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Gwaine had just wanted to eat his bread. Clearly that was just too much to ask really wasn’t it? Really, he needed to marry a cook, or a woman who could cook splendid meals would do. He couldn’t be doing with half the prim and proper noblewomen at court. They weren’t really to his taste after all, perhaps once upon a time Gwaine would have found them attractive, if things had been different. But they hadn’t, and this was the man he was now. It would take a special woman indeed to convince him to settle down. That he was sure of. At the sound of this noblewoman’s name, Gwaine got an odd sensation he should know the woman. Pressing his lips together he had a quick think. Jesu, he hadn’t got her pregnant had he? No, Gwaine was sure he would remember that, or at least he would hope he would. Right, he knew the name Aubert, he knew he did. Oh wait! He knew how he knew the Lady, she was Griff’s wife. He had teased the man enough when he found out he was going to be a father, though he had never had the privilege of meeting the young woman in question. He hadn’t known she was this far along, but he hadn’t seen Griff in a while, he supposed he had been busy. “Caitrin Aubert? Griff’s wife right? He knew of course Lucan was in Camelot too with his wife, but he was sure she was called Camila, or was he getting confused?

Meghan had a point, even if it was an irritating point. Gwaine nodded, and downcast his eyes, he was always good at looking sorry for himself. After all, it worked wonders with the ladies. Though he wasn’t after anything from Meghan (apart from maybe his loaf of bread), he just wanted her not to hate him as well. In a rather dramatic gesture, he went to his knees, and held his arms out and bowed his head, “My deepest apologies my Lady.” If it was any other woman in this situation he would have probably kissed her hand, or done something equally inappropriate. However, Gwaine had two reasons for being civil at the moment. The first was that Brynn was standing there, and whatever she was trying to ask her mother was important to her so he didn’t want to wreck the mood. The second reason was that if he upset Meghan properly he wouldn’t have any chance of stealing food again, and that really wasn’t on. Gwaine was always hungry, so he always needed food. “I throw myself on your mercy. The smell of your food was so desirable I was drawn in.” He felt like he was giving a heartfelt confession and he just gave her a soft grin, as if he was looking for forgiveness.

Luckily however, the topic quickly shifted back to the pregnant woman. Somehow Gwaine assumed this just wasn’t going to go well altogether and he frowned slightly. Why was Brynn getting herself wound up in noble affairs? Then again, it seemed just like his friend to come to the aid of this woman, even if she was a noble. Thinking about it, Gwaine had seen a pregnant woman wandering about the castle with red hair. He’d been thinking of trying his luck until she’d turned around; everyone had their limits after all. While Meghan was speaking with her daughter, Gwaine snuck back to his bread, and broke off another bit of the loaf. It would be a shame to waste it after all. He chuckled at Meghan’s reaction, “Have you seen her? She’s out to here.” Gwaine gestured some way in front of his belly. It was times like this he was glad he wasn’t a woman, carrying children just looked like effort, plus, it ended messily as well.

So far so good. Gwaine had got what he had come for, the bread in Camelot was after all always to the highest quality. That was one of the benefits of being a knight of course. Gwaine also found it easier to get women to swoon at his feet because of his status. He had thought that his life of food, ale and women would end when he became a knight, if anything, all three had got worse. Well, the food one only got worse when he could catch the kitchen off guard. Of course if any of the kitchen staff were down here then he probably would have already been run out of the room with a wooden spoon. Gwaine winced slightly at the memory as he bit into his bread. He hadn’t expected that bloody spoon to hurt so much. If he hadn’t been so embarrassed by the incident he would have suggested adding them to the knights arsenal. They were after all a formidable weapon.

He continued to eat, the thought to leave had all but left his head. After all, why should he leave, there was no one here, and there was nothing cooking or anything so he couldn’t see anyone returning to the kitchens anytime soon. Plus, if he got back to his chambers and found that he was still hungry, well where would that leave him? In heinsight, he probably should have brought one of his brothers with him to help steal the loaf of bread, and maybe a little more food; it would have been more fun that way. However, the fact he had not meant that there was more food for him didn’t it? And Gwaine certainly was not complaining about that fact.

Gwaine was in fact so caught up in his meal that he didn’t hear the voices or footsteps coming in his direction, instead he continued to devour the loaf that he had selected for his snack. He had torn off a particularly large piece when two women entered the kitchens. Mid bite, Gwaine froze almost instantly. In his head he swore, but in reality he just stayed quite still. Maybe if he just stayed here, still, they wouldn’t notice him. It was a slight hope, but it was still some sort of hope. However, within a matter of moments Meghan had noticed him, still with the bread half in and out of his mouth, confirming his guilt. Of course it would be Meghan and Brynn, at least there wouldn’t be any threat of a wooden spoon beating from either of them; that was something at least.

He bit off the bit of bread he was eating, and swallowed it at breakneck speed before Meghan could greet him. Giving a quick wink to Brynn, an action he would probably regret in front of her mother, he did what he did best and fell back onto his confidence. He confidently pushed himself off the side, and cocked a grin at Meghan, this was probably going to end badly but he could only try. “Please Meghan, to beautiful women such as yourselves, it is merely Gwaine.” He bowed to them both, now surely she couldn’t still be angry? Maybe he’d even get to keep the bread. Hmm, perhaps a quick topic change was best, “Anyway, Brynn, don’t let me interrupt the conversation.” He was urging her to go on, maybe he could get back to the loaf if the women continued talking about their own matters.

Gwaine raised an eye brow at Percival, though she said nothing, as his brother managed to down his entire pint in one go. Gwaine had many different thoughts about this. The first was that no way could he have appreciated the fine taste of ale in such a quick glug, and the second main thought was that he hoped Percival could hold his drink quite well if he was drinking it at that sort of speed. Gwaine watched his friend carefully as he went to move away from the table, not that he would make a break to catch him or anything if he went off balance, after all Percival was a lot taller than he was. The more likely scenario would be if Percival did off balance due to the ale, Gwaine would try to catch him and be squashed in the process. There were still plenty of drinking hours left, so Gwaine wasn’t really in favour of being squashed at all, so he would be keeping an eye on Percival’s ale consumption.

Well of course Percival would never be able to match Gwaine’s level of charm, and he let out a small chuckle at his brothers words, “That goes without saying.” He was surprised that Percival rose to the challenge so quickly, this should be good, Gwaine thought to himself with a grin. He didn’t want his brother to fail of course in his persuits, but Percival had just downed an entire ale, and was now proceeding to charm a barmaid who had probably heard every flirt in the book; Gwaine should know after all, he wrote the book. “Good luck.” He clapped his brother on the back, and returned to his ale as he had not been foolish enough to down it in a few moments.

Gwaine was suitably unimpressed that the barmaid was making eyes at Percival instead of him. That was the last time he brought a good looking man into the tavern to drink with. This was ridiculous, usually he was the one getting attentions, not his brothers. Gwaine tried not to laugh at Percival’s incoherent speech, but he managed to put a brave face, on, and bit his tongue so he didn’t laugh. “Perhaps try actual words, works a treat with women.” He replied, taking a swig of his ale to once again stop himself laughing. He knew Percival wouldn’t be able to match his level of charm, but he didn’t think it would be this painful to watch. Despite his brothers words being at best basic for a knight’s level of charm, the woman hadn’t gone anywhere. Hmm, usually it took more skill than that to keep a woman’s attention and Gwaine poked Percival in the side and gave him a sharp look, “Don’t stop now,” He whispered, “You’ve got her just where you want her, now focus on those ales in her hand, and not what lies above them.” Well, of course he could focus on her face, but there were more interesting part of a woman that a mans eyes liked to lie, however women didn’t usually liked to be looked at in such ways, and Gwaine didn’t want to miss out on ales because of a basic mistake like that.

Quiet celebrations would defiantly be the way to go from now on, unless someone wanted to meet a sticky end during the celebrations. In his more jovial moment, Gwaine figured that if you had someone you weren’t particularly fond of, an obscure relative perhaps, then inviting them to one of these Camelot feasts would probably be the right thing to do. He didn’t voice this to Leon though, as given the circumstances, he doubted his friend would see the funny side of his reasoning. “Then a quiet celebration will be the way to go I think, from now on.”

Gwaine was sure he was missing something. Why was Leon apologising to him? He thought about it for a few moments, but he really couldn’t muster an answer; he really had no idea. He took in a bit of his ale, figuring thinking about it a while longer might give him an idea, but still nothing was coming to him. “Why are you apologising?” He asked in a more serious way and took in some more of his ale. After all, when in doubt, there was always a drink at the end of your hand. He did nod at Leon’s later words. Even thought the Knights were quite an odd mix of fighters, they knew that the people had faith in them. That was important, because without the peoples faith, they would never be the force that they were today. The people knew they could count on them to protect them, and that meant more than any title could ever do.

Gwaine shook his head, really he couldn’t see what would give Leon the idea that he would rather spend the evening in the company of a woman rather than a fellow knight. Well, ok yes, Gwaine did have a reputation of being a womaniser, so that was probably where the doubts came from, but still, he was here with Leon wasn’t he, and he hadn’t even looked back at the pretty young bar maid who was giving him they eye. Ok, maybe he’d looked back once or twice, but he hadn’t done anything yet had he? Focussing his thoughts, which was something Gwaine struggled to do at the best of times, he looked back to Leon with a quick grin, “This is why they should let women become knights, I could kill two birds with one stone then.” He chuckled all the way into his ale. He was of course not being serious in the slightest. Women weren’t cut out to be knights, and the natural order dictated that men were knights, and women were the ones behind them, supporting them. This didn’t mean that Gwaine thought that all men were better than women, because he would never suggest such a thing. He had met so many strong women over the years that his opinion had been formed for him. Some women were stronger than men, some were probably even better fighters than men, but the fact remained that they would never become knights, and that was how things would remain.

Gwaine raised his tankard to Leon as he spoke of having a drink with friends. He could often persuade one of his fellow brothers to join him for a drink or two. Once or twice, Gwaine thought it would be nice for one of them to invite him for a drink, rather than the other way around all the time. After all, that would probably make Gwaine feel less like an alcoholic, and like he was the only knight who wanted a drink after a vigorous days training. Ale was the nectar of life, but he didn’t want to be the only one who held that as such a firm belief.

To say that Robyn was so obliging to his little wager was unsurprising to Gwaine was probably an understatement. After all, she had gone along with everything else he had suggested. Really, he had her wrapped around his little finger, and he was going to keep it that way. This was what it was all about at the end of the way wasn’t it? Seeing how far he could go with a woman, before she started getting defensive. Sometimes he gave the wrong impression to women though, as they thought he wanted to go further with his pursuits. Gwaine often had more self control, and more respect for the women he was charming to suggest such things. He doubted he would even think of going that far with Robyn, but a kiss was a nice start. However, unless the Prince walked through the door of the tavern, it was a wager he wouldn’t be collecting on for quite a long time. After all, what were the chances of that happening? “Well then, when you do think of something suitable make sure you let me know.” He gave her a wink, and his tongue had rolled over the word ‘suitable’ just to add the needed suggestion there. He was not going to give up his flirts after all, if anything now with the promise of a kiss, Gwaine was only going to get worse.

He took her youthful, and beautiful looks as she passed him by as they both entered the tavern. The fact she had her back turned meant that he could truly take in her figure without worrying he was going to offend her, or receive a slap. Some women liked to be looked at, but some liked to think that there attraction lay mainly in their personalities. Gwaine had no reason why, but who was he to argue with the logic of women? He took the seat opposite her, as that kept a respectable distance so he didn’t look overly keen, but she was not too far away to suggest that he was no longer interested. He was interested, but the tone of the conversation was inevitably changing inevitably, and Gwaine doubted that his teases and flirts would go down that well when she was talking about how she lost a finger.

Gwaine shifted, so that he at least looked interested in what she was saying. He was of course interested, but he often looked too jovial and casual for his own good. As she recounted her tale, he began to feel sick straight away. The more he travelled the world, the more he found examples of nobles taking everything, and giving nothing in return. Here was yet another example, how on earth could any monarch think that it was suitable to chop off a childs hand? It made Gwaine feel slightly ill, although he didn’t show just how much it bothered him at first. It showed him that he was right in his traditional view that nobles did not deserve the loyalty they were often given by their subjects, as they only looked after their own interests. “He should not have taken anything from you.” Gwaine finally said, trying to keep his temper under control. It wasn’t even that he was annoyed at the punishment, but he was annoyed that as a woman, Robyn had been treated like some robbing, lying serf. He sighed and ran a hand through his already scruffy hair, “Nobles are all the same, they’re all in it for themselves.” He shrugged, and looked up as the bar maid had finally returned with their ales. Although he probably could have charmed the ales out of her, it wouldn’t be good manners in front of the woman that he was trying to charm now would it. He gave the woman enough money to cover his and Robyn’s drinks. Even though he was after keeping Robyn wrapped around his little finger, he wasn’t about to pay for all her friends drinks as well. He wasn’t exactly what one could call well off.

Gwaine began to fiddle with his shirt as he waited for Elyan to answer his knock on the door. It had been quite a boring day, after all, not much had been happening recently. Camelot was going through one of the rare periods in its history where no one was threatening war, and they weren’t under attack from some obscure magical creature that he didn’t really know the name of. He hadn’t really come across so many magical creatures before he had come to the one kingdom that they were banned in. Go figure really. Gwaine didn’t have a particular opinion on magic, mainly because he hadn’t been brought up in Camelot, but whenever they were under attack he of course did everything he could to protect Camelot and its inhabitants. That was what he had signed up for after all wasn’t it?

Gwaine ran a hand through his hair. Arthur had said something about training at dawn the next morning, and he knew it wouldn’t be wise to turn up to training with a hangover. However, when ale was involved, Gwaine was beyond logic. He had managed training sessions before with a hangover, and he was sure that he would manage it again. Finally the door swung open and Gwaine spun round to face his fellow brother. His reception was quite enthusiastic, and Gwaine couldn’t help but shrug. “Well who wouldn’t want to see this face on their doorstep?” He gave a short chuckle and raised his eye brows at Elyan’s next words. If the man really thought that Gwaine bought his own drinks at the tavern, then he really hadn’t ever been on a night out with him before. There was always the chance of free ale where there were pretty women involved in the tavern. He could usually charm a few ales out of the barmaids, and perhaps he would even share those with Elyan if he was lucky.

He stepped back out of the way of the doorway so that Elyan could step out after him. This would be an interesting night out if Gwaine had anything to do with it. Right now he wasn’t thinking about his training session in the morning, and the prospect of having seven bells knocked out of him by Leon or Lucan, no, right now all Gwaine could focus on was a drink with one of his fellow brothers. Oh well, at least if he did get a hangover then he wouldn’t be alone in his struggle in the morning. He could just pair with Elyan, and they’d get through it together somehow. “Come on, the tavern won’t wait forever.” He jested, and gestured for his friend to follow him as he set off down to the corridor.

So far the evening was going well in Gwaine’s opinion. He hadn’t been beaten up, or been called a thief or something similar. Somehow one or the other was usually on the cards, but perhaps that was because next to ale and women, Gwaine enjoyed a good game of cards. Men never enjoyed being made fools of, especially when money was involved, so even when he won fairly (Which did occasionally happen) he was still labelled a thief. He hadn’t gambled since Merlin had found him in the tavern a few weeks back, somehow it had lost its appeal somewhat.

Heh, he did miss Merlin’s quirky nature and his company, even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to see him for quite some time. He had only come across his friend the other week because Merlin had needed his help in saving Arthur. Oh well, maybe Arthur would get himself into some ridiculous situation and Merlin would come calling once again, it was plausible, Arthur didn’t seem to have a concept of danger; journeying to the Perilous Lands alone told Gwaine that.

Turning back to Griff, he could see the man looking at the woman he had pointed out. However, now and again his features darkened ever so slightly, and that was something Gwaine understood. Sometimes no matter how hard you tried to be alright on the outside, you were never truly fine on the inside. He observed Griff for a few moments, without making a comment, but managed a small chuckle at his question but shook his head as he sunk his lips into his ale. “Many pretty ladies, but none worth the bother of particular attention.” He winked at Griff, knowing he would probably know exactly what he meant. Gwaine wasn’t particularly one for dishonouring women because of his own needs. Perhaps that was what Griff needed in his life right now, but it didn’t really appeal to Gwaine right now; he had other things on his mind. Gwaine lazily looked over his shoulder at the woman who was still standing there and cocked a grin at Griff, “If she takes your fancy don’t worry about me; go for it.” Suddenly Gwaine felt like he was the voice of temptation, perhaps he should be more concerned about that than he actually was, but Griff could take his suggestion or leave it; it was of no consequence to Gwaine.

Gwaine was still trying to act like Brynn really had hurt him, but of course he doubted that she was capable of hurting a fly. Immaturely, poked her side in his little sort of revenge and winked at her. “There, now we’re even.” That worked, sort of. Brynn would know that his actions weren’t meant in a negative way anyway, he enjoyed toying with her because she was so easy to wind up sometimes. Gwaine quickly dropped the act as the conversation switched back to his friend, and the fact that Gwaine would do anything to help protect her if Alex did anything to hurt her. To him it was second nature now to help protect those who he had become friends with. Although he had always aimed to help and protect those who were in need, it was only recently that those people had become his friend. In the past he would slip in, help, and slip out of everyone’s lives as quickly as possible. That had been his life, but now he was based in Camelot and everything was different. “Well you let Alex know that if he ever does anything to even cause you to be a little unhappy, he will have a Knight of Camelot to answer to.” He gave her a wink, because if she didn’t want his help he wouldn’t force it upon her, but she needed to know that it wasn’t a weakness sometimes to ask for help.

Opening up and expressing feelings was completely new territory for Gwaine. Usually he just ignored his feelings, like most men, and just got on with his life. On the outside, he was always the jovial, albeit slightly irritatingly talkative knight. Never once was he really quiet around anyone, and he hoped Brynn would be the first and last person that he was like this around. Then again, he doubted his past would ever be dragged up again in such a direct and rugged way. He should have felt some sort of revenge that the man who had thrown his family into poverty had now met his maker, but he didn’t, because it didn’t change anything. Gwaine had still left home, and his family was still in ruins; it didn’t change anything in Gwaine’s opinion.

He was quite glad that Brynn took his arm, because for once it was meant in utter sincerity. Gwaine knew that once he would have tried to charm Brynn, but now she was like an adopted sister, and as such there was nothing wrong with them walking hand in hand. “Alex won’t get jealous will he?” He teased softly, not sure if Brynn would have mentioned him to her beloved at all. He wouldn’t blame her if she hadn’t. She comfortably placed her arm in his, and he was therefore able to steer her down the lower town without either of them walking into those last few members of the town starting to go to their beds.

Brynn’s words were all true he supposed, as recently Gwaine really wasn’t himself, and he didn’t like it in the slightest. Gwaine pressed his lips together, and managed a small smile at his friend and patted the hand she had linked through his in an affectionate sort of way. He did appreciate her words, because she was only trying to help him. “I think perhaps now is the time to start thinking about the future again.” He reasoned gently, “This is the man I am now; here.” He gestured to himself with his spare hand, and he wasn’t just trying to convince Brynn with his words, he was also trying to convince himself with a degree of success, “After all, can’t have the other Knights thinking I’ve gone soft can I?”

Gwaine pulled a face at Brynn as she batted his hand away, and he looked at her in an almost hurt way. Of course he was just being dramatic, but Brynn was too much fun to toy with sometimes. She was sometimes like the little sister he had missed out on. “Hey, they hurt!” He protested, and looked concerned over his hand for a few moments, before he decided that Brynn probably wasn’t buying any of this, so he stopped and paused for a few moments, concentrating on her next words. Well, at least Gwaine wouldn’t be alone in hunting down Alex if he ever did anything to hurt Brynn. “And I’ll be there to take care of the bits your father missed.” He promised faithfully, his hand on his heart. After all, he was a knight of Camelot, and it came with some advantages.

Really, Gwaine didn’t want to be in this conversation, but he also didn’t want to walk away from it. It would only cause tensions between himself and Brynn if he did that, so no matter how uncomfortable he was, he decided he would have to stick it out, and explain this in the easiest way without actually giving away his true status. He wouldn’t be too inconvenienced if everyone did learn that he was a noble, but he had earned everyone’s respect without that aspect of his personality, so he saw no real reason to explain that aspect of his past any further. Everyone in Camelot knew him for the man he was now, rather than the boy he had once been.

Gwaine sighed as he continued to walk down the street, and then he realised how rude he was being. He extended his arm towards Brynn and, with a soft smile, offered it to her, “Would you do me the honour?” He asked her with a cheeky grin. He didn’t mean this in an affectionate or romantic way, but she was his friend, and it was only meant as a friendly gesture. Plus, it offset the topic of conversation for a few moments, which gave Gwaine a few moments of respite in which he could gather his thoughts.

Looking forwards as they walked on, Gwaine began to wonder why this was bothering him so much. He supposed it was just because he had pushed his former life from his mind, and seeing the king again had dug up old memories that he would have rather forgotten about. “I did not follow him personally.” He pointed out to his friend, “I wasn’t that high up to have the pleasure.” Of course that was sarcastic, but even in his noble status, Gwaine couldn’t really remember the King at all. “I suppose it bothers me as it brings back memories of home, and that was a long time ago.” He shrugged, “But it is all in the past. “ This would probably be the only time in his and Brynn’s friendship that she would ever see him like this. It was quite out of character for him to be anything like this, and it was just because he had been forced to think of home because of the weeks events.