Please enjoy the last chapter to my fanfic. It's taken a long time to write it and I hope you're happy with the conclusions!
Guinevere cut through the forest easily, cutting around trees when they got in the way, softly treading over the undergrowth and leaning on trees for balance and to push her way through.
Finally she curved around an old oak and pushed her way into the clearing. It was dark but one lantern was throwing shadows and light. She stood in the edge of the clearing facing another figure.
***
From where Arthur crouched he could see another form make its way into the clearing. This must be what Xantha wanted him to see. He couldn’t tell anything about this form, male/female, but he guessed female because the figure was small. He/she was dressed in a white cape and he couldn’t see anything else with his/her हुड, डाकू up. He looked back and forth between the people in the clearing and waited for them to talk, for something to happen. And then it did. The covered form lifted its face to the gaps in the trees where moonlight was streaming through and her हुड, डाकू fell back a little. And the world stopped dead for a minute, because the figure was Guinevere. Her face was tranquil and wondrous, her golden hair a dark and inky silver in the night. Her lips parted and she gave a shaky half-hearted smile, then she ran towards Xantha and they embraced.
The strangest thing was when Guinevere got on her knees and kissed Xantha’s wrists. Xantha looked down with fondness and called her “granddaughter”. The world was spinning: Guinevere was in the middle of a strange forest, in the middle of the night, on her own-well not completely on her own, she was in this strange forest in the middle of the night with a strange old woman who had brought both his knights and Guinevere here at the same time! He didn’t dare make a sound, just stare wide-eyed, and listened.
***
“How are आप granddaughter?” Xantha steered Guinevere over to the fallen पेड़ to sit, Guinevere seemed to float towards it with her cape billowing around her dramatically.
“You already know, I don’t know why आप ask. My father almost banished me today.” The smile was gone, as was the wondrous look; the shine in her eyes had turned to tears not yet over spilled.
Xantha was angry, in a flash she was pacing the clearing making large steps and her entire face had become steely. Her voice was cold “You should not have come back for him any way. आप should stay in the vale with your family, with your people. Your mother made the same mistake of living with humans.”
Guinevere turned pleading, “But I am human grandmother. आप cannot blame this on my mother; it is a part of me. And as respect for my father I came when asked. आप tell me to stay with our people but they are your not mine, I have no people.”
Arthur and Merlin were boggled, but Merlin had his eyebrows drawn together like he understood और than Arthur. How can Guinevere not be human, Arthur had talked with her, danced with her, held her and kissed her; she was as human as he was.
Xantha had cooled and looked around the clearing once more, a sort of calculating gaze. “You did not bring Jared with you,” she gasped.
Guinevere’s mouth pinched and her eyebrows dipped, “He was not needed. I knew my way and besides, we don’t need to be with each other all of the time.”
“He is your guardian Guinevere it is his job to protect you, he is required to accompany you.” The words were sharp, but true. It was worrying that Guinevere, small and fragile, was on her own. “I know आप can take care of yourself, but आप are not entitled to, and it puts आप in danger.”
“Yes grandmother. Was there anything else?”
“You could continue telling me why आप don’t feel your घर is the vale.” She waited expectantly. Xantha had sat back on the पेड़ only for Guinevere to stand and brush her hand against the leaves and branches.
“I don’t feel I belong anywhere. I am only half fairy and half human. I can’t do the things normal fae do, but I’m different to humans. I fit in with them in the looks department and not with the fae. आप have no idea how hard it is to act against impulse; I’m smarter than normal humans, stronger, quicker, faster, I’m closer to the elements. But I can’t match the fae for anything, and I have a human life force, I can’t live for hundreds and thousands of years and I don’t look ethereal.”
“But आप like Camelot, आप have not moved on as I had expected आप would” Xantha shrewdly focused on.
With a sigh Guinevere answered, “No, I haven’t. The people are nice and I have so many memories, granted I don’t fit completely in and I hate my father, but there are some people who are making up for that.”
Xantha smiled again, and again there was something sinister in that, “A man perhaps.”
Guinevere’s eyes widened and Arthur couldn’t tell if it was false innocence या genuine surprise. ‘T-that’s pa-art of it-t.” she stuttered the sentence, lowered her face and bit her lip. It was almost comical Guinevere’s fear to admitting her feelings. She sunk on to the सूँ ढ, ट्रंक tired. Xantha looked at her once और and looked into the forest directly at Arthur and his knights, “You are tired, we will meet soon. But आप should not go through the forest on your own again tonight, there is something inhabiting this place.” She got up heady to leave, pushing herself up on the trunk.
“It’s a little late for that Xantha,” Guinevere कहा with a small smile and a roll of eyes.
“Hmm, it can be amended, the Prince will escort आप home, I believe he has a horse near the entrance of the forest he will take आप to Camelot.” She sauntered over to Guinevere to give her a hug and the left for the edge of the clearing with a pointed look at Arthur. She waited there until he stepped out and then disappeared into the trees.
Guinevere’s reaction to Arthur’s appearance was unexpected. She gasped in surprise and backed into the forest, the direction she came. Each breath was shaky and came in gasps and sobs, direction was not on her mind only escape and fear. She ran trough the trees, colliding with branches and stray leaves, tripping over and brushing past the bark clumsily.
Arthur was अभिनय on practice at tracking and the मिनट she moved he followed running after her. Guinevere may have been fast, but she was upset and uncoordinated in her escape, and this made it easy for him to catch up and seize her around the waist one armed.
She fought him kicking and hitting him, but it was half-hearted and poorly executed before Arthur had her in both arms pressed against him, feet lifted off of the floor द्वारा a couple of inches. She leaned forward, raked द्वारा sobs and with tears streaming down her face making trails down her cheeks and lips.
Arthur carried on holding her to him but they collapsed to the floor together, him leaning over and pressing himself to her ear, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He कहा over and over again, “Guinevere I’m not going to hurt you, I’d never hurt you.”
“You heard,” she turned in his arms to face him, “You’ll have to kill me now,” She could smell the earth around her, loosened द्वारा movement and feel the dirt and muck under her fingernails as she grabbled to get loose. So this is where I’m going to die, she thought, unless I’m to be brought back to the गढ़, महल to be executed. This isn’t right, to die in the middle of a forest, on my own, where no one will ever find my body. And maybe they won’t bury my body and I’ll just be left to the wild जानवर to be ripped apart... Okay, so she was babbling in her mind, thinking through the worst-case scenarios.
“No” Now it was Arthur turn to go into shock, he stroked Guinevere’s hair and pressed his lips to it, still holding her close, she returned the gesture, turning in his embrace, gripping his shoulders and burying her head into his shoulders, like they were holding on for life. “No, I would never do that, I wouldn’t let that happen.” He looked around at the Knights who had caught up with them, to catch their eyes and warn them of the same.
Arthur picked Guinevere up in his arms and began walking to the group, she kept her head buried away from sight, quietly crying, but she didn’t fight, didn’t listen.
Guinevere blacked out for a मिनट while Arthur was talking, surrendering herself to the darkness as it were. Arthur told the knights to forget what they had heard until he knew more, that a ‘fairy’ does not equate to magic या the death sentence. For once Merlin agreed heatedly, trying to off any टिप्पणियाँ and find someway of saving her, it was easy to pretend that they had heard wrong, परियों are mythological creatures, and small as your thumb, with glittering wings and magic (of a kind). But she had as good as admitted it-she was half human, half fairy.
***
Guinevere was in Arthur’s chambers sitting in the wide velvet upholstered बंहदार कुरसी, कुर्सी with her knees brought up to her chest, arms hugging her knees. Her white बरसती, लबादा was strewn across the back of the chair, and there was a bowl of water on the तालिका, टेबल with a towel ready for them to clean up in. They had ridden back to the गढ़, महल and arrived before dawn, the sky outside the windows was an inky grey, with a faint streak of गुलाबी on the horizon. Sunset would come in about a half hour, and people would be setting about work shortly after.
Arthur was sitting on the edge of the बिस्तर and Merlin on a wooden स्टूल, मल अगला to Guinevere. “What exactly does that mean ‘Fairy’?”
“Pretty much exactly what it sounds like: they aren’t that different from आप humans. They’re ethereally beautiful; they are much longer lived-think hundreds and thousands of years. परियों are endangered, there are people who hunt them down and kill them, feed off of them. There’s no such thing as pixie dust, but our blood is intoxicating,” She smiled apologetically. “Most परियों don’t live in the human world, there are too many dangers to us, and our cultureis very different.” Again, the sheepish apologetic look.
It had already been a long day, and to Arthur it seemed like it was never going to end. “Explain that please” He rubbed his hands over his eyes to wipe away the sleep and took a long drag of यवसुरा, एल to cover up the shock.
“There’s a-a kind of war going on in the vale (that’s where we live-the vale) between the परियों who want to be a part of both worlds, and the others who want nothing to do with humans and will reject any of us who have human and fairy heritage. Some would even kill us half-breeds!” she added bitterly. Guinevere knew this end too well; a little while पूर्व there was a small band of परियों tracking her and नीलकंठ, जय, जे for this exact reason.
“ For the most part I’m completely different. I’m a human with fairy blood, but people can become obsessed with us, even people like me with only a little fairy blood, they get possessive. There are many types of fae, you’ve probably heard of goblins, water sprites, elves, brownies, trolls, nymphs, dryads, demons…angels” Her lips pulled up and she sounded almost happy.
Merlin was entranced, Guinevere had no magic-that was obvious- but she knew a lot about this world and the beings in it, there were things he could learn from her.
“Okay, आप don’t have magic, but we need to keep this quiet. We can’t let my father hear of this. I’m fairly confident that the other knights won’t say anything, and we can pay off the servants who where there, but-”
“Actually there is something I can do about that!” Guinevere’s head snapped up and she looked और awake. “It’s kind of unorthodox but I think I can erase their memories, या at least compel them, there were only two servants…right?” She looked at Merlin and Arthur uneasily.
Merlin started blabbing, “Definitely only two, well three with me- द्वारा compelling आप mean? Of course I know what it means, but आप can control them, that’s’ amazing, that means आप can-”
“Now hold on one minute. आप can mess with their minds?” Arthur looked angry and surprised at he same time, perhaps this was too much for him Guinevere thought wildly. His eyes were looking a little wide and he was on his feet pointing.
“It’s not easy, I can only do it with a lot of concentration and only for a मिनट या too, then I won’t be able to do anything like that again for weeks, maybe months. A real fairy could compel anyone anytime they wanted. I just don’t have the strength.” Again, that exclusion that she didn’t belong anywhere, she tried to make it sound like she belonged to the human world more, but humans can’t mentally erase and replace someone’s thoughts.
“Why didn’t आप say that before?!” Arthur asked exasperated.
“Well, I’m not really replacing their thoughts just persuading them, leading them in a new direction. It’s like I’m making what I want them to believe in the most obvious thing in the world”
***
For weeks Camelot went on as normal, no drama, just getting back into the routine of things. Arthur didn’t see Guinevere much, her father was keeping her under a close eye and Jared had दिया her lots of work to get on with, but they saw each other every evening for रात का खाना and Merlin would go to her in the evenings to secretly talk about magic.
Merlin had never imagined finding someone with so much knowledge of another world, of other magical breeds and practices. She wasn’t magic at all, and didn’t know any spells, but she had grown up being taught the theory of it and all the folktales to do with magical creatures, not kept in the dark like he was now.
So when Morgana took her revenge it was unexpected. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, getting colder with sudden angry lashings of rain and gails. There were और reports of a beast being in the forests where Arthur had found out about Guinevere’s unusual family background and he and his knights set out again to find this beast.
The dark wrapped around them like a blanket and the beast was slowly backing the knights into a cave. That’s when it happened. There was a loud cracking sound overhead and the rocks around them crumbled; the ground shaking and the mouth of the cave began to close. It was dark and quite until Arthur could hear steps coming from the opposite direction, deeper into the cave, through a network of underground tunnels. They were trapped for the moment, and there could be another way out, there was a sort of temptation pulling at the knights and they were all moving towards the tunnels.
Finally the tunnel they were following opened into a vast cavern. It was cold, dark and damp but they had a good view of the अंतरिक्ष around them because it was lit up, in the centre of the rough ceiling a ball of light hovered, flames licking the sides; there were candles in a wide वृत्त directly below it on the floor. Inside the वृत्त of candle was a stone carved सिंहासन with लेखन in the back panels and carved गुलाब and vines climbing the legs.
Arthur in front of his knights slowly ventured आगे moving to the right, there was someone-a woman- sitting in the सिंहासन but he could not see whom. They were facing him, but their identity was hidden in shadows, her arms were resting on the arms of the throne, but her hands were clasped in her lap. A long train was wrapped around the सिंहासन feet, but it was soaked with water overflowing from a font in front of her.
“Not so wary when आप know you’re facing a woman are you, mighty son of Uther?”
Arthur knew that voice; only he barely recognized it from the bitterness flavoring her words. “Morgana” He whispered just to कन्फर्म it to himself. She laughed, low and throatily, dangerously.
“ Do आप not recognize me any more,” she stood up and walked into the light facing him “Hard, I know, when all I’ve known is fine living, but after all it’s only what you’ve subjected me to.”
Arthur stood unmoving, and Merlin who was only a few feet behind Arthur fell to his knees un-breathing, unblinking. He killed her and she can’t be here, just can’t. And even if she were alive why would she be hide alone in a cave, where was…
“You look upset Merlin- like you’ve seen a ghost.” Her words were empty, her eyes were empty, and her दिल was empty. “But आप did kill me didn’t you, आप traded my life for Uther’s and now…you’re all going to pay.” A dark smoke worked its way out of the walls and with it formed a group of sorcerers. Some Merlin recognized, most not. Arthur and his knights had drawn their weapons quickly, but they were caught द्वारा surprise with three men to each knight. The fight was quickly over, with Arthur and his knights rendered unconscious, being dragged to the far दीवार where they were being gagged, stripped of their weapons, their feet and hands tied with cord.
Merlin however was dragged over on his knees to Morgana who was smiling triumphantly. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, fingers making trails on his skin, then she muttered something and Merlin, too, fell unconscious.
***
Arthur was in an in-between stage of waking and dreaming. His head hurt and he was lying on the ground where it was rough and cold, something was dripping onto his face and making trails on his skin. In the background he could here some scuffling and low voices in a calming rhythm that made him almost drift back into sleeping, but someone had noticed him and thrust him into a sitting position, throwing water into his face. He came to, gasping for air, remembering fully what happened and where he was; knowing he had allowed himself and his knights to be lured into a trap.
Merlin was अगला to him just waking up, but without any water being thrown on him, he tried to reach out to him but his hands were tied behind his back, the ropes biting his wrists. Merlin was the only one who wasn’t bound and gagged द्वारा the looks of it. Morgana made a gesture and someone untied the gag at least.
“Morgana what’s going on? What have आप done?”
“What I would have done if Merlin hadn’t killed me,”
“What are आप talking about, Merlin didn’t kill you, your right here…it’s Morgause isn’t it, she kidnapped आप and you’re confused?”
Morgause walked over to Morgana holding out her hand, “Morgana’s right Arthur. Merlin poisoned her, and I brought her back to life. Now she has kidnapped आप and your knights, Uther will die, but first he will suffer. That’s why आप are here.”
“I’ve been watching Arthur,” her eyes turned vacant and she ran her fingers through the water dribbling over the edge of the font. “At first when I was going to cause Uther’s pain through you- I only meant to keep आप hostage, but now I can see I need to hurt आप emotionally as well- because आप don’t believe me do you? As for आप Merlin,” She looked over, splashing water on the floor, “you’ll hurt at seeing everyone else in pain, and hopefully at what it is you’ve subjected me too.” She waved a hand purposefully around the cavern.
Arthur looked at faces, pondering Morgana’s words and the new information that Merlin killed her; he would ask Merlin about that when they were back at Camelot, which they would be soon. Morgana was quite obviously insane.
“And how do आप plan on hurting me emotionally, Morgana?”
She smiled coyly, “I’ve been watching!” Her and Morgause moved to opposite sides of the font chanting and the water seemed to lift up flattening out into a kind of hovering globe.
Within the water, colour began filling it, making a picture-dim at first but getting clearer. Then it was like watching the last few days like a handful of paintings, capturing important memories, no sound though. It settled then, on Guinevere, as she was now he guessed.
She was in the cemetery, sitting on the ground द्वारा her mother’s tombstone, laying out flowers. Her long hair was loose, and swaying slightly in the wind, blowing soft tendrils across her face. In the dark of the night with the moon lighting up the scene, her hair looked almost black and her skin so pale against it. She bowed her head and put her hands on her knees.
Arthur was powerless to watch as she took out a velvet pouch from her pocket and slipped out a necklace. Then reached out in front of her for a knife, it was small with an ivory handle, but sharp. Arthur made a strained noise. Sharp enough to स्लैश the skin of her palm cleanly, she looked in wonder at the beads of blood that formed, making a steady pool in her hand. She कहा something in another language and laid down the blood stained हार on her mother’s grave as an offering.
Arthur’s mind flashed back to Guinevere’s book and the picture of a woman in a clearing, hair black and undone, skin pale in the night, hands on knees with a हार in one hand, blade at her feet and one hand dripping blood.
“Do आप प्यार her Arthur? Will it hurt आप if she dies?”
Then she looked up and walked away into the night and the image faded and blended into another one. She filled the image again but she was in her room, the candlelight giving off a soft glow. And it keep morphing into other images: of her, of them, Guinevere playing the piano, in बिस्तर one sunny morning, getting married, dancing together, Guinevere pregnant, the two of them making love, the two of them kissing, bathing together, her bandaging his arm, twirling in the grass, पढ़ना in a chair... Arthur didn’t know if this was trick, if he was seeing everything he wanted या if he was seeing the future, one tied in with Guinevere’s.
The image faded and Morgause and Morgana stopped chanting. One of them poured in a beaker of black liquid that bubbled when it hit the water. In the picture Guinevere was back in her room, in बिस्तर asleep. She looked almost angelic lying flat on her back with her hair a golden halo on the pillow, her hand held up द्वारा her head, the cut on her hand healing over, looking much darker now than before. Darkness seeped into the background in the form of a man with glowing red eyes. He had on black armor his hands were gloved.
“I think I already know the answer Arthur. And I won’t give आप a chance to प्यार her!”
Realization dawned on Merlin and Arthur at the same and they both shouted and tugged on their restraints until three of Morgana’s little helpers held them in place-two for Arthur and one for Merlin. Horror and pain crossed Arthur’s face and some of the other knights began to rouse from the commotion they were causing.
The shadow man walked around the बिस्तर silently until he was hovering above her, the he took a चाकू from his waistband and aimed for her throat. Unsheathing the चाकू must have made a noise because Guinevere’s eyes flicked open wide and she rolled to the opposite side of the bed, landing on her feet just as his चाकू shredded her pillow.
Without pausing she ran for the servants door nearest to her. The shadow man crossed the room just as quick and yanked the back of her dress halting her. She spun around and hit him on the jaw and he staggered back.
When the shadow man yanked Guinevere back she had been opening the servant’s door, and the extra force had knocked it wide open. She dashed through the entrance and took the winding staircase up, leaping two steps at a time. Her feet were bare and the white nightgown she had on was wrinkled and there was a little tear on the back seam.
Out of the darkness behind her a hand reached out for Guinevere’s leg and she crashed onto the stairs in front of her, she winced and opened her mouth to scream; it looked as if she had hit the stairs with the left of her ribs and they were probably badly bruised if not broken. Hands turned her on her back and worked up to her neck to choke her. Her own hands began clawing at them and then her eyes flashed silver and she kicked him in the pelvis, pushed up with her knee and slapped him hard across the mouth.
She lay spluttering for a wild moment, eyes rolling and then backed up, running and panting, one white hand wrapped around her throat, which now looked a shade of purple. She reached the चोटी, शीर्ष and pushed the little door open onto a flat shape that was the चोटी, शीर्ष of her tower, with the jagged battlements all around her. There were no guards, and that must have been her plan-get away from him, and get help.
She spun and faced the doorway, the shadow man staggering out looking mad as hell but smug. Guinevere took two steps back and whipped her head around desperately. The shadow man moved away from the door and began circling her, and Guinevere waited before running for the exit. Like running into a trap!
He grabbed her around the waist and began pulling her towards the edge. First she looked terrified as he dragged her nearer to the दीवार and then she looked furious. Her mouth set in a hard line, her eyes flashed and narrowed, she stopped struggling and elbowed him in the ribs.
Then moving quicker than Arthur thought possible she punched him in the face, dipped low and kicked him in the belly three times and he started backing up to the edge. She went in for another blow and he blocked her and twisted her arm behind her back. She winced and he grabbed a handful of her hair pushing her forward. They were leaning over the edge now, Guinevere nearer and they could topple off easily. She was breathing heavily and he pushed her आगे causing her to lose her balance.
For twelve whole सेकंड्स (Arthur counted them) it looked as if the shadow man had killed her. Morgana’s face was glowing and Morgause looked ecstatic.
Shadow man leaned over and down and Guinevere flipped back up from where she had been hanging. She grunted with the work and muttered “It’s times like this I wish I had fairy wings!” kicking him in the face and द्वारा pure luck he stumbled back into the दीवार and fell of the battlements, screaming the whole way until he hit the ground and returned into smoke and shadows.
The font stopped bubbling in the cave.
Guinevere stood still as a statue, her hair whipping around her, a hand reaching out attentively to her ribs on her left side, and her dress tattered and dirtied wrapping around her bare ankles.
She looked over her shoulder to the great distance to the ground and visibly shivered. Then took slow steps back to her room, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Morgana’s image broke and the water splashed to the floor. While Arthur was crying a little and relieved she was alive, Morgana was fuming.
She howled in rage and the Earth shook-the cave walls began to crumble and Arthur and his knights began to wonder if they were ever going to escape या if she would kill them all in her fury.
Then silently behind the sisters the water gathered and rose in a shining globe, the picture filled with Guinevere again, sitting on her floor in a ring of gemstones and candles. She looked directly at Arthur and Merlin and raised her finger to her lips signaling them to be quite, then mouthed ‘where are you?’
As stealthily as Arthur could he answered her and the water lowered to the ground, quiet and subtle. Some rescue. The sisters where whispering furiously, gesturing, pacing- for the moment they were safe.
Then Arthur’s team and himself fell into unconsciousness again, all but Merlin knew what happened. The magic the sisters had used on the knights couldn’t work on him and he used his own against them. Morgana and Morgause escaped while they still could, probably to re-number and plot some more, and then the rest of Camelot’s finest arrived and “rescued” Arthur and his knights.
***
When Arthur and Merlin arrived back in Camelot early in the morning all the knights went their separate ways. Arthur went to Guinevere’s door and knocked but there was no answer. He had lots to think on so he retired to his बिस्तर and slept well into the evening.
Nothing had felt as good in his life as his bed, Arthur thought, especially after last night. He opened his eyes into the bright sun, and when they settled he realized the sky outside the windows was घटाटोप, बदल से घिरा हुआ with grey. After last night he wasn’t surprised. He turned over in his बिस्तर and lifted the covers off, his feet hitting the cold floor. He looked up and let out a yelp, grabbing for the covers and pulling them over his chest, then looking down in confusion at his actions.
Guinevere was sat at his तालिका, टेबल with a book in her hand and a bowl and washcloth on the table. She was wearing a pretty blue dress with long sleeves that had two layers to them, one opening up at the elbow. Her feet were resting on another chair in front of her, crossed at the ankles. She smiled and giggled, marking her book and setting it down.
“Good morning, your highness”
“Mornin’ Gi”
Guinevere looked confused and tilted her head to the side. “Since when do आप call me Gi?”
Arthur grunted, still clutching at the sheets, “Overerd नीलकंठ, जय, जे call आप it-’s shorta.”
Apparently Arthur wasn’t a morning person and he was slurring his words. “You can put the sheet down Arthur I have seen a man’s chest before.”
That woke him up! His face paled and his eyes widened, “When?” he practically shrieked, and he dropped the sheet.
Guinevere giggled again and started soaking the washcloth in the water. “I’m 17, 18 अगला week, and I’ve been engaged three times. I also live with a man- and I’m not completely naïve!”
“Now you’re making fun of me-great!”
“Yes, I am, and your wrists are covered in dried blood, so come over here and let me wash them.”
Arthur grunted in acknowledgment, “yeah, must have been the ropes.”
The water was warm against Arthur’s skin and as Arthur sat अगला to her he fluttered his fingertips over the bruises that had formed on Guinevere’s neck. She lowered her eyes and stopped what she was doing, “It’s nothing. Although I would like to know why someone was trying to kill me?”
“And I would like to know where आप learnt to fight like that-I did not see that coming.”
Guinevere actually blushed, “My father’s a knight! Do आप honestly think he would send me off traveling and not teach me how to defend myself?! Plus नीलकंठ, जय, जे taught me how to use a sword. I, uh, suppose आप saw everything.”
“Yeah, आप looked like आप hit those stairs pretty hard.”
Guinevere groaned, “I went to Gaius last night. I have one broken rib and a lot of bruising, but no one needs to know that. And I’m hoping that with a little bit of make-up I can cover the worst of the bruising on my neck.”
“ That या you’ll have to start wearing high necked dresses and chokers. How did आप do the water thing?”
“First off-I have had enough of chokers,” Arthur snorted and fidgeted as the water made his wounds sting, “ The water thing is a fairy thing. Most परियों have limited control over all five of the elements-”
Arthur interrupted, “You mean all four elements”
“No, I mean all five elements: Water, Earth, Air, आग and Spirit. I’m not a full-blooded fairy so I only manipulate water and low-level control of fire. Our names are directly relevant to the elements we have the greatest tie with and our family name.”
“So you’re…”
“My name is symbolic of my element water, which is the element I connect with. We never use it for bad, we’re taught to use water for healing and nurturing. Like the rose water I’m cleaning your wounds with, they’ll be healed द्वारा tomorrow morning. Guinevere means White Wave because of my element and the power of my bloodline.”
“That’s a lot to take in. आप made me laugh with the fairy wings comment.” He smirked.
“I can assure I was not laughing at the time. Who did it Arthur? I need to know whey someone tried to kill me again.”
“Again?”
Oh oh, “The reason I came back- a lot of full blooded परियों don’t like us half-breeds and don’t believe we should have any connection with their world.”
“It was Morgana who tried to kill you- this time. For revenge.”
“How is that revenge-what did I do to her?!”
“She was trying to get back at me and my father-she wanted to hurt us, make us suffer,” Arthur shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, “she’s completely insane! She thought Merlin had killed her and Morgause brought her back to life- and she’s a sorceress now. She thought killing आप would make me suffer.”
“And would it?” Guinevere was asking in all seriousness now, her eyes solemn and darkening-she looked older.
“Yeah, आप scared me to death when I thought आप where dead.” They were holding hands now and leaning in close to each other, close enough to kiss. And they did. “It nearly finished me when आप were pushed off the ledge.”
Later when Guinevere left Arthur’s room he looked at the marked page in her book and read the paragraph:
She is the briar growing on the wave,
Power over lightning and power over fire
Her soul mate she is bound to save
And in return he shall save her from the pyre
True and false the cunning flame
Burning in the darkest night
True and false the secret name
Meant to nurture a city of light
I am White Wave
Well, Arthur thought, a few of these sentences made और sense! ‘Briar growing on the wave’ that would symbolize her- the power of the light, ‘power over fire’ her other element, saving her ‘soul mate’ (him?), ‘true and false the secret name’=‘White Wave’, ‘nurture a city of light’- she would be his queen…
Guinevere cut through the forest easily, cutting around trees when they got in the way, softly treading over the undergrowth and leaning on trees for balance and to push her way through.
Finally she curved around an old oak and pushed her way into the clearing. It was dark but one lantern was throwing shadows and light. She stood in the edge of the clearing facing another figure.
***
From where Arthur crouched he could see another form make its way into the clearing. This must be what Xantha wanted him to see. He couldn’t tell anything about this form, male/female, but he guessed female because the figure was small. He/she was dressed in a white cape and he couldn’t see anything else with his/her हुड, डाकू up. He looked back and forth between the people in the clearing and waited for them to talk, for something to happen. And then it did. The covered form lifted its face to the gaps in the trees where moonlight was streaming through and her हुड, डाकू fell back a little. And the world stopped dead for a minute, because the figure was Guinevere. Her face was tranquil and wondrous, her golden hair a dark and inky silver in the night. Her lips parted and she gave a shaky half-hearted smile, then she ran towards Xantha and they embraced.
The strangest thing was when Guinevere got on her knees and kissed Xantha’s wrists. Xantha looked down with fondness and called her “granddaughter”. The world was spinning: Guinevere was in the middle of a strange forest, in the middle of the night, on her own-well not completely on her own, she was in this strange forest in the middle of the night with a strange old woman who had brought both his knights and Guinevere here at the same time! He didn’t dare make a sound, just stare wide-eyed, and listened.
***
“How are आप granddaughter?” Xantha steered Guinevere over to the fallen पेड़ to sit, Guinevere seemed to float towards it with her cape billowing around her dramatically.
“You already know, I don’t know why आप ask. My father almost banished me today.” The smile was gone, as was the wondrous look; the shine in her eyes had turned to tears not yet over spilled.
Xantha was angry, in a flash she was pacing the clearing making large steps and her entire face had become steely. Her voice was cold “You should not have come back for him any way. आप should stay in the vale with your family, with your people. Your mother made the same mistake of living with humans.”
Guinevere turned pleading, “But I am human grandmother. आप cannot blame this on my mother; it is a part of me. And as respect for my father I came when asked. आप tell me to stay with our people but they are your not mine, I have no people.”
Arthur and Merlin were boggled, but Merlin had his eyebrows drawn together like he understood और than Arthur. How can Guinevere not be human, Arthur had talked with her, danced with her, held her and kissed her; she was as human as he was.
Xantha had cooled and looked around the clearing once more, a sort of calculating gaze. “You did not bring Jared with you,” she gasped.
Guinevere’s mouth pinched and her eyebrows dipped, “He was not needed. I knew my way and besides, we don’t need to be with each other all of the time.”
“He is your guardian Guinevere it is his job to protect you, he is required to accompany you.” The words were sharp, but true. It was worrying that Guinevere, small and fragile, was on her own. “I know आप can take care of yourself, but आप are not entitled to, and it puts आप in danger.”
“Yes grandmother. Was there anything else?”
“You could continue telling me why आप don’t feel your घर is the vale.” She waited expectantly. Xantha had sat back on the पेड़ only for Guinevere to stand and brush her hand against the leaves and branches.
“I don’t feel I belong anywhere. I am only half fairy and half human. I can’t do the things normal fae do, but I’m different to humans. I fit in with them in the looks department and not with the fae. आप have no idea how hard it is to act against impulse; I’m smarter than normal humans, stronger, quicker, faster, I’m closer to the elements. But I can’t match the fae for anything, and I have a human life force, I can’t live for hundreds and thousands of years and I don’t look ethereal.”
“But आप like Camelot, आप have not moved on as I had expected आप would” Xantha shrewdly focused on.
With a sigh Guinevere answered, “No, I haven’t. The people are nice and I have so many memories, granted I don’t fit completely in and I hate my father, but there are some people who are making up for that.”
Xantha smiled again, and again there was something sinister in that, “A man perhaps.”
Guinevere’s eyes widened and Arthur couldn’t tell if it was false innocence या genuine surprise. ‘T-that’s pa-art of it-t.” she stuttered the sentence, lowered her face and bit her lip. It was almost comical Guinevere’s fear to admitting her feelings. She sunk on to the सूँ ढ, ट्रंक tired. Xantha looked at her once और and looked into the forest directly at Arthur and his knights, “You are tired, we will meet soon. But आप should not go through the forest on your own again tonight, there is something inhabiting this place.” She got up heady to leave, pushing herself up on the trunk.
“It’s a little late for that Xantha,” Guinevere कहा with a small smile and a roll of eyes.
“Hmm, it can be amended, the Prince will escort आप home, I believe he has a horse near the entrance of the forest he will take आप to Camelot.” She sauntered over to Guinevere to give her a hug and the left for the edge of the clearing with a pointed look at Arthur. She waited there until he stepped out and then disappeared into the trees.
Guinevere’s reaction to Arthur’s appearance was unexpected. She gasped in surprise and backed into the forest, the direction she came. Each breath was shaky and came in gasps and sobs, direction was not on her mind only escape and fear. She ran trough the trees, colliding with branches and stray leaves, tripping over and brushing past the bark clumsily.
Arthur was अभिनय on practice at tracking and the मिनट she moved he followed running after her. Guinevere may have been fast, but she was upset and uncoordinated in her escape, and this made it easy for him to catch up and seize her around the waist one armed.
She fought him kicking and hitting him, but it was half-hearted and poorly executed before Arthur had her in both arms pressed against him, feet lifted off of the floor द्वारा a couple of inches. She leaned forward, raked द्वारा sobs and with tears streaming down her face making trails down her cheeks and lips.
Arthur carried on holding her to him but they collapsed to the floor together, him leaning over and pressing himself to her ear, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” He कहा over and over again, “Guinevere I’m not going to hurt you, I’d never hurt you.”
“You heard,” she turned in his arms to face him, “You’ll have to kill me now,” She could smell the earth around her, loosened द्वारा movement and feel the dirt and muck under her fingernails as she grabbled to get loose. So this is where I’m going to die, she thought, unless I’m to be brought back to the गढ़, महल to be executed. This isn’t right, to die in the middle of a forest, on my own, where no one will ever find my body. And maybe they won’t bury my body and I’ll just be left to the wild जानवर to be ripped apart... Okay, so she was babbling in her mind, thinking through the worst-case scenarios.
“No” Now it was Arthur turn to go into shock, he stroked Guinevere’s hair and pressed his lips to it, still holding her close, she returned the gesture, turning in his embrace, gripping his shoulders and burying her head into his shoulders, like they were holding on for life. “No, I would never do that, I wouldn’t let that happen.” He looked around at the Knights who had caught up with them, to catch their eyes and warn them of the same.
Arthur picked Guinevere up in his arms and began walking to the group, she kept her head buried away from sight, quietly crying, but she didn’t fight, didn’t listen.
Guinevere blacked out for a मिनट while Arthur was talking, surrendering herself to the darkness as it were. Arthur told the knights to forget what they had heard until he knew more, that a ‘fairy’ does not equate to magic या the death sentence. For once Merlin agreed heatedly, trying to off any टिप्पणियाँ and find someway of saving her, it was easy to pretend that they had heard wrong, परियों are mythological creatures, and small as your thumb, with glittering wings and magic (of a kind). But she had as good as admitted it-she was half human, half fairy.
***
Guinevere was in Arthur’s chambers sitting in the wide velvet upholstered बंहदार कुरसी, कुर्सी with her knees brought up to her chest, arms hugging her knees. Her white बरसती, लबादा was strewn across the back of the chair, and there was a bowl of water on the तालिका, टेबल with a towel ready for them to clean up in. They had ridden back to the गढ़, महल and arrived before dawn, the sky outside the windows was an inky grey, with a faint streak of गुलाबी on the horizon. Sunset would come in about a half hour, and people would be setting about work shortly after.
Arthur was sitting on the edge of the बिस्तर and Merlin on a wooden स्टूल, मल अगला to Guinevere. “What exactly does that mean ‘Fairy’?”
“Pretty much exactly what it sounds like: they aren’t that different from आप humans. They’re ethereally beautiful; they are much longer lived-think hundreds and thousands of years. परियों are endangered, there are people who hunt them down and kill them, feed off of them. There’s no such thing as pixie dust, but our blood is intoxicating,” She smiled apologetically. “Most परियों don’t live in the human world, there are too many dangers to us, and our cultureis very different.” Again, the sheepish apologetic look.
It had already been a long day, and to Arthur it seemed like it was never going to end. “Explain that please” He rubbed his hands over his eyes to wipe away the sleep and took a long drag of यवसुरा, एल to cover up the shock.
“There’s a-a kind of war going on in the vale (that’s where we live-the vale) between the परियों who want to be a part of both worlds, and the others who want nothing to do with humans and will reject any of us who have human and fairy heritage. Some would even kill us half-breeds!” she added bitterly. Guinevere knew this end too well; a little while पूर्व there was a small band of परियों tracking her and नीलकंठ, जय, जे for this exact reason.
“ For the most part I’m completely different. I’m a human with fairy blood, but people can become obsessed with us, even people like me with only a little fairy blood, they get possessive. There are many types of fae, you’ve probably heard of goblins, water sprites, elves, brownies, trolls, nymphs, dryads, demons…angels” Her lips pulled up and she sounded almost happy.
Merlin was entranced, Guinevere had no magic-that was obvious- but she knew a lot about this world and the beings in it, there were things he could learn from her.
“Okay, आप don’t have magic, but we need to keep this quiet. We can’t let my father hear of this. I’m fairly confident that the other knights won’t say anything, and we can pay off the servants who where there, but-”
“Actually there is something I can do about that!” Guinevere’s head snapped up and she looked और awake. “It’s kind of unorthodox but I think I can erase their memories, या at least compel them, there were only two servants…right?” She looked at Merlin and Arthur uneasily.
Merlin started blabbing, “Definitely only two, well three with me- द्वारा compelling आप mean? Of course I know what it means, but आप can control them, that’s’ amazing, that means आप can-”
“Now hold on one minute. आप can mess with their minds?” Arthur looked angry and surprised at he same time, perhaps this was too much for him Guinevere thought wildly. His eyes were looking a little wide and he was on his feet pointing.
“It’s not easy, I can only do it with a lot of concentration and only for a मिनट या too, then I won’t be able to do anything like that again for weeks, maybe months. A real fairy could compel anyone anytime they wanted. I just don’t have the strength.” Again, that exclusion that she didn’t belong anywhere, she tried to make it sound like she belonged to the human world more, but humans can’t mentally erase and replace someone’s thoughts.
“Why didn’t आप say that before?!” Arthur asked exasperated.
“Well, I’m not really replacing their thoughts just persuading them, leading them in a new direction. It’s like I’m making what I want them to believe in the most obvious thing in the world”
***
For weeks Camelot went on as normal, no drama, just getting back into the routine of things. Arthur didn’t see Guinevere much, her father was keeping her under a close eye and Jared had दिया her lots of work to get on with, but they saw each other every evening for रात का खाना and Merlin would go to her in the evenings to secretly talk about magic.
Merlin had never imagined finding someone with so much knowledge of another world, of other magical breeds and practices. She wasn’t magic at all, and didn’t know any spells, but she had grown up being taught the theory of it and all the folktales to do with magical creatures, not kept in the dark like he was now.
So when Morgana took her revenge it was unexpected. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, getting colder with sudden angry lashings of rain and gails. There were और reports of a beast being in the forests where Arthur had found out about Guinevere’s unusual family background and he and his knights set out again to find this beast.
The dark wrapped around them like a blanket and the beast was slowly backing the knights into a cave. That’s when it happened. There was a loud cracking sound overhead and the rocks around them crumbled; the ground shaking and the mouth of the cave began to close. It was dark and quite until Arthur could hear steps coming from the opposite direction, deeper into the cave, through a network of underground tunnels. They were trapped for the moment, and there could be another way out, there was a sort of temptation pulling at the knights and they were all moving towards the tunnels.
Finally the tunnel they were following opened into a vast cavern. It was cold, dark and damp but they had a good view of the अंतरिक्ष around them because it was lit up, in the centre of the rough ceiling a ball of light hovered, flames licking the sides; there were candles in a wide वृत्त directly below it on the floor. Inside the वृत्त of candle was a stone carved सिंहासन with लेखन in the back panels and carved गुलाब and vines climbing the legs.
Arthur in front of his knights slowly ventured आगे moving to the right, there was someone-a woman- sitting in the सिंहासन but he could not see whom. They were facing him, but their identity was hidden in shadows, her arms were resting on the arms of the throne, but her hands were clasped in her lap. A long train was wrapped around the सिंहासन feet, but it was soaked with water overflowing from a font in front of her.
“Not so wary when आप know you’re facing a woman are you, mighty son of Uther?”
Arthur knew that voice; only he barely recognized it from the bitterness flavoring her words. “Morgana” He whispered just to कन्फर्म it to himself. She laughed, low and throatily, dangerously.
“ Do आप not recognize me any more,” she stood up and walked into the light facing him “Hard, I know, when all I’ve known is fine living, but after all it’s only what you’ve subjected me to.”
Arthur stood unmoving, and Merlin who was only a few feet behind Arthur fell to his knees un-breathing, unblinking. He killed her and she can’t be here, just can’t. And even if she were alive why would she be hide alone in a cave, where was…
“You look upset Merlin- like you’ve seen a ghost.” Her words were empty, her eyes were empty, and her दिल was empty. “But आप did kill me didn’t you, आप traded my life for Uther’s and now…you’re all going to pay.” A dark smoke worked its way out of the walls and with it formed a group of sorcerers. Some Merlin recognized, most not. Arthur and his knights had drawn their weapons quickly, but they were caught द्वारा surprise with three men to each knight. The fight was quickly over, with Arthur and his knights rendered unconscious, being dragged to the far दीवार where they were being gagged, stripped of their weapons, their feet and hands tied with cord.
Merlin however was dragged over on his knees to Morgana who was smiling triumphantly. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, fingers making trails on his skin, then she muttered something and Merlin, too, fell unconscious.
***
Arthur was in an in-between stage of waking and dreaming. His head hurt and he was lying on the ground where it was rough and cold, something was dripping onto his face and making trails on his skin. In the background he could here some scuffling and low voices in a calming rhythm that made him almost drift back into sleeping, but someone had noticed him and thrust him into a sitting position, throwing water into his face. He came to, gasping for air, remembering fully what happened and where he was; knowing he had allowed himself and his knights to be lured into a trap.
Merlin was अगला to him just waking up, but without any water being thrown on him, he tried to reach out to him but his hands were tied behind his back, the ropes biting his wrists. Merlin was the only one who wasn’t bound and gagged द्वारा the looks of it. Morgana made a gesture and someone untied the gag at least.
“Morgana what’s going on? What have आप done?”
“What I would have done if Merlin hadn’t killed me,”
“What are आप talking about, Merlin didn’t kill you, your right here…it’s Morgause isn’t it, she kidnapped आप and you’re confused?”
Morgause walked over to Morgana holding out her hand, “Morgana’s right Arthur. Merlin poisoned her, and I brought her back to life. Now she has kidnapped आप and your knights, Uther will die, but first he will suffer. That’s why आप are here.”
“I’ve been watching Arthur,” her eyes turned vacant and she ran her fingers through the water dribbling over the edge of the font. “At first when I was going to cause Uther’s pain through you- I only meant to keep आप hostage, but now I can see I need to hurt आप emotionally as well- because आप don’t believe me do you? As for आप Merlin,” She looked over, splashing water on the floor, “you’ll hurt at seeing everyone else in pain, and hopefully at what it is you’ve subjected me too.” She waved a hand purposefully around the cavern.
Arthur looked at faces, pondering Morgana’s words and the new information that Merlin killed her; he would ask Merlin about that when they were back at Camelot, which they would be soon. Morgana was quite obviously insane.
“And how do आप plan on hurting me emotionally, Morgana?”
She smiled coyly, “I’ve been watching!” Her and Morgause moved to opposite sides of the font chanting and the water seemed to lift up flattening out into a kind of hovering globe.
Within the water, colour began filling it, making a picture-dim at first but getting clearer. Then it was like watching the last few days like a handful of paintings, capturing important memories, no sound though. It settled then, on Guinevere, as she was now he guessed.
She was in the cemetery, sitting on the ground द्वारा her mother’s tombstone, laying out flowers. Her long hair was loose, and swaying slightly in the wind, blowing soft tendrils across her face. In the dark of the night with the moon lighting up the scene, her hair looked almost black and her skin so pale against it. She bowed her head and put her hands on her knees.
Arthur was powerless to watch as she took out a velvet pouch from her pocket and slipped out a necklace. Then reached out in front of her for a knife, it was small with an ivory handle, but sharp. Arthur made a strained noise. Sharp enough to स्लैश the skin of her palm cleanly, she looked in wonder at the beads of blood that formed, making a steady pool in her hand. She कहा something in another language and laid down the blood stained हार on her mother’s grave as an offering.
Arthur’s mind flashed back to Guinevere’s book and the picture of a woman in a clearing, hair black and undone, skin pale in the night, hands on knees with a हार in one hand, blade at her feet and one hand dripping blood.
“Do आप प्यार her Arthur? Will it hurt आप if she dies?”
Then she looked up and walked away into the night and the image faded and blended into another one. She filled the image again but she was in her room, the candlelight giving off a soft glow. And it keep morphing into other images: of her, of them, Guinevere playing the piano, in बिस्तर one sunny morning, getting married, dancing together, Guinevere pregnant, the two of them making love, the two of them kissing, bathing together, her bandaging his arm, twirling in the grass, पढ़ना in a chair... Arthur didn’t know if this was trick, if he was seeing everything he wanted या if he was seeing the future, one tied in with Guinevere’s.
The image faded and Morgause and Morgana stopped chanting. One of them poured in a beaker of black liquid that bubbled when it hit the water. In the picture Guinevere was back in her room, in बिस्तर asleep. She looked almost angelic lying flat on her back with her hair a golden halo on the pillow, her hand held up द्वारा her head, the cut on her hand healing over, looking much darker now than before. Darkness seeped into the background in the form of a man with glowing red eyes. He had on black armor his hands were gloved.
“I think I already know the answer Arthur. And I won’t give आप a chance to प्यार her!”
Realization dawned on Merlin and Arthur at the same and they both shouted and tugged on their restraints until three of Morgana’s little helpers held them in place-two for Arthur and one for Merlin. Horror and pain crossed Arthur’s face and some of the other knights began to rouse from the commotion they were causing.
The shadow man walked around the बिस्तर silently until he was hovering above her, the he took a चाकू from his waistband and aimed for her throat. Unsheathing the चाकू must have made a noise because Guinevere’s eyes flicked open wide and she rolled to the opposite side of the bed, landing on her feet just as his चाकू shredded her pillow.
Without pausing she ran for the servants door nearest to her. The shadow man crossed the room just as quick and yanked the back of her dress halting her. She spun around and hit him on the jaw and he staggered back.
When the shadow man yanked Guinevere back she had been opening the servant’s door, and the extra force had knocked it wide open. She dashed through the entrance and took the winding staircase up, leaping two steps at a time. Her feet were bare and the white nightgown she had on was wrinkled and there was a little tear on the back seam.
Out of the darkness behind her a hand reached out for Guinevere’s leg and she crashed onto the stairs in front of her, she winced and opened her mouth to scream; it looked as if she had hit the stairs with the left of her ribs and they were probably badly bruised if not broken. Hands turned her on her back and worked up to her neck to choke her. Her own hands began clawing at them and then her eyes flashed silver and she kicked him in the pelvis, pushed up with her knee and slapped him hard across the mouth.
She lay spluttering for a wild moment, eyes rolling and then backed up, running and panting, one white hand wrapped around her throat, which now looked a shade of purple. She reached the चोटी, शीर्ष and pushed the little door open onto a flat shape that was the चोटी, शीर्ष of her tower, with the jagged battlements all around her. There were no guards, and that must have been her plan-get away from him, and get help.
She spun and faced the doorway, the shadow man staggering out looking mad as hell but smug. Guinevere took two steps back and whipped her head around desperately. The shadow man moved away from the door and began circling her, and Guinevere waited before running for the exit. Like running into a trap!
He grabbed her around the waist and began pulling her towards the edge. First she looked terrified as he dragged her nearer to the दीवार and then she looked furious. Her mouth set in a hard line, her eyes flashed and narrowed, she stopped struggling and elbowed him in the ribs.
Then moving quicker than Arthur thought possible she punched him in the face, dipped low and kicked him in the belly three times and he started backing up to the edge. She went in for another blow and he blocked her and twisted her arm behind her back. She winced and he grabbed a handful of her hair pushing her forward. They were leaning over the edge now, Guinevere nearer and they could topple off easily. She was breathing heavily and he pushed her आगे causing her to lose her balance.
For twelve whole सेकंड्स (Arthur counted them) it looked as if the shadow man had killed her. Morgana’s face was glowing and Morgause looked ecstatic.
Shadow man leaned over and down and Guinevere flipped back up from where she had been hanging. She grunted with the work and muttered “It’s times like this I wish I had fairy wings!” kicking him in the face and द्वारा pure luck he stumbled back into the दीवार and fell of the battlements, screaming the whole way until he hit the ground and returned into smoke and shadows.
The font stopped bubbling in the cave.
Guinevere stood still as a statue, her hair whipping around her, a hand reaching out attentively to her ribs on her left side, and her dress tattered and dirtied wrapping around her bare ankles.
She looked over her shoulder to the great distance to the ground and visibly shivered. Then took slow steps back to her room, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Morgana’s image broke and the water splashed to the floor. While Arthur was crying a little and relieved she was alive, Morgana was fuming.
She howled in rage and the Earth shook-the cave walls began to crumble and Arthur and his knights began to wonder if they were ever going to escape या if she would kill them all in her fury.
Then silently behind the sisters the water gathered and rose in a shining globe, the picture filled with Guinevere again, sitting on her floor in a ring of gemstones and candles. She looked directly at Arthur and Merlin and raised her finger to her lips signaling them to be quite, then mouthed ‘where are you?’
As stealthily as Arthur could he answered her and the water lowered to the ground, quiet and subtle. Some rescue. The sisters where whispering furiously, gesturing, pacing- for the moment they were safe.
Then Arthur’s team and himself fell into unconsciousness again, all but Merlin knew what happened. The magic the sisters had used on the knights couldn’t work on him and he used his own against them. Morgana and Morgause escaped while they still could, probably to re-number and plot some more, and then the rest of Camelot’s finest arrived and “rescued” Arthur and his knights.
***
When Arthur and Merlin arrived back in Camelot early in the morning all the knights went their separate ways. Arthur went to Guinevere’s door and knocked but there was no answer. He had lots to think on so he retired to his बिस्तर and slept well into the evening.
Nothing had felt as good in his life as his bed, Arthur thought, especially after last night. He opened his eyes into the bright sun, and when they settled he realized the sky outside the windows was घटाटोप, बदल से घिरा हुआ with grey. After last night he wasn’t surprised. He turned over in his बिस्तर and lifted the covers off, his feet hitting the cold floor. He looked up and let out a yelp, grabbing for the covers and pulling them over his chest, then looking down in confusion at his actions.
Guinevere was sat at his तालिका, टेबल with a book in her hand and a bowl and washcloth on the table. She was wearing a pretty blue dress with long sleeves that had two layers to them, one opening up at the elbow. Her feet were resting on another chair in front of her, crossed at the ankles. She smiled and giggled, marking her book and setting it down.
“Good morning, your highness”
“Mornin’ Gi”
Guinevere looked confused and tilted her head to the side. “Since when do आप call me Gi?”
Arthur grunted, still clutching at the sheets, “Overerd नीलकंठ, जय, जे call आप it-’s shorta.”
Apparently Arthur wasn’t a morning person and he was slurring his words. “You can put the sheet down Arthur I have seen a man’s chest before.”
That woke him up! His face paled and his eyes widened, “When?” he practically shrieked, and he dropped the sheet.
Guinevere giggled again and started soaking the washcloth in the water. “I’m 17, 18 अगला week, and I’ve been engaged three times. I also live with a man- and I’m not completely naïve!”
“Now you’re making fun of me-great!”
“Yes, I am, and your wrists are covered in dried blood, so come over here and let me wash them.”
Arthur grunted in acknowledgment, “yeah, must have been the ropes.”
The water was warm against Arthur’s skin and as Arthur sat अगला to her he fluttered his fingertips over the bruises that had formed on Guinevere’s neck. She lowered her eyes and stopped what she was doing, “It’s nothing. Although I would like to know why someone was trying to kill me?”
“And I would like to know where आप learnt to fight like that-I did not see that coming.”
Guinevere actually blushed, “My father’s a knight! Do आप honestly think he would send me off traveling and not teach me how to defend myself?! Plus नीलकंठ, जय, जे taught me how to use a sword. I, uh, suppose आप saw everything.”
“Yeah, आप looked like आप hit those stairs pretty hard.”
Guinevere groaned, “I went to Gaius last night. I have one broken rib and a lot of bruising, but no one needs to know that. And I’m hoping that with a little bit of make-up I can cover the worst of the bruising on my neck.”
“ That या you’ll have to start wearing high necked dresses and chokers. How did आप do the water thing?”
“First off-I have had enough of chokers,” Arthur snorted and fidgeted as the water made his wounds sting, “ The water thing is a fairy thing. Most परियों have limited control over all five of the elements-”
Arthur interrupted, “You mean all four elements”
“No, I mean all five elements: Water, Earth, Air, आग and Spirit. I’m not a full-blooded fairy so I only manipulate water and low-level control of fire. Our names are directly relevant to the elements we have the greatest tie with and our family name.”
“So you’re…”
“My name is symbolic of my element water, which is the element I connect with. We never use it for bad, we’re taught to use water for healing and nurturing. Like the rose water I’m cleaning your wounds with, they’ll be healed द्वारा tomorrow morning. Guinevere means White Wave because of my element and the power of my bloodline.”
“That’s a lot to take in. आप made me laugh with the fairy wings comment.” He smirked.
“I can assure I was not laughing at the time. Who did it Arthur? I need to know whey someone tried to kill me again.”
“Again?”
Oh oh, “The reason I came back- a lot of full blooded परियों don’t like us half-breeds and don’t believe we should have any connection with their world.”
“It was Morgana who tried to kill you- this time. For revenge.”
“How is that revenge-what did I do to her?!”
“She was trying to get back at me and my father-she wanted to hurt us, make us suffer,” Arthur shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, “she’s completely insane! She thought Merlin had killed her and Morgause brought her back to life- and she’s a sorceress now. She thought killing आप would make me suffer.”
“And would it?” Guinevere was asking in all seriousness now, her eyes solemn and darkening-she looked older.
“Yeah, आप scared me to death when I thought आप where dead.” They were holding hands now and leaning in close to each other, close enough to kiss. And they did. “It nearly finished me when आप were pushed off the ledge.”
Later when Guinevere left Arthur’s room he looked at the marked page in her book and read the paragraph:
She is the briar growing on the wave,
Power over lightning and power over fire
Her soul mate she is bound to save
And in return he shall save her from the pyre
True and false the cunning flame
Burning in the darkest night
True and false the secret name
Meant to nurture a city of light
I am White Wave
Well, Arthur thought, a few of these sentences made और sense! ‘Briar growing on the wave’ that would symbolize her- the power of the light, ‘power over fire’ her other element, saving her ‘soul mate’ (him?), ‘true and false the secret name’=‘White Wave’, ‘nurture a city of light’- she would be his queen…
