Change of Plans

“Gwaine!” Arthur violently shook Gwaine awake. “Get up, Gwaine!”
Gwaine opened one eye and looked up at Arthur. He groaned and rolled on his side so that his back was to Arthur. He must have been a sleep for a while, but he was still so tired. Knowing Arthur he probably just wanted Gwaine to do pointless guard checks again. Every day Arthur sent one of the Knights to each guard post and complete a routine check. Just to make sure everything was secure. King Uther was still paranoid about the Masked Man returning so he kept everyone on high alert.
“I am serious, get up!” Arthur yelled one last time.
“Alright, alright.” Gwaine slowly sat up in the bed and smiled contently at Arthur. “What can I do for you, Sire?”
“Percival has gone and gotten himself sick according to Gaius over here. So now we have no one to guard the South hall. Therefore I am officially putting you on guard duty.” Arthur explained to Gwaine.
“Guard duty? But I am still in training.”
“Well I am officially declaring you trained.” Arthur said as he turned to leave.
“Can you do that?” Gwaine asked as he hopped out of bed and put his boots on.
“Um, hello… Prince.” Arthur replied drawing a circle in the air around his face. “Now lets go! My father will kill us both if anything happens to Morgana because there is no one to guard her chambers.
Gwaine stopped mid stride and looked over at Gaius. They exchanged worried looks as Arthur dragged Gwaine out of the room. Gwaine knew that Morgana would not be pleased to see him guarding her chambers. It was pretty safe to say that Morgana was probably still really upset with Gwaine. If she saw him guarding her chambers it might just make things worse.
“Arthur, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Why? You don’t think you can handle guarding a door?” Arthur replied.
“Good.” Arthur smiled. “Then there should be no problems.”
As the two of them made their way towards Morgana’s chambers Gwaine sighed, knowing that he would just have to suck it up, and accept whatever might happen because of it. Once they reached the South Hall Arthur patted Gwaine on the back and thanked him. Then Arthur turned and made his way to the Great Hall where he was to have a meeting with the King.
The hall grew dark as the sun went down. The noises of people moving about the castle began to fade with each hour Gwaine stood guard outside Morgana’s door. Curiously Gwaine looked at the door and wondered what Morgana might be doing in there. Probably brushing her hair or primping herself. A lady of high stature such as Morgana’s must never look worn out or tired. Gwaine thought to himself as he imagined her in the long purple dress she had worn the first time he had seen her.
That day felt like it was so far way and so long ago, but as Gwaine slid down and took a seat on the floor across from the door he realized it had only been a couple of months ago. So much had changed since that day. On that day Gwaine was still just a drunken man with no real purpose or ambitions. Each day started and ended in a tavern and countless hours were wasted in fights with men who could barely stand up. Then just a few months later everything was different. He was a knight, working hard to honor his father, and no matter what happened between him and Morgana she would always be the person responsible for giving Gwaine something to hope for.
“Working hard I see…” Arthur joking said as he made his way down the hall to Gwaine.
“It’s tough work, this being a Knight thing.” Gwaine chuckled and stood back up.
“You must be exhausted. Staring at a wooden door all day, oh I don’t know how you do it!” Arthur remarked sarcastically. “You weren’t off daydreaming about leaving the Knights to become a tavern hopper agian, right?” Arthur continued to joke.
“Well…” Gwaine smirked. “I mean this is way more than I bargained for. I haven’t been able to have a drink all day!”
“Then I guess it is a good thing I brought this…” Arthur tossed and apple at Gwaine. “It isn’t a jug of mead, but I thought you might enjoy it.”
Gwaine’s eyes grew bright as he caught the juice treat.
“Be sure to enjoy it. The kitchen staff just told me that is the last apple left in Camelot. Apparently there was a fire or something that burnt down of the apple trees in the land.” Arthur shook his head disapprovingly to add the effect of his story.
“What! No more apples!” Gwaine hollered causing him to spew bits of juice from the apple. “Ok, that’s it, I quit! First you tell me I can’t have a drink and then you tell me there are no apples left in Camelot! What kind of a kingdom are you running, Arthur?”
Arthur shrugged as the two of them laughed. Arthur was a good leader, even though he did not always think so. He saw everyone as equals and believed that everyone should be given a fair shot. He was the reason people believed so strongly in Camelot. The people believed in him and the future he would led them too. His believes about equality and truth did not just apply to his subjects, but everyone in his life. Arthur took the time to truly get to know each and every one of his Knights, and Gwaine was no exception. Gwaine did not know what it was like for his father back when he was a Knight, but Gwaine was sure that his father did not receive the same kindness from his leader that Arthur shows to his men.
Eventually Arthur and Gwaine stopped laughing and stood quietly. Then Arthur cleared his throat, obviously preparing to say something serious.
“The kitchen staff didn’t say anything about a shortage of apples, but they did mention something about seeing Morgana sneaking out of her room at night.” Arthur stopped for a moment and looked around the hall to be sure on one else was listening. “For our entire lives Morgana has always been a bit of a mistfive maker, so it did not surprise me to hear she was sneaking out. She is watched like a hawk and kept under lock and key for most of the day. I do not blame her for wanting to break free.”
Arthur looked at the oversized door and shook his head at what was more like a prison cell of a room. Arthur thought Uther was being too strict with Morgana. Just because she was a woman Uther kept her under surveillance every moment of the day. Since the incident in the market with the Masked Man, Morgana was barely ever allowed to leave her room. Arthur knew if Uther continued to keep Morgana under house arrest eventually something would happen and Morgana would lash out.
“Gwaine, one cook told me that he saw Morgana sneak out to the court yard a few weeks ago. Then a serving boy confirmed that just a short time after that she was seen sneaking out of her room again and spotted slipping into an alcove just down the hall. Only to emerge and run back into her chambers a few moments later.” Arthur explained.
Gwaine bit down on his apple slowly as Arthur explained how Morgana had been seen going into the court yard. Right away Gwaine knew that Arthur was talking about the night he and Morgana spent talking. The night Gwaine had given Morgana the tiny white flower. As Arthur proceeded to tell Gwaine about Morgana being spotted going into the alcove Gwaine’s pulse began to race. Surely if the person saw Morgana leave her room and saw her enter the alcove they must have seen Gwaine with her. Yet, Arthur never mentioned anything about Gwaine. In both instances Gwaine had been with Morgana, but for some reason the serving boy and the cook did not tell Arthur about it.
“If I could I would convince my father to give Morgana more freedom, but he refuses to listen to me. He is so worried something might happen to her. So I need you to keep an eye on her tonight, and make sure she does not leave her chambers. If she keeps sneaking out like this something is bound to happen to her. I won’t be able to help her if I did not know she was gone.” Arthur looked Gwaine in the eye, expressing the importance of the task he just assigned Gwaine.