14 Days of A/G:Fic:Masquerade
Title: Masquerade
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Guinevere
Rating/Warnings: G
Spoilers: brief mentions of things that happened during S2.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!! How depressing =P
Summary: Arthur has a masquerade ball for his birthday celebration
Word Count: 4,647
Author’s Notes: for Camelot_love’s 14 days of love. Prompt was F-47. Arthur decides to have a masked ball for his birthday celebration/ Arthur & Gwen dance at the ball/ A scene on a balcony where Arthur and Gwen say "I love you" to each other with lots of kisses. And was prompted by ella_rose88 hope you like what I came up with =D
Title comes from the song “masquerade” in phantom of the opera and one line in the fic comes from the song “one step closer” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid Broadway musical which consequently was the track I was listening to over and over along while writing this fic ^_^
Comments are ♥
Masquerade
The bright white light of the full moon came streaming in from the large windows, making the room sparkle and glisten with a magical quality. The candle flames moved in time with the soft music floating throughout the hall, dancing their own rhythmic dance. Rich smells of the finest meats, cakes, fruits, wine and mead filled the air with an intoxicating scent while the chatter of happy, contented voices; giggles of delight and booming laughs of pleasure enhanced the euphoric atmosphere. Elaborate dresses and tunics of every colour of the rainbow where scattered about in the crowed hall.
Frills and bows of the best silks floated around, buttons of silver, gold and ivory imported from far away kingdoms reflected the light, shinning like stars on the materials. Ribbons and feathers adorned the hair of the women. The men’s boots were the deepest black and brown made out of the greatest leather. Jewellery hanging from the wrists, necks and hands of the ladies and some of the men sparkled with joyful intent. Even the servants’ outfits where impeccable, their best cotton clothes as clean and fresh as a mountain stream.
At a glance one could not tell who was of lower class and who was a lady, man or knight of the court due to the masks that hid their faces. Every effort of perfection had been made for this event; the prince’s birthday. Though due to the detailed masks people were finding it exceedingly difficult to find and wish the prince a jubilant birthday. The amount of people and the overwhelming sight of colours and materials blinded the eye; and with Merlin sending them in entirely the wrong direction when they someone managed to identify the prince’s servant through his mask of bright red feathers no one had yet found him; just what he wanted.
Arthur from his place by the far wall opposite the main entrance smirked to himself, he was a genius. The superb idea of having a masked ball for his birthday celebration had come to him like lightning when he’d been discussing the event with his father; though Merlin had claimed it had really been his comment of “If only you could hide who you were” early on in the day when Arthur had let slip that he wished he could just spend the day with Guinevere, that put the idea in his head.
The talks about this day had always been forced and discussed quickly with Uther, voices sharp and raw. The dark cloud shadowing Uther’s face and weighing Arthur’s shoulders down with the weight of a woman who was no longer visible, though her presence still lingered, wrapping itself around them; waiting for moments like these to choke them. And with the recent events involving Morgause the conversation had been ever more awkward, but Arthur was determined despite this, that this year he would for very first time fully enjoy himself without any inhibitions. This year he finally had someone he wanted to share the day with; someone warm, caring and loving. Arthur slouching against the stone, arms crossed against his chest, searched the crowd, blue eyes darting this way and that. Where was she?
He was growing restless; the party had only started twenty minutes ago but the desire to see her, made each moment feel like an eternity. Twenty minutes, twenty years what did it matter, it was far too long to be parted on a night like this. Then as if by magic she appeared walking, though to his eyes it looked more like she was floating, in through the entrance. Gwen’s head was turning this way and that, obviously searching for him. Arthur’s breath caught in his throat, his heart leaping. She was stunning; somewhere in the back of his mind Arthur made a silent thank you to Merlin for picking out the dress. He would have done it himself but there were two things that stopped him.
One: it would not be appropriated for a prince to be buying a lady’s dress; it would arouse unwanted suspicion and questions. If Morgana had been present he would have gotten away with it, but she was no longer here, stolen away to god knows where. Had he a mother no one would have blinked an eye lid just muttered to themselves how he was such a good son buying his mum a new dress, even though it was his birthday. But he had no mother to speak of, died at birth, on this day. Two: Arthur knew nothing about fashion, what looked good, what didn’t and quite frankly he had no desire whatsoever to pick up the habit, give him swords and armour, not frills and silks.
But Merlin, well he was Merlin, far more inclined to take on the task of dress shopping, plus Arthur would have cuffed him across head if he refused. Arthur constantly teased Merlin about his foolishness and uselessness; though truthfully he meant none of it, but tonight he could not even pretend that Merlin hadn’t picked out the perfect outfit. He’d done a fabulous job, getting just what Arthur had asked for. Something that is pure and beautiful, not gaudy or over the top, something that’s simple, elegant; completely Guinevere. O how he had succeeded. Merlin had pleaded to let him see the dress before he dropped it off at Gwen’s, slightly worried that Arthur would be in a foul mood if he had chosen wrong, but Arthur had refused, wanting it to be a surprise. “I’ve complete trust in you Merlin” was his only reply. He had however asked about the colour so that he could match accordingly.
The dress was a mixture of blues’ and white. The overskirt material was shaded; going from the white, pastel blues and purples to the darkest blues and purples. The way the colours swirled into each other in s shapes made it look like crashing waves and sea foam were cascading down Gwen’s body, moving in rhythmic motions as she made her way through the crowd. Arthur could almost hear the whoosh of the water. Crystals of the same colours were scattered across the material so that it shimmered with each of her movements, giving her a celestial glow. The overskirt opened out from underneath the bust, growing wider as it reached the floor, revealing the dark rich blue pleated material of the underskirt.
The top half of the dress was pure white cut in a circular swoop across her neck, sloping off her shoulders with small cap sleeves, exposing Gwen’s collar bone, neck and tops of her breasts in the same way her purple dress did. A length of deep blue silk ribbon ran across the line up into the cap selves, around her back and under her bust following the triangular shape of how the material split. Jewels of blues and purples where sewn on in a pattern of three, one on the cap sleeves and on the bodice; they were in a pattern of three, two, one starting along the curve line and finishing at the point where the material split into the overskirt.
Down the edges of the overskirt a thin line of dark blue patterns ran along softening the transition from the sea foam effect into the deep blue. Finishing off the outfit were two long white gloves over the top of which a bracelet of pearls hung matching the string that dangled around her neck, Arthur had gifted those both to Gwen despite her protests a few days ago, claiming it was his birthday wish she have them and seeing as she couldn’t deny a birthday wish she’d reluctantly accepted them. Another stroke of genius on his part; Arthur was beginning to learn how to get around the logic that Gwen’s station had pushed upon her, and it seemed the more time they spent in each other’s company the less he had to use such methods. She was slowly but surely letting go of the ‘servant’ title and he was growing less of a ‘prince’, lines blurring in wanted perfection, till they met somewhere in the middle.
The mask that was strapped to her, covering her face was white with a line of dark blue edging it and a few of the same jewels on her dress dangling from the left side. Gwen’s hair was up in a soft bun; lose curls dangling down brushing gently against her collar bone and ears. Forget-me-nots scattered in the mass of dark curls. She was a picture of beauty. Arthur’s stomach clenched and butterflies began to wiggle and flutter within him, not that he’d ever admit it, as their eyes suddenly locked across the candle and moon lit filled room.
Arthur watched as her lips curled upwards in a soft smile as she made her way towards him, so gracefully and regal. Pushing himself off the wall and letting his arms fall to his sides Arthur began moving towards her. He walked as naturally as possible for his heart was flipping about so much at the site of her he could hardly concentrate enough to put one foot in front of the other. What happened to mister cocky confident prince?
The walk seemed like a dream, people in their way simply parted of their own accord allowing a clear path, as if they could somehow sense that tonight was not a night of obstacles. When he finally reached her he merely stared at her unable to form words, her beauty intensifying a hundred times over from the close proximity. It was Gwen who spoke first, voice gentle and shy as she ducked her head, brushing her hands over her dress.
“Does it look that bad, I told Merlin this was too much for someone like…”
Arthur cut her off placing a finger over her lips.
“Stunning” whose voice was that? Arthur wondered for it surly couldn’t be his, it was too high, too uncontrolled, too breathless. Where was the conviction? The confidence?
Gwen’s brown eyes sparkled though the white of her mask, her bottom lip was being pulled in by her teeth as she blushed. Through the dark blue mask Arthur’s light blue eyes smiled back, softening into a dream like state. Then he reached out taking her gloved hand in his, pulling her towards him and inclined his head to the middle of the room, where couples where currently lining up to dance. Gwen nodded slightly, tuning her body in the direction they where to walk in. Arthur still holding her hand walked her to her position with the other ladies silently, squeezing her hand every now and then, doing it more often once he realised her smile broadened each time. Gwen rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand in reply. Holding onto her hand until the very last minute Arthur stepped back taking his place on the opposite side with the rest of the men waiting for the dance to commence.
The music began to play. He bowed and reached out his hand to her, Gwen curtseyed placing her hand into his as she did so. Arthur brought her hand to his lips brushing them against the silk of her gloves, he could sense Gwen tense, this was not part of the dance but then as the realisation that they where hidden in masks so it really didn’t matter came to her, she relaxed and merely shook her head just enough so that only Arthur could see. Then they where twirling around the floor, hands connected, eyes locked. His feet felt light, dancing on a cloud. He threw Gwen a half smile, a glint in his eyes and then a full one as her head ducked again, checks flushing. He winked, smirking; she tried to hide a laugh and rolled her eyes as they switched arms. Bringing his left arm up Arthur joined their arms by the crook of their elbows, turning his hand around so that it was palm to palm with Gwen’s. Gwen interlaced their fingers making him half smile, half smirk, half beam. It was if they were having a conversation, starting with their hellos and going onto something much deeper.
Arthur had heard Leon claim dancing was, what was he had said, o yes, 'Every single step is one step closer to saying what you feel.' Arthur had literally died laughing when he’d said that, slapping him on the back and asking if he’d been at the ale. But at this moment he found himself surprisingly agreeing with the words because it seemed that each move they made brought him closer to telling her what he’d wanted to tell her since…since he could remember. For although his life was very much divided into two parts; LBG, life before Guinevere and LWG, life with Guinevere; LBG just seemed to melt away entirely. What he’d been feeling since LWG had taken him over so much so that he could no longer recall the moment it had started.
Arthur took that moment to break his gaze on Gwen, his thoughts making it hard look at her without blurting out what it was he wanted to say, this was not the place, and glanced across the floor. He noticed Leon further down, absent of a mask for some reason smiling at his dance partner, his eyes sparkling with a glint that softened his face so incredibly that you’d never know that the man could cut you to pieces in 5 minutes flat. Leon’s partner was shyly grinning back with a certain glow around her, ah so it hadn’t been the ale, it’d been a girl, he should have known. Arthur felt himself smile at the smitten pair; he wondered if he looked at Gwen that way. Did he look just as besotted, did she glow? His eyes wandered back to Gwen, examining her figure; yes she glowed, like a sun, bathing everything she touched in warmth and tenderness.
The music floating around them was a flowing melodic tune, only enriching Arthur’s current state of wistfulness. The world was a blurry mess, only Gwen was clear to him now, his focus was entirely fixed on her cheerful face; everything else was merely a blob in the distance. The music was loud in his ears muffling everything else but he could still hear the gentle breaths Gwen was making, as if his ears had attuned to the sound. In every moment his eyes did not leave hers, even when the dance meant that they must change partners for a short period of time, their eyes remained glued to each other. The music began to pick up speed and in turn Arthur’s heart began thumping louder. Was it him or was she just getting more beautiful with every second that past? He was simply going to lose it soon if he didn’t get her alone…didn’t speak to her; his head was filling up with random thoughts, making the room spin and then they were back together again, arms interlocked once more, eyes still fixed on each other, spinning around and around as the music kept increasing its tempo till Arthur felt his heart was surely going to fly out of his chest and then it was slowing again and so was his heart beat, dadumdadumdadum, da dum, da dum, da dum, da…dum...da...dum…da…dum, till finally the music stopped and the sound of clapping hands could be heard applauding the musicians.
Arthur wondered if Gwen was feeling like he was, out of breath and electrically charged. By the way she now had one gloved hand placed over her chest near her heart and breathing so deeply and quickly he reckoned she must be. She looked up from the floor and into his eyes and suddenly the room felt too crowded, once more without speaking he grabbed her free hand and marched towards the door with purpose, winding his way through the crowd, Gwen at his heels moving with the same sense of urgency. As soon as they were through the door and a little way down the corridor, Arthur swung around into a darkened alcove, where the moon’s light had not reached, swinging Gwen around so that her back hit the wall, then in a swift motion he placed his hands either side of her head and planted his lips against hers hungrily. She responded in kind, throwing her arms around his waist yanking him so hard to her their hips bones bashed against each other giving a momentary sensation of pain before it quickly turned to pleasure.
This was better, why had he even bothered with the dancing, was he mad? He should have skipped that and gone straight to this but then again it had been enjoyable dancing with her like that, holding her hand, kissing it, in front of everybody, even if they didn’t know they had just witnessed the historic moment. Gwen moaned into his lips, arms loosening around his waist and snaking their way up to his neck stopping his train of thought. Arthur allowed one hand to retreat from its position on the wall, placing it on Gwen’s hip, gripping it though the material of her dress and pulling her against him, temporarily pulling her body away from the coldness of stone. The need to breathe soon claimed them and they broke apart, both breathless. They stayed locked in their embrace though, Gwen’s hands still playing with Arthur’s golden hair at the base of his neck while Arthur’s fingers rubbed soft circles into her hip and brought his other hand off the wall and onto her cheek stroking it softly.
Gwen gained her composure much more quickly than Arthur and suddenly she was detangling herself from him, shaking her head much to his confusion.
“We shouldn’t have done that anyone could have seen us.”
Arthur groaned at the loss of contact and the absurdity as to why it occurred. He grasped her wrist and pulled her back, wrapping one arm around her slender waist and tapping his mask with his free hand.
“They wouldn’t know it was us, so what does it matter?”
Leaning in he captured her lips again, muffling her retort for a while before she broke free again.
“Can we go somewhere private anyway?”
“Mmmm I think I can arrange that,” Arthur stoked his chin as if in deep though and then suddenly wiggled his eyebrows.
“My chambers sound good?”
Gwen playfully whacked him across his chest letting out a mock huff of disgust, while her checks flushed red before bashfully half laughing and rolling her eyes. Arthur gave a deep chuckle at her reaction and kissed the top of her nose then walked out into the corridor and headed down it stopping after taking a few steps reaching out his hand to Gwen.
Gwen looked at his hand and down the corridor eyebrows raised. That was the way to his chambers.
“I’m not sure I should trust you, your intentions might not be honourable”
Arthur slammed a hand against his chest and let out a grunt.
“You’ve wounded me to my core. Not honourable, me! I’m most horrified by your opinion of me.”
Gwen laughed, shaking her head at his shenanigans and took off down the hall calling out over her shoulder.
“Drama Queen”
Arthur caught up with her in three long strides, bless her little legs, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her face close to his so he could place his lips to her temple. Gwen reached her arm up, placed her hand on top of his giving it a small squeeze, leaning into him as they walked. Arthur took his opportunity to whisper into her ear, his voice deep and low.
“You know for thinking my intentions were not honourable, I notice how you’re still heading in the direction I suggested.”
Gwen turned her head away blushing deeply, Arthur laughed, bumping his hip against hers knocking her away from him but then dragging her back with the arm slung over her shoulder.
“Why do you insist on making me blush with comments like that?” Gwen queried
“Well its fun,” Arthur said angling his head down and gently pulling Gwen’s neck upwards so that he could capture her lips in a quick chaste kiss “And you look cute when you do it.” He rubbed his nose against hers, making her scrunch it up; so that she looked like a little rabbit.
Gwen sighed in playful exasperation and smiled slightly leaning into his body while on tip toes to kiss his nose. Arthur looked back at her with a playful glint in his eyes.
“You know…” he started offhandedly “If it’s the comments that bother you I could always find another way to make you blush.” He threw her another wink and chuckled to himself as Gwen once again smacked him across his chest but then was caught completely by surprise when she stopped abruptly, lifted up again on her tippy toes pulling Arthur’s arm around her neck as she did so, so that he met her half way and kissed him full on.
When they broke apart Arthur pecked her lips a few times more before moving left and opening the door that led to the balcony.
“Don’t tell me this is where you where heading all along, what happened to the nice warm chamber idea?”
Gwen swished past him throwing him her own little wink as she walked into the night air. Arthur shook his head in amazement, little minx and followed shutting the oak door behind them. The night air was chilled, the moon and stars where shinning down brightly. There were no clouds in the night sky, so the light was coming down strong. As Arthur turned away from the closed door and faced Gwen his breath for the second time that night caught in his throat. Gwen was standing by the edge of the balcony, hands pressed against the stone of the wall. Her face was tilted up, staring at the stars so that it was bathed entirely in the strong white luminosity of the moon and twinkling stars. Her brown eyes where sparkling, reflecting the image of the moon she was staring so intensely at. Her hair moved gently in the breeze swaying around her face elegantly. Her dress was shimmering in the light, looking more spectacular and magical in this light than that of the hall. She looked like a dream. Like a Queen.
Arthur completely taken aback by the image in front of him, let his mouth slacken, gaping in awe. She turned towards him then, sensing his gaze on her. When their eyes met, she smiled a special smile that was only reserved for him and suddenly the words just came out.
“I love you.” His voice was raw and breathless, vulnerable. Gwen’s eyes widened in surprise her breath catching in her chest, heart stopping dead.
“Wwwhat?” she somehow managed to stammer out. She’d heard him, but she needed him to say it again, needed to know that it wasn’t just her dreaming again for this seemed to perfect. In truth she already knew his feelings, he’d hinted at it, implied it I’ve never loved another but never had he actually spoken the words out loud to her. They both knew that to say those words out loud in pure bluntness would seal their fate; there could be no more denying. When they where unsaid, there was always the chance she could let him go, survive if he left, despite the fact she kissed his lips, held him close. A small crack in the wall that she could slip out off; tell herself that it wasn’t true love. But this, this would seal that crack up completely. She wouldn’t be able to let him go and if fate then decided to tear them apart she would not survive it, crumbling from a broken heart.
“I love you” the words came out stronger this time. Gwen’s heart leapt. Arthur out of pure instinct moved quickly towards her bringing his arms up to cup her face in his palms and kissed her, brushing his lips against hers gently.
“I love you” he whispered against her mouth, words soft but intense, no doubt or hesitation behind them.
Gwen sighed deeply, looking up into his blue eyes that were sparkling like stars. Her heart was in her mouth, stomach fluttering wildly, heat spreading through her chest. Wasting no time she threw her arms around his shoulders; colliding their mouths in a fierce embrace, pure joy behind each movement of her lips. Arthur pulled her closer, hands dropping from her face and finding her waist instead, gripping the material hard. When they broke apart Gwen detangled one arm from around Arthur’s neck and brought her hand down to his cheek caressing it. She let the other arm stay swung over his shoulder, fingers gently playing with the hair at the base of his neck, her favourite spot.
Arthur waited, completely unsure of what she going to do next. Was she going to tell him she felt the same, or would words of steel come out? The wait was agonising, he’d never felt so exposed before in his life. She was staring at him intently, an expression on her face her could not decipher, what was she about to bring him? Happiness? Sadness? Bittersweet? Rejection? Gwen’s lips turned upwards in a bright smile and on a sigh she spoke the four words that set Arthur alight, brushing her nose against his as she did so.
“I love you too”
Arthur practical felt his heart burst from the sensation that came over him. His lips broaden so much, the muscles in his checks began to ache but he didn’t care. The world was suddenly a perfect place. Colours where brighter and smells sweeter. Had the moon always been so wonderful? Sweeping her off her feet Arthur spun her around, delighted even more when her bubbly laugh came bursting out. Then he was kissing her again, once, twice, thrice, over and over muffling her giggles and his own frivolous laughs. Frivolous laughs?? What the hell had she done to him? He felt invincible, like he could jump off the balcony and simply fly. He continued to spin them around and around until his head felt as if it would burst; he slipped her back to the floor holding her tightly to him, steadying her, she was wobbling on unsure legs. He himself was dizzy and totted back and forth tugging her with him, as they stumbled about like children.
When finally they had steadied their balance Gwen buried her face into the material of his tunic and wrapped her arms around him, kissing the place over his heart softly. Arthur breathed in the scent of her hair, which tonight was highly fragrant of forget-me-nots. Gwen slowly kissed her way up his chest, neck and all over his face, eyelids, checks, forehead, while Arthur simply bathed in the soothing sensation, till she reached his lips, brushing her own sweetly against his.
How many times their lips parted and met again in the deepest of embraces he couldn’t recall he lost count after 200 but after they were satisfied Gwen turned in his arms and looked out over the kingdom. Instinctively Arthur wrapped his arms around Gwen from behind, crossing his hands over her stomach. Gwen placed her gloved hands over Arthur’s bare ones and silently they began to sway side to side in a soft gentle movement, neither of them realising they were actually moving, both in a trance. Arthur buried his face into her neck, nuzzling it and peppering it with kisses. Gwen sighed pushing further back into the warmth of his chest, angling her neck to give him better access and humming with content.
“Happy birthday Arthur”
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Guinevere
Rating/Warnings: G
Spoilers: brief mentions of things that happened during S2.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!! How depressing =P
Summary: Arthur has a masquerade ball for his birthday celebration
Word Count: 4,647
Author’s Notes: for Camelot_love’s 14 days of love. Prompt was F-47. Arthur decides to have a masked ball for his birthday celebration/ Arthur & Gwen dance at the ball/ A scene on a balcony where Arthur and Gwen say "I love you" to each other with lots of kisses. And was prompted by ella_rose88 hope you like what I came up with =D
Title comes from the song “masquerade” in phantom of the opera and one line in the fic comes from the song “one step closer” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid Broadway musical which consequently was the track I was listening to over and over along while writing this fic ^_^
Comments are ♥
Masquerade
The bright white light of the full moon came streaming in from the large windows, making the room sparkle and glisten with a magical quality. The candle flames moved in time with the soft music floating throughout the hall, dancing their own rhythmic dance. Rich smells of the finest meats, cakes, fruits, wine and mead filled the air with an intoxicating scent while the chatter of happy, contented voices; giggles of delight and booming laughs of pleasure enhanced the euphoric atmosphere. Elaborate dresses and tunics of every colour of the rainbow where scattered about in the crowed hall.
Frills and bows of the best silks floated around, buttons of silver, gold and ivory imported from far away kingdoms reflected the light, shinning like stars on the materials. Ribbons and feathers adorned the hair of the women. The men’s boots were the deepest black and brown made out of the greatest leather. Jewellery hanging from the wrists, necks and hands of the ladies and some of the men sparkled with joyful intent. Even the servants’ outfits where impeccable, their best cotton clothes as clean and fresh as a mountain stream.
At a glance one could not tell who was of lower class and who was a lady, man or knight of the court due to the masks that hid their faces. Every effort of perfection had been made for this event; the prince’s birthday. Though due to the detailed masks people were finding it exceedingly difficult to find and wish the prince a jubilant birthday. The amount of people and the overwhelming sight of colours and materials blinded the eye; and with Merlin sending them in entirely the wrong direction when they someone managed to identify the prince’s servant through his mask of bright red feathers no one had yet found him; just what he wanted.
Arthur from his place by the far wall opposite the main entrance smirked to himself, he was a genius. The superb idea of having a masked ball for his birthday celebration had come to him like lightning when he’d been discussing the event with his father; though Merlin had claimed it had really been his comment of “If only you could hide who you were” early on in the day when Arthur had let slip that he wished he could just spend the day with Guinevere, that put the idea in his head.
The talks about this day had always been forced and discussed quickly with Uther, voices sharp and raw. The dark cloud shadowing Uther’s face and weighing Arthur’s shoulders down with the weight of a woman who was no longer visible, though her presence still lingered, wrapping itself around them; waiting for moments like these to choke them. And with the recent events involving Morgause the conversation had been ever more awkward, but Arthur was determined despite this, that this year he would for very first time fully enjoy himself without any inhibitions. This year he finally had someone he wanted to share the day with; someone warm, caring and loving. Arthur slouching against the stone, arms crossed against his chest, searched the crowd, blue eyes darting this way and that. Where was she?
He was growing restless; the party had only started twenty minutes ago but the desire to see her, made each moment feel like an eternity. Twenty minutes, twenty years what did it matter, it was far too long to be parted on a night like this. Then as if by magic she appeared walking, though to his eyes it looked more like she was floating, in through the entrance. Gwen’s head was turning this way and that, obviously searching for him. Arthur’s breath caught in his throat, his heart leaping. She was stunning; somewhere in the back of his mind Arthur made a silent thank you to Merlin for picking out the dress. He would have done it himself but there were two things that stopped him.
One: it would not be appropriated for a prince to be buying a lady’s dress; it would arouse unwanted suspicion and questions. If Morgana had been present he would have gotten away with it, but she was no longer here, stolen away to god knows where. Had he a mother no one would have blinked an eye lid just muttered to themselves how he was such a good son buying his mum a new dress, even though it was his birthday. But he had no mother to speak of, died at birth, on this day. Two: Arthur knew nothing about fashion, what looked good, what didn’t and quite frankly he had no desire whatsoever to pick up the habit, give him swords and armour, not frills and silks.
But Merlin, well he was Merlin, far more inclined to take on the task of dress shopping, plus Arthur would have cuffed him across head if he refused. Arthur constantly teased Merlin about his foolishness and uselessness; though truthfully he meant none of it, but tonight he could not even pretend that Merlin hadn’t picked out the perfect outfit. He’d done a fabulous job, getting just what Arthur had asked for. Something that is pure and beautiful, not gaudy or over the top, something that’s simple, elegant; completely Guinevere. O how he had succeeded. Merlin had pleaded to let him see the dress before he dropped it off at Gwen’s, slightly worried that Arthur would be in a foul mood if he had chosen wrong, but Arthur had refused, wanting it to be a surprise. “I’ve complete trust in you Merlin” was his only reply. He had however asked about the colour so that he could match accordingly.
The dress was a mixture of blues’ and white. The overskirt material was shaded; going from the white, pastel blues and purples to the darkest blues and purples. The way the colours swirled into each other in s shapes made it look like crashing waves and sea foam were cascading down Gwen’s body, moving in rhythmic motions as she made her way through the crowd. Arthur could almost hear the whoosh of the water. Crystals of the same colours were scattered across the material so that it shimmered with each of her movements, giving her a celestial glow. The overskirt opened out from underneath the bust, growing wider as it reached the floor, revealing the dark rich blue pleated material of the underskirt.
The top half of the dress was pure white cut in a circular swoop across her neck, sloping off her shoulders with small cap sleeves, exposing Gwen’s collar bone, neck and tops of her breasts in the same way her purple dress did. A length of deep blue silk ribbon ran across the line up into the cap selves, around her back and under her bust following the triangular shape of how the material split. Jewels of blues and purples where sewn on in a pattern of three, one on the cap sleeves and on the bodice; they were in a pattern of three, two, one starting along the curve line and finishing at the point where the material split into the overskirt.
Down the edges of the overskirt a thin line of dark blue patterns ran along softening the transition from the sea foam effect into the deep blue. Finishing off the outfit were two long white gloves over the top of which a bracelet of pearls hung matching the string that dangled around her neck, Arthur had gifted those both to Gwen despite her protests a few days ago, claiming it was his birthday wish she have them and seeing as she couldn’t deny a birthday wish she’d reluctantly accepted them. Another stroke of genius on his part; Arthur was beginning to learn how to get around the logic that Gwen’s station had pushed upon her, and it seemed the more time they spent in each other’s company the less he had to use such methods. She was slowly but surely letting go of the ‘servant’ title and he was growing less of a ‘prince’, lines blurring in wanted perfection, till they met somewhere in the middle.
The mask that was strapped to her, covering her face was white with a line of dark blue edging it and a few of the same jewels on her dress dangling from the left side. Gwen’s hair was up in a soft bun; lose curls dangling down brushing gently against her collar bone and ears. Forget-me-nots scattered in the mass of dark curls. She was a picture of beauty. Arthur’s stomach clenched and butterflies began to wiggle and flutter within him, not that he’d ever admit it, as their eyes suddenly locked across the candle and moon lit filled room.
Arthur watched as her lips curled upwards in a soft smile as she made her way towards him, so gracefully and regal. Pushing himself off the wall and letting his arms fall to his sides Arthur began moving towards her. He walked as naturally as possible for his heart was flipping about so much at the site of her he could hardly concentrate enough to put one foot in front of the other. What happened to mister cocky confident prince?
The walk seemed like a dream, people in their way simply parted of their own accord allowing a clear path, as if they could somehow sense that tonight was not a night of obstacles. When he finally reached her he merely stared at her unable to form words, her beauty intensifying a hundred times over from the close proximity. It was Gwen who spoke first, voice gentle and shy as she ducked her head, brushing her hands over her dress.
“Does it look that bad, I told Merlin this was too much for someone like…”
Arthur cut her off placing a finger over her lips.
“Stunning” whose voice was that? Arthur wondered for it surly couldn’t be his, it was too high, too uncontrolled, too breathless. Where was the conviction? The confidence?
Gwen’s brown eyes sparkled though the white of her mask, her bottom lip was being pulled in by her teeth as she blushed. Through the dark blue mask Arthur’s light blue eyes smiled back, softening into a dream like state. Then he reached out taking her gloved hand in his, pulling her towards him and inclined his head to the middle of the room, where couples where currently lining up to dance. Gwen nodded slightly, tuning her body in the direction they where to walk in. Arthur still holding her hand walked her to her position with the other ladies silently, squeezing her hand every now and then, doing it more often once he realised her smile broadened each time. Gwen rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand in reply. Holding onto her hand until the very last minute Arthur stepped back taking his place on the opposite side with the rest of the men waiting for the dance to commence.
The music began to play. He bowed and reached out his hand to her, Gwen curtseyed placing her hand into his as she did so. Arthur brought her hand to his lips brushing them against the silk of her gloves, he could sense Gwen tense, this was not part of the dance but then as the realisation that they where hidden in masks so it really didn’t matter came to her, she relaxed and merely shook her head just enough so that only Arthur could see. Then they where twirling around the floor, hands connected, eyes locked. His feet felt light, dancing on a cloud. He threw Gwen a half smile, a glint in his eyes and then a full one as her head ducked again, checks flushing. He winked, smirking; she tried to hide a laugh and rolled her eyes as they switched arms. Bringing his left arm up Arthur joined their arms by the crook of their elbows, turning his hand around so that it was palm to palm with Gwen’s. Gwen interlaced their fingers making him half smile, half smirk, half beam. It was if they were having a conversation, starting with their hellos and going onto something much deeper.
Arthur had heard Leon claim dancing was, what was he had said, o yes, 'Every single step is one step closer to saying what you feel.' Arthur had literally died laughing when he’d said that, slapping him on the back and asking if he’d been at the ale. But at this moment he found himself surprisingly agreeing with the words because it seemed that each move they made brought him closer to telling her what he’d wanted to tell her since…since he could remember. For although his life was very much divided into two parts; LBG, life before Guinevere and LWG, life with Guinevere; LBG just seemed to melt away entirely. What he’d been feeling since LWG had taken him over so much so that he could no longer recall the moment it had started.
Arthur took that moment to break his gaze on Gwen, his thoughts making it hard look at her without blurting out what it was he wanted to say, this was not the place, and glanced across the floor. He noticed Leon further down, absent of a mask for some reason smiling at his dance partner, his eyes sparkling with a glint that softened his face so incredibly that you’d never know that the man could cut you to pieces in 5 minutes flat. Leon’s partner was shyly grinning back with a certain glow around her, ah so it hadn’t been the ale, it’d been a girl, he should have known. Arthur felt himself smile at the smitten pair; he wondered if he looked at Gwen that way. Did he look just as besotted, did she glow? His eyes wandered back to Gwen, examining her figure; yes she glowed, like a sun, bathing everything she touched in warmth and tenderness.
The music floating around them was a flowing melodic tune, only enriching Arthur’s current state of wistfulness. The world was a blurry mess, only Gwen was clear to him now, his focus was entirely fixed on her cheerful face; everything else was merely a blob in the distance. The music was loud in his ears muffling everything else but he could still hear the gentle breaths Gwen was making, as if his ears had attuned to the sound. In every moment his eyes did not leave hers, even when the dance meant that they must change partners for a short period of time, their eyes remained glued to each other. The music began to pick up speed and in turn Arthur’s heart began thumping louder. Was it him or was she just getting more beautiful with every second that past? He was simply going to lose it soon if he didn’t get her alone…didn’t speak to her; his head was filling up with random thoughts, making the room spin and then they were back together again, arms interlocked once more, eyes still fixed on each other, spinning around and around as the music kept increasing its tempo till Arthur felt his heart was surely going to fly out of his chest and then it was slowing again and so was his heart beat, dadumdadumdadum, da dum, da dum, da dum, da…dum...da...dum…da…dum, till finally the music stopped and the sound of clapping hands could be heard applauding the musicians.
Arthur wondered if Gwen was feeling like he was, out of breath and electrically charged. By the way she now had one gloved hand placed over her chest near her heart and breathing so deeply and quickly he reckoned she must be. She looked up from the floor and into his eyes and suddenly the room felt too crowded, once more without speaking he grabbed her free hand and marched towards the door with purpose, winding his way through the crowd, Gwen at his heels moving with the same sense of urgency. As soon as they were through the door and a little way down the corridor, Arthur swung around into a darkened alcove, where the moon’s light had not reached, swinging Gwen around so that her back hit the wall, then in a swift motion he placed his hands either side of her head and planted his lips against hers hungrily. She responded in kind, throwing her arms around his waist yanking him so hard to her their hips bones bashed against each other giving a momentary sensation of pain before it quickly turned to pleasure.
This was better, why had he even bothered with the dancing, was he mad? He should have skipped that and gone straight to this but then again it had been enjoyable dancing with her like that, holding her hand, kissing it, in front of everybody, even if they didn’t know they had just witnessed the historic moment. Gwen moaned into his lips, arms loosening around his waist and snaking their way up to his neck stopping his train of thought. Arthur allowed one hand to retreat from its position on the wall, placing it on Gwen’s hip, gripping it though the material of her dress and pulling her against him, temporarily pulling her body away from the coldness of stone. The need to breathe soon claimed them and they broke apart, both breathless. They stayed locked in their embrace though, Gwen’s hands still playing with Arthur’s golden hair at the base of his neck while Arthur’s fingers rubbed soft circles into her hip and brought his other hand off the wall and onto her cheek stroking it softly.
Gwen gained her composure much more quickly than Arthur and suddenly she was detangling herself from him, shaking her head much to his confusion.
“We shouldn’t have done that anyone could have seen us.”
Arthur groaned at the loss of contact and the absurdity as to why it occurred. He grasped her wrist and pulled her back, wrapping one arm around her slender waist and tapping his mask with his free hand.
“They wouldn’t know it was us, so what does it matter?”
Leaning in he captured her lips again, muffling her retort for a while before she broke free again.
“Can we go somewhere private anyway?”
“Mmmm I think I can arrange that,” Arthur stoked his chin as if in deep though and then suddenly wiggled his eyebrows.
“My chambers sound good?”
Gwen playfully whacked him across his chest letting out a mock huff of disgust, while her checks flushed red before bashfully half laughing and rolling her eyes. Arthur gave a deep chuckle at her reaction and kissed the top of her nose then walked out into the corridor and headed down it stopping after taking a few steps reaching out his hand to Gwen.
Gwen looked at his hand and down the corridor eyebrows raised. That was the way to his chambers.
“I’m not sure I should trust you, your intentions might not be honourable”
Arthur slammed a hand against his chest and let out a grunt.
“You’ve wounded me to my core. Not honourable, me! I’m most horrified by your opinion of me.”
Gwen laughed, shaking her head at his shenanigans and took off down the hall calling out over her shoulder.
“Drama Queen”
Arthur caught up with her in three long strides, bless her little legs, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her face close to his so he could place his lips to her temple. Gwen reached her arm up, placed her hand on top of his giving it a small squeeze, leaning into him as they walked. Arthur took his opportunity to whisper into her ear, his voice deep and low.
“You know for thinking my intentions were not honourable, I notice how you’re still heading in the direction I suggested.”
Gwen turned her head away blushing deeply, Arthur laughed, bumping his hip against hers knocking her away from him but then dragging her back with the arm slung over her shoulder.
“Why do you insist on making me blush with comments like that?” Gwen queried
“Well its fun,” Arthur said angling his head down and gently pulling Gwen’s neck upwards so that he could capture her lips in a quick chaste kiss “And you look cute when you do it.” He rubbed his nose against hers, making her scrunch it up; so that she looked like a little rabbit.
Gwen sighed in playful exasperation and smiled slightly leaning into his body while on tip toes to kiss his nose. Arthur looked back at her with a playful glint in his eyes.
“You know…” he started offhandedly “If it’s the comments that bother you I could always find another way to make you blush.” He threw her another wink and chuckled to himself as Gwen once again smacked him across his chest but then was caught completely by surprise when she stopped abruptly, lifted up again on her tippy toes pulling Arthur’s arm around her neck as she did so, so that he met her half way and kissed him full on.
When they broke apart Arthur pecked her lips a few times more before moving left and opening the door that led to the balcony.
“Don’t tell me this is where you where heading all along, what happened to the nice warm chamber idea?”
Gwen swished past him throwing him her own little wink as she walked into the night air. Arthur shook his head in amazement, little minx and followed shutting the oak door behind them. The night air was chilled, the moon and stars where shinning down brightly. There were no clouds in the night sky, so the light was coming down strong. As Arthur turned away from the closed door and faced Gwen his breath for the second time that night caught in his throat. Gwen was standing by the edge of the balcony, hands pressed against the stone of the wall. Her face was tilted up, staring at the stars so that it was bathed entirely in the strong white luminosity of the moon and twinkling stars. Her brown eyes where sparkling, reflecting the image of the moon she was staring so intensely at. Her hair moved gently in the breeze swaying around her face elegantly. Her dress was shimmering in the light, looking more spectacular and magical in this light than that of the hall. She looked like a dream. Like a Queen.
Arthur completely taken aback by the image in front of him, let his mouth slacken, gaping in awe. She turned towards him then, sensing his gaze on her. When their eyes met, she smiled a special smile that was only reserved for him and suddenly the words just came out.
“I love you.” His voice was raw and breathless, vulnerable. Gwen’s eyes widened in surprise her breath catching in her chest, heart stopping dead.
“Wwwhat?” she somehow managed to stammer out. She’d heard him, but she needed him to say it again, needed to know that it wasn’t just her dreaming again for this seemed to perfect. In truth she already knew his feelings, he’d hinted at it, implied it I’ve never loved another but never had he actually spoken the words out loud to her. They both knew that to say those words out loud in pure bluntness would seal their fate; there could be no more denying. When they where unsaid, there was always the chance she could let him go, survive if he left, despite the fact she kissed his lips, held him close. A small crack in the wall that she could slip out off; tell herself that it wasn’t true love. But this, this would seal that crack up completely. She wouldn’t be able to let him go and if fate then decided to tear them apart she would not survive it, crumbling from a broken heart.
“I love you” the words came out stronger this time. Gwen’s heart leapt. Arthur out of pure instinct moved quickly towards her bringing his arms up to cup her face in his palms and kissed her, brushing his lips against hers gently.
“I love you” he whispered against her mouth, words soft but intense, no doubt or hesitation behind them.
Gwen sighed deeply, looking up into his blue eyes that were sparkling like stars. Her heart was in her mouth, stomach fluttering wildly, heat spreading through her chest. Wasting no time she threw her arms around his shoulders; colliding their mouths in a fierce embrace, pure joy behind each movement of her lips. Arthur pulled her closer, hands dropping from her face and finding her waist instead, gripping the material hard. When they broke apart Gwen detangled one arm from around Arthur’s neck and brought her hand down to his cheek caressing it. She let the other arm stay swung over his shoulder, fingers gently playing with the hair at the base of his neck, her favourite spot.
Arthur waited, completely unsure of what she going to do next. Was she going to tell him she felt the same, or would words of steel come out? The wait was agonising, he’d never felt so exposed before in his life. She was staring at him intently, an expression on her face her could not decipher, what was she about to bring him? Happiness? Sadness? Bittersweet? Rejection? Gwen’s lips turned upwards in a bright smile and on a sigh she spoke the four words that set Arthur alight, brushing her nose against his as she did so.
“I love you too”
Arthur practical felt his heart burst from the sensation that came over him. His lips broaden so much, the muscles in his checks began to ache but he didn’t care. The world was suddenly a perfect place. Colours where brighter and smells sweeter. Had the moon always been so wonderful? Sweeping her off her feet Arthur spun her around, delighted even more when her bubbly laugh came bursting out. Then he was kissing her again, once, twice, thrice, over and over muffling her giggles and his own frivolous laughs. Frivolous laughs?? What the hell had she done to him? He felt invincible, like he could jump off the balcony and simply fly. He continued to spin them around and around until his head felt as if it would burst; he slipped her back to the floor holding her tightly to him, steadying her, she was wobbling on unsure legs. He himself was dizzy and totted back and forth tugging her with him, as they stumbled about like children.
When finally they had steadied their balance Gwen buried her face into the material of his tunic and wrapped her arms around him, kissing the place over his heart softly. Arthur breathed in the scent of her hair, which tonight was highly fragrant of forget-me-nots. Gwen slowly kissed her way up his chest, neck and all over his face, eyelids, checks, forehead, while Arthur simply bathed in the soothing sensation, till she reached his lips, brushing her own sweetly against his.
How many times their lips parted and met again in the deepest of embraces he couldn’t recall he lost count after 200 but after they were satisfied Gwen turned in his arms and looked out over the kingdom. Instinctively Arthur wrapped his arms around Gwen from behind, crossing his hands over her stomach. Gwen placed her gloved hands over Arthur’s bare ones and silently they began to sway side to side in a soft gentle movement, neither of them realising they were actually moving, both in a trance. Arthur buried his face into her neck, nuzzling it and peppering it with kisses. Gwen sighed pushing further back into the warmth of his chest, angling her neck to give him better access and humming with content.
“Happy birthday Arthur”