A Week with a Prince

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖝𝖙𝖞-𝕺𝖓𝖊

Ginny caressed the Excalibur's hilt as she placed it beside Arthur's sword into a wooden chest next to their bed, safely out of the maids' way, deciding not to carry it around today. Then she left the chamber alone, Morgaine's Holy Grail hidden in the leather pouch hanging from her belt.

Not wanting to be seen by anyone, she stole down the long, dim corridor and the wide, white staircases noiselessly, reaching another corridor, the one leading to the chapel.

Its arched wooden door stood wide open and Ginny slipped inside, then paused in the shadows by the entrance for a few moments, giving her eyes time to adjust to the different, candle-lit and tremulous darkness reigning within. She made her way between the two rows of pews then, the same way she had walked along first with her father, and then back with Arthur yesterday. Reaching the white altar, she pulled the gold Grail from her pouch and placed it on top, straightening the beautifully embroidered cloth embellishing the cool stone. There... She didn't want Morgaine's gift, not for herself only. Camelot's chapel looked like the right shelter for it until the moment when Avalon would claim it back, like the Excalibur.

A faint rustle of robes disturbed her musings, sending her rushing back towards the chapel's door-- Arthur's priest, the venerable Father Patrick was the last person she wished to meet right now, with the memories of last night still so fresh and alive in her mind... She blushed and giggled, biting her lip to muffle the sound as she ran down the corridor. She would grab something to eat in the kitchen and then find Arthur and his dragons...

Her sudden, completely unexpected appearance in the castle's kitchen surprised the cook but Ginny put the woman at ease soon with her chatter and friendliness, and after the young queen had eaten her breakfast with several maids and valets, she left the large, cosy and lively room through a door leading to the rose garden.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly and Ginny was sure that the water in the Lake would be warm enough to bathe, once the last guests left. The clatter of their wagons moving down the hill, intermingled with the neighing of many horses and the excited voices of men calling orders, reached her through the tall walls. And, from somewhere farther away, she could hear the dragons... They were making sounds filled with nervous impatience, like startled, unhappy horses, only louder.

Remembering Rhosyn's love of roses she picked a few scented blooms trembling in the fresh breeze blowing in from the Lake, then walked back inside, into the Great Hall this time, startling a handful of servants already setting the round table for lunch. Rushing across the large room she exited into a corridor leading all the way to the Entry Hall teeming with maids and valets, and out again, into a courtyard paved with cobblestones, filled with horses and knights.

Ginny approached one of them-- she could recall his face but not the name; they were still too many for her to remember.

"Could you tell me where Arthur keeps the dragons?" she asked.

The knight, politely concealing his surprise, bowed to her. "Did Lord Arthur tell you to come to him, my lady?" he asked.

"He did not tell me not to," she replied after a moment of hesitation, not sure what she was supposed to tell him really. "Please. Where are the dragons?" It wouldn't be difficult to find them on her own if she followed the noise into the surrounding trees, she mused, turning away from Arthur's knight even as he bowed again, and pointed towards a narrow path, a mere ribbon of a trail disappearing under the closest trees.

It took Ginny a long while to reach the source of the noise and commotion spreading through the young forest growing on the hillside under Camelot. And then she finally caught the first sight of them, of more than... ten magnificent creatures stomping impatiently around a huge clearing, the smoke issuing from the pink, white, or even black nostrils of some, coupled by the smell of singed trees, hinting at a recently quenched fire.

Ginny stood hidden behind a row of trees for a long time, her mouth opened in awe as her eyes searched for, and found her Arthur in the midst of the dragons, circled by them, whispering to one soothingly while caressing another, letting one more nudge at his side with its great snout, making him stumble a few steps forward. He wasn't afraid at all of the beautiful monsters, he understood their anxiety, unlike several of his knights huddled in the trees on the opposite side of the clearing, Cai the only one brave enough to make his way around with a pail full of water.

Rhosyn's face suddenly filling Ginny's entire field of vision startled her enough to make her squeal-- she had been so absorbed by watching Arthur that she failed to notice the golden-white dragon, tempted by the scent of the roses she was carrying, inviting itself to a snack. She giggled happily as the pink snout, followed by a long, surprisingly smooth tongue, pried the blooms from her hand.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur called, bemused, as he noticed her too.

"I... missed you." She smiled. "And I wanted to see them. They are beautiful."

He shook his head, his eyes glimmering with a suppressed laughter as he approached her. "Why, if I didn't know better," he said, pulling her flush against him, his lips caressing her earlobe as he whispered in her ear, making her feel unsure on her legs, "I'd think you only married me for my dragons."

She giggled, closing her eyes and leaning into him, letting him support all her weight. "Why, maybe I did, my lord."

Her reply was a breathless whisper only meant for him. However, their behaviour caused a stir among the knights hiding in the trees. "Right. Thanks, Arthur, we can handle them from here. You two... just leave," Lancelot said, reaching them at the edge of the clearing.

"And I gladly accept your offer, Lancelot. You're not generous like this very often. How about a swim in the Lake, Ginny?" He turned to her again, took her by the hand and pulled her towards Rhosyn without giving her time to reply, lifting her on the dragon's back so fast that she thought he was afraid that Lancelot might change his mind.

In no time they were in the air, and she laughed at seeing Lancelot, Garreth and several other knights crouch and cover their heads with their arms to protect their hairdos from the sudden gust of wind produced by Rhosyn's enormous, flapping wings.

"I'm leaving in three days' time," Arthur's voice startled Ginny back to reality hours later.

They were lying on the sunny, grass-covered and velvety bank of the Lake, his head resting on her chest as her fingers played with his black hair, looking nearly blue against the whiteness of her skin, Rhosyn, her snout hidden under one of her wings making her look like an enormous, golden, scale-covered swan, sleeping nearby, their clothes scattered around them randomly. They had found a perfect, secluded spot on the distant shore, from where they could observe the last guests leaving, descending the castle hill and reaching the road, but could not be seen by anyone. The water in the Lake was heavenly, and Ginny was about to propose another dip when he spoke, shattering her daydream.

"Where?" she asked, voice breaking.

He raised his head, his eyes, blue like the water of the Lake stretching far and wide beyond him, boring into hers.

"The camp at Bowden Hill. I must see the men and thank them for their patience and loyalty. We know that the Saxon troops are gathering, but I have no idea when they'll attack. I don't want to start this war, but the waiting, waiting for the enemy's first move is the worst. These men, settled in Bowden, living under the tents, have their own wives and castles and lands and people to look after, and my decision keeps them there, doing nothing."

"Let me come with you," she breathed.

"No," he whispered back.

"Yes. You promised. We must do this together," she insisted, clearing her voice, speaking louder. Did he forget his promise to Avalon?!

"Ginny... I love you too much to..."

She did not let him finish the sentence, her hand, still in his hair, pulled him closer, her lips sealing his, her eyes shutting out the world as his hands began to stroll over her body, their conversation forgotten momentarily.

The sun was setting into the waters of the Lake when they were finally dressed again, ready to return to Camelot for dinner.