by Leilani Love
Arthur snorted. He had heard stories about a missing prince when he was a child. The current king had put out a reward for anyone who knew where the baby was. He said it was to save the baby and raise him in the castle, but everyone knew that if the prince ever came back, the king would kill him.
“After all these years, what makes you think the prince is even alive? Or that he would fight to get his kingdom back?” Arthur asked, curious despite himself.
The man slowly smiled. “The lands will call him back. It is in his blood. It will pull him in and make it hard for him to leave. But he will fight for the same thing every man, in the end, fight’s for. Love.”
He raised an eyebrow. “So, you not only think that the baby somehow managed to survive, but is going to come back and fight for love? I heard that Morgana had an army of demons that went around killing every newborn male baby they could find.”
The man shrugged. “I have to have faith that one day he will return.”
“Will he come with an army to save the princess from marrying the prince?” Arthur asked, deciding to humor him.
The man leaned forward and locked his gaze on him. “Surely you don’t believe anyone should have to marry the prince? He is worse than his father in how he treats women. His mistress is as cruel as he is. I’ve heard rumors about what the two of them have done to some of the maids together.”
Arthur knew he was right. The idea of Guinevere being with anyone stabbed at his heart, but when he pictured her married to the prince, he knew she wouldn’t survive. That spark of passion and defiance he saw in her would die. He needed to see her again and talk her out of it.
The man finished his drink and left a coin on his table. “The next few days the villagers are celebrating the wedding with bonfires and music. You should make an appearance before you head back home,” he counseled as he walked away.
Arthur nodded. The man gone, he thought about what else he’d learned about Guinevere’s upcoming marriage. Bors had told him that her father had tried to get her out of the wedding, but the king had threatened war. Her fate had been set the second her father had signed the contract with the former king. Bors also told him he would lay down his life to try to keep her as safe as he could, but advised Arthur to leave, because if he was ever seen talking to Guinevere, the King’s guard would kill him, and Bors wouldn’t be able to stop them.
As night began to fall, Arthur knew he should head home in the morning. There was nothing he could do to save her. When he stood up, Lancelot looked at him over the tavern wench’s shoulder. “Come, let’s go join the party to celebrate the upcoming wedding,” Arthur said, expecting him to argue.
Lancelot smiled and patted the wench on her behind. “I will be back later. I must keep my cousin out of my trouble.”
The maid whispered something in Lancelot’s ear that made him smile before she got up. He gave the girl a wink before turning to Arthur. “Glad you are finally accepting the fact that she is getting married. Let’s go have a few drinks, dance with a lovely woman or two, and you will forget all about her.”
Arthur snorted as the two of them walked out of the Inn and toward the stables. There was a light breeze that night, and not a cloud in the sky. There was no way he would forget about Guinevere. She was a woman who looked like an angel and was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for her people. He’d never forget the passion that shone in her eyes.
They went into the stables and saddled their horses. Lancelot wouldn’t stop talking about the pretty tavern maid as he swung up on his horse. “She said she’d be up if I want to stop by her room later.” He winked. “Now, come, let’s go find you a pretty little thing to spend the night with.”
Arthur swung up onto his horse and rolled his eyes. Lancelot’s cure for everything was to find someone pretty to distract himself with. Interesting that the girl he had been flirting with had long, blonde hair.
They rode to the town square and Arthur halted Fury to avoid the children that were out running around chasing each other. With the upcoming wedding, there would be celebrations almost nightly in the towns closest to Camelot as people loved any chance to celebrate. He wondered if everyone would be as happy if they knew how much the princess was sacrificing for them.
Tying up their horses, Arthur and Lancelot walked the rest of the way into town. As they got closer, the sound of music and people laughing got louder and louder. In the center of town, they were just lighting the bonfire while the night vendors positioned themselves around the outskirts of town. Taverns had opened their doors and made sure their prettiest tavern girls stood in the doorways to encourage customers to come in and drink between festivities.
Lancelot slapped him on the back and winked at one of the tavern wenches. “Come, let’s go check out this fine establishment while we wait for the dancing to begin.”
“You certainly are favoring the blondes tonight, cousin. Any reason for that?” he asked as the two of them approached the tavern that Lancelot had just pointed out.
A snort was Lancelot’s only response as he approached the tavern maid and handed her a coin. “Care to bring us two pints of ale?”
Her lips parted, and she batted her eyes at Lancelot before she glanced in Arthur’s direction. Her brown eyes lit up and she smiled at him, before turning her attention back to Lancelot. “I will gladly take care of you and your friend all night, sir.”
His cousin winked at her, leaning in closer. “For now, my friend just wants a drink. I am afraid you might be stuck with just me.”
She giggled, batting her eyelashes at him and putting her hand on his chest. “I’ll be right back with those drinks, and to see what else I can do for you.”
As she walked away, she trailed her fingers along Lancelot’s chest, and the two of them followed her to a table. Choosing one with a view of outside, Arthur noticed the light from the setting sun start to fade. As if they were waiting for nightfall, more and more people crowded the streets.
When the waitress brought them their ales, she leaned forward, making sure to expose her breasts. “Now, you two remember, if you need anything to ask for Nicole. I will make sure all your needs are attended to.”
He gave her a small coin and Lancelot slid his hand around her waist, grinning up at her. “Don’t go too far, Nicole. I am sure I will be needing you often tonight.” Lancelot smacked her on the ass, and she jumped into the air, her eyes widening in surprise, and she giggled.
Arthur chuckled to himself and watched the crowd start to grow. The sound of the musicians had him tapping his feet.
As he finished his drink, he craned his neck to get a better look at the villagers. When the crowd parted he couldn’t believe his eyes. It couldn’t be her, could it?
Chapter 12
After dinner Guinevere excused herself, claiming she had a headache. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she turned to catch Rebecca’s narrowed eyes. Guinevere stood straighter as she turned and left the room without another glance back.
She hated having to be polite to that woman. Men had mistresses, that was common enough. Most men tried to be discreet, until they were married. She had never seen a mistress sit at the high table with the intended. Everyone knew who she was, and Guinevere pretended to not know.
Once upstairs in her room, she found Elizabeth fretting over a dress on the bed. “Did you find something for us to wear?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I did. We should wait until everyone is distracted by tonight’s festivities, but I was able to get two dresses from some maid’s downstairs who are about our size.”
Festivities was the polite way of Elizabeth saying everyone drinking and enjoying the entertainment. The king had several mistresses, two of whom were dancers who enjoyed putting on shows for the guards while everyone drank. Since there was no ball or anything planned, she’d heard that those girls had offered to dance that night, much to the guard’s delight. Last year, during her annual visit, she had snuck downstairs and was surprised at what
she saw going on. The women were practically naked, and the men were touching them as they pleased. Elizabeth had caught her and dragged her back to her room so as not to ruin her reputation.
With Elizabeth’s help, she slipped from her dinner dress and into the one Elizabeth had borrowed from the maid. Coarse in feel, the material was not as soft as the dresses she normally wore, and she had to fight the urge to scratch her arms.
Elizabeth smirked at her in the mirror as she finished lacing up the back. “Let’s put your hair into a thick braid. It should be dark enough that no one will recognize you, just promise to stay close to me.”
She nodded. “Why don’t you put on your dress and I’ll lace you up?”
The two of them laughed in a carefree way as they got ready. There was something exhilarating about taking a night to have some fun. Sneaking out of the castle was easy. They had done it often enough when they’d gone to free prisoners being taken to the mines.
After the two of them were ready she looked Elizabeth over. “The few people who really know you will recognize you, but those people would never tell anyone.”
She nodded. “I was thinking the same of you. If I saw you in the hall, walking by, I would just dismiss you as a maid. It would take more than a glance to recognize you. I’m also wondering how it is I don’t see more women scratching their arms in the halls.”
Guinevere laughed, nodding in agreement with her friend. “I understand that the material needs to be thicker but maybe for Christmas we can get the dressmaker to line it with something softer for them.” A glance at the window showed her that the sun had set hours ago. “Think everyone downstairs is enjoying the entertainment enough for us to sneak out?”
Elizabeth grinned. “Only one way to find out.” Tip-toeing to the door, she stuck her head out, obviously to make sure the coast was clear. “The guards here are so lazy. Quick to assault women, not to mention all the drinking. Large numbers are the only thing that keeps them in power.”
Guinevere stood behind her, craning her neck over Elizabeth’s shoulder to see. “I heard there is a group of guards that are ruthless and bloodthirsty. I’ve seen their commander only once, and he scared me. He hardly comes to the castle except to give reports, preferring to keep his men out fighting.”
“That’s probably for the best.” Elizabeth pointed out and Guinevere couldn’t help but agree.
They left through Elizabeth’s adjoining room, leaving Guinevere’s door bolted from the inside. Keeping their heads down, they quickly walked the stairs and out one of the servant entrances. Once they were free of the castle, they were about a quarter hours walk from the village. With each step, her excitement grew more and more pronounced.
At home, she had been permitted to go to the village parties, but when she visited Camelot, except for the trips they took into town to help with the orphanage, she was expected to stay within Camelot’s walls. As she got older and Camelot slipped deeper and deeper into whatever darkness the king seemed to spread, it seemed to get worse.
Laughter echoed in their ears before they even reached the town, and Guinevere smiled at Elizabeth. The two of them clasped hands and ran the last little bit to the village. This time of night, there wouldn’t normally be so many people in the streets, but tonight, because of the celebration, there were people everywhere.
Making their way through the crowd, they stopped when they reached the town square. The bonfire was so large it was easy to make everything out, and Guinevere ducked her head. She glanced around, waiting for someone to recognize her. Instead of finger pointing and shocked whispers, she got some drunken smiles and was bumped by a man who gave her a toothless grin. Some of her unease slipped away.
Elizabeth’s smile was large, her eyes sparkling as she looked around before taking Guinevere by the hand. “Come, let’s dance together.”
They hooked arms, and Guinevere couldn’t help but laugh as they began to swing each other around. Instruments strummed a lively country tune. Before they finished the first song two men approached, smiling and offering each one an arm.
Guinevere started to say no until she saw the look on Elizabeth’s face. She knew her friend wanted to dance, and so she nodded, taking the arm of the closest man. She let him swing her off in the opposite direction. After a few turns, another man took her arm and swung her off, again making her laugh.
The musicians kept the music lively and Guinevere laughed, smiling in true delight as she was swept from one person to the next, being spun around in time with the music. When her last partner twirled her around, she gasped as the next person, instead of looping her with his arm, slid his hand around her waist and pulled her away from the center. She instantly recognized Arthur’s voice as he whispered in her ear, “Are you having fun, Princess?”
As if on cue, the musicians changed the song from something fast and lively to something slower, causing the dancers to pair off and give the men a chance to flirt. Guinevere turned her head to meet Arthur’s gaze. His body was so close to hers that she could feel his chest pressed against hers. Despite the darkness, his face was just inches from hers and she could see the laughter in his eyes at her surprise. His tempting full lips were grinning as he waited for an answer.
She glanced around for Elizabeth, and instead spotted Lancelot, who was dancing with a woman with long, blonde hair. The murderous look on her friend’s face made Guinevere think she was trying to figure out how to stab him with the small dagger she had hidden inside her skirt.
“I told you to leave,” Guinevere stated as she looked up at him.
“You did,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers as he pulled her a little closer to him.
She felt her heart speed up as her cheeks warmed. “Then what are you doing here?”
When he smiled, her traitorous heart fluttered, and then her lips parted on their own. When his gaze left hers to glance at her lips, they went dry and she instinctively licked them. His hand tightened just slightly on her hip. “I should ask you why you are here. I didn’t think royalty could celebrate with the commoners.”
She bit her lower lip, trying to think of an answer. When she said nothing, he chuckled and added, “Seems like neither one of us are very good at following directions.”
A laugh escaped her, and the music picked up. Arthur twirled her around, making her laugh harder. He maneuvered her so they were on the outside of the dancers, spinning her around and keeping a hold on her so as to not let her dance with anyone else. Inside the castle she wouldn’t be able to dance with any man but the prince more than once. Out here as far as they knew, she was a commoner and Arthur could be her fiancé.
They danced for several songs and finally, she smiled up at him, breaking the silence. “I think I want some lemonade.”
Arthur stopped, put his hand on her back, and then guided her from the center to one of the small taverns where a young girl was serving lemonade. She was probably fifteen if she was a day and Guinevere gave her a big smile while Arthur handed her a coin. “Two lemonades please,” he said giving her a smile that made the girl blush.
Chapter 13
Arthur handed Guinevere the first lemonade before taking his. After giving the waitress a wink, he led Guinevere away, walking around the outside of the dancers. He took the long way around from where Elizabeth and Lancelot stood staring at each other. He chuckled, impressed with how thoroughly Elizabeth managed to get under his cousin’s skin.
“So, Princess, you never told me why you were out here. No one needed saving tonight?” He glanced sidelong at her.
She shrugged. “The rumor is that they have decided to stop transporting men to the mines and instead increase security around the castle before the wedding. For some reason, the king is under the impression someone might try to stop the wedding.”
“Guinevere, I admire the sacrifice you are willing to make for your people, but I find myself wondering how it is you ended up riding around at night?”
When she ducked her head, he co
uldn’t help but grin. Earlier, when they had stepped away from the tavern, he’d looked around and debated about dancing, when he saw her. He didn’t recognize her at first, but for some reason he couldn’t help but stare at her until it finally dawned on him. The reason he couldn’t take his eyes off her was because it was Guinevere.
“They didn’t start out so well guarded. The very first time I saw them, I had snuck out and gone for a ride. I hid and overheard their prisoners while the guards were bragging about how many people they managed to fit into a carriage. Bors and Elizabeth both helped me figure out what was going on by questioning several of the women of the castles.”
When she paused he reached up and gently brushed her hair from her face. “How did you go from finding out what was going on to saving them? It seems like Bors would have tried to stop you.”
There was a long pause before she answered him. “Oh, he did. After a while he agreed to go on a ride at night out of fear I would just go without him. When we saw the caravan, we hid in the woods. One of the children in it had started crying, and the guard pulled him out to beat him. Before Bors could stop Elizabeth, she rode up behind the guard and hit him in the back of the head with the hilt of her dagger. The guard who was on the horse started to come around, and I shot him in the back. Scared him so bad he rode away and never looked back.”
Arthur nodded, thinking over her words. “Okay, I understand why you both helped a child. But I find myself curious as to how you both learned to ride so well, and why you both have swords that were obviously made for you hidden in your skirts.”
“Bors used to train the guards, and Elizabeth and I used to follow him everywhere. We wanted to learn too, because playing with swords seemed like so much more fun than learning how to sew shirts.” She smiled at the memory.