Page 14 of The White Knight

“I do. But first, let me tell you about my scar.” Guin guides my naked body into a steaming tub. “Arthur proposed to me only after learning I was pregnant. The guilt he had, and still has, about leading you to your death was unbearable. He needed to make it right. So he offered me his hand and offered to care for Galahad as his own son. He did not want me to suffer. I didn’t want to be his wife, but I didn’t want my child to grow up without a father. I was so conflicted. I even went to your mother and begged her to find a way for me to return home to my time. It was impossible. So I stayed and became Arthur’s queen.”

Guin goes on, filling me in on everything that has happened since I left eight years ago. As she speaks, she rinses my hair and scrubs my skin, massaging the tougher scars on my body. Her touch is soothing, relaxing, divine. I cannot recall the lastmoment of peace I had. For the past eight years, every day was a battle I fought to get back home.

“Can I trim your beard and hair?”

I nod in silence, letting Guin return to her story. How Mordred has become her nemesis, doing all he can to soil her name as well as my son’s. How Galahad is growing up to be an incredible person. That he inherited so many traits from me. I close my eyes as Guin shaves down my beard, pushing back my prideful tears. I have a son. A beautiful boy.

“Who gave him his name?” I ask.

“Me. Or really, Elnaril gave me the idea.” I look up at Guin in confusion. “Elnaril is the soul living in Excalibur. When I told Arthur that I wanted to name my son Galahad, he was overjoyed at the idea. He wanted to honor your memory by naming your son, his heir, after you.”

“Does Mordred have evidence to back up his claim?” I think back to the vicious stare I saw Mordred giving Galahad as I passed them in the training yard earlier before finding Guin. Of course, the bastard would want to spark trouble.

“No. He’s only telling the truth, describing the timing of your death compared to when Arthur returned with me and when I gave birth. He did not buy our story that Galahad was a premature baby. Galahad was a big, strong, healthy boy. And…Excalibur now lives inside him. I was terrified when it happened, worried every day of his life that it would consume him. But it’s been dormant. Elnaril talks to him though. He tells me he can speak to her as I could.”

“I could feel it. When I held you in my arms, the warmth I remember was gone. Do you miss her, uh, Elnaril?”

“Sometimes. But I have Galahad now. He is the chosen one. I was just a temporary vessel. I’ve thought a lot about why she chose me. Why she chose us. I still don’t know what he is chosen for. It absolutely terrifies me.”

Guin leans forward, placing her forehead against mine as her hand presses against my chest. My heart beats at a chaotic pace from our closeness. I want to pull her into the lukewarm water with me and kiss her lips raw. I want desperately to be inside her, to feel her heart beat with mine, to consume her body and soul. I have craved her touch for eight years. I need her touch.

My wet hands reach out to her, cradling her head. I guide her gaze to my eyes so she can see the torture brewing inside me. Guin’s breath mixes with mine as we share an agonizing sigh. The look in her eyes sends me over the edge. Just as I am about to kiss her, the door opens, and Arthur barges in. Guin does not make an attempt to back away from me. She is not afraid nor ashamed of our closeness.

“Lancelot, is it truly you?” Arthur stops and stares at my face, still covered in a mangy beard.

“Arthur, I am sorry—“

“It is a miracle.”

“I do not know about miracle. The life I thought I was returning to no longer exists,” I say, with a heaviness in my voice, trying desperately not to scream in agony.

Arthur defuses the tension inside me by offering a change of clothes. “Dry and get dressed. We have much to discuss.” It is hard to read Arthur’s face, but I know he is happy to see me. He is right though. We have much to discuss.

Chapter 9

Guinevere

I follow Arthur downstairsinto our private living area while Lance finishes his bath in my bedroom. Even though we can speak freely here, Arthur still looks around and checks the adjoining rooms to make sure there are no eavesdroppers.

When he is satisfied that we are alone, he asks me, “Did you tell him we are married?”

“Yes. And that he has a son. I wonder if it is now time to come clean to the kingdom about Galahad. We have to do something quickly to avoid the future I spoke to you of. But if the people find out you lied to them, it would be disastrous.”

“Would we have to admit our lie?” Arthur asks, his voice is soft and shy, unsure of what to do in this impossible situation.

“What do you mean?”

“Lancelot is your husband. Even though we are married too, he is still your husband in the eyes of God. I am unsure if that makes our marriage invalid. We only need to tell the people that Lancelot is alive, your first husband, returned from the dead, to spark questions about our marriage.”

“What would that mean for us, for Galahad?” Part of me doesn’t want my marriage to Arthur to be dissolved as if it was nothing. I love Arthur. I’ve built a life with him. And even though he’s not Galahad’s biological father, Arthurismy son’s father in every other way.

“I will tell the kingdom that I knew you were pregnant with Lancelot’s child and that I adopted the boy as my own, knowing I could not father my own heir.” Arthur looks confident, but his voice betrays his doubt.

Instead of remarking that the people would not accept this truth, I turn my attention to the villain in our lives. “Mordred will love that.”

“I will speak with him privately.”

“He doesn’t like me, Arthur, and he loathes Galahad. He will do everything he can to unseat Galahad as your heir and take it for himself. He is greedy and power-hungry.”

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