Wings

Epilogue

A few months later...

Gwaine sprinted through the castle, Lancelot close behind. They were both headed for the forest where Arthur, Merlin, Leon, Percival, Elyan and Daigo were waiting for them. They were going to spend a week away from Camelot, camping in the forest to celebrate a very special event.

*Flashback*

The whole day had been confusing for Lancelot. All the knights seemed excited about something. He could only think that they must've been proud of Daigo, who had finally become a fully-fledged knight a few days before, but they always seemed to be hiding something. They would whisper among themselves and avoid him, chuckling awkwardly and quickly changing the topic whenever he walked over. Daigo and Gwaine were nowhere to be seen. Lancelot could only assume Gwaine had finally managed to drag Daigo to the tavern to celebrate his knighthood, but he found it slightly worrying that they were never anywhere he looked, and hadn't been for the past four days.

Suddenly, just as the sun began to set over Camelot, Daigo had appeared, grinning, and told Lancelot to close his eyes. Nervously, he obeyed and let Daigo pull him gently through the corridors of the castle.

"If you make me walk into a wall, I will get revenge in the form of pillows," Lancelot warned.

He heard Daigo laugh as they both thought back to their pillow fight with Gwaine all those months ago.

"Okay, I'll be careful. Just, don't unleash the pillows on me."

Lancelot smirked but the uneasiness of not being able to see still clawed at his stomach, making him walk slowly and cautiously. He heard a door open and tensed as his mind went back to the day Serkad had figured out who he was. He forced himself to relax, and let Daigo continue to pull him forward. The ground felt softer and he could hear birds and the swords of training knights clashing. He was outside.

"Okay, you can open your eyes if you want," Daigo informed, but when Lancelot could see again, there was nothing out of the ordinary and Daigo was still walking, gesturing for him to follow.

They continued until they arrived in the stables where Faradei and Sabre were already tacked up and ready to ride.

"Why did I need to close my eyes before?" Lancelot asked suspiciously.

"You'll see later," Daigo waved off the question nonchalantly.

Lancelot raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any more questions and instead mounted Faradei. The white gelding's dark grey mane and tail had multiple thin braids hidden in them, black and silver ribbons weaved through the hair. Looking over at Sabre, he saw that the dark bay mare had the same braids, though her ribbons were red and gold, which stood out more in her black mane and tail. Now that he paid more attention to the horses, he noticed that their breastplates were also decorated in the same colours, and small gold and silver studs covered the browbands of their bridles. The saddle pads, saddles and saddlebags were brand new and decorated with the same colours. Lancelot followed Daigo along a familiar trail through the forest.

When they arrived in the clearing, Lancelot first saw Trinket, her white coat seeming to sparkle in the early spring sun and her mane and tail also braided the same way as Faradei's and Sabre's were, but with pale pink and maroon ribbons as well as three white flowers tucked under the browband of her bridle right beside her left ear.

Upon entering the clearing, Lancelot saw Gwaine, leaning against the tree and staring at the ground as though he was nervous. Daigo smiled and waved, leaving without a word. Gwaine looked up and smiled warmly when he saw Lancelot. Lancelot dismounted Faradei and let him stand beside Trinket as Gwaine sauntered over to him.

"Care to explain why I was just blindly dragged through the castle and lead out here on a decorated horse?" Lancelot asked, mostly joking, but still curious as to what was going on.

"Well... this is going to sound crazy," Gwaine began.

"Doesn't everything you say sound crazy?" Lancelot retorted.

Gwaine huffed a laugh before he continued.

"Just listen and tease me about how idiotic I sound after," he said with a grin.

Lancelot nodded for him to continue.

"Remember a few months ago, when I first saw your wings in this same clearing?"

"Of course."

"And when we had our first kiss here as well?"

Lancelot nodded, the apple throwing incident bringing a small smile to his face.

"Well, I once heard that wise men say only fools rush in," Gwaine continued. "And everyone knows I'm a complete fool."

"Fool doesn't even begin to describe you Gwaine."

"Exactly. But I've been thinking about this for a while and..."

Lancelot's breath caught as Gwaine knelt down on one knee and held out a small red velvet box with gold trimming.

"Would you do me the honour of marrying me?" He finished with a hopeful expression as he opened the box to reveal a small black and silver ring.

Lancelot couldn't remember how to breathe as he covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his shock, but he knew his eyes still showed his emotion. Unable to speak, he frantically nodded and Gwaine beamed as he stood again and slipped the ring onto his finger.

As they rode back, they met Daigo at the edge of the forest. He was waiting there with Sabre, who was finishing off an apple.

"There better be some left for me," Gwaine called out as they approached.

Daigo responded by holding up another of the bright red apples before mounting Sabre again.

The trio rode back, chatting and laughing. They untacked the horses and left them in a small field to graze before heading back to the castle. They walked inside and Lancelot had to stop and take in the hall before him. There were red and gold streamers and ribbons everywhere and all the knights were there, bowing, and each holding up a flower.

"You planned all this?" Lancelot asked as he took in the scene.

"Most of it. This part was their idea though," Gwaine replied, gesturing to the knights.

"Now do you understand why you had to close your eyes?" Daigo asked.

Lancelot smiled and accepted the flowers the knights offered as they stood one-by-one.

---------------

Now, the knights and Merlin cantered through the forest to Gwaine and Lancelot's clearing where they would spend each night for the next week. Merlin hurried to start a fire and begin cooking as all their stomachs growled. Lancelot fed the horses and pulled an apple out of Faradei's saddle bag to give to Gwaine. The entire place seemed to be separated from the rest of the world and was only filled with the sound of the knights' chatter. Merlin and Arthur were busy having their own argument. Daigo was settling in with his new friends and even got up the courage to throw a pebble at Arthur's back. Lancelot and Gwaine settled by their tree together, staring up at the beautiful specks of light on the almost pitch black canvas of the sky, Lancelot's wings wrapped around them loosely.

Absorbed in the serenity of the clearing, nobody noticed the bright flash of gold eyes that flickered between the bushes, gone almost as soon as they had appeared.

Finally, the end of Wings. Hopefully anyone reading this has liked my story. Thanks for any votes and comments and bye for now. ♡