"Thank you for your concern," she told him with a smile. "But we will be fine." He helped us mount and we rode past him into the sunshine. Once we were safely out of the courtyard and beyond the palace walls, Guinevere turned to me with a mischievous grin.
"I wish I could have told him that we could level an entire army with just one thought, if we had a mind to," she laughed. "The idea that a mere mortal could harm us…" she trailed off and laughed again.
"Mother," I warned, "As far as anyone is concerned, we are mere mortals right now, remember?"
"Pftt," she turned up her nose. I sensed the beginning of a minor display of drama and tensed in preparation. "Could a mortal do this?"
She pointed to a nearby rose bush. Every petal on every rose detached from the stem and fluttered into the air, swirling around into a cloud above us before drifting to the ground in the shape of an A. Aphrodite.
"Mother," I warned again, then changed tactics. " Guinevere.” She sighed. "Fine," she muttered and motioned toward the A. It shifted into a G.
One lone petal fell out of formation and she glared at it. It quickly fit itself in with the rest.
" Guinevere,” I repeated sharply.
She rolled her eyes at me before finally motioning toward the G one more time. The petals flew into an arrow formation and rushed at my head. I ducked and they sailed over me, separating to once again attach themselves to the stems on the rosebush. They rustled in the gentle breeze as if nothing had ever happened.
I glared at my mother, as I tried to soothe my anxious mare.
"Not funny," I chastised. "What if someone had seen that?"
Guinevere looked around. "Like who?"
I had to admit, she had a point. There was no one around for miles. The green hills rolled on like unfurled velvet for acres and acres on one side, while the sea churned against the craggy shore on the other.
"Like me, perhaps," a low voice suggested and we both spun around in our saddles.
Mordred was leaning against a nearby tree, lightly holding the leather reins to his own horse in his hand.
"You were so absorbed in your theatrics that you didn’t hear me approach," he continued. "What are you, pray tell?"
Guinevere spluttered and if the situation wasn’t so serious, I would have laughed.
She was rendered speechless for the first time in as long as I could remember.
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"Sir Mordred!" she exclaimed. "I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was near."
"Obviously," he nodded calmly.
"It was just a simple parlor trick," she attempted helplessly. "A stupid thing, really…"
He watched her calmly as she attempted to come up with a plausible explanation.
His dark eyes were expressionless. I couldn’t tell if he was frightened by her or intrigued.
"A parlor trick?" he asked softly. "I think not, my queen."
He tied his mount to the tree and approached us.
"Are you a witch?" he asked calmly, stopping in front of her. "Does the king know? He does seem sympathetic to witchcraft."
"The king most certainly does not…" Guinevere stopped and stuck out her chin. "I do not owe you an explanation, Sir Mordred," she announced sweetly. "I am the queen. If you have any concerns, you should take them up with my husband, the king."
"Mayhap I will," he replied, his dark eyes glittering. For the first time since he had arrived, I saw an emotion in them. A threat.
Guinevere saw it too and I sighed as I watched her bristle.
It took her two full seconds to leap from her mare and bound to where he was standing. She quickly pinned him to the tree that his horse was tied to, her slender arm braced against his neck. His eyes widened in shock as her goddess strength easily overpowered him.
"You dare threaten me?" she roared with the fury of Aphrodite. I watched her brown eyes cloud and then shift to silver. Mordred’s face filled with terror, as any mortal’s would.
"No. I meant no threat," he stammered. "Truly, my queen."
"Really?" she purred as she stared into his eyes, her face pushed directly into his.
"It seemed like you were."
"No," he practically whimpered. "I apologize, my lady, if it seemed so. I would never threaten you. You are my queen. I mean you only respect and good wishes."
There was a pregnant pause as she assessed him, with her arm frozen against his throat. Finally, her expression relaxed.
"That’s better," Guinevere murmured calmly, relaxing her hold just a bit. "Look into my eyes, Sir Mordred."
He complied, staring into the silvery depths. I watched in fascination as she hypnotized him with her dulcet voice.
"You will forget that this ever happened," she instructed smoothly. "You were scouting this area and you came across no one. You never saw me, you never saw Heleyne. Do you understand?"
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Mordred grew limp against the tree as Guinevere’s soothing voice flowed over him like honey. Even the breeze complied with her, dying down to a gentle rustle, the grasses around us bending and swaying soothingly.
"I never saw you, I never saw Heleyne," he repeated in a monotone, staring at her blankly.
"Get on your horse and ride back to the castle," she instructed. "When you see us at dinner tonight, it will be the first time since breakfast that you’ve laid eyes upon us."
Mordred nodded slowly.
"Yes, my lady."
She released him and stepped away, waiting for him to move. He stayed slumped against the tree, his eyes glazed over.
"Go," she instructed.
He snapped out of it, bobbing his head toward her before dutifully swinging up onto his horse. He galloped away, never looking back.
Guinevere looked at me, shrugging her thin shoulders. As I watched, her breathing returned to normal, the flush disappeared from her cheeks and the silver faded from her eyes, turning once again to deep brown.
"Now, where were we?" she asked conversationally.
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Chapter Seven
After leaving Guinevere in her chambers, I wandered aimlessly through the bustling palace. I didn’t know where to begin looking for the sword and to be honest, I was preoccupied with leaving my mother alone. She insisted that she only wanted a nap, that using her goddess strength while in her mortal body had exhausted her. I knew that much was true. But I was anxious that she was secretly going to try and steal time with my father. They just couldn’t seem to stay apart.