–  Prologue –

“Are you sure it will work?”

The waifish boy shifted uneasily as he looked from side to side. He knew that no one came into his shop around this time, and no one could see them in this back room, but he couldn’t help his nerves. The man before him grunted angrily beneath his dark cloak.

“I’ve already told you, it’s infallible. You simply have to follow my instructions.” The man’s deep voice seemed to rumble in the boy’s bones as he spoke.

“So, all I have to do is get Tara near this flower and she’ll fall in love with me?” the boy asked, eyeing the vibrant bloom in the man’s hand. The man let out a sigh, upset that he had to recant the instructions, yet again.

“Listen closely boy, for I shan’t say this again.” The man barked. “The Venustas Flower is no ordinary plant. It only blooms once every three years, and its effects are very potent. When it opens, it will release an essence, that will cause any two near it to act on their hidden desires. The flower blooms at dawn for just a moment, and then the bloom will die. You must be sure that your lady love is near you when it opens and you’re the first man she sees, or you may risk losing her affections to someone else. Do you understand?”

The boy looked at the flower hungrily, his mind racing with the possibilities. By tomorrow morning, the girl of his dreams, his sweet beautiful Tara could be his. He knew there was a great risk, for there was no doubt that this flower was magical. But Tara was worth it.

“Alright, I’ll take it.” The boy said, handing over a small leather pouch that held all of his savings from the last few months.

The man’s sinister smile could be seen from the darkness of his hood as he clutched the bag from the boy. The boy cupped his hands to receive the delicate bloom as the man dispensed it.

“The best of luck to you, friend.”

The man’s voice seemed to be fading as he spoke, and suddenly the room filled with a brisk wind that was so sharp it began hurling things about the room and the boy had to close his eyes and cover his face with his arm. After the room stilled he pulled his arm down, he found that he was alone in the room, still holding the closed flower in his hands.

“Dristan! What’s all that noise?”

Dristan’s father’s voice sounded into the back room, making him jump. He looked around the room frantically until he saw a small pouch, which he carefully put his new possession in. He then tucked the pouch under a bench in the back room before he headed back to the front of the shop. He would use the rest of the day to plan his new future – with Tara.

*~*~*~*~

“There is so much a man can tell you, so much he can say,

 You remain, my power, my pleasure, my pain…

 To me you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny”

 - Kissed by a Rose, Seal

Chapter 1

Gwen walked at a leisurely pace, her basket of clothing resting between her arms in front of her while she kept her eyes on the dawning sky. She hadn’t slept very well the night before. It had been months since her father’s passing, and yet, she still felt uncomfortable in her own home. So instead of tossing and turning for hours, she opted to do some much needed spring cleaning.

Since it was so early, she took her time about walking towards the square; she knew that people would just be arriving. Dawn was her favorite time of day because the sky would shine with stars against the burning pink of the new sun. It always signaled a new beginning, and that’s what Gwen needed – a fresh start. She was nearly twenty now, and she knew that most girls her age were looking to marriage and children. Gwen wondered if that was her fate as well.

With her father gone, she really had no one other than Morgana. But Morgana was of marrying age as well, and if she did decide to wed, Gwen would lose her too. But who would she marry? She wondered. Many of the young men in Camelot were not at all what Gwen would fancy; many far too irresponsible or careless for her tastes. The ones that seemed more stable were already betrothed.

Her mind then drifted to the men she had felt something for recently. She at first thought of Lancelot, the fearless champion that had ridden into Camelot months before with dreams of joining the court. He was handsome and brave, and seemed to have a genuine heart. Gwen was somewhat sure that if he had stayed, he may have tried to court her. But that wasn’t really an option anymore, since he was gone, and likely wouldn’t come back.

Gwen then thought of her dear Merlin. Sweet, courageous, awkward Merlin. A smile came to her face as she thought of her friend. He had a way of making her feel at ease; as though she could truly be herself around him, and she loved him for that. He always seemed to be genuinely interested in her and her thoughts and feelings, and that was a gift she treasured dearly. The idea of being more than friendly with Merlin had crossed her mind once or twice, particularly when he let his guard down and acted like the brave man he was. But the thoughts were always fleeting. She knew that she could love Merlin, and that they could be suitable mates, but she wasn’t sure that there would be the spark that she so desired. That raw, unclouded yearning and need that a person felt when they were deeply, truly and irrevocably in love. That kind of love required passion; unbridled and laced with pure fire. The only person she knew that displayed those qualities was…

Again her mind drifted to the man she’d found herself dreaming more and more about. What had started out as innocent slowly turned into fantasies and longing. It had surprised her. She’d known him all of her life. She’d heard the women of Camelot fawning over his good-looks, brawn and hunting prowess. But she’d never been affected by it, after all, up until a few months ago, he was nothing more than an overgrown spoiled child. But he’d changed. Somewhere over the last little while, he’d grown into a man than she grew to admire, who she’d learned to trust, who she’d began to long for. The impossible. The one man in the kingdom she couldn’t possibly have. The rugged, agile, thoughtful, sexy –

“AHHH!”

Gwen let out the yelp as her body jarred from the hit. She felt her balance going, so out of instinct she dropped the basket in her hands and started grabbing around her for support. Her hands found two – very muscular – arms and latched onto them tightly. She managed to regain her footing, and looked up through her tousled curls to see her rescuer.

“Arthur!” Gwen’s voice came out as more of a whisper as she recognized the handsome face. His pouty lips quirked into a small smile as he pulled her upright.

“Good morning, Guinevere,” he said with a laugh in his voice.

Gwen trembled slightly at hearing him say her name. He was the only one who ever called her by her full name, and he seemed to have a way of making it sound like an invitation to kiss him.

“Er – Good morning,” she replied. She felt a small movement at her elbows, and then became frightening aware of the fact that she was still grasping onto Arthur’s arms. Heat flushed to her cheeks as she released him, and she looked away nervously.

“I beg your pardon, sire,” she said, as she smoothed her dress. Arthur’s grin widened at seeing the pink in her cheeks. He was fairly sure she didn’t realize just how pretty she was when she did that.

“A bit early to be walking into people, isn’t it?” Arthur asked, Gwen smiled.

“I was just bringing some clothes to donate to the poor,” Gwen said, glancing down to the overturned basket at her feet. “Mostly my father’s old clothes…”

A wave of guilt flashed through Arthur as he saw her features sadden at her father’s memory. He could live a thousand years and he’d never forgive himself for not keeping his mouth shut about that fateful night in his forge. He opened his mouth to apologize again, but Gwen’s expression lightened.

“Most of it didn’t fit him anymore anyways,” she said with a nod. “He’d want them to go to good use.”

“Of course,” Arthur agreed, happy for the change of tone.

“So what brings his highness out so early this morning?” Gwen asked, trying to distract herself from how attractive Arthur was when he was pensive.

“Just some security business, really,” Arthur said, glancing around the square. “There were reports that a wizard by the name of Morbius was seen in Camelot yesterday, so we were searching.”

Gwen frowned at the recognition of his name. Morbius had been legendary in Camelot for his way with plants. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to manipulate magic with various plant life. In the beginning, he used it for good purposes. But as time went on, and his power increased, he started using it for sinister reasons. Uther had driven him out of Camelot even before he’d outlawed magic.

“Did you find him?” Gwen asked. Arthur shook his head.

“Nothing, though to be honest, I think it all may be rubbish.” He replied. “People get paranoid whenever they see a dark cloak these days.”

“All the same, you should be careful, sire,” Gwen urged, genuinely worried. “Morbius was a very powerful enemy, and you’ve already had more brushes with death than I’m comfortable with.”

Arthur’s flirtatious smile returned and Gwen’s heart skipped a beat.

“My health affects your comfort?” Arthur asked, finding himself happy at the thought. He saw Gwen’s adorable blush again as her eyes widened.

“No! – Well, I mean yes – that is, us…Camelot as a whole are worried, you know, about you and your health. As our prince.” Gwen stammered. Why oh why couldn’t she control her mouth?

Arthur’s grin persisted as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. He had noticed that Gwen babbled when she was nervous, and that she always seemed to get nervous whenever he flirted with her. This was a first, because up until recently, he couldn’t recall Gwen ever reacting to him that way at all. He rather liked it.

~~~~~~

“For the love of God, move!”

Dristan whispered into the air as he anxiously watched Prince Arthur and Morgana’s handmaid chatting. He’d gotten up ridiculously early that morning to set his perfect plan in motion. Every morning, Tara would arrive at the market to help her mother set up her booth before she headed off to do her duties at the palace. There was an archway that led into the courtyard from the east that she had to walk through, so Dristan figured that it would be the perfect place to set his plan in motion.

He’d taken his precious flower and gently woven it into a string of ivy that grew along the wall of the archway. The plan was that he would wait until he saw Tara coming, and then purposefully bump into her, knocking over the vegatables she would inevitably have. In helping her pick them up, it would buy him enough time to make sure they were both near the flower when it opened and – voila! She’d be instantly in love with him. It was perfect! Flawless!

At least it was until stupid Arthur Pendragon had to run into that servant girl RIGHT in his archway. The collision had happened minutes ago, and yet they were still standing there talking! It made no sense, what could they possibly have to talk about? Dristan wondered. And why in heaven’s name couldn’t they discuss it away from his archway?

He glanced around him nervously before looking up at the sky. Dawn was inevitably around the corner, and he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. The flower would bloom soon, he had to get those two out of the archway. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to think of way to do that, because just then he heard the voice that made his heart flutter and his throat dry. His head swung around to the sound, and his eyes quickly found the source. Tara was ascending the small path that led to the square, talking animatedly to one of the other servants she worked with.

Dristan sighed as he took in her silky brown hair, her creamy skin and her bright smile. How he loved her. And soon she would love him…if he could get Arthur rudding Pendragon out of that archway! He looked back to Arthur and the servant girl, and noticed that neither looked remotely close to moving. He needed an alternate plan. Then it hit him. Morbius had told him that he and Tara only had to be near the bloom to receive its effects. Perhaps he wouldn’t necessarily need Arthur to move, if he could just get close enough the flower with Tara…

“Tara!” Dristan called out to her as he took hurried steps in her direction.

Tara looked up to the call, and rolled her eyes when she saw who it was. Silly Dristan, the shopkeeper’s boy. Tara’s friend giggled silently at her side as the watched the gangly, ginger haired boy lope up to them, a goofy smile on his face. Tara refused to slow her pace as Dristan reached them, she had no desire to talk to him.

“Good morning, Tara,” Dristan panted as he reached her. He noted that she hadn’t slowed for him, so he quickly moved to her side to keep up with her. “How are you today?”

Tara resisted another eyeroll.

“I’m fine, Dristan.” She replied flatly, hoping he’d take the hint and leave her be.

“Good! That’s good. You look lovely.” Dristan said with a shy smile. Tara let out a sigh. Apparently the boy was a bit daft.

“A bit early for you, isn’t it Dristan?” Tara asked, ignoring his compliment. Dristan shrugged as he glanced at the archway quickly.

“Not really. Just thought I’d take a little time to practice the old swordplay, you know, keep fit.” He answered casually.

Of course, it was a bold-faced lie. Dristan had no skill at all in swordsmanship; despite his tall frame, he wasn’t very musclular at all, and swords were quite heavy. But Dristan knew that Tara tended to fancy the brawnier men of Camelot, and he couldn’t help but try and compete. Tara let out a dry laugh as she finally looked at Dristan.

“You?” she asked incredulously. “You were fencing this morning?” Dristan nodded. She snorted again. “Really? Well then where is your sword?” She looked Dristan up and down for added effect.

Drat! Dristan thought. Of course he would have forgotten that minor detail in his lie. Thank goodness he didn’t have to worry about that much longer. Soon enough, Tara would be hanging off of his every word.

“Oh my god, it’s him!”

Tara’s excited voice tore Dristan from his thoughts. He followed her excited gaze to see who she was talking about, and felt his jealousy rise. She was referring to none other than Mr. Block-my-archway Pendragon. He heard the two girls squeal to one another as they got closer.

“Can you even believe how handsome he is?” Tara gushed. The girl beside her shook her head. “I can’t wait until it’s my turn to tend to his quarters. I hear he’s adorable when he sleeps.”

That was it, Dristan thought. He had to end this now. He would go over there and find a way to shoo Arthur out of the way.

“He shouldn’t be blocking the arch like that, with your hands full. I’d better go ask him to move so you girls can get through.” Dristan muttered as he started away.

“No, Dristan, don’t!” Tara’s frantic voice caused him to halt slighlty. “He’s the prince! You don’t just tell the prince to move!”

But Dristan’s eyes had gone from the sky to the flower, and he noticed a faint green light shining from it as its petals started to twitch. It was going to open! He had to get there and get Arthur and that girl out of the way quickly. He started towards them again with a hurried pace, and Tara’s eyes widened as she realized what he was about to do. She shoved her basket of food into her friend’s arms and started after him.

She caught up with him when he was just a few steps from where Arthur was standing and grabbed his arm roughly.

“Don’t you dare!” Tara hissed at him. “Look! He’s helping Gwen gather her things. I’ll go and give them a hand and I’m sure they’ll move. Don’t you embarrass me!”

She then started off towards them before Dristan could stop her. He watched as she stooped down to assist Gwen and Arthur replace the clothes into a basket, and then his eyes went to the bloom again. The petals were still quivering and it seemed the green light was getting a bit brighter.

Dristan walked up to the three and began to stoop down so that he could help move the stupid clothes that were about to foil his plan. But a sharp look from Tara made him freeze.

”We have all the help we need, Dristan.” Tara said coldly. “Why don’t you go fetch my basket for me while we finish up?”

It wasn’t a request. Dristan knew that if he didn’t do what she asked, it would cause a scene. Perhaps he could go get it and rush back before it was too late. He grunted to himself before turning and jogging back to where the other servant girl stood with the basket.

“You really didn’t have to do this,” Gwen commented as Arthur placed the last item of clothing into her basket.

“Well, if I hadn’t been in your way, you wouldn’t have dropped it,” Arthur reasoned. Gwen gave him a knowing glare.

“If I hadn’t been walking with my head in the sky, I would have seen you.” She countered. Arthur shrugged.

“Well, it’s no matter now, it’s done.” He answered. Gwen went to argue, but he tilted his head and added. “Guinevere…”

There it was again. That sweet, head-spinning way that he said her name. Gwen bit her lip against the flutter it put in her stomach. She knew that tone meant that the argument was over. Not that she minded.

“Sorry sire,” Gwen finally managed to say once she was sure she could control her tongue. Arthur smiled at her. “Well, I should get these to the…hmmm…that’s…that smell is lovely…”

Gwen sniffed at the air as a sweet, delicate scent enveloped her. The instant she breathed more in, she felt relaxed, and closed her eyes. It was then that Arthur too picked up the smell, and he inhaled deeply as his eyes closed as well.

“Yes…” he mumbled. “It is…wonderful.”

“So sweet,” Tara added, as she turned her nose towards the scent.

Dristan had just reached the top of the pathway when his mouth fell open in horror. The bloom was open. Wide open. And he could see a light, green mist flowing from it…and completely surrounding Prince Arthur, Gwen and…Tara! He started towards the archway at top speed. He had to be there when she opened her eyes. He had to be the first one she saw…

He stopped dead in his tracks when Tara opened her eyes. They were fixed on Arthur, but that wasn’t what stopped him. Her eyes were glowing a bright green – the same way the bloom had been before it opened. She seemed to be blinded by it somehow despite her focus on Arthur. Dristan looked at Arthur and Gwen as well as they opened their eyes. They both looked at one another, their eyes the same glowing green. What had happened? Dristan wondered.

He sank against the wall of the archway as the heavier question hit him. What had he done?