Guinevere sat across from Arthur at another restaurant. It had been over a week since she had accepted that Mordred was dead. She hadn’t said a word to Arthur since that day, she continued to be seen in public with him as the King commanded but she wouldn’t respond to anything he said. Her black dress and mourning veil had everyone talking but she refused to change for them.

He had taken her from restaurant to restaurant but the more exotic the food the more her stomach roiled. She took a bite of the soup prepared by the chef and vomited to the side. A servant rushed forward to clean it up.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked.

Guinevere didn’t answer him, pushing herself up from the table she stumbled to the door. She vomited into a planter outside and climbed into the carriage.

“Take me to the palace I need to rest,” Guinevere said.

She stepped out of the carriage and wandered the palace halls until she arrived at the healer’s room. She stepped in and was embarrassed by an elderly woman there.

“Hello mistress Talsbrand,” Guinevere said hugging the portly woman back.

“What brings you to me dear?” the woman askes stepping back and looking Guinevere over. “You look well, what’s wrong?”

“I just…I haven’t been feeling well since… for a while now,” Guinevere said.

“Come now dear you can talk to me,” Mistress Talsbrand said. “This room is shielded against scrying and not even the king can compel me to speak, I am sworn to keep all the matters of my patients secret there is nothing you can’t tell me.”

“Someone I cared a lot about died two weeks ago,” Guinevere said. “and I haven’t been feeling well since, I’ve been tired, nauseous and vomiting recently.”

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“Well let me do some tests,” Mistress Talsbrand said.

Guinevere sat down as the healer buzzed around her prodding her and feeling her with her fingers her eyes closed as she breathed in smelling her with enhanced senses and listening to the sound of her heartbeat and feeling her pulse. She took several blood samples and a urine sample as well.

Mistress Talsbrand sighed. “Well child it’s not good, you’re lucky the tourney is so close,” she said.

“Why is that?” Guinevere asked with impending dread.

“Your marriage to Arthur will take place after, any later and people would talk about your child,” she said.

Guinevere’s hand went to her stomach. “You mean…?”

“You are with child, I can hear its heart beating small within you, its barely perceptible so far, but it’s there.” Mistress Talsbrand confirmed. “I expected this from Arthur, but I thought you had more sense than that. Luckily you will marry him, and we can just say it’s an early pregnancy, he will accept his child…”

“It is not his child!” Guinevere snapped.

Mistress Talsbrand snapped around looking about her. “You mean the child is…”

“it’s not his child,” Guinevere repeated.

“Who is the father?” Mistress Talsbrand asked.

“The father…the father is Mordred,” Guinevere said the words chocking in her throat.

Mistress Talsbrand’s face softened with sympathy, and she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry child to have endured keeping that secret for so long….”

Guinevere shrugged her hand off. “He didn’t rape me!” she practically screamed. “Why does everyone keep thinking that? He…he was…” her voice breaking as she held back her grief.

“You cannot keep this child,” Mistress Talsbrand said.

“What?” Guinevere asked her head spinning to meet the wise woman’s eyes.

“Guinevere,” Mistress Talsbrand said her voice soft and full of sympathy. “You are to marry Arthur, if he were to find you betrayed your marriage bed…”

“I betrayed nothing!” Guinevere snapped.

“That is not how others will see it,” Mistress Talsbrand said. “In the eyes of the law he would have every right to execute you.” She pressed a glass vial into her hand. “this is the oil of the black lotus, their won’t be any pain for it and you won’t suffer any ill effects.”

Guinevere took the vial in her hand. “I… I can’t make this decision right now.”

“Do the right thing,” Talsbrand said. “Don’t throw away your entire life to spite Arthur.”

Guinevere didn’t respond, she just got up and left the room returning to her chambers.