Embracing the Aftermath

The wind blew lightly against the queen's window as she sat comfortably at her desk. It was mid afternoon and Gwen was sorting through the latest papers that were so generously given to her by the council.

Sometimes, Gwen wondered where on earth the council got their ideas from. All of them were of noble background, which was obvious seeing as none of them seemed to have any idea what the people of Camelot had as priorities. She dismissed the irrelevant papers with one graceful hand movement and sighed.

Gwen took pride in her duties as Queen of Camelot, she adored seeing her people thrive more than anything. Though she couldn't lie to herself, sometimes she missed her old life. Less luxurious it might have been but it was much simpler.

None the less, she would never cease serving her people. Arthur had entrusted her with the royal seal and she damn well intended to deliver.

Besides, she had other duties other than just being the queen to take care of.

The peaceful melody of a wind chime brought her out of her thoughts. Gwen turned her head towards the window and took a moment to appreciate how pretty the wind chime looked in the sunlight. One of her maids, Zoe, made them in her spare time and sold them to the people in the citadel. They were particularly popular with new mothers, who used them to help their babies sleep tranquilly through the night. Gwen requested long ago for a personal one, which Zoe was more than happy to make. It often helped her drift off on difficult nights.

Gwen observed how the wind chime looked ever so magical encased in the sun rays as it glowed a beautiful golden hue. That alone was enough to remind her of something else she missed about her old life, or rather, someone.

Suddenly feeling the need to warm up under the sun rays, Gwen stood up and made her way over to the window. She felt the sunlight tingle on her skin as she continued to warm herself. For a moment, she forgot about the paperwork and the stresses of being queen, and instead reeled in this happy warmth by doing something so simple as standing by a window.

A gentle knock at the door turned her attention back to the rest of her chambers. Gwen smiled and made her way back towards her desk, brushing her dress down as she did so.

"Come in." she called calmly.

The door opened and Zoe, or as Gwen jokingly referred to her as 'the wind chime maid', entered, bearing an unmistakeable smile.

"My lady," she spoke as she entered, not allowing the door to fully close. "There is someone here to see you."

"I hope it's not a councilman here to bore me with more paperwork." Gwen replied, not caring if there really was one within earshot.

Zoe smiled. "No, my lady. It is someone else."

Gwen was surprised. "Right, well, you may show them in then." she smiled at Zoe, grateful for her service.

The young maid stepped back outside for a moment after bowing, and Gwen heard her say "She will see you." to whoever stood outside her chambers.

Gwen prepared herself for whoever it may be, tuning herself to her queenly, diplomatic side to address this unknown visitor.

All hopes of her following through with this were dropped immediately when she saw who entered.

There, at the door with an uncertain look on his face, stood her old friend. The one she had thought of only moments before at the window.

Merlin.

She wasn't aware that her mouth was open until she felt it close. Gwen stood there, not quite believing what she was seeing.