by K. M. Shea
Britt glanced to Guinevere. The princess still stared at her pewter plate, listlessly pushing food across its surface.
Britt took another bite of her roasted boar. Tomorrow they would leave. After tomorrow King Leodegrance and Guinevere would no longer be her problem. They would be out of sight and out of Britt’s mind.
Britt vowed it again as she watched Guinevere wanly smile at her mother. The girl may be heartbroken, but Britt had done what she could. Knowing as she did about Lancelot and Guinevere, Britt would be crazy to take the girl back to Camelot.
“I do wish you would stay longer. Can Camelot not spare you?” King Leodegrance wheedled the following morning.
“No, I have been away from home far too long as it is,” Britt said, patting Llamrei when the mare tossed her head. Britt’s knights were in a formation behind her, standing just outside of Camelgrance.
“We thank you for hosting us, although next time perhaps you should be sharper with your enemies, hm?” Merlin said, as close to a chiding as he would ever give a dignitary. (Not including Britt, of course.)
“I’m growing old, Merlin. I would like to see my line secured through grandchildren,” King Leodegrance said, giving Guinevere a significant look. “Although heaven only knows there are but a few men who are worthy of her.”
Guinevere stood next to her mother, her arms tucked behind her back. She hadn’t so much as looked at Britt since Britt shooed her out of her room the previous night. “Oh,” Britt said.
“What?” Merlin asked through a clenched smile as King Leodegrance continued to moan over his daughter’s marriage prospects.
“I have to talk to you about something. There was an incident last night,” Britt said.
“An incident? You didn’t kill Lancelot so it can’t be that bad,” Merlin said.
“No, but it might be worse. I suspect you’re going to chain me to my throne when we return to Camelot.”
“You don’t enjoy peace, do you?”
“My Lord, if I may interrupt? We really ought to leave,” Sir Kay said.
“Right, thank you again, King Leodegrance, for your hospitality. Take care, my friend,” Britt said before wheeling Llamrei around. Merlin did the same with his horse, and the knights of Camelot set out, their mounts moving at a swift walk.
The residents of Camelgrance cheered at their departure. The farmers who had returned to their lands now that the siege was over raised their tools over their heads in bravos.
Britt smiled and waved, ignoring the clenching of her gut as they rode further and further away. They just reached the forest when Britt pulled Llamrei to a halt. “Dang it. Merlin I can’t do it.”
“Can’t do what?” Merlin asked as their companions also stopped.
“I can’t leave Guinevere at Camelgrance.”
“I thought you hated her?”
“I do. She’s a thoughtless, silly brat, but I can’t expect my knights to go about saving maidens when I refuse to do the same,” Britt sighed. “Plus I want my Round Table.”
“Still? As hideous as it is?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, let us go back and tell her father. Do not agree to marry her though,” Merlin warned before holding a hand out to King Pellinore.
“Hurrah for King Arthur,” Ywain cheered.
“My treatment of the lady is hardly something to be cheered,” Britt said.
“Quite contrary, it is remarkable. Most would be glad to see those they scorn in pain,” Gawain said.
“I’ve said it before, but I suspect I shall be saying this for the rest of my life: you think too highly of me. Merlin what are you doing?” Britt asked as King Pellinore placed a handful of coins on Merlin’s palm.
“Just settling a bit of a bet,” Merlin said, jingling the coins with satisfaction.
King Pellinore smiled widely at Britt. “No one could mistake your disdain for the lady. I thought for sure you would leave her behind. But Merlin knows you better it would seem. You’re a good man, Arthur. Lead on.”
“All of you stay here. I don’t want Leodegrance dragging us back in his castle in his joy. We won’t be but a few moments, come along, Arthur,” Merlin said, already riding back to Camelgrance.
Soldiers were still standing at attention, and the people were still cheering when Britt returned. “Are you staying longer after all?” King Leodegrance eagerly asked.
“No,” Britt said, dismounting her mare. “If you will excuse my bluntness, but I ask that you would—sometime soon—send Guinevere to live at Camelot.”
King Leodegrance’s face lit up and Britt quickly added, “I do not intend to marry her. Indeed I will not marry… until I see all of Britain united,” Britt said. She paused to smile at Merlin, proud of her quick thinking.
Merlin nodded in concession and motioned for her to continue.
“Yes, so I will not marry for many years, if at all. But I have several nephews, princes all of them, who will one day wish to marry. I desire to expose them to women of high birth and noble blood so they may choose carefully,” Britt said.
King Leodegrance was thoughtful. “Princes, you say?”
“Yes. Sir Ywain—the heir of King Urien—and Gawain and his brothers—the sons of King Lot,” Britt said.
“Lancelot du Lac and his cousins Lionel and Bors are also staying at Camelot, and they are the sons of King Ban and King Bors,” Merlin added, ignoring the glare Britt shot at him.
“Really?” King Leodegrance asked, rubbing his hands with greed. “And aren’t King Ban and King Bors rulers across the sea?”
“They are,” Britt reluctantly said.
King Leodegrance nodded several times before he smiled. “Guinevere would be delighted to join your courts, My Lord. I will send her with an escort of men as soon as she is prepared”
“And the Round Table?” Britt asked.
“Will come with her as a token of our alliance,” King Leodegrance said.
Everyone, most of all Britt, was shocked when Guinevere released a shriek of joy. “Thank you, Arthur. Thank you,” she said, throwing herself at Britt.
The fiery haired girl wept into Britt’s double, alarming Merlin but affirming to Britt that she had made the right choice.
Every girl deserved to be saved, not just the ones Britt thought to be worthy.
“There, there,” Britt said, patting Guinevere’s head. “I would be honored to act as your guardian during your stay at Camelot.”
“Should you change your mind and wish to marry her yourself, Arthur,” King Leodegrance started.
“Not until Britain is united,” Britt firmly said.
“Yes, I see. Very well then. Safe travels. Come, Guinevere. Stop crying and let go of His Majesty,” Leodegrance ordered.
Guinevere stepped back but smiled and wildly waved through her tears as Britt remounted Llamrei and once again headed for the woods.
“Arthur,” Merlin tightly said.
“Hm?”
“You need to be more careful about who you allow to be so close to you as to touch you,” Merlin said, his voice sharp and delicate like thin ice.
“It doesn’t matter. Guinevere knows.”
“SHE WHAT?”
Britt yawned in the afternoon sun. She tilted her back, nestling further into the large haystack she was hiding behind. She had returned to Camelot a week before. Merlin had just finally forgiven her for revealing her gender to Guinevere, releasing her from her kingly duties for the first time since her homecoming.
Britt heard her guards shift around her. Cavall, who was splayed out next to her, bumped her legs as he stood. “What is it?” she called.
“Merlin approaches, Milord,” the captain of her guard said.
Britt grimaced and opened her eyes. “Can’t you detain him?”
“We’ve seen too much of the magic he can do for me to attempt that, Milord.”
“Very well,” Britt grumbled. “Merlin, what brings you outside of Camelot’s walls?” Britt asked when the wizar
d drew near.
Merlin squinted up at the sunlight. “Lancelot is looking for you,” he said, patting Cavall on the head.
“I know.”
“He intends to pledge his loyalty to you.”
“Why do you think I’m hiding out in the farmland?” Britt asked.
Merlin chuckled and plopped down next to Britt, also leaning into the hay. “Scat,” he said to Britt’s guards.
The soldiers saluted him before walking out of hearing distance—although they still stood at attention with their weapons bared.
“It might not be as bad as you think.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
Merlin picked up a piece of straw and prodded Cavall with it when the massive dog settled back down on the ground. “Maybe… but both Ywain and Griflet have shaved.”
“What?”
“Tis true. They no longer sport those hideous, scraggily patches of facial hair they tried to pass off as beards,” Merlin reported.
“But why?”
“It seems the ladies of Camelot coo over Lancelot, and it has spawned some jealousy.”
“Merlin, no!” Britt said.
“It is out of my control.”
“But it can’t be!”
“Too late. It seems like your fashion icon has arrived.
“No, not Lancelot. Anyone but him,” Britt groaned.
Merlin laughed in deviant delight. “You must admit, he will make clean shaven faces all the rage.”
“The price is too high,” Britt grumbled, nestling further into the hay bale.
Merlin was silent for several moments before saying, “I’ve received word from Leodegrance. In two weeks time Guinevere will set out for Camelot.”
“Goodie. Sir Ulfius will arrange a room for her?” Britt asked.
“Yes. You do realize that in spite of your claim that you will not marry until Britain is united everyone—from your allies to your knights—thinks you mean to marry her?”
“If they do that is their problem,” Britt said.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not if it keeps the other ladies of my court from batting their eyes at me,” Britt said. “It’s not like Guinevere is going to have false expectations.”
“No thanks to you,” Merlin grunted.
“It will still work out,” Britt said.
“Only if she is able to keep her mouth shut. Most ladies are dreadful gossips you know. They twitter like birds in springtime at all hours of the day. Women are pests.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh come now, you hardly count.”
“What?” Britt said, sitting upright.
“Not that I see you as a man—you are too clean for that, even if we ignore the fact that you insist on smelling like flowers,” Merlin said in disgust.
“Then what exactly do you see me as?” Britt demanded.
“Genderless?” Merlin tried.
Britt’s elbow to his gut told him he guessed wrong.
“See, you do things like that and wonder why I don’t see you as being quite female,” Merlin wheezed.
Britt folded her arms across her chest and shut her eyes as she leaned back into the hay, ignoring the wizard.
“Arthur.”
Britt did not stir.
“Arthur.”
“…”
“Britt?”
Britt turned her head to the side and swatted a bug away from her face. Her eyes flew open when Merlin grasped her chin.
“I will admit defeat. Were you clothed like a lass and kitted up you would be the most beautiful woman in England,” Merlin said, his eyes held Britt’s like hypnotic magnets. There was something in his expression that Britt hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t love—Britt shuddered to picture what love would look like on the young wizard—but there was honesty and truthfulness mixed with some kind of affection in his eyes.
Britt smiled as Merlin’s hand slid along her jaw line. “It’s not like you to exaggerate,” she said.
“You still don’t know how powerful your smiles are, do you?”
“My what?”
“Nothing,” Merlin said, removing his hand from her face like she was a hot coal. “Enjoy your doze. When you come in for dinner you will have to accept Lancelot’s oath of loyalty.”
“Must I?”
“You must.”
Britt grumbled as Merlin lurched forward. “Wait, you aren’t going to stay with me?”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“Do you have work to do?”
“Nothing dreadfully important. What, did another lass find out your secret?”
“No, we just haven’t talked much since, well, I suppose since the plague of Lancelot descended upon us.”
“You’re right, but I was told you were up all last night pacing. You should sleep while you can,” Merlin said.
“That’s true,” Britt said, muffling a yawn with her hand.
Merlin shook his head and settled back into the hay. “I will stay until you sleep,” he decided.
“Thank you, I appreciate the company.”
“All you appreciate is my presence and the fact that it means your guards will stand more than a horse’s length from you.”
“That too.”
Merlin laughed. “Pleasant dreams, lass.”
Britt murmured a reply before she took another deep breath and shut her eyes.
Next to her Merlin tapped two pieces of straw together as he looked out at the farmland surrounding Camelot.
At the midnight watch Lancelot stood on a castle wall, staring intently at the bright spot of wall across Camelot. He could see King Arthur on the castle walkway—his guards standing at attention. The young king was practicing with his famed sword, which glimmered in the moonlight.
Lancelot’s green eyes traced King Arthur’s movements as he thoughtfully rested his hand on the pommel of his sword. “He does this every night?” Lancelot asked his cousins, never removing his gaze from the king.
“Just about, according to what the servants say,” Lionel said.
“He’s a popular one,” Bors, Lancelot’s younger cousin, said as he cleaned his fingernails with a dagger. “Could hardly get anyone to shut up about him whilst you were gone.”
“He is unlike anyone I’ve met before,” Lancelot said, tapping his sword and narrowing his eyes.
“So?”
“I do not think of that as a good thing,” Lancelot said, finally dragging his eyes away from the young monarch.
Lionel shrugged. “Mayhap you are over thinking him. He’s a ruddy saint if half the reports of him are correct.”
“That may be so, but I’ve never had much use for saints,” Lancelot said.
“So why did you pledge yourself to him then?” Bors asked.
“For the adventure. Things are changing because of him. I would rather be around when there’s a good fight to be had than to miss it by being stuffed back in a tower at home,” Lancelot said.
“Ah, your father called you back home, then?”
“Yes. But he won’t complain if I tell him I am staying at Camelot. Besides, I’m an opportunist. It will be interesting to see what I can make of young Arthur,” Lancelot said, his smile slanted mockingly.
“Step carefully, cousin,” Bors warned. “He has powerful allies.”
“Aren’t you just miffed he is even more popular with the ladies than you?” Lionel laughed.
Lancelot gave him a withering glare.
“Just saying,” Lionel shrugged.
“Whatever the reason, I will stand with Arthur. For now,” Lancelot decided, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.
“We’ll stand with you then,” Lionel said.
“Bors?” Lancelot asked in the silence.
“He’s a good man,” Bors finally said.
Lancelot chuckled and looked back at the pacing figure. “We shall see about that.”
Of Lancelot and Guinevere
The main problem I faced in Embittered, whi
ch actually started in Enchanted, was figuring out how to introduce Lancelot to Britt and my readers. Lancelot has appeared in every book—he’s the knight Britt runs into when she first retrieves the sword and is running back to the tournament, you can go back and read it and see that he is dressed in his colors and his dapple grey horse is with him, and he and his cousins are the knights Britt encounters in the woods when she is on her way to visit the Lady of the Lake. However, officially introducing him with his name was tricky.
There is very little information in the early Arthur stories about Lancelot’s arrival at court. Usually it’s never mentioned when he arrives, although his name pops up typically whenever Guinevere makes her entrance. In fact, in many stories Lancelot arrives with Guinevere. His name is first revealed as one of the knights sent to fetch Guinevere when she is brought to Camelot to marry Arthur. This gave me a free rein for my creativity in bringing Lancelot in to Britt’s life, but the timing had to be right.
There is more information on Guinevere’s arrival at Camelot. In some of the stories she first meets Arthur when he’s on his way to fight the Sable Knight, aka King Pellinore, so I tucked that story in Enchanted. However, in most legends the audience doesn’t get to see Arthur meet Guinevere. Instead Arthur is pressed to find a wife and he talks about how he admires Guinevere and would like to marry her.
Before he marries her, Arthur always saves her father, King Leodegrance, from various enemies, usually King Ryence. I decided to use Maleagent in order to introduce him to the readers, because in future books he will be returning.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle is one of the few “modern” (I use that term loosely as the book was written a century ago) books that expands on the enemies Arthur saves King Leodegrance from.
The one thing that almost all the stories agree on is that King Leodegrance owned the Round Table, and he gave it to Arthur as a marriage gift because then he didn’t have to send a dowry with Guinevere. (Usually her dowry is lands, but sometimes its money.) I was shocked when I read of King Leodegrance’s greed in multiple stories. The sad thing is that no one else seems to see how horrible that is. Some stories even say Leodegrance was thrilled to marry Guinevere off to Arthur because he didn’t have to lose money over the marriage, not because Arthur was a great King and a good man.
