The Once and Future Queen

By InkInMyVeins

Disclaimer: Merlin is sadly not mine.

The woman in the lavender dress walked calmly through the halls of Camelot, in her hands lay a tray covered in the finest of dishes but she was not headed to the Lady Morgana's chambers. The Lady in question had disappeared with her half-sister almost three months ago and in that time Gwen had been allowed to continue on in the castle whilst Camelot regained its former glory and bounced back from the war that had destroyed most of its former grandeur.

Gwen had in fact spent the first few weeks caring for the King who had suffered greatly at the hands of his daughter. Though the king, for all his worth did not remember the maid who had stayed by his bedside night after night, day after day to ease him of his nightmares, cool him of his fevers and coax the king into eating despite his lack of will to live. In fact only her harsh words that he dare betray his son by wallowing in self-pity had seemed to have the most effect on the man who slowly regained his health.

Matters of Camelot's running had fallen mainly to Arthur in those few months and along with the help of some trusted advisors the running of the kingdom had been smooth. The people were recovering and with a great respect for their crown Prince. The knights who had saved them and had been honoured as such mere hours before their suicidal mission were considered something of hero's and worshipped quite the same.

As the rightful King had regained his health Gwen had looked to other aspects of the castle's running to tend to though it was still her duty to bring the King meals and check on his health whilst Gaius attended to the rest of the kingdom's injured men, women and children.

Approaching the King's chambers, Gwen manoeuvred the tray with practised ease, allowing herself to carefully open the door and not spill a single drop of water. Carefully nudging the door closed she turned to greet the king and promptly dropped the tray to the ground, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in shock.

The king was seated in a chair with two large and scary men on either side and one held a sword pressed sharply to the man's throat

"My Lord!" she exclaimed, backing up to the door

"Stop right there" the first man commanded

"What have we here?" the second leered, his filthy appearance made Gwen flinch

"You're a servant?" the first barked, seemingly more in control than his partner

"A maid, yes" Gwen nodded

"Good, I want you to fetch clothes for him" he gestured to the king who had yet to utter a word, "Servants attire, we can't have him recognised now can we?" he added

"See if you can snatch some food while you're at it" the second one grinned toothily

"Get the clothes, some food and get back here within the hour. Don't speak of anyone about what's going on and if anyone asks where he is you lie okay, I don't care what about but make it convincing" he paused, pressing the sword more firmly against Uther, "And if you don't..." he trailed off, perfectly clear in his meaning. Gwen hesitated, her eyes flickering to the king who stared at her and nodded

"Do as they say" he told her quietly. Gwen nodded and leant down to clean up the mess of the tray

"Leave it" the first man sounded irritable. Gwen nodded and fled the room, her mind in disarray. Fetching the clothes was easy enough, she had some of her father's old clothes that she had kept, they wouldn't be missed and there was nothing suspicious about her entering and leaving her home quickly. Whilst there she gathered the little food she had stored and on the napkin she had swiped from the Kings tray she scribbled a hasty note to Arthur who she knew would come looking for her soon enough.

Gwen rushed back to the King's chambers and knocked quietly before entering. The men appraised her as she handed the king the clothes she had brought and silently passed the men the bundle of food she had gathered. From what she could tell they had eaten what had been on the tray, even what had landed on the floor. Slightly nauseous at the thought she swallowed and backed up to the door only to have the man follow her threateningly

"Hold it" he pointed his sword at her, the tip just touching under her chin. She raised her head defiantly, "Just where do you think you're going?"

"I am of no use to you" she told them

"Not as a ransom you're not" he agreed

"But I'm sure we can find other uses for you" the second one grinned greedily

"Let her go the girl is nothing to you" Uther quietly demanded, walking out from behind the screen and dressed more modestly than Gwen had ever thought she would see the regal man. The light shirt and loose pants were a little too big but as most peasants wore hand-me-downs he wouldn't stand out. The light brown of the shirt suited him somewhat and for a second he looked like a kindly fatherly man, the moment passed and anger filled Gwen. The man who killed her father, wearing his clothes?

She focused her attention back to the matter at hand and realised that Uther was arguing a lost cause; they would either kill her or take her with them. From the crude second man's expression she rather hoped she wouldn't have to go anywhere with him

"Here" the first man thrust a cloak at Gwen and another at Uther, "Put them on, keep your head's down and don't even think about running" he warned and poked them each roughly with his sword to get them moving.

Throughout the entire walk through the back ways and less used corridors of the castle Gwen prayed they would happen upon Merlin, Gaius or Arthur. Perhaps even another Knight who could help but it appeared the men had planned well. The guard shift change occurred in the corridors they wandered, a commotion was caused on the other side of the castle which let them leave through the front doors and all throughout the lower city they were ignored, almost as if they blended perfectly in with the background. The men breathed a sigh of relief once they had left the gates of Camelot far behind and were hidden rather nicely in a cluster of trees

"Godwin, we ain't got time to linger, let's go" the first man snapped his fingers as the second reappeared with three horses in tow

"Sorry lass, you're just gonna have to share" he leered at Gwen who glared defiantly back, she shuffled her foot a little and assessed where her dagger lay poised though it wasn't the right moment to use it, she had to have faith in Arthur. The first man, who Gwen discovered his name was Myron took the lead horse, Godwin the next and Uther was strapped, none to gently to the third. Godwin sauntered over to Gwen and smirked at her

"You'll be riding with me sweetheart" he informed her gleefully

"I'd like to see how well you ride with that injury" she replied

"What injury?" he asked blankly

"This one" she kneed him in the groin. Hard, Godwin doubled over in pain and cursed many a colourful riddles whilst Myron laughed at his discomfort

"You bitch" he sneered, his fist clenched in her hair and pulling painfully at her scalp, "You'll pay for that" he told her as he pushed her roughly into a tree

"That's enough Godwin" Myron intervened, "She'll ride with me" and so the arrangements were set. Gwen, though thankfully not near Godwin who rode behind Uther to make sure he didn't escape, she still had her hands bound and she was gagged so she couldn't call for help unnecessarily.
The small party rode at a steady pace for what felt like hours, Gwen made note as the sun reached its peak in the sky and then started its slow descent. She was certain that Arthur was either looking for them or making plans to go after them. Her faith in him knew no bounds.

The sun was inching closely to the horizon when the men stopped their riding at a pocketed cave, well concealed and easy to overlook. She was dragged from the horse and pushed onto the ground in the back corner, the King deposited next to her almost instantly. Disorientated as he was Gwen reached out her still tied hands to steady her sovereign. Rules of propriety be damned in situations like this

"My Lord are you alright?" she asked fearfully as he swayed where he sat and leant against the rock to clear his head

"I'm alright, just a little light headed" he informed her

"Here" Godwin thrust two bowls at them whilst Myron withdrew a dagger and cut their bonds, he took another length of rope and tied the king's ankle to protruding rock. Another length of rope did the same for Gwen before the men left them to eat.

Gwen used the spoon to poke at her food for a few moments, sniff it and check for any telltale signs of poison before she started to eat with relish. Having gone with nothing all day she was ravenous. The food wasn't half bad either, it was some stew with a few lumps of unidentifiable meat though from the taste Gwen guessed it was rat and mixed into the entire thing were a few greens. These men were obviously able to afford a decent meal for their prisoner's, it made Gwen wonder whom else they had ransomed before. Only once she had eaten did she realise the King was inspecting his matching dish with distaste

"My lord you must eat something" she insisted gently

"I'm fine" Uther replied quietly, his voice giving no leave for argument as he pushed the bowl away

"My Lord I do not know how much longer we will be kept here and chances are we will not get another full meal. I insist that you eat Sire, when we are rescued you will need to be in fit shape" she told him sternly. Uther admired her gall for daring to tell the king what to do, but even he could see the logic behind her words and with a sigh he picked up his spoon and holding his breath, took a mouthful.

Once Godwin had collected their bowls, he and Myron lit a fire just outside the entrance to the cave and sat talking of their plans. Uther and Gwen shivered in the damp and dark recess of the cave. Gwen told her sovereign to rest, she would wake him up in an hour or two and they could have shifts so as to keep a watch on their kidnappers. Once again Uther was shocked at her giving him orders but once again he remained silent. Though he'd never admit it the girl intrigued him, she had stood up to her attackers and seemed to be rather calm for their situation all things considered.
As the fire dimmed and their captors fell asleep Gwen stood quietly and padded forward as quietly as she could. The length strung around her ankle was rather long and gave her enough leverage to inspect some of their captor's items. In particular a bag that had been discarded just a few metres from where they lay.

Carefully opening the bag Gwen squinted and slowly dipped her hand into its contents. Handful after handful of items came pouring out; coins, papers, herbs, bread, a map, a neatly folded shirt and lastly a shiny dagger. Gwen examined the papers in the dim light only to find that they were letters to and from their families, she pocketed a few of the herbs, left the coins, tore a bit of the bread, the map was of Camelot which they didn't need, the shirt was left also but Gwen picked up the dagger, reset the bag so it looked exactly the same as before and hurried back over to the King

"Here" she handed him the dagger, his eyes looked at it before looking up at her determined face

"You keep it" he told her, much to her surprise, "I am their insurance, they will not harm me but you to them are dispensable" she smiled wryly and pulled her own dagger from her shoe

"But I have my own" she told him. Uther stared at her for a second longer before taking the dagger and hiding it away in his own boot, Gwen instructed him the best way to position it so it wouldn't dig into him, slide about or be hard to reach in difficult situations.

Next she handed him the bread and whilst he ate she examined the sprigs of herbs in her hands

"What are they for?" Uther asked, seemingly uncomfortable with asking her, a mere maid, questions

"These two" she gestured to two of the sprigs, "Are what can help us get out of here, but we need Hellebore for me to use them effectively" she sighed, "This here I'm not sure if we'll need it but it's safer to have it than to not" she told him

"You're very calm" he noted, she looked up at him, her face inscrutable

"I trust that the Prince will save us" she told him strongly

"How? No one has any idea about what has happened" Uther reminded her

"I left a note Sire, Merlin will notice I am missing and I've left it where he surely cannot miss it" she informed him quietly, glancing nervously at their snoring companions as she did so. She left out that the letter was more for Arthur than Merlin

"You can write?" Uther asked blankly, most servants were uneducated and the few who were educated were almost all male

"I can read and write Sire" Gwen informed him, "They" she gestured the sleeping men, "Were so easy to disregard a servant and a girl at that, this will show them" she smiled ruefully

"You are full of surprises" Uther remarked quietly, "We should get some rest" he added tiredly, he had still not regained all of his strength from his illness over Morgana's betrayal. Gwen acquiesced and huddled underneath her cloak to keep herself as warm as possible, no easy feat as there seemed to be a breeze wafting through from the edge of the cave. As sleep overtook her the last thoughts that entered her mind were of Arthur, her love.

Gwen woke the next morning to the sound of the men bustling about the cave

"Ah the beauty wakes" Godwin leered

"To face the beast" she snapped back only to receive a slap in response

"You should worship me like a Prince" he told her in a deadly quiet voice

"The only Prince I know is Arthur" she replied strongly

"You remain faithful to Camelot" he remarked mockingly

"Until the day I die"

"Your wish may come sooner than expected" he sneered and walked off. Gwen visibly slumped once he was gone; she lifted a hand gingerly to her cheek where a bruise was forming. Carefully she let the trickle of blood from her mouth drip into her hand. Quietly she turned around and faced the wall. Uther surmised she didn't want to be seen crying

"Why are you doing this?" he asked in confusion, "After all I have done to you and your family. You remained faithful to me when Morgana betrayed Camelot, you stay loyal now; why?" she turned back to him slowly

"None of what I do is for you" she told him honestly, "Everything I do is for Arthur, my loyalty is with Arthur and the kingdom he will build" she replied strongly, firmly and defiantly with her head raised up proudly

"What has my son done to prove to you he is worthy of your loyalty?" he was honestly curious despite his previous lifestyle of never speaking to servants or asking them questions of their opinions, commoners he believed were good for the meagre tasks of life and were not of such noble things as opinions though after meeting this girl he was quickly reconsidering

"He has shown us what a good and just leader he will be, he is compassionate and cares for the plight of his people. He risks his life for his subjects and he has a good heart" she told the King who remained silent, thinking over what she had said. Gwen in turn was silently berating herself for her lack of propriety; she had more when around Arthur! Yet here she was, dishing out her mind to none other than the king himself! If Arthur were to rescue them she would surely burn at the stake for what she had said.

The rest of the day was quiet as well as the next few days, Gwen rested to preserve her strength whilst constantly keeping an ear open on the conversation which never differentiated from what they would eat next to where they would go this summer to their own brilliance in choosing a cave that protected them from the southerly winds. If it weren't for their daily bowls of stew Gwen would have thought they had completely forgotten about them.

Why kidnap them if not to use the King for a ransom? Surely she was missing something here. As Myron passed them their bowls that morning he smiled, it wasn't menacing or comforting, merely empty of any emotion where they were concerned. It was the sort of smile and calm demeanour one would use when dealing with an animal which was to be killed for the night's dinner and it terrified Gwen more than Godwin's taunts

"We'll be moving you tomorrow" he informed them quietly, "It'll be a long journey so you might want to keep up your strength" he nudged the bowls closer and nodded to them before leaving with Godwin, before they left they packed a few supplies which suggested they were going on a hunt for an animal to make a meal of. Gwen waited a few minutes after they left before spurring into action; pulling her dagger from her shoe she made quick work of their bonds. Uther watched her curiously as she gathered her cloak about her and hurried over to the men's supplies.

Faster than Uther would have thought possible she packed them bags of food, a handful of coins, most of the food and a few lengths of rope. She packed the men's water gourds and hurried over to their fire. She improvised a torch out of sticks and dry grass and set it alight

"Quickly" she rushed him and, rather than heading out of the cave she hurried further into it

"Where are you going?" he demanded in confusion

"I'll explain on the way just hurry, we need to get a good head start!" she exclaimed. Uther glanced about before hurrying after the maid

"Explain, now!" he demanded as they walked, Gwen rather fast for a woman

"The draft that comes from here" she told him as she ducked into a passageway he hadn't noticed before, camouflaged as it were by the lack of light, "From the glance of the cave I got before we entered it, there's no mountainside which means that the cave will either come to a dead end somewhere or there's another opening" she told him and hurried on before he could speak up about the little flaw, "the draft means there must be an opening and seeing as the men saying how lucky it is that we've been having Southerly winds as the cave is angled to protect us from them, it means that the opening is somewhere South of us which might I remind you is exactly the direction of Camelot" needless to say, Uther was impressed and he wasn't impressed very easily.

This girl, a mere servant, had been educated enough to leave a message for none other than the Prince's servant, then she had been brave enough to stand up to men who could kill her instantly, thirdly she had defended his and his son's honour despite the wounds she received and lastly she had saved both of their lives with her knowledge which superseded his own vastly as he just realised.

Rather than speaking for he was rendered speechless, he merely hurried along after her through the winding passages of the cave tunnel. Uther was not easily scared yet he had always found himself on edge when underground, the feeling of the earth pressing in on him was something he could not stop and had frightened him for quite some time.

Arthur, Merlin and the two other Knights Sir Leon and Sir Elyan were riding in a tense silence through the forest just north of Camelot. Gwen's note, though brief explained her and the kings predicament and as Uther was not there to hinder Arthur's rescue mission he had set of immediately with Merlin and at their insistence, Sir's Leon and Elyan. Arthur could understand Elyan's insistence, Gwen was his sister after all and as for Sir Leon he had simply stated his loyalty once more and needless to say he was glad to have him.

The first fruitless days of searching had been spent with Arthur bickering with Merlin and being ignored by the other two who were used to their banter by now. Arthur was anxious and on edge, he could not lose his father like this but more so was his concern for Gwen. Elyan was terrified at the thought of losing his sister, Sir Leon considered himself repaying a debt to her and Merlin was worried about his friend. Odd as it may sound but no one really paid much care to the King, Arthur was of course concerned for him but the lies and the mistrust between him and his father had resulted in a lack of communication and a breaking down of their relationship. He still wanted his father back of course but Uther was the men's insurance, Gwen was dispensable to these men but most definitely not to Arthur.

The men were tense as they crept through the undergrowth, tracking the horses they had spied the prints of.
They snuck up on two men, each brandishing a spear for hunting. They turned around and dropped them immediately as the knights appeared from between the trees

"My Lord!" they exclaimed, bowing low to the ground, Arthur still found that extremely awkward

"What are you doing here men?" he asked them gruffly, in no mood to be nice

"Hunting, my lord" the first man exclaimed

"What are your names?" Sir Leon inquired

"I am Myron and this is Godwin" the man introduced them

"Have you seen anyone pass through these woods either today or yesterday?" Arthur asked them, they exchanged glances

"A girl Sire" the second told him, "She was with an older woman and four men. One looked to be her father" he informed them

"Which way were they heading?" Arthur demanded

"East Sir" Myron told him

"Thank you men" Sir Leon inclined his head as Arthur had already set off through the trees, urging his tired horse on and followed closely by the other three men.

They rode for a few minutes, Arthur's mind whirring a hundred miles an hour as he tried to understand why the captors would take them East. There was nothing East, only the Nameless Lands which were full of Bandits and thieves

"Whoa!" Arthur called his horse to a sudden stop, turning to face the other men who reined in their horses and looked at their prince in confusion

"What's wrong my lord?" Sir Leon asked

"Those men" he stated suddenly, "Which way were they headed?"

"North" Elyan replied automatically

"Where did they come from?" Arthur asked, "We haven't passed anyone from Camelot or any tracks save for the horses that took my father and Guinevere. And any beginner would know not to hunt when the wind is blowing your scent to your prey, the southerlies would be stopping them from catching anything" Arthur added, a realisation forming in his mind

"Maybe they were heading home?" Sir Leon suggested, up North was a scattering of prospering villages

"But they had no catch" Arthur explained

"And in a village the first thing boys are taught is to hunt, unless they're sons of a blacksmith or a similar trade in which case the men would be wealthy enough to buy their meat" Merlin supplied, having grown up in a village himself he knew the general running's

"Unless they were only hunting there because that's where they're staying" Elyan realised

"They have Guinevere and my father!" Arthur exclaimed, they all redirected their horses and spurred them on in the direction of the men.

Gwen passed Uther a chunk of bread to eat

"Here Sire, we cannot stop for a rest, we must keep going" she told him, they continued walking whilst they ate the bread despite the ache in their legs. They had spied a faint light at the end of the cobweb filled tunnel which was steadily getting brighter, Gwen's make-shift torch had already burnt down so she abandoned it as they started running for the light

"We're almost there!" she exclaimed, hope bubbling inside her

They hurried onwards and shielded their eyes as they burst into the sunlight, the relief that came with being out of the damp and dark cave made them both smile with renewed faith that they would soon be home.

A quick glance about gave Gwen a bit of an idea of where they were. Until they could stumble across some familiar land they would just have to head south and pray that they would either bump into Arthur or stumble across some travellers.

"We can rest for a moment Sire" Gwen told him softly, he was still weak but didn't want any sympathy

"No we must keep going" he told her firmly.

She nodded and they set off through the trees, both wondering whether their escape had been noticed by now or whether their captors were out hunting still, blissfully unaware that their most prized catch was free.

They ran on until night set in, they collapsed against the trees. Their shaking limbs protesting against every movement they made

"Fire" Uther muttered

"Yes sire" Gwen replied, sitting forwards and scrabbling at twigs to create one, once she had it going they both huddled in close to the flames. Gwen passed around some more of the men's food stores, the herbs falling from her pocket as she did so

"What were you going to use them for?" he asked her pointing at the little green plants which she hastily pocketed

"If I'd found hellebore I could have added some water and thrown it into the fire. It creates coloured smoke and smells horrible, it would have drawn attention to where we were staying" she replied quietly

"It would have helped them find us" he murmured quietly

"Yes sire" she replied, both were considering the dangers of the fire before them, it could attract their previous captors as well as bandits but on the plus side it kept them warm and kept wild animals from attacking them. In the end they both drifted into fitful slumber, warmed only by the glow of the flickering flames.

Once they awoke the next morning Gwen packed up their fire and erased all signs of them ever staying there in hopes of throwing off their pursuers

"We must hurry" Uther told her firmly as they set off, "I recognise these trees" he told her as they walked, "This is where I used to take Arthur when he was a boy, back then it was safer of course" he added, Gwen smiled at her sovereign as he reminisced about the man she loved

"Why did you stop?" she asked quietly,

"Because it's become infested with bandits" he replied matter of factly, "Before though it was such a beautiful place, very serene. I forbade hunting in this area, some of the deer became almost tame enough that you could feed them from your hand" he smiled, "I'd bring Arthur out here to watch the young foals learning to walk"

"I'm sure he enjoyed that" Gwen encouraged

"Oh he did" Uther seemed happy, "It was always a place where we could go and talk. I'm afraid that since then running Camelot has come between us" Gwen held her tongue from saying that in fact it was him becoming a ruthless and cruel man who lied to his own son that had broken them but she refrained.

They continued walking, Gwen striding further ahead and Uther lagging behind somewhat. Gwen often suggested they stop and rest but Uther would have none of it. Gwen was the one carrying the few bags and she gave him most of the food yet she was stronger of spirit and her faith in Arthur gave her enough will power to keep walking. As the sun reached its peak in the sky they both deemed it necessary for a break

Gwen passed Uther a little of the food they had left which was almost all gone. Uther went to take a gulp of water from his gourd and found it empty. He sighed and made to stand but stumbled over backwards into a tree

"Sire!" Gwen exclaimed rushing forwards and helping him sit, "What's wrong?" she asked him

"Water" he mumbled, Gwen took the gourd and found it empty, "Sire you said you remembered this land, is there a lake or a stream nearby?" Gwen asked hurriedly, he nodded faintly

"Over there, should be just through those trees" he gestured vaguely to a cluster of trees back the way they'd come and slightly to the side

"Alright, I'll go and get some water, eat this and if anything happens I need you to call out. I'll be as quick as I can" she told him thrusting the rest of their bread and an apple at him as she took off in the direction of the stream. The stream was a tad farther than she anticipated but once she heard the gurgling of water running she sped up and broke through the trees into a small clearing with a stream cutting through. Breathing out in relief she filled the gourd, took a drink herself and refilled it again.

Splashing a little of the cool water onto her face she smiled slightly. Standing up she noted a little patch of wild berries, these particular ones Gwen remembered collecting as a child, they were full of sugar and very rejuvenating. Collecting a few handfuls of the ripened fruit she turned to hurry back to the king and found herself face to face with a party of bandits. Startled she dropped the fruit but made no sound save for a sudden gasp before the man had his sword at her throat

"What have we here men?" he asked the group of 8 or so men behind him who laugh crudely, "Tell me, what would a young girl such as yourself be doing out here, and alone no less" he asked

"Travelling, with my family" she lied, praying he wouldn't find the king and recognise him

"I see no family here" he replied silkily, "I think it will be best if you travel with us from now on" he told her grinning, "We can protect you better than your absent family" he told her, "And in return..." he trailed off meaningfully

"If you were any sort of gentlemen you'd leave me be" Gwen replied, her voice shaking slightly. She cursed herself for getting into this mess, Uther had told her these lands were infested with bandits

"Leave you alone? I'd be leaving you to die here" he told her coldly

"I'd rather be dead than with you" she spat firmly

"You will show me respect!" he screamed in her face, his hand gripped around her arm so tightly it hurt

"You don't deserve any" she snarled back only to be thrown backwards and onto the ground by the lead bandit

"I'll just have to teach you some then!" he exclaimed, his men laughed raucously as their leader had his fun, drawing a shorter sword he advanced on her

"Pig" Gwen spat at him, he backhanded her across her face before lifting her up and close to his face

"First I'll cut out that filthy tongue" he snarled cruelly as he raised the sword. Gwen clawed her nails across his face as she wrenched herself from his grasp only to be pushed back to the ground once more as he advanced on her again, enraged by the blood she had drawn

"Bitch!" he screamed, raising his sword poised to plunge into her gut. Before he could move however a sword came flying and thudded into his side, the force of the throw sending the swords end poking out of his other side

"Guinevere!" Arthur called as he rushed headfirst into the group of men who all drew their swords and attacked with vengeance the three knights' and Merlin.

Sir Leon and Sir Elyan ducked out before their prince who had thrown his sword, to protect him from the onslaught of bandits. Gwen pulled the sword from the lead bandit and fought the next man who came running at her. Slicing him through the gut with no wince, she had fought before

"Arthur!" she called out loudly, tossing the sword to the Prince who grabbed it just in time to fight off the rest of the bandits with the two other knights. Elyan rushed over to his exhausted sister and embraced her

"Gwen are you alright?" he asked worriedly

"Yes Elyan I'm fine" she breathed out weakly, all thoughts of the king pushed to the back of her mind
Arthur finished off the last man and dropped his sword

"Guinevere!" he exclaimed, he rushed forward at the same time as Gwen and they embraced, Arthur relieved that she was safe and well. He pulled back to kiss her with a desperation she responded with. They broke apart and Arthur, noticing her exhausted state, gently guided Gwen back up until she sat down, leaning against a tree and closing her eyes, letting her exhaustion get the better of her. Arthur knelt before her, Elyan sitting beside her whilst Merlin fetched the discarded water gourd

"Here" he smiled softly, Gwen returned the gesture and took a long drink

"Thank you" she smiled softly

"Guinevere where is my father?" Arthur asked softly, his voice anxious

"I'm here Arthur" Uther spoke suddenly, walking out from the trees. Arthur rushed forwards to help his father sit down. Sir Leon passed him water and food as well as giving Gwen some which she accepted gratefully

"How did you find us?" Gwen asked curiously, though her voice was filled with relief. Arthur was here, she was safe

"We followed those two idiots to their cave. They freaked out when they couldn't find you saying you'd escaped. They cleared off pretty quick once they saw us and we didn't waste time following them. We had no idea where you'd gone until we saw what you'd left" Arthur nodded to Gwen who smiled weakly back

"What's this?" Uther asked, looking at Gwen

"Remember when Godwin hit me?" she asked quietly, he nodded and noted slightly that Arthur tensed angrily

"Gwen left a clue on the rock in her blood" Elyan smiled at his sister, "Brave girl"

"It was just an arrow towards the gap in the rock" she commented bashfully

"Well we wouldn't have known where you were if you hadn't of left it" Arthur told her smiling, "As well as the note Merlin found"

"When did you find it?" Gwen asked curiously

"I went to your house to see where you were just before lunch, we left to find you an hour later" Merlin grinned at her, glancing at Arthur out of the corner of his eye

"Would have been sooner but Merlin here" Arthur whacked him on the back of his head, "Was being a princess about what to pack"

"Thank you" Gwen smiled up at Arthur and his eyes softened as he gazed at her, "All of you" she smiled around at the other knights who Uther noticed were more concerned about her than him.

When the group walked into the courtyard of Camelot's Castle a few days later Uther hung to the back slightly and watched in awe as three of the knights, Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival turned to them and beamed.

Running forwards and most unladylike Gwen was embraced by all three at once and soon joined by Elyan and Sir Leon in the massive group hug which a few other knights also joined happily. Uther watched with wide eyes as Arthur smiled warmly at the sight, it was genuine and loving when directed at Gwen who after all he had been through Uther couldn't find it in himself to hate her.

The happiness was infectious and Uther almost laughed as Gwaine and Lancelot grabbed Merlin and pulled him into the hug, almost crushing him before Arthur was pulled into the centre, being ignored as he cried out in shock. Gaius spied the sight and rushed forward and hugged a tearful Gwen as a father would embrace their daughter. In amidst the celebration of her return no one noticed the king as he quietly walked up the steps, entered his castle and retired to his chambers feeling more the old man he was by the day. Arthur didn't know that he had seen him embrace and kiss the maid who had proved her loyalty by defending him on pain of death. Uther had seen the protectors of Camelot, the Knights he had started all flock to her like moths to a candle.

She was a new era, a new time where Camelot would be rebuilt on love, loyalty, trust and hope. All he had aimed to achieve had crumbled about him but she had given Camelot a future.

She had given the king understanding, set as he was in his ways she had somehow changed him.

She had given the Prince love, loyalty and her good and generous heart; she would make him a better person, a person with humility and Uther noticed he was already changing, already becoming that man.

She would give the knights a Queen they would adore and look after, one who knew them personally and one they would willingly serve and lay down their lives for.

And most importantly she had given the people a voice.

With her would come change, it had already started coming and he doubted it would stop anytime soon. This change, Uther decided, would be for the better. And he couldn't wait.

The End