Chapter 6 - Heavily Arwen based. Quite dark at the beginning, brightens up towards the end.

When they arrived back in Camelot they were greeted by a massive crowd of cheering locals. Arthur and the boys lapped it up but Gwen, Gwaine and Merlin took another quieter route into the castle. Gwaine had steadily improved on the journey home but there was still a lot of work to be done. He still had a couple of broken bones as well as suffering mental trauma.

One night on the journey back to Camelot, Gwaine and Gwen went for a short walk. In the dark, damp forest Gwaine admitted some of what he had been through. He had been in Cenred's custody for months and was tortured until he revealed Gwen's location. His eyes began to fill as he begged Gwen to forgive him. She sat him down on a log and hugged him while he apologised over and over again. She could feel him shaking as he told her about what Cenred had done to him. Gwen kissed his head and told him it was all going to be okay. They sat on that log for hours.

After that night, things became a lot clearer and Gwen had been able to explain to Gwaine about her situation, her job and her friends. Gwaine practically fell off his horse in excitement when she said she had been made a knight.

"I can't believe it! You did it! All those tournaments, all that time we spent practising! It actually worked!" Gwaine beamed from ear to ear. "So what your dad said about the blood oath with Uther was true then? Bloody hell!"

It gave Gwen great delight to see her friend so happy for her. As she was new to Camelot she had not really been able to celebrate her accomplishment with anyone.

"When we get back, it's time to celebrate! To the tavern!" Gwaine yelled.

Gwen giggled at her friend, pleased he was clearly on the mend. Merlin laughed loudly on the horse next to her. He and Gwaine became friends almost instantly and Merlin promised to help them out in any way he could. Gwen silently suspected he was planning on healing Gwaine's mental anguish through magic. While physically Gwaine was healing, he would still wake up during the night, screaming for Gwen and begging the men from his nightmares to leave him alone.

As they approached the walls of Camelot castle, Gwen was gripped by fear. What was Arthur going to do? Was she riding in a trap? If he told Uther, the walls of Camelot was not a sensible place to be. In her mind's eye she saw guards knocking down Gaius's door, Merlin and Gwaine trying to protect her and dying for their efforts. She saw herself being lit on fire as Arthur simply stood there and watched. She tried to take some deep breaths, desperate to get some air into her lungs and relax her thumping heart. She had explained to the boys what Arthur had seen in Cenred's castle and they knew Camelot might no longer be safe.

Merlin leaned over and squeezed her hand. "You're going to be fine," he whispered. "We've got to do this, we need Gaius to take a look at Gwaine." Gwen nodded and rode into the castle.

They dismounted and put their horses in the stables, which deserved a well-earned break and slowly walked to Gaius's.

Gwen gently knocked at the door before she entered, a bit wary of how Gwaine would react to someone new. Fortunately he really was on the mend and broke the ice with a joke before going over and shaking Gaius's hand. Gwaine went into minor details about what he had experienced in Cenred's dungeon, enough to identify key areas that needed to be looked at but spared Gwen the pain of listening to what her friend had been through. She bid them goodbye and went to bathe.

A couple of hours later and there was a knock at the door. A guard announced that Gwen was to meet Prince Arthur on the outskirts of the wood for training. After having some time to get clean and get changed into a dress, she felt much more composed to talk to Arthur. The guard raised an eyebrow as he escorted her to training while she was wearing a dress but he was far too disciplined to say anything.

He politely let them be as they approached Arthur. When she saw him waiting for her still in his chainmail, she instantly felt guilty, knowing he would have come straight from explaining himself to the king. She wondered if Arthur was about to kill her. Arthur smiled when he saw her which can only be a good sign. Or it could be a trap. Gwen kept her guard up, ready to flee if she needed to.

They went for a walk through the fields by the woods, at first taking about nothing in particular but then Arthur abruptly said,

"So you're a witch then",

Gwen went on the defence straight away,

"Yes, I was born this way."

He went quiet. After a short silence, he finally spoke up.

"What can you do?" Arthur asked curiously.

Taken back Gwen answered with surprising honesty, "As far as I'm aware, anything apart from bring people back from the dead".

"Can you show me something…please?" Arthur asked hesitantly.

And that was all the promoting Gwen needed to show Arthur exactly what she could do. From turning the grass purple, allowing the birds to speak with human voices and causing clouds in the sky to form patterns, Gwen showed Arthur a wide range of magic. She started to get completely caught up in the freedom of the act that she did not realise what Arthur was going through. Arthur was terrified at first and had to fight an instinctive desire to attack Gwen. He forced himself to relax and allowed himself to enjoy her abilities. He couldn't stop staring at her. She was just so peaceful, happy, and free. She practically danced as she cast, glowing with delight at every spell and showed such vulnerability that Arthur knew no man had seen for a very long time. Gwen spun round and caught him staring at her.

"I'm sorry sire, I got carried away", Gwen immediately returned everything back to its original state and looked embarrassed.

"You don't need to apologise, or call me that. Call me Arthur", and he gave a wide smile.

"Okay Arthur", Gwen gave a cheeky grin," I'm sorry for showing off".

"There is no need, your amazing, what you can do, is simply incredible", Arthur looked at her with complete admiration in his eyes.

That comment and acceptance of her just filled Gwen to brim with love and she ran over and hugged him tight. Caught by surprise he fell backwards and on to the grass.

"Thank you", she whispered breathlessly.

"What for?" Arthur mumbled.

"For accepting me, just as I am. When you didn't talk to me on the ride home, I thought…" Gwen hesitated and rolled off him on to the grass.

"You thought I hated you?" Arthur filled in the blanks.

"Yes."

"Well, to be honest I did." Arthur was still lying on the grass looking up at the blue sky above him. He did not see Gwen's face drop at his revelation. She was deeply hurt but she understood. "I was all ready to turn you over to my father. I was completely convinced you had bewitched me and tricked your way into being a knight. I mentally rehearsed the conversation in my head, preparing myself to betray you but as I entered his throne room he launched into a massive rant about you and how you have corrupted my mind. He went on and on about how disappointed he was and how stupid I was to risk my life for a female knight, for an embarrassment against the knights of Camelot. Before I knew it, I was defending you more passionately than I have ever spoken in my life. It was then I realised that witch or not, I was still willing to defy my father for you."

"Wow, Arthur, thank you", Gwen was overwhelmed.

"You're welcome, but I do have some questions to ask," Arthur responded. He sat up and looked directly at her.

"I can assure you Arthur, I haven't bewitched you, I would never do something like that, it's just pathetic and manipulative and…" Gwen gushed and hugged her knees tight.

Arthur laughed and interrupted her, "Oh don't worry about that, I've been bewitched before with a girl called Vivian," a name he said which distaste, "It dawned on me during my fight with my father, that the way I feel for you is in no way similar to how I felt about Vivian. I should have realised sooner but my hatred consumed me. "

"But what I am still in the dark about is how you convinced my father to let you become a knight. Please tell me it wasn't because of magic," Arthur's faced filled with concern and distrust.

"Oh no, magic had nothing to do with that. Well not really." Arthur shot her a glare. "Not my magic anyway," Gwen quickly clarified. Arthur still looked wary. "It was my dad, and your dad. Look I'll just start at the beginning. When your dad was younger, he wondered into Caerleon's territory.

"What? Caerleon? As in Cenred's father?" Arthur interrupted, his mouth opened in surprise.

"The very same," Gwen confirmed.

"Why? How could he have been so stupid?" Arthur was furious.

"Well lucky for him, he met my dad. The king had been caught in Caerleon's land and had been set upon by some of his men. He had been shot in the back with an arrow and had collapsed under some shrubs. The soldiers left him to die. My dad was out collecting herbs for a potion and stumbled upon him. Under Caerleon's law, my dad should have reported him but he didn't. My father healed him, using magic," Gwen explained.

"So my father knows you've got magic then?" Arthur burst out.

"No, no, no, your father was unconscious," Gwen reassured him, "he was close to death and my dad saved him at a great risk to his own life."

"I wish I could have met your father. He sounds like a great man," Arthur replied gently.

"He was a great man," Gwen smiled sadly to herself and continued on with her story.

"Anyway, the king came too and realised my father had saved him. As he had nothing on him to pay him back, he swore a blood oath instead, bestowing upon him the great honour he could. He vowed my father's oldest child would be allowed to try and become a knight, regardless of their class. Your father was young and inexperienced otherwise he would never have committed to something so powerful."

"Yes, I know that. He always told me never to swear one. So that's how you did it. I must admit I am quite relieved," he smiled down at her and she lay back on the grass.

They spent an amazing couple of hours together, lying on the grass, hands entwined and getting to know each other. The secrecy that held Gwen back had affected Arthur as well and they were able to be incredibly honest about themselves. They had accepted that they could not be a couple now but in the future things would change and that they would both wait until that time. Neither one of them liked this plan but there was no other option. Meeting for secret romantic rendezvous was out of the question but they would do their best regardless.

Arthur asked Gwen what she was going to do about Lancelot. She admitted she did not know but she did not want to hurt him.

"I'm just going to tell him that I'm not ready to be committed to anyone", Gwen answered.

"You know that excuse will not last for long, eventually you will be expected to marry", Arthur warned her.

"As will you", Gwen retorted.

Arthur ignored that comment and turned his attention to why Cenred wanted Gwen in the first place. Gwen explained that Cenred intends to destroy Camelot but requires a magic caster in order to defeat the knights of Camelot.

"Do you think he'll look for another witch?" Arthur asked.

"I'm certain of it," Gwen replied.

"Why did he come after you? And capture Gwaine?" Arthur asked curiously.

"He knew my powers were strong, and I think he planned to use Gwaine as a way of controlling me." Gwen explained some of her past. She concluded with the story of the lion and being banished from Caerleon's land.

Arthur turned to Gwen and gently stroked her face. "Thank you for trusting me, and if I ever see Cenred again, I will kill him," he said through gritted teeth.

"Not if I get him first", Gwen smiled at him.

She pulled his head closer to her mouth and whispered in his ear, "Oh and if you tell anyone what I've just told you, I will hunt you down."

Arthur smirked, "is that a challenge?"

Gwen's response was to bite his ear just hard enough to cause a little bit of pain.

"Ouch" replied Arthur but he was only teasing.

She moved down his neck kissing him lightly as she went before giving him a quick kiss on lips and ran off back to Camelot. Arthur watched her as she ran and wondered just what he got himself into.

I needed a nice Arwen chapter as they've not had many in my story so far. I hope your still intrigued about Cenred's master plan and Gwen's past.

I apologise now as it will be awhile till the next chapter. I'm back at university and extremely busy but please keep reviewing as you make my day :)

Btw, for all the people who love the legend I am very sorry but I don't really know that much about it. I have no idea if Cenred is part of it or not but the reason his dad is called Caerleon is because that's who Gwaine's dad was a knight for (in the show) thought this would be a nice link if I expand on the Gwen and Gwaine friendship.