Pendragon's Blood

Part 3: Watchful Eyes

A few minutes later, I emerged the room wearing a crimson dress that was lined with black ribbon, matching the red rope on my newly carved necklace. As I walked to the dining hall, I tied my long black hair back in a high ponytail with a matching crimson ribbon. I sent God another prayer of thanks about Gwenevere's generosity for the clothes she would constantly hand down to me: dresses and ribbons from her youth.

I slipped into the dining hall, passing by lords and ladies conversing with one another, along with knights and their maidens laughing and chatting. I ignored the daily glare from the cook and balanced two trays, one in each hand, before walking back to the dining hall. Gwenevere gave me a warm smile as I placed her and Arthur's gold goblets down in front of them. She raised an eyebrow at me, as if asking how the talk with Gawain went, and I nodded and grinned back before moving on.

A loud exclamation erupted from the knights and the King as the opening doors revealed a more refreshed Sir Gawain, wearing a clean tunic and his unruly hair combed back in a more neatly fashion. Ywain and Percival slapped his back in what looked like a congratulations, and Lancelot laughed heartily at something Gawain said. Arthur made his way to his nephew and embraced him warmly, smiling the smile everyone wanted to receive. The King was charming, I'd give him that, and very kindhearted.

Gawain settled in the clump of chairs that the knights usually sat at, with Mordred sitting next to the King and Gawain sitting next to him. I kept my gaze trained on my trays as I reached Mordred, and wordlessly set his cup down in front of him without looking up. He gave me the creeps, and every once in a while, I found him staring relentlessly at me with watchful eyes.

When I was in front of Gawain, I lifted my gaze to give him a smile before putting his goblet down on the hard-wooden table. He grinned when he saw his carved pendent around my neck, and I graced him with a wink before moving on. I felt Mordred's eyes burning on my neck as I walked past and away from him with my empty trays. A shiver ran up my spin and I ducked into the kitchen uneasily.

"Where have you been, Meena?" a young servant girl called Twig asked. No one knows how the name came to be, but it stuck I guess, because she would introduce herself as Twig no matter whom she spoke to. We kind of adopted each other as sisters when she first came to the castle – she was the orphan of the town baker and his wife, who's shop burned down because of the Saxons. She couldn't have been more than eight years old, and the Queen instantly took a liking to her when she was brought in.

I smiled down at her and ruffled her shockingly bright red hair. Her hair bounced in the ringlets that were perfectly flawless. She was the most beautiful child I've ever seen, and I heard her family was from a country called Scotland. Her emerald green eyes widened, and she giggled as I tickled her. "I was busy," I answered lightly.

"With Sir Gawain?" Twig accused, folding her little arms and narrowing her eyes.

I opened my mouth to find an excuse but decided not to lie because she would figure it out sooner or later. "Yes," I sighed, fighting a smile and trying to stay serious. "I went to the northern field to apologize to him."

"The northern field?" she demanded, her eyes widening. I cringed, realizing she had heard the rumors about knights bringing their ladies to that field and-

Twig burst into a high-pitched laughter, forcing me from my thoughts, and I frantically covered her mouth with my hand. "Shush!" I whispered hoarsely, glancing around me nervously. "Don't be so loud! There's a supper going on, remember?"

To my relief, she hushed up and skipped off to deliver the flowers Arthur had ordered for his queen. She left the room carrying the vase and headed toward their chambers. I sighed and lugged a jug of wine out of the kitchen and entered the dining hall once more, assuming the cups that Rose and Lily had filled was drained already. And, not surprisingly, I was right.