Merlin's Daughters

by Meredith Rae Morgan

  Chapter 8

  The winter raged outside with unusual fury, causing the entire Court to be cooped up inside. The pent up energy and frustration erupted in arguments and scheming. Galahad spent all his time in the stables, the Chapel or his apartments. Guenevere was beside herself with fury at what she saw as Galahad's snub. At those times when Galahad was unable to avoid her, she tormented him and all but threw herself at him, even in front of Arthur, who pretended not to notice. Lancelot didn't pretend not to notice. Lancelot's emotions careened wildly between fury at Galahad for snubbing the Queen and gratitude that he did not return her advances.

  Even Arthur was not immune from the raging epidemic of lust and scandal that swept the court. He had all but given up on producing an heir with Guenevere and had decided to send her away to a convent far in the north or maybe in the Isle to the West after the spring thaw made travel possible. In the meantime, to Nimue's horror, Arthur started catting around the palace flirting with the various princesses and noble daughters whose fathers had been showing them off to the knights. He still went to Guenevere's chambers often enough to satisfy his legal obligations, and on the off chance she might conceive, but he went to her with less and less enthusiasm and seemed to avoid her company most of the rest of the time.

  Guenevere pretended not to notice, but she watched him carefully. She didn't want him, but she was not about to let another woman have him. At first he merely flirted with the maidens, but did it always in public and in accordance with the usual rules of chivalry, which essentially required no physical contact and that all flirting be conducted in the full view of the Court. As time went on, Arthur became bolder and he occasionally risked catching women in the hallways. Soon he was inviting willing girls to his chamber. Nimue spun enchantments around them rendering them invisible as they came and went from Arthur's chambers. There was nothing she could do about the adoring gazes the favored ones gave to Arthur for days afterwards, at least until they realized he was not likely to invite them back for a repeat performance.

  Worse, she noticed that he often stared at Gwyneth openly. He kept Galahad close, which meant that Gwyneth was usually near at hand as well. Occasionally at dinner, Arthur would ask Gwyneth to pour his wine or dip some sauce on his food. That required her reaching across in front of him. He never touched her, but Nimue noticed, he openly studied her, and seemed to be attracted to her smell, which was musky and earthy like Merlin's. Nimue had noticed Guenevere covered her earthy smell with floral perfumes. Gwyneth wore no perfume or cosmetics of any kind. Her beauty was natural and fresh. Where Guenevere's human guise was flaxen-haired and blue eyed, Gwyneth's had long black curly hair and black flashing eyes. Guenevere's skin was like the finest porcelain, clear and pale. Gwyneth's skin was like alabaster, glowing with in internal fire of passion and health. She was very modest and almost always wore a covering over her hair and shawl or modest blouses covering her bosom. Her role as Galahad's attendant, however, gave her something of a high profile at Court where she was considered to one of the greatest beauties of a Court as renowned for the beauty of its women as for the fighting prowess of its knights.

  Morgaine openly flirted with Arthur, and Guenevere seemed to encourage her. Morgaine's guise was raven-haired and almost swarthy. Her most striking features were her emerald green eyes and her long, tapering, graceful fingers. She often played the harp for Arthur and his guests. When she was finished, the men often could not have said what song she had played, so mesmerized were they by watching her hands plucking at the strings. Arthur often asked her to play, but seemed not to be interested in her.

  For a while there was some relief. A few warmish days allowed the knights to go hunting. That had the dual effects of letting the knights escape the confines of the palace, get some exercise and let out some of their aggression. When the knights came back with their various kills, the women got busy in the kitchens cooking the food and elsewhere in the palace preparing baths and washing their dirty hunting clothes. It was a welcome change from the unrelenting boredom of the days and weeks before. Unfortunately a late winter storm raged for several days after that, dumping another several inches of snow and forcing everyone to stay indoors again. That was all the harder after the brief preview of spring that had set the knights' sap to rising.

  Nimue watched Arthur carefully. She knew that a crisis was likely to ensue once spring broke, because Arthur had decided to send Guenevere away. The court might have accepted that, given Guenevere's wanton behavior. The problem was that Arthur suddenly seemed not willing to wait until Guenevere could be got out of the way before he replaced her. He set his sights on Gwyneth, and moved in on her.

  At first, Gwyneth did not notice. Gwyneth's attention generally focused primarily on Galahad, Guenevere and Morgaine. When she did look in Arthur's direction her attention was most often on Excalibur, which Arthur kept at his side all the time except when he was sleeping. Nimue slept with Excalibur under her mattress. Gwyneth's reverence and awe for Excalibur were palpable. Arthur may have detected – and misinterpreted – Gwyneth's emotions. In any case, Arthur began to flirt with Gwyneth, at first openly in Court, in an acceptable way. It made her uncomfortable, but she thought she handled it well.

  Galahad mentioned it to her one evening after dinner; he was concerned about Arthur's behavior. At first Gwyneth brushed off the idea that Arthur was doing anything other than passing the time and making polite conversation. Galahad chuckled, “Milady, there was nothing polite about that conversation or the look in his eyes.”

  “I don't look into the King's eyes.”

  Galahad replied, “Perhaps you should. You might see something interesting.”

  Gwyneth forgot herself for a moment and said, “What could I find interesting about a Human?”

  Galahad said, “Milady, the last I checked, your guise here is as Human woman, a Human woman who is remarkably beautiful, graceful and pleasant to be around. You have played a maternal role with me, which prevents me from responding to your allure. My vow gives us both further protection. Arthur is older than I am and he is not so inhibited. What would you say if Arthur sent Guenevere away and asked you to take her place?”

  Gwyneth laughed, “First you would hear the laughing all the way from the Nether World at the delicious irony of the Fairy Queen on a Human throne. My attitude about Humans is well known. Immediately thereafter you would hear the gnashing of teeth from all the Realms of the Nether World as Guenevere begins to take out her wrath and punish them for my refusal to submit to her.” She shook her head, “Even if I were inclined to engage in a dalliance with a human – which I am most decidedly NOT –, it would not be with Arthur!”

  Galahad asked gently, “Have you ever been with a man?”

  “There are no males among Fairies.”

  “How do you reproduce?”

  “Every now and then a Fairy will become involved with a male of another species, most often an Elf (some Elves are very handsome) or a Human, but Fairies have been known to fall for Trolls and Dwarfs also. It doesn't happen often, but they do reproduce in those circumstances. The offspring are always Fairies. There have been occasions when babies are born to people of other species that must be hidden away. Sometimes the Fairy Queen employs a very powerful spell to turn them into Fairies. They retain some residual qualities of their original species, but they take on the life of a real Fairy.

  “That is sufficient to maintain the population because Fairies live for hundreds of years.”

  He was thoughtful for a while, “But you are here in the guise of a Human. Don't you have Human desires?”

  She shook her head, “No. I don't think so. My guise is more like clothes. It rests on the outside of me and does not reach my core reality. Make no mistake, my Lord, I am very fond of you personally and I want only the best for you, but my general aversion to Humans remains intact.”

  “Could you immerse yourself more fully into the Human guise and experience Human feelings and emotions?”<
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  She said, “I suppose I could, but I not have no desire to do so.”

  His obvious sorrow was painful for her to look at. She asked, “Why does that make you so sad?”

  He smiled with his mouth but not his eyes and fiddled with his water tumbler, “Because the two people I love most in this world would, I think, be spectacular together, but for the fact that one of them is a Fairy who thinks Human men are disgusting.”

  She laughed and said, “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.” Without thinking about it, she reached out and touched his arm. He recoiled. She raised her eyebrows.

  He said, “Sorry. I suppose we both have problems with relationships.” He paused for a long time and said, “If you reject the kings advances, it could go badly for you.”

  She laughed and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, “Arthur can have his pick of the women in this court. I'm quite sure he doesn't need to add me to his collection.”

  Galahad answered with a crooked expression, “The Queen can have her pick of the men in the Court as well. She is fixated now on the one she cannot have. You can add perversity to the things you despise about Humans.”

  The conversation languished and Galahad went off to bed. Gwyneth stared into the fire for hours with a horrified look on her face.

  Things hung in a sort of equilibrium for a time. Guenevere seduced every knight, page and stable boy she could get her hands on, except for Galahad who avoided her. Arthur was more discreet but he began to work his way through the maids of the Court. Within three months of Arthur's first such affair, the girl announced she was pregnant. Arthur was thrilled, and considered divorcing Guenevere and marrying the girl immediately. Nimue convinced him to wait a bit until it became clear that the pregnancy would continue without complications. The girl miscarried the next day. Nimue never admitted to helping that process along, but Gwyneth suspected she had, and was grateful.

  Arthur was heart-broken, but Nimue consoled him by reminding him that the experience taught him that Guenevere was barren. She said, “Remember, my Lord, Guenevere's barrenness will give you a legal reason to put her away. I would remind you as well – forgive me for speaking out of my station – that now that you know you are capable of siring children, you should perhaps be more discriminating about the women you bring into your bed.”

  Arthur laughed so hard he fell to the floor and doubled over holding his stomach. When he recovered, he looked at her and said, “Niniane, are you even aware that you could be arrested and hanged for making a remark like that?!”

  She made a face, and said, “Sire, I have made more scandalous suggestions with impunity. I suppose I have become too bold.”

  Arthur was still chuckling, “I have given you permission to be bold. You are merely being yourself.” He thought about it for a while and said, “You also have the advantage of being right. I can't run the risk of getting a child on some stable wench with a pox.”

  Nimue shuddered, and Arthur nodded. He added, “I promise to be more discriminating.” He cocked his head and asked, “Do you have any one in mind for me?”

  Nimue shook her head emphatically and said, “No, Sire, and I strongly urge you to hold your horses until after you get rid of Guenevere.” After she said it, she realized that her passion rendered her voice almost shrill. Her loathing for Guenevere was evident in her tone. Arthur said, with a chill in his voice, “Watch yourself, Madame. She is still my Queen.”

  She bowed low and apologized sincerely, “I did not mean to offend, Majesty.”

  “Leave me now.”

  Nimue stood and held out her hands. Arthur handed over Excalibur and she withdrew to her own chamber, quaking in terror at the mistake she had just made. Arthur might be ready to put Guenevere aside in order to sire a son with a fertile woman, but it was clear that Arthur was still in Guenevere's thrall. Nimue reminded herself she must be more careful.

  While Guenevere seemed to believe Morgaine was her acolyte and disciple, Morgaine had her own agenda. She intended to become Arthur's Queen. She flirted with him openly and used all the tricks that Merlin had taught her in an effort to attract him, without knowing that most of those “tricks” were actually gimmicks without any power whatsoever if the man in question was not already interested. Arthur showed no interest in Morgaine, whether out of respect for Guenevere or for some other reason.

  Arthur began to show more and more interest in Gwyneth. That made Gwyneth uncomfortable. To make matters worse, Guenevere noticed. That made Gwyneth afraid.

  As soon after the spring thaw as they could arrange it Nimue and Gwyneth arranged to meet at the bottom of the lake in the middle of the night. They talked at length about what they should do to avoid a crisis with Arthur. Arriving at no resolution, they returned to their chambers shortly before dawn.

  When they arrived in the main hall for breakfast they realized that something had happened while they were gone. Arthur was bordering on delirious. He said he was famished and ordered a huge breakfast, the very thought of which made both Nimue and Gwyneth gag. After breakfast he wanted to go hunting and ordered the pages and stable boys to ready the horses. Guenevere appeared to be trying to act angry, but she was not hiding her satisfaction at some evil scheme. Lancelot and Galahad were both quivering with rage.

  Gwyneth offered Galahad fruit and he hissed at her without looking up, “Be gone from this room, out of my sight. I'll see you in my chamber later.”

  No one had ever spoken to Gwyneth with that tone and she didn't like it. She might have been posing under the guise of a servant, but she was a Queen and a mage. She thought about turning him into a frog or something of that nature, just to let him know her power, but then she remembered her role – and her place. Bowing low, she murmured, “Yes, my Lord,” and started to scurry away.

  Arthur stopped her, saying, “Come back here, Lady. If Galahad is in a pique, you may serve me.”

  Every person in the room other than Arthur, Gwyneth and Nimue gasped. Even Guenevere seemed to be taken aback. Gwyneth looked around and realized Morgaine was gone. A horrible thought crossed her mind, which she tried to ignore. It could explain the mood in the Great Hall, but it was too awful to believe. Gwyneth, in her panic, looked directly at the Queen. Gwyneth was standing behind Arthur, facing the Court. Guenevere turned around with her back to the assembly and met Gwyneth's gaze, with a malevolent expression that made Gwyneth break out in a sweat.

  Communicating in the silent manner of Fairies, Gwyneth said to her sister, “What have you done?”

  Guenevere paused for effect and said, “I took a page from Merlin's book.”

  Gwyneth felt sweat dripping down her back and under her breasts. The Human heart in her disguise-body was racing madly, but her Fairy-voice was calm, “How so?”

  Guenevere's cat-like eyes narrowed further and she said, “Well, you see, I know how you loathe Humans and you, my dear, pure and untouched sister,” she spit the words in a staccato fusillade that was physically painful for Gwyneth, “would never lower yourself to acquiesce to the bestiality of Human copulation. But, my dearly beloved husband, Arthur, has been pining away from lust for you. Not wanting him to be unhappy for any reason, I took advantage of your absence last night to send in a ringer. Someone who looked and sounded like you, but someone who certainly enjoyed the whole experience more than you would have.”

  Gwyneth looked around wildly, Guenevere added softly, almost purring, “She is gone.” She started to turn back to her food and then added, almost as an afterthought, “She is pregnant.”

  Gwyneth croaked, “Who?”

  Guenevere grinned and said, “Morgaine. The daughter of Igraine and Gorlois.”

  Nimue, who could hear the conversation, dropped a pitcher which shattered. Gwyneth doubled over and vomited on the floor.

  Guenevere laughed and ordered her to clean it up and then leave the hall if she couldn't behave. Arthur seemed inclined to say something but Guenevere shot him a withering look and he finished his breakf
ast in silence. Galahad said, through clenched teeth, “I told you to go.”

  Gwyneth cleaned up her mess and ran to her chamber where she huddled in a corner trembling at the thought of the terrible thing that happened.

  Galahad came in a few minutes later in a murderous rage. For a moment, Gwyneth thought he might hit her. The Fairy Queen stepped out from behind her guise and rose to face him, as angry as he was. He said, “You told me you wouldn't have anything to do with Arthur! What got into you?”

  Gwyneth took a long, slow breath to calm herself so she would not lashing out at him. She said, “It wasn't me. I wasn't here.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Nimue and I were meeting secretly in a place far from the palace where we could talk without Guenevere overhearing. Guenevere took advantage of our absence to disguise Morgaine as me and send her to Arthur.”

  “How do you know that if you weren't here.”

  Gwyneth closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and fought for control of her temper. She said, “Fairies communicate with out verbalizing words like humans do. Guenevere just told me herself in the middle of the hall.”

  “Is that what made you sick?”

  Gwyneth said, “No. What made me sick was that she told me Morgaine is pregnant. And she told me who Morgaine is – besides the soon-to-be-mother of Arthur's bastard.”

  Galahad's rage had drained away along with all the color in his face as he realized that Gwyneth was telling the truth. He asked, “Who is she?”

  Gwyneth motioned to a chair, “You'd better sit down.” Galahad sat and looked at her expectantly. She continued, “Morgaine is Arthur's half sister.”

  Galahad leaned over and vomited on the floor. He looked from the mess to Gwyneth with a piteous look. Gwyneth laughed. She didn't have the patience to clean it up in the Human way, so she waved her finger and used magic.

  That broke the tension and Galahad slumped in his chair, spent. He asked, “What do we do now?”

  “We have to find her.”

  “And then what?”

  “We should do what I wanted to do when Igraine was pregnant with Arthur.”

  “What is that?”

  “I offered Igraine an abortion potion. She refused it. I was going to kill her and the baby, but Merlin was able to hide them.”

  “Could he do it again this time?”

  “Merlin is not a factor this time. This time it's me against my sister.”

  She sighed and slipped back into her guise as his lady-in-waiting, “My Lord, I think it's time you went on a quest.”

  “What am I questing for?”

  “It doesn't matter. You quest for something. Let me search the Human Realm for Morgaine.”

  He stood, “I'll ask leave of the king while we are hunting.”

  She bowed low. He stood in front of her, and for the first time, he touched her hand, raising her to her feet. Then he bowed and said, “In the Human Realm you may be my attendant and you may play that role for both our safety, but I want to acknowledge that I know you are a Queen, of higher stature and infinitely more goodness than Guenevere. In your Realm, I would be your Champion, Majesty.”

  Gwyneth accepted his obeisance as her due, and, putting her hand gently on his head she murmured, “I accept your kind offer, Sir Galahad, assuming I have a Realm to return to when the Black Fairy is finished with her rampage.”

  He looked at her for a long time and realized, for the first time, the true size of the canvas on which the story was being played out. She smiled to discover that a Human could actually look up and see that there was more to Earth than what they could see or experience. She was surprised to discover that she was happy to be back on good terms with Galahad. She realized she had come to love him in ways she preferred not to explore.

  She said, “Go to Arthur. Ask for his leave. I'll prepare for traveling.”

  Gwyneth's secret was out with Guenevere, so she risked sending a silent message to Nimue asking her to come to her chamber, knowing Guenevere would hear it. Nimue, dispensing with Human limitations, appeared in Gwyneth's room instantly and the two women cloaked themselves in a potent silence and invisibility spell. Seconds later Guenevere appeared. Nimue and Gwyneth were gone, and the spell hid their trail.

  Arthur was willing to give Galahad leave to go on a quest, but he wanted him to leave the Lady Gwyneth behind. Galahad asked the king for a moment alone, they moved aside and spoke quietly. Galahad said, “My Lord, think before you make this decision. Will you move another woman into your bed under the Queen's very nose.”

  Arthur spat on the ground and said, “Oh, be serious. Guenevere has been whoring with every man in the palace...” Galahad drew back and shot Arthur an offended look. Arthur put his hand on Galahad's arm, “except for one.” He paused and looked at Galahad with shining eyes and said with a husky voice, “One, faithful and true friend to me and to the ideals of the Round Table.” Arthur bowed his head to collect himself and Galahad put his other hand on Arthur's shoulder.

  After Arthur composed himself, he agreed to let Gwyneth accompany Galahad, but he said he wanted to see her before they left. Galahad told Arthur he would send Gwyneth to the king's apartment.

  Gwyneth and Nimue were gone for several hours. They had traveled to Avalon, informing the Druid and dispatching messengers to the Nether World that Morgaine was to be found at all costs and her baby was to be killed. If that meant killing the mother, so be it.

  When Gwyneth reappeared in the chamber, Galahad was sitting in front of the fire. He looked up and grinned, “I thought you were going to prepare for traveling, my lady.”

  She made a face, “I had other business to attend to. Do we have Arthur's leave to go?”

  He nodded. She snapped her fingers and their luggage appeared inside the door. He drummed his fingers on the the table and said, with raised eyebrows, “I could get used to that kind of service.”

  She pursed her lips and said with the same light tone, “Don't. Outside this chamber it's back to normal for us.”

  He stood up and cleared his throat, “Arthur wants to see you before we go.”

  “Did you tell him it wasn't me?”

  “No. I had no idea what to say. So, I said nothing.”

  She put her hands over her face and sat down with her knees on her elbows. He bent over her and whispered, “Are you ill, milady?”

  Gwyneth looked up into his lovely blue eyes and said, “I am sick unto death, my Lord, and I think it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.”

  He raised her to her feet, whispering, “I wish there were something I could do to help.”

  She started to pat his hand, but hesitated, thinking he would pull away. He took her hand and, she said, “My Lord, Galahad, your affectionate support will make all the difference.”

  She turned and headed for Arthur's chamber, making no effort to be discreet. She knocked openly. The chamberlain looked as though he was going to faint. Gwyneth swept past him and entered Arthur's sitting room, looking every bit the queen she actually was rather than the serving girl she pretended to be. Nimue was in the corner, supposedly doing needlepoint; when she saw Gwyneth she started laughing silently. A bard was singing. Arthur and several others were playing a card game.

  Gwyneth said, “My Lord Galahad tells me you wanted to see me, Majesty.”

  Arthur looked up and a range of emotions played across his face. At that very moment Guenevere walked in and stood inside the door with her arms folded and an amused look on her face. Galahad followed her and stood on the other side of the doorway, looking not in the least amused.

  Gwyneth paused until the entire room fell silent. Nimue was still laughing silently in the corner. Guenevere was laughing too, and said, in silent Fairy-speak, “Okay, Sister dear, now you have everyone's attention. What do you have to say?”

  Gwyneth looked at Guenevere and said nothing, pondering whether or not to dignify that taunt with a response. She decided not to reply. r />
  Arthur, regaining his composure momentarily, invited Gwyneth to join the card game. She did not move other than to shake her head. She said, “My Lord Galahad desires to go on a quest and we will be leaving shortly. I do not know when or even if he will permit me to return to Court. Before I go, it is important to me to clarify recent events that I believe have been misunderstood.”

  The king looked at her, not even trying to hide his anger at her arrogance. Through gritted teeth he said, “Yes?”

  “Majesty, you have been the victim of a cruel and terrible ruse.” Guenevere, still standing just inside the door, went rigid. Nimue stopped laughing and also quit pretending to do her needle work. Gwyneth went on, dancing carefully along the line between truth and lie. Many lives hung in the balance, depending on what she said next. She could feel the Black Fairy's wrath building inside the Human guise at the same time the Human Guenevere was terrified. As much as she would have loved to do so, Gwyneth could not exploit that terror without making things worse for the Nether Realm, and for Arthur, too. She had to let Arthur save face, and – in order to do that – she had to let Guenevere off the hook. If only that one time.

  Gwyneth faced Arthur, ignoring his angry glare, and said, “Last night you were visited by a person who pretended to be me.” She paused to let that sink in. Then she swallowed hard in an effort to say the next part and sound believable, “I am flattered, my Lord, that you would accept the attentions of someone you thought to be me.” Nimue fell to laughing again and Guenevere laughed too, out loud – a cruel, hateful laugh. Gwyneth wanted to kill them both, but she could not let them distract her.

  She continued, “The lady Morgaine, who was your Queen's lady, was an impostor. She pretended to be a lady-in-waiting, when she is actually a …. a sorceress. She assumed my aspect last night while I was sleeping – alone – in my chamber, and it was she who came to you. I assume you were sleeping and she took you by surprise. Any man would respond to a woman who comes to him in the dark of the night, waking him from a deep sleep with words of love. I am sure you thought it was my lady, the Queen. Later, when it became clear that it was not Her Majesty, it was too late.

  “This morning I came to serve breakfast to my lord Galahad, ignorant of what had had transpired. I apologize to you, Majesty, and to you, Lady.” She bowed to Arthur and then to Guenevere. That touched off a hale of silent laughter from both Nimue and Guenevere. “I am sorry I made such a scene this morning. Fortunately, my lord Galahad understands the situation and he is no longer angry with me, but he desires to remove me from the Court in order to avoid further scandal. It remains to be seen whether or not he will allow me to return at the end of our journey.”

  Gwyneth stood demurely in front of Arthur. Guenevere's Human guise still stood with a sardonic expression inside the door, but the Black Fairy stepped out from behind her guise and revealed herself to Gwyneth and Nimue. She stood applauding Gwyneth's performance with bitter irony. Nimue's Sorceress aspect did the same, only her applause was genuine. Gwyneth ignored them both.

  Arthur did not move from his seat. For several long moments he sat at the card table looking at Gwyneth, his brown eyes looking directly into her Soul, opening a window into his heart. His gaze told her he understood that she had just handed him a way to save face in front of the Court and his wife. His eyes were filled with gratitude and admiration, and something else that Gwyneth did not recognize. Whatever it was touched something in Gwyneth that she had never felt before, and it both thrilled and terrified her.

  Then Arthur did something that astonished everyone. He stood up, walked across the room and took Gwyneth's hands in his, still gazing into her eyes. Next he slowly raised her hands to his lips and kissed the them, first her right hand, then her left. He looked into her eyes, this time she could feel the fire of his love, and he said loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, “My dear lady, you have been a loyal and faithful servant to Sir Galahad and to me. For that I thank you.

  “I confess I have noticed your beauty, which is extraordinary. I am not alone in that, I might add. If you were not so modest and discreet with your gaze you would have noticed that half the men in this court watch you and would welcome your attention. I confess to being one of them.

  “Besides your beauty and skill as an attendant, I have noticed with pleasure your decorum and the respect you have never failed to show to Sir Galahad and the other members of my household. You have been a respectful and dutiful servant to the Queen and to me, despite our lack of worthiness to merit respect from such a pure and decent woman.”

  He waited for the murmuring in the room to die down, and continued, “I responded – passionately – to the woman who pretended to be you because I have been watching you for some time. I responded because I thought it was you, and because I wanted it to be you. I have to tell you that while I am angry at being so duped, and I intend to track down and punish the woman who tricked me.

  “I want you to know that my feeling upon learning that the person who came to me last night was someone other than you was more sorrow than anything. Sorrow that I had not actually earned the love of the woman I want – at least not yet.”

  The atmosphere in the room was electric. Nobody moved, or even breathed. Arthur went on, “As soon as the weather breaks to allow her to travel, my wife will be going to live permanently in a convent far to the north. I intend to divorce her. For the sake of propriety I will use her barrenness as my reason, as opposed to her wanton unfaithfulness.”

  He waited for the exclamations to die down. Gwyneth noticed, with no small pleasure, the fetid smell of fear emanating from Guenevere's guise. Arthur continued, “I give you my permission to go on a quest with Galahad, in the confidence that you will continue to serve him well and faithfully and that he will keep you safe. When my personal affairs have been settled and I am free to do so, I will send for you, inviting you to come back to Court, not as Galahad's maid, but as my Queen.”

  Only Nimue, Gwyneth and Guenevere saw Excalibur light up in ecstasy or hear it trilling a joyful noise that was inaudible to Humans but which they knew was ringing throughout the Nether World, a glorious cry of hope directed to all the Nether Realms that were under attack by the Black Fairy.

  Arthur, who was as oblivious to Excalibur's joy as all the other Humans, paused, swallowed and bowed, touching his forehead to the backs of her hands. Straightening again, and looking deeply into her eyes, he whispered, “You will have some time to consider your answer. I pray it will be 'yes'.”

  Then he turned to Galahad, holding out her hand toward him and said, “Take your lady and go questing. Add to your reputation as the guardian and defender of the people of this land and to hers as 'Galahad's maid', the healer and wise woman who is the image of faithful service to her lord, her King, and, also to the people of Britain. Go.”

  Galahad stepped forward, with joy radiating from every pore and tears in his eyes. He genuflected before Arthur, saying aloud, “My Lord, I will travel and act always in the glorious name of Arthur the King.” He added in a low voice that only Arthur and Gwyneth could hear, “Welcome 'back', my dearest friend.”

  Arthur raised him from the floor, embraced him like a brother and bade both Galahad and Gwyneth a safe journey.