Short Story

"Come in, Fredrick," she said, rising with weary bones and straightening her gown without looking at him when the door creaked open, the revelry outside following him in. She scooped up the cloth used to dry her tears and went to the hearth. Her face was swollen from sleeping, her eyes bloodshot from weeping. She was a mess and she kept her back to him as she poured liquid into a bowl and splashed her face with water cupped in her hands. The water was invigorating and brought another moan as she cooled her skin and soothed her burning eyes. "The Rising Sun might do well for dinner tonight," she said, unabashed in front of Fredrick. They'd spent hard times together in the wild, so what was this amongst comrades-in-arms. "It's likely …show more content…

It would have ended some of my suffering whether you had found the bracelet or not." "I tried to convince you to come back." She squared her shoulders and bored bloodshot daggers into him. "Would you have told me if I had?" He waited too long to answer and Gwen twirled away, one hand going to her temple and the other to kneed the gnaw in her stomach. "The war," he finally croaked, as if that was the answer to everything. "So much was at stake. We both knew the kingdom was on the brink of invasion and Arthur was already distracted." She turned her body at an angle instead of facing him head-on, her lips tight and chin jutted out. "Mithian." "One of his bad decisions during your absence," Merlin admitted. "He wasn't himself, Gwen. Some things fell back into place when he found your ring." Gwen shuttered. "Arthur found my ring," she asked softly, her skin tingling. "He kept it in his desk, but I think it's been lost since the battle. Gwen, he was so distraught when he first found it. I think he must have thought the worst." "I thought I'd lost it or that Morgana had taken it," she breathed, her voice shaky, disbelieving. "He missed you so, Gwen. He knew then, that he needed to find you." Gwen scoffed. "He was still angry with me in Ealdor. He said some hurtful things to me." "'A broken heart takes time to mend.'" "And time is what I need, Merlin," she huffed. "Have you said what you came to say?" "No. Not quite." Merlin reached into his pocket and