Camelot's Crow | ✓ [BOOK 3]

~ 48 ~

IT HAD BEEN SEVERAL days since Giselle last saw Selene. While she was busy tending to her kingdom in the aftermath of the war and staying up through the night to catch up on her duties she'd been previously unable to focus on, Selene was off helping with the construction of the new castle of Camelot and travelling her kingdom in an effort to find survivors of destroyed villages and help any villages that remained but had inevitably been disadvantaged by the cruelty of the former King.

She hoped such a thing would change soon. Giselle missed her lover dearly, and she had even spoken with her mother over dinner about the benefits of a marriage, something she'd given great thought to over the course of Selene's absence, and she wished more than ever to see her again.

At first, the Queen was hesitant. "She's a human," her mother said. "And she's a woman. You won't be able to have a child with her."

That was something she and Selene had discussed many times, and something Giselle thought long and hard about when she was alone. She adored children beyond a faery's simple instinct, she always wanted some of her own as more than just heirs to a throne but also as a family for her to love and raise. Selene struggled to want the same thing for awhile, but over time, as she distanced herself further from Conan, the idea grew on her.

"There are solutions, I'm sure," Giselle insisted. "We'll figure something out, you know I will do anything for a child."

The Queen nodded her head in understanding. "I know you will."

"She keeps me safe, mother," Giselle went on. "And she's a Knight of the Round Table. At Kit's coronation, she'll be re-knighted. It'll be a wonderful way to build an alliance between Camelot and the Fair Folk, don't you think? I know we've got Avalon, but you know how our people are about change."

She pondered on it for several moments. "Alright," she finally said, and Giselle's heart burst. She barelled into her mother, kissing her face and thanking her relentlessly. "But you have to be absolutely sure this is what you want, Giselle."

"It is," she beamed. "It really is. As soon as Selene returns, I'm going to ask her."

When Selene eventually did return, it was late at night. Giselle was up again, working away at a pile of exhausting paperwork. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, and she felt herself nodding off briefly as she scrawled her signature across a page for what had to have been the hundredth time. She was rejuvenated by a knock on her door and she jumped to her feet. It opened to reveal a messenger.

"Your Highness, you have company awaiting you in the foyer," the messenger said.

Giselle's pulse quickened. "I'll be right out." She closed the door and turned to grab a coat from the hook, wrapping it around her bare shoulders so that she was clothed in more than just her thin, silk nightgown. Not that she bothered revealing skin, of course, but she didn't much enjoy being ogled in her sleepwear.

She raced down the hall as soon as she could, stopping at the top of the dramatic, curling staircases at the entrance of the palace. There she was, waiting for her at the bottom, as glorious as ever. She was dressed in armor, but there was not a bruise to be seen on her face, and her hair was glowing in the bright moonlight cast from the windows, flowing free of its updo and winding down her back in long, white waves.

The princess wasted no time, too eager to bother with stairs and instead blinking into place before Selene. She startled the Lady, but as soon as she looked up at met her eyes, any ounce of surprise she felt faded away.

"Giselle," she breathed. The two of them closed the gap, running into each other's arms in a tight embrace. Selene picked up Giselle's small frame and spun her around before setting her gently back down on the ground and kissing her. Giselle missed her kiss like she was dependent on it to breathe, and she didn't bother to pull away until her lips were too sore to go on.