A Legendary Love

Chapter Seven

There was a sharp rap at Jen's chamber door which caused her to stop pacing back and forth in front of the unlit fireplace.

Smoothing down her gown, she approached the door, breathing heavily.

"Hi," Jen said, perhaps slightly breathier than she had intended.

"Good afternoon, Lady Guinevere," Arthur ducked his head slightly in greeting. He then swept his arm into the hallways, as an indicator to Jen to leave her room and make their way to their date location.

Letting a long breath out slowly though her slightly parted lips, Jen smoothed down her dress once more and stepped into the otherwise empty corridor, closing her chamber door behind her.

The walk down to the formal gardens was awkward, at best. There was minimal conversation between the pair of them, and any conversation that they did manage to have was stilted, brief and generic conversation.

"My ladies maid informed me that you have recently returned from a peace keeping exercise to a neighbouring county," Jen offered in an effort keep conversation flowing.

"I – yes," Arthur replied monotonously. "I am pleased to report that it was a success and we shall be hosting some delegates from their Court in the coming weeks."

"That is promising to hear," Jen replied, nodding slightly as she smoothed down her dress once more. She made a mental note to make a concerted effort to stop this nervous tick.

"Indeed. It was a good result," Arthur noted, almost to himself as he rung his hands together.

There was another lull in conversation as they made their way through the empty corridors and out into the fresh air, heading towards the garden.

The hedges of the garden were all perfectly rectangular, with not a branch out of place, and not a bare patch to be seen. These perfectly manicured hedges contained the formal garden space, separating it from the rest of the grounds.

"So, are you enjoying your time at the Castle?" Arthur enquired, staring at his hands.

"Yes, you have a lovely home," Jen responded as she nodded. "I have yet to explore the whole Castle and grounds, however I do enjoy venturing out to the marketplace. My ladies maid and I do it weekly at this point."

Arthur nodded silently in response. Fearful of another lull in conversation, Jen pressed on. "As a matter of fact, the women of Camelot have been teaching me how to wash articles of clothing."

Another pause to give Arthur the opportunity to respond, but he settled on a soft 'mmm' noise.

"They tell me that I have yet to fully master the skill, so they continue to invite me. I worry that once I have mastered it, they may expect me to start washing my own clothes!" Jen let out an awkward chuckle, which Arthur reciprocated after another awkward pause.

"Not that I would mind that," Jen spluttered out as to not appear entitled or above her station.

Arthur nodded slightly once more, and Jen let out a quiet sigh, not wanting to continue the conversation any further.

As they fell into silence once more, Jen noted that the crunch of gravel under the pair's feet was deafening. Surely conversation should flow more easily between the King of Camelot and his soon-to-be wife!

As Jen looked down at her feet, she noted that there was not a single stone out of place either – it all remained in the perfectly linear path, with not one bit of gravel escaping into the lawn on either side.

"You do not have any siblings, do you, milord?" Jen asked, mainly for something to say.

"I have three half-sisters," Arthur replied briskly.