Guin Veridian

Diane led Vivian and Guin to a quiet spot along the creek, where the stream meandered across a bed of rocks and disappeared into a cavern below a grassy knoll. Emily followed closely along with a fresh set of handkerchiefs, motioning to Diane to take them.

“Em, how many times do I have to say I’m fine?” Diane laughed, “See? The bleeding’s almost stopped.”

“My apologies, Lady Astral.”

“She’s just worried about you,” Vivian said.

“Bah!” Diane waved Vivian away, “Look at you two, worrying about me, when all you two do is give me headaches. Need I remind you what happened in the castle again?”

“You can’t hold that against us forever, you know,” Vivian replied, “Anyway, what did you want to talk about?”

“There are a few things actually,” Diane said, “First and foremost, how’s your bracelet? Are you two getting along?”

Diane voiced her question in a cheeky roundabout way, but at the very least I had to thank her for bringing my existence back into the conversation.

“It’s been crazy, I haven’t had a moment to talk with it in a while,” Vivian replied, while I winced at the word ‘it’, “But you were right, the bracelet works wonders when I try to talk with it. But are you sure it’s okay to talk about it next to…”

“Who?” Diane asked and followed Vivian’s eyes to the young woman beside him, “Ah yes, the second subject of our conversation. I know you two have some shared history, but I wanted to encourage you two to get along. I think you two have more in common than not.”

At first, I expected Vivian to act more maliciously towards the prince’s lover. Vivian had, in the past at least, expressed feelings of betrayal and anger and I thought Vivian would give the evil eye to her romantic rival or address her with some kind of ridiculing remark. But maybe it was because Guin already looked lost and forlorn that it reminded Vivian of how she looked not too long ago.

Or maybe Vivian really was over all this royal drama and was ready to move on.

With me, of course.

“I mean, sure, I can try,” Vivian said slowly, “But, is she okay with it? More appropriately, is she okay? She hasn’t said a word since we set off, and she doesn’t seem quite here right now too.”

“Shellshocked a little, by many things I’m sure,” Diane nodded, “But I think the cure for her is companionship. Which is why, I will return to my nap and leave you two here to chat!”

Diane whisked herself away before Vivian could protest, leaving her and Emily behind with the prince’s lover. Vivian motioned for Emily to stand back a little to give the two of them some space. She approached Guin, who stood still beside the trickling stream, and set a soft hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Hey,” Vivian whispered, “Miss Veridian? It’s me, do you remember?”

Vivian spoke to Guin with a familiar tender register. It was the same tone she used when she used to lovingly speak about the prince. It was the voice she used to comfort Emily, and it was how she often spoke with me. Guin stirred at Vivian’s voice and in her eyes I saw the return of a spark that had previously been missing.

“Lady Greymoor,” Guin breathed, “Pardon me, I am currently not myself.”

“Hey, we’re all just a little shocked by what’s happened, right?” Vivian smiled, “Diane brought you here, do you remember?”

“She saved me,” Guin nodded, “The prince was nowhere to be found, I was caught up in some of the flames. I have her to thank for my life.”

“Well you’re alright now,” Vivian reassured her, “And you’re free to stay with Diane or us as long as you’d like.”

“I don’t understand,” the prince’s lover shook her head, “I was certain you would hate me, maybe toss me at the first caravan that came your way. I wasn’t expecting any hospitality.”

“I did hate you. A lot. I called you names in my head, I cursed you when I cried into pillows at night. I wonder why I don’t feel angry at you right now, but after the ball, I think I’ve made my peace with everything.”

“Please, there’s no need to ever forgive me,” Guin bowed, “I was aware of your relationship with the prince, of course, but I was drawn to him, and he knew I had been blessed. I used my blessing to win his affections.”

“Look, I can’t even blame you. I used to think the same way,” Vivian shrugged, “He was the man of my dreams for all those years. He treated you in that special way where you knew he had a place in his heart only for you.”

Once again, those displeasures at listening to Vivian’s compliments of Prince Pendragon scratched at me. I wanted to interject with another savvy comment about how I could also treat Vivian with the same kindness. It was time to move on, I wanted to think, time to move on to me.

But this time, I reminded myself of Diane’s advice. Be patient, your moment will come, she had said. I began to recognize that Vivian’s nostalgic recollections were a part of her healing process and an attempt to sympathize with Guin. How could I ever gift Vivian with such kindness if I didn’t even grant her the time to collect herself?

“He was like that, wasn’t he?” Guin blushed, but quickly she regretted her expression, “I’m so sorry I took that from you.”

“No, no, that’s not what I was trying to say,” Vivian shook her head, “In fact, I’m sorry that he left you at the castle, Guin. You didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.”

“You’re too kind,” Guin sniffed back tears, “Honestly, I like to think of it as a kind of divine punishment, for abusing the blessing of Avalon for a little crush.”

Vivian grabbed Guin and shook her fiercely.

“Never think that again,” Vivian demanded, holding Guin’s hands in her own, “We’re women in this world of kings and princes. We would be fools not to use what tools are at our disposal to get what we want. Never be ashamed of using your powers as leverage.”

“I-I think I understand,” Guin said. Her fingers returned Vivian’s firm grip. They brushed against the bracelet on Vivian’s wrist and I felt a warmth surge through me. The warmth of newfound sisterhood, perhaps?

“Let’s put the past behind us,” Vivian embraced Guin, “I don’t know how long it will take me, but I would like to think of us as two women that the prince of Caerleon treated with impropriety, rather than romantic rivals.”

“I think I’d like that,” Guin tried and failed to hold back fresh tears, “Even if it’s more than I really deserve.”

In the midst of this scene, motion stirred behind me and I heard a small crackle of a leaf being stomped on. I swiveled my perspective towards the noise, where I watched three dark burly shadows sneaking over the verdant hill. They moved with purpose, towards the trio of women by the creek, and I saw glinting under the moonlight, the sharp sheen of blades and axes.

No one but me had registered their presence, and just like the events of the burning castle or my perpetual inability to communicate with Vivian, I again felt the helplessness of my station. Waiting for my moment? This was the moment, Diane! But the shadows crept closer and closer and all I could do was internally panic and scream.

“Look out!”

A voice that I couldn’t recognize cried out into the night. The shadows stopped. Stirred by the noise, Emily sharply turned and noticed the stalkers on the hill.

“My lady!” Emily rushed forward and placed her body between her lady and the uninvited guests, “Please stay behind me.”

The intruders looked at each other and a deep, sadistic chuckle rumbled between the three of them. They shrugged off their surprise at the mysterious shout and pressed forward. As they got closer, the soft light of the night revealed three large men. Tattoos, cuts, unkempt hair, curved weapons, and bandanas, all trademark features of a roaming band of bandits and thieves.

“What do we have here, three missus lost from their carriage?” the man at the front smirked, “Might we escort you to your camp?”

“Please, we don’t want any trouble,” Vivian slowly moved Guin behind her. I was impressed that Vivian’s response betrayed no sense of fear, “If you’ll be on your way, you’ll come to no harm.”

“No harm?” the leader cackled, “Are you threatening us, missus?”

To be frank, these were comically evil bandits. While my metaphorical heart still palpitated at the imminent danger Vivian faced, my mind was almost set at ease. I was no stranger to these kinds of routine interactions, where a group of overconfident generic bad guys were put in their place by an otherwise unexpected character.

“It’s only the truth,” Vivian replied, “We don’t want to harm anyone. Please be on your way.”

“Abel, please restrain the missus and the others,” the leader rolled his eyes, “We’ll have to forcefully escort them home.”

“It’s your choice,” Vivian said, “But you forgot to disarm me.”

The ruffian directly behind the leader stepped forward and drew the ax in his belt. He stomped menacingly towards the three women until he towered over them with a smile that was missing a handful of teeth. At that precise moment, I thought Vivian had simply been bluffing.

Then the bandit reached forward to grab Vivian with his calloused hands, and Emily intercepted his arm, snapped it in half, and gave the poor fellow a turbulent kick into the chest.