Chapter 25: The Brief Story Telling

Gwen was not even surprised anymore when she suddenly heard the voice of the queen in her mind. The voice was no more full of pain, sorrow, or even hatred but there was a taint of longing in them and Gwen could feel them clearly.

"Guinevere." Gwen said as she heard the queen's giggling voice speak through her mind.

"...come back to me, darling, please…" Slavica was still pleading and crying while holding her body. She could see and hear them but she couldn't bring herself back to wake up just yet.

'Go on, but be prepared for my memories coming at you.'

"But why me?" Gwen wondered why she was chosen with the queen's memories.

'You will know soon. Just go back to her. I know you don't want her to cry like that…she's getting more hideous when she cries like that.'

"Oh, you don't mean that. You loved her." Gwen chuckled at the joking tone of the queen.

'And you love her more than I do.'

"Can't argue with that." Gwen sensed that the queen knew about her feelings toward Slavica already.

'Go and be the light of that broken knight.'

Gwen didn't say anything to the queen's voice in her head as she was suddenly being brought back to reality. She was welcomed by the hideous crying face of Slavica but at the same time, she found it amusing. She doesn't care about the scar or her tears but the loving care that was radiating around her.

"I told you, I don't equal to your tears or sadness, Ishnovishki." Gwen finally answered Slavica's pleading as she caressed the crying beautiful monster before her.

"My queen…please…" Slavica was still pleading and crying her heart out onto the awakened Gwen.

"Or better to call Slavica Baldisimo from DIP headquarters, the person I had an eye on ever since she was saved from being dead." Gwen teasingly said that making Slavica almost pout when she heard them.

"My queen Gwen…don't scare me like that…" she brokenly pleaded as she snuggled into Gwen's loving arms Slavica really felt safe and secure after her long-gone queen. She really could feel at ease around Gwen which made her want to do even better.

"Can't help it…we're even now." She winked and Slavica glared but Gwen wiped the remaining tears away from her face.

"Well, to be honest, there were still some memories that were soon to be unlocked and they were just coming out now…so, be warned, there's a lot to come." Gwen ignored Slavica's glares and smiled genuinely when she honestly informed her about what just happened. Slavica nodded in understanding and let herself be engulfed in Gwen's arms again.

"Alright, if you say so. Let me snuggle a little." Slavica said a little bit weak as she kept snuggling into Gwen's arms. Gwen found it cute since Slavica was totally composed whenever she was doing her job but right now, she was being openly vulnerable and adorable in front of her. She will bear that deeply in her mind.

'Whipped.'

"Shut up, Guinevere." Gwen rolled her eyes when she heard the queen's teasing voice.

'That's still you.'

"Whatever." She ignored the teasing giggles that came from the queen until they faded into the background of her mind.

"Let's go back inside the cabin." Gwen pulled away which made Slavica hold onto her tightly and it made Gwen kiss her forehead.

Gwen knew that Slavica was still worried that she was going to leave but Gwen always had to reassure her that she wouldn't. The feelings that Gwen was feeling for her were not influenced by anything. She knew she didn't just like or have a crush on Slavica anymore; she loves her for who she is, and she wasn't sure how deep it was already. All that Gwen knew, was that she was just letting the feeling between them keep growing. She hope though, that Slavica was feeling the same way as she.

"Darling, I am not going anywhere without taking your heart and love with me." Gwen kissed Slavica's forehead once again.

"You never failed to make my heart skip a beat, Honey." Slavica giggled before she stole a kiss from Gwen who didn't care if she did that.

Slavica looked lovingly at her whom Gwen could feel then she began stretching before lending a hand to help Gwen stand up this time. Both of them turned around to meet everyone on the team who was giving them a glad smile then went on going back to the cabin. When everything was already settled in the woods, Gwen suddenly leaned over the fridge as soon as she entered the cabin. Slavica immediately pulled Gwen into her arms for support.

"Told you, you need rest. You already overused your power in one whole day." Slavica chuckled but she was being honest about what happened to Gwen's body. She already noticed that while they were still outside.

"You sense it?" Gwen just wanted to make sure that she heard Slavica right.

"How can I not?" she just winked over at Gwen as she guide her to the couch and let her sit on the couch comfortably since Gwen really needed some relaxation.

"What did Gwen do there?" Yui curiously asked since she was not entirely sure about what just Gwen did to her or even to the creature that suddenly appeared there.

"She just made her strings blend into the nature around the cabin." Irina answered for their boss who was aiding Gwen carefully on the couch. Gwen was totally exhausted from what just happened non-stop. It totally drained her.

"She put protective strings around the whole cabin's perimeter ever since you try something to test her." Slavica cleared as she glared at them since she could tell that they were the cause of what Gwen suddenly released there before the chimera showed up.

"You really exceed our expectations and you never failed to surprise us with it." Yui smiled really proud and overjoyed on meeting Gwen. She also hoped that she'll be on their team once she chooses to be with them.

"Should I be flattered?" Gwen playfully asked but she was more on being polite even though she was still feeling drained.

"Yeah, you should be." Slavica smiled at her and Gwen looked at everyone and smiled as well.

"Then thank you but I need snacks. And when I said snacks, it means a lot of them." Gwen thanked them but at the same time, she was really starving.

"I'll cook this time." Tacker was about to go to the kitchen when three voices shouted his way.

"NO!!!" Yui, Irina, and Slavica shouted which made him stop his track, and wondered why they were stopping him.

"You'll burn anything you touch, Tacker. So just shut up and seat here while doing your work." Irina honestly told him as Yui get up from her seat and went to the kitchen instead.

Gwen was curious about what they were talking about when there was some flickering memories suddenly played in their mind about it. Tacker just almost burned their cabin's kitchen as they let him cook for the first time. After that incident, they all didn't let him touch anything around the kitchen or leave him there alone. They didn't want to repeat what just almost happened there.

"But…" Tacker whined but Yui raised her hand to stop him from speaking.

"Just don't do it, babe." Yui shook her head and Tacker couldn't complain anymore as he let Yui take charge around the kitchen.

Gwen chuckled at what just happened back there and she was totally amused at how the lovers respected each other's decision. She admired them and as Yui started preparing, Tacker and Irina went on assisting her with whatever Yui decided to create for Gwen. As she was watching them, Gwen suddenly sneezed and it made Slavica to chuckled before slightly pinching her nose.

"Hey!" Gwen chuckled at what Slavica did to her nose but she just giggled at her.

Slavica's team was amused that finally their boss can be happy now and it was because of Gwen's presence. But everything suddenly stopped when Gwen went serious and looked at Slavica who took notice of it.

"Ask and I'll try to answer them fully." Slavica smiled genuinely which caught Gwen's blushing.

"Vica, can you tell me what you know about Guinevere?" Gwen calmly asked about the first person that Slavica ever dared to love which was her long-gone queen, Guinevere.

Slavica was not surprised when Gwen suddenly asked about her long-gone queen. But she could not find the right words to say or rather, she doesn't know where to start. She just looked at Gwen's reassuring gaze, she released a sigh and began telling her about her long-gone beloved queen Guinevere.

"To be honest, I don't know where to start because honestly, Queen Guinevere was no queen at all." Slavica started telling her about the queen.

"No queen?" Gwen confusedly asked. Slavica slightly chuckled over her reaction but still continued.

"I mean, she was nothing like the other queen that you can picture that she could be. I could even swear that she was not even a fine lady but I can assure you that she could stand tall for what she believes in. She was loyal to her husband and king. She also radiates with grace and light that even King Arthur loves about her." Slavica might start by badmouthing her long-gone queen but at the same time, she was praising her.

"Yet, when the Camelot suddenly covered with flames, the queen did not just lose her king but her husband as well. It took every ounce of life inside of her. Her radiant light dimmed and her heart couldn't open to anyone anymore. She's managed the entire kingdom with her all might." Gwen could sense that Slavica was indeed adoring her on the way she speak about Guinevere and it was making her smile.

"Does she fall in love with Lancelot like what other stories that were being written nowadays?" Gwen might chuckle from the intro but she still managed to ask Slavica about the love story of Gwen and Lancelot. It was one of the old stories that has been written in school literature.

"Yes, she loved him as well but she choose to stay beside her king. Yet, losing both important persons in her life, she went to a convent just to grieve but she still have a duty to perform. She must fulfill her duty as the queen. She returns to the castle with Merlin as his personal adviser even though she was still grieving." She answered and by listening, Gwen let her head rest over Slavica's shoulder. Slavica smiled and went on to tell what she knew about Guinevere.

"Going back to the castle, things immediately went back to the usual but of course, it was not an easy process. She need to prove to the advisers that she was deserving to rule even without the king beside her. She turned herself into a cold and only showed her lovely fangs who were threatening the peace of their kingdom." Slavica went on as if she was there when it exactly happened but she only heard rumors around the castle. She could hear them whenever she drops by there for some goods that the farm just harvested.

"She did?" Gwen laughed over the part where the queen bares her lovely fangs to anyone she found a threat.

"That's what I heard from the servants around the castle. She was cold and really savage toward her old advisers which led to having a feast where I personally met her." Slavica answered with a kind of smile that she had never known that she possessed while talking about her long-gone queen.

"And?" Gwen was curious and excited to know more about their lives back then.

"On the last day of the festival, a surprise opponent awaits the five champions, and I was one of them. The four fought her and when it was my turn as the fifth champion, our fight was totally different from the others. I was the only one who could really match her move and deal with her intensified attacks. Yet, she was forced to use the Excalibur just to beat me but I still managed to deal with that mythical sword which surprised everyone…" Slavica went on telling her old tale about when she met the queen back then personally.

"Wow…you are already something if you managed to deal with that mystical sword." Gwen pulled away and looked surprised at what she had just heard from her.

"I know right? Anyway, ever since then, she doesn't need any king beside her and the five of us became her first-round knights. Also, life in Camelot came back into its true colors but not to her heart. Something else was still missing in her heart." Slavica was indeed smiling as she could feel the same adrenaline rush as what she was feeling back there. But Gwen noticed some sadness when she mentioned the heart of the long-gone queen.

"Did she fall in love with you after all those years of being together?" Gwen wondered as she was fidgeting her index fingers together.

"The queen never said anything regarding her heart but whenever we're just alone, she's at ease and free around me. To answer that question, I could feel them but I know she has the duty as our queen that needs to be taken seriously and everyone was looking at how she's ruling the kingdom without a king beside her." Slavica might be smiling as she told that part to Gwen which she noticed and held her hand. Slavica smiled at that gesture - she needed that.

"Do you love her?" Gwen asked with her sincere voice that Slavica found herself looking deeply into her eyes. She was trying to read if there was anything behind those eyes staring back at her and yet, she couldn't find anything aside from the feeling of being honest with her.