Gwynnever - Queen of Camelot

Chapter 28

Gwen left at the crack of dawn, before someone could come and find her in her room and head to train. She didn't care to hide anymore. Her brother could come and off her now, if he had the courage. She in fact hoped for him to show up, she was in desperate need to release a little tension.

After two hours of aimlessly hitting the dummy, she grabbed her stuff and head to the village downtown. It was sunrise and yet vendors from all around Camelot set their banquets in the street. Some of them even waved at her, not minding that she had leather pants and a furry hood. They recognized her, she supposed.

She smiled back, instantly calmed. There was an old man trying to lift a heavy basket and she rushed to help him. The Marchant had little hair and fewer teeth but thanked Gwen as she offered to set up everything in his place.

"Mary!" someone screamed and she raised her head to find a little girl with her raggedy doll turning to the woman, ignoring the cart going exceedingly fast toward her.

Gwen didn't think. She used to be like the wind and so she became it again. She collected the child only seconds before the cart passed them and crushed on the corner of the street. She kept the trembling toddler to her chest, breathing heavily in shock herself.

"Heavens, my lady." The mother let her skirt go, she had dark hair and chubby cheeks, not exactly the copy of the child in her arms who was redheaded and with clear blue eyes. "Thank you so much, your grace." She bowed to Gwen and she tenderly fixed the disorganized hair of the infant.

"Are you okay?" she asked the girl and she noded passing a tiny palm to her forehead.

"Are you hurt your grace?" demanded the woman not daring to touch Gwen. She let the baby go and she run to her mother's arms.
"Yes, I am a little startle but I'm glad I was of service."

"You're an Angel, your grace. Please, let me do something for you." And she reached for her pockets but they were empty and so Gwen shook her head.

"No need." Then she kneeled to the shy girl and rubbed her hair in a very tender way. "You have a good mom. Listen to her."

"Mary, say something to your grace." Mary signaled a timid nod, her hair was doubled her whole weight, just lovely. And without a single word, Mary put her tiny arms on Gwen's cheeks and placed a kiss on her lips and Gwen sobbed. She literally sobbed and was about to cry thinking of what might have happened to this creature if she wasn't there. And for once, she felt like not only she belonged but like she did something good with her life. She felt not hard to love or to be with.

"You listen to your mother Mary, she knows best. Now come." She said lifting her up. "I'm going to buy you a treat Mary. Pick whatever your heart desire. You deserved it." And she wasn't sure she wasn't talking to herself. She deserved happiness and joy. She spent her life fighting and now just wanted to keep doing it but for the right reasons.

"You don't have to, your Grace. She'll be spoiled..."

"What is your name, lovely lady?" Asked Gwen to the mother and she blushed bowing. "I'm Cornelia, your grace."

"You owe me your daughter's life. I demand that you come with us and pick whatever you want. It's on me." And the three girls did just that. She remembered that Agnes told her there was a lovely bakery near her house and so she headed there. They picked three scones and Mary ate on Gwen's lap smiling all the time, causing her heart to beat fast.

It was a funny feeling, really. Very similar to when Arthur first kissed her but slower and less complicated. Easy like breathing. She wondered if love wasn't supposed to be like this. Loving scared her all her life but this type was reassuring and turned the tall walls of Camelot into a refuge. A safe harbor, like Emilia once told her.

She waved goodbye to the pair and hid a coin into the pocket of Mary hoping it will help if time became harder.

Gwen returned into the village the day after and the one after that. She was always there, always helping someone, always paying for somebody else and there were days she came home holding more stuff than she gave out. So much she had to take most of the food to the cook and she'd laugh and thank her. And she'd ask her to prepare any dish she'd like and that if it was too much, she'd give it back to the ones who couldn't afford to eat for the day.

She avoided Arthur and his future bride like the plague, telling the guards she was sick as she locked her door and escaped by the window every morning.

Once, even Lancelot that was in town for some royal business, joined her in her rounds. The peacefully stroll through the city as he let her present some of the citizen. He didn't look too bothered or annoyed and Gwen didn't push him away. If he kept behaving like this, she could even start treating him kindly.

Yes, she still kept him at distance and didn't let him touch her hand, however he listened when she discussed some of the issue the people were having and even took notes of her advice. Since she winked at him he had softened a little and treated her like his equal. She couldn't expect more of him.

Arthur stopped trying to meet her even though she suspected he's showed up randomly to her room because she kept finding white roses to her door but tried to stay away as long as possible. Luckily there always was something to do in the village.

The guards saluted her when they saw her, Cornelia always waiting her at four in the afternoon for their cup of tea. So, every time she could, she'd ran there to find peace or she paid visit to Agnes. Most of the women in the village were single mother growing their kids alone because the husbands died during he great war Uther, Arthur's father declared to all his neighbors to show the greatness of Camelot.

She helped as she could, turning to be the man in some situation where she'd cut the wood for the fireplace, or repair the truss in the ceiling that had been leaking for a long time because of the heavy rain.

And everything was going fine, until Merlin caught her.