managed to kill or maim it.

"Swords and into formation! FOR THE LOVE OF CAMELOT!" Arthur roared at the top of his lungs.

She watched her brave friends ride in to battle with a knowledge they were about to die, and the surge of emotion that rushed through her was the strength she needed to cast the spell again on the knights swords. Her eyes felt like they were burning but she rode alongside them regardless. She saw Arthur leading from the front and he was the first to slash at the beast. He made contact and the monster howled in pain. Then the rest of the knights caught up and attacked the griffin. Gwen went for one of its' front legs. They hacked and swiped and there were awful cries of pain, some so animalistic Gwen did not know if they came from man or beast. Leon was the man of the hour with a final stab straight into the monster's heart. There was no sound from the griffin, it simply collapsed on to the forest floor.

The battle was over. Gwen was overjoyed. She had done it! Her first spell in front of the knights and no one noticed a thing! Admittedly that was mainly due to the man eating monster running towards them but still. Arthur could not believe the plan worked. A lot of men were badly injured but no one died. Arthur himself had picked up a couple of scratches and noticed Gwen had a small cut across her arm.

As the knights rode back victorious there were great cheers and Gwen received a lot of pats on the back from her comrades. Her first battle and she helped come up with the plan and, although no one would ever know, saved the knights from certain slaughter. She was positively beaming as she rode back into Camelot, her face hurting from smiling. Arthur rode next to her on the journey back. He leaned over to her and whispered "Thank you."

"What for sire?" she asked puzzled.

"Last night", Arthur gave her a cheeky grin before continuing, "helping me come up with a plan."

"Oh it was nothing your highness", Gwen blushed.

Arthur felt a stirring somewhere new as he saw Gwen blush. He liked that with words alone he could make her cheeks go pink and his thoughts started to go along a train that would even make a sailor turn red.

He started talking to her about the feast that would now be put on tonight in honour of their great victory.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you will wear tonight as I loved that red dress on you. It looked especially good lying in my bed."

Gwen's blushed deepen and her eyes widen. Arthur did not know what possessed him to say such things whether it was the high of victory or the growing feeling inside him every time she looked guilty and more red.

"It would be wonderful if I could finish my dance with you tonight and perhaps Merlin could wake us up again tomorrow?"

Now he knew he had gone too far but he just wanted to see her reaction.

"I'm afraid sire that you will be extremely disappointed. I'm sure Lancelot with make sure I am properly escorted home tonight."

"What?" Arthur blood started to boil. Gwen explained how on the way to battle Lancelot officially asked her out and she had agreed. They were now courting.

Gwen still was not entirely sure what made her say yes to him. She was extremely fond of Lancelot and he made her feel like a princess but she was not in love with him. In time she could see herself falling in love with him. He was a gentleman with a good job who clearly cared about her. Not many others would want her, as a female knight for a wife. She was about as desirable as an unwed mother. Perhaps that is why she said yes. However Arthur could not hear her internal monologue and asked,

"But why?"

Arthur could not understand, he thought she felt something for him.

Her response was a simple, "Because he loves me."

Arthur rode off and arrived back in Camelot significantly earlier than the rest of the army.

Another night, another ball. Gwen got yet another new dress, this time in a lovely deep purple which went beautifully with her caramel coloured skin. However she was not remotely looking forward to this ball. Arthur had looked so hurt when she said she was with Lancelot and that broke her heart. She couldn't work out how she felt about Arthur and knew they could never be so she settled for a man she believed would make her happy. Lancelot arrived at her door on time and looking very handsome but Gwen felt nothing. He seemed pleased to see her and that just made her feel even more miserable. She linked her arm with his and they entered the castle together. Lots of people came up to them and congratulated them as well as praised Gwen for her part in the plan. It was nice to feel accepted, if only for a brief time.

When they approached Arthur and Uther, the prince would not look at her. Uther thanked them through gritted teeth for their hard work and sent them on their way. Gwen and Lancelot danced for a bit but Gwen soon complained she was tired and they went and sat down. Lancelot was quickly requested for another dance with a pretty lady of the court and ever the gentleman he did not refuse. Gwen was grateful as it gave her some time to collect her thoughts.

She then felt a hand on her wrist and was dragged into a dark corner and down an empty corridor. The man pulled her in a doorway. Gwen would have fought back but she knew who it was from the first touch,

"Arthur, what do you want?" she asked confused.

"You" he replied and he kissed her hard.

She kissed him back and could taste the alcohol on his lips.

"Arthur are you drunk?" and Gwen gently pushed him back.

"No", he mumbled.

And he wasn't but he certainly was not sober either. He kissed her again, partly to shut her up, and started to move his hands down her body. As he started to caress the part of her breasts that were visible in the dress, Gwen shoved him off her,

"No Arthur, I can't and I won't."

And she walked off. Arthur felt completely rejected and regretted his actions instantly.

"Gwen", he yelled as he ran after her.

"Gwen, I'm sorry!"

As he arrived back into the banquet hall he saw Lancelot with his arm around Gwen's shoulders.

Arthur marched over to them, "Lancelot leave us", he commanded.

"I'm sorry sire but I am going to stay her with Gwen, she is quite upset", Lancelot calmly replied.

"Leave us", Arthur demanded firmly.

"No sire" was Lancelot's polite response.

"Leave us now or I will force you to leave us." Arthur roared.

"Sire, your upset, why don't you go outside and cool off?" was Lancelot's gentle reply,

And as Lancelot put his hand on Arthur's shoulder, Arthur swung and punched him in the face. Guards grabbed Arthur and Uther declared he was to go to his room and not be seen till the morning. Arthur shrugged off the guards and walked off to his room. The whole room watched him leave in silence. As soon as he was out of sight, the crowded erupted into squeals and gossip.

Now for some individual thank you's.

rallitsa - Thank you very much for reviewing.

BagginsPotterPevensie - Thank you very much for reviewing and advice. I hope you find this chapter is better paced :)

larasmith - I live for your reviews. They are so beautifully detailed and a joy to read. Thank you!

osept - Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Tereshe - Gracias por revisar! Me encanta practicar mi español.

shana. - I hope you find Gwen just as strong in this chapter. Thank you :)