When Gwaine stepped into the light, he looked angrier than Anna had ever seen him before. His brows were drawn together and his eyes positively blazed with fury. He put his hand on his sword hilt.
Anna suddenly remembered what Merlin had said: any conflict with the two princes of Mora could turn into a diplomatic nightmare. If accusing them of assault was bad, actually assaulting one would be much worse.
Gwaine seemed to have remembered the same thing, because he did not draw his sword or advance any farther, though it seemed to take a massive act of will to stop himself.
Bergam, who had been startled at first, seemed to realize the position Gwaine found himself in, and regained his voice. "The physician sent the girl to me—to look at my wound," he said, gesturing to a scratch on his arm. His voice, though he tried to use a jaunty inflection, was not as confident as usual.
"The light in here isn't very good," Gwaine said between clenched teeth. "You should go up to Gaius's surgery next time." He picked up Anwen's bag and then reached out his hand. "Anna, let me escort you back to the surgery," he said, his eyes never leaving Bergam's face.
Anna, unable to speak, took his hand and let him lead her out of the armory and back into the castle. She knew, as they climbed up the stairs and into the corridor outside the kitchens, that she was trembling, and she was dreadfully afraid that she would burst into tears in front of all the housemaids who were running hither and thither. If there was one thing she dreaded it was a scene.
Gwaine seemed to understand her need for immediate distraction. Placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, he began a cheerful monologue on all the funny things Percival and Elyan had said to one another at dinner the night before. The story was light and amusing, and Anna barely heard a word of it. She just concentrated on the sound of his voice and his chuckle—a little forced, perhaps, after his anger in the armory, but a cheerful sound nonetheless—and tried not to think about what had just happened. She was grateful that Gwaine's story required no response from her; she was certain that if she tried to speak she would start crying. As it was, she felt the tears coming as they reached the top of the last staircase and Gaius's door.
But Gwaine didn't stop there. Setting her bag down by the door, he led her down another hallway and up a small flight of stairs, opening a heavy door. Anna found herself on the parapet of the castle, with bright sunlight shining around her and a strong breeze blowing. There was a bench by the wall, and Anna dropped onto it and burst into tears.
In the midst of her outburst, she was again thankful that Gwaine didn't try to comfort her. He gave her her space, walking several yards away and standing looking out over Camelot through one of the crenels, pretending that she wasn't embarrassing herself by crying her eyes out.
Eventually the sobs slowed and turned into sniffs, and she pulled a handkerchief out of her sleeve and dabbed at her face.
"Anna—you should see this," Gwaine said, and she got up and walked over to join him at the crenel.
The whole town of Camelot was spread out below them: little people walking through the marketplace, calling to one another and laughing in the bright sunlight. A patch of brilliant color was a dyer's stall; a swiftly moving crowd that looked like a flock of birds was a bunch of children playing tag. And out beyond all this, the grain fields that fed the city, and behind them, the forest. The breeze blew the hair back from her face and Anna took a deep breath, feeling as if it were blowing away the terror of the last quarter hour.
"The guards should be on patrol along the base of the wall," Gwaine said excitedly, laying across the wall so that his head stuck out over its edge. "Yes, there they are!" He looked up at here. "Well? Come on!"
With a chuckle, Anna gave a little hop to get her waist at the edge of the crenel, and leaned forward, lying on her stomach next to him across the top of the wall. Sure enough, down below she could see the top of a guard's head as he slowly walked back and forth along the bottom of the wall.
"Every time I come up here, I think I should run back down to the kitchen and get some eggs," Gwaine said, smiling mischievously.
Anna laughed. The hard stone wall beneath her diaphragm made her jiggle when she did so, and it was so funny that she laughed again.
"Watch this!" Gwaine whispered, despite the fact that the guards could not possibly hear them from up there. He pulled a penny out of the pouch at his side and held it out over the edge of the crenel. As the guard came past, Gwaine dropped it so that it fell five inches from the guard's nose. The man jumped and looked up.
"Look out!" Gwaine said, grabbing Anna's arm and pulling her back. They hopped down inside the wall, giggling like children.
"I can't believe you did that!" Anna exclaimed, slapping his arm.
"Now it's your turn," he answered, pulling out another penny with an even wickeder grin.
"No!"
"Come on! You know you want to!"
Anna bit her lip and looked at him calculatingly. But she couldn't resist the impish grin that made him look like a young boy, and she grabbed the penny and hoisted herself up again. Gwaine climbed up next to her.
"Hold it out a couple of inches from the wall," he coached her, "and drop it; don't throw. You've got to time it just right…"
The guard was coming, and Anna dropped the penny. She was a second too late, however, and the penny hit him in the head, clanging off his helmet.
With a yelp, Anna and Gwaine dropped back inside the wall. Gwaine laughed so hard he fell over, holding his stomach. "You assaulted a soldier of Camelot!" he said as soon as he could catch his breath. "Anna, you traitor!"
Anwen was laughing so hard the tears were standing in her eyes. Every time they caught each other's eyes they started laughing again. Eventually they both calmed down, Gwaine giving a last few gasps and Anna wiping at her eyes between giggles.
That's more like it," Gwaine said, giving her a smile that softened his eyes and made him look almost like a different creature than he had been in the armory.
Anna was unable to hold his gaze, and pulled herself to her feet. "Are my eyes red?" she asked.
"Only from laughing and standing in the wind," Gwaine answered, standing up and dusting himself off. "Come on." He offered her his arm again and she took it.
"Thank you, Sir Gwaine," she said they stood outside the door to Gaius's surgery once more.
"Just—promise me something," Gwaine said, suddenly very serious.
"What?"
"Don't walk home alone after dark," he said, fixing her with a stern glance. "If you need to wait until after dark to leave, come down and get me. Even if it's the middle of the night."
"Oh, I don't think—"
"Promise."
Anna nodded. "Alright."
Gwaine gave her a small smile, patted her arm, and headed back down the stairs toward his quarters. Anna watched him go, her eyes wistful.
TBC
