A/N Hello! I am so sorry it has been forever. And then all I give you is a plot mover chapter. But I do promise it is getting there. It will all kick off in the next chapter. However, this chapter needs to happen to get there. I hope you enjoy it :). Again I am so sorry for the wait.

Merlin was leaning against the wall as Gwen walked past him looking upset.

"Gwen?"

"I'm fine Merlin," she gave him a small smile and proceeded to walk down the corridor.

Merlin watched her leave, knowing full well that whatever had made Gwen that upset probably made Arthur very angry.

And sure enough as Merlin walked into Arthur's chambers, he ducked as a plate came hurtling towards him.

"Steady on!" Merlin exclaimed.

He got glared at in response as Arthur continued to destroy anything in his path.

"Arthur! What's wrong?"

"She doesn't want to be with me. She said I was ashamed of her!" And with that comment Arthur's beautiful candlesticks that Merlin had just got spotless, went out the window.

"Well, aren't you?" Merlin asked, instantly regretting his words.

"NO! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?" Arthur roared.

"Because, you won't tell anyone about her," Merlin squeaked as he ran around the chambers darting the flying cutlery.

"You know my father would never understand," Arthur slumped down into his chair.

"Does that matter?" Merlin poked his face round the wardrobe door he was currently hiding behind.

"Of course it does!" Arthur looked at Merlin in disbelief.

"But…if it means losing Gwen, then surely it's worth upsetting your father?" Merlin asked.

"It's not that simple," Arthur muttered.

"Arthur, it is. You tell him about Gwen, you get to be with Gwen. If you don't then you risk losing her forever."

"When did you get so wise?"

Merlin just grinned so Arthur threw a banana at him.

Gwen hurried back to her house she shared with Morgana. She unlocked the door and walked in.

Gwaine and Morgana guilty jumped away from each other.

"Sorry…I should have knocked…I'll go…" Gwen muttered embarrassed.

"Gwen… it's your house," Gwaine pointed out. He noticed her red eyes. "Gwen what happened?"

He knew she wasn't a girl who cried easily.

"I decided to end things with Arthur. I didn't want to hide anymore."

Gwaine hugged her, "I thought you would see sense soon enough."

"Gwaine?" Gwen asked confused.

"It's not like you to hide in the shadows. Not after you've fought so hard to be accepted. And one day everything about you will be accepted," giving Gwen a knowing wink.

"And I love you just the way you are," Gwaine kissed her on the forehead, burying her face in his chest.

"And so do I," Morgana joined the hug, making it a Gwen sandwich.

"Arthur is a fool to let you go. He will never meet anyone else like you," Morgana released Gwen and gave her a huge smile.

"Thanks. Now I just need someone to bring the cake out," Gwen laughed.

Gwaine finally let Gwen go, "Come on girly let us walk you to training. We can stay and watch if you want?"

"No I'll be fine."

Gwaine held out his hands to the girls, "to training! Not quite as much as fun as the Tavern though." The girls giggled and took his outstretched hands.

Gwen walked towards training, getting more and more nervous. It was comforting to listen to Morgana and Gwaine talk but it didn't stop the fear taking over her stomach. The thought of coming face-to-face with two men she had recently broken up with was enough to make her turn round and flee. Griffins and armies were easy compared to relationships.

Sure enough Arthur ignored her as she arrived at training. She tried to make eye contact with him but he didn't even look her way. Lancelot glanced at her, looked at Arthur and looked back at Gwen. Gwen wondered what was going through his mind. I told you so probably, Gwen thought meanly. She immediately regretted her bitterness as Lancelot smiled warmly at her. At least Lancelot wasn't mad at her, but then again she doubted Lancelot stayed mad at anyone for long.

Lancelot walked over to Gwen, Gwaine and Morgana.

"Hello Gwen, Gwaine, Morgana," Lancelot nodded to her friends.

"Hello Lancelot," Gwen replied quietly.

"We will just be over there," said Morgana as she gently pulled Gwaine with her.

"What? Oh yes, we'll just be over there…if you need us Gwen," Gwaine spoke directly to Lancelot.

"I'll be fine," Gwen nudged Gwaine towards Morgana.

Lancelot remained silent as Gwaine and Morgana walked away and out of earshot.

"Are you alright Gwen?" Lancelot asked concerned.

"I'm fine." Gwen replied.

"I just wanted to check, you seemed a bit upset."

"Honestly, I'm fine."

"Okay," Lancelot clearly didn't believe her but he was wise enough not to push her further.

They walked together to where Arthur was stood on a raised platform, looking down expectantly on them.

"Now that we are all here," Arthur began, looking in the direction of Gwen and Lancelot, "I can tell you about the tournament my father has decided to hold."

"It will be in honour of his birthday, and will consist of several rounds of armed combat. The tournament will begin a week today and it is open to all knights across the region of Camelot. I expect all of you to enter and participate."

"As the reigning champion," Arthur announced smugly, "I expect you to at least provide me with some sort of challenge. Therefore everyone will get into pairs and begin practising. Lancelot, you're with Leon. Sparks, you're with me."

Ooo using my surname, is that meant to intimidate me? Never the less, Gwen approached the platform cautiously, sword drawn. Arthur jumped down as she moved towards him. He sheathed his sword and walked slowly towards Gwen, hands raised. Damn he is cute. Arthur had a cocky grin on his face and stood directly in front of her. He slowly bent down, and whispered in her ear, "If you can beat me, I will tell the world about us." He stood back and looked her in the eye, eyebrow raised. Challenge accepted, Gwen thought.

And with that, Gwen pounced, sword raised. Arthur had predicted her response. He knew she would take the bait; Gwen could never resist any opportunity to prove herself. His sword met hers as she went for a chest hit. They fought fiercely, swords and armour clashing. They made such a racket that the other knights stopped their fight and turned to watch. It was hard to predict who was winning, Arthur was stronger by far but Gwen was quicker. Swords slicing and stabbing here and there, their feet and arms moving almost like a blur, shields disregarded altogether.

And suddenly it was over just as quickly as it had begun. Gwen stabbed her sword into the ground and backed away from Arthur. Arthur realised Gwen was calling the fight off and stopped advancing towards her. "I won't beat you here Arthur Pendragon. I will beat you on that field for the world to see. I will show your father what I can do and I will beat you fair and square."

"We shall see," Arthur smiled wickedly at her.

Gwen pulled her sword out of the ground, half bowed, and stormed away. Gwaine and Morgana ran to catch up with her. Arthur watched her leave, feeling a lot more confident that Gwen still cared about him. Otherwise, he thought, she would not have been so annoyed with me.

He went to her that night. He stood in the shadows, hood raised and waited. He watched patiently for Gwaine and Morgana to go out. He saw them walk off towards the Tavern. He quietly slipped into Gwen's home. She was sat on the bench in her main room, polishing her chest plate.

"You really need a Merlin to do that for you."

Gwen jumped up startled, her hand already going for her knife.

Arthur grabbed her wrist and whispered, "It's me."

With his other hand he pushed his hood off his face.

"Arthur," Gwen gasped, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Arthur smiled and kissed her passionately. Gwen kissed him back, wrenching her wrist out of his hand and grabbing the back of his head. His arm went round her waist and he pulled her closer to him.

They came up for air a couple of minutes later. Gwen looked deeply into Arthur's eyes and pushed him away. "No, you don't get to do that anymore."

"Gwen, please. I miss you. I want to be with you," Arthur pleaded.

"Then tell your father about us. Please Arthur that is all that I ask."

"I know," Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.

"I just…I don't want to disappoint him," Arthur sat down on the bench.

"You do understand that don't you?" Arthur asked looking up at her.

"Of course I do," she sat down next to him and took his hand, "but can you understand that I don't want a secret relationship?"

"Yes." They were both silent.

"Can we at least leave it till after his birthday? I would hate to ruin his big day,"

Gwen just raised her eyebrows at him, "How about we stick to your original deal? If I beat you at the tournament, then you will tell him there and then."

"Sure," Arthur replied instantly, clearly confident about the outcome of that encounter, "but just in case you don't beat me, I promise I will tell him after his birthday," Arthur smiled at her.

"Deal," she held out her hand. He laughed at her but shook it anyway.

"You know it won't go down well right, you are prepared for that? He might want to banish you, take your knighthood away, all sorts of things."

"I know," Gwen replied quietly. She turned her head towards him, "but I already live with so many secrets. I don't want you to be one of them."

Arthur put his arm round her and hugged her tight.

"What have you done to me Gwen Sparks?" he sighed.

Gwen just smiled.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review as it makes my day and helps motivate me xx