The Dark Knight

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

Betrayal. Guinevère spoke of it and Arthur could not help but think of the queen. To hear Guinevère defend her, made him feel the guilt in believing Morgana to be the very one they sought. Which was why he would not give it voice until he had more evidence. He just prayed that he was wrong. "I love that you see in the good in everyone, Guinevère," he told her with a smile. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

"That you choose to focus on the good in someone." Rather than all the misdeeds. Taking another bite, he smiled a little when she teased him but . . . he knew that if things were going down the path he felt they were, each mission would become more and more dangerous. He looked at her softly. "I make no promises," he joked. The Morgana he once knew, he teased with far more ease. But now . . . he chose every word carefully that he spoke to her. "I hope to remain here for the next little while," he told her. He knew that with the loss of the knights, they would need some good morale right now. "Travelling is far too tiring," he said jokingly with a grin, taking another bite, leaning back a little on the cushion.

[Guinevère]

He spoke of her need to see the good in everyone, but she wondered what he was thinking about. He had said he didn't wish to talk about it, but she knew that she also saw the darkness sometimes. It was when her father died. It wasn't a good time in her life, and she rather be who she was today. Seeing the best in people kept her seeing the best in herself. She liked who she was when she believed there was good int he world.

"It also takes you too far from me," She added on, pretending to be a little hurt that wasn't what he said, even though she was was leaning in to kiss him. "But also, because you're needed here." He did a lot for the people of Camelot. He protected them from Morgana, and helped make sure Camelot was what it was supposed to be. "I can't imagine a world without you in it." Not because she loved him--not only because she loved him, but because he had done so much, and given so much to the kingdom. "You must be tired!" She took his words to heart. "Should ee move to bed?"

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

The smiled of amusement remained as she teased that it took him from her. "That, of course is the primary reason I would not want to travel," he told her, not about to even tease otherwise. "Besides, you tire me in a far more . . . pleasurable way," he playfully commented. Their actions of tonight as an example, even though he wasn't actually tired from it. He drew strength from it. From being with her physically, emotionally . . . every sense of the word, together. He closed his eyes in the brief kiss, her words that followed making him feel flattered that she felt so . . . yet he also knew that with Morgana's reign, he wasn't doing as much as he wished he could to help the people.

"Nor I," he spoke in a low voice. "I would never desire to dream of such a place." Without her light in it. He leaned forward for another kiss, letting this one linger a bit before she spoke of going to bed. While he wished he could stay up the entire night talking to her, being with her, taking advantage of every moment they had together . . . he knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day. For both of them. So he just nodded, adjusting his position so that he could scoop her up in his arms, as he carried her to bed.

[Guinevère]

Arthur scooped her up, and Guinevère wrapped her arms around his shoulders while giving a delightful laugh. "I have feet, you know," She told him, but she was laughing. In truth she loved it when he did this. Arthur was so strong, and sometimes she forgot just how strong--until he effortless did something like this. Once she had even bumped into him, and it was as if she had bumped into a stone wall. Softer, but none the less stronger then she ever could be.

"Sometimes you make me feel like a princess in a storybook," being carried off by her brave knight! Did princesses marry knights? Maybe it was better that she wasn't a princess, as a knight and servant was hard enough--they didn't need any more rank between them! Arthur put her on the bed, and she pulled the covers up over her toes, since they were now away from the warm fire. "The other times you make me feel like a queen." She'd know what queens were treated like, she took care of one.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

Arthur smiled proudly when she spoke of how he made her feel like a princess. He liked that. That he could make her feel so elevated. Not that rank held any barriers when it came to their hearts. Only when it came to society. Setting her onto the bed he remained closer to her, wrapping an arm around her so that he could nestle her close to him. "And you make me feel like a king," he told her in return, continuing to smile at her, as she spoke of feeling like a queen.

"For a king is the richest man in all the kingdom." Not that Arthur would ever wish for that position. Though, he supposed if he was one . . . he could change the laws. He could make Camelot a fair and just land. "Though if I were the king, the first thing I would do is alter the laws. So that rank did not stop two people from marrying one another." As he had once hoped that Morgana would do. "I would just have to find a suitable servant to make the point," he said with a completely teasing playfulness to his voice, as if thinking of someone when they of course both knew that there would never be anyone except Guinevère.

[Guinevère]

He said she made him feel like a king, for the king was the riches man in all the kingdom, and Guinevère liked that. That the knight--someone who had everything--felt like she gave him more. He pulled her close, and Guinevère snuggled into his warmth. The bed was softer then her own, but the blankets were so much warmer! Her home, which was made of wood, often times had drafts, where as here she slept so warm and it was wonderful! Besides, here there was something better--Arthur's arms around her.

"That would be the first thing you do?" She asked surprised. "If you were a king, out of all the things you could do, you'd first change that law?" She wondered what else he would do. "Pretend for a moment, that you were crowned king. What would you really do on your first day?" She wondered, thinking of how he would be different from MOrgana. He could make sure the people were fed, and could pardon some people, and make peace with other kingdoms . . . . and marry her.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

She sounded surprised. It kept the smile on his face as she asked him what he would actually do. As if the hypothetical situation was one to just flatter. But, in all truth . . . it would indeed be one of the first things done. "I would marry you," he answered, giving the same one was before in response to her question.

"For a kingdom, a crown . . . it is all worthless without you by my side." And he truly meant it. Even now, his knighthood, his status . . . it meant nothing. Not without her. "And then together, we would bring justice and prosperity to the land." Battling this unjust world they lived in. Where people lived in fear. Where so many crimes were punishable by death. Where the people's loyalty was forced and not earned. "For you would make an incredible queen," he told her proudly.

[Guinevère]

He'd marry her! She smiled at him and loved him all the more for his honestly. Even if he wasn't thinking this through. "Now who sees the good in people?" She teased, kissing his skin before looking back at him. "Though after Uther and Morgana perhaps the kingdom could do with a good bit of hope from their leader." She often wondered why he never married Morgana. She knew they were not in love, but noble married for other reasons. She never thought too hard on it, because she loved him. She wanted him free to be with her.

"What about the other way? If you weren't a knight or a nobleman. What would you be?" She was curious at what his voice would be, since in their lives they didn't have many choices that they could make for just them. If she wasn't a handmaiden, she'd want to be a seamstress. She's spoken of this before, but she'd never asked him this. "It's hard to think of you doing anything other then being a knight. It's as if you were born to lead the men."

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

It seemed impossible to cease smiling in her presence. With their conversation. "I see the good in you," he told her. "It is impossible not to." For she truly encompassed all that was good. So many others saw it. The pure light that Guinevère radiated. "If only," said pensively at her words of the kingdom doing with some good from a fair leader. He had supported the Pendragons all his life. Just as his father -- who had fallen in battle -- had. There were times when he felt there had to be some sort of line. Some boundary. Some point where he could just no longer justify the actions that he was commanded to carry out. Morgana was certainly pushing her to that limit.

Pulled out of such thoughts, he instead, replaced them with an answer to Guinevère's question. If he wasn't a knight or nobleman . . . what would he be. He thought about it, wanting to give the truest answer he could. Though he couldn't imagine his life as anything else. And she seemed to share such thoughts as she voiced it herself. "I don't know . . . perhaps a farmer," he stated, knowing how ridiculous that sounded. "Get a house on a field. Till the land. Grow crops. Have a wife . . . raise children." He looked over at her with smile at the thought.

"There are times where I feel, I am exactly where I'm supposed to be," he began to tell her. Something about wearing the Pendragon colors, leading the men. "And there are others where I feel . . . " He wasn't sure what it was. "As if this is not what I'm meant to be doing." He couldn't explain it, and knew it probably sounded even more ridiculous than him being a farmer. Letting out a breath of amusement he just pushed aside the thoughts. "Perhaps I am more tired than I thought," he claimed in mockery to his own words.

[Guinevère]

Guinevère smiled at his words, trying to see him as a farmer. She could almost see it, but this fit him more. He begin to try to explain that sometimes he felt something, before he made a jest of being tired. Who could blame him? He had ridden all day (and a little tonight). "Then sleep, Arthur, and tomorrow you can tell me." Leaning closer she kissed his lips, before settling back down into his arms.

He'd need his sleep, for tomorrow he had the job of finding how who betrayed him and the kingdom. Morgana would want their head served to her. Arthur would have to look at someone he trusted here and know they had killed his men. She didn't envy him that. He was friends with a lot of these men, brothers even. If one of them were the traitor, it would devastate him. Moving her body closer to his, to try to give him comfort, Guinevère drifted off while trying to think of better things. Happier things.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

The idea of sleep was indeed a tempting one. The comfort of his current position, with Guinevère against him, the warmth of the bed, everything . . . it didn't take long for Arthur to be lulled into a sleep. The concerns of recent events were not far from his mind. But with Guinevère's company, he was often able to find true peace. Solace. So all thoughts that may have otherwise kept him up at night, drifted away and left only was the peace that sleep granted him, when she was by his side.

----- Some time ago -----

The city was in chaos. How the dragon was released, they didn't know. But it mattered not. Everyone's primary concern was trying to stop it. None of their weapons seemed to be working and more and more people fell in attempt. They had tried to fight from higher ground but to no avail. The dragon was too strong. His fire too hot. And the knights were falling in their efforts. Arthur could not keep watching his men die. Needing to clear out the city, Arthur told the others to stand guard. The dragon could not breach the castle for the king and his daughter's lives were at stake. They were to protect them at all costs.

In the meantime, he could not let innocent civilians die either. So he made his way to the square, running around and looking for any who were injured or stranded. They needed to get inside of the castle, as he urged them along. Most of the area was isolated. Empty. Good! But that was when Arthur noticed the dragon, circling something. Or . . . someone. He followed the line of sight to see Guinevère by the well. His eyes widened with fear for the dragon was circling his prey. "Gwen . . . " Arthur began to call out, looking up at the dragon again as he seemed to be getting ready to go in for the dive. And Guinevère had not heard him. "Guinevère!"

[Guinevère]

They needed water! Gwen had been working as a nurse to help tend to all the injured knights, and townspeople, and even some from villages who fled in fear! Water was needed to wash the gashes, to drink when they had lost too much blood. Everyone was afriad to go out, but she knew it was time to be brave! "I'll go!"

And with that, she ran out into the dark night, able to see where she went from the fires that burned everywhere. She jumped to her toes to pull on the wheel to pull up the bucket. She had to door it over and over to lift the heavy water from the well. Her heart was pounding from the fear of being out, and she didn't hear him yell at first. It wasn't under he yelled her name--her full name--that she took attention of the skys. Dropping the bucket she ran toward the cover of the citadel, but knowing she was too far to make it! She felt as if she ran while under water, and not matter how hard she ran, she couldn't make herself go faster!

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

She wasn't going to make it. He could see that as clearly as he saw the dragon going in for the dive. His feet rushed forward, running as fast as he possibly could to catch up with her. He could feel the air of the dragon's wings upon them and doing the only thing he could think to do in this moment. He used his body as a shield, placing himself between her and the dragon while simultaneously pushing her forward so that she was even more out of the way. The next thing he felt was blinding pain. The claws of the best scraped his chest, breaking through the chains of metal as Arthur fell to the ground alongside Guinevère.

He put his hand on his chest, glancing over at her to make sure she was unharmed. A quick scan showed him that she had no blood on her. His eyes then went to the dragon who seemed satisfied with a night's work of destruction, and flew off, disappearing among the darkened sky. But, there was no telling whether he would be back. Not risking it, Arthur staggered to his feet, urging Guinevère through the opening of the castle's entrance, adrenaline still pumping through his veins that temporarily numbed the pain of his injury. "Are you alright?" He asked her, wishing to take a proper look and assessment of any damage, as they made their way to where the wounded were gathered and being tended to. Even he knew he would have to get this looked at.

[Guinevère]

Gwen felt someone grab her and force her down! The speed at which she hit the ground, and the weight on top of her nearly knocked her breath out of her! She knew it was a knight, she could feel the metal! A hand pulled her up and she went with them toward the safety of the castle, and then she finally looked up to see---Sir Arthur!

Working in the castle, she knew the names of all the knights. Sir Arthur was one of the best knights int he kingdom. Yet the knowledge that he had saved her, made her more grateful toward him then she could ever be! She would make sure that Morgana knew, so she could speak his favors to her father, the king! MOrgana saw Gwen as her friend, and she wanted to make sure his act of selflessness didn't go unnoticed! He saw someone in danger, and put his body between a DRAGON and her!

He asked if she was alright, and she nodded, "You saved my life!" She told him, noticing his shoulder was hurt. There were holes in his chainmail! "You're hurt, my lord!" Reaching to touch him, she stood on her toes to see. "The dragon?" She wasn't sure why her hands were still on him--other then the fact that he had just saved her! She wanted to hug him for it! "You should sit down," Gwen urged, needing someone to help her remove the chain-mail so she could tend too it.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

Arthur glanced as Guinevère as she acknowledged what he had done. "It's my duty," he said dismissively of the praise. It wasn't even that she was close to Morgana. It was that he saw her in trouble, and he was compelled to help. Besides, from what he saw and heard of Guinevère, she was a kind person with a seemingly good heart. Servant or noble, it was Arthur's duty to help those in need.

"I'm fine," he said even more dismissively than before. Even then however, he felt the strain of his wound, and couldn't resist the temptation of sitting, which, he did on the edge of one of the make shift beds. His eyes looked around the medical bay, seeing so many wounded from the attacks. "So many people," he said, thinking out loud. And there were others who were dead. "I'm fine, Guinevère," he said again. "Tend to another who needs it." More than him. He had to get back out there, or at least speak to the king to update him on what was going on from what Arthur last saw.

[Guinevère]

He brushed off her thanks, and she didn't press, not wanting to bother the knight. She knew he had much to do, and he must be in pain. Yet before she could bring him over toward a table, he brushed her off by telling her to go help someone else. Perhaps he was being noble, or perhaps he didn't see his injury!

"My lord," she pressed, "You're bleeding quote a bit, and . . . " She looked at it again, and the blood look almost a different color. "I think you should sit down, and let me fetch Gaius. He needs to look at this." Because the blood was too dark. Almost like brandy, rather then blood. Guinevère hadn't seen blood this color before--and sadly, she'd seen a lot of blood recently. "Please, right here," she gestured over to the table, knowing she couldn't move him.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

Arthur looked down at his wound, trying to determine how bad it was. It hurt like hell, but that was hardly something he was going to admit. He put a hand over it and closed his eyes for a brief moment, giving a slight nod before opening them, and making his way to the table. Apart from the blood loss, perhaps it was also exhaustion that was taking its toll and making him feel so faint.

Either way, he couldn't help but feel relieved when he hoisted himself up on the table, and sat down, the world no longer spinning around him. "If he's busy, do not disturb him," Arthur told her. "This can wait," he added on, knowing that there were others with more severe injuries than what he had. With that, he moved to remove his hauberk to help alleviate some weight from his uninjured side, clenching his jaw at the movement that caused pain to throb through him, yet forced composure. He may very well have to go back out there and he sure as hell wasn't going to do it acting weak.

[Guinevère]

Thankfully he went over to the table, and she didn't have to try to talk him into it. If he fell she would have NO way of picking him up! Once he sat she looked at him, and made sure he would stay before she wwalked over to ask one of the squaires to find Giaus. When she came back he was removing the big metal part of his chainmail, and Guinevère reached out to take it from him, setting it to the side. SHe was the daughter of a blacksmith, she is took the weight easy enough, and even knew how to tuck in the straps.

"My lord, I need to remove your chainmail." She told him, knowing it would hurt, but better do it now before the doctor came so he could rest for a moment before they started poking at it. She knew this had to hurt, and every time she saw his face look pained, she felt guilty. They needed water badly, but had she not waited, then he would be unharmed. She did something rash, but another was paying for it now. "Can you lift you arms?" She would stay and help him, since he had been so kind to her.

[Arthur Pendragon]

Tag: Guinevère
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OF CAMELOT

Yes. Yes she did. And he knew it was going to hurt but, surely this was not the most painful injury he had obtained. He took a slow breath and nodded his head, in response to both her remark and question. Arthur did as requested, lifting his arms as he fought back the strain it put on his injury. "Just do it," he encouraged, the fast it was done, the sooner they could get this covered up.

When she did, Arthur's breathing hitched a little though once one side was free, he quickly helped pull the other side and let the chainmail rest on the table next to him. He let out a few heavy breaths, relieved that hopefully, the worst of it was over. He lifted one hand to start pulling the laces to his padded jacket. "Thank you," he told her with a nod, assuming that she would move on to another patient. She had been rather gentle and yet accomplished the task well. He was appreciative of it.

[Guinevère]

He lifted his arms, and Guinevère moved as quickly as she could to help pull it off of him. THankfully he helped, but she didn't want him doing a lot! She could hear it in his breathing how much it hurt. Once she had it in her hands, she felt the true weight of it! GOOD KNGIHT! How did they wear this thing?! Guinevère only made it a few steps tot he side before she decided that was far enough, and 'set it down' . . . or tried too, but it looked more like she was dropping it.

Looking at her hand, she noticed it was red. He was loosing more blood then she thought. Walking back to him, she reached out to help untie his jacket. "No, I am thankful. You're hurt because I was foolish. I am so sorry, my lord, I was trying to help." And only made things worse. Once it was unlaced, she knew he'd need more help. "I will help you slide your uninjured arm out first, and then we can try to pull it off the other side without moving your arm, again." Where was Gaius? She hoped he hurried so she could help stop the bleeding.