"Arturia," Diarmuid had his back to her because he had been cooking for a while now. He wanted to feel the name on his lips, see how he found it. Of course it was much easier to pronounce, even if Guinevere was a softer name.
She turned her head towards him and blinked a couple of times, "Yes?" She mumbled as she patiently awaited a response, unsure of what he was going to say next.
"I like it better than Guinevere." He turned back and gave her a soft smile, showing her that he was genuine.
She was a little amazed because he had not asked her any questions about her real name and about her fake name. He had not even touched upon the subject of what had happened in the forest and why she was feeling a bit scared for the past day.
She only looked at him, no response left her lips because she was unsure of what to say in return, and it was a knock on the door that had made them both flinch. "I will go and answer it," Diarmuid assured her as he saw a spark of fear in her eyes, she was starting to seem different. She was a little more distressed and scared than he had seen her when she was holding a fireplace poker to his back; that fact sort of saddened him.
Upon opening the door, he had already regretted the decision. Standing in front of him was a certain prince, his arms crossed over his chest and with a nice red velvet cloak covering him and shielding him from the cold weather, "Hello, my hound." He was clearly irritated that the disappointment leaked into his voice.
"Prince Gilgamesh," Dairmuid gave a short bow, still acknowledging the fact that the male before him was in a higher class than himself; even if he was not Irish, "What finds your grace here? Are you having trouble with your personal knights?"
"Mediocre knights..." he rephrase, "Where is Guinevere? You found her, I am guessing..." Gilgamesh pushed past Diarmuid and entered the small cabin. "Ugh, are you making potato stew?" Her wrinkled his nose at the smell of the soup.
"Yes." Diarmuid did not comment on the Prince's childish behaviour, instead he made sure not to sound too annoyed.
"Ah," he nodded, "I thought as much." Passing over to the kitchen, he noted that the female he was looking for was not there, but rather she was standing near the dinner table with the knight's yellow lance in hand, "Oh! Hello, Lady Guinevere," he smirked, "What are you doing holding a man's weapon?"
"I might need to defend myself," she replied, "it is only something females must do when facing men."
"My Prince, I advise you to not tempt her." Diarmuid wanted to let out a little chuckle but held it back.
"She is but a female; she does not know how to handle a weapon." Gilgamesh deadpanned.
"Maybe we should have a duel, my prince," Arturia spoke softly. She was irritated with the fact that he thought she was defenseless, but she thought it best to look innocent. "I could show you that a female is able to fight when needed."
Gilgamesh shook his head lightly, "I apologize, Lady Guinevere, but I must decline because I do not want hurt you,"
I am praised for my battle skills; I dare you to try and land a blow on me, she yelled it in her mind, As if I'd loose to some whimpy Prince. "I insist," she mumbled as she held the yellow lance tighter in her hand.
Diarmuid walked over to her, careful not to alarm her in any way. He landed a hand on the lance and gave her another soft smile, "Milady, I am sure that the Prince is much too tired to duel at this moment. Maybe another time?"
"Oh, if it is because he is tired, then I will wait for a while longer," she inched her hand away from Diarmuid's and kept an eye on him. She had grown a little bit more comfortable around him—even finding some sort of comfort in his company—but she was still a little careful with the male's movement. "Anyway, Prince Gilgamesh, why did you come all the way out here?"
Gilgamesh, who was currently looking at them in disgust of their friendship, smirked, "I thought you would have never asked," he chuckled, "Since I am such a kind person to the subjects of even other kingdoms; I decided to help you both out. Now, get your belongings ready because we are off to Logres!"
Arturia tilted her head and furrowed her brows, "Why?"
He laughed at her comment and shook his head, "Why else, miss? To find your family."
"Excuse me?" She brought a hand to her chest for she had been offended, "I am not a charity case, I can find my family on my own."
"A charity case? I never said that you were. I am deciding to help you out of the kindness of my heart; not because I want to—"
"Milady," Diarmuid did not want to hear an argument over something a little ridiculous, "May we speak in private?" He looked at her, eyes pleading a little bit.
She took a deep breath, "Alright," she said as she turned around and headed for the door of the room; soon followed by Diarmuid. Upon closing the door, she looked over at him and blinked, "What is it?"
"Arturia," he sighed, "the Prince may be a bit rough around the edges, but we kind of are in need of his funds. As much as I do not want to travel with him, we must. The Prince has gold coins, while we are lacking in money right now. If we go with him, we will be able to figure out, not only your past but your family too."
"But I do not like him one bit," she whined as she turned towards the window.
"As do I," he reasoned, "but I am sure you want to remember everything, yes?"
Arturia turned back to face him, her eyes were wide and her lips were parted as she tried to find something to say in return, "W—How do you know?"
"I read what you wrote down... I had noticed that something was off, but I never commented because I figured it was a delicate subject for you..."
She furrowed her brows in sudden anger, "And you could not tell me that you knew?" It was a breach of privacy in her eyes.
Diarmuid was taken aback by her enraged response, "I...I did not want to alarm you. It is not as if I want a poker through my heart right now."
She scoffed, loudly, "Not as if, hah; so what now? You know everything about me and you want me to go on a month journey with someone that could be willing to hurt me if the right amount of gold coins came around?"
"What?" He tilted his head in sudden confusion, "Are you implying that I am bought with simple shiny objects? That I would hurt you?"
"Why else would you jump so quickly on the idea of the Prince and his funds?"
"I only serve but one master; I am a good knight that is not bought by meaningless things. I would go to the ends of the world for my master."
"Yes of course, because you are so loyal that you even left the prince alone." It was mostly desperation that drove her anger. Even if they had known each other for a month now, she did not fully know him and know what he was capable of.
"The Prince? He has nothing to do with—" A grunt from his part "—Look, Arturia," he took a deep breath to calm himself, hoping that he would calm her down too. "I want to help you find your family because I am sure that they are looking for you. I have faith that we will be able to figure everything out. Now, please cooperate...I am sure that you want to return to your old life."
"Not if someone is trying to murder me!" She hissed between clenched teeth. She was not only upset with him but with the situation she was in; yet some small comfort came with the knowledge that she could hopefully confide in someone.
Diarmuid reached out to land a hand on her shoulder in order to comfort her but refrained. "Milady Arturia," he began, "I swear upon my honour that I will not allow harm to come upon you for as long as I am your knight. I am in charge of helping you, and if that means putting your well-being before of mine, then I shall do just that. I am your sword and shield; use me as you wish."
Arturia only blinked at him, she had no words left, mostly because she was trying to calm down and the rest due to what he had said. He looked so trustworthy that it reminded her of some of her Knights. A small heartwarming smile threatened to grow upon her lips because of the sudden nostalgia that attacked her, but she stopped it. "Then be prepared to die," she mumbled and turned about to collect her things.
"Milady?" He furrowed his brows, not quite understanding what she had said, "What do you—"
"Well, should you not be packing, Sir Dairmuid?" She looked at him, an expression of acceptance on her face, one that he did not quite understand. She had calmed down upon the thought of her loyal knights and she hoped that he would be one.
Diarmuid smiled lightly and took a deep breath, he was still a bit mad that she suggested his easy persuasion, but he looked past that because he did want to be a good friend of hers; whilst she found a way to remember her old friends. He went on to pack his things into a small bag and then headed for the door when he was done, "By the way; that's my shirt," he turned around and faced away from her.
Arturia growled and hurried out of the room first, pushing past him, and Diarmuid followed behind her. Gilgamesh smirked and gave them a roll of his bright eyes, "Well, how are you feeling now? Has your red vision brightened up a bit?" He was clearly commenting on the yelling that he had heard coming from the room.
Arturia shot him a glare, "Well, do you wish to help us peasants or not?"
"I am sorry," Gilgamesh smiled seeing as she had changed a little bit, "Do I know you?"
She rolled her eyes and grabbed Diarmuid's yellow lance, leaving the red one to him and exited the house, "Come on, my loyal knight," she called for him.
Diarmuid took his red lance and hurried after her, looking back at Gilgamesh for a second. "My Prince, are you not joining us?" He asked as he left the cabin, awaiting for the royal at the door.
Gilgamesh rolled his eyes and followed after both of them, "You are getting a little ahead of yourself, mongrel."
After they all left the house, Diarmuid was able to lock it and hide the key where he usually did; in case his brother returned before he did. "Thank you Prince Gilgamesh, you even brought horses with you."
"I brought Beibhinn for you," the monarch stated, his voice showing little embarrassment as Diarmuid rushed towards the white horse.
Arturia smirked whilst she helped herself upon a brown horse. "I think that the Prince cares more about peasants than he leads on."
"What?" Gilgamesh furrowed his brows, "What do you mean by that?" He too climbed on his own horse as Diarmuid caressed his.
"Whatever you want it to mean, my prince." She held on to the reins of the horse and then she went on her way with the royal trailing behind her.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Diarmuid was quick to jump on his mare and ride off after Gilgamesh and Arturia.