A Legendary Love

Chapter Six

Jen managed to avoid Arthur for four weeks. A full month of slipping down random corridors, or turning on her heel to walk back the direction she had come from in order to avoid him. She made excuse after excuse in order to avoid the plethora of invites that her betrothed had sent her way.

Would you care to accompany me on a picnic? ... Would you care to dine with me in my private rooms? ... I've heard that the stables have just birthed a foal – would you like to accompany me to visit it?

Jen knew that she wasn't going to be able to avoid this forever, however she had just needed a little more time to get to grips with the situation in which she found herself.

With her anxiety somewhat in check, she was taking the time to discover what her position was in medieval society. She'd had a crash course the morning she awoke in this time, but she was acutely aware that her limited knowledge was likely to catch her out unless she brushed up on it.

She had fed Isabelle and her mother some cock-and-bull story about not wanting to disappoint her family and all of Wessex by not appearing prim and proper, therefore she engaged in daily sessions with both women in order to learn all that was required of her. This included general etiquette, along with the hobbies a polite noblewoman should have: embroidery (which – turns out – Jen was a natural at); reading (it took a little while for Jen to adapt to the Old English on the page, however found that she was easily able to translate the French and Latin texts); playing the harp; hawking; horse riding; hunting; and playing board and card games.

She would also spend her hours exploring the castle – at this point, she was pretty sure that she had the whole east wing mapped out in her brain, but there was still a lot of castle left to explore.

Jen also took to wandering the marketplace, regularly stopping in to chat with her washerwomen friends. She found that she and Ælfflaed had developed a particular bond of friendship, which Lady Helen discouraged, but Jen adored.

All in all, apart from the fact that Jen hadn't spent any time with her future-husband, she found that she was fitting into life in Camelot quite nicely. Soon, she thought she might even manage to steady herself to go on a medieval date with her betrothed!

Which was just as well, as that day was fast approaching!

Jen found herself in the Castle library, pouring over the many tales that had been newly written, for the first time on paper, after centuries of oral tradition. In all her years of studying, Jen never thought she would hold such an old text in her hands, and yet, it was so new and shiny in these times. Her mind could barely comprehend it.

A quiet cough broke her out of her trance.

"Is it your intent to avoid our meeting again until we stand before God at the alter?" Arthur asked quietly as he joined her at the long bookshelf.

"Your Majesty," Jen said in response, dropping her head as she curtsied.

There was a lapse of silence before Arthur probed: "well? Are you ever going to accept one of my near daily invitations to become acquainted with one another?"

"Not at all, your Highness," Jen said apologetically, "my intent was not to offend; I merely wished to embrace life in Camelot, and have found myself quite busy! I apologise if you took my responses as a sign of disinterest –"

"Do not take me for a fool, Guinevere," Arthur said quickly, but quietly. "I am not one. I neither care for, or believe your lies. You have made it quite apparent since the moment that you arrived in Camelot that you have no interest in becoming my wife."