They walked for hours, soft chatter stretching over the group from time to time when they knew no one was near to overhear them. And those were the moments which Arwen frequently used to check on Gaius, asking him if he needed a break. Here and there he'd accepted, but now, when she brought it up he was eager to persist on, the old castle which Arthur was leading them to visible in the near distance. As he refused her one more time, Arwen didn't push, but instead let the man continue on walking up ahead of her.
Her small pause had a man falling into step beside her, silence between them for a moment before Arwen spoke up. "I never got a chance to properly thank you, Percival." She said, craning her neck to smile up at the towering man. "For saving us back there."
"It was an honour, my lady." He smiled back at her, giving a dismissive shake of his head to express he didn't need any thanks for the act.
"Oh, I'm not a..." It was then that Arwen found herself trailing off as she came to a sudden pause. One which many of them caught. And many now realized the statement was not necessary. And still, she said it. "I'm not a lady. Arwen is just fine." She said, missing the way the prince's eyes glanced back at her, Arthur wondering just how many times he'd heard her express such sentiments. And wondering how many times it wasn't just a flirtatious comment made by over-confident men.
She'd missed his eyes, even though the look was anything but subtle. And she'd missed it because she was too focused on Percival and the knowing look in his eyes as he glanced down at the pendant hanging around her neck. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Arwen." He said nonetheless, not sharing any suspicions or thoughts that might be going through his head in the moment.
So, Arwen didn't ask. Instead, they continued to follow after the rest of the group which soon pushed through the doors of the castle, shadows and darkness playing over its walls which were covered with cobwebs.
"Are you sure we'll be safe in here?" Gaius questioned as they all looked around curiously.
"This castle belonged to the ancient kings." Arthur explained as he took in the abandoned ruin. "It'll do for a while." He said confidently after a few moments.
"Can't be worse than that cave." Elyan muttered out.
"Or our cell." Leon nodded in agreement.
"Search the place," Arthur instructed, not even sparing a glance back during their commentary before he was moving away and further into the room. "See what you can find."
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With Arwen, Gwen, and Merlin all working together to light the candles and get a fire going, it wasn't long before the dark and gloomy ruin surrounding them started to shine with some light and warmth. It still wasn't pretty, but the wide space certainly was an upgrade from all of their accommodations until that point.
As she finished with another set of candles, Arwen found her eyes glancing towards Arthur without even thinking of it, only to catch the man already focused on her. For a few moments they stayed like that, not noticing the way Gwen and Merlin kept looking between them and wondering what would happen next.
