A Cry Of Warning [Guinevère & Her Arthur]

[Guinevère]

Fallen from the the high walls. How horrid for someone to die like that. Guinevère wondered if they were afraid. Thinking back to the woods, it was a feeling she knew. "I think she will go ahead with the attack," That drew her out of her thought. Morgana would come. She would attack. Yet when? Or how was the question. "Your alliance with Nemeth should help with numbers, Helios has many men from what little I've seen of them. I think he thinks they are disposable."

His uncle had not left, so he had not gone to Morgana to report. Morgana would know nothing about that was happening inside the walls. "And I think Helios believes that the arrow claimed your life." Had it been enough to kill a person? Had she almost died? "I had not realized that I came so close." She had assumed that she sleep for however long she did, because she was tired. Her eyes looked at the floor for a moment, "He frightens me." She admitted, "He pretended to be nice, but you could see past it. He was gentle but . . . . I cannot explain it. You could see the past his pretend charm to see something more deadly."

Looking at him she spoke again, "He reminds me of Hingist, only with him he was openly violent. Helios is more dangerous. You should be careful, I worry for you. Morgana might be bold but he is smart."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Guinevère spoke of his alliance with Nemeth, and Arthur wasn't even sure if there was going to be an alliance. Or if the king would grow angry at the way Arthur treated his daughter -- who had come with the promise of a marriage. He could only hope that passing his claims to the ancient lands over to him, would help soften the tension. "I am not sure if there will be an alliance with Nemeth," Arthur stated, not about to hope for it. "If we gather our forces though, we should be able to match Helios' army." Because Helios was not a king. He did not have a vast army of trained men. He would use tactic, and lead by a powerful sorceress . . . that is how he would gain advantage. But as Arthur had decided before, Helios and Morgana no longer had the element of surprise on their side. It did help reassure him when Guinevère spoke of how the men were disposable enough -- not too formidable for Camelot's army. Few were. "I had not realized that I came so close." Arthur took a deep breath, thinking back to that moment when he had saw her hit by the arrow.

Anything could have happened; it could have been poisoned, it could have gotten infected, she could have bled out . . . he dared not think of such things. "What matters now is that you are in the process of healing. And that the wound will not worsen." Words could not describe how he felt in that moment. For the thought of losing her . . . was part of what made Arthur decide not to marry Mithian. "He frightens me." Now a whole new wave of fear washed through him as she spoke of Helios. Of how he was gentle but still terrifying. He hated that she had been so close to someone like him, and he knew that if ever there was a time to ask about what happened while she was being held by him . . . now would be that time. And yet, as considerate and compassionate as always, she was worried about him. "You should not worry," he told her, not wanting her to add extra weight to all that had happened to her. "Did he, hurt you?" He had to ask and braced himself for the answer. He prayed that Helios had not. And if he did, then Arthur would hunt him down tonight, and kill him.

[Guinevère]

"I am not sure if there will be an alliance with Nemeth," Guinevère wasn't sure if it was her place to ask, but even knowing he belonged to another, and that this wasn't her home any longer, she wanted to help. "Do you think they will back out, instead of bracing for war?" Surely if that was the cause, they could see with them both being united it would be an easy win? Camelot held one of the best armies, and Morgana had lost the element of surprise.

"You should not worry," She would always worry, for this was Arthur, and their friends. His kingdom. His life. There was more to worry for here, then there was where she was going. "Did he hurt you?" Arthur asked, and Guinevère knew the answer was no. Looking up at him, she was able to have no haunted look in her face. It could be honest and clear. "No. I wasn't there long enough, and you found me in the woods before they could catch me."

And that was why she was unharmed, for she had felt them closing in, and knew she would never have made it to the city. "Others were not so lucky," Thinking of the family that had given her home, made her eyes fall to the floor. They'd been killed by Helios' men. How could people enjoy killing like that? "The people from my village . . . he had the women and children killed. The men who were of age to fight, were taken, the rest were killed as well. That is how he builds his army. One town at a time. Leaving no one alive to free to tell or warn others."

"He said I was pretty. That is why I was not killed. He took me to his temporally home, but Morgana came before anything could happen. His attentions were on her, and I was able to get a head start. . . . I ran for days. Then I heard the dogs, and knew someone was hunting. Only knights and nobles hunt with dogs . . . and you know the rest."

[Arthur Pendragon]

"Do you think they will back out, instead of bracing for war?" She seemed to still believe that Arthur had plans to marry Mithian. She must have known that the princess left, but not that she was not going to be his wife. He may as well explain it to the best of his ability. "I did not keep to my end of the terms for a treaty," he said, knowing that he had broken his word to her and the entire kingdom of both Nemeth and Camelot. That he had decided not to marry her when that was what was going to solidify peace. All he was able to do was give them the ancient lands, which he hoped was all they desired in the end. And in time, perhaps they could properly formulate a treaty . . . but Arthur knew he was getting ahead of himself in that regard. He then listened attentively as she assured him that she had not been hurt by him, and Arthur felt a massive amount of relief. Knowing that Helios had not touched her inappropriately to the point of hurting her -- only making her wear that revealing outfit -- was at least something to find comfort in. Even if she was not his to worry over anymore, he would always worry for her. The days she had been gone, had weighed on him heavily . . . and seeing that she was safe within Camelot was a comfort indeed.

Which was strange, since he had been the one to banish her in the first place. She explained that the villages were attacked and that women and children were killed. Arthur was pained at the thought . . . he may not know who they were, but he knew of Helios' ruthlessness when it came to raiding villages and taking what he could from them. The only reason Guinevère had been spared -- as she now explained -- was because she was beautiful and thus captured Helios' attention. Which was what Arthur had been worried about. "He has a vicious reputation, being known for his violent tendencies, and . . . his appetite for women." And to hear that Morgana had allied herself . . . that she had nearly caught Guinevère . . . made Arthur realize that as bad as things were, they could have been a lot worse. He looked at her, her outfit, and his gaze rested on the ring around her neck . . . the ring he had given her when he proposed. Letting his gaze linger there for a moment, he looked away and put the map back in the box, needing something to distract himself. "I'm relieved that Morgana was unable to catch up to you. And for the risk you took, and the consequence you suffered, I am sorry for that." Consequence, being the fact that she was struck with an arrow.

[Guinevère]

"I did not keep to my end of the terms for a treaty," His end of the terms? What terms? Was he not marrying the princess in order to gain the lands that were bordering them to kingdoms and strengthen his army? He did not keep his end? Did he not marry? Or not plan to marry?

Why had he not told her? He knew that was why she had said she had to leave, and instead of telling her she could stay and that he was not going to marry, he was going to let her go? Did he still wish her to go then? Yes. He must still wish her to go, or he would have said something. Guinevère had turned down the offer the first time, but would ask if she could stay. He made the offer because of her risk, to reply her. Not because he wanted to see her every day.

Watching him, as he said something--was he apologizing? She wasn't sure. The knowlage of his non-marriage plans, and of what it meant and didn't mean for her was too close to her mind. Instead she said nothing.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Guinevère was silent and he wasn't sure what to make of that. Usually when Guinevère was silent it wasn't a good thing . . . or sometimes she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she couldn't speak. The rare time that had happened was when he'd proposed to her, and he had to ask if she was accepting or if he was getting a sympathy hug to reject him softly. Deciding that it was best not to question what was on her mind, he put closed the box, put them back in their location and locked it. "We should go," he stated for it was getting late and she should be getting as much rest as she could. With that, he went over to the doors and attempting to push them . . . but they did not move. Puzzled for a moment, Arthur tried again but they would still not budge. Were they jammed?

Setting the torch down once again, Arthur leaned the side of his body, using his shoulder and upper arm for that extra strength and with all his might, tried to push the door open. After a few moments of his failed attempt, he stepped back and could only come to one logical explanation. "Its locked." Odd! How did it get locked? Obviously he had the key, but he could not open it from the inside. It had to be opened from the outside since no one would want to lock themselves in. Unless . . . . . oh. OH! . . . Oh no! It was designed this way so that should someone steal the plans then they would be caught. Was it Agravaine's design or someone else's? Either way it did not help matters right now! For this could mean that they would be stuck in this room all night long.

[Guinevère]

"We should go,"Yes, they should. She needed to think about that he said, and in truth, if he did not want her here then she needed pack and keep to her plan. She would delay no more then a day or two, but then leave to spare him from knowing she was here. Though Guinevère also knew that--"Its locked." The door!?

"Locked?" She repeated, pausing from her actions of blowing out a candle, and looking at the door. "Someone has locked us in the room?" Was it hist uncle? Did he know they were close?! Would he use this time to ride out and summon Morgana for the attack now?! Guinevère's heart beat faster and she walked slowly over, "Is there another way out? Or someone who portals by here in the night?" Someone who would hear if they called out for help.

[Arthur Pendragon]

"Someone has locked us in the room?" In a way. Arthur tried to give it another push before he stepped back again, knowing there was no possible way to break it down. "It must be for security purposes. So that if someone was caught stealing something from this room, they would be trapped inside." There were no windows, no other way to get out. Which brought the answer to her next questions. "There is no other way out. And the walls are too thick for us to be heard, even with yelling and banging." A guard only passed through the basement once every hour or so at this time . . . there would be no point screaming out for help because they wouldn't hear them.

Arthur continued to stare at the door, trying to think if there was any way out of this . . . but could think of nothing. "We may not be found until morning." For they would then notice that the king is missing. One of the major concerns Arthur had right now, was Agravaine. What if he sneaked out tonight? Arthur had fully intended to follow him, but now he could not. What if he told Morgana that Guinevère lived? Not wanting to worry her by vocalizing all these concerns, he just picked up the torch and stepped away, putting the torch back along the wall to give them more light.

[Guinevère]

Arthur explained how it locked and how no one would heart hem call for help. "We may not be found until morning." Til morning?! Looking at him as he rehung the torch, she could only hear his words repeated over and over again. Til Morning. Not til morning. "But someone will come here and notice we are here?" She asked, hoping that this wasn't a place that got avoided for days and days at a time.

That was when everything came to her. She was trapped in a room with no exits with Arthur. They would be here--together--all night. Normally she knew what she would do or say--tease him, spend the hours in his arms--but that was before she proved to them both that she wasn't fit to be his. Now she only sat back down, and watched him. Wondering what was happening in his mind, and what he was thinking about. "Wha--What shall we do til then? Is there more maps or . . . . or . . . " Maps and candles. Nothing else.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur could tell she was worried, and didn't want her to be. "Every morning they check the lower levels to make sure there have been no break ins. They will check this room too." And be able to get them out. Her next question was a bit more difficult to answer. What shall they do indeed. Had things been different between them . . . he would know what they could do to pass the time. Because they should have been married by now. Who knows, she could have been with child by now. And even if she wasn't, they would have been happily married. They would have been able to start their forever. It was why he had lay with her in the first place, a couple of years ago . . . because he had believed they would be together.

Had he known where her thoughts lay, with another, then perhaps he would have thought twice. And yet at the same time, how could he regret those moments? Having no proper answer for her, he moved his hand back to the clasp on his chain mail, and though it was an awkward position, he opened it. He then proceeded to take off his chain mail -- having been capable of doing so but in the past had often enjoyed it when she aided him with such things. After it was off, he set it on the table, and then proceeded to unlace his thick padded jacket that we wore underneath. He slipped it off, and walked toward her, extending it in his hand. "Here. So you will not grow cold in the night." She would need something to keep her warm, for it could grow cold in the basement. And he couldn't offer his arms for such warmth.

[Guinevère]

Guinevère watched him begin removing his chainmail, and her heart skipped a beat. Almost as if he read her thoughts, but she knew he could not have. Arthur then removed the padded jacket that went under it. "Here. So you will not grow cold in the night." Oh! He was trying to keep her warm! Not . . . well not . . . not that he would . . . not now. Not again.

"Thank you," She said softly, reaching for it and slipping it on over her. It smelled like him. Like Arthur. The way the pillows used to smell. Pulling it tighter around her, she tired to hold onto that scent and not let her heart break at the same time. "If you grow cold we should switch for a while." Down here there was no heat, and it was going to get very cold in here. She looked around, trying to decide on what to say or what to do. How to act. When to breath with out looking like she was inhaling his scent.

"You look well." She told him, not having missed that. Not wonderful, but not . . . . "I hear about your new law, or undoing the old law. With the druids, making sure they would not be hunted, and they could live without fear." As he father had made then live.

[Arthur Pendragon]

"If you grow cold we should switch for a while." Arthur took a candle over to the torch to light it so that they would have a bit more warmth. "I'll be alright," he assured her as he set the candle down and took a seat on one of the chairs himself. He was used to being in colder climates, as being out in the forests wasn't exactly always the warmest climate. He was more worried about her growing too cold, and hopefully the warmth would help her get some sleep, even if this was not the most comfortable place to do so. She needed some, with her injury. And plus . . . he had no idea if she had intentions to stay, or if she was still set on leaving. "You look well." Small talk. How far they had come from how it used to be between them. And he wondered if they would ever get that back. He had made it abundantly clear by his actions that he could not marry another woman. So the question become . . . could he marry Guinevère? Would she still want to marry him? Could he fully trust her? So many questions, and ones that he never knew if he would gain the answers the to.

Trying to think of how to respond to her first question, for he knew he could not say the same of her -- considering how disheveled, weak and tired she had looked . . . and how she had on that revealing outfit -- he was relieved that another topic arose. One about the recent law change in the kingdom. "It was long overdue," he said, not about to go into detail as to what prompted him to change it. That was one part of his past that he was so very ashamed of . . . one that haunted him every single night. And without her next to him, without her to gain that comfort from . . . he nights had been all the more difficult to endure. "I've always believed they were a peaceful people. Now they can properly live in peace." The one time he had had his doubts, was when they kidnapped Morgana. But seeing as how she had falsified being the victim so many times . . . he wasn't even sure he could trust what he saw that day. Arthur then found himself wondering if she knew what had happened to her brother . . . the possession, and how it had nearly cost him his life. If not, then he didn't want to worry her . . . for perhaps it would be something better heard from Elyan, if he had not already made mention of it.

[Guinevère]

"It was long overdue," She was glad he thought so, for she didn't know any Druids personally--not well at least--and she had also though what she heard of them seemed nothing like the king had claimed them to be. "Now they can properly live in peace." Raise families, stop hiding, stay in one place. She hoped that they were able to take comfort in that.

"Two years ago when Morgana took power for a little while, she kept saying that you would not have accepted her. She claimed you were like your father. How wrong she was. Had she but given you the first chance, look what you would have done." He freed the people of magic, and was ruling based on people's actions and not their birth. "I knew you would do great things." She was only sorry she no longer had the right to stand by him and watch. She was proud of him.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Guinevère spoke of Morgana and her words of how Arthur would not have accepted her. That was something he never understood. How she could think he would have loved her any less because she had magic. He had helped a druid boy escape, and tried to protect her at all turns. She often spoke of how he was a better man than his father, and while he always disagreed with that . . . he'd thought that such words would have given her more faith in him. But how wrong he had been. He had clearly overestimated his relationship with her, for the words of a long lost half sister were enough to sway her mind and kill those that she called family for the many years before. "She is far too corrupted to see reason," Arthur concluded. He wished there would have been a way to get along, to not have to worry about her killing innocent people. But it was too late for that.

She would never accept peace and he had to come to terms with that. "I knew you would do great things." More words that Arthur disagreed with, but he was not going to say as much. He had hardly done anything great; for he never should have raided that druid camp before to begin with. Perhaps he was no better than Morgana, in not stopping those women and children getting killed. Innocent people . . . people that were murdered in a raid lead by Arthur. "What village were you in, before Helios found you?" Arthur asked, not wanting to keep the conversation on him. But he was also genuinely curious to hear where she had ended up . . . which kingdom, and specifically, which village.

[Guinevère]

Arthur seemed to agree with her about Morgana, but nor did he seem to want to talk about it. Instead he changed the subject, to something harder for her to speak of. "What village were you in, before Helios found you?" While she had not been abused, she had seen these people become her friends and then be killed. She had seen her parent's things lost her, and everything she had owned be burned with whatever remained of the little town when Helios was finished with it.

She was quite for a moment before she spoke. "It was a a small farming village. No more then ten families maybe." She explained, not even realizing she had not given the name nor answered his question. "I found them by accident, after traveling for a while. They were kind, a little bit my elder and was grateful for the help. . . . . " And Helios had murdered then like they were nothing. No one.

"You always hear others tell you how wondering they think Camelot is, but . . . I didn't realize it until I left. . . . . I do not think most kings care about the smaller villages."

[Arthur Pendragon]

She spoke of the village, leaving out the kingdom name and the exact name of the village. He knew her well enough to be able to tell that the subject was a difficult one to discuss . . . for she had witnessed so many others get murdered. Just as she had when she was forced to witness Morgana's tyrannical rein. "I'm sorry," he said, more as condolence than directly apologizing for banishing her. While he was sorry for the way things had ended up, and where she had ended up, he knew that his two options had been banishing her or executing her . . . and he could never do the latter. "For what you had to witness." And whomever she had lost. He knew that it was easy for her to get along with others, for she had a very kind and warm nature to her. So he didn't doubt that she had made a few friends . . . only to see them killed.

It was part of the reason he had wanted her to stay in Camelot, if not in the city than at least in a village where she would have friends and people she knew. She spoke of others wondering how Camelot was . . . and in a way it made Arthur proud of his kingdom, but it was easier to be proud of it, when you didn't hold everyone's life in the balance. When he made decisions that could have cost other people their lives, or that had claimed the lives of his brothers in arms. "You told them you were from Camelot then?" He asked, wondering what she told others . . . how much she revealed. And then his eyes involuntarily went to the ring around her neck again, unable to not look at it for too long.

[Guinevère]

Arthur apologized and she knew that it was not his doing and therefor there was nothing for him to apologize for. "I am the last person you ever need to apologize too, Arthur." She told him softly, knowing after all that she had done to him, there was nothing he should be apologizing to her for. She hoped he knew that. That she did not blame him for anything that happened to her, because she knew that the only person there was to blame was herself.

"You told them you were from Camelot then?" Sometimes, though she knew the risk of people connecting her and the rumors of who she was and what she had done. "Only in small towns where news did not often reach." Surely he would know why. She was too ashamed to admit to more. "I wasn't a good lair, I thought it best to stay close to the truth but, leave out as much as I could." Not from being ashamed of where she was from--but because of who she was and her own actions.

[Arthur Pendragon]

"I am the last person you ever need to apologize too, Arthur." This conversation was treading dangerously close to a subject that he wanted to avoid. Yet, being locked in a room with her all night . . . was it realistic to think that such a topic could be avoided? He wasn't sure. It was impossible for things to be casual between them and he hated that they had fallen so far apart from the years it took them to grow so close together. "That's understandable," Arthur said in regards to her choosing villages where the news had not spread, as well as leave out certain details of her past. While what happened was public news, no one would recognize her unless they'd seen he before. Even Helios didn't seem to realize who she was.

Which Arthur was all the more grateful for. Because if Helios used Guinevère against him . . . then Arthur would have given anything and everything that the warlord demanded just to get her back. Finally breaking contact from staring at the ring, he casually looked away from it. "Is that part of why you do not want to stay in Camelot?" He asked, knowing he shouldn't be asking such things for he had no right to know . . . but at the same time, was curious. Even if he wasn't marrying Mithian, would she still leave because of what happened? Would she still feel unable to face everyone? Was that a determining factor in her motives for leaving the kingdom?

[Guinevère]

"Is that part of why you do not want to stay in Camelot?" Guinevère wondered why he was asking that, for she had told him why. Had he noticed the looks? Yes she was ashamed, but she could bare the weight of her sins if she thought that there was something for her here. "You said you did not keep your terms with Nemith." She spoke softly, still not sure what to think about that, or what it meant.''

"But one day you will. Either with Nemith or another kingdom." Another princess to be his queen. She also knew that just because she had hurt him, and he could not be around her that it meant he loved her less. It only meant that he could not look at her with out thinking of how weak she had proven to be. "I will not not make this harder for you, or be an embarrassment to anyone." Who she was--what she did--that might fade from their gossips with time.

Their love would not. "It would be best if I wasn't here as a reminder of everything."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur averted his gaze from her when she said said that one day he would marry, whether it be with Mithian or another princess to establish a treaty. He knew that he would not. That he had already made a conscious decision that he would rather live the rest of his life as a bachelor, than marry a woman he did not love. He didn't know what it meant for Guinevère and him . . . only that he would rather have that hope -- no matter how distant it may be -- than commit himself to another. "If I were to marry another, it would have been Princess Mithian." Instead, he had given her the lands that had been part of Camelot's history; their ancient claims, risking war against Camelot . . . and he would do it all again. Even still, he was trying to avoid this entire subject, but it was brought up now. And he knew that it could not be forever avoided. After all, they were here together for the entire night. "I will not marry someone I do not love." Not Elena, not Mithian, not any other princess or queen that offered an alliance of marriage to establish peace.

Arthur would find other means to create peace, but marrying someone would not be something he considered. And he wasn't sure why he wanted her to know that. She spoke of leaving, because she didn't want to make this harder on him. He knew that was part of why he sent her away, because he couldn't look at her. And because he couldn't execute her. "Whether you are in Camelot or not . . . it makes nothing easier to bare." He didn't know why he was saying this. He shouldn't be saying this. He was doing so well with keeping himself closed off and not showing his emotional vulnerability. But if there was one thing he couldn't help but be around Guinevère, it was himself. He couldn't keep anything from her . . . which was why he knew he was foolish right now. For speaking about such things when he knew that one conversation would not make everything better. It would not miraculously heal all their wounds . . . so why speak of it at all.