Offline
Jan 2, 2022 18:42:54 GMT -5
Tag me @gwen
|
|
Post by Guinevère on Feb 13, 2019 19:37:40 GMT -5
Camelot had seen many great battles recently. She'd seen monarchs fighting for power. Magic and dragons. She'd seen siblings fighting for power with one tearing the kingdom part for power, while the other tried to save it. It had seen both kings and queens fall. Yet though it all the kingdom stood tall, with it's white towers and bright flags a symbol to all around it . . .
Only, Guinevère didn't know what that symbol was supposed to be any longer. With Uther, it was might. Morgana, it was power. Arthur it was hope! . . . . She didn't know what she was supposed to bring to the kingdom. How did she decide the fate and lives of so many? Alone.
Guinevère had been queen for a handful of years now, and she was used to the weight that came with the crown; yet at the some time she knew she'd never be used too it. She was the daughter of a blacksmith. Arthur had lived and trained his whole life to lead--she'd not. The fear of doing something wrong, and the people suffering for it felt unbearable.
Which was why Guinevère found herself standing at the window, looking out over the market and watching the people move about. One girl (she didn't know who from this high) leaned in and kissed a vendor; and Guinevère closed her eyes, looking away from the sight. Her heart was still broken, yet she had to be more then a wife . . . then a widow. She had to be a queen. For Camelot. For Arthur. Though today was harder then most recently. Arthur had been . . . been gone for a few weeks now, and she'd held hope that maybe he'd left her with a child. Yet this morning she'd awoken to learn that he hadn't. They'd tried for years, but it seemed it was not meant for them. The loss of the idea, so soon after the loss of her husband, left her feeling raw and hurting all over again. Touching Arthur's ring, both her wedding band and the royal seal ring, she tried to draw strength from them, but today it didn't seem to be working.
e
|
|
Offline
Jun 19, 2023 9:32:21 GMT -5
EST
Tag me @elyan
|
|
Post by e on Feb 16, 2019 22:50:43 GMT -5
Elyan had returned from the war a changed man. He had watched his friends die beside him on battlefields, seen destruction and death in droves. He was exhausted. He didn't know exactly what was different about him, couldn't compare his past and present selves with any real meaning, but he knew that he didn't have as much energy as he once had. He was still an excellent swordsman, and he practiced every day. But he no longer had any interest in reveling and in joy. It was inopportune timing, then, for the birth of his daughter. To be sure, he'd missed her birth, as she had been born while he was away. Still, he did not often find himself in the mood to visit her and her mother. He hadn't yet taken her out into the town, taken her out of her home. It wasn't his disinterest as much as his paralyzing fear. The death of his brother-in-law had taught him he couldn't protect those closest to him. He doted on his sister as he always had, especially because he knew she had to adjust to ruling Camelot without her late husband at her side, but he retracted from anyone else. With the child's mother ill, Elyan was soon forced to take his daughter for the day. He didn't want her out in the open, so he took her to the castle instead, to meet her aunt for the first time. He went straight to his sister's quarters, infant in hand, and knocked on the door. "Gwen," he called out. "I have someone I'd like you to meet."
Guinevère
|
|
Offline
Jan 2, 2022 18:42:54 GMT -5
Tag me @gwen
|
|
Post by Guinevère on Feb 17, 2019 0:11:23 GMT -5
Guinevère heard someone enter, and her brother's voice. Turning she looked over at the door she froze--not because it was her beloved brother but because he held a baby in his arms. Her hands lifted to cover her belly, one that was empty of her own child, and her hands overlapped there. She pressed the ring into her palm, silently trying to take what power it had into her. Whatever strength it had. It was a habit she'd taken up these last few weeks. Trying to pull whatever Arthur might have left in it, from it to help her. It never worked but she tried. Always she tried.
The baby was wiggling and she didn't look away from it. Silently Guinevère walked closer, seeing the face that looked slightly like her brothers. One of her hands came out to ever so slowly and gently tuck the blanket around the baby a little more, as if it would help Guinevère feel less cold in the moment. "She's beautiful," Guinevère said, trying to keep the emotion from her voice--and only partly failing. "This your . . . your daughter, then?" Guinevère's hand moved to rest over her brother's hand that held that babe. Her brother had a daughter, and Guinevère never would. It hurt, but she was happy for him too. And . . . a little mad at him for not marrying Harriet!
e
|
|
Offline
Jun 19, 2023 9:32:21 GMT -5
EST
Tag me @elyan
|
|
Post by e on Feb 17, 2019 0:41:16 GMT -5
Elyan was visibly uncomfortable as the child wriggled in his arms, but watching how his sister received his daughter brought a genuine smile to his face. "Why, thank you," Elyan said, dutifully accepting the compliment on the baby's behalf. "It's in her blood." His eyes fell on the baby's face, and he felt his chest warm at the sight of her curious brown eyes staring up at him. "Yes," he said, hoarsely. "Yes, this is my daughter."He looked up at Gwen again. "Tabitha, this is your Aunt Gwen--the Queen of Camelot." There was pride in his voice when he said it. "Harriet's come down with something, so I'm watching after Tabby here today." Suddenly, his face brightened. "Would you like to hold her?"
Guinevère
|
|
Offline
Jan 2, 2022 18:42:54 GMT -5
Tag me @gwen
|
|
Post by Guinevère on Feb 17, 2019 0:55:25 GMT -5
His daughter. He had a daughter. Her brother--who she loved dearly--had a daughter. One that he'd get to see grow, be happy. While happy for her brother, she felt very alone in this moment too. She'd never get that chance. She'd never get to see Arthur's child in her arms; or Arthur hold the baby. He called her the queen, and her back stiffened slightly; not because she hated being called that but with her current thoughts it was hard to hear. The queen. Without her king.
Guinevère could see that her brother had trouble holding the baby. She wasn't blind in her grief that she hadn't noticed that he struggled too. Gwaine. Arthur. and so many of his brothers had died that day too. Elyan hadn't smiled so easy since then. She felt like a horrid sister that she'd been unable to be there for him, but sometimes it was all she could do to just BE HERE, much less for anyone.
Hold her?! Guinevère felt her heart jerk slightly at the idea, but she wanted to. "Please!" Moving forward, she took the babe from him, and held her close. "Is she going to be alright?" The mother, who was sick. "I can send Gaius to attend her." Guinevère spoke without looking for the baby's face. Her brother was a father! He would be such a good father! "You need to marry her!" Guinevère said, reaching one hand out to smack his arm. Looking up at him, she blinked, feeling the tear on her cheek. "You're a father!" Her train of thought wasn't clear, but this was her brother--she would understand her.
e
|
|