"Gwenwyfar, talk to me."
The Fae's eyes were rimmed with red, swollen and puffy, as she looked up at me from where she sat, curled up, on the floor. "My Lord, I am sorry. I will accept any punishment you place upon me."
I shook my head. "I will not punish you, Gwenwyfar. If the child's father refuses to claim them, I can proclaim them my heir."
She blinked. "You would do that...for me?"
I nodded, trying to convince her. "Yes. I would."
Gwenwyfar clambered to her feet unsteadily. "My Lord, Arthur, I will leave Camelot."
"You do not have to do that," I dissuaded, "I will still welcome you within my walls."
"I know," she murmured. "But your people love you, and I cannot sully that by bringing dishonour to you by staying, nor can I stand their looks of scorn."
She picked up a small satchel of possessions that were lying on the floor near her feet.
"Gwenwyfar –" I began.
"No, Arthur. Say no more. But before I leave, will you accept my name? As my future husband, you would have had that right."
I shook my head. "No, Gwenwyfar. The fact stands that right now, I am not your husband and hence have no right to it. Keep it. Save it for the male that will be your husband."
She frowned at me. "No male would have me now that I have been defiled. Even if – " she bit her words off. "No matter. Please, Arthur, will you accept my name? You have been kinder to me than you had need to be."
"No Gwenwyfar. I will not budge on this. I have hope that perhaps one day, some male will be able to see past what is past and love you for the sweet girl you are."
She nodded sadly.
"You are...are you still going to leave?"
"Yes."
"Then I will see you to the gate," I said. "But before we go, do tell me, who did this to you? I do not believe that you sought this relationship willingly, or you would not be so reticent, and you would have offered your name to him, and not to me."
She looked at me with woeful eyes. "You mean, my Lord, you do not know?"
I inhaled deeply, trying to steel myself for the inevitable blow as a sense of foreboding came over me.
"I had thought you would, my Lord," Gwenwyfar whispered. "Your Merlin had said that you would not mind when he forced himself upon me."
YOU ARE READING
The Faerie Blade
FantasyIt is said that only he who is the rightful King of the Solar Court and High Lord of all Fae kind can pull the sword from the stone. But what if the Fae who pulls the sword from the stone is a she? When a lark bearing strange gifts first showed up a...
