Chapter 6: Goodbye

When Arthur found his sister in the library, he wasn't prepared for her to casually announce her intentions to leave after the wedding and to take Gwen with her.

He stared at Morgana in disbelief. "You're going to take her with you? Why don't you take Merlin while you're at it?"

"That's a great idea! He can carry our luggage," Morgana said, clapping her hands together in mock glee.

"But—you can't," Arthur sputtered. "She told me she wanted to stay."

Morgana crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. "I assume that was before I got here." Arthur paced and Morgana watched him, annoyed. "Of course she said she wanted to stay, even if it hurts her. She loves you."

If Arthur clenched his jaw any tighter, his teeth would shatter from the pressure.

"You love her. You always will," Morgana said in a rare, caring tone. "I want her to be my sister more than anything. At least if she comes with me, I can take care of her. She won't be tortured by seeing you and Mithian every day…and you by her."

Arthur sat next to his sister. "I can't believe I'm listening to you. And when did you grow a heart?"

She sighed. "I was so caught up in what Uther said, I forgot about Gwen. I should've taken her with me."

"She would've gone with you." If Gwen had gone with Morgana, it would've hurt less than her leaving purely because of his engagement.

Morgana patted his knee. "She's like our own little security blanket, our Gwen—"

A knock at the door interrupted them and Merlin entered. "The guest will be arriving soon."

"Merlin," Morgana said. "How would you feel about traveling around America with me and Gwen?"

"More like she'll make you carry their luggage across the country," Arthur said, warning him.

Merlin laughed. "But I bet she'll treat me better than you." Morgana winked at the valet. "But I'm afraid, my lady, that my lord would be completely helpless if I were gone."

Arthur got up and hooked his arm around Merlin's neck, dragging him out of the room. "The list of reasons why I should sack you is endless."

Morgana followed them, leaving a trail of laughter.

Gwen sat in the garden ignoring the stone bench, preferring to sit on the ground in front the patch of gillyflowers. She remembered when an old stone statue that once occupied the space and fallen, and when its remains were removed, Lady Ygraine was faced with a new patch of real estate for the garden. She was unsure of what to plant, so she asked Gwen. "Gillyflowers!" a six year old Gwen said excitedly. Her father once brought two bouquets of them home for her and her mother. When she asked what they were called and was told, she laughed thinking the name was silly, but she loved them anyway. One of Gwen's favorite memories was sitting in the dirt in the immaculate English garden with her ladyship, planting the flower with the silly name.

"I always love Camelot in the summer," Mithian's voice came from behind her.

Gwen stood and brushed the dirt from her skirt. "Good afternoon, my lady."

Mithian sat on the bench and patted the spot next to her. "Come join me, Gwen." When Gwen sat, Mithian continued. "I'm so nervous."

"About the party, my lady?" Gwen asked.

"Yes," she said. "And parties to come…and the wedding... I'll be a ladyship. Mithian Pendragon, Countess of Camelot."

Gwen listened in silence, waiting for Mithian to go on.

"I must confess, I don't know what to do. How am I supposed to live up to Lady Ygraine?"

Gwen picked at her skirt. "If I may be honest, my lady—?"

"Please do," Mithian said urging her to continue.

In another life, Ygraine must have been a queen. Although their riches were equal, personality and generosity wise compared to Uther, Ygraine had married beneath her. "No one can live up to her ladyship. But as long as you are kind to the staff and support Arthur—even stand up to him, you will be fine." Gwen finally looked at Mithian when she felt her heavy gaze.

"Do you always refer to him so casually?" she asked. Gwen frowned in confusion. "Lord Arthur."

Oh. "Merlin must be rubbing off on me," Gwen dismissed.

"And not the fact that you've worked in this household for so long? Arthur values your friendship and Merlin's. He's glad you came back, and so am I. I mean, I don't know you very well, but what you've done in such a short period of time is remarkable," Mithian said.

Gwen looked back down at her hands fisted in her lap. "It was nothing, my lady."

"So humble." Mithian stood and Gwen followed. The lady looked at the estate pensively. "They say when we marry, we'll be the richest family in the country, only second to the royal family. Maybe then Arthur will work less. He works so much harder than he needs to already."

"He is Uther's son and will do all he can to make him proud," Gwen said.

Mithian sighed. "I didn't mind being arranged to marry him, England's most eligible bachelor. The moments when he is free, he is the most caring and attentive man. It is not hard to love him. I feel lucky compared to other women who are promised to older or ungentlemanly lords. Mithian's eyes looked downcast. "I know he doesn't feel the way I do for him. He tries, but…I just hope I won't make him miserable."

Gwen swallowed the lump in her throat. "You will not make him miserable, my lady."

"No?" Mithian looked back at her dispirited. "But I will not make him happy."

The fullness of the house could be felt as the guest rooms were being occupied. There were Lord Godwyn and his daughter Elena; Lord Olaf and his daughter Vivian; Lady Annis and her daughter Isolde and husband Tristan; Lord Alined and his wife, the opera singer Lady Helen; the twice widowed Lady Catrina Tregor; Lord Odin and his son; Agravaine, Mithian's father, Lord Rodor; and Arthur's close friend, Lord Leon Young.

The downstairs was in a flurry of activity. George was trying to inform the visiting butlers and maids of the settings of the upstairs and downstairs while the other servants raced around them. Cook yelled as people got in her way as she was trying to prepare dinner. Gwaine could be heard laughing before she smacked him over the head and ordered him to help her.

It was calmer during dinner, the footman savored each breath they could take before the next course began and have to trek back up and down the stairs.

The dining table was extended to accommodate the nineteen lords and ladies sitting at it.

Uther grabbed everyone's attention by standing and raising his glass. "I would like to make a toast. To the return of my daughter, Morgana, and to Arthur and Mithian finally setting a date!"

Lord Godwyn also stood. "And to the return of your health, my friend."

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits. The wine flowed and the food was five-star; Cook had outdone herself.

Lady Catrina picked at her food. She had a figure to maintain, she claimed. "I must say, things seem more in order than they did last year."

"We have my former maid to thank for that," Morgana said proudly.

"Gwen is housekeeper now?" asked Elena.

Vivian's raised an eyebrow. "I thought housekeepers were supposed to be old?"

Isolde rolled her eyes. "Really, Vivian." She turned her attention to Arthur. "My sister-in-law says they'll never find another governess like Gwen, and the twins are less than thrilled about boarding school."

Annis sipped her wine and Arthur didn't miss the smirk she gave him. "I'm sure they'll receive the finest education." He's paying part of their tuition after all.

Down the table, Alined and Olaf were getting into an argument about cricket. Alined raised his voice. "And with that-that footman—right over there—that one—!" he pointed with his empty wine glass to Percival, addressing him and indicating that he wanted it to be refilled. Alined leered at Percival as he poured the wine "With this fine footman on my team, no doubt we will win!" Percival backed away uncomfortably, and Lady Helen snickered.

Agravaine and Odin were having a conversation among themselves, and Odin's son, Christopher, was ogling Morgana, who was catching up with Leon. Arthur despised Christopher. Their personalities clashed, and they have an unspoken rivalry that came out of nowhere.

After dinner, everyone moved to the drawing room. Arthur stopped himself from laughing as he watched Morgana practically dance around Christopher and his advances. Odin' son was forced to give up when Lady Helen dragged him to the piano, forcing him to play for her as she sang. Her light operatic tone was enjoyed by all, but Arthur. He hated opera. Luckily, he and Merlin had a code: whenever he was bored out of his mind, Merlin would exit, take a few minutes, return and pretend to whisper in his ear. Then, Arthur would announce that something came to his attention.

When he left the room, the servants listening to Lady Helen scurried away from the door and pretended to work, only to move back to the doorway when he was out of site. As he made his way the grand staircase, he heard:

"…are stocked?"

"Yes, ma'am…"

"…rest of night off."

"Thank you, ma'am."

A maid passed him and he saw Gwen at the top of the landing leaning against the rail in exhaustion. When she saw him, he stopped. It was only a couple of steps to the top, but he decided to keep his distance.

"Why aren't you in the drawing room?" Just then Lady Helen hit a high note and he didn't need to imagine how much louder it would've sounded if he was in the same room. "Oh," Gwen said with a tired chuckle. "Still not a fan of opera?"

"Of opera, of Lady Helen, of Lady Helen's opera…" Gwen knew his system of escape. It often ended up with them having a quick snog. "I prefer your singing much more." He imagined her standing at the piano (being played by someone other than Christopher), dressed elegantly and her hair pinned up, singing a sultry tune.

Gwen yawned, breaking him out of his daydream. "You should go to bed."

"There's still work that needs to be done. I have to make sure everything is set for tomorrow," she argued.

He thought about the servants hanging around to listen to Lady Helen. If work really needed to be done, they wouldn't be standing around doing nothing, not when they knew Gwen was upstairs. "I doubt it," he said and climbed the rest of the stairs to lean on the rail next to her. Distance be damned. "I'll let Merlin know you went to bed. He can take care of the clean up."

She mumbled something he didn't catch. "Look at you, Guinevere. You're dead on your feet!" Arthur grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her room.

"Arthur I'm—"

"Going to bed. Yes, I know," he said, amused by his clever interruption. He ushered her into her room, and she turned around with her hands on her hips.

"Let me guess, you're not going to leave until I'm all tucked in?"

Arthur closed the door behind him and leaned against it. It might've been the memories of their flirtatious banter, or the amount of wine he's consumed in the last hour has given him liquid courage. "That's a good idea."

"Incorrigible," Gwen muttered when she turned to her dresser to retrieve her nightgown. She eyed him before moving to the bathroom and locking the door behind her.

He smiled to himself victoriously and sat at the end of her bed. He looked around the room and wondered if Annis had given her a larger, more luxurious room. He had wanted her to have one of the more lavish guest rooms, but he knew she wouldn't accept it. Even though the room was considered small by aristocratic standards, Gwen made it look big with her cleanliness. There was a brush on the vanity and a book on the nightstand. Everything else was tucked away in drawers and closet.

The sound of the bathroom doorknob turning brought his attention back to the door. Gwen emerged in a cream colored night gown and from the cut and fluidity of it—the way it clung to her curves and flared past her hips—he could tell it was more expensive than the ones she wore as a servant. He mentally thanked Annis.

"Oh, you're still here," she said sarcastically, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face. She sat at the vanity and pulled the pins from her hair, letting it down. He watched as she ran her fingers through it before using the brush.

"You should go with Morgana when she leaves," Arthur said.

Her hand stilled for a second before she resumed brushing. "I told you, I want to stay."

He scoffed. "You really want to stay here and be miserable instead of seeing the world?"

"I'm not miserable," she said stubbornly and braided her hair quickly. She reached into the drawer and pulled out a red ribbon to tie the end of the braid.

He recognized it from a tie Merlin had ruined and she recycled it into ribbons, not wanting to see the expensive fabric go to waste. "You're a terrible liar, Guinevere."

She fiddled with the ribbon.

"How about this," he said getting up to stand behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders. "Go with Morgana, meet some—I don't know—cowboy, and marry him if he makes you happy. You'll always have a home here at Camelot. If you ever need anything, all you have to do is ask."

"I don't want a cowboy," she said, drained. "I don't want anyone but you, Arthur." He felt her shoulders tremble.

He leaned down to lay a kiss on her temple. When he pulled away, her eyes were closed. His hands ran down her forearms before pulling away completely. He turned to leave when a hand stopped him. He turned back to Gwen as she stood. She launched herself into his arms, pressing her lips to his. He quickly recovered from his initial shock and pulled her closer to him, reveling in the feel of her soft curves through the thinness of the gown, and the feel of her lips on his which he hadn't stop thinking about since her first night back.

It ended too soon when she pulled back but only hair's breadth away. The feel of her chest heaving against his was tempting. He closed his eyes and touched his forehead to hers.

"That was goodbye, wasn't it?"

He felt her lips brush his lightly, and the hand on his shoulder drifted down his chest and away as her lips left his again. He wished he hadn't opened his eyes to see Gwen's teary eyes and sad smile.

It hurt him more than Lady Helen's wailing.

A/N: *jumps off nearest cliff*

So unless I get some sort of epiphany and envision the entire next chapter, it's going to be a while until the next update. It's sort of a good thing though because I want to concentrate of Undying Love (it did come first after all and the chapters are way longer) and I have drabble ideas I wanna flesh out so I can add to Across the Universe.

Please don't hate me. Thanks for sticking around this far.

And Thanks always for reading, and reviewing, and following, and faving, and being awesome and encouraging!