Camelot
The anointment event was far from successful. The message was clear; out of the 6 neighboring kingdoms, the Norgales and Cantiaci have shown their hostility towards Logress. Iceni had proved a disappointment and Gangani their ignorance.
The relation between the 7 kingdoms had not been in such dire condition for the last hundred years. In combination with the increasing attacks from the northern barbarians, it could be said Briton was currently in a state of turmoil.
Fortunately for the people of the newly established Cantiaci territories, or what used to be called Lioness, a new ray of hope had shone through. Everyday, the amount of high-ranking nobles that accepted the call to support Logress increased, the numbers had swelled more than they had expected. With this, Gwen's hard work for the past month had not been in vain.
It had been a few days since the celebration and, since then, Gwen had been fully occupied with all the follow-up meetings with the aforementioned nobles. This constant barrage of meetings effectively distracted her mind from wandering back to the night she rejected Emery. She also didn't even want to imagine what Emery was probably doing with that woman from Egypt right now.
Another day passed, Gwen's body and mind had been driven into complete exhaustion. Just as she collapsed into the seat of her study, Yvain came into the room, announcing that King Arthur had requested an audience with her.
In response, Gwen groaned and rubbed her temples. "No, Yvain… I am tired, tell the king I'll see him tomorrow."
"Your highness, I suggest that you should see him today," Yvain replied.
"What is it with you today, Yvain?" Gwen snapped, straightening herself in her seat. "Also, like I said a hundred times before, just call me Gwenneth. I am not your princess anymore."
"Alright, I will call you that if you agree to come see him right now." He bowed slightly as he said this, his expression unreadable.
Gwen found that her knight was acting very weird. She hesitantly said, "Alright Yvain, for you, I will go."
To her surprise, Yvain did not take her to the throne room or any part of the Camelot castle at all. Instead, he took her down to the streets of Camelot city.
At this point, it was already late into the night and the entire town appeared to be completely deserted.
"Where are you taking me, Yvain?" She asked, brows furrowed.
"Just a little further, princess."
They trudged onwards, the sound of their shoes clacking on the cobblestone streets echoed into the night. The cool evening breeze blew gently through her hair and she breathed it in deeply. It was nice to feel the fresh air on her face after such a tiring day. After a few more minutes of walking and enjoying the breeze, she suddenly noticed a group of people gathered surrounding a big cart that had been pushed to the center of the street.
A little boy ran gleefully away from the cart with his face split into a beaming smile, in his hand he held a cloth-covered loaf of warm bread, a steady flow of steam emanated from it, disappearing into the cool night air.
"Yvain… This…" Gwen was so shocked, so moved, she could not complete her sentence. The scene laid out in front of her now was so familiar. This was what she normally did every week in Lioness City: giving out food late at night for the poor.
Yvain smiled. "Princess, I believed you wouldn't want to miss this. I apologize for being forceful."
Gwen could feel tears brimming the corners of her eyes. She smiled at him in return. "Thank you, Yvain."
When Gwen came closer, she realized the one standing on top of the cart was no other than King Arthur himself. When Arthur caught sight of her, he immediately perked up and pointed in her direction. "Gwen! Come here, join me!"
Arthur extended his hand and Gwen laughed airily, as she ascended the cart. Together, the two gave out bread for the poor in the middle of the night.
Seeing Arthur giving out the food with so much joy, Gwen was compelled to ask, "Why are you doing this?"
Arthur answered casually with a smile. "I am a new king, this is important for my popularity."
Gwen knew Arthur was only joking. She had spent so much time with him for the past month she had come to realize she had much in common with him, they shared many similarities.
Arthur asked in return, "What about you? What's your excuse?"
For some reason, this startled Gwen. The simple question had suddenly stunned her; she thought she knew the answer, but apparently, she didn't. Why was she doing this, exactly? It wasn't for popularity, nor was for duty, as she was not a princess anymore.
There was one real reason she was doing this;: it was because it made her happy. Seeing the smile on the people's faces gave her more joy than anything in the world. It was always something she could turn to in replacement of her other happiness, her dream.
It was as if lightning had struck her. She suddenly paused, she put the loaf of bread in her hand down.
Both Arthur and Yvain looked at her, a confused look stamped on both their faces. Instinctually, Yvain stepped towards her.
She looked back at the two of them, a serious expression on her face. It was a complete contrast from the childlike glee she had felt just moments before.
"Don't follow me, Yvain."
Gwen sauntered away from the cart until her figure became a mere dot in the distance. She walked the streets of Camelot at night, without a single destination in mind. As she walked, she suddenly stumbled upon an epiphany of what she wanted to do for her life.
Her duty had never been a devotion to the kingdom or the nobles. It was about her service to the people. But then again, would she be able to sacrifice her dream for this? The image of Emery came to mind. She was devastated. Would she be happy if she stayed by his side? Or would she be happy if she left all of this behind?
As she walked forward, something in one of the street corners suddenly caught her eye. It was the little boy from earlier and she saw something that startled her.
At the sight of this, she made up her mind. Gwen turned around and dashed towards the castle; a goal had finally materialized in her mind. She silently took out her horse from the stables and galloped as quickly as she could towards Venta Town.