by Leilani Love
“So, Bors decided to teach you both to keep you out of his hair?” he asked teasingly.
When she laughed he leaned in closer to her, “No, actually he used to tell us no and get mad when he found out that we had stolen two of the wooden practice swords. Both of us ended up bruised, and I had a giant knot on my head.”
He reached up and gently cupped her cheek. “I don’t imagine your father was very happy when you came home hurt.”
Guinevere looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “I tried to cover it with my hair, but it didn’t work, and my father was furious. I begged him not to hang Elizabeth when he told me that striking a princess usually ended in a hanging.”
His widened his eyes. “Your father threatened to hang her?”
She shook her head. “No! He was pointing out that my actions had consequences for everyone. Not just me. I let it drop for a bit, but eventually started begging him to let Bors teach me.”
“So, your dad gave in when you begged with these beautiful sapphire eyes huh?” he teased, pulling on her braid.
“Not even close. Every time I asked him, he sent me to my room. I almost gave up. Then, one day he and Bors went to visit Camelot. I never knew what happened, but afterwards Bors trained us. He even had the blacksmith make us swords that were small and light.”
Arthur took her hands and smiled. “I’m very grateful for the stubborn little girl who learned to use weapons. I don’t even want to know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there to help us.”
She raised one of her perfect eyebrows. “It doesn’t bother you that you were saved by a woman?”
“No. My mother is fierce, and my father taught her how to use a dagger. Said he couldn’t be around her every minute of the day, and that she should know how to defend herself.”
“Your father sounds like a very smart man,” she said with a bright smile.
The world around him seemed to disappear, and there was only her. Her lips parted. He released her hands and reached up to cup her cheeks. Then, he kissed her.
Arthur moaned when her lips parted more, and her tongue tentatively brushed against his, and her body leaned into him. His tongue came out and slipped past her lips and slid against hers.
Before he could deepen the kiss, there was a tap on his shoulder, and he pulled back with a growl, turning to yell at the person who dared to interrupt him. Elizabeth stood behind him, a sweet smile on her face. “Milady, we need to get back to the castle before anyone notices.”
Arthur looked past Elizabeth to find Lancelot approaching. He would have laughed at his friend’s frustration if he wasn’t so frustrated himself. “Let us escort you two back to the castle.”
Elizabeth snorted, shaking her head. “We can protect ourselves.”
“Of that, I have no doubt. But, please let us walk with you anyway,” Arthur said, giving her his best smile.
“You can walk us as long as you promise you will leave tomorrow,” Guinevere said, stepping around him.
He wanted to say no, but he knew, after tonight, he would probably never see her again anyway. Tonight’s meeting was a chance encounter, and soon she would be married to the prince, as far from him as possible. With a sigh, he finally said, “I promise.”
She swallowed hard before nodding. “Come Elizabeth, and be nice, please.”
“I’m always nice, it’s not my fault this one over here is still mad at me,” she said, giving an innocent smile before looping her arm with Guinevere’s.
Arthur smiled at his cousin and walked next to Guinevere, while Lancelot fell in step behind them. “So, how did you two manage to sneak out of the castle tonight? Did the guards really not recognize you just because you changed your style of dress and braided your hair?”
She shook her head. “We didn’t go through the gate just in case someone looked too closely. But no one in the village noticed us either. People only see what they want to see.”
He thought about her words. It was hard to believe that anyone who had ever seen her wouldn’t recognize her, or anyone who talked to her, would call her an ice princess. She was anything but cold.
“I recognized you,” he pointed out.
She looked away and he chuckled.
Elizabeth led them down a path that went through the woods. It circled around to the side of the castle instead of to the front gate. Arthur wanted to ask Guinevere questions about her father and her life but didn’t want the last time he talked to her to be about something sad.
Instead, he thought about whistling for Wulf, thinking she would enjoy meeting him. Before he could make up his mind, the distinct sound of horses approaching caught his attention. Within moments, they were surrounded by several of the King’s guards, and a woman who rode beside Prince Greggory wearing a smirk.
“I told you she wasn’t as innocent as she pretended.”
When the guard closest to him took out his sword and pointed it at Arthur, Guinevere screamed no, and pushed him back as she moved between him and the sword “He is no one. I snuck off with Elizabeth to celebrate our upcoming wedding with the village people, and these two men were nice enough to walk us back to the castle to make sure we got home safely.”
Rebecca snorted. “You expect us to believe that?”
It was clear, the women had no love for each other, but it was the prince Arthur couldn’t take his eyes off. The way he was staring at Guinevere made him shudder. Prince Greggory raised his hand in the air, a signal for everyone to be quiet, before he dismounted his horse.
He was so distracted by the prince that he didn’t realize someone was coming up behind them until he felt a sword poke him in the back. A glance over his shoulder showed someone behind Lancelot, and by the look on his cousin’s face, he had a sword at his back too.
Guinevere stayed in front of him keeping her head held high as Prince Greggory approached. Without a word, he brought his hand up and slapped her right across the face. Elizabeth jumped in front of Guinevere as Arthur quickly reached out and caught her before she fell. The woman who rode with the Prince and several of the guards snickered causing him to look up and see the glee on her face.
“Your Highness,” Elizabeth said between clenched teeth, her hands fisted at her site. “She hasn’t taken a lover. We were just dancing, I swear.”
The prince pulled his sword out and pressed it to her throat. “Your job was to keep her safe, which also means protecting her virtue. You will be punished right next to her if I find out she is anything other than a virgin on our wedding night.”
Lancelot hadn’t moved, but he knew his friend was as tense as he was. Both were brought up to never hit women, and the fact that a sword was still pointed at Elizabeth’s throat, while the prince’s mistress smiled down at them in sadistic pleasure, made Arthur tense with the need to punch that smug look off their faces.
When Greggory finally lowered his sword, he looked at the two guards. “Take these two down to the dungeon. Keep them there until after the ceremony. I’ll decide what to do with them after I take the princess and find out for myself if she’s a virgin.”
“No!” Elizabeth and Guinevere both screamed.
The guard behind Arthur poked him harder in the back, trying to force him to move forward. Before he could stop her, Guinevere twirled around pulling out the sword from her skirt and pointed it at the guard who was standing behind him. Elizabeth moved into position at her back, having pulled out her sword too.
“Greggory, I have never been with a man. Tell your guards to back up, and I will go back with you to the castle and promise to never go out without you again.”
The prince studied her for several long moments. The hint of a smile played on his lips before he turned back around and mounted his horse. Once mounted he looked around to make sure all eyes were on him before he finally commanded, “Kill both the men now, but don’t hurt the princess or her mouthy companion.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Arthur whistled for Wulf, knowing h
e would be close. At the same time, he grabbed his sword. A second whistle pierced the air and the guard behind Lancelot grunted, and then fell to the ground, an arrow in his back. Lancelot took the opportunity to pull out his weapon.
Gregory yelled, “Capture them you fools don’t let them get away!”
Guinevere rushed behind him. The sound of metal against metal clanged in his ears. Turning, he helped her with the guard that had been behind him. Once the immediate threat was taken care of Guinevere yelled, “Run!”
Before he could argue, Lancelot grabbed his arm. “Come!”
Wulf jumped from the woods, landing on one of the guards. Their horses neighed, and then reared up on their hind legs. With one quick lunge, he slid his sword into the guard struggling with Guinevere while Lancelot took out the man fighting with Elizabeth.
Taking Guinevere’s hand, he pulled her along with him, while Lancelot did the same with Elizabeth. Guinevere and Elizabeth picked up their skirts to run faster as they dodged through the woods.
Arthur didn’t know where he was running to, but he felt compelled to head away from the castle. The sound of horses pounded behind him. Guinevere started to slow, and he knew she couldn’t run much farther in her dress. Soon, they entered a small clearing with a pile of rocks in the center. It drew his attention because there was an old, rusted sword sticking out of them.
Before he could figure out which way to run, the horses came out of the woods, surrounding them. He tried to push Guinevere behind him, but she refused to budge. Instead, she lifted her chin squaring her shoulders, and gripping her sword.
Chapter 14
She held her head high while Prince Greggory and Rebecca emerged from the woods. His men dismounted from their horses and pointed their swords at them.
“Let them go,” Guinevere said, nodding at Arthur and Lancelot. “You still need to marry me to secure my lands, and I will not marry you if you kill them.” With that, she narrowed her eyes and gripped her sword tighter.
For the first time, the prince looked at her with something akin to lust in his eyes. He kicked his horse, bringing it closer. Glancing at the sword in front of her, he said, “No, Princess. I will kill these two because they dared to even look at what is mine, which is my right, and you will marry me, or watch me take Elizabeth here repeatedly.”
“I would die before I let you touch me,” Elizabeth said between gritted teeth.
“Neither one of you are worthy of him,” Rebecca spat, as she glared at them both.
Without looking away from her, he laughed. “By the time I am done with her, she will be begging you to marry me Princess. Put down your swords and I will kill them quickly. Marry me and I will let Elizabeth go home with her father.”
Guinevere kept her gaze on him, trying to figure out how to get out of this mess and keep them all safe. Before she could make a move, Arthur laughed.
In a flash, Greggory’s expression went from lust filled to pure rage. “Kill those two, now!” he demanded.
One of the guards who had tried to kill Arthur before lunged at her. She raised her sword in defense, while Arthur took on two more guards. In a few swift movements, the guard had knocked her sword from her hands, and then wrapped his arms around her in an unbreakable hold.
She struggled against him and glanced over to find that Elizabeth had been captured by another guard. Out of the corner of her eye, Arthur and Lancelot were still trying to fight off the rest of them. Arthur took a step up onto the rocks and continued to parry the thrust of the guards. In a quick move, Arthur was disarmed, and he fell back against the rocks. She gasped, and then struggled to get away from the guard still holding her.
Guinevere bit her lip to keep from crying out. Arthur rolled away from the guard and scrambled higher up the pile of rocks. The two guards that were attacking him both chuckled. One sauntered around to surround Arthur and limit his options for escape. Lancelot was lying on the ground, a sword at his throat, while all the guards smirked, knowing that they had won.
It was fitting they should end up here. The very spot that the former king had been killed by Morgana’s demon army. His sword somehow had landed in a pile of stones. It was rumored that only the next true king of Camelot could remove it. That somehow, Merlin had put a spell on it before disappearing, back to wherever he’d come from. Men came from miles around to try and pull out the sword, all had failed.
Arthur glanced at her and her heart tightened. One of the men took a step up closer to Arthur to lunge at him. Her heart sank, realizing there was no way she could save him.
Struggling harder in the guard’s arms, she started to beg, “Please Greggory, let them go. I promise I will be the perfect wife to you. I will even let Rebecca there be one of my ladies in waiting.”
“As if you have ever had a choice,” Rebecca replied.
Arthur reached out and grabbed the hilt of the rusted sword. The second his hand wrapped around the weapon, a battle cry thundered off his lips. Streaks of lightening flashed through the clouds, lighting up the sky in a way that Guinevere had never seen before. The ground at her feet shook.
She gasped. “Impossible.” Her eyes widened as she realized what had just happened.
“He pulled the sword from the stone,” she heard several of the guard’s whisper amongst themselves.
“Kill him! Kill him now!” Greggory shouted. The panic clear in his voice.
As she looked up to check on Arthur he swung the sword at the stunned guard who dropped his sword.
“Get them you fool,” Rebecca said pointing toward Arthur.
Before the guards could collect themselves, there was a flash of light, along with the whistle of arrows. The men started to scramble for their swords. With the guard holding her distracted, Guinevere elbowed him. He grunted and let her go, allowing her to slip out of his arms.
He’d started to reach for her, when an arrow came out through the woods and hit him in the shoulder. He cried out and Guinevere ran toward Elizabeth, who had escaped the guard holding her. She heard a growl and screamed as the wolf lunged from the woods and ran straight at them.
With her heart pounding in her ears, she ducked, and the animal flew over her head. Behind her, someone let out a scream. She turned around in time to witness the wolf attacking a guard who had been directly behind her.
She could hardly believe it, but the guards started to run away. Some mounted on their horses, other’s running on foot. Rebecca gave her one last glare before she, too, turned and rode away. Prince Greggory rode over and reached down for her. She tried to jump away only to have him grab hold of her braid.
“Let her go!” Elizabeth shouted as she attacked Greggory. Too close for Elizabeth to use her blade, she hit and scratched at him, all while trying to loosen his hold on her.
Arthur let out a loud battle cry and Greggory’s hold loosened as he looked up to see Arthur charging at them. He wrapped one arm around Guinevere as he pointed the sword from the stone at the Greggory’s throat forcing him to let go. Arthur whispered in his ear, “I got you.”
Pure rage shone bright through Greggory’s eyes. “You will pay for this and they will die.”
“Not today,” Arthur said with a conviction in his voice that made her shudder.
A bolt of lightning flashed in the air and Greggory’s horse reared up. Arthur pulled her closer, keeping her out of harm’s way. Greggory barely managed to stay astride when the horse came down. The prince glanced around, and upon realizing he was alone, turned his animal around and rode off in the opposite direction.
Bors came out on his horse, bow in his hand, and quickly dismounting, he ran toward them. Hugging Elizabeth tight, he asked, “Are you both okay?”
Guinevere nodded and glanced at Arthur, who was still holding the sword in his hand. Gone was the rust and dirt from before, it practically glowed in the dark as the light from the moon shone off the blade.
Before she could question him, the beat of horse’s hooves echoed all around them, making
them all jump. A man holding the reins of four horses rode up, stopping in front of them. “You all need to hurry and mount up before they come back.”
Bors gasped. “Merlin?” he asked with awe in his voice.
Merlin was the magician who supposedly disappeared around the time of the King’s death. Merlin gave a nod in Bors direction before handing him the reins to the horses he had brought with him. “Come along Your Highness. The longer we stay here, the more time they have to summon more guards, and I for one, would like to get the princess and her lovely companion somewhere safe.”
Bors nodded. “Elizabeth, milady, come on.”
Arthur sheathed the sword and quickly grabbed her by the waist, picking her up and settling her on top of the horse closest to her. Bors put Elizabeth on another horse, before mounting his own. The wolf came up to Arthur, and before she could tell him to watch out, he patted the animal affectionately, telling him good boy, before he swung up onto a horse.
The man Bors called Merlin turned his horse back in the direction he’d come from. “This way.”
With that, he kicked his horse in the sides, and he shot off. Seconds later, everyone followed him. Merlin didn’t stay on the path, opting to lead them through the woods. Guinevere guided her horse over fallen trees, her mind reeling from the night’s events.
Arthur had pulled the sword from the stone.
If the legend was true, he was the one true crown prince. The one she was really intended to marry. Had he known it all along? Is that why he’d kissed her and refused to leave when she’d told him to? Shaking her head, she decided those questions could be asked later. First, they had to make sure they got far from the King’s army, who would surely want Arthur dead before rumor could spread of the rightful Kings return.
Chapter 15
As the sun started to rise, they slowed their pace and allowed their horses a chance to rest. Arthur looked over to see Guinevere fighting to keep her eyes open and he rode up next to her. Her head bobbed up and down as she glared over at him. “What?”