The Decoy Princess [An Arwen Cinderella Story]

[Guinevère]

Arthur Pendragon, son of the strong king Uther Pendragon, would soon wed the princess that he had been engaged to for most of his life. He had not yet seen his one day queen, but only heard tale of her beauty. Then on his twenty fourth birthday, he was told that in a matter of months he would wed. With danger high in the kingdom, Arthur and a handful of of his father's trusted knights rode out to find the envoy send by Godwyn, King of Gawant, that escorted his daughter Elena to Camelot.

However, before he could reach them, the mercenary group of men lead by the warlord Hingist, attacked the caravan. It was in these moments that the knights found them, and road into the battle to fight back the men. Many were lost, in the fight for the princess. Yet in the end, it was Hingist's man Kendrick whom got a hold of the princess. This is were our story begins, with Kendrick trying to drag the princess away from the battle and to horses that he has near by. She fights him of course, but with her small frame it is hard to free herself from his grasp . . . .

[Arthur Pendragon]

Arthur had been told recently that he would be marrying he daughter of Lord Godwyn. He knew Godwyn for he was a strong ally of Camelot's and a good friend of his fathers. He had however, never met his daughter Elena. And now . . . it seemed he would be married to her. Arthur always knew that this day would come; that he would have to marry for the good of the kingdom. So he had not been greatly opposed to the arrangement . . . for this was what was expected of him as prince and future king of Camelot. He'd heard rumors of her beauty, but he was still nervous -- though couldn't exactly make show of it. What if they were completely different? What if they had nothing in common? What if they didn't get along? There were so many uncertainties and he knew the only way to alleviate them was to actually meet the princess herself.

However their meeting had gotten pushed up. They were supposed to meet her at the gates of the city, however word reached the castle that they had been ambushed. Arthur immediately prepared himself and rode out with his army to save the Princess of Gawant and whatever knights and travelers with them had survived the attack. When they got there, there were bodies lying everywhere -- from both sides -- and that didn't seem to be the end of it. More men came at them, attacking the knights just after they split up to find any survivors, for it was said that they were traveling in two groups. Arthur followed the trail, unable to wait for his men since the princess's life was in danger. He quietly crept through the woods, seeing a group of them and a few knights behind him. Arthur held his weapon firmly in hand, seeing who the attackers were.

Arthur's eyes went to the princess, making sure she was not severely injured. This wasn't exactly the best way to welcome his bride to be into the kingdom and hoped that it would not create a negative impression of Camelot or of him and his family. Knowing he could not wait another moment, Arthur charged toward them, leading his men to the attack. The clanging of metal filled the otherwise silent air, as Arthur advanced toward the man holding grasping the princess.

[Guinevère]

Guinevère was the daughter of a blacksmith and a chamber maid. She had worked in the castle for years, and often was called upon to serve as visiting guest maids while they visited. Yet this time her king had called upon her for another matter all together. She was to pretend to be his daughter. Pretend to be a princess, as his men escorted her to Camelot. The real princess, Elena, would be riding on another path, and arrive before her.

She was sent to the royal seamstress and was given a dress to wear. The women gave her some purple fabric but was more concerned with Elena's wedding dress rather then Guinevère pretend dress. So Guinevère made it herself. Wearing it, she felt beautiful. As they left, the knights treated her like a lady in case anyone watched them. Once she was in her tent at nights, they ignored her, but when she rode on her horse they bowed to her, and spoke in respectful tones.

It was the adventure of a life time and Guinevère loved every moment! The foods were rich and wonderful, the dress was soft and perfect, even riding on a horse was something she only rarely had done before! It was exciting and fun . . .

Until the attack came and the excitement was replaced with fear, and the fun turned to panic. The knights had to fight to protect her as if she was the real Elena, they could give no warning she was not their princess. Yet she knew if the men took her, there would be no ransom, nor anyone coming for her. She was the decoy. "Please," She begged as one of the men grabbed her and pulled her from her horse and began dragging her away from the battle. "Please!" She looked around, trying to discover a weapon--a fallen stick, a rock, anything she could use to help her.