“Guinevere!  Oh—did I disturb you?  Do you need something?”

To those questions, Gwen let out an exasperated sigh.  Reaching with her finger to give him a little poke of the nose, she shook her head vigorously, before planting a kiss on that handsome nose.  “Nothing my love.  You’re just the most enticing furniture in this room.”

He grinned at that, bringing a much more relaxed look to her face as she caressed his neck with her lips, teasing his skin. 

“Well I don’t have to do this now if you don’t want me to.”

He breathed out, eyes half shutting with pleasure at her mouth’s fondles.

 Gwen grimaced at that answer, pulling away, and getting Arthur to push out that sad pout of his lips.  She had to fight it away from her eyes to not let it stop her from commenting on what had been building within her mind for a while now.  Reaching past him for the fallen quill she asked, “So what is your work tonight about?  Is there still that imbalance between the farmers and merchants?  I recall that before the enchantment there was that issue-

Just the word enchantment was enough to make Arthur interrupt vigorously.  “Oh, don’t worry about that Guinevere.  I can take care-

Letting out a huge sigh now and fisting one hand at her hip, while the other still wrapped around her husband’s shoulder, Gwen grimaced.

“Arthur.”

He blubbered in reaction, getting Gwen to place her palm upon his chest, fingers edging past the wide opening of his pale tunic.  It stopped him quickly as she carefully spoke.  “I am not so fragile that you have to keep anything of importance away from me.  I am more than ready to deal with the kingdom’s rule.  I want to participate in its management with you.  And further on that note, daily breakfast in bed is such a lovely luxury, but I’ve grown far past its need.  Nor do I require sleep that lasts way past sun’s rise.”  As his expression grew pensive and uncertain, she ran her fingers gently across his cheek.  “I appreciate you pampering me so well, but enough my husband.  Enough.”

“A-h-h-h…”  He let out slowly, encircling her waist with his large hands.  “You’ve been through a great ordeal.  I wanted to spare you from any more strife.”

It was true.  Morgana’s capture of her was horrific, along with that the death of her brother, and the puppet actions she was forced to make while under the awful enchantment.  However, Gwen had never considered herself someone who could not deal with the truth, even when it was a tragic one.  She had enough of the sheltering and desired life to go back to normal as much as was possible.  “I know that and for such thoughtfulness I am appreciative husband.  So much time has passed though.”

“Guinevere-

Arthur started to butt through, but even more forcefully, although with a quiet voice, Gwen intercepted.  Her hand lowering further inside his tunic, she pressed her fingers over his chest.  “Arthur, your attentions are always so dear to me, but I don’t want to be coddled.  You told me when we married that you knew I would be no idle queen, that we would rule together.  That cannot change just because of what happened with Morgana.”

Arthur looked up into his wife’s eyes, stating truthfully, “Your brother died Guinevere.  She took away your mental faculty.  You were in pain and I-

“You what, Arthur?”  Gwen asked, lines of her forehead furrowing with concern.

“I should have known.”  Arthur whispered with hard edges of rawness.  “How could I bring you back and not realize what Morgana had done?  Why didn’t I see it?”

So that was it, Gwen concluded now with understanding and tenderness.  This was why Arthur kept treating her as if she was terribly fragile.  “Arthur, I wasn’t even aware.”

He shook his head strongly.  “No, you don’t get it.  You’re my wife and she twisted your will so much, played with it so strongly, that you hated me.  When you woke, it was like I was everything you loathed.  Yet Guinevere we…”  He sighed heavily, gesturing toward their bed.  “We engaged in marriage acts.  We…were together like we normally are, without separation, and yet you were in conflict then.  I just hope I didn’t hurt you.  I feel like I was taking advantage, not that I knew it, but—

His head lowered with frustration, however, now Gwen got it fully.  She lifted her husband’s chin, getting those beautiful sky blue eyes to look into hers.  “I don’t think you were Arthur.”  She whispered softly.  “I do not remember everything about that time.  The memories are in blurry shadows, but some bits I do recall, and I feel…”  She pressed her hand to her chest.  “I feel my heart was battling what she wanted me to do.  You know with Tyr and…”

Her voice growing emotional, Arthur’s hand joined hers over her heart.  “That was not you.”

Gwen sighed, nodding her head.  “I know.  I know that inside me that was something I would never do of my own will.  I know that Arthur.  I just also know that I would never want to hurt you, and that I could never truly loathe the man I married.  Arthur Pendragon you are who I love with all my heart.  I’ve always given that to you.  There was no advantage taken.  It has never brought me pain to engage in acts of love with you.  To be together with you.  No enchantment could fully change that.  Deep inside Arthur, I have to believe, I have to feel, nothing changed.  You were still my husband.  And I would never want to hurt you.  Never my Love.”

Arthur’s hands pulled in hard now, bringing his wife close against his chest and shoulder.  He hugged her fiercely, letting out a ragged sigh.  Gwen knew why.  He had expressed it right after the enchantment was lifted.  He had truly feared for some time during the trek to the lake that maybe she was lost to him forever.  That had terrified him.   

For long moments no words had to be spoken.  There was no oddness in being so near.  Years of squelching true happiness for reasons of his heritage and such, and then finally years of being happily united, they had been through much apart and together.  Morgana had underestimated sorely their bond.

The hold continued for some time, and when it lessened, Arthur’s hand ran over his wife’s nightgown, pressing against the material that covered her thigh.  Gwen could feel his kiss linger above, past and to her neck.  Her fingers clasped him close.  “I’ve missed this too.”

“What?”  He asked, fingering her chin and lip idly. 

“Your passion.  The veracity of it.  So absent since I’ve been back.  Oh don’t misunderstand me.  You’ve given your love with joy and gentleness, but it’s almost as if the tenderness has been a little too much.  I will not break Arthur.”

He smiled meaningfully.  “I know that.  I think I know that anyway, deep inside.  Just finding out the total of what Morgana did was a shock.  And I still feel guilty for not realizing it right away.  If I had, I could have helped you avoid so much pai-

“Arthur.”  Gwen rubbed his shoulder with one hand, his chest with the other, feeling his fingers continuing to stroke her thigh through the nightgown’s material.  “It does not do either of us any good to lament what was lost.  We have to move forward.”

His lips found hers, with another growing smile, as he whispered.  “You’re right.  Like you usually are.  Wise woman.”

She let out a sigh of happiness as his passions let out just a bit more now.  Not fully like it was before, but they were awakening again, and finally he was allowing it to build without hard blocks of protests.

Progress.

***

Daylight wafted into the room along with the warm scents of sweet and savory aroma.  Giving an upward stretch of arm, Arthur let out a waking sound.  As his eyes gained focus, the blues took in all that was surrounding.  On the table was a tray and a pitcher, while at the other side of the bed, was another carefully placed tray, the pitcher steaming with hot drink and the trays piled with smoke lifting food.  He smiled with wonder at it all, asking wryly, since he had never shown such amazing talent before, “Merlin?” 

Or generosity.  Or knack of brain’s activity.  Or adeptness at his job.  Or-

“Merlin?”  His wife asked with her fists at her nightgown’s sheer cover-up.  “If that is who you are thinking about Husband when first waking then you and I need to have a talk.”

Letting out a surprised but happy chuckle, Arthur grinned now as his wife slid away her cover-up, revealing her fine feminine curves that the dusty white floral embellished nightgown revealed.  She always looked so beautiful in it.  Sexy.

“I was having a nightmare…” he told her with a fearful pout, hamming it up for her benefit.

Her eyes sparked with wicked amusement, even as she kept up an authoritative tone.  “Valid response.”

“Knew I could redeem myself.”  He muttered softly. 

“Wise kings must always know how to do so”, Gwen told him with smirking firmness, before gesturing for her husband to sit up more.  As he did, she fixed the pillows behind his head to keep him comfortable.

Arthur was still touched by surprise as he felt her hands come over his shoulders to assure he was sitting up properly.  “Don’t know what I did to deserve all this.”

Gwen lifted the feet of one of the trays over his chest and stomach, letting it form a bridge on the bed.  Taking one of the plates too, she placed it on top and reached for the pitcher to pour him some Dancha she had just freshly made. 

“As she handed him the hot drink Gwen gave a gentle shrug.  “Well you’ve been serving breakfast to me for nearly a week now.  I thought it was high time I return the favor, even if I am well aware it was not really you cooking the breakfast, but Merlin.”  She stated soberly.

Seeing her calescent colored eyes regarding him sharply now, Arthur stuttered a bit in response.  “Well, I meant well.  Er, you know, I don’t think the women in the kitchen would take too kindly to me blundering things up in there.”

With a wink, Gwen laughed now, nodding her head as she made herself comfortable at her husband’s side, sitting up higher in the bed so that her shoulder was lined with his head.  “Agreed.  That would have been quite the spectacle.  As I used to work in there not too long ago, they were much more accommodating to my being there.  It was fun too getting to use the stoves again, haven’t done that in quite a while.”

Arthur smiled warmly at his wife as he took a bite of his bread and then hot sausage.  Getting it all chewed down, then wiping at his mouth with a napkin cloth, he told her, “You never minded it much then, did you?”

Gwen shook her head easily.  “No.  Work is work.  Doesn’t matter what you do.  It’s all important, keeps a kingdom running.  I never felt any shame or wanting for something else.  As I don’t mind now being Queen.  Actually I love it.”

He lifted his hand up to her cheek, whispering, “One of the finest queens Camelot has ever known.  You took to the position like it was always yours.  As I knew you would.  People love you.  Rich and poor alike.  As I love you too.”  He whispered even more softly, the tea he drank edged sweetly upon his lips as he kissed hers with currents of feeling. 

Gwen smiled down at him, touching his chin, before tracing his mouth with two of her fingers.  “Well I am just happy to be back to my normal duty.  You are no longer treating me as delicately as you were a week ago.  As much it was appreciated Husband, Camelot needs to have a truly functioning queen.  So I thank you for coddling me no more.”

He nodded his head, feeling the sweet caress of her fingers, before she dropped them away to allow him to eat more of his food before it grew cold.  Nights ago it was she told him with care how she wanted to be included upon matters of state. 

So just recently they had conducted several meetings with the merchants and farmers to relieve the imbalance.  Also she was visiting separately too with each to make sure that the new regulations were being upheld.  So far all was well, but there was talk about some bandit uprisings on the eastern border and there was of course always the concern that Morgana would threaten again. 

Honestly it was quite a relief, felt right to have Guinevere’s consultation on all these matters and to have her fully returning to the actions of a queen.

After all, beyond sweet love, he married her because he knew she would be able to govern Camelot well. 

That all taken care of, there was another matter at the moment bothering Arthur, a much more personal one, and maybe even quite silly, but it was getting his brow to furrow all the same.

“What is it Husband?”

He was shaking his head again as his wife was turned away from him, busy doing something that he couldn’t quite see while he searched with confused blue eyes.

“The cream?  Where is the cream for the bread?”

“Oh this?  Do you mean?”  Now finally she had turned around, and as she did Arthur nearly choked on his Dancha.  Slowly he put down the cup on the tray, and that atop the table, the cup wobbling precariously as all his attention was focused on the cream…which was layered like frosting over naked skin.

His wife’s.  Her brea-

“Oh sweet Camelot.”

She smiled smugly at that, handing him a knife with a teasing lilt to her voice.  “Careful.  They’re delicate.”  She instructed.

Arthur shook his head hard, throwing the knife down to the floor.  “I think I have a better way.”

“Oh I was hoping so.”  She whispered sultrily. 

“Don’t forget your bread.”  She handed him the bar of it, which he also threw carelessly to the floor. 

“What bread?”  He asked, hungrily taking his wife in and commencing to straddle her waist.

Gwen sat still against the bed’s board, her nightgown shrugged down from her shoulders, revealing the upper half of her womanly constitution and all that previously missing cream.

It was spread around her breasts and tipped at each nipple, all for him to-

Enough.  He lunged like a fighter would, before fiercely gaining hold of his wife’s curls of hair to keep himself in place as his mouth-

“Oh Arthur.”  Gwen tangled her fingers into his golden blonde hairs, getting him to hiss with reaction even as his tongue lathed up the sweet breakfast dessert.  “Careful.  I’m fragile.”  She was half joking, half serious.

And Arthur knew why.  So he lifted his head now, vanilla cream framing his red lips, and messily falling down to his chin too, telling her firmly and with a man’s emotion.  “Not so fragile that I could hurt you.  For I know you love when I do this.”  He put his hand down to her breast, caressing, before tightening his fingers around to give a tiny little squeeze of cream and…

“And this.”  His mouth hungrily slipped over her creamy skin, before giving a harder suck of enjoyment.

As he looked up to prove his point, he saw the rapture upon his wife’s face. 

She brought his head close to hers, telling him fervently.  “I’ve missed this.  I’ve missed you like this.”

“I felt guilty.”  He whispered with truthfulness.  “You weren’t totally aware and I…and you…and…I didn’t want to hurt you more.”

“Oh Arthur.”  Gwen whispered gently, caressing her husband’s cheek.  “You didn’t hurt me then.  I told you the memories are blurry, but some are more freshly there, and of the recalls I have of that time, gillyflowers and being in bed with you, none of the recalls are painful.  With all my heart, Arthur.”  She brought his hand to exactly where her heart beat, feeling him stroke the area with emotion.  “No spell, nothing, could ever completely take that away.  Never.  I love you more than anything.  I love your strength, your gentleness, your conviction, your kindness…and oh…your passion.  Not just on the battlefield and within the court, but the kind you show only me.”

They kissed, mouths hungrily finding and delving against and into each other, a river of feeling all inside and out.  Then she lay back entirely and stretched her arms out, her eyes lifting and closing as he kissed and sucked away the rest of the cream.  Feeling her just about ready, he parted her thighs, his mouth enjoying all the hot sweetness there too.  He got her to twist and turn underneath him with hot anticipation, to release her throaty moans, and have to bite away cries of pleasure, before he teased her with the hard drive of his manhood.  Needless to say, gentle and fragile talk was now all forgotten.

Ardor flowed heavily through them as they loved each other equally and excitedly.  She stroked him and tongued all over his skin just like he had her breasts and elsewhere.  The bed rocked and rolled with their happy shudders and fervent grasps of each other.  Morning sun fully came in as fully they came together.  Loving and loved.  Showered in sweat and heat of passion.

…

And when their breaths were finally finding some semblance of normal again, and their bodies were starting to cool as they lay for a few precious moments underneath the blankets together, before they would have to get up for their busy day, Arthur whispered against his wife’s neck and chin, his head within that sweet protective crook, “It was just like this.  Here in our bed.  Even when you were under the spell.  I swear Guinevere.  My love, my wife.  Nothing felt different.”

She kissed his cheek, whispering back, “I told you.  That one thing, that part of me, and you, no one can change that.  No one can put a spell upon our hearts.  Not entirely.  Never.”

“Mmmm…”  He murmured, holding her close, knowing they’d have to get up soon, but for now… “Our hearts will always know each other.  Yes. 

And by the way…

best cream I ever ate.”