Arthur, Merlin and the knights had just finished saving another village and were on their way back to Camelot. Honestly, Gwaine could hardly pay attention the whole time, he just knew they were fighting some weird spirit things that Gaius had called, "fedraso," or something like that. It had reminded Gwaine too much of the doracha and Lancelot's sacrifice. Everyone was slowly falling asleep in the small camp Merlin had just finished setting up. Leon was on first watch. Gwaine held back tears as he found himself reliving another memory of his precious knight.
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Gwaine sat on his bed, leaning against the wall, bored out of his mind. Everyone was busy. Everyone except him. He was trying, and failing, to figure out something to do. Maybe he could go pick some apples. It was almost time for lunch after all. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed when there was a knock on the door. "Gwaine?" It was Merlin. Gwaine stood and opened the door to see his friend looking exasperated. "What is it?" He asked. The boy looked pretty stressed. Maybe he could go with Gwaine to pick those apples. "Have you seen Lancelot anywhere?"
"No, why?"
"He was going to help me collect herbs for Gaius today but I can't find him and I have to leave... just, if you see him, can you tell him I've already left?"
"Sure." Gwaine answered, head spinning from how fast the boy was talking.
"Okay thanks gotta go bye!" And with that Merlin raced down the hall, shouting the "bye" over his shoulder as he ran. Gwaine stared after him for a second, dumbfounded by how fast he'd spoken and moved, before he remembered his mission for the day. Apples!
Gwaine had ridden to the apple orchard in about half an hour and was dismounting his horse, Trinket, when he saw something that wasn't meant to be in the orchard. A white horse with a dark grey mane and tail was standing there, tethered to one of the trees. Gwaine instantly recognised it as Faradei, Lancelot's horse. He tied Trinket next to the gelding and looked around. He couldn't see anyone else. So he walked around for a bit, checking for another person there, pulling down an apple from a low branch every now and then. Then he heard a soft thud and a groan, like someone had hit one of the trees. He walked over to the sound and saw a very familiar person, rubbing his hand against the back of his head, eyes closed and frowning. So he must've hit his head on that tree.
"Lance?"
The knight in question jumped and looked up at Gwaine with wide eyes. "Gwaine! You startled me," he said, sighing in relief when he saw who was there.
Gwaine could see the badly hidden sadness on the other's face."What's wrong?" He asked, completely expecting Lancelot's answer.
"Nothing."
Gwaine raised an eyebrow and sat down next to him, putting his arm around Lancelot's shoulders and dragging him closer. Lancelot wouldn't look at him and tried to pull away.
"I completely believe you," Gwaine told him, making sure the sarcasm was obvious.
"Seriously, it's nothing that matters," Lancelot responded, instantly realising his mistake.
"So it is something. And if it's bothering you then it matters to me, so what's wrong?"
Lancelot stayed silent.
"Come on. Please tell me."
No response.
"Please."
Still nothing.
Gwaine used his free hand to move Lancelot's head so that he was facing him.
"Pleeeeaaaasssse," he tried again, using his best puppy eyes.
Lancelot mumbled something before looking away again.
"What was that?"
"It's just something some of the trainees said..." Lancelot said quietly, still looking away.
"What did they say?"
"I wasn't meant to hear... I was just walking past and I heard them talking about noblility and bloodlines and..." Lancelot trailed off, whispering by the end.
Gwaine could guess what the next part would be but he wanted to be sure.
"And...?" He almost didn't want to ask.
"That anyone not from the proper heritage isn't worthy of being a knight," Lancelot finished. He'd stopped trying to pull away from Gwaine by now and let himself relax against him, resting his head on the other's shoulder.
"That's not true," Gwaine whispered, knowing that words wouldn't be of much help. Lancelot just needed someone to be there with him and Gwaine was perfectly happy being that someone.
"I know," Lancelot whispered back, shifting into a more comfortable position.
They both sat there together for the next hour. Lancelot had already fallen asleep and Gwaine's muscles were getting stiff from sitting still for so long, but he refused to move away from Lancelot. He'd just pick apples when he woke up.
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Gwaine opened his eyes, expecting to still feel Lancelot leaning on him, fast asleep. But he wasn't. Gwaine wasn't in the orchard with Lancelot anymore, dozing off in the warm sunlight. He was in the forest with Arthur, Merlin and the other knights, none of them were his knight. It was dark and freezing, even with the fire still burning brightly. He looked up at the moon, it was almost midnight. Almost time for his watch. He didn't want to go back to sleep anyway. He didn't want to dream about what he'd lost. That dream had been another memory relived. This one was from four months ago. Gwaine felt a stray tear slide down his face as he stared up at the sky, wishing once again for his beloved knight to return. But he wouldn't...
