Out of Time

Chapter 44

The next morning, Guinevere dashed into Dani's and Arthur's chambers, tears streaming down her face. She threw herself at Dani in the bed, wailing fit to die. An "umph" sounded from the bed, and Dani looked up from underneath the covers. "Guin?"

"Lady Guinevere, kindly remove yourself from my wife. She's in a delicate state."

Guin rubbed her eyes, but it did little good. Her face was red and blotchy from crying and her efforts to clear the tears did little good as they were replenished as quickly as she wiped them away. She took in ragged breaths that did nothing to settle her nerves. "Lancelot" she managed to get out before another swell of emotion overtook her.

"Lancelot," both Dani and Arthur said, sitting straight up in bed.

"What about Lancelot?" Arthur asked, throwing back the covers and moving to Guin's side. He touched her arm, and looked into her eyes. "Tell me."

"He never came to our chambers last night." Her lower lip started to tremble, but she managed to keep the emotion at bay. "Something's happened to him. I just know it."

Arthur wrapped his arms around her, warmth that should be Lancelot's comforting her and tearing her apart at the same time.

"Oh, Guin," Dani said, and then a second body engulfed her. "It's okay. You won't be separated for long. I promise."

#

Arthur had left Lady Guinevere in Danielle's capable hands, even if she'd looked near panicked at the prospect of having to deal with the hysterical woman. He laughed at the scene in his head, but his humor died quickly. Nothing was funny about this situation.

Yesterday, Gawain had said he hadn't seen Lancelot at all that day, and now he'd not returned to Guinevere's bed at the day's end? He was no fool, and no moral newly married man would stay away from the marriage bed without good reason. And Lancelot wasn't just moral, he seemed to truly love his wife.

Which meant some form of foul play. At the moment, he'd gathered all of his men in the Great Hall, none of them knowing why. He cleared his throat. "Did any of you see Sir Lancelot du Lac yesterday or today?" Though his voice didn't boom with an ethereal power the way Merlin's did, it certainly filled the room.

Men looked at each other, and a sort of alarm started to filter through the group. No one spoke up. No one raised his hand or otherwise acknowledged seeing his first recently. As the silence drew on, he started to lose a smidgeon of hope. He'd honestly believed on some level that someone would have seen him, that someone would have had some idea where he might be. He hadn't held any hope that someone would reassure him that Lancelot was fine and good, just otherwise engaged, but he'd hoped for at least a lead.

Arthur nodded his head, and noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Danielle leading Guinevere into the Great Hall. Guinevere seemed fragile, leaning on his wife a bit too much, but the look on Danielle's face spoke of a resolve he didn't like the look of. He saw a fight in his future, and he shuddered at what it would take to win.

"Danielle." He walked toward his wife and her lady in waiting, touching her arm when he reached her. "You should go back upstairs. Guinevere doesn't need to see or hear any of this. We'll find him. We'll figure out what's happened. I promise."

Danielle stuck out her chin in an expression he hadn't actually seen on her before. For once, she didn't glare at him, but the look of determination on her face scared him a little. "We're going to help."

"Danielle." He tried to object, but Guinevere, of all people, cut him off.

"I want to help." Guinevere took in a deep breath, looking him straight in the eye, and letting go of Danielle's support. She nodded her head. "I can help. I have to."

Arthur ruffled his hair, not wanting them to get involved, but knowing better than to try to stop his wife when she got this stubborn. "Could you question the staff? See if they heard or saw anything? Even the littlest detail could be vital to getting him back."

His wife nodded, leaned in, and kissed his cheek before leading Guinevere out of the Great Hall. At least that should keep them out of trouble and out of danger. And it might actually be helpful. The gods knew if he'd given his wife a useless task she would have given him an earful.

With a few more words and a dismissive gesture, he sent his men off in search of answers before collapsing into his chair at the high table. It was too early in the morning for this much drama.

Merlin leaned against the table in front of him. "For what it's worth, I cannot sense him anywhere."

Arthur looked up. "Do you know why?"

He shrugged. "I would guess that magic is being used to mask him. Someone doesn't want him found."

#

Dani tried not to notice the way the people went about their meal without the usual energy today. It had been a long day. She and Guin had talked with every servant in the castle, but no one admitted remembering anything of value. They'd gushed about the wedding, or mentioned seeing him the day before yesterday, but not at all yesterday. From all the interviews they'd conducted, it seemed he'd woken up, kissed Guin goodbye for the day, and then promptly disappeared. No one even remembered seeing him come downstairs.

Which immediately stole her breath. What if he hadn't come downstairs at all? What if he'd been taken while above stairs? Morgan lived in the chambers directly next to Guin's and Lancelot's, and she didn't trust her as far as she could throw her. But then how could they have searched so extensively and still not found hide nor hair of him?

And then she felt dejected again, useless, hopeless. She wanted to find Lancelot. He was not only her friend, but she'd grown fond of Guin, and didn't want to see her in pain. She winced as Guin tried to soldier through her meal without falling apart. The new bride had done so well throughout the day, even when the news was never encouraging.

"You're not eating," her husband said.

"My stomach's been off lately." She popped another morsel in her mouth, but she really had no interest in eating it. "It'll get better."

He kissed her forehead, touching her arm affectionately. "Yes, it will. Before you know it, you'll be eating everything in sight."

She laughed, but she couldn't quite exorcise her current worries from her mind, so it didn't hold as much mirth as it should. "Not likely."

"You should get some rest. Save your strength for tomorrow."

Dani pushed her food around. "I'm worried about Guin."

"Of course you are. You're a gentle soul."

This time, she actually looked at him, the incredulity screaming from her eyes. Arthur laughed, and the action settled her soul somewhat.

"The only thing we can do for Guin now is find Lancelot. There's nothing more we can do for him today. Best to get some rest, and be in top shape to hunt again in the morning."

Dani nodded, but she couldn't help wondering if there wasn't something else she could be doing. Something more.