Saving Camelot (#Once Upon Now)

Chapter 4

As Art followed the directions on his navigation device, he picked up the slip of paper with Gwen's neat handwriting on it. Camelot Farms, it said. Interesting name, he thought. Surprisingly, it wasn't too far away from the city. He thought he would have a long drive, but he was there within an hour.

He drove up a long, winding road that led to a dilapidated metal archway that read: Camelot Farms. And through it he saw a shabby two-storey house with a wraparound porch that looked like it was in dire need of a new paint job. In fact, the whole house looked like it needed a new - everything. The roof looked like it was about to cave in, the siding was worn and the shutters looked like they were about to fall off the hinges. Behind the house stood a dilapidated old barn that looked even worse than the house, if that were possible. He couldn't see what lay beyond that, but if the rest of the farm looked as bad as this, he couldn't see how Gwen could possibly restore the place on her own.

He parked his sleek black car next to Gwen's modest compact one and retrieved his duffel bag from the trunk. After ringing the doorbell and waiting in front of the house for several minutes, he made his way around the back of the house. There he saw a couple of meandering chickens walking about and a large paddock where one of the horses stood, chomping at some grass. He heard some sounds coming from the barn and made his way over. Once he came to the doorway, he stopped in his tracks. Gwen was there, brushing the coat of a beautiful chestnut mare. Her hair was down and it fell in soft waves to the middle of her back. She was in a pair of tight jeans, with boots that came up to her knees, and a snug white t-shirt that accentuated all her curves. He had never seen her wear something so simple, but damned if that wasn't the sexiest outfit he'd ever seen.

She looked up, as if sensing his gaze, and blushed. "Art! Sorry, I didn't hear your car. I thought you'd be coming later."

Art shrugged and smiled. "I thought I'd make an early start of it, and I was curious to see this farm of yours."

Gwen looked around the barn as if seeing it for the first time. "I know it's not much to look at," she began, slightly embarrassed by its dilapidated state, "but it's very special to me."

"I can see that," he said softly. "Can you show me around?"

"Sure," she replied hesitantly. It felt strange having Art here at her farm, at her sanctuary. She had been angry that he forced her hand, but once she got here, her anger had melted away and had been replaced by the peace and contentment she always felt here at Camelot.

After leading the horse into the paddock, Gwen led Art through a small wooden gate he hadn't noticed earlier. They walked through what looked like a small forest.

"So why is this place so special to you? Did you come here during school vacations or something?"

"No," Gwen replied. "I grew up here." When Art looked at her in surprise, she continued, "My parents died when I was young, and my grandfather took care of me." He remained silent so Gwen found herself explaining her close relationship with her grandfather, and how he had taken ill years ago. She was studying for her law degree, but when he became ill, she had to drop out to take care of him. When he died, he left the farm to her, but it also came with a mountain of debt. Gwen explained it all very matter-of-factly, but Art could sense the pain behind her words and ached to hold her close, but knew it wasn't the right time.

They came to a clearing and Art stopped to stare in bemusement at what appeared to be a large tree trunk with a very large axe embedded into it. "What in the world is that?"

Gwen laughed at his expression. "When my grandfather was younger, a lot of developers wanted this land, but he had always refused to sell. But they kept hounding him, even coming by to chat face-to-face in the hopes of convincing him. One day, when five of them had shown up at the same time, he got so fed up that he grabbed his axe – much to their alarm, I might add – and walked over to this tree stump. In one fell blow, he embedded the axe into the stump and told them that whoever could pull out the axe would be worthy of owning Camelot."