ARTHURIA
SLEEP WAS A DREAM.
Arthuria's thoughts circled endlessly. Every moment of her marriage to Gilgamesh played back in flashes, every word, every action, the decisions they had made together. And yet, at that moment, it all felt distant, foreign. She could not shake the feeling that something had shifted beyond repair, caught between the fear for Daughter's fate. She had always stood beside him, and they had always been united in their goals, but now, it seemed like that very unity was slipping right through her fingers. She sat on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. She had been in the cottage for weeks. No summons. No letters. No word. He had respected the space she had requested, but the more she tried to distance herself, the more she realized that the distance between them only hurt her more. Still, she could not bring herself to return.
Not yet.
But perhaps, in the quiet of her thoughts, she would find the courage to face him again. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday soon.
Until a soft knock rang along with a familiar husky voice. "Arthuria," a muffled voice said quietly. "We need to talk.Please…open the door."
She jolted upright, eyes darting around. Grabbing the nearest mirror, she hissed at her reflection, then slapped a hand over her mouth. "Shit," she muttered. In a state of newfound panic, she tried to brush everything into place at once, only to get more frustrated. With a growl, she flipped the mirror the middle finger before spinning toward her shawl, only to trip.
THUD
Gilgamesh frowned at the sound on the other side of the door. He knocked again, but there was silence once more. Long enough to make a weak man consider turning away. But then the latch clicked and the door opened slowly. There she stood, hair loose, wrapped in a woolen shawl, and her eyes, those ever-sharp eyes, looked so tired. She stepped aside wordlessly, letting him in. When he entered, the warmth and air of the cottage, along with its memories, wrapped around him. He did not sit. He simply stood in the center of the room, facing her.
"What do you want, Gil?" Arthuria said while clearing her throat. "The hour is nigh,"
"I know…I could really use some sleep…" he admitted, his voice low.
At first, she was confused, then she remembered,I refuse to sleep in a bed, you are not in, her arms crossed tightly over her chest in silence.
Gilgamesh's broad shoulders rose and fell. There was a tremble in the breath he took. "Enough of this…torture." He said, stepping forward. "I have learned my lesson, gods, I am so so sorry. If it would change anything, I would send our daughters to the nunnery myself, I thought about it. I did." He exhaled sharply. "But what I truly want is for you to come home. To wear your ring again, to be my wife again." Silence. "Come back to me. My Love." He concluded.
Her expression did not change at first. "Our daughters are not going to be nuns…that is ridiculous. You are ridiculous." Her eyes flared. "And if I do not wish to?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper. "Will you command me?"
"Never."
Arthuria almost rolled her eyes in disinterest and turned toward the kitchen to fetch two teacups.
Clink.
"It is not the same without you. It never was," he confessed, following her.
Clink.
"Tell me what I have to do, and I will do it—"
She extended a cup in silence. "You are saying if I ask you to drink this, instead of wine, you will do it?"
"What is it…?"
"Who knows. I just put a little of everything."
Gilgamesh winced, but accepted the concoction with a grim face. He watched as she sipped hers calmly, her gaze glistening at the rim, eyes never leaving his.
"Is there Sugar…?" he asked.
Silence.
"Okay… okay, fine." He muttered, while turning the murky liquid, This could be poison. He thought.
"Maybe if it had a tad of sweetness—
"One." She set her cup down in irritation. "Two."
"Three." He hammered it down in one go, coughing violently. "My ancestors would weep."
"Yeah?" Her voice was quiet but sharp. "How about your wife?"
He stilled, studying her. His expression softened. "I am sorry, Arthuria."
She turned away, stepping around him, positioning herself between him and the fire.
"If you could just tell me—"
Arthuria's arms dropped from her chest slowly. "Why do I always have to tell you what I want? Why can't you just—" she sighed, "You stopped seeing me," meeting his gaze. the real me. I may no longer be the woman who bathed in the bloodofman anymore, but I am a fighter who would bleed for this family. Foryou, For them." Her voice broke. "I refuse to become like all the rest of those trad queens in name only, pushing out heirs, then slowly watch my marriage and life fade into the walls of a palace. I rebuke it in the name of the first Pendragon!"
A beat passed where he did not reply.
That only rose her frustration, "Where is the man who took what he wanted without permission?" she asked.
He frowned.
"Where is the man who despises every color that is not red or gold? Where is the man who made passionatelove to me without warning? She demanded.
Gilgamesh opened his mouth, but closed it again. For what excuse could he offer to his hurting wife?
Arthuria remembered what Arthur said, which she called foolish thoughts, but there is also truth to it, truth she refused to bring to light. She winced, "Was it after Elaine?"
Gilgamesh closed his eyes and breathed.
"Was that when my husband grew tired of me? When you stopped lovingme…" she asked.
"Arthuria Albion Pendragon."
The sound of her full name, spoken in a tone of voice she had not heard from him in decades, pulled her heart to a stop.
"I admit…" Gilgamesh said at last, his voice hoarse, with the hurt he was trying to bury. "I have not always shown my love in the ways you deserved back then… I was too proud. Too used to taking and not asking, and you are right. I grew…comfortable." His eyes finally met hers. "I admit that I softened, I changed, yes, but I will never admit to stopping loving you, stop seeing you as the fearsome woman of my dreams and greatest treasure, but if it is honesty you wish." His mouth twitched in a genuine smile. "I thought… You wished for me softer. Kinder, not just for the kids, but… for us, I thought that is what you hated in me, my ruthlessness, tyranny, but I suppose we have been married long enough now for me to never forget the true reason as to why you sought me out in the first place."
"I did not hate you, nor did I seek you out—"
He tilted his head.
"Okay, fine—maybe I did on both accounts, but what does that have to do with—"
"You married me, you chose me, even knowing exactly the man I was, but that man you speak of ceased to exist the day you told me you were pregnant. I changed because I had to, but I am still the man you fell in love with. I am still yours,still me, still Gil. You're gil. Only yours."
She turned away, but her shoulders lowered slightly. Her invisible walls were still up, but they were no longer impenetrable. He decided to test the theory and offered his hand. She looked down at it. After a moment, she took it with a quiet smile, her fingers curling into his.
"Will you look at me?" he asked.
She reluctantly did.
"I could never…tire of you." He breathed out. "Wipe that treasonous thought from your mind, immediately," He let go of her hands to cup her face gently. "I admit that I need you, admit that you know that, too. Because without you—" a breathless chuckle escaped him, "I am a spaz… Worse than our youngest."
Arthuria giggled.
Gilgamesh rested his forehead against hers, leaning into the familiar lullaby that was her voice, his shoulders sagging a little in relief that he was not dreaming. "Which we should probably discuss,"
Arthuria raised a brow.
"She's gone bug-hunting… in the forest, my love, the forest, you know how much I loathe—" he sighed, "I cannot control that child." He said with a helpless look. "And I promise you, that is not why I am here. But it is one of the reasons, along with Artizea," he paused. "I fear she has resumed my painfully familiar hobbies, one being war preparations—,"
Arthuria frowned. "War preparations?"
He held up a hand. "Do not worry, I have handled it." he paused, as if trying to convince himself it was true, "For now," He ran a hand through his hair, "Arthur… he still has his moments…" His jaw tensed. "I am afraid to admit that I will never be any good at what you do for him," he sighed. The ache beneath his voice was clear. "And Eugene is… distant. Every time I think I have found the right words, they come out wrong, but I will keep trying until I get through to him—Just please do not make me try without you." He gave her a lopsided smile, eyes warm. "… I need my wife."
A soft, broken laugh slipped from her, muffled behind her trembling fingers as tears welled and spilled.
"See?" he said gently. "That smile, that is why I changed. You made me want to change." He tilted her chin upward, gaze steady on hers. "Look me in the eyes and be honest with me? Have I not changed for the better?"
Her lips quivered. "You have," she whispered, then sighed.
A small, tired smile touched him.
They stood in fragile silence until, at last, her voice broke it. "Since we are being honest…" she murmured, "you never proposed to me. Not properly. Not like a real husband would."
Gilgamesh froze.
The truth of it struck deeper than any blade. He had taken her hand, yes, exactly that, her hand. There had been no ceremony, at least the first time of asking. No kneeling. No question. Just a command and the assumption that she would follow it, all because he could not imagine a world where she would not. But that was not love then. That was control. It was His Father, along with Hers. He loved her now. She controlled his world now, and He was not his father. He dropped to one knee without a second thought.
Arthuria 's breath caught. "I did not mean—"
He reached for her hand, his fingers gently interlacing with hers into a latch. His eyes, now returning to their vibrancy, beaming red with gold flakes, held nothing but sincerity.
"Arthuria Pendragon," he said. "Will you, for the 4th time of asking, be my wife, my queen, my lioness, my heart? Will you take me, Arrogant man that I am? To be the father of our children, and to be yours and only yours till death, try it's best to do us part."
"Now, you are just making up shit on the spot," She stood frozen, "You're ridiculous—"
"Ridiculously tired, yes…" he grumbled. "So, please, say yes."
"Yes." She finally smiled.
Relief poured from him. With a groan, he forced himself to stand, then promptly fell backward onto the bed, arm extended.
"…can we please go to bed, now?"
She tilted her chin. "What if I say no?"
He groaned louder, voice husky. "Arthuria, do not make me leave this bed…"
"I had no such request."
He cracked one eye open lazily and slowly turned to face her, then gave a frog-like blink.
Hours later, Arthuria clung to Gilgamesh's bare chest, her leg draped lazily over his hip, as one strong arm slung across her waist, his hand sliding up her spine, where his name held hostage. while her fingers traced idle circles along a scar on his chest that bore her name in a slow rhythm.
"The palace will soon send a search party," Arthuria murmured breathlessly.
Tsk
"We raised four heirs, my love. Surely they can hold the fort for one day," leaning down to nuzzle her cheek, though his eyes remained closed.
"Gil."
"My love…" he answered instantly, the words slipping out like a reflex.
She sighed. "You are not even listening to me, are you?"
"293"
Her brow furrowed. "What?"
"Two hundred and ninety-three words you have spoken to me today, Well… two hundred and nifty-four, now," he said softly, cracking one eye open. His lips curved faintly. "Would you like me to repeat them?"
She froze, the breath catching in her throat, then smiled.
He reached for her hand, looking upon the ring she had chosen for its practical nature. "Make me the happiest man and give me five more," he whispered.
Her throat tightened upon the feeling of tires falling freely, "I love you so much," she managed out.
He wiped away a few, then leaned in to press their foreheads together, "I love you beyond this world… and I swear to you, Arthuria, there is not a word you have ever spoken that I do not carry in my soul…"
She hesitated, then said, "Now should be a good time to mention, your first son thinks you have another child or two, maybe four."
His eyes opened fully. "What?"
Arthuria nodded. "Since last moon…" she sighed, "I did not have the heart to tell him you had ten concubines before we were even met," she murmured dryly.
Gilgamesh scoffed, "My past continues to haunt me."
"One of them has recently died…leaving her sister with a moment of debt. She was sent to the brothels, and she may have ended up here by my request; also, I was thinking perhaps I could persuade Elaine to take her in as a lady's maid. It might solve our bug problem in the hope she will find a friend that does not have 6 limbs entertaining."
"Mmm."
"And maybe actually try talking to Eugene about what he likes. Every time he looks to you for guidance, you shut him down."
"I do not—"
"Yes, you do."
"…What else?"
"Give Artizea more time away from the council."
"Noted."
"And…Arthur feels as though you never wanted him."
"What—"
"Mhm. The other night, he asked me if everything was only for the kingdom. Gil, you know how much I admire that brilliant mind of yours, but you need to put it aside and focus on this." She pressed a hand to his chest. "You should speak with them—Arthur first. And do not feed me nonsense about favorites. Your son is hurting and at his most vulnerable. He needs his father's sole attention for a change, oh—you could have a father-son day, I could plan it!" she exclaimed.
He groaned. "I do not want to—Ow!"
Arthuria flicked his nose, "You will, and you shall like it."
"Yes, my love…" he grunted in pleasure.
She then rolled her eyes. "I must say, if I had not been there to witness said past, I would have suffocated you in your sleep on our wedding day."
Gilgamesh smirked. "Would have, Should have, Might have…"He kissed her bare shoulder, smiling against her skin, "did not," he said, flipping her over, caging her beneath him. "Do not threaten me with new tricks, my lioness, There's still time to learn…"
She cursed under her breath. "On second thought, maybe you should have kept a few of those concubines. I am far too tired to keep up with the work of ten."
He chuckled, voice rough with affection. "Did you tell our dearest son why we had our children so close together?"
"No."
"Of course you wouldn't," he sighed dramatically. "But the record shows, I was fighting for my life the day you figured out how fertility boosters worked. A hundred heart attacks, a thousand sleepless nights… and let us not forget the coma that nearly kept me from witnessing his birth."
"You are so dramatic… You lived, did you not?" She shoved him playfully, and he caught her hand.
"I did, and I thank you…" He murmured, the joke falling away, "For everything you have blessed me with, even though I do not deserve any of it," he added quietly.
"How will you repay me for 722 days of labor?"
"I will make you another wager," he grinned. "If we go back and I am still in a good mood, I will have the very longconversation of my past to our very nosy children, but… If I see anything that pisses me off, we return here immediately. Four days for four accusations, my past stays here in this cottage with us, no interruptions… Just you and me."
"Deal—"
He pulled back just enough to growl into her ear, "And no more talk about concubines. This is your fate… our cruelest fate, to love and to be loved." Before she could retort, his hand slid down, catching her ankle and yanking her closer, forcing her flushed skin to be infused with him. "You asked for this man… yes?"
She nodded, the sound of her voice lost in her throat.
His brow furrowed briefly, his eye twitching, "My love…"
"Yes?' she said breathlessly
"What was in that tea?"
Silence
"Did you take it too?" he questioned.
She smiled, not hiding anything.
He chuckled darkly, "I fucking love you, you know that?" he whispered.
"THEY ARE LATE." Arthur spat out, reclining in his chair, popping a cherry into his mouth.
Elaine had her feet propped up on the table, on time for once, "Maybe they got lost?"
Artizea sipped her tea with a deliberate slurp while Eugene sat in silence as usual.
The palace had fallen into a quiet. Naturally, the children noticed first because this was the first time in their existence that their parents were not present at the mandatory family dinners. No one spoke for a full minute.
Then Arthur sat up straight, stating the obvious. "They're not coming, Hypocrites."
"Yes, but they are gone, together," Artizea stated without looking up.
"So," Eugene cut in, brows raised, "what exactly does that mean? Do we leave?"
"Even better—" Elaine lit up, "It means we throw them a welcome party!"
Artizea finally glanced over. "I do not think we have the time or supplies, since everything is for the masquerade—"
"Think about it!" Elaine interrupted, already halfway out of her seat with excitement. "The look on their faces when they return to a kingdom so happy for their love, they rejoice in their 'blissful, star-crossed reunion!"She grabbed Eugene and Arthur by the shoulders and smashed them into a hug. "All while bathed in confetti!"
Arthur grimaced. "My spine—"
Artizea arched a brow. "Elaine. Do you even know what "blissful reunion" means?"
"I would not worry too much, mother made it clear Elaine would be the last—" Eugene said, glancing at Arthur, making a throat-cutting gesture.
"Last what?" Elaine pouted.
Artizea exhaled, giving in. "Okay. Fine."
"Really?!" Elaine gasped while jumping up and down.
"Eugene, you're on last-minute invitations. Arthur, planning and decor."
Arthur groaned. "Why do I always get—"
"And Elaine…" Artizea turned slowly to face her sister, who straightened like a knight, hand on her forehead. "You get the confetti."
"Yes!" Elaine beamed. In a matter of hours, the throne room was set. "This may be my best work yet…" Elaine said breezily.
Just then, the doors swung open as the king and queen finally returned with the sunset. At first, nothing seemed amiss, then— "Happy Reunion!" the entire court screamed. Streamers flew. Music screeched to a halt mid-note.
Gilgamesh's brow twitched as Swan Music sullied through the halls. His gaze slowly shifted from Elaine, still standing on the throne mid-cast, to their mother's Blue Rose Flower petals littered the throne room floor. His two eldest mid rustle for a tray of strawberry tarts, to his middle child passed out in the corner, and then finally, to the large banner above that stretched across the hall.
LONG LIVE THE REUNITED LOVEBIRDS.
Elaine launched herself onto the long banquet table like a triumphant ballerina."Surprise!" she declared, arms spread, panting with exertion and grinning.
Arthuria stood in shock. Her lips twitched, trying very hard not to laugh. "Oh, how sweet—"
Gilgamesh said nothing. Instead, he turned, lifted his wife effortlessly over his shoulder, and began walking straight back toward the exit.
"Wait!" Arthuria called, laughing now. "This was lovely—!"
He did not care how lovely it was. They were not staying. Here. End of story.
Elaine's smile faltered upon watching them leave. She huffed, planting her hands on her hips. "They did not even see the dancing jack-in-the-box! Do you know how hard it was to find a kid named Jack! And get him in a box! Ungrateful-" she put her hands on her hips, "sometimes I just wanna- bow, bow, bow-"
Arthur burst out laughing, then fell on his back with a yelp after Artizea let go of the tray. She then regally rose from her seat and lifted her goblet.
"Enjoy the festivities on behalf of the King and Queen, everyone."
The court cheered again, as the band picked up where it left off, and someone finally located the jack-in-the-box, which was, in fact, dancing, possibly possessed. And somewhere in the hills outside the palace, the King and Queen returned to their cottage, shut the door behind them…And did not come out till sunrise.
Yet, far from the threshold of the palace, a figure cloaked in darkness stood on the ridge. His wings tucked behind him as his hawk-like eyes swept over the city's joy in disgust. His gaze then shifted behind him, where a soft shimmer broke the silence.
Ishtar appeared, "What of the findings?" she asked, though a flicker of impatience rippled beneath her words.
The shadowed figure turned to face her slightly, "It did not go according to plan."
"I can see that. Perhaps try telling me why."
"The king and queen have reconciled," he continued, "Much faster than anticipated. Perhaps the years have softened him indeed."
"Oh?" Ishtar's expression soured, though her lips twisted into a smile that held no warmth. "Softened or not, this is an unexpected complication." She folded her arms, her eyes narrowing down at the cottage. "I underestimated their bond, but it does not matter." Her gaze shifted back to the palace. "There are always more pieces to move."
"The Crown Princess, then?"
"Try the second one." Her voice grew colder, "Artizea Pendragon may be her father's daughter, but she is young and naive, and painfully burdened by exceptions and insecurities, just like her mother. A perfect opening for us to exploit at the right time…" her eyes gleaming with malice and anticipation.
"She's shown signs of it recently, something you were not informed of," he said with disdain. "Why must we wait for the sun to rise when the path is as clear as day?" he demanded.
Ishtar smiled, "That is exactly the mind of someone who cannot see the hidden traps. To win this war, one must be the battlefield itself; should my plan succeed, the family will tear itself apart from within, and when their last hope is to rely on their greatest strength, it will become their greatest weakness. Then and only then will the grand plan be revealed."
The shadow hesitated, his gaze shifting back toward the palace. "And The Prince?"
Ishtar paused for a moment before continuing, "Rhyssand has the most important part to play…" Her tone dripped with mischief. "Keep watch, report any movements, especially from the eldest," she commanded, her tone brooking no argument. "Oh, and stick to the plan this time, no matter how convincing the light makes grass seem to be greener; it remains grass, irritably itchy grass that I cannot wait to set alight, but until that day comes, we cannot afford to touch it, understand?"
The figure bowed his head, fading back into the darkness as though he had never been there.
Ishtar lingered a moment longer, her gaze fixed on the distant palace. "So, the tamed lion still has talons. Let's see how sharp they still are," she murmured to herself before she vanished into the night with a shimmer.