Wrongly in Love

32- Betrayal

"Hey, Lance, what's up? Is there something wrong?"

It was a beautiful morning, and Gusion was happy to be back on his feet. The nurse, who had suddenly transformed from a raging lunatic to becoming one of the sweetest people you could ever imagine, cheerfully woke him up with the good news. Gusion was about to surprise his friends with the good news, and he was glad to see Lancelot around the corner. But the look of Lancelot's face stopped him short.

"Look- the nurse finally released me from the infirmary! She suddenly turned into a sweet granny, y'know that? I guess she's only nice to her patients when they're healed."

But Lancelot was only listening to half of his chatter, he was pale and was absolutely filled with horror. How can he explain, in a tactful manner, the news of Guinevere's departure. He was about to open his mouth, but just then, Lesley ran to him, panting.

"Hi, Les. Out for a morning run?" Gusion asked teasingly. His little joke fell flat. Lesley didn't look at Gusion, or show any sign of greeting, but rather turned to Lance with a rather panicked tone, "She's not here. Me, Odette, and Granger searched the whole castle along with the maids to look for her, but no success. Actually, Granger searched for ten minutes, then had a quick breakfast and went back to sleep." She announced, rolling her eyes. Her words barely registered with Gusion.

"Excuse me, but I'm missing something. Who left?" Gusion asked.

Lesley looked incredulous, then turned to Lancelot. "You didn't tell him?"

"I was about to, but then you suddenly came," Lancelot retorted, sitting down on the smooth marble floor. "Now it's your job to tell the news."

"What? Me? She's YOUR sister, not mine!" Lesley shot back furiously. "I'd rather have a sword to throat than face his wrath again-" She stopped.

Gusion, who had been studying the two of them with baffled interest, suddenly looked alarmed. He knew only too well who they were talking about, yet he just needed a confirmation...

"Is it... Is it..." Gusion barely got the words out.

At that moment, Odette walked towards them with a grim expression on her face. "I checked the grounds if anyone found Guinevere. And the guards wouldn't tell me a thing."

Gusion stared at her in horror. The horrible news had barely sunk in when Granger turned up, looking disheveled and carrying a cup of coffee and a new issue of Wizards Daily.

"Hey Granger, I thought you were asleep? And what's on that paper? I thought you said you never read those silly newspapers," Lesley asked.

"One of them maids handed me a copy when I asked them about Guinevere for like, the tenth time. I thought they were getting really annoyed." Granger hesitated at Gusion's expression, then handed them the copy. Odette, Lancelot, Lesley, and Gusion read aloud the article, which screamed the headline:

GUINEVERE RETURNED TO PRINCE ARTHUR; RAISES QUESTIONS OF THE PRINCESS'S LOYALTY

Filled with dread, the tree of them read on:

Prince Arthur, the eldest son of the Paxley Royals and heir to the throne, received quite a shock early morning when Guinevere suddenly showed up on the entrance of the Baroque Castle along with two men, who appeared to be his guards. Arthur, who was clearly delighted, took her out to the village, where villagers curiously gathered around to hear from the Princess.

"I never really expected her to come back to me," the Prince admits. "But just then Guinevere arrived from a carriage, and at that moment, I knew where her true loyalties lie."

However, Gusion supporters were outraged at the princess's betrayal, when the princess herself was the one rescued by Gusion, who turned out- from a very reliable source in the castle--to be Arthur's younger brother and enemy since childhood! These supporters demanded an answer from Princess Guinevere, but just then, Arthur took her back to the palace and the princess was unavailable for comment.

The royal wedding, which many of us had been excitedly anticipating, will be held at the Paxley Palace grounds two weeks from now.

Odette glanced uncertainly at Lancelot. "Two weeks from now..."

Lancelot was shaking with fury. "After all we've done to protect her... That little wench went back to the devil himself?"

Gusion stared at the last words, unable to look away. The royal wedding was to be held two weeks from now in the castle he longed to get away from. There was no doubt about Guinevere's loyalty- the proof was on the page.

Steeling himself, Gusion tried to defend Guinevere. "What if she didn't come to him just because she chooses him? What if she has a plan of her own?"

Lancelot and Lesley glanced at him doubtfully, but Odette clasped her hands excitedly. "Maybe! Lance... Maybe your sister has something up her sleeve!"

Lancelot looked unsure. "I don't know. My sister's not that smart to be that sneaky- I don't think she would have thought of that."

"She's the TOP OF MAGIC ACADEMY, Lance! Of course she's capable enough!" Odette exclaimed, slightly annoyed.

"But why didn't Guinevere tell us about it?" Lancelot asked, tapping his chin in thought.

"Maybe because she thought it was up to her. That she didn't need our help," Gusion's words were filled with more certainty with each word. "She thought you'd try to stop her!"

Lancelot glared at him, incredulous. "I know her better. She's my sister. Make more stories about her heroism, but unless anyone's confirmed anything, she's still in the dark."

Granger spoke up too. "Actually, Lance has a point. We can't confirm if any of these stories are true."

"This is getting worse and worse! I think we should have a meeting with the mates about this. If Guinevere really had gone back to his side, it would make Arthur more powerful than ever," Odette ran off to summon a bird to deliver a message. A few minutes of silence fell between them.

Granger was the first to break it." Gusion, are you really sure about what you and Odette are thinking? "

Gusion sighed."Like you said, we can't confirm anything. Well , we're not Guinevere--she's got a mind of her own." But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel betrayed by Guinevere. He had poured his heart and soul to her, and even confessed his biggest secret. Can he ever trust her again?

Lancelot looked sad."I wish we could talk to her," He said, suddenly wistful. "But we can't with her with the enemy."

Just then, Odette came back with a rather odd look on her face. "Change of plans," she said, looking at Gusion. "The heroes of Land of Dawn had requested a meeting at Magic Academy."

Gusion looked doubtful yet excited- he wasn't a regular competitor at the Land of Dawn, nor he was an official hero, and this was his chance to meet the other heroes at last. "And I am allowed to go there?" He asked doubtfully.

"Yes. Don't worry, there's going to be unofficial heroes there too. Besides, we need you there, you know Guinevere well," Odette confirmed.

Gusion looked surprised, with a hint of a smile on his face. "When is the meeting?"

"It's tomorrow, 8 o clock A. M. sharp. Hopefully, we'll know about the news of Guinevere soon enough."