A Week with a Prince

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓

Lord John's words earned Ginny and Lancelot a raised eyebrow look and a smirk from the prince, but he said nothing.

As the guests resumed eating when the desserts were served, praising Lord John's cook, and Ginny finished another-- Was it her second or third?-- goblet of wine, Garreth stepped on her foot, drawing her attention. He noticed how his cousin's eyes kept strolling to Sir Lancelot as the evening advanced, and the wine in her goblet diminished.

It should be... forbidden for anyone to look so attractive, Ginny mused, finally tearing her eyes off Lancelot and turning to Garreth.

'What do you think you are doing? Are you crazy?' he mouthed at her, a deep frown marring his features.

She snorted with laughter, then coughed softly and drank, trying to mask her reaction to Garreth's unfair accusation.

'What are you doing yourself?!' she mouthed back at him the moment Lancelot's blue irises, which missed nothing, strolled back to Lord John. The man was now showing the guests the map he had prepared with Garreth, explaining the route.

"I'd suggest you avoid Londinium, my lord. It's overcrowded and disorganised, there is nothing much to see there. I advise you to go south from here, ride by Warwick Castle, then follow the river Avon. Later, you'll come by an old Roman road-- it will take you quickly enough to the Druids Temple of the Sun at Salisbury, Glastonbury, and Aquae Sulis. From there, you'll have to pay more attention and tread carefully. The last part of the route to Tintagel is formed by paths leading across moors. But Garreth knows the way well, I took him to Tintagel myself not too long ago..."

Garreth only managed to shake his head sulkily at Ginny and mouth, 'Don't worry about me' in response, before Prince Arthur spoke to him.

"You have tried the Sword then, Sir Garreth."

"I have, my lord..." Garreth said, turning to him.

Ginny finished her cake and sat back, twirling the empty goblet between her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, wishing to be somewhere else... anywhere but here, in this situation. Everything was wrong...

She opened her eyes when she felt a foot nudging hers under the table again. Everything was wrong except the feeling she got every time Sir Lancelot's eyes captured hers, holding her in his power, like now... she corrected herself.

The princess shook her head in response to Lancelot's questioning look, trying to shake off her confusing feelings too. Failing. Sighing, she forced herself to look away from him.

However, the knight did not let her. "Have you tried to pull the Sword, Sir Geoffrey?" Lancelot asked.

She gaped at him for an instant, surprised by the unexpected question.

"Yes, he has, of course." Garreth came to her rescue. "Most young men in our kingdom have tried at some point." Her cousin looked at her sharply, his eyes screaming, 'Be careful!'

Ginny nodded at him imperceptibly, dropping her eyes again, resolved not to talk anymore tonight, waiting for the moment the dinner would end and she could retire, hide, in her and Garreth's chamber.

She shook her head firmly when Lancelot offered to refill her goblet and sat in a sullen silence until the dinner was over. Then she pushed her chair back as she stood up from the table, and after a quick goodbye and goodnight to Lord John and his guests, headed for the door, followed by Garreth.

They were not fast enough-- the prince and Sir Lancelot were at their side the moment they walked into the corridor.

"The night is still young, Sir Garreth," Prince Arthur announced majestically, "why don't you two join us for a game of cards in our chamber?"

Without waiting for their answer, the prince and his knight led the way, leaving Ginny and Garreth no option but to follow in their wake.

Ginny felt tired. Her head was spinning slightly, and the two tall men filling her field of vision looked blurred around the outlines from the wine she had drank. The fringe falling over her eyes, which she wasn't quite used to yet, was annoying her, and the tight bodice she was wearing under her male clothes was suffocating. She wanted to go to bed and rest before the journey. But she couldn't say no to a prince, could she?

So she said nothing and followed her cousin to the prince's chambers.

Luckily, Ginny had spent so much time with Garreth and his friends from Warwick village that she knew all the card games the prince proposed, and despite having drunk more wine than she was used to, the princess kept winning one round after another, making Lancelot's grin widen, and Arthur's frown deepen, until the prince finally declared that it was late, and he wished to rest.

Lancelot had been observing Sir Geoffrey constantly from above the cards fanned out in his hand, and by the end of their first night together, he was sure about two things.

Warvick and Avalon were related-- their freckle-covered, upturned noses and reddish hair spoke volumes about that. And... from those long, white, delicate fingers pushing the russet fringe from his forehead, and his insistence on keeping his hat on, Lancelot was convinced that the young Sir Geoffrey was a girl... Who she was, and why was she with them, was a tempting mystery to solve...

Smiling, Lancelot watched Sir Garreth and the girl walk towards the door, her pockets bulging with all the coins she had won. It did not happen often that his friend lost at cards, the knight mused, flashing the prince a grin. Luckily, he did not seem to have noticed that he had lost to a girl. Not even when the door closed behind them, and Lancelot was sure that he heard one of the knights... giggle, confirming his suspicions.

"Hush, Ginny!" Garreth whisper-shouted, pulling his cousin towards their chambers. "You'll give us away! That Lancelot gives me creeps, he seems very perceptive..."

"Unlike Prince Arthur, right?" She giggled again, following him into the room and dropping herself on the bed without bothering to take her clothes off. "You know that I love you, Garreth, but... I don't want you to be heartbroken... You know that I must marry the prince even though I'd prefer... " she trailed off, pressing a hand over her lips.

She was not going to permit herself to fantasise about Lancelot. Otherwise, she would end up feeling more heartbroken than Garreth. She had a duty, and she would accept it for the land and the people, even if it meant that she would spend her life with someone who could not love her.

"Don't worry about me. I... I know what I'm doing." Garreth disturbed her reverie as he pulled her up and took her jacket and hat off, then went to wash his face while she took off her bodice and pants, remaining in her white shirt, and let her hair loose.

"I'm more afraid about you..." he muttered when he came back and laid down at her side.

"Don't be." She yawned. "But you, Garreth..."

He blew out the candles, then pulled the covers up to her chin.

"You know that..." she muttered, her words slurred by sleep.

"Sleep, Ginny. Now." Garreth whispered, and as if by magic, his worried cousin fell asleep immediately.