Live For Me (Arthur and Gwen)

Waiting

There were flowers waiting on Gwen's table when she got home.

A frown forming on her forehead, Guinevere shut her creaking door and approached them. Who in the world would send her flowers? They were lovely ones, too, purple and white tied together with a neat cobalt ribbon. Folded in front of them was a slip of parchment, her name written upon it in elegant calligraphy. Gwen picked it up, and almost looked at it, but decided she wanted to save it. Maybe it was Arthur. God, she hoped it was Arthur.

Gwen found a polished clay pot to put the flowers in, arranging them as carefully as she could, and finally plucked up the courage to open the note. It was written in lovely, flowing script, as if someone had taken a very long time and very great care in writing it.

The barriers that keep us apart are nothing compared to the power of true love.

~Arthur

Gwen's heart swelled as if a thousand balloons had been blown up inside it, a soft smile forming on her lips without her meaning it to. Love. It was truly love that the prince felt for her, and he had not given up on her. Because she...

The door burst open and Gwen swivelled her head, her body immediately tense, only to find Merlin there, looking close to panicked. She could have sworn he froze when he saw her.

"Merlin," Gwen said reproachfully, or at least she tried to sound reproachful but couldn't quite bring herself to. "Can't you knock?"

"Rats!" Merlin got out, still standing with one hand gripping the door.

"What?"

Merlin nodded, letting go of the door to gesture with his hands. "Big, hairy, sharp teeth." He pushed the door shut behind him and dived across the room. "Yeah, definitely under here."

When Merlin got to his knees and looked under the table, Gwen became concerned. Merlin only ever acted like this when something was wrong. Or when Gaius had given him some strange potion to try. Gwen held in her snort and leaned down so her face was level with his. She gave him a questioning look. He caught her watching him and swivelled his head to give her a winning grin.

"Are you feeling all right?" Gwen asked him, keeping her voice soft.

Merlin's head disappeared from under the table and reappeared above it as he got to his feet once more. Gwen echoed his movements. "Me?" said Merlin's cheerful voice. "Never better." He still kept that wide grin on his face, letting out what sounded like a nervous breath as he added, "You?"

Gwen glanced at him and then back down to the note still clutched in her hand. "I'm having a very surprising day," she said, unable to contain her smile.

Merlin took half a step closer. "Really?"

Gwen didn't look at him, instead arranging those flowers in their pot. "You know one of those occasions when you've lost all hope and then, out of the blue, something happens to restore your faith?"

"Sort of..."

Gwen looked at him now. "Well, that's what's happened to me today."

Somehow, Merlin didn't look as pleased as she'd thought he would.

But it didn't matter. She could worry about Merlin's problems later. Because Arthur... Arthur had not forgotten her.

***

Gwen lay awake that night, long after the sun had set and the stars had flickered into the sky, one by one, a thousand lanterns. Silver moonlight speared through her curtains and flooded her lonely house, falling right across her face.

Arthur had not forgotten her.

The barriers that keep us apart are nothing compared to the power of true love.

He loved her. And he was prepared to endure so much for her sake.

For the life of her, she couldn't understand why. He had plenty of beautiful ladies and princesses to take his pick from –– there was Lady Vivian, for one. So to choose her only made that ache in her chest hurt more. And what she felt for him...

She hadn't been in love with him for years. Until that tournament where he'd stayed with her, she wouldn't have minded punching him. But she had not known him then.

And then there had been Lancelot. Wonderful, brave, honourable Lancelot, who she was almost certain she'd fallen in love with. But now he was long gone, and Arthur...

No, she couldn't think about this now. And she couldn't think about it tomorrow, either, or the day after that. Not for many years could she ever truly contemplate it, and she did not expect Arthur to wait so long for her. No matter that she would have waited a thousand years for him.

She did love him. Prince Arthur. Her Arthur.

She just prayed he wouldn't get hurt.

In the silence of her bedroom, Guinevere swore an oath to the moonlight that if Arthur were taken from her, no force in the world would hold her back from finding him again.