Taking Only One Memory ... Challenge for Week #74

If you could only carry one memory with you into the afterlife, which would you choose? ... Challenge for Week #74


It's hard for me to look at everything that has gone on in my life and select only one memory to take with me when I go to meet the Ancestors. I have seen so much...done so much, that I don't even know where to start with my memories sometimes.

I have stood side by side with some of the best warriors to fight enemies bent on destruction. I have listened at my father's knee as he taught me about duty, love and the power of the land. I have endured harsh lessons in order to come out of my childhood like tempered steel. I have learned a multitude of things from people that are long since gone...and I continue to learn from people that I meet from day to day. I have been taught to rule by force if I need to, but to temper that force with love and the duty of what is right for the people. I have fought by the side of people that were once considered enemies to defeat marauders on our island. I have taken the life of one lover to save the lives of the two men who hold my heart and soul.

Not too long ago, I did almost die. I choked on my own blood and watched as the world started to fade around me. I turned my head before I closed my eyes and found Arthur holding Lancelot. I wanted to apologize to him for not doing exactly as he had said. I wanted to beg him to run, to take Lancelot and run, no matter what deal I had made. I wanted to apologize to him for not being more open about what was going on and that I had had more than one meeting with Gerard. There were so many things that I wanted to say to my husband, but it looked like I wasn't going to get the chance. Any moment, Gerard was going to lower his weapon and I was going to die...

Then I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, the three of us were not in that forest any longer. We were in Arthur's room and the three of us were curled up together. It was hard to tell where one of us ended and the other began. We were together and we were whole. As long as we had each other, I knew in my heart that nothing could harm us. As long as we were together, we could defeat anything that came our way and we would never know fear or doubt again.

The thing is...as much as I wanted it to be Arthur and Lancelot holding me as I died, before I closed my eyes again...after I killed Gerard and he took me to the ground with him...I wished for my mother to be there with me...

My mother died in battle when I was very young...and as much I love Arthur and Lancelot and wanted my last memory to be of their faces...I wanted my mother to be there to hold me as I left this world.

Strange, isn't it?

I'm a warrior who tries to never show fear, and I run willingly into even the most overwhelming of odds. I kill and fight without question. I have been told that I have no heart and that I am not enough of a female to be a woman. I have been told that I need to be more lady like. I can torture and kill without question or without thought.

Yet, as I lay dying...it was my mother that I wished for.



Word Count: 612
Muse: Guinevere
Fandom:"King Arthur"; Misc Movies and Mythologies

If You Could Hit Anyone With A Large Trout ... Challenge For Week #75

If you could meet any famous personality, living or dead, and smack them in the head with a large trout, who would it be? ... Challenge for Week #75



Although there are better things that I could think of to do with a large fish...

Who would I like to beat up with a large fish? The person who ever came up with the ridiculous notion that in order to be a lady you had to wear all sorts of stupid things that they call "proper".

Who thought of some of these weird ideas and creations?

Long flowing dresses with cumbersome trails of material --- while I'm sure are very pretty --- are quite impractical for doing battle in.

How am I supposed to engage an enemy in battle if I am constantly worried about tripping over my dress, or worse! That much material is asking to be used as a weapon against you.

And those head things that they sometimes think you should wear! The next person that comes through Briton and tells me that it's what a "proper" queen would wear will get a sword through their gut.

I am not proper! I don't want to be proper! I am Guinevere. I am the Queen of Briton and I'll be damned if I'll dress up in anything that makes me look like I am incapable of doing anything for my country. A Queen should always be ready for anything...and that is almost impossible when wearing something like that. No wonder other countries have problems with women and queens being kidnapped. If they're wearing so much material that they cannot defend themselves then it serves their men right.

Tell you what...you get Gawain or Dagonet or Bors to wear something like that, and I'll consider wearing the same thing.

Until then, show me the man who came up with these ideas on what a woman is supposed to do so I can proceed to beat him in the head and face with a very large trout.



Word Count: 310
Muse: Guinevere
Fandom:"King Arthur"; Misc Movies and Mythologies

At What Moment In Your Life Did You Feel The Most Proud? ... Challenge for Week #76

Pride?

I feel pride in my country and the deeds of her children every day. I watch what we are accomplishing and I don't think I could get any more proud.

But you want to know when I personally felt the most proud of myself?

I don't know if I should answer this completely truthfully as it could cause pain to those I care a great deal about.

Fine.

The moment I felt the most proud of myself was when I defied Arthur and followed him to Gerard's hide-out. I defied him and would have done anything to help him and Lancelot get away from Gerard and the Saxons.

So, I did what I had to do. I jumped down between him and Gerard. I looked into Gerard's eyes --- I didn't dare look at Arthur or Lancelot at that moment --- and offered to exchange my life for theirs. Arthur didn't protest my actions...not sure if that would have changed my mind or not. However, as he was holding up a very wounded Lancelot, he was in a bit of a state of shock and I gave him no chance to stop me..

The fight wasn't a beautiful dance or anything like that. It was deadly and it was bloody. I hated what I was doing, but I also knew I had to. For Lancelot and for Arthur, I would take on an entire army of Saxons to protect them if I had to.

In the end, I shoved that hateful crossbow bolt (yes, the one that almost took Lancelot from us at Badon Hill) into Gerard's heart and I held him as his blood flowed out and he said things to me that I cannot repeat at this time.

We both collapsed and then he died, laying on top of me in the dirt. I was too wounded to move and was quite certain that I was going to die.

I didn't, though. Merlin and the Healers helped to keep me firmly in the land of the living.

So there you have it, just what you wanted.

I was the most proud when I didn't die when I offered to exchange my life for Arthur and Lancelot's lives.

I think managing to live through all of that is indeed a great deal to be proud of.


Word Count: 388
Muse: Guinevere
Fandom:"King Arthur"; Misc Movies and Mythologies