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She's not entirely sure when it started, well she is. It began 6 months after Merlin arrived, but she has no idea about who started it or why. For the last 5 years, Gwen has found a beautiful bouquet of flowers on her doorstep on her birthday, with a lovely note wishing her a happy birthday. It's something that was slightly worrisome at first, but after telling Morgana about it, she found it rather sweet that someone was so thoughtful.
She looked at every man in her life and tried to figure out which of them were doing it. Her birthday isn't that far away, so she watches out for any strange looking behaviour, for any of them suddenly taking an interest in flowers. Yet everyone carries on as normal. So the day before her birthday does finally arrive, she plans out her entire day so that she can stay up until midnight, not only to ring in her birthday for a change but so that she has the chance to finally see who her admirer was.
By the time she'd gotten Morgana to bed and done the last of her chores, Gwen's excitement and curiosity were at an all time high, which sent Morgana into a pleasant night's sleep for a change. She found it was surprisingly quiet whilst walking down to the lower town, but couldn't keep the smile off her face dispite that. She had a quick meal and set up where she would be hiding, it was the window nearest the door but thankfully she already had a pile of things there, so it wouldn't be too obvious that she was trying to blend in with it all.
It took awhile for her to get comfortable, but she soon settled in and waited for her birthday admirer to appear. Every time she heard footsteps, she'd perk up and wait for the person to appear, only for it to be the guard patrol changing or making sure everything was as it should be. It happend so many times, that gwen had given up hope of ever seeing whoever was leaving the flowers, but just as she was about to get ready for bed, she heard the sound of someone humming happily to themselves and settled back down again.
It was a few seconds later, that the person came into view and Gwen had to do a double take, just to make sure she was seeing right. That definitely was a neckerchief around his neck, and that sounded like a song Hunith had taught them 2 summers ago, when they went to Ealdor with Merlin for a few days. She couldn't help but smile as the man came further into the candle light and revealed himself to be Merlin, her best friend and the man she'd fallen in love with a few weeks after meeting him.
Without thinking, she moves from her spot and rushed to the door, pulling it open and startling Merlin, who had just bent down to put the bouquet on the doorstep. He jumps up and away from both her and the flowers with an outstretched arm and wide startled eyes "Gwen! What has you up so late?" He asks after a few seconds, suprise and shock turning to sheepishness at being caught red handed, making Gwen chuckle quietly and shake her head in fond amusement as she picks up the flowers.
The two are quiet for a few seconds as she looks over each one "I finally caught you, these are beautiful" she whispers softly, looking to Merlin who was awkwardly moving from one foot to the other, but smiles brightly when he hears she likes them "get in here before you freeze" she says, taking him by the hand and pulling him into the warmth of her house, the two of them giggling quietly when they hear another lot of guards doing the rounds just as the door closes.
Now she's caught her admirer and had him in her house, she isn't really sure what to do. She hadn't planned this far! "This is a tradition in Ealdor. We gift the person we love with flowers on their birthday until they catch you, as a way of asking them to court us" he says in a soft, almost shy tone that Gwen has never heard from him before, but makes her smile and take a step towards him "it's stupid I know, but I didn't know anything about Camelot's way of courting" he whispers, looking at the floor as if expecting to be scoffed at and thrown out, yet it only endeared her to him more.
She reaches out and grabs one of his hands, startling him into looking up at her "I think it's sweet, in fact I loved it" she says, watching as his eyes light up once more and the bright, beautiful smile that she loves appears on his face "I'd love to court you, Merlin. I've wanted nothing more since you first got here" she finishes, pulling the man closer and hugging him tightly "I love you so much, Merlin" she whispers, just before the two share a deep but gentle kiss. It was everything she'd dreamed it'd be, Merlin's lips were softer than she'd expected, yet it was perfect.
When they pulled away, Merlin was looking at her with such a loving expression, that it took her breath away. They stayed standing in the middle of the house for awhile longer, just holding each other. Merlin swaying them slightly to music that wasn't there, which makes the moment even better "stay the night?" She whispers hopefully, wanting to hold Merlin close before their days started in a few chaotic hours. Merlin nods after a few seconds, but soon Gwen is being held protectively to his chest as they had figured out how to share her rather small bed.
She wakes up warmer than usual, and a hand is carefully carding itself through her hair making her snuggle back into the person for a few seconds, before startling into full alertness and sitting up "hey, it's just me. It's Merlin" she hears, as he'd sat up with her so that she didn't fall off the bed. There's a worried expression on his face, which soon melts into fondness when Gwen leans back against him again "you look beautiful" he whispers before kissing her cheek, causing her to blush and bat a hand at him, before getting up and making breakfast for the two of them.
They have a quiet morning before getting ready for the day, walking hand in hand to the castle. Gwen blushes madly, when Merlin kisses her cheek and tells her to have a good day as they head in separate directions, which hasn't faded by the time she reaches Morgana's chambers "you found out who it was!" She says happily upon seeing Gwen's bright smile and blush, startling her into giggles as she nods before telling her all about what happend overnight.
Over the next couple of days, Gwen finds small but usable trinkets left around her house along with small notes filled with love from Merlin, it's rather strange at first but she quickly gets used to the idea of the Ealdor way of courting instead of a Camelot one. Small trinkets turn to other useful gifts, which turn to beautiful looking clothes and days away from the castle filled with laughter, stolen kisses and racing each other through the forest.
It isn't long before Merlin takes her to a breathtaking meadow, where they have one of the best picnics she'd ever had. She quickly finds out its one of Merlin's favourite places, that he comes here whenever things get too much around the castle. It's in that same meadow where she learns about Merlin's magic a few weeks later, and though she's startled and wary at first, she becomes his biggest ally and defender.
It's from then on that she finds ways to court Merlin back. She finds the best feeling cloth she can and makes a new neckerchief for him, it has a small dragon on it, similar to the one he created the day he revealed his magic to her, but close enough to the Pendragon crest that it wouldn't look out of place.
From there she finds things from nature, as she's noticed just how happy Merlin is out in the forest, how happy he is outside of the castle walls in general. So she finds cool looking rocks and leaves, finds a hollowed out tree that's big enough for the both of them to fit into, which Merlin loves and it becomes another one of his favourite hideouts when things get too much in Camelot.
She also bakes his favourite things at any given time, just to see him light up and spin her around "you are amazing, my love" he says without fail. She does it so that she knows he's eaten that day, because the Gods know how busy he is and that he forgets to, it's the main reason he's put meat on his bones and looks so healthy after 3 months of courting and Gwen loves that.
It takes a few months before they show that they are courting, most of the other servants had guessed already as the two of them were closer than ever. Not to mention that Gwen some times spent the night in Merlin's room, and some of them had spotted her coming out rather early, but the day they share a kiss as they pass by each other in one of the castle hallways told everyone it was official.
They have their ups and downs, yet Gwen's suprised that if and when they do fight, Merlin isn't afraid to admit that he's wrong, and often returns with flowers or her favourite meal and an apology. After almost 4 years of courting, Gwen visits Hunith asking for her approval to marry her son. Hunith has seen how happy Gwen makes Merlin, has read letter after letter about how amazing, beautiful, caring and supportive this woman is and says yes before Gwen even has a chance to finish her nervous rambling.
She doesn't propose right away, though Merlin has a suspicion that she's up to something as she's a little more nervous than usual, rambles about everything and nothing to distract him which amuses him to no end. But after one of the busiest weeks the two have ever had, Gwen makes dinner for the two of them and lights candles as she waits for him to arrive. When he does stumble in, he raises an eyebrow before sitting down and smiling lovingly at her "man is it good to finally see you" he says as he takes her in, something that still catches her off guard all these years later.
She can't help but lean over the table and pull him in for a deep passionate kiss, it's the first time they've seen each other all week and she'd missed him. Merlin smiles into the kiss before they pull away and rest their foreheads together for a few seconds, Gwen can't help the smile that grows on her face when she notices that Merlin's eyes had slipped closed and he was begining to relax, she can't resist kissing his forehead before moving to sit down once more.
The two eventually start eating, sharing bits and pieces of what the other had been doing throughout the week. Gwen couldn't help chuckling when Merlin went off into a rant about how much of a prat Arthur had been, piling more chores onto the ones he already had to do, all because Gaius had said he was in the tavern when he'd disappeared off for a few hours!
By the time the two had finished eating, Merlin was feeling alot more relaxed and Gwen was feeling alot more confident now that she'd seen him smiling and laughing. So finishing off the goblet of wine, she moved and knelt in front of Merlin, who's eyes widened and he began to smile shyly "Merlin, I've loved you since I first saw you, I've fallen for you even more since then. You are handsome, brave, funny, caring and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you'd let me." She begins.
Merlin's shocked look turning teary and his smile growing as she asks "Merlin, will you marry me?" Merlin nods with a whispered "of course I will" before pulling her to his chest and kissing her deeply. When they pull away, Merlin takes in the ring and runs a finger over it as he recognises it as Gwen's best work. She'd shown him the design before she began working on it a few weeks ago, but he hadn't realised it would be his own ring!
He sees a dragon, an inflight Merlin on either side of the band and 'with all my heart' inscribed on the inside and he can't help the warmth that fills his chest "it's beautiful, just like you" he murmers as he looks back up at his fiancé, chuckling quietly when she blushed madly and leans against him. They stay standing like this for awhile, causing the both of them to think back to the night they first started courting and this time they head to bed together without Gwen having to ask, though they do a little more celebrating before they fall asleep holding each other close this time around.
They have their wedding 3 months later, it's a quiet affair with only their closest friends and family there, Elyan giving Gwen away with a proud smile on his face and a stern word to Merlin to look after her. Gaius gives Merlin away and stands beside an emotional Hunith as they turn to face each other "Merlin, you are the most amazing person I have ever met, from the moment I first laid eyes on you in the stocks all those years ago, I knew I had to know who you were. You were as funny and as witty as you are now, I love you more today than I did yesterday and I feel so greatful that I get to be by your side for the rest of our lives" Gwen says, tears getting the best of her as she finishes her vows and can't help but smile when Merlin reaches up to wipe them away gently, his eyes full of love and fondness for her.
It takes Merlin a few seconds before he starts his own vows "my dearest Guinevere, you are the love of my life. When you stumbled into my life to introduce yourself, I knew I had to get to know you more. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever had the opportunity to lay my eyes on and love you more than you will ever know, but I will take every moment I can to tell you and show you just how much love I have in my heart for you, for the rest of our lives" by the time he's finished, there's not a dry eye in the house as the two share their first kiss as a married couple.
As the two of them hold each other close that night, Gwen can't help but look at Merlin's sleeping face and be thankful that they got to this point because Merlin left flowers on the doorstep for her birthday every year like clockwork