With All My Heart
Summary: "I will not let you die." She breathed. "Not again.." – Time Travel, Arthur/Guinevere.
...WAMH...
..
Clink
Clink
..
The fumes hovered around the chambers as different colored substances were mixed together. Vials upon vials filled with fascinating and questionable things took up most of the shelves that filled the room.
However, the old man paid no heed to his surroundings as his concentration was entirely focused in his current work.
..
Clak
Clak
..
Irritated, the old man paused in his project when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps heading in his direction.
"How many times do I have to tell yo-"
The old man paused in his words as he glanced at the person who dared interrupt his work.
Fear grasped his weary heart in a tight vise as he froze in place.
Dropping the vials that he was holding, not caring in the least that it crashed against the hard ground and spilled its substances, he immediately went down to his knees, bowing deeply to the cloaked individual in front of him.
Not waiting for a response, the individual got straight to the point.
"The matter?"
"I had done it, and would continue to do so at your command."
"Excellent." A hint of a smile could be seen. "I had entrusted you with this, do not disappoint me."
"Yes, as you wish." he replied, reverently, pressing his forehead against the ground as he bowed lower to the individual."I will always be your fateful servant, My Liege."
...WAMH...
A tired and exasperated sigh was drowned by the constant chatter of the people residing in the castle.
That was quite a feat in itself as both men were in the training grounds, several yards away from all the chaos.
"What? I thought you'd be happy." grinned Merlin.
"That's right I'd be happy." Grumbled Arthur, handing his equipments to Merlin. "Exceedingly happy to see all of these burned down to the ground."
"What's so bad about it?" asked Merlin, helping Arthur with one of the clasps in his armor. "It's only a party. Lots of free food and stuff."
And that's where all the trouble originated.
..
Didn't his father had enough of parties especially with that disaster last time?
..
Arthur shook his head, shaking off an impending headache.
"My father only does it to find a suitable mate for me, carry on the line or some such nonsense." Merlin let out a snort.
"Ah, so that's why all those ladies are over there. I was wondering about that." Merlin glanced at the women standing at the edge of the clearing, busy fanning themselves as the heat of the sun got to them. It was entirely their fault anyway, wearing all those layers of fancy – bordering outrageous - clothing in this type of weather.
Arthur just let out another tired sigh. "You know what?"
"What?"
"I'm not going."
"What?!"
"I have no time for such nonsense."
"Wha- Why?" whined Merlin.
It wasn't like Merlin was thrilled in going to the party per se. He just didn't want to be thrown in the stocks again by the King for covering the actions of the prat.
Good lord knows that there will be a sudden shortage of vegetables in Camelot one day.
"Good afternoon, Sire, Merlin."
Both men turned around to see Guinevere walking towards them.
"Oh, hello Gwen. Afternoon."
"Guinevere."
Guinevere curtsied to Arthur.
"What brings you here?" Arthur felt like all his troubles was blown away from his mind as he set his gaze on Guinevere's delicate figure. A strange sensation settled in his chest. He couldn't quite describe it.
..
Was he actually feeling giddy?
..
Arthur was quite bewildered at his conclusion, before quickly shooing the ridiculous notion to focus on the woman.
"I was just going to ask if you're going to attend the ball?" queried Guinevere, shyly looking at the Prince. "The Lady Morgana was wondering about it."
"He's not going." Merlin shook his head, struggling with Arthur's armor.
"Merlin," glared Arthur, cutting him off. "Do not answer questions you know nothing about."
"Oh, so you're attending Sire?" supposed Guinevere, tilting her head slightly.
"Definitely, I have always loved-" nodded Arthur, waving his hand casually. "Soirees."
Merlin furrowed his brows at Arthur's statement.
"But, you just said-"
"Merlin." Arthur gritted in a low tone, grabbing Merlin by the back of his neck, all the while smiling at Guinevere. "Shut. Up."
Merlin looked confused for a moment, before a dawning realization crossed his expression.
"Oh." Said Merlin, drawing the word out, finally getting the point.
With a huge grin plastered on his face, Merlin gave him a not-so-discreet thumbs up.
In front of Guinevere no less.
..
Could you be any more obvious?
..
Arthur raged, wanting to bash his head against something preferably hard.
Or better yet, bash his manservant's head instead.
Yes, that would do the trick.
"Well then, I guess I will be informing the Lady Morgana." Guinevere slowly said, confused by the men's antics. Curtsying at the Prince, she turned to go back to her mistress.
"Wait!" burst out Arthur.
"Yes, Sire?" asked Guinevere, surprised.
"I,.. uh-" stumbled Arthur. He only stopped her because he wanted to spend a little bit more time with Guinevere. This was the first time that they were able to talk properly ever since, well, yesterday.
But you couldn't possibly blame him. Guinevere was just too irresistible.
"Can I do anything for you, My Lord?" Guinevere queried again, feeling a bit nervous, she clenched her hold on the basket she was holding while balancing the tray of food on her other hand.
"Uh-... Yes, I-..." stuttered Arthur, desperately searching for something to talk about.
Arthur just stood there, adopting a lost expression on his face.
Guinevere and Merlin stared at Arthur.
One was worried if the Prince was alright and the other deliberated if the prat had finally gone mental.
"Tell her Merlin!" he rushed out suddenly, slamming the back of his hand at his manservant's stomach. Albeit, a little too harshly.
"Oof!" gasped Merlin, very much winded from the unexpected blow. He stared at Arthur incredulously as he rubbed his now sore abdomen.
"Well?" started Arthur, grasping at random words, gesturing at Guinevere. "Tell her."
"Tell me what?"
"Yes, tell her what?"
"Tell her," said Arthur, turning to face Merlin, his back to Guinevere, so that the young woman wouldn't notice his expression. He was frantically asking Merlin for help with his eyes. "What you need to tell her. You know." He added, slightly tilting his head back towards Guinevere.
"What?" Guinevere asked again, very much befuddled by the conversation. "Was there something you need to tell me?" she added, directing her gaze at Merlin.
Merlin's jaw dropped in outrage at the turn of events.
But Arthur's threatening stare silenced whatever Merlin wanted to say.
"Uh-... hm, yes." Merlin slowly nodded, looking just as lost as Arthur was. "Yes, Gwen. I do need to tell you about... something."
"What is it?"
"It's about the-... um," Merlin started to fidget from side to side, ears burning red. "It's quite funny actually." He shrugged, before awkwardly letting out a short laugh. It came out rather shrill, much to his utter humiliation.
..
This better be worth it, you prat!
..
Merlin fumed silently, whole face ablaze in embarrassment.
"Yes?" said Guinevere, patiently.
"You see, the thing is-" Merlin began, staring at the young woman with an unnecessarily hard stare, but his mind was entirely blank. Guinevere just raised her brows in response. "I-.. uh, need to-... need to go to the Lady Morgana!" he rushed out.
"Oh." Replied Guinevere, taken aback, blinking at his not so quiet proclamation. "Do you want me to pass along a message? I was just going back to the castle."
"Oh no, that won't be necessary." Merlin quickly disagreed. "You know what? Since I'm going to see her anyway, I'll deliver this to her as well." With that, he swiftly snatched the silver tray loaded with food in Guinevere's hands. He struggled with it, carrying Arthur's armor all the while.
"But-"
"Leave it to me Gwen." Grinned Merlin. "No worries."
He immediately took off without saying another word.
..
He may be an idiot
But he does have his uses
..
Arthur mused thoughtfully, staring at Merlin's retreating form.
"Well, um, it was nice to see you Milord." Curtsied Guinevere, before walking down the path towards the gates.
"Huh?" Arthur look perplexed for a moment, before he slightly shook his head. He hurried towards Guinevere before striding in pace with said woman.
"So," started Arthur, hands in his pockets. "Where are you headed?"
"Oh, just running a few errands." Replied Guinevere, slightly surprised at the man's presence, but never breaking her stride.
"Really?"
"Yes, Gaius asked me to pick some herbs he badly needed. I figured I'll do it now since Merlin kindly offered to lighten my chores."
"Herbs? Wait, you're going out of the city?"
"Well, yes, most of what he had requested can only be found in the woods."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Arthur furrowed his brows. "What I meant was, you'll be out in the woods, all alone."
"You shouldn't worry about it Milord." Guinevere smiled reassuringly at Arthur. "I'm used to doing errands such as this."
"But still, there are certain dangers out there."
"I am well aware of that, but dare I say that I wouldn't go unprepared."
"That doesn't change the fact that a lone woman will venture out of the city without due protection." Arthur said, firmly. "As to the case, I'll accompany you to your errand."
That definitely stopped Guinevere in her tracks.
"Sire, that wouldn't be necessary-"
"Yes, it is." Intervened Arthur, gazing directly at Guinevere.
"I wouldn't like to impose."
"It wouldn't be at all."
"But-!" started Guinevere.
However, Arthur was already walking away, raising his hand to beckon her. Heaving a deep breath to calm her nerves, she followed the Prince.
...WAMH...
..
Knock
Knock
..
Knocking on the wooden door, Merlin waited for a reply.
After a few moment's had passed with no response, he tilted his head in curiosity.
..
Knock
Knock
..
He knocked again.
Still, no reply.
His arm was actually starting to ache as he balanced the tray of food on one hand and his royal pratness' armor in another. He really should've dropped Arthur's equipments first before going here.
Huh.
He hadn't thought of that.
Oh well, he's already here.
He couldn't very well go back; he did forcefully get this from Gwen's hands.
Looking around the hallway, he spotted no one but him.
..
What to do?
..
Merlin mused, casting another look at the empty hallway.
Since no one was answering him, Merlin could hazard a guess that Morgana probably went out, roaming about the castle no doubt.
That woman could hardly stay still, or at least that was what Gwen had told him when she complained about Morgana's hyper activeness.
Carefully balancing both Arthur's equipments and Morgana's meal was quite a feat – he really should get a raise for this – as he opened the door leading to Morgana's chambers.
He let out a sigh of relief as he passed through the door successfully.
..
Yeah
No one inside
..
Merlin thought, as he scanned the empty room.
Walking towards the long table, he set the tray of food down with a clunk.
Mission Accomplished.
Hefting Arthur's armor up his arms, he happily proceeded to head out of the room.
Suddenly, a door from the side of the room opened.
"Gwen, did you get my bath ready? My body's a little sore, and I desperately needed a ba-"
..
Uh oh
..
Was Merlin's only thought as he saw Morgana.
..
CLUTTER!
..
Merlin accidentally dropped Arthur's armor in shock.
There really wasn't anything wrong with seeing Morgana per se.
However, seeing Morgana in all her glory was tantamount to death.
Well, alright, not entirely in all her glory, to his defense she had a thin slip on.
But it was still tantamount to death.
Nay, death was too light a punishment.
..
Yes
'Uh oh' sums it up, alright.
..
Merlin thought, as he saw Morgana's face slowly changed from unadulterated shock to pure rage.
Morgana shrieked in a blood curdling cry that would definitely send shivers down to the bravest of men.
"I can explain-!"
He ducked as Morgana threw a heavy metal figurine in his direction.
"Don't you know how to knock?!"
"I did-!" he defended.
Morgana continued to rain him down with heavy metal objects.
He really should thank Arthur for this; he basically became an expert when it came to dodging deadly objects.
"Oh really?! And you expect me to believe that?!"
"I did knock! Four times!"
"Four times?! FOUR TIMES?!" she shrieked in rage.
"Holy-!"
He dodged as a chair – A CHAIR! – sailed through the air where his head had been.
"Look-!" Merlin started, as he had enough.
..
CLANG!
..
A metal vase hit him in the head with a loud clang, successfully knocking him out.
...WAMH...
Was there anything weirder than a Prince voluntarily escorting a mere handmaiden to venture in the woods to get some supplies?
Guinevere mused that there wasn't.
Who would've thought that she would be caught up in this kind of situation?
"What kind of herbs are we looking for?"
Guinevere was interrupted out of her musings at the question.
"Well, Gaius listed it down for me," she replied, pulling out a list in one of her pockets. "Let's see, a handful of benbane and hemlock, several twigs of mint, there's also balm and wormwood listed here, and-"
She paused as she caught sight of Arthur's confused expression.
"You can read?" said Arthur, shocked coloring his tone.
"Uh..." Guinevere didn't know how to reply to that.
Arthur realized the way he delivered his message.
"I didn't mean any harm by what I said." Rushed Arthur, raising his hands, and feeling quite foolish at the same time, Arthur tried to mend the situation. "I was just,... surprised, since,... yeah..." he trailed off, red coloring his cheeks.
..
Way to go, Arthur.
..
Arthur tried his best to salvage the situation without offending the woman in front of him.
Least to say, nothing came to mind.
Guinevere stared at the Prince as he fidgeted under her scrutiny.
"Don't worry about it, Sire." Guinevere smiled in understanding. "And as for your question, the Lady Morgana taught me how to read and write, but I dare say I'm not too fluent in either."
"Really? That's very kind of Morgana." Said Prince Arthur, quite glad that he wasn't misinterpreted.
"It is." Agreed Guinevere, smiling at the thought of her kind mistress.
As they continued to venture into the woods, picking various herbs here and there, they made small talk about something or the other. Both had sincerely enjoyed their time together.
"You know, one of the few requisites before charging into battle, aside from not getting yourself killed right off the bat, is to actually know a handful of these things." Mentioned Arthur, as he kneeled down to pull out a plant from its stem.
Guinevere tried her best to contain the bubble of laughter that threatened to be let out of her chest at the sight of the Prince, whom was squatting down as he tried his best to free the plant.
"After all," Prince Arthur grunted, pulling harder as the poor plant refused to budge, the muscles on his neck tightened at the tension. "You'll never know when you'll get your next medical attention."
With one last hard pull, the Prince finally freed the plant, together with its roots and all. Unfortunately, the force that he had exerted had been too much, resulting to him losing balance.
In a second or so, Guinevere actually watched in horrid fascination as the Prince flailed his arms for a bit in a hopeless attempt to regain his balance, before landing roughly on his backside, successfully splattering mud all over his person.
A moment of tense silence had passed.
Neither party wanted to be the first to break the quiet solitude. But it had to be done.
"Well, that was embarrassing." Commented a mud-covered Prince Arthur, in a nonchalant manner, as if uprooting plants and subsequently landing on his arse was an everyday occurrence. His calm facade to hide his embarrassment was nearly flawless, if only his reddened ears hadn't given him away.
Guinevere promptly burst into laughter.
She couldn't control it anymore; the situation was just too absurd.
"I am glad you find this infinitely funny." The Prince deadpanned, though the corner of his lips quirked slightly.
"Oh my-!" Guinevere, to her account, really tried her best to smother her laughter. "Oh gods, I-I-!" But to no avail, she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"No, please," Prince Arthur grinned devilishly, still sitting in the mud, he even bent one of his knees as he leaned into it with his elbow, all the while teasingly watching Guinevere. "Do go on, you needn't worry on my behalf."
"Oh, Oh my! I'm so sorry." Guinevere immediately said, finally coming down from her high. "I don't know what came over me." She added, put her hands over her mouth in shock.
"Hm, you're doing it again." Said Prince Arthur, slightly narrowing his eyes at the woman.
"D-doing what?"
"Apologizing."
"Apologizing?"
"Yes, you seem to develop some sort of habit to apologize to me every so often." Prince Arthur pointed out, before an odd expression crossed his face. "But now that I think about it, I do confess that I do so in return too."
"Oh," Now that Guinevere thought about it, the Prince did have a point. "You're right, I'm so-" she quickly placed her hand over her mouth.
Arthur just let out a huff of amusement as he watched her slip.
That brought her out of her reverie.
Taking a few quick steps, she was now standing beside the Prince.
"Let me help you." She smiled as she extended her hand to the pitiful Prince that was still sitting casually on the ground, trying to maintain his façade no doubt.
For a moment, the Prince just stared at her with that odd expression gracing his face again, before smiling gently at her and accepting her proffered hand as she helped him up.
Prince Arthur gave her several twigs of the plant he rooted out to put in her half-filled basket. "Here."
"Thank you." Hefting the basket, she continued to walk past a couple of bushes to look for the next ingredient.
"What's this called again?" asked the Prince, lightly spinning a twig in his hand. "I know I've seen this before."
"Laurel, it's used for fever and stomach ailments."
"You really do know a lot, don't you?" Prince Arthur teasingly pointed at Guinevere with the Laurel in his hand, a mischievous grin on his face.
"Just enough to get by." Confessed Guinevere, shrugging. "Sometimes, I help Gaius when he tends to his patients, so he teaches me a few things, here and there." She added, as she knelt down to pick out a handful of Yarrow from the ground. "It's fascinating that these plants have healing properties in it, don't you think?"
Brushing the lower part of her dress, Guinevere placed the Yarrow into her basket. Noticing that the Prince hadn't replied, she looked at him from over her shoulder.
She wished she hadn't.
The Prince stood a couple of feet away from her, nothing wrong with that. Considering that he's accompanying her.
But those eyes.
The intense look in his eyes was really something else.
Averting her gaze from the Prince, Guinevere quickly fanned herself with her hand.
For some unknown reason, she was getting awfully hot.
..
Just a few more Coriander then we'll be-
...
"Yes, I find you fascinating."
...
-Able to return to-...
..
Her mind crashed into a halt.
"What?!" she squeaked, eyes wide, her body feeling awfully hot tenfold. If that was even possible.
"What?" Arthur looked up at her from his inspection at the twig in his hand.
"Y-you just said." Stuttered Guinevere, waving her hand at him.
Arthur just tilted his head innocently in response, twig still in hand.
"N-never mind" she shook her head, before she trudged on to get those godforsaken Corianders. She really needed to get this over and done with; the heat of the sun was clearly messing with her head.
Unbeknownst to her, Arthur let out an amused smirk as he stared at Guinevere's retreating figure knowingly.
...WAMH...
Staring at the crackling fire had really become a habit of her.
Her mind was yet again addled with thoughts that seemed to confuse her in a never ending cycle.
Leaning on the quaint kitchen table, Guinevere let out a sigh as she placed her head on her arms, whilst still gazing at the flame that roared gloriously at the hearth of the fireplace.
All this thinking was making her head ache.
She had no time for love matters-
..
Wait
Love?
Do I love Prince Arthur?
..
The answer came to her almost immediately.
..
No
No, I don't.
..
Guinevere did fancy the Prince. Heavens yes, she confess that the man had caught her attention with his looks alone, it multiplied when she caught a glimpse of his humble and kind attitude underneath all those layers of arrogance.
However, love was too strong a word.
While it was true that Prince Arthur did make her heart beat like mad, it didn't mean that she loved him. It was just too early. Too fast.
..
Besides,
No matter what, I couldn't,
Nay, I shouldn't fall in love with him.
..
After all, a servant and a prince could never be.
It would only lead to certain tragedy.
Everybody knows that.
It was like one of those unwritten rules that were created ever since the beginning of time when Man first recognized and understood the word Common Sense.
..
Wait
What on earth am I thinking?
..
She shook her head, bewildered at herself.
She never guessed that she herself would be caught up in this romance fiasco that seemed to addle the minds of simpering young women.
Guinevere used to look down on those women.
And here she is now, suffering the same fate.
The Irony.
"Ugh." She straightened up from her leaning position before lightly slapping her cheeks.
No.
She refused to be like those women who depended on their men to take care of them, those women who hoped to be taken out of this life of poverty by fantasizing about impossible romances.
Letting her mind wander around these thoughts would not get her belly fed, and therefore, it was useless.
Dinner had been made for awhile now, and she was just waiting for her father to come home. Thus, leading her to think of those useless thoughts.
Where was her father anyway?
Guinevere unconsciously tapped her fingers on the table as she continued to wait for her father.
A few minutes had already passed, and still no sign of him.
Having no wish to eat alone, she made up her mind. She grabbed her cloak.
She'll go look for her father.
Fastening her cloak on, she opened the door and was immediately met by the chilly wind of the summer night.
Huddling her cloak for warmth, she set out to the Tavern. Her father was most probably there, and besides, she'll pass by her Father's forge on the way there. So it was really killing two birds with one stone.
...WAMH...
He watched in plain disgust as the so-called Noble Knights of Camelot made a fool out of themselves as they continued to act inappropriately in their inebriated conditions.
Kay didn't usually join the personal affairs of the other Knights. But for some reason, the Knights had somehow managed to convince him to come along.
He winced as another round of boisterous laughter rang around the Tavern.
The smoky air.
The constant chatter.
The fake facades that the people around him used.
Out of all the three mentioned, he personally hated the latter.
No matter how cold his personality was, men and women alike were drawn to him.
The men tried to get on his good side as he was one of the few whom were close to the King. It didn't hurt that he had a fearsome reputation of his own and a mighty position that had been assigned to him by the King.
On the other hand, the women, nay, the wenches tried to get him to their beds, hoping that he will favor them enough that he will make them his bride, or even his mistress. Either way seemed to work fine for them as they most likely only wanted him for his fame and fortune.
Even now, several women around the Tavern were eying him, hoping that the action will catch his attention.
Men and Women.
Both species of the Human race.
They only wanted to use him for their own benefit.
Unfortunately for them, one of the few things that he hated was to be used around like some discarded rag.
He would crush them before it came to that.
A movement from the corner of his eyes disrupted his thoughts.
As he focused on the one that caught his attention, he couldn't help but let a dark smirk slip.
...WAMH...
Standing at the entrance of the Tavern, Guinevere couldn't help but sigh in relief as the environment proceeded to warm her cold body.
The Tavern was in full swing as people laughed boisterously and taunted each other, with the occasional worker darting here and there serving more pints of ale to already drunken individuals.
Guinevere craned her head as she tried to spot her father in this mess.
Good thing that some of the Knights were here, making it less likely that a fight will break out soon.
Unless, the Knights were in on the fight.
Shaking that thought out of her head, no use thinking of such things. After all, she was already here.
Squeezing through the throngs of people, she proceeded to walk around, looking for her father.
..
A/N: I felt kinda guilty that I hadn't updated this fic for quite a long time now. So I just forced myself to sit in front of my computer for several days trying to update this fic. I know, it had been too long, but I was kinda busy and I just royally screwed up my first semester, LOL! :D
Anyway, I hope someone still remembers this fic; I will try my best to procure the next chapter sooner. And I will, because I actually cut this chapter in half, it was getting too long to be just one chapter. The action and exciting stuff is actually in the next chapter, sorry for the cliff hanger. :P
Hm, can anyone recommend any other good Arwen fic? I want to just read for awhile instead of just writing one. I personally love The Serving Girl Who Became Queen by energis121. But unfortunately, it seemed that the story was taken down. Does anyone know what happened to that Author? Or even has a soft copy of that fic? I really want to read it again. T_T
And who are you Guest reviewer? Why not create an account in this site so that I can thank you guys properly? I kept on writing Guest#1, Guest#2, and Guest#3, LOL! ^_^
PURE RANDOMNESS AHEAD: As you probably had noticed, I LOVE emoticons, nyahaha! :)
One last thing, how do you guys feel about Merlin/Morgana? Or Mergana, for short? I'm not saying that I'll add that pairing here, I'm still undecided. I didn't actually give that pairing any thought until I wrote that scene in this chapter, and yeah, I was laughing 'me-self quite silly while I wrote that scene, LOL! XD
MORE PURE RANDOMNESS: I officially abhor iPad when it comes to writing fics, yep, wrote this chapter in my iPad since my computer gave up just hours ago. ;(
- Gasanechi, now shutting up -
- play Windows tune tenenenen -
Many thanks to the following wonderful individuals:
Birdy21, blissfulbeauty84, Guest#1, WhoNewbie, Guest#2, Arthurlover7, larasmith, KshMcKenzie08, GPendragon, ABVM, freckled98, Kitsu3, Guest#3, Guest#4, Guest#5, and Guest#6.